macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-01-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. let me thank the chairman and rise to support the Jackson Lee amendment with a little journey down memory lane of just a few days ago. Just a few days ago in northern Nigeria. a heinous terrorist group by the name of Boko Haram killed 2.000 people. Pillaging and killing has been their mantra. their definition. A few days before that. we watched in horror as three terrorists killed 17 people in the nation state of France. our ally for many. many. many yearsour partner. if you will. in the virtues of liberty and democracy. My amendment speaks to the diminishing impact that this present legislation would have on the security of our Nation. My amendment simply asks that those issues dealing with Homeland Security be exempted from this rule. The rule itself causes there to be some 70 particulars that have to be met when rulemaking begins. Can you imagine subjecting national security to that kind of criteria? As indicated. this bill modifies a Federal regulatory or rulemaking process by codifying many requirements included in Presidential executive orders and requiring agencies to consider numerous new criteria when issuing rules. including alternatives to any rule. We mentioned that in my earlier discussion. My amendment would simply exempt from the bills congressional approval requirement any rule promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security. As a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security. having served previously as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. I am concerned about legislation that throws a monkey wrench in the footsteps of Customs and Border Protection. Border Patrol. ICE. the Coast Guard. Secret Service. and many others. I am concerned when our Secretary of Homeland Security indicates that we live in dangerous times and. therefore. calling upon America not just to see something and say something. but to be conscious of these dangerous times. Can you imagine the necessity of a rulemaking that then must be burdened with 70 new levels of criteria defining the budget analysis or cost benefit? Yes. Mr. Chairman. I do think we have oversight responsibilities. and I do think that we should be responsible in those oversight responsibilities and fiscally conservative or fiscally responsible. but I do not think that this legislation that has come to us time and time again and obviously failed is any answer to what we are trying to do. Let me. first of all. say that this bill does not do as the Constitution has asked. and that is the "We. the people of the United States. in order to form a more perfect Union" in the beginning of our Constitution. This does not adhere to that. and I would ask my colleagues to support the Jackson Lee amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-01-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. how much time do I have remaining? The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Texas has 11/2 minutes remaining.
Date: 2015-01-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. I yield myself the remaining time. Sally Katzen. formerly of the Obama and Clinton administration. mentioned how valuable regulations can be to helping the American people. This is an impediment. I dont want to impede a regulatory scheme to help with cybersecurity. I dont want to impede the Coast Guard if it has intelligence about an attack on the Houston port with some regulatory scheme that doesnt allow it to move forward or to be able to address that question. What we are suggesting is there are obstacles being put in front of national security. I ask that you support this amendment by exempting the Department of Homeland Security that is entrusted with the security. domestic security of the United States of America. I would ask my colleagues to support the Jackson Lee amendment. Mr. Chair. I have an amendment at the desk.
Date: 2015-01-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chair. I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII. further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas will be postponed.
Date: 2015-01-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentlewoman. Mr. Chairman. I believe it is important for us to focus on what we are discussing here today: Paris. 17 dead. Canada. Australia. Boko Haram. 2.000 dead. a 10yearold suicide bomber. and. of course. 9111. This is the Homeland Security Appropriations. I have had the privilege of serving on the authorizing committee since its creation. and every day we go to that committee. we know that the commitment is to secure the American people. This is not a forum to battle ones agreements or disagreements with the Constitution and with the Presidents executive authority or to battle your disagreements with the idea of deporting felons over familiesthat debate can be hadbut. tonight. we are wrongly jeopardizing the national security of the American people. We do it on the basis. our Republican friends. of failing to even read the Constitution. for it is clear. as it is stated in the Constitution under article II. section 3. that the President can have the authority. "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed." In essence. he has the right to make sure that we are treating persons fairly and that prosecutorial discretion is exercised in a fair manner. Nothing that is in the executive actions of the President violates any law. but what it does do. as we are debating today with the poison pill amendments. is to take the inhumanity of some viewpoints and to throw it against people who have come to this country by no fault of their own. who have come to this country to do us not harm but good. who have come to this country to work hard and to help build this great Nation. I am saddened by the fact that. because of this debate. the Coast Guard will suffer. that the Secret Service will suffer. that the airport and aviation security will suffer. Why? Because we will not have a bill. I believe that this challenge for all of us is to raise the question of whether our Republican friends have come here to govern. The only thing I see is that they are using this Homeland Security bill for extreme positions that they want to foster over security. Why would they want to defund DACA? Why would they want to capture the basic infrastructure of the funding of Homeland Security? It has worked over the years. the fees that have supported the Border Patrol agents. Customs and Border Protection. Transportation and Security. yet they want to capture these dollars and cripple Homeland Security. They want to make sure we dont have enough Secret Service agents as we move forward into the election year. The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Date: 2015-01-13
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. There are so many inaccuracies in some of the testimony that I am hearing from the opposite side of the aisle that I dont know where to start to try to clear up some of the points that they are attempting to make. First of all. let me start with this business about how community banks are going to be hurt. This is simply an attempt to hide behind community banks and scare the Members of this body into believing that if they dont support this bill. that somehow their community banks are going to suffer.
Date: 2015-01-13
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Despite what my colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle have said. this package of bills does not simply constitute a technical set of changes to DoddFrank or to our securities laws. In fact. these changes are substantive and the package is widely opposed. My friends on the opposite side of the aisle keep talking about they are protecting Main Street. but let me recite for you what Main Street is saying about this bill. Let me read for you some highlights of the opposition letters we have received in addition to opposition from President Obama. Secretary Lew. and former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker himself. Main Street is represented by. number one. Americans for Financial Reform. Americans for Financial Reform says that H.R. 37 "includes numerous changes that could have significant negative impacts on regulators ability to police the financial markets. so that they function safely and transparently." They go on to oppose title VII of this bill. citing a Wall Street Journal article outlining how regulators are increasingly warning banks about the looser underwriting standard for leverage loans. Further. representing Main Street. the AFLCIO says of H.R. 37. that they oppose the bill because it "would loosen key DoddFrank protections wisely put in place after the 2008 financial collapse." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights notes about H.R. 37: "One lesson of the financial crisis is that deregulation in areas that appear technical and arcane can have significant impacts on the financial system and. thus. on the wellbeing of ordinary families. particularly in the communities we represent." Finally. Public Citizen noted about H.R. 37 that we should not provide more CLO relief because "the largest banks dominate ownership." as I demonstrated a moment ago. "of CLOs." Mr. Speaker. I think we should heed the warning of Main Street. the warning of these groups who truly represent Main Street. With that. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-01-13
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. There has been a lot of talk about bipartisan support or lack of. There have been a lot of talks about how the Republicans have been able to get Democratic votes and that. somehow. we should be happy. we should be satisfied. and that they really dont understand why it is that we are opposing not only the bill. but the tactics that have been used in several attempts to pass legislation with controversial bills tucked into the big package. Let me give you a summary of amendments that Republicans refuse to consider as we have attempted to work with them.
Date: 2015-01-14
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. in 2014. the American economy had the strongest job growth it has had since 1997. That is 18 years ago. We have had private sector jobs growth for 58 straight months. That is the longest stretch on record. Our economy has once again become the envy of the world. Inflation is tame. Gas prices are low. The deficit is falling. and the stock market is up. Consumer sentiment is now at its highest level since the early years of 2007. The economic outlook looks good. but it could and should be better. This success has been based on sound public policy. If we stop the politicking and work together. we can make our growing economy work for all Americans.
Date: 2015-01-14
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Chairman. I rise today to speak against H.R. 240. the venomous and dangerous Republican appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. This bill and its amendments pander to those in the Republican Party who are unhappy with President Obamas executive action on immigration. It is malicious and foolishly puts our country at risk. Republicans brought this legislation under the guise of defending the Constitution. but the Presidents actions are constitutional. The obstruction and political games that Republicans are playing are the true behaviors that need to be condemned. Republicans arent interested in offering solutions or working to tackle the most pressing issues facing our country. How do I know? Because instead of offering a longterm solution to fix our broken immigration system. Republicans have opted to hold hostage funding for one of the most critical agencies in our government. As they peddle their malice about immigrants to pander to their base. they put our national security at risk. We should be doing everything we can to provide our security agencies with the support and the resources they need to prevent attacks like the one that occurred in France last week. Instead. Republicans are willing to withhold funding our national security in order to send a message to the President. And as if that werent juvenile enough. this bill also attacks the most vulnerable in our society. Republican amendments seek to revictimize those who have suffered domestic violence. picking on one of the groups least able to defend themselves. When I was a kid. we just called that bullying. Republicans are consciously targeting millions of families who work hard. who contribute to their communities and are just trying to give their children a chance at the American Dream. You know. that same dream that many of our parents and grandparents had when they came to this country. Mr. Chairman. with this bill. Republicans are not just abandoning basic humanity. they are also turning their backs on the economic benefits that come with bringing these people out of the shadows. We could grow our economy anywhere from $90 billion to $210 billion over the next 10 years if we allow workers a chance to participate in the formal economy. This is a new Congress and a new opportunity to work together. As a country. we are better than this. Shame on you.
Date: 2015-01-14
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chair. I rise in support of a clean Homeland Security Appropriations bill that has bipartisan support and oppose the Republican amendments. Madam Chair. I rise in support of passage of a clean Homeland Security Appropriations bill that has bipartisan support and will ensure the security of the American people and in opposition to the Republican Amendments to this legislation. most notably the Aderholt and Blackburn Amendments. The Aderholt Amendment would bar the use of any funds to expand the DACA program. which has helped thousands of young people in my district in North and East Houston and Harris County come out of the shadows and be able to go to college and get a job without fear of deportation. as well as the Administrations recently announced DAPA initiative. which would similarly help up to 5 million immigrants who are parents and spouses of U.S. Citizens. who will be required to get right with the law and pay back taxes before receiving relief. The Blackburn Amendment would end the DACA program. deporting hundreds of thousands of DREAMer young people who were brought to this country as children and know no other home. These amendments serve as nothing more than poison pills that will ruin months of bipartisan work by the Appropriations Committee and endanger funding for the very agencies that protect our country from terrorists. drug cartels. and organized crime and harm millions of immigrants who simply want to get right with the law and a fair. transparent path to legalization and earned citizenship. The whole world saw the horrific acts of terrorism in Paris and France last week which resulted in the deaths of 17 innocent people. including 3 police officers. by 4 suspects who are believed to have connections with al Qaeda. In this time of heightened security concerns. the last thing this chamber should contemplate is another fabricated funding crisis. The Obama Administration has already announced its support of the bill. as introduced. and will sign this mustpass legislation into law immediately. I call on my colleagues to support the clean passage of the underlining legislation. oppose these cynical amendments. and to join me in calling for this Congress to take on comprehensive immigration reform and fix our broken immigration system once and for all.
Date: 2015-01-14
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Madam Chair. I am in opposition to this amendment and to others who play politics with the security and safety of America. Madam Chair. this bill plays politics with the security and safety of America while holding up vital investments that will create jobs. The House GOP refused to take action on immigration reform last year. and now theyre trying to make up for that mistake by attaching poison pill amendments to the bill that funds homeland security. They accuse the President of being lawless. but they know the real problem is their own failure to offer constructive solutions to fix our immigration system. We should be debating comprehensive immigration reform. not hosting a politically motivated charade that will harm our ability to deter. detect. and defend from a terrorist attack. This could not be more poorly timed. Last week our strong ally. France. was attacked and terrorized. People died. I am deeply concerned about the impact this delayed funding may have on my own congressional district. New York City continues to remain a high risk area and the City relies on the federal funds it receives to protect critical infrastructure. sustain antiterrorism programs. and enhance emergency preparedness and response. These not only protect our people but they put people to work. On behalf of New Yorkers I plead with my colleagues to stop holding hostage this critically important funding. The inclusion of these dangerous amendments poisons the bill and threatens our crucial homeland security needs and hurts our economy. We must reject these amendments and pass a clean Homeland Security funding bill.
Date: 2015-01-14
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership and the ranking member for his leadership. Madam Chair. this is a full force assault on immigrants. It is an assault on the integrity of this Nation which was built upon the investment and the love of this country by immigrants from all over the world. As I look to the landscape of what we now confront2.000 dead in Nigeria by Boko Haram. little girls dressed with suicide bombs. and Homeland Security being held hostage by an assault on immigrationlet me say to you that the Constitution has given the President the authority under the "take care" provision. so this assault of amendments that is trying to chip away at these executive actions is a false premise in order to attack the ideas and the values of this Nation. In my own State. if the actions of the Presidents are in place. we will gain $8.2 billion in gross domestic product and $19.2 billion over 10 years. a decade. Do you think we need the underlying amendment or amendments? Pastors and religious leadersthe Episcopal bishopshave indicated that they support the executive actions. The Catholic bishops support the executive actions. The Aderholt amendment wants to attack those young DREAMers who want to invest and young soldiers. The Blackburn amendment wants to take away. if you will. the childhood arrivals.
Date: 2015-01-14
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I started out this week to remind Americans of the difficult times in which we live. Sadly. today. rather than passing a clean Homeland Security Appropriations bill upon which Americans are depending to secure this land. we had a political fight. I want to remind those around the world that America still stands strong and committed to fighting the war on terror. In joining with our friends in Africa against the horrific actions of Boko Haram and the suicide bombings that they are forcing 10yearold children to do. we stand with our friends in Europe and around the world. Most of all. what we must do is find a way to steer the young lives that are being captured by the Internet and online brutality away from these kinds of dastardly acts. I think it is important that we find a way to educate the young boys and girls in Nigeria and in countries around the world and to be able to say to them that there is a greater and better life of opportunity and humanity. I am committed. as we move in this legislative process. to focus on removing the dastardly acts of these terrorists and on saving our boys and girls.
Date: 2015-01-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. this morning most Americans woke up to the news that ISIS was holding two citizens of the nationstate of Japan and. in the holding of those citizens. threatening to kill them. asked Japan to give $200 million. Mr. Speaker. does that sound like an organization that is dedicated and committed to principles however much we disagree with them. or does it sound like a group of thugs who are willing to do anything to gain money to promote their evil and dastardly acts? The very existence of ISIS and others is not a reflection on Islam. Over the weekend. we have seen so many that have expressed opposition to these terrible acts. That is why it is so important. as we listen to the Presidents State of the Union. that the Congress. although with different opinions. agree to work on behalf of what is good for all of America. both building the economy but fighting against the war on terror. not only with weapons but with educating about democracy and principles and equality and trying to win the hearts and minds. Mr. Speaker. we have a lot of work to do.
Date: 2015-01-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

As we begin this journey into a new year. I dont know how much we will be confronted with these horrible acts. I am on the Homeland Security Committee. and for a long time we were seeing the signs of what I call franchise terrorism. But I do know that it has to be a world. a global effort. but it also has to. as I began to talk about earlier. reach the hearts and minds of young men and possibly women who are being subjected to radicalism on the Internet or elsewhere. We have to stop that bleeding. if you will. and begin to promote openly our values. which include respect for religious differences. As we do that. I believe it will be well worth the investment because we dont know where this is going to end. and we certainly need to say to the American people that we are committed. in essence that we are on top of it. and that we have many solutions to this tragic problem. So I rise in support of H. Res. 37 for its condemnation and recognition of where we are today. and I ask for us to address this in a multitude of ways in order to have peace in this world and in our Nation.