macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1995-04-04
Speaker: BOB LAMBERT (democrat)
Chamber: S

(Evening Star String Band): This is a true American music. and I think somewhere along the line. theyre going to appreciate it again. BLACKSTONE: The local congressman was invited here tonight. but he didnt come. Hes a busy man these days. the new Republican chairman of the budgetcutting House Appropriations Committee. and one of the budgets hes busy butting could have an impact right here. Representative BOB LIVINGSTON (Republican. Louisiana): All were trying to do is trying to bring common sense and sanity to the United States federal budget. BLACKSTONE: Congressman Bob Livingston is bringing down the budget ax on federal funding for the arts. particularly the National Endowment for the Arts. Rep. LIvINGSTON: Were going to be making drastic cuts. because were going to be looking toward a balanced budget by the year 2002. and NEA has to prove that. you know. it is affordable. BLACKSTONE: But ironically. Livingston is calling for cuts just as the Piney Woods Opry. right in his own district. Is due to receive its first grant from the NEA. $14.900.
Date: 1995-04-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. there is a flaw in the jewel. We will begin debate today on a bill that will cut taxes. and the winners who will receive the majority of the cuts are families with incomes over $100.000. The losers will be deficit reduction. summer jobs. school lunches. and education funding. The Speaker calls this the crown jewel of the contract. Well. this crown jewel in 1999 will cause us deficits of over $200 billion. There is a flaw in this jewel. Unfortunately. to pay for this jewel many young- people will lose. Thousands of teenagers will be denied a summer job. school children will be denied a meal. legal immigrants will be denied..-services for the $66 billion welfare reform to the cracked crown jewel. seniors will be denied by cutting energy assistance. safe and drugfree schools will be denied $500 millibn. college students will be denied $13 billion to help pay for the flawed jewel. The contract was a deal with the rich including unpatriotic families who are leaving our country and taking their billions with them. Let us change this jewel of denial.
Date: 1995-04-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the best of America is to stay and fight and the worst is to cut and run. This Republican majority tax cut takes the money and runs. It does mot stay and fight the deficit. it does not stay and fight for better education. stay and fight for -summer jobs for teenagers. stay and fight for higher educational opportunity or stay arid fight for job training for our future. Tomorrow the Republican majority will bring this massive tax cut to the floor. Everyone wants a tax cut and so do I. but it Is irresponsible with -the huge deficit that we have. As a business person. - have used capital gains and investment tax credits to help the business that I help manage grow. but until we get our own economic house in order. cuts are irresponsible. The bill makes the top 2.6 percent of families -the winners with over 58 percent of the tax cuts. Corporations would be winners with repeal of the alternative minimum tax. which simply required a corporation to pay something. even.if they made a profit. Who are the people and the issues losing under this bill? Well. of course deficit reduction. because you cannot have a tax reduction without taking $100 billion out of the effort to reduce the deficit. Teenage summer jobs. Just two weeks ago we saw the House abolish for this year and next year the teenage summer jobs. Grade school and college students. We saw $100 million cut out of Federal funding for Chapter 1 funding education. College students. the reduction - in the student loan program. and finally the losers are the taxpayers of America. The Speaker calls this the crown jewel of the Contract With America. Well. this jewel is cracked. Why should hardworking Americans pay taxes while profitable corporations may pay nothing? Why .should seniors go cold in thewinter -and endure hot summers when .the top 2 percent of Americans will re.ceive the 58 -percent of the capital gains cuts? The Republican majority wish to point to the lack of responsibility in our Federal Government. but is it responsible to have a larger Federal budget deficit in 1999 than under current law? No. it is not. Mr. Speaker. the first 100 days has been a blitzkrieg of cuts in education funding. summer jobs for teenagers. school lunches. denying legal and taxpaying immigrants assistance. The contract has several issues which I agreed with and supported: Putting Congress under the laws that it passes. line item veto and unfunded mandates. and all of these issues needed to be addressed. But the crown jewel will be paid for by cuts in safe schools and financial aid for .the college students. Congress must not sell out.the future for some of the good times for the wealthiest families. The American people are tired of paying taxes. and I am willing to work to have cuts for Americans. but Congress would be -irresponsible to explode the budget deficits simply to give tax cuts to a small minority of our Nation. Mr. Speaker. we all want a tax cut. and their money is best left in their :pocket. but it is irresponsible to our children and our grandchildren not to stay and fight for our future.
Date: 1995-04-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I would be more than happy. Last year I voted. in 1993 as -we hear. I voted to cut $250 billion out of the budget that did not have one Republican vote. I did not vote for the rescission because the rescission cut 2.000 jobs in my district of summer jobs programs.
Date: 1995-04-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

On a short term basis. we are going to say. well. lets do not have those 2.000 people in my district or 6.000 in the City of Houston who have a summer job. lets put that money into abolishing the alternative minimum tax for corporations. Lets get our priorities straight.
Date: 1995-04-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Reclaiming my time. I. like a lot of Democrats will vote for cuts. but lets vote for cuts that do not take the cuts today and penalize those in the future. Lets vote like you said. lets grow out of this deficit. but you do not grow out of it by cutting job training funds. by cutting summer jobs programs. We want those -youngsters to be productive citizens so they will pay those taxes 5 and 10 years from now. but if you cut the job training today and you cut their summer jobs. then growing out of this deficit is really a pie in the sky and a pipe dream. just like the 1981 tax cut was to.balance the budget.
Date: 1995-04-05
Speaker: TOM CLEMENTS (democrat)
Chamber: S

Greenpeace. Inc.. Washington. DC. DEAR MR. CLEMENTS: As you will -recall. after receiving Greenpeaces report. "The Unlawful Plutonium Alliance." the Department agreed to review the guidelines it has used since 1986 in determining whether particular proposed exports involve "sensitive nuclear technology." as that term is used in the NuclearNonProliferation Act. In particular. the Department directed its critical scrutiny to the question whether it is legally permissible for the Department to consider the quality of technology already indigenous to the country that would receive the export in making the determination that sensitive nuclear technology was in fact proposed to be exported in a given transaction. The Departments Office of General Counsel has concluded that consideration of the quality of indigenous technology is permissible in identifying whether sensitive nuclear technology is proposed to be exported in a particular transaction. As a result. the Department has concluded that its determinations with respect to technology exports to Japan were permissible exercises of its statutory authorities. The Department will codify the overall guidelines it uses to determine which exports should be considered sensitive nuclear technology by December 1995. This decision is consistent with our current practice of codifying statements of general applicability and future effect that implement. interpret. or prescribe law or policy. To begin this process the Department will publish an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register by February 1995. The Department will actively seek the publics views about sensitive nuclear technology during the rulemaking process. We encourage your participation. Sincerely.
Date: 1995-04-05
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the circus is in the District of Columbia today. and it is actually outside these doors of the Capitol. So we bring in the clowns. We will shoot $500 tax cuts out of a cannon and sell cotton candy wrapped around a capital gains cut Who is left paying at the ticket booth? Well. our senior citizens. our grade school and college students who have already sustained cuts. construction workers. mothers. and finally all taxpaying Americans. Today the Republican majority will attempt to pass a bill which will create the largest deficits that have been proposed recently. Welcome to the real circus under our Capitol dome. The Republican majority are working to give the top 2 percent Americans 58 percent of that $180 billion tax cut. The 10year cost will be $630 billion. Now that really is under the big top. The bears and elephants are not eating peanuts but hundreddollar bills at our expense. from the pockets of hardworking Americans. Children are paying $2.3 billion in cuts in education and school nutrition programs. I hope they enjoy the circus today because it will be the last one for 10 years. The Greatest Show on Earth is not Barnum and Bailey. it is under our Capitol dome.
Date: 1995-04-06
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. reserving the right to object. I do so to yield to our distinguished committee chairman for an explanation of the legislation. and I yield to the gentleman.
Date: 1995-05-02
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. today I was unavoidably de.tained in flying back to Washington from Houston and missed rollcall vote No. 303. Had I been present. I would have voted "aye."
Date: 1995-05-02
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today on a note of sadness because this is our first full day of being in session. but on April 19. Oklahoma City was awakened by a bomb blast which killed both children and people either working or doing business in the Murrah Federal Building. Oklahoma City along with the Nation rushed to the help of a neighbor. including some of my constituents from Texas. The terrorist bomb ripped at the foundation of the Federal building and ripped at the fabric of our society. The Federal building was targeted for what are now unknown reasons. but at this point there is all sorts of conjec-
Date: 1995-05-03
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr Speaker. leadership is tough. During the welfare reform. the Republican majority pulled seniors out of that legislation and I agreed with that decision. And now it appears Medicare is off the table to pay for tax cuts and budget reduction. The Republican majority. which is attempting to balance the budget by the year 2002. plan to cut $400 billion out of Medicare. The Republican majority is realizing what President Clinton. and a number of other Democrats. and I said last year. when we were first elected. that to have a balanced budget we must control health care costs. The Republican majority has promised not to cut Social Security or the military budget. and interest on the national debt. which is 20 percent of our budget. has to be paid. Guess what? Medicare is 25 percent of everything left. And now they have promised not to tamper with that. In 1993. the Democrats made Medicare solvent for 3 more years. without one Republican vote. and now they are criticizing the President and Democrats for not coming up with a plan before they introduce a budget. Today the majority criticizes us for * not providing leadership on Medicare. Well. they are the majority. Leadership is tough. If the Republican majority wants to continue to live in a dream world and think that they can balance the budget without cutting health care costs. they need to come up with a plan. Medicare should not be a cut.
Date: 1995-05-09
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Medicare should not become a political football because millions of our seniors in America depend so heavily on it for their health care. In todays edition of the Houston Chronicle that I picked up before I left home this morning. it talks about the Republicans laying plans to slash billions from the budget. The Republican majority should come up with a plan to reform the Medicare system but not cut $250 billion. $300 billion. $400 billion out of it. I spoke and met with many seniors yesterday in my district. and they want the fraud and abuse out of Medicare. But they do not want less health care than they have today. The Medicare system was made solvent for 3 more years in 1993 without one Republican vote. Now the Republican majority is planning to cut it in the name of reform. The savings should be used to increase the benefits for seniors and increase the reimbursement rates and not just to pay for tax cuts. I cannot support billions in Medicare cuts when they would not help the system become more solvent in 7 years. Medicare should be reformed but not to save $380 billion and help pay for tax cuts for the rich U.S. citizens.
Date: 1995-05-10
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the Republican majority is almost a month late in meeting the statutory deadline for passing a House budget resolution. but finally theyve decided to prepare a budget that is even uglier than we thought. If the Republican majority wanted to balance the budget. they could do that today if we cut Medicare. Social Security. and COLAs. but no. their budget is going to cut it 5 or 7 years from now. Medicare faces cuts in excess of $256 billion. It is true. Despite the public outcry not to cut Social Security or Medicare. Republicans are united in a plan that will directly cut Medicare to pay for a tax cut. They also intend to cut the COLA for Social Security recipients by readjusting the formula. The worst part is that Republicans are telling us they are not cutting. they are simply slowing the growth. They can call it what they want. but if someone is 65 in 1998 and they do not have Medicare. that is a cut. This bill is a cut for that person who is now 62 and needs Medicare 3 years from now. so it is a cut. I do not think we need to play with words. I think the Republican majority needs to be honest with the American people: that in order to balance the budget and pay for tax cuts for the rich they stand united in their effort to cut Medicare.
Date: 1995-05-10
Speaker: PETE GEREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of this very important legislation. I want to commend my colleague. the gentleman from Louisiana . and the chairman. the gentleman from Pennsylvania . for bringing us to where we are today. A lot of work over a lot of years has made this day possible. The legislation we have today brings long overdue balance back to the implementation of this most important piece of environmental legislation. I would like to talk about a specific provision in the bill. the risk assessment and the cost benefit analysis provisions in H.R. 961. These provisions will result in greater improvements in water quality because they help to focus the Clean Water Acts requirements on significant risk reduction in a manner that provides the greatest amount of environmental benefit for the costs expended. Mr. Chairman. we have reached the point in every area of this Government where we cannot afford to waste a dime. It is only through costbenefit analysis and risk assessment that we can make sure that the scarce dollars are targeted for the most important environmental initiatives. For 20 years the Clean Water Act has been addressing the problems of water quality in this country. The act imposed technology that forced requirements on industry and municipalities and imposed additional water quality controls where technology controls were not enough. These have been successful in cleaning up our Nations water. It is now time for more precision in order to better focus the resources that are put in play by this act. Mr. Chairman. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 961 and commend those who have worked so hard to make this day possible.
Date: 1995-05-11
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the new Republican majority has shown great courage and guts. as we heard from another speaker. to cut and balance the budget. They are balancing their budget by making significant cuts in Medicare. the cost of living for Social Security. education funds. and job training funds. That takes a lot of guts and courage to pick on the least fortunate of our society. The Republican majority call their drastic budget cuts in Medicare slow growth. Either way. it is less money for the next .7 years than expected for the growth in senior citizens. so it is a cut. whether we call it that or not. Medicare is not a bank to be raided by the Republicans. just because they want to pay for a tax cut. The Republican majority also changes the way the Consumer Price Index is calculated. ultimately cutting the COLAs for seniors. I thought our new leadership told us Social Security would be sacred. I want everyone in Congress to know that Democrats want to work with Republicans. but we refuse to balance the budget on the backs of Medicare. on the backs of cost of. living for seniors. or education funding. or the least fortunate of our society.
Date: 1995-05-11
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman. it is clear that all of us do not represent districts that are exactly alike. My district is very similar to Congressman BECERRAS. We have right now a Superfund site. I do not think we can address water in this country without addressing health status in this country. And unfortunately. this bill which is before us fails to address this issue from the standpoint of public health. This poses a very serious problem. In families with annual incomes at or below poverty. almost 70 percent of black children suffer from high lead blood levels. while only 36 percent. which is much too high. of the nonblack children. Blood poisoning is the most preventable disease that we can address. It is identifiable. We just need the protections to do it. We know what levels. our scientific levels and science has taught us that. What we need now are standards that ensure that all of our citizens are protected. Women living less than 1 mile from a hazardous waste site have a 12percent higher risk of having a child with a birth defect than other mothers. Three million homes or 74 percent of all private housing built before 1980 contains some lead paint. 0 0 14i5 Minority and lowincome people are more likely to live in these older homes. The lead which they are eaposed to is stored in the bone. and later calcium and lead are released into the bloodstream. placing these people. particularly women. at risk for continuing lead poisoning many years later. We are considering now the costs of health care. We cannot do that in a vacuum. We must consider all of the things that lead to a large price tag when we talk about the cost of health care. We cannot afford to ignore a very preventable illness that is so common among the poor. We cannot stand here and say that we are upholding our oath without remembering that we have a large percentage of poor people and poor children in this country. and they live in the areas that many of us might not see. but that does not mean they do not exist. The clean water bill now before us is notably silent about these and other
Date: 1995-05-12
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I wish to thank the chairman of the committee and the ranking member for agreeing to this amendment. It is an amendment that will give more flexibility to the Administrator of EPA to negotiate with areas on wastewater treatment that are underserved and underprivileged. I want to thank Chairman SHUSTER and the ranking member of the committee. Mr. MINETA. for supporting my amendment to section 703. the wastewater service for colonias of H.R. 961. the Clean Water Amendments of 1995. Section 703 is similar to a bill I introduced last Congress and which I reintroduced this Congress as H.R. 908. As some of you know. colonias are unincorporated areas along our southwestern border that lack basic services. such as "water and wastewater. There are some 250.000 Americans living in colonias. This amendment will amend section 703 of the bill to authorize the Administrator to make grants to States to provide assistance for planning. design. and construction of treatment works to provide wastewater service and for appropriate connections. My amendment would allow recipient States to use the financial assistance for appropriate connections for colonia residences to connect them to sewer collection systems which will allow them to make any improvements necessary to meet existing county or city requirements. This is an important problem that we need to address in order to bring wastewater connections into the homes of these communities. In addition. this amendment will delete the requirements that the Federal share of the cost of a project for a wastewater service be 50 percent. This deletion will allow maximum flexibility for the Administrator in determining the appropriate funding of these projects in allowing EPA to negotiate the match requirement with the recipient State. Again. thank you Chairman SHUSTER and
Date: 1995-05-16
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. what the Republicans really want to do over the next six years is privatize and eliminate Medicare. A couple of weeks ago I saw Speaker GINGRICH on TV saying the cuts in the budget were going to be large but painless. Painless for whom. I wonder. Not painless for seniors and not painless for children. The cuts in the budget are certainly not painless for the seniors in my district or across the United States. In fact. the Republican majority has proposed to slow growth or. as most of us would say. dramatically cut billions from Medicare over the next 7 years. The Republican cuts would result in an increase in copayments. deductibles. and premiums for senior citizens in Houston. TX and across the country. The budget plan is a broken promise to working families and their parents. The Republican majority has promised us they would balance the budget without devastating families and senior citizens. That is one promise they cannot say they kept. While I understand and promote the need for a balanced budget. there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Balancing the budget on the backs of senior citizens while you give tax breaks is not what the American people want or hopefully the Republican majority would want.