Kendrick Meek

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Absolutely. You have the last word.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Murphy, I want to thank you for your comments. I couldn't say it better. Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of bipartisanship, we're going to yield back our hour earlier so my good friend from Texas will be able to share with the Members of the House what he would like to share. So with that, Mr. Speaker, we yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Carmelau Monestime and the 30th anniversary of the founding of the first created Haitian radio program in Creole language. The radio program, Express Publicite, has been led for three decades by the founder Mr. Monestime, who is the first radio personality of Haitian descent in South Florida. Mr. Monestime can be considered a communicator by nature. Born in Gonaives, Haiti Mr. Monestime, began his education at the Institut Brothers of the Christian Instruction. He continued his studies at the Lycee Fabres Geffrrard College of the City. In 1957, he earned the position as head of the files section of the Department of Agriculture, in Haiti's natural resources and rural department. In 1964, he immigrated to New York and relocated to Miami, Florida in 1978. Upon his arrival in Miami, Mr. Monestime immediately became dedicated to the Haitian-American community, and soon after opened Panoram Express Driving School, a Haitian driving school. In 1997, he joined co-founders Ferdinand Forte and Pierre Mendez to create Express Publicite. Like the Haitian-American population throughout South Florida over the last three decades, Express Publicite has grown tremendously and popularized itself among listeners around the community. When first created, the Station had over 5,000 listeners--today, the Station has nearly 900,000 dedicated listeners throughout South Florida. Pertinent information such as current events and up-to-date news in both the United States and Haiti, which was previously transferred by word of mouth or distributed through flyers at community events, is now easily accessible on the air waves. Mr. Monestime is very well-respected by those in the radio industry and also by the thousands of fans that listen to him on a daily basis. Through his many accomplishments and creation of Express Publicite, Mr. Monestime has paved the way for other Haitians in the radio industry by providing a voice for Haitian-Americans in radio. The Station was created as a center to share vital community information. All of these accomplishments have earned Mr. Monestime the title, ``Dean of Haitian Radio.'' Thus Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today, along with the entire South Florida community, a resolution recognizing the rich history and accomplishments of this remarkable Station and its founder on the occasion of its 30 anniversary. I urge all the Members of this body to join us in congratulating Carmelau Monestime on Express Publicite's 30th anniversary.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Well, Mr. Ryan, I want to thank you for sharing not only thoughts about the Members, but also reminding them of the work that has been done and work that needs to be done here on this house floor. I can tell you, Mr. Ryan, that it's very frustrating at times to hear and see some of the finger pointing that goes on not only here under the Capitol dome, but here in Washington, D.C. The work that this 110th Congress has done overshadows the work of the 109th Congress as it relates to accomplishing things on behalf of the American people. And I am very concerned about the fact that Members seem to get a little amnesia on how we got to where we are now. Last week, I had a chart on the floor here. I don't know what happened to it. I'm not accusing anybody of anything. But I was driving the point home of the colleagues on the other side about gas prices and writing the Speaker a letter saying, What are you going to do? You promised a year ago that you would do something about it. What are you going to do? What are the Democrats going to do? The Republican leadership wrote, We stand firm to be with you as it relates to doing something about energy prices or gas prices. And it's interesting because these are the individuals who, especially on the Republican side, were a part of supporting and standing up the 2001 plan and the meeting that took place in the White House with Mr. Cheney and a number of energy companies, which I think was one of the most profitable meetings for the oil industry because they have just hand-over-fist made money since that meeting. And even today I think it was projected or it was announced that it's another record-breaking quarter for oil companies while Americans pay through the nose and small businesses pay through the nose for fuel. I couldn't help but be on I-75 in Florida on my way back to Miami from St. Petersburg about 3 weeks ago and stopped at a Pilot gas station. And I was driving my uncle's truck, and the guy asked for my ID and credit card and all of those things. And I said, Goodness. I had to give my ID. I was paying with cash. I said, This is interesting. I am paying with cash and I have to show you my ID. He said, Well, sir, we have had an uptick in truckers in filling up and pulling out without paying. I said, Wow. That's interesting. I mean with all of the tags and identifying markers identifying the company or the private-owned companies. And he said, I can tell you something--of course, he saw me and didn't think that I was anything like a congressman or anything--but he said, Times are hard out there. I mean, these guys, they can't afford to fill up their truck and make a profit and be able to support their family. Not justifying it, but he said, The higher gas goes, the more protection that soon we're going to have to have someone out there getting tags or doing some sort of check to make sure that they actually put in the amount that they paid for. Saying all of that, that's the reason why, during the self-service days: Pay first, then pump. I'm saying all of that to make the point that times are hard out there. We know. Bread is $3 a loaf. We know this. The fact that rice, even if you go to Costco now you can't buy a 50-pound bag of rice. I mean, it's like being rationed, in a way. And just the price of food all over the world has really exploded. Saying all of that, Mr. Ryan, I think that when we start looking at our work here in Congress, now more than ever, Members, we have to hold first the American people and their will, we have to hold that as our number one priority. Now, let me just mention just a few things, Mr. Ryan, because I'm not going to try to get excited on this issue today because if I do, I may miss something. And I don't want to miss anything because the points have to be made. And I think it's important, Mr. Ryan, as we look at this, and Members, Mr. Speaker, that when we look at the work that has been done in this Congress this week, sending four key bills to the President for his signature, and we really don't have a lot of time to wait and see if he's going to do something because when you look at it, you have to look at the highway bill, the bill that allows competition for important highway and transit projects outlined in the 2005 highway bill which will help promote 40,000 new good-paying American jobs in transportation and construction. I think it's important that people understand that this bill will help stimulate the economy versus slow it down. It's important that the President signs this. When you look at the other pieces of legislation that have passed, these are bills that are key bills, ensuring continuing access to student loans, the Student Loan Act. This is a critical bill that provides students and families with continued uninterrupted access to Federal guaranteed student loans. We're talking about not only this generation but the next generation and working families being able to afford higher education. Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2008. It comes down to many of our men and women that are in uniform over in Iraq and Afghanistan with explosions that take place and the fact that many of them are affected by the blasts that take place with these IEDs. They will join some 5.3 million Americans that are affected here at home by the same thing. And the Congress has passed this to provide the kind of funding that's needed so they can get the treatment that they deserve. We look forward to the President signing it. But as we look at issues such as energy and fuel, I think it's important that we talk about some of the things, Mr. Ryan and Mr. Speaker, and I know you mentioned something about this whole gas thing because this is hitting home for many of us. The Speaker, last week, called on the President to suspend the purchase of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve temporarily. When you look at this issue, you have to look at it from the standpoint of bringing gas down. What the Speaker has asked for would actually bring the gas prices down to 5 to 24 cents a gallon. This is a critical first step, Mr. Speaker, towards bringing gas prices down so the American people can hopefully afford to put gas in their tanks and small businesses. I met with some independent franchise owners of KFC and Taco Bell establishments, and they were talking about the cost of food and ingredients. One gentleman told us about the fact that his sales are down because American people cannot afford to go into, what you may call these restaurants where you can get a meal under $10, they can't afford to do it as often as they have done it before. Hopefully, the checks and the stimulus package will be able to assist. Not only we're not talking about going out and buying a meal but to be able to provide for their families will help stimulate this economy to help drive down the cost of food and the costs that many small businesses need to survive. Now, I think it's also important, Members, that we look at it from another standpoint, a standpoint of what farmers are having to look at. We had a hearing here on Capitol Hill today that talked about food versus fuel, and the price of food costs, how are we going to bring a balance between biofuels and how we're going to feed the American people in the world through our crops that are here. And that's going to be an interesting discussion, especially as we start looking at shifting from the Middle East and investing in Middle Eastern countries as it relates to energy versus the midwest. And we talked about that, Mr. Ryan and I talked about that a lot the previous two Congresses. But when we started looking at legislation and ideas that will give American people relief now, I think it's important that we look at the letter that the Speaker sent regarding the Strategic Oil Reserve that will bring the price of gas down 5 to 24 cents. I think it's also important to look at measures that we have passed here in Congress and that many of our friends on the other side of the aisle seem to be standing up in the middle, which we call the ``policy door,'' not allowing us to be able to send good pieces of legislation to the President without the President knowing that he has enough Republicans on this floor to withstand an override. Now, there were four bills, and I'm going to turn it back over to you, Mr. Ryan, which was an OPEC bill that we passed that was dealing with--well, a NOPEC bill was dealing with not allowing OPEC oil companies to be able to price gouge Americans, and it allowed the Justice Department to carry out even more enforcement efforts against these, what we call, cartels. Price gouging, also renewable energy and the Energy Security Act, a number of our Republican colleagues on the other side, as you can see this piece of paper here, voted ``no.'' And I think it's important, especially amongst the leadership, it's important that we no longer have that kind of activity going on when the American people are looking for some relief and looking for some enforcement. Something is not right. Something is not clean in the milk. Something doesn't smell right when it comes down to why gas continues to go up and up and up. And it's amazing. There's an uproar about gas, and then it will go down for a minute, then it will be back up some 20 to 15 cents a gallon on top of what it used to cost. So I think, Mr. Speaker and Members, we need to pay very close attention to what is happening on this energy issue but also pay attention to what is getting done. And we're doing a lot here. We've seen a lot. We've sent a lot of good legislation to the President. We hope the President will sign the legislation versus vetoing to make a point that is pointless when it comes down to the forward progress of the American people.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Ryan, I agree with everything you just said, outside of throwing the kids in the back of the mini van; us parents, we don't do that. But let me just say real quickly that we look at common sense and we look at the needs of the American people. They want to know what's happening. Every time they look at that gas price board that's in front of the gas station they're thinking about, who's running the government? They're thinking about, who's overseeing this? Who's in a magic room somewhere pushing up these gas prices? And I think it's important that we understand that it's bigger than a debate, that this is really dealing with folks having to park their car. This is dealing with folks who are going through some real hard times. And we have to make sure that we stand up for them. Now, the President may wait a little while and say, well, I'm not going to do what the Speaker asked to do, suspending filling the Strategic Reserve, I'm not going to do it. Maybe he may do it now, I don't know. The first quarter report has come out on the oil revenues. Maybe that may happen, I don't know. I'm not saying that that's the motivation, I'm just saying that the American people need some relief and they need it now. And hopefully they will be able to get it sooner than later because we're having folks, from rising food costs, rising energy costs, finding themselves in a situation where they can't even afford to drive to work or to get their children to school. Also, Mr. Ryan, as I spoke before about our friends on the other side of the aisle, our Republican leadership, we definitely want them to work with us as it relates to driving these energy costs down and then going after the individuals that may have something to do with jacking up the price on the American people. Last week, I talked about the fact that a gallon of gas in Iraq costs, I believe it was between $1.30 and $1.55. Here in the United States, it costs a lot more. And we all know what those costs are, people are reminded every day when they have to go to the pump. I have constituents that are putting something on it every day. When I say ``putting something on it,'' they can't afford to fill their whole tank up. They're putting in $5, $6, whatever the case may be, and just getting less than a gallon and a half of gas because that's all they can afford. And especially for those individuals that have stepped over their budget, taking the credit card out, filling it up with a credit card. That soon adds up because it's not within their budget to pay the $24 or the $50 they have to pay on these credit cards. But I go back to say that fuel in Iraq is a lot cheaper than it is here in the United States. And the U.S. military is spending in the neighborhood of $3 and change in filling a gallon of gas in the same country. So when we start looking out how we're helping Iraq and how Iraq is assisting and appreciating our help, we also have to look at the difference and the disparity in the cost of gas between what our troops and civilian personnel have to pay for a gallon of gas there and what everyday Iraqis pay. So when we look at it from the big picture, Mr. Ryan, we have to look at it from the executive branch level. And I think it's important that the President looks at all of this and takes it all into consideration. But we do need some action. We talk about a commonsense approach--I said it earlier, I'll say it again--on the No Oil Producing and Exploiting Cartels Act, I think it's important that we see the passage of H.R. 2264 that has passed this House. And the Republican leadership has voted against. When you look at the Energy Price Gouging Act, you have to look at it for what it's worth. And this legislation will reduce the burden of rising gas prices on American families by providing immediate relief to consumers by giving the Federal Trade Commission authority to investigate and punish those who artificially inflate gas prices. I mean, I want that, I want it bad to be honest with you, because I think it's important that if we have these commissions and we have those enforcement agencies, give them what they need. Right now, as far as I'm concerned, the Federal Trade Commission is like a police officer in a high-crime area without a weapon. And I can tell you, there will be no real enforcement there if they don't have the tools that they need to be able to enforce the law when it comes down to it. Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Act of 2008, H.R. 5351, very important piece of legislation. The bill has ended unnecessary subsidies to oil companies in which we're investing in clean and renewable energy. And I think it's important that Americans understand, and also, Mr. Ryan, that every Member of Congress understand, that none of the legislation that I've mentioned thus far would have seen the light of day if it wasn't for the 110th Congress and it wasn't for Democrats allowing it to come to the floor.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Well, Mr. Ryan, I look forward to next week. I look forward to the hearings that will take place under the Dome. Again, democracy will reign. We will be able to continue to move in this new direction that the American people want us to move in.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Nothing wrong with that at all. And I also believe, Mr. Ryan, that through the hard work of not only the staff here that provide us with not only the information that we use to fight on behalf of the American people, but also when we go back to our districts, what we hear from our constituents, we give them voice, we are them. We are representatives of the various parts of the country that we're from, and it's important that we bring that level of frustration here. Speaking of small business men and women, they own a pick-up truck or an SUV, we hear from them, Congressman, it cost me $105 to fill my truck up. And they're still trying to sell their products for the same price, just a little bit more. Everything is going up, up, up, and they're getting priced out. And I think it's important, even from my neck of the woods in Florida, where you have bagel shops, some of them have gone so high up on bagels because of the cost and folks can't afford them. So when you look at it, this is a major, major issue and every American is being touched by it, especially for those middle class families and for those individuals that are what we call our working poor. And so, Mr. Ryan, every day we come to the floor I think it's important we give light to that. I also want to give the numbers on Iraq, as I always do. As of today, May 1, in Iraq, the total deaths are 4,064. The total number wounded in action and returned to duty, 16,567. And total number wounded in action not returning to duty is 13,344. Mr. Ryan, you know, every time I come to the floor I like to read that into the Record so that Members will understand our responsibility of trying to bring the super majority of our men and women home. One last point, Mr. Ryan. I think that when we look at this issue called public service, and I'm speaking to all of the Members, we have to look at it from the standpoint that we're only here for a short period of time. Less than 11,000 Americans have actually had an opportunity to serve in this U.S. Congress. And every day Members should take the responsibility to treat it as though it is their last day to serve and not put something off for another day or another week or another month, because there are people out there that are counting on us and depending on us, as it relates to bringing about health care to their children, bringing down these fuel costs and energy costs, and also making sure that we're able to stimulate this economy in the right way. So with that, I would yield back to Mr. Ryan.

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. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues and my constituents in solemn recognition of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day; a special day where we mourn the millions of Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis. This day has special significance for Jews, the main target of Nazi atrocities. I represent many constituents who are Holocaust survivors and many more that lost friends, relatives and loved ones. We mourn their loss; honor their memory; and unite in opposition to acts of bigotry and intolerance. We in South Florida are united in outrage that two synagogues in our community have been vandalized in recent weeks. These offensive, hate- inspired acts have no place in our society that values tolerance and diversity. We stand united with the congregants, friends and supporters of The Chabad Shul in Miami Beach and the Chabad of Parkland in North Bonnard. These houses of worship and centers of learning will rise again with a renewed sense of spirit and purpose of mission. I once again honor South Florida's Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, its founders and museum curators for their fine work in educating and reminding the public about the Holocaust and remembering and honoring its victims. The Center is located in my Congressional District at 2031 Harrison Street in Hollywood, Florida. To the residents of South Florida, the students enrolled in area schools, and to the millions of visitors to the region, I encourage you to visit the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center to study, understand and contemplate the consequences of man's inhumanity to man which occurred in Europe prior to and during World War II. May the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust be blessed for all eternity.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, it's an honor for the 30- Something Working Group to come to the floor once again. As you know, I'm a proud Member of the ``Something'' part of that 30-Something. I yield to my colleague from the great State of Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire).

Mr. MEEK

Mr. MEEK. Thank you, Mr. Altmire. I want to thank you so very much for coming to the floor. You have to run back and do the work for your constituents back in your district. Madam Speaker, I am going to do an abbreviated 30-Something today. Last night, we were on the floor talking about a letter that our friends on the other side, Republican colleagues, wrote to Speaker Pelosi. It was just, based on the information that I received from the letter and some of the reading that I have done and the research that we have done here on the 30-Something Working Group, I just had to come back today to finish making the point. So I think it's important, since the letter from the Republican leadership is talking about how we need to work together in a bipartisan way. Madam Speaker, I know that you have heard me before say that bipartisanship is only achieved when the majority allows it. I have said that in the two previous Congresses, hoping that Republican leadership will work with the Democratic minority at that time to achieve this bipartisanship. We have worked time after time here on this side of the aisle to make sure that we can include Republicans and all Members of the House in good legislation. The legislation dealing with price gouging on the military contract that was on the floor yesterday; unanimous vote. Never would have made it if it wasn't for the Democratic leadership allowing it to come to the floor. That bill would have never seen the light of day, leave alone the crack under the door, if we were under the Republican leadership that we used to be. But I am so glad that the American people found it fit to make sure that we allow Democrats to be in charge of this House so that those kinds of pieces of legislation were able to get to the floor. As you know, Madam Speaker and Members, I always remind the Members of the daily report on what's going on in Iraq. We had a lot of chest beating going on in this chamber for about 4 or 5 years of who loves the troops, who supports the troops, and all of this and all of that and going back and forth. I have a tattoo on my arm saying I support the troops. That is not what they are looking for. But I think it's very, very important that the Members realize as we end our legislative business for this week and as we start our legislative business for next week and as we go home to talk to our constituents this weekend, I think it's important for us to reflect on the real reality of what is going on with so many military families' communities. As of today, April 24, we have the total number of deaths out of Iraq, 4,046; the total number of wounded in action and returned to duty, 16,520; and the total number of wounded in action, not returning to duty, is reported at 13,309. That number could have gone up since we last checked. But I think that it's important that we continue to put that into the Record so that people can reflect on our efforts in trying to draw down our troops in Iraq but making sure the necessary personnel stays there, a very small number, not 142,000 that is there now, and above. I want to, Madam Speaker, pick up where I left off last evening. I think it's important because there was some action on the floor yesterday and I didn't want any of the Members to get confused when they go back to their district saying, Well, I voted on a motion to recommit, which, as we know, which is a procedural motion here on the floor, that really didn't make a lot of sense and really was counterproductive versus productive. We had a debate here, and it's nothing wrong with that because we can go back and forth. But let's go back and forth on fact and not fiction. What I did not have last night, Madam Speaker and Members, what I have right now is the actual letter that went to the Speaker from the Republican leadership on this very issue. But I had to go further and we had to make sure that not only we had the letter that went to the Speaker and read that letter and the full text. I can contest to two pages. You have all of the Republican leadership that is elected. I won't call any names out. You know who they are. They wrote this letter to the Speaker and in this letter it talks about how 2 years ago this week you stated that House Democrats had a commonsense plan to lower gas prices. In light of skyrocketing gas prices affecting the working families, and it goes on, the public sector, and it says to date the national average stands at $3.51 a gallon, and according to AAA, it's $1.18 higher than it was before the 110th Congress started. Then it goes on to say, More than 50 percent increase. It goes on and on and on. And, once a nightmare scenario, $4 a gallon is now very real and possibly becoming reality in the summer. Now let me just say this. I also owe credit to the Republican leadership. They said, We are looking forward to working toward a commonsense plan. Well, that's the letter. In the release, Madam Speaker, they go on to say, using words like, House Republicans stand ready to work with Democratic colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to address America's energy prices. Another line I want to take out, And in light of skyrocketing gas prices affecting working families in an economy that is struggling, we stand ready to assist. Now I just wanted to read that and I just want to point to what the facts are. Now I can go back to my office and write a letter that I feel good about, even if I didn't want to fact check it. I can go and say, Well, let me see; let me write a letter that makes me feel good as an individual. Well, I mean that is fine if I am writing it to a friend of mine that I went to college with and we are going back and forth about our different opinions on politics or whatever the case may be. But when you're a part of the leadership of the United States Congress and you write a letter to the Speaker to make a point on the floor on a motion to recommit to say I wrote you, and have the Members here thinking goodness, am I voting the right way or the wrong way, when the evidence in your voting record doesn't stand towards what you said you want to do, or that you would like to do if you have the opportunity to do it. Yes, gas prices are high. I said last night that many of my friends on the other side of the aisle, they are real people the too. They have to put gas in their tanks too. They have constituents that are sitting there trying to figure out, playing what I call the gas pump game, trying to stop at $10 and make it to work, and you have a little bit over, 2, 2\1/2\ gallons, maybe 3, if you're lucky. I know those individuals. I know what it means to sit at the dining room table, trying to figure out what you're going to pay and what you can't pay because the gas price has gone up, you have children, you have bills to pay, leave alone trying to pay for college. Let me just make this quick point. I didn't have this last night, Madam Speaker, but thanks to the 30-Something Working Group and the people that support us, they blew this up for me because I wanted to make the point a little clearer because I like to break this thing down so all the Members know exactly what is going on. Now I would say that the folks that assist us in getting together, they went a little further, making sure we had the names and signatures on the letter. I like to cover those names and signatures because I can tell you at the 30-Something Working Group we never individually pointed any Member of Congress out as it relates to what we disagree with them. So I want to continue with that philosophy as part of the leadership of the 30-Something Working Group. But I just want to make this point. Now this goes down the Republican leadership. You can read the letter, and you can probably get the letter somehow under all of this transparency we see now, especially for the Members, and if the Members want to get a copy from me, I will be more than happy to supply you with it if you were unaware your leadership wrote this letter. We had a piece of legislation that Mr. Altmire talked about on the no oil producing and exploitation cartels. That is H.R. 2264. This legislation enables the Department of Justice to take action against OPEC-controlled entities for participating in oil cartels that drive up the price of oil globally and in the United States. I am just going to point to right here. It goes from the top of the power, down to the bottom, voted no. That is no. Second in control voted no. The fifth in control voted no. Going all the way down, they all voted no against that. Now that is something to give our Department of Justice the teeth it needs to go after those individuals that are not holding the interests of the American people, and they are holding greed. They voted no on it. I don't understand it because I want to make sure when individuals come to this floor, and it's a legitimate argument, I don't have any issues with it. But I want to make sure that the Members know if you're going to come to the floor, come right. If you're going to come right, make sure that you're not trying to fake anybody out. Because 30- Something Working Group is going to be on the floor and we are going to set the record straight. I just want to make sure that folks understand that this is serious business, because my constituents are paying too much for gas and we are up here trying to do something about it. The Energy Price Gouging Act, H.R. 1252. This legislation empowers the Federal Trade Commission and gives it the authority to investigate and punish those who artificially inflate energy prices. Again, this is the Democratic Congress, just exactly as the Speaker said that we would do to drive gas prices down. What happened on that second piece of legislation? No. Second in control, no. Third person in control of the Republican conference, no. Fifth person, no. No, no, no. And they all signed the letter talking about what are you going to do about gas prices. I just want to make sure that this is serious. Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Act, a tax act of 2008, that is H.R. 5351. This bill will end unnecessary subsidies to big oil companies and invest in clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency. It also expands tax incentives for renewable energy programs. I tell you, we want through for clean sweep on that one because that was taking money out of the pockets of those that have made record profits worldwide. Clean sweep here, folks. I am going to say Members. Clean sweep. I just want to make sure. From the top, all the way to the bottom, no. I guess that was the ultimate insult to those that had been celebrating the protection of the Republican Congress for so many years, and now the Democratic Congress is now elected and we are doing what we said we would do if we had the opportunity to do it. Now we are going green instead of going into profit making for big oil companies. The protection is no longer there. I have no problem with Mobil or any of them out there. I don't have any problem with them. I mean they are businesses, and I don't think that profits are a bad word. But when you have the former Congress in the front seat protecting and have your back versus the American people, I got a problem with that. And so I think that it is important, and that is the reason why I came back here today on this last day of our legislative business to point this out. Clean sweep. Clean sweep. Every last one of the Republican leadership voted no against that legislation. And I am going to make a point on that piece that I am going to point out this last vote. But I am going to make a point on why this clean sweep did not make sense as it relates to the policy of the vote that took place from the entire Republican leadership. The market manipulation provision in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It goes on that it was signed into law in December, and this deals with the wholesale price of gasoline and petroleum, and required the Federal Trade Commission to enforce and punish those. Again, that is part of the market manipulation scheme. The top voted no, and next two in charge I assume voted yes. And then the rest voted no, all the way going down to the bottom of the Republican leadership that voted yes. So we have six of the Republican leadership voting no, and we had three of the Republican leadership voting yes. I said all of that to say that if we are going to sign a letter, you have got to fact check your own voting record if you are going to try to make a statement and put a press release out to the media to say that we are pushing them. It may look good on the website, but you don't want to put this on your website, because it doesn't speak toward the words. Now I am going to tell you the reason why. Where is that chart? I need my chart on how many leases that are out there and what has happened. Madam Speaker, we love charts here in the 30-Something Working Group. This is what we do. This chart here shows how many leases that are out there and how many wells that are actually out there. On the red part is actually the leases. And you can see from 1994, here are the leases. These are the actual wells that are out there. Well, under the Republican leadership of the previous Congress and the one before that, those are the ones I can attest for, because I was here. They did all they could to continue as many leases as they could. You know, we want to give it. If big oil wanted it, they can get it. It was an open door policy. Whatever you guys want, we want to take care of it. I have another chart to talk about, the 2001 meeting that took place in Vice President Dick Cheney's office, this energy conference that took place and how it took off for big oil and how it went against the American people. But as you start looking at the drilling leases now, you see all the leases that are there and we see all of the wells that have been drilled and we see gas prices going up. So to say more leases, more drilling is better, it doesn't speak to that. That was the old strategy, Madam Speaker and Members, that the Republican leadership used to take. Give them what they asked for and gas prices will go down. Well, that has not worked. So for the pot trying to call the kettle black, or saying Democrats have been doing something bad or something like that, or you haven't done anything, you can't forget that the President of the United States is a Republican too and has been a part of what the American people are experiencing. Now, let me just share this with you. I had this chart last night, but I want to bring it out again because some of the Members might not have been up last night at 10 p.m. I was. May 16th of 2001. You heard me refer to the White House energy plan that was submitted. This is Mr. Cheney's task force. They were meeting. And I believe also this is a quote. ``If you look at future prices with respect to gasoline, they will appear to be headed down.'' This what was said out of the White House at that particular time. But you can see it had a reverse effect on what the American people were told at that time. Gas prices continued, as you see the goal here, to go up. Here is the meaning of the meeting here, I believe somewhere around June of 2005, of course, our leader with the Saudi Arabian king there, trying to build relations hopefully that we were all hoping would drive gas prices down. But as you can see, they continued to go up, and oil sets a new record above $119 a barrel and the retail gas raises to the national average of $3.51. Some people may say, where are you buying that gas, because that is cheap. That is an AP report of 4-22-08. I think it is important that we look at this chart. I hope that we can put this chart on our 30-Something Working Group website. It is not there yet, I don't think, but we will get it on there. Hopefully by the end of this week we will have it up, if Members want to pull that down and take a look at it. Now, again, I am stating the obvious. January 22nd, 2001, $1.47; today, $3.53. That is as of 4-23-08. So we know that is today where we are on the gas price. And that source is AAA. Can we put that on our website, too? That would be very helpful. I think what else is important, Madam Speaker, as I start to come in here for a landing here, the average price per gallon of fuel paid by the U.S. military units in Iraq is $3.23 a gallon. That is how much they are paying. That is an AP fact from the Associated Press. That is 4-22-08. Then it goes on, the price per gallon of gasoline for Iraqi residents is $1.36, and that is the AP on the same date, on 4-22-08. Let me just finish with two other points here. The cost for fuel the U.S. military consumes per month is $153 million, and oil revenues that the Iraqi government is expected to take in this year is $70 billion. Now, this leads to another point. If I had enough time I would make it, but I am going to cut my 30-something piece short today, because if I was to start talking about the Iraqi government, and that is the whole failure of the whole piece, what they are not doing to assist us. Because when you look at it, I think the U.S. military should be paying the price that Iraqis are paying. Since we are over there carrying out this great deed, why are we spending $3.23 a gallon? I don't know why. And when we have just average Iraqis that are not taking the incoming that our troops are taking--they are paying a price, the Iraqi civilians, I must add--but the individuals that have to go out there on that midnight shift to protect the streets of Iraq are paying $3.23. I mean, we are just in the business of making sure that Americans pay more than anyone else. So I am just going to put it that way. I just want to lay that out. Maybe somebody at the White House may hear me and may call somebody over in the parliament over in Iraq, if they are meeting, if they even have a quorum, to be able to deal with that issue. This issue as it relates to gas is something that is very personal to many Americans. Again, I just want to make sure that the record was set straight on the Congressional Record as it relates to what Democrats have done to bring down gas prices. But, of course, we do not have the presidency of the United States, not as of yet, to be able to fulfill the total reality of how do we move towards alternative fuels, how do we go greener, even greening the Capitol. Madam Speaker and Members, when I come back to the floor next week, I believe it will be Wednesday, I want to talk about the initiatives that we have going on right here in this Capitol, all the way down. I just wrote an article for one of the local publications here in Washington, D.C. talking about what we are doing. Think about it. Greening the Capitol was not even a discussion until we, and when I say ``we,'' the Democrats took control of the House, empowered by the American people. I will talk about that, and I will maybe enter it into the Congressional Record so it will be there to highlight exactly what the House Administration Committee and other committees that the Speaker has appointed to deal with this very issue are doing. But, in closing, if you are going to send a letter to the Speaker, the Republican leadership, if you are going to send a letter to the Speaker, make sure you fact check your own letter. That is the message of today. And if you don't fact check it, I guarantee you that those of us that are in the Capitol will find the time to do it, especially on an issue that hits such a chord with so many Americans. So, let's try to vote together. Let's try to work together. Let's try to resolve the problems of everyday Americans as it relates to the economy, as it relates to health care, as it relates to what is going on in Iraq together. Let's not stand in the schoolhouse door and then, you know, write a letter and say, oh, well, we don't know what you guys are doing. We would love to be a part of it. I don't know why you are sitting on your hands. You said 2 years ago you would do something. You haven't done it as of yet, as though we are working hand-in-hand. When I say ``we,'' I am talking about the Republican leadership, and making sure that we achieve that. Madam Speaker, with that, it is always an honor coming before the House. It is always good bringing this great information. I would like to thank the working members of the 30-Something Working Group and our staff.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Well, I want to thank you so very much. When you say ``originators,'' it makes me feel a little old. But, Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to be joining my great colleague here. He had a wonderful bill on today on the floor. I'm so glad that the Members voted in a unanimous way in making sure we bring about the kind of accountability that the American people have been calling for for a very long time now. I think Mr. Murphy has stepped on something, like they say in the country, of being able to bring to light, exactly what are you making? Why are you motivated to be a part of this ongoing war, this kind of the quiet storm that's going on, special interests supporting with commercials and all, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan? So we do know that the war in Afghanistan is all about 9/11, but the war in Iraq, after 5 years, is about something else. Former President Bill Clinton puts it this way: If a family next door had a fire, any good neighbor would allow their neighbor to come over and stay at their home and let them sleep on the couch or the extra room for a couple of weeks; and maybe that neighbor may ask, well, can I stay for 2 or 3 months? And nine times out of ten, a good neighbor would allow that person to stay 3 or 4 months. But when it's 5 years later, it's no longer about the fire. I think that it's important that we look at it from that standpoint, especially as we look at some of these companies that are tenfold going along with, let's keep this war going, let's keep the American people scared about what may happen to them if we were to withdraw the majority of our troops from Iraq. Mr. Speaker, I think it's important, and I want to share this with the Members because there was a great debate on this floor today when we talked about this issue of gas prices. Now it's very ironic that our Republican colleagues on the other side tried to do what we call here on this floor a procedural maneuver, a motion to recommit saying that what are you doing about gas prices in America. Now, this is very interesting, and I wish I had my chart down here as it relates to profits that Big Oil has made on the Republican watch. When President Bush became President, Dick Cheney had a special meeting in 2001 with oil companies, and all of a sudden, these oil companies started making these profits that were really unconscionable, unprecedented, never happened before in the history of the Republic. But then again we have Republicans on the floor saying, what is up with these oil prices? Well, you know, it's very interesting. I want to point the Members, too, because it's nothing about fact versus fiction. Republican leadership wrote the Speaker a letter saying, well, what are you doing about the fuel issue and the price of gas in the United States of America? And me knowing the Speaker and all of us knowing the Speaker, that she sleeps with her fists balled up, especially fighting on behalf of the American people. And I think it's very, very important, and we realize that this is very serious business, when folks have to pay $4 out of their pocket to pay for a gallon of gas, I think it's something that we should be paying close attention to. The Speaker wrote the Republican leadership back in this House and said, It's interesting. We have H.R. 2264 that we put forth on the floor in asking the Department of Justice to take legal action against OPEC-controlled entities for participating in oil cartels that are driving up the price of oil. That's H.R. 2264. How about the Energy Price Gouging Act, which is H.R. 1252, legislation that will reduce the burden of rising gas prices on American families, providing immediate relief to consumers by giving the Federal Trade Commission authority to investigate and punish those that are artificially inflating fuel prices? How about H.R. 5351 with ExxonMobil ranked as the most profitable company in 2007? It's unnecessary for taxpayers to subsidize Big Oil. It goes on and on. I will pull one more bill out. How about the marketing manipulation provision that was in the Energy Independence Security Act of 2007? It talks about some of the very things that I mentioned. But this is not the kicker, Mr. Speaker and Members. It's interesting that the Republican leadership would write the Speaker trying to do a Potomac two-step when we're here about the business. See, the reason why we're in the majority is because Republicans, Independents, Democrats, people that voted for the first time wanted to vote for change, so they voted for the Democrats to take control of this House of Representatives; Republicans who are frustrated, Republican voters who are frustrated with the fact that Republicans were saying one thing and doing another in the back halls of Congress. We have opened this process up when we took the majority here, and that's what they were looking for, and we will continue. But the irony of the whole issue is that the Republicans will write a letter to the Speaker as though ``we got you on black-and-white paper,'' and she's not paying enough attention to say, Wait a minute. Let me call you out since you wanted to call me out. As a matter of fact, the top of the Republican leadership here voted against the issue as it relates to OPEC price gouging, voted against the Price Gouging Act that we passed, the House bill that I called out just a few minutes ago; voted against renewable energy so that we can drive the cost down and compete with petroleum and OPEC companies and other folks that want to raise the price of gas in the United States, and voted against the Energy Security Act. So I think it's very important for us to look at the hypocrisy of the democracy on the other side of the Republican aisle. Now I won't generalize all of the Republicans in this House because some of them voted with the Democrats on it because they see the light. Many of their colleagues that were lockstep with the philosophy of the letter that the Republican leadership wrote to the Speaker are now watching me at home on C-SPAN because they made a career decision not to follow the will of the American people and bring about the kind of change that they woke up early one Tuesday morning looking for. This great democracy of ours calls for representation. Not representation of special interests. And so I'm very pleased with my Democratic colleagues that have voted for our Democratic leadership to be in the leadership to lead us in this new direction that we share with the American people. We didn't just share it with Democrats; we shared it with Republicans, we shared it with the Independents, and we shared it with the American people. We shared it with those that are yet unborn, those that cannot vote right now to give them hope in this government that we're here fighting on behalf of them. There are veterans right now that are in the sound of my voice, that can hear my voice right now, that have fought for this country and allowed us to salute one flag. And I think it's very, very important, Mr. Speaker, very, very important, Members, very, very important, those congressional staffers, that we do the things that we have to do to make this country better. These kind of letters, writing back and forth for the sake that I wrote a letter, motions to recommit to say that we're going to call the Democrats out on not doing anything about gas prices; we don't have oil on our hands. They need to go down to 1600 Pennsylvania and check that out. They had the first meeting. They sat down with oil executives. They're the individuals that have the oil background. And we have a better reason of why we need to change what is going on right now through using alternative fuel versus telling American people that they're addicted to oil. So we've got a lot of work to do, and I'm hoping that this bipartisan vote that we took on Mr. Murphy's bill today is something that's blowing through the air ducts here in Washington, D.C. that Republicans and Democrats can vote together when it makes sense. It makes sense for us to look for alternative fuels. It makes sense for us to be greener. It makes sense for us to do what we're doing here, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Speaker, of greening the Capitol. Greening the Capitol, we just started that when the Democrats took control. Mr. Murphy talked about the fact that this made sense, but it never would have seen the light of day, Mr. Speaker, if it wasn't for Democratic leadership here in this House allowing Mr. Murphy's bill to make it to the floor so Members can vote in a unanimous way. Some of my friends on the other side of the aisle, Republicans, they're people, too. And it's very important that we give them the opportunity to vote on good pieces of legislation. And I think it's important that we don't allow anyone to stand in the school house door or the policy door of this Congress and not allow legislation to come to the floor. Case in point, Mr. Murphy, if I may. All of the 9/11 recommendations were held back by the Republicans when they were in control. We passed them here in the House of Representatives. To be able to cut student loan interest rates in half on behalf of all of the American people; those that drive Ford, Chevy trucks that are paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $95 to fill their tank up, to those individuals that are catching the bus that have been green all their lives because they have no alternatives; those individuals that wake up early in the morning that snap, pop these sheets over here in Washington, D.C. and throughout America in these hotels that know what it means to punch in and punch out every day with a 15-minute break in the morning, if they get it, and a 30-minute lunch break, if they get it, those kind of individuals. Those kind of individuals that come home and take off steel-toed boots and sit down and try to recover from the day that they had of working a solid 8 or 12 hours. Those individuals. Those are the kind of people that we talk to here in this Democratic Congress. Those are the kind of individuals that we allow Republicans to vote on good legislation like Mr. Murphy brought to the floor today because he just got here and he wants to show his constituents and the American people since they federalized him to come to this floor to represent them, that they will have the opportunity to vote for good legislation. Not only for him to go home but for him to sleep right at night. So I think it's important, Mr. Speaker. I have no problem with Members bringing amendments to the floor. I have no problems with Republicans raising the point of how we can make legislation better. But it's one thing, Mr. Speaker, and Members, when you come to the floor and you're the pot calling the kettle black, it's one thing for that to happen. And one thing that I do like, Mr. Murphy, about our 30-Something Working Group is that we're in the business of fact and not fiction, that we're in the business of carrying out the will of the American people, because we stood on this floor some 4, 6 hard years saying that if you give us the opportunity to lead, this is what we will do. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, American people, and those yet unborn will appreciate our efforts. So I think it is important. I'm not upset. If someone says, well, Congressman sounds kind of upset, that guy from Miami. I thought he was kind of easy going, you know, folks from Florida get all excited about things, Sunshine State and all. I'm just glad that God provided me an opportunity to stand upright to be on this floor. And folks in the 17th Congressional District in Florida on one Tuesday morning voted for me to be here to be able to state what I'm saying right now. And so this is not propaganda, it's fact. I want to thank the Speaker for responding to the Republican leadership on this issue. And I want to thank those Republicans that voted on your very good piece of legislation. I'm glad, because I look forward--I actually sent something out to a couple of friends talking about this today, and I think it's important that we do that. Mr. Murphy, I want to thank you for your leadership. I'm glad that we have the opportunity to do the things that we have to do. I know the American people are paying attention to what the presidential candidates are saying. I'm hoping that in the President's closing days, that he has an opportunity to sign and be a part of the good legislation that we're trying to pass here. And I want folks to stay engaged. Before I close on this segment, I just want to say, because I never hit the floor unless I share with the Members what's happening in Iraq right now, that as of today, April 23, 4,046 Americans have died in Iraq; total number of wounded in action and returned to duty is 6,520; and total number of wounded in action not returning to duty is 3,309. Mr. Speaker, I think every day that should be read into the Congressional Record so that Members understand their responsibilities and what they have to do.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. If I can, Mr. Murphy, I think it's important, and I'm going to have to come in for a close because I have to run, but I think that it's important, Mr. Speaker and Members, that we look at it for what it is. I tell you, a friend of mine from Miami always says, ``it is what it is,'' and I always smile when my friend shares that with me. But I can tell you this, you know, here's President Bush walking with the Saudi king in April of 2005 right here, Mr. Speaker. And I want the Members to make sure that they focus in on that, the very meeting that I was talking about. The White House energy plan was submitted, and individuals had a meeting, and here it is. If you look at the future prices with respect to gasoline, they appear to be headed down. This is what Vice President Dick Cheney said on 5/20/2001. And as you look at this chart, it started getting worse for the American people, Mr. Speaker and Members, and better for the oil companies. Now, I'm not a Member of Congress with a conspiracy theory, but I'm just saying that it's important that we pay attention to what people are saying and what they are doing. I want to get that other chart and just kind of talk about what happened to the American people. Let me tell you something, I have to fill up my tank, too. My constituents are feeling this pinch, too. And I just want to make sure that folks understand that this is serious business. When you have folks on fixed incomes and they're not receiving cost-of-living adjustments or whatever the case may be, because the super majority of Americans--the boss man, like they say in the country--they don't necessarily care about your personal problems, about the fact that you can't fill your tank up, about the fact that your child couldn't pay his or her student loans back and you had to stand in for your student loans. My mother always said in the old school--they used to call a guy in Tallahassee, Florida that owned Lewis State Bank, Mr. Speaker, they called him ``Banker Lewis.'' And back in the old school, some of the grandparents and some of the folks that are probably in their 50s and 60s understand, they say co-sign now, they used to have to go down to the bank and credit union and stand for the person that's looking for the loan. Those days are over. And individuals that are looking to make money in a capitalist society, some care about their employees' personal problems, but some don't. And there's nothing wrong with capitalism, I think profits are a good thing, but I also believe that individuals that went to vote for representation here in this U.S. Congress deserve it. And this is what's happening here. Look at the per barrel price, 2001. Remember that other chart that I talked about at Mr. Cheney's meeting--who has a past history in oil, and I guarantee you will have a future in oil--it started off at $25.88. And you can follow over here. And this is not fiction, this is fact. You start going up, up, up, and now we're at $119.37 a barrel. Now, Mr. Speaker, if I start saying that unleaded gas is $3.70 or $3.60, there will be many of your constituents and your constituents, Mr. Murphy, and many constituents of Members of Congress here that will say the Congressman is incorrect. No, it's actually $3.80 and $3.90 in some places. And so I think it's important, when we start looking at what small businesses have to pay, what American people have to pay, you know, we have parents that are trying to carpool, get their kids to school. I mean, I live in the urban area. God forbid if I was in a rural area. What happens if I have to drive my soon-to-be 11-year-old son and my 13-year-old daughter 25, 30 miles to school under these circumstances? And we have four pieces of legislation that this Democratic House has passed and waiting for our Republican colleagues, in many cases, to join us. And especially over in the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members, where they have the 60-vote rule, you can't even bring things up. So you have oil executives going there saying, stand in the door of the Senate or stand in the door of the House and make sure that this doesn't pass or this amendment doesn't go on. It may be counterproductive to your constituents, but stand in that door. That's the kind of stuff we saw in the 108th Congress. That's the kind of stuff that I witnessed in the 109th Congress. But in the 110th Congress, it's a new day, and the people are looking for the kind of representation that they voted for. And I just want to share, and Mr. Speaker, this is not a threat or anything like that because I'm not in that business; I mean, I consider myself a nice guy and I get along with a number of the Members here. As a matter of fact, I don't know of a Member that I'm not on speaking terms with, Democrat or Republican. We all get along. We're colleagues. It's just like you go to work every day, you punch in. There are some people that work in some areas of the office or out on the construction field, but you all say hello to one another, I mean, why don't you? But the only time we separate is when Republican leadership may say, well, we can't be with that because a certain interest doesn't want us to be with that issue; or we have to show the difference between us and the Democrats, even if they're right. Well, back home, for those Americans that know what it means to sit at the dining room table and spread your bills out and figure out how you're going to pay them, those kind of individuals are looking for representation. Those kind of individuals are looking for relief. And they're not necessarily looking for relief for the people that they're paying the bills to, they're looking for the relief for them to help them figure out their dining room problem. And so when we talk about rolling blackouts, when folks' lights go out, or whatever the case may be, I was in Haiti on Sunday evening and Monday, and I could sit and watch the different parts of Port-au-Price, Haiti go into the dark because the country is running through economic problems. That happens in America. There are houses on every block in America--not every block, but some blocks in America that the lights are out, not because they went to bed early, it's that they can't afford the dog-gone bill. And so when we sit here and start playing these games like our Republican leadership tried to do tonight with this whole motion to recommit, saying what are you all doing about gas prices, when turn around three-quarters of them didn't even vote for four of the bills that this Democratic House put forth to give the American people the relief that they called for, and then we're trying to do something about it, and then they try to hijack a good bill and trying to force the Members by saying, well, this Member voted--and we may see this this November, I don't know. Some Members, their motion to recommit, we voted it down, a very bad motion to recommit, ill-advised motion to recommit that some Member that voted for the last four bills to give the American people the relief that they deserve may find it in a political ad sometime soon in their district saying that they voted against some Republican motion to recommit that could not come to reality if it wanted to because it wasn't drafted right, it didn't fit into the bill. But they had the right to be able to put the motion to recommit. So I think it's important that we break this argument down for the American people so that they understand what's going on here. That will not be rewarded. Mr. Speaker, I stood here, as sure as my name is Kendrick Meek, Mr. Ryan and Ms. Wasserman Schultz and others, we stood here on this floor and we told the Members, listen, if you play with the American people, you're going to get stung and it's going to be bad and you're not going to recover from it. Some of you will not be here. Some of you will make career decisions. Check the Congressional Record, I said it. And guess what? We took the majority. And guess what will happen this time around? Those individuals that know what it means when they sit down to the dining room table and try to figure out how they're going to make ends meet when they put their kids to bed, how are they going to meet the bottom line of their situation. And then we have individuals that are standing in here, that are standing in the policy door of this House and not allowing good legislation to pass to give the American people the relief or trying to stop good legislation from passing to give the American people relief. They're not going to think if they're Democrat or Republican or Independent. They're going to vote for the people that are fighting for them, and that's us. So I say to my Republican colleagues respectfully, those individuals that decide to follow leadership, that the track record's not good because I asked them to call some 25 or 30 Members that are now sitting at home reading the actions of Congress in the newspaper when it's dropped in front of their door in the morning. I don't want to be part of that group. I want to be here and have the distinct opportunity to be here in this U.S. House of Representatives that few in this country have had an opportunity to serve in. And I'm proud to be here, and I think every Member should be proud to be here. And I think that should be their first priority when they stand upright and they walk in here and they put this congressional pin on and they walk through the doors because the people expect it and deserve. So, Mr. Murphy, your bill today, like they say in some parts of the country, they had no other choice than to vote for it. But I'm glad that we had the leadership in place, Mr. Speaker, to allow that bill to come to the floor because I can tell you a great bill like that never would have seen the day, never would have under the lights, and never would there have been an opportunity for Members to take out their voting card and vote for it because it wouldn't have been allowed to come to the floor because that was something that we didn't do or they didn't do or they didn't allow us to do. When I say ``they,'' I mean the Republican leadership. So I don't speak with a silver tongue. I just speak of the truth and reality. And if anyone wants to contradict what I say, you know something, this is a free country. We salute one flag. Folks can get out and say what they want to say. But the Congressional Record is on the side of the Democratic leadership, and the Congressional Record is on the side of what happened and what did not happen. So, Mr. Murphy, I don't feel that we need to even come close to apologizing for anything, and I don't even think that we should be overly offended by the attempts of the past Republican majority to try to push motions to recommit on good pieces of legislation that we are trying to bring to the floor. If I'm thinking politically, I say continue to do those things because we will continue to be in the majority for years and years to come. But the sad part is that the American people lose, and that's the reason why I don't want to promote that. I want us to work together. I want us to work together in a bipartisan way. So, Mr. Murphy, I'm so glad to be here to join you here tonight. I'm glad that you anchored the 30-Something tonight. I'm proud to be a part of it. Your constituents should be very proud of the action that you took today, including our entire country. And the good thing about this institution is that historians will look back on this time and will reflect and read about those that were part of the solution and those individuals that were part of just continuing the political madness that many have written about and many Americans have read about. So congratulations.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Absolutely.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Thank you so very much, Mr. Speaker. It's an honor to come before the House once again. I can share with you, as Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee just finished speaking about, the wonderful ceremony that we had today, but sad ceremony, reflecting on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King some 40 years later. To see Democrats and Republicans standing side by side, to have reflection from those that worked beside Dr. King, like our very own John Lewis and Majority Whip Clyburn, who talked about his experience and first meeting that he met with him in 1960 in Morehouse University, to Majority Leader Reid reflecting on, the Senate reflecting on how he worked here in the Capitol at that time as a part of the crowd outside; and others that shared stories of their time when Dr. King walked the Earth; his son, Martin Luther King, III, who reflected on his father's death and his memory and charged the House and the Senate to carry out efforts against poverty, also to deal with the issue of war and conflict, and also looking at the very issue of making sure that we stand up for the least of these, as many of us are very, very familiar with. Mr. Speaker, I also believe that it's important in that light to have Americans, and as leaders of this great country of ours, have Americans remember the past, but look forward in a forward leaning way to the future. I had the opportunity to talk to the National Association of Black Realtors or African American Realtors over at Union Station just about 30 minutes ago. It reminded me of a story, and I shared it with them, of when my mother served here in the House of Representatives and I had the opportunity as a State legislator to come up to see her sworn in once again. While I was up here, I had a chance to run into one of my good friends, Reverend Jesse Jackson. He spoke to a group of folks that were here that day when his son was sworn into Congress for the first time. He said that he could not help but to get emotional. He got emotional when he was sharing with us how that experience was a moving experience for him because he reflected on the story of his father, who fought in World War II, and after World War II was over, came back to the United States. But he was taking the train going south and riding behind the prisoner of wars when they went through Union Station. And his father couldn't help reflect that he saw the United States Capitol, but even though he fought on behalf of his country, felt that he did not move forward because he was behind prisoners of war in his own country. And that God would have him live long enough for his grandson to become a Member of Congress is an example of how this country can correct itself over time. We still have a long way to go and a short time to get there. I shared that with them because many of us are professionals and have an opportunity to take part in this democracy and be a part of the change in America. I can say that tomorrow will be a day for the country to pause and to recognize the contributions of one of the greatest Americans that ever walked the Earth, and that's Dr. King. I look forward to participating in that reflection like I did today. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to share just a few thoughts with the House, as we have now broken for the week and will be back next week and the business of the people of the United States of America will continue. The New Direction Democratic Congress are about working with some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle about solutions, Mr. Speaker, and not just conversation. I think it's important for us to look at what has taken place under the Capitol Dome. I was on the floor yesterday evening and I spoke to the Members on how we are going to have to work together to be able to help everyday Americans work through their real life issues that they are facing now. Long ago, we knew of not only predatory lending practices, but we also knew of the fact that there are a number of Americans that are going to hit hard times, and many pieces of legislation passed off of this floor riding on the backs of everyday Americans, individuals that punch in and punch out every day, those that try to carry out the American dream by purchasing a home and getting their piece of the American pie. For many Americans, that is the only savings they have. A home is a way to be able to allow their blood line, wherever they may be in rural America, urban America, wherever their background may be, if they are a citizen or resident of this country, to be able to educate their children, to be able to borrow money to be able to educate their children, or to be able to allow their children to have something that they can call a piece of the rock or a piece of the American pie. I can tell you right now, Mr. Speaker, that a number of those families, and I mean they are in the millions, are in jeopardy right now of losing the very thing that they can hold on to. They may not own their car, they may not necessarily have a lot of money. But what they do have are homes. Many of these individuals are up in age. They have fewer tomorrows than they have yesterdays. They are finding themselves in a situation of not having the financial means to be able to protect their home. One of the cornerstones of public service is to make sure that we come up and we protect those individuals and that we make sure those Americans are not left behind. I do know that this Congress in the past, not this Democratic Congress, but Congresses before, have attempted to stimulate the economy through tax breaks for the very super-wealthy and the super-rich, saying it will trickle down to the everyday American. That hasn't happened. This is a perfect example that it hasn't happened. This week the Senate worked very hard, Leader Reid and others, with Senate bill 2636, the Keep Families From Facing Foreclosures in Their Homes. This ``new direction'' Congress came here saying that we are here to represent the American people; not just Democrats, not just independents, not just Republicans, but the American people, and we have done that. We have been able to enact measures into law expanding affordable mortgage loan opportunities through the Federal Housing Administration for families that are in danger of losing their home by increasing the FHA loan limits up to $729,750 within the economic stimulus bill which passed recently. Also we have passed a measure to prevent homeowners from facing a tax bill at the same time they are losing their homes through H.R. 3638, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Act. We also expanded Federal counseling for families in danger of losing their homes through foreclosure through the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations bill. I think it is important for us to talk about what we have done in this Congress versus what we haven't done. But I can tell you that since I started out with what has already happened, and more has to happen, because we still have individuals that are out there that are hurting. It is not enough in my district, the 17th Congressional District, that we are going to have a foreclosure prevention workshop, where we are going to have lenders and counselors there to be able to talk to them. My constituents need more than that. The American people need more than that. By the fact they voted for me on a given Tuesday, early one Tuesday, by federalizing me, allowing me to come to Congress and other Members of Congress to come here, we are here to represent their best interests. So we have to continue to move forward. These are measures that have passed the House but have not become law. Strengthening consumer protection against risky housing loans in the future; H.R. 3915, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act; expanding affordable housing mortgage opportunities for families in danger of losing their homes through the Federal Housing Administration reform, which is H.R. 1852. This bill passed both House and Senate and is supported by the White House, I must add, but has been held up by one Senator due to his opposition to the temporary FHA loan limit increase. I think it is important that everyone understands that this has to be a group effort. Back home in my district, folks don't understand one individual having a problem with it, but that is going back to the rules in one of our chambers here in Congress. Also it strengthens regulations of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and raised the loan limits and increased the amount of the loan through H.R. 1427. It goes on and on and on of efforts that we have tried to pass here in the Congress and become law, but for some reason, have not. So next week the House, under Chairman Frank's leadership and the Financial Services Committee, will work very hard to address these issues through legislation. The act we are bringing forth will be comprehensive legislation to address the housing crisis that we face here in America, and the legislation will help stabilize the housing market, which is the first step to rebounding our economy. The measure will do many of the things that I just talked about that are held up either in the legislative process or procedural maneuvers that have taken place or objections by the White House. It would also prevent the value, as it relates to homes, the value of homes going down. It will work towards that. Chairman Frank's legislation will loan $10 billion to States and localities to purchase and rehab foreclosed properties. This is very, very important, Mr. Speaker and Members. As we talk about 1 million Americans losing their homes in the last year, with a prediction that 2 million will lose their homes this year, imagine how back home America is going to look, need it be small or large. Homes that are vacant, Americans not able to receive loans to be able to buy those homes. In rural America, homes vacant without having individuals able to move into those homes. You know they will fall into disrepair. This $10 billion will stimulate the economy, and that will increase American jobs. They are not jobs overseas, but are jobs right here. I think it is very important that we pay very close attention to this. I want to commend the Democratic leadership for continuing to push this measure forward in light of so many accomplishments that have taken place since the Democratic Congress has been put into place. I want to mention just a few of them so that my time on the floor today just won't be about describing what our problem is in America, but to talk about how we are making real change here in Washington, DC. I have been here 6 years. I have seen more happen in the last year than I saw in the 4 years prior to this time, the 4 years prior to this Congress. There was the minimum wage increase that was signed into law that passed in 2007. There was stem cell research enhancement, which was sent to the President's desk in June of 2007. Also we implemented all of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, which were recommendations that came out of a bipartisan commission. They were all implemented by this House and by the Senate and sent to the President and he signed it. Also repealing subsidies to big oil and reinvesting in renewable energy. I want to stop right there. That is a major accomplishment. Just yesterday I noticed that a number of the independent truck drivers went on strike. They went on strike because of the high cost of diesel fuel. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, if we were doing the kind of things that this Congress has done 4 years ago, this country would not be as dependent on Middle Eastern oil as we are now. The President's response to what needed to happen 2 years ago or 3 years ago was ``America is addicted to oil.'' Well, to talk about something and blame the American people saying we are addicted to oil is not an answer and not a solution. I can tell you, this legislation that passed this house by 264-163 is the kind of Congress that the American people voted for to be able to lead this country in a new direction and to move this country in a new direction, or, as a matter of fact, let me put this way, move this Congress in a new direction, which has happened and will continue to happen. We also are making college more affordable. I think that is very, very important. It was one of the first pieces of legislation that we passed in this new Congress, to cut student loan rates in half. I think it is very, very important that we look at these measures as accomplishments and not as wedges that will cut Democrats from Republicans, because the American people ultimately are counting on us to move in the right direction. Since we know what is going to happen next week, and it will be one of the major actions that will take place, when Chairman Frank will have a chance to start considering the markup for his piece of legislation out of this committee, we also have to reflect on the reports that we will be receiving on the status of what is happening in Iraq. As many of the Members know, recently we had an uptick in violence. That should not be shocking, because one of the leaders of one of the insurgent groups over in Iraq said they were going to take 6 months off to regroup. The American people have put a lot of money, or this Congress has put a lot of money on the ground in Iraq, and I am talking about outside of the money that we have supplied to protect our troops and the men and women that are over there that are civilians, but I am saying cash money on the streets in Iraq. Now, here is where the rub comes in and here is where the leadership has to begin. We have to start not only having the discussion, we have to take action and make sure that we bring our men and women home and that we bring them home faster than what the President is looking to bring them home, the timeline he is looking to bring them home. As a matter of fact, he is not looking to bring them home any time soon. There are members of the Senate that are talking about 100 years or what have you. But I had the opportunity, Mr. Speaker and Members, when we broke for Easter to go and spend 2 days at Camp Pendleton, which is one of the largest Marine bases we have in the country, over on the West Coast in California. I stayed on base purposely so that we would have an opportunity to interface with those that are in uniform and their families. Of course, the word gets around that there is a Member of Congress on base. That is not an everyday event, because there are only 500 and some Members of Congress. I think that it is important that we have a chance to interface, because I think that this Congress needs to understand and the Bush White House needs to understand that this is not just about buying smart bombs. It is not just about buying MWRAP vehicles. It is not just about making sure that they have the ammunition that they need and the kevlar that they need to protect themselves. All of those things that I mentioned are very worthy, and they are the reason why we have the number one military on the face of the Earth. But I think there is also a human side to this and that we should be just as excited about trying to assist those individuals, and that is on the family side and the human side of what is happening to our men and women in Iraq. When I first got on the base, Mr. Speaker, I noticed a billboard that was an electronic billboard that had on there, if you are in need of counseling or if you are in need of group therapy, please call this number. I was pleased to see that, because so many times we feel that the only injury that could possibly happen when we see one of our patriots come back is one of losing an arm or a leg, or those that have Purple Heart tags that are traveling throughout America. But many of those injuries from this conflict are between the ears of the stress and also some of the concussion bombs that are going on over in Iraq. And these Americans have fought more than any other American soldier, marine, sailor, airman, Coast Guard, than any other time in the history of the republic; longer than World War II, longer than world World War I, longer than Vietnam, longer than Korea and the other conflicts, and on and on. These Americans are special because they are unique, and we have to make sure that we do what we have to do. Now, let me just say this: The Democratic Congress has made sure that the VA received the most money that it has ever received in the history of the Republic, in the history of the VA, making sure that our men and women get what they need when they come back. And as they continue to come back, that is there for them. We have to make sure that we take action as we look at this budget and as we have the debate about this war in Iraq, that we bring our men and women home more sooner than later. Now, I have heard some Members on the floor talk about things that Iraqi children and women and men and boys and what have you, that they don't have the opportunity to do or they didn't have the opportunity to do until we got there. Let me just share something with you. It is good to have goodwill and all of those things throughout the world, but right here in America, Mr. Speaker, and as a Member of Congress I think it is important that we also understand, that there are Americans right now, women, children, boys, men, girls, our seniors that don't have; because $70 billion, $100 billion, $200 billion are on the ground in Iraq and on and on and on, and we are sitting here thinking, we have Members running around here talking about we need earmark reform. Well, guess what. Reform has happened. There are fewer earmarks than there were in the previous Republican Congress and the Congress before that. And, that we have disclosure. Americans can go on Members' Web sites and can go and can see exactly what the request that they are making. You want to talk about reform. More has happened in the last 14 months in the Democratic new direction Congress than at any other time since I have been in Congress. So when we look at these issues and they stand here and talk about a $250 project, as Mr. Ryan talked about yesterday, an EPA mandated project on the local government, complaining about that; meanwhile, looking and not even paying attention to the mountain of debt that we have in this country that was built up by the Bush administration and his friends here in Congress on the Republican side, but not even looking at the $70 billion that individuals voted for to continue this effort in Iraq saying that we have to help the poor people of Iraq. Now, let me tell you something. I may feel a little warm and fuzzy about the $70 billion, saying maybe that is right, if the Iraqi government was working under the same light that we are working under here. I think it is important that we reflect on what is happening right here in America, what is happening two blocks away from this Capitol; that we have individuals that are in poverty, we have individuals that don't have health care. Not individuals, but Americans that don't have health care. We have veterans that are sitting right out as I speak now in front of the Lincoln memorial at the last outpost that are in need. I was out there, and sometimes, Mr. Speaker and Members, I take my children and we ride our bikes down the mall here, and we pass by the Washington monument, and then we move on and we go by the World War II memorial, and then we go by, we go down to the reflection pool and go down to the Lincoln memorial. And every time we are there, we stop to talk to those veterans. And there is one, they are there, veterans from Korea and veterans from Vietnam, and sometimes every now and then you will get a Gulf War I veteran that is out there. And I start talking to them about health care and many of them don't even know I am a Member of Congress or what have you. What is happening at the VA? What is happening with you in your everyday life? And you would be shocked how many times I have been there, in that very short time talking to them taking a break, and they pull pills out of their pocket into their hands because it is time for them to take one of the cocktails they have to take to be able to deal with those demons they have been having to deal with all of those years. Now, I am going to say, those individuals allow us to salute one flag, those individuals allow me to sit here as an American congressman and speak my mind in this democracy, and I salute them. Beyond mentioning their commitment to this country and the fact that their comrades, some of them did not make it back, which are also there in the various memorials that are on the mall. I say all of this because Members are taking this time lightly. And I have shared many times that I have come to the floor, as I move towards a close here, Mr. Speaker and Members, that this time in our country is like no other time in the history of the Republic. We owe foreign countries more money than we have ever owed them in the history of the Republic, some of the countries that we have concerns about, security concerns about. They have a part of the piece of the American pile because we have had an administration and a White House that has said we have got to give these tax cuts, even we can't even afford them, to individuals that are not even asking for them. And that strategy failed, because now we are in an economic downturn. And it ain't just about housing. It is the fact that jobs have not been created here. Jobs have been shipped overseas. And that seems to be the kind of global piece of saying, oh, we need to do that, because there is this importance that we have a strong global economy. I agree with that. But, at the same time, we have to have a strong America. So as we look at what our veterans are going through and the more and more veterans that are going to be passed on because of some of the bad decisions that have been made in the past doesn't mean that we have to continue to make those bad decisions. It means that we should learn from those bad decisions, and then have the kind of paradigm shift that Democrats, Republicans, and Independents are looking for. So, I feel that as we continue to look at our time here in Congress, as we continue to look at our responsibility, we have to take every living moment to make sure that we bring about that change. When I first got here, we used to talk about not leaving the responsibility on our children and grandchildren. Now, we can say not leaving the responsibility on ourselves. There was a time we thought that the debt, folks would, our children will have to bear the responsibility of our bad decisions or inaction or lack of action. And now, it is about those of us today bearing the brunt of the bad decisions that were made in the past and decisions that are being made today by some Members of Congress. Luckily, we have this new direction Congress that are here to stand up on behalf of the American people and not the special interests. So I say that, Mr. Speaker. In the light of saying that, I hope, and I want to commend some of my friends on the Republican side that have saw the light, that have gone to the wizard, that have asked for courage and they have stepped out and they voted with Members on the majority side to bring about the kind of paradigm shift. But there are some that are here that are not willing to do that. And that is fine. Because, as far as I am concerned, the American people spoke in the last election, and that is the reason why I can say I am a member of the majority now. And, guess what. Some of them were Republicans that were very frustrated with the fact that fiscal responsibility was not carried out, that decisions that should have been made as relates to the war in Iraq were not made, that the economy was going south, that they didn't have what they used to have in their bank accounts and investment in their family and their bloodline and no longer had it, so they had to bring about the kind of change. The American spirit will rise beyond partisan politics every time when this country is in jeopardy. So when we come around to the next election, Mr. Speaker and Members, I want you to reflect on that individual that is going to go on a given Tuesday to vote for the kind of representation that he or she expects to have. And if they don't see when they look at the report card, because we have four 24-hour channels that are dedicated to news or close to the news, we have public television that is dedicated, gavel- to-gavel coverage of county commission and city commission and State legislators and also here in Congress, dedicated for the American people to take an opportunity to take a look at it. We have our cyber space that is available. We used to have, Mr. Speaker, a digital divide in this country, so that when I was in the State legislature, it was thought, where would the DSL lines go? Where will the phone company allow those lines to be put on by the cable company? And now we have moved to the technology of Blackberries and I-phones and all of these things where individuals get news like that. When the report card is mailed to the home or when they look at those, they go on-line or they look at television, they listen to the radio or they read the paper to find out, where were you standing on these very issues that are before Congress that are dealing with them, the foreclosure of their home, the economy, health care for children as we look at the SCHIP legislation which we call CHAMP here that provides for children with health care; as we look at what happened with oil subsidies, of bringing about alternative fuel to allow us to be able to invest in the Midwest versus the Middle East. When we start looking at biofuel that is, for instance, in my State, sugarcane that has already been extracted of its sugar, but the leftovers of that turn into fuel to run those sugar mills and to be able to go into tanks of Americans that are trying to make a living. We start looking at that. We start looking at why we are paying per gallon for fuel as we pay for a gallon of milk. When we start looking at those issues, I think they are going to look at and they are going to say, listen, I am an Independent, I am going to have to vote for the folks that are about the solution; I am a Republican, I am going to have to vote for the folks that are about the solution. In my house, I am a Democrat, I am going to have to vote for the folks that are willing to move this country in a new direction. And the evidence has spoken over the last 14 to 15 months that the new direction Congress has moved in that direction; and, that through the fact that we have been empowered by the American people to lead this country in a new direction, the President on bills that he said he would not sign had to sign because we kept that pressure on. So I say all of this, Mr. Speaker, in closing that what we are facing right now are real issues. Our responsibility is great. Historians will write about this time in Congress. And I share with the Members, as a matter of fact I beg the Members to be on the right side of history and making the right decisions right now. I will close with the information that I received as of April 3 as it reflects in Iraq: 4,011 Americans that have died in the line of duty; total number wounded in action and returned to duty 16,364; total number of wounded in action and have not returned to duty is 13,264. As we break for the next couple of days and over the weekend, come back hopefully with the heart and the mind to be about the solution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it's an honor to come before the House once again. As you know, in the 30-Something Working Group, we work very hard to put forth the agenda of the American people. We have been consistent over a number of years in doing this. And I think that it's important for the forward progress of not only the House of Representatives but also for the American people. The good thing about coming to the floor and sharing what's happening here in the Capitol Dome, or what's not happening, is its importance in strengthening our democracy and also strengthening our economy and strengthening the faith in government by the American people. And I think that some of the information, especially as it comes in a bipartisan fashion, that it allows our friends on the Republican side of the aisle to be able to take part in legislation that the American people support wholeheartedly. Case in point: increasing the minimum wage, adopting all the 9/11 recommendations, and also looking at the issue of the greening of America, putting forth incentives of saving our Earth as we move forth, fighting for community police officers for local law enforcement agencies, State law enforcement agencies, and also the Federal outlook of being able to deter crime in this country; also assisting children and getting a level of health care that they deserve in a universal sense as it relates to S-CHIP, or what we call CHAMP here on the floor; and to also have hearings, to open up this government to the American people, of transparency. As we started talking about Member projects, Mr. Speaker, in the appropriations process, we brought about the transparency that the American people have been looking for, disclosure, to make sure that these projects are worthy projects, and also having what we call reform, and we have shown that. I want to just talk about a few things, Mr. Speaker, if I can, before the rest of the 30-Something Group is recognized, of what is happening now, not only in America, but overseas. We know that a number of officials from the Bush administration have been asked to come to Capitol Hill to testify before various committees, be they House or Senate. Today's news is the economy. When we start looking at testimony that took place here today, where it was first mentioned, not that we were trying to make history, a Bush administration official saying that the country is in a small recession and that recovery will be soon, and very soon, well, it reminds me of the debate when we talked about what was going on in Darfur, in Africa, if we want to call it genocide or not. We already knew it was genocide so we didn't necessarily have to wait for the President or the Bush administration to say it was genocide. But it did help when they said that it was. Well, since now the Bush administration has come around to find out that their policies of tax breaks for billionaires and millionaires did not help the economy, and now has testified that we are in a recession, or a small recession, using the R word, maybe we can start dealing with the solution as a unified government. One example of how we have worked together in unity has been what was shown when we passed the small stimulus bill that was passed, and I know that the Speaker and Democratic leaders are looking, and also hopefully Republican leaders, are working towards a stimulus package that will create jobs, U.S. jobs here, and would allow those from the GED education to the post-graduate education, doctoral, those that have gone beyond in their education to be able to take part in new job creation here in the United States. So we have these forward leaning initiatives that we are ready and willing to work on. The second point, I think it's also important as we look at the housing crisis that we are in right now. Mr. Speaker, I am actually in the next couple of weeks holding a ``save your home'' or recovery effort in my district. I am asking my constituents to come forth, those that are trying to make their mortgages, and bringing lenders together, along with credit counselors, to be able to assist them to save the only thing that they have, and that is their home. I think it's so very, very important that we continue to work very hard. I know that Chairman Frank, the Financial Services Committee, will be having a hearing in response to what has been happening in the housing crisis. I know that the Senate is working very hard to have some product come before this House soon, and very soon, to deal with this. I think it's important that those of us in Congress not only support the public efforts that are going on, but also encourage the banking community and the lending community to step forward and try to assist as much as they can in saving the piece of the pie of the American dream. With so many Americans, that dream is now turning into a nightmare. It's our job to be able to stand up for those individuals. I think that it's also important to know the chair of the Federal Reserve is continuing to warn us of a possible recession. I think that it's important for us to look at it as a reality where it is now. Now for individuals that have substance abuse problems, or whatever the case may be, first you have to admit that you have a problem for us to get to the recovery, or to recover from that problem, to be able to receive the kind of treatment that is needed. As it relates to the decision makers in Washington and in the lending community, admitting that there is a problem is important. Many of us have, but we still have some holdouts for the sake of holding out. I think that as we move on, that we press on in a bipartisan way to make that happen. There will be efforts to make that happen. I ask my Republican friends on the other side of the aisle to be a part of the solution and not just the argument. I think that when we also, Mr. Speaker, and I just want to share some of these thoughts because we have had 2 weeks off and I have had an opportunity to focus on some of the things that I wanted to share with the House of not only the observations, my personal observations, but what I have read of what others have written of their concerns about the lack of leadership on recovering or bringing about the kind of recovery we need on this economy. That there are certain things that have to be in place. I know the first stimulus package we did gives some relief to homeowners through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and FHA loans and raising that ceiling so they can be able to assist individuals to save their homes. But we have got to go further than that. We have to be able to create the jobs that individuals need to be able to save their homes. The second point I wanted to make, Mr. Speaker, that I think is vital, General Petraeus is going to be here on the Hill within a week. We know that we are starting to see violence again in Iraq. We know that we have put a large investment on the ground in Iraq, not only in our men and women that are over 140,000, that are there, but also we put a major cash investment on the streets of Iraq in hiring a number of Iraqis with U.S. dollars, cash dollars that they are paid in to help keep the peace in certain neighborhoods that have been a part of the uprising and the insurgency. If I had the dollars that we have on the ground in Iraq in my district, there would be no crime. We would be able to hire those individuals that some may say are unemployable, that are out doing things that we don't necessarily agree with. Some justify their actions on the lack of being able to be employed, some justify their acts on the fact that they are not able to, even if they are employable, there are no jobs for them to get to be a productive member of society. Of course, there is a lack of job training dollars in our States and in our communities. There is a lack of bridge dollars to be able to introduce these individuals back into society, especially those that have made youthful indiscretions. But as we start looking at General Petraeus' testimony when we come back before Congress, we have to look at it from the standpoint of where are we going from this point. I think that the American people are ready for the Iraq experience to be over as it relates to street- to-street, neighborhood-to-neighborhood protection of the Iraqi people. I think that it's time for our government to be able at the highest levels, and I know many Members of the House, including myself, have personal editorials on this issue. But we are looking forward to General Petraeus' report. We are also looking forward to Ambassador Crocker's report. We are also looking forward to hearing not only from other experts that are in the area of Iraq, and I know the Armed Services Committee is going to be dealing with that, but I ask the Members in a bipartisan way to look at it not with a partisan eye, but look at it from a standpoint of what is best for the United States of America. So when we deal with the economy and we deal with Iraq, I mean there are two major issues that are going on in the country. For those that write books and for those that are historians, they are paying very, very close attention to what is going on. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be joined by my colleagues. I am just going to do it in order of seniority and order of people that are next to me. Even though I am going to recognize Mr. Altmire, since he made it here first, we have Mr. Ryan from the great State of Ohio, and represents Niles, Ohio, Youngstown, and has been doing great work here when we first started the 30-Something Working Group. We do have what I mentioned at the beginning of my comments, Mr. Speaker, is what we look for is consistency and accuracy on what we share with the Members and also the American people. I have my good friend Ms. Clarke, Yvette Clarke from the great State of New York, and representing Brooklyn in a very proud way. I have been to her district and seen her work, and she has worked on the local government level and brings a flavor to this body that all Members should appreciate, and I know that will continue to be a force here in Congress. And Mr. Jason Altmire, he and Mr. Ryan speak of very fondly, in the same television market, media market. Mr. Ryan actually participated in Mr. Altmire's election. I am glad that Mr. Altmire is here. He is a great voice here in Congress and has passed bills on this floor that are substantial to the very fiber of our democracy. Mr. Speaker, with that, just these opening comments that I have made, I know that with us being off 2 weeks, many of these Members have a lot to share. But as we look at the next couple of weeks and beyond, there is going to be a lot going on here in the Capitol dome, and the American people are going to be paying very careful attention to it, and we need bipartisan support in making that happen. Mr. Altmire.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. If the gentlewoman will yield for a second, I want to share something with the Members and also with those of us here on the floor. During the break, I took the privilege of going out to Camp Pendleton in California. As you go through the gate off of I-5, there is a billboard that is there, like you would see out in front of a drugstore or something, but it is an electronic billboard and it talks about if you need counseling. They have folks coming back every 4 months or so, some folks who have gone on their third and fourth tour. Think about it. You have families that live on that base. You have individuals the age of 18 or 19 years old, just single, that are living there. I had an opportunity to go through a simulator there at Camp Pendleton like you are in an Iraqi village or in a city, in Baghdad, in Fallujah. I have walked the streets of Fallujah. Mr. Altmire and I have done it. Mr. Ryan and I have been to Iraq on another trip. The ground, the structure, the folks dressed as though you are in Baghdad, it is a true simulation, and they have gunfire and IEDs and all of these things kind of going off in this simulator. Just walking through that was an experience for me, and that was just an enactment of what could happen or what should happen and giving our troops, our Marines, units going through there, a real flavor of what is going on. I can imagine being in the situation. I knew that I could walk out, the sun will be shining, it will be California weather. But when you are in that kind of situation, some folks feel that this is just some sort of made-for-television kind of thing. I love the troops. Mr. Ryan and I, we have been hearing this since we have been in Congress, because when we first got here, the war just started. We weren't here for the vote to go or not to go, but we got here right as soon as the war actually started. Some of the statements that are littered throughout the Congressional Record are, you know, ``our troops, we'll show 'em,'' and carrying on. We do have the best and the greatest and the most able military on the face of the Earth, by far. But when you start dealing with the real human issues of our men and women that are in combat, they go through a lot and their families go through a lot. What you said, Ms. Clarke, about we should take under consideration what happens to those individuals, it's not a game. Mr. RYAN OF Ohio. Just to share a little bit, Mr. Speaker. We were up at Walter Reed on Monday. And you want to talk about the issue of war smacking you right in the face, when you see someone just a few years younger than we are without legs, traumatic brain injury. You hear stories from parents who say, ``I got a call from Iraq, and my son or daughter, all they told me was he had a brain injury, and hung up the phone,'' and they don't hear back for 4 days. I mean, when you put all these stories together, that one particular mom waiting there 4 days not knowing, the unknown of whether or not your kid is going to live or die; or you hear the stories about the soldier we had in Batavia, Ohio, where you didn't know; the body was missing, you couldn't find it, and then you find it. When you add all of this stress up and you put it into our families and you put it into the soldiers that are there, and you talk about the long-term health care costs of this war, not to mention what is happening there day-to-day there now, but the long-term effects when at some point this is all settled hopefully, one way or the other, at least our portion of it is and our troops are back home for the most part, the effects are still going to be left with us. And I don't know if any of you have had the opportunity to see, Phil Donahue has this new documentary out called Body of War, and it is all about the actual physical injuries that these families are going through. And I think it is important for us to remember that. And when you hear and read in the paper that 10 or 15 civilians or four troops, those are real people. And those kind of situations, when you have all these civilian deaths in Iraq, from a very practical standpoint, one is they are civilians and that is a whole other issue, but from a very practical standpoint it makes it very difficult for us to solve the political problems over there when everyone who is a part of the government are losing brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles who are getting killed by these bombs that are going off over in Iraq. It makes it very difficult.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Altmire, I can tell you, it is a breath of fresh air. I want to differ with you all just for a minute. I don't mind our colleagues on the Republican side giving misinformation. I don't mind it, because American people have a lack of trust in what they say and very little understanding of what they do. We speak here in the 30-Something Working Group, Ms. Clarke, about fact, not fiction. We spend a lot of time working with the Speaker's staff, working with our personal staffs to make sure we are accurate when we come to the floor, because it does mean something when you come to this floor and share with your colleagues about what we should be doing, how we should be doing it, and what we have done. And I am glad you focused on what we have done. When I was in the State legislature, there was a gentleman by the name of Alzo Reddick that represented Orlando, Florida; I represented Miami, Florida. And I will never forget, I was like in my second year of public service or something and all of this debate is going on in the legislature; it was a great melting pot of opinions. We were going back and forth, and folks were spending a lot of time describing the problem. And he got up and he said, ``I just want to remind the members that we were not only elected to describe the problem, but mainly to do something about it. Okay? And now we are trying to do something about it with this bill.'' And he went on from there. And it was very profound, because I have a lot of folks in my district who spend a lot of time describing problems, and a lot of them I run into when I am at the grocery store or what have you, and there are a lot of folks who are on the sideline who don't want to get in the game. This is a contact sport in many ways in this legislative body. And when we were in the minority, we talked about what we would do if we had the opportunity. Remember that, Mr. Ryan? And I know that you all remember it because you were watching and a part of it and running for office at the time. So you were out there echoing ``what I would do once I get there.'' And I am glad you talk about that, because there was a laundry list. And, Mr. Speaker, you know prior in this hour we talked and I talked about some of the accomplishments we have made. And we have done it, Ms. Clarke, in a bipartisan way. We don't stand up here and dance in the end zone and say where are Democrats only passed this piece of legislation. There has been some legislation that Republicans have not seen eye to eye and it has become law. And we don't want to dance in the end zone on that, because the American people want to win. So I say all of that to say this. I very seldom make reference to what my colleagues say on the other side, because as far as I am concerned, I don't want to echo inaccurate information. But we do need to clarify it so that folks don't get concerned and start saying, ``Oh, my gosh. Do you mean to tell me that's true? Is it really true?'' So we're trying to build faith, because right now Congress is not where it should be as it relates in the minds of the American people that they feel good and warm and fuzzy. Polls have shown that they do feel more comfortable with Democratic leadership in Congress than Republican leadership in Congress. But as an institution and as a government, I guarantee you that Suzy whoever and Johnny whoever would like to see a government that works in a cohesive way toward the common good. The gentlewoman, Yvette Clarke, came to the floor with a purpose today. She came to the floor with the purpose of talking about the realities of life. And you know that we have Members here thinking that our commitment and our loyalty to the military comes in the form of smart bombs, guns, and some sort of grenade. But, guess what, it also comes in the form of thinking about their families. We just can't use and abuse and just say, well, we don't want to deal with that part that is after the fact; that is dealing after. Because when I was at Camp Pendleton, I stayed on base, as I do when I went to MacDill Air Force Base, as I do when I go to any location. I have been down to Norfolk, Virginia and big Navy. I stay on base so we can hear the stories from these families of what they are going through. And they say, well, we understood a Member of Congress is on base, and you bump into them: Sir, I just want to let you know how I feel as an individual. And that is important. And we have taken that, because we have had hearings in the Armed Services Committee, we have taken that into consideration in the Appropriations Committee. Mr. Murtha has done an excellent job by making sure that we pump dollars in on the family side and doing some of the things in our MILCON appropriations trying to do things to help those kids deal with the shock and the trauma of dad or mom coming home screaming in the middle of the night and they don't understand what is going on. So when we look at these issues, I am glad that we are addressing those issues, but we have to look at retooling this whole Iraq debate and how we got into this in the first place, because we are going to have Ambassador Crocker here, we are going to have General Petraeus that we have met with, we have met with all of these individuals before in the past. We want the real deal from them. But, as Members of Congress, we have got to stand up on behalf of the American people, be they Democrat, Republican, or Independent.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. You can do whatever you want to do. It's a free country.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Ryan and Ms. Clarke. I am glad you both are in Congress.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it's an honor to be before the House once again. As you know, the 30-Something Working Group, we have been coming to the floor now for some 5 years to not only share with the Members but also with the American people on what's happening here in the Capitol. I'm going to do a short segment because we have other Members that need to come to the floor. And the hour is late, and tomorrow we're going to be working pretty hard past this hour tomorrow, I'm pretty sure. And we want to make sure that everyone is able to make it home and do the things that they need to do to prepare for that day. Mr. Speaker, with that, I just would like to say that we've been in debate now for a couple of hours on the budget, the 2009 budget. And I can tell you, Federal budget, as it relates to the House version, I can tell you what I've read and seen of the President's budget, we have a lot of patching up to do in that budget. Tomorrow we will have a number of different caucuses coming to the floor presenting their budget, their ideas. Some of them came before us today to talk about some of those issues to be considered before the full House, and I'm glad that we are providing that opportunity for the Members to participate in that process; also, to be in debate with the Republicans on Democratic new ideas, moving in a new direction. And I think it's so very, very important not only for the Members of the House to be a part of that exercise, but also for the American people to witness that exercise so that they will know, firsthand, who has the best priorities for the working American people that are out there, and those that are retired and those that are yet unborn, preparing this Nation to be able to bring them up in a way and to be able to have the resources in place so that they can see the kind of strong America that I witnessed when I came about. Now, let me just share a little bit about this budget. And it supports fiscal responsibility and also accountability on government. I think a lot of the frustration with so many Americans right now is based upon a lack of accountability, a lack of oversight, a lack of restraint as it relates to spending. And I think when you have accountability, you're going to save money. I don't think it, I know it. Now, 13 years in public service, and 8 years at the State level, I think it's important that we embody that. And this budget, it brings the budget back to balance by 2010, and our House budget, unlike the President's budget that he has proposed, not only to the House, but to the Senate, also the budget follows PAYGO rules which you say pay as you go, something that we adopted in our rules to say if we're going to spend it, we're going to show how we're going to pay for it. And I'm glad to see that we're still embracing not only that rule, but also that philosophy as it relates to the American people, of what they ask for. The administration also continues in the fiscally irresponsible practices. And in this budget we bring it back to being responsible. And it's a real contrast, because since January 2001, a $5.6 trillion, 10-year surplus has been converted into a record deficit. And as you know, Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor almost every night to share how that deficit has crippled America and hasn't allowed us to be able to do the things that we need to do back in our districts. I think we look at the wasteful spending; this administration is littered with examples of wasted spending and lack of accountability. And I'm glad that Chairman Spratt of South Carolina has embraced that in his budget that he's bringing to the floor. Our budget that we're bringing on the Democratic side, we're looking at not only strengthening the economy, but creating jobs and at the same time energy, education, jobs, infrastructure and innovation will be the watchwords as we move through this process as basic principles. And so many Americans can, and also the Members, can go on www.budget.house.gov to look at the Democratic budget because I think it's important that we have that level of transparency so that they can take a look at the proposals that we are going to put forward. So many of my constituents and so many Americans are challenged by the cost of energy. And we do know on January 22 of 2001, gas prices were at $1.47. And now, today it's at $3.13 per gallon. And I know many of my constituents and many of the Americans that are paying attention to the proceedings here on the floor, they're saying, well, Congressman, you're a little bit off of that $3.13, because as I moved around Washington, D.C. today I saw it as a lot greater. We provide, with our budget, as it relates to dealing with some of these gas issues, it provides a $6.1 billion funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency and other energy programs, which is $1.1 billion, 21 percent more than the 2008 level. So we are moving in that direction making those kinds of investments, and some may translate that into saying that we are pulling ourselves out of Iraq, out of the Middle East and investing in the Midwest and trying to not only push private sector but also Americans in the direction of being more energy efficient so that we don't find ourselves continuing to depend on the big oil companies. If I can have my big oil company chart, I would appreciate it, because I think it's important to be able to reflect on it. Also, it rejects President Bush's budget cuts of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, including the cuts to solar energy power, and also what the President did in terminating the weatherization-assistance program. We are replacing all of that, and I think it's important for Americans to understand what is happening here. These big oil companies have reaped record profits under the Bush administration, and as you can see here in 2002, it was first $30 billion in record-breaking profits. It then kicked over $59 billion, $82 billion, $109 billion, $118 billion and $123.3 billion of these oil companies raking in these profits. And as you know, Mr. Speaker, we have moved legislatively to make sure that we call back some of those giveaways that the Republican Congress gave these oil companies. And this has resulted in what I talked about a little earlier, $1.47 when the Bush administration started in January 22, 2001, and it almost sounds like an inauguration date, and what we face now at $3.13. The barrel of oil continues to go up. So this energy investment and being efficient is very, very important to the country, also very, very important to national security. We also invest in hundreds of billions of dollars in new investment and green jobs, green-collar jobs. These are jobs, Mr. Speaker, that we can't ship overseas. When we make our building greener, when we make our homes greener, these are jobs that anyone who can even be a high school dropout with a skill would be able to participate in to that individual that became an engineer. These are jobs that you just can't send overseas. And this is a real economy and not a credit card economy, not a second mortgage economy, or not an economy where one has to go out and continue to borrow to live. This is real money coming in for real working Americans that are here so that we can put folks to work and get them off the unemployment role. I'm going to end right there, Mr. Speaker, as it relates to the energy investment because there are so many other investments in here as we look at education, transportation, and infrastructure. And today, just today, the Speaker had an infrastructure meeting in the Speaker's office with many individuals that felt that they had a way to not only incentivize an economy but also build on the infrastructure of America. So many of my constituents and so many Americans are very concerned about the investment that's going on in Iraq right now. Crumbling bridges, railways are not what they should be as it relates to moving transportation. We have trains that can move freight almost 430 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel. I mean, these are things that we have to continue to work on to not only save our environment but also create American jobs. And that's what I'm very excited about in this budget that we are putting forward, to give us the guideposts that we need in this country to not only do away with the debt by 2010 but also get the country moving in a direction so that it can be a safer place for our children and grandchildren. With that, Mr. Speaker, we always want in the 30-Somethings to not only hear from the Members but also hear from the American people on various issues that are facing the Congress. Next week we are going to be on Easter break for the next couple of weeks once we finish our business this week, But the 30-Something staff continues to work to come up with the great ideas that we put forth on behalf of the American people. And we are talking about Democrat and Republican, Independent, those that are thinking about voting and those that can't even vote yet. Our e-mail address is 30-SomethingDems@mail.house.gov. Again, 30- SomethingDems@mail.house .gov. Or if you want any of the information that we shared with you tonight about the budget, we know that you can go on www.budget.house.gov. Again, www.budget.house.gov. And any general information that you may want, what Democrats are doing here in Congress, www.speaker.gov, and I think that's easy enough to remember.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the late Tanya Martin Oubre Pekel of Miami, Florida. On Monday, May 22, 2006, this great pioneering young woman succumbed to a nearly 3-year battle with breast cancer at the age of 41. Her untimely passing will truly leave a deep void in our midst. A native of Miami, Mrs. Martin Pekel was born on October 3, 1964. She graduated with honors from North Miami Senior High School. During that time she served as a page for U.S. Representative William Lehman and worked as a clerk for attorney H.T. Smith. Later, she earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University, and in 1989 she received her juris doctorate from Duke's School of Law. Mrs. Martin Pekel continued on to work as a corporate attorney before being appointed a White House Fellow by President Clinton in 1995. Under this appointment, she became an associate director of Education and Policy Planning in the White House. In 1999, she accepted the position of Chief of Staff to Superintendent Patricia Harvey of Saint Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minnesota and served in the position for 6 years. In 2003, she was named one of that city's up and coming leaders. Her commitment to public service and her community was evident from a young age. Throughout her life, she taught music, drama, dance, and Sunday school to children in an inner-city ministry. In addition, she volunteered as a tutor and mentor for at-risk youth. Tanya Martin Oubre Pekel's life was a triumph. She was blessed with a loving family who took pleasure in every aspect of her life and her interests. Though she was taken from them far too early in her life, memories of her will live on in the heart of her family forever. I pay tribute to Mrs. Martin Pekel, and I mourn her loss. She will be missed by all who knew her. I offer my heartfelt condolences to her family--her mother, Marcia Saunders; father, Montez Martin Jr.; husband, Kent; daughters, Lauren and Victoria; son, Adam; sisters, Terrie Rayburn and Emily Martin; brother, Montez C. Martin III; and grandmother, Elise Martin.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to come before the House once again. As you know, the 30-Something Working Group comes to the floor every week to discuss issues that are at the forefront of what is going on in the country, and there are a lot of good things that are happening here under the Capitol dome on behalf of the American people. As you know, many times we focus on the issue of Iraq, and just to continue to keep the Congress focused on that very issue, and also to keep the American people tuned in on what is happening, as of March 4, 2008, total deaths in Iraq, U.S. casualties, are 3,973; total number of wounded in action and returned to duty is 16,211; and the total number of wounded in action when not returning to duty is 13,109. As we look at these issues and continue to focus on trying to get out of Iraq more sooner than later, I definitely want the Members to continue to focus on the sacrifice that many of our men and women are carrying out on a daily basis, and their families, I must add. Just a case in point, Mr. Speaker, just yesterday I returned. I went to the opening of the Florida legislature. Because of bad weather, I ended up finding myself traveling through Atlanta, and I ended up getting here late yesterday evening. There was a soldier on the plane with us, and I noticed him sitting a couple of seats up ahead of me. I didn't have the opportunity to have a discussion with him. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I always enjoy talking to our men and women in uniform. He was ahead of me. When he came out of the gate there at the Delta terminal, there were about 30 of his family members there that were just happy to see him. Tears and prayers being answered for this young man coming back home. I understand he is from Virginia. I did have the opportunity, I had one of my congressional coins in my computer bag, and I had the opportunity to shake his hand after 5 minutes of celebration from his family. Many of them were thanking God for his return. This kind of love is really, if one was to use biblical terms, almost close to agape love, the fact that family members had an opportunity to see their son, nephew and father and husband return back. I think we should have the resolve every day, even on weekends, to figure out how we can bring our men and women home. I personally don't have a close relative or family member that is in theater right now, be it in Iraq or Afghanistan, but I want the Members to keep the conscience of those that do have individuals that are in harm's way. There are a number of families on military bases, a number of families that are in subdivisions and communities. There are young people that their fathers and mothers were members of the Army Reserve and members of the National Guard that have their family or their father that is serving in Iraq. Even though we see more peaceful days in Iraq and we don't see the political achievement that the Iraqi Government was supposed to make, I still want to share with the Members of how long can we keep that peace, and at what cost, not only in life but in U.S. taxpayer dollars. As we talk about infrastructure issues here in this country, as we talk about the economy in this country, in Iraq we are financing new infrastructure for the Iraqi people. Here, in the United States, we still have crumbling bridges, projects that are still on the drawing board to be carried out, and they are not being carried out. So as we get into this big discussion with the White House over the budget, as we have the debates in committees, I just want every Member, Democrat and Republican, to think about those that are living in the real world that are looking forward to a celebration that I witnessed last night. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk a little bit about rebuilding our economy and the economic forum on Wednesday that the House Democratic leaders hosted, our second economic forum, the forum which convened national experts on economic and financial issues. It will address the state of America's economy. I think as we look at this whole New Direction Congress, it's important that we look at that we have already passed a bipartisan stimulus package that wasn't all that it should have been or all that it could have been, if I can say that, but it was something. I know that we are going to be working very hard to do even more. It will help create 500,000 American jobs. The plan was targeted as a temporary fix to allow rebates for those families that are most at risk in this bad economy, in this bad economic turndown. I think later this spring, the recovery rebates put hundreds of dollars, up to $600 per individual and $1,200 per married couple, plus a $300 tax credit in the hands of more than 30 million Americans. That is a bipartisan piece of legislation, and I think that it's very, very important that we continue to march in that direction. I also think that it's important that when we look at these record oil prices and we look at some of the things that we are pushing for here on the House floor, and as we work on the Senate side, I think it's important that the Bush administration works with us as we continue to rebuild this economy. Many of the Presidential candidates are out there talking about different proposals, different packages. But I can tell you right now, there's a lot of work to be done, Mr. Speaker and Members, until that actually takes place. I know that the American people are building a lot of hope and enthusiasm around this very issue of the economy, and there are many States that are voting now that are looking at this as a primary action that they would like to see take place. As we also start looking at the economy, we have to also pay attention to what some U.S. families are going through these days. For many of them, it used to be an unaccepted practice to even purchase a car if you couldn't pay for it in cash. It was almost an unaccepted practice to use your credit card to pay your light bill or to buy food at the grocery store. We are having more Americans that are doing that now. More credit card companies are sending many of our constituents credit cards at very, very low interest rates at the beginning, and then 6 months later, kicking in a number of penalties that they are going to have to pay. I think it's important that we keep our eyes on this very issue. This bipartisan feeling and structure that we have here on the floor that we built with the economic stimulus package will also help us offer a new long- term vision to not only lower fuel prices but to lower health care costs and increase health care quality. That is something that we tried to do, Mr. Speaker, before the closing of the first session of the 110th Congress, and something that we are going to continue to work on. We have made several attempts to be able to lower energy prices and create thousands of new green jobs, providing incentives for clean and renewable energy. I think that it's very, very important that we do that because OPEC knows that we are forever more dependent on them. I encourage those cities and counties and States that are moving more towards clean burning fuel and flex vehicles and hybrids. I was recently in New York and I was very excited to see many of the taxicabs are now transferring over to hybrid vehicles made by Ford. I personally purchased a Ford Escape, and it's a hybrid. Things have gotten better in the Meek family. I think that it's important that we all embrace this concept because it is a national security issue, Mr. Speaker. I think it's also important that we empower American ingenuity and also business tools to win in this global economy. Also, I talked a little earlier about the issues of Iraq getting a big part of the dollars. But the dollars are not necessarily coming to our country and not coming to benefit U.S. families. Just to paint a picture so folks don't feel that I am just talking about energy or talking about it just for the sake of talking about it, Americans are paying more than double for gas than they did when President Bush first took office. You look at January 22, 2001, it was $1.47. I remember those days when I used to fill up the tank. Now, on average, a price of a gallon today is $3.13, and some of my constituents would say, That is a low number, Congressman. I am paying a lot more than that. I think it's important we pay attention. This information is from the Energy Information Administration. Again, these are not charts that someone made up in the back room and said, This looks good, let's put it on the floor. As it relates to gas and oil and home heating costs, they have skyrocketed, and so have oil companies' profits. When you look at the price of gas here, like I pointed out in 2001, at $1.47, you look at 113 percent as relates to the profit line. You look at the oil companies, what they have done over the years goes all the way over to 2008 and the 310 percent profit, in the billions. I think it's important that everyone understand what is happening here as it relates to who's paying and who's benefiting. Profits are not a bad word. But greed is. Mr. Speaker, I don't blame the oil companies, I blame the Republican minority that was once the majority, and also I blame the White House for giving these oil companies an unfair advantage over the U.S. taxpayer. As we start to balance the playing field in a bipartisan way, I am encouraging my colleagues, especially on the Republican side, to think about the price that their constituents are paying at the pleasure of many of these oil companies that are celebrating not only record-breaking profits in the billions, but it is really sad for what is happening, especially right now in the economy. This data was compiled by the Center for American Progress. I think that it's important that we look at and also note that there was a meeting that I had in my folder, and I need to pull that information out, in 2001, with Vice President Cheney and many of the oil executives there at the White House, which is the best public housing in the United States of America and has the most famous office on the face of the Earth, that there was a meeting, and that happened in 2001. Well, I can tell you, it must have been a great meeting, because there was an energy bill that was passed shortly thereafter that gave many of our oil companies an unfair advantage over the U.S. taxpayer and what they pay at the pumps. These are the facts here: $30 billion in 2002 as it relates to profits. If a small business saw this kind of jump, it would no longer be a small business. I don't know of a small business outside of probably a dot.com company or some sort of search engine that picked up a niche and ended up really shooting through the roof as it relates to profits. But they are few and far between. But it seems like all of the oil companies hit the jackpot after this meeting and the endorsement of the Republican Congress. In 2002, $30 billion in profits; 2003, $59 billion in profits; 2004, $82 billion in profits. Meanwhile, we are paying more at the tank, and it is inching up. In 2005, $109 billion in profits; 2006, $118 billion in profits; and 2007, $123.3 billion in profits that many of these oil companies have earned. So when we start talking about turning green, when we start talking about making sure that the U.S. taxpayer gets their fair share and has a balanced playing field, then we have to talk about investing in the Midwest versus the Middle East. We have to talk about creating more green opportunities through biofuels and clean burning fuel here in the United States that will put people to work here in the United States and will maybe turn these companies into investing in the U.S. versus the Middle East. I think it is safer. I think it will get us more out of the conflicts that we find ourselves in in the Middle East, and I believe that it will help our economy beyond what we have seen thus far. The economy right now is based on how much you can borrow. As you can see, the Fed has cut interest rates by half a percentage point, and then they cut it again by half a percentage point. So it really has been built on how much you can borrow, or how much can you take out of the home, which is your financial security. Many U.S. taxpayers and many U.S. citizens have found themselves in the situation where they have to rob Peter to pay Paul and not have those dollars to be able to assist their families in receiving a higher education, or being able to assist their families or young people in their family, assisting them in starting a new business. I think that, Mr. Speaker, when we look at that, we have to look at the way that we are digging ourselves out of this hole. Unless we get out of Iraq more sooner than later, we will find ourselves continuing to see the image of the United States of America financially deteriorate in international markets. I think it is important that every American pays attention to this. I hope I can get my chart that talks about the deficit, because I think that it is important that we focus on that, because even when we look at the economic stimulus package, it was based on borrowed money. It wasn't money because of good financial controls. It wasn't because the President and the Office of Budget and Management have done such a great job. It is not because we had discipline with the Republican Congress that was the Congress before this Congress as it relates to fiscal discipline. We now owe foreign nations more than we have ever owed them in the history of the Republic. I would couch it this way: You have a neighbor that comes over to you and knocks on your door and says, can I borrow $40? And you say, well, this is my neighbor, I believe he is pretty good for it. I will give him the $40. Well, every time you see that neighbor, you are going to think about that $40. I don't care if it is the next day. And when they are talking to you and they don't necessarily mention anything about the $40 that they owe you, now you become a little bitter. Now you don't even want to listen to what that person has to say, unless they are saying they are going to give you your money back. That is the position we are in now in the United States of America. We owe China money. We owe them. We owe OPEC countries money. We owe them. We owe Iran money. Even though folks run around here talking about Iran is a threat, Iran, we owe them money. So when we start to think about these issues, we have to think about them as it relates to making sure that we move in a way that is fiscally sound, and I think that it is important that every Member of Congress pays very close attention to that. When you look at this war, because it is the 800 pound gorilla that is in the room, you have to look at it from the standpoint of saying the money that we are spending there, and I have been there three times in Iraq, the money we are spending there, what is the return? They say, well, who is winning? Well, I know that my district is not winning, because I am not able to even bring the dollars home I need. We have Members running around here on the floor on the Republican side saying, oh, we need earmark reform, or we need Member project reform, when Republicans ran rampant when they were in charge with all kind of projects, bridges-to-nowhere and all kind of meaningless projects that are out there. Meanwhile, I have a community back in South Florida, they are concerned about road money. They are concerned about mass transit. They are concerned about health care. They are concerned about education. And they want the Federal dollar to be able to make it down there so that we can educate the next generation. Not only in what you may call a pre-K through 12th grade experience, but also higher education. They are concerned about that. Meanwhile, here in Washington, D.C. there is a spending spree on how much money can we send to Iraq? The last $70 billion I voted against going into Iraq. It didn't have any strings attached, it didn't have any accountability measures attached to it. I remember when I first got here about 6 years ago, there was a discussion about we are doing this on the backs of future generations. Now the discussion is we are doing it on our own backs right now. We are weighing ourselves down and our chin is hitting the ground because we have so much weight on it. How much weight? Let me just point it out here. Hopefully the chart will make it here before I finish this segment of what I have to say. When you look at it, and I have a smaller chart right here, hopefully we will have the bigger one, 224 years, 1776 up until 2000, 42 presidents, 42 presidents were only able to borrow $1.01 trillion from foreign nations. That is $1.01 trillion from foreign nations. In 7 years, 6 years of a Republican Congress that was rubber-stamping everything that the President brought to this Chamber, President Bush and that Republican Congress were able to run up $1.33 trillion. That is in 7 years, versus what U.S. presidents in 224 years were able to accomplish. Why do I point that out? I point that out to shed light on this deficit issue. When you pass tax cuts that you can't afford for the very super-wealthy when they are not asking for it, you have two wars going on and you really don't have a plan to take yourself out of the first war in Iraq, I think former President Bill Clinton says it best when you talk about Iraq. I will go back to the neighbor scenario, Mr. Speaker. If there is a fire and your neighbor's house burns, it is the neighborly thing to do for you to accept that individual into your home, and probably their family. All of us would do it. We are all people of goodwill. You will probably let them stay. If you didn't have an extra room, you would let them stay in the living room on the couch, pull the sleeper couch out and let them stay there. Maybe a month will pass and they will still be there. Maybe some will even allow them to stay 6 months. Maybe even a really nice person would let them stay a year-and-a-half. But 5 years later, it is no longer about the fire. So I think it is important that we look at this issue of getting out of Iraq more sooner than later, because it is no longer about the fire, it is about something else. So when we look at this, as I just pointed this out and I want to make sure Members can see it, $1.01 trillion, $1.33 trillion. Seven years, this is what happened under not only the leadership of the Bush administration, but also the Republican Congress. Where did this come from? The U.S. Department of Treasury, which the Secretary of the Treasury is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. I think it is important that people understand that I am not on the floor sharing fiction, that I am actually sharing fact. As we look to make these hard decisions, I think it is important that Americans understand that we are paying more on the debt service on the money that we owe these foreign nations and that we owe overall on the debt, we are paying more on that than we are putting into homeland security. So when you have folks coming here waiving arms and carrying on saying that, well, you know, we have got to protect America. I am more standing for protecting America. Oh, I am with the troops. No, I am with the troops. I got a tattoo on my chest saying I am with the troops. When they come here and make these bold statements and giving these great floor statements, I think folks really need to understand what is really going on. Here is a picture, Mr. Speaker. You talk about the 110th Congress and the boldness of Democrats when we came here. With some few Republicans voting with us, we voted to stop the President on the surge. When you look at the surge, it is costing the U.S. taxpayers billions and billions and billions of dollars that, again, from the first chart, that we borrowed. This is the President and some of our Republican colleagues on the other side, as a matter fact, a supermajority of them that were there saying, Mr. President, we are going to be with you. We are 40-plus. They cannot override you, because we are going to stand with you in harmony. Here is a picture to make that point, to make it visual for you, because I just want to make sure that Members don't feel that there is anything that is being shared here that is not true. This is the chart, again, talking about the dollars. Look at Japan. This is actually in the billions of dollars, $644.3 billion that we owe Japan. China has a double margin here. They are up there at $349.6 billion. I think it is important that everyone understands what is happening there. Then it goes on to the U.K., $239.1 billion. These numbers are actually higher now. But these are the numbers that I just wanted to make sure going across. You see this other red bar here that talks about OPEC nations? Those are nations that are oil producing nations. They sit in a room and talk about what a barrel of oil will cost, and it will affect our neighborhoods and heating oil prices and all. So when we start talking about the management of the country and start talking about how we are going to move in the right direction, I think it is important that everyone pays attention to who is getting what they want and who is not getting what they need. Here is another example. The President proposed deep cuts in key priorities, in the COPS Program, which is Community Oriented Policing. I used to be a state trooper. I can tell you that many of my colleagues in law enforcement, there are a number of sheriffs, the National Association of Sheriffs, the National Association of Chiefs, they all fight for this Community Oriented Policing. What does it do? Well, it actually makes communities safer, and it allows them to be able to put bike patrols and foot patrols in neighborhoods where usually you will have crime. It allows them also, Mr. Speaker, to be able to go and create after-school programs for young people that are at risk. But that has received a 100 percent cut. Talk about weatherization assistance. When we look at the whole issue of heating oil prices and what it costs to heat a home right now, Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for everyone to understand that those individuals that are financially challenged, especially those receiving Social Security benefits, are not able to receive any assistance whatsoever. A 100 percent cut in that program. When we look at the Department of Homeland Security, First Responder Grants, they took a 78 percent cut. What does that mean back in the hometown or the parish or what have you? It means that 78 percent of what the Federal Government would have given to your local government to protect the homeland has now been cut, and those dollars are hard to find. When you look at EPA Clean Water Grants, that has been cut by 21 percent. When you look at Community Development Block Grants, that has been cut by 20 percent. When you look at the Low Income Energy Assistance Program, that has been cut by 17 percent. I give those examples and I am making those points, Mr. Speaker, to say that when you look at $70 billion in Iraq and you look at no- strings-attached, they seem to be able to get away with what U.S. taxpayers and U.S. cities and U.S. mayors and governors cannot get away with. This past Tuesday, and I mentioned earlier at the top of this hour, I had the opportunity to go to the opening session of the Florida legislature. I heard the House Speaker talk about the deficit in the State of Florida, some 4 billion plus dollars that they have to be able to fill the gap, because they are not like those of us that are here that can be able to take out a high interest credit card and say, let's put it on that card, whatever it costs. We will worry about it later, but we just need to do it now whatever we feel like doing. In the States, they actually have to balance. Constitutionally, they have to balance their budget. So that means something has to be taken from someone else to fill that gap. And so when you start filling that gap, I want to make sure that everyone in America understands that you are talking about cutting assistance to seniors, you are talking about higher tuition rates in colleges. Even though we cut student loan rates here on the Federal end as relates to interest rates, they are going to end up seeing higher tuition because they have got to make ends meet. You are going to end up seeing many of our youth programs cut. You are going to end up seeing many assistance for small businesses at the State level cut. They are going to have to find that $4 billion in Florida from somewhere. So I think it is very, very important, we started looking at this whole issue of Iraq and accountability and all of the things that we talk about here on the floor. You have got to think about how these decisions trickle down to local government. When you start looking at the Bush tax cuts for those that are the connected and the wealthy, we start looking at that as devolution of taxation. We've cut your taxes up here in Washington, blah, blah, blah. You look at the previous Republican Congress, oh, this is what we've done. Apparently the American people caught on to it and that's why the Democrats are in the majority now. It's devolution of taxation. What does devolution of taxation mean? It means once you cut something here, you're going to have to balance in the local government area. So the State government has to cut what it gives to local governments and school boards and parishes. And then, when it gets to the local government, they're going to have to make cuts to be able to fill the gaps, the obligation that the State is not making. So when you look at those gaps being filled, I can guarantee you that many of my constituents and many of us who know what it means to punch in and punch out and have a 15-minute break in the morning and a solid half-hour for lunch and if you get a 15-minute break in the afternoon. But those individuals that know what that means, then they know that they're going to end up getting the short end of the stick, or the messy end of the stick as we may say down in Florida. I think it is important that people understand what is happening here and what is not happening here. What is not happening here is that the President is not moving in a responsible way to get us out of Iraq. There is great debate as it relates to the Presidential candidates. The picture that I showed you of a number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who stood with the President and said that they will not allow him to be overridden and there they are there standing in the picture, are standing in the schoolhouse door as it relates to the kind of reform that should be happening. What is happening here, to give you a report on that, is that there is a great attempt to be able to try to bring ourselves back into fiscal control as it relates to the budget and start working on knocking down this deficit. We are paying more on the debt service than we pay on Homeland Security. That is a problem. If the debt service is in competition with what we invest in education, that is a problem. So when you look at these issues and you look at 2010 and the sunset of these Bush tax cuts, when you look at what first responders are not getting, 100 percent cut as relates to the COPS program, community- oriented policing program that many law enforcement officials called for and endorse 110 percent; when you look at these issues and you say that there is no money, when you have crumbling bridges here in the U.S. and you have bridges that are being built in Iraq by U.S. contractors and Middle Eastern contractors, you can't help but question who is doing the right thing and who is doing the wrong thing. Because, I am going to tell you right now, it is not happening. In all of the Congressional districts that you look around, I don't see any Congressional district saying, Oh, we're happy with what we have. We don't need anything else. We don't care about infrastructure and making and creating U.S. jobs. We don't care about investment and green collar jobs to where if we wanted to put sod on the top of the Capitol building, that won't be an overseas job. If someone dropped out of high school, they have an opportunity to take part in that. If someone went on to college, if someone went on to post-education and became an architect and they would have a part in that. Will it build our economy? Truck drivers will make money. You will have individuals in the agriculture field that will make money and will be able to stimulate our economy for real jobs. We would no longer have the discussion that took place in Ohio just last night as relates to the Presidential primary on who is shipping jobs overseas and who is creating jobs on land here in the United States. So as we look at that, Mr. Speaker, I think that we should look at it from the standpoint that we have to win. The U.S. taxpayer must win. We are here to represent that individual. I didn't come to represent anybody else on another continent; I came here to represent, not only my constituents, but by them voting for me to be here, Mr. Speaker, they federalized me to be able to deal with the issues of the United States of America and be a part of board of directors of the greatest country on the face of the Earth. We want that to continue to be the case. What we don't want is what we are seeing, the downward spiral, irresponsible spending, and the cuts that the Bush White House has said that has to be made to be able to carry out a mission in Iraq that has no end in sight as far as they are concerned. I think that the American people will rise up once again in the upcoming election in saying that we are willing to put in the people who are going to put an end to this practice. I beg my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to please join us, those of us on the Democratic side that are trying to find a way to not only bring about accountability in Iraq, but bring our men and women home so that they can be reunited with their families; so that they can actually go to some of the programs that I go to of my kids. I get an opportunity to see them. I had an opportunity to have dinner with my family this afternoon earlier. I just want them to have that opportunity. I want the men and women that serve in uniform to have that opportunity. I want that State Department worker that has had to volunteer to go to Iraq to have that opportunity. I want that church or that synagogue or that mosque to be able to spend that spare time in trying to build families versus trying to comfort families of what is going on with their loved ones in harm's way. I want that kind of America that we are used to seeing. Like I said earlier, it is no longer about the fire, it is about something else. And I think that it is important that the Members, their number one priority should be every day that they hit this floor is how they can reunite these families and to be able at the same time save the U.S. taxpayer money or their investment. If we can come to the floor and put $70 billion like that, and that is without my vote, over into Iraq to continue what the President would like to see carried out in Iraq, then we should be able to do the same in stimulating our economy here domestically and making U.S. families stronger and making Americans stronger. With that, Mr. Speaker, as usual, the 30-Something Working Group, we do want to hear from the Members. I want to make sure that the Members share information with us and staff share information with us. You can e-mail us at the 30SomethingDems@mail.house.gov. That is 30SomethingDems@mail.house.gov. Also, we encourage the Members, and all of the charts that we have here are also on www.speaker.gov/ 30something. I think it is also important to note, Mr. Speaker, that we look forward to the coming days as we start to tackle these issues every month of this year, I think, leading up until maybe about 4 or 5 more months, the Members will have an opportunity to go back to their districts for a week and have these district work weeks. I encourage all of our constituents to engage us on these issues and to continue to keep the pressure on so that we make the right decisions here in Washington, DC. Mr. Speaker, it was an honor to address the House once again. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Murphy, it is an honor to be on the floor with you. We appreciate all that you have done during your time here in Congress. I can tell you, Mr. Murphy, one of the very important measures that passed today on the House floor was the energy bill, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act, and I think it is important as we look at this piece of legislation because it is actually paid for, and we pay for it with the subsidies that previous Congresses gave big oil companies, those subsidies they didn't ask for. Well, maybe they did ask for them. I had a chart, Mr. Murphy, in previous Congresses that I used to bring to the floor. I am talking about the meeting Vice President Dick Cheney had in 2001 in his office with all of the major oil executives, and in that chart it showed how profits went up from that point on. ``Profits'' is not a bad word, but when you look at it, especially in how the big oil companies increased prices on individuals that were not only paying taxes, U.S. taxpayers that were paying for the subsidies they were getting, but also were paying more at the pump, and it is so very, very important that we identify that and reverse that. This piece of legislation that we passed today actually does that, H.R. 5351. So many times in America, Americans, they look at Congress and they look at what we do and how we do it and they don't quite understand how it happens to them twice: A, we are subsidizing big oil companies; and, B, why are they paying more for gas. What we have done in this Congress and in previous energy bills that we have passed, we have focused on green and focused on innovation and focused on how can ethanol, and we focused on making sure that cars can go further with less. We have also stood under the banner of investing in the Midwest versus the Middle East. And I think it is important that we continue with that theme. Today's legislation that passed the floor continues that theme. I talked a little earlier about the big five oil companies that recently reported record profits in 2007. Exxon earned $40.6 billion, the largest corporate profit in the history of the United States of America. Some of that came about because of the tax dollars being generated back into dollars that they didn't have to spend. Usually with profits of any business, you take those dollars out to be able to do more and better in the future. Well, we don't have a problem with that happening, but we don't want it to be on the backs of the U.S. taxpayers. I also think, Mr. Murphy, one other point that I want to make, with the economy now and how these energy prices continue to squeeze American families, I think it is important that since August, when the House took up the bill, and the price of oil has risen almost $25 per barrel to a new record high of $102 per barrel today. Gas is up 17 cents a gallon in the last 2 weeks, and up 75 cents from a year ago. Gas prices also doubled on home heating costs, and tripled on American families since 2001. When we start looking at those statistics, we have to do something about them, and today's legislation does something about them. I am proud to be a Member of the 110th Congress that is turning this ship around as it relates to how the U.S. taxpayers view Congress, one; and two, making sure that we can reverse some of those cake and ice cream giveaways that were given under the Republican-led Congress. I encourage Members to continue to head down this track of assisting U.S. families. And in the 30-Something Working Group, we work hard towards promoting that kind of philosophy, not only within the Capitol building talking here on the floor, but also back in our districts, to talk about the good things that we are doing that will assist U.S. families talking at their dining room table and when they get together for Little League games and whatever, talking about gas prices and talking about making America greener and talking about investing in the U.S. so we can have U.S. jobs. With that, I yield back, but I think it is important that we continue to head down this track. Even though we have had some objections from the other side of the aisle, this is the right thing to do because we are on the side of the American people and not the big five oil companies.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.