Keith Ellison

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Well, Mr. Chairman, I mean, Josh Bolten, Karl Rove and Harriet Miers were served with subpoenas to appear in front of the Judiciary Committee within the context of the law. We followed the rules when we authorized those subpoenas to be served upon them, and the White House told them not to come. Now, there may one day be a Republican administration, a Republican House, I mean, we're Democrats now, but one day things may change. Do we really want to set up a situation, no matter who's in charge, where an individual can simply scofflaw or skip over or just ignore a subpoena of the Judiciary Committee? I think it sets a horrible precedent, no matter who is in charge of our government. And so I think you're right. This is a forward-looking process. This is not about settling scores. This is about setting the record straight. I think it's important that the American people really know what happened. I mean, extraordinary rendition. I was in a committee hearing one day when a man named Maher Arar, who is a Canadian of Syrian ancestry, was explaining how he had come from Europe through New York and was on his way to Canada when he was scooped up by representatives of our government and then held incommunicado, sent to Syria, and was tortured and was eventually released. The Canadian Government did a full investigation of the whole matter and came to the conclusion that they grabbed the wrong guy. Oops. Well, the fact is the Canadian Government gave him a monetary award, but he could not come to the committee hearing and explain to us what actually happened to him. He had to appear by teleconference. Why? Because even our State Department, after they had demonstrably said they made a mistake about who they had picked up, still refused to take him off of the watch list. My point is, these kind of things need a full hearing; these kind of things need a full airing. The rest of the world needs to know this is not how America does business. It was something that happened. We're not happy about it, but it happened. We've been joined, Chairman Grijalva, by one of our most outstanding public servants from the great State of Texas. Sheila Jackson-Lee has been putting it down for a long time. How are you, Congresswoman?

Mr. ELLISON. You know what? Chairman Grijalva, I'm holding in my hand a pretty thick piece of paper right here. This is 500 pages all documenting allegations regarding abuses of power by the Bush administration. This thing is not designed, as you said, to try to settle old scores but to get to the truth of the matter of what really happened. I mean, don't the American people deserve to know what Karl Rove would have said if he would have honored the subpoena that was lawfully served on him? Don't the American people deserve to know what Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten would have said when the Judiciary Committee had a subpoena duly served on them, where they were summoned to give testimony before the Judiciary Committee and they simply refused to show up? What would they have said? This is the kind of process we need to go into. And I think the American people deserve to know what the truth is. And I think that this very weighty report--you know, you could probably work out with this thing, this thing is heavy--and it details allegations and it details the facts and information that cry out for answers. And so what we've done is not just come to talk about a problem but really to discuss a solution. H.R. 104 is a bill that calls for a panel to do an investigative process to figure out what the truth is behind the allegations right here. Now, if nobody did anything wrong, then there won't be any problem and nobody should be concerned. But if there is some facts tied up in here that can be confirmed in this voluminous document. I think it only makes sense that we should pass H.R. 104 to really figure out what actually happened. What actually happened with regard to allegations of torture and the torture memos that were written authorizing the torture of detainees? What happened with the extraordinary rendition, when, Mr. Chairman, people were brought from the United States and sent to countries and were tortured in those countries, where these countries aren't squeamish about torture? What happened with warrantless domestic surveillance? What happened with the U.S. Attorney scandal? These are things that need to happen. What do you think about that?

Mr. ELLISON. Chairman Grijalva, did we do this after the tragedy of 9/11? Did we engage in a process where we tried to discover what the truth was?

Mr. ELLISON. I think it is important as we come together with the Progressive Caucus message, and it is our goal to come here week in and week out, that people know what the Progressive Caucus stands for, that they know what the Progressive Caucus will fight for, and that they have a chance to join and participate. So now, I think, Mr. Chairman, we are ready to talk about the main subject we are going to be talking about tonight and that has to do with a report that was recently issued called ``Reining in the Imperial Presidency.'' This is a 500-page document that was drafted by Chairman John Conyers and his staff, the lessons and recommendations relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush, House Committee on Judiciary Staff to report to John Conyers. In this report, it lays out a whole series of issues that need to be addressed. You know what, Chairman Grijalva, some people have said we don't want to look back, we don't want to dig up old dirt. We have a new President, why look back. But you know what, Chairman, I don't think we are looking back because you and I never want to have to deal with another President in the future who thinks, because George W. Bush did these things, they can do them, too. We are looking to the future. We don't want to set a precedent around illegal wire-tapping, around domestic warrantless surveillance, around the U.S. attorney scandal, and things like that. We will get into this over the course of the next several minutes, and that is what we are going to be really talking about and digging into tonight. Do you have any preliminary comments, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. ELLISON. Chairman Grijalva, as you know, the Progressive Caucus is dedicated to preserving civil rights and civil liberties. That means we believe in sunsetting expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act and bring remaining provisions into line with the Constitution. We believe in protecting the personal liberty of all Americans from unbridled police powers and unchecked government intrusion. That means unlawful surveillance, things like that, violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. We believe an extended Voting Rights Act could reform the electoral process. We believe in fighting corporate consolidation of the media because if the people don't know, how can they do anything about it. And we also believe in ensuring the enforcement of all legal rights in the workplace. That goes again to OSHA and things like that so people don't get injured. We worked hard for those rights, isn't that right, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. ELLISON. So when we are talking about fighting for economic justice, we are talking about universal health care and about preserving guaranteed Social Security benefits for all Americans, including protecting private pensions and corporate accountability. We are talking about investing in America by creating new jobs in the U.S., by building affordable housing and rebuilding America's schools and physical infrastructure, just like you talked about a minute ago, about cleaning up our environment and improving our homeland security. What we mean when we say ``economic security'' is about exporting more American products and not more American jobs, and we demand fair trade, not just free trade, and affirming freedom of association and enforcing the right to organize. You and I know that we will probably be coming here one day in the future to talk about the Employee Free Choice Act. That is the right to organize in the labor union, and also to ensure that working families can live above the poverty line with dignity by raising and indexing the minimum wage. I would like to ask you about protecting and preserving civil rights and civil liberties. What does that mean to you, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. ELLISON. That's right.

Mr. ELLISON. In the beginning of our hour as we come together in this Special Order, I think you, as one of the leaders in the Progressive Caucus, have correctly identified economic justice as one of the critical things that the Progressive Caucus stands for, not only here at home but also abroad. Congressman Grijalva, what does it mean to you that there are a billion people who go to sleep every night around the world who live on less than a dollar a day?

Mr. ELLISON. Forgive my reclaiming my time again, gentlelady, but if you could convey to the American people what is a signing statement? What is that?

Mr. ELLISON. Is fighting for economic justice and security in the U.S. and global economies, is that part of the Progressive message?

Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, my name is Keith Ellison, and I do represent the great State of Minnesota. And tonight I'm coming to the floor to talk about the progressive message of the Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, dedicated to ideas that some might describe as liberal, but all must recognize have benefited the United States over the course of time. To be liberal is to be open-minded, to be accepting of others, to listen to different points of view and to try to be tolerant and inclusive of all people. But the progressive community in the United States and throughout our whole land is entitled to have a body of people in Congress who will reflect their views. And tonight we are coming together to offer these views. I'm proud to be able to take the floor tonight with the cochair of the Progressive Caucus, Mr. Raul Grijalva from the great State of Arizona. We are proud to have him in our leadership. But I want to point out before I hand it back to our Chair that the progressive promise is fairness for all. The Congressional Progressive Caucus offers progressive promise for all. We believe in government of the people, by the people and for the people. Our fairness plan is rooted in our core principles. And it also embodies national priorities that are consistent with the values, needs and hopes of all of our people, not just the powerful and the privileged. We pledge our unwavering commitment to these legislative priorities, and we will not rest until they become law. I want to throw it out to our co-chairman, Raul Grijalva from the great State of Arizona and ask him, what makes you come to the House floor tonight and commit yourself to talking about the Progressive Caucus and the principles that support our caucus?

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, do you want to talk about the third thing that the American people can count on the Progressive Caucus to fight for?

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Let me thank Chairman Frank for bringing this critical legislation to the floor. When Congress passed the emergency financial services rescue package last fall, we included specific provisions to help distressed homeowners. Unfortunately, the Bush administration decided to help out Wall Street with these funds while ignoring the needs of Main Street. The fact is that this piece of legislation, carefully crafted and now working with an amenable and a cooperative administration, is in a much better position to meet the needs set forth in the original legislation, which is to help homeowners. The bill requires at least $40 billion, but no more than $100 billion, be used to help distressed homeowners. Finally, I am excited to report that there is a measure that I authored with other Members which provides reasonable protections for bona fide renters, which is something I'm very happy about. I am pleased to be able to support this legislation today. Again, Mr. Chairman, let me thank our very able chairman on this piece of legislation so we can get our country back and moving again.

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 18, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor today torn about this resolution. Though I welcome resolutions by the Congress to express support for the people of Israel and Gaza at this difficult time, this resolution does not do enough to move towards a stable and durable peace in the Middle East. I feel that I cannot vote against the resolution, because I believe every country has a right to defend itself. I have been to Sderot, and I have seen firsthand both the physical and emotional destruction caused by the rockets. Last fall I voted for a resolution specifically condemning the rocket attacks into Israel. However, I feel I cannot vote for this resolution either, because it does not sufficiently address the human suffering by Palestinians in Gaza. Over 750 people have been killed, 250 of them children, 50 of them women, with over 3,000 people injured. Mosques have been bombed, schools as well. Even before the recent military operation, life for the people in Gaza has become increasingly unlivable under a crushing blockade. The Red Cross has been obstructed, 800,000 people without water, 1 million people without electricity. That is why I intend to vote ``present'' today. Hopefully we can urge this Congress to not simply declare its support of its ally, but will actually move its ally and the rest of the region toward a more durable, sustainable, final solution to this conflict. History has shown that ground troops and air strikes have not resolved conflict in the Middle East. If we try to resolve conflict with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before. No one will be. Diplomacy is necessary to save lives and yield a lasting peace with security. The United States must play a more active role in pursuing real peace in the Middle East.

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to strongly support H.R. 6867, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008. This bill provides for an additional 7 weeks of extended Unemployment Benefits for workers who have exhausted their regular UI benefits. Earlier this year, we enacted a bipartisan compromise to provide extended unemployment benefits. But those benefits will start to run out in October unless Congress acts. With today's news of another 159,000 American jobs lost in September--the worst job loss in 5 years--this action is critical to providing relief as well as strengthening the American economy and creating jobs. Madam Speaker, the research is clear, extending UI benefits is one of the most cost-effective and fast-acting ways to stimulate the economy because the money is spent quickly. According to the Congressional Budget Office, every $1 spent on unemployment benefits generates $1.64 in new economic demand. Madam Speaker, Minnesota's unemployment rate hit 6.2 percent this past August, we are waiting for the September State numbers now. This is highest state unemployment rate in 22 years. This legislation could not be more timely; the House has just passed legislation to save Main Street by helping out Wall Street. Let us help everybody on Main Street directly by providing needed help to the unemployed workers and their families by providing them additional unemployment insurance benefits.

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, a good friend of mine who runs a charter school needed to get a line of credit recently to float her payroll. She couldn't get it. In the past, she had. That puts the teachers, the custodial staff, the people who work in the kitchen, and all of those folks in line for a payless payday, which means that we've got 60 folks who will not be able to make car notes, mortgages or who will not, perhaps, be able to pay credit cards and who knows what. This kind of problem is bleeding throughout the economy. That's why the unemployment rate is 6.2 percent. We can wait to see the pain, and then we will be motivated to act, but do you really want to see 8 percent or 9 percent unemployment?

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, on September 24, 2008, I inadvertently missed Rollcall No. 628. If I were present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from California has made the point that if this bill passes, that interest rates will go up and that credit availability will decline. Is the Congressman saying that credit card companies will retaliate against consumers with higher rates if Congress proscribes practices that even the Fed considers deceptive?

Mr. ELLISON. Let me thank the gentlelady from New York, who has done absolutely heroic work on this bill, and let me echo her words: no more abdication from Congress. We are a coequal branch of Congress, and it is time for us to do our job. Americans all over this country want to know what does the Congress care about the debt that they are drowning in because of these credit card practices. If the Fed says they are deceptive practices, who are we to just let them go on and step back and say, well, somebody else will do it. No, it is time for the Congress to do something about it now. To do otherwise is to abdicate our responsibility. Nobody at the Fed holds an election certificate. All of us do. It is time to take this thing by the charge. The fact is, about $8,000 worth of credit card debt is what Americans are holding on average for people who have a revolving balance. That is a burden that people cannot sustain. The fact is, we would not be in this situation if we had the active regulation that Americans expect from their government. We have seen now nearly 30 years of stagnating wages. Americans have had flat wages, on average, if you look at folks who are working hard every day to put food on the table. Because the wages have been flat, we haven't had the savings to buy the things that we need. What has been happening is people have gone to their credit cards, and as we have gone to the credit cards, the credit card companies, some of them, have been using unfair, deceptive practices that have got to be brought to a stop now. If the Fed says they are wrong, they are wrong. We shouldn't have to wait on them to tell us what to do. We should do our job. I just want to thank Chairwoman Maloney and Chairman Frank for bringing this bill to the floor now. I hope this bill can be wrapped into the rescue that is being contemplated for the financial meltdown that is going on now. This is what we should be doing, and it needs to go into effect now. We need to deal with the credit crisis now, and credit cards must be a part of it.

Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, thank you again for allowing me to address this final point. This issue that I put to our colleague and friend, Mr. Campbell, regarding whether or not deceptive practices, practices that have been deemed to be deceptive by the Fed and that are proscribed in this legislation today, whether these things will result in rate increases or lack of availability. In fact, they will do the opposite, Madam Speaker. They will provide transparency, they'll provide fair rules, and most importantly, they will help to keep good lenders good. If you have a good lender, a good credit card company who is playing fair and acting ethically, and yet their competitors are allowed to engage in universal default and things like this, the net result will be that they will be at a competitive disadvantage when they don't do these unethical practices, things that the Fed has deemed to be unfair. So it's very important that we keep a nice level playing field and maintain the high standards in the industry. This is actually a bill that will help the credit card industry because it will send a signal that the rules are fair, even, and ethics are the priority.

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, the Bush administration, Senator McCain and congressional Republicans need to realize that economic hardship does not end on Wall Street. For 8 years now, Washington Republicans have been implementing policies that have also hurt Main Street. Today, middle class workers are struggling to make ends meet on paychecks that are, on average, $300 smaller a year than they were back in 2001 when President Bush took office. Meantime, grocery prices have increased by more than $800, home energy prices are up $300, and health care costs are up more than $2,000. In total, American families are paying $4,000 a year more for these basic necessities than they did during the Clinton administration. No wonder the American people are feeling financially squeezed. Senator McCain said he doesn't really understand economics very well, and he proved it when he said that the fundamentals of the economy were strong. How can Senator McCain turn our economy around if he doesn't even recognize that we are in trouble?

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Universal default is the popular term for a practice that allows creditors to increase the rate on your credit card to the default rate, even when you haven't missed a single payment on that card. This means that we're going to look at real reform with this important piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairwoman Maloney, again, for her valiant advocacy, and this does need to be a part of the rescue package.

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking Chairwoman Maloney and Chairman Frank for their continued commitment to this much-needed credit card reform legislation. I'm proud and honored to have worked with both of them to ensure the financial security of working families across America. As co-chair of the Congressional Consumer Justice Caucus, I'm strongly in favor of H.R. 5244, the Credit Card Holder's Bill of Rights. Mr. Speaker, today we have an opportunity to stand up for working families across America by passing legislation that will ensure the prosperity of the working class. And this legislation, Mr. Speaker, needs to be part of the financial markets' rescue plan. As we move forward to try to help people on Wall Street, we cannot leave alone the people on Main Street. Americans are suffering under tremendous weight of this credit crisis. We have to do something, and this is what we can do about it: giving people relief from these incredible abuses in the credit card industry. The debt crisis inundating so many Americans is in large part due to the result of an industry with few regulations and little oversight. Consumers with credit cards nationwide are facing excessive credit card fees, sky-high interest rates, and unfair incomprehensible agreements that credit card companies can revise at will. In short, American families are suffering while credit card companies are making record profits, Mr. Speaker. In 2007, credit card issuers imposed $18.1 billion--that's billion with a ``B''--in penalty fees on families carrying credit card balances for more than 50 percent since 2003. This accounts for nearly half of the $41 billion industry profits. This year, credit card companies will break all record fees for late fees, over-limit charges, and other penalties pulling in more than $19 billion. H.R. 5244 bans unfair and deceptive practices that have resulted in billions of dollars in fees drained from hardworking families for the credit card industry. Also included in the bill is a ban on universal default. Last May, I introduced legislation to ban this unfair and ethical practice, and I'm pleased to see it included in the bill.

Mr. ELLISON

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I know that it's protocol and important to thank the Chair of the committee and the ranking member, but today, I have to convey my very sincere and heartfelt thanks to Chairman Berman and to Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Of course, I have to also thank my dear friend Zach Wamp, who came to me many months ago and proposed that we offer this resolution together. I believe this is an historic day, and I am deeply humbled. Other than the day that I had to come here before the House to talk about the collapse of our bridge in Minneapolis, I feel the most sense of emotion and of weight and of gravity today. I also want to point out that this resolution that comes to the floor today takes place during a very special time for people of the Muslim faith, which is the month of Ramadan--a month of reflection, of fasting and, based on this resolution's coming to the floor, of good things as well. The passion that my colleague Mr. Wamp and I share for this resolution may strike some Members as unusual, but it shouldn't. Indeed, as Members of Congress on different sides of the political aisle, Mr. Wamp and I may not always agree on policy, but we are two men who have come together as people of faith to highlight what we both believe are historic interfaith developments within the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. In late 2007, 138 Muslim scholars from every sect of Islam, representing communities of faith in countries both friendly and hostile to the United States, sent a letter to Christian leaders everywhere, declaring common ground between our faiths and seeking dialogue among leaders of two traditions that represent nearly half the world's population. Responding to that letter, some 300 Christian leaders, including many leaders in the United States, declared in November 2007 their appreciation and support for this historic outreach. In March 2008 the Vatican announced that the Pope had invited these scholars to a first- ever summit, which will meet in Rome in November 2008. I believe the mutual respect by all participants in this effort holds tremendous transformative power, not only for relations between Christians and Muslims, but also for Islam's entire relationship with the West. I believe it is in the best interests of the United States to support and encourage those efforts so that the world knows that our Nation stands with those people who reject extremism and violence and hate and embrace reconciliation. Let me read from the resolution: ``It is the sense of Congress . . . that the United States encourages the many people of faith around the world who reject terrorism, radicalism, and extremism to join these and similar efforts to build a common bond based on peace, reconciliation and a commitment to tolerance . . . Furthermore, the United States appreciates those voices around the world who condemn terrorism, intolerance, genocide and ethnic and religious hatred, and instead commit themselves to global peace anchored in respect and understanding among the adherents of the three Abrahamic faiths,'' Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Today, our world knows too many people who are divided, rather than healed, by faith. I speak for myself, but I am sure most Members of the House would agree that our religious faith is a great source of strength and has the transformative effect of bringing people together, not pushing them apart. I believe this resolution will serve to send a strong message to people everywhere that Members of the House stand in solidarity with members of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith as they confront ancient and modern divisions so that peace may prevail. It is brought up during a particularly special month for me. I urge my colleagues to support this truly bipartisan resolution.