macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-30
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Chairman. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman. autism is currently the third most common developm6ntal disability.. It is more common than Downs syndrome. A majority of the public. including those who work in schools. do not really know. when they see it. what is happening. They are unaware of how autism affects people. and they are not trained well in how to work effectively with individuals who have autism. Autism interferes with the normal development of the brain in areas of reasoning and social interaction. and so people with autism can. in particular in more extreme cases. exhibit unusual responses that most of us may not understand: aggressiveness. for example. committing selfinjury to themselves. It is a behavior that is of special concern because in responding to situations. it Is difficult. Especially if you are in the classroom or in a school situation. or even in the learning environment. how you respond to the child is important. It is absolutely necessary to provide funding to train our special ed teachers regarding autism disorders. and it is also important to provide that training to school safety personnel and to other first responders who deal with the school setting. What we have had in the past are people. law enforcement sometimes. who do not really understand what type of a child this may be. Therefore. they may handle them in a different way. in an incorrect way. where they might be more injurious towards the student. That is why the Sanchez amendment would include language in this bill that would authorize the use of funds to develop and to improve programs to train school safety personnel and first responders who work with our school facilities to recognize autism spectrum disorders. The goal of the amendment. Mr. Chairman. is to train school safety personnel and other first responders.
Date: 2003-05-06
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I Is an honor and privilege to make this statement on behalf of legislation I sponsored honoring a great Texan and American. H.R. 1740 designates a post office located at 1502 East Kiest Boulevard in Dallas. Texas. as the Ceasar A.W. Clark Post Office. H.R. 1740 enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire Texas delegation. Madam Speaker. during his 50 year tenure of the Good Street Baptist Church. Reverend Ceasar A.W. Clark has provided a wealth of services to thousands of Dallas residents. Leading by example is how Rev. Clark became a pillar of the Dallas community. As an early pioneer In the civil rights movement. Rev. Clark was responsible for the first visit to Dallas by Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Following that 1958 visit. Rev. Clark continued to work to end segregation in Dallas. I rise to honor Rev. Ceasar Clark. a nationally renown member of the clergy. humanitarian. and respected leader Ebony magazine has twice named one of the fifteen "Outstanding Black Preachers In America". Under his leadership at Good Street Baptist Church. the church has progressively grown by establishing two day care centers. a free legal clinic and a federally assisted complex for the elderly. Of particular note In the 1950s. a time when credit was expensive and loansharks took advantage of people. Rev. Clark organized to create a church credit union.Today. the Good Street Baptist Church has more than $1.2 million in assets and serves nearly 1.500 members and their families. Indeed this Is an honor for Rev. Clark. who has served as a Vice President of the National Baptist Association of Texas. He has been a source of spiritual Inspiration for some of Dallas oldest AfricanAmerican families and many of our political and civil leaders. While sharing knowledge with residents and cultivating their humility. he is still dedicated to his congregation and to his daily work at Good Street Baptist. The designation of this post office acknowledges Rev. Clarks outstanding contributions as pastor at Good Street Baptist Church for more than five decades. Born in 1914 in Louisiana. Rev. Clark was subjected to a "Jim Crow" south. a time nearly all AfricanAmericans were not allowed an equal opportunity to receive a quality education. Determined to not let adversity remain a barrier. Rev. Clerk studied independently and gained admission into Bishop College. Rev. Clark graduated from there In 1946. Rev. Clark is known throughout the state of Texas as a remarkable pastor and dedicated leader. who views the community as extended family. I can think of no one more deserving of this honor. Madam Speaker. I wish to congratulate Rev. Clark on the designation of this post office and for his many years of service and dedication to the Good Street Baptist Church and citizens of Dallas. His achievements are aninspiration to us all.
Date: 2003-05-07
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in honor of Asian Pacific Islander Month. This national celebration. which started in 1977. continues to highlight and bring awareness to the many accomplishments and contributions that the AsianPacific Americans have made to this country. The month of May was selected for this very important celebration to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States in 1843. As of the last census. there are an estimated 12.5 million AsianPacific Islanders in the United States. Representing the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam. I know firsthand the richness of the culture and beauty that they. along with the rest of the Asian communities. bring to this Nation. For generations. AsianPacific Americans have sacrifice for this country. and they have contributed to our growth and to our prosperity. This national celebration is a great way to honor all of their achievements.
Date: 2003-05-07
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. let me begin by thanking the gentleman from New York . the gentleman from Alaska
Date: 2003-05-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr.. Chairman. I rise in support of this bill and feel that it is really our next step for scientific discovery. and I want to thank our chairman and ranking member for the open and bipartisan manner in which this committee operates. We do have potential for enormous consequences. and most of the real breakthrough research has come under the leadership of this committee throughout the last 2 or 3 decades. This bill could cause a great deal of brightness for the future in terms of studying the small particles and determining how it might lead us to another breakthrough.* I do value the public input. and I will be offering an amendment later. but I feel that the public should have some way to have some involvement. More and more we have more people getting involved in the public debate. asking questions and attempting to clarify what is going on. and often good scientific procedures interrupt it because we have an uninformed public and people who feel they have been left out. and because of that. I feel very strongly that we should have some type of offering for the general public to have input. to listen to the witnesses when there is a hearing. so that they can feel a part of this. This is going to be publicly financed. and we are hoping that this would eliminate some of the suspicion and paranoia that often comes from very honest and interested people simply because they do not know what is going on. I think that it would add a valuable asset to this legislation. I am going to support it whether or not the amendment is adopted. but I do feel that that is the one thing we have left out. that it can be of great value to this legislation and. more importantly. to the process of this research. The area from which I have come will be a leader in some of this research. and I am from a pretty highly educated. involved community that will be asking these questions. and we have a lot of demonstrators that will be marching to find out what is going on. I think we can eliminate much of this with a simple amendment that allows for some type of public input as we move along into this new area of broadening of the activity in this new area of nanotechnology. I thank the leadership of the committee and the Members for working so closely together.
Date: 2003-05-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I have heard a couple of times that the amendment was opposed because the administration did not want it. Could you tell me the objection of the administration? How did they find little old me with this little old amendment to object to it?
Date: 2003-05-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

If the gentlewoman will continue to yield. there was other language that had been attempted as substitute language. Would the gentleman accept that as an amendment? I have it prepared to submit it.
Date: 2003-05-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I have a question to ask the chairman of the committee. Since there is objection to the details of this citizens panel. there was a suggestion after much dialogue with the chairman and staff to recommend a more watereddown version of it. I would rather have the watereddown version than to not have a citizens panel because I think it is just going to prevent a great deal of turmoil later. I do not know how long it will take us to convince people that genetically modified foods are safe. but I think that if the education had started right along with the research. we would not be dealing with that problem.
Date: 2003-05-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. this substitute amendment which I am offering now does essentially the same thing except that it is very voluntary. and if that is acceptable to the Chair and to the majority. then I will.accept this amendment. So I would move its adoption.
Date: 2003-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. here they go again. When VOTE NO ON THE TAX BILL they first took office. the Bush admin- (Mr. HOYER asked and was given istration said we needed a big tax cut permission to address the House for I to get the economy moving again. minute and to revise and extend his reThey gave us a big tax cut. financed m aen e out of the deficit. financed out of So- marks.)
Date: 2003-05-13
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I- wish to thank my leadership and my distinguished colleagues that I am pleased to join this afternoon to praise the extraordinary individuals who contributed to the debris collection effort following the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. On Februay 1. 2003. our great Nation was shocked to learn that the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven heroic astronauts were lost in a tragic accident. And although the explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia sprinkled debris over much of Southwestern America. a large portion of that debris was scattered over a large portion of my home State of Texas. This resolution honors the personnel from FEMA. the Federal Emergency Management Agency. the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA. and the United States Forest Service. the Environmental Protection Agency. and other agencies assisting in the recovery of the Columbia debris. In addition. they were assisted by many. many volunteer citizens giving their time and effort to help in this inves-. tigation of national importance. We wish to especially recognize the citizens of east Texas as they offered their wholehearted support. both physical and emotional. to the debris search teams. Their combined efforts resulted in the collection of more than 20.000 pieces of debris. far more than was originally thought possible. providing accident investigators with vital evidence that will assist in determining the cause of the accident. Let it be known that these selfless individuals and their actions are very much appreciated. Their contributions to collection aided in continuation of the investigation and further space exploration. I pledge to do what I can to help our space program recover from this terrible setback so that these important endeavors can flourish in the future. And as a senior member of the Committee on Science. I will work closely with my House colleagues to assist NASA and Harold Gehman. Jr.. who leads the special investigation commission. Madam Speaker. I will end by simply saying that the best way to show our appreciation for these heroes is to continue this research and be a visionary for our future. because we know that without vision. people perish.
Date: 2003-05-14
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I stand this morning to praise the 51 members of the Texas House of Representatives and. most especially. those from Dallas County. Representative Roberto Alonzo. Representative Yvonne Davis. Representative Terri Hodge. Representative Jesse Jones. Representative Steve Wolens. and our neighbor. Representative Lon Burnam from Tarrant County. I cannot forget my original classmate from the class of 1972 in the Texas House. Representative Senfronia Thompson. and Representative Pete Laney. They stand for courage. commitment. integrity. and principle. They will not be forgotten. because we know that they are the ones who stand by children. their education. and health care. They care about working families and all of our senior citizens. Again. we thank them and we praise them for looking out for regular Texans.
Date: 2003-05-14
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. today the House will debate H.R. 1000. the Pension Security Act. and the bill has an appropriate number because it will make employees 1.000 times worse off than they are today. We need real pension reform that protects the pensions of all the workers and gives more protections to employees with 401(k) accounts. Real pension reform must include .independent investment advice for 401(k) investors. the ability to diversify companymatched stocks within a year. and a voice for employees on pension boards. Real pension reform must also include language that would require companies that are converting to cash balance plans to ensure that older workers receive the same amount of benefits they would have received under their existing defined benefit plan. I As the President has said. what is good for the captain is good for the crew. The bill as it is currently written allows executives to sell off their stock while the ship is sinking. while the workers see their retirement savings disappear. I urge my colleagues to vote against the pension insecurity act.
Date: 2003-05-14
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. the Democratic substitute that we offer today is based on a very simple principle. It is a principle that we all grew up with. It was a principle that was articulated by the President of the United States just days after the Enron catastrophe when America saw that so maiy people who worked for Enron were trapped in a system during the meltdown of that company. during the corruption in that company. during the unlawfulness in that company. that they were trapped in that system and unable to protect their retirement while corporate executives in the penthouse suites were unloading stock. getting golden parachutes. getting secured pension plans. getting insured pension plans. having pension plans put into trusts. They took good care of themselves even though they took the company over the edge. But down below. just like in the Titanic. just like in the Lusitania. the poor people were trapped as the ship was going down. They were trapped because of a class system. That very simple principle that has been articulated by the President was that if it is okay for the sailor. it ought to be okay for the captain. What the President was saying there was those protections that are in place for the executives should have been in place for the employees. that employees pensions ought to be treated as executive pensions are treated. We grew up with this. Our parents told us when you got into a fight with our brothers and sisters and maybe it did not go our way. they said. "Whats good for the goose is good for the gander." What is good for the captain is good for the sailor. We have said it to our spouse. we have said it to our children. we have said it to our partners in business. we have said it to our staff. It is about fairness. What the Democratic alternative recognizes is the basic dignity of the American worker and the right of that worker to control the pension plan. which is their money. This is money that was given to them for the work that they gave to the corporation. It was figured out by the corporation. how much they would pay them an hour. how much they would give them
Date: 2003-05-14
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Califo

recommit the bill H.R. 1000 mittee on Education and the instructions to report the san House forthwith with the fol meat: Page 92. insert after line 21 new section:
Date: 2003-05-14
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to recommit be considered as read and printed in the RECORD.
Date: 2003-05-15
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker. I too rise in opposition to the previous question so that we would have an opportunity to offer an extension of unemployment benefits. As the minority leader has said. this is the most efficient economic stimulus that we can provide to our economy. It helps people who are out of work. It helps the economy because they must spend the money on the necessities and what our economy needs is demand. My colleagues do not have to believe me. Just look at the figures that were published yesterday. And that is. in fact. that consumers are running out of gas. retail demand is down in the country. and the stock market was down yesterday as a result of that. That comes on the heels of what the Republicans have offered and that is additional tax cuts. It is rather interesting. though. when we see the people who are now commenting on the tax cuts in terms of thn economy. we see that the Republicancontrolled Joint Committee on Taxation says that even under dynamic scoring. the tax cut will lead only to more job loss. higher deficits. more debt for our children and grandchildren. Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute was quoted in The Washington Post yesterday as saying that the dividend plan is one of the most patently absurd tax policies ever proposed. Then today the senior economist for Goldman Sachs says that these tax cuts being offered are not stimulative. What is that telling us? That is telling us that people are going to continue to be unemployed. that the economy is going to continue to soften. and the Republicans are not concerned. The Republicans simply do not share a concern for people who have lost their jobs. Their number one priority since the Bush administration has come to town was and always has been tax cuts. tax cuts for the wealthy. The unemployed are incidental to their concerns. That Is why my colleagues ought to vote against the previous question on this rule so we can immediately offer unemployment extension benefits for millions of Americans who are out of work to help their families. The last time the Republicans did this. they dropped the ball. They did not get them reauthorized at the end of December. so these families had weeks of uncertainty before they knew whether or not they were going to be able to continue to pay the mortgage. to try to keep their car from being repossessed. to educate their children. We owe these families better than this. The Republicans ought to start showing a little bit of compassion for these families who are in very hard times because of the lousy Bush economy.
Date: 2003-05-15
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Is a small agency charged with some big tasks. Besides investigating transportation accidents. conducting transportation safety studies. and issuing safety recommendations. they are also charged with aiding victims families in aviation disasters and promoting transportation safety. I believe this legislation will improve the effectiveness of the NTSB and its ability to investigate serious accidents. The tragic plane crash of Senator Wellstone has undoubtedly highlighted the Importance of the legislation before us today. I would like to thank Chairman YOUNG and my Ranking Member. Mr. OBERSTAR. who has poured his heart and soul into this Issue. for their diligent work on this legislation.
Date: 2003-05-19
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I stand here to praise the actions last week of 50plus Texas House Democrats. including the representatives from my county. Representative Roberto Alonzo. Yvonne Davis. Terri Hodge. Jesse Jones. Steve Wollens. and from the adjoining county of Tarrant. Lon Burnan. and my classmates of the class of 1972. Senfronia Thompson and Pete Laney.
Date: 2003-05-19
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise In homage of Asian Pacific American Month to honor our nations Asian Pacific American communly. I am honored to share in the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of such a special month. The beauty of our nation comes from the diversity of its colorful fabric. which includes the Asian Pacific American community. More than 12.5 million APAs make up one of the fastest growing segments of the United States population. I am certainly grateful for all of the countless contributions Asian Pacific Americans have made to our society. Asian Pacific Americans have blazed trails in a myriad of professions including academics. science. business. music. technology. sports and. of course politics. Mr. Speaker. I would be remiss if I mentioned great Asian Pacific Americans and not mention my good friend former Representative Patsy Mink of Hawaii. Although she is no longer with us. her presence is still felt. here in the halls of Congress. Patsy was a knowledgeable. courageous womancommitted to people. In April of 2002. with the help of my colleagues in the Congressional Asian Pacific. Black. and Hispanic caucuses. we established the TriCaucus. a collective caucus with the purpose of addressing Issues of mutual concem. This group is dedicated to many issues that affect our diverse constituency. Specifically. the TriCaucus focuses on immigration. health care. education. and economic development issues. One year after the September 11th tragedy. the TriCaucus participated in the historic Commemorative Joint Session of Congress In New York City and held a Business Roundtable that assembled a host of leaders in the business community to explore economic development strategies. The TriCaucus also presented a joint statement on the affirmative action case at the University of Michigan. Mr. Speaker. APAs have contributed to this nation since their first settlement was established in the bayous of Louisiana in 1763. In the midst of World War II. more than 12.000 Japanese Americans volunteered for an allJapanese combat unit. many of them came from mainland concentration camps after President Franklin Roosevelt signed an Executive Order authorizing the forced relocation and detention of 120.000 Japanese Americans. as well as Japanese Latin Americans. The Legendary 442nd Regimental Combat Team went down In history as one of our nations most decorated military units. To date. there are more than 284.000 Asian American military veterans. Mr. Speaker. in closing. I would like to encourage my colleagues In the House of Representatives and citizens around the nation to explore the rich culture. achievements and contributions of the Asian Pacific American community.