macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-29
Speaker: JASMINE MURRAY (democrat)
Chamber: S

[Singing] Why should I feel discouraged. why should the shadows come. Why should my heart feel lonely. and long for heaven and home. When Jesus is my portion? A constant friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow. and I know He watches over me. His eye is on the sparrow. and I know He watches over me. I sing because Im happy. I sing because Im free. His eye is on the sparrow. And I know He watches me. His eye is on the sparrow. And I know He watches. I know He watches. I know He watches me. I sing because Im happy. I sing because Im free. His eye is on the sparrow. And I know He watches me. His eye is on the sparrow. And I know He watches me. He watches me. I know He watches me. He watches me.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. each summer. Carnegie Halls Weill Music Institute brings together some of the brightest young musicians from around the country to form the National Youth Orchestra USA. The members of the orchestra spend the first 2 weeks in residency at Purchase College. taking master classes from the best. They have the chance to perform at the world famous Carnegie Hall. where their performance is heard live around the world. then they go on tour. This summer. the orchestra will make a historic visit to China. It is an incredible experience. and I am extremely proud that. among the 114 amazing young people. two are from the district I am privileged to represent. Ms. Jasmine Lavariega. a horn player from Astoria. and Laura Michael. an oboist from Manhattan. Congratulations to them both. Please let your parents know they were right. all that practice. practice. practice paid off. It was worth it. You are performing at Carnegie Hall and in China. Congratulations.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I raise a point of order against House Resolution 231 because the resolution violates section 426(a) of the Congressional Budget Act. The resolution contains a waiver of all points of order against consideration of H.R. 1732. which includes a waiver of section 425 of the Congressional Budget Act. which causes a violation of section 426(a).
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New Mexico

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement into the RECORD that the House should focus on the real priorities of Americans instead of another attack on womens health care.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the RECORD that the House should focus on the real priorities of Americans instead of another attack on womens health care.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the RECORD that the House should focus on the real priorities of Americans instead of another attack on womens health care.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement into the RECORD. and the House should be focusing on the real priorities facing Americans: the economy. They should not be rolling back womens access to health care.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: JUDY CHU (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the RECORD that the House should focus on the real priorities of Americans instead of another attack on womens health care.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to insert my statement in the RECORD that the House should focus on the real priorities of Americans instead of another attack on womens health care.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. this resolution is extreme. and it is an outrage to women everywhere. The Republican majority is saying with this resolution that they think a womans employer has a say in the womans reproductive healthcare choices. even though the Supreme Court. the Constitution. and women all across this country know that they dont. It is bad enough that the majority party believes your boss should dictate whether your healthcare plan covers birth control. Now they want to make sure your boss has the right to fire you just for using birth control. If that was all they were saying. that is outrageous enough. but it is not. This resolution would actually give employers the right to fire an employee for the reproductive healthcare choices of their spouses. or even their children. Think about it. The other side is saying that it is all right to fire someone because their boss doesnt like their wifes. or even their childrens. healthcare choices. Talk about restricting someones rights. It would take away a whole range of womens private decisions and make them fireable offenses. In vitro fertilization. you are fired. Exercising your right to choose. you are fired. You have a daughter on birth control. you are fired. This is outrageous. ridiculous. and totally unacceptable. It is an insult to women everywhere. And even more amazing is that this resolution is being proposed by the socalled party of states rights. They are not proposing a Federal law. They are taking away the rights of a locality. the District. Washington. D.C.. which is larger than some States and has a population larger than most States. This is a new low in this Congress. I urge a strong "no" vote.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would actually encourage all those authorizing committees to get to work trying to implement this budget so the American people can see just how bad it is. I would be curious as to whether they are actually going to do it in the next couple of months. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey .
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. We keep hearing this mathematical fantasy that somehow the Republican budget balances. I just want to turn to an authority. He is the nowchairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Here is what he said last year: One of the problems I have had with budgets that I have looked at is that they use a lot of gimmicks. Now. when there was an anticipation that ObamaCare would go away. and that all of that money would still be there. thats not realistic. Id like to see us get to a real accounting with the budget. Well. guess what. Mr. Speaker. the Affordable Care Act is still here. the revenue is still here. and the Republican budget assumes that revenue for the purpose of achieving balance at the same time they are getting rid of the Affordable Care Act. That leaves peoples heads spinning and it means the budget is not in balance. I am now happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky . a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland . my friend and colleague and the distinguished Democratic whip.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts . a terrific new member of the Budget Committee.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California . who has been focused on trying to make sure we have an economy that works for all Americans.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

for yielding. More importantly. I want to thank him for his tireless work as our ranking member on the Committee on the Budget. It is truly a pleasure to serve with him. A budget is a moral document. a document that really reflects our values as a nation. Unfortunately. this budget just does the opposite. Mr. Speaker. once again. this Congress is poised to take a huge step in the wrong direction. The budget agreement before us is truly a work hard. get less budget that uses accounting gimmicks to balance the budget. once again on the backs of the most vulnerable. It calls for cuts to nondefense discretionary programs totaling $496 billion below the already dismally low sequestered level. This means further draconian cuts to our education. our infrastructure. veterans. and health programs that have already been eviscerated by slashandburn Republican austerity plans. Today. more than 45 million of our fellow Americans are living in poverty. This agreement will push more people over the brink. With $300 billion in cuts to SNAPthat is our food assistance$431 billion in cuts to Medicare. and a half trillion in cuts to Medicaid. struggling families will continue to fall further and further behind. We cant forget how these cuts disproportionately affect our communities of color. who are more likely to be living in poverty. What is more. this is the latest in the misguided Republican fixation on repealing the Affordable Care Act. which the House has already voted to repeal over 50 times. The number of uninsured Americans has gone down by 16 million since it was enacted. Why in the world do you want to take health care away from 16 million people? That is mean. This agreement continues to use the overseas contingency operation. OCO. account as a slush fund for overbudget Pentagon spending by includingI think it is-$38 billion over the Presidents request.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan . another one of our terrific new members of the Committee on the Budget.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I would just say to the Republican leader. who mentioned the children of America. that if the children of America learn Republican math. we are going to be in real trouble because they wont be able to count. As the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget has said. this kind of budget approach that claims balance because they take the level of revenue from the Affordable Care Act. when at the same time say they are repealing the Affordable Care Act. I think most kids can figure out that that is a shell game. and we are going to be in real trouble if that is the basis of teaching math in our schools. not to mention the fact that we have got a budget here that is squeezing people who are really working hard while providing a green light to tax cuts for people at the very top. That is also not a set of priorities I think that we want to pass on to our children. We want an economy that works for everybody. an economy where everyone who works hard can get ahead. I dont see how we are going to get our kids ahead by providing tax cuts to folks at the top while cutting our kids education and making them pay more for their college loans. That is a recipe for decline. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. This budget does not reflect the priorities of the American people. If you ask most Americans what kind of economy they want. they would say they want an economy that is growing rapidly. with more shared prosperity. You dont get that kind of economy with trickledown economics with the kind of theory that is embedded in the Republican budget. That theory is that if you provide tax rate cuts to people at the very topto millionairessomehow the benefits are going to trickle down and lift everybody up. We tried that in the 2000s under George Bush. It didnt work. What happenednot surprisinglyis folks at the top who got tax cuts ended up with even more takehome income. Everybody else was either treading water or falling behind. Why we would want a budget based on a failed economic strategy is going to leave the American public scratching their heads. The approach we recommended was one where we provide more tax relief to hardworking Americans. We wanted to expand the provision for child and dependent tax credits so that people can make sure their kids are in a safe environment while they are at work and not have to break the family bank in order to do it. We want to invest in our kids education. we want to invest in scientific research. and we want to pay for it by closing some of those tax breaks that encourage American corporations to ship American jobs and money overseas and getting rid of the special tax rates that hedge fund managers have that hardworking Americans dont. We proposed fixing a tax system that is rigged in favor of the special interests and the very powerful and changing in a way that provides additional help to people who are being squeezed and are in the middle or working their way into the middle. That is an economic plan that works for everybody in the country. not one that just works for people at the very top. What we saw just last week was the number one economic priority of our Republican colleagues was to eliminate the estate tax on estates above $10 million. help 5.500 Americans run up the deficit by $270 billion. and then come back and say. Hey. the deficit just went up by $270 billion because we provided an estate tax cut to estates $10 million and up. Now. lets cut our kids education. Lets increase the amount we charge seniors for their prescription drugs. Lets raise the cost of student loans. Lets cut our investment in kids education. That is what this Republican budget does. It is not that our colleagues dont believe in this failed theory. but you would think. at some point. reality would intrude. and people would say we need an economy that works for every American. not just a few. I urge my colleagues to oppose this budget. Lets start again in a way that really reflects the greatness of America. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New Mexico

Madam Speaker. we have an obligation to fight discrimination wherever it exists and in whatever form it exists. This resolution would allow employers to discriminate against employees who make decisions based on the interests of their health and their families. If employers dont like the personal health care decisions that their employees make. this resolution would allow employers to fire them. Is it right to allow employers to fire women who use contraception or who try to conceive through in vitro fertilization? Employees should be judged on their job performances and nothing else. especially not on their private medical decisions. Nobody has the right to interfere with those decisionsnobodynot an employer. not the House of Representatives. not any of us.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. let me thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia for her outstanding service and leadership on behalf of the District of Columbia and the people of the District of Columbia. As well. let me acknowledge the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for his kind words of deliberation. and certainly the ranking member for his leadership. Mr. CUMMINGS. who. as we all know. is addressing some of the very heavy concerns in his own city. Let me give all the facts. Madam Speaker. I happen to believe in statehood for the District of Columbia. I think that is important to state on the record. But I realize that the Constitution has a framework for the Congress to address the issues of the laws here in the District of Columbia. I realize. as well. that home rule has been given under that authority. and this Congress. in the right thinking. has allowed basically for the District of Columbia to rule its city on the basis of good governance of the citizens of this particular community. That is the right thing to do. They are taxpaying Americans. So I am disturbed by H.J. Res. 43 because it seeks to cause confusion where there is no need for confusion. Let me first start by saying that the Ninth Amendment gives a right to privacy to all Americans. and Washingtonians are Americans. The right to privacy has indicated. through the Supreme Court. that Roe v. Wade. the right to choose. is the law. Yes. the First Amendment gives the freedom of religion. but our gentlewoman from the District of Columbia has indicated that the District of Columbia clarified that this law does not violate and will not force someone to go against their political views or their religious views. Why are we here tonight when this resolution that the District of Columbia passed simply prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their reproductive health decisions. protects the reproductive health decisions of the spouses and dependents. and prohibits an employer from firing an employee for using in vitro fertilization or birth control?
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong opposition to House Joint Resolution 43 to overturn the D.C. Reproductive Health NonDiscrimination Amendment Act. To be clear. this Resolution is not about protecting freedom of religion and beliefs. No. House Joint Resolution 43 is about allowing discrimination. Despite misleading rhetoric. this Resolution would allow an employer to discriminate against an employee based on the employees personal health care decisionsdecisions which have nothing to do with the employer. Everyone should have the ability to make private health decisions including whether. when. and how to start a family. without fear of losing their jobs or facing retribution from employers. The D.C. Council understands this and. by passing the Reproductive Health NonDiscrimination Amendment Act. seeks to ensure fair and necessary employment protections for the people of the District of Columbia. The Council deserves our respect when protecting the rights of their constituents . . . the people who elected them. The oversight of this body should not extend to overturning legislation passed by democraticallyelected representatives of the people of D.C. The freedom of religion is a fundamental freedom established by our founding fathers that we should fiercely protect. but to suggest that it extends to employers imposing their beliefs on the people that work for them. as this Resolution does. is just plain WRONG. particularly when it comes to something as personal as reproductive health.
Date: 2015-04-30
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 43. Disapproving the Action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Reproductive Health NonDiscrimination Amendment Act. While this resolution is certainly an abuse of Congress authority over the District of Columbia. it more importantly undermines the right of a woman to make personal. private healthcare decisions. The Reproductive Health NonDiscrimination Act of 2014 (RHNDA) was passed by the D.C. Council in order to protect employees and their families from discrimination. RHNDA ensures that an employee cannot be terminated based on personal reproductive healthcare decisions. For instance. the use of birth control. the decision of when to start a family. or the use of in vitro fertilization are not grounds for termination in the District of Columbia.
Date: 2015-05-12
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank Congressman REICHERT for his belief in this bill and for his statement of the preciousness of life of our law enforcement officers and our families who depend upon them. This bill. of course. in particular. would work with States to ensure the regional coordination of various elements of the network. which speaks directly to the heinous crime committed against the two New York police officers and someone who traveled from Maryland to New York. Mr. Speaker. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey . a gentleman who lives in the region and who we have had the privilege of working with. from COPS on the Beat to the Blue Alert and many other bills dealing with our first responders. and a cosponsor of this bill.
Date: 2015-05-12
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee . another distinguished gentleman who has worked on these issues and is now the ranking member of the Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.
Date: 2015-05-12
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I was moved by all of the presentations that have been made here today. statements on the floor. by passionate Members of Congress. It reminded me of my time as a municipal court judge. seeing officers in clothing that would not be recognizable because they were undercover officers. seeking what we call probable cause warrants and trying to save communities. I think this legislation is extremely important in this week because what it says is that we can all get along. that we can pass legislation that deals with the pain of our law enforcement officers and commits us to the statement that we want them to go home to their families. At the same time. we can use the words "criminal justice reform" and not offend by saying it is to help everyone: our law enforcement officers and our civilians. I am also grateful that next week we will have the opportunity to hear a myriad of issues on this particular point. But as we come together this week. officers of the law will be coming to Washington. D.C.. from all parts of the Nation. This legislation will make the statement that we want to coordinate. we want to establish advisory groups. we want to establish guidelines for States. and we want to provide assistance to have the Blue Alert plans. As we have saved children through the AMBER Alerts and helped find senior citizens through the Silver Alerts. I want to make sure that we bring more officers home to their families by ensuring that heinous criminals who are out to do them harm are caught before they do more harm. I also want to say that I look forward to working on legislation that deals with bringing us together and making sure that we address all of the concerns. So I join today with the Fraternal Order of Police. the National Association of Police Organizations. and the National Sheriffs Association in supporting this legislation. S. 665. But more importantly. Mr. Speaker. I stand today mourning those who have been lost and joining our officers as they converge upon the United States Capitol. standing shouldertoshoulder. I want to say to them that America cares. We honor you. we mourn you. and we stand in assistance to you. I would like to introduce into the RECORD a list of officers killed in the line of duty in my own hometown of Houston. Texas. from the Houston Police Department.
Date: 2015-05-12
Speaker: BRENDAN F. BOYLE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsyl

vania. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to join with my colleague across the aisle. Congressman NUGENT. in support of H.R. 723. the Fallen Heroes Flag Act. This sensible bill provides for Capitolflown flags in memory of firefighters. police. and emergency response personnel who are tragically killed in the line of duty. While we can never fully convey our gratitude to public safety and emergency personnel who risk their lives practically every day. it is my hope that this small gesture brings some level of comfort to the families of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. We recognize their sacrifice and that of their families and loved ones. We are eternally grateful. As Members of Congress. we often have the sad duty and solemn responsibility of expressing condolences to families who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. At no expense to these families. this is one small way to express our condolences and gratitude for their service. Mr. Speaker. I urge all Members to support H.R. 723. and I reserve the balance of my time.