macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. last week when we were home I had -the bccasion to present various medals and awards to veterans in my district. The Fifth Congressional District ishome to the highest number of veterans of any Member of Congress. There were medals and awards for those who served in World War II. the Korean War and Vietnam. We need. to stop and pause and certainly thank our veterans from all of those wars. thank them for the freedoms that we. as Americans. enjoy today. Without a doubt. these people came home from being at war. started their lives. built our country into the great country that it is today. and never really asked for anything back from their country. They did not get a lot of the medals that they deserved. Now that they are getting a little bit older. they are getting perhaps a little sentimental and they wanted to have those medals. We vorked with the veterans and got the medals and presented .those. awards in the majority of the eight counties that I represent. My hat is off to the veterans of all of the wars and those young. men and women currently serving today. We thank them for their bravery.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. I thank the chairman for yielding. Madam Speaker. today is the first day in which our Nation celebrates the achievements of American women during Womens History Month. Honoring the service of Justice Sandra Day OConnor is an excellent way to kick off this celebration. - . When Justice OConnor first set out on her journey. the dream of attending law school was not something a woman commonly achieved. Women in her day were encouraged "to stay in the home. supporting the men who ran the country. Justice OConnors success to find work in the law profession exemplifies the determination that she had to achieve *greatness. By defying society restrictions. - today she offers great hope to th& women of every generation. Justice OConnor is an inspiration to women across the Nation. She won acclaim as the first woman to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court and her retirement. marks the end of an era. During her service of 25 years on the Court. Justice OConnor established a reputation as a key decision maker. By sticking to her philosophy of drawing practical conclusions when determining her final decision. she would often cast the deciding vote. Widely known as one of the most influential women in the United States. this title is often attributed to the dynamic Justice OConnor brought to the United States Supreme Court. Madam Spqaker. little girls and young women take for granted today what women such as Justice OConnor accomplished in earlier generations. As cochair of Phe Congressional Caucus on Womens Issues. I am honored to have offered this resolution today to remind us all. both men. and women. to remain true to our beliefs and question the obstacles -that others have put in place. I am privileged to have witnessed the work of Justice Sandra Day OConnor. and I look forward to supporting House Resolution 357 this afternoon. I certainly appreciate the Judiciary Committee and our awesome chairman for allowing this to be put on the agenda and that we have it on the floor before us today.
Date: 2006-03-07
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Madam Speaker. after 9/11. one of the most responsible things that this Congress did. was to pass the PATRIOT. Act. It tore down that wall that existed between the intelligence community andthe law enforcement community. a wall that was specifically talked about in the 9/11 Commission report as one of the failures of our government to prepare for the threats that we had prior to 9/11. What we are doing now is reaffirming that responsible act by this Congress. This today is the final critical piece of the USA PATRIOT Act. reflecting the careful balancing of national security and the civil liberties of our citizens. In total. over 30 changes. additional civil liberty protections. have been made to the base legislation. It reflects the reality that security must not be juxtaposed against thenotion of rights. It is absolutely true that the first civil right of all Americans is the right not to be murdered. not to be murdered by terrorists. The three additional changes contained in the bill before us. S. 2271. go beyond the 30 additions that we had in the conference report itself. There are civil liberties protections concerning. first. the ability to challenge the legality of a section 215 order. Section 215 deals with business records. including library records. Secondly. it adds civil liberties protections concerning the protection of the confidentiality of a name of an attorney to whom information has been disclosed. Third. it places limitations concerning the use of national security letters with respect to libraries. These 30plus changes to the underlying legislation were made despite the fact that in this last year we had 13 separate hearings on the PATRIOT Act. and in those 13 hearings we found not a single. single. incidence of abuse of the law. We placed the Attorney General of the United States under oath. We placed the number two person at the Justice Department under oath. We heard from supporters of this act. we heard from the detractors of this act. We examined the Inspector Generals reports. We had the opportunity to look at classified data that backed up the request for the use of this act. I personally did that. as well as other members of the subcommittee and the full committee. and we could not find a single example of an established abuse of the statute as written or as applied. On the basis of the Bali terrorist attacks. the bombing in Spain. the terrible 7/7 incident in London. the threat to the safety and security of our citizens continues. It didnt end with the passage of the PATRIOTAct. The PATRIOT Act. as it has been implemented. has allowed us to protect ourselves from future such attacks. We must not now lapse into a pre9/l1 lethargy. Unlike normal criminal investigations. terrorism presents law enforcement with the task of preventing a cataclysmic attack. That is why I rise in support of this bill before US.
Date: 2006-03-07
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. for the very first time in American history. every senior will now have access to prescription drugs. In my district on the gulf coast of Florida. we have seen the huge success of the program. within many of the counties over 60 percent of the seniors signing up for the new benefit in just the first month and a half. As my constituents know very well. one of the strongest supporters of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit has been AARP. the leading advocate for seniors in America. Like AARP. I have long been going out into my -local communities and encouraging seniors to sign up for one of the programs offered in their home area. Just 10 days ago. I hosted a Medicare outreach bus in Spring Hill. It was there that I heard from a man named Joseph Drexler. who was able to drastically reduce his yearly prescription drug costs. Skeptical of the program when he arrived. Mr. Drexler left the help station saying this about his CMS enrollment counselor: "She deserves a medal or something." Mr. Speaker. it i� the experiences of men and women like Joseph Drexler across America that have proven the new Medicare prescription drug plan to be a rousing success.
Date: 2006-03-07
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I commend the gentleman. And certainly the use of any funds from a health savings account for this purpose accomplishes the same -thing. It gives people a tax incentive to save. to also save and preserve their assets for the future. And. you know. I recently. this past weekend. ran into a young man who was all of 55 years old. He was injured. and spent some time in a rehab center. SE H609. And. you know. he said to himself. you know. he did not have insurance. When he told me the cost of that rehabilitation. it was astronomical. So. you know. we all want to believe that we are going to be as healthy tomorrow as we are today. But. that is not always the case. And I remember when I reviewed the policy with Arne. because I was a little skeptical. he was 75 when he first started looking at it. and I was amazed what it did cover and how reasonable the cost was. And. you know. I looked on every line. looking for a loophole. And it ended up being something that I did recommend to him. never realizing that a few years later he would need to have this. So I commend the gentleman for promoting the health savings accounts and any other way that we can help seniors to better prepare for their future. D 2045
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker.. I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Madam Speaker. I rise in opposition to this bill. I do not object to the bill on its merits. and when I first knew that the bill was coming up. it was not a problem. However. upon reading various articles. I do have concerns. and my constituents have concerns. I have heard from several of them. Let me make it clear that my opposition is not partisan. it is not a Republican. it is not a Democratic issue. Regardless of your personal view of him. Mr. Clinton served this country as President for 8 years and should have his birthplace properly designated as a place in American history. However. before this Congress moves to honor the former President. I think that he has some explaining to do. You know. most Americans are very outraged over the Dubai Ports deal with the United States. and I am even more outraged -when I hear that he may have consulted with the Crown Sheik of Dubai on this deal. So let me get this straight. Not only a U.S. citizen. but also a former President gives advice.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. how do Republicans or Democrats explain this to our constituents? How do we possibly show that we are serious about protecting the United States from terrorist nations when we are proceeding to possibly honor the birthplace of someone who may have brokered this deal? Madam Speaker. I cannot support this bill at this time until Mr. Clinton explains his role in the Dubai Ports deal. Reportedly Mr. Clinton has accepted nearly $1 million from the UAE for strategic advice. He is not a registered foreign agent. He also tried to get his former press secretary signed as a spokesman for the UAE. When they did not hire him. Mr. Clinton turned around and spoke against the port deal. and yet there was a reported million dollars here. Madam Speaker. I think we need to take some time and review this very. very carefully.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. the nexus to the bill is whether or not this is the time to proceed with this bill. And so that individuals have an opportunity actually to respond. I am going ask for a recorded vote. It is directly related to the bill. It is directly related to the security of our Nation. LI 1045
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. As I said before. my decision to call for a recorded vote is based on the future of our country and the fact that we need to have the information out there about Mr. Clintons involvement in the Dubai port. the whole issue. It is about hope. certainly about Hope. Arkansas. I hope to vote for this bill. I had hoped to vote for the bill because I had hoped that Mr. Clinton would do the right thing and register as a foreign agent. That not happening isthe reason why I am objecting.to the bill at this time. I also believe that we need to preserve birthplaces.of our Presidents. and had we had enough time. I just would have asked the leadership to postpone this vote. I wanted to vote for this bill. but the more information that comes out about the millions of dollars that have been paid by the UAE to Mr. Clinton just gives many Americans the lack of hope for our security. That is exactly why I am going to call for the yeas and nays. It is not against President Clinton. It is not against him. but rather. I wish we had more time so that the public would know exactly how involved he was in what that million dollars bought when it came to the Dubai port. issue.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of the bill that we have before us. the Childrens Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act. February 23 marked the 1year anniversary of Jessica Lunsfords death. I knew the family. I knew the grandmother. If Jessica were still with us. she would have been in the fifth grade. She would be learning about decimals and fractions and the. solar system. Instead. her life was taken by a sex offender who assaulted and murderedher. and then buried her in his backyard. That is what this bill is all about. it is going after those. as someone once described. pondscum predators. Congress has responsibility to punish those who perpetrgte the worst and most disgusting crimes against our children. My heartfelt thanks to the chairman who was gracious enough to work with all of us on these various bills to protect our children7in America today. Mr. Speaker. we cannot afford to wait one day longer for this bill to become law. On behalf of Jessica Lunsfords family. I urge every Member of this House to vote in favor of this bill. It is important that we send a loud and clear message that Congress is serious about protecting Americas children from predators. those same predators who would harm our children. our grandchildren. and our neighbors children. That is what this -bill is all about. It is about protecting Americas children and I urge support of the bill.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the Democratic motion to instruct conferees. You know. I voted for a bill that will strengthen pension plan funding. I want pension plans to have the right amount of money. to pay benefits as promised. It is crazy to require overfunding. but it is also crazy to allow more time for them to recover. I mean. if. in fact. those plans were well managed. as the gentleman just said. we wouldnt be in this fix we are in. Too many. companies make bigger promises than- they can pay for. and they dump their underfunded pension plans on the PBGC. We are facing an ocean of red ink at the PBGC. and we need to be sure that companies put their money where their mouth is. I think that since we marked up our bill. we have heard from many sources that some of the bill needs to be modified in conference. We need to go to conference without restrictions. We need to be able to negotiate with our dolleagues from the Senate to get a great bill signed into law. This Democrat motion would weaken the House bill. and I cant support pretending that plans arent healthy. We need to be very clear with the pension plan sponsors and employees who are expecting benefits out of these plans there needs to be adequate funding to make good on the private promises. Unfortunately. fewer Americans every year are lucky enough to have one of these defined benefit plans. We are backed up by the Federal Government. We need to strike the rikht balance in pension funding rules so that the correct ainount of money is there to pay benefits. The House bill is pretty close to the right answer. We should oppose the Democrat motion to undermine the good work of this House that was. passed by a vote of 294 Members. and let us work with the Senate for a great bill.
Date: 2006-03-09
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I submit the attached exchange of letters between Chairman BUCK McKEON of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Chairman PETER HOEKSTRA of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Chairman JAMES SENSENBRENNER of the Committee on Judiciary. and my-
Date: 2006-03-09
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

model State drug laws and to draft supfornia. Mr. Chairman. I offer an amend- plementary model acts to meet ment. changes in State substance abuse prob-
Date: 2006-03-09
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I would like to read a letter that was in todays St. Petersburg Times about the Medicare prescription drug plan. It was from a gentlewoman by the name of Lois Scheff of St. Petersburg. not in my district. but I think she echoes the comments that I have heard from my constituents. The letter says. "It would be nice to see a positive article about the Medicare part D prescription drug plan. I believe the reason so many people are having trouble with the new prescrip�tion drug plan is that the media has been telling everyone how confusing and difficult it is to understand. If you say something often enough. people will start to believe it." She goes on to say. "My experience with the new prescription drug plan has been very positivez Upon filling four of my January prescriptiofis. I paid about 50 percent of what I normally would have. due to certain deductibles. In February. my four prescriptions cost me less than one would have before the drug plan went into effect. The other day I filled a prescription that used to cost more than $100. and I paid 30 for it." She goes on to say. "We might be elderly. but we are not stupid. Talk to the millions of us who have taken advantage of the program."
Date: 2006-03-15
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today to congratulate the Plano Senior High School boys basketball team. Unaer the leadership of Coach Inman. they made history on March 11 as the first Plano school team to capture a State basketball championship. The Wildcats. you know. comefrombehind victory over the defending State champs. Kingwood. on Saturday in overtime will go down as one of the most exciting basketball games in Texas high school history. They won 6058 to clinch the coveted State title. I say. Congratulations. Wildcats. Yall embody the school motto: A Tradition of Excellence. God bless you and God bless America. Boys. we are proud of you. Plano is proud of you. America is proud of you. And I salute you. Madam Speaker. at this point. I will insert the names of the players into the RECORD. Coach Tom Inman:
Date: 2006-03-16
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Supple-. mentary Report and Document Annex by the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina (Rept. 109396). Referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. George Mason University hosts two Nobel Prize winners. a top 25 law school and the most ethically diverse student body in the world. But today. Mr. Speaker. it is with great pleasure that I rise to honor the George Mason University mens basketball team for overcoming incredible odds to make it to the 2006 NCAA Division I Final Four. .George Mason is only the second team with a doubledigit seed to advance to the Final Four and the first to do so since 1986. George Mason is also the first team in Colonial Athletic Association history to advance this far in the tournament. Under the guidance of Coach Jim Larranaga and assistants Chris Caputo. Scott Cherry and James Johnson. the Patriots have shown America that with hard work. dedication and. most importantly. teamwork. any goal. no matter how farfetched it may seem. can be reached. They provided several heartstopping moments throughout the tournament Mirch 28. 2006 while relying on their wonderfulsense of teamwork. which should be an example to all of us. Twice they rallied from doubledigit deficits in both the round of 32 and the round of 8 against the Nations topranked teams to accomplish this historic feat. Members of the 20052006 Patriots indlude Tony Skinn. Jordan Carter. Makan Ronate. Gabe Norwood. Tim Burns. Jesus Urbina. Lamar Butler. John Vaughan. Will Thomas. Chris Fleming. Folarin Campbell. Sammy Hernandez. Charles Makings and Jai Lewis. Mr. Speaker. the George Mason University mens basketball team will be one to remember for the entire Mason community. from the student athletes who achieved this amazing feat. to the coaches. to the students and the entire Northern Virginia region. I wish them the very best in this weekends tournament in Indianapolis.
Date: 2006-03-29
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. I rise today in support of H.R. 609. the College Access Opportunity Act. I would like to thank our majority leader and former chairman. as well as the current chairman.
Date: 2006-03-29
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I applaud the amendment offered by congressman JON PORTER and others today that would add Federal employees and other public servants to a Department of Education progrpm that helps people in certain jobs pay off their student loans. I am a longtime supporter of student loan relief programs for our valuable Federal workforce. The programs are an effective recruitment and retention tool. helping to keep the Federal Government competitive with the higher salaries of the private and nonprofit sectors. We have to take proactive steps to ensure the best and the brightest will be attracted to public sector employment. The average Federal worker is over 50more has to be done to appeal to younger workers. Offering up to $5.000 a year for student loan repayments. as this amendment does. is an obvious way to attract the attention .of recent graduates and those with remaining educational balances. As chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and as a representative from northern Virginia. I am keenly aware of the need to safeguard the health of the Federal workforce. These are talented. well educated people with a strong sense of duty. We likely will never be able to compete on a dollarfordollar basis with the private sector. but we do have to take steps to make government service a viable option. We are debating the Higher Education Act today. the recurring theme of this legislation is the fact that tuition costs for college degrees are skyrocketing. For -that young man or woman considering a civil service career. we have to make tools available that will allow them to forgo the higher salaries they could otherwise command. Mr. Chairman. I am proud to support this amendment today. but we should go even further. Under current law. agencies can repay student loans on behalf of their employeesup to $10.000 a year with a $60.000 total cap per employee. My bill. the Generating Opportunity by Forgiving Educational Debt for Service. GOFEDS. Act. which I have introduced in the last two Congresses. would improve these benefits by making them tax free. I encourage my colleagues to join with me in ensuring the American taxpayer has the benefit of a vibrant Federal workforcetruly the best and the brightest. You can start today by support this amendment.