macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-10-19
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H. Res. 501. legislation that will extend the important Transitional Medical Assistance and Qualified Individuals programs. Over the past few years. these programs have been reauthorized by shortterm extensions that offer lowincome beneficiaries of the programs few assurances that they will be able to depend on the benefits in the future. While I support this extension bill. Congress should be acting I today to make these programs permanent. The TMA program provides an important incentive for lowincome individuals to move off of welfare and into employmentby ensuring continued access to health care. Health insurance is a critical factor in everyones employment decisions. Without TMA. many families would have little incentive to move off of welfare and leave behind the Medicaid benefits that TANF beneficiaries often receive. TMA allows for extended health care coverage when lowincome families lose traditional Medicaid benefits due to an increase in income. While four months of TMA coverage is assured under current law. the sixtotwelve month extension that families so often need falls under a legislative sunset. While our actiontoday will extend this coverage. we should. be making this extension permanent. Likewise. we should be acting today to make Medicares QI1 program permanent.. This program is critical for- Medicare beneficiaries whose income is between 120% and 135% of the federal poverty level.-as it provides these individuals with assistance. with their MedicarePart B premiums. Since Qualified Individuals are not otherwise .eligible for. Medicaid. the QI1 program is critical in ensur-. ing lowincome seniors .access- to. physician ca re. -. -�- ... . :. -. Mr. Speaker. I support the efforts of the bill sponsor to swiftly enact this important legisla-. tion. However. I regret that it includes extraneous provisions that would limit Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries access to certain classes of prescription drugs. Physicians. not Congress. know best when a prescription drug is medically necessary. and the government should not interject in decisions between a patient and his doctor I about the proper course of treatment. Despite those reservations. this bill offers important benefits to lowincome individuals access to health care. and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.
Date: 2005-10-19
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

The gentleman just mentioned that if we are going to make sure that we- are ready for the next natural disaster. often when you talk about events like epic proportions like natural disasters. you think of them in terms of their rarity. Since myself and Mr. MEEK are both from Florida. and in the. next 2 days we will face what is no longer considered a rarity in our State in the name. of Hurricane Wilma that has now reached the point in history that it is the strongest storm on record with the lowest barometric pressure ever to be recorded in the Atlantic Basin and is expected to make landfall in our home State. -possibly crossing over either mine or Mr. MEEKS district over the weekend. One of the things that we have been emphasizing over the last several days and weeks is that the confidence of the American people in their government has been badly shaken. The gentleman from Oklahoma mentioned that we are not sure how people are expected to be able to have that confidence restored and know that the next natural disaster. or manmade disaster for that matter. that their government is going to be prepared both in terms of getting them ready to deal with that disaster or in the aftermath of that disaster. If you look at the results of Katrina and the aftermath of Katrina. certainly their confidence was not restored. If you look at the revelations that have come from the independent 9/11 Commissions Report. and now yet another -report is about to come out from the independent 9/11 Commission that through their private- educational foundation they are about to release a report that blasts the FBI for not implementing much of their recommendations. When is this administration. this Republican administration and the leadership here going to listen to the priorities of the American people and make sure that. in terms of disaster preparedness. whether it is manmade or natural. that we not add insult to injury in the aftermath of those disasters by cutting services and badly needed health care and badly needed higher education and assistance for the -very people that were victims? And when are they going to make sure that they have adequate preparation to deal with those. the aftermath of those disasters? Right now we have not seen anything other than the development of a partisan committee in this institution to supposedly investigate what happened. Well. if you cannot even know that the FBI and that the administration is going to respond to the report that was issued from the independent 9/11 Commission. then certainly we would have little to no confidence that anything is going to come from a partisan investigation like the one that is going on here.
Date: 2005-10-19
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Do you know what else we are for? We are for honesty. We are for honesty in government. We are for ridding this institution of the culture of corruption. that has consumed it in recent weeks and months.
Date: 2005-10-19
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I was getting to cronyism. because there are a lot of Cs that are flying around this Chamber. including the first letter of the word Chamber. The gentleman from Oklahoma and I are freshmen. we just got here. we have been here 10 months. We have conversations on the floor all the time about how astonishing it is that this institution has a pall cast over it. that there is a shadow cast over this place by the culture of corruption. the cronyism. the ethical challenges that some of our Members face. the cronyism in the administration. the appointments of people who are not qualified for the job that they were hired to do. It is time to return this government back to the honest people. back to the people who are in it for right reasons. back to the people who went into public service to make the world a better place. not to line their supporters pockets. with all due respect. That. is literally what I have watched this place become both as an outsider and now as someone who his become a Member of this body.
Date: 2005-10-20
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise this morning to.congratulate the Houston Astros. the major league baseball team which last night defeated the St. Louis Cardinals to earn the right to go to the 2005 World Series. This is the first World Series for the City of Houston and the first- World Series for the State of Texas. The Astros and the Texas Rangers were founded in 1962 and 1961 respectively. Also. first congratulating the team for its hard work and dedication. I want to express thanks to our owner 0 Printed on recycled paper. Drayton McLane. who has been a tremendous asset to the City of Houston. It was an honor to work closely with him on the Harris County Sports Authority to build what is now Minute Maid Park to replace the historic Houston Astrodome. I want to salute Tal Smith. who is a great part of the Astros organization since the beginning when they were the Colt 45s. As the President of Baseball Operations. he has -been an integral part of the entire organization. The Houston Astros do not have one of the highest payrolls in baseball. so the fact that they are now in the World Championship is a tribute to our general manager Tim Purpura and also our manager Phil "Scrap Iron" Garner. who actually played for the Astros years ago. It is good to have him back home. Many of the 2005 National League Champion Houston Astros are. products of our minor league farm system. not highpriced free ageits. including the winner of last nights game. - Roy Oswalt. The Astros were the best team in baseball for the month of July and never looked back. Now they are the best team in the National League and look forward to taking on the White Sox in the 2005 World Series. Mr. Speaker. In addition we have a lot of homegrown talent. Craig Biggio. Jeff Bagwell. Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. again: are some of our great players along with the whole team. Again. congratulations. and I yield back my time Mr. Speaker.
Date: 2005-10-20
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I wish my colleague frpm Virginia would come meet with 10 families from the Washington area who had victims killed during the sniper attacks 3 years ago. as well as the police officers from New Jersey. and tell them that those lawsuits were frivolous lawsuits. Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California .
Date: 2005-10-20
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. it seems that the charts_ that my colleague showed listing all the lawsuits actually make the case for how the system is working because. as he knows. many of those cases have been dismissed by the court. The court looked at them. and those cases that were frivolous. it decided to dismiss. So why are we trying to change the rules? It is because there are some cases that have merit. like the sniper cases and others. that would continue to go through. and under this legislation. they will not: Why change the rules to deny legitimate victims their day in court? Mr. Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from New York who has been such a leader on this important issue in protecting the victims of gun violence. _
Date: 2005-10-20
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. . I want to address an issue we have not covered thismorning. which deals with the question of terrorists trying to get their hands on guns in this country. We know from our reports and records that Osama bin Laden and other terrorisjs have said to their terrorist network that they can easily obtain weapons in the United States. and we know .from a government accountability study from January of this year that between February 3 and June 20 of 2004. 35 known or suspected terrorists. those are people who are on the terrorist watch list. purchased guns in the United States. and that from July 1 through October 31 of last year 12.additional people on the terrorist watch list purchased guns in the United States. Now. I think many Americans would be surprised to know that you can be on the terrorist watch list and you can go to the airport and try and board an airplane. and because you are on the terrorist watch list. we say no. we want to protect the public. we are not going to let you board this airplane and compromise the safety of other passengers on that plane. But that person can then get in their car at the airport. go to their local gun store and buy as many semiautomatic weapons as that terrorist wants. What is inbre. that person can walk into that gun store and say. hey. guess what? I am on the terrorist watch list. and I want 12 semiautomatic assault weapons. and under this bill. if we pass it today. we could not hold that gun store owner liable in any way for a wrongful sale. How do I know that? We offered an amendment in committee. Very simple. Let me read the language of the amendment. We said. we do not want to except from lawsuits and liability a seller who knows that the name of the person appears in the violent gang and terrorist organization file maintained by the Attorney General and the person subsequently used the qualified product. the weapon. in the commission of a crime. We had a vote in committee on this amendment. Every Republican member of the committee voted no. every Democratic member of the committee voted yes. The gentleman from California and I tried to get through the Committee on Rules an amendment so the whole House could consider this proposition. What did the Committee on Rules say? No. It seems to me outrageous that we would pass a bill that would allow someone to walk into that gun store. the gun store owner knows that person is on the terrorist watch list. they sell the person a gun. the person goes out and murders people and. under this legislation. guess what? You can no longer hold them liable. That is a shame. Mr. Speaker. I reserve- the balance of my time.
Date: 2005-10-20
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. I am an original cosponsor of the House version of this legislation. H.R. 800. A lawsuit against a gun manufacturer simply for being a gun manufacturer has no business in American courts. I am proud that every court in our judicial system has agreed with that and has thrown out these frivolous lawsuits. However. in U.S. courtswe have the American rule. where each side pays their own legal fees under normal circumstances. instead of the English rule. where the loser usually pays. Generally. I support the American rule because it is fairer to individuals seeking relief from large firms. Unfortunately the American rule can mean that frivolous lawsuits which have no chance of going anywhere still impose a terrible burden on parties. Some people in this country are politically opposed to the firearm industry and believe most firearms should be illegal or hard to obtain. So these folks do not. have a problem spending nonprofit money and public money on a losing lawsuit in pursuit of ideology. However. that is not fair to the firearm industry. which is not only completely legal. but has the right to own their product enshrined in theU.S. Constitution. Therefore. it is particularly bad that the firearm industry has had to pay $200 million to defend themselves from frivolous lawsuits that have never. ever succeeded in court. S. 397 only protects legitimate businesses that comply with Federal. State and local firearm laws. The bill does not waive liability for actually defective products. breach of contract or warranty. or other causes that are not related to thirdparty criminal misuse of firearms. If we are going to sue firearm makers for armed robberies. why not go on and sue the auto maker who made the getaway car? The idea is absurd. but some groups and politicians want to punish firearm manufacturers for their very existence. As a result. we must pass S. 397 and send it to the President.
Date: 2005-10-20
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. MORAN of Kansas. and Mr. JONES of North Carolina changed their vote from "nay" to "yea." So the Senate bill was passed. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. Stated for:
Date: 2005-10-26
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I am on a mission of mercy today to acquire temporary protected status for Pakistani nationals in this country. Madam Speaker. as we know. Pakistan has been devastated by a.7.6 Richter scale earthquake. Thousands upon thousands are without homes. Thousands upon thousands have died. Thereis much assistance needed. The Pakistani nationals in the country. Madam Speaker. would be given an opportunity to stay for an additional 12 months. which would give the country an opportunity to try to recover from the devastation that it .has suffered. Madam Speaker. this is a bipartisan effort. I thank all of those on both sides who are supporting H.R. 4073. This is the right thing for us to do. The Pakistani people are suffering. These. are our allies in the war on terrorism. and this would give us an opportunity to clearly extend the hand of friendship to those who have been of assistance to us.
Date: 2005-10-26
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman. I am concerned about two provisions in this bill. raising the conforming loan limit and the attempt to limit the ability of American citizens to engage in our democratic process currently contained in the managers amendment offered by Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Chairman. in my district. the median price for a home in Santa Clara County is $715.000. yes I said $715.000. The current conforming loan limit is $359.650. about 50 percent of what the median home price is. Mr. Chalirman. there are simply not enough homes at or near the conforming loan limit to meet the needs of my constituents. As a result of this shortage of homes priced near the conforming loan limit. many firsttime homebuyers are either forced into taking out jumbo loans or are more likely simply priced out of the market altogether. Some argue that the conforming loan -limit will not make a meaningful cost difference for homebuyers. Currently there is a .25 percent to .40 percent difference between interest rates on a conforming loan versus a jumbo loan. In todays market that difference can be as much as $135.00 per month. That matters to hardworking families. I remind my Republican colleagues that this administration. in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee spoke in favor of raising the conforming loan limit. Part of Mr. OXLEYs amendment is simply unAmerican. Mr. OXLEY seeks to prohibit nonprofit organizations from engaging in nonpartisan. I repeat nonpartisan. voter registration efforts and get out the vote drives in the 12month period prior to applying for funds made available through the Affordable Housing Fund. If that wasnt bad enough. the amendment further prohibits nonprofits that receive grant funds from subsequently engaging in these important activities. This Congress should be about promoting the values and the processes of democratic government. not trying to limit or suppress them. What are you afraid of. more Americans exercising their right to participate in their govemnment?
Date: 2005-10-26
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I want to offer my full support for this resolution to congratulate Ambassador Dan Gillerman. Israels Permanent Representative to the United Nations. and the government and people of Israel on Israels election as Vicepresident of the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations. Since joining the United Nations on May 11. 1949. Israel has been singled out time and again for disproportionate criticism. underrepresented on important committees. denied full membership in regional groupings and constantly attacked by a bloc of Arab states and their supporters. From the time he assumed his post as Israels Representative to the United Nation in January 2003. Mr. Gillerman has been a strong advocate of reforms at the UN that will give Israel more rights and will reform many of the wasteful and corrupt UN programs. In September 2005. Mr. Gillerman submitted Israels firstever candidacy for the Security Council. and Israel also recently proposed its first UN resolution. Mr. Gillerman has also supported ending four UN committees established specifically to aid Palestinians. The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. the Division for Palestinian Rights. the Special Information Program on the Question of Palestine and the Special Committee to Investigate Israel Practices are all biased committees that have long outlived their intended purposes and have added to the waste and antiIsraeli sentiments at the UN. In June 2005. Ambassador Gillerman was elected to serve as the VicePresident of the General Assembly of the United Nations. He is the first Israeli representative to serve as VicePresident of the General Assembly in the past 53 years. since Abba Eban who served in this position in 1952. I congratulate Mr. Gillerman on his election as VicePresident of the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting House Resolution 368.
Date: 2005-10-26
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. the gentleman is so right. and his comments have brought up so many different things that I want to say. But let us go back to what we have been talking about on this floor lo these last few weeks. We have been talking about the three or four Cs that are the real issue in this administration and in this government. We have been talking about corruption. We have -been talking. about cronyism. We have been talking about competence.4I think what has happened in our -community in the last few days just points arrows in the direction of every one of those C words. Let us talk about competence. The Governor can say. golly gee. our goal was to get up and running and be ready with all this water and ice and response and trucks and generators in 24 hours.and we will just have to work a little bit harder. Honestly. if they point to themselves as the model. if FEMA points to Florida as the model. and says.that we are the most prepared State in terms of natural disasters. then they are owning up and saying. "I am competent." We are competent. We are ready to do the job. I think if we traveled through South Florida tonight and asked people on the street. whom the gentleman and I have talked with. and asked them if they think their government is competent. I think the answer would be a resounding no. because these are some of the things that our constituents are having to deal with tonight. that our families are having to deal with tonight. the reality of getting hit by a Category 3 storm and not having the government respond to their needs is that in Broward County there is no potable water. The entire county is under a boil water order. which means that when I had to give my 2yearold a bath the other day. I could not pour water over her head because the water could give her pinkeye. That is what I was cautioned about. We have to make sure that our children do not rinse their toothbrushes with the water because it can make them sick. We have a myriad of issues. We have water.and ice and food needs. We have people in highrises who have had windows blown out. We have trucks that have been lost. How could the trucks get lost? If they prepositioned them in strategic portions of the State so as to ensure that they could be moved out and sent to places that they know they are going to be needed. how is it that they could not find them and in some cases still have not been able to find them? Today in MiamiDade County. which we both represent. although now I am told that MiamiDade County does have drinkable water. except for Miami Beach. which I represent about half of. these are the water and ice distribution centers. Mr. Speaker. that we were supposed to be set up and fully equipped with water and ice. So let us peruse the availability of the supplies today. This is for the model State in terms of preparation and the prepositioning of hundreds of trucks to be able to be distributed as soon as the storm is over.
Date: 2005-10-26
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. if the gentleman will yield further. let us not even let people believe that now that individual assistance has been granted and that it is being supplied. They do not even have the registration sites set up now. I was driving through the district with the FEMA folks yesterday. and people were coming. up with their houses crushed in saying. I have got to have some help here. I have a baby. I have a grandmother who needs medicine. When is FEMA coming? The poor guy who I was riding with. he does not know what to tell people. He said. "This is why we are doing this assessment. maam. I understand we are going to try to get help to you as soon as possible." Now we are 72 hours out. Every day the Governor says it is going to get one day better. It does not feel that way.
Date: 2005-10-26
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. if I can close us out by saying that their priorities are wrong. It is not an independent Katrina Commission. it is Katrina. Wilma. Rita. We have got to do better.