macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-16
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today as a cosponsor of H.R. 3001 to reiterate my support for awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to Raoul Wallenberg for his heroic and brave actions during the holocaust that resulted in the saving of 100.000 Hungarian Jewish lives. During World War II. Raoul Wallenberg at the age of 31 was sent to Budapest to serve as a Swedish diplomat. The Holocaust was underway throughout Europe and he was instructed by his government to use the tools of his office. including passports and other creative means. to save as many lives as possible. Wallenberg devised a new Swedish passport. the Schutzpass. especially for the purpose of protecting Hungarian Jews. He designed it to look more imposing and official than the actual Swedish passport. The Schutzpass granted the bearer immunity from being sent to the death camps and is credited with saving 20.000 Jewish lives. Through this and other actions. Wallenberg helped save 100.000 of the 120.000 Hungarian Jews that survived the holocaust in Hungary and hundreds of thousands of American Jews can directly or indirectly attribute their own lives to his efforts. In recognition of these efforts. in 1981. President Ronald Reagan made Raoul Wallenberg an honorary citizen of the United States. an honor only previously extended to Winston Churchill. I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation in the memory of Raoul Wallenberg and in recognition of his bravery and for the many lives he helped save during World War II.
Date: 2012-04-16
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I was in Colombia. South America. this past week with the President for what was an outstanding discussion among 30 Presidents. including the President of the United States. The meeting reenforced our commitment to South America and Central America on business opportunities. small business opportunities. human rights. and the controlling of drug trafficking. At the same time. we had to. in essence. listen and hear about a horrible action that occurred by members of the Secret Service. This does not undermine the Secret Services long years of service for 147 years. but there must be accountability. I do not think that we should cede any authority to the House Oversight Committee. This is a question of Homeland Security and national security. and we must begin to act immediately for a full investigation. Finally. on the General Services Administration. it should be cleaned up and cleaned out. I know for a fact that is true because monies that are being spent on the Mickey Leland Federal Buildingthe contractor is Gilbane. They are adhering to no rules regarding small businesses. minorityowned businesses. diversity and workforce. nothing at all. They are overseen by the General Service Administration. which has done absolutely nothing to rein in companies like Gilbane that have done nothing as it relates to diversity of small business and are doing nothing to adhere to the American value that everybody must have an opportunity under Federal funding. GSA. clean up your act.
Date: 2012-04-16
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. equality and justice are the underpinnings of our society. By adhering to the rule of law. we as a society place tremendous trust and faith in our judicial system to do what is righteous and just. The judicial branch of government. as established by the Founding Fathers. is the necessary check on the Executive and Legislative branches. Article III of the Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial and a jury of ones peers. Justice is not something to be taken lightly or for granted. The integrity of our justice system is only as good as the people who participate in it. We must continue to work to uphold the integrity of the judicial system by embedding these guiding principles into the fabric of society for future generations. With the passing of John Payton. we lost a true civil rights pioneer and someone who fought every day to uphold the rule of law. Mr. Payton was a fierce advocate for equality and justice during a time. not so long ago. when such protections under the law were not enjoyed by all. Mr. Payton frequently appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court. in passionate battles to win equal rights for minorities. Mr. Payton showed us that there was still much work to be doneand now. millions more Americans can enjoy greater equality and enhanced protection from discrimination as a result of his contributions. in pursuing this ideal. Mr. Speaker. the United States is still a beacon and a moral compass for the rest of the civilized world. Not only do the people of this country rely on us for our guidance. but so do the people around the globe. As we once again find ourselves fighting to advance social progress. we must ensure that we continue to move forward by upholding the integrity of our laws and our judicial system.
Date: 2012-04-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. later today. the House will consider legislation to make it easier to pass the Republican budget and to make it easier to pass a budget that is very unfair in its makeup. Its unfair because it continues to lavish tax breaks on the wealthiest people in this country while asking that the elderly in the Medicare program and that our poorest children in our elementary schools and young people struggling to pay for their college education all pay more to make room for a tax cut for millionaires that averages $187.000 a year in a tax cut to the wealthiest people in this country. Its not about wanting to tax more. its about wanting tax fairness. Its about recognizing the economic disparity that exists in this country and how the Tax Code continues to lavish the benefits of the taxes that people do pay back to the richest people in this country. And yet later this week. the Republicans are bringing yet another tax bill that will benefit the top 3 percent of the taxpayers in this country and add $48 billion to the deficit this year and a half a trillion dollars to the deficit over 10 years. Thats not fair. its not right. its not equitable. and it needs to be rejected.
Date: 2012-04-17
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Isnt it the case that. in passing this rule. we provide the process by which the budget will be implemented in the House of Representatives? Isnt that the case?
Date: 2012-04-17
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I would remind my colleagues that twothirds of Medicaid funding goes to seniors in nursing homes and to care for disabled individuals. and another 20 percent goes to kids from lowincome families. They would whack that in their budgets. in the Republican budget. by $800 billion. At the same time. if youd just take the portion of the tax cut in the Republican budget that extends the Bush tax cuts for the folks at the very top. thats $961 billion. but they dont want to ask those Americans to go back to paying the same rates that they were paying during the Clinton administrationthe same rates. The economy was booming and 20 million jobs were createdbut no. they want to give the folks at the very high end a tax break and cut Medicaid by $810 billion. Those are the choices that are made in the Republican budget. and thats what this vote on this rule is all about: whether we should allow this body to go forward and implement that budget. Its wrong for the country. Its displaced priorities.
Date: 2012-04-17
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Chair. this socalled "Sportsmens Heritage Act" is an amalgam of four separate bills that have more to do with undermining conservation laws than hunting. fishing or recreational shooting. Like many Americans and most Members of this House. I dont have a problem with hunting. fishing or recreational shooting on federal land where appropriate. As a practical matter. over 75% of all federal lands are already open to hunting and fishingand more than 85% of all national monuments are open for recreational shooting. But as a matter of common sense. these recreational activities need to be balanced against the health and safety of other park users and uses. as well as the proper management of wildlife and wildfire risk. And at the end of the day. these kinds of decisions are best made by local land managers. not an agency head in Washington. D.C. This legislation is further encumbered by a regulatory earmark benefitting an estimated 41 trophy hunters at the expense of our endangered species laws. and a provision banning the EPA from doing something it has already publicly said it isnt going to do. Accordingly. I urge a no vote.
Date: 2012-04-17
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise because I truly believe we can do better. I join my colleague from Texas to speak and raise the question of: What was the GSA. the General Services Administration. thinking? There are a lot of good workers and we should not attribute to them bad acts. but it was such poor judgment-$800.000 to be spent recklessly on party hearty. But I also want to raise the question of the contracts that the GSA sends out. In the instance of the stimulus dollars. my Federal building has been rehabbed under the stimulus moneys to create jobs. and we cant get the contractor. Gilbane. to address the question of diversity in the workforce or diversity in contractors. What a terrible shame. There has been some hard work and some attention. but not the hard press that should come about when you seek fairness. Mr. Speaker. I also want to mention the fact that Im supporting Mr. COURTNEYS bill. of Connecticut. because it is a shame to double. triple the interest rates on loans that college students need to provide for their education. Finally. I want to say that NASA has sent the Discovery to the Smithsonian. I want a shuttle in Houston. and were never giving up until we get it. We are the historic home for the shuttle.
Date: 2012-04-18
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the Houston Chronicle reports today that a proud father announced over his Facebook page that his baby was born. The baby was born on April 14. 2012. The baby weighed 6 pounds. 15 ounces. and was 20 inches long. He was a proud father announcing the arrival of his baby. I regret to say. Mr. Speaker. that the Chronicle goes on to report that yesterday the mother of this child. while taking the child in to receive medical attention. was killed. A proud father announces the arrival of his baby. and the mother is killed days later. What kind of country are we becoming? I dont know what the motive is for this. but I do know the results. I know that a baby will not have its natural mother there to care and to nurture. I know that the mother wont be there on the first day of school. wont be there to see the first step that the child will take. The mother wont be there to turn on the light and protect the child from the creatures of the night. to pitch the ball and catch the child after a fall. I dont know what the motive was. but I know that a mother wont be there when the child walks across the stage to graduate from high school. when the child is married. and the first child is born to the next generation. The mother wont be there. Regardless as to what the motive is. we must stop this senseless violence. I dont know what the race of the perpetrator was. but I do know that people of goodwill want to see this person prosecuted. and I want to see this person prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law permits. This senseless violence has to stop. Prosecution alone wont do it. I think we do have to say more and do more. and let the country know that this is not the America that we see in our future. We have got to condemn all of this senseless violence. This senseless violence goes beyond race. It goes beyond status. This senseless violence has to be denounced by every one of us. and every one of us tries to do it as regularly as we can. I just want to join the choir of people who are saying that we will not tolerate it. we demand prosecution. and we understand that we must end this foolishness. Because if we dont end it. it will be our end.
Date: 2012-04-18
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. roughly 120.000 jobs were added to the economy in March. marking the 25th consecutive month of increased private sector employment. In 2 years. American businesses have created 4.1 million jobs. Just last month. the unemployment rate was down to 8.2 percent. While the stimulus bill enacted in 2009 aided in the recovery. there is still much more that this Congress can do to close the employment gap. Instead. Republicans in Congress have insisted on either blocking Democratic job creation proposals entirely or aggressively pursuing legislation that concentrates on special interests and the superwealthy. Mr. Speaker. as long as millions of Americans continue to struggle. we have the responsibility to engage in a meaningful way that will get our economy back on track.
Date: 2012-04-18
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chair. I rise to support H.R. 4348. the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012. Part II. but I do so with a great deal of reservation. The simple fact is that we must pass a transportation reauthorization for the benefit of the country. as the piecemeal extensions cannot provide cities and states adequate time to plan. and result in wasteful spending of our precious infrastructure dollars. The current bill was crafted in backrooms of the GOP leadership. without the benefit of hearings or a markup. This bill does not include one Democratic amendment. and contains numerous poison pills such as the Keystone XL pipeline that will be nonstarters with Senate conferees. Up until the present time. the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee has worked in a fashion that focused on shared goals and producing the type of legislation that creates jobs. improves safety. and keeps Americans safe on the roads they travel. As a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I can say that this reauthorization process in the House has been a stark departure from the traditional bipartisan process. and the quality of the bill has suffered as such. Nevertheless. I support final passage of H.R. 4348 because it will enable the House to conference with the Senate on the reauthorization. and with a reauthorization in place. we can begin to repair our crumbling infrastructure and get thousands of American back to work.
Date: 2012-04-18
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise to salute the Access to Justice Committees of the American Bar Association from States all over the Nation and. particularly. my constituents that I just met with. the chair of the Access to Justice Committee. Judge Lindsey. and a number of others who have come to join us to again emphasize that when lawyers. as myself. take our oath of office and become members of the bar. we have an obligation and a duty to public service. That public service is to ensure that every American under the Constitution has access to justice. and to insist that theyre able to be represented and their legal rights protected. I beg that this House accept the $402 million that is the Senate mark for Access to Justice programs. and not the $328 million that is the House mark. Shame on us if we realize that more and more laws are complex. more and more Americans suffer. more and more Americans need help. more and more Americans are under foreclosure over the years. And even though we have worked hard in this government to restore those homes. they need legal rights. Let us support the funding for Access to Justice.
Date: 2012-04-19
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. pursuant to clause 1. rule I. I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speakers approval of the Journal.
Date: 2012-04-19
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise in support of small business and domestic manufacturing in our district and throughout our country and the need for Congress to support manufacturing and job creation. Last week. I visited DANLOC Bolt & Gasket. a bolt and metal gasket manufacturer located in our district in Houston. DANLOCs products are highly regarded for their quality and longevity. They produce for our energy industry the bolt like Im holding right now. In recent years. DANLOC. like thousands of similar businesses throughout our country. has been under attack from cheap and lowquality competition from overseas that has actually forced businesses to either close their doors or make drastic cuts. These foreign imports are oftentimes cheaper than the raw materials to produce these bolts. They can only do this with illegal subsidies from their governments. We can no longer ignore this issue. otherwise. our Nation will no longer have a manufacturing sector and the millions of middle class jobs it supports. Congress needs to remember the hard workers who make these bolts and support their jobs.
Date: 2012-04-19
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank Judge HASTINGS. I thank him very much for telling us the story of America. from spring cleaners to families that have held their businesses for a long period of time. And I really wish I could join my friend. I know hes pleading for us to believe that any job will be created. but. frankly. the answer is that there is no requirement for jobs to be created under this tax bill. What this tax bill does is complicate any manner of tax reform which Americans are begging for. It adds to the already burgeoning. growing Bush tax cuts. Now this added burden. $6 trillion in the combination package of the existing tax cuts under the Bush administration. It adds to the deficit of human life. And let me just tell you about some young woman. a caretaker. a mother. maybe a mother whos at home and works at home. not only to take care of her children. but has a home business. or maybe a caretaker taking care of an elderly or disabled person. Let me tell you what these tax cuts will do. And this is what it equals. It equals almost $180 billion in cuts and food stamps. where soldiers families cannot eat and the caretakers cannot provide for their families. It equals to the increase in the Stafford loans to 6.8 percent in interest. where middle class families are priced out of higher education. It equals the cut in Medicaid to women who need access to health care. And I dont know why we havent addressed our good friends in the restaurant industry. These are the people whose doors are open and truly could hire an additional staff. who has the smallest margin of profit. Were not doing anything for depreciation relief. No. were sitting around giving the top 3 percent over onehalf of this tax break. a big Christmas in the middle of April. 125.000 millionaires will get a check for $58.000. and then itll cost a budget busting $46 billion. In my own State of Texas. theres an article that says were pricing the middle class. Congressman HASTINGS. out of higher education. Theyre investing in research. but tuition is going up and theres no relief. And the loans that we give from the Federal Government. as I said. will be almost 7 percent in interest in just about 70 days. This is what this tax cut will do. Im not afraid to stand up for small businesses. but you absolutely need to look at the framework. Five hundred employees. You could be a big law firm. You could be a big engineering firm. And God bless you. I want you to keep working. Thats why I voted on the transportation bill. But what I need to have happen is that there is a requirement for jobs. The stimulus package created 3 million jobs because we had a mission of shovelready projects. and. in addition. we gave monies to people who put the money out on the street.
Date: 2012-04-19
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the distinguished gentleman. But not in this case. No requirement for jobs. You want to sit here and tell athome moms. working moms like the young woman that I wanted to tell you about who gets up early morning. doesnt get into a car. gets onto a bus. rides that bus to get her child to the school. jumps off the bus. makes sure she can run to the front door of the school. drops the child before the bus turns around to get her back. on the bus to go across town to get a job or to go to her work. youre cutting her access to health care because youre taking $46 billion. Madam Speaker. all I can say to you: This is a budget buster on top of $6 trillion of which we are paying for the Bush cuts. Were doing nothing for restaurants. nothing for small businesses. and nothing for the working young woman that Ive told you about this morning.
Date: 2012-04-19
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker. here we go again. This bill provides a windfall tax break to hedge fund owners. to big Washington law firms. to the very wealthy. even if they dont hire a single personnot one. In fact. in a cruel hoax and twist on this. wealthy individuals can qualify for this tax break even if they fire people this year. And in some cases they can also get a bigger tax break if they do not make their investments this year. Mr. Speaker. this place sometimes gets to be a factfree zone. We have the nonpartisan Joint Tax Committee say. The economic activity generated by this is so small as to be incalculable. Thats why Bruce Bartlett. former economic adviser to President Reagan said. It will do nothing whatsoever to increase employment. So whats this all about? It gives a big tax break to the wealthiest individuals while adding $50 billion to our deficit and debt. Now. Mr. Speaker. this week highlights the unfortunate doublespeak from our Republican colleagues when it comes to the deficit. On the Senate side. a majority of Republicans voted against a bill to apply the Buffett rule. meaning that we were going to ask millionaires to pay the same effective tax rate as many of their employees paid and use that $50 billion toward deficit reduction. Here in the House. were providing a $50 billion tax break that adds to the deficit. and this one is targeted disproportionately to very wealthy individuals. Theres another sort of strange irony. When we were debating the payroll tax cut for a year that would benefit 160 million Americans. our Republican colleagues dragged their feet and then said this was all a gimmick. it was a 1year thing. it was a sugar high. Well. at least the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that it would generate economic activity. In fact. they ranked it near the top. This is a 1year thing thats going to give a great sugar high to the wealthiest individuals. They are going to be floating on this. But its ranked near the bottom by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in terms of economic activity. You want to know another irony? When it came to providing a tax break for 160 million Americans. payroll tax cut. we paid for it. We offset the cost of that. When it comes to providing a sugar high. $50 billion tax cut that disproportionately benefits the wealthy. we dont offset it. We put it on our national credit card. We increase the debt. Who pays for that? Weve heard on a bipartisan basis thats our kids. our grandkids. Were all going to be paying for that debt. So Mr. Speaker. this is worse than a gimmick. Its not good for the economy. it adds to the deficit. and I urge that we reject this bill.