(Remarks as Prepared)Mr. Speaker, today is a good day.  Many of us have been working for years for the opportunity to approve our pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.  We have called on the President throughout his term to submit all three agreements to Congress, but opposition among some Democrats ...

(Remarks as Prepared)Mr. Speaker, I urge rapid passage of this legislation to implement the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.  This agreement enjoys broad bipartisan support, and it is clear why:  it levels the trade playing field between the U.S. and Panama; it is good for U.S. companies, workers, and ...

(Remarks as Prepared) The U.S.-Korea agreement is the most commercially significant trade agreement considered by the Congress in 17 years.  And it couldn’t come at a better time.  With the unemployment rate stuck stubbornly above nine percent, we must seek out and take advantage of all opportunities to create American ...

(Remarks as Prepared)Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2832, the bill which renews the Generalized System of Preferences program and also contains the Trade Adjustment Extension Act of 2011.  This bill is the cornerstone of a carefully crafted bipartisan, bicameral agreement that prompted the President to send the ...

(Remarks as Prepared)Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that we have finally reached this important moment.  Next month we will mark five years since the United States and Colombia signed the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.  U.S. workers and job-creating exporters have had to wait for far too long for the President to submit this promising ...

(Remarks as Prepared)Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in strongly supporting passage of this legislation to implement the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.  This agreement and the others that we are considering today will give our economy a much needed shot in the arm by opening markets to our companies, workers, and ...

(Remarks as Prepared)As I’ve said already tonight, I’m excited to be here.  The U.S.-South Korea trade agreement is the most commercially significant trade agreement the United States has signed since I’ve been in Congress.The delay in implementing this agreement has been felt across the country.  If our ...

(Remarks as Prepared)Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in strongly supporting passage of this legislation, which renews the Generalized System of Preferences program and also reauthorizes a smaller Trade Adjustment Assistance program.  This bill is a key piece of the bipartisan trade package before us today and is crucial to ...

I rise today in support of H.R. 2943, legislation to temporarily extend the authorization of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and related programs. Since it replaced the New Deal-era welfare program in 1996, TANF has been successful at cutting welfare dependence by 57 percent through the end of last year. Even more importantly, by promoting work among single ...

I rise today in support of H.R. 2883, the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act, a bill that continues a tradition of bipartisanship in crafting child welfare legislation. The bill we are considering today reauthorizes two important child welfare programs, incorporating a series of improvements developed during hearings held by the ...