macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-10
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman. I just wanted to point out that. as others have said. the diversion of resources from Afghanistan to Iraq is now clearly coming back to haunt us because we have not fulfilled the commitment that we made with respect to Afghanistan. The other effect it has had. as the gentleman from Maine pointed out in his remarks just a minute ago. this was a decision that was really both discussed before September 11. but in the very moments after September 11. there was discussion of going after Saddam Hussein in Iraq. even though there was absolutely no evidence. and the President has admitted to this day that there was no evidence of any linkage between Saddam Hussein and Iraq and the terrible attacks of September The result of what we did was taking a situation where the world and international community that had rallied around us. it had passed resolutions at the United Nations and through NATO. and the world had joined us in this effort. and we lost that support. It evaporated. and it is not like we want to win some kind of popularity contest or to win a popularity contest. but we have recognized that we need the cooperation of other nations in terms of intelligencegathering. in terms of support if we all want to be successful in combating terrorism. The fact of the matter is. by going into Iraq. taking the lid off Pandoras box. unleashing historical forces that existed in Iraq between the Sunni and the Shiia and inflaming the Islamic world. we have certainly helped multiply the force of al Qaeda. both the organization itself. as well as the copycat organizations that have sprung up as a result. They sprung up when the Islamic world saw the United States making a war of choice and going into Iraq. when it became clear to the world that the twin pillars of our argument. the claim that there were weapons of mass destruction and the claim that there was a link between September 11 and al Qaeda was cooperating with Saddam Hussein. the twin pillars of our argument proved to be false. [ 2130 And the world looked at us. and we made -those claims before the United Nations. Secretary Powell. with great show of. you know. different charts and graphs and things that he displayed to the world. and the world looked at it and found out it was all untrue. And that fact helped fuel this resentment against the United States. which makes it more difficult for us to gain the cooperation of others in trying to fight terrorism around the world. And so I think that we come here tonight saying the mission has not been accomplished. Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden remain where they are. and last week we learned that the CIA is dismantling the one unit that was dedicated to tracking down Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. along with my colleague. the gentlewoman from California . I represent Silicon Valley and we certainly know the need for this legislation in Silicon Valley. As Ms. ESHoo has indicated. this bill has the support of the hightech sector. and for a very good reason. According to a recent report. 41 percent of Fortune 500 IT executives identified power and cooling problems for their data centers. In my own district in San Jose. we had a server farm that wanted to go in. Everybody wanted it. We had to build a power plant to actually accommodate the server farm. We are looking for energy efficiencies in this sector. We know that climate change threatens the security and stability of our planet and economy. and everything we can do to reduce power consumption and sustain energy independence is a good thing for our planet and for our society. I would just note that we have come a long way since I was a youngster when computers took up a room and we had punch cards and the heat and power drag was incredible. If we can reduce power consumption. we can up efficiency and production as well. This bill is a good step. The Energy Star program does not include this sector today. so this is an important step forward. I hope that this measure will be supported by a wide margii in the House. There is no reason in the world that I can think of that any Member of this House should not vote for it. I commend Members on both sides of the aisle for their leadership in bringing this forward.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank Ranking Member DINGELL and our ranking member of the subcommittee. SHERROD BROWN. for allowing me to manage the bill. I rise in support of this legislation which the Energy and Commerce Committee reported out last month. This legislation makes minor changes in the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so that it can have the flexibility it needs to build on its success to date. First authorized by Congress in 1992. the CDC Foundation is an excellent example of a publicprivate partnership that can yield tremendous results with minimal taxpayer investment.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And it is a privilege to join you and Mr. RYAN and Mr. DELAHUNT each night that we take the House floor and talk about the new direction that we as Democrats would take this country. Because what most people have seen in America recently is essentially the Republican leaderships efforts to engage in the politics of distraction. because they have to distract the American people from what is really going on here because the reality that is going on here is too painful to closely examine. I mean. they certainly cant hold up their wild success to the American people for examination and celebration because they havent had any wild success. We are looking here at a record deficit. as you discussed. Mr. MEEK. We are looking at record gas prices. We are looking at record numbers of Americans who are without health insurance. We are looking at record increases in the cost of health insurance. small business owners who are unable to continue to support their employees and provide them with health insurance benefits. And we are looking at a woeful inability on the part of the Republican administration and this leadership of this House to protect the homeland and focus on domestic homeland security. That is why they instead have focused on things like the Pledge of Allegiance and whether students are saying "under God" in school when they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. and they are focusing on amending the Constitution to prohibit flag burning or amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. Now. each of us might have our own individual opinion on those matters. but when you go to Youngstown.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

But could you imagine. they actually rolled out an agenda that those items were at the top of the list. Because what they have to do is they have to try to distract the American people from their pitiful failure here. from their inability to get a handle on the deficit. from their inability to do anything about alternative energy exploration and reducing gas prices. about their inability to expand health care to more people. and their inability to develop any sort of plan to eventually get us out of this endless war in Iraq. and their inability to deal with domestic homeland security. border security. while protecting our American people here at home. They are real focused on protecting everybody else in the world and making sure that everybodyelse in the worlds quality of life is in good shape. What about the folks here? No. instead they just want to spend a lot of time on the issues that are really none of their business. that are really just decisions that families make inside their own homes among family members.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

So as Mr. MEEK was saying. what we would do if we were in the majority. and hopefully the American people will give us that opportunity in November. we would make sure right at the getgo as Leader PELOSI. who will be Speaker PELOSI when we win back the majority. as she talks about. one of the first things that we will do the first week. raise the minimum wage. It hasnt happened since 1997. going on 9 years now. That is just pitiful. You have got people in America. 7 million people in America making $5.15 an hour. That is just afi outrage. And we have got to make sure. that is the kind of issue that people need the Congress to deal with. I mean. in our home State we have had to address it inside the State of Florida. Because the Federal minimum wage hasnt been raised in 9 years. we have got to make sure as we take the country in a new direction. as Democrats would do. we would focus on fixing the ridiculous prescription drug plan that they passed for Medicare beneficiaries. We would make sure that the doughnut hole that provides this humongous gap that senior citizens are falling through after they reach I think about $2.500 in coverage for prescription drugs. they fall through that doughnut hole. and they iiterally have to spend several thousand dollars out of their own pocket before the part D prescription. drug benefit picks back up. It also prohibits the Federal Government from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies. We would make that change. and we would require the Federal Government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. Literally. the difference between prohibition and requiring it. and just like they do in the VA right now. and save millions and millions of dollars. I mean. who was this bill for? If you want to make sure that there is a part D prescription drug benefit that benefits senior citizens. then people will vote for us. If they want to make sure that there is one that benefits the pharmaceutical industry. then people will vote for them.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And when ppople ask what the Democratic agenda is. that is it right there. That is what we would do.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And Republicans cant get away with saying all the things that we would do would cost money and build the deficit. because we would reinstate the payasyougo rule. the PAYGO rules. to ensure that we dont spend more money than we take in. which is how when President Clinton was in office we had a surplus and not a deficit.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Remember the error that was made by the Department of Health and Human Services in the Medicare and You handbook they sent out to all the Medicare beneficiaries? And when they recognized the error in information about the prescription drug program and advising people who were dualeligible what kind and how comprehensive their benefits were going to be and how much they were going to have to pay for them. they refused to send out a correction. The only way they were going to make the real answers available was via the Internet or if people called and asked. � Now. how is that a commitment to clarity. to making sure people can truly access the benefits that they are entitled to and that they do not pay more than they are supposed to?
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

you talked about the changes and the problems and the mistakes within the literature that was given out. I was about to say. this is the big leagues. This is the big leagues. We are the Federal Government. The lights are on in this Chamber not because we are great people. but because the people of America pay taxes so that they will have a government that will stand up for them. I have never seen a campaign sign saying I am running for Congress to. protect the special interests. vote for me. No one said to me. Congressman. I want you to make sure Exxoniobil and companies like that get what they need to make sure their shareholders are making the kind of money they need to make. They sent me here to make sure they can get from point A to point B and so that we would watch out for their dollars when we got here. I am telling you. I am very. very concerned. Mr. DELAHUNT. and beyond partisanship. of what is happening to the majority as it relates to the ongoing blocking on behalf of the special interests. You can see the tracking as it relates to fundraising. the K Street Project. a number of other issues we know so much about: the scandals here in town as relates to special interests getting what they want. Members being pushed up to the back of the wall there in the corner. with leadership saying. you will vote for this or you will vote against that. and the voting board being held open for not only several minutes but hours in some cases to make sure the special interests get their way.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H

stood right here and told the Speaker. it is a shame that we are leaving here on the 4th of July break and we havent addressed the issue of millions of Americans still making $5 and some change since 1997. meanwhile the cost of milk. bread. health insurance and everything else has gone up.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Because they care more about the special interests than they do about the people they represent. It is as simple as that. It is the only logical explanation.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Lets break it down further. Mr. MEEK. If that was not enough evidence. lets take a look at a Congressional Research Service report. which is an objective body which provides information to the Congress. both parties. totally objective entity. provided a memo to Senator WYDEN last week. and that memo outlined the profits and revenue return for the oil companies from 1999 to now. And it demonstrated. that the annual revenue return for eight oil companies increased from 2.88 percent in 1999 to 7.1 percent in 2005 while the return on shareholder equity went from 4.64 percent to almost 30 percent. Cash reserves for those same companies shot up from $9.5 million in 1999 to $57.8 million last year. and the capital investment that they made went from $32.8 million to $68.8 million in the same period. The bottom line is that when they say they are investing their revenue that they are generating into alternative oil exploration. it is baloney. It
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Do you know what my husband and I noticed the other day when we were filling up our tank? That the dimes. you know how when we were little kids and the pennies are what scrolled really fast when you were filling up your gas tank. Now it is the dimes that scroll as fast as the pennies used to. I mean. that is how much things have changed. So dimes. you know. 10 dimes. that is a dollar. Byebye. every 10 dimes. another dollar gone.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I just think. at the end of the day. we need to stress that in November. when we have the opportunity to take the majority of this institution. we will move the country in a new direction. We will make sure that we make a commitment to reducing the deficit and reduce it. We will expand access to health care. We will actually invest in alternative energy resources so that we can truly reduce gas prices. And we will make sure that the American people know that their Representatives are here for them and not for the special interests.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

always a pleasure working with you here on the floor and off the floor. What is good for the American people. and with that. Mr. Speaker. we thank the Democratic leadership.
Date: 2006-07-12
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the Voting Rights Act has been and continues to be necessary. In 1965. we had approximately 300 African Americans holding office. Now we have more than 9.100. In 1965. only a handful of Latinos held office. Now. more than 6.000. In 1965. six Members of Congress were African American. Now 43. But among the many beneficiaries is Hubert Vo. Hubert Vo was born in Vietnam. Hubert Vo came to the United States at the age of 19. fleeing communism. Hubert Vo graduated from the University of Houston. but more importantly. Hubert Vo. in 2004. became the very first Vietnamese American elected to the State House of Texas. Hubert Vo was elected because the ballot in District 149 is in Vietnamese. Hubert Vo won by 16 votes. The Voting Rights Act has made. continues to make a difference. We need to maintain it. We need. to keep it. It protects the rights of minorities.
Date: 2006-07-12
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. let me just say. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. if there is any question as to whether or not we still need the Voting Rights Act. remember the Florida 2000 election and the coup detat where 27.000 ballots were disregarded. simply thrown out right in my congressional district. precincts 7. 8. 9 and 10. that vote 98 percent Democratic. Yes. it is still clear that the Voting Rights Act today is needed just as much as it was 40 years ago. Another reason: When I was elected to Congress in 1992. it had been 129 years since an African American was elected in Florida to the United States Congress. Let me repeat. 129 years. If it was not for the VotingRights Act. the State of Florida would still likely. be without an African American Representative. We still have a ways to go. and Congress must pass the Voting Rights Act. and not some watereddown version of it. to guarantee that millions of minorities votes around the Nation and 3 million minorities in the State of Florida will have their voices heard and have their votes counted. Remember the coup detat 2000 election.
Date: 2006-07-12
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself 1 minute. I would just say. only my Republican colleagues would think that $7.25 an hour is a high wage for working people. In fact. in the motion to instruct he knows it is "not less than $7.25 an hour." My colleague has also said that this is neither the time nor the place. We havent been able to find out since 1997 where is the time and where is the place to raise the minimum wage for 6 million American workers. That is what the American public wants to know. that is what the American public supports our doing. but we have been unable to find out from the Republican leadership. All we get from the Republican leadership is "no." When it passed in the Appropriations Committee. the bill has not come to the floor because it has the minimum wage in it. Then when those same people had to vote in another Appropriations Committee. the Republican leadership got them to change their votes against the minimum wage. Our committee has had no hearings and they are not reporting the bill. Where is the time and where is the place? Where do these 6 million poor workers. where do they- go to make their case to this Republican Congress? Where is that time and where is that place? Mr. Speaker. I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey .
Date: 2006-07-12
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

along with many other things. Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the gen- strengthens the Vocational Education tleman for joining us in the debate on Act and helps us to train young people the minimum wage. And with that I for good. high paying. high wage jobs. yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of from California . a mem- my time. ber of the committee. Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California.
Date: 2006-07-12
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

First of all. Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Congressman BENNIE THOMPSON for his hard work on the Homeland Security Committee and for working with the Transportation Committee in developing very important and long overdue rail and transit security legislation. Yesterday. in India. bomb blasts ripped through their commuter rail network. killing 142 people and injuring over 350. This is a terrible tragedy and again raises the serious question as to whether we are prepared in this country for a similar attack. Sadly. the answer is no. No. When it comes to rail and transit security in this country. thi s administration. the Bush administration. and this Congress deserve an F for failing to develop a plan to protect our daily transit and rail commuters from harm. It has been over 2 years since the train bombing in Madrid. 3/11/04. and just last week the 1year anniversary of the transit bombing in London. Yet the Bush administration has done nothing to protect this Nations freight and transit rail system and its millions of passengers. We spend over $1 billion a week in Iraq. Let me repeat that. We are spending over $1 billion a week in Iraq. We are spending over_$1 billion a week in Iraq. and yet the Bush administration can only come up with a measly $136 million to protect this Nations rail and transit system for an entire year. That is pathetic. But that is the kind of fuzzy math that this administration is famous for. and it needs to stop before American citizens pay the price for this stupidity. We cant keep treating our rail infrastructure as second class citizens. We have dedicated billions of dollars to the airline industry and created a grants program for the ports. But we have done little to invest in the security up-. grade of our rail infrastructure needs. Fortunately for the traveling public. the legislation introduced by Congressman THOMPSON and myself and other Democratic Members require- comprehensive security plans. And let me just say. security should not be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. It should be an American issue. Clear up the red tape. Improve training and exercise programs. improve communications and intelligence. share authority and $400 million in security improvement grants per year and add $26 million for additional rail inspectors. Most important. it will help make sure our community. our first responders and our rail workers are safe. These are the concerns I hear over and over again as ranking member of the Railroad Subcommittee. And I believe that this legislation takes the necessary steps to create a rail security program that protects passengers and keeps the trains running on time. The millions of Americans who use trains and transit for travel each year deserve no less.
Date: 2006-07-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

My understanding. Mr. DELAHUNT. is it was Senator HAGEL. Senator MARTINEZ. Senator MCCAIN. So how this became the ReidKennedy bill-
Date: 2006-07-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I interrupt only because I want you to read the quote from the Republican majority leader about where he is and his conference is on the minimum wage increase.