macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I would point out that every piece of legislation brought to this floor is preceded by a debate on the terms of debate. In other words. the rule that we are now considering as a resolution sets the framework for how the underlying piece of legislation can be debated. and. if you will. it does set the process. the parameters for the process of the debate. It establishes the resolution. the rule that is debated and voted on before the underlying legislation can be considered. sets forth. determines if amendments are authorized. and. if so. what amendments are authorized. And so it is process that is debated by the rule. resolution commonly known as the rule. that is brought to the floor before legislation is considered. And that is what we are on right now. That is what we are discussing right now. the resolution. the rule to set the terms of debate. What I am pointing out and will reiterate now is that it is most unfortunate and unnecessary. totally unnecessary. for the majority to bring forth legislation that will have the support of the majority on the floor when it is considered. the underlying legislation. to bring it forth with a rule that prohibits debate. that shuts out debate. that does not allow any amendments from any Member. whether they are ]pemocrats or Republicans. on the underlying piece of legislation. That is what I am trying to point out. and I thought it was pretty clear. Mr. Speaker. we reserve the balance of our time.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. what we are saying is that there is no need to close off debate. that this legislation could very easily have been debated openly. that Members on both sides of the aisle could have been given the opportunity to bring forth amendments as they were able to in the Senate. and that this legislation would move forward. It is not only hnfortunate but unnecessary for the majority to close off debate. And. as I stated previously. there is a pattern. In the last Congress. despite having promised the most open and the most transparent. the most fair Congress in history. the reality was exactly the opposite: More pieces of legislation were brought to this floor under closed rules that did not allow any amendments during the last Congress. the first Congress where our friends on the other side of the aisle had the majority in many years. More pieces of legislation were brought to the floor with closed rules prohibiting all amendments than in history. in all of history before in the history of Republic. So that is un-. fortunate. But we are seeing the pattern continue. It has continued in these weeks in the beginning of the 111th Congress. and already this is the fourth bill. the fourth piece of legislation brought to the floor under a structure that does not permit any amendments under closed rules. That is what we are saying. it is uncalled for. it is unfortunate. And we hope. I guess because hope springs eternal. that our friends on the other side of the aisle will open the process up and will allow Members from both sides of the aisle to introduce amendments and have them debated and have the majority work its will. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. E 1245
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Mr. Chairman. with 11 million Americans out of work. we indeed should be concerned about Americans out of work and helping Americans to have jobs. Tomorrow the House will vote on a bill of some $835 billion as an economic stimulus and spending package. Thirty billion dollars of that will be for infrastructure spending for roads and bridges. some $20 million for electronic medical reports. both worthy causes. which perhaps should be put into the highway section. but thats as it is. Whats key here is are these really for American jobs? The electronic medical records is important because it allows hospitals to have their records on computers so doctors can access them from everywhere competently and confidently. and can help reduce millions of dollars of waste and deaths that occur from hospital errors. However. in the Energy and Commerce Committee a few days ago I offered an amendment to say lets guarantee that the software work and the applications of that technology be done in America. Its too easy. at the stroke of a keyboard. to send electronic data across the globe where these software applications for hospitals could be done. So we put an amendment in. The chairman agreed to it. The committee unanimously agreed to. but. mysteriously. when the bill was printed. that and a few other Republican amendments were omitted. Tonight I was at the Rules Committee asking them to please restore this amendment to say if we are going to spend $20 billion to help American jobs. lets make sure we have a clause in this bill that helps American jobs. Theres another amendment I offered too that says for construction and other parts of this bill lets also use that for American jobs. Lets not have the same mistake that occurred when we approved building a fence line at the border with Mexico. and it turned out it was done using a loophole with Chinese steel. Our concrete. our rebar. the cars that are going to be bought supposedly with this bill ought to be made in America. From the iron mines to the manufacturers. to the mills. lets use it to buy America. Lets return those amendments to this bill. If we really are going to be serious about American jobs. lets make this American jobs.
Date: 2009-01-28
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. there are 11 million unemployed Americans receiving a notice that says they owe taxes on their unemployment benefits and theyll have a huge bill due on April 15. After this scary realization. these folks will get on their phones or their computers to ask us where we think they are going to get the money to pay the additional tax. As this Congress works to find ways to kickstart the economy. I propose we not kick these folks when theyre down and we eliminate the tax on unemployment insurance benefits for 2008 and 2009. This economic stimulus ought to do this. The 1099 statements that are showing up in mailboxes to notify my constituents that they owe Federal taxes on their unemployment is just ridiculous. Id want to be able to tell my constituents were going to do something about this problem. Lets go back to the drawing board and come together to really help. the unemployed. At this time Id also want to say thank you and God bless to Kathleen Black. who is going from my staff to the Senate. one of the best tax persons in the Congress.
Date: 2009-01-28
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I rise today in support of the American taxpayer. not the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For months the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was billed by President Obama as a job creating. infrastructure improvement package. I know I wasnt the only one that heard the words "shovel ready" over and over again when I inquired about ways to help Floridas 5th Congressional District. Despite the fact that this bill was crafted exclusively by President Obama and Speaker PELOSI. we as a country were asked to give President Obama a chance and were told that we should trust his judgment. President Obama has taken what should have been a bipartisan bill to create jobs and packed it with ideological spending priorities from the liberal left. The best way to stimulate the economy and create jobs is to cut tax rates across the board. reduce the corporate tax rate. and better fund organizations like the Small Business Administration and the Federal Housing Administration. These concrete steps would stimulate job growth. putmoney into consumers hands quickly. and help prevent future home foreclosures. Our Republican alternative. offered by Mr. CAMP and Mr. CANTOR. would do just that. We eliminate all the porkridden projects. cancel out billions in funds for projects not ready till 2012. and focus on providing immediate relief to the American public. The bill before us today does virtually nothing to promote immediate job growth or help struggling businesses. Americas strength is based on the hard work and ingenuity of its citizens. not throwing taxpayer funds into yet another bureaucratic black hole. A real stimulus package should return tax dollars back to the people that paid them. provide real incentives for American businesses to hire new employees. and help people stay in their homes. The bill before the House today does none of this. instead it focuses on makework government projects and pet projects of the liberal left. Mr. Chair. facts are stubborn things. Only $450 million of this bill (less than one half of one percent) would go to capitalize a loan program for small business. even though the facts show that small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the key engine of job growth in this country. Furthermore. only seven percent of this package will actually be spent on improving our nations roads and infrastructure. Why would the Democrat Majority and President Obama not provide more funding in this bill to help small business. to improve our roads and repair our aging infrastructure? My only guess is that their idea of a "simulus" plan means we increase funding for a myriad of already bloated federal government programs that should be dealt with in the appropriations process. -not an emergency jobs and infrastructure bill.
Date: 2009-01-28
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

In this $835 billion bill being described as a "jobs" bill. its good to see Representative KISSELL was able to offer this amendment to ensure American cloth is used for these uniforms. His arguments are compelling that we should support U.S. jobs. I offered a similar amendment to the health information technology portion. $20 billion spending there. It was stripped out after the Energy and Commerce Committee passed it unanimously and then rejected by the Rules Committee. This bill also has a lot of other spending which is not protected for U.S. jobs. $600 million for carsno guarantee theyre U.S. cars. $400 million for fuelefficient buses. Guarantees for Americans? Not so much. How about $871 million for computers at the State Department. Agriculture and States? No. Nine hundred million for a - new computing center for the Social Security Administration? Not there. Two hundred million for scientific equipment for the U.S. Geological Survey? Nope. Five hundred million for new detection Systems for the Department of Homeland Security? Absent. How about $6.5 billion for broadband?. No guarantee made in the USA. How about $7.7 billion for Federal building construction? Not there. If this is an American jobs bill. shouldnt we have included "buy American" clauses for these other areas as well? Its disappointing and frustrating that what happened with this bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee was actively removed. and then it was refused by the Rules Committee. Im glad that were going to be supporting American textiles. Im happy were going to be supporting American steel. In a jobs bill. Im frustrated that there are no guarantees in here that so many of these other jobs arent going to happen in the United States. I worry that of these billions of dollars being spent. much of these parts for computers. services and materials are going to be made overseas. Thats not about American jobs.
Date: 2009-01-28
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. we clearly need to pass a stimulus package..a plan that will help our economy. Unfortunately. this plan spends lots of money but very little to incentivize the economy. It does very little to incentivize small businesses. small businesses which are the job creators in our country. Frankly. less than 10 percent of the money in this spending bill goes to infrastructure projects. And we hear a lot of talk about the infrastructure projects. I agree with that. But less than 10 percent of the bill goes to infrastructure projects. Most of them. unfortunately. Mr. Chairman. go to create a larger Federal bureaucracy with little accountability and nearly no oversight. Does that sound familiar? This House last week was here passing legislation that the Senate already said they werent going to do to try to cover up and fix up the embarrassment of the TARP legislation. of that bailout legislation. that had no accountability and no oversight. This bill is more of the same. This is Son of TARP. except its even bigger. with little money and accountability. with little oversight. with less than 10 percent for infrastructure and with very little to help the job creators. the small businesses in our great country. We need better accountability. We need more oversight. We need more for infrastructure. We need more to help the small businesses and less to just send. it to create a larger Federal bureaucracy with no oversight. Again. as embarrassed as some people were about TARP. this is Son of TARP. We are going to read the scandals. Dont pass this legislation.
Date: 2009-02-04
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. last week Americans learned of 50.000 new layoffs in just one day. We also heard another startling fact: that the financial industry bailed out by Uncle Sam paid $18 billion in bonuses. Thats just appalling. The $18 billion payout in 2008 ranks as the sixth highest in bonus history and compares with 2004. a banner year. on Wall Street. As a supporter of free enterprise. I back performancebased bonuses for a job well done. Banks just barely getting by. thanks to taxpayer bailout money. have no business paying bonuses. With our economy sliding deeper into recession. this reckless decision to pay bonuses showcases the disgraceful behavior of greed and arrogance of Wall Street that Americans detest. It is flat irresponsible. Lets stop the bailout bonus bonanza now.
Date: 2009-02-05
Speaker: KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (republican)
Chamber: S

who has a different way of funding it. $550 million. We have to do that. We have to do that for safety in the skies. It is a job creator. We have thousands of airports in this country. I put my colleagues on notice that I plan to go to that. Also. we have to extend the FAA itself. Its authorization is going to run out. We need to extend it for a variety of reasons. I will not go into those at the present time. But the extension of FAA reauthorization is in the interests of every Republican and every Democrat in this body. I will be making a case for that. if given the chance. later in the day. I yield the floor. The . PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order. the Senator from Texas is recognized.
Date: 2009-02-11
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

My constituents are outraged at Washingtons reckless spending. and they insist this jumbo government giveaway wont stimulate the economy. wont help them find good jobs. wont keep a roof over their head. and wont help them pay the bills. I am deeply concerned the government keeps writing checks that our children and grandchildren cannot cash. We must know who is going to pay for all this. Our constituents deserve much better. Taxpayers should not be exposed to even more risks. Many have been hurting from the economic crunch. yet experts project most of this stimulus spending wont happen until after 2010. years into our recession. That will not help struggling America right now. I think our country would benefitfrom a real stimulus package that boosts our lagging economy with job creation. tax relief. and smart. targeted spending. Lets work together to get this done right for America.
Date: 2009-02-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaken. the question isnt whether we should do something. The question is. what should we do when we have this stimulus package in front of us? And why is that important? Well. Newsweek magazine says it all. The cover says: "We Are All Socialists Now." And inside they say. referring to the debate that is taking place on the floor. "big government is back bigtime." They go on to tell us that in many ways. our economy already resembles a European one. And they then project we will soon become even more French. I dont know about you. but I didnt believe that the people voted in the last election to become more French. And when I look at the stimulus package and learn that it has $30 million to protect the San Francisco marsh mice. I have to ask. is that becoming more French. or is that just becoming more absurd?
Date: 2009-02-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I thank the gentleman from Iowa. Let me make several points. First of all. as we look at this stimulus package. the American people are asking us whats in it. Its difficult for us to tell because we havent seen it. But we do know its premised on the proposition that if excessive bad spending got us into this problem. excessive bad spending is going to get us out. And I would just suggest this to the gentleman from Iowa. Did not we learn our lesson from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? There were a small number of us on the floor just a couple of years ago who tried to apply the brakes to a runaway situation. But we were overwhelmed by the sentiment that. you know. the taxpayers can pay and pay and pay. or stand behind and stand behind or go into debt interminably. We can promise more than we can perform. We can do it for all good intentions. and it will never. the day will never come when we have to actually deal" with the consequences. That should be an object lesson for us now. How long ago was that? Thats just a couple of years ago. And yet. here we are now dealing with that same situation. The second point I would make is this: As we understand in this plan. they have put the DavisBacon provisions in. with respect to the stimulus infrastructure projects. Let me just say this: That cuts down on the number of jobs that will be created. Dont worry about a fight with the unions. Thats not the point. The point is. when you impose those stringent standards on the States and localities for their infrastructure projects. you will have fewer jobs created. The third point I would like to make is this: How are we going to pay for it? Were going to pay for it out of public debt. Were going to have this nearly $800 billion stimulus. In another 2 weeks. were going to be on this floor. and were going to be talking about a $410 billion omnibus spending bill. followed by an additional $100 billion supplemental. How are we going to pay for that? Were going to have to go to the market. We will. in fact. have to go to the market. The Bureau of the Public Debt will attempt to borrow $2.1 trillion in a single year. This is 4 times the amount of debt we have ever tried to put on the market in a single year. You dont think this is going to have consequences? It is. I am the proud father of three. I have three grandchildren. I have two stepgrandchildren. My youngest grandchild is 1 year of age. What we do tomorrow will affect him far more than it will affect me or any of my constituents of an older age. because he is going to have to pay. When we say. "you dont have to worry about that." just think back to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It not only helped destroy the housing industry. but it had a corrupting influence on the banking industry. and it has cascaded into the entire economy. Maybe we ought to think about that before we vote tomorrow. I thank the gentleman.
Date: 2009-02-12
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Mr. Speaker. thank you so much. I just want to add one other element to whats being discussed here. As the final moments are taking place in putting together this economic stimulus package. Im still holding out a little bit of hope that we can put some things in there that protect American jobs. There is a segmeht in the bill. we think. that would say that steel used in transportation infrastructure would be bought in America. There is no provisions yet that say that $600 million worth of cars purchased would be bought in America. $400 million worth of buses would be bought in America. hundreds of millions of dollars worth of furniture for Federal buildings would be bought in America. $1 billion worth of computers. It is so important. This is not a violation of any treaty. Its clear that .when a Nation is spending money to create jobs. we ought to be creating those jobs in this country. We love other countries. but we cant trade with other countries if we dont have the money to buy their products. I still hope this is part of what may end up in this bill. The American people are depending on it. I hate to see our dollars go overseas or where were borrowing money from other countries. Lets make sure its used to purchase American goods.
Date: 2009-02-13
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Madam Speaker. a couple of months ago. the talk from congressional leadership was to produce legislation that was about providing jobs for Americas families and small businesses. with lots of opportunities for our needed investments. Sadly. what was supposed to be a jobs bill has turned into a spending bill that is going to provide about a $7.70 tax break for workers while adding $9.400 of debt. plus or minus some. with interest. for each family that is going to have to be paid by our children and grandchildren. I think if you have got one person working in that family. it is going to take a few years of saving up all those tax credits in order to pay for this bill. -Plus. unfortunately. we still never got guarantees that the billions of dollars worth of automobiles. buses. furniture. computers. and everything else here even has to be made in the United States of America. I am not very happy about that. and I dont think Americans should be. either.
Date: 2009-02-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Madam Speaker. it is not petty when we say that each Member of this House should have the opportunity to read this legislation. We are the peoples House. Every Member is elected. We are all cognizant of the great difficulty being suffered by the American people. of the jobs being lost. of the very. very sad stories facing each of our districts. So it is not petty to say that. as the House requested. we should have 48 hours to review this legislation. With regard to the substance. what we have been able to gauge is in the legislation. I remember when we first started discussing this package and. really. the tone of bipartisanship that was engulfing the Nation at the time. I was pleased because I believed that we would be able to modernize ivith this legislation. I believed we would see a modernization of the infrastructureof the roads and bridgesof the United States. When I saw the first $800 billion bill that was passed on January 28. including $30 billion for shovelready infrastructure projects. I thought that was most unsatisfactory. that a great opportunity was being lost. Since we are going to burden the American people with all of this debt. I thought at least we would modernize our infrastructure. I thought. well. maybe when the bill comes back it will be improved. and we will see more of the $800 billion. more than $30 billion within the $800 billion for our roads and bridges and for the modernization of our infrastructure. When I saw the bill returning and that instead of $30 billion there was $29 billion to modernize our infrastructure. I realized that this opportunity lost is more than sad. because the American people believed that this was sacrifice for modernization. for higher productivity. for the creation of jobs. That is not what it is. So. with sadness. I rise not only to oppose the rule but to say that this is an unsatisfactory package and that we can do better. We all believe that we need to act. I hope that we all come to the conclusion that we must. that we can do better.