macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 3365. the Fallen Patriots Tax Relief Act. It is important that we get this bill enacted into law right away. It is unconscionable that a knock at the door by a military chaplain Is followed by a knock on the door from the tax man. But sadly. this is the case. I had the distinct honor of serving my country in the Air Force for about 29 years. So my family and I know something about military life. And my wife. Shirley. has said that one of her worst moments was when the military chaplain pulled up in front of the house after I was shot down in Vietnam. and her heart just stopped. She didnt know what they were going to say. but she knew it was not going to be good. I cant imagine the unspeakable despair of a family who just lost a loved one in service of their country. only to be followed up by the horror of a visit from the taxman. That is just wrong. So this bill fixes that. Let us change this law today. This bill permits the entire amount of the death benefit gratuity to be tax free. It also increases the amount of the death benefit to $12.000. which is more in line with the value of these benefits when they were initially created. This is a clean bill. There is absolutely no good reason for it to get fouled up in the same legislative backwater that has stalled three previous versions of this bill. You know. there a lot of good stories out there that dont get reported. For example. Ive heard of a company of marines that left Iraq this summer without one casualty. Thats great news. But. more common Is the news we see on T.V. As President Bush says. "Iraq is still a dangerous place." Sadly. neariy every day we hear of deaths in Iraq and other military hot spots around the globe. In the two years since 9/11 it has been increasingly important that we eliminate the unfair. immoral tax on the death benefit a service members loved ones receive from the Armed Forces. In fact. this bill reaches back to that terrible day and also applies to families who will be receiving a visit from a chaplain in the future. I find it shameful that we continue to tax onehalf of the death benefits paid to families. This must change before the end of the year. It is the least we can do. These families have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We must not take any more from them.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3365.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I thank my friend from Ohio for yielding me the time. For me. I consider it a privilege and an honor to be able to speak on behalf of the resolution welcoming to the United States the elected President of the Republic of China of Taiwan. I have always had admiration for the Republic of China of Taiwan. I believe that first they demonstrated an extraordinary. an extraordinary and commendable and admirable will and devotion to work and to sacrifice that permitted them to achieve economic prosperity which is the envy of the world. and then they have made. as our distinguished colleagues have mentioned today. also extraordinary and admirable progress in democratization and have. in fact. established a representative democracy that is to be admired by all of the world. So I join my colleagues in welcoming President Chen Shuibian to the United States. The entire Congress and the American people welcome him and say to him that we consider it a great privilege to be able to be an ally and a friend of Taiwan. that that will always be reality. and here in Congress I think it is important. Mr. Speaker. that we reiterate our support for Taiwan. for the Taiwan Relations Act and that we never falter. never falter in support* and in reminding the world that the safety and security of Taiwan is a matter of extreme importance to this Congress. to the American Government and to the American people.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. by direction of the Committee on Rules. I call up House Resolution 416 and ask for its immediate consideration.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. for purposes of debate only. I yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend. the distinguished gentleman from Florida . pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution. all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. House Resolution 416 is an open rule providing for the consideration of H.R. 2443. the Coast Guard Maritime and Transportation Act of 2003. The rule provides 1 hour of general debate. evenly divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The rule also provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker. the legislation before us authorizes over $7 billion for the Coast Guard and $18.74 million for the Federal Maritime Commission in fiscal year 2004. The legislation is essential in the effort to strengthen the Coast Guard in its everincreasing role to defend the homeland. In this bill we face a turning point in the effectiveness of the Coast Guard. The Department of Homeland Security has called on it to be the defender of American coasts while. at the same time. sending needed resources. soldiers. and vessels to the battle against terrorism in the Middle East. I am pleased to highlight the Integrated Deepwater System acquisition program. The Deepwater System provides the needed capital to institute effective acquisition of the cutters. computer equipment. and other resources that the Coast Guard so desperately needs. The Deepwater System has not received the funding that was outlined in 1998. but this bill makes up for the years of acquisition lost. H.R. 2443 authorizes $702 million for fiscal year 2004 to ensure that this acquisition remains on pace. allowing the Coast Guard to remain effective both at home and abroad. The Coast Guard is particularly important to my district and constituents in south Florida. Mr. Speaker. The Coast Guard Integrated Support Command in Miami is essential to the safety and security of the area. The Coast Guard in south Florida coordinates integrated plans aimed at hurricane safety. recreational boater safety. and. most important. protection of our coastline from terrorism and drug trafficking. H.R. 2443 was reported out of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure by a voice vote. This is very good legislation. it is essential to our continued commitment to the security and safety of all citizens and residents of the United States. and we have brought it forth. Mr. Speaker. under a fair and. in fact. open rule. I would like to thank the chairman. the gentleman from Alaska . and the ranking member. the gentleman from Minnesota . for their important work on this legislation. and I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

(during debate on motion to instruct on H.R. 2660). from the Committee on Rules. submitted a privileged report (Rept. No. 108335) on the resolution (H. Res. 421) waiving a requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII with respect to consideration of certain resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules. which was referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed.
Date: 2003-10-29
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

(during debate on motion to instruct on H.R. 2660). from the Committee on Rules. submitted a privileged report (Rept. No. 108336) on the resolution (H. Res. 422) waiving points of order against the conference report to accompany the bill to amend title 49. United States Code. to reauthorize programs for the Federal Aviation Administration. and for other purposes. which was referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. by direction of the Committee on Rules. I call up House Resolution 422 and ask for its immediate consideration.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. for the purpose of debate only. I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts . pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution. all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. House Resolution 422 is a rule providing for consideration of the conference report accompanying H.R. 2115. the Vision 100Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. Mr. Speaker. I would briefly remind this Congress of the essential authorizations provided through this bill. First and foremost. the legislation reauthorizes the FAA for 4 years and $3.4 billion in fiscal 2004. increasing by $100 million each year thereafter. The FAA is. of course. primarily responsible for the safety of the Nations skies through activities ranging from the continued monitoring by air traffic controllers to the development of new airspace technologies. The district that I am honored to represent contains Miami International Airport. consistently one of the Nations busiest. both for international and domestic travel. I am always impressed by the level of publicprivate cooperation between such organizations as the FAA and Miami International. This cooperation is evident as well. through many provisions in this legislation. for example. $500 million for airport security improvements at airports. grants and tax credits for low ethissions. compensation to general aviation for losses from security mandates. and war risk insurance to the airlines through March 30. 2008. This Congress was quick to assist airlines after the tragedy of 911. and rightfully so. The economic benefits from the movement of people and goods the airlines provide obviously demanded our attention. However. we must also consider those smaller aircraft which were restricted for months. Accordingly. this Congress will act through the underlying legislation to help general aviation return to financial stability by providing compensation for the hardships on their business. This bill authorizes $100 million for these general aviators that were greatly affected by increased security restrictions. I would like to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman YoUNG) and the gentleman from Florida (Chairman MICA) for their extraordinary leadership on this important reauthorization. and I urge my colleagues to support this important rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I certainly have not seen it all. but I am learning alot this morning. hearing the debate. Approximately 150 towers were privatized during the Clinton years. This legislation does not mandate any privatization of towers. and yet trying to reconcile with this reality and these facts. what I am hearIng. Mr. Speaker. at this time. in order to elicit some information and some facts about what the legislation is doing. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alaska . the chairman of the Committee on Transportation.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Florida . chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I sympathize with my good friends on the other side of the aisle. When I arrived in this Congress along with the gentleman from Florida 11 years ago. I was in the minority. and I remember what it was not to have the votes. the majority of the votes to get ones ideas passed and to come into law. So I sympathize when now our colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not have the majority of the votes. how they must feel. but I think it is important that some facts now be put on the record. Mr. Speaker. This legislation before us mandates no privatization of towers. During the years of the Clinton Presidency. approximately 150 such towers were privatized. I do not recall my friends protesting. but this legislation. which obviously they are complaining about today. mandates no such privatization of towers. like we had 150 during the Clinton years. Despite the fact that we onthis side of the aisle have the majority of the votes. it is important to point out that in the writing of tile bill and the original conference report. our friends on the other side of the aisle were intimately involved. Many provisions. in fact. were included in the bill at the request of our friends on the other side of the aisle. For example. a special rule to maintain the minimum AIP entitlement at small airports that have lost passengers. I am told the gentleman from Massachusetts came forth with that idea. A sense of Congress on 5th freedom and 7th freedom flights. I believe the distinguished gentleman from Illinois
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I might consume. Just to reiterate. we reiterate some facts that I attempted to bring out before. First of all. with regard to the towers privatized. airports privatized. during the Clinton administration. about i00 of them were former FAA staffed towers. I reiterate again. that in the legislation brought forth today. there is mandated no privatization of towers. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida . the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Alluding to the facts. Mr. Speaker. I think is important sometimes. Under the Presidency of William Jefferson Clinton. approximately 150 control towers were privatized. This legislation mandates no privatizationi. And under the Presidency of George W. Bush. by the way. there have been zero towers privatized. I do not recall the protests during the 150 privatizations during the years of Bill Clinton. What I do know is that this legislation mandates no privatizations. The facts sometimes. Mr. Speaker. are important. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. this legislation reauthorizes the FAA. It is extremely important to the safety of the flying public in this country. In addition. it reauthorizes $3.4 billion for the FAA and increases it by $100 million each year. Mr. Speaker. many of the ideas of our friends on the other side of the aisle. and I have a whole page of them here in summary. were included in this legislation. And with regard to what we have heard time and time again about phantoms of privatization. and though 150 occurred during President Clintons administration. this legislation mandates none. Mr. Speaker. this is an important piece of legislation. We must pass it today. and so I urge my colleagdes to pass the rule and the underlying legislation. The material previously referred to by Mr. MCGOVERN is as follows:
Date: 2003-10-30
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. there are moments in history where we know the decisions we are making will affect the world in the future. Today we stand at such a moment. charged with the enormous task of helping to rebuild Iraq. Our own history offers us guidance about how to best rebuild a wartime adversary. After World War I. Germany was soundly defeated and the parties gathered in Versailles to negotiate the terms of surrender. The talks came to a question of who was responsible for the aftermath. Was Germany responsible? Should a country with a new government be burdened by the debts of a defeated regime? Should they be responsible for reconstruction or for reparations? We all realize how the reparations inflicted upon Germany at that time created an atmosphere of despair. We are also aware of how that atmosphere was exploited by the evil monster Adolf Hitler. Mr. Speaker. we know how that story ended in Germany. and it could end up that way in Iraq. But after World War II. an alliance. once again scarred by battle. sat across from debtheavy and defeated nations. and the alliance did not make the same mistake of 1918. The United States eventually formulated a systematic recovery program that became known as the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was not entirely made up of U.S. aid. It also called upon the European nations to eventually contribute to their own recovery. Yet the first installment of $4 billion in aid required great political will. At that time. $4 billion represented 13 percent of the entire budget. That act of congressional courage helped to make Western Europe into a subcontinent of strong economies. strong democracies and. thus. strong allies. It is my belief that this assistance may allow a free and democratic Iraq to become a beacon of hope in the Middle East. It will show the people of that region that democracy is possible. that the United States does not impose its will. only the ability for people to decide their own destiny. That is why I applaud President Bush for setting the course of reconstruction in Iraq. Encouraging progress is already happening. Schools are opening. Electricity is turning on. New currency is being distributed. As the Iraqi people see continued progress in rebuilding. we help keep Americans safe at home. In a section of the world that has already imperiled too many lives. in a country whose previous savage regime caused too much suffering and too many deaths. we in Congress should be inspired by the lessons of our history to support an emerging Iraqi democracy with our wisdom. our experience. and our resources. The vote we are about to cast will have enormous repercussions. If this assistance has the same effect that the Marshall Plan funding had in Western Europe. it will help toward the creation of a stable. democratic Iraqi government and a lifelong ally of the United States. It is with that hope. Mr. Speaker. that I will support this supplemental appropriation.
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. as our military men and women continue to do a great job to keep us safe and secure. heated debate has broken out about whether veterans should receive both disability pay and retirement pay. This issue is called concurrent receipt. Right now. when a veteran retires. military pension benefits from the Department of Defense are reduced dollar for dollar by the amount of disability benefits received from the Veterans Affairs Department. Republicans have proposed commonsense solutions that will send more disability money to our veterans. Under the plan. disabled veterans will see more retirement money. and benefits will now be available to Reservists and Guardsmen injured in service. This is a solution that is fair. responsible. and honors our Nations disabled veterans. I oncourage all veterans to contact their lawmakers and urge them to support this important legislation and pass it by the end of the year.
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill to amend title 10. United States Code. and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the death gratuity payable with respect to deceased members of the Armed Forces and to exclude such gratuity from gross income.
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the gentleman from Marylands remarks. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York . our distinguished subcommittee chairman on the Committee on Ways and Means.
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona who is an author of some of this bill.
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. let me just make one comment to clear the record. The House did not sit on this bill. as was stated by the previous speaker. I think the gentleman failed to realize the Senate sent that first bill back July 2002. Since that time. the House has passed bill after bill after bill. It was passed three times this year. on April 9. June 12. and October 29. Then again this month we passed this bill. and the last one was totally clean.
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I do not disagree with that. and I think we are in accord on both sides of the aisle today. It is wonderful that we can support our troops in a bipartisan manner.
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the comments of the gentleman from New York
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the Senate amendments to H.R. 3365.
Date: 2003-11-05
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Madam Chairman. I join my friend from Michigan in opposition to this amendment. which would apply a radical domestic source restriction to the acquisition of main propulsion diesel engines for use in Coast Guard vessels. This could have a devastating effect on the Coast Guards ability to buy the best propulsion engines at reasonable costs to support its critical antiterror missions. We talk about taxpayers. We are asking taxpayers to pay more money to subsidize a private company. Despite the high sounding "Buy America" langpage. this is basically an earmark for a company. This goes against everything we stand for. 1 What about the American companies that sell abroad? This invites retaliation. so American companies selling abroad today would be retaliated against and could lose those contracts. One has to remember that 95 percent of the worlds consumers live outside of the United States. Restrictive provisions such as these run counter to our efforts to create an open. flexible. responsive and impartial competitive acquisition system that will enable all government agencies. including the Coast Guard. to acquire from the world markets. the best products available at fair and reasonable prices for American taxpayers. At the end of the day. this is about American taxpayers and getting them the best deal. As the gentleman said. they went through a lengthy procurement process where this was all analyzed. and the taxpayers won out in this contract. It is trying to be reversed here on the House floor. I hope my colleagues with will join the gentleman from Michigan and myself in opposing this amendment.