macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-09-30
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to support the family of a very. very dear friend who lost her life a week ago. Dr. Cecile Harrison. a professor at Texas Southern University with a Ph.D. in sociology and a heart as large as the world can imagine. She was a professors professor. a teachers teacher. she was a mentor to students. and. yes. she loved politics and the process of government. What I was so grateful for. because it is often not done. is she taught young people the value of this great Nation. the three branches of government. the constitutional interaction given by the Constitution of the United States. and the respect for the three branches of government. She taught students to love the idea of political participation without personal gain. I was delighted to see her involve herself in campaigns all over the State and in our community. but most importantly. a friend to the Honorable Barbara Jordan and an initial campaign manager for her. A Wheatley graduate. Dear Cecile. thank you for your sincerity. You are a great American. May God bless you and your family. and may you rest in peace.
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Good news. Mr. Speaker. today is October 1. and health care in America is now available for all Americans. Last night between 1 and 2:30 in the morning. after leaving this floor with a degree of disappointment. we went to the Web site. We took a picture. We saw how extensive and detailed the Web site was for Americans to enroll for preventative care. to be able to ensure that seniors dont have to pay high costs for prescription drugs. to make sure that young people. strong young people who believe that the world is theirs can be on this Web site. It was exciting. because as we logged on. it said. We are loaded. There are so many people trying to get on to be able to access Americas health care. And you know what. we have the ability to debate the health care issue while Americans are continuing to access it. And we can pass a clean continuing resolution. Thats a good plan. We understand theres disagreement. I respect my good friends. But America is excited today. Not only is it my brother Michaels birthday. but it is also the day for good health care in America. Enroll. The marketplace is open. Thats what America is all about.
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. theres a lot of talk about fairness. Let me tell you whats not fair. Its not fair for a working mother with one child who works fulltime at $7.25 an hour and makes $15.080 a year. That working mother works fulltime and lives below the poverty line. The poverty line is $15.180 a year. It is not fair for that working mother not to be able to afford health care for herself and for her child. This is the fairness that we are addressing. This fight is all about workingclass people. not about those who make millions and billions. One person in this country made $3 billion. Thats $400 a second. Its not about this person who. by the way. paid 15 percent taxes. Its not about 1 percent raking in all of the wealth. Its about workingclass people who cant get health care. We cannot allow health care to become wealth care in the richest country in the world. One out of every 60 persons in this country is a millionaire. One out of every 11 households is worth more than a million dollars. This is about workingclass people. Harder yet may be the fight.
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59. the clean CR that would end this Republican government shutdown.
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise to speak on the House Republicans piecemeal Continuing Resolution to fund the District of Columbia Government during the shutdown they inflicted yesterday on our Nation. This body would do the District of Columbia a great service by allowing its esteemed and very knowledgeable Congresswoman ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON a vote in this chamber. Mr. Speaker. the District of Columbia had an estimated population of 632.323 in 2012. The state of Wyoming with 2 Senators and a voting member of the House of Representatives had a population of 576.412 in 2012. It is the 24th most populous place in the United States. The Washington Metropolitan Area. of which the District is a part. has a population of 5.7 million. the seventhlargest metropolitan area in the country. Perhaps this is the day that members of the majority decided they wanted to do a little something for people they could see every day of the legislative work week. But our job is to look out for the interest of everyone in the Nationthose we can see as well as the hundreds of millions who we cannot see. Urban areas around the Nation need exactly. or perhaps in some cases more than. the assistance we would be providing to the District of Columbia though this CR. but they will not be helped unless we pass the Senates Clean CR. The House should take up the clean Senate Continuing Resolution to fund the entire government. If we only fund what the House majority wants then they will have no need to worry about funding the parts of the government that they do not like. which includes the Department of Health and Human Services. the Department of Education. the Department of Energy. the Department of Labor. the Social Security Administration. the Internal Review Service. the Department of Commerce. and the Environmental Protection Agency just to name a few. Mr. Speaker. negotiation requires honest compromise and knowing what not to ask the other party to give up. The majority knows that the Affordable Care Act is nonnegotiable for the President. the Senate. or the overwhelming majority of Americans who supported it in the past and who are supporting it today by joining the Healthcare Marketplace health plans. The clean CR passed by the Senate ensures that all the employees of the Federal Government are paid and that important things like our parks are open and our children are fed. Mr. Speaker. instead of exempting certain groups and persons from the harm caused by a government shutdown. we should instead be focused on reopening the government as soon as possible.
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

As the Speaker knows. a number of Members of Congress have asked unanimous consent to proceed to the Senate and pass the socalled "clean CR." I want to understand the rule. My understanding is that if the Democratic leader and the Republican leader both give their consent to that. then that bill would come before the body now. is that correct?
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

So to further clarify. if both Democrats and Republicans were to agree to bring the Senatepassed CR before this House. it would come up for a vote now. is that correct?
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. when you say prior appropriate approval. do you mean approval from the Republican leader and the Democratic leader?
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. with respect to the current status of H.J. Res. 59. the clean CR. if this body were to take it up and pass that bill. would that bill go back to the Senate or would that bill now go directly to the President?
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. if the Democratic leader and the Republican leader were to give their consent. as you indicated. to bring that bill before this body and this body then adopted that bill. voted for it. would that bill then go to the President?
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. if this bill were to pass the House. would this bill go directly to the President. or would this bill go to the Senate. H.J. Res. 72?
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank my friend from Georgia. If you want to help our veterans tonight. we should take up the Senatepassed clean CR bill which keeps the government open for our veterans and funds programs that help their children and grandchildren. like education. like scientific research at the National Institutes of Health. And as we heard from the Speaker. if we take that bill up and pass it. it will be on the Presidents desk tonight. and he can sign it. whereas this bill just goes back to the Senate. So why arent we doing that? Well. it was reported in The Washington Post. since the Republicans want to shut down the government. now theyre going for the Cruz idea for plan B. "House GOP will go with Cruzs idea for plan B." Thats Senator CRuz. So again. Senator CRuz is calling the shots here in the House of Representatives. But heres whats particularly strange and cynical: our veterans are being used as props here. I dont think the American people understand that if we were to pass the CR tonight for veterans. it is actually a higher level of funding for the veterans by billions of dollars than what is in your bill before us today. So how can you say you want to help veterans by sending the Senate a bill with less money for veterans instead of sending immediately the President a bill with billions of dollars for veterans? This cuts the amount that this House voted for for veterans in June. It cuts billions of dollars. Every Member of this House who voted in June on that Veterans appropriations bill who votes on this is voting for a cut from what this House provided for veterans earlier this year. and it represents a cut compared to the continuing resolution that we could send tonight to the Presidents desk and have him sign. So. yes. If you really want to help veterans. Mr. Speaker. you should take up the Senate bill. Send it to the President. It will be done tonight at a level billions of dollars higher than this Republican bill. Lets help our veterans. and lets help tonight.
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: DAVID SCOTT (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Ladies and gentlemen of America. dont be fooled. Dont be fooled by what the Republicans are doing tonight. Just 19 hours ago. they closed down this government. They closed down the government on the veterans. They closed down the government on D.C. They closed down the government on those who serve our parks. Many of them. when they left here 19 hours ago. were highfiving and celebrating. We closed er down. We closed er down. And now theyre here. Theyre here today with this hypocritical and deceitful act that now they want to do something for the veterans. And to use these veteransladies and gentlemen. this is nothing but a fig leaf. a fig leaf to hide the shame of what this Republican Party did last night. And to use the veterans and to sendwe are talking about just a period of just 10 or 12 weeksto be able to send them $5.2 million and think youve done something? We have 21 veterans committing suicide every day. Where are you talking about that? Four in my district alone. We need to treat our veterans with the respect that they deserve by making sure that we pass that full budget. Bring a clean CR. Lift up the American people. and treat them all with respect. Dont pick one or the other. Lets vote down this fig leaf of shame that the Republican Party is presenting here today in this resolution.
Date: 2013-10-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let me thank the distinguished gentleman from California for his leadership. If I might inquire of the Speaker again. you said the time washow much time? Im sorry.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. my colleague. Dr. BILL CASSIDY. a Republican from Louisiana. and I. introduced a bipartisan bill. H.R. 2734. the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Reauthorization Act. on July 19 of this year. This legislation would reauthorize the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act to help State and local governments and universities to continue to provide and develop suicide prevention programs. This current bill is budget neutral and would revise and extend provisions of the original act signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2004. It is named for formerSenator Gordon Smith. Republican of Oregons 22yearold son Garrett whose life was ended in September of 2003. Every year. over 38.000 Americans die by suicide. and many more are treated for selfinflicted injuries that result from suicide attempts. As you may know. suicide still remains the second leading cause of death for our adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10 and 24. and results in 4.800 lives lost each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also. the same agency reported that youths in grades 9 through 12. in public and private schools in the United States. found that 15 percent of students reported seriously considering suicide. 11 percent reported creating a plan. and 7 percent reported trying to take their own life. The 2010 American College Health Associations National College Health Assessment II noted that 45.6 percent of the students surveyed reported feeling that things were hopeless and 30 percent reported feeling depressed. The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization grant program has assisted 35 tribes. 45 States. and 85 institutions of higher education to develop suicide prevention and intervention programs. which are often the first line of defense for those with this troubling disease of mental illness concerns. who are distraught and arent certain about what to do. Again. H.R. 2734 is budget neutral. and I come to the floor to ask all of my colleagues to cosponsor the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. We can disagree on some things. but I dont think we need to disagree on this. Please. sign up as a cosponsor.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the Republicans have forced the government to shut down. and its a disservice to the hardworking professionals in the Federal Government and to the American people. Our Federal agencies have a long history of working hard on research and education programs that return huge payoffs to the American people. both in economic growth and societal benefits. Unfortunately. 97 percent of NASA employees are being furloughed. and all public NASA events and activities will be ended. The National Science Foundation will make no payments for the duration of this shutdown. The Department of Energy will furlough nearly 7 percent of their employees. jeopardizing research done all over our national laboratories. Most research activities at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration will be suspended. Weather research and United States Geological Survey studies will also shut down. As ranking member of the Committee on Science. Space. and Technology. I want to highlight that our competitors in other countries surge ahead in their R&D as we shut ours down. We are closing the door to our future.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. the path to ending this shutdown right now is clear: bring up the clean Senatepassed CR for a vote. That would end this manufactured. selfinflicted crisis immediately. These piecemeal attempts at deflection offered by my friends on the other side of the aisle are wretched governance. Compromise is built into our Constitution. and the Senatepassed CR is itself a compromise. It accepts the annual spending level of $986 billion. roughly $70 billion less than what the Senate endorsed in its budget plan earlier this year. Again. this manufactured crisis could end right now by voting on the clean Senate continuing resolution today. According to Moodys. a shutdown that lasts even 3 or 4 days will cost the economy approximately 0.2 percentage points of the annual GDP growth in the fourth quarter. And the consequences only get worse. as the shutdown continues. on our economy. This completely avoidable contraction is the opposite of policies we need to create jobs and strengthen and grow our economy. We need to pass a clean CR today.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. let me thank the gentlelady from New York. and certainly my good friend on the Rules Committee. We see each other often in his work. and I know his passion and commitment. And as I walked on the floor today. I was listening to him recount history. But the history of shutdowns of years past will not help us be guided by our hearts and our minds today. The American people are asking not for a recounting of historical perspectiveyears past that have been solved. Congresses who came together. patriots who stood in the line of fire and have lost their lives long since those particular shutdowns have occurredwe owe the American people today an answer. I just came from the east steps of the United States Capitol. Its a very somber place. Its a place of joy. but its a place of remembrance. If my good friend wants to remember anything. he needs to remember 9111. when Members of Congress poured out of this place to show America that we were not going to be undermined by terrorists. that we were going to stand united together. That was a moment that America looked to with pride as we sang "God Bless America." Today we stood on the steps. standing with Members of Congress who actually were wounded in Iraq and veterans who are now Members of Congress. and we asked for another moment of unityunity to be able to address real issues in this House. to put 800.000 workers back to work who are not working for themselves in the Federal Government but are processing veterans benefits and Social Security and Medicare. We asked for this Speaker and this Republican Conference and Tea Partydriven Members to put all of that aside. Let us recount the history of the unity that was shown on those steps. so symbolic when we come togetherat that time on 9111. we came together as Republicans and Democratsand vote for a clean CR. The idea that national parks are important. theyre right. they are important. The idea that the National Guard is important. theyre right. it is important. Right now. Ellington Field is shut down that the National Guard in Texas used. and they are there as front liners for our borders and needs in that area. It is shut down. The National Institutes of Health is one of these bills. D.C. and the veterans. All of those are important. But I will tell you. just as important are the men and women in the FBI and the DEA. the Drug Enforcement Administration. or the Alcohol. Tobacco. and Firearms that are on the front lines of ensuring the safety and security of America. More funding for those in Homeland Security that are not presently being funded by fees are very. very important. and that is not on this list. So recounting the history doesnt do us any good. The National Institutes of Health. all of us who have had conditions such as what Ive had and surviving breast cancer realize the importance of it. But we will not. Mr. Speaker. piecemeal. What we want is what we want for Americaunity. Mr. Speaker. we want a clean CR. Put it on the floor now. We will vote now. We will vote now.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. my concern with this rule is it allows us to debate and vote on four bills. Each of these bills picks and chooses what government program should be open. what is most important. I guess of all these four bills. the one I find the most cynical is the one that didnt pass last night under suspension. H.J. Res. 72. the partisan resolution that will cut $6 billion from our Nations veterans from what passed the House this last June. There are many issues that divide our parties. One of the issues that has always received bipartisan support is supporting our Nations heroes and their families. Unfortunately. due to the extreme views of some in the majority. this Chamber is now considering a resolution that will cut $6.2 billion from the VA and excludes funding for several VA programs which are vital to the thousands of veterans in my district. including national veterans cemeteries. VA construction. and grants for State veterans homes and State cemeteries. Mr. Speaker. our Nations veterans deserve better. I call on this Chamber to demand a vote on the full VA for the entire year. Every day that goes by without full appropriations for the VA is another day that our veterans are being harmed and denied the support and services they paid for with blood. sweat. and sacrifice. Let me explain it again. This House on a very bipartisan vote in June voted for a VA appropriations bill that was $6.6 billion more than what we are considering today. So this would be a cut in what we need. In fact. even the one in June is not enough. But this makes it even worse. That is why this is the most cynical of all these bills. What we need to do is come here on the floor and pass a clean CR and get the government back to work. Dont pick and choose here. dont waste the time of the American people. Lets have a clean CR today and vote and get the government back to work today.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I support our veterans. I voted for the one in June. like a majority of both our conferences and caucuses. You and I cant control the Senate. but we can control what is on the floor today. This bill cuts $6 billion. which you and I supported in June. That is the issue we have on the floor today. I want a clean CR and I would like to have regular order for our appropriations. We will deal with the Senate. but we need to get our act together here in the House.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59. to end this reckless Republicanorchestrated shutdown. It is time for the House Republican leadership to stop with the gimmicks and step up with a legitimate effort to reopen the government.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that. to help the hundreds of workers at West Point and the Stewart Air National Guard base. we bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59. the clean CR. and stop this reckless Republican government shutdown.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I move to take from the Speakers table H.J. Res. 59 with the House amendment to the Senate amendment thereto. to recede from the House amendment and concur in the Senate amendment.
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am looking at the standing rules of the House. particularly standing rule XXII. clause 4. which reads: When the stage of disagreement has been reached on a bill or resolution with House or Senate amendments. a motion to dispose of any amendment shall be privileged. My question. Mr. Speaker. is: Havent we now reached that state of disagreement as defined by rule XXII. clause 4?
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. you started by saying the gentleman is correct. Did you mean that I am correct in saying that the standing House rule XXII. clause 4 that says that the "stage of disagreement has been reached on a bill or resolution with House or Senate amendments." that that would be applicable under the standing rule if the standing rule was in order?
Date: 2013-10-02
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. what is it that changed the normal rules of the House with respect to the ability of any Member. including myself or any Member on the other side. to offer a resolution calling up the CR passed by the Senate and asked that it be sent to the White House immediately? Why is that standing rule of the House not in operation right now?