macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-16
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I thank my good friend and Texan. Mr. BRADY. for yielding to me. Madam Speaker. today. we are voting on a bill that is long overdue. a bill that would permanently allow taxpayers. including most especially my constituents. to permanently deduct the State and local sales taxes that they pay. Back in 2004. I was part of the effort that brought back this important tax deduction. Unfortunately. as many of my constituents know too well. this deduction is not permanent. Because it is not permanent. Congress has had to renew it almost every year. This creates uncertainty for taxpayers. That is why this bill is so important. By making this deduction permanent. we can provide taxpayers with the certainty that they deserve. but this bill isnt just about providing certainty. it is about providing fairness. Right now. taxpayers in States with income taxes can permanently deduct their State and local income taxes. but. in States without an income tax. like Texas. taxpayers cant permanently deduct their State and local sales taxes. That is wrong. and that is unfair. It shouldnt matter what type of State and local taxes we are talking about. If the IRS allows folks to permanently deduct their income taxes. it ought to also allow so for sales taxes. The IRS shouldnt discriminate against hardworking taxpayers in other States like Texas. With many hardworking Americans. taxpayers are trying to make ends meet. Every dollar in the pocketbook makes a difference. In closing. I would like to thank my good friend. Mr. BRADY. for his work on this important bill. and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Date: 2015-04-16
Speaker: HERRERA BEUTLER (republican)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for his leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker. which is so important to the residents in my State. the people whom I serve. I encourage folks to support permanently extending the State and local sales tax deduction. I was listening to the previous speaker. and I dont think he was really focused on this bill. This bill is about ensuring that residents of Washington and of seven other States are treated equally. that their income taxes are treated equally by the Federal Tax Code. It is a fairness issue. It is also about eliminating the uncertainty that comes at the eleventh hour every year when Congress reauthorizes this as a 1year deal. Residents from 40 other States get to deduct their State income taxes from their Federal taxes. but residents of Washington State dont have that option. We pay one of the highest sales taxes in the country. and without the option to deduct our State sales tax. we are forced to carry a higher amount of the Federal burden. Mr. Speaker. that is not right. Since it is my job to fight for the residents of Washington State. let me also mention that folks in the Evergreen State have been the highest beneficiaries of the State and local sales tax deduction. More Washingtonians use it than any other State. My predecessor. who was a Democrat. was a big proponent of this bill as well. At a time when several counties in southwest Washington are still in economic recovery. we need to make sure that families who have already dutifully paid their fair share of taxes get to keep a little bit more of their money. $602 is the average claim from a State sales tax deduction. A mom in Chehalis. Washington. can make $602 go a long way. When she spends it on groceries. on gas. or on new soccer cleats for the kids. that money is going back into the local economy. and it is generating more economic activity. We often hear about "fairness" when it comes to the Tax Code. and I believe in fairness for hardworking taxpayers and for jobcreating businesses. What better way to provide fairness than to seize this opportunity before us today to permanently etch this provision into our Tax Code. This bill helps families. and it helps local economies. I ask my colleagues to support it.
Date: 2015-04-21
Speaker: MIMI WALTERS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. the recent passing of Dr. Jun Chino has left many in his southern California community with heavy hearts. including my family and myself. who were blessed to have had a close personal relationship with him. Dr. Chino was the eldest son in a farming family who were moved from an internment camp during World War II. losing their land in the process. Despite their difficult financial circumstances in the postwar years. Jun managed to obtain a premed degree at Stanford and go on to graduate from the universitys medical school. Following residency at Los Angeles County USC General Hospital. and having achieved board certification as an orthopedic surgeon. he practiced for 52 years in Orange County. He served in leadership positions on countless medical organizations and was esteemed by his peers for his skills and for dedicating himself to staying on the cutting edge of developments in his field. Dr. Chino is survived by his wife. Kazuko. and his daughter. Lisa. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Date: 2015-04-22
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. last summers border crisis was the result of President Obamas 2012 decision to grant amnesty to some illegal immigrants. And then last November. Obama granted amnesty to even more illegal immigrantsmillions more. To make matters worse for American taxpayers. these illegal immigrants can now get work permits. This enables them to get Social Security numbers and government benefits. Make no mistake. what Obama is doing is bilking hardworking American taxpayers. That is why I am reintroducing my bill. the No Social Security Numbers and Benefits for Illegal Aliens Act. America is a country of laws. not men. I am fully committed to stopping the Presidents illegal action.
Date: 2015-04-23
Speaker: AUSTIN SCOTT (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor and remember two great civil servants from the great State of Georgia who passed away this week: Pete Wheeler. commissioner of the Georgia Department of Veterans Service. and former State representative and transportation board member Jay Shaw. Mr. Wheeler served in the Army infantry and in the Georgia Army National Guard. retiring as a brigadier general and receiving several awards for his service. including the Veterans of Foreign Wars Silver and Gold Medals of Merit. He was a longtime attorney who used his past military service to advocate on behalf of veterans in Georgia. Mr. Wheeler served as VA commissioner for 61 years. If you couldnt get it done any other way. you just called Pete. Mr. Shaw began his public service as mayor of Lakeland for 10 years. He also served in the Georgia House of Representatives. supporting improvements to the transportation system in Georgia. Mr. Shaw was an active member of the Georgia State Transportation Board and served as its chairman in the past. These two Georgians did so much for our great State. and I offer my condolences to their families and friends. and I would like to thank them for their service.
Date: 2015-04-28
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 820 Elmwood Avenue in Providence. Rhode Island. as the "Sister Ann Keefe Post Office".
Date: 2015-04-28
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
Date: 2015-04-28
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 651. introduced by Representative DAVID CICILLINE. for the purpose of designating the United States Postal Service located at 820 Elmwood Avenue in Providence. Rhode Island. as the Sister Ann Keefe Post Office. Sister Ann Keefe was a dedicated public servant and a community activist who touched the lives of many. many people in Providence. Rhode Island. In fact. for over 30 years. Sister Keefe led the Social Justice ministry at St. Michaels church. She was instrumental in founding nearly two dozen community organizations. Unfortunately. Sister Keefe passed away from cancer earlier this year. on January 18. at the young age of 62. Sister Keefe will be remembered for her incredible ability to get things done and to turn an idea into reality. She will be remembered for her many accomplishments and as an example of selfless and faithful service. Naming a postal facility for Sister Ann Keefe in the community that she served and lived in for so many years will help memorialize her dedication to the people of Providence and encourage others to follow her example of public service. So I urge Members to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-04-28
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I would like to make the gentleman from Rhode Island aware that I have no further requests for time. and I am prepared to close.
Date: 2015-04-28
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I am very much pleased to support this legislation honoring Sister Ann Keefe by lending her name to the Elmwood Avenue post office in Providence. Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker. I urge adoption of the bill. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-04-29
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Chairman. I rise today to offer an amendment that will help our Nations veterans increase efficiency in the Federal workforce and uphold the integrity of tax dollars. Title 5 of the U.S. Code allows for a practice in which Federal employees are permitted to engage in unionrelated activities while at work while not doing the job for which they were hired. This practice is known as official time. and it costs the taxpayers literally millions of manhours every year and hundreds of millions of dollars every year. The Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the agencies with the most egregious use of official time. This agency is singlehandedly responsible for almost onethird of all the reported official time usage in the entire Federal Government. Mr. Chairman. this one agency has more than 250 individuals who do nothing but operate on official time. That is to say. 100 percent of their time at work is used doing union activity rather than what they were hired to do. which is to help our veterans. That is unacceptable. It costs the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. On the other hand. Mr. Chairman. as of April 1. there were some 431.000 veterans who have been waiting for over 30 days to get an appointment at a VA medical facility. In my home State alone. more than 20.000 veterans have waited more than 30 days for appointments. be it in Atlanta. Augusta. or Dublin. We have veterans literally begging for access to health care. and yet they are being told while waiting in line that people appreciate their service to our country. appreciate the fact that they have been willing to lay their lives down for our country. but when it comes to their medical conditions. they will have to wait because of lack of resources. Mr. Chairman. to allow hundreds of VA employees to give 100 percent of their work hours to union activity while telling veterans that we do not have the resources to provide for their medical needs is inexcusable. We need to stop this practice that allows VA employees to prioritize their union over our veterans. The day that veterans are put in second place to union activities is the day that Congress must get involved. and that has day come. According to the most recent OPM report. the VA spends over $45 million taxpayer dollars every year on this practice. That is $45 million that could go to serve the medical needs of our veterans. Mr. Chairman. what we have before us is a tremendous opportunity to help our veterans while. at the same time. saving taxpayer dollars and increasing the overall efficiency of our Federal workforce. This amendment cuts through all the bureaucratic red tape and the sweetheart deals for unions and helps our Nations deserving veterans. Mr. Chairman. this amendment is an opportunity to put our veterans first. above special interests. and I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-04-29
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Chairman. I understand my colleagues concerns. but to say it is unnecessary is a bit beyond my understanding. Yes. there are some 259 individuals at the VA that dedicate 100 percent of their time to union activity when they were hired to do veterans work. but there are hundreds of others who dont give 100 percent of their time. but hundreds of additional hours on a regular basis. We have reached out. After I introduced H.R. 1658. the Federal Employee Accountability Act. we literally heard from veterans all across the country. Many of these fine men and women. being veterans now. also were and are employees at the VA. With one unified voice. they expressed that they had deep frustration and disappointment with how they have seen veterans treated. Mr. Chairman. I would like to quote just one of those individuals who served in our Air Force and is a current employee at the VA. He said. "The union is the number one obstacle to providing care to vets." I just see. ultimately. Mr. Chairman. that the choice before us is clear. Members of this body can stand with union bosses. or they can stand with the people who have stood on the front line to defend our liberties and our freedom. the Nations veterans. I choose to stand with our brave veterans. and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-04-29
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Committee of Conference. Conference report on S. Con. Res. 11. A resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2016 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2017 through 2025 (Rept. 114 96). Ordered to be printed.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. pursuant to House Resolution 231. I call up the conference report on the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 11) setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2016 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2017 through 2025. and ask for its immediate consideration.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. As I said when we talked about this the first time around. folks across this land. if they turn on the television and they take a look. you have got one parent yelling at the other: Hide the dog and the cat and the kids. sweetheart. they are talking about the budget. The distortion and the misrepresentation that is coming from the other side. Mr. Speaker. it really is absolutely phenomenal. I am pleased to hear that the gentleman likes their budget. and I commend him for liking their budget. but let me just state for the RECORD. Mr. Speaker. that neither their budget nor the Presidents budget ever. ever. ever gets to balance. If the American people cant live on borrowed money. their Federal Government ought not do so either. Our budget gets to balance within a 10year period of time. It does so without raising taxes. That is why the American people are going to appreciate the work that is being done right here. I am very. very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee . an incredibly productive member of our committee. and a member of the conference committee.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I would just remind my friend that we look forward to enacting and bringing forward the policies that are incorporated within this budget. In fact. just last night. the Armed Services Committee passed out on a 602 vote policies that are consistent with the spending on the defense area in this budget. Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina . who is a wonderfully productive and energetic member of the Budget Committee.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California . a senior. thoughtful member of the Committee on the Budget.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to gentleman from California . the distinguished majority leader of the House of Representatives.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the conference report on S. Con. Res. 11.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Madam Speaker. I rise in support of H.J. Res. 43. to protect different organizations from having to choose between their faiths and their jobs. This is not a war on women. It is an outright war on religious liberties. Forcing people to participate in offensive acts in order to stay in business is unconstitutional. and the D.C. Council has wholeheartedly interfered with the rights that are guaranteed in our Constitution. It is not a crime for individuals or organizations to exercise their First Amendment right. Respecting religious liberties when it can be reasonably accommodated is both common sense and constitutional. As Congress. we have a duty to disapprove of what the D.C. Council has done. and I urge my colleagues to do so.
Date: 2015-05-12
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Chairman. I thank Chairman SHUSTER and Chairman GIrnS for your leadership on this important issue. I am an original cosponsor of this very important bill. Everyone in this Chamber. Mr. Chairman. supports clean water. That is why I was such a strong advocate for the EPA to designate a portion of the Mahomet Aquifer in central Illinois as a sole source of drinking water. which was finalized just this past year. This proposed rule on the Waters of the U.S.. this attempt by the EPA to expand its authority under the Clean Water Act to lands that are traditionally dry is an overreach and must be reined in. I am increasingly concerned of the trust gap between the EPA and the agricultural community. Earlier this year. EPA Administrator McCarthy apologized to ag producers for not bringing them to the table when the Agency put out its interpretive rule on conservation practices. which the EPA and the Corps of Engineers ultimately withdrew. Unfortunately. this is just more evidence of the haste with which the proposed rule was developed. without appropriately seeking and implementing all necessary stakeholder input. H.R. 1732 would require both the EPA and the Corps to withdraw the proposed rule. go back to the drawing board. and write a new rule with all stakeholders together. Frankly. this is what they should have done in the first place.
Date: 2015-05-12
Speaker: MIMI WALTERS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. there is something terribly wrong when the Federal Government is attempting to regulate our Nations puddles. streams. and ditches. The proposed rule that the Obama administration issued last year would. unfortunately. give the EPA the power to do just that. This rule would redefine the Waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act and significantly increase the Federal Governments jurisdiction over waters never intended for regulation. The blatant power grab and regulatory overreach would not only dismantle a longstanding partnership between the States and the Federal Government. but it would also threaten American jobs. increase the costs of doing business. and heighten the likelihood of costly lawsuits. The Regulatory Integrity Protection Act. of which I am proud to be an original cosponsor. would require the Obama administration to withdraw its proposed rule and replace it with one that considers stakeholders input and maintains the StateFederal partnership to regulate our waters. I urge my colleagues to support this vital bill.
Date: 2015-05-13
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. it is no secret that a majority of Americans oppose Obamas amnesty. and I have been fighting against it from day one. As part of my ongoing effort to combat Obamas amnesty. I am reintroducing my bill to stop illegals from claiming the refundable child tax credit. Right now. the IRS does not require Social Security numbers for this credit. The inspector general said that as a result. illegals can get thousands of dollars from the IRS. It is no surprise that it also encourages more illegals to come here. To stop this. my bill requires individuals to provide their Social Security number if they want to claim the tax credit. Last year. the House passed this measure. which was estimated to save taxpayers $24.5 billion. This is a commonsense bill Americans want. need. and deserve. Lets get it done.
Date: 2015-05-13
Speaker: MIMI WALTERS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 2048. the USA FREEDOM Act. of which I am proud to be an original cosponsor. This vital bill will reform our Nations intelligencegathering programs to end the bulk collection of data. strengthen Americans civil liberties. and protect our homeland from those who wish to do us harm. In passing this legislation. we can provide officials with the tools they need to combat terrorist groups. such as ISIL. by closing a current loophole that requires the government to stop tracking foreign terrorists upon their entering the United States. This bill will also provide for the robust oversight of our intelligence agencies by requiring additional reporting standards on how FISA authorities are employed. Furthermore. H.R. 2048 will prevent government overreach and will increase privacy protections by ending the largescale. indiscriminate collection of data. which includes all records from an entire State. city. or ZIP Code. With section 215 of the PATRIOT Act set to expire soon. it is vital that Congress acts quickly to pass this bipartisan bill so that we can keep our country safe and so that we can work to restore the trust of the American people.
Date: 2015-05-13
Speaker: MIMI WALTERS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 36. the PainCapable Unborn Child Protection Act. This bill will protect women and children by establishing Federal legal protections from unborn babies of 20 weeks. Substantial evidence has shown that children at 20 weeks. or the fifth month of pregnancy. have the capacity to feel pain and. due to modern medicine. are increasingly likely to survive a premature birth. Furthermore. this bill protects the health of mothers when they are at their most vulnerable state. At 20 weeks. a woman is 35 times more likely to die from abortion than she would in the first trimester. After 21 weeks. that risk of death for the mother increases almost one hundredfold. It is fitting that this bill comes before the House floor on National Womens Health Week. a weeklong observance led by the U.S. Department of Health encouraging women to prioritize their health. I am pleased to stand in support of this piece of womens health legislation today. This bill will empower women in their healthcare provisions and protect the lives of the innocent unborn.