[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 6, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H6100-H6107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       30-SOMETHING WORKING GROUP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ellsworth). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Meek) is recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker; and it is an 
honor to come to the floor once again. My good colleagues that have, we 
come to the floor working on behalf of the 30-Something Working Group; 
and I can just attest that it's just great to be an American and have 
an opportunity to share our thoughts and ideas and concerns.
  As you know, the 30-Something Working Group, we come to the floor to 
shed light on the action of the House and to talk about this new 
direction that we fought so hard for last November, especially on the 
Democratic side of the aisle, to move this country in a new direction 
and exactly what the American people have called for. So we're excited.
  I'm glad to have Mr. Altmire and also Mr. Murphy here with me 
tonight. And I know that Mr. Murphy has been pulling almost a double 
duty here. I understand he was Acting Speaker a little earlier tonight.
  And I had the opportunity, while you were in the Chair, to join 
Speaker Pelosi celebrating her 20th year of public service, 20 years 
here in the House. There were a number of great Speakers that were 
there, honored her family for allowing her to serve this great country 
of ours, and also recognizing the fact that she's history as being the 
first female Speaker. But also there were people like Patti LaBelle 
there, and just a really star-studded event. She deserves that honor 
and that appreciation; and constituents also, I'm pretty sure, are 
pretty happy and proud. All Americans are.
  With that, I, of course, we, Mr. Speaker, we and mainly as of late, 
talking about Iraq, and as we speak

[[Page H6101]]

here on the floor, there's a major debate going on just across the hall 
in the Senate dealing with comprehensive immigration reform. Just in 
the last 6 months, we have done so much and we've talked about so much 
and we've taken action on so many different issues; and I know that Mr. 
Murphy and Mr. Altmire and I will be addressing many of those issues 
tonight.
  This is our first time since the Memorial Day break, and I had a 
wonderful opportunity to attend a NATO conference, parliamentary, that 
the Speaker appointed me and I think 12 other Members of the House, 
bipartisan, spent some time over in Portugal meeting with some of our 
European Union partners there, and had the opportunity to go to Tunisia 
to honor those World War II veterans that are, or honor those that paid 
the ultimate sacrifice. It's the only U.S. cemetery on the continent of 
Africa; and it was so very, very special and touching, just as an 
American and as a Member of Congress, to go there and lay a wreath on 
behalf of those that paid the ultimate sacrifice.
  And then having, and still having, Mr. Speaker, the opportunity to 
come back here and join with my family, who's here in Washington, go 
down to the World War II Memorial, which had Tunisia and all of the 
different countries where World War II, we had fighting and men and 
women lost their lives, to make that connection, all in a 5-day span, 
is something great as an American.

                              {time}  2215

  I just want to share that with the Members of the House. And we know 
that one of our soldiers just today, one of the soldiers who was found 
in Iraq was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery, and we know that there 
are two that are still missing of the recent ones that were missing 
from the IED that exploded recently in Iraq. So we paid honor to those 
that have paid the ultimate sacrifice and their families and also to 
those veterans that served beside them. And it was such a great week, 
and I know that many of the Members had an opportunity to go back to 
their districts to celebrate the life of those that paid the ultimate 
sacrifice.
  With that, Mr. Murphy, I would like to yield to you, sir.
  Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the 
gentleman from Florida for yielding.
  You know, it is funny. This is my first time as a member of the 30-
Something Group, and I know I am the puppy of the group because I am 
only 33 years old. So when I ran for Congress, I had tremendous support 
from the network community, those bloggers out there all across 
America. But there are bloggers, especially in Philadelphia and greater 
Philadelphia and the suburbs that blog every day, and they got so 
excited when the 30-Something Group was their voice when you were in 
the minority. Your voice in talking about progressive values, talking 
about the things in the New Direction, that if we were just given the 
chance, we would lead. And when we got that chance just a few months 
ago in the 110th Congress, those bloggers, that network community, are 
just so proud of their efforts. And it is neat for me to be here to 
think that when we had a rebirth in our country and Philadelphia, the 
city of Philadelphia was part of that rebirth and to know that six of 
the ten biggest bloggers in our country are from Philadelphia and the 
Philadelphia suburbs. People like Chris Bowers of MyDD and Duncan Black 
of Atrios and how they are following the 30-Something Group every day 
and to be part of this group now is just a really proud moment.
  And another proud moment that the gentleman from Florida mentioned is 
the fact that today is the 20th anniversary of the public service of 
the Speaker of the House, Ms. Nancy Pelosi from California. And when I 
was in this body just a few months ago speaking and taking that oath of 
office, taking that oath to support and defend the Constitution of the 
United States as a Member of Congress, and when I was there with my 
wife, Jenni, and my 6-month old, at that time a month old, daughter, 
Maggie Murphy, and I know, Mr. Speaker, that they are watching at home 
on C-SPAN because I am down here trying to work on behalf of our great 
country, I know that I was thinking of not just the folks that are over 
in Iraq, those men that I served with or those men that I had taught 
when I was a professor at West Point, but I thought about my month-old 
daughter, Maggie, and I thought about what an incredible story it is 
that when she was born into this great country, the third most powerful 
person is a woman, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  And I thought about a role model. Here is this Italian Catholic woman 
originally from Baltimore, now in San Francisco, and the criticism 
about the Speaker before she got in here was that she wasn't going to 
do a good job or she was going to lead from the left. She has really 
made this a House united. She has reached across the aisle to the 
Republicans. She has tried to lead in a moderate fashion, and I think 
we have to give her a lot of credit. I know the analysts have said that 
she is getting high marks as the Speaker, and I know that I am proud 
that she is our Speaker and I am proud to serve under her leadership.
  I will keep my remarks relatively brief. It is my maiden voyage here 
with the 30-Something Group, and I am joined as well with one of my 
brothers, the other Murphy, Chris Murphy, who is the elder statesman 
from Connecticut, who is a whole, I think, 30 some days older than I 
am, and I know tonight the Speaker Pro Tempore is the gentleman from 
the great State of Indiana, the sheriff, but tonight I want to speak 
about the New Direction that we are bringing about.
  Finally, the rubber stamp Congress of the past is gone and the do 
something Congress is here. And we all campaigned in saying that we 
were going to hold President Bush accountable. And I had served in 
Baghdad as a captain with the 82nd Airborne Division, and I am so proud 
of my military service. My father served during Vietnam in the Navy. My 
grandfather served. My brother is still serving in the Air Force. And I 
think back to those times and what you come to expect of the Congress. 
And our men and women who are serving so honorably fight for our 
country. They fight to support and defend the Constitution of the 
United States, and they execute the public policy as it is drafted and 
implemented here in Washington.
  And I know that I get e-mails from Iraq and Afghanistan and those 
heroes talk about sometimes they don't know what the policy necessarily 
should be, but what they do appreciate is the fact that we are actually 
having a debate, that we are actually asking the tough questions 
necessary. So when we talk about a New Direction in this 110th 
Congress, when we talk about accountability, part of that is what we 
just passed out of the Armed Services Committee with the defense 
appropriations bill. Talking about in Iraq when we give the Iraqis 
support, why is it that 4 years later they are still, for the most 
part, sitting on the sidelines? Why is it that we gave them pallets and 
pallets, crates and crates of literally U.S. money and pallets stacked 
this high, shipped it over to Baghdad, gave it out, and billions and 
billions of dollars are simply missing?
  When we talk about accountability, we have to talk about the weapons 
that we have given the Iraqis. In the United States military, and I 
joined it back in 1993, we are taught pretty early that your weapon is 
your best friend. There was even a cadence that I used to sing when I 
would jog in the morning and run troops, ``I used to date a beauty 
queen; now I date my M-16.'' And it is kind of funny, but it is true in 
that you are always around your weapon. It is part of that 
accountability. If you lose your weapon, that is the end of your 
career. You will be lucky if you don't get court-martialed.

  But how that relates to Iraq is we have given the Iraqis 14,000 
weapons, AK-47s, M-16s, that are now missing. Think about that. We have 
given 14,000 weapons to the Iraqis that are completely missing, 
unaccounted for. That is not the accountability that our taxpayers are 
expecting. That is not the accountability that we should be expecting 
when we fight the war on terror because when you give billions of 
dollars over in Iraq, when you give 14,000 weapons to Iraq that are now 
just missing, that affects the lives of our soldiers. And we cannot 
stand for that.
  I would also like to talk about accountability when it comes to 
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Almost 6 years ago,

[[Page H6102]]

our Nation was attacked by Osama bin Laden. Thousands of innocent 
civilians, innocent Americans were murdered on September 11 of 2001. 
The culprit: Osama bin Laden. He was in Afghanistan. He trained al 
Qaeda, and al Qaeda was really given a free pass by the government 
there, the Taliban. And we made a decision. We got a coalition. We got 
Canada and all these other countries going in there in Afghanistan to 
do the job. And then a short time later, President Bush said, no, let's 
change our focus to Iraq. Well, we have ten times more troops now in 
Iraq now than in Afghanistan. And when we talk about accountability, 
you have to ask the question, what are we doing to get Osama bin Laden? 
Why is it that we give Pakistan billions of dollars? We actually give 
Pakistan $80 million a month because we have intelligence that is 
unclassified that we can talk about here in this setting that Osama bin 
Laden is in Afghanistan and possibly on the border of Pakistan. So we 
need Pakistan's help as an ally.
  Why is it that President Musharraf has outsourced the hunt for Osama 
bin Laden to his regional warlords?
  Years ago we learned that we outsourced the hunt for Osama bin Laden 
in Tora Bora and he slipped through our fingers when we had a chance. 
We can't repeat the same mistakes. So if we are giving support to 
Pakistan and Afghanistan, which we should, they are our allies, we need 
to demand accountability. We need to demand the accountability that the 
American taxpayers, that the American families, and that the American 
soldiers deserve.
  And the last point I would like to bring up on my maiden voyage here 
in the 30-something Group is education. One of the greatest jobs I ever 
had was being a professor at West Point teaching constitutional 
military law. And it was the Constitution that those young cadets who 
were about to become second lieutenants were going to take an oath to 
support and defend. And education is vital for Americans and our 
students to be more and more competitive in a global economy.
  I joke with the gentleman from Florida we are not competing in my 
district in Bucks County for jobs against Florida. As I look at Mr. 
Altmire, we are not competing with the folks in Pittsburgh in Bucks 
County. I look at the congressman from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy). We are 
not competing with jobs necessarily against the folks in Connecticut. 
We are competing for jobs with people in China and South Korea and 
Japan and in Europe. And we need to have high investment in education 
so we remain more competitive.
  And this gets me into our national debt. Right now our debt is over 
$9 trillion. So that means every man, woman, and child in America owes 
over $29,000 to our national debt. So that means when my daughter, 
Maggie, was born 6 months ago at Lower Bucks Hospital in Bucks County, 
Pennsylvania, she was born in that hospital and she owed $29,000 to our 
national debt. That is a debt that we owe to foreign countries like 
communist China, like Japan, like South Korea, like Mexico. We keep 
borrowing and borrowing and borrowing and borrowing.
  Now, when I am back home, people say to me, Patrick, we are at war. 
Of course it is going to cost money.
  And I say, $9 trillion we have in debt, $9 trillion; yet this war in 
Iraq has only cost at this point about $450 billion. That is a huge 
difference.
  And how it relates to education is just in March of 2007, we paid $21 
billion just that month on the interest rate to this debt, just paying 
off the interest rate that we owe, $21 billion. But that same month we 
only paid $5 billion in education. So what we spend on education, $5 
billion, we spend four times that much that same month on our interest 
rate on our debt.
  We need a change and we are making that change happen here in the 
110th Congress. And I am proud to be part of it. I am proud to be part 
of the leadership to make sure we do what is necessary, establishing a 
pay-as-you-go system, doing the things necessary to hold all of us 
accountable and this government accountable.
  So I would say to the gentleman of Florida, thank you for giving me 
the opportunity on this maiden voyage. I look forward to many more 
times back here with the 30-something Group, and I am proud of all 
those supporters not just back home in Bucks County and northeast 
Philadelphia and Montgomery County and the network community. I am 
proud, on this 20th anniversary, of the public service of our leader, 
Speaker Pelosi, to be here amongst the 30-something Group. Thank you so 
much.

                              {time}  2230

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Murphy, I am just so happy that you had an 
opportunity to share some of your wisdom with us here tonight and also 
a perspective, especially someone who has been in harm's way and has 
been in the field with our men and women, and at the same time talking 
about education.
  We just had a major education summit right before the break that the 
Speaker put forth, and Mr. Miller and Ms. DeLauro were a part of that 
effort, and we were just so pleased to do that.
  In the 30-Something Working Group, we kind of like to have a 
conversation. We know that everyone has to make an opening remark or 
statement, but, Mr. Altmire, I am looking forward to hearing what you 
want to share with the members.
  And, also, one of my constituents once called me. Serving in public 
service, you have an opportunity to hear some interesting things. He 
called me up. And you know these cable talk shows, where you go down to 
public television and you sign up and it's like a nonprofit 
organization. He called me, and I was a State representative at that 
time, and he said, Kendrick, I want you to come on my show. And I said, 
well, what are we going to talk about? And he said, we're going to talk 
about the consequences of the consequences.
  So I had to kind of, I was on the phone and I said, ``consequences of 
the consequences?'' And he said, ``Yes, the consequences of the 
consequences could be consequential.''
  But in this case, as we look at the consequences of the consequences, 
using his description of what was going on at that particular time, I 
couldn't help, as I yield to you, but look at the Newsweek cover.
  I went home tonight before I came over here. My wife joined me at the 
celebration for the Speaker. And this Newsweek cover that many of us 
will be reading this week says, ``After Bush. How to Restore America's 
Place in the World.'' I mean, this is not a Democratic publication, Mr. 
Speaker. I think it's important for us to understand that we are living 
in serious times. And here at the 30-Something Working Group, we try to 
break things down so that everyone can understand, where Members won't 
say, well, I didn't know exactly my role at that particular time.
  There are very historic votes that are taking place here. We just had 
an emergency supplemental. I think that every vote that every Member 
took was a heroic vote and a sheroic vote, in my opinion, need it be in 
the positive or the affirmative.
  But I think it's important for all of us to realize that we have a 
role to play. And many of us, I know I do, share getting our men and 
women back home and bringing an end to this conflict, especially as it 
relates to U.S. troops serving in combat posture on the streets of 
Baghdad in the middle of a civil war.
  Mr. Altmire.
  Mr. ALTMIRE. I just want to say how proud I am of my fellow 
Pennsylvanian and the second Murphy now to join the 30-Something 
Working Group, along with the gentleman from Connecticut. He is someone 
that we look to for his expertise, having been in the field of battle 
and having served in this conflict; and I really am excited to hear 
that he is going to be joining us now with the 30-something group to 
talk more about these issues. And he definitely has a unique 
perspective that he's adding. So I was excited to hear his voice, and I 
am very proud to hail from the same State.
  I wanted to talk a little bit about one of the consequences of this 
action that we're talking about, as Mr. Meek brought up, is the fact 
that we are creating, through our actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
hundreds of thousands of new veterans are returning to this country, 
many of whom are returning seriously injured. We have over 25,000 that 
have been injured. We are approaching 4,000 killed now. And those

[[Page H6103]]

that are returning and are going to have to use the VA system are going 
to find, thankfully, that for the first time in the history of the 
program, 77 years of the Department of Veterans Affairs, we have 
increased funding at a rate that has never been seen in the history of 
the Department. We are up to approximately $15 billion in increased 
funding for the VA in this Congress.
  And as every member of the 30-Something Working Group knows and 
certainly every Member of this House knows, this is a priority issue 
for me. Funding for Veterans Affairs has languished in the past several 
years, unfortunately, but this Congress has stepped up to the plate in 
a bipartisan way, I will say, to give the Veterans Affairs Department, 
especially the health accounts, the necessary funding to take care of 
these hundreds of thousands of veterans that we are creating in Iraq 
and Afghanistan.
  These are men and women who have fought bravely, people like Mr. 
Murphy from Pennsylvania who have put their lives on the line, who have 
left a family behind to do this and have made every possible sacrifice. 
They deserve to know that they can count on the United States to give 
them the health care that they deserve and that they have earned, that 
they've been promised when they entered the military.
  So we voted in just the first 5 months here in this Congress to 
increase funding by $15 billion for the VA. And significantly, for the 
first time ever, we exceeded the recommended independent budget request 
of the service organizations, the American Legion, the VFW, and others.
  I want to repeat that point for my colleagues. For the first time 
ever, Congress exceeded the request of the service organizations. I 
think that's something we can be proud of.
  We talk about the enormous achievements we've had in the first 5 
months, the many bills and the different subjects that we have 
addressed. The fact that we have paid attention to and finally moved 
forward with our veterans health care facility in a way that is 
unprecedented in the history of this country is I think one of the 
things we can be most proud of in our first 5 months in office here.
  Some of the things that this funding is going to allow us to do, we 
are going to be able to hire more doctors and nurses and improve 
medical services at the VA. As we saw with some of the Department of 
Defense facilities with regard to health care and Walter Reed, chronic 
underfunding can lead to some disastrous consequences. We need to make 
sure that we don't allow that to happen in our VA system. So this bill 
is going to improve the quality of care.
  I have in my district a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital that 
is undergoing a $100 plus million expansion right now. Hopefully, when 
that is done, we are going to have in my district the preeminent health 
care facility in the entire VA network; and I want every VA facility to 
have that type of access across this country. Our veterans deserve 
nothing less than the highest quality health care this Nation can 
provide for them.
  We are going to reduce waiting times. We have a backlog at the VA, 
unfortunately, of nearly 500,000 cases. And every Member of this House 
knows, you probably have the same experience that I am having in my 
office of people who are calling, frustrated veterans who want to 
access the VA health system but they have to wait, they have to get in 
line. And it is a very long line, weeks or months of waiting, because 
of that backlog, nearly 500,000 cases. The bill that we passed in this 
House, the legislation that we've passed is going to go a long way 
towards improving that situation.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Altmire, if you would yield, and Mr. Murphy, 
I just don't want it to go by. You're talking about what we just passed 
before we left, received the funding for, with a major fight at the 
White House. I mean, the President wanted to veto it. He said that's 
not what I asked for. Meanwhile, Walter Reed was still standing by for 
the dollars to be able to make the corrections that they need to make.
  We know that we passed the Chairman's, Mr. Skelton's, bill, Armed 
Services bill off this floor to help us with readiness and all of those 
things. The President said that he is going to veto many of these 
things that are over his mark. But what you're talking about is 
something that we couldn't even dream of in the last Congress. I mean, 
you start thinking about how we moved the ball down field, and I mean 
by force. And Mr. Speaker, I can tell you, many of us, not only do we 
have to eat our Wheaties, but we have to do our pushups. And mentally 
we have to prepare ourselves between our ears to go to battle on behalf 
of the American people and those that have served.
  So I hear exactly what you're saying. I just want to make sure that 
Members understand. And guess what? Again, Democratic leadership. A 
number of Republican colleagues, I believe with maybe 80 of them, voted 
against the emergency supplemental to get these dollars to our veterans 
to show you that if we can get these great issues to the floor and that 
we can get a vote on them that the American spirit and the bipartisan 
spirit will then take off, versus those that said, well, we don't need 
to do it. And we are doing it in a meaningful way that veterans are 
going to see an improvement as we move on.
  So I just wanted to hit that real quick, and I yield back. But I just 
wanted to be able to, especially from a person that was around as it 
relates to Members on the floor, now, I guess I'm the only Member that 
was in the 109th Congress and 108th Congress, to reflect on that 
historical note there of just leadership and making it happen on behalf 
of our veterans in Pennsylvania and other States.
  Mr. ALTMIRE. I appreciate the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) for 
his comments and certainly his leadership on this issue, which is 
unmatched in this House. I am proud to hear your comments.
  We have a situation at Walter Reed which we all came to know very 
well, of course, in the months. I had the opportunity to tour Walter 
Reed, and when you see these kids that are returning from battle and 
you think about them, one of the fantastic gentlemen that we met was a 
2005 graduate of the Naval Academy. And you can picture him just 2 
short years ago in his uniform, throwing his hat in the air, excited, 
cream of the crop, the best this Nation can put forward, and he came 
home just horrifically injured.
  It breaks your heart to see these men and women who fought so 
bravely, and you think that they went home to Walter Reed, and it is 
our responsibility to give them the best medical care that money can 
provide, and we had disastrous things happening there. You think of the 
living conditions that were outlined in that Washington Post article, 
and the paint peeling from the walls and the rodents and the mold, and 
you think, how could we possibly have let this happen?
  For several years, there were complaints that were made, but nothing 
was done about it. But this Congress is doing something about it. We 
have not only done the investigations and the oversight to find out 
what went wrong and to hold those accountable who are responsible for 
what happened at Walter Reed, but, just as important, we have a 
commitment in this House and in this Congress that this is never going 
to happen again.
  We are going to give the necessary funding to the Department of 
Defense and to Walter Reed so that they can take care of the 
maintenance and the repair that's necessary. And we are going to do a 
top-to-bottom review of every Department of Defense health facility and 
every VA facility in this country, find out if anything similar is 
happening, if there are any problems of this sort, and fix them 
immediately, not wait for this to take place again.
  Because it shouldn't take a Washington Post article. It shouldn't 
take the newspaper to bring this situation to light. We have a 
responsibility, and we are fulfilling that responsibility, to ensure 
that this never happens again. And we are doing that in a variety of 
ways, through oversight and through the funding increases that I've 
talked about.
  The supplemental bill that we supported and that went to the 
President's desk, which was signed, included an increase in funding to 
help the Department of Defense health care and the VA health facilities 
fulfill these obligations. And, as I said, we are now at record levels. 
The Appropriations Committee dealing with Veterans Affairs just today 
announced that they had marked up their bill with a $6.7 billion

[[Page H6104]]

increase in funding for the VA which, as I said, for this 1 year is the 
largest in history and is nearly $4 billion above what the President 
had requested.
  We are going to talk a little bit later about bipartisanship, and 
that is an issue of which there can be no disagreement. There are 
issues that we talk about, like immigration, like Iraq, like tax cuts, 
where there is a deep divide among us. There are serious policy 
differences among us. But every Member of this House can agree that 
there is no group that should stand ahead of our Nation's veterans when 
it comes time to make Federal funding decisions. That is an issue that 
we can all agree on.
  I am proud to be a Member of this House that has, for the first time 
in a very long time, as I said, created an atmosphere where we all 
agree that veterans come first, and we need to increase the level of 
funding for the VA health facilities after years and years of neglect.
  So, with that said, I would yield at this time to the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Murphy).
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Thank you very much, Mr. Altmire.
  I want to key off of your last point there, just spend a couple 
moments before we kick it back to Mr. Meek, on that issue of 
bipartisanship. Because you are exactly right. You know, it seems like 
a pretty simple premise that the cost of the war should include taking 
care of the warriors when they return back home, that the cost of the 
war isn't just the guns and the ammunition and the mechanics necessary 
to fight a war in Iraq or Afghanistan, the cost of the war is also 
taking care of those men and women when they get back home. That is 
this war and that is previous wars.
  So it sounds like a pretty unanimous premise that we could all get 
behind, but the fact is that we didn't get behind it, and we didn't get 
behind it until the Democrats took control of this Congress. It was 
just platitudes and rhetoric for a long time, ``let's support our 
troops and support our veterans.''

                              {time}  2245

  So I think we got to be clear today, as much as we are going to talk 
about the importance of bipartisanship, it took the Democrats to put 
some of these issues out before the House in order to garner bipartisan 
votes. I think that is maybe as important as anything that we have done 
in these first 5 months, is that we have gotten rid of that old rule 
that I heard a little bit about when I was watching this place from 
afar in Connecticut called the ``majority of the majority.''
  I heard about this rule where nothing could come to the floor of the 
House of Representatives unless the majority of the majority party 
supported it. So you had very few opportunities for there to be real 
bipartisan cooperation, because you had to have almost unanimous 
agreement from the majority party, at the time the Republicans, in 
order for anything to get down here to the floor of the House.
  We talked a lot, Mr. Meek, when we stood up here after that sort of 
glorious first 100 hours about those bills, those six or seven bills 
that we passed, and how many Republicans we had on board with each one 
of those. They were really remarkable numbers. On average we had 60-70 
Republican votes for each one of those. It doesn't get covered much in 
the news. The news wants to cover just the grinding and gnashing of the 
two parties.
  We had a lot of bipartisan cooperation, and that has continued. That 
has continued. In the last few weeks here we had on a bill to 
reauthorize funding for children's healthcare, we had 123 Republicans 
supporting it. That same 123 Republicans supporting increased record 
funding for Katrina recovery. On the joint funding resolution that 
finally restored some fiscal balance to this country, we had 57 
Republicans supporting it. Increasing the minimum wage, 82 Republicans.
  I know when you turn on the cable news networks you are not going to 
hear about the times that we agree. But why a lot us were so 
enthusiastic to stop by and send well wishes to Speaker Pelosi on her 
20 years in Congress is because she has made good on her commitment to 
make this the most open and ethical and bipartisan Congress in a real, 
real long time.
  I know, Mr. Meek, this doesn't get the headlines all the time, that 
the newspapers want to talk about the places that we conflict. But 
there has been a lot of cooperation here and it has mattered. I think 
it has made a difference.
  I think one of the things the people don't understand is sort of how 
this place works, and I certainly didn't understand it until I got 
here.
  It used to be it was impossible, virtually impossible, for Democrats 
to get their amendments heard on the floor of the House of 
Representatives. You were going to get a bill introduced by the 
Republicans, and that was about it. No more debate, no changes, no 
amendments. Nothing. No real opportunity for the People's House to 
actually engage in a real argument, in a process of coming up with a 
better piece of legislation.
  That has changed now. In the first 5 months of 2005, we had two what 
are called open rules, bills in which any Member can put forth an 
amendment, have a chance to have that idea vetted and aired out before 
the House of Representatives. We have quadrupled the number of bills 
that have come before this House under a so-called open rule.
  I know these are sort of arcane terms that people out there may not 
understand, but they matter. It means that every single one of the 435 
people that are elected here have a chance to make a bill better, have 
a chance to have their voice their constituents' voices heard. For a 
long time it was shut down.
  So it was a good night tonight to be able to celebrate Speaker 
Pelosi's two decades here in the House. A lot of us are excited about 
the potential that lies before us to be able to really reset our 
direction in Iraq, to do better things in energy policy, to stand up 
for working families.
  But for a lot of us that came here on the backs and shoulders of our 
constituents who have virtually lost complete faith in politics, maybe 
we are just as excited about the fact that, despite what you may see in 
the cable news networks or reading the headlines, we actually are 
starting slowly to bring people together here, to open up this House, 
this process, again, to make it a true bipartisan People's House.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. You know, Mr. Murphy, it is very hard to move in 
a bipartisan fashion. One speaks constantly about the bipartisan 
spirit, about bipartisan action. Spirit and action are two different 
interpretations of actually getting something done.
  The action part means that Members are able to vote with their voting 
cards or walk up to that desk and sign a card that says yea or nay and 
work in a bipartisan spirit on the yea. Many amendments from our 
Republican colleagues, some of them are passed and some of them are not 
passed. But the bottom line is they have at least the opportunity to 
come to the floor and to bring their ideas to the floor. Definitely in 
the area of financial services.
  We have spent a very long time, Mr. Speaker, on this floor hearing 
Republican amendments that were offered in committee, offered in 
subcommittee. Some came to the floor and we were able to work those 
amendments out to become a part of the work product. Others just wanted 
to file an amendment, for whatever reason, but had their opportunity in 
this democracy to do so.
  Many of the Members in this House, of course we have a lot to do, and 
Members when they come to the floor, they said, I thought this 
amendment was already voted down in committee? But many of the Members 
on the minority side, the Republican side, had an opportunity to offer 
it, Mr. Murphy. I think this really makes a difference between 
Democratic leadership and Republican leadership.
  Even though we may not agree, giving the opportunity to others to be 
able to take part in this democracy, something that was suppressed in 
the two previous Congresses that I can speak to. And I can tell you 
that it should be well-noted here that this House has provided the kind 
of leadership to allow the minority party here in this House, which are 
the Republicans, to have a voice in the process of making laws. That is 
so very, very important.
  I will say this and then yield back to you. Some are saying, why 
aren't you

[[Page H6105]]

treating the Republicans as the Republicans treated you or treated 
Democrats. Well, guess what? Forty-two new Members of the House, 
especially when you are on the Democratic side, all of you in this 
Chamber who are part of the majority makers, they voted for change. 
They didn't vote for the same. They voted for a government that can 
work in a bipartisan way. They voted for the kind of leadership to 
allow minority Members, who have constituents just like I have, to vote 
for veterans assistance, to be able to vote to make sure we put forth 
dollars to come up with alternative fuels and other ways that we can 
supply America so that we can invest in the Midwest versus the Middle 
East. They voted for all of that.
  And guess what? That takes time and tolerance, Mr. Speaker, and that 
is something that the Republican majority in the previous Congress did 
not have. I am glad we have the tolerance. I am glad we are taking the 
time. I am glad we are working the way we are working, even though it 
is very painful for many of us and our constituents and many that have 
our families back in the district.
  In this time and this place in history, when you have cover after 
cover, how do we restore America's place in the world, it is not how 
the world thinks about us. It is about what kind of leadership are we 
providing, not only for our constituents, but for the United States of 
America. And just at a time we are trying to dig ourselves out of out-
of-control borrowing from foreign nations, we are seeing differently.
  I am a Member of the NATO parliamentary group, and I can tell you, 
when you are talking to some countries, and it is kind of like you have 
to be quiet for a moment, have some level of contrition and listen to 
what other people are saying, because they feel we have been dictating 
to them what they should do and what they should think, and they are 
saying, by the way, you owe us money. You owe me money. You owe my 
country money.
  So we have domestic issues that we have to cover. I know we are going 
to talk about stem cell research and I think that is very, very 
important. That is part of the new direction. It is leadership. 
Sometimes leadership is lonely. But we have to do it.
  Mr. Murphy, I just want to thank you for bringing some of these 
issues to light and talking about what it takes to bring about 
bipartisan action versus Members coming to the floor and saying we 
should have a bipartisan spirit.
  Well, spirit is a good thing, if you use it religiously. One of my 
friends, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, I have read a couple of his books, he 
says spirit makes religion act right. The real issue is that it is good 
to have spirit. We all feel good about it. But action is even better.
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. You can talk the talk, but you have to 
come out here and do it. You have got to put bills before this House 
that have Republican ideas in them and have Democrat ideas in them. And 
you have to be okay with the fact that we can share credit. Listen, 
nobody in my district cares whether I am a Republican or a Democrat, as 
long as I am on the right side of the issues, as long as I am fighting 
for what they believe I should be fighting for.
  People don't think in Republican or Democratic terms back at the 
places we come from. They think about Republican and Democratic terms 
here inside the Beltway in Washington, DC, but back out in America, Mr. 
Meek, people think about what is right and wrong; what is good for 
people and what is bad for people. Not Republican and not Democrat. I 
think we are beginning to start to figure that out.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Murphy, you are 110 percent right, and that 
is what folks voted for. They didn't vote for you to go be the 
strongest Democrat you can be, or I want you to go and be Republican-
like. The bottom line is they voted for us to be Members of Congress, 
constitutional officers having a part in this process, one of the three 
branches of Government, and making sure that every Member is able to 
fulfill their constitutional duty and come here and participate.
  I feel so good about it, it is like almost I have chill bumps. To be 
able to come to this floor, to be a part of the whole begging, if you 
get us an opportunity to train the thought it could. All of those 
things we talked about, you think about where we were and where we are 
now, and that we still have the kind of spirit that we had then, we 
still want to fight and we still have battles ahead of us.
  We have a President that is saying you do anything over the budget 
that I set forth, no matter how good it may be, children's healthcare, 
veterans affairs, the issues dealing with the environment, I am going 
to veto it.
  Well, you know something? We are here saying fine, if you want to 
veto it, then consider yourself challenged, versus, well, if you say 
you are going to veto it, then I guess we can't do it. Even though we 
have our challenges in the Senate, I think that it is very, very 
important as it relates to getting a number of these agenda items 
through, because of the close numbers there, I think the American 
people are going to continue to follow in the spirit of a new direction 
and help us carry out the agenda that they wanted originally, and 
hopefully some of our Republican colleagues in the Senate will be able 
to come together and have bipartisan action and move it forward.
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Before we send this back over to Mr. 
Altmire, Mr. Meek, let's talk about an issue on which I think this 
Congress is going to stand together tomorrow, Republicans and 
Democrats, and stand against the policies of a President who is going 
to show once again how out of step he is with the American public, and 
that is on the issue of stem cell research.
  Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity when I was in the Connecticut 
State Senate to author Connecticut's Stem Cell Investment Act. 
Connecticut became the first State in the Nation through a legislative 
act to invest public dollars in stem cell research. I am real proud of 
that.
  But part of the reason that I decided to leave the State Senate and 
come here to the United States Congress is because it was a bittersweet 
victory for us. We shouldn't have 50 different State legislatures 
investing in basic scientific research; certainly not the type of 
potentially pioneering, life-saving scientific research that stem cell 
research, both adult and embryonic, holds in its vast and potentially 
limitless potential.
  So, tomorrow, we are going to take up a bill that we took up at the 
beginning of January, now coming back to us from the Senate, which is 
the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which is once again 
going to allow for Federal dollars to be used for both embryonic and 
adult stem cell research around this country, and, by the way, finally 
put some real ethical and moral and scientific boundaries around that 
research.
  One of the great secrets in this world today is if you don't live in 
a State like Connecticut, California or New Jersey that has put forth 
in State legislation some moral and ethical parameters around stem cell 
research, this research is largely unregulated in this country. So I 
think the most important thing we will do tomorrow is pass in a 
bipartisan way a bill that will start to turn on Federal funds for 
research that, as we know, potentially will unlock the treatments and 
cures for such insidious diseases as juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's 
research and maybe even for cancer some day.
  This isn't tomorrow's cure and it is not even the day after 
tomorrow's cure, but if we don't start investing now and start 
investing at a Federal level, start investing our Federal dollars, we 
are never going to get to that day when we can start to realize the 
potential of stem cell research.
  But here is where the rub is. We are going to do this with 
Republicans and Democrats standing together. There will be more 
Democrats supporting it than there will be Republicans. That is just 
how this issue is going to work. But this is going to be an issue in 
which this Congress, because we are in tune with what the people are 
telling us, that they want us to use the research at our disposal to 
try to make people's lives better, that is what this is all about, 
trying to use the resources of the Federal Government, the communal 
resources of the American people, to try to make our lives better, that 
is what stem cell research can do. They want us to make that jump. It 
is going to land on the President's desk and he has already told us 
once again that he will veto it.
  He is continually out of step with where the American people are with

[[Page H6106]]

this war in Iraq. Now he will once again show us he is out of step with 
where the American people are on healthcare.
  But, once again, we are going to show that if we stand together, if 
we put party aside and we listen to what the people want, in this case 
they want a Federal Government that is going to start standing up and 
trying to find cures for cancer and Parkinson's disease and bone marrow 
disease, that we can do some pretty amazing things here if we stand 
together.
  We passed things with bipartisan support in the past. We will do it 
tomorrow on maybe one of the most important things that we will do 
before we take our break for the summer, which is invest in stem cell 
research.

                              {time}  2300

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. I just want to say that Mr. Murphy presented 
himself so well tonight. Mr. Ryan is in Ohio tonight, and he 
BlackBerryed me and said he wished he could be here with us. As you 
know, Mr. Ryan is an outstanding Member of Congress. He had a death in 
his family and had to return to his district. We appreciate and 
recognize his absence. I am going to e-mail him back and say, Mr. Ryan, 
I think one of the reasons why things are moving so smoothly, you 
guessed, is because you're not here; but that is another issue.
  Mr. Altmire, one thing that we need to talk about as relates to stem 
cell research, there are so many diseases that could be cured, and 72 
percent of Americans are supporting this research. We have kids with 
juvenile diabetes. There are a number of issues that we want to try to 
move on. This is a leadership issue. The thing about leadership is it 
is lonely sometimes.
  I get e-mails and calls from my constituents, I support this; or, 
Kendrick, I wasn't quite with you on that decision. But the good thing 
is something is happening, action versus inaction.
  Mr. ALTMIRE. I wanted to commend the gentleman from Connecticut 
again. We say a lot of things when we are transferring comments here 
back and forth about the different roles that we play, but it truly is 
the truth to say there is no one in this Congress who has done more on 
a public policy basis to promote this issue than the gentleman from 
Connecticut. He has done it at the State level. He is passionate about 
it. He has done it here in Congress. He has made it a staple issue of 
his young career, and I want to commend him. He has shown great 
leadership.
  And in saying that, I want to recognize that we have a colleague, the 
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), who certainly deserves credit 
second to none for her pushing this agenda. I certainly don't want to 
overlook her in recognizing Mr. Murphy's equal efforts on this issue.
  I have a unique perspective in my support of this issue in that I am 
a pro-life Member of Congress. I used the occasion of my first floor 
speech on the floor of this House specifically on this issue because it 
is that important to me.
  I have a view that embryonic stem cell research and a vote to promote 
it is a pro-life vote. By voting to pursue embryonic stem cell 
research, we are voting to improve the lives of people. And most 
importantly with this bill, we are voting only on, and this is a very 
key point, lines of stem cells that would otherwise be discarded by the 
fertility clinic. That cannot be overlooked.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. That is a very good point.
  Mr. ALTMIRE. This is not a situation where we are going to be able to 
pick and choose types of stem cells that can be used for other 
purposes. The administration talks about snowflake babies and other 
uses. These are only lines of stem cells where the donor has said I am 
done using them. They cannot be used for my other purpose, they are to 
be discarded, and then they agree that the stem cells could be used for 
research purposes. Otherwise they are discarded.
  That is something that in my mind is the decisive point on this. If 
they are going to be discarded anyway, hundreds of thousands of lines 
of embryonic stem cells, why not use them for scientific research to 
save the lives and improve the lives of people who are alive today, 
real men and women who are suffering from diseases, and the people who 
don't know they are going to have those diseases in the future, people 
who are going to suffer from these diseases tomorrow.
  We are talking about debilitating diseases, we are talking about 
long-term diseases that are reaching epidemic proportions in my 
district of southwestern Pennsylvania, like diabetes. Imagine if this 
research could show a cure or improved treatment for any of these 
illnesses. Why would we not use them for scientific purposes if they 
are otherwise going to be discarded.
  I am certainly not the only pro-life Member who is going to support 
this tomorrow, as the gentleman said. But I do want to emphasize this 
is an issue whose time has come. The President has vetoed it in the 
109th Congress. He has vetoed it once in this 110th Congress. We are 
expecting we are going to face a second veto, and I know the vote is 
going to be close on whether or not we are going to be able to override 
that veto.
  But we have sent a message, and we are going to do it tomorrow, that 
the time for this issue has come. This is not about political games or 
trying to score points for a political agenda. This is about saving 
lives and improving the lives of people who are alive today, and I 
strongly support this initiative.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. You couldn't ask for a better feeling being a 
Member of Congress. I always share out that. Out on the steps of the 
Capitol at least once or twice a week we have young people from our 
districts, and they want to hear from Members of Congress. The 
difference between us and the average American out there, and there are 
only 500-plus Members of Congress, we read something in the paper, 
something that could have been avoided, we hear a story from our 
constituents, something that could have been avoided, and to have an 
opportunity to vote on a piece of legislation like we are going to vote 
on tomorrow, no matter how many times we have to vote on it, we are a 
part of the solution to many of the health problems that are facing 
Americans throughout this country. We are the leader in the world as it 
relates to research and being responsible and being respectful.
  To have 200 organizations supporting the bill is very, very 
important. It is supported by the American Medical Association, the 
AARP, the Association of American Medical Colleges, Parkinson's Action 
Network, the American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research 
Foundation, Paralyzed Veterans of America, all of these groups. That is 
just to name a few. And also, 72 percent of Americans support this bill 
that we are looking to pass. You also have a number of corporations 
that are out there calling for it. Think about the money that could be 
saved, not only the money, but the lives. This is what it is all about.
  People ask: How do you feel being a Member of Congress? I feel good 
because I feel we can bring to the floor and bring to this government 
what is needed to help Americans, and I am glad we are a part of that.
  Mr. Murphy, it is good having an authority on the floor. I was a 
member of the Florida State legislature, and a State legislature is an 
interesting organization to be a part of. I think the first line of 
public service is being a county commissioner or city commissioner. 
That is when somebody can leave their house and let you know what is on 
their mind. I am glad to have an opportunity to vote on this, and I 
look forward to releasing information to my constituents about what we 
have done, and hopefully put some pressure on the White House to do 
what so many Americans want us to do, and that is get at some of the 
issues that are facing our country right now.
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. You talked about how much public support 
this enjoys, and it is broad and far ranging. I think the public 
support mirrors the support within this body. It probably cuts across 
partisan lines because the diseases that stem cell research can treat 
do not discriminate based on whether you are Democrat or Republican, 
not even on whether you are pro-choice or pro-life.
  So when you have family members out there who are watching a loved 
one grapple with diabetes, watching a father or mother die of 
Alzheimer's disease, and they see there is this vehicle, there is this 
potential out there, untapped right now, with their Federal

[[Page H6107]]

tax dollars, they don't understand. They don't understand why their 
elected representatives wouldn't stand up and at least try to make an 
effort to bring a cure or treatment to their loved one who is 
struggling or dying with these diseases.
  This issue enjoys public support because these diseases don't 
discriminate based on political discrimination, political views or 
geography. I think that is why you will see so many Republicans and 
Democrats supporting it.
  This is an issue that arises a lot of passions in people. So there is 
rhetoric that sometimes doesn't match the reality. One of the arguments 
that you are going to hear tomorrow is we don't need to invest in 
embryonic stem cell research, which is the controversial piece of this 
debate, because adult stem cell research does the trick. That argument 
doesn't wash when you talk to the scientific community.
  Adult stem cells have vast potential, and we have found ways to 
utilize them to make people better and give people longer lives.

                              {time}  2310

  But the fact is that adult stem cells only work on the person that 
those cells are harvested from. My adult stem cells work on me. So I 
can take stem cells out of my bloodstream, manipulate them, put them 
back into my bloodstream to try to cure the disease or whatever may be 
affecting me.
  Embryonic stem cells have almost a limitless possibility of being 
manipulated, to being harvested and put into a limitless number of 
people. Those cells don't just work on the people they're taken from. 
Those cells can be manipulated and have universal traits to try to cure 
diseases.
  So we're going to have to try to talk about that tomorrow and why we 
need to invest in both adult stem cell research and embryonic stem cell 
research.
  Mr. ALTMIRE. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I will do two things. First, 
it has come to my attention that while we were talking the Anaheim 
Ducks kept the Stanley Cup in the United States of America. I want to 
congratulate them. And I will now yield back to the gentleman from 
Florida to wrap up.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Thank you so very much, Mr. Altmire.
  Also, we want the Members, if they want any information we talked 
about tonight or want to speak to us, we have the www.speaker.gov Web 
site.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, it was an honor to address the House, the 30 
Something Working Group, tonight, the two Murphies and also Mr. Altmire 
and myself.

                          ____________________