macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-04
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today I would like to spotlight several distinguished teachers from the Third Congressional District of Texas. Great teachers nurture our countrys best hope for tomorrow. our children. Children may be a fraction of our society. but they are 100 percent of our future. These educators go beyond the call of duty and selflessly make our children better and make Texas a better place to live. These are the teachers of the year from the third district: from Allen. Texas. Nancy Jung and Joyce Carson. from Garland. Michael Robertson. from McKinney. Sharon Guynes and Betty Rutledge. from Plano. Marilyn Caruthers and Roxanne Burchfiel. from Princeton. Janice Bohannan and Diane Talley. from Richardson. Lisa Cunningham and Rick Urbanczyk. and from Wylie. Doug Grether. It is outstanding teachers like these who strive for excellence and make a difference in the lives of our children. They are heroes for our children. for America. for our freedom. for our future. God bless all of them. I salute our teachers all over the country.
Date: 2003-06-04
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of this resolution to recognize the efforts of those who have contributed to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today we recognize and thank those soldiers. sailors. airmen. marines. and all the individuals in our defense and intelligence communities whose commitment and dedication ensure our continued success. They are members of the greatest fighting force the world has known. representing not only our Nations strength. but our bravery. skill. honor and resolve. We also thank their families. who so graciously share their loved ones with their country. Liberty must be guarded and defended. and no nation has givon more In this defense than America. Throighout our history. our Nation has been blessed to have individuals willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep the flames of freedom and liberty burning brightly throughout the world. They selflessly dedicate their life to protecting freedom. ensuring liberty. and defending the principles of this country through great personal sacrifice. On behalf of a grateful Nation. we pay tribute to these brave men and women. Today. as we recognize and commend the actions already taken. we also renew our commitment to ensuring the security of our homeland. We renew our commitment to destroying Al Qaeda and other terronst organizations that threaten the free world. We do not know what the future holds. however we can say with certainty that because of the men and women we honor with this resolution. we will prevail.
Date: 2003-06-04
Speaker: JO ANN DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in opposition to the substitute amendment to H.R. 760. the PartialBirth Abortion Ban Act of The partialbirth abortion procedure Is a brutal and violent act that kills a living baby Just seconds before it takes its first breath outside the woman. We must call partialbirth abortion what it really Is. the murder of a baby during delivery. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has stated. "Partialbirth abortion is never medically necessary to protect a mothers health or future fer-. tility. On the contrary. this procedure can pose a significant threat to both." The substitute amendment being offered today includes a socalled health exception to the partialbirth abortion ban. Yet this broad definition. according to the Supreme Court. includes factors such as physical. emotional and psychological issues. All of these factors relate to health. Subsequent testimony has clarified that this health exception includes age. depression and even a fear of open spaces. Mr. Speaker. this substitute is a facade. It is a ploy designed to gut the intent of the ban on partialbirth abortion. The future of our Nation depends on decisions such as this. Does America have the moral and ethical fortitude to protect the most basic of human rights. the right to live? We as a civilized culture cannot stand by and allow defenseless. innocent children to be killed. We are not savages. We are not barbarians. We are human beings. Partialbirth abortion is insane. and this killing must end. I am proud to offer my support for the partialbirth abortion ban. I urge my colleagues to reject this substitute amendment and pass the underlying bill. H.R. 760.
Date: 2003-06-05
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. today I am introducing the Veterans Health Care Access Standards Act of 2003. This bill would establish standards of access to care for veterans who utilize the VA health care system. If enacted the bill would codify the Departments current standard of access to care and would actually require the VA to use alternative community health care resources if the VA is unable to meet their own standard. In my home State of Florida. there is a backlog of more than 24.000 veterans seeking VA medical care. In my.District. alone. there are 2.77 veterans waiting for an appointment and another 2.000 who have an appointment but the schedule time is more than 6 months away. The Departments established access standard for outpatient care is to provide veterans seeking primary care with appointments within 30 days of making the request for such an appointment. However. it is clear to any Member of Congress that has toured VA outpatient clinics recently in their District that these goals have not been met. My bill will actually codify the veterans selfimposed standard. I think that it is important because if a VA medical center is unable to see a patient then that patient should be able to seek care elsewhere in the community. I urge my fellow Members to join me with this bill.
Date: 2003-06-10
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. most Americans believe that the first duty of the Federal Government is to protect the security of the United States and its citizens. By any objective assessment. when the threat to our security takes a form of foreign armies. navies or intercontinental missiles. we have done an exemplary job. When it comes to threats confronting us. new threats. the sort that resulted in the attacks like that on September 11. we continue to ignore gaping holes in our national defense. As it becomes more evident that we need better information about who is in our country. we are about to surrender that identification process to foreign governments. We must adhere to a policy of closed borders with open. guarded doors. We cannot rely on foreign nations. even allies. to be thorough enough to issue identification that meets our rigorous standards. Do we really want to rely on the government of Mexico and the dozens of other countries that will be lining up to issue consular IDs to tell us who is living illegally in our country? I think not. The majority of Americans believe that we should not either. Given the very real and deadly threats that we face. how wise is it to have millions of Americans. people living illegally in this country using dozens of identity documents issued by governments all around the globe to do everything from opening a bank account to boarding planes. I have recently been informed that our customs office in New York is actually allowing customs forms as people enter into this country to be turned in and they are simultaneously not checking the names of the people turning in the customs forms to compare it to a list of known terrorists. Customs forms pile up and are entered several days later. This is later when these people are already in our country. It is kind of the "come on in and we will check you later" process. that "we will check you later if we can find you." Is this what we really had in mind when we promised the American people that we would do everything within reason to prevent another catastrophe like 911 and we spent billions of tax dollars to create a Department of Homeland Security? I do not think so. Mr. Speaker. and I do not think our American citizens do either.
Date: 2003-06-11
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. by direction of the Committee on Rules. I call up House Resolution 265 and ask for its immediate consideration.
Date: 2003-06-11
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. for the purpose of debate only. I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts . pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of thls resolution. all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Date: 2003-06-11
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. in case some colleagues are perhaps listening to the debate on television in their offices. we have brought forth the rule to consider the aviation reauthorization bill. the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. The Federal Aviation Administration is of extreme importance to the safety of not only the flying public in the United States. but really to the economy of the United States. One of the pillars of the economy of the United States is precisely the superb system of aviation that we have. But that does not happen by chance. We have an obligation to fund and reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. and this legislation that we are attempting to get to today with this rule not only does that. but deals with a number of very important collateral issues in the area of aviation. So. again. to be clear with regard to what we are attempting to do today. what the Committee on Rules has done. we have passed a rule to bring to the floor legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration in the context of very important legislation entitled Flight 100Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. That is what we are discussing today. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-06-11
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. again. in case somebody would like to determine what we have brought to the floor today. because obviously any students of political science who may have been watching this debate will have confirmed today that there is certainly no rule requiring germaneness in debate in the House of Representatives. the issue that we have brought to the floor today. that the Committee on Rules passed a rule in order to be able to do so. we did so yesterday. is the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. In order to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. the relevant committees worked long and hard on a very important piece of aviation legislation which we bring to the floor today. It is H.R. 2115. the Flight 100- . Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. So that is what we are doing. Now. since there is obviously no germaneness requirement with regard to debate. our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have talked about other issues. and they are certainly welcome to do so. The semantic of the day had to do with the word "tax." We are very proud of our record since we were honored by the American people with the majority in this Chamber with regard to the issue of taxes. I remember in my first term here. Mr. Speaker. as a freshman Member. we were still in the minority and our friends on the other side of the aisle controlled the agenda. they were the majority. being faced with one of the largest tax increases in the history of this country. We on this side of the aisle opposed that tax increase. and our friends on the other side of the aisle pushed very hard. and at that time they had a Member of their party in the White House. to impose that record tax increase on the American people. Every time we have been able to since we were given the majority by the American people. we have tried to do the opposite. We have tried to lessen the tax burden on the American people. and we are very proud of that. So with regard to when it is germane to the debate on taxes. we are extremely proud of our record. That debate will continue. and I think it is a fundamental difference between the parties. We believe in and have every time we have been able to reduce the tax burden on the American people. But today the debate that we bring forward. the legislation that we bring forward. is the important reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. We believe. Mr. Speaker. that because of the importance of the Federal Aviation Administration. not only to the flying public and to the aviation industry in this country. but to the economy of the United States. as well as to our national security. that we should move forward and reauthorize that very important Federal agency. as well as effectuate the other important programs and initiatives that are included in this very significant piece of legislation. With that in mind. I remind our colleagues what we are doing. the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Date: 2003-06-11
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Chairman. I rise to voice my concerns over this legislation. Every few year. we return to the issue of adding slots at Reagan National. Every few years we tinker around with the Washington area airports in ways that cungress shouldnt be tinkering. It might be more convenient tor some people to have the flights they want on airlines they want to favor. but these actions have real effects on the economy of my district in ways that I believe are not fully appreciated.. Three airportsReagan National. Dulles. and Baltimore/Washington. serve Washington. D.C. region. Our regionmy districthas developed around the services these airports provide. Along the Reston corridor one can see all the tech firms that have established themselves over recent years. One of the main reasonsone of the main selling pointsfor these companies to locate in Northern Virginia was the fact that Dulles airport provided an accessible. convenient transportation hub for flights all over the globe. It is not a secret that the airline industry is in deep financial trouble. United Airlines. which operates 60 percent of the flights at Duties. Is struggling to emerge from bankruptcy. They are struggling to deal with the fallout from the War in Iraq. SARS. terrorismand they are facing Increased pressure form the bankruptcy court to abandon their Dulles hub. Understand that continuing to divert traffic away from Dulles. especially longhaul traffic. gives more fuel to those who would have United leave- Dulles. I hope you understand why this is so important to me. This Isnt solely a debate about noise and Increased air traffic. although those are important issues to my constituents- as well. It is a debate about continuing to erode the.comerstone of the Northern Virginia hightech corridor. That said. it seems a little unfair that if we must continue to add outsidetheperimeter slots at National. that we do not allow U.S. Airwaysthe airline that has put so many resources Into making Reagan National a worldclass airportthe opportunity get 4ny of them. U.S. Airways is also an Important part of our economy in Northem Virginia. They have done an outstanding job to reemerge from bankruptcy. and I think it is time we started recognizing the contributions they have made for the National Capital Region. To close. I would love to see an end to Congressional micromanagement in MWAA affairs. I am hopeful this will eventually happen. Until then. understand the true nature of my opposition to adding more longhaul flights to National.
Date: 2003-06-12
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. today we speak of a heroine. an extraordinary woman and leader who languishes in Castros gulag. Marta Beatriz Roque. sentenced to 25 years for speaking her mind on behalf of freedom and democracy. To those who wish to send billions of dollars to the dictatorship in Cuba by sending U.S. tourists to savor tropical drinks in the tourism apartheid resorts and take advantage of the regimeencouraged child prostitution. I think it is worthwhile to listen to Marta Beatriz. one of the last statements before she was picked up and sent to a gulag for 25 years. We exhort all the governments of the civilized world not to prolong the agony of the Cuban people. not to finance the tyranny. not to support the tyranny. that they condemn the tourism apartheid. that they condemn the exploitation of laborers. the prostitution of our youth. the traffic of stolen property. the plunder of the Cuban nation. Solidarity is required today with those who advocated freedom. in Cuba and those who also advocated freedom in exile. Marta Beatriz Roque and all of the Cuban political prisoners. we do not forget you for one day. .We will continue to fight until you are free and until all Cubans are free.
Date: 2003-06-17
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 658. the Accountant.Compliance and Enforcement Staffing Act of 2003. This very critical legislation will allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to hire muchneeded accountants. compliance examiners and economists outside of the bureaucratic and burdensome civil service hiring guidelines. In fiscal year 2003. we increased the Securities and Exchange Commissions budget by 63 percent. largely to allow for an additional 800 professional staff members. On top of that. last years supplemental appropriation bill provided $25 million to the SEC for the purpose of hiring 125 new accountants. examiners and economists. This increased funding was provided because the SEC desperately needs these professionals to enforce the SarbanesOxley corporate accountability reforms. corporate accountability standards that were established by this body and standards that are very vital importance for investor protection. Yet. because of the bureaucratic civil service hiring guidelines. these positions have not yet been filled. H.R. 658 does not set new precedent. Indeed. all FBI employees. as well as health care professionals at the Department of Defense. are exempt from civil service hiring standards. This is good. common sense legislation that will significantly help the Securities and Exchange Commission protect investors. I commend the gentleman from Louisiana for crafting this important and very timely bipartisan bill. and I urge my colleagues to join me in support.
Date: 2003-06-17
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I move to suspend the. rules and concur in the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 43) expressing the sense of Congress that Congress should participate in and support activities to provide decent homes for the people of the United States.
Date: 2003-06-17
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on. this legislation.
Date: 2003-06-17
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

I take back my time. What I said is a costbenefit analysis. If you can do something and determine that there is a benefit in the regulations you are placing on affordable housing. that is fine. But for us to sit here and say. oh. we need to have more government programs and more government funding and yet we do not get to the core problem of affordability. you have to get to the core problem of affordability. There is no difference from us saying. let us. the Federal Government. fund housing but you have got to have everybody in agreement we are even going to put it there. The problem you have with section 8 housing. and the gentleman from Massachusetts knows this to be a fact himself. is you go to many communities and you say you are going to build lowincome housing and the whole community is fn an uproar because they do not want it in their community because they start saying. you are going to have gang violence. you are going to have problems. you are going to have transients. They do not want it in their communities. I am not saying that it is bad. I am saying that is just a fact. It is this NIMBY. not in my backyard attitude. That is a problem we face in this country. unless you will change the laws to where a builder has a reasonable time to process a subdivision. Yes. let look at the environmental impact t might be placed on the community ( project. let us look at the environm( if there are any species that are go to be harmed there. But let us do ii a reasonable span of time. not 3. 5 years. I told the gentleman from NE sachusetts of a project I owned foi years that I finally ended up selling the city because nobody wanted built. yet there was not a bit of flori fauna that was in any way impact nor was there a species out there t was on the endangered species list. us look at the problem and let us w together to see that we are not oi turning local rights. but let us w. with the local communities.
Date: 2003-06-17
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Califori

Reclaiming my time. If we look pi to 1948. the tax revenues in this co try generally went to cities. It star to change after 1948. The State star taking more and the Federal Gove ment started taking more. About 1! it got so bad that locals were being prived of so much money they could longer afford t6 put the streets and sewers and the storm drains in r essary to build homes. Why? Beca the Federal Government and the St government got greedy and star taking the money from the people N need it. the cities. What we have d. is create a situation where now the dollars are not put In the infrast ture. the builder puts in the infrastr ture. Plus he pays for all the lc mitigation and impacts that the c( munity might face in some fashi even If it is a signal 5 miles down road that might be impacted in sc fashion because this tract of 80 pec living in it might impact that inter tion. But we have got to look at what g ernment has done. Government changed to such a degree that we h taken the money. become greedy. now we do not want to address problems we can address.
Date: 2003-06-18
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. today I bring to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives the case of Cuban political prisoner Jorge Luis Garcia Perez. known as Antunez. This young man has been in Castros gulag since 1990. since his high school days. for failing to keep silent. An extraordinary leader of unlimited courage. Jorge Luis Garcia Perez was sentenced to 18 years in prison for socalled "verbal enemy propaganda." Antunez. Mr. Speaker. is the face of the real Cuba. Those who visit Cuba to have a good time. to take advantage of the regimeencouraged child prostitution. or simply Lo dine with the tyrant. may avoid seeing Antunez these days. But. sooner or later. Antunez will be free. Cuba will be free. and those who collaborated with his jailers and torturers will have to face him and many others like him.
Date: 2003-06-19
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. by direction of the Committee on Rules. I call up House Resolution 283 and ask for its immediate consideration.