macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1984-01-23
Speaker: WON PAT (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to extend a warm Hafa Adai to all of my colleagues from your fellow Americans on Guam where Americas day begins as we open the 2d session of the 98th Congress. We on Guam want you to know of our appreciation for the wonderful support we received from the first session of this Congress. As you may know. Congress has total jurisdiction over the affairs of U.S. territories and it is. therefore. appropriate that Capitol Hill provide the continued political and financial support for these areas now and in the future. Looking at our record of accomplishments. I believe that all of us can be proud of what was done here last year. We took firm stands on major issues facing this Nation and I am confident that this body is fully prepared to deal directly with the tough challenging issues facing us this year. Given the fact that this year is a Presidential election year. as well as ours in the House. I recognize that our work will be doubly difficult. I know that the Nation will be watching our actions with renewed interest and the business of campaigning will. in all probability. bring this session to an early close. On behalf of the people of Guam I wish all here a happy new year and best wishes for an effective and successful second session. I personally look forward to working with my colleagues on issues which affect not only the U.S. territories. but on matters concerning the entire Nation. Thank you.
Date: 1984-01-24
Speaker: SAM B. HALL (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me. Mr. Chairman. every one of us who has returned here after about 2 months In our respective districts has heard one thing more than anything else. and that is the deficit that we have. the $200 billion that has strapped this continent. Yet today we come here. the first order of business of the second session. and we are asked to pass a bill. laudable as it may be as far as weatherization is concerned. that will add an additional $24 billion over a period of 10 years to this national debt. Can we afford to do this? Can we afford to do something that has already passed in the 1981 Reconciliation Act? This will be $325 million above or nearly 300 percent higher than the $175 million recommended in the Reconciliation Act of 1981. It Is $355 million above or 200 percent more than the funds appropriated In the fiscal year 1983 continuing resolution Just a few months ago. It is over $300 million above or 150 percent more than the highest annual appropriation level of approximately $200 million in the previous administration. Now we are called upon to do this with a bill that was introduced on April 19. 1983 Eight days later It was marked up in suboommittee. and It was reported in the full committee on May 4. There were no hearings. no hearings of any kind on this bill. Can we stand before our people In the districts we represent and tell them that we voted a measure that is going to cost them $28 billion over a period of 10 years without any hearings having occurred with reference to this bill? I cannot do that. regardless of the goodness of what this Congress is attempting to do. Mr. Chairman. I urge the disapproval of this bill.
Date: 1984-01-30
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I join today in expressing sorrow at the passing on New Years Eve of Byron Rogers. an outstanding public servant and a member of this body for 22 years. When I came to Congress Byron Rogers had already been a Member of the House for 16 yearsliked and respected by his colleagues and his constitutency of the first district of Coloado to whom he rendered distinguished service. I benefited greatly from my association and want to say how proud I am to have served with him. The contributions Byron Rogers made to his country were tremendoushis good work extending far beyond the Colorado district he represented so outstandingly. He will be remembered as a distinguished legislator. an innovator. a community stalwart. and a fine American. Byron Rogers vision was great. his labors unselfish. and his dedication complete. Such a man always stands tall in the eyes of his fellow Americans and such a man never dies.e
Date: 1984-02-07
Speaker: SAM B. HALL (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker. I c riainly strongly support this resolution. I think it is a splendid resolution. I agree with what the gentleman from New York Just said. I would like to ask one question. and that is this: I have so little use for what happened in the United Nations and what they do and what they do not do. I notice here that this resolution calls on the U.S. Government to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in these Baltic States by bringing the question of their selfdetermination before the U N. Human Rights Commission and other appropriate U.N. forums. My question is: If we pass this resolution. do we have any belief or any understanding that what we are doing here will be taken up before the appropriate areas in the United Nations. or will they ignore it like they do so many other things we do here?
Date: 1984-02-22
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am very disturbed at what I have been hearing about our Marines in Lebanon. I have heard failure. I have heard pull out. withdrawal. retreat. These words applybut not to the Marines. Not to the Marines. If there was failure. it was of the policy of the administration. If there was withdrawal. it was because of the vacilating by the policymakersincluding the Congress. The Marines can hold their heads high. On the contrary. we owe them once again a terrific debt of gratitudefor they went on an impossible mission. No. the Marines did not fail. They performed like U.S. Marines. God bless them.
Date: 1984-02-22
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to commemorate February 16. 1984. as the 66th anniversary of the restoration of the independent state of Lithuania and the 733d anniversary of the founding of the Lithuanian state in 1251. We. in the United States. refuse to recognize the illegal annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union and will continue to support the Lithuanian peoples quest for freedom.*
Date: 1984-02-23
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I join the distinguished colleague from Illinois and the gentleman from Missouri and I would but echo the eloquent statement made by my colleague. the gentleman from California . I can attest to the fact of the importance of languages. having grown up in a dual culture and speaking several languages. one of necessity. the two because of business and professional needs. But we are in the United States possibly the most language deficient country in the world. And the world has shrunk to such a minute. infinitesImal little island. that without languages there is no communication. The reality which my colleague from California spoke about is so very true. The only two things that the human needs is food for his sustenance and communication with his neighbor. for security. for commerce. for education. for everything that you do in your daily life. So that is why I am so terribly proud of my colleagues. the gentleman from Illinois and the gentleman from Missouri . This is a very modest approach to a problem which is probably the greatest problem. Whether we have one more missile than the Russians is not going to matter as much as whether we have one more person who can speak to them in their own language. Would that our negotiators at the disarmament conferences could understand the Russians. It is always the other way around. I have been to international meetings. I have seen how just a grasp of a very small part of any language can be a terrific asset for us. I would like to sayI think it was mentioned by my colleague. the gentleman from Missouri that this is perhaps the most important bill that we are going to have this session of Congressnot the appropriation of the money. not the missiles. not the defense. but whether we allow our citizens to compete in the world forums. whether we allow our industry to compete at their own level. using the language of the other people that we wish to deal with. It is a development of the human element. It is adding another dimension to the development of thehuman mind that a person can communicate effectively with one not of our own country in their language. for the bettermen of our security. for the development of our intellect and for the development of peace in the world. Ultimately. peace will only come when we can communicate with each other. for that we need to speak in the languages of our neighbors. they already do in ours.
Date: 1984-02-23
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am alarmed at the way this administration is directing its efforts to obviate the will of the Congress. The fiscal year 1984 continuing appropriations bill. Public Law 98151. included language for carrying out the Immigration Education Assistance Act under title V of H.R. 3520. providing $30 million for that purpose. It Is obvious the administration does not intend to obligate any of this amount. The administration is doing this without providing the Congress notification of its intention. Mr. Speaker. this alarms me. This intrusion on our rights is frightening. In that connection. I submit for my colleagues reading an excerpt from my weekly newsletter on this subject:
Date: 1984-02-29
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to appear before the House today in support of H.R. 3050. the Rural Electrification and Telephone Revolving Fund SelfSufficiency Act of 1983. H.R. 3050 was introduced by ED JONES. the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Conservation. Credit. and Rural Development. with 178 additional cosponsors. and was ordered reported by the committee by a recorded vote of 38 to 1. Mr. Chairman. H.R. 3050. as reported by the committee. is a complex bill with many different amendments to the basic act. Primary among these are several amendments to protect the solvency of the revolving fund which is used to make insured electric and telephone loans. and otherwise to preserve the longterm viability of the loan programs under that act for financing rural electric and telephone systems. Before I explain the details of these provisions and the other amendments in the bill. I would like to repeat a little history of the REA.
Date: 1984-02-29
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield as rauch time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee . the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee. who is the principal author of the legislation.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I just want to state to the gentleman he is painting everyone with a broad brush. Our committee does not fit any of the complaints the gentleman is making here today.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE IA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the RECORD and open to amendment at any point.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE A GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

No. that la a further amendment that I will offer later. These are the corrective amendments basically adopted by the committee. The other amendment. Committee on Ways and Means and Committee on Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs. I will offer as a separate amendment.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

No. we do not involve ourselves in that. We give the authority to the Federal Financing Bank and they would. I assume. set the criteria. They have the discretion. I do not know if one would call on the telephone or write a letter or how it is going to be done. What we say in the law is that the President of the Bank has to say yes before it is done.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

The gentleman studied the act and the gentleman knows that the Secretary of the Treasury is the Chairman of the Federal Financing Bank. so the gentleman has answered his own question.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman. I do so to engage in a colloquy with our distinguished colleague and friend. the gentleman from New York . who has some concerns about the subordination part of this legislation. I have endeavored to explain earlier in the explanation of the amendments adopted that this subordination does in effect leave authority with the Administrator and also the colloquy just previously entered into between our distinguished colleague from Califoraa and the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee. the gentleman from Tennessee
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Using an overabundance of caution to clearly give the legislative intent. I would again repeat to the gentleman. that is correct. The Administrator would have the authority to deny the subordination if he feels that the Government security will be jeopardized.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. the gentleman is correct. I guess I have coined a new phrase which I used in the explanation of the amendment. that it is "mandatorydiscretionary": but basically that can be explained and this should be the legislative history. that it Is mandatory that the Administrator accept the application for subordination. and the Administrator consider the application. This is the mandatory part. Then. the final proviso on that amendment. this is the amendment offered by the gentleman from Kansas
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

I appreciate that and I know of the gentlemans concern. We share his concern and we were working along the same lines. We anticipated the gentlemans amendment. I appreciate his cooperation.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

I ask that the gentleman yield to me at this point so that I may quote Mr. Rayburn on precisely what the gentleman is discussing now. and I will give the gentleman additional time. The gentleman quoted from Mr. Rayburn yesterday. that was Sam Rayburn. the great former Speaker of this House. who came from Texas. And during the course of that debate there was an amendment offered. Mr. Rayburn said. and I quote: I want to say to the House nowand I be. lieve this fullyI believe the expenditure of this money will change the horizon of these people. It will pull them out of the darkness into the light. I think it would be money well spent by the United States Government to electrify a maillion homes in this country if they never got back one dollar. And then there was applause it says here. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

I will yield to the gentleman briefly. I wanted to address his amendment and the specifics of the amendment. but I will yield briefly.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

The gentleman from Texas will accept the gentlemans good faith and attribute to him every good intention. just basically we disagree. Now. as to the amendment that the gentleman offered. I would like to say that it is a very serious and longreaching amendment in that it stretches the authority beyond the Administrator to the Secretary of the Treasury. It is the amendment on page 15. line 7. This amendment that the gentleman has offered. in effect. if I read it correctly. says that the Secretary of the Treasury can say. "Acme Finance Co. in Mission. Tex.. raised its interest I percentage point to John Doe who wants to buy a car. And. therefore. I attribute this to the financial assistance under the REA Act and. therefore. we should not make the loan." This is what it says. that "any applicant for financial assistance under this act shall not be provided such assistance unless the Secretary. after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury. determines that the extension of such assistance will not tend to restrict the availability of credit. or increase the cost of credit to borrowers not receiving the benefit of Federal credit." So. we are leaving to the Secretary of the Treasury in this or subsequent administrations the sole authority to say. "Yes. it restricts credit. Acme Finance Co. raised their interest rate to John Doe who wants to buy a car. therefore. you should not make this loan."
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

I would say to the gentleman that we are talking about apples and oranges because our amendment to the refinancing clause gives the authority to the president of the Federal Financing Bank. and the Chairman of the Board Is the Secretary of the Treasury. Here it is not that it Is the Secretary of the Treasury. it cotald be the President. it could be the Secretary of Agriculture. The content of it is that If Acme Finance Co. changes the credit interest. then they could say that you should not make this loan. I do hope that the gentleman has had enough time to continue his discussion or will get subsequent time for his primary amendment.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Hopefully. the membership would vote no on this amendment. and then we would continue on to the gentlemans primary interest.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. very briefly. I urge my colleagues to vote "no" on the motion to recommit. I cannot let go unchallenged the figure $20 or $21 billion. The Congressional Budget Office has not scrutinized. But if there is impact on the budget. I will tell.my distinguished colleague from Minnesota it will be after 1993 and then it will not be in the figures of $20 or $21. it will be a much lesser amount. And I would hope that the Members remember that we are speaking about light for rural America and that charts and figures and red lines and gray lines and blue lines are not dealing with faces and places. We started this in 1936. We want to keep it a viable workable program. We have done the best we can. but in the attempt to undo would create a further harsher burden on what was and what is the Rural Electrification Administration.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

The gentleman Is correct and that Is what the great Sam Rayburn said. even if it does not bring in $1 it would accrue to the benefit. to the tribute of the people of the United States of America.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. and to include extraneous matter. on the bill just passed.
Date: 1984-03-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment previously offered by me to page 5. line 11. of H.R. 3050. and agreed to by the committee. be considered as offered to page 5. line 17. of H.R. 3050.
Date: 1984-03-05
Speaker: SAM B. HALL (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to join my colleagues in this special order in my capacity as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. where this allimportant constitutional amendment has been languishing for an inordinate period. But just as important. I take part in this special order because It is my firm belief that this Nation has been done a terrible injustice by various Supreme Court and lower Federal court decisions affecting prayer in schools and the role of the Creator in our daily existence. Now. it has been said with great regularity that Congress has no business (nterfering in this Issue. Well. let me respond to that by saying Congress did not start this controversy. I know of no floodtide of effort to pass constitutional amendments and statutes affecting prayer in school prior to the Supreme Courts decision In 1982 to strike prayer in schools. The High Court stairted this business by blatantly making law. by failing to exercise judicial restraint. and by establishing a bad precedent in law that has given rise to all sorts of frivolous court suits dealing with the mere mention of providence In our ordinary lives.
Date: 1984-03-06
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

I basically agree with the gentleman. The appropriation bill gives them authority nonetheless though to purchase food commodities. not necessarily to utilize these limited inventories. but--
Date: 1984-03-06
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

This legislation continues giving the Corporation that authority. and I was trying to remind the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee that the basic jurisdiction lies in the Committee on Agriculture. Although we agree with him and support him because he is doing the right thing and also because of our utmost respect for him: nonetheless. we should work together in the future.
Date: 1984-03-13
Speaker: SAM B. HALL (democrat)
Chamber: H

I am happy to follow the two gentlemen from Texas who attempted to canonize each other. when really today we are here for a dedicatory presentation to a very distinguished lady. Lady Bird Johnson. I have the privilege of living in the town that Lady Bird Johnson called her home. that Is Marshall. Tex. She still has extensive holdings in that part of the country and still comes to that part of Texas quite frequently. We are Always glad to have her. The people in Marshall. Tex.. and Karnack. Tex.. in deep east Texas have always thought Lady Bird Johnson hung the Moon literally. We have never changed our opinion. She is a delightful lady. She is a wonderful person to know and I am very happy today to be a part of the Texas delegation which I feel has had something to do with the presentation of this award. There Is no person living who is more dedicated to the environment. to beauty. things of beauty. than Lady Bird Johnson. So. Mr. Speaker. I wish to join with the other Members of this very great body and putting in my part for what I think Is a tribute to a wonderful. wonderful person.