[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 57 (Thursday, May 11, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H2575-H2581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 2030
30 SOMETHING WORKING GROUP
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Inglis of South Carolina). Under the
Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2005, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Meek) is recognized for 60 minutes.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor once again being
before the House. We would like to thank the Democratic leader for
allowing us to have the time on the floor here, Nancy Pelosi; and Mr.
Steny Hoyer, who is our Democratic whip; Mr. James Clyburn; Mr. John
Larson, Mr. James Clyburn, the chairman of our caucus; Mr. Larson, who
is our vice chair. Once again to come to the floor to share not only
Democratic ideas but American ideas, to help push this country forward.
Also, to point out some of the issues that are being thrown upon the
American people by the Republican majority and their lack of working
with the Democratic side of the aisle to bring about good policies for
our country.
Tonight I am joined by my good friend from Ohio, Mr. Tim Ryan, who is
a great American. That is just not by my standards but by the people in
his district and many people throughout the country.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to be able to identify or point
out the fact that once again this week the Republican majority tried to
pass an unjust budget on the backs of the American people. Well, due to
the fact that we, those of us on this side of the aisle and hopefully a
couple of the Republicans on the majority side is saying no, saying no
to the fact that we are here every day at the highest level that we can
be without Members being absent from the floor to make sure that we
vote en bloc against this Republican budget, that we will set America
back versus moving it forward.
[[Page H2576]]
I think also there are some Members on the majority side that
understand by casting a positive vote for this unjust budget that was
supposed to have been passed by April 15, they know that if they vote
in the affirmative for that budget that they may very well be making a
career decision. The American people are watching this process daily
and they have been made aware of what is going on here under the
Capitol dome due to the fact of the lack of governance on their behalf.
I encourage the American people to continue to pay attention.
Tonight, Mr. Ryan and I will attempt to share with the American
people and with Members of Congress, mainly Members of Congress, of
their responsibility to have the backing of the American people and not
the special interests. This budget that the Republican Congress passed
long ago to bring to the floor out of committee, if it was so great, it
would have been passed by now. It is very, very important that we share
this with the Members, if we had the opportunity or were given the
opportunity to have some positive input into this budget, that maybe,
just maybe, we would have passed the budget and we wouldn't have
appropriation bills moving through the process without a budget.
Right now, appropriation bills are being heard in committee and will
be heard in committee for the next 3 weeks, but without a passed
budget. I think it is important that Members and the American people
pay very close attention to how the Republican-controlled 109th
Congress, be it House, Senate or White House, continues, even under the
light of a 22 percent approval rating by the American people, and, in
the White House, a 31 percent approval rating by the American people
based on the White House and 22 percent here in Congress. Still,
Republican leaders are trying to shove this budget down the throats of
the American people.
I yield to my friend from Ohio.
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Just to clarify and add on to what you said, the
process down in Washington is that we pass a budget, broad outlines
with specific numbers to say, Department of Defense can spend this
much, Health and Human Services this much, Education this much. It is
all broken down, just like a family budget. And then after you get the
budget, then you start divvying up the money as to where it is going to
go and which program based on the revenue that you take in.
What is happening now is that the Republican majority has not passed
a budget, but yet next week they are going to come and start writing
the checks. Checks for what? They are going to start the process of
spending the money without a budget. I know there are many families at
home and this Republican Congress that came in in 1994 talked a lot
about, it is like a family budget. And what does the family do? Well,
the family needs a budget and they need to live within their means.
This Republican Congress, the bobblehead Congress that says ``yes'' to
everything President Bush wants, continues to go down the road of
undisciplined spending.
Some people, Mr. Speaker, may say, well, Tim Ryan from Ohio and
Kendrick Meek from Florida are just talking again. This isn't us. It is
not just us talking about it. It is not just the Democrats. I want to
get our third-party validators up and running early here tonight.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Why not?
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. This is Pat Toomey, President of Club for
Growth, a conservative advocacy group. He was one of the most
conservative Members of Congress for many years here, I believe, all
through the nineties.
Here is Pat Toomey in the Philadelphia Inquirer last Monday:
``Republicans have abandoned the principles of limited government and
fiscal discipline that historically have united Republicans and
energized the Republican base. Too many Republicans have gotten too
comfortable in office.''
That is Pat Toomey. That is not Tim Ryan. That is not Kendrick Meek.
Mr. Toomey went on to say:
``There is a very high level of frustration and disappointment among
rank-and-file Republicans when they see a Republican-controlled
Congress engaging in an obscene level of wasteful spending.''
We see it day in and day out: $9 billion in Iraq, nobody knows where
it is; $16.3 billion, corporate subsidies to the oil companies; $16.3
billion of public tax money that hardworking citizens sent down here,
the Republican Congress took that money and gave $16.3 billion of it to
the energy companies. Wasteful spending, corporate welfare, time and
time and time and time again. The family budget would not allow for
money just to be spent. You ask yourselves, where did it go?
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another third-party validator,
talking about the Republicans. This was at the end of March:
``They are seen by the country as being in charge of a government
that can't function.''
That is not me. That is Newt Gingrich, the father who gave birth to
the Republican revolution. When Newt Gingrich is saying this, when Pat
Toomey is saying this, we have a real problem in our country.
What Democrats have tried to do, Mr. Speaker, time and time and time
again is implement rules of the House that will constrain spending by
saying, if you want to spend money, you either need to cut it from a
program that we currently have or you need to raise the revenue
somewhere, but it has got to be budget neutral. It is called PAYGO,
pay-as-you-go. We have tried to do this.
Mr. Spratt, the ranking member on the Budget Committee, tried to
offer an amendment, rollcall number 87, on March 17, 2005. Not one
Republican voted for it. Again, this is rules that we can put in place
here that won't allow you to spend more money than you have. Or if you
are going to spend it, you have got to get it from somewhere. Democrats
offered an amendment here. Mr. Spratt offered a substitute amendment
again on March 25, 2004. Republicans shot it down. Charlie Stenholm
when he was here tried to do it. Dennis Moore of Kansas tried to do it.
Time and time and time again, Mr. Speaker, the Democrats want to put
these fiscal restraints in place. So it doesn't matter if there is a
Republican Congress or a Democratic Congress, the rules are in place.
These rules were in place all throughout the nineties. That is why we
had surplus money. That is why we made the targeted investments,
focused in certain areas that yield results, that yield tax money.
Investments in education, you get a good return on that. We had a
study done at the University of Akron, Mr. Speaker, a few years back,
this was on State tax money in Ohio, but when the State spent $1 on tax
money that went towards higher education, they got $2 back in taxes.
Education is a great investment. Let's make this investment. Let's
invest and do it in a way that we can get a good return on our money
down the line. But today the Republican Congress has just been tied up
in knots with the special interests, the oil companies, the energy
companies, the health care industry. Time and time again they are given
public tax dollars in the form of corporate welfare. Stop the corporate
welfare. Stop the corporate welfare and let's move forward.
But I want to say that it is not me, Mr. Speaker. It is not me. It is
Pat Toomey. It is Newt Gingrich. It is a lot of the conservatives, or
some of the conservatives that are still left on the Republican side.
All we want to do is get this country back together. Because where we
are getting the money, because we are running deficits, how do you plug
the hole? You got to go borrow it. The Republican Congress continues to
borrow from the Chinese government, from the Japanese government, from
OPEC countries.
This is really happening. This is one of the K Street fairy tales.
This is like a K Street fairy tale. The Republican majority is
borrowing money. As we run these deficits and they give millionaires
tax cuts, $42,000 they are going to give them more next year. As they
do that and we run these huge budget deficits, we can't fill the gap,
so this Republican Congress and this Republican President, they are
going to OPEC to borrow money from OPEC to help plug the hole. Can you
imagine? It is like you are making it up. It is another K Street fairy
tale that we have here. Running huge deficits. Gas is $3 a gallon. You
not only give the oil companies $16.3 billion in corporate subsidies,
but you also borrow money from OPEC countries to help plug the deficit
because you are giving tax cuts to millionaires.
[[Page H2577]]
Now, I am not opposed to giving middle class people a tax cut. I am
not opposed to giving a small business a tax cut. But I am against
giving a millionaire $42,000 back when you are fighting two wars, your
average people are struggling, tuition costs have doubled in the last 5
years, and you are giving Bill Gates another tax cut? That just doesn't
make any sense. I don't care what your party affiliation is. That is
irresponsible. That is irresponsible governing. And until we get the
Republican Congress out and the Democratic Congress in, we are not
going to be able to fix this thing, because we have tried. Mr. Spratt
has tried. Mr. Sabo has tried. We have all tried.
But, Mr. Meek, as you know, we are having a very difficult time doing
it.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. When we start talking about what Republicans are
saying, prominent Republicans, the chart that you had up with Newt
Gingrich saying they are seen by the country as being in charge of a
government that can't function, number one, Mr. Speaker, he is saying
``they.'' ``They'' means he is separating himself and he no longer
knows the Republican Congress that he gave birth to and that he was the
Speaker of. I guess all along the game plan was when we get really in
the majority, let's get some years down the road that people forget
about the Contract with America, and we will start catering to the
special interests. What is so unfortunate here is that the fiscal
irresponsibility that has taken place in this Chamber, in the committee
rooms down the hall, Mr. Speaker, across the hall, in the White House,
has taken this country in a direction that it has never been in in the
history of the Republic.
{time} 2045
I am not talking about in the 108th Congress or the 107th Congress or
the 93rd Congress. I am saying in the history of the Republic, this
Republican Congress and the President have taken us down the road.
Now, I just want to say this to my colleagues, those that are
Republicans and the one Independent that we do have here. This is not a
local, Democratic club. This is the U.S. Congress. And we are here to
share fact and not fiction, because we believe that the American people
should be leveled with. And we also believe that they deserve a
government that is going to represent them, not represent the
individuals on K Street.
Let me explain K Street. Mr. Ryan mentioned K Street fairy tales of
what is actually happening. The Republican majority embraced a program
called the K Street Project. And in this K Street Project, it was a
system of individuals on K Street contributing to Republican campaigns.
And it was a pay-to-play philosophy. And I still feel that it is a pay-
to-play philosophy, because they are getting what they want. The oil
companies are getting what they want out of this Congress, not the
American people. Other special interest groups are getting what they
want out of this Congress and not the American people. If the American
people were getting what they wanted out of this Congress, Mr. Speaker,
Congress would not be rated and viewed by the American people with a 22
percent approval rating.
Members come to the floor and talk about the President of these
United States at a 31 or 30 percent approval rating. We are here, we
vote here every day; and the Republican Congress, this Congress that is
led by Republicans are at a 22 percent approval rating. So that means
that there is a super-majority of the Americans that are not agreeing
with this majority. But, still, Members, the Republican majority is
still going down the line of fiscal irresponsibility. They are
irresponsible. Irresponsible.
Now, let me just say this. Some may say that is a heavy charge there,
Mr. Ryan. Well, it is nothing like the printed word. This is not my
stationery; this is the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Let me put up
my Treasury Secretary's picture here, Mr. Snow, who I think is a decent
man. He is just doing his job. He is the accountant for the United
States of America. He lets us know pretty much when we are headed down
a dark path. And at the end of the tunnel it is actually a train and it
is not sunlight.
Here is a letter that he wrote December 29 of 2005. Now, let us
think, on the 29th, Mr. Ryan, I was back in my district in Miami with
family and friends. Actually, that was a couple of days, maybe 4 days,
it was 4 days after Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, a very
religious time for many religions. As a matter of fact, Kwanzaa is
being celebrated during this time.
But Secretary Snow found himself in his office on this day. And he
wrote a letter to the majority whip in the U.S. Senate saying that, in
essence, he is saying that this letter is to inform you that we must
raise the statutory debt limit, or we will be unable to continue to
finance government operations.
Okay. When you get a letter on the 29th, the end of the year, saying
hello, excuse me, I'm sorry, we don't have enough money to run the
company. You have to raise the debt limit.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure the Members understand what I
am saying. Raising the debt limit means that you have not done a good
job of being stewards of the taxpayer dollars.
That is not the only letter, Mr. Ryan. Just in case we didn't hear
the Secretary, he turns around on February 16. Mr. Spratt wants to know
what's going on, who is the ranking member on the Budget Committee. I
got this letter that you wrote on the 29th. I mean, we were on recess
and all, and you were here in Washington writing this letter. Tell me
more.
He goes on. On December 29 I wrote to Congress regarding the need to
increase the statutory debt limit. Because the debt limit has not been
raised, I must inform the Congress, pursuant to 5 U.S. Code, that, in
my determination, that by the reason the public debt limit is not
raised, I will be unable to fully invest in the government security
investment fund that is called the G fund of the Federal Employee
Retirement System in a special interest-bearing account.
Now, let me just say this. Again, a letter by Secretary Snow,
appointed by the President of the United States, confirmed by the U.S.
Senate, wrote a letter saying we are in trouble. Mr. Speaker, I wish
that was the only letter, but it is not. Here's another letter on the
6th of March. Again, I am notifying you, and he gives his reason why he
is notifying, that I have determined that the debt insurance suspension
period will be on March 6 and last until March 26. During this debt
insurance suspension period, the Treasury Department will suspend
additional investment of the amount credited to what we call the G fund
again. But he is saying that we are not in fiscal good standing at this
point. He is saying that he is going to have to suspend.
Mr. Ryan, he is saying that he will suspend it on March 6 of 2006,
and he wrote the letter on March 6, 2006.
So the Secretary, Mr. Speaker, waited till the last day to inform the
Congress, you know, I have already written you two letters. You are
embarrassed to raise the debt limit because it will let the American
people know that you are not governing.
Now, if we worked in a bipartisan way, Mr. Speaker, maybe, just maybe
I wouldn't be able to come to the floor and say that this is a product
from the Republican majority, but it is.
Bipartisanship can only be allowed if the leadership allows it. The
Republican leadership has shut out the Democratic voices in this
Congress and shut out the one Independent voice we have here in this
Congress. So now, for Members that come to the floor and start saying,
well the Democrats this, that and the other, we are not in the
majority. We cannot bring a bill to the floor. We cannot stop this
Republican majority and this out-of-control spending.
One other point, Mr. Ryan. I will take Secretary Snow down for now.
Again, Mr. Speaker, you all have seen this chart before. 224 years of
42 Presidents, prior to President Bush, borrowed from foreign countries
$1.01 trillion. That is 224 years. That is a long time; 224 years? That
is at least four or five generations, if not more of my family
personally. Was only able to borrow $1.01 trillion. The President, and
the Republican Congress that we have a picture here of, in 4 years,
from 2001 to 2005, and this chart will be updated, from 2001 to 2005,
have borrowed from foreign nations $1.055 trillion. They have beat out
224 years of history, Great Depression, World War I, World War II,
Vietnam, Korea, you
[[Page H2578]]
name it, bad economic times, good economic times, they have beat out
natural disasters. They have beat out 42 Presidents, Democrat and
Republican, Mr. Ryan, $1.01 trillion, 42 Presidents. That is all they
could muster up. But we give this Republican Congress and President
Bush the gavel, $1.05 trillion in 4 years, just 4 years. How does that
shake out? Well, who is investing in America now? Who is owning a part
of the American apple pie? Who will continue to own, if this Republican
budget, Mr. Speaker, is passed, who will get even more of the American
apple pie?
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. As you are going into that, it is very important,
just a day ago, we passed, the Republican Congress, passed another tax
cut that will give a millionaire $42,000 back, okay? Money that we
don't have we are going to go out and we are going to borrow it and you
will tell us from who, to pay for the tax cut. And in 2003, Mr. Meek,
if you made $10 million a year, you got $1 million back in taxes. You
made $10 million, you got $1 million back. We don't have it to give
you.
We are political people. I mean, we are Members of Congress and we
are public servants, okay? I would love to go to my constituents and
say, I am going to give all of you a tax cut. And the really rich ones
who may donate to my campaign, I am going to give you a big tax cut,
real big. You made $10 million last year. I am going to give you $1
million back. I would love to do that. Everybody would love to do that,
Mr. Speaker. We can't afford to do that. We can't afford to go borrow
money from a foreign country and give it to someone who made $10
million last year so they could have a tax cut. And the old argument
that they are going to take that money and invest it in the United
States, that doesn't exist. They are going to get the money and invest
it in Asia. They are going to invest it in funds, invest it in other
countries. I yield back to my good friend.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Thank you for yielding back, Mr. Ryan. Let me
just point out real quickly: we will start out with the big one here.
People look at Japan; they look at the United States. They say how
could a country that size invest in the United States of America $682.8
billion, Japan? American apple pie. They have a big piece of it. China,
Red China, Mr. Ryan. Communist China, Mr. Ryan and Mr. Speaker: 249.8
billion of the American apple pie. I know that makes our World War II
veterans feel pretty comfortable right about now. And I am saying that
in a way that I know that they are highly upset at the point that Japan
can come back and own so much of the American apple pie, and not
because of their doing but because of the irresponsible spending on the
Republican majority side. I am just calling it what it is, Mr. Speaker,
because like some folks say, it is what it is, Mr. Ryan.
The U.K., $223.2 billion of the American apple pie. Caribbean
nations. Many of us go to vacation. I represent a lot of folks from the
Caribbean. But guess what, they own $115.3 billion of the American
apple pie, buying our debt. Our debt. Historic debt that we have given
them in the last 4 years. And I am going to explain that a little
further, Mr. Ryan, because I think people need to understand that prior
to this Republican Congress and President Bush being elected, there
were surpluses. That means that folks were projecting, not a deficit,
but money left over for things that we need to tackle. Yes, we need a
middle-class tax cut. Yes, we need to shore up Social Security. Yes, we
need to have a health care plan so that businesses don't have to ask
people to be on Medicaid to pay for their health care on the backs of
the American people.
No, this Republican Congress and the President opted to give it to
millionaires. I don't know how many times I can say that. Millionaires.
It is not what I am saying. You can pick up the paper and find out what
is happening up here. Taiwan, $71.3 billion of the American apple pie
that has been sold away because of irresponsible policies. Canada,
$53.8 billion. Korea, again, my veterans, $66.5 billion.
Meanwhile, under the Republican budget, Mr. Ryan, veterans are going
to be paying a higher copayment, thank you, a la the Republican
majority, that is saying that we are for you. Germany, $65.7 billion.
Again, our veterans. OPEC nations. This is very interesting, Mr. Ryan,
and it is actually covering my State of Florida and Georgia and South
Carolina. OPEC nations. Who are they? I mean, these are the nations
that are in charge of all the oil. Iraq is in that, owning some of our
debt. Iraq. We are spending all kinds of money in Iraq, but guess what?
They have enough time to own some of our debt. Iran. Iran. Oh, my
goodness. Is this the country, Mr. Ryan, that we are concerned about,
that Israel is concerned about and many of our friends in the Middle
East that are trying to bring about democracy we are concerned about?
You have a number of the United Arab Emirates, again, nations that we
are concerned about as relates to Dubai, port deals. There are a number
of countries that are here that we are bringing into question.
Let me just, Mr. Speaker, let the Members take a look at this map.
Empty without the debt on it. I think it is important that Members
understand that Democrats, we are the only party in this House that has
actually balanced the budget.
{time} 2100
People can talk about it. They can write great studies about it. But
until you do it, you don't know what it takes. Obviously, based on
those letters from Secretary Snow, and based on the fact that the
Republican Congress has taken pride in endorsing everything that the
President has said, we want to give millionaires a tax break and give
middle class people a $10 tax break or a $50 tax break. Done.
We want to give oil companies, as a matter of fact, I read this last
night, I think it is important and I am going to read it again, since I
passed by a gas station today and it was $3.07 right here in
Washington, DC.
This is a Washington Post article dated November 16 of 2005. The
White House documents show that executives from big oil companies met
with Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001, something long
suspected by environmentalists but denied, as of November, 2005, last
week, by industry officials testifying before Congress.
The document obtained by the Washington Post shows that officials
from ExxonMobil, also from Phillips and Shell Oil Company and BP of
America met in the White House complex with Vice President Cheney's
aides in developing a national energy policy, parts of which became
law, parts of which are still debated in Congress.
I rest my case on that. Again, Republican Congress said, energy bill,
Mr. President, so shall it be written, so shall it be done, without a
question asked.
Do you want to go down to the whole issue of what is happening with
our seniors now, prescription drugs? So shall it be written, so shall
it be done; propane, from the Republican Congress, we will do it
because you told us to do it. All this debt that I have right here,
under this stamp. Mr. President, do you want to raise the debt limit,
okay, fine, we are right with you. Let us raise the debt limit on the
back of Americans.
Meanwhile, I must add, that when we look at raising the debt limit
they are cutting student aid to students to be able to be our workforce
in the future and to be able to afford a college education. I am glad
to announce that this is actually a bill proposed by Democrats here in
this House. This is not a Democratic proposal, this is an American
proposal.
I believe that Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired.
This is legislation that is now filed by Representative Miller here in
this House and also from Senator Dick Durbin in the Senate reversing
the rate on student loans or student aid. The bill cuts interest rates
from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent for students, with subsidized loans,
which can go to students with the most financial need and move it from
8.5 percent to 4.25 percent for parents starting July of this year.
This is legislation that is filed now. Earlier this year, in the
Republican budget earlier this year a Republican-led Congress cut $12
billion out of the Federal student loan program in order to finance tax
breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
Mr. Ryan, I am just going to go to this page, and I am going to yield
to you, sir.
Yesterday, reading is fundamental. I blew it up because I thought it
was important for me to come to the floor and share with Members
because there are
[[Page H2579]]
to be some Members come this November that will say I don't know what
was going on. Do you think they hoodwinked me on this? Here is a copy
of the paper right here if you have it on their desk.
This is the way the cover looks, Republicans Reaches Deal on Tax
Cuts. What does that mean, Mr. Ryan? I will tell you what that means.
That means that for Americans that make between $10,000 and $20,000 a
year, the average tax savings will be $2. That means for those that are
making $20- to $30,000 a year, that means that their average tax break
will be $9; $30,000 to $40,000, $16. $40,000 to $50,000, $46; $50,000
to $75,000 a year, household income, $403; $100,000 to $200,000,
$1,388; $200,000 to 500,000, $4,599; $500,000 to $1 million, $5,562;
and those that are making more than $1 million will receive $41,977.
Who has whose back? People that I represent, I can tell you right
now, very few, I can probably count on both hands and maybe one foot
that are making more than $1 million that will celebrate the $41,977
tax break.
Meanwhile, guess what? We have men and women that are at war in Iraq.
We have men and women that are in Afghanistan right now, and we have
companies trying to figure out how they are going to provide health
care for their employees. Meanwhile, we have the Republican Congress
here saying everything is fine. What are you talking about?
I yield, Mr. Ryan.
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. The thing is, my friend, we don't have the money to
give a millionaire a tax cut. We have had 5.4 million people slip into
poverty since President Bush took over. We have middle class families
struggling with gas, fuel costs, energy costs, tuition costs, health
care costs. We have got a lot of issues for middle class people, lower
class people, people who are slipping into poverty, living paycheck to
paycheck. It is so irresponsible to give someone who makes millions of
dollars a year a tax cut, it just doesn't make any sense.
I said it before, Mr. Speaker, I would love to go to the folks that I
know that make millions of dollars a year and say I am going to give
you a tax cut. You could put a little more Italian marble in your home.
But that is not just reality.
We represent the public. We get paid by the taxpayer. We represent
700,000 people apiece. We need to start talking about the common good,
decisions that could be made down here that benefit everybody. Ask
everybody in the country to contribute. Wealthy, middle class, poor,
everyone is going to have to contribute something, but everyone will
benefit them. A rising tide does lift all boats.
Right now, this tide is not lifting everyone up. It is lifting a very
small group of people that continue to make money and profits after
profits after profits.
I think profits are great. I think they are super. But when the oil
companies are making $113 billion, almost up $80 billion from 2002 and
everyone is struggling and the Republican Congress gifts the
oil industry $16.3 billion in public money, something is wrong there. I
think the structure has broken down. I think you are absolutely right.
We don't have the money to do this, not only don't have the money, we
are neglecting our priorities in education, health care, reform. Let's
think about this for a second.
Government is not working, and I showed the quote from Newt Gingrich,
when he said the Republican Congress is perceived by the country as
running a government that cannot function.
When you look at what happened with Katrina, and the inadequate
response from FEMA, when you look at the war, losing $9 billion, losing
$9 billion and nobody knows where it is. When you look at what is
happening, all the struggles for body armor and up-armored Humvees, we
fought for tooth and nail for years to make sure that the troops had
that equipment that they didn't have out of the gate. The lack of
preparation, the lack of an exit strategy, the lack of recognition of a
long-term strategy in Iraq and in the region, these are colossal
mistakes.
These aren't boo-boos, these are big-time mistakes that, quite
frankly, I get frustrated because I think what have you dealt to my
generation? This is kind of personal and may be a little bit selfish.
But what are you leaving this next generation? We started this 30-
Something group to talk about issues facing our generation and 20s and
30 somethings.
Look at what is being left to us to fix. I mean, I do not know how
long I am going to be in government. I don't know how long you were
going to be in government.
But we are going to spend the better part of our lives trying to fix
the colossal mistakes that this President and this Republican Congress
have made. Budgets, lack of fiscal discipline, the war, lack of
investment in education.
When you look at what the Democrats want to do, when you look at what
we want to do. One is balance the budget, put in these PAYGO rules to
make sure that we can only spend money that we actually have and stop
borrowing money from all these foreign interests, Democrats have been
trying to do that for years. We did it in the 1990s and it worked.
We want to do it again and get the country back on the right path. We
want to invest in innovation. Our innovation plan has every household
getting broadband technology in the next 5 years so that everyone in
our society can compete within this global economy against 1.3 billion
Chinese workers, again over 1 billion workers from India, against
Ireland, who is just going gangbusters. Their economy is just going
gangbusters. We want to be able to compete against these people.
If we don't make the proper investments, we won't be able to do it.
We are going to have a plan that we will invest into the Pell Grant. We
will cut student loans in half to try to relieve some of the pressure
from middle America, from middle income families. This is something
that we need to do. We have a responsibility to do it.
I want to make a point, because I believe if we unleash the potential
of the American people, that we will be able to address some of these
problems. I can't be convinced that we can't solve the energy problem.
I just can't believe it.
I am so glad that this President and this Congress weren't around
during World War II, weren't around when we were trying to go to the
Moon, because there would never have been that challenge. We can do
this. Let us unleash the potential of the American people.
The different philosophy here is that our Republican friends want to
think that if they give a tax cut to millionaires that will trickle
down and somehow help middle America. It is not working. It is not
working.
Rich people keep getting richer, middle class people keep struggling
and falling behind. More people keep slipping into poverty, 5.4 million
more people have slipped into poverty since President Bush became
president, 5.4 million people. That is a drain on Nation's resources.
Invest in those people, get them broadband technology, make sure they
have adequate health care, make sure they have an opportunity to go to
college, and you will see the potential of this country unleashed.
It is just frustrating as we talk on the floor and off the floor
about a lot of these issues about the challenges that our generation is
going to face down the line. You can't tell me that we can't be a
competitive country, because I just don't believe it. The Republican
philosophy is saying we hope that maybe one day it works its way down,
the tax cuts to millionaires work their way down to the middle class.
We hope one day that happens.
What the Democratic plan is just to invest into the American people,
everyone. We want businesses to do well. We want middle class to do
well. We want rich people to do well, we want poor people to do well.
This is America. This is the American family. This isn't just your
family and your family and everyone separate and nothing ever connects.
That is not what made America great.
What made America great is our policies coming out of World War II.
Our policies in the 1960s, we are about the common good.
I know that we don't need those same policies. We know as Democrats
that it needs to be different because it is a different world. It is
not what would Johnson do, what would Kennedy do or what did Johnson
do, what did Kennedy, what did Roosevelt do?
{time} 2115
It is not about what they did, it is about what would those great
leaders do today?
[[Page H2580]]
I believe that the Democrats have this plan, with our innovation
agenda, with our real security agenda that reduces our dependence on
foreign oil. We are just so entangled in this oil mess. Let's stop.
Let's invest in the American people, Mr. Meek. We will come up with
an alternative energy source, bio-diesel, hydrogen, ethanol, sugar.
We'll figure this out. But unleash the potential of the American
people. We will do this and create another great surge in the middle
class of the United States of America, and everything then will take
care of itself; pensions, wages, health care. Everything else will take
care of itself, because we are going to unleash the potential of the
country.
I believe it just takes leadership to do that, and we haven't been
getting much leadership here. It is really a lack of leadership that
has put the country in the position it is.
When times change, when circumstances change, you have to change.
Unfortunately, this President and this Congress, no matter what the
facts are, stay focused on tax cuts for millionaires and let's hope
that that solves all the problems.
We are starting to see now with this increase in interest rates, 16
times, what a terrible problem this is going to be; higher credit card
rates, higher mortgages, cars, everything else. You are going to pay
more money. So even if you do get a little bit out of the tax cut, if
you are a middle class American getting 30 bucks back, gone. That is
gone, eaten up with higher interest rates.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Thank you, Mr. Ryan. I think it is important for
us to identify, you mentioned our real security plan, Democratic
homeland security plan, balanced budget plan. We have actually done it.
We know how to do it. We have experience there.
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. In 1993, my friend, not one Republican vote.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Not one Republican vote in passing the
Democratic balanced budget plan. Mr. Speaker, that is fact, not
fiction.
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. I am not saying that to brag. The Republicans could
do it. They just don't. We have done it. And it is not being a
braggart, but it was Clinton as President and it was a Democratic House
and it was a Democratic Senate. And out of the House, not one
Republican vote to balance that budget. It led to 20 million new jobs,
Mr. Meek, in the United States, the greatest economic expansion in the
history of the country. So we have proof. As you said, we know how to
do this stuff, and we are asking for a shot to try to do it again.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. The energy plan, Mr. Speaker, it is ready to go.
The bottom line is we offer these plans and amendments, we offer these
plans here on the floor.
Mr. Ryan mentioned something, Mr. Speaker, that I want to just make
sure that Members are clear on, crystal clear.
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Clear?
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Crystal clear, Mr. Ryan, that we don't just come
to the floor, Mr. Speaker, to talk about Republicans, what they are not
doing or what they are doing to the American people versus for the
American people. We actually fight in the Rules Committee that is on
the third floor of this Capitol to beg the committee, I think it is
really heavily weighted, I think it is like 14 Republicans on that
committee, or 14 or 12 Republicans, versus 7 Democrats. So that means
that two or three Republicans can have a cold and they still prevail
and are making sure they keep control of this House and what comes to
this floor. So much for bipartisanship. The Rules Committee sets the
rules, Members, on what comes to the floor and what doesn't come to the
floor.
This is what we were able to muster up. Ranking Member John Spratt
from South Carolina offered a substitute amendment to pay-as-you-go.
Now, this means pay-as-you-go. That means that if you are going to
spend, you have to identify where you are going to get the money from.
Can I have that chart again.
I am not talking about any of this business of borrowing from Japan,
from China, from OPEC nations or any of these countries that are out
there. I don't blame these countries, don't get me wrong. I don't blame
them for getting a piece of the American apple pie. I just wish more
Americans could get a piece of the American apple pie.
John Spratt put forth an amendment on House Concurrent Resolution 95,
the 2006 budget resolution. It failed with 165 voting for it, 264
voting against it. All Republicans voted against it. 228 Republicans
voted against it. All Democrats voted for it. Again, that is Rollcall
No. 87, and that happened on March 17, 2005.
The same Member, ranking member John Spratt from South Carolina, a
Democrat, a good Member of this House, substitute amendment to House
Concurrent Resolution 393, 2005 budget resolution. Republicans voted
against this, not one Republican voted for pay-as-you-go, which was the
responsible way to get us out of the pockets of these foreign nations.
The vote was 224-0 from Republicans. Mr. Ryan, Mr. Speaker, not one
Republican.
Mr. Ryan, I will yield to you in a minute. I want to get this chart
again. I think it is important. I can't bring this chart up enough, Mr.
Speaker. We are trying to make this so.
If a Member can e-mail us or bump into us in the hall or a staffer or
someone from the majority budget office or the minority office can come
to us and explain to us how we can break this down further. 224 years,
$1.01 trillion from foreign nations. Four years, 4 years, Mr. Ryan,
$1.05 trillion since President Bush has been President and the
Republican Congress has been working with the President, 4 years from
2001 to 2005.
These are not my numbers, Mr. Speaker, this is the U.S. Department of
Treasury numbers. These are not my numbers. So this means that the
Republican Congress knows this. You know how I know they know it?
Because we tell them night after night. You know how I know they know
it? Because we were here last night with the same chart. They voted
against this PAYGO resolution twice. I can even go further back to show
committee votes on partisan lines of voting against it.
So this means only one thing, Mr. Speaker and Mr. Ryan, that the
Republican Congress is wearing this stamp with pride, that they are
willing to rubber stamp anything that the President of the United
States sends into this Chamber. I am saying the Republican Congress on
that side of the aisle, because the history and the facts are there.
This is fact and not fiction, Mr. Ryan.
I am hoping. Some days I wake up and I say, you know, I wish the
situation this country is in, and when I see my children, my 9-year-old
and my 11-year-old and look at their burden, they are going to look
back, Mr. Speaker, and say there are some people on this floor that
fought for their future and the future of America.
White, black, Hispanic, Anglo, American Indian, whatever the
situation may be, we are giving them a fixed debt. And if you are a
Republican, you have to have a problem with this. If you are a
Democrat, you have got to have a problem with this. If you are an
independent, you have to have a problem with this. If you are an
American, you must have a problem with this, because it is weakening
the financial standing of this country.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch here in Congress, we have got folks
telling the oil companies, don't worry about it. We have your back. As
long as we have the K Street Project going on, as long as you keep what
we need to stay in control, we have your back.
Mr. Ryan, I just want to say this, when I give it to you, sir, I want
to make sure you have the last word before we close out, but I want to
make sure your constituents, that you share with the Members of this
House what happened in Ohio.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say it here on the floor, because I want to
make sure my Republican colleagues when they come down to vote on a
PAYGO amendment again, that they think about this.
There was a race in Ohio, Mr. Ryan, and I want you to talk about it,
and I want you to tell the Members of the House what happened, what
happened with the write-in candidate that got more votes and the number
of candidates on the ballot.
So, Mr. Ryan, with that, I want to yield to you, sir, so you can
close this out.
Mr. RYAN of Ohio. I appreciate that. I think you made a lot of
points. I
[[Page H2581]]
think one of the things that you mentioned is that we come down here
every night. I have got to tell you, you know, you mentioned the race
in which our Democratic write in candidate got more write-in votes than
all of the Republicans combined, and the Democrat was in the three-way
primary. It is unbelievable, because of the energy with which I think a
lot of people in this country are willing to go to the polls and make
some kind of changes.
But I am tired of coming down here and talking about this. I will be
honest with you, Mr. Speaker. I want this fixed. I want an opportunity
for us to put the PAYGO rules in place, to make the tough decisions. We
get paid to make these tough decisions. Let's make them.
I mean, come on. You know what frustrates me? And it hit me as you
pulled out the PAYGO chart. Zero Republicans voted for the PAYGO rules
to be put in place. Of the millions of times we have actually tried to
put them through, amendments and on the floor and motions to recommit
and everything else, all of these different times that we have tried to
do this, zero Republicans. But now they are having trouble passing the
budget.
Well, maybe if they would have put these procedures in place, these
constraints in place, we wouldn't have the problems. We don't even have
a budget yet. It is May. It is the middle of May. The law says you are
supposed to have it by April 15. So all of this is happening.
I think, Mr. Meek, as we begin to wrap up here, that everything is
happening in secrecy, under the dome, on Pennsylvania Avenue, with K
Street. When you look at these K Street fairy tales that you just can't
believe, it is the environmental meeting, everything is done in secret.
A lot of the consumer groups and conservation groups are saying you are
meeting with the oil companies and the oil companies are going to write
this. They say no, no, no, no, and oil executives come before the
Senate. Coincidentally, the Republican Senate does not swear them in to
a hearing. Unbelievable.
They all say, ``We weren't there. We don't know anything about it.''
Then we find out a few weeks ago they were all there. The White House
memo comes out that they were there, all done in secrecy. Look at the
energy policy we have. It is atrocious. Come on. Everyone knows it
doesn't work. Go to the gas pump. We don't have to explain it.
Look at the war, all done in secrecy. Nobody is allowed in, not a lot
of debate. The information, intelligence, everything is in secret,
cherry-picking intelligence and all of this other stuff, all done in
secret. Look at the end result. $9 billion lost, no exit strategy. We
are not greeted as liberators. We are not able to use the oil money for
reconstruction. All the promises made haven't happened. Terrible.
Look at the Medicare bill. Same thing. All done in secret. The
numbers were wrong that they gave to the Congress about how much it was
going to cost.
Then we find out today, Mr. Meek, and I hate to end on this because
we don't have a lot of time to talk about it, we find out now that the
National Security Agency is secretly monitoring phone calls of the
American people. This is the largest database ever assembled in the
world, monitoring the phone calls of American citizens.
Now, give me a break. Enough of the secrecy, enough of the
mismanagement, enough of the incompetence. Let's get the Democrats back
in so we can implement some of these ideas that we have.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing us to be here. I would also like
to thank the staff who is here who stays late with us many nights.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Just very quickly, Mr. Speaker, I know we have a
minute left, I just want to say this, that it is important that we
thank the Democratic leader and the Democratic leadership for allowing
us to be here tonight.
Mr. Ryan, the web site that you gave out, www.housedemocrats.gov/
30Something, all of the charts you have seen here tonight and
throughout the week, the Members can pull that down off of the website,
Mr. Speaker.
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