Floor Speeches

Newly elected Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) was officially sworn into office Wednesday evening.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he would grill Army officials testifying before his Appropriation subcommittee next week on the growing problem of military sexual assaults.

“Reports of widespread sexual assaults in the armed services show a disgraceful culture of abuse that must be stopped,” Durbin said Wednesday. “Next week, the Army will be before my subcommittee and they will face tough questions about these accusations.”

Some members of the House, faced with several daunting issues including scandals in the IRS and Justice Department, are finding that the only way to explain how they feel is to quote famous musicians.

Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) started the trend Wednesday while speaking about the IRS and Justice scandals, both of which he said threaten free speech. The IRS has admitted to scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of conservative groups, and Justice has admitted to seizing the phone records of Associated Press reporters.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the IRS scandal is a result of a culture of “intimidation” and “hardball politics” within the Obama administration.

“This culture of intimidation and hardball politics, we cannot stand for this,” Rubio said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed that as more details come out on the IRS scandal, he intends to “find out the relevant details.”

Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) admitted that officials in Ohio had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, with higher scrutiny. Many groups were singled out for having the words "Tea Party" or "patriot" in their name.

House Republicans have "truly lost their minds," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) called on Congress Tuesday to immediately address the “astounding and totally unacceptable” problem of sexual assault in the military.

“I am here to discuss the sexual assault crisis that is facing our military and the need to act immediately,” Hagan said on the Senate floor. “The brave service members that put their lives on the line should not have to worry about their safety on U.S. bases. … No one should ever have to deal with those kinds of concerns especially when they are already putting their lives on the line for our country.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said House Republicans needed to “look in the mirror” on who is to blame for the “Benghazi scandal.”

“Start by looking in the mirror,” Boxer said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Admit that you cut too much from embassy security.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans are blocking the Senate and House from forming a conference committee on the budget for the “nakedly partisan reason” of creating another economic crisis.

“It’s obvious [Republicans] are delaying [the budget] for one nakedly partisan reason: they hope to put off a compromise long enough to create another manufactured crisis, as the nation once again approaches the debt limit,” Reid said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) returned to the Senate floor Monday to call on Congress to pass gun control reforms.

Murphy said that nearly 4,000 people have been killed in the United States by guns since Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman killed 20 first graders at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.