macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-05
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I enthusiastically rise to support JOHN CONYERS H.R. 900. of which Im an original cosponsor. which is a thoughtful response to legislation that was really hostagetaking. and that is the passage of sequestration almost 2 years ago. Everyone knows it was the need for the debt ceiling to be raised that generated it. But Im not about excuses. H.R. 900 simply eliminates the sequester provision in the Budget Reconciliation Act. It is thoughtful and allows us to proceed. However. we will not be able to pass it because our friends on the other side of the aisle are celebrating about the $85 billion in cuts across the board. hurting seniors. children. and families. And then they want to acknowledge this is the Presidents fault. Well. the President is willing to not look at poll numbers to be able to fight. to support. and enhance revenues and spending cuts. Thank you. Mr. President. for leading. For those who say nothing has happened. its because it has not happened yet. but I will tell you the continuation of sequester is going to hurt the American people and kill jobs. The continuing resolution that devastates those nondiscretionary projects of Head Start and education will also hurt the American people. Lets pass H.R. 900 and begin a process that the American people can buy into and a budget that is fair. with taxes and spending cuts that work on behalf of the American people.
Date: 2013-03-05
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. As I pointed out earlier. but I think it bears emphasis. about 1 month ago we passed a virtually identical provision. So why are we back here on the floor of this House. again without opposition? I think everybody in this House voted to do this calculation and have it put on the books. So why we are here one month later when the sequester just kicked in. doing something that we already did. rather than focusing on the issue at hand. I think is a mystery to the American people. Folks who just read from letters they got and from constituents. I think those constituents are going to be asking. why are you doing now what you did 30 days ago when we have got all these other burning issues on our plate right now. and at a time when we are asking for a vote on a plan to replace the sequester in a balanced way for the fourth time. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2013-03-05
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Listening to this debate on the floor you might think that this bill did something to reduce the deficit and the debt. Just in case anyone is confused. it does nothing to reduce the deficit and debt. It does ask for a calculation. which we agree with. In fact. the gentlelady just did the calculation herself. which begs the question why you need to go through a bill to get somebody to do the calculation. In fact. this calculation changes. because as the gentleman and all of us have said. the deficit goes up. That number changes every day. and so you have got to do it every day. The point is. we passed this a month ago. There is no objection to doing a calculation. But this bill does nothing. nothing to reduce the deficit. In fact. it is running up the deficit as we spend time. taxpayer time. right here on the floor of the House while we continue to ask for a vote. up or down vote. on our plan to replace the sequester so that we dont lose 750.000 American jobs. Today will be the fourth time we have asked for this. Our Republican colleagues have not taken any action in this Congress. not one step. nothing. to replace the sequester. That is what we should be dealing with. Not a bill that we passed a month ago. not a bill that the gentlelady did a calculation on the floor to achieve the result. Lets focus on jobs and reducing the deficit in a smart way. by targeting spending cuts in a smart way. but also getting rid of all those tax breaks that our colleagues seem so wedded to keeping in place. With that. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished Democratic leader. the gentlewoman from California .
Date: 2013-03-05
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Again. I have to remind people as they listen to this debate that this bill does nothingzeroto reduce the deficitnothing. All it does is ask for a calculation. which weve said we welcome and which one of our Members actually did on the floor of the House here as she gave her presentation. and its that which we can all do. But by all means. lets say to the President. Put that calculation in your budgeteven though that calculation is out of date 3 days after the budget is submitted if we dont get control of the deficit and do it in a smart way. I agree with the gentleman when he says the best way to deal with the deficit is to grow the economy. Thats what we should be focused on. which is why were asking todayfor the fourth timefor a vote on our proposal to replace the sequester so that we dont lose 750.000 jobs. 750.000 jobs is the number of jobs that were created between October of last year and January of this year. According to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. if we continue to allow that sequester to remain in place. we will see onethird less economic growth. Now. if you dont believe the nonpartisan. independent head of the Congressional Budget Office. who does professional work. and if you dont believe the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. who is not a partisan. maybe our Republican colleagues will believe the House Republican leader. Mr. CANTOR. Here is what he said on the floor of this House. not that long ago. with respect to the sequester: "Under the sequester. unemployment would soar from its current level . . . " He goes on to say that it would set back "any progress the economy has made." He then referred to a study that said. . . . the jobs of more than 200.000 Virginians. in my home State. are on the line." Thats Mr. CANTOR. Here is what the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee said about a month ago. This is what
Date: 2013-03-05
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. the American public does have a right to know. I dont know how many times we have to say this on the floor of this House: We passed virtually the identical bill 30 days ago. approximately. and Im not objecting to this bill. People have a right to know. We should have transparency. We should reduce the deficit. and this bill does nothing to reduce the deficit. What we need to do is make sure that we get our deficits under control. that we stabilize the debt. and that we make smart choices for the people in this country. Yes. there is a difference of opinion. We believe that as part of reducing the deficit. we should make targeted smart cuts. but we should also cut some of those tax loopholes. Now the gentleman mentioned that we passed a tax increase on $600 billion over the next 10 years. Thats right. we finally said. for higher income earners. youre going to go back to paying the same rates as you were during the Clinton administration. But the gentleman suggested that budget history began on January 1 of this year. We were all herenot everybody. but most of uswhen we passed the Budget Control Act in the summer of 2011. What did we do in that act? We capped spending-$1.5 trillion in spending reductions. That was the right thing to do. Now weve done $600 billion in revenue. So I think most people can do the math on this. Were not nearly close to the kind of ratios that the bipartisan commission. the bipartisan fiscal commission. SimpsonBowles. were not close to the balance that they talked about in terms of revenue and cuts. not even in the ballpark. So lets focus on the fundamental question. which is. number one. getting the economy moving again. not losing 750.000 jobs this year. and then reducing our deficits in a smart and balanced way over a period of time. But yes. by all means. lets have the President do a calculation. which one of the earlier Republican speakers did on the floor of the House. We can all do that. Of course as indicated. that calculation changes day to day. But by all means. lets get it. But lets not pretend that this piece of legislation does one thing to create one job or reduce the deficit by one penny. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2013-03-05
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. its always good to see a show of Hoosier unity on the floor of the House. and I look forward to joining my colleagues in voting for this bill. The State of Maryland also has a balanced budget. but we also have a capital budget and other parts that we do differently. Look. Mr. Speaker. Im going to support this bill. I support transparency. I supported virtually the identical provision 30 days ago. Thats really not the issue. Yes. we want more information. and well get it. But the real issue here is the loss of jobs. Now. the previous gentleman mentioned that the Washington Times has an article saying more jobs were created. Thank goodness we are finally seeing more and more jobs created. We will have economic growth. There will be jobs created. The question is how many fewer jobs we will have as a result of the sequester. The CBO hasnt said it will stop every job from being created. What the Chairman of the Federal Reserve has said. and what the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said. is that this sequester. if it remains in place through the end of the year. will be a drag on growth. so we will have fewer jobs created. In fact. they estimate we will have 750.000 fewer American jobs by the end of the year if we dont do something about the sequester. So. Mr. Speaker. Id just go back to the original question: Why take up something weve already done. already passed virtually unanimously. when we have a much more pressing issue and when we. today. will ask for the fourth time this year. when it counts. to vote on a bill that would replace the sequester in a smart and balanced way without the loss of jobs? Thats the fundamental question. And why this House is shirking that responsibility and refusing to hold a vote on a proposal that would prevent the loss of 750.000 jobs is a question I think the American people are asking themselves. So. Mr. Speaker. lets get on to the pressing business. Lets focus on jobs and really reducing the deficit and not playing these kind of games on the floor of the House. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2013-03-05
Speaker: JOHN CONYERS (democrat)
Chamber: H

the senior ranking member. for their support of this proposed bill. I would especially also like to thank JIM SENSENBRENNER. the chairman of the subcommittee. and the gentleman from Virginia. my good friend. for their support in the subcommittee. I also want to acknowledge Speaker JOHN BOEHNER. Majority Leader CANTOR. and our Democratic leader. NANCY PELOSI. for their support. Mr. Speaker. my district faces a serious problem with tobacco smuggling. According to a recent study. in 2010 alone. as many as 5.8 million cigarettes were smuggled into the territory. The study found that tobacco smuggling resulted in the loss of about $725.000 in revenues to the territory. If continued undeterred. tobacco smuggling in the territory will lead to heavier losses in local tax revenues. especially if the cigarette excise tax rate were to be increased. Mr. Speaker. securing and sustaining stable sources of local revenue stream is essential and must be encouraged for the territories. as it has already done for the States. It was for this reason I began to look into this important issue. I was disappointed. however. to find that under the current law prohibiting cigarette smuggling. not all the territories were included. Under the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act that Congress passed in 1978. it is illegal to ship. sell. transport. or possess more than 10.000 cigarettes per month not bearing the tax stamp of the jurisdiction in which they are found. Violation is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and seizure of the contraband cigarettes and/or both. The Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act currently. however. does not apply to American Samoa. the territory of Guam. and the Northern Mariana Islands. Historically. when Congress considered the bill in 1978. the Senate version defined "State" to include the 50 States. the District of Columbia. Puerto Rico. or a territory or possession of the United States. however. the House provision excluded the smaller territories. For some reason unbeknownst to me. the conference substitute adopted the House provision. The conference report describes the House provision as "more accurately delineating the practical scope of the legislation." Mr. Speaker. the bill before us today will correct this oversight under the current law. This important piece of legislation will amend the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act to include these territories. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Date: 2013-03-05
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to support H.R. 338. the "Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act of 2013." which adds previously uncovered American territories to the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act. Specifically. H.R. 338 provides that American Samoa. the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas and Guam will be covered by the current Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act. which makes it illegal to knowingly ship. transport. receive. possess. sell. distribute. or purchase 10.000 or more contraband cigarettes that do not have a state or territorial tax stamp. Currently. only the 50 states. Washington. DC. Puerto Rico. and the Virgin Islands are covered by the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act. We all understand the dangers associated with cigarette smoking and its prevalence in the United States. This bill seeks to treat the aforementioned territories like any other state when it comes to trafficking. Roughly 23 percent of American adults and 30 percent of adolescents are current smokers. Every day. 3.500 minors try smoking for the first time. one thousand of whom go on to become regular. daily smokers. Moreover. more than 15.5 million children are exposed to secondhand smoke at home. Smoking kills more people than alcohol. AIDS. car accidents. illegal drugs. murders. and suicides combined. with thousands more dying from spit tobacco use. About one of every five American deaths is related to smoking. or about 400.000 Americans each year. Tragically. about 50.000 adult nonsmokers in the nation die each year from exposure to secondhand smoke. More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from HIV. illegal drug use. alcohol use. car accidents. suicides. and murders combined. More than 8.6 million Americans currently suffer from smokingcaused illness. and over six million Americans under the age of 18 who are alive today are estimated to ultimately die from smoking. In addition. smokers lose an average of 13 to 14 years of life because of their smoking. We must do more to dissuade people from smoking.
Date: 2013-03-06
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague. Mr. MCGOVERN. and thank my colleague. Mr. COLE. for his efforts. but this bill falls short in a number of areas. But most of all. it falls short because it does nothing to prevent the loss of 750.000 American jobs that will result because of the sequester. "Sequester" is just a fancy Washington name for hundreds of thousands of American jobs lost. Thats going to squeeze middle class families. its going to squeeze small businesses. And that 750.000 jobs lost number. thats not the Presidents number. Mr. Speaker. Thats not my number. Thats the number from the nonpartisan. independent Congressional Budget Office. who have told us that if the sequester stays in place till the end of this calendar year. youll have 750.000 less Americans working at a time when we have a very fragile recovery going on. Just last week. the Chairman of the Federal Reserve said that it would reduce economic growth this year by onethird. Why would we want to do that when we have an alternative? And. as Mr. McGOVERN said. we have now tried four times to have an upordown vote on the floor of this House on a plan that would replace the sequester in a balanced way. So it would achieve the same amount of deficit reduction as the acrosstheboard sequester. but without the massive job loss that comes with the sequester because we do it in a targeted way over a period of time. We reduce overpayments and subsidies to the agriculture area. which theres consensus on. but we also close some big tax loopholes. We say big oil companies no longer need big taxpayer subsidies. something that President Bush proposed. And yet our colleagues are so insistent on protecting those special interest tax breaks and not allowing those funds to be used to reduce the deficit. that they havent even allowed a vote up or down here on the floor of the House. As my colleague. Mr. McGOVERN said. we have now tried four times. How many times have our Republican colleagues put forward a solution to replace the sequester this year? Zero. Zero when it counts. So this is a very simple question. As part of this bill. we should have an upordown vote in the peoples House on a choice. Were not asking our colleagues to vote for it. but I think if you look at surveys from the American people. the overwhelming majority of the American people support this replacement approach. this balanced approach to avoiding the sequester. than the huge job losses that result as a result of the sequester. And people should not be misled when they look at the numbers in different funding categories in this bill. because its not what it seems. They will be cut dramatically. That will mean fewer researchers looking for cures and treatments to diseases. fewer nurses taking care of veterans at our hospitals. So. Mr. Speaker. we just ask. in the interest of openness and transparency. give us a vote. Give the American people a vote on an alternative to the sequester so we dont lose hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Date: 2013-03-06
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the distinguished gentleman for his words. I associate myself with Mr. McGOVERN. But also. I do acknowledge Mr. COLE. my good friend. You have certainly joined us on bipartisan issues. as has already been stated. and I thank you for that. But I do want to. in essence. gently correct the gentleman on whether or not the President got his. its now time for us to get ours. I think what we have missed is that this is an ongoing process. an ongoing process to find the right balance of revenue and the right balance of cuts. Let it also be on the record that weve cut over $1 trillion already. and I can tell you that it has come out of the backs of poor people. Now. let me give you some resounding. exciting breaking news: the Dow hit the highest amount yesterday. 14.253.77. the highest in history. Wall Street is celebrating while the backs of poor people are being broken. This is not a rule that should pass today. We should remain snowed out. We shouldnt even be here. Snow us out until we can get the right kind of balance. This is the bill that we received in less than 24 hours. and theyre asking us to vote on it. And while were asked to vote on it. let me suggest to you that the longterm unemployed will be particularly impacted: $130 a month will come out of their unemployment. It will be brutal to government workers and job training programs. those that we slash and burn. but these are the men and women that work and do the business of government. For women who are caretakers. they will find that 50 percent of them are more likely to hold government jobs. theyre going to be impacted. $725 million is going to come out of poor peoples childrens education. Those of us who support community health clinics. $120 million of Federal support for community health centers will just drop. and 900.000 patients will not be served. 540.000 doses of vaccine will not be there. The point is that when it comes to the backs of those who will bear the brunt. it will be those who need clean energy. education. and research and development. I introduced H.R. 900. a simple bill to get rid of the sequester. My point would be that we need to go back to work and vote "no" on the rule. It is on the backs of poor people.
Date: 2013-03-06
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let me thank the gentlemans tone. and let it be known that all of us want to engage in that kind of civil discussion. I assume. if we all got locked up in a room. wed be able to find the compromise. Let me just indicate that the revenues and cuts that you just spoke about are over a 10year period. but theyre still cuts. This bill not only adds to that. but then the sequester adds to that. as well. Our suggestion in my remarks is that this will have a heavy. heavy. heavy. heavy impact on vulnerable and innocent persons. The cuts are going forward. and so my question is: Why cant we continue the discussion on how we balance cuts and revenues? We must operate the government.
Date: 2013-03-06
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

my friends on the other side of the aisle. I dont think that proposal would pass. I certainly wouldnt vote for it. I want that very much in the RECORD. If our friends want to do something. they do have control of the United States Senate. Thats a body that can do whatever it wants to do. and well see what happens going forward. Again. what Im pleased with is. I think this is the beginning of a real discussion and the beginning of a real dialogue. Were going to do some good things in terms of giving flexibility to the Defense Department and our friends that deal with military construction and the VA. Were anxious to hear ideas on the other side. But we are going to reduce spending. and were going to reduce it not by an extraordinary amount. but by 2.4 percent of the entire $3.5 trillion Federal budget. and were willing to renegotiate where those cuts come from. I think thats a pretty reasonable position to have.
Date: 2013-03-06
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise with grave concerns over the continuing resolution that we are considering today. While we all support any effort to prevent a government shutdown. we await a bill from the Senate that hopefully treats domestic and defense bills with equal care. There is no question that our men and women serving in Afghanistan deserve our support. but so do our children here in America. Yet the CR underfunds Head Start by $70 million. even though both House and Senate fiscal year 2013 bills provide significant increases for the program through our regular budget process. In addition to underfunding many domestic programs. like the Affordable Care Act and the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women. Infants. and Children. the CR does nothing to stop the acrosstheboard budget cuts in the sequester for any agency. including Defense. I still hope we can work together to replace these indiscriminate. meatax cuts with a balanced approach so we can avoid compromising our future through lack of investments in education. infrastructure. defense and public safety. Sequester cuts will be like slowly turning up the heat to boil a pot of water. Thankfully. the House is bringing this bill to the floor in time for the Senate to act and pass a bill for the March 27 deadline for the continuing resolution that will take a responsible. balanced approach to deficit reduction with targeted spending cuts and closing tax loopholes for the wealthy so we can use the revenue and the spending cuts to pay down our debt. Mr. Speaker. taking an indiscriminate. meatax approach to the sequester. to reducing our deficit in a balanced way is irresponsible. We must work together. I implore our friends on the other side of the aisle to come together and work together with us towards compromise so that we can avoid gravely harming our domestic priorities. including women. children. families. and the middle class. It is still possible. and there is still time.