[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
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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
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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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