macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-18
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you. Mr. Chairman. and I also thank the ranking member. Madam Speaker. the people of America can be proud today of what this committee is doing. They can be exceedingly proud of the bipartisanship that is being displayed between the current chairman and the former chairman. both of whom have worked tirelessly to bring this piece of legislation to fruition. so I think that today. the people of Mississippi and the people of New York should span the chasm and understand that bipartisanship is alive and well because of representativesthat they have sent to the Congress of the United States of America. I am honored to support and encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. It does establish an Office of Bombing Prevention. and if the truth be told. whatever amount of money we spend on this legislation will be money well spent. money well spent. Protecting the American people from persons who would perform dastardly deeds is an absolute necessity of the government of the United States of America. I am honored to say that the ranking member. without objection. and the chairman allowed a piece of legislation. this piece of legislation. to be amended so that we could have a public awareness campaign so that the public could be a part of protecting itself. If the public is aware of the methodologies that are being utilized by those who would perform insidious acts. the public can help us to defend ourselves. This legislation requires this public awareness campaign. It will reach small businesses. it will reach the very large businesses. It also will. in an effort to reach all. make sure people are reached who are physically challenged. those who are mentally challenged. those who may have some language deficiencies. In fact. in my district the ballot is printed in English. Spanish and Vietnamese. We must make sure that all persons have an opportunity to receive the education and the information that this bill requires that we impart to the public. To the two outstanding representatives on this committee. the chairperson and the former chairperson. I want to salute you. and I want to thank you for allowing the amendment to go forward. such that it is now a part of the bill. In closing. I would simply say. as the chairman pointed out. a wellinformed public is a wellprotected public. Mr. Chairman. I salute you and I thank you. Mr. Ranking Member. I salute you and thank you as well.
Date: 2008-06-18
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Chairman. I rise in strong support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of The bill supports NASAs missions and goals in space with a $20 billion authorization that. in addition to funding such important programs as the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. will also enable NASA to inspire a new generation of Americans through its plans for additional manned space exploration. The bill continues other important NASA programs including its climate research programs which help us understand how solar radiation and human activities are affecting the Earths climate. the Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station- to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (an instrument that measures cosmic rays and particulate matter in space). NASAs Science Directorate. which studies Earth and the solar system. and NASAs many inspirational educational programs. The educational programs are of particular importance as current science and engineering workers across the country begin to retire. To help ensure that the U.S. continues to meet the growing demand for scientists. mathematicians and engineers. it is important that Congress supports programs that encourage more young people to pursue careers in the sciences. I want to especially acknowledge one such programthe NASA Goddard High School Internship Program which has educated and inspired students aciross this countryincluding some from my district. The NASA Goddard High School Internship Program is a research intensive program allowing intems to apply science. technology. engineering and mathematics disciplines to "real time" research. The program enables students to work on projects relevant to NASAs goals and then share the results of their research with NASA management. personnel and fellow interns. I commend NASA for the role it continues to play in helping maintain and strengthen the vitality of science and engineering in the United States and for its ongoing efforts to inspire. educate and engage our young people.
Date: 2008-06-19
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague. the chairman of the subcommittee. Mr. DAVIS. for all he has done to support Federal employees and workers around this country. Congratulations to Congresswoman MALONEY for her leadership on this issue over many years. And congratulations on bringing this bill to the floor today. And to the chairman of the full committee. Mr. WAXMAN. thank you for all your efforts as well. I want to join my colleague. the majority leader. STENY HOYER. in also commending our colleagues from the Virginia side of the river. Mr. TOM DAVIS. whos on the floor. as well as Congressman FRANK WOLF. Weve all worked very well together on issues supporting Federal employees and trying to make the Federal Government a model employer. an employer we can be proud of. and someone that tries to set the standard. rather than bring up the rear when it comes to policies for employees and the workforce. As I think people understand. we are going to face a severe shortage of Federal workers going into the future. Indeed. over the next 5 years. nearly a third of the 1.6 million boomer age members of the Federal workforce are expected to retire. Were going to need hundreds of thousands of new workers to replace those departing Federal employees. and its going to be essential that we attract new. young workers into the Federal workforce in order to continue the job that they need to do for the American people. And thats one of the reasons why this is an important measure that we need to follow up on. This is a benefit that is currently enjoyed by employees of most of the Fortune 100 companies today. so we are playing catchup here at the Federal Government level. We are trying to compete with those in the private sector that are saying to young people. come work for us because were going to provide you a benefit that doesnt require you to choose between taking a little bit of time to care for your newborn child. and getting a paycheck to help pay for your mortgage or for your rent or putting food on your table. And we think that its important that people not have to make that choice. So yes. this is a very familyoriented. familyfriendly measure. Dont let anybody kid you. because we dont want people applying to the Federal Government to have to say. well. Im not going to join because Im going to be losing money to stay home for a short period of time to take care of a newborn child. I can go work at one of those other companies. This is a time when we need more folks working in the Federal Government on critical issues like homeland security. like defense. like medical research. We need to replace those individuals who are leaving so that we can make sure that we have a vibrant Federal Government that can address the needs that weve asked of our Federal employees. I congratulate. again. Congresswoman MALONEY. the chairman of the subcommittee. chairman of the full committee. And I urge my colleagues to adopt what is a very familyfriendly measure. We should be leading by example at the Federal level.
Date: 2008-06-19
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Califomia

Mr. Speaker. today. with the passage of H.R. 5781. The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008. Congress will finally recognize the vital importance of providing paid parental leave to millions of families who want to start a family. I would like to thank Congresswoman CAROLYN MALONEY who first introduced this legislation and urge my colleagues to support this important measure. Currently. there is no paid Federal parental leave policy. If Federal employees wish to start a family or expand their family. they must take unpaid leave or cash in their sick or vacation days so that they may continue receiving an income while they areat home. With the rising prices of food and gas. unpaid leave poses an even greater economic hardship for working families. not to mention the extra costs that are associated with providing for a newborn. Unfortunately. the absence of a family leave policy for Federal workers forces mothers and fathers choose what is more important: either stay at home with their infant and forgo a steady income or head back to work without spending adequate recovery or bonding time with their newborn. The Federal Government lags behind the private sector in this area. The current lack of a parental leave policy for our Federal employees impairs efforts to hire and retain the best and the brightest our Nation has to offer. Familyfriendly policies like guaranteed paid leave not only help parents balance work and family. but will also help ease our. impending Federal personnel crisis. Federal employers will benefit from increased retention rates. decreased absenteeism. and improved productivity. Several States have taken the lead to provide coverage for employees. In fact. over 6 years ago. Califomia successfully enacted a paid parental leave law and it has been a great su&ess. New Jersey recently passed a similar law in April and several other States even cover maternity under their disability insurance laws. H.R. 5781 seeks to amend the current Federal family leave policy by allowing mothers and fathers up to 4 weeks of paid lave for the birth or adoption of a child. Federal employees should not have to make choice between their family and their job but should be covered under a fair. paid parental eave policy. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5781. The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act.
Date: 2008-06-19
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. this Emergency Supplemental bill presents the House with two very distinct amendmentsand two very separate decisions. The first amendment we are being asked to consider would provide $165.4 billion for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. My position on the war in Iraq is clear. I believe the decision to invade Iraq was a mistake. And I simply cannot support giving this President a blank check to further mishandle our involvement in Iraq. Because this amendment does not include the conditions that were contained in the bill that the House passed. I will be voting no on this portion of the Supplemental today. While I oppose this war. I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for our fellow citizens who choose to serve this Nation in uniform. It is in large measure because of my respect for their honorable service that I will be proud to support the second amendment before us today. A centerpiece of this second amendment is a GI Bill for the 21st century. Just as a grateful Nation expanded opportunities for GIs returning home from World War II over 60 years ago. so now must our generation invest in our soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan so that they can get a 4year college education. We have an obligation to invest in their future. With the Nations economy slowing. and our unemployment rate on the rise. this second amendment also appropriately includes a 13week extension in unemployment benefits to sustain our fellow citizens and their families as they continue to look for work. I am particularly pleased that this amendment places a moratorium on six Medicaid regulations that had threatened to cut needed services to those who rely on themand that we have moved quickly to provide over $2.65 billion in disaster relief to assist in the recovery efforts after the tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest. Finally. we can be proud that this amendment invests $550 million in critical scientific research to expand our medical knowledge. improve our energy efficiency and enhance our global competitiveness--including a $150 million investment in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). $150 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). $62.5 million for the Department of Energys Office of Science. $62.5 million for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and $62.5 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF). For these reasons. this second amendment is exceptionally worthy of our support.
Date: 2008-06-20
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. and I want to thank the Rules Committee. for reporting this rule to the floor and I want to thank Mr. CARDOZA for managing this legislation. He has spent his entire public life being concerned about children at risk. And clearly the children we seek to protect in this bill are at serious risk. I also want to thank the gentlewoman from New York for all of her effort on this legislation. She. too. has spent her entire time in Congress trying to make sure that our children are safe in whatever setting" we have responsibility for. whether it is in high schools or colleges or in this case residential programs. -_This legislation is designed to address in a reasonable manner a very serious problem that has come to the attention of the Education and Labor Committee this last year when we started looking at the abuse and neglect in teenage residential programs. Tragically. a number of these cases have resulted in the death of a child. This legislation will help ensure that children are safe no matter what setting they are in. It will also provide parents with the information they need to make safe choices on behalf of their children. The rule we are considering today is a fair one. It makes in order the MillerMcKeon managers amendment and one other amendment offered by Ms. SHEAPORTER. a member of the Education and Labor Committee. Mr. McKEON and his staff have worked alongside our staff tomake sure that we could do this is in bipartisan fashion. and the managers amendment reflects the changes to be made to improve the legislation since it left the committee. Of the 10 amendments originally submitted to the Rules Committee. our bipartisan compromise incorporates and makes unnecessary seven of those amendments. It would be disingenuous for anyone to come to the floor and oppose this rule since it takes into consideration those concerns. I want to thank Mr. MCKEON for working on this legislation so that we would have a bill with. few amendments but we would address the concerns of the Members. In the course of crafting the managers amendment. we worked with several Members on provisions that are now reflected in the compromise. Representatives CUELLAR. ROTHMAN and MATHESON each made valuable improvements to the managers amendment. and we thank them for their input.
Date: 2008-06-20
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman. And that is what this is about. That is where we saw this incredibly abusive behavior. and in a number of instances. simply lethal. to these children. The children died in the care in which their parents had placed them because the parents were not aware of how poorly run these facilities were. In a couple of cases. referrals for criminal proceedings against those individuals have been made. Why is this bill important. because these children are outofhome placements. and we have to understand the responsibility of those individuals who represent themselves that they can provide treatment and they can- provide care. If thats not true. the parents ought to know it. This is simple awareness by parents of the care their children are going to receive. It is hard to believe that you could put your child into a program and the child could die of dehydration or die of simple neglect because people refuse to call medical personnel to the care of these children because they said that the children were faking. No. they werent faking. they were dying. They were dying. and people stood around and said they were faking it. dont touch them. dont go near them. and they died on the trail. They needed water. No. they were faking. and they pushed them on to hike out in the desert in the heat. and they died of dehydration. Children standing in stress positions that look more like Guantanamo Bay than look like a care facility for American children. Children standing in a stress position with their hands out with a hood around their neck and a hangmans noose for hours while others children watched and participated in the treatment of those children. Thats not the care of children: There is no professional organization that recognizes that kind of care for the treatment of children. And yet those homes blemish the reputation of facilities and organizations that are trying to care for very difficult children. And as CAROLYN MCCARTHY said. these parents are at their wits end. They have tried almost everything. We need to make sure that the next thing they try is safe and wellorganized for the care of their children. U 0945
Date: 2008-06-20
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I rise in opposition to this bill. I appreciate that some improvements have made been made to title I of the bill. but even these improvements are undercut by the scheme in title II that means there will be no accountability and perhaps no adherence to the provisions of title I. I cannot support the legislations deeply flawed provisions relating to the issue of immunity for telecommunications companies. These provisions turn the judiciary into the administrations rubber stamp. The review provided in this bill is an empty formality that will lead to a preordained conclusion. dismissing all cases with no examination on their merits. Under this bill. the courts are not allowed to ask whether the conduct of the corporations who assisted was in fact legal. They may only note that the administration says that it was legal. In other words. the decision on the ultimate question of legality. a decision the Constitution dedicates to the judiciary. will instead be made by the executive branch with the judiciary acting as a rubber stamp. It turns the process of judicial review into a joke and denigrates this supposedly independent and coequal branch of government. i] 1115 Its all the more aggravating because immunity already exists in the law under 18 U.S.C.. section 2511. It provides that telecommunications companies are immune from suit if the com-. pany has been provided with a court order or a certification by the Attorney General. in writing. that the order has been obtained or is unnecessary. I cannot support this. (Effective: November 25. 2002)
Date: 2008-06-20
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. on March 14th I voted in favor of H.R. 3773 which modernized the Foreign lntelligdnce Surveillance Act. This bill successfully updated the law to accommodate the current day communications technology while at the same time providing the muchneeded. protection of the court in sanctioning the surveillance of Americans. Moreover. the bill was also remarkable for what it did not contain. it did not provide retroactive immunity for telephone companies who are defendants in pending lawsuits. These suits have been brought to uncover the full extent of the Administrations program to conduct unauthorized surveillance on Americans. I am deeply troubled that the Senate does not have the votes to pass the House bill. The Senate instead passed its own bill. S. 2248. which was unacceptable to me from the outset because it reduced the role of the FISA Court to merely review the procedures for targeting surveillance subjects and minimizing the information collected. Moreover. the Senate bill established retroactive immunity for the phone companies that have been used to carry out the Administrations illicit surveillance program. To be sure. the Senate bill is completely unacceptable. Majority Leader HOYER worked tirelessly to improve upon the Senate bill to forge an acceptable compromise. The bill before us today. however. does not go far enough to include sufficient safeguards of court involvement in the surveillance of Americans. Moreover. it continues to provide retroactive immunity for those companies that carded out the Administrations unauthorized surveillance. Finally. it fails to hold the Administration accountable for its past illicit surveillance activities and its disregard of the Fourth Amendment protections of Americans. As a result. I must vote against this bill.
Date: 2008-06-23
Speaker: STEVE COHEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Tennessee. BOBBY Scor of Virginia. SHEILA JACKSONLEE. Texas. ADAM SCHIFF. California. LINDA SANCHEZ. California. BETTY SUTTON. Ohio. and a number of others. You remember the summer of 1964? Goodman. a student at New Yorks Queens College. James Chaney of Mississippi. Michael Schwerner. 24 years old of New York. were all working with the CORE. the Congress of Racial Eqjjality. And they left the Meridian. Mississippi. office for the town of Philadelphia 25 miles away. They were stopped by the Klan. and the rest is history. We still work against the backdrop of this activity. It was out of their sacrifices that the movement and understanding of not only the citizens of the country but the leaders of the country and Washington understood what we had to accomplish. And we passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Dr. Martin Luther Kings inspiring rhetoric kept us together for so. so long. and Im happy that were doing what weve done. Im sure the Senate. the other body. will follow very rapidly. I reserve the balance of my time.