macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-02-12
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my friend from Michigan. Mr. Speaker. things are not always what they seem. and this is one of those cases. It is unfortunate because tax incentives for charitable giving are the kind of issues we should be handling in a bipartisan way. We should be working together in a bipartisan manner to reform our Tax Code and this as part of that. Unfortunately. we are not doing that today. and this bill along with the series of other bills that will be coming to the floor in the days to come will add $350 billion to our deficit over the next 10 years. Mr. Speaker. most of the bills that are coming next are permanent extensions of tax breaks to major corporations. In the process. they dont pay for any of that. They dont close a single corporate tax loophole to provide those tax breaks. Now. Mr. Speaker. I am holding in my hand the budget that Republicans passed in this House just a year ago. Now we have the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Meanshe was chairman of the Committee on the Budget. a good friend of mine. In their budget last year. they said they would not do what they are doing today. They passed a budget saying they would not have tax extenders that added to the deficit. I am reading right here from the budget that I think passed unanimously with Republican votes. It says they will only do these tax extenders if such measures would not increase the deficit for the period of fiscal years 2015 to 2024. Here we are. less than a year later. throw their budget out the door. Why did it matter? Because last year they wanted to pretend their budget was in balance after 10 years. and they knew that if you had these tax extenders that were unpaid for. they wouldnt have a balanced budget. It wasnt balanced anyway. but no matter. that is why they did it. Now. why does this matter beyond the fact that the Republican majority did one thing last year and is doing something different today? It matters because when you increase the deficits. our Republican colleagues are going to come right back around to us and say: You know what? The deficits are going to go up. and so we have to cut some of the investments that are supposed to help vulnerable peoplethe very people our Republican colleagues say they want to help today. They are going to say: Deficits are going up. We have got to cut those programs. You know how we know that? Even before they increase the deficit like they are doing today. they were cutting those investments last year. In fact. while they are claiming to fight hunger today. here is what the budget from last year did: it would have cut the food and nutrition programs by 20 percent. $137 billion. That would have ended nutrition assistance for 3.8 million Americans. Now. I heard one of my friends and colleagues. Mr. ROSKAM from Illinois. saying Democrats are opposing this.
Date: 2015-02-12
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I heard some of our colleagues saying we are opposing this on the basis of process. Really? Cutting nutrition assistance programs for 3.8 million Americans is process? You know what else their budget did? It cut the category of spending that we use for the Women. Infants. and Children program to the point that 200.000 women. infants. and children would have been cut off of supplemental nutrition assistance under the Women. Infants. and Children program. Process? Really? I thought our colleagues were saying they wanted to fight hunger. That budget last year. the one I am holding in my hands that passed here. you know what else it did? It did not extend tax credits for vulnerable people. It did not extend the earned income tax credit bump up. It did not extend the child tax credit. At the same time. they had a budget. and I suspect they will again this year. that cuts the top income tax rate for millionaires. That is what they do. We can do a lot better. Mr. Speaker. That is what Democrats are saying. We can make these reforms to the Tax Code. We can make the charitable deduction permanent. but we can do it in a way that doesnt hurt other programs for hungry people. We can help hungry people through one mechanism without hurting those same people through another mechanism. That is why the President said he was going to veto this bill. not because it helps the deduction for charitable giving. This is a bill that says we are going to help some hungry people. But you know what? We are going to do something else in our budget that actually hurts those same hungry people even more. much more. Now. I am also holding in my hand the Democratic budget that was presented last year. You know what we do? We permanently extended this charitable deductionpermanentlyjust like this bill. But you know what we did not do?
Date: 2015-02-12
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank my friend. So I just want to be clear. In our budget. we extended permanently this charitable deduction to fight hunger. the fighting hunger incentive. We did that. But you know what we did not do? We did not cut the food and nutrition program. SNAP. by 20 percent. You know what we did not do? We did not cut the part of the budget that funds the Women. Infants. and Children program so that 200.000 people would not have the benefit of that. You know what we did do? We cut a lot of the corporate tax breaks. We said we should not have a Tax Code that actually rewards American companies that move American jobs and capital overseas. so we would cut down on those. In that way. we were able to pay for them. That way. Mr. Speaker. we were able to extend the charitable deduction permanently. but we were also able to avoid cutting the Women. Infants. and Children program and avoid cutting the food and nutrition programs. That is what we are saying. Unfortunately. the bill before us today. what they are saying is. by increasing the deficit. yes. we are going to extend this program to fight hunger. but. on the other hand. when their budget comes around next year. they are actually going to pass stuff that hurts those same people even more. What we are saying is we dont have to help people by hurting people. We can do it all if we are willing to cut some of those corporate tax breaks. tax expenditures. spinning the Tax Code for major corporations that are put there because they have good lobbyists in Washington. So lets do this the right way. Thats the way we did it in the Democratic budget last year. That is the way we will do it in the Democratic budget again this year. Lets not help people by hurting other people or even hurting the people we are trying to help. Mr. Speaker. I regretfully urge that we reject this bill and do this the right way.
Date: 2015-02-12
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about H.R. 644. the America Gives More Act. The bill before us today contains provisions that I strongly support. but it is with much frustration that I will vote against todays bill. Rather than tackling comprehensive tax reform. House Republicans are once again doing just the opposite. It seems like Congress has given up on comprehensive tax reform only six weeks into the year. The American people deserve better. I feel like Im starting to sound like a broken record on this. but we need a tax code that is simple. fair. and provides certainty to all taxpayers. Watching the Republicans cherry pick a few bills while leaving countless other deserving. historically bipartisan bills in the dust is not how to run this committee or this country. I have been proud to support local food banks in Los Angeles for many years. The work that they do is truly invaluable. Countless families in my district. and across Los Angeles County. are able to put food on the table and send their kids to school on a full stomach because of our local food banks. Yet year after year we let our local charities down by kicking the can down the road. sometimes kicking the can backwards. when can only muster retroactive policy. Our federal tax code is like a spider web. If we tinker with one provision. others provisions are affected. That is why we must tackle comprehensive tax reform to provide true certainty to both tax payers and charities. I strongly support the individual charitable provisions before us today. but this is not how to run a country.
Date: 2015-02-12
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you very much. Mr. RANGEL. for your very eloquent recitation. Once again. you have risen. you have stepped up to the plate. and we are most appreciative that you took a moment to come over and be with us. Thank you very much. If I may now. we have another Member of the Congress with us from the 18th Congressional District in the State of Texas. She is a voice for the voiceless. a very powerful voice. not only in Congress. but across the length and breadth of the country when it comes to human rights. human dignity. and human decency. I am honored to have my colleague with me tonight. the Honorable SHEILA JACKSON LEE. who is adjacent to me. the Ninth Congressional District in Houston. Texas. The Honorable SHEILA
Date: 2015-02-12
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Thank you very much. I applaud you for your very kind words about the NAACP. and I also compliment you for giving us additional examples of the NAACP being on the right side of rightthe right side of right. With the history that it has for being on the right side of right. one can imagine 100 years from now. when someone looks through the vista of time back upon this time. when the NAACP is the champion right now for voting rights. who will be on the right side of right when we look back? I think that is important for us to consider because we never want to be on the wrong side of history. but we are in a situation right now where it will take some courage for some people to be on the right side of right as we tackle this question of voting rights. voting rights that have been diminished by the evisceration of section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. which emasculated section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. which means that there is no coverage. We have to now find a way to reinstate section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. Who will be on the right side of right? Who will be with the NAACP? When we look back 100 years from now and we examine these circumstances and we understand that it was not easy to be on the right side of right. who will be there so that we can accomplish. again. what the NAACP has fought for for many decades in this country? I thank you. again. Madam Speaker. I thank the leadership for this opportunity. Our time has expired. but our energies are still with us. and we will continue to be a part of this great august organization known as the NAACP. as it continues to be on the right side of right. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-02-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I proudly. over the last 2 days. voted for a temporary extension of the small business tax exemption and the food inventory charitable exemption because I realize that America has many needs that have to be addressed. food stamps that have been denied to many people with a $40 billion cut in the last Congress by my friends on the other side of the aisle. I realize that if we continue in the mode of a permanent tax exemption. where will the funding come from? Social Security? Medicare? Medicaid? a variety of needs that our community has. So today I want to make sure that the $1.5 trillion debt that we have. that is now $440 billion. that we continue to be responsible and be concerned about our childrens education and about health care and about many other things. So today we must stand. considering all the needs of Americans. Finally. let me say that I represent an area that is trying to protect Freedmens Town bricks laid or bought for by freed slaves. I believe we should come together in the city of Houston with our Freedmens Town coalition and those citizens in that area and lets resolve this. Lets do trenching. preserve the bricks. and provide a quality infrastructure program that I have helped fund by Federal dollars.
Date: 2015-02-24
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise to salute a gentle giant by the name of Captain Brazile. a hero. a man who died in the line of fire. and a man who many of us got to know and love. He started in the Houston Fire Department at the age of 19. and he was called Baby Boy. That ultimately became B.B. Everyone who came in the distance of his heart and mind said that Captain Brazile was a mentor who taught men and women who were incoming firefighters. This past weekend. I flew into Houston and was able to go to his bedside on Saturday. to be able to see his family and his wonderful son. who he loves with deep and abiding love. and a wife who loved him without question. All of his fire brothers and sisters were all around. They had the opportunity to pray. Then. unfortunately. he lost his life. He died in the line of duty. and on Saturday night into early morning on Sunday. I joined a throng of firefighters to proceed in the procession to take his body from the Memorial Hermann Medical Center to the medical examiners. Mr. Speaker. let me simply say. as we rode through those streets. through the neighborhoods that he fought for and fought fires. saved lives. and passed Fire Station 46 and all of his brothers and sisters. I felt a sense that his spirit had lifted up and that we had honored him by his travel and journey. that we will continue to honor himBaby Boy. B.B.. father. husband. great leader. hero. captain. firefighterwho died in the line of duty.
Date: 2015-02-25
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. the Republicans are playing politics with the security of the American people. and the American people deserve better. What was absolutely laughable a few days ago. it now appears that they are prepared to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. They wont budge. even though they have known all along that the House version of the bill will never pass the Senate. and if it did. the President would surely veto it. as he should. They are willing to burden this entire country with all the dangers and disruptions that a funding lapse would bring. They are willing to shut down funding for the security in the New York City rail system. communications equipment in Los Angeles. bombsniffing dogs in Massachusetts. and firefighter positions across this Nation. just so that they can put on another hollow. pointless political show. This legislation is failure by design. I find it scandalous that the Islamic terrorists are fully funded. yet the Department of Homeland Security that protects our citizens may not be. I urge a vote on a clean Homeland Security bill for the protection of our citizens.
Date: 2015-02-25
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. there are only 3 days until the Department of Homeland Security shuts down. forcing more than 50.000 TSA airport security screeners and tens of thousands of Customs and Border Protection officers to work without pay. Many of these dedicated public servants work at Los Angeles International Airport. LAX. which is in my congressional district. They screen the passengers and examine the cargo to keep the airports secure. LAX is the sixth busiest airport in the world and third busiest in the United States. In 2013. LAX served more than 66 million passengers and processed more than 1.9 million tons of cargo with a value of over $91.6 billion. The security of LAX is critical for the people of Los Angeles and the entire country. and the public servants who work hard every day to keep our airports safe deserve to be paid for the work that they do. Lets fund DHS now. I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up H.R. 861. the clean Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would keep the Department open so it can carry out its mission of keeping the American people safe.
Date: 2015-02-25
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up H.R. 861. the clean Department of Homeland Security funding bill. that would keep the Department open so it can carry out its mission of keeping the American people safe.
Date: 2015-02-25
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the House now bring up H.R. 861. the clean Department of Homeland Security funding bill to protect America that would keep the Department open so that we can carry out its mission of keeping the American people safe and. as well. protecting our national security over political security.
Date: 2015-02-25
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from Illinois. I thank the gentlelady. and I thank the Speaker. It is good news to be able to come on the floor of the House and be able to speak to hardworking parents and the basis of all of our joy when we are giving an opportunity for our young people to be able to participate in higher learning. in this instance. college education. The 529 fix. if you will. deals with the savings accounts and taxfree disbursements for the purpose of paying for college tuition. purchasing college credits. and other qualified educational expenses. I do want to join my colleague from Wisconsin and add that the idea of other equipment dealing with the new technology special needs services is crucial. I want to thank Mr. DAVIS for his astute work in the committee. looking to make this a little bit more balanced. Certainly we are appreciative of those who have been successful and have achieved financial success. I enjoy that. But I do think with our concern about a deficitwhich. by the way. has been reduced substantially under President Barack Obamathat this idea that Mr. DAVIS had would have been a worthy inclusion into this legislation. However. I am grateful. again. that we are now high tech and the 529 accounts include computers and software as qualified educational expenses. It would also allow for refunded tuition. educational expenses. particularly if a student withdraws due to illness. I was talking to one of my young people. college students. and also my husband is a part of the team of higher education and sees it all the time where youngsters leave because they are ill and fail to let the professor know. and all of a sudden they are running up a bill. I do want to say that this fix is urgent because we need to help people save. but it is also urgent. Mr. Speaker. that we immediately move to put the Homeland Security funding on the floor of the House. I had asked yesterday for it to be immediately put on the floor of the House last night or today in order to do our duty. and our duty is to ensure the safety and security of this Nation. It is sad for me to note that those like Border Patrol agents and ICE agents and TSOs whom we pass by every day will be some of those who will be unpaid. They are essential. and we will go past them and thank them for their servicesI often do in airports across Americabut yet we will stand here and not have a resolution and a solution to pay them their salary. We had a hearing today in Judiciary. I was very glad to note that I think the weight was on the side of the President that he had constitutional authority. that he is not rendering any immigration status. that he is doing what he is allowed under the law. the Attorney General is allowed to have discretion as to employment status. no benefits will be conveyed on these individuals. and. frankly. we have an emergency and we need to pass that bill.
Date: 2015-02-25
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I wont take that. I thank the gentleman for his kindness. Let me just say that I think we appropriately are on the floor dealing with H.R. 529. I again thank the work of the Committee on Ways and Means ranking members and. as well. the ranking member and chairman of the full committee. But as we frame the work that this Congress must do. I dont know how we stand here on Wednesday. 24 to 48 hours out from a collapse of the Department of Homeland Security. no funding. and actually are here and looking out at the face of first responders and those who are on the front lines of borders. airports. FAA. ICE officers. and we would stand and hold hostage these hardworking Americans who. in this climate when we are looking to malls or we are hearing. seeing videos and various charges of those who want to do harm. that we would not want an orderly process for 5 million people who have about 14 items14 itemsthat they must comply with to even be eligible. but 5 million people who simply want us to know that they are here and they are here to do good and not to do harm. That is an orderly process for knowing how to secure this Nation. Again. I thank the gentleman from Illinois. With that. I ask for a vote for H.R. 529 and H.R. 5 and the funding of Homeland Security.
Date: 2015-02-25
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. I have no further requests for time. and I yield myself the balance of my time. I agree with my colleague from Illinois that this is. indeed. a bipartisan piece of legislation and that it is good for higher education and for those who are attempting to access it. I want to commend Ms. JENKINS and
Date: 2015-02-25
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. as a supporter of 529 college savings plansincluding the College Savings Plans of MarylandI am pleased to support todays legislation. which makes three common sense technical changes to these valuable savings tools. First. HR 529 makes the purchase of a computer and internet access a qualified expense for 529 accounts. reflecting the reality that computers and the internet are a modern necessity for todays college students. Second. the bill allows students who receive refunds from colleges to reinvest those refunds back into their 529 accounts. provided that reinvestment occurs within 60 days of a student leaving college. And finally. the bill eliminates the existing aggregation requirement for purposes of calculating distributions that are includible in a beneficiarys taxable income. Mr. Speaker. unlike other tax bills that have come before us recently. todays legislation does not seek to permanently extend temporary provisions of the code without paying for that permanenceand it does not add tens of billions of dollars to the national debt. Rather. HR 529 makes several modest improvements to a program already permanently authorized in lawand it does so at a much lower cost. Accordingly. I will cast a yes vote.