macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. how remarkable and refreshing this budget is. Finally a budget that ends the Republican commitment to endless seas of red ink and deficit spending. Finally a budget that ends the Republicans commitment to squandering the $5 trillion that they inherited from the Clinton administration. But more remarkable about this budget is it takes us in a new direction. It takes us in a direction where once again we see ourselves as a country and a national government investing in young people in this country. investing in their education. investing in the effort to make college more affordable for families and students who have to borrow money. That is what this budget does. With a $9 billion increase over and above the Presidents budget. for the first time we are able to change the trendlines from reducing the expenditure on behalf of students with disabilities. on behalf of the elementary andsecondary education of Americas students. on behalf of job training. That is what this money does. This is an investment in the future of our young people. This is an investment in the elementarysecondary education system of young people in this country. This is an investment in reducing the cost of college. That is a markedly different direction than we have been going over the last 6 years. where we just headed headlong into seas of red ink. where it overwhelmed everything else the government was about to do. where it started taking its toll on the education budgets of this country. where we denied the opportunities for people to have an affordable student loan. where we now see in excess of a quarter of a million young people deciding they wont be able to borrow the money. they wont be able to pay it back. and so they have decided maybe they will have to postpone or defer a college education permanently. This budget also gives us the opportunity to address in a comprehensive fashion the reducing of the cost of college. to remake the student loan program. to get rid of these mindless. end-. less subsidies that the previous budgets have contained for the lenders. subsidies that fueled the corruption that we have seen in the program. This is a remarkably refreshing. exciting budget for this country. for its young people and for its future.
Date: 2007-05-17
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I support the affordable housing trust fund. Why. because I believe at some point on the infinite continuum that we know as time. I will have to account for my time. And at that point when I have to explain what I did for the least. the last. and the lost. I will be able to say I supported clothing the naked. I supported feeding the hungry. and I supported shelter for the homeless. At a time when we are spending $353 million a day on the war. what did you do. AL? I stood before the House and I requested that we support an affordable housing trust fund. In a country where every day we have millionaires. in fact one of every 110 persons in this country is a millionaire. The question becomes what did you do when you had a chance to help the least. the last and the lost. So today. I stand here to say I will try to help the least in Alabama. In Alabama. where wve need an additional $146 million to $164 million to help Alabama recover from Katrina and Rita. In Texas. where we -need an additional $1.5 billion. I support an affordable housing trust fund to get the job done. So. Mr. Chairman. my amendment is a simple one. My amendment would not only recognize that Louisiana and Mississippi have been harmed. My amendment also recognizes that Katrina and Rita have done damage in Texas and Alabama. And my amendment would also allow funds to go to these two States as well. Fortyfive percent of the funds would go to Louisiana. and the remaining funds would be divided equally among Mississippi. Alabama and Texas. Mr. Chairman. I yield to the chairman.
Date: 2007-05-17
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentleman from Louisiana. I also thank the ranking member. MAXINE WATERS. for her efforts. I thank my chairman. Mr. Chairman. I appreciate all you have done to help the least. the last and the lost. I assure you. I look forward to working with you as we continue on this journey. Mr. Chairman. I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.
Date: 2007-05-21
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the late Lamar Hunt. a tireless contributor to the National Football League. NFL. and to the United States. Originally from El Dorado. Arkansas. Lamar Hunt was educated in Texas at Southern Methodist University. where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and served as a 3year reserve end on the varsity football team. At the young age of 27. Hunt persevered through much criticism and founded the Dallas Texans. now known. as the Kansas City Chiefs. and facilitated the creation of the American Football League. By undertaking these two tasks. he paved the way for the expansion of professional football. Hunts impeccable management skills and keen perception of the game propelled him to spearhead groundbreaking developments. in the NFL. These developments include. among many others. the installation of the 2point conversion option and the inclusion bf names on the back of game jerseys. Although known for such contributions to the NFL. Hunts commitment to the community went far beyond the football field. Hunt was an avid supporter of societal betterment. hosting and sponsoring many philanthropic efforts. He made significant financial contributions to higher learning institutions. the Heart of a Champion foundation. and the fine arts. notably the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Museum of Art. In closing. Lamar Hunt was a very special man who touched the lives of many Americans. I am delighted and honored to recognize such a distinguished. forward. thinking gentleman. and I urge my colleagues to join me in saluting this remarkable citizen.
Date: 2007-05-22
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker. last year. during the conference process on reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act. a check on executive power simply disappeared. In its place. the Republican majority overseeing the conference put in a provision removing the court from the process of appointment and authorizing the Attorney General to appoint interim U.S. attorneys indefinitely. . The Senator who was chairman of the Judiciary Committee at the time said recently that he. did not realize the provision was in the bill passed last year until a colleague alerted him to it last month. I dont think anyone was surprised to learn that after the investigation. the former chairman learned that the language had been requested by the Department of Justice. The language was apparently presented by a DOJ employee who is now the U.S. attorney in Utah. Before Senator SPECTER made these comments. the only. legislative history of this amendment was one sentence in the conference report that said the new section "addresses an inconsistency in the appointment process of U.S. attorneys." As we receive more information about the Department of Justice and White House interaction leading up to the dismissal of eight. now nine. U.S. attorneys. the appearance of a political basis for the removals becomes more clear. U.S. attorneys are the chief Federal law enforcement officers in their districts. We rely on them to enforce the law without political prejudice. One of the former U.S. attorneys who testified before our Judiciary subcommittee recently said that former Attorney General Ashcroft made a point in their first conversation to say that U.S. attorneys have to leave politics at the door. This bill that is before the House today would reinstate a system that encourages politics to be left at the door during the appointment process and creates a check on the system if the executive branch cannot bring itself to do that. Finally. Mr. Speaker. I have to add that I have been dismayed in reviewing some of the terms provided to the Judiciary Committee relative to communications between the DOJ. Historically the American people have been able to rely on the Department of Justice to stay above the political fray. especially when it comes to prosecutors. Watergate should have indelibly impressed this lesson upon future administrations. but clearly in this case it did not. I ask my colleagues to support this legislation and to refute Kyle Sampsons statement when he said. "The only thing at risk here is a repeal of the AGs appointment authority. House Members. wont care about this at all. All we need is for one Senator to object to the language." The House of Representatives does care about political independence. We do believe that the executive branch should not ignore legislative branch authority. We should refute the Departments slow march to cooperating with our oversight efforts. and we need to reinstate this important check on the executive branch authority to appoint U.S. attorneys.
Date: 2007-05-22
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of the bill. H.R. 1427. the Clerk be authorized to correct section numbers. punctuation. crossreferences. and the table of contents. and to make such other technical and conforming changes as may be necessary to reflect the actions of the House in amending the bill.
Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: ROBERT A. MALONE (democrat)
Chamber: S

Chairman and President. British Petroleum America. Inc.. Houston. Texas. DEAR MR. MALONE: For many years. Ive been supporting and promoting ethanol and biodiesel fuels as a way to reduce our dependence on foreign and traditional energy sources. and increase our national security and rural economies. Our nation is now consuming five billion gallons of ethanol annually. and is estimated to produce as much as eleven billion gallons annually by 2009. In an effort to further reduce Americas oil dependence. its imperative that higher ethanol blends be available to consumers. While our domestic auto manufacturers are leading the effort to expand the flexfuel vehicle market. more must be done to expand the fuels availability. Of the 170.000 stations nationwide. only 1.100 currently offer E85. This represents less than one percent of fuel stations. On March 14. 2006. Mr. Ross Pillari. former Chairman of BP America. testified under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee. At the hearing. I asked Mr. Pillari Af BP would commit to allow independent owners of branded stations to sell EOS or B20. and if BP would allow those station owners to purchase the alternative fuel from any outlet. For your benefit. Ive enclosed a copy of the hearing transcript. In his response to me. Mr. Pillari stated that British PetroleWn was already allowing independently owned stations to freely deploy E85. His testimony before the committee clearly stated that British Petroleum was perfectly willing to allow the sale of alternative fuels at BP stations. However. a recent Wall Street Journal article. which Ive enclosed. detailed many of the obstacles your company and other major integrated oil companies apparently use to effectively prohibit or strongly discourage the sale of alternative fuels. The Wall Street Journal article indicated that BP prohibits branded stations from including E85 on gasoline dispensers. perimeter signs or light poles. Another obstacle employed by your company is the prohibition on using payatthepump credit card machines for E85 purchases. It seems these policies are in place simply to limit the availability and sale of alternative fuels. rather than prevent customer confusion. I would appreciate hearing your explanation as to why Mr. Pillari led me. the Judiciary Committee and the American people to believe that British Petroleum supports making E85 available to your customers. yet~your company is described by the Wall Street Journal as a keqg obstacle to expanding the availability of alternative fuels. I would appreciate knowing exactly what BP is doing to grow the E85 market. and why you believe your tactics arent simply obstacles. as .claimed by the Wall Street Journal. I look forward to receiving your response not later than May 25. 2007. Sincerely.
Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: PATTY HOLMES (democrat)
Chamber: S

(From "Vermont Fallen") When he had been home in April. I said. Jeff. I have to ask you something. And he goes What? I have to ask you for your forgiveness. And he said Why? And I said. Because I wasnt the mother I wanted to be. All he did was hug me. and he told me he loved me. FRATANGELO: Patty Holmes. and her husband Scott would have never guessed that simply taking part in this project would help them heal.
Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. and I do rise in strong support today of H.R. 1470. I want to thank Chairman FILNER for introducing this important bill and for his efforts to advance it through committee. I also would like to thank Ranking Member BUYER and Health Subcommittee Chairman MICHAUD for their work and support in moving the bill through each step in the committee process. Chiropractic care has been shown to be a valuable and costeffective health care approach. which benefits millions of Americans. Passage of this bill is an important step in our efforts to broaden veterans access and options for health care services. Currently the VA is only required to provide chiropractic services on a limited basis to veterans in each geographic service area. For veterans in rural parts of the country. as Mr. MORAN was explaining. whether its in Kansas or my home State of South Dakota. limited access to chiropractic care has forced many veterans to either drive several hours to a VA medical center that offers chiropractic services. or to not receive the chiropractic care that they need. So its important that veterans be granted the same health care options as the rest of the American population. including the availability of chiropractic services. I look forward to continue working with my colleagues on the Veterans Affairs Committee to provide veterans with chiropractic and other health care services that theyve earned and deserve. I ask my colleagues to support H.R.
Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

First of all. let me thank Chairman FILNER for shepherding the bills that we have here on the floor. for bringing these bills to the floor on this date. Mr. Speaker. I have been on Veterans Affairs for 15 years. and as we approach Memorial Day. we do it to honor our veterans. The entire time I have been proud to be on this committee. because it is what we do for our veterans. One of the things. Mr. BUYER. that I have enjoyed about serving on this committee is that it has always been bipartisan. We have always worked together for the veterans in this country. and we need to continue to do that. As we move into this Memorial Day. and I think about what I have to do next Monday. when I go home. to face those families. we need to be honoring them today here on the floor of the House of Representatives. If we have any personal matters. it needs to be taken up at that particular time and not here on the floor of the House of Representatives. Earlier today I had the privilege of joining the Congressional Womens Caucus at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Earlier today we honored four members of the United States Armed Forces. and it was my privilege to be there. The late Congresswoman Juanita MillenderMcDonald. a key member in the Womens Caucus. was instrumental in organizing this years celebration. It wasnt until 1971 that the last Monday in May became the official national holiday. as We know today. as Memorial Day. The day itself was born from the tragedy of the Civil War when soldiers and family. members in the North and the South decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers. In 1868. seeking to formalize this touching tribute. General John Logan. Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. issued General Order Number 11 designating May 30. 1868. as Decoration Day. for the purpose of laying flowers and decorating graves of those who died in the defense of their country. our great country. All together. these bills move benefits for veterans into the 21st century. From extending the eligible period for health care for combat service in the Persian Gulf to treating of trauma. brain injury. vocational rehabilitation benefits. chiropractic benefits and outreach activities at the VA. finally to deal with the final resting place for those who have sacrificed for the freedom of this Nation. these bills and this House honor our Nations veterans. I support all of these bills. and I urge my colleagues to support them as well. Let us all honor the veterans who have done so much for us and these families. as we go into Memorial Day. God bless America.
Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2199. the Traumatic Brain Injury Health Enhancemen*t and LongTerm Support Act: I would like to thank the chairman of the Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee. Mr. MICHAUD. for introducing this important bill. and to thank Chairman FILNER and the ranking member for their support of this legislation. Among other provisions. H.R. 2199 requires screening of veterans for* TBI. establishes a comprehensive program for longterm TBI rehabilitation to be located at the polytrauma centers. and creates TBI transition offices at each of the polytrauma network sites. In addition. the bill creates an advisory committee on rural veterans. These are important steps toward helping -the young men and women who have suffered traumatic brain injury. and ensuring the needs of our rural veterans are addressed. Working closely with a National Guard soldier from South Dakota who suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in Iraq. and having visited him and his family at the Minneapolis polytrauma center. I..witnessed both the good and the bad of the VAs efforts to deal with these woundedservicemembers. While we have made remarkable strides in treating veterans with brain injuries. there is much room for improvement. especially when it comes to the longterm support of these servicemembers. I believe the Traumatic Brain Injury Health Enhancement and LongTerm Support Act will tremendously improve the services available to veterans suffering from TBI. I look forward to continuing working with my colleagues. on the Veterans Affairs Committee to address these and other issues related to treating veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury. Again. I thank Representative MICHAUD for introducing and advancing this bill. and I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2199.
Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. again I thank the chairman for yielding. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2239. the Early Access to Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment- Benefits Act. I want to thank the ranking member of the Economic- Opportunity Subcommittee. my good friend and trusted colleague. Mr. BOOZMAN. for introducing this important bill and for working with me prior to the committee markup to strengthen the bill. I also want to thank Chairman FILNER and Ranking Member BUYER for their support of the bill as well. While current law requires servicemembers to be discharged from active duty prior to applying and receiving benefits from the VA. H.R. 2239 would extend vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are determined to have a disability of at least 10 percent or more. incurred or aggravated while oh duty. and likely to be discharged from service due to that disability. This important legislation would help veterans begin their rehabilitation earlier and could be very beneficial for those who are. in extended convalescence. which .may last more than a year for some servicemembers. As the chairman explained. today we do find that a major factor for new. veterans dropping out of the VR&E program is the immediate need to financially support the family. We can reduce the risk of these individuals. dropping out of the program prematurely if we extend the benefits while they are still on active duty. Now. in some cases. due to the severity of their injuries. a number of veterans may likely experience a drop in pay after their discharge and when they enter the civilian workforce. However. if a veteran begins his or her rehabilitation immediately. he or she may be able to enter the job market much earlier with a level of readiness and a set of skills to command a higherpaying position than otherwise might be obtained. I look forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan manner with Mr. BOOZMAN on the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee to ensure Federal services are available to help our fighting men and women successfully transition to civilian life. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2239 so that we may ensure our servicemembers are more readily afforded the benefits they need to heal and succeed after their service to our country.
Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to remove the name of Congressman JAMES MORAN of Virginia as a cosponsor to H.R. 1649. who was added inadvertently as a cosponsor to that bill.
Date: 2007-05-23
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

they have been holding quite a few conversations. as a matter of fact. talking about going on vacation for 60 days. The Defense Minister called his Ministers together to plan for an immediate U.S. withdrawal of troops. because I believe they know with this new Congress in place. the days of the Iraqi Government drawing down on the taxpayer dollars. the U.S. taxpayer dollars. without accountability. are over. and if they are not willing to reform themselves. then we should not be willing to have our men and women on the streets of Iraq fighting on behalf of safety and patrolling the streets. when the Iraqis are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. With that. I will yield to one of my good friends. I will yield to Ms. .WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. who is a very good friend. and then Mr. RYAN comes in after her in my friendship.