I join Maryland and the nation in offering my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the officers killed and injured in the line of duty and the civilians caught in the crossfire last night in Dallas.

Each and every day, our law enforcement officers report for duty not knowing what dangers they may face. Men and women in blue put their lives on the line to keep our families and communities safe. I thank officers across the country for their service.

Like all... Americans, I am deeply concerned about racial disparities in our criminal justice system and about gun violence in our communities, our schools and our churches. Police officers have a difficult job and the vast majority serve in an outstanding and honorable manner.

I am furious and fed up at Congress’s inability to act in a bipartisan way to protect us from the Zika virus. The U.S. is facing a public health emergency. Americans are desperate for Congress to respond. Instead, the House of Representatives passed a Zika conference report at 3 a.m. with no debate and no Democratic input.

The bill passed by House Republicans doesn’t recognize Zika as a public health emergency. It nickels and dimes our efforts to respond. It makes it more dif...ficult for women to access birth control. And it waives safety rules for the use of pesticides. Now the House has left town and expects the Senate to pass this terrible bill.

Today I joined with House Democrats in calling for ‘No break, no vote.’ The Democrats want to offer a bill to close the terrorist loophole, so that if you’re on the No Fly List, you should not be able to buy a gun.

The Republican leadership has refused to give them a vote. They’ve tried every parliamentary maneuver. Now they’re doing a sit-in, led by the historic civil rights leader John Lewis. They sat down. And when they sat down, Senate Democrats stood up. I wanted to be a...longside them and went over to join the protest. Because in America, we should be able to have our day and our say to protect the people.