macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-25
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I want to thank the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Mr. CUMMINGS. for his steadfast support of the development of this budget alternate. I also want to thank Ms. MAJETTE and Mr. SCOTT for their leadership. I appreciate and applaud their steady stream of ideas and positions on issues we all care about. I also would like to thank all of the members of the CBC and their staff for their help in completing this very worthwhile project. The Republican budget proposal clearly ignores the needs of Texas and of all working Americans. The Republican budget borrows from future generations to pay for todays tax cuts and federal spending. It reduces taxes on the wealthiest Americans and slams the door on economic opportunity for working families. Neither of these outcomes is in our nations best interest. Madam Speaker. President Bush inherited a federal surplus of $127 billion in 2001. His tax cuts give us a deficit of $521 billion. an alltime record. in 2004. Recently. the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office forecast that rather than cutting the deficit in half over the next five years. as the President pledged. his budget policies will result in increasing it by $2.75 trillion. Thats an astounding and mindboggling amount to add to the national debt over the coming decade. The CBC budget fights for social justice. It advocates for the poor that are left out and forgotten. and more specifically African Americans and other neglected minorities. The budget of the Congressional Black Caucus fully funds No Child Left Behind. it provides funds for school construction. and it increases funding for other education and job training programs. The CBC alternative also provides funding for the minority health initiative. health insurance for the uninsured. it supports child nutrition programs. it funds job creation programs under the SBA. and it extends unemployment insurance benefits. The alternative budget also eliminates the disabled veterans tax. The funding for these important domestic needs comes from two sources: (1) a reduction in the tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 for an Individuals adjusted gross income that exceeds $200.000. and (2) the closing of tax loopholes. abusive tax shelters. and methods of tax avoidance. These funds total an estimated $35.5 billion in FY05. and are used for the domestic and deficit reduction portions of the altemative budget. I ask. Madam Speaker. that Members of this body give serious consideration to both the debate and to the challenge.
Date: 2004-03-29
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice should testify before the 9/11 Commission. She can no longer hide behind the right of executive privilege. Both she and the President should waive their rights to executive privilege in this case. The executive privilege can still be preserved for President Bush and for future presidents in other matters. There are few matters in our Nations experience as sobering as the tragic terrorist attack of 9/11. It was the worst homeland attack on our security since Pearl Harbor. and we need a full accounting from the administration about what happened prior to 9/11. The National Security Advisor has tried to have it both ways. She has commented on the proceedings of the Commission to the press. she has questioned the evidence presented to the Commission. and challenged the integrity of the witnesses testifying under oath. but she refuses to testify in public under oath to the Commission and to the families about what she knew about the events leading up to 9/11. about our efforts to stop terrorism. about our efforts to protect our national security. The families and the Nation need to know and want to know what exactly happened prior to 9/11. We need Mrs. Rices testimony under oath to reach a full accounting. especially since she is now from the sidelines publicly contradicting evidence and testimony presented to the Commission. If Condoleezza Rice has another version of the events and facts. she must come forward and present them to the Nation under oath. Congress. the families. and the public deserve no less.
Date: 2004-03-31
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to welcome here today 0 Printed on recycled paper. Reverend Cindy Baskin from my congressional district. and I want to thank her for delivering a beautiful prayer. Today. March 31. is the last day of Womens History Month. and I think it is especially fitting that we end this month with a prayer from a woman guest chaplain. I also want to note that our House attending physician. Dr. John Eisold. is a member of Reverend Baskins congregation. and I thank him for suggesting that Reverend Baskin be here this morning for our opening prayer. Let me read what members of Reverend Baskins congregation have said about her: "Cindy serves with strong leadership. inspired vision. and endless energy. She encourages us to use our talents in service to the community. while ministering to the congregation as pastor. priest. and friend." I thank Reverend Baskin for inspiring us here this morning through her prayer and inspiring us to serve our Nation. our community. and reach out to others in the world. Thank you. Reverend Baskin for being here this morning and opening the House of Representatives.
Date: 2004-03-31
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. our Nations history is filled with heroes who. through personal sacrifice and a strong commitment to their cause. have left a mark upon society. Today. I am proud to honor the life and accomplishments of the late. talented union organizer and human rights advocate. Cesar E. Chavez. Born on March 31. 1927. to a farming family in Yuma. Arizona. Chavez learned early that life is filled with challenges. particularly for those who work the fruit and vegetable fields of this great country. Those fields nurtured Chavezs desire to create a farm .Workers union. which we know today as the UFW. Cesar Chavez brought dignity and respect to the farm workers and became an inspiration and a resource to other people engaged in human rights struggles .throughout the world. From 1965 to the 1980s. Chavez worked tirelessly to increase wages as well as public awareness of the plight of migrant workers. Chavez defended the rights of farm workers until his death on April 23. 1993. Chavezs courage and perseverance continues to be a source of inspiration for me and many others dedicated to the interests of Americas working families. Today. Chavez would have celebrated his 77th birthday. I am proud to celebrate his life and his work. May his spirit and dedication continue to be an inspiration to those engaged in human rights struggles throughout the world.
Date: 2004-04-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman for his consideration of these issues. and I pledge my strong support to his efforts and any other member of the committees efforts to make progress in this area.
Date: 2004-04-01
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the gentleman from Alaska . the subcommittee chairman. the gentleman from Wisconsin . and the ranking members. the gentleman from Minnesota and the gentleman from Illinois . for their hard work in pushing for the highest amount possible for our Nations transportation systems. It will not be easy. but I believe we can pass a bill that can improve our transportation system. even without the help of this administration. Why the Bush administration would be opposed to a bill that has the potential to create millions of jobs is beyond me. I can assure the President that reauthorizing TEA LU at an appropriate level will do a heck of a lot more for the economy than outsourcing our jobs to other countries. Transportation funding is a winwin for everyone involved. States will get an improved transportation infrastructure that creates economic development. puts peopfe back to work. enhances safety. and improves local communities. Americas transportation infrastructure is in need of significant additional funding. particularly as we struggle to finance the security upgrades needed to protect our transportation system from terrorist attacks. Unfortunately. we were unable to add a rail title to this bill. but that does not mean our rail infrastructure is taken care of. We have dangerously underfunded rail security. and we are now scrambling to protect our transit passengers. We have also ignored an underfunded highspeed rail. which is one of the best ways to improve citizens and improve congestion on our highways. This certainly is not the bill that most of us hoped for. but it is a first step. and we have nowhere to go but up. We have compromised on a $275 billion bill. We need to have many opportunities to make this bill our own and do the right thing for the traveling public. We need to do the right thing for this Nations citizens. Let us pass this bill and let us override the Presidents foolish veto threat.
Date: 2004-04-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself as much time as I might consume. . Mr. Chairman. this amendment would dramatically improve an existing law provision. section 104(j). that was enacted as part of TEA 21. Currently. the U.S. Department of Transportation produces an annual report to Congress on the use of Federal transportation funds by program. by type of investment. and by location within the States. My amendment would simply require that this information be provided to the public as well as via the Internet. This is a nonpartisan amendment. It is broadly supported by a wide array of program partners. county officials. cities. mayors. metropolitan planning organizations. planners. architects and others. Consider the current state of practice. Today. if you search the U.S. DOTs Web site for a section 104(j) report. you get "no documents match." Now. the first question that will be asked is: Will this impose a burden on my State? No. absolutely not. This amendment would not impose any additional burden on the States.
Date: 2004-04-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. reclaiming my time. I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their cooperation. Mr. Chairman. I might add that this is not a heavy burden on the FHWA or U.S. DOT bureaucracy. This information is already collected. processed. and provided for the use of State Departments of Transportation. in a usefriendly format for those users. This amendment simply requires that the same information already being processed be provided to the taxpayers and their representatives. Why "userfriendly"? Lack of ease of Congressional oversight on this report led to a $5 billion discrepancy between Table 1 and Table 4(e) in this report in fiscal year 2000. Because it is not electronically available as a manipulatable table. any summation that is not presented in the table must be done by hand. which is very difficult. So. Federal Highway and the public would have a better product as a result of this amendment and the improved access to this information would improve the accuracy of the reporting. It is my belief that better reporting will lend much greater confidence to us as lawmakers as we fight to increase future spending through FHWA. Federal funds for public transportation have long operated under much more stringent reporting measures. My amendment is a simple change that would provide our constituents with some information about how their transportation taxes are being invested. They deserve to know if their tax dollars are being invested back into their community. or if the State is spending them elsewhere. and better understand how and where these resources are being invested on their behalf. After all. we are talking about how more than $200 billion in the taxpayers money will be spent over the next 6 years. By adopting my amendment. this Congress can provide some very basic transparency and accountability with Americans tax dollars in the Federal surface transportation program. The time has come for FHWA to deliver us and the public a report that is more than a small stack of computer runs that can only be understood by a handful of financial experts at Federal Highway and U.S. DOT. Let me close by simply urging my colleagues to accept this modest improvement to current law. It is one of the small things we can do to provide for more transparency and accountability to this process. Taxpayers pay for this bill. and they deserve to understand more about how their tax dollars are spent on transportation infrastructure. Mr. Chairman. I ask for all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this simple amendment. Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2004-04-02
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. on Friday. April 2. 2004. I was unavoidably detained due to a prior obligation. I flect that had I been present and voting. I would have voted as follows: Rollcall No. 116: "yea" (On Motion to Recommit Conference Report with Instructions for H.R. 3108). Rollcall No. 117: "aye" (On Final Passage of H.R. 3108).
Date: 2004-04-21
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. let me express my appreciation for the leadership of this committee. We operate in a spirit of civility at all times. and we are all very proud of that. We as legislators preach about how we want to make this world a better place for those who are to follow. The Green Chemistry Research and Development Act is a first step to increasing the use of renewable fuels. encouraging manufacturing processes that generate less toxic waste and promote the development of materials which can be easily recycled. I am pleased that my colleague. the gentleman from Georgia . has introduced the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2004. and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation. Green chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design. manufacture. and application of chemical products. Over the past decade. there has been increasing interest in a fundamental new approach to environmental protection. In studying green chemistry. we realize that science and technology can help produce processes and products that are both more environmentally benign and economically attractive. I would like also to take this opportunity to thank the Chair for working in a bipartisan manner and our ranking member. as we often do in the Committee on Science. for incorporating parts of amendments that I introduced during markup in the committee. Most importantly. I appreciate the language that requires a study by the National Academy of Sciences on barriers to commercialization of green chemistry. As was evident by the committees hearing on H.R. .3970. success at commercialization can be problematic. even for technical innovations that seem to be obvious candidates for exploitation - . eThe purpQs of i"tuV. would P% td systematically..assss sucQessfJnd unsuccessful attempts at commercialization of green chemistry innovations here and abroad and attempt to tease out the controlling factors. In addition. I am pleased that the managers amendment clarifies that the funds provided by the bill for focused green chemistry research is in addition to the amounts the agency currently spends in its base programs. This addition is also very important. and I would like to thank the Chair for including this in the managers amendment. Although there is more work that can be done to strengthen this legislation. it provides the right impetus to encourage the science and manufacturing communities to start in the right direction. not only because green chemistry can save them money now in the short term but because it can also save our planet in the long term.
Date: 2004-04-21
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. as an original cosponsor of this legislation. I speak in support of its favorable consideration by the House today. The Subcommittee on Research has a long history of support for efforts to improve Kthrough12 math and science education. This bill will help to mobilize greater efforts by the private sector in helping our schools to achieve the goal of higher achievement in math and science by all students. I would like to commend the Subcommittee on Research and the gentleman from Michigan for originating the concept for this bill and working with me in a collegial way in developing the final product. In particular. I appreciate the gentlemans willingness to include language I propose to encourage math and science education in underrepresented groups. My language simply emphasizes the importance of recognizing private sector activities that increase the participation and improve the achievements of women and minorities in math and science. This provision is consistent with this committees long interest in attracting the interest of. and preparing. all segments of the population in math and science. This is necessary if the Nation is to satisfy its demands for the scienoorand technology workforce of the future. because the proportion of minorities in the collegeaged population is growing. And it helps to ensure that all citizens will achieve a level of technological literacy needed to function in the 21st century. Mr. Speaker. I wish to use this opportunity to thank the chair of the Committee on Science. the gentleman from New York . and the ranking member. the gentleman from Tennessee . for moving this bill expeditiously to the floor. I am pleased to recommeitd the bill to my colleagues and seek their favorable support. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2004-04-21
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. we are going to support this legislation. but let us understand something: this legislation is a monumental insult. to our Guardspeople and our soldiers. What we are telling them is we invaded Iraq. and now they have to invade their savings. that they have to invade their retirement plans and their savings to subsidize this war effort. Because their families are under serious economic stress to keep from losing their home or losing their car or defaulting on a loan.- they must now invade their savings. contrary to every bit of piece of advice that they get from Merrill Lynch. from Goldman Sachs and everybody else about how you build a retirement account. that you do not invade it. Man.P of these people do not have incomes that will allow them to restore the savings that they take out of here. So they are getting penalized. They are getting penalized by destroying their longterm retirement future to subsidize this war because we could not come up with a plan. this administration. to get them out of Iraq on time or to give them notice about how long they were going to spend there so their families could make adjustments. . What these sailors and soldiers and Marines need is they need some additional pay. They need interestfree loans. They do not need to invade their savings to subsidize this war. It is an outrageous thing that we would do this to these individuals. because so many of them are not going to be able to pay this money back.
Date: 2004-04-21
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. if the gentleman will yield for just one second. he is absolutely right. the provisional ballot is in place. But to this point you have no assurance that they are going to count it.
Date: 2004-04-21
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

The other thing is that the handicapped citizens sued Duvall County pertaining to access to the election. making sure that they have an opportunity to vote in private. and they won. So I want to submit this for the RECORD for the membership to review. [From the New York Times. Mar. 14. 2004]
Date: 2004-04-21
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Let me just mention that there are only five States now that will not allow exfelons to vote. And that is a bigger issue. Because once someone pays their dues and serves their time. you want them to be productive citizens. And part of being a productive citizen is participating in the voting process. So that is something that we need to take a look at. This is something that has been held over from the old Jim Crow days.
Date: 2004-04-22
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr._ Speaker. I rise today to honor the Garden Grove Elks Lodge 1952 for their contributions to my community of Garden Grove. California. The Garden Grove Elks Club is just one of thousands of Elks chapters across this Nation. They operate on the ideals of charity and patriotism. con.tributing to schools. police and fire departments. and also working with their youth in their community. The Elks Club consists only of volunteers. those citizens who strive to make a difference based solely on the goodness of their heart. I would also like. to recognize Elks Lodge 1952s newly installed officers: Dave Offhaus. Dave Skelton. Gary Mueller. Randy Barrows. Lynn Johnson and Jim Faulkner. I wish these new officers much luck in the coming year. and I would also like to extend my appreciation for all that they do for our community.
Date: 2004-04-22
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. JOHN KERRY did serve his country honorably in Vietnam and stood up with many Americans to question a war that had lost purpose and was losing many American lives. JOHN KERRYS speech played an important role in moving the debate from the streets to the floor of the Senate. The Nixon administration was not responding to the changes in the war in Vietnam and was deceiving the American people about the war. KERRYs testimony saved lives. KERRY and other veterans who marched in D.C. in 1971 exercised the same patriotism that drove them to serve their country in the battle in Vietnam. They had fought for liberty and freedom of expression for the Vietnamese. and they returned to the United States to stand up and be heard. His actions should be praised. not scorned.