macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-10-07
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. thanks to the gentleman from California we have worked for 3 years on this legislation. and I want to thank and congratulate Chairman THOMAS for making it a reality. This billstrikes the right tone in repeal and replacement of the FSCETI benefit. And while I have disagreed with the premise of changing how we tax Americans just to comply with the whims of some Frenchmen or Europeans. this bill will make American companies more competitive in the global market. Our businesses will be able to export more from the United States and will be more competitive in foreign lands. I am glad this bill will reinstate the sales tax deduction for Texans that the gentleman from Texas was ensured to get in here. Residents of other States have been able to deduct their States income taxes. but now residents of Texas and six other States can deduct sales tax. an important fairness issue for all constituents. I want to also tharik Chairman THOMAS and his staff for working with me on a number of other provisions to get these items perfected. Now that this bill is behind us. I look forward to working on fundamental tax reform next year. and I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill.
Date: 2004-10-07
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I want to join my colleagues in strong opposition to the Menendez amendment. Quite simply.. the substitute provides fewer safeguards against another 9/11. Rather than participating in the legislative process by offering constructive amendments during the House debate. the minority has unfortunately chosen to simply cobble together various provisions from H.R. 10 and various incarnations of Senate legislation and repackage them as the Democratic position on homeland security. The resulting package is a scattered jumble of proposals that do not fit into cohesive strategy for protecting the homeland. On the issue of drivers license security. for example. Two conflicting SE H8837 deadlines for compliance by the States are established: the first deadline being 2 years from the promulgation of minimum standards. the second deadline is to be established by the Secretary of Homeland Security. In contrast. the language of H.R. 10 is strong and clear. exactly what this landmark legislation needs. Additionally. the Menendez amendment is replete with the kind of layered bureaucracy we took great pains to avoid in H.R. 10. Out aim was a nirble. flexible. flat structure that could improve intelligence gathering and analysis. The substitute amendment. by contrast. is loaded with a chief information officer. a chief human capital officer. a chief financial officer. an outofcontrol Inspector General. a comptroller. an ombudsman. multiple privacy officers. and a civil liberties board with unlimited subpoena power. Our bill is about better government. The substitute is about bigger government. Equally troubling. to our committee in particular is the fact that such basic necessities as personnel and acquisition authprities have been scattered throughout the amendment with different and conflicting authorities being haphazardly assigned to different officials .within the NID. Our committee specializes in agency organizational matters. That is what we do day in and day out. The substitutes organizational structure is no way to set up a new entity. and I urge opposition to the Menendez amendment. f 2230
Date: 2004-10-08
Speaker: KEVIN M. SHEA (republican)
Chamber: S

AGE 38 Maj. Shea died September 14 due to enemy action in Al Anbar Province. He was assigned to first Marine Regiment. first Marine Division. Camp Pendleton. CA.
Date: 2004-10-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. I think it is important that we realize that this amendment. while not perfect. it is extremely important that it pass. I am very supportive of the Smith amendments that will be debated shortly. But what this amendment does is it keeps us. the United States of America. in compliance with the convention against torture. allowing us. obviously. not to. in order to be in compliance with the convention against torture. not to deport people to places where they will be tortured. But it also gives discretion to the Secretary of Homeland Security to detain. to keep under detention. terrorists. murderers. rapists. child molesters. and a limited list of other serious criminals. - .Toi..-comply- wi th).. :the.y.. c6nvention Qainst t&ture. it isrImportant that we pass this amendment. I thank the gentleman from Indiana
Date: 2004-10-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. it is really unfortunate that this provision is in the base bill. It lumps the base bill. as written. all immigrants who may be accused of being undocumented who have been here for 5 years or less. with terrorists. The current law says. if they are a terrorist. there is no limitation on time. They are picked up. and if they are not arrested. they are thrown out without a hearing. It also says. if they are an undocumented immigrant. within 2 years they can be picked up and partment of Justices Office of the Insent out without a hearing. That is spector General found that the INS was current. not able to remove 87 percent of aliens This expands it to 5 years even with final orders of removal who were though the 2 years of current law is not not detained. And. worse yet. 94 perbeing used. cent of nondetained aliens from state There is a border initiative that has sponsors of terrorism who had final rebeen announced. Many other initia- moval orders ccfild not be located for tives can be announced under current their deportation. In an age of terlaw. But. no. we want to expand it to 5 rorism. this is just unacceptable. years and say that folks who are work- There is no good reason not to subing in restaurants or folks that are ject illegal aliens who have crossed the cutting the grass or folks that are border illegally to immediate deportadoing something that is very honorable tion. These aliens. if they have been in and has nothing to do with terrorism. the U.S. less than 10 years. have no are now going to be lumped together to right to seek cancellation of removal say. even if they have a claim to stay unless they are making a claim of asyin this country. they do not even have lum. Once again. unless they are maka hearing. They cannot even have a ing a claim of asylum and can show a hearing and they are going to be credible fear of persecution. there is no thrown out. reason not to subject them to expeAnd. by the way. it is not even dited removal. . "may." It is "shall." That is what we And. in fact. the amendment that are talking about. And it is most un- just recently passed in the House. prefortunate that in the context of a ter- viously removes the 1year limitation rorism bill we have this language. in the base bill for convention against Vote for the Smith amendment. torture and asylum relief. So those
Date: 2004-10-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. with all due respect to the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. whom I have great respect for. that is not what the effect of the Smith amendment would be. There is a long tradition. based on international and domestic law and jurisprudence. that establishes the right to seek political asylum when there is .a wellfounded fear of persecution. In addition. our laws are clear that membership in any terrorist organization or activity in a terrorist organization automatically bars them even if they have a wellfdunded fear of persecution. So what this legislation. the base bill. does is go much farther than what -the opponents of the Smith amendment have portrayed up to now. And the reality of the matter is that when the law is as clear with regard t6 terrorism. and certainlr as it has been in recent years. it is unfortunate to diminish the rights of people who are legitimately fearing for. their lives and seeking political asylum. That is why the Smith amendment is ple and individuals .who are being perso necessary. So I would ask my col- secuted. This amendment is very imleagues to support it. portant. I urge my colleagues to sup-
Date: 2004-10-08
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I am glad my colleague from D.C. talked about protecting the FBI Academy in the national capital region because that. in fact. is located in what the gentlewoman calls "way out there in Virginia" which is my area. I rise today in strong support of the Bartlett amendment. which directs the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a study to see if there is a need to expand the national capital region. The terrorist attacks of 2001 demonstrated firsthand the need for the Aa-" tional capital region tb be expanded. The 195 corridor. which includes. the Fredericksburg/Stafford area that I represent. served as one of the major evacuation routes for D.C. Anybody who drove down that 95 corridor on September 11. 2001.. would agree that. as one of the main evacuation- routes. it is necessary to secure sufficient infrastructure along 195 to handle any mass evacuation. The current definition of the national capital region should be expanded as a result of the new threats to homeland security. I urge all of my colleagues to support the Bartlett amendment. I urge my colleague from D.C. to look at Where those areas that she says need to be protected. where they are located.
Date: 2004-10-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about Representative GUTIERREZS motion to instruct on H.R. 10. 1 must oppose this motion to instruct. This motion specifically instructs the conferees to remove sections 3005. 3006. 3007. 3008. 3009. 3032. 3051. 3052. 3053. 3054. 3055. and 3056. something I agree with. However. his motion to instruct also calls conferees to recede from the entire House amendment and thus accept Senate bill. S. 2845. which has some very unacceptable provisions. One such provision exposes the funds we spend on the intelligence community. Even though he references immigr&tion provisions. which forced me to vote against the House bill. his motion to instruct has the purpose of accepting the entire Senate bill. This is something I cannot agree to.
Date: 2004-10-08
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 5295. Earlier this year. the House passed H.R. 3751. legislation authored by Representative Jo ANN DAVIS. instructing the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to conduct a study to determine how best to include dental vision and hearing benefits in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. the FEHBP. The bill now before us takes an important step forward in this effort to establish a voluntary program under which federal employees and annuitants may purchase dental and vision insurance as part of the FEHBP. It was expertly crafted by the Senator from Maine. Ms. COLLINS. and follows the design of the current LongTerm Care Insurance Program. In addition. this legislation also includes an important provision from H.R. 3751. This provision. offered by Ranking Member of the Civil Service Subcommittee. Mr. DAVIS. retains the direction to OPM to conduct a study on how best to provide. hearing benefits in the FEHBP. * The FEHBP is one of the Federal Governments most important tools as we seek to recruit and retain the best federal workforce that this country has to offer. It covers over 8.6 million indi- viduals. including 2.2 million federal and postal employees. 1.9 million federal annuitants. and 4.5 million dependents. and offers the widest selection of health plans in the country. enabling enrollees to compare the costs. benefits. and features of different plans. However. this program will not remain a model for excellence in employerprovided healthcare coverage unless we continue to explore avenues to enhancethe care and choice provided. Minimal dental and vision benefits are available in the FEHBP because over 15 years ago. OPM stopped allowing plans to add new dental and vision packages or to increase packages they already had in place.. The fact is that the FEHBP has not kept pace in these areas. as an overwhelming majority of privatesector plans provide dental and vision coverage. In addition. there has been a groundswell among federal employees and annuitants through numerous surveys and focus groups on this issuemore than any other benefit. they want better coverage for dental and vision care. That will change with the passage of this important legislation. - I commend the sponsor of this legislation. Mr. MURPHY. for his dedication on issues important to our Nations civil servants. I look forward toworking with him and all members as we provide comprehensive. highquality. affordable healthcare through the FEHBP. and serve as a model for improving the performance of the U.S. health system as a whole.
Date: 2004-11-17
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman very much for the time. I am very pleased to support Senate 2486. the Veterans Benefit Improvement Act of 2004. and I am glad we got it finished this year. I know that there was some question about whether or not we would have time to get this very important bill up. and I. certainly commend the gentleman from New Jersey . the chairman. and the gentleman from Illinois . the ranking member. for their efforts on behalf of veterans. along with all the members of the committee who are truly dedicated to Americas heroes. This bill includes an expansion of educational benefits for veterans and clarifies protections to servicemen and -women under the Servicemember Civil Relief Act. and it also improves the housing benefit available to veterans through the VA home loan. It is the last provision of this bill that I would like to elaborate on as it is the product of a bipartisan collaboration.between the gentlewoman from California and myself. Certainly. the chairman of the committee was very. very generous in working so hard on the bill and all the provisions of the bill. but this particular provision is one that will certainly impact our young men. and women returning from Iraq. Like so many other aspects of a soldiers life. many soldiers postpone homeownership until after they are out of the service. For these soldiers. as housing prices increase. the VA home loan value actually decreases in real terms.. The rising housing market erodes the purchasing power ofthe VA home loan. Depending on where the veteran lives. the current maximum of $240.000 is simply insufficient to meet their housing needs. . The bill. which encompasses a bill which the gentlewoman from California and I had worked on. which passed this House. indexes the maximum VA guarantee amount to 25 percent of the Freddie Mac conforming loan rate. The prevailing VA loan under this new. change would be $333.700 in 2004. and it would continue to adjust as housing market needs increase. We are all very proud of the young men and women who serve our Nation. past and present. and I am sure that the Members will agree that the value of their benefit should not vary depending on where they live. or where they choose to purchase a home. This legislation is very important and timely. and I urge my colleagues support. I urge all the Members to support this. Again. I commend my colleagues and especially the chairman for working so hard on this. what could very easily be called an omnibus. comprehensive bill to benefit our Nations veterans.
Date: 2004-11-19
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend title 5. United States Code. to eliminate the provisions limiting certain election opportunities available to individuals participating in the Thrift Savings Plan. and for other purposes. as amended.
Date: 2004-11-19
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4324.
Date: 2004-11-20
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I thank my distinguished colleague from Florida for yielding me this time. I stand in strong support of the rule that brings forth this Omnibus Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2005. It is really an historic piece of legislation when one thinks about the fact or realizes that it achieves a freeze. or a zero percent growth. in nondefense discretionary spending. That is an historic accomplishment. an extraordinary accomplishment. while these nine appropriation bills included in this great omnibus package fund the needs and the many great actions that day in and day out the men and women that work for the Federal Government carry out. So I strongly support the rule and the underlying legislation. I think it is just and appropriate also. Mr. Speaker. that we take just an instant to commend and thank a great American patriot. a Floridian. who has served as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of this House for the last 6 years. my friend. the gentleman from Florida . When I arrived here as a freshman Member 12 years ago. he immediately began to teach me many extraordinary things with that . friendship that he shares with all of us here in the House. I am in awe of someone who has reached such great heights in this Congress and yet never ceased to be that friend to his colleagues. to all of his colleagues. and to his constituents. And so the great State of Florida has had a great representative for these years not only in this House but especially in these 6 years in the Committee on Appropriations. It is with a sense of gratitude as well as admiration that I say to Chairman YOUNG. thank you for what you have done. not only in this piece of legislation. this historic piece of legislation. but in all of your years of service in this House. sir. Thank you.
Date: 2004-11-20
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. one of the major issues that are of importance to the majority of my constituents is how well we treat the veterans. And it is very important to point out that in this bill there is $19.5 billion for medical services. $4.7 billion for medical administration. $3.7 billion for medical facilities. and $385 million formedical research. What does this mean? What it means is that we are taking good care of our veterans. It is important. too. to remember that there are no increased fees as was originally proposed. What this means is something that is very important to veterans in not just my district but every single district. There are other programs in here which are very well funded. such as the National Institutes of Health. They received a bumpup. and certainly we all know that they are working on very many diseases.
Date: 2004-11-24
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 3184. the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Act. My name was added in error.
Date: 2004-12-06
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill to amend part III of title 5. United States Code. to provide for the establishment of programs under which supplemental dental and vision benefits are made available to Federal employees. retirees. and their dependents. to expand the contracting authority of the Office of Personnel Management. and for other purposes.
Date: 2004-12-06
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of S. 2657. the Federal Employee Dental. and Vision Benefits Enhancement Act. The Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan. FEHBP. is one of the Federal Governments most important tools as we seek to recruit and retain the best Federal workforce that this country has to offer. It covers over 8.6 million individuals. including 2.2 million Federal and postal employees. 1.9 million Federal annuitants. and 4.5 million dependents. and offers the widest selection of health plans in the country. enabling enrollees to compare the costs. benefits. and features of different plans. However. this program will not remain a model for excellence in employerprovided health care coverage unless we continue to explore avenues to enhance the care and the choices provided. Through the FEHBP. the Federal Government fulfills its responsibilities as an employer to contribute to health and wellbeing by providing comprehensive highquality. affordable health care for its employees. while also providing an example and a model for improving the performance of the U.S. health care system as a whole. While a fine example for comprehensive care. the FEHBP currently offers minimal dental and vision benefits. Over 15 years ago. the Office of Personnel Management stopped allowing plans to add new dental and vision packages or to enhance packages they already had in place. As a result. the FEHBP has not kept pace in these areas. as an overwhelming majority of private sector plans provide dental and vision benefits. In addition. there has been a groundswell among Federal employees and annuitants through numerous surveys and focus groups on this issue. More than any benefit. they want better coverage for dental and vision care. This will change with the passage of this important legislation. The bill before us now will establish a voluntary. supplemental program under which Federal employees and annuitants may purchase dental and vision insurance as part of the FEHBP. This important legislation follows the design of the current longterm care insurance program whose premiums are wholly employeefunded. but allows the Federal Government to leverage its purchasing power to lower the cost of care in these areas. Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize the efforts of my distinguished counterpart in the other body. the Senator from Maine. Ms. COLLINS. Senator COLLINS was instrumental in the drafting of this legislation. I commend her for her dedication on issues important to our Nations civil service. I look forward to continuing to work with her on these important issues in the 109th Congress. I also thank my ranking member. the gentleman from California . and the ranking member of the subcommittee. my friend. the gentleman from Illinois . Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2004-12-06
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I urge support for the bill. S. Mr. Speaker. I have no further requests for time. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2004-12-06
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill to amend the District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999 to reauthorize for 5 additional years the public school and private school tuition assistance programs established under the Act.
Date: 2004-12-06
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4012.
Date: 2004-12-06
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank my colleagues for their kind words and their efforts in working together on this legislation. and I would urge all Members to support the Senate amendments to H.R. 4012. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.