macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-10-27
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I thank my colleague from California for yielding me time. I rise in opposition of H.R. 420 and in support of the substitute. This bill would not do anything to reduce frivolous lawsuits. In fact. my concern about it is it is unnecessary. and it will infringe on States being able to manage their own court systems. Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure was amended in 1993 to its currenb state because it was being abused by defendants in civil rights cases who filed a series of Rule 11 motions to harass the men and women who challenged discrimination. Until now there has been no demonstrated problems. with the current version of the rule. Usually this type of change in civil procedure goes through a process of the Rules Enabling Act. But in this instance we have decided to circumvent the United States Judicial Conference and the United States Supreme Court. We have taken it upon ourselves tb decide what is best for the judicial system. The Lawsuit Reduction Act would amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and revert back to that pre1993 status. By doing this. again. we take away States discretion to impose sanctions on improper and frivolous pleadings. This would eliminate the current safe harbor provision. permitting the attorneys to withdraw improper frivolous motions within 21 days after they have been 6hallenged by an opposing counsel. Additionally. this bill dictates where plaintiffs can file a personal injury lawsuit against a corporation in a State court. Do we really want to get into the jurisdictional battles in our States? Reverting back to the previous Rule 11 would make people less likely to challenge unjust laws because they are putting themselves at risk for being harassed. At the time some people thought Brown v. Board of Education was a frivolous lawsuit. but it did not look like it had a chance until the Supreme Court recognized that separate was not equal. If we had this strict version of Rule 11 back then. maybe Brown v. Board of Education would have never made it to the Supreme Court. This bill is another example of Congress intruding on States rights. Our system of government is designed to keep our judicial system separate. particularly our State judicial system. We simply do not have the right to tell State and county courthouses across the Nation how to enforce sanctions in their courtrooms or where the plaintiff may file a lawsuit in the State courts.
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank the ranking member and the gentleman from Illinois for this opportunity to speak. Mr. Speaker. Emily. Dickenson said that "a word is dead when it is said some say. I say it just begins to live that day.! These words of hate are taking on life. Mr. Speaker. These words of hate are a clarion call to us to take affirmative action to make sure that this president is never armed with nuclear weapons. This president with these words of hate could create a nuclear holocaust. an inferno if you will. unlike which even the mind of Dante could imagine. We must not allow these words of hate to go unchallenged. This is why I rise today.*I rise because I support the resolution. I believe that this is the appropriate action for us to take as a first step.
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding me this. time. and I also thank all who have supported this resolution on both sides of the aisle. It could not happen without the benefit of both sides working together. This is a great moment .in history.
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. today. I rise to pay tribute to the memory of a great American hero and pioneer in the struggle for equality and civil rights in America. Ms. Rosa Parks. An old Chinese proverb says that the loftiest towers rise from the ground. So too it is with Rosa Parks. Her refusal to get up and move tothe back of the bus so that a white man could take her seat was a catalyst for the national civil rights movement and a later Supreme Court decision overturning legalized segregation. At the time. she said she was just trying to get home from work. Reflecting on the significance of her actions years later. Ms. Parks said. Whatever my individual desires were to be free. I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way.". Indeed. there were. And there are many more to this day. Thanks to the courage of a woman just trying to get home from work in Rosa Parks founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. Through the institute. she sponsored a program for teenagers to learn the history of our country and the civil rights movement by touring the country in buses. She received the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in 1999 and continued her struggle against racial injustice till her passing. And Congress is expected to approve soon an historic resolution making Rosa Parks the first woman in our countrys history to lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda of the United States Congress. Rosa Parks courage and determination changed our country. There is. of course. too much intolerance and injustice still in our society today. No one person can change all that.. But each and every one of us can and should take the lesson from the life of Ms. Parks. that we can improve our society and ourselves by standing up for what we believe is right--or. as in her case. by sitting down. While I mourn her passing now. I join the millions of Americans throughout our great country who will celebrate the accomplishments of her rich life forever. Thank you. Rosa Parks. for your life.
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. first I want to commend the gentlewoman from California on her heartfelt remarks on behalf of Rosa Parks and express my condolences to the Parks family and to all of the people who knew her. I grew up in a time in the middle of the 1960s. I was born in 1966. and consider it an honor and a privilege that I was raised with the rights and benefits that were the legacy of Rosa Parks. So thank you so much for paying that tribute to her. I rise in support of House Resolution 368. the resolution congratulating the State of Israel on the election of Ambassador Dan Gillerman as vice president of the 60th United Nations General Assembly. I was pleased to learn that this resolution passed yesterday with a unanimous vote of 407 to zero. and I am quite proud to be a cosponsor. I also wish to commend my colleagues. Representative ADAM SCHIFF and Representative STEVE CHABOT. for their leadership in sponsoring this resolution. I look forward to a time when Israel is treated with respect and dignity and honor by all of the members of the United Nations.
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. it is a pleasure to be here with you again and have an opportunity to have our 30something Working Group talk about the issues that are important to the average American today in the 21st century. We also want to thank the gentlewoman from California . the Democrat leader. for an opportunity to put together this group and have this time on the floor to talk about these important issues. This is a sad week in the United States of America. This is a week in which we started on Monday with my home State of Florida. my district in south Florida. being hit by a Category 3 hurricane. Hurricane Wilma. Today. 5 days later. we still have 80 percent of the people in my county without power. We have considerable difficulties in getting them ice and water. We have a Governor of my home State who has held up our State as the model for response to and preparation for natural disasters. yet if you went street by street and saw the devastation and asked my constituents and the constituents of Mr. MEEK. if you asked our constituents if they think that this is the response that the model State should have provided. they would be ready to pull out our hair one by one. I am going back down there tonight. and I am planning to spend the weekend going to distribution sites and talking to my constituents. We have trucks and generators and lift stations. and lift stations still that have no power. We have the biggest city in my district. the city of Ft. Lauderdale. which literally is faced with a backup in their sewage system because we did not get generators to them. They are stuck in West Palm Beach. The Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA have not been responsive. I have people older than 85 stuck in highrise towers with glass blown out of their windows and no elevators working because there is no power. These are people who cannot get themselves down 12 to 25 floors.
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I just wonder where the outrage is. I did not hear in the last several hours since the indictment came out calls for an impeachment trial or calls for hearings in the United States Congress. E 1430 And just a few years ago. prior to my coming to the United States Congress. there were questions surrounding the previous administration and far less serious than lying to get us into war. I mean. these accusations. and let us remember that they are accusations. but they are very serious accusations. that once the accusations came out in the previous administration which were for personal circumstances. immediately we went into a situation on this House floor where we had impeachment managers. we had a trial. we had a process by which the President of the United States prior to this President was actually impeached on the floor of the House of Representatives for the accusations that were made against him that were far less dire Where is that outrage? Where is anyone on the other side who were calling for his head? Why are they not calling for the head of this administration?
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. what has become clear as of today is that the culture of corruption in the party and this administration and the leadership in this institution has become institutionalized. It runs deep.
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

If the gentleman will yield further. I wish my constituents could go to the gas station. but right now they cannot because none of the gas stations have any power. There are people in my district sitting in the dark 5 days after the storm hit them. supposedly the model State for disaster preparedness and aftermath response. We have a Governor of my State who is refusing. after being asked several times this week. refusing to use the state of emergency to have the tankers with gas. instead of filling .their contracts. which they can get premium top dollar for the gas in those tankers. he is refusing to order those tankers to deliver gas to meet the essential services that we need. to meet the needs of the generators in my cities and in the cities across south Florida of my colleagues. the gentleman from Florida
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I am glad the gentleman brought up iFEMA. because obviously that is a pretty hot issue down my way right now. Let us let people know what we were talking about the other night. because Brownie. the former Mr. Michael Brown. the former Under Secretary for FEMA. most peoplethink that he is gone. Most people think he is no longer involved in FEMAs decisionmaking activities. He is still being paid $148.000 a year as an adviser. because the Secretary of Homeland Security Mr. Chertoff just extended his contract for another 30 days. They kept him on supposedly to continue to advise thtm on how to deal with the aftermath of Katrina. [I 1500
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. the gentleman is so right. As we close out. I just want to reiterate that this is about- competence. It is about who do you trust. It is going to be next year asking the American people -to give us the opportunity to take this country in a new direction. to end the culture of corruption. to end the cronyism. to invest the kind of resources that we need to make sure that the middle class can be thriving andvibrant. and to make sure that we have a disaster response system in place that is responsive. that meets the needs of people. and that does not leave them twisting in the wind as my constituents are right now. who are without gas and without water. where a hospital in my own district is not able to continiue to take care of people because their employees do not have enough gas to get to work. Those are basic needs. We want to thank the Democratic leader for giving us an opportunity to come on this floor tonight and for creating the 30something Working Group. I know Mr. RYAN wants to give people the Web site where they can contact us.
Date: 2005-10-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I want to let my constituents know that I am coming home tonight and looking forward to having the opportunity of helping them to get through the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma.
Date: 2005-11-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleinan for yielding to me. It is a pleasure to join him once again. and we appreciate Leader PELOSIS giving us this opportunity to talk about the issues that -are important not just to our generation but to the citizens of this country who really need to hear both sides of the story. which they are most definitely not hearing from now. And the gentleman mentioned the extension of Brownies contract. I was struck by the fact when we leirned that. and I think we just learned that last week. that his contract -was extended ostensibly to glean more advice from him on what the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA should be doing in the aftermath of hurri-. canes. And we are still. unfortunately. in the middle of hurricane season. Our respective districts were just struck by Hurricane Wilma. and one of the things that we have learned in the aftermath of Wilma now is that it has really become clear that the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA have learned nothing from the aftermath of Katrina. the blown aftermath of Katrina. and then Rita and then from Rita to Wilma. Communication failures. an inability of our cities to get generators to run their lift stations. sewage backing up in the streets. gaping holes in condominiums and mobile homes. It. is pouring rain today in south Florida. Which is pouring more misery on top of people who have ilready been through so much. And how does Secretary Chertoff respond? He extends Michael Browns contract by 30 days. This is a personwho President Bush ultimately was forced to admit was not able to handle a job the size of Hurricane Katrima and her aftermath. so muchso that essentially he was forced out. But now. because they are so married to the cronyism. the culture of corruption and cronyism and the lack of competence runs so deep and they are so unwilling to give it up and to almit that they are incorrect that they give him an extension and continue to pay him $148.000 a year. This is what they are rewarding. They reward incompetence. They thrive on cronyism and corruption and unethical behavior. It is just unbelievable. I think this is a good time to turn to our first chart here. if the gentleman is ready to do that.
Date: 2005-11-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding to me because in between these two charts or slides. I want to tell my colleagues what I saw when I was watching "Good Morning America" yesterday morning. Mr. Speaker. Li 2115 Matt Cooper. the Time Magazine reporter who was one of the reporters involved in all of this and testified in front of the grand jury and initially resisted in terms of his willingness to testify. had an exchange with Charles Gibson on Good Morning America yesterday. Matt Cooper acknowledged. in questioning from Mr. Gibson. that he initially heard from Karl Rove about the identity of Joe Wilsons wife and what she did for a living. Charles Gibson in this exchange said. "So. you. I am sure. will likely be called to testify at Mr. Libbys trial. and will you betestifying to those facts?" In other words. he asked will you be testifying that you initially heard about Joe Wilsons wifes profession and what she did and -her identity from Karl Rove? And he said. "Well. that is the truth. and I plan on testifying about what I know." Then Charles Gibson asked Matt Co6per. "Is there any possibility that you are not correct?" Because. you know. Mr. Cooper. the other side will say. opposing counsel will try to say that perhaps you are mistaken or you misunderstood or there was some matter of clarity. lack of clarity on your part. He said. "Well. I was taking notes during this conversation. and I am pretty clear. I am going to. go in and testify to what I was told."
Date: 2005-11-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. if the gentleman will yield. Cooper is.going to say at trial. if asked. that Karl Rove was the first person to tell him Valerie Plames identity.
Date: 2005-11-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And subsequently made a liar out of Mr. McClellan. He is the spokesperson standing in front of the American people and the White House press corps. In fact. I heard an exchange yesterday between him and the White House press corps where he was pressed by them to acknowledge that he basically was trotted up there to the podium and forced to lie to them. unknowingly perhaps. But in addition to being lied to. he lied to the press and to the American people.
Date: 2005-11-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. if we had that transparency here. if the leadership here were willing to engage in transparency and get to the bottom of whether or not prior to the declaration of war and taking us into the Iraq war and misrepresenting facts to Members of this body. if they were willing to do that. then we would not be in the position that we are in today. so much so that today in the United States Senate. Minority Leader HARRY REID. had the courage to use a rule that has not been used in 20 years.. at least 20 years. rule XXI that has not been invoked in 20 years. to bring the Senate into a closed session because of the footdragging and hemming and hawing and handwringing over exposing the information on how it is that we ended up in the Iraq war. and making sure that they get to the bottom of how much information. following September 11 and prior to September 11. the .-administration actually. had and whether it was available. None of that information has been forthcoming. There has been opaqueness. not clarity. not transparency. so much so that Minority Leader REID had to force the Senate into closed session today in order to try to push them to get that part of the investigation rolling. It is just absolutely inexcus.able.
Date: 2005-11-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It has been such a pleasure to serve with the gentleman from Massachusetts on the Judiciary Committee. and his eloquence and knowledge and commitment to making sure that truth is told is absolutely laudable. You know. to follow up on what you are saying. there are consequences to the actions that they are taking. It is not just about that it is outrageous that they have to be right and that they are dictatorial and that they insist. on having their way and that. during one of the debates in the last Presidential election. President Bush actually could not think of something. of an instance in which he had been wrong. I mean. this is how arrogant this administration has become. This is how deep seated the culture of corruption and cronyism and incompetence has become. But it is the results of that arrogance and that attitude that is what is truly troubling. And troubling is too easy a word. The other day we went beyond 2.000 men and women who are dead. Dead. Whose families are in tears. Whose mothers will never be the same again because they had to be right. Because it did not matter whether the information they had was true. They were just going to disseminate it. Because they had decided. clearly in advance of September 11. that they were going to take us into war in Iraq. There are documents. like the Downing Street Memos that have come out. that show that they were fitting the facts around their previously arrived at decision. Sure. it is not President Bushs daughters. It is not Karl Roves kids. What is Karl Rove still doing there?. Let us go back to the first slide that you had up there. Does it appear as though the President has stuck to his commitment as a candidate. which was. in my administration we will ask not only what is legal but what is right. not just what the lawyers allow but what the public deserves. This is a man who has compromised our national security. This is a man who has compromised not. just a covert CIAs operative life but the lives of countless operatives who worked with her. who has helped send more than 2.000 Americans to their deaths. For what? For what? You know. last year. during the campaign. you had thousands and thousands of security moms who ient to the polls. and but for just about everything else that they cared about. they cared most about making sure that their children were safe. They went and cast their ballot for this President. because they trusted him the most to protect them in a time of national security. against terrorism and disaster. Now we have seen just how well he measures up in terms of his ability to protect people after a natural disaster. And clearly there have been troubling aspects of what they knew in advance of September 11 and whether they could have even prevented September -11 from happening. given the information that they had. Now they led us into war with misleading information. prevarication. I will use every other word except the word I am not allowed to use as a result of our rules. But how can they not care about that?
Date: 2005-11-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

That is the pattern. Because there is no accountability in Iraq. and just giving away the store. contracts without any accountability. In Florida. we have been hit by eight hurricanes in 15 months. A year ago. FEMA gave out $31 million in reimbursement and assistance to people who were not even hit by a hurricane in Miami Dade County. one of the countiesthat I represent. So my answer to my daughter this morning was. honey. even though this is an agency. a department in the government that is supposed to take care of people after a hurricane comes by. many people think they are doing such a poor job that it feels like they got hit by hurricane FEMA after they have come through. That is what is going on in Florida tonight as we speak. You still have tfiem make mistake after mistake. no communication. and yet this leadership and this Congress still refuses to appoint an independent Katrina commission to ensure that we can review the aftermath of that storm. the aftermath of Rita and Wilma and find out why they were not ready. what happened. We still have 4 weeks left of hurricane season. We are in a 15- to 20year run of expected really tough storms. and I mean we- have an administration that we have to count on now until 2008. Do we want to leave these people in peril in charge of every. branch of our government? Do the American people have that kind of confidence? Culture of corruption. cronyism. and incompetence. It is time to make some changes so we can take this country in a new direction and reinstate Americans confidence in their governments ability to do right by them. Up and down the line. they have proven that they do not deserve that confidence. They have not earned it.