[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 63 (Thursday, April 19, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H3688-H3691]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE 30-SOMETHING WORKING GROUP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania).

[[Page H3689]]

Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 18, 2007, the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Meek) is recognized for 25 minutes.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to address the 
House. And it is always good to definitely come down to the floor and 
not only have a good discussion with our colleagues on the other side 
of the aisle but also all general Members of the Congress.
  And I must say that, as you know, those of us that are members of the 
30-Something Working Group come to the floor with fact and not fiction 
about what is happening in this country.
  I had the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to join the Commandant of the 
Marine Corps tonight at his residence as we had a send-off dinner for 
the 15th Command Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, the highest 
enlisted Marine. And I know, sir, that you would have loved to have 
been there. It was a joyous occasion, and we definitely commend those 
men and women that are in harm's way, and that even those that are 
stateside are prepared to do what they need to do on behalf of this 
great country of ours.
  Mr. Speaker, there was some debate earlier today about the 
legislative action to put forth conferees on the emergency defense 
supplemental bill, the emergency bill, to make sure that we are able to 
meet the needs of our men and women in harm's way and also other 
emergencies in the country. And I think it is very important for the 
first time in the history of this war, as far as I am concerned, or in 
this whole war, that we have had an opportunity to have a discussion.
  There was great debate going back and forth from the Democratic side 
to the Republican side and arguments with some folks saying within this 
Chamber, well, why do we have to have language in the bill that may tie 
the President's hands?
  Well, I must say that in this bill, in this emergency supplemental 
defense bill, there is nothing tying the President's hands. The 
President is still commander in chief. The Congress still respects his 
authority. And I think it is important for everyone to understand that 
in this emergency supplemental bill, defense emergency supplemental 
bill, that it is important that Members understand that in this bill 
the requirements that are there are already requirements that are 
adopted by the Department of Defense as it relates to the time that 
National Guard and reservists and active duty Marines, sailors, airmen, 
seamen and -women, Coast Guard, you name it, are supposed to be in-
state with their families or in-country with their families versus 
deployed. That is one thing.
  The second thing is to make sure that they have the necessary 
equipment and resources that they need. Mr. Murtha speaks constantly 
about being in a Stryker Brigade and what it takes in a Stryker. The 
driver, the commander, the gunner, others, you have to be trained in 
those positions, not just, hey, you come over here, we need you in that 
vehicle now. The kind of equipment that protects and saves lives is 
very, very important. And our work is not done; we are still having men 
and women in theater. When I say ``in theater,'' I just want to break 
it down and make sure everyone understands those that are in Iraq and 
Afghanistan still dying.

                              {time}  2315

  Last week, there was a great debate about other news issues that were 
out there; one here in the United States, major news story, and one in 
the Bahamas, major news story. Meanwhile, back here at the ranch and in 
Iraq, we had four Marines die on that very day. It was just a blip, and 
then back to the stories of conversation of that day or of that week. 
And being inoculated to the fact that we are losing those that 
volunteer to protect this country and serve this country is something 
that we cannot get used to and something that we cannot tolerate.
  And so having conferees to even have a good discussion, a bipartisan 
discussion on what we should send to the President representing both 
sides of this Chamber, and the Senate doing the same thing that we have 
taken action today to do I think is good for the country. It is not 
good for Democrats, it is not in place for Republicans, it is good for 
the country and those that we are sending these dollars towards.
  In the middle of that dinner, I left to come back to vote, to make 
sure that we are able to give the conferees instructions that the 
majority of the House wish to have given them. And not only the 
commandant, but Command Sergeant Major Estrada said, Sir, we don't want 
to stop you from doing what you need to do because our men and women 
need it. And I was glad to be able to cast a vote in the affirmative.
  I think as we begin to look at the politics of the funding of the war 
and the politics of the discussion, I think we have to remember first 
we are Americans. We are both members of the Armed Services Committee. 
There are Members who are not on the Armed Services Committee, but on 
other defense-related committees and Homeland Security committees. We 
know that bipartisanship has to be paramount in those committees.
  Mr. Speaker, I said in the last Congress, I will digress here for a 
moment, I said in the 109th Congress that bipartisanship can only be 
allowed when the majority allows it. And I think under the leadership 
that we have now and the votes that we have taken, Mr. Speaker, on 
major issues, it allows bipartisanship. That is not just what I am 
saying; that's what I know because the Congressional Record reflects 
that history or that track record, one may say, of how Republicans and 
Democrats have voted in a bipartisan way with the Democratic leadership 
allowing those bills to come to the floor, implementing all of the 
recommendations of 9/11 bill, raising the minimum wage, making sure 
that we deal with the issues of stem cell research, and also making 
sure that there are more affordable drugs for seniors, prescription 
drugs, and cutting student loans, bipartisan vote, creating long-term 
energy initiatives, bipartisan votes, Mr. Speaker.
  So I am not down here talking about what may happen. I heard some of 
my colleagues on the other side talking about tax increases and 
everything. You know, that is fiction. I mean, with all due respect, 
that's fiction. What I do know, Mr. Speaker, because the only thing 
that the American people, the only thing that really works in my House 
is the record. And this is before the break, and this is not even now. 
As a matter of fact, this was through 3/26/2007. Even talking about the 
votes that we have taken here in Congress, the kind of votes that we 
have put forth, Mr. Speaker, we had to pass and we had to finish the 
work of the Republicans in the 109th Congress.
  They didn't even pass all of the appropriations bills. We had to pass 
a continuing resolution to make sure that the government doesn't shut 
down, to say that we will put aside Member projects and priorities back 
home. And that is very important to all of us because why are we here? 
We are here to represent our individual districts, but we put America 
first. And we said we will pass a continuing resolution. As a matter of 
fact, while we're at it, we will put $3.2-plus billion in for veterans 
health care into the system. And guess what? The Walter Reed story 
broke 2 weeks after that.
  I am so happy that the leadership was taken not only by our 
Appropriations Committee chairman, but by the leadership of this House. 
And we did it, and it was natural. And it wasn't political; it wasn't a 
reaction to something. It was the fact that we knew there was a major 
void there and we needed to correct it after amendment and amendment 
and the minority and the Republican Congress in last Congress.
  So when I hear Members come to the floor and kind of say what sounds 
good to the American people, I just like to come with the facts, and 
the facts are this: as of 3/29 of this year, roll call votes, if you 
look at the 107th Congress. And Mr. Speaker, I want to break this down, 
when we say 107th Congress, that means 2 years of Congress; 108th 
Congress, 2 years of Congress. This is something that we call it the 
``do-nothing Congress'' because many media outlets called it that 
because we spent more time doing nothing than here representing the 
American people.
  At that time, as of 3/29 of 2007, at that time 2 years ago, there 
were only 90 roll call votes. Under the ``new direction Congress,'' 
which is the 110th Congress, there has already been 189 roll call 
votes. This is when we are here to

[[Page H3690]]

work, when we are here to have committee meetings, when we are here to 
hear from the experts, when we are here to hear exactly what America 
has to share with us.
  One last point, and then I want to address one more issue, Mr. 
Speaker.
  I think it is important, when we started talking about the budget, we 
need to take that very seriously because there has been a lot going on 
in the last 12 years and a lot going on since President Bush has taken 
the White House and had a ``rubber stamp Congress,'' and those that 
said, well, you write it, we will pass it, without any questions and 
very few hearings. And now, Mr. Speaker, here in Washington, DC, we are 
having a lot of hearings, and it is benefiting the American people. It 
is not benefiting the Republican minority or benefiting the Democratic 
majority. It is benefiting this institution which we call the U.S. 
House of Representatives.
  And I think it is very, very important that we allow Americans' 
dreams to come true. And many of their dreams are around good 
government, many of their dreams are around accountability, and many of 
their dreams are around making sure that the people they send to 
Washington, DC are watching out for their tax dollars and their 
investment.
  I had a constituent visit me today, as a matter of fact, they were 
young constituents, and I had them in the gallery. They weren't even of 
the age of 10 yet, but they were happy to see their Congressman. And I 
was happy to take time. I canceled a couple of meetings and I took the 
personal time to make sure that those young Americans understood what 
this institution was all about. And they really appreciated it. They 
asked a lot of great questions, some that I told them I had to get back 
to them on. But being a father myself of young children, I know that 
children have some of the best minds that we have and we have to 
protect them. But they were asking serious questions not only about the 
war in Iraq, but about education and about the environment. And I think 
that is the reason why we have to put in the best service possible.
  But let me just share something, since I am talking about children. I 
heard our colleague a few moments ago talking about the budget. And I 
can tell you, Mr. Speaker, if I could talk about the budget 23 hours of 
a 24-hour day, I would, because it needs to be talked about. And 
something needs to happen to it in the affirmative on behalf of the 
American people, and something has happened. It has happened in a way 
that I will assure you that those that run around and say, well, you 
know, your taxes are going up. Your taxes are not going up. I mean, I 
am going to tell you that right now. The bottom line is that we have 
accountability in this budget; we are going to work to take this 
deficit down.
  And let me just talk about what is happening here. The interest 
payments on the debt, and this is 2008 budget, when we look at what we 
pay down on the debt, now you have to remember, 12 years of Republican 
control here in this House, 12 years of borrow-as-we-go, Mr. Speaker. 
And I think it is important that the Members understand, borrow-as-we-
go, not pay-as-we-go, what we passed here on this floor in the majority 
with some Members of the Republican side, because I do say some of my 
colleagues on the Republican side first do understand that they 
represent their constituents, that someone woke up early Tuesday 
morning at about 7 a.m. to go cast a vote for representation, not 
casting a vote to be loyal to the Republican conference, and on this 
side, Democratic conference or what have you. But let's just make sure 
that we represent the people that we were sent up here to represent.

  Let's just talk here for a minute what we pay on the interest rate on 
the debt. And this is in the billions. This is what we pay on the debt. 
That is a little bit over $200 billion. And I just want to point this 
out, Mr. Speaker, here in this light blue box here is education. You 
would assume this would be education. No, this is education. We 
actually have to pay down more on the debt because of the out-of-
control debt. And we had surpluses as far as the eye can see after the 
Clinton administration, after the Democratic Congress, without one 
Republican vote, balanced the budget, and everyone made money and 
everyone had money just about. Welfare reform took place. States had 
dollars to be able to invest in areas, and some areas were able to give 
tax cuts to the American people in their State.
  But, no, after that we decided, well, the majority, the Republican 
majority, decided to borrow all they could. And now they are upset 
because they can't borrow anymore. But this is what we are investing, 
well under $100 billion. Veterans, right there, below education, that 
is in the green. That is what we are investing in veterans health care. 
Not only health care, but veterans period as it relates to their 
benefits.
  Homeland Security, down there in the purple, we are talking about 
protecting the homeland. That is what is invested in the homeland.
  So you really have to look at this for what it's worth. And all of 
this is verified with third-party validators when we look at these 
numbers.
  Mr. Speaker, where is the money coming from? Well, that is another 
good question. These are the dollars of what has happened under the 
amount of foreign-held debt, more than doubled under the Bush 
administration. Look at the numbers: here is 2001, 2002, 2003. Keep 
going. We are just borrowing money, foreign nations. We never owed this 
in the history of the Republic. I am not saying, well, this 
administration did it or that administration. In the history of the 
Republic since we have been a country, this has never happened.
  And these numbers are in the billions. Someone may look at this and 
say, well, 1, 849, that's not bad for foreign debt. No. Why don't you 
try in the billions. And in 2005, up again. In 2006, up again. Foreign 
nations giving this country money to pay down on irresponsible 
spending, not worrying about it, but putting it on a high interest 
credit card.
  This is my last chart on the debt. And I think, Mr. Speaker, this 
comes down to what I was talking about earlier when I said in the 
Democratic Congress without one Republican vote, and the Clinton 
administration, what took place. This surplus declined by $8.4 trillion 
under the President's policies. And we had a surplus of $5.6 trillion, 
and now we are under $2.8 trillion under the Republican policy.
  So when we have Members come, and I encourage Members to come to the 
floor. I always say, Mr. Speaker, on both sides of the aisle that it is 
important that we have accurate information when we come to the floor. 
Take the time out and reflect, take a look at the Congressional Record, 
ask staff to pull together numbers and give you third-party validators. 
I think that's so very, very important.
  This other chart makes it even clearer, Mr. Speaker. We love charts. 
I mean, the people that are in the chart business, I know they are 
happy because we love charts. But we had to break this down because we 
had to communicate with the Members. I don't want Members going back to 
their district saying, well, Ms. Johnson, if Ms. Johnson was to ask a 
Member of Congress, either he or she, well, why did you vote against 
such a thing that would decrease the debt that we have and no longer 
allow us to continue to borrow money? Why did you vote against 
something like that? Why would you vote against the emergency 
supplemental to send money to the troops? Why would you do these 
things?
  I just want to make sure Members understand. I always share with 
Members, don't worry about what someone in this Chamber may say about 
your vote. You need to worry about what the people in your district 
will say about your vote when it comes down to these very, very 
important issues.

                              {time}  2330

  This even goes further, Mr. Speaker, and it really highlights the 
countries that we are borrowing this money from. Japan at the lead of 
the pack, this is in the billions. $644.3 billion. China. Think about 
it. China, $349.6 billion. China. Red China.
  Now, what is going to happen when we get off a plane in China and 
start talking to the Chinese government about what they are doing to 
their currency, how they are using their currency against U.S. 
companies to be able to devalue their products so that they can sell it 
for a cheaper price and take away American jobs. And we go there with a 
great case. Meanwhile, while we are talking, I am pretty sure

[[Page H3691]]

the Chinese government will be looking at the U.S. Government, 
including the President of the United States, and say, wait a minute, 
you owe me money. You are going to get off the plane and start telling 
me what to do? We are lending money to you. We are giving you money. We 
are giving you money because you mismanaged.
  I am smiling while I am saying it, but is a sad testimony to the 
management of this country, and I think it is very, very important if 
we say we are patriots, we have to make sure those children, and I was 
walking around this Capitol today, can have their chest out even 
further out than I have my chest out being a Member of Congress and 
being in this country, without having other countries being able to say 
we own a piece of the American apple pie.
  We want to make sure that everyone feels good about what is happening 
here. But I can tell you right now, we must, not ``we should'' or ``we 
need to do,'' we must reverse this chart. We must no longer allow 
countries, and I am just talking about China, Taiwan, OPEC countries. 
Who are OPEC countries? They are countries that we have conflicts in 
right now. Iraq is an OPEC country. We have other countries that are of 
concern to this country that are OPEC countries.
  I filled up my truck just the other day, $3.07 here in Washington, 
DC, leave alone other parts of the country. I hate to start getting e-
mails about, that was cheap, Congressman.
  So you have to think about these issues. We have only been here, we 
haven't even had 6 months to be able to manage this government, to be 
able to say let's have the discourse, to be able to say, well, it is 
important, Members, that we owe the American people the opportunity for 
a debate.
  This is the first time that the President has actually had to 
negotiate. And we live in a democracy. Some people forgot.
  Wait a minute. What do you mean they are sitting down at the White 
House to talk about the emergency supplemental? That just happened. 
What is the discussion? Then you have some Members coming down saying, 
how dare you disagree with the President?
  The last time I checked, I was emancipated long ago, and I think it 
is important when George Washington's face at the top of the Rotunda, 
as his image looks down to the bottom of the Rotunda where you have a 
white dot here which is the center of this democracy, Washington, DC, 
we have to remember there are individuals that died, individuals that 
are in wheelchairs, that have allowed us to have the kind of platform 
to be able to have the discussion with the President of the United 
States and other Members of Congress about emergency supplementals, 
especially when we are in the fifth year of a conflict with over $500 
billion of U.S. taxpayer money invested.
  I have mayors coming to me and saying, Congressman, this is what I 
need in my district. Meanwhile, we are sitting here looking at 
discretionary spending, saying it is not there. We have two wars going 
on, and the President doesn't want us to ask any questions. Meanwhile, 
I have cities that have to have an office of accountability to respond 
to every Federal grant that they get. They have to check off more than 
the folks in Baghdad have to check off. Something is wrong.
  So when we look at these issues, that is the reason why we are on the 
floor at this time of night, not only sharing with the Members, but 
also sharing with the American people. Regardless of your party 
affiliation, you must be concerned and focus on what is happening here 
in Washington, DC.
  Yes, we are all tired, and, yes, we all have other things to do. But 
while we have this issue of accountability, making sure that we move in 
a new direction, like the American people have said, I think it is 
very, very important.
  So I came down to the floor, Mr. Speaker, just for a moment, just to 
share with the Members that you have to pay very, very close attention 
to the debate and what is taking place.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the leadership for allowing me to have 
the opportunity to come to the floor. As you know, we always come to 
the floor, week after week, to share good information with the Members 
and the American people. It was a pleasure addressing the House.

                          ____________________