macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1997-10-07
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in opposition of this motion to instruct the conferees to adopt the Mexico City family planning restrictions to the 1998 Foreign Operations appropriations bill. Unlike the House. the Senate wisely chose not to insert the Mexico City family planning policy into its Foreign Operations appropriations bill. As the House conferees meet with the Senate conferees to produce a final version of this bill. I sincerely hope that the Senate position will prevail and the Mexico City policy will be dropped. Supporters of the Mexico City policy argue that it is necessary to ensure that the United States shouldnt fund abortion overseas. However. it is important to remember that the United States is expressly prohibited from doing so. I repeat. no U.S. aid goes toward abortions overseas. The Mexico City policy would take that funding restriction further and say that no U.S. aid could go toward health clinics overseas that provide abortion or abortionrelated services. Those health care clinics would have to choose between forgoing U.S. aid and denying thousands of women access to muchneeded health care or not providing abortion services to women who have the right to choose according to their countrys laws. The Mexico City policy would have the unfortunate consequence of preventing thousands of women from receiving family planning services. prenatal care. and other important reproductive health care services. The result of the Mexico City policy would be more unintended pregnancies resulting in more abortions. more maternal and infant deaths. and more economic and environmental strain on families. I urge the House to protect womens reproductive health care worldwide and vote no on this motion.
Date: 1997-10-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I am changing sides on this issue. I was in the Texas Senate when they debated this in Texas. One thing I have come to realize. we have got to identify some place to put this lowlevel waste. It is much more dangerous to have it scattered everywhere. behind every hospital. behind doctors offices. and all over the place. We do not know exactly where it will be in Texas. That will be a Texas decision. But many local citizens have come to my office and pleaded to allow it to happen. because without this legIslation. it is going on now and it can come from anywhere and everywhere. With this legislation. it is limited to Vermont and Maine. small States. cannot have too much to dump there. The one thing we have to understand in this country is that we utilize many medicines and many other elements to promote human life and health that are dangerous in storage. We have to store it somewhere. and we are trying to pick the least populous areas to store it. These areas under discussion are the least populous areas in the country. If I thought for a moment that it would subject local citizens to a worse status of health and danger than what they are now. I would not be standing here asking my colleagues to support this measure. I know that it will not. These will be under the most safe conditions that we can provide with rules to operate. Without rules to operate. it can very well be and continue to be very dangerous. because when we have these in our most populous urban areas and we talk about environmental justice. this is one way that we can protect environmental justice. by picking areas and using just those.
Date: 1997-10-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to pay a special tribute to a great Texan. Congressman HENRY B. GONZALEZ. Congressman GONZALEZ has announced that he will resign from Congress at the end of the year. and all of Texas will miss him dearly. Over the years. Congressman GONZALEZ has worked diligently on banking and housing legislation due to his committee assignments and Ranking Member position on the Banking Committee and its subcommittees. Not content to work only on behalf of San Antonio and the State of Texas. Congressman GONZALEZ has concentrated on issues such as gun control. crime problems. education. health. and other issues of national concern. During his tenure as Banking Committee Chairman. Congressman GONZALEZ and his subcommittee chairman conducted more than 500 hearings and shepherded 71 bills through the legislative process from introduction to enactment. Among the major bills produced by the Committee that became law was legislation guaranteeing depositors a safe place to put their savings. making more credit available to small businesses. reauthorizing Federal housing laws. and strengthening the laws pertaining to money laundering. bank fraud. and other Federal crimes. Without a doubt. the country is a much better place for average Americans because of his stewardship in Congress over the years. Prior to his election to Congress. Congressman GONZALEZ served for 5 years as a Senator in the Texas Legislature where he attracted worldwide attention through his filibusters against various bills upholding or facilitating the principles of segregation. With his election to the Texas Senate in 1956. the Congressman became the first citizen of Mexican descent to be seated in that body in 110 years. All minorities in Texas owe Congressman GONZALEZ a large debt of gratitude for his unflinching commitment over the years to the principles of equal protection and treatment under the law. During his 5 years in the Texas Senate. Congressman GONZALEZ introduced. cosponsored or managed 42 bills. including those concerning slum clearance programs and control of lobbying. He opposed legislation that required moderate and low income groups to bear a greater part of the tax burden. In a special session of the legislature in 1961 he filibustered. unsuccessfully. for 5 hours against passage of a sales tax act. In a special legislative session in 1957. he filibustered alone for 20 consecutive hours against three segregation bills. Having served in both the Texas House and Senate. I benefited and learned from Congressman GONZALEZ legacy of dedication working on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. HENRY GONZALEZ followed his conscience and has always done what he thought was right. When he speaks. everyone listens. and when people speak to him. he listens. He will be missed by all of us. The Texas delegation and the entire Congress have lost a valuable colleague. But his wisdom. I hope will continue to be heard and felt in the Halls of Congress and around the Nation. To the giant of a man that I fondly call "Mr. B." I salute you! I miss you Mr. B.
Date: 1997-10-21
Speaker: ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (democrat)
Chamber: H

This year. on Mothers Day. again with my colleague. the gentlewoman from Maryland. Mrs. CONNIE MORELLA. it was a symbolic victory. but after many hurdles we finally moved the only statue of women that are in the rotunda. from the basement into the rotunda. On that particular day Lucretia Mott. Susan B. Anthony. and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. two of whom were women from New York State and who worked very hard on womens issues and for the right for women to gain the vote. they finally took their place in the Capitol rotunda. along with our other great revolutionary leaders. I would like to put the rest of my remarks into the RECORD and also note other great women leaders from New York State. Bella Abzug. Shirley Chisholm. Geraldine Ferraro and Elizabeth Holtzman. all of whom were members of the Womens Caucus.
Date: 1997-10-23
Speaker: MARCY KAPTUR (democrat)
Chamber: H

and the gentleman from Virginia. Mr. TOM DAVIS. were also in attendance to hear the recommendations from these witnesses. Madam Speaker. I request the statements made at the briefing be submitThis past June. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Vietnam to formally open the U.S. Embassy. The recent establishment of diplomatic re-. lations reflects historic changes of the United StatesVietnamese relations since the end of the Vietnam war in 1975 and the lifting of the embargo in I believe that with the normalization of relations between the two countries comes a great responsibility. Now. more than ever before. it is of critical importance we pay careful attention to the progression of developments.
Date: 1997-10-24
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Speaker. I rise to reluctantly oppose H.R 2107. the Interior appropriations conference report. There are many programs in this appropriations conference report that I strongly support. I applaud the conferees on their decision to restore funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. I thank President Clinton for his leadership in restoring funds for the land and water conservation fund. I also commend my colleague Senator SLADE GORTON for dropping his opposition to removal of two dams on the Elwha River and allowing the dams to be eligible for acquisition and future removal. However. I am voting against the legislation because of an issue that has been very controversial amongst my constituents throughout the Interior appropriations process. Earlier this year the House approved an amendment to the Interior appropriations bill which would have reduced the appropriation for the roads budget of the Forest Service and would have placed a cap on the use of the Purchaser Road Credit Program. Offered as a compromise. the Dicks amendment was a balanced alternative to an enormously controversial policy of the Forest Service. The Purchaser Road Credit Program may have been an effective tool for some small timber companies in the past. but I feel that it has outlived its usefulness and should be phased out. Timber companies should take more financial responsibility up front when roads are needed for a timber harvest on public lands. as they do currently on private lands. Unfortunately. the Interior appropriations conferees refused to accept this compromise language. instead opting to raise the cap on the Purchaser Road Credit Program. I am disappointed because the House approved the Dicks amendment. the Senate came within one vote of approving a very similar amendment. and President Clinton has indicated his willingness to begin phasing out the Purchaser Road Credit Program. Again. I regret that I cannot support this bill because there are many good things in it. However. my concern that we are not taking the first step to reform the outdated Purchaser Road Credit program has forced me to vote "no" on this bill.
Date: 1997-10-31
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Madam Speaker. I rise to oppose this rule to join two bills. H.R. 2746 and H.R. 2616. These bills reflect two fundamentally different concepts of what is needed to improve the education system in our country. and combination is absolutely unacceptable. H.R. 2746. Helping Empower Lower Income Parents Scholarships. is a voucher bill that will steal money from our public school system. At a time when our public school system is in desperate need of resources to assure all children in this country are given the educational opportunities they deserve. this bill moves us in the wrong direction. Giving a small number of students taxpayer money to attend a private school does nothing to improve Our school system as. a whole and takes away resources from the 90 percent of the children in our country who attendpublic schools. This is not the kind of change we need. H.R. 2616. the Charter School Amendments. is the type of innovation that could improve our public school. system and these changes make sense. Charter schools provide for local control and opportunities for innovation in a public school system. while assuring the schools are held accountable to specified standards. All students can take advantage of the opportunities that charter schools provide and these changes encourage the first class schools that we are looking for in our public school system. Congress must be allowed the opportunity to debate and vote on these two fundamentally different bills separately.
Date: 1997-11-04
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I believe the only pressure from the American people. I would say to the gentleman who just spoke. is the American peoples surprise about his new concern for the poor. since he voted against Head Start. and he voted to eliminate school lunch programs that would help our children learn and help our children be better off as they seek to be educated in this country.
Date: 1997-11-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today the House considered legislation to reform and restructure the Internal Revenue Service. The House voted overwhelmingly to approve this reform legislation and I also voted for the bill. I did have concerns over a proposed shift of the burden of proof but I feel that the provision was changed enough to ensure that the Governments hands would not be tied when going after tax evaders and those who commit tax fraud. The congressional hearings on the IRS not only opened the publics eyes to intimidation and harassment by a small number of IRS agents and supervisors. the hearings have also motivated Congress to offer a large number of bills that seek to change the way that the IRS does business. I admit that the IRS has a few employees who abuse their power. forgetting that they are servants to the public. not masters of it. I can also personally attest to the fact that there are problems in the manner in which the IRS conducts audits and undertakes collection. However. Mr. President. I arn" afraid that the antiIRS rhetoric being employed by some in Congress has unfairly attacked and tainted the majority of hardworking and honest IRS employees and is negatively affecting their morale and productivity. Mr. Speaker. I am honored to have a large number of hardworking and honest IRS employees in my district at the IRS MidStates Regional Office. Mr. Speaker. those employees are not afraid of a new debate on the role of the IRS. They are not frightened by calls for reform and making their fellow workers more accountable to the taxpayers. What they are concerned about is that they are being unfairly singled out and negatively portrayed as unfit. uncaring. and unprofessional employees of the Government. As Congress continues to consider more IRS reform initiatives. which now number between 10 and 11. we must be careful and responsible with both our words and actions. We must be sensitive to how our words affect those who are truly committed to public service. I have heard from some of my constituents who work for the IRS and I am truly concerned about the morale of these dedicated and good employees as a result of the extremely negative rhetoric which wellintentioned lawmakers have used to describe the operation of the agency. Mr. Speaker. we must remember that most IRS employees want to work withand have worked withlawmakers to bridge the gap between the IRS and the taxpayer. Mr. Speaker. today I rose in favor of sensible. wellthought out reform of the Internal Revenue Service but I ask that we truly focus on reform. not rhetoric. At the same time. I stand to support those great employees at the IRS midstates regional office in Dallas. They believe in public service. customer service. and accountability to taxpayers. They are patriotic and deserving of our respect and thanks. not our rhetoric and disdain.
Date: 1997-11-05
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 2676. the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act. As a proud cosponsor of this bill. I also want to thank the Commission chaired by Congressman PORTMAN and Senator KERREY. along with Chairman ARCHER and the Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Committee. Mr. RANGEL. for bringing us to where we are today. I was disheartened to find that more than 150 people have contacted my office this year looking for help with the IRS. Most of those individuals are honest. hardworkingpeople who dont mind paying their fair share of taxes. they just want the IRS to be more helpful. Sometimes the IRS has made mistakes and admitted wrongdoing. yet the agency wont correct them and adjust the taxpayers bill. Other times. the taxpayer simply has questions and cant get a straight answer from the IRS. Mr. Speaker. one of my primary goals in Congress is to help restore peoples faith and trust in their government. Without public confidence in our democracy. it is impossible to lead this nation into the next century. This bill to reform the IRS to make it more accountable and customerfriendly is one important step Congress must take in order to regain some of the publics trust in government. This bill will make the IRS more accountable by creating an outside oversight board with real power to perform consistent. ongoing oversight of IRS management and practices. It will make it easier for a taxpayer to comply with tax laws because when they request information or ask questions. they will be able to get answers. Furthermore. Congress will finally be forced to provide the oversight it has been so delinquent in doing. Mr. Speaker. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 2676. It is a good bill. and a very important step toward restoring the publics trust in our government.
Date: 1997-11-13
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. during rollcall vote nos. 633635 on House Resolution 326 and 327 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present I would have voted "no" on 633. "no" on 634. and "yes" on 635.
Date: 1998-02-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I must reluctantly oppose HR 2625. the renaming of Washington National Airport for one of our former Presidents of the United States Ronald Reagan. I find it inappropriate that the forces of self interest are using public sympathy of an ailing President as a justification for their own efforts which are misguided and mystifying to me. Washington National Airport already has an appropriate name. which was given to the airport when it opened in 1941. The word "National" is appropriate considering we live in the Capital of this Nation. The airport does not belong to the memory and ideology of one man or political party but it belongs to all citizens of the United States. regardless of party affiliation. We also need to remember that Washington Dulles International is already named after a Republican official. We have enough names in this city to pay homage to both Democrats and Republicans. Some say that during the era of President Reagan. safety took a back seat to economics. After all. one of President Reagans most controversial decisions was to fire air traffic controllers in 1981 and he prevented them from reapplying for their jobs. We also need to realize that as a Congress. it would be disrespectful to go against the wishes of the Member who represents that airport and who is opposed to this renaming bill. Finally Mr. Chairman. I would like my colleagues to know that I am not here to undermine the Reagan Era. for after all he was the leader of this country at one time. But as a Congress we need to take a stand on renaming btlildings. airports and monuments in order to fulfill political favors.
Date: 1998-02-04
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. it was certainly my pleasure. And. as we close. I certainly want to thank the Speaker for this time. I think this was an important discussion on the floor of the House. and I am delighted to have the gentleman from New Jersey join on the kinds of issues that we will be facing. We have a plan. Our task force has a plan. It is certainly appropriate for the leadership to move forward on this issue of good health care.
Date: 1998-02-12
Speaker: LORENZO BATES (democrat)
Chamber: S

General Manager. Navajo Agricultural Products Industry. Farmington. NM. DEAR MR. BATES: Based upon information received from the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI). the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) and Senator Bingamans office. the City of Farmington (City) understands that the location of the proposed french fry plant will straddle the area served by NTUA and the City of Farmingtons electric utility. Furthermore. our understanding is that the electricity required for the french fry plant will. be provided from resources available to NAPI under the Interagency Agreement among NAPI and the US Department of InteriorBureau of Indian Affairs and the US Department of InteriorBureau of Reclamation and the US Department of EnergyWestern Area Power Administration. Colorado River Storage Project and that NTUA proposes to build the transmission/distribution system necessary to deliver such resources to NAPI. In order for NAPI to have access to the resources under the Agreement referred to above. it is necessary to have legislation introduced which will provide for a change in purpose for the use of the project power. Senator Bingamans office Is intending to introduce that legislation in the Senate during the latter part of February. 1998. The City of Farmington. in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between NAPI and the City dated December 10. 1997. supports NAPIs request for a legislative Change in Purpose of a remaining portion of the eightyseven megawatts (87mW) of CRSP allocation of federal power to be used to supply electricity to the proposed french fry plant. Sincerely.
Date: 1998-03-05
Speaker: ADAM SMITH (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Speaker. the most recent estimates show that we are actually going to have a budget surplus for fiscal year 1998 if all continues to go well this year. I rise to make a couple of comments about that. First of all. I think we can all be proud of that accomplishment. It was just 5 years ago that the deficit was $300 billion and climbing. with no end in sight. It was depressing to look as the interest on the debt rose to the point where we felt we would never get out of that hole. Now we are starting to make progress and can be proud of that. I feel that both parties can have some degree of credit for that accomplishment. But as a Democrat. I am particularly proud that my party has shown that it can be fiscally responsible. It can be fiscally responsible. where at the same time caring about other things that are important to the American people: investing in our future through education. protecting our seniors by making sure that they have health care and Social Security. One final point. While we have accomplished a lot. there is still much to accomplish. Fiscal responsibility is not accomplished in one day. You cannot do it once and forget about it. It is- a continual task. In the months and years ahead we must remain committed to that fiscal responsibility. I am proud that my party has made that commitment.
Date: 1998-03-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. on ro~lcall No. 38. final passage of H.R. 2369. had I been present. I would have voted "yes."