macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: JUDY CHU (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. yesterday morning. I woke up to the news that. overnight. a 4yearold boy in my district. in Altadena. California. became one of the latest victims of gun violence. Salvador Esparza III was sitting on his front porch with a family friend when a car drove up. fired at least 13 rounds. and drove off. leaving two bodies. Hours later. we finally heard the tragic news. Little Salvador was dead. I was heartbroken. Now. I know the doctors did everything they could to save his life. But what are we doing in Congress? Nothing. Another life cut short. another family torn apart. another day of silence from Congress. The NRA tells us the solution is more guns. Well. we already have more guns than any other country in the world. and it is not working. Having more guns would not have helped 4yearold Salvador. But we could have. Enough is enough. We must pass no fly. no buy and we must pass universal background checks.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I urge Speaker RYAN to bring commonsense gun violence prevention legislation to the floor this week. Justice will never be served for the victims of Tucson. Aurora. Newtown. Charleston. San Bernardino. and Orlando as long as this body refuses to act and once again accepts the status quo. I support the Second Amendment and the right of Americans to own firearms. but I believe it is the responsibility of this body to ensure effective laws are in place to keep all Americans safe from gun violence. Congress did nothing after 20 children were fatally shot in Newtown in 2012. and nothing following what happened in Orlando. where 49 innocent people were murdered. Congress must pass legislation that will require comprehensive background checks and close the gun show loophole. That is why I am a cosponsor of the ThompsonKing legislation. We must make progress in gun safety and mental health awareness and support gun safety lock laws.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. there is something seriously wrong with the priorities in Congress. Time and time again. this body is choosing to put political posturing above the interests. safety. and wellbeing of the American people. Earlier today. I attended an Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing that was termed an emergency because the committee Republicans did not approve of a decision by career officials at the FBI and Justice Department to end the email case involving Secretary Clinton. In this hyperpartisan era. that counts as an emergency. But the continuing plague of gun violence. one that takes over 32.000 innocent lives a year. has been. once again. put on the back burner. There is no sense of urgency. No bill. no vote. Mr. Speaker. this is no way to take care of the American peoples interests.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: JUDY CHU (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation to honor the memory of Trooper Chad P. Dermyer. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation to honor the memory of Mr. Rayland "Ray Ray" Maryland. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: MICHAEL F. DOYLE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsyl

vania. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation to honor the memory of Gino Nicholas. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. to honor the memory of Laquan McDonald. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: BRENDAN F. BOYLE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsyl

vania. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. to honor the memory of Jerome Wright. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I thank my colleague from Colorado. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. to honor the memory of Kiara Kinard. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on this House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. in honor of the memory of Mercy Cordova. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence here on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. to honor the memory of Tre Lane. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on this floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. a bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. in honor of Kendrick Forrest. a victim of gun violence from my dis trict who never received a moment of silence on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. to honor the memory of 5yearold Aaron Shannon. Jr.. a victim of gun violence shot down in his backyard. who never received a moment of silence on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. which would fall under the Committee on the Judiciary on which I serve as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Crime. Terrorism. Homeland Security. and Investigations. to honor the memory of Ronald McPhatter. a child of some mother and some father. and honor the memory of Ronald McPhatter. a victim of gun violence. who never received a moment of silence or action on this House floor. Ronald McPhatter needs justice.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. to the floor to honor the memory of David Washington. David Washington is a victim of gun violence. He cant speak for himself anymore. and he never received a moment of silence or a moment of action on this House floor. but he deserves one.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. and this is to honor the memory of Carl Batie. a former Mercer County corrections officer who was an innocent bystander killed in a hail of gunfire in a gangrelated fight in the city of Trenton in my district. I do this to honor Mr. Batie. who was that victim. and I do this because he never received a moment of silence and he has never received a moment of action on this House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: JUDY CHU (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. to honor the memory of Brenda Lee Marquez McCool. a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of action on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. in honor of the memory of Darryl R. Burt. II. yet another Black man who lost his life to senseless violence. He never received a moment of silence on the House floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217. the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation. to honor the memory of Edward Sotomayor. Jr.. a victim of gun violence in Orlando at the Pulse Nightclub who never. ever has received a moment of action on this floor.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank Mr. SERRANO for yielding. You just described this as a shot across the bow to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. and you are absolutely right. They are attempting to tell them not to bring fair lending cases against indirect automobile finance companies. This amendment is about protecting wrongdoers who gouge racial and ethnic minorities with high markups on car loans even when their income. their credit scores. and their financial backgrounds are the same as Whites. The amendment is about protecting companies like Ally Financial. Fifth Third Bank. Honda and Toyota Motor Credit. all of whom have had to enter into settlements with the Bureau over their indirect auto loan practices. All told. the CFPB. again. has secured nearly $162 million in borrower relief and penalties to help these borrowers. In their investigations. the Bureau found that minority borrowers paid more than $200 over the life of a car loan than White borrowers. even when controlling for borrowers creditworthiness. Studies have shown that minority borrowers are less likely to be aware of interest rate markups. According to the Center for Responsible Lending. 68 percent of all borrowers were unaware that dealers have the ability to mark up an interest rate above what a lender offers based on their creditworthiness and the car being sold. but nearly 75 percent of African American and Hispanic borrowers are unaware that the practice of dealer markups even exists. The guidance that this amendment seeks to nullify clearly outlines steps that lenders can take to protect borrowers from potentially discriminatory lending practices that often occur without the borrower even being aware of it occurring. So we know what the intent of this amendment is. but on a practical level. the amendment will only invite confusion into the industry. After all. this amendment does nothing to address lenders obligations under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Instead. the amendment only strikes guidance the CFPB has provided to those lenders providing clarity on how they can meet their obligations under the law. The issue has come up before in this Congress. but no matter where you stood on H.R. 1737. a bill we considered last year. you should be against this amendment. To the Members on the opposite side of the aisle. you are supposed to have a poverty agenda. and you claim that you are taking on a new direction. that you want to have reduced poverty and deal with the problems of minorities and people in rural communities. et cetera. This is what keeps poverty in these communities. We have these blue suede. slick dealers of all kindswhether they are automobile lenders or payday loans or auto loans. all of this stuffcoming into these communities. taking advantage of the most vulnerable people who want to get out of poverty. You say you want to help. but then you come in and you attack the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. You hate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. You want to do everything to undermine their authority.
Date: 2016-07-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I said this earlier today. When I left my hometown. four people were gunned down during the July Fourth holiday. and over the time period we have all been working to find common ground on making sure that we have sensible. safe gun legislation. But right now. outside the United States Capitol are throngs of individuals who have come because of the incidents of the last 48 hours. the loss of Mr. Sterling in Baton Rouge. Louisiana. in an unfortunate and unspeakable and inexplicable shooting by law enforcement. and then. unfortunately. the tragic shooting of Mr. Castile. a cafeteria manager loved by children and a licensed gun owner. We love our police. We call 911. But there have to be hearings. meetings with the Attorney General. and an understanding of how we can address the question of the shootings of African American men. The numbers are high. the statistics documented. and we must find reliefnot a moment of silence. but action. The phone in my office is ringing constantly. People are in pain. Young people want to ask the question. "Do Black lives matter?" and we want to answer the question. "Yes." We want to do it in a bipartisan. multicultural way. America has to address these concerns and do it now.
Date: 2016-07-08
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the conference report of S. 524. the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). Families devastated by opioid addiction deserve action. and this legislation will take some important steps to reduce the toll on our communities. None of our districts is immune to this epidemic that is causing so much death and heartache. The conference report includes elements from both the bipartisan House and Senate versions of their respective opioid measures recently approved almost unanimously. It includes provisions that incorporate prevention tactics and expanded access to treatment. recovery support services. and overdose reversals. Additionally. the report encourages criminal justice agencies to integrate and sustain MedicationAssisted Treatment (MAT) programs. Although this report includes vital and much needed measures. we cannot pretend that it will solve the problem. I am disappointed that this legislation does not include adequate funding to fully help us get ahead of this crisis. During conference. my Democratic colleagues from both chambers offered amendments that would provide funding for the authorizations within the package. Unfortunately. they were turned down. so we must continue to fight for the resources necessary to meaningfully implement this package. I request my colleagues to support this report and to continue to work on a bipartisan basis to provide the resources needed to save lives.
Date: 2016-07-08
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. let me thank my colleagues from Texas for joining me. The calculated ambush and murders of the Dallas law enforcement officers during a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas last night was a disgraceful act of violence. It happened in my district. I live less than five blocks away. My prayers and sympathy go out to the families of the officers slain and the victims of the shooting. Our response going forwardnot just in Dallas. but across our Nationwill be more important now than ever before. My thoughts and prayers are also with the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. who violently lost their lives this week as well. We must deescalate violence. This recent violence serves as a stark reminder that relations between law enforcement and the communities they serve remains extremely tense. and we must do everything we can not to inflame this tension even further. We need to recognize the root cause of this tension and work to end the divisiveness between law enforcement and citizens. I do also want to commend the Dallas Police Department. Dallas Police Chief David Browna constituent and someone I work with very closelyand the Dallas Area Rapid Transit for their brave and swift response to the shooting. These officers are among some of the most capable and professional law enforcement officers in the country. and I commend them for their bravery during this incident. Mr. Speaker. I ask not just for a moment of silence but also for firm action. We need to bring meaningful legislation to the floor that will help bridge the divide between law enforcement and our communities.
Date: 2016-07-08
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. as a resident of Texas. representing parts of Houston. Texas. which includes the headquarters of the Houston Police Department. the Nations heart is heavy and saddened. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Dallas and to the families who have lost their fallen heroes. We respect all of those who are on the front line of allowing the American people to protest. We understand the young people. who are many colors and backgrounds. who felt compelled to protest the loss of life of two individuals. The law enforcement officers respected that. too. They understood the pain of Mr. Castile and Mr. Sterlings deaths. Always in America. we have been able to come as protesters under the Constitution. but we recognize that law and order is the standard of this Nation. As I pray for these families. I ask the Congresspersons to rise to the level of leaders and leadership to seek out unity. As I just spoke to the head of my police department. I extended my hand to be able to work together with community and police to bring us together because that is why we are a great Nation. In Houston on Sunday. we will march and mourn for those fallen. but we will be praying for nonviolence in this Nation. What I will say. Mr. Speaker. is that the words that are ugly of those who want to divide us. I will not hear them and I will not listen to them. I will only embrace and bring us together. I will tell the young people whose faces I saw last evening in Washington. who were an array of mosaic colors. backgrounds. and religions. that we love you and we thank you for this protest of nonviolence. We will stand against violent gun behavior. thugs. and terrorists. Americans want unity. respect. and human dignity for all.
Date: 2016-07-08
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. that which has occurred in Dallas. Texas. gives a sad meaning to the term "in the line of duty." In the line of duty. there are husbands who will not return home. In the line of duty. peace officers will not return home. Although I dont know the gender of all of them. I want to make sure I cover them all. so let me say that. in the line of duty. there are peace officers who will not return home. Those husbands and wives and children had every reason to believe that their loved ones would return home. They are in pain. and I want them to know that we suffer together. All of us in this country suffer whenever any one of us is taken by violence. Innocent people in this country are suffering. People of good will are suffering. Families are suffering. My prayer is that. out of this adversity. we can build a unity that will afford us the opportunity to develop the harmony necessary for the people of the greatest Nation in the world to live together. We have to span these chasms that divide us. and forgiveness is in order. but we must also make sure that justice is done. All who are associated with the dastardly deeds that occurred with reference to Dallas must be arrested. convicted. and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law allows. There can be no exceptions. The time has come now for those who are suffering to receive our prayers and our sympathies. and I regret that "in the line of duty" has taken on a different meaning for them.
Date: 2016-07-08
Speaker: DONNA MARKHAM (democrat)
Chamber: H

OP. PH.D.. President & CEO. Catholic Charities USA. Hon. PAUL RYAN. Speaker of the House. House of Representatives. Washington. DC. Hon. NANCY PELOSI. Minority Leader. House of Representatives. Washington. DC.
Date: 2016-07-11
Speaker: BRAD SHERMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

FRENCH HILL. and AL GREEN. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-07-11
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 4785. the Department of Homeland Security Stop Asset and Vehicle Excess (SAVE) Act. H.R. 4785 will amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and direct the Under Security of Management for the Department of Homeland Security to oversee and manage vehicle fleets throughout the department. As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity. Infrastructure Protection. and Security Technologies. I believe that authorizing the Under Secretary is important in ensuring that DHS is wellmanaged. This bill improves the management of DHS fleets by authorizing the Under Secretary to impose penalties for the mismanagement of fleets and requires the DHS to identify alternative methods for management. The Under Secretary shall also be responsible for ensuring that components are in compliance with federal law. federal regulations. executive branch guidance. and department policy. This legislation also requires the DHS Under Security to monitor compliance with federal laws and regulations related to the use of government vehicles. develop a methodology to determine optimal fleet size. and approve vehicle leases and acquisitions. In addition. H.R. 4785 requires DHS agencies to report data on vehicle use quarterly and submit fleet management plans. including costbenefit analyses. annually to the Under Secretary. Mr. Speaker. I am pleased that H.R. 4785 includes an amendment I offered during full committee markup that addresses the management of the fleet vehicles used by protective services under the purview of DHS. The Jackson Lee Amendment requires a GAO report on the status of efforts to achieve capability to collect automated information as required by the bill. and to assess the ability of Under Secretary for Management to identify and address any relevant security concerns regarding vehicles used by protective services. It is of the utmost importance that DHS have stricter controls in place in order to reign in the cost of fleet management. H.R. 4785 will provide better management and oversight of the second largest civilian vehicle fleet in the federal government. and thus save millions of taxpayer dollars.