[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1558-1563]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       30-SOMETHING WORKING GROUP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gohmert). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) is 
recognized for half the time until midnight.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to be here on the 
floor of the U.S. House of Representatives again.
  As you know, we have our 30-something Working Group that Leader 
Pelosi has formed over 3 years ago. And we meet constantly on issues 
that are facing the American people, and we ask the U.S. House of 
Representatives to address those issues in many cases. And there is an 
awful lot, Mr. Speaker, that is going on here in Washington, D.C.
  I must say that I am really, really pleased at the innovation 
workshop we had earlier today that allowed Americans to be able to get 
a view of what the Democratic side has to offer in the area of 
innovation. And we are going to talk a little bit about that tonight.
  But we are also going to talk about the ongoing costs of corruption 
and cronyism and incompetence in this institution that has brought 
about bad policies for the American people and affects the very lives 
of the American people that we are trying to serve.
  As we work to try to better ourselves here in this Congress, we 
continue to point out the fact that we are not working in a bipartisan 
way to be able to get the best results for Americans. And we are going 
to talk about that also, Mr. Speaker.
  I think it is important to point out the fact that we want to wish 
everyone here, not only in the U.S. House of Representatives but 
throughout our Nation, a happy Valentine's Day. And Mr. Delahunt is 
here, one of our esteemed colleagues. We are so glad tonight, Mr. 
Delahunt, that you can join the 30-something Working Group on this 
Valentine's night.
  I know a nice man like you had to call a couple of folks and wish 
them happy Valentine's Day, including your family members, and it is a 
good day.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. It was a long process all day, Mr. Meek. But I just 
about accounted for everybody that it was appropriate. And a happy 
Valentine's Day to you and to your family. I had an opportunity to meet 
your family recently, and they are great folks. They really are.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Well, without family where would we be?
  Mr. DELAHUNT. That is right. That is what this is all about.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Do you know what is interesting, Mr. Delahunt, 
is the fact that we have the issues that are floating here in 
Washington, D.C., and it is just kind of hard to keep up with them. 
There are so many things that are going on, and so many things that are 
happening to the American people. It is important that we get our house 
in order, and this House and the Chamber across the hall, including the 
executive branch, of getting back to the business of the people of this 
country.
  We have families in the gulf that had visited the Capitol last week, 
coming with demands for their government: do not forget about us; do 
not leave us out; do not leave us behind. And reports are being 
released, but not only a summary report from the partisan House 
committee that was formed here about some of the mistakes that the 
administration made and where this Federal Government failed Americans.
  Another report that Secretary Chertoff is talking about, he was 
supposed to come before the Senate today of the Homeland Security 
Committee, and they canceled the committee meeting because of Senate 
votes, to get down to the bottom of why we still have not prioritized 
the emergency management response.
  I also think it is important that we point out the fact that the 
partisan commission here in this House that is charged, Mr. Speaker, 
with getting to the bottom of what happened and what did not happen in 
the case of the response and preparedness for Hurricane Katrina fell 
short of its duty to be able to make sure that we had sound, concrete 
recommendations to be able to move forward.
  We still ask, Mr. Speaker, here on this side of the aisle, for an 
independent Katrina commission so that we can really get down to the 
nuts and bolts of what happened in this natural disaster and the 
disaster that followed that was the Federal Government's response.
  I think it is also important that we talk about our fiscal situation, 
and some of tonight and tomorrow we will talk about what has happened 
with the

[[Page 1559]]

reconciliation, budget recommendations that passed through this House 
and through the Senate, and where we are falling short there and being 
straight with the American people as it relates to the Republican 
majority.
  Mr. Delahunt, I think it is important to point out the fact that so 
many Americans under this administration and under this White House 
have found themselves left behind economically and also socially.
  The President talked about his health care plan here in this Chamber, 
a health savings plan that is already not working, and the way it 
should work and could work for Americans because it is not the right 
prescription for coverage for families.
  To set aside money, to ask Americans to set aside money that they do 
not have in the first place is an oversight in itself. So many American 
families are living from paycheck to paycheck. It is not because they 
were so unfortunate to have a job and a family that they could not 
afford some of the high prices they are paying for fuel at this time 
and heating costs and other energy-related costs, but to say that we 
will allow you to put money aside for a rainy day for when a family 
member gets sick, that is not insurance.
  Right now there is legislation here in this Congress to stop the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee from going up on insurance rates against 
veterans. And I want to also, if I can point out a few of those 
articles today just in the local Washington Post, Mr. Delahunt, I think 
maybe we can talk about some of the things our third-party validators 
are talking about here in this town.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Meek, if I can. I think you made a reference to 
reports that are now being released, and you indicated that it is a 
partisan report. I think it is very important to explain that the 
report from the House committee that reviewed this, the aftermath and 
the prelude, if you will, to Katrina and what went wrong, was for all 
intents and purposes a Republican effort.
  Two Democrats sat with our Republican colleagues; and in the 
aftermath of their effort, these two Democrats, both from Louisiana, 
have recom-
mended that it is essential to create, as we did in the aftermath of 
September 11, an independent commission that reviews again the prelude, 
during, and the aftermath of the natural disaster that devastated this 
country in the form of Hurricane Katrina back on August 29.
  Maybe like the 9/11 Commission, we can have an 8/29 Commission that 
all Americans can have confidence in--in its integrity. But I think, 
too, that we ought to review really the damning findings of the 
Republican effort that really, in my judgment, speaks to the 
incompetence of this administration.
  You know, we use the word or the term ``culture of corruption'' 
frequently in explaining what is occurring here in Washington. But I 
think you might agree with me that it is incompetence combined with 
cronyism that really are the building blocks, if you will, of that 
culture of corruption that creates a huge cost to the American 
taxpayers.
  I am speaking in terms of billions of dollars and multiple lost 
opportunities, dashed dreams, and unfortunately this, let me use the 
term ``corruption tax,'' that even cost lives. And I think we have 
witnessed this because of what occurred by way of a natural disaster on 
August 29 and what has occurred in Iraq in the aftermath of our 
invasion.
  And I do not want to delve tonight into the disagreement that I have 
in terms of the rationale for this administration to invade Iraq.

                              {time}  2215

  I do not want to talk about weapons of mass destruction. I do not 
want to talk about links to al Qaeda. I do not even really want to talk 
about the failures to bring democracy to far corners of this world 
according to the Bush doctrine. But I think it is important that we 
talk about the corruption that is ongoing and reveals itself on a 
frequent basis by reports coming from independent sources, coming from, 
actually, the special inspector general for the reconstruction of Iraq 
and coming from trials that are now occurring in Federal district 
court.
  But before we get to that I think it is important to review what went 
wrong with this administration's response for Hurricane Katrina. And 
again, I think we have to, in a sense of fairness, applaud some of our 
Republican colleagues who really said it better than you and I can say 
it, and I am sure they cannot be accused of being partisan since they 
are Republicans. But I thought what was particularly interesting to me 
was a quote in my hometown paper or one of my hometown papers, the 
Boston Globe. It was an observation by Tom Davis, who is the respected 
chair of the Government Affairs Committee.
  He made the observation that President Bush is in Texas, Chief of 
Staff Card is in Maine, and the Vice President is fly fishing wherever. 
I mean, who is in charge? And I guess that is really the question.
  We have had a Department of Homeland Security for several years with 
the ultimate Federal responsibility to prepare Americans for disasters, 
whether they are triggered by a terrorist attack or whether they come 
via a natural disaster; and the performance of this administration can 
only be described as a disaster, a debacle, if you will.
  I thought it was rather ironic that today, as I was watching the 
news, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Chertoff, announced he 
was going to hire 1,500 disaster specialists. I guess my response was, 
what took so long? What took so long? How long has it been? Since 8/29, 
since August 29.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I can tell the gentleman what took 
so long. What took so long is that we have an administration and we 
have a Congress that did not give the proper oversight.
  The Department of Homeland Security asked the questions when they 
should have been asked. The American people were told, trust us, trust 
us, trust us. When you talk about the Republican majority and really 
Homeland Security, FEMA, the White House, and oversight committees were 
not prepared to do what it was supposed to do and we failed the 
American people.
  Now, let me just say this. The American people have been asked to 
trust the words of this majority time after time again. Trust us on the 
fiscal outlook for the country. Trust us on taking down the deficit. 
Trust us on making sure what they tell you is actually the reality. 
Trust us on your health care costs and your coverage. Trust us, trust 
us, trust us.
  And almost in the same month the American people, it is revealed to 
the American people that it was not about them the whole time. It was 
about special interests having their opportunities and privacy through 
the executive branches in this Congress.
  Now if I can just take a minute just to bring in third-party 
validators. You talked about what you read in your hometown paper. I 
just want to put this picture right here. This is Secretary John Snow 
from the Department of Treasury. I want to put his picture there so 
folks know that this is not the Meek or the Delahunt report.
  This is a report in a letter from the Secretary of the Department of 
Treasury to Senator Mitch McConnell, and it says the administration now 
projects that the statutory debt limit currently at $8.184 billion will 
be reached in mid-February of this year. At that time, unless the debt 
limit is raised or the Department of Treasury takes the authorized 
authority, extraordinary actions will have to be carried out, we will 
be unable to continue financing the government operations.
  It goes on to say, I am writing you to request that the Congress 
raise the statutory debt limit as soon as possible or we will not be 
able to carry out government functions. That is basically what it is 
saying.
  I have blown this letter up here because I think it is important. 
This letter is signed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Basically what 
he is saying in this letter is that, unless the debt limit is raised, 
the Department of Treasury will not be able to continue to finance 
government operations. Our government operations, not the government 
operations of a foreign country, not the government operations of

[[Page 1560]]

the Republican party, not the government operations of the Democratic 
party, the government operations of these United States of America.
  Now give me a couple more minutes. This came from the Secretary of 
the Treasury, the office right next to the White House, Mr. Speaker, 
appointed by the President of these United States and confirmed by the 
U.S. Senate. This is a letter that he wrote on December 29 of 2005, 
just the end of last year.
  Better yet, Mr. Speaker, the American people are being asked, trust 
us with the money and the decisions. Let us have a treasurer here.
  Mr. Delahunt is familiar with this chart. The President of the United 
States, George W. Bush, has borrowed more, and he could not do it by 
himself, he needed the Republican majority to do it, $1.05 trillion 
from foreign countries. Foreign nations like China and Saudi Arabia and 
all of the countries that we are concerned about, we have borrowed more 
money in four years since 2001 to the present, to the end of 2005 than 
42 Presidents combined, and that is $1.01 trillion.
  Now we had World War II, Mr. Speaker. We have had the Korean War. We 
have had World War I. We have had Vietnam. We had Gulf I. All of these 
wars, all of these conflicts, the Great Depression, a number of 
challenges to our country. This President and this Republican Congress 
has borrowed more, I cannot say that enough, has borrowed more from 
foreign nations in the history of our republic. And we can say that 
from a standpoint as Democrats to say that we put forth a balanced 
budget recommendation here and it has actually happened.
  I just want to make sure, and I know this is one of Mr. Ryan's charts 
here, but I am going to go ahead and say this is our debt right here 
now as you see it as of February 14, as of February 14 which is a 
special day on the calendar, and we talked about that a little earlier. 
This is what the American, this is what each American, if a baby was 
born when we started this special order here tonight, they already owe 
$27,526.77 and counting.
  So I go back to Secretary Snow's letter. Did the Democrats write this 
letter? No. The Democrats put forth recommendations of pay as you go. 
Is the Republican majority embracing that doctrine? No. Is the White 
House embracing that doctrine? No.
  So when we start talking about fiscal responsibility and competence 
and saying no to corruption and cronyism that has an effect on the 
American people, this is the result of it.
  You have got a letter. That is what the we are about. We are about 
shedding light on what is happening under this Capitol dome. If you let 
the majority tell you, oh, well, the Democrats have done this, that and 
the other. This is the biggest borrow-and-spend Congress in my opinion 
in the history of the Congress, borrow and spending in the worst way 
with interest.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. If the gentleman would yield for just a moment, today I 
was at a hearing and the hearing happened to be on China. It was a 
subcommittee on which I serve as ranking member, and there was a 
reference made to the Bush doctrine.
  Well, I would submit, given that President Bush has accomplished in 
one term more than all of his predecessors combined in terms of 
accumulating debt held by foreign nations, some of whom are 
particularly hostile to the United States, that we should describe the 
Bush doctrine as one of borrow and spend, not pay as you go, but borrow 
as you cut taxes. And I made the observation if you connect the dots 
how are we conferring a massive tax cut, 40 percent of which is 
reserved for 1 percent of Americans. Who is paying for that particular 
tax cut? Well, at least a trillion of it is being funded by Japan, 
China, Britain, the Caribbean, Taiwan.
  And listen to this, that tax cut is also being paid for by money 
borrowed from OPEC, OPEC. That means that we are not just buying our 
oil from the OPEC cartel, but we are also borrowing money for them to 
support a tax cut for 1 percent of our affluent citizens. And then 
Korea, Germany, Canada and others makeup the difference. This is 
extraordinary.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, it is good to join the gentlemen.
  As we are talking about the debt and we are borrowing this money from 
the Chinese, from the Japanese, from the Koreans, from the OPEC 
countries, as we borrow that debt we have got to pay interest on that 
debt.
  So as we are paying interest on that debt, this chart will show us 
that out of our priorities that we have in this country, the red is 
what we are paying in billions of dollars in the 2007 budget in 
interest, compared to education, compared to homeland security, 
compared to veterans.

                              {time}  2230

  So when we are talking about borrowing the money and what we are 
paying the interest on and what country we are paying the interest to, 
that interest money, the red, is going back to China. It is going back 
to Japan. It is going back to Korea.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. It is going back to OPEC.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. It is going back to OPEC.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Along with the dollars we are using to buy oil at $60-
plus a barrel to heat our homes.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Which is also going back to OPEC. So OPEC is 
benefiting from the high oil prices, high gasoline prices. They are 
benefiting from the net interest we have to pay on the money we are 
borrowing from them at the expense of education, homeland security, and 
veterans.
  Let me just show you this, and let me just say this is a powerful, 
powerful, powerful group of information here that we need to share, and 
I have got to tell you something. I love this slide. I love this. I 
want to be friends with this slide.
  Look what we can do. This says what else could the government do with 
the interest, the red that we just showed, what else could the 
government do with the interest that the country pays every day on the 
debt that we have. $1 million in every congressional district per day. 
That means in the gentleman from Florida's congressional district, you 
get $365 million; the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), $365 
million for your congressional district; $365 million for mine. I can 
tell you, with the health care priorities and education and veterans 
that live in my district, they would love to have an extra million a 
year.
  With the debt every day, we could provide health care for almost 
80,000 more veterans if we balance our budget, if we get our fiscal 
house in order here. We could improve Social Security solvency by 
almost half a billion dollars if we could begin to balance the budget.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Are you aware with the President's budget that 263,000 
of our veterans will be denied access to veterans health care?
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. It goes a little further. They are going to pay 
higher copayments, too; and what the majority has to understand, Mr. 
Speaker and what the Senate has to understand and what the President 
has to understand, this is not going to change. This is business as 
usual.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. A track record here.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. A track record, a pattern of those who have made 
youthful indiscretions in their lives, need it be on credit, need it be 
some sort of criminal activity, you can no longer have access. You used 
to have the capital, if you do not have a good credit record. Am I 
right?
  Let me just tell you something right now as it relates to the United 
States. I am looking at Japan. You can put Japan in the State of 
Florida, and the State of Florida will swallow geographically Japan. 
But, better yet, look what they are holding of the U.S. apple pie. The 
bottom line is this is about, Mr. Speaker, the incompetence, cronyism 
and, in some cases, corruption of these individuals being able to get 
access into this institution and into the executive branch to be able 
to get what they want.
  I want to drive the point on here. I want to make sure this is 
crystal clear. It has to be crystal. The bottom line is the only way 
that we will be able to

[[Page 1561]]

have a paradigm shift not only in thinking but in policy and action on 
behalf of the American people and unless the American people like you 
say, the majority, they do not have to be the majority. The American 
people can make that change. They can say that we are willing to allow 
the Democrats to lead so that we can hopefully start taking care of 
some of these issues that we have to take care of here at home, with 
our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and throughout the world so that we 
can get the respect of not only the world but our country, our own 
country.
  Veterans, they signed up for all the right reasons, allowing us to 
salute one flag, as we see it now, are being asked to do more 
financially, meanwhile $1.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy, while 
we have individuals, while we are having veterans affairs centers 
closing in rural America and in urban America. They are closing. Some 
of them are only open on Wednesday now. But, meanwhile, we have 
individuals, we have the President every time he gets a chance he is 
talking about let us make the tax cuts permanent for people who are not 
even asking for it.
  So this is very simple. This speech on what the majority, 
Republicans, say, well, trust us, we know what we are doing. We showed 
the letter from Secretary Snow. I think we already know this. We did 
not write this letter. The guy has said the fifth time, the Secretary 
is saying we will not be able to operate the government. That is one 
letter.
  Here is the other one here. Forty-two Presidents, this President and 
Republican majority has borrowed $1.05 trillion, but, better yet, 
saying let us make a bad idea permanent, let us drive this number up, 
let us put a two here instead of a one. It does not make sense. Only 
the American people can stop this crowd. $27,526.77, the average 
American owes right now. This is not brought to you, Mr. Speaker, by 
the Democrats. This is brought to you by the Republican majority and 
this White House.
  We have to save this country, and the American people have to save 
this country, and we have to get the word out to them that all of the 
rhetoric, all of the big money machine.
  And, look, here is another one. This stuff is just here. It is almost 
too much to share, Mr. Speaker. We do not have enough time to share 
what the Members and the American people, clients reward keeping K 
Street lobbyists thriving.
  I never blame the special interests for what happens here, but I am 
going to tell you right now they have a tax shelter right now where 
$100 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars are not going into the coffers 
because they have an offshore deal with this administration and with 
this majority. Meanwhile, we are sitting around here trying to figure 
out how our veterans are going to get health care. Meanwhile, we are 
trying to figure how small businesses will be able to afford health 
care for everyday Americans to be able to buy into; and, meanwhile, we 
have troops still without body armor and the things they need to be 
able to fight on behalf of this country. So we ask everyday Americans 
to go out there and suck it up.
  Meanwhile, the majority, the Republican majority, based on 
incompetence, some may say corruption in some cases as it relates to 
the White House, I mean, every day, I am sorry, every day we turn on 
the television. What is new? What is going on at the White House? What 
is being held back from the American people? What is being held back 
from the Congress? Who came to the Hill today and conflicted a story 
that they told just months ago about the fiscal outlook on the country?
  Meanwhile, you have Members that come up to this well on the majority 
side and say we are doing fine, I do not know what these Democrats are 
talking about.
  But it goes against logic. We have letters from their very own 
administration that are saying we have got to raise the debt limit 
because of our irresponsible policies.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. The fact of the matter is, as you just so 
eloquently put it and passionately put it, this money that we are 
borrowing is not going to fund education. It is not going to lower 
tuition costs. It is not going to fund No Child Left Behind. It is not 
going to fund the veterans. This money that we are borrowing from the 
Chinese and Japanese and the Caribbean and OPEC, the oil-producing 
countries, is going to fund corporate welfare to the oil companies, $16 
billion in corporate subsidies to the energy companies in the last 
energy bill, and billion upon billion upon billions of dollars that go 
to the HMOs and the pharmaceutical companies and all these other health 
care providers who are getting all their money.
  Your tax dollars, Mr. Speaker, are going for corporate welfare; and 
we do not have enough to give them so we have got to go to the Japanese 
to borrow them so we can give them to the wealthiest industries in the 
United States. This is craziness, and we need to stop it.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. And the Chinese and OPEC.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. It is the cost of corruption and cronyism. It is 
the cost. Who pays it?
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. It is the cost of the K Street project, and the 
average person that pays taxes foots the bill.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Can I just get a third party validator in it for 
you? Just today, NewYorkTimes.com, the Members can go on to it: Huge 
giveaways were in the works for the oil industry. Not the veterans, not 
the working Americans, and it spells it all out here. Mr. Speaker, I do 
not have a conspiracy theory, but it is right here. It is clear.
  I do not know. I am so glad that I am not a member of the majority 
because I do not even know how I could come to the floor and defend 
this. How can I even shape my mouth to say this is good? But somehow 
there must be some sort of in front of the mirror in the restroom kind 
of I can do this, because this is wrong. The sad part about it is that 
the country is paying the price; and the folks that are wearing the 
suits, being driven around with tinted windows in cars and sedans and 
all, do not even know the price of a carton of milk because they have 
someone else go out and get it. They are getting paid by the U.S. tax 
dollar. Meanwhile, we are telling veterans, schoolchildren, U.S. 
cities, to suck it up.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Now, of course, we are presented with a plan that would 
cut Medicare and cut Medicaid. So if you are a senior in this country, 
and, of course, we are here representing the generation of 30 
somethings, but if you happen to be getting close to that point in your 
life where you receive a Medicare card, be careful. Do not count on it.
  A while back there was a speaker who preceded over this Chamber who 
said Medicare, let it wither on the vine. Well, I wonder if that 
particular submission to cut and slash Medicare is the beginning of the 
withering process. It just is not right. But, as we were saying 
earlier, a lot of it is just rank incompetence. But when you combine 
this magnitude of incompetence that we have witnessed surrounding 
Katrina and surrounding the reconstruction of Iraq, it easily evolves 
into corruption.
  There was an audit done or at least a preliminary audit done by the 
General Accountability Office which, as Members know is a nonpartisan, 
independent agency to review government expenditures; and they 
discovered that the government has squandered millions of dollars in 
Katrina disaster aid, including handing 2,000 debit cards to people who 
gave phony Social Security numbers and used the money for such items as 
a $450 tattoo.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Can you repeat that? I missed that.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. A $450 tattoo. Federal money also paid for $375 a day 
beachfront condos and almost 11,000 trailers that were stuck in the mud 
and unusable.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Do you have the number on the trailers, how much 
that cost? Because I heard it today, and I am sorry to interrupt you, 
but I think this is a salient point that we need to make.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. The GAO auditor, Gregory Kurz, told senators during a

[[Page 1562]]

hearing that the amount of waste and abuse and fraud could be hundreds 
of millions of dollars. They just do not know yet.

                              {time}  2245

  As he indicated, FEMA may also have brought too many temporary homes, 
including 11,000 units that currently sit empty in sinking mud in Hope, 
Arkansas, while they are needed in Louisiana and Mississippi. It is the 
incompetence of the planning process that was nonexistent. Today, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security announces, I am going to address that, I 
am going to hire 1,500 disaster specialists. Good job, Mike, heck of a 
job.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. I heard tonight on CNN earlier this evening that 
the cost of the 11,000 trailers was upwards of $300 million. So 
basically what happened is FEMA is so screwed up, okay, because there 
are not many other ways to put it. They are so screwed up that they 
bought 11,000 trailers that they moved to Hope, Arkansas, and put them 
in a field that is full of mud. They sunk in the mud so they are not 
even good anymore. They will probably have to get rid of them.
  Real estate people in Louisiana said that $300 million could build 
2,500 homes for middle-class people in Louisiana or in the gulf States. 
It could open up all of the schools in the gulf coast.
  So when we come down here and we are talking about the debt, the 
deficit, and the recklessness and the irresponsible spending, reckless 
abandon for balancing the budget, that is one issue.
  But another issue is look at the waste. My goodness, $300 million to 
buy trailers that are now sitting in the mud in Hope, Arkansas, instead 
of actually housing people?
  You mentioned Speaker Gingrich earlier. He was talking, and I read in 
the paper the other day, he is as critical of the Republican 
establishment in this House and in the Senate and in the White House as 
any of us are.
  This is not about Democrat and Republican. This is about America 
functioning as a government in the 21st century with the communication 
capabilities that we have, with the technology that we have, with the 
know- how that we have. To hear afterwards that experts were trying to 
tell folks in FEMA, and outside of FEMA, what would happen if there was 
a category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane that came into the gulf States. We knew.
  What we are trying to say here is that the Republican majority in the 
House and the Republican majority in the Senate, in this 
administration, Republicans in the White House, do not know how to 
govern.
  Now, because the whole philosophy is that all government from top to 
bottom does not work, it is worthless, it has no value, that is not 
true. That is just not true. We are saying that government needs to get 
out where it does not work, and it needs to be efficient and effective 
where it has responsibility.
  Now, FEMA, for example, who else is going to coordinate between the 
gulf States and emergency response? Who else is going to protect us 
with Homeland Security, of which you are a committee member, Mr. Meek? 
Who else is going to provide for the defense? Who is going to balance 
the budget? Government has some responsibilities to invest.
  All we are saying is do it in a responsible manner. This nonsense is 
reckless, paying $225 or $230 billion in interest on the money you are 
borrowing from the Chinese Government, Japanese Government and the OPEC 
countries, and then basically raising tuition and underfunding No Child 
Left Behind.
  In Ohio, No Child Left Behind is underfunded by $1.5 billion a year. 
Cutting veterans benefits? Not funding Homeland Security? You know, 
this is not very visionary on behalf of our brothers and sisters on the 
other side of the aisle.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Ryan, in the same breath, the President is 
talking about we want to embrace innovation. We want to prepare the 
next generation to lead. We want to make sure that we put our fiscal 
house in order.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Well, then, this number, my friend, the purple 
lavender, it is a nice lavender, it needs to be at the level of the 
red. The education needs to be up here, and the net interest on the 
debt needs to be down here. Then we will start talking about 
innovation.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. One other thing that I want to make sure that we 
add, Members, so that Members will know exactly, because I believe in 
third-party validators. I also believe in sharing information.
  I know, Mr. Ryan, you will give this information out, but I want to 
make sure that folks understand and the Members understand. Because I 
know some Members are in their offices saying, I need to know this, 
Republicans and Democrats. I want to get a copy of this, and you can, 
www.housedemocrats.gov/30something. You can go on there. All of the 
charts that we have here tonight will be posted, and the articles that 
we have will be in the news section so that the Members can get it.
  Because I think it is important, Mr. Delahunt. It is one thing to do 
something and not know. It is another thing to do something and know. I 
will tell you supermajority and Republican leadership know. Okay, maybe 
some Members may be a little bit confused about what is actually 
happening, maybe.
  It is easy, because there are a lot of things that are going on. But 
while we are driving up the debt, and the highest that it has ever 
been, and while that whole interest piece that you have there, Mr. 
Ryan, Mr. Delahunt, that is not to build schools, that is not to put 
the gulf coast victims into homes, that is not to help our veterans, 
that is not even to have world-class health care. That is to make tax 
cuts permanent for millionaires.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. And to pay the interest and our debts off to the 
Chinese, Japanese, the Koreans and OPEC.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Well, can I interject, because I can, this may be 
going to build schools; but it is going to build schools in China, 
because they are making money off of us. It is going to build schools 
in Japan, which of course we want the kids all over the world to be 
educated and healthy. We were all for that. But you know, not because 
of the recklessness that the Republican majority has been exercising 
here.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. If I can, just for a moment, just to digress, because 
we have been talking about Katrina and the fraud and the mismanagement 
associated with the Katrina spending, I think it is important to 
remember, too, that about half of the 700 contracts that have already 
been issued were issued on a no-bid basis, and they were issued to 
corporations that have obvious political ties. But that is a subject 
for another night.
  But, again, it goes back to just incompetence and lack of planning.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Basic stuff, basic stuff.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. And lack of due diligence. But it also exists, 
tragically, in a far greater magnitude, with American tax dollars that 
are being used to build schools, roads, hospitals, dams, and levees in 
Iraq. I mean, I have a major concern about the fraud and the corruption 
that is going on in Iraq with the use of American taxpayer dollars.
  I don't know if either one of you, but I am sure many who might be 
watching this evening, witnessed the CBS news ``60 Minutes'' program 
that aired this past Sunday. It really was remarkable. They highlighted 
one firm called Custer Battles. Custer Battles was started by an 
individual with the name Scott Custer, a former Army Ranger, and Mike 
Battles, an unsuccessful congressional candidate from Rhode Island, who 
claimed to be active in the Republican Party and have connections at 
the White House.
  They arrived in Baghdad without any money; yet within a year, they 
had $100 million in contracts. They have now been charged with fraud 
and abuse, mismanagement, et cetera. They were supposed to provide some 
security services for the Baghdad airport. The security director at the 
airport communicated via e-mail and had this to say: ``Custer Battles, 
this is the company,

[[Page 1563]]

has shown themselves to be unresponsive, uncooperative, incompetent, 
deceitful, manipulative and war profiteers. Other than that, they are 
swell guys.''
  The number two man at the Coalition Provisional Authority's Ministry 
of Transportation, the American-run temporary government running the 
affairs of Iraq immediately after the invasion, had this to say: ``It 
was the Wild West. There were $100,000 bricks of $100 bills. The money 
was a mixture of Iraqi oil revenues, war booty and U.S. Government 
funds ear marked for the coalition authority.'' This is a member of the 
administration.
  When asked about Custer Battles' performance, the top Inspector 
General for the Army in Iraq reviewed it to see if the company was 
living up to its contract, such as it was. His name is Colonel Richard 
Ballard. When asked, he said: ``The contract looked to me like 
something that you and I would write over a bottle of vodka. Complete 
with all the spelling and syntax errors and annexes, to be filled in 
later. They presented it the next day and they got awarded about a $15 
million contract.'' They were supposed to provide security for 
commercial aviation at the Baghdad airport, but the airport never 
reopened for commercial traffic.
  Now, do you think that they canceled or voided the contract? No, they 
got another contract after that. It was for a bomb-sniffing canine 
team.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. I just want to make a point, and then kick it to my 
friend, that all of that money that is wasted, Kendrick, is going to 
this. Okay? There was $100 million here, $100 million there. No 
oversight. No oversight at all on behalf of this Republican Congress.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. They don't want oversight.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. That is the problem. Article I, section 1 of the 
Constitution creates the House of Representatives, and our job is to 
oversee everything, including the administration. So if they are at 
war, we should be overseeing this. And if there is a bunch of political 
hacks that are making money off this, then we need to go and bust them. 
We need to be involved. But this Republican Congress will not oversee 
what is going on in Iraq, and the hundreds of millions of dollars that 
Mr. Delahunt was just talking about, you are paying for, you are, I am, 
with interest, because we are borrowing it from the Chinese and the 
Japanese governments.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. And OPEC.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. And OPEC. And OPEC. Did I mention OPEC?
  But this is an issue that, Kendrick, we need to oversee what is going 
on here and the Republican leadership does not want to provide the 
proper oversight. It is a waste of taxpayer dollars which goes to the 
interest on the debt, which we have to borrow from the Chinese and 
Japanese, which allows them to fund their economy.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. In my last 2 minutes, I am bouncing back to you 
to give the Web site address out, but I just want to make sure that we 
have a moment of clarity here. Mr. Speaker, we are not pointing these 
issues out as though we have not tried to stop these runaway majority 
borrow-and-spend Republicans here in this House.

                              {time}  2300

  For the Record, Congressional Record, I must add, not the Democratic 
Congressional Record, but the Congressional Record, Democrats have 
repeatedly tried to reinstate the pay-as-you-go philosophy. On March 
30, 2004, Republicans voted 209 to 209 against Democrats, which killed 
the motion that was offered by Mike Thompson of California to instruct 
conferees on recommendations as pay as you go. All right, that is the 
first example.
  The second one, May 25, 2004, Republicans voted 208 to 215. 
Republicans voted 215 to reject a motion by Dennis Moore, another 
Democrat that voted on the pay-as-you-go principle.
  November 18, 2004, Republicans took another vote to block former 
Member Stenholm's amendment to stop the debt limit from being 
increased. Time after time after time again. You can go on to our Web 
site. The Members can get this information. We have tried to stop this 
Congress. The only way you can stop this Republican Congress from doing 
what they are doing is make sure that we have more Democrats here in 
this House.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. www.housedemocrats.gov/30something. All of the 
posters that we had up tonight you will be able to access on the Web 
site.
  Again, I think that is an important point. Democrats have 
consistently tried to put fiscal restraints on this runaway spending 
that the Republicans have been doing over the past few years here, 
trying to balance the budget here so we can get back on the right track 
and get back the surpluses. We have got our hands full. Housedemocrats. 
gov/30something.
  Happy Valentine's Day to all the sweethearts out there.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Happy Valentine's Day, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. MEEK. We would like to thank the Democratic leader, Mr. Speaker; 
and, with that, it was an honor addressing the U.S. House of 
Representatives.

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