macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman. " I. Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of the amendment. This is what agencies have to do when the funding isnt sufficient and they are trying to hold on to the number of children. the hours of availability of the program and the quality of the teachers that are there. In the past when we had the cut. I believe the agency. HHS. allowed some local programs to do this. I would hope that this will not be a necessity. We are adding an additional $400 million to this program. I hope that the Appropriations Committee will be able to follow through. The amnendment is a good amendment. I hope we dont have to use it. but its a good amendment.
Date: 2007-05-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman. and I rise in support of his amendment. I think his explanation is correct. that this will provide not only perhaps more uniformity in terms of the assessments. but also communications between programs as to which assessments are really working and Which assessments are appropriate for this purpose. I think it is a good amendment. and I would hope that we would accept it. I thank the gentleman for offering it.
Date: 2007-05-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman from Ohio for offering this amendment and for bringing this perspective to this legislation. along with Mr. HARE and Mr. ALTMIRE and Mr. WELCH. and for representing the rural communities and raising these issues during this debate and during the consideration of this legislation. Sometimes issues get overlooked in the rush to reauthorize the bill and to reauthorize it from a single perspective. so I appreciate this information that they have brought to us. I think the direction to the Secretary to review and to look at these barriers and to see what we can do to remove them so that we can assure both the participation of the children in the program and of their families and their parents as is designed by the law is important. Mr. Chairman. I urge the adoption of the amendment. The Acting CHAIRMA N. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Ohio .
Date: 2007-05-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to vote against this motion to recommit and not adopt a policy of employment discrimination based upon religion.
Date: 2007-05-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that. in the engrossment of the bill. H.R. 1429. the Clerk be authorized to correct section numbers. punctuation. citations. and crossreferences and to make such other technical and conforming changes as may be appropriate to reflect the actions of the House.
Date: 2007-05-02
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Mr. Chairman. during Rollcall vote No. 289 on H.R. 1867. I mistakenly recorded my vote as "no" when I should have voted "aye." I ask unanimous consent that my statement appear in the RECORD immediately following Rollcall vote No. 289.
Date: 2007-05-02
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Spieaker. I am pleased to draw the attention of the House and the Nation to Public Service Recognition Week. which will take place May 7 through May 13. This week is set aside to remind us all of the vital work that public employees do every day across our country and to honor that work. In many ways. public employees are the daily embodiment of our democracy. Every day they carry out the programs and services chosen by our elected government from the Federal to the State to the local level. Locally. where democracy has the most direct impact. public employees carry out the programs of elected city councils and school districts as they teach our children. run parks and recreation programs. police our neighborhoods. and perform a myriad of other services to make our communities continually better places to live. Public employees are there for us. the public. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. In the middle of the night when a water main breaks and floods a street. when a home catches fire. or when a terrorist threat is identified. it is public employees who respond for our communities and for our Nation. Mr. Speaker. I am continually impressed with the creativity and innovation of publicsector employees and leaders. as they deliver better services and value to the public. whether its creatively combining scarce government resources to improve public safety. or teaming up government resources with community volunteers to provide needed home improvements for disabled seniors. or finding new ways to reduce air and water pollution. I think the public would be impressed to know that their tax dollars do have many good stewards who take pride in bringing them the best possible service for their tax dollars. My own mother is a public school.teacher. so I know from experience how gifted public servants are at providing firstclass services on a steerage budget. On May 9 in Los Angeles. public employees representing a wide variety of Federal. State and local government agencies and school districts will gather for a Public Service Recognition Week ceremony. Thirteen individuals. teams and projects will be honored as winners of the public service recognition awards for outstanding contributions and service to the public. Over 200 individuals. teams and projects were nominated for these awards. Since I will be performing my own duty as a public servant on May 9 here in this House. I want to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation and congratulations to everyone who will attend that Los Angeles ceremony and ceremonies like it all across our Nation. Let me conclude by urging all of my colleagues to honor their public employees by cosponsoring House Resolution 307. which would formally designate Public Service Recognition Week and to support public service recognition events in their districts around the Nation in the coming week.
Date: 2007-05-02
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I am proud to be a cosponsor of H. Res. 272. a resolution commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The transatlantic slave trade was a crime against the humanity of Africans. mostly from Western. Central. and Eastern Africa. who were kidnapped and sent to the United States and the colonies that became the United States which occurred between the 15th and late 19th centuries. Millions of Africans were literally kidnapped and shipped like chattels to the Americas. In the process many were physically abused and raped. Many perished as a result of torture. malnutrition.. disease and resistance in transit. Those who survived were forced into slavery. Slavery in the United States during and after British colorlial rule included the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and intrastate commerce. . Humans of African origin here in the United States were robbed of their homes. family. language. culture. religion. and above all their freedom. The transatlantic slave trade is characterized as the largest forced migration in world history. What made the institution of slavery in the United States unique was that this particular form of slavery was in fact race based with black or Negro becoming synonymous with the word slave. Slaves were prevented by law from learning to read and marriage between two slaves was not recognized by the state. It is argued that the effects of slavery have affected AfricanAmericans and American society to this very day. In 1807. Britain became the first European nation to ban the slave trade. France. Holland. and the United Statessoon thereafter passed legislation banning the trade. However. since Spain and Portugal did not follow this example. African slaves continued to be sent to countries in South America until near the end of the 19th century. Even with the end of the slave trade slavery would still be legal across a large part of the United States until the end of the Civil War. I am compelled to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade because we as a country cannot ever forget this legalized horror and crime against humanity that was allowed to exist in our Nation. A horror that made our American union a less perfect one than it was initially set out to be. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support and commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
Date: 2007-05-03
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Dr. King reminded us that on some questions. cowards will ask us. is it safe? What will happen to me if I do this? The answer is. what. will happen to them if we dont do it? And on some questions. expediency will ask. is it politic? Will I get reelected? And then -vanity asks. is it popular? Today. lets do that which is neither safe nor politic nor popular. Lets do it because its right.
Date: 2007-05-03
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise to show my support for H.R. 1592. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007. Freedoms of speech. expression. and equal protection under the law are the founding principles of this country. The Constitution guarantees these rights to all Americans. I believe that it is our duty to fight for the equal rights of all Americans. regardless of their race. color. religion. national origin. gender. sexual orientation. gender identity. or disability. I abhor all violent crimes. Attacks that are motivated by hate are attacks on a whole class of people. Such hate crimes are intended to instill fear in an entire community and are particularly heinous. We must give law enforcement the proper tools to investigate and prosecute crimes that are motivated by hate. Laws punishing hate crimes are not intended to value one group over another. but rather to acknowledge the historical bias against certain minority groups and opinions so that all can enjoy the same legal protections as the majority. Hate crime laws protect innocent people and allow them to engage in everyday activity without fear. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important legislation. This bill helps to better define a hate crime and prevents the erosion of civil liberties critical to our democracy.
Date: 2007-05-07
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Chairwoman NAPOLITANO for her support of this important legislation to my constituents and for her leadership on the subcommittee. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 487. the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Amendments Act of 2007. This legislation is the result of a collaborative effort between the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. the South Dakota congressional delegation. the House Natural Resources Committee and the Department of the Treasury. I am very pleased to stand before my colleagues in the House today and urge final passage of this important bill. The need for this legislation began more than 50 years ago with the construction of a series of dams and reservoir projects along the upper Missouri River basin. One of those projects. the Oahe Dam and Reservoir. caused flooding on over 100.000 acres of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in north central South Dakota. The loss of these lands was particularly devastating to the tribe and included some of their most important cropland. wildlife habitat and spiritually significant places. Though the tribe did receive some initial compensation for this loss. the amount was woefully inadequate and did not reflect the magnitude of the loss imposed on the tribe. In 2000. Congress recognized this injustice when it passed legislation to provide additional compensation for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and created a trust fund for additional tribal development. Unfortunately. the 2000 legislation was incomplete and flawed. requiring a number of amendments to the underlying law. In addition to several technical changes advocated by the Department of the Treasury. H.R. 487 will allow for the immediate capitalization of the trust fund and also give the tribe the authority to redirect a limited amount of the fund towards private tribal landowners. Many of the 100.000plus acres that were inundated due to the dam were actually privately owned by tribal members. Now tribal elders. these individuals have been waiting decades for fair compensation and will finally have that opportunity. " Not only will H.R. 487 capitalize the fund to allow immediate implementation of the tribes poverty reduction program. it will help to right a historic wrong and ultimately saves the Federal Government approximately $9 million. The merits of this legislation are clear. both through its history and the spirit of bipartisan collaboration that brought it to the floor today. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 487.
Date: 2007-05-07
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. this month is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This is a national celebration rSE H4531 which continues to highlight and bring awareness to the many contributions of the Asian Pacific Americans who have made this country their home. I want to thank Mr. HONDA. who will be leading a special order in just a few minutes. with respect to all the accomplishments of the Asian Pacific Americans in the United States. I am fortunate to represent one of the largest Asian Pacific populations in Orange County. California. Its full of Japanese. Korean. Hmong. Cambodians. Laotians. Chinese. Hawaiian Pacific Islanders and. of course. the largest Vietnamese population outside the world resides in Orange County. California. Representing that community I see firsthand the rich culture and the contributions and all of these communities bring to my hometown of Anaheim and Orange County. More than 30 years ago. with when the Vietnamese arrived. my district was full of orange groves. They took these orange groves. some of the dilapidated commercial centers. and they made these blocklong business districts that generate today. multibillion dollars for our local economy. While being an integrated part of the American social fabric is important. these communities also bring with them a rich awareness of what is going on around the world. in particular. what happens in their homeland. I enjoy an open dialogue. for example. with the Vietnamese American community. especially about the continuing situation in Vietnam. where human rights and religious freedoms. remain a distant dream for the peoples of that country. Now is the time to remember and to celebrate the successes and the contributions that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders bring to the diversity of America. Although it is important to recognize the achievements made by this community. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month must also provide a forum to focus on the problems that face these communities. such as affordable housing. racial profiling. and language barriers. In particular. the health care issues that are so important. so many health care issues that happened in this particular community like hepatitis C. diabetes. and some of the other larger issues which affect us all. One of the problems facing the APAC community is the perception that all the members of their communities are thriving. If you are Asian or Pacific Islander. you must be going to the Berkeleys of the world. you must be doctors.. you must be thriving. you must be engineers. you must be great business people. But the reality is that there are large populations. API populations who still have low access to real quality education and they face tremendous language barriers. The API community has come a long way. sacrificing for our country and contributing to our growth and prosperity. and. I look forward to continuing that relationship with the Asian Pacific Islander community to celebrate its contributions and to overcome the ongoing challenges that these communities face. 0l 1945
Date: 2007-05-07
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Im honored to be here tonight to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. And I want to especially thank Chairman HONDA for the outstanding job that he has done. not only with this event. but also what he does year round. year in and year out with our caucus. the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. I thank you for what you have done. MIr. Speaker. I represent the Ninth Congressional District in Houston. Texas. The Ninth Congressional District is one of the most diverse districts in the country. It is 36 percent African American. 31 percent Hispanic. 21 percent Anglo and 12 percent Asian. And I am proud to say that this district. the Ninth Congressional District. has the ballot printed in three languages. English. Spanish and Viet.namese. soon to have it in a fourth language. Chinese. Im also proud to say that we have elected a Vietnamese to the State House in the State of Texas. The honorable Hubert Vo is a State Representative from a district that is within my Ninth Congressional District. I am so honored that we have selected the theme "Meeting the Challenges for Asian Pacific Americans." This is most appropriate- Why? Because in spite of discrimination and degradation. Asian .Americans have met the challenges for America. They were there when America needed a national rail connectivity. In spite of discrimination and humiliation. they helped to construct the first transcontinental railroad. When the greatest generation went to war in World War II. they were there. not only for America. but for the entire world. Notwithstanding dehumanization and incarceration. Americans of Japanese ancestry were some of Americas most decorated soldiers. They were also there from the Philippines. During World War II. over 200.000 Filipinos fought in defense of the United States of America. More than half died. They answered President Franklin Delano Roosevelts clarion call for help. They met the challenges of America. and its time for America to meet the challenges of the Filipino veterans. who were promised. I might add. the same benefits as other veterans and who have not received them to this day. It is time for Congress to pass the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007. It is time to treat all who sacrificed during World War H the same. Asian Americans have been there for us. It is time for us to be there for them.
Date: 2007-05-08
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. last week President Bush vetoed a plan to fund our troops and to change the direction in Iraq. Following his veto. the House voted for the fourth time in 3 months for a: new direction in Iraq and rejected the Presidents openended commitment. Unfortunately. House Republicans have refused to join us in our attempts to change the course of the war. Republican Leader BOEHNER said over the weekend that he wants a clean bill. What he is really saying is that he wants us to rubberstamp the Presidents war proposal. Thats what Republican Congresses have been doing for 4 years. and it hasnt helped our military and it hasnt made America safer. When are House Republicans going to realize that the American people overwhelmingly support benchmarks and a real plan to change direction in Iraq? One encouraging sign was when Leader BOEHNER said this weekend that he would be willing to look at a plan B in September. Does that mean that House Republicans will finally begin to join us in changing the course of the war in Iraq? Well have to wait and see.
Date: 2007-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker and Members of the House. last January when the President was suggesting the need for the escalation of the numbert of troops in Iraq. he also told us that while we would provide the troops under his policy. the Iraqis would provide a series of benchmarks which they would meet to end the insurgency and to bring their country together politically so that the insurgency can be dampened down or ended. Now we are told by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that it would be wrong to hold the Iraqi Government. the Malaki government. to those benchmarks because it would take away their flexibility. while President Bush said that if they did not meet these benchmarks in January. they would lose the confidence of the American people. President Bush had it right. They havent met the benchmarks. They are not holding up their end of the bargain. The Parliament is not meeting. A third of them are living in London. not in Iraq. and they have lost the confidence of the American people. How is it that the Secretary of State and the President of the United States can continue to believe that we should continue to send American soldiers to die in Iraq when the Iraqi Government wont meet the benchmarks which were supposed to be the bedrock of this new policy. this new direction. that has turned out to be the same old staythecourse policy where American soldiers die and the Iraqi Government dithers away day in and day out and not meeting the new policies to bring a unified Iraq together? It is unacceptable to the American people. It is unacceptable to our soldiers. It is unacceptable to their families. And we ought to end this policy now.
Date: 2007-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to establish requirements for lenders and institutions of higher education in order - to protect students and other borrowers receiving educational loans. as amended.
Date: 2007-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to insert materials relevant to H.R. 890 into the RECORD.
Date: 2007-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself 15 seconds. Mr. Speaker. I failed to acknowledge and I want to acknowledge Mr. KELLERs help in the drafting of this legislation. He is the senior Democrat on the Higher Education Subcommittee. I would like to yield 31/2 minutes to the Chair of that subcommittee. Mr.
Date: 2007-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Additionally. I am also supportive of I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman the Department of Educations efforts �.from California . to install new safeguards to protect students privacy. We need to make sure that our students can have the ut-