macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-10-26
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to support one of our Nations crowning achievements. the Social Security program. and the 55 million Americans who benefit from this critical program. Since 1935. Social Security has kept its promise to Americas seniors that after a lifetime of working and playing by the rules. you should not have to live in poverty when you retire. I was happy to see last week that after 2 years. our Nations seniors will receive a welldeserved costoflivingadjustment increase of 3.6 percent. The American people should be concerned. however. that the recently announced COLA increase would effectively disappear if this Congress decides to adopt a chained CPI formula for Social Security. The chained Consumer Price Index would lower benefits by $112 billion for current and future beneficiaries over the next 10 years. I support efforts to reduce our Federal deficit. but we should not balance the Nations budget on the backs of seniors. the disabled. and children. I call on our colleagues to stand with Americas seniors and support Social Security. Its not a Ponzi scheme. as some candidates for President allege. and lets celebrate the 3.6 percent for our seniors.
Date: 2011-10-26
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As you know. violence against women in the United States is as insidious as it is destructive. And according to a study by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. there are as many as 3 million cases of domestic violence across the United States every year. Due to the nature of the crime. the mental and physical cost of domestic violence are difficult to quantify. but they are far too obvious to ignore. Women suffering from domestic abuse average more emergency room visits. a significantly higher rate of unemployment. are more likely to lose the jobs they have. and are also more likely to rely on welfare. Various studies find the monetary costs to the Federal Government of only the reported cases of domestic violence to be estimated in billions of dollars. Regrettably. hard economic times make even more crimes of this sort likely to occur. which is why the Congress must ensure not only to address this growing epidemic but to protect the necessary funds to protect the women of this country from domestic abuse.
Date: 2011-10-26
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. the land swap in todays legislation would grant two of the worlds largest. foreignowned mining companiesRio Tinto and BHP Billitonmining rights to 760 acres of the Tonto National Forest in Southeastern Arizona in exchange for other land the companies currently own. This exchange is necessary for Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to gain access to significant copper deposits they believe lie underneath the land in the Tonto National Forest. Mr. Chair. I am not opposed to responsible domestic energy and mineral productionbut I am strongly opposed to this majoritys complete disregard for our environmental laws and this legislations failure to ensure American taxpayers get full value for the resources at issue in this proposed transaction. Specifically. H.R. 1904 would exempt this land swap from the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Acta law specifically designed to evaluate the impacts of proposed actions on our natural resources before public resources are sold to private interests. The value of a thorough NEPA analysis is especially significant in this case. where unanswered questions about the water demands of the proposed mining operation are especially consequential to the surrounding community. Furthermore. as we work to reduce our national debt. I believe taxpayers have a right to fair compensation for resources taken from public lands. something the convoluted appraisal process called for in H.R. 1904 will almost certainly fail to do. Mr. Chair. if this land swap is truly in the interests of the American people. it has nothing to fear from an appropriate environmental review and should be expected to fairly compensate the American taxpayer for the value of the resources taken from their land. I urge a no vote.
Date: 2011-10-27
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I am delighted to rise to indicate that we have an opportunity to be good Americans and to be the kind of resilient. strong. patriotic Nation that all of us love. We love this country. I gathered this morning with a group of leaders who addressed the question of working issues. union leaders. Every last one of them said. let us create jobs. jobs in America. Part of it could be passing the jobs bill that the President has introduced dealing with the question of infrastructure. One Member who was coming to the meeting said. I was late because of our infrastructure problems. This would create jobs. bring back our law enforcement. police officers and teachers. where classrooms are going up and up and up in size because we dont have enough teachers. And as you well know. the President has announced that we will be bringing home our valiant troops from Iraq. 150.000 of these young people that will need jobs. Lets get them in a training program where they have to get a stipend that will help support them. legislation that I have introduced. This last bill that I had to vote against. its sad that we would take Medicaid to help our small businesses and our vendors. whereas 2 years ago I voted on it because we used the stimulus funds to do so. There are many payfors to help small businesses. but what we need to do is to focus on paying and creatingpaying people. Americans. so they can eat and put food on their table. We need to create jobs and stop taking money from Medicaid. Medicare. and Social Security. Lets all work together. pull together. balance this budget on the basis of the fact that the Nation is not broke. We can do this.
Date: 2011-11-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. on March 12. 2009. Kate Puzey. a 24yearold native of Cumming. Georgia and Peace Corps volunteer was killed outside of her home in Badjoude. Benin where she worked as an English teacher. She was murdered by a Beninese Peace Corps contract employee after she reported that he had raped and sexually abused students they taught together. Had the legislation we are considering here today. S. 1280. The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 been law when Ms. Puzey first arrived in Benin in 2007. it might have saved her life. Today. the Peace Corps does not require its volunteers to receive training in risk reduction or in how to recognize and respond to incidences of sexual assault. And. unlike other federal agencies. Peace Corps volunteers do not enjoy whistleblower protections. It is a shame that it took the untimely death of Ms. Puzey to focus our attention on the necessity of addressing these issues. S. 1280 directs the Peace Corps to establish sexual assault response teams made up of safety and security officers. medical staff. and a victims advocate that can respond to reports of sexual assaults against a volunteer. requires the immediate removal of any volunteer who feels at risk of imminent bodily harm. and. requires the Peace Corps to develop and implement a process to allow volunteers to report incidents of misconduct or mismanagement. or violations of any policy of the Peace Corps in order to protect the confidentiality and safety of such volunteers. Every year. hundreds of conscientious young Peace Corps volunteers like Kate Puzey. support communities around the world. helping those less fortunate than themselves. As with members of our Armed Forces. these dedicated global public servants deserve to know their country is committed to their safety and will do all it can to protect them. As a cosponsor of the House analogue to this bill. I ask my colleagues to join me in support of S. 1280. in memory of the work and sacrifice of Kate Puzey and for the sake of those who choose to follow her into the Peace Corps.
Date: 2011-11-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. weve been waiting for a jobs agenda now for as long as this Congress has been in session. and I can convey to my colleagues that an easy way of attending to creating jobs is by passing the jobs bill. Moving on. Mr. Speaker. let me thank Governor Perry for making a personal and public statement of his opposition to the Stateissued Confederate license plate. Yet I would advise Governor Perry that his Department of Motor Vehicles boardnine appointed by himhave now scheduled that vote for November 10. All goodwilled persons. all goodwilled Texans who would oppose a Stateissued oppressive license plate reflecting upon the oppression of slavery need to show up on November 10 in Austin. Texas. to indicate their opposition to such a draconian and devastating blow to the people of Texas. I would also remind Governor Perry that the North Forest Independent School District that is now leading and educating 7.500 students. a majority minority district. has now been given a denial on its appeal. meaning an attempt by the Texas Education Agency to kill a majority minority school district in the State of Texas. Governor Perry. come home. We need you.
Date: 2011-11-01
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you. Representative FUDGE. And thank you. Mr. Speaker. Friends. although the faces change. the fight remains the same when it comes to the black vote. The Emancipation Proclamation didnt do it. The 13th Amendment didnt do it. Although the faces change. the fight remains the same. In 1870. the face was that of President Ulysses S. Grant. and the fight was the 15th Amendment and the right to vote. It passed. Although it passed. the faces changed but the fight remained the same because in 1944 it was the NAACP and a great lawyer. Thurgood Marshall. that took Smith v. Allwright to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. and they won that case. which eliminated the white primaries in the State of Texas. by the way. in Harris County. The faces changed but the fight remained the same because it was in 1953 that the NAACP had to go back to court to eliminate the white preprimaries imposed by the Jaybirds in the State of Texas. The faces changed but the fight remained the same. because even though we eliminated the white primaries. the white preprimaries. in 1965 the faces were those of the marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on what we now know as Bloody Sunday. They were beaten back to the church where they started the actual march. The faces of those marchers happen to include the Honorable JOHN LEWIS. Member of Congress. In 1965. the face was that of LBJ. President of the United States of America. He had the opportunity and did sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The faces changed. but the fight was still the same. We had to have a Voting Rights Act. notwithstanding all of the amendments to the Constitution. and notwithstanding Smith v. Allwright and Terry v. Adams. In 2006. the faces changed. George Bush. President of the United States of America. reauthorizes the Voting Rights Act because we still find that there are cases of invidious discrimination when it comes to voting in the United States of America. The faces changed. but in 2011 the fight remains the same. The faces are those of the 25 percent of African Americans who dont have photo IDs. the faces of the 18 percent of elderly persons 65 or older who dont have photo IDs. The faces have changed consistently. but the fight is still the same. We still have to fight for this precious right to vote. and this is why were here tonight. to make sure that we all understand. and the message goes out and the clarion call is there to those who would help us and make sure that on election day we protect the right to vote. Notwithstanding the fact that the faces have changed. the fight remains the same.
Date: 2011-11-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentlelady from Ohio for her leadership after spending some time with her on the floor listening to the voter suppression occurring in Ohio. Im grateful for this opportunity. I want to thank the Whip for his leadership on voting rights. election rights. for any number of sessions. starting as early as the election in 2000. when we were brought to confront the issue of voter improprieties. Let me first of all say that we are seeing the ugly head of the suppression of votes rising across America. Forty States have implemented voter ID laws. Let me explain to the voters: Voter ID can only respond to voter impersonation. Statistics will tell you that most voters do not show up at the polls trying to be somebody else. In addition. most voters will have a voting card. Now you will suppress those who are elderly. disabled. young. who do not have a Stateissued voter ID. In my district alone this past weekend. I met a woman who was 97 years old in a wheelchair who had attempted to get her voter ID with a photograph pursuant to Texas law that she thought was in place now. It was a difficult challenge. Her relatives went with her. and she could not get her voter ID. I made a commitment that my office would go with her because of the extensive requirements and the intimidation and fear. But it is also in the State of Texas that we are hearing that many polling people who are in charge of elections for this November 2011 have confused the precinct judges so much that they have even told them that the voter ID law will be in place as of November 2011. and it doesnt go into effect. if it does. until January of 2012again. to suppress voters. the elderly and minority voters. I would encourage and ask the Justice Department to be diligent on reviewing all of these voter ID laws. Texas is now being reviewed and it has not been precleared. We ask the Justice Department to declare that it is in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Let me say that voting is a precious right. I want everyone to be able to vote. And it is documented that fraud is very limited in voting. To eliminate sameday registration. there are no grounds to suggest that there is fraud that occurs in sameday registration. From the oppression of those who could not vote because of a poll tax. because of counting of the jelly beans in a jar. all of that leads to the oppression that keeps people from voting. So I stand today on the floor of the House to say we will never give up the fight. Were going to fight these voter ID laws. Were going to fight these laws that are going to intimidate our voters. Intimidation. fear. and oppression will not survive this election of 2011 or 2012. We are going to stand with you. and the Department of Justice will be reviewing on behalf of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I thank you.
Date: 2011-11-02
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to commemorate the 70th anniversary of World War II and to commemorate the service of Hispanic Americans who served in World War II and in all wars. and to commemorate our Latino veterans across America. During World War II. 500.000 Americans of Hispanic ancestry courageously answered our Nations call. including Latinos such as Ted Williams. Manuel Ortiz. Maria Dolores Hernandez. Jose Limon. Desi Arnaz. Cesar Chavez. and Guy Gabaldon. The Hispanic American soldiers fought with integrity and bravery. earning 126 Distinguished Service Crosses. over 1.400 Silver Stars. and 2.807 Bronze Stars for valor. They earned these medals sacrificing their lives and blood to preserve the United States and freedom around the world. Through the war. over 12.000 Latinos were awarded the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in combat. 2.561 Latinos were prisoners of war. and 9.831 Latinos were killed in action. Because of their record of service. Mr. Speaker. I introduced H. Res. 404. which recognizes the service and the sacrifice of the members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are Latino. and I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation. I wish to remember these war heroes and the stalwart and selfless service of Latinos in military history 70 years after World War II.
Date: 2011-11-02
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the Small Company Capital Formation Act. which will help restore the purpose of the "Regulation A" exemption that was designed to make it easier for growing small businesses to access capital. It is critical that we ensure that innovative. growing small companies have access to the capital that they need to continue to grow and hire. because these companies play such an important role in our economy. Regulation A offers these small companies a unique chance to raise money through small offerings under a streamlined and less costly registration process. This opportunity is especially important in todays economy. in which access to capital has been greatly reduced as many banks hesitate to lend. Unfortunately. in recent years. few companies have been able to take advantage of the Regulation A exemption because the offering limit of $5 million is too low and has not been updated in the last 30 years. In fact. there have only been an average of eight filings per year under the exemption in recent years. By increasing the offering limit. this bill will ensure that more growing companies can take advantage of Regulation A in order to access the capital that they need to expand and th rive. Im glad that this bill has come to the floor in a bipartisan way. This proposal is an important component of President Obamas American Jobs Act and has the potential to benefit small businesses across the country. It is the sort of commonsense solution that both parties should be able to agree on. I particularly want to thank the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area delegation. as we have been working since early last year to enact this longneeded change. Once again. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Date: 2011-11-02
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. one day before the Nation gathers to commemorate Veterans Day. a day that brings all of us together. it saddens me to come to the floor of the House and announce under the leadership of Governor Perry. on November 10 in Texas. the Department of Motor Vehicles board will be voting to authorize a Stateissued Confederate license plate. Now. I realize that our work here in the Congress is about passing the jobs bill. which we are advocating to do. But I think it is a disgrace on the history of this Nation that a Stateelected agriculture commissioner by the name of Patterson continues to push forward this untimely and illfated action. The Confederate flag does not protect or honor Confederate soldiers. You can do that in museums. The symbol of a Confederate flag is that of a Klansman of the late 1880s and early 1900s. the brutality of slavery. the oppression of slavery. the Jim Crowism of the 1940s and 1950s. Its an ugly reminder of the past of our history. It is time to take America forward and Texas forward. I will be in Austin on November 10 opposing that action. I ask all goodfaith. wellintended Texans that want to take Texas forward to come and oppose any vote that would issue a Confederate flag. And I make a clarion call to all Americans who would like to drive to Texas. come to Austin and stand up against this dastardly deed. Stand up against promoting slavery and oppression. Come to Texas and tell Governor Perry and Commissioner Patterson enough is enough. Take the Nation forward. Dont take it backwards.
Date: 2011-11-03
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak in support of the Presidents American Jobs Act because Americas small businesses need this legislation now to grow and hire new workers. Creating jobs and strengthening the economy is my highest priority. and I strongly urge this Congress to remain focused on these goals because they are the most pressing challenges facing Americans today. The Presidents American Jobs Act will cut the payroll tax in half for 98 percent of small businesses. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that cutting of the payroll tax is one of the most effective jobcreating measures. In addition. the Presidents proposal will completely eliminate payroll taxes for businesses that add new workers. This incentive is directly targeted to encourage small businesses to hire new workers. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to put partisan politics aside and pass this legislation now because American families and small businesses are in need of jobs now.
Date: 2011-11-03
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker and Members. I rise in support of the 54 million retirees. disabled workers. children and spouses in our country who currently receive Social Security. For 75 years. Social Security has served as a promise to the men and women who worked hard all their lives to make this country great that they could look forward to financial security later in their lives. Social Security was designed to be one leg of a threelegged stool. Unfortunately. the other two legssavings and pensionsarent there for many seniors. Only 41 percent of seniors have employersponsored pensions. Three out of five senior households have no retirement savings at all. and one in three seniors rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their entire income. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction should not look at Social Security as a way to pay down our national debt or as a way to offset tax cuts for the most fortunate in our country. Social Security is not in crisis. It presently has a surplus of over $2.6 trillionenough to pay its obligations in full over the next 25 years. Social Security needs to be reformed over the long term. These reforms need to be debated in proper order inside the appropriate committees in the House and Senate and not hastily put together. I ask my colleagues to stand together with Americas seniors and support a strong. robust Social Security program.
Date: 2011-11-03
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

We cannot forget our children. and I ask that this body not close the doors on the Good Samaritan. Let that person in. I would encourage the support of H.R. 83 that has focused on protecting our children from bullying. I have founded and cochaired the Congressional Childrens Caucus with my colleague from Illinois. a bipartisan caucus that wants to remember the children. I encourage my colleagues to sign on to H.R. 83 so that we can have a national statement against bullying and begin to fund the best practices that our communities can work on to protect our children. And then I want to ensure that the 2.5 million Americans that will lose their unemployment in 2012 are protected. Lets determine that those who have worked not be left in the cold without unemployment benefits. And as we look forward to Veterans Day. I want to stand publicly and say that I oppose any cuts to veterans benefits by the supercommittee. I stand in support of our veterans and declare that if they gave us a promise and their willingness to sacrifice their life. we must stand in promise to them to never cut their benefits. Let me say to the homeless veterans that I visited. we. too. respect your condition and your service. We will not cut veterans benefits.
Date: 2011-11-03
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you. Mr. PERLMUTTER. and I thank Mr. McHENRY. I rise in support of H.R. 2930. the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act. Im standing where Im standing because Im honored to celebrate the bipartisanship associated with this act. For those who are at home who may not be able to see and understand. normally I would be standing to my right. but I do unconventional things. and I think its appropriate today to stand where Im standing.