[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 63 (Thursday, April 19, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H3675-H3682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE ACCOUNTABILITY CONGRESS: THE 110TH CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, tonight I would like to welcome you, Mr. 
Speaker, and the American people to the Accountability Congress. Over 
the next 1 hour, my freshman colleagues and I will be claiming this 
hour to talk about the accomplishments of this 110th Congress.
  We have seen not only an auspicious and bold, brave, new agenda for 
the first 100 hours, but also the first 100 days. And we are not just 
going to talk about and celebrate the accomplishments of the last 100 
days. We are going to talk about a vision for our country and talk 
about what will happen in the days to come.
  It is important, Mr. Speaker, that the American people know that by 
getting a new majority in the Congress that they have signed up to get 
a vision that is inclusive, that brings Americans all together, that 
makes for a safer America, a fairer economy, that makes for an economy 
where working people, middle-class people can strive and do well in our 
society.
  And joining me tonight with the members of the freshman class are a 
host of tremendously brave and tremendously intelligent, capable 
leaders who are aiding not only in charting a new course for our 
country, but who in this very 110th Congress, Mr. Speaker, are fully 
engaged from the very top. The leadership has engaged our talents, our 
skills, our ability, and we have been proud to be able to help this 
110th Congress be a stronger, better place.
  And tonight I am going to be anchoring the one hour, but I am not 
going to hang on to it long. I think the American people want to hear 
from the brilliance that this 110th Congress class has to offer. So in 
the very beginning, I am just going to pass it right off to Mr. Hodes, 
who is the president of our class.
  I yield to Congressman Hodes.
  Mr. HODES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Minnesota (Mr. 
Ellison) for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, I am glad to be with you 
tonight to talk about where we have been

[[Page H3676]]

in the 110th Congress, where we are, and where we are going, because 
this Congress really has changed the direction of America.
  If you think back to where we were over the past 6 years, this 
country was frustrated. Frustrated because of the squeeze on the middle 
class with fiscal policies that weren't working. They weren't working 
for the middle class and those trying to get into the middle class. 
They may have been working for those at the very, very tippy top of the 
financial scale, but not for anybody else. A frustrated middle class 
and an America which has come together because of a foreign policy 
which has made us weaker, which has ruined our reputation in the world, 
which has mired our brave soldiers in a civil war.
  They asked for change in November. And in the past 3 months we have 
delivered substantial change. So tonight we are going to talk about the 
Accountability Congress. We have changed the Congress of the United 
States from a Rubber Stamp Congress that didn't hold anybody 
accountable for anything, but simply rubber stamped what the 
administration wanted to do without question.

                              {time}  2115

  They held no hearings, held no accountability over agencies, and we 
have replaced it with an accountability Congress that holds the 
administration accountable, that holds agencies accountable, and is 
accountable to the American people for making real progress.
  So I am very proud to be with you tonight. And I look forward to the 
next hour when we get to talk about what we've done, where we are and 
where we're going.
  I yield back.
  Mr. ELLISON. Well, thank you, Congressman Hodes, from the great State 
of New Hampshire.
  Why don't we kick it down south to Florida to Congressman Ron Klein, 
who has been distinguished in this Congress for his leadership.
  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Thank you very much, Congressman Ellison.
  It is a pleasure to be here once again with my freshman colleagues as 
we try to do this every Thursday evening and get together and speak 
about what's going on in the last couple of weeks and tell the American 
people and share with them some of the good things that we've been 
working on.
  We ran in elections this past November. And coming into the freshman 
class, we heard loud and clear from the American public that it was 
very, very important that we get this budget under control. One of the 
first things that we did, and I am very proud of it and Republicans 
joined with us on this so it was a bipartisan effort, is we passed the 
PAYGO principle. PAYGO is about as simple as you can imagine; it's pay-
as-you-go. It's no different than the way I run my personal family 
budget with my kids and my wife; it's no different than most people run 
their small businesses or large businesses. It is the simple point of 
money comes in, and you can't spend more than is coming in. It is 
expenses versus revenues, or cash flow.
  I was very proud of that moment as one of the very first things that 
we did was to pass the PAYGO principle, and that was something that 
was, in the past, the Congress always followed that principle, but most 
recently, in the last number of years, it was thrown out. As a result 
of that, tax cuts, higher spending, and tax cuts are wonderful, we all 
want less taxes as long as there are corresponding spending cuts. 
Everything has to balance. I just want to reference that because to me 
that was a great start.
  I am very proud of the fact that everything we have passed since 
then, every bill that we have taken up has a component in it which says 
we cannot add new expenses, we cannot build more programs unless the 
money is in the budget. I think that is a principle that needs to be 
there forever, for that matter; and I think that is the first step in 
beginning this process of getting our fiscal house in order.
  So I am just going to highlight that for a minute and turn it back 
over to Congressman Ellison.
  Mr. ELLISON. Thank you, Congressman.
  Mr. Speaker, we are also distinguished by having a leader in our 
Congress who comes to us as a labor lawyer, as a community leader, and 
has brought her very considerable talents to this Congress. She has led 
this Congress in many ways, including on the issues of trade and 
economic justice. Of course she is not limited to that, she knows a lot 
of stuff, but she has distinguished herself in that way, and so I just 
want to recognize at this time Congresswoman Betty Sutton from Ohio.
  Ms. SUTTON. Thank you very much, Mr. Ellison. What a great leader you 
are, and we thank you for putting this hour together.
  I am happy to join with these other distinguished colleagues to speak 
to the American people about the change that is upon us and the hope 
that is growing.
  We did hear from the voters loud and clear on November 7. And one of 
the things that they wanted was a Congress that is responsive to the 
priorities and needs that exist out there in our communities. One of 
the things that had been getting in the way of getting that kind of 
legislation that was truly responsive was the corruption that 
unfortunately had flourished in this body for quite some time.
  I also think it is important that we point out the fact that on the 
day that this Congress opened, we came right down on this floor and we 
changed the rules to put to an end some of the abusive avenues that 
existed that resulted in policies that benefited the few at the expense 
of the many. And, frankly, that was part of the foundation that had to 
be laid in order to get these other things passed.
  When you talk about economic justice, and I know we are going to talk 
about this more this evening, I am very pleased to be a member of the 
Budget Committee. And the good news is we did recently pass a budget 
out of this body. The bad news is, when I got to the Budget Committee 
and I started hearing things about what our fiscal condition was, it 
was as bad as we feared it was from afar. But, again, because we have a 
new Congress and because we have change in this Congress, we were able 
to realign the resources that were there so that at least they met the 
needs and the priorities of our constituents and the American people 
and the communities that they live in.
  So I am very happy to be here with you to talk about all of these 
things this evening, and I direct it back to you, our leader, Mr. 
Ellison.
  Mr. ELLISON. Thank you, Congresswoman.
  Tonight, we are very lucky and fortunate to have somebody who can 
offer a diagnosis and then give a prescription, somebody who can look 
at our great Nation and say, what does this great Nation need to be 
healthier, to be stronger, to grow better and in a new direction, and 
what is the prescription. What is the advice that the good doctor would 
give to make America reach its highest potential to become a more 
perfect union? And to do that, I can't think of anybody better 
qualified than our colleague, Congressman Steve Kagen, who comes to us 
as a physician and a doctor of medicine, but now he is sort of a doctor 
of politics and more or less a doctor of making America a prosperous 
and strong country.
  Doctor, what do you have for us tonight?
  Mr. KAGEN. Well, I thank you very much for the kind introduction. And 
I would say the diagnosis looks good. We've got a positive change and a 
new direction for the country. We are headed in the right direction.
  What have we done? We have brought back fiscal responsibility, and we 
are socially progressive and responsible as well.
  Now, listening this evening back in my hometown of Appleton, 
Wisconsin, is my mother. I won't tell you how old she is, but I will 
tell you she does need affordable prescription drug coverage.
  In Wisconsin, we had this thing called SeniorCare. It was group 
purchasing, where we knocked down the cost of prescription drugs 
tremendously, saved the Federal tax dollars, millions and millions of 
dollars. We had affordable prescription drug coverage that has been 
terminated by this administration. Now, my mother's medications were 
about $310 off of SeniorCare, and on it: $89. Same pharmacy, same 
pills, same manufacturers. It proves this point: when you negotiate, 
you can get a better deal. When you have a larger purchasing pool or a

[[Page H3677]]

larger insurance pool, you can get that better deal.
  So I think the diagnosis tonight is, it's looking good; the future is 
looking fine. I am glad that my colleague from Minnesota is here 
tonight to lead us in that new direction.
  Mr. ELLISON. Well, Dr. Kagen, our colleague, it is an honor to have 
you here.
  We are going to go from the great State of Wisconsin down south to 
Kentucky. Congressman Yarmuth has been here; he has been offering 
tremendous leadership. He looks ready with a graphic there, but of 
course he may touch upon many issues tonight, all focusing on the fact 
that this 110th Congress has been a great start for the American 
people, and we want the American people to know what they got for their 
vote.
  Congressman Yarmuth.
  Mr. YARMUTH. I thank the distinguished gentleman.
  I want to say that all of us came back this week from our first 
extended stay in our districts. And of course I had to laugh when the 
President 3 weeks ago said, Oh, the Congress ought to come back from 
vacation and get to work on the supplemental bill, which we had already 
passed, of course. And I said, wait a minute, this is vacation? All 
we're doing is working 12, 13 hours a day in our districts 
communicating with our constituents.
  And I think that from what I have gotten from talking with all of us 
among our colleagues is that when we were home, we found out what the 
American people are saying about our track record so far. And just 
before we came to the floor this evening, one of the Members from the 
opposing party tried to minimize what we had done over our past 100 or 
so days in office. And I thought it was amusing because it was, oh, 
well, they haven't enacted anything. Of course this Congress acted. It 
acted very expeditiously to raise the minimum wage for our low-wage 
earners, to cut the interest rate for our students in college who have 
loans outstanding; and, as Dr. Kagen said, to take action to reduce the 
cost of prescription drugs, and so forth and so on.
  When I was home, I met with people from the health care industry, and 
I met inside the health care facilities and I met with people from our 
educational institutions. We had a forum of higher education, and 
everybody was so grateful not just that we had taken the action that we 
did, but we were finally dealing with problems that have faced these 
various segments of society and had been unaddressed for the last 6 
years.
  So what I sensed when I was home in my district, and I know many of 
you and our other colleagues have sensed it as well, is that there is a 
new sense of optimism, there is a new sense of hope, and there is a 
spirit that we can deal with the serious problems that we face in this 
country because we have people who are not interested in dogma, we are 
not interested in ideology. We are interested in solving problems for 
the American people.
  That is why I am so proud to be a part of this Congress and this 
great freshman class because I know that the American people are 
responding to what we have done already, and I know that they are 
responsive to the great agenda that we are going to be pursuing for the 
rest of this Congress.
  Mr. ELLISON. Thank you, Congressman Yarmuth.
  It is time to get specific, my friends. Let me just say specifically 
that in the first 100 hours alone, we made our very first vote the 
implementation of the independent bipartisan 9/11 Commission's national 
security recommendations. Second, we voted to increase the minimum wage 
for the first time in 10 years to give American workers an overdue pay 
raise. Third, we voted to cut student loan interest rates in half. 
Fourth, we voted to roll back multibillion dollar taxpayer subsidies 
for big oil and big coal companies, and we put that money toward 
renewable energy.
  Next, we expanded research and help for stem cell research. And then 
we voted to require Medicare to leverage its substantial bargaining 
power to buy prescription drugs and pass the savings on to people. And 
then we put the interests of all Americans ahead of the special 
interests by passing a tough congressional ethics reform, restoring the 
pay-as-you-go budgeting and restricting spending on earmarks. Those are 
the specifics. Now we are going to elaborate.
  Congressman Hodes, I would just like to ask you a question: What did 
this Congress do to help students and to stand up for the right to an 
affordable education so that every American can reach their highest 
potential?
  Mr. HODES. I am glad you asked. Because in the campaign, as we went 
around, we all heard about the squeeze that our families were in all 
over this country, complaining about the cost of higher education and 
the difficulty they were having in paying for the loans that folks have 
to take out in order to pay for an education. Of course in order to be 
competitive in a global economy, we need more kids going to college, we 
need more opportunities for more people in this country.
  In my home State of New Hampshire, we actually carry the highest 
debt-per-student in terms of student loans of any State in the country. 
So it has been really important at home in New Hampshire and around the 
country for this Democratic Congress and the new majority to take 
action.
  Now, Mr. Ellison already talked about one of the things that was done 
in terms of making college more affordable by voting to cut student 
loan interest rates in half. We've talked about what we have done to 
restore pay-as-you-go rules, because once you've got fiscal 
responsibility, once we've restored fiscal responsibility that was 
absent from the 6 years that the Republicans were borrowing and 
spending us into a black hole of a deficit, we can start acting with a 
social conscience and help our college kids.
  So one of the things we have done, as this chart shows, is we passed 
a budget, a Democratic budget that restores fiscal balance, it cuts the 
deficit, balances the budget over 5 years. And what it does for our 
kids in college is, first, we propose an increase of the maximum Pell 
Grant to at least $4,600, significant increase. Our budget, the 
Democratic budget, the responsible budget, the pay-as-you-go, balance-
the-budget-in-5-years budget rejects all of the President's 
irresponsible proposed cuts to higher education, including that he 
wants to eliminate the Perkins loan program, Federal supplemental 
opportunities grants, and leveraging education assistance partnerships. 
The President's budget actually wants to take opportunities away from 
our kids going to college and families who are trying to send their 
kids to college. We have turned that around. We are going to make it 
easier and more affordable for kids to go to college
  Mr. ELLISON. Well, thank you, Congressman.
  One of the things that we are trying to do in this Congress and we 
are going to do and we are on the track to do is to make middle-class 
people have a real opportunity for a real future for their children, 
for their parents, for everyone. There is no doubting that doing things 
to strengthen the American worker is part of that.
  One of the things we did was we passed the Employee Free Choice Act, 
and we have made some firm strides on issues of trade to make sure that 
we don't export jobs.
  I am wondering, Congresswoman Sutton, if you wouldn't give the 
American people a word about these important issues.
  Ms. SUTTON. Thank you, Congressman Ellison; I certainly will.
  The Employee Free Choice Act was a great accomplishment by this 
Congress, a bill that will make it easier for workers out there, the 
people who make this world turn.
  I stand here in front of you as the daughter of a man who worked in a 
boilermaker factory his whole life.

                              {time}  2130

  The sister of a steelworker. The sister of a teacher. The aunt of a 
food and commercial worker. And these are the people that make the 
world turn.
  Yet we hear often that people are not in unions, that union 
membership is down. Well, it is not because they don't want to be in 
unions, because we know that being a member of a union and having the 
right to bargain collectively for fair wages and family-sustaining 
benefits is something that people do desire and does result in exactly 
that, a fairer wage and benefits.
  Frankly, it works for business as well, and there are many examples 
out

[[Page H3678]]

there where employers and employees work. But, unfortunately, part of 
the big reason why union membership is down is because it is very 
dangerous and sometimes results in the loss of a job if you engage in 
trying to organize workers into a union so that they can bargain 
collectively.
  So this Congress, noting that, noting the need to end the potential 
for harassment for those who would just simply seek to organize and 
have their voice heard collectively, passed the Employee Free Choice 
Act which will enable workers to just simply, if there is a majority of 
them who want to join a union, then they can sign a card and join a 
union. So it is going to truly be an effective tool in lifting up 
America's workers and the middle class.
  I turn it back over to you, Mr. Ellison.
  Mr. ELLISON. Thank you, Congresswoman.
  Now we are really honored to have one of our great leaders in our 
class, Mr. Patrick Murphy, who is a distinguished veteran of our Armed 
Forces, who I believe is the only combat veteran of the Iraq conflict, 
to tell some very, very heart-rending and very clear stories, which are 
true, about the meaning of our Nation's effort for a just, safe, but 
orderly withdrawal from this conflict.
  I would like to switch it over to Congressman Murphy for a moment 
from the great state of Pennsylvania.
  Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Thanks, Congressman. I 
appreciate it. Thank you to the gentleman from Minnesota, and to the 
gentleman from Connecticut, my colleague, the other Congressman Murphy 
up there.
  Today is an important day in our country's history. We are the new 
Congress, the 110th Congress, and we came together from all over the 
country to really change the direction of our country.
  I am so proud that I wore the Army uniform for the first time in 
1993, following in the footsteps of my father and my uncle and my 
grandfather and my brother, who serves in the Air Force, that we served 
with pride and gave it our best.
  When I was asked to join the faculty at West Point, when I taught 
there, we took pride in ourselves in saying we are developing leaders 
of character for a lifetime of service. Yes, we were making military 
officers. Yes, they were tacticians on the law and the profession of 
arms, but they were leaders of character. They stood up for the truth. 
They stood up for justice.
  When our Nation was attacked on 9/11 of 2001, many of us who were 
called to serve deployed for our country. And I am proud that I 
deployed twice, first to Bosnia and then to Baghdad, Iraq, as a member 
of the 82nd Airborne Division.
  So, within the first 100 days of this Congress, as you mentioned, 
when we took the steps to say we are going to be coequal branches of 
government, you see, when I was at West Point, I taught constitutional 
law and I taught about what this country was all about, and it was that 
we have three coequal branches of government.
  See, we did not believe in the theory of King George, one person 
being infallible, running a country. That is why we had the American 
Revolution. Our democracy evolved over 200 years to now, today, where 
we have leaders from both parties willing to stand up and say, enough 
is enough. Mr. President, we will not continue to give you a blank 
check while the Iraqis still sit on the sidelines. We will not sit 
there and say everything is okay when we understand what the truth is 
on the ground in Iraq.
  When I was there in 2003, I remember when it was August. I remember 
having the combat gear on. I remember riding up and down in what is 
called Ambush Alley in 138-degree heat and wondering when that next 
roadside bomb might go off, scouting it out, looking, always being 
vigilant to make sure the men I was leading down that path were safe.
  Now, what this 110th Congress has stood up to do and why I am so 
proud of the freshman class for doing is, when we had the emergency 
supplemental, the Iraq supplemental, we said, we will give you, Mr. 
President, every single dime, every single penny that you ask for to 
support the troops, but there is a policy attached.
  No longer is there an open-ended commitment. No longer is there 
unaccountability. This is a different Congress. This is the 110th 
Congress. This is a Congress that will stand strong, stand together, 
even though we know the political attacks are going to come, even 
though we know it takes personal courage, and even though they are 
going to try and distort what we are actually going to try to do. And 
what we are trying to do is to hold the Iraqi people accountable, now, 
over 4 years later.
  At 6:12 a.m. this morning, I got an e-mail from Iraq. It was from a 
former cadet that I got to know who lost his brother on 9/11. He said 
to me, Sir, this is the first time I have ever written you, but he 
said, I want you to know there are legions, legions of junior officers, 
now company commanders, in Iraq and in Afghanistan and all over this 
country that are watching you, that are watching this 110th Congress, 
and that you are saying thank God someone is standing up and speaking 
truth to power. He said, I would never think that 5 years after my 
brother was murdered at the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001 that I 
would stand up against the foreign policy of the United States of 
America when it comes to Iraq. I want you to know that I am keeping you 
in my prayers, and if there is anything, anything I can do to help your 
cause, to put our country back on the right track, I am there.
  That is what is happening with all these Congresspersons here in 
Washington.
  When I get letters from people in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, or 
northeast Philadelphia, and they say, thank God we have a Congressman 
that is going to stand up for us, for our veterans, thank God that they 
are speaking truth to power, that is what is going on. There is a 
movement, and it is a movement again to believe in America, a movement 
again to say, listen, we understand there are coequal branches of the 
government. We understand what the Congress is trying to do. We 
understand they are trying to do what is right.
  And it is not about partisan politics. It is not about Bush 
Republicans versus Democrats. It is not about that.
  I joke. My wife Jenni is at home. I just talked to her on the phone. 
My 4-month-old Maggie just laughed for the first time today. It puts it 
all in perspective.
  But my wife was a lifelong Republican. She still considers herself a 
Republican. She said to me when we first met, and she gave me a hard 
time for being a Democrat, she said, you know, Patrick, I will support 
you, and I will support you for one reason and one reason only, besides 
the fact that I am in love with you. She said, I was a YAFer. That is 
called a Young American for Freedom; it is a conservative wing of the 
Republican Party. She said, the Republican Party left me; I did not 
leave the Republican Party.

  So when I talk about what we have done, what we have accomplished in 
the supplemental bill against all odds, because we remember, we were 
through this when we were voting for this, we understood when they 
said, why are you wasting your time trying to pass this emergency 
supplemental, putting a timeline on Iraq? Why would you do that? You 
know it is not going to pass.
  I was there and talking to the press, and I said, I will give every 
cent, every fiber of my being, to talk to my colleagues together, all 
of us as one, and say how important it is to pass this.
  Then when we passed it against all the odds, when they told us it 
wasn't going to happen, and we passed it, then they said, well, why did 
you do that? The Senate is never going to pass it. The Senate responded 
and the Senate took our bill, and now it is in conference and they 
passed it, also a supplemental bill with a timeline.
  That is why it is so important that all of us do not lose hope, all 
of us continue to stand up and speak truth to power, all of us stand up 
and say, no longer are we just going to have an open-ended commitment 
in Iraq.
  Because when you look at the full spectrum, some people say, bring 
all the troops home tomorrow; we don't care, just bring them all home 
tomorrow. Others say, it is the President, he is infallible; you can't 
ask any tough questions, you can't give him a timeline. You can't 
demand accountability from the Iraqis, who are still sitting on the 
sidelines 4 years later.
  But this 110th Congress, made up of all races, of all sexes, of all 
parties,

[[Page H3679]]

came together and we said, this is a moderate approach, this is an 
approach that will change the direction in Iraq. When we look at how 
almost every day hundreds of people are dying there, and we said to the 
Iraqi people that we will support you, but we will not sit idly by. We 
will not stand idly by and watch you continue to sit on the sidelines, 
when our troops, our men and women who wear the military uniform of our 
country, continue to lead the efforts there when, now, it is 4 years 
later and it is imperative that they stand up for their country.
  Because if we remember when it was the American Revolution, it was 
America's revolution; it was the Americans standing up. When it was the 
American Civil War, it was the Americans fighting each other.
  So that is why all of us in good conscience cannot stand here while 
our brave young men and women serve in places like Iraq and referee a 
religious civil war. That is not what they were supposed to do. That is 
not in the national interests of the United States of America. That 
will not keep our families safe.
  When we all vote, when we all take these so important and these 
crucial votes and these timely votes and these historic votes, when we 
vote for our families and for our constituents, we think about how is 
it going to affect our children and our children's children. How is it 
going to affect my daughter, Maggie Murphy, when she reads in the 
history books what we have done? How is it going to affect who we call 
Joe, that GI Joe, that soldier on the ground in the 138-degree heat in 
Baghdad, those members of the 82nd Airborne Division that I so proudly 
served with that are now back over there on their third deployment?
  When I was there weeks ago, and I know some of my colleagues here 
were also just recently there, I talked to these guys. I talked to the 
guys I served with. I talked to the guys, Sergeant Juan Santiago, who 
left his wife and two kids at home, is now in his third deployment in 
Iraq. I broke bread with him over there.
  I said to him when I was in Baghdad, he used to be Private Santiago, 
now he is Sergeant Santiago, and his nickname is Santi. I had lunch 
with him. I said, ``Santi, what is going on?'' And he said, ``Sir, it 
is like Groundhog Day, but 4 years later. They are still sitting on the 
sidelines. We are still doing everything for them. I don't know what it 
is going to take to get them to come off the sidelines.''
  What it is going to take is the political pressure so we are clear 
and we act as one; that we tell the Iraqis that the 110th Congress is 
different; that the spirit of America is there and we love you, but we 
cannot hold your hand. You need to stand up finally for your country. 
You need to stand up and secure your neighborhoods, secure your street 
corners. You need to be the ones that are leading those convoys up and 
down Ambush Ally, not our troops.
  That is exactly what our supplemental did and what we will do when we 
vote on it after it comes back from conference in just a few days.
  With that, I would now take it back probably to the gentleman from 
Minnesota, Mr. Ellison. Thank you.
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, we are not allowed to clap during these 
things, but I wish we were, because that was amazing, and I really 
thank you for that.
  At this time, I do want to ask Mr. Klein to sort of pick up a little 
bit where Congressman Murphy left off. What did this Congress do to 
make America safer? Could you share that with us?
  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Sure. I listened to Congressman Murphy, and I 
listened to veterans in my home district of Broward and Palm Beach 
Counties, and whether it was World War II, the Korean War or the most 
recent conflicts we are involved in, these are brave men and women that 
put their lives on the line, and they deserve to be supported, both on 
the ground and when they come home.
  I thank you for your service, and I certainly thank your colleagues 
over in Iraq and the men and women that are fighting and protecting our 
freedoms all over the world.

                              {time}  2145

  You know, when I think about September 11, which was a dark day for 
our country, and what happened in our country with the failures that 
allowed these terrorists to attack us, and the deaths, the needless 
deaths that occurred in our major cities, it was an awakening for this 
country. But it was also a time when we had an opportunity to really 
take stock of where our shortcomings were. Where were the intelligence 
failures? Where were the communication failures? Where were the 
vulnerabilities in our airports and our seaports and all these other 
places where people came in from other countries to harm us and kill 
our people in this country?
  And there was a man named Osama bin Laden who is still out there. 
Hard to believe today. When you think about what our number one 
strategy should have been was to find the perpetrator and the 
perpetrators of this terrible, terrible tragedy, and he is still out 
there today. That needs to be rectified.
  But beyond that, I think we all recognize things that came together 
after that; and there was this 9/11 Commission report, which was 
probably one of the most prestigious, important, qualified incredible 
groups that came together, Democrats, Republicans, professionals which 
said, let's figure this out. This isn't a Democrat/Republican issue; it 
is an American issue, and protecting our territory, our homes, our 
streets. And they came up with this 9/11 report. Which, if you haven't 
had a chance to take a look at it, it is not just reading you read 
before you go to bed and it will put you to sleep. This is gripping. 
This is really a very thorough analysis of what we need to do.
  Unfortunately, it was a number of years that passed. Some things were 
adopted from that plan, but many were not. And I don't think it was 
anybody questioning the fact that this was a priority, but it wasn't 
passed. Many of the items weren't passed.
  So one of the things that we said in our campaigns and we took up 
right away, and we are still obviously waiting for the process in 
Washington to be finished, but the House quickly took up the rest of 
the 9/11 Commission report and passed it. And I just want to highlight 
a few key elements.
  We know that there were problems with aviation security. Those 
elements, those recommendations have been adopted. We know that there 
were port problems and port security issues. Most containers that come 
in, substantially most of the containers that come into our ports are 
not inspected. I come from southeast Florida. We have Port of Palm 
Beach and Port Everglades. Port Everglades is a main oil terminal among 
cargo and container in great bulk. Tremendous risk if you happen to be 
anywhere near those areas and something, God forbid, comes in in the 
form of nuclear materials or biohazardous materials or anything else 
that comes into those ports. And this is all over the United States. 
Ownership of the ports. We all know about the Dubai Port issue. That 
has been straightened out through our legislation.
  Certainly the idea of preventing terrorists from even getting into 
this country, visa changes, rules changes, all these things are so 
important. And not to mention the people that are on the ground 
fighting for us every day, our firefighters, our emergency responders, 
our police officers. Every one of us feels very strongly about them. 
And as we grew up and you wanted to be a fireman or you wanted to be a 
policeman, not everybody chose that profession, but, boy, on September 
11 did we as Americans have a newfound respect for what they did for 
us.
  But what we needed to do that wasn't done was to give them the tools, 
the communications tools like they needed in New York and other places 
so they can make sure that they can communicate with each other, and 
that local and State and National Federal intelligence agencies can 
properly share that information. These things have now been passed by 
the House of Representatives, and it was one of the first things we 
did. And that is the right thing to do. And whatever it costs, that 
should be at the top of our budget. People say, well, it is expensive. 
You know something? You prioritize. You say, what is first? Homeland 
security, protecting our troops, making sure they are properly funded. 
And I know that Congressman Yarmuth is going to talk about the 
incredible great work we have done for our veterans.
  These are the things that are our Nation's priorities. These are 
American

[[Page H3680]]

values and America's priorities. And I am very proud that we as the 
freshman class participated with the rest of the Congress, and mostly 
Democrats, and Republicans, came together that said, yes, we are going 
to take care of the American people first. So I just wanted to share 
those elements with you.
  Mr. ELLISON. Congressman Klein, I want to thank you for those 
excellent observations. The American people need to know that this 
110th Congress takes their security and their safety very seriously. We 
are not going to mess around. We believe that the people have a right 
to be safe. In fact, one of the first obligations of government is to 
make the people safe and secure in their homes.
  So you already correctly, Congressman Klein, talked about our 
veterans, and I think it is probably a good idea to talk about what we 
are doing for our veterans. It is one thing to say, support the troops; 
but we have got to talk about really supporting the troops. Congressman 
Yarmuth, can you give us a word on that?
  Mr. YARMUTH. I thank the gentleman from Minnesota. And I would also 
like to echo my great respect and admiration for our colleague from 
Pennsylvania who has spoken so eloquently on various occasions about 
the costs being paid and the sacrifices being made by our great men and 
women overseas, and how much that means to them. And I think this 
Congress has responded to those sympathies and those emotions in what 
we have done to actually support our men and women, our veterans, our 
wounded warriors who have come back from these very troublesome spots 
in the world. And we have done it with more than words, and that is 
what is important.
  In the continuing resolution, as we all know, the prior Congress did 
not pass many of the appropriations bills. They left it up to us to try 
and fund most of the government, and we responded in the best way 
possible: we passed a continuing resolution. But we didn't just pass a 
sustaining fund because we recognized that we needed to embellish those 
funds to take care of our veterans and the increased costs that are 
being incurred by this war we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. So 
what did we do?
  On January 31 when we passed the continuing resolution, we added $3.6 
billion to take care of veterans health care. $3.6 billion. We 
recognized not only our moral obligation to our veterans but also the 
promise that we made to them. This government, the people of this 
country made a promise to those people who volunteered to fight for 
their country that we would take care of them after they left the 
service, we would take care of their health care. This Congress 
recognized and realized and responded to that commitment that we had 
made to them. Unlike prior Congresses, we increased funding by $3.6 
billion.
  But we weren't finished yet. When we passed the supplemental, we 
didn't just give the President what he wanted to perpetuate this war, 
which many of us want to leave, but we said we have men and women who 
are coming back who are wounded, who are seriously wounded. As we have 
seen in Walter Reed, we weren't taking care of them adequately, we 
weren't responding to our commitment to them, our moral obligation to 
them; so we added $1.7 billion more in this supplemental to take care 
of our veterans, to take care of our wounded warriors.

  We understand what supporting our troops means, not just when they 
are under fire when they are in the battlefield, but also when they 
come home after they made that sacrifice. We have a commitment to them. 
We have realized that; we have responded. And I think that the American 
people can be confident that our veterans are being well taken care of 
by the 110th Congress and by subsequent Congresses, too.
  Mr. ELLISON. Thank you, Congressman Yarmuth.
  I want to keep the theme of national security going for a moment, 
because the health of our people is also a national security issue. 
And, again, as we talked about in the very beginning and when we were 
introducing our freshmen who are here tonight, Congressman Kagen did 
speak eloquently about the importance of making sure that our seniors 
have safe and affordable medications.
  Congressman Kagen, can you give us a word about the importance of 
keeping the health and welfare of our people strong?
  Mr. KAGEN. I don't have to remind anyone here that if you don't have 
your health, you don't have anything. If you do serve in harm's way, if 
you are brave and honorable and serve, as many thousands and thousands 
have done. From my district in northeast Wisconsin, 20,034 brave 
Americans, men and women, served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. And when 
we passed the supplemental bill we voted to support our troops before, 
during, and, very importantly, after being in harm's way. We stood up 
to our responsibility. They covered our back. Now it is time we should 
cover theirs.
  It is not just the veterans that need help. Our senior citizens, they 
can't afford their prescription drugs. I came to Congress because one 
time in three when I would write a prescription in my practice, my 
patients could not afford the medication. It wouldn't be on the list, 
their insurance company wouldn't cover it, and they went without. And 
today in America, people listening here tonight are asking this 
Congress, the 110th, to stand up to the drug companies and to the 
health insurance companies and get the job done.
  I think if I stand back a little bit and give a bigger picture to 
what is going on in the 110th Congress, take a look at the class of 
2006, our class, which I consider America's hope, what is the 
difference between what we are doing and the previous Congress? We are 
listening to the people and we are speaking out on their behalf. They 
can't be here tonight, but their voice is being heard.
  The other difference is judgment. I believe it was poor judgment that 
took us into Iraq. It was poor judgment in the administration that 
prevents our people from having affordable prescription drugs and 
affordable insurance. One of the biggest comedies here in America is 
the 47 million people who do not have any health insurance at all. And 
what they haven't figured out is they are paying for everybody's health 
costs because they get to pay the real bill, the top-dollar bill. They 
don't get a discount at all. So we have to change things in America and 
move where we can afford the prescription drugs, where we can afford to 
have insurance coverage for everyone.
  But this 110th Congress, when you talk, Congressman Ellison, about 
security, we also passed a bill, H.R. 327, to help prevent suicide in 
veterans. Now, in my district that will help 64,000 veterans in 
northeast Wisconsin alone.
  We also enacted the 9/11 Commission on Homeland Security 
recommendations, H.R. 1. That will help 245 police and fire departments 
throughout my district.
  We also passed a bill, H.R. 4, that would require the Secretary of 
Health to negotiate for lower prices for our seniors for their 
prescription drugs. In my district alone, that helps 68,000 senior 
citizens, if only the Senate would put that language in and if only the 
HHS Secretary would be so kind as to use his buying group to negotiate 
for lower drugs.
  I think you can look for positive movement from the 110th Congress. 
We are not afraid to back down from any interest that harms those that 
we serve.
  Mr. ELLISON. Thank you, Dr. Kagen, our fellow Congressman who we are 
so proud of.
  And I think it is now a good time, my colleagues, we have gone over 
what we have done. There is much, much more. We can't go over 
everything because we have just been that busy. But it is time to talk 
about a direction. We have got to write the vision and then pursue it.
  And I want to ask you, Congressman Hodes from the great State of New 
Hampshire, to talk about where we are going. We can't just rest on our 
laurels, though we have done pretty good so far. We need to talk about 
where we are heading.
  Mr. HODES. I thank you, Mr. Ellison. You know, I couldn't help when I 
was listening to Patrick Murphy, a brave veteran who served his country 
and came to Congress and is serving again, continuing his service, to 
think about how touched I was when he talked about his new baby. 
Because, really, what we are talking about here is a vision for this 
country and a vision

[[Page H3681]]

for the world that is going to take us on into the 21st century, 
because we face challenging new times. Things have changed in this 
country, and the American people know it. And in many ways they are far 
ahead of the politicians, they are far ahead of many of us. They 
understand that things have changed in this country.
  The conflicts we face are different kinds of conflicts. It is no 
longer nation against nation. We face threats from a shadowy network of 
people, terrorists who would do us harm. And we have to be strong to be 
able to fight terrorism.
  But what does being strong mean in the 21st century? The American 
people have demanded a new direction. They have demanded a new way to 
defend our country. They want us to fight terrorism, and we intend to 
fight terrorism; but we intend to do it with a greater focus on those 
who attacked us on 9/11, with a greater focus on homeland security, on 
making sure that we are keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of 
terrorists. Perhaps the greatest threat we face, which went by the 
boards because of this administration's preoccupation with fighting the 
wrong war in Iraq which has diverted us from really focusing on the 
concentrated effort we need from law enforcement, from intelligence, 
from military, from diplomacy, from the soft power that America, has 
been extending our cultural ideals and principles out into the world to 
show people that we are not merely going to bully people with weapons, 
but we are also going to stand on our ideals and principles.
  So defending our country and staying strong means making sure that we 
have a responsible strategy to disengage from Iraq so we can deal with 
Afghanistan, and Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden is still hiding out, 
still directing al Qaeda; so that we can do what we need to do to go 
back and finish the job that this administration left unfinished. That 
is what defending our country means, because this war in Iraq, as 
everybody in this country is seeing, has left us weaker. It has caused 
more terrorism, more death, more disdain for the United States.

                              {time}  2200

  I am sorry for that. We want to see us return to the place in the 
world where people care about us because of our values and our 
principles, and that is one of the most important things that we are 
going to do in this 110th Congress.
  We are going to improve our military readiness by making sure that we 
are going to rebuild a 21st century force, capable of projecting power 
and our ideals to protect our country and our interests, and that means 
new thinking. It means new thinking about how we deal with the 
conflicts we are in, how we deal with the conflicts in the future.
  It means part of the reason that we hope the President takes his cue 
from the American people and faces the reality of the mess that he has 
made and changes direction is so that we can rebuild our military to 
make sure that we can face the conflicts of the future.
  We are going to demand accountability, and we are going to end the 
rubber-stamp approach to congressional oversight of the war in Iraq and 
we have started to do that. We are going to continue to do that. We are 
going to fight the war on terrorism, and we are going to hold our own 
government accountable for failed policies. We are going to respond to 
the American people who want a new direction, and we are going to 
deliver on homeland security.
  That is the first way. That is the first thing on our agenda. It is a 
new vision of what it means to be strong. It is a new vision of what it 
means to defend our country.
  We can have all the military might in the world and we do. We spend 
more in our budget than all the rest of the world combined spends on 
defense, and I ask, you has it made us safer? Have the policies of this 
administration made us safer? The answer is no.
  We see there has got to be a new direction. We see there has got to 
be a new vision, and that is what Democrats are bringing to this 110th 
Congress when it comes to defending our country and keeping us strong. 
There is a new definition of national security, and that is what we are 
all about.
  Mr. ELLISON. I thank Congressman Hodes. Let me now just ask 
Congressman Klein, what about our energy future? What are we going to 
do into the next decade? We have seen all kinds of challenges with 
global climate change. We do not want to be depending upon unstable 
regimes around the world. How can Americans trust that this 110th 
Congress, this Democratic-led Congress, actually makes sure that we 
ensure our energy future.
  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Well, that is an interesting question, and I 
think we should look back the last few years.
  The President in his State of the Union address about a year ago 
correctly said we are addicted to oil. I think everybody understood 
what he meant by that, and yet Congress, a number of months later, 
passed an energy bill which gave billions of dollars to energy 
companies and subsidized more oil drilling.
  Now, oil will always be a part of the energy policy of the United 
States, but this notion that oil is our way out, to me, is just 
ridiculous. This is interesting because when I have been speaking at 
schools back home, and I am sure you have been doing the same thing, 
and I want to talk to our young population, our students, as well as 
our adults.
  The calling of this generation is to move toward making this country 
energy independent. It goes right directly to what Representative Hodes 
was talking about, defend our country. The number one thing that we 
should do to ensure that we are defending our country is making sure 
that we are not continually dependent on importing oil from countries 
that are not reliable partners, and whether that is Middle East 
countries or Venezuela or any other country if you have been following 
around the world where we are daily bringing in 60 percent of our oil 
in the form of imports, that is a dangerous prospect and a dangerous 
policy.
  So what we can do about it? We can focus, just like in the past, the 
attention of the American people, our scientists, our public sector, 
our private entrepreneurs, our people that have great vision and say, 
what can we do to make ourselves energy independent? Is it solar, is it 
wind, is it wave, is it thermal, is it any combination of science that 
can go along with this?
  We put a man on the moon when said John F. Kennedy said, we are going 
to fight against the Sputnik, that little can that went up into space. 
We created the Manhattan project, that we knew it was a matter of our 
national security to make sure that we developed a nuclear weapon, it 
was an atomic weapon at that time, to make sure that we would end World 
War II successfully. That was a commitment that Americans, with our 
ingenuity and our science, put that all together.
  Well, I do not think there is anybody who is listening tonight does 
not believe that Americans, if they put their nose to the grindstone 
and we make our commitments as consumers, as scientists, as public and 
private people, that we cannot accomplish that same goal. It is a 
matter of national security. It is a matter of our environment. You 
already mentioned this, global warming, and the science, the carbon 
dioxide and all those things, and it is also a matter of a new economy.
  We think about jobs for the next generation, the science, that we can 
lead the world and export our technology and be successful.
  A new energy policy is the calling of our generation, and I hope and 
I believe, based on the freshman class, by the way, the freshman class 
of Democrats and Republicans coming in and listening very closely to 
the public, I think there is a great opportunity for us to all work 
together and change it from just an energy policy that is dependent on 
oil to one that will really improve our environment, create new jobs 
and really protect us in this next century.
  Mr. ELLISON. I thank the Congressman. Now in the last five minutes of 
our evening tonight, I want to just throw it over to Congressman Kagen 
again who really is very versatile, can speak on any issue, but I want 
to ask you if you would to simply comment on care for our children and 
our families.
  We have seen over these last several years children and families 
really face some difficult times. We need to project a greater vision 
for our children and families. Can you speak to

[[Page H3682]]

what the people can expect in this Congress for our children and our 
families.
  Mr. KAGEN. Well, I would say, first of all, thanks to Congressman 
Klein for pointing the way forward about becoming an energy independent 
Nation. In a bipartisan statement, I will tell you Republicans can grow 
corn just as good as the Democrats, but we cannot grow our way out of 
this energy crisis. It will take technology and innovation to get off 
of dependence on foreign sources of oil.
  But our families and our children are really at risk of this new 
economy that we have. We really have to get back to the basics in 
America.
  It is really amazing that it is the Democrats that are the fiscally 
responsible party here when you think about it. Think about the old 
laborers. We are the fiscally responsible party. We do not believe in 
borrow and spend. So there are four deficits in America that I will 
point out tonight to you and have you respond to.
  The first deficit is a savings deficit. Our families are not saving 
any money. For the first time since the Great Depression, 1933, we had 
a negative savings rate last year.
  Second deficit we had is a budget deficit. Last year, our budget 
deficit was over $250 billion, and if you throw in the $175 billion 
that we credited from Social Security, it is over $400 billion on every 
citizen's head. Every working man and woman has a Federal deficit of 
$425,000.
  The third deficit is our balance of trade deficit. China has an 
advantage on us or, shall I say, Communist China where their government 
will invest illegally in corporations, and that puts every manufacturer 
in this country at a competitive disadvantage by 30 percent right out 
of the box.
  The fourth deficit we had until last November was a deficit of 
leadership, leadership that would stand up, put their foot down and say 
there is a better way of doing things.
  I think you will find our Class of 2006 will work together with all 
parties to fashion a better future forward. By working together, we 
will build a better future and a better Nation for everyone and every 
man, woman and child in this country.
  Mr. ELLISON. That is right. Let me say these last remaining moments, 
just go around quickly, say good night to the folks, and those 
deficits, we are going to be filling quite quickly. I just want to 
throw it to Congressman Hodes as we begin to wrap up tonight.
  Mr. HODES. I appreciate the opportunity to be with you all tonight 
and talk about where we have been, where we are and we are going to 
take this country.
  We are going to defend our country and we are going to grow our 
economy, care for our children and families. We are going to protect 
our planet with a 21st century energy policy. We are going to deal with 
energy independence and global climate change. We have restored 
accountability, and we are going to keep on restoring accountability 
because in this 21st century we are in a global economy.
  The Democrats and the new majority here in Congress are committed to 
growing our economy in a way that really spreads opportunities to 
everybody. It means fair trade policies that incorporate fair 
environmental and labor standards so that every American worker can 
operate on the same playing field.
  We are going to grow the economy. We are going to invest in research 
and development. We are going to make sure that we are moving this 
country forward.
  So it has been a great time to be with you tonight.
  Mr. ELLISON. I go to Congressman Klein for a few final words.
  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank you for being here 
tonight. It has been a pleasure to be with this freshman class, I look 
forward to continuing to work on all these items and more, and look 
forward to working with our people back home and making sure we are 
listening to their ideas, as we have been, and just continuing to move 
our country forward.
  Mr. ELLISON. Congressman Kagen.
  Mr. KAGEN. You can look forward to good judgment from the 110th 
Congress on both sides of the aisle. We have got a great leader, Madam 
Speaker  Nancy Pelosi, who has a steel spine, and she will keep us on 
this path of fiscal responsibility and being socially responsible.
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, we are going to wrap it up right now.
  I want you to know that this class of 2006, this 110th Congress, is 
pointing the way forward for a better America today, tomorrow and in 
the future. Thank you all very much.

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