America has a problem with guns – there are too many shootings, too few common sense restrictions, and too little inclination to ask where these guns come from, who is able to get them, and why we need all these weapons.

This week and last week, we were all reminded of this again.  We need to have a serious national conversation about this, and commit ourselves to making progress.  For the past five years, we’ve been going backward, not forward.

It’s hard to know what might have prevented the recent school shootings, but making it harder to buy high-powered weapons and ammunition certainly would help.  Let’s require background checks on every gun purchase, stop bulk sales of handguns and make it easier to close down bad gun dealers. Read more...

For more than two centuries, most members of the United States Congress have served the American people in a true and faithful manner. Unfortunately, the 109th Congress has been marred by the ethical and legal scandals of Republican Congressmen Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Mark Foley, and today, by the guilty plea of Bob Ney. Their actions do a disservice not only to the constituents that elected them, but to Congress itself. These acts of impropriety shake the confidence that Americans have in their legislative body and illustrate the extent of the Republican culture of corruption and arrogance of power that is pervasive throughout the House. Special-interest influence, secret legislating, lobbyist gifts, and revolving doors have compromised the integrity of Congress and the legislative process.

Ending this Republican culture of corruption that has favored the special interests over the interests of the American people is a top priority of House Democrats. It is long past time to drain the swamp of corruption. Democrats' New Direction for America, based on the principles of honest leadership, bipartisanship, and fiscal discipline, will address the urgent concerns of the American people while restoring civility and integrity to the U.S. Congress. Through bipartisan administration of the House, Democrats will work to re-establish regular order for legislation, and secure the rights of the minority - regardless of which party is in the minority.

With our Honest Leadership, Open Government proposal, Democrats will end the unfair special interest influence, reform the legislative process, and ban gifts and travel from lobbyists. We will return the People's House to the marketplace of ideas that works for all Americans, not just the privileged few.

Today, President Bush has signed into law the Security and Accountability for Every Port (SAFE Port) Act Conference Report. Included in the bill was language to extend the prohibition on gambling using wire communication facilities to include Internet technologies, effectively curbing Internet gambling in the U.S.

The bill includes provisions guaranteeing that states - like Utah - which have banned all forms of gambling within their borders will not have their laws trumped by federal legislation. Previous incarnations of the bill did not offer this protection.

By signing this bill into law, President Bush helped secure our ports and struck a decisive blow to Internet gambling. Gambling is a vice, and Internet gambling is especially insidious. Internet gambling sites lack the necessary tools to protect children, and can cross state borders with the click of a mouse.

The brazen nuclear test performed by North Korea last weekend highlighted our country’s need for a national missile defense system. Democrat leadership in Congress continues to strike at funding for this important program, but North Korea claims to have tested a nuclear device and continues efforts to develop missiles to strike the United States or our allies. Their recent threatening statements are disturbing and Congressional Democrats should repudiate their opposition to a national missile defense system immediately.

It is absurd that Democrat leaders spent the weekend accusing the Bush Administration of failing to respond to the North Korean threat when Congressional Democrats have on consistently voted against this President’s missile defense program – a program that is designed almost specifically for this type of threat. Read more...

I commend President Bush for signing the SAFE Port Act into law because it is another concrete step in protecting and securing our borders.  This GOP Congress is not just talking tough about securing our borders -- we've taken real action.  Whether it's providing the necessary funding for 700 miles of fencing, blockades and more Border Patrol agents to stem the tide of illegal immigration or better screening of the millions of containers that enter our ports every year, we are committed to ensuring our nation's security.  The SAFE Port Act is part of that commitment.

In a sharp rebuke to Democrat naysayers who predicted otherwise, the federal deficit for fiscal year 2006 has been cut in half ­ a milestone originally set by President Bush for 2009 and ridiculed as unrealistic by Democrat leaders from Minority Leader Pelosi (D-CA) to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). This week's announcement that our plan is three years ahead of schedule is a strong vindication of Republican, pro-growth economic policies, especially given the costs of 9/11, the War on Terror, and recent hurricanes like Katrina.

Republican tax relief has stimulated strong economic growth ­ creating nearly 6.6 million new jobs in the past three years, raising worker paychecks, and fostering 37 consecutive months of job growth and record low unemployment ­ all of which have flooded the federal treasury with greater-than-expected tax revenues. In fact, spending as a part of the total federal budget is now significantly less than it was in 1994, when Bill Clinton and the Democrats held both Houses of Congress ­ 9% today versus 14% in 1994. Read more...

In recent weeks, Americans have witnessed more school shootings-in Colorado, Wisconsin, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Every time these tragedies make headlines, there is a call for action. While there are many steps that we can take, there is already a federal law and funding available to help keep our local schools and our schoolchildren safe. In 2000, along with my friend Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL), I authored Secure Our Schools - a federal matching grant program for the purchase of school security equipment and for the security training of local school personnel.

Secure Our Schools grants help towns cover the cost of school safety measures, such as metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other crime prevention tools. They also fund security assessments, training for students, teachers, and administrators, coordination with local law enforcement, and other actions that significantly improve school safety.

Unfortunately, while Congress approved $30 million to be spent on Secure Our Schools grants in 2005 and 2006, the Republican Majority - following the lead of the President - slashed that amount by half to $15 million. Now, Republicans seem prepared to further cut funding for next year's grants to $14.8 million. This declining funding level is unacceptable. Read more...

Wednesday's announcement by the U.S. Department of Treasury that the deficit has dropped to $248 billion is further evidence that Congress' actions, providing significant tax relief and promoting economic growth, have been working.

Since I joined my colleagues in passing a robust tax relief package in 2003, taxpayers have been able to keep more of their hard-earned dollars and have been able to reinvest that money in their businesses, their family budgets, and the market-leading to a booming economy and an environment that encourages ingenuity.  The fact that the deficit has been cut in half since 2004 means an even better future for American families.

And while the deficit is decreasing, economic growth is continuing with more than 6.6 million new jobs in three years; an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent, which is also below the average of each of the past four decades; and economic growth at a rate of 4.1 percent annually, which is faster than any other industrialized country.  Additionally, gas prices have dropped nearly 75 cents nationwide since early August and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on four days over the past two weeks, breaking records on three of those days.  These are results that speak themselves.

North Korea’s test of a nuclear bomb on October 9th brings into sharp focus a pervasive international diplomatic and security crisis that is over two decades in the making.

It’s been known for some time that North Korea has been on a crash course to produce nuclear weapons. The United States military has long had contingency plans in case of a nuclear attack by North Korea against our allies in the area, including South Korea and Japan. But this situation has become urgent of late and requires our nation to simultaneously adhere to the current policy of seeking diplomatic solutions while reaffirming our commitment to uphold deterrent and security commitments.

Clearly, the North Korean government isn’t shy about threatening and downright outrageous public posturing. The day after the test, North Korea threatened military attack against our allies in the region—even the launch of nuclear-tipped missiles against the United States if the international community followed through with action. We must never allow threats, posturing and aggression by oppressive dictators to cow us into retreating from defending our allies and homeland. Read more...