macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-09-30
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. as a nurse by basic profession. I have spent much of my public career working to ensure that the Nations health care system is affordable and provides the best services possible to all Americans. While America still has a worldclass health system. there are those whose lives have been threatened by a focus on profits over healing. I believe that a doctor and patient. not an HMO accountant. should make sensitive medical decisions. I also support a plan that would expand Medicare coverage for prescription medication. However. there must be some cost containment agreement with the manufacturers and a streamlining of the Federal administrative structure to reduce costs to beneficiaries. The Current Population Survey. the CPS. is the primary source for data on Texass uninsured population. It paints a picture for the state of health care in Texas. My home State currently has the second highest rate of uninsured in the United States behind New Mexico. CPS data shows that there were 4.5 million people without health insurance in Texas. which is about 21.4 percent of the total population. The rates for the uninsured minority are also quite frightening. Blacks and Latinos are far more likely to be uninsured when compared to their Anglo. or white. counterparts. Nationally. 11.6 percent of the Anglo population. 20.1 of the African American population. and 34.8 percent of the Hispanic population are without health insurance. but in Texas. while 12 percent of whites are uninsured. 21.2 percent of the African Americans and 36.7 percent of Hispanics do not have medical coverage. Finally. one of my most passionate fights has been an effort to expand health care for children. I am a principal supporter of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program. CHIP. the program that represents the largest expansion in health care in over 30 years. CHIP covers children not eligible for Medicaid insurance. Unfortunately. the rates for children without health coverage are also reaching alarming numbers. In the United States today. one in five children is without health insurance. In fact. in my home State of Texas 1.6 million children depend solely on health insurance provided by Medicaid. Limited access to health care contributes to growing rates of disease among children. Studies have shown that good health is a prerequisite for optimal learning. and schools can help children achieve academic success by participating in efforts that promote good health. including access to regular medical and mental health care. Protecting the health care of children should be the number one priority of any great nation. An investment in the health care of our youth is one of the wisest investments we can make for this country. Now is the time for all Americans to have access to quality health care and meaningful patient protection. Our citizens deserve and expect nothing less.
Date: 2003-10-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. it really is time for us to admit the truth. Mr. Speaker. 911. 2001 had nothing to do with the unilateral first strike on Iraq. We think that when we mention the word "terrorist" that it is a buzzword and we all are supposed to understand that that is the reason why the attack came to Iraq. That is not true. It never has been true. It is not true now. Each time we talk about the cost of this war. we mention 911. It has nothing to do with that. It has more to do with trying to take over a country because you disagree with the leader. just like somebody could take this one over because they disagree with our leader. and boss it. steal their oil. or whatever. But we need to tell the truth about it. It is not the truth that it has anything to do with 911. Mr. Speaker. we are taking our public to be stupid when we continue to say that 911 is connected with the Iraq attack. If that had to do with it. we would have the support of the U.N. We do not. because we made unilateral. first strikes without a reason. because we were not under immediate danger.
Date: 2003-10-01
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. 1 have no further requests for time. I urge this bill be passed. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-02
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to welcome and salute the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. Inspired by the 1961 freedom rides that sought to integrate bus terminals in the South. todays riders are visiting cities and towns across the country. They are raising awareness about the plight of immigrant workers and advocating for comprehensive change to our immigration system. Like Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.. these Americans refuse to believe. and I quote. that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity in this great Nation. Let me share the story of one of those Americans. Salvador Guillen is the proud leader of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union. Local 681. He is the father of three children and has worked as a housekeeper at Disneylands Paradise Pier Hotel for over 15 years. Salvador was born in Zamora. Michoacan. and has lived in the United States for 18 years. He is now a proud citizen of the United States. In his own words. Salvador states: "I want workers like my two sisters who have not been able to legalize and who are forced to work jobs where they are abused. overworked and underpaid to have the same opportunity." Together we can implement sensible immigration policies that bring all immigrants one step closer to the American dream.
Date: 2003-10-02
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the conference report on S. 3. in opposition to the underlying bill. the socalled PartialBirth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. and in strong opposition to passing legislation that endangers the health of women and violates the U.S. Constitution. Make no mistake about it. S. 3 endangers the health and safety of women. If this bill is signed into law. Congress will take the extraordinary step of banning a medical procedure that many physicians have concluded Is safe for women. [] 1200 In fact. the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists concluded in their September. 2000. statement of policy that the procedure banned under S. 3 may be "the best or most appropriate procedure in a particular circumstance to save the life or preserve the health of a woman." Congress should not secondguess the expertise of physicians. Likewise. Congress should not interfere with the doctorpatient relationship and limit the options available Vo women to protect their health. But this is exactly what the socalled PartialBirth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 does. It endangers womens health by making a procedure that is the safest option for many women Illegal and unavailable. However. the PartialBirth Abortion Ban Act does not stop at endangering a womans health. This bill also blatantly violates the Constitution of the United States. In the Stenberg decision. the Supreme Court struck down a Nebraska statute that is practically identical to the legislation we are talkIng about today. The Supreme Court struck down the Nebraska statute as unconstitutional because it failed to contain a provision that would provide an exception to the ban when the procedure is necessary to preserve the life or the health of the woman. Despite the Supreme Courts clear and explicit ruling that a law banning partialbirth abortion procedures must have an exception to protect the life or health of the mother. the drafters of S. 3 have refused to include the exception when the procedure is necessary to protect the health of the mother By failing to include this health exception. the law Is unconstitutional. I oppose this conference report and urge my colleagues to do the same.
Date: 2003-10-02
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong opposition to the socalled "partial birth abortion" legislation before us today. Neither the Congress nor the courts should tell a woman how to manage her health or reproductive care. Unfortunately. what should be a private matter between a woman and her doctor has become a political football. Doctors. not politicians. should decide which surgical procedures are appropriate when a womans health is in jeopardy. The antichoice proponents of the bill have used highly misleading statements to cloak the true purpose of this billwhich is to scare doctors and deny women the right to choose a safe and legal abortion. Here are the facts: The bill does not ban only one procedure. "Partialbirth" is a political term. not a medical term. These bans are designed to inflame the abortion debate through heated. graphic rhetoric. In describing what is banned. the bill does not reference a recognized. established medical procedure. It does not exclude other procedures. In fact. the bills language is deliberately vague. banning safe and common procedures. The bill is not a "late term" abortion bal. Because the bill lacks any mention of fetal viability. it would ban abortions throughout pregnancy. In Roe v. Wade and its companion case. Doe v. Bolton. the Supreme Court held that a woman has the right to choose legal abortion until viability. The Court said that states may ban abortion alter that time. as long as exceptions are made to protect a womans life or her health. In fact. 41 states have laws that address postviability abortions. The legislation now before Congress is designed. in part. to deceive lawmakers and the American public about when abortions occur. Dont be fooled. The bill is not constitutional. In 2000. the Supreme Court found Nebraskas so called "partial birth" abortion ban unconstitutional in Carhart v. Stenberg. The Court found that: (1) the law unconstitutionally burdened a womans right to choose by banning safe abortion procedures. and (2) it lacked the constitutionally required exception to protect womens health. These flaws are present in the bill now before Congress. The bill still lacks any health exception. and its deliberately vague language still bans more than one procedure. These bans are not supported by the medical community. Contrary to repeated antichoice claims. the American Medical Association does not support this legislation. Furthermore. respected health organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. the American Medical Womens Association. the American Nurses Association and the American Public Health Association oppose these bans. I urge my colleagues to reject this bill that turns back the clock on womens rights in this country.
Date: 2003-10-02
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. as cochair of the newly formed Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus. which now has over 75 Members of this House. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this motion to protect overtime pay. For many hardworking men and women. including cops and firefighters. nurses and first responders. overtime pay is not spare change. It helps families pay the mortgage. feed the kids. pay for college. and save for retirement. In this especially brutal economy. which has been so hard on Americas working families. I urge my colleagues to not let the Bush administration shortchange our working families.
Date: 2003-10-02
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the assault on overtime pay is nothing less than an attempt to pick the pockets of millions of hardworking Americans. By stripping 8 million workers of their right to be paid for the hours they work. Republicans have issued another callous insult to families struggling to make a living. Since many of those who will be affected are nursing professionals. police. firefighters and other "first responders." it sends another stinging message to the people we turn to and who routinely undertake the most thankless tasks in our times of need. Mr. Speaker. over 3 million Americans have lost their jobs since President Bush took oflice. and countless others dont appear in the employment statistics because they have given up hope o tinding a job. Isnt in enough that the Bush administration has presided over the loss of 3 million privatesector jobs. It has failed to raise the minimum wage. It is allowing millions of older workers to lose half their private pension benefits. It has denied unemployment benefits to millions of workers who exhausted their Federal unemployment benefits. It has gutted worker safety protections. and denied working familys tax cutsincluding the child tax creditwhile showering hundreds of billions in cuts to the wealthiest of Americans. As an experienced nurse. I want to draw your attention to serious dangers posed by this measure which threatens not only the pay of millions of nurses and other health care workers. but also the safety of patients in our health care facilities. Healthcare professionals. particularly nurses. are working an increasing amount of mandatory overtime. patient care and contributing to the ranks of the over 500.000 trained nurses who have left their field. Mr. Speaker. the current nursing workforce is aging. The shortage of registered nurses in my home State of Texas is becoming more critical. Texas will experience a deficit of 10.000 RNs by 2005. 16.000 by 2010 and 50.000 by 2020. according to a July 2002 report from the Health Resources and Services Administration. I am afraid that this will lead to drive even more nurses away from clinical settings at a time when the Nation is struggling to develop policies that will keep todays nurses at the bedside and attract more students into nursing for the future. It is unrealistic to imagine that nurses will remain in jobs where they have lost the guarantee that they will be paid premium wages. or any wages at all. when they are forced to work overtime hours. Mr. Speaker. what in the world is it about Americans who are working hard to provide for their families that this administration just cant stand? I urge my colleagues to vote "yes" on the motion to instruct conferees to accept Senatepassed provisions. We must block the Bush administration regulations that would deny overtime pay to millions of employees.
Date: 2003-10-02
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. and I rise in support of the Bishop motion to reject the use of $174 billion for health savings accounts included in the Republican prescription drug bill. On June 26. I. along with many of my colleagues. voted against the Health Savings and Affordability Act. H.R. 2596. It sounds like a great bill. but in reality these health savings accounts are a $174 billion tax cut for the wealthy. Republicans tell us these accounts will help those without health insurance. but in reality these people have incomes that are far too low to take advantage of the tax breaks in this bill. The truth is they do not have the additional $2.000 to $4.000 a year to put into these savings accounts. While Americans are struggling daily. this Republican Congress is trying to give more tax cuts for the wealthy. and it is shameful to disguise it by putting it into the Medicare prescription drug bill. At a time when our country Is facing record deficits and so many seniors are struggling with rising drug costs. could $174 billion not be better used? Could it not be used. as the gentleman from New York has suggested. to significantly close the gap in coverage found in the current prescription drug bill? Asking our seniors to pay 100 percent of their drug costs above $2.000 until catastrophic coverage kicks in is simply unacceptable. This gap in coverage is the biggest problem in the prescription drug bill. and it would have a severe impact on millions of lowincome Medicare beneficiaries. That is why. instead of giving more tax cuts to the wealthy. we must help seniors cover their prescription drug costs. That is what seniors want. and that is what our seniors deserve. In fact. according to a survey conducted by AARP. four out of five seniors did not want the Republican plan that ultimately passed this Congress. Why did seniors oppose this plan? The answer is very simple: because under the current bill. 48 percent. nearly half of all seniors. would fall into the coverage gap and he forced to pay 100 percent of their drug costs. And that is in addition to the $35permonth premium. in addition to paying the first $250 worth of drugs. and in addition to paying 20 percent of all their drug costs up to $2.000 a year. The coverage gap is unacceptable. It is no way to treat the seniors in our country. They expect more and they deserve more. Therefore. I urge my colleagues to support the Bishop motion and reject more tax cuts for the wealthy. Give our seniors the respect they deserve and the coverage that they need.
Date: 2003-10-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. and I rise in support of H.R. 2655. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 2655 amends the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 to extend through fiscal year 2008. The Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program provides for admission into the United States each fiscal year of up to 4.000 young. disadvantaged aliens from designated countries in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. These youths suffer from sectarian violence and high unemployment. This program helps these youth develop job skills and conflict resolution skills in a diverse and peaceful environment so that they can return to their homes better able to contribute toward economic regeneration and a lasting peace in heland. This bill also makes a few changes to the program to ensure that the disadvantaged youth are those who benefit from the program. H.R. 2655 clarifies that a qualifying alien must he a citizen of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. It also clarifies that no qualifying candidate may have a degree from an institution of higher education. All participants in the program must also return home for 2 years. rather than 1. at the conclusion of the visa term. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2003-10-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. yesterday the press reported that Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans was going to travel the country and focus like a laser on the issue of jobs. jobs. jobs. jobs. said the headline. He is going to travel from city to city and talk about jobs in America. that Jobs are the most important issue. Today we read that his first stop is going to be in Iraq. I guess maybe that is because that is where the Bush administration is creating jobs as they seek to build new hospitals. they seek to build schools that they will not build in this country. hospitals that they will not build in this country. sewer systems that they will not build in this country. We see these exorbitant contracts being led through Bechtel and Haliburton. I guess that is where the jobs are from the Bush administration. and that is why the Secretary of Commerce is going there Instead of going to the Midwest where hundreds of thousands of people have lost manufacturing jobs or anywhere else in this country where over 3 million people have lost their jobs and 9 million people are unemployed. The Secretary of Commerce would do well to travel the country. as opposed to going to Iraq.
Date: 2003-10-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 3108. the Pension Funding Equity Act. This bill provides shortterm relief to avert what otherwise might be an imminent pension crisis for American businesses and workers. I want to thank the cooperation of the gentleman from Ohio for his work on this committee. the gentleman from California
Date: 2003-10-08
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I think one of the most valuable lessons we have learned from the tragic events of September 11 is just how important our railoads are to this country. With the aviation system grounded. American railroads were working hard to help both passenger and freight reach their destinations. Not only was this important to keep the economy running. but sent an important message to our enemies that American transportation system was still the strongest in the world. On November 12. 2001. I was in New York when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed shortly after taking off from JFK Airport. creating.a national panic and shutting down the entire city. Fortunately for me and many other Members of Congress who ended up at Penn Station that day. Amtrak was still running. and returned us safely to Washington to deal with this latest tragedy. I realized once again just how important Amtrak is to the American people and how important it is for this Nation to have alternate modes of transportation. I personally fell in love with rail-. roads as a child watching the Silver Meteor passenger train pass my house in Jacksonville. and today I get firsthand information on the railroads from my friends. constituents and my brother. who worked with CSX for over 30 years. which I proudly say is headquartered in my district. Since the first horsedrawn *cars hauled coal on steel rails. the success of the U.S. economy has been directly linked to the success of the railroad industry. It is only right to pay homage to the men and women who have worked so hard to build this Nations railroad infrastructure. The National Railroad Hall of Fames goal is to promote and encourage a better understanding of this countrys railroads. and is collecting documentation and information that is open to the public. The planned National Railroad Hall of Fame Monument will honor the men and women responsible for founding and developing the U.S. rail industry. I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois for introducing this legislation. The veterans of this Nation have no better friend in Congress than the gentleman from Illinois