macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-30
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman. I rise to speak strongly in support of H.R. 3534. the Consolidated Land. Energy. and Aquatic Resources Act of 2010. While this legislation cannot stem the oil that continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico. it takes solid strides forward to preventing such an event from occurring in the future. As a Congress. it is our duty to look forward and ensure we have protections in place for future similar spills in these deepwater areas. We also need to review the current oil and gas regulations and ensure that we have safety and environmental protections in place for all types of onshore and offshore operations and facilities. This legislation will help to make sure we are better prepared going forward. and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation. I am pleased that Title VII of this legislation. the "Oil Spill Accountability and Environmental Protection Act of 2010." was largely taken from the bill that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed out of committee. This title covers a number of areas of critical concern: liability provisions. safety measures. and provisions to protect the environment. The legislation makes muchneeded changes to the liability caps for both offshore oil facilities. as well as vessels. With regard to oil facilities. liability caps for economic damages are removed. This is as it should be. This provision eliminates future incentives for oil companies to ignore the true impacts of their activities and engage in riskier behavior than they otherwise would. As a Congress. we should not enable or subsidize risky behavior on the part of companies simply because they want to do something. This legislation also includes a number of other important safety and environmental provisions. It requires that. going forward. there is one individual in true control of the safety of the vesseland conflicting lines of authority will not result in mishaps. as with the Deepwater Horizon. This legislation also forces EPA to take a much more rigorous look at oil spill dispersants than has been the case in the past. It is my view that there is a time and a place for the use of some dispersants. However. it is altogether disturbing that such large volumes of dispersants have been used at the Deepwater site (1.843.786 gallons to date). while so little is known about their impacts to human health. water quality. and marine life. As a result. we are requiring that EPA study the potential impacts of given dispersants to human health and the environment. get independent verification of effectiveness and toxicity. and then allow for the public disclosure of the chemical ingredients for any product that is "preapproved" for use. Finally. EPA approval will be required for any use of a dispersant in relation to a future oil spill. I urge all Members of the House to join with me in supporting this wellconsidered legislation.
Date: 2010-07-30
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the chairman for this legislation. and I am very happy that this legislation includes a responsible bidder so that the American people will know that those companies that bid on the Outer Continental Shelf. those lands that belong to all Americans. that the companies will be responsible. that we will check their safety records. We will not once again have a company like BP. which is out there with hundreds and hundreds of violations. while so many of the other companies that operate on the Outer Continental Shelf have minimal violations. one and two. and this company is completely out of control. Weve got to make sure that the American taxpayer. that the American environment and the American Outer Continental Shelf are protected by responsible bidders.
Date: 2010-07-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. I rise in strong support of todays oil spill response legislation. and I commend Chairmen RAHALL. MILLER. WAXMAN. OBERSTAR and CONYERS for bringing this package to the floor today. The Consolidated Land. Energy and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act corrects a number of major defects in current law that have come to light in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. First. and most importantly. it ensures BPnot the taxpayeris held responsible for the full cost of the cleanup. Second. it strengthens offshore drilling standards and requires independent certification of critical safety equipment. Third. it provides desperately needed reform to the scandal ridden Mineral Management Service by separating its permitting. inspection and collection functions. Fourth. it eliminates royalty loopholes that allow oil companies to shortchange taxpayers when extracting resources from public lands. And finally. it makes good on a 45 year old promise to fully fund the Land Water and Conservation Fund so that Americans can enjoy our Nations natural. historical and recreational resources for generations to come. The Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Act (HR 5851) complements todays package by extending whistleblower protections to oil rig workers on the Outer Continental Shelf. Specifically. employers would be prohibited from discharging or otherwise discriminating against employees who report injuries. unsafe working conditions or alleged violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Had these protections been in place. the Deepwater Horizon workers with serious safety concerns about the operation of their rig could have had more confidence about coming forward prior to the explosion. Mr. Chair. todays legislation is an important and necessary part of our Nations response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. I urge a yes vote and yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-07-30
Speaker: ELIJAH CUMMINGS (democrat)
Chamber: H

the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Coast Guard of our Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. a gentleman who has been so instrumental in helping to bring this legislation to the floor.
Date: 2010-07-30
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. Members of the House. if we accept this moratorium. its to suggest that we as a Congress of the United States of America have learned nothing since the Deepwater Horizon blew up in a tragic accident. We have learned nothing in the last hundred days to simply say were going to go back to business as usual. Mr. MELANCON has given us a way to lift the moratorium. but to do it because the things that we have learned in our congressional investigations. that the Coast Guard has learned and others. This is to suggest that we would not redesign the levees around Louisiana. we would just give them the money. Because we did that for 30 years. we have to take lessons learned. In every tragedy. the lessons are learned. And you have businesspeople all along the gulf who are losing millions of dollars in business. You have fishers who are losing their livelihood. and the question is will they ever get to come back. And if we do it right in lifting the moratorium. yes. they will get to come back. We will have energy development. and we will have a cleaner gulf than we have today because we learned something. You take this vote home to your constituents and youre telling them you have learned nothing in the last hundred days about the operation. Were talking about an oil company that blew up a rig that killed 15 people in Texas City. refused to fix it afterwards. and paid $87 million in fines. Were talking about a company that disregarded their workers. We have got to change those laws so this doesnt happen again. And were on our way. thanks to Mr. MELANCON and others.
Date: 2010-07-30
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 5851. to include corrections in spelling. punctuation. page and line numbering. section numbering and crossreferencing. and insertion of the appropriate headings.
Date: 2010-07-30
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 3534. to include corrections in spelling. punctuation. section numbering. crossreferencing. and the insertion of appropriate headings.
Date: 2010-07-30
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise today with a heavy heart to remember Cecelia Steinberg. a woman who spent her extraordinary life as a dedicated mother and grandmother. loving wife and life partner. and selfless activist for her community. Ceceliaor Ceil to her friendswas born in Philadelphia and later joined the south Florida community in 1951. For many years. Ceil and her late husband. Irving. offered their hearts and their time in service to the Jewish and veteran communities in south Florida. As the President of the Ladies National Auxiliary of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States. Ceil worked tirelessly to combat the powers of bigotry and hatred. She honored the service and sacrifice of so many Jewish men and women who pledged their allegiance and their lives to the United States. Ceil is survived by her two daughters. Debra and Anita. four grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill Kling. Ceils life partner for the past 11 years. as well as all of Ceils family and loved ones during this trying time. I will personally miss her very much.
Date: 2010-08-10
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I know that as my colleagues listen to the debate on the floor of the House. they dont have the full picture of Members returning from work recess. where we have been meeting with constituents. to come here today to take this important step. We are the Peoples House. and it certainly gives us no trouble to fly in to be able to make this important decision. But this is out of the ordinary. And it is out of the ordinary because you are looking at people who really care about what is happening. the strangulation of our States and the losses and the pink slips that teachers are getting so that our children cannot learn and be part of the competitive edge in the world. I know it factually. having more than seven school districts in my community. Today we are doing something that Chairman OBEY deserves credit for. for his vision and his tenacity. someone who knows what it is to be without. Today we are talking about helping people. And I am sorry that the other body took so long. and I am sorry they took it out of EITC. and I am sorry they did not handle this in the right way. but we have a crisis going on. So these thousands of dollars that will help per teacher to save these teachers and firefighters and police officers. so that maybe the three little girls that were killed by a drunk driver in my district would not have faced such. with more law enforcement to tell people you cant drive while you are drunk.
Date: 2010-08-10
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

So I rise today to support this and ask anybody with good judgment. why would you vote against it? As I said. I dont like the payfors. but it is paid for. We will fix that. But let me tell you what is happening in Texas. Texas is taking money out of the mouths of children and putting it somewhere else. So I am supporting it because we have language that says to the Governor of the State of Texas. dont fool with money for children and education. And we have 40 school districts saying we support the legislative language that members of the Texas legislation have proposed.
Date: 2010-08-10
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I want to thank him for his persistence in pushing this legislation. and finally to have this legislation back from the Senate today so that we can help school districts. The scandals that were permitted under the Bush administration cost middle class families trillions of dollars in the loss of their wealth in their pension plans. in their jobs. in the value of their homes. Now the question is whether or not school children in this Nation should be further victims of these financial scandals that were tolerated. and whether or not these school districts that have had the revenues that they rely on to fund the schools that have been ripped away because of the loss of property values. because of the loss of sales tax. because of the loss of income tax. because of the results of those scandals. The answer in this bill is no. that in fact we should help school districts make sure that children can get a first class education. that they dont lose a year of education because of those financial scandals that happened on the watch of the past administration as the banks and Wall Street ran amok. So we should pass this bill and make sure that those 160.000 teachers can return to the classroom. I would like to ask the gentleman a question. Its my understanding. Mr. Chairman. under this legislation. that when the governor makes application for these funds. under the bill the Secretary can require the governor to choose one of two formulas. the State allocation formula or the title I formula. and to post that formula so school districts would then be able to know their allocation as soon as possible so they could start to rehire people and start to reduce class sizes or other decisions that school boards hope to make to provide for that education. Is that your understanding that thats permitted under this legislation?
Date: 2010-08-10
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

So the Governor would put that in the application. declare the formula. and post that. so that school districts would be on the earliest possible notice.
Date: 2010-08-10
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Again I want to thank you. You have sent the bill to the Senate. the House sent it last year. and you sent it three times this year. Thank you again for your persistence and your work on this issue.
Date: 2010-08-10
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. it seems like we have a lot of Texas voices here today. and I want to share mine. I thank my chair of our Energy and Commerce Committee for yielding to me. I support. obviously. the full passage of the bill. but. Madam Speaker. I rise in support of the students and teachers who will benefit from passage of the Education. Jobs. and Medicaid Assistance Act. Madam Speaker. I would like to place in the RECORD two letters from education groups supporting this legislation. At a time when local and State governments from coast to coast are cutting funding for basic services such as education. public safety. and transportation. this legislation will bring muchneeded assistance to keep 161.000 educational professionals working now. 14.500 educational jobs in Texas will be saved. I want to speak to the important provision my Texas colleagues on this side of the aisle worked hard to get into this bill. Last year. the governor of Texas took $3.25 billion in Federal stabilization funds specifically designated for educational purposes and used it to build up the States rainy day fund. which may sound good. but it was nothing more than the governor taking muchneeded resources from the students and educators of Texas. In order to make sure the governor of Texas does not repeat history and misuse the Federal education funds. my colleagues and I pushed to have language added to the bill that will require the governor provide assurance to the Secretary of Education that the funds allocated to Texas be used to supplement and not supplant State K12 education funding through fiscal year 2013. The governor and his political allies have stated in recent days that it cannot make such assurances because of its being unconstitutional. Well. our governor obviously is not a constitutional lawyer. so let the record show that the governor had made the same assurance before. including in the States Fiscal Stabilization Program application last year. This language is supported by the Texas Association of School Boards as well as Statewide groups representing teachers. principals. and school administrators across the State and ensures that these funds get to the classrooms and will hopefully delay property tax increases. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this important legislation.
Date: 2010-08-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of the Motion to Concur to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1586. which provides emergency education and Medicaid funding for the States. This $10 billion in education funding will save thousands of teacher jobs across this country. In my congressional district in Dallas. nearly 700 teacher jobs will be preserved with these emergency dollars. In particular. Id like to thank House and Senate Leadership for including within this bill Texas specific language that would prevent the State of Texas from misusing federally directed dollars for educational purposes. When Texas was awarded $3.25 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. this money never made it to the local education agencies. Instead. it was placed in a rainy day fund by the Texas Governor. This was not the intent of these funds. and it has forced Congress to prevent this situation from happening again. Provisions inserted into this bill would prevent Texas from placing these emergency dollars meant for teachers into any other fund. It would tie funding to Title I schools. so that this money goes to our neediest schools. It would also prevent the State of Texas from making a severe and disproportionate cut to state education funding next year. We did this. so that the Texas Governor could not say to Dallas schools. since you received $39 million extra from the federal government last year. were going to cut your funding by the same amount for 2011. If the State of Texas cannot abide by this and rejects the funding. then the Department of Education will provide the money directly to the local education agencies. No matter what this money will go to our schools and students. The State of Texas has shown it cannot act in good faith when it relates to federal funding for our schools. These dollars are imperative and will save 14.500 teacher jobs across Texas. I do have some concerns regarding this legislation and offsets that are made to fund this bill. In particular. I disagree with a funding cut to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. At a time when we have record enrollment in the SNAP program. a decrease in funding to this program is very disconcerting. We must not target the poorest among us in providing emergency funds for others in need. Despite my concerns I recognize the importance of this funding and support the passage of this legislation.
Date: 2010-08-10
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise in strong support of the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Actand the thousands of teachers. nurses. firefighters and police whose jobs it will preserve. Whether you look at this legislation from an economic recovery perspective. or a public safety perspective. or an educational opportunity perspective. its simply the right thing to do. The $16.1 billion in temporary Medicaid assistance to our states through June 30. 2011. will protect Medicaid participants and prevent the massive layoffs of first responders and other key personnel that would otherwise occur. And the bills $10 billion education jobs fund will save at least 161.000 teachers jobsincluding an estimated 2.500 positions in my home state of Marylandso that our children can continue to get the high quality education they deserve. Madam Speaker. like many Americans. I was disappointed to hear the distinguished Minority Leader Mr. BOEHNER refer to our teachers. nurses. firefighters and police as "special interests." They are not. They are public servants whose efforts were going to need to educate our children and keep our communities safe. But as disappointing as that comment was. it tells you a lot about the differences between the two parties as we head into a very important election season. Finally. Madam Speaker. the cost of keeping our teachers in the classroom instead of the unemployment line is fully paid for by closing tax loopholes that encourage big corporations to ship jobs overseas. Most taxpayers would understandably be outraged if they were told that in addition to paying their own taxes. they should also be required to pay taxes U.S. multinationals owe to foreign countries for income those companies earn offshore. But through a process called "credit splitting." thats precisely what happens: U.S. multinationals are able to use foreign tax credits to reduce their U.S. tax liability. but in many cases never pay U.S. tax on the offshore income that generated those credits in the first place. As a result. U.S. taxpayers are effectively subsidizing the companies foreign tax liability. Adding insult to injury. since this kind of burdenshifting isnt available for income earned inside the United States. our current rules actually encourage U.S. multinationals to invest their marginal dollar overseas. We can and must do better. Vote "yes" for jobs at home and "no" to shipping jobs overseas.
Date: 2010-09-15
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I stand in support of H.R. 2039. the Congressional Made in America Promise Act of 2009. This bipartisan legislation ensures that the rules of the Buy American Act that apply to all states and federal agencies also apply to Congress. Under current law. states and the federal government must buy only American made products. Though exemptions exist for cases where public interest. cost or unavailability make purchasing the good prohibitive. all goods purchased by state and federal governments must be produced in the United States. Congress. however. is not subjected to this requirement. Promoting American job growth is a priority for this Congress. This common sense legislation is example of our commitment. If passed. this legislation will apply a standard for procurement that exceeds that enforced by states and federal agencies. Any product bearing the official congressional insignias. including goods bearing a mark resembling the official seals of the U.S. Senate. U.S. House of Representatives. and the U.S. Congress. will have to be made in America. Mr. Speaker. the president has set an ambitious goal to significantly increase this countrys exports over the next two years. This legislation contributes to that effort by ensuring that goods procured by states. federal agencies and Congress are made in the U.S.A. I encourage my colleagues to join me in support of the bill.
Date: 2010-09-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me thank the distinguished gentleman from Georgia. and let me thank him very much for his very important statement on this important resolution. And as well I would like to thank the chairman of our full committee.
Date: 2010-09-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. seeing that we have no other speakers. let me simply conclude by thanking my distinguished friend from Utah. We worked together on other issues. If I might take a point of personal privilege. I have never doubted his commitment when we speak of these humanitarian issues. and I want to thank you for that. As well. I want to thank Mr. BARROW for his leadership on the issue and hope that he will join us as we work on these devastating conditions in Pakistan. I ask my colleagues to support this very important legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-09-15
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to provide funds to the Army Corps of Engineers to hire veterans and members of the Armed Forces to assist the Corps with curation and historic preservation activities. and for other purposes. as amended.