macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-13
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize Veterans Legal Institute. an organization that resides right in the middle of my district serving our veterans in Orange County. California. since 2014. It is a nonprofit organization and provides pro bono legal assistance to our veterans on a myriad of issues. for example. on some of the education issues going on using their GI Bill and housingbecause we have so many of our veterans. as you know. that are homelesswith respect to health care. getting into those VA hospitals and to the agencies. and. of course. with respect to employment. The organizations ongoing efforts have become an important factor in helping us to bring veterans along and to ensure that they are an integral part of our community. Veterans Legal Institute is committed to providing our everyday heroes with the resources and the support that they deserve. and I believe that we must do our part by supporting organizations such as Veterans Legal Institute so that they can effectively serve this community.
Date: 2016-04-13
Speaker: MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New Mexico

Messrs. ASHFORD. AL GREEN of Texas. SCHIFF. and Ms. BONAMICI changed their vote from yea" to mnay." So the previous question was ordered. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. tomorrow is April 15. the deadline for passing a budget. It is clear that the Republicans are going to miss it. From the start. this process has been a travesty. Before President Obama even released his budget. Republicans announced that they would refuse to hold a hearing on it. They rejected the Presidents budget out of hand even before it was printed. a move unprecedented in this modern era. Then they passed out of committee a budget that would end the Medicare guarantee. take healthcare coverage away from 20 million Americans who received it under the Affordable Care Act. and make deep cuts that harm children. students. seniors. and hardworking Americans. Then the Tea Party wing of the GOP insisted on walking away from the bipartisan budget agreement inked just last fall. So that brings us to today. My Republican colleagues dont seem to have a budget or a plan to move forward. The process has collapsed. I urge my colleagues to start over and to work with Democrats to craft a budget that invests in our future and meets the challenges facing our Nation.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

I thank very much the ranking member for yielding and for her leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to H.R. 3791. I would like to note the Statement of Administration Policy on this bill. which reads that the bill "amounts to an unnecessary and risky change." I am disappointed that we are even considering this bill. because I thought that we had reached a thoughtful compromisea good faith compromiseon this issue last year. Last Congress. we came together in a bipartisan way to increase the threshold for small banks that want to make acquisitions of other banks or financial companies and that want to finance these acquisitions basedand dependent to some extenton debt. The Fed used to prohibit banks with more than $500 million from using debt to finance these purchases. but in recognizing that this threshold was out of date. we worked together to raise the threshold to $1 billion last Congress. I was proud of that deal. and I thought it reflected a good faith compromise in the Financial Services Committee. Now. less than a year later. our colleagues in the majority. apparently. want to change the deal. They want to raise the threshold from $1 billion to $5 billiona 500 percent increase over the deal that we just struck a year ago. A $5 billion bank is. needless to say. significantly larger than a $1 billion bank. and a $5 billion bank likely engages in a much broader range of activities than does a simple $1 billion community bank. Raising the threshold to this level would actually facilitate more consolidation among community banks. Banks at the high end of the $5 billion level would take on more debt. buy smaller banks. which would. thereby. lead to the deterioration of community bank branches in the neighborhoods that we represent. and it would also lead to fewer jobs as they then seek to slim down operations. The current policy statement already covers 89 percent of the banks in the country. Eightynine percent of the banks are covered by the deal we struck last year. so raising this level further is not warranted. It is risky. It is unnecessary. The Statement of Administration Policy says that it will be recommending a veto from the President of the United States. It is unnecessary. it is unwarranted. and it reverses a spirited compromise and good policy. I urge my colleagues to vote "no."
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I would like to set the record straight. I have in my hand a statement from United States Senator SHERROD BROWN. It is a statement on House Bill to Alter Federal Reserve Small Bank Holding Policy Statement. U.S. Senator SHERROD BROWN. ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking. Housing. and Urban Affairs. issued the following statement today on legislationthat is this legislation. H.R. 3791that would increase the asset threshold for the Federal Reserve small bank holding company policy statement: "I understand that proponents of H.R. 3791 have mentioned a similar provision that I included in a larger bill in 2013 as somehow relevant to the current debate before the House of Representatives. It might be relevant if the House was also engaged in a real effort to address too big to fail. and it might be relevant if time had stood still. But since 2014. Congress and regulators have provided significant regulatory relief to community banks and raised the threshold of the small bank holding company policy statement to $1 billion. Raising the threshold to $1 billion was where Congress. regulators. and stakeholders could find broad bipartisan consensus on this issue. and I support that. I do not believe we should take further action to raise the threshold. and it is wrong to suggest otherwise." So. ladies and gentlemen on the opposite side of the aisle. dont use SHERROD BROWNs name one more time because this statement puts that to rest. He is not in support of raising this threshold to $5 billion. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I would just like to point out that here is a Democrat on this side of the aisle who is offering to the Republican side to support the idea that you would raise the asset level for these small banks if only you would support minority banks. if only you would have a plan for CRA. if only you would do the right thing. if you care about the constituents. and they are rejecting it.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland . the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. My friends on the opposite side of the aisle keep talking about accountability and what Congress responsibility is and what the Constitution says we should do. But I find it very interesting. while they are claiming that OFR and FSOC should be given more oversight. they dont seem to really want to exercise the responsibility to do that. Republicans claim that only when OFR and FSOC are subject to the annual appropriations process. will these two entities be accountable to Congress. However. how many times has the Financial Services Committee requested the director of the Office of Financial Research to testify? Only one time. Section 153 of the DoddFrank Act requires that the OFR director testify before our committee annually. and yet. OFR Director Berner has only been invited to testify once in the last 4 yearsthe only time being in March of 2013. That means for more than 3 years. our committee. under Republican leadership. has shirked its duties to oversee the OFR. Any Member who has met Director Berner can attest that he has always stated his eagerness to update Congress on what OFR is doing. Mr. Speaker. this bill is not some valiant attempt to hold FSOC and OFR accountable. no. This bill is yet another attack on a DoddFrank financial reform by Republicans. who never supported financial reform in the very first place. Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3340. the socalled Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act. This bill represents another example of death by a thousand cuts from our friends on the other side of the aisle. It is another Republican attack on the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. After the catastrophe of the financial crisis and the near collapse of our banking system. Republicans are. once again. jeopardizing the stability of our financial system. How many times will Republicans waste taxpayer dollars with these partisan and dangerous attacks on the independence of our financial regulators? DoddFrank created the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Office of Financial Research to bring independent regulators together to monitor risk across our banking system and address threats to the American economy. Prior to the creation of FSOC. no single entity was accountable for monitoring our Nations financial stabilitynone. It was a mishmash. disparate mess. DoddFrank filled that void. Similarly. OFR works to support consumers by conducting critical research on our financial system and whether our regulatory systems are. in fact. working. Of course. if we dont invite the person who is the head of the Office to actually testify in front of the Financial Services Committee. how would we know? DoddFrank ensured that important regulators like FSOC and OFR have the independence they need to protect consumers outside of the political turmoil of Congress. My House Democratic colleagues are serious about reining in our Nations largest financial institutions. while my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are playing political games at the expense of American consumers. I refuse to stand idly by and allow DoddFrank to be gutted and weakened. If this terrible bill got to his desk. President Obama wouldnt sign it. He would never allow it to become law. Nevertheless. congressional Republicans continue to waste taxpayers time and money with this legislation that would peel back DoddFrank and hurt American consumers. House Republicans need to instead focus on our Nations most pressing problems: public health crises like the Zika virus. which has ravaged my home State of Florida. the ongoing debt situation in Puerto Rico. and keeping Speaker RYANS promises to the American people that this body would pass a budget. Our Nations working families are keeping their fiscal houses in order.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

We need to make sure that we hold Speaker RYANS feet to the fire and make sure that he keeps his promise to the American people that this body will pass a budget. which we have yet to do. Our Nations working families are working hard to keep their fiscal house in order. It is long past time for the House Republicans to do the same. while also making sure that we protect American consumers. That. ladies and gentlemen. is how we got into the worst economic crisis and nearly crashed the banking system in the first place. If we leave policymaking to the Republicans who are in the majority here. they would take us back to a time when we had a Wild West of regulation that left consumers twisting in the wind and banks to be able to make any decision they wanted and run over consumers all across America. We saw how well that worked out in 2008. Now we have come through the worst economic crisis we have ever had since the Great Depression73 straight months of job growth in the private sector. We need to continue that progress. not go backward.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the Royce amendment. which the Financial Services Committee considered last November as H.R. 3738. The amendment is yet further evidence of the Republican plan to kill DoddFrank with a thousand cuts. If adopted. the Office of Financial Research would have to disclose its research agenda at the beginning of each year. potentially alarming markets. just as the underlying bill. the Royce amendment. would mean that any study of the OFR would become corrupted. Our market actors would see that the OFR. an office that makes recommendations to the Financial Stability Oversight Council about systemic risks. was concerned about a particular topic. In response. those actors would begin to change their behavior even if the OFR might later conclude that there was never any risks to our economy. In addition. this amendment would require OFR to go into great detail when disclosing what it plans to study. something that is not done by any other research organization. Finally. I am troubled by the amendments provisions requiring the OFR to disclose its consultations. Internal consultations and deliberations are explicitly excluded by the Freedom of Information Act and for good reason. Individuals would not likely participate in OFR studies if their offline. candid remarks were made part of the public record. Will this prevent industry lobbyists and trade associations from commenting? Of course not. They will continue earning their keep. and the amendment gives them even more opportunities. Why would independent researchers. academics. and scientists want to weigh in on a public fight? This amendment. the underlying bill. and many of the other Republican initiatives we have seen this year all share the same goal. They are aimed at undoing all of the progress the Obama administration and Democrats have made in the last 8 years. How many times are we going to find ways to kill financial reform? How many times are we going to vote to kill jobcreating agencies. like the ExportImport Bank? How many times are we going to vote to get rid of ObamaCare and the health insurance of millions of Americans? There is important work to be done. passing a budget. for one. ending homelessness in America. funding the administrations requests to help combat the Zika virus. helping Puerto Rico to restructure their crippling debt so that the island can grow and prosper and create jobs. When are Republicans going to hear the cries of everyday Americans? I encourage Members to support their constituents by continuing to fight for these issues and oppose Republican attempts like this to simply roll back Democrat reform. I urge a "no" vote on the Royce amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. in the dark of night on this very day 2 years ago. young girls at the early ages of 11 to 17 were in nightgowns. preparing for sleep. and were getting ready for the exams that would open the doors of opportunity. as they were told by their Nigerian parents. One daughter had rushed back to the school from a weekend trip because her father said: You shouldnt be home. You must go and take your exam. That night. terrorists came and rounded them up and threatened them and took them into the dark of the Nigerian bush in Borno State. upwards of Abuja. They have now been gone for 2 years. the Chibok girls. I stood alongside FREDERICA WILSON and Lois FRANKEL when we went to Nigeria within weeks of their kidnapping. Boko Haram. which is now ISIL. and ISIL. which is now Boko Haramthe most dangerous terrorist group in the worldwill come to the shores of America if we are not vigilant to find them and quash them. We must find the Chibok girls. They deserve our constant refrain and study to realize that it is terrorists who took them. We must bring the terrorists down and find the Chibok girls to take them to their families.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: BRENDAN F. BOYLE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsyl

vania. Mr. Speaker. this week. we recognize Equal Pay Daya somber reminder of the intolerably wide wage gulf that still exists between men and women. This is not just a "womans issue." It affects every working family throughout our economy from top to bottom. The average woman in America today makes 79 cents for every dollar a man makeseven less for women of color. That disparity. when spread across the course of a womans working life. can deprive her and her family of over $430.000. which is nearly $11f000 annually. Nobody can afford such dispossession. especially families who are already struggling to survive. The gender pay gap will not fix itself without there being immediate congressional action. We already have a bill that is designed to right this wrongthe Paycheck Fairness Actwhich is cosponsored by every single House Democrat. Mr. Speaker. I implore my colleagues to enact it so that all American women can at least know they are worth equal pay for equal work.
Date: 2016-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today on behalf of American consumers who are too often denied access to justice and forced into arbitration by contracts they were unable to negotiate fairly. The Federal Arbitration Act was enacted to resolve disputes among businesses of equal standing. not to restrict consumer access to our courts. The horrific distortion of this law has allowed certain actors to tip the scale in their favor and create an uneven playing field in the pursuit of justice. It is our responsibility to guarantee every American equal access to justice and protect the public from unfair and pernicious business practices. For this reason. I strongly support my colleague. Representative Hank Johnsons bill. the Arbitration Fairness Act. This bill would require that agreements to arbitrate employment. consumer. civil rights or antitrust disputes be made only after the dispute has arisen. Consumers can only properly evaluate their options. and make a truly voluntary choice. after a dispute has arisen. Arbitration undeniably serves an important role in our legal system. but its use must be a choice. and not a mandate resulting from a onesided contract. Americans deserve to choose whether court. arbitration. mediation. or any other method of dispute resolution works best for them. I urge my colleagues to join me in guaranteeing all Americans this meaningful choice by cosponsoring the Arbitration Fairness Act.
Date: 2016-04-15
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor Judge Frederick P. Aguirre. and to congratulate him for his service. Judge Aguirre is a member of the Latino community and a judge of the Superior Court of Orange County. He was born and raised in Fullerton. California. and he is the grandson of Mexican immigrants. Judge Aguirre graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in history. and he earned his law degree at UCLA. His career in public advocacy began when he attended the League of United Latin American Citizens. or LULAC. He began to attend the meetings. and by the time he was a senior in high school. he was the presidentelect of the local chapter. He is the cofounder of the Hispanic Association of Lawyers in Orange County. the Hispanic Advisory Council for Court Appointed Special Advocates. or CASA as we know it. the founder and the vice president of the Leadership Academy of the Superior Court. and the president of Latino Advocates for Education. I know him best because he honors our veterans every year in a very large ceremony. calling out their service in the different wars. I am honored to recognize Judge Frederick Aguirre for his outstanding achievements within the Latino community. the Orange County community. amongst our veterans. and for all citizens.
Date: 2016-04-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. this morning. I had the privilege of participating with the Union Theological Center. in New York. to speak about our faith and our legislation. It causes me to come to the floor today to act upon that very strong faith in the Good Samaritan. which means that we are. in effect. our brothers and sisters keeper. We have a devastating disease in the Zika virus that has now been announced as being more devastating than had been expected as it causes severe brain damage. and my State and Gulf States and other States across America are. in fact. in the target line. In Texas. for example. we recently had a Zika virus hearing. and our infectious disease experts told us that this is a devastating disease. Yes. we can take money from someplace else and borrow from Peter to pay Paul. but I am asking this Congress. in the spirit of the Good Samaritan. to pass the Presidents emergency supplemental request of $1.9 billion. I will be asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services to come to Texas and sit down with our law enforcement and health professionals in order to make a difference. Finally. let me say. Mr. Speaker. that this is budget day. and we have not passed a budget. We will not pass a Republican budget because it kills education. it doesnt protect Social Security. and it is not in the spirit of a Good Samaritan. Let us do what is rightpass a budget for the American people and provide for those in the line of danger with the Zika virus.
Date: 2016-04-18
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of S. 1638. the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters Consolidation Accountability Act of 2015. Mr. Speaker. since the 2006 decision to establish the Department of Homeland Securitys headquarters at the former site of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington. the project has experienced significant shortfalls in cost and schedule performance. The Government Accountability Office reported that between the start of construction at St. Elizabeths in fiscal year 2009 through the fiscal year 2014 appropriation. the project received $1.6 billion less than the funding amendments requested over this period. The impact of this funding gap is farreaching. In fact. GAO has found this gap resulted in cost escalations exceeding $1 billion and schedule delays exceeding 10 years for the project. Mr. Speaker. the Senate bill we consider today is the companion to H.R. 1640. a bill that the House approved by voice vote last June. S. 1638 directs DHS and GSA to provide information to Congress within 120 days of enactment of this bill to establish that the data has been collected and analyzed to support the current direction for this highprofile investment. In addition. Mr. Speaker. S. 1638 specifies that the information provided to Congress by DHS and GSA include updated cost and schedule estimates for the project. Finally. Mr. Speaker. S. 1638 directs GAO to report to Congress on the quality and reliability of these estimates. not later than 90 days after they have been submitted to Congress. Mr. Speaker. DHS headquarters operations currently are dispersed around the national capital region. in facilities that. in many cases. are inadequateas is the case with the Nebraska Avenue Complex. To support the governments effective stewardship of public resources and to deliver a headquarters that DHS desperately needs. I would urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.