[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 6033-6038]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       30-SOMETHING WORKING GROUP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to come before the 
House once again. And as you know, the 30-Something Working Group, we 
come to the floor two, three, sometimes four times in a given week, in 
a legislative week, to share with the Members some of the issues that 
we are working on and some of the issues that we must tackle here in 
the 110th Congress.
  As you know, the work of the 30-Something Working Group has been 
going on now for, going on close to 4 years of hard work and making 
sure that not only the will of the American people prevails in this 
House, the people's House, this U.S. House, but to make sure that we 
act, we legislate in an accountable way; also bring about the kind of 
oversight, and put us on the new direction that we need to be in 
several of the areas that we face now, such as Iraq, such as making 
sure that we have affordable health care, making sure that we have a 
clean environment, making sure that we take care of our veterans. And 
fiscal responsibility is the backdrop of the overall accountable flag 
that we stand under.
  Mr. Speaker, a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks, and a 
lot has happened since the 110th Congress took control of the U.S. 
House of Representatives, Democratic control, and working in a 
bipartisan way.
  I spent a lot of time on the floor in the past talking about the 
bipartisan votes that have taken place here on this floor because I 
think that it is something that we should all be proud of. I am not 
talking about proud Democrats. I am talking about Republicans, 
Independents that are paying attention to this process, Democrats, 
first time voters. Individuals that are thinking about voting should be 
encouraged about the spirit that we have here in the U.S. House of 
Representatives and making sure that we bring work products that a 
majority of the Members can vote for, and that means Democrats and 
Republicans.
  These are a few of the votes that I just want to highlight here once 
again: implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations, H.R. 1, which 
was the first bill, Mr. Speaker, we spoke of that we had the 
opportunity to lead. When I say ``we,'' I am saying the Democratic 
majority, to be able to bring to the floor, which was a bipartisan 9/11 
Commission. And it was a book that many read, and one of the New York 
Times bestseller books. Passed 299-128, with 68 Republicans voting for 
it.
  Raising the minimum wage, H.R. 2, which was the second bill in this 
110th Congress, this Democratic Congress that came up. Again, we must 
be reminded that the vote was 315-116, with 82 Republicans voting with 
the Democrats on that particular measure.
  Funding for enhancement of stem cell research, H.R. 3, again, 
bipartisan vote, 253-174.
  Making prescription drugs more affordable for seniors, H.R. 4, 255-
170, which is a majority vote in a bipartisan manner.
  Something that really means a lot to the 30-Something Working Group, 
reversing the increase of interest rates to students and also American 
families that are trying to educate themselves to take advantage of the 
high-tech jobs that we are trying to provide, and also the skilled 
labor jobs that we are trying to generate here in our economy, cutting 
student loans, interest rates in half, which was H.R. 5, which passed 
by 356 votes to 71.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to really make a case in point as it relates 
to that particular vote because young people are our future, and even 
working, some folks think that many of our students graduate from high 
school and they go right into college. We have many working Americans 
that have to work and go to school at the same time, or have to work 
and then go to school later. And they have to take out these student 
loans. And cutting that interest rate in half is going to mean so much 
to the forward progress of our young people and our middle-age 
population that is trying to educate themselves to compete, not only 
with the person that is standing next to them, but compete against 
other countries.
  And so our education, the education of the people of the United 
States of America is paramount. And I am so happy to see, and this was 
one of the major objectives of the 30-Something Working Group, not to 
just represent those that are graduating from high school, but to also 
represent those parents that are trying to pay for higher education for 
their children.
  The greatest goal, I think, for a grandparent or a parent is to make 
sure that their children and grandchildren have better opportunities 
than what they have had. And I am excited about that opportunity that 
so many are going to have. Now, we have moved

[[Page 6034]]

here in the House to cut those interest rates in half.
  Also, creating long-term energy initiatives, which was H.R. 6, which 
passed 264-168, bipartisan vote, something that was needed as it 
relates to using subsidies for alternative fuels. Making sure that we 
invest in the Midwest versus the Middle East is something that we have 
all embraced and something that we all feel very strongly about.
  I am going to keep sharing that, Mr. Speaker, because I think it is 
important. In the 109th Congress, I spent a lot of time here working 
with the 30-Something Working Group talking about the uncontrollable 
debt that the Republican Congress kept accruing on behalf of future 
generations. And I talked about that, and it was a chart, and I had a 
rubber stamp. But I am going to talk a little bit more about it as we 
start to look at this question of accountability, the question of 
oversight, the whole slogan of moving in a new direction, fiscal 
responsibility.
  And I just want to make sure that I paint this picture, because what 
we are talking about now in the 30-Something Working Group, we used to 
talk about what we, if we had the opportunity to lead, what we will do. 
Now we are talking about what we are doing.
  But to be able to really paint a good picture, Mr. Speaker, for not 
only the Members to understand, but also the American people to 
understand, this is where we are right now, and we didn't just get 
there last week.
  As it relates to foreign debt held by foreign nations, this is as of 
December 2006. We updated this chart because we had numbers in place. 
As you know, we had the little Velcro numbers, which I understand that 
we are going to get that soon so that we can pull it off to really show 
what is happening here.
  We have Japan, that owns a part of the American apple pie at $644.3 
billion. And I think that it is important to understand that they buy 
our debt. That means they have a piece of the American pie because of a 
lack of fiscal responsibility, because the President has passed budgets 
down that has asked for tax cuts for the super-wealthy, that we spent 
out of control with a lack of accountability and oversight, with two 
wars that are going on, just continuing to borrow the money with very 
little oversight.
  I am setting the stage for a little later on in our talk here today.
  We have China. As of 11/05 it was $249.8 billion. And now, as of 
December 2006, China has moved up to $349.6 billion.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is also important, and I want to ask staff if 
we can get that Bush chart with the Republican Congress if we have that 
because I want to just show how historical these numbers are, because 
one may say, well, you know, there are a couple of wars going on. We 
have had 9/11. We have had a number of issues.
  I have a chart that is really going to show that that is contrary, 
that logic is contrary to the obvious of what has happened.

                              {time}  1615

  It is because the administration has decided to borrow from future 
generations and the present generation where the economic outlook for 
our children and grandchildren would not be what it should be because 
of our lack of responsibility. Thank God that we have a Congress in 
place right now that is going to put accountability first. Fiscal 
responsibility we have already adopted in our rules and continue to 
live under that flag of oversight and a new direction: $349.6 billion; 
the U.K., $239.1 billion; the Caribbean, $68 billion; Taiwan $63.1 
billion. OPEC nations, again, these are oil-producing nations in the 
Middle East, Mr. Speaker. Many of these nations the United States have 
bilateral talks and agreements with, but many of them are in question 
as it relates to the present situation in the Middle East. But guess 
what? They own a piece of the American apple pie. I don't even want to 
start to talk about gas prices and what is happening as it relates to 
OPEC nations. You have $67.8 billion as of 11/2005. And now, Mr. 
Speaker, December of 2006, OPEC nations, they have gone up in owning 
more of the American apple pie due to a lack of fiscal responsibility 
on behalf of the Bush administration and the past Republican Congress. 
Of the budgets that they have passed, they now own $100.9 billion of 
the American apple pie.
  Korea, $70 billion; Hong Kong, $53.9 billion; Germany, $52.5 billion.
  I think it is important that we pay very close attention to those 
numbers, and that is something that we should be very concerned about 
and continue to keep our eye on the prize so that we spend in a 
fiscally responsible way and that we make sure that we are accountable 
to the American people. And I feel good about the fact that we have a 
majority that is willing to fight on behalf of the greater good to make 
sure that we work on behalf of all of the American people.
  Now, this chart is a little old, Mr. Speaker, because these actually 
have the 2005 numbers, and we are updating it. This is something I feel 
very fond of because I always said that this chart is going to end up 
being a part of the national archives one day because it really shows a 
story, and it is factual.
  President Bush in 4 years, in 4 years, has managed to borrow more 
from foreign nations than 42 Presidents in 224 years of history. Now, 
these are 2005 numbers. I mean, I just want to make sure that we 
understand that these are 2005 numbers. So the numbers are higher now. 
Forty-two Presidents, look at them. All the way from George Washington, 
they were only able to borrow $1.01 trillion. President Bush and the 
Republican Congress, the 108th Congress and 109th Congress, borrowed 
$1.05 trillion in just 4 years.
  Now, one would say, how can that happen, Mr. Speaker? How do these 
countries, China of all countries, Red China, own so much of the 
American apple pie?
  Well, I can tell you how it happens. It has happened because the past 
Republican Congress rubber stamped everything that the Bush 
administration sent to this floor at the objection of so many Members 
of the House.
  But now the proper leadership has stepped forward and said that we 
are going to pay as we go. So that means that this budget process will 
be more controlled than it has ever been in recent history of saying 
that, if you are going to spend, you are going to show how you are 
going to pay for it. Not where you are going to get it from because we 
know where they got it from. They borrowed it. It is like taking out a 
high-interest credit card and saying, I am knowingly and willingly 
using this high-interest credit card to carry out spending that I know 
I can't afford to spend. I know this. I mean, it is not that it is an 
emergency. In the budget that the President has sent to this U.S. House 
of Representatives, the Bush administration budget, it is saying, let 
us make the tax cuts permanent for the super wealthy. Meanwhile, these 
countries that I outlined are paying for that tax cut. And I think it 
is important that we look at that. That is the fiscal responsibility 
end of the talk here today.
  I think it is also important for us to realize the discussion that we 
are having now on Iraq, Mr. Speaker. We talked about oversight. We 
talked about accountability. But to date, as of last week, last Friday, 
there have been 81 hearings on the issue of oversight and 
accountability on Iraq, across the committees in the House. And I think 
it is important that the Members pay very close attention to this 
because, as these hearings continue to happen, we have learned more 
about what is happening in Iraq, what is happening in Afghanistan, what 
is happening with our troops here and our veterans here on the ground; 
hearings were not happening at this rate in the past.
  Again, one of the obligations of the 30-Something Working Group is to 
make sure that everyone and every Member of the House understands that 
we are here to work, that we are here to make sure that accountability 
blows through the air conditioning ducts here in the hospital House.
  Why are we spending so much time talking about Iraq? Next week there 
will be a supplemental that will be in committee, and it will be marked 
up. What we call a markup, that means

[[Page 6035]]

that there will be a discussion about what goes into that supplemental 
bill. There will be appropriations, some $100 billion-plus, that will 
be in this bill, from what I understand. Why are we spending so much 
time having so many conversations about what should be in that bill?
  This is why, Mr. Speaker: On March 8, as of 10 a.m., 3,178 U.S. 
troops died; dead, period. As of March 9, which is today, Mr. Speaker, 
10 a.m., we have 3,186 troops that are dead. Now, I said, 3,178, as of 
yesterday, 10 a.m. Today, as of 10 a.m., 3,186. That is the reason why, 
Mr. Speaker, so many Members are spending time focusing on this issue 
of Iraq accountability and benchmarks on behalf of the American people 
and those that are in harm's way. That is not a Democratic issue. That 
is not a Republican issue. That is not an Independent issue. That is an 
issue that should be dealt with at the U.S. Congress, and it is going 
to take courage and leadership and commitment and some tenacity to 
bring about the kind of change that needs to happen to make sure that 
those individuals that have died in the line of duty, that their memory 
is not in vain, and that we accomplish and we have benchmarks and we 
take the training wheels off the Iraqi government, period, dot. I can't 
sugarcoat it. It is what it is, and it has to be laid out that way for 
folks to understand, for the Members to understand, I must add, that it 
is very important. This conversation and this debate and the discourse 
that is taking place in committee, it is very serious, and it should be 
above politics.
  The American people sent a very strong message in November. Democrats 
and Republicans, I am just going to say, the American people, period, 
sent a very strong message in November that they wanted to move in a 
new direction. They want more accountability. They want more oversight 
out of this U.S. House of Representatives. And they understand what is 
going on in the White House. There are places where Republicans won 
elections by landslides in the past. And guess what? In the November 
election, you couldn't elect a Republican as far as the eye can see or 
within eight or nine area codes because of the lack of oversight and 
accountability that was not carried out here in this House in the last 
couple of sessions of Congress versus this session.
  Why is this issue important? As of 10 o'clock today, 23,924 wounded 
and 10,627 of those cannot return to battle or to duty.
  What is in this so-called Defense supplemental bill? Some may talk 
about benchmarks. I want to talk a little bit about what is in the bill 
or what is going to be in the bill as the Defense Appropriations 
Subcommittee starts to what we call mark up and create this bill. The 
Speaker has said that U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq 
Accountability Act will provide our troops with equipment they need and 
require Iraqis to take control of their own country, help fight the war 
on terror and establish a date of withdrawal from Iraq.
  Well, what is wrong with that? What is wrong with making sure our 
troops have what they need when they go to war? Mr. Speaker, I came to 
the floor 2 weeks ago because I happened to pick up the paper, and I 
saw some Members were complaining about the fact that the Defense 
Appropriations Subcommittee was looking to put language in the bill 
that said, if you are going to deploy a troop into harm's way that that 
soldier or that troop, that Marine or that sailor or that airman or 
that Coast Guard person, National Guard, Reserves, you name it, that 
they have to have the equipment they need to carry out the mission. 
What is wrong with that? That is almost like sending a football player 
out in the field without a helmet and shoulder pads and saying, go 
play. This is serious business. And I named the number of those that 
are wounded and have died, and I can guarantee you, if we had had some 
of the language that we are talking about in place, maybe, just maybe, 
a number of those individuals would be living today. It is important. 
We are not four-star generals. We are Members of Congress. And we have 
been sent here to make sure that we are accountable to those that have 
signed up in a volunteer Army and a volunteer Marine Corps and a 
volunteer Navy and a volunteer Air Force to go defend this country and 
that have allowed us to salute one flag. It is our responsibility and 
our duty. And while we carry out that responsibility and duty, one may 
be misunderstood every now and then. And if it is about being 
misunderstood, then that means that you are not leading.
  My mother served in this Congress, Mr. Speaker, prior to my arrival 
here, and she said, ``Son, if you are not misunderstood from time to 
time, you are not leading.''
  I am glad to pick up periodicals, and I am glad to see the kind of 
discourse that is taking place on television, folks talking about what 
the Congress is doing, because you know something? At least we are 
doing something about the status quo. No longer will this House stand 
by, Mr. Speaker, and watch those that are unelected carry out the 
duties that the Congress should be carrying out.
  I have been on the Armed Services Committee now three Congresses, Mr. 
Speaker, and I can tell you many times I sit there and I watch 
individuals that are on the panel before us, and I kind of want to ask 
the question, but I don't want to be sarcastic by saying, I hope you 
are not filling me with confidence that the troops have everything they 
need.
  When I came to Congress, we went into Iraq. I wasn't here for the 
vote to go or to give the President authority or what have you, but I 
was here, and I remember asking the question, are we ready for this 
guerrilla warfare once we reach Baghdad? That answer was, ``yes.'' Do 
we have the equipment in place? That answer was, ``yes.'' Do we have 
up-armored vehicles in place? That answer was, ``yes.''
  News report after news report, document after document this big, Mr. 
Speaker, says the contrary. Two trips to Iraq represents something 
different from what I heard here in a committee room in the Rayburn 
Building that the troops have what they need. Well, guess what? We no 
longer want to go off of what someone tells us in Washington, D.C., 
that is happening or not. We want the President to have to be able to 
confirm that there is a need for additional troops or to send 
additional troops to Iraq. We want to make sure that the troops know 
that there is a Congress here that is going to put that language in 
place to make sure they have what they need.
  I can't tell you how many marines and how many soldiers told me, sir, 
with all due respect, sir, I will be here as long as you want me here, 
but I went on a patrol the other night, and I didn't have the proper 
equipment. I didn't have the up-armored vehicles. And it takes a Member 
of Congress to go to someone and say, I heard a patrol went out last 
night and didn't have what they needed.

                              {time}  1630

  We are not trying to make command decisions on the ground. We are 
just trying to make sure the men and women have what they need.
  Also within this supplemental that we are looking at is legislation 
that prohibits the deployment of troops that are not fully mission 
capable as defined by the Department of Defense. In other words, troops 
who are not fully trained, equipped and protected by the standards of 
the Department of Defense will not go.
  Now, this is what the Department of Defense has asked for. Why can't 
the Congress then back up the Department of Defense and say we agree 
with you, even though we know you have not been practicing some of the 
things that you have adopted as policy?
  The President can only deploy unprepared troops if he certifies in 
writing to Congress that the deployment of those troops are in the 
national interest. That means it is imperative that we send troops that 
are untrained and unprepared into harm's way. The President has to 
confirm that it is within the national interest that that should 
happen. That is not taking his powers away as Commander in Chief, it is 
just putting in another level of accountability, making sure that the 
President

[[Page 6036]]

knows that there is a Congress here that is willing to carry out the 
accountability and the oversight that is needed.
  It also provides that the Veterans Administration has to meet the 
obligations of the new generation of veterans that will be coming out 
of two of these wars.
  There are two wars going on, Mr. Speaker. A lot of folks forget. 
Iraq? Okay. Afghanistan. But guess what? There are two different wars 
going on. Because of the lack of planning in the Iraq war, troops were 
sent to Iraq from Afghanistan, and guess what? The Taliban is back and 
strong in Afghanistan. Now we need more troops, more coalition troops, 
because of the decisions that were made in a Congress that did not 
provide the oversight that it should have provided to make sure that we 
brought about ultimate accountability. I think it is important that we 
endorse the philosophy that we are going to prepare for what is to 
come.
  It is time for the Iraqis to take control of Iraq. We say it all the 
time. In this bill, the bill will require that the Iraqi government has 
to meet key security, political and economic benchmarks that were 
established, Mr. Speaker, by the President of these United States on 
January 10 when he addressed this Congress. What is wrong with that? 
The President said if it doesn't happen, then they will see a 
withdrawal and we will not be there forever. I am paraphrasing. This is 
what the President said.
  Now, being a Member of Congress, now going on my third term, I think 
it is very important for us to understand, there are some things that 
the President has said during the State of the Union that ended up 
being reality, or becoming reality, and there are a lot of things that 
he said that did not.
  I trust the fact that the Commander in Chief and Members of Congress 
will not send someone into war unprepared. I will trust that. I would 
want to believe that. But we know that it has happened, where we failed 
our troops as it relates to getting them what they need.
  But I think it is important for us to understand, Mr. Speaker and 
Members, it is very, very important that we put in the language of this 
supplemental, which I must add, let me break this down more, when I say 
defense supplemental bill, that means this is an appropriations bill 
that is going to be $100 billion that will go towards operations in 
Iraq and Afghanistan and in other parts of the world as it relates to 
this issue of fighting terrorism. But it should not be a blank check. 
It should not be a one line bill.
  Some would like to leave it up to the Pentagon. Leave it up to folks 
who we don't have any idea, the public, who they are. Unelected 
individuals. Leave it up to them. They know what is best. They are the 
professionals.
  Well, I believe in professionalism too. But when I go down to the 
Seventeenth Congressional District of Florida and my constituents ask 
me, Congressman, what did you do to make sure that my tax dollar is 
being spent appropriately? ``Well, they just said send the money. I 
thought it was important. We just voted and let them deal with it.''
  It is not an us and them. It is a we. And when money is spent in an 
inappropriate way, when you have companies like Halliburton and other 
contractors that are under investigation, I must add, that are still 
receiving contracts, U.S. Federal contracts, the taxpayer dollar, then 
we have to have accountability.
  Now, I don't know anyone that really has a problem with that. I can 
go to a rally of conservative to the right of the right of the right 
Republicans and ask them, do you want accountability measures in a $100 
billion-plus supplemental bill, or do you just want us to pass it and 
say leave it up to whoever is making the decisions in whatever 
department they are in with no-bid contracts and allow some of the 
things that happened in Iraq, when companies get a flat tire and then 
they torch the truck and we buy a brand new tractor-trailer because it 
was better for the company if they just replace the truck. Which one do 
you want? Do you want accountability measures in it? Do you want 
benchmarks in it? Do you want to have hearings?
  Do you see the number? Oh, goodness, I am glad the staff changed this 
for me, Mr. Speaker. It is that quick. I started talking about last 
week's numbers. I get new numbers. Ninety-seven hearings held on Iraq 
oversight. Do you want this? Or do you want seven hearings? Which one 
do you want? Do you want 96 hearings, or do you want seven?
  We have Members around here complaining saying, oh, well, you know, I 
don't necessarily like all this, you know, what is going on.
  Well, it is our job. When we have two wars going on and we have the 
kind of lack of fiscal responsibility that has not been taking place 
here in this House prior to the arrival of the Democratic controlled 
Congress, you have to sleep in shifts. You have to make sure you do 
what your obligation is, to have oversight.
  I think it is important to be able to make sure if the Iraqis fail to 
meet the benchmarks, that it will mean the beginning of a U.S. 
withdrawal and that it will also restrict economic aid to the Iraqis.
  The bottom line is, you cannot reward bad behavior or lack of good 
behavior. You can't reward that. You can't say, well, no, that is okay, 
that is fine. Take your time, whatever the case may be. Don't worry 
about it.
  I'll tell you, there are some Iraqi forces that are fighting. There 
are some Iraqi forces that are doing some good things. But there are 
some folks within the Iraqi government that do not understand the 
urgency we have here.
  The longer we are in Iraq, the more I have to tell my U.S. mayors, my 
Governors, my school board members, my constituents, no, I cannot help 
you with your project. No, I cannot help you, Governor, as it relates 
to the transportation dollars to help Florida become even a stronger 
State in the United States of America. Mr. Mayor, I know it is 
important that we have security in our community. Mr. Sheriff, I know 
it is important that you want that COPS Program back. But guess what? 
We have two wars going on. We got a tax cut for the super-wealthy that 
the President of the United States wants, and we are too busy fighting 
them on that. And meanwhile, we got folks foot dragging over in Iraq 
about accountability. They don't have any urgency. Some folks don't 
even have the urgency we have here in the United States.
  This is snatching bread and butter out of the mouths of U.S. 
taxpayers and their children. Do you know why the interest rates went 
up on the student loans? To be able to pay for tax cuts for the super-
wealthy, and to also continue the business of saying let's just rubber 
stamp supplementals and send it to the President of the United States 
and the Bush administration and the Department of Defense. And it took 
an election to bring about the kind of paradigm shift and the thinking 
that we should have done on our own as responsible adults and elected 
to U.S. Congress. It took an election to do that.
  Thank God for democracy. Thank God for level-minded Americans saying 
I am going to put my party aside for a moment. I have to stand up on 
behalf of my children, because this is now becoming personal. You have 
veterans that have served and that have fought and that have allowed us 
to salute one flag who are just turned, totally, politically about who 
they sent to Congress, and they made a change. And we are not going to 
sit there and allow their vote and their prayer and their hope that 
there will be change here in Washington, D.C., and just sit by and say 
we want to go along to get along.
  Someone says something about maybe I am doing the wrong thing, and 
who am I to try to govern a war from Washington, D.C.? It is not 
governing a war. It is bringing about the kind of accountability that 
the American people have cried and have asked for.
  The Bush administration and the Republican majority in the past are 
far, far behind where the American people are. And if we have to drag, 
pull, through this House and push legislation through to bring us up-
to-date to

[[Page 6037]]

where the American people are, that is what we were sent here to do. 
And Members who don't want to be a part of that experience, they have 
to go home and they have to face their constituents.
  Believe what I am telling you right now. It is not just individuals 
that are walking around with flowers and saying ``I don't believe in 
war'' that are saying that we have to bring some accountability to what 
we are doing. There are individuals that work hard, individuals that 
have retired, individuals that are looking for a better future for 
their family. You have local government officials that don't even know 
how they are going to survive from this point on because we are sitting 
around here cutting taxes for individuals who are not even asking for 
tax cuts.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say this: Super-wealthy billionaires that are not 
even marching the halls of Congress and saying please give me a tax 
cut, they are not asking for it. The Republican Congress just gave it 
to them.
  So this paradigm shift, I want to prepare the Members, Mr. Speaker, 
that it is going to take some courage, and it is going to take some 
leadership, and we are going to be misunderstood. But you know 
something? Time after time again, history has reflected on leadership 
in a good way.
  I can tell you right now, a perfect example, Mr. Speaker, and then I 
am going to move to the next point, when the Walter Reed story broke 
about what was going on at Walter Reed, and the Newsweek cover of this 
specialist here, this amputee that served and the kind of treatment 
that our soldiers were receiving at Walter Reed, the vindication for 
the Democratic majority was the fact that before this article came out, 
before we even knew of a Washington Post story, or probably even before 
the reporter started working on the story, we had an appropriation 
continuing resolution that we had to pass because the Republican 
Congress did not do their job and pass their appropriations bill, and 
we put $3.6 billion towards veteran healthcare because it was the right 
thing to do.
  And the good thing about it is that I could stand here on this floor 
without any Member being able to march down here and say otherwise, 
that we did what we had to do because we had the opportunity to do it. 
And that is what is so good about good leadership.
  I am glad Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House, and if there are 
some Members that have a problem with that, then they have a problem 
with leadership, because this could have happened last year, it could 
have happened the year before last.
  The Bush administration has passed time after time again budgets that 
have cut veterans healthcare. Again, Bush Republicans, see this, Mr. 
Speaker, I am going to tell you right now, I can't think of anything 
else I could be doing outside of making this point right now. This is 
very, very important. And I want my Republican colleagues to be with us 
on this change that we are working on. I want our new Members in 
Congress to understand their responsibility as it relates to the 
American people and what they sent us here for.
  We have to have resolve, just like the men and women on the front 
line have resolve. We have to have resolve, just like the veterans who 
went out there and laid their lives down and watched their friends pay 
the ultimate sacrifice. We have to have that same resolve. We have to 
have that political courage, like they have to have the courage to go 
outside the gates of Camp Victory in Iraq.
  We have to have that same resolve here in this House. We cannot allow 
someone just because they say something about you or they think 
something about you when you are right, that you are going to turn 
around, just because someone on the minority side, on the Republican 
side, is saying well, look what they are trying to do.
  Well, you know something? I say to my Republican colleagues, in all 
due respect, and many of them are my friends, especially the 
leadership, the bottom line is when you are pointing your finger and 
saying look at what they are doing, you need to be looking in the 
mirror and saying you had the opportunity to do it and you didn't do 
it, and we are not getting back in the same boat that you just got out 
of. We are going to do it. We are going to grab a paddle and we are 
going to go down the stream.
  Summer of 2005, at the Democrats' pressure, the Bush administration 
finally acknowledged that FY 2006 shortfall in veteran healthcare was 
totaling $2.7 billion and Democrats fought all summer to get it.
  March 2006, President Bush budget cut veteran funding by $6 billion 
over 5 years. Passed by the Republican-controlled Congress.

                              {time}  1645

  January 31, 2007, Democrats increase VA health care budget by $3.6 
billion in a joint resolution funding.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I tell my colleagues who are against that kind of 
action to go home and tell your constituents that you are against that. 
I welcome you to do it because you won't be a Member of Congress 
anymore. I am so glad I was on the prevailing side of $3.6 billion 
going into veterans' health care.
  I say all of that because we use key words like accountability, 
oversight. We talk about a new direction and fiscal responsibility. I 
can tell you, there are many times here on this House floor that 
Members are going to have to go see the wizard and get some courage. 
That courage is very easy because the American people are egging on 
this kind of spirit that is in Washington, D.C., right now.
  I think it is important that, even after all of the articles and even 
after all of the talk about what went on at Walter Reed dealing with 
our veterans, that the Democratic-controlled Congress sprung into 
action, not weeks, not months down the road, not years down the road, 
sprung into action. Articles came out in the Washington Post. I have it 
right here. We don't come to the floor to play around or waste Members' 
time or staff time. I think it is important to talk about the fact that 
articles came out on the 24th. There was a review panel. We looked at 
the Army Times article that came out in September 2006, but when 
articles started rolling out on the 19th and after that on the 26th, 
and then on March 2nd because we were on President's break, the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subpoenaed one of the 
major generals who was fired, who was head of Walter Reed after Army 
officials refused to allow him to testify before the committee.
  Mr. Speaker, that is what oversight is about. It was not firing a 
general. It is about getting down to the truth. And, of course, the 
administration took the position to ask him to step down.
  March 5 of this year, this is all recent, oversight in Committee on 
Government Reform began holding investigation hearings into the Walter 
Reed scandal.
  March 6 and 7, House Veterans' Affairs Committee holds hearings on 
Walter Reed scandal.
  The same day, March 7, House Armed Services Committee holds Walter 
Reed scandal hearing. I was there.
  Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to all members in the Army and 
those who came, and Secretary Chao and all of the folks over at the 
Pentagon, they did apologize. They did say they were sorry. I can give 
them credit for that. But I am thinking about the men and women, as we 
continue to peel back what has been happening at Walter Reed, and as we 
continue to learn about other DOD medical facilities and the service 
that they are not providing, as we learn these things, we have to go 
about correcting them.
  I would much rather appropriate dollars to make sure that someone's 
uncle, someone's mother, someone's daughter, someone's nephew who laid 
it down on behalf of this country gets what we said we would give them. 
That is quality health care, accountability and oversight.
  If any Member has a problem with that, they need to evaluate 
themselves or their purpose here in Congress. I am glad to hear many 
Members saying to the Army: Tell us what you need. Now

[[Page 6038]]

there will be strings attached, and there will be language to bring 
about oversight. And there will be individuals who will be paying 
attention to what you are doing. The old days of giving you the money 
and you just doing what you want to do are over. Accountability 
measures will be in place.
  As we start to look at next week and as we start to move into next 
week, I think it is important that folks understand that this is going 
to be an open House, and we are going to promote government and crack 
down on waste. That is what next week is going to be all about. Next 
week is going to be about trying to crack down on waste and for us to 
start turning this around and balancing the budget. And of course, only 
Democrats can say we have actually balanced the budget because we have. 
Republicans had 12 years of control and did not balance the budget. 
They talked about it but did not do it. We did it.
  To be able to say that, again, we need to crack down and highlight 
and investigate waste. We are here representing the American people. We 
are not just here representing ourselves. No, I am not here to 
represent Kendrick Meek. I am here to represent those who have sent me 
here and those that are counting on us to do the things that we have to 
do.
  The Democrats have pledged to end the culture of corruption in 
Washington, making the Congress accountable to the people by sheer good 
government. What is wrong with that?
  Next week the House will consider measures to ensure that the Federal 
Government is open and accountable to the American people. The 
legislation that is going to be brought up next week is going to be the 
whistleblower reforms, strengthening protections for Federal 
whistleblowers to prevent abuse, a lack of accountability. We want to 
empower those who want to step forward and say, there is corruption and 
waste over there. We want to insulate those individuals. They are our 
heroes and the heroes within the Federal Government and contracting 
world pointing out waste.
  When we have countries like OPEC and China owning so much of the 
American pie, in the billions, that is a national security issue. So we 
need to treat these individuals accordingly.
  Also next week, Presidential record disclosure, which nullifies the 
2001 Presidential executive order and restores public access to 
Presidential records. That is important. Of course, there will be 
language as relates to super national security issues. They won't be 
able to touch those.
  Presidential library donations, require the disclosure of donors to 
Presidential libraries. We have a lot of that going on. Additional 
material will be shared next week as it relates to the bills that will 
be coming to the floor, but I think it is important that we have the 
kind of flow to the House floor that we need to have to be able to 
prepare ourselves to govern for the rest of the 110th Congress.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, as we continue in the 30-Something Working Group to 
look at issues that we travel the country to hear Americans and those 
that have come to Washington, D.C., looking for accountability; as we 
carry their prayer and their hope, and again I am not talking about 
proud Democrats, I am talking about all Americans, it is our obligation 
and responsibility to make sure that they get the best representation 
possible. And it should not be in the back halls of Congress, a deep 
secret in the corner or some sort of special meeting in the corner over 
here. It should be under the lights of this Chamber and to make sure 
that every Member understands.
  One of the other principles of the 30-Something Working Group, on 
this side of the aisle and the Democratic Caucus, we want to make sure 
that every Member knows exactly what he or she is doing and has the 
information that they need, so they know what is coming up, they know 
what we have done, they know the responsibility that we have to carry 
out as Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, not as Democrats 
or Republicans, but as Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 
because we don't want the American people to be cheated in anyway by 
saying, you know, when I voted on that, I didn't quite know what was 
going on. I'm sorry I voted against that, veteran.
  If you voted against the continuing resolution, then you voted 
against $3.6 billion on behalf of veterans' health care.
  Now for you to be a Member of Congress and not to know that, 
something is wrong, because that is the number one group that is 
counting on you to do the right thing on their behalf. They have 
families, too.
  They are elderly, too. They allow us to be able to salute one flag. I 
say that time and time again. I get chills, bumps every time I say it, 
because it is important.
  My children have a better value for the service that our men and 
women carry out because they hear me talk about it constantly. We 
travel and we talk and read about foreign countries and what is 
happening there. America is the best and the most free country on the 
face of the earth, and we want to keep it that way. Whatever we have to 
do to keep it that way, we are willing to do it. But we are going to do 
it in a coordinated fashion. We are not just going to do it entrusting 
others somewhere in some building in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, 
D.C., that are not empowered and validated by the people of the United 
States of America and sent here to watch out for their best interest.
  There are parents right now, when I go grocery shopping in my 
district, Mr. Speaker, I have parents walk up to me and say, 
Congressman, my son is 16, how long is this Iraq thing going to be 
going on?
  I have to be brutally honest with them. I say, listen, as we talk 
about redeployment of troops, we have to understand, we are still in 
Korea and we are still in Germany. But the real issue is, we have to 
bring about the kind of coordination that is needed on the 
accountability end. We don't want to be putting brigades and platoons 
and saying, you run over here. That is the generals' job. That is not 
what we are doing.
  We are making sure that the troops have what they need so when a 
general says, go over here or send three brigades over there, they have 
all of the equipment and logistical support that they need, and they 
have their mission and they have the things that they need to carry out 
that mission. That is what we are calling for.
  We are also calling for the Iraqi government to stop playing with the 
United States Government. It will not be allowed. So give us more time, 
give us another chance, don't worry about it, as long as the U.S. 
troops are there, and other countries have already announced 
redeployment of their troops. We are sending more troops. You heard the 
number, and I will close with this, a number that I shared with you at 
the beginning, March 8, 10 a.m., 3,178 troops gone.
  The next day, the next day, 10 a.m., March 9, 3,186 troops gone. That 
is the next day.
  So this is beyond serious. These are families. And there are 
individuals that are counting on us to lead, and as long as you have a 
Democratic majority in this House, they will get that leadership 
because the will and the desire is there. The political courage is 
there to do it, and the American people are 110 percent behind 
accountability, fiscal responsibility, moving in a new direction. They 
are in that circle with the leadership of this House right now.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Speaker and the Democratic 
leadership for allowing the 30-Something Working Group to have an hour 
two nights ago and tonight to share the message with the Members of the 
House. It was an honor addressing the House.

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