Kendrick Meek

Mr. MEEK of Florida

Mr. MEEK of Florida. That is correct.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) for sharing that with the American people. I know he needed those charts to make sure that he can show the picture, but he was kind of brushing against kind of like a Ross Perot kind of feeling there. I started thinking he was going to say in a minute, You are not listening. But I think it is important. We try to make this not normal C-SPAN watching for the viewing public and for the Members of Congress. We want to make sure they hear what we have to say. But if we are going to compete, guess what, we have to have players on the field that are the numbers. It is almost like football. One cannot line up with five people and expect to beat a full defense there with five people on offense.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is important. Natural sciences, engineering.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I further yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Studentsuffrage.com. They have good information about voter suppression. I just want to from that e-mail let you know, we have to remind the American people and Members of the House, this is not the 30-something report. This is not the Representative Tim Ryan report nor the Representative Kendrick Meek report. This is for real. People who would think we are joking, it is unconscionable for someone to even put a sign out as much as we are trying to encourage young people to come out and to take part in this democracy, that anyone would say that you would suffer financially from voting. Leave alone from voting, from registering to vote. I am from Florida. Do not get me started. I am just going to say that when we look at individuals taking part in this democracy, we are not talking about Democrats only. Let us make sure we are straight on that because we will get some folks who come in on the other side of the aisle, the 30-something Dems, they have Dems on the back of 30-something, they are only fighting to make sure the Democrats have a right to vote. That is not true. We want Republicans to vote. We want independents to vote. We want democracy. We want to make sure that their voices are heard. We want to make sure that we have a better America as we move forward. If we do not have a voting America, then we are not going to have a better America. If they are not turned on or turned off about what is going on, we need individuals like WWE. We need them to have a fair shake when they go to register to vote. And for someone to a student, think of a student, and I am sorry, I am getting a little wound up here, think of a student that would even take the prerogative to register to vote when they have all of these issues to worry about, exams, term papers, making sure that they get registered in their classes. They want to do what they are supposed to do, what their parents have done, and that is register to vote. We want kids, we want parents. Parents, if you are listening to us here tonight, even Members of the House, if you have children that are attending, or of the other body or even of the Bush administration, I must add, if you have children or, I must say, let us just be bipartisan, if you work for Senator John Kerry or Senator Edwards or what have you, we want you to be able to call your kids and make sure that they have an opportunity to vote. The bottom line is that we have to crush this. We have to crush this right now. We want people to let us know. We want to fight on behalf of those individuals. We want to make sure that they know that they have a voice, even here in the U.S. House of Representatives, that they have a voice. For all the folks who stand up here and say, I support the troops. No, I support the troops more than you do. No, you don't support the troops as much as I do. I support the troops even more. I have a tattoo saying, I support the troops. Let me tell you something, we want some folks enthusiastic here in this House and in this democracy, I must add, here in the United States to be supportive of democracy. There may be some individuals that are actually scared that people may very well vote in this country and if they vote, they may no longer be here. But that is the price we pay for being public servants in this process. I am saying, bring it on. Allow Americans to vote, especially young people. My goodness, I am taking out my deficit chart here. $477 billion in Federal debt and this is using the Congressional Budget Office. The number is probably higher. $477 billion. That means children at birth already owe the Federal Government money. This is serious business. This is not a joke. This is $477 billion, the highest deficit in the history of the republic. So for those of us in this House that want to drape ourselves in the flag and talk about how we support the troops and I am more American than you are, you look at this number. This is nothing to be proud of. I have two children. I have a 7-year-old and a 9-year-old. I do not want them asking the question, what were you doing when this was going on? Why don't we have Social Security now? To my uncle who is a Korean War veteran, why do I have to wait 6 months at the VA to see an ophthalmologist? Why don't I have health care, for the 43 million Americans that are working. These are not individuals that are sitting at home, looking at cable and saying the job situation looks sad. These are people that are working every day. So how are we going to resolve those issues that are facing everyday Americans? $477 billion, that is not a small number. We are knocking on the Bank of China and Japan every 3 weeks saying, guess what, we're the United States of America. We need money to pay down the debt. So this voter suppression issue, some people may say, it's just rhetoric. This is for real. These are the individuals that are going to have to pay this. That is why we need them engaged. Everyone that comes to Capitol Hill, we have a lot of young people walking through the Capitol. We see them in the hall. They come. They identify with us. They want to talk to us. They want to talk to Members of Congress. But when they get back in the fall, do you think that it is going to be a lower tuition rate there? I do not. Why? Because of this. $477 billion because we do not have the money to be able to help State governments. State governments do not have a credit card with a U.S. Treasury here and, I must add, we are not in control. News flash to Members of the Congress and the American people. They cannot say, well, you know, the Democrats, tax-and-spend Democrats. Hey, guess what, ladies and gentlemen, the last time that the budget was actually balanced in this House, the Democrats had control. And we passed a balanced budget amendment in this House without one Republican vote. Without one. Maybe two or three could have come over. Without one. When we start talking about this issue of spending and the deficit, we need to talk to the hand. You cannot talk to me about that, because the real issue is that the Republican Congress put us in the situation that we are in now. Believe me, there is a good argument for it, if someone was to mike up on the Republican side of this House and some of them are very good people. Some of my best friends are Republicans, okay? I am going to let you know that right now. I will tell you that many of those individuals feel the way that we feel, fiscal conservatives, concerned about the Federal deficit. They have children, too. And they are concerned, too. And every time someone from the other side of the aisle tries to step out and say I am going to do the responsible thing and make sure that we spend within reason, make sure that we invest within reason, that I will not give a tax break that I know that we cannot afford, that I will no longer send States that are over $87 billion in deficit right now, because States do not have a credit card. They pass that cost on to State universities. They pass that cost down to local governments and they have to pay the bill. So this voter suppression, I say to Members of this Congress, members of the Bush administration, I hope they are listening. This is serious business. Yes, we know November 2 is going to go and come but this deficit will be here, for our children and in many cases our grandchildren to pay the cost. Even seniors now will pay the cost. Prescription drugs, they will pay the cost. Adequate health care for every American, will pay the cost. For everyday working Americans that know what it means to have a 15-minute break in the morning and a solid 30 minutes and not-a-minute-over lunch break, and 15 minutes in the afternoon, they know what I am talking about. So those are individuals that we are trying to represent. That is why their children have to have an opportunity to vote, and that is the reason why the 30-something Working Group wants an opportunity to fight on behalf of that individual that sent the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) that e-mail to make sure that they have a right to not only vote but, guess what, a right to register. Goodness gracious. I am from Florida. We talk about voting in Florida. Now we are having in the United States an opportunity to talk about just registering. So when we look at that, it is important that we fight. Now, the National Secretaries of State Association, which is a bipartisan organization, not a Democratic organization, but a bipartisan professional organization, has joined in this effort with us to make sure that these individuals will have an opportunity to vote. So I want to apologize for my being a Congressman just for a few minutes because it is a great amount of frustration.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Who is a wrestler.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Nowinski, also. We cannot leave him out. Our Harvard grad.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. The gentleman just wants to make sure that the individual who e-mails, that he does not skip a word. Every word is important. Every little nuance is important. We are not here to talk about travelogues or footlockers. We are here to talk about serious business.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I must say, the gentleman from Ohio does that well. He reads the e-mails. He gives the Web site. I gave the Web site out earlier. I want to apologize to the gentleman from Ohio for giving the Web site out because that is what he does.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. We are at war. If I can say, 897 American troops are not coming home. We honor them, but they are not coming home. That means 897 individuals will no longer see their family members ever again. That means that 5,394 American troops, not coalition troops, American troops, injured, dealing with the war in Iraq, just Iraq. This is not talking about Afghanistan, going after the Taliban and 9/11. Do not get me started. The real issue is serious. We have to make sure that the men and women that follow the WWE, and that is what these gentlemen are trying to do, let your voice be heard. They are not telling them how to vote or who to vote for. They are just telling them that they have to get registered and that they have to get out the vote.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, everyone forgot about us. Walking through the halls, they wanted to touch the Hurricane and the Maven. They said these guys are just Capitol regulars. Mr. Speaker, athletes nine times out of ten get a bad rap for being about business. This is a capital city. These gentleman could have been doing anything. They could have been somewhere relaxing, kicking back, doing what they wanted to do. They were doing what they wanted to do. They wanted to make sure that not only young people but wrestling fans throughout the country could just pause for a moment and realize the seriousness about their vote and about their voice being heard. This is serious business.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. We talked about, but it would not be complete without your views.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. It is love.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I want to let you know, this is the top 10 reasons why young Americans need a change in leadership. I just want to make sure our viewing public has their eyes on this, or our friends at C-SPAN have their eyes on this chart here, because it is important. The top 10 reasons why Americans need a change in leadership. Can you take number 10 off. At the top, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), look at that.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, once again, it is an honor to address the American people and also Members of the U.S. Congress, and there are so many issues to talk about tonight. As many of the Members know and the American people know, once a week the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Democratic leader, has allowed the 30-something Working Group to come to the floor to share with the American people issues that are facing not only young Americans but Americans in general. We have 14 Members in our working group, and we work throughout the week and here in the Congress to make sure that we give voice to issues that are facing Americans throughout our country. I must say that being from Miami, Mr. Speaker, I just want to share with the Members and the American people, we are so glad that the people of Los Angeles allowed for the Miami Heat to be able to receive Shaq. We look forward to the Miami Heat going to the NBA not only finals, but championship this upcoming season. Shaq is going to bring a new flavor to Miami, and all Miamians are very proud to have him there and also his family; and we welcome them all. We look forward to a successful Eastern Conference playoff and even regular season, and I will tell you, not being a season ticketholder myself, I look forward to saving up my money to get an opportunity to see him in the Magic City. Mr. Speaker, let me share for a moment with the American people that week after week the 30-something Working Group has had an opportunity to come to the floor to speak to the American people about the issues. This week we had a visit from the WWE, which is the World Wrestling Entertainment Association. These are wrestlers that came to the U.S. House of Representatives to talk about their initiative that they are working on throughout the country. Everywhere the WWE is going, they are registering voters, and they are working with the democratic way of making sure that every vote counts in this upcoming election. We know that many Americans, many of them are young; a lot of issues facing Americans right now are issues that are working towards our future. It does not matter what age you are, but especially for young people. I commend WWE for the work they are doing. They were here Monday night at the MCI Center registering voters. Their number is up to a million voters who have already registered for the upcoming election. I am very excited about Americans who have not had an opportunity to vote in the past that are taking an opportunity to vote this time; and wrestlers, entertainers are telling them it is important that they vote. There are issues facing the economy, the environment, the war in Iraq; and we are glad they are there. I have a picture, if I may, of three of the WWE wrestlers that came to the Capitol on Monday. This fine gentleman is myself. I wanted to wrestle once upon a time, but I do not think I can hang with these guys. We have Maven, who is an outstanding young man. We had an opportunity to hear his views on voter suppression. This is Hurricane. We had an opportunity to see him Monday night. He is a very popular young man and has a bright future in the wrestling entertainment world. And then we have Chris Nowitski, who is a Harvard graduate. He graduated from Harvard and now wrestles in the WWE. They all have a voter consciousness. And here is our very own, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), who wanted to have a lights-out cage match with these gentlemen. He said as long as he has his track shoes on, he will be okay. Mr. Speaker, we want to commend these men for coming and helping to get out the word about democracy and making sure every voter takes their American right and has an opportunity to vote so their voices are heard. It was good. We had an hour-long meeting, and we opened it to the press to allow them to come in and hear these fine gentlemen. I am glad they have taken time out to share in a bipartisan and nonpartisan way the importance of voting. Mr. Speaker, I must share the issue of voter suppression. This is going on throughout the country, and I must say to many of those students that are going to return to colleges and institutions and even to those parents that are sending their kids off for the first time to a college in a city that they have never been in before, many of those individuals have registered in high school through their social studies programs and government classes. We do it in Florida, and in many locations throughout the country the same thing happens. We want to make sure that these young people know they can register. In November, November 2, they are going to be at the location where they are going to school. We started getting reports of young people going to register to vote before they recessed for the spring, and now in the middle of August they are going to return for the fall semester; but they were told they were not eligible to vote because they did not live in that particular city. Taken from my good friend, David Letterman, and hopefully I will get out of here in time to be able to catch the show, if you live in Sioux City, Iowa, and you are attending university in Akron, Ohio, you should have the opportunity to vote there. The Supreme Court said in 1979, if you are a registered student, going to school there, you have a right to vote in that location. Mr. Speaker, there is also rhetoric that is being shared with many students that want to vote at their college campus, if they register, they will lose their out-of-state or in-state aid they will receive, or their scholarship will be in jeopardy because they were brought in as an out-of-state student. That is not true, and there are no repercussions to take part in our democracy. We want to make sure we get that word out to all Americans. I think it is important for every parent and grandparent, for the grandparents that have given their hard-earned money to make sure their bloodline has a better opportunity than what they had, that they have the opportunity to educate themselves, and they have also an opportunity to share in this democracy. They have feelings, too. As it relates to growing and skyrocketing tuition costs, they have to be heard on that. They have to be heard on the environment. A lot of things that are happening that were not happening years ago, they have to be heard on that. They have to let it be known that we want alternative fuel sources in the United States of America. If they are not heard, it may not happen. They have to be heard on the issue of student loans, of skyrocketing costs of college tuition, and that they are graduating in debt. We want them to take part in the American Dream. That is what it is all about, to buy a home and get a piece of the rock. And we want them to have a credit report so that they will be able to be eligible to get a loan to buy a house. So for 18 to 30, young people being able to have an opportunity to vote, if we can raise the level in that demographic, what we call it in the political world, we will have a better America. We will have a safer America, a cleaner America, and a healthier America. I think that is very important. That is the reason why the 30-something Working Group formed itself under the leadership of the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), because she believes in a better America. She believes if given the opportunity to be Speaker of this House that we will be able to top- shelf many of the issues that are facing young Americans. So not only now but post-election, we will be coming to the floor to share these philosophies and issues with the American people. Also as it relates to voter suppression, we want to make sure if anybody wants to find out more information about it, go on the rockthevote.com Web site and find out more information on voter suppression, or you can take the opportunity to contact us here in the House of Representatives. We are going to give voice to those individuals that may run into problems. This is our Web site here. We have our e-mail address, 30somethingdems@mail.house.gov. Also our Web site, we have democraticleader.house.gov/30something. I will share the Web site and the e-mail address again later on. You will have an opportunity to be able to allow us to fight on your behalf. We are not talking about just Democrats; we are talking about Independents, Republicans, Green Party, what have you. We feel to be able to have a stronger America, safer and healthier America, it is important that our entire country takes part in the electoral process. If one does not take part in the electoral process, we will not bring about the kinds of change that everyone cares about. That is what we are about. We are about making sure that everyone, and I mean everyone, not just folks from Florida or Ohio or the Californians or Texans, we want to make sure that everyone participates in this process. We want to make sure that everyone can have their voice heard, and that is why it is so very important. Tonight we are going to talk about several issues. One we are going to talk about is our breach in intelligence. We are also going to talk about many issues facing Americans. And guess what, we even have a top 10 list tonight that we will give birth to tonight so when we return after Labor Day, we will continue on with our top 10 list. I have been joined by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), who is an outstanding Member of the House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) that I shared our picture on the Capitol steps. I talked a little about how you wanted to have a lights-out cage match, and as long as you had your tennis shoes on that it would be okay.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. A draftee is not what you meant when you said you hope the Bush policies would help you find a job.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Just drop it to the floor. We will clean it up later. Number 2, cannot buy self-help books titled ``I am da bomb'' in fear that the homeland security officers will investigate you under the Patriot Act. Number one, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is doing a fine job: Because this is your country and what is at stake is your future. And that is very, very important, that the American people understand that that is important, and that goes for everyone and every age group. We want to make sure this top 10 reasons why young people need to change leadership in America is all in being able to frame this issue, to let them know what the issues are. We know that we put a little humor to it, but, at the same time, it is very real, it is very accurate. We need to give folks our website. We are running out of time. We have probably a minute or so left.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. And make sure we give them the web site so we can continue to communicate with Americans. To the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), I must say he is going to have the last word tonight and close this out. That it is a pleasure being here with the gentleman and a pleasure working with the 30-something group. We look forward to hopefully a democratically-controlled House when we return back here after November so we can talk about offense and not defense.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this is the conclusion of the 30- something working group. We appreciate the opportunity to address the American people and the House of Representatives.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. I think it is obvious. The man with the green hair has more muscles.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Not sure how you will be able to pay your share of the $2.9 trillion deficit and afford Outcast tickets. That is important there. The Outcast tickets are important. I want to add to the American people that the Congressional Budget Office says that is the next 10 years. It will be $477 billion, which is the current deficit for this fiscal year. That is right now where we stand. That is number 10. Number 9.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Look at the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan). The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is about to get a contract here in a minute. New dorm rooms run by Halliburton overcharge you by $900,000. That is possible. I want to let you know that is very possible. That happened.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. Let us go with number 8.

Mr. MEEK of Florida. We have to get moving here.

Mr. MEEK of Florida

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