macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-26
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise to congratulate the new high school baseball national championship team. It is from Plano West Senior High School. They are called the Wolves. Go Wolves. Maxpreps.com ranked the Texas State champs. the Plano West Senior High School varsity baseball team. number one in the Nation on June 22. Under head coach Kendall Clark. this year the Wolves played a perfect season. won the district title with 14 .wins and won 28 straight in 2008. This is the first time since 1987 that Plano Independent School District has had a team crowned national champions. and this year marks the first time a baseball team in Plano has captured the prestigious national title. Congratulations to the Wolves. We are proud of you. Your parents are proud of you. Plano is proud of you. and America is proud of you. I salute you. God bless you. God bless America. I include the names of the players and coaches in the RECORD. and congratulate them one and all. C # Position Ht WI Throws/bats Chris Ard ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ .............. Barrett Beek ............................ ---------- ------_-- ---------- ..------------ ............. ...... .. ..... . .... .... ................ Andrew Blum ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Garrett Brown ....................................................................................................................--.-. ... .... ...... ... ..................................................... Tyler Brue ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Jason Coats .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Reed Oilard ................................................... ........................................... .................................. ................ ... ............... ............ ......... ....................... Ben Flora .................................................................. . ................................................................................................................................................................................ Ryan Ford ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Date: 2008-07-09
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Again. I thank my friend from Vermont for his courtesy in yielding the time. Mr. Speaker. Americans are now paying Over $4 a gallon for gasoline. yet the majority fails to bring legislation to the floor to lower gas prices or decrease our dependence on foreign sources of energy. It is time for the House to debate ideas for lowering prices at the pump and addressing the skyrocketing cost of gasoline. So today I urge my colleagues to vote with me to defeat the previous question so this House cari finally consider real solutions to rising energy costs. If the previous question is defeated. I will move to amend the rule to allow for consideration of H.R. 2208. the CoaltoLiquid Fuel Act. This legislation would encourage the use of clean coaltoliquid technology. authorizing the Secretary of Energy to enter into loan agreements with coaltoliquid projects that produce innovative transportation fuel. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
Date: 2008-07-09
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. by voting "no" on the previous question. Members can take a stand against these high fuel prices and for doing something about them. I encourage a "no" vote on the previous question. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-07-09
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 3329. the Homes for Heroes Act. With all the problems veterans face today. too often Congress forgets the simple things. such as housing. After members of our military have honorably served this great nation and want to start a life with their family. our country should provide them with the assistance to do so. When some of our veterans return from battle. their fight continues. Whether it is wrestling with the effects of PTSD or struggling to reintegrate into civilian life. it is Congresss responsibility to help them and that is what the Homes for Heroes Act does. I am very proud of what this bill accomplishes. such as the assistance provided to lowincome vets. the HUDVA liaison created for state and local governments. and the additional services provided to veterans with mental and addictive disorders. As the Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee under Veterans Affairs. I am aware of the unique issues facing veterans. and I thank Representative GREEN for introducing this bill. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3329.
Date: 2008-07-10
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Madam Speaker. yesterday I introduced H.R. 6446. the Heroes Homecoming Act. which requires U.S. carriers to do what Congress has asked them to do twice: offer the lowest
Date: 2008-07-10
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

The price of gasoline has spiked up $2 since the Democrats took control of the Congress in just January 2007. Americans want Democrats and Republicans to work together to find commonsense solutions to the skyrocketing cost of gasoline. The United States must become energy selfsufficient. Oil. gas. coal. nuclear. solar. and wind. all of it. To bring down the price of gasoline. we must focus on increasing Americas energy supply. Congress needs to act now to increase exploration and boost Americas refinery capability. Americans are ready for action. They want an upordown vote on energy independence. A Democrat aide is quoted in The Hill newspaper as saying. "Right now. our strategy on gas prices is drive small cars and wait for the wind." If those are their only ideas. then. as the astronaut said when they were in orbit. Houston. we have a problem.
Date: 2008-07-10
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I appreciate the gentleman allowing me to get in the midst of this intramural squabble here on the Rules Committee. It seems like it was just the night before last that we came back to work thiswell. it was just the night before last that we came back to work this week. And it seems like we justwell. we are just leaving. We came in the night before last to do business. we were here yesterday. were here today. were going to get out by. I guess. about 3 in the afternoon. Meanwhile. the people of the United States are suffering because we have no energy policy. Now this political cartoon graphically states what it is. It says: We demand you energy companies do something about high energy prices. We can drill in ANWR. Forget it. How about offshore. Are you crkzy? Clean coal. Out of the question. Nuclear power. Youre joking. right? Dont just sit there. do something. Well. thats what Im asking this Congress to do. Dont just sit there. do something. I thought that maybe what I believe is now called the Natural Resources Committeeit used to be called the Resources Committeethe Natural Resources Committee. I thought it had jurisdiction over ANWR. And I looked it up and it does. And I thought it had jurisdiction over offshore drilling. And I looked it up and it does. And I thought it had jurisdiction over coal on Federal lands. And I looked it up and it does. And I thought it had jurisdiction over tar sands and other kinds of resources. natural gas. offshore. And it does. So what does it bring today? A bill that talks about a historic trail. Weve waited 227 years to designate it as an historical trail. You would think we could wait a couple of more months and do something on energy. Madam Speaker. I will not violate the rules of the House by asking for a show of hands in the galleries. because that would be out of order. but I suppose that if the people in the galleries were like the people in my two town halls last week. they would answer the same. When I asked them do you think we should drill in ANWR. about 75 to 80 percent said yes. When I asked them do you think we should start drilling offshore. about 75 to 80 percent said yes. When I asked them do you think we should lock up the greatest natural resource we have for energy in this country. coalwere the Saudi Arabia of coalthey answered 75 to 80 percent no. Nuclear power. Over 50 percent are for it now. But this Congress does nothing about that. In fact. they have created selffulfilling prophecies. They say. look. if we allow offshore drilling. it will take 10 years. Do you know why it would take 10 years?
Date: 2008-07-10
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. They set up the formula for failure. They make it a reality that it will take 10 years because of all of the extensive environmental requirements. the continued legal challenges. and if you know how the system works. you can actually make a decision by not making a decision. If you can in court ensure that no decision is finally made. no one is going to make the capital investment. Our friends on the other side say. well. wait a second. weve got the answer. All were going to do is make them drill with the leases they already have. Now lets think about this. The oil companies pay millions. billions of dollars for leases and theyre not looking for it? The fact of the matter is just because you have a lease which.is a tract of land on a map. a line on a map. doesnt mean theres oil there. Actually some of the Democrats on the other side of the aisle have said this. Theyve said. our leadership doesnt understand the reality of drilling oil. And so what do they leave us with? They leave us with a policy which says drive small cars and wait for the wind. The gentleman from California says look at all weve done. Weve forced Americans to drive smaller cars. Thats the solution. Were waiting for wind. We can wait for a long time. Im for solar energy. Im for wind. Im for all of the above. But the fact of the matter is we have to do something on the supply side. And here we have a bill out of the committee that has ju"risdiction on this very matter. the one that would get us started. and it doesnt bring forth this. It has brought forth a mouse in comparison to what we need in terms of our energy. All the American people are asking for is some sense of reality. We cannot suspend the laws of economics. The gentleman from California says look at all the price controls that we have adopted. I have to say. it was a Republican President. President Nixon. who tried to use price controls in the seventies. It didnt work. It didnt work. At some point in time we have to understand that what we have to do is increase supply.
Date: 2008-07-10
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. And if we come to the floor with the committee of jurisdiction bringing us bills that have nothing to do with energy. what are the American people to say except that. Dont just sit there. do something. We are absolutely just sitting here and doing nothing. People back home are not waiting for 20 and 30 years. Theyre talking about whatshappening now. Its not just the gas in their car. It is the cost of transportation embedded in everything. And its going to get worse before it gets better. This Congress should do something. It should act now. Act now. Maybe we could stay here longer than 21/2 days to do something about energy for the American people who sent us here to do their work. Wheres the 5day workweek? Gone. Gone along with the opportunity to drill for oil and produce energy for the American people. Maybe they ought to pay attention to whats happening here on the floor of the House and insist that we do something. Drill here in the United States. not overseas. Produce here in the United States. Save America.
Date: 2008-07-10
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. unless the other side of the aisle is capable of suspending the law of economics. the law of supply and demand. we have to start dealing with the supply side. We have dealt with the demand side. The American people in the last several months have dropped their usage per capita of gasoline greater than they have at any time since we have kept records. The American people are responding in responsible ways. They are responding on the demand side. They are asking us to help them be able to respond on the supply side. That is not pontificating. That is not politics. That is governance. We are asking for good governance. Allow us to have the chance to vote on these things on the floor. and then let the votes fall where they may. Maybe the gentleman from the other side of the aisle is correct in his assessment that the American people dont want more supply. I suspect he is wrong. The only way we will know is if we have a vote. Just give us a vote. I thank the gentleman for the time.
Date: 2008-07-14
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. in the 1970s our Nation was held hostage by OPEC starting an oil embargo that drove up gasoline prices and damaged the American economy. Today its not OPEC holding us hostage but rather the Democratic majority that refuses to expand domestic energy production. My constituents are hurting. $4.10 a gallon of gasoline for regular. smaller boxes of cereal. diesel prices are through the roof hurting those truckers and higher prices for air conditioning bills. All of these increased costs shrink the wallets of working Americans and hurt even more the seniors on fixed incomes. When will this majority wake up and realize that 73 percent of America approves of drilling? When will the majority admit that their energy policy will do nothing at all to lower prices at the pump? Mr. Speaker. ideas to raise the gas tax 50 cents when we are in the midst of a national gasoline crisis are a bad joke pushed on the American public. We need to support our constituents and support drilling.
Date: 2008-07-14
Speaker: LAMAR SMITH (republican)
Chamber: H

I stand here today as a living example of the legacy and the leadership of Justice Thurgood Marshall. Who would have thought as he broke the color line in Brown versus Topeka Board of Education that he would have opened the doors of opportunity for those from the East to the West and from the North to the South? Most people dont know that America during the 1950s and earlier than that continued to be a segregated America. It did not matter where you lived. Thurgood Marshall had the courage to take this case to the United States Supreme Court. And the Warren court had the courage and rightness of mind to be able to establish an equal education for all. I applaud Thurgood Marshall who was appointed to the Court of Appeals by President John F. Kennedy and ultimately the first African American to sit on the United States Supreme Court. He was one who understood justice. He was one who recognized the equality of all people. He was one who recognized that America is better when it reflects and appreciates its diversity. Thank you. Justice Marshall. for the freedom and the opportunity you have given even to me.
Date: 2008-07-16
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. to help families dealing with the high price of gas. the White House ended the ban on deep ocean energy exploration. Now its up to the Congress to give this commonsense move the final green light. We must pursue increasing production of Americanmade energy in an environmentally conscious manner off the coast of the Atlantic. the Gulf. and the Pacific. We have the technology to access fuels right here in America while still protecting our natural resources for future generations. We should and must develop our own oil and natural gas resources in the deep waters offshore. on Federal lands. and in oil shale if we want to revive Americas independence. Its past time Congress got off the dime and approved deep ocean energy exploration today. Americans. the future of America is at stake.
Date: 2008-07-16
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. I want to thank the sponsor of this sense of Congress. We saw just a few weeks ago what happened in Colombia where the Colombian military and that democratically elected government freed a number of hostages. including Americans. that had been held hostage for over 5 years. If theres ever been a time when U.S. aid has been used effectively. we saw it just a few days ago. It is time that this Congress stop criticizing the democratically elected government of Colombia. Stop criticizing the Colombian people and start putting the blame where -the blame needs to be. and that is on those murderous FARC. The Colombian Government is doing an incredible job. a wonderful job fighting those narcoterrorist thug murderers. and theyre doing it with our help. Its great that were finally going to commend them. I hope that this is just the first step. I hope we pass a free trade deal with Colombia because they deserve it. The democracy in Colombia deserves it. and we cannot turn our back. I hope we also stop that cut to our friend Colombia that reduces the funding to the Government of Colombia.
Date: 2008-07-22
Speaker: DAVID DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Tennessee

Madam Speaker. I rise today to ask the House to join me in supporting House Resolution 1128. legislation that supports the goals and ideals of National Carriage Driving Month. The origin of carriages can be traced to the Middle Ages when roads were extremely crude. and wooden carts offered an uncomfortable way to be transported. From the 16th century. various types of vehicles were built with some rudimentary form of springs to create some comfort for passengers. The luxury of springs spurred the popularity and comfort of this mode of travel and mass production of carriages would begin in earnest. As travel distances increased. the hooded carts were replaced with carriages with a roof and later with a closed cabin with doors and windows. Carriages were built for royalty. businessmen and merchants and commoners. often named after their function or shape. When the technique of forging iron was developed in the 1800s. steel parts would replace leather springs. Industrially produced springs. axles and other metal parts improved the quality of the carriages leading into the 19th century. which was the golden age of the carriage. The Industrial Revolution stimulated economic changes that added prosperity to the middle class. and they would ultimately become the driving force behind the purchase of carriages and the creation of carriage factories founded in cities throughout America and the rest of the world. Certainly. before the advent of the automobile. Americans enjoyed the horsedrawn carriage as a mode of transportation. Today. many people. including constituents of mine in east Tennessee. collect and restore the great vehicles as an avocation. Tens of thousands of Americans now enjoy this pursuit and millions more Americans enjoy their work in parades. shows and museums. The month of May is often celebrated by the carriage community as carriage riding month. and this legislation supports the idea of a National Carriage Driving Month. 1These vehicles helped settle and build our Nation in its infancy. and this noncontroversial legislation celebrates the elegance and charm of a bygone era. In closing. I am pleased that the House is considering this noncontroversial legislation celebrating a mode of transportation prior to the era of the automobile. I regret the House is not considering meaningful legislation to deal with our current energy crisis. With gas prices continuing to escalate. my friends in the carriage restoration and driving community may find themselves in demand once again. I ask my colleagues to please support House Resolution 1128 and please support bringing meaningful energy legislation to the floor on which so many of my constituents of the First Congressional District of Tennessee are asking for action.
Date: 2008-07-23
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. I want to first thank the ranking member and the chairman for bringing this resolution forward. All of us in this great body are fortunate to have great police officers in our home districts. in our home communities. in our hometowns. Our local police departments keep our communities and our families safe. and all of us greatly appreciate their hard work and their sacrifice. But we must also always recognize and always remember the officers who keep this Capitol community safe. Nearly 3 million tourists from across the country and across the globe visit this Capitol every single year. The Capitol Police keep the Capitol complex safe and secure for our constituents. for our staffs. for our families. and for all of us who have the privilege to work here every day. And among their stated mission is to protect and support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities. and they do so every single -day with great courage. with great courtesy. with great dignity. The United States Capitol Police are on the front lines of the war on terrorism as well. and they remain on constant alert against multiple threats to the Capitol complex and all of those who work and visit this complex. Unfortunately. as we have already heard before. tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the deaths of Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson. who lost their lives protecting the Capitol and other people inside from an armed attacker. This is a very solemn reminder. Madam Speaker. of the dangers that the Capitol Police face on a regular basis on our behalf.. I call on this body to express its gratitude and appreciation to their professionalism and all of the officers as We remember the horrible events of 10 years ago. These officers put their lives on the line and. unfortunately. paid the ultimate price. We could not do our jobs effectively without them. So as the chairman said. lets not only support this resolution and thank the Capitol Police today. Every single day that we are here. lets remember .the job that they do for all of us. .for our country. Lets thank them. Lets appreciate them.