macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-05-27
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I hope my friend. the gentleman from Colorado. knows that I have extraordinary respect for him. and that we have a legitimate disagreement with regard to our analysis of what I consider was an agreement that was entered into. including by the President. after he announced his decision to repeal the current policy as Commander in Chief. that this study that will lead to a report in December that would be conducted before legislative action takes place. And so I reiterate my respect to the gentleman from Colorado. And I have many friends who believe differently than I do with regard to the vote that I will be taking today. I studied this issue very thoroughly and know that it is a very serious matter. But I stand by what I said in my previous remarks. Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to my distinguished friend from Ohio
Date: 2010-05-27
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. at this time I yield for the purpose of a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from Arizona .
Date: 2010-05-27
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. its been a good debate. Its unfortunate there is not more fairness. procedural fairness in this rule with regard to what is traditionally a bipartisan bill. I urge a "no" vote on this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-05-27
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

I thank the ranking member for yielding. One of the amendments in there Id like to talk about here. According to a RAND study. there are more than several hundred thousand potential cases of posttraumatic stress disorder in our veterans from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. and suicide rates among them are also higher than that of the general population. The Department of Defense has rightly doubled its budget for treatment and research of PTSD and traumatic brain injury and set higher goals for the number of behavior health providers. And although care has also been supplemented through TRICARE and contract providers. the military remains understaffed to meet the needs. Combat veterans should not be placed on a waiting list. especially dealing with mental health problems and suicide. And servicemembers who need care can only get care if they are near care. Now. a huge investment has been made into many of the great clinicians in medical services at the dawn of their careers. Stipends. bonuses. educational expenses are paid in hopes we can recruit and retain them for 20 or 30 years. although many do not remain that long. Sometimes we discourage those from signing up later in their careers who. because of their age. they cant remain for 20 years or so. Yet there are those who are at the peak of their career who we could look to not only to fill the immediate needs with highly skilled and readytrained experiences. but to provide mentorship and training to those starting out in their medical and behavioral medicine careers. This amendment simply calls upon the Surgeons General of the Army. Navy. and Air Force to report on other incentives that can be offered to recruit and retain those with 20 or more years of nonmilitary clinical experience to serve in active or reserve duty. This might include. but is not limited to. offering a 10year retirement instead of the traditional 20- or 30year retirement. I might add that we are very proud of our servicemen and -women and want to make it very clear that all of us in Congress--and I know all the militaryare absolutely dedicated to making sure that we take care of all of their wounds. whether they are visible or invisible wounds of war. We are proud of their service. and we will continue to support them. And along those lines. I hope my colleagues will also support this amendment.
Date: 2010-05-27
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman. I rise for the purpose of a colloquy with the chairman concerning amendment No. 15 introduced by the gentleman from Florida. I would ask the chairman to confirm that the amendment does not envision any shortcuts in the process of checking the background of any Iraqi nationals applying to come to the United States. nor does it ask for a shortcut in any process designed to protect American national security.
Date: 2010-06-09
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

A recent Gallup poll showed 79 percent of Americans now view the Federal debt as a serious threat to the future wellbeing of this Nation. Its no wonder because the administration just announced that the Nations debt will reach 93 percent of GDP this year. a new high. Economic experts predict that unprecedented debt level could squash at least 1 million more jobs. The news came the same day the Labor Department reported that nearly all of the new jobs were temporary hires at the Census and some of them rehires at that. Make no mistake. the outofcontrol government spending. coupled with the heavy debt. prevent us from creating the quality jobs and the bright future America Americans want. need. and deserve. Its time to get our fiscal house in order. once and for all. The stimulus. the bailouts. governmentrun health care: Enough is enough.
Date: 2010-06-09
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. I would just say again that I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I hope there is a unanimous vote for it. and I thank the gentleman for bringing it to the floor. Madam Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-06-09
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. I appreciate what the gentleman said. However. the CBO scores are already linked for the public to view through Thomas.gov as well as a large number of other House. Senate. and other private Web sites. To find out how many. we went and we did a Google search. It reveals over 1.180 Web sites which link to the CBO home page. 1.180 Web sites are already linked to the CBO home page. In addition. the estimates are already publicly available on the CBO Web site. so adding a link there from the Clerks Web page doesnt make it any more available than it already is. Again. I would just say this: When I was home. not a single person said the way to solve the problem is to put a link on the Clerks Web site to the CBO estimates that are already available on 1.180 Web sites. What people back home said is. Get a grip on reality. Stop spending too much. Stop taxing too much. Stop putting us into debtand for Gods sake. cant you at least spend time coming up with a budget? I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon .
Date: 2010-06-09
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. If the gentleman has no more speakers. I will yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker. again. the point is that there are 1.180 Web sites already linking to the CBO. If anything would add to the frustration of the American people. it would be in response to their complaint that we are spending too much. taxing too much. putting them in too much debt. and we dont even have a budget. but were going to give them a link. Maybe Patrick Henry said. "Give me a link or give me death." or something like that. I dont know. All Im saying is we almost make ourselves silly here. I know thats not the intent of the gentleman. and I wouldnt suggest so. but back home. this would be considered laughable. With that. I would ask for a "no" vote on this resolution. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-06-09
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. this morning I had the privilege of speaking by telephone with one of the most important and respected leaders of the prodemocracy movement inside Cuba. Jorge Luis Garcia Perez. "Antunez." from his house in the town of Placetas in the province of Villa Clara. I always learn when I speak to Antunez. He conveyed to me some facts that I think should be known by my colleagues. Fact: There are not 200 political prisoners in Cuba. there are thousands of political prisoners in Cuba. As Amnesty International has recently admitted in one of its published reports. the dictatorship uses criminal penal charges and sentences for socalled crimes. such as contempt against authority and dangerousnesscriminal charges to deny. to hide the status. the political status. of prisoners of conscience. Fact: Various prodemocracy leaders and political prisoners are on hunger strikes. as we speak. in Cuba. Most wellknown is the hunger strike being carried out by the peaceful prodemocracy leader Guillermo Farinas. a psychologist and journalist who demands the release of the 25 most gravely ill prisoners of conscience to their homes. But there are others also engaged in hunger strikes at the moment. and their heroic efforts need to be known as well. Guillermo del Sol Perez. a former political prisoner. is on a hunger strike in Santa Clara. And the following current political prisoners are engaged in hunger strikes at this moment: Egberto Angel Escobedo Morales. Mario Alberto Perez Aguilera. and Ernesto Mederos Arrozarena. Fact: There are many political prisoners who are gravely ill and. yet. have not been included on any of the lists that have been made publicfor example. Armando Sosa Fortuny and Cecilio Reinoso Sanchez. Jorge Luis Garcia Perez. "Antunez." is a great leader and one of my heroes. Before being released from prison in 2007. he spent 17 years as a political prisoner due to his peaceful advocacy for democracy in Cuba. He and his wife. also photographed here. Iris Perez Aguilera. have been detained. harassed. spat upon. and beaten innumerable times since his release in 2007 from prison. But Antunez never gives up. He told me this morning he has a new blog. "Ni me callo. ni me voy"-"I wont shut up. I wont leave." I not only learn. Mr. Speaker. when I am able to speak with Antunez. I receive strength from his courage. patriotism. and devotion to the struggle for Cubas freedom.
Date: 2010-06-10
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I claim time in opposition to the amendment. although I am not in opposition to the amendment. The Acting CHAIR. Without objection. the gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Date: 2010-06-10
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

I yield myself such time as I may consume. This amendment is exactly the same as the bill that passed this body by a voice vote last year. the FHA Multifamily Loan Limit Adjustment Act. FHAs multifamily mortgage insurance programs enable qualified borrowers to obtain longterm. fixedrate financing for a variety of multifamily properties that are affordable to lowand moderateincome families. In the most expensive cites. it is very difficult for these workers. particularly those starting out in the workforce. to find affordable rental housing where they work. The FHA multifamily mortgage insurance program can help. but. due to its loan limits. there were only three FHAinsured multifamily loans for highrise construction or rehabilitation approved in fiscal year 2007 and 2008understand. just threeand that is a huge problem in this country. The loan limits in highcost areas are simply too low. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association. the lack of available loans is creating serious problems concentrated in major cities where highrise construction is involved. In fact. their data shows that while elevator buildings cost 45 percent more than nonelevator structures. the current limit for these structures are less than 10 percent higher than nonelevator structures. Developers are simply unable to provide affordable housing units in highcost areas because the current statutory loan limits for FHA mortgage insurance are basically too low. I dont think we have ever seen a housing market that has been as impacted as the one we have faced in recent years. Lowincome renters and moderateincome renters in these particular areas are really impacted by the loan limits that we have placed on developers. We need to provide more housing stock. yet do it in a way that does not put taxpayers at risk. And that is what this does. The program makes money for the government. does not lose money for the government. I would absolutely support this amendment and ask all my colleagues to join us. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-06-10
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

I agree with what my colleague said. When we passed this bill out last time. it had unanimous support. There is no impact on the Federal Government. We are taking areas that are highcost. that have basically been discriminated against in the past from being able to participate in either a GSA loan or an FHA loan. This is a good amendment. I ask for an "aye" vote. I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from New York .
Date: 2010-06-10
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am in strong opposition to this amendment. Over the years. I think in about 2001. I started arguing to raise conforming loan limits in highcost areas. and it has had a tremendous benefit across this Nation. but it seems like everybody who comes with amendments to oppose that does so when it does not impact their districts. Now. my good friend Mr. TURNERand he is a good friend of mineif you had introduced an amendment and had said to accept conforming as it should be. if you applied the old principles. it would be $417.000. but that would have had an impact on many counties in your State. So you introduced an amendment which said. well. lets pick an amount of $500.000. which means there is zero impact on the State of Ohio. So $500.000 is a great amount to pull out of the air when it doesnt impact you. personally. In L.A. County. the loan limits are $729.750. In Orange County. the limits are $729.750. These are some of the bestperforming loans FHA is making. When you look at GSE and FHA nationwide. they are making over 90 percent of the loans in this country. If they were not there today. people would not be able to sell loans in highcost areas. The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Date: 2010-06-10
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

You would not be able to sell a home in a highcost area. nor would you be able to buy a home in a highcost area. Now. if this were in some way impacting the Federal Government or taxpayers. I would absolutely agree with my good friend. I will say again to my good friend.
Date: 2010-06-10
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

A question for you: there has been a perception created that somehow. by eliminating the highcost areas. the FHA could insure more loans. Yet that is not real because the FHA can insure all of the loans they want irrespective of the volume of the loans. It does not have any impact on FHAs ability whatsoever. Am I correct on that?
Date: 2010-06-14
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. we are setting new records here in this Congress and in this government. We are now approaching. if we havent already leaped over it. the $14 trillion mark for the national debt. Fourteen trillion dollars. It doesnt just kind of trip off your tongue. Its a huge number. Its a number that is difficult to contemplate. And yet we sit here. working very diligently on suspension calendar bills. doing virtually nothing about the national debt except adding to it day after day after day. If you were to have a household income. and you were trying to determine what to do with your debt. it seems to me the first thing you would do is you would adopt a budget. You would adopt a budget to try and figure out your income. your expenses. how much debt you could have. But we have been informed by the majority that were not even going to start with that this year. We are going to forget about even coming up with a budget. I guess because were so embarrassed about the numbers that would be in there. Lets at least do what families do: adopt a budget and then keep it.
Date: 2010-06-15
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. we have heard today some comments from our friends on the other side of the aisle about fiscal responsibility and about creating jobs. but the one thing we havent heard from them is anything about the budget. If they were from Hollywood. they would be up here saying. "We dont need no stinkin budget." If they were involved in. oh. Presidential politics a few years ago. they would say. "Wheres the beef? Wheres the budget?" Fiscal responsibility starts with knowing where you are and where you are going. Every family in America adopts a budget. but I guess we are too big to fail. We are too big to create budgets because we can just print money after money after money. The fundamental proposition is. as stated by the chairman of the Budget Committee a couple years ago. if you cant budget. you cant govern. Theyve told us they cant budget. Theyre proving to us they cant govern. The problem is this is not a game. this is not a Hollywood movie. this is real life. and real people are hurting. Lets get down to the business of helping people by being responsible here. and lets start with a budget. Everybody understands that. perhaps. except the Democratic leadership.
Date: 2010-06-16
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you. both of you over there on the Democrat side. for getting this bill out. Today marks a new milestone for those who fought in the forgotten war. which was Korea. And today the United States Congress recognizes the importance of their service and reaffirms our longstanding commitment to freedom and the future of Korea. As many know. it was June 25. 1950. when Communist North Korea invaded the Republic of Korea with 135.000 troops. and that sparked the start of the Korean War. And what people dont realize about CHARLIE RANGEL is he could be dead because he was up on the Yalu River when the Chinese decided to come across. So he saved a lot of lives and buried a lot of guys. I thank you. CHARLIE. for that service. And HOWARD. I thank you as well for serving over there. On June 27. 1950. President Truman ordered the United States Armed Forces to help the Republic of Korea defend itself against the North Korean invasion. While it ended in an armistice. the bitter conflict between Korea and North Korea still lingers on. We all know that. Korea is a strong ally. and America remains committed to Koreas safety. survival. and success. By commemorating the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. the United States Congress and the country rededicate our promise to thank those who wore the uniform during that time. An estimated 5 million valiant men and women served in the Korean War. As a Korean War veteran who flew 62 combat missions. it brings me great pleasure to remind Americans of the sacrifice and service of those who fought in Korea. To the esteemed Korean War veterans. you are not forgotten. We honor you. we appreciate you. God bless you. And I salute each and every one of you.
Date: 2010-06-16
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. there is uncertainty on this floor as I speak as to whether or not we are going to bring up the DISCLOSE Act this day in the Rules Committee or on this floor this week. The reason appears to be that a special exemption has been given to just a select number of groups. starting with the National Rifle Association. but also not including the Gun Owners of America. including the Humane Society. but not including other agricultural groups in America. In other words. we are saying that free speech is free for some but not all. And as I looked at this exemption thats been given. you have to have over a million members. You have to have members in all 50 States. You have to have existed for more than 10 years. It is obvious we have now gone from too big to fail to too big to file. In other words. if you have got enough juice here. you are not going to be included. But if you do. you are going to be excluded. and you are going to be allowed in this election period to fully use your First Amendment rights. Thats not what the Constitutions all about.
Date: 2010-06-17
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the dire warnings of economists and the vivid lessons of Greece and of other debtburdened European countries which are collapsing under their cradletograve welfare systems have done nothing to restrain the Democrats in Washington. They have failed to heed the warnings from abroad. and they continue to simply declare their outofcontrol spending as emergency spending to try to cover up their fiscal irresponsibility. As a constitutional conservative with grave concerns about the Democrats outofcontrol spending. I support a different plan. I say balance the budget. cut the deficit. pay down the debt. fire the czars. and grow the economy. With President Obama in control. the term "GDP" has taken on a whole new meaninggrowing Democrats programs.
Date: 2010-06-17
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. once again. we have discovered that there appears to be some glitch in the majoritys effort to bring the socalled DISCLOSE Act to the floor. It apparently is over how many people get exempted from the disclosure rules that otherwise prevail. We have had the NRA exemption. which was for organizations which have over 1 million people. which have actually existed more than 10 years. which have people in all 50 States. in D.C. and in Puerto Rico. and which have less than 15 percent of their funds from corporations. Now we understand they have dropped it to 500.000. Madam Speaker. we did not take the oath to the Constitution to only uphold part of the Constitution. It is time that we stop auctioning off the First Amendment and start understanding that we here are supposed to protect the First Amendment. not parcel it out. not deny it to some and give it to others. The First Amendment is for all Americans. not just for those favored by one party or another.