macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-12-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise to support the Healthy. HungerFree Kids Act of 2010. This important legislation will expand access to school meals programs and improve nutritional quality. It is a muchneeded step forward for the health of Americas children. This bill improves access to school meals programs by streamlining certification of children who meet income requirements without burdensome applications. It provides more universal meal access for eligible children in highpoverty areas. And it increases the number of outofschool meals for lowincome children by allowing reimbursement for Child and Adult Care Food Program providers. The bill also makes important improvements to the quality of school meals by increasing the reimbursement rates for schools for the first time in over 30 years. Additional grants will help communities establish and strengthen farmtoschool networks and school gardens to use more local foods in school cafeterias. And the bill strengthens nutrition standards for all food served in schools. This bill is not perfect. I am concerned about using the SNAP program as an offset. and I look forward to working with the Administration to restore those funds before cuts take place in 2013. But this bill. which passed the U.S. Senate unanimously. makes important changes to school nutrition programs and will improve the health of our nations children. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Date: 2010-12-01
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. Members of the House. we have known for some time. and certainly known all today. that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle oppose this legislation. and thats what the gentleman. my colleague. Mr. KLINE. just spoke to. his opposition to this legislation. They have opposed this legislation even though this legislation is fully paid for under the PAYGO rules. Theyve opposed this legislation even though it passed unanimously out of the Senate committee. They opposed this legislation even though it passed unanimously on the floor of the Senate and was sent to us. because they know that were in the last days of this session. and if they can attach something to this legislation. they can kill this bill. They can kill the years of hard work that have gone into this legislation to make it less expensive for school districts. to make it more flexible for school districts. to make it easier on parents. to make it sure that we have safe meals so. when food is recalled. the school districts will be informed right away. Usually. theyre the last to know that theyre serving dangerous and maybe lethal food on the food recall. They know that what this bill does is create for the first time healthy meals so we can address the problems of diabetes and obesity that are swamping this Nations health care system. that are swamping the health care budgets of families. of businesses. that start with children and have adult onset as a result of that. This effort is endorsed by the pediatrics association and every other health care association because they understand this is the front line if were going to reverse this trend. So now what have they done. as theyve talked about the Federal Government. extending the mandate of the Federal Government? The Federal Government is about to swoop in on family day care providers. more family day care providers than any other kind of day care provider in the country. very important in rural areas. very important in poor areas. person takes care of four or five of their neighbors friends. they know these people. Now they have a mandate. They have to do a background check. These are marginal operations. Do they have to pay for that? Do they know with certainty whos going to do that? Whos going to do that check? And if theyre in a school setting. does the school district pay for it? Theyve got to have a background check. If theyre in a kindergarten as part of a child care program. do they pay for that? So what theyre trying to do is kill this bill. It wouldnt matter what this amendment said. If it goes back to the Senate. weve struggled all of us mightily. on both sides of the aisle. with the nature of the Senate. But here we have the opportunity to have a major program. to improve the nutrition and flexibility and the health and the safety of this program. and now this is an effort to kill it. I yield to the majority leader.
Date: 2010-12-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman. Thank you for your leadership on this issue. Thank you to Mr. FORTENBERRY and my friend and colleague from the State of Texas. Judge POE. This is a response to a humanitarian crisis. Some of us had the opportunity and somewhat of a privilege to be in Haiti this past Sunday. I am here to report that there are still 1.5 to 1.6 million persons still displaced. many of them living in various camps. There is need for the continued removal of rubbish and the debris that we all saw in horror on January 12 of 2010. So this is an enormously important initiative because it addresses the question of almost 1.200 Haitian orphans which were airlifted and rescued on that fateful day. They now live in limbo. and it is important to note for my friends on the floor of the House that if they were to return. it is a country that struggles to survive. Let me applaud the Haitian Government for its concern about Haitian children and Haitian orphans and to make sure that there is no abuse and misuse of those children. But we know that many of these children. all of these children. are in loving homes here in the United States. There are families that still want to endorse the idea of adoption of Haitian children. All of them are willing to do it in the right way. But this legislation helps those who are here to give them permanent residence status. to allow them to obtain status so that they can pursue the act of citizenship once the Government of Haiti is in operation. On this past Sunday. there was an election. and many of you heard of the challenges that were faced. Some of us still believe that those challenges of allegations of fraud need to be corrected. But we do know that Haiti needs a stable and supporting government. and we know that these children need a loving family. It is important. then. to provide them with this particular effort. this bridge. that will take them to the next level. the next step. Let me thank the many parents who simply have love to share with these children. these adoptive American parents who need assistance now. Let me thank you and acknowledge to you that there are Members of Congress who are particularly sensitive to this issue. Just a few months ago I traveled to Haiti with Senator MARY LANDRIEU and DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Our focus was on the childrentheir schooling. their access to health care. and. yes. the ability for them to be adopted in an expedited or an efficient manner. So. therefore. I ask my colleagues to support this legislation as. really. the first step in what will be many. many steps on the journey of the restoration of Haiti and the Haitian people. They are resilient. And I would like to thank the Haitian Americans and those who still struggle to survive. because it is still important for us to say we will not forget you.
Date: 2010-12-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 to extend and modify the program allowing the Secretary of the Army to accept and expend funds contributed by nonFederal public entities to expedite the evaluation of permits. and for other purposes. as amended.
Date: 2010-12-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material.
Date: 2010-12-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I have no further requests for time. I simply would ask all of the Members to support this measure. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-12-01
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I thank my fellow colleague. Mr. GARAMENDI. for being so generous with this hour. To our chairman. IKE SKELTON. thank you. Thank you very much. What I have learned. sitting for 14 years. my full time here in the Congress on this committee. has been invaluable. And you were actually the first to ask me to go on a congressional delegation. the first to take me before some of the world leaders. the first to tell me about what it was to be in the military. And all the information you gave me. "Learn the ranks. LORETTA. Learn what a star means. Learn what two stars mean." Just all the very beginning information 14 years ago when I got to the committee. I cannot say enough. IKE. I really cant. Aside from being somebody who has loved the troops. and you have. and I have seen that just as my colleague. Mrs. DAVIS. and I sitting on the Personnel Subcommittee have seen that from you. aside from really being the champion for the troops. and thats how I will always remember you. you are really a Congresspersons Congressperson. You are somebody that we model ourselves after. And. IKE. from the bottom of my heart. we will miss you. Thank you. Thank you for all the memories. for all the learning. and in particular for taking some of the women on the committee under your arm and showing us what it is to serve proudly on the House Armed Services Committee. Thank you. Mr. Chairman.
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for yielding and I appreciate taking a moment to recognize JIM OBERSTARS service to our country and to the Congress. As one who came to the Congress with Congressman OBERSTAR. he had such a wealth of knowledge before he was elected as a Member of Congress because of his service in the Congress. on the committee. but just to see him every year become such a remarkable spokesperson for infrastructure and public works and the needs of this country in almost every conceivable form. in maintaining this country and its economy. and to see him become such an authority both in the Congress and across the Nation and around the world on the demands of our economy on the infrastructure and the interrelatedness of those two things. You cant really have one without the other. If youre not growing the infrastructure. you cant grow the economy. You cant grow the economy if youre not growing the infrastructure. Its a lesson I think that we have maybe painfully learned over the last few months. He was a spokesperson for doing much more on behalf of the infrastructure but also in behalf of the men and women who are employed in that effort and the people who would be employed in the future with modern airports. modern ports. modern rail systems. smart highway systems and an integrated transportation system. I have been very proud to serve with you all of this time. all of our time together in the Congress. Thank you for your knowledge and for your service.
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to include a condition of receipt of funds under the child and adult care food program.
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I request 5 legislative days in which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H.R. 6469 into the RECORD.
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the distinguished gentleman. and. frankly. I think its important for my colleagues to recognize that we have been there. done that. And I dont know how the minority consistently managed to trample on a need that America has had and that this Congress and this leadership and this President is trying to cure. Robert F. Kennedy was one of the first elected officials to draw our attention to the extensive poverty in America. Going into the Appalachian Mountains. he showed the world how children woke up hungry and went to bed hungry. It is well that the Presidents commitment and the first ladys charge have been to put our children on the front pages of America. So I rise to support the underlying Healthy HungerFree Kids Act. recognizing were discussing a suspension that involves all manner of confusion. But I want America to understand what is really being addressed. which I hope my colleagues will overwhelmingly support. It is to complement the deficiencies of food stamps. It is to recognize that some children get their healthiest meals at breakfast and lunch and possibly. because of this program. through the weekend. It connects learning abilities with being wellnourished. And it speaks not to yesterday. but it speaks to tomorrow. the future of America. Now. many of us were concerned of how this was paid for. But if you look closely at it. its an outlay. And the question of food stamps has been addressed by discussions that we have had. and no cuts in food stamps will occur at this time. But what will occur is that we will bring out of the drain of poverty those children that are our responsibility. I believe it is crucial that we support this legislation now and that we address all manner of information and representation that our friends have.
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. it was said that yesterday we rose so that we would be able to defeat the motion to recommit on the child nutrition bill. that somehow this was a misuse or abuse of procedure. I think what we see today is that we were very wise to do that. because the intent of that motion to recommit on the child nutrition bill was to kill the bill. Now. ordinarily we would have accepted that motion to recommit on this bill. But we are all aware. we are beat over the head in this House with whats going on in the Senate. The Senate Republican leaders just sent a letter signed by all 42 Republicans that they would not consider any legislation until the tax cut legislation is dealt with. In The New York Times. it says it will cast a long shadow over all remaining legislation before their body. In The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal says that it throws a roadblock up before an array of other issues that have been proposed in the Senate. We knew yesterday that we were dealing with a bill that came from the Senate that was the subject of many hearings in the Senate committee. that passed after debate and amendment unanimously. bipartisanly out of the committee. It was reported to the floor and. after debate. was passed unanimously on a bipartisan basis in the Senate. We also know that we are not going to be able to offer the House bill that
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of this legislation as the best way to move our economy forward. The Middle Class Tax Relief Act extends significant tax relief to every American. Let me say that again: Every American. Under this legislation. no matter how much you make. the first $250.000 will continue to benefit from todays lower rates. And given the softness in our economy and the number of households that are still struggling. thats the right thing to do. But what this legislation does not do is put an additional $700 billion on our national credit card. as our Republican colleagues would like to do. by extending an extra bonus tax cut to the folks at the very. very top. Instead. for the top 2 percent. those reporting income over $250.000. we have the Clintonera tax rates on just that additional portion of that income. And with our annual deficits now topping $1 trillion. and our national debt approaching $13 trillion. its the right thing to do to make sure our economy is on a sustainable footing for the future. We have the bipartisan commission debating that question right now. and yet our colleagues want to put $700 billion on our credit card. Now our colleagues that weve just heard have said this is necessary to create jobs. Really? These are the tax rates that are in effect today. and during the Bush years and during the 8 years of the Bush administration. 600.000 privatesector workers lost their jobs with these rates compared to the Clinton administration. with 23 million jobs created in the Clinton administration with the old rates at that particular time. Moreover. the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently looked at 11 different options for strengthening the economy. This one came in dead last. Now we also heard from our colleagues that they tried to use small businesses as a smokescreen for their plan to protect this bonus break for the folks at the top. First of all. as my colleague said. only 3 percent of small businesses are affected. 3 percent. 97 percent. not. But whats interesting is when you look at those 3 percent. what you find out is in the definition of the tax code. one that apparently has been used by our colleagues. people will be surprised to find a lot of mom and pop operations like PricewaterhouseCoopers. asset manager Fidelity Investments and the private equity firm KKR fall under the passthrough income definition. I dont know if people realized it. just the other day KKR. that small business. purchased Del Monte Foods for $4 billion. Now those are all good businesses. But theyre not small businesses. and they would benefit from the proposal that we and the President have made to provide 100 percent depreciation for their investments this year. That will help jobs and the economy. Mr. Speaker. I urge support.
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield 30 minutes to the gentleman from New York for purposes of debate only. and I ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control those 30 minutes. Of my remaining 30 minutes. I yield 15 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama. the ranking member on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Mr. BONNER. for purposes of debate only. and I ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control those 15 minutes.
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. As the chair of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and as chair of the adjudicatory subcommittee in the matter of Mr. RANGEL. I rise in support of the resolution which calls for censure of Representative CHARLES B. RANGEL. Article I. section 5 of the Constitution provides that "each House may punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour. and. with the Concurrence of two thirds. expel a Member." In the House. the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is charged with recommending and enforcing ethical standards that ensure that Members and staff act in a manner befitting that public trust. It is the role of the committee to review allegations that a Member has violated those standards. In this case. after a lengthy and thorough investigation that spanned more than 2 years and resulted in a 5.000page report. the committee concluded that this Member violated those standards. We were charged with recommending an appropriate sanction to the House. The entire report has been available to Members of the House and the public on the committees Web site. Many portions of the report have previously been publicly released. some since July. Here is a brief summary of the findings of that report and why the committee recommended censure. In this matter. we found that Representative RANGEL engaged in misconduct in four areas.
Date: 2010-12-02
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I want to just make a couple of brief comments before turning back to Mr. BUTTERFIELD. First. although the issue of two Members in 1983 being censured for sexual misconduct has been mentioned. historically censure has been used a variety of times. including the very first time. for insulting the Speaker of the House. insulting the House. Mr. John Chandler. by introduction of a resolution containing unparliamentary language. Mr. Hunter. using unparliamentary language. Mr. Holbrook. using unparliamentary language. So I think it is important to at least have that history. I want to say one other thing. And we do not discuss the executive session deliberations of the committee. but I feel obliged to note. since I think a misimpression could be had. that in fact Mr. RANGEL did sign a settlement effort. and the committee was unable to reach a settlement agreement with
Date: 2010-12-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. before I start. I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the family of Elizabeth Edwards. who passed today. a woman who I got to know and who I admire greatly. I wish for her family loving memories. and I offer publicly my deepest sympathies. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to remind Members of what opportunity means in this country. Opportunity is focused in many ways: equality and justice. First Amendment rights. that you can find in the Constitution in some way. But education is also an opportunity and a right in this country. I rise today to support the DREAM Act so that millions of children whove lived in this country. speak the language. many of them served in the United States military. who are seeking a simple education can do so and then. in turn. invest some $1 trillion in contributions to America. I speak today in tribute to Ms. Martinez. who is on a 28day hunger strike. from San Antonio. Texas. Ms. Martinez. I hope. in your name. that we will pass the DREAM Act. because you have been willing to sacrifice. We should pass the DREAM Act.