macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-16
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the 37th time is a waste of resources and another example of the refusal to focus on the important issues of jobs and the economy right now. Its also an example of bad budgeting. One of the things I dont think our Republican colleagues have focused on is that their claim to have a balanced budget rests on the savings and the tax revenue in the ObamaCare bill. So if you repeal all of ObamaCare. which this bill says it wants to do. the Republican budget will immediately be out of balance in 10 years. Heres how it works: If you look at the Republican budget. in 10 years. they claim that theres a $7 billion surplus. But the reality is it also contains in it Medicare savingswe heard that issue demagogued during the last Presidential campaignand it also includes ObamaCare revenue. And if you take out that over $400 billion in Medicare savings and the revenue in ObamaCare. poof. the Republican budget is way out of balance. And. Mr. Speaker. its not just me saying that. Heres what The Heritage Foundation said. They also point out that the Republican budget depends on ObamaCare. So. long story short. you cant have it both ways. You cant repeal ObamaCare and go home and tell people you did that and. at the same time. say you have a balanced budget.
Date: 2013-05-16
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I yield myself 2 minutes. The previous speaker just said that we should listen to the American people. When the American people listen to the Congress of the United States. they assume that all of the Republicans in the country are against this health care bill and that all of the Democrats are for this health care bill. Yet. if you look at the Kaiser Family Foundations most recent poll on this. youll find out that 96 percent of the Democrats and 83 percent of the Republicans support the tax credits for small business. which are now the law of the land. and 360.000 small businesses are getting those tax credits. Ninety percent of the Democrats and 74 percent of the Republicans support closing the doughnut hole. and the doughnut hole is in the process of being closed. Democrats and Republicans agree in the country that this is a good deal. Eightyseven percent of the Democrats and 72 percent of the Republicans are excited about the creation of health care exchanges where they can go and shop for health care just as the Members of this Congress do in open season when they can pick and choose from different plans. In California. there will be 33 plans offered by private health insurance companies that they can pick and choose from. They think thats a good idea. They think its a great idea. Eightyfour percent of the Democrats and 68 percent of the Republicans think its a great idea that children will not be thrown off their parents policy. as is the law today. Thats why youve only voted to repeal. On the first day you took the majority in this Congress. you voted to repeal and you instructed the committees to come up with an alternative. Youve had 37 votes on repeal. and youve had no action by the committees on the alternative. So you have a plan that is meeting the needs of American families. millions of Americans of all walks of life. small businesses. big businesses. employees at both. children. seniors. people with preexisting conditions. and your answer is to repeal. like thats progress. No. thats not progress. Thats the failure to have an alternative and creative thinking about how to deal with the health care problems of the American people. ObamaCare does that. the Affordable Care Act does that. and thats what this Congress did. With that. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2013-05-16
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Madam Speaker. I rise today in opposition to the Patients Rights Repeal Act. As some of my colleagues on the other side prepare to vote in favor of this legislation. I want to make sure that the American people know that they are taking 13 million Americans rebates that they got from insurance companies last summer. totaling at least $1.1 million. They will be voting to repudiate the fact that beginning last summer. millions of women began receiving free coverage for preventive services. They will be voting to take away the fact that 17 million children with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied coverage by insurers. And they will be voting to take away the coverage of 6.6 million young adults. who. up to age 26. are able to be on their parents insurance coverage. half of whom without it would have no coverage at all. They will actually be voting. Madam Speaker. to take Americas health care backwards. We cant afford to go there. I urge that we vote "no."
Date: 2013-05-16
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today to express my opposition to H.R. 45. which would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act has significantly improved access to health care for Americans. and I strongly support it. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act. millions of Texans are already seeing lower health care costs and receiving better insurance coverage. Over 7.5 million Texans now have no lifetime limit on most health insurance benefits. which will protect them from having their insurance cut off if they require significant medical care. The Affordable Care Act has lowered prescription drug costs for over 200.000 seniors in Texas by closing the gap in drug coverage known as the "donut hole." It has also allowed 357.000 young adults in Texas. who might otherwise be uninsured. to gain coverage through their parents plan. Over 1.5 million consumers in Texas have received rebates from insurance companies because under the Affordable Care Act. insurers must spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care and quality improvement rather than CEO pay. profits. and administrative costs. The Affordable Care Act also promotes equal treatment for women. Starting in 2014. insurers will not be allowed to charge women higher premiums than men simply because of their gender. Because of the Affordable Care Act. insured women are already able to receive critical preventive services such as mammograms. birth control. and wellwoman visits without paying any outofpocket fees. Today marks the 37th time that Republicans have voted to repeal or defund the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately. Republicans seem to be treating the legislative calendar of the U.S. House of Representatives as a playing field for their political games. Instead. we should be working hard for the American people by passing legislation to create jobs. spur economic growth. and reform our broken immigration system. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and it is working. Up to 17 million children with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied health insurance. and nearly 13 million Americans have received $1.1 billion in rebates from their insurance companies. Texans cannot afford to lose the crucial health benefits that the Affordable Care Act provides. That is why I plan to vote against H.R. 45 and all future efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I am proud to stand with my colleagues and the President to support a health system that provides security. accountability. and peace of mind to Americans.
Date: 2013-05-16
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I wanted a moment to reflect. This was a very sad day for me. Having been here during the emotional time during the debate on the Affordable Care Act. remembering the long hours and the deliberation in the committees in regular order. the opportunity for Republicans to offer amendments. and then today for the 37th time this particular act has now hurt millions of Americans. My State is number one. Today. Mr. Speaker. I wanted to call the roll and ask those citizens of those States to call their Senators. For how can you vote for such a repeal of the Patients Rights Act when Texas. Louisiana. Nevada. California. Florida. Georgia. Arkansas. Alaska. Mississippi. and Oklahoma all have uninsured over 20 percent. with Texas being 28.4 percent? It is poverty that drives the need to expand Medicaid to my State. to my Governor. It is poverty that drives this. Whether you are poor. whether you are lowincome. whether you are working middle class. the Affordable Care Act is to lift your boat to give you the opportunity to have preventive health care to be able to have access to doctors. Why would anybody vote to repeal the Patients Rights Act?
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

You mentioned Chairman RYAN and the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. PATTY MURRAY. Senator MURRAY was one of the people just the other day on the Senate floor asking for unanimous consent to go to conference. because she and Chairman RYAN are not in the process of trying to negotiate behind closed doors. We need to do this in the light of day. And she has asked. along with Senator REID. now eight times to go to conference. So why delay going to conference?
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Well. she has. She has said. Mr. Speaker. that she wants to go to conference right away. and thats why were waiting for the Speaker in this House to go to conference.
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my friend. I thank my friend. the chairman of the Rules Committee as well. But the gentleman. the chairman of the Rules Committee. said the process worked. that "no budget. no pay" worked. I would remind the gentleman. we dont have a budget as of right now. And. in fact. we are now out of compliance with our own law. which says that the conference committee should report the budget by April 15. I think we can check our calendars. We know its way overdue. And the only thing thats stopping us from going to conference right now is the Speaker has refused to move forward on this. 1l 1010 As I indicated. eight times in the Senate. the Senate Majority Leader and PATTY MURRAY. Senator MURRAY. the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. have asked for unanimous consent to go to conference. So we could get on with this right now. as Mr. MCGOVERN suggested. if our Republican colleagues would allow us to offer a motion to go to conference by unanimous consent.
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Chairman. I thank the lady for yielding and for her leadership. I strongly oppose this bill because I believe it would in effect cripple the SEC just as it undertakes the immense task of implementing the essential DoddFrank reforms. May I remind my colleagues that this country lost $12 trillion. according to some estimates. and it happened in part because regulators. like the SEC. were illequipped. underfunded. and did too little. too slowly. The Republican bill comes in the guise of requiring the SEC to undertake a costbenefit analysis of regulations. But it is really a prescription for paralysis of the SECs ability to protect our investors and our markets. There is already a multilayered and highly effective costbenefit analysis built into the SEC rulemaking process. Just look at the recent D.C. Circuit case where the court overturned an SEC proxy access rule and sent a message back to the SEC reminding them of all the costbenefit analysis that they are required to do now by law. They stated they will vacate any rule if this is not done. Already there is analysis required under the Paperwork Reduction Act. the Congressional Review Act. and the Regulatory Flexibility Act. And just for the SEC alone. in 1996. we passed the National Securities Market Improvement Act requiring a costbenefit analysis. It is already there. it is on the books. and it is enforced by our courts. So what is before us today? A hurdle. Lets do more. Lets require them to go back to 1933. review every rule. so they cannot do their important work of protecting the American taxpayer and our economy of derivatives fraud. other fraud. and other abuses to investors.
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Im just warming up. I think my colleagues have a lot to say. It is a prescription for paralysis. I urge a "no" vote for investor protection.
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: DAVID SCOTT (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

I thank Ranking Member WATERS for yielding. Mr. Chairman. I rise today to join my colleagues in strong opposition to H.R. 1062. the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act. Unfortunately. what we have before us today is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt at paralyzing an agency under the guise of an otherwise worthy activity. which is costbenefit analysis. Costbenefit analysis is a good thing to do. but not under the terms of this bill. Mr. Chairman. I dont think that there is anybody in this body who is opposed to an honest. open. balanced. thorough. and truly objective costbenefit analysis in the rulemaking process. On the contrary. we all agree that it is essential for creating good policy. as I said. However. the regime established in this bill is nothing but. Rather. the assumptions which would be codified into statute by this bill are worded in such a way as to prejudice the outcome of the analysis toward the side of not regulating at all in nearly every circumstance. And while some in this body may think that this is a good thing. ask the Americans who were victims of the latest financial meltdown. many of whom are still suffering because of it. Ask them what they think. because the SEC. Mr. Chairman. is currently required to balance protection of investors with the maintenance of effective and efficient markets. This bill would do away with that balance by focusing solely on the cost to the industry and investor choice. Nowhere in the bill is investor protection. which is a part of the SECs core mission. even mentioned at all. Moreover. I think it is crucial to point out that this bill does nothing to ease the strain on the SECs resources. Instead. it exacerbates the problem by slapping the SEC with a huge new administrative responsibility. all while they are still working. curiously. to implement DoddFrank and the Jobs Act. without giving them the resources to accomplish the task. How on Earth do my colleagues who support this bill think that the SEC can produce the type of analysis theyre asking forany analysis at all. for that matterwithout the additional staff that even the CBO says they will be required to have? The problem is especially acute considering this bill would require going back and studying every rule in effect since the agency was first created way back in 1934. No other agency in the Federal Government is saddled with that kind of burden.
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. as someone who believes the federal government has a responsibility to set and enforce clear and transparent rules of the road for our markets to operate fairly. efficiently and effectively. I believe conducting costbenefit analysis of proposed regulations is both appropriate and necessary. Moreover. I think rules and regulations should be periodically reviewedand eliminated or modified where neededto ensure our markets are functioning optimally. If thats what this legislation was about. it would have my support. Its notwhich is why I will be opposing H.R. 1062 today. Although you wouldnt know it from listening to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. the Securities and Exchange Commission already performsand is already required to performextensive economic analysis regarding the regulations it promulgates. including rigorous costbenefit analysis. Furthermore. in addition to protecting investors. SEC rulemakings are also already required to "promote efficiency. competition and capital formation." Indeed. entities ranging from the Chamber of Commerce to the Government Accountability Office have all recently validated the SECs current staff guidance in this regard. Unfortunately. rather than promoting clear and transparent rules of the road. arrived at through rigorous costbenefit analysis. todays legislation is very plainly an effort to do the oppositeto block even the most carefully considered regulation by creating a "paralysis of analysis" at the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to undermine the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform law. Mr. Chair. it was the absence of clear and transparent rules of the road that precipitated the Great Recession. and now that the economy has finally begun to heal. we are simply not going back to the conditions that created the crisis in the first place. I urge a no vote.
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: DAVID SCOTT (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Chairman. let me just clear the air on one important thing. We know that there is a value for costbenefit analysis. What were saying is this is the wrong approach because theyre not after costbenefit analysis. Theyre after tying the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission to lessen the regulations. We have a bill. Mr. Chairman. which is a bipartisan bill by myself. along with Representative CONAWAY from Texas. a Republican. that is a more thoughtful. a more direct and beneficial way of costbenefit analysis. because we do not have in that bill this very convoluting. confounding requirement of what we call lookback. Youve got to remember. the telling point about Mr. GARRETTS bill is that he requires that the SEC look back at every single rule for the last 80 years since 1934. There is no Federal agency that has even nearly that kind of burden and. on top of that. does not allocate one dime for any needed staff. It is. indeed. a burden. So the point I want to make is that we understand when he says. okay. lets make sure that we have a cost and a benefit of what theyre doing. yeah. we go along with that. But my bill. along with Representative CONAWAY. we digested this bill. we have passed this bill. our bill. which has a more reasonable approach to costbenefit analysis out of the Agriculture Committee and will be before this House that has a better approach. Were not opposed to this costbenefit analysis. but we are opposed to this measure. which is designed to tie the hands of the SEC by allowing them and mandating that they look at every record. every rule all the way back to
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

I would like to point out to my colleague that the circuit court decision underlines the point that Im making in my amendment. It says clearly that there are costbenefit analyses that are required by the SEC. and it made clear that there is a judicial review. that not only is analysis required. but you can always appeal to the court. I yield my remaining time to the distinguished ranking member from the great State of California. MAXINE WATERS.
Date: 2013-05-17
Speaker: MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New Mexico

Mr. Speaker. instead of taking steps to create jobs and grow the economy. Republicans yesterday voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the 37th time. The Affordable Care Act is working. and its benefits are being felt throughout the country. especially in my home State. Almost 525.000 New Mexicans now have access to free preventative services. such as mammograms. flu shots and colonoscopy screenings. Almost 19.000 seniors have benefited from lower prescription drug costs. and over 26.000 young adults in New Mexico can stay on their parents insurance plans until they are 26. So why in the world would we want to hurt seniors. women and young people by repealing the Affordable Care Act? Lets not forget that the Affordable Care Act is a job creator. The Medicaid expansion alone will create 6.000 to 8.000 jobs in New Mexico and will pump more than $5 billion into our economy over the next 6 years. Mr. Speaker. lets stop trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. and lets get back to work on behalf of the American people. DIABETES
Date: 2013-05-20
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today I rise in support of the Stolen Valor Act . This bill would amend the federal criminal code to rewrite provisions relating to fraudulent claims about military service to be subjected to a fine. imprisonment. or both. This would apply to an individual who. with intent to obtain money. property. or other tangible benefits. fraudulently holds himself or herself out to be a recipient of a military medal. This bill was passed with overwhelming support in the previous Congress. but was found by the Supreme Court to violate the first Amendment. I commend Rep. HECK for making the necessary changes and trying again. The men and women of our Armed Forces unselfishly answer the call of duty to defend our freedom. Congress should not allow anyone to capitalize on their accomplishments. I urge my colleagues to stand with our Brave Men and Women and support this bill.
Date: 2013-05-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I know that many of our colleagues in the tornado corridor are not here today. I want to offer my deepest concern and prayers as the recovery begins. and pray for those whove lost their lives. some. of course. in north Texas. and of course now in the area in Oklahoma. This is a devastating time with these enormous tornados. as evidenced by a quote by Bill Bunting of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Storm Prediction Center. who told CNN. our worst fears are becoming realized this afternoon. I hope that we will be able to find all of those who have been harmed safely. and all of those who are missing. But. Mr. Speaker. the most important part is that the Nation needs to stand up and be of help. This is time. frankly. for bipartisanship to take the highest level. and partisanship to end. Its time to end this sequester. Theres too much need in this country. And I hope that we will be able to serve all of those who are now suffering from across America because that is what this Congress needs to do.
Date: 2013-05-20
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

I want to join my colleagues in commending the terrific work of the No Labels group. I. like others. came to Congress not to fight but to fix problems. And Ive always thought theres so much work to do. if we just start working on the things we agree about. well all be tired at the end of the day and we wont have time to fight. And its in that spirit that weve approached our work. many of us that are new to Congress. and I think were seeing results. The last Congress was content to have an argument about a farm bill. And as my colleague noted. were working in a bipartisan way to bring one to the floor and to get results for the American people. The last Congress was content to give us the sequester. but a bunch of us working across the aisle in this Congress are more interested in implementing the nonpartisan recommendations of the GAO to help us cut government waste that we can all agree shouldnt be there. Weve agreed on things like no budget. no pay. Weve agreed on things in a bipartisan way like the Violence Against Women Act. These are delivering real results for real families. I represent the Hudson Valley of New York. and Im proud to say that weve got one of the largest chapters of the No Labels group in Westchester. I didnt come here to be part of the red team or the blue team. I didnt come here to fight. I came here to find solutions and to get results for my constituents and the people who pay the bills. the taxpayers. And Im encouraged and delighted that there are so many friends across the aisle in the Republican Party who want to do the same thing. I think if we can get more of our colleagues to join us. we can create a real movement in this Congress and we can start a new day. It may be too soon to say that weve turned the corner. but I believe weve made an important start. Im committed to continuing to work across the aisle to get results.