macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-09-23
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise in strong support of the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010 and urge its adoption without any further delay. Small businesses are the engine of our economy. They employ half of all private sector workers and have been responsible for nearly twothirds of net job creation over the past fifteen years. Recent economic data showing eight straight months of private sector job growth is an encouraging sign. but more needs to be done to support our small business job generators and keep the economy moving in the right direction. The centerpiece of this progrowth legislation is a $30 billion lending fund for community banks serving small businesses. With 45 percent of small businesses unable to get their credit needs met in 2009. this kind of initiativewhich can leverage up to $300 billion in new private sector lendingis critical to getting small businesses the financing they need to expand their payrolls at a time when jobs are what our economy needs most. Small Business Administration loan limits are increased. SBA borrowing fees are reduced or eliminated. And the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the lending fund itself will actually reduce the deficit by $1 billion over ten years as participating banks repay their loans with interest. H.R. 5297 also delivers a potent package of timely tax relief to the small business sector. As a result of todays legislation. up to $500.000 worth of capital investment in equipment and machinery acquired in 2010 and 2011 can be immediately written off. General business credits can be carried back five years instead of one and wont be subject to the AMT. The available deduction for entrepreneurs startup expenses is doubled from $5.000 to $10.000. and direct equity investment in small businesses will receive a zero percent capital gains rate for qualifying investments made this year. Madam Speaker. although I might personally have prioritized a slightly different set of offsets. this legislation is nevertheless fully paid for and as a package deserves our support.
Date: 2010-09-28
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the definition of cellulosic biofuel to include algaebased biofuel for purposes of the cellulosic biofuel producer credit and the special allowance for cellulosic biofuel plant property. as amended.
Date: 2010-09-28
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material in the CON-
Date: 2010-09-28
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. Americans across the Nation are increasingly interested in the contribution that clean. homegrown fuels can make to our environment. economic development. and energy security. Additionally. I hear from many of my constituents that they believe Federal policy should move toward the development of biofuels that do not compete with food and otherwise operate on a feedstock and technologyneutral basis. Todays legislation advances those goals by including algae as a qualified feedstock under the existing cellulosic biofuel credit. It is forwardlooking legislation that recognizes the rapidly evolving nature of the advanced biofuels industry and the demonstrated potential of biofuels made from algae. With that. I yield 5 minutes to my colleague Congressman HARRY TEAGUE of New Mexico and thank him for his extraordinary leadership on this bipartisan initiative.
Date: 2010-09-28
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. again. I want to thank the gentleman from New Mexico for this initiative and just respond to a couple of the points raised by Mr. CAMP. the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee. First. this piece of the energy bill was brought to the floor for two reasons. Number one. it has strong bipartisan support. as you heard. In addition to Mr. BILBRAY. Mrs. BONO MACK and
Date: 2010-09-28
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

The constabulary. if you will. now understands the importance of treating this as a serious issue. and much progress has been made. However. there is still much to be done. We still have about 9.000 requests for help that go unnoticed and unanswered on a daily basis. We still have victims who continue to suffer in silence: 29 women lost their lives in Harris County. 136 Texas women were killed. 11 Texas children were killed. 92 percent of homeless women suffer physical and sexual abuse. So I will just simply close with this: I am honored to be a cosponsor. and I am honored that the resolution is being presented. And I beg that all of my colleagues would please support this resolution because you are supporting families across the length and breadth of the country. You are keeping them together. and you are helping to prevent someone from being abused.
Date: 2010-09-29
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. thank you so very much for the opportunity to address this House on an important issue that will be confronting this Congress today. and that is the recommitment of the American people to a dream and a challenge of John F. Kennedy. Today we will reauthorize the NASA reauthorization bill. if you will. or the authorization bill. to be able to commit Americas future to science and technology. Although I would have advocated stronger for the work of the House and Chairman GORDON. I believe that we have the opportunity now to save jobs and to promote science and technology and to provide for the creation of the heavy lift launch vehicle and stop the termination of the workforce. technical workforce and contractor jobs that are all across America from Mississippi to Houston. Texas. In addition. this funding will support the development of commercial crew services. Although I am concerned about the heavy emphasis on commercialization to the exclusion. sometimes. of human space exploration. I want to see jobs being created and jobs being saved. And so I will rise to the floor today thanking the House Science Committee and saying that NASA needs to be reauthorized and jobs need to be saved.
Date: 2010-09-29
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the distinguished manager of this bill. Mr. Speaker. people are in need in America. and I support the rule and the underlying bills in intelligence. currency and. certainly. the legislation of H.R. 847. the James Zadroga 9/11 health bill. How long do those first responders have to wait? We have been on this floor before where we have embarrassed ourselves. These individuals who have livedand some who have diedwere the first on line during the tragedy of 9/11. However. they were not captured in the relief and recovery. Many of them have suffered with respiratory diseases. and their families have suffered. Some have already lost their lives. It is crucial that we pass this bill. Similarly. I am hoping that we will have come to the floor legislation that will help my constituents in Houston. Texas. and Texas in the relief of Hurricane Ike. where we are trying to extend the Health and Human Services block grant dollars for the thousands of Hurricane Ike victims who have not been helped. Here. too. we need to help those individuals who are now trying to be processed because Federal Government dollars came late and came late to Catholic Charities and to other nonprofits which are trying to work. We are waiting on the legislation in the Senate. We hope that we will be able to move this. Otherwise. we hope that there will be some action by the administration. We cant act on H.R. 847 by any other means than to pass this legislation today. So my message is that we must pass this rule because people are in need. They ask this Congress: When are you going to stand for the people. stand for the victims of Hurricane Ike and stand for the first responders of 9/ 11? I ask my colleagues to support the rule.
Date: 2010-09-29
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I thank Chairman LEVIN and Ranking Member CAMP and Representatives RYAN and MURPHY for their leadership on this important bill. which I strongly support. Mr. Speaker. this bill is about protecting one thing. the American economy. We must give American businesses a fair opportunity to sell their goods abroad and challenge underpriced Chinese imports. This bill does that. It gives us stronger tools to address currency manipulation and protect American businesses. We can compete and win against any nation in the world if were all playing by the same rules. China isnt. Opponents say that this bill will start a trade war. I say we are already in a trade war and China is using cannons. and we are standing here shooting BB pellets. Some say "Lets wait." I say we have waited long enough. When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. promises were made. We have held up our end of the bargain. China has not. It has manipulated its currency. condoned intellectual property theft. and looked the other way while its businesses advertise schemes to avoid paying us the duties that we are owed. For nearly 10 years. the prior administration failed to address the currency problem. Meanwhile. unfair Chinese imports caused small businesses across the country to close their doors. including one in my own district. Michels Furniture Store in Lynwood. California. For nearly 10 years. our goslow approach allowed Chinas jobkilling mercantilist currency policy to flourish. The time for waiting is over. Given the unemployment rate in this country and the economic pain that families feel in my district. shame on us if we fail to support this bill.
Date: 2010-09-29
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act that is before the House today. I am an original cosponsor of this legislation and strongly urge my colleagues to support it. As Americans continue to suffer from stagnant pay. underemployment. and 9.6 percent unemployment. across the Pacific in the Peoples Republic of China. business is booming. Almost all of this growth is due to Chinas export sector. which is able to sell goods at low prices and face little to no international competition domestically due to Chinas manipulation of its currency. the Renminbi. RMB. Economists from across the political spectrum estimate that the Renminbi is undervalued by at least 35 to 40 percent. In other words. U.S. goods are. at least 35 percent. more expensive for Chinese consumers and make Chinese goods. at least 35 percent. cheaper in the United States. Chinas currency manipulation has had terrible effects for competing economies from around the globe. Nations that rely heavily on exportation for growth. such as Japan and South Korea. have begun or are taking measures to emulate Beijings manipulation of their own currencies so their goods can compete. In the United States. the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute has estimated that between 2001 and 2008 alone. the growing trade deficits with China have displaced 2.4 million jobs. Sixty percent of these jobs were in the manufacturing sector. the very sector that has given millions of Americans a path into the middle class. If China allowed its currency to "float" on the international market. in a fashion similar to the U.S. Dollar. British Pound. and Japanese Yen. it could create a million U.S. manufacturing jobs and cut our trade deficit with China by $100 billion a year. with no cost to the U.S. Treasury. For years. this Congress. as well as the Administrations of President Bush and President Obama. have tried to persuade the Chinese government to moderate or end the manipulation of its currency. No significant progress has been made. It is time we take action to hold China accountable for their market distortion and protectionist practices. A vote "yes" today is a vote to stand up for American workers. to take strides to boost our economy. and to strengthen our domestic manufacturing sector.
Date: 2010-09-29
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2378. the Currency Reform Fair Trade Act. First. I want to thank Chairman LEVIN and his staff for crafting this responsible and much needed WTO compliant legislation. There is wide agreement that China is deliberately and illegally intervening in global currency markets to benefit its own economy. According to the Peterson Institute of International Economics. because of repeated Chinese government intervention. the RMB is unfairly undervalued by as much as 24 percent against the dollar. This practice is harming the U.S. economy and weakening our ability to promote economic growth and jobs. Again. according to the Peterson Institute. if the RMB was fairly valued. there would be 500.000 more Americans employed today in good paying manufacturing jobs. The Presidents strategy for boosting the economy includes a two year plan to increase manufacturing and expand exportsbut increasing exports in a global economy where American goods are artificially more expensive than comparable Chinese goods. is like fighting an uphill battle. H.R. 2378 will help encourage the Chinese government to do the right thing and float its currency in a wider band. This will help to protect those American businesses and jobs that are being injured by the imbalance. Specifically. the bill requires the Department of Commerce to view deliberate currency undervaluation as an illegal export subsidy just as the World Trade Organization does. If this bill becomes law. Commerce will have to use the same standard as the WTO when determining whether an illegal export subsidy exists. Commerce will have to weigh all relevant factors. including currency undervaluation. when determining whether to recommend that "countervailing duties" be applied against a foreign import. This bill does not just target China. though China is the leading abuser of this practice. Any country that unfairly and significantly acts to suppress the value of its currency to boost its own exports will be a target. The Presidents plan for strengthening the economy includes a vigorous enforcement of our rights in the global trade arena. The WTO says we have a right to respond when our trading partners employ illegal practices that injure our businesses. H.R. 2378 ensures that the Department of Commerce does not overlook or underestimate the impact that currency undervaluation has on American businesses. I encourage my colleagues to support this measure. It provides one more tool that can be used to protect American companies and the workers they employ in the ongoing push to boost the U.S. economy.
Date: 2010-09-29
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise in support of the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2010. This measure authorizes funding for the Office of the National Intelligence Director. the Central Intelligence Agency. and the National Security Agency. as well as the foreign intelligence activities of the Defense Department. FBI. State Department and Homeland Security Department. Further. to ensure that these and other activities are conducted in a manner that is consistent with the laws of the United States. the measure increases the levels of oversight of the intelligence community in several key ways. First. the bill modifies the processes for reporting of intelligence activities. including covert actions. to the congressional intelligence committees. The President is required by law to keep congressional intelligence committees fully and currently informed of intelligence activities. but under extraordinary circumstances. the President can limit these communications to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the intelligence committees. the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House. and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate. The bill alters this and requires the President to notify all members of the congressional intelligence committees when the Gang of Eight has been contacted and notified of a covert incident and to provide a general description of that briefing. Second. the bill requires the Director of National Intelligence to write regulations to permit the Government Accountability Office to audit the intelligence community. Additionally. the Director of National Intelligence is required to provide a comprehensive report on the use of contractors throughout the intelligence community. This bill funds the U.S. national security and intelligence programs and objectives that help to keep Americans safe. The bill also helps to ensure that these activities are conducted in a manner consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States. I encourage my colleagues to join me today in support of this important bill.
Date: 2010-11-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of S. 1376. "International Adoption Simplification Act." The aim of this bill is to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to simplify the process of international adoptions. especially in situations where time is of the essence to ensure the health. safety. and wellbeing of the child. First. I would like to thank my colleague Senator AMY KLOBUCHAR and her fellow Senate cosponsors for introducing this important legislation that openly embraces children. There are ample reasons American citizens opt to adopt children from abroad and now we have legislation that will help expedite the process and decrease the burdensome bureaucracy. The International Adoption Simplification Act will allow children in need of immediate adoption to become exempt from required admissions vaccination documentation. Children who have been adopted in a foreign country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention. or who are emigrating from such a country for U.S. adoption will be subjected to simplified adoption procedures. This bill comes at a point in history where simplification of international adoption is necessary to save lives. Haiti is experiencing record outbreaks of cholera and other infectious diseases resulting from the earthquake. incidents of genocide are taking place in Darfur. and terrorist activity is at its peak. The ability to remove innocent children from harms way. into the safe homes of loving parents allows America to further its notion that children are indeed the future. From this bill we can expect to see a surge in American adoptions globally. and a decrease in global child homelessness and poverty. By implementing this bill we are able to create jobs for government workers processing individual cases. child care providers. school teachers and many others who provide direct services aimed at youth. I stand today with Senator AMY KLOBUCHAR and other members of Congress reaffirming my support of S. 1376. By enacting this legislation. we are able to boost the morale of frustrated parents who may have spent years in the adoptive process and provide children with stable homes. all the while. creating jobs in communities at a time when they are needed the most. Mr. Speaker. I ask my colleagues to join me in support of S. 1376.
Date: 2010-11-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1713. "Recognizing and Honoring the 50th Anniversary of Ruby Bridges Desegregation of a Previously AllWhite Elementary School." Let me begin by thanking my colleague. Representative JOHN LEWIS. for introducing this legislation into the House of Representatives as it is important that we recognize the great strides of the minority citizens of this country. In so doing. we remind America that she must never serve on her citizens the atrocities that occurred to the AfricanAmerican under her watchful legal eye. This legislation celebrates the life of Ruby Bridges. born in Mississippi during a very turbulent era. It acknowledges a citizens courageousness in holding America to the language of her landmark rulingBrown v. Board of Education. Ruby Bridges acknowledges that growing up for her presented a very hard life. Having heard there were better opportunities in the city. Bridges moved along with her family. to New Orleans. While in New Orleans. the public schools were finally forced. under federal court order. to desegregate. In the spring of 1960. Bridges took a test. along with other black kindergarteners in the city. to see if she would go to an integrated school come September. That summer she and her parents learned she passed the test and had been selected to start first grade at William Frantz Public School. On the morning of November 14 federal marshals drove her and her mother the five blocks to William Frantz. We applaud Ruby Bridges for her stalwart tenacity and her courage. at such a young age. to be an advocate for change in America.
Date: 2010-11-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the children of Haiti need Arcuri Berry Boehner Braley (IA) BrownWaite. Ginny Capps Carney Clyburn Davis (AL) Davis (IL) Delahunt Dingell Fallin Frelinghuysen Gingrey (GA) Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Watt Waxman Weiner Welch Westmoreland NAYS 1 Broun (GA)
Date: 2010-11-16
Speaker: KENDRICK MEEK (democrat)
Chamber: H

on June 30. 2010. It was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. which ordered it reported favorably by unanimous consent on July 28. 2010. It enjoys the support of the entire Florida delegation to the House. Jesse J. McCrary. Jr. was the first African American member of the Florida cabinet since the end of Reconstruction. being appointed to that post in 1978. He is also remembered for his work as a civil rights activist. leading lunch counter sitins in Tallahassee during his days studying at Florida A&M. Mr. McCrary also had an esteemed legal career. serving as Floridas first African American assistant attorney general in 1967. He was renowned for his knowledge of constitutional law and for his skill at debate and argument. In 2003. 2 years after Mr. McCrary suffered a disabling stroke. the Florida House passed a resolution honoring him as a "living legend" and as a "preeminent authority on constitutional law who won 10 landmark cases presented before the Florida Supreme Court." His colleagues remember him as a dedicated public servant and as a fierce advocate for underserved communities. Sadly. Mr. McCrary died of lung cancer on October 29. 2007. Mr. Speaker. let us now take time to honor the memory of this great public servant. Jesse J. McCrary. Jr.. through the passage of H.R. 5655. and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-11-16
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise to recognize the participants in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and to particularly congratulate my constituent. Mr. Lanson Tang of Potomac. Maryland. who tied for fifth place in the competition. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nations oldest educational promotion. now in its 83rd year. Through spelling. students increase their vocabularies and improve English usage. skills that will stay with them throughout their lives. I congratulate all the participants. especially my constituent. Lanson Tang. a homeschooled student from Potomac. Maryland. Lanson made it to the seventh of nine rounds in the competition. correctly spelling words like "rhabdomyoma." "obelisk." and "flabellum." He has made our community proud. I also want to thank the Fourth Presbyterian School in Potomac for hosting the Montgomery County Regional Spelling Bee for the second year in a row this year. All of the spellers this year should be proud of their outstanding accomplishments. I urge my colleagues to join me in extending congratulations to these terrific students.