As a former Member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, I have long been concerned that the lack of attention to our intelligence budget is a serious weakness that could put our security at risk. For this reason, I strongly support the 9/11 Commission's recommendation to reorganize the intelligence committee structure and ensure adequate oversight of the billons of dollars going to our nation's intelligence agencies.

Unfortunately, I recently read that the incoming leadership was considering legislation that would not include this key 9/11 Commission recommendation. The Commission's report was not meant to be cherry-picked. The 9/11 Commission created a very important blueprint for government reorganization to keep our country safe from future terrorist attacks and it is incumbent upon the 110th Congress to pass legislation that fulfills our responsibility to protect the American people.

On Friday, the Republican Majority chose to poison an overwhelmingly positive bill - the Tax Relief & Health Care Act - with several terrible provisions. They expanded the amount of offshore drilling by oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico. Worse, Republicans opposed a sensible amendment to make the oil industry pay royalties for drilling in publicly-owned waters in the Gulf of Mexico that they are currently using for free.

I am opposed to these provisions. However, I could not in good conscience vote against the Tax Relief & Health Care Act, which extends needed tax credits for college students and teachers that expired at the end of 2005. It also prevents a scheduled 5% cut in Medicare payments to doctors that could have forced physicians to turn away Medicare patients. In addition, this bill supports ongoing research and development in the health care industry and other businesses, and invests in renewable energy and energy alternatives. If I voted against this bill, I would have also voted against Medicare patients, teachers, and college students also helped by the legislation.

Perhaps it is fitting that the Republican Leadership used their last day in power to remind the American people why Democrats are fighting for a new direction. With a new Democratic Majority in Congress, we will clean-up the legislative process to ensure that wrong-headed policies cannot be tacked onto vital legislation in the dead of night. We will also work for energy policies that are important to the American people, without regard to whether the oil companies like the measures.

An important report was released recently by the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. The report is titled, "The North Korean Refugee Crisis: Human Rights and the International Response," and it provides sound insight on the deplorable conditions faced by the North Korean people, and what the international community can do to address the situation. The full report can be found at http://www.hrnk.org/.

Those living in freedom throughout the world have a duty to stand up and fight for the basic human rights of those living under terrible oppression. Millions of North Koreans live under such oppression every single day, and this report provides a sobering account of the injustices they are forced to endure. It is a wake-up call to the international community and a must-read for anyone with an interest in doing something to improve the grim situation facing the entire North Korean population, particularly North Korean refugees.

Back in September I compared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler and called him a madman. Now that he’s convened this meeting denying the Holocaust, I don’t think any rational person could disagree with my previous assessment.

Today’s meeting – along with his previous statements that the Holocaust is a myth and that Israel should be wiped off the map – proves that he is indeed a Hitler-like madman.

Those who have recently urged the administration to engage directly with Iran over the issue of Iraq should pay close attention to the message coming from this meeting. And if direct talks are to occur with Iran, they should take place without its president. If we had isolated Hitler when we first saw the warning signs, the world may have never suffered his wrath.

Unless all Arab leaders make it clear that Israel has a right to exist, there will never be a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, and there will never be true peace in the Middle East.

We've made progress implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations, but we still have work to do.  One of the Commission's key recommendations was reorganizing Congress to ensure better oversight, which Carolyn Maloney and I would do in our bill, H.R. 5017.  It is my hope the new House leadership stays true to their campaign pledge to fully implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendations and does not put politics before the safety of our country and effectiveness of our government.  We have to take this recommendation head on.

In spite of tight school budgets and their own modest salaries, many of our nation’s teachers open their wallets to purchase school supplies to give their students the best education possible.  According to surveys by the National Education Association, teachers spend, on average, $443 per year on classroom supplies out of their own pockets.

I have spoken to many teachers in my home state of Maine who have described the books, rewards, supplies, and other materials they routinely purchase for their students.  A veteran elementary school teacher in Auburn told me of reaching deep into her pocket to buy materials, supplies, and other treats for her students. At the end of one year, she started to add up all of the receipts that she had saved and was startled to discover they exceeded $1,000.  She told me at that point she decided she’d better stop counting. Read more...

One of the final acts of the 109th Congress that will have a positive impact in the months and years ahead was House and Senate passage of legislation to expand the usefulness of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Included in the tax extenders package (the amended H.R. 6111) was a bill I coauthored with Rep. Eric Cantor (R.-Va.) to make HSAs more accessible and give workers and their employers the opportunity to make the most of this relatively new health savings vehicle.

By putting more power in consumers' hands and providing them with a tool to save money tax-free to cover health care expenses, HSAs can help control medical costs while putting health insurance within reach for many small businesses and self-employed individuals.

To maximize their potential, HSAs must be paired with greater transparency. In other words, patients should have quality and price data at their fingertips when they select health care providers and make health care decisions. Looking ahead to the 110th Congress, this is a goal we should all be able to embrace.

In 1977, when the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was passed, a tax was levied against every ton of coal produced to help clean up coal mines that were abandoned before reclamation laws existed. Half of that tax was promised to states, and the other half went to the federal government to run the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program and direct more money to the states with the largest reclamation needs, primarily eastern states.

Unfortunately, money that was promised to our state was not sent back to Wyoming, and money that was supposed to do reclamation was not sent to states with reclamation needs. Instead of on-the-ground projects, the money was kept by the federal government and spent on unrelated federal programs and used to make budget numbers look better. Read more...

This bill expands on the important strides made in pipeline safety since 2002 by providing for greater oversight, research, cooperation and accountability. The measure also requires top executives at pipeline companies to certify the information they provide to regulators is accurate, and that new safety standards are applied to low-stress pipelines. This legislation will ensure America’s pipelines continue to provide our nation with needed energy resources in a safe manner and that activities on Alaska’s North Slope will once again become the gold standard for pipeline operations worldwide.