macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-03-21
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Gallegly on rollcall No. 119 on H. Res. 591. the Rule Garamendi Gardner on H.R. 5. I was unavoidably detained. Had I Garrett been present. I would have voted "no." Gerlach Gibbs Gibson Gohmert UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERV- Goodlatte ICE 225TH ANNIVERSARY COM- Gosar MEMORATIVE COIN ACT Gowdy Granger
Date: 2012-03-21
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. on H. Res. 591. roll call vote 119. I was detained on official business. and I would like to indicate that I would have voted "no" on H. Res. 591. the rule to H.R. 5.
Date: 2012-03-21
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank my colleague. the ranking member on our Energy and Commerce Committee. I rise in opposition to this bill. I am not opposed to all of it. in fact. I am a strong supporter of the repeal of the IPAB provisions. However. we cant undermine Americans rights in court through placing arbitrary limits on malpractice cases. Thats what this bill before us does. We shouldnt solve a bad policy problem by implementing more bad policy. We should be passing good legislation. not trying to pass something that has no chance of becoming law. and thats what this bill does. The Affordable Care Act. the underlying statute that this bill is amending. has had an enormous positive impact on the constituents I represent. and the law hasnt totally taken effect yet. But its getting better. I was proud to support this landmark legislation as part of the Energy and Commerce Committee and on the Health Subcommittee. Before the passage of the Affordable Care Act. my congressional district had the largest percentage of uninsured of any district in our country. We still have a lot of work to do. but things are getting better. For the last 2 years. 53.000 children in my district cant lose the security offered by health insurance due to preexisting conditions. 3.400 seniors have saved an average of $540 on prescription drugs. 9.000 young people now have health insurance that they didnt have before the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is not perfect. but no bill is perfect. The bill before us today is far from perfect. I support the repeal of IPAB. I opposed IPAB in 2009 when it came up in our committee markup of the Affordable Care Act. I do not believe a panel of outsiders appointed by the President should take responsibility for what Congress needs to do in making decisions on Medicare payment rates. Thats part of our job as Members of Congress. However. this bill has stepped too far. and I want to the opportunity to vote on a freestanding IPAB repeal. but I cannot support H.R. 5 because its a bridge too far.
Date: 2012-03-21
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chair. I came to Congress in 1975. Since that time. Ive been involved in the debate over national health reform proposals. Throughout these debates. lawmakers struggled with how to control costs without sacrificing quality care. Unfortunately. for decades. Congress chose to kick the can down the road while costs continue to climb and to soar. This trend ended with Affordable Care Act. For the first time. Congress put in place specific and identifiable measures that will make our health care system more transparent and efficient. This includes the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board. This board will be a backstop to ensure that Federal health programs operate efficiently and effectively for both seniors and taxpayers. We need to give these innovations a chance to work. Because without these innovations. theres little hope to get health care costs under control. Five hundred thirtyfive Members of Congress cannot be nor should they be the doctors who think they know best of the practice of every medical field. Five hundred thirtyfive Members of Congress are not immune to special interests that have a financial stake in the decisions that are madenot necessarily in the best interest of the seniors. the taxpayers. or the delivery of medicine in this country. but perhaps in the best interest of their companies. Thats why the Affordable Act created an independent board of health experts to make the recommendations to improve the system. It does not usurp the role of Congress. It simply acts as a failsafe in case government spending exceeds benchmarks. Under the law. doctors will retain full authority to recommend the treatments they think are best for patients. The law also prohibits recommendations that would ration care. change premiums. or reduce Medicare benefits. In short. this independent board is about strengthening Medicare with evidencebased decisionmaking. Without innovative reforms like the board. Medicares future will be put in jeopardy. Kicking this can down the road any further will only bolster those who seek to kill Medicare. We must strengthen Medicare. not end the Medicare guarantee. The Affordable Care Act strengthened Medicare. It extended the life of the trust fund and has already lowered costs for millions of seniors. However. without innovation. our current system will be unsustainable for our Nations families. businesses. and taxpayers. The Republican plan to end the Medicare guarantee is no alternative. Innovation is the alternative. I urge my colleagues to support the Independent Payment Advisory Board and reject this legislation.
Date: 2012-03-21
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Dr. GINGREY. thank you for your kindness and your kind words. I would say that rather than being wrong. we disagree. But what I would say is. if you do not have a cap. then this bill will supersede the laws in States that say they have no caps. And the only thing I would conclude on is that your bill is premised. even though youre citing the individual mandateand we can quarrel about that as to whether or not it is a forcedupon mandate or whether there are options of that individual having employerbased insurance. et ceterabut it is premised on interstate commerce. And therefore you have an amendment being offered by one of your members to strike that. The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Date: 2012-03-21
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentleman. The premise of this bill is interstate commerce. which in the initial arguments being made by my friends on the other side of the aisle. they argued vigorously that we couldnt even do health care under this premise. even though we have Medicare. The premise you have in this bill is under interstate commerce. But you have an amendment that is seeking to strike your findings because you were caught with a conflict between dealing with this question congressionally. which were saying is legitimate from the perspective of the Affordable Care Actyoure trying to use it nowbut you realize that there are Members who are now arguing the question of states rights. We have existing State law on tort reformhundreds of years of tort reformand youre trying to abolish it. and with this added legislation on medical malpractice youre now trying to supersede existing State law. The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Date: 2012-03-21
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Where the amounts of moneys are not capped. where there are no caps. this bill places the $250.000 in. If there are no caps. That is an overriding of State law. No matter how you cut it. its an overriding of State law enforcement. And you cant have your cake and eat it. too. Im willing to celebrate the Affordable Care Act and eat the cake because it saves lives. But what youre doing here now is not. Youre overriding State laws. Many States.
Date: 2012-03-22
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise this morning to thank the many persons across the length and breadth of this country who have spoken up with reference to the injustice that has occurred in Florida with reference to the young man. Trayvon Martin. I want to single out two people. however. The first. Joe Scarborough of MSNBC Morning Joe. When he spoke this morning. I literally had tears to well in my eyes as he took a strong position on this injustice. I beg that others would do likewise. I would also like to thank the Reverend Al Sharpton. He has lost his mother. and I along with other people of goodwill would like to extend our condolences and our sympathies. But I am so grateful to Reverend Sharpton. He has indicated that he will be at the rally tonight in Sanford. Florida. And I thank him for what he has done and is doing. May God continue to bless you. Reverend. and I look forward to being there with you.
Date: 2012-03-22
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I am before the House with a very heavy heart. I am very much concerned about the circumstances in Florida involving Trayvon Martin. We live in a world. Mr. Speaker. where its not enough for things to be right. they must also look right. And it just doesnt look right for a 17yearold child to lose his life under the circumstances that have been announced. I would like to thank all of the many colleagues here for the bipartisan support that has been shown in calling for the Justice Department to investigate. I also thank those who say they support what the Justice Department is doing in terms of an investigation. It doesnt look right. and I believe it is not right.
Date: 2012-03-22
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Youre speaking as a parent. and I think everyone can appreciate that. You really highlighted it. In this instance. of course. we have to look and see whether there was a hate crime or if his civil rights were violated. But youre absolutely right. We had nothing to go on. We had a person walking. We have the police. themselves. and so many of us have worked to ensure that the guns on these streets dont go after our law enforcement officers because. obviously. there are many who believe the more guns the better off we areguns. guns. guns. This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. Its just guns. guns. guns. So he has a concealed weapon. Im not here to cast any aspersions. but as the reports are coming out. he has some challengesmeaning Mr. Zimmermanto his record. He has some challenges. With that in and of itself. the officer should have brought him in. but there is no evidence of that. Maybe they did. but there is no evidence of that. and they should have done. as you indicated. the normal police work. He has a defense. so be itthat of a concealed weapon permit and "stand your ground." But you have a dead person. and you have no witnesses. at least not that the police have offered to say Mrs. Jones. Mr. Smith. Mrs. Gonzalez said that they were in a knockdown. dragout. There is not any glimmer of information that has come out. The young man happened to be a person of color. We have placed to a bipartisan vote both hate crimes laws. the 1964 Civil Rights Act. and other bills that have been voted on in a bipartisan manner simply because we dont want America to violate those very precious rights. I want to just share with you. because. as I said to you. Ive got a neighborhood watch. The Washington Post says. Experts say neighborhood watches shouldnt be police.
Date: 2012-03-22
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

That is correct. What I dont understand. and what we will be. if you will. perusing is. where did this case go wrong and the fact that the Federal Government has to come in when things go wrong. Someone said to me in my office that this case has riveted like Emmett Tills case riveted.
Date: 2012-03-22
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

And youre right. There are cases across America. Members have raised cases in conversations that weve had. and we need to have all of that in an inventory so we can. out of this tragedy. say to those parents: Trayvon counts. We care. Young people count. Children count. Your community counts and our communities count. I wanted to share that. Im not going to let this go. As for the Judiciary Committee. the Congressional Black Caucus. the TriCaucus. which involves the Asian Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus. letters that have been written by a number of Members of Congress. the work of Congresswoman BROWNand the Progressive Caucus. I know. is a willing partner when it comes to issues of justicewe are not going to let this rest without finding some relief and rest for this family. And I thank the chairman for his personal story. I met the young man. and weve all traveled together. our family. at the Dem caucus events where families come together. I will just conclude by simply holding up. again. this picture. And for those who dont know the terminology. let me just show. He is in football attire here. and we dont know what college he would have gone to or what football team. if that had been his choice. that he would have played on. Let me just put this up. If you can see it. this is an innocent face. But he is wearing a hoody. And if anyone needs to know. I have a hoody. Its my local colleges paraphernalia that you buy. and you wear it to the game. and it has a hoody. And its something that I think everybody has seen in this country. I see nothing on here that says: Bad guy. Criminal. Shoot me. Thats not what we do in America. I want to thank the gentleman for allowing me to share and to say that we will find some resolution to this. I will simply conclude by saying that I do believe in an optimistic America. Revealing my pain about this young man is pain for all those whose names we have not called. But in believing in an optimistic America. I want to be a problem solver. I want to solve this problem or answer this problem with respect to Trayvon Martin. I want to say that as I perceive this product that has been produced. this Budget for All. I am so grateful that over 90plus members of the Progressive Caucus saw that the right route to take was the optimistic upturn. positive. open opportunity budget to give to all of America. Thats what we should be supporting. not the downturn. the "no way out." but really that there is a new day for America. I yield back to the gentleman and thank him for his courtesy.
Date: 2012-03-26
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I would like to note that I will be yielding 10 minutes of time to my colleague from the Ag Committee. Mr. OWENS.
Date: 2012-03-26
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I do want to concur with those whove announced that bipartisanship is alive and well at the committee level and on the floor of this House today. Id like to thank my colleagues on the other side. Mr. GARRETT and Mr. GRIMM. for their cooperation and our ability to work together. Id also like to especially thank the staff of the full committee and the staff of each congressional office for the outstanding work the staff members have done. It is very difficult to get legislation to this point without the benefit of staff having had a helping hand. and we thank the staff. Mr. Speaker. the passage of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 established a system for regulating the overthecounterthats the OTCderivatives market. Authority is provided to the Securities and Exchange Commission. the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. and the banking regulators. which have been proposing the regulation that will eventually govern the OTC derivatives market. Previously. banks and other financial companies were able to amass considerable risk using OTC derivatives without reporting to the regulator or to the public. The Wall Street Reform Act requires that most derivative transactions. primarily those between dealers. now be centrally cleared and exchange traded whenever possible and that all transaction data be collected and publicly reported at clearinghouses or swapdata repositories. The new rules are intended to allow regulators and the public to better analyze the derivative risktaking activities of banks and other financial companies. The new rules are not intended to hold in place onerous requirements on companies that use derivatives only as a means to hedge the risk of the company. H.R. 2682 clarifies Congress intent when passing the Wall Street Reform legislation by more clearly exempting endusers that are only using swaps to hedge or to mitigate commercial risk. H.R. 2682 is also consistent with a colloquy between Representatives FRANK and PETERSON. as well as a letter from Senators Lincoln and Dodd. which noted that the reform legislation provided the regulators with sufficient authority to exempt endusers from the margin requirements. This bill passed favorably out of both the House Financial Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee with strong bipartisan support. In no way should H.R. 2682 undo any of the important protections of reform legislation. Its purpose is to recognize the endusers responsibility to use swaps as a part of their businesses. I congratulate Mr. GRIMM and Mr. PETERS. and I encourage you to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2012-03-26
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I would simply close by indicating that I concur with my colleagues. This legislation does enjoy the bipartisan support that we believe will help us get a message to our Members that it is a good piece of legislation that should be totally supported by the membership. So. I would ask my colleagues and Members of the Congress to please support this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2012-03-26
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I would simply close by saying this: Mr. Speaker. thank you again for your support of this legislation. I would hope that my colleagues will give it the kind of consideration that our warriors are giving us when they decide that theyre willing to go to distant places and make great sacrifices for us. Please give it consideration. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2012-03-26
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 4014 is a good piece of legislation. and it is designed to protect proprietary information. which is exceedingly important in the business world. This bill ensures that when an institution submits confidential information to the CFPB. the information will remain confidential. This bill is in line with existing law for other financial regulators. We have confirmed that the CFPB believes this fix to be acceptable. The bill is identical to legislation introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman JOHNSON and Ranking Member SHELBY. This legislation will give financial institutions legal certainty when turning over data to the CFPB. Mr. Speaker. current law states that a bank does not waive confidentiality and. thereby. should not have to risk its disclosure of information to other parties. These parties are sometimes engaged in litigation against each other. This piece of legislation will assure a party that its information given to the CFPB will not end up in the hands of another party that may be engaged in litigation. This is but one example. This bill is designed to protect proprietary information. I want to thank my colleague for the outstanding job that he has done in presenting this piece of legislation. I thank Mrs. BIGGERT for. again. showing the bipartisanship that has helped us to bring this legislation to the floor. At this time. I will reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2012-03-26
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I have no further requests for time. and I will simply encourage my colleagues to support the legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2012-03-27
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong opposition to the Ryan Republican budget that will end Medicare as we know it. Reminiscent of last year. the Republican budget provides tax breaks for the millionaires and billionaires while ending the Medicare guarantees for our seniors. sticking them with the bill for rising health care costs. The proposals in the Republican budget lack balance and jeopardize the health and economic security of our Nations seniors. The 300.000 Texas seniors. who have saved almost $200 million on prescription drug costs since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. will be forced back into the prescription drug doughnut hole. I urge my Republican colleagues to end this attack on our seniors. as they have already been through enough. and we have given the rich too much leeway while the middle class and the poor pay the bills.
Date: 2012-03-27
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chair. I rise in opposition to this bill. That is not to say that I am pleased with how this FCC has conducted its business. It has been slow and evasive when responding to inquiries from myself and my colleagues on important matters pending before the Commission. It has taken an activist approach to regulating. as we saw with their network neutrality proceeding. It wrongly squelched a merger that stopped an American company from acquiring a foreign owned competitor and then released proprietary and confidential information in what appeared to be an effort to salt the earth for any future attempts at a similar deal and influence the proceeding at the DOJ. This has set a troubling precedent. Not everything that this FCC has done is bad. While I opposed the Comcast/NBC merger. I am appreciative that the FCC had the latitude to impose conditions. For instance. my constituents will benefit from the conditions aimed to preserve localism and diversity. It included an additional 1.000 hours annually of locally produced news and information to be aired by NBCs and Telemundos owned and operated stations. as well as quarterly reports from ComcastNBCU detailing the number. nature. and duration of these additional local news and information programs. This condition would not be possible under H.R. 3309. I believe the FCC plays an important role. it is a necessary agency and can foster innovation and economic growth. But we have seen again and again a pattern of overreach. of regulatory strong arming. and aggressive actions aimed at achieving an agenda. rather than implementing the laws passed by Congress. The FCC process is in need of reform. but the Republican proposal before us today is not the answer.