macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself the balance of my time. It seems. whenever we have a serious issue to talk about on the floor. the distortions and the utter false statements come out. and that is a shame because the American people deserve better. ObamaCare is harming real people. not just from an economic standpoint across this great land but from a healthcare standpoint. As a physician. I can tell you that I hear about it daily from my colleagues. We hear from the other side of folks who tout the numbers of increase and of folks who have gained insurance. The fact of the matter is. of the folks who have gained insurance and of those who had insurance. many of them now have coverage. but they dont have care. If you earn $30.000. $40.000. or $50.000 and if your deductible is now $5.000 or $10.000 or $12.000. you may have coverage. but you dont have care. In fact. individuals are denying themselves treatment right now because they cant afford the deductibles because of this law. That is the real world out there. That is the harm that this law is doing. We heard over and over and over that we want to remove healthcare coverage from 22 million people. That is utter nonsense. Mr. Speaker. It is absolutely not true. In fact. my friend from Maryland quoted the CBO report. and he quoted it accurately. but he skipped overkind of glossed overthe part that said that this would be relative to current law projections. That is right. We want to repeal this law. and we want to replace it with positive. commonsense. patient -centered solutions that put patients and families and doctors in charge of health care. not Washington. D.C.. solutions that respect the principles of health care: accessibility for everybody. affordability for everybody. choices. and higher quality carethe things that ObamaCare has destroyed. That is why the majority of the American people dont like this law and oppose this law. It is because it destroys the principles of health care that the American people hold dear. Mr. Speaker. this is the first step and the next step in the process of repealing ObamaCare and of making certain that we move forward with positive. patient -centered solutions in which patients and families and doctors are making medical decisions and not the Federal Government. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I rise in support of H.R. 1155. I think. if all of us are honest in this House. every one of us. certainly myself included. I would be the first to say I hear on a regular basis from the people of Georgia of how they are literally being strangled economically because of the overburdened Federal regulations that are upon them. It is an issue that we must absolutely address. It is an issue that we have dealt with time and again in the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Now we have an opportunity to do something about it. That is why I support H.R. 1155.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. I thank my colleague. This is a very important issue that is affecting central Illinois that I am blessed enough to represent right here in this great institution. As a Member of Congress. I have witnessed firsthand what heroin and opioids can do to communities like my hometown of Taylorville. Illinois. In my hometown of 12.000 people. I never would have thought. growing up in the 1980s. that a drug like heroin would cause such a scourge. As a matter of fact. it is interesting to hear many of my colleagues talk about what is happening in their communities. Not too long ago. in that hometown of 12.000 people. our local newspaper had a coroners jury report that I believe I remember mentioned four deaths in one coroners jury report related to heroin and opioid overdoses. This is something in my community I never thought I would witness. and it is also something in my community that demands action. I am so proud to sponsor the STOP ABUSE Act with my colleagues here tonight. What they are talking about and what everybody who has stood in front of this sign tonight has talked about is the importance of addressing opioid abuse. This bill is something that. because of small towns like my hometown. we are here to address. It has become a Federal issue. I want to end by talking about a friend of mine. a gentleman that I grew up with. his family. He actually used to run our county health department at the time he was arrested for heroin use. Who would have thought that in a town of 12.000 people the director of the county health department would be addicted to heroin? It doesnt matter what your socioeconomic status is. it doesnt matter what your job is. and it doesnt matter where you were born or who you were born to. you. too. can become addicted to heroin. That is why we have demanded action tonight. That is why I am thankful to be here. That is why I am thankful to be able to help each and every one of my colleagues in a bipartisan way to address this problem. Mr. Speaker. we are going to do something about this issue.
Date: 2016-01-06
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

I thank my colleague and good friend from Indiana for organizing this Special Order. and I am very pleased to be here this evening to help defend our Second Amendment. which is the amendment giving teeth to all our other amendments and rights. The Second Amendment is one of the most fundamental principles of our Republic. And yet the Obama administration and the Democratic Party as a whole have now been engaged for years in an attempt to undermine the rights of lawabiding American citizens to keep and bear arms. President Obama. as has already been discussed this evening. has come before the American people just yesterday announcing his attempt to yet again infringe upon the rights of lawabiding American citizens by unilaterally instituting new restrictions on firearm sales. The Presidents blatant disregard for the constitutional role of Congress to write the laws of the land is absolutely astounding to me. This latest move is just yet a larger part of executive abuse that has been going on for quite some time and an overreach. In 2013. Congress rejected legislation that would have expanded background checks. I fully believe that that would have the same result today. And yet because it was not in accord with the wishes of the President. he now claims that Congress has relinquished its responsibility. Therefore. he somehow has the right to create laws as he sees fit. Well. he is wrong. As well as being unconstitutional. this moral imperative that the President claims to have regarding gun controls is not even statistically or logically on sound ground. In fact. the President has pointed directly to a string of domestic terror attacks as the reason for his executive action. And yet we all know that his unconstitutional executive order would not have prevented any of these terror attacks. So the real issue here is that this gun grab by the President is a smokescreen to hide from his own failed policies and his refusal to deal with terrorism and to eliminate it. And it is time for the truth to be told and for us to stand in opposition against this continued assault on the Second Amendment. Personally. my defense of the Second Amendment is firm and unwavering. I will never support any measure that infringes upon the rights of lawabiding American citizens to purchase. use. and keep firearms and ammunition. I believe that any law that restricts these rights is unconstitutional and should be steadfastly opposed. So. Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the time to share this tonight. And I am just reminded of Thomas Jeffersons statement: "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms." This is an issue upon which our liberties rest.
Date: 2016-01-07
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

I want to thank my friend and colleague for his great leadership in this cause of life. Mr. Speaker. I join with my others here with deep concern as we are now at 43 years since the Supreme Court determined. unimaginably. that there exists in our country some broad right for the abortion of a child in the womb. That decision literally came after 21 States had already enacted laws limiting abortion for over 100 years. In fact. the first of these laws was adopted in Connecticut in 1847. 21 years before the ratification of the 14th Amendment. which is the very amendment on which Roe v. Wade is based. In his dissent. Justice Rehnquist noted that. due to this history. the High Court was forced to create a right that was unknown to the Framers of the 14th Amendment. Mr. Speaker. it is time that we correct this wrongheaded decision made by the court 43 years ago. It is for this reason that I personally introduced the Sanctity of Human Life bill. H.R. 426. which defines life beginning at conception. I would certainly ask my colleagues to join in cosponsoring this bill so that 43 years from now we are celebrating the right to life rather than another 57 million unborn Americans lost to abortion. I thank the gentleman for his stance on this.
Date: 2016-01-07
Speaker: AUSTIN SCOTT (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

CHRIS. I too want to thank you for your work on this issue. You are certainly one of the most passionate people I have seen on this issue in my years. I was thinking about what I might say. and my wife sent me a text. To follow up on what Mr. ROSKAM was saying. she asked me if I could FaceTime. So I stepped into the room. and I FaceTimed with my wife and our beautiful little 10monthold daughter. In 1973. the stateoftheart technology was the walkietalkie. I cant help but believe that the Court ruling would be totally different if a 3D ultrasound picture like I got to see of my baby when she was 20 weeks old were put on the screen and a judge got the opportunity to say. "What do you call that?" Five fingers. five toes. eyes. ears. lips. noseyou can see them. You can see the hair. The technology is continuing to prove what many of us in this country have known all along. and that is that life begins at conception and that God has given value to each and every single life. I just want to take 1 more minute to say thank you to the men and women that get up every morning and that work at our pregnancy care centers and help encourage those young mothers and those young families to have the child. to love that child. and to understand that it is a gift from God. There is no telling how many men and women have been saved because of those volunteers at our pregnancy care centers throughout this country. So I want to say thank you to them. I want to say thank you to the people at the National Right to Life and. in my State. Georgia Right to Life and Georgia Life Alliance for the work that they have done to continue to educate people on that. I want you to know this fight continues. This is a stain on our country. It is a sin that God is not going to allow us to get away with. We as a nation need to accept that life begins at conception. and we as Congress have a responsibility to do everything that we can to protect it.
Date: 2016-01-12
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. most of Americas Guard and Reserve forces also hold civilian jobs in addition to their military service. but. unfortunately. the IRS doesnt treat these heroes fairly when it comes to their retirement savings. Right now. if a Guard or a Reserve servicemember decides to benefit from a Thrift Savings Plan. or TSP. match. then the IRS may limit the members ability to save for retirement simply because he also has a civilian career. This is wrong. which is why I will be introducing the Servicemembers Retirement Improvement Act. I am pleased that the bill is supported by a wide range of military and veteran advocacy groups. Just because they happen to be serving our country. our servicemembers shouldnt be penalized when it comes to saving for their retirements. We are working hard to right this wrong.
Date: 2016-01-12
Speaker: HERRERA BEUTLER (republican)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. for 20 years. Republican and Democratic administrations. alike. have effectively regulated navigable waterswhich is the official termunder the Clean Water Act to protect both our environment and private property. but the Obama administration is trying to change all of that. The Obama Administrations new definition will give the EPA authority over every pond or seasonal stream. drainage ditch. or puddle in the United Statesevery single one. Every piece of land where water falls from the heavens. the EPA is claiming control over. What does that mean if you want to put a deck on your house or move your driveway or build a shed or something similar? It means you are going to have to apply to the Federal Government for a permit. What do those permits look like? They take upwards of 788 days to obtain. and they cost upwards of $270.000 to get per permit. per puddle. per ditch. or per stream that you want to amend. So I hope you are either really rich and have a ton of time on your hands or you dont want to ever change anything because this is almost impossible. I would call this new change a solution in search of a problem. but it is a solution that is going to create a problem. There is no evidence that this is going to give us stronger environmental protections. that we are going to have cleaner water. or that we are even going to have a benefit. What is really going to happen is the EPA is going to be kingmaker. and you and I. as Americans. are going to be forced to grovel at their feet. begging for permits on our own land. This really impacts those of us in the West tremendously. Every American should sit up and pay attention because this impacts everybody. including cities and counties. I hope you dont need a new hospital in your area or you dont need a grocery store or perhaps your city needs to expand or grow or change. because this effectively says that one agency. headed by very political and liberalat this point. very liberalideologues will get to make that decision. and they are not going to give us the benefit. That is the scary thing here. So I look forward to joining with Republicans and commonsense Democrats. because believe it or not. just like in years past. Republicans and Democrats are both opposed to this. to put this block in place and to move forward.
Date: 2016-01-12
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Chairman. I thank my colleague. Mr. LAMBORN. This is a very important issue. I would like to thank my colleague. Mr. MOONEY. for sponsoring this piece of legislation that not only impacts his home State of West Virginia and the other coalproducing States in the Midwest. but also my home State of Illinois. Coal production in my home State is a significant driver in our States economy. particularly the part of the State that I represent. I would not be here today. Mr. Chairman. without what coal has meant to my hometown of Taylorville in my home county of Christian County. I saw in the midnineties what a signature on a piece of paper right here in Washington. D.C.. can do to destroy a local economy. In Illinois alone. today. coal jobs employ nearly 5.000 workers. Just a few short years ago. that was many more. The industry contributes $2 billion to our States economy. Unfortunately. this proposed stream protection rule is another example of this Obama administration waging war on coal. By their own estimates. OSM claims this rule would kill 7.000 coal jobs. That is 2.000 more than exist in the State of Illinois today. Through independent analysis. it shows job losses may be even more in the tens of thousands. This rule is not only going to hurt coal miners. but also those in my district and others that work at coalfired power plants. It is going to hurt consumers. It is going to hurt the poorest of the poor in this country. who are going to have to pay higher rates when base load generation facilities that burn coal go offline. [ 1530 These coalfired power plants. Mr. Chairman. provide some of the best paying jobs in my district. Where are they going to go to find work when this administrations war on coal takes their jobs away? I have advocated for important language in working with my colleagues
Date: 2016-01-13
Speaker: JODY B. HICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate my friend Vincent "Zippy" Duvall on his election yesterday as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. Zippy is a thirdgeneration farmer from Greene County. Georgia. and has been a Farm Bureau member since 1977. For the past 9 years. he has served as president of the Georgia Farm Bureau. while producing poultry. cattle. and hay on his family farm. I am so proud to have Zippy and his wife. Bonnie. as constituents of the Tenth District of Georgia. He has done an extraordinary job serving as the voice of agriculture in Georgia. and I can think of no better leader than Zippy Duvall to serve as the new president of the American Farm Bureau.
Date: 2016-02-01
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. on rollcall No. 46. I was meeting with constituents. Had I been present. I would have voted "yes."
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. for the purpose of debate only. I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland . pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the veto message of the President of the United States to the bill. H.R. 3762.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. this is a historic day. It is not often that the House has the opportunity to so clearly fight to defend the will of the people. This is a day that embraces our Constitution and one of its fundamental tenets. our system of checks and balances. This issue. the issue of health care. is vital to every single American. Health care is so very personal. The American people are offended by a Federal Government that says that they know best. that they know and should dictate to folks what kind of health care we should have. who should be treating us. where we should be treated. and on and on and on. The American people have always opposed the current law. From the very day it was passed and was signed into law. a majority of the citizens of this country opposed this law. In fact. Mr. Speaker. more people oppose the law now than they did when the bill was passed. This is truly remarkable. More people oppose it now than did when it was passed. which is why we have worked and fought so very hard to represent them. to represent our constituents. and to carry out our solemn responsibility as their Representatives. The House and the Senate voted to veto this destructive law. a law that is not only destructive to the health and wellbeing of our citizens. but destructive to the health of our economy. taking jobs away. forcing people into parttime work. forcing businesses to downsize or limit who they hire. It is remarkably destructive. In fact. the House voted to repeal it by larger numbers than it voted to pass it originally. However. the President vetoed our repeal. The President is the only person standing in the way of what the American people want. Let me repeat that. Mr. Speaker. The President is the only person standing in the way of what the American people want. So our job now is to stand up for them. to demonstrate for them who is on their side. and who is standing in the way of positive. patientcentered reform. We favor a healthcare system where patients and families and doctors are making medical decisions. not Washington. D.C. We favor a healthcare system that gets everyone covered with policies that they want for themselves and for their families. not that the government forces them to buy. We favor a healthcare system that embraces the principles of health care. accessibility. affordability. quality. responsiveness. innovation. and choice. principles that are all violated by the current law. So today. Mr. Speaker. we stand with the American people. We will vote to override the veto of the President. an action that runs absolutely counter to the will of the majority of our country. I urge my colleagues to support this veto override vote and stand with positive solutions based on the principles of health care that we all embrace. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I would simply say that what we are interested in is expanding health care for the American people that actually responds to their needs. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee . a fellow physician who is the chair of the Health. Employment. Labor. and Pensions Subcommittee of the Education and the Workforce Committee.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois . the chair of the Oversight Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Tennessee . a fellow healthcare professional and a member of the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Ways and Means.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California . a champion of patientcentered healthcare reform. the Republican leader.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania . the chair of the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. one of the saddest days that the American people remember on the floor of this House was a day in March of 2010. It was when this House voted in a hyperpartisan way to pass a healthcare bill that took away patientcentered health care and put Washington in charge of health care across this country. I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas . the chair of the Ways and Means Committee. a gentleman who has dedicated so much time and effort to responsible. appropriate health care for the American people.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia . who serves on the Education and the Workforce Committee.
Date: 2016-02-02
Speaker: TOM PRICE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin . a fellow member of the Committee on the Budget.