macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1998-07-28
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the Capitol Hill community and our country suffered a oersonal loss of two fine Capitol Police officers on Friday. July 24. 1998. On that afternoon. a lone gunman invaded the Peoples House and put many visitors. staffers and Members of Congress in danger and peril. If it were not for the sacrifices of Special Agent John Gibson and Officer Jacob "J.J." Chestnut. we would be mourning the passing of other human beings on this day. On behalf of the constituents of the 30th Congressional District. I would like to extend my personal condolences to the families and friends of Detective Gibson and Officer Chestnut. While we take for granted the fact that such tragic incidents can happen to us. we must not take for granted the lives of those two Capitol Police officers who gave their lives so that we may live. Mr. Speaker. the spirit and dedication of those officers will live on and truly embody what this place means. Our Capitol symbolizes service. duty and honor. Both the life and death of those officers were examples of those qualities. It is because of their duty and service. our work can go on. Indeed. it must.. We cannot let an individual who is distrustful of our Government to allow our democracy to cease. Officers Gibson and Chestnut would not want our business to stop because of real or perceived threats to our system. Officers Gibson and Chestnut would not want us to cower and hide in fear of any group or individual who would seek to disrupt the proceedings of our Government in such violent methods. One of the best tributes to those officers would be for all of us. staffers and Members. * to be just as dedicated to service and duty as Officers Gibson and Chestnut were. I believe that this will be the finest remembrance that we can offer. Mr. Speaker. after the brief moments of chaos and tragedy. I received many calls from worried family members and friends inquiring about my whereabouts and safety at that moment. If not for the service of Officers Gibson and Chestnut. and the entire Capitol Police Force. I may not have been in the arms of safety. telling my family and friends that I was safe. We literally oweour lives to our two fallen officers. our friends whose heroism protected many others from harm and possible death. Mr. Speaker. along with my condolences. I offer the families and friends of Officers Gibson and Chestnut my prayers and ask that our Lord give them the strength to deal with such a terrible tragedy. Most importantly. I would like to give Officers Gibson and Chestnut my gratitude. It was once said that. "gratitude is the memory of the heart." Therefore. my heart goes to Officers Gibson and Chestnut with the utmost gratitude.
Date: 1998-07-29
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. we are at a crossroads. All of us support cancer treatment and Xrays. For the most part. much of that is done in our large university hospitals and medical centers and urban areas. We need to put the waste somewhere. It cannot be outside every doctors office door or every hospital door. We must pick places that are sparsely populated. There is no good answer. except we are not willing to sacrifice many of the scientific findings that we are using now to save peoples lives. It is much more hazardous to have it scattered out all over very heavily populated areas. If I thought for a moment that this would endanger the lives of the people that live somewhere in the area. in a very sparsely populated area. I would not be standing here. It Is never comfortable to stand and speak against people that you stand with most of the time. But they are not going to be happy. If I represented the area. I would be standing in the same place they are standing. but I am representing a whole lot more people who are not willing to sacrifice what creates this waste. None of us are willing to sacrifice cancer treatment. none of us are willing to sacrifice xrays for diagnostic treatment. We are simply not going to do that. We must make hard choices. but we must find the best places that we can to deposit this waste. This is one of the best places we can come up with. It is sparsely populated. out in the middle of nowhere. Texas has more space than most States. But we are going to limit it to these two States. The best environmental Governor that Texas has ever elected is Ann Richards. She stands for this legislation. As a matter of fact. she was very progressive in looking out for the environment in Texas.
Date: 1998-08-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. and I want to congratulate the chairman and the entire leadership of the committee and staff on this important legislation. In the face of conflicting pressures and demands. the committee has succeeded in crafting a carefully balanced measure that will benefit the Nations airports and our entire air transportation system. In particular. I would like to commend the chairman for the provision in this bill broadening the eligibility for terminal construction work using revenues from passenger facility charges. The provision will surely make it easier for airports to provide facilities for smaller air carriers seeking to offer competitive service. I want to be certain that I am correct in my understanding of the way in which the committee intends for this provision to function.
Date: 1998-08-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I want to confirm that the committee intends for the FAA to allow an airport applicant to use this provision for either a standalone terminal structure or for that prorata portion of a terminal to be used by any air carrier having less than 50 percent of the scheduled passenger traffic at the airport.
Date: 1998-08-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank the chairman. It is gratifying to have his confirmation of my understanding of the intent of this provision.
Date: 1998-08-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I urge all my colleagues to support the Mollohan amendment. A fair and accurate census is necessary if we are to be a country which stands for inclusion over exclusion. The infamous census of 1990 missed 4.7 million people1.8 percent of the population. compared with 1.2 percent in 1980 and 2.7 percent in 1970. This undercount was not evenly distributeda disproportionate number of minorities. children and renters in urban and rural areas were missed. In addition. the census cost us an exorbitant amount of money-$2.6 million dollars--for a faulty. inaccurate count of Americans. This is upper income people are overcounted by an unknown number because of completing their forms at their second homes as well as their primary residences. I support the methodology of statistical sampling. The American Statistical Association and the National Academy of Sciences has recommended this methodology as the best and cheapest way to count 90 percent of U.S. residents. In Texas. we need all our residents counted. specially the Latino population. IN the Latino community. there was a 5% undercount in the 1990 census. this undercount has had significant negative effects on Latino access to resources. I urge my colleagues to support the Mollohan amendment so that all our residents are counted. and not missed by the blinded eye.
Date: 1998-09-01
Speaker: EDWARD R. KIMMEL (democrat)
Chamber: S

Wilmington. DE. DEAR MR. KIMMEL: Thank you for your letter to Mr. Larry Rivers. Adjutant General. Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. dated January 2. 1998. Your letter addressed Secretary of Defense William S. Cohens comments made in a letter to Senator Strom Thurmond. Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. dated November 18. 1997. Attached is a copy of a letter VFW CommanderinChief John E. Moon recently sent to Secretary Cohen. This letter supports the proposal. lead by Senators Joseph R. Biden and William V. Roth. Jr. in May 1998. asking that Admiral Husband Kimmel and General Walter Short not bear the full responsibility for the December 7. 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. We hope that the Secretary of Defense will act favorably on the request of Senators Biden and Roth. Sincerely.
Date: 1998-09-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. due to official business in the 30th Congressional District. I was unable to record my vote on H.R. 3892. the English Language Fluency Act. Had I been present. I would have voted "nay" on final passage on this measure. In addition. I would have voted "nay" on both the Martinez and Riggs Amendments to H.R. 3892.
Date: 1998-09-15
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

That is particularly critical to me. The way Social Security works. I will first be eligible to receive Social Security in the year 2032 which is coincidentally the precise year in which they currently estimate there will be no money. So I have a personal interest and my constituents have an interest in it as well. Yes. I mean you will have to find the money somewhere. and that is not faii to future generations.
Date: 1998-09-15
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Absolutely. and let us make one thing clear. It is not the Democrats who are opposed to tax cuts. You know the majority of Democrats in this body voted last year to cut taxes by nearly a hundred billion dollars. It needed to be done. and with the right proposal. with the right offsets. and that is the key point if we wish to cut taxes. if we have a couple of key areas where taxes need to be cut. and I think there are a couple. find some place to offset the money either through changing the revenue so that you have eliminating the deduction or cutting spending somewhere. But as I see the debate unfold. in the month that we were back in our districts. you know this $80 billion is apparently supposed to just fall out of the sky. and where it is falling from is not the sky. it is falling from the Social Security Trust Fund. So when anyone makes an argument in here. I am going to give you a tax cut. and you say. well. where is the money going to come from. they say it is going to come from the surplus. that is not true. and I hope we can hold people up to that truth and say where the money is really coming from.
Date: 1998-09-15
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Or. I will emphasize this. or any dramatic increases in spending. because there are certainly a lot of programs. you know. Head Start. -a variety of other ideas out there. But if the revenue is not made up somewhere. we should be very cautious about doing that as well. because that too will contribute to the debt. And right now the -interest that we pay on the debt is 14 percent of our budget. That means 14 percent of the money that we are spending is simply going to service the debt. it is not going to provide health care for seniors or children in poverty. it is not going to give middle class children access to education. it is not going to protect the environment. it is not going to give us a stronger defense. It is going straight into pay our debt. And so as that number keeps going up. that 14 percent number keeps going up as well. and that basically puts us in a real bind.
Date: 1998-09-15
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Well. I had a friend of mine in college who was a Republican. but he used to say. you know. Democrats are tax and spend. Republicans are just spend. And I think the truth in what I see the Democrat Party becoming and why I am so proud that we supported the balanced budget agreement from last year is spend responsibly. I mean. that is what it is about. There are things in this country that people want done. We want to make sure that our seniors have an adequate pension. that- they have adequate health care. that our young people have access to education. Well. let us do it in a responsible manner. Let us make the programs as efficient as possible.. and let us pay for them. Let us not just run up a debt to please people in the moment at the expense of the future. And that is really. what it is about is just. okay. well. gosh. I make this person happy right now. and you know maybe I will even be out of Congress by the time we have to pay that bill so I will not have to worry about it. But that is.a disservice to the country. And you are right. Part of being conservative to- my mind is a payasyougo philosophy. is being fiscally conservative. and I am still optimistic that enough colleagues on the other side of the aisle. having made this same argument that we are talking about here so repeatedly in the past. will rise up to the challenge. make it -again in the future even if we are 7 weeks from an election and will make the responsible choice for the future.
Date: 1998-09-15
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

And I will tell you what my experience has been with my constituents. and we get into this all the time as we come up towards the election. We want to give stuff away. We think that is what is going to make people happy. We will give them a new spending program. we will give them a new tax cut. we will basically. you know. pretend like it is Christmas and pass all kinds of stuff out. What I found with my constituents is what makes them happy is if we are making sound decisions up here. if we are spending the money wisely. paying as we go. being fiscally conservative and responsible. So I do not even think the tactic of passing out the goodies. as it were. I do not think it works. I think the people are fed up with. you know. record high deficits and record high debt. will want to get back to an age of responsibility. and. like I said. I am optimistic that ultimately that philosophy will win out.
Date: 1998-09-17
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Speaker. this September as always we face some very difficult budget decisions. but we will not even be able to get to those budget decisions if we do not first address the numbers honestly. Right now we have all heard about the supposed surplus that we have over the next 10 years. $1.6 trillion. and we have heard dozens of different ideas for how to spend that money. The trouble is that money does not exist. because all but $31 billion of that $1.6 trillion is really in the Social Security trust fund. rt is money that we borrow and for some crazy reason consider as income. It is not income. it is money we have to pay back. plus interest. We need to honestly assess those numbers. As we stand here today. there are a lot of different programs. a lot of different tax cuts being proposed. but if you ever hear someone say in answer to the question of how they are going to pay for it. "Were going to pay for it out of the surplus." do not let them do it. There is no surplus. If we can address the numbers honestly. we can make wise budget decisions and we can do two very important things in this final month of the session: One. we can get to a true and honest balanced budget. and. two. we can protect Social Security for future generations.
Date: 1998-09-17
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

changed their vote from "no" to "aye." So the amendment offered as a substitute for the amendment was rejected. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Date: 1998-09-18
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to this bill. and I can explain why. It is not bureaucracy protection. it is people protection. Most of us know that a very large percentage of the students in public schools are from poor families. There is a reason why we are against repeal of DavisBacon. and that is because we are trying to make sure that these childrens parents do not remain in such poverty that they remain the ones at risk. they remain the people who are least educated. All of us know that the labor unions in this country brought about the quality of salaries. brought about the middle income population of this Nation. the population that has the largest tax share of responsibility for the whole Nation. We have to give attention to children in poverty. There are many of us who are very skeptical of our own States and the way they handle things. We look at California to see how they are against bilingual education when they have a very large number of children that need it. That is the reason why we have some concern about block granting the dollars back. States rights have never been so good to the minorities of this country. That is one of the reasons why we want to make sure that we maintain some quality. accountability. and consistency in programs. We also understand that wellqualified teachers with a smaller number of students is more successful. We know that from experience. That is the reason why we support reduction of class size and support more quality educational opportunities for our teachers and better pay for our teachers so we can maintain good teachers in the classroom. It is clear that all young children need a good education. We say that all the time. There are no jobs available without a good education and without good preparation. We simply want to make sure that. as far as we can be accountable. we can ensure that that happens in these classrooms. It is not just a sense of trying to protect bureaucracy. It is a sense of attempting to protect people and espe-. cially poor people of this Nation who work long hours for little pay. last hired and first fired. That is what we are trying to protect. We are trying to make sure that all young people are prepared to take on the future and be ready for it.
Date: 1998-09-24
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I rise to offer my best wishes of success to the future endeavors of our departing Democratic Caucus chair. Vic FAZIO. More important. I join my colleagues. particularly those of the Democratic Caucus. in thanking Congressman FAZIO for the direction. strategy and guidance that he has lent to us. That our caucus is more unified and accommodating of different viewpoints is due to Congressman FAziOs ability to listen to all opinions of the caucus. That our caucus at the same time is focused on the unified Democratic agenda is due to his great working relationship with our Democratic leader and whip. In addition. we are focused because from the time that he served as chair in 1994. he possessed a clear vision of what we should be doing to help Americas working families. However. it is not just the members of the Democratic Caucus who will miss his work ethic. intelligence. integrity and respect for this institution. I am sure that our colleagues in the Republican Conference will appreciate and miss his pragmatism and ability to forge bipartisanship out of the most partisanrmatters. During his tenure as vicechair of the Democratic Caucus. Congressman FAZIO was also chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. helping many of us here today reach Capitol Hill and serve our districts. He has been the true party stalwart and soldier. Nevertheless. he has shown the same effective dedication to his legislative work to help the Third District of California. serving on the Appropriations Committee. ranking Democrat on its Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch and ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. It goes without saying that his accomplishments cannot be summarized in two minutes. What I can say to Congressman FAZIO before I conclude is that on behalf of the Democratic Caucus. the entire House- and your constituents of third district that you served with such distinction . . . is that we will miss your dedication and wish you all the success.
Date: 1998-09-25
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Speaker. the key fact in this debate is that there is no budget surplus. The only surplus that exists. exists in the Social Security trust fund. So. when we hear the other side talking about how they are setting aside $1.4 trillion for Social Security. we cannot set aside money that is already spoken for. That money is borrowed. It must be paid back. plus interest. We would not borrow $200.000 for a home mortgage and say we are setting that aside for our childs education. because we have to pay it back. That is the fundamental flaw in the Republican argument. The money is already in the Social Security trust fund. We should keep it there. We saw that chart that the gentleman from California brought up. We saw the truth. The only surplus that exists outside the Social Security trust fund. which we have to pay back. is $31 billion. Now. if they wanted to be honest and offer a bill to say we should set aside 90 percent of the real surplus. 90 percent of $31 billion would make sense. because that is the only surplus that we have. Mr. Speaker. we cannot spend money twice. I will agree with the Republicans on one point. We were wrong for 40 years. I use "we" loosely. because I was not here. We should not have borrowed that money and used it to reduce the size of the deficit. and the public agrees. They sent us that message in What I am afraid of is that the Republican majority has forgotten the very message that sent them here. I hope that the American public will send them the same message in 1998: Do not borrow from the Social Security trust fund and treat it as income. That is manipulative rhetoric. and it is wrong. The reason is that money is already spoken for. We have to pay it back. We should not let the Republicans. any more that we would let the Democrats. spend money twice. It gets us into big deficits.
Date: 1998-09-28
Speaker: SIDNEY R. YATES (democrat)
Chamber: H

by redesignating a .as amended. was passed. currently holds this seat. former borWashington. D.C. Federal building in his The title of the billwas amended so der patrol agent and a very fine Memname. Elected in 1948. Congressman YATES as- to read: "A bill -to redesignate the ber. is the sponsor of this bill. is departing this year after his 24th term. His Federal building located at 201 Four- Congressman White was a native impressive dedication to public service began teenth Street Southwest in thefDis- Texan. -University of El Paso..received after Congressman YATES had served the .trict of Columbia as. the Sidney R. .his law -degree Irom the -University of United States in the Navy from 1944 to 1946. Yates Federal Buiding.". Texas in Austin. SID YATES has served on the Appropriations A motion to reconsider was laid on . He -served -is- country with honor and Committee and fornearly 20 years was known -the table. distinction. In the UnitedStates Maas a significant member of the- panels "Col- rines stationed -in the Pacific. he saw lege of Cardinals:" He ends his career as the .. activedutyand was awarded the millRanking Memberolthe Interior Appropriations RICHARD C WHITEFEDERAL tary Order of the Purple Heart. He Subcommittee. . BUILDING served onmany committees in the ConAsChaifmanofthe Houseinternhonaf.-Re- - Mr.:KM.Mr.-Speaker. I move to sus- gress. including Arms Services. Intelaions Committee.- I commend- Sifor his -pendthe rules-.and pass the bill(HR. rioir. Post"�Office -a nd- Civil- -Service. Committee on Science and Technology. He was known as a consensus builder and a team player. In 1983. he retired to El Paso and resumed his legal career. He was a devoted husband. father of 7 children. His values and character and integrity and leadership skills were assets to the United States of America and certainly to this Congress. It is absolutely proper and fitting that this tribute be made. naming this Federal building. Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas .