Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, well, let me just say that it is an honor being here tonight with my colleagues and 30-something Working Group, and I am so glad that Mr. Ryan was here to catch the hour. I notice that he has taken the high road here or the high ground here tonight, and it is so good to be in the well.

But I just want to say to Mr. Delahunt, it goes back to our discussion the last two evenings. Our Republican colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle, which is the majority, what is not a great value of that majority and the leadership is being straight with the American people.

So this is a consistent theme of not being straight with the American people. They take value in not being straight with the American people, need it be deficit spending, record breaking borrowing. I read an article just last night or the night before as it relates to the President saying that we have to send a message to Congress that we want control on spending and their appetite on spending the taxpayers' dollars, to let the American people know that we are fiscally responsible. Then the next day signing the largest pork barrel bill, transportation bill in the history of the republic. Being straight with the American people. Not a week later, but the next day.

Telling us here on this floor that a prescription drug program costs one thing, find out a week or two later that it has doubled in costs, and then months later, several hundred million dollars more.

So when we start looking at being straight with the American people, and I think that is the frustration of Republicans and Democrats and Independents, and voters, period, out there is the fact that the Republican majority has decided that being straight with the American people and leveling with them is not a value. Oil prices, price gouging, protecting special interests, K Street Project, a number of other issues that are here on this floor with the special interests takes the high ground, and they are protected and the American people are not.

When we talk about the minimum wage, Mr. Ryan has the charts over there, 1997, there has not been an increase in the minimum wage since 1997, and on that chart we have the Republican leadership saying not over my dead body is this going to happen, in so many words, that we are not going to allow it to happen.

Here on this chart you have the minimum wage down here. Mr. Delahunt is familiar with this. 1997, you know, starting with the oil, starting with the minimum wage here, zero. Here in 2006, it has been that way since 1997. Whole milk has gone up 24 percent; 25 percent,

bread has gone up; 4-year public college has gone up 77 percent; health insurance has gone up 97 percent; and regular gas has gone up 136 percent and still climbing.

We have folks here that are saying, hey, give us a pay raise. I am going to tell you right now, if someone has to keep two homes and travel between and do all of those things, yeah, I would like a pay raise, but at the same time I have a conscience about this.

Our leadership has said, and we have said that we are not going to take a pay raise unless the American people get a pay raise.

Well, he is a good friend of mine, but I am just going to read this because I think it is important. I guess this is the position here: I have been in this business for 25 years and I have never voted for an increase in the minimum wage. I am opposed to it, and I think that a vast majority of our conference is opposed to it. That was just June 20 of 2006.

I mean, obviously this is the philosophy that has been picked up all the way from the former Member of this House who was the majority leader because it has not been increased federally since that time.

I think the President and some members of his party are struggling to know what his party affiliation is. Because I know some Republicans that are very concerned about what the President has done and what he is doing. But he says he is a Republican under the line that he is a fiscal conservative, but that is not the case.

So we do not know what to believe. Ideological wise, he is a Republican President, but at the same time some of the stuff we hear here on the floor would say that it is some other kind of party or philosophy that is out there.

But to the answer your question, yes, he is a Republican President.

I personally, I am representing the 17th Congressional District of Florida, you know Dade and Broward County. But, you know, I do not want to be them, Mr. Delahunt. I do not want to come to this floor and start talking about what they are saying, so we are going to rebut what they are saying. I do not want to be them. I want to make sure that we are who we are.

We are being straight with the American people. If it is the Bush- McCain or it is the Kennedy-Martinez bill II, Arlen Specter bill II, so that if someone sees us here on the floor and they heard, well, they call it the Bush-McCain bill, they say, well, they left the Democrats out, and then we have just done what they have done. I know how that can be contagious sometimes because it happens so much here on this floor.

I know you are just making a point, sir.

Mr. Delahunt, I am so glad that you were witnessing that. I was in the oversight committee and I could not see it.

Mr. Speaker, number one, we need Mr. Manatos and others to get us a chart on that.

We have got to have a chart. Because, folks, they cannot quite capture those numbers on that small piece of paper you have. If a Member was in his office or her office watching us here on the floor, we want them to visually see their track record on what they have done.

It reminds me of when the President flew over the Hurricane Katrina- affected area and came back to the White House and said, We are sending food and water down, and blankets, and this is just the beginning.

Well, that was 3 days after the storm. And I can tell you this right now, in the heat of the summer, I do not know what good blankets would have done, but that is a whole other issue.

The bottom line is, just because they say it, and I am taking from Gingrich, just because they say it, ``they'' is what Mr. Gingrich is calling the Republican majority, just because they say it does not necessarily mean that it is true. It does not necessarily mean, just because they say it, that it is true.

I will share what Mr. Gingrich has called this Republican majority. We do not have to do it; Republicans and Americans are saying it. This is the former Speaker of the House, Mr. Speaker, who said in the Knight Ridder newspaper, Friday, March 31, 2006, ``They,'' talking about the Republican majority, ``are seen by the country as being in charge of a government that cannot function.''

And this is what we are seeing, Mr. Delahunt. Folks coming to the floor seeing things that they know are altered. They are altering it. They are saying, well, this is the written word and these are the facts. But that is not good enough for me; I am going to erase it, and I am going to go to the floor and I am going to fool the American people. I am going to mislead the American people, because it is an everyday occurrence here by this majority.

And the reason why so many Democrats, and I would say a very few Republicans are outraged by the fact, when they hear the facts, when we all sit in our offices and we hear altered information; we have third- party validators. If we say the U.S. Department of Treasury came up with these numbers, they came up with the numbers. If we say that the deficit is record-breaking borrowing in the history of the Republic, we have third-party validators.

Some Members come to the floor, and it is their prerogative, and if they want to mislead, let them mislead. But we are going to make sure that we continue here in the 30-Something Working Group and on this side of the aisle, in sharing the truth with the American people. This is not a place where someone comes up and says, this is a Democratic Party meeting or this is a Republican Party meeting or this is a Reform Party meeting, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, this is the U.S. House of Representatives, the People's House the only Chamber that you have to be elected to.

You can be appointed as Senator by a governor. But you have to be elected to the House. There are no appointments here. So I think it is important that folks really appreciate what we are doing here.

Ms. Wasserman Schultz, I want to thank you for bringing those numbers, and I want to make sure that we get it into a chart.

Let me just say this real quick. I have got this chart here, just as an example of who we are as it relates to sharing information that is accurate, versus some on the majority side that are well documented for not sharing accurate information to not only the Members of Congress and the minority side and some of their own Members, but also the American people.

Case in point: $1.05 trillion that President Bush and the Republican Congress that you see here, borrowed from foreign nations, foreign nations, between 2001 and 2005. $1.05 trillion have dethroned--that is the new word--42 Presidents before this President; 224 years of the history of this country, they have only been able to borrow $1.01 trillion.

Now, Mr. Delahunt, this is my point. This is from the U.S. Department of Treasury, it is right here. Folks can go on the Web Site and get it. Now, if we were meeting in the 30-Something Working Group and say, well, $1.05, well, maybe we need to, even though it happened all in 4 years and it took 224 years for this to happen, let's say $1.09, that sounds better. That would be misleading the American people and the Congress.

Members are on the floor, and they take what we say to be truth to power, that we come and we are here leveling on behalf of the American people. We are not here to say what sounds good or what would sway a certain segment of the population to feel one way or another.

Folks woke up early one Tuesday morning from representation, not for someone to mislead them through statements here on this floor that are not accurate. That is the reason why we are in the situation that we are in now. Even when it comes down to the war in Iraq. Even when it comes down to the pursuit of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

The information is not accurate that has been shared with the American people and that is the reason why so many individuals are suffering as it relates to gas prices. These gas companies and these petroleum companies have been allowed to come into this Chamber with Members carrying their will and voting the way that they want them to vote against their constituents.

This is something that we all feel passionate about and the American people feel passionate about. And, Mr. Ryan, as I yield to you, as they go to the pump and hesitate before they put their debit card or credit card or whatever it may be into that pump about, how much is it going to cost me today to fill my tank up, they need to think about the individuals that are allowing these petroleum companies to take advantage of the American people, misleading the American people. And if I had my way and we were in the majority, I tell you, I guarantee you, that that practice would no longer take place. And when it does take place, we will come to the floor and knock it down.

I commend Mr. Delahunt for bringing the misleading of the American people as it relates to information on who is sponsoring immigration bills in the Senate, and pointing out the fact that there would not be an immigration bill that passed out of the Senate if it was not for the Republican majority voting in the affirmative for the legislation, the same way as here in the House.

Maybe.

I will give you my chart.

Thank you, Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Just because they say it, ``they,'' going back to what Mr. Gingrich has called the Republican majority, he who used to be Speaker of the House but now calls his former colleagues ``they'' because it is foreign to him now, ``Just because you say it doesn't necessarily mean that it is true.''

Now, Mr. Delahunt, this is true. What is true is the fact that we have borrowed $53.8 billion from Canada because we can't afford to pay our bills, so they bought our debt. Korea, $66.5 billion. Germany, $65.7 billion. OPEC nations.

Who are these OPEC nations? We hear about them on the news, but we don't know who they are. They are Iran, they are Iraq, they are Libya, they are Saudi Arabia, they are Venezuela, Nicaragua, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, and on and on and on, Qatar, on and on and on. They have said, since America and the United States majority House of Representatives and the President wants to overspend and give away the money and they can't afford to do what they are doing, we will buy their debt. Taiwan, $71.3 billion. The Caribbean, $115.3 billion. The U.K. is at $223.2 billion. And you have China that is at $249.8 billion and Japan which is at $682.8 billion. And folks wonder, why are we in the situation where we are now?

It pains me to silhouette the country, silhouette of the continental United States and put those countries over it, but we have to break this down and let the American people know this is not about party, this is not about what you may feel about a man or a woman representing you.

This is about representation for you. Forget about what convention you went to last time. Forget about if you have an R or an I or an Independent. It is about America. And what the Republican majority has done effectively,

they have borrowed themselves into a situation so that when parents are going to schools, let us just look at this, here is the education budget and what we invest in education and this is in the billions as relates to this chart.

This is what we invest in homeland security. This is in the billions. Our veterans allowing us to salute one flag, Mr. Ryan, this is what we invest in veterans and their health care and their needs. And, this is what we invest, thank you, a la the Republican majority here in this House, the rubber-stamp Congress and the President of the United States, who I do not fault personally. I don't fault the President for doing what he does. I fault the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate for allowing it to happen with very little oversight.

Because you came in on the back end of my words, I am telling you this. The President is the President of the United States. At the end of his term he can no longer run for President of the United States.

Guess what the difference is between Members of Congress and the President. We are up every 2 years. The American people can bring about change in November, and then a transition of power in January for representation. No matter what their party affiliation is, I know Republicans personally that I know that I represent in my own district and outside of my district that have a problem that we are spending more on the debt, paying down the debt, than we are investing in education, homeland security of all things, and veteran affairs.

There are individuals right now, and I just went through the veterans hospital during the Fourth of July break to go visit those individuals that just returned to Iraq and Afghanistan and those individuals that fought before them, and I can tell you they are not getting what they deserve. They are having to wait in some rural areas because the rural clinic is only open 2 days out of a month.

These are the people that have laid their blood down. These are the people that their friends have died beside them, and they are asking them to suck it up.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Republican majority is allowing this debt to overwhelm. You can stack eight of the veteran investments up to the debt, you can stack lower homeland security probably 10 up to the stack as it relates to the $250 billion that we are paying on the debt. And as it relates to education, you can go two more times as it relates to investment in education. And, meanwhile, folks come down here with a straight face, Mr. Delahunt, and say that we are fiscal conservatives and we know how to govern?

The American people know it. That is the reason why the polling is showing they are fed up with what is going on here. They are willing to give Democrats or somebody else an opportunity to lead.

Mr. Ryan, that is the reason why I said that I am not concerned with the President of the United States. He is going to do what he has been doing and will continue to do. Just like he said, if there is going to be a change in Iraqi policy, that is something for future presidents, not him. He said that as though he lives in a kingdom. This is a democracy.

The only way we will be able to represent those troops and those individuals that deserve representation is that the American people are fully aware and educated with the facts, and that is the reason why we are on this floor, to share that.

Mr. Delahunt, thank you for yielding, sir.

Mr. Speaker, once again it is an honor to come to the House floor. We would like to thank the Democratic leadership for allowing us to have this hour. The 30-something Working Group, as you know, comes to the floor if not daily every other day when we have the opportunity to do so, to share with the Members of the House initiatives and plans that we have on the Democratic side of the aisle that will make America better and stronger.

As you know, we have been on the message of a new direction for America, and we have been working very hard on that because that is the message that we have and that the American people are looking forward to seeing implemented.

So many times here on this floor, we talk about ideas and concepts, but they never really make it to the legislative debate, due to the fact that here in the House, Democrats are in the minority; and the majority has adopted a rule that there is not a true bipartisan spirit here in this House, only when we vote on post offices and naming bridges.

But when it comes down to policy, policy that is affecting the people that we represent every day, there is a great divide, a divide to where we are not sitting down at the negotiating table, in committee, in subcommittee, and definitely not sitting down before legislation comes to the floor in a conference committee to talk about what is best for America and how can we make it better.

The American people yearn and hope for Democrats and Republicans and the one Independent in this House to work together. I think it is important to outline the fact that our leadership has said if given the opportunity, earning the opportunity of the American people to lead, that you will see a bipartisan spirit, not only spirit, you will see bipartisan action in this House on major pieces of legislation dealing with health care, education, how we are going to balance the budget, just not talk on how to cut the deficit in half or we may cut the deficit in half, really breaking down the deficit so that we will not pay more than what we are spending and investing in education, homeland security, and veteran affairs.

That is why we come to the floor. And we start talking about a new direction for America, making sure that health care through prescription drugs, and also making sure that HMOs eliminate wasteful spending and a number of other reforms that should take place there so that we do not have so many Americans going into emergency rooms.

Also lowering the price of gas and achieving energy independence is one of our major goals. There was just a report that was released by the Agriculture Department that is now having some sort of discussion about ethanol and what we can use, how we can use the ethanol and how it can play a role in making us independent, the E-85, and our proposal of putting America on a new direction or in a new direction.

We talk about the importance of alternative fuels, not just investing in the Middle East and not investing in the Midwest. So we look forward to continuing to push that philosophy here on this floor as we have the opportunity to lead this House, knowing the American people can deliver that, making sure that working families making more than what is presently the minimum wage, increasing that minimum wage, making sure they are able to bring home more to their families.

Millions of Americans are living on the minimum wage. It has been very difficult. And we have charts here, Mr. Speaker, that would illustrate how the minimum wage, we haven't seen a national minimum wage hike since 1997,

but we have seen increases in other areas where families are still expected to perform under those circumstances. And I think that is where we are finding our shortfall as it relates to individuals being able to afford college. Cutting the cost for college, making sure that there is a tax deduction for college tuition and expanding the Pell grants and cutting the student loan costs in half, making sure that college is affordable, and rolling back the increases that Republican Congress have put on students.

Not just students. When people talk about students, they think that we are just talking about young people that graduate from high school. We are talking about families that have invested their entire lives with their children to make sure that they can go to school, that it is affordable, that we don't continue to move the goal post the closer families get to making sure that they can provide for their young people to achieve a college education.

Also, preventing the privatization of Social Security, coming up with real Social Security reform, and making sure that folks can retire in dignity knowing that they have a Social Security plan and a Social Security card that is more, that stands for the security of their retirement.

Also, those individuals that are on disability, those individuals that are receiving survivor benefits, making sure that they don't end up in some line somewhere reporting to some private institution because someone thought it was a great idea to make money for individuals on Wall Street,

And, lastly, I would say a part of a new direction for America is really being fiscally responsible. Now, the first Democratic hour out here, Mr. Speaker, we had the Blue Dog Democrats that were here, and they spent the entire hour talking about fiscal responsibility. And I think it is important that the American people and the Republican majority House understand that we have the will and the desire and the track record to show that we truly know how to balance the budget, surpluses as far as the eye can see when President Bush went into office and a Republican majority was emboldened, and now we are borrowing at a rate that one writer in the Washington Times, Mr. Chapman, had said that the President has dethroned Lyndon Johnson as it relates to spending. And that is a heavy statement to make, even though I feel very strongly that President Johnson at that time of transition invested truly in America and not just in billionaires and millionaires receiving tax cuts, and also oil companies running away with public dollar giveaways to them and record profits at the same time.

I am so honored tonight, Mr. Speaker, as usual, to be joined by my colleague just north of my district and just west of my district and east of my district in some areas, Ms. Debbie Wasserman Schultz from Florida, and also Mr. Tim Ryan from Youngstown, Ohio.

As you know, last evening, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, I was sharing with the Members we don't just come to the floor, we actually meet to talk about these issues that are facing Americans. And I think it is important that we continue in that spirit and moving America in the right direction, in a new direction than what they see right now from the Republican majority.

I would like to yield to Mr. Delahunt.

Well, Mr. Delahunt, I think it is important to take it away from the political debate here on this floor, between what we believe that the American people want and need versus what the special interests must have. The only way that people are going to win on this floor is if we give them voice.

Last night, we got into a passionate discussion about the minimum wage and why it was important. And we, I think, all agree that we give those individuals voice that are punching in and out every day and catching the early bus. We give voice to that mother that is trying to figure out how she is going to get the kids to school and make it to work making minimum wage, working more than half a day to even cover the gas costs, let alone having to buy groceries and do all those other things; and that father that catches the early bus and is trying to make it happen.

So I think that as these fuel prices continue to go up, as it relates to Medicare, there is this quiet inching up the storm of new requirements and new loopholes for seniors to jump through in the hopes they will not follow through or go through all those hoops, so that they do not get what they deserve.

Mr. Delahunt, the American people want to be leveled with, that is the bottom line. Mr. Ryan said it earlier. They just want us to shoot straight. They want someone to be truthful with them. In some parts of America they say, it is what it is; and if it is about the numbers of what the private sector and what the special interests can make off of every deal.

Yes, we all want a prescription drug plan, but at the same time we want to be able to make sure we get the biggest bang for the buck. And not for the special interests, but for the people that need the drugs and the meds. Yes, we want to help oil companies be able to be innovative and to find alternative fuels, but not on the backs of Americans paying $3.25 a gallon. And, yes, we do want people to have the opportunity to have quality health care, but not being gouged as it relates to health insurance, watching out for the health insurance companies first.

The Republican majority has done that, and then confusing people to the point where they are misled, and so some of them just throw their hands up and walk the other way.

Ms. Wasserman Schultz, you talked about the changes and the problems and the mistakes within the literature that was given out. I was about to say, this is the big leagues. This is the big leagues. We are the Federal Government. The lights are on in this Chamber not because we are great people, but because the people of America pay taxes so that they will have a government that will stand up for them.

I have never seen a campaign sign saying I am running for Congress to protect the special interests, vote for me. No one said to me, Congressman, I want you to make sure ExxonMobil and companies like that get what they need to make sure their shareholders are making the kind of money they need to make. They sent me here to make sure they can get from point A to point B and so that we would watch out for their dollars when we got here.

I am telling you, I am very, very concerned, Mr. Delahunt, and beyond partisanship, of what is happening to the majority as it relates to the ongoing blocking on behalf of the special interests. You can see the tracking as it relates to fund-raising, the K Street Project, a number of other issues we know so much about: the scandals here in town as relates to special interests getting what they want; Members being pushed up to the back of the wall there in the corner, with leadership saying, you will vote for this or you will vote against that; and the voting board being held open for not only several minutes but hours in some cases to make sure the special interests get their way.

Mr. Delahunt, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and Mr. Ryan, it would be wonderful to see the board held open so that the American people can get a minimum wage increase that they haven't gotten since 1997.

Mr. George Miller stood right here and told the Speaker, it is a shame that we are leaving here on the 4th of July break and we haven't addressed the issue of millions of Americans still making $5 and some change since 1997; meanwhile the cost of milk, bread, health insurance and everything else has gone up.

Mr. Delahunt, I don't want you to get too far away from ``they believe in smaller government.'' They believe in big government. The government has grown larger than any other time in recent history. Out-of-control discretionary spending, pork barrel spending. An article I read last night, they said that the President has dethroned President Johnson as it relates to spending. What they say and what they do, that is the reason we are here on this floor. We are saying ``they'' because that is what Newt Gingrich called them, ``they.''

Last night, and Mr. Speaker, I hate to keep referring back to last night for the folks who did not see us here on this floor, the Members who did not see us here on this floor last night, we talked about the chart Ms. Wasserman Schultz broke out with minimum wage at zero, and we talked about the White House meeting in the complex, and I am not going to read The Washington Post article again, but it happened in 2001, Mr. Delahunt. And these are the profits that oil companies earned, record profits. In 2002 it paid off immediately at $34 billion in new profits to oil companies. And in 2003, it went to $53 billion in new profits.

This is not something just coincidental. There was a strategy. They wrote the energy bill. They came up with the plan and they had access in the White House and here in this House of Representatives under the K Street Project and got what they wanted. In 2004, $84 billion. In 2005, $113 billion.

Now these oil companies, as far as I am concerned, they are just doing what they have access to do. I am more concerned with those of us with voting cards, Members of Congress, those of us who have an A pass over at the White House in the East Wing, that allow oil companies to go in, say what they want and get it on the backs of the American people.

Those profits don't just come out of the sky. They come out of the pocketbook and wallets of everyday Americans. While they are reaching into that credit card and while they are reaching in for that cash, they are passing their voter registration card. It can have REP on it, it can have DEM on it, it can have IND on it. Whatever the case may be, the bottom line is it is the same amount of money coming out of those wallets, not because of their doing, the American people's doing, but because of the special interest influence over the Republican majority. So that is what I am mainly concerned about here.

The last chart I want to share, oil companies, they are telling our friends they are trying to head towards energy independence. They will come to the Hill and say this is what we are doing with the money you've given us, the taxpayers' dollars.

I will tell you what they are doing. I happen to be one of these ``Today Show'' watchers, and the CEO of ExxonMobil was on there, a really nice guy with a deep voice and everything: ``I thought I would come in.'' This was before Katie Couric left. ``I thought I would come in and give our side of the story. We are for energy innovation. We are for getting oil and gas prices down.''

This is what they are doing. This is E-85, what we call ethanol. This is supposed to be the alternative to help us with our energy independence. This is regular, special, and super plus. This is their deal. This is the old-school way of doing things. This is the expensive way of doing things. I am going to show you how this discourages you from getting ethanol.

You can use a Mobil credit card to buy the three levels there where we invest in the Middle East versus the Midwest. This is the Midwest investment using corn and other resources to make it happen. But it says here ``Cannot use your Mobil credit card,'' period.

Now you can walk in the store and you can buy a bag of chips, you can

even probably buy a carton of cigarettes with your Mobil credit card, but you can't get E-85. The reason you can't get E-85 is because they don't want you to get E-85.

So when the President is running around here talking about Americans being addicted to oil, well, guess what, oil is addicted to the free- fall access that they have here in this House of Representatives and in the White House. They are getting their way. The American people are not getting their way, and it is point-blank.

And I would like to break this thing down to where everyone can understand. I don't need to tell you that I am on your side as a Member of Congress on this side of the aisle. I think those who are paying attention know whose side we are on. They know based on the record. It seems like they are more interested in helping the special interests. That is what the record reflects.

The record reflects that the special interests are getting exactly what they want. It is the best time in special interest days. It is not the best time in America; it is the best time for all of the big guys that wear nice ties and ride around in big cars, being driven around here in Washington, D.C. It is the heyday for them. It hasn't been better for special interests.

There are record-breaking profits for the oil companies. It hasn't been better in the history of drilling into the ground for oil. And guess what, it is on the backs of the American people. I mean, they are riding the backs of the American people, riding them down into the ground until their faces hit the ground and they scratch their forehead, on the backs of the American people, a la the Republican majority, the rubber-stamp Congress and the White House.

When you say that, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, we just have to break it down.

We had a debate right before the July 4 break.

When I was a State trooper in Florida, we used to have these little different details around the State of Florida. I was in Sebring, Florida, which is Highlands County, and I was talking to this farmer, and he said that ``Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.''

And I am going to tell you right now, the oil companies and the access that they have to Members of Congress on the majority side to give them what they want, they are getting it all right now.

Let's look at the oil leases. They want to drill off the coast of Florida. Less than 1 percent, super less than 1 percent of 4,000 leases that they already hold, that they are actually going and drilling in those areas, but they wanted even more.

They wanted more, Mr. Delahunt. They wanted more because you know something? They can get it. It is like a kid sitting down at the table and they are eating ice cream and they have a tummy ache and they have ice cream all around their face, and they say, give me another gallon. And you give it to them.

And that is exactly what this Republican majority, this rubber-stamp Congress has done, everything they have asked for, because they have access through the K Street Project and other programs that allow them to see through the doors of this Chamber and have Members vote ``yes'' for what they want and ``no'' for what they don't want. And what they don't want is for the American people to be on a level keel to be able to push back on this feeding frenzy of not only their tax dollars and special interest giveaways, but to kill them at the pump.

I mean, I see people hesitate when they get out of their cars because they are, like, I don't know if I have room on my credit card. I don't know how much is it going to cost me today. The gas stations can't even change the charts out front fast enough because gas prices are going up.

This one?

Yes. It says you cannot use your Mobil credit card, and then it has another sticker that says, not a Mobil product. But at the same time, neither are the potato chips, neither are the cigarettes, neither is a six-pack of beer.

That's correct, yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Ryan, just very quickly, the bottom line is, Mr. Delahunt, to your point, sir, the reason why the chairman hasn't called ExxonMobil in, the reason why everything that we have described here today is that we are on the total opposite side of their position.

We are not willing to rubber stamp everything that the President and the administration says must happen in this Congress. We are not willing to rubber stamp the special interests just because they are contributors to a particular campaign or something.

We are willing to stand up for the American people. And the reason why we have this rubber stamp down here on the floor, just to illustrate exactly what the Republican Congress has done, and that is the reason why we are in the situation we are in now.

Ms. Wasserman Schultz.

Mr. Ryan, you did such an excellent job with the Web site.

I want to thank Mr. Delahunt for coming down and joining us this evening. We know that he could not join us yesterday evening.

Ms. Wasserman Schultz, always a pleasure working with you here on the floor and off the floor.

What is good for the American people; and with that, Mr. Speaker, we thank the Democratic leadership.

Mr. Speaker, once again it is an honor to come to the floor; and hearing Mr. Larson, who is our vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, make his closing in the last hour was definitely uplifting and very true. And I want to thank him and other gentlemen who are here on the floor sharing what should be happening in Iraq and what is not happening in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, that is the good thing about this great democracy of ours, that we can come to the floor even though we don't have the right to bring many bills to the floor that we have stuck in committee or ideas that we can bring to the floor that would balance the budget or provide health care for Americans and allow small businesses to provide health care for the people that work for them and with them.

As you know, the 30-something Working Group, Mr. Speaker, has been coming to the floor for the last 3 years sharing with Americans and also with the Members of the House initiatives and plans and opportunity for recovery. Many of those plans are still stuck in committee or stuck in legislation, Mr. Larson and other gentlemen that are here, that we have not been able to bring to the floor, and this is the only way that we have an opportunity to share with the Members and also the American people about our plans and about the initiatives that we have that will bring about real energy policy, real prescription drug policy, real health care policy, and real policy on Iraq, and on and on and on.

So we look forward. And I am happy, Mr. Larson, that the American people, the majority, well, a good majority of the American people believe in what we believe in: making sure that we do right by those that punch in and punch out every day by raising the minimum wage, by doing a number of things that you just finished talking about and the things that we are going to talk about in the 30-something Working Group.

I will yield to you.

Mr. Larson, some of the best work is done at night, and I can tell you that many of us that are in the minority here in this House, we have come to the floor, we have carved a plan for not only the House to deal with a number of issues that have faced us in the last recent years; we have tried to head off a number of the issues that we are facing now as it relates to record borrowing from foreign nations, we have tried to head off the largest borrowing surge in the history of the country by the Republican majority by saying pay as you go, Mr. Speaker. We have tried to head off a lack of leadership as relates to accountability in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama as it relates to Hurricane Katrina, and a lot of or all of the money that is being stolen from the taxpayers.

We have tried to bring about, Mr. Speaker, the kind of accountability that the Government Accounting Office has investigated and shown that a number of Federal agencies are overspending, they are not able to even give us an idea of where the money went. And we are talking about billions of dollars.

Folks talk about wasteful spending. I think it is important, Mr. Delahunt, to even talk about what the Republican majority has not done as it relates to oversight, has not done as relates to subpoenaing a number of individuals that some of this stuff in my opinion, Mr. Larson, is close to being jailable. And I think when we look,

when Republicans, Independents, or Democrats look at what is going on here in this process as we speak in the moment and what will happen next week and the week after if left unattended, I think that we are going to gain a momentum of support from Republicans and Independents and from Green Party and from Democrats saying that we are willing to lead, we are ready to lead, we are ready to move America in a new direction.

And we are saying it. We are saying we are going to have a plan to balance the budget, and we do have a plan to balance the budget within 10 years. We are saying that we want to be well on our way in doing it, because we are the only party here in this Chamber that can say that we have actually done it. Republicans can only say, well, you know, we want to cut it in half, or we believe that we can do it. Well, you can't do that when you continue to borrow at a record rate. I have got a chart over here, and I am going to talk about it later.

Mr. Larson, I want to say to the point that you just mentioned, what is happening to the country is historic, in the wrong direction. When you talk about tuition, and the President was up here on this podium talking about how we need to invest in the new generation as it relates to the joint session of Congress that we had, tuition has increased by $2,000, that is 57 percent, at public universities, and by $5,000, which is 32 percent, at private institutions since 2000, 2001 school year. Meanwhile, the majority has cut $12 billion from college aid, increasing the cost of loans, has frozen Pell grants for higher education, and has failed to extend the college tuition tax deduction. And I think that is very, very important.

On the flip side of this whole thing, in our plan for a new direction, is to replace what the Republicans have taken out of student investment, also putting in, Ms. Jackson-Lee, an opportunity for those that decide to go in an area of education tax credits for them to go into the public schools, for us to have trained and educated teachers.

So we start talking about what the majority is doing and our new direction, it is on HouseDemocrats.gov. This is not something I just said right now. All of this is on HouseDemocrats.gov. The energizing of America is on HouseDemocrats.gov. Real security as it relates to implementing all the 9/11 recommendations, Mr. Speaker, is on HouseDemocrats.gov. A number of other initiatives that we have going.

So I wanted to back in what you are saying, because this 30-something Group originally started off by making sure that young people have a voice here on this floor, and those that are supporting young people that are their parents and grandparents, make sure they have a better opportunity than they have.

Mr. Larson, I want to thank you, sir, for carrying out your Iraq hour, continuing to focus on that, because we have men and women that are counting on us. We have been to Iraq. We know they have shared with us they want direction from this House, and we have to give it to them, and we have to also let the American people know what is going on here. Thank you, sir.

Ms. Jackson-Lee.

Thank you, Ms. Jackson-Lee. And even though you were coming down to join Mr. Larson, you are always welcome to join the 30-something Working Group hour.

When you were talking about the minimum wage, when we call ourselves the 30-something Working Group, that means we work. We come together and we meet even when we are not on the floor to talk about these issues.

Mr. Speaker, minimum wage is a very important issue to 7 million Americans who are working for minimum wage, living on a minimum-wage salary, which is very difficult.

And one of the things that I wanted to share here, Mr. Speaker, as you know, we try to come up with charts to kind of break this down so that Members know exactly what we are talking about so they can't go back to their constituents and say, well, I didn't quite understand that minimum wage vote, but I will reconsider it next time. We call that in Washington, DC the Potomac two-step. Back home they call it hoodwinked, bamboozled. But I want to make sure that folks understand what we are talking about here.

Minimum wage, and this is actually a chart that is saying the real economy changed under President Bush, while the minimum wage has not been increased since 1997, this is what has happened. Minimum wage is at zero. But the cost for milk has gone up 24 percent. Minimum wage is at zero, but the cost of bread has gone up 25 percent. Minimum wage is zero since 1997, thanks to the Republican majority. But a 4-year public college education has gone up 77 percent.

The minimum wage is still at zero, Mr. Speaker, since 1997, not because we haven't tried to raise it, but the Republican majority has stood in the school house door on this, stopping it from happening.

Health care insurance has gone up 97 percent, Ms. Jackson-Lee. Minimum wage is still at zero. And regular gas has gone up 136 percent.

Now, you want to know, the American people want to know who is on

their side. I think it is important that we find out whose side are the Republicans on? Let's just call it for what it is, Ms. Jackson-Lee. It is more than, and I am not just a Member of Congress with a conspiracy theory, because I am looking right here because I can't help but go to a recent article that I saw, that I read last time that was in The Washington Post. Document says oil chiefs met with Cheney task force. White House documents show, and this is The Washington Post. I just want to make sure. You can go on Washingtonpost.com, and it is November 16 of 2005. This was actually on the front page.

White House documents show that executives from big oil companies met with Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001, something long suspected by environmentalists, but denied as recently as last week by industry officials testifying before Congress.

The documents obtained this week by The Washington Post show that officials from ExxonMobil, Phillips, Shell Oil Company and BP of America met in the White House complex with Cheney aides who were developing the national energy policy, parts of which became law, and parts of which are still being debated in Congress.

The meeting happened in 2001. Oil companies got their increase in the minimum wage. These are the profits of the oil companies: 2002, $34 billion in extra profits. I think this was a pretty good meeting. I am pretty sure if I was an oil executive, I would be saying I am glad I attended.

2003, $59 billion in profits, oil companies. Meanwhile, we are paying more at the pump. Minimum wage still at zero, remember, since 1997.

2004, $84 billion in new profits to oil companies. I think that meeting was landmark as it relates to profits for the oil companies

And in 2005, $113 billion. Now I can tell you what is happening as it relates to whose side they are on.

Now, one may say, Ms. Jackson-Lee, and I am glad that those of us here in the 30-something Working Group, we do our homework before we come to the floor. I can't say that about all Members that come to the floor as it relates to having the facts, because what is important here, Mr. Speaker, is the truth, facts where people can follow up, and not fiction. And folks are not used to that out of this majority, and not used to that here in Washington, DC, and that is what we are saying we want to provide. Because nothing is better than the truth. Because no matter what party you are affiliated with, we still salute one flag, thanks to our men and women that were in uniform, veterans, and those that are in uniform now.

The least that we can do is be straight with them, and being straight with them is basically just saying, just recently, June 22, here on this floor, Democrats worked to raise the minimum wage, and this was appealing to the rule of the Chair by Mr. Rangel in a motion to offer the minimum wage increase. And he was ruled out of order. And it was appealed. And then the Republicans voted against us from having it on the floor by 229 votes to 195, and that is rollcall vote 313.

Again, June 27, which is a couple of days from the first time, from that attempt that we moved to get the minimum wage up, the Science, State, Justice, Commerce appropriations bill when it was here on this floor, Ms. Jackson-Lee, you were here that day, I saw you. The rule to block consideration of the Obey-Hoyer-Mollohan amendment to increase the minimum wage, rollcall vote 319, the rule was adopted, but there was a procedural move to block us from getting this on the floor.

The House adopted a resolution to adjourn for the Fourth of July recess without bringing up the bill to increase the minimum wage. That is rollcall vote to adjourn, which was rollcall vote 353 to adjourn. And I think it is important. That was 220, supermajority voted for it; 197 voted against it. It was only one Republican that was on our side and saying that we shouldn't leave until we deal with it, Mr. Speaker.

So, Ms. Jackson-Lee, I wouldn't get concerned about what they say because that is what Speaker Gingrich has said. He has the chart, and if staff can give me the chart that said ``they,'' that ``they,'' that is what he calls the Republican majority, that is what they called the Republican majority. You remember that, Mr. Ryan, because he felt that they are no longer responsible in a way that he thought they should be when he was the father of giving, case in point, once again, third- party validator.

Mr. Speaker, this was the Speaker of the House when the Republicans took control of the House. And this is what he has to say. And this was in the Knight Ridder newspaper, Friday, March 31, 2006: ``They are seen by the country as being in charge of a government that can't function.'' ``They.'' He is talking about the Republican majority. ``They''? Goodness gracious. If Speaker Foley came and called us ``they,'' I mean, this would be a travesty. This is Newt Gingrich. This is not someone in some club somewhere, or someone that doesn't have House credentials. He was here on this floor. He was the Speaker. He was the leader in the Republican majority and he was the Speaker. He wasn't majority leader. He wasn't a whip. He wasn't over the conference. He wasn't over a caucus. He was the Speaker. He sat there on the Speaker rostrum. He was the man. His picture hangs up back here in the Speaker's lobby. I can't boil this down any further, to say that it is substantial when a chief Republican says ``they.''

And so what we are talking about here, Ms. Jackson-Lee and Mr. Ryan, is something that everyone should understand. Republicans have to have a problem, Republican voters and independent voters, and Democratic voters have to have a problem with a dysfunctional government that is making history in all the wrong ways. And I am going to share that chart, but I am going to yield to you. I see Mr. Ryan is here, and I want to come back on our chart of irresponsibility that has taken place, because I want to make sure if we have got to say it 1,000 times, I want it on the Congressional Record that we have said it 1,001 times, so that the American people, when they are asked to make a decision in November, Mr. Ryan, that they have the information that they need to have to make sure that their country, not their party, that their country is strong and that it is vibrant and that it is here to make sure that it is in the shape to where they can afford education, where they can afford health care, where small businesses can afford to give their employees health care, and where States don't have to sue the Federal Government over education dollars.

Ms. Jackson-Lee.

Mr. Gingrich is calling them ``they.''

Making minimum wage.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Jackson-Lee for joining us. I think it is important as we look at the last 10, 12 minutes of our time here of looking at being responsible, looking at being responsible, and what the American people in every district that is represented here in this House, Mr. Speaker, woke up early one Tuesday morning just after 7:00 a.m. to vote for representation. They need a change in this Chamber. We are saying we are willing to give them the chance.

We are not looking at party affiliation. If you live in the part of the country where you are a Republican and there is nothing but Republicans get elected, this is not a Republican club or a Democratic club or an Independent club or a Green Party or Reform Party House. It should not be. The American people expect for us to work in a bipartisan way for their greater good. That has not happened.

The Republican majority does not have the will, nor the desire, to work in a bipartisan way with Democratic Members in this House or the one Independent that is here.

On every major piece of legislation, Ms. Jackson-Lee has just said there has only been two, there has been no Democratic input on those pieces of legislation to where that when it was a conference committee meeting, nine times out of 10, those Members are not even invited. The first time they see it is when it comes to floor, when it comes out of the conference committee, and this is when both House and Senate pass the bill and then they sit down and work out to appoint a small committee. They work out the differences and then go back to their respective Chambers and pass the changes that were made. That just does not happen.

So I think when Mr. Ryan started talking about the tax cuts for the millionaires, and I am talking about in the heavy millions, and what they are walking away with and what the American people are not walking away with, you have to look at who do you trust.

Here is an article, Mr. Speaker, I just want to make sure folks know they can get this on housedemocrats.gov. I think it will be up hours after we leave the floor here. ``The Spending Virus,'' by the Washington Times, of all places, washingtontimes.com, very conservative newspaper here in Washington, D.C. This is by Steve Chapman.

June 25, 2006. Last August, President Bush demanded

Congress curb its appetite for

spending so that we can continue to send a signal to the

people around the country that we are serious about being

fiscally responsible with the people's money.

It is not my writing. It is Mr. Chapman's writing and it was there. He is a columnist. Now today is Monday right, so this meant if he said this today, on tomorrow, Tuesday, this is what the President did.

The next day he signed a port bill, transportation bill, that broke all records for public works spending. Next day, the very next day.

Well, I would give the President the benefit of the doubt if he said it a couple of years ago and just forgot that he said it, but when you say something today and then the next day you go and you sign a bill that breaks records in spending, how in the world could that stand?

The article goes further to say, since 2001 expenditures have risen more than $900 billion, up nearly 50 percent. The expansion of the Federal discretionary spending has been faster than under Lyndon Johnson who was once the king of the big spenders but has been dethroned, dethroned this is his writing, by George W. Bush, and I would add, the Republican majority. Dethroned.

You know the thing about it, Mr. Speaker, at least under Lyndon Johnson we were able to improve education. At least under Lyndon Johnson, public works projects, as it relates to housing, was built, not just this runaway spending as it relates to satisfying the first of billionaires and millionaires and allowing oil companies to make record profits on the backs of the American people.

Now, how do we get to where we are now?

Since you got fired up about this, I just want to get started. I am going to read the last couple of lines of this article because we are running out of time.

But when it comes to that sort of wisdom and courage in Washington, DC, we suffer another deficit, and what this person is saying is that we have to have leadership in this chamber that is willing to enforce it.

Now, let me just say this very quickly. I think it is important in our last 5 minutes to talk about being responsible. This is the U.S. Department of Treasury. This is not the Kendrick Meek report or Tim Ryan or the 30 Something Working Group report. This is on our Web site and this is on the U.S. Treasury's Web site if you want to go in and find it and crunch the numbers.

President Bush and the Republican Congress, from 2001 to 2005, have borrowed from foreign Nations $1.05 trillion. In 4 years, 4 years, Mr. Speaker, $1.05 trillion, you see the President and the Republican Congress.

Forty-two Presidents that you see here, some are wearing wigs, $1.01 trillion, they were only able to borrow from foreign Nations in 224 years.

So that meant the President has accomplished something that 42 Presidents before him have not been able to accomplish.

But the Great Depression, World War I, World War II and a number of conflicts, he dethroned, that is our new one, Mr. Chapman gave it to us, third-party validator he has dethroned 42 Presidents and Congresses before it with the record-breaking borrowing.

Who is he borrowing it from? I mean, we break this all the way down. My 11-year-old can get this. And that is the way we got to do it, because I want to make sure that the American people and the Republican majority have no way to go home and hoodwink their constituents by saying, oh, I did not quite understand that bill, or that when I raised the debt limit.

Japan, we borrowed $682.8 billion. Japan is an island, I must add. China is $249.8 billion that they own of the American apple pie. The UK is at $223.2 billion. Caribbean nations. You know, I was home recently over the break, and someone came up to me and said, how can Caribbean nations own a piece of the American apple pie? They are just the Caribbean. Well, guess what? In Washington, DC the Republican majority are just big spenders. Well, they borrow from whoever will give us the money. They are buying our debt. They are getting a part of the American apple pie thanks to the Republican majority and the President. They come in at $115.3 billion.

Taiwan, $71.3 billion. OPEC nations, which, Mr. Speaker, I must add, I need to break this down for the Members are all of those oil- producing nations, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, you name it, Venezuela, all of them have a piece of the American apple pie that comes in at $67.8 billion.

Germany, $65.7 billion. Korea, $66.5 billion, and Canada, $53.8 billion. They own a part of the American apple pie, not because the American people did not do what they were supposed to do, because they are being asked to go beyond the call of duty. I am so glad that Mr. Ryan came to this floor in a very passionate way shared the level of frustration that so many Americans have that wish they could come to the floor and come before this great democracy and come to this House of Representatives and let them know what is on their mind.

It is our obligation and duty, Mr. Speaker, that we come to the floor and share what it is. We cannot sugar-coat it.

Mr. Ryan, it is always a pleasure working with you, sir.

Mr. Speaker, we would like to thank the Democratic leadership for allowing

us to have this hour, all of the Members that participated in it.

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

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 10 o'clock and 45 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until, tomorrow, Tuesday, July 11, 2006, at 9 a.m., for morning hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of Caribbean Heritage Month.

It is appropriate for our country to recognize the numerous contributions of Caribbean-Americans and our Caribbean neighbors to United States history and culture, particularly since our friendships and economic partnerships in the region continue to expand.

Caribbean immigrants are found throughout the United States, and aspects of Caribbean cultures are becoming increasingly commonplace, often touching our lives in subtle ways through art, music, literature, and science.

People from the Caribbean nations have a long and proud history here. In fact, one of our most prominent founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, was born on the Caribbean island of Nevis and then raised in St. Croix, another island of the Caribbean.

However, meaningful contributions by Caribbean immigrants began long before the American Revolution. Beginning as early as 1619, indentured workers were brought to the Jamestown colony in what is now modern-day Virginia.

Over the next four centuries, our histories and cultures became inextricably linked, so much so that many of our communities have now become an indistinguishable mixture of Caribbean and American culture and language.

My own district in South Florida is home to Bahamians, Haitians, and Jamaicans, and people from St. Kitts, Grenada, Barbados, and several other Caribbean nations.

Many of these Caribbean immigrants, as legal residents in the U.S. have enlisted in our Armed Forces and have meritoriously served in combat, putting their lives on the line to protect the people and ideals of this Nation.

During the American Revolution, these shared ideals were evidenced by freemen from the French colony of Saint Domingue, now the Republic of Haiti, who came to the United States and fought alongside our Continental Army.

Later, in 1822, it is of note that Denmark Vessey came from St. Thomas to lead an unsuccessful slave rebellion, which was the largest ever planned in our country.

Ashley Totten and Frank Crosswaith, who were born on St. Croix, helped to establish key labor unions, some still in operation today. J. Raymond Jones from St. Thomas, who is also known as the Silver Fox, ran New York City politics in the 1900s.

John James Audubon, the acclaimed naturalist and wildlife artist, was born in the former-French territory of Saint Domingue, what is now Haiti, and inspired the American conservation society that bears his namesake. W.E.B. DuBois, the Haitian-American author and political activist, became one of the most prominent, intellectual leaders of African-American society during the 20th century.

Major Joseph Savary, a Haitian, was the first black major in the United States Army, and led the Second Battalion of Freemen of Color at the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815, under then-General Andrew Jackson.

Other famous Caribbean Americans include former U.S. Representative, and first female presidential candidate, Shirley Chisholm; former Head of the Ford Foundation, Franklin Thomas; Federal Judge Constance Baker Motley, the first black woman appointed to the Federal judiciary; activists such as Stokely Carmichael, Kwame Toure, Roy Innis, Malcolm X, and Lois Farrakhan; as well as world renowned actor Sidney Poitier; civil rights activist and singer Harry Belafonte; Earl Graves, philanthropist, businessman, and publisher of Black Enterprise; and now Colin Powell, the first black U.S. Secretary of State, just to name a few.

It is indeed fitting to establish a Caribbean Heritage Month as a suitable way for our country to recognize these great Caribbean- Americans and the contributions they have made to our history and society. I am proud that these contributions have finally been recognized, and I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues to pay tribute to those who have made our nation great.

Mr. Chairman, I guess I want to quickly say that as someone

that is from Florida, that does know something about coastline and intracoastal and who does know something about the economy that we count on in Florida, we have people who travel throughout this world who come and spend their dollars in this United States because this Congress and the United States of America protected our beaches over the years.

Now we know that oil companies are very, very pushy right now, and they want all that they can get right now, in the moment. But, you know, the thing may change respectively in another 2 or 3 months. This wouldn't even be a discussion.

We are in Florida. We are asking for no drilling whatsoever. We are asking for alternative fuels and real investment and making sure that we have flex vehicles, making sure that we can go on ethanol, making sure that we can invest in the heartland and the Midwest versus the Middle East.

We are all for energy independence, but I can tell you, not on the backs of our environment, not on the backs of our economy, not on the backs of individuals that have fought before us in this House of making sure that we can at least keep some of our beaches oil free and not have what some would want us to have as it relates to special interests.

I respect the Members on the other side of this issue, Mr. Chairman, but I think it is important for us to realize that it is not worth going into these sensitive areas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, it is definitely an honor being here on the floor with my colleague Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and also other colleagues from the Florida delegation to commend the Miami Heat. I am so glad my colleagues are here.

As we know, the Miami Heat was a team that kind of came together over a period of 19 years to be able to bring about the kind of championship series that we have been able to witness over the last couple of weeks.

I would like to commend the Dallas Mavericks for a hard-fought game, and I believe that it was a game of life. I mean, there were mistakes made and there were also ups and downs; but I can tell you when the Miami Heat was down by two games, they came fighting back and it was not easy, and I want to thank not only the Dallas fans but especially the Miami fans, and I want to thank the NBA in general for all of their assistance to local communities in Miami and also in Dallas.

I would also like to, as we commend the Miami Heat, commend American Airlines for all that they did to not only assist both teams because they have arenas in both cities. They do quite a bit in both cities, and they also help fans travel back and forth to the games. I can tell you that this is especially unique for Miami because we have so many of the players who have been in the NBA for so long.

Just on a personal note, a personal friend of mine, Alonzo Mourning, has a youth center in the middle of my district in Overtown, which is one of the areas where children are challenged, in a safe place to be. He has been able to provide that and is leading into his 10th year of a program called Zo's Summer Groove where a number of NBA players come to south Florida, along with the Miami Heat, and raise a lot of money for great kids.

And I am also pleased with the coaching staff. I want to thank the members of the Florida delegation and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for putting in and mentioning the coaching staff and the front office there at the Miami Heat and Pat Riley, who has done an excellent job and who will go down in NBA history as one of the greatest coaches ever coaching the game.

For the Miami Heat fans, we can't say enough. This resolution also outlines their contributions. Some 200,000 members of south Florida's community came out in celebration of the Miami Heat. And as we all know, Dwyane Wade, and we all know Shaquille O'Neal, there are a number of players there that have contributed quite a bit; and I can tell you that that sixth player on the court has always been the Miami Heat fans. Even when the Heat are out of town, I think we have a good travel team that goes along with them, Heat fans, and I know the ``White Hot'' fans that are still white hot for the Heat are still celebrating and still appreciating. As we are here now tonight, Mr. Speaker, Shaquille O'Neal who is one of the outstanding philanthropic members of our community and who cares so much about the people, he is actually putting on a celebration party on South Beach as we speak.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Palm Beach for sharing those very thoughtful comments.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say how important this is not only for South Florida but also for the country. This team is a team of individuals that have been on NBA rosters for some time, and also some newcomers. Dwyane Wade was not known by the rest of the country prior to this NBA championship and this series.

Just from a personal note, I took my two children to the game five; and it was one of the most enjoyable games I have ever witnessed in my entire life. Being there with my children and seeing so many other parents there with their children witnessing such a game between two great NBA teams was something I know they will never forget and something I will never forget.

Mr. Speaker, I hope we can continue this. Like Ms. Ros-Lehtinen has said, I hope this is just the first of several resolutions. I look forward to coming to the floor commending the Miami Heat and commending the fans.

But to my friends from Texas and from Dallas, I just want to let them know they have a great team, also; and we look forward to beating them, I mean playing with them, in the future as we move on.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 4416, legislation sponsored by Representative Millender-McDonald, which would permanently reauthorize the use of franking and penalty mail by Congress and Federal agencies and departments. This measure, which was unanimously reported from the Government Reform Committee on June 8,

would allow Members to assist in efforts to locate and to recover missing children.

First enacted in 1985, this program authorized the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to prescribe guidelines under which the government and franked mail may be used to help find and recover missing children. The law also authorized the Senate Committee on Rules and the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards to establish guidelines for the use of franked mail in the House and Senate.

Although the law was reauthorized three times, the underlying statutory authority expired in 2002. H.R. 4416 would permanently reauthorize this very important effort. The placement of photos of missing children on government and congressional mail will greatly assist in locating and recovering children.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, Ranking Member Millender- McDonald, for sponsoring this bill; and I urge my colleagues to include photos of missing children on their official and franked mail.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to the St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church on the occasion of its 100th anniversary on Sunday, June 25, 2006.

Its pastor, the Reverend Henry Nevin, will lead his congregation to celebrate this milestone in the history of this beloved church that has become the Citadel of Faith in Miami's Overtown community. Indeed, St. John's longevity of service is directly related to its essential role in the community and its service to its members and to all those who now seek comfort and solace in its sanctuary.

On June 17, 1906, a group of dedicated Christians decided to build the Second Baptist Church, which came to be known as the New St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church. In 1939, the late Sis. Cora Lee Thomas Brown, the only surviving founder at that time, and Sis. Victoria Darry, the first secretary of the Sunday School, provided information to validate the revered history of the Church. It was legally known as the St. John Baptist Church of Miami, Florida, and the Reverend John Bynom was called as the first pastor, while brothers Grant Faulkner and Willis Williams were consecrated as the first Deacons.

In the succeeding years, the membership grew. Their second pastor, the Rev. N.B. Williams, known as a Master Builder, called upon his congregation to consider plans for a permanent location. In January, 1912, the Rev. Jarius Wilkerson Drake arrived in Miami from Jacksonville and assumed the leadership of the church. This pastor succeeded in expanding the congregation to 1,000-members in 1939. The current location of this church was purchased with a $10,000 deposit at a local bank, and thereafter a building was erected to house the burgeoning membership in the year 1940.

Rev. Drake was God's shepherd par excellence, as he guided and served the congregation well until his death in February, 1951. This Man of God was revered as a fearless leader and community builder whose life was filled with Christian charity on one hand and civic pride on the other. He was soon followed by Rev. Thedford Johnson during the latter part of 1951, who proficiently guided the church into a veritable sanctuary of worship and learning, as he created a good mixture of religion and civic responsibility that would strengthen church members not only to become spiritual and moral leaders, but also as responsible and conscientious guardians of good government and civic pride.

On April 17, 1982, the Rev. Charles Uptgrow succeeded Rev. Johnson, and on March 28, 1985 the Rev. Henry Nevin was appointed pastor and continues in this capacity until the present. He has emphasized Bible Study classes for the members of his congregation, and this focus gave way to the continuing enhancement of church membership amidst constant worship and praise to Almighty God. Through the genuine efforts of the current pastor, the faith-action service that now defines the St. John Institutional Missionary Baptist Church has truly persevered in showing its congregation the way and expounding for its membership the Truth that emanates from the study of Holy Scriptures.

Rev. Nevin's inspiring leadership is genuinely admirable. As a servant of God and as a deeply spiritual leader immersed in Scriptural commitment, he has earned the deepest respect and superlative commendation of our community. We therefore congratulate the members on their Centennial Celebration of their venerable Church and wish them continued success as they begin a new century of service.

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by commenting about a

previous 5-minute speech given by Mr. Taylor of Mississippi, and I want him to know how much I appreciate his representation of his district and sharing with the House some very vital and important information. As he mentioned, we will be considering legislation that will be dealing with the issues that he pointed out.

Mr. Speaker, again, we are glad to be here, the 30-something Working Group, to come to the floor with the help of so many of our colleagues. Tonight we have a special guest, Mr. Ryan.

Well, reclaiming, sir.

I am glad to be with Mr. Tanner and also his colleague from Ohio, Mrs. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Mr. Tanner of Tennessee has really been the leader in the House as it relates to accountability, as it relates to working with Mr. Spratt on pay-as-we- go. He was around when we balanced the budget and we did some of the things that we needed to do on behalf of this country.

So we are so glad he is here tonight to share with the 30-something Group and also with the Members of the House on what we should be doing versus what we are doing right now.

I yield to Mr. Tanner.

If you would yield a moment, Mr. Tanner, I can tell you right now that there are a lot of things we should be doing, or the Republican majority should be doing but they are not doing, and we don't have the opportunity to do it because we are in the minority.

Again, it is good having you and Mrs. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, especially from the Ways and Means Committee, talking about the accountability and the ways and means of doing things. I am glad that you have this bill filed. And I am happy to know about it, because I am writing here a note to my folks that I need to be a part of this, because that is what we are talking about here almost every night, accountability, with these Inspector General reports stacking up.

As you also know, Mr. Tanner, the head person of the GAO has this working group moving around the country talking about what is happening in this government, the lack of accountability, the lack of oversight. Mr. Ryan and I met with him in the office. And this is bipartisan conservative and ``liberal groups'' going around. They have come together on behalf of the country because all this money is being spent with very little accountability.

Mr. Tanner, I am pulling this information from the Heritage Foundation, which is one of the most conservative foundations in Washington, D.C., if not the leading. In fiscal year 2003, $25 billion of taxpayer money went unaccounted for according to the Department of Treasury, again a third-party validator.

Basically they are saying that $25 billion can fund a full year at the Justice Department, according to the Heritage Foundation. So this is real money that is missing. Taxpayers dollars can go into funding an entire Justice Department, which has a number of employees and is charged with carrying out a great deal of responsibility on behalf of the American people.

Mr. Ryan, there is a chart which shows the priorities of the majority, and I wish you would share that chart.

I know this is along the line of accountability, and I think this chart is a testimonial to the lack of accountability and the spending that has been going on in this House by the Republican majority. I think it is important when you say a charitable House of Representatives as it relates to the policies coming out of the White House, this is what happens. $1.05 trillion has been borrowed in the last 4 years, which is record-breaking in many ways, and historical in the wrong ways as it relates to what the President and the Republican majority has done.

And the $0.1 trillion over 224 years borrowed from 42 Presidents, that is all they were able to muster up. World War I, World War II, a number of other conflicts, the Great Depression, still record-breaking and borrowing money in an irresponsible way.

Mr. Ryan also mentioned who is buying all of this debt. I am not blaming the American taxpayers. They don't have a voting card. They have representatives up here, but they don't have a voting card. Japan has borrowed $682.8 billion of our debt and counting. They own a piece of the American apple pie, and it pains me to see these countries over the silhouette of the continental United States, but this is exactly what's happening, and this is the way we need to break it down.

China, $249.8 billion of the American apple pie, not because of the American people, but because of the Republican policies.

I am glad you are here to share that information, and you are 110 percent right.

The U.K., $223.2 billion.

The Caribbean, $115.3 billion.

Taiwan and counting, $71.3 billion of our debt.

Again, this is not the American taxpayer, this is what a charitable Congress has done with the President's policies.

And you let some individuals tell it on the other side of the aisle, they will say we are doing great.

For the first time in the history of the country, these countries have had their hands in the pockets of the American taxpayer, and having us pay with interest. Like Mrs. Jones mentioned, it is like borrowing on a credit card.

OPEC nations, you are talking about Iran, Saudi Arabia, a number of the countries that many Americans have questions about, oil-producing countries, they are in on the game. Not only are we paying through the nose for petroleum, they own $67.8 billion.

Germany, $65.7 billion; Korea, $66.5 billion; and Canada, just north of us, $53.8 billion. They are in on this feeding frenzy. And the reason why we have this silhouetted Continental United States and the American flag, we want to get back to this.

Mr. Speaker, we are the only party here in this Chamber, including, we would add, the one Independent that actually votes with the Democrats on this side. If we want to get back to a debt-free America, then we have to go on pay-as-you-go policies, which just today, just today, just today, Mr. Tanner, just today, Mrs. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, there was a vote on this floor to move in a pay-as-you-go policy, and the Republicans voted against it. United voting against paying as you go. That means if you are going to spend the money, you have got to show where you pay for it. And still that policy is not in place.

And, Mr. Tanner, I know that you have worked day in and day out. I have watched you here on this floor. I watch Mrs. Tubbs Jones in Ways and Means talking about, if we are going to do it, what are the means? How are we going to do it? And it is continuing to be placed on a credit card.

We usually use old charts, but today I think it is important for us to say that just today, on this floor, Republicans continue to move in the direction, I would say the leadership, continues to move in the direction of allowing these countries to have their hands in the pockets of the American taxpayers.

And it goes simultaneously with the two pieces of legislation that you have shared with the Members and the American people today, House Resolution 841, that you have offered and also Mr. Cardoza's legislation as it relates to House Resolution 5315, that talks about this kind of accountability, forcing the Congress to carry out section 1, article I of the U.S. Constitution, which is boiler plate.

Thank you, Mr. Tanner. We definitely appreciate your contributions. And I like this whole generational mugging piece. You are going to hear that again. That is a great one. And it is so good, Mr. Ryan, to have Members of the Ways and Means Committee here, because they hear this constantly, and the policies are passed through that committee as it relates to how we tax Americans, corporations, what have you. And to see the waste on the other side of the ball, on the government, which we are supposed to oversee, and make sure that those dollars that are being collected from the American taxpayer or the American corporation or whatever it may be, that it is spent in an appropriate way and that we are accountable for it.

Sure I would yield.

Mr. Ryan, I think, and also Mrs. Tubbs Jones, I think it is important that we look at this issue of the irresponsibility of the Republican majority. They are being very irresponsible. And to say that that is fine, we will give you what you want, of course, Mr. Speaker, I think we are going to see more of that kind of action by the Republican majority to say that, oh, we are with you, even if we are running the country into the ground.

We know better. We know that we have foreign countries that we are borrowing from because we can't even borrow from ourselves anymore because we have done such a bad job. We know we have raised the debt ceiling time after time after time again. Meanwhile, we come to the floor and say our policies are working.

We know that there are things we should not be doing because you are working every day or you are running your business every day. You may not be paying attention to everything that is going on. Not only are we elected but we are paid to watch out for your best interest and also for future generations' best interests. And they are doing it.

And I think that the paradigm shift as it relates to the American people paying attention to what they are doing in a way, from a fiscal way, I think, will take place between now and November.

And so what is so unfortunate about this whole situation, Mr. Speaker, is that we are supposed to be responsible policymakers on a bipartisan basis. And that is not happening right now. That is just not happening. The American taxpayers are getting mugged, knocked down and kicked by this Republican majority and the rubber stamp, or the rubber- stamp Congress, Republican majority that is here.

Now, one other thing I want to mention here, which I think is very, very important, just today, Mr. Ryan, Mrs. Tubbs Jones, we don't have to go back, Mr. Speaker, to weeks or months or 2 years ago or 3 years ago. We had a pay-as-you-go provision here. Individuals decided not to take it up.

We had an opportunity to raise the minimum wage on behalf of the American taxpayers. The Republican majority rejected an opportunity to raise the minimum wage for everyday working Americans.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Ryan, one of the Republican leaders said, I haven't voted in 25 years, Mr. Speaker, to raise the minimum wage. And if he would have had his way, the minimum wage would still be $3.35 versus $5.15.

I am so glad that my State joined 21 other States in raising the minimum wage. Meanwhile, we are still here with chisel and hammer in hand as Neanderthals on the Republican side of the ball and saying, oh, we don't have to raise the minimum wage. We are so indebted to the special interests that we don't even want to bother them of having an American public that is able to pay the rent or pay for their house mortgage or to be able to put gas in their tank. We are so invested in the K Street Project, we are so invested in so many other things that we are willing to allow these individuals to suffer.

But guess what? Those are the same individuals that are making America America. And there are millions of Americans that are there.

And so what is very, very unfortunate here, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that the Republican majority is still boasting about, you know, we are in charge. We are going to continue to keep our foot on the necks of everyday Americans that are going in, punching in and punching out every day, 5 days a week, sometimes 6, because they have to work overtime; those Americans that know what it means to take a 15-minute break in the morning and a 15-minute break in the afternoon, and a solid 30 minutes of lunch, if they get that, and they better not be a minute late. Those kind of individuals, I think, are going to go to the polls this November and say, no more. They are going to go to the polls and say, we are willing to fight for the kind of accountability that we need from this government.

I am so proud, Mr. Speaker, of the 30-something Working Group and the Members that come down here and the Democratic Members that file legislation on behalf of the American people, not on behalf of the Democratic Party, not even on behalf of the Democratic Caucus, not on behalf of our leadership, but on behalf of the individuals that they represent who woke up early one Tuesday morning and voted for representation in this U.S. House of Representatives, and I must add, Mr. Speaker, the only Chamber that you have to be elected to, that you can't be appointed to. All due respect to the Senate, but Senators can be appointed by Governors. If a Senator was to say, hey, you know, I have had enough. I want to go home, I want to take care of my grandkids, a Governor can appoint a Senator.

But in democracy, in this Chamber, in the U.S. House, if one Member were to say, hey, I want to take care of my grandkids, I want to spend more time with my kids, they have to run for office. They have to run for office, and they have to be replaced by the people.

So we have a greater responsibility. We have a greater responsibility than the White House, than the Senate or the Supreme Court, when you look at the three branches government, to the American people.

The oversight, House Resolution 841, and Mr. Cardoza's legislation that calls for the calling in those administrators that are not accountable to taxpayers' dollars, these are the kind of bills that we must pass.

One thing I can say, Mr. Ryan, which is so very important on our side of the ball of saying we want to take this country in a new direction, is the fact that we said we will increase the minimum wage. We will make our country more energy-independent within 10 years. We will implement the 9/11 recommendations to be able to make sure that we can fight terrorism here and make sure that local communities have what they need.

These are not ``if'' or ``if we get around to it'' statements. These are statements that we said wholeheartedly that we would carry out.

The last point, anybody who wants to get this information as it relates to an innovation agenda: housedemocrats.gov. Right here, this is what it looks like. You can download this information. Again, safeguarding, making sure that we have the real security here in America, our Democratic plan: housedemocrats.gov. And, again, here as it relates to the working group that we have dealing with investing in the Midwest versus the Middle East: housedemocrats.gov. Mr. Ryan said all of the charts that you see here tonight you can get on housedemocrats.gov/30something.

Mr. Speaker, I do not even waste my time anymore, as a Member of this House, talking about working in a bipartisan way because the only way we can work in a bipartisan way, Mrs. Tubbs Jones, and you know because you are the most senior Member on the floor right now, is that the majority allows it to happen. The majority calls the conference committee, and this happens a lot in the Ways and Means Committee.

A lot in the Ways and Means Committee. They will have about tax law, about accountability or what have you, trying to find the ways and the means of bills that come through that committee, and the Democratic Members are not even called. A conference report comes to the floor, and they have not even seen it. Not that they weren't willing to sit down with the Republican majority, saying, We want to work with you and see how we can work in a bipartisan way. They don't even get the notice for the meeting. So the meeting takes place, it comes to the floor, and the rules that are in the House rules, it smacks the theme of the rules and also the spirit of the rules and the rules, period, about the minority party's being informed about these meetings.

So one thing that our leader has said: When we take control, there will be a bipartisan spirit in this House, and we will work together with the Republican minority, if the American people see to it.

Reclaiming my time, it is very interesting. And, Mr. Ryan and Mrs. Tubbs Jones, I think you hit the nail right on the head in talking about the reality of serving in this Republican majority right now, what is not only happening to the Members of this body on the minority side and the one Independent that is a part of this House, but also what is happening to the American taxpayer. And accountability is on our side. We balanced the budget. The bottom line is there wasn't a deficit. There were surpluses as far as the eye can see when the Republican majority took over. And now we find ourselves in a fiscal crisis.

And I want to share this information and make sure, Mr. Speaker, that all the Members, hopefully, go back to their districts and, before they see an increase in the interest rates of student loans, to share with their constituents, and we are sharing it with our constituents, to consolidate their loans before July 1, because afterwards they are going to be paying, I believe, a 2 percent increase in interest rates and climbing, not because the companies said they want to go up on the interest rate, but because the Congress allowed these companies to go up on the interest rate, meanwhile providing more tax breaks for the superwealthy Americans that are here.

So as we continue to speak, we are not here speaking into the Congressional Record, Members, just to say we want to be on the record about what is happening to America. We are saying that we are ready, set, go. We have our chinstrap buckled and our mouthpiece in. Since football season is coming up in August, let it be known that we are ready to hit the field. We are ready to hit the field on behalf of the American people; not willing hit the field on behalf of Democrats, not willing to hit the field on behalf of just children, but on behalf of all the American people. That is Republicans, Independents, Green Party.

If you are not even voting, and you are so mad, and you are tired of this mess here in Washington, DC, we are doing this for you. We want to make sure that this democracy that some talk about that we are fighting in foreign lands to guarantee a democracy over there, we want to make sure that we can celebrate a democracy right here, making sure that individuals do not have to find a way out of no way, and making sure that we come up with ways that we can become energy-independent and not just running around here saying, well, we need to go to war in foreign lands to be able to attract oil when we have resources right here.

Mr. Speaker, the last time the minimum wage was raised, it was a zero impact on businesses. Zero impact. So when folks are saying if we raise the minimum wage, people are going to go out of business, please. Okay? And when folks start talking about, Well, I am here to protect the business community, the last time I checked, there were individuals that went to vote to elect me and everyone else here to the United States Congress, to the House of Representatives. I didn't see major corporations going up with a voting card saying, I am representing corporation one, two, three, and I am here to vote on behalf of Kendrick Meek for Congress. There were individuals that voted for us.

So, Mrs. Tubbs Jones, I think you are 110 percent right, just not on behalf of the people of the great State of Ohio, but on behalf of the American people. People are working every day, but they cannot even put gas in their tank. How can you live?

Oprah just did a story on this as it relates to individuals that are making minimum wage. And they put individuals who were making above the minimum wage on a minimum wage, and they could not survive.

I was just looking for this, and I am so glad that I found it because I think it is important to be able to share the facts where they are. Third-party validators, Mr. Speaker, once again, there is just a line of them as it relates to the things we bring up.

This is a message from my Democratic Caucus Chair, who is James D. Clyburn, that is talking about priorities of the Democratic Caucus. It is not talking about something we just came up with a couple days ago, but the priorities of the Democratic Caucus and the American people. Five dollars and fifteen cents is the minimum wage. Fifty years, the last time the minimum wage has been this low as it relates to the inflation that you just spoke about. It should be $9 and some change. 1997 was the last time that the Congress raised the minimum wage. That is almost 10 years ago. It is about to be 10 years ago. Six point six million people, the number of people who would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage. Six point six million individuals, roughly three- quarters of minimum-wage workers, adults over the age of 20, many of whom are responsible for half of their families' income. One day it takes to be able to make money to buy one tank of gas working on the minimum wage.

Again, Mrs. Tubbs Jones, a zero jobs loss. Studies have shown that there is no evidence of jobs lost after passing a minimum wage increase.

Here is another one. Eighty-six percent of the American people support an increase in the minimum wage, and I must say 22 States have already headed in that direction through constitutional measures or legislative measures to increase the minimum wage to help their State's economy, because they know these individuals are consumers and these individuals that are on minimum wage will help their State's economy.

So I just wanted to share that information, because it is important that we share that. But again, the Republican majority is saying no. We are saying if we become the majority, if they become the minority come this

November, it is not ``if we can, we may get around to it.'' It will be one of the first things that the Democratic Caucus does. A done deal. We don't even have to talk about it, that the American people will see an increase in the minimum wage.

Let me just say this. You can go ahead and give the website out, sir, and I will close out.

I am talking to you, sir, Mr. Ryan.

Thank you, Mr. Ryan.

I want to thank Ms. Tubbs Jones and also you, Mr. Ryan, and Mr. Tanner and Mr. Taylor, who was here at the beginning finishing off his 5-minute speech for joining us tonight.

As Mrs. Tubbs Jones mentioned, as Democrats, we want to take this House in a New Direction for America. I think it is important, and we will let it be known that we will implement on day one, or days within being in the majority, if the American people see fit, a real security plan that will implement the full 9/11 Committee report, work on affordable health care, to fix not only the prescription drug law, but a series of seniors' issues as it relates to health care and also health care for the American people, from GM down to the small mom and pop business. Also make sure we have good paying jobs and stop sending jobs overseas and raising the minimum wage. Reversing all the things that the Republicans have done to Americans as it relates to higher interest rates for students and making college affordable. Also with tax deductions, and also energizing America by making sure we have investment in the Midwest versus the Middle East. And ensuring dignity as it relates to no privatization of Social Security.

With that, Mr. Speaker, it was an honor addressing the House. We would like to thank the Democratic leadership for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the memory and extraordinary life of Lt. Col. Albert McCoy of North Miami, Florida, who passed away on February 5, 2006.

By any standard, Lieutenant Colonel McCoy was a man of diverse interests and noteworthy achievements. In a sense, he was destined to serve his country in the armed services. A native New Englander and graduate of Springfield College, family lore places his ancestors at the Battle of Bennington, fighting for American independence during the Revolutionary War.

He continued the family tradition and served his country in the Army during World War II and the Korean war--rising in rank as his abilities were recognized in an active and reserve military career that spanned 43 years. Even after he left the military, his fellow veterans continued to be an important part of his life. He served for three decades in the United States Guard of Honor, rendering military honors at the funerals of fellow military men and women.

But despite his distinguished and lengthy military service, Lieutenant Colonel McCoy cannot be remembered solely as a military officer. In 1957, he and a partner opened a real estate business so successful that it eventually grew to include a staff of almost 50 people. He became a university professor, teaching at the University of Florida; at the University of Miami, where he had earlier pursued his graduate studies; at what is now Miami-Dade College; and at Broward Community College. A literate man of letters who enjoyed reading and writing, several of his articles were published, and he even began writing an extensive book on another of his great interests, travel.

Lt. Col. Albert McCoy was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, a fitting resting place of honor for one who performed his duty so well and devoted so much of his life to our nation and to our community. His passing is a tremendous loss, and my heart goes out to his wife Nancy, his two daughters, Lorena and Nanette, and all of his many family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to come before the House once again and the 30-Something Working Group, as you know and the Members know, we come to the floor day after day to share with the Members what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong.

So many times we focus on this side of the aisle on the plans that we have here on the Democratic side of the aisle in helping Americans to continue to prosper, need it be they are in small business or they wake up and go to work every day, educating our children, making sure that we have a healthy and prosperous and safe America.

Before I get started, I know Mr. Ryan will be joining me momentarily, Mr. Speaker. I just want to share with the Members a few plans that we have on this side of the aisle that we would like to implement. The only thing that is stopping us from bringing these plans to the floor and implementing action, well, we are moving in the right direction with great force, is the fact that we are not the majority here, Mr. Speaker, to be able to bring these issues to the floor.

As you know, in the past, I have talked about energy. I encourage Members to go to housedemocrats.gov to pick up a copy of our energy agenda, talking about alternative fuel, talking about bringing about flex vehicles in the industry to be able to allow more Americans to purchase vehicles that are flex vehicles that they can use E-85 and gasoline.

Real security plan, it is there dealing with homeland security. We have already said on this side of the aisle if we are in the majority that we would implement all of the 9/11 recommendations to make America safer. This is a bipartisan commission, as the Members know, that was appointed, and this House was part of it, and they did outstanding work. Those recommendations have still not been fully implemented to protect America.

We have our initiative that we have been trying to promote for the last 3 to 4 months in a very forceful way, which is allowing working Americans to be able to earn more money. It has been 9 years, Mr. Speaker, since the American people have received an increase as it relates to the minimum wage. It is very, very unfortunate that we have Americans that are working for $5.15 an hour. The minimum wage has been the same since 1997, which is now approaching 10 years.

As you know, many Americans have suffered under the low minimum wage that we have now, that is throughout for individuals that are working every day, and I have a few facts here.

Of the last 50-years, I mean, this is the lowest it has been in the last 50 years. Also, 6.6 million Americans will benefit from an increase in the minimum wage, and something that I must add, the Republican leadership has said that they vow not to raise the minimum wage again this year or next year. So I think that is something that the American people need to pay very close attention to.

Three-quarters of the minimum wage workers are adults that are over the age of 20, many of whom are responsible for over half of the family's income. One day of work, it takes an entire day's wage for an earner to buy a tank of gas.

Also, studies have shown, Mr. Speaker, that zero jobs have been lost when the minimum wage has been increased.

Eighty-six percent of Americans do support an increase in the minimum wage. Twenty-one States have moved in the direction of increasing the minimum wage. I do not know what is going on here with the Republican majority in not moving in that direction to allow more American people to have money in their pocket to be able to provide for their families.

We have talked many times on this floor in the 30-Something Working Group about the new weight that has been placed on the heads of the American people as they start to send their young people to college.

Just yesterday we had a town hall meeting downstairs in this building, in HC5 here in the Capitol Building, with some young people who are third-party validators with the student loans they have out now, Mr. Speaker. And this is very serious, because now people are starting to prepare their young people to go off to college in the month of August and late July, many of whom are now having to take out these student loans at a very high interest rate. They are going to end up paying almost $100 more a month in interest to pay for their college, and I think that is something we need to pay very close attention to.

It is very unfortunate that on the majority side, Mr. Speaker, on the Republican side, all due respect to all the innovation that one tries to come up with on the other side of the aisle, it is costing the American people more, and it is putting our young people in debt in this country even before they can grab their college degree and earn a living. They are already, on average, somewhere around $25,000 or $30,000 in debt when they step across the stage. That is very, very unfortunate.

We cut student aid here. We increase student loan rates here. The States in turn have to cut, and the cost of college is increased. It increases on these individuals. It is an increase on these individuals.

I think it is also important, Mr. Speaker, for us to talk about the fact that we have the will and the desire on this side of the aisle to move America in the right direction. I talked about this last week, Mr. Speaker, and I think it is very, very important to bring this up here again today; that we are willing to move this country in the right direction, in a new direction, making sure that Americans have more opportunities.

I think it is important for us to point out the fact that on this side of the aisle we have committed again to raising the minimum wage. We have committed to helping this country become energy independent, investing in the Midwest versus the Middle East within 10 years. We have also committed on this side of the aisle, I mentioned it earlier, to implementing all of the 9/11 recommendations.

But one of our major commitments on this side, Mr. Speaker, and also to the American people, is that we have said that we are willing to bring this budget back into balance within a reasonable time; not that we are going to cut the deficit in half, or we are going to balance the budget, but we are going to be able to bring us out of this deficit spending that the Republican majority has led us into with record deficits as far as the eye can see.

We have the resume. On our resume we have the accomplishment of being able to do that. We have accomplished that before in the past, Mr. Speaker, and I think it is something that one needs to pay very close attention to.

When we say a commitment to making sure our fiscal house is in order, it is not a slogan. It is not something that someone says, well, the polls say you need to say you are going to bring spending under control. We have actually attempted to do that.

You have seen this chart before. We can't talk about it enough, because the facts are in. Regardless of the floor speeches that may go on on the Republican side of the aisle, I think it is important for us to outline the fact that we have put our legislation where our mouths are.

We have said that we want to see this House say that if you are going to spend, then spend in a way that almost every American family has to spend. If you are going to buy something, you have to know how you are going to pay for it. You can't put everything on a credit card. And what is unfortunate is that we have allowed other countries to be a part of our country financially not because the American people have made a bad decision, but it is because the majority and the White House have made some bad decisions.

Here I have, Mr. Speaker, a PAYGO rule that on this side we have adopted; that we are willing to pay as we go. If you are going to buy it, you have to show how you are going to pay for it. It is not that you spend or you buy and

then you borrow. John Spratt, who is the ranking member on the Budget Committee, on the 2006 budget resolution, and this is the Congressional Record, this is not something the 30-something Working Group put together, this is rollcall vote 87, March 17 of 2005. Republicans voted 228 against this pay-as-you-go amendment that we put forward.

Again, Mr. Spratt and the ranking member's substitute amendment to House Concurrent Resolution 393, this is also rollcall vote number 91, March 25, 2004, 224 Republicans voting against pay-as-you-go on a rule we tried to put in place.

When I say try, Mr. Speaker, that is all we can do at this particular point because until Democrats are in the majority, we are not going to be able to put this country into the fiscal position it should be in.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, and I do say once again, I pull my chart out. This is almost my exhibit A here. Third-party validator. And the source that has given us this information happens to be the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Here we show that 42 Presidents over 224 years were only able to borrow from foreign nations, and this is money that the United States has borrowed from foreign nations in 224 years and 42 Presidents, $1.01 trillion. Through World War I, World War II, the Great Depression, a number of other conflicts, slowdowns in the economy, and other issues that have faced this country, 42 Presidents have only borrowed $1.01 trillion.

In 4 years, 4 years with President Bush, $1.05 trillion with the Republican Congress. Just in 4 years, Mr. Speaker. If someone came to me and said, Kendrick, you have to throw all the charts out but one, if you just wanted one chart, this would be the one that I would pick, Mr. Speaker, because I think it reveals what has happened here in this House, how it has been so easy for the Republican majority to put runaway spending on a credit card and allowed foreign countries to be able to own a part of the American apple pie.

What is so very, very unfortunate here, as all of this borrowing has taken place, you would think that student loans would have a lower interest rate, you would think that alternative fuels would have an opportunity to be a part of the marketplace, and that we would be moving towards more cleaner-burning fuel. You would think that we would have a world-class health care system, and that companies as big as General Motors and as small as a mom-and-pop store that has five or six employees in it would be able to provide health care for their employees, and you would also think, Mr. Speaker, that a number of States would not be suing the Federal Government because of the underfunding of the Leave No Child Behind with all of the money that has been borrowed from foreign nations.

But what has happened is that the superwealthy in this country have gotten the biggest tax cut in the history of the Republic. What has also happened is that Republicans have been allowed to spend in record- breaking, I mean, just off the charts. For Republicans to come down here and blame Democrats for spending--I mean, really, I know it is kind of hard for them to keep eye contact with someone like me and those of us in the 30-something Group who knows better, who know what the facts show, that $1.05 trillion has been borrowed from foreign countries. They are weakening our country as they start to move and allow these other countries to be able to own so much of the American apple pie.

And I will close with this before I yield to Ms. Wasserman Schultz, who came in before Mr. Ryan. I think it is important, Mr. Speaker, for us to look at it from this standpoint; that if you borrow money from someone, the relationship has changed. I heard someone from the White House say this morning on the Today Show we are the last standing superpower. Okay, well, you must be talking about militarily, because financially we are getting weaker every day under this administration's policy and the rubber-stamping of this Republican Congress.

I think it is important that everyone understands that we have borrowed money from countries that we have never borrowed money from before in a record-breaking way. The Republican majority has done so without our help, but because they are in the majority, that has happened, and now they are looking at us under a different light.

We still have budgets that are being passed here on this floor that is going to even make the American people more indebted to foreign nations, some that we have questions of their links to possible terrorism and other questionable measures.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to Ms. Wasserman Schultz.

Fifty years.

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to be as calm as possible.

Well, I am pleased because the Miami Heat has taken care of business in four games straight. There is going to be a great parade in Miami celebrating the Miami Heat's achievement of achieving the NBA championship, and that team consists of a lot of young guys and older guys that have really worked hard.

I would just like to say this is the first time I have given the Dallas Mavericks any charitable words since I have been here on the floor and in this building, that they played hard. It was a great series and I appreciate the folks that are in Dallas, Texas, for their sportsmanship and the fans. But in Miami, we are very, very excited about it.

Let me just say this, I am saying that this whole thing is about sportsmanship and be able to enjoy and have a good time. It is a great lesson for young people about mental mistakes that people can make.

Life is like basketball, things happen and you have to adjust to those things. Folks were thinking I was going to talk for 30 minutes about the Miami Heat, but I don't want to waste the House time dealing with that, and they will be recognized later on. So we will move on.

Ms. Wasserman Schultz wore the colors. I am not wearing the beads that I was wearing. We were down 0-2. I put the beads on and the Heat just went four games all the way.

Let me say, Mr. Ryan, you were talking about leadership and Ms. Wasserman Schultz was talking about leadership. I think it is important when we look at leadership, that is not just in the White House. That is here in the U.S. House of Representatives, and it is very, very important that we have a body of Members here that have the will and the desire to lead.

As you all were talking, I was pulling out a couple of examples to show you a lack of leadership. Remember the Wizard of Oz when they said let it be green and let it be red and let it be blue, and that is fine for a movie; but that is not fine for the United States of America as it relates to policy in any area.

Let's start off at the top of the week when the White House said let's talk about the great things that are happening in Iraq or not happening in Iraq. It seems to be just the opposite at the end of the week of what is not happening in Iraq and what is happening in Iraq.

But the bigger question is what is happening here in this House. We spent all kind of time running back and forth into last week, Members coming down to the floor making speeches, getting all puffy in the chest and talking and carrying on about who loves the troops and who doesn't love the troops.

No, I love them more than you do. I have a tattoo, you know, that said I love the troops.

It is not all about how you say it. It's what you do. And the bottom line is, Mr. Speaker, nothing came out of the resolution that was passed. I mean, it is not like the resolution was passed and all of a sudden some great policy measure, some sort of major dollars going into veteran affairs or some direction to the Iraqi Government of how we really, where we really stand as it relates to it and relates to the war in Iraq. And I think it is important that, some of the things that I wrote down, Mr. Speaker is, following the Bush administration, and its rubber-stamp Congress has allowed the Bush administration to continue to carry out poor planning as it relates to the war in Iraq. Also, no plan for success. It is okay not to have a plan. Because we are in the majority, we are going to write a resolution that we are not going to even allow a Democrat to even put a period or a comma in, and because we are in the majority, we are going to endorse it, no oversight whatsoever from the U.S. House of Representatives. No oversight, Mr. Speaker. No accountability, no investigations of what is going on with the taxpayers' money that has been stolen in record numbers, no-bid contracts, $17 billion for Halliburton alone.

The Democrats, what do we want? We want accountability. We want to make sure that 2006 is a significant year as it relates to transition and plan for Iraq. We want to make sure that the Iraqi people know that they are going to have to take responsibility for their government more sooner than later. And as long as we start saying we are going to stay as long as we are going to stay, they are going to keep saying it is going to take us as long as it is going to take us. It is in the U.S. taxpayers' pocket, and the American troops that are there will continue to pay the price with life, limb and blood and time away from their families as long as the Republican rubber-stamp Congress continues to rubber-stamp whatever the White House has said.

Another point I wanted to make here. Some troops are on their fourth deployment. What does that mean if you are a soldier? That means you are going back for the fourth time. And it may be 12, 15 months. If you are a marine, many of the marines are definitely on their fourth deployment. A little shorter time, tougher duty, and it goes on and on and on.

Recruiting standards have been loosened. The National Guard units have just 34 percent of the required equipment that they need once they go back into the theater. And that is something that we have to pay very close attention to.

And the last point here as it relates to the no plan and the continue to throw the rock and hide your hand philosophy that this Republican Congress has is the fact that veterans' copayments are going up as it relates to prescription drug care. No plan for veterans when they come back with all of the issues that they are going to come back with to their families. We deserve to give them the attention that they need, and there is no plan for that.

So to come and do the John Wayne, if I could use his name as a tough guy, and to say that, oh, we are going to do this, and using slogans about how we need to, people, anyone that talks about anything about Iraq outside of I am with the President, they are not really with the American people.

Well, let me tell you something. I want a news flash to the members of the Republican side of the aisle. The American people are not feeling your rhetoric. And I think we will know in November about where we are because the American people are looking, Mr. Ryan and Ms. Wasserman Schultz, for some leadership.

I think on the Republican side of the aisle, some folks need to go see the wizard, get some courage and some leadership, and to be able to say we are willing to work in a bipartisan way. I say this with great confidence because a lot of my Republican colleagues know it, and a lot of them tell me. You know, they say, Kendrick, you know, you 30- somethings, you come kind of hard sometimes, but you know something, I can't get upset with you because it is true. Third-party validators know that it is true.

I am sick and tired of seeing these parents get on the Today Show in the morning, Mr. Speaker, and trying to bring some sort of understanding in their own mind of why we are there without a plan, and why are we sacrificing our troops on the front line when it is now taking, going on 3, 4 years to train Iraqi troops, when we have had individuals that were in sophomores in high school that have been trained and

sent into theater and now on their second deployment. It is just kind of hard to explain that for Mr. Ryan and I that are on the Armed Services Committee. It is just hard to understand that, Ms. Wasserman Schultz.

So this game of saying that we are going to stay as long as we have to stay, don't ask any questions, I think those days are over. I think the American discourse is going to take over what this House has not done, and I know that they are going to speak in a very positive way towards the party that has the plan.

Now, we have plans and ideas on the table here in the House and in the Senate. But guess what? We are at least talking about a plan, Ms. Wasserman Schultz. We are just not saying, oh, excuse me. What did they say at the White House? Oh, they want to continue a war without a plan? Okay. That is fine. We will just rubber-stamp that. And what else can we do for the President? So shall it be written, so shall it be done, at the price of the American taxpayer and the price of some families as it relates to never seeing their father or mother again.

So I think it is something that is very serious. I am making fun of the fact that there is a rubber-stamp Congress here, but I have to say, ladies and gentlemen, that it is a reality. It is a reality. No questions asked. Rubber stamp. And I hope that the American people pay very close attention to it.

So I am glad that the Democratic Caucus has put their foot down and have said that enough is enough. You won't hear me talk about why can't we work in a bipartisan way, because we have been saying it since I have been here going on now 4 years, Mr. Speaker. So the will and the desire is not on the Republican side to even work with the Democrats. So now you have to move in the campaign that we have now and moving this country in a new direction, and that new direction is going to be inclusion. We are going to include Republicans in a bipartisan way, and moving this country and all the things that we talked about, Ms. Wasserman Schultz talked about, Mr. Ryan is talking about, and when folks can go on housedemocrats.gov and find our plan in moving this country in a new direction. We have the will and the desire, and we will definitely do it.

With that I would like to yield to Mr. Ryan.

Ms. Wasserman Schultz, we spend so much time talking about the budget, and those are great numbers that you have shared here. And I see Ranking Member Spratt here on the floor, John Spratt, who has done such an outstanding job on the budget. And as you know, I always hold this chart up about the foreign-owned debt and where we are going and what is being spent.

Mr. Ryan spoke to how we are paying more on the debt than we are paying on education, veteran affairs and a couple of other areas, too, homeland security. And I saw Mr. Spratt, and I just couldn't resist, sir. I know that you were here to put in a Record statement, but can you just share, just kind of bring into focus what has happened here and what will continue to happen, if the Republican Congress continue to have their way?

Mr. Spratt, I am so glad that you are here because here I hold a letter that former Secretary Snow wrote you about the emergency situation we are in of raising the debt ceiling.

Again, Mr. Speaker, third-party validators. U.S. Secretary Snow, who is like the accountant, or used to be the accountant, of the United States of America, literally begging you, wrote you a letter and said, We have to raise this thing or I am going to have to shut down normal government operations.

That letter was in February. And then there is another one, Mr. Speaker, on March 6 that he wrote, again saying that we have to raise the debt ceiling.

So we have the Bush administration appointees. I use these rubber stamps here, Mr. Spratt, as the rubber stamp Congress that we put here. So this wasn't a part of the letter, but we highlight here the begging, saying that they will not be able to pay into the G fund and other investments that they have to pay into to be able to assist. It is saying they are going to have to suspend investing in the Federal employees retirement fund.

So, Mr. Spratt, I just wanted to bring that out, a third-party validator's saying that they have to raise the debt ceiling. But we spend a lot of time here, sir, as you know, in the 30-Something Working Group because we are working with the fact that young Americans and the future generations, what this is going to mean and what it is meaning right now to American families. And we also highlight the two amendments. This is almost like having the man that has made it happen here on our side of the aisle trying to move into a pay-as-you-go to stop exactly what you are pointing out there, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Spratt.

I yield now to Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the more than three million Filipino-Americans and Filipino immigrants across the United States on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of Filipino Migration to the United States. This is a significant milestone in the storied tradition of Filipinos in our Nation ever since the first fifteen farm workers, called sakadas, were recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association, arriving in Hawaii on December 20, 1906. They were to become the precursors to millions of other contract workers, who soon came to build America in the succeeding years.

It was in 1919 that Filipino leader Pablo Manlapit organized the first labor union to demand higher wages and better working conditions for the farm workers of Hawaii. He was to be joined by other Asian farm workers, especially those coming from Japan. Though in 1920, some 12,000 farm workers from the sugar plantations were cruelly evicted and thrown out of work; their rugged determination and gritty character typified their conviction that America must live by its creed of equal opportunity and simple justice for all.

The downtrodden and the disenfranchised--these defined the miserable conditions to which those first immigrants were mercilessly subjected. What better way to memorialize those hardy spirits than to invoke their courage under fire during this Centennial of their epic journey to self-hood and recognition. They came to forge a better life and contribute to the building of America in Hawaii's sugar cane and pineapple fields, in the canneries of Alaska, and throughout the verdant farm lands of California and other west coast States.

In his stirring novel, America is in the Heart, Carlos Bulosan, the Filipino writer par excellence, described the first Filipino immigrants' abject exclusion from American society when he wrote: ``I know deep in my heart that I am an exile in America . . . I feel like a criminal running away from a crime I did not commit. And this crime is that I am a Filipino in America.'' Despite this inglorious past, their pioneering efforts and resilient spirit were drawn by their genuine belief in America's spirit of idealism as the land of opportunity and promise.

I am confident that under the aegis of this Centennial, America will join Filipino-Americans in recognizing the untold sacrifices of the early Filipino migrants whose faith in God and whose work ethic sustained them in their ordeal. In converging this celebration with the indomitable spirit of those pioneers, we hope to be enlightened and enriched by the messages they wrote through their silent struggles to be recognized and appreciated. It is on this historic occasion that I congratulate the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the Philippine-American Federation of South Florida (PhilAmFed) and other bona-fide groups for their steadfast efforts in sensitizing us to the contributions that Filipino immigrants gave and continue to give to buttressing America's stature as the envy of world today.

Filipino-Americans in my District, and millions of others across this great Nation, may take heart in Mr. Bulosan's prophetic words: ``America is not a land of one race or one class of men. We are all Americans that have toiled and suffered and known oppression and defeat . . . America is not merely a land or an institution. America is in the hearts of men that died for freedom; it is also in the eyes of men that are building a new world. America is a warning to those who would try to falsify the ideals of free men. All of us, from the first Adams to the last Filipino, native born or alien, educated or illiterate--We are America!''

Indeed, this Centennial is a proud reminder of the nobility and quiet dignity of Filipino Americans whose predecessors migrated to America 100 years ago, paving the way for countless others.

Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to inform my colleagues about the passing of a great lady of Miami and an anchor of one of Miami's great families: the late Beatrice ``Bee'' Reeves. Her sudden passing last Saturday, June 10, 2006 has truly left a deep void in our midst.

Mrs. Reeves represented the best and the noblest of our community. In her quiet but dignified way, she dedicated a major portion of her life to service in groups like the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the Links, and the MRS Club, where she served as a past president. Her mission in life girded her belief that understanding of and compassion for the less fortunate defined her life-vocation as a gifted Christian and as a community leader who never sought the limelight.

She also loved to play bridge, and she was a member of the Tuesday and Saturday bridge clubs. From the stories I have heard about her enthusiasm and skill, you definitely wanted to have Mrs. Reeves playing on your side.

She was a multi-talented servant of the people, a civic activist, and an indefatigable community-builder, always thinking of others in her endeavors. The genuineness of her stewardship on behalf of our community was buttressed by her utmost consecration to her vocation as God's faithful servant, bringing hope and optimism to countless ordinary folks whose lives she touched so deeply, never holding anyone at arm's length.

This remarkable lady was our community's friend and confidante. I am deeply saddened by her passing. She will indeed be an indelible reminder of the noble commitment and quiet power of friendship she extended to anyone who came to her for help and advice. Her faith was deep and genuine, and her love for our community evoked her dynamic friendship and thorough understanding of the struggles and travails we have had to endure throughout all the years. No one who knew her--and was struck by her sunny disposition and optimism--went away not acknowledging the presence of a caring and compassionate community leader.

This Friday, June 16, 2006 a funeral mass will be celebrated at Miami's Episcopal Church

of the Incarnation officiated by the Rev. Kenneth Major, her pastor and spiritual adviser. I want to extend my deepest sympathies to her husband, Mr. Garth Reeves, the publisher emeritus of The Miami Times; her sister Dorothy Burrows Baker; and her stepdaughters Rachel Reeves and Lynnette Richardson.

I join the Miami-Dade community in celebrating her life and her friendship. She will carry on through the example she set and the wonderful thoughts and memories we all have of her. This is the wonderful legacy the late Beatrice ``Bee'' Reeves left behind.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a dear friend, Detective Theodore Floyd of the Indian River Sheriff's Department.

As a former Florida Highway Patrolman myself, I have proudly worn the titles ``law enforcement officer'' and ``first responder.'' But Theodore Floyd is more than that, because he is truly a peace officer who takes a broader view of his responsibilities.

On Saturday, June 17, 2006, at St. Peter's Missionary Baptist Church in Vero Beach, Florida, a service of appreciation will be held for Mr. Floyd, who has had a distinguished 15-year career in law enforcement with the Indian River Sheriff's Department.

Detective Floyd recently implemented crime prevention strategies in communities throughout Indian River County. He has built strong relationships with community leaders and elected officials that have increased the security and safety of Indian River County residents. He has aided in rallying county government to improve living conditions for the County's less fortunate.

Detective Floyd has previously been honored by many organizations over his long career. He has been recognized by the Daytona Beach and Volusia police departments, and has been named Pastoral Law Enforcement Man of the Year.

Mr. Floyd is an active member of many community-based organizations, including the Progressive Civic League, the local NAACP, Habitat for Humanity, the Treasure Coast Business League, and the Gifford Activity Center, among many others.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the Pastor's Association, Indian River County Sheriff Roy Raymond, Indian River County Commissioner Gary Wheeler and Vero Beach City Commissioner Bob Solari in honoring Detective Floyd for his incredible dedication and service, both on-duty and off.

As a dear friend of Teddy's, I take pride in his distinguished career. As a public servant myself, I admire what he has been able to achieve.