macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-03-15
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you so much to my good friend. First. let me say that that is a beautiful orange and blue -tie. Mr. RYAN. an excellent choice of colors. and coincidentally. the colors of my alma mater which. by the way. is playing in the NCAA tournament beginning tomorrow night. And who will be at the White House to celebrate the national championship in football? But I digress.
Date: 2007-03-15
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And we can talk another time about which team our team defeated in order to get there. Mr. RYAN of Ohio.
Date: 2007-03-15
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

They actually went farther than that. You have a former Chief of Staff of the White House. a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire. Mr. SUNUNU. who said. "I think the Attorney General should be fired." period. dot. in the words of Mr. MEEK.
Date: 2007-03-15
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Can I share a story with you? I know I have shared this with you before. but I think its worth repeating. Right before we debated the Iraq war resolution a couple of weeks ago. I took the opportunity to go to Walter Reed and visit our wounded soldiers. had a chance to meet with six or eight of the finest young men thatI have ever encountered. One of them was a young man who suffered from an inexplicable illness and was recovering at Walter Reed.. When I met him. his wife and his 6 yearold little boy were there. The gentleman explained to me that he had been in the middle of his third tour of duty. and he had a 6 yearold little boy. Each tour was 1 year. 1 year. Now. if you do the math. that means that he missed half of his little boys life. The overwhelming sadness that came over me was almost too much to bear. I mean. this little boy was so sweet. his wife was so understanding. theywere so committed to his dads service. her husbands service. The little boy said to me. just spontaneously. you know. as 6 yearold little boys are. I have 66 7 yearold little boy so I know. he spontaneously burst out. he knew his dad was supposed to finish his tour in August. and he was going to come home forever in August. We forget this is about families and people. and we are destroying the fabric of these families.
Date: 2007-03-19
Speaker: NORMAN LISS (democrat)
Chamber: H

Chairman of Development. Ellis Island- Restoration Commission. New York. NY. - DEAR PHIL AND NORMAN. I was both thrilled and gratified to receive your letter announcing the establishment of "the Bob Hope Family Heritage Center" at Ellis Island. What a great honor for someone who just 83 years ago saw the first glimmer of this great nation of ours as a 4year old boy in knickers and had no idea of the opportunities that lay ahead. Frankly. my only concern back then was running away as fast as my little legs would carry me f tor who came to innoculate me Ing at Ellis! A great many wonderful thin pened to me sincethat day. H sure you that the honor bestow you and your commission is one most important highpoints in m reer. That it will be cherished Family for generations to come derstatement. With deep appreciation and w regards to each and every mer commission who made this hon just want to add that I admire all youve been doing to restor symbol of the American dream. Regards. tom the docbefore landgs have hapowever. I ased on me by of the single y life and caby the Hope is a true unarm personal tber of your or possible. I and respect re this great
Date: 2007-03-19
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Madam Speaker. I rise today because today marks the 4year anniversary of the war in Iraq. I would like to offer amoment of silence for the 19 members of my unit that did not make it home from Iraq. and for the thousands of brave Americans that have fallen. On this somber occasion. we must commit ourselves to honoring the memories of the fallen. and continue to do right by our troops still fighting.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Thank you. As you said. I have been to New Orleans and the region. really. some eight times. I tell them theyve got a Memberatlarge in me because I feel a great passion because you saw an example of a government that did not work. but I hate to say is not working and still is not working. Eighteen months later. we have a government. and you can say its the local government. you can say its the State government. but I am saying the Federal Government. shame on all of us because the people dont care why its not working. The point is the government is not working for them. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Let me clarify my statement. First of all. let me say that during the time of the hurricane. what I saw was a government that didnt care. It wasnt working. Everybody in the whole country. in fact. in the whole world saw that. It was a real serious indictment on the Bush administration that was in charge. But I said since that time people have blamed the local government. the State government and the Federal Government. Yes. we have done our part. but perhaps we could have done a better job in spelling out how that money is to be used. because regardless of how much money we have appropriated. and we have appropriated and we have done a good job with that. the money has not gotten down to the people that we intended for it to get to.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Before I decide whether to withdraw my amendment. I have some questions for Ms. WATERS about the present status of the deadlines that are in the bill. and maybe she can clarify it for me. I have a concern that we have certain dates and deadlines in this bill. And. of course. this bill. when it passes the House. has to go to the Senate. and we have certain deadlines in that bill. and then the President has to sign it. I am concerned that when it is signed. that the residents wont have an adequate amount of time to respond. As you well know. in the -hearing that took place 18 months ago. H1UfD and Public Housing said of the residents that they had surveyed that they had only contacted about 25 percent. And so I want to make sure that those people are not disadvantaged and we are all on the same page. We all care about the same people. Can you clarify for me the status of that situation?
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

My question. and it is from going down to New Orleans and talking to the residents. their concern is that. as someone said earlier. we have appropriated billions of dollars for that area. I want to know to this date how much money has been spent on the Road Home program. how much money has been expended for administrative costs. and then. what kind of fees have been attached?
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I have one last question on this program before I withdraw my. amendment. My understanding is if a person lives in their house and is eligible for $50.000. that we can charge fees up to $30.000 if that person is not coming back to the New Orleans area.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I am going to withdraw my amendment at this time. Mr. Chairman. I will be talking to both Chairs of the committee. I want to let you know that I sincerely thank both of you for the leadership that you have shown in this area. And just remember. they do have a Memberatlarge.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Thirty percent of money. In addition. my understanding is that. for example. if that person didnt have insurance. and even though the insurance told them that they were not in the area. and they have that in writing. they werent in the flood area. they were penalized 30 percent. So that is $30.000. So then a person could end up with $20.000 for their home. and they cannot rebuild with that.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I thank the Members who have spoken before me. and I am greatly concerned about the amendment. I am concerned because I. too. understand what happened with 9/11. It was one of the great disasters of our time. and yet I know of no amendments comparable to this one. My friend from Texas and I in committee engaged in somewhat of a Q and A. so I believe it appropriate and fair that he and I do a similar thing at this time. So to my friend from Texas I ask. what amendment would you have imposed on the more than $15 billion that the families received after 9/11? Which. by the way. I think was appropriate. I ask my friend to respond. and I yield him such time as he may need within my 2 minutes to do so.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Because my time is limited. let me just ask. if you would. what would you have done. is my question.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. because I have a modified amendment at the desk. I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 5 be modified.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself 30 seconds. Mr. Chairman. apparently it is understood. I suppose. that moving is not a pleasant thing. and in contemplation of moving. many persons become distraught. I personally dont like moving. and I suspect that many of my friends on the other side do not. My point is it creates a lot of stress in the lives of people to move from deadline to deadline. This amendment extends a lifeline and gives them the time to adjust their lives. Mr. Chairman. I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself 30 seconds. My response is that this is only for persons who are eligible to receive the relief. This means that persons must be eligible for the section 8 vouchers to receive the vouchers. This is not for people who just happen to be in need of someplace to stay and may be making $30.000. $40.000. $50.000 to $60.000 a year. They must qualify. " Mr. Chairman. I yield 4 minutes to the honorable gentleman from North Carolina . the former Chair of the CBC.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I yield 6V2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts . the chairman of the Committee on Financial Services.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota . who is also a part of the committee.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself the remainder of the time. Mr. Chairman. many of the persons who will receive these vouchers are persons Who will be working full time and living below the poverty line. persons who are what we call extremely lowincome persons. making around $12.000 per year. Does someone argue that a person making $12.000 per year should not receive some assistance for housing? That is what we are talking about. persons working below the poverty line full time. family of two. You are making about $13.000 if you are going to reach poverty line. and these vouchers go away. They are not vouchers that are permanent. They are only there to help as needed. and once the need ceases to exist. the vouchers will cease to exist. People are suffering. Moving from one deadline to another deadline causes a lot of stress in the lives of the persons who have these vouchers or who have these temporary living conditions. and their children are suffering. The children are in schools. At some point people want to know that they -have stability. that their children can attend the same school all gear long. that at Christmastime there is no threat that they will have to move from one place to another. At some point we have to give them the stability that they deserve. Finally. people still cry. They have tears to well in their eyes when they talk about what happened to them. Why would we continue to compound what is already a distressful situation -by adding additional stress to their lives by threatening them with eviction? In closing. I mention only that we have the ability to do the right thing. or we can try to do something right. We can try to put a process in place. I say it is time for us to do the right thing. and in the process. I think we will be doing something the right way as well. Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2007-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

The Chair will reduce to 5 minutes the time for any electronic vote after the first vote in this series.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to extend the authority to withhold from public availability a financial disclosure report filed by an individual who is a judicial officer or judicial employee. to the extent necessary toprotect the safety of that individual or a family member of that individual. and for other purposes.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. today I rise in strong support of H.R. 1130. the Judicial Disclosure Responsibility Act. This legislation would amend the Ethics in Government Act by extending for an additional 4 years the Judicial Conferences authority to redact information. as necessary. to protect judicial employees and their families. In 1998. Congress recognized the potential threats against individual judges and authorized the judicial branch to redact. as circumstances may require. information from financial disclosure reports before they are released to the public. This bill will allow the courts to continue taking necessary steps to protect judges. their staffs and their families. Past incidences of violence against judges and their families demonstrate the need for this legislation. Most notable was the matter involving Judge Joan Lefkow. On April 6. 2003. a defendant was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for soliciting themurder of Judge Lefkow. Two years later. that same judge returned to her home one day and found her husband and mother murdered by a former litigant whose case Judge Lefkow had dismissed. We need to restore the judiciarys authority in appropriate circumstances to protect their personal information about residences and other frequented locations so as to better ensure their security and peace of mind. The redaction authority has been: used sparingly. In a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. the Judicial Conference reported that of the 3.942 Federal judiciary employees required to file financial disclosure reports in 2004. only 177 reports were redacted before release. and those only partially. It is with the greatest care that these documents are redacted to maintain an appropriate balance between protection of judiciary employees and the publics right to know about potential conflicts of interest. This legislation was favorably reported out of the House Committee on the Judiciary. It would ensure the protection of personal information of the judicialbranch while ensuring that the public retains its right to access an.nual disclosure reports. We cannot expect judges to effectively carry out their duties if they are forced to expose themselves and their loved ones to danger. The effectiveness of our court system depends on ensuring they can take reasonable steps to protect their safety. I strongly support this important legislation. and urge its adoption by the House. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I think this bill strikes the proper balance between protecting judges. their staffs and their families. and balancing that with the publics right to know. With that. I urge its adoption by this House.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to clarify that territories and Indian Tribes are eligible to receive grants for confronting the use of methamphetamine. as amended.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. today I rise in strong support of H.R. 545. the Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act of 2007. This legislation establishes the clear intent of Members of Congress to assist Native Americans in combating the threat of methamphetamine. This threat looms great in our country. and nowhere greater than in Native American communities. Studies have shown that Native American communities have more than double the methamphetamine use rates of other communities. According to surveys performed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. over 70 percent of Indian tribes identified methamphetamine as the drug that poses the greatest threat to their reservation. and also estimated that at least 40 percent of violent crime cases investigated in Indian country involved methamphetamine in some capacity. From hearings in the House and from other reports. we learn that current Federal laws and programs designed to prevent the spread of methamphetamine use have proven to be reasonably effective. but we identified serious gaps with respect to protecting our Native American communities from this dangerous drug. Unfortunately. the attempt to fix these gaps in the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005. passed in the last Congress as part of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. inadvertently left out tribal organizations. as well as territories. as eligible applicants for certain grants. 0l 1745 H.R. 545. the Native American Methamphetamine Enforcement and Treatment Act of 2007. corrects that oversighit. Included in the Combat Meth Act were provisions that authorized funding for three important grant programs within the Department of Justice: first. the COPS Hot Spots program. second. the DrugEndangered Children program. and third. the Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders program. Although Native American tribes and territories were included as eligible grant recipients under the Pregnant and Parenting Women Offenders program. they were unintentionally left out as possible grant recipients under the COPS Hot Spots program and the DrugEndangered Children program. To correct this oversight. H.R. 545 ensures that territories and Indian tribes are included aseligible grant recipients under programs to. one. address thae manufacture. sale and use of methamphetamine. two. aid children in homes in which methamphetamine or other drugs are unlawfully manufactured. distributed. dispensed or used. and three. address methamphetamine use by pregnant and parenting women offenders. I strongly support this important legislation and urge its adoption by the House. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time. "
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I want to -just thank Mr. UDALL on his excellent work in helping to correct this oversight. I urge this bills adoption.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend title 18. United States Code. to prevent caller ID spoofing. and for other purposes.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the author of the bill. the gentleman from Virginia
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. may I inquire of the gentleman from Texas if he is prepared to yield back the balance of his time?
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. it is clear that this antiphonespoofing bill is a thoughtful. wellcrafted. bipartisan piece of legislation. I urge its adoption. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you so much to my friend from Connecticut. It is a pleasure to join you in the 30Something Working Group once again. And we need to remind our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Mr. Speaker. that. on November 7. the American people sent us a very loud message. They sent- us a loud message that they wanted us to move this country in a new direction. We began to do that. We heard them. and we began to do that in implementing our 100 hours agenda. our Six in 06 agenda. by adopting a bill that would establish an increase in the minimum wage. by having the student loan interest rate. by making sure that we hold pharmaceutical companies feet to the fire and ensure that. for Medicare part D prescription drug beneficiaries. that we negotiate for lower drug prices. We wanted to make sure that we expand the research into uses of alternative energy. So what do we do? We repealed the subsidies that were given away by the Republicans to the oil industry so that we can use that money more appropriately to fund alternative energy research. We passed legislation that would implement fully the 9/11 Commission recommendations. And. on top of that. the other piece of the new direction pie was clearly the message sent by the American people.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

for all the bad news that I heard on the campaign trail. the good news is this bill that we will vote on will honor that service. one of the biggest infusions of funding support for the veterans health care system that this country has ever seen. And I can just hope that when I go back out there this summer. when I am going out just to knock on doors to check on people in a noncampaign environment. that you will hear a very different story. that they will feel finally their stories are being heard. I yield to Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ.
Date: 2007-03-21
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. Because now they finally have responsive government. Mr. MURPHY. They finally know that the Members who represent them collectively in this Chamber. the Members that are leading this Chamber are hearing them. that it is not falling on deaf ears. that this institution is not of the special interests. for the special interests. and by the special interests any longer. Now we have restored this to actually be the peoples House. and our leadership and our agenda is a reflection of the interests of the people. And as much as they might like to say that that wasnt the case. privately in their heart of hearts when they went to sleep at night. our Republican colleagues had to lay down in the .dark by themselves when they went to bed and know that they werent addressing the needs of the American people. I mean. I am not someone who lives and dies by polling. but look at the polling. Look at the numbers towards the end of last year and how the American people generally felt about the job that this Congress was doing. That is a reflection on all of us. It is just appalling that the American people would have. confidence in the twenties in the likelihood that Congress was going to be responsive to them. They would express support for their individual Member of Congress. but collectively as an institution they have lost confidence in us.