Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. But I guess the Republican leadership think here it is fine.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Ryan, how many Americans, do you think, think it is okay to just put all their debt on their credit card and never mind how much money they have coming in?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. What we have been asking, what Democrats have been asking, is where is the outrage? What is their limit? Where do they reach the breaking point, individual Republican Members? When do they say ``that is it? There is a point at which I cannot support the direction that my leadership is taking this country anymore,'' meaning theirs. When do they say, ``I have got to stand up and do the right thing?'' It appears that their tolerance level for being pushed to do exactly as they are instructed is unbelievably high, far higher than my constituents, and I know your constituents, are comfortable with. We have got to make sure that we start moving the country back in the right direction and change some of these facts on the ground here.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Out comes the rubber stamps. We need to throw away the rubber stamps. It is time to be done with the rubber stamps.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I feel privileged to hold it, although I don't want to hold it too long, lest it rub off. But we got today more than 100 of these ``Rubber Stamp Republican Congress'' stamps from bloggers and people in the communities all over the country who are fed up and frustrated and who want us to continue to talk about what is going on here. Because it appears as though, and I mean this respectfully, that when people on the other side of the aisle come in this room, that they are checking, and I don't know whether they are checking their brains at the door or their opinions at the door or their convictions at the door, but we have watched, all of us, the board light up here with yesses and noes, and I know I have had conversations with Republican Members on the other side who say, ``I know I am going in there and I am voting this way.'' Then you watch it, the board, the light next to their name goes from red to green or green to red, and you watch their arm being wrenched behind their back, and out comes the rubber stamp.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Do you know why? Because this is a rubber stamp Republican Congress. We had an amazing thing happen today, and my good friend from Florida, Mr. Meek, he has a much bigger rubber stamp that we use to show what is going on in this place.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Yes. I mean who can live on that? In our community, Mr. Meek, look at what housing costs.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I am kind of a McDonald's fanatic. And since it is quick and easy and when you have got your kids in the back of the minivan, believe me, the quickest thing sometimes is to go through the drive-through. The number one is just about $5.15 at this point. By the time you get the meal and whatever else you need, to make sure that you have got your soda and your drink and your fries, can you imagine that the minimum wage just barely pays for one Big Mac meal? I mean are the American people not worth more than a Big Mac meal? That is really what it boils down to. I think they are. I want to make sure that my constituents can afford to feed more than just themselves or more than just one kid. Which kid are they going to pick? Which kid do they pick? Okay, who wants to eat today?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Who is the third party validator in the facts that you are citing now?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. There is no oversight. There is no outrage. There is no conscience. There is no heart. There is no ability of the leadership on the other side to recognize that the country has to move in a new direction and that we have to do something to restore the American people's confidence in their government. When will that happen?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I know. We have 6 more months, and I am not through my list yet. The minimum wage being $5.15 and the Members that you are talking about that were so fresh faced and exuberant the morning after the election and they were going to come to Washington and do the right thing and not be the rubber stamp Republicans, all of them voted against increasing that minimum wage. And if the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, today it would be $8.88. I am certain that none of our Republican colleagues have done this recently because, otherwise, they would have voted for the amendment, but have you driven through a McDonald's recently and ordered a number one, which is a Big Mac meal?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I am dying to make this comparison.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Oh, the Republicans. Okay. That is what I thought. Congressional Republicans. They talk about how they want to grow jobs, that making sure people can go to work and earn a decent living is what is important. Then why is it that congressional Republicans defeated a Democratic amendment to increase the minimum wage, which has not been increased since 1997, the longest period of time we have gone without increasing the minimum wage? From $5.15, which is what it is now, we proposed to increase it to $7.25.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Who has been in charge?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. What I hear from most people today is it is very nice, you can give a whole lot, it is nice to hear the speeches. They want the action to back up the words. And let us just go a little bit deeper into this whole issue of job growth. So go beyond the 7.2 million Americans that remain unemployed. Since the President took office, only 15 months of job growth, just keeping up with population growth. The Bush administration has the slowest job growth of any administration in over 70 years. Since January of 2001, 2.9 million manufacturing jobs have been lost. There are now more than 1.3 million more unemployed private sector workers than in January of 2001. And who has been in charge this whole time, Mr. Meek? Have Democrats been in charge during these years that talk about the lackluster job performance?

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Thank you so much. But, all lightheartedness aside, I am struck, in following what the gentleman from Florida touched on, I am struck by a collection of facts that really are staring us in the face that are the direct result of Republican policies; today, this moment, not 5 years ago, not 4 years from now, but the direct result of Republican leadership or, I should say, lack of Republican leadership, because they are obviously in charge. Let me just go through with you some of the things that we have pulled together and that are the economic facts facing this country and that clearly show why, when I go home and talk to my constituents and have done so recently, I did kind of a run through my district and spoke to many different kinds of organizations, many different kinds of groups, Mr. Delahunt, and I am sure that you are hearing the same kinds of things that I am. Americans' confidence in their government has been so badly shaken. And it is not just that the culture of corruption and cronyism and incompetence that hangs over this building is there by itself. It is that, as a result of that corruption and cronyism, the policy that results from the corruption that is so deeply disturbing. Let me just go through with you some of the things that we have been able to pull together just related to the economy. This is as of March 2006, just last month. 7.2 million Americans remained unemployed. We have an additional 4.2 million who want a job but are not counted among the unemployed. Since this President took office, the economy has posted only 15 months of job gains of 150,000 or more. That is the number of jobs that is just needed to keep up with population growth. So all this talk about an explosion in job growth and how we are really on the rise in terms of job growth is just baloney.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Thank you very much. We were thrilled and I had an opportunity to attend the game last night and it was an incredible experience, and congratulations to the Florida Gators.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. It is not just words in the State of the Union, because it was very nice to hear the President talk about how he wants to make sure that we can have this.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I know what it is not.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. We are talking about the reality.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Orange and blue. And each and every Gator fan that I know, Mr. Delahunt, bleeds orange and blue.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, as a proud University of Florida alumnus who bleeds orange and blue, I too want to add my congratulations to the Gator men's basketball team on winning their first national championship last night. The University of Florida is renowned and has always excelled in academics, and has been noted for their accomplishments on the football field. Now we can add basketball to the list of accomplishments. The Gator nation continues to make its mark and make her alumni and the Gator family proud. Mr. Speaker, I have only one additional thing to say and that is, 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar, all for the Gators, stand up and holler. Go Gators.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition of the single holder rule, and in support of Americans pursuing secondary education. As the law currently stands, student loan borrowers attempting to refinance and consolidate their loans face unfair restrictions from the so-called ``single holder rule.'' This rule limits the search of these students to their current lender for a Consolidation Loan, if the current lender is the holder of all of the Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) they wish to consolidate. Mr. Chairman, with tuition prices on the rise, it should be the role of the Federal Government to help those Americans pursuing higher education, not impede them. Competition amongst the lender industry for these Consolidation loans would help lower interest rates for these loans, lowering the cost of secondary education for countless Americans. At a time when the dream of higher education has become farther out of reach for many families, it would be irresponsible for this Congress to stand in the way of the elimination of these restrictive provisions. Furthermore, we have learned a great deal in recent months of increased competition from overseas in the areas of math and science. In order for our Nation to remain a leader in innovation, and maintain our status in the international economy, we must make educating the next generation of Americans a priority. The single holder rule serves only as a barrier to this critical education. I do not stand alone in my support of the elimination of the single holder rule. Rather, I am lending my voice to a bipartisan chorus. The Conference Report on the 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act urged the authorizing committees to repeal the single holder rule to ``ensure borrowers have the best options available to them in order to manage their student loan obligations.'' Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to see that both the House and Senate versions of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to pass out of conference would finally repeal the single holder rule. This rule does nothing more than pander to the student loan industry special interests at the expense of America's students. While I will not be lending my support to H.R. 609 today for other reasons, I applaud the efforts of both Republicans and Democrats to eliminate this harmful rule.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Go Gators.