macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. last Thursday. I introduced the New Employee Verification Act. its H.R. 5515. This proposal will achieve three important objectives: one. ensure a legal workforce. two. safeguard workers identity. and three. protect Social Security. Effective work site enforcement is essential to securing our borders. Reforming work site enforcement will affect millions of workers. and it must be done immediately and done right. Having an effective safeguard in place will allow us to have a rational debate about the number of workers we need to legally enter our Nation. My bill has a mandatory component that builds off of what weve learned from current EVerify. I also have a component that helps prevent identity theft through the creation of a voluntary system to authenticate and safeguard workers identities. This bill has strong support in the employer community. I look forward to working with both sides of the aisle to see this bill signed into law.
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Madam Speaker. I yield myself the balance of my time. Although the reauthorization of AmeriCorps certainly is an important matter and one that deserves our attention. I must express my disappointment that the majority decided to take up this legislation before we finish our work on bipartisan legislation to protect Americans from .international terrorism. On February 14. the majority decided to leave Washington to take a Presidents Day recess and allowed the Protect America Act to expire 2 days later. rendering U.S. intelligence officials unable to begin new terrorist surveillance without cumbersome bureaucratic hurdles. Because of the inaction of the majority. the United States is more vulnerable to terrorist attack. This didnt have to happen. Madam Speaker. Earlier last month. the Senate passed. by a bipartisan vote. rbally an extraordinary vote of 6829. a bill updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. FISA. a bill that the chairman. Democratic chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said. and I quote. "is the right way to go in. terms of the security of the Nation." We could have easily considered that legislation. but the majority in the House instead decided to head home. The House should vote on the Senate measure. and the House should vote on the Senate measure now. Madam Speaker. we must always try to stay one step ahead of those who wish to harm Americans. Now is not the time to in any way tie the hands of our intelligence community. The modernization of the foreign intelligence surveillance is a critical national security priority. I am pleased that several of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle also agree. On January 28. 21 members of the Blue Dog Coalition. Democrats. sent a letter to the distinguished Speaker in support of the Senate RockefellerBond FISA legislation. The letter states. and I quote. "The RockefellerBond FISA legislation contains satisfactory language addressing all these issues. and we fully support that measure. should it reach the House floor without substantial change. We believe these components will ensure a strong national security apparatus that can thwart terrorism across the globe and save American lives here in our country." Today. I will give all Members of the House an opportunity to vote on the bipartisan longterm modernization of FISA. I call on all my colleagues. including the members of the Blue Dog Coalition that signed the letter to the distinguished Speaker. to join with me in defeating the previous question so that we can immediately move to concur in the Senate amendment and send the bill to the President to be signed into law. I remind My colleagues that defeating the previous question will not prohibit consideration of the underlying legislation being brought to the floor today. the GIVE Act. but would merely require that we first take a vote on FISA modernization. Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to have the text of the amendment and extraneous material inserted into the RECORD prior to the. vote on the previous question.
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I urge. my colleagues to vote "-no" on the previous question and in favor of a bipartisan longterm solution that helps protect American lives from international terrorism. With that. Madam Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. it is unfortunate the gentleman has raised this point of order rather than allowing a straight upordOwn vote on the Senatepassed FISA legislation. Let me speak specifically to the point of order and why. in fact. this motion to recommit is in order. The underlying purpose of the germaneness rule is that it "prevents the presentation to the House of propositions that might not reasonably be anticipated and for which it might not be properly prepared." I cite to 8 Cannon. section 2993. That is clearly not the case here in that this body has dealt extensively with the subject matter of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. And. in fact. we were informed by the majority that we were to be prepared to vote on that this week.
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. despite the difference in titles of H.R. 2857 and H.R. 3773 relating to the motion. that is not controlling under DeschlerBrown. chapter 28. section 24. As a matter of fact. it refers to the fundamental purpose of the motion. The fundamental purpose of this motion does relate to H.R. 2857. as required by sections 935 and 936 of the House manual. The report on H.R. 2857 from the gentlemans committee states clearly in its statement of purpose of the bill found on page 57 of that report that the legislation seeks to emphasize. and I quote. "the critical role of service in meeting the national priorities of emergency and disaster preparedness. and improves program integrity." That is from the report on the bill from the gentlemans committee. In other words. the critical issue of homeland security provides the required nexus between the subject matters of H.R. 2857 and the motions as required under sections 935 and 936 of the House manual. Further. I would argue. it is clear that the subject matter requirements of section 935 and 936 of the House manual are satisfied. A specific section of the legislation brought to the floor by the gentlemans committee relating to "Emergenci and Disaster Preparedness" provides on page 71 of the gentlemans committee report that "H.R. 2857 supports the role of service in addressing emergency and disaster preparedness." These are the words from the gentlemans committees report. "In addition. this program may engage Federal. State. and local stakeholders to collaborate to achieve a more effective response to issue public safety. public health. emergencies and disasters."
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I was attempting to specify the germaneness. quoting specifically from the language of the committee report justifying support for this bill. I did not bring up public safety. public health. emergencies and disasters and effective response thereto. That is the premise contained in the bill and the committee report. EJ 1415 Mr. Speaker. if we are to be able to respond to public safety. emergencies. and disasters. it does not limit it in the language of the gentlemans committee report to natural disasters. It therefore includes manmade disasters. of which we are very. very cognizant. And 9/11 is perhaps the greatest example. So the bill itself justifies its existence in that the individuals. under the ambit of the bill. to support responses for public safety. public health. emergencies. and disasters are affected in very specific ways by our capacity. our capacity. to determine beforehand what the nature of the disasters and emergencies would be and therefore allow us to array our individuals under this bill in concert. as is stated by the gentlemans report. to collaborate with Federal. State. and local stakeholders. In that way my amendment is very much germane to the main purpose of the bill and the specifics of the bill. Finally. the language of H.R. 2857 emphasizes the ability to deploy the National Civilian Community Corps to emergencies and disasters. It does not limit it to natural emergencies or disasters. therefore including terrorist attacks.
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. the gentleman says. with some humor in his voice. that we ought not to be considering the question of wiretapping. That is not the question we bring before us today. The question we bring before of us today and why this is germane is whether or not we have the ability to listen in on those who would kill us and therefore prepare for these disasters before they occur and. more than that. prevent them.
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. to suggest that intelligence gathered to prevent disaster has nothing to do with the ability of those we are asking under this bill to respond to disaster reminds one of the comment in literature years ago when one was confronted with the incongruity of the law and that person responded by saying: The law. sir. is an ass. I would not suggest we are at that point here. but I would suggest this: for anyone to say that. to blind ourselves to the information that would allow us to prevent disasters and prepare for the disasters. to say that that is irrelevant to the debate today shows how irrelevant the debate today is to the needs of the people of the State of California. the Nation. and. frankly. our allies. It is germane. Mr. Speaker.
Date: 2008-03-06
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. after thousands of kidnappings and murders inside Colombia carried out by the terrorist organization known by its initials as FARC. Colombia finally had enough. And when it learned that key heads of the terrorist group that were being givenf sanctuary inside Ecuador by the government of that country. when Colombia learned that the terrorists were 1.800 meters from Colombia. Colombia decided to strike. It did so from Colombian airspace. And. in fact. the FARC shot at the Colombian Air Force. which permitted the Colombian Air Force to pinpoint the exact spot where the FARC terrorists were. where they had been. and from where they were attacking Colombia. Colombia struck. and the secondranking FARC terrorist head. Luis Edgar DeviaSilva. alias Raul Reyes. was killed. Reyes was killed along with approximately 20 other terrorists. Unfortunately. one brave Colombian soldier fighting in defense of freedom. Carlos Hernandez Leon. was also killed during the operation. It is as tragic as it is condemnable. It is. in fact. criminal for the Governments of Ecuador and Venezuela to provide sanctuary for terrorists who systemically commit murder and kidnappings inside Colombia. and then those terrorists return to Venezuelan and Ecuadorian soil. President Bush and the United States of America have stood by and are firmly standing by our great democratic ally and friend Colombia and its twice overwhelmingly elected President Alvaro Uribe. Unfortunately. that is not the case with much of the rest of our hemisphere. I commend President Bush for his steadfast support of our great ally President Uribe. Now. Mr. Speaker. it is time for this Congress to act. We need to renew and to increase our security aid to Colombia. which has been known for a decade as Plan Colombia. and the majority leadership of this Congress must immediately schedule a vote on U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. an agreement that is in the interest both of the American and the Colombian peoples. The majority leadership of this House must stop preventing a vote on the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The position on that critical issue of the majority leadership of this Congress is petty and is ultimately irresponsible. The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee was quoted recently as saying. referring to trips that Members of Congress have been taking to Colombia to find out for themselves how the Free Trade Agreement would affect our. two countries: "It is not the facts on the ground that are important. it is the politics in the air." How sad. Mr. Speaker. How sad. It is time for this Congress to send a clear sign of support and solidarity to our good friend Colombia. It is time to stop blocking the FTA with Colombia and for the majority leadership of Congress to schedule a vote on the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia now.
Date: 2008-03-11
Speaker: DAVID DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Tennessee

With -gas prices soaring to alltime high records. families in east Tennessee and all across America are struggling to make their ends meet. The Democratic budget resolution fails to meet the test of fiscal responsibility miserably. Instead of exercising fiscal restraint and lowering taxes. the Democrat budget raises taxes by over $683 billion over the course of 5 years. You heard me correctly. $683 billion over the next 5 years. This is the largest tax increase in American history. and it blows away the previous tax increase record in 1993 by $443 billion. Families in east Tennessee will be forced to pay over $2.611 in new taxes because of the Democrat budget. I am supporting the Republican budget which addresses the bloated government in Washington. lowers taxes on struggling citizens and families. addresses the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare. and reins in the outofcontrol spending here in Washington. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the fiscally responsible Republican budget.
Date: 2008-03-11
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate Village Health Partners of Plano. Texas. for receiving the 2007 Davies Award of Excellence by the Health Care Information and Management System Society. Since 1994. the Davies Award has nationally recognized excellence in the use of health information technology. Dr. Christopher Crow and his partners decided to use technology to revolutionize how they practiced medicine. It took their office 3 short months to go from paper charts to completely paperfree. Using this technology has given these doctors the tools to track the quality of care they provide their patients. In just 1 year these physicians have seen the dramatic impact this technology has had on the lives of their patients. As all of my colleagues know. our health care system is in need of some serious reform. and I believe that bringing every doctors office. hospital. and medical record into the 21st century is a great start. Just look at the success that we have had in Plano. As Congress continues to debate health care reform. I look forward to working with my colleagues on proposals that will encourage more of the health care industry to join the technology revolution. The time is now.
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Is it true that the rule that was the subject of the motion of the gentleman from Ohio with respect to not holding a vote open for the purpose of changing votes was adopted by this Congress at the beginning of this Congress?
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. further parliamentary inquiry. Is it true that that rule was. in fact. a separate title and voted separately by this House by a vote of 4300?
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. further parliamentary inquiry. Consistent with the rulings of the Chair last night. is it true that the only enforcement mechanism of that rule adopted by this House is a privileged resolution such as offered by the gentleman from Ohio?
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Further parliamentary inquiry. Mr. Speaker. If such a privileged resolution is tabled. as was just done by this body. is it true that there is no alternative enforcement mechanism?
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Is it true. Mr. Speaker. that if individual Members brought such motion seriatim that that would not be considered dilatory but. rather. within the authority of each Member of this House as a separate and individual Member of this House?
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. further parliamentary inquiry. Is the enforcement mechanism referred to previously. exercised by the gentleman from Ohio. also available to other individual Members of this House?
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. there are only two ways to balance a budget. whether its your family budget or the Federal budget. You can either spend less. or you can increase the amount of money coming inV The majority. as reflected in their budget. have flat out rejected option one and have chosen higher spending. higher taxes. and an evergrowing Federal Government. The Republicans have chosen what I believe is a more responsible approach by committing to spending less and letting workers. families and small businesses keep more of their hardearned income to save. invest. and spend as they see fit. While Republicans have faith in the ability of families and workers to decide how best to use their paychecks. the majority budget reflects their belief that the Federal Government can make better choices at spending money than individual Americans. And thats really a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans. In order for the majority to fund their government spending. their budget raises taxes. Mr. Speaker. by twothirds of a trillion dollars over the next 5 years. Let me repeat that. twothirds of a trillion dollars. Now. you can call this a tax increase or you can call it letting tax cuts expire. but the bottom line is that under the Democrats budget every American will pay more of their paycheck to the Federal Government. Although the majority will try to claim otherwise. the numbers in their own budget document show that taxes will increase nearly three times more under their budget than the largest enacted tax increase to date. in history. making this the largest tax increase in American history. While the majority claims that their budget will protect middleclass families. their budget numbers tell a different story. Under the massive tax increases in the majoritys budget. the average taxpayer in the State of Florida. for example. will see their annual tax bill rise over $3.000. The majoritys budget does not extend tax relief from the marriage tax penalty. This means approximately 48 million married couples will face an average tax increase of $3.000 a year. It does not extend the $1.000 tax credit that many young families use. The majoritys budget would cut that credit in half. It doesnt extend the State sales tax deductibility fairness. The majoritys budget. Mr. Speaker. even manages to resurrect the death tax. It doesnt fix the alternative minimum -tax for middleclass families. It does not protect those who pay the lowest tax rate either. It would again impose taxes on six million lower income Americans who now pay no taxes thanks to the 2001 tax relief law passed by Congress. Mr. Speaker. in order to boost our economy to incentivize growth. increase investment in the United States and create jobs. Congress should not be raising taxes by the largest amount in history. This critically important tax relief should not be repealed or allowed to expire to pay for the majoritys spending plan. It should be made permanent. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. it is my privilege to yield 7 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin. ranking member of the Budget Committee. in my view. the premier economic mind in the Congress of the United States
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself the balance of my time. On February 14. the majority decided to leave Washington to take a Presidents Day recess and allowed the Protect America Act to expire 2 days later. rendering U.S. intelligence officials unable to begin new terrorist surveillance without cumbersome bureaucratic hurdles. At the end of this week. the House and Senate plan to adjourn for a 2week district work period. Therefore.we only have a few days left to address one very important issue. and that is taking action on permanently modernizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This didnt have to happen. Mr. Speaker. In February. the Senate passed. by a bipartisan vote of 6829. legislation updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. FISA. a bill that the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said "is the right way to go. in terms of the security of the Nation." We could have easily considered that legislation. But -the majority. instead. decided to head .home. And they may just do that again this week. The House should vote on the Senate measure. and we should do it now. We must always stay one step ahead of those who wish harm on Americans. Now is not the time to. in any way. tie the hands of our intelligence community. The modernization of foreign intelligence surveillance into the 21st century is a critical national security priority. I am pleased that several of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle agree. On January 28. 21 members of the Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter to the Speaker in support of the Senate FISA legislation. The letter states. "The RockefellerBond FISA legislation contains satisfactory language addressing all these issues and we would fully support that measure should it reach the House flogr without substantial change. We believe these compo-" nents will ensure a strong national security apparatus that can thwart terrorism around the globe and save American lives here in our country." Today. I will give all Members of the House an opportunity to vote on the bipartisan. longterm modernization of FISA. I call on all my colleagues. including members of the Blue Dog Coalition that signed the letter to the Speaker. to join with me in defeating the previous question so that we can immediately move to concur in the Senate amendment and send the bill to the President to be signed into law. I will remind my colleagues that defeating the previous question will not prohibit consideration of the budget. but would merely require that we first take a vote on FISA. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to have the text of the amendment and extraneous material inserted into the RECORD prior to the vote on the previous question.
Date: 2008-03-12
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I urge my colleagues to vote "no" on the previous question and in favor of a bipartisan permanent solution that helps protect American lives from international terrorism. With that. I yield back the balance of my time.