Opening Statements

  • Boustany Statement: Joint Hearing on Food Banks and Charitable Giving
    Nov 19, 2009  - Chairman Lewis, thank you for yielding time.  I want to join with my colleagues in saying that as we approach the holiday season, we have grave concerns about how these difficult times are generating unprecedented need for life’s basic necessities: food, clothing, and shelter.  I also want to co... More
  • Linder Statement: Joint Hearing on Food Banks and Charitable Giving
    Nov 19, 2009  - Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing. Republicans are all for promoting charitable giving to help those in need.  Private charity is the most effective and compassionate form of aid.  We all welcome the chance to promote more people helping one another, and look forward to hearing prop... More
  • Johnson Statement - Hearing on Clearing the Disability Claims Backlog
    Nov 19, 2009  - Republicans and Democrats on this Committee have long worked together to make sure Social Security has the resources it needs to effectively administer their benefit programs.  During the last two fiscal years Social Security received funding at levels higher than the President’s request, along with... More
  • Brady Opening Statement: Hearing on the Operation, Impact, and Future of the U.S. Preference Programs
    Nov 17, 2009  - Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  International trade is a powerful engine for economic growth and job creation, as our experience here at home demonstrates.  One out of every five American jobs depends on trade, and as Ambassador Kirk notes, jobs supported by exports pay higher wages than other jobs.  For ... More
  • H.R. 3962 "Affordable Health Care for America Act"
    Nov 7, 2009  - Mr. Speaker, Republicans have listened to the American people; it is clear from the Speaker’s health care bill, the Democratic majority has not. The Speaker crafted this bill behind closed doors and added one-thousand pages that have never been before a committee or had any input from the Ameri... More
  • Floor Remarks: H.R. 4038 The Republican Alternative " Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act"
    Nov 7, 2009  - Madame Speaker, The American people deserve and demand a common sense approach to health care reform that: 1) Makes health care reform affordable, 2) Guarantees all Americans, regardless of a pre-existing condition, have access to affordable health care and 3) Does so without raising taxes, wi... More
  • Remarks Before the Rules Committee, H.R. 3962 and the Republican Alternative, "Common Sense Health Care Reforms and Affordability Act"
    Nov 6, 2009  - (Remarks as Prepared) Madame Chairman, The people have spoken: they do not want a trillion-dollar government plan to replace their health care.  Republicans have listened to the American people; it is clear from the Speaker’s health care bill, H.R. 3962, the Democratic majority has not. The bi... More
  • Opening Statement: Hearing on Foreign Bank Account Reporting and Tax Compliance
    Nov 5, 2009  - (Remarks as Prepared) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Earlier this year this Subcommittee met to examine issues surrounding banking secrecy and illegal tax evasion.  At that hearing, we all agreed that criminal tax evasion should be Aggressively pursued and punished.  I also said that I hoped our eff... More
  • Boustany Statement: Hearing on the Administration of the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
    Oct 22, 2009  - Mr. Chairman, thank you for yielding time.  I want to thank you for holding this hearing.  When the Ways and Means Committee and the tax code are used for purposes beyond raising the revenues necessary to fund the federal government – for instance, to pursue social and economic policy goals – the me... More
  • Linder Opening Statement: Hearing to Evaluate the Response of “Safety Net” Programs
    Oct 8, 2009  - Webster’s dictionary defines a safety net as “something that provides security against misfortune or difficulty.” That’s a broad definition, and safety nets come in many forms. Even in these enormously difficult times, 90 percent of Americans count their job as their real safety net, along with fami... More