Jim McDermott

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would say to my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), we are going to miss the gentleman when he leaves Congress. It will be a loss for all of us. The gentleman said this is a tax that nobody wanted. Well, if we take the Democratic alternative and look at it in the Statement of Congressional Findings and Purposes, and mostly Members blow through these bills and never read that. I have a little bit of time, so I would like to say a few things about it. In 1986, because of tax preferences on oil and gas depletion and a whole lot of things, there were a number of people in this country who made a lot of money who then could write it all off because they had these preferences on oil and gas exploration and so forth. So there was an agreement in this House to put in an alternative minimum tax, believing that every American ought to pay something. No matter how rich or how poor, we believe that each worker should put something in the pot. Here we had these people at the top who figured out how to get rid of it all. So we put the alternative minimum tax in. Then came the 1990s and we had tax reform. We got rid of all of those preferences. Even when we did that, we still had less than 1 half of 1 percent of taxpayers who paid this alternative minimum tax. It never became a problem until 1997 when we took away the personal deductions and the deductions for kids, and we suddenly swept up a quarter of the people this year. If we look at the projections, we are going to have three-quarters of the people paying this thing at some point down the road. We could have fixed it along the way, but most people did not want it in the first place, and so they said let us get rid of it. Those people on the top should not have to pay anything if they can figure out how to get out of it. So we have not fixed it. I give you a tale of two taxpayers. There is one standing here, and I have a wife who works and the two of us make a nice living. We have good salaries. We do not have any children, and we do not pay the alternative minimum tax. And the other thing is I live in Washington State. We do not have a State income tax. A great State to live in. It wants folks to come and visit, but do not stop there and live. We do not have any problem with the AMT. Mr. Speaker, I am not arguing for myself. I am arguing for these people behind me who live in the District of Columbia. One has two kids, one has four kids. They have to pay it on staff salaries in the House of Representatives. Tell me where is the fairness in that tax structure? How is it my wife and I benefit tremendously from this system, and we clobber the people in the middle class behind us? That is why we are here today. Obviously, Republicans realize that the people out there are going to find things out when they do their taxes. They start through the form, and if you have an adjusted gross income of $58,000, you should begin to figure your taxes in a parallel fashion, the regular income tax form, the 1040, and then there is the alternative minimum tax. So there you are at $60,000, $70,000, and you have to figure your taxes twice. If you ask the IRS, they put out a flyer that says it takes 3 hours and 56 minutes to figure the alternative minimum tax. Now people are filling out their tax forms making $70,000, a lot are not using accountants, that is their time. So we are putting them through the wringer twice to fill out their taxes because you would not listen. Now this idea that we will repeal the alternative minimum tax, that is nice. That is a great idea. You know who that helps, well, it helps these people behind me a little bit, but it helps the people at the top. Again, it would be a give-away to the people on the top. I understand what the Republican Party is all about. I believe that is what your goal is. That is a major plank in your platform, is no one who has millions of dollars should pay anything, they know how to use their money, we should let them have it and they will invest it and we will have a lot of jobs. Well, these tax cuts have not worked in the State of Washington. They have not worked in the State of Washington. We have more people unemployed today than we have ever had. It is the highest long-term unemployment we have ever had since the 1950s, and we are still waiting for the recovery. In February, there were 21,000 jobs created, all government jobs. So the tax cuts did not work except for people who had a lot of money. The next month, March, we had 306,000 jobs. Goodie, we are growing. The fact is that economists say that it takes 250,000 new jobs every month to simply keep up with the growth in the labor force in this country. So 300,000 is just barely replacement, saying nothing about the 3.5 million that we have lost since President Bush has been in office. This economy has been an absolute disaster for the middle class and the ordinary working people in this country. This tax structure Republicans have created is awful. We will vote for this today. There is no Member who is not going to vote to put a 1-year patch on it, but it is not being fixed. As a Member said, the way things are going, down the way, you are going to have half the people we are going to have to deal with, and at some point it is going to cost a lot of money. The other side of the aisle would not fix it in 1997. We tried to tell them, but they were too smart and too full of their own ideas and ideology to look at what they were doing to people, and that is why we are here today. We certainly will all vote for it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. The gentleman from Texas talks about this being a sneaky tax sneaking up on people. It is only sneaky because my colleagues would not have hearings. If they would have listened to us when they were passing these tax bills in 1997 and 1998 and 1999 and 2000, we told them over and over again, we offered these changes that were necessary then and it all happens now. They say we snuck up on them. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, America now knows the name of a woman who lives in my congressional district in Seattle. But she did not seek fame and would prefer anonymity. Her name is Joelle Ligon. I rise to speak about her plight, her courage and the need for this Congress to act. Joelle deserves to live her life without fear, as everybody deserves. Unfortunately, Joelle's life was turned into a nightmare because of cyberstalking. Today she is both a victim and an advocate, and she was invited to share her story the other day on ``Good Morning America.'' It was not easy for Joelle, but she knew it was important to warn America about the dangers lurking online. Joelle was 15 when she met and dated an 18- year-old young man in high school. Nothing unusual about that. Eventually Joelle severed the relationship and moved on with her life. She married and began a career. A few years later, Joelle received an e-mail one day. It was supposedly sent from a woman she did not know, but whoever sent it knew her. Then a second e-mail came with more personal details that no stranger could possibly know. Joelle began to suspect that the woman was really a man. By the third e-mail, Joelle was sure the e-mails were coming from her former high school boyfriend. She wrote back, naming him, and telling him to stop. Things went from bad to bizarre. The e- mails got much worse. They began to include pornography and threats like this: ``Not only is it bad karma to have enemies, I'm a bad enemy to have.'' Joelle was terrified. Then came phone calls in the middle of the night. Her phone number had been posted online by someone urging men to call her for sex. Joelle went to the local police, but they concluded there was nothing they could do because no law had been broken. Joelle and her husband moved to Seattle, but within months the nightmare came back. Joelle started receiving calls at work from men who had seen her number posted online in sex chat rooms. She again went to the local police and to the FBI, but nothing was done. Finally, her coworkers and supervisors received an e-mail that accused her of falsifying her employment credentials and of sexual misconduct. The city of Seattle's computer security officer, Kirk Bailey, became the white knight. He got people involved, but progress was painfully slow because no laws specifically address cyberstalking. Eventually an assistant U.S. Attorney got involved, but finding a law to deal with a 21st century crime has been tough. A break in the case came when the ex used her phone number in a chat room. Authorities acted, using title 47 of the Telecommunications Act for the first time in a case like this. The ex-boyfriend has been charged, but it has taken years and a courageous woman willing to see it through. And it is not over yet. Joelle and millions of other Americans need our help. By some estimates, one out of every 12 women in America is stalked online. The problem extends to men as well. Some States, including Washington, have acted to toughen the laws, but it is time to recognize that cyberstalking is a national problem. We are using a 20th century law to fight 21st century crime. That has to change. Cyberspace has no State borders. Cyberpredators can reach across State lines to terrorize their victims wherever they live and work. Americans like Joelle need the protection that only the Federal Government can provide. We need to modernize our laws to make sure they protect Joelle and every American. Cyberspace has opened doors we are just beginning to understand. This one, we already know. Everyone has the right to feel safe and be safe. Anything less is wrong and should be illegal with severe penalties. The first step is awareness. I am preparing a letter to circulate to my colleagues that will include newspaper accounts from Seattle about Joelle. We are going to work with the appropriate Members and committees in the House as soon as possible to tackle cyberstalking head-on. We will do what we need to do to clarify and strengthen our laws. I urge both Republicans and Democrats to join me in protecting Joelle, to join me in protecting every American. Let the predators know that they are the only ones who should not feel safe today. Joelle, you are not alone. Help is coming.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, America has suffered the worst defeat in memory, and not by any insurgents. The world is rightly shocked and appalled by the pictures from Iraq. Rogue U.S. soldiers have committed atrocities that sicken us. They have harmed Iraqi citizens. They have endangered every decent U.S. soldier, and they have turned more people against us. The world must know that America stands for justice, and that justice should be carried out quickly against those responsible for these despicable acts. The Iraq war just keeps getting worse for America, Mr. President. For those who mistrusted us before, the pictures will inflame their rhetoric. For those who hate us, the pictures will impassion them to find new recruits. Every decent American can only feel enraged that the sordid conduct of a few people will be portrayed worldwide as representative of our Nation. Iraqis were insulted and humiliated, but seven officers have received only a reprimand, a slap on the wrist. They were not even demoted or discharged. The world will ask, is that what America calls justice? No, it is not; and this administration had better take this seriously. The U.S. would have gone to war if our citizens had been treated like this in another country. Remember our outrage when they hung some of our people from a bridge. The administration's response is just one more mistake. It is completely inadequate. Iraq has been a mistake from the beginning. The administration refused to get help and support from the international community, and the administration continues to spout rhetoric that no one in the whole world either believes or accepts. Every day, literally, the administration switches from one policy to another. First, the Baathists were bad, aligned with Saddam and no friend to the U.S. Then the U.S. hired a Baathist general to try and get us out of the mess in Fallujah. Then the U.S. replaces the guy after Iraqis protest the general's role in Hussein's regime. Now a new guy is in; but the insurgents, heavily armed and fortified, have already rejected the new general. Fighting has broken out in several cities, and U.S. artillery is shelling positions near the Baghdad airport. There have been more U.S. casualties, and U.S. soldiers remain in grave danger all over Iraq while the administration test-fires a few possible solutions. Note, Mr. President, this is not a test. Iraq is not a laboratory. They are shooting real bullets, and we keep pretending we have a policy. Some say Iraq is not like Vietnam. Iraq looks more and more like Vietnam every day. In southeast Asia, there was always more reassuring rhetoric from a Democratic President, by the way, than there was truth or policy to back it up. In Iraq, there is all this talk of growing a democracy; but in reality, we are seeding a civil war, with our soldiers' blood right in the middle of the violence. What is the American administration going to say, We are working on it? The Pentagon said a few hours ago that 135,000 U.S. soldiers will remain in Iraq at least through 2005. In other words, the only thing being handed over on June 30 is a bill of goods, meant more for the American people and the election than the Iraqis. It is time this administration faced the American people and the truth of their mistakes. Either get an international solution now, before more U.S. lives are lost, or get out and admit you should have never gone into Iraq in the first place. All the rhetoric in the administration's arsenal can start a debate, but it cannot stop a bullet.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, no one in Seattle doubts the city will be rocked by another earthquake one day. We've faced large magnitude quakes in the past and we fear a large magnitude quake in the future. So, I rise to express my outrage that the Administration and Republican leadership refuse to pass a comprehensive highway bill that includes critical planning money for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. There is not a moment to lose in planning and replacing the roadway. A large magnitude quake could topple the double-decked highway, just as we saw with tragic consequences in Oakland, California. Quit playing politics with peoples' lives. Safety must not be held hostage by the Administration and Republican leaders. Pass a real highway bill now, while there is time, while the Alaskan Way Viaduct is still standing.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, the administration, aided and abetted by some Republicans, have launched another undeclared war, this time a sneak attack on the truth. Republicans launched a sneak attack on Senator John Kerry in this Chamber with a blatant disregard for dignity, heroism, and patriotism, or the facts. In so doing, Republicans have dishonored every American veteran and dishonored the people's House. Republicans have staked out divisive new ground and every American ought to know it. Republicans have trampled patriotism, heroism, and the service of every American called to defend America. Senator John Kerry is a decorated war hero. He did not get those Purple Hearts because they just hand them out. He was shot defending his country. He was not missing in action during the Vietnam War. The President was MWA, missing without action. These are the facts.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the previous speaker. The growing division in America over war in Iraq pales by comparison with the gut wrenching images that divided America during the Vietnam War. Thousands of men were called to serve their countries in Vietnam. Senator John Kerry did just that. Other Americans chose to be conscientious objectors and serve their country in noncombatant roles. Still other Americans had one or another kind of deferment or joined the National Guard. A week ago, the administration chose to enlist Republicans in a new kind of draft for a new kind of war. In this Chamber, Republicans launched a sneak attack against the heroism and patriotism of Senator John Kerry. The American people deserve to know the service records of Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush. He can provide one of them. In 1968, John Kerry commanded a U.S. Navy swift boat in Vietnam. This was a 50-foot aluminum boat that was heavily armed but had no armor protection. In 1968, George W. Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard jumping ahead of 150 people on the waiting list. On the night of December 2, 1968, John Kerry commanded a Navy swift boat. It came under intense fire while on patrol. John Kerry was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart. George W. Bush meanwhile was accepted into pilot training after scoring the lowest score possible to qualify. In early 1969, the swift boat John Kerry commanded in Vietnam was in a fire fight with the enemy. John Kerry was wounded by shrapnel and awarded a second Purple Heart. When George W. Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard, he could have volunteered for overseas duty as did John Kerry, but he checked the other box on the form, the one that said ``do not volunteer.'' In March 1969, John Kerry's swift boat was one of five on patrol in the Bay Hap River. They came under attack. The boat was hit. An intense fire fight ensued. Suddenly a mine detonated near his boat. John Kerry was hit and bleeding. Viet Cong fired automatic weapons from the shore. A man in Kerry's boat fell overboard. John Kerry would not leave that man behind. Under intense fire, John Kerry turned the boat around. With both sides exchanging fire, John Kerry moved to the bow of the swift boat, exposed to enemy fire. Still bleeding, John Kerry did not hesitate. He reached down into the water, bullets whizzing by. John Kerry grabbed hold of the sailor and pulled him into the boat. For his courage and valor under fire, John Kerry was awarded the distinguished Combat ``V.'' John Kerry was wounded three times in battle serving his country. Yet, Republicans on this floor rose to dishonor every combat veteran by attacking John Kerry and others. In 2000, Senator Max Cleland of Georgia lost both legs and one arm in Vietnam. Republicans disgraced themselves by impugning the man's courage and service to the Nation. America needs to know. Where was President Bush during the Vietnam War? Missing without action, that is where the President was. In February 1972, the military stripped George W. Bush of his flight status. He was suspended from flying for failure to take a required physical exam. Why? Why did George W. Bush not take the physical? Would a physical have revealed a top gun or a smoking gun? We do not know. There is an 11-month gap in George W. Bush's record, from May 1, 1972 to April 1, 1973. George W. Bush was not only grounded during this period, he was on the ground in Alabama working in a political campaign. That is not a mission in the National Guard manual. We would like to know more, but the National Guard Bureau Chief told a Spokane, Washington newspaper he was under orders not to talk. Why is that? We know that Senator John Kerry was wounded in battle three times. We know that Senator John Kerry never left a man behind. We know that Senator John Kerry fought with courage and valor on behalf of his country. We know that George W. Bush flew under the radar, because that is the only explanation of how a pilot suspended from flying parachuted into a Republican political campaign in Alabama. John Kerry, Max Cleland. America has many heroes from the Vietnam War. It is time Republicans and the administration honor the courage and valor of American veterans, no matter what party they belong to.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I came to the floor to talk about Earth Day, but listening to what is going on out here makes me think I will change my subject. I spent 2 years, 1968 to 1970, as a psychiatrist in the United States Navy taking care of people who lived through what John Kerry went to war about, and for anybody to come out here and attack his war record, you have to have pretty good credentials. Now, if you served and showed up for drills at your local National Guard, I think those would be acceptable credentials. But if you were in the National Guard and you did not show up, you were AWOL for a whole year, you have got real nerve to start an attack on John Kerry's character. During that war many people on both sides of the issue, whether we should go to war or were against the war, acted bravely. But some people were simply not available. They never showed up for their flight physical. They were not there.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, we see the Iraq war in the newspapers every morning and on the television every evening, but we are not seeing reports on the administration's undeclared war on the environment. It is a war. It is being fought on our own soil, and the polluters are winning. This Earth Day this administration has launched a full frontal assault on the environment. The assaults include the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we cherish, the fish in the sea and the people themselves. I am a doctor. My medical training and experience taught me you have to treat illness by curing the problem, not by treating the symptoms. This administration does neither. We could write a prescription, but it will not be filled while this President is in office. Air pollution shortens the lives of thousands of Americans, and air pollution worsens the lives of millions more. Breathing polluted air is bad enough when you are in good health. It can be catastrophic when you suffer from any one of a number of respiratory illnesses. When I was a kid, I had asthma. It is a respiratory illness which can clog or even close the bronchial tubes which carry air to the lungs. In other words, asthma can impair the ability to breathe. In severe cases, asthma can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. An asthma attack can be triggered by smoke and by environmental pollution. And we have seen the enemy, and it is the administration. The environmental pollution this administration has let loose on America saves the polluters millions of dollars, but costs individual Americans dearly. Do not take my word for it. Ask anyone with asthma or any other person with a respiratory condition in this country. Respiratory problems are just one area of medicine impacted severely and negatively by pollution. There are others, from skin disease, to chronic allergy, to a host of medical problems hurting Americans, young and old. Polluters have poisoned water supplies. They have contaminated rivers and streams. And worst of all, they are getting away with it. They are changing the rules. This country is more in danger at 5 o'clock on Friday than at any other time environmentally during the week because that is when the administration puts out the new regulations under the radar, no press conference, no anything, just give the polluters an open door. They invite them to secret meetings to craft America's energy policy. This administration does not look the other way. Instead they hold fund raisers. The President cannot remember making a mistake the other day on television. I cannot remember the President doing anything right about the environment. The record is that abysmal. And unless we change administrations this November, it will only get worse. In my home State of Washington, it takes committed local organizations like the People for Puget Sound and others to monitor the regulators. In my home State of Washington, we now fear new environmental actions Republicans openly hint about that may harm or kill whales, porpoises and dolphins. No one and nothing is safe from the undisclosed war of this President on the environment. Now, whales cannot vote, but we can. Porpoises cannot vote, but we can. Dolphins cannot vote, but we can. Children cannot vote, but we can. Lakes and streams cannot vote, but we can. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge cannot vote, but we can. The water, the air, and the Earth cannot vote. We must vote on their behalf. This is Earth Day. Sadly, the Earth is in grave danger, much greater than it was in 1970s when this first was put on the calendar. We know who was responsible, and we know why. It is all about money, about greed. Energy producers are saying, we cannot clean up the air. In the President's own State, the major city is one of the most polluted in the country. When he was Governor, he did nothing. When he is President, he does nothing. Houston might as well not have a President or a Governor. We must save the planet before it is too late, and the sand is quickly flowing out of the hour glass. Today is the day we decide to vote for the planet and vote this President out of office in November.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Bremer?

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for coming out here and giving us an opportunity to talk about the abuses of power of this administration. I think we have had so many that it is really hard. You sit in your office and say, which one should I come out here and talk about? Well, the most recent and striking one to me was on ``60 Minutes'' last Sunday night when they talked about the book by Mr. Woodward in which he describes the run-up to the war. Now, anybody who knows anything about the Congress knows it is our job to collect the taxes. I sit on the Committee on Ways and Means. We collect the taxes, and then the Committee on Appropriations says this is how it is going to be spent, and the President is supposed to spend it that way. He does not have the freedom to just spend it anywhere he wants. Otherwise, what do you need a Congress for? Why do you not just give him the money and say, Mr. President, do whatever you want? If it looks good to you, buy it. Do it. See if you cannot make it work. So with that background, the revelations that came out of this book on Sunday on ``60 Minutes'' were absolutely mind-boggling. The President secretly diverted $700 million from the war on terror in Afghanistan to begin building airstrips in Kuwait, starting a war that nobody knew anything about, that was hidden totally from view. They took $700 million appropriated for dealing with the war on terror. We just had two enormous buildings in New York knocked down and the Pentagon attacked, we were over there trying to find Osama bin Laden, and the President decided, on his own, I do not know, sitting there talking to I do not know whom, maybe he was praying, for all I know, and he came up and said, I am going to use $700 million to start a war in Iraq. Now, the question is whether that is not only not constitutional, but whether it is illegal for the President to have done that, whether he has broken the law, and we hear nothing of it. Ask yourself just for a minute, what would $700 million have bought in Afghanistan? It is fascinating. Just today the Pentagon came out and said it needs another $700 million to keep 20,000 troops in Iraq for another 90 days. So effectively what the President of the United States did was, in the middle of this war on terrorism in Afghanistan, he said, I am taking $700 million, I am taking 20,000 troops for 90 days out of the country. I am reducing our ability to deal with the war in Afghanistan, because I want to start this war over in Iraq. It was not inconsequential what he did. Remember, this is when the Secretary of War, Mr. Rumsfeld, was quick to point out that they knew, it was not even close, that we suspect or anything else, we knew that bin Laden was hiding in the Tora Bora area of Afghanistan. Right in the middle of our dealing with Tora Bora, the President says, hey, Rumsfeld, out of my way. I want that money, and I want to put it over here. Now, we were still in the shock of the attacks of 9/11, and all America watched and waited for the word that bin Laden would harm us no longer. The President still has not found bin Laden. He still is out there, still organizing, still sending out tapes, still having impact on us. And the President decided, I am tired of this, I do not want to chase bin Laden anymore. Because when this was happening, right in the middle of having him located in Tora Bora, the President said, I have lost interest in this, and I am going somewhere else. Now, he acted unilaterally and without the Congress or the people of the United States understanding what he is doing. The President reduced America's resources in the hunt at the very moment when we had the best information about where bin Laden was. Now we are talking about maybe he is in the border areas with Pakistan, or maybe he is here, maybe he is there. We knew apparently where he was at that point, but the President was not interested in getting him, I guess. I do not know. He must have a short attention span to just say I am going to walk away from this. My belief is that unilaterally reducing American resources in the hunt for bin Laden really raises questions the President must face with the families of every 9/11 victim and with the Congress and with the American people and the mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and husbands and wives of the 700 Americans who have died in Iraq. What was he thinking about? Now, none of us think that the President was stupid, none of us think that Rumsfeld is dumb. But the question is, why were they so intent on going to Iraq? It clearly was not about weapons of mass destruction. It clearly was not about al Qaeda. There is no connection. Yet we are now mired down in the war, and the question is, how do we get out of it? The fact was that the State Department predicted all of this in a big study, and the War Department just ignored it.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, he never talked to the Iraqi Governing Council. No Iraqi would have given him that advice. I mean, it is the President's mistake for putting a guy like that there.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) raised was the issue of arrogance. And certainly it takes a certain amount of self-confidence to be a national leader. I mean, a President has to be a confident person and act confident and so forth. But there are times when one needs to ask forgiveness for making mistakes. This administration has absolutely blanket not asked for a bit of forgiveness on anything. The dismantling of the entire Army they now say was a terrible mistake. The dismantling of the police was a terrible mistake. The dismantling and driving out everybody who was a Ba'ath Party member, university professors, doctors, lawyers, everybody, they threw them out of work. They threw the whole country out of work. And then they are surprised by the chaos. Now, it would be bad enough, as that was a long time ago, but the viceroy we put in there, Mr. Bremer continues to do these stupid things on his own. I was talking to some people who are in Iraq at the moment who said it is absolutely inconceivable that he shut down a newspaper.

Mr. McDERMOTT. This most recent one I spoke about, this closing this newspaper, now, we are bringing them democracy, right? Free speech. Newspapers should be able to say whatever they want to say. Well, we do not like somebody, so we go over and shut it down. These Iraqis say, hey, what is this about? I thought we had free speech now that we had democracy. Now, clearly we want them to have free speech as long as they say what we want them to say. The conflagration that has come out of the Shia community was provoked by Mr. Bremer. That did not come from the outside. It did not come from foreigners. It came from the United States Government going in and saying, you shut your mouth. We put gasoline on the fire of a guy who was a nobody. He had been talking 6 months before, and he lost all of his oomph. So we go down and throw some gasoline on the embers, and now we have a flame. We have the worst month we have had in the entire war. More people have died this month. They have not learned anything from their mistakes. They continue to make them because they are arrogant. They think because they are from the United States, and they come over with all this knowledge in their head, that they could not possibly know anything about what was exactly the right thing to do. We are doomed as long as the President of the United States and Mr. Bremer and Mr. Rumsfeld and Mr. Wolfowitz who cannot ever reexamine what they have done are in control. We have no chance if they do not go to the United Nations and get the United Nations actively involved and in control so that the United States is not the sole occupying force. There is a wonderful article in the Atlantic Monthly by James Fallows that I think everybody ought to read from almost 6 months ago that lays it all out. It is called ``Blind into Baghdad.'' It is a statement about every mistake we have made. And we still continue to make them, and our kids are dying. That is the worst part.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, the casualties in Iraq are a bitter reminder of the truth and consequences of war whether you oppose it, as I do, or wage it, as the President has. As America grieves over our losses, we should also grieve over the losses suffered by the Iraqi Kurds in a war that went largely unnoticed in this country. In fact, this is not the second Gulf War, but the third in our memory. After the first Gulf War, America pulled out of Iraq, leaving Saddam to reorganize his henchmen. They did more than take names; they took hostages, and they look lives, thousands of lives. It can happen again. After the first Gulf War, we established a no-fly zone, but we did not disarm Saddam's Republican Guard, and we did not destroy his lethal helicopter gunships, killing machines used not against Americans, but against Iraqis. The outcome was a blood-drenched record of atrocities. At least 8,000 Kurds were massacred by Saddam and his henchmen after the United States withdrew from Iraq, having urged them to rise up. The Kurds cried out for help, but no one listened, and no one saw. The war was over, then-President Bush number one declared. Victory was at hand. We marvelled at the stories told, many untrue, of how U.S. technology had spared lives, reduced casualties, and proved America's warmaking superiority. The satellite images showed everything except the coming slaughter of these peace-loving people. The Kurds represent about 20 percent of the Iraqi population. They have their own language and culture. Although Muslim, they are not Arab. Historically they have lived in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq in an area around Kirkuk. This region holds about 7 percent of the world's known oil reserves. The vast oil wealth represented around Kirkuk has always been a motive for Saddam and other ethnic Iraq groups to act. Remove the oil by removing the Kurds. Saddam used every opportunity to hunt them down and eliminate them. But America is barely aware of the suffering Saddam inflicted on these people. While the President never found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Kurds would tell you that the President would have found evidence of mass murder. Kurds fear, and we should, too, that it could happen again. Kurds fear, and we should, too, that if the U.S. pulls out on the 30th of June, it will not take long before the killing begins again. We should never have left the Kurds alone after the first Gulf War, and we must not leave them alone after June 30. The date is meaningful only for the President's political ambitions. We know what happened the last time we pulled out of Iraq. We cannot do it again and silently sanction a new outbreak of unspeakable crimes again the Kurds. The Kurds deserve liberation. The Kurds deserve protection. The bloodshed we see daily in Iraq reminds us of the country's instability. It should be a warning of the bloodshed that will come if America forsakes its responsibility to Iraq and all the Iraqi people, all the Iraqi people. We must stay the course. Stay past June 30. Stay until the Kurds are safe, until Iraq itself is a safe place. We owe Iraq and the world nothing less. By declaring war we took responsibility for the future of Iraq. We cannot walk away and throw it open to the chaos that we have created. It was our warning to the President when we started, winning the war, the military part, that will be pretty easy because we have a tremendous fighting force. But as for establishing the peace, that is where the trouble is. The President never planned for it. He ignored the State Department's efforts to do that. He ignored everybody's warnings. General Shinseki said it will take 300,000 troops. They said, shut up, and they fired him because he told truth. Anybody who tried to tell him the truth coming into this was discarded or shuffled off or put somewhere else. We are about to do it again because the President wants to have another sign that says ``Mission Accomplished, Democracy Delivered.'' You could have a little ceremony somewhere and hand some paper around, I guess. It reminds me of a scene in Vietnam when the United States declared victory and left off the roof of the embassy. We must not let that happen again.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, it is time to play the tapes. Members of the administration seem to be rewriting history. The Secretary of State does not remember that the President forgot to tell him about the secret run-up to the war in Iraq. The Secretary of War does remember he often says what Bob Woodward quotes him as saying, but the Secretary cannot remember saying at that time. What is a person to do? If the President were faced with this predicament, he would consult a higher authority. Our higher authority is closer, and he can speak without the need of a burning bush. Mike Wallace said on ``60 Minutes'' Sunday night he heard the tapes and read the transcripts for the book ``Plan of Attack.'' There is a record. If Mike Wallace can listen to the tapes, so can we. The House should have hearings for the American people. The secret war is not secret any longer. Let Americans decide what the truth is. Play the tapes in open session. Let the truth be heard, not staged.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to deliver the thoughtful opinions about the Hubble Space Telescope from the fifth grade math class at Island Park Elementary School. All 25 students unanimously believe that the Hubble Space Telescope should be saved. I recently visited Thelma Ritchie's class as a part of Hubble Awareness Day. It is a program I started to listen directly to the American people about the future of the Hubble Space Telescope. According to the Administrator of NASA, the Hubble has no future. Mr. O'Keefe may be the only person in America who actually believes that, but he certainly is one person who can kill the Hubble if he wants to. Students at Island Park Elementary believe Hubble should have a future. So do I. So do millions of other students and scientists and ordinary people across America. Thelma Ritchie's students recently spent the entire week working on Hubble-related activities. The day I was there, students were using Hubble images and math to learn how to accurately estimate the billions of stars visible without counting all of them. The classroom fueled inspiration amid the wonder of scientific discovery. Hubble pictures were everywhere. You could see the excitement and wonder in the eyes of very young students. Some had crafted Hubble models. Others had drawings. Many of them were totally engaged in the pursuit of scientific discovery inspired by the Hubble Telescope. Thelma's classroom, like every math and science classroom in America, is an incubator for future scientists, astronauts and astronomers, and one tool at their disposal will be lost if we do not act and save the Hubble. Before I arrived, Ms. Ritchie had given her young scientists an assignment: Read the House Resolution that 47 colleagues and I have sponsored to save the Hubble and tell us what to do. Here is what the students said. From Claire and Juliana: ``Without the Hubble, space would be a half- solved code for us to crack.'' Byron said: ``In my opinion, NASA should go and fix the Hubble, since it has been giving tons of information.'' Matt said: ``I think NASA should keep Hubble up there,'' and Charlotte added, ``because then younger kids can get more interested in science.'' Shoshana offered this: ``Advice for NASA would be pretty much to listen to the public and scientists and do what is best for us all.'' Sidney said: ``Not only does it give scientists answers, but it teaches kids way more about space.'' Alyssa was even more direct: ``I disagree with NASA and I think they should keep the Hubble.'' NASA's Administrator claimed that safety is the reason for letting the Hubble die, that it would be too risky to send the space shuttle to service the Hubble, as it has in the past. Let us be clear: Space flight is risky, and safety must be paramount. But it is hard to follow the Administrator's logic on safety at the same time the administration wants to go to Mars. I think Mr. O'Keefe is seeing red, partly over the criticism of Hubble, but mostly because the President wants to go to Mars. Personally, I wish he would, but that is a different discussion. Hubble's mission is not over. Hundreds of millions of dollars in new Hubble equipment, some of it designed with the help of University of Washington astronomers, is built, paid for and ready for deployment. Tens of millions of dollars of equipment is already built. Hubble's mission is not over. There are new worlds to discover, new images to take us even closer to the moment of creation and more children across America to inspire. The Hubble Space Telescope has produced great advancements in science, yet Hubble's most important contribution may be its inspiration. It is the cheapest ad ever produced to encourage young children to become scientists. If anyone needs reassurance that America can compete globally in math and science, they should visit Thelma Ritchie's fifth grade class at the Island Park School. You know how to do math, and so do they. Here is their answer: Two plus two equals save the Hubble.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, we now know the truth was the first casualty of the President's war in Iraq. Ironically, the truth was not shot down by a cruise missile but by the Commander in Chief. Instead of openly telling Congress and the American people that he wanted to take out Saddam, the President secretly diverted $700 million from the war in Afghanistan to prepare for the invasion in Iraq without telling the Congress, $700 million meant to help find and deal with Osama bin Laden on behalf of the 9/11 victims, on behalf of America. Another Republican in the White House the last time America faced this secrecy was Richard Nixon, whose legacy is a profound mistrust in government that lingers to this day. Just as America did 3 decades ago, it is time to shine the bright light of an open and democratic society on what the administration did. I call on the Speaker and the Congress to hold hearings, just as America did during Watergate, to get to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about the President's war in Iraq.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, we have had a great day today. It is really historic. The average American family could teach Congress a lot about budgets, and it appears that at least four Members of the other body may be listening, despite the roar out of the White House. Today, some Republicans still do not want to face the consequences of their actions. The budget deficit under the Republicans is growing so fast and so high you cannot even see a ``debt ceiling'' any more. We are facing trillions of dollars of debt that will be shouldered by Americans not yet born. That is how bad it is. It does not have to be that way. Years ago, the Congress established the pay-as-you-go rule. That is a shorthand way of saying what every ordinary American already knows: You look at both sides of the ledger, how much money you have, what are your expenses, before you do anything. Instead of pay-as-you-go, the Republicans and the President have said they are going to give America a new policy. It is called ``pray-as- you-go.'' Pray. If you say things are fine long enough, somebody might believe it. Pray that something, anything, good happens somewhere in America. Pray that Americans are so consumed with the economic crisis caused by this President and the Republican leadership that they will not have to time to vote in November. We are not voting on a budget today because the Republicans are rolling in the street fighting amongst themselves. Why? Some of them are beginning to figure out there are consequences. We cannot slash taxes and give millionaires $112,925 without paying for them. We are paying for these massive tax cuts for the rich with massive deficits for America. The economy has produced 300,000 jobs this month, and none last month, not a single one. This month they say they have 300,000. I do not know, maybe they saved last month's to build up this month's; or whatever they did, 250,000 jobs are required every month to simply maintain. They have not added anything to the economy; they are maintaining. The administration remains in denial, but some Republicans are beginning to see the truth, and I hope the light, about extending unemployment benefits. Unemployment is getting worse in State after State. My State ranks fourth in the Nation, yet the administration refuses to extend unemployment benefits. To every American I say this: the money is there in a trust fund to provide for this lifeline program. Not a single dollar in new taxes is needed to extend a helping hand to people who cannot find a job because this administration cannot create one. Not one job, remember, last month. Now, the other day, Myra, a lady from Washington State who is part of the ``Show Me the Jobs'' bus trip across America, came here. Fifty-one people representing every State and the District of Columbia went from town to town telling their personal stories of grief and hardship as a result of economic policies of the administration. They ended their trip here the other day because they came to the place where you can actually do something. We tried in December, Scrooge said no from the White House. We tried after the first of the year, the President said no. We tried in February, and the President said no. The money is there, set aside for this very purpose, paid for by the very people who are out of work, and the President continues to say no. We have tried over and over again. Just the other day the Democrats tried to get the President and the Republican leadership to extend those benefits on a bill that was before us. Once again, the President, with his warm, compassionate conservative heart said, no. Now, Myra, you do not have to feel bad. You can hold up your head. You have nothing to be ashamed of, but we do. Because this administration knows the truth of what is happening across America, but will not act. You have to believe, folks. They want you to pray that there will be a job. People young and old are losing jobs and losing hope. People are graduating from college, they studied hard, they worked hard, they did everything they were supposed to do to get the American dream. Under this President and this Republican leadership, the American dream is turning into a nightmare for millions of Americans. Instead of pay-as- you-go and work-and-you-get, you get from these people, pray-as-you-go. Let us hope our prayers are answered on November 2. In the meantime, the Congress on this day should pass extended benefits. The money is there, Mr. Speaker. Please tell the President the money is there. I told Myra the money is there. I hope some Republicans finally have the courage to do the right thing and extend benefits now.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in tribute to August Wilson, the leading playwright of his generation and an icon of contemporary American theatre. For more than 20 years, August Wilson's sometimes searing, but always provocative, dramas have flung theatregoers into the lives and circumstances of black Americans. Performed throughout the country, these works have amused and disquieted us. They have deepened our understanding of our history and our society. In recognition of the unforgettable portraits he has created, Mr. Wilson has received repeatedly virtually every award bestowed by the literary community, including two Pulitzer Prizes, and five Tony Awards. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. August Wilson has been a resident of Seattle since 1990. So it is quite appropriate that the Seattle's Rainier Club, one of the oldest entities in the city, has named him its laureate for 2004-2005. This occasion offers all of us a most welcome opportunity to salute Mr. Wilson for his transforming contributions to American theatre. He joins the other laureates of Seattle, Jonathan Raban; Ernestine Anderson, the jazz artist; Dave Horsey, the Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist. He has been a real tribute to our city and deserves the acknowledgment of the whole city. And we look forward to many more evenings in the theatre with August Wilson, gazing at America through his eyes.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take the Special Order time of the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, we have now passed the budget in the House, one in the Senate, and they are starting a conference committee. We are going to have a product out here one of these days soon, but this budget will be perfect proof that the administration giveth and the Republican Congress taketh away. The administration gives massive cuts to the rich; the Republican Congress takes Federal unemployment benefits away from average Americans. That is the way it has been in this administration. Millionaires get an average cut on their taxes of $112,925. The average American, on the other hand, gets $676. Why should a millionaire get $112,000 and the average working person in this country gets only $676? They have no answer for that. They have an answer that is sort of strange. They say, well, these tax cuts are going to allow jobs to occur. If you give a lot of money to rich people, suddenly, miraculously, jobs will kind of sprout up out in the fields or in the factories. No proof of that whatsoever. We have been following the President's ideas for three-and-a-half years, and this will be the first administration since the Hoover administration, since the Hoover administration, 1928 to 1932, that the administration has not produced one single job. They have lost jobs. February was a particularly good month. You read the newspaper and they say, oh, the economy is recovering. We do not have to give unemployment benefits to anybody because the economy is recovering. How do we know the economy is recovering? We know it because the stock market is going up. What does that mean to somebody that does not have a job, the stock market is going up? They spent all their savings and their 401(k) and everything else to keep afloat, and this administration says because the stock market is going up we have a recovery and we do not need to extend unemployment benefits, in spite of the fact that we have $20 billion sitting in the trust. All it requires is the President to say to the Congress, move it. Republicans will never do it. They do not care. But the fact is that in February, in this recovery, 21,000 jobs were created. That is 400 jobs for every State. Now, maybe in North Dakota 400 jobs is quite a lot, but in California it is nothing. Not one single one of those jobs was a private sector job. Remember, we gave all that money to those rich people and they were going to create these jobs? They did not create one single job in February. That is a jobless recovery, and the President ought to be able to see that. We could see it in December when we started talking about this. In my State, 80,000 people have gone off unemployment since December; and the government says, well, we have this $20 billion but we are saving it. For what? To give another tax break, perhaps. You have to ask yourself what kind of an administration is this. They talk about compassionate conservatism, but I do not know what that means anymore. We went to a workers' bus ride today, people who come to this city to tell us their problems. This guy who had been working in a paper mill up in Maine said, my grandfather worked in that mill, my father worked in that mill, I thought I would retire in that mill; but I lost my job, and now I have to go to the food bank to make it. Think about it. Think about the loss of dignity. Think about the inability to feed your kids. But the President sits down in the White House and says, well, they do not need it; they just need to try a little harder, or maybe they can take their tax cut. They do not get a tax cut; they do not have a job. For every person unemployed in this country there are three of them looking for every job that is created. The only reason the numbers have come down at all is because the President decided that he would not count them if they were not looking anymore. This budget is a fraud and the American people should know it.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may take the gentleman from Ohio's (Mr. Brown) time.