macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1994-05-23
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. today we consider H.R. 4425. a bill to authorize a total of $344 million in fiscal year 1995 for the construction of major VA medical facility projects. This is a sound Investmentere which evidences our commitment to seeing the needs of our Nations veterans met. Let me take this opportunity. however. to say I feel there Is one region of the Nation which remains woefully underserved and that is south Texas. I cannot emphasize too strongly just how badly a VA hospital is needed there. I am well aware of the criteria for building a hospital--it is to demonstrate: that the need exists. The voices of the veterans and the veterans organizations in south Texas evidence that there is such a need. In fact. statistics show the number of veterans continues to grow and that the number of veterans retiring to Sun Bet States such as Texas is rapidly on then se. This is why I must say. as I have before In the past--improving access to health care for veterans must be a priority concern. It certainly is for me. Currently there are approximately 40.000 veterans in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. In winter months approximately 80.000 winter Texans come to our area and of that total 50 easier are veterans. It is true we have an expanded outpatient clinic. but the clinic refers countless patients to San Antonio every daythe nearest hospitaland for veterans to have to travel distances of approximately 200 miles to reach the closest hospital is something that I simply do not feel is acceptable. The solution is to afford serious consideration to addressing the health care needs of our veterans by pushing for and building a hospital. Let me close by saying we certainly appreciate the committees work on projects such as those being considered today. and we ask them to include south Texas in the next round of planned additions to the VA system.
Date: 1994-05-23
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time and for the gracious manner in which she has handled this legislation. I want to thank you Sn behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands. and I also want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for the manner in which this bill and other bills were handled on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands. Mr. Speaker. the late Alvaro de Lugo was an older cousin of mine. This should not bar him from his rightful due. I hope. He was the first native Postmaster of Saint Thomas. He was very well known and very admired. There are many post offices on Saint Thomas now. thanks to this Congress. I must say. and this committee. but somehow this is the historic post office. It is down there near the Emancipation Garden. and it is a post office that Alvaro de Lugo helped to design. He was the Postmaster there until the time of his death. Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 4190. a bill to designate the historic Emancipation Gardens Station on St. Thomas. VI. the "Alvaro de Lugo United States Post Office Building." in recognition of the first nativeborn Postmaster of Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas. VI. Born on St. Thomas in 1906. Alvaro de Lugo began his career with the U.S. Postal Service in 1925. shortly after his graduation from High School. as a clerk in New York. He enjoyed success. but longed for his native Virgin Islands and returned home in 1933. At the youthful age of 26. Alvaro de Lugo was appointed as the Acting Postmaster General of Charlotte Amalie. St. Thomas. He served with such distinction that he was appointed Postmaster of Charlotte Amalie in Alvaro de Lugo supervised the construction of the Emancipation Garden facility of the U.S. Postal Service. where he relocated postal operations upon its completion in 1938. Alvaro de Lugo was known for working long hours and for his propensity to assist postal customers personally to assure they received the best possible service. Once. while assisting. with the unloading of mail from a ship. Alvaro de Lugo slipped and broke several ribs. Yet he defied his doctors orders to remain in bed to return to the work he loved. H.R. 4190 recognizes the accomplishments of Alvaro de Lugo an outstanding Virgin Islander and names the facility that he saw to completion in his honor. Therefore. I urge passage of this bill.
Date: 1994-05-23
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlewoman. the chairman of the subcommittee. for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of HR 4191. a bill to designate the Sugar Estate postal facility on St. Thomas. Virgin Islands. the "Aubrey C. Ottley United States Post Office Building" In recognition of Mr. Ottleys 39year career with the United States Postal Service on St. Thomas. Virgin Islands. Born on St. Thomas. Aubrey Ottley graduated from Charlotte Amalle High School and began working with the United States Postal Service as a clerk soon after. In 1961. Aubrey Ottley was -appointed Postmaster of Charlotte Amalie. In this capacity. Ottley. who was also an accomplished artist. - recognized the need for a new modern facility and was instrumental in the design and construction of the Postal Service facility at Sugar Estate. Today. it has become the hub of postal operations on St. Thomas. Aubrey Ottley also earned the admiration of his community for his commitment to civic activities. particularly as a leader with the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Boy Scouts of America. I My bill. HR 4191. recognizes the accomplishments of an outstanding Virgin islander. Aubrey Ottley. and names the facility that he helped to designed and saw to completion In his honor. I urge passage of this bill.
Date: 1994-05-23
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I thank the �distinguished gentleman for yielding to me. M. Chairman. I take the time for the purposethat. I would like to verify that the committee recommended $4.5 million of the additional $13.5 million in the krmys . environmental quality technology line for a continuation of the joint Department of DefenseDepartment ofAgriculture program. and biotechnology.
Date: 1994-05-24
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of the C17 transport program. This is an issue of accountability. We must be accountable to our military troops. and to the taxpayers. When our Nation sends our sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters. nineteen and twenty years old. to defend us. we should provide them equipment with top speed. efficiency. safety. and flexibility. The militarys top generals. the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. and the President. all agree that the C17 is the only alternative that meets the necessary requirements. Mr. Chairman. we have invested $15.8 billion in the C17 program. an essential investment to ensure that our military can rapidly deploy all of the equipment that is imperative when we place the lives of young soldiers at risk. The research and development -is complete. It is time to go forward with this costeffective program. Mr. Chairman. by the end of the dec-" ade. in addition to the significant troop cutbacks we have already begun. we will have redeployed more than 80 percent of Americas troops to the United States. This wil create a large demand. on .our strategic airlift fbrces and make the. C17 even more. valuable than. it is. today. More than any other transport caxriter.. the. C17 combines wartime capability with peacetime utility. In addition to use: during regional cbnflicts.. the- C17 will prov.e invaluable ini hamanilar im missions such3 as famine.. flood and earthquake. relief operations. -If the. Clt7 program. is. killed.. not only do wei lose- the- money. .we- have invested in: this. program. but we will. have to? restart. other. air cargo pro-. gram. at a coat of at least $500. mil lion. The C17 manufacturing. line is already open ancd building modern.. capable. atrcraft.. I ask this Congress. to- heed the advice of our Army and Air Force. leaders. Slipporm the C17...
Date: 1994-05-25
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. today we pay tribute to one of our distinguished former colleagues who recently died. Sam Hall. As I started to think about what I wanted to say about Sam Hall one word kept coming to mind. That word is extraordinary and that is exactly what Sam Hall was. When he was first elected to the 94th Congress by special election. back in 1976. the shoes he was filling were not at all that easy to step into. He was filling the seat vacated by the death of the Honorable Wright Patman who. those of us serving at that time will recall. was quite a presence in this body. Sam .Hall without hesitation dove right into the job with vigor and an energy charged presence. While having no legislative experience prior to coming to Congress. once here Sam Hall displayed a skillful understanding and love for the legislative process. He thrived In his work as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. and specifically as chairman of the Administrative Law Subcommittee. His focus on judicial concerns. however was not exclusive. He was interested in veterans issues as well. In fact. having been appointed to a congressional delegation that traveled to Southeast Asia to investigate American POWMIAs he was successful in negotiating the return of the remains of a number of servicemen. an aocomplishment of which he was quite deservedly proud. The years he was in Congress were very productive for Sam Hall and for the 1st District of Texas which he so ably represented. Had he chosen to remain here I know his accomplishments would only have continued to flourish. but in 1985 Sam Hall resigned his seat to become the U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas. This appointment was truly fitting and definitely capped a brilliant career. Sam Hall was a great man. a great Texan. and a great member of Congress. All of us who were fortunate enough to have associated with him or to have served with him in this body know that with his death we have lost someone very special. To his wife and family I extend my deepest and most heartfelt condolences.
Date: 1994-05-26
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. I simply want to say I am a freshmen on the seventh floor of the Longworth Building. I think you can be pennywise and poundfoolish. and this is the amendment that proves it. Vote no on this amendment.
Date: 1994-06-08
Speaker: SAM GIBBONS (democrat)
Chamber: H

grandchildren made a very beautiful family. Not only that. but the remarks that SAM made I think were very touching to us because he is one. as the gentlewoman suggested. who actually landed during this time. This was a period of triumph and tragedy for our country. but as was pointed out time and time again. had Dday not happened and that invasion to get the enemy out of France and to begin the end of Adolf Hitler. we might not be here at this time. the world might have been totally different. So I am very. very proud of our colleague. SAM GIBBONS. and his contribution to the war effort and bringing freedom to our Nation and to the world as well as his good work as statesman and a Member of the House of Representatives.
Date: 1994-06-13
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of H.R. 518. the California Desert Protection Act and in opposition to any amendments that would weaken it. I want to also commend rmy. colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee. in particular the chairman of the committee. Mr. MILLER. as well as the chairman of the Parks and Public Lands. Mr. VENTO. and the chief sponsor of H.R. 518. Mr. LEHMAN. for their tireless efforts and leadership in bringing this important bill to the floor today. Mr. Chairman. H.R. 518 was reported out of the Natural Resources Committee. on which I serve. on May 4. It is similar to bills which have been under consideration by the Congress since 1985. During the 101st Congress. the Natural Resources Committee held numerous public hearings on this Issue. including three field hearings in California. where we heard from no le!s than 600 witnesses. On the bill before us today. our committee held six hearings. If enacted. H.R. 518 would formally protect nearly 8 million acres of desert wilderness In the southeastern quarter of California. The bill designates 71 wilderness areas on Bureau of Land Management [BLM] lands. establishes three new national parks. and designates wilderness areas within these parks. Over 6 million acres of BLM lands in the California desert are already being managed as wilderness study pending formal authorization by the Congress. The California desert area. Mr. Chairman. spans some 25 million acres. it is a home to some 760 diverse species of wildlife Including the endangered desert tortoise and the bighorn sheep. It also boasts the oldest known living organism. as well as the worlds largest Joshua tree forest and over 700 speciesof flowering plants. During the last Congress. our committee reported similar legislation which would have designated over 8 million acres of wilderness in the California desert. That bill passed the House by an overwhelming margin. but unfortunately. did not become law. This year. for the first time. the Senate through the efforts of Senator FEINSTEIN. approved legislation to protect the California desert. I urge my colleagues not to let this opportunity. to finally achieve protection of this sensitive and magnificent area. pass us by. H.R. 518 represents a very balanced compromise between preservation of the California desert and continued private use. It is a good bill and worthy of our support. I ask my fellow Members to join me in supporting its passage and to reject any amendments that would seek to we.aken it.
Date: 1994-06-14
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. included in the fiscal year 1995 energy and water appropriations package are two projects of great interest to me for which I want to express my support for funding. They are as follows: Corpus Christi Ship Channel. TX. is a navigation project which is budgeted for operation and maintenance at $8.489 million. Continued funding of this project is essential due to the impact on the local economy. The project provides for widening and deepening the existing channels40.5 milesand basins from the the Gulf of Mexico to deepwater ports at Harbor Island. Ingleside. and Corpus Christi. and a branch channel to the port of La Quinta to provide a project depth of 45 feet. It also includes the construction of mooring areas and dolphins at Port Ingleside. one mooring area and six dolphins constructed initially with seven others deferred to be constructed when required.. Lower Rio Grande Basin. South Main Channel. TX. is a comprehensive flood controldrainage project which is budgeted at $900.000. It provides the major outlet component of an overall flood protection plan for Willacy and Hidalgo Counties. The authorized plan calls for construction of a major channel extending from near McAllen to the Laguna Madre. and related fish and wildlife mitgating measures. The authorized plan would provide 2year protection to rural areas which drain into the South Main Channel. 100year flood protection to the cities of Edinburg. McAllen. and Lyford. and 50year flood protection for the cities of La Villa and Edcouch.
Date: 1994-06-16
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr- Speaker. I ask unarimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture be discharged from further consideration of the bill to provide for the imposition of temporary fees in connection with the handling- of complafnts of violations of the Perishable Agricultural Commoditfes Act.1930. and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
Date: 1994-06-16
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr.. Speaker. if the gentleman will continue to yield. the gentleman is. correct. : Speaker. this bill will -provide much needed temporary funding to the -U.S-. Department of Agriculture. to maintain the services provided under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act [PACA1. Unexpected increases have: occurred over the. last 2 years in the costs of the Agricultural Marketing. Service [AMS] in providing -services to. the. fruit and vegetable industry under the. PACA. AMS is facing severe cutbacks that will adversely impact its ability to provide services to the buyers and sellers of fruits and vegetables. The. various segments of the industry. including produce growers. brokers:. wholesalers. and retailers. have agreed to the imposition of a temporary fee on those who. file complaints with. AMS under PACA. This bill. establishes the authority for that fee. The bill requires a fee of $60 to be paid .when an informal complaint is filed. If. the informal complaint procedures are not successful in resolving the problem. a 3300 fee. will be assessed when the complainant files a formal complaint. This $30(1 fee will be made a part of any damage award under a. reparation order.. The. bill is. to be. effective for fiscal years. 1995. and 1996. The Committee on Agriculture intends. to review the operation of PACA. It is. expected that. the collection of the fees. authorized by this bill will allow AMS to continue to. provide a level of services. adequate to meet the needs of the industry- until PACA reforms can be implemented-
Date: 1994-06-21
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. 50 years ago. our troops liberated the only populated part of our territory captured by the enemy during World War II: the island of Guam. Subjected to a brutal occupation these American nationals suffered because of their defiant loyalty to the United States. Yet. our Nation does not sufficiently recognize its debt to them. I find it especially embarrassing that our Executive has not planned an adequate tribute to the Chamorros of Guamor the brave servicemen of the bloody Marianas campaign on that island or the Japanesemandated islands to its north. I regret to have to say that the administration I support has not displayed enough sensitivity so far to the contributions of all of the people involved in spite of the efforts of the Delegate from Guam. The White House should not fail to send top representation to the Commemoration he has organized at Arlington National Cemetery this Saturday or participate at a high level in the ceremonies on the anniversaries in the islands.
Date: 1994-06-22
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. as we continue the process of enacting a health care reform plan. the special interest groups have stopped at .nothing to derail progress. Harry and Louise are back and for the first time the. Republican minority has openly stated that their Members will be retaliated against if they work with Democrats to pass a healthcare bill. The Committee on Education and Labor has nearly completed its version of the health care reform plan add.- just like President Clinton. we have included universal coverage. Universal coverage is the keystone to reform. It is crucial. if we are going to eliminate the cost shifting that is driving up health care.insurance costs. There are those who are still claiming that the sky will fall if we pass this plan. Yet. as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the G.I. bill. we are reminded that there were some politicians in 1944 who said the same thing. who said we could not afford education and housing benefits and job training for those veterans. This program helped solidify the American dream and secured the American middle class and yet -we are hearing the same opposition today as we heard in We face the same mentality.The American dream is slipping� away for many Americans because of- the health care costs. The only way -to bring these rising costs under the control is for the requirement of unanimous coverage for every American.
Date: 1994-06-24
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. accounted for solely under the certificate of. Chairman. during rollcall vote No. 275. the Attorney General. and rent of private or I was unavoidably detained and unable Governmentowned space in the District of to register my vote. Had I been Columbia. $411.786.000. of which not to exceed "n. $10.000.000 for litigation support contracts present. I would have noted "no. shall remain available until expended: ProPERSONAL EXPLANATION vided. That of the funds available in this ap-
Date: 1994-06-27
Speaker: HOWARD BERMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

who is one of the really good -legislators here among many good legislators. I would not say that his allegation that this is partisan politics is paranoia. That is too strong a word. I would just say hypersensitivity. because if it will please the gentleman. we will retroactively reproach the Reagan administration and the Bush administration for failing to scale down this figure to a fair and just figure. 25 percent. instead of the 30.4 percent that we pay. I hope that puts that to rest. Mr. Chairman. the United Nations has its uses. Of course it.does. I am not one of those members who says. "Get us out of the U.N." the United Nations has its uses. But we have to keep that in perspective. We cannot subordinate our foreign policy to the U.N. bureaucracy. It is just foolish. Mr. Chairman. I have been here 20 years and I have heard every year that we have given our word. our commitment. whether it is to the IMF or to the World Bank or to some negotiators on the law of the sea. somebody is always committing us to something. and then we have to retroactively bail them out and pay the check. We know if we read the Constitution. it says Congress appropriates the money and no money can be drawn on the Treasury unless first appropriated by Congress. Where does it say that State Department or the Treasury can obligate Congress? It cannot be done. We are not welshing on any word at all. However. if welshing is the subject for this evenings discussion. we welsh by 1.3 percent whenever we pay less than the United Nations bills us at 31.7 percent. and we pay 30.4 percent. Mr. Chairman. 25 percent is fair. It is fair to the American taxpayer. It may not be fair to the U.N. bureaucracy. but it is very fair to the people scrubbing floors tonight and having their taxes go to the United Nations for peacekeeping. Twentyfive percent of the peacekeeping charges is twice what Japan pays. and the last time I looked. we have a $59.4 billion trade deficit with Japan. Mr. Chairman. if we bring this into some sense of proportion and reality. we will pay beginning now. not in 2 years. now. we should be fair to our constituents now. We will be paying 25 percent of peacekeeping expenses. That saves us $200 million. What are we going to do with the $200 million? We are going to put $119 million of it into community police. something we have been promising our constituents since we started running for public office. We are going to take the rest and help pay for incarcerating those illegal aliens in jail-. where they belong if they have broken the law. Mr. Chairman. what is more important? A satisfied bureaucracy at Lake Success or a satisfied constituency with decent police protection and.people who ought to be locked up. locked up? Mr. Chairman. 25 percent is fair. it is defensible. it is just. and it ought to be what we agree to pay. Please. ask the State Department. ask the Treasury. Department not to commit us to things without taking us into their confidence.