Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the swearing in of President Obama on January 20 marked the beginning of a new day in our country and the end of a dark time in American history. Our country has learned painful lessons from the last administration's failure to respect the rule of law and the voice of the American people.

Never once during the last 8 years did the past administration ask whether what it was doing was legal, morale, or right. As a result, its failures may have been criminal. Its actions may have been unconstitutional. Its unwillingness to take responsibility, glaring.

President Obama and the 111th Congress will face huge, huge challenges as we repair the damage of the last 8 years.

Across the country, people are worse off today than they were 8 years ago. The American people have lost loved ones, they have lost their jobs and their homes because of the last administration.

America now finds itself in the worst economic shape since the Great Depression, fighting two wars overseas, and struggling to restore our reputation around the world and mend the fabric of the Constitution that has been damaged by the last administration. We

face this situation today because the last administration acted above the law and looked down on anyone who challenged its right to do so. It followed the law when it was convenient, and ignored the law when it wasn't. It ignored good advice, and was quick to call its critics traitors and al Qaeda types rather than respect their viewpoints. It favored its rose-colored view of the world over reality even when the truth came crashing down around them.

The new President understands the importance of learning from these mistakes as we rebuild our country and as we restore our Constitution. Since the Democrats took back the Congress in 2007, Mr. Speaker, we have aggressively sought to uncover the truth about the last administration. Hearing after hearing has shown abuse of power, disregard for the law, and contempt for Congress. Congress will continue with subpoenas, lawsuits, hearings, and questions. We will reaffirm that no one, not the President and not the Vice President, is above the law.

As we move forward, Congress must address past abuses and failures. From keeping working families in their homes after record numbers of foreclosures, to reinvesting in health care and education for everyone, we will fulfill the priorities of the American people that have been so neglected. From closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay to banning torture, we will restore America's standing in the world. From ending the occupation of Iraq to protecting America's civil liberties, we will be a government that respects the Constitution and the American people.

By correcting the mistakes of the past and reinvesting in our country, we can return equality and justice for all. By looking forward and renewing the promise of America, we will right the wrongs of the last 8 years. By working for the American people instead of working around them, we will return to a government by the people, for the people, and of the people.

Mr. Speaker, last night I attended the 10th anniversary celebration of Safe House in San Francisco. Safe House is a unique service. It provides services and support to homeless women and to women who are leaving prostitution. Safe House empowers these women to turn their lives around, and, Mr. Speaker, they do.

The Reverend Glenda Hope, one of the founders of Safe House, also helped establish San Francisco Network Ministries which helps the poorest of the poor on the streets of San Francisco. She has been a beacon of hope for decades, helping many people who have been forgotten and discarded by society so that they could find their way back.

I have been proud to call Glenda Hope my close friend, my inspiration, and my hero for over 40 years. Her commitment to human dignity and to social justice is an example for all of us.

Reverend Hope has also been a tireless champion of peace. She refused to remain silent about the previous administration's disastrous policies in Iraq and demanded that Congress cut off funding for the occupation. To Glenda, Iraq isn't something you see on television because Glenda sees the tragic results of the fighting with her own eyes on the streets of San Francisco. She sees veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, homelessness, and mental illness caused by combat. When the so-called ``surge'' began in 2007, Glenda warned that there will be a ``surge of additional vets onto our streets with similar afflictions, and the longer we stay in Iraq the more there will be.''

Mr. Speaker, we now know that over 300,000 veterans of the Iraq War are suffering from PTSD. Many veterans across the country are homeless, jobless, and suffering from depression and other mental problems. Many are dealing with family problems caused by their long and frequent deployments away from home. In addition, Mr. Speaker, many others have been caught up in the foreclosure crisis, and just the other day, we received the tragic news that the suicide rate among soldiers in 2008 was the highest in nearly 30 years.

The human cost of war is the greatest cost of all, and our country has a moral obligation to provide the very best care to our veterans. But the financial costs should also concern us, especially in these hard times.

We continue to spend over $12 billion a month to keep our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. We'll also be spending countless billions of dollars to provide help for our veterans, many of whom will require extensive health care for decades to come.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation cannot afford to fight two wars at a time when our economy is on the brink of collapse. We tried to have guns and butter back in the Vietnam War. It didn't work and it won't work now.

It is obvious that we're overextended. That's why I've called for the redeployment of our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan and for a bold, aggressive recovery plan to save our economy here at home.

On January 20, Mr. Speaker, I sent a letter to our brand new President Obama calling for a worldwide cease-fire, or a timeout, from war. This would allow us to work with the world community to use diplomacy, reconciliation, and humanitarian assistance to resolve disputes and to fight terrorism.

This approach would be especially effective in Afghanistan where war has never worked. As a matter of fact, war hasn't worked for any invader of Afghanistan down through history. Building schools, building hospitals, building roads is the best way to fight the Taliban.

Mr. Speaker, it's time to rebuild our country and rethink our foreign policy. The old ways have failed, and we must take bold, new action. It means an economic recovery package big enough to do the job and a new commitment to peace around the world. It means we should follow the example of Reverend Glenda Hope because she would invest in the neediest among us, and that would be the way to get started in this world of ours.

I'm fine, Keith. Thank you again for pulling together a Progressive Caucus Special Order and for making it something that we want to come down here and talk from our perspectives about as to what's going on in our Congress and in our country and overall in our world.

Right now, this country of ours, this Congress of ours and certainly every single person I saw in my district--Marin and Sonoma Counties-- over the weekend are all talking about one thing, and that is the stimulus package, the recovery package, that we are debating between the House and the Senate. Now, after 1 week and 1 day of electing a new President, the House passed the President's recovery package, and we are proud of it. The Senate has changed it slightly--considerably. Really and truly, 90 percent is overlap in one way or another, but there are some misses that our leadership will have to deal with in conference.

I don't know how many people understand what happens when the House passes a piece of legislation on an issue and then when the Senate passes a different piece of legislation on the same issue. In order to have a law, we have to have conferencing between the House and the Senate. It's bipartisan with Republicans and Democrats. The conferees go into a room, and they start working out the differences. The only thing they talk about is where the two pieces of legislation differ and where they can come together and agree.

So now, what does this have to do with the Progressive Caucus?

Well, your Chairs of the Progressive Caucus, myself and Raul Grijalva, wrote a letter to the conferees asking for four important issues to be strengthened in conference between the House and the Senate.

And maybe what you would like to do, Keith--I will talk about the first section and then hand it over to you to comment on, and then we'll go to the

second, and third, and fourth; and then by then, we will be pretty much out of here.

So I'm not going to go through all of the introduction that we said in the letter except we said, ``As the co-Chairs of the Progressive Caucus, we write to you today to express our great concern about H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. And we would like our leadership in conference to pay attention to four major issues.''

The first one, investing in America's future. Our children. And then we went on to say that in the Senate bill, almost half of the funding cuts come from education. We consider this irresponsible, we consider it shortsighted. Eliminating funding for school construction not only hurts our Nation's children, but it also impedes job growth. What perfect growth for jobs is building schools for our kids that they need, and at the same time, providing jobs that pay a liveable wage.

Additionally, the Senate cut funding for Head Start, Head Start and early Head Start, from 2.1 billion to 1.05 billion. And in our letter we said that this chips away at our Nation's future and places an overwhelming burden on families already feeling the strain of a bleak economy and that we requested that our leadership return the funding to the House-passed levels.

Well, and now, Keith, the second issue we addressed is investing in America's States and local communities. Recognizing the squeeze being put on State and local governments, the House, rightfully, set aside assistance--assistance to ease the financial crisis right here at home. That was slashed in the Senate's bill. It was slashed to $39 billion, which was a $49 billion reduction. States are seeing crises within education, within health care, job training, welfare programs; and it's really unclear, right now, how many States and localities will be able to function without the above-mentioned funding streams.

And we requested that our conferees returned funding to the House- passed levels.

The other thing we have to remember, Congressman Ellison, every single economist has told us you have to spend the right amount enough, otherwise it doesn't matter what you spend because it won't do the job.

And we have lobbied for a really bold stimulus package. I personally would have had a package that had the tax cuts on top of the spending, and it probably would have totaled over $1.2 billion.

Trillion dollars. Thank you. I still have a hard time saying ``trillion'' when I'm talking numbers.

And that, I believe, would have been what we needed. Because, you see, we're only going to have one bite at this apple. I don't believe we're going to get a second chance. So I think it should be as bold as it can possibly be.

And the third ``ask'' in our letter to the conferees was regarding investing in America's future, home ownership. We see this as one of the key elements in the Bush recession, the housing crisis that can be felt from Wall Street to Main Street. And that's why we think that the Senate action was actually wrongheaded.

The Senate bill zeroes out $2.25 billion in funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which would have provided funds to States and localities to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned and foreclosed homes.

The House allocated $4.19 billion for that program. We requested that our leadership return the funding to the House-passed levels so that we would then make a statement about how important housing and neighborhoods are and that we shore up the neighborhoods that are suffering the most.

If you will yield a minute.

I've been on welfare. I've moved--man, I can really relate to what's happening with people right now.

My children, they were one, three, and five years old. Their father was emotionally ill, and he left us; and I went to work, of course. I mean, they were my babies. I wanted to take care of them and did. But I couldn't make ends meet. So I kept my work and kept my job. This was 40 years ago, remember that.

But we had to go on Aid For Dependent Children to round off childcare and health care. And we got so much more in aid and help then, 40 years ago, than poor people do now, poor moms. And I just don't know how they're making ends meet.

We moved from a really nice home. We had two cars. I was 29 years old. We were the ideal family. And it just turned inside out.

And my kids and I moved to a little two-bedroom cottage. I bought a little beat up Volkswagen, drove it to work every day. It had a flower on the side--this was in the 1960s, of course. But it was so hard. And we got so much help, more help than families get today.

And that's why we want families in the stimulus recovery package to recover along with others that are going to get helped.

Thank you, Keith.

And, you know, I'm going to go into our fourth ``ask'' of the conferees, but I think it's important to say because this is probably why we're fighting so hard. When I was on welfare, I used to say to my friends--I was on welfare for 3 years, working the whole time. I would say to my friends, ``Well, I don't know how other women do this.'' They think, ``Are you crazy? What do you care about other women? You're working. You're going to be off of it pretty soon.''

But, you know, I always knew that I was educated. I had college-- hadn't graduated but I had several years of college. I had great job skills, I was as healthy as a horse, my kids were really healthy. And, you know, I was assertive so I could make things happen. And I always worried that other women with children didn't have those same privileges that I had, actually, in growing up.

And it's never left me. It has never entered my mind that I made it; so why can't you? I know how important that help was.

The Federal Government was there for me and my family, and you have to believe I've paid back.

Well, just to finish this thought, every person we help who gets back on his or her feet pays back to the community and to the greater good.

And that's what happens to most people who get help; some, not, but most do.

So, knowing that, the fourth issue we have of asking of our conferees in our Progressive Caucus letter that our two co-chairs signed is investing in America's health care.

Fewer Americans have access to insurance and health

care. The House appropriately invested in immediate and preventive care. The Senate bill cuts $5.8 billion that was directed towards grants and contracts to prevent illness through health screenings, through education; malnutrition, immunization, nutrition counseling; media campaigns and other activities related to health.

The House actually had set aside $3 billion for prevention and wellness, and furthermore, the Senate version cut $5 billion that is intended to help unemployed workers pay for health insurance, reducing the Federal subsidy under COBRA coverage to 50 percent from 66 percent. That's something I have no idea how somebody can be out of work, living on unemployment, and afford COBRA. I mean that would eat up one whole person's unemployment or both family members that are working.

So, practically speaking, the Senate bill ignores the fact that many States who have unemployment insurance benefits that are covering or need to cover the newly unemployed workers will receive less money for the unemployed workers and for pay for food or housing, and that's going to really wipe out our States. And then individuals who have to pay COBRA health coverage, that wipes them out, and we're not going to help them if you don't change that in the conference.

So that's health care that's not going to be supported like it should.

And if the gentleman will yield, nine-tenths of the list that you read off creates jobs. I mean, it doesn't just upgrade the home and keep and make it energy efficient, which is so important, but the people doing the work are employed, and they're employed in jobs that pay a livable wage, and that is so important.

And one of the things we asked, not as one of the four key areas of the conferees, but that we let them know that we're concerned about the Senate's package in their investment in jobs because we wanted them to focus on green technology, and we wanted them to focus on veterans, and we absolutely are insisting that they maintain the prevailing wage. I mean, if we're going to have Federal funds, if we're going to be creating jobs, we do not want to create jobs for slave labor, and we want jobs that can make the worker independent and able to take care of his or her family.

Still a lot of jobs but we can do better.

Right.

This is not finished.

Right. We need to pass the stimulus. The other thing the economists tell us, and they are absolutely right, we know that, besides--the first thing they tell us is, It's got to be big enough to make a difference. The second thing they tell us is, It's got to be done quickly.

So we really have to come to agreement this week and get on with taking care of the recovery that people need in this country. We need to be making people first, we need to have people in need--we need to help them. We need to create jobs, we need to spur innovation, and this economy can and must get back on track.

Also, Congressman, they knew who dug this hole. I mean, this is a deep, deep hole that our new President, Barack Obama, inherited. And expectations are that he dig us out of it and go forward at the same time. Now that is going to be very hard. But we are going to do our part in working with him to make sure this can happen. But it cannot happen overnight. We have to know that that hole is so deep that we don't know where the bottom is yet.

So it seems so odd to me that the same people who dug the hole are the ones who are saying, We want to keep doing it the way we did it all along. The only way to solve this problem is to cut taxes some more.

Doing the same thing over and over.

I would just like to thank you, Congressman Ellison, for what you're doing here to help the country see what the progressive ``ask'' is. We have a progressive promise that will go over with them one of these days soon. But right now the most important thing we can do is stabilize the economy for those in this country. And it's going to affect everybody.

I believe you're totally right. People are with us because they get it. If they are not hurting themselves yet, they certainly know many people who are.

Over 290.

People say to me, Why do you do that? You're just talking to an empty room. First of all, it's not an empty room because people are watching us. But that 5 minutes is the only 5 minutes I have every day that I can control my subject without it having to be part of what everybody else's agenda is. And, I am telling you, I said I was going to keep talking until our troops were home from Iraq. And, guess what? They aren't home yet.

I am.

Mr. Speaker, there are many reasons to support the President's economic recovery package. Today, I rise to talk about one especially good reason, a reason that will help our Nation's brave veterans to get good jobs.

As we know, President Obama has ordered his military commanders to draw up plans for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Many of them will be returning to civilian life. Making the transition from battlefield to the civilian workforce is always challenging. But, in these hard times, it's going to be harder than ever.

Last March, the Veterans' Affairs Department reported that returning veterans were having a harder time finding work than their civilian counterparts, and were earning less. That, Mr. Speaker, was before the economic crisis hit with full force.

We got another look at the problem in November, when the recruitment Web site, Monster.com, surveyed veterans about their experiences in the job market. It found that 81 percent of veterans don't feel fully prepared to enter the workforce and, of that number, 76 percent said they were having trouble translating their military skills to the civilian world. In addition, hundreds of thousands of veterans are struggling with fiscal and mental problems, making it that much more difficult to get and to keep a job.

Mr. Speaker, veterans and their advocates have begun to report that some employers are ignoring the Federal law requiring them to give returning soldiers their jobs back--their jobs back, at the same pay. To make matters even worse, many military family members have taken time off from their own jobs or even left those jobs completely in order to take care of their injured loved ones.

I was proud to sponsor the bill in the last Congress that doubled the amount of time that a military family member could take off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. But it's still unpaid leave, Mr. Speaker, and few Americans can afford that, particularly now. That is why we need to revisit the law and to amend it to provide paid leave under

Madam Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague, Congressman Mike Thompson, to honor one of our districts' most hard working public servants, Mike Reilly of Forestville, California, who has recently retired from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

For twelve years as County Supervisor, Mike represented Sonoma County's 5th District a vast rambling, and fantastically beautiful place that encompasses the entire 53 miles of Sonoma County's coast, redwood forests, vineyards, the Russian River, and the western edge of our largest city, Santa Rosa. Known as ``West County,'' the 5th District is Sonoma County's most progressive with a vibrant and diverse population of ethnicity, sexual orientation and economic backgrounds. Mike Reilly, with his intelligence, people skills and encyclopedic knowledge of politics represented every one of his constituencies.

Mike is a Bay Area native born on May 27, 1944 in San Mateo, California. Always interested in politics, his first office was senior class president at Hayward High and later, student body president at Chabot College. Mike was an Army volunteer and served two years in Okinawa. The young veteran returned to the Bay Area after completing his tour of duty and began working as a youth counselor. He became one of the founders and eventually Executive Director of the Hayward-based Project Eden, a non-profit organization that offered drug counseling to the city's ``street kids.''

In 1977, Mike moved to Sonoma County to begin working for the county's drug and alcohol program, again as a counselor to youth. Mike settled in Forestville and soon became active in west county politics, no doubt influenced by his neighbor, Ernie Carpenter, who became the 5th District Supervisor in 1978.

From 1981 to 1985, Mike served as Administrative Assistant to state Assemblyman Dan Hauser, whose 1st District ran from Sonoma County to the Oregon border. During his tenure with Hauser, Mike was a key player in the designation of the Lost Coast Sinkyone Wilderness Area for public use, drafting initial legislation banning oil and gas development in Northern California state waters, the restoration of the Point Arena Pier, and regional issues pertaining to fishing and timber extraction.

In 1986 Mike Reilly became Executive Director of West County Community Services, a non-profit that grew from a 70's era all volunteer ``River Switchboard,'' to an organization offering a variety of services for people of all ages. Under Mike's leadership, West County Community Services developed an excellent drug and alcohol abuse programs, led in the establishment of the Russian River Senior Center and the Sebastopol Teen Center and opened a homeless shelter. For thirteen years, Mike also served as a trustee for the Forestville Elementary School District and the West County High School District.

When Supervisor Carpenter announced his retirement from public office in 1995, Mike Reilly embarked on a grueling eighteen month campaign to successfully succeed him. Mike's hard fought campaign and subsequent service allowed him to coast to two unopposed re-election victories in the years ahead. These were not years without challenges, however, including huge floods on the lower Russian River in 1997 and 1999, years of underfunded services in rural areas and the heavily urbanized Roseland area in the district, and a sometimes lonely role as an environmental advocate on the Board of Supervisors.

Despite these difficulties Mike was able to forge agreements that led to county support of home elevation program on the flood prone Russian River, the formation of the Russian River Redevelopment District, and ordinances regulating forest conversions and vineyard grading, as well as untangling hundreds of

county problems for his constituents. Mike was also a powerful presence on the County's Open Space and Agricultural Preservation District, and instrumental in protecting thousands of acres of land under county ownership or conservation easements.

During the same 12 years, Mike also served on the California Coastal Commission, including two years as the Commission's Chair. He has been recognized by statewide environmental groups as having the strongest conservation record of any of the publically elected members of the Commission.

I would also note that Mike Reilly is a key player in moving forward the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act, a bill that would provide permanent protection for the entire Sonoma Coast. Mike led successful efforts to endorse the bill by both the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and the California Coastal Commission. With our new Administration these efforts will result in passage.

This year Mike is celebrating another 12-year anniversary, his marriage to Judi, which took place on January 25, 1997, in a home in Guerneville in the midst of a flood emergency. Mike and Judi, their three daughter's, Kimberly, Sheri and Kelly, as well as Kelly's husband Stewart and their son, Stetson, and Sheri's fiancee, Will, make up a loving and supportive family with great political energy and philosophies.

Although Mike has retired from the Board of Supervisors, we will not let him leave us. He continues to serve as a board member of Coastwalk, California's unique coastal education program and on New Ways to Work, a national non-profit that is finding ways to train youth for the new economy. Knowing of Mike's energy, his intelligence and his savvy, his can-do attitude, we expect that although Mike will be able to play more golf now, he will continue to exert his powerful and positive influence on our community and our world.

Thank you, Mike Reilly.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the memory of a singular American who helped our democracy triumph in one of our darkest moments.

I speak of William Mark Felt, a former Associate Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who was instrumental in uncovering the great abuse of presidential power known as Watergate. Mark Felt died on December 18, 2008, in Santa Rosa, California in my district, more than 30 years after retiring from a career that included major roles in the turbulent and sometimes troubling history of the

Mr. Speaker, on his first day in office, I sent a letter to President Barack Obama calling for an international cease fire or ``time out.''

Like many of my colleagues, I have serious concerns about our Nation and its ongoing participation in armed conflicts. Right now, our men and women in uniform are engaged in bloody struggles in Iraq, and Afghanistan, and other troops are based throughout six continents. I fear that our influence around the globe is felt more by our military presence than diplomatically, economically or socially. That, in turn, leads to a negative and hostile view of the United States, its policies and its people.

Mr. Speaker, last November, people overwhelmingly supported then Candidate Obama because of his message of change and hope for a new America and a new era in foreign policy. I was especially encouraged by his statement. He said, ``To renew American leadership in the world, I will strengthen our common security by investing in our common humanity. Our global engagement cannot be defined by what we are against. It must be guided by a clear sense of what we stand for. We have a significant stake in ensuring that those who live in fear and want today can live with dignity and opportunity tomorrow.''

Mr. Speaker, while we have the most highly skilled military in the world, it is easily recognized that the world's conflicts will not be solved at the barrel of a gun. Instead, they will be resolved through serious discussion, hard work, reconciliation and diplomacy, all methods this administration has endorsed. Our partnership with the United Nations and our international partners will be invaluable in this process.

We must review our diplomatic and military stance and give strong consideration to redeploying our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, reducing the size of our military and, in its place, change our outdated international policy to reflect a message of change, a message of hope.

Additionally, Mr. Speaker, our Nation and the world at large would be greatly served by a worldwide cease fire, a ``time out'' to work out a rededication to diplomacy in the form of negotiation, reconciliation, humanitarian assistance and dialogue. The sooner this could be accomplished, the sooner we can move towards a conflict-free world, a world that all of our children can go to sleep feeling safe and wake up knowing they will be safe for another 24 hours.

I was pleased to see that former Senator George McGovern has joined me in calling a time out. Actually he called it on his own, but we did it at exactly the same time. In the Washington Post this weekend, or last weekend, Senator McGovern wrote, and I quote him, ``Like you, Mr. President, I don't oppose all wars. I risked my life in World War II to protect our country against genuine danger.''

He continued, ``But it is the vivid memory of my fellow airmen being shot out of the sky on all sides of me in a war that I believe we had to fight that makes me cautious about sending our youth into needless conflicts that weaken us at home and abroad, and may even us weaken us in the eyes of God.''

Mr. Speaker, today I urge our President and our Nation to seriously consider our actions and our policies that come at the end of a gun or the launching of a missile.

I am encouraged greatly, however, by the leadership of this new administration. Under its guidance we will live up to our international commitments and we will be judged by what we build, not by what we destroy.

Mr. Speaker, last week this Nation and the entire world turned a new page. Instead of a foreign policy based on preemptive strikes, military might and bullying, the United States, led by President Obama, will return to our national ideals of diplomacy and international cooperation. Like most Americans, I'm heartened by the prospect and look forward to the chance for peace and justice throughout our world. Besides, our policies have nowhere to go but up.

In a groundbreaking study, the Council for a Liveable World has outlined the good, the bad and the ugly of the past administration. Sadly, the list of the ``goods'' is much shorter than the ``bads'' and the ``uglies.''

On the good list, the Bush administration did not resume nuclear testing and did not withdraw the U.S. signature from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. Second, there was no war in Iran.

Sadly, Mr. Speaker, the foreign policy missteps of the past administration make a much longer list. Some of these wrong-headed policies may take years to fix. Some have seriously undermined the true ideals of America and its commitment to peace. The list goes on and on.

Here are some of the so-called ``greatest hits'' of the past 8 years. The administration refused to request congressional ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. The United States-India nuclear deal that undermined longstanding antiproliferation efforts was approved. The nuclear nonproliferation treaty was undermined by the administration's walking back from key promises the United States made in 1995 and 2000. The war in Iraq still continues after 6 years. There were virtually no negotiations with Iran. There were 8 years of unilateralism. The military budget skyrocketed by 86 percent. The United States has failed to pay all its dues to the United Nations. In March 2008, the United States was $1.6 billion behind in its treaty obligations which could have a negative impact on key U.N. operations including jeopardizing the 19 U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world. Finally, Cold War-era weapons systems continue to be funded such as the F-22 Raptor, Virginia-class submarine and the V-22 Osprey. None of them have any purpose in the current security environment.

Now we can't let the mistakes of the past get in the way of progress or hope for a more secure and peaceful world. I was very encouraged and inspired by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony before the Senate when she said that if she were confirmed, which she has been, the State Department will be firing on all cylinders to provide forward-looking, sustained diplomacy in every single part of the world.

Talk about a breath of fresh air.

``Our incoming President Obama can count on me,'' she said. And I say he can count on me, as well, and countless Members of Congress to promote and advance a foreign policy founded on smart security, founded on diplomacy, and founded on cooperation.

The world is waiting with great hope and expectations. On January 20, it was the beginning of a change in Washington, and its results will be felt far beyond our borders.

First of all, I would like to say to you, Congressman Ellison, that, as the cochair of the Progressive Caucus with Raul Grijalva, it's just an honor to be here tonight to talk about the economic recovery bill that we've passed in the House today. I really thought that's what we were talking about. I'd be glad to talk about everything that you want us to be working on with our Progressive Caucus, but I think that what we have done today shows that the Democrats are very much together, that we know where we're going. And this recovery package that was passed was very much in step with a letter that I sent, as the Chair of the Progressive Caucus, to President-elect Obama and to our leadership laying out what the Progressive Caucus wanted in this recovery bill. And 90 percent of what we asked for is in the recovery. We didn't get as much as we wanted on everything because we were looking at about $1 trillion and we weren't thinking of having the tax cuts in there. But we are very proud that most of what we looked for is in this bill.

If the gentleman would yield, those were the top three asks on our list.

If the Congressman would yield?

One of the things we have to be particularly proud of in this stimulus package today, first of all, for every $1 billion we are spending on infrastructure, we are creating 40,000 jobs; so we did a very good job with that today. But we are also investing in programs that create jobs that also are needed and necessary in our country.

We talked about the crumbling bridges and the infrastructure of the sewer pipes and all of that, but when we talk about the energy program, we have been supporting, as progressives, we have been supporting at least an Apollo-size energy program that not only provides jobs but will help us with our security so that we are not dependent on foreign fuels. Actually, green technology is jobs for the future. I mean, it's the industry of the future that the United States has to capture, and we are investing in our global warming, undoing the problems we have caused. And all of that costs money, but it makes jobs, and it makes jobs that leave behind projects that we need desperately in this country.

Well, our role, Keith, is to support our new President in every way we can, particularly when he is doing what we think ought to be done, and certainly we are going to have a much easier time of it with Barack Obama, President Obama, than the last 8 years.

But when it isn't going the way it ought to go from our perspective and with our progressive promise of things, the equality of all people, and the

things we hold near and dear, then it is our job to pull him in our direction.

We have to be very clear that if the moderates--and there is nothing wrong with being a moderate person, I just don't happen to be one--when the moderates become the left edge of our politics, then imagine what happens with the right wing.

Then the center becomes the right, and then it just goes off the chart.

It is our job to remind our President that, indeed, the progressives actually represent the core of the Democratic Party, and we are very proud of it.

When people ask, Oh, we love him, I mean, he just has the heart of this country. And when they talk to me about it, I always say, I don't envy our new President. He has a lot to do. He is going to be going forward while he's trying to dig out from this hole that this past administration left.

And you know what, it didn't have to have happened. It could have been avoided. For one thing, the lax regulations on Wall Street led us right to where we are today.

Another thing is this war of choice--amazing, I haven't said anything about it so far tonight, but it will cost us at least $1 trillion when we should be investing here at home in the people of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I don't know about the rest of you, but I've come to think of Lilly Ledbetter as my girlfriend. I mean she has been so important to all of us and to women and to the issue on this landmark day that we have today for women and American workers and their families because this bill does tell the whole story. And at the end of this debate, we will be one step closer to overturning an unjust Supreme Court decision, a decision that offered a restricted and decidedly unrealistic reading of when a discriminatory action regarding compensation actually occurs.

Good for the Senate for joining us in passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and with an overwhelming bipartisan vote at that, giving us the go-ahead to do exactly the right thing.

Sadly, Lilly Ledbetter will not be affected by our actions, but we know that she has paved the way for others who will benefit from her bravery and will have recourse when they are paid less than their male counterparts.

The President understands that equality and fairness are crucial in a free society. He understands that more than 40 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act, women are still paid an average of just 78 cents for every dollar a man earns.

I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and I look forward to President Obama's signing it into action, into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the bold leadership coming from our new administration. Today President Obama signed executive orders to put an end to destructive policies of the Bush administration. Americans and people all over the world will know, once again, that the United States rejects the use of torture and that we will proceed with the rule of law.

With his announcements this morning, President Obama is taking an important step for undoing the damage that has been caused over the past 8 years. The prison at Guantanamo Bay and the horrors at Abu Ghraib have so stained the honor of the United States that it will take years to regain the trust of the international community.

Under the past administration the world saw a White House that operated in secrecy and was all too eager to bend and break the rule of law when it was convenient to do so. Progressives fought every step of the way and demanded an end to torture and the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

President Obama is living up to his campaign promises, and he is signaling to the world a return to the very values that have led our Nation to be viewed as the greatest democracy on earth, our unyielding commitment to the rule of law and profound respect for human decency.

This Congress stands ready to help the administration. Whether it's bringing an end to prisons like Guantanamo or bringing our troops home from Iraq, we pledge to help the President forge a new path for America and for the world. Again, Mr. Speaker, I applaud the administration's bold move forward, and I will commit to supporting our renewed role as world leader for justice and human rights.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to give my 288th Special Order on the subject of the occupation of Iraq. The first 287 cited the terrible death and destruction that the occupation was causing and the damage that it was doing to America's moral standing in the world. But this Special Order, number 288, is different from all the rest. That's because we woke up this morning with new leadership in the White House, President Obama.

President Obama is meeting with his military advisors today. He is planning for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, something that the American people have been demanding for many years. And today, the Senate is meeting to confirm the nomination of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who firmly believes that America should emphasize peace and diplomacy over war.

President Obama has pledged to withdraw our troops within 16 months. He must not hesitate for a moment to make good on that pledge. He must make sure that the withdrawal is complete, that it is safe, and it is meaningful. There must be no residual forces, no military contractors left behind. And if his advisors urge him to change his mind about withdrawal, he must not waiver or go wobbly. I don't think President Obama will. Just listen to yesterday's inaugural address.

President Obama said that it is time to ``leave Iraq to its people.'' I've said for years that Iraq must have its national sovereignty and must have it back soon, so those words were very welcome to this Member of Congress.

He said, ``To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward based on mutual interest and respect.'' After showing the Muslim world nothing but shock and awe for nearly 6 years in Iraq, those were very healing words.

He said that ``earlier generations faced down fascism and communism with sturdy alliances,'' and he called for ``greater cooperation and understanding between neighbors,'' a clear repudiation of the previous administration's disastrous decision to go it alone in Iraq and elsewhere in the world.

He also said that America must choose ``hope over fear,'' and that we must reject the false choice ``between our safety and our ideals.'' This was another clear repudiation of the previous administration, which used fear to get us into Iraq in the first place and then used it to tear the Constitution to shreds.

President Obama also said that ``power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.'' He said our security comes from ``the justness of our cause'' and the qualities of ``humility and restraint.'' President Obama understands that the true source of America's power is our moral authority.

The President also said that ``we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat.'' And he promised to work with the poor people of the world ``to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.'' These are good words. They echo some of the most important parts of my national security plan known as SMART. SMART calls for ending nuclear proliferation, and it calls for giving poor people a better life because it's the best way to stop terrorists from recruiting absolute new followers. It's just the right thing to do.

In the most dramatic moment of his speech yesterday, President Obama promised that America will ``lead once more.'' That pledge has already inspired millions of people around the world. But now the challenge is to put the President's words into practice. It won't be easy. We know that there will be powerful forces that will try to push him in the wrong direction. That's why he will need the support of the American people, he will need the support of the Congress to put our country back on the right track.

He must get that support, the support in the House, and I hope that it comes from both sides of the aisle. By working together, we can build a more peaceful, more congruent world, and we can show that America can lead once more.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with sadness to honor Dr. Kenneth Stocking, who passed away on November 17, 2008, at the notable age of 97. Dr. Stocking dedicated his life and his work to education and the environment.

Dr. Stocking was a pioneering environmentalist and professor emeritus at Sonoma State University, SSU, who spent nearly half a century committed to environmental and political activism. A steward of plants, he was lauded for his advocacy work to preserve and protect native California species.

After graduating from the College of the Pacific in Stockton, Dr. Stocking began his teaching career and subsequently taught at several elementary and high schools. He later obtained a master's degree from the College of the Pacific and a doctorate degree at the University of Southern California in 1950.

In 1964, Dr. Stocking began teaching at what was then the Sonoma State College. Under his nurturing and forward-thinking leadership as professor and chair of the biology department, the department blossomed into the School of Environmental Studies and Planning. In addition to offering degree and certificate programs, Dr. Stocking's creation also serves as the home for the innovative Environmental Technology Center, ETC, and the Institute for Community Planning Assistance. Today, ETC is a model for green design in our nation.

Dr. Stocking's legacy continues to thrive today at SSU. He founded a botanical garden in 1973 at SSU to showcase the diverse California plant communities and provide a tranquil place for education and relaxation. In recognition of his plentiful contributions to the environmental sciences, faculty and students, this garden is named the Kenneth M. Stocking Native Plant Garden.

During his tenure at SSU, Dr. Stocking was appointed by then-Governor of California Ronald Reagan as the central coast representative for the California Coastal Commission. He was also president of Sonoma County Tomorrow, chairman of the Sonoma County Conservation Council, board member of the Sonoma Land Trust and an active member of the Audubon Society, Sierra Club, California Native Plant Society and many other organizations.

Dr. Stocking and his wife of 69 years, Mary, who preceded him in death, resided in Sonoma County for about 40 years. After his retirement from SSU in 1979, Dr. Stocking and Mary traveled to England, Europe, Africa and Asia. He is survived by a son and daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, Dr. Kenneth Stocking's unbridled passion for protecting our environment and commitment to education will continue to inform and inspire residents of Sonoma County and beyond.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. In 2007, more than 8 million children were uninsured, and with the growing recession, this number will only grow. Passing this bill will ensure that 4 million of those children will receive CHIP, bringing the total number of children covered by CHIP to 11 million.

Expanding health care coverage for our most vulnerable populations, including legal immigrant children and some pregnant women, is an obligation we cannot afford to ignore. Nearly 400,000 legal immigrant children come from families with incomes below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level and are ineligible for CHIP solely because they are recent immigrants. These families, uninsured and unable to purchase private health insurance on their own, are left to fend for themselves when they desperately need health care for their children. This is unacceptable, and with this legislation, we will reverse this shameful practice by providing States with the option of covering these deserving low-income families.

The passage of this bill is a great start, but we must do better. While this bill extends coverage to an additional 4 million children, including legal immigrants, over 4 million children will still suffer without health care coverage. In addition, nearly 90 million people went without health coverage for all or part of 2006 and 2007, most of them in working families. These numbers are disgraceful. This Congress, I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that our children and their families have access to high quality, affordable healthcare as a basic human right, not as a luxury.

A breath of fresh air filled the Capitol this morning. It happened during the confirmation hearings for Hillary Clinton. The Secretary of State-designate in her testimony said that ``diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy'' in the Obama administration.

This is exactly what the American people have been waiting 8 long years to hear. The current administration never used diplomacy, and the results have been devastating for us and for the world. The occupation of Iraq hasn't made us any safer. It has cost over $1 trillion so far, helping to put our economy into a deep recession. It has devastated our reputation in the world. All of this is clear to just about everyone except our current leaders in the White House.

At his press conference yesterday, President Bush insisted that the occupation of Iraq hasn't damaged America's moral standing in the world. But his administration's policy of shooting first, asking questions later, has badly damaged our Nation's moral authority.

The use of torture has damaged it even more. Yesterday President Bush called the human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib a disappointment. But in recent weeks we have seen convincing evidence that Abu Ghraib was the result of deliberate administration policy. Talk about disappointment.

In February of 2002, the President signed an order stating that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to members of al Qaeda or the Taliban. Then high-ranking American officials took a series of actions that made torture a part of our interrogation practices in Iraq and elsewhere. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was one of the officials who gave his stamp of approval.

A bipartisan report issued by the Senate Armed Services Committee on December 11 documented this illegal action and how these actions came about. According to the committee, the authorization of aggressive interrogation techniques by senior officials conveyed the message that it was okay to retreat and degrade.

Then a week after the committee issued its report, Vice President Cheney gave a shocking interview to the Washington Times. In the interview, he admitted that 33 prisoners were subjected to what he called ``enhanced interrogation techniques.'' That's fancy bureaucratic language for torture. He even admitted that prisoners were subjected to waterboarding, which has been considered a form of torture ever since the Spanish Inquisition.

I know that conservatives like Vice President Cheney have looked backwards for their policies, but the 15th century, Mr. Speaker, is much too far back. Look at the consequences of these policies of war, occupation and torture. The Middle East continues to be in turmoil and flames. Iran's influence continues to spread. People all around the globe have a negative opinion of the United States, which makes it much harder for us to get their help.

When America loses its moral authority, Osama bin Laden and other terrorists find it a lot easier to recruit new members. But with the change in our Nation's leadership on January 20, America has new hope. We have new hope for the future.

In addition to her comments about diplomacy this morning, Hillary Clinton said that ``We must build a world with more partners and fewer adversaries,'' and she promised to work with Congress and not to treat us with contempt, as the current administration has. She said, and I quote her, ``For me, consultation is not a catchword--it's a commitment.''

And she quoted Terence, the Roman playwright, who said, ``In every endeavor, the seemly course for wise (people) is to try persuasion first.''

The current administration tried war and occupation for 8 years, and it didn't work, so it's time to give diplomacy a chance.