macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-11-16
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. today the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 308. the "Keep the Promise Act of 2015" which would prohibit gaming on property near Glendale. Arizona that is owned by the Tohono Oodham Nation and held in trust by the United States. The Tohono Oodham Nation is currently constructing a resort and casino on this property and expects to begin operations within a year. The Congressional Budget Office expects that if this legislation were enacted. the tribe would pursue litigation against the federal government to recover its financial losses from foregone gaming revenue. For this reason. the Congressional Budget Office estimates that possible compensation payments from the government could range from nothing to more than $1 billion. However. the Congressional Budget Office concludes that it has no basis for estimating the outcome of the future litigation. Budget enforcement is among my top priorities for the 114th Congress. It is my intention to ensure compliance with the Congressional Budget Act and House Rules as they apply to budget enforcement on the floor. However. given the considerable uncertainty of the budget impact of this legislation as concluded by the Congressional Budget Office. it is my position that a definitive score for this legislation cannot be determined.
Date: 2015-11-17
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. President Obama needs to stop immediately any flow of Syrian refugees into America. Top law enforcement officials have made it clear: We dont know who these people are. and we dont have the capability to vet them. With last Fridays ISIS attacks in Paris that did include a Syrian refugee. this halt is imperative. We cannot allow terrorism to slip through the cracks. That is why I am a cosponsor of H.R. 3314. a bill to stop the admission of refugees into the United States. We must do all we can to protect our homeland. Stopping these people from coming here is the right and commonsense thing to do. Mr. Speaker. the President has a duty to protect America. If he doesnt stop risking our security. then we in Congress must make him stop.
Date: 2015-11-18
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize my friend. Jonny Wade. an 8yearold from Jerseyville. Illinois. who is battling a rare form of brain and spinal cancer. After being diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Day of 2014. Jonny has undergone several surgeries as well as multiple rounds of radiation and chemotherapy. Despite the diagnosis. Jonny continues to think of others. and his rallying cry remains. "I dont want any other kid to have cancer." While he was unable to travel to Washington. as I invited him to do just a few short months ago. to come here to advocate for cancer research. I want to take this time. Mr. Speaker. to speak out on his behalf. Cancer is the second leading cause of death for children. yet only 4 percent of cancer research funds go to children. Jonny and his twin brother Jacky have a special place in my heart because I am the parent of twin boys. too. While Jonny and Jacky may not be here with me today. they brought their cause to the Capitol. Pediatric cancer is a relentless disease. and we cannot waver in our efforts to eradicate it. For Jonny and the thousands of children who are diagnosed with cancer each year. we must all work together to fully fund pediatric cancer research. The favorite sport of Jonny and Jacky is baseball. These two guys right here like to go to baseball games and football games. Unfortunately for both of them. they are St. Louis Cardinals fans. Being an Atlanta Braves fan. I like to joke with them about their choice in teams. But I have got a baseball right here. Mr. Speaker. and I want to thank all the colleagues who signed this baseball for me. I wanted everybody to sign. but as you can see. there is no room left. This baseball is for you. Jonny. I want to thank you for being the fighter that you are.
Date: 2015-11-18
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank on the exemplary service that they provide to our community. This incredible organization cares for the lives of thousands of families in Georgias 10th District and beyond. For the past 35 years. the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank has put food on the table of more than 175.000 citizens who were facing economic hardship. This organization has delivered more than 3.25 million pounds of food to more than 65.000 families in northeast Georgia. and they have done so on a budget of $80.000. In closing. Mr. Speaker. I ask my colleagues to join me in applauding the service and commitment of the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank. Their steadfast commitment to the community is. indeed. inspiring. We are blessed to have such a dedicated organization as the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank serving our folks at home. I wish them the best in the years to come.
Date: 2015-11-18
Speaker: MIMI WALTERS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in memory of Kenneth George Massrey. a dear friend who passed away on Sunday. October 25. 2015. at the age of 66. Ken was a loving husband. father. brother and grandfather. He lived in San Juan Capistrano. California. where he was a successful entrepreneur. an avid sports fan. and a generous contributor to charity. The oldest of five children. Ken was born in Warwick. Rhode Island. and. at the age of six. his family moved to California. Ken received a scholarship to UCLA. where he was a catcher for the Bruins baseball team. He later graduated from Cal State Long Beach. His professional career began at a California video security products firm. and in 1989. Ken launched his own company in Irvine. California. where he served as CEO for 26 years. Ken is survived by his wife. Barbara. his daughters. Katie and Chrissie. his grandson. Griffin. his soninlaw. Ryan Downey. and his four siblings. I am honored to have had the privilege of calling Ken a friend. I have very fond memories of our political discussions. and they were dynamic. He will be deeply missed by all those who knew him. and his memory will live on.
Date: 2015-11-30
Speaker: KEVIN MCCARTHY (republican)
Chamber: H

for bringing this bill to the floor tonight so we can see this authorization through before the end of this calendar year. I am proud to join my friend. JACKIE SPEIER. my colleague from California. and other House colleagues. as well as Senator DIANNE FEINSTEIN and my Senator and dear friend. MIKE ENZI from Wyoming. in passing this reauthorization bill. The stamp says. "Fund the Fight. Find a Cure." That is why we are here tonight. This is a budgetneutral way to fund critical research to treat and. hopefully. one day cure this disease. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in proud support of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2015. To have over $80 million raised since 1998 from this stamp for breast cancer research and have it be budgetneutral is a wonderful way to acknowledge the importance of what we can do as private citizens once the government authorizes and empowers us to fund research through something we would buy every day anyway. and that is stamps. So. once again. it is so important that we continue to support this funding of medical research and doing it in a fiscally responsible way that could save hundreds of lives. Who knows. maybe that one little book of stamps that you buy that helps fund breast cancer research will be the one that finds the cure. Fund the fight. Find a cure. Mr. Speaker. again. I want to thank my colleague. JACKIE SPEIER. the committee chairman. JASON CHAFFETZ. the majority leader. KEVIN MCCARTHY. and everyone who has cosponsored this bill. worked on this bill. brought it through the Senate. and brings it to the attention of the House of Representatives tonight. We can fund the fight. We can find a cure. And tonight. this is the best way to move forward with that goal in mind.
Date: 2015-12-02
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I share the concerns of the majority of Americans regarding allowing Syrian refugees into this country. Most important. I am worried that a terrorist could slip through. just like one of the terrorists involved in Paris. But we also cant lose sight of another vulnerability. a geographical vulnerability. our southern border. because our border is not secure. This President refuses to secure it. Yesterday. I spoke with the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Steve McCraw. and he made it very clear that we are seeing another surge at the border. We are seeing folks from Syria come across. This is troubling and wrong. The President must secure our border and protect our national security. If he refuses. we in this Congress must stop him by any means possible.
Date: 2015-12-03
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Acting Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. reported that that Committee. having had under consideration the bill to modernize energy infrastructure. build a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce. bolster Americas energy security and diplomacy. and promote energy efficiency and government accountability. and for other purposes. and. pursuant to House Resolution 542. he reported the bill back to the House with an amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole.
Date: 2015-12-03
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. article I. section 8 of the U.S. Constitution grants this body the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States as well as the power to establish post offices and post roads. Maintaining and improving our Nations infrastructure is an important constitutional responsibility that we. as Members of this body. have. which is exactly why I told voters what I wanted to do when I came to Washington was to work together in a bipartisan fashion to address issues just like this transportation bill is going to address. What does this bill mean to the voters in central Illinois who sent me here? It means about 80 percent of all of the road projects that are funded in my State of Illinois are funded by Federal dollars. The vision that has been laid out in this billand we could argue about the payfors. whether they are not perfect. But we can also show the American people that we can work together to rebuild our Nations crumbling infrastructure. I am confident that as soon as this bill passes overwhelmingly today. under the leadership of Chairman SHUSTER. he will begin debating how we move into the future in our next transportation bill. That is what is great about service on this committee. I want to commend Chairman SHUSTER. Chairman GRAVES. Ranking Member DEFAZIO. and all the hardworking members of this committee who put a great bill together. Everybody has stood up and said it is not perfect. but no bill that comes out of this institution is perfect. We dont always get everything we want. Mr. Speaker. But what we get is a longterm plan that is allowing our States to continue to plan and rebuild our roads and bridges. I also want to thank Chairman SHUSTER because he helped new leaders on our committee become leaders in transportation. I want to talk about CRESENT HARDY. who just spoke a few minutes ago. He was able to show his constituents that he is able to lead on transportation issues and work together to get things done. JOHN KATKO. GARRET GRAVESthese are new members of the committee that are able to go back to their constituents and show governing and bipartisan success. This is what we came here to address. Mr. Speaker.
Date: 2015-12-03
Speaker: MIMI WALTERS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of the conference report for the FAST Act. As a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. I am pleased this bill reflects the committees hard work. This legislation makes a fundamental investment in our Nations roads. bridges. and infrastructure. providing longterm certainty for local governments and ensuring the efficient movement of consumer goods. Importantly. it also streamlines the environmental review and permitting processes to ensure transportation projects stay on time and on budget. I was pleased that three provisions of significance to my district were included in the final bill. One directs Department of Transportation to study the effects of marijuanaimpaired driving. The second would incentivize the use of innovative pavement material. The third would help address congestion in HOV lanes. This 5year bill is fully paid for and will put a stop to shortterm extensions that are costly to taxpayers and create significant uncertainty for local and State governments. I am pleased to support this historic bill coming before the House floor today. and I thank Chairman SHUSTER for his hard work in making this bill a reality.
Date: 2015-12-08
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. on rollcall No. 679. I was unable to vote due to the death of my wife Shirley. Had I been present. I would have voted "yes."
Date: 2015-12-11
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

on rollcall No. 693 I was unab to the death of my wife Shirle present. I would have voted "ye
Date: 2015-12-15
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to remember Rudy Escobar. an honored friend and veteran. who passed away on December 8 of this year at the age of 88. For over two decades. Mr. Escobar served as the commander of the Macon County Honor Guard in the service of central Illinois veterans. His dedication to his brothers and sisters in uniform was truly remarkable. and he will be missed by many in the Macon County community. Mr. Speaker. for most of his life. Mr. Escobar worked tirelessly on behalf of his fellow veterans. After his service in World War II as a China Marine. he returned home and cofounded the Macon County Honor Guard. which has since performed over 3.000 honor ceremonies at military funerals. Active in his community. it became customary for him to voluntarily transport fellow veterans to and from the VA medical center in Danville. Illinois. He was also a member of the American Legion and the VFW posts. Mr. Speaker. Mr. Escobar was a loving husband. father. and grandfather. and most of all. he was a devoted veteran. His commitment to the military community will always be remembered.
Date: 2015-12-16
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the terrorist attack in San Bernardino. the deadliest attack on U.S. soil since September 11. made it clear that our homeland is vulnerable to terrorists. The terrorist couples attack also made it clear that there are serious screening problems associated with the K1 fiance(e) visa program. That is exactly how the wife involved in these attacks came to the United States to begin with. Mr. Speaker. protecting our homeland is my most sacred duty. which is why I want the American people to know that right now. I will be introducing legislation to put a halt on the K1 visa program until the Congress votes to resume it. In the meantime. my legislation would require the GAO to review the national security risks associated with this program and to submit findings to the Congress. This is the right and commonsense thing to do. We must protect our homeland.
Date: 2015-12-17
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

The Interior and Environment section of this bill includes important report language that instructs the Office of Surface Mining to "reengage State partners in a meaningful manner before finalizing the Stream Buffer Zone rule." As you know. this rule blurs the lines between the existing Stream Buffer Zone rule and the Clean Water Act and would have a devastating impact on coal mining across this country. In fact. we even have transcripts of audio recordings of OSM officials touting the fact that a major benefit of this rule would be no more coal mining. OSMs own analysis estimates that it will result in the loss of nearly 7.000. or 9 percent. of the more than 80.000 coal mining jobs in the United States. Mr. Chairman. my understanding is that this report language would mandate OSM to go back to the States and require their signoff on the rule before it is finalized. Can you please clarify the intent of this language?
Date: 2015-12-17
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

I thank the gentleman for the clarification. I thank Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio for his leadership on this issue. also.
Date: 2015-12-18
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speakers table the bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to improve payments for complex rehabilitation technology and certain radiation therapy services. to ensure flexibility in applying the hardship exception for meaningful use for the 2015 EHR reporting period for 2017 payment adjustments. and for other purposes. and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
Date: 2015-12-18
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today on a motion offered pursuant to this order. it adjourn to meet at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. December 22. 2015. unless it sooner has received a message from the Senate transmitting its concurrence in House Concurrent Resolution 104. in which case the House shall stand adjourned sine die pursuant to that concurrent resolution.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill. and I commend the months of hard work from my colleagues to put together this historic piece of legislation. I likewise thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. the other side of the aisle acts as though words are meaningless. The truth is the President promised the American people that. if they liked their insurance. they could keep it. He promised. He promised also that this would be more affordable health care. The reality. Mr. Speaker. is none of those promises were true. In fact. now we have millions of Americans who have lost their insurance because of this bill. We have millions of Americans now who are in a situation having to decide between drastically increasing health insurance costs that they have to pay or facing penalties and consequences for not participating. Mr. Speaker. the President also promised that this healthcare law. ObamaCare. would boost the economy. In fact. it has discouraged businesses from hiring more than 50 people and from having more than 30 hours a week for their workers to work. The President also told the American people that ObamaCare would not increase the deficit. As has already been mentioned here today. that is absolutely wrong. The CBO has clearly identified how the cost is going to increase tremendously. This reconciliation package remedies the harm and the devastation of the broken promises of this President. It repeals the very foundation of ObamaCare and places a 1year moratorium on funding Planned Parenthood. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. pursuant to House Resolution 579. I call up the bill to provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 2002 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2016. with the Senate amendment thereto. and ask for its immediate consideration.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 3762. the Restoring Americans Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas . the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. who was a leader of one of the multiple committees involved in this.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan . the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee . a fellow physician who is the chair of the Health. Employment. Labor. and Pensions Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Tennessee . a fellow healthcare professional. who is a member of both the Budget Committee and the Ways and Means Committee.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana . a fellow physician and member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Tennessee . who has been a champion for patientcentered health care and is the vice chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the great State of Michigan . a productive member of the Budget Committee.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey . a productive member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California . the distinguished majority leader of the House of Representatives.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia . a fellow Georgian and a freshman Member of the House of Representatives.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Missouri . a diligent and productive member of the Budget Committee.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas . a conscientious U.S. Member of the Committee on the Budget.