Kendrick Meek

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Can the gentlewoman please elaborate on the C words?

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I hope he yields to us for the time we are yielding to him because we only have about 6 minutes left.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I thank the gentleman very much. It is always an honor to be here on the floor, not only addressing the Members of the House but also sharing with the American people what is not happening. I came here and I actually picked up an e-mail here. Has there ever been a President who has presided in a bigger increase of the country's national debt and has not vetoed a single spending bill during his term in office? I can tell you that from what I know, just from my knowledge of what I have been reading recently, I can't remember a President outside of the President that we have right now. And I am pretty sure as we start talking about national debt, we can also talk about the fact that this administration, along with this majority, has led us in just 4 years, $1.05 trillion in money we borrowed from foreign nations. Now that is not my number. That came from the Department of the U.S. Treasury. That is more than 42 Presidents combined. Mr. Speaker, 42 Presidents only were able to get to the point of $1.01 trillion, and that is over a period of 224 years. A lot of folks say, well, why are you alarmed? Well, you should be very alarmed, and if the Republican majority allows that kind of borrowing to take place, especially from foreign countries, I guarantee you that the President could not do it on his own. I guess one of the things that is quite disturbing, I could not help but on Veterans Day turn on the television and watch our President of the United States attack other Americans for being American. I could not help but think that it must have been some sort of coordinated plan in operation, look over there from over here, from what is actually happening. I can tell you, when you are dealing with the issue of outing CIA agents and indictments and then you say, well, I am going to start attacking Members of Congress that question my policy, maybe we can make that the discussion for the week, I think the American people and also the Members of this House are far more intelligent than that, to think that just because this is your message for this week, it does not necessarily mean that the American people are going to follow you in that message. You see the majority following suit because it seems to be a message machine. The President spoke of sending the troops mixed signals. Well, I could not help but reflect on that, being a Member of Congress and seeing what is happening right now. We have a budget amendment that is supposed to come to the floor pretty soon. I guess they did not have the stomach to pass a budget amendment that would have cut VA benefits to veterans, that would have instructed the Veterans Affairs Committee to cut over $767 million in services to veterans and march in the Veterans Day parade. I guess that was just a little too much for some of the many Members on the majority side, and I want to thank some of those Members who said they were not going to vote for it. I hope they still stand by their convictions this week because that budget resolution has not changed a bit. What they felt last week, they should feel this week. Also, I should say the President is saying we are sending mixed signals. Well, I guess it is mixed signals when we have over 50 million Americans without health care. What kind of signals are we sending them? I guess it is mixed signals when we have our men and women who are fighting in harm's way right now, but better yet, when they become veterans, we do not have the same passion for their health care and for their needs. I guess it is mixed signals when you have to look at our generation and parents that are trying to pay for their child's education and you cut $40 billion and change out of student loans and student aid. That is mixed signals. I hope that the President can get just as passionate when it comes down to cutting free and reduced lunches in this country, get passionate about that. We talk about winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people and people abroad. How about winning the hearts and minds of Americans that pay taxes every day? One other point I just want to make, another mixed signal, as we speak now the Budget Committee is meeting. I guarantee that they are ready and meeting, and on the majority side, the Republican side, to protect people who make over $500,000 to be able to receive their $80,000 tax cut. That is sending mixed signals to the American taxpayer. So, if anyone that raised their hand and said they uphold the Constitution of the United States, you need to be passionate about those Americans that know what it means to punch in and punch out every day. Last week, one of the Members on the majority side came to the floor and said, well, we are giving tax cuts to the productive Americans. I am assuming that I guess if anyone makes under $500,000 they are not productive in America. The bottom line is, is that I am not disappointed in what the President said. I am just a little taken aback because my constituents work every day. Your constituents work every day. There are Americans out there trying to make ends meet. Better yet, we want to scream at Members of Congress talking about rewriting history. Let us talk about putting this country in a debt that it will be very difficult for us to get out of. Let us talk about record-breaking in 4 years of an administration and this majority allowed this President to do $1.05 trillion in borrowing from foreign countries, like China I must add, more than Democrat, Republican and Whig party Presidents was not able to achieve. I have to go all the way back to the Whig party, 1776. Folks say, oh, well, hard times. Well, World War II happened on this side of the chart. World War I happened on this side of the chart. The Great Depression happened on this side of the chart. Challenges are not new to leadership in Washington, D.C. If people want to borrow and spend, then that is okay if they do it with their money, but when they do it with the American people's money, it is another thing.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. And it is setting us back. My message for the majority and also for the President is get passionate about the right issues. You want to get passionate about some of the actions in the White House, it is happening right there under your nose. Passion stops at we will just give an ethics course on not sharing national secrets with the press. You have to go far beyond that. Too many people have died. Too many veterans right now need assistance to just go use the restroom right now to give that speech.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I know the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt) is standing by there, but I want to just share this with you. I have one message for the majority and for the President: Get passionate about the right issues. We are all passionate about the war. We are all concerned about our men and women in uniform, but I tell you one thing. We have American cities that are trying to make ends meet. We have children that are trying to do the best they can under the circumstances. The Leave No Child Left Behind Act is known by the States, and States are suing the Federal Government for a lack of funding. Meanwhile, as we speak here on this floor, the Ways and Means Committee is meeting to make sure that the tax cuts are permanent for millionaires. So I am glad that some members of the Senate last week said I cannot vote, at the same time that I am cutting Medicaid for poor Americans free and reduced lunch for children, veterans benefits and then within the same time period, within a couple of days I am going to vote to give millionaires a permanent tax cut? What I am saying is that there are things that we should get passionate about, and there are some things that we really need to be passionate about. I can tell you right now, there are a number of issues not being addressed, and like you said, the outing of a CIA agent is just like someone running over and telling the enemy about the Marines are going to be on this beach at this time and this day; I just wanted you to know that because I know it. That is what it is like.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Let me just, like we say, put the cookie on the bottom shelf here. Veterans Day is Friday. I am just thinking about this. Folks have put statements in the Record. Our veterans, we love them, tear drops on the paper while they are writing it. And here we are living in an environment now in the 109th Congress, Republican-controlled Congress, where it has been proven, literally put on paper to be judged in a court of law that officials in the White House several years ago, someone finally came forth and told the truth or said that someone lied. And they have the power to call these White House officials in a public hearing to talk about what happened. They have the power to do that, but they choose not to. Now, just like I have this mike here and this podium, there will be some Members of Congress that will be asked to speak at a Veterans Day event and they are going to talk about the war on terror. And they are going to talk about winning the hearts and minds of Iraqis and other groups that are out there. And they are going to talk about the troops and their commitment. But I tell you one thing that they will not talk about. They will not talk about the fact that we know what is going on. We are not going to call these people before Congress and ask questions like we are supposed to when CIA agents are outed, when national security is jeopardized. We are not going to, when there is almost close to prima facie evidence that it jeopardized national security as it relates to a person's job, who was to find out and seek out those countries that have weapons of mass destruction for the reason that we went to war in the first place. I am just in the middle of what they are doing or not doing. By the way, I want to let you know that I have voted to make sure that you veterans of wars that allow me to go into a free House in the Congress to represent you, that I have voted to increase your copayments. I voted to make sure that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs over the next 5 years makes $798 million in cuts that very well will result in two things: one, making sure that you pay higher fees when you go to the Veterans Affairs Department for a death benefit, or make sure that you wait longer to see a specialist in the Veterans' Department and clinics and hospitals. That will not be said. That will not be shared with those veterans. But I guarantee you, as we sit here, letter after letter after letter from these groups that are saying that they are against what this Republican majority is doing. So when we see what is public knowledge here in the United States and throughout the world, that it is okay as long as it is the Republican White House and the Republican Congress that is condoning it to happen. In the Senate, in the Senate I am so glad that the Democratic leadership used Rule 21 to call them into a closed session, to force the Republican majority to come with Democrats and Republicans, three on each side, to finish looking into the allegations of false information given to the Congress when it was time to go to war. So when we start talking about the budget and we start talking about corruption and cronyism, it is happening in the moment. And I am so glad that I am a part of a party and have leadership that is willing to stand up on behalf of the American people. Guess what? There are some of my Republican friends, because I talked to them, and when I say they are my friends, they are my friends. They wake up and put their pants on one leg at a time or grab their purse or what have you; and they are good people. But it is the leadership. That is the reason why the votes are extended. I have here, right here in my hand, it is called The House Rules and Manual of the 109th Congress. In this manual, I must add that it says, under rule 20, Mr. Speaker, and it is number 2 here, it talks about the fact that the maximum time for a recorded vote or quorum call by electronic device shall be 15 minutes. Now, as I stand here as Carrie Meek's son, my mother, I guarantee you tomorrow when this vote comes up that the spirit of that rule will not prevail. We will be here for some time because they have to convince some of our friends in the majority to vote for the rule. We can talk about that a little bit because I think we need to share that with the Members, Mr. Speaker, of what the Rules Committee did tonight. I think we need to talk about that since it was in a dark room on the third floor. We are on the second floor now. It was on the third floor of this very building.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. All right. Here is a perfect example of what we call the Potomac 2-Step. You have just outlined a perfect example. Some may say hoodwink. Others may say bamboozle. But here in Washington we call it Potomac 2-Step. It is a dance where, hey, I am going this way, you go that way, you swing your arms.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Let me just tell you what they are doing. Presently, they would say it is reducing the deficit, but what they are not saying within another 2 weeks, we are going to give people that make over half a million dollars a year the biggest tax cut they have ever seen. One Member described it on that side as we are going to help the productive people here in the United States; we are going to help the productive people. So I guess that means, American worker, if you make between $34,000 and $54,000 and you get an $840 tax cut, you are not necessarily in that group of the half a million folks. I want you to go further on that chart, but just before we get too far away from what the Rules Committee did tonight on a party-line vote, you hear Members come to the floor and other Members say, oh, well, we are for fairness; we do not know why the Democrats will not offer their alternatives; they have nothing but complaints; it is almost un-American. I am going to tell you what is un-American, Mr. Speaker, and I am going to tell you what is limiting the voice of the Democratic side over here. The rule that was passed from the Rules Committee just moments ago in darkness, there was not a television camera in that room. When we start talking about the back halls of Congress, it is our job here in the 30 Something Working Group, good or bad, we are supposed to expose what happens in the back halls of Congress. Let me just read this. This is not something that I printed. This is what the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) just pointed out on H.R. 4241, what they call the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, even though it is increasing the deficit by $20 billion and change. I did not put these in order. Number 1, closed rule. Closed rule means that we cannot even offer an amendment to this Act when it comes to the floor, democrat or Republican. Let me just keeping going here. This gets interesting. Two, provides 2 hours of debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the Budget. That is where the Republican side gets two hours to talk about how good it is, the Democrats get 2 hours to talk about why we cannot offer anything to this budget, why are we cutting veteran benefits, why we are increasing student loan costs to students for our next generation of workers in this country, why can we not have more female engineers in this country, why are we putting what I call tax, they call fee, why are we putting additional tax on American families to educate their children. Three, waive all points of order against consideration of the bill. Well, goodness gracious.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. One hundred thirty years of a White House Chief of Staff of the Vice President of these United States indicted. We have an Official A that we now know as the Senior Chief of Staff or Assistant Chief of Staff to the President of these United States, and not a mumbling word. Not one floor speech. Not one letter. Not one hearing in the people's House.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. No message meeting from the Republican Conference about we need to make sure that we stand up to our constitutional responsibilities. So when we talk about a culture of corruption and cronyism and incompetence, that is not what we are saying. That is what the American people are thinking and what they know. That is the reason why this Congress has between a 35 percent approval rating to 31 percent approval rating. It is not our doing. It is the doing of the majority that are not doing their job.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. That means if you have a point of order to the Speaker, that is waived, you are out of order. What do you mean point of order? If something was found in the rule book tomorrow that violates the rules of this House and I want to make a point of order, you cannot make it because it has been waived by the Rules Committee. Number 4, provides that all amendments printed in the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution shall be considered as adopted.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. We do not want that.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Yes, that is the bottom line. Some Member is going to make a career decision tomorrow because somebody told him to vote for something that they did not want to vote for in the first place. We are going to make the right decisions, decisions on behalf of the American people. May the blocks fall where they may. There is going to be a difference between the Members and the followers in this Chamber. It is important that we let the American people know who is standing for them. So when Ms. Wasserman Schultz talks about when judgment day comes every 2 years, when Democrats, Republicans and the one Independent we have, when people go to make their decision, I want them to think about the fact that they should vote principle over party. Do not go for, in the last minute what we call in some areas of this country, the okie- doke. Hey, I am strong on terror. I am with the trips. We have Members flying to Iraq. Thank you for fighting for our country; but do not talk to me when you become a veteran. I am just fresh off a vote cutting your future benefits. But, hey, I am with you all of the way. But as long as you stay enlisted, we stay with you. Mr. Speaker, I want to give the Web site out, but I wanted to make that point so people remember what happened this November. They came to the floor and came willing to vote for a budget that was unjust.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. My colleagues, it is not only what we are saying, it is what is in House Resolution 4241. You can go on line, Members that have not taken a look at that, they can look in the morning, read over it, have staff highlight exactly, verbatim, what we are talking about here. I know the reason why the Rules Committee, Republican majority, closed the rule. I know why they did it. Because on this side of the aisle we will do what we tried to do in the Budget Committee. We will replace the cuts that they made to veterans' services and health care. We will replace that. And guess what? Under the lights and in this Chamber they would have to go up, take my voting card out, they would have to go up to the machines that we have here and actually take out their voting card and put it in the machine and go on the record, on the board, saying that they are willing to cut child support enforcement. I wonder what their State attorneys are going to say and district attorneys are going to say when a single parent, nine times out of ten women, that are going to go into the State attorney's office and prosecutor's office and say, he ran out on me; he left me here with these four kids. I have not seen him and he has not given a dime towards child support. Can you help me? Yes, they will take their information. But you know what they will say? Ma'am, I am sorry, it is going to probably take 3 years because we have a backlog because of our friends in Congress. You need to call your Congressman because they cut the child enforcement money. But it gets worse, Mr. Speaker. The three of us were members of the State legislatures. Mr. Ryan was in the senate in Ohio, Ms. Wasserman Schultz and myself, we were in the senate in Florida and in the house. My colleague from Florida speaks of the fact that she is a freshman here, but her public service goes beyond mine. I have been here 11 years, and I met her when I came into the house because she was already there a term before me. So what is going to happen when it gets to the State legislatures? What are they going to do, Mr. Speaker? They are going to make a cut, too, to child support enforcement.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. It is not what we are doing.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. It is not what we are doing, it is what the majority is doing.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. No. Number 7, provides that notwithstanding the operation of the previous question, the Chair may postpone further consideration of the bill to a time designated by the Speaker. Now, that is the out in number 7, and I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, in no way do I want to see the American people go through what the majority wants them to go through if this bill passes hypothetically tomorrow. That allows the Republican majority to say, oh, the leadership, goodness, we could not get some of our Members to vote against their own constituents that sent them up here; we tried but it just could not happen because it was the wrong thing to do. They thought about it. Some slept on it. Some got calls from their veterans and from faith- based organizations that do what they can do on behalf of those that do not have as much as others; those that were concerned about the effects on the environment that is in this budget; those that cared about children to have an education environment, Mr. Speaker, where you do not have kids on one end that had breakfast, lunch and dinner because their families were able to provide it versus those kids that could have been stricken by natural disaster or a father could have died or under this bill a single mother because we cut child enforcement dollars to help go after deadbeat parents that are not paying for it.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. It is what we are fighting against. And guess what? Those that come to the floor, and I guarantee there will be some come to the floor, and someone will give them a piece of paper, and they will say, Okay, thank you, and they will run up here, grab the mike and they will say, Why do the Democrats not offer something? Hello? The Rules Committee has spoken. It is done. Period. Dot. Even if someone had a great idea, they cannot do it. And there is a history of this kind of abuse here in the House and muzzling individuals and people with great ideas that want to help this country. But, better yet, the rule. And this is America. This is not a Third World country. This is not a Communist country. This is America.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. No, no. It does not happen.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. That is just an attempt by the individuals that have problems with this bill to recommit it back to committee. I mean, this is not something to change or improve or someone comes to the floor and say, you know, if you just did not do what you are doing to free and reduced lunch for children, poor children in my community, I just cannot vote for this because I just cannot close a clinic which is only open in my rural area once every 2 weeks and now this may very well close it; all these billions of dollars in cuts to the veterans assistance and health care and death benefit, I just cannot vote for it in good conscience. So that means that that cannot even happen.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. No.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Without a vote. Should be considered as adopted. That means it is already adopted. What are they meeting for? What is the 2 hours on both side? Why debate it? We did it because we are in the majority, and guess what, we have the power to do that. They are setting the rules. They think they are muzzling the Democratic side. They are muzzling the people that sent us up here to represent them. That is what they are doing. That is the reason why this stuff happens at night here. Number 5, this is not my order, Mr. Speaker. This is from the Rules Committee. Waive all points of order against provisions in the bill as amended. They have already, in their opinion, adopted this bill. When I say ``they,'' I am talking about the Republican majority. When we talk about power, when we talk about an abuse of power, Mr. Speaker, that is what we are talking about. I want to say it again, just in case someone missed it. This is not what we are doing, Mr. Speaker. This is what the Republican majority is doing on the Rules Committee. Number 6, provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is once again an honor to come before the House, and we want to give thanks to the Democratic leadership for allowing us to be here one more night. Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues know, the 30-Something Working Group and hard-working members on this side of the aisle have come to the floor repeatedly, night after night, in some instances, 2 to 3 hours, to inform not only the Members, Mr. Speaker, but also the American people on what is happening to them under this budget. I will tell my colleagues something for them. As I stand here now on the floor, Mr. Speaker, the Rules Committee is meeting. They are not meeting under the lights of the American people or even in the daylight. They are meeting here at almost, close to 9 o'clock at night to try to figure out how they can come to the floor and put forth a budget that is going to increase lines at veteran hospitals and clinics in rural areas, decrease services to veterans, and also bring up a higher copayment and premiums for veterans to be able to receive health care. They are meeting now trying to figure out, Mr. Speaker, how poor children, who do not have to pay a copayment to get health care, they are trying to figure out how they can explain that to the American people and how they can bring it to the floor and package it in a way that even some moderate Republicans can vote for it. They are trying to figure out now, Mr. Speaker, they are going to be able to ask Members of this Congress, who have been federalized by the fact that they have been elected to Congress, to watch out for the well-being of the country; and drilling, having oil rigs just miles off the coast of Florida where so many of us here in this country go to these destinations for relaxation. And also as it relates to even helping our own U.S. economy, people fly from overseas to come over and try to enjoy themselves and, at the same time, bring dollars to the United States. They are trying to figure out how they can go to pristine areas throughout our country and national parks and how they can stick an oil rig in the middle of a national park because special interests want that to happen, not that the American people want it to happen. They are also trying to figure out, Mr. Speaker, how they can save face, and when I say ``they,'' I am saying the Republican majority, how they can come to this floor and ask Members to vote to increase fees for students, which is going to be handed down to the States and they are going to have to increase fees to students for college education as it relates to loans. They also are trying to figure out how they are going to say that their budget is better than the Democratic alternative, and it is all about priorities. Mr. Speaker, that is the reason why we are here on the floor tonight. This is the eve of the budget vote. I will tell my colleagues this: I just do not know how, on the majority side, they can swell up about the troops, how they can get teary-eyed, how they can talk about the War on Terror, how they can talk about all of the things that they talk about as it relates to defending our country, and then those very individuals that are defending our country, as we speak, Mr. Speaker, will come back only to have to wait 6 months to see a specialist at the VA. Where is the money going to come from and the services if you are pulling the rug out from under the veterans?

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, what is going to happen is that historians are going to look at this moment right now in the U.S. Congress; they are going to look at this very moment, as we are on the floor right now, and the Rules Committee, they are meeting behind closed doors, at night, in the dark, making decisions that are going to affect the American people, the everyday American people. It is going to affect them. This is not a hearing that is broadcast to the American people; it is not a hearing, not even in the daytime. It is a hearing in the middle of the night. And what they are going to do in that closed-door hearing is set the stage to try to come to this floor. They cannot persuade our Members on this side, because we are already on the side of the American people. We already know, together we can do better on this side of the aisle. We already know that we put forth amendments in the Budget Committee that were voted down on a party-line vote. As it relates to the oil companies' profits, there was a hearing today with the oil companies here. They must have heard us talk about it, and so they said, Well, let us call a couple of them in and let us talk to them about why the American people possibly got price-gouged. A lot of talk. But it was the Democratic Caucus and the Democrats in committee that put forth the amendment, not talk, but action, to make sure that the American people no longer were being price-gouged; and also making sure that those individuals in America that have to pay higher fees, especially our poor, for heating oil and gas this winter. Action, not talk. To come to the floor and to just talk, without action. We in the minority, and by the fact that we are in the minority, we are trying to do the best that we can to fight on behalf of the American people that sent us here to represent them throughout this country, we are here fighting. We are not just giving them lip service. We are not saying, Hey, listen, we are going left, but we are really going right. We are not here to sugar-coat or glaze the reality. The reality is the fact that they know that they are wrong, and they know they are going to have a problem with the vote. I guarantee my colleagues, as sure as my name is Kendrick Meek, when that board opens up tomorrow, the vote on the budget, we are going to be here for some time. We are going to be here for some time while arms are being twisted, while the special interests are calling in on cell phones saying, you have to vote for this because our stuff is in that bill. But meanwhile, back at the ranch, I grabbed the PAC list a little earlier. I did not see a PAC on behalf of people who fought for this country. I did not even see a PAC that was put forth by the children in America that are on Title I and free and reduced lunches; I did not see a PAC on their behalf to get the attention of this Congress. I did not even see a PAC that said, Hey, listen, we just want you to do the right thing on behalf of the American people. I did not see that PAC listed on the PAC list. But I will tell my colleagues this: This is very disturbing. The reason why I asked the gentleman to put that VFW letter into the Record, and we need to put that AARP letter that came in yesterday since we are helping seniors, into the Record, because we want historians to look at the time when we had the highest deficit in the history of the Republic, we want historians to be able to look at when one President, with a majority Congress, with a majority House and a majority Senate, borrowed more from foreign countries than 42 previous Presidents and 42 previous administrations, Democrats and Republican.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, will the gentleman from Ohio give that to the Clerk so that we can enter it into the Record.