macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-18
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. again. I thank the distinguished gentleman. and I also thank the chairman of the full committee. the ranking member of the full committee. and the subcommittee chairs as well. I serve on the Homeland Security Committee. and I am constantly aware of the overlapping duties and responsibilities. Mr. Chairman. of the United States military. which has its confinement in certain areas. but also working to secure the homeland. The Jackson Lee amendment No. 64 in en bloc amendment No. 4 makes an important contribution to the bill by improving the effectiveness of U.S. Northern Command. or NORTHCOM. in fulfilling its critical mission of protecting the U.S. homeland in the event of war and to provide support to local. State. and Federal authorities in times of national emergency. Specifically. here is what my amendment does. It develops and has in place a leadership strategy that will strengthen and foster necessary institutional and interpersonal relationships with State and local governments. The backbone of securing the homeland is engaging State and local governments. Also. to develop an instructional program to train key personnel how to lead effectively in the event of a disaster when they do not have command authority to dictate actions. In addition. NORTHCOM. which was established in 2002 in the aftermath of the 9111 attacks. is to bring the capabilities and the resources of the U.S. military to the assistance the American people during a catastrophic disaster like war or a pandemic outbreak of diseases. such as Ebola. Zika. SARS. or influenza. major earthquakes. floods. and natural disasters. or terrorist attacks. I live in the Gulf Coast. and I am well familiar with hurricanes. enormous rains that we have just experienced. needing to bring to bear moving large numbers of people. housing large numbers of people. And then this morning I spent time after time of dealing with the Zika virus. which. again. our southern Gulf Coast region may be the epicenter. Let me quote. for example. a quote from a renowned professor. Leonard Marcus. out of Harvard. What we are trying to do is: "Effective emergency preparedness and response requires leadership that can accomplish perceptive coordination and communication amongst diverse agencies... " The Acting CHAIR . The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Date: 2016-05-18
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. thanks again to the Armed Services Committee for making in order with the Rules Committee my three amendments that I have discussed today. two that I have already discussed. and this one that I will now bring to my colleagues attention. Today. walking out of the bush of Nigeria. it was determined that another Chibok girl has been found. discovered. or fled. The debate is whether or not the military forces of Nigeria helped her out. What we do know is that she was missing for 2 years. along with the 200plus girls that were taken. Fiftyseven of them escaped in the immediacy of the hours. and six of them died. and this young woman has now come out 2 years later. Families are suffering. and Boko Haram has become one of the most vile and most vicious terrorist groups in the world. They are affiliated with ISIS. ISIL. but they have. if you will. no conformity to any protocol but killing. They have burned and killed Muslims and Christians alike. schools. homes. mosques. and churches. They have decapitated people. They have sent 8yearolds with bombs strapped to their bodies to kill. So my amendment is very straightforward. As I do this. let me say that a number of you have joined Congresswoman FREDERICA WILSON week after week wearing red to bring the girls home. She joined me. and we traveled together within weeks of the girls being taken in 2014. We confronted families. saw the pain. saw women with slashed throats that had healed. and we saw the leaders of government who then were somewhat. if you will. challenged about this task. So my amendment is one that deals with collaboration. It is a sense of Congress that provides for condemning the ongoing violence. expresses its support for the Nigerian people. and calls on the President to support Nigeria. Lake Chad Basin. and the international community to ensure accountability for crimes against humanity. It also asks for the initiative that we can engage the Department of Defense to assist the Government of Nigeria and countries in the Lake Chad Basin to develop capacities to deploy and destroy Boko Haram. obviously with the use of possible security forces. recognizing the Leahy amendment. but also with technology. Lives are still in the midst. Lives are still not being provided for. The Acting CHAIR . The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Date: 2016-05-18
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. I have never voted against the defense bill. and I never thought I would. My dad was a veteran who was nearly killed serving his country. He taught me to respect those who serve and to speak plainly about right and wrong. So let me speak plainly now. This bill writes antigay bias into Federal law. It strips LGBT Americans of basic workplace protections by reversing the Presidents antidiscrimination orders. saying it is once again legal for your LGBT neighbors and family members to be fired because of who they are. This is wrong. This is not about supporting our troops. It is not about fighting ISIS. It is not about religious protections. We can do all that. and we should. This is about bigotry. plain and simple. But we can fix it by embracing the bipartisan effort. denied by the Rules Committee. to remove this hateful language and keep everything else. Mr. Speaker. this is not some procedural vote to be waived away. this is about whether we will reaffirm equal rights or rationalize discrimination. When my husband and I got married. after waiting 22 years. so many of you expressed your support. Will you now look me in the eye and say that it would be okay for me to lose my job over it? Just today. a Member of this House. refusing to help strike this antigay language. said to me: But you know where I am on your issues. I said: No. This is where you are on my issues. Your vote is where you are on my issues. And this is where your children and where history will remember you are standing on our issues. You have the opportunity here and now to strike this antigay language and. in doing so. strike a blow for equality. Mr. Speaker. we are told that we are to make America great again. Well. you cannot make America great by making America hate. Vote against discrimination. Vote for this motion to recommit.
Date: 2016-05-18
Speaker: MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New Mexico

Mr. Chair. we have a provider shortage in this country. and it is only projected to get worse. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the United States could face a shortage of 90.000 physicians by One of the most common complaints I hear from veterans in Albuquerque is that even with the flexibility they have to see outside providers through the Veterans Choice Act. there just arent enough providersespecially behavioral health providersto treat everyone who needs care. If trends continue. we will be without the workforce needed to treat an aging population that will increasingly live with chronic health care issues. The provider shortages hit rural. poor. and underserved communities and states like New Mexico particularly hard. According to the New Mexico Health Care Workforce Committee. every single healthcare profession in New Mexico has a shortage of providers. In fact. Los Alamos. New Mexico. is the only county in the entire State without a shortage of primary health care providers. And primary care physicians are four more times available in urban areas than in rural New Mexico. The result: longer waits. longer travel. patients not receiving the care they need. and worse health outcomes. We have to educate and recruit more providers. but that will not be enough to keep up with growing demand. We have to do a better job at leveraging the resources we have to put VA providers in the best situation we can to provide quality and timely care to their patients. The Department of Veterans Affairs. the largest healthcare system in the United States. should be leading in using telehealth technology to provide care and promote patient wellness. The VHAs Home Telehealth Program is growing and provided 2.1 million consultations to more than 677.000 veterans in 2015. But we can do much more. In a report last year. the VA Inspector Generals office found that the VA missed opportunities to serve additional patients with the Home Telehealth Program. which could have "potentially delayed the need for longterm institutional care for approximately 59.000 additional veterans." The VA Inspector General also found that "telehealth patients showed the best outcomes in terms of patient admissions and bed days of care." It also saves money. Using telehealth instead of placing a veterans in a contract nursing home facility saves approximately $92.000 a year. and the veteran gets to stay independently at home. The VA should follow models such as the University of New Mexicos Project ECHO and think creatively about sharing expertise among specialists. primary care physicians. and medical centers to ensure patients in underserved communities get the care they need. Mr. Chairman. the VA should increase its focus on programs that are proven to improve clinical outcomes and expand access to care while reducing treatment costs. I urge Members to support my amendment to prioritize funding for the VA Home Telehealth Program. Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise to offer the Jackson Lee amendment that clearly recognizes the importance of those who have served and their lives after. My amendment says none of the funds made available by this act for the Department of Veterans Affairs may be used in contravention of subchapter III of chapter 20 of title 38 of the U.S. Code. which refers to the benefits for homeless veterans in training and outreach programs. Texas and Florida and California happen to be some of the States that have the highest number of homeless veterans. These are individuals who put on the uniform unselfishly. Now they are homeless for a variety of reasons. I hope that this amendment will reinforce and reemphasize the importance of ensuring that the rate of homelessness among veterans in the United States does not increase. As well. my amendment will remind us of our obligation to provide our veterans the assistance needed to avoid homelessness. which includes adequate funding for programs like the Veterans Administration Supportive Housing that provides case management services. adequate housing facilities. mental health support. and addresses other issues that contribute to veterans homelessness. I have. on my staff. a wounded warrior. We work a lot with homeless veterans. We visit their centers. We provide them with a sense that their commitment to this Nation will never be forgotten. Today in our country there are approximately 107.000 veterans. male and female. who are homeless on any given night. and perhaps twice as many. 200.000. experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year. I remember dealing with one of my nonprofits that was renting a space just to help three or four or five veterans. Unfortunately. the landlord was not sensitive to the fact that he did not have all the moneys to pay his rent. He was ultimately evicted. But it wasnt just he who was evicted. who was trying to be the Good Samaritan. it was veterans who called that place home. Many other veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because of their poverty and lack of support from their family. In my hometown of Houston. for example. we have had large numbers of homeless veterans. but we have begun to work on it. I hope that this amendment will remind people of supportive service programs. residential rehabilitation programs. and HUD VA programs. I ask support of my amendment. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia . the distinguished ranking member and a strong supporter of veterans and leadership on the MILCON bill.
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. last night. this House adopted a provision as part of the defense bill that rolls back antidiscrimination provisions contained in executive orders issued by the President in recent years. This is one of the ugliest episodes I have experienced in my 3plus years as a Member of this House. The inclusion of such hatebased language in a defense bill designed to support our military sends exactly the wrong message at a time when we should all be unified in supporting the efforts of our servicemembers around the world. My father was a veteran. He was nearly killed in the service of his country. I have never voted against a defense bill before. I never thought I would. Almost a quarter of the constituents I represent in the Hudson Valley of New York come from families where a member is serving in the military or has served in the military. I represent the United States Military Academy at West Point. We have helped 800 veterans. one at a time. out of my district office in my 3 years in Congress. and we have passed legislation directly aimed at making their lives better. So. it is not with an easy heart that I come to the House floor and oppose the defense bill. but this legislation snuck into the billand was kept in the billdespite a bipartisan effort to remove it. sends exactly the wrong signal and it says that we are so concerned about discriminating against a group of LGBT Americans that we are willing to destroy the bipartisan cooperation we should have on the defense bill. So my amendment today gives us another chance. It gives us a chance to correct some of the damage done last night by some Members of this body. What it would say is quite simple: we shall not do anything in this bill that contravenes the antidiscrimination executive orders of the President. It is pretty simple. We should not be spending taxpayer dollars to promote hate. and we should not be justifying that by some religious exemption. when. in fact. the language in the defense bill simply rolls back the antidiscrimination provisions that the President put in an executive order to those contained in the original Civil Rights Act and the ADA. It is specifically designed to exclude LGBT Americans. And in doing that. it aligns itself with the parallel efforts we see happening in States like North Carolina. It is wrong and it doesnt have anything to do with our military. it doesnt have anything to do with fighting ISIS. it doesnt have anything to do with religious protections. It is about bigotry. plain and simple. Today. we have another chance to do the right thing and to send the right message and to stick up for our military.
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Reclaiming my time. I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania. and I want to acknowledge that it was the gentleman from Pennsylvania. together with Mr. HANNA from New York. who courageously led the effort to roll back the discrimination in a bipartisan way in the Rules Committee. And that effort was thwarted. So I am very honored by the gentlemans support. and I am honored by the position you have taken in this House over the last couple of days. Mr. Chair. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Well. I appreciate the admiration. Let me ask my colleague: Is it necessary to discriminate against gays and lesbians to support our military?
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

It was resolved last night. It was resolved last night in the affirmative. In other words. this House said that it would include in a defense bill a provision that would roll back basic employment questions for gays and lesbians. My question to my colleague is simply. Mr. Chairman. if that is necessary for the promotion of national defense. Is it necessary to discriminate against gays and lesbians and transgender Americans to keep our country safe?
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Chair. I would like to again express my thanks for my colleagues admiration. It is nice to have admiration. It is better to have rights and it is better to be treated equally and without condescension. I would just note. Mr. Chairman. that the question remains unanswered of whether it is necessary to discriminate against gays and lesbians in Federal contracting to protect our country. to support our troops? Is it necessary to remove employment protections in employers covering 28 million Americans so that we can fight the war on ISIS? Is it necessary to protect ourselves in our houses of worship by discriminating in Federal contracting in businesses that are in the business of commerce and in private contracting? It is a tired and old and false choice to suggest that we need to discriminate to keep ourselves safe. to keep ourselves free. And people in earlier times have made those arguments. and they have. one after another. been reversed. So the notion that because this House did it last night. it cant get it right today. is at odds with a lot of American history. This House got a lot of things wrong for a lot of people for a lot of years. And then finally. slowly. almost despite ourselves. we figured out that we can be safe and free and equal. And in fact. becoming more equal in some ways makes us safer because it is the promotion of our values through our actions and our ideas and our words. not just our weapons that promote our values around the world.
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman for his kindness. I want to briefly join in the gentlemans recounting of our history. and I want to remind people of the eloquent statement of the Attorney General. Attorney General Lynch. who indicated that civil rights is a very large tent. and it embraces all Americans. Whether it is religious freedom or religious rights. or whether it is civil rights issues dealing with the race and ethnicity of Americans. we have always overcome. I believe that the men and women of the United States military deserve better than to have the kind of poisonous amendments that undermine the very reason that they put on the uniform. for us to be free. to speak freely. to associate. and to stand as who we are. I am saddened because my history is a reminder that I did not stand equal in this Nation. either as a woman or an African American. or even as an immigrant. which my grandparents were. So I join in pleading with this House to not. in any way. strip us of civil rights and tear up the Constitution. the 14th Amendment. the Fifth Amendment of due process. That would be shame on us. I join the gentleman in his amendment. and I ask that we consider those who we like and who we dislike. They are Americans. and they deserve the right to be respected under the law. I would ask that the gentlemans amendment be accepted. voted on. respected. and let us be the Americans that our Constitution dictates and our flag says we are.
Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H

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Date: 2016-05-19
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise this afternoon to recognize the remarkable career of Lauren Morris Schulman. After more than 13 years. Ms. Schulman is retiring as the Florida political director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC. the largest proIsrael advocacy organization in the country. Lauren began her political career 26 years ago and served in a variety of positions with the late Congressman Bill Lehman. E. Clay Shaw. Jr.. Florida State Senator Gwen Margolis. and MiamiDade County Commissioner Sally Heyman. Lauren has adroitly mobilized and engaged Floridas proIsrael community. She has led our citizen activists in building relationships with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. key to the success of the proIsrael movement. Lauren has helped all Floridians understand how. against all odds. Israel has become a prospering democracy whose groundbreaking contributions in technology. medicine. and environmental innovation have benefited the world. Laurens commitment to our community and the State of Israel is exemplary. and I am proud to call her my constituent and good friend. Our loss is her husband Cliffs and her familys gain. I wish a hearty mazel tov to Lauren and thank her for her invaluable work.