macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 5669. the Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act. a bill that would provide assistance for poison prevention. sustain the funding of poison centers. and enhance the public health of people in the United States. " Unfortunately. poisoning is a significant problem. anl according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks second only to motor vehicle crashes as a cause of unintentional injury or death. The economic cost of unintentional poisoning is considerable. as poisonings led to $26 billion in medical expenses. The bill before us today would reauthorize a poison center national toll free number. a national media campaign to promote the use of poison centers. and a grant program to provide assistance for poison prevention to ensure that unintentional poi~onings do not lead to unintentional injuries or death. I acknowledge my colleague. Congressman EDOLPHUS TowNs. and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in support of this laudable legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank my colleague. who is also a member of the Energy and" Commeroe Committee. not only on this bill but on other health care bills that were dealing with on a bipartisan basis. This reauthorization of the poison center national tollfree number and the media campaign has been a proven success. Andsince all politics is local. and since you mentioned the University of Nebraska. I have to mention the University of Texas Medical Branch that serves as our poison control publicity and facility. and its very successful. We just need to expand it because we still are having deaths from poisoning. and we need to make sure that tollfree number is utilized and that information is out there for our community.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that increasing American capabilities in science. mathematics. and technology education should be a national priority..
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on House Concurrent Resolution 366 now under consideration.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I would like the gentleman from Oregon to have as much time as he may consume to speak on this issue.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I would like to say that what were really discussing is the House Concurrent Resolution 366. making science and math and technology education a priority. And I now would like to ask my colleagues to support and .pass this resolution. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1180) recognizing the efforts and contributions of outstanding women scientists. technologists. engineers. and mathematicians in the United States and around the world on Mothers Day. 2008. as amended.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on House Resolution 1180. the resolution now under consideration.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of House Resolution 1180. recognizing the efforts and contributions of outstanding women scientists. technologists. engineers. and mathematicians in the United States and around the world. In its 2007 Beyond Bias and Barriers report. the National Academy stated that in order to maintain its scientific and engineering leadership and increasing economic and educational globalization the United States must aggressively pursue the innovative capacity of all of its people. men and women. While women have made substantial progress in some fields. such as the life sciences. they continue to be significantly underrepresented in other STEM fields such as engineering and computer science. The attrition rate remains higher for women than for men at all steps along the STEM pipeline. In fact. studies have shown that girls as young as middle school age are being turned away from many STEM fields. There is no evidence that the gender gap is caused by a lack of female talent or potential. In fact. the top three winners in the highly prestigious 2007 Siemens Competition in Math. Science and Technology and the first prize in the 2008 Intel Talent Search all went to young high school women. We are failing our young girls and women. and neither our colleges and universities nor our industries can afford such a loss of precious human capital in science and engineering. We cant make it with just 50 percent of the Nations brain power. I applaud the gentleman from Washington for introducing this resolution. It is fitting to recognize the efforts and contributions of outstanding women scientists and engineers and mathematicians in the United States and around the world. and I ask my colleagues to support House Resolution Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me thank Mr. HALL for supporting this legislation and thank the gentleman who sponsored it. And Im very pleased. Mr. Speaker. that he mentioned Ms. Connie Morella. whom I worked with from the time I arrived until she left on this very subject. And I hope that we are gaining more and more support to encourage our young women to stay involved in these STEM programs and recognize our -achievers so that they can know that they are great examples. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise today in support of H.R. 3058. the Public Land Communities Transition Assistance Act. and I too thank the gentleman from Oregon. Mr. DEFAZIO. for his tireless efforts to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program. I also thank the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House leadership for their work on this legislation. H.R. 3058 would reauthorize the secure rural schools program for 4 years. Annual payments to counties impacted by National Forest lands are an important part of many school districts budgets. and failure to reauthorize the Secure Rural schools would force very difficult decisions in counties and school districts in over 40 States. In the State of South Dakota. the Black Hills National Forest is a special place and a highly valued resource. Yet the national ownership of this land has clear impacts on finances of counties in western South Dakota. For example. under the Secure Rural Schools program. Custer County schools receive approximately $310.000 for the 20072008 school year. If this program isnt reauthorized. Custer schools would receive about $90.000. The loss of $210.000 would likely lead to eliminating numerous teaching positions and increasing class sizes to as many as 40 students per class. Custer County isnt alone. If we fail to reauthorize the secure rural schools program. almost 7.000 teachers and other educational staff will be laid off across the country as of June 30. 2008. when their contracts expire. H.R. 3058 provides a new distribution formula and transition payments as counties adjust.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

On the offset. by my count. 48 of my Republican colleagues have in the past voted for legislation that included this offset. That was all in 2007. before oil went over $100 a barrel. So I would think that even those of us that do support expanded exploration and drilling for energy sources on public lands would agree that it should be equitable and Federal royalty payments should be paid when we are extracting oil resources from public lands. I encourage my colleagues to support this fair. bipartisan bill.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

What would you prefer that they do. have the schools do nothing when they know that they have a waiver? Every business in America is investing in energy conservation.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H.R.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I yield myself 2 minutes. I rise in very strong support of H.R. 3021. the 21st Century Green HighPerforming Public Schools Facility Act. legislation that would invest in modernizing public schools across the country. This legislation is an example of how wellcrafted public policy can address a number of key challenges all at the same time. This bill has something in it for improving the education of our children. improving our economy. and improving the environment. First. this legislation will help improve student achievement by providing more children and teachers with a modern. safe. healthy. clean. place for learning. Second. this legislation will give a boost to our economy by injecting demand into a faltering U.S. construction industry. And. third. this legislation will make our schools part of the solution to the global warming crisis by encouraging more energy efficiency as well as the use of renewable energy resources. Any one of thes6 three reasons alone would be enough to support this bill. but when you put all three of them together. this is a clear win for our children. for our communities. for workers. and for our planet. For children and teachers. unfortunately. the reality is that in too many of our communities the schools are literally crumbling. In 2000. The National Center of Education Statistics said it would take $127 billion to bring schools into good condition. including that 75 percent of the schools were in various stages of disrepair. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. schools a D for national infrastructure report card. Just last month. the 21st Century School Fund called for a $140 billion Federal investment in school facilities to bring all school districts up to the level of the highest income districts followed by ongoing annual Federal investment. The fact of the matter is that those children who have the most difficult time receiving an education are receiving that education in some of the worst schools in this Nation. This is an effort for us simply to partner with local school districts on a formula basis so that they can then carry out their plans to renovate. to repair. to remodel existing schools so that they can save energy. they can provide better lighting and a better atmosphere for the schools to learn. Madam Chairman. I .reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I yield myself 30 seconds to say that it is interesting. that again they talk about the increased energy costs for schools. And at the same time that we are considering legislation which is designed to lower those energy costs for schools. they are arguing against the passage of this legislation. This is a modest effort by the Federal Government to help these schools get on with the refurbishing. the repair. and the renovation of these schools so that they will lower their energy costs. whether it is heating or air conditioning. so that they can then put that money back into the educational program. Madam Chairman. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky . the author of this legislation who understands the importance of this contribution to the education of our children at the local level.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan . the chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood. Elementary and Secondary Education. and an inQredible advocate for the Federal role in school construction for many. many years. and a coauthor of this legislation.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa . a member of our committee and a primary sponsor of this legislation. Jthe 4. 2008
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York . a member of our committee and a sponsor of this legislation.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California . a member of the committee andsubcommittee Chair.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I yield myself 30 seconds. Its wonderful to listen to this conversation among two people talking about fiscal responsibility back and forth to one another. When the Bush administration came into office. they were given a $5 trillion surplus. Now. 8 years later. its a $9 trillion deficit. And in that time. they never found the way to fund title I. They never found the way to fund IDEA. And yet. somehow. they were fiscally responsible. and now theyve run this economy and this country into a ditch. with $9 trillion of debt in 8 short years. and they inherited a $5 trillion surplus. Madam Chairman. I yield 12 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Madam Chairman. I rise today in support of the 21st Century Green HighPerforming Public School Facilities Act. I want to thank Chairman MILLER and the gentleman from Washington
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Chairman. I rise today as a member of the Green Schools Caucus to strongly support the 21st Century Green HighPerforming Public School Facilities Act. Our Nation needs new schools. The average American school is 50 -years old and almost twothirds need extensive repair. According the GAO. 14 million students attend schools considered below standard or dangerous. But in a time of state budget deficits. fewer dollars are going to- school construction projects. Todays bill will assist local school districts with the initial costs of construction and modernization and. by investing in energy efficient technology. will result in significant long term savings. Building green costs about 2 percent more than conventional construction. but can save 20 times that amount over the life of the school. Moreover. green school construction yields substantial environmental benefits. Green schools use on average 33 percent less energy and produce less carbon dioxide. nitrogen oxide. sulfur dioxide. and coarse particulate matter emissions. With its investment in infrastructure. this bill provides an important economic stimulus. School districts have many projects ready to go. When this bill is passed. we will see additional jobs in the construction industry. including suppliers. architects. contractors. and engineers. Madam Chairman. this legislation is a good. longterm investment that will improve education. reduce our energy consumption. and create jobs in local communities. I urge my colleagues to join me and support this important bill.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. all day loilg we have had an interesting double argument here from my colleagues on the other side.. All day longthey have insisted that school districts are in trouble because of increased energy costs. because of the increased cost of electricity. natural gas. air conditioning. heating. fuel for the buses. and all the rest of it. And they have spent all day long arguing against a bill thats designed exactly to deal with the energy costs of those schools. by helping those districts to refurbish. to rebuild. to remodel. to reconstruct old facilities that do not use energy efficiently. that do not have stateoftheart facilities for the conservation of energy. for the better use of energy. We are giving out tax cuts and have for many years in a very sensible program to help businesses come into the modern age in energy. Businesses. homeowners. and others are reaping huge savings. But schools arent. So this bill simply says that the Federal Government will join in a partnership with local districts who have already set out their priorities to provide for energy efficiency. to provide for new technologies so that they can provide the best learning environment for the children in those school districts. And when they do that. what were seeing across the country is those schools that are fortunate enough to have the money are dramatically reducing the amount of their budgets that go to energy and they can use that on curriculum or extracurricular activities or teacher pay or whatever else it is. Li 2015 But most schools cant afford to do that. And so what we are saying is we will simply partner up with those districts most in need and see if we can help them reduce their energy budgets over the years so they can put it into education. That is the bill that Mr. CHANDLER introduced. That is the bill that is designed and has been voted on on this floor today. because that is the need of the school districts. That is why the school districts. the State Superintendents of Schools. local school districts. are supporting this legislation. because it meets the need they have. Now somehow after arguing all day long that this is too heavy of a hand. we now see an amendment that weve never see in committee. we didnt see on the floor. we didnt see in Rules Committee. that is suggesting somehow we just pay the ongoing maintenance cost of the districts. I dont know if that is what you wanted to sign up for. We thought wed sign up to be a partner in district priorities to refurbish and rehab schools and improve the energy efficiency of those based upon the district policies. I didnt know we were going to sign up for a longterm grant for the maintenance of school districts. I would like to yield now to the author of the bill. the gentleman from Kentucky .
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank my colleague. All day long in this Chamber we have .had amendment after amendment saying that if we werent putting money into school construction to refurbish these schools in need. they would put it in IDEA. they would put it in title I. they wouldput it in afterschool care. they would put it in monitoring. You know what? When they had the money and they were in control. they didnt put it anywhere. They inherited a $5 trillion surplus. a $5 trillion surplus. and when they had the money. they didnt put it anywhere. Now we have a $9 trillion debt and they still cant fund education. That is why we have got to stop it. We should reject this motion to recommit. This is enough to kill the bill. What we need is in fact more money for our schools.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that. in the engrossment of the bill. H.R. 3021. the Clerk be authorized to correct the table of contents. section numbers. punctuation. citations. and crossreferences and to make such other technical and conforming changes as may be appropriate to reflect the actions of the House.
Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today. it adjourn to meet at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill to assist members of the Armed Forces in obtaining United States citizenship. and for other purposes.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to extend for 5 years the EB5 regional center pilot program. as amended.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LQFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: CAlifornia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. Im sure that we will pass this bill. We have broad bipartisan support for it. But one of the values of debating these bills is not just to enact law but to let the public know of opportunities that the law provides to them. And it might be instructive to citizens who are observing our proceedings to know that these projects that are being investmentdriven through this program are in rural. as well as urban. communities. The regional center staffactually. it seems to me this pilot project has provenmake this thing work. And so there are areas in the country today that are having economic problems. I would encourage those areas. through their local governments. to look very carefully at whether they may want to utilize this program as one piece of putting their economy on the road to recovery. I note that our colleague SHEILA JACKSONLEE expressed her interest in making sure that urban disadvantaged areas be looked at. and I note that Houston. Texas. has actually one of the largest applications of all. It is expected that they will have 7.000 jobs and a $350 million investment. So this is a great opportunity for America. I would hope that we will pass this expeditiously. It is part of getting our economy on the move again. I would reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that we will likely have an extended debate next year when we visit again the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. I dont Jr)"he 9. 2008 BM62 want to get into a debate today. I will just say a core principle of immigration law has always been that the United States Government doesnt tell American citizens who they get to fall in love with and marry. And a second core principle is. when our U.S. citizen marries somebody from another country. the American doesnt have to move to France. his wife gets to move here. So thats something that we will protect as this debate goes forward. This bill has bipartisan support. and I urge its adoption.
Date: 2008-06-09
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend title 18. United States Code. to provide secret service protection to former Vice Presidents. and for other purposes.