Speeches

“On a regular basis, through the new media we hear from young people across the country about every move that is made in Washington, D.C. We wanted to bring many of them to the table so that we could have a conversation so that when I go to the table later today, I can be fresh and current in what their thinking is and what they’re hearing, what they’re hearing about the budget, how reducing the deficit is important to their future but creating jobs today in a budget that has growth is very important to them, how Pell Grants and keeping them affordable is essential.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to pick up where you left off with that – His Holiness being a source of understanding in bringing the two parties in the House of Representatives together. For decades, really, Mr. Wolf, Chairman Wolf, Chairman Smith, Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen, Chairwoman Lowey, now Ranking Member Lowey, and Mr. Berman who was with us earlier, have worked together to understand better and help the Tibetan people.”

“Thank you, Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, for your generous introduction and for your leadership. And congratulations on completing a successful term as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s 6:00 across America, or at least in the Eastern time zone. Families across America are getting ready to sit down for dinner. At their kitchen table, many homes in our country, parents, moms are saying to their children, ‘Eat your vegetables, eat your dinner.'”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the rule that is on the floor today because voting for this rule is a vote to abolish Medicare.”

“Thank you, Mr. Levin, for your compliment to my great state of California. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I first heard that this legislation was coming to the floor, I anticipated with some positive thoughts of: ‘Yes, this is the right thing to do; America must pay its bills; we know how to do that; we want to go forward assuring the American people that when we decide not to default on our debt that we are showing our strength, even though it may be difficult for people to support that.”

‘Thank you very much Chancellor Don Griffin for your kind introduction, your tremendous leadership, and your commitment to diversity, at this beautiful student body of a community college. Thank you so much Don Griffin. Thank you to the Board of Trustees, and the faculty and the staff of City College of San Francisco, thank you for making this magnificent graduating class possible. Let us acknowledge them. Today, we also recognize the many people who helped make your success possible: your families – your parents, spouses, and even your children. Let us rise and thank them for what they gave.”

“Thank you very much Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank him for his leadership working with Congressman Walter Jones on this bipartisan amendment which has been brought to the floor. They have worked, again, in a bipartisan way and a patriotic way to ensure that U.S. troops are brought home from Afghanistan safely and expeditiously.”

“Good afternoon. Thank you for being available. As you know, we had 11 votes at 1:30, so it prevented us from being here earlier in the day. As you know, as we gather here, American consumers are paying a big price at the pump with gas prices going sky high while oil companies raked in $30 billion in profit in the first quarter, the big five oil companies. But Republicans keep insisting that taxpayers continue to give tax subsidies to Big Oil. And the Republicans insist on just presenting drill-only bills, which do nothing to bring down the price at the pump now.”

“Mr. Speaker, right now, across the country, families, workers, and small businesses are feeling the pain of the price at the pump. Yet today, Republicans have brought to the floor another ‘Drill Only’ bill that will not bring down prices at the pump. It’s a boon to Big Oil that would make another catastrophic oil spill more likely.”