macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let me tell you. at least it didnt take me long to break the code. because my whole formative life. the formative years of my life. that picture would never have occurred. Every day in the news you heard about the death toll and how these two countries were locked in the heat of battle. Remember. Saddam Hussein was Sunni. and the leadership of Iran was Shiite. It could have been hundreds. if not thousands of years of religious conflict. You know the expression. I am reminded of the expression. which isnt a nice expression but I have certainly heard it used. the friend of my enemy is my enemy. Well. that picture is the result of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That is what that picture is right there. Of course. the leadership of Iraq now is Shiite. So we have actually destabilized. and I am not just saying this as DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZS opinion. the middle- eastern experts on terrorism and on middle eastern history have actually said that what we did -hear. what the Bush administrations policies resulted in. is a destabilization. Because previously you had a balance of power with Sunnis in charge in Iraq. Shiites in charge in Iran. essentially to oversimplify it. and now you have almost complete domination by Shiites. So you are having a region that is descending into civil war. I mean. they are there. We dont really have to wring our hands too much moreover whether or not they are in the middle of a civil war and we are immersed in the middle of their civil war.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

If the gentleman will yield. because you talk about the obsession that the Bush administration has engaged in with this war in Iraq. and Iraq generally has been this Presidents obsession. and what that has resulted in is a total absence of attention and focus on homeland security here. If our good friends on the other side of the aisle. Mr. MEEK. want to make this electiona referendum. a local referendum on the individual Members of Congress standing for reelection on their side of the aisle. we will give them a referendum. because on every measure in terms of who is committed to securing our borders and making sure that our homeland is secure. it is us as Democrats that have proposed solutions and the Republicans that have rejected them. Lets just walk through this. I have some graphics that will walk through where we are with the Republicans leadership on homeland security and where we would take us. and Mr. MEEK I know has some interesting things to highlight as well as far as the opinion leaders in this country on both sides of the aisle. Yesterday. let me just share with you. yesterday we were home in our districts and had an opportunity and a privilege to commemorate the tragedy that was 9/11 from the 5year anniversary. and learned some very disturbing things. The question that was perpetually asked. Mr. MEEK and Mr. DELAHUNT. I am sure you were asked the same question. all that anyone wanted to know all day yesterday was. Debbie. are we really safer? After all. that has been talked about and funded. supposedly. Are we safer? The answer. really. was depending on who you asked. According to the sheriff of Broward County. Ken Jenne. our sheriff in our community. we are safer in some ways. But the only reason we are safer in my community in south Florida and Mr. MEEKSS community is because our local government. not our Federal funding. our local government has stepped up and cooperated.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

They have the nerve to stand on this floor and say that they would be better on national security and they would keep Americans safer and that is why they would deserve to be returned to office? Give me abreak.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you for helping me clarify that definition. "They" is the Republican majority. who controls everything here and has the ability to do any of this at a moments notice but instead has actually rejected our proposals to tighten homeland security and fund homeland security. We have been fighting for port security while Republicans have been voting against it. Here are the datebydate instances in which we have proposed additional funding for port security and. unanimously. the Republicans have rejected it on a partyline vote. time after time: September 17. 2003. June 9. 2004. You could keep going. June 18. 2004. October 7. 2004. These are all instances. September 29. 2005. March 2. 2006. All of these going down on partyline votes. And there are others. I mean. look. I had to use three boards just to show you just a handful of the times that we have proposed enhanced port security and border security and they rejected it. "they" being the Republicans as defined by the dictibnary written by Newt Gingrich. Now. let us look at border security.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

They talk tough but action is absent. When President Clinton was in office. the average number of new Border Patrol agents added every year was 642. And from 2001 to 2005. the Bush administration added 411. aided by the Republican Congress.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

About a third less than was added under the Clinton Democratic administration. How about INB. which is now called CIS. the Immigration and Naturalization Service fines for immigration enforcement. meaning that they would go out and actually fine employers for hiring illegal immigrants and pursuing the hiring of illegal immigrants. Under the Clinton administration in 1999. there were 417 employers fined for immigration violations.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

You are absolutely right. And we are not done there. I am going to go on and then bring it in for a landing. and yield to either Mr. RYAN or Mr. MEEK. But 78 percent fewer completed immigration fraud cases. When you are investigating immigration fraud as to whether or not someone belongs here. whether they have actually legally applied for residency. permanent or otherwise. for a green card. the number of cases that were pursued that were fraudcases in 1995. and. Mr. RYAN. who was President in 1995?
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Okay. Well. that is what -I thought. How about in 2003? In2003. after 6.455 immigration fraud cases were pursued under the Clinton Democratic administration. 1.389 in 2003 -were pursued. And. Mr. RYAN. who was President in 2003?
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Okay. So now we can see. very graphically and specifically and factually. who is for enhancing our borders and protecting our homeland security and who just talks about it. So. Mr. MEEK. what we would do is we have a real security agenda. a real security agenda that we have proposed in the mandatory process that has been rejected by our Republican colleagues and that we will implement once we control the Congress after November 7. Here are some of -the things. that we would do: We would provide first responders with the equipment and the training that they need and the resources that they need to respond to a terrorist attack. and we would not have to hear when we go home from our local first responders that they. have to choose between training and general. normal emergency response. I mean this is our real security agenda right here. It is available on our Web site. Anyone can access it. It also will be available in Spanish. Actually. it is available in Spanish. as we speak. In addition to that. we would push for stronger transportation and critical infrastructure that is required for security planning and support. We have got to have our security personnel able to move around and be able to actually get to the places that security needs to be enhanced. We would secure the border for real. We would fund it. We would put the Border Patrol agents on the border. We wouldnt need to call out the National Guard to provide additional border security because we would actually pay for it because we have our priorities straight. We would work to strengthen the intelligence community and its ability to share information.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Speaking of the winds of change. you should have seen. Mr. RYAN and Mr. MEEK. the wind behind our flight that our two colleagues that repregent the State of New Hampshire had when they immediately left the room during the immigration hearings that we held. The Judiciary Committee had those immigration hearings across the country. I attended one of them in New Hampshire. and it was one of those road shows where. again. the Republicans tried to represent a whole lot of rhetoric about what their record really is on border security and homeland security and there is no reality to back it up. So we brought reality. Mr. DELAHUNT and Mr. MEEHAN and I. as members of the Judiciary Committee. went to that hearing.and we brought the record of our two colleagues from the State of New Hampshire and showed how ten different times while they were there in the room professing to their constituents that they were moderates on immigration reform and that they supported balance. we confronted their constituents with the reality of their record in a nice big lifesize form. And it was really interesting that the flight that they took out of the room following our putting that record up on the table and our asking. Mr. MEEHAN.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Right. Apparently. the only one who is still insisting that there was a link is the President and the rubber stamp colleagues that he has managed to collect here in this Chamber. Here is more rhetoric: The Bush administration says that they didnt manipulate prewar intelligence. They argued that they did not try to fit the facts around what they intended to do in terms of their invasion in Iraq. So what they said. and this is Vice President CHENEY now that I am quoting. he said. "What is not legitimate. and what I will say again is dishonest and reprehensible. is the suggestion by some U.S. Senators that the President of the United States or any member of his administration purposely misled the American people on prewar intelligence." And Vice President CHENEY said that on November 21 of 2005. Here is the reality: Former State Department official questioned the Bush administrations use of prewar intelligence. Lawrence Wilkerson. who was the former Chief of Staff to President Bushs first Secretary of State. Colin Powell. here is what he said: "After looking back at it. doing researchover the last year or 2. and my time in the State Department. there is no doubt in my mind that certain members of the Bush administration did. in fact. politicize the intelligence." And he said that on CNN on March 17 of 2006. Now. you know. I was raised to tell the truth. Mr. RYAN and Mr. MEEK. I was raised that you should back up commentary and back up commitment with action. and that seems to be totally absent. Our colleagues ability on the other side of the aisle. particularly in the administration. seems completely absent when it confes to backing up words with action. when it comes to protecting our borders and homeland security commitment. And for some reason they insist. and. Mr. MEEK. you have said this over and over. on the philosophy of maybe if we repeat it enough times. people will believe it. Maybe if we stamp our foot enough times. it will be true. Well. that does not work when my kids want to get me to do what they want. when they continually repeat -what they want me to do over and over again and the answer is still no. And it does not work with the administration. It shouldnt work unless you are a Republican Member of Congress and you do whatever it is that the administration tells you to do. I] 2350 Well. it is time for a new direction. and that is what we offer to the American people. We will actually back up our words with action.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. MEEK. as we close out and before we go to Mr. RYAN. I want to conclude by saying what a privilege it is to serve with the both of you and Mr. DELAHUNT and that the leader has given us this opportunity. I hope that 5 years from now when. after November 7th of this year. we are given an opportunity I am hopeful to run this institution. that on September ltth. 5 years hence. when we get asked the same question that I was asked yesterday. are we safer. that because we have implemented the 9/11 Commission recommendations and the other attempts that we have made to improve our homeland security. that we will be able to confidently answer that question. "yes." And I think the saddest thing and the way I would conclude my remarks tonight. the saddest thing I reflected upon yesterday was that there was so. much opportunity that we had after 9/ 1 001. The country was so incredibly unified. Automobiles around this country on every highway had two American flags on either side of the windshield. you had universal unity. And this administration squandered that unity. and the road is littered with the missed opportunities. And it is just. really. sad isnt even a strong enough word.
Date: 2006-09-12
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

With that. Madam Speaker. I want to thank the Democratic leader for the opportunity to spend some time talking about the new direction for America. We yield back the balance of our time.
Date: 2006-09-13
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr.-Speaker. for a lot of American families it is becoming more and more difficult to make ends meet in the Bush economy. With skyhigh gas prices this summer. rising health care costs and stagnant� wages. working Americans are feeling a serious squeeze on their family finances. Unfortunately. President Bush and the congressional Republicans refuse to address our economy because they think it is moving along smoothly. But that is simply not the case. While fulltime minimum wage earners face a 50year low in buying power. and all Americans face wages that are falling after inflation. corporate profits have reached their highest share of the economy since -the 1960s. It would be nice if corporate CEOs and shareholders were not the only ones benefiting from the production American workers are bringing in every day. Democrats believe it is time for them to get their fair share. Mr. Speaker. working Americans are ready for a new economic direction. one where workers are justly compensated Tor their efforts and the benefits of increased productivity can be shared by all. The days of catering exclusively to the wealthiest have helped create the troubling economic conditions that our Nation now faces. It is time for a change.
Date: 2006-09-13
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of raising the minimum wage. Less than a month ago in this body I voted against raising the minimum wage. Now why would I vote against raising the minimum wage? There is no Member in this House that supports raising the minimum wage more than I do. I clearly understand that a person cannot live on $10.700 a year. But it was a poison pill. As we said in the Florida House. it was the kiss of death because it was tied to an estate tax that would have taken trillions of dollars out of the budget and we would have had to out education. health care and so many other programs that we care about. The Bible says the poor will always be with us. but our job is to help raise the standard. Give us a clean bill on this floor and lets vote to help the American people.
Date: 2006-09-13
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to support this bill and the hard work put in by Chairman BROWN and Ranking Member VIIcHAUD. I am especially pleased that the committee has chosen to authorize the construction of a new medical center facility in Orlando. Florida. for $377.7 million and to require the facility to be located at the site in Lake Nona known as site selection C. It has been documented for 25 years. let me repeat. 25 years. that a VA hospital- is badly needed in central Florida. As a 14year member of the Veterans Affairs Committee. I have been working to obtain a hospital in this area. something that has always been one of my top committee priorities. When the Naval Training Center was closed. I was excited to work with former Secretary Jesse Brown to open the clinic that was badly needed for central Florida veterans. It is time for a full medical center. It is important that the veterans of the central Florida region have a VA medical center that will serve all the needs to provide the type of health care that the VA is known for. I am especially pleased that the VA medical center will be colocated with the new Florida State medical school near an urban medical complex. in an area where doctors and research professors can work collaboratively on the needs of our area veterans. As many studies have shown. teaching hospitals give the best care and for the veterans to have access to this care and the veterans to have the same access is invaluable. It is the ultimate urban model. one that needs to be followed at all levels of medical treatment from Florida and throughout the Nation. The many hearings we have held to discuss the benefits of working together have shown the benefits. and the path has been set for success in other. institutions. This is a winwin for everyone in the VA system in the central Florida area. and the veterans are truly deserving of this facility. Again. this is a great day and long overdue day for the central Florida community and for central Florida veterans. It is also a great day for all veterans from all over the Nation who will come to central Florida. Thank you again. Mr. Chairman and Mr. Ranking Member.
Date: 2006-09-13
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor those who lost their lives on September 11. 2001. and those who risked their lives in the fight on terrorism. I also rise today to discuss the slow pace. or rather the lack of pace. in the reforms called for by the 9/11 Commission. The 9/11 Commission was chartered by Congress to examine and report on the facts and causes relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11. 2001. What of those recommendations have we enacted? Every time the polls go down for the Bush administration a new threat is discovered. Since September 11. in fact. I have been lobbying the Bush administration for additional security funding for our Nations ports and other areas of our Nations infrastructure. such as freight and passenger rail. our subway system. busses. tunnels and bridges. There are other areas of vulnerability that are outside of aviation. security. The Bush administration has been telling the American people that they are checking only 3 to 4 percent of all cargo that comes into our ports. but in reality all they are checking is the manifest that lists the inventories of the ship. Now. I think the American people are smart enough to know that if reading a piece of paper provided by the shipper is what passes for port security. then we are all in trouble. We spent $4.4 billion alone on aviation security. while only $36 million is being spent on all surface transportation security programs. And with respect to our Nations ports. which serve as the main economic engine for many of the areas in which they are found. an attack would not only be extremely dangerous to the local citizens. but economically disastrous as well. The Bush administration and the Republicans talk a great talk about security. but they do not. and I repeat. do not walk the walk.
Date: 2006-09-13
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I will place a statement in the RECORD on H. Res. 994 on the 9/11 5year anniversary at this point. Mr. Speaker. on Monday. this Nation. took time to remember the events of five years earlier on September 11. 2001--events that changed the way we viewed the world and our own Nation. Our prayers are with the families of those that lost their lives that day. We never imagined that something like that could happen on American soil and it is still hard to comprehend the. number of innocent lives lost that day. The five year anniversary brought back memories of planes crashing into the World Trade Center Building. the Pentagon. and Flight 93 going down in Pennsylvania. but more importantly. we remembered the images of the brave Americansfire fighters. law enforcement. medical personnel. and everyday citizensthat rushed to help their fellow Americans that were injured or trapped in the rubble of the fallen buildings. The courage these individuals showed is the reason the terrorists were not successful in weakening our Nation. They took innocent American lives and destroyed our buildings that day. but they did not destroy our Nations resolve because Americans will always answer the call and the first responders that day did so selflessly in an environment of chaos and uncertainty.. Over the past five years we have seen this country grow stronger in the face of the new threat that became apparent that day. As citizens we are more vigilant and as a Nation we have committed to a new war to fight terrorism across the globe. The attacks in Spain. Jordan. Britain and elsewhere since 9/11 demonstrate that we are not alone in this fight and that we have not deterred the terrorists intentions or will to carry out attacks against innocent people. We will continue to hunt down terrorists and terrorist cells where they are and we will lead the world in defeating their ideology. We all have different ideas about how to dOr this. Over the past five years. we have seen heated debates in this House. throughout our government. and across the Nation over how to best protect our country. secure our borders. patrol our ports. and carry out the war against these extremists while protecting the American way of life and our individual liberties. But this tragedy reminded us that we are all Americans first and foremost. We may not always agree on how best to do this. but the goal of every person here is the same: to succeed in protecting our country. our way of life. and preventing another 9)/11. No one will forget where they were. or what they were doing when they learned of the attacks. This anniversary marks one of the gravest days in our Nations history. but it also reminds us of the bravery displayed by those that reacted to the tragedy with unwavering courage and heroism. Mr. Speaker. September 11. 2001 is five years behind us. but it will guide us for the foreseeable future. I pray for the families that lost loved ones that day and I thank those that served bravely. God be with those that are not here because of 9/11 and God bless America.