“I share President Obama’s goal of a viable and competitive domestic automotive industry, which is an essential part of America’s manufacturing base and our national security, and a critical source of green jobs for the future. We need a forward-looking and healthy automobile industry that prizes innovation and competitiveness.”

“I support President Obama’s comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The President’s plan is the result of a detailed study and is wisely centered on dismantling al Qaeda and denying safe havens in both Afghanistan and Pakistan to those who would attack the United States. This strategy recognizes a point that I have emphasized for years, and one that I shared with the President following my visit last month to Afghanistan, which is that we must have a regional approach to countering terrorism.”

“President Obama and Congress have presented America with a budget that is a detailed blueprint for economic recovery that will cut the deficit we inherited, cut taxes for middle-income Americans, and create jobs by building a new, clean energy economy, investing in education to prepare workers for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and making health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans.”

“It is a great honor to welcome Vice President Biden to the Capitol. For over 30 years he has served the people of Delaware with such distinction — he is no stranger to this building.”

“Greece and the United States share a special bond that reaches back to the founding of America. The Greek philosophical tradition inspired America’s Founding Fathers in our struggle for freedom, which, in turn, inspired Greek patriots to fight for and achieve their independence in the 1820s.”

“North Dakotans are no stranger either to the ideal of neighbors helping neighbors. Through the weekend and early parts of this week, thousands of people — including high school and college students, National Guardsmen, women, and our own Congressman Earl Pomeroy, among many others — have stood shoulder-to-shoulder, filling sandbags to protect Fargo and other cities from the dangers of rising waters. Others have come together to offer shelter to those forced to leave their homes.”

“Today, the House passed a landmark bill to conserve public lands for future generations of Americans. This bipartisan legislation creates more than 2 million new acres of wilderness, and provides the greatest expansion of wilderness areas in 15 years, including more than 700,000 acres in my own state of California.”

“The author of the landmark study of African Americans, From Slavery to Freedom, Professor Franklin chaired the history departments at Brooklyn College and the University of Chicago, before becoming James B. Duke Professor of History at Duke University. The John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies and the Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke remain as permanent monuments to his contributions in academia and public policy. ”

“I also want to convey the sympathy of the American people and the Congress of the United States, our sympathies on your losses in the fires that have beset Australia. As a Californian, I have some appreciation for what you have been through — but not of course not a full appreciation. So, please, accept our sympathy on that score.”

“It is under the leadership of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who is the Democratic Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues. Right now, as we are out here, the meeting is being presided over by Gwen Moore, who is the Vice Chair. If you look at our recovery package — I want you to look at the report that we put out there, for how the recovery package affects women and children. There is health, education, economic security through jobs, higher education for women to be able to get Pell Grants. See this report: ‘Investing in Women and Children: Key Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”