There are hundreds or thousands of folks from your states involved as well. What i want to do is talk briefly about the threat which is a very real threat. I take it seriously and i know all who are here will take it seriously as well, and that threat is why i support the basic pillars of the president s fourpoint Initiative Announced two wednesdays ago. Im going to talk about that, the president s four points briefly. But whatever want to dig into with, i hope you will see my passion coming through my wonkiness because im going to dig into this in a significant way, is a series of six reasons why i think it is absolutely critical legally, or president reasons, for the reputation of our institution, and especially for the servicemen and women we are asking to risk their lives, i think it is critical that congress complete the authorization that it began last week when a boat on the army of moderate elements in syria. It is critical that congress do this. If were going to engage this mi
Let us pray. We thank you, loving god. Is attention of our nation drawn to a raging tragedy. Were torn by aversion of the military years of engagement while compelling narratives unfold in so many in our world. S send your spirit on the people of this peoples house that they judiciously balance seeminglier reconcilable differences. Them to excute their consciousness and judgments with so ity and purity of heart that all might stand before you honestly and trust that you can bring fruits from their labors. N this anniversary of the 9 11 tragedy, may you heal the lives of all immediately impacted by events of that day. And as we as a nation continue toward Greater Peace and security to our world. Day us this day and every and may all that is done. Be for your greater honor and glory. Amen. The chair examined the last days proceedings. One, rule o clause one, stands approved. Join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of to the republic for
In the election. A few weeks ago we had the privilege of bestowing the. Ongressional gold medal it was so remarkable because it becauseverdue, but also of the very same time we were appealing to our colleagues to pass a bipartisan Voting Rights act to correct the shelby decision. That has still not happened but we must make it happen. In order to make it happen, we all must vote. As i said, it is a privilege to be here. To accept the invitation of the Congressional Black Caucus foundation. Another privilege i had more than year ago was standing on the steps with the congressional members of cbc on the steps of the Supreme Court. They were there calling upon the court to make the right decision. That very day we were meeting in the house of representatives to dedicate the statue of rosa parks. Are strange, dedicating a statute to rosa parks, people turn out in a bipartisan way to salute her, and yet we have to appeal to the court to do the right thing. When they dont, they sing the prai
History for practices related to the financial crisis, recovering 85 billion much of it returned to ordinary americans who were badly hurt. Hes worked passionately to make sure our criminal Justice System remains the best in the world. He knows that too many outdated policies, no matter how wellintentioned, perpetuate a destructive cycle in too many communities. So eric addressed unfair sentencing disparities, reworked mandatory minimums, and promoted alternatives to incarceration. And thanks to his efforts, since i took office, the overall crime rate and the overall incarceration rate have gone down by about 10 . Thats the first time that theyve declined together, at the same time, in more than 40 years. Erics proudest achievement, though, might be reinvigorating and restoring the core mission to what he calls the conscience of the building and thats the civil rights division. He has been relentless against attacks on the Voting Rights act because no citizen, including our service mem
One of the issues that does concern me is our national defense. I have washed us around the world i challenge some people. Is there any country in the world that we have a stronger relationship with today than we had six years ago . I said that, too. But i was corrected. Somebody said iran. Somebody else said to cuba. Its about that. A while back i was in egypt and they told me 98 of the threats that all the relation together with egypt have been suffered by the Foreign Policy of this president. There are good people that we can work with. There are moderate muslims. General sisi made the strongest statement from the muslim world ive ever heard and hes a man we can work with and we need to do so and thats a piece of what we need to do to put america back into safety and security. I will challenge the folks that speaker today and those that aspire to the oval office, lay out a plan force. Lay out the plan to defeat radical islamic jihad. [applause] lay out their plans so it isnt some ki