The list of non-democratic regimes that have seen significant reforms since 2001 is long and significant.

While Kuwait is not a democracy, giving only half the population a voice in their government is not a policy this Congress should support and one that I am glad that Kuwait's leaders are changing.

The newer homes did not sustain as much damage because they were built to better safety codes; they were better designed, higher wind loads for the roof. All of those facets made those homes sustain the storm a whole lot better.

In fact, Social Security is the only source of income nationwide for 29 percent of unmarried elderly women.

Since President Bush took office in 2001, this Congress has supported an agenda of democracy, freedom and expansion of rights for all peoples throughout the world.

On the other end of the spectrum, these women who do live long enough to collect Social Security face the challenge of being disproportionately dependent on the Social Security system for retirement income.

The women who pass away before they receive Social Security, for them this is nothing but a tax from which they or their family will never receive a benefit.

If a woman did not work and have the opportunity to save and invest on her own throughout her lifetime, she is often totally reliant on her family and Social Security for her retirement years.

Part of the redesign of FEMA is that they have so many people on standby, whether it is a retired nurse or a doctor who will take time off to go exactly where they are needed.

While women certainly have made great strides toward pay parity in the past 30 years, there is still a gap in earnings between men and women in equivalent professions.

No longer should women be denied the right to vote, no longer should women be treated as second class citizens, no longer should women not be allowed to be a citizen at all.

The list of non-democratic regimes that have seen significant reforms since 2001 is long and significant.

We all know that, unfortunately, the media does not always portray the good things that are happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, and this will be a great opportunity for us to glean some information from the Iraqi women who are here for us to also take back to our constituents.

The United Nations is a mess, riddled with scandals. In fact, the U.N. itself is a scandal.

While all of these are important and significant events, it is the United States' foreign policy that furthers the advancement of freedoms and rights for women that is the most striking for me.

Allowing Texas to display the Ten Commandments on State property but disallowing Kentucky courthouses from doing the same is a poor and flawed interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

Social Security is a plan that actually was designed in a much different time, in a different era, and with a different set of American demographics in mind.

The United Nations has come under the control of outlaw nations and self-serving special interest groups.

First, women are more likely to live in poverty during their retirement years than are men.

Under the current pay-as-you-go Social Security system, not one person is actually guaranteed benefits.

I have the highest number of Social Security recipients of any Member of Congress, and it is always good to hear about how women in their districts are affected by any changes, by the need for changes in Social Security.

As is the case with many Middle Eastern nations, women are nowhere near equal to men when it comes to basic freedoms and rights that we take for granted every day.

No issue is more important to this Congress than securing our borders and protecting our homeland, and I guarantee it is very important to our constituents.

When given the chance, women have proven they will participate in the electoral process.

American government was founded on a belief and a faith in God and in doing what is right and just.

The United Nations' greatest fear is that average Americans will no longer tolerate these international scandals and demand that America withdraw from the international organization.

Through the harsh design of fate, Florida was dealt the unfortunate circumstances of bearing the brunt of not one but two hurricanes, and it appears more dark clouds are poised to visit the Sunshine State.

For centuries, the world has heard the oppressed, the downtrodden and the vulnerable cry out for their freedoms, for their rights and for a chance to emerge from the shadows of the tyranny and bloodshed that they had lived with.

Let us face it, the U.N. has failed. It has failed in its mission to promote world peace.

The world today is changing rapidly, and we are helping to make it better for our children's future.

I have noticed a marked improvement in FEMA and with the coordination of FEMA and the State agencies.

A healthy body is a guest chamber for the soul a sick body is a prison.

I have been training since 8th grade, but it has to do with listening, more than practice.

Five days after the Tsarnaev brothers blew up Boston's most sacred event, and just 24 hours after one brother was killed and the other was caught, everyone decided that it was OK to play baseball at Fenway again. The game happened on a Saturday afternoon, preceded by an emotional ceremony and many prayers.

I've stopped racing to get to the red light.

Your enthusiasm will be infectious stimulating and attractive to others. They will love you for it. They will go for you and with you.

Turning a breakup into a break-over We want women to know that as bad as it can be, it can also be an opportunity to reinvent yourself.

Writing is, by its nature, interior work. So being forced to be around people is a great gift for a novelist. You get to be reminded, daily, of how people think, how they speak, how they live; the things they worry about, the things they hope for, the things they fear.

I have to say I wasn't a huge fan of 'Star Wars', and I'm still not, really, but you have to acknowledge that there's a huge fan base for it, and these people are really sweet. You can't stereotype a 'Star Wars' fan.

Enrollment in colleges, especially black colleges, across the country increased tremendously during the five-year run of 'A Different World,' and I don't think you could have a better legacy than that.

Sometimes you have to keep things very close to your own chest in your life, or this life.

I set myself challenges every time I work. Ideally, I approach everything as though it's the first time - with a beginner's mind and an amateur's love.

My grandmother and I saw an average of eight movies a week, double features, second run.

Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity.

Drafting a constitution is only the first step. The constitution has to be granted legitimacy by open discussion and a fair, representative referendum.

Leisure and curiosity might soon make great advances in useful knowledge, were they not diverted by minute emulation and laborious trifles.

Number two, we're going to play with a lot of effort. Our guys are going to be in such good shape that fatigue is not going to be a problem. We're going to play with full effort from snap to whistle on every play the entire game.

I still insist that American performers are the best performers in the world.

I was born too late and missed the dream of empire. Its shadow, the Commonwealth, coincides with my life but rarely connected with it.