macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-02-15
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

What has happened to that js we made a promise to the country. We put it out in the bill. We negotiated with the President of the United States. And now what wefind is in this budget the President is about $55 billion behind where he promised tle country he would be on the funding of No Child Left Behind. What is interesting is. while the President is creating those deficits in education funding. the private sector is telling us one of the key items in terms of economic growth in this country is to fully fund No Child Left Behind. They are not telling us. theFederal Government. to create 100.000 new scientists. They are saying we want to partner with you. We will employ these people in internships in summer jobs. in graduate jobs. fulltime jobs. We want to work with you because it is so critical to the future growth of our companies. These are some of the most successful companies in the history of the world. They are worried about whether or not America will be able to generate the workforce necessary so they can continue to do business in this country and we can have jobs in this country. And what happens? The President says he wants to do it in the State of the Union. It is not in this budget. and the new majority leader slams the program as simply more spending: This was not our agenda. This was not partisan. We specifically laid this out as a challenge to this Congress. to 435 Members of Congress to take up what the private sector now has been telling them for years to do with the permanent extension of modernization of the R&D tax credits. the full funding of No Child Left Behind. the doubling of the National Science Foundatioh. maintaining the doubling of the National Institute of Health. to get broadband across this country so that economic growth can take. place all over the country in the rural areas. people can start jobs. and education can be brought there. And what do we find out? You just get a big partisan slam from the Republican side of the aisle. Most of the CEOs who helped us draft this program and consulted with us in Boston and in California and in Austin and in North Carolina are Republicans. But they can see the challenge of what China and India that Mr. RYAN just talked about. The trend line for American scientists and engineers is going down. in our most fierce competitors it is soaring up.
Date: 2006-02-15
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

And that is what this is about. We have lost a huge number of manufacturing jobs overseas. We have lost other jobs overseas. This is a fight and a struggle to make sure that there will be new jobs created in America. I think it is called the Advanced Manufacturing Association. many people out of the Midwest. in Mr. RYANs area who are worried about the next generation of manufacturing in this country. That is going to come through scientific discovery and innovation. and that is what we are trying to promote here. and what you get from the Republicans is "we are not going there."
Date: 2006-02-16
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of this resolution to condemn the Iranian government for violating its international nonproliferation obligations and to support efforts to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council. Last week. the 35nation Internationdl Atomic Energy Agencys. IAEA. Board of Governors overwhelmingly -voted to report Iran to the U.N. "Security Council. an important step in the international effort to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. Iran has made clear its plans to enrich uranium by building its centrifuge program and constructing a heavywater reactor which could provide plutonium for nuclear weapons. Additionally. the IAEA revealed that Iran was in possession of a document describing the procedure for fabricating uranium metal and casting it into hemispheres. which form the core of a nuclear weapon. Following the vote on the resolution. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered Irans nuclear commission to end its cooperation with the IAEA and begin fullscale production of enriched uranium. which can be used to build nuclear weapons. The thought of Iran with a nuclear weapon is a frightening one. and if this issue is not addressed promptly Iran will soon have the ability and materials to produce such weapons. Nuclear proliferation. alone is a threat to American interests and security. nuclear proliferation to a country with a radical Islamic leader who has supported terrorism is an even more immediate threat. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to condemn Irans decision to advance its nuclear program and to urge the U.N. Security Council to address this issue at once.
Date: 2006-02-16
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. last week. like so many Members. I attended the funeral celebration of Coretta Scott King. Her words: Struggle is a neverending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation. And. of course. President Carter was profound when he talked about the face of racism. and that face is the face of the Katrina victims. As we take a look at the devastation. manmade devastation that this administration. the Bush administration have. as the report says. it is no question they did not do a good job in the past. But we are not talking about the past. We are talking about the present. We are talking about 6 months later. here and now. and the Bush administration is missing in action. But the sad thing is that the leadership in this House. the leadership in the other body is also missing in action. We have failed the people of the United States in the Peoples House.
Date: 2006-02-28
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor the 1966 Texas Western Mens Basketball Team. Their NCAA championship victory over Kentucky forever changed college athletics. Even though it had been over a decade since Brown v. Board of Education. many colleges had lagged behind on implementing integration into their athletics programs. In 1966. college basketball players were often recruited on the basis of their skin color rather than playing ability. Texas Western coach Bob Haskins did not succumb to pressures to start his White players. He simply played his best players regardless of skin color. This resulted in the first time an allBlack starting lineup participated in a major athletic championship contest. The impact was felt throughout the country when littleknown Texas Western upset legendary allWhite Kentucky. Perhaps most important in this victory was the stereotypes and misconceptions that were broken down. For many. the assumption remained that Black players would not be skilled or smart enough to successfully compete against White players. Bob Haskins and Texas. Western proved on a national stage that Black players can win and are as smart and talented as their White counterparts. The 1966 Texas Western mens basketball team opened the doors for schools that had stalled in implementing integration policies into their athletics programs. breaking down barriers and forever changing college athletics.
Date: 2006-02-28
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 1259. which recognizes the Tuskegee Airmen for their exemplary performance during World War II. apd for paving the way for full integration of the U.S. military. I commend Mr. RANGEL for H.R. 1259. which recognizes the Tuskegee Airmen with a Congressional Gold Medal. The Tuskegee Airmen were the Nations first AfricanAmerican fighter pilots at a time when many people thought that African American men lacked intelligence. skill. courage. and patriotism to become pilots. In spite of adversity and limited opportunities. the Tuskegee Airmen defied stereotypes and played a significant role in U.S. military history. The first Tuskegee Airmen aviation class began in July 1941 and completed training March 1942. African American navigators. bombardiers. gunnery crews. maintenance. instructors. and mechanics were trained to be members of the 332nd Fighter group. The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice. Nine hundred and ninetyfour pilots received commissions and pilot wings. Four hundred and fifty pilots served overseas in North Africa. Sicily and Italy. The Tuskegee Airmen combat record is impressive. including 66 pilots killed in action. 32 pilots captured. no bombers lost while being escorted by the 332nd. a unique achievement. 111 German airplanes were destroyed in the air. and 150 German airplanes were destroyed on the ground. The Tuskegee Airmen proved conclusively that African Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen received numerous honors. including: 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. 850 Medals. 14 Bronze Stars. and 9 Purple Hearts. By the end of World War II. the 332nd became one of the most highly respected fighter squadron despite prejudice and social equality. The Tuskegee Airmens achievements must be remembered in the spirit of the heroicAir Force role in the global war on terrorism. With this in mind. I stand today to support H.R. 1259 to express the sense of Congress that the U.S. Air Force should never forget the courage of the TuskegeeAirmen by honoring them with a Congressional Gold Medal.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. I am very proud to join my colleagues today to honor a woman who not only contributed immensely to American jurisprudence. but also showed tremendous courage and perseverance in finding her way to the top of the legal field at a time when the legal field was virtually closed to women. Justice Sandra Day OConnor graduated magna cum laude in 1950 with a bachelors degree in economics from Stanford University.. my alma mater. In just 2 years. instead of the usual 3 years. Justice OConnor graduated third in her class at Stanford Law School in 1952 at a time. as the chairman has said. when only 4 percent of law school graduates were women. . Despite her impressive law school record and obvious talent.. Justice OConnor could not find a single law firm that would give her a job after graduation. but that did not deter her. She heard that San Mateo County in California. the county just to the north of my home. had once hired a female attorney and so she decided to go there in search of her first legal job. but she learned that there was not enough funding in place or a place in the office for her to work. That did not deter her. She wrote a long letter explaining why she should be hired afid offered to start work for free. She placed her desk in the same area where the secretaries sat. She got the job and before long a paid position opened up and she took it. Justice OConnors perseverance did not end there. She went on to become an assistant attorney general for Arizona. She was appointed and later elected to the Arizona State senate. elected as a county judge. and appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. Justice OConnor has been a leader for women in many ways. She became the first woman to serve asthe majority leader of the Arizona State senate and the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. paving the way and opening the door for the next generation of women to substantively participate in the field of law. In fact. I feel. as a lawyer myself. a debt of gratitude to. Justice OConnor for the groundbreaking path that she laid for all of us who followed. But let us not forget that she was not. only a symbol of hope for aspiring women lawyers all around the Nation. but she has also been a powerful contributor to our American jurisprudence. often the pivotal fifth vote on some of the most important issues in modern American history that came before the U.S. Supreme Court. I strongly urge my colleagues in the House to uranimously approve this resolution honoring this extraordinary woman. and I look for~vard to a unanimous vote of support by the House of Representatives. Madam Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support ofH. Res. 357. honoring fellow Texan and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor. As the first woman inducted into the Supreme Court. Sandra Day OConnor broke through gender barriers and a glass ceiling that had existed for almost two centuries. Her outstanding. service to America and the Supreme Court serves as a role model not only to women. but to anyone who was told they couldnt do a job based on bias and neg-. ative perception. Throughout her life. Justice OConnor continually rose above prejudiceforming her own law firm when no one would hire her. and becoming the first woman to hold the position of majority leader in the Arizona State Senate. Sandra Day OConnor became one of the most powerful women in U.S. History. Instead of rebelling against a maledominated society. Justice OConnor sought to change the world by working within the system. Her decisions on controversial cases such as abortion. affirmative action. the death penalty. and religious freedom have changed the American landscape and will continue to impact us far into the future. I commend Justice OConnor for her years of service and for serving as a role model for so many Americans.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume for one final statement. In summary. Mr. Speaker. I would like to restate to a certain extent some of what the chairman has said: that the NAACP has accomplished great things for this country. The NAACP was involved in passing the Civil Rights Acts of 1957. 1960. and 1964. The NAACP was there to fight and help pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. the Fair Housing Act of 1968. and the NAACP filed and won Shelly v. Cramer. as well.as Barrows v. Jackson. outlawing restrictive covenants. The NAACP filed and won Brown v. Board of Education. integrating schools and. to a certain extent. integrating society. And. .Mr. Speaker. if truth be told. we are schooled where we are schooled. we work where we work. we sleep where we sleep. we eat where we eat. and we live where we live in great measure due to the NAACP. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor the National Association for the Advancement of Colored. People on its 97th anniversary. Following the violent race riots in Springfield. IL. in 1909. Ida WellsBarnett. W.E.B. DuBois. Henry Moscowitz. Mary White Ovington. Oswald Garrison Villiard. and William English Walling came together inNew York to form one of the oldest. largest and most influential civil rights organizations in America. These founders came together with the purpose of promoting and fully recognizing the rights and equality given under the 13th. 14th. and 15th amendments to the Constitutioh Today. the NAACP works to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination. The NAACP has influenced some of the greatest civil rights victories of the last century. including: integration of schools and the Brown v. Board decision. the Voting Rights Act. striking down segregation and Jim Crow. H466 CO the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. and hundreds of communityand grassroots initiatives. Despite the advancements of the past 97 years under the leadership of the NAACP. there is still much work to be done. In the Black community we continue to see disproportionate numbers of AfricanAmericans that experience poverty. unemployment. and economic and social inequality. The NAACP continues to promote new ideas and leadership in the fields of educational and employ-. ment opportunities. ending health care disparities. and economic empowerment.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. first of all. let me say that in committee today we had the U.S. Coast Guard. and I want to commend them because after 9/11. they were the first agency within minutes to be on guard. guarding our bridges. And. in fact. after Katrina they were there and they did a yeomans job. In fact. out of Homeland Security. FEMA. and the other agencies. it is the Coast Guard that really does a good job. The administrations decision to allow the stateowned Dubai Ports to take over six major U.S. ports has bought the issue of port security to the forefront of national attention. Since September 1.1. in fact. I have been lobbying th&.Bush administration for additional security funds for our Nations ports and other areas of our Nations infrastructure. such as freight and passenger rail. our subway systems. buses. tunnels and bridges. They also need security. To me. this funding is particularly needed in my State of Florida whose 14 major ports serve as a key gateway into the United States. Moreover. these ports play a crucial role in transportation. of ammunition. supplies and military equipment to our men and women fighting all over the world. The Bush administration has been -telling the American public that they are -checking. let us say. about 4 percent of the cargo that comes into the ports. But. in reality. they are only checking the manifests that list the inventory of the ships. Now. I think the American people are smart enough to know that if you are reading a piece of paper provided by the shippers and what is passing for port security in this Nation. then we are all in a lot of trouble. In addition. the administrations concentration of terrorist prevention funds in only the aviation industry has jeopardized the safety of other modes of transportation as well. For example. TSA is spending $4.4 billion alone on aviation security while only $36 million. let me repeat. $36 million is spent on all surface transportation security. And with respect to our Nations ports. which serve as the main economic engine for many of the areas in which they are found. an attack would not only be extremely dangerous. for the local citizens. but economically disastrous as well. This is absolutely the wrong time for our government to make a decision that could give the impression of vulnerability in the security of our ports or our infrastructure system as a whole. The increased attention on our Nations security infrastructure has come to the urface on the heels of the possible Dubai sale. I hope that the mass resistance to the sale will at least bring a discussion of the importance of increasing funding for our Nations infrastructure- secuiity in the near future. In other words. security discussions should serve as a "stand up" for our Nations security. I repeat. I hope this is a "stand up" for our Nations security.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It is good to be back with my 30something friends and to engage in this dialogue. What we have been asking for months is. where is the outrage? Where was the outrage about issue after issue that has come to light -since Hurricane Katrina wreaked the devastation that it did? I mean. just by way of example. in the Davis committee report that was just issued. where were the top White House officials on the day Katrina struck? Now. we knew in advance of Katrina. and I live in south Florida. where the hurricane center is. We had days of watching Katrina approach the gulf coast. So it. is not like we did not know a category five hurricane was approaching the gulf coast. On the day Katrina struck. President Bush. we know. was on vacation in Crawford. Texas. Vice President CHENEY. a little known fact. was fly fishing at his ranch in Wyoming. This was on the day Katrina struck. Chief of Staff Andrew Card was vacationing at -his lakefront summer home in Maine. and Homeland Security adviser Francis Townsend was also vacationing in Maine. Now. why would they leave a relatively junior official in charge of the situation room in the White House when you have a cat five hurricane bearing down on probably -what -they knew. they knew. was the most vulnerable region in the country when it came to hurricane preparedness and what they knew would likely be the aftermath? Why did President Bush and other top administration officials insist that the levees did not break flntil Tuesday when now we know. with the Davisreport and with Mr. Browns revelation. that he told them the day Katrina struck. the night that Katrina struck?
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I know what the House rules are. and I know what they constrain us from doing. but they knev. And that is what Michael Brown testified. They knew. He told them. And now he is free from the constraints from working for the administration. and let us acknowledge that the four of us have been fairly critical of Mr. Brown. We meted out our own share of criticism of his performance. But now that he has been freed of his ties to the administration. and we all acknowledge that when you work for an administration. unfortunately. sadly. with this administration in particular. loyalty to your dying day is supposed to be the most valuable. particularly if they are continuing to sign your paycheck. He made it clear when they were no longer signing his paycheck. 60 days after he was supposedly no longer with the Department. that he issued -warning after wafning to Secretary Chertoff. to the President. He indicated that he personally spoke with the President.and told him that there was a levee break. that there was significant damage and he sounded the alarm bells. And the President was on vacation in Crawford. Texas. The Vice President was fly fishing in Wyoming. Homeland Security adviser Francis. Townsend was in Maine. and his chief of staff was at home in Maine.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Indifference. incompetence. corruption. cronyism. it is all a consistent pattern. One would think when they got hit hard in the face with tije criticism and the visceral reaction of the American people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the response to their indifference that they. would learn. But now. no. They were not just surprised. but astonished at the American peoples reaction to their indifference on this port deal. I mean. you go from one thing to the other. The indifference and the callous disregard for what the American peoples needs are in terms of security in a natural disaster or a potential manmade disaster. Their indifference and insensitivity is just astonishing.
Date: 2006-03-01
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. reclaiming my time. I look forward to that. and I appreciate the gentlemans comments. I have legislation that I have introduced just today that your colleague from Texas. Mr. POE. has joined me on that would prohibit foreigngovernmentowned companies from owning terminal operating companies. I would love to have you as a cosponsor of that legislation. I hope you lead your conference beyond this port deal and your opposition to it to trying to shore up the port security at our Nations ports. because unfortunately. your party has been less than supportive of trying to do that. I appreciate you being willing to engage in some dialogue with us. Thank you so much.