Kendrick Meek

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. $148,000.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. You mentioned it.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time once again, well, I can tell you, the part that I am more concerned about is the fact that this is a high-profile individual within FEMA. What is happening on an everyday basis with someone that really is not competent in Federal Government and is known to the managers? I guess it is okay, because when you think about the culture of corruption and cronyism, if it comes from the top, then it must be okay. If it is all right with the Vice President, then it is okay. That means it is okay with the Department Secretaries and Under Secretaries and the regional directors. So that is the reason why we have to cut it off. Mr. Speaker, do you know something? Not a mumbling word from the majority on this. Not a mumbling word. Better yet, we have folks coming to the floor, and we started talking about responding to the needs of Americans saying we have to have offsets in Medicaid, we have got to have offsets in possible Medicare, that is not off the table. What I mean by ``offsets'' is the fact we have to take money from those programs to respond to the Katrina-Rita issue. We have to do that. But, better yet, we have an example of an individual that I think pretty much all Americans, and I am pretty sure that almost close to every Member of the House, agree with the fact that he did not know exactly what he was doing. I do not blame Mr. Brown. I do not blame him. I blame the individuals that placed him in that position. I blame the managers that saw that he was not up to par and endorsed lackluster, leave-alone performance, lack of competence in doing that particular job. He is probably good somewhere else.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. If you want to call it an energy bill, I will not, because it did nothing about true conservation. It did nothing about true price gouging. I mean, there was some language in there; but it was not there. We had, on this side of the aisle, a Democratic alternative that stopped price gouging, that put us on a track of alternative fuel and also protected the environment at the same time. We offered that. That is the reason why the board, the voting board was open for 90 minutes, because it did something. Now, it did not do what the special interests wanted us to do. And you know many of them, I see them. It is not personal; it is just business. I see them. Hey, how are you doing? I am fine. Are you okay? I am doing just fine. Nice day out today. Okay. But the bottom line is when it comes down to my constituents and it comes down to Exxon-Mobil coming out today saying, hey, guess what, wow, 75 percent up in profits, give me a high-five. What is unfortunate, I think some of the folks in this Congress are actually giving these special interest groups a high-five, and it is unfortunate because it is on the backs of Americans. We are running around here paying more for gas than we have ever paid before, and there are record profits for the industry. I think there is something wrong there, and I think it is something that is clear as day. And guess what? It is happening under the lights. It is happening in front of the cameras. It is on the front page of the paper in print for historical preservation to the next election. And what is unfortunate is that we could stand by and allow this to happen and say nothing and say, you know, the American people will respond in an appropriate way of making sure that we have the kind of leadership that is willing to lead. We are trying to lead. Guess what? We cannot prevail, because they are in the majority, and they have the majority of the Members in this House. If given the opportunity, Americans will see a different kind of policy that is for the people and not for the special interests, not only in that case. You go back to no longer making mistakes in the Federal and State and local response after natural disaster/terrorist attacks. Not only that, looking at House Resolution 3838, dealing with the issue on contractor fraud, why do we have to read it in the paper? Why do we have to watch television to see that we have not provided the kind of oversight so that contractors do not have cost overruns up to millions of dollars, in some cases billions? Then we turn around, you want to talk about rewarding a culture of corruption and cronyism? Over in Iraq we have contractors that are under investigation by our government, and the very same Departments of Defense and Homeland Security investigating them, Katrina goes down, hey, guess what? Come on over here. We have a multimillion-dollar no- bid contract for you. Sign right here. We ask no questions. There is no ceiling. There is very little oversight. And we will get around to that thing of oversight. But we are in an emergency so we know that you messed up before. It is almost like someone going in a convenience store, taking out a gun, taking a couple of hundred dollars out of the cash register, unfortunately it is in the millions as it relates to the Federal taxpayer dollar, they run out of the store, the police catch them, they say, well, you know, not only do you not have to give me the money, but you do not even have to turn over your gun. Go back out there and rob another store. That is what is happening right now.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, the gentleman is 110 percent right. I think every day Republicans want to see, and Democrats and Independents and even folks that are not voting in America, they want to see leadership. They want to see leadership on behalf of the country. Veterans want to see the flag that they fought for and that some of their friends and comrades died for, that it is not caught up in what we call this culture of corruption and cronyism. We want to talk about cronyism for a minute, Mr. Michael ``Brownie,'' I am not one to say it is his fault as it relates to staying on with FEMA for 60 days, and then the Secretary of Homeland Security extends his contract at the salary he was making as director of FEMA for another 30 days. The reason given for doing that is that we need to learn from Director Brown, or Brownie, the President calls him Brownie, we need to learn from him so that we can know more about what happened in Katrina. Now, if you could not get it in the first 60 days, he was only in charge for about maybe 5 or 7 days, thanks to the fact that we were raising the question. The Democratic Leader first called for his resignation because we saw that we had someone that did not have the experience. The fact he is on for 60 days, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, I am waiting to have a conversation with him on why he would extend it for 30 more days at taxpayers' expense. Now, folks went into their pockets and said, Well, we are going to help you out for another whole month. That is on them. I do not have a problem with that. I do have a problem with the fact that we are rewarding him in confidence and cronyism with the taxpayer dollar.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, let us just make sure that we are crystal clear so that everyone understands. Not just saying, well, let me check, let us see. Let us look at the people that apply for the job. Oh, there is a Republican. No. I want you to hire my right-hand staffer. I want you to hire him or her, put them in the position, okay, and so I can deal directly with them so that we can have a line of communications and we are not confused, because this person has my cell number, okay, and I want to make sure that that happens. Now, we are not talking about something that the House Ethics Committee has not already dealt with, because of the fact that this issue was brought up and it was very public. It was not any kind of clandestine operation that was going on. You just pick up the paper. Yes, that is what we are doing. What is the problem? If they are going to do business up here, they are going to hire the people that they want hired, period, dot, with a straight face, under the lights with the cameras on and the press running. That is a problem, Mr. Ryan, and I believe that when you start looking at the whole culture of corruption and cronyism, you have to look at these activities that are taking place under lights, camera, and on the front pages of newspapers. And you know something? The American people, Mr. Speaker, may feel, well, it is okay, because Congress is not calling any of these people in. Once again, you cannot be the game warden and the lead poacher at the same time. You just cannot do it. It is not physically possible. You cannot have a problem and be over the very thing that is the problem. Once again, I said it last night, I will say it again. These are not personal decisions, Mr. Ryan. These are decisions that are affecting the policy of the country and the Treasury of the country. This is not someone that went off and made an individual bad decision and said, you know, I made a bad decision, it only really affected me, okay, and I am sorry. It will not happen again. No, it is not that; it is a whole Medicare program. It is an entire industry: Energy, we are going to give you what you want. That is what is going on, and it is affecting the U.S. taxpayers.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Ryan, I am sorry to cut in, sir, but I am going to tell you this: I know a lot of Republicans. A lot of Republicans are supporters of me. They vote for me, and some of them say, great job. I have some great friends on the other side of the aisle, I mean great friends. We do a lot together. We talk about things that are common interests. We are friends. My mother was here before me, and some of them are great friends of my mother, and, because of that relationship, we have a great bond. But I can tell you this: I think this goes far beyond building up or doing something on behalf of the Republican Party, because some of these decisions that are made, it will turn the stomach of Republicans that I know. It would turn their stomachs. I know on the majority side, I know that there are some Republicans that go home, and they are sick. They are sick of what is going on here in this House. But you know something? If they were to stand up, unfortunately they would be knocked down politically. They will find themselves fighting the whole reason why we are here on this floor, fighting against them doing their jobs. So I kind of feel that there is a purpose for what we are doing here, because as far as I am concerned, we could sit back and just say, well, let them do it, or let them look the other way, because the American people are going to see that they are not governing. But you know something? We are Americans, and we have an obligation to not only our constituents. When our constituents voted for us, they federalized us. So that means that we have to care about the entire country and what happens to the Federal dollar, which is the taxpayers' dollar. It is very unfortunate. So, Mr. Ryan, I know that it is an influence of the special interests. Their pockets are full because of the relationships here on Capitol Hill that they have and in the White House. Guess what? The average Republican is paying more at the pump, the average Republican does not have health care; just like many of our constituents, there is no health care plan. The average Republican is going to have to bear the brunt, Mr. Ryan, and I am sorry for taking a little of your time here, but bear the brunt of taking away from Medicare, Medicaid, free and reduced lunches for poor people; taking away from projects that would go to local government to build communities; and all of these faith-based groups that are out there trying to bring about some change, it is going to take away from them. But, meanwhile, when it comes down to saying to a billionaire that we probably cannot give you hundreds of thousands in tax cuts that we have given you over the last number of years, and I am going to reference a report here, a third-party validator, a little later on, to say that it is not working, they say, no, no, no, do not worry about it, do not say anything, millionaire. We have you. We have your back. We are going to protect you, but we are going to make sure that the average Republican, the average Democrat, the average Independent, that they bear the burden, that they send their children into conflict and war, that they pay higher gas prices; not you, special interest. No, no, we are here for you. But see, the problem here, and we talked about it last night, Mr. Ryan, about the fact that this is the only legislative body on the other side of the aisle in the Senate, where you can be appointed by a Governor to the Senate if someone leaves office. But when someone leaves office here in the middle of a term, you have to be elected. You cannot be appointed to the House of Representatives. So that means that we are representatives of the people, not representatives of the special interests, not representatives of the billionaires of the world; we are representatives of everyday folk. So I think this is important, because Democrats, we have budget alternatives like pay-as-you-go, saying that if you are going to do it, you are going to show how you are going to pay for it, okay? We have alternatives as it relates to dealing with Hurricane Katrina so that we do not continue to waste the taxpayers' dollars and also make the victims of the event victims all over again. So, Mr. Ryan, we have the alternatives. I believe that this goes higher than the party. I believe that it goes right to this culture of corruption and cronyism, and I will tell you one thing: The American people will see us bring about great change if just one of the Chambers of the legislative body was to turn Democrat, because what you see right now, based on law enforcement agencies saying, listen, we need to have some level of oversight, this country is going down the drain, because they are dragging it down the drain, and we have to do this. Imagine if we had an oversight committee that would call some of these things into question before they get to the level to where they are now, Mr. Ryan.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, once again it is an honor to come before the House. As the Members know, the 30-Something Working Group, we come to the floor to bring about not only good change for the Congress, but also for the country. And we try to promote legislation that the Democratic side is offering towards some of the issues that are facing the country, but at the same time talk about the responsibilities of the majority that are unmet. Mr. Speaker, as the Members know, Hurricane Wilma hit not only my district, but many of the Florida delegation in southeast and southwest Florida, and we are constantly struggling with trying to make sure that we can provide for our constituents. And we come to the floor week after week, especially the 30-Something Working Group, talking about what happened in Hurricane Katrina, the lack of response in Hurricane Katrina and Rita by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and also calling up House Resolution 3764, which has over 190 Democratic cosponsors. Unfortunately, last I checked, there are not any Republicans who have signed on to it, and that is very unfortunate because it is an identical commission to the 9/11 Commission that brought about great recommendations, some that have been met, others that we still have to make sure that we implement to secure our country. It was about not making the same mistake again, again, and again. And that is the reason why we are calling for an independent Katrina Commission. And that is a piece of legislation that is not a Democratic plan, but it is an American plan. Eighty-one percent of Americans support it, and I think it is very important that we do not allow partisan committees that have been established here in the House to dictate the response to natural disasters and a possible terrorist attack. We have to make things better to protect Americans. It is almost like I feel like an insurance salesman saying that we have to have insurance not after the fact, but before the fact. And if we know we have shortcomings, then we need to deal with that in a very effective way. Being an ``evacuee'' of Hurricane Wilma due to the fact that there is very little power in south Florida, there are gas lines, Mr. Speaker, I hold up here the front page of the Washington Post that has many people here in south Florida, as a matter of fact in West Palm Beach, standing for hours for gas because we could not get the generators running at Port Everglades to be able to pump the gas to allow many of the stations to have gas and power. These are things that we need to work on. Governor Bush jumped in front of the train because folks were getting upset with the Federal response once again as it relates to getting the simple things like ice, water, and food down to the affected area. There was a lot of chest-beating prior to the storm, saying, we have 2,000 FEMA personnel in place; we have a set number of trucks that are lined up in Florida, pre-positioned, to go in and provide ice water and food. And in many cases the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) showed that either there were very few, trucks were extremely late like 8, 7 hours. People there just went through a major hurricane waiting 8, 7 hours just for 1 bag of ice and 3 jugs of water, and in some cases nothing showed up, and folks had to go back home. That is why we need an independent commission. We do not need officials that have relationships with the President to say, blame me, I am the State of Florida, blame me for the shortcomings of the response. We know in hurricanes, natural disasters, that there are going to be shortcomings. But as it relates to the very simple things that have to be provided, they must be provided. And the reason why they were not provided is that the supplies were not there, period, dot. FEMA was in charge of making sure that those supplies made it to said location. The truck drivers were not hired by the State of Florida, but were hired by FEMA. And I think it is important that we look at it for what it is. We do not have to have a commission for every natural disaster or event that takes place here in the United States, but we have a House resolution that, Mr. Speaker, will be part of a discharge petition here in the House, and I want to break that down so that everyone understands what a discharge petition is. Basically, we are using the rules of the House to call this resolution up to the floor to discharge it, and we need a said number of signatures to be able to pull it up on the floor so that the House can take a vote. And if we do not have some Members of the majority side to see fit to have an independent Katrina Commission that 81 percent of Americans are in approval of, then we are failing to meet our obligations. We know that we have problems. The Department of Homeland Security telling people in my district to be patient 72 hours after the storm, saying, we will get it right. Well, that is the reason why we have it. We are supposed to be prepared for these events, but we are not, and we are not even willing to correct ourselves. So that is in place as it relates to the Democratic response.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. With that, Mr. Speaker, we would like to thank the Democratic leadership for allowing us to come here in the first Democratic hour. And like I say, it was an honor to address the House.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, it is not like we are by ourselves as it relates to calling for this independent commission. And the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) and I were talking about an independent commission, and we have been going week after week here on this floor saying it is the responsible thing to do not only in natural disasters, but also in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. An independent commission will be able to look at the Federal response, the State response, and the local response and learn from either what was good or bad that took place in those events. If we are not going to have an independent review of our capabilities, then something is wrong. If we are not going to have that, that means that without having it, people will lose their lives possibly because of the lack of response, because they definitely did in Katrina. We had people that were running out of medical supplies. We had people that needed insulin, could not get it because they were stranded and that we were not able to reach them. So I think that is very important. There are a number of papers that have come out for an independent commission on Katrina: The USA Today; the Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee; the News & Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina; also Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin; the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Georgia; the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky; the St. Petersburg Times in Florida; the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah; also the Denver Post in Colorado; and the San Antonio Express, obviously in Texas; and the Houston Chronicle of Texas. There are a number of papers, and those are just the major ones, that have come out for an independent Katrina Commission. We have talked about House Resolution 3764, but also as it relates to contracting fraud that may very well happen in Wilma because of a lack of oversight. We have called for House bill H.R. 3838, a bill to create an antifraud commission to prevent waste and fraud and abuse of Federal contractors as it relates to these emergency declarations or what have you. This is about saving money and making sure that we do not make the victims of a natural disaster or a potential terrorist attack victims all over again because we failed to have the proper oversight. Mr. Speaker, I also want to add the fact that we have to continue to push. Once again I give the report. Every day I go on the White House Website. I have the Website page here. No mention of an independent or any evaluation of what the failures were during Hurricane Katrina, and we also have the Website that has not changed on the partisan committee that is here in the House. And I think it is important for us to identify that so that we do not have to continue to have Ground Hog Day all over again. One last point, Mr. Speaker, while we are on this issue here. The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) and I talked last night about the fact that we were here pushing for this commission week after week. I mentioned that. And we shared with not only the Members, but also Americans, Mr. Speaker, the fact that it could be them next, victims of a poor, short response or an inadequate response. Little did we know at that time that we would be victims of the shortcomings of the fact that we say we are ready, but we are not really ready or really prepared; and in some cases some people question are we saying we have trucks in certain locations and they are not there, do we need to get prima facia proof that they were there? These are the questions that my constituents are asking. So I want to share with Members that this independent commission is very important, to make sure that one day it may be you and your constituents going through this and you are going to say, Gee, you know, it is amazing that we cannot even get a truck to come in here with water. We talked about last night the fact that the terrorists are not going to call up and say, Hey, I want you guys to get prepared. I am going to carry out an attack in another month or so, so you need to get together and pre-position. That is the reason why the 9/11 recommendations need to be fully implemented. That is the reason why we need a Katrina Commission to look at the lack of response we had on the biggest natural disaster that took place on U.S. soil and the Federal, State and local response to that. That is very, very important. It is not an indictment document; it is a document to make sure that we prevent loss of life in the future.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. There are too many people around here paying taxes, folks running around here trying to put fiscal responsibility in the backdrop, saying we are conservatives. Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security is defending and extending contracts of a person that the front-page national publications say is incompetent and not in any way knowing what to do in a natural disaster. So this is beyond comprehension. And not a mumbling word. I would say this: I do not blame him. I am not running around here saying I am disappointed in Michael Brown for accepting a 30-day extension on a $140,000 salary. I am not blaming him. He could not do that on his own. No one from the White House called and said, You know something? Over at the Department of Homeland Security, I think you all are probably not playing with a full deck if you think it is okay to do this. Not a mumbling word. So I am concerned, leave alone as a Congressman, as a taxpayer, that this is okay. Now, this is just a high-profile case. We talk about corruption and cronyism, a culture. People think, well, wow, they are just saying that because they can say it. No, this is a shining example, and we have been talking about this, and it has been in all of these publications, and they are still doing it, like it is okay. The only people that can put this administration and set us on a new course and put this majority in check are the American people. But, unfortunately, they will not have an opportunity until late 2006, and on behalf of the country we cannot continue to sit idly by and watch this kind of activity take place. I would feel a little uncomfortable saying that my colleagues on the majority side are not standing up to their responsibilities in oversight. The Secretary, as soon as he leaves from down in south Florida from Wilma, should be called on the carpet in some committee room saying please let us know what we can learn from Mr. Brown. Please let us know what we can learn from the Director of FEMA. Why do we have to continue to pay him and use the taxpayers' dollars? Someone needs to ask that question. It should be not only the Committee on Homeland Security; it should be congressional leaders calling and saying you need to reverse that. So I do not even feel half uncomfortable about me being upset about this thing, because I can tell you right now, there are a number of people out there that are very upset; and it is time, it is time, that we cut out this culture of corruption and cronyism, because it is weakening this country. I am going to tell you that right now. Folks might see little events, but I can tell you right now, I am concerned about clandestine operations that we have going on, especially in this culture of corruption and cronyism. I am concerned about taking people for face value when they say, well, this is what we have in place, and we find out later that it is really not. I am concerned when we come to this floor and the clock opens up for 15-minute votes, and because the majority side is not prevailing or winning, they decide to hold the vote clock open for 90 minutes. I am concerned about these events taking place under lights, cameras, and action. I am concerned about those events that are taking place in the back halls of Congress, in the White House, and in other Federal agencies that are not under lights and camera. So this is the kind of boldness, cronyism, boldness and possible corruption in many places that takes place. And do not take it from me, just pick up your local paper or turn on the news. It is full of it. So if we do not hold ourselves in check, and if the majority is not willing to rise up and police this corruption and cronyism; because, Mr. Speaker, I used to be a State trooper, and we had what they call a game warden, and I always used to say, the game warden cannot be the lead poacher. You cannot be leading off the poacher saying that I am in charge of policing the poachers. So I think it is important that we have folks that will leader up and say, you know something, I know I have been told to be quiet on this, but I have a constitutional responsibility to make sure that we have oversight. These are not personal decisions, Mr. Ryan; these are decisions that are affecting the governance of this country. So when we allow this kind of stuff to go on, it is making the country weaker versus stronger, because the Federal tax dollars are being spent in ways that they should not be spent, and we are not saving any money by allowing this kind of culture to continue.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. And we are going to give you a 60-day extension and have you on as a consultant, have you on so we can learn from your bad job. Maybe we can learn more. No, as a fat matter of fact, hey, you know, 60 days is not enough. Let us extend it 30 more days.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Yes, ``You are doing a good job, Brownie,'' on national television, broad daylight. The world is watching.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, 3.8 million in both of our counties. Mr. Speaker, I am going to tell you, being a part of the solution is what we do. We are a part of the solution, Mr. Speaker, and I think it is important that even when it comes down to the individual assistance, I mean, you just had to turn on the television and see that there were over 800 homes damaged in Florida. That would automatically allow the people of the State of Florida to be able to call FEMA for individual assistance. But, no, we watched the sun rise and set twice in Florida.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Congresswoman, the issue is the fact that if folks would say, well, why are the Democrats not doing something? They may well, I do not know, maybe they are saying what they should be doing and they are not doing. Guess what? I just want to remind the Members just in case, Mr. Speaker, someone bumped their head and has a little amnesia going on, the Republican-controlled Senate, Republican- controlled House, a majority, okay? A Republican-controlled White House. That is legislative and executive branch, all right? They are in control of this government. The bottom line is in the minority, as it relates to the rules, they cannot agenda bills here on the Floor, they cannot call committee meetings. They cannot even get votes to take place here on this floor, and within the time that it is supposed to take place, especially when the majority is not on the prevailing side, because it is bad policy that they are passing. All we can do is make sure that not only the Members know exactly what they are doing, not only fight them in committee as it relates to amendments to try to make bills better and shame the majority into accepting those amendments so that the bill and the legislation could be better, or we can have better oversight over Federal agencies to make sure what? That the American people get their taxpayer dollars' worth of accountability out of those Federal agencies, and even sometimes out of individuals that are within the Federal Government. So when that does not happen, we are at the point that we are now: a brick wall. A brick wall of just saying, listen, I am in the majority, and guess what? Live with it. It is not personal, it is just business. And believe it or not, it would be okay if things were properly managed in the Federal Government. It would be okay if we did not have White House folks outing, or rumors of well, the Vice President told his chief of staff who the agent was, the CIA agent was, and somehow it got out to a reporter, and then now her life is in jeopardy, and we have lost someone who had the opportunity to go to the other side where many of our intelligence officers could not go to find out where or how individuals possessed weapons of mass destruction to what? To protect our country, and someone thought because of politics, that they should out her. Okay? It would be okay, Congresswoman, but guess what? It is not. We have one of the highest deficits in the history of the republic as we stand here in the 109th Congress. We have an emergency management agency/homeland security agency that cannot perform in the way that it is supposed to perform, let alone the public assistance that is supposed to go to local governments after these disasters to be able to replenish their dollars so that they can provide for who? The people that we represent and the Americans that are counting on us to respond in their time of need, let alone the fact that goodness, we cannot even get water and ice right and food. If we cannot get that right, then how can we count on, if we are under the gun of a terrorist attacks, and we do not know what area is safe, can we breath the air, can you drink the water, when is the next attack taking place, at least we have an opportunity with a natural disaster to say, we can see a storm coming, we can prepare for it as best we can, and say this is what we need to do and folks get in place. You get a terrorist attack, you do not get a warning. The terrorist did not call you up and say hey, guess what? We are going to carry out a terrorist attack in maybe another month so we want to make sure you guys are ready. So unless we scrutinize our system that we have now, it will not be better and we will not be prepared. That is far beyond politics. And it should be far beyond cronyism. And you would say, as much as we talk about cronyism which is, in reality, we do not need to paint a picture there; just open your local paper. Just turn on the television. It is covered with corruption and cronyism. I mean I do not even need to waste time on that. I just need to say that for us to get better, either the majority is going to say, you know something, we are going to do what we are supposed to do, even if it embarrasses some of our friends in and outside of our party, because this is what we have to do. And that is not happening right now. We have a committee right now, a partisan committee that has been created, more Republicans than Democrats, that is are supposed to be assigned to the committee. I am glad the democratic leader and other folks here on this side of the aisle have said, you know something? We are not going to participate in Operation I Have Your Back, You Have Mine. We are not going to participate in, you know something? We have lunch together and I am going to make sure that you are okay and you look good, because we are friends, and what time are we going to play golf? We are not going to participate in turning our backs on those victims of Katrina and storms after Katrina who are counting on some assessment, true assessment, an independent assessment of what took place so it would never happen again. The fact that water, ice, and food cannot be distributed in Florida right now or is spottily distributed in Florida right now, and yes, I am pretty sure things are getting better before they get worse, but I am going to tell you, if we cannot do that, then how in the world can we sit here with a straight face and say, well, the White House is doing a review of what went wrong with Katrina so that we can correct the future, when it is not even stated on their website of who is on this committee or what is going to happen with the findings, or where are we going to go from there? And in the House, we have a partisan committee that is calling folks up, that is supposed to put together a report by February, Congresswoman. So I guess we are supposed to take that and say, we have it right now. Oh, I am sorry, I go back to my example. My name is Kendrick Meek and I know we had some missteps and I have done possibly something wrong or something, but maybe I need to, I will tell you what, I am going to do a review of myself and I will be back and I will give you a report of where I went wrong. It is just not going to happen. And even on the other side of the building here, they are having some sort of evaluation of what took place. We need an independent Katrina commission. Congresswoman, I just want to share this. USA Today said we need an independent commission. Let me put my little chart up here, right here. These major papers throughout the country, and these are just the major ones. I am not talking about the small paper that said it is the right thing to do. The News Observer in North Carolina; the Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin; the Atlanta Constitutional Journal; the Courier Journal, Louisville, Kentucky; St. Petersburg Times in Florida; Salt Lake Tribune in Utah; Denver Post in Colorado; the San Antonio Express News, that is in Texas; Houston Chronicle, they have all said, and that is just to name a few, that we need an independent Katrina commission to evaluate what went wrong and how it went wrong so that we can be better. They are not saying, well, we need to do it so we cam figure out who was wrong. No, we need to have an independent Katrina Commission so they can put together a report and so that we can correct our wrongs. Unless we are willing to do that, because I guarantee you right now, it is not going to happen under normal circumstances. I think we must, on behalf of Americans not only our constituents that are Americans too, continue to push and fight and get in the face of folks who are supposed to be doing the right thing and allowing an independent commission to come about so that we can have this kind of change that is needed in our country, so that we can have a better America and a safer America.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to let you know that we did not try to pass the time. But we want to thank the Democratic leader and thank you for your indulgence here.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. And over 2,000 FEMA employees there prior to the storm.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, that is the only way we are going to get better. We were calling directly to the FEMA director about this individual assistance. You call the 800 number, and the folks of Texas and Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama, I think they kind of know about that FEMA 1-800 number. I am going to put it to you this way. We had to talk to the director. Obviously, I am going to tell you something, I am going to be the first one to tell you, when Michael Brown left, well, he did not leave, he is still on, and I want to talk about that, when Michael Brown was removed, it is almost humorous, but it is sad, when he was moved from the director to whatever job he has now, at the same pay rate, okay, you are rewarded for not doing your job under this whole culture of corruption and cronyism. Because I can tell you right now, folks know that if you were at the helm of the ship and you did not know what to do or how to do it and you did not have the credentials, that you were not only fired, but you were fired yesterday; not, hey, you know something, you are doing a horrible job, but we are going to pay you at the same rate the day before we knew that you were not capable of doing the job, and not only that, we are going to extend you, because under this whole thing of cronyism, this is what we do. It will be okay if it was a private company somewhere that decided to do that for a member of that company, because it was in their prerogative. It is their money, they make their own money. But when you are using the taxpayer's money to commend cronyism and incompetence, I have a problem with that. I do not think I need to be a Democrat or Republican to have a problem with that. I just need to be an American taxpayer that has a big problem with that. How does this happen? It happens because it bubbles up from the bottom to the top, or I am going to say from the top it bubbles down from the top to the bottom. If the President is doing it, it is okay for the department heads to do it; if the department heads can do it, assistant secretaries can do it; if assistant secretaries can do it, area regional coordinators can do if; if regional coordinators can do it, it can go all the way down to the person that is making the decision in FEMA to foot drag or not, because they are okay. Because if you are going to preserve a Michael Brown in the Federal Emergency Management Agency, then guess who also is being preserved around here? I mean, I cannot even imagine for the folks not under the spotlight that are being preserved and rewarded under this culture of corruption and cronyism. And I do not use this corruption and cronyism lightly, because there is a big cloud over Washington, D.C. right now about outing CIA agents, and not a mumbling word from the Congress about it. Not a mumbling word. I can tell you one thing: If there was a Democrat in the White House and the Republican Congress, as it is right now, we would have to hold Members of Congress back from the gates of the White House, under this whole thing of outing a clandestine agent working to find out more about weapons of mass destruction to harm this country. So, I say to the Congresswoman, this goes a lot deeper than just the regular Potomac two-step that is going on in Washington. It has gone to a whole other level. The reason why we were on him on individual assistance to get better, it is because we are a part of trying to make FEMA right. We are a part of trying to make our government work. When we work and when we call and when we plead with Members of Congress and we talk to the department heads and say, listen, grant individual assistance. We already know we are eligible. Just do it so folks will know we are responding. ``Well, we are doing assessments of the assessments, and I haven't heard back from the people that went out in the field.'' Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, thank God for the National Guard. I talked to them. They said listen, anyone from FEMA, who needs to do anything about getting us more, we will fly you down, we will do whatever we have to do. You could go up in a helicopter in 5 minutes and counts 800 homes and it is over. But, no, this Congresswoman here had to get in a car with a gentleman, and I commended those frontline workers when I first started this hour. I think the first responders should be commended. They are the individuals that do what they are supposed to do. I think the FEMA folks on the ground are trying to do the best they can. They were going out, trying to do whatever they have to do to make it happen. Let us be happy for them, police officers, National Guard. But, you know something? It comes down to the management of making it work. If you go to a Burger King or McDonald's, I am not picking on them, a fast food establishment, and things are not moving the way it is supposed to be moving, I cannot be mad at the guy on fries. I have to be upset with the manager standing there with a tie on looking important. Either you are going to be a part of the solution or you are part of the problem. Apparently you have a management problem. And that is what we have. Unfortunately, it is the response to catastrophic events or a possible terrorist attack. This is real stuff. So what we are seeing here on the Floor, just like well were fighting not only on behalf of the people of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, but we are fighting on behalf of Americans about the fact that, guess what? We are not prepared. And all of the paperwork and documents we have that say, oh, we are ready. We have this plan here, and when it is time, we are going to implement this plan. Guess what? Diddly-squat. Because people are not ready to do what they need to do. What is the bad part about it is we have people covering for one another. Now, the President is going down there tomorrow, and I am glad the President is going down. He is going to fly around and he will take a look at what happened and then he is going to go back to the Hurricane Center and he is going to have a discussion with State and local folk. Okay. That is good. I am glad the President is going. He should have been down there today, but I am glad he is going. But I am going to tell you this: I told my people back home, and I told the State folks, if you do not tell the President the truth, then you are buying in to cronyism. You cannot sit there and go through the whole this is the script, and I do not even want to talk about scripts as it relates to press conferences with the President and the troops selected to speak at that press conference. But I am going to tell you this right now: The business of I have got your back and you have my back and we are elected or appointed and what have you, and you watch out for me, and if I end up getting removed from a location, I just want us to be okay so I can get a 90 day contract or can continue to go 6 months for doing a bad job. Those days are over. And, guess what? As it relates to the 30-Something Working Group on this side of the aisle, we are going to call it the way it is. Bottom line: It is not personal, it is just business. That is the bottom line. We are not going to allow this to happen. It is a shame, it is a real shame, that there is not an outrage, there is no outrage from this Congress, this Republican Congress, Republican Senate, the White House, the fact that, you know something, it is not working, we are going to get it right. The Secretary of Homeland Security went down and said you all be patient. What is the problem. What is going on here? What are you crying about? Why are you upset? Oh, you were waiting for a day-and-a-half for ice, or whatever the case may be, or were out there at 7 o'clock and we were supposed to be there at 12 and we did not show up until 7 o'clock? I was at the 163rd Street location, got there at 10 o'clock. There is the ice trucks, pallets of them. Guess what? A few people there were frustrated because they left after waiting 10 or 15 hours for ice. And these are the victims of Wilma. These are not the folks coming in here saying, hey, listen, I want to suck off the government because I understand you all have milk. No. They came down there for help. We told them to come, and we were not there for them. And we had 2,000 FEMA people, let FEMA tell you, the Governor, oh, we have trucks, and trucks and trucks as far as the eye can see of ice and water. No ice and water. They lost trucks in Broward County. I do not know how trucks can get lost. Thank God for the National Guard. They put helicopters in the air trying to find the trucks. This is serious business. Let us just say it. If we have to evacuate Washington, D.C., what is going to happen with the people of the District of Columbia? What is going to happen to the people in Sioux City, Iowa, if they say you have to clear that town now? We are all going to be standing around here saying, oh, my goodness. What are we going to do? Because you know something? We were not critical of our failures, and we have to be critical of our failures so we can have better days in the future. It just does not get better. If you take it out of the refrigerator and it is sour, you put it back in and say maybe it will be fresh tomorrow. It just is not going to happen, and it does not make sense, doing the same thing expecting different results. It is beyond partisanship. It comes down to leadership. I will say this to the majority: if you are not willing to lead, the American people will allow individuals that are willing to lead and are willing to call in, even if it is the same party in the White House, the party that is in control of the White House or in control of this Congress, and it has been proven. When there were issues with President Clinton or issues with President Carter, it was a democratic Congress that called them to the mat. Because we are Americans, and that is our role constitutionally in making sure that this country operates in a good way, because we are the representatives of the people of this country. A Senator can be appointed, but if you are a Member of the House, you have to be elected, and we are elected by the people to what? Lead and have oversight. And if you are not willing to do that, and I say this to the Majority side, I guarantee you, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, white, black, veteran, nonveteran, they want people to lead and they are going to get it. And I am going to tell you right now, I would much rather see some correction take place in the very near future so that lives are not lost and individuals are not told one thing and it is another, turn right, I meant left. We do not have time for that. We need accountability.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I feel very strongly also there is a lot of work to be done. What I am disturbed about, I was at the emergency operation center last night in Miami-Dade County speaking with the county manager and several of the county commissioners. The mayor was on his way back from Homestead Air Force Base meeting with National Guard personnel and management, and the bottom line is that they did not get the supplies that they were supposed to get. The ice was not coming, Mr. Speaker. The water was not on the way, and it is not the Kendrick Meek report. It was on the Weather Channel. It was on CNN. It was on Fox. It was on MSNBC. It was on all the major news networks saying we are prepared because we are Floridians, and we are used to doing this. Well, I can tell the Members that we are never perfect. And I am holding up just one picture here, Mr. Speaker, from the New York Times of the Orange Bowl. Everyone knows about the Orange Bowl throughout the country, but it is not known for what it was known for, for a number of championship games, a number of professional football games. It is a place of chaos and a place of frustration right now. And I use the word ``chaos,'' and I do not use that loosely. I can tell the Members I happened to be with the National Guard yesterday. I wanted them to take me to all of these distribution centers by a Blackhawk, and we had an opportunity to see them. There were lines around, literally if we were to go out the front door of the Capitol, we can go clear across the street to the Cannon Building and around, all the way around that building. People were waiting for 7 and 8 hours to get 1 bag of ice and 3 jugs of water. I do not blame the local government officials. I do not even know if it was the truck driver that needed someone to sign a paper before they released the ice. What I do know is that Americans count on this government for them in their time of need. Local government can only go so far. State government can only go so far. The Federal Government, as far as we are concerned as it relates to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, this is what that Agency does 24-7. They plan for catastrophic events. And as far as I am concerned, as it relates to catastrophic, comparing Wilma to Katrina, it is very hard to compare it, but I can tell the Members that many of the Floridians that are being rationed for gas, we are not saying it is the government's problem for all of that. We are just saying that we need to manage our part of this thing. We need to make sure that if we tell someone that ice is going to be somewhere at a particular time, I can see a truck an hour late or 2 hours late, but 7 and 10 hours late? This is not the Kendrick Meek report. This is in the papers throughout Florida and throughout this country and on several of the news outlets. And I have this here from the Sun-Sentinel, after the Governor made the comments about they should have been ready. And it is not about the Governor and the State of Florida. This is about responding to Americans in need, and we have a pattern. In Rita we heard the same complaints from some members of the Texas delegation and some of the folks that came up here from Rita about what should have happened did not happen. We definitely heard those complaints in Katrina. So we know that we are having complaints, and we know that we have a problem, but we are not doing the things that we need to do to correct those problems. We are not doing it. And that is the problem. That is the main problem that we are not learning from recent events. We are talking about within the last 2 to 3 months. This is not like 1967. We do not have to go back that far. Just this year we should learn from it. And the reason why I am alarmed by this, thank God we are in a hurricane season, but I do not know what these terrorists are thinking about. I really do not. I do not know if they are going to plan to hit a city in the Midwest or the east coast or the west coast. We definitely know that we are not able to respond in a way that we are supposed to respond throughout the country no matter where it is. So it is important that we have this Independent Katrina Commission that many papers throughout this country has endorsed. It is important that 81 percent of Americans have said that they want an Independent Katrina Commission. It is named Independent Katrina Commission because so many issues happened during that event. And then we had Rita, and then we had Wilma, and no telling, we may have something else. But what happens when we get a dirty bomb? What happens when we have to evacuate a whole U.S. city and we have to find not only housing, but shelter for folks? What happens when a local government sends out an SOS? Obviously they are sending out an SOS in south Florida. I do not want us to be too proud to beg, but if we need help, we need to say it. And if we are all collocated with FEMA, and everyone is talking to everyone, we cannot be concerned about this is my friend and I do not want to say anything about him, or this is my brother and I do not want to say anything about him. The bottom line is it is not personal, it is just business. And I had constituents that were told to be at Hadley Park in the middle of my district. Not a truck of ice, water, anything. We had to argue with the emergency management people. We had to argue with the State. And finally it took an act of Congressmen getting involved for that to happen. What happened then? Well, I believe they ended up getting ice and food because there was no water to send over there. So the bottom line is we do have people in the real world that cannot afford to buy a generator to keep their refrigerator and food fresh. We have people in our country, the working poor and some middle-class folks, that are working from paycheck to paycheck, that cannot afford to have ice reserved for 72 hours. That is an interesting number because it keeps sliding. I heard we need to have enough to preserve ourselves for 24 hours. I heard this come out of the mouth of the Governor, the chief emergency management person, the FEMA people. And now we have problem. Now that number has slid to 72 hours. What is it going to be next, 150 hours because we cannot respond? So I am very serious about this because it is our job. Even before Wilma, I am so glad that we were on this floor, and someone said, oh, it is just politics. And it is a perfect example. And, Mr. Speaker, I have said this time after time again. I have shared with the Members. We come to this floor. We say we need an Independent Katrina Commission to evaluate the local, State, and Federal response to these events, and folks said, oh, it is just politics. Guess what? Now it is us. Now it is Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz. Now it is me. Now it is Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, Congresswoman Ros- Lehtinen, Congressman Foley, Congressman Shaw, Congressman Hastings of Florida. Now it is us. Now it is Senator Martinez. Now it is Senator Nelson. Now it is Florida. Who is next? And when are we going to be able to say, regardless of how it may look on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the White House, the Congress, individuals, we have to work this out? That is why people sent us up here. They did not send us up here to be friends and hug and tell each other, ``I have got your back if you have mine.'' People sent us up here for us to have their back. And unless we are willing to do that, then we might as well just stay in our districts and say, call me when you want me to do something. Somebody calls me from the back of the Chamber and says, this is the way you are supposed to vote. If they are one of those kind of folks and they come and put their card in because someone else told them how to vote, and they say do not talk about that because this is the message for the day, we need to talk about it. We need to critical of one another so we can be better. And, unfortunately, it is now our constituents. But I feel half all right about this thing because we have been about the solution and trying to bring about over 190 Members of this House. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, on this side of the aisle, it is not politics. It is just business. And guess what? It is reality. We are calling for an Independent Katrina Commission, along with 81 percent of the American people that are calling for it. What has to happen next? Do we need to have a terrorist attack? Do we need to have a horrific event somewhere to say maybe we need to review what we are doing because what we are doing we are not doing right? It is almost like taking a carton of milk out of the refrigerator and saying, oh, it is spoiled, let me put it back in, and maybe it will be fresh tomorrow. It is just not going to happen. And until we leader up and until we work in a bipartisan way, it is just not going to happen. So, I mean, I do not know how to make it any more plain of what we need to do and what we have to do, because Americans are suffering, and now, as we stand here today, a supermajority of our constituents cannot even see us here on this floor representing them. And guess what? Other Americans that now are sitting at home saying, oh, that is just a shame, or Members sitting in their office, that is a shame what happened in their district, we are going to pray about it, we know prayer without works is dead. We know that, and we know that we have to have action. And that is the reason why we have it in our hearts and in our minds to do the right thing. But guess what is standing in front of it? Politics; the politics of saying I have your back, you do not have to worry about it. This majority over here in Congress is saying, do not worry, we are going to do a partisan commission. You do not have to worry about it. We are not going to be critical of you, White House. White House, do not be critical of us, and we will get through this thing. Let us just ride it out. But somehow, some way, there is a constant reminder of the disorganization of emergency management, and it starts from the Federal, and they will blame the State, or they will blame the local government, and the local government will blame the State, or the State will blame the Federal. We are not into the blame game. We are getting down to how we can get a system that will work for all Americans.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to be here on the floor once again. I thank the minority leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), and the minority whip, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), and our Democratic Caucus leadership, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn). I was moved by my colleagues that came to the floor to honor the late great Rosa Parks, and also the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) who is a Member of this body for a very long time, and actually worked very closely with Mrs. Rosa Parks. I know she is smiling on the gentleman and this Congress tonight for recognizing her contributions. I thank the gentleman for standing up at a time it was not popular to stand up for Rosa Parks and allow her to be a part of your operation. And obviously she allowed you to be a part of her life. Thank you for keeping her memory alive. Mr. Speaker, I entered my comments for the Congressional Record of condolences to not only her family, but recognizing Rosa Parks's contributions to our great country, and to the world. Many leaders are not revered until they have passed on, and I can tell you that many Members of this Congress, especially in the Congressional Black Caucus, let Rosa Parks know how much we appreciated her contributions. I have read many letters to the editor from around the country from people from all backgrounds commending the life and memory of Mrs. Rosa Parks. Mr. Speaker, I would like to come under regular order in the 30- Something Working Group to come to this floor once again and talk about some of the issues that are working in our Federal Government and some of the issues that we need to continue to work on. My State was hit recently by Hurricane Wilma, closely following damage wrought by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and there is a lot of work we have to do. I want to commend those first responders trying to save lives and making sure that we prevent accidents and future accidents. I want to thank Florida Power & Light and light companies from throughout the country for coming down to south Florida to try to restore power to so many Floridians. But I can tell you it was very disheartening that yesterday, and I just got back this afternoon, there were thousands of people waiting on ice and water. Whatever the issue is as it relates to the communication lines, we are going to have to work on those issues. I know that in south Florida we have the most populated area in the State. We have the west coast hit, but we never can tell what Mother Nature is going to do. The east coast ended up being hammered quite a bit. A number of individuals were left without electricity. Roofs were ripped off. Things like that happen in category 2 and category 3 hurricanes. Water lines were ruptured, but hats off to the local government for making sure that we have potable water in many parts of Miami-Dade County and parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. But what we have to do is go back to what we were talking about originally, a Hurricane Katrina commission to make sure that we are able to work the kinks out so we can provide Americans what they need in their time of need. Unfortunately in this particular instance, that did not happen. I want to thank the National Guard for doing everything they could do, but the coordination is still not where it should be. I wanted to talk tonight about what just happened, what has happened in the past, and how we can correct it in the future. I think that is something very, very important, especially as Members of Congress. I am joined by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz). Both of us rode the storm out and both of us live in communities where the lights are out. Both of us called directly to the director of FEMA to recommend to the White House that we be granted individual assistance for households. In Hurricane Katrina, that was not granted. Many Floridians in south Florida lost their homes. They did not meet the quote/unquote 800 threshold for damage to their homes, something that was a discretionary call. The entire Florida delegation asked, with the leadership of the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), for the White House and FEMA to reconsider. It was denied both times. This time we assumed nothing and worked very hard to make it happen. It was very obvious, and I am sure people in Washington, D.C. could watch the news and see that the need was there. We needed to meet it, but the Federal response is not what it should be at this particular time. I can tell you as I yield to my colleague, I was very, very disturbed by the fact that a person that I communicate with that I think is a very decent individual, and I still feel he is a decent individual, but when you come down to Florida, the Secretary of Homeland Security says, you just need to be patient. We know you just went through a storm, but be patient. I can tell you before that, the State director, the Governor of Florida was saying, make sure you have what you need to have, water, ice, 24 hours after the event. Then when folks ran out, they waited in lines for hours. In some instances, water did not show up, ice was not there, and food was not there; and folks were promised it was going to be there and it did not happen. There are a number of comments going back and forth between State, local, and Federal governments. This goes back to the importance of the independent Hurricane Katrina commission so we can have folks that can sit down and evaluate what happened in Hurricane Katrina, what happened in Rita and Wilma. What happened in other storms, so we can come out with best practices, not just for hurricanes but even if there is a terrorist attack. This is a perfect example to show how the people who sent us here will not get what they need from the local, State, or Federal Government that is overwhelmed by the event that took place. That is why we have a FEMA, and I think that it is important that we work on these issues. I am glad to be here with my colleagues. We are quote/ unquote evacuees. The airports just opened in south Florida, and I am glad to be here. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and works of an incredible woman and activist, Mrs. Rosa Parks. Mrs. Parks' act of brave defiance rocked the foundation of American society and inspired generations of civil rights leaders and created a sense of hope for every American facing legal discrimination in this country. Ten years after she refused to give up her seat because of her color, the country changed completely. What seemed like a small act; refusing to leave her bus seat on a winter day in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, led to a boycott of the Montgomery buses for nearly 13 months by the black community. Her act captivated a nation, solidified a movement, and ignited the candle of hope for an entire generation of blacks. In 1955, Mrs. Parks was a seamstress at the Montgomery Fair department store, and on that day, in the winter of 1955, she boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus and took a seat in the middle. The bus quickly filled up at subsequent stops and soon a white passenger was left standing. Mrs. Parks refused to give her seat up as the bus driver instructed. In her 1992 autobiography, she said ``People always said that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that wasn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more than I usually was at the end of a working day. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.'' Soon after Mrs. Parks' refusal, the U.S. Supreme Court desegregated Montgomery's bus system. A museum and library now stands on Cleveland Avenue where Mrs. Parks boarded her bus. She was given the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. One cannot discuss the civil rights movement without mention of her name, and she will never be forgotten for her role in challenging the status quo. Mr. Speaker, I cannot adequately express my feelings of sorrow at Mrs. Parks' passing. Mrs. Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus in 1955 and took a journey she could never have imagined. But now, 50 years after her ride, we must remember her journey and renew our commitment to equality for all Americans.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate and pay tribute to two people who are bound by their love for each other and by their service to God and our community. It is one of these ties that I want to recognize today, for William Randolph Cook and Patricia Colette Green are getting married on Saturday, October 29, 2005 at Mount Hernon African Methodist Episcopal Church in Miami Gardens, Florida. They both served their country with distinction and honor in the U.S. Army. Patricia joined the U.S. Army in 1991 and served until 1994, receiving several commendations for service. Patricia is now a middle school teacher at Bob Graham Education Center. William served in the U.S. Army for four years. William now works for the Dade County Police Department in the PST Division and has received several unit citations from the Dade County Police Department. They are both native Floridians who returned to the State after their military service and decided to serve the residents of Florida by helping to eradicate drugs from the neighborhood and teaching youth in urban North Miami. I think the quote from Emily Bronte that they plan to use in their wedding program speaks to their commitment to each other, ``whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.'' Each is a valuable contributing member of the South Florida family, and together they have truly emerged as leaders helping to foster the empowerment of a people and an overall better quality of life in our community. Our prayers and good wishes go with them for a long and happy life together.