macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. If I could just add. you have mentioned some of the great benefits to girls and women participating in sports. It leads to better physical health. It leads to better mental health. lower levels of depression in women who engage until regular physical activity. For girls. it promotes selfesteem and confidence that comes from gaining competence in something that they enjoy doing. There are studies that even show that" girls who engage in sports when they become women are more likely to leave abusive relationships than women who dont engage in sports.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I couldnt agree with you more. We have been joined by a special member of the Womens Caucus. especially the Democratic Womens Caucus. for us someone who needs no introduction. But the gentlewoman from California has made history by becoming .the first woman to lead either partys caucus in the United States House of Representatives. .When she was .elected. as Democratic Leader. she broke glass ceilings that no woman thought was possible. We are so proud to have you join us for our special womens 30something hour. E 2045
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. so much for joining us. Normally when we do our 30Something hour. Madam Leader. we thank you in absentia for the opportunity to spend the time during this -hour talking about the things that are a priority to our generatiof. So it is a privilege to be able to personally thank you for this opportunity that you give us each night. It is an honor to serve under your leadership.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Leader. the way we close our time usually with the 30Something Working Group is by plugging our Web site. www.housedemocrats.gov/ 30somethings. We encourage our colleagues and anyone who cares to sign on to that. We have a lot of charts and interesting facts and figures that are important to the next generation. I want to thank my colleagues from California and South Dakota for joining me tonight and welcome you back any time because we are here every night. Mr. Speaker. with that we yield back.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

If the .gentleman would yield for a question. I am sort of the least senior of the four. of us here this evening. I am a freshman. I have just gotten here a year ago. I am wondering. you are talking about the four letters that you have shown that Secretary Snow has sent to the Congress asking us. begging us. to increase the debt limit. Would this be the .first time under this administration. Mr. RYAN. that that was tiecessary? 0] 2210 Is it unprecedented? If we raise the debt limit this year. is it something that was an anomaly. was it something that had not occurred before?
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And trillion with a T. When I am home and you all are fiome. we talk to our constituents. and they ask me. sometimes they ask me questions that makes it clear that it is hard for anyone to get their mind around what a billion is. So we spent some time. we did some research to try to help put what a billion is in terms that people can understand better. So let us just translate it into some things that. maybe people can think about. you know. more in the way they deal with things on a daytoday basis. A billion. How much is a billion dollars? Well.a billion hours ago. humans were making their first tools in the stone age. That was if we were talking about what happened a billion hours ago. If you are going on to a billion seconds ago. let us start with seconds. a billion seconds ago. it was 1975. and we had just pulled -the last troops from America out of Vietnam. That was a billion seconds ago. Let us try to break it down a little bit more. A billion minutes ago. it was A.D. 104. and the Chinese first invented paper. Well. so now let us talk about what a billion dollars ago was. Under this administration. a billion dollars ago was only 3 hours and 32 minutes at the rate that our government spends money. A.D. 104. 1975. the stone age. and 3 hours and 32 minutes ago.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Because the thirdparty validators that we use on this floor is for the purpose -f showing that others who have factchecked. experts who have factchecked what is going on internally in this institution report on what they see. And so if we are going to talk about accuracy and clarity. "It is the thirdparty validators who. the American people are going to listen to. You know. quitehonestly. although I really feel privileged to be able to come and join you on this floor every night. a lot of people would just chalk up what they say and what we say on the floor as noise. you know. as partisan noise. And so thirdparty validators are important. And so let us talk about what USA Today said about who is in charge and what they are responsible for and what they could have done about it. This is just last week. February 21. about 10 days ago. USA Today editorial. The title of the editorial was Who is Spending Big Now: The Party of Small Government. Tax cuts. they say. force hard decisions and restrain reckless spending. The last time we looked. according to USA Today. the last time we looked. though. Republicans controlled both Congress and the White House. They are the spenders. In fact. since they took control in 2001 they have increased spending by an average of nearly 71/2 percent. 72 percent a year. more than double the rate in the list 5 years of Clintonera budgets. I mean. the truth hurts.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

That is factually accurate information by an outside source. fJ 2220 This is not by people who have D and Rs next to their name in this Chamber. There is a better way.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

You have picture after picture.. and week after week of new revelations about the shocking aftermath of the response of this administration to Katrina. Last week it was thA videotape evidence that when Max Mayfield. who is based in Miami at the National Hurricane Center. clearly warned the President and the Secretary and those assembled from the administrations team. that it was quite possible that the levees in New Orleans would breach. and then on Tuesday. 2 days later. you have the President declaring that there was no way that anyone could have anticipated a breach of the levees.. I mean. how do they look at themselves in the mirror? How does he look at himself in the mirror and go on each day?
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

What we advocate is going back to the PAYGO rule. and again. to translate that into terms that most people understand and deal with every day. you do not spend more than you have. You make sure you have the revenue coming in for the money that you are going to put out. Listen. there are people in everyday life in America that struggle with that every single day. but most people think it is totally irresponsible. Even if they are engaging in it in their own house. they think it is the wrong thing to do. to spend what they do not have. I do not know in America that anyone has the ability on their own to raise their debt limit in their household. Can you imagine. you reach a point in your daytoday life and you are going along and you have a certain amount of money that you earn. You have a certain amount of credit. Let us say you have a couple of credit cards. When you reach the debt limit on your credit card. the maximum that the credit card company will allow you to .put on that card.. unless you ask permission from the credit card company. you cannot do that usually. depending on your track record. If you compare the track record of the United States of America recently. you know. we are not doing so good because we are not getting a handle on this. Most credit card companies would say. no. we are going to stop you. at a certain point and not let you raise your debt limit.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

But your point is. and the point we have to make here is. there is a radicalism in this Republican leadership. that they have reached new heights. Schiavo. South Dakota. the Alito confirmation. There is just a growing list. And now this port deal. where the President literally saw nothing wrong with allowing a foreign governmentowned corporation to take over the port terminal operations at six major ports. No alarm bells were set off to trigger a national security review. a 45day national seQurity review that can be triggered under the law. It defies logip.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Six White House offices were part of the committee that reviewed this port deal. I asked in Financial Services. I am on the committee. I am on the subcommittee where we had a hearing last week. and the -President still didnt know.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Oh. most definitely. just to take off from where you have launched. Really. the facts are laid bare. It is evident who is for security and who is just kidding. And if you look at this chart -here. this pie chart. the source is Fox News. that is our thirdparty validator. so we are not talking about a liberal bastion. who is for security and who is just kidding? Less than 6 percent of our U.S. cargo at our Na-. tions ports is physically inspected. That is 95 percent noto inspected. We will say 94 percent not inspected and 6 percent inspected. but I think actually the number is just a little lower than that. The difference between the increase in security at airports and the increase in security at ports since the 2001 9/11 attack is $18 billion. Mr. RYAN. increased airport security. compared to a $700 million increase in port security. Now. I heard one of our colleagues bragging about the $700 million increase and trying to detail how much of an increase the six ports received that the port deal. the DPW port deal. was involved in. as if that was some fantastic accomplishment. There is a $6 billion difference between what the Coast Guard has said they need. a $6 billion difference. The Republican Congress has shortchangedport security by $6 billion. according to the Coast Guard. They have requested $7.2 billion.
Date: 2006-03-08
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. DELAHUNT. the point is the issuezis so much bigger than this one port deal. This is emblematic of the tremendously significant problem. You cannot say even if this problem gets addressed. this port deal gets addressed. which it should. you cannot say. okay. we are done. It is so much deeper than that. Democrats have been constantly fighting for increased port security. and Republicans have not. plain andsimple.
Date: 2006-03-14
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. before I begin. I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to my good friend and subcommittee chairman. Representative JIM DUNCAN. on the passing of his 89yearold mother. Ms. Lois SwisherDuncan. I want JIMMY and his wife. Lynn. and the entire Duncan family to know that my thoughts and prayers are with them. It is my prayer that God brings peace to- each of their respective hearts during the days ahead. Mr. Speaker. I support the passage of H.R. 4826. This bill extends through December 31. 2006. the authority of the Secretary of the Armny to accept and expend the funds contributed by nonFederal public entities to process permits under the Clean WaterAct and the Rivers and Harbor Act of 1899. This program is popular and well received. particularly in the northwest part of our country. I congratulate my committee colleague. Mr. BAIRD. for his attention to this issue and for securing todays consideration of this bill. I can think of no other Member who has -served his local and regional issues with more enthusiasm and effectiveness. The language in H.R. 4826 is similar to language contained in H.R. 2864. the Water Resources Development Act of 2005. which passed the Houselon July 14. 2005. by an overwhelming vote of 40614. The difference between the language contained in this biil and that contained in the comprehensive Water Resources Development Act is that this provision only extends the program for 9 months. The water resources bill is a full 12 months longer. but 9 months is all the Senate would agree to. However. this bill should likewise receive strong support. Todays consideration of one section of the larger Water Resources Development Act should not be viewed as an indication that the larger bill will not be enacted this year. I remain optimistic that the other House of Congress will soon consider this vital legislation. particularly in light of the vital role of flood damage r~duction. navigation. and storm damage reduction projects in protecting lives and property and enhancing economic wellbeing. The tragic events associatedi with Hurricane Katrina indicate how important our water infrastructure truly is. However. the Senate is not likely to act on the broader legislation before the Secretarys authority to accept funds expires March 31. in just a little over 2 weeks from now. By providing this extension. the .program can. continue uninterrupted. Mr. Speaker. I urge.support of this bill. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2006-03-14
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. today I rise to reintroduce the "Expand and Rebuild Americas Schools Act." H.R. 4945. This important piece of legislation would create a class of bonds that would provide for muchneeded construction of new schools. The bonds will be targeted to help overcrowded. high growth rate schools that are struggling to provide a learning space for their students. To be eligible to participate in this program. schools must be able to fulfill certain requirements: Schools must seek out more assistance from local. private businesses and corporations through publicprivate partnerships. they must demonstrate that programs to alleviate overcrowding have already been implemented. and they must have high growth rates and high teachertostudent ratios. My bill will help schools with limited financial resources combat their major overcrowding problems. and help stop the continuing infrastructure crisis in our schools. If passed. this bill will provide local school districts with a real incentive to pass their own local school construction bonds. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this new school construction by cosponsoring the Expand and Rebuild Americas Schools Act. 3.
Date: 2006-03-15
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank my colleague from Texas for calling up S. 2320. and I agree with what he said. I this it is interesting. though. the parliamentary procedure that the chairman of our Energy and Commerce Committee talked about. because I would assume that if this bill passes with the twothirds requisite votes tomorrow and goes to the President. that the section in the supplemental bill would be stripped out in the conference committee. because that bill still goes to the Senate into a. conference committee. So I guess parliamentarily that would be the solution in our situation. Madam Speaker and Members. lowincome Americans have been struggling to pay for heating bills during the winter. and. thankfully. this winter has not been as cold as expected and heating bills have not increased as greatly as feared. However. natural gas prices that drive electric prices have quadrupled over the past several years. The States public utilities commissions. PUCs. are passing those costs on to our constituents. Lowincome Americans also struggle to pay cooling bills. When the 90 and 100 degrees heat rolls around this year. the situation is going to become very critical very quickly. Air conditioners run on electricity. and a lot of electricity comes from natural gas. The need for relief is going to be intense throughout 2006. the end of this winter. this summer. and the start of next winter due to the incredible energy prices our country is experiencing.
Date: 2006-03-15
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. I want to thank our colleague and chair of our appropriations subcommittee. I understand where he is coming from. But I also know. Madam Speaker. that we have not passed a budget for 2007 and that is still to be considered. I understand that the concern about moving money into this year. But it is also going to be very difficult for me to talk to the 40.000 plus Texas families if we do not pass this bill. By the way. this summer. I am sorry it did not fit within. our legislative rules. and it is causing more problbms. and we are not going to give you any- heat assistance when it gets to be 100 degrees in Texas and across the South. and. frankly. even the Northern States. Illinois. Maryland and other places. New York has problems with heat in the summer. So I would hope that next year or later this year we will probably see another supplemental. If we see a year like we have seen now for both the cold assistance for the Northern States and what we see in the South that we need help. then I would hope in the future that we would see a supplemental that would restore that money. I would be glad to support that at that time. Madam Speaker. I also understand Chairman REGULA and the Appropriations Committee. a lot of us want them to be able to have the funding for medical research and education. Those programs are near and dear to our heart. I - hope we will still be able to do that. But I also know there are some other ways that we can deal with that since we have not adopted a budget and we will probably have another supplemental. because they get pretty regular around here. I hope that we can add to it without having to rob Peter to pay Paul. Madam Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2006-03-15
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Following the chairman of our full committee and. again. I understand the Chair of our appropriations subcommittees concern. but this bill has a great deal of bipartisan support. We heard from our colleague from New Hampshire.. who is experiencing high utility bills and has already run out of their funding for their poor in New Hampshire. But a lot of us are looking forward to what may be happening not only this winter. but also this summer. So I am proud to have Congressman PICKERING of. Mississippi and Congressman LATOURETTE. who is also supporting this legislation. When we vote on this tomorrow. we will see a lot of Members from across the aisle who are supporting this.legislation. and again. like my chairman of our full committee and also the ranking member of the committee. John Dingell is suplorting this legislation. We need to do something now to help and we will work whatever we can to help with the allocation from the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services or. again. another supplemental next year or later this year that will be able to deal with it. Madam Speaker. I urge my colleagues to vote aye.
Date: 2006-03-16
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam .Speaker. the confusing and complicated Republican prescription drug plan will penalize seniors forever if they do not pick a plan by May 15. Unless the administration or Congress acts. 2 months from today. seniors will face a Bush prescription drug tax that will be added to their prescription drug premiums. We simply cannot allow this tax to take effect. President Bush was in New York this week conceding a lot of problems with the drug plan so far. However. the President refuses to extend the deadline for seniors to sign up. If he doesnt change his mind. Congress must act. Seniors are only looking for help for these skyrocketing prescription drug prices. They didnt ask for this confusing drug plan. nor is it to help them. But they need the help. This is both a critical health and financial decision for seniors who rely on prescription drugs to be healthier. Democrats have a plan that would extend the drug enrollment period and eliminate penalties to the end of this year. It is time for us to join together and save American seniors a prescription drug tax that they cannot afford and simply do not deserve.
Date: 2006-03-16
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise to support this amendment because it would help thousands of children in the State of Texas. This amendment directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give priority to states affected by Hurricane Katrina when redistributing unobligated federal matching funds from the Child Care Development Fund. Texas is now serving 6.000 children of Katrina evacuees with childcare services. There are currently 34.000 Texas children on a wait list for child. care services. Texas will soon be in a position where our only option will be to serve the children of evacuees at the expense of children in Texas. Congress authorized $200. million in additional Child Care Development Funds for FY 06. However. these funds were made available in the middle of the fiscal year making it difficult for some states to determine the necessary matching funds for this program. This amendment asks that any balances in Child Care Development Funds be made available to states where child care caseloads have increased due to thehurricanes. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
Date: 2006-03-16
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. today I rise in support of the supplemental budget despite reservations about parts of this legislation. While I think this bill could be substantially improved. I also believe that. on balance. it does more good than harm. This bill provides funds for a number of important purposes. including the equipment necessary to *support and protect our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. emergency relief for the victims of hurricane Katrina. and funds to support international efforts to stop the mass killings of innocent people in Sudan. I will address each of these in turn. - ] 1745 Let me start with Iraq. While I opposed the So the amendment was rejected. Presidents decision to go to war in Iraq and The result of the vote was announced Afghanistan. I am supporting this bill because as above recorded. I believe we must provide our troops with the Stated for: necessary equipmentwhile they are there. I
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to share my thoughts on �our Nations need for passing the comprehensive Water Resources Development Act by this Congress. Off July 14 of last year. H.R. 2864. the Water Resources Development Act. passed here in this House by a resounding 40614. The measures authorized major flood control. navigation. envfronmental restoration. and other water resource projects. Yet once again. similar to years past. this vital legislation has become bogged down by. our colleagues in the other body. It is critical that we return to a 2year cycle to provide continuity for vital waterrelated infrastructure. Infrastructure investment has been and will continue to be the bedrock -foundation of our economic growth and public safety. A water resource bill is critical to the protection of our environment and the public safety. and the Nation needs this one right now.