NOPEC

Well, I want to thank you so very much. When you say ``originators,'' it makes me feel a little old.

But, Mr. Speaker, I'm glad to be joining my great colleague here. He had a wonderful bill on today on the floor. I'm so glad that the Members voted in a unanimous way in making sure we bring about the kind of accountability that the American people have been calling for for a very long time now.

I think Mr. Murphy has stepped on something, like they say in the country, of being able to bring to light, exactly what are you making? Why are you motivated to be a part of this ongoing war, this kind of the quiet storm that's going on, special interests supporting with commercials and all, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan?

So we do know that the war in Afghanistan is all about 9/11, but the war in Iraq, after 5 years, is about something else.

Former President Bill Clinton puts it this way: If a family next door had a fire, any good neighbor would allow their neighbor to come over and stay at their home and let them sleep on the couch or the extra room for a couple of weeks; and maybe that neighbor may ask, well, can I stay for 2 or 3 months? And nine times out of ten, a good neighbor would allow that person to stay 3 or 4 months. But when it's 5 years later, it's no longer about the fire.

I think that it's important that we look at it from that standpoint, especially as we look at some of these companies that are tenfold going along with, let's keep this war going, let's keep the American people scared about what may happen to them if we were to withdraw the majority of our troops from Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, I think it's important, and I want to share this with the Members because there was a great debate on this floor today when we talked about this issue of gas prices.

Now it's very ironic that our Republican colleagues on the other side tried to do what we call here on this floor a procedural maneuver, a motion to recommit saying that what are you doing about gas prices in America. Now, this

is very interesting, and I wish I had my chart down here as it relates to profits that Big Oil has made on the Republican watch.

When President Bush became President, Dick Cheney had a special meeting in 2001 with oil companies, and all of a sudden, these oil companies started making these profits that were really unconscionable, unprecedented, never happened before in the history of the Republic. But then again we have Republicans on the floor saying, what is up with these oil prices?

Well, you know, it's very interesting. I want to point the Members, too, because it's nothing about fact versus fiction. Republican leadership wrote the Speaker a letter saying, well, what are you doing about the fuel issue and the price of gas in the United States of America? And me knowing the Speaker and all of us knowing the Speaker, that she sleeps with her fists balled up, especially fighting on behalf of the American people.

And I think it's very, very important, and we realize that this is very serious business, when folks have to pay $4 out of their pocket to pay for a gallon of gas, I think it's something that we should be paying close attention to.

The Speaker wrote the Republican leadership back in this House and said, It's interesting. We have H.R. 2264 that we put forth on the floor in asking the Department of Justice to take legal action against OPEC-controlled entities for participating in oil cartels that are driving up the price of oil. That's H.R. 2264. How about the Energy Price Gouging Act, which is H.R. 1252, legislation that will reduce the burden of rising gas prices on American families, providing immediate relief to consumers by giving the Federal Trade Commission authority to investigate and punish those that are artificially inflating fuel prices? How about H.R. 5351 with ExxonMobil ranked as the most profitable company in 2007? It's unnecessary for taxpayers to subsidize Big Oil. It goes on and on.

I will pull one more bill out. How about the marketing manipulation provision that was in the Energy Independence Security Act of 2007? It talks about some of the very things that I mentioned.

But this is not the kicker, Mr. Speaker and Members. It's interesting that the Republican leadership would write the Speaker trying to do a Potomac two-step when we're here about the business.

See, the reason why we're in the majority is because Republicans, Independents, Democrats, people that voted for the first time wanted to vote for change, so they voted for the Democrats to take control of this House of Representatives; Republicans who are frustrated, Republican voters who are frustrated with the fact that Republicans were saying one thing and doing another in the back halls of Congress. We have opened this process up when we took the majority here, and that's what they were looking for, and we will continue.

But the irony of the whole issue is that the Republicans will write a letter to the Speaker as though ``we got you on black-and-white paper,'' and she's not paying enough attention to say, Wait a minute. Let me call you out since you wanted to call me out.

As a matter of fact, the top of the Republican leadership here voted against the issue as it relates to OPEC price gouging, voted against the Price Gouging Act that we passed, the House bill that I called out just a few minutes ago; voted against renewable energy so that we can drive the cost down and compete with petroleum and OPEC companies and other folks that want to raise the price of gas in the United States, and voted against the Energy Security Act.

So I think it's very important for us to look at the hypocrisy of the democracy on the other side of the Republican aisle. Now I won't generalize all of the Republicans in this House because some of them voted with the Democrats on it because they see the light.

Many of their colleagues that were lockstep with the philosophy of the letter that the Republican leadership wrote to the Speaker are now watching me at home on C-SPAN because they made a career decision not to follow the will of the American people and bring about the kind of change that they woke up early one Tuesday morning looking for. This great democracy of ours calls for representation. Not representation of special interests.

And so I'm very pleased with my Democratic colleagues that have voted for our Democratic leadership to be in the leadership to lead us in this new direction that we share with the American people. We didn't just share it with Democrats; we shared it with Republicans, we shared it with the Independents, and we shared it with the American people. We shared it with those that are yet unborn, those that cannot vote right now to give them hope in this government that we're here fighting on behalf of them.

There are veterans right now that are in the sound of my voice, that can hear my voice right now, that have fought for this country and allowed us to salute one flag. And I think it's very, very important, Mr. Speaker, very, very important, Members, very, very important, those congressional staffers, that we do the things that we have to do to make this country better.

These kind of letters, writing back and forth for the sake that I wrote a letter, motions to recommit to say that we're going to call the Democrats out on not doing anything about gas prices; we don't have oil on our hands. They need to go down to 1600 Pennsylvania and check that out. They had the first meeting. They sat down with oil executives. They're the individuals that have the oil background.

And we have a better reason of why we need to change what is going on right now through using alternative fuel versus telling American people that they're addicted to oil.

So we've got a lot of work to do, and I'm hoping that this bipartisan vote that we took on Mr. Murphy's bill today is something that's blowing through the air ducts here in Washington, D.C. that Republicans and Democrats can vote together when it makes sense. It makes sense for us to look for alternative fuels.

It makes sense for us to be greener. It makes sense for us to do what we're doing here, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Speaker, of greening the Capitol. Greening the Capitol, we just started that when the Democrats took control. Mr. Murphy talked about the fact that this made sense, but it never would have seen the light of day, Mr. Speaker, if it wasn't for Democratic leadership here in this House allowing Mr. Murphy's bill to make it to the floor so Members can vote in a unanimous way.

Some of my friends on the other side of the aisle, Republicans, they're people, too. And it's very important that we give them the opportunity to vote on good pieces of legislation. And I think it's important that we don't allow anyone to stand in the school house door or the policy door of this Congress and not allow legislation to come to the floor.

Case in point, Mr. Murphy, if I may. All of the 9/11 recommendations were held back by the Republicans when they were in control. We passed them here in the House of Representatives. To be able to cut student loan interest rates in half on behalf of all of the American people; those that drive Ford, Chevy trucks that are paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $95 to fill their tank up, to those individuals that are catching the bus that have been green all their lives because they have no alternatives; those individuals that wake up early in the morning that snap, pop these sheets over here in Washington, D.C. and throughout America in these hotels that know what it means to punch in and punch out every day with a 15-minute break in the morning, if they get it, and a 30-minute lunch break, if they get it, those kind of individuals. Those kind of individuals that come home and take off steel-toed boots and sit down and try to recover from the day that they had of working a solid 8 or 12 hours. Those individuals.

Those are the kind of people that we talk to here in this Democratic Congress. Those are the kind of individuals that we allow Republicans to vote on good legislation like Mr. Murphy brought to the floor today because he just got here and he wants to show his constituents and the American people since they federalized him to come to this floor to represent them, that they will have the opportunity to vote for good legislation. Not only for him to go home but for him to sleep right at night.

So I think it's important, Mr. Speaker. I have no problem with Members

bringing amendments to the floor. I have no problems with Republicans raising the point of how we can make legislation better. But it's one thing, Mr. Speaker, and Members, when you come to the floor and you're the pot calling the kettle black, it's one thing for that to happen.

And one thing that I do like, Mr. Murphy, about our 30-Something Working Group is that we're in the business of fact and not fiction, that we're in the business of carrying out the will of the American people, because we stood on this floor some 4, 6 hard years saying that if you give us the opportunity to lead, this is what we will do. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, American people, and those yet unborn will appreciate our efforts.

So I think it is important. I'm not upset. If someone says, well, Congressman sounds kind of upset, that guy from Miami. I thought he was kind of easy going, you know, folks from Florida get all excited about things, Sunshine State and all. I'm just glad that God provided me an opportunity to stand upright to be on this floor. And folks in the 17th Congressional District in Florida on one Tuesday morning voted for me to be here to be able to state what I'm saying right now. And so this is not propaganda, it's fact.

I want to thank the Speaker for responding to the Republican leadership on this issue. And I want to thank those Republicans that voted on your very good piece of legislation. I'm glad, because I look forward--I actually sent something out to a couple of friends talking about this today, and I think it's important that we do that.

Mr. Murphy, I want to thank you for your leadership. I'm glad that we have the opportunity to do the things that we have to do. I know the American people are paying attention to what the presidential candidates are saying. I'm hoping that in the President's closing days, that he has an opportunity to sign and be a part of the good legislation that we're trying to pass here. And I want folks to stay engaged.

Before I close on this segment, I just want to say, because I never hit the floor unless I share with the Members what's happening in Iraq right now, that as of today, April 23, 4,046 Americans have died in Iraq; total number of wounded in action and returned to duty is 6,520; and total number of wounded in action not returning to duty is 3,309. Mr. Speaker, I think every day that should be read into the Congressional Record so that Members understand their responsibilities and what they have to do.

If I can, Mr. Murphy, I think it's important, and I'm going to have to come in for a close because I have to run, but I think that it's important, Mr. Speaker and Members, that we look at it for what it is.

I tell you, a friend of mine from Miami always says, ``it is what it is,'' and I always smile when my friend shares that with me. But I can tell you this, you know, here's President Bush walking with the Saudi king in April of 2005 right here, Mr. Speaker. And I want the Members to make sure that they focus in on that, the very meeting that I was talking about. The White House energy plan was submitted, and individuals had a meeting, and here it is. If you look at the future prices with respect to gasoline, they appear to be headed down. This is what Vice President Dick Cheney said on 5/20/2001. And as you look at this chart, it started getting worse for the American people, Mr. Speaker and Members, and better for the oil companies. Now, I'm not a Member of Congress with a conspiracy theory, but I'm just saying that it's important that we pay attention to what people are saying and what they are doing.

I want to get that other chart and just kind of talk about what happened to the American people. Let me tell you something, I have to fill up my tank, too. My constituents are feeling this pinch, too. And I just want to make sure that folks understand that this is serious business. When you have folks on fixed incomes and they're not receiving cost-of-living adjustments or

whatever the case may be, because the super majority of Americans--the boss man, like they say in the country--they don't necessarily care about your personal problems, about the fact that you can't fill your tank up, about the fact that your child couldn't pay his or her student loans back and you had to stand in for your student loans. My mother always said in the old school--they used to call a guy in Tallahassee, Florida that owned Lewis State Bank, Mr. Speaker, they called him ``Banker Lewis.'' And back in the old school, some of the grandparents and some of the folks that are probably in their 50s and 60s understand, they say co-sign now, they used to have to go down to the bank and credit union and stand for the person that's looking for the loan. Those days are over. And individuals that are looking to make money in a capitalist society, some care about their employees' personal problems, but some don't. And there's nothing wrong with capitalism, I think profits are a good thing, but I also believe that individuals that went to vote for representation here in this U.S. Congress deserve it. And this is what's happening here.

Look at the per barrel price, 2001. Remember that other chart that I talked about at Mr. Cheney's meeting--who has a past history in oil, and I guarantee you will have a future in oil--it started off at $25.88. And you can follow over here. And this is not fiction, this is fact. You start going up, up, up, and now we're at $119.37 a barrel.

Now, Mr. Speaker, if I start saying that unleaded gas is $3.70 or $3.60, there will be many of your constituents and your constituents, Mr. Murphy, and many constituents of Members of Congress here that will say the Congressman is incorrect. No, it's actually $3.80 and $3.90 in some places. And so I think it's important, when we start looking at what small businesses have to pay, what American people have to pay, you know, we have parents that are trying to carpool, get their kids to school. I mean, I live in the urban area. God forbid if I was in a rural area. What happens if I have to drive my soon-to-be 11-year-old son and my 13-year-old daughter 25, 30 miles to school under these circumstances?

And we have four pieces of legislation that this Democratic House has passed and waiting for our Republican colleagues, in many cases, to join us. And especially over in the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members, where they have the 60-vote rule, you can't even bring things up. So you have oil executives going there saying, stand in the door of the Senate or stand in the door of the House and make sure that this doesn't pass or this amendment doesn't go on. It may be counterproductive to your constituents, but stand in that door. That's the kind of stuff we saw in the 108th Congress. That's the kind of stuff that I witnessed in the 109th Congress. But in the 110th Congress, it's a new day, and the people are looking for the kind of representation that they voted for.

And I just want to share, and Mr. Speaker, this is not a threat or anything like that because I'm not in that business; I mean, I consider myself a nice guy and I get along with a number of the Members here. As a matter of fact, I don't know of a Member that I'm not on speaking terms with, Democrat or Republican. We all get along. We're colleagues. It's just like you go to work every day, you punch in. There are some people that work in some areas of the office or out on the construction field, but you all say hello to one another, I mean, why don't you? But the only time we separate is when Republican leadership may say, well, we can't be with that because a certain interest doesn't want us to be with that issue; or we have to show the difference between us and the Democrats, even if they're right. Well, back home, for those Americans that know what it means to sit at the dining room table and spread your bills out and figure out how you're going to pay them, those kind of individuals are looking for representation. Those kind of individuals are looking for relief. And they're not necessarily looking for relief for the people that they're paying the bills to, they're looking for the relief for them to help them figure out their dining room problem.

And so when we talk about rolling blackouts, when folks' lights go out, or whatever the case may be, I was in Haiti on Sunday evening and Monday, and I could sit and watch the different parts of Port-au-Price, Haiti go into the dark because the country is running through economic problems. That happens in America. There are houses on every block in America--not every block, but some blocks in America that the lights are out, not because they went to bed early, it's that they can't afford the dog-gone bill.

And so when we sit here and start playing these games like our Republican leadership tried to do tonight with this whole motion to recommit, saying what are you all doing about gas prices, when turn around three-quarters of them didn't even vote for four of the bills that this Democratic House put forth to give the American people the relief that they called for, and then we're trying to do something about it, and then they try to hijack a good bill and trying to force the Members by saying, well, this Member voted--and we may see this this November, I don't know. Some Members, their motion to recommit, we voted it down, a very bad motion to recommit, ill-advised motion to recommit that some Member that voted for the last four bills to give the American people the relief that they deserve may find it in a political ad sometime soon in their district saying that they voted against some Republican motion to recommit that could not come to reality if it wanted to because it wasn't drafted right, it didn't fit into the bill. But they had the right to be able to put the motion to recommit. So I think it's important that we break this argument down for the American people so that they understand what's going on here. That will not be rewarded.

Mr. Speaker, I stood here, as sure as my name is Kendrick Meek, Mr. Ryan and Ms. Wasserman Schultz and others, we stood here on this floor and we told the Members, listen, if you play with the American people, you're going to get stung and it's going to be bad and you're not going to recover from it. Some of you will not be here. Some of you will make career decisions. Check the Congressional Record, I said it. And guess what? We took the majority. And guess what will happen this time around? Those individuals that know what it means when they sit down to the dining room table and try to figure out how they're going to make ends meet when they put their kids to bed, how are they going to meet the bottom line of their situation. And then we have individuals that are standing in here, that are standing in the policy door of this House and not allowing good legislation to pass to give the American people the relief or trying to stop good legislation from passing to give the American people relief.

They're not going to think if they're Democrat or Republican or Independent. They're going to vote for the people that are fighting for them, and that's us.

So I say to my Republican colleagues respectfully, those individuals that decide to follow leadership, that the track record's not good because I asked them to call some 25 or 30 Members that are now sitting at home reading the actions of Congress in the newspaper when it's dropped in front of their door in the morning. I don't want to be part of that group. I want to be here and have the distinct opportunity to be here in this U.S. House of Representatives that few in this country have had an opportunity to serve in. And I'm proud to be here, and I think every Member should be proud to be here. And I think that should be their first priority when they stand upright and they walk in here and they put this congressional pin on and they walk through the doors because the people expect it and deserve.

So, Mr. Murphy, your bill today, like they say in some parts of the country, they had no other choice than to vote for it. But I'm glad that we had the leadership in place, Mr. Speaker, to allow that bill to come to the floor because I can tell you a great bill like that never would have seen the day, never would have under the lights, and never would there have been an opportunity for Members to take out their voting card and vote for it because it wouldn't have been allowed to come to the floor because that was something that we didn't do or they didn't do or

they didn't allow us to do. When I say ``they,'' I mean the Republican leadership.

So I don't speak with a silver tongue. I just speak of the truth and reality. And if anyone wants to contradict what I say, you know something, this is a free country. We salute one flag. Folks can get out and say what they want to say. But the Congressional Record is on the side of the Democratic leadership, and the Congressional Record is on the side of what happened and what did not happen.

So, Mr. Murphy, I don't feel that we need to even come close to apologizing for anything, and I don't even think that we should be overly offended by the attempts of the past Republican majority to try to push motions to recommit on good pieces of legislation that we are trying to bring to the floor. If I'm thinking politically, I say continue to do those things because we will continue to be in the majority for years and years to come. But the sad part is that the American people lose, and that's the reason why I don't want to promote that. I want us to work together. I want us to work together in a bipartisan way.

So, Mr. Murphy, I'm so glad to be here to join you here tonight. I'm glad that you anchored the 30-Something tonight. I'm proud to be a part of it. Your constituents should be very proud of the action that you took today, including our entire country. And the good thing about this institution is that historians will look back on this time and will reflect and read about those that were part of the solution and those individuals that were part of just continuing the political madness that many have written about and many Americans have read about. So congratulations.

Absolutely.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 30-Something Working Group which the Speaker is a member of and I know will join us down here for an hour in the future, we hope to be joined later this evening by one of the senior members of the 30-Something Working Group, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek).

We come down to the House floor as some of the younger Members of the Democratic Caucus, and we try to do it every week to really focus in on how the issues affecting this Congress are specifically challenging younger families in this country. How the neglect of the past 12 years trying to be remedied by the new Democratic majority here are affecting those families that are just starting out, those issues maybe can be best talked about and best addressed by those of us who are the younger members of the House represented by the 30-Something Working Group.

We thank the Speaker for constituting the working group and allowing us to come down and share our thoughts.

It is remarkable as a first-term Member, Mr. Speaker, to see the transition of views and transformation of priorities and issues that you hear about as a first-term Member, going out and holding office hours as I do at supermarkets throughout my district, holding town hall meetings every week or 2 weeks throughout the district.

I remember back in February of 2007 when I held my first big, large town hall. It was a nerve-racking occasion as a first-term Member of Congress, and I remember thinking there was only one subject to hold that town hall meeting on, and that was the war in Iraq, dominating the conversation as it seemed to here on the floor of the House and in the halls of the United States Congress.

The President had proposed his new strategy to introduce 35,000 to 40,000 new troops into Iraq, clearly working against the will of the majority of the American people who had said all across this Nation in November 2006 that they wanted a new direction in Iraq.

And now fast forward a year later to town halls that I am holding, as well as other members of the 30-Something Working Group and Members on both sides of the aisle, and you hear a very different tune.

People are still talking about Iraq. The situation hasn't gotten any better, and you can make the very plausible argument that things have gotten worse in Iraq over the last year. Even as the surge has moved forward, the political willingness of the Iraqis to take control of their own country has moved backwards.

But what we are hearing very clearly from the mouths of our constituents in town hall meetings and office hours across this Nation is that there is economic trouble. There is trepidation on behalf of families throughout this country as to the economic future that they face as families and that our communities face going forward.

And it's real. The numbers are getting worse. The amount of homes facing foreclosures, the number of workers being laid off, even those people who have jobs finding that the salary increases they thought were coming are being postponed, the amount of overtime hours that they used to rely on, cut back, many more part time workers, more temporary workers.

I don't know, Mr. Speaker, whether we're in a recession or not. I'm not an economist. But I know that people are facing real trouble back in Connecticut, as they are throughout the rest of this country.

And I don't think it takes a rocket scientist on this floor or anywhere else in the country to figure out how we got here. You know, this isn't just about the jobs that are being lost. This isn't just about the themes are being foreclosed upon. This is about the fact that thousands of families, millions of families around this country and in the Fifth District of Connecticut have no more room in their budget to take any more hits.

Energy costs going up at a pace that families and seniors can't sustain; health care costs going up to the point where businesses celebrate when they hear that their premiums are only going to increase by 10 percent in a given year. You add that all together with an economic slowdown, and you put millions of families at risk throughout this country.

And it should be no surprise that we've gotten to the place that we are today because for 12 years, while our friends on the other side of the aisle controlled this House, while President Bush staked his claim to the White House, we have had absolute neglect when it comes to energy policy.

So the families throughout this country today are hurting, while oil companies are making record profits, record profits; not just for the oil industry, but for any company in the history of capitalism in this country, record profits for the oil companies, while we have

families hurting, paying more at the pump, paying more to heat their homes.

Health care policy is the same story. I mean, how long has it been that this Congress has been listening to the cries, to the pleas of families and businesses throughout this Nation to do something about the rising cost of health care?

And for 12 years of this Republican Congress, for 8 years now, almost 8 years of this Bush presidency, no relief on health care costs. While yet, at the same time, those that are making profits off the health care system, the insurance companies, the drug companies, continue to make enormous profits. Salaries for the CEOs of these companies spiral to new heights.

So people are doing pretty well when it comes to energy prices, people are doing pretty well when it comes to health care prices. It's just not consumers. It's just not our neighbors and our friends and our relatives. It's that lucky few who got to run the oil company, who got to run the drug company, who got to run the insurance company.

And we're trying to change things. But we're finding that it isn't easy without partners. It isn't easy without a Republican minority who actually wants to actually do something to change our economy. It's not so easy without a President who wants to come to the table and help us with health care policy.

And so we are in difficult economic times today. But we need a Congress working together. We need a President who's willing to come to the table.

Mr. Speaker, the facts speak for themselves here. On January 22, 2001, when the President was sworn into office, the price of a gallon of gasoline was about $1.47. Today, 7 years later that price stands at $3.53. In Connecticut you might be lucky today to find a gallon of gasoline at $3.53. I think when I filled up my car this weekend, if I remember, it was up around the $3.70 mark.

This is what you get, this is what you get when you give away $16 billion of tax breaks to the oil companies. This is what you get when you refuse to make any investments in the types of alternative renewable energy sources that could wean this country off of gasoline. And this is what you get when, year after year after year, you perpetuate a foreign policy that destabilizes international oil markets in the Middle East and elsewhere.

It's no secret, it's no surprise that we're standing where we are today. This Democratic majority has inherited an utterly bankrupt national energy policy, and it is leading to the trouble that we have seen in American families today.

And the same thing goes for health care policy, Mr. Speaker. Again, I find it painfully humorous that 10 percent increases in premiums are to be celebrated around this country in our business community. And what it has led to is too many businesses who want to do the right thing, who want to give health care to their employees, cutting them off, or forcing more of the cost on those employees; putting yet another economic burden on families all around this country.

This economic slowdown, once again, is not just about the subprime crisis. It's also about energy prices, it's also about health care costs. And for 12 years of this Congress, for 7 years of this presidency, no action on health care.

With one minor exception, right? You remember the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act. Well, it did a couple of things. First, it foisted a Medicare prescription drug benefit seniors, which drove millions of seniors around this country through the roof trying to figure out, amongst 40 or 60 or 80 different plans, which one they should sign up for; drove them through the roof even more once they got to the end of the year and realized that their coverage was going to run out on them when they entered that dreaded donut hole; and all the while, made another nice health profit for the insurance companies and drug companies that were in the room writing the bill with the Republican majority at the time.

That was our approach to health care, was to give a little bit to people in an utterly confusing and cruel program, which gives a lot to the folks that didn't need any more. That's pretty much the sum total of health care reform in this Congress before the Democrats took control.

And as we've tried to extend out health care, we have been met with almost uniform resistance from the Republicans and from the President, most significantly in our effort to try to extend health care to poor kids. Four million kids we could have covered with the health care State insurance bill that we tried to pass. We came, you know, depending on anybody's estimates, about six votes short here in the House of Representatives, to overturn the President's repeated vetoes.

That kind of health care coverage, reaching out and extending to a lot of working families out there. Remember, you're talking about \3/ 4\, maybe more of the 46 million uninsured out there are members of families in which you have a full-time worker. People are playing by the rules. They're doing everything we ask them to do, trying to make do in a tough economy, and yet they don't have any health care insurance. And that children's health care insurance bill that we tried to pass here as Democrats, and couldn't get cooperation from our friends across the aisle, that would have extended out benefits to four million more kids and, more importantly, four million more families, families that are doing everything we ask, playing by the rules, trying to survive and simply can't get health care to their kids.

Now, we know that they do get health care to their kids, because if their child is sick, they might postpone getting them to the doctor, but compassionate parents all across this country will end up bringing their child down to the emergency room, will end up finding a doctor that will treat them. But they pay for all of that out of their pocket.

More bankruptcies in this country are caused by health care costs than any other cause that you can dream up. And so this economic slowdown is exacerbated by the increasing amount of health care costs that are pushed and burdened on families across this country.

Doing something about health care is doing something about the economy, just like doing something about energy prices is also about doing something for this economy.

But the other thing that I'm finding out, Mr. Speaker, as I'm walking around talking to constituents in the northwest section of Connecticut, is that the gig is up on the Republican and the President's ability to separate the war from the economy, because people are figuring out that they are totally linked together.

The fact that we are spending $339 million a day, let me say that again, $339 million a day on this war is taking food right out of the mouths of families here in this country, taking jobs effectively right out of the hands of American families.

Why is that? Imagine what we could have done if we could have taken the nearly $1 trillion that we have spent on this war over the past 5 years, and invested it in growing new economies in this country, invested it in building new worker training programs so that individuals being phased out of old economy jobs could be transitioned into new economy jobs.

What if we took that money that we've been spending, $330 million a day, and put that into new tax incentives for small businesses to grow their operations?

All of the things that we could have done with that money could have prevented the economic slowdown that we face today. They are absolutely linked together, the spending on this war, and the economic slowdown that we see today.

And part of this whole puzzle, and now you're getting into sort of high-minded economics that a non economist like me probably shouldn't be talking about. But we know also that the dollar is falling fast across this world, and is jeopardizing even further the soundness of our economy as our dollar gets weaker and weaker and weaker.

And part of that equation is the fact that every dollar of this war, virtually every dollar for this war has been borrowed from foreign countries, countries that we're trying to sit across the table from and negotiate better trade deals, trying to negotiate on foreign policy. We can't do that on a fair and level playing field because we owe them

money; not just a little bit of money, but billions upon billions of dollars that we owe foreign countries. Because for this war, we haven't paid for it ourselves. We put it on somebody else's tab, our kids' tab, our grandkids' tab. And for now that money is being held, those promissory notes are being held by foreign governments, further undermining the American economy.

So the chickens are coming home to roost here on energy policy, on health care policy and on the policy of the war that has sucked money out of this country that could have gone to sustain our economy.

Well, we can do things about it. We can do things about it. We can make strides, we can take steps to strengthen our economy, once again.

I want to talk for just a brief moment, Mr. Speaker, about one small bill that we passed today that'll start to get us on the road to fiscal and economic sanity once again.

Regardless of what you think about this war, we have spent wildly and out of control. Now, I'm talking about the $340 million that we spend every day in Iraq.

Now, I think that had we not gone into Iraq in the first place, had we not stepped foot into this quagmire, we could have spent all of that money here at home to educate our own kids, to build our own schools, to retain our own workers.

But even if we had gone into Iraq, if we had just been paying more attention, as a Congress, as to how money was being spent, we could have had a lot more money to do those things that is now being wasted on the battlefield of Iraq and the battlefield of Afghanistan.

One of the ways in which we are wasting money was that we were making and still are, Mr. Speaker, making people rich off of this war. War profiteering is what it's called, people making their fortunes off of the misery of others. That's happening right here and now in the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan.

In the Government Oversight Committee that I sit on as a freshman member, we had one of the most egregious examples of this practice, Blackwater Security before us back in the fall. The CEO of Blackwater Security who's got a billion dollar contract to basically do the work that the U.S. military should be doing in Iraq, Blackwater is basically a paramilitary citizen army setting up camp in Iraq.

They got a huge contract with the United States Government. 90 percent of Blackwater's profits, excuse me. 90 percent of Blackwater's revenue comes from U.S. taxpayers. I mean, they are, essentially, a quasi-government agency. 90 percent of their money comes from the U.S. taxpayers.

So I asked what I thought was a commonsense question at this hearing. I asked Eric Prince, the CEO of Blackwater, I said, listen. You know what? I think it'd be useful for us to know as a Congress, and for the American public to know how much profit you make, how much salary do you take as a quasi-public government employee?

Mr. Prince said to us, very clearly, it's none of your business. I'm a private company. It seemed outrageous to me. It seemed outrageous to many of my colleagues on the committee.

We pay your salary. We pay 90 percent of all the money that your company takes in, and you're not going to tell us whether you make $1 million?

Well, he did tell us that; he did tell us that he made over $1 million, but he wouldn't tell us how much more.

$2 million? $3 million? $10 million? $20 million?

So I put in a bill, a really simple bill that passed on the floor of the House of Representatives today that said for those private companies that are out there making 80 percent or more of their money from the Federal Government, that have $25 million or more in contracts, you need to tell the American public how much you are taking out in profit. Tell us how much your most highly compensated officials make. Put some sunlight on how much profit you are making off of this war. Seems like a commonsense measure. In fact, it passed unanimously on the House floor this afternoon.

But it says something about how important the change was that was made in control of this House that it took 5 years of this war for that commonsense, simple bill to make it to the House floor, because when it got here, it resulted in a unanimous vote. But it took Democrats taking control of the House in order for these types of bills, cracking down on war profiteering, to even find the light of day here.

And so, yes, so many of us believe that part of bringing us out of this economic mess, this downturn, this recession, whatever you want to call it, is getting us out of this mess that we have gotten ourselves into in Iraq, turning that money around and spending it right here in the United States of America. But until we do that, one of the most important things we can do for our economy is to make sure that to the extent that we are spending money in Iraq that we're spending it wisely, the right way.

That's part of our responsibility as a Congress. At least when I grew up reading the Constitution, learning about the three branches of government, I was told that the House of Representatives was supposed to be a place that oversaw the executive branch, that made sure that the money of the people that they represented was being spent in the right way. Well, that didn't happen here for a long time.

That oversight role that the Congress was supposed to have on the war, on the policies of the President, kind of vanished for about 7 years. Conveniently, they were there for the years in which there was a Republican Congress and a Democratic President; a record number of subpoenas were flying out of this place when there was a Democratic President. But when there was a Republican Congress and a Republican President, it wasn't happening so much. I would like to think it was a coincidence, but it probably wasn't.

Now we've got oversight again. And a reasonable amount of oversight. Not overreaching. Not politicizing, not grandstanding. The right amount of oversight. And we passed a bill that was part of that process today.

I couldn't be more pleased, tickled, frankly, to be joined on the House floor by one of the originators of the 30-Something Working Group, Representative Meek.

Well said, Mr. Meek. And if we can get the legislation that we passed through the House today through the Senate, what will make those numbers even starker is to partner them with the numbers reflecting the millions of dollars that some people out there are making off this war. Or those numbers of troops that don't come home, or come home with their lives altered permanently, for many of us, I think for all of us, it doesn't seem right that off of that misery someone is making their fortune out there. And that's what the legislation today on the floor sought to do.

Mr. Meek, you talked about the fact that on a lot of the pieces of legislation that we've been talking about, especially with respect to our efforts here in this New Direction Congress to try to do something about the legacy of rising oil prices that the President has left us, we've had folks on the other side of the aisle join us. I'm just looking at a couple of bills here on our legislation to finally go after these multinational oil cartels that have been price fixing, have been immune from the actions of prosecutors and U.S. courts. Well, we've decided to put them under the jurisdiction of the United States court system and try to go after them for price fixing. And you know what? We did. It looks like we got about 125 Members of the Republican side of the aisle to join us.

When we went after price gougers, we said, let's make it a Federal crime, let's give the Federal Trade Commission the ability to go after those people who would take advantage of rising prices to gouge consumers, to try to get much more than the market would command. We had over 50 Republicans who joined us on that legislation; we wish we had more. We wish we had a greater bipartisan majority for these pieces of legislation that are going forward. But the fact is is that we are working together as much as we can. It's not easy to take on these big interests that are making record profits in the oil industry.

The real problem is down the street. The real problem is that we have empowered and entrusted with the reins of the White House and the entire executive branch two oil company executives, two people who made their own fortunes taking profits off of oil prices, taking money out of the pockets of consumers. And those relationships in this administration with the oil industry, I think more so than the relationships that certain Members of this House might have, have really led us to the point where we have trouble advancing good consumer legislation through the full process because the President's threatened vetoes on the anti-oil cartel bill. The President's threatened veto of the price gouging legislation is what holds it up from moving further through the process.

So Mr. Meek, this is, I think, a building bipartisan majority here in the House. I think we are having some success convincing some of our friends on the other side of the aisle, despite their procedural tricks and maneuvers, that, you know what, these prices don't discriminate based on what party you went down and registered at the town hall and you're getting killed by gas prices and home heating oil prices whether you're a Republican or whether you're a Democrat. So I think that may account for why we have been able to build some collective support here for these pieces of legislation.

It's really down the road, as you ended your remarks, Mr. Meek, by suggesting that we've still got time left, right? I mean, everybody's looking at this presidential election saying, you know what, that's where our focus is. Everybody's concerned about this primary and that primary, and the cable news networks don't cover what we do here, they just cover what's said on the campaign trail. Come on, we've got 9 months left of this administration. We've got 9 months more, potentially, of $3.53 gasoline prices, of similarly high prices to heat your home in the northeast as the winter starts to come around again. We've still got time to do something if we've got a President to come and join us here and make some of the changes we need to make, Mr. Meek.

There is still time left. We say to our colleagues, don't pay attention to this presidential election at the detriment of the good work that we still can do. Now that the people have got back control of their House, taking it back from the oil companies that have controlled this agenda for so long, we can still make progress. We can still do something about these prices between now and the end of the year, Mr. Meek.

Mr. Meek, when you stand on behalf of the people, you can't lose.

You can't lose. And I wish it was more complicated. I wish legislating involved a little bit more mystery, but it doesn't. When you've got a choice to stand with regular, average, everyday folks who go to work every day trying to make a living and are playing by the rules or you stand with oil companies who make more money than they ever have, it's not a hard choice. You stand with regular, average, everyday people and the troubles they're going through. If you do that every time, you'll win every time.

Mr. Meek, it has been a pleasure to share the floor with you today on behalf of the 30-Something Working Group. We thank Speaker Pelosi for giving us once again the opportunity to share some of our thoughts with our colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to once again start our 30-Something hour. We will be joined later by Congressman Meek from Florida to talk about the issues of the day and how what has been happening here in Congress affects what is going on to young people, but not limited to just young people in the 30- something bracket, but also to young people in college, young people in their 20s, young people trying to figure out how they are going to make their way in the American economy in the 21st century.

As we know, Mr. Speaker, we have been given many challenges over the past few years here in Congress dealing with many of the issues that face Americans.

Since Speaker Pelosi took over a short time ago, we have been committed, since this Congress was taken over by the Democratic Party, we have been committed to push initiatives that are consistent with the values that we hold dear in the United States of America. We hear a lot of rhetoric about values in this country, but if the policy initiatives that come out of this beautiful building in Washington, DC do not reflect our values, then we are in the wrong business.

And I am proud to say that since we have taken over here, we have shifted course from policies that many Americans believe have taken us in the wrong direction. And many of us still believe, even those of us here think we have made a shift in policy, but it has been difficult with the President to try to get a complete pivot out of the months and months and months and years and years and years of bad policy.

So I think it is important before we talk a little bit about what we have done is to go back and think about what we are trying to come out of, some of the challenges that this country faces. I think it is important to recognize politically that from 2000 until 2006, the Republican Party controlled the House, controlled the Senate, and controlled the White House. They had an opportunity to implement their policy--the neoconservative foreign policy, the conservative domestic policy, the conservative energy policy, the conservative higher-ed policy in America, the conservative ``compassionate conservative'' agenda on poverty and inequality--has all been implemented.

So when we talk about what will it look like if the conservative agenda is implemented, I think that is a false analysis of what will it look like. I think we know. I think what we are living with here today is the implementation of the conservative Republican agenda. They controlled the House, they controlled the Senate and the White House. The Bush tax policy, the Bush energy policy, all of these things that I have already mentioned have been implemented.

And if you want to know what it looks like, all you really need to do is go to the gas tank. You need to get your health care bill and see what your premium and the costs look like. You need to pull out the stub of your child's tuition. All of these things are the end result of the Republican domestic agenda being implemented here in the United States of America. You may not like it. I know a lot of Republicans, Mr. Speaker, who don't like it, but that is where we are.

And if you look at the financial situation that this country has been put in, the straightjacket that we have been put in that a lot of the changes that the Democratic Congress wants to make that we are at this point unable to make because of the financial position that we have been put in as a country and as a Nation, the fact of the matter is this: President Bush, Mr. Speaker, and the Republican Congresses that were under his watch borrowed more money from foreign interests than every President and Congress before President Bush combined.

Now think about that. In just those few years, President Bush and the Republican Congress borrowed more money from foreign interests than every President and Congress before them combined. The Republican- controlled Congress and President Bush raised the debt limit five times and borrowed $3 trillion primarily from Japan, China, and OPEC countries.

Now you want to talk about a scam going on and a shell game, we have a situation where we are borrowing money from oil-producing countries to basically give us money to go out and buy their oil, or to borrow money from oil-producing countries and from China so we can fund a war at $12 billion a month and put it on the credit card. Now that seems to me the definition of insanity, Mr. Speaker. Three trillion dollars, and this is as simple as your house payment or your car payment. You borrow money and you have to pay interest on it.

So countries like China will get the interest that the United States is paying on the money that we have borrowed, and the Chinese will take that money and they will sink it into developing and industrializing their own economy. And they are putting up nuclear plants so they have nuclear energy. And they are building roads, bridges and industrial parks. And they are funding their military and their navy. That is what they are doing with money that the United States is borrowing from them. And we take the money and we get ourselves into this war in Iraq at $12 billion a month, that is soon approaching a trillion dollars for the cost of the war, and some economists are saying at the end of the war, the grand total will be $3 trillion.

Now from Youngstown, Ohio, and Niles, Ohio, and Akron, Ohio, the folks that I represent are not really comfortable with the United States taking their tax dollars and paying interest on money they are borrowing from the Chinese so that the Chinese can build manufacturing facilities and manipulate their currency and ship the products back to the United States and put American workers out of work.

Now, there's something ironic about what's happening there. And there's really something sick, Mr. Speaker, about what's happening here. And when you look at the polls and you hear people say that 70 percent of Americans think that we're going in the wrong direction, the President has an approval rating of 28 percent, and the other 72 percent do not approve of the job that he is doing, you have to ask yourself, what is wrong? What is wrong? What is going on to have this dramatic breach in the American body politic?

And so, when Speaker Pelosi, and when we ran our elections in 2006 to come and take over Congress in 2007, it became imperative for us to try to pivot and shift this thing in another direction. So one of the issues is make sure that we pay for programs that we have here in the United States. No deficit spending.

Now, we've had problems, especially with the war, because we're committed over there. And it's been very difficult. We've tried to get out.

The President has vetoed every attempt we've ever tried to make. But we're trying to establish public policy in the United States of America that represent our values.

And if you look at what we have pushed coming out of this body, I think most Americans would agree, these are some pretty basic steps that we want to take. First thing we did when we got in is raise the minimum wage. For the first time since 1997, the American worker got a pay raise. It wasn't much. It should be a lot more. But we did what we could. And we said, this is a priority for us. 10 years without an increase in the minimum wage, but health care and energy and all of these other costs are going up for folks. Let's try to lift some people up, reward work. And we did that.

We have switched and tried to repeal the oil subsidies, corporate welfare, many of us know it as corporate welfare. Everyone hates welfare if we're giving it to poor people. They should go to work. They should work. This is America. We should not give welfare. That's the rhetoric that you hear.

But behind the scenes, our friends on the other side and President Bush are

very happy to give the oil companies 14 or $15 billion in oil subsidies, in energy subsidies.

Now, can you imagine, and today when you go to the gas pump and you pay $3.50, $3.75, $4 for a gallon of gas. You think you're frosted just filling up the tank. Think about the fact that President Bush said that he will veto any bill that comes out of this House that repeals the $15 billion that's going in corporate welfare to the oil companies.

Now, can you imagine, in this day and age, where Exxon's profits are through the roof, that the President of the United States says he will veto a bill that strips the corporate welfare out?

They're making tremendous profits. And what we have tried to do on the Democratic side, and Speaker Pelosi has tried to do, is to take that 14 or $15 billion away from the oil companies, away from the energy companies, and invest that money into alternative energy research; into wind, into biomass, into solar.

Now, we all know that these alternative energy forms, there's not one silver bullet. There's not one project or product that's going to come out and save us all and be a panacea for the entire United States of America and the world. We know that.

But Americans invent things. Americans make things better. Americans take a challenge and a problem and they fix it, and they solve it. They put the best and the brightest people that we have in this country, and they set a goal.

I'm not going to go do the research. President Bush certainly isn't going to go do the research. We've got a couple of rocket scientists that belong in this body that have been elected by their constituents here that may be able to actually do some of the research. But, for the most part, our job here is to set the public policy and provide the resources and the leadership for the country. And that's what we're trying to do is to say, invest into the Department of Energy, partner with energy companies.

We know you're not going to get rid of oil overnight. Many of us believe nuclear has a major role in what's going to happen here. But the bottom line is, let's make an investment into the United States, into the people, into the human resources that we have here to figure out what we're going to do, and then get the private sector and private enterprise to partner with us to get this thing kicked off.

It is crucial for us to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, crucial because we can extract ourselves from a lot of these political situations that we find ourselves in. In a lot of the global politics that we see and read, if you read between the lines and you think for yourself, you will see that there is some kind of energy component behind this, behind the politics that are going on, the geopolitics that are going on. And if we can become dependent on the Midwest instead of the Mideast, I think this country will remove itself from a lot of the problems that we have had, and we could help move this country forward. And that's what we are committed to doing here in the United States.

And just today, or yesterday, out of the Education Committee, George Miller, who's the Chair of the committee, they passed an authorization, I think, of $6 billion, if I remember correctly, to help schools, new schools. There'll be a formula to make sure that the school is green. So now, you're providing some leadership for the companies that will provide the products for a school or a building to become green. There'll be a little bit of a stimulation.

And I want to tell one quick story that I found interesting. We have a gentleman here in Congress, his name is Jim Oberstar, and he's the Chair of the Transportation Committee. He's been here since the late 1970s.

And I may miss a few of the facts here, but the point can be made that in the late 1970s, when he was a Member of Congress, and President Carter was in, he was trying to--the solar panel, there was some money put into the Department of Energy to research and develop alternative energy sources. And something popped out of that, it was called the solar panel.

And Mr. Oberstar had a piece of legislation that said we need to retrofit all Federal office buildings in the United States with solar panels. And by the Federal Government coming in and buying the solar panels, it will stimulate the solar panel market because the Federal Government is such a big consumer, and just like buying pens and everything else, and it will drive the cost down of the solar panels. So that was in 1977, 1978.

In 1980, when President Reagan came in, he completely eliminated that part of the Department of Energy that was providing that research and, basically, nothing happened. And he has now went from a rank and file member; Mr. Oberstar is now the Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. So he now has this bill that he reintroduced, told his staff to go back and get his notes from 30 years ago about what he wanted to do with solar panels.

Now, can you imagine how far behind the 8-ball we are? When you look at production of solar panels, it used to be an industry that the United States excelled in and that we had a great share of the solar panel market in the early 1990s. But now, we have been surpassed because we have not made the investments.

And I'm not here, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Meek, to say that government somehow has all the answers. But we do have a role to play in stimulating the economy, Mr. Meek. And when we do that, we will allow the private sector to come in.

So we need to do what we need to do with alternative energy research. We need to do what we need to do with high speed rail. We need to do what we need to do with broadband access. These are the things that government has a role in, infrastructure, education, health care. These are the things that we need to invest in. And that's what we've been trying to do in the area of health care.

One of the things that, I mean, you can't really find a better example or illustration of a difference in values from Speaker Pelosi and President Bush on this one issue. It's the issue of state, the State Children's Health Insurance Program. When we came in, one of Speaker Pelosi's priorities was to provide leadership and resources for the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

This is a program that would provide health care, Mr. Meek, for 10 million children of modest income, didn't quite qualify for Medicaid, middle class kids, middle class families struggling to provide health care. This was to fill that gap. Bipartisan support here in the House, and in the Senate, tremendous support.

So it passed the House, passed the Senate, President Bush vetoed it. Now, can you imagine where your priorities are when you're willing to spend $12 billion a month in Iraq, and you won't sign a children's health care bill to provide health care for middle class citizens at $35 billion over 5 years?

But you'll spend 12 billion a month in Iraq and not even ask a question as to where the money's going. There's billions of dollars that are lost in Iraq, nobody knows where they are, Mr. Speaker. Nobody knows where that money is.

And we struggle to find $35 billion to provide health care for modest income families. That investment that, at the end of the day, will probably save us billions of dollars because these kids won't go right to the emergency room. They'll have some preventative care. That will save us money in the long run. And the President vetoed it. And he vetoed it.

And in the Senate, 80 Senators overrode the veto. But in the House, we could not override the veto because a handful of Republicans on the other side were committed to support the President in his position.

Now, can you imagine that? In the wealthiest country in the world, the dominant super power, we can't scrape up $35 billion over 5 years to provide health care for middle class kids?

And the President thinks he's taken a stand on this issue and saying he's fiscally responsible, after running up $3 trillion in debt, borrowing it from Japan and China and OPEC countries?

When you're deciding on where your philosophies are, what your values are, this is the issue. This is the defining issue. Health care for kids, $12 billion a month in Iraq. Tax cuts for people who make billions of dollars a year, health care for kids?

This is clear. And our job, as representatives of the people, Mr. Meek, and I'll kick it to you here in a second, is to make sure that we bring some equity into this system.

And I will say this. The investments that we have made, or tried to make on SCHIP, the minimum wage, alternative energy, the fact that we did pass, and the President did sign a $1,000 increase in Pell Grants over 5 years, for students, and we cut the student loan interest rate in half, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. So if you are going out trying to borrow for your kids, your interest rate is cut in half.

Those are the priorities that we push every day here on this House floor. Those are the priorities that are going to lead to an expansion of our economy.

We only have 300 million people in this country, Mr. Meek. There's 1.2 or 1.3 billion in China, 1.2 or 1.3 billion in India. We only have 300 million. And the philosophy of our party is to make sure that we invest into those 300 million people, to make sure they're educated and they're healthy. And I feel like if we make sure our kids are educated and healthy, that most everything else will take care of itself.

That's where we are. That's the agenda we're pushing.

Mr. Meek, I appreciate the fact that you're taking time away from your busy schedule and family to come down here, and I would like to yield to my very good friend from Florida.

When you look at what the Speaker has been asking the President to do now for weeks, possibly months, to suspend filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, we have this reserve in the United States that a certain amount of barrels of oil go in a day. And this is to make sure that in case of a crisis, we have oil for national defense purposes and so forth. This is oil that's going in every day.

The Speaker, based on the history and what the experts and the economists are telling us, is that if you divert that oil that's going in to the petroleum reserve and you allow that oil to be purchased on the market, that it will drive down the cost of oil.

And this will lead to a savings at the pump of about 25 cents per gallon because there will be an increase in the supply of oil in the market and it will drive the cost down.

Now, we're not sitting here saying that this is the magic wand we're going to waive and everything's going to be fine. But what we are saying is, when you implement this and you take some of the pressure off, you can save almost $6 a barrel and 25 cents at the pump. So if you are a truck driver, Mr. Meek, 25 cents, when you're putting 20 or 30 gallons in, adds up when you're spending your life driving. And throwing the kids in the back of the mini van or filling up the truck and going back and forth, this is a significant savings. And the Speaker has been pressing the President to make this move and put this oil back into the market, Mr. Meek, but hasn't had any success at all.

I yield to my friend.

Absolutely. And I think you've made some great points, Mr. Meek.

I just would like to say that, if you listen to some of our friends on the other side talk about gas prices, here is a party, Mr. Speaker, and an administration for 6 years--and the President and the Vice President being oil men--not doing a thing on energy, dependence on foreign oil, so on and so forth, to somehow accuse the Democrats of not addressing the issue, and completely oblivious to the fact that we're the ones passing legislation to crack down on price gouging, Mr. Meek. We're the ones that are passing legislation to hold OPEC accountable for price fixing. It's the Democratic Party that's repealing the subsidies to Big Oil so that we can take that money and invest it into alternative energy sources. It's Speaker Pelosi that's calling on the President to take the barrels of oil that are going into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and put those in the market to drive down gas by a quarter, that's something easy we can do. But it is the President and the Republican Congress, Mr. Speaker, that have consistently vetoed these bills or put the kibosh on them in the Senate, blocking lower prices every step of the way.

And if you look at what we have done here, pushed by the Speaker, to have fuel efficiency standards being raised for cars and trucks, we will reduce oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels per day in 2020. This is forward-looking. This is something that will save consumers between $700 and $1,000 at the pump in 2020. Now, we know that's not addressing the issues today. We're talking about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We're talking about cracking down on OPEC. We're talking about cracking down on price gouging that may be going on in the United States and our local communities. These are the short-term issues. And each one has been opposed by the Republicans and has been opposed by the President of the United States.

So when you ask the folks at home, Mr. Speaker, what the Congress has done, the answers are here. And if anybody wants to know what they are, they can go to the Speaker's Web site. Trying to stop price gouging at the pump, price manipulation from OPEC, divert the oil that's going into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that's what we're trying to do here. Repeal the subsidies for Big Oil and put that money and invest it in alternative research. Mr. Speaker, these are the policies of the Democratic Congress. And each one of those has been opposed by the Republican Party and opposed by the President of the United States, period, dot, Mr. Meek; period, dot.

So let there be no mistake, when common sense tells you we have a couple of oil barons running the executive branch, Mr. Speaker, and the Democrats are trying to push these initiatives to provide some relief for the common good and the common folks that we represent and it's opposed by the Republicans and opposed by this administration, it's important for us to set this record straight, Mr. Meek.

So as we begin to wrap up here, Mr. Meek, I would like to yield to you.

What's wrong with that?

Well, I appreciate that. And you brought up those who are serving here. And I think it's worth noting that the veterans measure, another initiative that the Democrats have tried to push for a new G.I. Bill, for free college for our vets, opposed by Defense Secretary Gates, opposed by the administration. This is an opportunity for us to thank those men and women who are serving our country to say, when you get out, you're going to have free college tuition anywhere in the country. And I think that's a small gesture.

And once again, I think the President and our friends on the other side are out of step with what the American people think we should be doing. It's one thing to wave the flag, and it's another thing to put your money where your mouth is.

So, Mr. Meek, I want to thank you for the opportunity to join you here on this beautiful Thursday evening in Washington, D.C., and I look forward to coming down here with you next week and continuing to make the case for the programs that Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer and Mr. Clyburn and Rahm Emanuel and John Larson are pushing in our caucus. These are the issues that we care about and we're going to continue to push.

Madam Speaker, it's an honor for the 30- Something Working Group to come to the floor once again. As you know, I'm a proud Member of the ``Something'' part of that 30-Something.

I yield to my colleague from the great State of Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire).

Thank you, Mr. Altmire. I want to thank you so very much for coming to the floor. You have to run back and do the work for your constituents back in your district.

Madam Speaker, I am going to do an abbreviated 30-Something today. Last night, we were on the floor talking about a letter that our friends on the other side, Republican colleagues, wrote to Speaker Pelosi. It was just, based on the information that I received from the letter and some of the reading that I have done and the research that we have done here on the 30-Something Working Group, I just had to come back today to finish making the point. So I think it's important, since the letter from the Republican leadership is talking about how we need to work together in a bipartisan way.

Madam Speaker, I know that you have heard me before say that bipartisanship is only achieved when the majority allows it. I have said that in the two previous Congresses, hoping that Republican leadership will work with the Democratic minority at that time to achieve this bipartisanship. We have worked time after time here on this side of the aisle to make sure that we can include Republicans and all Members of the House in good legislation.

The legislation dealing with price gouging on the military contract that was on the floor yesterday; unanimous vote. Never would have made it if it wasn't for the Democratic leadership allowing it to come to the floor. That bill would have never seen the light of day, leave alone the crack under the door, if we were under the Republican leadership that we used to be. But I am so glad that the American people found it fit to make sure that we allow Democrats to be in charge of this House so that those kinds of pieces of legislation were able to get to the floor.

As you know, Madam Speaker and Members, I always remind the Members of the daily report on what's going on in Iraq. We had a lot of chest beating going on in this chamber for about 4 or 5 years of who loves the troops, who supports the troops, and all of this and all of that and going back and forth. I have a tattoo on my arm saying I support the troops. That is not what they are looking for.

But I think it's very, very important that the Members realize as we end our legislative business for this week and as we start our legislative business for next week and as we go home to talk to our constituents this weekend, I think it's important for us to reflect on the real reality of what is going on with so many military families' communities.

As of today, April 24, we have the total number of deaths out of Iraq, 4,046; the total number of wounded in action and returned to duty, 16,520; and the total number of wounded in action, not returning to duty, is reported at 13,309. That number could have gone up since we last checked. But I think that it's important that we continue to put that into the Record so that people can reflect on our efforts in trying to draw down our troops in Iraq but making sure the necessary personnel stays there, a very small number, not 142,000 that is there now, and above.

I want to, Madam Speaker, pick up where I left off last evening. I think it's important because there was some action on the floor yesterday and I didn't want any of the Members to get confused when they go back to their district saying, Well, I voted on a motion to recommit, which, as we know, which is a procedural motion here on the floor, that really didn't make a lot of sense and really was counterproductive versus productive. We had a debate here, and it's nothing wrong with that because we can go back and forth. But let's go back and forth on fact and not fiction.

What I did not have last night, Madam Speaker and Members, what I have right now is the actual letter that went to the Speaker from the Republican leadership on this very issue. But I had to go further and we had to make sure that not only we had the letter that went to the Speaker and read that letter and the full text. I can contest to two pages. You have all of the Republican leadership that is elected. I won't call any names out. You know who they are.

They wrote this letter to the Speaker and in this letter it talks about how 2 years ago this week you stated that House Democrats had a commonsense

plan to lower gas prices. In light of skyrocketing gas prices affecting the working families, and it goes on, the public sector, and it says to date the national average stands at $3.51 a gallon, and according to AAA, it's $1.18 higher than it was before the 110th Congress started. Then it goes on to say, More than 50 percent increase. It goes on and on and on. And, once a nightmare scenario, $4 a gallon is now very real and possibly becoming reality in the summer. Now let me just say this. I also owe credit to the Republican leadership. They said, We are looking forward to working toward a commonsense plan.

Well, that's the letter. In the release, Madam Speaker, they go on to say, using words like, House Republicans stand ready to work with Democratic colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to address America's energy prices. Another line I want to take out, And in light of skyrocketing gas prices affecting working families in an economy that is struggling, we stand ready to assist.

Now I just wanted to read that and I just want to point to what the facts are. Now I can go back to my office and write a letter that I feel good about, even if I didn't want to fact check it. I can go and say, Well, let me see; let me write a letter that makes me feel good as an individual. Well, I mean that is fine if I am writing it to a friend of mine that I went to college with and we are going back and forth about our different opinions on politics or whatever the case may be.

But when you're a part of the leadership of the United States Congress and you write a letter to the Speaker to make a point on the floor on a motion to recommit to say I wrote you, and have the Members here thinking goodness, am I voting the right way or the wrong way, when the evidence in your voting record doesn't stand towards what you said you want to do, or that you would like to do if you have the opportunity to do it.

Yes, gas prices are high. I said last night that many of my friends on the other side of the aisle, they are real people the too. They have to put gas in their tanks too. They have constituents that are sitting there trying to figure out, playing what I call the gas pump game, trying to stop at $10 and make it to work, and you have a little bit over, 2, 2\1/2\ gallons, maybe 3, if you're lucky. I know those individuals. I know what it means to sit at the dining room table, trying to figure out what you're going to pay and what you can't pay because the gas price has gone up, you have children, you have bills to pay, leave alone trying to pay for college.

Let me just make this quick point. I didn't have this last night, Madam Speaker, but thanks to the 30-Something Working Group and the people that support us, they blew this up for me because I wanted to make the point a little clearer because I like to break this thing down so all the Members know exactly what is going on.

Now I would say that the folks that assist us in getting together, they went a little further, making sure we had the names and signatures on the letter. I like to cover those names and signatures because I can tell you at the 30-Something Working Group we never individually pointed any Member of Congress out as it relates to what we disagree with them. So I want to continue with that philosophy as part of the leadership of the 30-Something Working Group. But I just want to make this point.

Now this goes down the Republican leadership. You can read the letter, and you can probably get the letter somehow under all of this transparency we see now, especially for the Members, and if the Members want to get a copy from me, I will be more than happy to supply you with it if you were unaware your leadership wrote this letter.

We had a piece of legislation that Mr. Altmire talked about on the no oil producing and exploitation cartels. That is H.R. 2264. This legislation enables the Department of Justice to take action against OPEC-controlled entities for participating in oil cartels that drive up the price of oil globally and in the United States.

I am just going to point to right here. It goes from the top of the power, down to the bottom, voted no. That is no. Second in control voted no. The fifth in control voted no. Going all the way down, they all voted no against that.

Now that is something to give our Department of Justice the teeth it needs to go after those individuals that are not holding the interests of the American people, and they are holding greed. They voted no on it. I don't understand it because I want to make sure when individuals come to this floor, and it's a legitimate argument, I don't have any issues with it. But I want to make sure that the Members know if you're going to come to the floor, come right. If you're going to come right, make sure that you're not trying to fake anybody out. Because 30- Something Working Group is going to be on the floor and we are going to set the record straight. I just want to make sure that folks understand that this is serious business, because my constituents are paying too much for gas and we are up here trying to do something about it.

The Energy Price Gouging Act, H.R. 1252. This legislation empowers the Federal Trade Commission and gives it the authority to investigate and punish those who artificially inflate energy prices. Again, this is the Democratic Congress, just exactly as the Speaker said that we would do to drive gas prices down. What happened on that second piece of legislation? No. Second in control, no. Third person in control of the Republican conference, no. Fifth person, no. No, no, no. And they all signed the letter talking about what are you going to do about gas prices.

I just want to make sure that this is serious. Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Act, a tax act of 2008, that is H.R. 5351. This bill will end unnecessary subsidies to big oil companies and invest in clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency. It also expands tax incentives for renewable energy programs.

I tell you, we want through for clean sweep on that one because that was taking money out of the pockets of those that have made record profits worldwide. Clean sweep here, folks. I am going to say Members. Clean sweep. I just want to make sure. From the top, all the way to the bottom, no. I guess that was the ultimate insult to those that had been celebrating the protection of the Republican Congress for so many years, and now the Democratic Congress is now elected and we are doing what we said we would do if we had the opportunity to do it.

Now we are going green instead of going into profit making for big oil companies. The protection is no longer there. I have no problem with Mobil or any of them out there. I don't have any problem with them. I mean they are businesses, and I don't think that profits are a bad word.

But when you have the former Congress in the front seat protecting and have your back versus the American people, I got a problem with that. And so I think that it is important, and that is the reason why I came back here today on this last day of our legislative business to point this out.

Clean sweep. Clean sweep. Every last one of the Republican leadership voted no against that legislation. And I am going to make a point on that piece that I am going to point out this last vote. But I am going to make a point on why this clean sweep did not make sense as it relates to the policy of the vote that took place from the entire Republican leadership.

The market manipulation provision in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It goes on that it was signed into law in December, and this deals with the wholesale price of gasoline and petroleum, and required the Federal Trade Commission to enforce and punish those. Again, that is part of the market manipulation scheme.

The top voted no, and next two in charge I assume voted yes. And then the rest voted no, all the way going down to the bottom of the Republican leadership that voted yes. So we have six of the Republican leadership voting no, and we had three of the Republican leadership voting yes.

I said all of that to say that if we are going to sign a letter, you have got to fact check your own voting record if you are going to try to make a statement and put a press release out to the media to say that we are pushing them. It may look good on the website, but you don't want to put this on your website, because it doesn't speak toward the words.

Now I am going to tell you the reason why. Where is that chart? I need my chart on how many leases that are out there and what has happened.

Madam Speaker, we love charts here in the 30-Something Working Group. This is what we do.

This chart here shows how many leases that are out there and how many wells that are actually out there. On the red part is actually the leases. And you can see from 1994, here are the leases. These are the actual wells that are out there.

Well, under the Republican leadership of the previous Congress and the one before that, those are the ones I can attest for, because I was here. They did all they could to continue as many leases as they could. You know, we want to give it. If big oil wanted it, they can get it. It was an open door policy. Whatever you guys want, we want to take care of it.

I have another chart to talk about, the 2001 meeting that took place in Vice President Dick Cheney's office, this energy conference that took place and how it took off for big oil and how it went against the American people.

But as you start looking at the drilling leases now, you see all the leases that are there and we see all of the wells that have been drilled and we see gas prices going up. So to say more leases, more drilling is better, it doesn't speak to that. That was the old strategy, Madam Speaker and Members, that the Republican leadership used to take. Give them what they asked for and gas prices will go down.

Well, that has not worked. So for the pot trying to call the kettle black, or saying Democrats have been doing something bad or something like that, or you haven't done anything, you can't forget that the President of the United States is a Republican too and has been a part of what the American people are experiencing.

Now, let me just share this with you. I had this chart last night, but I want to bring it out again because some of the Members might not have been up last night at 10 p.m. I was.

May 16th of 2001. You heard me refer to the White House energy plan that was submitted. This is Mr. Cheney's task force. They were meeting. And I believe also this is a quote. ``If you look at future prices with respect to gasoline, they will appear to be headed down.'' This what was said out of the White House at that particular time. But you can see it had a reverse effect on what the American people were told at that time. Gas prices continued, as you see the goal here, to go up.

Here is the meaning of the meeting here, I believe somewhere around June of 2005, of course, our leader with the Saudi Arabian king there, trying to build relations hopefully that we were all hoping would drive gas prices down. But as you can see, they continued to go up, and oil sets a new record above $119 a barrel and the retail gas raises to the national average of $3.51. Some people may say, where are you buying that gas, because that is cheap. That is an AP report of 4-22-08.

I think it is important that we look at this chart. I hope that we can put this chart on our 30-Something Working Group website. It is not there yet, I don't think, but we will get it on there. Hopefully by the end of this week we will have it up, if Members want to pull that down and take a look at it.

Now, again, I am stating the obvious. January 22nd, 2001, $1.47; today, $3.53. That is as of 4-23-08. So we know that is today where we are on the gas price. And that source is AAA. Can we put that on our website, too? That would be very helpful.

I think what else is important, Madam Speaker, as I start to come in here for a landing here, the average price per gallon of fuel paid by the U.S. military units in Iraq is $3.23 a gallon. That is how much they are paying. That is an AP fact from the Associated Press. That is 4-22-08. Then it goes on, the price per gallon of gasoline for Iraqi residents is $1.36, and that is the AP on the same date, on 4-22-08.

Let me just finish with two other points here. The cost for fuel the U.S. military consumes per month is $153 million, and oil revenues that the Iraqi government is expected to take in this year is $70 billion.

Now, this leads to another point. If I had enough time I would make it, but I am going to cut my 30-something piece short today, because if I was to start talking about the Iraqi government, and that is the whole failure of the whole piece, what they are not doing to assist us. Because when you look at it, I think the U.S. military should be paying the price that Iraqis are paying.

Since we are over there carrying out this great deed, why are we spending $3.23 a gallon? I don't know why. And when we have just average Iraqis that are not taking the incoming that our troops are taking--they are paying a price, the Iraqi civilians, I must add--but the individuals that have to go out there on that midnight shift to protect the streets of Iraq are paying $3.23. I mean, we are just in the business of making sure that Americans pay more than anyone else.

So I am just going to put it that way. I just want to lay that out. Maybe somebody at the White House may hear me and may call somebody over in the parliament over in Iraq, if they are meeting, if they even have a quorum, to be able to deal with that issue.

This issue as it relates to gas is something that is very personal to many Americans. Again, I just want to make sure that the record was set straight on the Congressional Record as it relates to what Democrats have done to bring down gas prices. But, of course, we do not have the presidency of the United States, not as of yet, to be able to fulfill the total reality of how do we move towards alternative fuels, how do we go greener, even greening the Capitol.

Madam Speaker and Members, when I come back to the floor next week, I believe it will be Wednesday, I want to talk about the initiatives that we have going on right here in this Capitol, all the way down. I just wrote an article for one of the local publications here in Washington, D.C. talking about what we are doing.

Think about it. Greening the Capitol was not even a discussion until we, and when I say ``we,'' the Democrats took control of the House, empowered by the American people. I will talk about that, and I will maybe enter it into the Congressional Record so it will be there to highlight exactly what the House Administration Committee and other committees that the Speaker has appointed to deal with this very issue are doing.

But, in closing, if you are going to send a letter to the Speaker, the Republican leadership, if you are going to send a letter to the Speaker, make sure you fact check your own letter. That is the message of today. And if you don't fact check it, I guarantee you that those of us that are in the Capitol will find the time to do it, especially on an issue that hits such a chord with so many Americans.

So, let's try to vote together. Let's try to work together. Let's try to resolve the problems of everyday Americans as it relates to the economy, as it relates to health care, as it relates to what is going on in Iraq together. Let's not stand in the schoolhouse door and then, you know, write a letter and say, oh, well, we don't know what you guys are doing. We would love to be a part of it. I don't know why you are sitting on your hands. You said 2 years ago you would do something. You haven't done it as of yet, as though we are working hand-in-hand. When I say ``we,'' I am talking about the Republican leadership, and making sure that we achieve that.

Madam Speaker, with that, it is always an honor coming before the House. It is always good bringing this great information. I would like to thank the working members of the 30-Something Working Group and our staff.

Well, Mr. Ryan, I want to thank you for sharing not only thoughts about the Members, but also reminding them of the work that has been done and work that needs to be done here on this house floor.

I can tell you, Mr. Ryan, that it's very frustrating at times to hear and see some of the finger pointing that goes on not only here under the Capitol dome, but here in Washington, D.C. The work that this 110th Congress has done overshadows the work of the 109th Congress as it relates to accomplishing things on behalf of the American people. And I am very concerned about the fact that Members seem to get a little amnesia on how we got to where we are now.

Last week, I had a chart on the floor here. I don't know what happened to it. I'm not accusing anybody of anything. But I was driving the point home of the colleagues on the other side about gas prices and writing the Speaker a letter saying, What are you going to do? You promised a year ago that you would do something about it. What are you going to do? What are the Democrats going to do? The Republican leadership wrote, We stand firm to be with you as it relates to doing something about energy prices or gas prices.

And it's interesting because these are the individuals who, especially on the Republican side, were a part of supporting and standing up the 2001 plan and the meeting that took place in the White House with Mr. Cheney and a number of energy companies, which I think was one of the most profitable meetings for the oil industry because they have just hand-over-fist made money since that meeting. And even today I think it was projected or it was announced that it's another record-breaking quarter for oil companies while Americans pay through the nose and small businesses pay through the nose for fuel.

I couldn't help but be on I-75 in Florida on my way back to Miami from St. Petersburg about 3 weeks ago and stopped at a Pilot gas station. And I was driving my uncle's truck, and the guy asked for my ID and credit card and all of those things. And I said, Goodness. I had to give my ID. I was paying with cash. I said, This is interesting. I am paying with cash and I have to show you my ID.

He said, Well, sir, we have had an uptick in truckers in filling up and pulling out without paying. I said, Wow. That's interesting. I mean with all of the tags and identifying markers identifying the company or the private-owned companies. And he said, I can tell you something--of course, he saw me and didn't think that I was anything like a congressman or anything--but he said, Times are hard out there. I mean, these guys, they can't afford to fill up their truck and make a profit and be able to support their family. Not justifying it, but he said, The higher gas goes, the more protection that soon we're going to have to have someone out there getting tags or doing some sort of check to make sure that they actually put in the amount that they paid for.

Saying all of that, that's the reason why, during the self-service days: Pay first, then pump.

I'm saying all of that to make the point that times are hard out there. We know. Bread is $3 a loaf. We know this. The fact that rice, even if you go to Costco now you can't buy a 50-pound bag of rice. I mean, it's like being rationed, in a way. And just the price of food all over the world has really exploded.

Saying all of that, Mr. Ryan, I think that when we start looking at our work here in Congress, now more than ever, Members, we have to hold first the American people and their will, we have to hold that as our number one priority.

Now, let me just mention just a few things, Mr. Ryan, because I'm not going to try to get excited on this issue today because if I do, I may miss something. And I don't want to miss anything because the points have to be made.

And I think it's important, Mr. Ryan, as we look at this, and Members, Mr. Speaker, that when we look at the work that has been done in this Congress this week, sending four key bills to the President for his signature, and we really don't have a lot of time to wait and see if he's going to do something because when you look at it, you have to look at the highway bill, the bill that allows competition for important highway and transit projects outlined in the 2005 highway bill which will help promote 40,000 new good-paying American jobs in transportation and construction. I think it's important that people understand that this bill will help stimulate the economy versus slow it down. It's important that the President signs this.

When you look at the other pieces of legislation that have passed, these are bills that are key bills, ensuring continuing access to student loans, the Student Loan Act. This is a critical bill that provides students and families with continued uninterrupted access to Federal guaranteed student loans. We're talking about not only this generation but the next generation and working families being able to afford higher education.

Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2008. It comes down to many of our men and women that are in uniform over in Iraq and Afghanistan with explosions that take place and the fact that many of them are affected by the blasts that take place with these IEDs. They will join some 5.3 million Americans that are affected here at home by the same thing. And the Congress has passed this to provide the kind of funding that's needed so they can get the treatment that they deserve. We look forward to the President signing it.

But as we look at issues such as energy and fuel, I think it's important that we talk about some of the things, Mr. Ryan and Mr. Speaker, and I know you mentioned something about this whole gas thing because this is hitting home for many of us.

The Speaker, last week, called on the President to suspend the purchase of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve temporarily. When you look at this issue, you have to look at it from the standpoint of bringing gas down. What the Speaker has asked for would actually bring the gas prices down to 5 to 24 cents a gallon. This is a critical first step, Mr. Speaker, towards bringing gas prices down so the American people can hopefully afford to put gas in their tanks and small businesses.

I met with some independent franchise owners of KFC and Taco Bell establishments, and they were talking about the cost of food and ingredients. One gentleman told us about the fact that his sales are down because American people cannot afford to go into, what you may call these restaurants where you can get a meal under $10, they can't afford to do it as often as they have done it before. Hopefully, the checks and the stimulus package will be able to assist. Not only we're not talking about going out and buying a meal but to be able to provide for their families will help stimulate this economy to help drive down the cost of food and the costs that many small businesses need to survive.

Now, I think it's also important, Members, that we look at it from another standpoint, a standpoint of what farmers are having to look at.

We had a hearing here on Capitol Hill today that talked about food versus fuel, and the price of food costs, how are we going to bring a balance between biofuels and how we're going to feed the American people in the world through our crops that are here. And that's going to be an interesting discussion, especially as we start looking at shifting from the Middle East and investing in Middle Eastern countries as it relates to energy versus the midwest. And we talked about that, Mr. Ryan and I talked about that a lot the previous two Congresses.

But when we started looking at legislation and ideas that will give American people relief now, I think it's important that we look at the letter that the Speaker sent regarding the Strategic Oil Reserve that will bring the price of gas down 5 to 24 cents.

I think it's also important to look at measures that we have passed here in Congress and that many of our friends on the other side of the aisle seem to be standing up in the middle, which we call the ``policy door,'' not allowing us to be able to send good pieces of legislation to the President without the President knowing that he has enough Republicans on this floor to withstand an override.

Now, there were four bills, and I'm going to turn it back over to you, Mr. Ryan, which was an OPEC bill that we passed that was dealing with--well, a NOPEC bill was dealing with not allowing OPEC oil companies to be able to price gouge Americans, and it allowed the Justice Department to carry out even more enforcement efforts against these, what we call, cartels.

Price gouging, also renewable energy and the Energy Security Act, a number of our Republican colleagues on the other side, as you can see this piece of paper here, voted ``no.'' And I think it's important, especially amongst the leadership, it's important that we no longer have that kind of activity going on when the American people are looking for some relief and looking for some enforcement.

Something is not right. Something is not clean in the milk. Something doesn't smell right when it comes down to why gas continues to go up and up and up.

And it's amazing. There's an uproar about gas, and then it will go down for a minute, then it will be back up some 20 to 15 cents a gallon on top of what it used to cost.

So I think, Mr. Speaker and Members, we need to pay very close attention to what is happening on this energy issue but also pay attention to what is getting done. And we're doing a lot here. We've seen a lot.

We've sent a lot of good legislation to the President. We hope the President will sign the legislation versus vetoing to make a point that is pointless when it comes down to the forward progress of the American people.

Mr. Ryan, I agree with everything you just said, outside of throwing the kids in the back of the mini van; us parents, we don't do that.

But let me just say real quickly that we look at common sense and we look at the needs of the American people. They want to know what's happening. Every time they look at that gas price board that's in front of the gas station they're thinking about, who's running the government? They're thinking about, who's overseeing this? Who's in a magic room somewhere pushing up these gas prices? And I think it's important that we understand that it's bigger than a debate, that this is really dealing with folks having to park their car. This is dealing with folks who are going through some real hard times. And we have to make sure that we stand up for them.

Now, the President may wait a little while and say, well, I'm not going to do what the Speaker asked to do, suspending filling the Strategic Reserve, I'm not going to do it. Maybe he may do it now, I don't know. The first quarter report has come out on the oil revenues. Maybe that may happen, I don't know. I'm not saying that that's the motivation, I'm just saying that the American people need some relief and they need it now. And hopefully they will be able to get it sooner than later because we're having folks, from rising food costs, rising energy costs, finding themselves in a situation where they can't even afford to drive to work or to get their children to school.

Also, Mr. Ryan, as I spoke before about our friends on the other side of the aisle, our Republican leadership, we definitely want them to work with us as it relates to driving these energy costs down and then going after the individuals that may have something to do with jacking up the price on the American people. Last week, I talked about the fact that a gallon of gas in Iraq costs, I believe it was between $1.30 and $1.55. Here in the United States, it costs a lot more. And we all know what those costs are, people are reminded every day when they have to go to the pump. I have constituents that are putting something on it every day. When I say ``putting something on it,'' they can't afford to fill their whole tank up. They're putting in $5, $6, whatever the case may be, and just getting less than a gallon and a half of gas because that's all they can afford. And especially for those individuals that have stepped over their budget, taking the credit card out, filling it up with a credit card. That soon adds up because it's not within their budget to pay the $24 or the $50 they have to pay on these credit cards.

But I go back to say that fuel in Iraq is a lot cheaper than it is here in the United States. And the U.S. military is spending in the neighborhood of $3 and change in filling a gallon of gas in the same country. So when we start looking out how we're helping Iraq and how Iraq is assisting and appreciating our help, we also have to look at the difference and the disparity in the cost of gas between what our troops and civilian personnel have to pay for a gallon of gas there and what everyday Iraqis pay.

So when we look at it from the big picture, Mr. Ryan, we have to look at it from the executive branch level. And I think it's important that the President looks at all of this and takes it all into consideration. But we do need some action.

We talk about a commonsense approach--I said it earlier, I'll say it again--on the No Oil Producing and Exploiting Cartels Act, I think it's important that we see the passage of H.R. 2264 that has passed this House. And the Republican leadership has voted against. When you look at the Energy Price Gouging Act, you have to look at it for what it's worth. And this legislation will reduce the burden of rising gas prices on American families by providing immediate relief to consumers by giving the Federal Trade Commission authority to investigate and punish those who artificially inflate gas prices. I mean, I want that, I want it

bad to be honest with you, because I think it's important that if we have these commissions and we have those enforcement agencies, give them what they need.

Right now, as far as I'm concerned, the Federal Trade Commission is like a police officer in a high-crime area without a weapon. And I can tell you, there will be no real enforcement there if they don't have the tools that they need to be able to enforce the law when it comes down to it.

Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Act of 2008, H.R. 5351, very important piece of legislation. The bill has ended unnecessary subsidies to oil companies in which we're investing in clean and renewable energy. And I think it's important that Americans understand, and also, Mr. Ryan, that every Member of Congress understand, that none of the legislation that I've mentioned thus far would have seen the light of day if it wasn't for the 110th Congress and it wasn't for Democrats allowing it to come to the floor.

Well, Mr. Ryan, I look forward to next week. I look forward to the hearings that will take place under the Dome. Again, democracy will reign. We will be able to continue to move in this new direction that the American people want us to move in.

Nothing wrong with that at all.

And I also believe, Mr. Ryan, that through the hard work of not only the staff here that provide us with not only the information that we use to fight on behalf of the American people, but also when we go back to our districts, what we hear from our constituents, we give them voice, we are them. We are representatives of the various parts of the country that we're from, and it's important that we bring that level of frustration here.

Speaking of small business men and women, they own a pick-up truck or an SUV, we hear from them, Congressman, it cost me $105 to fill my truck up. And they're still trying to sell their products for the same price, just a little bit more. Everything is going up, up, up, and they're getting priced out. And I think it's important, even from my neck of the woods in Florida, where you have bagel shops, some of them have gone so high up on bagels because of the cost and folks can't afford them.

So when you look at it, this is a major, major issue and every American is being touched by it, especially for those middle class families and for those individuals that are what we call our working poor. And so, Mr. Ryan, every day we come to the floor I think it's important we give light to that.

I also want to give the numbers on Iraq, as I always do. As of today, May 1, in Iraq, the total deaths are 4,064. The total number wounded in action and returned to duty, 16,567. And total number wounded in action not returning to duty is 13,344. Mr. Ryan, you know, every time I come to the floor I like to read that into the Record so that Members will understand our responsibility of trying to bring the super majority of our men and women home.

One last point, Mr. Ryan. I think that when we look at this issue called public service, and I'm speaking to all of the Members, we have to look at it from the standpoint that we're only here for a short period of time. Less than 11,000 Americans have actually had an opportunity to serve in this U.S. Congress. And every day Members should take the responsibility to treat it as though it is their last day to serve and not put something off for another day or another week or another month, because there are people out there that are counting on us and depending on us, as it relates to bringing about health care to their children, bringing down these fuel costs and energy costs, and also making sure that we're able to stimulate this economy in the right way.

So with that, I would yield back to Mr. Ryan.