macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-10
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of House Resolution 1089. which I introduced on Tuesday. calling for an end to the Vietnamese Governments imprisonment. detention and harassment of those who signed the Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy For Vietnam. On April 8. 2006. 118 Vietnamese citizens signed a manifesto in support of peaceful action to bring democracy and basic human rights to the Vietnamese people. Thousands of Vietnamese people have since signed this document. refusing to be silent while their government continues to violate their human rights. In retaliation. the Government of Vietnam has jailed. detained and harassed those brave people. I introduced this important resolution to mark the 2year anniversary of the original signing of the manifesto and to highlight the ongoing human rights atrocities in Vietnam. Not only does my resolution call on the Government of Vietnam to release peaceful advocates. but it also asks our State Department to establish a list of Countries of Particular Concern based on human rights violations. which would hold nations like Vietnam accountable.
Date: 2008-04-10
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong opposition to the Bush Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Like many here. I would like to see our relationship with Colombia strengthened. but the NAFTAstyle Colombia FTA would actually do more harm than good. The Bush administration refuses to change its stubborn ways. By deciding to force the trade agreement through Congress without seeking support or input from the House leadership. the administration continues to demonstrate its lack of judgment and sensibility. Despite many serious concerns about the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. this administration continues to believe that it can unilaterally demand and approve legislation as it pleases. when it pleases. Unfortunately. it doesnt work that way. Until the Bush administration understands that it must make fundamental. changes in its approach to trade. this House will oppose its onesided trade deals. We need trade deals that work for American working families. The Bush Colombia FTA is not it.
Date: 2008-04-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2537.
Date: 2008-04-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. I would like to yield to our distinguished Chair of the full committee for a unanimous consent request.
Date: 2008-04-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. I yield the balance of my time to the chairman of the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. the gentleman from Minnesota .
Date: 2008-04-10
Speaker: GENE GEEEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2537. the Beach Protection Act of 2008. Texas is home to over 600 miles of spectacular beaches along the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This "Third Coast" includes some.of the most beautiful and calming beaches in the Nation and is a huge contributor to our State economy. Whether its Galveston Island. Corpus Christi. Port Aransas. or South Padre Island. millions of Texans and tourists visit and swim in our waters. making it vital that we monitor these beaches to protect the health and safety of American families. Just last July. a man who had an ulcer in his lower leg went swimming off the coast of Galveston County. Three days later he fell ill and was rushed to the hospital where he had three surgeries to save him from a rare bacterial infection. The bacteria entered his ulcer through the water and the infection spread to his blood. While this is a rare case. Madam Chairman. it highlights the need to quickly detect water contamination and warn the public of possible health related threats. The Beach Protection Act will provide much needed grants to States .along the coasts for State and local recreational water monitoring and notification programs. It expands the grant program and allows States to use funding to pinpoint possible sources of water contamination and to track these pollutants. Just as important. the bill strengthens public notification laws by requiring a 24hour notification if water samples prove contaminated. and allows for public warnings on the possibility that water may be contaminated. With more information. individuals and families can make the most informed choices when vacationing and visiting our public beaches. I urge my colleagues to support the Beach Act to protect our waters and the health of our communities.
Date: 2008-04-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. this amendment is a proposed solution in search of a problem. The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act. or the BEACH Act. which this legislation amends. was introduced to limit and prevent human exposure to polluted coastal recreation waters. including those along the Great Lakes. The initial BEACH Act authorized $30 million annually to assist States and local governments to implement beach monitoring. assessment and public notification programs. Funds authorized under the initial BEACH Act and under the legislation we consider today go either to the Environmental Protection Agency or are distributed to individual States on a formula basis. Each State receives a portion of annual appropriations which have hovered around $10 million based upon a calculation of the States variant beach monitoring and notification needs. The committee is aware of the concerns that the current formula utilized by EPA for the- distribution of grant funds may not provide for an equitable allocation of funds among States at current appropriation levels. Section 9 of this legislation requires EPA to conduct a study of potential revisions to the formula with a specific focus on base costs to States of developing and maintaining water quality monitoring and notification programs. the States varied beach monitoring and notification needs. including beach mileage. beach usage and length of beach season and other factors that the administrator determines to be appropriate. None of the funds appropriated under this legislation go out to the States or local communities under a "congressional earmark." This amendment has no bearing on the authorities under the BEACH Act or EPAs beach program. Madam Chairman. I yield back.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. before I begin. I would like to ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneofis material.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity that has been given to us by Speaker PELOSI tonight to talk about an issue that is affecting literally millions. of families across America. and that is the lack of affordable child care and early childhood education. It is especially important to highlight these issues as this week marks the Week of the Young Child. For the next hour. were going to focus on young children and how. over the last 7 years. we have failed to provide adequate and. necessary funding for vital child care and early childhood education. And I can tell you. Madam Speaker. that as a mother of three young childrenI have 8yearold twins and an almost 5yearold. 42yearold little girlthis is something that is near and dear to my heart. I remember the struggle that I went through when I first gave birth to my twins and had to go back to work. and we searched and searched for a quality child care program. We were turning our newborn babies. 3 months old. 4 months old. over to really. basically. someone we didnt know. someone to care for our little ones all day long. You know. we just couldnt even imagine turning over the care of our babies. our most precious resource. we couldnt imagine turning over our babies to anyone. So you can imagine the struggle that people go through when. on top of having to decide where they can take their children to be cared for while they work. that they also have to struggle through the angst of not knowing or not expecting that they can afford that care. And because we have continued to slash and burn from this administration the funding for Head Start and for the Child Care Development Block Grants programs. we absolutely wanted to come to the floor tonight and spend an hour. at least an hour. highlighting the needs that children in this country have. and particularly those of working families. And Im going to be joined tonight by several of my colleagues. Before we begin. though. I do want to recognize and thank our good friend. Chairman GEORGE MILLER of the Education and Labor Committee. and Chairman KILDEE. DALE KILDEE. for their leadership and their commitment to child care issues and education. as well as the Head Start and Child Care Development Block Grant Program funding. These are all programs that are near and dear to their hearts. and a number of these Members have submitted statements. We just have to highlight that there are children. especially those from lowincome families. that need better access to highquality early childhood programs. Across the Nation. Madam Speaker. child care fees average from $4.000 to $10.000 per year which exceed the cost of public universities in most States. Yet natiofially. only one in seven children who are financially eligible for child care subsidies is being served. One in seven. And at this time. I would like to turn the podium over to a champion for Americas children. the voice in this body that is consistently there for those who have no voice. She is the current Chair of the Womans Caucus. Congressman LOIS CAPPS of California.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank Congresswoman CAPPS. You have just been an incredible leader on the issues that are important to women and young families. and it is so incredibly important in this Week of the Young Child that we have a leader like Congresswoman CAPPS. the Chair of the Womens Caucus. who has been such a stalwart on the issues that are important to young women and families. and its just a pleasure to have her join us on the floor today. It is also a pleasure to have such a committed* and passionate and compassionate father serving in the House of Representatives with us from Pennsylvania. a wonderful father of two young daughters and someone who has done an incredible job since hes joined the. Congress after the 2006 election. Congressman JASON ALTMIRE of Pennsylvania.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. Mr. ALTMIRE. And thank you for your leadership -and for- giving your time in public service to make sure that the next generation is well represented here in the halls of Congress. It is incredibly important and so beneficial to the issues important to working families to have parents of young children serving in the Congress. having moms and dads who are living and dealing with these issues every day. Weve gotto make sure that we have their voice represented strongly in this House of Representatives. And now its my privilege to turn the mic over to my good friend who represents the beautiful islands of Hawaii. the gentlewoman from Hawaii. MAZIE HIRONO.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you so much. Congresswoman HIRONO. You have been an incredible leader when it comes to the issues that are important to working families. I often think about the constituents that you represent. We make public policies so far away from the people that you represent. they need a strong voice all the more for that reason. and you have done an amazing job representing them. Its a pleasure and an honor to serve with you here.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Reclaiming my time. you made a reference to our mom and the wonderful quality of care that she provided to the children that she cared for over the years. And then. of course. she made hiring decisions as she moved up the ladder and became a child care director. Your comments about your moms involvement with improving the lives of children in those programs made me think about finding the information on providers salaries because it is horrendous that we are actually cutting the funding for these programs for the kids themselves and that only one in seven kids are eligible. But listen to the statistics about how much the providers. the teachers. are actually paid: The average Head Start teachers salary. and. now. thats Head Start. not child care. We are talking about two separate programs here tonight so that people understand me because these acronyms get thrown around a whole lot in Washington. We have the Head Start program. which is the highquality education program that subsidizes and provides highquality preschool education for young kids who are income eligible. and then theres the Child Care and Development Block Grant program. which is a subsidized child care program that is funded around the States and theres a FederalState match for. So the average Head Start teachers salary varies by the teachers education. So if you have whats called a child development associates. which is the first rung on the ladder in terms of an education credential. not a certified teacher but you have a lot of hours of course work that youve taken. an average Head Start teacher with a CDA gets paid -about $21.000. If you have an associates degree. so now youve got a 2year college degree. you get $22.500. If you have a baccalaureate degree. that is a fullblown college degree. you make about $27.000 in the Head Start program. Now. the average teachers salary. who also get hired with a baccalaureate degree. is about $48.000. $49.000. So a Head Start teacher. depending on their education credential. makes between $21.000 and $27.000 a year. I mean that is just unbelievable.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

and to say to my colleagues that we have to stand up. This is a critical issue. and as we reflect on the week of the young child. it is important that we not forget that they come from a community of families. and those families are struggling. They need to be able to be at the job on time. They need to be able to know that their children are safe and in a wholesome environment while they are at work. And thats what these child care centers and these early childhood education environments create for the children and for their parents: a sense of relief and a sense of wellbeing both for the child and the family.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Absolutely. And lets show people what we mean. And I know you have seen this information before. What we are talking about. when you describe the difference between a parent who cant decide to bring their child to a child care program because there is no money. they cant afford to pay for it. the Federal Government is slashing the funding for it so they dont have a slot funded for their child. even though they are eligible. what happens. like you said. is that you have the parents who can afford it when those kids get to public school. they have already been through several years of prekindergarten. and they arrive at school and start kindergarten at 5 years old ready to learn. which is what the goal of Head Start and these child care programs is. The Federal funding that we provide is designed to make sure those children get to school ready to learn. And this is the correlation of funding from the Federal Government for child care and Head Start and brain development. We are literally funding it in the opposite direction from the way the brain grows and develops and when we provide funding. So here is when you have the most brain growth. and the most rapid brain growth and the most important point in a childs life for that brain growth. and we are funding it the most when we are well beyond the points that the childs brain growth has not ceased. but certainly when it has slowed. This chart should be inversed. We should be funding the highest percentage when the childs brain is developing at its earliest point between birth and 5 years old. But we are doing the opposite. It makes absolutely no sense. It really boggles my mind. And that hurts. We are talking about real kids. I brought pictures of real children who are impacted by these decisions because I think we have to remember what we are talking about here. So often when we have discussions on the floor here. it becomes easy to become desensitized to the fact that we are talking about real people. These are real children who are being cared for. And I am going to tell their story in a little bit. But look at these beautiful children. And this is their caregiver. And Im going to tell their story in a couple of mifiutes. But I just dont think it can be forgotten that every funding cut. every decision we make like this affects one of these precious babies. And I just cant even imagine how there is no heart in the White House. Although I shouldnt be shocked after almost 8 years of this administration. It is just unbelievable. We have got to make sure. and the reason that we are here tonight during the Week of the Young Child. is we have to make sure that we push in the next fiscal year. in fiscal year 2009. for an increase in Child Care and Development Block Grant funding the Head Start program. And Democrats have been fighting to make sure that we do that. We passed a wonderful Head Start bill. We have got to make sure that we reverse the lost ground that has occurred after 7 years of flat funding from this administration.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It is the difference. literally. its like when a baby is born. particularly to a working family that is not rolling in cash. that is- literally struggling to put together their paychecks every month to meet their familys needs. its like that babys life begins on a crossroads. And we hold the key to which path they will end up on. If we decide. like this administration. like the Bush administration has consistently decided during their time in office to cut the funding for child care. subsidized child care and for Head Start. then we are. not always. because there are kids that avoid it. but we are making it much more likely that the path that those kids travel down end up sending them more likely into a life of crime. potentially into an inability or decision not to graduate from high school. They end up dropping out. They make the wrong choices because they dont learn at the earliest stage how to make the right choices. They dont learn the basics. They dont have all the tools that they need to draw upon to be strong. to deal with lifes challenges. This is not exaggeration. This is real.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It is. And its hard to imagine whats more important. Should we continue to spend $14 million an hour in Iraq? Fourteen million dollars an hour is what we are spending in Iraq. Yet we cant come up with the funding that we need to make sure that all the kids in this country that are eligible for Head Start and for subsidized child care can actually go.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It is unbelievable. So we are choosing to lock kids like that up and spend more money. much more money. than we would spend on them up front to make sure that they get the education and the early start and the building blocks for success that are so much less expensive. but are also just the right thing to do. But for the accident of your birth you should not be in a situation where some kids are getting those basics and other kids are thrown to the wolves. We have these programs so that we can equalize the situation in life for Americans. Look. we live in a capitalistic society. And that is absolutely the economy that we all support and know and revere. And it has served us well through more than 200 years. But because we live in a capitalistic society. it does not mean that we should be throwing our children. our most vulnerable. to the wolves but for the accident of their birth.
Date: 2008-04-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you to the gentlewoman from New York. Mr. Speaker. we think we have made a very strong case tonight at the beginning of the Week of the Young Child to make sure that there is a mandate for this Congress to increase the funding for Head Start. increase the funding for Child Care and Development Block Grants. and make sure that when those little babies are put on the crossroads of the path of their life. that we send them strongly down the right path so that they can have the best life that they can possibly have.
Date: 2008-04-15
Speaker: JOE DONNELLY (democrat)
Chamber: H

in a July 3. 2006. interview: "I will be an independent voice who will represent the people of the second district. Not the wealthy oil. and pharmaceutical companies that have bought our Congress and are running our country. We need leaders who will stand up for good jobs. a better prescription drug plan for our seniors. and a real energy plan that will work to drive down skyrocketing gas prices."
Date: 2008-04-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to establish an awards mechanism to honor Federal law enforcement officers injured in the line of duty. as amended.
Date: 2008-04-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
Date: 2008-04-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. It is my pleasure to rise in strong support of H.R. 4056. the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008. This measure establishes a formal process by which Congress will be able to recognize acts of bravery by men and women in Federal law enforcement who become injured in the course of their duties. Each year. approximately 150 Federal law enforcement officers are injured in the line of duty. Although more than 70 Federal agencies employ law enforcement officers. only two of these agencies have an awards mechanism to recognize officers who are injured in the line of duty. This bill addresses a long overdue need to establish a process for congressional recognition of the dangers these officers face for our safety. It would authorize a Member of Congress or the Attorney General to present in the name of Congress a Congressional Badge of Bravery to an officer who is cited by the Attorney General based on the recommendation of a board established by this measure. Madam Speaker. the men and women in Federal law enforcement. like many hardworking public servants. must often work long and sometimes irregular hours. Unlike other public servants. however. Federal law enforcement officers undertake their responsibilities with full knowledge that they are at risk of severe injury. or worse. This bill will now accord these brave men and women formal congressional recognition. an honor that is so very much deserved. I thank the gentleman from Indiana for his leadership on this important legislation. I encourage my colleagues to support it. Madam Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-04-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. it is an honor to yield to the author of this legislation. Mr. ELLSWORTH. who represents his district in Indiana with distinction. but also represented the district as their sheriff for many years. and it is therefore very appropriate that I yield to him 5 minutes.