Mr. PASCRELL. First thing we have to get straight here is that the past administration masked the costs of our one-sided tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, unpaid for; masked the costs of two wars, never in the base budget; masked the costs of taking care of our returning brave soldiers. You have been the masters of masks. And now you're advising Democrats? Case closed. Mr. Speaker, today we have the opp... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. I want to thank Chairman BART GORDON; Subcommittee Chairman DAVE WU; Mr. Mitchell; Chairman Thompson; and my friend who is not here today on the other side, PETER KING. They all deserve recognition as partners in this quest to get people's attention on the most neglected side of the public safety equation, our firefighters. This legislation, we think, is unique. We had a difficult t... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, no one believes the loyal opposition that Democrats don't care about seniors. Need I provide a history lesson 101 here? Today is when we must ask ourselves the real reason we came to Congress. Was it to fulfill the hopes of the people, or to take the path of least resistance? The easy thing would be to say the problem is too big, the interests are too aligned, and then ... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you about a friend of mine, Kelly Conklin, who owns a small business in New Jersey, since that is what we have been hearing from many of my friends on the other side. It is a small woodworking business. Each year, Kelly has to determine the best set of benefits at the best price based on his employees and their needs. Unfortunately, the options dictated t... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, last week we saw that 5.8 million Americans were collecting unemployment benefits at the end of October. I want to remind my friends on both sides of the aisle that in the first quarter of this year, we saw a loss of 691,000. The stimulus went into effect--partially, anyway--after we passed it in February with no votes from the other side, and in the third qu... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support as an original cosponsor of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009. We must take extraordinary measures to defend America. This is common sense. I want to thank the chairman of Homeland Security for all of his work on the bill, as well as commending Chairman Oberstar and Chairman Waxman for coming together with one voice on this criti... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, after months of fire and fury and endless rhetoric, after months of staged protests and shouting down honest debate about health reform, after months and months of promising a real plan for the reform we all agreed we need, I stand before this Congress literally astounded by the health reform plan offered by the loyal opposition. After all this time, this is the best yo... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you, Mr. Gordon. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of this bipartisan H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Roadmap. I want to thank Chairman Gordon and Congresswoman Giffords for their tireless work in shepherding this legislation to the floor. In the 111th Congress, the House of Representatives has taken many important steps towards weaning our country off foreign oil a... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Mr. Waxman and Mr. Barton, Mr. Deal and Mr. Pallone, our Chair of the Subcommittee. This is tough work. I rise to express my deep support for the reauthorization of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program; a debt of thanks to Chairman Pallone for your outstanding work in New Jersey. For nearly two decades now, the Ryan White program has made it possible f... Read more »

Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you, my friend, Mr. Blumenauer. I stand before you to discuss H.R. 3590, the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009. I want to congratulate Mr. Rangel, Mr. Camp, Mr. Blumenauer. This body stands tallest when we work together for our servicemembers. It really reflects the dignity of this body. And I say this emphatically, that Mr. Rangel and Mr. Camp are always there... Read more »