Congressional Record, Volume 149 Issue 83 (Monday, June 9, 2003)

[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 83 (Monday, June 9, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H5059-H5060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[Congressional Record: June 9, 2003 (House)]
[Page H5059-H5060]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr09jn03-73]

QUIBBLING ABOUT PAYMENTS TO IRAQIS IN NO-SHOW JOBS

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Blackburn). Under a previous order of
the House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for
5 minutes.
Mr. EMANUEL. Madam Speaker, today the headline in The New York Times
reads: ``Iraqis are out of jobs, but payday still comes.''
With the administration's and the President's blessings, 200,000
Iraqis, employees of the government ministries and government-owned
companies, are being paid $20 a day for no-show jobs. They do not work.
They are getting paid $20,000 a day by the American taxpayers. They do
not work.
Let me read from the article. The story describes how ``mechanics
linger listlessly around machines that don't run; clerical employees
wait for assignments that never come. Most don't even bother to show up
at all, except on payday,'' to collect their $20. There are 200,000
Iraqi people being paid $20 a day for no-show jobs. Now, I come from
Chicago, and I know a couple party bosses in Chicago that would be
really envious about 200,000 getting paid $20 a day for no-show jobs.
They do not have to do anything, and they do not have to show up except
for payday.
What is interesting is if we do the math, these families in Iraq are
getting about $1,000, equal to what we are asking for the children and
their working parents here in America; for hardworking people who pay
taxes to get as a child tax credit the same that this Iraqi citizen who
has never worked, is not working, is getting, with the American
taxpayers footing the bill for $1,000 for their no-show job.
I go on to read from the article. According to one American official,
an American official working for the government, working for the
taxpayers of this country, for the U.S.-led administration in Iraq, he
says, ``This is going to continue for a good while. Nobody is going to
quibble about paying a few more dinars into this economy to get things
moving.''
Well, this person is going to quibble. I do not know where we come
off paying $20 a day to somebody who does not

[[Page H5060]]

do any work, does not show up. Yet we have hardworking Americans who
are trying to raise their children, who are trying to do right by their
children, trying to raise them with the right values, to know the
difference between right from wrong; and they are going to deserve a
tax credit just like every other child in America. They are America's
children, too.
Now, if we can find the good will to pay these Iraqis $20 a day for
no-show, coming to about $1,000, which is the same amount as we are
asking for a child credit for 6\1/2\ million American families, they
would get $1,000 per child, it would be the same amount as the Iraqi
citizens.
If they do not have a quibble there, I do not have a quibble here.
But I have a quibble if we are going to give these people $20 a day for
no-show, $1,000 in the last 2 months, and we cannot find the
wherewithal to give 6.5 million American families, 12 million American
children, the same tax break other children are getting or other Iraqis
are getting.
President Bush, who often says he likes to note that he is a man of
his word, who says what he believes and believes what he says, and says
what he does and does what he says, ``My jobs and growth plan will
reduce taxes for everyone,'' at the signing of the bill the President
said, ``We have taken aggressive action to strengthen the foundation of
our economy so that every American who wants to work will be able to
find a job.''
Well, we have people who are working who deserve a tax cut. They are
not getting a tax cut. We have got 9 million Americans who are
unemployed, 6.1 percent. When this administration started, they had 4
percent unemployment. We have got 6.1 percent unemployment now. We have
added $3 trillion to the Nation's debt, and 3 million Americans have
lost their jobs. As we say back in Chicago, what a deal.
That is what has happened here. We have added $3 trillion to the
Nation's debt and 3 million Americans are without jobs. Corporate
interests and special interests are getting tax cuts, and the American
people are paying with their jobs. Now we are footing the bill for $20
a day for people who do not show up for work, and yet we are denying 12
million American children their sense of economic justice.
If we do not take care of this problem today and take up what the
Senate did, 94 Senators, Democrats and Republicans, if we do not take
it up, these children's children, these families, Americans,
hardworking families trying to do right for their children will be
denied the same tax cut that will be provided for those children of
other families here in America and have been denied that same $1,000 we
are providing for the families in Iraq.
I think it is high time, after 3 million unemployed Americans, 5
million more Americans without health care since when the President
took over, $1 trillion worth of corporate assets that have been closed
down since this President's economic plan has been adopted, and 2
million Americans walked out of middle class to poverty, I think it is
high time we take these 12 million children who are part of 6.5 million
families and give those hardworking Americans a tax cut. They deserve
the same chance at that dream.
We are going to build a dream for Iraq, a better future for Iraq, one
with roads, one with 13 million Iraqis with health care, 4 million
Iraqi children will get early childhood education. Yet we are cutting
58,000 Americans from Head Start.
If we are going to do this for Iraq, I call on the Speaker, I call on
the President, and I call on the majority leader, who have denied these
12 million children the same economic equality and the same economic
vision of a better future tomorrow that we have provided to these
Iraqis who are getting $20 a day from the American taxpayer for no-show
jobs.

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