Floor Statements

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

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 11 o'clock and 5 minutes p.m.), the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, July 24, 2008, at 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you. It is always an honor to come before the House and the 30-Something Working Group, running some 5 or 6 years strong now, coming to the floor on behalf of the American people with fact not fiction. We know that in this day and time it is easy to be misled. And I don't know if it is something that someone means to do or doesn't mean to do, but it happens sometimes. We take great pride in not only having footnotes for what we do and what we say, but making sure that we have the facts to back up what we are sharing with the Members.

Every 30-Something Working Group we start off by sharing with the Members what is happening in Iraq. As of today, July 16, 2008, by 10 a.m., total casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom is 4,121; total number wounded in action returned to duty, 16,901; and total number wounded in action not returning to duty is 3,508.

I think it is very important that we continue to pay close attention to that issue of what is happening right now in Iraq and what is happening in many of the American families that we cherish and celebrate and honor that are military families that are having to worry about their loved ones in harm's way. We have to keep that at the forefront.

As you know, over the past 2 weeks Members have been coming to the floor speaking on the issue of energy. I am happy to not only report but continue to say it wasn't until this Democratic Congress when it was elected, Mr. Speaker, and Members, to lead on behalf of the American people that once upon a time in the 108th Congress and 109th Congress, we talked about if given the opportunity to lead what we would do.

It is one thing in politics to talk about if you give me a chance, this is what I will do. I will go to Washington, DC, and make this or that happen. It is a good thing because we have actually moved in that direction.

I couldn't help but hear my colleagues who I have a great deal of respect for, but I may disagree with from time to time. I can tell you in light of me disagreeing with them, I am just so happy that I do have fact on my side and on the side of the American people because we have been trying to move this Congress and we have done so with the American people's help in electing a Democratic majority Congress.

But we have not been able to overcome the executive branch which is the Bush White House. I think it is also important for us to understand that this whole issue of how we got to $4.30-something gas was not engineered by anyone on the Democratic side of the aisle. I think the policies, the energy policies that were set forth by the Bush administration, the 2001 meeting which took place in Vice President Cheney's part of the White House, the working group on energy, the 108th Congress and the 109th Congress who worked very hard to, and the Congress before that, the Republican-led Congresses which worked hard to follow this policy that the Bush administration set out to please oil companies that has led us into the prices that we are paying here today.

I have to lay that out, Mr. Speaker, to get to what Democrats have done. I am going to do that very quickly because I think I am on the side of solutions versus argument. But for the Members to understand what the solutions should be and the direction that we should be running in at a very fast pace or run or sprint is one of fact and not fiction.

You would have a number of Members in this Congress believe and the American people believe that with two

oil men in the White House we would have some sort of solution as it relates to this issue of oil, but that is not the case.

As we continue to deal with this issue of oil only, because it seems like that is what the Republican side is talking about, it seems to be a part of the problem and not the solution.

If you want to resolve something, you have to start looking at doing things differently. You can't do the same thing expecting different results. When you look at oil and you look at the number of those who have given their life in Iraq, and the reason why Iraq is so important to this country is based on energy. If we had action when the Bush administration took over the executive branch and when the Republicans had the opportunity to lead, well, it was already there according to economists and others, but if they would have had the courage to stand up against Big Oil and say no, we know what you want, but the studies have shown we need to start looking toward alternative fuel, we need to start being innovative and deal with cafe standards and make sure that our vehicles get more mileage. We have to incentivize through tax incentives Detroit and other auto-making parts of America, that we want vehicles that run on less fuel. But no, that was not the argument. That was not what the Republican majority pushed towards. They kept pushing towards this kind of cake and ice cream experience with the oil industry.

I have nothing against the oil industry. Some neighborhoods they may say I am not mad at the oil industry, but I think it is important to note that the only way they could have gotten away with what they have gotten away with is with the help of individuals that were in those Congresses previous to this Congress, the Democratic-led Congress. The only way they got what they are celebrating now is because there is two oil men in the White House. It is well-documented. It is not just me saying that. Anyone can go on the Internet and get this information because that's where their history has been.

I have a couple of charts here: 8 years of Bush, two oil men in the White House, $4 a gallon gas. I mean, I just leave it up to your imagination. I am just one Member of Congress that has a theory, not a theory, but following fact.

What are some of the great ideas on the other side? Well, let's drill in the Arctic wildlife refuge. Let's do that. I think that's important. Yes, let's drill. That was last Congress' argument. Some have said this Congress has a solution. I am not talking fiction, I am talking fact.

That would only bring about 1.8 cents per gallon savings in 2025. Now that's 2025. That's not talking about right now, Members. That's not talking about how families are trying to figure out how they are going to, when they are looking at their vehicles and knowing they are no longer going to be able to afford to take their kids to extracurricular activities, in some cases not even being able to take them to school, in some cases having to walk to make it to religious events, whichever their religion may be, because they can't afford fuel.

Some have had to turn off certain things like cable television or had to do away with certain activities that their children were involved in or philanthropic contributions, at their own level, but it was just $10 or $50 a month to make the world better. They had to cut back on that, put it in the tank.

But this is what the Republicans were talking about and Democrats fought them back. I talked about the 2001 meeting that took place in the White House. It is well documented, well documented.

I can tell you, when I come back to the floor, I am going to bring my chart out that I used to bring, actually the letter that talked about, and the news report, from the Washington Post, it talked about the meeting that took place in 2001.

I know this is hard to see for many of the Members, but in 2002, that meeting started to pay off for Big Oil. Meanwhile, our Republican colleagues, who were in the majority, just stood idly by, and turned the other cheek. There was no problem with oil. There was no problem.

The alternative, why do we have to deal with that when we have oil? Why do we have to deal with that when we have over 143 troops that are in Iraq that's protecting the Iraqi oil, and we have our Commander in Chief holding the hand of the Saudi Arabian king. We have those relationships.

Meanwhile, our constituents, Members, people here in America are not celebrating what these oil companies are celebrating. Again, I have nothing against oil companies, they are doing what they do in a capital society, but they are only allowed to do this because of the Republican past Congress. Remember, I want to make sure the Members know. I'm coming to what we did in this Congress and what role you played in that solution towards bringing gas prices down, or, what I may add, energy prices.

In 2000, the record-breaking profits of some $30 billion; 2003, again, breaking records, $59 billion; 2004, $82 billion for the oil companies and profits; 2005, $109 billion in profits; 2006, $118 billion. It's, again, climbing, and in 2007, $23.3 billion in profits for oil companies based on the Republican-led energy initiatives.

Now they are in the minority, they are now saying, well, we can't get what we want on the table. They have already voted to drill in not only environmentally sensitive places, but places that the oil companies have not even started to drill in yet. We just gave out a whole bunch of leases to the oil companies. They are not even using 80-some odd percent of those leases that have been allowed, they have been allowed to drill. They haven't done it.

So it's almost like having a full plate of food. Imagine you at home, okay, and sitting around the table, Big Oil with food just falling off all ends of the plate, something real heavy like a big steak or something, and mashed potatoes and beans, you know, rolling all over the table, saying we need more. That's what they are saying as it relates to more leases, more drilling. We need more. Okay.

Imagine the individual that's going there to fill the tank with very little on their plate, because they can't afford to put food on their plate because they are too busy paying what we are looking at in these record-breaking profits for these oil companies, with very little on their plate, if anything at all. When you start talking about more drilling, more drilling, you know, it doesn't add up because you have talked about some of these issues.

Let me just mention something here. I am so glad that I got this because I asked for it. I couldn't happen but see the President yesterday quoted in his press conference. We started talking about issues as it relates to oil, I mean, drilling. The President says a lot, so it's kind of hard to try to deal with what he is saying. But he said that, in so many words, and I will go ahead, because it's a lot of words here that he used to describe one thing, in his remarks, he said that drilling will not deal with the oil prices tomorrow. It won't give us the relief that we're looking for.

That's what the President said yesterday on his press conference. Now you can go on pretty much to cnn.com, any other Web site that would have the transcript, but basically we pull these remarks from the transcript. I want to make sure that we get a chart so that people can see it, and we may want to put it on our Web site.

Now, on the Democratic side, we have talked about a number of initiatives. Our comprehensive strategy has been about not only incentivizing wind, solar, geothermal, hydro and American-grown biofuels, but also promote energy, like I mentioned, energy efficiency, efficient cars, buildings. The greening of the Capitol is already under way and has happened. Actually, I wrote a piece this month in the Capital File Magazine talking about what we are doing here in the Capitol to green the Capitol and save our environment and lead by example.

The Speaker is leading that in a very special way, making homes and appliances more energy efficient, boosting American innovation and research, reward conservation, expedite responsible American drilling and also telling Big Oil to use it or lose it. Basically, when you are looking at all the leases that are out there, all the opportunities that Big Oil has right now, but, better yet, it's almost like what we

call the Potomac two-step, because I think that's what the Republican side is doing and the White House is doing.

They are saying drill, drill, drill, because, guess what, that's what's been putting gas in their tank, I think, politically, because the oil companies believe that they are our friends.

The Democrats, they are the problem, because we are talking about alternative fuel. We are talking about conserving. We are talking about investing in the Midwest versus the Middle East. So we are disrupting, when I say we, the American people who voted for this new Congress that we celebrate now, voted for this fact-not-fiction Congress, voted for this new-direction Congress, they voted for change. Republicans are still here singing a song that these oil companies have put on a sheet and started talking about we need to drill to create jobs.

Well, guess what, why haven't they done it with all of the leases that are out there right now and all of the jobs that need to be created. If Big Oil, based on the profits that they have made, can turn this whole economy around and take us out of this recession that some speak of, just with the snap of their fingers, but, guess what, there is something that we call stockholders. They want their money.

They want those dollars to be placed. They don't want to employ people. That will have something to do with my bottom line. So when folks start coming to the floor and start talking about oh, we drill $2 gas, I look forward to that. But we are going to get there doing the same thing, doing the same thing expecting different results.

It's almost like going to the refrigerator, pulling out a carton of milk and saying oh, wow, it's spoiled, put it back in, maybe it will be fresh tomorrow. That doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense to keep doing the same thing.

Now, let me just mention here what we have done, and this is, as I understand, on the Speaker's Web site, www.speaker.gov. I think this is important because this is in the Congressional Record and also Congressional Action. Now law because of what the Democrats have done here. The farm bill which is an historic investment in affordable biofuel and also beefed up oversight on market manipulation. House bill 2419. The President's veto was overridden.

Now this is the President. You would think, you out there paying this gas, you are paying this big-time deal for gas. We are trying to find some competition for Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries saying, guess what, we're not going to have to hold your hand walking down some park, our Commander in Chief. We're not going to have to go to war in the Middle East because we have to protect the oil so that we can continue to run our vehicles. We're going to come up with our own bill. We're going to come up with our own way of building energy in a clean way.

And to those that believe in shipping jobs overseas, we're going to create green jobs while we're at it. We are going to make sure that Americans have jobs from those that just have a GED or no high school diploma at all, to those that are architects and have postgraduate studies and who have gone on to do so many things in our society, everyone gets to work in a green society. That's what we are creating, and that's what that farm bill moved, but we had to override the President on May 21, 2008, with a vote of 316-108, and the Democrats moved in that direction.

I think it's important that everyone understand what's taking place here, because when folks come to the floor and talk about they have the answer, many of these individuals have not even voted for the bills that would do exactly what they are talking about doing. This is fact. That's not fiction. Thanks to the Members, we did override with some Republican support. But if it wasn't for the Democratic leadership, this would have never, never happened.

The veto threat, Renewable Energy and Jobs Act, H.R. 6049, passed on May 21. The Democrats, we voted 263-160. I think it's important that everyone understands that that vote came about with 228 Democrats voting in the affirmative versus 35 Republicans voting in the affirmative with 159 Republicans voting against it.

Another veto threat, which is Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act holding OPEC, which is, you know, the oil companies accountable for price fixing, H.R. 6074, again. We have the President that has put out a veto threat. That bill passed the House on May 20, this year, 324 voting in the affirmative, 84 Republicans voting against it, now law. This is the legislation that we put forth, never would have been law if we wouldn't have put it forth. When I say we, I'm saying the Democrats here in Congress.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 6022. I think it's important that you look at this. It passed May 13, 2008, some 385-25. I think it's important that we look at the fact that all Democrats voted for it, 223 voting, Republicans voted in the affirmative, 162-25. That issue, that's now law.

Repeal subsidies to profit-rich big oil companies, invest in renewable energy and fuel efficiency, H.R. 5351, passed February 27. It passed by a 236 vote, 182 voting against the legislation. 219 Democrats voted in the affirmative, 8 voted against. The Republicans, 17 voted for, 174 voted against. You have got to think about that, you have got to think about the whole issue, and that has been threatened by the President that he is going to veto it.

Now, we start talking about the profits that we use, because the real issue is that we need money to come up with alternative fuel. But, again, when it comes down to standing up to Big Oil, cricket sounds on the other side. You know, all bold when it's talking about what Democrats won't let us do. That's interesting, because I have been in Congress under Republican leadership for 4 years, and I have only been in Congress for a year and some change under the Democratic leadership and I can't believe some of the arguments that are coming out on the other side about what they can't do when they've had all of these years to do it.

The American people, I am not talking about Democrats, I am talking about Republicans. I am talking about independents. I am taking about first-time voters, and say, guess what, if you are going to do what you do for Big Oil, then we're going to find somebody else to represent us, and they did.

And the numbers within the double digits on the Republican side are now watching me here on the floor, talking to the Members, Mr. Speaker, because they made the wrong decisions because they followed leadership. We're going to talk about that in a minute right after this chart. They followed their Republican leadership that led them into a hole, and that hole is right in the La-Z-Boy at home, checking this fact-not fiction piece that I'm giving here on the floor. When you look at that vote, that's telling in itself.

Now law. Energy independence law and market manipulation banned and new vehicle mileage standards: H.R. 6. It was passed on December 18 of 2007. 314 votes. The Democrats voted in the affirmative. 100 voted against, Republicans. 219 Democrats voted in the affirmative. Only 4 Democrats voted against it. Republicans were 95 voting in the affirmative and 96 voting against it. That's now law. It never would have been if it weren't for a Democratic-led Congress bringing about that kind of justice on behalf of the American people.

The America Competes Act with energy, research and the development of clean energy and technologies: H.R. 2272. It passed into law--it is now law--on August 2, 2007. 369 Democrats voted in the affirmative. There was an overall vote of 369 to 57 Republicans who voted against it.

Veto threat. Crack down on gas price gouging. Like my pastor would say, I'm going to read that again. Crack down on gas price gouging: H.R. 1252. It passed on May 23 of 2007 with 284 voting in the affirmative and 141 voting against it. On the Democrat side, 228 voting in the affirmative, 1 Democrat voting against it. On the Republican side, 56 Republicans voting for it, 140 against it.

That's part of the solution there. I think that's something we need to look at and something that the President has said that he's going to veto.

Veto threat, holding OPEC accountable, oil price fixing, again, that's standing up to Big Oil. That's standing up to the Middle East, saying we're no longer going to let you lead us by the

nose. We're going to take responsibility for our own energy. It passed May 22, 2007 with 345 voting in the affirmative and 72 voting against. The President has said that he's going to veto it.

Now, when we start talking about who's doing what and who's not, you may see these pieces of paper here, but basically, we just covered up the names of the Republican leadership because that's just a personal policy of mine, Mr. Speaker. I just don't want to, you know, ``out'' these individuals because, I think, the record speaks for itself, but I'm still making the point, and they know who they are.

This is the Republican leadership from top to bottom, and I think that it's important that everyone pays attention to this. As to some of the legislation that I read off, these very individuals voted against it, and I think that's the reason we see the kind of discourse from the other side of the aisle in talking about the old direction versus the new direction. They will throw some new direction stuff in there, knowing that, you know, they really don't mean it. You know, we had the opportunity to do it, but we didn't do it, but we're going to criticize the other side and say they haven't done it.

We have done it. It is the body of several pieces of legislation that have not only become law but that are in the process of becoming law if there were a President in the White House who would allow it to become law.

You remember that old bill on Capitol Hill. This goes down to the majority leader. This goes all the way down to the whip and to the Republican Conference Chair. We have the policy Chairs and all. If you will look at when it came down to OPEC price fixing, the two top leaders on the Republican side voted against that legislation. The No. 5 leadership, No. 6 and No. 7 voted against it.

When you look at the price-gouging legislation that we passed, when we were looking for that leadership of coming together in a bipartisan way, the top Republican leader voted against it. The whip voted against it. The third in charge voted against it. The fifth in charge voted against it. The sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth voted against it and on down the line. This is not fiction. This is fact, okay? This is the Congressional Record.

Renewable energy. The first man voted against it over on the Republican side and the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth, all the way down. Now, if I'm wrong, somebody come and tell me I'm wrong. I don't think so. This is in the Congressional Record.

Energy security. The top voted against it. If you jump down, No. 4 voted against it as well as No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, and No. 8.

So, when folks come to the floor and start talking about ``we have a plan'' and ``we know the answer,'' show me the beef, like that Wendy's commercial used to go. You know, it used to say, ``Now show me the beef.'' I want to know where it is. I don't see it.

I've just come to the floor just to share a little bit because I'm glad that my constituents in the 17th Congressional District from South Florida federalized me to come here to provide this kind of representation and to be able to shed light on the action that has taken place. It's not over yet. We don't have everything that we need to be able to do the things that we need to do on behalf of our constituents because we still have some rules over in the other body across the hall, and we still have the issue in the White House as it relates to the two architects, if I could put it that way, of our energy plan now, who are defending that plan to the end. They have talked about they're not going to do some of the things that we feel should be done now, things that a number of people have said that would help.

We talked about a number of issues as they relate to our passage of legislation, but one thing I left out on that chart that I think we need to share with the Members tonight is the Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands Act, which is called the DRILL Act. It mandates annual lease sales in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve. It also has more oil than the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the oil can be brought to the market more quickly.

It requires the Bush administration to facilitate the competition of oil pipeline infrastructure in the Reserve and to facilitate the construction of the Alaskan natural gas pipeline, and it bans the export of Alaskan oil outside of the U.S.

It also incorporates the ``use it or lose it'' legislation. I can tell you that it is compelling oil companies to start drilling on the 68 million acres of undeveloped Federal oil reserves which they are currently warehousing or they are losing the ability to obtain the new leases. I think that it's important that we deal with those issues sooner rather than later.

Before I get into another part of my talk, here is my good friend, Representative Arcuri, from the great State of New York. We have been to a number of places together. We've been to Iraq, and we've also been on some other defense-related visits. I'm so glad that he's here to share a little bit about this issue of energy.

No problem. Anytime you're ready, Mr. Arcuri. I'm no longer 30, but I'm part of the ``Something'' part. So you're always welcome in the 30-Something Working Group. And I want to thank you for bringing those facts to the floor. I think it's important the more Members we get from different parts of the country sharing what they know, what their constituents share with them when they go back home, I think it's important for the Members to hear that. The diversity of ideas makes this body great.

We do have some great ideas coming from the other side of the aisle, too, but it's important that we don't do an us-against-them kind of atmosphere. I believe in bipartisanship. We've had more bipartisanship votes on major pieces of legislation in the 110th Congress than we have had in the previous Congresses. I think that's what the American people are looking for, Mr. Speaker, and I think that's what the Members would like to have.

But in a time of crisis, the last thing that we need to do is to have the kind of dragging down of efforts that we're trying to carry out, of saying, Well, the Democrats won't allow us to do this; they will not allow us to do that. If it's a body of a piece of legislation, just because one of your Members doesn't need that legislation doesn't mean that it's bad legislation.

We're in the majority just like the Republicans were in the majority once upon a time. And we're leading on behalf of the American people. A number of the votes that we've taken on energy, we celebrate a number of Republican votes being with us on those votes. That's the reason some of them become law. That's the reason why we are able to override the President.

So we cannot defend the actions of the President when he's wrong, and I commend some of my colleagues on the other side of being a part of that, but there are a number in double digits, and sometimes, you know, into the hundreds that defend the President to protect the White House. We're not up here to protect the White House. If it's a Democrat or Republican there, we weren't sent up here to say, ``Oh, we're here to protect the White House.'' We're here to protect the American people. So I think that's important.

I want to mention a few things of what we've done as Democrats.

I'm going to read, Mr. Speaker, from the 2008 letter on July 8 that the Speaker sent the President about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which we call the SPR, signed bipartisan legislation into law that I talked about earlier to urge the President to release some of the oil, that refined fuel, from the Strategic Oil Reserve. Now this is not the first time. This is not something that the Speaker said, Oh, let's just do this because of the first time that we would have ever done it in the country. That's not the case. Desert Shield, Desert Storm drawdown by George W. Bush I, withdraw from the Strategic Oil Reserve on January 17, 1991. That brought gas prices down.

Also, we started looking at President Bill Clinton in 2000, released 30 million barrels from the Strategic Oil Reserve, and I will talk about what it did to gas prices. It happened then.

And in 2005, this President, President Bush, after Hurricane Katrina drew down, offered some 30 million gallons out of there which brought prices down. I think that it's important that everyone understands that.

The President can make a decision that can bring gas prices down now. Will it be forever? No, it will not be forever. Is the Reserve at 97 percent full? Yes, it is. Authorities said that it should be at 85 percent. But we're at 97 percent.

What's happening right now, probably not to the Members of this Chamber because we're paid beyond what the average Americans would be paid, over some $160,000, and a lot of our travel is per diem travel as we move around our districts, reimbursement for gas. The Members here are probably not affected. But for those individuals who don't have per diem reimbursement, for those individuals who know what it means to punch in every day and punch out every day, for those individuals that are trying to make it from point A to point B, who have a family member with a health care crisis and have to make the decision whether you're going to make that hour-long trip or not based on the price of gas, being able to release fuel from the Strategic Oil Reserve would be the right thing to do.

What happens? We're talking fact, not fiction. Using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, it brings down prices of oil. In 1991, did I mention earlier? It brought it down 33.4 percent. In 2000, it brought it down 18.7 percent. In 2005, it brought it down 9.1 percent. And it

would even bring it down even more if we were to do it now.

I say all of that, Mr. Speaker and Members, that as we start looking at alternative fuel, as we start looking at what Big Oil should be doing versus trying to say this is the last day of school, let's get more leases and push this kind of drill thing as though that's the answer--because if that was the answer, we wouldn't be at over $4 a gallon that individuals are paying for gas. If you are fortune enough to have a Pontiac Grand Prix, it costs $62.74 for you to fill it up, leave alone someone that may have a Honda Accord. An Accord, it costs $68.26. If you happen to have a Chevy Impala, lucky enough to have one, $62.73 and $2,798 a year.

A Chevy Suburban, many small businesses have to be able to move around big loads. You have $124 at the pump, some $4,391 that one may spend a year. A Ford Escape costs $60.88 to be able to fill up, and many small businesses have Ford F10 trucks that cost $113.83 to be able to fill that up.

I think that's important. For those individuals who are paying through the nose right here, right now understand what it means.

I'm going to close with this. A lot of air travel. A lot of people want to take trips this summer. Cannot take those trips, cannot reunite with family, cannot go on that business trip that they needed to go on to be able to keep that small business going because of the prices of flying on airlines right now, leave alone trying to take something with you. You get to the airport, now that's $35, sometimes $50, sometimes $100 to carry a bag on the plane to check it, to get on the plane.

You better get some water because if you're trying to get water on the plane, that's $5, leave alone a bag of mixed nuts or some sort of potato chips. They even sell them now, I mean it's almost like $10 a pack, okay. Leave alone the price of the ticket.

And what we find out from the chairman of Transportation, if we were to go into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, it would be a $10 drop in the price per barrel of oil as a result. It would save $420 million per year for Northwest Airlines. You got folks getting laid off because folks walking around here talking about drilling only and not talking about some of the things we could do now to be able to save this economy.

It would bring about also a $840 million saving per year to United Airlines, a $900 million savings for American Airlines, another airline that's laid off thousands of people.

So when we look at this, we're looking at what we're paying because of the inaction of the White House. All we can do is put pressure on the White House. We ask our friends on the other side to join us on that. Some have. We're asking for more to do so. We're asking for the American people to not only work in a way of moving in a more greener way, but we also want to incentivize you in doing that.

Mr. Speaker, with that, it's always a great honor to come before the House. I'm glad that Mr. Arcuri joined me for a short while tonight, and we want to thank not only the Democratic leadership but all the Members of Congress that are about the solution as it relates to these gas prices, as it relates to moving in the direction, a new direction we look at in alternative energy; and it will be a brighter day not only for this country but also as it relates to the whole military issue that I will talk about the next time we come to the floor. I'm talking about what the military spends, which is the largest consumer of energy and which may save fuel on the face of the earth when it comes down to one entity.

With that, we yield back the balance of our time.

Madam Speaker, it is always an honor to come before the House and address the Members.

I can tell you that today, in this great country of ours, we have a lot going on. There is a lot of news on the Presidential race. There are a lot of issues that are facing our Nation with Iran testing missiles. And there are a number of issues that American families are also facing.

We're going to talk a little bit tonight about energy. We're going to talk about the Iraq factor. We're going to talk about the things that American families are going through right now. And I think it's very, very important because many people feel that there are issues that are not being addressed here in Washington, DC as it relates to the executive branch. And I think that it's important that we share with the Members that we have a number of issues that this Democratic-led House has put forth on behalf of the American people in a leadership role.

As you know, in the 30-Something Working Group, we always start our hour off--and I'm joined tonight by my very good friend, Mr. Jason Altmire, and also Mr. Ryan, Tim Ryan, on this 30-Something Working Group. And you know we come to the floor, Madam Speaker, to actually speak in what you may say the arena of fact versus fiction. We know that sometimes we get a little excited and we may not have the necessary footnotes we need to back up the information that we are providing, but tonight we did come to the floor to share with the American people fact, not fiction.

I think that, when we start to reflect, Madam Speaker, on a number of issues that are facing Americans, we have to look at the everlasting issue of fuel costs, for someone to fill up their car, for someone to do something that we may call very common, being able to put gas in their car to be able to take their children to school, to be able to make it to their jobs. And I think that as we look at this issue we need to know who is on the side of the American people. When I say ``we,'' I'm saying Members of Congress.

I'm hoping that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, my Republican colleagues who have joined us on a number of major pieces of legislation that we passed out of this Congress that has gone to the President, I want to applaud those Members for being a part of this great democracy and this great leadership that we have here in the House, to be able to bring about the paradigm shift of bipartisanship. We have not seen bipartisanship in the 109th Congress, 108th Congress. I can attest to that because I was here for those two Congresses. The 110th Congress has brought about bipartisanship on major pieces of legislation that I will talk about a little further later on, but I just want to mention a few things.

Madam Speaker, I always start off by giving what is going on in Iraq. The $8.5 billion war that's taking place right now in Iraq, some over $230-something million a day war. And I had the opportunity, Madam Speaker--and I don't want to digress--to speak to some first responders from New Jersey. They are from New Jersey, and Representative Rush Holt asked me to speak to his first responders. As you know, Madam Speaker, I was, once upon a time, a first responder as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper. And we talked about funding, and they were talking about the grants. And there was a grant here for, you know, $50 million or a grant there for equipment for fire fighters and State troopers and sheriffs, $70 million.

But when I started talking to them about the $230 plus million a day that's being spent in Iraq, you should have seen their eyes opening wide. We all believe in making sure that we give our men and women what they need in Iraq; and we do that, this Congress has done it. But I think that when you start looking at the policy, when you start looking at how this administration has not put the Iraqi Government's feet to the fire to let them know that we have homefront security and hometown security needs to be addressed, they will never see the kinds of dollars that we're spending there.

I also want to share the numbers with you. The total deaths in Iraq is 4,117 as of July 9; total number of wounded and returned to duty is 16,866; and the total number of wounded not returning to duty is 13,483. I think we have to look at that in perspective.

I want to yield to my good friend, Mr. Altmire, at this time as we talk a little bit about a number of issues that

are facing the American people. Like I said, we're going to talk about fuel, we're going to talk about dining room table issues. So we're going to bounce around a little bit tonight, Madam Speaker and Members. And hopefully we will be able to share with the Members exactly what they need to know versus what some on the other side may not want to hear, because we're going to need this bipartisanship to push it through, to send the President a message that the American people have to be heard.

With that, I yield to my friend, Mr. Altmire.

Thank you so very much.

Florida is front and center in the solution on the Republican side of the whole oil crisis issue. And we started talking about deficit spending. We started talking about what is happening to the American family, and I think that it's very important.

I heard you, Mr. Ryan and Mr. Altmire, say something earlier about the folks in Iraq taking the responsibility. They are now calling for a timeline. It's interesting that the administration is not calling for a timeline.

And I think it's important, Madam Speaker, when we look at $8.5 billion a month, that's not anything to look away from. That's a lot of money. And I can tell you that there's a number of folks that would like to see that kind of money invested here in the United States.

Let me just mention one thing. The Speaker a few days ago wrote a letter to the President. Two months ago she asked for oil to be taken out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that we have here. This letter is, I believe, on speaker.gov, which is on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Web site. It asks the President to dip into the oil reserves, that we have over 90 days of reserve that's in these oil reserves.

This has been done before. This is not what you may call a new idea. This is not a radical idea. It's been done by not only the first President Bush, his father, but also by President Clinton and by this President during Katrina.

I just want to take a couple of excerpts from this letter. It says: ``Two months ago, after initially opposing our proposal to suspend the government's purchase of high-priced oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve, you signed the bipartisan legislation into law.''

A couple of paragraphs down, it talks about the fact that oil was $30 per barrel when his administration took office and now has hit $150 per barrel. And I think it's important for us to look at the $1.47 average when he came into office and the $4.11 per gallon.

In 1990, 1991 Desert Shield, Desert Storm, when George H. W. Bush the first drew down from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on January 17, 1991, it actually bought oil prices down per barrel $8. In 2000, in the face of high energy prices, the oil prices, President Clinton signed an executive order authorizing a withdrawal of 30 million barrels that were released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that actually brought the price per barrel down from $30.94 to $20.38, which is a 37 percent decrease. And this is backed up by the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming of April 24, 2008.

Then we look at Hurricane Katrina. President Bush has done this before. Hurricane Katrina in 2005, because the Gulf States were hit, the administration offered 30 million gallons from the Strategic Oil Reserve that actually brought down the price per barrel by $5.

Why do I mention what has happened in the past, which should happen here in the present? The real issue is it's 97 percent full at this particular time, well beyond the International Energy Program as it relates to the 90-day reserve stock that should be there. When the President makes a decision, in 13 days, you will see oil prices go down. Why is this important, Madam Speaker and Members? This is very important because the American people are having to make a choice. If they're going to drive to work or they're going to drive their children to school, especially in rural America and even in urban America, they are having to make those decisions.

There were families that had to make the decision if they were going to see their family members or go to the family reunion this last July 4th, which is one of the most celebrated holidays in our country, which is our independence. They could not make that decision to drive because of the price of oil. We have companies that are laying off workers as we stand here today because of the issue of oil per barrel.

I talked to Chairman Oberstar. We took the opportunity to do it. Mr. Ryan and I were in a meeting today. Chairman Oberstar stated the following, the chairman of the Transportation Committee: A $10 drop in the price per barrel of oil will result in a savings of $420 million per year to Northwest Airlines. It also would mean a savings of $840 million for United Airlines. It would also mean a savings of $900 million per year for American Airlines.

What does that mean? That means that the American people will not be nickel-and-dimed as we are now as they travel throughout this country.

I yield to Mr. Ryan.

Mr. Ryan, there's nothing wrong with texture or context.

Thank you, sir. I think it's important as we look at this, Madam Speaker, and we say small businesses are the backbone of our economy. I mean, we are just hearing about the big players here; the airlines, those that are publicly trade. What about the small business of 25 to 100 people? Do you think they are laying off people? They are laying off people because they can't afford it.

I am not a Member of Congress with a conspiracy theory, but I can't help but pay attention to this board here. So many Americans appreciate the fact when Saddam Hussein's statue was taken down and we are going to liberate the Iraqi people and all, but there are some other people who had some other interests and some other things in mind. A few companies are making record profit, just breaking records as it relates to profits.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch or back at the dining room table, folks are having to park their vehicles because they can no longer afford to be able to pay for the necessity of being able to use their own vehicle. I mean the cost of living in the United States has gone up in some households some $200 to $300.

What we do here, Mr. Murphy, we are here to represent the American people. So we have to make sure that we do exactly just that.

Here's another chart. I had some of my friends come to the floor on the other side of the aisle saying, You know what we need to do? Great idea. Let's drill more. Let's make sure that we have more opportunities for oil companies to find the kind of energy that we need. That is that old school kind of Beta thinking, VHS thinking. Just the other day I was with my wife, looking around. We had to find something to turn it to DVD or whatever the case may be.

If you want to think in the old sense of things, you can. But here are the facts. Acres leased, and this is in the millions, 9.5 million acres that have been leased. When you look at the acres that are producing, 23.7. So what we have here is a full plate that the oil industry has to look for oil or whatever the case may be. They are not even taking advantage of the leases that have already been given. But, better yet, they want more.

Now, what the Speaker is talking about and the Democrats are talking about, let's go in, let's bring this price down. Let's let the oil cartels know that we mean business. And we also responded as it relates to legislation looking at alternative fuel.

The last point that I want to make and then I'm going to turn it over to my good friend here. Let's talk about what is happening out there.

If you're lucky enough to have a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix, the cost to fill that up is $62.73. That is every time it ends up on E. The annual cost is $2,927. If you're lucky enough to have a Honda Accord, the cost to fill that up is $58.26. Annual cost, $2,565. Not even talking about what you have to do as relates to preventive maintenance.

If you have an opportunity to have a 2008--all these numbers I am talking about here, like I said, Madam Speaker, we don't talk fiction, we don't embellish numbers, we don't leave any like gray area out there for folks to say, Well, maybe he might have meant that, or maybe the 30-Something, maybe they were making another point. We want to make sure that you're able to go on fueleconomy.gov and you can get these numbers that I am stating right here on the floor right now, right here.

If you're lucky enough to have a 2008 Chevy Impala, $62.73; $2,798. Chevy Suburban. Many small businesses use these vehicles. A 2008, $124, and $4,391 to fill it up per year. We are not even talking about preventive maintenance.

Ford Escape, $60.88; $2,927. You also have your Ford Escape Hybrid, which is $55.35; $2,096 that is being spent, plus you get your $3,000 tax credit when you get this hybrid.

Let's just talk about what is happening in rural America, in many places in rural America, and small businesses. Ford F-10 pickup truck, $113.83. That is to fill it up; $4,391. It goes on and on with this Web site. This is based on the national average, which is $4.10.

This is what is happening right now. They don't want to hear what the Republican side is talking about, Madam Speaker, as it relates to if we were to give more leases and we were to start drilling off the coast of Florida that we have never considered--well, we never really considered before. We wanted to do it, but we couldn't do it. But now folks are in a crisis now. Here's our solution.

Well, that is not a good solution because you have all of these leases that are out there. It's almost like the oil companies, back in 2001 when they had this great meeting in Dick Cheney's office and started talking about how we are going to deal with energy policy, came up with this situation.

We have seen oil and the price of gas go from $1-something to now $4.10. It seems to work. The Bush administration is there. I think it's kind of like the last call for you know what to say that, Hey, let's get these leases while we can because we have Democrats here in the Congress that is talking about alternative fuel, that is talking about bringing the gas prices down now, not later, and have a real strategy as it relates to dealing with these oil cartels with penalties and allowing our regulation agencies here to regulate these folks from price gouging the American people.

Who's standing in the middle of the door? When they say stand in the schoolhouse door, who's standing there? The administration is standing there, saying that it's not just and it's not fair.

I have got a problem with that. I don't think my constituents sent me here to Congress to sit idly by and watch this happen. I am so glad, my colleagues here, that we have acted on this. I am not so happy that the President has not acted on it. I am not so happy that there's not outrage as it relates to his inaction for not dealing with these issues.

So Members can come to the floor and start talking about fiction and carrying on and embellishing. I'm not saying that. I am just saying some folks can come and start painting big pictures with broad brush or whatever the case may be. But I think it's important that we bring these issues to the forefront.

I don't have a problem with the oil companies that are on this chart here. I am not upset with them. They are just taking advantage of the situation that they have. Use it or lose it. They are taking advantage of it. We are going to ride this thing as long as we can ride it. I tell you, the American people have a say, and come this November, there's going to be a different day.

Last point. I am just going to make a last point and have a seat. I am going to let my colleagues share a little bit with us.

I remember in the day when Mr. Ryan and I, some two Congresses ago, used to say, If we have the opportunity to lead, that we will lead in a way that the American people would like for us to lead, not as Democrats would like for us to lead, not as independents, or not as Republicans, but as the American people would like for us to lead; how future generations would like for us to lead as relates to dealing with global warming, as it relates to investing in the Midwest versus the Middle East so that we can create green jobs. To put the American people to work, not other folks to work. And we have responded to that call.

In politics, you don't see that. You don't see people. The Speaker said what we are going to do. We are doing it. The President is not doing it. The Vice President is not doing it. I can tell you right now, we need this paradigm shift to happen now.

We said that there will be Members of this House that will be watching us here on this floor at home, not because they are retired, not because they thought someone else needed a chance to lead, but because the American people no longer tolerate it. That actually happened.

So I think come this November, the American people are going to rise up and they are going to say, Listen, I did not send you to Washington, D.C. to represent the special interests and to represent big oil to make record profits. I sent to you Washington, D.C. to make life better for me and my children.

So I want to thank my colleagues here for allowing me to make that point. I know that we have some other things to share as relates to this subject, so I will yield to my good friend from Connecticut.

Say it ain't so.

You know, Mr. Ryan, the real issue here is executive power, okay? We live in this democracy, but we have executive power as it relates to being able to deal with these issues. And I am so glad you are reading off the list of not only the Congressional Record, but congressional action on doing what we said we would do.

We had a plan, Six in 06. We have done all of that. We talked about the issue that is facing America, the American people, as it relates to energy costs. When I read off those airline issues, I am not talking about profits for those airlines. I am talking about the fact when you go to book a flight now, to even check a bag, you have to not only spend the money that you spent on booking the flight, but then now you have to pay sometimes $15, $30, $100 per bag. The next thing you know, they are going to have a little card swipe on the restroom in the bathroom. I am not trying to sensationalize anything. That is just where we are now. A little bag of peanuts you used to get on the plane, folks are saying that is now $5.50. You want something to drink?

So when you look at these issues, these are real issues. It is something, Madam Speaker, we have to deal with. It is not only dealing with the American families, but it is also dealing with American business, the backbone, small business, the backbone of our economy. When we start dealing with our economy, we have to really look at these issues for what they are worth. I am hoping we can get more of our colleagues from the Republican side to join us.

Mr. Ryan, I know you have something to add to this.

Mr. Ryan, as we close we are going to do this little lightning round here. We are going to yield back and move from there. So we will just kind of roll around in rotation.

Mr. Altmire has been standing by here very patiently. It is very interesting. I guess it is just the Pittsburgh spirit.

Mr. Murphy, I want to thank you for sharing with the Members how we can improve and how the administration can improve as it relates to policing what is going on right now.

We passed legislation putting teeth in the Federal Trade Commission to be able to go after these price gougers, to be able to find out where there is fat and waste. This Bush administration will not get the award for being able to stomp out waste and fat within the Federal Government. The executive branch means a lot to accountability as it relates to what we are trying to seek out here in Congress.

I want to thank you, Mr. Murphy, and I want to thank Mr. Altmire and Mr. Ryan for coming down here, this 30-Something Working Group hour tonight.

Madam Speaker, we come to the floor to not only bring about bipartisanship, but also challenge our colleagues in being a part of the solution versus standing idly by and holding on to party loyalty or whatever the case may be. Because we did not talk about the kind of changes that you can believe in or the kind of change if you give us the opportunity, or the Six in '06 plan on behalf of just Democrats, on behalf of Independents and Republicans, but on behalf of the American and those yet unborn. So we are batting pretty good as it relates to the accountability of what the people want and what is good for this country. And I can tell you, there is no greater honor, there is no greater honor than serving here in this Congress and being about the solution.

We can talk about solution and we can take action on solution here. But if we have an administration that is treating it as though it is the last day of school or the last days of school, and I don't necessarily have to respond; we have oil companies that have a plate of leases that are out like this high and putting pressure on the Congress and on other entities to say, hey, let's start drilling off the coast of Florida. Well, why? Well, we want to bring gas prices down. When? Oh, maybe 10 or 15 years. But we just want it. We know we have thousands and thousands upon thousands of leases that are yet undrilled upon, unresearched or what have you, but we want more. It sounds like the oil companies are saying: We want to keep this good thing going for us.

Well, the American people are now asking for a bailout as it relates to the price of gas at the pump. I am asking the Bush administration and some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to be just as excited about helping bail out the American people as though they were and have been excited about bailing out industry, special interests when they get into trouble. Why doesn't somebody save Ms. Johnson or Ms. Cravis, or Mr. Jackson who has an F-10 pickup truck and running a small business. Let's help them.

So that is what we are trying to do here and that is what we are advocating here on the floor. It is going to take more than a willing House and a willing Senate to bring about the kind of change that will affect the bottom line of the American people that are facing these prices right now. We need the administration to be able to stand up on behalf of the American people. And, guess what, we can't wait until January for that to happen.

So we thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the members that came down to the floor tonight of the 30-Something Working Group. It is always an honor to address the House of Representatives.

We yield back the balance of our time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 60th birthday of Alfreda Pauline Postell, a magnificent woman who has made an indelible impact on the health of Americans and whose life is an inspiration to us all.

Born in Miami, Florida, Ms. Postell is the oldest of four children born to Joyce Barry and the late Cleveland Barry, Sr. She is a proud graduate of Miami Northwestern Senior High School. Ms. Postell has two children, Joyce and Lamont Postell, Sr. She is a passionate individual who enjoys dancing and spending time with her family.

During her more than 30-year career, Ms. Postell has worked at the Miami Veterans Affairs Hospital as a nurse aide and now as a medical support assistant. She enjoys volunteering for community projects and' gives freely of her time. Ms. Postell has continuously held a reputation as the type of volunteer you want on your team when you want the job done. Through her might, determination and passion, she works hard to bring about positive outcomes in whatever task she endures.

Madam Speaker, in Miami we are fortunate to have Ms. Postell as a pillar of our community, and I am privileged to call her a friend. Not only is she a cherished friend, but she is also an extended member of my family. Ms. Postell's guidance, assurance and acts of kindness over the years have always been appreciated by me and my family. I join countless friends, family members and loved ones in South Florida in wishing Ms. Postell a wonderful birthday, and many more years of good health and happiness.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be a cosponsor to this bill that will give Alternative Minimum Tax Relief to those families in my district and the entire State of Florida who will be unfairly hit with this tax in 2008.

While the AMT was not intended to burden our working families, now in 2008 it does. Initially, the AMT applied to fewer than 20,000 taxpayers. In 2007, it applied to 4.2 million taxpayers. By 2008, up to 26 million taxpayers are projected to be subject to the AMT. Moreover, it is the middle- to upper-middle-income taxpayers who are the targets of this tax. It is our married taxpayers and larger families that are especially going to fall under this tax.

An astounding increase in the number of working families in Florida will be hurt by the AMT in 2008 if something is not done. It is projected that over six times the number of working families will be hurt by the AMT in my State of Florida in 2008 than were hurt by this tax in 2005. In 2005, there were 161,000 AMT returns filed in the State of Florida. However,

in 2008, it is estimated that 956,000 AMT returns will be filed in Florida--a more than six times increase between 2005 and 2008.

In 2007, Florida ranked seventh in the number of returns that were caught. with the Alternative Minimum Tax burden. However, in 2008, Florida is projected to rank fifth in the number of returns caught with the AMT. So even in the one year, 2007 to 2008, the number of working families in Florida caught with the AMT has increased tremendously.

Originally, the AMT was intended to cover only America's high-income taxpayers to ensure that they pay at least a minimum amount of federal taxes. But now, it is not this group that will be the most adversely affected by the AMT. It is our hard-working families--over 950,000 hard-working families in Florida alone that will be hit unintentionally and unfairly with this tax. This is not what the AMT was intended to do, and it is time for those families in Florida and elsewhere to get badly needed relief from this tax.

Madam Speaker, I rise in tribute of my beloved uncle, King George Pittman. He was an American patriot and hero who bravely fought during World War Two and the Korean War in defense of our nation. It is my privilege to submit this poem written by Albert Caswell of the Capitol Guide Service who has honored my uncle with these words.

Someone, to look up to

There are people in our world . . .

All in how they've lived their lives, that all our little

boys and girls . . . should look up to!

Who, are but The Greatest Examples of Shining Faith . . . who

are but Our Very Best, all in so many ways . . .

Who stand tall and proud . . .

Who no matter what the cost, the price . . . their fine

hearts were heard beating loud!

Who in their moments upon this earth, have so shown but their

fine true worth . . . all in our lives endowed!

As Someone To Look Up To . . .

As Sarge, as he was called . . . unto this our world, such a

great life so brought into view . . .

As a Proud American, who once so dared . . . a real and fine

American who so cared, all in what he would do!

As when a world stood at its edge . . .

As all around him so, such an evil darkness bled . . . when a

young hero, his life so pledged!

Coming Home, after helping To Save The World . . . as into a

new war, his heroic life was again so led!

Sarge! A Good Life! An Officer and A Gentleman first . . .

Even though he had but so lived through but the very . . .

very worst . . .

As still, another great war had lie ahead . . . as he had

come home to discrimination's curse!

But, he never gave up or in . . .

Because, in his Country Tis A Thee . . . as he so believed

in, to be counted on this man . . .

All in his life conceived, all in the way his family had

brought him up so indeed . . . as he stood tall time

and again!

Showing his Nation, as in his life so lies The Truth . . .

That Black Is Beautiful, and all in his courage and character

so dutiful . . . as lies the proof

A shining example of faith and how, showing us all the way so

now . . . as King George's life, makes hearts race . .

. it's a beaut!

For In Our Darkest Hours!

Only with Our Faith . . . Courage . . . Kindness . . . and

Our Character . . . can we so overpower, the darkness

which around us towers!

And To Rise Above, All In Our Courage and in Our Love . . .

We Will All Reach Our

Finest Hour!

But, our moments herein time . . . are but the shortest of

all to find . . .

For when it's all said and done, will we be the ones . . . as

Sarge, who now up in Heaven have Someone To Look Up To?

So mount up now . . . For you King George, are but an Angel

In The Army of Our Lord so fine!

As Someone Above To Watch Over Us, And To Look Up To in our

lives!

Madam Speaker, I would like to submit the following passage on Senator Ted Kennedy written by Albert Carey Caswell.

A Lion in Winter

A Lion in Winter . . .

Facing The Storm, with The Heart of A Champion . . . so very

warm . . .

Where courage lives, to help you move on!

An American Tale, as a nation so stands behind you Ted . . .

with all of our prayers, so now!

Take this to your heart Ted, take this to your soul . . . as

you move out so to behold!

In this your battle to be won . . .

In this your war to be waged, in this but another chapter Ted

. . . in your life's most heroic page . . . of all

ones!

As you face this new morning, as you face this dark sun!

Standing Tall, to do what must so be done!

To Fight That Good Fight, To Wage That Great War, our Lion In

Winter . . . Our Precious American Son sure!

From deep down inside, that great Irish Heart . . . win this

Great Battle, This Great War begun . . .

For A Lion In Winter . . .

With the Heart of A Champ, against all odds . . . we can hear

your roar, can victory so command!

For no man known's more, what a heart can so endure . . . and

can so stand!

Ted it's the bottom of the 9th, with two outs!

Like the Teddy before you of The Sox's, we know you too can

pull this one out!

Go with God My Son, as you have always done . . . we know you

will be rounding the bases, no doubt!

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor an American soldier who served 1 year in Iraq at Camps Ramadi and Fallujah while on a mission to look for roadside bombs. Army SSG Princey George Pinder's unit was hit four times, and miraculously they all survived the impact.

Born in Nassau, Bahamas, SSG Pinder is the fifth child born to Viola Pinder and Frank Greene. He graduated from A.F. Adderley High School and went on to be enlisted in the Royal Bahamas Police force in 1983, where he received an honorable discharge in 1994. He continued his higher education and received an associate degree from Miami Dade College, bachelor's degree in Christian education and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Florida International University. He holds various leadership training certificates from the U.S. Army as a combat engineer.

For over 18 years SSG Pinder has served as the co-founder and senior pastor of Baruch Christian Fellowship Ministries, Inc. in Miami-Dade County. He has also served as vice-president director of a juvenile delinquency and ex-offender mentorship program named Destiny Image Review Network for 14 years, as well as co-founder of Baruch Leadership Training Academy.

SSG Pinder enlisted in the Army in January 1997, and was deployed to Iraq in March 2003. His second deployment took place in May 2007. SSG Pinder currently serves as a reservist army staff sergeant in Camps Ramadi and Fallujah, Iraq with the 841st Charlie Company from Perrine, Florida. Upon return he will continue his employment as a motor compliance officer with the Florida Department of Transportation.

Madam Speaker, SSG Princey George Pinder represents the best our Nation has to offer. He volunteered to serve our Nation in uniform and to protect our freedom and liberty. For this, his family, friends and loved ones know that this Congress will always remember his bravery and commitment in battle.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's an honor to be before the House once again, and I think it's important that we get a chance to come to the floor and not only share with the Members the 30- Something Working Group, some of the issues that we have worked on in the past, but those issues that we will continue to focus on in the future.

With this being the ``political season'' for those Presidential candidates, there's still a lot of work to be done here in the Nation's Capital on policy issues that are facing real consideration before this House and before the Senate. One may focus on what is happening in the campaign trail. But I want to share with the Members tonight, Mr. Speaker, on what has taken place here in the Democratic House of Representatives, majority, and also how this House has worked with a number of our Republican colleagues on the other side in passing major legislation that has made it to the floor that would allow Republicans and all Members of the House to work together on issues that the American people are hoping that we can come together on.

This House has made progress in passing some 177 pieces of key legislation, more than 70 percent with a significant bipartisan vote. As it relates to the recent past of the last three terms that I have been here, we have never seen those kind of numbers before. It's important that Members on both sides of the aisle are able to come together on legislation that all of our constituents can agree on and that we can illustrate to those that are out there that are saying, Well, you know, can Democrats and Republicans work together, can Democrats put forth legislation that Republicans can vote for,

can Republicans vote for measures that Democrats bring to the floor, and I think through the leadership of the Speaker and the majority leader and also the majority whip and Democratic caucus and the vice chair and the rest of our leadership, the proof is in the pudding.

I want to say that the 177 measures that have gone through this House and the 70 percent that have passed with a significant bipartisan vote is what the American people called for, what they wanted. So many Members of the House ran on, I am going to Washington, DC to represent you, I am going to Washington, DC to make sure that you pass sensible legislation, and I am not necessarily running to be a part of the Democratic caucus or to be a part of the Republican caucus or carry a special-interest interest.

I think that when we looked at the new direction that the American people were looking for back in the 2006 elections in November, they got it. Measures that would have never made it to the House floor have made it to the House floor.

I have to speak of a number of my colleagues that were on the floor prior to our new Democratic majority back in the Republican-led Congress that said, If you give us the opportunity to lead, we will lead in a way that you will be proud and that you would feel good about the leadership that you have in the House of Representatives. We were not only--I mean we weren't speaking to just independents, we weren't even speaking to just Democrats. We were speaking to all Americans, including Republicans and those that could not even vote yet, that they would have a voice on this floor, that they would have an opportunity to see a majority that would allow legislation to come to the floor that would change their lives.

I also would like to say out of the 177 key measures that were passed, 125 of those measures had the support of more than 50 Republicans in this House.

Now, Mr. Speaker, you're a part of our new majority makers that are here. I think that it's important that we reflect on the past so we can see what the future is going to be about. I see a bright future in this House, you see a bright future in this Congress, and I think if the American people engage themselves as Americans and not as Democrats or Republicans or independents or Green party, or what have you, saying that they are looking for a House that would provide the kind of opportunities that they deserve for a Congress, for a government, provide the opportunity that they deserve, and they can find faith in what the 30-Something Working Group will share with you tonight.

These bipartisan votes that have been signed by the President include the Economic Stimulus Act, College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the 9/11 Commission Recommendations. For instance, let me put a pin right there. The 9/11 Commission recommendations was supported and was a bipartisan commission that brought about these recommendations under a Republican President, a Republican Congress, that the Republican Congress would not endorse and would not pass and the President did not support. But once this Democratic Congress allowed that legislation to come to the floor as part of our Six in 06 measure, we were able to get bipartisan support for that measure, and the President signed. So it goes to show that being in the majority does help.

Also, the Innovation Agenda bill, the Lobbying and Ethics Reform, minimum wage, a bill for improving and expanding Head Start, and historic energy independence and security bill that reduced dependency on foreign oil, I think it's very, very important that we focus on those issues.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I think it's important that we look at the future because we have so many issues that are before us even before we finish this 110th Congress. We have to start to focus not only on how we are going to find ourselves bringing our men and women home, and there was a vote last week that was very historic. Never before since I have been here in this House that the House has voted in the majority to not continue to fund the failed policies of the Bush administration as relates to the war in Iraq.

I also think that it's important that as we continue to consider how we are going to approach on an emergency supplemental, approach the emergency supplemental that the President has asked for to continue to fund the war in Iraq, that if I could put it this way on Navy terms, If we shoot a shot over the bow of those individuals that are in Iraq, what I may call the Iraqi parliament, and let them know that the United States of America will not continue to give a blank check to the fact that they have not made the political reforms that they need to make so that the U.S. taxpayer dollar will be spent in an appropriate way to enable the Iraqi government to stand up on their own feet so that we are able to provide the necessary resources to our constituents here in our country and here in our districts.

I also think that it's important, Mr. Speaker, as we start to look at these issues, we look at the largest increase in veteran funding in the history of the Veterans Affairs Department, preparing for our men and women to come back so they can receive the kind of assistance that they deserve because they allow us to salute one flag.

I think it's also important, Mr. Speaker, and also for the Members who realize that even though we may disagree on a number of issues, and they are a number of issues that we disagree on, we can, if you ever heard this, agree to disagree.

But when it comes down to the votes here on this House floor for our folks back home, I think it is important that we hold their hopes and their dreams paramount in that debate. And because of the kind of leadership that we have within our caucus, some 177 key votes, 125 of those votes receiving over 50 percent Republican support, it goes to show you or show the American people and also Members of Congress how we can come together on behalf of the greater good.

I know that Mr. Murphy has joined us, and I want to yield some time to him so that he can share as not only a new Majority Maker, but also as a member of the majority, as we look at the future, as we look at bipartisanship that we speak so highly of, that we should reflect on what Mr. Ryan and I said when we first started working on 30-Something some 6 years ago, that bipartisanship can only happen when the majority allows it to happen.

I think the evidence, the evidence of not only the Congressional Record, but the evidence of our words that we have laid on the Congressional Record over the years, is that we hold paramount bipartisanship, that we hold opportunity, that we hold inclusion. So if it is someone, an American somewhere in a super-Republican district saying do I have a voice in Congress, will the Democratic majority allow my voice to be heard, will the values of my community be heard in Congress and will it be allowed to pass the House of Representatives and the Senate, I think the proof is in the pudding.

I am hoping on the 30-Something website we can have this information placed on that website, so that Americans can go and check the record for themselves.

One thing I take great pride in personally, Members, is that the 30- Something Working Group, we go through a lot of research and the members of our group believe in fact versus fiction. We bring fact to the House floor. We do not bring fiction. That is what the American people are calling for.

Mr. Murphy.

You know, Mr. Murphy, I think it is important, and I think we can do a little back and forth here in the spirit of bipartisanship. I see one of our Republican colleagues who would like to share a few things a little later on, and we don't want to take all of the time, because we definitely want to hear from the Republican side this evening in the spirit of what we are doing here.

But I think it is important, Mr. Speaker and Mr. Murphy, I think that as we look at what is happening now, we know that we have an historic Presidential election that is taking place. And we are still in the primary mode, but it has a general election spirit that is there. There are slogans out there, ``yes, we can,'' and ``yes, we will,'' and ``change that you deserve.''

It is interesting, because the President is still trying to play a major role.

We know that he will be commander-in-chief until January, but I think it is important, especially for some of our friends on the Republican side, that they pay very close attention to the past to understand the future.

There was a day and time when the American people were not really paying close attention to what is going on here in Washington, DC There was a time that young people who are concerned about tomorrow more than anyone else in this country were not paying attention to the likes of many of the individuals that are paying attention to politics now.

I remember one of the general demographics was 50-plus in the country. You have to make sure that you meet the needs of those individuals. But now that goes from 50-plus all the way down to 17\1/ 2\, where Americans can register, and then at 18 they will get their voter registration card. So we have a full kind of age range there of folks that are paying attention to what is happening here.

I remember in the early days with Mr. Ryan and I, and then when Ms. Wasserman Schultz got here, Mr. Ryan and Ms. Wasserman Schultz and myself, and now the Majority Makers such as yourself and others are now coming to the floor. But back in the early days we used to share with our friends on the Republican side, you have a choice to make. Either are you are going to be on the New Direction agenda and give the American people what they deserve versus the special interests, or, Mr. Speaker, those Members will be watching the Congress on C-SPAN and other television outlets that would allow them to view what we are doing here on the floor at home while we are here voting.

We are in the majority now. We have won three special elections in quote-unquote ``Republican'' districts that were seen as Republican districts. But what I believe in and what I have subscribed to is the American spirit over politics. I believe people are now looking at their families and looking at their children and looking at their grandparents and looking at themselves in the mirror and saying, am I using the power that I possess with my voter registration card towards the benefit of my family, my community, my State, my country? Am I using that to the full advantage that I have as an American citizen? Or am I voting a party, or a personality, or what is politically quote- unquote ``correct''?

And I think that question has come back in many of these districts and throughout the country of saying, I have to vote what is best for my children, for my parents, for my grandparents, for myself, for the fact that the economic situation is bad, for the fact that I don't have health care for so many Americans.

I have traveled this country, Mr. Speaker, on Presidential election and I have paid attention to what is going on. And every time the question is asked: How many people without health care? A super majority of the people put their hands up. Of course, I don't put my hands up because I am a Member of Congress and I have health care. But my constituents didn't say, hey, you know, Kendrick, we are going to vote for you to be in Congress so that you can have a health care plan for you and your family. We love you that much. Don't worry about us. And they didn't vote for any of us for that reason. I don't think any Member of Congress ran for office saying, I am running to make sure that I can have health care, and then maybe you will have health care.

But for some reason, some of our friends on the other side of the aisle didn't get that message or they have forgotten the message. But I am hoping, as we start looking at these issues, that, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Speaker and members, that more Republicans start understanding that this is not the Republican or executive committee back in their county or in their parish or whatever the case may be; that this is the U.S. Congress, and they may have been Federalized by the people in their district, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, in a general election to come here, provide the kind of representation that they woke up early one Tuesday morning looking for.

I say all of that to say this: That if it was about politics, Mr. Murphy, members, we would be home now. We would say nothing. We would allow the Republican minority to continue to get further and further and further in the minority. But the American spirit within our Democratic majority allows the 177 bipartisan votes, that we celebrate the 125 bipartisan votes, over 50 Republican members voting for Democratic measures that would never have made it to the floor on the Republican Congress.

The record speaks for itself. I am so happy and so glad that we have the kind of leadership, we have the kind of caucus that says, you know something? We are going to move in a new direction that the American people have called for, Mr. Murphy. Some people call it change now. Change is the big word of this election, because people have had a taste of change already in this House and in the Senate. They want that change in the White House.

Now, I want us to kind of go back and forth here, but I just want to share a little bit of the record because some work has been done here. I think it is important that we look at the kind of fight that--and I am going to call some of the things out that you have identified.

We have the new GI bill that extends benefits to veterans, and it provides and restores the full 4-year college scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and the President has threatened that he is going to veto that.

My question is, to the Republican minority, are you going to follow the President with this whole veto issue? If he does, will you leader up and override his veto?

Because I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, if we have an override once a week, maybe, just maybe--because the President is not running for election again. I just want to let my Republican colleagues know, they are. Some of them are, those that are not retiring. That they may want to pay attention to what the American people are saying versus what may be coming from the White House, because it hasn't worked, because they are in the minority right now.

I think it is also important for the responsible timeline for redeployment that requires Iraqis to pay their fair share of the restoration and other Iraqi policy restrictions that was in H.R. 2642, which is the 2008 supplemental that the President has threatened to veto again. Will our Republican colleagues write the Republican and say, listen, we are already in bad shape as a Republican minority in the Congress, we can't follow you on this. We will join Democrats and override your veto.

That is the American spirit. That is not saying, well, I am going to be a good Republican. Because it is important that we understand that folks didn't elect us to be good Republicans or good Democrats saying, well, I am going to follow the President because the President says that it should happen. The first version of the 2007 supplemental, the President vetoed the bill on May 1. I think it is important that folks understand this and the opportunities that we have to continue to build on the bipartisanship.

The responsible timeline for redeployment of troops, another bill that passed, H.R. 4156, the President has threatened that he is going to veto that. Also, H.R. 2956, that carries some of the same language. I mean, we are putting these bills out there. That bill passed 223-201. The President is threatening he is going to veto that.

Public opinion polls and what the American people want are pretty much the same thing, but also common sense kicks in at some point. I mean, if I was very--hypothetically speaking, Mr. Speaker, and I do mean very hypothetically. If I was a Republican Member of Congress at this point, I would kind of think, hmm, let's see, am I willing to follow the President that is going to retire and have a pension and have all of the things being a past two-term President in this country? Or am I going to stand up on what is right and what is sound as it relates to policy?

Mr. Murphy, again, another bill, and I am making sure that the Members understand, because I think here in the 30-Something Working Group, you know, in Congress there is always some mystery about, well, you know, I didn't quite know what was in that bill.

I am sorry, let me go back. We are about to celebrate Memorial Day for those and pay tribute to those that serve this country, those that have died to allow us to salute one flag, those that allow us to be here under the illumination of the lights here, to be in a free country, to be in a country that one can stand on the floor and speak freely, Republican or Democrat, what have you; for any American or any resident of this country to speak in opposition of its government and say, I disagree; or, this is the way I feel.

Many of us Members of Congress have traveled to countries where folks don't have that privilege or that opportunity, and we try to share that kind of democracy and that freedom of those that have fallen.

I tell a story, Mr. Speaker, of my kids and I, we rode our bikes on the mall here in Washington, DC, where we leave this building and pass the Washington monument and pass the World War II memorial, and all of those States are recognized on those pillars that are around that monument and that great fountain that they have there illuminated at night. And we go on and ride on and we go to the Lincoln memorial where so many Americans go to reflect on this great President who served our country. And we run into the Last Outpost, where our veterans from Vietnam are there selling patches and keeping that last outpost open for those that are missing in action. And then we take the opportunity to go by the Korean War memorial that is there and the Vietnam wall of those that lost their lives. And so many Americans will travel to the capital city to celebrate that and to be able to recognize those individuals and celebrate their lives and their commitment to our country and on and on and on, and the number of monuments and great heroes and sheroes that are there, even women that have fought in conflicts.

I say all of that to say this: That with all of that history and all of that greatness and all of the spirit of this great country, that we have to take a step back sometimes and say, am I voting in the right direction? Am I doing the right thing? Am I listening to quote/unquote leaders that may be in our caucus or whatever the case may be? And especially on the Republican side, I think it is important because I think it is a very unique time in history and I think they need to be on the right side of history, because history has played a role in Members of Congress' reelection to Congress.

And so when I start looking at legislation that the President has decided that he is going to veto, Mr. Murphy, I think it is important.

And I want to also on the record call out on 3159, it is again a responsible troop redeployment cycle that is based on Senator Jim Webb's bill that enhances national security and supports our troops and families. And increasing troops are better at home in between deployment. The President has threatened that he is going to veto that.

Will our Republican colleagues, those that are not voting in a bipartisan way, will they follow the President in that veto, or will they write a letter to the President and say no way, will they write President Bush and say, on House Bill 1684, the fiscal year 2008 Homeland Security Authorization Act that the President has threatened that he is going to veto that will provide some $139.8 billion to the Department of Homeland Security to be able to protect the homeland? Will they write a letter or will they send a message to the White House that they are willing to override that veto?

At the same time, again, time after time again the Coast Guard Authorization that passed the House, H.R. 2830, which is the Coast Guard Authorization, the President, this also passed--now, this is very interesting, Mr. Murphy. This authorization has passed the House. I am smiling because it is almost laughable if it wasn't a serious moment.

The Coast Guard plays such an important role to homeland security, especially from a State like mine in Florida, and especially as we look at the East Coast and the West Coast. They play such a very important role, and they have been asked to play a role that they have never played before in protecting the homeland. This bill, this piece of legislation passed 395-7, with 165 Republicans voting ``yea,'' or yes, the President has threatened he is going to veto that.

So Mr. Murphy, I think you get the picture. I don't mean to go on and on and on. On every page of pages to go on and on and on, two or three times the President has said we are going to veto that piece of legislation.

We have 170 major pieces of legislation that Republicans have voted for in a bipartisan way. We have 125 pieces of legislation that over 50 Republicans have vote in the affirmative. I think that some of our friends on the other side have to get the picture. And I can tell you, and I am going to yield to you and then I am going to say one more thing and then we are going to yield back, because I want our friend to be able to have an opportunity before 12:00 midnight so he can get in his points. I think I know why that we don't have more Republicans voting in a new direction or voting for change in Washington, DC on behalf of not only their very own constituents, but also on behalf of the American people.

You know, Mr. Murphy, it's very interesting. As I speak to fact versus fiction, I can't help but think of our colleague who already, quote-unquote, has the Republican nomination, one of our friends over in the Senate. And he coined something, I think, earlier this week or last week as the slogan for the forward campaign on the Republican side. Change that you Deserve.

Okay. Well, I would say to my Republican colleagues that have decided to follow the leadership, the elected leadership that they have now on the Republican side that are saying stay the course, follow the President, object, what have you. Change that you deserve, I think, is something that one should think about.

Case in point. I'm not a lawyer. I don't play one on television.

That's fine. My wife's a lawyer too, so I'm kind to lawyers. But let me just say, you remember the letter that the Republican leadership wrote to the Speaker?

I don't want you to pay attention over here, I just want you to pay attention over here. The Republican leadership wrote a letter saying, you said you were going to do something about gas prices. We're waiting you to do something about gas prices in America. And we're concerned about all of this, and you have not fulfilled your promise.

And I think that it's important. If we can, I want to put something here because I don't want to have that on the chart there.

Well, let me just for the case of keeping the 30-something piece together, because I don't want to get into names, I'm just going to do this because I don't like to like point out anything as it relates to an individual Member of Congress, even if they're leadership.

But I just want to say, as it relates to doing something about gas prices, these are all the measures that we've passed here in this House that the Republican leadership decided not to vote for. But they want to criticize, and they want to encourage their leaders, I mean, their caucus to vote against change and a new direction.

Now, even the Republican nominee on the Republican side has said change that you deserve. If things were going so well and the policy was so great, why do we have to talk about change that you deserve?

Why can't we say we'll keep doing the things that we've continued to do, and we'll continue to have the problems that we have now?

I'm just saying this to my Republican colleagues, because, not that, you know, many of them are friends of mine. But I'm saying, as it relates to the policy that we have to pass, that the American people need now--we're not here for political purposes. We're here because we want to move an agenda forward.

I think it's important when we look at OPEC price fixing. These are the Republican leaders, or down the leadership line, that voted against that. And when you look at the top individual, as it relates to influence within the caucus, voted no on every last measure that Democrats have put forth, price gouging, renewable energy, energy security.

Second person in charge voted for three of the four that we have put forth before this Congress. Signed the letter.

The third person in charge voted against price gouging and also renewable energy. Those are two votes of the four that have taken place.

The fourth person in charge voted for two measures, voted against it, renewable energy and also energy security, but I said it correctly, voted for two of the measures that we put forward.

The fifth person in charge voted no on every last measure. Signed the letter.

The sixth person in charge voted against every measure that we put forth to be able to give the American people a fighting chance in this whole issue of price gouging, this whole issue of no OPEC. And we call OPEC, these are oil producing companies for price fixing, countries for price fixing, renewable energy, energy security, voted against every last one of them.

On down to the bottom, voted three times against those measures and voted two times.

I said all of that to say that I think that some of these individuals that are influencing the minds of, or the vote of those individuals within the Republican caucus that don't want to be a part of the 177 bipartisan major votes, or don't want to be a part of the 125 votes that we've taken, plus 50 Republicans that have voted for it, I think that the argument, especially when we look at the individual that is, quote-unquote, running on the Republican side for President of the United States, of saying change that you deserve, we speak fact in the 30-Something Working Group and we do not speak fiction.

If it was political, Mr. Murphy, and I say this in closing, if it was political, we would be home right now, you know, relaxing past 11 o'clock at night.

Absolutely. You have the last word.

Mr. Murphy, I want to thank you for your comments. I couldn't say it better.

Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of bipartisanship, we're going to yield back our hour earlier so my good friend from Texas will be able to share with the Members of the House what he would like to share.

So with that, Mr. Speaker, we yield back the balance of our time.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Carmelau Monestime and the 30th anniversary of the founding of the first created Haitian radio program in Creole language. The radio program, Express Publicite, has been led for three decades by the founder Mr. Monestime, who is the first radio personality of Haitian descent in South Florida. Mr. Monestime can be considered a communicator by nature.

Born in Gonaives, Haiti Mr. Monestime, began his education at the Institut Brothers of the Christian Instruction. He continued his studies at the Lycee Fabres Geffrrard College of the City. In 1957, he earned the position as head of the files section of the Department of Agriculture, in Haiti's natural resources and rural department. In 1964, he immigrated to New York and relocated to Miami, Florida in 1978.

Upon his arrival in Miami, Mr. Monestime immediately became dedicated to the Haitian-American community, and soon after opened Panoram Express Driving School, a Haitian driving school. In 1997, he joined co-founders Ferdinand Forte and Pierre Mendez to create Express Publicite.

Like the Haitian-American population throughout South Florida over the last three decades, Express Publicite has grown tremendously and popularized itself among listeners around the community. When first created, the Station had over 5,000 listeners--today, the Station has nearly 900,000 dedicated listeners throughout South Florida. Pertinent information such as current events and up-to-date news in both the United States and Haiti, which was previously transferred by word of mouth or distributed through flyers at community events, is now easily accessible on the air waves. Mr. Monestime is very well-respected by those in the radio industry and also by the thousands of fans that listen to him on a daily basis.

Through his many accomplishments and creation of Express Publicite, Mr. Monestime has paved the way for other Haitians in the radio industry by providing a voice for Haitian-Americans in radio. The Station was created as a center to share vital community information. All of these accomplishments have earned Mr. Monestime the title, ``Dean of Haitian Radio.''

Thus Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today, along with the entire South Florida community, a resolution recognizing the rich history and accomplishments of this remarkable Station and its founder on the occasion of its 30 anniversary. I urge all the Members of this body to join us in congratulating Carmelau Monestime on Express Publicite's 30th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues and my constituents in solemn recognition of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day; a special day where we mourn the millions of Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis.

This day has special significance for Jews, the main target of Nazi atrocities. I represent many constituents who are Holocaust survivors and many more that lost friends, relatives and loved ones. We mourn their loss; honor their memory; and unite in opposition to acts of bigotry and intolerance.

We in South Florida are united in outrage that two synagogues in our community have been vandalized in recent weeks. These offensive, hate- inspired acts have no place in our society that values tolerance and diversity. We stand united with the congregants, friends and supporters of The Chabad Shul in Miami Beach and the Chabad of Parkland in North Bonnard. These houses of worship and centers of learning will rise again with a renewed sense of spirit and purpose of mission.

I once again honor South Florida's Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, its founders and museum curators for their fine work in educating and reminding the public about the Holocaust and remembering and honoring its victims. The Center is located in my Congressional District at 2031 Harrison Street in Hollywood, Florida.

To the residents of South Florida, the students enrolled in area schools, and to the millions of visitors to the region, I encourage you to visit the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center to study, understand and contemplate the consequences of man's inhumanity to man which occurred in Europe prior to and during World War II.

May the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust be blessed for all eternity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nothing wrong with that at all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 6 o'clock and 46 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until Monday, May 5, 2008, at 12:30 p.m., for morning-hour debate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Absolutely.