macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-28
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. Chairman BARTON. thank you for the way you managed this difficult process. Being an outside conferee on a bill this size can often be an exercise in futility. But throughout this Conference. you and your staff remained responsive and helpful. Also. I also want to commend all the conferees for working hard to listen to each other and cqmpromise when appropriate. There are two sectioni of this bill which I am particularly excited about from an acquisition policy point of view. First is the section authorizing the continued use of Energy Savings Performance Contractsthese contracts have. over recent years. provided agencies with an effective tool to rapidly improve the energy efficiency of their buildings without increasing costs to the taxpayer. Some have suggested limitations to this program. but such limitations will translate into reductions in the energy efficiency of government facilities. In my opinion. that is heading in the wrong direction and Im happy to see such limitations were not included in the final bill. Second. this legislation authorizes the use of Other Transactions for the Department of Energys critical research and development efforts. These arrangements support research and development without using standard procurement contracts. grants or cooperative agreements. Other Transactions authority has been used successfully in the Department of Defense for years to great effect. I appreciate the Science Committees willingness to work with me and the Senate tocraft language that allows the use of this valuable tool where appropriate. It is a shame when the government is denied a technological advance simply because our standard acquisition policies are not suitable for the development of cutting edge solutions. Finally. I want to note that the conference has decided to include a request for a report on China and the CNOOC offer to acquire Unocal. This report will be conducted simultaneously with the regular review conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States. The report will essentially develop the same information required by the CFIUS review. In other words. the Conference has decided to duplicate the review process. The conferences time would be better spent studying our Nation and how we plan to secure our energy over the next 50 years instead of worrying about the actions of our most valuable trading partners. With this one exception. the Energy Policy Act is a step in the direction of answering those questions.
Date: 2005-07-28
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I would like to just make some comments on Some of the suggestions that have been made that MICRA does not work in California and refer only to those parts of this bill that are patterned after MICRA. Prior to the time that I came to Congress for the first tour. I did medical malpractice cases in California. primarily on the defense side for doctors and hospitals. but I also handled some plaintiffs cases. In fact. I think I had one of the first successful lawsuits against an HMO in the entire country. MICRA came into California at a time when we had a crisis. .when we had a medical crisis of doctors leaving the State of California or stopping their practice. LI 1500 It was particularly acute in some specialties. but it was across the board. The evidence is there. The history is there. I can tell you it was there. I saw it. In 1975. the legislature. in response to that problem. passed MICRA. That is what this is patterned after. It had a $250.000 limitation on pain and suffering. It had these other recommended changes with respect to recovery. It has not stopped successful lawsuits against doctors who have. in fact. committed malpractice. But what it has done is it has taken a part of the process that basically abused the process out. And what it has done is stabilize what was otherwise a tremendous spiral in the medical malpractice premiums that doctors saw. Now. some have suggested that is not the case in California. What I can tell my colleagues is it stopped the exit of doctors from the State of California. It stopped the exit of specialists from practice in the State of California. And while it did not diminish entirely the increases. it stopped the trajectory of increases. As a result. it did provide a very serious partial solution to the problem that we found in California. That is the model. To the extent this bill is modeled after MICRA. that is the model we are talking about. So if people want to talk about pilot projects. we have a 20plusyear pilot project in the State of California. Ask the medical community whether or not it has been effective. Ask the patients who now have availability to the services of doctors who otherwise they would not have had we not done something in the State of California. So for those who are wondering whether or not this will work. at least that part of the bill that is patterned after MICRA will. We have now had a 20plusyear pilot project. and it has proven to be successful.
Date: 2005-07-29
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I see on the chairmans face a sigh of relief this morning. I know this has been an arduous process. dealing with some of the issues. especially in the last 2 weeks. This is very good for this country. and specifically for my State of California. Many things that are good take time. This.is one thing that took time to percolate. Everybody would have liked to have seen more money. but we are not going to break the budget. We are going to work within the dollars we have. but this is huge. The gentleman from Wisconsin has worked very hard. along with the ranking member. the gentleman from Minnesota . And the gentleman from California (Chairman THOMAS) worked hard trying to provide the funds. In California. probably the most significant project. in my. opinion. would be the Alameda corridor. We have the Port of San Pedro and Long Beach. which handles about 40 percent of all of the commerce shpped into this country and out of this country. and our communities are being tremendously impacted by that. We have a good amount of money coming back to California to start this project. We have been given assurances that when the moneys are needed. the funds will be provided to complete this project. Yes. there are things we would prefer to have changed in this bill. but the bill we are bringing back to the people of our Nation. specifically California. is good. It will provide jobs. People are sitting in traffic. sitting at grade crossings watching trains go by. Our job is to provide relief and ensure that commerce can flow. people can drive to and from work. they can get their kids to school without being impacted by traffic issues. The State of California has very few dollars. almost zero in the last few years. to provide for traffic issues and infrastructure and the needs that we have for bridges and highways in California. These dollars going back to California are tremendous. Once again. I thank the gentleman from Alaska
Date: 2005-09-07
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to pay tribute to one of the most influential jurists of the 20th Century. Chief Jus- tice William H. Rehnquist. the 16th Chief Justice of the United States upon his passing on the evening of Saturday. September 3. 2005. First appointed to the Supreme Court as an -Associate Justice by President Richard Nixon in 1972. Rehnquist would go on to serve for 33 years. the final 19 of which as Chief Justice. During his time on the Court. Rehnquist earned the reputation as a conservative intellectual who would challenge the status quo in the name of judicial restraint and federalism principles. He respected the Courts role as an independent body whose role was not to legislate subjectively on the issues of the day. but rather. to serve as the objective arbiter of the rule of law. Notwithstanding the politically charged nature of the Court during the latter half of the 20th Century. Rehnquist was very well liked and respected by all his colleagues. even those with whom he frequently disagreed. In fact. Justice John Paul Stevens. the Justice with whom Rehnquist most frequently disagreed. commented on "the efficiency. good humor and absolute impartiality that [Rehnquist had] consistently displayed when presiding at [Supreme Court] Conferences." This ability to work closely with all of his colleagues was a testament to Chief Justice Rehnquists affability. professionalism and evenhandedness. Not only will Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist be missed as a jurist. he will also be missed as a loving fmily man. Though his wife preceded him in death. he is survived by three wonderful children to whom he no doubt passed his strong work ethic. patriotism. and deep and abiding respect for our American institutions. In closing Mr. Speaker. please let me extend my condolences to Chief Justice Rehnquists family and friends on their loss. He was a great American and will be missed by us all.
Date: 2005-09-07
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I have spent much of the past week examining the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. one of the most tragic natural disasters in our Nations history. My heart goes out to each and every person who has suffered in the wake of this situation. I grieve for the loss of life. and I sympathize with those who have lost their livelihood as a result of this terrible tragedy. First and foremost. it is important to give credit to countless brave men and women. both volunteer and professional. who have been working tirelessly on our recovery and rescue operations. Their heroic efforts have saved countless lives. and we need to ensure they have the support and tools they need to accomplish their jobs. In addition. it is Important to recognize National Guard Units and other emergency management professionals who have been attempting to restore order under exceptionally trying circumstances. Hurricane Katrina has proven to be one of the most damaging storms ever experienced by the people of the Gulf Coast. It will take a long time for this area of the country to regain some semblance of normalcya process that will depend on the collective acts of kindness. generosity. and selflessness of all Americans as much as it does the acts of government. I salute those who have already volunteered their services. donated money or goods. or opened their homes to their displaced countrymen. In the weeks and months to come. much of our attention in Washington will be focused on the response to Katrina. There will be much to say and plenty of time to say it. But for now I want to pause to remember the victims of this storm and to grieve for their passing. For the survivors. I offer my condolences and. through the work we will pursue together. as one Nation. the prospect of hope.
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. by direction of the Committee on Rules. I call up House Resolution 426 and ask for its immediate consideration.
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. for the purpose of debate only. I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York . pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution. all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I. yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I am very proud to be bringing forth to the floor today a rule that will permit the consideration of various pieces of legislation to continue to provide very needed assistance to those who are suffering as we speak. As I mentioned before in my prior remarks. Mr. Speaker. there are four pieces of legislation that this rule that we will be voting on this morning authorizes consideration of: the national flood insurance program. assistance for that program. the Student Grant Hurricane and Disaster Relief Act. assistance for that program. the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Emergency Response and Recovery Act. assistance for that program. and an emergency supplemental. Those four pieces of legislation. the rule that we are debating on at this time. are authorized to be debated by this House. I wish to commend the two Senators from the State of Louisiana who. I was just able to read some of their joint statements. I think are demonstrating great responsibility in a spirit of bipartisanship. For example. the two Senators from Louisiana have stated. they say there will be ample time. and I agree with them. for Congress to thoroughly investigate the dvent. They say. as well. and I also agree with them. that the focus now needs to be on food. on housing. on employment. on education and on health care. not on investigations. There will be plenty of time for this Congress. in its constitutional- duty of oversight. to investigate. But I agree. as I say. with the Senators from Louisiana. The focus now. and our focus in bringing forth authorizing consideration of the four pieces of legislation this morning. is on food. housing. employment. education and health care. assistance to those and for those who. are suffering. I see the Senators from Louisiana. also made another point. In a joint bipartisan statement they say. please do not make the citizens of Louisiana victims once again by allowing our immediate needs to be delayed by part~sanship. Now. we do not want to delay assistance by partisanship or any other reason. and that is why we are bringing forth this -rule. We have brought forth this rule to authorize consideration of four measures to take assistance. to continue to make available assistance proud of the fact that his county. Dade. to those who are suffering at this time. and my county. Broward. were denied Mr. Speaker. Federal assistance from FEMA this .Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of year with this same Hurricane Katrina. my time. I wonder if my colleague is proud of
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I am proud of the fact that the rule that we have brought forth this morning. and I reiterate that I am so. authorizes consideration by this House today of four legislative measures. four. to continue to increase assistance to those who are suffering. pursuant to the destruction caused by that extraordinary tragedy in the Gulf Coast. Four pieces of legislation are being brought forth today. are being authorized to be brought forth today with the rule that we are considering this morning. Yes. I am very proud of that. Mr. Speaker. Now. I have questions as well. I have questions as well with regard to a number of Federal agencies. State agencies. local agencies as well in the Gulf Coast. My wife was reminding me last night that on the Friday before this horrible storm- hit the Gulf Coast. she saw the director of the National Hurricane Center on national television with the Governor of Florida. by the way. We had the Governor of Florida and our local officials speaking to us continuously before and at the time and after -the hurricane passed through us in south Florida before it went into the Gulf and then gathered all that strength that bore down with such horrible power on the Gulf Coast. And she was reminding me that the director of the National Hurricane Center. this is Friday before the hurricane hit late Sunday night. early Monday morning. the Gulf Coast. said it is headed to the Gulf. It is going to pick up strength and it could hit. it is going to land anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to New Orleans. Now. as I was discussing with my wife last night. when we had the four hurricanes in Florida last year. and this one in south Florida this year. immediately our local officials. the mayor. the county commissioners. the mayors and the Governor. the State officials. they were speaking to the populace and instructing people to leave. evacuating people. Five times we have done so in 1 year. So. yes. I have questions as to why that was not done in Louisiana. why it was not ordered by the mayors and by the county commissioners and by the. Governors. I have questions. Of course I have questions. Mr. Speaker. We all have questions. and those questions need to be addressed. And they will be addressed as w6 proceed with our oversight function. which is legally required. But today what we need to do is to get help to the people who need the help. and that is what we are doing. Mr. Speaker. That is why we have brought forth the legislation to authorize consideration of four measures to take assistance to those in need. That is what we are debating this morning. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I- may consume. Mr. Speaker. again with regardto what we have brought forth this morning. a rule for consideration of four pieces of legislation to provide assistance and to increase the aid that is going to those who are in desperate need in the Gulf Coast area now due to the great catastrophe that has just been suffered. that is what we are doing. We are authorizing consideration of four pieces of legislation to increase assistance to those in need. Now. last night in the Committee on Rules. Mr. Speaker. our friends on the other side of the aisle. the minority party. brought forth one amendment to the rule that we are considering this. morning and that amendment called for what is known as an open rule. In other words. that any Member of this House could bring forth any and all amendments that they may wish to do so. that they may have wished to do so with regard to any of the four pieces of legislation. Now. I generally. Mr. Speaker. am for open rules. I think that is an appropriate goal and I think that we should. as much as possible. permit the free flow of debate on as many ideas as Members have. But if there has ever been a time when we could not. when we should not have an open rule which would permit. even if each of us only had. one idea. and I think the Obey. -amendment is a very interesting one. he just explained it a few minutes ago. even if each of us had one idea in the form of an amendment like the one that was just. explained by the gentleman from Wisconsin . we would have 435 amendments. Mr. Speaker. to debate. This is not the time to have 435 or 100 or 50 amendments. This is the time to bring forth legislation. a rule in this case to authorize consideration of four pieces of legislation to assist those in need. Mr. Sneaker. I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois .
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I think it is important that we realize that in the same fashion in which last weeks. supplemental legislation was considered under a unanimous consent request. it is the hope and wish of the majority leadership that the next supplemental bill also be considered in that way under unanimous consent. With regard to additional time for debate or other matters. that could be obviously worked into a unanimous consent agreement like the one that brought forth and permitted debate and permitted passage of the first supplemental. * 1100 So what we are voting on today. the rule does not preclude that. On the contrary. as I say. it is the wish of the majority leadership to continue to engage in dialogue and hopefully have a unanimous consent agreement. I wanted to make that clear because sometimes I think the facts are important to be made clear. Mr. Speaker. we reserve the balance Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker. I am of our time. pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gen-
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: can

do better as we seek ideas from all Florida. Yielding myself such timeas I corners to help our fellow Americans may consume. Mr. Speaker. we will restore their lives. have time for any and all of the meas- Mr. LINCOLN DIAZBALART of ures that are brought forth if this rule Florida. .Mr. Speaker. I yield myself passes. under authorization of this such time as I may consume. rule. for rational and any other kind of We are considering today. or authordebate. I can assure my colleagues of izing consideration. bringing forth that. Mr. Speaker. today under this rule. the national Mr. Speaker. we reserve the balance flood insurance program. assistance for of our time. that program for those in need in the Gulf. the Student Grant Hurricane and But those need to be discussed with Disaster Relief Act. assistance for the dispassion in some way so that when people in the Gulf with regard to stu- we make broad policy decisions. those dent grants and disaster relief. the broad policy decisions can be made Temporary Assistance for Needy Fami- with a clear conscience and clear focus lies Emergency Response and Recovery on what the issue really is. That takes Act. assistance for those in need under -regular order. and for some who would this act. under that law. with that pro- like to bypassregular order to quickly gram. through that program. pass some of these. we are doing a disWe are bringing those measures. service to longterm p6licy discussions. those specific measures to the floor The senior member of the Committee today. in addition to a significant and on Appropriations from Wisconsin is substantial supplemental appropria- someone I have enjoyed listening to. tions bill to get aid immediately to He oftentimes will say those things those in need. which ring true. What he wants to disMr. Speaker. I yield 5 minutes to the cuss is significant. but it needs to be gentleman from Utah . my done in the regular order. not on top of distinguished friend and colleague from this emergency bill. and I am sure that the Committee on Rules. will take place.
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California . the chairman of the Committee on Rules.
Date: 2005-09-08
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. What we are doing today. Mr. Speaker. is not shoving words down anybody. We are authorizing consideration for this House to pass assistance for the National Flood Insurance program. the Student Grant Hurricane and Disaster Relief Act. the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Response and Recovery Act. and an emergency supplemental bill to continue the assistance to those in dreadful need as we speak. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.