macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-27
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. gas prices in this country have just risen to hit yet another record high. reminding us all of how difficult it can be to make ends meet today. This is especially true for the millions of Americans who are struggling to survive and support their families while making the minimum wage. Although it has not been increased since 1997. and it is currently at its lowest level in 50 years when adjusted for inflation. Republicans still refuse to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour. That means if you make $5.15 an hour and you work all year round. you would make $10.700. In fact. it would take you a full day just to fill up your gas tank. With the kind of money you make on minimum wage. there is very little left to support a household. something threequarters of the people who make minimum wage must do. Mr. Speaker. Democrats believe that no one who works hard at a fulltime job should be in poverty. It is time to raise the minimum wage. Congress should not go on vacation without giving these workers their first pay raise in 9 years.
Date: 2006-07-27
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. breast cancer does not discriminate based on health care coverage. Statistics tell us that one in seven American women will develop breast cancer. yet no one ever expects these things. No one plans or prepares to be diagnosed with breast cancer. No one preemptively investigates their health insurance coverage in the event that they require a mastectomy or a lumpectomy. Suddenly these women. our mothers. our sisters. our. daughters. are faced not only with a terrible. deadly diagnosis but with unnerving treatment decisions. I am a cosponsor of the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act to ensure one thing: that women dont have to worry about their health insurance plan during this terrifying experience. This is the law in Florida. and it should be the law of the land. While serving in the Florida legislature. I passed similar legislation. and my commitment has not wavered. This bill mandates that women be covered for a 48hour hospital stay after a mastectomy and a 24hour stay for a lumpectomy. What is more. it ensures full coverage for followup care. Asking anyone coping with a deadly disease to lose sleep over health insurance is outrageous. As a public servant. I believe I have a. responsibility to stand up on this issue so that women facing this trying ordeal can focus on what really matters: their family. their faith. and their future.
Date: 2006-07-27
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to the Health Information Technology Promotion Act. Health IT. as we call it. has the potential to revolutionize our health care system by improving health outcomes through increased efficiency and accuracy. Despite the bills title. however. this legislation would do little to actually promote the adoption of health IT among the providers who would most benefit from it. Most importantly. the bill fails to include adequate funding to help providers invest in this promising technology. The $30 million in grant funding is only a drop in the bucket. so to speak. and will be stretched thin among the many providers who need financial assistance with health IT adoption. Unfortunately. the Rules Committee failed to make in order either the Dingell/Rangel substitute or my amendment. which would have gone a long way to facilitating widespread health IT adoption. Specific to my amendment. which I submitted with my colleagues on our committee. Mr. GONZALEZ and Mr. RUSH. would authorize a Medicare addon payment. a competitive grant and a State loan program to help providers invest in - this technology. If health IT is a- priority of the Federal Government. then we need to put our money where our mouth is. The bill is also sorely lacking in privacy protections. If patients are going to buy in to the benefits of health IT. we must ensure that personal health information is as secure as possible. We already know from nationwide surveys that twothirds of Americans are concerned about security of their personal health information. The very nature of health IT is at :risk of privacy breach. therefore. the proliferation of health IT must be accompanied by increased privacy protections. Unfortunately the Rules Committee failed to allow the Markey/Capps amendment to be considered. That important amendment would have required patient consent - before their health records were shared. as well as patient notification in the event of a privacy breach. This commonsense amendment would have closed a glaring loophole that we currently have in HIPAA. In doing so. it would have given patients the privacy assurance they need to share important health information and to maximize the benefits of health IT to their personal health. It is not often I advocate that the House should follow the Senates lead. however. we should have better served our constituents if we take up the Senate bill. Passed unanimously by the Senate. that bipartisan health IT bill will provide the necessary resources and pave the way for Americans to benefit from the promised health IT. I encourage my colleagues to vote against this bill.
Date: 2006-07-27
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise today in reluctant opposition to H.R. 4157. the Information Technology Promotion Act of 2005. It is unfortunate that the House Republican leadership refused to allow this Congress the opportunity to strengthen this bill and protect the privacy of patients. Like many of my colleagues. I support moving our health care system into the "information age"-it holds the promise of saving lives. saving money. and saving time. However. I am concerned that H.R. 4157 does not adequately protect the privacy of patients. In light of millions of electronic data records being exposed due to recent highprofile security breaches. it is troubling that this legislation does not adequately address this critical issue. Unfortunately. the House Republican leadership would not allow us the opportunity to vote on an alternative bill that was based on the bipartisan Senate health information technology legislation -which unanimously passed that chamber. This alternative proposal included safeguards for Americans to protect their personal medical records from identity thieves. Mr. Chairman. health information technology should not be a partisan issue. Congress should not miss the opportunity to transition our health care into the 21st century. but it must be done in a manner that will protect the sensitive health information of millions of Americans. I am hopeful that the final version of -the legislation will be fashioned in. a bipartisan. bicameral fashion by the HouseSenate Conference.
Date: 2006-07-28
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank my colleague for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker. this is Keystone Cops legislation. I fully expect to see the Marx Brothers. Larry. Curly and Moe. as Members of Congress here today. Today. or tonight. we do not know if are going to vote on pension reform. associated health plans. repealing of the estate tax. tax extensions. or a minimum wage increase. or any combination or all of the above. It will be late on Friday night before we vote on any of these vital issues. Our constituents cannot be fooled by this late night flimflam. We should have an upanddown vote on a minimum wage increase. not a vote on minimum wage increase and the estate tax at the same time or pension reform or whatever else the leadership feels convenient to add to this bill. It is hard to hit a moving target. and rather than playing games. we should remember that there are people in this country who make $5.10 an hour. This is a real issue that impacts real people. We have not raised the minimum wage since 1997. When adjusted for inflation. the minimum wage is the lowest it has been fl 50 years. When it takes a full days pay to fill up jour gas tank. something is wrong. A minimum wage earner makes only $10.700 a year. This is well below the poverty threshold for a family of three which is $16.600 a year. We need to lift these hardworking Americans out of poverty and have a true vote on the minimum wage. The estate tax may be part of the package. It is clear that my Republican colleagues do not really want to pass a minimum wage bill. The Senate has not been able to muster the 60 votes to pass the estate tax bill in years. .I do not know why we want to create an illusion that we are passing the minimum wage law when we know that this law is going to fail in the Senate. Let us stop playing games with peoples lives. Let us have a straight upanddown vote on the minimum wage so hardworking Americans can see who stands with them and who stands against them. I urge my colleagues to vote against this martial law legislation. but also against any flimflam or Larry. Curly and .Moe legislation that they may want to bring up in the middle of the night.
Date: 2006-07-28
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. it is written that ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. The truth is that this bill is not about raising the minimum wage. it is really about an inheritance tax break of around $800 billion for the wealthiest. It is not about those who work at $5.15 an hour. who work through Easter. work through Thanksgiving. work through Christmas. and at the end of the year make $10.712. It is not really about them. It is not about the least. the last. and the lost. It is about the welloff. the wellheeled. and the welltodo. In this country. one out of every 110 persons is a millionaire. In this country. we spend $177 million per day on the war. yet we havent raised the minimum wage since 1997. It is not time to raise it. it is past time to raise it. And it is time to do it without tagging it to an inheritance tax break for the wealthiest.
Date: 2006-07-28
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank my colleague. This rule and the underlying bill are the kind of cynical ploy that unfortunately make Americans lose faith in their government. Americans know that Democrats have pushed for years to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25. a wage that has not been raised since 1996. Yet in the last 10 years. the Republican leadership has never allowed an upordown vote on that simple proposition. and tonight they still dont have the guts to do it. Here is what they say to the American people: in order for American families who work at the minimum wage and earn $10.000 a year to get a small wage increase. you have got to give the 7.500 American families with estates over $7 million a big tax break. Now. who are the losers tonight? Well. the big losers are everybody else. If you earn more than $10.000 a year. but you dont come from one of the 7.500 families with $7 million estates. youre a loser. And that is most of America. Why are ybu a loser? Because you are going to be paying billions of dollars on the interest by this additional borrowing. And here is the double standard: every year since 1996. this Republican leadership has had an upordown vote on congressional pay raises. They have never held their pay raise hostage to another piece of legislation. But when it comes to increasing the wages for working Americans. families earning $10.000 a year. oh. they are different from us Members of Congress. When it comes to giving them a pay raise. we are going to hold it hostage. We are going to hold it hostage to giving 7.500 American families with $7 million estates a tax break. That is unconscionable. it is shameful. and the American people understand what is going on. The game is up. Shame on the Republican leadership.
Date: 2006-07-28
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself 30 seconds just to correct the record. The legislation does not require the funding of these plans. Executives can continue to get benefits out of these plans if they are only 60 percent funded. The gentlewoman from California was correct. Workers can only get benefits if they are 80 percent funded. So the executives can continue to draw down the assets of the corporationl. but the employees cannot. Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts . a member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Date: 2006-07-28
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to recommit be considered as read and printed in the RECORD.
Date: 2006-07-28
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker it has been almost 10 years since weve seen an increase in the Federal minimum wage. Unfortunately. this bill here today is not about helping American workers. The bill is full of poison pillstax breaks for the wealthy and handouts for special interests. This is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to put money in the pockets of the wealthiest among us. Were playing politics and decent hardworking Americans are the ones paying the price. The reality is that there are millions of workers trying to support their families on $5.15 per hour. Each day millions of minimum wage workers are forced to choose between food. shelter. health care or clothing. No American who works hard for a living should have to make those types of choices. Mr. Speaker. it is time for a new direction that truly reflects our core American values. These hardworking Americans deserve an upordown vote on a clean minimum wagebill.
Date: 2006-07-28
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. there has been a lot of discussion and there appears to be almost unanimity in this Congress that we should be raising the minimum wage. But it also is very clear from this discussion that if we proceed with the bill that is before us offered by the majority in this House. that we will not accomplish transferring that legislation into the law of the land. because that legislation has very little chance of passing in the time remaining in this House. We offer this motion to recommit because in this motion we offer the minimum wage. we offer the extenders that are present in the bill that is before us. and the provisions for coal mining. These are important. they are widely supported in the Congress. we voted on them many times. and they are important for all the reasons people cited here today. But. most importantly. it will allow us to have in effect an upordown vote on the minimum wage because it will not have the poison pill of the estate tax. all of the costs. all of the deficit that is created by that legislation. It will not bring that controversy to this chance. the first chance in 9 years to raise the minimum wage for those people working at the federally mandated minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. We have now seen that many. many Members of this Congress have decided that that is no longer acceptable in this country. that we cannot mandate under Federal law that that is the minimum wage for these people. And so we have an opportunity to change it. but the only real opportunity to change it comes with the motion to recommit. where we can clean this legislation up. we can take the poison pill out. we can take the deficit spending out. we can take the privilege out of this legislation. and we can address the important priorities of this Nation. That is what we should be doing at this point in this session of this Congress. That is what we should be doing at 5 minutes after 1 oclock in the morning. We should be addressing the important priorities of this .Nation. and we should do it in the manner that ensures. that almost guarantees the opportunity to pass- the minimum wage so that these people can help to lift themselves out of poverty. help to be able to provide the wherewithal for their families. and be able to continue in their employment. We dont have to go the route that the Republicans went with the minimum wage where these people have to wait another 18 months. We dont have to go through this business of taking. away the wages from people who earn tips. We dont have to do any of that. We can have a clean minimum wage. we can have clean extenders. clean coal provisions. and we can go about our way and take care of the priorities of this Nation. Mr. Speaker. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
Date: 2006-08-03
Speaker: ALAN RUSSELL (democrat)
Chamber: S

Director. Institute for Regenerative Medicine. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh. PA. DEAR DR. RUSSELL: I am writing to share with you our continuing interests in your work on Regenerative Medicine. I am the Commander of the US Army Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston. Texas and the Army Surgeons General Trauma Consultant. I have been in Iraq 8 times since the war started and my facility is the primary receiving site for all significantly burned casualties from the war. Our experiences have convinced us that partnering with your worldclass research programs and integrating the opportunities currently underway in regenerative medicine are important for both short and long term advances for military medical research and clinical care. Areas of particular interest for us continue to be hemostasis. resuscitation. bone tissue injury) soft tissue injury. trauma informatics and clinical trauma research. These six areas all focus on saving soldiers lives and returning them back to duty as soon as possible. Collaboration with you continues to help us in our medical mission to serve these soldiers. I sincerely look forward to our continuing this important partnership and using the technologies available today and in the future so we can meet these increasingly complex challenges to better serve our warfighters. Sincerely.
Date: 2006-09-06
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

We know what the consequence of that is. We know what the consequence. is. When you dont hold people accountable for failure. you shouldnt be surprised when you get more of the same. But more of the same is not a good strategy in Iraq. More of the same is not a good strategy in terms of* our national security. These are tough. difficult issues. Nobody has all the answers. So. it is very important that the Bush administration and the Republican leadership stop pretending that they have all the answers. because their view of the world has gotten us to where we. are now. and we can be doing a lot better. I want to thank you and Mr. ScoTr for your very sensible leadership on these national security questions.
Date: 2006-09-07
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I want to follow my Texas colleague. in fact my neighbor in the Houston area. and say the House is spending more time today on this horse .bill than we are on homeland security. and we need to deal with that. We need to protect our borders. ports and airports. If you dont like the bill. I am a cosponsor of it. you can just vote "nay." Mr. Speaker. the reason I am here today is because I recently learned that the U.S. Department of Education failed to award the LULAC National Education Service Centers a grant under the Talent Search Program.
Date: 2006-09-07
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. with energy costs at an alltime high in the United States. climate change threatening the future prosperity of gur country and our planet. the Taliban -regaining control in Afghanistan. Iraq in meltdown. the U.S. saddled with the largest debt in the history of the world. the real wages of average Americans in -decline. 42 million Americans without health care insurance. and most of the 9/11 Commission recommendations to make America safe still not implemented by this Congress. it is unbelievable to me that we are spending this day on the horse meat bill. Now I commute 3.000 miles from California to Washington to serve the people. as we all do. to serve the people. And I am for the horsies. too. I will vote for it. We could have done it by consent. We could have done it on voice vote. I cannot believe that we are here today using the very limited time left to this Congress to deal with horse meat. Now. I hope that we can come to our senses. that the Republican leadership in this House will get a grip about what the American public needs us to do to serve their interests. to make sure that they are secure. both from an economic point of view. from international terrorism and to deal with the terrible disaster that has become Iraq and the disaster that is -growing in Afghanistan. As I say. I am happy to vote for the horsie bill. but I am ashamed that that is all we are doing here today.
Date: 2006-09-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. I strongly oppose the slaughter of horses for human consumption. For this reason I am a cosponsor of H.R. 503. This bill prohibits the shipping. transporting. -moving. delivering. receiving. possessing. purchasing. selling. or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. An overwhelming majority of my constituents from the Dallas. Texas. area are opposed to horse slaughter. and my vote reflects their will. My office phone has been ringing off the hook with constituents opposed to horse slaughter. I have received more than 500 letters in the past few days. All are opposed to horse slaughter. Horses are a symbol of American freedoms. They are a part of our history. our culture. and they deserve better. Three slaughterhouses remain in the United States. and unfortunately two of them are in Texas. These meat factories kill about 100.000 American horses per year. sending the meat to countries overseas for fine dining. Madam Chairman. I vigorously oppose this gruesome practice. And I dont agree with the argument that shutting down these slaughterhouses will hurt the local economies or be inhumane for horses. In my opinion. this bill protects American horses from being raisedand slaughteredfor human consumption. I support H.R. 503 and urge my colleagues to support it as well.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. on August 14. the communist government in Vietnam arrested an American. my constituent. Cong Thanh Do. while he was visiting as a tourist in Vietnam with his family. It took a full week for the State Department to even be notified of his arrest. and more than 2 weeks before the Vietnamese Government even allowed the State Department to meet with Mr. Do. The State Department has repeatedly assured me that Mr. Do is nothing more than a peaceful democracy and human rights activist who has written articles posted on the Internet while he was living in the United States. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has had the gall to keep this American citizen imprisoned and incommunicado for nearly a month. At the same time. they are making gestures to the United States of America suggesting that they should have permanent normal trade relations with us. It is absolutely unbelievable that the communist government would think we would entertain that while they keep our American locked up.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. DELAHUNT. let me ask you a question. This is the 30Something Working Group. and I can tell you that when our generation was going through high school. and. really. even college. was that a picture that you would ever have seen? My recollection is that Iran and Iraq were bitter enemies and were locked in a lengthy. deadly war for many. many years. So are you saying that what the Bush administrations policies in the Middle East. particularly in Iraq and towards Iran. that that handshake is the result of those policies that the Bush administrations actions in the Middle East have done more to bring Iran and Iraq together than any of the actors in the Middle East could ever have done?