macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-11-05
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H. Res. 744. which recognizes the contributions of Native American veterans and calls upon the president to issue a day in honor of their service. As an original cosponsor of H.R. 744. I would like to thank Representative WILSON for introducing this important resolution to honor the service of our nations Native American Veterans. I also would like to recognize Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman BOB FILNER and Ranking Member STEVE BUYER for their strong leadership and unwavering dedication to Native American veterans and for working to quickly move this resolution to the House floor. For. more than 200 years Native Americans have served in the militaryat a higher rate than any other ethnic group. Now. in Iraq and Afghanistan. a new generation of Native Americans serve their country. These young men and women. such as Private First Class Sheldon Hawk Eagle. from Eagle Butte. South Dakota and Corporal Brett Lundstrom from Pine Ridge. South Dakota. who were both killed while serving in Iraq. join a long line of Native Americans that have answered the call to duty on behalf of their country. Their service to our nation must never be forgotten. To honor the sacrifice of countless Native American veterans. like Private First Class Hawk Eagle and Corporal Lundstrom. I encourage my colleagues to support final passage of this resolution.
Date: 2007-11-05
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise to strongly oppose the proposed U.S.-Peru Free. Trade Agreement. My opposition to the Peru FTA reflects Americas opposition to the recent string of trade pacts that benefitted the wealthiest few at the expense of hardworking Americans. A recent poll revealed that six in 10 Republicans think free trade has been bad for the U.S.. and thats just Republicans. The American public is tired of waiting for this administration to "get it" and to start negotiating fair and smart trade deals that can benefit the little guy as well as the corporate fat cat. The American public is impatient and. frankly. so am I. Fair trade can create economic opportunities for everyone. big business and working families alike. at home and abroad. Fair trade can advance our economy without jeopardizing good jobs and encourage development without ravaging our environment. Some say that the Peru FTA is better than what weve had in the past. I join the American people in saying. "Its not good enough." Join me in standing up for American families. I urge my colleagues to vote "no" on the Peru Free Trade Agreement.
Date: 2007-11-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of the Second Chance Act. and I thank Mr. Davis for introducing this important piece of legislation. In America we have more than 2 million people in prison. Of these. over 600.000 are released each year. Very few of these individuals are prepared to return to their communities or receive support services to ease their transition. These exoffenders face serious impediments in obtaining employment. and often have serious mental or physical ailments that remain unaddressed. Today. approximately half of all black men are jobless. Amongst exoffenders this number is even higher. There is a revolving door of exoffenders into many of our neighborhoods. With few opportunities. twothirds of all exoffenders are arrested for new crimes within a few years of their release. We must give these individuals the opportunity to become productive citizens. The Second Chance Act will go a long way towards this goal by providing transitional assistance to exoffenders reentering their communities. By focusing on the major impediments that face exoffenders. the Second Chance Act seeks to reduce recidivism and give those reentering society a new opportunity to turn their lives around. This legislation addresses the need for jobs. housing. and substance abuse/mental health treatment. and it works to reunite families and provide the appropriate training and rehabilitation for these individuals. This bill will increase public safety and give millions of exoffenders a chance to be positive productive citizens. I strongly urge my colleagues support.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker and Members of the House. President Bush must take a strong stand on the actions of President Musharraf in Pakistan. The constitution of Pakistan must be restored. and democratic rule must be given back to the people. If we fail to do that. then democracy fails in Pakistan and we will see the exact environment in which the Taliban. terrorists. al Qaeda and others are born.. Witness Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The restoration of democracy immediately must be high on the agenda of the Bush administration. Failure to do so turns Pakistan into an armed dictatorship with a nuclear weapon. We have spent tens of billions of dollars in Pakistan to encourage- their fight against terrorism and the Taliban. And what have we gotten in return? We now see that the military has started businesses.- with that money. They have used it to pad their retirement accounts. They have used it to run their private businesses rather than to defend the country and prosecute the war against al Qaeda. the Taliban. and other terrorists that are now in northern Pakistan. The choice is this administrations. They can speak out forcefully for democracy. or they can watch it wither on the vine and we will have another failed state in exactly a region where we dont need one.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Madam Speaker. 4 years ago I served in Baghdad. Iraq. with the 82nd Airborne Division. and I am proud of my service. In 2006. the election was about change: change in Iraq. change here at home. change how we treat our veterans. Well. these are the problems that we addressed in this Congress: One. the .Walter Reed tragedy. Our answer? We passed the Wounded Warrior Act. Two. underfunding of veterans in -past Congresses. Our answer? We passed the largest.increase in Veterans Administration history. Three. the two signature injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are PTSD. posttraumatic stress disorder and TBI. traumatic brain injury. Our solution in Congress. $600 million more than the President asked for to address these two injuries. Later today. this House will take up our bill with Congressman WALTER JONES to give our troops a 3.5 percent pay increase. Dont listen to the rhetoric. The President says that increase is unnecessary. I think it is exactly what this Congress should be addressing.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Madam Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that Congress and thePresident should increase basic pay for members of the -Armed Forces. as amended.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to- revise and extend their remarks on the concurrent resolution under consideration.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Madam Speaker. I yield- myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. I rise today for a simple yet important purpose. I rise alongside my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to say that we support a 3.5 percent pay increase for the brave men and women of our Armed Forces. Madam- Speaker. when I was serving in Baghdad. I fought alongside Specialist Juan Arevalo. or "RV" to his friends and fellow paratroopers. RV is a quickwitted and fearless Texan who had the trust of everyone in our brigade and would say things to make us laugh or make us think. even during war. We used to joke that RV signed up for active duty in the Army without even knowing that soldiers got paid. The joke was that he wasso innocent. he thought the only compensation he received was training. housing. and three square meals a day. Serving in Iraq and making just over $15.000 a year. RV told everybody he was the richest man in Iraq. Even though RV would have worked for free in our military. he shouldnt. have to. and neither.should the families who depend on: their loved ones overseas. More than 1.6 million. soldiers. sailors. airmen. and marines have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of them multiple times. These are the brave men and women whose pay we seek to raise today. a pay raise that is long overdue. Madam Speaker. there are more than 3 million family members who count on someone serving on active duty in the wars in Iraq--and Afghanistan. Today we fight not just for those soldiers but for their families as well. Our resolution points out that there is currently a 4 percent pay gap between members of the Armed Forces and those in civilian life. At a time when our Armed Forces are stretched so thin. we need to offer more comparable pay to the private sector to retain the most qualified service men and women. Our resolution also gives thanks for their valiant service to our Nation. Madam Speaker. this .is a commonsense measure. But. unfortunately. our President has called this pay increase "unnecessary." And yet 2 weeks ago President Bush said. "America should do what it takes to support our troops." The President criticizes the spending priorities of this Congress but stands in the way of a pay increase for our troops. I say the President should do.what it takes. to support our troops. This pay raise is long overdue and it is necessary. and President Bushs opposition to it is simply unconscionable. Madam -Speaker. with a 3.5 percent pay increase. we arent talking about a lot of money. But for a private in Iraq making less than $16.000 a year in basic pay. that small increase would make all the difference in the world. For enlisted men with bills to pay and young children to support. several hundred dollars. a year more is a big deal. Madam Speaker. I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his courageous support. Chairman MURTHA. Chairman OBEY. Chairman SNYDER. as well as Chairwoman DAVIS and Chairman SKELTON for their leadership on this issue. Madam. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Madam Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague. the gentlelady from New Hampshire. There is no greater advocate in the House of Representatives than Ms. SHEAPORTER. a proud Member. and a fellow member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Madam Speaker. this is the last speaker on our side. And I -now yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague. a fellow Blue Dog. the gentleman from Indiana. Mr. JOE DONNELLY.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Madam Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Thank you to my colleague. Mr. WALTER JONES. I appreciate that. I appreciate the gentlemans service for the citizens of our country and the citizens in North Carolina. We owe it to those protecting our Nation and fightihg for our rights -to make sure that we support them and their families who are waiting at home. This pay raise may mean less than $1.000 for some enlisted men and women. but for those with bills to pay and young children to feed. several hundred dollars is a big deal. Madam Speaker. I strongly support this pay raise. and I urge my colleagues to do the same. By passing this bill. we tell our troops that we support them. and send a message to the President that this pay raise is not only necessary. its our responsibility.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend title 36. United States Code. to revise the congressional charter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart of the United States of America. Incorporated. to authorize associate membership in the corporation for the spouse of a recipient of the Purple Heart medal. as amended.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 1119. the Purple Heart Family Equity Act of 2007. provides an excellent opportunity for us to recognize and honor the brave women as well as brave men who served our Nation in the armed services. As many of you know. the Purple Heart is awarded to Armed Forces members who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy. and posthumously to the next of kin for those who are killed in ac* tion or who die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration first conceived in 1782 by General George Washington. Seventyfive years ago. an organization now known as the Military Order of the Purple Heart was formed for the purposes of protecting the mutual interests of all those who have received the decoration. Composed exclusively of Purple Heart recipients. it is the only veterans service organization comprised strictly of combat veterans. Wheii the order was federally chartered in 1958. however. very few women had received the Purple Heart. And to this day. women recipients of the Purple Heart do not have the same benefits as their male counterparts. Under the current law. male members can invite their wives to join the Ladies Auxiliary of the Purple Heart. but there is no place in the order for husbands of Purple Heart recipients. The order has identified at least 97 female purple heart recipients wlio have joined and who are not enjoying the full benefits of membership that they deserve. H.R. 1119 seeks to fully honor the women of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart defending our Nation. Specifically. the bill amends the orders Federal charter to allow members to invite their spouses to join as associate members. both for male and female recipients of the Purple Heart. -With this minor revision to the Federal charter. the husbands of female members could join the organization. This bill also allows members to invite their siblings to join as associate members so that they too can take part in the full honor of their brothers and sisters who fought so bravely for our country and received a Purple Heart. It is only right that we allow the members to include their siblingsin this honor. This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. It recognizes the important role women have played in defending our Nation in times of war. 0J 1300 We owe this long overdue recognition to these women and their families. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I would like to yield 4 minutes to the author of the bill. my colleague from California. Congresswoman DAVIS.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I urge support for this bipartisan bill. Mr. Speaker. I have no further requests for time. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to assist members of the Armed Forces in obtaining United States citizenship. and for other purposes. as amended.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the author of this bill. the gentleman from Maryland . for 5 minutes.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I would just close by noting that the mishandling of this application is just infuriating to read through what happened and to have lost this young man who volunteered for our service in such a way is so distressful. But I think we can take a stand by supporting this bill named in Kendell Fredericks honor to make sure this does not happen to another serviceman or servicewoman and also that his family can know that in addition to serving in Iraq. he served as a model for a change in the law and that they may take some comfort with that. So I urge passage of the bill. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to rise in support of my bill. H.R. 3495. the KIDS WiSH Act. Before I start. I would like to thank Chairman OBERSTAR and Chairwoman NORTON for their work in bringing this bill through the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I also would like to thank Ranking Member MICA and Ranking Member GRAVES for their bipartisan support. Their leadership and their staff have been instrumental in strengthening the merits of the bill and the concept of this commission. Finally. I would like to thank the House leadership for bringing this important bill to the floor so quickly.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of S. 2265. I would like to thank Chairman OBERSTAR. the ranking member and committee staff for moving this resolution quickly to the floor. and the gentleman from Illinois for his leadership and for yielding me time. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill introduced by my friend and colleague. the junior Senator from South Dakota. which extends funding for many critical programs administered under the Federal Aviation Authority. including the Essential Air Service and the Airport Improvement Program. First. S. 2265. extends Vision 100Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. which allows State Governors to ascertain and certify the "most- commonly used route" from an EAS airport to a major airport hub for the purpose of determining EAS eligibility. The Essential Air Service program is important for many small rural airports throughout the country. It helps smaller communities to connect with larger cities and their airports and facilitates economic development. Additionally. S. 2265 extends several of the FAAs major programs. including the Airport Improvement Program. and provides appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration Operations. Facilities and Equipment. and Research and Development programs through December 31. 2007. These programs were approved in the House in September of this year with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2007. In closing. transportation infrastructure is a critically important priority. particularly in rural America. I urge my colleagues to support S. 2265 as it provides a necessary shortterm extension of several key Federal Aviation Administration programs. while we continue to work toward a longterm resolution through the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the matter under consideration.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I want to thank Chairman OBERSTAR and my friend. Chairwoman JOHNSON. as well as Mr. MICA and Mr. DUNCAN. for their hard work in completing this longawaited bill. These water projects are extremely important to my home State of Florida and for the Nation as a whole and have been held hostage for far too long. Like all transportation projects. Mr. OBERSTAR always said that our committee. the Committee on Infrastructure. is the committee that actually put America to work. And this bill will put America back ta work. improve our communities. and create economic activity. This legislation will also ensure that workers are paid a fair rate for their hard work. It is these workers taxes that pay for these projects. and they deserve a fair wage that allows them to adequately provide for their families. By delaying the passage of this muchneeded legislation any further. we are doing a disservice to the people we represent. Like so many Americans. it is hard for me to understand how President Bush can spend $600 billion on his neverending war. but yet veto $23 billion in vital water and civil work projects for the cities and towns right here in America. This is just one more example of how out of touch this administration is. They live in a bubble. I encourage my colleagues to support this veto override and lets move forward and work on the next WRDA bill so we dont have to wait 6 more years.
Date: 2007-11-06
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I have no further requests for time. so I rise to close. I would like to thank Mr. OBERSTAR for his tremendous leadership. Mr. YOUNG. Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. BAKER. and. of course. Mr. MICA. We have worked together for the last 6 years. actually. a little longer. 7 years. on a bill to try to address these infrastructure problems throughout our Nation. This is the first opportunity that we have really had to begin to address the many massive problems that we do have. It gives no one pleasure to override any President because I was always taught to listen. to both sides. This time. Mr. Speaker. I believe its a necessity. We simply must begin to address these many. many problems that we are facing. If we had done what the executive branch had recommended. we would have had at least $19 billion in 2001. another $19 billion in 2003. and another $19 billion in 2005. then the $19 billion due this year. As it is. $23 billion is short $55 billion. So we are not addressing every problem. but we are trying our best to prioritize. and hopefully we can get back on schedule and address these problem . every 2 years so that we wont"have to deal with more :floods like Katrina and Rita. we wont have to do without our Everglades as they begin to disappear. So thank you very much to the staff. to all of the Members. both minority and majority. because we have all been one or the other. We have been majority and we have been minority. We still work together. This bill hasnt changed that much. no matter who was in the majority or no matter who was in the minority. because we know that problems of this sort are really simply not Democrat or Republican. these are peoples problems and we simply have the responsibility to address them. Mr. Speaker. I would ask everyone to vote to override this veto.