Press Release

“Today’s report is a clear sign that Congress must do more to help our manufacturing sector compete.

“I was deeply saddened to learn of Sen. Lautenberg’s passing this morning.  He was both a true statesman and a pragmatist who became the longest-serving senator in New Jersey’s history and had a record of reaching across the aisle to achieve results for the people of his state.

This year, as we mark LGBT Pride Month in June, there is much to be proud of when it comes to the march for equality for all Americans. 

“I am glad that President Obama highlighted the issue of student loan interest rates today, which Congress must address before the deadline of July 1. 

Each year on Memorial Day, we remember the courageous individuals who gave all they had to protect our nation and the values that sustain our democracy.  In every generation, Americans have been called to take up arms in defense of the rights and freedoms we hold dear – not only for ourselves but for others who yearn for peace, justice, and liberty around the world.

“[N]otwithstanding the fact that Republicans have been talking about regular order for years and years and years, notwithstanding the fact that they demanded that the Senate pass a budget, which of course the Senate has done… they have refused in both the Senate and the House to go to conference.

Today, House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA) introduced the "Half-in-Ten" Act of 2013 that would establish the Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty, which will develop and implement a national strategy to reduce poverty by half in ten years, as well as provide regular reports on their progress to Congress.

“While I believe that the House must take action to keep student loan interest rates low before the July 1 deadline, this Republican bill is the wrong approach.