Press Releases

'While Republicans continue to ignore jobs and push their 'So Be It' agenda to take away patients' rights, a third judge has ruled that the law protecting those rights is Constitutional. In addition, numerous other courts have already dismissed challenges to the law."

“The Republican spending bill destroys jobs and their reaction is ‘so be it.' Democrats have a different message: ‘show us the jobs.' Congressional Republicans have spent the last six weeks ignoring jobs and refusing to offer a plan to grow our economy. Today, they have made matters worse - passing a spending bill that destroys jobs, weakens the middle class, hurts schools and young adults, eliminates assistance to homeless veterans, and diminishes critical investments in our future."

“In light of the hundreds of amendments to the Continuing Resolution, the President's Day week-long recess and the need for the House to establish priorities and reconcile this legislation with the Senate by March 4, we are proposing a short-term extension of the current CR until March 31. This legislation will allow Congress to complete work on FY 2011 appropriations without punishing the American people by denying them vital services."

"Good afternoon. As we gather here this afternoon, we are in the sixth week of the new Republican Majority, and we have yet to see Congressional Republicans address the country's number one priority. They have not put forth one job, still to create one job. And Democrats and the American people have been repeating a simple refrain: “Show us the jobs.” Now the GOP is not just ignoring jobs, they are cutting them."

“Good afternoon. It is my honor to be here with my colleagues, Congresswoman Betty Sutton, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Congressman Henry Cuellar, as we welcome some very special guests--Bret Brown, firefighter from Lorain, Ohio, who returned to duty thanks to SAFER grants extended by Democrats in the last Congress; Pete Perez, firefighter from Camden, New Jersey--I told him his Congressman Rob Andrews is speaking on the floor right now or he would be with us--and one of 60 firefighters recently laid off from the Camden Fire Department, 60 firefighters; Henry Cuellar of Texas I mentioned; Marshall Thielen, an active duty police officer from Fairfax County, and all of the brave police officers and firefighters from Camden, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. I know that Congressman Pascrell is particularly excited about such a representation from his great state of New Jersey."

“With the Republican cuts, nothing is sacred - not even the safety of the American people. Throwing police and firefighters off the job isn't going to solve the deficit. That's why House Democrats took action today to restore funding that will keep police on the beat and hire and equip our nation's firefighters. But the irresponsible Republican spending bill would still destroy 800,000 private and public-sector jobs and fails to invest in the future.

“Today, the President bestowed the Medal of Freedom - our nation's highest civilian honor - on men and women who have helped shape our history and our culture. These individuals hail from different backgrounds; their fields range from public service to civil rights, from the arts to athletics, from environmental activism to labor and business. Yet they share a common commitment to bold leadership, principled action, and the common good."

“Our federal budget must be a statement of our values as a nation, reflecting the best interests of the American people, and making the tough choices necessary to keep our country strong, our communities secure, and our economy growing."