macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1997-02-04
Speaker: BOB SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. I rise today to congratulate Bill Marvin. president of Manpower Temporary Services. on being named the 1996 Manchesters Citizen of the Year. I commend his outstanding community commitment and congratulate him on this welldeserved honor. As chairman of the 1996 Optima Board. Bili oversaw the capital campaigns for the Currier Gallery and the Palace Theatre. the downtown ice skating rink. and the merger of Catholic Medical Center and Elliot Hospital. Bill is a member of the Manchester Rotary Club. the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Catholic Medical Center. He has also brought two area hospitals together and has helped -to organize bingo games for the Boys and Girls Club. He is known to many as always willing to take responsibility. whether to chair a committee. raise money. or oversee a board of directors. Whatever Bill dedicates his time to. he always gets the job done. While giving his time to all these community projects. Bill and his wife. Ann. operate Manpower Temporary Services which was named the 1995 Service Business by Business New Hampshire magazine.. As a former small businessman myself. I am proud to honor Bill Marvins outstanding community commitment that is important to the future and prosperity of Manchester. We are indeed indebted to him for his efforts. Congratulations to Bill on this award and his service to New Hampshire and the people of Manchester.*
Date: 1997-02-04
Speaker: BOB SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. I rise today to congratulate the students of the Concord High School Crimson Tide marching band for the distinguished honor of representing New Hampshire in the 1997 inaugural parade. All 116 band members and Bill Metevier. the bands director. deserve special commendation for their hard work and achievement. Being selected as 1 of only 20 bands to perform for the President and the First Lady is quite an honor for all the students. At an inaugural reception on behalf of the Concord High School Crimson Tide marching band last week. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the band members. young men and women. who have demonstrated the hard work and dedication that is characteristic of Granite State students. These band members have proven that determination and teamwork are the hallmark of success both as musicians and students. The Crimson Tide marching bands decision to play the "National Emblem March." composed by E.E. Bagley while he was a resident of New Hampshire. was a very fitting tribute to the Granite State and our role in American history. We were indeed honored to have the Crimson Tide marching band representing New Hampshire with their outstanding musical performances. The Concord Schools Friends of Music also deserve special recognition for their help in raising $20.000 from residents and local companies during such a very short period of time. Without their hard work. the Crimson Tides trip to Washington. DC. would not have been possible. Marching in the parade was also a special highlight for these students since the Concord High School is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The Crimson Tide band with their classic military cadet style uniforms have also performed for audiences in Ottawa. Canada. New York City. Williamsburg. VA. and are planning to return to Williamsburg in April. I want to express my thanks to both the students and faculty at Concord High School for their commitment to excellence. Congratulations to all the students and Bill Metevier on such a magnificent accomplishment. Mr. President. I ask that a list of the names of these outstanding students be printed in the RECORD. The list follows:
Date: 1997-02-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise to remember and pay tribute to my friend. colleague. and a great American. Congressman FRANK TEJEDA. His untimely death is a great loss for the constituents of District 28. all of Texas. and the citizens of the United States. Congressman TEJEDA and I have worked together for many -years in many capacities. He and I were colleagues in the Texas House and the Texas Senate. We were elected to this office in the same class in 1992. He was a patriot. a Vietnam veteran who risked his life many times to defend his fellow marines. He was honored with many medals. He was a true American hero. My colleague. FRANK TEJEDA. has been an example and role model for many people in many ways. He proved that you can achieve success with determination and hard work. He ended 1H254 his life with the same quiet dignity he always showed. My heart and prayers are with his family.
Date: 1997-02-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise to pay tribute and remember my friend. colleague. and a great American. Congressman Frank Tejeda. His untimely death is a great loss for the constituents of district 28. all of Texas. and the citizens of the United States. Congressman Tejeda and I worked together for many years in many capacities. He and I were colleagues in the Texas House and the Texas Senate. We were elected to this office in the same class in 1992. He was- a patriot. a Vietnam veteran who risked his life many times to defend his fellow marines. He was honored with many medals. He was a true American hero. My colleague. Frank Tejeda. has been an example and role model for many people in many ways. He proved that you can achieve success with determination and hard work. He ended his life with the same quiet dignity he always showed. Mr. Speaker. I overwhelmingly agree with my colleagues from Texas that we should honor Congressman Tejedas memory and his family by naming a post office in San Antonio as the "Frank Tejeda Post Office." I urge support for the passing of this resolution and we name this building for a great TexanAmerican. My heart and prayers are with his family.
Date: 1997-02-10
Speaker: BOB SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: S

I thank my colleague from Utah for yielding and thank him for his strong leadership on this issue which he has done for so many years as we wait to see the long hoped for amendment finally reach passage. I was somewhat taken by the comments on the Durbin amendment made by my colleague. This is again an effort obviously to weaken the amendment. It is an interesting question about what an economic recession would be. How would one define it? Would it be just a general feeling of anxiety about the economy? Would that be an economic recession? I might also add. that in difficult economic times you will see areas of the country where certain pockets of the country. certain areas of the country there would be an economic downturn and other areas there may be an economic upswing. So the areas of the country where there is an economic downturn. how do we define where the amendment and when the amendment would kick in? It is obviously a weakening amendment. It is interesting. Mr. President. that for years and years and years we have heard from the critics. we do not need this amendment. We do notneed a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. All we have to do is balance it. We have not done it yet. So I am waiting. And those people who say that we ought to do that. without the amendment. keep offering amendments to weaken what we are trying to do. This is a very historic debate that we are in today. Not only is it historic in the sense that there have been a number of efforts in the past to have a balanced budget amendment. but it is historic in the sense that if we fail. our children are going to pay the consequences. I think they are going to judge us not in a very kind way if. in the future. in the outyears. if they look back upon this time when we had a chance to deal with this in the Constitution and did not do it. I am pleased and proud to be on the side of Senator HATCH in this debate. I think he is on the side of the American people. Frankly. not only the American people today. but tomorrow and for many. many years to come. We have had a number of efforts. starting in 1935 in the 74th Congress. That was the first measure designed to require an annually balanced budget. and introduced by a Democrat. Senator Tydings of Maryland. The next year. the first proposed amendment to balance the budget constitutionally was by Harold Knutson of Minnesota. a Republican. in 1936. It was a bipartisan idea. and it began as early as 1935. Since then. we have had some 30 measures that in some form or another have come before this Congress. The balanced budget amendment is not a Republican proposal. It is a bipartisan proposal. It always has been. Not only have all Senate Republicans cosponsored the resolution. but many Democrats have. as wellnot as many as we would like. but many have. We hope we will get the other two or three that we might need. Senate Joint Resolution 1 Was approved by the Judiciary Committee with the support of three DemocratsBIDEN. TORRICELLI. and KOHL. In addition. six other Democrats. BRYAN. GRA-
Date: 1997-02-10
Speaker: BOB SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: S

I thank my colleague. The conclusion is that there is a light at the end of this tunnel. You know what stands in the way of that light. Mr. President? About three votes--three votes. Maybe two. Senator HATCH is counting the votes. I havent been counting them all. But its two or three votes. two or three U.S. Senators who are probably on the fence. That is the difference. That is how close it is. We lost it by one vote 2 years ago. Votes do matter. That is the difference between trillions in more debt and mortgaging our future or not. Sen. ator Rudman. my New Hampshire colleague. said to me one time. "There are only two things that can happen if we dont. stop this insane process. First. we can continue to deficit spend and just cause sheer chaos when we cant pay our bills and go bankrupt. Or. second. we can print more money and sit around with 200. 300 percent inflation." We should all think about what that would do to our daily lives. There is no other option if we dont balance the budget. It is insane. Every Americanman. woman. and childin this country knows it is insane. They know it. You know you would not put up with it with your school board. your business. or your local government. town government. but you let the Federal Government. the .Congress men and women spend you into oblivion. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. and I hope that the U.S. Senate and the Senators wont block that light. I hope this month the Senate will show the American people that they are interested in the future of our country and our children. Thankyou very much.
Date: 1997-02-12
Speaker: BOB SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. I rise today to pay tribute to a great American. Father Jaroslaw Kupczak. Father Jaroslaw is a Dominican priest from Bilgoraj. Poland who. for the past 4 years. has been a doctoral student at the John Paul H Institute in the District of Columbia. During his tenure in the United States. Father Jaroslaw did much more than study at one of the most respected institutes of higher learning. He became part of the community. Father Jaroslaw unselfishly dedicated his time and energy to needy citizens in a number of area communities. Every 2 weeks. he celebrated Mass at the Missionaries of Charities in Anacostia. The mission is run by a group of sisters who take in single. pregnant women and house them during their pregnancy and after. His compassion and counsel brought the spirit of God into the lives of these women in need. As would be expected. Father Jaroslaw was a pillar in the Polish community. He was a frequent celebrant. confessor. and counselor to the parishioners of Our Lady Queen of Poland parish in Silver Spring. MD. He often celebrated Sunday Mass. as well as masses on holy days and Polish holidays. He even traveled as far as Norfolk. VA to celebrate Mass and provide spiritual guidance to a Polish community that was without a parish. Mr. President. our Nation has been blessed with Father Jaroslaws tenure in the United States for the past 4 years. Many Catholics and Polish Americans have been touchedby his generosity and time and his devotion to area residents has been an inspiration to all of us. I would further like to congratulate him on his graduation from the John Paul II Institute and on receiving his degree doctor sacrae thelolgiae summa cum laude. We wish him continued health and happiness as he returns to his assignment in Krakow. Poland. to touch the lives of the citizens there..
Date: 1997-02-12
Speaker: BOB SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. I rise today to honor Kent Davis for his diligent work over the years on behalf of New Hampshires veterans. My staff and I have worked with Kent on important veterans issues and we have always admired his hard work and dedication to his job. He will be sorely missed by many. As a fellow veteran. I congratulate him on his service to the Manchester Veteran Affairs regional office. Kent has been the head of the adjudication office at the Manchester Veteran Affairs regional office for the past 12 years. and has served as our congressional liaison. We have come to rely on him for information and guidance on matters of concern to New Hampshire veterans. He has provided outstanding service. and we were always confident that Kent provided the veterans of New Hampshire every consideration for benefits and services. In 1989. Kent was given an award for the outstanding adjudication division. and he received numerous commendations and excellent evaluations. Kent was always willing to go the extra mile to help a veteran. When any problem arose. he was quick to find a resolution or provide an answer. His valuable expertise. knowledge. and experience helped my New Hampshire congressional offices to be responsive and serve New Hampshire veterans expeditiously. Kent graduated from Chico State College in Chico. CA. with a bachelors degree in sociology in 1966. He achieved his masters degree in public administration at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in 1971. Kent is not only a professional. but also displays a good sense of humor which always made it a pleasure to work with him. On behalf of myself. the veterans in New Hampshire and my staff. we wish Kent every happiness and continued success in the years to come.*
Date: 1997-03-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in celebration of Womens History Month and would like to call special attention to the progress U.S. women have made in the workforce. Women have made inroads into spheres formerly dominated by men. For example. the number of female managers jumped from 19 percent in the 1970s to 43 percent by the middle of the 1990s. By 1993. women earned a majority of all college degrees. Black women far exceeded their male counterparts. earning 63 percent of bachelors degrees. Unfortunately. these significant gains in the public arenas of school and workplace are matched by some sobering trends. Women and children are more likely to be living in poverty than men. Among the elderly. womens likelihood of being poor is twice that of men of the same age. Under the new welfare reform law. poor and minority women will disproportionately suffer the impact of this legislation. For example. under the new law. unmarried women who have children while on welfare can be denied additional benefits for those children. With outofwedlock birth rates highest among blacks and Hispanics. this restriction will disproportionately affect poor minority children. In addition. the new law will exclude many immigrant mothers and their children from receiving food stamps. In spite of these grim facts. I believe that women will achieve greater economic equity in the future. The movement toward greater equality in work and family roles can only be achieved over the long run by the succession of generations. Each generation must become more committed to equality than the last.
Date: 1997-03-11
Speaker: FLOYD FLAKE (democrat)
Chamber: H

a good Congressman from New York. a Democrat. are going to launch the American Community Renewal Act. Has the gentleman heard much about their efforts in that regard?
Date: 1997-03-19
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. H.R. 1 is bad for working women! Families need flexibility! However. H.R. 1 is not the way to reach employee flexibility. Flexibility would allow employees to decide when to take comp time off. H.R. 1. on theother hand. extends that flexibility to the employer. The truth is. under H.R. 1. an employer has no obligation to grant a request for a specific time off. Further. the unduly disrupts language takes away even more flexibility from the employee. Employers may use this provision to the disadvantage of the employees when there is no serious injury to the work environment. Therefore. employers may actually punish employees with the selective use of comp time. H.R. 1 is not the answer. What is the answer? The Family and Medical Leave Act should be expanded to give working families basic protection. Families also need paycheck protection! Twothirds of American workers oppose substituting comp time for overtime pay. This bill will affect wage hour earners. 70 percent of those make $10 an hour and under. The reality is that families in this income bracket do not have much discretionary income and may find it extremely difficult to postpone receipt of their paychecks. Under H.R. 1 if an employee requests comptime and later chooses overtime pay. the employer may retain his earnings for 30 days. In addition. the use of comptime is not counted as hours worked. Employees will lose money that would have otherwise been contributed toward Social Security and unemployment benefits. I support employee flexibility. I even support comptime as long as workers rights are not infringed upon. However. in the interest of the hundreds of thousands of working constituents in my district. I cannot support H.R. 1.
Date: 1997-03-20
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to admit that I am not proabortion. My roots consist of growing up in the Catholic church and being educated at a Catholic college. I am a nurse. and I am prochoice. A womans decision to undergo an abortion procedure is one of the most personally agonizing decisions she will have to make. In late term abortions. women have had the. opportunity to choose abortion and did not because they wanted the child. But because of some untoward turn of health events. sometimes this procedure becomes necessary. To the maximum extent possible. the Government should avoid any intrusion into this painful process. The Government cannot and should not replace family. friends. clergy. and physicians. These are not the kind of issues that any woman comes to this body to ask for an answer. This is not where they seek that advice. We have been guaranteed by our Constitution a right to privacy and a freedom of religion. This is not the proper body to discuss life and death issues that licensed physicians and families should be making without the intrusion of this body.
Date: 1997-04-23
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank the ranking member for yielding me the time. and I thank very much the chairman and the ranking member for this bipartisan effort on behalf of the Fire Administration Authorization Act. If there was a pleasurable act in the House Science Committee. certainly. being able to support this agency and all that it does was that. I would also like to stand today to salute all of the Nations firefighters and emergency staff across the Nation. for it is through their sacrifice and effort that we are. in fact. a safer country. In 1974. Congress created the U.S. Fire Administration and its National Fire Academy in order to halt the tragic loss of firefighters and individuals in the United States. Training. research. and public education have accounted for the success of the U.S. Fire Administrations commitment to reduce the loss of life. There is no doubt that the people of America in our communities are safer as a result of the USFA. Every man. woman. and child in America benefits from its efforts. as do the Nations 1.2 million fire servers. emergency medical servers. and emergency response personnel. Emergencies will continue to occur. How we react to emergencies depends on the readiness of those that are dispatched to respond to our most critical emergency situations. We must be prepared. to handle the critical situations that inevitably will arise. The United States does have one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world. We are obviously working hard to bring that number down. More Americans die in fires each year than in all the natural disasters combined. With this agency. however. we feel. comfortable that we are working steadfastly to stem that tide. For example. approximately 4.500 deaths and 30.000 civilian injuries occur annually. Eighty percent of all civilian deaths occur in the home. Approximately 2 million fires are reported each year. with the direct property loss of about $8.5 billion per year. with the cost to taxpayers of about $50 billion a year. One of the missions of the USFA is leadership coordination and support for the Nations fire prevention and control. fire training and education and emergency medical services activities. This mission is carried out through programs directed at reducing injuries and loss of life and property resulting from fire. Certainly our heart goes out to those citizens in North Dakota suffering from the flood and then the absolute irony of seeing their buildings burned down. Certainly this is an aspect of firefighting that many of us never thought we would have to confront. but this agency has the ability to try and solve those particular problems.
Date: 1997-04-24
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. let me simply say that my colleague here is right when he wants to stop a lot of the spending. I fully agree. but I do not want to stop it where there is a pennywise and a poundfoolish. We have gone into the unknown in research. all of our existence as a nation. This research has brought us many answers. If we do not explore the unknown. we cannot remain on the cutting edge. we cannot continue to battle diseases that plague us and the viruses and all. We also know that we can commercialize many of the products and offer jobs and give good income for our country. I fully support the space station. -
Date: 1997-04-30
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I offer this amendment. and I will pull it down at the end of the discussion. to add a section that allows the development of programs for outreach for informing special minority families about the opportunities to adopt. Very. very frequently this information is not known and many times they do not know where to get it to see about adoption. When I was growing up. which was a long time ago. my parents brought in three extra children. We never got them adopted. I am a second child. and after me they did not have another child for 8 years. and after that another one after another 8 years. But in the meantime. between these births. we had at least three children in the home and never formally adopted them. When I became an adult and had one child and could not have another child. I wanted to adopt but I did not have the information. was not quite sure what it meant. and so we went to an orphan home and brought a young child home each weekend. If I had had access to information that would inform and allay fears and say what some of the expectations are. adoptions could have taken place. I think there are a number of minorities in that position. that really want to adopt but are a little fearful. not quite sure how to get started. and this just adds another development onto the six that simply allows the development of programs that would do outreach. It could be in the form of a brochure or an .800 number or any other type of outreach activity. such as radio announcements. Mr. Chairman. I simply wanted to call that to Members attention.