Jim McDermott

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, last night, the House passed House Resolution 193 as a suspension bill. For people who may not know, suspension bills are meant to be noncontroversial measures the House typically passes unanimously. I voted no. Let me tell you why. Because it was a protest vote meant to encourage freedom and liberty for all Americans. Let us start with what it said. H.R. 193 is a resolution that says in part, ``expressing support to the organizers and participants of the historic meeting of the Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba on 20 May 2005 in Havana. Whereas, Fidel Castro's terrorist regime has continued to repress all attempts by Cuban people to bring democratic change to Cuba and denies universally recognized liberties, including freedom of speech, association, movement and the press.'' I could go on but there is no need to. It is all right there in what I just read. We decry liberties denied Cubans while a Cuban-American in my city of Seattle is denied the right to go to Cuba to visit his son by the U.S. government. Remember the grandstanding on Elian Gonzales? We wag our fingers at Fidel and shout about Cubans being denied liberty at every moment. Well, we are denying the right of an American to travel to Cuba for a few days to see his son. How hypocritical is that? I am talking about the plight of Sergeant Carlos Lazo. He came to America from Cuba in the early 1990s floating on a raft in the ocean. He risked his life for a chance to come here. Talk about the quintessential story about risking everything to call America home. Carlos Lazo is the stuff of books and movies and news coverage. He wants none of it. He just wants to see his children in Cuba. And the United States government will not let him go. Floating on the raft in the ocean, that is what Carlos Lazo did. That is about as courageous as it gets. So he arrives in America. He moves to the State of Washington. A man grateful to be alive, he determines to embrace his new country and do everything within his power to give back. He joins the Washington National Guard. Over a year ago, his unit dispatched to Iraq. Now Carlos serves his country in one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, Fallujah, as a medic. He serves on the ground in Iraq for a year. When his duty is over, Carlos wants to go see his kids still in Cuba. Carlos goes to Miami, but he is denied the right to travel to Cuba. He is denied the right to board an airplane bound for Havana. He saw them in 2003, and he is told by the government: You cannot see them again until 2006. Three years. Sergeant Lazo, who proudly served America, who risked his life to get here and risked his life to defend liberty, is now a man whose liberty has been denied. He cannot see his children in Cuba until the President lets him go. When will Carlos be able to visit his children in Cuba? I ask that the Speaker, because the administration is in denial, call the White House. They want to perpetuate a bureaucracy and a failed policy, not assist an American who wants the sum total of what every parent wants, the right to see their kids. The government has in place a policy which denies the basic liberties of an American hero, and we have not lifted one finger in this House to help Carlos Lazo. The Secretary of Defense is not interested in him. The White House is not interested in its citizen. The White House and this House are only interested in wagging fingers at Fidel Castro. Carlos Lazo is a man who embodies everything Americans stand for, courage, determination, quiet thanks from a man grateful to have made a new life and a new home. And now Carlos is a man who cannot be united with his family. Carlos is a man who did not want to be anything but a quiet, grateful American and is forced to become a man in the spotlight, hoping someone will pay attention, hoping someone will let him see his kids. H. Res. 193 is a suspension bill that would have us suspend disbelief. Carlos deserves the thanks of a grateful Nation and the immediate assistance of this administration and the Congress. We ought to add his name to H. Res. 193 so he can travel. We should do that and make a resolve that the United States of America, which sees itself as a beacon of liberty in the world, extend its support to Carlos Lazo and will facilitate his immediate travel to Cuba to be reunited with his kids. Anything less than fighting and defending the liberty of Carlos Lazo from the State of Washington is the work of a Congress long on hyperbole and short on action in defense of liberty. Mr. Speaker, call the Secretary of Defense before the day is out. I bet he is still in his office. Send Carlos Lazo to Cuba, to his sons in his former homeland, so he can be a free American. If you want to make a real statement about what it means to be free, let one American be free, free to travel, free to be reunited with his children, free to show the people of Cuba, firsthand, what freedom means in this country. Free to show Cubans firsthand that America does not have to prevent its citizens from leaving the country in order to keep them. Mr. Speaker, use your office to intercede and let this House stand as a beacon of freedom and liberty for every American, not just some Americans. So long as Carlos Lazo is forbidden from visiting his children in Cuba, America can only be known as the land where some are truly free and others are truly denied liberty. Send Carlos Lazo to Cuba.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to gratefully acknowledge and thank the National Association of Letter Carriers, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the AFL-CIO, America's Second Harvest, and the United Way of America for their extraordinary efforts in organizing and carrying out the largest single food drive in the world: the annual National Association of Letter Carriers National Food Drive. The food drive will again take place on the second Saturday in May, which this year falls on May 14th. The timing of the drive is no coincidence; it comes at a time when most food banks are low on supplies, having exhausted their collections from the holiday season. Last year the food drive collected an incredible 71 million pounds of food for donation to food banks, pantries, and shelters across the country. As you can imagine, it takes an army of volunteers to collect that amount of food. This year USPS, with help from the Campbell Soup Company and Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, is distributing more than 150 million mailings promoting the drive and encouraging donations. On May 14th, donations will be collected by letter carriers along their mail routes in all 50 states. This year's food drive has an added urgency and importance. The food drive largely supplements the inadequate support the Federal government has provided to our nation's citizens facing financial difficulty. Families around the nation are struggling to get by--family wage jobs are scarce, energy prices are at record highs, and government support mechanisms are increasingly being axed by this Administration and this Congress. When we think about letter carriers, first class comes to mind. From now on, we should think of letter carriers and everyone involved in this as world class, because that's what they are. Please join me in donating food on May 14th and acknowledging the spirit of America that will be carried from door to door. May this year's food drive be the safest and most abundant collection yet.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, today we have a very stark example of what is dysfunctional about the Republican's running of this House. We have done nothing about the livable wage that we all believe in. We have done nothing about providing health insurance for the people in this country. Forty-five million have nothing. We have done nothing about the housing prices and problems in this country. We have done nothing about cleaning up the environment. In fact, we continue to be addicted to oil and all we do is pass a bill that gives more money to oil and to coal. Now, we are not dealing with the problems of the American people. Instead today what we are doing is continuing to pursue the Bush war of folly in Iraq. He has spent $200 billion of our money so far. He says, ``Please give me another 80. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I'm going to keep spending it over there.'' The electricity is not up in Iraq. The sewer system is not in up in Iraq. The telephone system is not up in Iraq. He cannot fix it there or here. This is a bad bill, and it ought to be voted against.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the contributions made by Asian Pacific Americans. May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and a time when every American should acknowledge the important role of Asian Pacific Americans in building our great nation. The 7th Congressional District in Washington State, which I represent, is home to more than 78,000 Asian Americans, the largest minority group in the district comprising over 13% of the population. Today, Seattle is home to a rich and ethnically diverse cultural weave of Japanese, Asian Indian, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, Vietnamese, Pacific Islanders and other Asian Americans. The 1880 U.S. Census records the first resident of Japanese descent in the state of Washington. Over the next 150 years, Asian Americans contributed to our state and nation in many ways. In 1963, Wing Luke became the first Chinese American elected to the Seattle City Council, and today a museum is named in his honor. There were other triumphs: Ruby Chow was the first Chinese American woman elected locally and Gary Locke was the first Chinese American elected Governor. Many Asian Americans serve today in the Washington State Legislature, other local elected offices, key leadership roles in civic organizations, business and industry. Asian American role models come from all walks of life. Like other ethnic populations, Asian Americans had to persevere against prejudice, racial injustice and discrimination. When they immigrated, they worked in the mines and Alaskan canneries, logged the forests, were the first non-Native fishermen, and farmed the land. Up until World War II, Japanese Americans supplied nearly three-quarters of western Washington's fruits and vegetables. The war marked a turning point. Internment camps, including one near Seattle, were a stain on America's conscience and it took four decades before we acknowledged the mistake, and the suffering inflicted on thousands of innocent Asian Americans. We learned a lot during World War II, about the courage and patriotism of Asian Americans, and about our own shortcomings in letting fear overtake reason at a time of world conflict. In a small but important way, naming a federal courthouse in Seattle after William Nakamura, a Japanese American Medal of Honor winner, was a statement about America being stronger because of Asian Americans. In Seattle, we proudly celebrate Asian Pacific American culture and heritage, from the Vietnamese Tet in Seattle Lunar New Year celebration to other local cultural festivals. We also honor Asian Pacific Americans by preserving the ethnic heritage of our citizens. Places like the Wing Luke Asian Museum, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, the Filipino American National Historical Society, and Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project keep us in touch with the roots of our neighbors. These wonderful resources proudly recall the past and proudly inspire the future. By celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we honor the spirit of America as a nation of immigrants. By honoring Asian Pacific Americans, we honor Americans from every ethnic background. This celebration reminds us that America is a melting pot where we retain our ethnic heritage even as we assimilate the American experience. It is what makes America strong. It is what makes America the destination for people willing to risk their lives floating in rafts in the ocean to reach this great land. Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, this is a big day. Gas is at $2.50 a gallon. The President's Social Security road show is a shambles. His numbers are falling in the polls. Iraq has more violence. The Japanese are loaning us $450 billion to cover our loans on our deficit. And the Rubber Stamp Congress is back in shape. They are all here with their stamp to give the President exactly what he needs. Now, in about 40 minutes he is going to come on TV. This tells you how bad it is. The President is in such terrible shape he has got to go on TV and start his magic act. He has got to try to convince the people that the gasoline is not $2.50 a gallon or that we are not borrowing $450 billion from the Japanese. That is the problem you have got with this budget. And what are you doing? You are rubber-stamping cutting the safety net in shreds. You are going after the poor, the sick, the elderly, anybody who cannot fight back.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, we heard the last speaker say ``God bless the troops.'' I want to tell you the story of a man named Carlos Lazo. He is a Cuban-American. He joined the military. He served honorably in the National Guard in the State of Washington. He spent a year in Iraq as a medic in Fallujah, the most violent area of Baghdad or all of Iraq. When he came back he thought, Maybe I would like to go see my children. So he went and applied for a visa to Cuba, and he was told, Well, we are sorry, you went in 2003. You can't see your children until 2006. Now, we are out here passing these ridiculous resolutions about how the Cubans act about travel. Why can Carlos Lazo not go and see his children? I write a letter to OFAC up at the Department of Treasury. They do not even answer my letter. They give no justification for why a man who served cannot see his kids. And guess what? He is going back to Iraq. That is how much we respect the military in this country. Somebody ought to act on his behalf. The Republicans have control of this Congress. They have control of the White House. And Carlos cannot see his kids. Some democracy you are selling in Iraq.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute to Jane Eaglen, among the foremost sopranos on the stages of international opera, renowned for her performances on concert platforms around the globe, and for her classical recordings. Teachers in her native England encouraged her unique voice from a young age, and she was trained in the style of both Bellini and Wagner. From the time she joined the English National Opera, Ms. Eaglen garnered acclaim in a variety of roles until her breakthrough casting as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Scottish Opera. In the two decades since then, she has achieved success in roles such as Isolde (for the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Teatro Liceu Barcelona, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and in Puerto Rico). She has won worldwide applause for her rendition of Brunnhilde (performed in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Milan, New York and the United Kingdom), and recently triumphed as Ariadne in Seattle. Jane Eaglen is equally accomplished as a concert artist. She has worked with distinguished orchestras from Boston to Salzburg, and with the world's leading maestros including Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Danielle Gatti and Claudio Abbado. Her performances with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Schwartz, have thrilled audiences. Her extensive discography of classical recordings has won over fans of the music of masters from Strauss to Beethoven to Mahler. Her recording of Tannhauser with Barenboim received a Grammy Award in 2003 for Best Opera Recording. Mr. Speaker, Jane Eaglen has been a resident of my district for the past several years, and it is with pride that I note that Seattle's Rainier Club has named her Laureate for 2005-2006. She joins previous laureates author Jonathan Raban, glass artist Dale Chihuly, jazz virtuoso Ernestine Anderson, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist David Horsey, and playwright August Wilson. Her memorable performances with the Seattle Opera and the Seattle Symphony merit the Rainier Club adulation. We look forward to future renditions of the world's great music by the versatile Jane Eaglen. I would invite you to Seattle to hear her in the complete Ring cycle this August, but the Seattle Opera says it's sold out.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, we passed the bankruptcy bill out of here the other day and I voted ``no,'' and I will show you what I got for my reward. I got two more credit cards in the mail the very same day I voted ``no.'' The credit card industry in this country is demonstrating what is anti-Christian about this body. A lot of people stand around and tell us, oh, we believe in the Judeo-Christian religion and that is the root of all our efforts and everything else. Well, let me tell you something: The Israelites went down into Egypt and they were slaves. God said, look, I am going to take you out of Egypt, I will put you in the promised land but you have got to develop a community where nobody is enslaved. Now, that took us to several different points in the presentation. The first was the idea of the Sabbath. On the Sabbath day, everybody was supposed to rest; slave, worker, wife, husband, animals, everybody rested on the seventh day. The second concept was of the Sabbath year. And here is what the Sabbath year was. And I read this, this is from Deuteronomy 15. If you do not know, that is the fifth book in the Jewish Bible and it is also the fifth book in the Christian Bible. ``Every seventh year you shall grant a remission of debts. And this is the manner of the remission: Every creditor shall remit the claim that is held against a neighbor, not exacting it of a neighbor who is a member of the community, because the Lord's remission has been proclaimed. When the Lord, your God, has blessed you as he has promised you, you will lend to other nations but you will not borrow.'' How do we explain $450 billion of borrowing? ``You will rule over other nations but they will not rule over you.'' And it goes on. ``If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of our towns within the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbor. You should open your hand, willingly lend enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. Be careful you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking the seventh year, the year of remission is near, and therefore view your needy neighbor with hostility and give nothing. Your neighbor might cry to the Lord against you and you will incur guilt. Give liberally but be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord, your God, will bless you and all your work and all that you undertake. ``Since there will never cease to be some in need on the Earth, I therefore command you, open your hand to the poor and the needy neighbor in your land.'' Now we have stood out here and passed a bill that is in exact contradiction. This same idea goes right into the Christian faith. This is not a Jewish idea. It is not a Christian idea. It is the Judeo- Christian ethic under which we live. The bankruptcy bill says, if you have taken more money and borrowed more money than you can pay off, we are going to get you. We are going to squeeze the last dime out of you. In that bill that passed here the other day, we changed a basic principle in our bankruptcy law in this country; that if you are in bankruptcy the first draw on any money available is the wife and the children. Child support. That should be the first money that goes out to be paid. If there is nothing else left, that should be first. What this bill said was, these credit card companies who are out there sending these cards out all over this country with absolutely no regulation whatsoever, they are hooking people and then we are going to squeeze the last dime. We will put the poor woman and her kids in court, arguing with attorneys from the credit card company about whether or not they are going to get any money. So the poor woman and the kids are going to spend their food money on a lawyer to fight these people. No protection whatsoever. That is not what the book of Deuteronomy said. That is not what God commended us to do. Whether we are Christian or Arab or Muslim or whatever, that bill was an abomination. We ought to start paying attention to the base of the values that we say we submit to in this House.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, the great unanswered question of the 21st century is, why do they hate us? We have to find out. The answer relates directly to the safety and security of America and every American, wherever we live. Why does the world not see us the way we see ourselves? Strong, generous, eager to share what makes us unique. ``We hold these truths to be self evident.'' Why? Why can they not perceive the America that we know? Well, several incidents recently give us clues as to the riddle of why the world cannot except our raison d'etre. A few weeks ago we strongly objected to the Japanese government's effort to establish a contract with Iran for much-needed energy. We told them do not do it. This is the continuation of a quarter-of-a-century-old foreign policy initiative: isolate Iran; that will force them to bend to our will. But Iran is rich in resources, and I think the conclusion follows naturally from these circumstances. When it comes to Iran, economic isolation equals nuclear proliferation. Attempting to curb, stifle, or choke off the natural economic progress of a nation with supplies very much in demand is unlikely to be effective. It certainly has not worked for a quarter of a century, no matter which party has had the White House. Iran is a nation rich in natural energy resources which some nations will seek to leverage regardless of what U.S. policy is. Today, 14 percent of China's energy needs are met with energy resources from Iran. No one should doubt the obvious. This energy relationship will go on in coming years. We lean on Japan, but that has no impact on China or Russia or others in the region. If anything, it is an incentive for Iran to deepen its economic and political ties elsewhere. In attempting to isolate Iran, we may be, in the end, isolating ourselves from the seemingly unstoppable economic and geopolitical expansion in Asia and the Middle East. A few days after we expressed our extreme concerns to Japan, something happened that did not receive widespread news coverage in the United States. Last year, Japan financed the equivalent of the entire U.S. deficit, $400 billion. Now, some in Japan have expressed a preference for the Euro. Japan is our friend, a strong and close ally. It seems to me if our friends are struggling with our foreign policy decisions, imagine what our nonfriends are doing. They are using it to isolate the U.S. from the rest of the world. Not long after our concerns were expressed to Japan, we showed the iron fist again when Iran, Pakistan, and India began to talk of a pipeline for South Asia across Pakistan to supply energy to starved West India. The President has defined Iran as the Axis of Evil. The U.S., to put it diplomatically, prefers to end the religious government in Iran where we might change the rhetoric from the Axis of Evil to the access, A-C-C-E-S-S to natural resources. Our vocal and public expressions against the Iranian Government were noticed. Iran's leaders took a page out of our playbook. We call them the Axis of Evil. They call us the Great Satan. Lately, the administration has ramped up on the nuclear weapons of mass destruction rhetoric, leaving some to fear or speculate about whether the rhetoric is really the base case for a new preemptive action. One hears Condoleezza Rice threatening sanctions against those who engage in commerce in Iran. It just so happened that entire nations like India and Pakistan fall into that rhetorical trap. A proposal to build a pipeline from Iran through Pakistan to serve energy needs in India has been called a peace pipeline. It is the latest positive step between two great nations with a long history of tension and bloodshed. If the IRA and Northern Ireland can resolve differences, surely there is hope for Kashmir. The signs of hope are there; but like a seed planted in fertile ground, the hope for lasting peace must be nurtured. Instead, our one-size-fits-all foreign policy aimed at Iran hits India and Pakistan as well. We end up trying to punish Iran by undercutting India and Pakistan. India's energy problems are real. The future of the nation depends on securing stable energy resources. Yet, U.S. foreign policy meant to punish Iran hurts America's friends and America's foreign policy. We are telling India and Pakistan to abandon the peace pipeline because we do not like Iran. But we are saying there will be severe consequences for our friends if they do not follow our orders. Why are we trying to prevent India from solving one of its most pressing energy problems, chronic energy shortage? We have not isolated Iran. We have merely strongly encouraged Iran to build economic and political relationships everywhere else. We like to pretend our effort in Iran has been effective. I think it is time for us to admit we need a complete reassessment and overhaul of our failing foreign policy beginning in Iran. In my judgment, it is time to put economic democracy on the table, and there is no place like starting with India and Pakistan. Their destiny should be in the hands of Indians and Pakistanis. The Administration has been declaring veto power. Iran, Cuba, and a host of other foreign policy initiatives have shown us that this approach does not work. And our intention to approve or veto the destiny of other nations will not last. I worry about Iran as much as any Republican and Democrat leader. But we cannot deny what we know to be true. Our current foreign policy--in philosophy and practice--has been most effective at isolating America. It's time we revise our vision to something sustainable and tolerable. We can start by encouraging regional cooperation in Central and South Asia. We can start by encouraging peace, perhaps symbolized by the so called peace pipeline. We have helped Iran win many friends in recent years. Now it is time to envision a foreign policy which makes it more likely that Iran, the world's second largest holder of natural gas, will focus on developing natural gas instead of nuclear energy that could form the basis for a nuclear threat. Surely, our experience in Iraq and its problems should have taught us something about the ultimate futility of trying to solve everything with a gun.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take the time of the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller).

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Chairman, the Republican energy bill is a license to steal. It sanctions Big Oil's approach to America's energy crisis: do nothing except count the monstrous profits. Profits may be up 400 percent, but this bill allows Big Oil to earn even more money to add to their current $55 billion cash on hand. They will earn it at the pump, and they will earn it at the Treasury Department. An accounting gimmick allows Big Oil to escape paying anything close to its fair share of taxes. That is the Republican way. The Democrats propose, and I proposed in the Committee on Ways and Means, something radically different in our alternative energy bill, actually paying for it. Imagine that, a bill we paid for on the floor of this House. We want to eliminate the provision called LIFO. It means last in first out. You buy a barrel of oil at $20, and you buy a barrel 6 months later at $50. When you put it out, you use the $50 barrel. You cut down the profits. Of course, that is what they do. That is the American way of saying to Big Oil: pay now less, and then pay even less later. Democrats are proposing something else, investing in the 21st century energy sources. We provide a tax credit for new homes that reduce energy by at least 30 percent. That benefits Americans and encourages a paradigm shift in thinking to produce energy by saving it. We will establish an emergency technology trust fund. We want to harness the power of our best minds to chart a course of energy independence. We want to extend the renewable energy tax credit. America needs the power of wind. My State is full of wind farms provided by Mother Nature, and we can harness it. Democrats see America as strong and free of an addiction to Big Oil. We are addicted to oil; and as long as we remain addicted to oil, we are not going to get any better in this whole area. We see in America where people are not faced with choosing gasoline over food. At $3 a gallon for gasoline, you are hitting pretty hard on the food budget. Tonight is a defining moment. Republicans want Americans firmly rooted in the past, relying on fuel sources that make us vulnerable to too many foreign countries. Democrats envision America firmly and finally looking to the future, embracing a path to independence and freedom. Vote for America. Vote for the Democratic alternative energy bill that takes this country where it belongs, into the 21st century. Vote for the Bishop-Markey- McDermott amendment.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Chairman, Friday is Earth Day, but that will not stop the Republicans from passing legislation that will make the Earth dirtier, more polluted and warmer. The Republican legislation favors corporate America over Main Street in America. It will neither ask nor answer any of the energy issues that threaten our environment, our economy and future generations. Instead, the Republicans will answer the greatest challenge of our time by telling Americans to dig deeper into their pockets for big oil. At a time when America needs energy vision, Republicans have provided us with their corporate donor lists. Despite soaring prices, despite dangers to our economy and security for our dependence on oil, the administration puts forward the deal of the century for big oil, gas and coal. It rewards its friends and encourages America's addiction to oil. Nothing in this bill will lower gasoline prices a single penny. Nothing in this bill will alter our dependence on oil. Nothing in this bill will address the needs and concerns of the American people facing economic peril at the pump every morning when they put $50 worth of gas into their car. Instead, Americans from Maine to California will pay at the pump and pay through the nose. Big oil's profits today defy description. The CEO of ExxonMobil who does not think global warming is real was paid $38 million last year. The price of crude oil jumped $2 a barrel yesterday. That added $1 billion of earnings to Mobil's earnings. Maybe that explains why oil and gas companies have reduced their investment in facilities by 20 percent even as their profits have increased 400 percent. The oil and gas industry is sitting atop a mountain of cash looking down on Americans who are held hostage by runaway gas prices that grow the mountain of oil prices even higher. And we are giving them $7 billion more today. They do not need it. Across the country gasoline prices are 20 percent higher than they were a year ago. Neither wages nor economic opportunities come close to bridging that kind of deficit for the American family. The only choice for more Americans is to pay more, save less, use consumer debt. Oh, yeah, remember the bankruptcy bill? And give up something to make the frayed ends meet, while ExxonMobil's CEO pockets $38 million. With the price of crude oil sky high, you would think we would be declaring a 12-alarm economic fire that endangers the lives of every American family and the economic health of our economy. Let me quote something that sums this up. ``We are grossly wasting our energy resources and other precious raw materials as though their supply was infinite.'' President Jimmy Carter spoke those words in 1976, almost 30 years ago. We laughed at him when he put on a sweater and said maybe we should turn the thermostat down 1 degree. Yet today Americans propose a policy that seeks to roll backward from the ominous warnings of the mid-1970s. America needs vision and leadership, but the Republicans will pass a bill that endorses and rewards the traditional forms of energy. It proposes cutting billions in promising renewable energy provisions. It proposes waiving liability for companies that pollute our groundwater. It subsidizes oil, gas and coal. It fails to address meaningful automobile conservation. And worst of all, we are going to go up to the Alaska Wildlife Refuge and we are going to drill. We are going to drill our way to oblivion if we follow this pattern.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House and take the time of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to S. 256 because this bill puts credit card companies ahead of children in the priorities.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, the word ``bankrupt'' as we know it today comes from the 16th century Italian banca rotta, which literally means broken bench. It refers to a legend that said when a money trader became insolvent, the bench or table which he used in the market was literally broken. The Latin root of the word includes ``corrupt'' in the meaning. The bankruptcy bill that the Republicans forced on the American people in this House today is as broken a bench and as corrupt a piece of legislation as I have seen in this House. Republicans are providing nothing less than money tribute of, by and for credit card companies; and just like the tribute demanded by the corrupt leaders in ancient times, this money will be extracted from the American people, even if it means children will go hungry. Do not let the Republicans mislead my colleagues for one money- grubbing, greed-pandering minute. The Republican bill threatens single mothers and children who rely on child support from a spouse who files for bankruptcy. Credit card companies demanded, and the Republicans caved in, on a provision that says credit card debt will survive bankruptcy and compete on an even basis with kids and moms for the limited dollars left in bankruptcy. One of the Republican Members said, well, we have to do that. What if all the money went to the mothers and kids? Well, now, what kind of family values are those? They ought to go to the children and the mothers. The Republicans shout family values, but they just sold the women and the children down the river. Single mothers and children will have to fight the credit card companies in court for whatever meager assets remain after bankruptcy. It will not be any just division. They will have to go in and arm wrestle with the credit card companies to make sure that they get food and shelter for their kids. One credit card company television commercial says, ``Don't leave home without it.'' Maybe they can make a new commercial that says: You might not have home, or food, with it. Protecting children is more important than satisfying the insatiable greed of credit card companies. Any person who supports this bill opposes our responsibility as a Congress and as a Nation to protect our most vulnerable population, the children. The line must be drawn. The vote should have been the other way in this House, but the American people must know who is willing to feed corporate greed ahead of feeding vulnerable kids. My distinguished colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), had proposed an amendment which would ensure that the debtors make child support payments ahead of credit card payments. The Republicans would not even allow it to be heard in this House. They had their marching orders, and these orders come directly from the credit companies. Banca rotta, the bench is corrupt, the bench is broken. We are a Nation of laws, but we are also a Nation that legislates on a foundation of religious and spiritual values. Nothing in Christianity or Judaism or Islam supports the concept of usury against the defenseless, but that is exactly what this corrupt, broken bench does: It pits women and children against credit card companies. Corporate lawyers will get their money regardless of whether women and children get their dinner. Shame on the credit card companies for demanding this, and shame on the Republican majority for caving in. Republicans are enslaving the American people to credit card companies.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Florida, I wish he would stay, because we are here today because the Republican majority would like to repeal the estate tax, but they have forgotten history. I am sure my colleague was not here, but I would like to remind him that it was a Republican, President Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, who strongly supported an estate tax in the first place. Here is what he said. There is no argument for this. ``The man of great wealth,'' Teddy said, ``owes a particular obligation to the State because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government.'' Wow, nicely said, and a Republican, too. That proves two things, that Republicans can sometimes speak eloquently, and sometimes they can even do something that is right. Though Republicans want to undo all the good for the sake of greed, please, America, do not be phonied up by this rhetoric that we hear on this bill. They will pitch some gibberish about how they are helping Americans. That is nonsense. We just came from the Committee on Ways and Means. The reason this place was in recess is because we were over there giving out $8 billion to oil companies. Those poor people, whose profits have quadrupled in the last 2 years, that is what we did a little while ago. Now we come over here, and we are going to give more money away. Does that seem like it benefits real people? This is not about real people. This is about very, very, very rich people, and that is about as plainspoken as Teddy Roosevelt would have said it. Only 2 percent, at the most, pay any estate tax whatsoever. Three- quarters of the money that comes in comes from people with estates over $2.5 million. If we repeal this, the rich get richer and America's deficit gets deeper and redder. We create an oligarchic class in this country from whom the money can never be taxed. If they can manipulate it around while they are alive, they can never have to pay a penny. The real losers in this are not only the American people. It is the American universities, the American churches, all those people who get money contributed by rich people because they do not want to pay the inheritance tax. Now my colleagues have taken away the encouragement. Why should they give anything away? Oh, well, because they have big hearts. They have big hearts we are told. Really? Then why are we out here with a bill like this which gives them the ability to keep every single dime? Now if you can give your kid $2 million and say, now, Johnny, here is two million bucks, I think that ought to kind of get you a start in the world. Does that not seem like enough? Well, to the Republicans, there is never enough; take as much as you can from everybody and keep it. Ronald Reagan put the sign of the cross on it. He said, are you better off today than you were 4 years ago? Never does anyone say on my colleagues' side, are we better off. We are in debt to the world. We borrowed from the Japanese last year our entire deficit, more than $400 billion, and the President wanders around the country saying, well, that is just paper. Those things in the Social Security trust fund, that is just paper. Do not pay any attention to that. If the Japanese stop buying dollars and they start buying Euros, and the Chinese start buying Euros and the Middle East buys Euros, where do my colleagues think we are going to borrow money and what kind of interest rate are we going to pay? This is a bad bill, it is bad policy, and it is bad ethics.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity in Seattle to help bring about the renaming of a courthouse there for a man who won the Congressional Medal of Honor, a Japanese American. He served in the 422nd and died, and it is very fitting on the West Coast that we find another courthouse, and we put Bob Matsui's name up. He was also a hero. He was a Congressional Medal of Honor winner in the civilian society because he stood for the principle that we are all in this together, and we are not going to let the past stand in our way of moving forward. He was one who was reluctant to come forward on the whole issue of repayment to Japanese who suffered losses. He felt that once the war was over it was his job to help the community move forward and be one Nation, where we all stand together and look after everybody. The monument to Bob Matsui will be what we do with the PATRIOT Act in this House in a few weeks. It will be a statement about whether we learned the message that guys like Bob Matsui tried to teach us.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to alert the American people to the case of Emiliano Santiago. His case, his plight should be known and feared by every high school junior and senior across the country, as well as every parent and every guardian. Emiliano Santiago is a 26-year-old soldier from Seattle who proudly and bravely served his country for 8 years immediately following high school. His 8-year commitment to the United States military was up a few months ago, or at least so he thought. That is when Emiliano Santiago discovered that Secretary Rumsfeld's secret back door draft existed. Despite 8 years in the military, despite fulfilling his commitment to his country, Emiliano cannot leave the military. Emiliano Santiago cannot leave the military this week, this month or any year in the future for some time to come. Emiliano Santiago cannot leave the military this decade or the next decade. The ugly little secret in the Pentagon is that Emiliano Santiago's voluntary service is involuntary. He has been sentenced to serve. The ugly truth of the matter is simply this: He is forced to serve at the whim of Rumsfeld potentially until Christmas Eve in the year 2031. Emiliano Santiago signed up in 1996. He has been sentenced to 35 years of service under Mr. Rumsfeld. He is now subject to the whim of Mr. Rumsfeld. He will be in his fifties before he can escape from Mr. Rumsfeld's grasp. Do you think anyone told Emiliano what he was getting into? Not a chance. Welcome to the myth of the voluntary military service under Donald Rumsfeld. He cannot find enough soldiers so the Pentagon is forcing those already in service to stay whether they want to or not, whether they have jobs, family, or plans of their own. Emiliano is owned by Mr. Rumsfeld. Welcome to the volunteer Army. They call it stop-loss. It is an involuntary military service. Just ask Emiliano and 50,000 other U.S. soldiers. Yes, 50,000 soldiers who signed up in what they thought was a voluntary military cannot now voluntarily leave the military at the end of their commitment. Stop-loss is Rumsfeld's legalese for a backdoor draft. It is legal, real; and do not let anyone, especially military recruiters, tell you otherwise. A recruiter signed up Emiliano. The recruiter was saying, Sign up here for 8 years. He never explained to me of the possibility of stop- loss. No one told Emiliano of the backdoor draft. And Americans are just finding out about the recruiter provision found in the No Child Left Behind Act. Or as I call it, No Child Left Un-recruited. High schools must turn over high school student contact information or lose funding. Now, there is the makings of the voluntary Army. Rumsfeld has unlimited power to keep you in the military, and the military now has unlimited access to your son and daughter. Forget about any right to privacy. This is America under Republican leadership. If you are in high school right now, the military has your name, your address, and your phone number. If you are in Rumsfeld's military, he has you for decades. It is the new Republican definition of family planning. Ask Rumsfeld what you are doing for the rest of your life. It is wrong and it is not working. Recruitment in the Army National Guard plunged 31 percent in February and another 12 percent in March. The word is spreading. America's all-voluntary military has been replaced by Rumsfeld's sentence-to-life military. I served my country as an officer in the United States Navy. I am proud of my military service and proud of anyone who serves America in the military. But today's honor and duty are being distorted into recruiter mandates to find more bodies. The National Guard is adding another 1,400 recruiters. I want to be clear about this. Do not blame the recruiters. It is not their fault. They are doing what good soldiers do: follow orders. Being a recruiter used to be a plum job, reserved for only the best of the best. They were soldiers who were models for American military pride. But Rumsfeld has turned them into overworked, overstressed, overzealous representatives with quotas to fill and truth to stretch. I want the U.S. military at its finest. I want recruiters back to what they can be: role models for America whether someone chooses to join the military or whether decides instead to be proud of the military. We are not doing that today. We are taking names of literally every high school student in America. Demand that the No Child Left Behind Act apply only to education and not to recruiting. Until then, get the paperwork and opt out, either for yourself or your kid. You can find it at www.militaryfreezone.org. Let me give it again: www.militaryfreezone.org. Take back your right to the personal privacy that used to be guaranteed by your government. Emiliano Santiago is looking forward to Christmas Eve 2031. That is when he is finally out of Rumsfeld's grasp. We used to have a voluntary military. Now we have Rumsfeld's military. It is a sentence to serve.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, the President says he is going to change his tack; he is no longer going to scare the people. He is going to give them a solution. This weekend, Gary Trudeau's renowned ``Doonesbury'' performed an important public service. It codified the recent words of the President describing his Social Security plan. Here it is. To ensure that every American has equal access to his remarks, let me enter ``Doonesbury'' into the Record and read some of the President's remarks. This is a direct quote from the President of the United States. He is explaining the plan he has: ``There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those, changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be or closer delivered to what has been promised.'' Does anybody know what he is talking about? This President is halfway through his 60-day barnstorming tour to gain support for his Social Security plan. I personally hope he stays out for another 90 days. I think when the American people get through with listening to this gibberish, they will recognize that it has all been a way to deflect our eyes from all the problems of this society. We are to get a bankruptcy bill out here tomorrow. We have done nothing about Social Security. We have done nothing about Medicare. Come on, Mr. President.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority today or tomorrow will put before this House and the American people a WMD, a Weapon of Mass Debt. They call it the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Prevention Act of 2005. This legislation is as far away from protecting consumers as a snake oil salesman pitching an elixir to cure all of your ills. This legislation should be called the Credit Card Company Enslavement Act of 2005. It does not help the American people. It was conceived by the credit card people for the credit card people and packaged by their Republican surrogates for one reason and one reason only: to entrap low- and middle-income Americans. As always with this Republican majority, if you are rich, do not worry, they have your back covered. But for every other American, you are the payoff for special interests and corporate greed. Disguise legislation with a phony name and let them clean your clock over and over and over again. Debt, and pain and suffering associated with economic enslavement, has been a major concern throughout recorded history. The Bible speaks about debt in the books of Exodus, Micah, Amos, Nehemiah, Romans, Kings, and Deuteronomy, among others. I could go on all day long with that. That is a lot of spiritual guidance. So what is this all about? Economic justice is what the Bible preached, knowing full well that debt bound a person tighter than any chain, enslaving hope as it extracted money. For thousands of years, spiritual leaders, including John Paul, have preached a gospel of economic justice for people throughout the world. Instead, today we are expected to pander to corporate greed while we deny social responsibility. I personally am not going to go for it. The legislation before us is about grinding people into the dirt. It is not a fresh start, but false hope and an endless debt burden. The Republican majority today would like us to condone stripping people of all of their worldly possessions and then denying them the right to hope to make a new life for themselves and their loved ones. Here are some facts behind the fraud the Republican majority has in front of us: Ninety percent of those filing for bankruptcy protection are doing so because of losing a job, a medical emergency, or the breakup of a family. Half the personal bankruptcies in America today are because of illness or unpaid medical bills. What are the President and Republican majority doing about health care? Nothing, nada, zippo. They have not touched it for the last 4 years, and they will pander to the special interests over the next 4 years. After all, people without health care do not go to those fancy Republican fund-raisers. They go to the emergency room when they cannot avoid illness any longer. Mr. Speaker, 45 million Americans have no health care and no hope from this administration, and 1.6 million American households filed for bankruptcy last year. That is one measure of the President's economic program he is not talking much about. The rich get richer and the poor get outed. Divorced women are 300 percent more likely than a single or married woman to file for bankruptcy because of the consequences of divorce, from lower wages to the financial strain of raising children alone. So much for Republican family values. African American and Hispanics are 500 percent more likely than white homeowners to end up in bankruptcy court because of discrimination in everything from mortgage costs, to hiring, to wages. It is real, and the Republican majority would like us to look the other way. More older Americans are filing for bankruptcy because they are being forced out of their jobs, cannot find new ones that pay when they were earning, and they are victims of runaway health costs. But wait, there is even more. Credit card companies are an equal- opportunity scourge. This environment inundates students, the working poor and middle America with dozen of offers for more credit cards and more debt every week. How many offers have you received in the mail or on the phone this week, 3, 4, 5? The marketing is not aggressive. It is predatory. They tempt you with offers that promise anything and everything. Pre-approved, pre-authorized, platinum, gold, silver. The truth is, the credit cards are not made of plastic. They are made out of lead, and they are hung around your neck like a yoke. Does this so-called consumer protection action do anything to address predatory credit card marketing? Nothing, nada, zippo. So what exactly are the Republicans proposing? This bill allows millionaires to shelter their assets in bankruptcy by protecting an unlimited amount of value in their residences. What about child support? Well, the Republicans have a real deal for you. This bill, their bill, would force women and children who are owed child support to fight with the credit card companies in court for the money. Given the Republican knack for words, they will probably call this a social safety net. And on and on it goes. Vote ``no'' on this bankruptcy bill. It is bankrupt.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, this case, what we are doing here tonight, is not about Terri Schiavo. The evidence for that begins in the way this was brought to this body, being brought in on St. Patrick's Day at 11:30 at night, with no hearings, no notice to the body, nothing. It was going to be rammed through here without discussion. And what troubles me, and I have heard my colleagues here, as a psychiatrist, I cannot make diagnoses of people that I have not examined. That is contrary to my profession, and I can be disciplined for doing that. The rest of you can be doctors. You can come out here and tell us anything you want. But a doctor cannot come out here and say anything really about somebody they have not examined. So what you are now doing with this, and you want it both ways. This is what troubles me about this. On the one hand, you say this is not precedent. This is only one case. This is only one case. What am I supposed to do as a physician like the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Schwarz)? As a psychiatrist, I dealt over and over and over again with family members facing this exact problem. It is gut-wrenching. You do not get any planning process here. You do not get any, well, this is going to happen in a month, why don't you get ready for it. It happens and then you have got to make a decision. And there you are as a family group. Everyone here is going to have this happen to them sometime. When my father was 95 years old, he had had a couple of strokes. On his first stroke, we talked to him. He was 93 before we ever talked about a living will, okay? That is the way it is in America. That is why we do not have Terri's words in a will. You do not think about dying when you are young. All right. So my father has had a stroke. We said to him, Dad, what do you want us to do in terms of extending your life? He said, Well, I don't want any of those paddles that they use on ER. They can do artificial resuscitation, but I don't want that paddle thing. Okay. The doctor came to me and said to me, Jim, the paddles are much more humane than doing artificial resuscitation. If you press on an old man's chest to try and start his heart from the external massage, you break the ribs. Then he has got pain from broken ribs. Actually, the paddle is much more humane. So I went back to my father, and my brothers and I, we had a talk with him, and he said, well, I want it done the way it should be done. Then came the day when he had his third stroke and he could no longer swallow, and he was on IVs. And so there were two brothers, a sister, and me and my mother, and we had to stand around and decide whether or not we were going to put in a stomach tube, a feeding tube. Anybody who stands out here and says that is not an extraordinary process is absolutely wrong. It is no different than being on a ventilator, forcing air into someone's lungs, than it is forcing food into them. That is exactly what it is. You are throwing all that up in the air and leaving families and doctors with nowhere to go because this is not setting precedent; this is something to hide something else, some diversion of what is going on in this House.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor and a privilege to rise today to recognize the vital contributions of African American newspapers throughout our history and the continuing need for their perspective today. The Seattle Media in my district is a good example. For nearly 180 years, black newspapers have provided their readers with not only the news of the day but with hope for a better tomorrow, and for the past 65 years the National Newspaper Publishers Association has been the standard bearer in that proud tradition. A federation of more than 200 black community newspapers, the NNPA has provided outstanding service to its member papers and the 15 million Americans who rely on them for news. Through its network, the NNPA makes stories that happen in one part of the country available everywhere, and on the pages of its member papers black reporters and columnists record critical events and render thoughtful and much-needed alternative viewpoints that both educate and inspire. The NNPA is a great American institution in the rich history of African American newspaper gathering, and I am proud to pay tribute to them today.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Chairman, the budget declares our Nation's priorities in black and white, and this budget makes America black and blue. Republicans have squandered the surplus, forcing America to go country to country in search of money to prop up what cannot stand on its own fiscal integrity. They present charts and graphs. They talk about acting in America's best interest when, in fact, we have before us a budget that rewards America's special interests. We are deep in debt and growing deeper because Republicans have so many special interests to thank with your money. The price tag is mind-boggling, but that is outdone by the people Republicans have targeted to bear the burden of their fiscal recklessness. The rich get the gain; America's most vulnerable get the pain. As ranking Democrat on the Human Resources Subcommittee, I asked my staff to examine where past Republican practices might be in this politically engineered budget crisis. $18.7 billion is coming out of the Committee on Ways and Means. None of it out of Social Security. None out of Medicare. What is left? Poor people and children. Two million of our Nation's poorest families will see Draconian cuts in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Child care assistance for low-income working families could be eliminated. Social service block grants could be cut 60 percent, and Federal assistance for foster care could be slashed by 80 percent. And if that is not enough, let us take $5 billion worth of food stamps out of children's mouths. It is America's most vulnerable who will pay for the Republican intention to extend tax breaks for capital gains, with 75 percent of the benefit going to people earning over $200,000 a year. What in the world is going on? Do Republicans intend to starve the poor so they can feed the rich? Budgets reflect values. We heard a lot about values, family values, all this stuff. I guess feeding kids is not a value. And I suppose this budget reflects the Republican majority. Those values can be summed up in one word, bankrupt, just like this budget. I urge a ``no'' on this resolution.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, this House has seen plenty of outrage, but this is the most outrageous thing I have ever seen. You come with a bill that is not on the calendar. You pop it out in the middle of the night, when all the Members are down at the White House on the Republican side having dinner with the President. You try and change what is going on in a court because you do not like what is going on in a court. How do you know what is going to come out of those courts in Florida? Oh, no, let us put it up in a Federal court or let us change everything. The Members on the other side of this aisle do not believe in process. You do not believe in government by law. You believe in raw power. If you have power, you can bring anything out here at any time and run it through here without any debate and no hearings and no anything. You ought to be ashamed of yourself that you have no shame, that you would come on this floor like this with a bill that is as complicated as this and do it without a single moment of hearing. It is a disgrace.