Press Releases
March 1, 2012
“I join today in celebrating the start of Women’s History Month, when Americans mark the progress we have made as a nation breaking down barriers and shattering glass ceilings. From marching for equal rights to contributing to our prosperity as leaders in business and entrepreneurship, from serving our nation in uniform and giving their lives in every war to making important discoveries in science and medicine, women have carried forward the work of building America since its earliest days. Describing the suffrage and equal rights movement she led early in the last century, Alice Paul said: 'Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end.' Today, the mosaic of America is rich and inspiring because of the contributions of millions of ordinary and extraordinary women to the history of this country, including the many outstanding women I have the privilege of serving with in Congress.
March 1, 2012
On March 7, 1965, our friend and esteemed colleague from Georgia, John Lewis, was among the leaders of that march. He was the leader – he and Hosea Williams. Two by two they walked, some 600 with John and Hosea at the front of the line. That day, in an extraordinary practice of nonviolence, he and other marchers were brutally beaten while trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. They were on their way to Montgomery, the state capital, to protest the murder of a young man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, who had been shot and killed while protecting his mother during a voting rights rally. And they were marching to Montgomery to say in a nonviolent way every American deserves the right to be able to register and to vote.
February 29, 2012
“I was pleased to see so many federal employees at today’s event. These are public servants who perform important work on behalf of this nation, from keeping our homeland safe to ensuring the food we eat is safe and making certain our seniors get their Social Security checks on time. Federal employees are a living example of government ‘for the people, by the people.'
February 29, 2012
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) will deliver remarks in support of federal workers at a rally hosted by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today, February 29 at 12:30 p.m. in the Congressional Auditorium in the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC-200). The rally is part of NTEU’s week-long 2012 legislative conference.
February 28, 2012
As Parliamentarian, John Sullivan has been a careful steward of the rules of the House and a strong defender of their proper exercise, which has earned him the respect of members and leaders from both parties. When he became Parliamentarian in 2004, John brought with him seventeen years of experience working in the Office of the Parliamentarian, three years as counsel to the Armed Services Committee, and seven years as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force. Having given over thirty-five years of his career to our nation, I join in thanking him for his many contributions.
February 28, 2012
Last month, our economy created 257,000 private sector jobs, beating expectations and representing the 23rd straight month of gains. At the same time, manufacturing is on the upswing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than half of metropolitan areas are seeing growth in manufacturing jobs, with Detroit leading the way. In 2011, American manufacturers had an excellent year, demonstrating the potential in our manufacturing sector to continue producing the goods that make the world run.
February 23, 2012
We are also helping American families keep more of their hard-earned money through increased energy savings. Ambitious vehicle fuel economy standards set last year will cut oil consumption by 12 billion barrels and save American families $1.7 trillion over the next ten years. The announcement today by the President of a $30 million investment in adavanced energy research is good news for middle class families and American businesses that rely on cars and trucks each day, because it represents another important step forward toward ensuring us access to the affordable energy that will drive our prosperity for generations. Today’s announcement will help us harness the most important resource of all: American ingenuity.
February 22, 2012
Sustaining our economic recovery depends on American businesses, especially manufacturers, remaining globally competitive and able to continue investing in innovation and job growth. The President's proposal would lower the business tax rate by broadening the base through elimination of those loopholes that distort business decision making. It also goes hand in hand with House Democrats' Make It In America comprehensive jobs plan by providing incentives for manufacturing and research that will help us retain our role as the world's innovation leader. When we help manufacturers make their products here in America, it in turn helps create opportunities for more of our people to Make It In America.
February 17, 2012
“President Obama announced a series of new actions today that will help make U.S. manufacturers more competitive and boost exports. I agree with the President that reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank is critical so we can make sure that America’s manufacturers have the financing they need to sell their goods all over the world and create jobs here at home, and I strongly support prompt passage of legislation reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. I also applaud the President’s commitment to use existing authority to aggressively counter foreign non-competitive financing from foreign governments that gives foreign manufacturers an unfair edge.
February 16, 2012
I am very disappointed that the proposed UI extension will be paid for by increasing the retirement contributions made by new federal workers. When we work to protect the middle class, it is only right to protect them all, and federal workers are hardworking Americans who have already contributed $60 billion to deficit reduction over the next decade. Our deficit problems were not created by these men and women, and they will not be solved by only asking them to contribute. If we are going to address our deficit in a big, bold and balanced way, we must look beyond just federal workers and ask others to share in the contributions our deficit problems demand.
February 13, 2012
Today, President Obama laid out his budget proposal for the next fiscal year, and I am pleased that it places a strong emphasis on investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure. His budget builds on the blueprint he laid out during his State of the Union address last month – a blueprint that reflects the core commitment to job creation and the middle class in House Democrats’ Make It In America jobs plan. Manufacturing will be key to our long-term recovery, and I am glad that the President’s budget includes provisions that will help us remain the world’s manufacturing leader and a place where innovation fuels the creation of middle class jobs for years to come.
February 9, 2012
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) discussed Republicans’ lack of a jobs plan and the need to extend payroll tax cuts, unemployment insurance and the Medicare physician payment rate before they expire on The Bill Press Show today.
February 3, 2012
Today’s report showed our economy added 257,000 private sector jobs in January, lowering our unemployment rate to 8.3%. While it is a welcome sign that the pace of hiring has increased, and our economy experienced the twenty-third month of consecutive private sector job growth, 13 million Americans remain out of work and looking for jobs as we continue our still fragile recovery.
February 2, 2012
"I commend the Senate for heeding the President's call in his State of the Union address to pass legislation ensuring that those who serve in government play by the same set of rules as everyone else and don’t profit from inside information. The STOCK Act, introduced in the House by Reps. Tim Walz and Louise Slaughter, has bipartisan support, and I am encouraged that the Republican leadership has agreed to address this issue next week."
February 2, 2012
"Over the past five years, I have come to know Heath Shuler as a resolute lawmaker, a determined advocate for getting America's fiscal house in order, and – above all – a good friend. I will greatly miss him in this House, where he has made an enormous impact as a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition and as a rising star in the Democratic caucus...
February 2, 2012
Instead of spending time working with Democrats to pass a comprehensive jobs plan, extend middle class tax cuts, or find a solution to our deficit problem, Republicans have wasted time on these two process bills. Not only do they fail to bring us closer to finding a solution, but they only serve to tamper with the non-partisan judges we rely on at the Congressional Budget Office to provide unbiased budget analysis.
February 1, 2012
We ought to have a bill, we ought to pass Mr. Van Hollen's bill, we ought to take this out of the politics and then I tell my friends what we ought to do is pass the big deal. We ought to pass a $4 trillion to $6 trillion big deal to get the fiscal house in order of the United States of America. And it ought to include all things on the table, including federal employee pay and benefits, including the military pay and benefits and expenditures, and domestic expenditures as well as entitlements. I've said that. We ought not to do it piecemeal as this bill reflects.
February 1, 2012
In 1926, when Dr. Carter G. Woodson launched the weeklong celebration that later became Black History Month, so much history was yet to be written. The African American story had yet to be seen as an integral part of our shared American history, reflecting African Americans’ exclusion then from so many facets of national life. In the decades since, through struggle and triumph, through tragedy and perseverance, by the hands of bold leaders and everyday citizens, we have seen the arc of history bend toward the justice and equality so many have long sought. In Maryland and across our nation, we are enriched by the participation of African Americans in every part of American life – from government to business, from the arts to the law, in science, in education, and in national service. Each milestone carries us all forward.
January 31, 2012
A key component of House Democrats’ Make It In America jobs plan is taking action to ensure that our trading partners are playing fair. President Obama has made this an important part of our trade policy and approach to economic competitiveness, and I applaud the diligence with which his Administration, including U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, has successfully pursued this case before the World Trade Organization. This ruling will discourage companies from relocating to China to take advantage of artificially-cheap raw materials, and it will help American manufacturers compete with China’s producers and create jobs here at home.
January 31, 2012
CBO’s Budget and Economic Outlook released today reveals what Americans already know: we have to get Americans back to work, and we have to get our fiscal house in order by reaching a big and balanced deficit reduction plan this year. Such a plan requires both getting a handle on spending and raising revenue. It is clear from the CBO’s forecast that allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for the wealthiest Americans can be a part of that solution. Real and effective deficit reduction should be based on the principle that everyone should pay their fair share. I hope Republicans work with Democrats to take the steps we need as a nation to get us back on a sound fiscal path.
January 26, 2012
While I was saddened to learn that Rep. Brad Miller will be retiring from Congress, I am thankful for the chance to have served alongside him these past nine years. Over the course of his time in Congress, Rep. Miller has fought for the well-being of North Carolina families, and he has worked tirelessly as a member of the Financial Services Committee to combat predatory lending practices and help those facing foreclosure stay in their homes. Believing strongly in creating opportunities for more Americans to reach the middle class, Rep. Miller has been a strong advocate for education and access to health care, and he has been a defender of North Carolina service members, veterans, and their families. He will be missed in this House, and I join in wishing him the best as he moves on to the next step in his career.
January 25, 2012
None of us on this Floor are talented enough to summon the rhetoric that all of us feel in our hearts. We have young men and women, arrayed on the fields in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other troubled spots in the world. They are fighting for freedom and democracy and too many of them are injured on those fields. Our beloved colleague, Gabrielle Giffords, was injured on the field in the exercise of that democracy. And in being injured, she has become an example for us, for all Americans, indeed all the world, of courage, of clarity of purpose, of grace, of responsibility, of a sense of duty which she exercises this day.
January 25, 2012
I thought it was an excellent speech. I thought it was a serious speech. We have a lot of challenges. The President obviously focused on what I think is critical to the American people - that's jobs…[House Democrats] have had an agenda, we call it “Make It In America,” in the Congress of the United States for the last two years. We’ve talked to the President about it. His manufacturing focus we think was absolutely right. We’ve lost 9 million manufacturing jobs over the last 20 years. We need to expand our manufacturing sector. We need to make things here in America. We need to provide the kind of middle class jobs paying good wages and having good benefits that the America middle class needs to grow, not shrink.
January 24, 2012
The empty resolutions Republicans have put forward in order to draw an artificial contrast between the parties will only succeed in showing Americans the real difference between those in Congress who want to play games and those of us who want to get to work tackling our pressing challenges, including job creation and deficit reduction. I hope Republicans will use tonight’s State of the Union address as an opportunity to set their games aside and begin working with Democrats on the important tasks we have before us.
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On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.
First/Last votes expected: 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Suspensions (6 bills)