macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-09
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII. further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas will be postponed.
Date: 2014-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of this amendment. He states it quite correctly: all secondary schools should be equipped to assist bridging the divide from high school to college to career. I thank the gentleman for offering the amendment. and I urge my colleagues to vote in support of it.
Date: 2014-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise in strong support of this amendment. I think her amendment addresses one of the concerns that I have had. and I believe many in the educational community have had for a long time: that we didnt intend to create two separate systems with public charter schools. We were hoping to be able to allow some flexibility for innovation and best practices. and to develop different methods of teaching around learning. but those were to be shared with the traditional schools. As Ms. BONAMICI points out. traditional schools have also tacked in many different directions with the use of academies and career development programs that are best practices in those areas. Those should be shared with the charters. But that hasnt happened. some of it for political reasons. some of it because they are both so busy they havent been able to get together. But we would all be enriched and all the systems would be enriched if this sharing in fact takes place. I think this amendment is very helpful in getting that dialogue and that sharing and the outcomes started down a road that would benefit all students. whether they are in the traditional system or whether they have chosen to go to a charter school. Thank you very much for offering this amendment.
Date: 2014-05-09
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Chairman. I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 27. line 3. strike "and". Page 27. line 10. strike the period at the end and insert ". and". Page 27. after line 10. insert the following: "(7) how the State entity has worked with charter schools receiving funds under the State entitys program to foster community involvement in the planning for and opening of such schools.". The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 576. the gentlewoman from California and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
Date: 2014-05-09
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. this week. women Members of the United States House of Representatives went to the Nigerian Embassy to plead and to insist on the fight to bring our girls home and. as well. to establish a victims fund and to find and bring the thug Sekau. the leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group. to justice. Today. I am going to read a few names of those girls that are missing for those mothers who are longing for their return: Rebecca Luka. Laraba John. Saratu Markus. Mary Usman. Debora Yahonna. Naomi Zakaria. Hanatu Musa. Hauwa Tella. Juliana Yakubu. Suzana Yakubu. Saraya Paul. Jummai Paul. Mary Sule. Jummai John. Yanke Shittima. Muli Waligam. Fatima Tabji. and Eli Joseph. I will put all of them in the RECORD. In honor of Mothers Day. I mourn with those mothers. I pray for mothers across America. and I pray for the Nigerian mothers whose children are still missing. May I ask prayers for all who are longing now for their children to return. and may I offer my blessings to my late mother. Ivalita Jackson.
Date: 2014-05-19
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. it was quiet around the dormitory deep in the heart of Borno. in northern Nigeria. where the landscape is barren and life is hard. In the middle of that April night. gunshots fired and then almost 300 girls were kidnapped. and they remain missing. A night that no one can forget. This picture shows it all: a mother with a candle mourning that loss. Mr. Speaker. we can no longer remain silent in any way. I thank President Obama for the assets of the FBI and intelligence. and certainly some military assets. But to the Nigerian government. those of us who have been friends and have worked with this government. enough is enough. We need to find every resource: U.N. peacekeepers. the African Union. and any other resource that will help strategize to find those girls. There needs to be a targeted military unit from the Nigerian military that is utilizing the resources of others to help them safely rescue those girls. Enough is enough. The slaughter by this terrorist group must stop. Boko Haram must stop. and end it now.
Date: 2014-05-19
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to discuss the impacts of Brown v. Board of Education and desegregation of schools in the United States. This landmark case outlawed segregation in America. and defied one of the ugliest longstanding manifestations of racism in America: the legal. physical separation of children in schools. It has been over 60 years since the Supreme Courts decision in Brown v. Board of Education desegregated our schools. yet an achievement and opportunity gap remains among our minority and lowincome students. As Members of Congress who represent communities of color. the purpose of todays special order is to highlight this landmark court case. However. I must also highlight that there is still not economic and social parity in many of our Nations schools. There is a crisis which still exists today that America must address. We must focus our efforts on closing the achievement gap in the STEM disciplines. As the first female and first African American Ranking Member of the House Science. Space and Technology Committee. this is an issue that is very serious to me. As a United States Congresswoman for over 20 years. I have fought to provide increased opportunities for minorities to pursue careers in STEM. This is much more than a question of equality. We have a vast. untapped pool of talent in America. and this pool is continuing to grow. It is estimated that by 2050. 52 percent of the U.S. population will be from underrepresented minority groups. Our "Nations Report Card." by the National Assessments of Educational Progress. demonstrates that students from underrepresented minorities are falling behind in math and science as early as 4th grade. At the Post Secondary level. even though students from underrepresented minorities made up about 33 percent of the college age population in 2009. they only made up 19 percent of students who received an undergraduate STEM degree. less than 9 percent of students enrolled in science and engineering graduate programs. and barely 8 percent of students who received PhDs in STEM fields. Frankly. all of these numbers are much too low. I also must underscore the important role that community colleges play in providing STEM degrees for minority students. 50 percent of African Americans. 55 percent of Hispanics. and 64 percent of Native Americans who hold bachelors or masters degrees in science or engineering attended a community college at some point. We cannot afford to ignore the role of community colleges when looking to close the achievement gap in the 21st century. In the same spirit in which Thurgood Marshall fought to end segregation in our schools. we must now work to achieve parity for all racial groups in the sciences. We have to drastically increase the number of African American students receiving degrees in STEM disciplines. or we will undoubtedly relinquish our global leadership in innovation and job creation.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. when our men and women in uniform take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. they enter into a contract with our government. and if they survive and return. they are veterans. Part of that contract entitles these veterans to quality health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Recently. it seems as though we are failing to uphold our part of this agreement. More than 8 million veterans seek medical care through the VA each year. Yet each year. we hear the same complaints of long wait times. canceled appointments. and concerns about the quality of care being administered. One of the largest VA facilities in District 30 of Texas. which is my district. has major problems that are not new and have been reported time and time again. year after year. with little change. This is simply unacceptable. We owe it to our veterans to provide timely and quality health care. Anything less should be met with great criticism and responded to with muchneeded reform. Mr. Speaker. our Nation will be judged by how we treat our veterans. Our veterans put their lives at risk every day while deployed. Their lives should not be at risk while seeking medical care here at home.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: BILL ENYART (democrat)
Chamber: H

for helping to propose that language with me too. Finally. WRRDA includes policies that are going to help areas like the Metro East Region in southwest Illinois repair and recertify its levee system. Vote "yes" on this conference report.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for his leadership and as well the manager. the distinguished gentleman from Georgia. both distinguished members of the Rules Committee. This is always a tough bill because many of us are aware of the extensive amendment process that occurred during the markup. But let me speak to one or two points that I think are very important. Our men and women in the United States military deserve our keenest support. This is. in fact. Military Appreciation Month. and we want them to know that we truly appreciate them. We also know that they are factfinders. and they are sometimes the frontline support on behalf of the United States without weapons to be helpful to countries that are in need. I am introducing an amendment cosponsored by Congresswoman FREDERICA WILSON and Congresswoman BARBARA LEE to ask for a report on the status of the Boko Haram and the resources that our defense persons are using to help with respect to the girls that have been kidnapped. and as well report to the extent of the crimes against humanity with respect to Boko Haram in Nigeria. I just got through meeting with African ambassadors. and they have mentioned that this is a regional issue. We have also introduced an amendment to make sure that the contractors that are utilized for intelligence gathering have oversight. to avoid some of the catastrophes that we saw in recent years of contractors not appropriately. for some. handling important information that they had and doing this through contractors. As we support our military. every day we see soldiers coming home from places far away and the need for posttraumatic stress disorder treatment. And my amendment. as I have done. asked for an increase of $5 million to be able to help those individuals. It is not throwing any bad money after good. It is recognizing that these symptoms and psychological problems may cause difficulty in providing providerpatient communication.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his extraordinary work on this issue and so many others. I rise in very strong support of Congressman POEs work and his bill. Human trafficking comes in many different forms. and all of them are awful. The most recent twist comes from the tragedy in Nigeria. Young girls kidnapped and terrorized were sold like objects into a lifetime of forcible rape. They say they are selling them into marriage. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are being sold into human bondage and into rape. There is no crime on Earth more appalling. no offense as terrible. no act of depravity as harmful to the community of a nation and certainly to the individuals affected. I want to express my gratitude to the gentleman from Texas for his outstanding work on this issue. He has been an incredible partner. His groundbreaking work on sex trafficking is informed by his experience as a judge and as a prosecutor where he witnessed firsthand the tragic toll of human trafficking. coming face to face with both the victims and the perpetrators of this terrible crime and knowing from his experience what it is we need to do to help law enforcement get convictions. He has been unwavering in his efforts to pass the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. and I applaud his efforts. Trafficking is one of the most profitable forms of organized crime. preceded only by the selling of drugs and the selling of illegal weapons. Unlike drugs and weapons which can only be sold once. the human body can be sold again and again and again until they die. The bill before us today is crucial to helping the survivors of human trafficking. like Shandra Woworuntu. who put their lives back together here. She is supposed to be here in the Chamber with us today. She was with us in meetings earlier today. I want to thank her for her courage in coming forward. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act will help ensure that other survivors do not find themselves in similar circumstances like Shandra. She was educated. a former manager in a bank. She came to the United States to become a manager at a hotel. She was immediately swiped. her passport taken. and thrown into a dungeon of trafficking. where she lived until she escaped. When she escaped. there was no resources to help her. This bill will change this. with grants to States and localities to help them and to put the focus back on the demand side. to cut down on the demand for trafficking and the selling of our children. No child should be for sale in America. and this bill will help give law enforcement the tools to win convictions. My time is up. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. and I urge unanimous support for this important bill.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman very much. Madam Speaker. I rise in support of the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act. and thank Mr. PAULSEN and the cosponsors for this legislation. I thank the Judiciary Committee for this historic dayand days to come. Because even as we speak on the floor of the House right now. there are children that are being trafficked. There are young girls who are being abused. There is human slavery. I just want to give this example that I think is so much the story of what we are speaking of. If a 45yearold man had sex with a 14yearold girl. and no money changes hands. she would likely get counseling and he would likely get jail time for statutory rape. But if the same man left $80 on the table after having sex with her. she would probably be locked up for prostitution and he would probably go home. He is something called a word that I dont even want to use because he is involved in human trafficking. sex trafficking. abuse. and violation of a child that cannot give consent. In a hearing that we held in Houston. what we determined was when those young girls are violated at that age. they are destined. in many instances. for a life of prostitution and to be trafficked and held by individuals who call themselves pimps. but are literally slaveholders. So this is a very important initiative by providing the opportunity for the growing safe harbors and to be able to track communityoriented police services grants for those States that pass safe harbor statutes for victims of minor sex trafficking. It is so very important to stamp out the scourge of minor sex trafficking and to also improve on the issue of restitution orders in order to give these girls back their lives. We listened to Kathryn Griffin. who now offers a refuge with a program called Weve Been There Done That in Houston. Texas. inside the Harris County Jail. to get these women to turn their lives around. but wouldnt it be more important if we established that these girls now are victims? They are being exploited. And we must stop it now. We must make sure that we find the safe harbor and also be able to have the restitution orders. I also join in thanking my colleague for the opportunity with Job Corps. so they may turn their lives around. I think this is another step in the right direction to stamp out human trafficking. holding individuals as slaves and killing off their life and their future. Let us rescue these girls. as we want to rescue the girls in Nigeria that are being held by the terrorist thugs. Boko Haram.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Madam Speaker. I rise in strong support of Representative PAULSENs important bill. H.R. 3610. which should have passed long ago. that encourages States to provide safe harbor laws that treat trafficked minors as victims. which they areand provides services. support. counseling. and job training. rather than leading them into incarceration. It is the pimps and traffickers who should be put behind bars. This important bill can help rescue more children from this shameful and shadowy underworld and lead them out of harms way. When I first started working in this area with the distinguished former member. Deborah Price. we were holding a hearing and listening to the stories of young women of how they were entrapped. stolen. beaten. tricked. and drugged into sex slavery. Deborah leaned over to me and said. Carolyn. as a former judge. I used to convict young girls as prostitutes. I never stopped to ask them. as we are today. how did this happen to you? How did you get into this trouble that is destroying your life and your health? And that is what this bill is going to do. It will provide a safe harbor so that young people will be treated as young people. A trafficker is a criminal. a john is a child abuser. a pimp is someone who should be behind bars. This starts to shift the focus away from the young. exploited people and harming them further with incarceration. protecting them and shifting more towards who is causing the problem: the demand side. This is a tremendously important bill. We should put more traffickers where they belongbehind bars. This change is long overdue. I look forward to working towards passing this in the House and the Senate. I thank the leadership of both Houses. Leaders PELOSI and CANTOR. all the authors. and everyone who has worked on these important bills. I urge a "yes" vote.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his incredible. principled work in so many areas. and I want to note his hard work on combating mandatory sentences. I feel that he is right in many ways. But because this crime is so out of control. I am strongly supporting my colleague and cochair. Representative WAGNERS bill. We cochair the caucus on antitrafficking in the womens caucus. and this bill is designed to stop the advertising of children for exploitation in sex trafficking. And we have tried over and over to stop it. I will now place in the RECORD a letter that MARSHA BLACKBURN and I wrote addressing the online promotion of human trafficking. meetings. and letters. It went nowhere.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

I will now place in the RECORD a letter that Congressman NADLER and I wrote to Web sites of the media trying to stop them from promoting our children as sex objects. They are still doing it.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

I dont know how to do it unless we have a concrete law. And this law is not without precedent. Congress has passed laws to criminalize the advertising of illegal goods. They have passed laws to criminalize the advertising of child pornography. of weapons of mass destruction. and of narcotics. Surely. we can pass a law that criminalizes selling children as sex objects. We have tried meetings. we have tried letters. we have tried sanctions. and we have tried press. We have tried everything. I dont know how we stop it unless we pass a law that says it is illegal. I want to tell a story. I first got involved in combating sex trafficking because a company in my district called Big Apple Tours was advertising online. publishing pamphlets of going to Thailand. to the Philippines or upstate New York with pictures of children. You can have as many as you want. I wrote a letter complaining. This is how brazen they were. They took my letter and put it on the Internet along with their advertising and made fun of it. Why is she complaining about the parties we are having? So it has been out of control. and this is a step towards bringing it into control. The attorney general of New York went after them and took down their site. It no longer is up. But it shows how brazen these exploiters are. And it is big business. It is the third most profitable form of organized crime in our Nation preceded only by the selling of narcotics and the selling of illegal guns. But the selling of the human body can happen again and again until the person is sick and dies. You sell a gun once. and you sell a drug once. You can sell a young child over and over again. We really have to do everything we can to stop it. This act adds advertising to the types of conduct that constitutes sex trafficking. It is common sense that if they are advertising the selling of a young child. it is sex trafficking. And we can stop it. This is something we can do that will literally save lives. The FBI ranks this type of rape as preceded only by murder in terms of the destruction of what it does to an individual. and often the inability of that individual to live a normal life afterwards. It is a horrific crime. the 21st century form of slavery. I cant think of anything more abusive. And it is what is happening now in Nigeria to those young women. It is happening right here in our backyard. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the womens caucus have heard testimony of foster childrenof American childrenthat have been captured. tricked. and drugged. We heard a story on the floor today of a constituents child. a child in his neighborhood. that was exploited. By passing this bill. we can stop this advertising. We can cut off this form of exploitation and this abuse. I think that it is an important bill. and I am supporting it with reservation on the mandatory sentencing. which I hope will be cut out in the Senate. but it is important that we take steps to prevent it. If we pass laws to stop the advertising of child pornography. we can certainly pass a law that stops the selling of a child in sex abuse.
Date: 2014-05-20
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

I could go on all day. My time is expired. I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I know that many others want to speak on this important issue. I congratulate Congresswoman WAGNER on her persistence on this bill. and I am proud to support her.