macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-14
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. The Improving Access to Capital for Emerging Growth Companies Act is a good bill and is the product of bipartisan compromise. The bill was amended last year to address certain investor protection concerns while still retaining key relief for small businesses. H.R. 2064 amends title I of the Jumpstart Our Business StartUps Act of 2012. to provide emerging growth companiesthat is. EGCswith additional flexibility when going public. During a hearing on this bill in the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee. one witness expressed concerns that 2 years of financial statements are necessary for the SEC to compare years during its review. and. at a minimum. issuers should be required to provide what they have. My fear is that. if a company were allowed to delay its filing. as this bill would allow. it would only likely delay the SECs review. resulting in no real benefit to the issuer. I would also like to emphasize the problem Congress gets into when it preempts the regulators by trying to issue rules by legislation. When we get it wrong. it takes another act of Congress to fix it. However. I support this legislation today because it seems as if a consensus has emerged that this technical fix is appropriate. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-07-14
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland . It is because of his leadership not only on this issue. but on small business. the opportunities of EGCs. and the fact that his negotiations on this legislation led us to bipartisan support.
Date: 2015-07-14
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I think that this is the last bill that we are taking up on suspension today. What you have seen is a fine example of both sides of the aisle working to do the best thing that we could possibly do for our constituents. There have been bills that were presented today that were suspect. perhaps. when they first were introduced. there were bills today where we had technical corrections. there were bills today where we had bipartisan support where we never thought we would get bipartisan support. I would like the work that we have done on the floor today to demonstrate that we do have the ability to work together in the best interests of the citizens of this country. and to the degree that we understand that even in DoddFrank where there may still be some concerns. that we can be civil about it. that we can be considerate about it. and that we recognize that not only may there may be places for technical corrections in DoddFrank. but in the JOBS Act and other bills that we have heard today and that we will hear in the future. I am very pleased to have been a part of the work that we have done here on this floor today to get together in a bipartisan way. again. to act in the best interests of all of the people of this country. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-07-14
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I was unavoidably detained during a vote on H.R. 251. the Homes for Heroes Act of 2015. If I had been present. I would have voted "yea."
Date: 2015-07-15
Speaker: BRENDAN F. BOYLE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsyl

vania. I want to thank my colleague for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker. this is just embarrassing. It is embarrassing that we are here talking about the umpteenth patch for the umpteenth time. Other countries around the world right now are looking at us and wondering whether or not the United States is still interested in leading. Lets forget the shortterm patches. Lets finally deal with the problem. The previous speaker. Mr. BLUMENAUER. is exactly right. Before coming here. as a State legislator in Pennsylvania. we had Democrats and Republicans band together and cast a very politically tough vote. It was the right thing to do. Both Democrats and Republicans did it. and now we are finally building bridges and repairing roads that we neglected for 20 years in our State. It is time for the U.S. Federal Government to do exactly the same. right thing. Bite the bullet. and lets show that in America we can solve big problems and we can lead again.
Date: 2015-07-15
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. we all know that on July 31. the highway trust fund will expire. but we didnt just learn it. It is not that we just found out last week or last month. We have always known it. Now. we come to where we are backed up against the wall. We know we need a longterm fix. but I am going to vote for a shortterm fix. I am going to vote for it because I want the contractors in my State to keep working. I want the construction workers to keep laying concrete. I want the bridgebuilders to keep repairing bridges. We cant afford to have a short season. In Illinois. if you dont do construction now. you may not get a chance to do much. On the basis of the logic of keeping the construction industry moving. I vote "yes" for the highway bill that we are considering today.
Date: 2015-07-15
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 3064. the GROW AMERICA Act. a bill that underscores the urgent need for a longterm investment in our Countrys transportation infrastructu re. With only eighteen days left before the Highway Trust Fund expires on July 31st. we should be urgently seeking out a long term solution. Instead. we are considering H.R. 3038. another short term extension of the Highway Trust Fund that only provides five months of additional funding. This five month quickfix fails to provide America with the stability of a more permanent solution. Passing this bill only continues the repeated pattern of kicking the can down the road. further putting off the sensible solution that we owe to our constituents. In my home state of Texas. 38 percent of roads are in mediocre or poor condition. forcing drivers to spend approximately $5.3 billion annually on otherwise unnecessary automotive repairs. With 19% of our states bridges being structurally deficient. it is clear that a sweeping bipartisan effort is needed to invest in the future of Americas infrastructure. Without a long term extension. many states are unable to plan future construction projects. providing much needed repair to deteriorating roads. This is particularly crippling for Texas. which has a longer construction season because of its climate. In the Dallas area specifically. we currently have nine major construction projects costing in excess of $275 million that would be put on hold. in the event that the highway trust fund runs out of money. This is simply unfair. It is harmful to the growth that this region is experiencing. and places an unnecessary burden on Dallas residents and their ability to commute safely. Just a few months ago. I spoke out against the Houses refusal to take up long term action on the Highway Trust Fund. and yet. we are again attempting to put a bandaid on a deep cut to Americas transportation needs By contrast. H.R. 3064. the GROW AMERICA Act seeks to address the harmful impacts of continuous stopgap funding. This bill infuses our economy with transportation infrastructure investment. providing $478 billion over six years for highways. bridges. public transportation. highway safety. and rail programs. Enacting a sixyear GROW AMERICA Act adds nearly two million jobs. compared to another extension of surface transportation programs. and is desperately needed to improve transportation quality across the nation. I urge my colleagues to call their transportation departments. if they have not already. and find out how short funding patches in Federal highway funds would affect their states. Bridge replacements. traffic decongestion projects. and road widening efforts. all impact safety. time. money and jobs. all of which stand to be harmed by shortterm funding. Mr. Speaker. with only eighteen days until the Highway Trust Fund runs out of money. I urge my colleagues to support the GROW AMERICA Act. a multiyear solution that provides states with the funding necessary to adequately invest in their infrastructure.
Date: 2015-07-15
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. we have a very sad state of affairs here. We know we have an urgent problem with respect to infrastructure around America. Our roads. our bridges. our transitways are in disrepair at a time when we should actually be investing more to modernize our American infrastructure so we can compete and put people back to work. And yet what do we have from our Republican colleagues? More of the same. Five more months of inadequate funding. no certainty for people who need to plan for projects. People are going to face layoffs again. So we have an urgent problem. and the response we get from our Republican colleagues is 5 months of inadequate funding. We have put forward a 6year plan. the first 2 years fully funded of a more robust plan. How do we fund it? We fund it by saying "no more" to the companies. the American companies that are cheating the American taxpayers by inversion. So what are they doing? They are simply changing their addresses to an overseas address so they dont have to pay any more into helping our infrastructure and helping our country. Let me give you an example of what these companies are doing. They are not moving their employees. They are not moving their management. They are not moving their factories or anything else. They are just changing their mailing address by acquiring a small foreign company and. in doing so. saying: We are not going to pay any more of our taxes. So to the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. I think most Americans would disagree with you that we need more time. We dont need 5 more months to figure out that these corporations are cheating. as taxpayers. by using these special provisions. We can close this tax loophole right now. In fact. about 30 of these companies have inverted in the last 5 years. So we want to wait another 5 months and allow 5. 10 more to use this tax device to escape their responsibilities to the American taxpayer? Why should we do that? Lets do the right thing. and lets do it right now. We have that within our power. That is what the legislation that we have put forward is all about. Lets invest in our national infrastructure. and lets use it by getting the savings from these companies that are engaging in these inversion tax practices. I am pleased to yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from New York .
Date: 2015-07-15
Speaker: BRENDAN F. BOYLE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsyl

vania. Mr. Speaker. Jonathan Rosado was a model citizen who generously shared his strong character and kind spirit through the act of teaching tennis to disadvantaged children. Jonathan fostered the Legacy Youth Tennis programs presence in the Hunting Park community. a groundbreaking addition to youth programming for this Philadelphia neighborhood. His steadfast commitment to community service has served as a tremendous benefit to the many lives he touched. Jonathans sense of responsibility and dedication was instilled in him by his own childhood participation in the Legacy Youth Tennis program. and he chose to contribute those attributes right back into the program as he ascended into adulthood. Jonathan was tragically murdered last year. Although he is sorely missed by all. his bright spirit will continue to be felt in the Hunting Park neighborhood and in Philadelphia long into the future. I recognize Jonathan here on the floor of the House of Representatives. the peoples House. so that his shining example can be more widely witnessed across the Nation.
Date: 2015-07-15
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
Date: 2015-07-15
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlemen for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to join his call for justice for the sailors and their families who suffered in the discriminatory and callous response to the Port Chicago Naval Magazine tragedy. This is of particular importance to me because I have the honor of representing the district that the alleged leader of that protest. Joseph Randolph Small. had called home. It is also important because of where we are in the arc of history. The events of the past couple months have forced our Nation to do quite a bit of soulsearching on the topic of race and the enduring injustices felt by men and women of color. From the seemingly inexplicable use of force against unarmed people of color in cases like those of Walter Scott in South Carolina and Tamir Rice in Cleveland. Ohio. to the explicit and disturbing hate crime committed at Mother Emanuel. we know that the bias and discrimination that occurred at Port Chicago is not isolated to the past. But. Mr. Speaker. if there is any positive outcome to these tragedies. it is in the opportunity to heal long buried but never bandaged wounds. Recognizing one such wound. South Carolina recently voted to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of its statehouse. Exonerating the sailors who were unfairly punished simply for seeking safer working conditions would help heal yet another. Mr. Speaker. as my colleague already described. in 1944. a segregated U.S. Navy used Black enlisted men with no training to do the heavy. dangerous work of loading ammunition onto vessels that would transport them to the front. That lack of training and neglect for the safety of those sailors led to the greatest homefront disaster of World War II and claimed several hundred livesmost of them Black. Small. who hailed from beautiful Somerset. New Jersey. led the protest because the survivors understood that to return to the same routine would mean risking another explosion. That simple protest of basic rights and consideration led to convictions of mutiny. prison sentences. and dishonorable discharges for the sailors who stood with Small. Before the explosion. Small had complained to the new commander that he was promoting inherently dangerous behavior by rewarding the sailors who could load the most ammunition in the shortest period of time. Small was ignored. And after joining his peers in protest. he was kept in solitary confinement during his trial and sentenced to 15 years simply for seeking justice. Mr. Speaker. exonerating these men would make right a longstanding injustice. and I am proud to stand with my colleagues in this call for action. I thank the gentleman for his work.
Date: 2015-07-16
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. when I was first elected to office. I had the preeminent privilege of meeting with a President of the United States of America. It was one of the most rewarding and gratifying meetings that I have had. At that meeting. we talked about many things. One of the things that I walked away from the meeting with was a sense and spirit of bipartisanship and how important it was to be able to work with people across lines. I am honored to tell you that that President was George Bush 41. I understand that he has suffered an injury. I want him. his family. and all to know that I will keep them in my prayers as they move forward. He recently celebrated a birthday. and I wish him many. many more birthdays. God bless you. President Bush. and God bless the United States of America.
Date: 2015-07-16
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. I rise to express my deep concern over the atrocities that recently occurred at this years pride parade in Istanbul. Turkey. For years. the Turkish LGBT community and their supporters have been able to partake in one of the few permitted pride parades in the Muslim world. but this year this peaceful parade was broken up when police dispersed the parade with tear gas. rubber bullets. and water cannons. reminiscent of the worst full countertactics of the American civil rights movement. LGBT pride gatherings are peaceful. focusing on love and solidarity and the human rights of all people. including LGBT people. which is a stark contrast to the unnecessary and brutal violence endured by those paradegoers. This past May I had the opportunity to visit the brave LGBT activists in Turkey and to speak to them about their hopes for a better community. As a member of the LGBT community and of the Congressional Equality Caucus. I am deeply disturbed by the way in which such a positive festival was received by the Turkish Government. Turkey has long expressed. by its commitments to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. its dedication to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. Turkey is a NATO ally. Its actions are at odds with these previous commitments to freedom. I am urging this Congress to join me in condemning these actions. Today we will send a letter signed by more than 50 Members of this body to the Turkish Ambassador. expressing our outrage by these actions and our support of the Turkish people.
Date: 2015-07-21
Speaker: BRENDAN F. BOYLE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsyl

vania. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. ISIS is absolutely a barbaric regime that cannot be negotiated with and must be defeated. They literally want to return civilization back centuries and centuries. It is hard for me and I think it is hard for almost any American to imagine what could possibly be going through the mind of a U.S. citizen who would be attracted to go over there and make common cause with ISIS. Mr. Speaker. as the son of an immigrant who knows the sacrifices his father and grandparents made to come to this country. the fact that someone would actually jeopardize the most valuable thing they have. their American citizenship and their U.S. passport. to join ISIS is completely unfathomable. We absolutely have to give our Secretary of State this authority. ISIS sadly presents a real threat both abroad and at home. This is a commonsense measure that we can take. and we must absolutely take it. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-07-21
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am here this evening to correct the record on womens health. As the only woman in a tristate delegation that includes New Jersey. Pennsylvania. and Delaware. I speak for millions of women whose right to abortion was codified by the Supreme Court decades ago. I also speak for the millions more women who dont come from States like New Jersey where clinics that provide a full range of womens health services are accessible. States like Texas. Louisiana. and Mississippi where legislatures full of men would love to see those clinics closed for good. Last week another antiabortion group. under the guise of legitimate news. released a doctored video to attack Planned Parenthood. This attack isnt about the trumpedup claims in the video. It is about the same tired efforts to make it harder for women from every walk of life and every corner of the country to make the health choices that work for them. It is sad that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are so quick to hop on that bandwagon. Enough. Mr. Speaker. This is enough already.
Date: 2015-07-22
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. this week. the House will consider dangerous legislation on coal ash that will put communities and families in New Jersey in danger. We need strong Federal regulation on coal ash waste. Poor management practices in States like Pennsylvania and New York that border New Jersey affect my constituents lives. The Delaware River provides drinking water to onethird of New Jerseys municipalities. In 2005. Martins Creek Power Plant in Pennsylvania spilled 100 million gallons of coal ash across 10 acres into the Delaware. contaminating that drinking water with arsenic. Towns surrounding the Delaware. towns that depend on the river for the fishing and recreational activity that drives their economies were devastated. In New York. the EPA found that coal ash from a power station had contaminated groundwater with iron. selenium. manganese. aluminum. and at least 10 other dangerous chemicals. H.R. 1734 not only fails to protect communities from toxic pollution. it undermines legitimate efforts to protect our communities. I urge my colleagues to vote against it. All of our constituents deserve better.
Date: 2015-07-22
Speaker: JUDY CHU (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I am here to ring the alarm bell on the pending expiration of a very important program next week. It is the Small Business Administrations flagship 7(a) loan program. which provides longterm loans to small businesses that are unable to secure financing through conventional channels. About 80 percent of smallbusiness owners who apply for a nonSBA loan get rejected. It is SBAs 7(a) program that gets them the money they need to succeed. In my district alone. more than $2 billion in capital has been provided to small businesses since 1990. Not only does 7(a) lending directly support American jobs. it also operates at zero cost to taxpayers. We cannot let this successful program lapse. At the current rate of lending. this program could be forced to shut down as soon as next week. I urge the Speaker to act on this critical issue before the August recess and make sure that our small businesses thrive.
Date: 2015-07-22
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in staunch opposition to H.R. 3009. the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act. or perhaps better titled. the "Donald Trump Act." This bill is nothing more than an underhanded ploy to criminalize the immigrant community who. research shows. is less likely to commit serious crimes than nativeborn persons. To demonize an entire community based on the actions of a few does not inform wise policy. Local police are best equipped to make decisions of how best to serve their communities. Let them make those decisions. Withholding Federal funds from jurisdictions who have adopted local trust policies will not make our communities safer or fix our broken immigration system. It will only make it more difficult for local police to provide public safety to their communities. Unfortunately. Mr. Speaker. this doesnt come as a surprise. This is the same Republicanled Congress that nearly shut down the Department of Homeland Security. compromising the safety of our communities. I have consistently said that we need to focus on passing comprehensive immigration reform. yet time and time again. Republicans have shown the only aspect of immigration reform they are interested in is deportation.
Date: 2015-07-22
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. only one of the top ten exporting countries in the world does not have an exportimport agency that helps them finance new export deals. just one. and that country is the United States of America. That is because this Congress has failed to do what every Congress since FDR has done. and that is reauthorize the ExportImport Bank. Today. Mr. Speaker. an American exporter is forced to compete against China. South Korea. Germany. France. Italy. and Japan with one hand tied behind its back. Their businesses get the support. their citizens get the jobs. and Americans are hung out to dry by their own government. In my congressional district alone. 66 small businesses in the past 8 years have benefited from ExportImport financing of their exports. They have exported everything from peanut butter to industrial equipment. Mr. Speaker. lets give Congress a chance to save American jobs. Lets have an upordown vote on the ExportImport Bank. If it came to a vote on this floor. it would surely pass.