macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1993-10-27
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate my alma mater. Jeff Davis High School In Houston. This past Saturday Davis won Its first football game since 1985. That ends the longest losing streak in the history of the Nation. This achievement crowned a 25year reunion that I was attending also Saturday night. The fact that Jeff Davis rose to the occasion is not as great as the fact that they were able to overcome their past losses. It Is an Inner city school where we have seen over the years a lot of students transfer to other schools and we would have as few as 20 people show up for the football team in the fall. They prevailed after a lot of community action and a lot of students decided that they were not going to take it anymore. They prevailed because their teammates put their best performance forward. not just in this game. but for a number of years. The North Side community in Houston pulled together. and despite living under the scrutiny of this streak. they pulled together. and they worked as a team. The Jeff Davis Panthers set a shining example for our whole Nation. Through persistence. dedication. hard work. and pride they proved they can achieve if they maintain their discipline and never lose their faith. Davis is far more than proud of this one win. They have proven to themselves and the Nation that they have the spirit to overcome all sorts of adversity. This school Is like our Nation. which fights. and we work. and then we pull together to win.
Date: 1993-10-28
Speaker: DR LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I more to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman. I rise today to join my colleagues. the gentleman from North Carolina. in enthusiastic support for H.R. 334. the Lumbee Recognition Act of 1993. Our colleague. Mr. Romn has worked tirelessly on this legislation for several years now and I pleased once again to Join with him as one of the cosponsors of the bill. As my colleagues well know. the Lumbee Indians have been recognized by the State of North Carolina since 1885. and have been seeking Federal recognition ever since then. The Department of the Interior has continuously opposed legislative efforts to recognize the Lumbee Tribe. either because recognition conflicted with prevailing Federal policies toward Indians or because of concern that providing services to the Lumbees would be too costly. Because the Lumbee Tribe- does not have Federal recognition. they receive some Federal services but they are ineligible for services provided to Indian Tribes by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Mr. Chairman. It is time that we right this wrong that has been inflicted upon the Lumbee Tribe for over 100 years. I urge my colleagues to resist any amendments to the bill and pass it as it Is presented today. In conclusion. I want to take a moment to commend my colleague on the Natural Resources Committee. the chairman of the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs. BILL RCHARDSON. for his strong leadership on this ssue and for bringing this bill to the floor today. I want to also tank the chairman of the full Natural Resources Committee. the gentleman from California . for his support and leadership on this issue as well. And I urge my colleagues to vote "yes" on H.R. 334.
Date: 1993-11-03
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Madam Speaker. the local communities are doing. to the extent possible. what they can with the items that we discuss today: crime. burglary. robberies. gang warfare. In my area. which used to be a peaceful. -lawabiding area. in the last few days they found a body. decomposed. with a bullet hole through the head. of a young man about 30. A policeman was shot and killed as he tried to help a youngster being attacked by a rival gang. A young lady was raped. attacked. and died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The local police. as best they can. address this Issue. They do not have the resources. do not have the manpower. There is yet the community effort that needs to be enhanced. Last Saturday night I attended a session where the Judges have a committee of volunteers who work with wayward youngsters. Later that evening we attended a session of what is called communities in schools. people who work with dropouts and potential dropouts. This series of bills that have been put out by the committee. I would like to commend the chairman and all the members of the committee for allowing us to address them from this level. for rightly or wrongly. the local communities now look to Washington for everything that happens in those communities. The moral aspect of it. the family values. all of that is there. It just has to be motivated and mobilized. The mobilizing and motivating has to be done by local law enforcement. by the local political leaders. These bills are tools that help in that respect. Madam Speaker. I feel very sincerely it can be done. I commend everyone that has worked on this endeavor. for these tools can be what makes us turn around.
Date: 1993-11-04
Speaker: DE LE GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speakers table the Senate bill to amend Public Law 100518 and the United States Grain Standards Act to extend the authority of the Federal Grain Inspection Service to collect fees to cover administrative and supervisory costs. and for other purposes. and ask for its immediate consideration.
Date: 1993-11-04
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. The answer is no. Mr. Speaker. the bill is silent on this issue. The committee plans on asking the Office on Technology Assessment to conduct a study of the issue. and we expect that the USDA would consider their findings in the development of a policy on this issue.
Date: 1993-11-04
Speaker: DR LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment In the nature of a substitute be considered as read and printed In the RECORD.
Date: 1993-11-04
Speaker: DR LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the Senate bill just passed.
Date: 1993-11-09
Speaker: JIM BACA (democrat)
Chamber: S

Director. Bureau of Land Management. Washtost DC. DuA MR. BACA: We want to take this opportunity to offer our support for the BLMs efforts to implement changes In the grazing fee Structure and lands management praotices on Federal Lands. This Board manages the approximately 1.5 million acres held in Trust for Nebraskas K12 public schools. We have a mandatory fiduciary duty to maximize the Income and preserve the value of this School Trust Land. This Board takes then obligations very seriously. We manage slightly more than 1.2 million acres of pasture. which is about twice as much as the total Federal holdings in Nebraska. and our 1994 grazing rates will vary from $14.0 per AUM to 821.00 per AUM across the state. Our rent to value ratio exceeds 5% in all pasture areas. We offer all leases competitively at public auction with no preferential treatment given to the prior lessee. We are 99.9% leased and the range condition of our pasture is comparable to privately owned rangeland in the same vicinity. There is no logical reason why Federal grazing lands cannot. or should not. be leased and managed In a similar fashion. Nebraska is entitled to 25% of the grazing revenue from its Federal Lands. It Is perfectly obvious that Nebraskas share of the Federal grazing revenue generated within its borders should be substantially more than the entire rate the Federal Government is now charging. Furthermore. the unconscionably low Federal grazing rates also impair the ability of most western states to obtain fair market rent for their State Trust Lands. We appreciate your strong leadership in making suggestions to manage the Federal Lands in a more business like manner and specifically your efforts to start bringing the Federal Grazing Fees more in line with private sector rates. If we can be of assistance to you in this endeavor. please do not hesitate to contact us at your convenience. Thank you.
Date: 1993-11-10
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. today I rise In strong support of H.R. 1025. the Brady Handgun. Violence Protection Act This important and desperately needed legislation would require a 5day waiting period before anyone buying a handgun would be permitted to lake possession of It. My colleagues. this bill is long over due. Had it been passed .last year t would have saved thousands of lives. If we pass it today. it will save untold thousands more. Guns are too readily available In our communities. I am distressed by the horrendous stores we hear and read about In the media due to violent. random criminal activity. It Is unfortunate that whole communities are held hostage because too often we do not make the hard decisions. We must get guns out of the hands of our children. Violence In our schools across the Nation has Increased dramatically during the last decade because of guns. Mr. Chairman. In my district. the Virgin Islands. we have not escaped criminal activity. innocent victims are suffering needlessly under a State of fear and terror. Hardworldng people should not have to live under these conditions. Despair has become the cry of all of our constituents. communities are pleading for relief from the surge of drugs and random violence. Mr. Chairman. I urge my colleagues to take a step in the right direction and save our children. our communities. and our lawabiding citizenry. We must begin to take practical measures to address crime. and this bill Is an "ounce of prevention.
Date: 1993-11-10
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Mr. Chairman. I rise today in support of the Gekas amendment which will set a 5year period for there to be a national instant check system for the purchase of a handgun. Background checks work. waiting periods do not. By passing this amendment. we can achieve the objectives of the Brady bill by Identifying criminals who attempt to purchase handguns immediately. We need to keep handguns out of the hands of criminals. We will also protect the rights of lawabiding citizens by not delaying their right to purchase a handgun. By passing the Gekas amendment we will have the assurance that in the future an Instant check system will be in place. This system will be safer than a waiting period and far more effective keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.
Date: 1993-11-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me. Mr. Speaker. as a member of the Public Works and Transportation Committee and a cosponsor of H.R. 2121. r rise in strong support of this legislation and in opposition to the position taken by my good friend the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. LIPINsEX. and urge my colleagues to do the same. The legislation before us represents a compromise that is due in large part to the untiring efforts of Chairman MxNzrA of the full Public Works and Transportation Committee. Chairman RAHALL of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee. and Mr. SHUSTER. the ranking member of the committee. Mr. Speaker. the undercharge issue has been with us for far too long and it is about time that we take the necessary steps to bring about lts end. This legislation represents a compromise that takes Into account the interests of all parties concerned and establishes an equitable procedure for settling claims by bankrupt trucking companies or their creditors. Because this is a compromise. no party got everything they wanted. That is the nature of any compromise. But I am convinced that the compromise that was reached In this legislation Is the best that we could ever expect given the controversy surrounding this issue. Mr. Speaker. among its merits. this is a vote for small business I urge all of my colleagues to take this long overdue action and support this legislation.
Date: 1993-11-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to join my colleagues in this discussion of. I think. one of the most important issues that Congress is going to consider this year or for many years to come. I just came from my office where I got a call from a constituent. I heard from him what I know many of you all have heard from your constituents. They have example after example of plants that have closed and moved to Mexico. and they say that you cannot be for NAFTA because of this that happened yesterday and the year before and the year before that. It seems to me that our biggest problem in selling NAFTA is not what NAFTA is going to do but what has happened up until now. All of the economic insecurity out there is really what has stemmed from what has happened preNAFTA. not what NAFTA offers. I wanted to just share a conversation that I had with the former Speaker of the House that I think goes a long way toward addressing some of these concerns. I was talking about this issue with Jim Wright. somebody who certainly has had a long and distinguished record of supporting the labor movement. in this country and somebody who strongly supports NAFTA and is working very hard for its passage. He said. in responding to the concerns that people have had about plants that have gone to Mexico. he said that NAFTA has nothing to do with them. He said that with NAFTA. plants can go to Mexico. but NAFTA does not affect that decision one way or the other. What NAFTA does. if we pass NAFTA. we will be able to sell American products In Mexico without the high tariffs. the high penalties. that Mexico is putting on American products. That is what NAFTA is all about. It is about tariffs. It is about penalizing American goods. It is not about whether or not a plant can or cannot move to Mexico. NAFTA does not touch that. I just wanted to come and join you all after this latest conversation that I had with a constituent. but it is one that I know you all have heard over and over again. and I think Speaker Wright with his distinguished record of support for the labor movement did such a great job of explaining what NAFTA is truly all about.
Date: 1993-11-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. former Speaker Wright is not only working for this agreement privately. he is working quite publicly. In fact. he has written an editorial that appeared in the Wall Street Journal recently. The former Speaker has taken a good deal of his own personal time to come to Washington and is actively going door to door calling on Members. trying to impress upon them the importance of this agreement. not just to our State of Texas but to the whole country. It is an Issue that he believes passionately in. and he is. though a private citizen now. is taking his own private time. his own personal expenses. and coming up here working the halls of Congress trying to get this agreement passed.
Date: 1993-11-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Absolutely. and what a different picture that paints of Mexican buying power than we have heard from all the opponents of NAFTA. To listen to the opponents of NAFTA. you would think that everyone in Mexico lived In a mud hut and walked to work. There were 700.000 vehicles sold last year. Do you know how many were Amerlcan? One thousand. One thousand was all that we were able to get into the market. Imagine with the strength of the American automobile industry what kind of opportunities we will have down there after NAFTA. That means tens of thousands of jobs. This is not a big business issue. This is a United Autoworker issue. This Is an issue of American workers being able to make cars to sell into Mexico. I think It is so important that this myth about Mexicos poverty is exploded between now and the time of the vote. Mexico has tremendous buying power. and they have a middle class and upper class that is greater than the whole population of the country of Canada. It is a great opportunity for American products.
Date: 1993-11-15
Speaker: PETZ GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

In responding the. gentlemans question of why is NAFT:A such a hard sell today.. and there. is. tremendous anxiety all. over this country. I cannot speak for the whole country. I can only relate what hws been told to. me. by- my colleagues. But I know that ts certafnly true In the. distrtct I represent. We. have had tremendous. job lose. We have had- plants close-. We have been hit awflly hard by the recession. Plants have. moved to Mexico. to China. to wherever. and there i the erroneous perception that somehow NAPTA ie going to make that easier to do. going to make it easier to pack up and move to Mexico. pack up and move offshore and export American Jobs. That is an erroneous perception. NAFTA has nothing to do- with that. and our success in selling NAPTA depends on overcomfng that misperception. as we have talked earlier. NAFTA will not make it easter to move a plant to Mexio. NAPTA will make It easier to sell America good toMexicok M 2220. In fact.. NAFTA will take away the tariff inentives that currently exist to move a plant to Mexico.
Date: 1993-11-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I think: a good way to understand the impact of tariffs is look at It like a sales tax It would be like walking into a WalMart and you are going. to buy a weed eater. Tie weed. eater that says made fn USA haa 10. M5 or 20 percent sales tax. The weed eater made in Mexico has no sales tax. Which product has the advantage on- the. shelf That is what the Mexican citiken is faced with when he goes. into a WalMart. The biggest WalMart in. the world is in. Mxico City. The American product has a 10 to 20 percent. sales. tax on it. The Mexican product does not. have. a tax on it.. After the 15yeas phaaefn. that American product. Is. going to be able to ca mae equally with. that Mexican product on that. shelf. That is whatNAFTA. is.about.. It does not make. it easier to move a plant to. Mexico. It makes it easier to: selL American goo&s in Mexico.
Date: 1993-11-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentleman for being so generous in sharing his time with all of us. as we discuss this important issue in front of us as a Congress and as a country. I want to discuss an example of a speciflc employer where we will see American job growth. if NAFTA passes. As I think everybody in this country knows. the oil and gas industry in our country has been devastated over the last 10 years. We have lost over half a million jobs. They are not J.R. jobs. We are talking about goodpaying. bluecollar jobs. making oil field equipment. putting it in the ground. We had a huge segment of the Southwestern. Southern. and Florida economy that was dependent upon the oil and gas industry. Well. when it went away. so did these Jobs. There is a company In the district that I represent. that currently employs 160 people. It nearly went broke during the downturn. but rather than going broke and accept the fate that befell so many companies that were faced with the downturn in the oil and gas industry. this guy decided he was going to export. He now exports to Indonesia. to Russia. to China. to the Middle East. And this company that had been around 300. went down to almost 20. because of exports is up to 160 employees. 160 very good. wellpaid. bluecollar Jobs for people who need them very badly. You notice when I mentioned the countries that he exports to. I did not mention our neighbor to the south. one of the biggest oilproducing regions in the world. He wanted to sell Into Mexico. He contacted the Mexican oil industry down there and said. I have got some tools that would be good for your oil industry and your country. It could make it more productive. Mexico said. you can sell those down here if you will build a plant down here. if you will build a factory in Mexico. He. wanting to grow his company. went to Mexico and tried to put together a plant down there. Finally. because of many circumstances. he just threw up his hands and said. it is not possible. went back to Texas and continued to sell around the world. does not sell a single piece of equipment into the country of Mexico. a neighbor just a few hundred miles to the south. He has already estimated that if NAFTA passes. he will double his work force of bluecollar workers from 160 to 320 people almost overnight. 160 to 320 goodpaying bluecollar Jobs. full health care benefits. retirement plan. And that is not speculation. Those are jobs unquestionably that will come to one of the most hardhit areas of our economy in this country. if NAFTA passes. good bluecollar jobs. This is not benefiting big business. This benefits 160 workers who are right now out of work and looking for a way to pay the bills.
Date: 1993-11-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Unquestionably. that is one of the areas where Mexicos need for investment is going to mean goodpaying bluecollar jobs for Americans. And It Is. again. it is not theoretical. We can specifically point to outofwork Americans who had good jobs. could support their family well. And because of forces totally outside of their control. they lost their way to make a living. When we are able to open up Mexico to the sale of American goods and services in the energy sector. we are going to put a whole lot of folks back to work that need the jobs and that deserve Jobs. That is a reason to support NAFTA.
Date: 1993-11-16
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. as we enter the final hours of the debate on NAFTA. I am concerned with something that is happening outside of this body. and I take the floor to ask my colleagues to disassociate yourselves from this endeavor. I picked up from the Wall Street Journal of yesterday an article about a group fighting NAFTA that are called nonamers. Let me quote from itthey have dinnersit says: The atmosphere turns xenophobic with antiMexican slurs. It Is kind of amusing and kind of frightening. one attendee says. Mr. Speaker. we have not done this with China and we have not done it with the Soviet Union. We have not done it with any country that we have trade or disagreements with. Mr. Speaker. I share Mexican blood. I share Mexican ancestry. But there are some half truths and more that are becoming part of the debate. I do not know if it is so or not. but antiMexican slurs to kill a piece of legislation that should be debated solely on its merits. and solely on the personal interests of our Members. I ask my colleagues. do not in any way associate yourselves with this truth. because Mexico. the Mexican people. and one of your colleagues that shares their blood. do not deserve that kind of treatment.