macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-12-07
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker.. protecting our Nation is one of the most important duties that we have as Members of Congress. If we fail this. nothing else really matters. The conference report does contain some useful provisions. but it is incomplete. making it inadequate and therefore unacceptable. The agreement with the Senate gave away so much. and it includes some major steps backwards from the Housepassed version of the bill and from the strides that we have made since 9/11. Specifically. the report ignores important suggestions made by the 9/11 Commission and by many Members of this Chamber regarding immigration and the use of illegal identification cards. We need to have closed borders with open doors for those who follow the law. Our offices are flooded with people asking for assistance because they are trying to come here legally. The version this House passed prohibited convicted terrorists from receiving Federal benefits. and yet the agreement before us here today fails to prevent this injustice. Remember. the taxpayers out there are going to be paying taxes and some terrorists are going to be getting some Federal benefits. That is just unacceptable. It has been 3V4 years since the terrorists used illegal identification to cross our borders and to attack Americans at home. and yet Congress still ignores meaningful immigration reform. We authorize some detention beds in here. but guess what. we did not fund them. There have been so many immigra�tion bills introduced since 9/11 that have died and had to be reintroduced again. only to die again. We are told that. oh. they will be taken care of next year. I sincerely hope that that is the case because this bill is a feelgood bill. absolutely. It is like buying a stateoftheart alarm system. installing it in your house. never actually activating it and then you do not even bother locking your doors. Your home is not secure. Our Nation will not be any more secure under this. We need to secure our borders. Thatis a very important component that is simply missing from this bill. I cannot support the bill in its current form and because it is so inadequate. because it does not address the very important immigration issue. The problem with the conference report was that it ignored so many of the good immigration reform provisions that we had in the House bill. This bill is only part of what the 9/11 Commission recommended. I was a State senator. As my colleagues know. many of the terrorists came from Florida. We said the length of their drivers license expires when their visa expires. Guess what. This bill does not mandate it. So the 10 States that do not even have that provision. they are the States that the terrorists are going to go to. That is just plain wrong. We do need to have uniformity in drivers licenses. We do need to make sure that the person applying for the drivers license. who has a visa. that the visa expiration date is the expiration date of the identification or the drivers license.
Date: 2004-12-08
Speaker: SONIA HARB (republican)
Chamber: S

Director. Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services. 2651 Saulino Ct.. Dearborn. MI. DEAR MS. SONIA HARB: thank you for your proposal to conduct a public education program on the antidiscrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. I am pleased to inform you that your organization .has been provisionally selected as a recipient of a grant in the amount of $60.000. Final acceptance of your proposal will be conditioned on the successful completion of a general background and financial review to be conducted by the Office of the Comptroller. Office of Justice Programs (OJP). You will soon be contacted by officials from that office. The grant award may also be conditioned on your acceptance of any additional modifications of your proposal that prove necessary. We expect the final processing to be completed promptly. Please respond quickly to any questions that OJP may have. You will hear from us again shortly with more details about the grant. The training seminar for grantees is tentatively scheduled for September 2930. 2004. in Washington. DC. We will get back to you with more information about that as soon as arrangements are finalized. Grantees play a major role in accomplishing the mission of the Office of Special Counsel. We value our grantee partnerships greatly and look forward to working with you. If you have any immediate questions. please feel free to call Lilia Irizarry. our Acting Public Affairs Specialist. at 2026165594 or tollfree at 18002557688. Sincerely.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 22) reducing the amount authorized for salaries and expenses of Member. committee. and leadership offices in 2011 and 2012.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon who spent an enormous amount of time beginning immediately after the elections to bring us to this point.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. At this time. Mr. Speaker. it is my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky . the chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. At this time I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama . a member of the transition team.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. at this time it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado . a member of the transition team.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. at this time it gives me a great deal of pleasure to yield 1 minute to the majority leader of the House of Representatives. the distinguished gentleman from Virginia
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. at this time. I would like to yield 3 minutes to another gentleman who served us well on the transition team. the gentleman from Illinois .
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. At this time. I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi . a member of the House Administration Committee.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. at this time. it is my privilege to yield 3 minutes a new member of our House Administration Committee but a veteran of this House. the gentleman from Georgia. Dr. GINGREY.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. at this time. I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan . who has done great work in the past about the operations of this House.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. If the gentleman is going to yield back the balance of his time after his statement. I will do the same on this side.
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the gentleman. my friend from the great State of Pennsylvania. who has worked on a bipartisan basis. most of the time. and what I mean by that is about 85 percent or 90 percent of the work we do on our committee has to do with making this place work. helping Members do the job that they were elected to do to represent their constituents. and making sure this institution of the House of Representatives works. There is a sense of a pride of the institution that I think marks our committee. and we try in a very real way to work. both on the Democratic and Republican sides. to ensure the productivity of the membership here and to ensure that. frankly. the people get their moneys worth. About 10 or 15 percent of what we have to do has to do with election law. and I might say that thats not always as obviously bipartisan. but weve always done it in the spirit of civility and always done it in the spirit of respect for one another. and for that. I would like to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker. this is an important vote. In comparison to a trilliondollar budget and trilliondollar deficit people might say this is a small amount. It is not a small amount. It is a serious 5 percent cut with respect to the operations of this House in very. very significant ways. It is a down payment on the future actions of this House with respect to other operations of the House. but as we scan across the entire Federal Government. this marks the down payment on that new vision. So I would once again like to thank the Congressman from Oregon . I have just discovered that I do have another speaker here. and with the indulgence of my friend on the other side. I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois .
Date: 2011-01-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I urge all Members to support this resolution. Lets make it a bipartisan effort. Lets show that we have the commitment of the membership here towards responding to the reality of our times. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. so we may be able to equalize the remaining time. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. last week GABBY GIFFORDS did speak the words of the First Amendment here on the floor. They talk about the right of citizens of the United States to come and plead their case to their Members of Congress and to seek the redress of their grievances. I think our Founding Fathers anticipated that we would be involved in robust and vigorous debate. but they also hoped that we would utilize some sense of civility as we did so. I would like to read an email that I received in my office from a constituent that I think would bring a smile to the lips of GABBY GIFFORDS. and it responds in some way to what the gentleman from Michigan has just said. These are those words: "Dear Representative LUNGREN: I write to share with you my feelings upon hearing the news of the terrible shooting in Tucson. Arizona. I find I am overwhelmed by emotions. In the past. and I suspect in the future. I have disagreed with you on many of the political things that you have said and done. I have voted against you. I have even felt and expressed frustration and anger about you. I wish now to state that if unlikely circumstances arose and I were in a position to protect you from physical attack. I would do whatever I possibly could to preserve your safety and your person at whatever risk to myself. "Our democracy and freedom cannot survive if elected officials feel threatened and find themselves having to consider their physical safety as they make the decisions and fill the responsibilities of office. Please continue to do your job as a Member of Congress as best you can. I will continue to disagree with you when and as needed. I am just one man. but all of us citizens can only do what we can do. "I. for one. will never threaten. encourage or resort to any violence whatsoever while debating. disputing. and arguing politics. For whatever tiny weight I count for in the great sea of Americans. I want you to feel safe from any harm. "Make your decisions. and vote your votes in Congressplease try and not be such an idiot Republican about itand know that you are safe in the Third District for all of your life if I shall have any say in the matter. "Thanks for all the work that you do. Most sincerely . . . " Thats a message that I know GABBY would want us to embrace and one that would not only give her resolve but would. hopefully. attract her sense of humor as well. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington. the former distinguished sheriff of King County. Mr. REICHERT.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California. a distinguished presiding officer of this body. Mrs. BONO MACK.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: BONO MACK (republican)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker. I rise today to offer a prayer for our Nation. President Abraham Lincoln. during the height of the Civil War and during a very low point in American civility. once told a hushed crowd: "My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of Earth." My friend. all of our friend. Arizona Congresswoman GABRIELLE GIFFORDS. has believed in that dream for her entire life. Today. she represents a beacon of hope. perhaps "our" last best hope. to restore some measure of civility to the important public debates of our day. This is not a time to be finger pointing. Rather. this is a time. in memory of all those who died or who were injured during this dark day in our history. to start talking again like friends and neighbors. Right now. we should be praying for GABBY and all of the other victims of this horrible ordeal. We should be searching our soul as a Nation. asking one important question. a question Abraham Lincoln confronted every single day of his Presidency: How have we allowed hateful rhetoric to paralyze our national debates? Yes. we all have different points of view. but we should discuss them. and we should debate them without resorting to namecalling or questioning each others motives. GABBY has always stood for civility. She is the most delightful and the kindest Member of Congress. and I think weve all said that. Her neverending smile and her unfailing willingness to work in our Nations best interests have earned her the respect of people everywhere. I. like all of my colleagues. cannot wait for the day when GABBY walks back onto this floor and she joins us. She is a strong woman with a very unbreakable spirit and a passion for life. her family. her friends. and our great Nation. Let us all pray to give GABBY the strength to carry her through the difficult days ahead. I believe with all of my heart that GABBY was put on Earth by God to make a difference. And she has. I know. because shes made a difference in my life. So the next time that a debate heats up and threatens to get ugly. lets remember our responsibilities as leaders. Lets remember what Abraham Lincoln said. Lets take a deep breath and "agree to disagree agreeably." Lets do that for GABBY.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to a member of our committee. the gentleman from Georgia. Dr. GINGREY.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. it is my pleasure now to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman who has returned from New Mexico .
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. at this time I do not believe I have any other speakers. I reserve my time to close.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. contrary to my previous statement. I do have another speaker. At this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee. Dr. ROE.
Date: 2011-01-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. and I rise in enthusiastic support of H. Res. 32. Madam Speaker. I am privileged and humbled to be able to close out this debate. I am not. as some who have come to the floor. a close personal friend of GABBY GIFFORDS. but I have. as have others. been under her spell here. I have had the chance to talk with her on several occasions in an informal setting. and I might mention that on each of those occasions she reminded me that she used to be Republican. I dont know if that was her way of thinking that maybe we could have a rapportyou didnt really need that with her because of her openness and her smile. but it was interesting. She always did it with a smile. and she always did it with an invitation to engage with her that is the mark of her. We pray. all of us together. that she and those others grievously wounded will have a speedy and full recovery. We pray for those who have lost their lives. We pray for this institution. that we will take the correct lessons out of this tragedy. And when I use the word "tragedy." it is a tragedy on the side of those who were attacked and the institution that was attacked. It is. however. the product of a criminal act. and we should understand that. Madam Speaker. it is always within our power to either take the proper lessons from a particular incident or to discard them. to think deeply about them or think of them superficially. I believe that the fact that we have dedicated this entire day to trying to find the right lessons out of that and to give proper respect to those who suffered in this tragedy is evidence of the fact that we will attempt to take the proper lessons out of this. One is. of course. that this is the peoples House. If you read the Constitution. article I. it is clear that the House of Representatives is meant to be the closest to the people of any of the Federal institutions. We all. in a real sense. no matter where we come from. are institutionalists in that we love this institutionwe fought in many ways to get herebut we honor one another by showing respect to one another and we honor our constituents as well. Speaker BOEHNER has said. "An attack on one is an attack on all." That is true. Perhaps several hundred years ago the writer and the poet. John Donne. said it best. He said. "No man is an island. entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent. a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea. Europe is the less. as well as if a promontory were. as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were. any mans death diminishes me. because I am involved in mankind. And. therefore. never send to know for whom the bell tolls. it tolls for thee."
Date: 2011-01-18
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. in the scope of the American constitutional system of governance. the Congress is the body whose power is defined within the context of enumerated powers. and this is more than a matter of structural mechanics because it goes to the heart of the issue of governmental power. or if one prefers the flip side of the coin. personal freedom and responsibility. If government has the power to require that you buy item A. it means that you are less able to buy item B. C. D or anything else. Now. economists would call this the opportunity cost of foregone goods or services. but the fundamental question is the question of freedom to choose how we as individuals will spend the fruits of our labor. Certainly the commerce clause lacks the elasticity that would accommodate a requirement that every American buy health insurance which conforms to the dictates of the Federal Government. as the Federal Government would change it on a yearly basis. Such an interpretation would render the notion articulated by James Madison and Federalist 45. that is. one of limited government. a nullity. Now. I know we have smart people here. I know we have those in the administration who believe that this is totally constitutional. but. frankly. Mr. Speaker. my bet goes with James Madison. He did say that the powers delegated by the proposed Constitution of the Federal Government are few and defined. He did say that the Federal Government will be exercising their responsibilities principally on external objects as war. peace. negotiations. and foreign commerce and the States would do much else. Then. of course. we have the 10th Amendment. later adopted. which said. again. that this is a government of limited enumerated powers. Now. either the 10th Amendment means something. or it means nothing. and either James Madison knew what he was talking about. or he does not.
Date: 2011-01-18
Speaker: HERRERA BEUTLER (republican)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise in support of this bill. and I hope this is only a first step in the pursuit of making quality. affordable health care available to all Americans. This year we have the chance to correct mistakes made by both parties. The ObamaCare bill passed by the other party last year was the wrong approach. It increases the debt and the deficit for future generations while doing nothing to decrease the inflationary curve of health care. It was the wrong approach. No party is perfect. The last time our party had the majority. while there were many on our side of the aisle who worked diligently to reform health care. the job was left undone. Getting this right is one of the reasons the people of southwest Washington sent me to Congress. Now. the good news is that solutions exist that can fix our health care system and bring costs down for middleincome families. Today. we hit "reset" on health care reform. I invite my Democratic colleagues to join me in advancing solutions that help small businesses and middleincome familiessolutions like small business health plans. ending junk lawsuits that drive up the cost of everyones care. the expanded use of health savings accounts. and the ability to purchase health care across State lines. These are patientcentered solutions that wont grow government. but are solutions that will make health care more affordable and more accessible to all Americans. I sincerely hope we vote today to seize this chance.
Date: 2011-01-19
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you. Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of freedom and free enterprise. This is America where the Constitution and freedom and free enterprise are the hallmarks of this great democracy. I think one of the most compelling reasons people went to the ballot box last fall and cast their vote was they felt angry that those in power were disregarding personal liberties and trampling the U.S. Constitution. As you know. under ObamaCare the Federal Government forces freedomloving Americans to hand over their hardearned money for a mandatory product. in this case health insurance. Thats just not how it should be done in a democracy. In a democracy. you have the freedom to choose if you want to buy something. In a democracy. you have the freedom to choose if you want to purchase health insurance. In a democracy. you have the freedom to choose just to say no. This vote is about freedom and free enterprise and whats best for the future of America. As a constitutional conservative. I say vote for freedom and repeal ObamaCare. I will close with some words from Patrick Henry: "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people. It is an instrument for the people to restrain the governmentlest it come to dominate our lives and our interests." Lets stand up for freedom and repeal ObamaCare.
Date: 2011-01-26
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Before I yield 1 minute to our majority leader. Id like to take 15 seconds to say when I find myself on the floor listening to my colleagues on the other side declaring Ronald Reagan to be the patron saint of Democratic Party ideas. I am bemused a bit because I served here when Ronald Reagan was President. and I dont recall those same words at that time. However. at this time I would like to yield 1 minute to the majority leader. the gentleman from Virginia .