Kendrick Meek

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I will tell the gentleman, those are the kinds of values that we talk about as it relates to our communities and our neighborhoods and our families. That is what it is all about. Those are true American family values. Like I said, I have kids and I watch grandma. They push me aside and say, I am on their side, and say, we are against you; and they spoil them and then they say, now you take them home. But as it relates to the financial viability of the bloodline of the family, grandparents and even parents, they do not say, I have mine, get yours, son. I am 56; you are 30. Good luck. They do not say, well, I have all my benefits, but I do not know about yours. And guess what, I want to make sure that people understand because sometimes, yes, the campaign is over; but in our democracy, there will be other elections. And people need to take into account that sometimes, not from what you receive in the mail, not the phone call which you receive, not someone coming to tell you where you should stand on a particular candidate because he is our guy or our gal. It is what that individual has done or what that individual will do as an elected Member of this Congress as it relates to what is happening in my family economically. I have to make sure that my daughter, if someone is receiving benefits now and they are called to glory, they have to make sure that their daughter is going to be able to receive their benefits; and Social Security is pretty much all they have. It is the guarantee. It is not the Enron plan. It is not some of these companies that are going belly up and then you see folks crying on television saying, I paid in for years and years on that pension plan. So it is important that people understand. I just want to say it kind of hits home here in the Congress today; two of our colleagues said that they went to school on the survivor benefits. The gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), who is the ranking member on the Select Committee on Homeland Security. They talked about growing up where they lived and if it was not for Social Security, they would not have been educated. And there are stories like that throughout America. We talked about a few of those last week, and we will continue to talk about those stories. We are here to say if we want to make sure that Social Security is solvent beyond the 47 years, it is going to be able to provide 100 percent benefits that it is providing now, then let us have bipartisanship. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), the ranking member, said this past week on one of the Sunday shows that Social Security screams of bipartisanship and that it demands bipartisan input, and that is what we have to have. It cannot be Democrats against Republicans or Republicans against Democrats because, guess what, the majority in this House right now as it stands and as it has been for double-digit years, 10 years or so, set the agenda, set what comes to the floor, talks about what legislation will move and what legislation will not move. It sets the agenda on what amendments will come to the floor. It sets who the committee chairpersons will be. It sets pretty much when we come to Washington and when we do not come to Washington. And if the majority said, there is no session this week of the House, then there will be no session of the House. So I must make sure that we remind our colleagues of the power that they have, the power we have to make the right decision or the American people will make it for them. So those are true American values that the gentleman has outlined.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I am saying all of that to say we have to work together. You cannot come to the Hill with a plan and say ``It is our plan; and, guess what, if you do not like it, so what?'' This is Social Security. The campaign is over. For folks who did not get the news flash, our colleagues, the campaign is over. The signs are down, the commercials are no longer on television, and it is important that we actually work towards what the American people would like for us to work towards: bipartisanship. I will tell the gentleman what is also important in this debate: If there was a Democratic majority here in this House and a Democratic majority in the other body across the hall and there was a Democrat in the White House, guess what? Democrats could not pass a plan by themselves without Republican input. Because do you know something? When Mrs. Johnson goes to that mailbox counting on that Social Security check to be there, and when that 21-year-old young man or young woman that has a benefit from their father, who worked his entire life and was cheated on his job because the pension plan was raided and Social Security was the only thing there, his only financial legacy is that benefit to his child in Social Security. You cannot play around with that. You cannot be a Democrat or Republican or an independent when it comes down to that. You have to be an American, and you have to come clean with the American people. There is one other thing the gentleman mentioned that I think is very, very important and that we definitely need to highlight and illuminate as much as we can. What we tell the American people is important, and I will say to the Members that are watching us now, I am not going to go back to ancient-time double-digit years. I did not have to run over to the Library of Congress to look this up. This was just within the last 12 months. During the Medicare debate that took place right here on this floor, where the clock was held until 4 a.m. in the morning, arms were being twisted, Members were trying to make the right decision but were not allowed to, I must say here on this side of the aisle, Democrats stood firm, because the Medicare prescription drug plan was important to those that put it on the line for this country and allowed you and me to have an America that we can be part of and represent. During the Medicare debate, the other side, the majority side, the Republican side, said that the true costs of the Medicare prescription drug plan, what the administration said and the majority embraced, that the bill would only cost $350 billion. I remember that just as clear as my daughter going to school for the first day. I can remember that number because it was a number that was highly suspect because there was just no way in the world that you can satisfy pharmaceutical companies and provide a benefit to the American people. Now, that is what makes me very concerned about this Social Security plan or, I'm sorry, not plan, but concept, that folks are talking about around here on the majority side, saying that there is a 3-alarm fire. We were originally told $350 billion. Then it slowly moved up after someone got fired in one of the budget offices and said, well, I do not know. This fell behind the copier. We did not necessarily get this page. There is a page 3 to the 3-page document or 2-page documents that you received. It slowly moved up to $400 billion. That is a lot of money, $400 billion. Then sure enough after the debate, we returned back here after the campaign and the signs went down, and then someone lo and behold said, you know, the true cost, the really true cost of the prescription drug plan that was put forth by the administration, it started off at $350 billion. This is real money. This is not chump change. It started off at $350 billion. The true cost is $530 billion. It stops there. What are we going to hear in another couple months? $700 billion? Like my mother used to say, money does not grow on trees. The gentleman just mentioned China. I am not upset with China for making an investment in our country; but, you know something, I have a problem if they ask to cash in, because we will be in trouble. They are backed by U.S. bonds and what-have-you; but we are going to go through some real financial issues, and we are now. So when we talk about Social Security, I know the reason why, I am sorry. I stopped at $530 billion. I am sorry. The true cost, since this continues to go up, this is the fourth number that has now come in, is $724 billion. It is continuing to inch up. So what we are hearing now may well be the message that we are being told by the majority in this House and by the administration over on Pennsylvania Avenue right down the street from this Capitol building, what we want to hear, telling people over 55 they do not have anything to worry about. Do not worry. You can go to sleep. It is those folks 50 and below that may have some concerns as it relates to privatization accounts and cutting benefits. But, you know something, this is America and we should not and we will not as far as we are Members here, and I stand firmly with our Democratic leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), and not budging and saying we are not playing generational warfare. One thing about grandparents I can tell you, I have learned a lot about them and I have children and all, they will turn on you when it comes down to those kids. But they will not turn on the financial future of their grandchildren and children's retirement. They will not. And this administration and the majority is going to be up for a rude awakening when it comes to judgment time in 2006 if they continue to play around with the Social Security and the security of American families and their retirement. So I do not think that we are wasting our time, not a bit, by coming to the floor on a 30-something Working Group to say not only are we speaking and giving some voice that people care about, and I know the gentleman has some e-mails that he will read later on. This is serious business. One other thing. I flew back to my district. When you go back to your district and you see your constituents and they say, please do not allow the Congress or the administration to cut my benefits I worked for for my entire life. We have watched veterans go through it. We have watched the copayments go up for veterans. Guess what? At the VA they do not ask you your party affiliation. They just tell you that your copayment has gone up and that your wait time has gone up to see the ophthalmologist or whomever you may want to see at the VA. But when you come down to 48 million Americans that what they were told and promised what would be at the end of the rainbow as it relates to their hard work over the years and that people who have died, have passed on, gone on to heaven, knowing that their children will receive their death benefits, we cannot break that deal. And we cannot sit idly by and watch them broken. I want to commend here in this House and in the other body and those that are willing to leader up enough to tell their constituents, I am not on this philosophy that the administration, the majority side, is on in this House of saying that there is a 3-alarm fire. Now we have to privatize Social Security that will bring $940 billion-plus to Wall Street. I am with the American families.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, this is just so very important to the American people, and also Members of Congress. I put a great deal of responsibility on Members of Congress. I do not take great pleasure, even though I am honored to serve in this institution of the U.S. Congress, elected by my constituents, representing not only my district but the State of Florida, but we are U.S. Members of this great House. I must say that we have to make sure that we frame this correctly, that we are in the minority. The Democrats are in the minority in the House and have been during the time of that great dive that we see on that chart that the gentleman just illustrated to the Members of the House. We have a great deal of responsibility. We are serving in the House, in the legislative branch, that is overseeing, or watching, I should say, the largest deficit in the history of the Republic. Not once before was it like this. This is the largest deficit in the history of the Republic. Can the gentleman put the chart back up on ``backsliding into the deficit ditch?'' I think this is important, because I think that nose- dive, you can see in the blue you have President Bush-1. You have the green, Bill Clinton and the Democratic House and other body that did what it took when the going was tough to say that we wanted to bring about surpluses. I will tell you in this House, I believe there were only five or six Republicans that joined the Democratic majority in passing that budget that took us into a surplus. One of the main themes was making sure that we could provide and keep the Social Security Trust Fund in good shape. We made the tough decisions. Back when President Reagan and this House, Democratic House, I must add, at that time, did what it took to make sure that Social Security was there for those that are receiving checks now and benefits now from Social Security, even survivors, they did what they had to do. Guess what? Two-thirds of the Democrats in this House voted in the affirmative to make the right decision to make sure that the guarantee we told the American people we would provide, that we did. I am proud of those Members and individuals that made that vote.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I mean, we need to make sure the American people understand there is no plan. There is no plan. We said last week that I have not received a bound copy from the President's office or from the majority about a plan on Social Security. There is no plan. So we need to make sure that people understand. I mean, people can talk concepts and philosophy all day; but it is important that once we start talking about a plan, then we can have a true debate, especially if it is a plan from both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans. And the last time we dealt with this, Mr. Speaker, before our time here in the Congress, Democrats were in control and worked with Ronald Reagan, God bless his soul, in coming up and saving Social Security. And it was a true crisis then. They had to act right then. They did not have an opportunity to play around and dance around a tree and do the old Potomac two-step with the American people. They made it happen and they made it solvent, and that is the reason why beneficiaries, young and old, are able to celebrate that here today. But right now I just want to make sure that people understand, because I had an opportunity to check the different reports that are around. We get the Congressional Daily a.m. and the p.m. and the Congressional Quarterly, and there are a lot of publications that are around. I can tell you that with administration, this is not about the President; this is about a philosophy that is on the majority side to privatize Social Security. That is what it is all about. It started back in 1978 with the President. In 2000 he said he was very adamant about wanting to privatize Social Security. Then in 2001 the President appointed a commission to develop a privatization plan for him. Then in December of 2001 the commission gave the President three options to privatize Social Security. In December 2001. Silence. Nothing. The President, you would have thought he would run to the Hill with the bill. Still nothing. Still no plan produced. In 2004, running for reelection, the President again said he was adamant about private accounts and a solution for Social Security. Then days after the 2004 election he said he has the ``political capital'' to come to the Hill and make it happen. Still no plan. I just think it is important for us to share this with folks. Then the budget that was just submitted that we are all talking about, Democrats and Republicans, because there are a lot of good things in there, it is all about our principles and our values here in this Chamber; what we believe is important to the American people. Still no mention, still no plan, still no numbers on his privatization plan for Social Security. There are now a number of press accounts saying there may very well be no plan for this year. So when we start with the President flying around burning all kinds of Federal jet fuel, taxpayers' money, talking about his philosophy, Social Security is such a deep issue from young to old that we cannot walk around and start talking about, ``well, we think'' and ``we believe,'' because the Congress, I hope, will not go for it. So I just want to make sure. I know the gentleman is leading up to that. In some instances they say, ``Let's put the cookie on the bottom shelf so everyone can reach it and understand that there is no plan.'' So when folks start talking about Democrats, saying ``Where is your plan,'' there is not a plan out there now. Our plan is to make sure we pay for every dollar we spend or someone may borrow to make the deficit greater, to be able to pay it back. It is not a Federal emergency right now to protect Social Security. So I think it is important. I think this chart is good. I apologize, but this is something I wanted to say.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, what plan?

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

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Chairman, it is very hard for me to respond to what the chairman just shared with us because basically if we do not pass this amendment of striking this 101 section, we might as well just take all the language in 101 and say, if you are being persecuted or if you are being raped as a woman or you are being abused as a child, do not come to America because that is basically what this amendment is saying. They were raising the bar beyond the capabilities of the individuals that are fleeing persecution. They are running for their lives literally, and many of these individuals are incarcerated. And where are the commercials? Where are the media reports of how lax our asylum laws are here in the United States? Because they are not. Where are the law enforcement agencies? Why are they not knocking down the doors in the halls of Congress saying, we really have to tighten up those asylum laws because they are too weak now? Where are they? We are following the people who have focused on this the most, the 9/ 11 Commission, and what they are asking for is for us to review and make sure we have good asylum laws in place. We are not saying it is bad. We are not saying it is good. I commend my colleagues who are looking at this, but moving in haste and having this manager's amendment before the Congress and no one has seen it. All of the agencies, all of the religious organizations that are helping these individuals that we are trying to deal with now are saying that they support the Nadler/Meek/Jackson-Lee amendment. I urge the Members to please support the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for your comments and also the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) for his leadership.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe so either. Mr. Speaker, I am joined by one of our very fine new colleagues from Florida. We represent neighboring districts, and we served together in the State legislature and now she is here in the Congress serving on the Committee on Financial Services, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) could not say it better. And just in closing, Mr. Speaker, as we close, we want to make sure that we want people to go on to find out more about not only what House Democrats are talking about, but as it relates to our tour throughout the country. It is democraticleader.house.gov/30something. Also, we would close with the message that Democrats want to strengthen Social Security without slashing benefits to Americans that they have earned. Private accounts make the Social Security challenge worse, enforce massive benefit cuts, and increase the national debt. Once President Bush stops insisting on private accounts, then we can have a true debate as it relates to making sure the promise of Social Security will be around for future generations to come. It is always a pleasure to co-chair this hour with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan). And also I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) for being a part of the working group 30- something. And to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott), it is always good to have a 40-something. I will go ahead and put it that way.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is always an honor to come before the House and also the American people in this great democracy of ours to address issues that are facing our Nation right now. I must say that earlier today we had an opportunity, the Democratic Caucus meeting and afterwards, having comments with not only the media, but other members of our caucus about the needs of Social Security. It is important that we make sure that Social Security is secured for years to come. We know that a number of Americans count on and look forward to Social Security being a part of their lives not only in retirement, but also in their everyday lives. We have 48 million Americans that are involved in Social Security right now, and they are not all retired. Many of them are in school. Many of them are middle- aged individuals. Tonight we are going to have a number of Members from the 30- Something Working Group, which I must add, Mr. Speaker, started in the last Congress, in the 108th Congress. I cochair that working group with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), and we are going to have a number of Members who are very, very concerned about the principles that not only the President but the majority side have put together as the way to save Social Security. I will be sharing a few of my comments along the way, but I want to make sure that my colleagues have enough time to share their concerns about what is happening, and the lack thereof that should happen, to make sure that Social Security is not only here for those that are enrolled now, but those that will be enrolled in the future. We know that every American participates in the Social Security program. We also know the average benefit of the person receiving Social Security now is $955 a month. I think it is important that we pay very close attention. Now, here in this Chamber last week, and I would say, around this time, the President came into a joint session of the Congress on the State of the Union and said that Americans over the age of 55 do not have to worry about the changes that he would like to make to the Social Security plan. I must say that that brought amounts of concern throughout the country not only with me and Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, but many Americans. It was almost saying that if you are 55, do not worry about it; if you are under 55, trust us. And I can tell you that when we start dealing with generational Social Security, or one generation against the other, I think that is very dangerous. Social Security was never designed to deal with one segment of the population, giving them certain benefits, and another segment, not giving them benefits. But I just want to mention a few guiding principles that we should think about here tonight. Number one, we should try to make sure that we have a Social Security plan, that we are not borrowing from the Social Security trust fund. The Social Security trust fund is there to make sure that when we have a rainy day, or when we have a shortfall, we are able to go to that trust fund. What the President and the majority side are proposing now, they are saying that we are going to help save Social Security, but at the same time we are going to take us $2 trillion more into debt over the next 10 years. There has to be a better way to make sure that we deal with the Social Security issue. Social Security is not at a crisis point. I have heard many Members, through press clips and press accounts and even here on this floor, say that there is a crisis, that there is a fire, that Social Security is going bankrupt, it is going belly up. That is not true. And I hope that through a bipartisan debate and a bipartisan plan, and I am not talking about one or two members of the Republican Caucus, I am talking about this entire Congress because we all have Social Security recipients that are our constituents that are counting on us to be able to make sure that Social Security is solvent for many years. Mr. Speaker, I will suspend on my comments right now, but I have my cochair here, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan). He is a distinguished member in his own right. We have the privilege of serving on the Committee on Armed Services together and even on the same subcommittee. It has been indeed a pleasure working with him. He is also on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and Committee on Veterans' Affairs. And he is a well- studied gentleman that I hold in high regard. Earlier today I was talking with the gentleman about what we share with not only the American people, but also with our colleagues, that this Social Security issue is so important that we are willing to take the debate not only here on this floor, but also take the debate out to America.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure that people understand that we are not just talking teenagers, we are not just talking about 20 or 30 something. Here is Bill. Here is an example. And many of these numbers, as we start talking about Social Security being able to provide the benefits that it has now, is not the Davis, Scott, Wasserman Schultz, Meek and Ryan report, this is from the Congressional Budget Office, numbers that they have given us. This is not anything that we sat in a room and said, let us see what works towards our favor here. This is fact and this is reality. Here is Bill, who is 48, from Georgia, probably from Montezuma where my folks are in Georgia. Let us say Bill retires at 2022. Under the present benefits, he has $1,266 in the year 2022. But under what the President is proposing under his privatization scheme that will guarantee billions for the corporations that are already prospering under his administration, and I mean the big corporations, not the small ones, he will receive under the Bush plan, $1,141. To create a crisis, to then step into a gamble is unfair to the American worker. It is unfair to American families, and I must add family benefits and survivor benefits are holding families, people who work every day, folks who wake up and catch the early bus in the morning, people who know what it means to have a 15-minute break in the afternoon and in the morning, these are people who work every day. Here in this Congress, we have to make choices. Here, in the Democratic Caucus and in the 30-Something Group, we have made the choice to be on the side of the individual that works every day and has paid into the system every day and expects that we will not go back on the deal as the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) pointed out earlier, as we have done to veterans, and we are doing to veterans in this budget that the President has put forth. It is very unfortunate. It is time for not only the American people to wake up, but also for Members of Congress to wake up and stop following the so-called leader, and say, this is wrong and I am not going to move forward with a plan that is going to give my constituents less than what they had when I was elected.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I see the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) has some examples of what can happen to many of the young people, and the gentleman knows he is in charge of the charts. I just want to say, it is important to not only give our e-mail address out, because we want to continue to talk with Americans about this issue, and also Members of Congress we would say, and even the other body, to go onto our Web site to get information on what we talked about today with the Democratic leader of going out into America, speaking to groups that want to know more information about what this Social Security privatization scheme has in store for them if we fail them as a Congress.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Well, maybe he did not. But I do not think anyone has it, and I think there is a lot of Federal jet fuel being burned flying throughout the country, lining up individuals that are excited to see the President of the United States, but who may not fully understand the fact that they are going to receive fewer benefits, that Social Security is there for them for the next 50 years, and even beyond that with 80 percent of the benefits if we did nothing as relates to Social Security. We have to make sure that we maintain and do the things that not only the Democratic Congress did along with President Reagan, making sure we kept Social Security sound for future generations, but we need to make sure we do it in a way that we are not scaring Americans and making them feel that the sky is going to fall when it is not. The only thing that is guaranteed here is that $940 billion that will then fall into Wall Street and the companies, maybe the two or three that will be chosen to handle these private accounts, that will give young Americans, or even middle-aged Americans because, remember, the President said if you are over 55, do not worry. He also told us a number of things as relates to Medicare, and we are finding out it is not true. I am not saying that the President is not being truthful with us; I am just saying we are not getting good information.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much, and I just want to say I think that he said something that was very important. If the $2 trillion number is not right, because as my colleagues know, under this Medicare prescription drug benefit that the administration put forth in the last Congress, we were told one number and that was wrong, and then it was revealed that the numbers were suppressed and the actual number is higher. Just today, looking at the news reports, that number is even higher, and so as these mistakes are made, future generations and even the present generation is put at risk financially. I can tell my colleagues one thing that is fact. We do know who will benefit from this privatization scheme, which is $940 billion, Wall Street, to put these public dollars in open water, to gamble. The other issue that I thought the gentleman really laid out was the fact there are no guarantees that the benefit level will stay where it is now. Matter of fact, we are pretty much guaranteed that benefits will be cut, even for those who do not take part in the privatization accounts, and so I think it is important for us to continue to share that with the American people. Once again, I just want to say that Social Security is going to be solvent for another 47 years; and also, we have 48 million Americans that are now recipients of Social Security, and it has a lot to do with local economies, a lot of our disabled and very frail individuals. This is what they count on as a source of income. I must add that we still do not have a Social Security plan. We are just talking about principles now, guiding principles; but one thing that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority leader, shared not only with the Nation but shared with many of us here, Democratic guiding principles to make sure that we do not increase the deficit in any Democratic plan that is put forth, a plan that does not send us further into debt; that every dollar will be paid for and not borrowed that will continue to make the problem worse.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, we also have one of our colleagues, matter of fact, one of our classmates that came in with us, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott), who is past rules chairman in the Georgia senate and now serves here in the Congress on the Committee on Agriculture and also on the Committee on Financial Services. He is going to be sharing some words with us on Social Security, and it is always a pleasure working with him and being with him, and we look forward to his comments.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I just want to tell my colleague from Florida that many of the individuals that are beating their chests about the President's plan, and I will not even call it a plan because there is no plan; I have not received a bound copy from the White House saying this is the Social Security plan.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott), and I can tell him that I concur with many of his comments. It was a thoughtful presentation. And just to reinforce, the trust fund has $1.7 trillion in reserves and will provide full benefits for the next 50 years, and even 80 percent of the present benefits we have now beyond that. So to say there is a crisis and that the sky is going to fall tomorrow is just totally inaccurate.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to my pastor Reverend Dr. George Edward McRae and my fellow congregants as together we celebrate the 104th Anniversary of Mt. Tabor Missionary Baptist Church this Sunday, February 13, 2005. Located in the heart of Miami's Liberty City at 1701 N.W. 66th Street, this citadel of faith has been and continues to be a beacon of comfort and hope in our community. Under the leadership of our beloved pastor, Rev. Dr. McRae, Mt. Tabor has taken an active and progressive role in directly addressing the temporal, as well as spiritual needs of our neighbors. I want to commend him for his tireless apostolate in ministering to those afflicted with the HIV/AIDS virus, to those who are imprisoned, to the hungry, and to all those seeking the love and solace of a Church that seeks to affirm and confirm their dignity as God's children. As we come together in thanks and reflection on our Church's 104 years of ministry, this historic anniversary takes on a meaning much greater than the passage of time, for Mt. Tabor Missionary Baptist Church has met the spiritual needs of thousands of people who came before us, and through the grace of God will continue to do so for another century to come. It is a magnificent legacy we will celebrate. And so I proudly join my fellow church members in celebrating 104 years of faith and good works, of caring of one another, and reaching through good works to those least able to fend for themselves.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a distinguished actor, director, producer, screenwriter, playwright and historian. Ossie Davis was an incredible man whose life's work, both on and off screen, promoted the advancement of civil rights and humanitarian causes. Mr. Davis' most important role may well have been as husband. He and his wife, also a prominent actor, Ruby Dee, celebrated 50 years of marriage together in 1998. Both were among those selected to receive Kennedy Center Honors in 2004. The pair met during Davis' Broadway debut in the play Jeb Turner. Both promoted the cause of blacks in the entertainment industry and are well known for their portrayals of characters faced with racial injustice. My thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Dee, for her loss is truly a loss for us all.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Mr. Fedrick Ingram of Carol City High School, who was honored this past Tuesday as Miami- Dade County Teacher of the Year. Mr. Ingram, known for his discipline and drive, has pushed his students to excel in music and academic studies. For the first time in 10 years, Miami Carol City's Band received straight superiors in this year's District Band Competition, and was even invited to perform during the Sugar Bowl last month. While many schools are placing less importance on fine arts, Mr. Ingram has shown what value an amazing fine arts program can have. As Band Director and Fine Arts Department Chairperson, he has motivated his students both in the classroom and the band room--and his results have been amazing. Last year, more than two-dozen of his students amassed $300,000 in college scholarships. Under his leadership, his students have increased their self-esteem and have improved their grades, test scores and graduation rates. Ingram founded the Miami All-Stars Band Camp in 2002, giving many low-income families the opportunity to send their children. His last camp included nearly 300 students all of which were given the opportunity to work with college band directors and local musicians for an intensive one-week collegiate training course. Mr. Ingram shares his life's passion daily. Mr. Speaker, I recognize him for his accomplishments and commend him for his hard work and innovation.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warme congratulations to a very dedicated and devoted educator. Gloria Frazier Evans has given leadership and service to the students at Booker T. Washington High School for seven years. She has been the embodiment of the school's most treasured motto: ``Not The Largest, But The Best.'' On Saturday, February 5, 2005, the graduating class of 1961 from Booker T. Washington High School will honor Mrs. Gloria F. Evans for ``Keeping the Legacy Alive'' for her community. Born in Orange, Texas, Gloria graduated valedictorian of her 1966 class at M.B. North High School. She furthered her education at the University of North Texas where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree (1970) in French and English and a Master of Education degree (1971) in English Education. Gloria completed coursework for certification in Guidance and Counseling at Florida Atlantic University (1980), and coursework for certification in Administration and Supervision at Florida International University (1986). Gloria is the youngest child and only girl of James and Henrietta Frazier. She is married to William Evans, retired educator and track coach. They have two daughters, Erica Nicole and Erinn Monique Evans and stepchildren, Lynette Evans, Keisha Person, and Corey Evans. Gloria attends the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration. She is a member of the Miami Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Miami Chapter of The Girl Friends, Inc., and the Dade Association of School Administrators. In 1998, Gloria was selected as principal to direct the restoration of the historic Booker T. Washington Senior High School. From July 1998 to August 2004, Gloria directly supervised and monitored every aspect of the reconstruction of Booker T. Washington High School, including establishing career academies, aligning the curriculum to State standards, and establishing the athletics and activities programs. She also worked directly with the contractors for the new construction and the renovation of the school. Additionally, Gloria worked with the Ad Hoc Committee, the B. T. W. Alumni Association, and individual B. T. W. Class Organizations. She is currently principal of D.A. Dorsey Educational Center. Mr. Speaker, I join with the students, faculty, administration and alumni of Booker T. Washington High School, and everyone in our community, in honoring Gloria Frazier Evans. Thank you for all your service, and I wish you all the best in all your future endeavors.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise to pay tribute to a truly great lady, Mayor Vicki Coceano, who became the City of Miramar's first female mayor in 1989 and led the city through an unprecedented period of growth. Mayor Coceano, who was known as the ``Matriarch of Miramar,'' died at the age of 81. She was a remarkable leader in many ways, a proactive and energetic public servant and a Mayor with an open door policy who spoke her mind on the dais. Mayor Coceano first became involved in politics after a hurricane damaged her back yard in 1960 and she couldn't find the mayor at the time for help. She fought the city and her developer before running for the commission in 1966, a bid she lost. She ran again in 1977 and won. She became one of Broward County's most recognizable and outspoken politicians during her 22 years in public office. During her tenure as Miramar's Mayor, Coceano oversaw landmark changes as the city grew from a sleepy bedroom community with cow pastures and vast tracts of empty land to a Broward boomtown, home to WTVJ-NBC 6 and a host of national companies. Her accomplishments included weakening her own job, using a city manager to run the city and raising money in the 1980s to build the youth center that now bares her named. Vicki Coceano, a native of Italy, retired as Mayor of Miramar in 1999. Outside of politics and family life, Coceano worked tirelessly to help senior citizens, serving on the Board of Directors for the Broward County Area Agency on Aging for 26 years. She served as president in 1984, 1985, and 2003. On January 12th, family, friends and city employees gathered at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church to say goodbye to Vicki Coceano and to celebrate her life. We will all remember her for years to come through wonderful memories and the indelible mark she has left on our community.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the memory of the approximately one million European Jews who were murdered between 1940 and 1945 by the Nazis at the concentration camp of Auschwitz, the site of the single largest mass murder in history. The camp was originally built to confine and control Polish dissidents that the Nazis deemed were a threat to the occupation. Polish Jews were held elsewhere, typically in ghettos. At Auschwitz, the Polish prisoners were treated atrociously and in 20 months, more than 10,000 died. In January 1942, a Nazi plan for the mass murder of Jews was developed. What was called the ``Final Solution'' was the Nazi policy to murder European Jews. In the spring of 1942, Auschwitz took on a more important role in the Nazis' ``Final Solution.'' The horrifying ability of Nazis to kill thousands per hour took time to achieve and involved such cruel methods as gassing prisoners using carbon monoxide or the lethal pesticide Zyklon B. Conservative and reliable estimates show that the Nazis gassed at least 1.1 million humans at Auschwitz, about 90 percent Jews. However, the torture and killings were not just limited to the Jews as the Nazis targeted other groups they saw as inferior such as Gypsies, the handicapped, Poles, Russians, Communists, Socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals. As the end of World War II approached, the Nazis marched Auschwitz prisoners west into Germany in the winter cold. During this march, many prisoners lost their lives. A remaining few thousand prisoners deemed too sick to travel were left at Auschwitz to be killed later by the Schuzstaffel (SS). However, the SS left them alive in the disorder that resulted when the Nazis abandoned the concentration camp on January 17 and 18, 1945. Soviet forces found the prisoners and liberated Auschwitz, the site of so much horror, on January 27, 1945. The merciless brutality inflicted on the Jews by the Nazis over the course of World War II is unfathomable. It is still entirely unbelievable that individuals contemplated in seriousness the systematic destruction of over 6 million men, women, and children. On this, the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, as we honor the lives lost, my heartfelt condolences go out to those who lost loved ones in the Holocaust. They will never be forgotten.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise proudly to pay this tribute to Jumbo's Restaurant, a legendary business establishment in Miami's Liberty City community. On Saturday, January 8, 2005, it will celebrate its Golden Anniversary. This place is more than just a restaurant located along the corridor of Seventh Avenue by 75th St. in Miami. It has been and continues to be the ``gathering place'' where both celebrities and ordinary folks come and congregate--and partake of the sumptuous meals that this storied establishment serves its faithful clientele. Since its inception 50 years ago, Jumbo's Restaurant has provided the magnificent backdrop of the struggles and triumphs of an inner-city trying to rise from the ashes of near despondency on one hand and the elusive promise of prosperity on the other, as envisioned by its original owner, Mr. Isadore Flam, who bought it five decades ago. Amidst the riots, white flight and economic turmoil, its management, cooks and waiters have continued to serve mouth-watering breaded fried shrimp, fried chicken and other familiar Afrocentric and Caribbean menus. The ambiance has virtually remained the same after all those years of socio-economic upturn and downturn. Current owner, 59-year-old Robert ``Bobby'' Flam, is gutsy enough to hold the line and continues to work hard to keep up the tradition that is uniquely Jumbo's. To talk about Jumbo's really is to talk about the struggles of Miami's Black community as it faced the challenges of the civil rights era of segregation and disenfranchisement. Its story is as graphic as downright nostalgic, for it defined the character of a people in search of its identity as the promise of equality of opportunity and equal treatment under the law flickered--only to stumble and rise yet again amidst the changing of the times. Even to this very day, it is at Jumbo's that normal folk would forge a community of interest where the dignity of our fellow human beings was animatedly discussed. Indeed, I am fascinated by the longevity of Jumbo's Restaurant because it tells our story of dogged determination. As we internalize the meaning of its Golden Anniversary this Saturday, we should be enthralled by its perseverance for it is symbolic of our own character of resilience and optimism. This establishment has certainly made us proud, and I want to express the utmost appreciation of a grateful people. Its presence among us evokes yet one more genuine measure of the Flam family's enduring legacy to a community that became the beneficiary of their love and caring.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, Ohio was granted an opportunity today not afforded to my home state of Florida in 2000, and for that I am thankful. I express my gratitude to Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio and Senator Barbara Boxer of California for raising this objection, but I feel that we must now move past the documented voting irregularities that plagued the State of Ohio. The purpose of this objection is not to change the outcome of the 2004 Presidential election, but to raise awareness to the difficulty faced by thousands attempting to cast their ballots for President in Ohio. Following the 2000 election, the people of America were promised sweeping electoral reforms aimed at preventing problems like those that happened in 2000, but those promises were only partially kept. This body let the voters of this country down, and we simply need more reform. There is still too much room for error in our election law and we must be earnest in addressing these lapses. We know that elections are not perfect, but no American should be castigated for raising questions or concerns when valid voting problems arise. Only open debate on this issue will solve these problems; only accurate information will quell rumors and conspiracy theories that question our country's sacred democratic tradition. As we are all aware, the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine's recent presidential elections were called into question. After the first vote, Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle condemned this election in a foreign country as fraught with irregularities and intimidation. Yet some of these same Members rise in apparent indignation when irregularities are discussed in our own elections in our own country. They do not want to talk about the voting problems in Ohio. Yet these problems are real, and they deserve the attention of the American people. They provide compelling reasons why the Congress must address election reform in the first session of the 109th Congress. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 was a good start, a necessary first step, but it was inadequately funded and unevenly implemented. More attention is needed. We must ensure that all voting machines have a paper trail that will ensure a proper recount can be conducted. We must eliminate conflicts of interest among those who administer our State's elections. No Secretary of State should serve as a Presidential campaign State co-chair as was the case in Ohio this year and in Florida in 2004. We simply must have independence, uniformity and accountability in all elections across our great republic. These lapses, inconsistencies, lack of resources and conflicts of interest are, Mr. Speaker, worth discussing. Again, I thank those who brought this objection. These two Members of great courage and integrity have given this country a platform for reform. Only a proper review of our voting processes will stop these kinds of electoral abuses, and I urge the House leadership to make this effort an immediate priority of the 109th Congress.