macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1993-05-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I tbank my colleague. the gentleman from New York [Mr. SEMAiMoI for yielding to me on this sad but momentous occasion. Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the time to recognize the pawsing of Cesar Chavez. a leader in the Hispanic community nationwide. but also for working people everywhere. At age 20 he picketed for workers rights in 1947. just a few miles north of Delano.. CA. I think it is no secret that that was. the year a great many of us in Congress were born. but Cesar Chavez was leading the way then. He spoke for the working people everywhere. from California to New York to Texs. As a fellow trade unionist. we mourn his passing. but are thankfUl he was on Earth to provide leadership for us all. A person is Judged by his impact. and I am proud to say that Cesar Chavez will be long remembered by farm workera everywhere. I am proud to remember Cesar Chavez. from a person who. in the 1960s supported his la causa and remembers him as. an hermano in the labor movement.
Date: 1993-05-05
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to clarify some of the misconceptions about how and where our Federal Government spends our tax dollars. Recently. the Commerce Department issued a report detailing the amount of money the Federal Government spends per capita in each State. In each category. Texas ranked near the bottom in Government expenditures while Texas is in the top five in population. During this budget process. several projects in Texas have been criticized as wasteful Government spending which has given some the impression that Texas receives more than its fair share of Federal dollars. Projects such as the supercollider and the space station have been tossed around as good ways to cut Government spending and have been portrayed solely as pork projects for the State of Texas. The truth of the matter is: While Texas ranks in the top five in population. it remains near the bottom in Government spending per capita. The Federal Government spent $3.956 per person in Texas compared to over $6.000 per person in some Northeastern States and over $33.000 in.the District of Columbia. I bring this to your attention not to single out any one State. but to illustrate that Texas has never received an equitable return on the tax dollars it sends to Washington. Whether it has been Federal highway funds or chapter 1 education funds. Texas has been consistently shortchanged. As the budget process cohtinues. I ask you to remember these facts and keep overall spending in the context of where the people and need are nationwide.
Date: 1993-05-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. during rollcall vote No. 152 on House Resolution 163 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present. I would have voted "aye..
Date: 1993-05-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I. would like to offer my strong support for passage of this legislation. I believe it is essential that we enact this bill. better known as motorvoter. into law so that we can enable our citizens to apply for registration to vote. As we all know. voting turnout at the national level in the past few elections has been nothing short of abysmal. and it is through efforts such as the measure we are debating here today that we can insure maximum participation by all segments of society. The motorvoter bill would help to facilitate this goal by increasing the means for registration.It would also be achieved in an efficient and costeffective manner. By providing the capability for voter registration at the same time as filing an application for a drivers license. we would make it possible to reach about 90 percent of the votingage population. The other two methods included in this measure would be through mall registration. and agency registration. and this type of registration would be especially helpful to lowincome individuals who are not as likely to possess a drivers license. Given the fact that only 25 percent of the disabled currently participate in the electoral process. a significant benefit would be the assistance this bill could provide to the disabled by allowing registration through the agencies. Another important facet of this legislation is the inclusion of strong antifraud language to safeguard against any types of deceitful practices. This measure also insures that removal of names from voting rolls is done without discrimination and sets the provisions by which this can be done. The right to vote is a basic right and we should make it easier for all our citizens to register if they desire to do so. I hope my colleagues will join with me in supporting this important and much needed legislation.
Date: 1993-05-12
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. despite recent setbacks on our economic program. the Congress still has the opportunity to enact most of President Clintons proposals for economic growth. Clintons plan reduces the deficit by $500 million over 6 years by making over 200 specific cuts. The programs that will be created are designed to increase jobs and promote the economy by investment in people and communities. The failure of the economic stimulus package to pass the Senate will not hinder our efforts to reinvigorate the economy. however. It will have some adverse impacts. For Instance. this summer in Houston. there will be over 5.000 young workers who are unable to participate in the summer jobs program because the Republicans in the Senate blocked the Presidents bill. We have the momentum now to move the Presidents budget plan and get our economy moving. Those who have presided over 12 years of borrow and spend policies are coming to terms with the fact that these changes must occur in order to get our economy moving.
Date: 1993-05-12
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. today I introduce a measure that would end the exclusion of 4.6 million American citizens from Presidential elections simply because they happen to live in a U.S. territory. Today I call upon my colleagues. Republicans and Democrats alike. to join me and the bills 27 original cosponsors on this issue that goes to the heart of who we are as a nation. This is an effort I first made in 1973. Mr. Speaker. I made another in 1985. and another in 1987. This is my fourth attempt. and it is my hope that a fifth will not be necessary. I urge all of my colleagues to defend my rightand that of millions of other patriotic American citizensto vote for our President. just as we have fought for the rights of the voteless in Cuba. China. South Africa and a host of nations around the world. . Mr. Speaker. the same territorial Americans denied the vote today would be allowed to vote were they to simply move to the mainland. So. clearly. we are not being denied the vote because of who we are. but because of where we live. Our exclusion from this most precious expression of citizenship therefore reflects. not a problem of principles. but one of logistics. And this is one logistical problem. Mr. Speaker. that can and must be fixed. I thank the 27 Members who have joined me as original cosponsors. and I am making a personal appeal to all of my other colleagues to join us in this assertion of the timehonored American ideals of fair play and Justice. Mr. Speaker. I would be remiss if I did not remind everyone thatAmerican citizenship has brought territorial Americans many a lonely death on many a distant battlefield because our citizenship brings with it the responsibility to fight and die in defense of our country. This we accept willingly. This responsibility needs to be balanced by a very basic right. the right to vote for the man or woman with the power to send us to those distant battlefields. Democrats and Republicans can agree. I am sure. that this is not too much to ask.
Date: 1993-05-20
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to voice my extreme concern with the proposal to increase taxes on Social Security. When Social Security was created. it was designed to be a supplement to other retirement income. Now we are about to increase taxes on people who saved their money. invested wisely. and who now have a retirement Income to supplement. We have already made the commitment to our senior citizens and we should not change the rules in the middie of the game. Social Security recipients represent the segment of our society who is least responsible for our current debt and least able to pay to bail us out. . While I wholeheartedly support the Presidents efforts to reduce the deficit. it is important for us not to attempt to do so on the backs of senior citizens. I strongly urge my colleagues to consider this provision in the tax bill and look for more equitable ways to raise the revenue we need.
Date: 1993-05-24
Speaker: R IEGLE (democrat)
Chamber: S

Very good. I yield myself such -time as I -may consume. Mr. President. shortly the Senate will -vote on the nomination of Roberta Achtenberg to be Assistant Secretary -for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. an overwhelming bipartisan majority -on the Committee of Banking. Housing and Urban . Affars on May 5. just a few weeks ago. by a vote of 14 to 4. found M. Achtenberg to be -competent. credible. and highly worthy of the position for which she is sow being considered. The Senators who know Ms. Achtenberg best have spoken the most highly of her. At this point I would like to make special mention of the remarks earlier of Senator BOXER and Senator Fm STEIN. whoh were strong and convincing supportive comments for this nominee. I not only commend their statements but as well the eloquent statement made earlier by Senator CAROL
Date: 1993-05-26
Speaker: DZ LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me. Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of this legislation. for the assistance it will give the American people in communities across the Nation. and the help It will give to those most in need in our country today. This legislation forces us to make extremely difficult decisions. and to sacrifice important and Trorthy programs so that we can address other priorities. This bill will provide much -needed money for additional summer jobs for our youth. It will also provide money so that our communities can hire police officers to help combat crime and illegal drugs in communities all across the country. These are two very Important actions. Now more than ever we need to take responsibility for our young people and help them to achieve the goals that we set for them. Summer jobs Is an Important step. Equally Important. we must make sure that we provide more resources to combat the rampant crime that we read about every day. Our citizens deserve no less. I am especially pleased that these initiatives will apply to the insular areas as well as the States. Including the territory that I represent. the Virgin Islands. The good that they will do will have to be paid for however and funds have had to be Identified from other programs. This has required difficult tradeoffs. Sadly. many of the dollars needed for summer jobs and the fight against crime have been cut from education. including from the special assistance we have gotten In the past for territorial teacher training. I have been pleased that we have provided millions of dollars in special Assistance over the years to upgrade teaching skills in the Insular areas and that we have been able to prevent the Executive branch from eliminating funding for this purpose for so long. But the President has had to make (Mr. CONYERS asked and was given the tough choice between this form of permission to revise and extend his respecial assistance continuing. and ad- marks.) ditional summer jobs and the increased Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman. we fight against crime. And. so. the people have some problems with numbers here of the Virgin Islands and the other in- this evening. We do not know how sular areas are. being asked to join much trees cost. We had to get the their fellow Americans In sacrifice. I chairman of the Appropriations Cornthink that It is the will of this House mittee to straighten that out. that we do so and I think that we can- I was told we were getting $300 milnot object In light of the benefits that lion more for jobs. and now I checked we. too. would receive. with staff on this side and I find out So. on balance this is a good bill and that we are not getting $300 million should be passed. more. we are getting $265 million less
Date: 1993-05-27
Speaker: NEIL ABERCROMBIE (democrat)
Chamber: H

also Congressmen NORtMAN MINETA and BOB MATSUI both of California and my colleague from Guam. Mr. ROBERT UNDERWOODfor their offered assistance to participate in tl~s Special Order recognizing President Clintons . official proclamation to designate this monththe month of Mayas National AsianPacific Heritage Month. Mr. 6peaker. because of conflicts in scheduling and other appointments. my colleagues have asked that I submit their statements to be made part of the RECORD. Madam Speaker. I want to preface my remarks this evening by first recognizing a young and energetic AsianPacific American who makes us all proud here in our Nations Capitol. Madam Speaker. I want to pay a special tribute to the newest acquisition of the Washington Redskins football team. He is Mr. Al Noga. a native of American Samoa who lived in his early years in Hawaii and was an allAmerican football player from the University of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker. I am extremely proud of this young man who comes to the Redskins by way of the Minnesota Vikingswhere he solidified his reputation as one of the NFLs most complete defensive linemen. In 1992 alone. he was credited with 54 tackles and 9 sacks. Who is Al Noga? Al is one of the 12 young Samoans currently playing in the NFL--along with 6 Hawaiians and 3 Tongans. While at the University of Hawaii. Al became the first player in the University of Hawaii history to be named allAmerican when he was chosen by the Associated Press after his sophomore season. He also earned allconference and WAC Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore after setting Hawaiis singleseason record of 17 sacks. 31 tackles for loss yards. and forced 6 fumbles. In his rookie year at Minnesota. Al finished 9th.in the NFC and 13th in the NFL in the number of sacks. tackles. and forced fumbles. In his second year. Al started all 16 games and posted a career high 65 tackles and was 4th on the club with 6 sacks. Als older brother Niko. is a veteran linebacker who has played with the Cardinals. Lions. and Raiders--and anyother brother Pete played with the Cardinals. I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of Al Noga and I join Samoans everywhere in welcoming him and his wife. Kathi. to the home of the next Superbowl Championsthe Washington Redskins.
Date: 1993-06-09
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. let us make it plain what happened 10 days ago. The Democrats had 38 Members who were willing to vote their districts whereas on the Republican side of the aisle they obviously did not have the freedom to vote their districts because they voted lockstep for continued gridlock. Over the past couple of weeks. we have been working on the most important bill to come before this Congress this year. That bill is the Reconciliation Act of 1993. As a freshman and as a Representative of an energy State such as Texas the issue of the Btu tax has caused this to be one of the most difficult decisions I have made during my short time in Washington. However. during these past few weeks. the President has made a great effort to answer some of my concerns with this bill. I am confident that my concerns have been heard by President Clinton and will be addressed during Senate deliberations. The administration has made a good faith effort to eliminate some of the effects of the Btu tax and maybe the tax itself. With these changes in plan I will continue to support the President in his efforts to reduce the deficit and create a more equitable tax structure. Let me mention some favorable items in the bill. It reduces the deficit by $500 billion over 5 years. It contains 200 specific cuts that re-. sult in $189 billion in savings. Seventyfive percent of all new taxes are paid by the wealthy. People whose incomes are over $100.000. It helps sfnall business by allowing a $25.000 deduction for the purchase of new equipment. It increases the earned income tax credit so a person who works 40 hours a week and has a child will not live in poverty. It reinstates the targeted jobs tax credit which helps hardtoemploy persons get jobs. It eliminates tax deductions for lobbyists. The real estate market in Texas has continued to remain in a slump since the mld1980s. The economic plan contains passive loss real estate provisions that will help our sagging real estate markets. It increases funding for childhood immunization by $2.1 billion. It caps deductibility on executive compensation at $1 million.
Date: 1993-06-09
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. my office has been told by the White House that health care reform policy advisors at the highest levels are recommending to the President that the U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and the territories not be fully included in the national proposal because of the cost of Puerto Rico. They tell me the insular areas would have to meet employer mandates on health Insurance. requiring every employer and employee to pay into the system. but would not be fully eligible for subsidies under the national program for the poor. unemployed. and the lower income. What kind of policy is this? Puerto Rico and the territories are in. but they are out? Resident aliens on the mainland will have more rights and more benefits than the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico. the Virgin Islands. and other U.S. territories. Why? Because Puerto Rico costs too much. Is this how we set health care policy? Is this how we treat American citizens in our Nations territories? As chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Insular areas. I hope the President and the First Lady will not listen to advisors who say discriminate against medically needy U.S. citizens because it is just too much trouble to treat them fairly.
Date: 1993-06-10
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. in the last few weeks. all over the country. thousands of our young people. including my own daughter Angie. reached a milestone in their lives by graduating from high school. This is truly an occasion to celebrate. and we should stop and commend these graduates for their hard work and comitment to their futures. � We should also take this opportunity to thank their teachers for the hours of extra work and special attention they gave to ensure this day would come. I would like to congratulate the entire class of 1993 and I ask that my colleagues join me In expressing our commitment to provide them with meaningful opportunities for the future. The class of 1993 has fulfilled its obligation and now it is our turn to ensure that their efforts are rewarded with postsecondary job training and a national service plan so they can afford to go to college. Mr. Speaker. we extend our congratulations to the class of 1993.
Date: 1993-06-15
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts CLEY] for yielding time to me. I ask for support not only of H.R. 5 but also- for the rule. Over the last few months. we witnessed. a massive campaign to derail this bill. My own office has received a great number of letters from businesses -who feel like this would put them at a disadvantage during a collectivebargaining disagreement. I do not feel the balance between business and labor would be tilted to one side or the other. In fact. this bill would actually level the playing- field. That is. why I was cosponsoring this bill and asking for support today. The facts are simple. Terminating an employee for striking- Is illegal. but to permanently replace them is only to terminate by another name. This bill will clarify our Intentions on the ability of a worker to bargain collectively H3522 C and strike. if necessary. as a last resort. In my experience. as both a union member atd a managerof a plant that had a union contract. I found that a strike is a last resort. The economic realities facing our workers today. who live from paycheck to paycheck. prohibit the type of increased striking businesses seem to fear. This is a fairness to the worker. Our workers compete with every industrialized nation in the world. Yet all we are asking for is the same protection as other industrialized nations. I heard one of the earlier speakers compare our workers with Hong Kong. which is not actually fair. Let us compare them with West Germany or Germany or Japan and other industrialized nations. The use of permanent replacements has only served to increase the animosity between labor and management. I believe its time we start working together and level that playing field.
Date: 1993-06-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of the amendment of the gentleman from Texas . Over the years that this piece of legislation has been debated. there has been confusion over whether or. not it does or does not apply to workers -in a nonunion workplace setting. We have been told that it does not. Last year there was an effort to craft an amendment that would insure that it did not apply. We have really three categories of workers. That is something of an over-. simplification. but basically three categories of workers. There are nonunion workers. workers who are not in an organizing phase. There are nonunion workers who are in an organizing phase. and union workers. Under H.R. 5 as iris presently written. it will cover the nonunion workers in an organizing phase and the union workers in a regular union shop. If the amendment of the gentleman from Texas passes. it will insure that H.R. 5 does not apply to the nonunion workers in the organizing phase. I believe that Is the understanding that many Members had of this bill all along. I urge Members to support the amendment of the gentleman from Texas . It Will clarify that this bill only applies to union workers in a union setting. I believe it is an improvement in this bill. a bill that I think does tilt the balance against the American worker. I do not support H.R. 5 as currently written or as amended. but the amendment of the gentleman from Texas will make the bill better.
Date: 1993-06-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I do not support H.R. 5. but if the amendment of the gentleman from Texas passes. the bill is better.
Date: 1993-06-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

No. In fact. there will be other speakers who will speak over the course of the next several minutes who share my opinion. They will vote against the bill on final passage. but they do believe the Edwards amendment will improve the bill so that it does not go as far as is currently written. . His amendment clarifies what many people thought was the original intent of the bin. It would not apply to nonunion workers.