macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2000-06-28
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. this prescription drug plan gives American seniors choices. They can choose a new plan or they can keep the plan they already have. This is in stark contrast. no pun intended. to the Democrat plan that forces seniors into a governmentrun bureaucracyled program that will leave seniors without the choices they deserve. Do Members remember when we were kids and we used to talk to each other with this antiquated communication system. talking through the cup and listening on the other end? Todays Medicare program is like two Dixie cups connected by a string. We can talk to one another. it works. but it does not meet the communications demands of the 21st century. Medicare today sometimes works. but our seniors deserve a program that meets their health needs in the 21st century. That includes prescription drugs. This bill will. bring Medicare into the 21st century.
Date: 2000-06-29
Speaker: GREG GANSKE (republican)
Chamber: S

a Republican Congressman from Iowa. was just on the floor of the Senate and he indicated that the 258page missive that is now offered as a substitute will in fact weaken HMO laws in the following States: California. Texas. Georgia. Washington. Louisiana. Oklahoma. Arizona. and Missouri. That is not from me. it is from Dr. GANSKE. a Republican Congressman. By the way. let me read something
Date: 2000-07-11
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today Americans are faced with the largest tax burden since World War II. What many people do not realize is that the Federal Government is really taxing American values. One of those values is marriage. If we get married. the Federal .Government punishes us. We pay more in taxes just because we said I do. When we say "I do." it ought to be to your sweetheart. not to the IRS. Our Federal Government should encourage. not discourage. marriage and families. Our sons and daughters who cannot afford to marry. never truly make a lifelong commitment to God and each other. Republicans in the House have spent the past few years passing tax bills to eliminate the marriage penalty only to see a ClintonGore administration veto. Enough is enough. We must repeal the tax on American values. Let us start by saying I do to repealing the marriage penalty tax.
Date: 2000-07-12
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today the House is going to vote to end the marriage penalty. Right now married couples pay more in taxes than two single people living together. that is just not right. Washington must stop penalizing the cornerstone of the American family. We should encourage marriage. not penalize it. We must restore families and the American dream. Last year. President Clinton labeled the marriage penalty relief risky and even vetoed it. This year Democrats are encouraging him to veto it again. In my district alone. this bill will help end the marriage penalty for over 150.000 Americans. The President and his Democrat friends should stop playing electionyear politics. I say to the President. why do you not help us put American families first? Let us do it now.
Date: 2000-07-12
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. marriage is a cherished institution in America. and we ought to promote it. not discourage it. So we intend to do just that today. Right now married couples pay more in taxes than two singles living together. That is just wrong. Washington needs to stop penalizing the cornerstone of our society. the American family. This year my wife and I will celebrate 50 years of marriage. My wedding day was one of the happiest in my life. And back then. I have to tell my colleagues. I was not worried about having to hold the wedding reception at the IRS office. Today. in my district alone. 150.000 Texans are penalized for just being married. By repealing the marriage penalty. we are going to restore the American family tradition and the American dream. Republicans in the House have spent the past few years passing tax bills to eliminate the marriage penalty. but every time the ClintonGore administration vetoed them all. Enough is enough. It is time to repeal the taxes on American values. Let us start by saying I do" to repealing the tax on marriage. Mr. Speaker. the time has come to sign this legislation and. for once. put American families first.
Date: 2000-07-18
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. when I was 21 years old and flying combat in Korea. I thought I was bulletproof. I never gave one thought about being 65 years old and worrying about retirement. But young and middleaged workers need to start today to prepare for the future. This week. the House is going to vote on legislation to increase the annual amount Americans can save in their individual retirement accounts from $2.000 to $5.000. IRAs provide one of the best incentives for Americans to save for their retirement security. It has been nearly 20 years since this $2.000 limit was set. and it is way past the time to increase it. This bill also increases the amount Americans can put into their 401(K) accounts and allow Americans to keep their retirement accounts if they choose to switch. Republicans have worked hard to tear down all the barriers through traditional American values. like family. hard work and savings. This bill goes a long way to make sure that every American has security.
Date: 2000-07-18
Speaker: GARY MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. it does not cost any more money to send a million emails than it does to send one. and that has created a skewed incentive that is harming the Internet with spam. This is a very important issue to me. I really want to thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico . She has been a joy to work with. and also the gentleman from Texas
Date: 2000-07-18
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require that each employer show on the W2 form of each employee the employers share of taxes for old age. survivors. and disability insurance and for hospital insurance for the employee as well as the total amount of such taxes for such employee.
Date: 2000-07-18
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1264.
Date: 2000-07-18
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I think every Member would agree that our American workers pay too much in taxes. and with a $2.2 trillion surplus it is time for Washington to give our workers relief from a crushing tax burden. Unlike most Democrats. I believe our workers have earned a tax refund. I also think they are entitled to know the whole truth about how Washington secretly takes more of their hardearned money than they might realize. Many workers simply do not realize the actual tax burden that Washington imposes on them. For instance. as every working American probably knows. each January we get a W2 form. This W2 form shows how much money we made and how much we paid in taxes during the previous year. But the W2 simply does not show the whole picture. It fails to show how much tax your employer pays to Washington on your behalf. . 1115 Many people are not aware that half of all of their payroll taxes. which are separate from their income taxes. are paidby the employers. In fact. yesterday I met with communications workers in my district who complained that their payroll taxes were too high and yet they did not realize that Washington takes the same amount from their employer. too. That is because current W2s do not show the employers share of the payroll tax burden. This is a typical Washington sleight of hand. The money they take from an employer is money that could have gone to the employee. either by increasing their takehome pay or providing better retirement or health benefits. Why does one think they hide it? Because they know that once the truth is out. bureaucrats cannot keep spending everyones money to increase the size of government. This bill will change that by showing America the whole truth. In this legislation. the RighttoKnowNational Payroll Act. employers will disclose their share of Social Security and Medicare taxes on each of our annual W2s. This common sense legislation should have been law last year but the President vetoed it. along with muchneeded other tax relief. So I am pleased that we are able to address this issue once again. Working Americans have a right to know the total amount of their paycheck that goes to Washington and they have- a right to know the true extent of their payroll tax burden. It is clear that Washington takes too much money from our workers and it is time to let the sunshine shine on Washingtons book of tricks. Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to my friend. the gentleman from Michigan . the sponsor of this bill.
Date: 2000-07-18
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume to just remind my colleagues that we are trying to put sunshine on the issue. and it was a Republican Congress that started this by making the Social Security Administration report at all. Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan for closing.
Date: 2000-07-20
Speaker: GARY MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to give praise to the city of Upland Public Housing Authority. its executive director. Sammie Szabo. and her staff for their hard work and accomplishments administering the Section 8 public housing program. At this time many authorities are having a very difficult time utilizing allocated funds that come to them under the Section 8 housing program. but Upland has maintained a lease rate of 98 to 102 percent. a very commendable effort on their part. How do we reward them? We make them work extra time and put in extra effort filling out meaningless paperwork for HUD to send to some bureaucrat in Washington.- D.C.. and they have to do this on their own time without compensation. This is ridiculous. We need to move forward with a great effort to eliminate much of this paperwork the bureaucracy here in Washington. D.C. requires of local officials. and allow them to do the good job they are trying to do.
Date: 2000-07-25
Speaker: GARY MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the American Community Renewal Act and one of the provisions relating to a very worthwhile and successful program called the low income housing tax credit. This program provides low and very low income families with affordable rental housing and represents the best of the federal/state public/private partnerships in housing. The low income housing tax credit encourages investors to fund the required risk equity for construction and rehabilitation of rental housing. Currently. the tax credit is the primary federal support for expanding the nations stock of affordable housing. Roughly. 35.000 new and 35.000 rehabilitated rental units are created each year with this stateadministered program. What concerns me is the portion of the American Community Renewal Act which would reform the way in which the program works today. This reform would have the effect of requiring states to give a preference in their credit allocation to housing rehabilitation in qualified census tracts where more thdn 50 percent of the households have incomes at less than 60 percent of the area median income. I have no quarrel with states allocating the tax credit to areas in need of community revitalization for rehabilitation of existing units. However. the beauty of this program is the balance struck between federal tax incentives and state administration. I do not want us at the federal level dictating to the states that the credits should go to any particular area. States already have the discretion to give preference in allocating the credit to projects going into areas in need of revitalization or rehabilitation of existing units in under served areas. I just do not believe the federal government should be in the business of forcing this upon the states. While I have no doubt that this provision included in the package is well intentioned I believe it would have a negative impact on the programs and the states which administer it. I hope that this bill can move forward and that at the appropriate time we can revisit this issue and clarify this provision.
Date: 2000-07-26
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Democrats are running scared. Their message of fear. class warfare and big government has failed again. Even their own focus groups and polls tell them Americans want the Republican agenda of less taxes. less government and local control. And who can blame them? Just listen to what the Republicans have accomplished: we have created the longest economic expansion in Americas history. balanced the budget. paid down the national debt. saved Medicare. locked away 100 percent of the Social Security surplus. eliminated the Social Security earnings penalty.- and eliminated the marriage penalty and death tax. That is just to name a few. The Democrats have attacked these accomplishments as risky. But I do not think it is risky to give something back to the very Americans who made this country great. the people.
Date: 2000-09-06
Speaker: GREG GANSKE (republican)
Chamber: S

a Republican Member of the U.S. House. wrote a letter to all of us about that substitute. In fact. the local papers described the substitute that the Senate passed as the Patients Bill of Rights. It was not a Patients Bill of Rights. It was a "patients bill of goods." But the Senate passed it. and the papers wrote exactly what those who supported it had hoped they would: The Senate passed a Patients Bill of Rights.
Date: 2000-09-07
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. we must repeal the death tax that penalizes American values. The dollars are there. unlike what the gentleman � from New Jersey ahead of me said. Unfortunately. the ClintonGore administration and most of their Democratic allies support the death tax. and yet they make all sorts of arguments to justify yet another unfair tax. Do not believe them. They are up to their old class warfare tricks. Here is the truth. For too long the death tax has punished our families and small businesses. The death tax punishes families who save and who have worked hard all their lives. Worst of all. the death tax punishes their grieving children who have to sell their parents hardearned assets just to pay the tax man. The death tax punishes those workers who are employed by the small businesses and farms. That is just not right. Americans hope to achieve the American dream and be able to share the fruits of their success with their children. We do not need Washington tax collectors operating a toll booth on the way to heaven.. Unfortunately. President Clinton and his fellow supporters of the death tax just do not get it. They think Washington is more important than American values. There were 65 Democrats who voted to repeal the death tax in June. Will they have the courage to do what is right for America. or will they change their vote and blindly follow their party in an election year? Enough is enough. It is time to start repealing taxes on American values. Get rid of that toll booth on the way to heaven. Repeal the death tax.
Date: 2000-09-07
Speaker: GARY MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Califomia

Mr. Speaker. I rise to urge my colleagues to override Presidents Clintons nonsensical veto of H.R. � 8. the "Death Tax Elimination Act." -Repealing the death tax would offer significant tax relief to working families and farmers throughout our nation. In my State of California. 80% of our economys jobs are created -as a direct result of small businesses. For .these working Americans. H.R. 8 will ensure future prosperity for their families and the individuals their business employs. In addition to being a financial burden. the death tax is morally wrong. Throughout our lives. we are taxedevery timewe tum on the light....flush the toilet. earn an income. and even when we die. Taxing ones estateproperty which has been subject to property taxes. capital gains taxes. and purchased with net incomeis nothing more -than double taxation. How can we. the legislators of the freest country in the world. justify this? .Most importantly. our budget can afford this tax relief. Dont be fooled by the rhetoric coming from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Even when combined with the marriage -penalty tax relief. these two tax cuts represent -only 2% of our surplus. Losing a loved one is tough enough. Lets make the grieving process a little bit easier by taking the IRS out of the funeral.
Date: 2000-09-12
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the comments of the gentleman from Utah. Mr. Speaker. this bill does extend the authorization for the establishment of an Air Force memorial. It is the only service that does not have one. and I think it is long overdue. The Air Force Memorial Foundation has worked tirelessly for over 7 years toward that goal. and historically all memorials authorized by Congress have required extensions to their legislation. In fact. this only authorizes 5 additional years for the Air Force memorial. which is going to be built without taxpayer dollars. It does not reference a specific site. and construction is subject to final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission on Fine Arts. I think it is time to properly honor our Air Force Members who fought to keep America free. Do you remember World War H veterans? I do. Those guys were called Americas greatest society. its greatest generation. It is the guys who flew those early airplanes. those P40s in China. the P51s in Europe. the B17s. the B24s. the B25s. the B26s. the Air Force that got us on track after World War II. and it is your Air Force today that did the things in the Middle East and in Kosovo that made America great and has kept it there throughout the years. Mr. Speaker. I think it is only proper that we honor our Air Force members who fought and have fought and will continue to fight to keep America free. Please vote to give Americas pilots the honor they so deserve.
Date: 2000-09-12
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaket. listen. it is wrong. wrong. wrong to say secret or totally Republican. This was a measured response to an injustice by the WTO and it was a measured response from the President. from the Trade Commission. from the Democrats and from the Republicans. This thing was not done in secret. and it is for all businesses in this country that are legal. We should not question that. It is for America. Know what? This bill replaces the FSC in its entirety. It changes it. In its place. it adopts key features of the certain European tax systems moving the United States closer to a territorial system. It eliminates administrative pricing rules which the European Union objected to. Most importantly. this legislation is not export contingent. I sincerely hope that this legislation will end our dispute with the European Union. They must understand they cannot use the WTO to impose a permanent tax advantage over United States companies. We are doing this for America. for the people of America- for the businesses in America. God bless America.
Date: 2000-09-12
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong opposition to this Democrat proposition. and I wonder why we are even doing it when America is such a great Nation.
Date: 2000-09-13
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I want to assert that our families need some help in America. and this is the way to give it to them. For a third time President Clinton and Vice President GORE have vetoed a bill to eliminate the marriage penalty tax because they say it is risky. My question is: What is risky about helping married couples keep more of their own money. Marriage is a cherished institution in America and we should promote it. not discourage it. Right now. married couples pay more in taxes than two single people living together. Thats just not right. Washington must stop penalizing the cornerstone of our societythe American family. We should encourage marriagenot penalize it. In my district alone. this bill would end the marriage penalty for over 150.000 Americans. Mr. Clinton and Mr. GORE should stop playing election year politics. This bill is just too important. A vote to override the Presidents veto is a vote for American families.
Date: 2000-09-13
Speaker: GARY MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the Sesquicentennial of the great State of Californias admittance to the Union. This event took place on September 9. 1850 and made California the 31st State of the United States of America. The 41st District. which I represent. is part of what makes California special. It is centered in the area that is known as the Inland Empire on the point where Los Angeles. San Bernardino and Orange Counties come together. Decades ago. it was home to mostly orange groves. farmers and dairymen. But during the 1980s. the Inland Empire developed into a booming economic region as a result of the expansion California experienced in that time. This district is home to many terrific cities including Chino. Chino Hills. Upland Montclair. Walnut. Diamond Bar. Brea. Rowland Heights. Ontario. Pomona. Yorba Linda and Plancentia. The international airport in Ontario is quickly becoming a major airport hub for passengers and cargo heading overseas. Pomona is the host of the Los Angeles County Fair each year. Yorba Linda is the birthplace and resting place for former President. Richard Nixon. and home to the Nixon Presidential Library. The 41st District is also the home of California State Polytechnic University. Pomona. The Collins School of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona is considered to be among the top ten hospitality management schools in the United States. I am very proud to be a resident and the Representative of the 41st District of California. It is with great pride that I recognize the Sesquicentennial of California. the greatest State in the Union.
Date: 2000-09-26
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. do you know what? AL GORE is a spender. He wants to spend $1.4 trillion of our surplus on new government programs. eliminating any hope that Americans will get needed tax relief and stopping our efforts to eliminate our national debt. Republicans have already successfully eliminated $350 billion of public debt and have dedicated 90 percent of the next years surplus solely to debt reduction. Republicans will eliminate another $240 billion in debt in the next year alone. The choice is easy: Do you want to spend $1.4 trillion in new government spending or have a debtfree America?