macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. and I appreciate the presentation of my colleagues on the other side. their sort of would have. could have. should have. But the fact of the matter is. last year. when they had the Higher Education Act in front of them. the only thing they did was take $16 billion out of the student aid accounts and give it to pay for tax cuts to the welthiest people in this country. They didnt think about the Pell grantees at that time. They talked about them. but they didnt do anything for the Pell grantees. They didnt do anything to lower the student loans here. They took $16 billion. and we begged them. we went to the Rules Committee and we begged them to let us recycle that money on behalf of the students on loans or Pell Grants or whatever. They said. no. this is going to the richest people in the country. And the fact of the matter is. the Rules Committee was so generous that in the entire higher education bill of last year. we got one amendment. We got one amendment. So I think the point is that on this day. here in the first 100 hours. we are going to take care of middleand lowerincome students. 5 million of them who need these resources. then we will move on to tax deductions for families. And then we are going to move on and deal with increasing the Pell. something the President promised to do 6 years ago and has never been done.
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 5. -This bill cuts student loan interest rates to a fixed 3.4 percent over 5 years. Right now. the average student loan debt is around $13.800. By passing this bill. we are saving a student with average debt $4.400 over the life of their loan. Also. this legislation targets middleclass America. Half of the students that take on federally subsidized loans have incomes between $26.000 and $68.000 a year. This benefits millions of lower income families. but also hardworking middleclass Americans that are trying to give their children a leg up in living the American dream. College tuition has risen 41 percent since 2001. Just this year. the percentage of students relying on loans to get through school hit 52 percent. This is a direct result of rising tuition costs in both public and private institutions. These families need help and we should give it to them. Twice a year. our office holds a Paying for College workshop. We bring in lenders and experts on filling out the FAFSA to help our students navigate through the application process and to come to terms with the amount of debt they may take on. The most important consideration for families in our Congressional District is what the cost of going to college will be. Financial barriers inhibit the ability of high school graduates to go to college. By reducing student loan interest rates. we are encouraging families and students to get a college education. When we pass this legislation. we are investing in the future of our economy because we will have more college graduates with a lower debt burden. This will enable graduates to do things like buy homes. invest and fuel our economy. To offset the costs of reducing interest rates. we are reducing the amount the Federal Government guarantees lenders. While this is not a popular idea with large lenders. smaller lenders will not be impacted by this legislation. Student loans are not the bread and butter of large financial institutions. but smaller local banks and credit unions often provide student loans in smaller communities. This is why lower volume lenders will not be impacted. Madam Speaker. this is a win for middle class America. future generations of college students and our Nation. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I yield myself 1 minute. I just say it is an interesting discussion. but people who are betting with real money have a different discussion of this legislation. What they have said. the investment houses that are advising their people whether or not to buy stock in student loan lenders and others. have said that what we have done is absolutely manageable by these lenders. And. in fact. they were quite surprised that the committee had as light a touch on these lenders as we did. And that is interesting. because those are people who are advising mutual funds and others whether or not to buy the various lenders. and theirs was that this is essentially a neutral act and very manageable by those companies. And so I think we ought to have it not what the political politicians are saying but what people who are betting with their money are saying. Madam Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California .
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I yield myself 1 minute. I find it very interesting that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle keep coming to the floor and saying this wont help a single student. You know who thinks this will help a single student. and in fact this will help 5 million students. are the students. the students who are getting ready to take out the loans to borrow money to pay the tuition. to pay their college costs. They overwhelmingly support this legislation because it will help them and their families finance their education. So apparently it wont help Republican Members of Congress. but it will help students and that is why the students support it. That is why we call them "student loans" because they go to students and then the students have to pay them back. You say they dont have to pay it back until after they graduate. Yes. but they borrowed the money their freshman year. their sophomore year. their junior year. and their senior year. They got the benefit. They were the students. So the students have decided that this bill is good. and it is really good for them. and it will make college more affordable for them and it will allow more of their colleagues to participate in going to college because the overall cost of that college education will be reduced through this legislation. Madam Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I yield myself 30 seconds. So under the gentlemans theory. apparently the Republican repeal of the estate tax is only good for one day because you have a sunset on it. And when the gentleman says one of the pundits. as opposed to a student who is going to get value for this. one of the pundits says this isnt good because it is on existing loans. no. it is on new loans. So the pundits dont like it. the Republican Members of Congress dont like it. but the students like this. Hey. a novel idea. Lets do something the students like that they think will help to make college education affordable. There is an idea. Lets vote for that. Madam Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I yield myself 15 seconds to correct the record. You took $20 billion out of the lenders and put some back. And the rest of it you just took off with. and that could have been used.
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

That was your priority. You are. welcome to do it. Madam Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York .
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I thank my colleague. the chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee. Mr. MILLER. for his work on this and other education issues. as well as my other colleagues. It is interesting to hear people talk about the fact that this aoes not totally reduce the cost of going to college when. for the past many years. this body has not delivered on that commitment to the American people. In the last campaign. we did make a commitment to reduce the cost of going to college. and this bill is a followthrough on that commitment. and we will reduce the cost. We know in this country that one of the greatest impediments we have to people getting ahead is the burden of the cost of college tuition. a burden that has risen dramatically over the years. Right now. many students who graduate from college are faced with a big debt burden that takes a long time to retire. and even worse than that is the .number of students who are deterred from even going to college in the first. place because of the cost of going to college and the debts they will incur. This bill takes a significant step toward reducing that burden and opening up the doors of opportunities. We lose some of the very best and brightest in this country who have the ambition to go out and learn. who are qualified to go out there. who have done the work and gotten the grades. and because of the high costs are prohibited from going forwaid. In fact. about 4.4 million students are essentially deterred from going to college it is estimated over the next 10 years as a result of these high costs. So. yes. during the last campaign this was a very. very important issue to the American people. Instead of raising the costs of going to college. instead of cutting $13 billion from higher education as was done in the last Congresses. we said. we are going to turn that around. we are going to make it easier for people to go to college. we are going to open the doors of opportunity. not just because it is the right thing to do to make sure that every individual has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. but because our Nation needs to make sure we do that in this competitive era.
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for his inquiry. and I would say to the gentleman that I appreciate you sharing your concerns with me. Nonprofit lenders. certainly. our guaranty agents allplay a necessary role in the Federal student loan program. Our goal is to ensure in the end that our policy benefits all students. and I pledge to work with you to ensure that we meet this goal and maximize the benefits of the most number of students.
Date: 2007-01-17
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong support of the College Student Relief Act. as it will give financial assistance to millions of student borrowers. In order to remain competitive in a global economy. students are taking out more loans and falling further into debt. The College Student Relief Act will go a long way towards making college more affordable and accessible. H.R. 5 will cut interest rates in half on certain federally subsidized student loans over the next 5 years. These cuts will particularly impact low- and middleincome students saving the typical borrower approximately $4.400 over the life of their loan. These interest rate cuts will help more than 5.5 million undergraduate students once they are fully phased in. With the cost of higher education continuing to skyrocket. this is an important first step in easing the financial burden for millions of students and their families. Its estimate that around 200.000 students delay or completely forgo going to college due to the associated costs. This. is simply unacceptable. We will not be able to continue to compete in the global economy if we continue to throw hurdles in front of our young people. Todays vote to ease the debt burden for millions of students will go a long way toward increasing access to higher education. If Americans fail to address these issues now. we will default on our traditional commitment to a better future for our children. We owe it to our young people to provide the opportunities that will allow them to become successful and productive adults. I would like to commend the Democratic Leadership for their dedication to this issue. and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5. the College Student Relief Act.
Date: 2007-01-18
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague. Mr. Speaker. it was just about a year ago that the President ofthe United States came before this Congress and told the country that America is addicted to oil. He was right then and many of us were pleased to hear him acknowledge that very real fact. However. even as we all acknowledge the seriousness of the energy challenge we face as a Nation. the President and the last Congress failed to actually do something about it. We heard great words. but didnt see good deeds. In fact. rather than invest adequately in renewable energy and energy efficiency. we took the opposite approach. We gave greater breaks in taxes to the oil and gas industry even as prices at the pump went up and profits soared. That policy only served to feed the addiction to oil. not break that addiction. It made us more dependent. not less dependent on oil and gas and the volatile regions of the world that control the greatest reserves. This is a time to change direction. to set a new course on energy policy. to say to the country: Were not just talking rhetoric. We mean what we say.
Date: 2007-01-18
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the chairman for yielding. I think it is just incredible that the other side of the aisle would argue. at a time when the most competitive and the most stressed oil market in the world. that what you need to develop oil leases offshore is to have government subsidies. At a time when you have national governments and international oil companies scouring the world to lock up resources. almost willing to do business with anybody in the world. doesnt matter if they are a dictator from the right or the left. at a time when countries are out trying to get their hands on these resources. we suggest the only way you can get people to drill in the most secure area of the entire world is to give them a subsidy. The national security of the United States is the subsidy they get when they drill here. They do not need additional subsidies.
Date: 2007-01-18
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

M1i rfi Speaker. I rise today in support of H.RI . Creating LongTerm Energy Altereiti b for the Nation. also known as the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007. This bill closes up the tax loopholes that have enabled energy companies to reap huge profits in recent years. as the prices of oil and gas have risen exponentially. It also rolls back a 2005 Energy Bill tax break for geological and geophysical expenditures. and it repeals provisions that have enabled energy companies to duck out on paying taxes on these profits. One provision that especially appeals to me is the creation of a Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve. The Reserve will be used to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. and it would accelerate the use of alternative fuel sources and renewable energy. In addition. it will encourage energyefficiency and conservation of our resources. The provision will also ultimately fund research to produce better renewable energy technologies. The House Science Committee. of which I am a member. has had hearings and markups on renewable energy research strategies. and it is clear that we should push harder toward renewable energy. Energy research and development are the keys to lessening our dependence on foreign oil and to lessening our dependence on fossil fuels. The federal government should continue to support energy research and also provide incentives to encourage the American public and businesses to buy hybrid cars and support renewable fuels. We must take the lead in supporting energy policies that are good for the environment and help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Date: 2007-01-22
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Mr. Speaker. I rise today as an original cosponsor and in strong support of House Resolution 51. "Honoring the Contributions of Catholic Schools." As a product of Saint Anselm and Archbishop Ryan. I know the vital role that Catholic schools. students. parents. and teachers play towards building a stronger nation. I know that I would not be here today without the guidance of Sister McFadden. the assistance of Ms. Erwin. or the countless other teachers. priests and nuns who helped shaped me into the man I am today. Our Catholic schools instill a strong sense of community and service in their students: service to our God. to our families. to our towns and cities. And it is this spirit of service that leads so many to strengthen our commu-. nities: in our hospitals. schools. businesses and even in these halls of Congress. President John F. Kennedy. the first and only Catholic Presidentand one of my political heroessaid: "With a good conscience our only sure reward. with history the final judge of our deeds. let us go forth to lead the land we love. asking His blessing and His help. but knowing that here on earth Gods work must truly be our own." Mr. Speaker. though I have not been in this Chamber long. I have relied on the lessons I learned in the classrooms of St. Anselm and Archbishop Ryan to do what I believe is right. And I am honored that in the first 100 hours of the 110th Congresswe have passed bills to lift millions out of poverty by raising the minimum wage and to protect our environment by investing in alternative energy. But Mr. Speaker. the commitment to justice. peace and service taught in Catholic schools resonates far outside this chamber and is felt in countless. yet tangible ways in every comer of the nation. And it is only through everyday men and women simply trying. as President Kennedy so eloquently stated. to make Gods work their own. is America the nation it is today. That is why Mr. Speaker. as a proud former student of Catholic schools. I urge my fellow representatives to support this resolution honoring the contributions of these fine institutions to our communities and Nation.
Date: 2007-01-22
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of the Preservation of Records of Servitude. Emancipation. and PostCivil War Reconstruction Act. The House of Representatives is truly a body of history. Each day we walk through the Capitol and stand where our Nations first Members of Congress debated hundreds of years ago. Statues. plaques and paintings remind us of the past and inspire our future. In fact. every day history is recorded on the House floor through the records of our statements. We must not underestimate theimportance of our Nations past and our individual history. For many African Americans identifying their history and researching genealogy becomes challenging due to a lack of organized records. Many African Americans are left with piecing together records of their ancestors left from former slave owners or searching for information from the postCivil War reconstruction. Many of these records are unorganized. inaccessible and quickly decaying. We need a national effort to preserve these pieces of public and personal history or to make them readily and easily accessible to all Americans. Under this bill the Federal Government will maintain an organized system for preserving the records of servitude. emancipation. and the postCivil War. These records will include Southern Claims Commission Records. Records of the Freedmens Bank. Slave Impressments Records. Slave Payroll Records. and Slave Manifests. This will go a long way towards preserving our past. and helping individuals discover their history as well. I urge my colleagues who everyday .participate in this Nqtions history to extend that dedication to preserving our past to vote for this important piece of legislation.
Date: 2007-01-22
Speaker: LINCOLN DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Tennessee

Congressman Ross. thanks very much. I will be very brief. During the campaign in November. October and September. obviously leading up to the November 7 election. I heard a great deal from those who would be talking about. do you favor cut and run or stay the course? I submit to you that neither of those are good alternatives. And the sad thing is that the American public have been told that mission has been accomplished after landing on the battleship. And then shortly after that. the Iraqi insurgents were told. just bring it on. I think it is time that we bring on a little bit of accountability. And this accountability and the resolution that the Blue Dog Democrats have introduced doesnt deal with whether or not we stay. how long we stay. It just talks about the stay that we have already been there. account for it. Account for the almost $400 billion that has been spent of taxpayer dollars that could be used. quite frankly. maybe to have won the war in -a better way. to have brought about a safe Iraq that is not there today. And my real concern. as I go back and study the Tet Offensive. it is my concern that. as we send these 20some thousand extra troops into Iraq. and as we start talking on the Shiia militias. that we may see the results of another Tet Offensive that we saw in 1968 in Vietnam. I just hope that our President. that the Defense Department and those who are advocating additional troops not only will be accountable for what we have already done there. but at least present to us a better plan than what we have had presented to us in the past. Stay the course. mission accomplished and bring it on just aint got it done. and it is time that we look at what is going on in this country. When you look at Iraq and Iran. and you realize that when you hear that there are a billion folks of the faith of Islam. most of those are either in Asia. Central Asia and in Africa. not in the Middle East. Virtually all in the Middle East perhaps are the Islam faith except. obviously. for the nation of Israel. But when you look where most of the Shiias are. only 10 percent of the faith of Islam are Shiias. The other are Sunnis. And when you look at where the bulk of the Shiia population is. it is in Iraq and in Iran. It is my fear that stay the course. bring it on and mission accomplished has only brought to us two nations in the Middle East. Iraq and Iran. with probably close to 7 percent of the Shiias that will be in control of two nations in the Middle East that will have under their soils around 50 percent of the oil in the Middle East. It is time. Mr. Speaker. that we take a serious look and do what the old crossing at the railroad used to say: Stop. look and listen to what we are doing.
Date: 2007-01-23
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. President Bush will deliver his State of the Union Address tonight. The American people have been very clear in what they want. They want a change in the tone. they want a change in direction in Iraq. and they want our national priorities to focus on helping families. The President should use this opportunity to answer some questions. I know my constituents would like to hear three things from the State of the Union: One. how is the President going to work with Congress to really fix this countrys broken health care system. two. how is the President going to bring our troops home swiftly and safely. and. three. when is the President really going to return to the domestic priorities. The Democratically controlled House and Senate are ready for him to change his agenda. change his tone and get to the peoples agenda. So tonight we hear from our President.
Date: 2007-01-24
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia changed her vote from "no" to "aye."I So the question of consideration was decided in the affirmative. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid onthe table. Stated against: