macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1996-03-27
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of the Womens Health Equity Act and. in particular. in support of the osteoporosis provisions of the bill. Most women find out that they have osteoporosis when it is too late. after a bone fracture or a curvature of the spine has occurred. The real tragedy is that for many women the disease is preventable and treatable. But this is a disease that has an underlying condition that affects 25 million Americans. most of them. 80 percent of them. women. All of us lose bone mass as we age. but people with osteoporosis lose an excessive amount. leading to weak and brittle bones. As I just said. 80 percent of those suffering from osteoporosis are older women. and a womans risk for hip fracture alone is now equal to the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. It is time for us to give a little bit more attention to this disease. Madam Speaker.
Date: 1996-03-27
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to this misguided and deceptive legislation before us known as H.R. 1833. the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. I believe this bill is both bad politics and bad policy. Mr. Speaker. it is critical to protect womens health and preserve the ability of these women to have future healthy pregnancies. H.R. 1833 prevents women from receiving the safest medical care in the rare cases when a wanted pregnancy has gone tragically wrong. Women need access to the safest medical procedure. Under Roe versus Wade and later reaffirmed in Planned Parenthood versus Casey the Supreme Court explicitly declared that States can ban late term abortions. unless the womans life or health is endangered. and in fact 41 States have already done so. As passed by the Senate. and earlier by the House. H.R. 1833 is a direct constitutional challenge to both Roe and Casey because it fails to provide a health exception. Mr. Speaker. we must not be misled by the Senates addition of language purporting to be a "life exception." As drafted. the "life exception" language is so narrowly crafted that a doctor would still risk criminal prosecution to perform this procedure. It is important to note that the Senate. by a narrow margin. rejected a true "life and adverse health" amendment that would have protected women who face life and health threatening pregnancies. Mr. Speaker. since the House has considered this bill. public debate on the issue has shifted. The House acted to ban a specific abortion procedure and jail doctors after only brief debate and a prohibition on all amendments. When the farreaching effects of this legislation were more fully debated both in the Senate and in the news media the bill passed the Senate by only a thin margin. The statements of the bills proponents both in Congress and in antichoice movements make it clear that H.R. 1833. far from being a moderate measure. is in fact the first step in an ambitious strategy to use the new congressional antichoice majority to overturn Roe. I ask my colleagues to stop that from happening.
Date: 1996-03-28
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today the House Republicans will pass up a golden opportunity to advance realistic bipartisan health care reform when it considers H.R. 3103. instead of sponsoring and passing the RoukemaKassebaumKennedy health reform bill that I cosponsored. The bill which the House considers today will have disastrous consequences for consumers. Carefully crafted State insurance laws will be replaced by a uniform standard developed and implemented by the Department of Labor here in Washington. That is right. We are taking away States ability to regulate and move it here to Washington. They want to move it to an agency that one of my Republican colleagues said was led by what he thought was a Communist. What does this mean to the average American family? State statutes and rules requiring certain benefits be covered by health insurance policies may no longer apply. For instance. many States like Texas. where I am from. have statutes requiring the inclusion of newborn infant coverage in their State law. That will be wiped out if this bill passes today. Under the Republican health plan. this may no longer apply. This is moving from State control to Washington control. That must have been in the fine print of the Contract With America.
Date: 1996-03-28
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today as a member of the health profession to encourage my colleagues to support a comprehensive health care reform measure that would make appropriate health care accessible for all Americans. As we consider H.R. 3103. the Health Coverage Affordability and Availability Act. it is important that we realize that there is no clear consensus on the best means to attain universal coverage. Limitations on exclusions for preexisting conditions and guarantees for portability will help millions of Americans move away from joblock and the terrifying prospect of losing health care coverage that comes with job loss or change brought about by corporate downsizing and other market forces. As a nurse. it is my opinion that this Congress needs to continue to foster high standards in the health care industry and promote the economic and general welfare of Americans in the workplace. All year we have heard that the Medicare hospital trust fund is about to go bankrupt and therefore we have to make massive cuts in Medicare to save it. Now they propose taking the easiest money in Medicarethe money gained from fighting fraudand spending it to give medical savings account tax breaks to younger people Who are likely to be in the highest tax brackets and the healthiest members of our society. Mr. Chairman. while considering health care legislation today. we as a Congress must keep the process simple. There is no place for adding on special interest amendments and pay backs that will sabotage the passage of good reforms. We must also remember the working poor of this Nation that are effectively pricedour of the health insurance market. Mr. Chairman. I encourage my colleagues to support the Democratic substitute to H.R. 3103 because the substitute does not contain any of the bills highly controversial provisionssuch as medical savings accountsthat would jeopardize any possibility of enacting health insurance reform this year. The KassebaumKennedyRoukema bill. which assures health insurance portability. enjoys broad bipartisan support in both Chambers. and the President has endorsed it. We should not let this opportunity for enacting meaningful health reform slip away by loading down this bill with a number of controversial provisions. The only way to enact health reform is to support the KassebaumKennedyRoukema alternative which the substitute embodies. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 1996-03-28
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself 30 seconds. Mr. Speaker. we spend over $26 billion a year for food stamps. we provide additional monies for school lunch. for school breakfast. for temporary emergency food assistance. and for other assistance programs for migrants. No one can say that we are not attempting to care for the poor. Yet even as we try to provide assistance to the poor. we have managed to reduce expenditures in Agriculture programs in order to balance the budget. Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. STENHOLMI.
Date: 1996-03-28
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. this is not perfect legislation. but I feel that we should approve it because it addresses all of the areas of concern to rural America. from feeding the poor to making affordable improvements out in the rural areas. Mr. Speaker. let me say that in 1981. I managed my first farm bill. This is the fourth time that I rise to support a farm bill and it will be my last time that I do so. I stated then that it was a long. long way from the banks of the Rio Grande to Washington. DC. A poor boy shining shoes in the streets of Mission. TX. to managing a farm bill. It is with great pride now that I do so. This will be the fourth time I have managed a farm bill. this is the greatest number of anyone who has served in this House. I ask you to support this legislation. not because of myself or what I have done. but because it is the art of the possible. Legislating Is the art of the possible. What is possible now may not be possible 1 hour from now. It addresses human needs. It addresses the issues of the poor. We are the best fed people in the world. in the history of the world. for the best amount of disposable income per family. We have the best quality food in the world. A lot of the costs that people complain about are for the many other areas in agriculture such as meat inspection and poultry inspection. That is not to say that agriculture programs are perfect. Now and then you have a fault. but the intent is to help farmers provide reasonable. safe. and affordable food. We have gone. I think. Mr. Speaker. a long. long way in helping ensure that we are the best fed people in the world in the history of the world. Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the chairman for his kindness to me. his working with me. This is not perfect legislation. I have never said that any bill that I brought to the -floor was perfect legislation. If there are flaws in this bill. they may yet be corrected in the future. We have reduced the budget deficit. Agriculture has reduced the deficit over $60 billion in the past 10 years. If every committee in the House had done that. we would not be worried about a balanced budget. We lave reduced that. but we have done it quietly. We have done it with a scalpel. not with a meat ax. You should be proud of what agriculture has done and what we have worked for and what we will continue to work for. But for me today. this is my last hurrah. Mr. Speaker. I yield to the gentleman from Kansas . my chairman.
Date: 1996-03-29
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. pursuant to clause 1. rule I. I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speakers approval of the Journal.
Date: 1996-03-29
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.
Date: 1996-03-29
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to join many of my colleagues in a monthlong effort to bring attention to our growing dependence on foreign all. On the fifth anniversary of the end of the Persian Gulf war and the liberation of Kuwait. it is the logical time to reflect on our domestic oil production. which is at a 40year low. Today there are 85.000 fewer people working in the oil and gas industry in the United States than there were at the beginning of the gulf war. Everything that the United States had at stake at the beginning of the gulf war is still on the line. even more so. Americans consume 17 million barrels of oil a day. and today over 50 percent of that consumption is imported from foreign sources. Last year. a Department of Commeice study revealed that the Nations reliance on foreign oil was a threat to our national security. because it increases our vulnerability to oil supply interruptions. Mr. Speaker. foreign oil dependency can be alleviated. One way would be to allow our Nations industry more access to promising areas offshore. Our Government also must lift unnecessary and burdensome regulations that provide no environmental benefits but cost American jobs and drive our oil and gas industry overseas. Congress must take the lead in developing a Federal energy policy that encourages rather than punishes domestic oil and gas production. As the worlds leader. America must learn from historys mistakes rather than repeat them. This is a jobs issue. it is a national security issue. and time is not on our side.
Date: 1996-03-29
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. 5 years after the Persian Gulf war. the United States still imports 9 million barrels of oil. In fact. our Nation is more dependent on foreign oil than ever before. More than 50 percent of our oil is imported. and about 20 percent comes from the Persian Gulf. While we may neVer completely eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. we must minimize our reliance on foreign sources from the volatile Middle East. We should look more toward our neighbors and trading partners in the Western Hemisphere. like Venezuela. which has made significant investment in the United States and recently opened its oil industry to investment by U.S. companies. Mr. Speaker. I encourage my colleagues to move toward a policy that encourages domestic oil and gas exploration and production. to ensure a vibrant and healthy economy.
Date: 1996-03-29
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this conference report. I believe the Commonsense Product Liability Act has become necessary to deal with our increasingly litigious society and the arbitrary and capricious nature of many punitive damage awards. Today. in 1996. product liability unquestionably has become a major factor in interstate commerce. Less so 20 years ago. but today product liability determines what goods are available in what States and at what price. Further. liability laws have had the impact of sending the manufacture of goods overseas. taking American jobs with them. for example. as weve seen in the private aircraft industry. There can be no doubt that the measures in this legislationpunitive damage reform. joint and several liability reform. and a provision similar to an amendment that I offered to the original House bill--that limits the liability of rental and leasing agencies for the tortious acts of anotherfall well within this category of appropriate and much needed reform. The changes proposed in this bill will rearrange the legal landscape. but they will further the cause of commerce and competitiveness. reduce costs for consumers and create jobs across America. The problems we address in this bill are national problems. American citizens. businesses. municipalities. and other charities across our Nation pay $80 billion a year as a litigation tax. And these costs are paid by all of us through increased costs in our goods and services. Today 30 percent of the price of a stepladder and over 95 percent of the price of childhood vaccines go to cover the costs of tort liability. Each new private aircraft made by American workers has a $100.000 litigation tax added to its cost. The present system costs jobs. costs lives. and burdens every citizen in America with a litigation tax that is unaffordable. The time has come for sensible product liability reform. This legislation will strengthen the economy and the free market by removing the impediments to interstate commerce and encouraging innovation. His legislation provides a national solution to a national problem. and I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting it.
Date: 1996-04-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

No. and I expect that we will have a considerable number of Democrats join us in voting for this. I think the experience that we have seen in the 10 States that have tried this belies the accusation that this is some partisan gimmick by either party. Arkansas. a State that has been controlled by Democrats. Legislature. the Governors office. I guess since Reconstruction. they have this provision. California. very strong Democratic legislature. they have had Republican and Democratic Governors. they have this limitation under Willy Brown. one of the leading Democrats in the entire country. This provision came out of the legislature In which he presided as the speaker. So anybody that tries to dismiss this as a partisan gimmick I think is Ignoring the fact that 10 States. some of the States in heavily Democraticwith heavily Democratic majorities in every area of governmenthave this problem. So for those to try to dismiss it with that sort of criticism I think are ignoring the reality of experience with this provision.
Date: 1996-04-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Well. I think that this reflects accurately where Americans are. regardless of party affiliation. and also explains why in many States with a strong. strong Democratic tradition and control of their State governments. have enacted a provision of this sort. This is a bipartisan initiative. We are not going to have as many people on my side of the aisle supporting it as I would like to see. but I think that poll shows that this is an initiative that enjoys bipartisan support or nonpartisan support. including strong support in the Independent base. and I would expect thatI mean. you look at the States that have it. Florida all the way to California. Louisiana. Arkansas. these are States that have very different economies. they have different political traditions. but joined in a recognition and understanding of the need to check this bias in favor of growing government.
Date: 1996-04-15
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me just hiehligiht one noint. that. u -adthe economic growth. If anyone were seeking to find an explanation why 68 percent of Democrats across the country support this. it is one simple word. It is jobs. economic growth. You look through the history of Democratic platforms. and you will see the word "jobs" repeated over and over and over for the last 100 years. and the States that have tried this have been proven job creators. This is an initiative that will create jobs. as it has in California. as it has in Arkansas. This is an opportunity to extend that job creation across the 50 States of this country.
Date: 1996-04-16
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to note with appreciation the many achievements and inspirational life of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. With his constant good will and hard work. he was able to build bridges where there once were valleys and hope where there was once despair. Secretary Brown used the power of the Commerce Department to find ways to give opportunity to ordinary Americans. to generate jobs for the American economy. and to build futures for American citizens. One could look at Rons life as a series of firsts. That would be a disservice. for in fact. his life was a series of first place and solid accomplishments. Ron Brown always believed that we would succeed. Whether as a student at Middlebury. staff person to Senator KENNEDY. or top campaign aide to the Senator. Ron was a success. As chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Ron was a success. A lawyer. a skillful negotiator. a pragmatic bridge builder. and past highly successful chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Secretary Brown strongly believed in the promise of America and aggressively advanced polices and programs to accelerate the Nations economic growth and create new jobs and opportunities for all American people. Under his leadership. the Commerce Department became the powerhouse envisioned by President Clinton. Secretary Brown promoted U.S. exports. U.S. technologies. entrepreneurship. and the economic development of distressed communities throughout the Nation. He led trade development missions to five continents. touting the competiveness of U.S. goods and services. During his tenure. U.S. exports reached a record high. America regained its title as the worlds most productive economy. and exports and technology were key contributors to the millions of new jobs created during the first 3 years of President Clintons administration. Mr. Speaker. my prayers go out to his wife Alma. son Michael. and daughter Tracy. Their strength and courage were displayed during Secretary Browns funeral service and they should be forever proud of their husband and father. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 1996-04-17
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Congress has a golden opportunity to actually do something for the American people. We can pass the necessary health care reform bills this year and also increase the minimum wage. like my colleagues have said. The KassebaumKennedy health care bill in the Senate will enhance the portability of coverage by ending permanent exclusion for preexisting conditions. However. the inclusion in the House of the medical savings accounts. malpractice reform. and also the taking away of State regulation of multiple employer welfare plans will hurt health care reform. Key Senators. including Senator KASSEBAUM. have discouraged the inclusion of these medical savings accounts because it has no place in this bill. House Republicans want to federalize insurance regulations for selfinsured small business. The States are now regulating these plans. and have served as a laboratory for innovation on improving coverage and combating fraud. Why do we want to bring that to Washington? The Nations Governors. State legislators. and insurance commissioners have opposed these provisions. but the majority Republicans have put it in. Let us give the people reasonable health care reform and a minimum wage increase.
Date: 1996-04-18
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. you just heard it and the American people heard it. The Republicans are talking a lot about working families. but it is time that they did more than just talk about it. It is time they decided to actually raise the minimum wage. Seventy percent of Americans believe that the minimum wage must be increased. Now at least 20 Republicans are backing the increase in the minimum wage. It is time. Mr. Speaker. that we bring this to a vote. Yesterday the Democrats on our Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities asked our chairman of the committee to hold hearings on the minimum wage. Democrats understand that the purchasing power of the minimum wage will soon be the lowest it has been in 40 years. American families are working hard to get ahead. but it is tough to get by when working fulltime does not even pay to get off welfare. An increase of $0.90 means an additional $1.800 a year in the pockets of fulltime workers. Republicans have an opportunity to join us in helping Americas working families. It is.time to pass the minimum wage increase bipartisanly.