macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-10-09
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chair. the bottom line is that we must consider many factors related to our energy portfolio before we lift any current restrictions. Mr. Chair. I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 702. Since I am unable to remove myself as a cosponsor of the legislation. I would like to speak on the record regarding my opposition to this particular bill. While I believe that Congress should consider the potential for all energy sources to meet our nations current and future needs. I believe that this legislation lacks the proper safeguards and oversight for such a major change in our nations energy policy. The bill does not appropriately consider the implications for our national security. the economy. consumers. and especially the environment. Exporting crude oil does not increase demand for oil or definitively increase the number of U.S. jobs in the energy sector. On the contrary. many U.S. jobs that are downstream in the domestic refining process may be threatened. In addition. exporting oil to foreign countries for refining purposes will likely increase overall C02 emissions. thus amplifying the impacts of climate change. Facing the challenge of climate change requires us to be responsible and accountable for our own natural resources. This bill does not provide any recourse to mitigate or even examine these potential impacts. and thus ignores this responsibility entirely. It should be noted that the Obama Administration has made every effort to compromise by easing export restrictions where appropriate after careful review. The Commerce Department recently approved limited crude oil exchanges with Mexico. However. the President believes that unilaterally lifting the export ban is excessive. and I join him in his opposition. Lifting the crude oil ban for shortterm gains with no accounting of the costs that will be incurred is illadvised and shortsighted. The bottom line is that we must consider many factors related to our energy portfolio before we lift any current restrictions. Without serious deliberation and oversight of the potential environmental and economic impacts of such as significant shift in our national energy policy. I must urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill.
Date: 2015-10-09
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to the amendment. I represent the Port of Houston. and maritime transportation is vital to our success. Last year. the United States imported $2.4 trillion and exported $1.6 trillion in cargo and goods. Much of that cargo came to the United States on foreignbuilt ships. under foreign flags. and without U.S. citizens on board. Our maritime industry has been the bedrock of our economy since our founding. More cargo moves through our waterways than any other mode of transportation. We need to protect our domestic maritime industry. and that includes men and women that work on these ships. I have worked with the maritime unions. including the Seafarers and the Marine Engineers. since my first days in Congress. I want to thank my colleagues for supporting our U.S.-flagged maritime unions. I oppose this amendment because I support any effort to keep these folks working. I would like to take a minute and acknowledge a recent incident in the Atlantic Ocean. The disappearance of the El Faro resulted in the loss of life. I want to extend my prayers to the families. Working on these ships is tough and can be hazardous. as we learned last week. It is my hope that we can defeat this amendment and ensure our economic viability and national security by putting U.S. crews and U.S. flags on more ships. I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.
Date: 2015-10-09
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of the bill. add the following new section:
Date: 2015-10-09
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I am always eager to work with my friends on this side of aisle. Mr. PALLONE. I am always eager to work when we are moving forward. And so I would offer my amendment and offer it for a voice vote. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-10-09
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I ask that my amendment be considered by my colleagues. Mr. Chairman. my amendment requires within 180 days of enactment the Secretaries of Energy and Commerce submit a report to Congress analyzing how lifting the ban on crude oil. in particular. on exports. will create opportunities for veterans and women. Mr. Chairman. just a few days ago I went to an initiative called Stand Down. I have gone a number of years. Most military persons will understand it is where you come and stand down from battle. In this instance. they were veterans. many of them homeless. many of them in great need. Obviously. social services. substance abuse services. and others were offered there. What I heard from these men who wore the uniform in dignity is they want jobs. Mr. Chairman. I believe that this legislation will provide a strong projobs agenda growing the economy. As my previous amendment said. I do not take lightly the impact of lifting the ban. therefore. my previous amendment would provide the insight on whether or not this is a positive impact. I can tell you that there is a great need. as has been discussed earlier. about collaborating with historically Black colleges and Hispanicserving colleges. I have worked on those issues and have certainly seen the leadership of
Date: 2015-10-09
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

The government and the administration are working to pair up and find jobs for veterans. The unemployment rate for veterans we have seen has been a constant issue. and it is going down. But we need to provide them with other opportunities. They were higher unemployment. as we can see. than the regular workforce. So my amendment wants to ensure that. if we lift this ban. women and veterans will benefit. We know. of course. that we have been pushing our educational facilities to engage in STEM. but what we need now is a pipeline for qualified veterans and women looking for jobs right now. Mr. Chairman. I would ask my colleagues to support this Jackson Lee amendment. It causes us to focus on these vulnerable populationswomen and veteransto direct them into the industry. Might I say to my constituents. the energy companies that I represent. a long list of names that I will not name at this time. that we hope that they are focused as well on expanding opportunities in the energy industry for veterans. returning soldiers. if you will. women. and. of course. acrosstheboard minorities. This is an industry that is moving and growing. and the opportunities should move and grow as well. With that. Mr. Chairman. I ask my colleagues to support the Jackson Lee amendment. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-10-09
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. today we were talking about jobs and H.R. 702. and I supported the legislation to create jobs for my district and for America. and to provide opportunities to ensure the national security and protect the environment. We also have to realize our seniors that helped build this country. Today I joined in legislation. Seniors Deserve a Raise. to be able to connect these seniors to a costofliving increase related to the Consumer Price Index. But there is a gross problem that is coming up. and that is the doubling of the cost of Medicare part B. For 30 percent of beneficiaries in 2016. their cost is projected to increase by 52 percent. from $154 to $159. This increase will be accompanied by an increase in the part B deductible. from $147 to $223. Congress must act to protect the approximately 6 million Medicare beneficiaries who will see a significant increase in their Medicare premiums and deductible. It is very important to realize that my State of Texas would have a $159 million increase. It is my intention to introduce legislation. a sense of Congress. that indicates that Congress must act to protect our seniors. They helped build this Nation. What are we doing to help them? Give them a raise and protect their Medicare.
Date: 2015-10-09
Speaker: MICHAEL F. DOYLE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate the National Collegiate Honors Council for their 50th anniversary this year. The National Collegiate Honors Council represents 800 colleges and universities and is composed of 325.000 students dedicated to achieving educational excellence in diverse subject curriculum areas in order to achieve professional career goals. In my district. the National Collegiate Honors Council includes the University of Pittsburgh. Duquesne University. Robert Morris University. and Point Park University. For instance. Point Parks Honors Program welcomes students from all disciplines who desire an enriched college experience. The program builds a community of scholars who have opportunities in three important areas. academics. community services. and leadership. Students participate in a learning process that encourages engagement. creativity. and imagination through honors sections of courses that include additional assignments and a rigorous curriculum. At the end of their degree programs. undergraduate honors students must submit thesis papers and special honors projects capping off their academic careers. Many of these gifted young people participate in Pittsburghoriented community projects and the annual Storytelling and Human Rights Symposium. providing their city with invaluable public service. The program also encourages membership in the Honors Student Organization. one of the most active clubs on campus. where members can hold prestigious leadership positions. Honors students also benefit from special housing opportunities. oncampus job opportunities. and enriching study abroad programs that include destinations like London and Rome. Point Park University deserves our recognition for giving its most motivated and gifted students the opportunity to fulfill their potential. The National Collegiate Honors Program. after decades of growth and experience. continues to dedicate itself to promoting educational excellence within our nations colleges and universities while preparing students for successful professional careers. I invite my colleagues to join me in commending the programs outstanding contributions to our nations educational and professional communities honoring its 50th anniversary.
Date: 2015-10-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am very excited today to congratulate the researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University in my hometown of Houston. On Monday. they announced an important discovery about the structure of human genetic material. an advance that one day could enable scientists to fix genetic defects that lead to disease. This was in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors included experts from Stanford. the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. who brought about this particular research. described the process through which a 6footlong string of human DNA folds and organizes itself. The main excitement about this is that to the many children. to the many young people. to the many families who suffer the loss of a child through a deadly disease. we now have research that may alter that process and impact. if you will. the DNA that results in diseases that cause the death of our children. Let me congratulate Baylor and Rice University for this great success. and we look forward to saving lives from Houston. Texas.
Date: 2015-10-21
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise to speak in opposition to the Rule and the underlying bill H.R. 10. the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act. H.R. 10 would reauthorize the District of Columbia private school voucher program. the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). for five years through 2021. In 2004. Congress established OSP. the first and only federally created or funded elementary and secondary private school voucher program in the United States. In 2011. Congress reauthorized OSP through fiscal year 2016 in the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR Act). Under the SOAR Act. DC households with incomes that do not exceed 185 percent of the poverty line may receive an annual maximum voucher payment per student of $8.000 for grades K8 and $12.000 for grades 912. In addition. H.R. 10 makes a significant change to the evaluation of OSPs effectiveness. The bill prohibits a control study group in making evaluations of the OSP and requires a less rigorous "quasiexperimental research design" than under the SOAR Act. Since 2004. almost $190 million has been spent on DC voucher schools. That is money that could have been spent on District public schools. which serve all students. Instead of working on longer term solutions. such as reauthorizing ESEA. or working on job creation. the Majority is pushing its own education priorities on a local jurisdiction through this misguided legislation. This bill pursues the wrong course by doing the following: The voucher program is the latest Republican attack on the District of Columbias right to selfgovernment. The local District government did not request this reauthorization nor did its only member of Congress. Del. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON. If the District wants to establish a voucher program. it has the authority to do so. Republicans have already tried to overturn DCs gun. marijuana. abortion. needle exchange. and nondiscrimination laws. They have also threatened DCs mayor with jail time over the citys marijuana law. Now they want to write education law in DC. The bill would authorize the use of federal funds to pay for private school tuition in the District of Columbia. despite overwhelming evidence that the program. first authorized in 2004. has failed to improve student academic achievement. as measured by math and reading scoresincluding among the students the program was designed to most benefit. those from lowperforming public schools. Despite having numerous states vote down efforts to implement private school voucher programs. Republicans continue to use the District of Columbia as a testing ground for their own agenda. The bill does not recognize that 44 percent of DC public school students attend charter schools. and 75 percent of DC public school students attend outofboundary public schools. Unlike private schools. traditional public and charter schools are publicly accountable and subject to all civil rights laws. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting against this rule and the underlying bill. The material previously referred to by Mr. HASTINGS is as follows:
Date: 2015-10-21
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Madam Speaker. I rise in strong opposition to the Pay China First Act. I am truly shocked that the Republican leadership is advancing a bill that approves America defaulting on its debt. This is a dangerous action that jeopardizes the full faith and credit of our Nation. It also jeopardizes the wellbeing of millions of our most vulnerable citizens. I cannot support a bill that would tell my constituents that repaying our debt to foreign countries is more important than paying their salaries for military service or paying their disability benefits or providing them student loans. How can I tell small businesses in Illinois that repaying our debt to a foreign government is more important than paying them for providing goods and services to our government? How can I tell Illinois doctors and hospitals that we can pay China for lending us money. but we cannot pay them for taking care of our elderly? The Council of Economic Advisers estimated that the 2013 debt limit standoff and shutdown cost us 120.000 jobs. and the GAO estimated that it resulted in $70 million in increased borrowing cost on securities issued during the last crisis. The 2013 debt limit fiasco already damaged our economic recovery. yet the Republican leadership insists yet again on a path to harm our national economy and wellbeing simply for political posturing. I urge my colleagues to oppose this shameful bill that says that debt to foreign countries is more important than our citizens. We should protect our economy. Pass a clean bill to raise our debt ceiling.
Date: 2015-10-21
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentlewoman from D.C. Mr. Chair. it is extremely unfortunate that we are here yet again debating legislation that would interfere with the ability of D.C. residents to make decisions for themselves. So far this Congress. the House has attempted to block laws that would protect District womens reproductive rights and reform Washingtons drug laws. And now we are asked to continue a failed private school voucher program. a program that a majority of the D.C. Council opposes and on which they are not even consulted. a program that D.C.s own longtime Congresswoman opposes. I am shocked at the arrogance of this body to set aside the will of the citizens of the District of Columbia so fleetingly. It is disgraceful that in this building. a symbol of our democracy. we impose such policies on a city that does not even get a vote on these decisions. Additionally. I oppose this bill because it weakens D.C.s public school system. Instead of taking public dollars to outsource our childrens education to private schools. we should be focusing on truly reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. We need an updated ESEA that strengthens public schools for all our children and prepares students for the globally competitive world we live in. Education should be the great equalizer. and every student should have access to the best education. regardless of their ZIP Code or their socioeconomic status. There are public schools in this country that are among the very best in the world. I am proud that several of them are in my district. Mr. Chair. we know that public schools can work when we properly support them. but. unfortunately. for certain communities. far too many schools continue to struggle due to lack of resources on one hand and relentless attempts to undermine them on the other. Private vouchers only further perpetuate these inequities by siphoning additional resources for few students while leaving the rest behind in underfunded public schools. In our global economy. it is more essential than ever that every child receives a quality education. To do that. our public schools need adequate resources. Diverting public money to private and parochial schools only worsens the problem. I support access to a worldclass public education for all students. but too often. the majority in this body undercut that goal. whether through the socalled Student Success Act that leaves students in a lurch or todays SOAR bill that sorely misses the point. I urge my colleagues to listen to the people of the District of Columbia and their elected representative. Ms. NORTON. Most importantly. listen to the teachers and the parents who oppose this bill. and reject this legislation.
Date: 2015-10-21
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. I rise to speak in opposition to H.R. 10. the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act. H.R. 10 would reauthorize the District of Columbia private school voucher program. the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). for five years through 2021. H.R. 10 would reauthorize the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act. which provides Federal support for improving traditional public schools in the District of Columbia (D.C.). expanding and improving highquality D.C. public charter schools. and offering private school vouchers to a limited number of students. The Obama Administration continues to strongly oppose the private school vouchers program within this legislation. known as the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Members of the House should respect the self determination of the residents of DC by not forcing education policy onto children or their families at taxpayer expense. Rigorous evaluation over several years demonstrates that D.C. vouchers have not yielded statistically significant improvements in student achievement by scholarship recipients compared to other students not receiving vouchers. In addition. H.R. 10 would extend this voucher program to a new population of students previously attending private schools. Instead of using Federal resources to support a handful of students in private schools. the Federal Government should focus its attention and available resources on improving the quality of public schools for all students. Mr. Chair. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting against this bill. The Acting CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired. Pursuant to the rule. the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 5minute rule. The amendments recommended by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform printed in the bill are adopted and the bill. as amended. shall be considered as read. The text of the bill. as amended. is as follows: H.R. 10 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.
Date: 2015-10-23
Speaker: JUDY CHU (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to protect a national treasure. The San Gabriel Mountains are the crown jewel of Los Angeles County. but. for decades. they have suffered from a dire lack of resources. This has meant that the 3 million yearly visitors who have flocked there for the trees. trails. and streams have been greeted with graffiti. trash. and safety hazards. For over 10 years. I and others who love these mountains have fought to get the San Gabriels the resources they deserve. and. just 1 year ago. we celebrated as President Obama declared them a national monumentopening the door to new funding. Today. I am introducing the San Gabriel Mountains. Foothills and River Protection Act to expand that monument and to create a new national recreation area. This bill. with the support of local water. conservation. and recreation groups. will complete the vision of a city seamlessly and sustainably connected to its mountains. mountains that are accessible for all.
Date: 2015-10-23
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California . a distinguished member of the Committee on the Budget.
Date: 2015-10-23
Speaker: TED LIEU (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. my parents immigrated to America because they saw that shining city upon the hill. America became exceptional because we invested in education. we invested in infrastructure that connected our States. in Social Security and Medicare that provided economic freedom for so many Americans. But this budget bill. one of its main points is to defund Planned Parenthood. These are not the priorities of the American people. This is a hyperpartisan document that is just talking points for extremists. It is time for the majority party to do what we were all elected here to do in Congress. We were elected to lead the greatest country on Earth. It is time we start acting like it.
Date: 2015-10-23
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin . a distinguished member of the Committee on the Budget.
Date: 2015-10-23
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas . a distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.