Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to offer my congratulations to Dr. Nelson Adams. On August 7, 2007, Dr. Nelson Adams will be installed as the 108th president of the 112-year-old National Medical Association during their annual convention and scientific assembly in Honolulu, Hawaii. The National Medical Association (NMA) promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent by serving as the collective voice of physicians of African descent and as a leading force for parity in medicine, elimination of health disparities, and promotion of optimal health. Dr. Adams is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Honorary Doctor of Laws, but to me his most important accomplishment is that he was the doctor who delivered my son Kendrick Meek, Jr.

Dr. Adams, a native of Miami, Florida and a product of its public school system, is a medical leader passionately committed to eliminating racial and ethnic inequality in health. He is regarded as an exceptional achiever, earning high recognition both scholastically and among medical peers. An esteemed alumnus of Howard University, Dr. Adams has been recognized in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. He earned his medical degree at Meharry Medical College, where he was named Student of the Year in his freshman class and served as President of the Meharry Chapter of the Student NMA. Dr. Adams completed his four-year residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Emory University in 1982. Prior to returning home to Miami, Dr. Adams practiced in Mobile, Alabama for three years, where he was a founding member of the Bay Area Medical Association, an affiliate society of the

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the late Kenneth Myers, a fellow Florida Legislator and outstanding attorney in the Miami community.

During Mr. Myers distinguished career in the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate, he displayed a dedication and commitment to strengthening the state of Florida. Serving 4 years in the House of Representatives and 12 years in the State Senate, Mr. Myers sponsored more than 200 bills that strengthened Florida and our sense of social justice. He personified the essential qualities of a great community leader and earned his place among the pillars of our community.

Mr. Myers was a brilliant attorney and proudly practiced law with his father for over thirty years. When his father retired, he joined another distinguished law firm and continued with compassion his path for justice in our South Florida community. Mr. Myers' sincere involvement instilled a profound impact on the community, resulting in many awards, accolades and honors including a Coconut Grove park named in his honor.

Mr. Myers lived a stunning life, graduating from Miami High School in 1950 then pursuing higher education at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He proceeded to the University of Florida, School of Law. Mr. Myers' devotion to education led him to serve as a member of the prestigious University of Miami Board of Trustees for 25 years.

Mr. Myers' is survived by his sister and my esteemed friend, the Jewish Community Relations Council Director Judy Gilbert-Gould and her husband, Gerald Gould. He is also survived by his nieces Nancy Gilbert, Carolyn Gilbert Epstein and Belinda Gilbert; his nephew Robert C. Gilbert, an officer of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Board; Mark Gilbert, and eight grandnephews and grandnieces. Mr. Myers was the son of the Federation's Founding President, Stanley C. Myers.

His Family and friends will memorialize him during a special service at Temple Beth Am on Tuesday July, 31 2007.

Kenneth Myers was a dedicated public servant and his leadership in the community was genuinely admirable. We would all be well served to emulate the legacy of achievement that Mr. Myers practiced throughout his lifetime. May his memory be blessed.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor and congratulate Ada Manuel who will be celebrating her 90th birthday at the J. Charles Griswell Senior Citizens Center in Georgia.

She was born on August 10, 1917 to Frank and Hettie Drake Spence. Ada was married to the late Booker T. Manuel with whom she had two daughters Juanita Manuel Rhodes Mond and Elaine Manuel Symonette. She is the grandmother of Reginald E. Symonette, Dr. Yulanda Rhodes, Edward R. Rhodes and Wanda D. Rhodes Price; and the great grandmother of Chandler Price, Chad Price, Chelsea Price, Chania Price, Aaron Rhodes and Xenia Rhodes who sadly preceded her great grandmother in death.

After graduating from Mitchell County Elementary High School, she felt the need for

spiritual growth so she became a member of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Reverend J. I. Ross. Eager to serve, she became a doorkeeper at the Church. She also served as an assistant chief to the usher board. She later formed the now Jordan Grove Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Reverend Charlie E. Smith.

Ada also enjoys singing and praying; especially praying because she will pray for anyone. During her forty years at Jordan Grove Missionary Baptist Church, she was a member of the Willing Workers where she served as president for one term and then vice-president. As also a member of the Prayer Band, she worked one several committees including Women's Days.

Currently she is a member of the First Baptist Church of Brownsville. She is an exemplary figure for both the young and the old of her parish.

Madam Speaker, and colleagues, I ask that you join me in honoring Ada Manuel today. I hope we all have the good fortune to live such a full life as she has; she is truly a great lady. Her family and friends must be very proud, and I thank her for continuing to serve the community.

Mr. Speaker, it's an honor to come before the House once again. I think it's very important to know that we have half a week and next week to complete the people's business. We have a lot that we are working on right now in the United States, also; legislation to redeploy our troops in Iraq, passing a farm bill that would help America move forward, to continue to have legislation that has already passed this House in the Six in '06 plan that we put forth in the first 100 hours of this Congress, getting it through the process. We celebrate this week, just yesterday, I believe, the increase that started with the minimum wage across the country. Americans have a lot to be proud of with this new direction of Congress.

As you know, in any democracy, it has to be a bipartisan spirit to get the job done on behalf of the American people. We are trying to do that in the best way possible.

Our friends on the other side of the aisle, on the Republican side of the aisle, in many cases are stutter-stepping and slowing down the process, but it's very, very important that their voice is heard in this Chamber. I think the days upon days and the hundreds of amendments that have been offered here on the floor and that have been voted on is evident of how this Democratically controlled House has allowed the minority party to be able to have access that only they could celebrate in the 110th Congress, which we weren't able to celebrate under the 109th Congress.

I also want to point out the fact that we have passed over 40- something major legislation where we have had bipartisan support, and I think that's important.

One issue I want to talk about tonight, since our time is limited, of the amount of dollars that we are spending in Iraq as we continue to try to redeploy our troops. We know the September 15 date is coming up, the second report of progress, or a lack thereof, in Iraq will be due. Members of the House are going to have to vote on the defense appropriations bill shortly thereafter that will set the tone for the remainder of the fiscal year.

As you know, we passed off this floor on a bipartisan vote continuing an emergency supplemental that would allow 3\1/2\ months of funding for the war in Iraq with MRAP tanks and other equipment that the troops needed.

I think Members had voted in the affirmative, Members had voted against it, both were courageous votes. I think it's time to move in a direction of policy. No permanent bases, I understand, will be coming up on the floor. We also have other legislation calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops by a certain date. I think that's also important and very courageous. I think the debate that is going on in the Senate and the House, led by Democrats, are going to help us as we move towards the September 15 date.

As you know, and the Members know, I speak quite often on leaving politics behind and putting good policy forward, making sure that we don't act as Democrats and Republicans politically, I will say that again, rather than representing the American people. The American people are way ahead of us on this issue of Iraq.

I think it's important as we continue to share the information as we get in. This came from the Congressional Research Service. The cost of the war in Iraq is rising per year. You see the number in the billions, $120 billion per year, per month; $10 billion per week. We are looking at looking at $2.3 billion a day. We are looking at $329,000, we are looking at, per hour, as you see it relates per hour; the $13 million. I think it's important to look at per minute, $228,938 that's there in the thousands, and then we have $3,816 per second. I think it's important.

I think it's also important we look at those numbers, the cost per year, we look at the billions. We are looking at $120 billion per year. That can actually pay for 4.7 million EMTs and paramedics. When you look at it for a monthly cost at $10 billion, which we are spending in Iraq, you can actually provide EMTs or paramedics for your local community or for the Nation, 395,000.

When you look at the per-week cost, $2.3 billion, 91,000 EMTs and paramedics could be provided for local cities and counties and parishes; per day, at $329 million, 13,000; and per hour, $13.7 million that's spent that could actually fund 543 new EMTs. I think it's important, especially for those cities that are struggling and those counties that are struggling and States that are struggling on this very issue of how they are going to provide emergency service in their local community.

If you look at the cost of the war, could enroll more kids in Head Start. I think it's important for us to look at the $120 billion, 16.7 million kids can go into Head Start; per month at $10 billion, 1.7 million kids could go into Head Start; per week, $2.3 billion that's being spent in Iraq, 320,000 kids could actually be enrolled in Head Start where we have a shortage of funding and every kid can't receive Head Start opportunities where kids can start early and be healthy, and parents can have kids that will be prosperous educationally.

Per day, look at $329 million; 46,000 kids could benefit. And the per-hour cost that we are spending in Iraq at 13.7, 2,000 kids could be enrolled in the Head Start program.

As we start talking about health care insurance for children, I am just looking at these numbers as a member of the Ways and Means Committee and I am just thinking of how many kids we can actually do good things for and Americans. We just pulled a few of these things.

The cost of Iraq could send more Americans to college. You know the numbers by now. As you know, this is the year number at $120 billion, and the per-month is $10 billion, the per-week is $2.3 billion, per-day is $329 million, and per-hour at $13.7 million.

But look at this side, on the far side here, Mr. Speaker and Members, the numbers of students that could be helped: 21 million students in the one year that we spend there. So this means 21 million young people would have an opportunity to go to college, that is amazing, for what we are spending in Iraq right now; 1.7 million students per month can receive an education in the United States and make

us competitive, not States competitive with other States, but this country competitive with other countries.

I think it is also important if we can tie this chart in with that. I think it is also important that 395,000 students can be funded within a week of what we spend. I just know that financial aid officers at universities and at community colleges and at technical centers throughout the country are saying, wow, look at that number; 56,000 students could be funded per day. 56,000. Think about the kids that are paying student loans back that are having to go out and scratch and beg, and people that are punched in right now and grandparents and parents that have picked up an extra job to put their kids through school looking at these numbers as relates to this endless war, as the President sees it, in Iraq, we could actually help. And this is almost sad when it comes down to per hour. With the $13.7 million that is being spent in Iraq per hour, 2,000 students could actually receive an education.

I am going to break out from the charts and the numbers. But if you look at the foreign-owned debt and you start looking at countries like Japan that are holding a great number of our debt at the 644-plus million dollars, I think it is important. We owe Japan this money, we owe China money, we owe the U.K. money, we owe OPEC countries money because of the mismanagement of the Bush administration and the former rubber-stamp Republican Congress. Our kids, our young people, our country have to compete economically, have to compete as it relates to the level of education so that we can have a workforce that is better than the countries that we have borrowed money from, and I am not proud of that at all.

Just to tie in that chart, and I will get back to that Iraq issue, this is what is happening here. You have seen this chart before. We have updated this chart. Since President Bush has been in office, it has doubled the foreign-held debt.

It took 42 Presidents 224 years to build up $1 trillion in foreign- held debt. If you look, you have the pictures of the Presidents here, we are talking World War I, World War II, the Great Depression, you name it, a number of other wars that took place, the Civil War, and all of the conflicts that took place, and the hard financial times that the United States has gone through, these 42 Presidents combined, $1.01 trillion. President Bush was elected, had a rubber-stamp Republican Congress, and they borrowed within 6 years, we are saying 6 years, more than 224 years of history and other financial challenges of the country, $1.19 trillion. We are moving, Mr. Speaker, into a pay-as-you- go effort to be able to knock that down, and we are passing budgets that will get us back into.

Back to the cost of Iraq. And me being a former State trooper, Mr. Speaker and Members, I think this is important. Look, we know by now and we can see because I have said it about five times, the per-year, the per-month, the per-day, and the per-hour costs of the war in Iraq.

The per year at $120 billion, we can actually hire in this country 2.6 million police officers that could be community police officers to prevent crime, that could be officers that can enforce the law in high- crime areas, officers that can go out and do the things that they need to do to make this country safer. In one month that it costs us in Iraq, 221,000 officers could be hired. In one week in Iraq, 51,000 officers.

I am talking about folks that are in local communities that are literally under lockdown in urban and rural areas in the United States that are trying to protect their families and maybe have one or two State troopers in an entire county or State police officer in a parish or in an urban area. I represent down in Miami where you can go for a little while before you see a law enforcement officer. And to learn in one day that you can hire 7,000 police officers that it costs in Iraq, for the lack of the COPS bill that has been destroyed under the Bush administration and the past Republican Congress, that we are pushing in our past appropriations bills that we have passed thus far to rekindle that program so that we can have community policing, something that sheriffs, something that city police chiefs, something that local communities enjoy, because they prevent crime before it happens. And the per-hour cost, $3.7 million in Iraq per hour, could fund 304 police officers.

Now, Mr. Speaker, it takes a lot of courage, it takes a lot of backbone to come to this floor to make sure that we do what the American people have asked us to do in making sure that we provide opportunities for local communities to fund the necessary needs that they have.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished Member from Florida (Mr. Hastings).

Congressman Hastings, I am so glad that you did come down and that you did share your sentiments. And you are right, the point that we are trying to make here is that we are going to have to bring an end to this war as we see it now.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is also important for all of the Members on both sides of the aisle to realize that, especially under the pay-as- you-go philosophy that we have adopted as the House in the majority and the Senate has adopted, that things are going to be hard back home as it relates to getting Federal appropriations back to our districts.

There is really no need for us to be here if we can't bring resources back, if we can't represent the people that woke up early one Tuesday morning for representation to provide not only voice here in Congress but also action. And without money, it is hard to bring about that kind of action.

I think it is also, Mr. Speaker, very important that Members do note that many of the U.S. Governors, and I am not just talking about Democratic Governors, mainly Republican Governors, that have raised the issue with the Federal commitment to the States, the devolution of taxation that has been taking place over the last 6 years, especially under the Bush administration.

I just want to break that down a little further where taxes, quote/ unquote, have been cut here for the very wealthy here in Washington prior to the Democratic Congress getting here, and that responsibility with the lack of

funding, Leave No Child Left Behind. I am not cutting the student loan rates in half, which we have already passed in our Six in '06 budget. But in the Republican Congress, those States had the balance. Here, under the 109th, under the Republican Congress, they could continue to raise that foreign-held debt that I talked about. They could just say, well, let's just put it on a credit card and leave it for the next generation and this generation to pay for it. But we decided here, in the Democratic leadership and society, that we are going to move in a responsible way and not leaning on the backs of our children and our families that exist now as we compete against other countries, not only in the area of technology, but also in the area of financial strength.

And I think that the posture that we are in now, Mr. Speaker, of what I showed on that chart on foreign-held debt, this chart illustrates the posture that we are in right now: $1.19 trillion. And these are not my numbers; these are the numbers from the U.S. Treasury. So this is not something that I sat down my staff and said, Let's see what looks good or sounds good, because we know as the 30-something Working Group that I would like to add my colleague here Mr. Hastings that I am a part of the ``something'' of the 30-something. But I think it is important for us to point at that and take note to it.

Now, if you are a conservative Democrat, Republican, Independent, you have to have issue with fiscal irresponsibility. If you are someone that feels very strongly as it relates to the supporting of the troops, I think it is important that you pay very close attention to the amount of money that is being spent in Iraq with the lack of accountability, only now that the Congress started holding hearings under the Democratic-controlled House, holding hearings to check the issues and the questions of the no-bid contracts, the lack of oversight over the years. There are a number of things that are coming to light now, Mr. Speaker, because the committees are having committee hearings, subcommittees are having hearings asking the tough questions, let's just say questions in general about the war in Iraq.

I don't want to be in a position, Mr. Speaker, to say, I told you so. I want to be in the position to say that we were able to prevent the taxpayer dollar from being spent in an irresponsible way. There are a number of things that have taken place. I am looking forward, Mr. Speaker and Members, going to Iraq in the next 6 weeks prior to the September 15 report to bring about my own assessment of what is going on there on the ground.

Mr. Speaker, I went in my district to the Federal Reserve Unit of the Combat Engineer Unit 841 that is actually being deployed into Iraq and will be there at the time that I visit Iraq. My talk with them, Mr. Speaker, was that I hope that this would be their last deployment to Iraq, and something that we need to hold close to us.

And now, Mr. Speaker, I want to point this out because when I talk about a bipartisan approach, I want to make sure that we talk fact not fiction here on the floor, and I don't want in any way to paint some sort of butterscotch cloud world.

But I think it's important that we take issue with the fact that this House and the Senate passed legislation that had benchmarks in it, legislation that had redeployment dates in it, legislation that had an end date for combat troops to patrol the streets of Iraq and other areas, and leaving that responsibility up to the Iraqi Government.

I'm mentioning combat troops because I think it's important that we pay very close attention to it. Right now, as we speak, Mr. Speaker, there are troops right now, marines, soldiers, other branches of the armed services that are going through door-to-door checks, not only in Baghdad but throughout Iraq on behalf of the safety of the people of those towns or province or what have you.

And every door we kick in, Mr. Speaker, because, as you hear, the President doesn't speak of coalition anymore because the coalition is gone. The coalition, in their own way, as small as the coalition was, found a way to start redeploying their troops out of combat into the periphery that we speak of so much to provide support where their troops will not be in harm's way, where their money commitment will not be at the level of our money commitment of the numbers that I called off a little earlier. And I think that is very, very important for us to pay very close attention to that.

Mr. Speaker, I think it's important to note that when this House acted, and we passed legislation, and the Senate acted and they passed legislation in a bipartisan way, before that bill could even get bound to take to the White House, the President called some of our Republican colleagues down to the White House. They had a lunch and they came out of the White House. And it's not one Democrat in this picture here, and said that we're going to make sure that the President is able to withstand an override of his veto by the Congress.

Now, I'm not judging Members for going down to the White House and saying that. But I just want to make sure, because I believe that a number of Members have gone back to their districts and, you know, I'm not trying to call any names or party affiliation, but I'm just telling you, not one Democrat went down to the White House to stand with the President on his troop escalation plan.

But I think the November election was all about a new direction. And there's a difference between making sure that the men and women have what they need while they're in harm's way. There's a difference when it comes down to the fact that we here in the Congress have to put forth policy and parameters on the taxpayer dollars to make sure that it's being spent appropriately.

You heard Mr. Hastings, who's a member of the Intelligence Committee, also is involved in many of the European talks and is a leader in one of the largest parliamentary councils in Europe that were a part of the coalition that made his statements about what we know and why we're not bringing about the accountability that's needed.

I hold this picture up because I want to discourage Members from going to the White House on behalf of party. And I think it's important that we look at it from that standpoint. As I come in for a closing, Mr. Speaker, as we proceed over the next week and a half, we're going to spend many hours here on this floor. We're going to have a number of amendments. Tomorrow, as we mark up and start to put together the Children's Health Insurance Plan in the Ways and Means Committee, there will be a number of amendments, as we start looking at the Medicaid and Medicare benefits, who's going to get what when and how it's going to happen, there are going to be a number of amendments. And it's nothing wrong with amendments and dialogue and discourse.

But I believe that the issues that we have to tackle as a Congress, we're going to need that Republican bipartisan support, along with this Democratic leadership.

Minimum wage never would have been increased if it wasn't for the leadership of the Speaker and a number of the Democratic Members that held to their guns to make sure that everyday people that punch in and out, Mr. Speaker, while we're here on the floor, those individuals that are bussing tables, those individuals that are cleaning offices, those individuals that are working shift work, as a security officer or as an individual that's trying to provide for their families.

And even for salaried workers, Mr. Speaker, I think it's important when you look at the increase in minimum wage, it helps salaried workers because they'll make more money and they will be able to pay more for health insurance, additional insurance if they're insurance at their job doesn't provide what they need; and it also takes a number of families over the poverty line.

But as we look at this, I think it's important, there's only so many times that Republican Members can go down to the White House and say, Mr. President, I stand with you, versus standing with those individuals that have said that they want something overwhelmingly, like the minimum wage and other areas. We still had Members that voted against the increase in minimum wage, which I can't understand, still today.

So with that, Mr. Speaker, I look forward to continuing to share with the Members, not only the costs in Iraq, but also our responsibility here in Congress. I'm glad that, from the Speaker on down to the newest Member of Congress, that we have a philosophy that we have to push forward, that we have to make sure the American people not only have voice but action in this House.

I encourage my Republican colleagues to be along with us in that spirit and have the kind of paradigm shift that we need to put this country on the right track and to make sure that our men and women have what they need.

And I can tell you, from the families that I saw at the 841 who were moving on into Iraq, from what I picked up, if you want to help the troops, let's bring them home. And that's what it's all about.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend from the Garden State.

It is interesting, Mr. Speaker, and I will point to this L.A. Times editorial since now the L.A. Times is an authority on this issue. The newspaper said it reluctantly endorsed the U.S. troop surge when it began. But at the bottom it says: ``We feel that the time has come now for us to leave Iraq.'' That is the L.A. Times.

I also want to point out another thing as we talk about this redeployment, a responsible redeployment, the act that is up before the House right now that we are considering. I just want to make sure the Members of the House know exactly what they are doing, because when they get back home in their districts and they start talking to the heroes and sheroes that have been deployed two to three times and talk to Americans about why they can't meet the needs that they have to meet here domestically, I want them to reflect on this:

I want them to look at the fact that you have $120 billion a year that we are spending in Iraq; per month, $10 billion; per week, $2.3 billion; per day, $329 million; per hour, $13 million since we have been here on the floor, Mr. Speaker; per minute, which I only have two, $228,000. And you have to look at per second, as I take a breath, $3,816.

Also, I want to point out to the Members here, Mr. Speaker, the last time we passed a measure on behalf of the men and women in harm's way and to send the message to the Iraqi Government, they can go on vacation and they don't meet and they don't do the things that we have put forth as benchmarks that they have to meet in a bipartisan way, then why should we reward bad behavior?

And I have this picture here, Mr. Speaker, of when the President called a lot of the Members of the minority here in this House down to the White House and they had a meeting and the President came out, mikes and everything, not one Democrat here, saying that we stand with the President, this is what the minority president said: ``We stand with the President in not overriding his veto.''

I want to know, Mr. Speaker, how many times the Members of the minority party are going to go down to the White House and stand on the schoolhouse door of allowing us to move in a new direction. The American people are way ahead of us on this issue.

I am so happy that Chairman Skelton has brought this to the House floor. I am hoping that we have a bipartisan vote on it. I am encouraging every Member of the House, and I do mean every Member of the House, even my good friends on the other side of the aisle, to vote for a commonsense new direction. And I think that is very, very important as we look at this responsible redeployment act.

Once again, it takes courage to be a Member of the House. It takes also leadership to be a Member of the House. And some of us have to go see the wizard and pick up both of those values that we all hold and that we should hold. So I encourage you to cast an affirmative vote on the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act.

Mr. Speaker, it's an honor to address the House. And I hope the Members of the House had a great 4th of July break as we celebrate another birthday of this great country. And the great thing about it is you're allowed to say what you want to say

and feel what you want to feel and express yourself in any way that you would like to.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the 30-Something Working Group, we come to the floor to share with not only the Members of Congress, but also with the American people, the importance of good policymaking, and also making sure that we're factual in what we say and what we do here.

It was quite interesting. I was sitting here reading my notes from the information that we pulled together to come to the floor. We're going to talk about Iraq tonight, but I'm going to talk a little bit about SCHIP because we spent a lot of time and many hours on this floor fixing what the Republican Congress left for dead, really. We had to come in, the Democratic majority, with the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and save the SCHIP program in many States.

A number of Republican Governors wrote that were in a crisis mode of their program being shut down in the State of Florida, health care for children. In Washington, many people talk about SCHIP. I'm so glad to have the chairman here of the subcommittee that deals with this particular issue. And it goes to show you, here on the Democratic side we have great responsibility when it comes down to fixing and cleaning up the mess that was left from the 109th Congress and the Republican- controlled Congress and special interests got what they wanted.

I think it's also important to note that a supermajority of Republicans voted against the continuing resolution to be able to save the SCHIP program in many States to provide health care for children. And now we're going through the policy move that we have to take to be able to make sure that SCHIP is here for every child and to make sure that they have the kind of health care that they deserve.

So I'm so glad Mr. Pallone from the Garden State is here because he is the chairman that's dealing with this very issue. I'm a member of the Ways and Means Committee that is also going to be having a discussion on this issue. And I can tell you, as we start to move forth and uncovering and unearthing some of the injustices that have taken place in the past, and we have Governors on our side, we have children advocates on our side, we have those that believe in true health care on our side in saying that this is not a last-day-at-school kind of syndrome that we see the President and others going through. And I think something is about to happen that is really great and is going to secure and make sure the children have the kind of health care they deserve.

Mr. Pallone, I would be more than happy to yield to you at this time because I know without notes that you can talk about this because you and your staff have been working on this issue and members of your committee have been working on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, if you would yield for a second.

You know, I was sitting here. And the great thing about being a Member of Congress, and I thank the people from the 17th Congressional District in Florida for sending me here, it's almost like, coach, get me the ball. I wanted to say, will the gentleman yield? Because it's interesting that Georgia was on their knees with hands clasped saying, please help us. Children are about to run out of health care insurance, and we're about to have a crisis. And it was the leadership of this Congress, the Democratic Congress, that brought about that kind of change. That's why people wake up at 7 a.m. in the morning to go vote for representation.

So now we're down to politics, Mr. Speaker. And it's very unfortunate, politics is playing a role in the lives of our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews that need health care. And this is for working folks. These are for folks who punch in and punch out every day, individuals that are struggling every day that are hoping that the government will stand for them.

So, Mr. Chairman, continue. I yield back. But I'm just saying if Florida was in the situation, I couldn't come down here to the floor and start knocking something that this Congress ran to the savior. And what we had to do, Mr. Chairman, was to couple it with a number of other things to get it to pass for the President not to veto it. And we're going to talk about that a little later, but I think that's very, very important.

I yield back, sir.

Mr. Chairman, you said $5 billion over the next 5 years?

That's $50 billion.

Over the next 5 years.

Well, let me tell you, per year in Iraq we spend $120 billion.

Imagine the line. Imagine a rural county. Imagine an urban county that I represent, everyone kind of diving into one or two locations to make it all happen. Why should we inconvenience those that are counting on their government to respond, especially on behalf of our children.

I'm glad you came down here tonight to have you here, the person that has the gavel in their hand, heard testimony from the States. I know you know what I'm saying. This is what you're doing and this is why we're here. And Americans voted for a new direction, and we're heading in that new direction. There are those that are Members of Congress that don't want to move in that new direction. And, Mr. Speaker, like I said, the great thing about our country is that we can disagree and you can voice your opinion and other ideas, but I think it's important also for the American people to get fact and not fiction. And that's what we're here about, and that's what it's all about.

You are always welcome, Mr. Chairman, to come down. I am a part of the ``something'' part of the 30-something. So you can join, and that caucus is growing. And the good thing about what we do here on the floor from those new Members of Congress, we call them ``majority makers,'' to those that have been here as long as you have been here, to see this process go full circle, 360 degrees, to be able to come to the floor at 11-something at night, to be able to set the record straight I think is important not only for Members of Congress, but also for the Congressional Record and for those individuals that are listening to the statements that are being made here on the floor that know better.

Mr. Murphy, I just want to thank you, definitely fresh out of the State legislature, for coming to this floor. I served in the legislature myself, and I can tell you that in Florida we enjoy the Federal assistance that is there.

Some folks, Mr. Speaker, speak of Medicare as socialized medicine. If you try to do away with Medicare right now and have new and great ideas that would limit access to clinics and what have you, I think you would have an uprising in this country as we look at providing better healthcare.

If I can, we came to the floor tonight, and I have my Iraq notebook with me, and I want to thank not only staff but the Democratic leadership for taking a forward lean, as we have done since we have been here in the control of the House, and the American people provided us with an opportunity to lead, to move this country in a new direction, and also move this issue of Iraq in a new direction. I just want to talk a little bit about the numbers, and I want this to sink in, because I want Members to know exactly what we are doing.

We have to create and we have to be about a major paradigm shift, I would say slash ``new direction,'' as it relates to Iraq. We know that the President has executive authority and he can veto. We know that the legislature, and when we say legislature, I started talking about States, I started talking about legislature, I would say the Congress, the legislative branch of government has the responsibility of policy and making sure that we pass legislation that will be helpful.

During the 4th of July break, which was a wonderful thing, you have an opportunity to go back to your districts and you have an opportunity to go to places where you can learn more, I actually went to Norfolk, Virginia, to the Naval facility there and spoke to a number of sailors and some marines and others that have been deployed before. I was there on a destroyer and also a submarine and also an amphibious vessel that moved marines into a forward area and had an opportunity to talk to a number of individuals over that weekend.

I left with the impression, Mr. Murphy, of them saying, if you want to help the troops, then stand up for us in the Congress and making sure we bring some sense to what we are doing.

Now, some of the bloodiest weekends in Iraq took place during the 4th of July break, and a number of Iraqis have lost their lives and they have a number of civil war conflicts that are going on there. Also a number of marines, soldiers and others, even civilians, lost their lives.

I think it is important as we look at this and we go through a forward lean, I just want to capture this moment from the Congressional Research Service, Mr. Speaker, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan organization within the Congress. These are individuals that are Ph.D.'s and those that count the numbers and really give the Americans an objective view of what the real picture is.

Let's talk about cost here for a minute. You heard Mr. Pallone, the Chair of a subcommittee dealing with the children's health program, say over 5 years it would take $50 billion to be able to provide healthcare for children. Let's look at these numbers.

Per year in Iraq, and this is the chart that I have here, $120 billion a year. I am going to even further break that down to $10 billion a month and change. These are not my numbers. This is the Congressional Research Service numbers. Per week, $2.3 billion a week in Iraq. $2.3 billion. This is just Iraq. We are not talking about Afghanistan. Per day, $329 million and change. I am not even giving you the change. Per hour, $13 million. That is every hour in Iraq, $13 million.

Think about what we can do here domestically. I am talking to the mayors of our cities and our towns. I am talking to commissioners that would like to resolve some issues and want some sort of Federal assistance in doing that. I am talking to the citizen that is wondering why something is shut down in their community for a lack of funding.

Per minute, $228,000. That is per minute. $228,000. That is more than many Americans make in 5 years, Mr. Murphy, a minute. That is what is happening in Iraq right now. Per second, $3,816. Some may say $4,000 a second.

You look at the Forbes' richest, most wealthy Americans, they are not even doing that. You have companies that wish they could make $3,816 a second. This makes Oprah, her income, look very small. This makes some of the new people that are there, the President or the used-to-be chairman of Microsoft, look very small when you look at these numbers. But you have to look at this issue for what it is. These are the dollars that we are spending.

Now, who is standing in front of us and making new policy changes here? I think it is important, and I think we are going to have a gut check here, and I want to make sure that Americans know exactly and the Members know. Because many Members, they go back home and they say, I did not quite understand that. I am sorry. It went over my head. I didn't understand what happened, when a constituent may walk up to them.

This week in the House we will have an opportunity to reaffirm our support and move this Iraq debate in a new direction. Responsible redeployment of our troops. We talk about responsible redeployment. We are talking about a bill that Chairman Ike Skelton is going to bring to this floor tomorrow, or sometime this week, where Democrats and Republicans will have an opportunity on the record to vote once again as it relates to redeployment.

The Responsible Redeployment Act, H.R. 2956. It requires the responsible redeployment of U.S. troops beginning within 120 days of enacting and ending by April 1st, 2008. I think it is important that everyone understands that a supermajority, 70 percent, a supermajority of Americans believe that we should be out of Iraq.

It requires the President to publicly justify the post-deployment missions for the U.S. military in Iraq with a minimum number of troops necessary to carry out those missions. This is not saying that we are going to take all of the troops out of Iraq, but what it is saying is those troops that are in harm's way, doing the door-to-door, doing all of these things in the middle of a civil war that Iraqi troops should be responsible for, there are a number of people that are saying, you know, they are not quite ready.

But, meanwhile, back at the ranch, I know every Sunday on CNN they have a report talking about what happened in Iraq that week. I think I have seen too many flag-draped coffins. I think I have talked to too many spouses and family members that are saying, what are you going to do and how are you going to do it and how are you going to stand up?

Chairman Ike Skelton is beyond this. He is what one may say is an individual that solely has the troops in his heart and in his mind. And this will be a product of not only him, but many Members of Congress. So Members will get an opportunity to vote.

Now, Mr. Murphy, before I yield to you, I think it is important that we show who is standing in the schoolhouse door here. I would ask for not only the Members, but also the American people to go to the White House website if you want some information.

Members of the Republican minority, thanks to the American people, on March 29 of 2007, stood with the President after we moved the bill through this Congress that would move the policy as it relates to Iraq in a new direction. It would bring more accountability as it relates to profiteering, more accountability as it relates to how our troops are being deployed based on what the President says that he thinks is right. It is bringing democracy to it.

When we passed that bill, it passed both the House and Senate, I can say that the Democratic majority voted in the affirmative with a few Republicans, and it went to the White House. And before that bill could be carried to the White House, the President said that he would veto it.

I want you to take a look at this picture here, because I think it is very very important. Pictures speak 1,000 words. You have all Republicans, the minority, that are standing behind the President saying stand with the President and we will not allow the President to be overridden, for there to be an override of his veto.

I think it is important for us to pay very close attention to it, because my message to those that were on the steps of the White House, who met with the President, who had some sort of discussion with the President, that have said ``we are going to make sure that the President's will is not overridden,'' well, I want to ask, how many times will the Republican minority go down and stand with the President in front of the will of the American people?

That is going to happen this week, Mr. Speaker, and I am glad that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said we are willing to take the fight on behalf of the American people to the executive branch and to those Members of Congress who believe that we should be ``staying the course'' or continuing to do the same thing expecting different results.

There are a lot of things that are going on in Iraq that are not in the control of the American Congress and executive branch and those that they elected to represent them here in Washington, DC. But what we do have control over as it relates to the policy and as it relates to the will of the American people and the troops. One person said if you want to help the troops, get us out of Iraq. If you want to help the troops.

Mr. Ryan and I in the 108th and 109th Congress heard all kinds of speeches here on this floor, Mr. Murphy, Members saying ``I support the troops.'' ``No, I support the troops more than you.'' ``No, let me take my shirt. Let me show you a tattoo I have on my shoulder saying I support the troops.''

That is not what it is about. It is about policy. It is about manning up and womaning up and leadering up and standing up on behalf of these men and women that are in harm's way.

These are real families. We have to treat this issue as it relates to redeployment of troops in Iraq as though our children or our nephew or our cousin or our husband or wife, what have you, are in harm's way as we speak. Those that have a dot.mil address behind their e-mail address that are e-mailing us and are asking us to be leaders, I am glad that this House is moving in the direction, and the Senate is moving in the direction, and I commend those Senators that have come to the side of the American people saying enough is enough. The President can burn all kind of Federal jet fuel and fly throughout the country. He was in Cleveland talking about what we need to do. Enough is enough. The bottom line is that folks have to come to grips that this is a democracy.

The White House is under some sort of impression, I want to say impression. They believe if they were to come out at a press conference, if the President were to say the rain doesn't fall from the sky, it comes up from the ground to the sky, they believe many Americans would actually look outside to see if that is true. We know what is right and what is wrong. What is wrong is the fact that we can no longer stand idly by and let this happen.

The Democratic Congress has tried to make this happen. We need Republican support. We need the American people to call their Republican representative and say enough with this partisan stuff, let's move for our young men and women in harm's way.

I yield to Mr. Ryan.

Mr. Ryan, the bottom line is that the President, and we have to talk about the student loan issue that he talked about earlier today, and I think it is important that we talk about that because again we had Members here talking about SCHIP and we were all once representatives in our States on the legislative end on the State level. But I think it is important for us to, and where is my red chart to talk about the debt.

We just had Mr. Pallone as the chairman of the subcommittee down here, and we have a proposal talking about $50 billion over the next 5 years. Let me say real quick, per year it is $120 billion in Iraq and climbing. I say that to a mayor or to a Governor, I

would like to have my hands on $120 billion that the Federal commitment has made.

Mr. Ryan, it is not the President, that is all too easy. The President is in his last leg of a swim meet here. He has the last day of school kind of syndrome. All of us know what the last day or last week of school felt like. I am about to leave the institution, and I don't have to worry about what is happening.

But guess what, it is not the last day of school for the American people and those that are in harm's way. We have a responsibility to stand for them. I am not going to just leave the President. I am going to say that those individuals on the Republican side of the aisle, not all of them, but a majority of them, are willing to stand with the President that ran this record debt up that we have now. A $1.19 trillion debt and climbing, done by the Republican majority in the 108th and 109th Congress and beyond, of rubber stamping what the President has done.

We all live the same kind of lives. We all understand our responsibility up here. But I tell you, to be able to move in a new direction in Iraq, it is going to take more than just Democratic majority Members, especially in the Senate, to be able to bring some real sense to this new direction in Iraq. The real issue is that there is a choice to be made.

Mr. Ryan, some of the Members on the Republican side used to laugh at us when we were on the floor. I see them in the hall and they are like, ``You all are funny. Do you really believe people are going to follow what you all are talking about if you are given the opportunity to lead?''

Well, guess what, how do you like us now? People believe. Democrats, Republicans, Independents. And you know something, some people who voted for the first time in their lives who had given up on the political system, and I will be doggone if their vote goes in vain. I am telling you right now, we need Republican Members of this Congress to vote on behalf of our troops.

Want to help the troops? Vote for redeployment. You want to help the troops, vote for antiprofiteering legislation. You want to help the troops, when Mr. Murtha comes to this floor with an appropriations bill that is going to bring major sense as it relates to the appropriations in this war, then support that if you want to support the troops.

Mr. Ryan, I am going to yield to Mr. Murphy by saying this: As of July 11, today, the deaths in Iraq as it relates to U.S. military personnel, and this is not even counting those clandestine agents that are out there, those civilian folks, 3,609. That is as of 10 a.m. this morning.

Total number of wounded in action, returned to duty, 14,681.

Number of wounded that did not return to duty, 12,014 and climbing.

I want to say this is real. This is above and beyond Democrat- Republican politics, Independent politics, whatever the case may be. We are moving in the direction of redeployment of our troops and a new policy. The President can stand in the schoolhouse door all he wants to, but the bottom line is he is empowered by the Republican minority that are saying that we are not going to allow you to have enough votes to be able to override what the President is saying. That is where it comes down to it.

I can tell you, like I shared with some of my colleagues, you continue to follow the President on the old way, and I guarantee you, just like I said in the 108th Congress and 109th Congress, and I don't have a whole lot of say in what goes on in some of these districts because people have their own heart and mind. They read and they see. They see the people that are not coming back. People are being deployed.

They are not glad they are going. They are crying when people are going. Will I see my husband? Will I see my father again? What are we doing? What does this mean? We are in the middle of a civil war; what does that mean? Will my husband or wife be knocking down some door as we speak here on this floor, having Iraqis huddle in the middle of a room on a security mission that is necessary because the Iraqi government is not doing it, and those individuals will never forget that. And they are not doing it just because they feel like doing it; they are doing it because it is the mission. We support them in that mission, but the bottom line is we have to have a new attitude and new direction.

There are Iraqi troops that should be doing those house checks and taking that responsibility, and an Iraqi parliament that should be coming to work every day to make sure that they do what they do. It shouldn't be our people, and people know it. So the bottom line is, when you are in a place where you don't understand exactly where you should be, fall on the side of commonsense. That is all that I am saying.

Mr. Murphy.

What happened to the coalition, Mr. Murphy?

The thing about it and the thing about what we work on and what we meet on, and after we leave the floor I need to talk to you even further about this issue, because, Mr. Speaker, the President was on the road and saying, well, I'm going to veto the interest rate cut that the Democratic Congress passed because it doesn't help enough needy kids that are presently in college.

Well, this is the same President who said we're going to be treated as liberators when we were in Iraq.

This is the same President that has said that investing in big oil will be able to assist us to be energy independent when big oil made nothing but profits after the White House meeting.

This is the same President that said he was going to treat anyone in the White House that outed an CIA agent in a way that they should be treated, and then later let that person off the hook through his executive power.

This is the same President that has said that we need to send an escalation of troops to Iraq and we'll see a safer Iraq; that we've seen otherwise, some 500-plus men and women in uniform that have lost their lives since that surge.

This is the same President that goes on and on and on talking about how he's going to increase Pell Grants when he hasn't done that.

This is the same President that said that 9/11, that we are going to implement this Department of Homeland Security and said there was no need to pass all of the 9/11 recommendations. That still hasn't made it to his desk yet, that we want to get passed, that this Democratic Congress passed.

This is the same President that told folks to go shopping after 9/11 when he had the opportunity to move this country in a new direction, bring us together, help our economy, and the Americans were ready to do what they needed to do.

And this is the same President saying I'm going to veto a bill that's going to cut student loan rates not only for students, I will go further as a parent to say, for parents and grandparents that are helping children that are now coming out of college that are more in debt now than ever because the Federal Government is not there for them. If we're not there for them, then the State government can't be there for them because they have to cut, and guess where the first place is they go. They go to students and cut back.

So I'm about full right now of the American spirit and say that I hope that our leadership here in the House, with the President, you spoke of politics saying it's a great thing to run on. I always said this whole Iraq issue, if we see more and more pictures like this, Republican leadership leading their caucus down to the White House saying we stand with the President and making sure that the Congress doesn't override his original thoughts or what he feels should be, the White House is not to be used as the Republican National Committee instrument or the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. This is about the American people and what we do.

So, the President, this is his last day of school. This is the last month of school. He's about to move on. He's about to become a private citizen. Those of us that are in Congress, if the American people that allow us to come back after 2008, will be here to govern this country, and guess what, this is not the last day of school for Americans.

So, when we talk about cutting student loan rates in half and the President starts using all kinds of, I start to go back to the big oil argument. What,

did the banks have a special meeting at the White House, saying we can't allow this to happen; you got to stand in the schoolhouse door; and will they be able to motivate these Members to go back to the White House and say we stand with the President? How many times?

So, Mr. Speaker, I know that the bold leadership we have here in the House, if he vetoes this bill, which I don't want him to do, I hope he signs it, and we're able to provide the assistance to these individuals that are in all of our districts, Republican and Democrats. This is not for Democratic kids. This is for all kids, for all families, for all working people. If he does it, I hope that within the hour that he does it that we have something here on this floor, and we'll separate the Members from the followers here on both sides of the aisle.

And when we passed this bill, I know you brought this issue up, but when we passed this bill, there was 143 Republicans that voted against it, just enough to withstand. One, one over to be able to hold off a presidential override. That's a gut check there, Mr. Speaker. I wonder how many of those 143 are going to be with the President in not allowing American families to have a cut in financial aid.

I want their constituents to pay very close attention on whose side you're on. Are you on the bank's side or are you on the American people side?

I know that we're running out of time, and I think Mr. Ryan is going to move us to a few more minutes here.

I started off the last hour talking about the fact that tomorrow or the next day that Democrats, Republicans would be able to show their true colors as it relates to the redeployment of troops, something we have already voted on and the President vetoed.

I think it's important that Members point to H.R. 2956 that will be on this floor in the next 48 hours, that will say responsible redeployment of troops. Embodied in that bill will be recommendations made not only by military advisers and those that are not longer a part of this, because as you know in the Pentagon, you say something different than what the Secretary under old Secretary Rumsfeld, back in the days, when all of those things took place and you made a career decision, if you had an idea that makes sense, and said, excuse me, sir, I know you think you have all the ideas.

But it's alive and well. What we are learning more than ever now, having hearings on Iraq, people coming forth with some of the things that have us in the situation where we are now, mounting evidence of failed policy is the justification for this redeployment of troops.

Also, the issue, as it relates to the surge again, the Democratic Congress passed a nonbinding resolution saying that we disagree with the escalation of troops, that we need an escalation in diplomacy. We needed to think smarter.

We talked about the lack of coalition just a few minutes ago. We used to hear about the coalition. It got down to the single digits. It got outright embarrassing for the administration, so they stopped talking about it.

The mounting criticism of the failed Iraq policy, not only by Members of the military, but also the American people and Members of this Congress and some Republicans in the Senate and some Republicans here in the House and definitely a number of Democrats and retired general after retired general calling for a new direction. So this is what it's going to come down to.

It's going to come down to Members taking out their card that we vote with, and they are going to have to take it out. They are going to have to find one of these meters or machines here, and they are going to have to put it in there. They are going to have to vote ``yes'' or ``no.'' Do they want to vote for staying the course with the President and all of the slogans that they come up with and that they poll, or are they going to vote for a new direction and doing exactly what the American people wanted us to do? That's the question.

I look forward to coming back to the floor, not only with Mr. Murphy, but also with Mr. Ryan, talking about the issues that we are facing. The good thing about being in the majority, and I can tell you from someone that has been in the minority before in this House, is that we can bring ideas to the floor and actually see them voted on that we have not had before.

Mr. Ryan came up with a very important point, the fact that Republicans had a number of years to do what they said that they want to do. No one stood in their way. They could have done it. They didn't do it. They had the opportunity to do it. We have asked them to be a part of that opportunity that we are working on.

I am glad we had 16 additional minutes so we would have an opportunity to get this information out.

I am done. I just want to thank you and Mr. Murphy for coming down tonight. I look forward to the next 48 hours, what kind of leadership will be shown on the minority side of the ball. We need them to be a part of this change in the new direction that we are moving in. But as the Democrats, with the slim majority that we do have, we are going to give the American people what they want, and that is leadership.

Mr. Speaker, it's an honor to address the House, and it's good to be here before we go on 4th of July break to celebrate the birthday of this great country.

As you know, in the 30-something Working Group, we come to the floor to discuss a number of issues that are facing the American people, and also, I think it's important to identify our focus on the issues in Iraq and Afghanistan and the issues that are facing the American people.

I think, Mr. Speaker, the events over the weekend in Iraq and also in Afghanistan even give us further focus on making sure that the issues that are facing our men and women that are in harm's way are addressed here in the Congress. I think it's also very important for us to focus on what has not happened in this Congress as it relates to making sure that we meet the needs of our men and women.

We have appropriation bills that have been held up in the process that are now moving through the process. It's not because of the majority side's lack of will to be able to move them, it's the fact that we have some of our friends on the other side of the aisle that see it fit to slow the process down, but that argument is for another day.

As you know, I'm one of the Members, especially on this side of the aisle, that push for bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker, I spend quite a bit of time here on the floor talking about how when we work together, we're able to move the American agenda forward. And I look forward to continuing to stand up on behalf of bipartisanship here in the House to accomplish a goal to be able to make sure that our men and women in harm's way are able to receive the representation that the American people voted for.

Mr. Speaker, I think also what we should touch on is the fact that we have sent a number of documents to the White House, and those documents happen to be law, or proposed law. We had a bill that passed both House and Senate emergency supplemental that had not only benchmarks in it, but also withdrawal dates that were sensible and that were timely to let the Iraqi Government know that we will not continue to reward a lack of action on their side and accomplishment on their side as it relates to securing Iraq. That was vetoed by the President. But I can say that not one Democrat went to the White House and stood behind the President and said that we will stop any override of the President's veto.

I am so glad that we did send that bill there to show the American people that we are willing to do the things that we need to do.

We also passed a nonbinding resolution against the surge in Iraq, the escalation, I must add, in Iraq of U.S. troops and personnel. That was a strong message that the American people wanted to send out. That was successfully passed. Now, we are going to have two reports when we get back July 15, I would say to Mr. Larson, our Vice Chair, in a report in September. I think it is going to be very, very important for the Members to remember that we are Americans first, Members of Congress. Along with that, that first chair that I mentioned, and on the second hand, that we are from two different parties, because there are men and women who are counting on us to work together.

But those of us on this side of the aisle have to provide the leadership. If the leadership doesn't come from the White House, then we are here, sent by American taxpayers, American voters, to represent them from the said districts that we are from. But it is important that we provide that leadership and opportunity.

I would like to yield to my good friend, Mr. John Larson, from the great State of Connecticut. He is our Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus. I want to thank you, sir, for your leadership on this very issue of Iraq.

Well, I am glad Mr. Ryan from Ohio has joined us, Mr. Vice Chairman. I just want to commend you for your work with the Iraq Watch Group and the work that you have been doing here in the House, not only working with Members such as myself, but others that are trying to find a way that we, Mr. Speaker, can get our troops home more sooner than later. I think it is important that all Members focus on the fact that we come to the floor to make sure that we can work together.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to not only warn, but I would like to bring to the attention of the Members of the House that when that bipartisanship is blocked or Members are discouraged from voting on legislation, or voting in the affirmative, or slowing down the process, when we are trying to carry out the work that the American people sent us up here to do, then we have to rise up, the majority that the Vice Chairman speaks of so much, to do the things that we need to do on behalf of the people.

I think, Mr. Larson, when you were talking, I couldn't help but reflect on what we were able to do last week as it relates to our military construction/VA spending bill, which was the largest single increase in VA in the 77-year history of the VA. It was a bipartisan vote that took place in the final analysis, and it was something that was well-needed.

This is far from what you remember under Republican control, when the chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee just got so fed up and could no longer tell the veterans groups in this country that he could help them, do what he thought he was supposed to have done on behalf of those men and women coming back, those men and women waiting in line 6 months to see a specialist or what have you. He was removed as chairman.

Now we are under a Democratic-controlled Congress, understanding our responsibilities, understanding we have two wars going on, understanding that the VA doesn't have all of the things that it needs to have because of the cuts that have been made, understanding there is a Secretary of the VA appointed by the President that was confirmed by the Republican Senate, understanding that he doesn't want to make career decisions like some Members have, one Member did, who used to be the Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee. And I have that in my document that I will bring up a little later.

But I think it is important that we keep the focus; that we work double time in making sure that our men and women that are taking the fight to almost an unseen aggressor in the middle of a civil war in Iraq, with no end in sight, that they know that we are here, especially the majority of us here in this House, and will do everything in our power, go to as many meetings as we need to go to and get legislation to this floor and keep it in the forefront.

I say this, Mr. Larson and Mr. Ryan, because I know there are a number of

military families that are there waiting on their loved ones to come home. I know there is a wife waiting for a husband, or a husband that is waiting on the wife to come back. I know there is a child that wants to celebrate what my children celebrate, me walking through the door, their mother walking through the door, on a nightly basis, being able to do the things that families do. But if you are a soldier, you are deployed 12 to 15 months, Mr. Speaker, hands down. And we know with this surge that the troop levels have reached a level that has endangered the readiness of our country here. I think it is important.

Mr. Chairman, it is interesting that you would say that, and I can definitely share with you that we have to put a face on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I know time after time again there are some Members that are concerned that we may have a single focus on Iraq, and that is not the case. We are moving the House. We have appropriation bills that are moving through the process. We have legislation. We have the 9/11 legislation coming up this week. The Senate is fast at work, doing work before we leave on Friday. It is important to put a face on this.

I said before, Iraq, Iraq, and that other issue, Iraq. But look what it is doing to the country. Look where it is holding up the resources; where it is taking up so much of our time, not only of the Congress, rightfully so, because our troops are in harm's way.

We have a President that is saying ``troops will be in Iraq,'' he said this in the past, ``troops will be in Iraq as long as I am President.'' ``We will be in Iraq,'' saying ``we.''

This is the first time he has not had a rubber stamp Congress since he has been President. I think it is important that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, those that have to vote with their constituents and for their constituents, make sure we can work towards measures in getting our men and women out.

But to punt the ball down and say, well, let's try on the next series of downs, we have to actually try to run the ball on fourth down. Running the ball on fourth down is having not only American families that are affected by this war in Iraq, but those that are not, letting their Members of Congress know that enough is enough.

Now, let me share this with you. We are going to fight the policy battle and we are going to make sure that our men and women have what they need to have that are in harm's way. That is

a no-brainer. I have never run into an American or even received a letter that says ``I encourage you not to support the troops.'' Or ``I don't support the troops.'' You never hear that. You always hear people support the troops.

The policy is an entirely different issue, and I think it is very important to say time after time again that to move in a new direction, that is the what the American people wanted last November, is being able to have not only the guts, but the integrity to move in that direction.

It is beyond good government. It is making a commitment to those who have made a commitment to us. And they are counting on us to stand up. And when I say us, I am not talking just about good Democrats. I am not just talking about Republicans. I am talking about all Members of the House.

The reason why it is very difficult, Mr. Larson, as you know, to move the kind of legislation that we would like to move through this process, is because in the Senate they need a number of votes to be able to do so, 60 votes, I think that is the number.

Here in the House, the majority is not all that big, even though we are in the majority. I know that the record speaks for itself, and before we leave here tonight, I am going to read what I read a week ago into the Congressional Record about the accomplishments of this Congress and what we have done as it relates to this issue of Iraq and where we have run into a roadblock with the President on not only vetoing legislation, with the help of our Republican colleagues on the other side of the aisle that have been standing with the President.

I would like, if I can, I don't know if my chart is on the floor, Mr. Larson, I had this chart with the President on it and the Republican Congress, where they borrowed so much money. I want to have a prop so I can make the point even clearer to the Members.

This is the article you referred to earlier.

That's correct.

Mr. Vice Chairman, I just want to thank you for your continued leadership, and point out one fact before I go to my chart over here.

This is not an issue as it relates to, but in the 30-something Working Group, and let me just back up. In the 30-something Working Group, we like to have third-party validators. We like to have information so Members know exactly what they are voting on. We all have to go back home and talk to our constituents about the things that we have accomplished, and the resources we brought back to our district, and where we stood up on behalf of those that needed us to stand up for them.

There have been 47 key measures that have passed, 79 percent bipartisan consensus. I think that is important because what you are talking about as it relates to the Senate and what I have experienced serving with you in the 108th Congress and 109th Congress, we knew where our place was in those Congresses. We knew it was hard to bring a consensus vote because the leadership on the Republican side would fix the deck so we wouldn't have consensus, we wouldn't have bipartisanship.

With Speaker Pelosi, who encouraged bipartisanship where we can come together on issues, and these are major issues, these are not post offices. There is nothing wrong with naming post offices. I think Americans should be recognized at the local post office, and it is a wonderful privilege that we have here in Congress to do it. But I think it is important that everyone understands that across the board 47 key measures, and you know I love charts, Mr. Larson, we are going to review those 47 key measures so Members know the time we have come together on behalf of the American people.

I say all of this to say when I spoke of the rubber stamp Republican Congress, and I have my rubber stamp, and that is one thing I have protected. It is in my office and it is high up on the top of a cabinet. I keep my eye on it because I don't know, many of the charts I have had in the past that have been very, very effective in making the point to the Members, I call it a moment of clarity, fact versus fiction, someone, somehow these charts are leaving the floor. I don't know what is going on. I'm not saying anything, but I would love my charts back. Hopefully one of the Members will hear me.

President Bush, when you look at it, and this is by the U.S. Treasury, the foreign debt, when we talk about this war and we talk about the life of our men and women, many of them will never come home. A large number of our forces will never come home. And if they do come home, a number will come back with physical issues, emotional issues or mental issues that we have to deal with.

So what we did in an appropriations bill, over what the President calls for as it relates to mental health counseling, what the President has done in the past and what Members of Congress have done, the rubber-stamp Congress, the President, over 42 other Presidents, and this is my old chart. It is a new number, but this President has borrowed more from foreign countries than 42 other Presidents. So 42 Presidents over 224 years were only able to borrow $1.01 trillion. This President, $1.19 trillion at the end of the Republican control of the House. This is the Republican House here that allowed the President to rubber stamp.

Here is my point that I want to come back to that Mr. Larson made earlier. We as Democrats and a few Republicans, sent a bill to the President that we consulted generals, we had hearings. The Appropriations Defense Committee had more hearings than the last Congress had combined on the whole issue of Iraq and this was just an emergency supplemental. I think it is important for the Members to understand that we sent that bill to the President and the President had a meeting. Members of the Republican Conference went down and had a lunch. They all came out and stood behind the President I think on the east steps, I saw it on television, and said we stand with the President and we have made a commitment to the President that we will not take part in overriding his veto as Members of the House.

Here is the Republican Congress, here is the $1.19 trillion that we have borrowed from foreign nations. It reminds me of the past Congress. So when Mr. Larson started talking about those willing to stand in the schoolhouse door of good policy, Mr. Speaker, I am seeing that and saying, ``Okay, the American people have taken the majority from the Republicans.'' And I am speaking as a Republican, which is very highly unlikely here on this floor. Taken the majority from them and now giving it to the Democrats to move in a new direction. Just when we start carrying out the will of the

American people, Mr. Speaker and Mr. Larson, how can we stop this from happening? What can we do?

So the Republican says, ``Well, we don't have the votes on the floor because the American people have taken that away from us. Well, maybe in the Senate, maybe we can drum up something. We need to have bipartisan support, but we are not going to get it because we are going to stand in the way as much as we can?''

And I think it is important that the American people understand and Members of the House understand, both Democrats and Republicans, we were sent here to do something. I enjoy those Members who take extra time to work on the art of doing something and moving us in a new direction. But I see Members trying to find some sort of creative way to stop things that the supermajority of the American people want.

The first thing that they threw out, ``Well, the Democrats will leave our troops without what they need.''

That didn't happen.

``Well, the Democrats are soft on homeland security.''

Then we pass a bill that has done more than the Republican Congress has done since Homeland Security has been created. As a matter of fact, it was a Democratic idea that started the Department of Homeland Security so we can have the consensus that we needed. And to have the Republicans come to the floor and say that, and the facts are not there to support their arguments.

But I wanted to have this illustration here of the Republican Congress with the President addressing the Republican Congress, the President is doing the State of the Union and the picture is taken this way to show the Republicans on that side, Mr. Larson, to go back to your point, so we have a moment again of clarity, a moment to say that not only do we have illustrations to show how it happened in the past, and that is the beautiful thing about history, and it is good you can bring this history up, and it can be lifted off the Congressional Record, but to be able to let Members know that there are only so many times that you can stand in front of the will of the American people and be rewarded. Because the American people, one thing that I saw, last November, I have said here on this floor the American spirit will always rise. The American spirit will rise above partisanship.

My message to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and we always say on the floor ``my good friend.'' But you know what, they are good friends. We work with them every day. We live the same life. Many of them are away from their families. Some of them are living in this city. They miss their family members, so we go through some of the same things that our colleagues do. So we are all here in the Chamber and our card is the same shape, and we stick it in this machine and we vote on behalf of the American people. But I can tell you this, the American people will not reward when you go out of your way to stop their will. That is the point I wanted to make.

Mr. Larson, I just want to thank you for not only your passion but your leadership. Again, I go back to third-party validators. I go back to the will and the desire. Many times we stood here on this floor and talked about, Mr. Speaker, if you give us the opportunity, if we become the majority, what we would do. Six months hasn't really even clicked by yet. Let's just say 7 months hasn't. We haven't enjoyed 7 months of being in the majority of this House. It just happened in January, and we're talking late January, mid-January, where the power changed here in this House of Representatives.

And the bills, the 47 major bills, at least three actions that we have taken, on the action we have taken on Iraq alone, major. The hearings that we've had in the Foreign Affairs Committee, double-digit hearings. Armed Services Committee, double-digit hearings. In Government Oversight, double-digit hearings. You didn't hear about these hearings because they weren't called in the last Republican Congress.

Mr. Larson, when you were talking, I couldn't help but pull out of my book of information here, because every day we open this book, Mr. Speaker, and we find things, we call the National Archives, we call committees, we want to know what's going on here in this House, we want to know the Members that are trying to push these issues, moving in a new direction.

There's a bill, H.R. 13, by Sam Farr. He has nine cosponsors on that bill which is a bill that he has been working on. Representative Lynn Woolsey has legislation to bring the troops home, Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act. Mr. Farr's legislation is to repeal Authorization for the Use of Military Forces Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, Public Law 107-243, and require withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq. That's the title of his bill.

We move on to Representative David Price, who has a Comprehensive Strategy for Iraq Act of '07 which would withdraw troops as quickly as possible from Iraq. He has a list of cosponsors that are moving down that line.

I just want to make sure we don't leave anyone out. We have House Resolution 15, also expresses the sense of Congress and also immediate repeal which is done by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee. We have also ours truly, Congressman Larson, John B. Larson, repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Forces Against Iraq Resolution. You have Representative Ellen Tauscher.

As we come to a close, Mr. Larson, I just want to again thank you for joining not only Mr. Ryan and I tonight but you have been here before in the past. I would encourage, especially with you being in the top four of our leadership here in the House, our elected leadership as relates to the Democratic Caucus, I know that you give voice to many of us that are out here pushing every day. We have good people working, not only Chairman Emanuel, but also Mr. Jim Clyburn and also Mr. Hoyer and Speaker Pelosi.

I think it's important that we continue to push this issue on, because we are going to need bipartisanship to be able to move this agenda of safety for our men and women that are in harm's way, move this agenda for those families that are waiting on their loved ones to come home, move this agenda, Mr. Speaker, that the American people want us to move in a new direction. If we can just put partisanship aside just for a moment to do that, it will be a place in history in this country that we stood up on behalf of those men and women that are in harm's way and we followed the will of the American people. I just want to thank you, Mr. Larson, for being here.

Mr. Speaker, I can share this with you. A, we appreciate the Members who have worked with us on the 47 bipartisan measures. B, I think it's also important to know that as these issues move to the floor, many of these issues never would have made it to the floor if it wasn't for the leadership of the Speaker and our leadership team and the great Members here in the majority and even some of our Members in the minority. You know, we like to share here, some of the bills, on eight bills combined, they have 79 cosponsors, 76 of them are Democrats, 3 are Republicans. As Mr. Larson identified, some of those members of the Republican Conference that have come forth, Mr. Speaker, and said, hey, I've heard my constituents, I see what the American people are talking about, those moderate voices that are there. They should be commended. We spend a great deal of time letting them know, and I know when I see them in the hall and even some of my friends that don't necessarily see the light on this issue, we still take the time to talk in a very sensible way on this because this is work on behalf of the country.

We have Members that are Reservists, that are National Guard men and women, that are in the Coast Guard and other branches of the military, they're all counting on us to have those conversations and continue to work through the issues. You want to look at good government, you look at good government.

As I close, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Larson reminded me of something on 9/11. Everyone came together. Yes, my mother was a Member of Congress at that time. I remember she voted against giving the President authorization to go to war after that as it relates to Iraq. But I think it's important to be able to reflect on the past and find times when we have come together and try to find those times in the future and also work with the President. As much as I disagree with him on this issue of Iraq, I do respect the office of the presidency. I know every Member of Congress does. All we can do is continue to try to work together. But I do share with the Members that it is going to take bipartisanship because there are ways that they can block this from happening.

With that, Mr. Speaker, it was an honor addressing the House. I thank the gentleman from Connecticut and the gentleman from Ohio for joining me.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to a woman who has dedicated her life to the service of others, Annette Rolle. Soon, she will retire after 37 years at the Cedars Medical Center located in Miami, FL. Ms. Rolle has served our community with great distinction, and for her years of service, we in South Florida are immeasurably thankful.

During Ms. Rolle's 37 years at Cedars Medical Center, she worked as a CRCS Technician, as the Assistant Director of Central Services and as the Central Services Manager. She made it her mission to provide a higher standard of care for people in need. Ms. Rolle did all of these things out of her genuine care for people. She provides blood pressure screening to members of her church and encourages others to donate blood and become organ donors.

Her commitment to service is not only evident in her professional life but in her personal life as well; Ms. Rolle has been a faithful member of Greater New Bethel Baptist Church, where her Pastor has been Reverend Dr. G. David Horton, for over twenty years. She serves as a member of the Pastor's Aide, Mission Ministry, Ushers' Ministry, Nurses' Guild and Sunday School Ministry.

Annette Rolle is the wife of the late Steven L. Rolle Jr.; the proud mother of two beautiful daughters, Alesia Evans and Stephanie S. Rolle; and the exuberant grandmother of La'Nesia Smith. Her extended family includes three stepchildren, Judye, Vonn, and Steven Rolle III.

Annette Rolle's compassion and concern for those less fortunate in our community are virtues that we all should aspire to. Ms. Rolle is a person of character, who saves lives both inside and outside of the hospital. Her life is an example to both young and old that living a life of purpose is the greatest achievement. She has given herself tirelessly to her church, community, and profession. Annette Rolle is a courageous spirit and is deserving of our accolades.

On behalf of a grateful community, I salute Annette Rolle. Now, in retirement, she embarks upon a new journey, and I wish her every happiness and success.

Mr. Speaker, it's an honor to come before the House once again. I am glad to be here with my good friend Mr. Altmire.

As you know the 30-Something Working Group, we come to the floor weekly, talk about issues that are facing the Nation, and also give a report on

what's happening and what's not happening. We are hoping to do good things on behalf of the American people, and we hope that we can build a relationship with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, the Republican side of the aisle, to help pass the American agenda.

Mr. Altmire and I usually have some opening comments, and then we usually get into a conversation about some of the issues that we are facing this week, about some of the ongoing issues.

Over the weekend, I took the opportunity, because Mr. Altmire, Mr. Ryan, Ms. Wasserman Schultz and Mr. Murphy, who are part of the 30- something Working Group, we do meet, and we talk about issues that we want to bring before the Members.

I can tell you there are 47 major measures that have passed this floor with a bipartisan vote of 79 percent, so that means that 75 percent of the issues that have passed this floor have had bipartisan support.

I see that we have one of our charts here to show, under the Democratic Congress, that Republicans all along, we were saying in the 109th, 108th Congress, some of them really wanted to vote for the priorities of America and move this in a new direction.

But obviously the Republican leadership in the 109th, 108th, going back even further, did not want to bring those issues to the floor. But when they were brought to the floor, the 9/11 Commission Recommendations, H.R. 1, passed with 299 votes with 68 Republicans voting affirmative; raising the minimum wage, H.R. 2, again, passed 315, passed with 315 votes here with 82 Republicans voting along with Democrats.

The funding to enhance stem cell research, H.R. 3, 257 and 37 Republicans; making prescription drugs more affordable, H.R. 4, 24 Republicans joined the majority of Democrats, passing that measure by 255; cutting student loan interest rates in half, H.R. 5, 356 votes in favor, passed the House with 124 Republicans joining the Democratic leadership on that vote.

And creating long-term energy initiatives, H.R. 6, 264, with 36 Republicans.

And Mr. Speaker, I think it's also important to be able to outline the fact that we want to move in a new direction. And so far, the President has signed the following: The first increase in the minimum wage in almost a decade, which will take effect on July 24 of this year. This is not fiction; it's fact. And it will be fully phased in. It will mean a raise of $4,400.

And also, we passed tax incentives to be able to help small businesses; $3.7 billion in additional emergency funding for veteran and military health care. This is $3.4 billion in additional funds for military readiness also, including armored vehicles and also to meet the National Guard shortfalls that they have been experiencing over some time.

Emergency funding to keep hundreds and thousands of children in 11 States from losing their health care. That's very significant.

Overdue funding to repair and complete flood areas of Louisiana and Mississippi, and also, assisting other gulf coast communities, schools and universities to rebuild and recover from Hurricane Katrina Rita and also Wilma.

Overdue disaster aid to American families and ranchers, more than 80 percent of the funding that they were looking for they were able to receive through this Democratic Congress.

Emergency wildfire funding, to be able to assist communities that have been waiting on Federal response, and also benchmarks for the Iraqi government and requiring the President to report the progress of the war to the Congress more than two times.

I think it's important to also state the many of the things that we've done here in the House, Mr. Speaker, without needing Presidential approval. We restored pay-as-you-go budget discipline for the first time in 6 years in Washington and received praise from major fiscal watchdog groups.

Also, passed a budget balanced by 2010 with no more deficit spending and no taxes after 2 years of Republican leadership failure to agree on a budget.

I think it's also important that we outline that we've imposed very strict ethics rules in the history of the House; also guaranteed that the House will operate as a green Capitol. I'm glad we have the chair of the Appropriations Committee that deals with the House, House Administration with us, the chairwoman.

Also, the Speaker has convened a National Summit on America's Children, and we're beginning to link Federal policy and law and cutting-edge research as relates to bring development; and also restored Congressional oversight, saving tens of millions of dollars that are being wasted here.

I think it's important that we also outline that stem cell research bill, supported by two out of three Americans, which offers hope for many, many families, is sitting on the President's desk right now waiting for action, Mr. Speaker.

And also, a bill ending the politicizing of the appointments of U.S. attorneys.

I can go on and on, but I think, as it relates to an opening, I think we're off to a great start, Mr. Speaker. And I think it's also important for the Members to realize that, for us to not only end the war in Iraq, but for us to be able to fulfill the dreams and the needs of the American people and those that are in harm's way, that we have to move in a bipartisan way. And when we can't move in a bipartisan way, then we have to take the majority of this Democratic majority that we have now to be able to get 218 votes to be able to carry out the will of the people.

Later on, since Ms. Wasserman Schultz has joined us, and I know Mr. Altmire has something to add, too, I want to talk a little bit about the President's address, the President's radio address, because I think it's important that we address these issues as they come up. We should not allow any statement or any speech to go unchallenged because I think the American people, it's time for them to be leveled with. And I can't wait until this thing rolls around again, when we get into open discussion, because this is the good part about the 30-Something Working Group is that we do get an opportunity to kind of volley the ball around.

Mr. Altmire, Happy Father's Day, belated Father's day, sir.

Well, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, what they say and what we do are two different things. And the good thing about it is that right is on our side and the American people are on our side, be it Republican, Democrat, independent, those that are thinking about voting, those that may be voting for the first time in the 2008 elections. I think it is very important to lay the facts out, and that's what we are doing here tonight.

Mr. Speaker, we go through a great deal of work to make sure that we actually give facts, not fiction. And we know that there is a lot of fiction on this floor. That's what I would call it. And there is another word to call it, but I would just call it ``fiction'' to be honorable in this Chamber. But I think it is also important for us to just take the President's words for what they are. I am reading from his radio address, and this week, the President said the tax-and-spend approach is endangering the economic growth. And balanced budget efforts, mark ``efforts,'' balanced budget efforts, that's what he's calling it, that's what the President is calling it, as it relates to the budget, saying they have passed a budget that would mean higher taxes; put another line under ``higher taxes'' because I want to come back to that; for American families and job creators, put a line under that.

I think it's important, just in that paragraph alone, Mr. Speaker, for me to just dissect that for a moment. Let me just work on that paragraph just for a moment. It's just a paragraph within many, but it's at the beginning of the President's speech. I think it's important, as we start looking at fact versus fiction, I mean, we need to have a segment in the 30-Something group, fact versus fiction, because I think it's important that we do away with the fiction, because we have two wars going on. We have a country that's begging for health care. We have children that we were about to lose their health care if it wasn't for the action of the Democratic majority here to be able to push that effort along and put it on the President's desk for him to sign.

Now, let's just start with the whole piece of endangering and taxes. Listen, I'm on the Ways and Means Committee, and unless there is a meeting that I missed or several days that I missed from Congress, I haven't seen anything that dealt with a tax increase. And I would challenge anyone from the White House or from the minority side of this Chamber to point out somewhere, anywhere, where taxes are being increased. Okay. That's what I thought. I think it is very, very important that we pay very close attention to what's being said here on this floor.

I think it's also important for us to underline ``budget balancing efforts.'' People, Mr. Altmire, they don't want an effort; they want it to happen. Okay? One of the first things we did without the President's approval, thank God we didn't need it, to say that we're going to move pay-as-you-go rules and that we are no longer going to borrow from foreign nations. As soon as I can get my chart over here, I will pull it over, of how much money we have borrowed from foreign nations, Mr. Speaker, more than ever before in the history of the republic. As a matter of fact, I have my old chart here. I will use this one, Ms. Wasserman Schultz. For folks here in the Chamber, you know that this is an old chart. And I am really fond of this chart. The rubber stamp is in my office under lock and key because somehow my velcro chart somehow grew legs and it went somewhere. And I don't know where it is, Mr. Altmire, but I think it's important that we find that chart. I'm going to put pictures around the Capitol. Have you seen the out-of-control borrowing that the Bush Administration and Republican Congress were able to do in the past?

Remember this chart here? And it talked about, it went all the way through 2005? Well, I am going to draw a line through that right now. And I know that we are going to have a new chart here on the floor, because our good people that work with us here, the new number that comes at the end of the 109th Congress and the Republican Congress, this number is no longer 1.50; it is now $1.0019 trillion that the President Bush and the old Republican Congress passed under the rubber stamp policy of the Congress of the past, but not now; $1.01 trillion, 42 Presidents before this President and the past Republican Congress, and between the two, they were able to borrow from foreign nations, these are foreign nations who I have outlined on the next chart, $1.0019 trillion. Historical. Never happened before. No one can point to World War I and World War II.

Who are we borrowing from that we are putting a stop to here in this Democratic Congress? Let's just start with Japan at $644.3 billion. Let's look over at China, Red China of all places, at $349.6 billion. These numbers are old. Many other countries are involved in this. And, you know, that is just one sentence.

Then we move on, ``They have passed a budget that will mean higher taxes for American families and job creators.'' Now, I have already addressed the issue of higher taxes. Taxes have not been raised.

So for the President to say this means that it's fiction. That's the word I choose. Job creators. Who's he talking about? Must be talking about Big Oil. I guess they're creating all kinds of jobs. I know there are a lot of people that are trying to figure out how they are going to get to their job, paying the high prices.

And look at the profits. Wow. And it's funny, remember that little thing I talked about, the meeting at the White House, and Vice President Cheney with the executives, and then all of a sudden

the energy bill was written? And it was almost like every oil executive, somehow they figured out the six numbers to the Lotto. That Lotto happened to be the payoff by the American people. And their stock went skyrocketing up. In 2002, the profits were $6.5 billion in profits. And look, 2007, $30.2 billion, and you're paying almost $3 at the pump. I wonder who the job creators are. And we took some of these incentives and give-aways away, or so-called incentives, that were just tax giveaways of the taxpayers' money back into finding alternative fuels.

I will yield, yes.

You know, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and thank you for yielding back.

Mr. Altmire, this is why we come to work, this is why we, Members of Congress, Mr. Speaker, to be able to point out, and I love this whole fact versus fiction. You know, this is probably going to be my new top ten because I think it's important that we outline these issues. Because the American people, hopefully what we are sharing with them, it's fact. Now, folks start writing speeches and start saying, well, what sounds better or using words like efforts, you know ``efforts'' is open-ended.

Well, you know, I make a great effort to do some things around the house. But eventually I will get around to them. Well, we are dealing with the Federal Treasury, and it is not some sort of slush fund. That is the way it has been treated. We are talking about accountability.

I also want to point out Mr. Bob Novak, I don't think I am on his Kwanzaa list and he is not on mine, but he is one of the most conservative writers here in this town and well-known, and I appreciate his work, and we see him moving around on Sunday talk shows.

This is interesting. ``Bush veto strategy.'' This is in the Washington Post. Just in case, we like third-party validators. We want you to go on, we want Members to be able to go on WashingtonPost.com. And this was June 18. It was actually on A-17, if you have an old copy of the Washington Post.

I will go down to paragraph three, where it talks about Bush was the first President since John Quincy Adams not to exercise his veto power during the complete 4-year term, even though the Republican-controlled Congress was on a spending spree.

All right, we have heard of shopping sprees. You look in the dictionary, let's just do it. Let's do it because we can. Let's do it because we can borrow from foreign nations and put this country in a posture that it has never been in before.

He has two bills in his second term, rejecting only the Iraq war bill, since the Democrats took control.

Let me just say this. One of them was that. Let me just point that out, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Altmire. It is important that we outline that, that we outline the fact that the President has had a rubber-stamp Congress, and that even the conservative writers are saying, wait a minute. All of a sudden now you want to be Mr. Veto. You want to send a letter to the Speaker of the House saying if you go $1 over my projected budget and I am going to veto the bill, even if it means healthcare for children, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, even if it means better healthcare for our veterans that are coming back and that are here and that are waiting in line 8 or 9 weeks to see the ophthalmologist, which is not what they signed up for and not the promise that we gave them. Even if it means that school districts will not have the money that they deserve as it relates to the Federal dollar.

The bottom line is I wish the President and I wish the Republican side had the kind of courage to stand up to corporate America when they were giving away all of the taxpayers' money during their spending spree. This is now what I am saying. This is what Bob Novak is saying.

I think it is also important to note that one of our Republican colleagues took enough time to get 147 votes against the Homeland Security bill, an appropriations bill, and also it is important that we point this out, because this was done to be able to say that we can withstand a veto. I think it is 146 that is needed to make sure that we can override the President if we need to override him.

The last point I want to make on this topic, you know I always have a number of points, but after we passed the bill that the American people wanted, date on redeployment of when troops will be redeployed out of the field and letting the Iraqi government know we will not be in the middle of a civil war forever and ever and ever, and passed this House and it passed the Senate. And before the President could even get to it, Republicans marched down to the White House, had lunch, and came out and said, ``We stand with the President in not overriding his veto. We say that we stand with the President.''

That is what the Republicans said. Not one Democrat was at the White House. I want to know how many more times that Republicans are going to go down to the White House and stand with the President. Are they going to stand in front of VA Healthcare? Are they going to stand in front of universal healthcare for children? Are they going to stand in front of everything that we came to Congress to do? And I talking about Democrats and Republicans?

And I am just going to say it, not every Republican went to the White House, but enough to be able to stop us from doing the business of the people of this country. And I think it is important that we outline these issues. Go to WashingtonPost.com.

There is an old saying out there, if I am lying, I am flying. The bottom line is this: It is right here. I didn't write it. Mr. Novak wrote it.

You are not borrowing and you are not taxing, am I correct?

I would like to thank Mr. Altmire and Ms. Wasserman Schultz.

Mr. Speaker, we have to remember that $2 billion-plus a week are being spent in Iraq as we are here trying to resolve issues that we don't have money to resolve them.

Also I think it is important, at the top of the hour I meant to give this report, but as of this morning, June 18, 2007, at 10 a.m. the death total in Iraq is 3,517. Wounded in action and returned to duty is 14,283. Wounded in action and not returning to duty is 11,667. I think it is important that we share that with the Members constantly.

Mr. Speaker, I am also asking Members, I am trying to find a picture and I have been looking high and low for somebody to e-mail us a picture of this great White House meeting that the President had with the Republicans standing behind him saying they won't participate in overriding his veto of accountability in Iraq. I need that picture because we need that to be a chart so that we can discourage our friends on the other side of the aisle from going down and standing in the schoolhouse door on behalf of the majority of Americans' priorities.

Mr. Speaker, it was an honor to address the House once again.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 11 o'clock and 59 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, at 9 a.m., for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, it's an honor to come before the House, and we know that we have been working very hard over the last couple of days in trying to move these appropriation bills. I hope that we are successful and on schedule in moving these bills, because the American people deserve it.

Also, as you know, when the 30-Something Working Group comes to the floor, we share the latest numbers out of Iraq. Unfortunately, they have gotten greater than they were before as it relates to casualties. Total deaths in Iraq at this time stands, as of 10:00 a.m. on the 7th of June, 3,490; and wounded in action and returned to duty, 14,208; and wounded in action and not returned to duty, 11,622.

I think it's also important to know that when we moved the emergency

supplemental act or bill, those two amendments did the following, one, provided those that are in harm's way with the necessary MWRAP vehicles that they needed for protection against IEDs, which is one of the main reasons why we lose men and women in Iraq.

It also set forth the benchmarks that we know that there will be two reports by September that will come before this Congress and that the dollars that are only troop essential, only for troops and not for the actual mission, will be taken under serious consideration.

I say, Mr. Speaker, that it's important that we have a bipartisan approach as it relates to looking at these two reports that will be given to us.

The only way we're able to find our way out of Iraq any time in the very near future is through a bipartisan spirit. I think it's important that we talk about this from a leadership standpoint.

To get out of Iraq and do the things that we need to do to meet the needs of this country, it's going to take courage; it's going to take leadership. I am not just talking about the elected leadership in this House on the Republican side or on the Democratic side, I am talking about leadership on behalf of the Members of this Congress in a bipartisan way from east to west, from south to north.

We have accomplished bipartisanship in the past on major issues that have come before this Congress. And many times I speak of the fact that it was the Democratic leadership that brought these issues to the floor, and we knew all along that a number of our Republican colleagues wanted to vote on these issues. But, now, in the 110th Congress we've provided an opportunity for them to do so. This is not a follow or lead kind of situation when it comes down to the safety of those that are in harm's way.

And I just wanted to also mention, not only the benchmarks, not only the reports and the debate that's going to be coming up on this floor between now and September, but also what took place in that other amendment, the full funding for the gulf coast area as it relates to Louisiana, Mississippi, even Texas, Katrina, Wilma, and Rita, funding that has been clogged up in this process for a very long time.

But I want to thank those that were very courageous in hanging in there and making sure in the bipartisan way that we passed that legislation to help those Americans that count on us to stand up on behalf of their needs as a country.

Also, I think it's important that within that legislation, that emergency supplemental that passed through, off this floor, in a bipartisan way, waived the 10 percent Stafford Act, which I recently heard my good colleague and my friend, the majority whip speak in a very eloquent way about this recently, Mr. Clyburn.

9/11, the 10 percent requirement local match for Federal dollars in the Stafford Act, that's when Federal dollars are given to locals after a disaster, that the 10 percent match was waived. New York did not have to carry out that match. Even my very own community in south Florida, when Hurricane Andrew hit, that 10 percent was waived. And a number of other natural disasters, in California, one earthquake was 10 percent, was waived.

But until we had the strong leadership here in this Congress to even bring this issue to the forefront, because the administration did not want to deal with this issue, that it was brought to the floor to waive the funding for the people of New Orleans and the people of the gulf coast and all of the small parishes and cities in between. I think that came to some sort of number of 3.6-something billion, somewhere in that neighborhood, and that match alone saved the City of New Orleans, a little bit under a billion dollars with the 10 percent on that number.

I think it's important to understand that when we work in a bipartisan way, we can get things accomplished.

Now, could that have passed with just Democratic votes? Of course it could have. But there are less than 100 votes against us from sending those emergency dollars, not only to those victims of Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Wilma, but also it allowed us to have the opportunity to be able to stand up on behalf of the children without health insurance.

When I talk about bipartisanship and tie Iraq into that equation, I think it's important for me to pull the evidence out of how we've worked together under the democratic leadership in the House and bringing issues to the floor that we can be Americans on, not just Democrats and Republicans.

Implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendation, H.R. 1, passed with 299 votes, and with 68 Republicans voting in the affirmative with Democrats.

Raising the minimum wage, H.R. 2, passed 315, with 82 Republican votes, and the rest, a supermajority of them were Democratic votes.

Funding to enhance stem cell research, 253 in the affirmative, 37 of those votes were Republican votes.

Making prescription drugs more affordable for seniors, 255; 24 Republicans joined us in that effort.

Cutting student loan, low-interest rates in half, H.R. 5, 356 votes; 124 of those votes were Republican votes.

Working in a bipartisan spirit, creating a long-term energy initiative as it relates to making sure that we're able to invest in the Midwest versus the Middle East, 264 votes, which is H.R. 6, with 36 Republicans joining us in that effort.

I think it's important to know that, and that was just in the Six for '06. But I think it's important for the Members to understand that it's important, and as we approach these reports and these benchmarks and the things that the Iraqi Government must do to be able to continue to receive, even beyond the 3-month funding that we've put in place until September; I want the Members to pay attention to these reports as they come before the Congress.

I want them to pay attention to the debate that we will have next month on this issue, and vote as an American, not as someone as a Democrat or Republican. I just want the Members to be able to understand that the Democratic leadership is providing this opportunity for us to come together as one on behalf of those that are in harm's way.

I think it's also important for the report that comes in in September, and I will tell you as a person that's paying very close attention to this, let alone, Member of Congress, I don't know if the report is going to be much better than what the situation is right now, but if there's a process to get our men and women out of--our combat troops, I must add, out of Iraq, going door to door, kicking in doors, 3:00 searches to bring about security in an area of Iraq or Baghdad itself, we have to allow the Iraqi Government to be able to do those things on behalf of their country to be able to carry out those security missions.

And I will tell you, someone that has, you know, children and, hopefully they will have children, and as we move on to future generations, I think it's important for us to understand that there has to be some point in this war where we give a supermajority of the responsibility of security to the Iraqi people.

I think it's very, very important that if we don't live by the rules that have been put forth in these benchmarks and the benchmarks that was in the emergency supplemental, and if we don't treat these two reports to Congress as Members of Congress versus a member of a given party, then this whole process that we set up to be able to give the administration an opportunity to share not only to the world, but to this Congress, that our mission there is still needed for security of the Iraqi people.

I think it's very, very important for us, because, you know, it's good to say, well, you know it's good to make sure that families are secure. But it's counterproductive in many ways. And Madam Speaker, I think it's important that we really reflect on what are the positives and the negatives.

Well, let me just talk a few minutes about the possible positives, making sure that we can help for a longer period of time the Iraqi Government to be able to secure itself and stand up on its own two feet, have the kind of democracy that's good for Iraq, probably not as good for the United States, but good for that area of the world. And there are some other countries and people are saying, Good job, United States. Those are the possible positives.

Let's talk about the negatives just for a minute; not to say that there

aren't other positives that are out there, but I don't want to take too much time on this particular point.

The negatives: The negatives come in a package that many of us cannot comprehend. And I know a number of Members have not taken the privilege that many Members that are from the national security arena or serve on the committees, but I welcome the Members to go to the Pentagon, or I welcome the Members to get the kind of briefing that many of us have received here in Congress about what our men and women are doing in Iraq.

Well, it goes something like this, or you can just watch any of the cable news shows and it'll show you exactly what they're doing. Many times, as it relates to these security missions, because there's a civil war that's going on right now in Iraq that our troops are in the middle of, they have to carry out security missions. And in those security missions, many times, locks and deadbolt locks on doors are kicked in, and it's not at a reasonable hour when folks know when you're coming, house search, looking for insurgents. 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, families are brought into the middle of the floor, flashlights are shining in their face.

And I will tell you this: Someone that's living here in the United States, if something like that was to happen at my home, I'm pretty sure that all involved would never forget the event.

It's motivating our actions there of fighting on behalf of the Iraqi Government and the people and trying to keep the peace, even though we're all well-intentioned, and our purpose is not to harm individuals, but as you look at it, it's one of the things that kind of come along with security in that part of the world. And it's necessary as long as we're there. And that's the reason why we have to get our combat troops out.

Just like many Americans were super-motivated after 9/11 to go to either one of our Armed Forces offices to sign up to join the military and go to Afghanistan, these young men, mainly, and women, are signing up to join the jihad against the United States of America in a radical way. And it doesn't make sense to a lot of us, but all they remember is that someone who had a U.S. flag on their shoulder kicked in their door, and instead of bringing the peace, and instead of us getting the kind of rose petals and seen as liberators; and as it was explained to us by the administration and by many of the folks that came before the Armed Services Committee, I think it's important for us to understand that the negative is the counterproductive action that is taking place now that's putting us in a situation that we've never been in before, where we have other countries questioning our motivation for being in Iraq.

So I want to make sure I'm saying it in a very plain way, because I'm not trying to get into acronyms and trying to head into an area that many Members, because you don't serve on the area or the subject, or you haven't served professionally in the Armed Forces, or you haven't been in a command position, I'm not talking--and I haven't either, but I want to make sure that we all understand, because I think the coming days and the coming weeks are going to be very, very important to not only the future of Iraq, but also the future of our country. I want to make sure that we have an opportunity to talk about some other issues here today.

But I wanted to recognize my colleague from Pennsylvania, who is here to not only talk about this issue, but other issues that may be facing the Congress.

I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak).

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from the great State of Pennsylvania. I think it is also important.

It is also important to recognize those that have been in the field. Like I said, I personally haven't, but I am a Member of Congress, and I do pay very close attention to what those that are in the field have to say about what is happening in the field and also with the administration. And it has been a great discussion.

One would say, we have a Democratic House, and we have a Democratic Senate. Why can't we bring about an end to this war? Well, I will tell you one thing: It can't be without effort.

We have talked so much, Madam Speaker, on this floor about Iraq that it is almost like Iraq, Iraq and that other issue, Iraq. And I think the reason why we have talked about it is the fact that we know that we have to bring an end to what we have presently in Iraq right now. And just like my good colleague from Pennsylvania said, it is going to take time. I mean, it is almost like when you are moving out of a neighborhood or out of a house, you just can't do it in a day. It is going to take time for you to pack and do the things that you need to do, and that is even more difficult when you start looking at moving brigades and battalions and also assets.

I want to just go through, Madam Speaker, the time line because I want to make sure that Members know that many of us here on this floor have done our due diligence in trying to get ourselves out of this situation. And we know, as it relates to the timeline, and I already talked a little bit about the benchmarks, but in February, there was a vote on this floor, which was a nonbinding resolution, but it sent a very strong message to the President of the United States that we did not stand with him as it relates to the surge technique that he came up with or the escalation of troops, as I call it, in Iraq. The Congress voted in the affirmative philosophy saying that it would actually work. That is one. It happened in February.

Also, there was also a resolution that imposed restrictions on the White House to responsibly begin a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. That was another vote that took place here on this floor, which then the President vetoed. It passed the House, passed the Senate, and he vetoed it. Then there was a big meeting at the White House of Republicans and the President, enough Republicans to assure that the Congress could not override the President's veto. I think 1 day or 2 days after that, I think, we remember everyone kind of came out in front of the White House, and they said, ``We support the President.'' And I am talking about the Republican conference in the House, mainly House Members, and they said, ``We will not participate in the overriding of the President.'' We know that took place.

But still this Democratic House, along with the Speaker and I would even add maybe a couple of Republicans, and I am not sure, so don't quote me on that, voted to override the President's veto. And we failed. We did not have enough votes to do it. Why? It wasn't because Democrats went south on us or they didn't vote to override the President's veto. It happened because we didn't have the votes. We didn't have the bipartisan spirit that we needed to make it happen, and it did not happen.

Also, when we look at the force protection and when we look at the things that our men and women have, I would say it was a courageous vote if you voted for the supplemental or you voted against it. It was courageous. And, also, I think it is important for us to understand that many of the issues that we are facing right now and our troops having what they need through the Defense Authorization bill; we imposed the readiness standards on the Armed Forces and making sure that there are standards. We knew. We took this from the DOD rules, but no one wanted to enforce it over there. We voted for being responsible and complete as it relates to the redeployment of our troops and to be able to withdraw our troops again, a vote that received 171 votes. Many of the members of the Out of Iraq Caucus and others spearheaded that vote. And I voted for it. I think it is important for us to understand that that time has now come. So we have to get that process started.

One may say, well, why don't we stop? Well, the reason why we had to make sure that the men and women have what they needed, and no one wants anyone in the field not having what they need, is that we do have a political battle going on here and we do have a political impasse that is going on right here between the administration, members of the Republican Party that are in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and it is important that we get past that impasse.

And that is the reason why, Madam Speaker, when I started out here today in this Special Order, I said it is going to take the bipartisan spirit that we had in the Six in '06 initiatives. It is going to take the bipartisan spirit that we had on the two emergency supplemental amendments. It is going to take that bipartisan spirit for us to get there.

Now we have these benchmarks. Now we have reports that are going to have to come before Congress. And I am asking the Members to not look at it as a Republican or a Democrat or I am a real Republican or I am a conservative, a liberal Republican or a moderate or a conservative Democrat or a moderate Democrat. It doesn't matter. You have got to look at it through the eyes of being an American. And I think it is very important that we realize that, come the dates of the benchmark, when the reports have to come before the Congress, which is July 15 and September 15, that action has to be taken, and there will be other votes that will be coming up. There will be votes that will be introduced in September to deauthorize the war. That is not a secret. I will say it right here. It is going to happen. So do your reading. Do your research. Do your soul searching. Talk to your constituents because the bottom line is it is what it is. It is what it is. We are in the middle of a civil war in Iraq. And I don't need to even go back to the whole thing about Iraq originally having nothing to do with 9/ 11. We all know that. I don't even need to go back to the fact that we were told and the country was told about weapons of mass destruction, and there were no weapons of mass destruction. We all know that. I don't even need to go back to the administration, the Republican leadership at that time, saying we will use the revenues from oil in Iraq to be able to fund the war, and we will be greeted as liberators, and it will be the best thing since apple pie and Chevy trucks. We already know that, and I don't need to go back there and elaborate further on those issues.

A lot of folks like to talk about the past. Someone took a vote a couple months ago and has got a problem with that vote. Well, that's fine. You can have a problem with that vote. Let's talk about the votes that are coming up. Let's talk about the benchmarks where one has to report before Congress. Let's also talk about July 15. Let's talk about September 15. Let's talk about what is going to happen when the 3 months of authorization or funding that was given in the emergency supplemental, let's talk about that. Let's talk about looking at a step-by-step process to deauthorize the war in Iraq. Let's talk about those issues. Let's act on those issues.

And to those that believe that this war should have ended yesterday and that it has not ended yesterday because there is not enough leadership on the Democratic side to make it happen, well, look at this and listen to this: There wouldn't even be a vote on the floor if it wasn't for the Democratic leadership bringing these issues up. It wouldn't even be in the newspaper. It wouldn't have been considered. There wouldn't have been a number of hearings that have been held in the Rayburn building, the Armed Services Committee and in the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Appropriations Committee.

We have already surpassed the hearings on Iraq and all of those committees in this Congression alone, and we're not even past 7 months yet. So, for those that are saying well, what is the House doing and what is the Senate doing? Understand this; in the Senate, it's hard to even get the votes to even get half of the stuff that we've done here in the House, not because the will is not there, it's because we don't have that bipartisan spirit that I spoke of.

I think it is important here in this House that we realize, I mean, last night was a perfect example, that we have to work in a bipartisan way if we're going to stand up on behalf of the American people. We may have impasse, but we've got to get beyond that. We've got to make sure that we run this House in a way that the American people can be proud of it.

But, you know, it's one thing about procedural motions, Mr. Ryan, my good friend from Ohio, and it's another thing about action. And because so many American lives are in jeopardy in Iraq right now in the middle of a civil war, we don't have enough time to play politics here in Washington. The only thing that we have to do is to allow our troops to have the kind of representation, and their families, here in this House and over in the Senate and in the White House that will eventually reunite those families with their fathers, their mothers, their sisters and their brothers. There is a process. The name of this action of getting out of Iraq is not checkers, it's chess. We have to think about it and it has to be thought out.

We're not trying to microwave major decisions. But I can tell you, we don't have enough time for those who want to play ``operation run the clock out'' and see how long can we go until we get that end date. My good friend from Pennsylvania was just here saying that there has to be an end date. On the lease of a car, there is a date that you've got to return the car back in. On a loan, there is a date that the loan has to be paid off. There is a date that it has to be paid.

I will yield.

Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Ryan, I always get into this thing that I don't even like to say what they say because it's just so, you know, it's almost like because they say it, I guess that it's supposed to be true. It is so far from the truth. It's almost like if you get a letter and you say, wow, in this letter it says that the rain goes up from the ground and into the sky, let me go outside and check. I mean, it's so funny. I mean, you know the rain comes down, so why do you have to check their point that it goes up?

You know, I came today, Mr. Ryan, to talk about and hopefully provide

some verbal leadership in a bipartisan spirit, because if it was just politics I would say, well, Republicans keep doing what you're doing and we're going to keep doing what we're doing and we will see next November how the people feel about it. You continue to dig the hole. But you know something, Mr. Ryan? The difference between politics and what happened on this floor last night and today is the fact that American lives are at stake.

It's not politics. This is blood. It's family. You know? And it's very, very important that we all understand our responsibility.

I also think, Mr. Ryan, as you go on to speak in a very forceful way, and I am glad that you are doing that, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, that if we are going to get through this process we have to think about the institution of the House of Representatives.

Now, I am not a Member of Congress with a conspiracy theory, but the last time we were in control, all of the appropriations bills passed the floor and went through the process, conference and everything, on time. It wasn't continuing resolutions upon continuing resolutions upon 3 more months of a continuing resolution and say, oh, my goodness, we're into the following year. It wasn't that kind of effort. It was running the government like it is supposed to be operated.

We came in here this week to complete how many appropriations? Four, five appropriation bills? Four appropriation bills. And now we find ourselves behind schedule. We find ourselves in a posture that we did not plan to be in, and that's running behind, not because the will wasn't there on behalf of the committee, not because the staff didn't do what they were supposed to do to prepare the necessary bills to move to the floor and through committee and through subcommittee, it's because of the procedural moves that some Members of the House, Republicans, use.

I think what is important, Mr. Ryan, is that we look at this thing for what it is, we look at it for what it is, and we let it be known, because you know, it takes us a little while, Mr. Ryan, to kind of get ourselves in the grove of really talking about the situation at hand.

The situation is, unfortunately, politics is overruling the governance of this country. It is almost like having someone at the dining room table, Mr. Ryan, that will continue to be disruptive when you are trying to have a decent conversation at the table.

Now, let me just tell you, last night about 11 p.m., it was very interesting to hear some of the debate, about, you know, it wasn't about the fact that there was a lack of border agents in this bill or ICE agents or there was a lack of homeland security equipment to follow up on all the 9/11 recommendations. That wasn't the argument. It wasn't an argument that we were being weak on something. The argument was all about, well, you know, somebody told me that this is the procedure and I disagree with the procedure. This is the homeland security bill, and as we started to go through the process of showing that Democrats can govern, it was, well, how can we disrupt that process?

Now, there are two things, Mr. Ryan, when you were talking that came to mind. The President has said, as a matter of fact, he hasn't said it, he sent a

letter to the Speaker saying that if you send me a bill that is over the budget that I sent you, then I am going to veto it. That means if we have any great ideas as it relates to doing something about healthcare in this country, the President is saying I don't want to hear it, because it is not in my budget. So shall it be written, so shall it be done.

I know the President is a little spoiled. I know he is accustomed to having certain things from the rubber-stamp Congress and all, and this is a new kind of thing for him and the administration. But I think it is important that we pay very, very, very close attention to what is happening as we start to think about democracy.

Now, to say you are going to veto something, that means two things. This is speculation, maybe. Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are saying, let's slow this thing down a little bit, because we get all of these bills passed, which they will pass, and then it goes to the President and he starts to veto these bills. Then they call us on the next day, the President, ``come down to the White House,'' like they did when we passed the emergency supplemental, putting not only dates of redeployment, but also benchmarks, and if they weren't met, then redeployment would start automatically, and then had an end date as relates to making sure we get a majority of our combat troops out of Iraq. He called the Republicans down to the White House and they said, we are not going to override you. Okay.

Will they do that, or can they do that, Madam Speaker, when it comes down to education? Will they do that or can they do that when it comes down to homeland security? Will they do that, and when I say ``they,'' the Republicans, stand with the President when it comes down to the largest increase in the VA history? Can they stand with the President to withstand an override or to help him withstand an override? That is the problem.

So as we start to look at this issue and as we start to march down the road of responsibility and moving this country in a new direction, that is what the people voted for, and, guess what? Some Republicans were elected on new direction too. Folks wanted a change. They wanted to come to Washington and do what they needed to do. Independent thinkers.

It didn't look like that last night. It looked like, you know, well, the leadership has told us this is what we have to do, and if we have to be here and the sun is going to rise, that is fine. We will be here.

I voted against rising last night. It is already on the record. It was on the board. I voted against it, because I didn't believe that it was right to allow anyone to do what they were doing to the level that they were doing it. That is fine.

The Democratic side, we have done motions to adjourn, done motions to rise. But, guess what? One or two or three times, maybe. But when you start making history, and I haven't checked, maybe I need to check with the Clerk's Office or the Historian of the House, of double digit motions to rise in the middle of the night, that is something that we must question.

So, Mr. Ryan, as we start to focus on this issue of the true motivations of what is happening with these appropriations bills, I think the Six in 06 was a little bit too much for the Republican minority to swallow and go home and explain. And I think because there has been a date certain, again, Madam Speaker, it is interesting, we have a date certain to pass these bills off the floor, I think that they don't want to go home the 4th of July weekend and start to explain why they didn't vote for the largest increase in VA history, why they didn't vote for education and healthcare for our children, why they did not vote to protect our environment, why did they did not vote as it relates to the issues of transportation and infrastructure, and why, you know, Mr. Ryan, in closing, I take that from you, sir, why did we continue to stand with the President to withstand an override, because the President has said I am going to veto any bill that comes to me $1 over the budget.

Now, here is the President that has sent us into a free-fall as it relates to deficits as far as the eye can see and record-breaking borrowing from foreign nations, higher than it has ever been in the history of the Republic. This is coming from this President. It is coming from the administration and the minority that was in the majority in the last Congress and the Congress before that of borrowing money in a rubber stamp fashion.

I just want to say that, because we have to figure out who is the pot calling the kettle black.

Mr. Ryan, we are brushing up on the last minute. I am going to yield back, and then you claim the time and we can go from there. You will have time.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the leadership and also the Members for allowing me to serve, and I yield back the balance of my time.

We are trying to slingshot the firefighters and first responders in for a win. We are trying to give those protecting our homeland on the front line, we are trying to give them what they need.

There is an old saying that the field mouse is fast, but the owl can see at night. I think it is very, very important that everyone understands that even though procedural, and it may be funny in the Republican conference, oh, we showed them, remember the Congressional Record reflects what one says and what one does.

If you want to take the time, and I want to say in the 30-Something Working Group we want to be correct. We found eight motions to rise last night. As we talk about this, when I go back home I tell my constituents, we are doing everything possible to end this war in Iraq. The last thing that we want to do is not give our service men and women what they need while we get through this partisan impasse.

Secondly, it is going to take a bipartisan fix to deal with Iraq. Democrats cannot do it alone because we don't have the votes. We have put benchmarks and redeployment of combat troops and moving our troops out to the peripheral, giving more responsibility to the Iraqi government, defunding some of the things that we said we would fund to the Iraqi government based on the fact that we don't want to reward lack of work or bad behavior or lack of accountability.

And I think as we start all of these different agencies that are looking into these issues, as they start to release the reports and as we start to look at them, we look at the lack of funding and the lack of accountability that has taken place in Iraq. As we look at this, I came to the floor to share with my Republican colleagues and be on the record so that Americans will know that you all of us have a choice. Over 70-plus percent of Americans, and I am not going to an exact number, but 70-plus percent of Americans would like to see us out of Iraq.

Democrats, Republicans, people that vote for the first time, Independents, are waiting for the kind of leadership that should happen and needs to happen, but it has to happen in a bipartisan spirit. I didn't see any Democrats saying we will not participate in overriding the President's veto. I want to also say that the President wouldn't even have the opportunity to take out his veto pen if it wasn't for a Democratic Congress bringing that issue to the floor and voting in the affirmative to make it happen. It would not have happened. I share that with my constituents and Members of Congress.

I think it is important when we look at the issue, 218 gets us to where we need to be in terms of votes. But we need more Members to tell the President, we will not stand for the status quo because American lives are at stake. We know that many members of the Bush administration are well intended. I don't think that they are saying we are going to continue to carry out bad ideas that bring about bad results. I don't think that is premeditated thought. But those of us who are paying attention, reading and listening, understand that what we are doing now is not the answer.

I can commend many of the Members for voting or against the spirit of benchmarks and voting for accountability. I commend that. But July 15, September 15, it is going to be an opportunity for folks to be able to hear information and to be able to bring that information to the House of Representatives and for us to take a vote and for us to take a vote in the affirmative.

Sp those who went to the White House and said, we will stand against our very own colleagues in Congress if you try to override the President, to think about it. Think about it if you are going to go down there again. Think about appropriation bills where America is in need of domestic attention. The will of a majority here in this House is concerned about education, concerned about health care, concerned about the lack of resources our veterans have. We are concerned about our transportation and infrastructure. We are concerned about moving in the direction of creating our own energy, investing in the Midwest versus the Middle East and concerned about homeland security.

Do you want to continue to stand with the President against the will of the majority of the Congress when the American people are on the side of the U.S. Congress as it relates to Iraq? How many times do you want to walk through the gates of the White House and stand with the President on this very issue?

So I want to, I implore my colleagues, my Republican colleagues, I am not saying, stand with Democrats; I am saying, stand with your constituents. Stand with the American people. Stand with what is making sense right now, and that is making sure that we get our troops out of the middle of a civil war.

Mr. Ryan, it is almost like that was a benediction of our Special Order here today. I just want to say, because you are going to have to yield back your time, that I want to not only commend those who work here in the House, the Clerk's Office and the Sergeant's Office and the Capitol Police and the folks from the physical plant, clerical staff and what have you, I appreciate it. It was a long night last night, and it has been a long week.

Also, Mr. Ryan, I think it is important, I want to thank you for coming down to the floor. I want to thank Mr. Sestak for coming to the floor, my good friend from Pennsylvania, who spoke in a very forceful way about this issue of Iraq.

Madam Speaker, I am glad that, on the Democratic side of the aisle, we still have the resolve that we had when we were in the minority. Mr. Ryan and I both have an opportunity now to serve on two wonderful committees.

I actually serve on two. He serves on the mighty and very powerful Appropriations Committee that he reminds me of constantly, and I have the opportunity to serve on the Ways and Means Committee and the Armed Services Committee, through waiver of the Democratic Steering Committee.

So the fact that we would come to the floor to say that we promised the American people that we were going to do things differently and that we had a new direction and still feel that it's our job to come to the floor and ask our colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle to work with us and work by us on these national security issues and the issues that are facing our children I think speaks to the level of intent that we had of saying, if you give us the opportunity to lead, we will lead.

So, with that, I thank Mr. Ryan for allowing me to be a part of your hour.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the late Alice R. Barham, a warm and wonderful person who passed away on Tuesday, June 5, 2007.

Her family and friends will memorialize her at a ``going home'' celebration to be held on Saturday, June 9, 2007 at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Miami, FL.

Mrs. Barham was a mother, grandmother, sister, and nurse. However, more than that, she was one of the most caring people I have ever met. Born on July 17, 1938 to John and Ruth Stephens, of Atlanta, Georgia and christened Alice Ruth.

Alice Barham was one of the most caring people I have ever met, and so it was natural for her to choose a profession in which she could help people in pain and in need of comfort, and in a very personal way. She began her career in nursing at Jackson Memorial Hospital in the Pediatric Nursing Unit in the Skaggs and Woodard building. Later in her career, she became a Public Health Nurse for the Miami Dade County Health Department and worked in Liberty Square and James E. Scott housing projects providing health services to the underserved residents in the community. Alice was also employed at Mt. Sinai Hospital before eventually going to the Miami Dade County Public Schools System as a Public Health Nurse and biology teacher and retiring.

Mrs. Barham had the ability to soothe people who were hurt, calm people who were worried and bring comfort to people who were afflicted. Children were naturally attracted to her, as was she to them. She had a remarkable gift, and she was generous in sharing it so freely with so many people in our community. I could not begin to estimate the number of people whose lives she touched and whose path she made a little easier.

Mrs. Alice Barham was also my dear friend, and a dear friend to my family, and she played a very instrumental role in the lives of my children. I am deeply saddened by her passing, but I am grateful for having had her in my life. My heart goes out to her family and I thank them for sharing this phenomenal woman with us. Indeed, the legacy she leaves behind will live on in the people she helped throughout her career and life.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker; and it is an honor to come to the floor once again. My good colleagues that have, we come to the floor working on behalf of the 30-Something Working Group; and I can just attest that it's just great to be an American and have an opportunity to share our thoughts and ideas and concerns.

As you know, the 30-Something Working Group, we come to the floor to shed light on the action of the House and to talk about this new direction that we fought so hard for last November, especially on the Democratic side of the aisle, to move this country in a new direction and exactly what the American people have called for. So we're excited.

I'm glad to have Mr. Altmire and also Mr. Murphy here with me tonight. And I know that Mr. Murphy has been pulling almost a double duty here. I understand he was Acting Speaker a little earlier tonight.

And I had the opportunity, while you were in the Chair, to join Speaker Pelosi celebrating her 20th year of public service, 20 years here in the House. There were a number of great Speakers that were there, honored her family for allowing her to serve this great country of ours, and also recognizing the fact that she's history as being the first female Speaker. But also there were people like Patti LaBelle there, and just a really star-studded event. She deserves that honor and that appreciation; and constituents also, I'm pretty sure, are pretty happy and proud. All Americans are.

With that, I, of course, we, Mr. Speaker, we and mainly as of late, talking about Iraq, and as we speak

here on the floor, there's a major debate going on just across the hall in the Senate dealing with comprehensive immigration reform. Just in the last 6 months, we have done so much and we've talked about so much and we've taken action on so many different issues; and I know that Mr. Murphy and Mr. Altmire and I will be addressing many of those issues tonight.

This is our first time since the Memorial Day break, and I had a wonderful opportunity to attend a NATO conference, parliamentary, that the Speaker appointed me and I think 12 other Members of the House, bipartisan, spent some time over in Portugal meeting with some of our European Union partners there, and had the opportunity to go to Tunisia to honor those World War II veterans that are, or honor those that paid the ultimate sacrifice. It's the only U.S. cemetery on the continent of Africa; and it was so very, very special and touching, just as an American and as a Member of Congress, to go there and lay a wreath on behalf of those that paid the ultimate sacrifice.

And then having, and still having, Mr. Speaker, the opportunity to come back here and join with my family, who's here in Washington, go down to the World War II Memorial, which had Tunisia and all of the different countries where World War II, we had fighting and men and women lost their lives, to make that connection, all in a 5-day span, is something great as an American.

I just want to share that with the Members of the House. And we know that one of our soldiers just today, one of the soldiers who was found in Iraq was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery, and we know that there are two that are still missing of the recent ones that were missing from the IED that exploded recently in Iraq. So we paid honor to those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice and their families and also to those veterans that served beside them. And it was such a great week, and I know that many of the Members had an opportunity to go back to their districts to celebrate the life of those that paid the ultimate sacrifice.

With that, Mr. Murphy, I would like to yield to you, sir.

Mr. Murphy, I am just so happy that you had an opportunity to share some of your wisdom with us here tonight and also a perspective, especially someone who has been in harm's way and has been in the field with our men and women, and at the same time talking about education.

We just had a major education summit right before the break that the Speaker put forth, and Mr. Miller and Ms. DeLauro were a part of that effort, and we were just so pleased to do that.

In the 30-Something Working Group, we kind of like to have a conversation. We know that everyone has to make an opening remark or statement, but, Mr. Altmire, I am looking forward to hearing what you want to share with the members.

And, also, one of my constituents once called me. Serving in public service, you have an opportunity to hear some interesting things. He called me up. And you know these cable talk shows, where you go down to public television and you sign up and it's like a nonprofit organization. He called me, and I was a State representative at that time, and he said, Kendrick, I want you to come on my show. And I said, well, what are we going to talk about? And he said, we're going to talk about the consequences of the consequences.

So I had to kind of, I was on the phone and I said, ``consequences of the consequences?'' And he said, ``Yes, the consequences of the consequences could be consequential.''

But in this case, as we look at the consequences of the consequences, using his description of what was going on at that particular time, I couldn't help, as I yield to you, but look at the Newsweek cover.

I went home tonight before I came over here. My wife joined me at the celebration for the Speaker. And this Newsweek cover that many of us will be reading this week says, ``After Bush. How to Restore America's Place in the World.'' I mean, this is not a Democratic publication, Mr. Speaker. I think it's important for us to understand that we are living in serious times. And here at the 30-Something Working Group, we try to break things down so that everyone can understand, where Members won't say, well, I didn't know exactly my role at that particular time.

There are very historic votes that are taking place here. We just had an emergency supplemental. I think that every vote that every Member took was a heroic vote and a sheroic vote, in my opinion, need it be in the positive or the affirmative.

But I think it's important for all of us to realize that we have a role to play. And many of us, I know I do, share getting our men and women back home and bringing an end to this conflict, especially as it relates to U.S. troops serving in combat posture on the streets of Baghdad in the middle of a civil war.

Mr. Altmire.

Mr. Altmire, if you would yield, and Mr. Murphy, I just don't want it to go by. You're talking about what we just passed before we left, received the funding for, with a major fight at the White House. I mean, the President wanted to veto it. He said that's not what I asked for. Meanwhile, Walter Reed was still standing by for the dollars to be able to make the corrections that they need to make.

We know that we passed the Chairman's, Mr. Skelton's, bill, Armed Services bill off this floor to help us with readiness and all of those things. The President said that he is going to veto many of these things that are over his mark. But what you're talking about is something that we couldn't even dream of in the last Congress. I mean, you start thinking about how we moved the ball down field, and I mean by force. And Mr. Speaker, I can tell you, many of us, not only do we have to eat our Wheaties, but we have to do our pushups. And mentally we have to prepare ourselves between our ears to go to battle on behalf of the American people and those that have served.

So I hear exactly what you're saying. I just want to make sure that Members understand. And guess what? Again, Democratic leadership. A number of Republican colleagues, I believe with maybe 80 of them, voted against the emergency supplemental to get these dollars to our veterans to show you that if we can get these great issues to the floor and that we can get a vote on them that the American spirit and the bipartisan spirit will then take off, versus those that said, well, we don't need to do it. And we are doing it in a meaningful way that veterans are going to see an improvement as we move on.

So I just wanted to hit that real quick, and I yield back. But I just wanted to be able to, especially from a person that was around as it relates to Members on the floor, now, I guess I'm the only Member that was in the 109th Congress and 108th Congress, to reflect on that historical note there of just leadership and making it happen on behalf of our veterans in Pennsylvania and other States.

You know, Mr. Murphy, it is very hard to move in a bipartisan fashion. One speaks constantly about the bipartisan spirit, about bipartisan action. Spirit and action are two different interpretations of actually getting something done.

The action part means that Members are able to vote with their voting cards or walk up to that desk and sign a card that says yea or nay and work in a bipartisan spirit on the yea. Many amendments from our Republican colleagues, some of them are passed and some of them are not passed. But the bottom line is they have at least the opportunity to come to the floor and to bring their ideas to the floor. Definitely in the area of financial services.

We have spent a very long time, Mr. Speaker, on this floor hearing Republican amendments that were offered in committee, offered in subcommittee. Some came to the floor and we were able to work those amendments out to become a part of the work product. Others just wanted to file an amendment, for whatever reason, but had their opportunity in this democracy to do so.

Many of the Members in this House, of course we have a lot to do, and Members when they come to the floor, they said, I thought this amendment was already voted down in committee? But many of the Members on the minority side, the Republican side, had an opportunity to offer it, Mr. Murphy. I think this really makes a difference between Democratic leadership and Republican leadership.

Even though we may not agree, giving the opportunity to others to be able to take part in this democracy, something that was suppressed in the two previous Congresses that I can speak to. And I can tell you that it should be well-noted here that this House has provided the kind of leadership to allow the minority party here in this House, which are the Republicans, to have a voice in the process of making laws. That is so very, very important.

I will say this and then yield back to you. Some are saying, why aren't you

treating the Republicans as the Republicans treated you or treated Democrats. Well, guess what? Forty-two new Members of the House, especially when you are on the Democratic side, all of you in this Chamber who are part of the majority makers, they voted for change. They didn't vote for the same. They voted for a government that can work in a bipartisan way. They voted for the kind of leadership to allow minority Members, who have constituents just like I have, to vote for veterans assistance, to be able to vote to make sure we put forth dollars to come up with alternative fuels and other ways that we can supply America so that we can invest in the Midwest versus the Middle East. They voted for all of that.

And guess what? That takes time and tolerance, Mr. Speaker, and that is something that the Republican majority in the previous Congress did not have. I am glad we have the tolerance. I am glad we are taking the time. I am glad we are working the way we are working, even though it is very painful for many of us and our constituents and many that have our families back in the district.

In this time and this place in history, when you have cover after cover, how do we restore America's place in the world, it is not how the world thinks about us. It is about what kind of leadership are we providing, not only for our constituents, but for the United States of America. And just at a time we are trying to dig ourselves out of out- of-control borrowing from foreign nations, we are seeing differently.

I am a Member of the NATO parliamentary group, and I can tell you, when you are talking to some countries, and it is kind of like you have to be quiet for a moment, have some level of contrition and listen to what other people are saying, because they feel we have been dictating to them what they should do and what they should think, and they are saying, by the way, you owe us money. You owe me money. You owe my country money.

So we have domestic issues that we have to cover. I know we are going to talk about stem cell research and I think that is very, very important. That is part of the new direction. It is leadership. Sometimes leadership is lonely. But we have to do it.

Mr. Murphy, I just want to thank you for bringing some of these issues to light and talking about what it takes to bring about bipartisan action versus Members coming to the floor and saying we should have a bipartisan spirit.

Well, spirit is a good thing, if you use it religiously. One of my friends, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, I have read a couple of his books, he says spirit makes religion act right. The real issue is that it is good to have spirit. We all feel good about it. But action is even better.

Mr. Murphy, you are 110 percent right, and that is what folks voted for. They didn't vote for you to go be the strongest Democrat you can be, or I want you to go and be Republican- like. The bottom line is they voted for us to be Members of Congress, constitutional officers having a part in this process, one of the three branches of Government, and making sure that every Member is able to fulfill their constitutional duty and come here and participate.

I feel so good about it, it is like almost I have chill bumps. To be able to come to this floor, to be a part of the whole begging, if you get us an opportunity to train the thought it could. All of those things we talked about, you think about where we were and where we are now, and that we still have the kind of spirit that we had then, we still want to fight and we still have battles ahead of us.

We have a President that is saying you do anything over the budget that I set forth, no matter how good it may be, children's healthcare, veterans affairs, the issues dealing with the environment, I am going to veto it.

Well, you know something? We are here saying fine, if you want to veto it, then consider yourself challenged, versus, well, if you say you are going to veto it, then I guess we can't do it. Even though we have our challenges in the Senate, I think that it is very, very important as it relates to getting a number of these agenda items through, because of the close numbers there, I think the American people are going to continue to follow in the spirit of a new direction and help us carry out the agenda that they wanted originally, and hopefully some of our Republican colleagues in the Senate will be able to come together and have bipartisan action and move it forward.

I just want to say that Mr. Murphy presented himself so well tonight. Mr. Ryan is in Ohio tonight, and he BlackBerryed me and said he wished he could be here with us. As you know, Mr. Ryan is an outstanding Member of Congress. He had a death in his family and had to return to his district. We appreciate and recognize his absence. I am going to e-mail him back and say, Mr. Ryan, I think one of the reasons why things are moving so smoothly, you guessed, is because you're not here; but that is another issue.

Mr. Altmire, one thing that we need to talk about as relates to stem cell research, there are so many diseases that could be cured, and 72 percent of Americans are supporting this research. We have kids with juvenile diabetes. There are a number of issues that we want to try to move on. This is a leadership issue. The thing about leadership is it is lonely sometimes.

I get e-mails and calls from my constituents, I support this; or, Kendrick, I wasn't quite with you on that decision. But the good thing is something is happening, action versus inaction.

That is a very good point.

You couldn't ask for a better feeling being a Member of Congress. I always share out that. Out on the steps of the Capitol at least once or twice a week we have young people from our districts, and they want to hear from Members of Congress. The difference between us and the average American out there, and there are only 500-plus Members of Congress, we read something in the paper, something that could have been avoided, we hear a story from our constituents, something that could have been avoided, and to have an opportunity to vote on a piece of legislation like we are going to vote on tomorrow, no matter how many times we have to vote on it, we are a part of the solution to many of the health problems that are facing Americans throughout this country. We are the leader in the world as it relates to research and being responsible and being respectful.

To have 200 organizations supporting the bill is very, very important. It is supported by the American Medical Association, the AARP, the Association of American Medical Colleges, Parkinson's Action Network, the American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Paralyzed Veterans of America, all of these groups. That is just to name a few. And also, 72 percent of Americans support this bill that we are looking to pass. You also have a number of corporations that are out there calling for it. Think about the money that could be saved, not only the money, but the lives. This is what it is all about.

People ask: How do you feel being a Member of Congress? I feel good because I feel we can bring to the floor and bring to this government what is needed to help Americans, and I am glad we are a part of that.

Mr. Murphy, it is good having an authority on the floor. I was a member of the Florida State legislature, and a State legislature is an interesting organization to be a part of. I think the first line of public service is being a county commissioner or city commissioner. That is when somebody can leave their house and let you know what is on their mind. I am glad to have an opportunity to vote on this, and I look forward to releasing information to my constituents about what we have done, and hopefully put some pressure on the White House to do what so many Americans want us to do, and that is get at some of the issues that are facing our country right now.

Thank you so very much, Mr. Altmire.

Also, we want the Members, if they want any information we talked about tonight or want to speak to us, we have the www.speaker.gov Web site.

With that, Mr. Speaker, it was an honor to address the House, the 30 Something Working Group, tonight, the two Murphies and also Mr. Altmire and myself.