macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1997-07-23
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. over the weekend I saw this entertainer. Ed McMahon. on television. He was talking about how many of the viewers may be rich already and not even know it. I thought how similar that claim was to the ones we are hearing from Democrats today. that the American people. the average hardworking families earning � between $20.000 a year and $75.000 a year. are somehow rich and may not even know it. We do not have to watch the mail in order to find out whether we are wealthy. Under the Democrats manipulation of income. we can just call the Treasury Department now and find out whether we are rich. In fact. it is the dirty little secret of the White House and the Democrat Party: Get rich quick. call the U.S. Treasury now. find out how they have taken your $45.000 income. and now they call you a millionaire on the House floor and suggest that you do not deserve a tax cut. Call the number of the Treasury Department and find out about their dirty little manipulation of your income. 2026220120. 2026220120. the Treasury operators are standing by.
Date: 1997-07-24
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H

of- Colorado. Mr. Speaker. it is time for the left to stop twisting the truth about tax relief. Thatis the headline of the editorial in this weeks U.S. News & World Report. Here is what the editorial says. It says that "The middleclass families that benefit from the Republican tax plan should hardly be considered rich." The editorial goes on: "The way the left is trying to twist the tax debate. boldly ragging successful Americans as a way to achieve political points. trivializes the real issues and divides us as a people." That is what the U.S. News & World Report says. The editorial suggests that the Democrat approach to this tax debate is a lot like the phony getrichquick schemes we often see on television. suggesting that somehow you magically become wealthy overnight.- If Members are inclined to believe that kind of baloney. I would direct their attention to the getrichquick scheme presented here on my left. All the Democrats. call th6 U.S. Treasury Department. 2026220120. and they can find out how. by applying their philosophy on taxes and income. their middleclass income actually makes them wealthy overnight. overnight. All Members have to do is call the Treasury Department. and they. too. can find out how the Democrats believe they are rich. Call the Treasury now. 2026220120. Democrat operators are standing by.
Date: 1997-07-24
Speaker: LINDA SMITH (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of this amendment. I think the major argument before us today will be that it is discrimination if we do not subsidize tobacco. I want to stand here before Members and tell them. there is only a handful of crops that qualify for Federal crop insurance. only a handful. less than 65. Mr. Chairman. I believe if people look to their own States and find out which crops are not insured. they will find that good crops. like in the State of Washington. peaches. berries. cherries. Christmas trees. alfalfa forage. are not insured. I would beg Members to go back to find out which crops in their State are discriminated against as they are voting for certain States to get preference. . Let us look at the benefits of a peach. A peach- is good for a kid. Now let us look at the benefits of tobacco. Tobacco kills kids. Where is the value for America? I looked up the amount of money pumped into this place for campaigns in the month of June. I did not see a whole lot from peaches. But I sure saw a whole lot from tobacco. Why would tobacco think. up against this vote. that they had to pump hundreds of thousands. yes. millions of dollars into campaigns of people incumbent in Congress? I did not see them walking down the streets handing out checks to the tourists. I did not see them mailing them to people in my home district. But they do report that they have given hundreds of thousands to this body in the month of June. anticipating this vote. I would beg Members to go home and look at their priorities. look at the crops that are being discriminated against in their State. and then justify to their constituents why they voted to subsidize tobacco.
Date: 1997-07-24
Speaker: LINDA SMITH (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Chairman. I rise today in support of the Neumann amendment because something really simple happens when we mess with prices. That is. the cost of the peanut butter sandwich for the kid goes up. That is what we are seeing today. But greater than that. we hear that it is for a small number of farmers. The reality is only onethird of the quota holders are actually farmers. The rest are people who inherited the quotas or purchased them and who lease them to the real farmers who then get less than the quota floor price. I think it is important that we realize that is a subsidy. But really what is greater. it just raises the cost to the consumer. We need to stop doing this. We need to get in line with what is really happening in the world market and stop this practice. I really do support the Neumann amendment and encourage the rest of the Members to take a look at who really benefits from this system.
Date: 1997-07-24
Speaker: DAN SCHAEFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. and I would like to engage the gentleman from Pennsylvania in a colloquy. As the gentleman is aware. title I of this bill would transfer funding from the management of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. or as we call it. FUSRAP. from the Department 6f Energy to the U.S. Corps of Engineers. As the gentleman knows. the Committee on Commerce has the responsibility of the management of nuclear waste disposal. including remediation of these nondefense sites.. It has been our goal to ensure that FUSRAP sites are cleaned up in a very effective and efficient manner. and I must admit that I have some concerns about whether transferring funding to the Corps of Engineers is the best way to ensure that these sites are cleaned up. At the same time. however. I would simply like to confirm my understanding that this transfer of funding from the Department of Energy to the U.S. Corps of Engineers is not intended to and in fact would not affect the Committee on Commerces jurisdiction over the management of these facilities.. Mr. Speaker. could the gentleman confirm my understanding of this?
Date: 1997-07-24
Speaker: DAN SCHAEFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

If the gentleman will continue to yield. Mr. Speaker. I would like to commend the chairman again for a very excellent bill. and would like to clarify one provision regarding renewable energy in the fiscal year 1998 energy and water development appropriation bill. That is. the report language with regard to wind energy research development and demonstration projects appears to restrict ongoing and future costshared partnership efforts between the Department of Energy and the wind energy industry. Is it the intention of the House that these and other costshared programs should not be continued as appropriate in collaboration with DOE. the National Laboratories and U.S. industries?
Date: 1997-07-28
Speaker: LINDA SMITH (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Washington

Mr. Speaker. sometimes we have a law that seems insignificant because it only affects a few people. But this particular day. it is very important to many people in Washington and Oregon. especially those that live in Washington. because for many years. they have been told there are not enough of them for Congress to pay attention. So I would like to commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania . the chairman. for caring about justice for the few. What has happened over the years is we have what is called a no mans land in Washington State and Oregon called a very wide river. It has many dams on it. and Federal employees work on that river. Over the years. one of the States. the State of Oregon. has decided that there is an imaginary line in the middle of the river and that they will have folks that get up each morning and pack their lunch and go to work never ever going to the State of Oregon. living in Washington.. keep track of the hours as they go throughout the day. the hours that they walk onto the side of the river that Oregon has decided is their land. This has become a bone of contention over the years. And I often hear taxation without representation. We hear this often. But really. sometimes people use it because they do not want to pay their share or they do not want to pay for services. These folks never drive on an Oregon road. They are never protected by Oregon law. There is never a fire engine that comes to protect their hone. There is no service. There is nothing. except they walk across a Federal project part of the way through the day and then usually are required to pay about 10 percent tax on 50 percent of their income. without ever getting any service. So today what we have is just common sense. but it is also justice for the few. And that. is what America is about. We protect the rights of each individual. And the right to not have taxation without representation is just something we know is American. So today I thank the chairman again and all the other Members. especially the gentleman from Washington . who I am sure is on a plane coming home. if he is like so many Members. he is coming back here today because he has diligently brought it to the Chair. brought it to the committee. brought it to the limelight. And he -has several of those dams. as I do. on the Columbia River. and his folks need to understand that he has been a bulldog on this. Even though it was only a few people. the gentleman from Washington has cared deeply about the few.
Date: 1997-07-31
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. when the Founders were debating the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. one of the most important subjects of debate concerned what they considered to be threats to freedom. Some thought that too much government power was the greatest threat to freedom. Some thought that too much power in the hands of the majority would be a threat to the freedom of minorities. Men like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote extensively about these threats to freedom. and they were right. Today I would like to call special attention to the threat to freedom that Thomas Jefferson feared the most. too much power in the hands of government. When the government takes nearly onehalf of a familys income. government has too much power. Today we consider whether to take a cue from President Jefferson and reduce the power of government by passing the tax relief package currently before Congress. before us now. and to return the authority to the very families that sent us here to do the job.
Date: 1997-07-31
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. Republicans have done what some called impossible. We have balanced the budget. provided the most significant tax relief in 16 years. Not since Ronald Reagan gave us 7 years of unprecedented economic growth have we given so much relief to the millions of families. small business owners. farmers. and other hardworking Americans who deserve to keep more of the money they earn. This bill is going to free up dollars. free up money. taxpayer dollars. I might add. which previously had been used for wasteful government spending. It returns this money to the rightful owners. to the people of the United States of America. to those who create jobs. economic growth. and wealth. It is going to provide more people with the opportunity to achieve the American dream of owning their own home. seeing their children go to college. and having enough money to retire and just enjoy their grandchildren. Mr. Speaker. I wanted to thank the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. the gentleman from Texas . my good friend. a super Texan and a great American for his hard work and determination in making sure that Americans get what they so richly deserve. a big tax cut. It is long overdue. It is finally time that this Congress has done something good for America. God really has blessed America.
Date: 1997-09-03
Speaker: DAN SCHAEFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

If the gentleman will yield. I am so glad that the gentleman from New Jersey is here. Mr. Pappas. because I remember when we first met as freshmen coming here. the first thing out of Mike Pappas mouth -was home office deduction. We have got to get the home office deduction for small business people back in my home district. That is true in my area as well. as we talk about making the welfare transition from dependency to complete independence. to realizing the economic trends taking place in America toward smaller businesses and independent employment. Our goal as Republicans has been in this Congress to try to find ways to triple the number of minorityowned businesses throughout the country as well. I have to tell you. when I went back home I heard so many people thanking us that MIKE PAPPAS legislation made it into the final tax cut bill on the home office deduction. Finally. we are going to be able to provide parity to small business owners. parity with respect to the expenses associated with running a business out of your home that large employers enjoy throughout the country as well. Since you are here tonight. I want to thank you. and just let you and the constituents back in New Jersey know that this is an important item that you fought for that has had a tremendous impact. not just in your home State of New Jersey. but had an impact in Missouri. South Dakota and Colorado. You can drop me out of an airplane in a parachute anywhere in this country. and I guarantee people struggling to be entrepreneurs and finding a way to get their small business open and operating out of their homes appreciate the jobs created. thanks to the home office deduction. Would the gentleman talk a little more about that?
Date: 1997-09-03
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for inquiring about that. My district. the 4th district of Colorado. is essentially the eastern half of the State. a very rural area. about the size of Indiana in square mileage. My district does not include Denver. but I did an exchange with a Member of the other party where I spent a day in her district and she in mine. We went to innercity Denver and spoke with minority business leaders and owners of the business community in innercity Denver. The concern of the folks that we met with is very different than what you might expect in a setting of that nature. I did not hear requests for any kind of handout of any kind. any kind of preference program. anything along those lines that has come in Washington and in many places and seems to be what you would expect. It was just the opposite. asking for fewer government regulations. asking for the home office deduction. asking for 100 percent deductibility of health benefits for health care expenses for small employers. to get them to the same level where large employers are. These are the key elements. removing the barriers of a large. oppressive Federal bureaucracy from the natural entrepreneurial instincts that occur to all Americans in all settings. It was just remarkable. because it is the same message I hear in the rural parts of my district. Going to innercity Denver. I heard the same message. This particular tax cut package that the Republicans crafted and constructed right here and passed and that we fought so hard for is really being embraced throughout the country. It is so exciting. And Mr. PAPPAS is exactly right. this is just the first step. It is a good start. But we are not finished. we are going to go back and get more and continue to fight to shrink the size of the government in Washington and expand the authority of real people. real. free people throughout America.
Date: 1997-09-04
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. tens of millions of children this week headed back to school. Their parents were taking them to the front doors of the schools and sending them in with high hopes and high expectations. Those hopes and expectations. unfortunately. might be dashed if those parents were able to see the numbers that we know about here in Washington: that since 1960 we have spent 200 percent more on government schooling. and SAT scores have dropped 70 points in that same time period. Our international comparisons suffer when we line our math and science scores up against our international competitors. Sadly. people in some quarters still look to Washington to try to fix this problem. Well. I am here to tell you about some exciting things that have taken place throughout the country. Tuesday morning I was on hand as we opened up the first charter school in northern Colorado. Three of my four children are attending that school today. There are more charter schools in the State. hundreds more throughout the country. Whatconcerned parents are realizing is that the answers to fixing our schools are not to be found here in Washington by a large. centralized bureaucracy. They are to be found at home where parentsare treated like real customers. teachers are treated like real professionals. and school choice allows an opportunity to improve the quality of public education nationwide.
Date: 1997-09-04
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I hate to be against some of my colleagues from Texas. whom I really revere. I will say. we have got a problem on the border. and drug traffic is taking over and our Nations security is at risk. Homes and lands have been taken over by drug lords. Members know that. We have not done anything to help them. We have tried to put more agents down there. and we cannot seem to get it through the House and get more money to do it. Are we to let that border go awry? I think America needs to protect its borders. and this motion will reinforce that. Do you know what? The drugs have moved. the drug ops have moved. from Colombia to Mexico. We all are aware of that. Guess what? They target the UnitedStates as a drug target. One of the cities that is really suffering is one that I happen to represent. Plano. TX. We had two guys come in from California the other day and they said they could not believe it. They sensed there was a drug problem. we know we have a drug problem. and guess what? It is all coming across the border. I think the situation is dire enough where we would be irresponsible if we did not address it now. We created the military to protect our Nation and its borders. We have troops all over the world. for crying out loud. theoretically protecting the interests of this Nation. Surely we can take action when the freedom and loss of it occurs right in our own backyard. Mr. Speaker. I encourage the conferees to stand firm on this.
Date: 1997-09-05
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. as Americas schoolchildren go back to the schoolhouse. I wonder what they must think of their obligation to obey the rules. and when the occupants of the White House feel no obligation to obey the rules themselves. Let us consider the Presidential campaign of 1996. It. of course. would not be fair if some candidates had to obey it while others did not. For example.- it is very important that everybody play by the same campaign finance rules. Those who broke the rules would be considered to have cheated by those who honored the rules. Examples. of cheating would be taking foreign money. which besides being illegal would compromise the foreign policy decisions of the American government. Cheating would also include making fundraising phone calls from the White House. Cheating would also include making deals that require campaign contributions in exchange for a meeting or in exchange for inclusion in the trade mission or for sleeping in the Lincoln bedroom. Now of course other people use a different word to describe this kind of cheating. it is called corruption. but every child in schools today understands cheating.
Date: 1997-09-05
Speaker: LINDA SMITH (republican)
Chamber: H

of and Mr. FOX of Pennsylvs their vote from "aye" to " Messrs. BILIRAKIS. WI INSON. and DICKEY ch vote from "no" to "aye." So the amendment was r The result of the vote wi as above recorded.
Date: 1997-09-08
Speaker: SONNY BONO (republican)
Chamber: H

His legislation will allow the Agua Caliente Tribe to compensate allottees or their heirs who currently have exclusive rights to a parcel of land that is located at the site of the tribes casino. H.R. 700 will simply allow the tribal government to use its gaming revenues to address the social problems facing the tribal members. Mr. Speaker. I have personally visited this reservation and I have seen this problem firsthand. I know the tribal government has worked endlessly to ensure this plan was fair and equitable. I want to applaud Chairman Richard Milanovich and the .Agua Caliente Tribal Council for the hard work they have put into this bill. I also want to thank the gentleman from California for introducing this important bill to help the residents of his district. and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Date: 1997-09-09
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. for Americas poorest children education is their most direct path out of poverty. In fact. even children in truly horrible schools manage to escape destitution by dint of relentless determination and honest hard work. But children should not have to pass through metal detectors on the way through the schoolhouse door. If kids are more consumed by the fear of violence than the hope of earning an A on the next exam. the great challenges they face become even greater. Confronted by school violence and disorderly classrooms. to whom can these children turn? I believe they ought to turn to their parents. of course. But what if their parents lack the freedom to pull their children out of harmful schools? While the status quo interests join together to say "too bad" or join together in offering more hollow promises. Republicans offer Americas children hope in the form of school choice and education savings accounts. Hope is too scarce a commodity to most of pur Nations poorest communities. School choice and education savings accounts level the playing field and offer hope by treating families like real customers and children like real Americans.
Date: 1997-09-10
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. if we were a manufacturer that produced an inferior product. what would we think if we had to face real competition for the first time? My guess is that we would feel the same as those governmentowned schools which are absolutely terrified by school choice. Mr. Speaker. they are terrified by school choice because they know that kids whose parents do not have the money to move or to send their kids to a private school have no choice but to send their kids to another government school where they have to pass through metal detectors. where there is no order in the classroom. and where the idea of standards and accountability leave them lagging behind their international peers. Governmentowned schools have a complete monopoly. plain and simple. and all monopolies fear competition. I can 100 percent guarantee an inferior product of any human endeavor if producers are shielded from competition. if producers are not forced to innovate and improve. Mr. Speaker. just look at the Communist legacy in every single case. especially education. The bureaucrats who just love their governmentowned schools and want to protect their monopoly will do so at just about any cost. regardless of whether kids have to receive an inferior education and blighted futures. Mr. Speaker. it is wrong and I have lost patience with those who refuse to do best for the kids. School choice is the answer.