Kendrick Meek

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I rise to recognize the Church of the Open Door in Liberty City, Miami on its 47th Anniversary, which was celebrated on Sunday, September 18, 2005. To celebrate its 47th year, the Church hosted civil rights activist and preacher, Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, a colleague of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rev. Lowery's powerful sermon was heard by many of the Church's founding members who are still active in the congregation. Open Door is home to many prominent activists in the Liberty City community. Many members participated in the March on Washington and other key events in the civil rights movement, and they continue to be strong voices in the fight for justice and equality. The Church of the Open Door was built in 1958 at 6001 NW 8th Avenue, and was founded by the family of Marie Faulkner Brown. To celebrate this anniversary the church unveiled portraits of its founding members and pastors, and hosted four days of guest choirs, fellowship, and worship services for its annual revival week. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Open Door's pastor, Rev. Joaquin Willis, and his congregants on this happy occasion.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, there are a couple of articles that I want to enter into the Congressional Record because I think it is important. I think it is important for us to understand that this is just one day here in Washington, and I think it is important for Members to understand that we are not here at 11 p.m. at night talking about the Pallone, Wasserman Schultz, Ryan Report. This is actually happening. This is what is happening in our democracy. The 107th Congress, 108th Congress, and 109th Congress are going to be held responsible for what has happened with regard to the deficit, what has happened as it relates to a war where they embellished the reason for why we went to war. We are going to give this to the Clerk and make sure this appears in the Congressional Record: ``Spy probe widens to cover aides to the White House service.'' This is as it relates to the outing of CIA agents and sharing information with foreign governments: ``CIA Rejects Discipline for 9/11 Failures.'' ``Goss,'' who is the CIA Director, ``cites fear of hurting the agency.'' That is also on the front page. I am just going to go a little further on because this is too much to overlook and if we do not talk about it here in the Congress, then who will? ``Ex-White House Aide Indicted'' for lying to Federal investigators. This is serious stuff. It goes on. ``GOP Divided Over Range of Severity of Spending Cuts.'' I want to yield here for a second as we move along. We were on this floor supplemental after supplemental, borrowing to be able to pay for the war in Iraq. We all want to protect our men and women in uniform. I tell my colleagues I am first in line, and I am pretty sure many of us are. I know the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) and I serve on the Committee on Armed Services. This is what we do every day: make sure that our troops are protected. But I can tell my colleagues right now, when it came down to giving money for chasing weapons of mass destruction that were not there, an imminent threat to the United States of America that was not there, but now it is an imminent threat due to the fact that it is the seed of terrorism right now. Individuals are going in there. They are going after Americans, and they are trying to fight against our troops that are there that were originally there for weapons of mass destruction, but that is another point. Now it comes down to making sure that we respond to Americans that have paid their taxes, that many of their children are at war right now either in Afghanistan or Iraq, that now the majority, the Republicans on the majority side, and not all of them, but I will say the individuals that are running the show on the other side, the leadership, they now want to say, well, we have to look at cuts and we have to off-balance some issues. Let us look at this. They are looking at cuts as it relates to things like Head Start, Title I, meals for poor children. So we want to take from the poor to give to the poor in the light of being a fiscal conservative, and then at the same time, we have got billionaires, billionaires. No one is saying anything about them. No one is saying anything about the tax cuts for billionaires, not middle class tax cuts. There is no discussion on that on the majority side, and I think it is important that we highlight the hypocrisy in democracy. There are about ten stories here, and I know folks can go to Washingtonpost.com. This is just one paper I picked up this morning. As it relates to the CIA chief, it goes on: On A-11, it talks about Porter Goss, and this is very interesting. The President said that we should have an internal investigation. Why do we need a 9/11 Commission? Okay. The internal investigation took place between Senator Graham over on the other side, head of the Select Committee on Intelligence at that time, and Porter Goss, who is now the Director of the CIA, was head of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Part of the charge for that was to look at individuals no matter what level and ask the Inspector General, and that is the individual that is outside of the CIA autonomy. People are not supposed to be able to reach him and touch him, not supposed to be able to intimidate him. The Congress passed a bill saying he should investigate this, come back with findings, and if there is a breakdown in management or something that was overlooked, then those, no matter what level, should be held responsible. The Inspector General did his job. He came back with a report, and today or yesterday, the CIA Director, appointed by the President, said, oh, well, we are not going to do anything about that. We are not going to hold those individuals accountable. George Tenet, who was the Director of the CIA at the time of 9/11, also who won the Medal of Freedom from the President, that he will not be held responsible or anybody under him. So the CIA Director said he will see to it that that report stays secret even though, Mr. Speaker, Americans lost their lives. And that is the part that gets under my skin. I do not represent New York. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) represents some of the victims of 9/11.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. If the gentleman will yield for just a second on that point, he is not only hired as a consultant but he has been hired as a consultant to find out what went wrong. This takes me back to last week. Same thing happening in the White House right now. The adviser, the young lady who is the Presidential adviser on homeland security now, has the task as it relates to the White House to find out what went wrong. These are the people that are making the decisions. That is the reason why we need an independent panel. Last week we talked about this, and it was a little facetious to say it, but I said, My name is Kendrick Meek, and I am going to investigate myself and I will give you the findings in another 6 weeks. I said that to drive a point about the issue as it relates to the response to these natural disasters. And let us not leave Rita out, Hurricane Rita. The fact is that people lost their lives, and not lost their lives in the storm, but lost their lives in the aftermath of the storm. Their lives could have been saved if we had had people in place that could make sound decisions. I was reading in one of our publications here that Mr. Brown gave an interview to a newspaper and said, I called the White House and told them we have a problem and we need some help. Well, that is not good enough. Because the whole thing about the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to, what? Be ready to respond to a natural disaster. Now, Michael Brown, he is just Exhibit A as far as I am concerned.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Let me just say this, Mr. Speaker. I think it is important, very important, and my colleagues heard me earlier mention the issue about protecting the institution and making sure that we carry ourselves in the way we are supposed to carry ourselves, but I am here to say, as someone that knows that this happens when you are in political life, you have some people that are investigated. You have some people that are indicted. It happens. When it does happen, I think it is important for those that are accused, or it is said that this is what you have done and here is my evidence, then it is appropriate for one to say, well, I believe that I am innocent. I believe this is not what you think it is; and in the coming weeks, days, months, or years the truth will come out. But it is another thing entirely when it comes down to intimidation, and that is what I would like to address, especially of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Some of the press reports that I have read that came out just recently have me a little disturbed. I am a little disturbed that people in power are coming down on a locally elected prosecutor and saying this is politically motivated. They are not indicted. They have nothing to do with the case, but they are coming down on this individual. I think that is wrong.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. A grand jury has brought this about. But once again I want to state for the record that no one is saying that the person in question is guilty as charged. We do have courts in this land. But we do know here in this political circle that some people would be lined up out at the door. We have seen it before in the last administration, or when the House was Democratic. Members lined up out of the door to convict on this floor Members that have been indicted or investigated in the past. Now, I can tell you that I know on this side of the aisle we are better than that. Now, some of my friends on the Republican side did not take part in that, but I am here to tell you that there have been Members that have blown things out of proportion, coming onto the floor with paper bags on their heads, and we have heard Members saying, I am ashamed to be a part of this institution, because someone was accused of not paying a parking ticket. So there are some who have been blowing this thing out of proportion. But I can tell you what is beyond a coincidence, and that is the number of inquiries that are being conducted on this Congress from outside officials. The number of inquiries that are taking place, and I am talking real inquiries. I am not talking about someone paid for a plane ticket for someone, or someone had a steak dinner somewhere and somebody is upset about it, or someone did not report something small. We are talking about serious charges. We are talking about charges of speaking to Federal officials and not telling the truth. We are talking about questionable financial transactions. We are talking about a number of things. But I will tell you this, it is beyond coincidence that all of this is happening now. My point is this, my colleagues. The majority side has not carried out its responsibilities. On the Committee on Armed Services, we have had 110 complaints about contractors overcharging the government, people that are being paid that are not even in Iraq, troops not having what they need when they need it at the height of the fighting; and worse yet, we sit on the committee that has oversight, yet not a mumbling word. Not a mumbling word. Not one real ``let us pull you in and talk about it.'' Look at Abu Ghraib. It almost took an act of Congress, with Members kicking and screaming, to even get the Secretary there to talk about these issues. If we conducted the proper oversight, maybe, just maybe, FEMA would have been in the position to respond to those individuals that were in harm's way. Maybe, just maybe, we would not have these cost overruns as relates to some of these companies like Halliburton and other companies that are out there that are charging our Federal taxpayers' dollars that are undocumented. Maybe, just maybe, officials in the White House that are running around without any oversight, without anyone saying, excuse me, can you answer this question for me; without anyone questioning them, things would be different. I will tell you this, and then I will come in for a landing because I know you all want to talk about this subject.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. We have been talking about this for a very long time, and I hate to say it, but in this Congress everybody wants to saying something out in the media. No one wants to come and talk about the responsibilities that we have as Members of the 109th Congress. We have a responsibility. Guess what, this was the Congress before we got here, and hopefully it will be a Congress and an honorable institution when we leave. We are the stewards of this. We are the benefactors of the past blood, sweat, and tears. Mr. Speaker, there are veterans right now without limbs that are the reason we have the opportunity to come in here and breathe the very democracy we celebrate every day; their life, their commitment, these families that have lost so much in order for us to come in here. And for us to use our titles to chastise someone for doing what they believe is their job, and not just allegations against an individual but allegations that changed the face of this entire Congress. Members got unelected. If this is true, Members were unelected from this Congress because reapportionment took place. Members were elected and unelected in Texas because reapportionment took place. If that is true, then this is very, very serious. So I would warn the Members of this Congress on both sides of the aisle to let us make sure that we pay attention to what is going on and make sure we refrain from using our office and our influence, because intimidation is the wrong medicine for this time.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, with that, I just want to thank the Democratic leader for allowing us to have this time. Also I want to commend you both for doing your homework. I believe we will be back tomorrow, the 30-something Group tomorrow afternoon after votes.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, once again, it is an honor to come before the House, and we would like to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Democratic leader, for allowing us to have an hour here on the floor on the Democratic side. Our 30 Something Working Group has been coming to the floor now for the second Congress, talking about issues that are facing Americans, issues that we are working on here in the Congress, issues that are facing the Congress and things that we feel very strongly about. Every week, we come together to talk about these issues and then we come to the floor. As of recent, we have been coming to the floor if not every other day, every day, because there are so many issues that are facing the country and this Congress. I think it is important that we continue to not only speak to the Members of this House of Representatives and this Congress, but this administration and the American people. We have been talking for quite a few weeks now on the action or lack of action as it relates to Hurricane Katrina. We have had a couple of events today that I think is worthy of merit of discussing, and also, as it relates to still, Mr. Speaker, pointing out the fact that we have over 100,000 Americans still in shelters, some based on the fact that we have had a natural disaster, two natural disasters, but some based on the fact of we have not governed in the way that we should have governed to protect those Americans. Many of the experiences that these Americans have gone through and loss of life has been a breakdown in government operation. Either it be local or State or Federal, it is important that we address these issues. Before we really get into what we are here to talk about tonight, the last time we left this floor, we talked about an independent panel, a bipartisan independent panel outside of this Congress, to deal with the issues that are facing some may say, well, it is just dealing with the gulf States, but I think that is an understatement. I think we are dealing with all Americans when we are talking about $200 billion-plus of the Federal tax dollars. I can also share with my colleagues and Members, Mr. Speaker, the fact that it is disturbing to see some of the proposals that are coming out from the majority side that are saying that we should sell 13 national parks to pay for the natural disaster or we should look at wasteful spending. Of course, we have been talking about looking at wasteful spending for a very long time. Of course, the majority side has taken us into a deficit as far as the eye can see, but I think it is important for us to look at Americans that understand that we have to respond to Americans when they are in their time of need, not take away from. We need to address issues like oil companies making more money than they have ever made before, record profits. Meanwhile, Americans cannot even fill their tank. Folks in my neighborhood, where I come from, they are having to park their cars. The President is saying conserve; if you do not need gas, do not get it. I do not quite get that, but Americans need gas to be able to take their families to work and their children to school. There are some very interesting statements, some very interesting actions, here in Washington, DC. I think it is important that we not only point out to the Members what the American people, in this time that we live in now here in this country, with all eyes on this Federal Government, that we act responsibly. I think it is also important that we address the issue of protecting the institution. This institution, which is the U.S. Congress, wherein the Members of the 109th Congress, regardless of whether we are on the majority side or the minority side, it is our responsibility to keep this argument above the belt, and I am very disturbed, at a time of national disaster, in a time of need, that Americans need this Congress, that we are still moving as business as usual. I am talking about the partisan panel that has been passed by this House to look into what happened in Hurricane Katrina. I know that a couple of hearings have taken place, but it is very disturbing that Americans have to see that we are working against what they have asked for. Here in my hand I hold a CNN-USA Today poll that was taken the 16th through 18th. Anyone, I am pretty sure, can go on the Web site. I just want to make sure no one sees this as the Kendrick Meek Report or the Tim Ryan Report or the Ms. Wasserman Schultz Report. The question goes as follows: As you know, some people have called for an investigation into the problems the government had in responding to Hurricane Katrina. Who would rather see conduct this investigation, independent panel or Congress? Now, it does say problems the government had in responding to Hurricane Katrina. It did not say the Federal Government. It did not say the State government. It did not say the local government. So I want to put that aside because some folks are playing this game as though it is some conspiracy theory to go after the Federal Government because they did not do what they were supposed to do and the local government did what they did right; they had no wrong. Eighty-one percent, independent panel, 81 percent; 18, Congress. One percent was unsure. I am pretty sure if the question was put out on the issue of do you want a partisan panel to look at the response to the natural disasters, I am pretty sure they would have been a lot lower to Congress, and that is what is happening right now. I, once again, say that it is important that we have an independent panel. What we mean by independent panel, just like the 9/11 Commission, that brought about the kind of accountability that we are having now. All has not been implemented that the 9/11 Commission called for, but a lot has improved as it relates to communications, the State, Federal and local governments, and I think it is important that we follow that. Also, I know that we are going to talk about some of the cronyisms, some of the corruption that is going on around, not only this body, but throughout the government structure, and it is important, and I think a lot of this has brought about a lack of oversight, even when it comes down for some of the candidates for some of these appointments as it relates to the plum list, that have been well-documented, these are not my words, well-documented throughout the media and also as it relates to watchdog groups that are watching the Congress for what we do, and the President for what he does. And I think we have to be responsible to the American people, Democrat, Republican, Independent alike. We have to make sure individuals that are being placed in these positions have some level of qualifications to be able to fill the position so that American people are not left vulnerable. And with that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to either of my colleagues, whichever wants to start this discussion.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Give the website.

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

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, I think it is important going back to protecting the institution, going back to making sure that we do what we are supposed to do as the 109th Congress. I cannot speak for the 110th Congress. It is up to my constituents if I am to make it there. But I tell my colleagues this: being a Member of the 109th Congress in the minority or the majority, I think it is important that we share with our colleagues the importance of their duty of making sure that they do what they are supposed to do, because this is not about friendships. We were not elected to come up here to be friends with one another. We were elected to come up here to represent our districts and the American people, to be able to make sure that democracy stands for another 200-plus years and beyond. That is our job. Our job is to come up here to protect the welfare of those individuals who cannot protect their own welfare, and we are here to make sure that there is a government in place for when they need it. Some people in our country do not want anything from government. But guess what. When they need it, it should be there for them. No one is trying to get into anyone's life. But I can tell the Members this right now: the reason why we are here on this floor and the reason why we come to this floor week after week is to make sure that we raise the issues of the American people, Democrat or Republican alike. It does not matter. I do not ask my constituents, when they come to my office, I need to know their party affiliation. I do not go and chastise in a general sense of the word Republicans because some Republicans that I know, many that I know that are supporters of mine, either it be politically or friendship-wise or what have you, they do not share some of the things that I see the majority side acting on now. If it was not for this side of the aisle pushing after 9/11 for an independent commission and if it was not for the work of those families, there would not have been an independent 9/11 Commission. There would not have been the testimony by not only White House officials, Pentagon officials, CIA, FBI, DEA, name it, transportation officials. We never would have gotten close to the bottom of what really happened if it was not for the push on this side. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), our leader right now, was called a tainter by the Republican side for calling for an independent commission. There is a lot of name calling that goes on here on this floor. I for one do not like to name call. I just like to speak of the truth, period. When I talked about the allegations today, if they are true, then it is a problem. The 9/11 Commission would not have seen the light of day if it was not for what we are doing right now, giving voice to those who sent us up here to give voice to them. After 9/11, Democrats called for a Department of Homeland Security. It is well documented. The majority- side leadership said we do not need a Department of Homeland Security. The White House said we do not need a Department of Homeland Security. And now we have a Department of Homeland Security, not because they thought it was a great idea. It was because of the pressure that was brought upon by us and also by the American people. I think it is also important to talk about the issue of Social Security. The 30-something Working Group cut its teeth on the issue of Social Security, making sure that every American has the opportunity to have a guaranteed benefit. Whether it be a Democrat, Republican, young, old, disabled, retired, a survivor of someone that paid into Social Security, we fought for that. We stood here on this floor. We called out the leadership on the majority side. And the American people then, when we were making that argument, were on our side and we were on the side of the American people, period, dot. Now when it comes down to Katrina, when it came down to responding to Hurricane Katrina, we were brought up here in special session over a case in Florida. We have got to come up here, and we have got to vote to try to save someone's life. We can get into all of that, but that is the past. We came up here for that. And after Hurricane Katrina, the Democratic leadership called for a special session. Oh, we do not need to do that. The American people demanded that the Federal Government do more than what it is doing right now. The President said, I am calling Congress back to session. There was a question, did the Democrats not call for that? Yes, they did too, but we are all in this thing together. There should be an emergency supplemental. Oh, we do not need that, not now. Then that happened. We called for Michael Brown's resignation because it was obvious. Here on this floor, I remember like it was yesterday, we called for it. I personally said if they are in a football game and they are within the first quarter and they have a quarterback that is not necessarily going to get them to the goal line, it is time to change personnel. A week later the President said, Michael Brown, you are doing an excellent job. This goes into exactly what we are talking about. If it is left up to the majority, and I will not say us because we are here speaking now after 9 o'clock at night, children at home, loved ones at home, but we are here on this floor. Not because it is good for our health. It is because we care about what happens in this institution and this country. The bottom line is if it is left up to what the spin machine puts out from the majority side, we are in trouble. Three days later, the Director of FEMA is sent back to Washington, then later resigned. We brought that issue up to the American people that he should be removed. Now we are at the independent commission. We have Members making statements that it is a shame that Democrats are not participating in the partisan commission. The American people can see it. Go on CNN, USA Today Web site. This poll is there just as clear as my name is Kendrick Meek. As a matter of fact, I will give out the Web site: www.pollingreport.com disasters. We can get third, fourth-party validators. We called for an independent commission. Eighty-one percent of the American people called for an independent commission. I was talking with some of my Republican colleagues yesterday that are in leadership, and I told them they could save the country a lot of pain and frustration if they were just to say doing this in a partisan way is not the right way to do it. We should have an independent commission. If they are calling for it or the American people are calling for it, let us find a way. I just want to finish this actual conversation that just took place yesterday. If they want it, we should just do it because we have nothing to hide. We are calling for an independent commission outside of this government because it does not have the ability to investigate itself. We cannot do it. We can just not do it because I am going to tell my colleagues right now, they say one thing and they do another. When I say ``they,'' I am talking about leadership on the Republican side. The President said, I am a fiscal conservative. He has not vetoed one spending bill since becoming President. An unprecedented highway bill with all kinds of pork projects in it and everything. He is not even saying, I am going to stand for what I told you I would do, and we are not going to spend. Unprecedented spending. Unprecedented deficit. I mean, this is like opposite day. This is like, I am a fiscal conservative. No, I am not. I believe in responsible spending. I really do not. The action does not follow the words. But in this case in the posture that we are in now, as Members of Congress, as we go to our districts, people cannot help but say, Wow, you are a Member of Congress? You are going to admit to that? You are actually going to admit that you are a Member of Congress? So you must not care about spending, or you must not really have control over no- bid contracts or companies that are already under investigation by the very government that has called them into question. So what I am saying is that when we talk about credibility, when we talk about name-calling, remember the Democratic leader was called a tainter, and worse, I am pretty sure, in private. But I think it is important. And I call on all of my colleagues, Democrat, Republican, and the one Independent we have, that it is more important now than ever that we go see the wizard and get some courage and heart, and I will not even go to the third one as it relates to mine because I know that we know better. We need to be man-up and woman-up and leader-up enough to say this is not right and we have got to stop it. And I believe, as I close on this point, Madam Speaker, that the American people will smile on those that are trying to do something about the present situation and frown on those that just watch what is happening and say that it will go away. It will not go away. This is reality. People cannot afford to put gas in their tank; meanwhile companies are making record profits and no one is saying anything about it. Eight States have asked the Congress to look into this issue of record profits of these gas companies. Has it happened? No. Do my colleagues know what I hear today? There are Members here looking at an energy bill. We are going to help the whole gas thing, and we have to go into the Arctic natural reserve and look for oil. People have hidden agendas that they want to carry out on the pain and suffering of Americans. As I speak right now, 100,000-plus in the middle of a basketball court in a shelter without a home, which could have been prevented if we had been on our j-o-b and making sure that the Corps of Engineers had what they needed to make sure that they can build that levee around New Orleans, to make sure that FEMA was able to respond to these folks. To make sure that the Congress, as they said, or the majority said, does what they were going to do from the beginning of being fiscal conservatives. They have been just the opposite. The President said, I will make sure that we do not carry out wasteful spending. Maybe, just maybe, we would have no no-bid contracts going on with record profits. Maybe companies that are under investigation by this government and Departments will not continue to get billions of dollars in contracts. Maybe, just maybe, we would have some accountability if, only if, we had Members that were willing to stand up and face the music on our responsibilities and tell whoever is saying that we have to look the other way: I am sorry. We have a constitutional responsibility because someone woke up early Tuesday on election day to make sure I was elected to come here to Congress. So whatever repercussions that may come out of this pressure, so be it. That is the bottom line because I will not, as a Member of this Congress, look my constituents in the eye and say I was in the minority and it was not much that we could do because there were powerful people on the other side of the argument who would have done things to me and would have said things about me and would have looked at me funny if I would have said something. This country would not be independent if we had leaders like that. I would not be in Congress if we did not have leaders that were willing to fight to make sure that I could make it to Congress. The lights would not be on on this building if veterans did not lay down their life to make sure that we are able to salute one flag here today. That is how deep this argument goes. And for those who have a problem, a problem, with our exercising democracy under this flag, then they have a problem with America. That is the bottom line. That is what it is, period, dot. Madam Speaker, I am sorry, but I just had to share the fact that the reason why we are here is to make this country better. The reason why we are here and we argue the way we do night after night is to make sure that those who are in power, those who are committee chairmen, those who make the decisions on what bills come up, what bills do not come up, that we work on their conscience, that we remind them of their power and we remind the American people that if they want a change, then they will have their opportunity to make that change. And when they have that opportunity to make that change, then they need to make that change at the right time. But I will tell the Members we cannot even last that long if we continue to act the way we are acting here, especially on the majority side, like it is just another day at the office. People are suffering. People cannot put gas in their tanks. Folks are being threatened by the fact that they are going to roll back a prescription drug benefit that poor people have. Folks do not even know if their kids can get title I lunch. Meanwhile, no one speaks of billionaires getting tax cuts. We are going to sell national parks. There are questions of drilling where we have never drilled before. We do not even know if there is oil there; but because we are in this situation, we have individuals with power that want to come in and take advantage on the backs of suffering and death and lack of governance.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

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

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and work of an incredible soldier for justice, the late Simon Wiesenthal. For over fifty years, Mr. Wiesenthal sought justice for the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Over his long career he is credited with bringing more than 1,100 war criminals to trial. Mr. Wiesenthal had been imprisoned in twelve Nazi death camps, and lost 89 relatives in the Holocaust. His pursuit of war criminals was a personal one, but it was a mission of justice, not vengeance. After the American liberation of the Mauthausen death camp in Austria where Wiesenthal was imprisoned-- he weighed just 99 pounds when he was freed--he decided to dedicate himself to seeking justice and ensuring that the Holocaust would never be forgotten. Many have called him the `conscience' of the Holocaust. In many respects, though, he was the conscience of the world. When governments would not act on their own, he forced them to act. When others forgot or were anxious to forget the victims of the Holocaust, he kept alive the memories of Nazi atrocities and demanded that those responsible be held accountable for their actions. Mr. Wiesenthal was born near Lvov in present-day Ukraine. He was educated in Prague and Warsaw, and apprenticed in Russia before returning home to open an architectural office. Shortly thereafter, war broke out. The Russians and Germans invaded Lvov and terror ensued. After the war, Wiesenthal, based in a small apartment, began his quest for justice. He is best known for his efforts that led to the capture of Adolf Eichmann, the former SS leader who presided over the Nazi's extermination program. Wiesenthal's career brought him many international awards and distinctions. In 1995, he was made an honorary citizen of Vienna. He was a published writer and maintained office hours at the Jewish Documentation Center he founded, even after turning 90. Mr. Speaker, I pay tribute to, a man of immense courage and dedication. His passing reminds us of the importance of remembering the victims of the Holocaust, demanding that perpetrators of crimes against humanity be held accountable, and combating intolerance wherever it exists. In these efforts, one man's life truly made a difference.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Maybe we need to sit down as adults and look at how we can approach this and use not only the contributions, but the wisdom of all Members of Congress into, into what? Achieving what the American people want. That is not a radical idea. That is very simple. We have one side of the aisle that is saying that we want to do that. We have one side of the aisle, if given the opportunity to be in the majority, will do that. But tomorrow, I say to my colleagues, there will be a committee meeting, a partisan committee meeting, to organize themselves to get to the bottom of what really happened and did not happen, to report to the American people the truth. I will tell my colleagues right now that that just will not fly. I am asking, as a member of the Democratic Caucus and asking as a Member of Congress period, and Leader Pelosi, the Democratic leadership, I am on the second floor of a 9-floor building. Hang in there, because there are a number of people and Americans, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, those that cannot even vote yet and those who choose not to vote are counting on our leadership to make sure that this never happens again. They deserve an independent commission to be able to look at what happened, what did not happen. Subpoena those that need to be subpoenaed and pulled in, because Michael Brown, as far as I am concerned, is just crust on the pie. We are not really getting down to what is in the pie when we deal with Michael Brown. Michael Brown is so exposed he is just like the Washington Monument that sits in the Mall; everyone can see it all over Washington, D.C. If you get lost here in Washington, D.C., just look for the monument and you know you are on the right track. Michael Brown is there. I feel bad for him, because the guy cannot even go to the Mall without people looking at him and saying, it was you. No, it was not Michael Brown. It was those individuals that allowed Michael Brown to be the director of FEMA. It was those individuals that made partisan decisions based on political activity in a partisan campaign, and said we are going to park our people here, our precinct captains in the emergency management agency. In our time of need, we want our friends, political friends, to be in those positions. Better yet, even if FEMA, let us say if they did not have the ability to be able to govern themselves in a time of a natural disaster and respond, those individuals that were overseeing FEMA, it goes further. Yes, the Department of Homeland Security, you have people in the White House that are in charge of certain agencies that bring about accountability on those agencies on behalf of the President; you have so many people that are from the top, which is the President of the United States, Commander in Chief, if you want to speak militarily, all the way to the parish commissioner or levee board in New Orleans. In that track, need it be elected, appointed, they have to be brought in to task to make sure that it does not happen again. Were there plans? Of course there were plans to be able to evacuate people, to be able to make sure that the Federal response is staged, and to go in when the winds die down to 40, the wind count or what have you. I am not a meteorologist; I feel like one, because when you watch TV, and it is hypnotic watching the reporting of this, 40-mile-per-hour winds. But it did not happen. And we can get down to the truth. It very well could be; I mean, I heard some folks from Louisiana saying, yes, the National Guard was in there trying to do the best they could. They did have food in the Superdome. They did have food in the Civic Center in New Orleans. No, we were there. We were here in the streets. They were not here by themselves. We will never know the truth until we have an independent commission. I am glad, once again, I am going to say it again just in case. I want it to be printed correctly in the Congressional Record that the leader, by not appointing to this partisan committee, select committee, partisan, I want to say that, partisan committee that will have partisan findings, I commend not only her leadership, not on behalf of the Democratic Caucus, but on behalf of the American people. The question should not be, why are you not appointing Democratic Members to this partisan committee? It should be, why do we have a partisan committee, select committee in the first place for this bipartisan job? Restore this bipartisan job. It is bipartisan because that is what we call it. No, that is not bipartisan. You have 11 members on the majority side, including the chairman who controls everything, and you have nine members on the minority side who cannot even call a committee meeting or call a witness up without the permission of the majority. So once again, we are in a situation where we are saying, we will investigate ourselves and we will get back to you in a number of months on our findings of what we did wrong.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), you are 110 percent right as it relates to individuals taking Rita very seriously. Also I am hoping that emergency management, FEMA and other agencies, are doing the appropriate things that they need to do to be able to stage themselves so that individuals do not wait 3 days, 3 or 4 days. We are coming in for a close here, but this is Louisiana, Mississippi, or the eastern part of Louisiana, Mississippi, and, also Alabama, and we have some of Florida in there, or all of Florida. I think it is important for us to understand, in this area right here, this is where Katrina struck. The individuals that lived here had a slow response, but a response. A slow response. We had loss of life here after the storm because people could not get what they needed as Americans. Here, this same area, President signs a proclamation waiving Davis-Bacon which will allow these individuals in these States, and these communities right here, real people in these counties and the parishes right up here in Louisiana, same place, same President, flying in there, four, five visits, what have you, that are without a prevailing wage, which means a contractor can go in and say, no minimum wage for this job, even though Federal jobs in other parts of the country that are paid for with Federal dollars, paid for, they make a prevailing wage. It is not a union issue. This is an American issue. We want to make sure that these folks rebuild. Better yet, the $62.3 billion-and-change that we have appropriated here in this Congress, when it comes down to these individuals receiving a paycheck when many of those jobs have been shut down and some have decided was the final blow for them to move somewhere else will not be able to receive a prevailing wage on the tax dollars that they have given in this area. That is why we need an independent commission. These individuals, these very real people right here in Hancock County in Mississippi, one of the hardest hit areas here in a FEMA trailer waiting to speak to an operator, I know personally that they were outside for 2 hours waiting to get into this trailer of 10 phones. 10 phones. They deserve an independent, bipartisan commission to make sure that the Federal response is better, quicker. So this goes far beyond regular order that we say here in the Congress. This is not a committee that has been standing for 50-something years and that is just the way we do business. This is a natural disaster and failure of governance. And that is where we come in, on the failure of governance side. These are real Americans that are suffering. I ask our Republican leadership, do not allow this institution to do what it is doing now. Do not split us further by having a partisan committee meet tomorrow because they can, not because it is the right thing, it is because they can. That is wrong. If we were supposed to be the shining example of government, elected in a democracy, do not allow that to happen. Do not do it because you can. Because I can do things as a grown up, I do not do certain things in front of my children, because it is a bad example. This is a bad example. And I will tell you that it is far beyond regular order. I am talking to my colleagues in this Congress, and you know exactly what I am saying. This is far beyond, because we are in the majority. That is right. We are supposed to have more people on the committee. This is a natural unprecedented disaster. And this was a slow response or no response at all. So I say to Members that it is important that we do this. I want to thank, Mr. Speaker, our Democratic leader for allowing us to come to the floor once again. I want to also say that it is an honor to address the House of Representatives, but this is a very pressing time, not only for our country, but also as it relates to our leadership, and I hope that we can come together and make sure that we have a bipartisan independent commission that the American people are calling for so badly.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I will tell my colleagues, and I will warn my colleagues on the majority side, especially those who are making decisions, it is time to start making the right decisions. When you have 8 States who say that they want the Federal Government or this Congress to investigate oil companies, we are paying $3.50, $3.90 a gallon; meanwhile, profits still soaring as it relates to the oil companies that are saying, oh, we have to go up on gas prices because the oil production is not what it should be. But they are not hurting. There are some people who could not make it to work because they could not afford to put a quarter of a tank of gas in their car or their truck if it was a small business. Sure, prices went up, because they could not move product. Diesel fuel went up, let alone jet fuel. Flights were canceled. But, meanwhile, the folks that provide the oil, they are having record profits. So eight Governors have asked for intervention by this Congress. And, I have been passed a note here that they are also predicting that gas, based on what Rita does, could go to $5 or better. So I hate to say to not only my constituents, but also Members of this Congress, run out and fill your tank now, because Rita is a reality, and it is going to be a category 5. Because we gave money away to billionaires, not to the folks that we are talking about, not the folks that are on the cover of these magazines. What happened? How did it go wrong? Is this America? Question: Is this America? Deficits. The deficits were here prior to Katrina, prior to Rita. When this administration came into power, that is when we started getting into deficits. We had surpluses as far as the eye could see. So I am saying that, and I am hopeful that some of our friends, especially the ones making decisions on the other side of the aisle, will say, well, you know, maybe we need to rethink this.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Well, plans would actually be action if we were in the majority, or if we had a majority party that were willing to move in a bipartisan way in responding to the aftermath of Katrina. And also what Hurricane Katrina has exposed in America is the fact that we are not prepared to face a natural disaster or a disaster, period. We are not coordinated in this country to be able to have a response that will be appropriate to the American people in their time of need. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman left off with what is being proposed, and what is also being proposed is a $9 billion cut in student aid. I know we passed a bill to kind of help with a Pell grant, but this week the majority comes back with a $9 billion discussion of helping to pay for Katrina. So it is almost like I am going to give you something, but I am going to take $9 billion back. Mr. Speaker, I am so glad that we have the opportunity to come to the floor, and we have had to double up on 30-Something, because it is too much, too much going on.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. If it was not so sad. I will investigate myself, and we will be back in a number of months and give our findings. That would be fine if we did not live in a democracy. But we do live in a democracy, and I think it is important that we call it for what it is. It is a partisan select committee based on trying to find out what happened or what did not happen in Katrina, and it is not bipartisan.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) heard me once before speak of the fact that it is not personal, it is just business. And that is the reason why we are here. We are here to conduct business. I have very good friends on the other side of the aisle. I am talking about good friends that I had long-lasting relationships with prior to becoming a Member of Congress. As it relates to this select committee, those individuals that were fortunate enough to be appointed by the House leadership, many of them are good friends of mine. I mean, these are individuals that I talk to, and we talk about football and we talk about things that just regular everyday associates would talk about. But it is not about them. It is about the fact that there has been a select committee elected on partisan lines, partisan lines, with a partisan vote that will meet tomorrow and, as we read through the media, will meet next week, a partisan committee to carry out a bipartisan job. A bipartisan job. How can they carry out a bipartisan job when from the beginning it already smacks of political overtones? It is almost like, as the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) said, and I think she said it right, we are going to do our in-house investigation. What usually happens when people do an in-house investigation is someone screams for an independent investigation. For those men and women that are in business out there in America, they always have to get, 9 times out of 10, an outside audit for their company versus an inside audit. Independent it is called. And I think it is important for an independent commission, when we get one, because we are willing to fight. The Democrat side of the aisle is saying we are willing to fight on behalf of what the American people want. Now, I did not hear one speech during the creation or the vote last Thursday on this partisan commission or select committee of saying that the people want a partisan select committee, and I am here to say that it is important that we have one. Not one speech. But that is what we have now. Because there are some individuals here in the Beltway that want vindication and validation, which, I guess, vindication, not rightfully so, but just to say, well, I had nothing to do with it and to beat up on Michael Brown of all people. And I think there is pretty much consensus on the fact that he did not possess the experience and the leadership qualities to be able to carry out the mission of being Director of FEMA. We know that. I mean, that is almost like the President's showing up 3 or 4 days later, or what have you, after he was supposed to be there, and saying there are a lot of homes, a lot of flooding going on. And people say, oh, really? We saw that on TV like 4 days ago. We are getting blankets and all these things in now when they should have had them 3 days ago. The world watched people on top of their roofs, and thank God for the Coast Guard who were there trying to pluck people off when we had mountains of Federal resources sitting somewhere at some staged area while people are there starving. I went to Mississippi, Hancock County. Folks said they had sanctioned looting. The mayor standing out in front saying go in and get what they need, the essentials to survive. In America. This is not behind a war zone. This is not in a fort area. This is America where they can go in and help people, but failed to do so. Once again I want to make sure that I am crystal on this and we are crystal. We are not only talking about what did not happen as it relates to the Federal response. We are talking about the State response. We are talking about the local parish response. We are talking about whoever was in charge of carrying out the plan, making sure it does not happen again. This is not isolated to the Gulf States. This is America, because we all learned what happened on 9/11 happened here in Washington, DC, happened in Pennsylvania with the plane going down, happened in New York City. But guess what? Having that independent commission helped prevent terrorism throughout the country. LAX is a more secure airport because of the 9/11 Commission. More secure. And I think it is important that we realize that this battle is not on behalf of what we want on the Democratic side. The battle is worth fighting on behalf of the American people. And I will tell the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) I know for a fact that there are some Republicans that sit on that side of the aisle that know 110 percent that we are right. And I will say this, just like I have said it before, when it came down to some of the votes that took place and when I called for some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to go see the wizard, get some courage, and stand up publicly to this rhetoric of a partisan select committee to investigate yourself. If I messed up and I was to come to the floor and say I have decided that I am going to investigate myself, I mean it sounds a little funny because it is.

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

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for us to realize when it is time to lead and when it is time to not only lead but stand up on behalf of the folks that elected us here. It is important for us to stand up. The American people, they do not want us to be partisan, and they do not want a partisan select committee selected by the House that is partisan. They want an independent commission like the 9/11 Commission. They want that. I guarantee you the folks in Alabama and Mississippi and definitely the people in Louisiana, and I would even say the folks in Florida, want an independent commission. Members do not see anyone running around here saying we want a partisan commission to look at what happened. I do not see one headline that says we want it to be partisan so we do not find out exactly what we need to find out, not the who done it and who did it kind of thing, but where the ball was dropped so we can save lives, American lives. This is not a foreign country somewhere. We are saying we need to make sure that we prevent loss of life. There are Americans that died in the aftermath of this hurricane. I say the aftermath. I cannot help but remember the story where the gentleman was caught on television, and a reporter walked up and said what is wrong. ``My wife, she is gone. I was holding her hand. I could not hold on. She said, `You cannot hold me any longer.''' That was not a natural disaster; that was the fact that we did not have in place what we needed to have in place to make sure the governance, the government, be it local, State or Federal, was responding to these individuals. I have papers stacked this high with pictures of people sitting in front of their loved ones because they ran out of insulin or oxygen. This is a failure, and we will never know, we will not know the truth if we allow this Congress, the majority of this Congress to deny the American people, not just the Democrats in Congress but the American people and the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the truth and to make sure and ensure that it will not happen again, because we will be better by having a nonpartisan commission outside of this Congress to evaluate what went wrong, what went right, and what we have to focus on. We are better now because of the 9/11 Commission. We passed a bill here on this floor because of their work. We were able to save American lives and protect America in the future.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Period. Dot.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, once again it is an honor to come before the House, and I want to thank the Democratic leadership for allowing us, the 30-Something Working Group, to come to the floor to talk about issues that are facing not only young Americans but Americans in general. The 30-Something Working Group, as I have stated before, time after time, is a group of 30-something Members on the Democratic side of the aisle who meet every week. We come together on the issues that are facing Americans and discuss things that, A, are working or, B, things that are not working on behalf of the American people, and we try to bring that to the attention of our colleagues here in this House. I think it is important for us to not only be very aware of what is happening now in the action or inaction here in the Congress or here in this House. I think it is also important for us to realize that Hurricane Katrina survivors and those that are still in recovery are in need of a government that is willing to respond not only as it relates to saying, well, we passed the $62.2 billion emergency appropriation, but to make sure that we never have to be placed in a position that we are in now, not this House, but the people affected by the storm, and not as it relates to the natural disaster. We know that is an act of God and that will happen; but as it relates to governance, who dropped the ball or who did not respond in time, who did not get a letter because too many people lost their lives because the response was not what it should have been. Mr. Speaker, it was not the hurricane that killed a number of people, people who have children lost at this point, that homes are devastated in New Orleans because of the flooding. It was not just the storm that made that happen. Governance broke down somewhere. Our reason for coming to the floor today is to not only share with our colleagues but to make sure that we are abundantly clear with the American people about the importance of having an independent commission out of the control of this House and out of the control of this Congress to allow appointments to take place, bipartisan, and independent. Right now we have a partisan select committee that will be meeting sometime in the very near future, maybe tomorrow, organizing and trying to bring witnesses before them. I am very, very proud, and when I say very, very proud, this is the moment we live for to be able to stand up on behalf of those who are not here to stand up on behalf of themselves. We know that the American people have said, 70 percent of the American people have said, they want an independent committee like the 9/11 Commission to look at what happened or what did not happen as it relates to the response and preparation for Hurricane Katrina. We are looking at the number of 200 billion Federal dollars being spent to rebuild and help those Americans get back on their feet. It is important for us to have this independent commission to be able to make sure that we are not at this point ever again, especially when it comes down to the breakdown of government. I think it is important. I am not trying to be a pessimist in any way, but I think it is important for us to call it what it is. It is a partisan select committee created by the House of Representatives, passed outside of what we call regular order here in the process, outside of regular order, going to certain committees that have oversight over the necessary agencies. But to say we are going to get to the bottom of what happened is just not the way to go about doing it. Not even 50/50, or 10 on one side and 10 on the other side to make sure accountability is there so the American people can have some confidence. No, because the majority wanted to keep control of the process and because the President and others that are here in this Congress wanted to keep control of the process, we have a partisan select committee that has been appointed and given the charge to find out the truth. I think that not only Democrats on this side of the aisle but some of my good friends on the other side of the aisle should speak out. I know that Democrats have, but I challenge some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to speak out and say this is wrong, because we know it is wrong. We know it is going to be partisan, and we know we will not get the hard questions answered. We know that if the administration has anything to do with the response, which admittedly the President has said it was not what it should have been, that would have been fine if we were talking about a check that was not mailed out, a rebate check and it was 3 days late. We are talking about loss of life, loss of property. We are talking about children as we speak now that are still missing. We are talking about people who spent 3 days on their own roof or in their attic or 3 days on a bridge without water, without proper sanitation and without a response from the Federal Government to be able to save not only their lives in some cases but also as it relates to saving their property, of making sure that we were there to respond.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

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