macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. as I mentioned earlier. I do not oppose the amendment. Land line and cellular telecommunications can be severely disrupted in a time of natural disaster. and it is important to have satellite communications available so that they are a reliable alternative for first responders and others involved in natural disasters. However. I would note that while I will be happy to vote "aye" on the amendment. we do not actually need this amendment to have the use of satellite communications. That is something that the administration could have done on its own. There are some other thiUgs that they ought to be doing that would really make a difference. The U.S. Border Patrol needs additional agents. and we need new training for those agents. We need 2.000 additional agents in ICE and 250 additional detention officers. U.S. Marshals need 250 additional personnel and $50 million for vehicles. communications equipment. and miscellaneous equipment. U.S.. Attorneys. we need 100 additional personnel on the .southwest border and $30 million for additional office space. Why? We have talked about detention beds. but the issue is we need to be able to process these cases. not just hold people. We needs to bring charges against them. those who have an arguable claim. and then adjudicate that claim: either deport them or find that their claim is a valid one. We need additional immigration judges. We need 2.500 additional enforcement personnel in -the Coast Guard. and we need 25.000 detention beds. We need 1.000 investigators for fraudulent schemes and documents. We need at least 100 helicopters and 250 power boats for the Border Patrol and at least one policetype motor vehicle for every three agents for the Border Patrol. We need enough portable computers for every Border Patrol motor vehicle. We need handheld global positioning systems for each Border Patrol agent. We need night vision equipment for all Border Patrol agents working during hours of darkness. We need enough body armor appropriate for the climate and risks faced by individual Border Patrol agents. We need to reestablish the Border Patrol antismuggling unit. And we need to establish specialized criminal investigator occupations: one for the investigation of violations of immigration law. another for customs laws. and a third for ag laws. We need to require foreign language training for all our officers in the Department of Homeland Security who come into contact with aliens who cross the border illegally. Yes. this amendment is worth supporting. but we do not really need it to get satellite communications. We do need. however. to authorize the equipment and the personnel so we can enforce the laws at Americas borders both north and south. Unfortunately. the underlying bill before us does not do that. It is not a real enforcement measure.. Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balarce of my time.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I claim the time in opposition. although I do not oppose the amendment. The Acting CHAIRIIAN. Without objection. the gentlewoman is recognized.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of this amendment. The Department of Homeland Security IG has exposed. improper conduct or wrongdoing of contractors who maintain Federal contracts with the department. and I think this amendment is along the lines of trying to make sure that the American taxpayers are not going to get ripped off like they have been in the past. Take a look at the level of fraud in contracting that has occurred in the Middle East. in Iraq. I mean. hundreds of thousand of dollars of stolen money and the stories that are coming out of the taxpayers being ripped off by contractors in the gulf region after Hurricane Katrina. We know that the record is not a good one in terms of this administration choosing contractors who will not cheat us. So I do think it is important to have this amendment. and I commend the Congressman for bringing this forward. In June. the Homeland Security Committee heard testimony from Joel Gallay who is the acting Inspector General of GSA. Mr. Gallay provided a detailed account of significant deficiencies he discovered in evaluating the efficacy of ISIS. and of particular concern to the IG was the procurement of remote surveillance equipment. the lack of progress in implementing the system and what he called the chronic inattention to the proper administration of the contract. The IG wrote that the program was severely hampered by ineffective management that led to waste. and the report showed deficiencies in the ISIS contract management and in the training of government officfals responsible for implementing the program. Now. it is unfortunate that we need this amendment. We would like to think that our administration would not be inept. that they would have accountability. that they would know how to administer. and they would not have this ripoff of taxpayers that has been identified to the committee repeatedly. Unfortunately. that appears not to be the case. and therefore. I do support this amendment to try and stop this ripoff of the taxpayers. As the philosopher George Santayana cautioned. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. I hope that this amendment will be adopted. and that will help us from continuing to see the ripoff of American taxpayers in the arena of the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would just note that the gentleman from Mississippi . the ranking member of our full committee. worked very hard on this in collaboration with the majority. I would like to thank him for his extraordinary efforts on this. along with that of the author and the chairman. As I say. we support this. although it is a sad day that it is so needed because of the poor administration at the department overall. Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will note that the amendment does not really accomplish anything. although. I certainly really would not want to oppose enforcing the law. The gentleman mentioned some things that are deficient in the administration of our immigration laws. and they are not new things. Let me just give you an example on reporting a change of address. Do you know how that is done? You fill out a piece of paper. and you submit it. Do you think it is possible to actually find those pieces of paper. the millions of pieces of paper? Anybody who came in and who is a legal permit resident. you could file it. but no one will ever find it. We mention often the terrorists that came into our country and did such damage to us on 9/11. You know what? Those people. most of them were not admissible to the United States. but the poor officer at the border. he did not know that. He could not know it because the piece of information that would have told him that was on a piece of microfiche sitting in a bucket in Florida waiting to be translated into an actual database. There is a lack of technology in the department. and nothing in this bill changes that. Further. nothing in this bill orders the President to order his department to go out and get the people who promised to appear and then disappeared. Let us go find those people. Let us bring them to justice. Either they will be deported or they will have their day and find their remedy. Nothing in this bill tells the department to go out and find the people who have been convicted of crimes. who were supposed to be deported. who instead were released from county jail or from State prison because the department failed to go pick them up. There is nothing in thiq bill that says. go every day. check with the jails. find out who is a criminal alien and who is about to be released and deport them. There is nothing in there. There are no resources. So this underlying bill is a failure. The amendment is wellmeaning I am sure. but it accomplishes almost nothing. Nevertheless. it would be wrong to oppose it.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would simply note that this amendment will not really cure the problems in this bill. It will not get the resources. It will not make the administration do its job. It will not cure the incompetence and lack of performance that we have seen at the borders. both borders. southern and northern. as well as our ports of entry. It a good idea to enforce the laws. Unfortunately. the administration is not doing so. Nothing in this bill is going to help them do so. Mr. Chairman. I yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from California .
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. will not cure the massive arrogance shar Chairman. I will not oppose the amend- and incompetence of the department. supp ment. but I claim the time in opposi- Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance KING tion. of my time. I t
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. we have numerous reports that are required. I sit on the committee. which is why I know this. They never do the reports. They are required by law to submit the reports. We have dozens. hundreds of reports that simply have never been delivered. I hope this is an exception. but I do not have a high level of confidence.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I would just like to rise in support of this very intelligent amendment. You know. most people do not realize that we actually have fewer beds. detention space in America today than we did on September 11. We have 700 fewer beds today than we did on I have a bill that has not been scheduled for action that relates to unaccompanied minor children. and I would like to just mention the plight of one young boy. Malik Jarno. who came to the United States in his Boy Scout uniform to go to a Boy Scout jamboree. He is slightly retarded and he ended up. a long story I will not bore you with. being arrested. He did not commit any crime and was put in a jail. a 16yearold boy in his Boy Scout uniform. put in a jail with adults. It is absolutely wrong to treat children in that manner. Hi1848 The gentlewomans amendment would make sure that children are treated appropriately while their matters are being reviewed. It does not say what the outcome has got to be. but just that we do not put children in prison with adults. Civilized nations do not do that. And I commend the gentlewoman for her amendment. It would also increase the ability to hold those who are not currently able to be held since. for reasons we cannot understand. the Bush administration has 700 fewer beds today than we did on September 11. 2001.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I know the gentleman is a decent person. and I respect that. But I do not know if he is aware of the governments dismal record of arresting the 16yearold in his Boy Scout uniform having attended the International Boy Scout Jamboree and then putting him in jail with adult prisoners. The record is not a pretty one. and I just note that the Secretary retains full power to lock up anyone he wants to if they are a criminal. but we have a very serious problem.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. I agree that we should get this information. and. actually. I believe that. under current law. the department is required to give us this information. In fact. there is an Office of Immigration Statistics buried in the bureaucracy of this dapartment that is supposed to provide information to us on a variety Qf subjects. I would just note that this is an agency that not only cannot administer. it is an agency that cannot count. We have had. for example. and it is a different issue. certainly. than terrorism. but I think several years in the last half decade where they have failed to count the number of visas when there were limits on employment visas. and then they say a big Cops. they have given too many. And sometimes they even try to sneak around and deduct the overassessment from the next years. They cannot count because they do not have any technology. I think it would be quite a dandy idea to find out not only who has been apprehended from countries other than those who are immediately adjacent to us but a whole variety of other information. statistical information. about these individuals. Again. I appreciate that the author is in good faith trying to make this happen. I will make him a side bet. maybe lunch. that we will never get this information any more than we get the information on the HlB program that usually is due every year and usually we get it somewhere between 1. 2 and even 3 years late and wrong. I would like to get the information. but none of this is really going to happen until the inept administration of this function is improved. And I. regrettably. do not see that with the new Brownie coming on. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yiqld myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. I wonder if I could ask the chairman of the committee a question: I understand from the Democrats on the Rules Committee that we have not yet received the managers amendment that has been discussed so frequently on the floor today to the underlying bill. We have not seen anything. Do you have any idea when Members will see this managers amendment that -has been discussed today?
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. reclaiming my time. I appreciate that. Before recognizing my colleague. I just wanted to mention that on Mr. CASTLES amendment there are several other issues that I think we need to consider. assuming they are going to pay any attention to this at all. which I have questions about. We do have expedited removal provisions. and the datakeeping is not very good there. I would note also that part of our problem is that not only do we have inadequate enforcement at the border. we are just not enforcing the laws at the border. but we do not have the personnel to actually adjudicate matters once we have apprehended people. Now. the expedited removal at the border. it is controversial among some. but I think not at points of entry. Judgments can be made. There are problems that the General Accounting Office has told us relative to asylum. �the application asylum laws. that do need to be addressed. But it is not at all clear that these numbers are going to be folded into this. and I think we ought to be aware of that. Mr. Chairman. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas
Date: 2005-12-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. I. support this amendment. The amendment calls on the Mexican Government to work closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to take immediate action to prevent the occurrence of rape along the U.S.-Mexican border. Rape is a horrendous crime. Every 21/2 minutes somewhere in the United States someone is sexually assaulted. and only 36 percent of the rapes are reported to law enforcement in the United States. It is safe to assume that the rate of - reporting is considerably less along the border. The women who are crossing our border are extremely vulnerable. and they are unlikely to tell law enforcement officials that they were raped while trying to cross the border without their papers. The smugglers know that these women are vulnerable. and they take advantage of them. I think in many ways this amendment makes clear what many have been talking about today. and that is the need to gain control of the situation at the border. I have talked today a lot about how dysfunctional the administration of our laws has been. We do not have enough Border Patrol agents. they are not properly equipped. we do not have enough prosecutors. we do not have enough judicial personnel. we are citing and releasing individuals and letting them go. We have a chaotic situation at the border. and we need to create an orderly situation at our borders. We need to take control of it. It is not occurring right now. Part of that. and again this has been discussed. is to regularize the ability of individuals who want to come and be part of the American Dream so that they do not have to be with smugglers. vulnerable victims of crime. victims of -rape: that there is some orderly manner for individuals to move back and forth across the border. to do the jobs that we know are not going to get done without them. Earlier today. not on the record. someone said. Well. you know. if this bill passes. that is the end of salads in America. I think we need to contemplate the role that immigrant labor plays in the area of agriculture. fast food. tourism. the hotel industry. the tourist industry and the like. I think it is a mistake that the underlying bill does not deal with that issue. I do agree. however. that the gentlewomans amendment really calling on our two governments to coordinate. to fight this horrendous crime of rape is well intentioned. it is something I can support. and I hope it does some good. Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2005-12-16
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the resolution. I honor and support our troops and request an open debate on the House floor on the Iraqi war.
Date: 2005-12-16
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to H.R. 612. I honor and support our troops and request an open debate in the peoples House on the. Iraqi war on the floor of this House of Representatives.
Date: 2005-12-16
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. today the leadership of this House has failed both the American people and the people of Iraq. Today our country had a tremendous opportunity to stand united and join together in congratulating the Iraqi people on their elections for the first fullterm National Assembly. We had a chance to send a shared message of gratitude to our troops and the families who have sacrificed so much. Instead. the Republican leadership chose the politics of division over unity of purpose. In a reprehensible act of blatant partisanship. they squandered a special opportunity to send a strong message and cynically exploited our troops for political gain. Today. Congressman LANTOS offered us an opportunity to stand together by introducing a resolution that congratulates the people of Iraq on the recent election and expresses our thanks to the men and women of our Armed Forces who are serving there. That resolution would have received a unanimous vote in this House. But the Republican leadership did not want a unanimous vote in support of our troops and the people of Iraq. They denied us the opportunity to cast a vote on the Lantos resolution. The hypocrisy of their action should not be lost on the American people. At a time when we all want to celebrate the right of the Iraqi people to vote in Iraq. the Republican leadership denied this House the right to vote on the unifying resolution offered by Mr. LANTOS. And the very people who tell us each day that our Nation should speak with one voice on Iraq crafted a resolution that was deliberately designed to splinter the Members of this House. The American people can respect genuine differences of opinion on the best way to move forward in Iraq. We should have a healthy debate about the best way to bring our troops home. Questions of war and peace are matters of conscience. When so many American and Iraqi lives hang in the balance. each of us has a responsibility to exercise our best judgment. What is so disappointing about the actions of the Republican leadership today is that it chose to turn an opportunity for bipartisanship into a political ploy. It demonstrated a smallness of mind that placed politics over the national interest. I have never before voted "present" on a resolution in the House. I hope I do not feel compelled to do so again in the future. But there are times we have an obligation to send a message that we reject the politics of cynicism. The Republican resolution is less about achieving victory in Iraq than victory at the polls in 2006. We must refuse to participate in a political charade. There are few things in politics as despicable as using our troops and the democratic aspirations of the people of Iraq as pawns in a political game. Todays action by the Republican leadership has brought shame upon this House. It is time to put the national interest above political posturing.
Date: 2005-12-16
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Currently. illegal presence in the United States is not a crime. it is a civil violation. People vho cross the border without inspection commit a crime for improper entry but not an ongoing violation. The government can prosecute you for crossing but not for existing after having done so. This section. section 203. makes virtually any violation of the immigration laws an ongoing criminal act. In one stroke. it would subject the entire undocumented population. estimate by some to be 11 million people. to criminal liability. Now the amendment before us changes the degree of punishment. but it does not alter the underlying issue of criminalizing being alive in the country without documents. I would like to note that. in addition to adults. this would criminalize children who had no decision about coming to the United States. I understand. although. I was not present in the course of the discussion in the Rules Committee. but that one of the Members of the committee raised the issue of an individual. a young student who was 17. who actually thought that he was an American citizen and found out. much to his surprise. that he was not. That young man. under the underlying bill. would be a felon. Under the amendment. he would - be a misdemeanant. but in fact. he is not a criminal at all. He is a kid who was brought here by his parents and who is in a bind right now. Making him a criminal is not going to make us any safer. It is not a reasonable thing to do. I oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.