technical corrections and conforming changes to the bill so or before the house the following personal request leave of absence requested for mr ross one of new jersey for to day after twelve p m without objection the request is granted the check chair liaison for the house the following enrolled bill so fourteen forty five an act to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at five twenty colorado avenue and already bought out in colorado is the william h emery post office their in extraneous material mr poe june twenty first for five minutes is fox today for five minutes mr bishop today for five minutes mr carter june twenty first for five minutes and mr ozment today for five minutes without objections under the speaker's announced policy of january fourth two thousand and five and under a previous order of the house the following members are recognized for five minutes each mr emanuel without objection gentleman's recognized for five minutes the house of representatives has sure its constitutional duties when it comes to the issue of iraq the most solemn of duties that this body can undertake is the declaration of war reserved to the united states congress now in the case of afghanistan the known perpetrators of the nine eleven attacks some of bin laden and his collaborators in the taliban this congress did act with near unanimity one person dissented and we passed  resolution that was compliant with the war powers act and the constitution of the united states to authorize an attack on iraq and others who aided and abetted in the nine eleven attack now if george bush had had proof or had really thought that saddam hussein and iraq were involved in nine eleven he would have needed no further authority but clearly he had no proof and he couldn't make the case but he not in the last wanted to attack iraq not congress at all reaching a new low point here in my opinion unconstitutionally vaguely delegated its solemn duties and the in the case of the making of war to the president no i don't believe the congress can do that but we did and the president then some five months later used that very broad grant of authority  preemptively attack iraq sensibly to remove weapons of mass destruction and the threat of saddam hussein which later morphed into connections to nine eleven which later morphed into any number of other things in which finally became we went into iraq to bring freedom and democracy now since that time this congress this republican led congress has refused to conduct any meaningful oversight of what happened about the distortion or the misuse of intelligence about the huge scandals surrounding the more than ten billion dollars which has disappeared in the so called reconstruction effort or the actual conduct of the war itself the unbelievable incompetence of donald rumsfeld and his cronies and the impact on our troops in the military not one meaningful hearing no debate here on the floor of the house and finally the republican leadership says well we're go have a meaningful debate now let's see what they mean by meaningful debate tomorrow the house of representatives will take up a bunch of time that's good at least we're going to discuss it on the floor but it will be to debate a non binding resolution that is something which has no force of law no authority it is a sense of the united states congress and if you read that sense of congress you'll find that a vote for that resolution that non binding resolution which will be not amendable no democratic alternative or substitute will be allowed what the republicans wrote in secret will be voted on here on the floor of the house that's it up or down now this resolution if you vote for it is a vote for the status quo is a vote for staying in iraq indefinitely perhaps a decade or longer it's to continue the current policies with no end in sight  march twenty first president bush himself even said that the question of bringing home u s troops from iraq will be decided by future presidents future presidents remember unfortunately he still will be president till two years from last january now that's a pretty extraordinary statement for the president to make now i wish that the republican leadership really wanted to have a full could at least allow us to have and debate and alternative i'm a member of the out of iraq caucus i am a co sponsor of representative jack murtha's legislation legislation that would rea lead to a thoughtful and appropriate redeployment of our troops and would also say that we would be ready should they need to re intervene in a crisis situation in iraq but what  would do is get us out of the business of day to day yet between the shias the kurds and the sunni's not the bush administration that we never could have predicted that she is on the loonies and the kurds wouldn't get along they rummy said the welcome us like liberators flowers and stuff he just ignore the last four hundred years of history that's all he also ignored the state department and the intelligence agencies other than the little select group iyad who said the same thing and now i believe that the shias and the kurds in the sunni ten men others will not meaningfully move to share power get their act together and develop a national government as long as we're staying forever which is what the president and what's this resolution says so i believe that if we go down the path of adopting this resolution that there will be members of congress debating this issue years and years from today about what is the u s future in mr jones is recognized for five minutes without objection this gentleman from nebraska is recognized for five minutes saying the speaker immigration has been the number one concern of many americans in recent months the house passed a bill last december mostly with tough border security provided for more border control agents seven hundred mile fence stiffer penalties for illegally entering the u s substantial penalties for employers who employ illegal immigrants the senate more recently passed a bill with tight border security but also had language which addresses the problem of the eleven to twelve million illegal immigrants now in the united states some believe the senate three tiered approach to dealing with an undocumented workers now in the u s amounts to what many would refer to as amnesty their approach is as follows those illegal immigrants have been in the united states for zero to two years would be deported those who have been illegally in the united states between two and five years would have to return to the border for processing and then  country receiving a work permit those who have been in the country for five years or more illegally we would be able to obtain a legal status by paying a fine and meeting some other some other requirements so many have been concerned about this because it does mean that you could enter the country illegally and gain a legal status while still in the united states which again many people would refer to  so there's obviously tension between the house and the senate bills and the concern right now is that there may not be a bill that will be suitable to both bodies that can be achieved in conference so  the big the big concern i think is in the house at least what has been referred to as the three tiered approach in the senate and obviously most people who are here illegally at the present time we're going to claim that they've been here five years it may be very difficult to ascertain how long somebody who's undocumented has been in the country because they are undocumented it's very hard to ascertain what records are valid which are not and how long they've actually been here so as a result i've introduced legislation that could represent some common ground and this obviously will be controversial no one agrees entirely on how we might go about bringing the two bills together but i have introduced a bill called forty h r forty sixty five and the basic requirements are as follows it would require illegal aliens to return home to apply for a visa in other words they would have to return to their country of origin  apply at their home country consulate much of the paperwork could be done in the united states before they leave here but would have to be stamped in their home country they then could reenter the country with a legal status and cross the border with papers and as documented workers secondly this would provided for a three year visa which is conditional on continuous employment it would be renewed every three years and  then this would be open to undocumented workers with first a demonstrated u s employment history they would have had to been somebody who's employed in the united states has been employed satisfactorily good recommendations by the employers and then no felony convictions or any other major record of criminal activity or history so this would satisfy the argument that these people have come into this country illegally have remained here and have gained a legal status they would have to return to their country of origin so it establishes a new w visa for those who are classified as undocumented workers but have gone through these steps and the stage is present time congressman pence is also introduce legislation which calls for illegal immigrants to leave the united states reported centers located outside the country before reentering the country with a guest worker visa which is somewhat similar to are talking about here so this is not necessarily a  novel new idea and many people have taken a look at it the requirement for all illegal immigrants to leave the united states and enter into the u s legally with the w b so may serve as a way to create common ground between the house and the senate bills it's important that an immigration bill passed this year i think the american people are expecting and they're hoping it will happen and yet we're so far apart in the two bodies that this may be difficult to to effect so forty sixty five may serve as a catalyst to compromise in final passage and i would like to have my colleagues at least give it some consideration because we will have to think outside the box a little bit i think it will take some innovative solutions to this problem and it's something privilege report from the committee on rules for filing under the rules for over forty five report to accompany house resolution eight sixty eight resolution providing for consideration of the resolution house resolution eight sixty one declaring that the united states will prevail in the global war on terror the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary the referred to the h is just bigger a remarkable document showed up in our mailboxes this afternoon it's called a confidential messaging memo for the floor debate on iraq and the global war on terror this is apparently a memo republican leadership provided to members on their side so that they would just know how to go about rubber stamping the president's every thought and deed and could do their best to make sure that we don't have the kind of debate the american people deserve the american people deserve to have us talk about what really is going on in iraq and how it does or does not make us safer they deserve to have mistakes acknowledged and has forward discussed honestly and frankly admitting problems and working together to make things better they deserve a congress that is more interested in their security than in scoring points for the november election according to the republican leadership tactical memo this is purse eisley what the american well we'll not get instead there will be confusion and intentional mr rection there will be ad hominum attacks that means attacks on individuals and attempts to make saddam hussein and nine eleven more or less the same thing attempts to call democrats legitimate questions about the administration rationale for war and conduct of the war into what and i quote policies to concede defeat on the battlefield the memo was filled with advice on how to deflect confuse conflate and i would like to enter into that memo into the record so everyone will be able to read it and not be confused when they hear the debate begin tomorrow they will know what the script is that the other side is following let me read you some portions of that memo now because i think we all have a right to know what the republicans are advising their members to say and think quote during this debate our republican congress should conference should be focused on delivering these key points one the importance of our actions it is imperative during this debate that we examine the conditions that require the united states to take military action in afghanistan and iraq in the aftermath of the tax the september the eleventh two thousand and one in other words the republicans are being told to continue the big lie that iraq was behind nine eleven or at something to gain from nine eleven or because our enemies because i'm just that's all tied together in one neat package secondly the republican leadership wants to make the point that they are smart and tough enough because they don't look back they don't analyze they don't admit  and they don't learn now if they were a baseball pitcher who was this bad rumsfeld would have been shirked five innings ago but of course our president ran the rangers and gave chicago sammy sosa for which we know his judgment in baseball to do anything else according to their memo is to quote be prone to waver endlessly quote or to abandon our efforts against terrorism it is as if the republicans believe that there is only one kind of effort against terrorism that has validity and that as any kind of thoughtful consideration of alternatives is a sign of cowardice and weakness republicans believe the memo says victory in iraq will be an important blow for terrorism well yes of course it would be but what is victory in iraq and how do we get off the path we're on presently and onto that victory pat are forbidden to talk about those questions it would be wrong for four hundred thirty five fairly well educated loyal americans who have been sent here by their districts to help govern this country to start raising questions about what we ought to do there will be one proposal with no amendments that's it it would be weak and wavering and a sign of quote abandoning our efforts if we attempt to make those efforts more rational and successful and relate them to the goal of making americans easier we're in trouble in iraq we don't have a plan except to keep plowing ahead with the same old policy a strategy that is getting americans and iraqis killed and driving iraqis to despair and helplessness and we don't have a congress that can step up and take responsibility and try to make the administration listen to reason the president's policy is to put the control of this in the hands of the iraqis when they stand up we will stand down who's going to sell the iraqis when to stand up the clerics of course the shia and sunni clerics will decide when they stand up what if they don't tell them to stand up while we're there until it ends this it is a charade get the tent out we'll go through it tomorrow but it will not shed any light on where we ought to be going as americans house tomorrow discussing what we are doing to defend america through what the president calls a war on terror what i refer to as a war against islamic extremists and i had a colleague earlier referred to the big lie well there's a big lie propagated by the left in this country that we have no enemies abroad that we should not be on that we should not fight those enemies where they are we are making progress in this war against islamic extremists make no mistake about it this is a generational fight while my grandparents fought the nazis and my parents fought the communists harsh ideologies that sought to destroy our way of life that sought to destroy who we are as americans we too have a generational fight in this war against islamic extremists and i will say in the last week we have seen some very positive prospects coming from iraq there are those that want to deny that we're making progress and they have every right and ability to do that because we have freedom of speech here in the united states because of our constitutional freedoms we're trying to bring that same level of freedom to those that are living and repressive regimes which those repressive regimes are the ones that are propagating terror against us here in the united states so if we spread peace and freedom and democracy around the world we will have fewer enemies that seek to destroy us and to kill americans now in the last week we saw the destruction of our county a militant extremists in iraq a terrorist mastermind who is seeking to destroy our troops to hurt our men and women and in irak and to destroy the progress they're making for themselves in iraq but we did root him out that was a wonderful positive step we should be proud of that action beyond that we saw progress with the government of iraq taking shape and form with the security ministers being put into place in the final government being put into place we are making to destroy us now this is a reality of the day somewhat it would say that we should deal with them with a legal strategy well mr speaker i would say that's really removed from the realities of the war that we're fighting our enemy hates our values our enemy hates our freedoms our enemy hates our capitalism that we embrace in this country and so we must fight them wherever they are and by any means possible but the left in this country mr speaker don't want to fight this war they know it's hard they know it's difficult but i would say to the left in this country mr speaker that if we do not fight them the van yes which they cherish the freedom of speech the freedom of dissent which we have here in this country the right to vote the the actual equality that we strive for in this country  imperfect the quality we strive for whether be females having a place in society which we embrace here in this country those extremists would not want that to happen they want burkas worn by women they don't want their participation they don't want them to own property they don't want them to have freedom of speech wholly removed from what is our reality here in this country although imperfect but we strive for those values mr speaker mr speaker our enemy will fight us in any way possible and we must have a debate here on this house floor on what means we're going to use what direction we should take in this war on terror this is a generational fight and we as americans must step up to the challenge and embrace the fight or they will destroy us machine figure out your back to bounce my time gentleman yield back the balance of his a california thank you to speaker mr speaker this morning the president of the united states said this about iraq my message to the enemy is don't count on us leaving before we succeed don't be on american politics forcing my hand because it's not going to happen except mr speaker it's completely unclear what constitutes success under these circumstances saying we'll stand down when they stand up well that's just a talking point that gives the american people no clear guide as to when they can expect this war to end by leaving this question vague by defining success entirely on his own in secret terms the president is allowing in self an open ended commitment and a blank check in iraq as far as hand being forced by american politics what the president calls american politics is actually majority of americans american citizens outraged at the loss of life the hundreds of billions spent and the global credit we've squandered our people see two thousand four hundred ninety nine as of yesterday u s troops killed more than eighteen thousand us soldiers gravely wounded  others mentally and physically traumatized from their experience in the war they see us losing the equivalent of one but kalyan every month in iraq and they want answers all these sacrifices and for what none of it is making americans or iraqis safer in fact the presence of nearly one hundred fifty thousand american troops in iraq has become a rallying point for anti american extremists in the arab world this war becomes a bigger catastrophe with every passing day and yet the president and the republican majority have no plan to end it from the president we get the usual platitudes and this week a photo op in iraq and here in this body what's supposed to be the people's house we're embarking on a pointless debate on a non binding iraq resolution that is long on rhetoric and short on constructive solutions it's time we listen to the american people is time that the commander in chief stepped up by offering a solution instead of dismissing americans anxiety as just politics i have a plan that will end the occupation in iraq while helping iraq build a free and democratic society we must engage the international community including the un and nato  multinational interim security force for iraq the u n department of peacekeeping operations is particularly well suited for the task we must shift the us role from that of iraq's military occup us reconstruction partner by working with the iraqi people to rebuild their economic and physical infrastructure and we must work with the u n to establish an international peace commission comprised of members of the global community who have experience in international conflict resolution to oversee iraq's post war reconciliation process but the first step is to bring our american troops home home where they belong  our troops have served admirably they have sacrificed more than enough we can return them to their families and we can do it without abandoning iraq this is what the american people want mr speaker they want an end to this war they're not certain exactly how or when but it's our job to execute those details they're looking for us for leadership and it's time the president  you know mr speaker the united nations has had a myriad of problems over the last four five six years there's been tremendous scandals there's been waste fraud and abuse there have been atrocities perpetrated by the u peacekeeping forces in africa where they women and maimed other people we had the oil for food scandal it just goes on and on and on and as a result our new u n ambassadors been over there trying to clean up that mess and make sure that they they start straightening up and dealing with their fiscal problems as well as these other problems and as a result the second in command at the united nations the u n deputy secretary general mark malloch brown last week made a very aggressive speech about the united states of america he said that middle america in effect was too stupid to understand what the un was all about he indicated the news broadcasts from news resources such as fox news and news commentators such as rush limbaugh was way out of line and didn't understand what was going on at the u n and he criticize roundly the entire united states approach to the u n and the world problem now there's an unwritten law at the united nations and that is that the leadership or with their in the people that are involved in leadership don't criticize member states they just don't do it malloch brown did and he's the chief deputy to kofi annan the secretary general of the united nations and it's my opinion because of this terrible misstatement that he made that he should be replaced he should either resign or be fired if we're going to work with the u n and we pay twenty five percent of the dues over there for the whole world twenty five percent that we need to have a good working relationship and this is not conducive to this relationship when the second in command over there is criticizing the united states for taking issue with what's going on thank you mr speaker i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yield back the general chair recognizes the gentleman from california miss waters five minutes thank you very much mr speaker i come this evening to share information that i think the american public must know and understand about what is going on in the congress of the united states of america and what is going on with this war in iraq it is important that i do that this evening because tomorrow there will be on the floor of congress a so called debate but it is a sham debate this is a debate formed around a resolution h ra eight sixty one that the republicans have put together in an attempt one more time to food the american people about what they are doing this resolution was dreamed up after the republicans determine that the polls were consistently against the way this war is being manage this resolution was put together after they went home on break and they heard over and over again that the american public is getting fed up with this war the amount of money that is being spent the number of lives that are being lost and so they come to the floor after haven't done no oversight never explaining to the american public out billions of dollars are been spent never taken the time to find out about the corruption and the mismanagement in iraq never investigating the lies and the lack of intelligence and all that has been happening they have the audacity to come before the public and no slow call debate with the resolution step lee designed to trap the democrats it's a resolution that says all kinds of things do you love the soldiers of don't you if you don't support our resolution you are not for the soldiers in iraq and so many democrats are go trapped because they claim that in their districts they have half of their constituents for it this war and half against it and they don't know what to do and so when they have to confront  debate and a phony resolution then they just say yes because they don't want to be criticized for not being patriotic and loving the soldiers and supporting them well i'm here to say tonight is a sham and i would hope over night that my colleagues on this side of the aisle with see the light and have the courage to vote against it to not p but i don't know if they will or not but let me just give you the background and the backdrop of why all of this is happening this war started march nineteenth two thousand and three told number of u s troops in iraq today about one hundred and thirty three thousand number of soldiers dead two thousand four hundred ninety nine as of june fourteenth number of soldiers entered eighteen thousand four hundred ninety as of june fourteenth told amount appropriated including latest supplemental three hundred and twenty billion dollars the cost of the war per month six point one billion almost eleven million dollars an hour there were one thousand three hundred and ninety eight reported killings alone more than any other month since the war began in two thousand and six and that figure doesn't include slang soldiers or civilians killed in bombings yet the president of the united states would make you believe we're winning the war advancing we're going to be able to turn this mess over to the rockies and they're going to be able to contain what is now a simple walk up quite into the pentagon there are about six hundred insurgent attacks each week  new government took over in february the rate of insurgent attacks is higher now than it was in two thousand and four so jurors are being killed it is difficult for them to protect themselves against these bombings the suicide bombings these bombings that are set off in cars along the road and dead dogs and on and on and on and why are they dying we're in this war because the president of the united states said that there were weapons of mass destruction that we had to protect against all that we have encountered it is mismanagement corruption missteps lack of winning all this crazy thing soldiers dying and some of our young people now been charged with killing innocent people because they put guns in their hands and they told them to go and kill them because they hated that they  mr speaker lawlessness on the border breeds more lawlessness in the united states and failure to protect our borders is a national security issue and i come to you tonight with some disturbing news the threat is even more serious than many americans know tucson arizona sixty five miles from mexico i have it here on the map it is shown by the red dot it is the route to two interstates going north and south and one going east and west just southeast of tucson arizona is the university of arizona technology park on that park which is surrounded by an old fashioned chain link fence is a technology firm called right thought right on as a defense contractor that makes thomas tomahawk cruise missiles well neighbors in tucson arizona have sent me some pictures of what appears to be illegal entry into the perimeter of this plant here we have the chain link fence this photograph is taken inside the perimeter on these premises four hundred acres is that right the plant it is true there is a nother fance around right the on that is a finance that the cable type dance that keeps trucks from coming through but someone of course could crawl underneath or over that particular fence and you say mr speaker there's all types of litter inside the fence and the question occurs where does this come from these are trails that are similar to what you see along the texas border where i'm from but border to border towns down southeast texas don't have a plant that makes tomahawk cruise missiles to some neighbors say these trails are filled with trash backpacks water bottles and clothes and why is that well it seems that the illegals that come from mexico sneak under this fence and hide on these four hundred acres until the human smugglers come back later and pick them up and transport them throughout the united states right beyond public relations officials have said they hadn't heard a thing about it from the security and they have strict security procedures to enter that facility but a supervisor right the on security said yes illegals had been known to come through the grounds but they were just passing through and some illegals have been found working at the right the on plant by sub contractors but they were ordered off the premises i like to show you some more disturbing photographs that the tucson neighbors have sent me this is a photograph taken inside the parameter of that chain link fence and you see numerous backpacks where illegals have come into the parameter have hidden on the premises when the human sm come to pick them up and take them into the heartland of america they bring with them the backpacks that allow them to change clothes it is somewhat disturbing to me mr speaker that we have this contractor that makes tomahawk mass missiles that allows this to occur on their premises because you see lawlessness on the border breeds more lawlessness in the united states and you would think that a company that has submitted a border security plan for the department of homeland security just two weeks ago would be concerned about their border to after all it is a national security issue i have one more photograph to show you taken on the same premises but on the other end of the perimeter similar photograph of backpacks water bottles left by the people that illegally enter the united states how ironic that it is that they hide on the premises of a place and an institution that is trying to protect the national six already of the united states mr speaker the right the on problems are our problems because the us mexico border is not secure we have to stop the illegal entry at the border between the united states and mexico otherwise we will continue to see these backpacks throughout the united states and some may have closed but some by also bringing in to the united states property and explosives that could damage the united states it is a national security issue it is a border security issue mr speaker we have an obligation to the american people and have to have the moral will to protect the borders and the dignity of the united states colleagues talk about the debate tomorrow on iraq in the war that we are facing we also have a war going on in this country and that unfortunately is very quiet and that's the shooting and killing of people throughout this country most people don't realize how many people die in the yearly basis because each newspaper reports it but we don't hear all that information nationwide there are answers on how we can get there to stop this kind of killing last month the house subcommittee on crime terrorism and homeland security approved my bill h r fourteen fifteen the next improvement act this is a bill that would increase the effectiveness of the existing national instant criminal background check system the database used to check potential firearm buyers for any criminal records or any other disqualifying criteria hopefully the whole committee will take up this important piece of information legislation soon so can pass both the house before the vast majority of honest gun sellers with peace of mind knowing they are selling their products to citizens who will use them safely and legally however the nics system is only as good as the information it contains and unfortunately many states don't have the resources necessary to enter all of the disqualifying carcieri up into the nics system the end result of felons and others who are not committed by existing law or to buy guns or passing background checks and buying guns through the legit illegitimate means in fact twenty eight states have what amazed and seventy five percent of their criminal history records in fifteen states domestic violence restraining orders which are a disqualifying offense are not accessible through the nics system these and other loopholes of course countless lives of people their lives including two of my constituents on march eighth two zero two peter troy purchased a twenty two caliber semiautomatic rifle from a legitimate gun dealer in new york he had a history of mental health problems and his own mother had a training order against him as the result of those his violent background  order both nics disqualifying issues yet p detroit boy nixed past and expect around checked turned up no red flags it was illegal for him to purchase a gun but like so many others he simply slipped through the cracks of the next system because of lack of information four days later peter troy walked into our lady of peace church in lynbrook new york my district and killed two of my constituents peeta choice had no business buying a gun and the system created to prevent him from doing so simply fails it's only a matter of time before the system's failings provoke larger tragedies we must improve the nics system and allow it to do what it was designed to do the responsibility for the accuracy and the effectiveness of the unix system ultimately belongs to the states how many states however many states budgets are already overburdened this legislation would provide grants to states and update the nic system states would be able to update the  database to include felons domestic abusers and others not legally qualified to buy a gun the bill's goal is to have is to have a have fifty states enter at least ninety percent of the just qualifying information into nics states that don't comply or fall short of these goals will you penalize with a five percent reduction of the federal department of justice grand allocations also the bill would provide grants to state courts will promptly enter information into the nic system for example when someone is served with a restraining order stemming from domestic violence and inefficient nics system allows him or her to leave the courthouse and head right to the gun store my bill and make sure all the prevalence court records are entered into the next before a crime of passion can be committed it's important to keep in mind that this bill does not infringe on anyone's second amendment rights which i support it creates no new gun laws it simply enforces the laws that are on the books if h r fourteen fifteen becomes law laura buying citizens who want to buy a gun legally will not experience any delay at the point of purchase and this bill proposes no new burdens on gun sellers in fact i introduced this bill in  zero two and it was passed here in the house i'm hoping that we can pass this bill rapidly we have the opportunities stop the civil war in this country and we can save lives which is the most important thing that i yield back the balance of my from ohio for five minutes i thank the speaker very much and i would like to include in the record extraneous materials this evening particularly an article from the christian science monitor called prices rise and interest rates sure to follow this evening we've heard from many of our colleagues about the ensuing debate tomorrow on a very weak resolution concerning the ongoing war in iraq tonight i would like to direct my comments to the terrible taxes that this war places on the american people and not just taxes in the conventional meaning of the word because indeed this war is causing us to borrow money which we must pay back and we're borrowing it back from foreign countries this war is costing us more every day over three hundred billion dollars and rising we have to pay those dollars back because we are borrowing them this war is placing a terrible burden on this economy as we now see prices rise and interest rates ticking up which i will talk about in just a second and of course the greatest is on the loss of life in the injury to body and limb of those that we have asked to fight the battles of this nation as well as innocent civilians who are being killed and injured across iraq in the region this war in iraq is also exacting a terrible tax on the people of the middle east and adjoining regions because it's yielding more terrorism not less this war is yielding more repressive regimes in places like pakistan in places like egypt in the palestinian a already indeed adjoining nations like lebannon the tax on democratizing regimes is getting heavier and heavier year every day there is more instability in the region as we watch the demonstrations in the west bank and in gaza as we see hamas and fatah locked in internal struggles there is more instability not more stability and most crushing for our country globally as the united states is losing respect across the world we have fewer friends and more enemies and those who doubt the united states across the globe here at home we see interest rates and that is the article i will enter in the record tonight higher prices for such things as airline tickets housing health care and of course gasoline are now starting to eat into consumers pocketbooks indeed this war is a terrible tax on the american people and they are feeling it in their pocketbooks wednesday the labor department reported the may consumer price index rose point four percent after a point six percent rise in april this is well above the comfort level of the federal reserve the nation's chief inflation fight or the fed is going to have to raise interest rates more out of a desire to keep the markets from thinking the new sheriff in town at the federal reserve is not serious about fighting inflation prices are rising against a backdrop of weakening housing in other parts of the economy this war in iraq is a heavy tax economists are most concerned that rising prices seem to have moved beyond the energy sector and removing food and energy typically the most volatile prices from the inflation rate indicates core prices rose in may point three percent and over the past three months the core rate of inflation is up to an annual rate of three point eight percent the fastest pace in more than a decade we're seeing a near term excel aeration in the core rate an increase of half a percentage point at the next fed meeting is a strong possibility before the fed decides to back away so we look at what this war is yielding on many levels more terrorism not less terrorism isn't yielding more democratic regimes throughout the middle east no the oil regimes continue to be as repressive as they ever were there is not a single democratic nation anywhere in the region and there will not be one for a long time to come the united states ought to decouple itself from the repressive oil regimes it continues to support and become energy independent here at home is there a solution to the palestinian israeli standoff are there ongoing negotiations no there is just shooting across borders there more demonstrations in the street there is no  channel that is being actively promulgated by this administration to get the warring parties to sit down and finally reach a peace process following on the agreement that was attempted to be negotiated during the clinton years have we seen freedom on the rise no we see repression on the rise as beheadings and the election of people who are absolutely opposed to the united states without any sense of growing freedom there was a gentleman down here on the floor earlier who said that they don't want our freedom or they want our freedom here in the united states that's why they hate us so much actually they are number of those are revolutionaries w freedom from what they see us representing in that region and that is support of dictatorships support of oil regimes and we are yielding the counter reaction to many years of supporting brutal dictatorships a false choice indeed not so much a debate about our future in iraq as a ten hour or so talkathon the talkathon is with regard to a resolution that much like the iraq policy we have seen over the last few years is presented to this house with the ability of no member of the house to change a single word you can't dod and i you can't cross  t you cannot offer an amendment you cannot offer a substitute or alternative policy once again in a very constrained and perverse way the question of iraq is presented for members to talk but not to act indeed the resolution itself tells the whole story it is entitled a resolution which is declaring that the united states will provide in the global war on terror it be wonderful if by simply passing i declaration we could declare the global war on terror a one but tragically it is paper like this that was offered by those who failed to fulfill their decision making and oversight responsibilities in this congress that exposed young men and women from this country to the greatest danger instead of kev laura best instead of reinforced the ickle got paper and it didn't block and it didn't block the bullets that came the way of our brave young and women know indeed not only paper but the suggestion was the main thing our troops would need in iraq when what they were being sent off to iraq was a virtue to sweep away all the rose petals that would be thrown at them in gratitude for them invading iraq well of course it didn't turn out to be that way this false choice that were presented tomorrow without any opportunity to dot and i or cross a t deserve some specific consideration it has a whereas clause that by early two thousand and three so dom hussein had supported terrorist reason that language is in there is to perpetuate the lie and it is a lie that saddam hussein was somehow linked to the tragedy of nine eleven that we know that saddam hussein was a villain a fog a dictator and a tyrant but there has been absolutely no evidence presented to this congress to support the continued innuendo and suggestion by this administration time and time again that he somehow was responsible for nine eleven then there is the suggestion in the resolution that the terrorists have declared iraq to be the central front in the war against all who oppose their ideology while the truth is it became a central front only after george bush decided started a war there he provided the terrorist with the opportunity instead of coming to our military to take our young men and women to them and present them in a situation that exposed them to great danger present them without an adequate number of troops so that all these ammunition dumps were open and available to any terrorist who wanted to come in and take their weapons to use against our american forces so you know that our coalition and of course our coalition is the united states the united kingdom and a great deal of public relations because most of the other countries in the so called coalition have contributed extremely meager resources that have been there for a public relations bbses to try to cover the fact that this was a go it alone invasion of iraq and now the impressive victories which this resolution speaks do not take into account the fact that the number of deaths of young americans is approaching three thousand human beings three thousand young people cut down in their lives removed from their families another twenty thousand perhaps we approach who suffered grievous injury who may never be quite the same because of the injuries that they've suffered in courageous defense of our country and that takes us to why this resolution is being presented in this form because from the outset this administration and the leadership of this congress  a ride for their failed policies on the coattails of the courageous men and women who have been standing up for our country overseas they know their failed policies can't stand on their own merit and so they buried them within speak of the war in iraq is a monster storm a social tsunami battering the positive components of a potentially great society the billions of dollars being poured into this war could solve dozens of major and i came to congress in one thousand nine hundred three ronald reagan was saying the same thing he had a commission which came out what a reporter said our nation is at risk we still have not done a few things of great substance to deal with the problems  still are not appropriate the money to build laboratories in public schools you know high schools and high schools we still don't have adequate libraries and we still don't have the money which pays salaries which would produce the science teaches that are necessary we have crisis in health care forty million people are not covered at all and i mean inadequate coverage we are falling standards of living with gross inequities the assets that reflect wealth among black americans total less than twenty thousand dollars per family hundred twenty thousand dollars for a family of white americans both extended a falling not climbing i'm of the out of iraq and i welcome the opportunity tomorrow to begin a debate which at least allow us to discuss and open forum the problems that we're facing in a discussion is important because this is such an important problem we have employment problems in the most room and that all kinds of things should be discussed and now is the time for all americans to come forward and make their contribution toward a solution known common sense is welcome it might shed a lot of light on some of the problems and often real solutions scientific expertise is welcome mother wit we need the fresh visions of young of the un and we need this season wisdom of the elders everything we can do as  needed in order to solve these problems every question to be said for their possible solution he stated we americans are faced with a problem which is far more complex and the inner workings of a nuclear bomb i assure you the present explorations of the vast universe by astrophysicists are not as challenging as a need for a meaningful solution to this war blunder in iraq there are many possible questions and solutions that i would urge should be placed on the agenda for discussion however i want to focus on just two of them tonight one is the distribution of oil revenues and the other is the arrangements for the sharing of power among the majority shiites and the minorities main of the sunni and the kurds all revenues we need a trance parent open discussion full discussion of what are the arrangements that have been proposed are being proposed already in place for the distribution of the all revenues from the oil in the ground in iraq oil is their greatest resource oil as they have one of the greatest resource in the world and i'm a three or number four among the nations producing oil and yet very little revenue because of their arrangements for the pipelines in the shipping and the retail outlets in various countries i mean what what what is going to happen to the oil these are questions being asked by the people of iraq i assure you  questions that are stumbling blocks i assure you and the the completion of a government everybody never section country wants to know how it will run is going to be distributed if i live in a province where there is no oil  area big if it these things need to be dealt with sharing power relates closely to this we need to let them know they all share power regardless of whether the as soon as occurred some of the minority majority shiites need to share power  some way we have a problem with sharing pollo across the world and the many nations now struggling with this problem so we should bring the bear all of the possible solutions and try to help resolve the problems in iraq mr brown of ohio mr ross of arkansas mislead california under the speaker's announced policy of january fourth two thousand and five the gentleman from florida mr meek is recognized for sixty minutes as the designee of the minority leader thank you mr speaker once again it's an honor to address the house thirty something working group is back again to share with the members what we've been working on the last week and not only coming up a new ideas for america but making sure that we package the ideas that are clogged up in this process here  from from moving onto the statute books of the united states laws to allow americans to live a better life and to also put forth policy that will benefit those that are overseas fighting on  behalf of this country and what we've asked them to do as you know mr speaker we've talked a lot about fiscal responsibility we've talked a lot about the lack of health in the united states of america we feel we have proposals that are on the table ready to be considered if the republican majority would allow it to be considered and unfortunately that has not happened and there's been a lot of discussion on the floor about iraq but there's also been a plan that was unveiled in the last few days to share not only with the american people but with the full house that if we can't we can't work together and passing legislation in bipartisan way is going to help all americans not just republicans not just democrats not as independents not just individuals that are wealthy not just individuals that are poor not just individuals is making a way out of no way to help all americans so that we can move forth and we can we can find ourselves in a better situation and what we're in now then we're willing to take the mant and to have an opportunity to be the majority in this house we have the will and the desire to lead and the areas that we need to lead and and we have this plan on the house democrats dot gov that's house democrats  internet for individuals to go on and take a look at what we're talking about as house democrats and when we have the opportunity to put forth this plan if the american people sees fit that should happen which i believe they will  hopefully they will because the situation that we're in right now is dismal and is a very very challenging future for our for our children and for our grandchildren because so many issues are facing this country in an unprecedented way i think it's important if you take a good look at that house democrats in that plan in which was unveiled by leader pelosi and other democratic leaders in the democratic caucus this week we talked about making health care more affordable for americans this is a major issue misspeak are not only for individuals that work on jobs and work for individuals and individuals that are providing jobs they cannot take on are they cannot continue to take on this health care burden without a true plan a true leadership from the federal government states can't do it alone local communities can't do it alone we're going to have to do it in a way that's going to benefit the people and not the special interests and i think what we are right now mr speaker is that we well the majority here in this house has benefited the special interests as it relates to health care and i think the american people and small business men and women are yearning for some leadership right now also when we look at lower gas prices to achieve in energy independence this is something that's very very important we have pieces of legislation out there that promotes  energy alternative fuels to see more of of the eighty five so that we can have flex of the eccles that are out there and it's a part of our in an innovation plan and again going on house democrats you can download this information share it with your friends with your family and other members can take it in their status and say we want to implement this but of course that's not going to happen under the republican controlled house of representatives because i don't i don't think the will and desire is there to have to really have true innovation  alternative fuels other thing i to point out mr speaker and i think it's important mr delahunt a part of our innovation plan is also endorsed in comments by seals in this country not just democratic c e o s independen t individuals who just lost face in voting that are part of the major companies that are saying that the house democratic plan and which will hopefully be a bipartisan plan once the democrats are able once we're able to take control of this house with the help of the american people because of what's not happening here on behalf of american people innovation they want us to be first and mathematic and science they want us to be first as it relates to broadband access throughout this country and they want us to be first and taking the lead and making sure that we push for energy independence in ten years and develop that and make sure that we that we promote that through our legislation and through our appropriation not just giving dollars to the oil companies and saying go ahead we'll tell you we trust you you do what you wish to do with the taxpayers money while you run on to the bank with a continue d oil profits chart a back and get that while you continue to make record profits on the backs of the american people and we pay higher gas prices and where stuck in neutral as a relate with the engine i've read an article time after time again about the secret meeting at the white house in two thousand and one the energy task force that we know now that that task force meeting has worked in the best way for the oil companies and the worst way for the american people after that meeting up again i'm not a member of congress with a conspiracy theory but i just want to say that we have third party validators that are here and the staff has handed me this and i think it's important i read this white house documents show that executives from big oil companies met with vice president dick cheney by president dick cheney's energy task force in two thousand and one something long expected by environmentalists but  recently as last week by industry officials testifying before congress the top of the document obtained by this week this week of no of november of two thousand and five the washington post shows that officials from exxon mobil philips shell oil company and b p met in the white house complex with cheney aides who are developing national energy policy parts of which became law and parts of which is still being debated now i'm saying that and i just want to point this out and i'm going to flip it over the use there two thousand and two is not a coincidence that profits were up in profits is not a dirty word but when you have profits and quote unquote price gouging and the american people trying to put in ten dollars in a tank at a time well there and corporate welfare you can't help but put this together thirty four billion dollars in profits for big oil two thousand to two thousand three fifty nine billion dollars in profits looks pretty good i think that meeting was worth going to mr delahunt two thousand four eighty four billion now this is this meeting is now something that will be placed in the annals of oil industry that this should happen prior to major profits coming on and then on the whole two thousand five hundred thirteen billion and this mr speaker will continue to climb because the will is because i'm the republican majority doesn't have the will nor desire to fight on behalf of the american people to energy in the white house has shown that it has the will and the desire to allow special interest to come into the white house right policy and then come to the hill and fight for that policy so that all companies can see this and meanwhile the american people are paying more for oil and for energy and then the individual no oil company have the audacity to go to the you know i'm not going to blame them is dismissed the speaker because that think it's important that we put the blame where it should be they don't have a congressional voting card to vote for the policy to allow these prices to go up profits go up like this it takes members of congress to do that and i must say it and i'm proud to announce that a number a number a super majority of democrats voted against this philosophy of oil companies have an opportunity on the backs of the american taxpayers having their hand in a taxpayers pockets and then grab that other hand not only they spend their money and subsidies i mean we're giving the taxpayers money out in subsidies but at the same time the oil companies are winning both ways at the pump and with the tax dollars that the republican congress has appropriated and that's the fact that's component of what's not a pretty picture if you don't have the desire you don't have the political will or if there is influence that contradicts the best interest of the consumer that in and of itself is a recipe for disaster but just imagine combining that incompetence that's when you have a tsunami and that's what we've seen time and time again from this administration without any accountability from the republican majority tomorrow they'll be and it's not going to be a debate it's going to be a lot of speechifying there won't be any given today but for the first time in over three years since this congress voted to invade or to authorize the administration to invade iraq there will be a discussion of iraq in the war there for the first time in over three years so i think what that tells you is that there's no debate there's no discourse there's no but there was a story today in the news paper that just underscores what you're saying and i think emphasizes my point regarding the competence of governing well the lack there  let me really for just a moment bit with me this is from my hometown newspaper the boston globe and it's today the government doled out as much as one point four billion in bogus assistance to victims of hurricane katrina and rita getting hoodwinked to pay for a season football tickets  vacation and even a divorce lawyer congressional investigators have found now let's be very clear this was an investigation conducted by a nonpartisan agency that's an adjunct to the united states congress called the government accountability office here's what they someone stayed in a car y and hauled carol for seventy days with taxpayer help the saying g g a o investigators went undercover to expose the ease of receiving disaster expense checks from they provided lawmakers with a copy of a twenty three hundred dollar u s treasury check for rental assistance that an undercover agent got using a bogus address the money was paid even the fema learned from its inspector that the undercover applicant did not live at the address when you don't hold people accountable things get awful sloppy if you don't hold federal agencies are countable whether it be the white house the department of defen sooner or later john of course gentlemen you didn't both of you have made one overarching point and that is that the government is broken the government is not working the way it was meant to work and we have no leadership in washington d c from the republican house to the republican senate to the republican white house mr make that is willing to take on the gigantic task of reforming this government it is nothing but status quo it is nothing but  the same old tired ideas that get recycled election cycle after election cycle with no real solutions and so whether you're talking about energy costs or you're talking about the war in iraq or you're talking katrina we have a broken government and nobody in washington d c with that got to try to fix it now when you look at our foreign policy is has been mentioned already here eight point eight billion dollars given to iraqi ministers by the coalition provisional authority and nobody knows where it is forty five billion of american taxpayer dollars spent in iraq on reconstruction ninety six million in cash and receipts remain unaccounted for for a specific project on and on and on and why is it broke why is the american government broke because we're not having any success in rehabilitating the iraqi economy oil production below pre war levels electricity below pre war levels fifty four percent of iraqi households lack access to clean water on and on and on and on but the bottom line is this that this country needs to go in a new direction mr delahunt the americans are people are tired what the american people are demanding mr ryan mr meek is accountability because of if there's accountability then we will have competence in our government but as you just indicated whether it be katrina whether it be the prosecution of the war in iraq there has been no accountability by  congress none what so ever and we paying the price we have paying the price in terms of our national treasure and by that i mean our young men and women who are serving in iraq and we're paying we've already paid heading in the direction of one half a trillion dollars for the prosecution of that war and what do we have to show f incompetence by their civilian leadership in the department of defense i would ask one of you to quote retired army general john the teached on defense secretary don rumsfeld who had this to say on april thirteenth mr ryan we went quote we went to war with a flawed plan that didn't account for the hard work to build the peace after we took down the regime we also served under a secretary of defense who didn't understand leadership who was abusive who was arrogant and who didn't build a strong team that's not tim ryan that's not kendrick meek that's not bil that's a retired army general who had a hand or his country well action in the right highly decorated army general who was sent to battle to law and it was  between militias insurgents it's become a breeding ground general pauli general paul eaton was responsible for the training of the iraqi security forces in iraq what do we hear now all we ever hear is that the iraqis have to do it themselves or we will stand down when they stand up and we will help them stand up that was three years ago how long does it take to burning a u s marine or u s delta floor's operative or a u s army ranger or a member of the a bomb or a u s army soldier or a navy three years no because the civilian leadership or this administration has been incompetent from the beginning and this is what paul eaton had to say about what's happening in our department of defense mr meek he has he has shown himself incompetence  is on secretary rumsfeld has shown himself incompetent strategically operationally and tactically and is far more than anyone responsible for what has happened to our important mission in iraq mr rumsfeld must step down that is paul eaton army major general comments on and i think mr delahunt that this all gets back to what has been happening in this country a refusal an absolute refusal by this congress to conduct the kind of oversight that is necessary article one section one of the united states constitution the founding document that really organized this country gives the power to this chamber and mr mayor saran do you realize that it's been more than three years and this is the first time tomorrow that we will have a conversation about iraq this shooter been hearing for the past three years these heroes these american heroes should have been invited to come before the appropriate committees  jurisdiction and allowed to testify about the incompetence of the prosecution of the peace in iraq by this administration but no they've been shot out we have been shot out of the american people don't know what's they can even put the paper on the desk baskin fast enough before they rubber stamp it and you start talking about the fact that the by the constitution we're supposed to carry out over sigh that's not a value of the republican majority oversight of what i know see where today they're too busy taking care of the special interests some members and you would think that some members were more concerned with trying to make sure the special interest got what they needed because you know we don't want to get the k street project where you pay to play and you get access into this republican majority house and so when you look at the rubber stamping of what has happened here i can't help but have this stance here because that's how we got here but what's in what's with was very very unfortunate mr delahunt and mr ryan and m is the fact that we have ourselves in a situation and the fiscal situation that is going to take a generation almost to recover from we have ourselves in a situation in iraq we don't know how many years it may take for us to recover from that and i'm using the president's words now we have ourselves in a situation where the white house now mr speaker wants to invite members over to have tea and cookies right now and trying to be nice be nice to say we want to hear from you now when now we have men and women caught in a crossfire and we have millions and billions of dollars that have been wasted and stolen in iraq and i'm going to say stolen because of a rubber stamp republican majority anything that administration sins now how can we rubber stamp it matter of fact i think the republican majority weren't walks around with a little mini rubber stamp in the pocket saying what oversight oh you mean this is the way you want it and how you want it and that's what the american people has to send a very strong message to this republican majority here in the house that we have three branches of government for a reason not to branches of government that deals with the legislation and policy but three branches we have judicial branches that separate inside but when you look at the legislative branch we're supposed to carry out oversight only a couple rips of members of the republican majority actually gets that and tries to practice it but they're in a super minority and so mr delahunt this the reason why we come to the floor is to sh light on the lack of oversight when it was a democratic house and a democratic white house there was oversight call bill clinton up and ask i think we know that ok republican majority the reason why you're going to see people around here scratching and fighting and begging and trying to do things and don't want out facades and trying to get press releases out because the white house is very very concerned that they will no longer be able to send legislation to the u s house of representatives and that it's it goes on it passes through committees that may have a half a meeting on it and come to the floor not allowing democrats to do anything to improve the legislation because they're too busy rubber stamping the process and it will disrupt that it's all about power and influence and i can tell you right now the look a majority has gone too far with this because that's the reason why we're in a situation we're in now and they're known they have to shake it and they know indeed deserve the rubber stamp because that's what they've been doing since the since the president has been in bed and been in the white house one one one one last i'm one point zero five trillion dollars in four years i don't even know how how that can be achieved in four years the republican majority have handed president bush you can't do it on his own we have the republican congress right under from two thousand one years forty two presidents were only able to borrow one point zero one trillion this is speaker i rest my case on that i rest my case on the fact that republican majority that given the bush white house foreign debt this is countries that have borrowed we have borrowed money from and now we owe them now i am and i'm going to be quiet for a minute but i just want to make this one last point and it's go borrow one hundred dollars from you and let's say you know i still haven't paid you back our relationship will change a matter of fact your respect for me as an individual to be able to handle my own finances will be altered even though we're considered friends our relationship is for ever changed now for the first time in the history of the republic mr speaker unfortunately the republican majority has countries like china and china iran iraq saudi arabia career the caribbean nations taiwan canada germany and opec nations looking at us in a different way and in an unprecedented way the fact that manhattan you'll tell me what to do on foreign policy and how can you all point your finger at me as it relates to the war on terror when you can't even handle your own for you to say you know the generals coming out they're coming out because american spirit is coming out of the chest of americans that a put themselves in harm's way because this administration and its congress asked them to put themselves in harm's way like  question of representatives actually if democrats were the majority in this house would be a fluoro general greg newbold retired marine lieutenant general to express his opinion before the appropriate committee of jurisdiction so that we could learn and the american people could observe what the truth was in terms of the prosecution of the wall and the peace in iraq would opportunity be afforded to the american people i thank you mr delahunt and i am honored to be here with my distinguished colleagues from ohio and from florida and from massachusetts because i think you represent the embodiment of the outcry of the american people we're in these chambers but we can't hear the voices of either rage confusion or just simply asking why and frankly what you've asked is whether or not we have three distinct branches of government the executive judiciary and of course the legislature absolutely because if you watched this congress in the hands of democrats some years ago we proceeded with the watergate hearings we proceeded with korea gate in iran gate giving the american people the opportunity to see our wounds to see our failures and to try and correct them isn't it interesting that in one thousand not guessed ninety one when the first iraq war they  understand we were not here they debated this question for two or three days hours so that members no matter whether republican or democrat could speak on behalf of the american people there were three and four resolutions people express themselves passionately and therefore they were able at the end of the vote to hold themselves accountable and the whole of course the executive accountable at that time president bush won here we come tomorrow and i have heard the map that shows that we are hostage as relates to our deficit tomorrow we come with a mere five hours somebody says there's a picnic that's going on that made a breakthrough but i think it's important to ask that question delahunt because as you live the array of generals let me share this with you i don't know how we can face the american people and not give credence the men and women who have of bravery on their chest some wounded some because of their service who had nothing to gain by going against the commander in chief in fact one says i was about to become a two star and three star general i was a one star i walked away and the reason why they walked away my friends is because one of their issues is that the military is depleted that we will have years of rebuilding the united states military which will take money and this is not only physical intangible think tanks arms clothing but it is a human capital that will have to be rebuilt how many of understands that we are depleted our but tell us that are supposed to be in reserve in kuwait we're down to one these are the american mothers and fathers wives and husbands who are looking to this government to protect their young people their husbands their wives their national guard their reservists that we have depleted them it's almost like i love mister meakin his anecdotes but it's like you run your shoes down you don't have a heel and you're almost walking on the ground because you've got holes in it that's unfortunately the military that we all love so i would say to you in answer to that question and i thank you for allowing me to share that  the ignoring of the sectarian violence the shia and the sunni and the kurds of course and holding ground somewhere else where they don't want to buy the bother them the fact that we still have our soldiers there doing nothing but sweeping up i e these that's not the mission of the united states military to sweep up i e d i hate landmines i hate id's their mission is finished and until we hold this congress accountable to do its job of oversight until we hold the white house accountable secretary of defense a pass on their incompetence and if you do for one moment of course you deal for one moment you're absolutely right we have pictures of these distinguished gentlemen we know that some have suffered won't some may have even been in viet nam and to answer to say tomorrow will be somewhat of i want to be if you will big no five and within the respect of this august body but tomorrow we will not be giving it respect and what we really should do is to have a debate into next week and next week and we should open the doors of a hearing room for these generals who have been frustrated in doing op eds and run speaking to the american people from a forum that give them sound by them and we should dignify their service to the men on tree and bring them in for them to be heard john and i hope that we will do that i'd be happy to yield and i don't think the point that we're trying to make here is we know it's not easy to admit you make mistakes it's not it's it's not it goes against your human nature but when you are elevated to leadership positions like we have been blessed to be here and to represent our country seven hundred thousand people of peace it takes courage now it doesn't take courage to have oversight chase a president pick a delos around the oval office that's not courageous courage is trying to say we've made a colossal mistake and instead of going down the same road even faster try to stop re evaluate the situation and let's find out who we need to hold accountable here mr meek who needs to be brought in before the congress as you said that's not easy that's difficult that's one of the most difficult things about being an american and being an american government is that your warts are here for all the world to see but that is better than the alternative which is tyranny and suppression and zero pression by the government this is part of our process these problems getting aired out but at the end of the day it's part of our greatness because we can quickly then adapt fix the problem and move on but when you have leadership that is afraid and incompetent brayed to address the real issues today that is the basis  whether you're in government whether you're in business whether you're in coaching doesn't matter what your field is if you don't admit you make a mistake then you're going to have problems if a coach goes into a game with the certain game plan and then the at half time you're down twenty one points then you change the game plan it hasn't worked move forward move on make the changes necessary mr delahunt to move the country forward you know because you know mr on tomorrow we're going t like cut and run defeat absolutely that's what we're going to hear on this floor and i challenge that republican majority to use those terms when it comes to these generals to these american patriots will serve their country ask right by the american soldier and by the american military and you've given them a pass if they don't how many facts how many of those generals there are i'm looking at is it about nine or ten  like it's a out eight i ask you a question with dan every day there's a growing number in your lifetime have you ever heard of this number of generals i know viet nam i'm trying to recount my history this number of generals and growling sacrificing their career offering their great history before us willing to tell the truth to the american the this is i think this is history that we have not seen in the past that they have been willing to sacrifice themselves in order to tell the truth to the american people i don't know why is mr meek so eloquently observed earlier it's time to take the country in a new direction and there are specific proposals out there that will take this country in a new direction he's a numerated several of whether it be health care or education how about just plain old common sense when it comes to managing money half a trillion dollars and we're still mired in iraq tax cuts that benefit not even the wealthy in this country but the super wealthy and if you notice this mismanagement there's been competence in terms of our see with the war refusing to be accountable and to address the major issues and trying to provide a lot of happy talk for the american people and  same with the domestic economy president bush says america's economy is strong and benefiting all americans but yet please excuse me but at the same time as this graph will show you college tuition is up forty percent gas prices up forty seven percent health care costs up fifty five percent and median household income down four percent but the president saying the economy is  benefiting all americans where are you living not in youngstown ohio not in niles ohio i mean give me a break the challenges that the average american person faces today is enormous the challenges are enormous and if we don't get this country from that this rut that we're stuck in and move it into a new direction let's talk about broadband access for every american let's talk about fixing the health care crisis in the united states of america so small businesses don't have to pay as much for health care costs they could reinvest it back into their company and maybe we could shrink the trade deficit just a bit let's make sure our kids we have a an economy right now that is so competitive competing with one point three billion citizens in china one billion citizens in india and they are focused on engineering and science and all of these other issues and we're making it more difficult more costly to go to school the number of people who are that have student loans now is going up and up and up and the amount that they owe back is going up and up and up and i think this that we use the other night was eight percent of the people who have student loans oh forty thousand dollars a year more like one and a half percent ten years prior to we can't make it more expensive m this week to let people know exactly what we're going to do real security we're going to implement all of the nine eleven wrap recommendations to secure this country our ports and airports and making sure that we have hometown in front line security well local law enforcement officers don't have the law enforcement agencies don't have to rub two pennies together to make sure that they can secure their communities which is our front line which is here in america also that we have affordable means that we bring about affordable health care along the lines of not only prescription drugs but also making sure that there's a health care system that can work for the private sector the public sector g m all of those companies are having issues including the federal government  paying jobs we will raise the minimum wage that's not a question that's a fact that will happen and it will pass this house of representatives here democrats getting control of this house affordable college education we will reverse what the republican congress has done as it relates to increasing the student tuition by two thousand dollars that have gone up fifty seven percent in public that's in public universities and private universities about thirty two percent and also making sure that they have tax deductions for college for college opportunities we will energize america by having flex vehicles and energy independence within ten years that's not something that you know we made with thinking about it no we will do that that's on a new direction that mr ryan was talking talking about and also making sure that people can retire in a dignified way and not privatized social security and that's what that's about and it goes on and on and on so i encourage members to go on house democrats individual and talk about a plan you can see a plan right there and we have missed jackson lee mr ryan and mr delahunt and the rest of the members thirty something working group the will and the desire to carry out the plan not just talking about it we said we had we'll in the desire to balance the budget we balance the budget period and the other thing i just want to do real quick ms jackson lee it's almost like you see a cliff and you're  heading you see a clear goal is to stop before you go over the cliff not to go have speed republican stomach cut in half a cut to cut the deficit in half is not going to get us to where we need to be you want to stop before you go over the cliff so they're going to have beat eventual you're going over the cliff i feel fit in a fiscal way we have gone over the cliff and we're saying we want to take america in a new direction we have the resume for action and fiscal discipline in this country and passing policies that will help the rich those that are middle class the poor and making sure the businesses can prosper in this society we've shown it during the clinton years everyone was making money everyone had hope and everyone knew that the congress and the white house had the will and the desire to put forth policy that will help the american people i yield on this jackson lee i just want to make this brief point but you have you have you know you've hammered it on what you're saying is that this congress is going to be action oriented we're going to act we're going to do we're going to not come in and if you will busy ourselves with the special interests what we're going to be doing is allow generals to come in we're going to be talking about if you will a new mission in iraq so that funding that is now almost if you will eliminated any resources for any other need to mess that need ten billion dollars a month that we're spending in iraq and afghanistan we're going to be action oriented and i just want to close on this point because you laid out the not only the agenda of democrats but out passion democrats are going to be focused on the needs of americans we're not going to be with the lights out the doors closed and the shutters drawn we're going to be opening our hearing room to listening to educators we're going to be listening to if you will working men and women who are asking why they're not getting a tax cut we're going to be listening to college students about pell grants and you know w conclusions we going to do something that i hope we will be the champions of the minimum weight because right now it is a disgrace that we're making or we're allowing americans to make five dollars and fifteen cents which is the lowest minimum wage in fifty years and so i say to you thank you for laying out the agenda and letting the american people know that we're going to go in here waving the flags on their behalf and the minimum wage is going to be one of our number one items to do and i gentlemen i thank the gentleman this is not about playing gotcha this is not about saying hey look this that you know this is about fixing the problems we need the information that these generals on the ground will provide us so we could actually fix the problems and we're going to reach across the aisle and work with the republicans this is not a bob democrat or republican this is a bob the united states of america and we need everybody's ideas we need everybody's intellect we need all americans to participate in this these are complex problems there's no liberal or conservative serv advancer we are in a new realm we are well beyond anything we could have ever fathom with the technology the innovation the movement of the economy globalization techniques in war the whole nine yards we are in we are past all the old slogans lesser government small and big government we're past that we are so far beyond that but the leadership in the country needs to reflect the views of the united states of american citizens jim and be happy we'll back in just thirty seconds i'm going to tell you i was in a committee today mr speaker and i leaned over one of my republican colleagues who i respect that will go now you know and i said you can do something good because it was one of those votes that you know democrats vote one way republicans vote the other way and what have you i said you can do something good that voting yes with this amendment and she said well you know i'm i'm in a million here and a as you can borrow and then when you ran out of borrowing which you can domestically you went over and borrow one point zero five trillion dollars from foreign nations that some of us have questions about so you telling me we know how to spend young a broken record you  made history in four years so when you look at it mr mr ryan mr speaker that we can come to the floor with fact and not fiction some folks come to the floor rhetoric you can see right through it like what is this guy talking about here on the floor how could he possibly say that that's not true but guess what we're talking about is true unfortunately because of the bad policies and nasty reason why we're saying just jackson lee that we want to head in a new  we want the american people democrat republican independent know that we got the will we have the desire to lead in that direction and it will happen it's not like when well we may get around to it we're going to do it if the white house wants to do it or not ideal i just want to make a point because i was going through a g a o study today and you can get it on the g a o website and it showed two scenarios one if we continue going down the same road wherein we make president bush's tax cuts permanent for the top one percent of the people and what happens in a place that scenario out there the numbers what percentage of our budget we would spend on military and this that the other and one of the issues there was the interest on the debt if we keep implementing the republican proposals that have been going on for the last five years for sure rubberstamp but much longer than that in the congress without the check of a democratic president where they were working together we will be paying so much money a higher proportion of our annual revenues to interest on the debt that it will be staggering the american people will wholly reject that kind of fiscal policy because when you're paying interest on the debt you'll get no value from that none you're not investing in education where you have millions of students that are now college educated inventing new things helping us with alternative energy you have none of that you're not in investing in the health care where kids are healthier parents are healthier workers are more productive you get no benefit you're giving money to china and they're taking the interest and they're reinvesting it back into their state on facilities and wiping out the middle class in america mr ryan happy to deal if i might just for a moment ask you to you know what are we doing right now in the united states congress we're going through the appropriations process every single of the ation bill that comes we are having to tell our communities back home you can't finish not the road to nowhere but the road this community needs you can't get rail you can't fix amtrak they're telling us that the health clinics the community health clinics that we've all bought into that have some value the choir's i public health clinics that so many people excited about we can't fund this we can provide you new monies for your if you will leave no child behind if you ever invested in that at all we can't provide any moneys if you will for alternative research in energy for our universities we can't provide them any dollars  because partly this mr wrecked admission with young people dying in iraq and not being able to refocus and then of course the fact that this deficit is contained a growing i just want to say this point i'd like to reiterate again the sadness is how many foreign nations own the united states now and again in my lifetime you have an ownership i did already i didn't think we'd see this and so i hope the american people as a listening to mr delahunt mr rhymes make that they understand this is serious  that we're not here trying to cast aspersions but this is serious on behalf of the american people and our hope as democrats take leadership on these principles will have an opportunity to change lives are you know back to the gym and this is i think the the problem that we have two final points is we're beginning to wrap it up let's get back to the sense of the common good mr delahunt where everybody benefits and everybody contributes we should demand as democrats that every citizen in the country able bodied citizen contributes to the good of the country the good of the economy they get educated and everything else we need to demand that of everybody but at the same time those people who have benefited from the system the economic system the capitalistic system democracy in the united states of america all of these people need to contribute the more you benefit the more you're obligated to keep the system running everybody contributes and everybody benefits and let's start focusing on the common good instead of all of these special interests and it really gets back to this and this is one of the final points i want to make over the past five years we have figured out that we myself personally and my constituents back at home do not trust the judgment of the republican leadership in the united states congress and that in the senate and in the white house it's not personal they're good people but their judgment is been has been very poor over the past couple of years and the end result is to wishing costs up forty percent gas prices up forty seven percent health care costs up fifty five percent median incomes down four percent and nothing with the minimum wage lowering college tuition costs and all the things that are going to lead business incubators and downtown revitalization is all the things this country needs now yield to my friend finally to say let's take this country in a new direction i'm excited about the opportunities that we're going to have being in the majority in january i think it's going to be an exciting time with new ideas and a lot of things that we can accomplish here in the united states be happy to gild my friend if you have a final comment no i think everything has been said i couldn't improve on a i'm excited about the challenges ahead and i think we're going to take this country in a new direction and i think it's going to benefit the american people whether they be republicans  democrats or unenrolled americans it's america we just simply want to say that we're prepared to roll up our nothing is guaranteed we're going to be working real hard and if the democrats achieve leadership in november we'll have the roll up the sleeves added to the open door attitude the oversight attitude and what's best for the american people that i think that really sums it up sheeler i really think that if democrats take control of this house it's going to open the open the doors it's going to open the windows we're going to get a breath of fresh air and accountability will be involved once more for the first time in a long time i think mr dulles it would be an honor for me to sit here and watch and listen to you read that with your new glasses and also your new book they are no they're nice the members of the house now and it's come to the floor to address the house one more time and we'll back to balance of our times there gentleman yield back one of the speakers announced policy january fourth two thousand and five the gentleman from mr bartlett is recognized for sixty minutes as a designee of the majority leader without objection thank you mr speaker today i had a very pleasant visit with a very important person matt simmons came by and we spent about an hour and a half talking now who is matt simmons and why should we be interested in a discussion with matt simmons and that simmons is the president's personal energy adviser he was the primary architect of his energy policy for his first campaign continued with him through his second campaign matt simmons is the president and c e o of one of the largest energy investment banks in the world out of houston texas and he has written a book which i have here twilight in the desert i'd like to read just a little bit from the  dust cover of that book saudi arabia is the most important oil producing nation in history the sutured of saudi government repeatedly assures the world that its oil fields are healthy beyond reproach and that they can maintain and even increase output at will to meet the skyrocketing global demand but what if they can't twilight in the desert looks behind the curtain to reveal a saudi oil and production industry that could soon approach a serious irreversible decline in this exhaustively researched book veteran oil industry analyst matthew simmons who draws on his own three plus decades of insider experience and more than two hundred independently produced reports about saudi petroleum resources and production operations what he uncovers is a story about saudi arabia struck old oil industry to mention its political and societal instability which differs sharply from the globally accepted saudi version it's a story that is provocative and disturbing based on undeniable facts but until now and never told and its entirety twilight in the desert examines numerous aspects of saudi arabia and its looming oil crisis we  had a discussion as i mentioned that was about an hour and a half long and that's him and shared with me his concern that the world is reaching a very critical point in its history first started talking about exactly fifteen months from today it was a fourteenth of march of last year and i have here the exact charts that we used in our discussion and i'd like to go through a few of those charges are all of them but all of these charts are charts from that first discussion we started with this chart recent headlines this is washington post the third day of february of zero five just a few weeks before our march fourteen first discussion of the subject in the subject which was peak oil you see that that is pasted on because we were discussing what should we call this discussion the great rollover was one possibility in the great rollover refers to that time in which there will be a rollover from a  silver's market to a producer's market when you have reached the peak and roll over the top finally decided to call it peak oil and that is what most everybody who is talking about this phenomenon refers to it now these were headlines you know they could the headlines from today's paper or yesterday's and when up a little today the dow dropped one hundred seventy four points driven by economic damage from rising oil prices and they were relatively low fifteen months ago compared to what they are today the plunging dollar and the dollar is still plunging and growing worries about consumer spending could be today's headline couldn't that recent oil price rise of twenty percent is continuing to crunch the profits of struggling airlines and is believed to be a factor in disappointing retail sales the dollar slides against the euro and the yen and it's still sliding consumer confidence slips in february and these were the where the headlines of the paper what are they talking about they're talking about some statistics that resulted in thirty of our prominent citizens writing a letter to the president saying mr president the fact that the world that the united states has only two percent of the world's oil reserves and we use twenty five percent of the world's oil and we import almost two thirds of what we use is a totally unacceptable national security risk we have just got to do something about that we represent a bit less than five percent of the world's population we are one person out of twenty two in the world and that one person uses twenty five percent of the world's energy and we import almost two thirds of what we use now we are really good at pumping oil we have drilled about five hundred and thirty thousand wells in our time tree there are of the order of magnitude i can't get the exact number a thousand more or less in saudi arabia we have five hundred and thirty thousand and i think there may be three or four hundred in  iraq are two percent of world reserves are producing eight percent of the world's oil i think today we are still the world's third largest oil producer we are far and away the world's largest oil consumer well how did we get here to find out how we got here we have got to go back about six decades and the next chart shows us a prediction that was made by scientists of the shell oil company by the name of m kang characteristic of oil fields generally and that was that that you reached a maximum after which the production dropped off and finally it tailed off to near nothing and he rationalized that if he could know how many oil fields the were totally in the united states and gas and how many more we would find that he could then predict when the united states would peak in oil production he made that prediction in one thousand nine hundred fifty six the eighth day of march just fifty years ago this last march eighth he gave what would become a very famous speech in san antonio texas to an oil conference and it was published as a paper and in that he predicted that the united states would reach its maximum of oil production in one thousand nine hundred and seventy now in those days he was talking only about the lower forty eight shell oil company  asked him not to give that talk and publish that paper because it would embarrass him and them he went ahead and did it and of course we did take an oil production in one thousand nine hundred seventy and so am king however it became an institution in his own time the smooth green curve here is his prediction the more ragged grain curve is the actual data points and you see right on schedule it peaked in  not meet expectations and so they are now having a second