macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-09-28
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague. Mr. Speaker. Let us be clear about one thing. As we have all said. we understand that electronic surveillance is a vital tool in the war on terror..We all want to know when Osama bin Laden is calling: when he is calling. who he is calling. and what he is saying. Existing law. FISA. gives the President the authority to do that. And if the President wants greater flexibility in using that authority. he should come to the Congress and tell us exactly what additional authority he needs. As has been said. this Congress has already amended FISA. the electronic surveillance law. more than 25 times since 9/11 to accommodate changing technologies. That is why it was so troubling to learn that what we as a Congress did in the PATRIOT Act with respect to electronic surveillance was essentially a meaningless exercise. We gave the President expanded authorities. but the President has since argued that he can go beyond the expanded authorities that we gave him. and he has ignored the work of the Judiciary Committee and this Congress. On what basis does he do this? This President claims when it comes to conducting electronic surveillance he is. in the final analysis. not constrained by the laws passed by this Congress. He claims his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief under article II in this area ultimately allows him to ignore the will of the Congress. Take a look at the administrations legal memorandum of January 19. 2006. Essentially. they say that we dont have the power ultimately to regulate in this area. And I find it incredibly curious that after the Judiciary Committee. on a bipartisan basis. adopted language proposed by Mr. FLAKE that simply said Congress finds that article I. section 8. clause 18 of the Constitution. known as the necessary and proper clause. grants Congress clear authority to regulate the Presidents inherent power to gather foreign intelligence. That was passed on a bipartisan basis. It is gone from this bill.
Date: 2006-09-29
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I want to thank you for your leadership on this matter. The people on the other side of the aisle. Republicans. always want to talk about the Bible. and you know. the Bible saidthe poor will always be with us. But our jobs as Members of Congress is to help raise the standard. A few months ago. I voted against raising the minimum wage. Well. why would I vote against raising the minimum wage? Because I do not think there is anybody in this body supports raising the minimum wage more than I do. Well. it was a poison pill. It was a kiss of death because what the Republicans did. they tied raising the minimum wage to passing an estate tax. I mean. that.would have taken trillions of dollars out of the budget just to help what I call their rich friends. The Republicans have practiced over. and over again what I call reverse Robin Hood. robbing from the poor and working people to give tax breaks to their friends. So now they put the minimum wage on the floor. but tied it to an estate tax that would? have taken thousands and thousands of dollars out of the budget. Yes. we have not dealt with the agenda of the American people. In closing. the Bible says the poor will always be with us. but our job is to help raise the standard. Give us a clean bill on this floor on minimum wage. and let us vote to help the American people.
Date: 2006-09-29
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I thank my ranking member. Mr. THOMPSON. This conference report is a culmination of many years of working on the. issue of port security. I want to begin by thanking my colleague. actually JUANITA MILLENDERMCDONALD. whose original bill was brought to me a couple of years ago. was the framework for this. and added to tha were many of the port bills that I had authored were put into that. and then Ms. HARMAN put in some more and Mr. LUNGREN put in some more and Mr. THOMPSON put in some more. and pretty soon we had a pretty good port bill. I am pleased with the port bill. Our chairman said he did not want rail or transit or any of that. which the Senate also put in their port bill. because he did not have the time. he did not want to jeopardize a port bill. So why is there Internet gambling in our port bill? If you had time to stick Internet gambling in our port bill. then I think you could have held a meeting today. or tomorrow if we had to stay an extra day. or the next day if we had to stay an extra day to make our country safer. especially for the people who take rail and mass transit to work: But. no. that would have been too much. This is just a port bill. plus Internet gambling. That is why people are upset. The Senate put in rail and mass transit and port. You had people last night who asked you. Will we get to make amendments. because they wanted to put inrail and mass transit like the Senate had put in. and we had the votes in the room to pass this port bill and to pass rail and mass transit. But it was too much. I dont know if it was you. Mr. Chairman. or Speaker HASTERT. I dont know who is going to answer what happens if we have something that happens like happened in Madrid or London and we didnt fund rail or transit. Will we get blamed? Will you take the blame. Mr. Chairman? Or will you Stand up and say it was the leadership. it wasnt me? Who is responsible for not having done the right thing? That is what people are asking. That is why people are upset. They are not just upset on this side of the aisle because we know it is the right thing to do. They are upset in the Senate. on both sides of the aisle. This is way too important for us to say. oh. gosh. we have got to get out of here on Friday. and lets not work another day. I would have stayed here a week. I would have stayed here a month. You know. I have been working on this for about 4 or 5 years. If we could have gotten that in. it would have been the right thing to do. You are right. Mr. Chairman. This is a good port bill. because we took our time and we did it right. But it could have been a much better security bill. a security bill that last night the majority in this House said they wanted. a security bill not only to secute containers and freight that come into this country but a bill that would have helped the people who commute every day to work and make America go.
Date: 2006-09-29
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. Im glad to see that were finally seeing this very important and long overdue port security legislation on the House floor. There are 14 major ports in my home state of Florida. with the Port of Jacksonville in my hometown. And we have failed so far.in devoting the money they need to protect their facility. Unfortunately. were still failing to protect the 25 million passengers who ride Amtrak each year. 69.000 passengers ride Amtrak every day. and yet they dont qualify for any of the money being authorized in this bill and are offered no more protections than they have today. That is shameful. I cant believe that anyone in this House. following the bombings in Madrid and in London. doesnt believe that terrorists would attack an Amtrak train on the Northeast corridor that connects Washington. DC. New York. and Boston. This Republican Congress deserves an F for what they have done to protect transit and passenger rail in this country. They wasted an opportunity to protect the citizens who take public transit and passenger rail to work every day.
Date: 2006-09-29
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 973. and the goals and the ideals of Financial Planning Month. I am proud to say that I am an original cosponsor of this bill. and a member of the Financial Literacy Education Caucus. I would first like to start by thanking my colleagues Mrs. BIGGERT and. Mr. Hinojosa for their leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker. we need to be paying more attention to financial literacy in this country. and to making sure our constituents have the tools to be responsible consumers. good savers and savvy investors. An estimated 40 percent of Americans say they know only some. a little or not much. about how to manage their finances and only 10 percent of college students have had financial education in high school. And yet. everyday life requires an increasing knowledge of banking and finance. The average American family spends $200.000 to raise a child to the age of 18. but the overall savings in this country barely breaks above 1. percent. Prices for basic essentialsfor health care. housing. schoolingare all skyrocketing. How are our families going to pay for it all if they arent saving? I am pleased that the Congress is voting to pass this financial planning awareness resolution at this time. Next week. I will be hosting the banking and finance portion of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Summit. Financial literacy education is such an important topic that I have chosen to make it the focus of our summit. During our discussion. we will talk about "best practices" in financial literacy education. It is essential that our citizens develop the tools of good financial management. These are the tools that will allow them to build wealth to enrich their families and communities. They are also the tools that will protect themfrom fraud and exploitation. and. help them be more responsible with their finances. This is not just important for individuals and their families. it is important to our nation as a whole. Less debt. more savings and more investment will be the foundation of ou future economic success. Once again I thank my colleagues for bringing H. Res. 973 to the floor and urge its passage. E1962
Date: 2006-11-13
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. aker. I have serious concerns about estabng Permanent Normal Trade Relations TR) with Vietnam without mandating estial human rights protections. August. the Government of Vietnam ared and held a U.S. Citizen. Cong Thanh on false charges. Only with the efforts of ny U.S. officials was Mr. Do released. he Government of Vietnam arrested and risoned Mr. Do. a U.S. citizen. on false rges even when it was trying to convince U.S. Congress to grant permanent normal e relations. Vhat practices will the Government of Vietengage in when they are not trying to vince the U.S. Congress to pass PNTR? believe that had the Majority allowed us )le time for consideration and debate on TR. we may have been able to include crithuman rights protections. urge my colleagues to oppose this bill until icient time is granted to include necessary nan rights protections.
Date: 2006-11-13
Speaker: ZOE .OFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in opposition to granting permanent noirmal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam. Just two months ago. the Vietnamese government arrested my constituent. a U.S. citizen. Cong Thanh Do. Mr. Do had posted comments on the Internet while at home in San Jose. California advocating that Vietnam undergo a peaceful transition to a multiparty democracy. For exercising his U.S. Constitutional right of free speech. the Vietnamese arrested him and held him in prison for 38 days in Vietnam without charges. Other U.S. citizens have been imprisoned in Vietnam for what appear to be political reasons. including the sister of another one of my constituents. Thuong Nguyen "Cuc" Foshee. Although both are free today and back in America. I am concerned about hundreds of Vietnamese nationals as well as other U.S. citizens imprisoned in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government has repeatedly violated human rights. Hundreds of Vietnamese have been imprisoned. put under house arrest. or placed under intense surveillance for simply practicing their religion or speaking out about democracy and human rights in Vietnam. Following his return to the U.S.. Mr. Do provided me a disturbing list of over 130 Vietnamese nationals and U.S. citizens he believes are currently imprisoned in Vietnam as prisoners of conscience or harassed by the government for simply speaking about democracy and human rights. In addition. groups such as the Human Rights Watch have published reports of 355 Montagnard prisoners of conscience currently imprisoned in Vietnam. I am not alone in my concerns about Vietnams human rights record. The Department of State. the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Amnesty International. the Committee to Protect Journalists. and various VietnameseAmerican groups have documented egregious violations of religious freedom. human rights. and free speech in Vietnam. I have been a supporter of international� trade. But I also know that the Vietnamese Government would correct their behavior in order to perfect a trading relationship with the United States. Given the alarming human rights violations currently underway in Vietnam. it seems a mistake for our country to grant PNTR to.Vietnam without requiring that the Vietnamese Government make significant improvements in respecting human rights. free speech. and freedom of religion. The United States of America has a long and honorable tradition of safeguarding freedom and human rights throughout the world. especially with our trading partners. We should not make an exception for Vietnam. At a time when we are spending 8 to 10 billion dollars a month and shedding the blood of our American servicemen and women proclaiming the cause to be democracy for Iraq. how is it that we can fail to use our mere economic leverage to try to achieve human rights in Vietnam?
Date: 2006-11-14
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. for too long in this country Republicans have governed without a strong dedication to fiscal responsibility and without using the payasyougo method. The President and his friends here in Congress have squandered the Clinton administrations projected 10year surplus of $5.6 trillion and have put us into a projected deficit of $3.5 trillion.. Last Tuesday. the American people t01d the Republicans that enough is enough and demanded a change in the way that Congress does business. They voted in a Democratic majority to return our country to a path of strong fiscal responsibility and back to the payasyougo system. Madam Speaker. the current Republican leadership has incurred more foreign debt in these 6 years than the previous 42 Presidents combined incurred. When we assume the majority in January. Democrats are committed to fiscal responsibility. and we will reinstate payasyougo. working effectively as we did in the 1990s when President Clinton and the Congress balanced the budget.
Date: 2006-11-14
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 1245. the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act. or "Johannas Law." a bipartisan. commonsense measure that will help save the lives of thousands of American women -each year. Uterine cancer is the most common for of gynecologic cancer. and ovarian cancer is the deadliest. Unlike cervical cancer. there is no reliable early detection screening test for these cancers. This means that 80.000 women will be diagnosed with gynecologic cancers this year. and almost 30.000 will die because their illnesses were detected too late. Most women dont recognize the symptoms of gynecologic cancers. and many doctors initially misdiagnose them. Early detection is the key to successfil treatment of gynecologic cancers. We must do better. This bill will help save the lives and improve the health of our Nations mothers. wives and daughters. Johannas Law was named for the sister of one of my constituents from Hallandale. Florida. who lost her life to ovarian cancer. I want to congratulate Sheryl Silver and her family for their hard work. dedication. and commitment to saving the. lives of millions of American women. This bill will authorize millions of dollars in desperately needed funds to help raise awareness and increase knowledge about these cancers that will lead to early detection. effective treatment. and saved lives. Mr. Speaker. I am proud to join 256 of my colleagues as cosponsors of this importanut piece of legislation.
Date: 2006-11-15
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. last week the American people voted for change here in Washington. They were not happy with the party controlling both Capitol Hill and the White House. They want checks and balances. but more than anything. they want us to work together to address the concerns they face every day. The agenda that Democrats laid out over the last year is an agenda that all of us here in Washington should be able to support. If you want to help millions of hardworking Americans who have not received a pay raise in 9 years. you will join us in increasing the minimum raise in January. If you want to help more teenagers get a college education. you will join us in making it more affordable by cutting interest rates in half on college loans. This is the agenda that the American people supported last week when they went to the polls. In January. we will begin to implement this agenda. and I hope that our Republican colleagues will join us in this effort.
Date: 2006-12-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. within the first 100 hours of the next Congress. we will have the opportunity to pass six initiatives that should garner bipartisan support. First. we will increase the minimum wage for the first time in 9 years. Secondly. we will propose a tough ethics reform bill that finally addresses the link between the politicians and Washington lobbyists. Third. Democrats will make our Nation safer by implementing the nonpartisan 9/11 Commission recommendations. And we will move our Nation closer to energy independence by investing in critical biofuel research. Fifth. we will help millions of American families better afford college by cutting the loan interest rates in half. And finally. Democrats will fill in the doughnut hole so millions of American seniors no longer must choose between their drugs or their groceries. Within the first 100 hours. we will bring these six bold proposals to the House floor. and I am hopeful that they will be embraced by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Date: 2006-12-05
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. the cost of higher education in our country has been skyrocketing for far too long. And this year alone. the Republicans raised the student loan interest rates by up to 7 percent and cut $12 billion out of the higher education budget to pay for their tax cuts for the wealthy. Their policy of prioritizing the wealthiest 1 percent over average American families has backfired. Last month the American voters said "enough is enough" and voted for a Democratic majority in the Congress. after Democrats offered students and their families an end to the rise in student loan interest rates. We ran on a platform that makes higher education one of our top priorities. Mr. Speaker. Democrats will keep their promise to the American people. Within the first 100 hours of taking office in the next Congress. the Democrats will broaden college opportunities for all students because we believe if you want to go to college. we want to help you get there. Democrats will work hard to make a college education possible for all who want it here in the United States.
Date: 2006-12-05
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

The letter from the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence is dated December 5 of this year. and the letter from the law professor is dated December 4 of this year.
Date: 2006-12-05
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I will be brief. This bill. or its predecessor bill. H.R. 3369. was not approved when it was brought before the Congress in 2004. It was defeated. And the reason why I believe it was defeated was the concern that. although probably well intentioned. it provided liability relief from predators. from child molesters. Now. I believe the law professor when he did the analysis. And as the letter is in the record. he cites the cases and does a proper analysis that negligence that results in child molestation would be protected under this bill. We surely cannot be wanting to do that here as this Congress closes. Now. I have raised this issue in committee. I was. frankly. rather shocked to see this bill on the Suspension Calendar. As Mr. CONYERS has mentioned. we have not had a wonderful record here in the 109th Congress of doing the right thing to protect children from sexual predators. Lets not compound that problem by enacting this bill today. I urge all of us to vote against it. And I will say also that in the 110th Congress we should work in a proper way to achieve the goals of supporting Little League and the other organizations. while not letting down the children of our Nation and letting them be victimized by child molesters and sexual predators.
Date: 2006-12-06
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise today to talk about a project that a student in our district is participating in. Emily Leal is a first grade student and an excellent student at Roosevelt Elementary School and contacted me about the Flat Stanley project. Roosevelt is a recognized school for dts quality and also happens to be the elementary school in our district that I went to. This national project. originally designed -by Arthur Brown in his book. Flat Stanley. encourages communication and education among children around the world. Students make a Flat Stanley and start a journal for him. Then he is sent around to schools. professionals. persons in different geographic locations where Flat Stanley is treated as a guest for a few days and this journal is completed. Flat Stanley and his journal are then returned to the original student who can plot his travels and share the journal for educational purposes with his or her fellow students. Since Emilys first grade class is participating in this project. she isa constituent of mine. and she chose to send Flat Stanley to me so he can visit the floor of Congress in Washington. DC. Before I return Flat Stanley to Emily this next week. I am going to bring him to the House floor where Americas elected officials participate in democracy. I hope that Flat Stanley will have a safe trip back with me to our district and that Emilys class enjoys reading about his visit to Congress.
Date: 2006-12-06
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of S. 843. the Combating Autism Act of 2006. As a longtime supporter and friend of the autism community. I am pleased that this bipartisan legislation is before the full House today. Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder that usually strikes sometime within the first two years of a childs life. It can cause severe impairment in language. cognition and communication. The statistics on autism are staggering. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. one in every 166 children is affected by autism. Autism is one of the fastestgrowing developmental disabilities in the United States. There has been significant progress in recent years increasing autism research dollars at the National Institutes of Health. as well as surveillance and public health funding at the CDC. Current research indicates that autism has a strong genetic component and may be triggered by environmental factors. But much more needs to be done. We need to redouble our effort to find a cure and improved intervention techniques. That is why I am proud to be a cosponsor of the House version of the Combating Autism Act. The legislation before us today would authorize increased funding at the NIH for autism research programs as well as expand screening. intervention and education programs within the Federal Government. It is important that we promote funding for autism research in order to identify the best methods of early intervention and treatment. That is why I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.