Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, once again, as I always start, it is an honor and a privilege to stand here and speak not only to Members of the House but also to the American people. And as the Members know, for several weeks now, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) has appointed a 30-Something working group to address the issues that are facing middle-class Americans throughout America and some of the issues that we need to work on to make sure that their voice is heard in this democracy and this U.S. House of Representatives.

Lately, we have been having quite a bit of discussion on some of the issues that are facing democracy here in the United States, and we have been working with Rock the Vote in making sure that young voices are heard throughout this country to make sure that they have access to voting, to make sure that they know the things that they need to know to fight to register on their campus.

There have been several reports that have been quite disturbing throughout the country. We encourage young people to go to rockthevote.com to find out more about voter suppression that is happening throughout this country. We also inform young people in the public and their parents that are also concerned about making sure that they are able to receive good information to go on the rockthevote.com site or the 30-something Dems site to make sure that they get information so that they can share it with supervisors of elections that are misinformed.

Based out of that discussion, we received several e-mails, Mr. Speaker, of times that young people had to actually go get an attorney to register to vote. And I think that that is very unfortunate due to the fact that many of

us in this country are concerned about voter apathy, concerned about the 18- to 32-year-olds or 18- to 24-year-olds, the reason why they do not vote or the reason is not great enough for them to vote. We have to make sure that their voices are heard.

And in this light, I want to share again with the American people that are watching us right now that in 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court spoke to this issue. It said if a person is enrolled in school and needs to be out of state or in state, they have the right to register where they are attending school. That is so very important.

The reason why I mention that is the fact that, as we start looking at issues that are hindering young Americans from being able to educate themselves, that once they leave that higher education opportunity that they are given in their State or another State, they should not leave that educational experience in debt. When they leave that experience in great debt because of student loans, because the President said that he was going to raise the Pell grant opportunities for young people that would like to educate themselves, middle-age people that would like to educate themselves, to $5,100 versus what we are experiencing now, a little bit over $4,000 and some change, that is more a reality now for young Americans than fiction. So I want to make sure that they have the opportunity to vote.

As we cut the Federal commitment here in Washington, D.C., States do not have what we have, the opportunity to put it on a credit card and continue the deficit clock is running. Right now the deficit is well out of control, and we are experiencing the highest deficit in the history of the Republic. The States do not have that opportunity. They have to balance their budget. When they balance their budget, they then pass that cost on to local government and in this case to State university systems that then ask students to pay more money for tuition and for services that ordinarily they would receive at a lower cost or for free.

The educational experience is quite financial these days, and I think it is important that these individuals or the young people or middle- age individuals, even in the community college experience, that they understand that they have an opportunity to have their voice heard in November; and it is very important that they are able to not only have their voices heard in November but also during the primary season to let it be known that they are voters too. They are our future, and it is important that we stand with them and for them.

On another point, and I am just going back to some of the e-mails we received, I think it is important for us to talk a little bit about what we are experiencing here today, Mr. Speaker, even though we have seen a 6 cents or 5 cents in some areas, 3 cents in others, drop in gas prices.

I will share with you even from my great State of Florida that this is really putting a crunch on the middle-class. They did not receive an additional dollar from an employer or a small business person did not receive more dollars from a bank to be able to deal with the gas price crunch that we have right now.

I have a chart here, Mr. Speaker, if I can just share it here with the American people what has happened over the last 2 years in America. In 2002, the gas prices were $1.44. This is just for regular grade gas, the retail prices. Then in 2003 it was raised to $1.60 here. Then in 2004 it skyrocketed, and it was projected to be $1.87. Now, May 31, in recent numbers of this year, it is now up to $2.05.

I know some Americans are looking and saying, ``I want to know where I can find $2.05 gas.'' Before I came here to the floor, I was going to fill up my tank, and then I hesitated and I said hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. We cannot judge our spending based on the fact, middle-class spending, based on the fact maybe the gas prices will be cheaper tomorrow, and in many instances throughout America it is going to be quite a lot higher.

OPEC has done some things that are very interesting. They have put more crude on the market now to try to deal with the issue of gas prices. But I will tell you that this administration has to have a better response than to try to encourage OPEC to do something that is short-term.

This is a real issue. We have Americans that are trying to work, trying to get to work, trying to use mass transit, and at the same time we are trying to find some of the solutions to be able to alleviate the financial burden of American families at the same time we are stalling legislation here in this House.

There is a Federal highway bill. The President has also said he would veto it due to a bipartisan effort here in this House to make sure we are able to give States the necessary dollars for the roads, bridges and modes of transportation to be able to help the middle-class and help working Americans.

I am here today as a witness from a State that we have individuals that wake up and go to work every day, young Americans that are trying to do the things they have to do to be able to meet the obligations of their family. And so many of those individuals that are watching us now with one eye open, they have to wake up. Their reality is at 6 a.m. in the morning to get their kids ready for school and make sure they have what they need. If they are fortunate to have transportation or can afford to fill that tank up, take them to school, go to work. These are individuals that know what it means for a 15-minute break in the morning, a strict half an hour lunch break, punch in and out, and 15 minutes in the afternoon.

These same working individuals, I must add, and I am not talking about individuals that are not contributing to our economy in the way they should and trying to support their families, these are the same individuals that are a part of the 43 million Americans that are working every day that do not have health care.

I think it is so very, very important for us to take up this point, the fact there is not a bill that is being considered in this Congress that will see the light of day at any time in the very near future that will be a national health care plan so individuals will have an opportunity to provide for themselves, to provide adequate health care.

If you want to talk about a health savings plan that the President has proposed, under these gas prices, under the strain American families already have, there is not a lot of room about talking about okay, we are going to save in case I get sick. They need preventive care. They have to have it, their children need to have it, and it is important to prioritize that.

If we are going to make tax cuts permanent for the millionaires in this country, knowing of the unmet needs of being able to finds alternative fuel sources here in the United States, to be able to pull back on our dependency on crude oil, that I believe has a lot to do with our American troops as I speak on guard in Iraq and in the Middle East, and if we are going to be able to set forth an America that is set for young people and families that are trying to do the best they can to provide for their families, something has to give, Mr. Speaker.

The 30-something group is working toward solutions, not just identifying these problems, but solutions, and continuing to put pressure on this administration to make sure that the President knows that it is very important that we do some of the things that American people need.

One, we need to make sure that on this gas issue that Americans do not have to find themselves going to a gas station and saying ``give me $5 worth.'' Now, that is something that I used to do when I was in college. There was a time in college when you are financially challenged, you probably do not have the opportunity, I know I did not, to fill my tank up every time I showed up at the pumps, but it was something I knew was temporary in nature.

But individuals that have jobs that work every day trying to provide for their families, they should not pull up with a child seat in the back and say, ``Give me $5, because that is all I can afford, and hopefully it will last me for a day or two if I do not turn on my air conditioner.''

This is reality in America right now. We are at war now. A lot of folks feel throughout the world we are at war because of oil and our dependency on oil. Is there a real move from this administration to take us off that dependency of Middle Eastern oil?

I think it is important for us if we are going to hold Saudi Arabia's feet to the fire that this administration should stand up to Saudi Arabia and stop making excuses for them. I think it is also important for us to realize we have to find alternative ways of finding fuel and encouraging more cleaner burning vehicles.

I think it is also important for us to realize that we have to do some work here in America in trying to find new oil resources within our own control, but also be very sensitive not to go into natural environmental areas in this country that we have great respect for, that we would turn into an example that we chastise other countries for doing. I think that this could definitely be able to assist us in our efforts in keeping gas prices down.

My talk here tonight is about making sure that individuals that have children, or do not have children that are trying to make this time in their lives from college on to 40, 45, and on, and even grandparents that are now stepping in, or the parents of these children that I am mentioning in this age range, that are trying to provide not only information, but provide financial assistance to their children because they are not able to make ends meet, it is in that vein.

I think that it is important for us to remember that declining real wages are putting a squeeze on middle-class Americans, and that gas prices have a lot to do with it.

I also want to share with you that in the last 3 months, average wages in the United States increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, but what is sad is the fact that during this same time, the most recent stage of so-called Americans that actually have worked, took a pay cut as relates to the costs they had to spend for their health care.

So in this circle of not doing anything at all, in this circle of not passing a transportation bill that is going to help not only States be able to stimulate more jobs or be able to help us to find alternative ways of finding fuel outside of the Middle East, we are at a standstill now, and we are at a standstill that Americans are actually suffering. We are at a standstill of their voices being heard.

I think it is important that Americans understand that this Federal Government has chosen, this administration has chosen to make sure that millionaires receive a permanent tax cut over health care for working Americans, over making sure that we are able to keep gas prices down so that Americans can be able to continue doing the things that they are trying to do and providing for their families, over a prescription drug benefit for seniors.

So when we start talking about the middle-class and we start talking about the 30-somethings and the 20-somethings and even those individuals who are looking forward to getting to that particular age, we look at all of these impediments. So our government is supposed to be here to assist, not to hinder. I do not think that anyone sets out at the beginning of the day saying, ``Well, let's see what I can do to throw a log in front of young people in America.''

But I think it is important for us to bring into question this upcoming election season whose side are you on when it comes down to the policies that are either being made or not being made in the process.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to just share a few other issues as it relates to what is happening to so many young people, and as we look at the squeeze of what is happening with the gas prices, as we look at the squeeze of what is not happening as it relates to health care, and what I mentioned at the top of the hour, voter suppression; and I know that this Congress has tried to deal with that. I have to mention, when we talked about a couple of weeks ago, the issue of Iraq, and I am going to come back to the middle-class squeeze.

In some of these families we have troops that are serving and we have parents that are raising children on their own. Now, they receive correspondence, they also receive support from the spouse or the significant other that is fighting on behalf of this country of what they have been told to do in Iraq and Afghanistan and other areas. We even have troops in Haiti as I speak right now trying to provide some way of life for that country, and security. No one is giving anyone a gas voucher to that spouse or significant other to make room for this squeeze. They have to suck it up. So this is very, very important business that I am talking about here this evening.

My good friend and colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), we have been working together for some time; we had a very late night tonight, we had a hearing in the Committee on Armed Services, a markup, which is disappointing at best; but this may be a time that we can talk about that. The gentleman represents Ohio, and they have been hit hard on this middle-class squeeze. A lot of people that are around the gentleman's age range and even above have experienced economic hard times on top of not having a job, on top of not having health care, even though small businesses in the gentleman's State that are trying to provide and trying to continue to keep the workers working, they are taking a squeeze, they are taking a hit on the gas prices. So I think that not only the gentleman being a Member of the Congress and being a very insightful person, that the gentleman's purpose here is even greater to give those individuals voice, and I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, that was the U.S. Department of Education report.

Let me share with you, we received a rebate in the State of Florida of a billion dollars. And the State Governor Jeb Bush said, let us hold it off to next annual year versus trying to resolve some of the issues that are facing Floridians right now.

I am going to tell you nine times out of ten if it is the wrong governor or the wrong way of thinking of continuing to way say, well, I am here to make sure that we do the right thing with the people's money, well, let me just say this, nine times out of ten when things are held off it is in the kitty to justify another tax cut for individuals and for big corporations that are not necessarily on their knees and need it right now. They are carrying out the tax cuts because they cannot because they need to.

When the gentleman talked about that report, basically colleges and community colleges are not able to provide the courses for the individuals that would like to educate themselves. Right now, I just want to read something almost from the same report that was given to us. The fact that we talk about the 30 percent, we talk about the 250,000 college qualified students that have been shut out of last fall, 2003, in many cases because of cutbacks, because colleges will have to pull their belts tighter and cut courses. They just did not have the room to be able to adequately serve these students. Also as we start looking at the debt issue, Mr. Ryan, I mentioned earlier that many people are leaving the college experience in debt and right now.

We have individuals now that are ungraduate level and just to do a comparison between what happened in 1997 to 2000, and if you move beyond that you really start getting in trouble. But here between 1997 and 2000 the typical undergraduate debt rose 66 percent to $18,900. And more than a quarter of today's 14 million undergraduate students will incur more than $25,000 in debt to earn their degree.

Now, that is a good story because I know of stories that individuals leave the higher education experience 75,000, $100,000 in debt.

Now, you mention that yes, we are here to point those issues out but at the same time we are here to talk about solutions, and there is legislation on this side of the aisle from the Democrats with our fearless leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) that has served this Congress so well as the Democratic leader, and wants the opportunity to be Speaker of this House, so to summon these issues that are facing real Americans can rise to the top, need it be carrying out if the American people would have it, Senator Kerry's plan which hopefully will be President Kerry, or Members of this body that want to be see this legislation top shelf in this House. But now we have Republicans that are blocking legislation to lock low interest rates in, to allow students to be able to continue to receive low interest rates versus a variable in the long run. They will pay more if this is not taken care of.

I will tell you that if we go to a variable as some of the big banks want us to do, I will tell you right now they are not talking to me because they know they will be wasting their time because I am all about being on the side of the individual who tried to educate themselves, and unfortunately had to go beyond the call to pay for that education. It will cost those individuals $5,500 over time. That is real money. That is while you are trying to buy a house. That is while you are trying to provide for your family.

I will tell the gentleman right now this is a real issue. We talk about the dollars and cents. This is a Democratic proposal. Lock it. Make sure the individuals have what they can be able to have, more money in their pocket versus more money out of their pocket.

That is correct. Right now we are experiencing the highest deficit in the history of the republic. And you would assume that if we have the highest deficit and it was Democrats that balanced the budget. I just want to remind the American people of that in this Congress, it was not the Republicans, it was not the Republican President. It was the Democrats in this House that balanced the budget. Just 3\1/2\ years ago, the discussion was on the floor on what are we going to do with the surplus. Now the discussion is, can I take my credit card out? This is a big number.

A big number. And I will tell you right now if we had a little ticker here these zeros would be moving to a higher number as we speak. So the experience now that the American people have to witness and

this is the U.S. Treasury credit card here, and we have Republican Congress there. What we are experiencing now is that every 3 weeks we are knocking on the bank of China saying, can you loan us money to be able to pay down on the debt? So as we look at that, more money in the American people's pocket versus out of their pocket.

Is the gentleman actually suggesting that we do something that will actually help the students? Are you suggesting that?

Mr. RYAN of ohio. I am working on it. I do not want to be so bold but we need to start peeking in that direction.

I have a Bachelor of Science Degree, and I am not an economist, but one would argue, well, if we take the banks out of it, what kind of effect will it have on the economy? And I think very little. If any of us that have gone to banks knowing the kinds of praying at the alter, at the end of the day to be able to get money, for them to trust us enough to pay them back, it reminds me of the pharmaceutical companies in the prescription drugs.

I think the pharmaceutical companies are doing good things in America, in research, things of that nature, but when you look beyond the blankets of all of that we are paying, it is subsidized research. With the banks we are guaranteeing their loans.

So the real issues for that individual that is trying to educate him- or herself, this feeds also to the parents that we are talking 30- something, but individuals that are 50- or 60-something, high 40s, they are picking up the slack, and they are paying the interest 9 times out of 10 for young people because they cannot afford it.

Mr. Speaker, it is all depending on the kind of leadership that we will have come November, and I, for one, believe that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who believes in some of the things that we are talking about here tonight, making sure that children or young people receive the opportunity that they need to be able to move in the direction, that they would like to move in to make this country strong, also making a decision like you just mentioned, what will be best for the American young person or the American family.

I mentioned early in our time here tonight the crunch, the squeeze on the middle class, the gas issue, and you have the gas chart there. We talked about voter suppression, also. We did a little cutback on that, but I think it is important when we talk about the middle class squeeze that folks say, well, you know, I received a $35 check in the mail and I am so glad or $100 back in my middle class tax cut, but I will tell my colleague, this gas thing is very real.

This is not the Tim Ryan report or the Kendrick Meek report. We actually do a little homework before we get to the floor. We spend the week making sure we get this information so that we are factual and we are sharing it with the American people, the good, bad and ugly, but according to the Forbes Magazine, it says the gas price increase since the beginning of this year cost Americans $35 billion. That is a big number, much more than the 15 to 20 billion middle class consumers got from the Bush tax cuts this April.

I think it is important for us to continue to bring these facts to the table because it is money in one pocket and it is more money out of the other pocket. I will tell you right now that is playing with the economy of families and will continue to do so, and it is important that we share this information with them.

We are asking on this side of the aisle the opportunity to lead, an opportunity to cut the deficit, an opportunity to be able to make sure that young people have greater opportunities in the future to make America strong and investing in U.S. jobs here versus overseas.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say I do not think anyone on this floor could have shared in a way that the gentleman just summed it up and what he just shared with the American people. It is choices that one has to make.

I believe that people are going to make the right choice this upcoming election season. I have said it before. President, commander- in-chief, I do not envision him as what you might say a textbook Republican. I think he is something else. I think he is trying to take the country to another level, to where a number of Members of this House are not, and I think some of them are on the other side, and I think that they have gone to see the wizard to get courage and heart to be able to speak out against the present administration. So while we are trying to tell the rest of the world how a democracy works, it is going to be up to the American people ultimately to be able to stand in judgment of this Congress, Democrat and Republican, and also this President of making sure that we move in the next 4 years towards a safer, sounder, more job generating America, an America that is healthy, that has health care, so that we do not have literally millions of Americans experiencing emergency room health care.

With that, I would say that we should try to run to catch the back end of David Letterman's monologue tonight and come back next week with solutions to problems but also pointing out the good, bad and ugly so that we can come clean with the American people so they can be able to make a sound judgment in a letter or e-mail that they may send to their Member of Congress or the President of the United States.

Do that Web site real quick. Then we are going to take this back to the Speaker.

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

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at midnight), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, June 15, 2004, at 8:30 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, Ronald Reagan forever changed the landscape of American politics. He will be remembered as a President who loved his country and inspired us all to be better Americans.

President Reagan was a principled leader, and many times his beliefs put him at odds with Democrats. Despite these disagreements, he taught us that there is a big difference between bitter partisanship and strong beliefs.

My thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Reagan and her children at this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the contributions and achievements of Mr. Richard Matthews, who will be retiring as Assistant Principal of Phyllis Ruth Miller Elementary School in Miami, Florida after thirty-five years in education.

Phyllis Ruth Miller Elementary School is the educational home for over 1,000 students, ages three through eleven. The student body is comprised mainly of recent immigrants who are primarily from Haitian- Creole linguistic backgrounds and have limited proficiency in English. Many of the students come from economically disadvantaged homes. Meeting the educational needs of these students is one of the toughest jobs in education, but it is one of the most important in the United States of America, a nation of immigrants. Richard Matthews was up to task.

He spent much of his adult life as an educator in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and his judgement, skill and experience have been invaluable. Mr. Matthews advocated learning from the past, assessing the present and managing for the future. But when it came to preparing for his own retirement, he reflected on what he called the fallacy of mis-placed prudence, proclaiming that life is what happens while you're out making other plans.

Although teaching is a full time job, Richard Matthews found the time to contribute to the lives of young people in many other ways, including as Executive Vice President, Dade County, School Administrator Association, Local 84; Minister of the Eucharist, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church; Chaperone, Miami Killian Marching Band; Retired Commander, U.S. Navy Supply Corps: Past Union Steward, United Teacher of Dade, Arvida Middle School; Past President, Catholic Alumni Club of Miami; Past Troop Leader Boy Scouts of America; Past Advisor Sea Scouts of America; and Cofounder, Peter Flores Scholarship Fund, Learning Experience School of Miami.

Mr. Speaker, I know that my colleagues join with the students, parents, and staff of Phyllis R. Miller Elementary School, and with all of those in our community whose lives have been touched by his, in expressing our thanks and appreciation to Mr. Matthews for all that he has contributed and for doing an important job, and doing it well.

We wish you great happiness and success as you begin this next new chapter in your life.

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to address the House of Representatives and also the American people on issues of importance. A part of our democracy is being able to provide information to the American people so that they can make the right decisions at the right time when they are given the opportunity. Also, to hopefully have an opportunity to speak to our colleagues about some of the issues that are facing this Congress and the American people, that they can also make the right decision at the right opportunity and at the right time.

We have more opportunities, the American people do, to make major decisions. They get an opportunity every couple of years as it relates to the House of Representatives, and in many cases every 6 years as it relates to the other body. But every 4 years they get an opportunity to vote for the leader of the free world, the President of the United States; and it is important that we understand exactly what is going on in our country, what is going on in the world.

This is an hour, Mr. Speaker, that the minority leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), has put together for our 30- something Caucus that we have on the Democratic side on the aisle. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is my co-chair as it relates to our working group.

We have a number of members, some 14 Members of this House, that take time out every week to come to the floor. We have an opportunity to talk about issues that are facing young Americans and also middle-aged Americans and older Americans, because when we start talking about education, we start talking about health care, we start talking about jobs.

I think it is important we talk about Iraq. It is also important to all Americans, but we try to make sure that we be able to give voice to those individuals that are young parents and those individuals that are going into college and even young people that are looking to go to college to make sure that they have a great opportunity to do what they have to do.

I am so glad that my good friend from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is here with me, who is just an outstanding gentleman. We both serve on the Committee on Armed Services together, and we sit next to each other, almost next to each other, but we are there on the same level on the bottom row.

I thank the gentleman for being here.

Can I just, when the gentleman mentioned that, because we need to get into what we are getting ready to discuss right now, but I know the gentleman has a couple of e-mails. If we can just take 5 minutes and talk about this voter suppression issue.

As you know, over the last couple of weeks we have been getting phone calls and e-mails about students throughout the country going to supervisor of elections offices and being told that they cannot register to vote there. Those students that are now in summer school, students that would like to go into the fall and be able to have the opportunity to vote in the primary elections in many States and also in the general election. They are being told that they can not register to vote in that State because they are not a permanent resident. But, as you know, in 1975 the Supreme Court said you can register. It is legal.

So we got a response back from a number of people saying this has happened to me, and we asked them to go to rockthevote.com.

And he is a National Guardsman.

It is just amazing that you have to sue. I mean, it is amazing that you have to sue to participate in democracy.

And the level of insight that went into the letter he received from an official office of saying not only do we think you do not reside in this State but you have your mom's car, and the last time you voted you were in another State. It is very, very important that Americans understand that we have to fight day in and day out, even within the borders of our own country, to make sure that our voices are heard. And young people they are getting it handed to them right now not only by the Federal Government but the State has to do the same thing because we have cut our commitment to them.

We will talk about spending money and spending irresponsibly. But I cut the gentleman off. He was about to head down a path that we are fully prepared to talk about this afternoon. But I want to encourage our listeners and watchers to go to rockthevote.com. I understand we are going to do some things in the 30-something Caucus to make sure that does not continue to happen.

Well, obviously, he has represented himself as a friend of the United States. But there is a big discussion about him giving away the fact that we had Iran's secret codes and to be able to get intelligence on what they are doing inside Iran. Now that is major. That is major. That is just another investigation that is going on.

But how much did we pay him a month? Does the gentleman remember that number? Was it like $365,000 a month? I believe that that was the number that they had. And if I can, I pulled my credit card out last time. I pulled it out of my wallet, and my wife said, do not pull that credit card out. And I told her I was using it as a prop.

But with a little help from my graphics people, when we start looking at this we are looking at really $477 billion, which is $4.7 trillion dollars in debt right now. And this is, of course, the U.S. Treasury that this money is coming out of.

So not only did we pay for a double spy to be able to share information with Iran, had a relationship, a very close relationship and family ties to Iran, which I must say that day in and day out we are trying to do what we can to make sure that we play down the nuclear threat in the region, but we paid him. We paid him almost $400,000 to provide this information.

Almost $400,000 a month. It is between 375 and 400. But when you are dealing with a $4.7 trillion deficit, it seems like individuals that are in control of this House or the White House, they are not really concerned, or the Pentagon.

Now, I must say that it is important for us to remember that our credibility is at stake and American troops' lives are at stake. Any time we say that some folks stand behind our troops, we stand with our troops. And I will tell you right now that it is important that this information, that is bad information that we are getting from this gentleman, and also he is turning around and sharing our secrets with Iran. This is serious business, and this is nothing to play around with.

Just because we point these issues out, some may say, they are just being political. Let me tell you something. The lives that will be lost because of the information that has been shared with Iran and the information that we need to be able to fight the effort against terrorism, when it puts our troops' lives at stake, no one stops them, insurgents do not stop them and say, hey, let me ask you a question before we explode this improvised bomb here. Are you a Republican, Democrat or Independent?

Are you a male or a female or are you black or are you Hispanic or what have you? Are you partisan or Christian? Are you a Jew? They do not ask that question. They just carry out the act.

So we have decisions that are being made in the Pentagon, and I must say we have got to get to the whole resignation of the CIA Director, Mr. Tenet, and also what is not happening as it relates to Mr. Rumsfeld, who is kind of hard to find these days; but at the same time some of the bad decisions are still being made at the highest levels of the Pentagon. Everyone wants to get to the bottom of things, but no one wants to get to the top of it.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say this. I saw our con man on ``Nightline'' with Ted Koppel, and he said that he wanted to come before the Congress and address the Congress. He was willing to come to a congressional hearing. I am to the point that I will send him a ticket because I really want to see this one.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, some of our troops secured the perimeter while Iraqi police went in and raided his office. This is the man we just cut payment off to in the last 30 days.

Also you mentioned outsourcing, and I just want, as it relates to this war and as it relates to the fight that we have tried to put on in the Committee on Armed Services, of making sure that our troops still get the things that they should have gotten when they first went in, armor, up-armoring Humvees, making sure that they have the things that they need to have so they do not have to write home and say, Mom, Honey, can you send me some equipment, can you send me a bulletproof vest. I mean, all of these things that the U.S. military is supposed to provide but did not have on hand because we went at this war in haste.

You mentioned something about outsourcing, and I want to tell you, I think maybe at this juncture, maybe 4 years into the business of trying to run the country, that one would understand past mistakes. Well, it seems like the White House is at it again.

The White House announced yesterday, led by President Bush, that they just gave the largest technology contract for passport screening, the largest contract in the history of the Department of Homeland Security to a Bermuda company, a company that has turned in its U.S. passport, moved to Bermuda to skirt paying Federal corporate taxes to be able to help this country run. Those jobs have also been encouraged and will continue to stay offshore of the United States of America to be able to provide the very jobs that individuals are looking for.

I must be able to share with you that unless some amazing magic trick happens in the next 5 months, this President will be the first President in a very, very, very long time that has not gained not one net job, one-plus net job for U.S. citizens or individuals that are here in the United States of America. I just want to make sure that we understand. The American taxpayers are paying $10 billion, okay, that is with a capital B, for the passport inspections to a company that has turned its own U.S. passports in and their bank account is offshore.

Yes, I am a Democrat; but you know something, there has to be a change, and when I said in the opening that the American people have to make a decision on when they get the opportunity, it is up to us to make sure they have good information. This is not the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) saying, hey, what can we write to make it seem like we are right. This is straight out of the White House, and this was yesterday. It is not last week.

I encourage Americans, if you can, I do not have any stock in Time Warner, but please get this Time magazine that I am holding here, and I encourage Members of the Congress to grab a copy of this Time magazine.

I get Time in my office, and of course, the issue on obesity in America, I need to read that story, too, because I need to put down a few things. But there are a number of issues that we have been talking about in the Committee on Armed Services that I would like to talk about if we would have a public hearing for a change to be able to share with the American people about what is happening to our troops, what is happening for our troops and to be able to share with the rest of the world that we do care about the good, bad, and ugly that goes on in America, and we are able to address it.

I will tell you, I will continue and with your voice and other folks' voices, and I am so glad I was on this morning on the Washington Journal, on C-SPAN, with one of our Republican colleagues who concurs that we should have hearings about what is going on in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, our base where we are detaining insurgents, the al Qaeda individuals that are providing us the very information that we need to be able to save American troops' lives. I want to talk about the drug issue in Afghanistan that is also putting American troops' lives at risk.

So we cannot sit here and say, well, let us pass another resolution supporting the troops. No, we should not pass another resolution supporting the troops. The troops already know that we support them. We support them. There is no question. There is no great mystery in the Congress about who does not and who does support the troops. Everyone does.

The 5-year-old kids that are walking around in this building, if you ask them do they care about our military, I guarantee you nine times out of 10 and 99.9 percent, you are doggone right, I do. I look up to them. They are heroes and sheroes. They are in the community; they serve. They are Reservists that have been in Afghanistan and Iraq and other areas and the Horn of Africa where we are fighting the issue of terrorism.

Let me share with you a few things in the Time magazine this month. This is very interesting. It has a picture in here of children that are playing in front of a painting of the famous picture in Abu Ghraib prison where the individual has the wires hooked up to him, and I think it is important for the Committee on Armed Services and this House of Representatives, to the majority, that not only we get to the bottom of it, I am sick and tired of looking at sergeants and privates. We are

going to hold them accountable. We are going to court-martial. We are going to put them in jail, but how do we get to the culture of how the individuals felt comfortable in doing this? By us addressing the issue all the way up to the top, okay, and it is important that we do that.

I am talking about the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who I did in committee thank him for his service to the country. He was a Member of this Congress, a two-term Secretary, serving his second term as Defense Secretary, but there becomes a point when you say, you know something, maybe I need to allow someone else to lead at this point, when we gave inaccurate information about weapons of mass destruction; when we gave inaccurate information as it relates to what is going to happen after the shock-and-awe campaign that was misleading; when we gave information of the fact that we were ready equipment-wise to go into Iraq for a year and 15 months, going on 2 years, all of our troops would have what they need.

Mr. Speaker, let me just share with you a bid- for by the Defense Department, some $360,000 on a monthly basis.

I tell you the reason why we will not have hearings here in the House, public hearings, about what is going on in this war is that no one has the right answers for what has actually happened today. Forget about the argument of yesterday. Let us talk about today.

There was a point when the Secretary of Defense could not answer in a straight way how many U.S. troops we had on the ground. Mr. Secretary, well, we have maybe, the indicators say maybe, you know, the rotation. We do not need to hear that. The American people need to know more about what is going on with this war.

Also, in Time magazine, I must add, Halliburton. So after all, now this e-mail appears because the cream will rise to the top, or the truth will, that Vice President Dick Cheney did have something to do with the no-bid contract and Halliburton. It is not the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) report. Check out Time magazine, and here it is in black and white, an unclassified letter that was sent to the highest levels.

Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said, one of his superiors said it is fine, go ahead, move on it, it is being coordinated by the Vice President's office.

Let me share something with you. This is not small stuff. It is huge. The whole outing of the CIA agent. This is huge. We had a young lady in harm's way, and in this White House somewhere she was outed, and then the President goes and talks to an attorney. It is not a good sign.

So I want to say that the American people have to really pay attention to what is going on. We are far beyond Democrat and Republican right now. We are far beyond that. American lives are at stake, and by the fact of us having these hearings, letting not only the world but the American people know that we are going to address prisoner abuse and that we are not going to allow it to happen because, guess what, we are not them. We are not the terrorists. We are not the insurgents. We are not individuals that are parking cars in front of buildings waiting on those cars to explode.

We do not gun down innocent people. We are the United States of America. We have to uphold the history and the integrity that our veterans have put forth in foreign lands and in this country of being men and women of honor and integrity. For individuals in shirts and ties to make decisions and then anyone that questions their decisions is considered helping the terrorists or being on the other side is really far beyond anything that I can remember. So I think it is important that the American people pick up that magazine.

Also, there is an article here talking about how we are in full retreat on our Iraq policy. But I think it is important that we understand that outsourcing in the White House is still going on, some of the bad decisions that are going on in the Pentagon, decisions that are being made and putting America's troops' lives at stake so that this Congress has to rise up. The chairman of the Committee on Armed Services in the other body is being criticized by his colleagues, Republican colleagues, for having open hearings about what is happening wrong in Iraq. Something is fundamentally wrong with that. His having those hearings may help save American lives.

So I think it is important we have this open government. No one wants to give away secrets, but it is important to share this information with the people and the world to protect America's interests.

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure hearing the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis) and what the gentleman brings to the table as it relates to philosophy and history. Part of our democracy is making sure we level with the American people, the good, bad and ugly. They need to know because they need to be able to prepare themselves.

The President recently asked Americans to make the sacrifice that they made in World War II, make the sacrifice that they made in World War I and other conflicts, some of the great wars that have taken place; but it was a different approach to those wars. We planned; we made sure that individuals had equipment. We made sure that we had a strategy going in and coming out.

There was a Senator from Missouri, a junior Senator during World War II. His name was Harry S Truman. He had a select committee that was dealing with contracting, dealing with the needs of World War II at that particular time; and he did what he had to do during a time of war. During the time of World War II, they had a number of hearings to make sure that the troops had what they needed and they were able to respond real-time to issues that were coming up during that war.

For us to say, well, we do not have time to do that, we should not question the Pentagon about things that they are doing, we are muzzled as a Congress. Not to clear my conscience, not to say this needs to be said, but when the annals of history are reflected upon, I want to make sure that those of us on this side of the aisle, that we did everything that we could to give the facts as we see them printed in documents.

A Pentagon report recently released said 25 percent-plus lives could have been saved if we had the right equipment at the right time.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to make sure, because I was on the floor last night with the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) and the Congressional Black Caucus, and I shared that I was at the World War II memorial with my mother and uncle, who is a Korean War veteran. They asked for all of the veterans to stand up. A number of them stood up. Those individuals that could not stand up, they put their hands up. I could not help but think ``America the Beautiful'' playing in the background, planes flying over, what was going to be their reality on Tuesday, when they go to the VA to try to receive services, the reality of calling for help and having to wait 6 months to see an eye doctor.

When we start looking at how we treat our veterans and how we respond to them, the gentleman mentioned the deficit, and I am going to say we had this credit card made up. This is the U.S. Treasury credit card, Republican Congress. That is a big number, $477 billion. That is a lot of money. That is an awful lot of money. And we look at, hopefully, the expiration date is good through 11/04 so we can get a new majority in here to be able to do something truly about the deficit. I appreciate the gentleman's work on that committee and on the Committee on the Budget to talk about true fiscal responsibility. And I will say it is important on the Committee on Armed Services, on behalf of troops and what the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis) has just shared with us, families, we watch the news without even worrying about a family member, will their name scroll across the screen. Will they become a picture in the wall in the backdrop of a newscast. We have that privilege of not worrying, but we have individuals not based on the troop decisions, and many of the individuals on the ground, but the decisions that are made right here in Washington, D.C. that are endangering the lives of American troops.

We are going to support them, and we want to make sure that they have the equipment that they need to have; but if we do not do our job here in this Congress in giving voice to the voices, giving voice to that Reservist and that family that the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis) talked about where the father could not see the graduation of his own daughter, but he is fighting for the very freedom she is celebrating right now.

Do Members know why the President would not say, I am going to sacrifice one of my own programs? Because, guess what, he is never wrong. I am sorry to say it, he is never wrong. He never says, hey, I am wrong. The only thing he says, and we need to watch this word, and I need the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) to share some of the things we discussed earlier, but when we hear that somebody is doing a superb job, watch out.

The President today said, George Tenet, and I must say after the President stood up here in the well and said we believe that Iraq has received the necessary materials they need to make a nuclear weapon, and then once we found out that was inaccurate information, he was prepared to throw George Tenet under the bus, and now he said he has done a superb job. That sounds like the same thing he said about his Secretary of Defense. It is not a personal thing, but it is an issue of decisions. Especially when you are appointed and not elected, you have to make the decision if the leader does not take the prerogative to make the right decision and say, you know something, thank you for your service. In an honorable way, we will give you a gold watch and we appreciate your service. But he is saying nothing at all. That is what inflames insurgence on American troops.

I will leave it at that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those very kind words. It is always an honor to address not only the U.S. House of Representatives but the American people.

I think it is very important when the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) was talking about many of the issues happening to Americans versus for Americans, and I think it is important that we speak from the position of fact, not fiction.

What we are talking about here is actually fact. This is the President's budget that he has put forth. This House on the majority side has passed a budget that in some instances undercut the President's budget. I thought tonight I would share with the American people some of the things that have taken place in this budget that is really jeopardizing our national security.

I think it is very, very important for this time after Attorney General Ashcroft had his famous press conference last week unveiling potential terrorist attacks on our country, possibly these terrorists could be in the continental United States, information that even the Department of Justice admits that they have known for the last 30 days, 30 days prior to that but failed to share with the American people.

Also at that press conference, I thought it was very interesting, we have the largest Federal agency in the history of the Republic and the history of the world called the Department of Homeland Security. I thought it was something fundamentally wrong. I am looking at this great announcement taking place, and there was no Secretary Tom Ridge at the Department of Homeland Security because he did not know that this press conference was taking place.

I will share with Members that Homeland Security is a very, very important agency in communicating with local government, giving them the kinds of direction and intelligence that they need to be able to fight the fight on the front end. We call it Homeland Security. I would say front-line security when it comes down to cities and counties and even all of the way down to the school boards of things that they have to do to protect the citizenry in their area.

But I can tell Members that the budget as we look at it and look at the COPS program that the President has cut, words are inadequate to even describe it.

The cut in the COPS Program, which is the community policing program that so many Americans appreciate, so many young lives have been diverted from a life of crime, so many crimes have been prevented in local communities and States, all to have enough money to be able to allow individuals that are making an enormous amount of money to get a larger tax cut, I think that is unfair. I think it is unfair to our men and women that are wearing blue; I think it is unfair to firefighters that are out there where the fire program was cut. We are opening fire stations in Iraq, but we are closing fire stations in New York City. I think it is important as we say that we honor our first responders, that we do not dishonor them by cutting the very funding that they are looking for.

The Firefighter Grant program was cut by $246 million. That is a lot of money, Mr. Speaker. It was cut for the sake of making sure that individuals that are well, well, well off have an opportunity to receive their tax cut. Then, on top of that, they try to make it permanent.

Also when you look at local law enforcement, for State and local law enforcement, also $959 million was slashed from the budget by the President. As we look at interoperability, when I used to be a State trooper in Florida, sometimes you would show up on an emergency scene and you will have a city or county law enforcement officer there. Many times, because in my particular area we had what we call interoperability, we were able to talk to one another to be able to save lives. Now this has been cut out of the budget.

In so many places in America, they do not have that opportunity to be able to talk to one another. In this time of terrorist threat and living under this new threat that we have right now of individuals possibly being on U.S. soil, individuals that wake up and go to bed every night with the thought in their mind and their heart that they want to carry out some level of harm to an American, no matter who you are, if you are a woman or you are a man or you are a minority or you are not a minority, if you are Native American, as long as you are an American, there are people that wake up in this world and in the continental United States saying, how can I carry out terror on these individuals? How can I disrupt their lives?

So these cuts that are being made, we are not just talking about school lunch programs. That is important. We are not just talking about hopefully trying to get a health care plan that the 43 million people without health care can have health care one day, affordable health care. That is important. Medicare, being able to make sure that we have an affordable prescription drug program that works for the individuals that need it versus for the individuals that are making the drugs. That is important.

But I will tell you what is very important is to make sure that we do not see a disruption in the way that we live our lives day in and day out. And the way this White House, and then the Congress, turned around, the majority turned around and even made it worse in cutting the very programs and the very funding that local governments need.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure that we are clear on this, because I want to make sure the American people understand what I am saying. If a terrorist was to carry out or attempt to carry out an act in your local town, community or city or State, Members of Congress are not going to run down there and try to take care of things. It is going to be that first responder. It is going to be that police officer, it is going to be that firefighter, it is going to be that paramedic, it is going to be the individuals working in the hospitals, it is going to be the nurse that you look at every day, the doctors that you look at every day that will respond to that act.

Guess what? If they do not have the equipment to respond appropriately, if they do not even have the radio equipment to be able to communicate with a number of agencies that they must communicate with, to be able to hopefully contain the situation or prevent it, the penny will outweigh the pound in that instance.

So one wonders why the law enforcement community has found themselves running to Senator John Kerry for support or help. They are running there because they do not see it in the budget. They do not see what we are saying in the budget reflecting our real purpose here and making sure that they have what they need.

This hits right here, because I was a State trooper for 5 years; and I will tell you, equipment is important, to be able to not only make sure I was able to go home to my family, but to make sure that many others, from the State I am

from, Floridians, were able to go home to see their families. If I did not have what I needed to protect them and prevent crime or accidents or what have you, then it is for naught.

Now, let us look at this. When we cut the budget here, Mr. Speaker, it is a trickle-down effect. It is something we call here in Washington ``devolution of taxation.'' We say, well, we will cut your taxes here. We will send you a $32 check in the mail, and maybe you can go out and get a Number 2 or Number 3 at Burger King or McDonald's for you and the kids. But in reality we are passing that down to the State government.

I have shared this on the floor before in the past, but I want to make sure the American people understand what is happening right now in real time. It goes down to the State, your local State. The State does not have the prerogative that we have.

We have the opportunity to take out a credit card, swipe it and just put it on the Federal debt, which I must say right now, Mr. Speaker, is the largest debt in the history of the Republic, in the history of this country.

I am not proud of that debt, and we did not get there by providing the dollars that we provided, minimum dollars we provided to local and State law enforcement to say we are putting it out there and we have given some money here and there and had a couple of check presentations on your local television station.

But this debt came from the tax cuts for the very wealthy individuals in this country. This debt came from going into war unplanned, which I must say you pull out Time magazine and the individuals that are writing about this and have been following what has been going on in Iraq, and read about mistake after mistake after mistake that have cost American lives, that have cost the taxpayers money. We called ourselves going with the willing. We went with individuals that we helped fund to make it to Iraq.

For those individuals that have served, rotated in and out of Iraq, those individuals that are watching us right now missing a limb, have facial scars from shrapnel, those individuals' families that are watching that never made it back, we honor and appreciate them every time we get an opportunity.

But there are some individuals that are in suits and ties that are making decisions that are not only sending this country into further debt as it relates to the effort in Iraq, but also because we did it the way we did it, did not provide the troops with the very things that they needed, going back to equipment and going back to following up on our responsibility of making sure that they have the equipment that they need, the armor that they need, of making sure these Humvees have armor around the doors, making sure we are able to head off these bombs that are detonated by cellular phones, we are just catching up.

It was a DOD report that said almost 25-plus percent of the injuries that took place could have been avoided if they had what they needed.

So when you hear individuals, and I heard the chairman speak when we started talking about devolution of taxation, and I just wanted to go there with the troops for a moment so that individuals know this is not just local government, this is throughout the Federal Government, that when it goes down to the State, they have to balance the budget.

And how do they balance it? Well, they cut the resources they would ordinarily give to taxpayers and your local city or town. So when that happens, that means that the local government, they have to turn to the family. That is where the buck really stops.

Think about it in your community. How many bond referendums have taken place recently to be able to raise money to run your schools or build your schools?

How many opportunities where someone has said, well, you know, we no longer have the feeding program for your grandmother or your aunt or even yourself who is watching right now; we had to cut that because the funding ran out.

Let me tell my colleagues, there was a lot of money to work with before the President took office. We were around here, Congress was around here talking about how are we going to spend, how are we going to manage and spend appropriately the surplus, of making sure that we are able to make sure that Social Security was not bankrupt, make sure that we are able to get a health care plan, where we do not have individuals that are punching in and punching out every day at work, working the midnight shift, some working two jobs and still do not have affordable health care. How do we help small businesses provide that health care to individuals? How do we help our young people prepare themselves to be able to be our leaders and Members of Congress and business owners in the future? How do we do that?

How do we make sure that we raise the education commitment from the Federal Government to the State government and local governments to make sure that we have a quality early childhood education program? How do we make sure that every troop who goes into a theater of war to put his and her life on the line, every Reservist that goes on active duty, how do we make sure that they have the equipment that they need to be able to defend this country; the very freedom that veterans have provided us right now, the democracy that we live under, the flag that we stand under? How do we make sure that those individuals are not sent in? And we are saying we are right behind you and we continue to drop more and more back as we look at show me the money. Show me the commitment. Show me that you are going to stand with me.

We have individuals right now, and this is not the Kendrick Meek report, you can read about it, you can ask a Reservist, you can ask someone who has gone into theater. Yes, they used to write letters and asked to be sent cake or sent candy or sent a picture. Now they are writing letters back home saying, send me a bullet-proof vest. Send me something for my radio. Send me some duct tape because I am having to make sure for my uniform. Send me an extra pair of pants. Send me a cap. Go down to the Army Navy store and buy this canteen for me.

Mr. Speaker, individuals are sleeping right now with sand in their teeth. The last thing that they should have to do and the last thing that their loved ones should have to do is to have to worry about equipment. But, better yet, when the question is asked, who is paying on some level or experiencing some sacrifice with what these men and women are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting the war against terrorism, trying to set forth a democracy in Iraq?

So I think it is important, I say to my colleagues, that we remember that it is not all about press conferences and talking about how we support the troops. On this floor, every time something flares up in Iraq, someone wants to put forth a resolution supporting the troops. We support the troops. The troops know we support them. We do not have to every time something flares up, well, let us divert, let us see who is going to vote to support the troops and who does not support the troops. Supporting the troops is making sure the troops have what they need. And as we look at it right now, I say to my colleagues, they do not, and we are still talking about how we can get more of them there.

So, Mr. Speaker, as I wrap up, I just want to say that what this administration has done has not been a proper response to a post-9/11 experience. Harvard University had former Senator Sam Nunn, who is an outstanding patriot and a member of the Committee on Armed Services for many years in the other body, well-respected from Georgia, and they had an opportunity to look at nuclear weapons and what is the picture right now? What has happened in the last 4 years? We secured more nuclear stockpiles 2 years prior to 9/11 than we did 2 years after 9/11. And what we are hearing publicly from the CIA, they are more concerned about a nuclear weapon coming on a freighter or a container that can shut down the economy in New York or Miami or any of these major port cities, Los Angeles or one of the 361 ports we have here in this country, but, better yet, they are more accessible.

So it is important. This is serious business when we start talking about national security. It is serious business when we start talking about men and women in a forward area, and it is very serious when it comes down to the fact

that we are making tax cuts permanent for individuals that are out buying Hummers and things of that nature, out with major disposable income saying that we are hurting and we need another tax cut; better yet, we need to make it permanent in the light of cutting the Federal commitment to State government, cutting the Federal commitment to local government, cutting the Federal commitment to local schools, cutting the Federal commitment to our troops when it comes down to what they need.

So someone can get on the floor and they can go and talk for 2 or 3 hours talking about how much they love the troops, but it is not reflected in the budget, and it is not reflected as it relates to the equipment that they need on the ground there.

So, Mr. Speaker, I think that it is very appropriate that we share with the American people every week that this is not a Democrat, a Republican, or an independent issue. This is an American issue. This is an issue that Americans are fed up with, this continued lack of responsibility when it comes down to the Federal commitment to their local, State and local government.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that the gentleman is 110 percent right. I am so glad you shared the article with the American people and the Congress.

Today I wore the World War II pin they gave us when we were there at the dedication. I went with my uncle, King Pitman, and my mother, Congresswoman Carrie Meek. It was a very proud moment in their lifetime, the experience of the time of World War II. My uncle is a Korean veteran and he is a part of the VA. He is injured. He is disabled. He is in a wheelchair. I could not help but look at the other patriots that were out there. They asked for all the veterans to stand up and those that could stand, they stood. Some just put their hand up because they could not stand. These are the individuals that fought such a wonderful, wonderful war on behalf of our freedom. There was a lot going on during that war. There was a lot going on in Congress during that war.

But I will tell my colleague this, that I could not help but think on that day we did honor them. And, yes, they were without a place in our Mall for their service. And now they have a memorial that is outstanding. And I commend those that put forth the private sector dollars and also the Members that put forth the legislation to make that happen.

But I could not help but think the reality on Tuesday morning that if they went to the VA the line and the wait would have been almost as long when it comes down to health care as it took for them to be recognized by this country.

I will tell you this: we say that we love them, we say that we appreciate them, but when it comes down to being able to provide just the simple health care that they were promised, they have to wait weeks and months. VA hospitals are being closed throughout this country. And we are adding more and more veterans as we fight this effort in the gulf, as we fight this effort in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. More and more veterans are being added to the rolls. I will tell you if veterans are having it hard now, I will tell you, if this Congress, if the American people do not do what they need to do in November to make sure that we have leadership in this House, that we have leadership in the White House, and that we have leadership in the other body that is going to set that as a priority, that we need to make sure that these veterans get what they deserve. And that is respect, number one, and to make sure that they get the health care that they were promised when they signed up. They did not sign up to wait in line, especially every day.

My son, we have an American flag outside of our house in Miami. It flies. We keep the light on it. We make sure no matter what is going on in the world that we appreciate and we honor their patriotism and we honor this country. But it is just a sad commentary that we can go and say, fine, you are a wealthy individual, and I am not upset with individuals being wealthy, maybe one day I can maybe in another life. But when we have veterans that are waiting in the lines and

not receiving the kind of health care that they deserve and not being appreciated in the way they should be appreciated, I think we can do better things with that money to be able to make sure that we honor them.

I thank my colleague for allowing me to be here tonight. I look forward to the Congressional Black Caucus continuing to come to the floor to share with the American people about what is going on under the dome here in Washington D.C.

The gentleman is 110 percent right. Veterans should not get the voice mail when they call the VA. They should get the person that is going to treat them the way that they should be treated and make sure they are scheduled for whatever appointment they need in a reasonable time and not wait 3 or 4 months just to see an optometrist.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

The Chairman pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

First of all, I am so appreciative here tonight. I want to thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter) and also the gentleman from Missouri (Ranking Member Skelton) for the work that both their staffs have put on this amendment.

In the Committee on Armed Services we had great discussions about some of the testimony we heard from Joint Chief of Staff Myers and also from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld about some of the issues that happened in Iraq that did not necessarily make it to the top of the chain of command, but they were committed to making sure that we correct those inequities within the DoD chain of command.

What this amendment does that I am offering today is making sure that the critical information from the theater moves up to the Pentagon when that information warrants.

It requires the Secretary to make sure that he identifies what kind of information he needs to know to determine the information that is critical to the strategic plan in theater, giving instructions to personnel on how to identify that information when they see it, and allow it to make it to the Secretary for them to determine how to deal with it in a timely manner.

The Secretary will also deem what is important information and what is not important information. This is basically giving some level of direction and a great deal of discretion to the Secretary, but making sure that this information can get to the Secretary's desk as soon as possible.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton).

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter).

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

I just want to say, Mr. Chairman, that I appreciate the insight, also the insight from the gentleman's staff and the Democratic staff here. This is working towards definitely troop protection in theater and making sure that at the highest levels of the Pentagon that there are some criteria of what is critical to strategic planning and troops in theater.

So I want to thank the Chairman for his help.

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

Mr. Speaker, once again it is a pleasure to come before the Members of the House and the American people to talk about issues that are facing all Americans.

As you know, week after week we come to the floor, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) and myself and other members of the 30-something Group to talk about things that are facing young Americans, which also I think have a lot to do with the bottom line of American families, as they start to work on their finances, work on their future, and I am glad to do that.

The first week we came we started talking about the issues of student loans, the fact that more Americans are graduating from college in debt, unable to purchase a home or take part in the American dream. We also talked about the issues that were facing students in America here with the price of text books, which then also has an issue that is placed on the table of their parents are trying to make sure they come up with the in some cases $800 to $1,500 for text books on top of exploding tuition costs, which I must say is a student tax and a tax on the American people.

Last week, we talked about the cost of health care as it pertains to the young people having an opportunity to have adequate health care outside of going to the emergency room, for that level of health care that they so desperately need and is so very, very important that we have a health care plan here in the United States versus some sort of health care savings plan that the average American, that the administration is pushing that does not make as much sense as it should make to the average American.

We talked about voter suppression also last week, voter suppression on college campus, and we want to make sure we get the word out that it is important that students and parents of students, where your children are going to be on a college campus this fall, that they can register to vote there in that city, that town, wherever they go to school, because we had an issue and we still do to this day, individuals that are supervisors of elections that are saying, or the Secretary of State that is saying, well, you are a resident of Indiana, but you cannot register to vote at the University of Georgia. Well, you can.

The Supreme Court has already spoken to this issue, and so it is important that we get that out and we encourage many people who want to learn more about voter suppression to contact the Rock the Vote organization. On their Web site they have information pertaining to that issue.

We also want to continue to encourage people to e-mail us. We have received quite a few e-mails. I know we both will talk about it tonight. I am so excited about the fact that we are getting such a great response from the American people, young and old. And I will say some of these e-mails are really going to help us direct hopefully this House, if given the opportunity to lead in this House in the majority, to make sure that average Americans are heard. And I will talk a little bit about our Web site; I hope the gentleman would.

I also want to, as we did last week, I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who is the Democratic leader in this House, for pulling us together, helping us realize the importance of young Americans, that we have a voice in this process, in this democracy and allowing us to be on the floor once a week to not only respond to e-mails but also share with the American people about what is going on.

Mr. Speaker, can I say, without one Republican vote. Democrats did that on behalf of our future, balancing the budget.

And did the right thing.

Well, the only way we are going to see the shift that we need, and I am so glad that you are referring to studies that were not only done recently but were done 4 years ago, and also having a backdrop of reading articles that are in daily publications and the facts from the Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor of what the reality is, because many times people may turn on C-SPAN, Members may be sitting in their offices listening to us right now, and they are saying, oh, well, that is just the 30 Something Democrats, upset because they are not in the majority right now; so they will say and do anything, and we will tell the American people anything.

I just wanted to say this is not the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) report or the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) report. This is the report of the reality of what is going on in this government that we serve in and what is happening to the American people.

The rubber meets the road when one has to go into the emergency room for health care services. I must say if we cough or our throat feels a little funny today, we walk down to the clinic. We have good health care. Fine, not a big long wait. We are not told what veterans are told; we will see you in a couple of months. If we need to see an ophthalmologist or optometrist or whatever the case may be, oh, sure, in a matter of hours, not days, not weeks.

Folks did not elect us to Congress nor any Member to Congress to say I want you to have better health care; we love you so much we want you to have better health care than what I have. No, they elected us to make sure they have life better for them. That is our purpose, and I am pretty sure that a lot of Members come to this body thinking that that is what they would do eventually.

We have impediments of allowing us to be able to provide a better way of life, and so the question that you mentioned earlier, are you better off than you were 4 years ago, well, looking at the numbers, it does not necessarily look that way.

In the past 4 years, the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds have gone up 3.7 percent, and I think it is also important, in the past 4 years a number of unemployed college grads have doubled from 600,000 in 2000, a whopping 1.2 million in 2004 and this is the Economic Policy Institute in case someone wants to check that out.

Goodness, I do not want to talk about gas prices. Have you filled your car up lately?

Well, I do.

Last night, I filled up, and you have to have a credit car when you fill up. No more of that, oh, I will just take 20 bucks out and make it happen. You may get a quarter of a tank in some gas stations.

So when you look at these issues it is not within our control. It is not our control. That is the reason, well, we do not necessarily set the agenda here in this House. We had a great debate today on the issue of overtime pay. Please, tell me that we are not arguing about taking away overtime from Americans. Please tell me that. Please tell me that what you are saying, I wish it was untrue about American jobs that are going overseas. Guess what, when they fire you, they do not come and ask you are you a Democrat or Republican or Independent. You are fired because your job is now overseas.

So the only way I think that we are going to change that is that the American people help people like yourself, myself, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) and some Republicans who want to do something about it, and I think it is important. So the only way that is going to happen is that we can bring it here to this floor. We do not have to talk about it in a special order after legislative business. We can actually take action towards making life better on behalf of every American.

Mr. Speaker, it is also important for my colleague to identify that the majority of the tax cut is going to the individuals with the most money, the individuals that are making over $1 million a year. A lot of my constituents are not. If I had to go out and run the election saying I am only concerned in my district with those who are making over $1 million, I would be surprised if I received 50 votes out of the number that I need.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague and I have been very, very on target as it relates to sharing with the American people, with not just pointing out and describing the inequities of leadership or the inequities of our so-called health care plan, because we do not have one right now, but I just want to share this with our listeners here.

The amount of young adults 18 to 29 years old who are uninsured has gone up 8 percent since 2000, and in 2000 only 22 percent of all young adults were uninsured. Now 30 percent of the uninsured Americans are young adults, despite the fact that their age group represents just 15 percent of the population. These are uninsured numbers, I just want to add and correct myself.

I think it is important that there is a piece of legislation authored by one of the members of our caucus, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder). He has a bill, House bill 3192, that aims to help young adults without health insurance.

I want to also share with the American people that the Federal Government, we in the Congress are supposed to be in the business of not only helping the people that we represent, especially this Congress, but also assisting States. Now, we have the benefit up here, and here I have my credit card here. I do not have any money in my wallet, but I can go back in and pull a credit card out, I pulled my credit union credit card out, and we have the ability here to just swipe the card and add it to the deficit. Swipe the card and add it to the deficit to the point that we are borrowing money by knocking on the bank of China, saying, hey, can you help us pay down our debt. But we are not doing it on behalf of everyday Americans. We are doing it on behalf of making sure that we can provide tax cuts to people who are not asking for it.

For the middle-class individual, we support some of these tax cuts. We support the family tax cut as it relates to child tax credit and things of that nature. But when we start talking about tax cuts for billionaires, fundamentally, I believe, especially in this deficit time, in this time when States are running deficits because they cannot take a credit card out and swipe it and say I will put it on the card, they have to balance their budgets. So they balance their budgets on behalf of who? The people in their State. Those people are who? Americans that we represent. And what do they do at the State level? They then in turn pass it on to the county government. Well, county, sorry, but you have to let us know how you are cutting costs. We are going to get down to the bottom of this.

What is important is that we start getting to the top of the whole situation, and the top is in the White House, the top is here in this House of Representatives, the top is over in the other body where we have the kind of leadership that we have that is allowing this legislation to pass. This is what some academics call devolution of taxation. We will cut it here, but we will raise it there.

I can tell you right now, for the Americans listening to us and Members of Congress and mayors and council members, or city commissioners, school board members, they know exactly what we are talking about. They get it. They know.

Tell me if this sounds familiar in a community near you or as to Members of this House or people that are watching us now. Has there been a referendum for a bond issue or something to help pay for schools? Of course there has been. Has there been an extra penny for transportation or something of that level, or a gas tax increase on the local level to try to make up some kind of shortfall in revenue? Of course there has been. It is going on now. To seniors, are you getting the same service that you were receiving as relates to an activity program or a good-will program in your neighborhood or in your community? Of course there have been cuts.

The reason why there have been cuts is not the fact that we have not been able to provide the level of service that we have been providing in the past. And I have great concern about being in the Congress and standing over the largest, or be taking part in the largest deficit in the history of the Republic.

One would assume, listening to some of our colleagues in the majority, if we were to believe what they are saying, it is those liberal Democrats that brought us here. Oh no, it has been a long time. And they cannot say that. I challenge the other side constantly. I wonder where the deficit hawks are, those individuals that came to this floor, just like we are here on this floor talking about how they cannot believe the deficit is where it is. I cannot believe this. How did we allow the deficit to get out of control?

Guess what? Democrats delivered a balanced budget. They got what they asked for. Then they turn around and flip the script and try to make it seem as though the Democrats did something fundamentally wrong. Now we have a deficit that people do not understand how we are going to get it down. I guarantee people are going to suffer. Student loans? Forget about it. The banking community is here, and they are trying to make the situation even worse for students that are trying to pay their loans back. They will never pay them. They will always be in debt to the banks for getting an education.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) gave some great statistics that even when individuals graduate from college, where will they go? Where will the jobs be? Back when President Clinton was President, there were jobs looking for people. Now there are people looking for jobs. And the President says, well, for anyone who is willing to work. Well, I do not have a lot of constituents saying, Congressman, I am not willing to work. They want to have a job. They need that job. It is very, very important that we help them.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to share this one point with my colleague, but I have to say I love to hear my friend when he is sharing these statistics and everything. I just sit right here, and I say this is amazing, look at this guy. The way my colleague deploys the information, it is just so informative. And this is good because we are addressing folks who know what it means for someone to call your house and say are you going to pay this bill or this student loan that you have, or what have you? These are what real people go through, receiving a letter in the mail that you do not know how they are going to pay it.

For the individuals that own credit cards, because they do not have a job and they are trying to make ends meet, they are paying what the bank or the credit card is asking for, $23 versus paying to the principal because they cannot afford to do so because they are in debt. So it is important for us to share this information.

The government spends $900,000 a minute. Every minute, $900,000. That is a lot of money. And it borrows $1.1 billion a day. That is an awful lot of money, $1.1 billion, to pay down on this deficit that is in the trillions. And people talk about our children are going to pay. My colleague, we are going to pay it, and seniors are going to pay it. Because Social Security is not going to be what it should be and how it should be.

So when my colleague started talking about are we better off today than we were 4 years ago, and I know my colleague wants to say something. He is ready to get back on the mike, and I am going to give him a chance in just a minute, but I think it is important for us to share this. We shared about a piece of legislation that one of our colleagues has sponsored now to help young Americans without health insurance. I am 37. Individuals such as myself, the 50-somethings, the 60-somethings can say, well, we have health care needs. Of course, we do. But guess what? When that young person, that grandson or that son or daughter finds him or herself in a health crisis, who is going to pay for it? Nine times out of 10 they will mortgage their homes to pay for the health care costs for their children and grandchildren.

So this is not an issue; this is interconnected. It is all together, and it is going to be the reality of America, or it is the reality of America.

Mr. Speaker, we are in our districts working next week, but the week after next what we should have, we need to get a nice credit card. Just write the deficit in, expiration date unknown, put the credit card there. You know how they have the pictures now with the football teams, we need to talk about that, and I think that is something that we need to talk about over the break.

Yes, and I have a couple of credit cards. None with any substantial balance, but there was once upon a time that was the case. We know better now. I think it is important to understand that young people make youthful indiscretions, and some of those indiscretions are financial.

Another thing is, when we set the deck, when we cut Pell Grants and cut opportunities, low-interest student loans to students that need them, and these are Democrat, Republican, Independent kids that are trying to educate themselves, that is another thing. That is indiscretion based on this Congress knowingly doing this. That is a fundamental problem when we have more young people coming out.

Are you better off? I am looking at this chart that is next to the gentleman, and you can see it better than I can. The gentleman and I are both Letterman guys. He is coming on in a few moments on another station, and I always like to hear his top 10. We have more than 10 here.

When we look at those that are employed, January 2001, 132.4 million were employed. Now we have 130.9 million, and there are more people in the United States of America than there were 3 to 4 years ago.

Unemployment, January 2001, was 5.6 million. Now unemployed is 8.2 million. We are going in the wrong direction.

Not in the labor force, but want a job, 4.6 million then; 4.7 million now. You would assume these numbers would be heading higher rather than going lower.

There is one thing coming out at me, like 3-D, 15 gallons of regular gasoline, January 2001, was $18.90. Now, May 2004, is $26.33.

Let me just say this, it is one thing to talk the talk, and it is another thing to walk the walk. We have a lot of guys down on Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House. They have the bully pulpit. They are members of the administration talking about what the indicators said, and we believe that the indicator is going to indicate. But when it comes down in the final analysis, the American people more is coming out of their pockets than they are getting in their pockets, if they are getting anything.

So when we start talking about young people, once again, I go back to the parents and grandparents. I think the goal of every parent and grandparent or even aunt or uncle is to see their kids or grandkids do better than what they have done. That is their goal.

What we are seeing now, and this information can be found if Members want to find it. You can check onto the Web site, this information is there at housedemocrat.gov/areyoubetteroff. It is amazing, people come up with these Web sites.

It is just amazing what we are finding and what we are seeing and what is actually happening out there.

One other thing I wanted to mention. I want to talk about a broken promise. President Bush said 4 years ago that he promised to increase Pell grants to $5,100. For the past 4 years the President and congressional Republicans have frozen or cut the maximum Pell grant award. The Pell grant stands at $4,050 today. That is $1,000 off the mark. But meanwhile we are here on this floor to make permanent tax cuts for the most affluent individuals in this country. The only way that this is going to change, not if we do the 30-Something hour every week. We can only inform the American people. They are going to have to act.

They are going to have to make sure that we have the kind of leadership that is willing to stand up to special interests and say, no, it is not going to happen. We have a constitutional right to make sure that we watch out for the future of this country and to stand here on this floor today not because of our doing, and we voted against a lot of the stuff that has put us in this situation now, laws or legislation passed. I always say this is the biggest cake and ice cream administration I have ever seen. It is almost like sitting one's kid down at the table and say, hey, do not worry about the veggies, do not worry about eating your baked chicken. Turn those plates around and eat that cake and ice cream, go ahead, all you want. But what happens eventually? Either obesity, diabetes, or something. And that is what we are finding ourselves in.

Well, we are down in the polls; so let us see what kind of tax we can come up with today. We will give maybe 30 percent to average Americans and the other we will give to friends and individuals that have money. So I think it is important that we look at that.

I wanted to just hit one more Web site because I think it is important we pay attention to this. It is rockthevote.com on voter suppression, to make sure that young people can vote. And, Mr. Speaker, I want to tell the gentleman from Ohio that I am telling school districts in Florida to tell the kids in school to send notes home to their parents to remind them to vote in the general election. Now, those kids have Republican moms and dads, Democrat moms and dads, Independent moms and dads. But anyone who is paying attention to what is going on with their child in school, they are going to have an issue of what is happening here. So if those parents were to go out and vote, it would be a different conversation. We would be on the floor talking about, what, under the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) as Speaker, we passed on behalf of the American people, not just Democratic kids, not just Democratic 30-somethings, not just senior Democrats, but on behalf of all Americans, and it will be fair. It will be fair to the business community. It will be fair to the other everyday Americans.

I am going to let the gentleman go ahead because, like I said, he has a way of being able to supply that information; but once again we as Democrats are looking to make sure that we have opportunities to provide opportunities for young Americans. During the Clinton administration, more than 10 million people were able to take advantage of the New Hope Scholarship tax credit and other scholarships. Students saved $8 billion through the direct college loan program. John Kerry is talking about the same. He is talking about $4,000, not once in the college experience but per semester, per year, credit to be able to allow young people to attend college even though student loans have gone up. That will allow them to be able to receive a college education.

Let me share this, Mr. Speaker, before I yield. During the Bush administration, college tuition has increased by 28 percent. That is that devolution of taxation we talked about earlier, when we cut it up here and we hand it down to State governments. They have to find it somewhere. So where do they go for it? The weak prey, seniors and students and young children, cutting back and saying that public schools need to suck it up and do better. 400,000 qualified high school graduates will not attend a 4-year college this year because of financial barriers; 200,000 will not attend college at all. This is not because they do not want to. It is because they cannot afford to. So I think it is important that if we are going to have a workforce that will be able to take those jobs under a new administration, hopefully under a new leadership here in this House of Representatives, that they will be able to get through school to be able to provide the kind of skilled worker that we need versus what we are experiencing now, more and more jobs going offshore than right here in our own communities, State, and country.

Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago? Mr. Speaker, I just want to, if we can, share just a few of our e- mails that we received, and I am going to start off. From Melanie B. of Maryland, and I will just leave it at that. She is a political and science and social worker major at the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, will be 30 years old this year. And she goes on to say that ``I have noticed over the past 2 years how tuition costs have gone up and continue to go up. Just over the past year, I have gotten really interested in the workings of the Congress. I tune into C-SPAN quite often now, and I was so happy to listen to the 30-Something Group talk Tuesday night. It almost brought me to tears.''

It almost brought me to tears.

``I started my education late at 25. I am working full-time for an attorney to put myself through school. My parents were unable to help me. I live on my own, which leaves me no choice but to work full-time, or I wouldn't be able to support myself. It is going to take me 6 years to complete both degrees. I started at the community college and transferred.

``I received a scholarship from the National Honor Society, but lost the scholarship after the first semester. In order to keep the scholarship you are required to go to school full-time, 12 credit hours, and keep a GPA of 3.5. I was not able to do so, and just by dropping down to 9 credit hours I lost the little bit of money I had for access to school.

``I make too much money to qualify for a Pell Grant, which means that by the time I finish school, I will be in a mountain of debt. I hope to go to grad school, but right now I am not sure that that will be an option. I can't imagine the cost of grad school adding to my already outstanding debt.''

That is a reality of what is going on out there. Community college, had a scholarship, have to work full-time, lost scholarship because she has to work to support herself, had to go to 9 hours, she lost it. She wants to continue her education, but cannot; not because it is not offered, but because she cannot afford it, and also because she will be in so much debt.

If you will read one.

Mr. Speaker, I still have some of my textbooks from college at home, because I was so upset, I was appalled by the fact they would not even give me even one-tenth of what I spent for them, and I did not even give them the privilege of giving me $5 for the textbook. I kept the textbook, even though maybe Bush 41 was the last President of the United States in it.

Go ahead. That is just a personal issue.

Congratulations to the young people in your family. They are still young, and they still have a lot to do. [email protected], [email protected].

I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), for this evening. I look forward to coming back in another 2 weeks to talk about other issues that are facing young Americans.

Mr. Speaker, today marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark civil rights ruling of Brown vs. The Board of Education. The plaintiffs in this case, led by Thurgood Marshall, argued that states did not have a valid reason to impose segregation, that racial segregation caused psychological damage, and that restrictions based on race or color violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth amendment. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed.

Fifty years later, we must ask ourselves if the vision of equality sought by the plaintiffs in Brown has been realized. While today the legal battle against segregation is largely over, the struggle for equal opportunity continues. Gaps in academic achievement and outcomes separate white and minority students, and little has been done to address them. New data from the Urban Institute and the Harvard Civil Rights Project indicates that only about one-half of black and Hispanic students graduate from high school nationwide. The study also found that black students are over represented in special education programs and under represented in honors education programs.

Meaningful change in our public schools is needed, but the No Child Left Behind Act passed by Congress in 2001 is not the answer. Showcasing achievement gaps will only further erode support for our public schools and drive more students to private schools. A national mass exodus from our public schools, which has already occurred in some urban communities, would turn our public schools into classrooms of last resort and little hope.

The dream codified by Brown is alive, but we must continue to push for full equity and quality in education for all Americans. Today is an occasion to celebrate the progress made in the last 50 years, reflect on our progress thus far and recommit ourselves to the goal of equality that is the promise of our Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the contributions of one of our community's most remarkable leaders, the Rev. Dr. George E. McRae, Pastor of Mt. Tabor Missionary Baptist Church in Miami, Florida. I know Rev. McRae well, because he is my Pastor.

On Friday, May 14, 2004, at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay Hotel in Miami, the members of our congregation will honor Rev. McRae, for his 15-year service to our church and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Historic milestones and countless awards characterize Rev. McRae's pastoral service, including his recent designation as President of the Florida General Baptist Convention. Yet perhaps the one achievement of his many achievements that says the most about his values and priorities is his establishment of a community-based non-profit organization called MOVERS, or Minorities Overcoming the Virus Through Education, Responsibility and Spirituality. MOVERS is designed to meet the needs of lower income people with few options who are afflicted with the HIV/AIDS virus and other sexually transmitted diseases, and their families. Over the years, Rev. McRae and his dedicated staff have taken few resources and done much good.

The 17th Congressional District of Florida is so honored to bear witness to the consecration of this Man of God to works of charity. The timeliness of his wisdom and the focus of his sensitivity guide us in committing ourselves to the well being of the less fortunate, the voiceless and the underrepresented. By establishing MOVERS, he has made it his mission to courageously stand by this mission of mercy, thus evoking his calling to bring to everyday life the Gospel's good news of healing and reconciliation.

Rev. McRae is a man of great faith who has come to define the role of the church in its stewardship over the voiceless and the disenfranchised members of society. It is something analogous to the role of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as he resiliently struggled through the harrowing challenges of racial equality and the demands for simple justice and equal opportunity for all.

The timeliness of his common sense and the courage of his conviction serve to strengthen and guide us at a time when our community needs someone to put in perspectives the agony and pain of people without resources or options who need help with problems that are much bigger than they can handle alone.

While Rev. McRae will be honored by the members of the Mt. Tabor congregation, this fitting but symbolic ceremony is but one small measure of the genuine respect and thanks that people in Miami feel for his contributions to our community. Our collective pride in sharing his friendship is only exceeded by our gratitude for all that he continues to do on our behalf. Indeed, this is the remarkable legacy for which we will honor Dr. McRae. We are fortunate to have a man of his compassion, intelligence, caring and energy, and I want to express to him the thanks and best wishes of everyone in our community.

Mr. Speaker, I must say that I was not only quite disturbed, but concerned about the President's remarks yesterday at the Pentagon, and it goes as so: ``Mr. Secretary, thank you for your hospitality and thank you for your leadership. You are courageously leading our Nation in a war against terror. You are doing a superb job. You are a strong Secretary of Defense, and our Nation owes you a great debt of gratitude.''

I must say that it is good to give commendations and thumbs up when it is time to give a thumbs up. But in the light of what is going on in the Department of Defense right now and in light of congressional hearings that are ongoing in the other body, I think the question mark of our true sincerity, being against the pictures, being against the acts that were carried out on individuals that were being questioned by members of our military in prison in Iraq, that I could say that the statements that are made by the Commander in Chief and also statements that are made by Secretary Rumsfeld and others could and will stimulate additional terrorism.

Now, to say that you are leading our Nation against terror, well, that question is the question of the week and of the month. As the Pentagon admits, Secretary Rumsfeld and General Myers, that we have had knowledge of the ungodly acts that took place in mid-January, and that it was reported from Central Command that this was a big deal, this was a big deal, and that Secretary Rumsfeld and General Myers both admit that they meet 3 to 4 times, maybe 5, using Secretary Rumsfeld's number, a day, and that they meet with the President at least once a week to talk about what is going on in the Pentagon; that anyone that might have seen or heard about these pictures or the acts that were being carried out, that they did not rise to the level of the Presidency of the United States.

Not only were these pictures and this investigation that the Pentagon had within the Pentagon, but the fact that it was not shared with the American people is even further disturbing.

Some folks say, well, Members of Congress are upset because they were not told. We are representatives of the people of the United States of America. Serving on the Committee on Armed Services, seeing week after week Pentagon brass coming before us, Secretary Rumsfeld coming before us and never once mention that something fundamentally wrong, we are investigating it, is going on in Saddam Hussein's prison in Iraq, not only the prison that the President spoke of as it relates to the terror and rape and things of that nature that were going on in that particular prison but including the Secretary of State and Secretary Rumsfeld, he mentioned 18,000 cases that are being heard by the Pentagon a year, 18,000. Well, 18,000 in that particular prison, not 18,000 in the theater of war.

One may say, well, if the Secretary steps down, then the terrorists win. I beg to differ. I feel that it will stop terrorists from recruiting young men and women to carry out acts of terror against Americans abroad and here on the homeland. It will show a true commitment of the fact that we are taking an about-face on what took place.

Some of my colleagues have shared with us that there are six or seven individuals at fault here. I hope that is the case, but I can tell my colleagues that there is a building tide of evidence that proves different. Contractors, we may very well have to bring CEOs of companies before Congress to ask them what role did they have over commanding our American troops. That is disturbing in itself, the fact that a whole branch of our military or the Army unit that was over this particular prison was not trained for doing what they had to do; the fact that we knew and that the Pentagon was called in mid-January to say this was a big deal, not a little deal but a big deal; the fact that we were not informed. I will tell my colleagues the reason why Congress was not informed was because we would not have tolerated the suppression of this information.

At the highest levels of our military, it is very, very important that this information is shared with the American people. At the highest levels of our military, including the Secretary of Defense, it is very important he shares this information.

I will tell my colleagues, let us not stand and say things that will stimulate terrorism. Let us not take one step forward and three steps back.

So, Mr. Speaker, I hope that the House continues to move forth. I, for one, feel that Secretary Rumsfeld stepping down will save American lives and will allow our Pentagon to move forward the courts martial that are before it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) has hit the nail on the head. I am glad we are here with our 30-something working group; and we are also joined by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez), as she was last week. We are showing a level of consistency; and just from last week, I hold in my hand, almost like the David Letterman Top 10, just some of the e-mails sent in from individuals who saw us here talking about issues not only facing college students, but also facing working families in America that are concerned about how they are going to pay back the second mortgage that they have taken out to allow their children to be educated, and also to students that are now working in student work study to try to pay for college. But they know they have loans that are under attack here in this Congress and the banking community is coming with a new scheme to have them pay more in interest rates rather than have a fixed low rate. I will talk about the e-mails later.

But first, I could not help but look at rockthevote.com before I walked over here, and I can tell Members something that is very, very disturbing. We talk about direct democracy and young people being part of the process to correct the issues that we are here to talk about tonight, health care; and in many locations throughout the country and in some States, students are being told that they cannot register to vote on their college campus.

This is very, very disturbing because it violates Federal law for a State to say you cannot vote, and if you are going to be on a college campus, the University of Ohio, whatever the case may be, if they are there, they are in school, they may register to vote. I would encourage parents and students that care about higher education, care about tuition costs, Pell grants and care about making sure that we have the workforce for the future to lead our country, I encourage them to go to rockthevote.com so they can learn more about this voter suppression.

Mr. Speaker, I am from Florida, and we cannot wait until the last minute to inform not only parents who want their children to be politically active.

If I can, I just want to make sure that the listeners that are listening to us right now and also Members of the House, I would definitely urge them, because they should lead in this fight. Direct democracy is important, being able to do away with voter apathy. I do not believe that the folks that are not voting, that it is all voter apathy. It is voter access. I want to read something to you: Under Federal law, college students have the legal right to vote where their residence may be and that is at schools. The Supreme Court established this right in 1979. Yet 25 years later, many local elected officials across the country have not gotten the message. They are rejecting the voter registration applications of students claiming that they are not permanent residents in their community, but the Supreme Court has already said that this concept of permanent is not relevant to students. We have to get that word out.

I would say to the parents that are listening to us tonight, your children can vote in the fall elections. Where will they be in late August or September? They are going to be in school. Where are they going to be in November? They are going to be in school. We have to make sure their voices are heard.

Mr. Speaker, if I can, I just want to mention I am so glad that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez) is here and also the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis). The gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis) represents a rural part and a very poor part of Alabama, and I have heard him on many other occasions, not only in the Committee on the Budget, share the stories of his constituents, and I just want to steal from that for a minute.

I represent Miami and also South Broward County, and it is a very urban area. I will share with my colleagues that not only with the educational institutions that we have there, we have children or we have young people that are gambling on health care. They do not have health care because they cannot afford health care, and they are what I call emergency room health care. As we speak right now, some mother or father has to take their child into an emergency room because they do not have health care coverage. They are working. They are not at home eating a bag of chips and drinking some sort of soda saying that, well, I do not want to work. They go to work every day. These individuals are walking into emergency rooms for their health care. Then we wonder why our health care cost is so high. Why do we have a pill in the hospital, Tylenol, that costs $10?

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to start talking, but the first thing we instituted in Iraq was universal health care. So I do not want to bounce back and forth, but the gentleman from Alabama is on the Committee on the Budget, and I am glad we have a diversity because I know the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez) is on the Committee on the Judiciary and the gentleman from Ohio is on the Committee on Armed Services along with me, and I am on the Select Committee on Homeland Security; but really where the rubber meets the road is how we set our budget here, and then how we are setting up future generations and even this generation for failure. Can the gentleman from Alabama talk a little bit about that? Because I am so glad he is here and he is knowledgeable on the issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and recognize the achievements of a truly great and gifted leader in our community. On June 20, 2004, Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin will step down as president of Barry University. To the people in South Florida, that is almost like saying that the sun will rise from now on in the North, it is that big a change, because Sister Jeanne, as she is affectionately known to virtually everyone, has contributed so much to the best of who we are, and what we would like to become. I am proud to be a member of the board of directors of Barry University, so I have worked with Sister Jeanne and seen her work first-hand.

Sister Jeanne has served as Barry University's fifth president for the past 23 years. In 1981, she took over the helm of what was then Barry College, a small Catholic institution of higher learning in Miami Shores, FL, with 1,750 students. It was not long, however, until she brought her considerable power to bear on building up Barry College-- not for the sake of construction, although construct she did. She added 38 buildings to the institution, doubled the number of academic schools, increased the number of students to over 9,000 and turned Barry into a full-fledged University--now the fourth largest private University in Florida.

She built up the University in order to meet specific and critical needs in our community and in our nation. She saw that there were increasing needs for highly trained health professionals; Sister Jeanne saw to if that Barry University met that need. She saw that minority students had trouble getting into college; she established programs at Barry to create new opportunities for them, making Barry one of the leading minority-graduating institutions in Florida. She also looked outside her campus and saw needs in the surrounding neighborhoods, and created curriculums and programs focused on the people living there.

Sister Jeanne will always be known for her commitment to issues she held dear, such as the advancement of women in education and in human rights at home and abroad. When three young Chinese women sought political asylum in South Florida, it was Sr. O'Laughlin who took up their cause and got the Immigration and Naturalization Service to withdraw its opposition to political asylum, thereby allowing the three young women to stay. And when young Haitian children needed sponsors to get out of government detention and into the community, Sister Jeanne was there to make that happen.

Sister Jeanne has chaired many charities and non-profits, and has used her fundraising skills to help countless organizations. A measure of her influence was her membership in the Non-Group in Miami, which was composed of the most important movers and shakers in the community. She held her own with the CEOs of billion-dollar corporations, just as she did with the parents of children in her neighborhood who needed health care but could not pay for it. Her honors and accolades are countless, and her accomplishments are extraordinary--mostly because she is so good and so great, that it is impossible to tell her no.

Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin was the engine that powered tremendous growth and expanded opportunity at Barry University, and has been a symbol of enlightened and integrity. As she now moves into a new period of her life, I wish her joy and happiness: I know she will be successful. Her involvement and contribution have left an indelible mark on Barry University, on all of South Florida, and indeed on everyone who ever had the good fortune of crossing her path.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly oppose H. Res. 627, the Iraqi Prisoner Resolution, because it is simply deficient as a statement expressing the outrage and revulsion that I feel, and that I believe the American people feel, about the despicable abuse and humiliation of these prisoners.

The resolution also lacks any call for bipartisan congressional investigations to be conducted immediately into these allegations of abuse, including those by U.S. civilian contractor personnel or other U.S. civilians, and into chain of command and other systemic deficiencies that contributed to this abuse, which have been called for by members of both parties.

It is impossible to exaggerate the seriousness and importance of this abusive mistreatment. It sets us back in the War on Terrorism by turning against us the very allies among moderate Muslims that we need in order to be successful. It taints the reputation of our Nation in the world community and the reputation of our men and women in uniform for years to come. It undermines U.S. credibility as the world's leader in the protection of international human rights. It hurts our efforts to protect the state of Israel and broker peace in the Middle East. And it invites similar abuse of members of our military, indeed any U.S. citizen, who may be captured by our enemies in the future. My great fear is that American lives will be lost because of the impact of this illegal, inhumane and un-American mistreatment.

The Bush administration has not gone nearly far enough or fast enough to apologize for these human rights abuses, or to hold accountable those who are responsible for them, and neither does this resolution. I am therefore opposed to it.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to address the U.S. House of Representatives this evening and also the American people.

This hour every week the Congressional Black Caucus comes together to speak to the people of the United States about issues that are facing our country, how we can play offense in certain areas to make sure that we stay a vital and sovereign country. But today I must say it is a very difficult day to stand here in this House of Representatives and be able to share with the American people that we have grave issues with the leadership of the Bush administration as it relates to the handling of what has happened to Iraqi prisoners in our custody.

It is appropriate to say there will be investigations that will be conducted. It is appropriate to say that there are future courts martial that will take place and individuals will pay on the front line; but it is very difficult for us to continue, and when I say us, I would mainly want to say the majority party of this House, and for the majority leaders of this House to look in the face of something very wrong, very much mishandled in this country as it relates to the abuse of these prisoners.

I will say this is a very emotional thing for me due to the fact that I have had more than four people in my district die in Iraq. Yes, I commend the troops for their service. Yes, every day on the Committee on Armed Services I make sure that we do what we have to do to make sure that they have the equipment that they need to protect themselves, to make sure that Reservists that signed up to defend their country if need be, that they are able to make ends meet.

We commend our troops every day. We appreciate their patriotism. We have over 120,000 troops in the Middle East, not even counting the individuals that are providing civilian services and contract services throughout the world.

But I must say that Secretary Rumsfeld, with him having the number one job at the Pentagon and being the Secretary, should resign from the Department of Defense. The reason we are calling for his resignation is not because he happens to be a part of the Republican administration or we disagree with Secretary Rumsfeld with his strategy towards the war. It is to save American lives. It is just that simple.

American troops will be terrorized even more now in the Middle East than they have been over recent weeks and days due to the fact of the humiliation of Iraqis and pictures that we will never live down. The Iraqi people will never live it down, the Arab world will never live it down because their pictures are all over the Internet, The Washington Post, CNN, any network Web site. You can definitely pick them up by just picking up the New York Times. The Washington Post today has a picture of one of our soldiers with an Iraqi prisoner on a dog chain.

We all condemn these acts. There is nothing wrong with condemning them, but there is something fundamentally wrong for the President of the United States not to be able to say, I am sorry or someone in my administration, or I was wrong. I will share with you as a Member of Congress and somebody who has been elected for 10 years, there are days I have to admit that I am wrong. There are days that publicly I have to say that I made a mistake. There are certainly days I have to say I am sorry, to not even my constituents when I make a mistake, but also to the American people.

But I will say, this is not the time to shield the administration, the majority

party in this Congress, to shield the President because this is an election year, or to shield Secretary Rumsfeld because he is going to be before the Senate and before the Committee on Armed Services at 3 by putting forth a resolution saying we commend the troops' service in Iraq.

We commend them. We appreciate them. We love them. Members of the minority party here on the Democratic side, we are fighting for up- armoring Humvees. We fought to make sure that individuals had Kevlar vests. We are working to make sure that the Reservists called up on a 12-month call, that they can get home in 24 months or even shorter because their families are going through a lot.

But for this administration, and as it relates to the economy and other issues that have taken place in this country, where the President has hunkered down and said they are my friends, we are in this together, and we are going down together, he cannot do that this time. I do not want the President to have to fire Secretary Rumsfeld, but that may have to happen. I am hoping that Secretary Rumsfeld understands on behalf of the country and on behalf of protecting American troops abroad and also on behalf of protecting Americans and shielding us against additional terrorist attacks in this country, that not only should the world see it, but America sees it.

This is a huge mistake. This is a mistake that is going to cost Americans their lives. I hope that he would be leader enough to say, you know, Mr. President, I did the best I could, but I know the circumstances that we are living under now, and I know the pressure being put on the United States and I know this endangers our troops even more. Personally, even though I did not have my hands on these individuals, I resign. Not to say by him resigning this issue goes away, but it at least shows Americans and the world that we have some level of account and balance.

I think it is very, very important for us to understand that, one, we have over 120,000 American troops in uniform overseas; two, we have Americans that live here in the United States that need protection and we need the Arab world to be with us, or some of our allies in the Arab world to be with us in our efforts against terrorism. As a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, terrorism is alive and well in the world; and we need as many friends as we can get.

So chastising Mr. Rumsfeld in the Oval Office, as is referenced in the New York Times today, is not enough to let individuals know that we are sorry and that we are working towards corrective action to make sure that does not happen again. Going on television, going around on Arab television and saying this is not how Americans see the war, this is not how we look to fight against terrorism, we denounce the acts of the pictures, that is not saying anything.

Pictures, the President said today in his press conference we are sorry that these pictures have given an image of Americans that we are insensitive. I am sorry about the pictures. Sorry about the pictures and the act are two different things.

We need to make sure, Mr. President, and to the majority party here in this Congress, we need to protect our troops in harm's way. We need to make sure we do that. If we do not remove Secretary Rumsfeld from the position of Secretary of Defense, we are letting the world know that we are not really sorry. We are letting the American people know that we are not really sorry. We are not doing that. I will share with you that we cannot fall short of that.

This is not the first mistake, this is not the first blunder, but this is a serious, serious issue. I do not think the American people, and definitely some Members of this Congress, understand the gravity of this situation. This is a very, very difficult situation dealing with some very, very dangerous individuals that will use these pictures to fuel more terrorism, show them to young Arab children and say, this is what America thinks of you. We have to be able to push back by saying that is not true, we removed the individuals that were in control. It was not just front line individuals that were held responsible; and it is very, very important that we do that.

Before I yield to the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, I just want to make sure that the American people understand that this is not a partisan issue. When our troops are taken hostage or a civilian employee is taken hostage, I guarantee Members that we, although preferably not, will see something similar to this if we do not respond to it in a very strong way.

Mr. Speaker, I would also say that the President has spoken out and has done the right thing for less. I will say that this situation is not a time to say that we are not going to allow certain Members of Congress to ask for the Secretary to step down. American lives are at stake.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad that the chairman shared with the American people and Members of the House on how dangerous this situation is for our troops in Iraq. And, Mr. Speaker, I am going to enter for the Record a statement of why I voted against a resolution today and I will hand it to the Clerk.

But I think it is important for discussion points to the fact that the Pentagon knew to contact 60 Minutes II 2 weeks ago, when they wanted to run the story of these pictures and what has happened to these prisoners and they were guaranteed once, if other news organizations were moving forth, if they were to just stand by and allow the Pentagon to take another look at this that they would be given an exclusive interview.

Those kinds of things, when a news organization, 60 Minutes II, or 60 Minutes period, when they call, I mean it is kind of difficult for me to even just comprehend or understand that the Secretary of Defense had no knowledge of what was going on in this prison. That is one fact.

The second fact is the issue on January 13 of 2004.

A soldier gave a disk of pictures to a brass commander to let him know what was going on. The Ryder report never made it up the chain of command, that is what someone has said. But I will

tell you, we are going to continue to have problems, and even more problems, if we slow-walk this thing, if we politic this thing in a way of trying to shield the administration and the President. I can care less about shielding someone. I do care about protecting American lives. I am glad the gentleman addressed that.

Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, what is about to happen is due to the lack of top-end response from this administration, that you are going to have the true American spirit break through many of the troops that know different. They are going to blow the whistle on them. Not blowing the whistle on them because they are an Independent or member of the Green Party or the Democratic Party or the Republican Party that disagrees with the President. They are going to blow the whistle to save lives of Americans, because they know the tension and how Americans are treated abroad now.

You have people that are living overseas that they would not wear a flag, or you have some ambassadors that are not flying the American flags on their cars due to the fact of terrorism, of them being a target.

If we are going to be the leader of the free world, then we have to be the leader. We have to be able to lead in a way that lives up to that title.

I will tell you, today earlier when we had a press conference about Secretary Rumsfeld, if you have a basketball team and they are not doing well, sometimes you have to remove the coach.

I will tell you right now, I am not one to stand up on a daily basis or I do not remember a time in my career that I have asked for someone to step down. I really have not. It is not something in my nature. I feel it is something that someone will say, well, I am not performing the job in a way that I should perform it on behalf of especially the lives of troops that are overseas, that are fighting right now as we are here on this floor, fighting on behalf of Americans and fighting on behalf of making sure that we are able to make advances in the Arab world, fighting on behalf of creating and trying to maintain democracies, that their lives are at stake and we want them to come home. We want them to come home. We want to make sure they get home to their families.

I just want to share a few things. 135,000 soldiers are in Iraq right now; 767 and counting have died since the war. Nearly 40 troops have died since these pictures were released last week.

I will tell you that I am just getting goose bumps by just mentioning those numbers. But I also feel for those individuals from the Middle East that are Americans, that are fighting in the armed services, that are paying taxes every day, that hate and despise and pray against future terrorism, that they are wearing the flag on their shoulder, they are carrying that M-5 machine gun. They are taking the bullets; they are losing limbs. And to have people of the same hue, people that live in the Middle East, being treated like these pictures depict that they are treated, or depicting how they have been treated, I will tell you, from what I have seen thus far and what has been reported thus far, we have not even broken the ice on this issue.

I am very, very concerned about the future of our security here in the United States. I am very, very concerned about the increased attempts and achievements of terrorism, of terrorists achieving their goal of killing American troops. I am concerned about the diplomatic community, about the CIA agents that we have working within terrorist organizations to try to weed out terrorism before it happens. I am concerned about those individuals that are contract company workers that are civilians that are there trying to fight with us in this war on terrorism. I am concerned about their safety.

I do not have a lot of patience for the President to call the Secretary of Defense into the office and chastise him. That is what you do to a teenager when they stay out too late. This is the security of the world. This is the security of the United States. This is our future, how our children will live, how our grandchildren will live.

No one is going to stop a troop and say, wait a minute, are you a Republican, before I kill and torture you. They are not going to do that. They are not going to ask you if you are black or Hispanic. Well, who do you support? They are going to kill you and torture you because you are an American, because we are not responding in the way we should respond.

I implore the administration and Mr. Rumsfeld, please do not try to low-ball and low-roll this thing, to say we are going after some low- level individuals, and it does not rise to the level of the Pentagon. The Pentagon did know. I am pretty sure they did know. We will have very good evidence in the very near future. But why do we have to lose additional American lives, and then make sure that the world knows that we mean business about this?

Passing resolutions to clear our conscience so we can go home and spend the weekend and say we passed a resolution condemning and commending our troops is not enough.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. I am glad he is here, and we appreciate his service.

We are going to continue to stand up on behalf of the American people, need it be defense, need it be education, need it be this issue dealing with Iraq. I thank the gentleman for being here tonight, and I thank the Black Caucus for continuing to do what they are doing.

Mr. Speaker, as I close, I just want to say that we must have the annals of this House and the annals of history here in the United States to reflect that pictures that continue to come out about the abuses of what took place in Iraq or what is taking place in other parts of the world, that we condemn them, and we salute our troops; but at the same time our response is imperative and needed to be able to continue this effort against terrorism and have friends in the world that are willing to be with us.