macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-09-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me say to my friend from California. because I know California has itself faced some of those travails when it had a natural disaster. and let me say to my friend from New York. you are absolutely right. we are committed for that supplemental to those in New England. to those along the east coast. and to my fellow Texans. I know theres a time and a place for America to stand with you. I want to see the President with those of good faith. Theres a little comment here: Congress. the Autumn of its Discontent. I want the gentleman from California to know that I have no discontent. I have excitement. I have enthusiasm. I just ask my friends on the other side of the aisle to join me and walk down the aisle and celebrate the idea that we are the Congress of action. Take the Democrats ideas about job creation. about investment. about infrastructure. about educating our people. about research. take my ideas about getting people trained to jobs. paying them while theyre training. They have an income. Take the idea of buying a paper clip from a small company thats here in America. and take the idea. if you will. to ask our fellow Americanscorporations. I heard they were peopleto stand up and give us their 6month plan to put people to work. If theyve got openings. lets ask them to join us as patriots and put Americans to work however they want to frame it. but Americans will then be back to work and then we are then healing that economy. Because everybody says: People working. people buy. That means theyre buying furniture. that means their buying paper clips. that means theyre buying cars. Thats what I would like to see. I will finally say this. Mr. President. if youve got a pen and you want to sign it into law or into action as an executive order. we are standing with you and the American people. We want jobs.
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Before I begin. Mr. Speaker. I cannot help but acknowledge that we are just days away from memorializing those lost on 9/11. and I am reminded of that time some 10 years ago and how this body drew together. I dont know if our leadership has thought of it. but I think it would be more than appropriate if we went to the steps of the Capitol and sang again "God Bless America." I hope we can do that because we did that together. Tonight. I hope we can be together as the President commands the attention of the American people. I hope we can be together to lift up the concept of Make It in America. rebuild America. put our small businesses and inventors and geniuses back to work. I hope we can come together with the FAA reauthorization so Houston. Texas. wont lose $90 million in airport construction. I hope that we can come together and recognize that when we do a supplemental to help our friends with the wildfires in Texas. my constituents. others. and LLOYD DOGGETTS constituents and all in the northeast. that we are coming together to place jobs. Mr. Speaker. there is nothing more bipartisan than putting America back to work. Thank you. Mr. President. JOBS
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I want to join with my colleague. first of all. to wish the President well and to work together in a bipartisan manner to put Americans back to work. put them to work now. and keep them working. I am supportive of the Intelligence authorization bill for a number of reasons dealing with the issue of investing in new positions to select high priority needs as FBI surveillance. so increasing the personnel. Im concerned about the cuts in personnel. The language is very appropriate. In these days. as we celebrate 9/11. Im concerned about what is appropriate. Im also interested in moving forward on diversity. We should ensure that our intelligence community reflects the diversity of America. from African Americans to Asians. Latinos. Muslims. people speaking different languages. to be more effective to protect this country. The DNI is going to conduct a review to determine the security implications of moving intelligence systems. I think that is important. I think it is important. as well. to collect information about drug trafficking. And I certainly think its important to again. as I said. talk about the question of the work force. I am concerned about the requests that I understand may be in the bill on information about Guantanamo Bay detainees. information that could undermine our security. And I am questioning the value of making the Director of the National Security Agency. a Senate conferee. to juxtapose that person in the midst of controversial politics. But I am glad. and I thank Mr. POLIS for his leadership on charter schools. Im proud to say that Ive been to the Victory Charter School in Texas. in Houston. the Harmony Charter School. the KIPP Charter School. the Yes Charter School. and a school district. a public system that I am working with. and I love public schools. I am a product of public schools. The North Forest Independent School District. its finding its way to embrace and coalesce with charter schools. What is the call for that? It is the education of our children with the most important level of education ever. excellence. It is for our children to pass tests. but it is for our children to think and to create and to invent. And I think we can work with charter schools. in particular. who are focusing on science. technology. engineering. and math where there are young people who are actually doing medical center level research. cures by middle schoolers and high schoolers. So I hope that we will deal with the Intelligence bill. I associate myself with the gentleman from Massachusetts. Im concerned about the human rights violations in Colombia. the monies that may be going to the DAS. and the killing of trade unionists. Its all right to be a neighbor. but it is horrible to take intelligence funds and be part of the killing of trade unionists.
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman. I have one or two other speakers. Weve put out a call to them. but theyve not responded. Ill see if we can maybe fit them in on the managers amendment if they want to speak because Ill be very brief on the managers amendment on this side. So let me just close by again thanking everyone on the committee for their support. I certainly want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle but particularly the staff on this side of the aisle. and the members of our committee. for helping me with this legislation. I want to recognize Jamie Fasteau. Ruth Friedman. Kara Marchione. Laura Schifter. Daniel Brown. Megan OReilly. and Adam Schaefer for all of their contributions to this successful bipartisan effort. Finally. I would just like to say. as many speakers have said. all charter schools arent perfect. this isnt a silver bullet. What we hope to be able to do is to really continue to grow the entrepreneurial spirit of young people across the board looking at our education system. thinking how it can be done better. what are the best practices. what are the indicators of successful schools. of successful learning environments. of successful teaching environments for teachers. for students. and focusing on the academic achievement and the benefits to the students. And then to be able to share those models across the charter school spectrum. across the traditional public school spectrum so that all of us can learn and benefit from that. and most importantly so we can create those environments where Americas children will have the opportunity to have access to a firstclass education that will serve them the rest of their lives. I believe that that effort is facilitated by the charter school movement. I believe that this legislation is a substantial improvement on the original authorization for charter schools to participate in this area. and I look forward to the passage of this legislation. With that. Ive danced as long as I can. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I will be brief here because I want to yield to the gentleman from Colorado. but I want to point out that the managers amendment again was a lot of hard work by the staff to put together the various ideas from the members of the committee on both sides of the aisle. but I think they have done a spectacular job. and the chairman and myself both support this legislation. I am very supportive of the efforts in the managers amendment to make sure that parent and community input is a priority in the implementation of the charter school improvement and the operation of those charter schools. We require that. as you consider the beginning of a charter school. you take into consideration. and the State entities take into consideration. the input of parents and the community. I think this is very important. We know that there are many. many parents that want to be involved in creating charter schools. sustaining a charter school. thinking about what they want to do with the schools in their neighborhood. I think this is an important component that I hope to see in the reauthorization of the ESEA. that more consideration is given to community and to parents about how we turn schools around so that they have some skin in the game. they have some interest in the game. and they have a stake in the outcome of that. The managers amendment also requires that each charter school in the State make publicly available information on the educational program. the student support services. teachers. and annual performance enrollment data for all students by the subgroups. and it strengthens the application process that includes application and description of how schools will consider the transportation needs of their students. and also on how the schools and entities will support diverse charter school models. including those serving rural areas. With that. I would like to yield to the gentleman from Colorado to talk about the replication of highquality charters.
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of this legislation. I think one of the intents of this bill and. hopefully. in our reforms of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is to keep our eye on global competition and understand that we must prepare todays students for tomorrows global economy and the global competition that that suggests. I strongly support and have had long conversations with the gentlewoman on this amendment and agree to it.
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for yielding. thank him for offering the amendment. and I rise in strong support of this amendment.
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I know Ms. MOORE has reserved her time so she can respond to this. but I just want to say I think we tried to work this out in this legislation in the fashion that if a Governor makes application. he must do this in conjunction with the SEA. And the idea that the Governor would do this on his own. or whatever. we forced that working together simply because. as you point out. most Governors offices would not have the internal capacity to carry out the responsibilities under the grant. But to deny the Governor the opportunity seems to me doesnt make sense when its required that the SEA be involved. I will just say I know why youre offering the amendment. and I am obviously reluctant to oppose it. but I think we have addressed this concern in the legislation. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I rise in support of this amendment. I think it is very important for all the reasons the gentleman from New Jersey cited. In terms of the savings. we are seeing more and more schools taking economic liabilities. if you will. such as parking lots and vacant land around the school. turning them into economic assets. and saving the kind of moneyit has been recorded now for a number of years the money that is actually saved in these design practices in the schools that free up those resources for other educational purposes. I want to thank the gentleman for offering the amendment.
Date: 2011-09-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by Mr. KING of Iowa. We should be very clear about this amendment. what it would do and why it would be incredibly detrimental to our students. our schools. and to our country. In this bill. we require the performance of poor and minority students and students with disabilities to be considered when measuring the success of charter schools. Thats as we chose to do when we passed No Child Left Behind. not a perfect education act by any means. But a very important component was the disaggregation of the data so that the parents of each and every one of those children. so the community leaders representing each and every one of those children would know how those children were doing. We used to have the day when we asked how these students are doing. how this school is doing and all we got were the averages. and everybody said. oh. its better. The fact of the matter is this is to assure that we understand how those children who have access to these schools. how. in fact. theyre individually doing. These are Title I public schools. They happen to be charter schools. And the point of that is to make sure that poor and minority children. English learners. students with disabilities have the full access to an appropriate education. And to go back to a time when we start to hide those results or we dont hold schools accountable for that is to rip away the fabric of accountability that parents and communities and taxpayers are asking for from those schools. The idea that you would be held accountable for English learners if you had no English learners in your school is simply hokum. It just isnt what the law says. This would be an absolute disservice to parents. to the students. and to our communities. It takes us back to the time prior to No Child Left Behind when schools would participate in hiding their failures and champion what they were trying to present to the community as their successes. and thats why we have the charter school movement. Thats why we have accountability now that we never had before. Thats why this amendment is opposed by so many people who are involved in the promotion of the educational opportunities for these populations: the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. the Center for American Progress. the Childrens Defense Fund. and many others on the list that I would ask to be put into the RECORD. The National Counsel of La Raza. the National Disability Rights Network.
Date: 2011-09-09
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Chair. I rise in support of H.R. 1892. The 2012 Intelligence Authorization Act and to congratulate Chairman ROGERS and Ranking Member RUPPERSBERGER for their close collaboration on the bill and for their willingness to work together to shape a bipartisan measure. This legislation demonstrates the Intelligence Committees continued commitment to honoring the sacrifices and dedication of the public servants who comprise the Nations intelligence community. Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th. 2001. Today this body will consider two pieces of legislation directly relevant to that event. H. Res. 391. which expresses the sense of the House regarding the anniversary of the attacks and H.R. 1892. H.R. 1892. the FY12 Intelligence Authorization Act. authorizes about $80 billion in funding for the 17 agencies that oversee and conduct the nations intelligence and intelligencerelated activities including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. the CIA. and the National Security Agency. as well as intelligence activities of the Defense Department. FBI. State Department. Homeland Security Department. and other agencies. The Intelligence Committee has written the bill with enhanced oversight and accountability features to better protect the American taxpayers investment in national security and to prevent the wasting of resources. In that regard. the bill cuts one billion dollars from the intelligence budget without sacrificing the Nations security by merging services and finding other savings. The bill is fiscally responsible and preserves national security. I support both H. Res. 391 and H.R. 1892 and encourage my colleagues to do the same. The intelligence apparatus of the country has evolved and improved since the tragic events of September 11th and now collaborates on data collection and analysis in a way that it did not ten years ago. The culture of our intelligence community now has a more open and inclusive attitude across all platforms from the highest levels of government down to the agent in the field. The fruits of that successful collaboration were on bold display on May 1. 2011 when a commando team of Navy Seals brought Osama bin Laden to justice during their secret raid on his compound in Abbottabad. Pakistan. Due to the concerted efforts. dedication and hard work of our Nations clandestine services and the people who support them. the U.S. is safer now than it was in the days leading up the attacks of September 11th. We meet today in advance of Sundays anniversary to honor and remember the heroes and victims of 9/11. We also gather to express once again our gratitude to the focused. determined and persistent efforts of the men and women who comprise this Nations intelligence community for all that they do.
Date: 2011-09-09
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Today we introduced a resolution to honor those whose lives were lost on 9/11. As a Member of Congress. I vividly remember as we rushed from this building and glared at the Pentagon and saw the remains of the plane that had attacked this Nation. From Pennsylvania to Washington. D.C. to New York. our lives were changed as America watched. Today. as I stand on this floor. I offer my deepest remorse and sympathy to the families who still are in pain. to the first responders whose memories are still glaring in their attempt to find those who were lost and to save what might be left and the pain they have and the health conditions they suffer. But what I will say to America is that we are still America. strong. patriotic and believing in all that we are. the great diversity that we are. Thank you to the Muslims who are in the Capitol right now providing the gift of life. giving blood. Thank you to the City of Houston that will be honoring those this coming weekend. We will be together because we are America. We will not be deterred.
Date: 2011-09-12
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today I was unavoidably detained and missed the following votes: H.R. 2076Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2011. Had I been present. I would have voted "yes" on this bill. H.R. 2633Appeal Time Clarification Act of 2011. Had I been present. I would have voted "yes" on this bill. H.R. 1059To protect the safety of judges by extending the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact sensitive information contained in their financial disclosure reports. and for other purposes. Had I been present. I would have voted "yes" on this bill.
Date: 2011-09-13
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of President Obamas American Jobs Act. As a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I am especially glad to see that the President has maintained his unwavering commitment to modernizing Americas infrastructure. Our roads. bridges. highways. and transit systems support millions of jobs throughout the country that are crucial to strengthening our economy. The establishment of a national infrastructure bank is a bipartisan proposal that I have been a strong proponent of for many years. More recently. I have learned that my senior Senator is also very supportive. This bank would leverage private and capital funds to invest in infrastructure projects of a national significance. Its public and private partnerships like this that make our country succeed. and we need more of them. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan measure. God bless the troops. God bless America. and God bless the Members of the peoples House to rise above partisanship and be bipartisan in addressing the peoples problems.
Date: 2011-09-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. yesterday. September 12. I was detained in my State on official business. On rollcall vote 699 on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H.R. 2076. to amend the United States Code regarding providing of investigatory assistance. I would have voted "aye." On rollcall vote 700 on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H.R. 2633. to amend the United States Code regarding time limits for appeals. I would have voted "aye." On rollcall vote 701. H.R. 1059. to protect the safety of judges by extending the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact sensitive information on financial disclosure reports. and for other purposes. I would have voted "aye." Mr. Speaker. I rise to address the Chair regarding my absence from rollcall votes 699701 on Monday. September 12. 2011. For rollcall vote. 699. on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H.R. 2076. "To amend title 28. United States Code. to clarify the statutory authority for the longstanding practice of the Department of Justice of providing investigatory assistance on request of State and local authorities with respect to certain serious violent crimes. and for other purposes." I would have voted "aye." For rollcall vote 700. on motion to suspend the rule and agree to H.R. 2633. "To amend title 28. United States Code. to clarify the time limits for appeals in civil cases to which United States officers or employees are parties." I would have voted "aye." For rollcall vote 701. on motion to suspend the rules and agree as amended to H.Res 1316. "To protect the safety of judges by extending the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact sensitive information contained in their financial disclosure reports. and for other purpose." I would have voted "aye."
Date: 2011-09-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Members fly a lot. Mr. Speaker. and so I am delighted to know that we have moved on saving and coming together around the FAA extension. Just a few weeks ago. I gathered at the airport that I represent. Houston Intercontinental Airport. to listen to the workers and those who secure our Nations airports. From flight attendants to flight pilots or airline pilots. to machinists. to friends who were supporting them. the seafarers and communication workers. and an array of workers who work every day led by leadership from the AFLCIO. those who work at the airport. city officials were all saying: I cannot believe that you would allow $90 million to go awry and construction on airports around America to be unutilized. It is time that we move forward with the FAA authorization. It is also time to appreciate collective bargaining. which is an important element of this. and to recognize and respect the various needs of the FAA. I still believe there should be mandatory two air traffic controllers at every airport and mandatory time of rest. We need to ensure the traveling publics safety on the Nations airlines. It is about time. and I congratulate this House for moving forward on the FAA authorization.