macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-26
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of this resolution and thank my colleague from Arizona for introducing it. The problem of child abuse and neglect is one of the great social ills of our society and must be a major focus of our nation. The statistics are staggering. More thanthree children die each day as a result of abuse in the home. with 85% of the victims under the age of six. Approximately three million child abuse reports are made each year. and it Is estimated that the actual Incidence of abuse and neglect is estimated to be three times that of the number reported to authorities. We all know that the federal government is limited in our ability to combat this problem. It takes the individuals on the front lines in child protective services. law enforcement. and the volunteer community to break the cycle of abuse and neglect. ensuring that the most fragile and innocent among us are protected. We are fortunate that such Individuals and organizations exist among us. In my home county of Fairfax. we are fortunate to have the Childhelp USA Childrens Center of Virginia working to combat abuse. Last week. they entered into an agreement with the Fairfax County Police Department. Fairfax County Department of Family Services. Fairfax/Falls Church Community Services Board. Office of the Commonwealth Attorney. Inova Fairfax Hospital for children. and Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect to better integrate our efforts to prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect in Fairfax County. I commend this partnership for their commitment and for their efforts. We can never appropriately thank or recognize the Individuals and organizations that make up this network for the services. compassion. and hope that they provide to children all across our great nation. We can. however. ensure that we work with them and help to provide the necessary resources to ensure that all children have the ability to hope. dream. and achieve their full potential. Together we can break the cycle of abuse that threatens the future of so many of our nations children.
Date: 2003-03-26
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 118. sponsored by the gentleman from Georgia . urging the Iraqi government and military to treat our troops humanely and our POWs also in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. Our prisoners of war should be protected by the standards the Geneva Conventions outline. which prohibit persons engaged in warfare from humiliating. televising or harming prisoners of war. Mr. Speaker. we probably all remember the news stories about our POWs from the conflict in Afghanistan at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The POWs there were made to kneel. and people around the world erupted in protest. claiming that we were being unfair to them. This is nothing comparcd to what our -prisoners of war in Iraq are having to endure. The Iraqi soldiers have not followed the traditional rules of warfare. They have dressed their troops in civilian clothes and hidden them in crowded public places and placed troops in hospitals and schools and fired upon our troops who cannot fire back. and they have instructed their troops to ambush Americans while attempting to surrender. Mr. Speaker. just today I had the unfortunate experience of calling a family in my district whose son was killed in the line of duty in Iraq. Lance Corporal Brian Rory Buesing. who was only 20 years old. was ambushed by Iraqi troops who were pretending to surrender. These kinds of unfair. inhumane. indecent actions are happening. unfortunately. all the time in this conflict. I urge the Iraqi government to treat our prisoners of war with the respect we treat theirs. We urge other nations in the world to be as outraged at their practices as I am and I am sure all my colleagues are. and I urge them to also support this resolution.
Date: 2003-03-26
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. on April 16. 1966. during my second tour of Vietnam I was shot down. I spent nearly 7 years as a prisoner of warmore than half of that time in solitary confinement. During my 25th mission I weighed about 200 pounds. During my captivity in Vietnam. I got down to 120 pounds. My captors beat me. tortured me. starved me. and interrogated me. When I ejected out of the plane. I broke my back and right arm. It was these injuries my captors would use to push me to the brink. One time they put me in front of a firing squad and said. were going to kill you. They readied their AK47s. Now I started praying harder than I ever prayed in my life. In a few seconds. the guns went click. click. click. click. click. I laughed at thembig mistake. It Is only because of the grace of God I survived. When I heard about American P.O.W.s in Iraq. my heart skipped a beat. And when I saw pictures of themI was furious!! That is a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention. Thats just wrong. It is my hope that this Congress and the international community will send a strong signal to the Iraqis that if they do not uphold the Geneva Conventions and treat our troops humanely . . . the Iraqis will be sought . . . they will be caught . . . and they will be punished as war criminals. I just hope that those Iraqis see the writing on the walls that theyre working for a falling regime and that if they dont adhere to these intemational laws they will be punished. Now my heart goes out to the family and friends of our troops and especially our P.O.W.s. Youre in our thoughts and prayers.: And to our soldiersall I can tell you is that what youre doing is the greatest job in the worid and America will be there for you! To the P.O.W.swe will find you and we will come and get you! And when we dotrust meit will be the most incredible day of your life. God bless you and God bless America.
Date: 2003-03-26
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. if the gentleman will yield. it is interesting. the gentleman mentioned some of these countries that were so quick to criticize the United States. criticize the United States for enforcing the resolutions that they unanimously supported. by the way. Yet. we now see some of them. and I do not know why they have acted the way they have. but I can just throw some facts on the table. We now see that the Government of Russia has sold to the Iraqi Government some very hightech military equipment.
Date: 2003-03-26
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H

It is highly sophisticated night vision equipment. equipment to avoid radar. missiles. and also to confuse GPS devices that are obviously a big part of a military arsenal. Yet a lot of these things are things that were not permissible under the sanctions that those same governments supported. So on one side. they are sayIng. well. Iraq is a violator of all sorts of rights. They are trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction. They have supported all these resolutions in the past. On the other side of their mouths. they are selling. them hightech equipment. military equipment. That regime that they have condemned for the human rights abuses. for the rape of the women. for the assassinations. they are selling that regime hightech military equipment. much of it banned by the United Nations. Those countries voted to ban that equipment to the Iraqi regime. We saw that the wonderful. talented men and women of the U.S. Air Force shot down missiles. Some were destined to land in populated areas of Kuwait. Those are missiles that supposedly they do not have. that Iraq does not have. What more proof do we need? I ask a question. I ask a rhetorical question. How many violations does it take for these countries to realize that there is a problem? Of course. what we realize now is that it is not that they do not realize that they are violations. It is that they have been assisting this regime and selling them hightech equipment that has been banned. that is unlawful. according to the United Nations resolutions. They have. been assisting this regime in their oppression. in their assassinations. I think we are going to find a lot of that. I am not telling the gentleman that is the reason why some of these countries oppose the United States effort to free the people of Iraq. just like the. United States military freed the people of France twice. By the way. the people of France. thank God. they had the right to be free. A lot of brave young American GIs died to free the people of France. I am glad that France is free. The people of Iraq are no less. human beings than the people of France. They have the right to be free. as well.
Date: 2003-03-26
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H

I could not agree with the gentleman more. if the gentleman will yield. Mr. Speaker. This is a twofold problem. There is. first. the opposition to this effort to free the Iraqi people and to free the world from this very dangerous dictator. free the world from a dictator who is trying to get or obtain nuclear weapons. and who already has other weapons of mass destruction. 0l 2115 We are trying to free the Iraqi people while at the some time free the world from this incredible threat. So we have to remember these countries that we are objecting to that. that even though unanimously. just a few months before. they said. hey. look. we are going to give this dictator one last chance. he has to disarm. but it is worse than that because not only are they objecting to the freeing of the Iraqi people. are they objecting to ridding of the world of this dictator who is trying to get nuclear weapons. who has -ties with terrorist organizations and. by the way. including terrorist organizations that have assassinated Americans. but what is even more offensive is that at the same time they are selling this dictator hightech equipment that he can use to further exploit. hurt. oppress. kill. murder his people and others because of his ties with terrorism. One would hope that humanity has gone above and beyond that. and yet there are those that would like to profit even while selling hightech equipment that they know they should not be selling because they have said it repeatedly in U.N. resolutions. So they know it. it is not by mistake. and yet they are doing so to earn a buck. to earn a buck?
Date: 2003-03-26
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. If the gentleman would yield. I think we are going to find a lot of that. I think we are going to find a lot of companies that are profiting from selling goods to the United States. including to the United States Armed Forces and armed services. as the gentleman just pointed out. who. by the way. are probably also making a hefty profit selling products to Iraq. even though there are sanctions there and probably even some hightech equipment to the tyranny in Iraq. I think it kind of explains some of the ferocity of the argument. some of the aggressiveness of some of those that were objecting to the United States noble stance to help free an oppressed people and also help rid the world of these weapons of mass destruction and the possible obtaining of nuclear weapons to this dictator. I think we are going to see a lot of that. The thing that surprised me. and it does not surprise me anymore because we arestarting to see why. and my colleague just mentioned it. we are starting to see why but. surprisingly. the ferocity of the argument and how France. for example. not only do they object to any resolution that was not of their liking in the U.N. recently and they said so. but. also. they went lobbying. They actually were talking to every nation possible to try to stop this movement to free the people of Iraq and to free the world from this dictator who has caused so much grief. I think we are starting to see why. but it is sad. it is sad that it looks like one of the main reasons or at least one of the reasons may be because they are making a buck off of this dictator.
Date: 2003-03-26
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I just want to thank the gentleman from Georgia. Again. I had to come to the floor today once I was hearing what he was talking about. I had to come here and thank the gentleman. thank him for standing up for our troops. thank him for supporting our troops. thank him for supporting the President of the United States. Commander in Chief in such a difficult time. Our troops are going to prevail because of their honor. their integrity. their decency and because they are the best people. best troops and the best human beings that this world has ever seen. and they are well led. and their cause is just. I wanted to thank the gentleman again for his words. They were humbling. and they were touching. and I wanted to come here and thank him tonight for his words.
Date: 2003-03-27
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. as the Chairman of the Government Reform Committee. which has jurisdiction over federal buildings. Including buildings owned or leased by the U.S. Postal Service. I rise in support of the AcevedoViIA amendment. My Committee did not have the opportunity to examine this proposal before Its consideration here on the floor as an amendment to the Child Abduction Prevention Act. Nevertheless..since the underlying Intentof this legislation is to not only return abducted children to their parents. which we do through the national AMBER Alert network. but to keep them from being abducted In the first place. I believe establishing procedures to locate missing children in public buildings Is a positive step. This time of year. we all see the large numbers of children that come to our nations capital to visit the Smithsonian Museums. the monuments. or to see the cherry blossoms. It makes sense for our public facilities to have an established system to help keep these children from either wandering away on their own or being taken away by a kIdnapper. Every parent knows the heartstopping panic that ensues when a child suddenly is nowhere to be found. Having a "Code Adam alert" system In place gives parents the peace of mind of knowing their children can be retumed to them quickly and safely. I urge my colleagues to give it their support.
Date: 2003-04-01
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong support. of our brave military men and women fighting for our freedom here at home and to take the yoke of oppression off the Iraqi people. I also want to thank the military families and let them know that these soldiers are doing the best job in the world. Madam Speaker. there are some awful stories out there. Iraqis were shown on TV voicing support for Saddam Hussein. When asked why they were doing that. they replied that they were afraid if they did not show support for Saddam and he did win. then he would remember them as enemies. and he would kill or torture their family members. That is just wrong. Now our servicemen and women are implementing a precise military plan that will put an end to Saddam Husseins reign of terror and his ruthless regime forever. We in the Congress are going to do all in our power to make sure that our troops remain the best trained and equipped in the world and are paid as veterans. To the brave men and women in uniform. I thank you and we salute you.
Date: 2003-04-02
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. I rise today in very strong support of the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2003. This very critical legislation increases the standard maximum deposit coverage from $100.000 to $130.000. and then indexes the increase every 5 years to account for inflation. However. most importantly to the seniors in my district. H.R. 522 calls for a doubling of the maximum- deposit coverage for retirement accounts. This would allow seniors to maintain coverage on up to $260.000 in their retirement accounts. The amendment offered today would strike this coverage without doing it for any* good reason. The increases are modest and necessary in this bill. If the coverage limit actually had been keeping pace with inflation. today the standard limit would be about $200.000. This bill proposes an increase to only $130.000. The FDIC is in great need of these commonsense reforms. and I urge my colleagues to join with me in support of H.R. 522 and to oppose any amendment that would strike the coverage increases. LI 1100
Date: 2003-04-02
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to tell my colleagues about a bill I introduced 2 days ago. It is H.R. 1511. The purpose is to honor British Prime Minister Tony Blair with a Congressional Gold Medal. Mr. Blair is a true ally and friend to this country and has shown incredible leadership. resolve. and solidarity with the United States in recent months. I thank him for his friendship. and I want to honor his commitment and contribution to this country by bestowing him with this honor. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievement and contributions to the United States that Congress can offer to any indivitdual. The Congressional Gold Medal of Honor was originally created by this body in 1776 to recognize military leaders. and the first recipient was George Washington. Since that time. the award has evolved to include world leaders and humanitarians as well. Great Britain has long been one of Americas closest friends and staunchest allies. I thank the Prime Minister and Great Britain for the loyalty. resolve. and support they have shown throughout this most recent conflict. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to pay tribute to a great man and a great leader.
Date: 2003-04-02
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legIslative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 743.
Date: 2003-04-03
Speaker: JEFF MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. Turkey has been our friend and I assume still desires to be an ally of the United States. I have visited Turkey. It is a beautiful country and they have fought side by side with many of our soldiers. Yes. they supported our efforts with Operation Northern Watch. Yes. we support their Immerging democracy. but it is Important for them to understand that there are consequences to their actions. Mr. Chairman. when we as Members of Congress cast a vote there are consequences. Earlier this year we asked for their help and they voted "no". Well not they want our help and Im voting "no". I think we spend too much money in foreign aid. money that could be used for tax relief. building a strong defense. and paying down the debt. This week. Turkey agreed to help with resupply and humanitarian aid and assumes that Uncle Sam is going to pull out his checkbook and write another billiondollar check without batting an eye. Mr. Chairman. at a time when our veterans have to wait months to see a doctor and our servicemen in Iraq are risking their lives and chemical attack for the preservation of liberty. isnt it time for Uncle Sam to stop sending blank checks to fairweather allies?
Date: 2003-04-03
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I think adopting this amendment would be a huge mistake for this House. so I rise in strong opposition to this amendment which proposes cutting vitally needed assistance to Colombia and the Andean region. Quite simply. now is not the time to turn our backs on the progress we are making against narcoterrorism in Colombia. General James Hill. the commander of the U.S. Southern Command. said recently that the socalled narcoterrorists operating in Colombia and throughout Latin America fuel and fund worldwide terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Our counternarcotics and counterterror initiatives in Colombia are finally beginning to bear fruit. For example. last month John Walters. the director of the Office of National Drug Policy. announced promising new estimates of coca eradication in Colombia. and these numbers do not account for the intensified spraying that has occurred since President UrIbe took office in 2002. It would be foolish for us to send this message to the Colombian Government now and for us to derail this program just as it is beginning to succeed. The administration has requested the allocation of supplemental funding to support the Uribe administrations commitment to stamp out terrorists. reduce the level of narcotics trafficking. and eventually eliminate his nations supply of drugs. President Uribes aggressive approach to counternarcotics and antiterrorist programs has seen significant results in a very short period of time. Our 2003 funding was developed prior to President Uribes taking office. and it is not sufficient to appropriately and effectively fund the current pace of our counternarcotics operations. Supplemental funding would provide Colombia with several essential tools and resources. including intelligence equipment to detect threats against U.S. and Colombian officials and increase capabilities to enhance existing eradication efforts. After a recent visit with President Uribe in Bogota. I can tell the Members that the Colombian Governments commitment is strong. President Uribes administration is working to enhance state presence in vast areas of the country that have lacked it for decades. They have the popular support of a vast majority of Colombians to beef up and spray eradication efforts. impose new taxes. to strengthen their police and military. and reform their beleaguered criminal justice system. Of course. significant hurdles remain.