macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1990-10-27
Speaker: VANDER JAGT (republican)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. last night when the Senate adjourned. I was misinformed that the House had adjourned and would reconvene this morning. I immediately went home and went to bed. When my administrative assistant arrived at 6:30 this morning and discovered the House was in session and my car was not there. he called. I rushed to the Chamber and missed the vote on final passage of the budget reconciliation by 5 minutes. Mr. Speaker. had I arrived 5 minutes sooner. I would have voted no on rollcall 528. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that this statement be printed in the permanent RECORD immediately following the rollcall. I The SPEAKER pro tempore . Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Michigan?
Date: 1990-10-27
Speaker: CONSTANCE HORNER (republican)
Chamber: S

Undersecretary. Department of Health and Human Services. Washington. DC. DEAR UNDERSECRETARY HORNER: I am writing to request that you grant a 12 month building extension to the Oakwood Child Center in Los Angeles. California. As you know. in February of 1987. the Department of Health and Human Services granted $1.5 million in funding to Oakwood Child Development to purchase a building for a child center. Subsequently. a grant of $300.000 was made in June of 1987 for the costs of renovating the building. At that time. Oakwood asked HHS to rule on a request to build an addition to the building which would be dedicated to sectarian uses. HHS did not act upon this request for 8 months. and although an initial approval was given for this use. a revocation was made 3 months thereafter. Due to the fact that Oakwood Child Development could not continue construction pending the HHS decision. they were not able to complete construction within the oneyear deadline of the grant. Consequently. HHS asked Oakwood to return the $1.8 million in grant funding. While HHS has routinely given 13 months extensions under circumstances such as this. Oakwoods request for an extension was denied. On April 18. 1989. during the appeal of this denial. Administrative Judge Teitz instruced the parties to meet to work cut a mutually acceptable resolution to this problem. Judge Teltz also directed Madeline Ness. the HHS counsel. to settle this matter with Oakwood. Due to the extenuating circumstances of this revocation. I urge you strongly to allow an extension of this grant. With warmest regards. I am. Sincerely yours.
Date: 1990-10-27
Speaker: CONSTANCE HORNER (republican)
Chamber: S

Under Secretary. Department of Health and Human Services. Washington. DC. DEAR CONNIE: You were right about the attached letter when. in our phone conversation last week. you acknowledged it does not contain details. Nonetheless. thanks for sending it along at my request. The frustrating thing about the Oakwood case. from my point of view. is that I cant find out precisely why HHS finds Oakwood unworthy of an extension. I understand that Mary Evertts. former Director of the Office of Community Services. at a hearing on Oakwood last Thursday. stated under examination by Oakwoods attorney that she recommended against Oakwood In order to protect her bosses politically. I am paraphrasing this information. and I would suggest that you obtain the precise statement from the transcript. When you obtain the transcript I ask that the Department provide an explanation of Ms. Evertts statement. I also ask to be informed specifically and in detail why Oakwoods application for extension cannot be granted. Frankly. I dont think that HHS has a case. If the department has one. please tell me explicitly what it is. I have urged John Sununu to make the same request of the Department. Has Oakwood been denied on the basis of politics? If so. this is scandalous. Having thought about our conversation. having been informed through you that the Department does not allege an impropriety or unlawful conduct on the part of the grantee. having read the attached letter (which is the same kind of boilerplate response we have been getting from HHS for months). and especially in light of the Evertt statement. I request that the Department grant an extension to this project. or explain to me in detail what material problem exists. With warm regards. I am Sincerely yours.
Date: 1990-10-27
Speaker: CONSTANCE HORNER (republican)
Chamber: S

Undersecretary. Department of Health and twnan Services. Washington. DC. DEAa CONNIE: Because the Department has stonwalled for months my repeated. reasonable and legitimate requests. to document a material case for its devial of the application for extensioe by the Oakwood Child Developmet CenAter. I have decided to ask for a GAO investizatioc. The Departments most recent letter. that of July 127. refused again to. provide the infoematioi. this time claiming to do so would somehow coiprotise the proceedings of the Appeal Board. This is ridiculous.. On the one hand. the Department claims the Board is Independent. oo the other it claims that providing Information to a Senator would compromise the Boards proceedings. My concern over the Departments eoanduct Is further heigthened by the revelation that a Department official attempted to intikilate a witness who testified in favor of Oakwood. According to the transcript of the April 18. 1969 hearing of the Departmental Appeals Board. David Kirker. former Deputy Assistant Secretary. testified he was advised by an HHS official that if he testi lied. in favor of Oakwood his pending appllcation for a position at HHS would be jeopardized. An attempt such as this to. nflucence by initimidation a quasijudicial proceeding is appalling and scandalous. The tragedy of all this is. that 250 innocent chil&dren are being denied day care. apparently. for no good reason.. With warmest regards. I am Sincerely yours. GORDON J. HusY.. U.S Senator.