macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-10-16
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me say to my friend that this amendment strikes a very critical provision in this supplemental that provides for congressional notification 7 days before a determination is made under the procurement laws. Understand that we are dealing with a situation in Iraq where there is no electronic inventory system for supplies. We are basically dealing with carbon paper inventory. Consequently. there is often no warning when supplies are depleted. where we need to act in a very fast manner. Under the gentlemans amendment. we would not be able to go out and procure something that is needed without going out and finding additional bidders or waiting 7 days. Sometimes the situation does not allow for that. Recently. it was discovered that the stock of baby formula in the country was gone. and it was not available anywhere in the country. Under the gentlemans provision. we would have had to wait 7 days before we could go out sole source. or we would have had to source it which could take up to a week or an even longer time than that. In this particular case under the exemption. they would have been allowed to move ahead as they did. a contract was awarded using the exemption to the supplier who could provide immediate delivery. In the meantime. you would go out and source this and compete it for any longer period of time. This would be only for an emergency situation. We had another situation where 2 days before the scheduled distribution of the new currency was to take effect. it was found there were not enough trucks or security to accomplish the distribution. You ask. how were we faced with that? Again. we are dealing not with an electronic inventory system in the country. but a carbon copy inventory. A contract was awarded very quickly using the urgency exemption to a company that could supply immediately the needed trucks and security guards for a limited. finite period. Only in those most exceptional cases should we allow sole sourcing. That is why we have agreed in our committee to a 7day preaward notification for Congress in all but the most exceptional circumstances. But I think we are dealing with a wartime situation. There are times when you have to act and do not have time to go out and competitively compete for all the necessities you may need to fight a war. It is only in the most dire situations that we would allow this. The gentlemans amendment strikes even our ability to do that. That is why I oppose the gentlemans amendment. although. in principle. I think we are in agreement. I think it is critical that the unusual and compelling urgency exemption in current law operate as intended in Iraq of all places where the situation is fraught with danger. and circumstances seem to change by the minute. Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time. .
Date: 2003-10-20
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I could not agree with my colleague more. He just quoted our leader the gentleman from Texas . and yet we have Just heard for an hour our good friends on the Democrat side wailing into the gentleman from Texas . saying that he said things. and again. they did not bring out quotes because they do not have them. saying that he said something that he did not say. He said exactly what the gentleman just quoted. Let me quote. and I am going to read part of the quote that my colleague had up here a little while ago when he had the distinguished minority leader. the gentlewoman from California . when she says "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region. and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspections process." Mr. Speaker. I think this is important. She also said. and these are her words. "The responsibility of the United States in this conflict is to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. to minimize the danger to our troops and to diminish the suffering of the Iraqi people." To me. it is kind of almost overwhelming when our good friends in the other party just from one day to another totally do a 180 to what they said. Of course. they try to put words in our mouths. in the Presidents mouth that he did not say. that the majority leader did not say. and that is why we did not hear a quote on the floor from the Democrats stating what the gentleman from Texas said. The gentleman from. Texas has been very clear. He is not questioning the Democrats motives. He is questioning their policies. but here the gentlewoman from California
Date: 2003-10-21
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Texas is home to great schools. great teachers. and great students. and today I want to highlight four outstanding seniors from the Plano Independent School District who made perfect scores on their college entrance exams. four of them. Greg Bussell of Plano East. Jennifer Wu of Plano West. and Brian Young of Plano Senior High all scored 1600 on their SATs. while Jeffrey Lin of Plano West received a 36. the highest possible on the ACT. In addition to smarts and savvy. they all shine outside the classroom. Both Jennifer and Jeffrey play the violin in the orchestra. Greg stars in a school play. and Brian is on the schools academic decathlon team. These students are shining examples of the best and brightest in Texas and in America. and they deserve a Lone Starsize applause. I want to congratulate them and tell them that we are proud of them.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill to amend section 5379 of title 5. United States Code. to increase the annual and aggregate limits on student loan repayments by Federal agencies
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative. days within which to revise and extend their remarks on S. 926.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak in favor of S. 926. a bill introduced by my colleague. Senator VOINOVIChl. to increase the annual and total limits of student loan repayments by executive branch agencies. This is identical to a bill that I introduced on the House side. H.R. 308G. We are considering the Senate version of this bill. the Federal Employee Student Loan Assistance Act. which has already passed that Chamber in an effort to speed up approval of this important piece of legislation. I want to thank the leadership for bringing this matter to the floor today. As the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Civil Service. Census and Agency Organization of the Committee on Government Reform. I have raised the same questions at many of our hearings this year: How do we attract the most qualified people to government service and how do we keep them once they have started? Recruiting. retraining. and rewarding talented and hardworking individuals are at the very core of making our civil service the best that it can be. Very clearly. having the ability to tell potential recruits. come work for the United States Government and we can help you repay your student loans. is an extremely valuable tool. All of us are surely aware of how expensive a college or graduatelevel education is. And it is the prospect of these daunting student loans. $50.000. $75.000. or even more than $100.000. that can prevent public serviceminded people from coming to work for the government. They simply cannot afford it. Student loan repayment is at the top of the list for newly graduated students looking for jobs. To keep up with the higher salaries of the private sector and nonprofit organizations. the Federal Government must have an effective student loan repayment program. This legislation before us today raises the annual maximum amount that agencies could give towards student loan repayment. from $6.000 a year to $10.000 a year. It also raises the total amount an agency can contribute toward an individuals loan. from $40.000 to $60.000. These changes reflect the increases in annual college tuition costs since the Federal Governments original Student Loan Repayment Bill was enacted in 1991. All funds to pay for the repayment program come out of the agencies own budgets. so this legislation has no negative impact on the current budget. It is the right thing to do and something that we must do in order to remain competitive in the job market. 1 strongly urge my colleagues to pass the Federal Employee Student Loan Assistance Act before us today. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. S. 926. the Federal Employee Student Loan Assistance Act. would raise the annual and aggregate amounts that federal agencies can offer a qualified employee to assist in repaying a student loan. This legislation would raise the annual repayment amount for an employee from $6.000 to $10.000. and the aggregate repayment amount from $40.000 to $60.000. The purpose of raising the annual and aggregate repayment caps is twofold. First. higher education tuition costs have increased dramatically in recent years and are considerably higher than they were when the original statute was passed on November 5. 1990. Second. as the federal government works to recruit and retain the best and the brightest. an attractive student loan repayment program should be an effective recruitment tool to help government agencies compete with the private sector. I would like to commend the Senate sponsors of this legislation for introducing this important legislation. and I would also like to commend the House Civil Service Subcommittee Chairwoman for introducing companion legislation in the House. I urge all Members to support S. 926.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I have no further requests for time. and I yield back the balance of my time. 0l 1530
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 514 17th Street in Moline. Illinois. as the "David Bybee Post Office Building".
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. my esteemed colleague. the gentleman from Illinois . introduced H.R. 2744. a bill that honors the life of a diligent and admired member of the U.S. Postal Service family. David Bybee. Mr. Bybee served the Postal Service for 33 years as a letter carrier in Moline. Illinois. He was an active member of the National Association of Letter Carriers. representing thousands of postal employees in Illinois as the NALCs National Business Agent for the Chicago area. Away from work. Mr. Bybee was a fire chief. school board member. Elks Club member. and he enjoyed. most of all. spending as much time as he could with his family. Mr. Speaker. David Bybee sadly passed away on May 31. 2002. He is survived by his wife. Judy. his two sons. Michael and John. his mother. Marilla. his brother. Richard. and three grandchildren. Ryan. Brandon and Jennifer. I want to join with the gentleman from Illinois to offer the best wishes of this House to the family of David Bybee. Mr. Speaker. I want to express gratitude to the gentleman from Illinois
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2650 Cleveland Avenue. NW in Canton. Ohio. as the "Richard D. Watkins Post Office Building".
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. on behalf of the Committee on Government Reform. I am pleased that the House is considering H.R. 3175. This legislation. sponsored by my distinguished colleague from the State of Ohio . names this post office in Canton. Ohio. as the Richard D. Watkins Post Office Building. The entire delegation from the State of Ohio has cosponsored the bill. Mr. Speaker. Mayor Richard Watkins is a devoted public official who is retiring next month after 12 years as the chief executive of Canton. Ohio. His contributions to the people of east central Ohio are immeasurable. and this post office would be a deserved tribute to Mayor Watkins service. Mr. Speaker. I commend the gentleman from Ohio for introducing this legislation. and I urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 3175. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio . the sponsor of H.R. 3175.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I have no other speakers. and I commend the gentleman from Ohio for working on such a meaningful piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14 Chestnut Street in Liberty. New York. as the "Ben R. Gerow Post Office Building".
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 3234. introduced by the gentleman from New York designates this U.S. Postal Service facility in Liberty. New York. as the Ben R. Gerow Post Office Building. [ 1545 All members of the New York State delegation have signed onto this legislation. Mr. Speaker. Ben Gerow spent his entire life living. working. and serving in the town of Liberty in the Catskill Mountains of southeastern New York State. Mr. Gerow was a respected State assemblyman. sheriff. firefighter. and businessman. Ben Gerow made a comfortable living for 30 years as owner and operator of his own automobile service station. He retired from his business at age 50 and entered the race for sheriff of Sullivan County. which he won. Three years later. he won another election. this time to a seat in the New York State Assembly. After serving a 1year term in the legislature. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt selected him to be postmaster of the post office in Liberty. New York. where he served for 12 years. Ben Gerow passed away in 1961 at the age of 81. Passage of this meaningful bill will fittingly rename the post office in Liberty after Ben Gerow. the very post office at which he served as postmaster. Mr. Speaker. for all these reasons. I congratulate the gentleman from New York for his efforts in shepherding H.R. 3234 to the floor. and I commend him for honoring Ben Gerow. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of H. Res. 409. and to join my colleagues in repudiating Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for his recent comments made to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. It Is distressing to me that an individual such as Dr. Mohamadoften portrayed as a moderate Muslim leaderwould feel the need to issue what I view as a call to arms to the Muslim world. In doing so. his characterization of Jews as vast cabal that "rules the world by proxy" serves no constructive purpose whatsoever. Rather. it merely perpetuates hateful and destructive millenniaold sterotypes that have long made Jewish people scapegoats for any number of societal ills. I call upon my colleagues to join me in condemning the antiSemitic comments of Dr. Mohamad. and I echo the language of H. Res. 409 in calling on the European Union to also repudiate these remarks. I thank Mr. BLUNT for his leadersbip in bringing this timely resolution to the floor. and urge my fellow members to give it their full support.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida . the chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation.
Date: 2003-10-28
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the debate. I think it is very important that the facts alluded to by Mr. MICA are here in writing. written down. black and white here. So the gentleman from Florida
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I once again want to talk a little about the Washington Waste Watchers and the work that a number of us are trying to do to root out waste in Washington. The examples are Just one after another. but one that hit me. I think like a ton of bricks. was the $814.000 in salary and bonuses for a Head Start executive director in Kansas. Yet. Mr. Speaker. when we bring these up. our good friends on the Democratic side of the aisle have only one solution. What is their solution? Do they join us when the chairman of the Committee on the Budget proposes to cut 1 percent in waste. fraud. and abuse? No. they propose increased taxes on the American people. When we see a $470.000 grant to study individuals. now. listen to this. drinking alcohol while watching pornography. do we get the Members of the other side of the aisle coming forward to say we want to help cut waste. fraud. and abuse? No. they propose to increase taxes on the American people. When we see. for example. the Impact Aid funds intending to go to schools in South Dakota that were instead used. some of them. to purchase real estate. to purchase a Lincoln Navigator and a Cadillac Escalade. do we get our friends on the Democratic side of the aisle to say we want to support you in cutting this waste? No. they propose increasing taxes. 25 times just this year alone.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend title 10. United States Code. and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the death gratuity payable with respect to deceased members of the Armed Forces and to exclude such gratuity from gross income.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of this bill. the Fallen Patriots Tax Relief Act. It is important to me. and I think to the whole Congress. that we get this enacted right away. It is unconscionable to me that a knock at the door by a military chaplain is followed by a knock on the door from the tax man. Sadly. this is the case. I had the distinct honor of serving my country in the Air Force for about 29 years. So my family and I know something about this part of military life. and I will never forget. after I got home from being a prisoner of war. that my wife said that one of her worst moments was when the military chaplain pulled up in front of the house after I was shot down and her heart just stopped. She did not know what they were going to say. but she knew it was not going to be good. and I cannot imagine today the unspeakable despair of a family who just lost the loved one in service of their country only to be followed up by the horror of a visit from the tax man. That is just wrong. This bill fixes that. We need to change that law today. This bill permits the entire amount of the death benefit gratuity to be tax free. It also increases the amount of the death benefit to $12.000. which is more in line with the value of these benefits when they were initially created. This is a clean bill. There is absolutely no good reason for it to get fouled up in the same legislative back water that stalled three previous provisions of this bill. Sadly. every day we hear of deaths in Iraq and other military hot spots around the globe. In the 2 years since 9/ 11. it has been Increasingly important that we eliminate the unfair. immoral tax on the death benefit of a servicemembers loved ones who receive that from the Armed Forces. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume to thank the gentleman from Missouri for his comments. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from New York for his kind words and support. and the support of all the Democrats. which has happened in this House previously. Mr. Speaker. the House has acted repeatedly on this issue. The Committee on Ways and Means marked up a similar bill in the committee on February 27. That has been a long time ago. [ 1415 In the full House we passed a similar bill on March 20 by a vote of 4220. An amended version of this bill then passed the Senate by a vote of 970. but it did not get out of conference. The House passed the concept again on April 9 by voice vote. so I guess we are Just having a hard time keeping this bill narrow enough to get it enacted. It Is so narrow now. I do not think we could squeeze it any tighter. I do not believe the problems with this bill rest on this side of the Capitol. Unfortunately. House rules do not allow me to talk about where the roadblocks are to enactment. but it is not on this side of the Capitol. I have a provision regarding military academy scholarships and college savings plans that I would like to get enacted this year. but if it would mean holding up. for even one more day. the elimination of this immoral tax on military death benefits. I would forgo having any other provisions added. Frankly. I do not care what the reasons are for not having this concept enacted into law. it is just wrong to tax military death benefits. And as the gentleman from New York pointed out. it is a minor tax bill. Let us pass this bill today with another strong vote and get the job done before the end of this year. It is the least we can do for the families who have lost a loved one in service to their country. It is for America. We need to do it for America.