macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-06-09
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. - I rise in support of House Resolution 502. celebrating the life of Millard Fuller. founder of Habitat for Humanity. Millard Fuller. along with his wife. Linda. founded Habitat for Humanity in 1976. Habitat for Humanity operates as a nonprofit Christian housing ministry. Working together with local affiliates. Habitat provides safe. decent and affordable housing for people of all backgrounds. Since its founding. Habitat for Humanity has built more than 300.000 homes worldwide in 3.009 com-. munities and provided housing for more than 1.5 million people Habitat for Humanity provides needy families with an opportunity for home- ownership. The average cost of a Habitat home in the U.S. is $60.000. Habitat for Humanity sells homes at no profit to Habitat homeowners. In order to purchase a home. a Habitat homeowner must invest hundreds of hours in sweat equity into building not only their Habitat house. but houses for others as well. A Habitat homeowner is also responsible for making a down payment and monthly mortgage payments. Habitat for Humanity is able to finance its operations through mortgage payments made by Habitat homeowners. donations and volunteer labbr. Habitat also accepjs government funds. so long as they have no conditions that would violate Habitat principles. In my State of California. Habitat for Humanity has worked tirelessly to provide housing for needy Californians. Thousands of people have a decent place to live because of the work of many volunteers and the generosity of thousands of donors. Mr. Speaker. Habitat for Humanity is an organization that deserves to be honored. I urge my colleagues to join me and vote "yes" on this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2009-06-09
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. in closing. you have to admire an individual who applies Christian principles to his life. He didnt just talk good. He didnt just tell a story. he created good and he created a life for many people. Theres nothing like looking in the eyes of an individual or a family who is moving in a new home. especially when the family was involved in that home. building that home. and helping build homes for other people. You have to admire him for what he did. and all the individuals in this country and other countries who give of their time. their talent and their resources for the betterment of humanity. And at this point in time. I would ask for an "aye" vote on a man who deserves it. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2009-06-10
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Americans want to know and they want to know nowwhat is the exit strategy for Gitmo? In the dark of the night. the first Gitmo terrorist indicted for killing innocent Americans was moved to New York. The White House approved this despite the fact that 65 percent of Americans do not support closing Guantanamo and sending dangerous and deadly detainees to U.S. prisons. Its about time this administration started an open and honest dialogue on the future of Gitmo and inform the Congress before ferrying terrorists to America. This sneaky middleofthenight moveshows that the administration does not want to publicly answer any. questions about their exit strategy on Gitmo. Americans want. need and deserve to know exactly where these terrorists will go come next January. and we dont want them here in the United States. We dont need al Qaeda recruiting and training hardened criminals in our prisons.
Date: 2009-06-10
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr.. Speaker. with regard to the point. made by the distinguished chairman as to the strings on the military aid to Pakistan. I hope and expect that that will be engaged in during the debate with the ranking member. who very clearly in the Rules Committee pointed out that the strings are still excessive. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York .
Date: 2009-06-10
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Amendment No. 10 offered by Ms. GINNY BROWNWAITE of Florida: Strike section 505. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 522. the gentlewoman from Florida and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.
Date: 2009-06-10
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. we have a problem. As every American in this Chamber knows. America is facing unprecedented trilliondollar deficits. a ballooning national debt and steadygrowing entitlement obligations. Yet. each and every time the House comes together to consider spending bills. evidence abounds that very few tough choices are being made. As Im sure my colleagues will readily agree. never in the history of Congress has there been a line item that at least one Member did not support. There has not been a single program that somebody didnt think was worthy of the taxpayer dollars. In a perfect world where the United States is flush with money. very few spending ideas dont hold some merit. But simply having merit does not mean the American people have enough money to pay for it. nor do they have enough money around to fund this. It is not our job to come to Washington and put together a Middle East. comprehensive and exhaustive list of worthy causes. Mr. Chairman. It is our job to make the tough choices. And that means denying resources to something that somebody somewhere thinks is a good idea. Frankly. if. as a body. we are unable to recognize that spending taxpayer dollars for the domestic distribution of a documentary film in a foreign affairs bill is not what the taxpayers need most at this time. if this is truly a choice thats too hard for us to make. then I think we owe it to our constituents to take a good long look in the mirror and decide what we are here to do. Some will probably point out that striking the authorization for this film is not important. Well. I would say to those colleagues it is important that We watch every single appropriation that comes before us. That is precisely what we are sent here to do. And this amendment is not just about striking a provision to authorize funding for the distribution of a documentary film. If it were. I would take time to point out that this is a domestic distribution in a foreign affairs bill. I would also point out that laws have been on the books for 60 years that prohibit the executive branch from distributing governmentsponsored information campaigns domestically. I might even point out that the film is available already for every man. woman. and child in this country to see right now. I am not kidding. It is actually on YouTube. and yet we have this in the appropriations bill. The point is. Mr. Chairman. that the American people. those who voted for us and those who voted against us. all of them expect more from this body. I offer this amendment to my colleagues not to point out an absurd provision in an irresponsible spending bill. I offer this amendment to make a point about all of the absurd provisions in all of the bloated bills that this House has recently considered. The American people deserve more than this. I would point out to my colleagues they need to learn this is a voting card. it is not a credit card. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2009-06-10
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII. further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Florida will be postponed.
Date: 2009-06-10
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Amendment No. 12 offered by Ms. GINNY BROWNWAIrE of Florida: Strike section 303. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 522. the gentlewoman from Florida and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.
Date: 2009-06-10
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. just a few moments ago. I rose to point out what I believe is unnecessary spending. I suppose it is not a coincidence that I rise again to point out what I believe is another unnecessary spending item. Section 303 of the Foreign Relations Act before us authorizes funding for the establishment of a Lessons Learned Center. If money were no object. I think it may be a fine thing to do. In fact. it is hard to imagine that anything produced by the center would not be used. However. as you can imagine. many of my colleagues are wondering. why would anyone oppose this center? They might even point out that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Mr. Chairman. in some ways. my colleagues may be right. But what is essential is that we do learn from our mistakes. and that is precisely why the State Departments exam to become a Foreign Service officer is so rigorous. That is why the intelligence agencies seek the best and the brightest. And. frankly. Mr. Chairman. that is why the entire academic community going back thousands of years studies history. Additionally. with 24hour news events. we all become instantly knowledgeable. It is reviewed and reviewed. Anything that happens. has happened. gets reviewed ad nauseam. Section"303 is unnecessary precisely because learning lessons from history is so important and so widely acknowledged as being important that we already have tens of thousands of academies that do that every single day. The proposed Lessons Learned Center has a great name. yet I think it will be simply one more example of spending money on things that we want and not limiting ourselves to those things that we need. Listen. Just listen. You can hear the giant sucking sound of Washington finding new and different ways to spend dollars. spend. spend. I dont want to belabor thepoint. but Congress has already approved a $700 billion bailout package and an $800 billion stimulus package in just the last year alone. Meanwhile. our Medicare and Social Security trust funds that our constituents rely on will be exhausted sooner than we thought. And let me point out we are also fighting tough wars in two countries. And while my colleagues believe that a Lessons Learned Center might prevent such costly wars in the future. I would appeal to your intellect and your sense of fiduciary responsibility. With all the massive charges already on the peoples tab. the American taxpayer tab. and with spending at government agencies going up dramatically this year across the board. I ask my colleagues to make tough choices that the American people expect us to make. All this portion of the bill does is create more government jobs. I urge adoption of this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Many Americans dont have access to affordable health care. and we can and need to do better for all Americans. I support a system that gives Americans more affordable health care choices so they can pick the coverage that best fits their needs. The core part of the Democrat proposal is a -new governmentrun program that will not only put bureaucrats between you and your doctorbut would force more than 100 million people. Americans. out of the health coverage they currently receive through their jobs. We need a plan that really does let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it. a plan that doesnt add new taxes or new mandates or drive up costs or drive people out of health care. We must give all Americans the freedom to choose their health plan. not force them into a governmentrun. onesizefitsall plan. Private plans are great. Lets protect them.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. an overhaul of our Nations health care system is under way. and I am glad that people in my district are engaged in this critical issue. Unfortunately. the Democrats have shared very few details of the plan. except that there will be a public plan.-which I have to tell you most people are frightened of. While I realize that we are in the minority party. I still have nearly 1 million constituents to represent. including more Medicare beneficiaries than any other Member of Congress. My Republican colleagues and I have made numerous attempts to reach across the aisle to share our ideas on how to improve the health care system and make it more affordable. So we are drafting our own bill. When President Obama invites Members of Congress to the White House to craft health care bills. he invites only Democrats. He has met with industry representatives but never with Republicans. Recently. the President sent a letter saying he expects a bureaucraticrun health system to be included in the final option. but again. he sent the letter only to Democrats. Hardly a gesture of bipartisanship.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. The Attorney General can testify before our committee. as he did 2 weeks ago. that theyre going to take all steps to make sure people arent released in the United States who are suspected terrorists. They cannot promise that. Oxice they bring them to the United States and the judgment of the Federal courts is they are now under the protection of all constitutional rights. we are no longer talking about them as illegal enemy combatants. who never before have gotten the protection of the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention. in part. says you will have these protections so long as you act under the laws that have been recognized for warfare. One of them is wear a uniform. One of them is dont attack innocent civilians as a particular strategy and tactic. So what were doing is were turning it all upside down and were saying somehow we are protecting our values by doing something we have never done Jne 11. 2009 CO before. We are jeopardizing the national security interests of the United States. We are putting Americans. innocent Americans. at risk by doing this.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I appreciate that. And heres what people have to understand. There is a difference between hblding someone to try them for war crimes or any other crime. and then you do have them within a criminal justice system. In the past its been a military tribunal. Remember what happened when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. We established a military tribunal here in the District of Columbia that actually tried those individuals. and they were executed. That was a military tribunal. For what? Murdering a President of the United States in time of war. Now what we are saying is those rights were not sufficient. If that were to happen today. suddenly we would say we have to do it now within the context of the full panoply of constitutional rights. and we are directing that by voluntarily- saying were going to close down Guantanamo. If anybody has looked at the prisons and jail systems across the United States and compared it with Guantanamo. it is of the highest standard of any of our incarceraLion units there is. Guantanamo happens to be a place that is not sovereign American territory. Thats the important distinction. I thank the gentleman for his time.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

I thank my friend from Pennsylvania and also thank Congressman KIRK of Illinois for putting together this important session tonight to -talk about health care. One of the concerns that comes up repeatedly when you talk about health care is the cost. And one of the things that happens. as Washington deals with it. is two approaches: one. they say health care is expensive. lets have the government pay for it. which means
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

As an important part of this. were trying to drive the point that the losses themselves do not guarantee quality. But its quality that is very important. I believe you have a chart up there about some tests and procedures. I wonder if you could. explain and comment on them a little bit.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

That brings up an important point of how in the U.S. system we handle such things as dealing with breast cancer and cervical cancer. One of the sad stories in this country is. more often than is necessarily believed. the U.S. handles lumps. et cetera. by providing mastectomies to women. Other countries may not do that. In part. it may be that the tests come much lower. are much more difficult to- get in other countries. but it also brings up the other point. We need to make sure that physicians are empowered to provide that ongoing primary care so they can monitor the patients. get the tests they need. Unfortunately we have a system that pays for quantity. not quality. that pays for defensive medicine. not really working on prevention. Let me read you an important quote. This comes from the New Yorker magazine. an article entitled The Cost Conundrum by Atul Gawande. Its about Texas towns. It says that between 2001 and 2005. critically ill Medicare patients received almost 50 percent more specialist visits in McAllen. Texas. than in El Paso and were twothirds more likely to see 10 or more specialists in a 6month period. Why? It was a different approach to care and. that is. providing more care. providing more surgical procedures. et cetera. doing more tests that were not necessarily warranted. You have another area. like where the Mayo Clinic is up in Rochester. Minnesota. where that dominates the scene. They have fantastically high levels of all this technological capability and quality. but its Medicare spending is in the lowest 15 percent in the country. $6.000 per enrollee in 2006. which is $8.000 less than the figure from McAllen. Texas. I bring that up to say that in the U.S.. it is a part of what you are describing that patients need access to these tests in a timely manner. number one. but number two. we also need to make sure the physicians and nurses and all medical specialists are getting the information they need to make sure the quality is what were driving here. When you are dealing with just issues of insurance or just issues of defensive medicine. you are not necessarily driving quality. You are driving more tests.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Another issue with regard to this bill weve introduced has to do with allowing doctors to volunteer their services. And here is something that only the United States would mess up in our government. Community health centers. which provide great health care at home for people with lots of different services from primary medical care. dental. mental health. pediatric care. et cetera. But they are strapped for money. In many cases they have a 15 to 20 percent shortage of family physicians. OB/GYNs. et cetera. The doctors are covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The Federal Government handles their malpractice at a lower cost for them. But if a doctor wants to volunteer. theyre not covered. Basically if a doctor says. I would like to give my time to work a couple days a month. offer my time on a volunteer basis. the clinic has to turn them away because they cannot afford the full price of their malpractice insurance. It is the opposite in a free clinic. where if a doctor is paid. they have to cover their own insurance. But if they volunteer. they are covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act. We have a bill weve been trying to get in for a number of years to allow doctors to volunteer. The advantages people have at health care home. it is a much lower cost. It even reduces the cost for Medicaid patients to go there by some 30 percent. and it focuses on getting the doctor near the patient and the patient near the doctor and eliminating any incentive of defensive medicine. any incentive to do lots and lots of tests just to make up for the losses.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

If the gentleman will yield. As you know. many of those younger folksyou are talking about consider themselves to be the invulnerables. They dont need insurance. they are never going to get sick. The problem becomes one that when they dont do that and they do get sick and they do end up in the -emergency room. we pay for it. It is important that we remove any barriers and provide every encouragement and incentive for them to purchase that insurance that many times the employer does offer.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

In addition to that. it has to do with how they purchase it. The Federal Government recognizes that if we allow people of low income to pool together they can negotiate better prices. The VA does this all the time. They combine the purchasing power of the VA to purchase for veterans across the Nation. Yet we dont let individuals do that. We dont let .a small business that only.has half a dozen employees or 20 or 50 employees to join other businesses of the same type. and that wall placed by insurance companies and by the government leads to higher costs. We ought to allow businesses to do the same thing the Federal Government does and use that as a mechanism to drive down costs substantially.
Date: 2009-06-11
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

And as you described. it brings the thought too that in addition to people having this hodgepodge of how disjointed a difficult system that does not allow individuals or employers to purchase insurance is. we oftentimes look upon other solutions and -think. well. they are not purchasing it for other reasons. and we artificially keep those things high. and we keep a system that also incentivizes lots of tests. - we incentivize a system that is really dysfunctional. In that I bring to my colleagues attention an article published by the New England Health Care Institute that said out of this $2.4 trillion health care system. this Nation wastes about $700 billion a year. and all these inefficiencies have to do with care delivery. even beyond that of what we are talking about here. with the tax. the incentives. the insurance and barriers we set up too.