Kendrick Meek: “And that is the reason why we are here on this floor. Many Members have gone home and they are having dinner or watching…”

“And that is the reason why we are here on this floor. Many Members have gone home and they are having dinner or watching some sort of program in prime time, but we opt to be here letting not only the Members know, Mr. Speaker, but also the American people know what is happening in this House. We want to bring true meaning to the fact that this is the people's House. We want the American electorate and Members to know that the people of the United States of America elected us to be here to represent them. We may be from different districts, but we have been federalized by the fact of our elections to represent all Americans. And the question that is before us now is what kind of government do you want? Do you want a government that is going to set the stage, a stage for a grandmother to make the decision if she is going to contribute to her grandson's or granddaughter's college education in jeopardy of losing her Medicaid benefits for nursing home care if she needs it? Are we going to set the stage for a veteran who wants to see an ophthalmologist who has to wait 3 months now, maybe 6 months? Are we going to ask legislators from environmentally sensitive States to jeopardize the very trademark of their State on behalf of special interests to drill oil just miles off the coast? Is that the kind of leadership that we want?…”