macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-01-23
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak in strong opposition to voter suppression efforts in Texas and in several other states throughout the country. In the United States. we use voting as a means for the people to select their elected representatives at all levels of government. This is a basic tenet of American democracy that some have sought to manipulate and curtail. Through a series of regressive voting laws. a number of state legislatures have already taken extraordinary measures to exclude the elderly. our youth. minorities. and the poor from access to the polls and casting their ballots. Whether in the form of voter ID mandates. obstructions to voter registration. or even outright intimidation. these measures to keep eligible voters from exercising their right to vote are contrary to our founding principles as a Nation. In Texas. strict voter ID laws were passed in the State Legislature last year. This law requires each voter to present a valid governmentissued ID. regardless of whether they possess a voter registration card and are listed among the voting rolls. These efforts are specifically tailored to exclude specific voting groups. The only mechanism keeping these discriminatory policies from becoming effective in Texas is preclearance. required under the Voting Rights Act in states that have a history of racial discrimination. We need only to look to history to know that these kinds of devious tactics have been used before. In essence. these laws mimic the literacy tests and poll taxes that defined the days of Jim Crow. Except today. these laws target not only minorities but also seniors. students. the disabled. and the poor. Yet here we find ourselves again battling the same problem with a different disguise. I refuse to accept that these laws seek to address existing weaknesses in our electoral system. In fact. these laws do nothing to address the kinds of fraud that were exposed during previous elections. such as the purging of entire voter rolls or intentionally long wait times during early voting. Mr. Speaker. it is absolutely critical that we work toward strengthening the integrity of our elections and avoid tactics meant to sway their outcome in favor of a select few. It is undemocratic and I will continue to oppose any efforts to suppress our electorate.
Date: 2012-01-24
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. for every single job that is created. there are four people waiting for that job. So I rise today. Mr. Speaker. to voice my support for a yearlong extension of the payroll tax cut for middle class Americans. Unfortunately. my Republican colleagues tried until the very last minute to raise taxes on the middle class just before the holidays. But the American people spoke up and let the Congress know that they would not stand for it. We cannot wait for another lastminute fix. We need a yearlong extension of the payroll taxes and unemployment insurance now. We cannot afford to take more risks with the incomes of more than 160 million Americans the way the Republicans did in 2011. Remember. we need to create jobs. There are four people for every one job there is. That means we need more jobs. That means we need to support the Presidents jobs bill. BUDGET
Date: 2012-01-24
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to welcome our colleague. Congresswoman GABRIELLE GIFFORDS. GABBY GIFFORDS. back home to this House. a place that she served ably and is serving ably today. to thank her for her courage and to thank her for accepting the challenge of what an American hero is. Many have called her that. for in the course of this enormous tragedy. she stood tall and still continues to do that today. I want to thank the medical professionals. the emergency medical professionals. and many in Houston. Texas. TIRR. one of the best renowned rehabilitation hospitals in the world. But most of all. as Congresswoman GIFFORDS comes back. let us give as a gift. both on behalf of the American people and this Congress. that we can work together to improve the lives of all Americans. That I believe would be her challenge. and that would be her call. As she comes back today. serving the people of Arizona and serving the American people. we want to say: Thank you. Congresswoman. for your courage and for being a model for the American people and challenging us to do the best.
Date: 2012-01-24
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentlelady from California for the recognition and also for the leadership. I might say to my colleagues that whenever we come to the floor of the House to do the peoples business it is an important effort. and this motion to instruct is truly the peoples business. I want to applaud you for framing the urgency of answering the call of doing what we need to do with respect to 160 million Americans who need payroll tax reliefagain. tax cuts for middle class and working Americans. not a discriminatory treatment of only the top 1 percent being able to sing the song "Oh Happy Day." but to allow those who get up every day. some working with their hands. some working with the genius of their minds. and being able to get tax relief from this Congress. I also know that the American people are looking for immediate relief as it relates to jobs. And I join with my colleague. Chairman LARSON of the Democratic Caucus. about the American Jobs Act and the Presidents initiative on putting teachers and firefighters. police and construction workers to work. creating jobs and cutting taxes to put in the American peoples pockets. and. as well. to provide job training and extended unemployment incentives. But I do raise this question as we look to protect Medicare and. yes. to provide the doctor fix. which is so important to Houston. with the large Texas Medical Center and the large population of seniors. I join with my colleagues to urgently move toward that. But may I make it very clear that unemployment benefits are not a handout. It is not given to people who have not worked. It is given to blue collar workers. Its given to white collar workers. Its given to people who have worked and contributed to this economy. For my friends on the other side of the aisle to suggest in the most insulting way to give drug tests and to suggest that people need a GED. I can assure you people want to get a GED. But when you talk of the body politic of unemployed workers. 14 million people cant find jobs because there are no jobs to be found. and we are working to create jobs. So the issue is: Help us pass the American Jobs Act. and help recognize that those who get unemployment benefits. Mr. Speaker. are Americans who have worked. who deserve this kind of insurance. I join in passing the payroll tax motion to instruct and the unemployment benefits. Lets do it now.
Date: 2012-01-25
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from Michigan. and I thank the manager of the bill and rise today to support H.R. I serve on the Homeland Security Committee and know the importance of emphasizing utilizing resources in a partnership and. in fact. passing a law. an authorization for that. We all know theres a firewall between a civilian government and its Department of Defense. and thats why I think this bill is particularly astute and particularly important. authored by our friend GABBY GIFFORDS. I thank her for her thoughtfulness to ensure that. as we put assets together. we have the act of law to ensure that it is properly done. As a member of a border State. or a resident of a border State. having been to the border many times. having walked the border from California to Texas. having been on the border at night. having been on the border with Customs and Border Patrol. I can see what these assets can do to help stop the scourge of drug cartels and drug trafficking. and certainly making sure that those who come into this country come in for the right reason. I also had the privilege of serving as part of the region that we are associated with in the structure of this Congress and served on the steering and policy committee with our friend. I consider her a gift that keeps on giving to this Nation. and I really do believe that. as she pursues her own health issues. as she continues to espouse those values that she did when she was here. I think Americas a great country. and she is an example of that and her husband. Mark. who served so well in exploring our universe. We. in Houston. owe her a debt of gratitude. for you could not imagine the love and affection of Houstonians who had never met Congresswoman GIFFORDS as she healed in our community.
Date: 2012-01-25
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

So Id like to say thank you to her and wish her well and to say. as Ive said before. she is an American hero because of the courage. Certainly we acknowledge those who lost their lives and those who were wounded on that tragic day. but what a symbol that this Congresswoman represents. this American represents to all who seek a better place. I ask our colleagues to enthusiastically support H.R. 3801.
Date: 2012-01-25
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

We just saw a very moving ceremony to acknowledge our dear friend and colleague. and again. I offer my appreciation of her service. But in the course. we mentioned her staff as well. and I wanted to make sure that I added my appreciation to Congresswoman GIFFORDS staff. That leads me to say that we depend upon the staffs of this House and our personal staffs and committee staffs. Not often do we get to know them personally. But I rise today to salute Steve Perkins. who will be retiring. and to thank him for his service to this august body. To each and every Member. remember that those who serve in this body do not recognize Democrat or Republican. what they recognize is the great service to America. Mr. Perkins has served this Congress with excellence. commitment. and dedication. He truly should be commended and admired and respected for his service to the Nation. I wish him well in his retirement. with his family. his children. and his grandchildren. and I know that he will continue to be a very special person in the hearts of all of us. Steve Perkins. we thank you for your service. Thank you for letting us know how much you care about this institution. how much you care about us. Let me say we care about you. Thank you for your service to this Nation and to this great body. the House of Representatives of the United States of America.
Date: 2012-01-31
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me thank the gentleman from Massachusetts. and let me thank my colleague from Texas. This is a very important debate. It brings about a lot of emotion for two reasons for me. In that same year on our debate on Affordable Care Act. I lost my mother. and she was in need of longterm care. As I speak. there are two elderly. seniorcitizen relatives who likewise are in the midst of longterm care. They are of a different era. They did not have the opportunity to plan as much because of their economics and because of their station in life for their later life. But as Ive watched the intensity of the care. I realize that we cannot make health care a political football. I remember distinctly that very emotional time in March of 2010. and my recollection serves me not one friend on the other side of the aisle. not one Republican in this House. voted to help save the lives of Americans and provide them with a safety net of health care. My good friend from Massachusetts has already given a litany of provisions that are already saving lives. from the 26yearold being on insurance to not being kicked out of the hospital and many others. But let us focus on longterm care. a very personal part of ones life. 21 million people in 2008 had a condition that caused them to need help with their health and personal care. Many of them may be young people whove had serious. catastrophic illnesses and/or accidents. Medicare does not cover longterm services and supportsabout 70 percent of people over But the real point that I want to make is if you want to talk about money. let me tell you how many of the family caregivers or how much their kind of help is equated. Some $450 billion comes out of the familys either personal care or resources. This is not a throwaway. This is not throwing money away. We recognize that the administration has thoughtfully said it needs to look at this longterm care in order to do it right. So I agree with the gentleman from Massachusetts that this should not be a throwaway. this should be a fixup. One of the amendments that I had suggested was the idea of letting the Secretary come forward with best practices. For no one can intrude into the most personal time of your life when you are desperately in need. when you are catastrophically ill. or when you have aged to the point that there are people who you need to do the most personal things in life. in essence. to clean you up because of personal hygiene.
Date: 2012-01-31
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentleman. Longterm care is needed by a projected 15 million people. As I indicated. chronic conditions. trauma. or illness brings you to this. but the real idea is personal hygiene. getting dressed. using the bathroom. Do you want to put in the sunset of life or in time of great desperation the idea that no one is thinking about how we can best do longterm care? This repeal turns a light out. closes a door. abandons those family caregivers who are already giving $450 billion of their time. their heart. the devastationMedicaid giving $101 million. but personal is $14 billion. Mr. Speaker. lets not throw the baby out with the bath water. Let us not. if you will. pass this bill that denies that America has a heart in the most difficult times of Americans. Who would raise their hand and say. I want someone to help me in my personal hygiene. I need someone to help me get to the bathroom. or something even more? This is what were talking about. This is not the way to do it. Mr. Speaker. I demand that we vote against the CLASS Act repeal. Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to H. Res 522. "Rule Providing Consideration on the Bill H.R. 1173. The Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011." This bill would repeal title VIII of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Supports (CLASS) Programa national. voluntary longterm care insurance program for purchasing community living assistance services and supports. Title VIII also authorized and appropriated funding through 2015 for the National Clearinghouse for LongTerm Care Information (clearing house). H.R. 1173 would rescind any unobligated balances appropriated to the National Clearinghouse for LongTerm Care Information.
Date: 2012-02-01
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. we can see that Vietnams communist governments escalation of crackdowns has targeted the voices of the conscience such as Paulus Le Son and many other Vietnamese patriots for exercising their rights of free speech and expression. Recently. I received disturbing reports that another youth activist and Vietnamese songwriter. Viet Khang Tri Minh Vo. was detained and imprisoned by the Vietnamese police and government. Viet Khangs songs question the conscience of the Vietnam police. who have brutally assaulted and arrested demonstrators at peaceful gatherings. It is time for the Government of Vietnam to respect the freedom of expression through the arts and stop these arbitrary arrests and recognize the basic human rights of the individual. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor House Resolution 484. calling on the Vietnamese Government to cease the abuse of vague national security provisions in the Vietnamese penal code. which are used to justify the detention and the abuse of their own citizens.
Date: 2012-02-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I continue to wear a yellow ribbon to remind us of the wonderful troops who were able to come home finally from Iraq. I want to congratulate the city of St. Louis that introduced and held the first Welcome Home the Troops from Iraq parade on January 28. I look forward to communities around this Nation raising up their voices to say thank you to those who worked and dedicated their lives and their commitment to the freedom of this country. Thats why. Madam Speaker. its so important that we do our work. Not a minute should we wait to pass the payroll tax extension. unemployment extension. and the ability of our seniors to see their doctors with the Medicare fix for our doctors. What we say to our soldiers by welcoming them home is all in our acts and our deeds. how we treat their relatives. their friends. and extended family members and community. Its time for Congress to wait not one minute to extend the American Dream to all and provide this benefit to those who are in need.
Date: 2012-02-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

that there would not be an objection to a unanimous consent request to bring that bill to the floor so that Members could express that. yes. were prepared to tighten our belts one more notch.
Date: 2012-02-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I think the record should be clear that every year that the Congress has frozen Federal employee pay. we have also frozen congressional pay. What we have not done is try to hold Federal employee pay hostage to what we do on congressional pay. We should also be very clear that all of us on the Democratic side support freezing congressional pay in the year 2013. Indeed. Mr. CUMMINGS and I. Mr. HOYER and others have introduced legislation to do just that. Its H.R. 3858. The Democratic leadership asked that we be able to bring that up on the suspension calendar today. and we were denied that opportunity. So I now ask unanimous consent that. after we complete debate on this bill. we add to todays suspension calendar H.R. 3858 so that we can vote as a body on freezing congressional pay.
Date: 2012-02-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

This illustrates the point exactly. As I said. Madam Speaker. we have been denied that opportunity by the Republican leadership. so I want to just be clear. We were denied the opportunity today to have an upordown vote on freezing congressional pay. Thats what we should do. and the refusal to allow us to do that demonstrates that what were really seeing is an effort to use congressional pay as a political weapon to punish all Federal employees: to prevent any COLAscostofliving adjustmentsfor Federal employees. Otherwise we would be able to bring up that bill separately. Now. what were seeing again is an effort to single out Federal employees as scapegoats for the economic problems that they had nothing to do withthey had nothing to do with the meltdown on Wall Street. they had nothing to do with the policies of the previous administration that helped bring our economy to this position. Yet what were seeing today is what were seeing in States. where we have Governors in Wisconsin. where we have Governors in Ohio. where we have other. mostly Republican. Governors scapegoating public servants in their States and singling them out as if they were the problem.
Date: 2012-02-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Federal employees have already seen a 2year freeze. which saved $60 billion. and Federal employees are willing to do their share. What we should not do is single them out. Now. the President has asked for a onehalf percent costofliving adjustment. That still is short of the 1.7 percent costofliving that they will face. So its time that we stop saying to those folks who are out there every day helping keep our food safe. helping track down Osama bin Laden. other people who help protect our borders. and do other things that were going to single them out for unfair treatment as part of the budget. Lets take it up as part of the full budget and not single them out the way were doing here.
Date: 2012-02-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3835. which would extend the pay limits for federal employees through 2013. Nearly 2 million federal civilian workers stand to be affected by this pay freeze if it is enacted by Congress. For the last two years. federal employees and their families have suffered the consequences of an acrosstheboard pay freeze. While the cost of vital goods such as food and gas. medical expenses. and rent continue to rise. H.R. 3835 seeks to prolong that burden on millions of families by extending this pay freeze for another year. Federal employees and their families are no less affected by downward trends in the economy than any others in the workforce. and it is unfair to ask that they continually make these sacrifices when Congress will not even ask the same sacrifice of millionaires. billionaires. and the largest corporations. These kinds of pay freezes do more than just take precious disposable income away from working families. So many federal workers came to the federal government because they have excellent credentials and are committed to public service. By limiting the amount of money that the federal government can offer to prospective employees. Congress is effectively limiting its own ability to attract and retain highlyeducated and highlyskilled workers to carry out important roles such as national security. maintaining critical transportation infrastructure. and caring for our veterans. Madam Speaker. H.R. 3835 is simply another partisan attempt to hold working families hostage for petty political gain. Federal employees have already contributed $60 billion toward reducing the deficit the past two years. and it is time to finally ask the wealthiest businesses and members of society to start paying their fair share. H.R. 3835 is sorely misguided and I will oppose this bill in any way that I can.
Date: 2012-02-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chair. I rise in opposition to H.R. 1173. "The Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011." This bill would repeal title VIII of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Supports. CLASS. Programa national. voluntary longterm care insurance program for purchasing community living assistance services and supports. Title VIII also authorized and appropriated funding through 2015 for the National Clearinghouse for LongTerm Care Information. clearing house. H.R. 1173 would rescind any unobligated balances appropriated to the National Clearinghouse for LongTerm Care Information.