macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-05-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. let me first of all thank the chairman of the full committee and the ranking member of the full committee. Although this is not an amendment that pertains only to my district. I want you to know that I represent a district that is home to one of the largest populations of military servicemembers and their families in the Nation. There are over 200.000 veterans of military service who live and work in Houston. more than 13.000 are veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They should return home to banners and to communities that recognize their service after years of combat. I might say that the State of Texas. along with all of the States. claim to have their wonderful share of our men and women of the United States military. Mr. Chairman. I offer this amendment so the children of America can likewise be with us as they wave their flags and welcome our men and women home. As President John F. Kennedy said: As we express our gratitude. we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words. but to live by them. Let us live and act on our gratitude. and celebrate on this national day of honor the men and women who have served us so gallantly and bravely. I ask my colleagues to join me and Mr. JOHNSON in support of this amendment. to honor our returning troops by a national expression of thank you. again. for a job well done. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2011-05-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the ranking member. I rise to support the en bloc amendments and to add my understanding and support for the McGovernJones and a number of other Members amendments. Let me first make it clear that this is a bipartisan amendment. and there was a great deal of collaboration and sensitivity to formulating a structure that would be respectful of the men and women who serve us today. But I rise to support this amendment because I can clearly see the human and financial costs which have been so high-$10 billion a month. which in this climate where we are addressing franchise terrorism. where individuals can rise up and do harm to the United States at any time. it is time now to plan a time frame for accelerated transition for our troops to come home from Afghanistan. to find a political solution with diplomacy. to be able to deal with al Qaeda in a manner that will allowThe Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Date: 2011-05-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

This amendment does not stop the reassessing of how al Qaeda is now functioning with its titular head. its inspirational head no longer. and whether or not the remaining members of al Qaeda will seep and spread into other places where we have to address this question. and. of course. the amendment does not limit existing authority on ongoing al Qaeda efforts by sharing intelligence or changing military strategy. tactics or operations on the ground in Afghanistan. This amendment helps to bring our troops home. Remember Pakistan. how we have to work with them and try to help the Pakistan people. we need to focus broadly to help secure the homeland. This is an important amendment. I support the en bloc amendment. and I support the McGovern amendment. Let us find a way to bring our troops home.
Date: 2011-05-26
Speaker: K ISSELL (democrat)
Chamber: H

directs the Pentagon to report to Congress on the estimated cost of expanding the Homeowners Assistance Program. A lot of our active duty military. when they are called up or transferred. find themselves in enormous distress given the housing crisis. This amendment will help them and their families by extending their ability to try to manage that situation. Mr. Chairman. I very much appreciate. as I said. the cooperation of the chairman and his staff. and the ranking member and his staff.
Date: 2011-05-26
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Thank you. Ranking Member. There are three amendments on this en bloc that I have submitted and that the majority and the minority have agreed to. The first one. No. 137. is a report on the Russian nuclear forces. and this amendment requires a report on what the Russians are doing with respect to their nuclear forces in relation to the New START. or the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. We are told that Russia will be taking a look at some of its older weapons and probably be decommissioning them. and there might be an opportunity in the coming couple of years to maybe bring down the stockpile of nuclear weapons even more below some of those limits with respect to the New START Treaty. So this report will help to inform Congress on the opportunities and the challenges for further verifiable nuclear weapon reductions. which I believe would strengthen strategic stability. maintain a strong nuclear nonproliferation treaty. as well as enable progress on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and nuclear bombgrade materials. I think this is one of the biggest areas where we have a chance to make the world safer. The second amendment that I have on this en bloc is for the Global Threat Reduction initiative. and I would like to thank the chairman for including amendment No. 135. which would increase funding for Global Threat Reduction initiative by $20 million. Again. supported by both sides. This also will help to reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism. The danger that nuclear materials or weapons might spread to countries hostile to the United States or to terrorists represents one of the gravest dangers that we have here to the United States. So I believe that nonproliferation programs are critical to our national security and that they must be a top priority. This funding specifically supports securing vulnerable nuclear material around the world in the next 4 years in order to prevent such deadly material from falling into the hands of the terrorists. Again. I believe that nonproliferation programs are the most costeffective way to achieve these goals. And thats also mirrored in the 9/11 Commission report. as well as our nuclear posture commission. which says the urgency arises from the imminent danger of nuclear terrorism if we pass a tipping point in nuclear proliferation. The third amendment. No. 138. that I have in this en bloc is for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. or this amendment provides for an increase of $2.5 million for the DNFSB. Now. this funding is important because fiscal year appropriations cut it by nearly 20 percent. So. again. I think these three are very important. I thank both the chairman and the ranking member for putting them in this en bloc.
Date: 2011-05-26
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. in February of this year. I voted to support a threemonth extension of the PATRIOT Act provisions in todays underlying legislation in order to give Congress time to build a consensus around necessary. common sense reform. Today. it is with great reluctance that I must stand in opposition to an additional extension of these provisions. as Congress has failed to make reforms to safeguard civil liberties. This is a missed opportunity. Senators LEAHY and PAUL offered a bipartisan amendment that included a sunset date for National Security Letters. enhanced oversight of PATRIOT Act authorities. and more focused standards of relevance for business record requestschanges that would provide meaningful improvements to the balance between national security and civil liberties. However. this proposal was not given a vote on the floor of the Senate. I believe there are important provisions in this bill that should be extended. However. there is also a clear need for improved oversight and privacy protections. We must not be stampeded into continuing to pass bad policy. especially when credible solutions are well within reach. I voted to give Congress time to responsibly reform these provisions. But I cannot in good conscience support a fouryear extension that makes no effort to ensure that the authorities under this law are being exercised responsibly. Mr. Speaker. I have always been prepared to support a balanced PATRIOT Act that defends Americans without eroding our freedom. Unfortunately. S. 990 is not that legislation.
Date: 2011-05-26
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. on rollcall No. 376. Consideration of PATRIOT Act Extension. had I been present. I would have voted "nay."
Date: 2011-05-26
Speaker: MARK UDALL (democrat)
Chamber: S

and the Senator from Rhode Island. Mr. WHITEHOUSE met last night to discuss this amendment. the legal interpretation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provisions and how these provisions are implemented. I very much appreciate the strong views Senator WYDEN and Senator UDALL have in this area. and I believe they are raising a serious and important point as to how exactly these authorities are carried out. I believe we are also all in agreement that these are important counterterrorism authorities and have contributed to the security of our Nation.
Date: 2011-05-31
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague for yielding. Ladies and gentlemen. this is a political stunt. I just heard my friend from Texas on the Republican side say Republicans wanted to tear up the credit card. It was just a few weeks ago when the Republican budget passed this House. All but four Republicans voted for it. Let me show you what that did to our credit card. Here it is. We are at about $14 trillion in debt. The budget all but four Republicans voted for takes us up toward $23 trillion. $24 trillion in debt. An $8 trillion increase in the national debt by passing the Republican budget. so that clearly this isnt about tearing up the credit card. What is this about? This is about threatening to default on the full faith and credit of the United States unless we put into place the Republican budget. including their plan to end the Medicare guarantee and to slash Medicare benefits. Thats what this is all about. Theyve said. Whoa. were going to hold this whole thing up until we get our way. Let me tell you what their way would do to seniors. And weve seen it before on the floor of the House. What it means is that seniors will be paying thousands and thousands of dollars more for Medicare or getting their benefits slashed beginning in 2012. And it gets worse and worse and worse. so that by the year 2030 youre talking about seniors having to pay $12.000 more for their Medicare because the support theyre getting is going down. while the costs in the private market. which the Republican plan forces them to go into. go up and up and up. So while the costs they face go up and up and up. the help they get under Medicare goes down. down. down. and theyre left holding the bill. Whats been interesting in the last couple weeks in connection with this debt ceiling debate is to hear these Republican proposals that say. Hey. dont worry about it. You know what? Well pay China. Well pay our overseas foreign creditors on our bonds. Well take care of them. But guess what? We dont have to pay our full faith and credit on our obligations to Americas seniors. We dont have to pay Medicare. We dont have to pay Social Security. Pay off the bond holders. Take care of them. But lets follow through on this plan to decimate Medicare. And at the end of the day. thats what this is all about. Because we all understand that weve got to get the deficit under control. Were having negotiations with the Vice President to come up with a responsible. balanced plan. But youre trying to force the Republican plan. which Newt Gingrich just the other day acknowledges was a radical rightwing piece of social engineering. until of course he was bludgeoned by the right wing to withdraw his statement. He was calling the shots as they were. He was saying. You know what? This isnt such a good idea. And whats really outrageous about this charade is you are now threatening the entire U.S. economy in order to get your way on a radical rightwing Medicare plan thats bad for Americas seniors.
Date: 2011-05-31
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of S. 1082. the Small Business Additional Temporary Extension Act of 2011. I commend this legislation. which will provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. including the SBIR and STTR programs. We all recognize the important role that small businesses play in fueling technological innovation and creating jobs in the United States. That being the case. we should be doing what we can to foster a vibrant small business community and give our small businesses the tools that they need to succeed.
Date: 2011-05-31
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. a lot of times our constituents are confused about the processes of this House. The one thing that we are not confused about is when we all join together in unity. our patriotism. our respect. affection. and admiration for the United States military. Yesterday. many of us interfaced with families. Gold Star Mothers and Blue Star Mothers. families who had experienced a wounded soldier or one who had lost their life in battle. It was a serious time. and I. too. commemorated and celebrated with my fellow Houstonians and Texans. even those who came up to me and said veterans cant get jobs. And so for me to come today and to participate in a mockery of a placedonthefloor vote on the debt ceiling when everyone knew. and our good friends on the Republican side. that it was a joke. but it was not a joke for me. I voted "yes" because the responsible position is to ensure that America pays her bills. not to leave soldiers on the battlefield with no equipment. no shelter. no food. and certainly not to take away veterans benefits. Medicare. Medicaid. Let us be responsible. and let us stand for the American people. I did that today.
Date: 2011-05-31
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

There is just a whole litany of things that I think have been mentioned today that are so very important. One. I want to again emphasize when you invest in America. you create jobs. Look at what is happening to the auto industry. And I am far away from the auto industry. I happen to be in Texas. But I can assure you that I can point to an auto dealership that is alive today because we said "yes" to manufacturing and owning businesses and keeping the doors open. Now this same auto dealershipwhich. by the way. is in Americanmade cars. GMis expanding. is refurbishing. will be hiring new people. will be selling more cars because we were engaged. And I think the point that we have to create jobs to reinvest in this community points again to preserving Medicare. which is not being done by our friendscertainly the vote that we had today had nothing to do with the debt ceiling. had nothing to do preserving Medicare and Medicaid. And I truly believe there is a nexus. there is a connectioninvest in America. create jobs. have revenue returned back to the economy. bring down the debt. and watch America churn like an engine that is purring and doing better. We can make it in America. We can applaud our manufacturers. We can grow them. And I think the investment in Americas auto industry is evident by all of the jobs being brought back home. Let me end by saying to all of those who can hear us: American manufacturers. American corporations. bring your jobs back home and participate with Democrats in their serious effort to enhance making it in America and creating more opportunity. You are better off here. You can watch your company grow. and you can support the continued growth of America and opportunities for small businesses and the young people who are now coming out of our many colleges and schools ready to work.
Date: 2011-06-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. before I comment on why I am standing next to the brave and the true of our United States military. let me give a message to Syria and express my outrage over the heinous killing of a 13yearold boy. President Assad should be held accountable now. And the United Nations needs to voice its opposition. As the Secretary of State has indicated. we need to be standing alongside those seeking freedom in Syria. And to our allies in Bahrain. where our fleet of Navy personnel are. what a disgrace that they have imploded and blown up mosques because they disagree with their particular faith. This is the Arab Spring. but it will end in devastation if we dont stand for truth and human rights and compassion. Now. Mr. Speaker. I think it is important. as I stand next to the brave men and women. some who have fallen. and those who now still fight. to ask my Republican friends do you understand that there is a 10 percent unemployment among those who are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan? Yes. troops who are fighting for us and fighting on our behalf. Yet it has been 21 weeks and the Republicans have no jobs agenda. We need jobs. Create jobs! If you believe in these troops. build jobs for the American people.
Date: 2011-06-01
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to condemn. yes. condemn. the Government of Vietnam for continuing its appalling human rights record by conducting unjust trials. sham trials of seven citizens who asked for land reform. This past week. the peoples court of Ben Tre unfairly convicted seven land rights activists to years of imprisonment and probation. Ms. Tran Thi Thuy was sentenced to 8 years. Pastor Duong Kim Khai was imprisoned for 6 years. and Mr. Pham Van Thong received a 7year sentence simply for asking for their land back from the Communist Government of Vietnam. This recent trial was no different than Vietnams past trials where there is no due process. I hope that my colleagues will look at the record of human rights with respect to Vietnam and join me in urging the Government of Vietnam to drop these false charges.
Date: 2011-06-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague. Mr. Speaker. this is not an ordinary House rule we will be voting on today. The resolution deems the provisions of the Republican budget to have "full force and effect." In other words. a vote on the rule today is essentially another vote on the Republican budget plan that protects subsidies for the Big Oil companies. while ending the Medicare guarantee and slashing investments in education. Those wrongheaded priorities were thoroughly rejected in the recent special election in New York. The American people clearly oppose a onesided plan that would immediately reopen the prescription drug doughnut hole and tells seniors that in 10 years they will pay $9.000 more for their current set of benefits or take deep cuts in those benefits. Ladies and gentlemen. the median income of seniors on Medicare is less than $21.000 a year. What kind of budget says were going to require seniors with median incomes of $21.000 a year to pay $9.000 more in just 10 years while cutting the rate for millionaires. the top marginal tax rate for millionaires by 30 percent? What kind of budget would do it? Well. the budget that was passed by the Republicans a few months ago and the one theyre doubling down on today. We have to have a balanced budget plan. We have to have a plan that addresses this from all aspects. not a plan that the former Speaker of the House described as a radical plan that was driven by rightwing social engineering. It is very ironic that on the very day we will be swearing in the next Member of Congress from New Yorks 26th District that we will be voting again on a budget that the people of that district. like people around the country. rejected becausethe former Speaker of the House had it rightit was radical and right wing and not the right plan for America.
Date: 2011-06-01
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague. The question were facing here is what is the best way forward. We all understand we have to have a budget deficit plan thats predictable and addresses that issue. but why in the world would we adopt a onesided approach that has those priorities. that says were going to slash Medicare and give tax cuts for the wealthy?
Date: 2011-06-01
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. So 5 months. One of my freshman colleagues said 125 days in the Republican majority and no jobs bill. In fact. all youve tried to do is change Medicare as we know it to make vulnerable seniors pay more and get less. Oh. then youre also making education cuts to go after the dreams and aspirations of our young people. Thats the Republican way. Today. we consider this rule and the Homeland Securitys appropriations bill where you actually cut 60 percent of the moneys that the Federal Government sends to our local citiesyes. those cities that are struggling. those cities that protect us. We dont protect the American people from the Capitol. Its the local law enforcement. the local fire department. the local hospitals. If a terrorist attack or a natural disaster happens. the local responders are the ones who first help the American people. and youre cutting the money. Theyre already under attack at the local level. They have already let firemen and policemen go. and now youre taking away 60 percent of the moneys that we send to protect the American people. What is troubling is that youre limiting the cities where we send some of this money. like under the Urban Areas Security Initiative.
Date: 2011-06-01
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Youre cutting moneys to places like Las Vegas and Orlando and my hometown of Anaheim. California. where Disneyland is. The American people deserve to be protected. and this Congress should get its priorities straight.
Date: 2011-06-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the distinguished manager of this rule. and I certainly thank Members who are on the floor of the House. Mr. Speaker. we are in the baseball season and you can imagine a throng of teeming audience. and they are watching pitch one. pitch two. pitch three. and it is strike one. strike two and strike three. The winning side. the Republicans. of course. cheer. but the American people lose. Theyre out. Theyre struck out. Medicare is gone as we know it. Lets not fool around. Lets not try to have smoke and mirrors. This rule ends Medicare as we know it. We dont have to play games. The debt relief that was put on the floor ends Medicare as we know it. And this bill on homeland security is tone deaf to the words of the late Osama bin Laden who said that were looking at your airports. were looking at your airlines. and were looking at your rail. This Homeland Security appropriations bill cuts all of the necessary security that is necessary to protect the American people. First we throw out the seniors on Medicare. then we dont allow for TSO inspectors. We cut FEMA dollars in the face of Joplin and Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. In my own State. there are fires that are burning right now. and were telling FEMA that we dont have enough money to provide for you. Did you see the story on the news that indicated that firefighters were left watching a man drowndrownbecause they had to cut the rescue team of that community? People were crying. Firefighters. whose first job is to be a first responder. denied because they dont have the funding to be able to help the people that they serve. I tell you to vote "no" on this rule. Strike out those folks. and let the American people win.