[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6946-6950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     THE 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 until midnight as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, once again, it is an honor to 
address the House; and, as you know, we are here once again with our 
30-Something Working Group.
  I am so glad to be joined here tonight by my good friend and 
colleague, Mr. Bill Delahunt, who is part of the something of the 30-
Somethings. I will be joining him soon come September. Also, Mr. Ryan 
from the great State of Ohio has joined us tonight; and others will be 
joining us as we work on the issues that the American people really 
care about.
  As you know, here in the 30-Something Working Group, Mr. Speaker, we 
come to the floor to not only share with the Members but also with the 
American people on what is going on here under the Capitol dome and 
also what is not going on. I think the whole reason why we come to the 
floor is to be able to share not only what Democrats are doing here 
under the dome. Sometimes we are able, when we are lucky, Mr. Speaker, 
to get some Members on the Republican side of the aisle to come and 
work on some of the issues that we are working on, issues that we care 
about not as Democrats but as Members of Congress, what we should be 
doing to make sure we spend the taxpayers' dollars wisely.
  This is happening time after time again as we look at this whole 
issue of price gouging, as we look at oil prices. On the Democratic 
side of the aisle, not 2 months ago, not 3 months ago, not even 4 
months ago, but last year the Democrats on this floor, and prior to 
last year, have had amendment after amendment shot down by the 
Republican majority who have been hand in hand with the oil companies 
that have been standing with them and making sure that they had a bill, 
an energy bill, that they felt comfortable with, from the beginning to 
the end, to the well-documented strategy meetings in the White House 
with the Vice President. And this is not what I am saying. This is what 
the news reports have said, and this is what the White House has 
admitted to and oil companies have admitted to, that they had an 
opportunity to sit down and outline the energy policy in this country 
that would benefit them.
  When we had legislation on the floor that we will be pointing out 
here tonight, third-party validators out of the Congressional Record 
that talked about it time after time, when we had real price gouging 
legislation on this floor, not because our bills were able to make it 
to the floor but in the forms of amendment, the Republicans shot it 
down on partisan votes time after time. I am talking about criminal 
penalties for oil companies when they gouge Americans, fines up to $3 
million when they are caught gouging Americans. But the Republican 
majority shot it down on a partisan vote.
  But before I yield to Mr. Delahunt, I just want to say once again I 
would like to thank our Democratic leadership for allowing us to have 
this hour once again on the floor like we do almost every night or 
every night, sometimes twice a night, when we have the opportunity to 
come to the floor, Mr. Speaker: our democratic leader, Ms. Nancy 
Pelosi; also our whip, Mr. Steny Hoyer; Mr. Jim Clyburn, who is our 
chairman; and Mr. Larson, who is our vice chairman; and all the 
Democratic ranking members and other folks that work every day, Mr. 
Delahunt, and you know, offering amendments in committees. Like Mr. 
Ryan and I just left our Armed Services Committee, offering amendments 
that would not only help our men and women in uniform but the American 
people in general.
  I will be happy to yield to Mr. Delahunt at this time.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, towards the end of the hour this past 
hour, my good friend from Iowa spoke about a variety of different 
subjects; and he made mention of what we ought to have done in terms of 
immigration and other issues. In part I agree, and in part I disagree.
  But I think what is important and it cannot be stated often enough, 
whatever the problem is, whether it be the mismanagement of the 
reconstruction phase in Iraq, whether it be the price of gas at the 
pump, whether it be illegal immigration into this country, it comes 
back to one basic fact: that over the course of the past 6 years, 6 
years now, this country has been presided over by a Republican 
administration. President George W. Bush was elected in the year 2000. 
It is now 2006.
  Back in 1994, Mr. Meek and Mr. Ryan, this House saw for the first 
time in 40 years a Republican majority. Across this Capitol building, 
the Senate has been controlled for most of the past 10 years and is 
currently controlled by the Republican Party.
  So what I really cannot understand is why have all these things not 
been addressed? What has happened to our borders? There are laws on the 
books now. We have had waves of illegal immigration coming across our 
borders for the past 6 years.

                              {time}  2315

  My friend from Iowa was talking about how many come across daily. 
Where has this administration been? Where has this Congress been? Are 
they just waking up? This is not a recent problem. Because the truth 
is, they can talk about Democrats. They can talk about problems that 
are out there that are real and that are serious. But they are 
Washington. They own this town. They run this institution. They run 
this government. If there is a problem with the price of oil, or if 
there is a problem with immigration, or if there is a problem with 
health care or the environment, they had the power to address it.
  What I would suggest is that they have failed. They have failed. They 
have been unable to get their act together. They could build fences. 
They could have kept the price of gas down. They didn't have to get us 
into this mess in Iraq.
  But that is what they have done. That is the legacy of this White 
House, confirmed with the stamp of approval by this Congress.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. I think the overall point, as you stated, is 
exactly correct. But when the time came, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Meek, when 
the time came for the Republican Party to muster up enough votes to 
make sure a person making $10 million----
  Mr. DELAHUNT. But, Mr. Ryan, they are in charge here. They have to 
muster up the votes. Where were they? With all due respect to my friend 
from Ohio, they are in charge of the border. They are in charge of 
immigration. They are in charge, period. And what have they done? They 
have failed.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Delahunt, you know what they have done? 
Anything the President said he wanted, they rubber-stamped it. Anything 
that the oil industry said that they wanted, they rubber-stamped it. 
Any problem where the American people says, why is the card stacked 
against me policy-wise, whether it be health care, whether it be 
prescriptions, what have you, they have rubber-stamped it.
  If you watched The Today Show just this morning, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. 
Ryan, Matt Lauer had the CEO of ExxonMobil on. Let me give credit to 
the CEO of ExxonMobil, because the other oil companies would not 
comment.
  One of the questions was, do you feel that the Republican majority in 
the Congress have turn-coated on you now? Have they switched on you 
now? Now they are running politically scared. Now they are willing to 
take windfall profits away from you. Now they are willing to go forth 
on price gouging legislation. Do you think they turned on you?
  The ExxonMobil CEO never answered the question. But it is very 
obvious, like you said, they are in charge. It is almost like the old 
saying, ``the buck stops here.'' The Republican majority doesn't want 
to admit to that now.

[[Page 6947]]

  Now they are writing letters saying, maybe we need to do this and 
maybe we need to do that. But these are the same individuals, our 
colleagues on the majority side of the aisle, that put all of this in 
motion. Now they are trying to act like they had nothing to do with it. 
``Oh, my God, the oil prices are horrendous. We need to do something 
about it.''
  They were a part of making it happen.
  Mr. Ryan, since we are talking about The Today Show, we don't want to 
even get into what happened with Tim Russert effort this past weekend 
about the oil prices and individuals admitting the reasons why they are 
where they are.
  I would say this: If we were in charge, if we were in charge, Mr. 
Speaker, there would be a line outside of this door of Republican 
Members of Congress coming to the floor saying what the Democrats are 
not doing.
  Now, on oil and gas, we tried to correct this situation long ago. The 
question of price gouging, or can we investigate oil companies or not, 
would not even be on the table, because we would have price gouging 
legislation on the books that are criminal, that are criminal, and have 
$3 million fines.
  Right now, individuals investing in oil companies, they are getting 
paid. They are getting their money. Meanwhile, the headlines in the 
Today, this was actually Wednesday, today, May 3, here is this lady 
thinking about how much she can pump in. I guarantee you she cannot 
even fill her tank up, because the gas prices are so high.
  So I am going to go through what I said last week. If you are a 
Republican and you are the head of the Republican club, or whatever it 
may be in your local community, you have to have a problem with this. 
If you are a Republican, you have to have a problem with the record-
breaking borrowing we are taking out from foreign countries. You have 
to have a problem with the hand-in-hand relationship this 
administration and Republican Congress has had with big oil. You have 
to have a major problem with it. Independents, I know that you are just 
done with this Republican majority.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. If the gentleman would allow me, the energy bill that 
passed this Congress just about a year ago, in June 2005, Mr. Meek, Mr. 
Ryan, Mr. Speaker, that was a bill that was passed by the Republican 
majority. It was passed with only minimal support from Democrats.
  Do you know what the cost of a gallon of gas was when you pulled up 
at that gas station back in June of 2005 when this House passed and the 
President signed the Republican energy bill, Mr. Meek, Mr. Ryan? It was 
around $2 a gallon. Let me answer my own question.
  Now, do you know what? It is just about a year later, and the fact is 
a year after this Republican majority passed their bill, their energy 
act, gas is now $3 a gallon. $3 a gallon. They run this institution. 
They pass the laws here. This is their bill. This is their $3 a gallon 
problem. It is all of our problem, but the consequences of what they 
have done for the oil and gas industry in this country translates into 
a problem for all Americans.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. This reminds me of when a football team or a 
basketball team hires a new coach. They get a coach and usually give 
him a 5-year contract and give the coach a chance to go out and get 
their recruits and get them into the system. If you are not winning by 
the time you have your system in place and your players on your team or 
your draft picks on your team, by the fifth year, done. You go. Right? 
You had your chance.
  That is exactly what my friend from Massachusetts was saying: This 
Republican Congress has been in charge since 1994. The President has 
been in since 2000. The Senate is controlled by Republicans and has 
been for at least 10 years, with a brief period of Democratic control, 
barely. They have had a chance to make their implementations, put their 
policies into place, energy, immigration, taxes, whatever the case may 
be.
  It hasn't worked. It is time to get new coaches, time to get new 
players, time for a new draft. In November of 2006, we have a draft. 
What we are saying is here is our agenda. Here are the plays we are 
going to run, the innovation agenda, the energy agenda, the real 
security agenda.
  I can guarantee you, there is going to be nobody on the Democratic 
side when we take over this House in November of 2006 that you are 
going to be able to put in place of the President here holding hands 
with one of the most powerful oil leaders in the entire world, Mr. 
Meek.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Ryan, Mr. Delahunt, I did jot down a couple 
of notes here before we came to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to share a little bit with the Members of 
the facts, not fiction.
  I am not a Member with a conspiracy theory, but I am here to say that 
we know that Republicans, I am going to point out where they, Mr. 
Delahunt, have blocked Democratic efforts to deal with the price 
gouging situation. Now they are running for political cover and 
scrambling to join Democrats. That is actually an article in the 
Washington Post from May of 2006. The Democratic ideas about energy 
independence, conservation and efficiency that benefits all of 
Americans, they are now trying to pick up those ideas and trying to run 
with them. But it is not a good faith effort, because the oil industry 
will not allow them to do so. We know about the Vice President Cheney's 
secret energy task force/working group with big oil to write the Bush-
Cheney and Republican Congress energy plan.
  That was in the Washington Post, Mr. Speaker, in case the Members 
want to get a copy of it, 11-16-05.
  Bush-Cheney and the Republican colleagues gave their backing to big 
oil, $20 million in royalty fees for drilling. That is the New York 
Times, 2-14-06. Also the New York Times, 3-29-06. You can get these 
articles if you want to read up on them.
  Last year, $9.5 billion in subsidies in last year's energy bill went 
to the oil companies--$9.5 billion--$16 billion first quarter profits 
for the top three oil companies. That is the Washington Post, 4-28-06.
  Record CEO salary pack packages. Look this up if you want to. This is 
not the Kendrick Meek report. This is what is being reported on ABC 
News, 4-14-06.
  Big oil companies have given to Bush-Cheney and Republicans more than 
$20 million in campaign contributions. Congressional Daily a.m., that 
is 4-28-06. I will be happy to share this, and this will be on the Web 
site later.
  More than $70 million to Bush and his Republican colleagues since 
2000. Republican Daily, a.m., that is the local magazine here that is 
printed here in the Capitol, 4-28-06.
  Eighty-four percent of big oil and gas campaign contributions went to 
Republicans in the last 24 months, Congressional Daily a.m., 4-28-06.
  This is not put out by the Democratic Party or the DNC or any of 
these groups. These are news organizations that are just reporting on 
what is going on here in the Capitol.
  Bush-Cheney got more than $2.6 million in '04 from the oil companies, 
Congressional Daily a.m. 4-28-06.
  The cost of corruption to the American people, when you talk about 
this kind of influence that is going on here, this unprecedented 
giveaway to the big oil companies, $3 per gallon, the oil price doubled 
since 2001. Almost $75 per barrel of oil, up from $44 a year ago. That 
was reported on 5-3-06.
  I think it is also important, I just want to point out, when folks 
talk about, okay, you are reporting news that we might have already 
read, Republicans voted against the tough penalties we talked about and 
price gouging, $100 million on corporations, as well as up to $1 
million in fines or 10 years in prison or both for individuals. That 
was CQ vote 500, H.R. 3402, 9-28-05. Republicans rejected that.
  They rejected another one where we came back with even tougher 
penalties, up to $3 million with the same penalties, vote 517, H.R. 
3893, and that was 10-7-05. It goes on with other votes they rejected. 
Another one on 10-7-05. We tried it time after time again, Mr. Speaker. 
The Republican majority has blocked these measures that we have tried 
to put forth.

[[Page 6948]]

  There is no question, Mr. Delahunt, if we were in the majority, we 
wouldn't be on the floor talking about what was blocked.

                              {time}  2330

  We will be on the floor talking about what we passed. Maybe just 
maybe, Mr. Ryan and Ms. Wasserman Schultz, that question of price 
gouging, the question of preying on the backs of the American people 
who are just trying to drive their kids to school, trying to go to 
work, trying to be a part of the American dream, small businesses are 
scratching their heads saying, do we have to go up on a per-unit cost 
in the hardware store because of the fuel prices?
  Maybe just maybe it would not be a discussion if this special 
interest did not have the Republican majority blocking for them and 
legislating on their behalf. So when we see those letters that are 
written by the Republican majority in the House or the Senate to the 
President saying, well, maybe we need to do this, and maybe we need to 
do that.
  People that do not have power write those kind of letters, not the 
individuals that are in power. I am going back to your point, Mr. 
Delahunt, because you are saying if you are in charge, I am not talking 
about if you just picked up power last year. I am talking about double 
digit years, a majority in this House, a Republican President that has 
been in office since 2000. Now it is 2006.
  Because I guarantee you, if this was 2002, Mr. Delahunt, they would 
be talking about, well, this is Bill Clinton's fault. But they cannot 
say it with a straight face. So I am going back to your original point, 
Mr. Delahunt. And I know you have a couple of articles to share with us 
tonight. I am really looking forward to those articles because I think 
it is important that we continue to bring out the third party 
validators.
  I think that is the reason why, Mr. Speaker, that the 30 Something 
Working Group, we get the nod from people here in this Capitol, be it 
Republican, Democrats or Independents who work here. They are saying, 
we appreciate, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, what you all do on the floor, of 
sharing with folks of what is happening here in this Capitol building.
  Because I can tell you that at no other time in the history of this 
country did we have the kind of over spending, the borrowing, the reach 
of the private sector into this great country, this democracy of ours, 
and having the kind of influence that they have and having this lady 
here, who is just trying to make her way out of nowhere, putting gas in 
her tank.
  She is probably squeezing the pump saying, I cannot go over $30 
because I am already outside of my budget. Meanwhile, there are folks 
running around here with suits being driven in black limos with $4 
million pension plans, $150,000 a day in a pension plan. And then we 
got folks out in Mr. Ryan's district that are being laid off that do 
not even know if they are going to have a pension when it is all over.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I guess the question is to the majority in 
this House and to this administration, where have you been? What have 
you done? Well, you passed last year the so-called Energy Policy Act. 
And that basically provided welfare to Big Oil. It produced in excess 
of $14 billion of tax incentives and subsidies to Big Oil. All the 
while their industry, Big Oil, is experiencing record, record profits.
  In 2001, the five major oil companies in the aggregate had $34 
billion of profit. In 2005, as a result of the Republican energy 
policy, the oil companies recorded historic profits in the amount of, 
can you help me, Mr. Meek, read that? Does that say $113 billion?
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to join my 30 
Something colleagues once again.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Is that 113 billion?
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. That is $113 billion in 2005.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. So in 2002 it was $34 billion of profits for Big Oil. 
And in the space of 4 years, actually 3 years, that has trebled to $113 
billion.
  Now, maybe I am simple minded. But why would this Republican Congress 
and the White House feel the need to pass an energy bill that was all 
about protecting the subsidies to the oil companies while there are 
record, historic profits?
  Mr. Speaker, can somebody please explain that to me? And do not tell 
me about, you cannot drill here and you cannot do that, and you cannot 
do this. And if Democrats only whatever, fill in the blank. This is the 
Republican policy.
  This is the Republican House of Representatives. This is the 
Republican White House. The consequences of that policy, the 
consequences of that policy is the $3 plus per gallon price to the 
average American as he or she goes into that gas station. That is what 
it translates into. And Democrats have had nothing to do with it 
because you are Washington, Mr. Speaker, you are Washington.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out before, I have 
only been here 14 months, 15 months now. And a few things have happened 
that have just absolutely floored me. One of the things that has 
occurred was the two votes we had last year on energy legislation, 
energy legislation that the Bush energy department predicted would 
raise gas prices. And it did.
  But if you recall, we had an opportunity as Members to have a 
briefing from the cabinet officers, by the cabinet officers of the 
President in this chamber just last year.
  And if you recall, we had the Secretary of Energy stand in front of 
us. And when asked a question about why were they not doing anything 
about gas prices, and what were they going to do to bring down the cost 
of oil, he said, ``Well, we really cannot do anything''. I mean, that 
was his point blank answer.
  Now, when we are talking about prices at the pump, I do not 
understand why our Republican colleagues are not pumping up the volume 
on prices. I mean it is just incomprehensible that last year we would 
have a bill on this floor that not only gave money to the oil 
companies, to the oil companies gave them money, forgave taxes. And we 
have talked about these things before.
  The United States Government owns the land and the rights underneath 
where the oil companies are given permission to drill. We give them 
permission. And in exchange for that permission, they are supposed to 
pay us taxes. They are supposed to pay the United States Government for 
those drilling rights. Yet in the legislation last year, we forgave 
those taxes. We basically gave them the oil that they drilled for for 
free, and now we are letting them sell it to us and our constituents 
for ungodly amounts of money so that they can make ungodly amounts of 
money.
  On top of that, it is not even like it was a breeze to pass it. You 
know, you had Republicans here who were not allowed to vote their own 
conscience because from what I have noted, they all check their 
consciences at the door there and leave them out before they come in 
this room, so that there arms can be pressed behind their backs.
  And the board up here, it shows how we are voting, it is like a 
Christmas tree. It goes from red to green, green to red. Really I am 
not sure where their moral conviction is, because it certainly is not 
in this room when they are voting. They held one of those votes open on 
the Energy Bill that we did, I think this was last summer, for 40 
minutes, if you recall, so that they could ensure that they gave that 
gift to the oil companies.
  It was unbelievable. And we were already in the middle of a summer of 
high gas prices. And we have here another chart. And I think we have 
another one as well that shows the evolution of gas prices.
  But, we are now paying 100 percent more for gas than when President 
Bush first took office. 100 percent more. The rubber stamp Republicans, 
our rubber stamp Republicans right there, you cannot call it any other 
thing other than what it is. Literally last summer they let themselves 
be led off a cliff, led by the nose to do whatever it is that the 
leadership decided they were going to do for the oil industry.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. I do not even want to explore the motivation. I mean,

[[Page 6949]]

clearly there is a perspective. But I think what is necessary is to put 
the facts out in very simple form. And that is really dramatic. The 
story is told in very dramatic terms by that chart.
  The result of the Republican energy policy is when President Bush, 
working with a Republican Congress, came, was elected, was inaugurated 
as the President of the United States. By that chart, and I am sure it 
is well documented, the price of gas was $1.45. And today it is double. 
It is $2.91.
  That is understandable. And what is also irrefutable is that during 
that time the House, the Senate, and the White House were in power. And 
the consequences, the consequences of their energy policy, the 
Republican energy policy, has been a doubling in the price of gasoline 
at the pump.
  Huge increases in the cost of heating ourselves in our homes during 
the winter, and similarly dramatic increases in the cost of cooling 
ourselves in the summer, and for those particularly who live in the 
southern part of our country.
  That is the energy policy. But part of that energy policy is to 
ensure that Big Oil in this country reaps record profits, and 
simultaneously receives corporate welfare. That, let me suggest to my 
friends, is the Republican energy policy, period.
  Now they are panicked. Let us be honest. Now they are running around. 
I think it was the majority leader in the Senate. You know, they 
obviously are polling. It is an election year. And what is clear is 
that the American people are waking up and are demonstrating their 
anger.
  So they come in with not proposals that would, for example, increase 
the miles per gallon of our motor vehicles, but let us give everybody, 
every voter a $100 rebate if they own a car.
  I mean, that is laughable. That is really laughable. And how are they 
going to get the $100, Mr. Speaker, to give to every voter? They are 
going to go and they are going to borrow the money. They are going to 
borrow the money from somewhere. OPEC. China. Japan. Korea. So in a 
difficult political situation, with elections looming, they are going 
to buy off the voter with $100.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. And that will cost $10 billion just to pay for it.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. That is a $10 billion bill. And we do not have the 
money, Mr. Speaker, to do that. We do not have the revenue to do it. We 
have to go into the financial markets and borrow that money. And this 
administration has established another record which is that more than 
80 percent of the money that we have borrowed comes from overseas, Mr. 
Speaker, from the Chinese, from OPEC nations.
  And you have the chart right there, Mr. Meek. So we go and we borrow 
the money from foreign central banks, from foreign investors, to buy 
off the American voter at $100 per, because the American people are 
angry as a result of the Republican energy policy that has created a 
potential disaster for our economy.

                              {time}  2345

  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this back down for 
a second because I think we talk about the deficit and the debt a lot, 
and some of the things we talk about on the floor are a little hard to 
wrap your mind around in terms of the things the people deal with every 
day. So, when we boil it down to what people deal with themselves every 
day, which is what a tank of gas costs, what a gallon of gas costs, 
this is the evolution of what has happened under the Bush 
administration and their energy policy.
  In 2002, the summer gas price of a gallon of gas was average of 
$1.39. Then in 2003, it went to $1.57. Then in 2004, it went to $19.0. 
In 2005, it went to $2.37, and you know what, in April it was $29.1. It 
is now over $3. I just paid $3.05 at home, and it cost me $56 to fill 
up my minivan.
  So, when we are talking about what goes on up here and how 
disconcerting and disappointing it is that we have no leadership on the 
other side and no interest or ability for them, who clearly are in 
charge of this country and who could make this change, at the snap of 
their fingers if they wanted to, they can stand and say they cannot do 
anything to affect oil prices, but the President's been in office 6 
years. He had the ability to start right from the get-go and begin 
investing in alternative energy and trying to actually move the ball 
down the field when it comes to changing oil prices, but let us look at 
the timeline of what truly has resulted from the Bush and Republican 
energy plan.
  You have this White House energy plan that was submitted on May 16, 
2001, just about 5 years ago now, and you can see as you move up that 
timeline that, with each phase of the plan that has been implemented, 
this is the increase in gas prices. There is a significant correlation 
between the implementation of their energy plan and the increase in the 
cost of a gallon of gas.
  May 17, 2002, the Energy Secretary announces an effort to implement 
their energy plan under existing law. Gas prices go higher.
  Go a little further down the road, and it is December 10, 2004, 75 
percent of their energy plan that was hatched in that secret meeting, 
which they refuse to reveal who was part of it, 75 percent of the 
energy plan is implemented, and now we are at almost $2 a gallon, 
actually a little bit more than $2 a gallon.
  Then you go over to March 9 of last year, 95 percent of their energy 
plan is implemented, and we are approaching $3 a gallon.
  August 8, 2005, President Bush signs the energy legislation into law, 
and that is when gas literally in some places hits over $3 a gallon. 
Now, it has fluctuated back and forth. We are at over $3 a gallon 
again.
  The chart does not lie. It is very clear that their plan raised gas 
prices. You have an administration infected with former closely 
affiliated representatives of the oil industry, all the way up to the 
two people who run this country. I mean, it does not take a brain 
surgeon or a rocket scientist to figure it out. I mean, come on.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Talk about a picture speaking a thousand words. Why 
do we have high gas prices? Why do we have the problems?
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. You want to hear the statistic I heard today.
  As far as boiling it down what this means for people, $56 to fill up 
my minivan. We have not raised the minimum wage since 1997 in this 
country, and at the current minimum wage, a minimum wage worker has to 
work 38 minutes before they can even afford 1 gallon of gas, 38 
minutes. I mean, that is just over the top outrageous. I mean, it 
really is.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. If I can make a comment, thinking about the war and 
where we are right now with the whole war situation, that was all done 
in secrecy. No one knew what was going on. The intelligence was screwed 
up. Look where we are now.
  The energy plan, secrecy, closed doors. You are not allowed in, and 
people even from these big companies were denying that they were even 
there, and then we find out from a White House document a week or so 
ago that they were there. All done in secrecy, the success of our 
democracy over the years.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Can I just add one other. The prescription drug 
benefit, so-called part D, there was information----
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. To the point where we did not know what the total 
cost was going to be.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. There was information available to the White House that 
was not provided to the Congress in terms of the costs, and now we are 
faced with profound problems in terms of the execution and the 
implementation of that plan. Seniors are frustrated and confused. The 
so-called donut hole is going to be a stone wall that many seniors are 
going to run into.
  But the head of the Medicare trust fund told the actuary that was in 
possession of the White House estimates of the costs of the program, 
that if he disclosed those figures to this Congress, that he would lose 
his job. In other words, do not tell anybody anything.
  It just supports your point about an administration that is shrouded 
in secrecy, that refuses to be straight with

[[Page 6950]]

the American people and, I might add, refuses to indulge or to engage, 
rather, in genuine consultations with the Congress and particularly 
Democrats. We are kept out of any thoughtful, legitimate, genuine 
interaction in forming policy.
  That is why, Mr. Speaker, when you are talking about the energy 
policy, it is the Republican policy. It is the Republican $2.91 a 
gallon at the pump, up from $1.45 four years ago. It is your price per 
gallon. It is not Democrats. So please do not even suggest that 
Democrats had anything to do with the price that is breaking the 
average American family.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Ryan.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. He just articulated exactly what I was going to 
say, much more eloquently than I ever could. So maybe I will just point 
to this picture again, but I think Mr. Delahunt did make the point.
  If I could, the strength of our democracy over the years in a 
bicameral legislature is the debate of the minority party and the 
majority party in the House and coming to some reasonable solutions 
that have been debated through the committee process and vetted and 
studied and looked at, and then over to the Senate, and let that happen 
and then come together with the administration and make something 
happen.
  When you try to govern in secrecy, you are incapable, FEMA, energy, 
you know, education costs, all this stuff, there is no debate. It is 
just rule with an iron fist.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. I am going to yield to Mr. Delahunt, but first, 
well, that kills the whole thing.
  When you are doing a back-room deal, you do not come out under the 
lights. You do not share how we should mold policy in front of the 
public. You do a back-room deal.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Right.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. That is what this country is suffering from 
right now, a back-room deal, and the American people are paying for it.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. The end result is that chart you have right there 
behind Ms. Wasserman Schultz. It is the $3 a gallon in gas. It is the 
no vision for energy down the line. It is high tuition costs. It is 
health care costs spiraling out of control for how many years. That is 
the end result of the back-room deals that you are talking about.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Let me just add another illustration.
  What it comes down to is that let me go back to the Medicare reform 
issue, the so-called prescription drug, just to remind our colleagues 
and the American people that there was no consultation with Democrats 
about the prescription drug benefit. In fact, there was a so-called 
conference committee that should have brought Democrats and Republicans 
together to discuss the proposal, but Republicans in this House chose 
not to even inform the Democrats on that committee where the conference 
committee was meeting. They were shut out. They were shut out on that. 
They are shut out on energy. They are shut out on consultations in 
terms of the war, what led up to the war.
  I mean, this is a problem of our institutions being eroded because of 
the proclivity of this administration and this Republican Congress to 
operate behind closed doors and keep out the bad news from the American 
people and other important policy-makers in our government in our 
democracy.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. We have a couple of minutes left.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. The only thing I want to add in closing is 
that it is just such a sorry excuse to say we cannot do anything about 
gas prices. I mean, their argument is you cannot snap your fingers and 
make a difference overnight. If they cared at all, if the President 
meant what he said when he said we should end America's addiction to 
oil, like he said in his State of the Union address, then he would have 
embarked on a plan that would actually do that from the get-go, but 
that statement was so disingenuous and so far from what their goals 
are, as evidenced by their action that, you know, over the next 6 
months, with election after election, whether it is a special election 
in California or the elections we had last night in Ohio, people will 
let folks know here what they think of the policies that are being 
established.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. If Mr. Delahunt would take Mr. Ryan's 
responsibility, and give the Web site to the Members, please.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Sure. Our e-mail address is www.housedemocrats.gov/
30something.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Delahunt. Your 
contributions tonight have been well-noted, and I want to tell you that 
it is a pleasure being here on the floor with you and Mr. Ryan and Ms. 
Wasserman Schultz once again.
  Mr. Speaker, we would like to let not only the Members of the House 
but definitely the Democratic leadership echo the message that has been 
given out here tonight. We are ready to lead, we are ready to work in a 
bipartisan way in putting this country back on the track, heading in 
the right direction, making sure that our children have a great future, 
making sure that small businesses are able provide jobs and making sure 
that families can afford health care.

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