macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-27
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. I rise today to offer an amendment that will increase funding for the Violence Against Women Act. also known as VAWA. It increases it by approximately $10 million. Congress has recognized the importance of these programs in bringing hope and a safe future to women across our great Nation by reauthorizing VAWA last year.Although the committee increased funding for this program. there are still a number of vital programs within it that are not going to be adequately funded by the bill. Such programs include funding to assist children exposed to domestic violence. such as the various counseling and education programs. the Sexual Assault Services Program. and also inclusion of Indian tribes in the national sex offender registry. As a cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Womens Issues. and also serving on a local shelter board. I know firsthand the reprehensible effects of domestic violence on a womans dreams and success. Every rape crisis center and domestic violence program in my district has brought hope to women and children who have been devastated by assaults. As you know. domestic violence affects our most vulnerable constituents. battered women and their families. Evidence suggests that VAWA has been effective in reducing violence. For example. the rate of domestic violence against females over the age of 12 in the United States actually showed a slight decline. But domestic violence is not just a managainstwoman phenomenon. When a man hits a woman or vice versa. often children and young adults are left with lasting impressions of that violence. Studies show that men who are exposed to domestic abuse are much more likely to be abusers themselves in the future. And young women who see abuse are much more prone to be victims of abuse as adults themselves. This vicious cycle is one that we can genuinely affect through violence against women programs that provide education support networks. increased law enforcement and certainly a very important component of family counseling.. It is frustrating but realistic for policymakers to know that we cant just wave a magic wand and eradicate violence in our society. Yet. I firmly believe that this amendment is a step in the right direction. The amendment takes funding from the Department of Justices General Administration Fund and the Census Bureau and helps to fund the violence against women programs. fl 1945 This addon actually helps in the fight against domestic violence without breaking the bank or tipping the very careful balance that Chairman WOLF and Ranking Member MOLLOHAN crafted in the underlying bill. Chairman WOLF. you have done a great job. and Members on both sides of the aisle respect you and the work product that we have before us. r urge all of my colleagues to support the amendment to increase funds for VAWA programs. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2006-06-28
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I raise a point of order against section 607. This provision violates clause 2(b) of House rule XXI. It proposes to change existing law and therefore constitutes legislation on an appropriation bill in violation of House rules.
Date: 2006-06-28
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in opposition to the amendment of my good friend. whom I admire in an extraordinary fashion. Mr. STEARNS. One of the great advancements. Mr. Chairman. in our American democracy and of our American democracy was precisely the Voting Rights Act that made it possible. in effect. for millions of American citizens. minority American citizens. to have access to that sacred right that is voting. It is important. Mr. Chairman. that we keep in mind that this is not an immigration debate. as Mr. STEARNS said. We are talking about American citizens and only about American citizens. There are. Mr. Chairman. millions of native born American citizens that speak languages other than English. For example. there are over 4 million native born American citizens from Puerto Rico who speak Spanish. Many speak English. others do not. They speak primarily Spanish. It is our belief and it was a great advancement of American democracy to say that American citizens whose primary language is not English should also be able to understand ballots. even the most complicated or simple of ballot initiatives. petitions. ballots with candidates. What this section of the Voting Rights Act says is when there is a community that has a significant number of people whose language is other than English. that that community should have access to ballots in their language of preference. in their language of most fluency. In addition to the fact that there are millions of American citizens who are native born and who speak languages other than English. our laws also establish and call for elderly resident aliens. residents of the United States. immigrants. who have resided legally in the United States for more than 15 years. our law says that they can take the exam to become a citizen of the United States in their native language. Sothere are many elderly American citizens. naturalized American citizens. who are allowed. according to our laws. the laws of our Congress. to take their naturalization exam to become a proud American citizen in languages other than English. They should also. Mr. Chairman. be allowed to vote. and they should also be allowed to understand even the most complicated of ballot initiatives. So that is what the law does. Mr. Chairman. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California .
Date: 2006-06-28
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. as I stated. this is a great advancement in our democracy that we should be proud of. We are talking only about the rights of American citizens. American citizens whose primary language is other than English should also be able to vote. As a Nation. we took an important step forward that. as I say. we all should be proud of when we facilitated that sacred right to vote to American citizens whose . primary language. whose most fluent language. is one other than English. Mr. Chairman. I yield the balance of my time to my dear friend. the gentlewoman from Texas .
Date: 2006-06-28
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I rise today in support of this amendment restoring funds for the Law Enforcement Tribute Act Program to its FY03 funding level of $500.000. Mr. Chairman. only seven weeks ago. the Fairfax County Police Department suffered the loss of two officers in the line of duty. the first fatal shooting in the departments long history. As t join the Fairfax County community in mourning the loss of Master Police Officer Michael Garbarino and Detective Vicky Arme. I also have in my thoughts the roughly 740.000 officers nationwide who put their lives on the line for the safety and protection of others on a regular basis. Mr. Chairman. every day. we are honored by the service these men and women give to our communities. This amendment will allow us to give those who sacrifice the most for our community and- safety .the recognition they deserve. I am pleased that the chairman has agreed to accept the amendment.
Date: 2006-06-28
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Let us be clear what this would do. The Nadler amendment would prohibit the FBI from using these NSLs to obtain any financial records or health records from health insurance companies even if those records are indisputably relevant to an international terrorism or espionage investigation. Indeed. the FBI would be prohibited from using the NSL to obtain financial records of a known terrorist from a health insurance company. no matter how much evidence the FBI possessed of the targets involvement with terrorism. It would not just prevent the FBI from obtaining medical records. Currently. the FBI can obtain health insurance records through the use of administrative subpoenas without the approval of a. judge to investigate not terrorism but health care fraud offenses. So if the FBI is allowed to use administrative subpoenas to obtain these records to investigate health care fraud by dirty doctors. then it should be allowed to use these NSLs. which are similar to administrative subpoenas. to obtain these same records in international terrorism. investigations which may involve dirtbombs. This is basically th . I amndADt 9ee I9)?aqfers lil
Date: 2006-06-28
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia I thank the gentleman for yielding. Let us be clear what we are talking about here. We are not talking about. generally speaking. about the question of the privacy of medical records. We are asking whether NSLs are an appropriate means with which to obtain information from health insurance companies as- they are utilized or a similar process. that is administrative subpoenas -that are not obtained by a court. are utilized to look at health care fraud. One of the things that we got out of the 9/11 Commission was the fact that we had failed to not only connect dots but failed to adapt our criminal justice investigative procedures in the face of this new threat. which is terrorism. Some people would say. well. why would health records be relevant to such a case? Well. in the instance of anthrax. for instance. it would be relevant if someone had sought medical attention that would. in fact. basically inoculate them if they came into contact with anthrax. It would be of some assistance if a group of people involved. that we had suspicion were involved with a terrorist group. were inoculated for smallpox. I mean. these are those sorts of things that help us connect the dots.
Date: 2006-06-28
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. If the gentleman will recall. the Judiciary Committee has been very aggressive in oversight of Justice Department actions with respect to the PATRIOT Act. Several of the changes made in the law that I referred to before give us a greater handle on that because it requires more reporting to the Congress on what has been done with respect to NSLs in this regard. So as I said. the biggest difference between our consideration of the gentlemans amendment last year and this year is there are more protections built in to the use of NSLs by the Justice Department than there were before. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Date: 2006-06-29
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I commend Chairman POMBO for bringing H.R. 4761. the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2006. to the floor today. This important legislation would modernize a key aspect of our Nations energy policy by providing for energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States. H.R. 4761 would generate a significant amount of new revenue in the form of oil and natural gas royalties for coastal States that allow offshore drilling. as well as the Federal Government. The amendment I am offering today would authorize a portion. of the funds generated by the legislation to go to supporting Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Specifically. the amendment would provide $150 million per year for 10 years to fund capital and preventative maintenance projects for Metro. without which Metro could not function effectively. would have to be matched dollar for dollar from Virginia. Maryland and the District. Congress has long recognized the unique relationship between Metro and the Federal Government. Three times we have authorized renewed Federal commitments to this system. understanding that it is a vital Federal Government asset. The government first committed to sharing in this responsibility for Metro in 1960 when President Eisenhower signed the National Capital Transportation Act. creating a National Capital Transportation Agency to develop a regional rail system for the Nations capital. Since that time. Congress has.periodically infused the System with Fed-. eral funding to protect its original investment and accommodate ridership growth. The government continues to pay its fair share of the costs of the capital regions transit system. Unlike other regional transit systems in the country. Metro was designed to make sure Federal .workers and contractors as well as tourists have easy access to government offices and work places. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2006-06-29
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Chairman. this is a very important amendment that is going to protect the coastlines not just in Florida. This is not just a Florida issue. but it is going to protect the coastlines by another 25 miles. The 25miles can make a real difference to people who live near the coastline. The existing moratorium is limited in scope and can be done away with in the Florida area. This is a bipartisan amendment. We heard from two Members of the other side who also support it. and I urge support for the amendment.
Date: 2006-06-29
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. I have always opposed offshore oil drilling. This amendment extends the protection an additional 25 miles. It is a good amendment. Please support it.
Date: 2006-07-10
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida led the Pledge of Allegiance as follows: I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. and to the Republic for which it stands. one nation under God. indivisible. with liberty and justice for all.
Date: 2006-07-10
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. I rise today to alert my fellow Members to a deadline that passed with little comment over the weekend. Following the FBI search of a Member of this bodys office. President Bush sealed the collected files for a period of 45 days. That deadline passed over the weekend. My question is. What next? Will this House continue to shield one of its own from criminal investigation. and hide behind a misreading of the speech or debate clause. or will we admit that no American is above the law. Member of Congress or not? I have introduced a resolution making it clear that when law enforcement officers have a valid search warrant in pursuit of criminal misconduct. it is entirely within their rights to search the office of a Member of Congress. Now that the 45day hold has passed. I would hope that President Bush would allow law enforcement officers to continue their duties to investigate criminal misconduct wherever it may originate. Currently. there are 20 Members of this body on that resolution. and I would encourage any others who want to send a loud and clear message we are not above the law to join me in cosponsoring it.
Date: 2006-07-11
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of legislation that could protect innocent children across our great Nation. H.R. 5319. the Deleting Online Predators Act. introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania . gives parents. teachers and school officials new tools in their effort to protect our children from online sexual predators. Just this week back in my district in Tavares. Florida. prosecutors are picking a jury to try the case of John Couey. the man accused of raping and killing 9yearold Jessica Lunsford. Sexual predators like John Couey not only stalk our children on the playground and at the mall. but also over the Internet - on Web sites like MySpace.com. I commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania for bringing attention to these Internet .predators and thank the Energy and Commerce Committee for holding hearings on this bill.
Date: 2006-07-12
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. the American people expect us to stop the flood of illegal immigrants coming to this country. In order to do that we need to secure our borders. We need to crack down on employers that hire illegals and preserve American jobs for Americans. We need to reject all formg of amnesty. Many talk about a guest worker program. I think most reasonable people believe that a guest worker program in the farming industry. perhaps in the gardening and landscape industries. is reasonable. Beyond that we need to look at what the need of America is. not the need of foreign countries and where they want to place their people. We need to absolutely reject again all forms of amnesty. We need to increase enforcement on current immigration laws. Today. currently. business owners can go out and find out if the person they are hiring is eligible to work here or if they are not. We need to think about how we are impacting workers. In 1973 the average manufacturing jobs paid $15.24 an hour. In 2004 it paid $15.26 an hour. An American worker should not expect his pay to be cut because somebody comes to this country illegally and is willing to work for less than he or she should be paid. We need to protect Americans and protect their jobs.
Date: 2006-07-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. by direction of the Committee on Rules. I call up House Resolution 910 and ask for its immediate consideration.
Date: 2006-07-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to my good friend. a champion for human rights wherever it is threatened in the world and here in the United States as well. Mr. CHABOT of Ohio.
Date: 2006-07-13
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I am excited to be here supporting the reimplementation of the Voting Rights Act. Let me give a little bit of recent history. You have heard a lot about past history. In the State where I am from. in Florida. redistricting was always a way that was used to discriminate against minorities and to stop minorities from the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. We all know that there is a substantial African American population in Florida and a substantial Hispanic American population in Florida. and yet. and I do not want to sound partisan. but the reality is that one party controlled the State legislature for 122 years. During that entire time. not once did they deem it necessary or important to create one African American congressional district. one district for African Americans so they could elect a candidate of their choice. Finally. in redistricting before the 1992 elections. after a lot of haggling. and I was involved in that redistricting and other Members who were then in the State legislature who are now in Congress were also involved. finally the thenmajority party. the Democratic Party. finally saw the wisdom to create one district where African Americans could elect a candidate of their choice for Congress and one district only where Hispanic Americans could elect a candidate of their choice. We had to sue the State of Florida.We had to go to Federal court to get more districts where Hispanics and African Americans could elect candidates of their choice. and because of the Voting Rights Act and because some of us sued the majority party in those days. which was the Democrats. the courts agreed and created districts where three African American Members of Congress were elected. serving in this wonderful body. One of them is leading the effort on that side of the aisle for the implementation of this Voting Rights Act again. and two districts where Hispanic Americans could elect candidates of their choice. We are not talking ancient history. We are talking the need is still there today. It is there. The need is still there today in Florida. as a matter of fact. We saw recently a group. mostly from outside of Florida. spending millions of dollars. hundreds of thousands of dollars in Florida trying to get something on the ballot. A group that supports multimember districts for the State of Florida. which have been proven to be discriminatory. The threat is still there. The need is still there. That is why I am so grateful to Chairman SENSENBRENNER for his leadership on this issue not only now. but also In the past. I thank Mr. SENSENBRENNER. It is a privilege to be here. I.think it is an historic day because we have the opportunity to extend this important act for many. many years. It is right for the country. not only for minorities. but for democracy and for the entire country.
Date: 2006-07-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Presidential

elections. you get to come Florida. Mr. Speaker. I yield 5 minutes out of the penalty box. It is.that fair. to my good friend from Georgia (Mr. it is that just. and it is just that simNORWOOD). ple.
Date: 2006-07-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 910 and insert extraneous material thereon. .
Date: 2006-07-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself the balance of our time. Mr. Speaker. I am very proud to have brought forth this legislation. today. It is . historic legislation. The Voting Rights Act was one of the great advancements of American democracy. something that we all should. and I think we do. feel very proud about. And we are bringing it forth today. we are extending it for 25 more years. because more work needs to be done. even though there has been extraordinary progress in the last 40 years in thiscountry. I want to thank again Chairman SENSENBRENNER. I admire "him. I think he has done an extraordinary job facing great pressures. Of course he is such a man of character. the pressure does not even get to him. I admire him for that and many other qualities. Again. I thank Ranking Member CONYERS and all those who have worked hard to bring this legislation forward. I think we are all cognizant of the historic nature of what we as the House of Representatives are doing today. And so I would urge support for this rule. which is fair. It makes in order some amendments that I oppose. but I think it is appropriate that the House be able to debate even items that many of us in the Rules Committee dont agree with. But we are going to have a fair debate today.