macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding. Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying bill. H.R. 5501. the Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde HIV/AIDS. Tuberculosis. and Malaria Reauthorization Act. I would like to thank the chairmanand ranking member for their work on this important legislation authorizing $50 billion to fight AIDS. tuberculosis. and malaria overseas. I also support a provision added by the Senate to authorize $2 billion to fund essential programs and infrastructure development for Native American tribes. sovereign nations within our own borders. The United States has a special governmenttogovernment relationship to the federally recognized American Indian tribes. as established in the U.S. Constitution. The $750 million for tribal law enforcement and public safety would provide funding for detention facilities. police officers. tribal courts. and other crucial services. In June of 2007. the House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on the Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota entitled "The Needs and Challenges of Tribal Law Enforcement on Indian Reservations." At the hearing tribal leaders shared examples of police departments stretched too thin. They spoke of how a lack of law enforcement personnel negatively impacts victims of crime and undermines the sense of security across their communities. The funding in todays bill will empower tribes to improve the law enforcement and judicial systems on their reservations. Additionally. I support the $250 million for the Indian Health Service included in the bill. The Indian Health Service is the Federal health care provider for approximately 1.5 million American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Across the country tribal leaders agree that health care is one of their top concerns. American Indians in my region of the country die from cancer at a rate approximately 40 percent greater than the general United States population. American Indians are over two times more likely than nonIndians to be diagnosed with diabetes. The $250 million in the bill is one important step towards addressing the great needs for health care across Indian country. And. finally. Native American reservations are often located in remote rural areas where the basic water and sewer infrastructure many of us take for granted is not well developed. The $1 billion helps address the need for safe. clean. reliable sources of water. Again I thank the chairman and ranking member for their work on the bill. I look forward to supporting this bill that addresses the needs of populations both overseas and on Native American reservations.
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague. Mr. Speaker. what our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have not told the American people is if you look at the report from our own Department of Energy. they can see that drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge wont put one drop of new gas on the market for at least 10 years. and then it will only wind up having an insignificant impact on price 20 years from now. The American people dont have 20 years to wait. We need action. and this is an opportunity to provide that action by tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a responsible way to help bring down price. After all. the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the supply of oil we put away for Americas rainy day. There are over 700 million gallons of oil there. more than any other time in American history. And when it comes to the hurt that the American people are feeling economically. their rainy day is now. This has been tapped into by the last three Presidents. including the current President. and if we responsibly just put a. little bit of this oil away. we can provide relief at the pump today. Unfortunately. the President has resisted our call. just like he resisted our call to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve which he finally relented in doing. We need to pass this legislation. This is not a longterm policy. We need to work together to make sure that on a longterm basis we tap the ingenuity of this country on renewable energy. energy efficiency. and responsible drilling. but Americans are hurting now. This is not a socalled "mental recession" as we heard from former Senator Phil Gramm. The pain is real. and we need to address it now. You know. a few months ago I think we all saw a spectacle that made us shudder. We saw President Bush travel to Saudi Arabia to plead with their king to pump more oil. The Saudi king turned him down coldno. President Bush. I dont think we should have to go around begging other countries to pump more oil when we have a Strategic Petroleum Reserve of oil right here at home that has been set aside for a rainy day. Our rainy day is now. Lets pass this legislation.
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I thank my Georgia colleague and member of our Energy and Commerce Committee for yielding to me. And I stand here in strong support of H.R. 6578. the Consumer Energy Supply Act for 2008. introduced by my good friend from Texas and a leader in the House on energy issues. NICK LAMPSON. as well as my esteemed colleague on our committee. Representative ED MARKEY of Massachusetts. Now. I have to admit. I agreewe need everything. Mr. Speaker. We need to drill more. And frankly. my Michigan colleague. maybe we ought to drill in the part of Lake Michigan that we are not allowed to drill in. since Canada drills there and probably exports that gas to us. But this bill is so important because this is something we can do immediately. Todays rising petroleum gasoline prices are taking a toll on our hardworking families. even in our district that produce a lot of refined products. And lets be clear. There are no quick fixes or easy answers to the high price of gas. Prices are set by complex factors like climbing world demand and geopolitical events. But for the problems within our control. the proper management of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. or the SPR. we need to take steps necessary to protect the American consumers interest. I do not believe the current administration has properly managed the SPR. The SPR exists to protect us during the energy crisis. and is almost full to its 227 million barrel capacity. But while the cost per barrel of oil skyrocketed. the administration continued to purchase highpriced oil off the market to put in the SPR. limiting the amount of oil available. Granted. it is a small amount. but it would still allow for that additional oil to be on the market. But Congress fixed that when it sent legislation to the President. And I supported it and it was signed in law to suspend oil additions to the SPR until the end of the year. unless the price of oil falls below $75. I also believe that when oil prices are very high. we should release SPR oil into the market to increase supply. as the Department of Energy did in response to Hurricane Katrina. Consistent with the Government Accountability Office recommendation to add heavy crude to our national reserves. this bill would modernize SPR by requiring DOE-
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

By requiring the DOE to conduct the sale or exchange within 6 months the 70 million barrels of light crude for heavy crude. The GAO found that refineries who. if forced to rely solely on SPR oil during an emergency. would experience a 5 percent reduction in their production capacity. This bill will increase the ability of refineries to respond to supply disruption. and optimize our SPRs effectiveness. This release would have an immediate impact on the market. reducing the prices at the pump. and easing the effects of energy market speculation. This is a good first step. And I urge my colleagues. make this step. because we do have a lot of other steps we have to make.
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

changed their vote from "nay" to "yea." So (twothirds not being in the affirmative) the motion was rejected. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. Stated for:
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of the Senate amendments to the Tom Lantos and Henry J. -lyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS. Tuberculosis. and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. Five years ago. Congress showed leadership and passed legislation on a bipartisan basis to address the global pandemics of HIV/ AIDS. tuberculosis and malaria. While enormous progress has been made s.ince 2003. the number of people who are affected by these diseases is still staggering. The United Nations estimates that thirtythree million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. with AIDS causing approximately 1.6 m Ilion deaths in subSaharan Africa in 2007. We have a moral obligation to lead the fight against these global diseases. This legislation will authorize $48 billion over five years for our global HIV/AIDS. tuberculosis and malaria efforts. It will allow the United States to provide continued assistance for these pandemics in developing countries and will strengthen the health systems in host countries by giving them more flexibility to plan. direct. and manage prevention. treatment and care programs. I am also pleased that this legislation includes a provision that authorizes funding for the research and development of new :uberculosis vaccines. which have the potential to save millions of lives. Mr. Speaker. we still have much work to do. I urge my colleagues to continue and reaffirm Americas commitment to combating HIV/ AIDS. tuberculosis. and malaria b supporting this muchneeded bipartisan anc bicameral legislation.
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. this bill underscores the United States position as the world leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Tuberculosis. and Malaria. In addition to all that the bill does to fight the three diseases on a global level. the bill finally does away with an outdated and unnecessary provision in immigration law that prevents persons with HIV from visiting or immigrating to the United States. This provision. in place for over 20 years. has kept parents from children and sisters from brothers. It has slowed research and discourse by preventing many researchers and other experts in the field from entering the country. And it has significantly undermined our leadership in the fight against HIV. The U.S. is one of only 12 countries in the world to have such harsh .HIVbased restrictions on entry. The others include Sudan. Libya. Russia and Saudi Arabia. Even China has recently overturned its ban. This discriminatory policy has no basis in public health. and it should have been stricken long ago. Our immigration laws have long prevented the admission of persons who have communicable diseases that HHS believes are of "public health significance." In 1993. HHS sought to remove HIV from this list. But Congress. in a time of fear and ignorance about the disease. kept it in. HIV is now the only medical condition permanently listed in the INA as a basis for inadmissibility. For any other disease. HHS retains the discretion to determine. with the wealth of medical and public health expertise at its disposal. whether that illness should be a bar to admission. HHS does not believe that HIV should present such a bar. Neither do the American Medical Association. the Centers for Disease Control. the World Health Organization. and other public health organizations. These experts agree that there is no medical or public health rationale for this policy. The policy also keeps worldrenowned experts. doctors. and researchers from participating in U.S. hosted efforts to combat the epidemic. Indeed. since 1993. the International Conference on AIDS has not been held -on U.S. soil. It is time we end this discriminatory policy.
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support for H.R. 5501. the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS. Tuberculosis. and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. This important piece of legislation outlines the United States efforts to combat the devastating effects of AIDS. Malaria. and Tuberculosis on our global community. I am extremely encouraged that this bill declares Tuberculosis control a major objective of U.S. foreign assistance programsparticulary. that this bill will encourage the development of a TB vaccine. TB is the leading killer of people with HIV/ AIDS. and the explosion of drugresistant TB in subSaharan Africa threatens to halt and roll back our progress in combating both diseases. In fact. the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 1.7 milion people died of tuberculosis in 2006. with 200.000 dying from HIVassociated TB. The TB germ is constantly changing and drug resistant strains have been found in 28 countries on 6 continents. Our current TB Vaccine. BCG. is more than 85 years old and is not compatible -against pulmonary TB. which accounts for most TB cases. Even right here in the United States. it is estimated that 10 to 15 million people in the U.S. have latent TB. Therefore. developing a vaccine has important implications both internationally and domestically.. Studies also show that the ten year economic benefits of a TB vaccine that was only 75 percent effective could result in an estimated savings of $25 billion. no one can deny that this is a significant amount. This legislation is a good start in our critical battle against TB and we as a legislative body need to continue to work on TB efforts both internationally and right here at home. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I want to first take a minute to thank my colleague Congressman. ALCEE HASTINGS from Florida for working with leadership to this important legislation to the floor.
Date: 2008-07-24
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Members of Congress do not like to miss votes on the House floor. and I agree with that feeling. There is sometimes very good reason Members do miss votes. whether it is illness or important business in our district. This last week. I missed both Tuesday and Wednesday due to an important reason: my wife and I became grandparents for the third time. Our grandson was born Tuesday. July 22. at 3:20 p.m. at Christus St. Johns Hospital in Houston. Braden Alexander Hewlett weighed in at 8 pounds. 1 ounce. and 19 inches long. Our daughter. Dr. Angela Hewlett. and her husband. father Dr. Alex Hewlett. and now big sister. Lauren. who is all of 3 years old. and Braden are doing well. and I want to congratulate their growing family.
Date: 2008-07-29
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. as the Chairwoman of the Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4255. as amended. which the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee passed on June 26 and the full Committee approved on July 15. I would like to congratulate Chairman FILNER for introducing this bill to authorize the VA to make a grant to the United States Olympic Committee to provide and develop activities for servicemembers and veterans with physical disabilities. I also would like to thank full Committee Ranking Member BUYER for his leadership and willingness to work with the majority to combine provisions of his bill. H.R. 1370. with the Chairmans bill. The United States Olympic Committee Paralympics Program Act will help increase the participation of disabled veterans in physical activities and sports to promote healthyliving. help elitelevel athletes compete in sporting programs. and help our wounded servicemembers transition to the next stage in their lives. Again. I thank the Chairman and Ranking Member BUYER for their leadership on this important issue. I encourage my. colleagues to support H.R. 4255.
Date: 2008-07-29
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: South Dakota

for her bipartisan leadership in crafting this bill. Improving Servicemens Civil Relief Act and USERRA Protections Act of 2008. to help protect our Nations veterans. Congresswoman SUSAN DAVIS from my hometown of San Diego. Congressman PATRICK MURPHY who will be heard from soon from Pennsylvania. and Congressman JOHN CARTER from Texas also introduced language that is part of this legislation. When they are called to duty. our servicemembers across the Nation leave their loved ones. they leave school. they leave work behind. Unfortunately. as we have many examples today. some of these servicemembers find difficulty in spite of presumed law to get back their old job. to get back into their housing or their enrollment at an institute of higher education. We have to make sure that all these men and women who are called up for service who do their duty dont have to face these difficulties which many thought were protected in law. We must honor their sacrifice by providing them with adequate protections so that they may have peace of mind that their interests and their families interests are protected while serving our Nation. This bill will protect these men and women by encouraging courts to use their full equity powers. including temporary or permanent injunctions. temporary restraining orders. and contempt orders. to protect the rights and benefits of these veterans. This section would amend title 38 by changing the "may" word to "shall." Language that was authored by Congresswoman SUSAN DAVIS of California requires institutions of higher education to refund tuition for servicemembers who have not received academic credit. or allow servicemembers the opportunity to reenroll in the same academic status prior to their military service. The language also places a cap on the interest of student loans at 6 percent while the student is fulfilling military service. As we will hear. language was included by our new member. PATRICK MURPHY of Pennsylvania. to allow servicemembers to terminate or suspend service contracts such as cell phone. housing. or utility contracts. due to a permanent station of change of station or deployment orders. And Congressman CARTER of Texas included the allowance of the spouse of an active duty member to maintain the same State of residency as the servicemember for State taxation. and to allow the spouse -to claim the same State as the servicemember in regards to State and property taxes. and voter registration. Mr. Speaker. we must honor our men and women who dutifully serve our Nation. When they leave home. they should not have to worry about receiving a negative academic status. paying for a service which they cannot use. or paying taxes in a State for this which they dont claim. They should be afforded the rights and benefits that they honorably are fighting for. I urge my colleagues to support the bill to protect these servicemembers and veterans. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-07-29
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. as the Chairwoman of the Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee and sponsor of. the bill. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6225. as amended. which the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee passed on June 26 and the full Committee approved on July 15. I would like to thank full Committee Chairman FILNER. Ranking Member BUYER. and Subcommittee Ranking Member BOOZMAN for their leadership and bipartisan support of this bill. which I introduced on June 10. 2008. The bill would amend section 2 of title 38 by declaring the court "shall" instead of "may" use its full equity powers. including temporary or permanent injunctions. temporary restraining orders. and contempt orders. to protect the rights and benefits of veterans. It is my expectation that more courts will use this remedy when deemed appropriate that equitable relief is warranted. I also would like to thank Mr. Matthew Tully of Tully and Rinckey LLC. who specializes in law under USERRA. and brought the need for this change to our Subcommittees attention during a hearing on February 13 of this year. I also would like to thank Representative SUSAN DAVIS for the introduction of H.R. 2910. "The Veterans Education Tuition Support Act." Representative PATRICK MURPHY for the introduction of H.R. 3298 "The 21st Century Servicemembers Protection Act." and Representative .JOHN CARTER for the introduction of H.R. 6070. "The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act"-all of which have also been included in H.R. 6225. These bills take steps in the right direction to providing greater protections and safeguards to those that have answered the call to duty. Again. I thank Chairman FILNER for his support of these important bills. I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 6225. as amended.
Date: 2008-07-29
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. as the Chairwoman of the Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee and sponsor of the "Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act." which has been included in the "Improving Veterans Opportunity in Educatior and Business Act." I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6221. as amended. I would like to thank full Committee Chairman FILNER. Ranking Member BUYER. and the sponsor of the bill. Subcommittee Ranking Member BOOZMAN for their leadership and bipartisan support of this bill. which the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee passed on June 26 and the full Committee approved on As I noted. this important measure to improve business and education opportunities for veterans includes the "Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act." which I introduced on June 10 of this year. The purpose of my bill is to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a 5year pilot program to expand on existing workstudy activities for veterans. Currently. veterans that qualify for workstudy would be limited to working on VA related work. My bill would allow those veterans the option of working in academic departments and student services. This change would put them at par with students that qualify for a workstudy position under programs not administered by the VA. I also would like to thank Representative PETER WELCH for a bill. which was also included in H.R. 6221. to reauthorize the Military Occupational Specialty Transition (MOST) Program. and Subcommittee Ranking Member BOOZMAN for the introduction of the underlying bill to require VA contractees to comply with contracting goals and preferences for small businesses owned by veterans. Again. I thank Chairman BOOZMAN for sponsoring this important bill. I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 6221.*as amended.
Date: 2008-07-29
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speakers table the bill to amend and extend the Higher Education Act of 1965. and for other purposes. with a Senate amendment thereto. disagree to the Senate amendment. and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.