macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 5938. the Former Vice President Protection Act of 2008. a muchneeded permanent solution that would authorize protection for our former Vice Presidents and their families. As you no doubt know. the President of the United States. along with his or her spouse and children. are provided continuedr protection by the United States Secret Service after the President leaves office. but the law does not provide such protection for a former Vice President and his or her family. Rather. Congress has. on an intermittent basis. authorized such protection for limited periods of time. In the near future. Congress will again be faced with this issue. In January. Vice President CHENEY will be leaving office. and we will presumably decide to provide continued Secret Seivice protection for him and his family. as has been done for every Vice President in recent decades. But this ad hoc process is inefficient. and the legislation before us replaces it with a permanent fix to current law. Specifically. it provides for Secret Service protection to a former Vice President. including his or her spouse and children under 16 years of age. for 6 months. and it permits this period to be extended if Information or conditions so warrant. I would urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend title 5. United States Code. to make technical amelidments to certain provisions of title 5. United States Code. enacted by the Congressional Review Act. as amended.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 5593. the Congressional Review Act Improvement Act. would cut government waste by reducing duplicative paperwork and relieving some of the administrative burdens currently mandated by the Congressional Review Act. the congressional mechanism for reviewing agency rules. The Congressional Review Act requires that all agencies promulgating a rule submit to both Houses of Congress and to the Comptroller General a report that contains a copy of the rule. a concise general statement describing the rule. and the proposed effective date of the rule. Thus. under current law. the same material is submitted to. housed in. and printed by four different governmental entities. This approach creates unnecessary burdens. For example. the House Parliamentarian has testified before the Subcommittee on Administration of the Judiciary Committee in three separate Congresses about the everincreasing volume of executive. branch communications under the Congressional Review Act and its overwhelming impact on the operations of the Parliamentarians office. This legislation would eliminate the requirement that agencies submit rules to each House of Congress if they are already printed in the Federal Register. Instead. the House and Senate would receive a weekly list of all rules from the Comptroller General. The House and Senate would then have that list printed in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD with a statement of referral for each rule. The bill would still require agencies to submit rules and reports to each House of Congress that were not printed in the Federal Register. and Congress could still employ the procedures in the Congressional Review Act to disapprove agency rules. H.R. 5593 was introduced by Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chair LINDA SANCHEZ. along with Judiciary Committee Chairman JOHN CONYERS. They were joined by Ranking Member LAMAR SMITH and Subcommittee Ranking Member CHRIS CANNON as original cosponsors. This bill- has bipartisan support. and makes a lot of sense. I would urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my timhe.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1251) saluting the life and music of the late Otha Ellas "Bo Diddley" Bates. guitar virtuoso and rock and roll pioneer. whose music continues to influence generations of musicians.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Madam Speaker. 50 years ago President Eisenhower created the national highway system which changed the way we travel in this country. Today. we need to do the same thing with passenger rail and make the level of investment necessary for us to become the most successful in the 21st century. That is why I am so excited about House bill 6003. the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act. which was introduced by Mr. OBERSTAR. Ranking Member MICA. subcommittee Ranking Member SHUsTER. and myself. Amtrak is extremely valuable to our country. It takes cars off the road that are already congested. It reduces congestion in the sky. and its better for the environment. In many areas of the country. Amtrak is the only mode of transportation available. They have shown major increases in ridership. too. as ridership has increased in 8 of the 9 last years and reached a record level of 25.8 millionpassengers just last year. And with the cost of gas potentiallyrising to $5 a gallon. there would be even more riders lining up for Amtrak. Unfortunately. for many years Amtrak had been given just enough money to live alone. never getting the necessary funding to make serious improvement in the system. The hydraulic electric system is 70 years old. 65 percent of the bridges were built in the 1920s. and several tunnels which trains travel through every day were built in the 1800s. In 2005. Amtrak conducted a comprehensive review of its capital needs. The review determined that Amtrak should invest $4.2 billion to bring their infrastructure to the state of good repair. Today. with the backlog of.major bridges and tunnel work. the necessary investment capital has approached an estimated $6 billion. As other countries continue to invest tens of billions of dollars each year to improve their passenger rail system. we are falling further and further behind by deferring muchneeded improvements to our system. We must find a way to speed up Amtrak bylaws of repair work and bring its assets to a good state of repair so that Amtrak can concentrate on increasing capacity. increasing speed. developing new facilities. and planning for the future. These major infrastructure improvements are also necessary to improve the safety and security of the system and its passengers and workers. Amtrak has and will continue to play a critical role in evacuation and transportation systems during national emergencies. Unfortunately. it is also a prime target for those who wish to harm us. and we must irovide resources to make the system less vulnerable. Im looking forward to working with my colleagues in the House and the Senate to pass important legislation.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

The United States used to have a. strong passenger rail system. Now were at the caboose. and they dont even use cabooses anymore. The American people deserve better. and I believe that the Amtrak reauthorization bill will go a long way to bring the use to its rightful place as the world leader in passenger rail. In closing. I went from downtown Brussels to downtown Paris. 200 miles. 114 hours. downtown Barcelona to downtown Madrid. 2 hours. We will move forward with highspeed rail in this country.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: NANCY PELOSI (democrat)
Chamber: H

who has a policy that restricts Americans from drilling for oil and having energy independence. Today is no excuses. Madam Speaker. since taking control of Congress in 2007. this Democrat Congress has totally neglected its responsibility to do anything constructive. constructive. to address the domestic supply issues that have created the skyrocketing gas. diesel and energy costs that American families are facing today. So. today. I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so this House can address the real solutions to energy costs. Thats the supply side. By defeating the previous question. I will move to amend the rule to allow for consideration of H.R. 3089. the No More Excuses Energy Act of 2007. introduced by my friend MAC THORNBERRY of Texas.- that he introduced back 1 year ago in July 2007. This legislation would reduce the price of gasoline by opening new American oil refineries. investing in clean energy sources such as wind. nuclear and captured carbon dioxide. and making available more homegrown energy through environmentally sensitive exploration of the arctic energy slope and Americas deep sea reserves. Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to have the text of this amendment and extraneous material inserted into the RECORD prior to the vote on the previous question.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I want to thank my chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. This is my first term on the Foreign Affairs Committee. But I am not here necessarily as a committee member. I am here as a Member of Congress from Texas concerning the relationship Texas has had with Mexico for generations. if not centuries. and the relationship that we need to continue. There is literally a battle going on in Mexico. our closest neighbor. and there has been an effort to try and support them in their battle with narcotics and narcoterrorism. and that is what this bill is about. Whatever Mexico has been doing in their country is actually protecting those of us in Texas and California and all over the United States. because if they slow that situation down or win that battle. it makes our citizens and our people a lot safer. We should help our local police even more. We should do a lot of things. But that is a whole separate piece of legislation. What we are talking about here is stepping up to the plate and helping a neighbor who is our closest neighbor and one who is in the middle of a war and losing police chiefs. law enforcement officers. the military. Whatever they do in their own country to take care of thisi problem will make us safer in our own. There are some concerns -about human rights. and I want to address that. but I would hope we would address it with members of Congress from Mexico. When I met with those members from both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in Mexico. they were concerned about some of the human rights. violations in our country. We have to share that information and work with each other. Again. we are not moving. Mexico is not moving. and we need to make sure we work as a partnership with Mexico in their efforts to control their own country. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 6028. the Merida Initiative to Combat Illicit Narcotics and Reduce Organized Crime. Authorization Act of 2008. H.R. 6028 creates a foundation for future cooperation in assisting our neighbors to the south in combating the rise of organized crime. This legislation is a good starting point but much more work will need to be done. including significant transnational and interagency cooperation. in order to ensure the success of the Merida Initiative. I was disappointed that the House Homeland Security Committee was not included in the development of this bill. despite the fact that the Department of Homeland Security will play a large role in the Initiative by coordinating its agencies that are already assisting Mexico and other foreign governments to address smuggling. trafficking and violence on our borders. Last week the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border. Maritime. and Global Counterterrorism. which I have the privilege of chairing. had a hearing entitled "The Merida Initiative: Examining U.S. Efforts to Combat Transnational Criminal Organizations." This hearing highlighted the importance of the Merida Initiative in stemming the growing transnational crime in the United States and on our borders. For example. in my home district in Orange County. CA. gang violence is on the rise as a result of the- huge presence of the largest transnational gang in the United States. Mara Salvatrucha. in Los Angeles County. It is reported that there are over 900 members of Mara Salvatrucha in Los Angeles County. and many of these gang members are in the United States illegally. The rise of this type of gang in the United States can be linked to a practice by many of the drug cartels of "dontracting out" drug. ammunition. and weapon smuggling activities to these gang members. The Homeland Security hearing emphasized that many agencies. including the -Department of Homeland Security will need to work together closely to stop these growing transnational crime networks. H.R. 6028 must ensure interagency cooperation .within the United States in order to succeed abroad with the foreign govemments we seek to assist. As I stated earlier. much more needs to be done in order to help stem the violence along the U.S. and Mexican border. but this bill helps build the necessary foundation. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and to help ensure further cooperation between the key departments involved in its implementation.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today I was unavoidably delayed and missed the vole on Ordering the Previous Question (rollcall 391) and H. Res. 1253-.-Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 6003Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (rollcall 392). Had I been present I would have voted "yea" on rollcall 391 and rollcall 392. Olver Pallone Pascrell Pastor Pearce Pence Perlmutter Peterson (MN) Peterson (PA) Pickering Pitts Pomeroy Porter Price (NC) Pryce (OH) Radanovich Rahall Ramstad Rangel Regula Rehberg Reichert Renzi Reyes Reynolds Richardson Rodriguez Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI) RosLehtinen Roskam Ross Rothman RoybalAllard Ruppersberger Ryan (OH) Aderholt Akin Bachmann Baldwin Barrett (SC) Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Blackburn Bonner Brady (TX) Broun (GA) BrownWaite. Ginny Burgess Burton (IN) Buyer Campbell (CA) Cantor Carney Carson Carter Chabot Clarke Coble Cole (OK) Conyers Culberson Davis. David Deal (GA) Duncan Ellison Ellsworth Everett Feeney Filner Flake Costello Cubin Cummings Dingell Ferguson Fossella Salazar I Sanchez. Linda Tl T. Sanchez. Loretta I Sarbanes T Saxton Scalise Schiff Schmidt T Schwartz Scott (GA) Scott (VA) Sessions Sestak U Shadegg Shays SheaPorter Sherman V Shimkus V Shuler V Simpson V Sires Skelton Slaughter Smith (NE) V Smith (NJ) V Smith (WA) Snyder V Solis Souder Space Spratt Stupak Sutton Tanner Tauscher. NAYS106 Forbes h Foxx F Franks (AZ) F Gingrey b Gohmert N Goode F Goodlatte Granger F Graves F Hall (TX) F Heller F Hensarling p Hoekstra F Hunter F Johnson. Sam F Jones (NC) F Jones (OH) Jordan King (IA) S Kingston Kline (MN) S Kucoinch S Lamborn S Latta S Lee S Lewis (GA) 8 Linder I Manzullo Marchant McCaul (TX) McCotter V McDermott McGovern McHenry McIntyre Mica Y
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me thank the Chair and the subcommittee chairs of these committees. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of Representative ALLEN in bringing forth this House Concurrent Resolution 337 honoring the Seeds of Peace for its 15th anniversary as an organization. The importance of peace in the world today is often overlooked due to the severity of constant conflict. As a mother and a lawmaker. the reality of war concerns me for the future of our Nation and the world. Seeds of Peace is dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence. I am proud to say that I worked with them here in Washington and in Dallas. and I have partnered with Congressman BARNEY FRANK at times to host them. Due to its proven impact and success in the Middle East. Seeds of Peace has earned international recognition as an effective model for resolving conflict worldwide. and these are young people who have not been kept away from communication or a part of irritation of Israel. I firmly support Seeds of Peace because .I believe peace ultimately depends upon breaking down barriers and mistrust amofig people from these regions of conflict. Governments negotiate agreements. but only people can define the quality of peace. Innovative peopletopeople programs like Seeds of Peace successfully accomplish this goal on a rather modest budget. I am proud to support the passage of this resolution and urge my colleagues to support it. I thank Mr. PAYNE for allowing me to make these statements.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution honoring the sacrifices and contributions made by disabled American veterans.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. With House Concurrent Resolution 336. we honor the sacrifices and contributions made of our disabled veterans. The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have added well over 30.000 of our sons and daughters to the roles of veterans disabled in defense of our Nation. with the number continuing to grow. Collectively. there are approximately 2.8 million veterans receiving compensation for disability incurred in the line of duty. This resolution calls for the establishment of a single week dedicated annually to each and every one of our Nations disabled veterans. What better time would there be for groups large and small. national and local. private and public. to come together and remember in their own way the sacrifices of the Nations heroes? Those great Americans gave the most for the jeast. They have earned our lasting remembrance and much more. It is far too easy for many to forget the true costs of war. to forget the deaths of our servicemen and to ignore the wounds of those who return. It is too easy for too many of us to think that the cost of war ends when the last soldier returns. Our disabled veterans continue to serve our country in so many ways. bearing their wounds as a reminder to all that freedom and liberty are not free. The men and women who return wounded and disabled from combat. and service to our Nation. remind us of the terrible price we pay. not only in costs measured in dollars. but the costs measured in lives lost and changed. It is therefore right and proper that we rememberthe service and sacrifice of our disabled veterans and pay tribute and honor to them during this week of Disabled American Veterans Week. When called. they answered. When needed. they served. All Americans owe them a debt of gratitude and a heartfelt remembrance for their sacrifice and service. I am reminded of the words of the first President of the United States. George Washington. whose words are worth repeating at this time. "The willingness with which our people are likely to serve in any war. no matter how justified. shall be directly proportioned as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country." It is part of my service and duties to visit the veterans hospitals and clinics in the areas I travel to. I recently visited the medical center in Puerto Rico. dedicated a new clinic in Orange City. Florida. and. before that. the Medical Center in New Orleans. We have been funding the VA and veterans health care at record levels. giving the VA the largest increase in funding in the history of the United States. It is our duty to oversee the VA to make sure that they are spending the money properly in the best interests of our brave men and women who defend the rights and freedom of our great Nation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I want to be clear. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. House Concurrent Resolution 336 honors the sacrifices of the disabled veterans. and I urge all Members to support it. I am very proud of the fact that we have just passed the largest VA budget in the history. of the United States of America. Now a lot of times people talk the talk. but we as Members of this body need to walk the walk for the veterans. And when I said that I have visited the facilities in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. I have also visited the facilities in Louisiana. and I made sure that we put the money into the budget so we could rebuild that facility for veterans in that area. I urge my colleagues to unanimously support H. Con. Res. 336.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr.-Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 336.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1235) expressing support for the designation of National DDay Remembrance Day. and recognizing the spirit. courage. and sacrifice of the men and women who fought and won World War H.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on House Resolution
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to unanimously support House Resolution I have no further requests for time. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that if the gentleman from Ohio offers a resolution as a question of the privileges of the House at any time on the legislative day of June 10. 208(1) the previous question shall be considered as ordered thereon without intervening motion except one motion to refer. and (2) the Speaker may postpone further proceedings on such a vote on a motion to refer as though under clause 8(a)(1)(A) of rule XX.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: LINCOLN DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Tennessee

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the legacy of the United States Army Infantry and the establishment of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center. as amended.
Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: LINCOLN DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Tennessee

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to advise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.