macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Put the chart back up because I think its important to note that when we began using this chart. it was actually at $1.03 trillion and the bar was a little bit lower. Now. here on this chart its 1.19. and its really $1.33 trillion in foreign debt. The bar is up to the Presidents chin. Its actually. the 1.33 I think is up to his lips. Hes about to drown in the debt right here on this chart. So we really need to make sure. I mean. there are deficits and there is debt. both are significant. both are important. and both really hamper our longterm security. When we talk about the need for homeland security. economic security for Americans is equally as important. If we cant rely on our government and our leadership in the government to make sure that we make responsible fiscal decisions like we did when we reinstituted the PAYGO rules. when we made sure that the bills that we pass here are paid for and that we. going forward. arent going to cause more debt and more deficits and saddle that burden of debt on future generations. thats what fiscal responsibility is all about. thats what financial security is about. Every single day Americans have to make sure that they dont spend more money than they take in. and we have families across the country who make sacrifices in order to be able to do that. They know theyre in trouble if they go in the opposite direction. This administration has spent like drunken sailors and really. to be honest with you. treated the resources that we have like its Monopoly money. like its not real. like it grows on trees. I mean. I guess once you get into the trillions. Mr. MURPHY. thats a hard concept to grasp. $3 trillion.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Im glad you asked that question. Mr. ALTMIRE. because some of these concepts are hard to grasp. I know theyre hard for me to get my mind around sometimes. Like I said. $3 trillion. which is the budget that this President proposed this year. and $407 billion in deficit. On top of that. a $1.33 billion foreign debt. that is money that we owe to foreign governments. Lets look at just who it is that we owe this money to: $644.3 billion of that is owed to Japan. China. almost $250 billion. China. through 11/05. And then China now. $350 billion. Great Britain and the U.K.. $240 billion. The Caribbean. right nearby. our neighbors very close by. we owe $68 billion to them. $63 billion to Taiwan. The OPEC nations. where were trying to move in the direction of weaning ourselves off our dependence on foreign oil. the nice words that the President put in his State of the Union a couple of years ago that we all heard. well. $100 billion of our debt is owed to the OPEC nations. $70 billion to Korea. $53.9 billion to Hong Kong. and $52.5 billion to Germany. So we have a lot of our debt spread all over the world. And were supposed to be the strongest and most vibrant Nation in the entire world. and we have a lot of hands all over us worldwide. And it is not a good situation to be in. Its a tenuous situation to be in. and its fiscally irresponsible. And weve got to make sure. and were committed as Democrats under the leadership of Speaker PELOSI. to move us in the right direction and get us out of that debt.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

were also committed as 30somethings. I mean. the reason why this group for 3 years. and before that. before you were here. when Mr. MEEK and Mr. RYAN were down here. talk about this debt that we owe to foreign countries. talk about the deficit night after night. I mean. people may wonder. why are these guys and why is Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ down here talking night after night about the debt? Well. were the 30something Working Group. Were here. in part. to represent the concerns of some of the younger voters in this country. And we need people to understand. we need our 30something brethren and our 20something brethren and even kids in high school to understand-
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thats exactly right. And its important to show this debt and the impact of it in different ways because different people think and look at things through a different prism. So the second highest line item in the budget that he submitted was the interest on the debt. And as you can see. like Mr. ALTMIRE pointed out. were at about $240 billion. which is the net interest that were paying on that debt. E 2100 Now. expressed comparatively to the other things that we believe are incredibly important in terms of improving the quality of life of people in America and moving this country in a new direction. which is what we were committed to doing when we took over the majority and that we promised the American people that we would do. so we are at $240 billion in net interest on the debt. That is as compared to what we spend on education. what the President proposes to spend on education. which is at about. lets say. a little less than $50 billion. a little bit less than that for spending on veterans health care. and then a little bit less than that on homeland security. Now. whats mindboggling is. if you listen to this administration and to this President and to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. you would think that the most important thing on the planet to them is homeland security and making sure that we provide adequate funding for homeland security.- Well. if you take education. veterans health care. and homeland security combined. combined those items dont equal the payment of interest on the national debt. I mean who is for homeland security and who just talks? I mean you have to back up words with action. We do all this right out in the open. People can see where the priorities are because. as the Speaker.always talks about. Mr. MURPHY and Mr. ALTMIRE. the Speaker always talks about how the budget is an expression of our values. And we are going to show the American people the difference in our values as Democratic Members of Congress. who are the leaders of this coequal branch of government. versus the expression of values that President Bush put forward ofi Monday. which clearly are dramatically different than the priorities of the American people.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

If I could just reclaim my time for one second because different people would have different definitions of "slash." So since we know actually by what percentage he slashed it. lets underscore. The Department of Homeland Security State responder grants that he slashed. he slashed by 78 percent. So were not talking about just a little nick here. Were talking about cutting the legs out from under a program that provides -assistance for homeland security efforts locally. not just for New York and Los Angeles and the places with big tall buildings. but places all over this country which have vulnerable sites thatany wise. smartminded terrorist would love to catch a community sleeping that doesnt have a coordinated effort and a plan to make sure that they can take care of their community and ward off a potential terrorist attack. which could happen anywhere.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

All the while with the Presidents continuing to* insist that we make the tax cuts permanent. that we extend permanent tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. to cut more of our ability to make sure that we can fund first responder grants for communities across this country. and all the while having a $407 billion deficit and a $1.33 trillion debt. I dont know. In my dictionary. fiscal responsibility. that doesnt meet any of the definitions in the dictionary that I use. Maybe the dictionary in bizarro world. Maybe theres some opposite universe. I remember when I watched. Star Trek. there was a bizarro world. opposite universe episode. and everything that was one way in one universe was the opposite way -in the opposite universe. Maybe thats what it is. Maybe that aisle right there. maybe that side of the Chamber is actually a parallel universe. and so everything we believe is the opposite on that side. Thats what it is. I figured it out.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. ALTMIRE. can I ask you a question? Because you were going through the details of the cuts that the President has proposed in his budget that he submitted for fiscal year 2009 on Monday. There was a program that was first implemented and proposed and funded by Congress but proposed by President Clinton called the COPS program. which put 100.000 police officers on the street and made sure that we had first responders. police officers. on the streets. patrolling our communities. making sure that the streets of America were safe. And how. much did President Bush propose for the COPS program in his fiscal year 2009 budget?
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I have zero. because the number that I have is that he cut the entire program. 100 percent cut to the COPS program. zeros it out. so that there would be no COPS program. no funding to put police officers on the streets in our local communities. Its just unbelievable. We continue to hear the rhetoric come from this administration. I mean. its nice. happy talk. Its nice. happy talk that you can stand behind the podium and say whatever you want and live in bizarro world across the other side of the aisle and just ignore realty and �queeze your eyes shut and hope that people dont notice that what youre saying is not true.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. ALTMIRE. I have to compliment you because the people of western Pennsylvania. when they mader a decision to elect you. sent a champion for our Nations veterans to this institution. Since day one. I dont remember a day that has gone by that I have not heard you talk about the plight of our veterans and the importance of not forgetting them. and making sure that we are going to appropriately fund and adequately fund their health care needs. provide for their needs when they come back from their service to our country and continue to take care of them in the variety of ways that we should instead of forgetting them like so much dirty laundry and make sure that they dont get left behind. It is another example of the new direction that the people of America wanted. And when they elected you. that is exactly what you have delivered to them. And I know your constituents really appreciate it. You mentioned the lecture. which is a good description for what the State of the Union was last week that we got from President Bush. and Mr. MURPHY. I would like to say our caucus chairman. RAHM EMANUEL. did a good comparison. or timeline. of where we were at the start of the administration almost 8 years ago and where we are now. He did a press conference and talked about. gave a speech. a really good speech on the floor and just showed where we were at the start and where we are now. So. Mr. MURPHY. I know you have some of the information in front of you. as well. just to walk people through where we were then. at the beginning of this administration. At the beginning of this administration. we started with a record $5.6 trillion surplus when President Clinton left office. And President Bush will be leaving behind. Mr. MURPHY?
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. And at the beginning of the Bush administration. Mr. ALTMIRE. we were on track to pay down all of our publicly held debt. All of it. I am not sure if you have the chart in front of you right there. but. Mr. MURPHY. we were on track to pay down all of our publicly held debt. "And what is the Bush administration leaving behind?
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It is really astonishing. the dramatic difference and the swings we have gone through in the last 8 years. Who would have thought that we could go through that type of rapid deterioration? How about the economy? We are certainly not facing a strong economy right now. At the beginning of this administration. as President Clinton was leaving office. Mr. MURPHY. we had the strongest economy in three decades. We had 22 million jobs that had been created. We had a record surplus. We had a thriving economy by any definition. And now that we are wrapping up the Bush administration. what is this President leaving behind?
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Absolutely. And as we -begin to wrap up. getting back to the lecture that you referred to earlier. Mr. ALTMIRE. that we received -from President Bush last week. the matter of transparency is incredibly important. This is a President who talked about how we need to make sure that we disclose earmarks. which we took the lead on when we became the majority and made sure that we put our names next to the earmarks that we get in the appropriations act. and we are the ones that made sure that there was full disclosure and adopted the ethics package that was the most comprehensive in American history. And with this Presidents proposed budget this week. lets outline. and we are going to have some of these charts next week that are blown up so that people watching can see. but lets talk about what was left out of the budget. because he talked very nicely about transparency. and make sure that people really understand clearly what we are doing here. He left out of his budget any war costs. any costs for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan beyond the first half of this year. He also left out AMT reform beyond 2008. So all of the millions and millions of taxpayers that we helped avoid be subject to that AMT tax when we passed that legislation at the end of last year. there is no fix for them. And President Bush doesnt even count them as that going forward. which we know we are obviously going to have to do. It is fake. It is just. again. bizarro world. We can just make stuff up in the. budget and hope that people believe that it is true. This was a fairy tale document that he gave us on Monday. The good news is that the Congress actually writes the budget when push comes to shove. Then in terms of any spending policy details beyond fiscal year 2009. there was nothing detailed in this Presidents budget. Lets just give you. as I wrap up and then turn it over to the two of you to bring us home. lets just go through last year. In fiscal year 2008. President Bush requested $193 billion. Mr. MURPHY. for the war in Iraq. And in the fiscal year 2009 budget he just proposed to us on Monday. he asked for $70 billion. Good news. We are only going to spend $70 billion on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan this year.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Wow. that is so exciting. Again. we have to make sure that we are honest. transparent. and forthcoming with the American people. We cant fake it. We cant gloss it over. We have to make sure that we give them the straightforward facts and be honest with them in the budget document and in everything that we do.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

if you want to get in touch with us. you can email us at 30sOmethingdems@ mail.house.gov or go to www.speaker.gov to visit our Web site.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker. we appreciate the opportunity that has been given to us by the Speaker. PEAK OIL
Date: 2008-02-12
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. although we sometimes disagree in the debate over broader immigration policy. we all agree on one thingthat we should recognize and honor the brave Border Patrol agents who risk their lives every day on our border. Day in and day out. in often harsh conditions over unforgiving terrain. they seek to protect our borders. save from death those economic migrants lost in the desert. and protect our country. They often do battle with drug smugglers and human traffickers who have no respect for authorityor even life. Yet rarely are these agents recognized for their courage or their sacrifice. Unfortunately. sometimes it takes a tragedy for us to publicly recognize the selfless contributions that these Americans make for their country on a daily basis. In this case. that tragedy is the death of Luis Aguilar. a Senior Border Patrol agent who lost his life in the line of duty while trying to apprehend suspected drug smugglers near Yuma. Arizona on January 19. 2008. Agent Aguilar leaves behind his loving wife. Erica. his two children. Luis and Ananna. his brother. Marco Antonio. also a Senior Border Patrol agent. his sister. Angie. and his parents. Luis Aguilar and Cecilia Silva. They have all paid a heavy price for the service Luis Aguilar gave to protect this great Nation. Today we honor Agent Aguilar and all of the other Border Patrol agents who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We extend our deepest condolences to his family. as well as the families of all those who have fallen. This Nation owes a debt of gratitude to them and all of the other Border Patrol agents who devotedly and selflessly work to keep us safe.
Date: 2008-02-12
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 954. a resolution honoring Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis A. Aguilar. who recently lost his life in the line of duty. We are fortunate to have a dedicated. brave group of men and women working to secure Americas borders. Their efforts and expertise are critical to the success of any border security strategy. and to protecting our nation from dangerous individuals and goods. As the chair of the House Subcommittee on Border. Maritime and Global Counterterrorism. I am familiar with the terrain. conditions. and challenges of the southwest border and I deeply respect and value the work of ouv Border Patrol agents. I am saddened to rise today to recognize the loss of one of our dedicated Border Patrol agents. On the morning of Saturday. January 19. 2008. Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis A. Aguilar lost his life in the line of duty as he attempted to stop a suspected drug smuggler fleeing through Californias Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area outside Yuma. Arizona. We have heard that Agent Aguilar. an El Paso native and nearly 6year veteran of the Border Patrol. was not supposed to be working that day. However. he reported to work when he realized he was needed. Aguilars father. a bailiff in El Paso for Judge Mary Ann Bramblett. said senior Agent Aguilar felt a strong commitment to his job and to preventing the flow of illegal drugs across our borders from reaching our communities and families. Judge Bramblett. who knew senior Agent Aguilar since he was a boy. said. "One of the ways he felt he could really give back to the country was to serve in the Border Patrol. Serving his country and serving his family were the two most important things Luis had in his life." Mr. Speaker. Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis A. Aguilar gave his life serving our nation. I urge my colleagues to join me today in recognizing Agent Aguilars extraordinary sacrifice. and in offering our sincere sympathy to his family. friends. and loved ones.
Date: 2008-02-12
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 868. honoring the 100 year anniversary of the Muir Woods National Monument. Throughout his life. John Muir was concerned with protecting nature to enhance the spiritual side of civilization and progress. His words and deeds led to the establishment of the U.S. National Park System. In addition. John Muir was the founding president of the Sierra Club. which remains oneof the leading American grassroots organization for protecting wilderness and the human environment. On January 9. 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Muir Woods Americas 10th National Monument. When he heard of President Roosevelts act Muir wrote. "This is the best treelovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world." Today. Muir Woods attracts about 1 million people every year. and inspires them with redwoods over 260 feet high and more than 1.200 years old. Part of the Golden Gate National Parks. Muir Woods is a living and enduring symbol of John Muirs conservation ethic that nature must be preserved if humanity is to continue to thrive on this planet. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. and honor the legacy of a great American. his vision of environmental conservation. and the truly remarkable Muir Woods National Monument.
Date: 2008-02-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. with the death of Congressman TOM LANTOS. the world lost an inspiring leader who dedicated his life to religious freedom and human rights. Now. it has been noted that TOM was the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress. and I think its important to note that with the sun setting on this generation of Americans. he will very likely remain the only Holocaust survivor to have served here. His leadership and guidance served.as the moral conscience of Americas commitment to protecting human rights. He lived the concept of "never again." and he stood against persecution all over the globe. For me. I would like to get a little bit personal myself. As a newer Member of Congress. I can tell you that since I got here. TOM LANTOS always made me feel like my grandfather was looking out for me. He always had a word of encouragement. always made me feel good about myself. If I felt a little shaky. I could turn to TOM. and he would tell me. "Honey. its okay. Go out and just do your best. You are going to do great." He would always offer those words of encouragement. So that was really an incredible feeling to have that kind of support. As a young Jewish American. I can tell you that we all believed that Representative LANTOS served as a role model for what we want public service to be. His dedication to lifting up oppressed people throughout the world Fe6rudry 12. 2008 CC serves as our personal inspiration. And I know that his service was a tremendous source of pride for the Jewish community across this country and for his constituents. I. and countless others. feel a deep sense of loss in his passing. but we take solace. in the knowledge that the world is a better place because of this great individual.
Date: 2008-02-12
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I come to say goodbye to a beloved colleague and friend. The sudden news of Chairman TOM LANTOS passing has left those who had the privilege to know him without adequate words to express our grief. My thoughts and prayers go out to his caring wife Annette and to his family. I wish them strength and clarity during this difficult time. TOMs life and accomplishments reached far beyond his contributions as a legislator. Many words have been written about ToMs experiences as a youth in Nazi occupied Europe. But none of us will ever be able to speak here with the same level of experience and understanding that he had when referring to genocide. suffering. the suppression of human rights. and the denial of human dignity. TOM carried a personal sense of responsibility to fight for those who cannot always. speak for themselves: the underprivileged. the subjugated. the oppressed. It was evident in his words and actions. in every piece of legislation he crafted. and in every hand he warmly shook. His convictions were never more evident than in his work to establish the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. He founded the Caucus to- focus attention on human rights abuses around the world. Not only did he work to raise awareness and increase the scrutiny of abusive practices around the globe. he worked to stop heinous acts against our fellow women and men and to bring peaceful solutions to the conflicts that led to such atrocities. His unwavering optimism and prudent leadership will be missed. My words cannot satisfactorily articulateihe loss that his death brings to me. the House of Representatives. and to the Nation he loved and served.