Kendrick Meek: “I want to thank you first. First of all, Mr. Speaker, let me just say this: let me tell you, as I was walking to the…”

“I want to thank you first. First of all, Mr. Speaker, let me just say this: let me tell you, as I was walking to the Chamber, I saw that the Speaker's vehicle was still here in the Capitol. I saw that the majority leader's vehicle was still here at the Capitol. This is now a little bit before 10 p.m. within the closing days of Congress. We have worked day in and day out. We are here away from our families, many of you away from your families, days before Christmas, to be able to work on behalf of the American people. I think it's important for us to understand that we would not even be having the discussion about who got what if it wasn't for the transparency that this Democratic Congress brought to this process first. So for Republicans to come to the floor and start talking about who got what, it never would have happened, Mr. Murphy, if it wasn't for what we have done. It never would have happened if it wasn't for your class and Mr. Altmire's class coming and saying we want transparency, that we want the American people to see what we are doing, that we want to take more rollcall votes than any other Congress in the history of the United States. We want ethics; we want responsibility; we want fiscal responsibility; we want to make sure that the Veterans Affairs get more money than they have ever had in history, the veterans health care system, in the history of the Republic.”