Press Releases
January 16, 2013
I join in thanking Secretary Ken Salazar for his service and leadership over the past four years. Under his stewardship, the Department of the Interior made enormous progress in the areas of natural resources conservation, federal land use management, and expanding opportunities for Native Americans. I was proud to have worked closely with him as Congress and the Administration completed work on the Cobell settlement to see justice served for Native American tribes whose trust assets were improperly managed. I also had the pleasure of working with Ken in 2009 to pass the most significant land conservation legislation in fifteen years, which set aside 2 million new acres of wilderness, established three new national parks, protected 1,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers, and designated the Baltimore Heritage Area in my home state of Maryland. Ken has been a faithful public servant and a voice for America’s rural communities, and I wish him well in his next endeavors.
January 16, 2013
“Today, President Obama and Vice President Biden outlined a series of steps to make our communities and children safer from gun violence. From a universal background check to a new ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, from new resources for law enforcement to new initiatives that help those with mental illness access the help they need, the President’s plan is a major step forward to address the epidemic of gun violence that has plagued our country in recent years.
January 14, 2013
“President Obama is right that there ought not be a debate over whether the United States should pay the bills it has already incurred. While the American people expect Democrats and Republicans to meet in good faith at the negotiating table to achieve a big and balanced solution to the challenge of deficit reduction, they will not tolerate any party playing partisan games with a possible default and further downgrade of our credit. America must live up to its obligations while seeking a more disciplined fiscal future. Democrats look forward to playing a positive role in this process in the weeks ahead.”
January 10, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) praised the Government Printing Office (GPO) and the House Clerk for their recently announced efforts to modernize public access to House information and calling on other legislative branch entities to follow suit. GPO today announced that House bills for the 113th Congress are now available for bulk download in XML. The Office of the House Clerk announced earlier this week that House Floor summaries are also now available for bulk download in XML.
January 10, 2013
"I join in congratulating Jack Lew on his nomination as our next Secretary of the Treasury and thanking Tim Geithner for his steady leadership during a time of extraordinary economic challenges. Jack’s extensive public and private sector experience, his knowledge of both the fiscal and financial, will be an invaluable asset in this new role. He understands the economy and what makes it tick.
January 9, 2013
"As Secretary of Labor over the past four years, Hilda Solis has been a tireless advocate for job creation and workers' rights. I was privileged not only to serve with Hilda in the House but also to work closely with her during her stewardship of the Labor Department, where she was a key ally for Democrats as we developed and passed components of our Make It In America plan to grow our manufacturing sector. I join in thanking her for her exemplary service to our workers, their families, and all who work hard for a good job and the middle-class opportunities all Americans deserve."
January 4, 2013
“In the 113th Congress, we will continue to have an outstanding Whip team that, thanks to these new members, is more diverse than ever before," stated Democratic Whip Hoyer. "They reflect the diversity of our Caucus, bringing a wide range of views and perspectives to the table. Over the past two years, our Whip team has helped maintain unity in our Caucus on a number of votes important to protecting our middle class and creating opportunities that lead to good jobs and a higher quality of life for all Americans. I look forward to working closely with the new and returning Chief Deputy Whips to bring Democrats from different segments of our Caucus together as we pursue our shared goal of helping grow America’s middle class and moving our country forward.”
January 4, 2013
“I am encouraged by the jobs numbers for December released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today, which show that our economy added 168,000 private sector jobs last month. While we continue to move in the right direction, we must remain focused on taking action to support economic growth and job creation. As the 113th Congress begins, Democrats and Republicans have an opportunity to come together to build on these gains and help more Americans get back to work.
January 3, 2013
"It is vital that the voices of the 5 million Americans represented by delegates and the Resident Commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives are heard in our legislative process," stated Democratic Whip Hoyer. "By changing the House rules to silence these voices in the 112th Congress and again in this new Congress, House Republicans are doing a disservice to our greatest traditions of political inclusion and common-sense, democratic principles. I strongly urge them to reconsider and to allow the Delegates and Resident Commissioner to vote in the Committee of the Whole House."
January 3, 2013
“With the swearing-in of the 113th Congress today, I am hopeful that the House can refocus on the issues that matter to our constituents: creating middle-class jobs, reducing deficits, and keeping Americans safe. After two years of the least-productive Congress in modern history, with little progress made on our most pressing national challenges, the 113th Congress must do better. This means doing more to help our businesses compete, expand, and create well paying jobs through House Democrats’ Make It In America plan. It also means getting serious about restoring fiscal discipline to Washington in a way that ends uncertainty for businesses and families by ceasing to lurch from one crisis to the next without significant progress. We can and must do better, and a spirit of bipartisanship ought to guide us forward to achieve real results for the American people.
January 2, 2013
"While I remain disappointed that the House Republican leadership did not allow a vote on the Hurricane Sandy supplemental legislation last night, I am relieved that Speaker Boehner has agreed to move forward with a vote on flood insurance this week. It is unfortunate that the Speaker has decided to wait two weeks before having the House vote to approve the bulk of the relief for victims of Sandy, but we will hold him to that promise so that families and business-owners have assurance that help is on its way.
January 2, 2013
“The report released this morning by the Institute for Supply Management shows new gains for America’s manufacturing sector, including in sector employment, and confirms that manufacturing remains a bright spot in our economic recovery. After a brief contraction in November, manufacturing grew once more last month, and the December 2012 report confirms that our economy overall continued to expand for the 43rd consecutive month.
January 2, 2013
“I was shocked last night and deeply saddened that we didn't put the [Hurricane Sandy] relief bill that was passed through the United States Senate in a very strong bipartisan vote on the [House] Floor last night...”
January 1, 2013
“Today House Republicans continued their attack on hardworking federal employees by bringing to the Floor a bill that would extend the pay freeze on civilian federal employees for another year. I strongly oppose such a move – which, fortunately, has no chance of passing the Senate – because middle-class federal employees have already contributed nearly $90 billion toward deficit reduction through reduced pay and pension benefits at a time when other groups have not been asked to contribute.
January 1, 2013
"Thank you very much, Madam Leader. The 112th Congress has about 46 hours left to go. This Congress unfortunately has been most known for an unwillingness to compromise, an unwillingness to come together to act on behalf of the American people.
January 1, 2013
"On this day, 150 years ago, our nation took a major step forward toward ending the evils of slavery and achieving the new birth of freedom which President Abraham Lincoln promised. When the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on New Year's Day in 1863, it ushered in a new American era that brought the country closer to the ideals of its founders. I join in celebrating this important anniversary and all that we have achieved as a nation - through struggle and sacrifice - to build on that proclamation by making our union more perfect through greater equality, inclusion, and equal opportunity for all our people."
December 28, 2012
"President Obama is correct: the time for immediate action to avert the fiscal cliff is here. If Congress does not act, in just a few days middle class families will see their taxes go up, arbitrary spending cuts will begin to take effect, and a number of additional critical items like unemployment insurance will go unaddressed. ...
December 27, 2012
“We could be considering [the Senate] bill today and passing it so every working American and indeed every American would know that their taxes would not increase on the first $200,000 [for] individuals, or $250,000 as families. One hundred percent of Americans would not get a tax increase on that income. We could be working on that and passing it today.”
December 21, 2012
“I thank the Leader for her comments, I certainly agree with her. Last night’s vote showed us that resolving the challenge that confronts us with the fiscal cliff cannot and will not be done with a partisan vote. It showed us that we must work together in a bipartisan way and that we must preclude going over the fiscal cliff by a balanced agreement that Republicans can support, that Democrats can support, that the President of the United States will sign, and that can pass the United States Senate. It is absolutely incumbent upon us to do that.
December 21, 2012
John Kerry has served his country throughout his life, from Vietnam to the United States Senate, and now as our next Secretary of State. He will bring his experience and knowledge from his time as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to his new role, and I look forward to his swift confirmation.
December 21, 2012
“I think President Obama has made it very clear that he has been willing to move. He has moved both on revenues and on cuts and spending. But he has not met with any kind of positive response to this point in time. I think Speaker [John] Boehner wants to get a deal. Whatever happened last night it did not eliminate the risk that the cliff causes our economy, and our people. It's incumbent upon us, therefore, to continue to work towards a solution and to reach a solution prior to the end of the year.”
December 21, 2012
“We still need to focus on not going over the cliff. Not going over the cliff is I think a priority for us. That's not good for the country, not good for the economy, not good for the confidence of the American people.”
December 20, 2012
It is now time to get back to work on negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff. We cannot allow the fiscal cliff to hit, risking damage to our economy and middle class families, and another downgrade of our credit worthiness. I urge Speaker Boehner and Republican leaders to rise above the politics of the moment and re-engage in the process of reaching a big and balanced plan. I believe we can and must take action before the end of the year to prevent the fiscal cliff, and Democrats are ready to work with Republicans to do so.
December 20, 2012
“Clearly, the Republicans know that what they are doing today is simply a waste of time… What we’re doing today is wasting time pretending, making political points but not moving the ball forward to get to a compromise that will be necessary if we're going to avoid the sequester that nobody wants, not go over the cliff, and take very positive steps toward getting this country on a fiscally sound path.”
In This Section:
Email Updates
Latest From the House Floor
On Thursday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.
First votes expected: 10:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Last votes expected: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
H.R. 1911 – Making College More Expensive Act