macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-02-11
Speaker: SHEILA JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I am pleased to join my colleagues of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in this important Special Order on voting rights protection and expansion for every American. I would like to thank Congresswoman BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN for convening this evenings Special Order and for her dedicated leadership on critical issues impacting children and families. including this evenings topic of voting rights. Fiftyone years ago. President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and because of that law. I stand before you as Congresswoman SHEILA JACKSON LEE. the first African American woman Ranking Member of the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. Terrorism. Homeland Security. and Investigations. We are here today not just to commemorate the landmark achievement of 51 years ago but to redouble and rededicate our efforts to the work that remains to be done to protect the right of all Americans to vote free from discrimination and the injustices that prevent them from exercising this most fundamental right of citizenship. On August 6. 1965. in the Rotunda of the Capitol and in the presence of such luminaries as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.. Roy Wilkins of the NAACP. Whitney Young of the National Urban League. James Foreman of the Congress of Racial Equality. A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Por-
Date: 2016-02-11
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material.
Date: 2016-02-11
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I am honored to be here tonight as a proud member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. known as the NAACP. I am a member. and I am a life member. and I believe that the NAACP has had a profound impact upon my life. Hence. tonight. I am going to talk about the NAACP as I am also the person who is the sponsor of the original NAACP resolution for 2016. In doing this. I want to praise the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. the NAACP. on this. its 107th anniversary. This resolution has 24 cosponsors. I thank all of them. I also thank the whip for allowing us this time to talk about the NAACP and to extoll many of its virtues. I thank all of the leadership for the opportunity. Mr. Speaker. this is the llth time that we have introduced a resolution to honor the NAACP. It is the oldest civil rights organization in the United States of America. We introduced it first in 2006. and it was passed in the House by a voice vote and in the Senate by unanimous consent. When it passed in the House in 2006. it did not do so because of our help alone-"our help" meaning the Congressional Black Caucus. I want you to know. Mr. Speaker. that Mr. JAMES SENSENBRENNER. who was the chairperson of the Judiciary Committee at the time. was there to help us get this amendment passed. I have talked on the floor about the White side of Black history.
Date: 2016-02-11
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentleman especially for taking to the floor tonight and sharing his views on the NAACP. I also especially thank him for the good work that he has done in the Congress of the United States of America. He has served his constituents well. and he should be saluted. Mr. Speaker. it has been said that if we did not have the NAACP. we would have to create it. That is just how vital it is to the American system of justice. It is not an official arm of the American system of justice. but it is an aid to justice in this country such that people expect the NAACP to be there under certain circumstances and in certain places. This gets us back to Flint. People expected the NAACP to be there. and the NAACP was there. As I continue. Mr. Speaker. permit me to ask how much time is remaining?
Date: 2016-02-11
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. in consuming this time. let me continue to point out some of the things that the NAACP has within its 15point priority plan. Number five is that all Flint residents must be provided federally funded replacements for their damaged systems and appliances. What they are saying and what the NAACP is saying is simply this: There are some appliances that have been so damaged that they cannot continue to use these appliances. As a result. they have to be replaced. These are people not of great means. and any help that they can get to maintain a good quality of life should be afforded them. The NAACP has indicated that fairness and justice must be examined in rate hikes and in continued billing for poisonous water. I heard Mr. CUMMINGS make this point at a hearing. He made the point that people are still paying water bills for water that they cant drink. That was at the hearing. I am not sure what the situation is now. My understanding is that persons are still getting water in bottles. but are they still paying their water bills?
Date: 2016-02-11
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I will just say this: Thank you for the time. I want to always celebrate the NAACP and all of its great victories. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-02-12
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I thank the distinguished gentlewoman. I also thank my good friend. I will move as quickly as I possibly can. Mr. Chairman. these legislative issues are important to us. and we realize that there is a difference of opinion. So I dont come to the floor harking with great adversity. but I do come with a reasonable response to my opposition to H.R. 2017 in terms of its overall impact. So I would like to say that it is overly broad in its approach to address narrower concerns from the pizza industry and other food establishments that are better resolved through guidance. The bill will reduce the likelihood that consumers will receive clear and consistent calorie information at chain food service establishments. and the bill weakens an important tool intended to help Americans make informed food choices at a time when obesity and other nutritionrelated health problems are at crisis. Our constituents have gotten used to seeing the calorie content. They look for it. They want transparency. Obviously. Americans eat less than the recommended amounts of vegetables. fruits. whole grains. dairy products. and oil. Although we are not the Big Brother. we have to create opportunities for such. I live in communities where there are food deserts. More than 23 million Americans. including 6.5 million children. live in food deserts. areas that are more than a mile away from a supermarket. In 2008. an estimated 49.1 million people. including 16.7 million children. experienced food insecuritylimited availability to safe and nutritionally adequate foodsmultiple times throughout the year. So anytime there can be an increased knowledge about the nutrition of a food product. that is crucial. In addition. as the cochair and founder of the Congressional Childrens Caucus. I work on the issues of childhood obesity. Data from 2009 to 2010 indicates that over 78 million U.S. adults and about 12.5 million16.9 percentchildren and adolescents are obese. We need to help those individuals both in terms of their own confidence about themselves. but to eat healthy. So I rise today to oppose this legislation because I believe we can find a better place of guidance. I include in the RECORD a letter. Mr. Chairman. from the National Restaurant Association. which says: "We are writing to inform you of our opposition to H.R. 2017. This legislation would create an unfair advantage between competitors by specifically carving out segments of the food service marketplace from the federal requirement .... "
Date: 2016-02-12
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

This is the National Restaurant Association. I received a letter from the Trust for Americas Health. They. too. are a nonprofit. nonpartisan organization. They have asked for us to oppose this. which would weaken and partially repeal critical Food and Drug Administration. FDA. menu labeling. The bill. as I said. is scheduled to come. and here we are today. So my final points are this. If we have a problem. lets try to work it out. but lets not take a sledgehammer and sledgehammer the requirements that help Americans have transparent information about their food. Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to H.R. 2017. the "Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015." which amends the Federal Food. Drug. and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. As the founder and chair of the Congressional Childrens Caucus. I oppose this legislation for the following four reasons: 1. H.R. 2017 is overly broad in its approach to address narrower concerns from the pizza industry and other food establishments that are better resolved through guidance. 2. The bill will reduce the likelihood that consumers will receive clear and consistent calorie information at chain food service establishments. and 3. The bill weakens an important tool intended to help Americans make informed food choices at a time when obesity and other nutritionrelated health problems are at crisis levels. The FDA has been responsive to industry concerns and has already delayed implementation of menu labeling by two years. which is more than six years after it was enacted. Moreover. H.R. 2017 states that its goal is to establish that the nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board at establishments that serve prepared foods must include: 1. the number of calories contained in the whole menu item. 2. the number of servings and number of calories per serving. 3. the number of calories per common unit of the item. such as for a multiserving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. and 4. allow nutritional information may be provided solely by a remoteaccess menu (e.g.. an Internet menu) for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are offpremises.
Date: 2016-02-12
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Chairman. this is an issue that I care a lot about. Diabetes runs in my family. and I am talking generations worth. One of the ways that you combat diabetes is through nutrition and through exercise. I watch everything that I eat. I am very grateful that when I go to a restaurant. they put the calorie count on the different pieces on the menu. I am very grateful that when I go into a 7Eleven or some other type of convenience store. that there is calorie count and serving size on everything that I buy there. This is very important to me. But at the same time. I have been a small business woman. I have had a small business. and I know how difficult it is to make payroll. to be a small business trying to make a profit. I think that this particular regulation. not law. because when we passed the Affordable Care Act we said: Lets help people make good nutrition decisions. and I agree with that. But then we had a regulatory agency that made these regulations that just dont make sense. That is what this bill is about.
Date: 2016-02-12
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

one of my colleagues. said: This is easy. lets just work it out. But the reality is we have been at this for almost 2 or 3 years. and we have not been able to work it out at the table. This is very. very important. There was just a letter of opposition put into the RECORD from the National Restaurant Association. Yes. early on. to this bill. they were opposed. But the thing they were opposed to was the 50 percent rule. and we have taken that out of this. The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Date: 2016-02-12
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I would like to say that the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015 aims to fix these problems and to help small businesses meet the intention of the law. I think it is very unfair if you walk into a 7Eleven and because something is taken out of its package and is put in a toaster oven that. all of a sudden. another place has to put the calories. So I would ask my colleagues. please. lets do the right thing. Lets help consumers be smart about what they are eating. and lets let businesses go about their business.
Date: 2016-02-12
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I want to tell the story of Texas Southern University. It started out in Houston. Texas. in the early 1920s to educate then. of course. the colored or Negro population. and they have grown into the 21st century. In the 1940s. they were expanded because a young man by the name of Heman Sweatt attempted to attend the University of Texas School of Law and he was prohibited. he was prevented. So by a court. the law school was established which is now named Thurgood Marshall. I really rise to say that this school is a Texas asset. and yet the State of Texas publicly has underfunded this university. In 2000. I helped settle a desegregation lawsuit of which that school had sued because it was discriminated against. Sadly. I rise today to ask for another investigation by the Department of Education. Civil Rights Division. because the State of Texas is now again discriminating against the students and faculty of Texas Southern University by not funding them equally with other majoritybased institutions. It is sad to rise today to say that. But in that school. Barbara Jordan graduated. our colleague. Mickey Leland graduated. Of course. Barbara Jordan was a colleague. Many outstanding scientists and doctors. Stop discriminating against Texas Southern University. We need to investigate it again to make this school whole.
Date: 2016-02-12
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to commemorate Black History Month and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. which was founded 107 years ago today. Black History Month is an opportunity for Americans to reflect on the contributions of the African American community to this country. on the injustices that they have endured through American history. and how far we have gone and still need to go to end discrimination and racism in America. This past weekend. I attended the Orange County Heritage Councils 36th Annual Orange County Black History Month Parade and Cultural Fair. I was honored to meet a lot of veterans there. including Mr. Warren Bussey. a World War II hero. and. at 103 years old. the oldest African American living in Orange County today. Mr. Bussey and others like him are a testament to the enduring legacy of African American commitment to the military service. They went. yet they came back. and there were no civil rights for them. This month we honor their contribution.
Date: 2016-02-23
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 4408. the National Strategy to Combat Terrorist Travel Act of 2016. H.R. 4408 requires the development of a national strategy to combat terrorist travel by bolstering efforts to intercept terrorists and foreign fighters. while also constraining their domestic and international travel. I applaud the work of the Committee on Homeland Securitys Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel. One of the many findings of the task forces final report was that it has been a decade since the executive branch produced a governmentwide plan to constrain terrorist travel. In the years since the issuance of the last governmentwide plan in 2006. many programs aimed at restricting or preventing terrorist travel have changed or ended and new programs have been created. The task force found that hundreds of programs. projects. and initiatives have sprouted up to combat terrorist travel since 9/11. but there is no overarching strategy to coordinate them. Importantly. H.R. 4408 requires that the strategy include an updated. full accounting and description of Americas terror travel preventative and protective measures. This accounting should provide a valuable baseline for future efforts to prevent terrorist travel. H.R. 4408 requires the President to submit to Congress a national strategy focused on disrupting and intercepting terrorists and foreign fighters. The strategy is to include an accounting of all U.S. Government programs to constrain terrorist travel. identify gaps and how they will be closed. and describe actions to eliminate waste. overlap. and duplication of efforts. The evolving nature of the terrorist threat demands a wholeofgovernment approach. A national strategy with implementation plans for each Federal agency involved. as H.R. 4408 requires. has the potential to deliver real security advances. As such. I support H.R. 4408. and I urge its passage. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-02-23
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 4398. the DHS Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act of 2016. I introduced this legislation to ensure that. when it comes to managing acquisitions. the Department of Homeland Security gets the fundamentals right. H.R. 4398 would require "complete. accurate. timely. and valid" documentation to be maintained for each of the Departments major acquisition programs. A major acquisition program is defined as one with a lifecycle cost estimated at $300 million or more. Later this week. the subcommittee on which I serve as ranking member will be conducting an oversight hearing about an acquisition that is. to my mind. a textbook case of why my legislation is so critical. After more than 12 years of effort at delivering a Departmentwide human resource IT system and the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars. DHS has virtually nothing to show for it. That acquisition. the Human Resource Information Technology program. or HRIT. lacked basic acquisition documentation. including a valid cost estimate and schedule. Under H.R. 4398. DHS would have to maintain current cost estimates and schedules for major acquisition programs. These sources of critical information for acquisition decisionmakers would have to conform to best practices. as identified by the Government Accountability Office. Additionally. each component head within DHS would be obligated to submit acquisition documentation to the Secretary for the production of an annual comprehensive report to Congress on the status of the acquisition. Under H.R. 4398. the Secretary could only waive these requirements in very limited circumstances. Mr. Speaker. for the reasons I have outlined here. I urge support for H.R. Mr. Speaker. anything less than an uptodate acquisition documentation increases the odds of cost and schedule overruns. It also risks delayed delivery of critical capabilities and wastefully depletes resources that could be put to better use to protect the homeland. The Homeland Security Committee favorably reported H.R. 4398 on February 2 by a unanimous vote. and I thank my colleague for being a part of that. The fact that this legislation is cosponsored by Representatives MCCAUL and THOMPSON. the chairman and ranking member of our committee. reflects a strong commitment to bolstering the effectiveness of DHS acquisition programs. I urge passage of H.R. 4398. a bill that will help ensure that DHS is a good steward of taxpayer dollars and can provide DHS operators in the field with the tools they need to protect the American people. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-02-23
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4398. "DHS Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act of 2016." I support this bill because it requires the DHS to produce cost estimates and schedules for all major acquisition programs and to maintain complete and accurate documentation of these projects. Specifically. for all programs expected to cost $300 million or more over its lifecycle. the department must maintain complete. accurate. timely and valid acquisition documentation. This bill will set a standard for all programs under DHS to follow and will save programs money and time. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed 22 major programs in DHS and out of 22 major programs: 1. GAO was unable to access six programs (including four in Customs and Border Protection). 2. The remaining 14 programs experienced schedule slips and cost growths. On average. these program milestones slipped more than three and a half year. and their lifecycle cost estimates increased by $9.7 billion. or 18 percent. As a member of the Homeland Security Committee. I believe this act will maintain a standard across the board for programs to follow the Government Accountability Offices (GAOs) best practices. The Department of Homeland Security is constantly changing to fit the needs of our everchanging world and there is a need of transparency between the DHS and GAO. This bill further requires that cost estimates and schedules for major acquisition programs be consistent with best practices as identified by GAO. Finally this bill limits the Secretarys authority to waive acquisition documentation requirements for a report to Congress on the status of major acquisition programs. This sets forth narrow conditions where waivers could be granted for a fiscal year. and requiring the Secretary to report annually to the Congressional homelandsecurity committees on each use of waiver authority during the preceding fiscal year. This bill creates an accountability model for the DHS which creates transparency between GAO and DHS and saves programs time and money. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Date: 2016-02-23
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 4402. the Foreign Fighter Review Act of Mr. Speaker. H.R. 4402 requires the President. through the Department of Homeland Security. to review information regarding persons who have traveled or attempted to travel from the United States to Syria and Iraq since 2011 to support terrorist organizations. This legislation reflects a recommendation issued by the Committee on Homeland Securitys Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel in its final report. The report found that a large number of U.S. persons have been able to travel to dangerous terrorist safe havens in Iraq and Syria and return to the United States without interdiction. I believe there is a lot to be learned from the instances where we failed to interdict persons who traveled to terrorist safe havens. These "lessons learned" could reveal systematic weaknesses in our security programs and highlight areas for enhancements. While many Federal agencies have completed individual reviews of cases within their purview. a coordinated and comprehensive interagency afteraction review has never been undertaken. H.R. 4402 would require just such a review. H.R. 4402 has the potential to strengthen coordination across the Federal Government to help prevent U.S. persons from exploiting vulnerabilities in our security apparatus to travel under the radar to terrorist camps and safe havens in the future. As such. Mr. Speaker. I urge the passage of H.R. 4402. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-02-23
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I again urge passage of H.R. 4402. a bill that seeks to improve the Federal Governments understanding of the circumstances surrounding travel or attempted travel from the U.S. to terrorist safe havens in Syria and Iraq. Under this measure. the review is to be submitted to Congress within 120 days of enactment. The findings of that review have the potential to inform policymakers as we work to strengthen our ability to prevent travel to terrorist sanctuaries and terrorism at large. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.