Lawmaker News

Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, issued the following statement in response to news that President Obama intends to nominate Leon Panetta to be Secretary of Defense and Gen. David Petraeus to be Director of the CIA:
 
I strongly support the President's planned nominations. Director Panetta has done an outstanding job at the CIA, and General Petraeus has distinguished himself as one of the great American military leaders. Both men currently play integral roles in our Nation's war against al Qaeda and its affiliates and will be instrumental as we continue to combat the terrorist threat.
 
Director Panetta has had important success in stabilizing the CIA workforce and played a critical role in indentifying and disrupting terrorist plots against the United States.
 
General Petraeus is a patriot who has served honorably and admirably whenever and wherever the President has asked.
 
King is the only Member of Congress to currently serve on both the Committee on Homeland Security and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

On April 11th I chose to commit an act of civil disobedience that led to my first ever arrest. That’s something I take very seriously. I was spurred to action by the bargain made by the President of the United States and the Speaker of the House to limit the rights of women in DC, rights enjoyed by American citizens everywhere except in our nation’s capital. But most important, this deal violated our city's citizens fundamental right to elect the government that makes our laws.

Whether one is passionately for or against a woman's right to an abortion, the right to elect your own government to determine how your tax dollars are spent should not be in dispute. When the founding fathers crafted the US Constitution, they established the District of Columbia for the purpose of protecting the federal government.

Well, I apologize for speaking out of turn, but I have one more stop to go that makes it necessary for me to do so, and I would not have missed this for the world. So I am delighted to have had the opportunity to hear everyone else, and I regret that I won’t hear the remaining speakers.

But I want to start by thanking Gary Smith for the work you’ve done to realize the vision that the Academy represents and what Richard certainly hoped for. Gahl, thank you, for the instrumental role you played.

The state motto of New Hampshire is one of the best known in the nation. “Live Free or Die” is revered as a statement both for the ideal it expresses and for its economy of language. It is brief and brilliant. 

In New Hampshire, we understand the power of language. Our state’s history is steeped in the great debates and oratory of our nation’s founding. 

We have not done that history justice, as of late. 

The word “consigliere,” apart from its obvious mafia connotation made famous in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, is often used to refer to someone who is an “ultimate insider.” It describes a person who is a power broker, a mouthpiece, a best friend, crony, business liaison or aide-de-camp. 

It’s not surprising that the word has also been used to describe one of President Obama’s most trusted advisers, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. But after an unfortunate incident earlier this year, some journalists showed a more humorous side of her dealings in Washington.

Later this week the House Financial Services Committee will examine how well federal regulators are coordinating with one another in implementing the hundreds of rules mandated by the Dodd- Frank Act. 

This is an important hearing where lawmakers should not hold back in getting detailed responses from regulators on how each are writing regulations that are parallel in construction and sequenced properly.

Lawmakers must also question the Treasury Department on how the newly created Financial Stability Oversight Council is ensuring each of the independent regulatory agencies are working together toward the same end.

House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) remarks at the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon marking St. Patrick’s Day. 

Thank you all for being here today. There’s luck in sharing, according to an old Irish proverb. Today, we thank our guests not only for sharing their national holiday with us. We also celebrate our shared values and ideals. We rededicate ourselves to shared priorities of peace, freedom, and prosperity.

Hospitality has always been a trademark of the friendship between our peoples. Over the centuries, millions of Irish have come to America seeking a fresh start, and millions of Americans have gone to Ireland in search of a better pint.

Thank you, Andy. Rector, thank you. It’s an honor to be here at Moscow State University. And I want to thank the AmCham chamber for sponsoring this.

To the students that are here, I apologize. In America, we have a rule. You don’t have to wait any longer than 20 minutes for a full professor. And for someone who is not a full professor, you need only wait 10 minutes. (Laughter. I’m honored you waited at all. I do apologize to the business community, as well as the students, for keeping you waiting.

I want to publicly as well thank President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin for their hospitality. We have very good meetings, very long meetings, and I hope, productive.

I've known Peter King longer than I know any other politician in America.

We have dined out together, traveled to Ireland together and been friends for close to a quarter century.

I knew him first as the firebrand comptroller of Nassau County, Long Island, utterly unafraid to speak out on behalf of the Republican movement in Northern Ireland at a time when they were about as popular as Genghis Khan.

It took bravery to do that, and Pete was certainly brave. 

Yesterday, I participated in a House Budget Committee hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the state of our nation’s economy.

After I left the hearing, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) referenced my opening statement and twisted my words into something I did not say or imply. Later I watched Mr. Akin’s misstatement prominently displayed on his Congressional website.

“The comment was made earlier, which I thought was an amazing quotation from Ms. McCollum, the budget deficit is not a spending problem,” said Mr. Akin. He continued, “I found that amazing, because it seems like to me it sure is a big spending problem. So we’re just on different planets, I suppose.”