It is reassuring to know that North Korea has taken this critical step to share information regarding its nuclear program with the rest of the world. This signals an important step toward peace and cooperation and paves the way for taking North Korea off the state sponsor of terror list. This move will serve to benefit the North Korean people who remain isolated, impoverished and toil under unacceptable living conditions. In the past North Korea has backslid on disarmament commitments but I am hopeful that this disclosure can be the impetus for North Korea to take the vital remaining steps it needs to reintegrate itself into the world community.
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Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) talk about the GOP Fiscal Integrity Task Force also known as the FIT Force and their goal to create a lean government.

Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality held a hearing on Climate Change.  The focus of the hearing was to assess the costs of failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, monetized global costs of inaction, U.S. national security ramifications of climate change effects on other countries, and effects on U.S. land and water resources, agriculture and biodiversity.

As a Louisianian, I am concerned about global climate change, especially the impact that rising sea levels and more severe hurricanes are having on our coastal communities.  Our nation can partly address these dangerous trends through increased energy efficiencies and a greater commitment to renewable fuels. However, we must also minimize the impact on consumers who already pay too much to fill up their cars and heat their homes.

We need a balanced approach toward fighting global climate change and increasing the United States’ energy security.  We need to continue our support of legislation that will take America in the direction of greater energy independence and efficiency, and ultimately lower energy costs.

While the federal reporters shield law languishes in the U.S. Senate, 42 state state attorneys general have signed an unprecedented letter in support of the federal legislation, which gives reporters to the right to protect confidential sources in federal proceedings.

Led by Attorneys General Douglas Gansler (D-Maryland) and Rob McKenna (R-Washington), the bi-partisan coalition of 41 attorneys general urged Senate leadership to quickly pass the measure in a letter that they will deliver July 8th when the Senate returns from its Summer recess. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote separately to endorse the bill.

“Reporter shield laws, which have been adopted through either legislation or judicial decision by every state but one, must now be viewed as a policy experiment that has been thoroughly validated through successful implementation at the state level,” the coalition letter says. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, 42 Senate Republicans came together to introduce common-sense legislation to address skyrocketing gas prices and bring real relief to the American people. The “Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008” contains provisions addressing deep sea exploration, western state oil shale exploration, plug-in electric cars and trucks, and strengthening U.S. futures markets.

Though a recent Rasmussen Poll showed that 67% of Americans support offshore drilling, while only 18% oppose, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been adamant in opposition, seeking to maintain the ‘status-quo’ and burden Americans with gas prices averaging over $4 a gallon nationwide. The Department of the Interior estimates that the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) contains 19 billion barrels of undiscovered recoverable oil, roughly equal to the amount that would be attained from 35 years of imports from Saudi Arabia (according to data from the Energy Information Administration).  Unfortunately, Democrats continue to block development of this vital resource.

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Today, I joined with several of my Republican colleagues to introduce the “Title VII Fairness Act,” a bill that would promote fair pay and combat workplace discrimination by extending the time limit workers have to file suit for employment discrimination in cases where they cannot reasonably be expected to know they have been discriminated against.

The “Title VII Fairness Act,” which I cosponsored with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), is a reasonable alternative to the unreasonable overreach of the so-called “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act,” which the Senate rejected in April.

We want to provide additional protections under the law for employees who could not know they are being discriminated against.  Recognizing that employees often do not know what other employees are earning, our bill ensures that the statute of limitations does not begin until an employee has sufficient information to warrant suspicion of pay discrimination.

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Working women spend more time at work than ever, they talk more to their coworkers than their family members and they have no free time. Yet a raise is the most desired change in their work lives, according to the sixth Working America Ask a Working Woman survey, overtaking health care, which was the top issue in the 2006 survey.

Working women want to spend more time with their families, but they can’t afford to. Working women say they want more cash in their wallets, even more than other benefits, like health care. Unemployment is up, the credit crunch is squeezing people and gas prices are hitting record highs. America’s working women need a raise and a break.

A 10 percent raise topped affordable, high-quality health care or childcare as making working women’s lives easier, according to half of the 2008 Ask A Working Woman survey respondents. Given the economy, if working women had more available time, they are most likely to say they would work another job, ahead of spending more time with friends and family, exercise, taking a class and getting more sleep. Read the rest of this entry »

Recent findings on trends of state test scores released this week by the Center for Education Policy suggests that our work in Congress is helping our nation’s youth to become more academically proficient, and therefore, more economically competitive in the globalizing world. The study notes that 21 states made moderate-to-large gains in math and 17 states had moderate-to-large gains in reading.

However, while an increase test scores represents a major achievement, much more needs to be done. To succeed the global knowledge economy, it is imperative that we make greater investments into science and engineering education in the United States. Today, 93 percent of students in grades 5-9 were taught physical science by a teacher lacking a major or certification in that field. This is why, as a Member of the House Education and Labor Committee and the STEM Caucus, I have supported initiatives to increase funding for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and scientific research. Read the rest of this entry »

The President’s announcement regarding North Korea’s nuclear declaration is in my opinion premature. While the declaration is a step in the right direction, the decision to immediately remove sanctions against North Korea is a step backwards. North Korea has a long history of not honoring agreements it made in good faith. Waiving sanctions prior to a factual review of North Korea’s declaration sends the wrong message to our friends involved in the Six Party Talks, and it reduces America’s leverage in the negotiations.

Although I am disappointed in today’s decision to strike down the Washington D.C. gun ban, I am heartened by the Court’s acknowledgement of the right of legislative bodies to create sensible gun laws.  This ruling now paves the way for Congress to move forward on passing the kind of laws that will protect our communities.

Today’s Supreme Court decision is the first major ruling on gun ownership by the Supreme Court since 1939. The Court has set an important precedent with its ruling today that will no doubt allow for the creation of future laws intended to stem gun violence. I signed a brief in support of the law and I know how much communities throughout the country are struggling to reduce gun violence.

In the District of Columbia v. Heller, the court examined whether Washington D.C.’s 1976 ban on handgun possession at home, and requirement that all guns—including rifles and shotguns—be kept disassembled, was constitutional. Read the rest of this entry »