Thank you Mr. Green for organizing this special order hour and thank you Mr. Poe, Ms. Edwards, and Ms. Ellmers for your continued leadership on this important issue. I rise today to speak out against domestic violence and to demand that Congress act in a bipartisan manner to fight back against this plague on our country. The domestic violence statistic rates in our country are staggering. One out of every three women will be the victim of domestic violence in their lifetime, and four women are ... Read more

M. Speaker, I come to the floor today to submit for the record the transcript of the bipartisan briefing I recently hosted along with my good friend from the great state of Florida, Trey Radel, on the crucial environmental issues facing our waterways in Florida. During a time of the most discouraging examples of partisan gridlock, we were able to come together with many people on both sides of the aisle to work toward solutions to the ongoing crisis in our waterways. There is no denying that an... Read more

I thank my good friend from California, Mr. Peters, for organizing this important discussion tonight on the urgent need to end this disgraceful shutdown. The damage that this manufactured crisis is causing is unacceptable. I have heard daily from hundreds of my constituents who have already felt the pain from this shutdown over the past four days. They all express to me the same sentiment: “Enough already!” And I share this frustration. The letter I received from a local Navy veteran particularl... Read more

M. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the small businesses across our nation on the 50th anniversary of National Small Business week. Small businesses are the backbone of our country—making up 50 percent of American jobs—and are essential to our economic recovery. It is our job as Members of Congress to provide support from Washington to small businesses by reducing unnecessary regulations and improving access to credit and small business assistance programs. As a former small businessman, I am ... Read more

M. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act into law on June 10th. When he signed it, President Kennedy stated that “when women enter the labor force they will find equality in their pay envelopes.” Unfortunately, fifty years later, women are still looking for that equality. The recognition of this anniversary serves also as a proclamation for Congress to close the wage gap and continue to strengthen the economy. Women make up... Read more

M. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will be amended and immediately proceed to final passage. M. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Price for working together in a truly bipartisan process on the underlying legislation. With this bill we have shown that we can put partisanship aside to do what’s right for the American people, providing the necessary funding to the Department ... Read more

M. Speaker, I rise today to offer an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill that would eliminate wasteful spending on unused facilities, which could save tens of millions of dollars in fiscal year 2014 alone. The Department of Defense has hundreds, possibly thousands, of buildings and structures that it has rated at zero percent utilization. This is an incredible number of useless facilities the Department of Defense is paying to maintain. Federal agencie... Read more

M. Speaker, I rise today to offer an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill that would boost competitive bidding across Defense construction projects. The Department of Defense manages hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts each year, 43 percent of which are noncompetitively awarded. The Government Accountability Office has reported that the Department of Defense does not keep accurate records of which contracts received multiple bids or why sole-so... Read more

M. Speaker, I ran for congress on a pledge of bipartisanship. I ran on behalf of the citizens who were disappointed in their leaders in Washington who focus on partisan bickering rather than problem solving. In my first days in Congress, I was also disappointed in Washington. I was disappointed that everything in DC was separated by party affiliation. This is why, one of my first actions as a freshman was to join the No Label’s Problem Solvers Group, which I am now a proud co-chair. M. Speaker, ... Read more

M. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to all those who serve and who have served as peace officers to protect and serve our great nation. Today is the day we demonstrate our respect for the men and women and all that they do for us and our country. We especially honor those who sacrificed everything and lost their lives in the line of duty. On this day we remember all those who don a uniform signifying the protection of our country’s citizens by means of defending the laws of our nat... Read more