macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-11-17
Speaker: AUSTIN SCOTT (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to talk about passing a balanced budget amendment today. I will tell you. theres been a global debate most recently over the finances of the world. And even in Europe. in the eurozone. Merkel and Sarkozy are proposing that balanced budget amendments be a part of the constitutions of those countries that make up the eurozone. Its not often that you will find me agreeing with President Sarkozy. He is certainly not the great leader that Benjamin Netanyahu is. But on this one. I do believe that he was right to come out of his foxhole and support the balanced budget amendments. Every year. our Americans sit down at the kitchen table. pencil and paper in hand. and balance their budgets in their households. Every American business owner will tell you that they cannot continually deficit spend the way this country has well over the last decade. Mr. Speaker. the people of Georgias Eighth Congressional District are hardworking and responsible people. They expect the same of their government leaders. They work each day to ensure that the future remains bright for their children and grandchildren. and they sent me here to do the same. The work that will be required by the balanced budget will not be easy. but Americans are counting on us. They are counting on us to make tough decisions and put America back on a path to prosperity. Passing the balanced budget amendment is the first step to that.
Date: 2011-11-17
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

You know. this month the national debt will reach the unprecedented level of $15 trillion. Thats nearly $48.000 per American. Under President Obama. the national debts increased faster than any other U.S. President in history. Now more than ever. its time to get our Nations fiscal house in order to prevent another big. fat Greek catastrophe. The American people have made it abundantly clear that Congress should balance the Federal budget just like families and business owners across the country have to do every single day. A balanced budget amendment is the solution we need to break Washingtons reckless spending habit. I implore the President and my colleagues in the Senate to join the House in passing the balanced budget amendment and send it to the States. We cant endure this any longer. and we need to fix it. Americans want. need. and deserve to know were going to live within our means just as they all live within their means.
Date: 2011-11-17
Speaker: HERRERA BEUTLER (republican)
Chamber: H

Winston Churchill said that Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing after theyve exhausted all other possibilities. Whats interesting about this quote is it actually applies to this institution. What have we tried? Weve tried billiondollar bailouts for auto companies. Weve tried billiondollar bailouts for Wall Street fat cats. not for Main Street. Weve done bailouts for automakers. Weve thrown money at everything. and we have added so much to our national debt in the last 4 years. Republicans did it too. It doesnt make it right. So. are we better off than we were 4 years ago? No. In southwest Washington State. we still have rampant unemployment and joblessness. Im no economist. Im not the distinguished minority leader. whom I respect. Im just an average American that understands a very simple truth: You cannot spend more than you have. Thats all this amendment does. Thats it. Were not cutting Social Security. Were not cutting Medicare. We would not. Were actually protecting those programs by saying. this Federal Government is going to live within the money that it takes from the taxpayers every year. no more. no less. Its very. very simple. You dont have to be an economist to understand that if you spend more money than you have every year. you have a problem. Our problem is $15 trillion worth of backbreaking debt. We dont have to look much further than Europe to know that no country can exist under debt like this for too long. Were actually taking steps to protect our poor and vulnerable by putting sideboards around the reckless spending of this Congress. With this amendment. were cutting up the credit card that is going to break the backs of the American people and cost us more jobs. I urge my colleagues to join us in solutions. and bipartisan solutions. that are going to bring an opportunity for America to prosper and succeed. A "no" vote is putting people under and putting politics above. We need to reverse that and put people before politics. I urge a "yes" vote.
Date: 2011-11-18
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. since 1980 Social Security has been required to publicly put deceased Americans personal information into a socalled death master file which was meant to help prevent payment and benefit fraud. Nearly anyone can get this information. including identity thieves. Identity theft affects not only swindled businesses and American taxpayers. but grieving families whose suffering is made worse when they learn that someone has been preying on the death of their loved ones. Criminals are exploiting this information in order to profit off deceased children by applying for tax refunds. Thats just wrong. Every year. Social Security puts about 14.000 Americans in this death file who arent even dead. Any of us could be put on that list by mistakea mistake that can result in severe financial hardship and emotional heartache. Americans deserve better. So today Im introducing the Keeping IDs Safe Act to stop the sale of the death master file immediately. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Date: 2011-11-29
Speaker: HOWARD COBLE (republican)
Chamber: H

for their assistance in moving this bill. This bill does indeed help Reservists and National Guardsmen in a special way. But it also shows that the previous bill that Mr. CHAFFETZ sponsored shows that we in the Judiciary Committee can work in a bipartisan manner. and that Congress can work. and that we should be at least in double digits. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2192. and I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2011-12-01
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 3463 will eliminate the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and the Election Assistance Commission. Thats good news. The American people have been asking this Congress to get serious about spending. begging us to take a critical look at government operations and get rid of the dead weight. Mr. Speaker. if there ever was a government program or a government agency that is ripe for the cutting. it is the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and Election Assistance Commission. The Election Campaign Fund is an unused government program only supported by a meager 7 percent of the American people. In other words. 93 percent of the American taxpayers have opted out of participating in this program. Candidates and nominees have routinely opted out of the system altogether. In 2008 we know thenCandidate Barack Obama declined public financing in the general election. In 2012. its expected that neither general election candidate will participate in the program. and no candidate has requested eligibility thus far in the election cycle. According to CBO. elimination of this program would save the American taxpayers $447 million over the next 5 years and return nearly $200 million to the public Treasury for deficit reduction immediately. I know some people think $500 million isnt much. Where I come from. thats a lot. We can eliminate something that the American people have rejected by a vote of 937. It seems to me to make sense. Mr. Speaker. in the last Congress. the Committee on House Administration held hearings on the issue of taxpayer financing of campaigns. And one of our witnesses asked this question. He said. if the voters are not willing to pay for the program. then why should it continue? As for the Election Assistance Commission. this agency has been the subject of two hiring discrimination lawsuits. spends over 50 percent of its budget on administrative costs. and is asking this Congress for $5.4 million to manage programs totaling $3.5 million. In short. Mr. Speaker. this bill before us eliminates an unused government program. shuts down an obsolete government agency. saves the taxpayers $480 million over 5 years. and returns almost $200 million to the Treasury. How could we not vote for it?
Date: 2011-12-01
Speaker: AUSTIN SCOTT (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. as a University of Georgia graduate and lifelong Bulldog fan. Id like to pay tribute to a fallen legend in the Bulldog Nation. Last week. Larry Munson passed away at the great age of 89. From an announcer for Major League Baseball to a U.S. Army medic during World War II. Larry Munson was a leader and a hero. However. hell best be known for his time spent as a radio football announcer for the Georgia Bulldogs. For over 40 years. his passionate and authentic sportscasting set him apart from every other sports broadcaster. In fact. many of his phrases have become a part of Bulldog fan lore. From Herschel Walker running over people. to Kevin Butlers 100.000mile field goal. Larry Munsons radio calls will live as some of the most memorable in college football. Georgia Bulldog fans will never forget the sugar falling out of the sky and the hobnail boot. Thus. with the Georgia Bulldogs and the LSU Tigers to square off this weekend in the SEC championship. I end with the words Bulldog fans are used to hearing from Mr. Munson each and every game day: "As we prepare for another meeting between the hedges. let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words. two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog Nation: Go Dawgs."
Date: 2011-12-08
Speaker: SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (republican)
Chamber: H
State: West Virginia

Our amendment is simple. It requires the EPA to consider the impact of new agriculture jobs and the economy before issuing new rules and regulations. A similar amendment to the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act passed this House in July. and it enjoyed broad bipartisan support. My amendment today says if jobs and the economic wellbeing of farmers would be negatively impacted. the EPA will be required to hold public hearings in the impacted State. It would also require the EPA to notify the States Governor. legislature. and congressional delegation. It would also require that the EPA post its analysis of the negative job impact on its Web site. request the Secretary of Agriculture to do the same. and request the Governor of that State to post similar analysis on the State capitals Web site. I dont believe this is too much to ask. We are simply asking the EPA to calculate the number of jobs lost and the economic impact on the agricultural community with a new rule that would do such. If its calculation turns out to be detrimental. we want the EPA to let our Nations farmers know before it implements additional red tape and new regulations. We expect the bureaucrats in the EPA here in Washington. D.C. to go out into the real world and understand the impact of the rules that they are implementing. that they are suggesting. and that have a real effect on farmers who are trying to run their operations across America and are helping to feed the worlds population. This past weekend. the Illinois Farm Bureau. in my home State. had its annual meeting. It conducted a survey of the thousands of farmers who participated in that convention. and it asked them an openended question: What posed the biggest threat to their future profitability as family farmers? Was it input costs? lower commodity prices? land prices? commodity price swings? No. Their answer. overwhelmingly. was government regulation. Dale Hadden. who is a farmer from Jacksonville. Illinois. recently told me: "The thought of the EPA continuing to place more regulations on my farming operation is unfounded. My family prides itself on being environmental stewards and making our farm better for the next generation. We do it better here than in any other place in the world." Jamie Schaffer. another farmer from my district. in Princeville. Illinois. told me: "The EPA overregulation has the potential to shut us down. We wouldnt be able to farm with modern equipment. Livestock walks across the field and creates dust when its dry out. We need to take regulators out to our farms and personally show them theres no way around dust or dirt. Its just a natural part of the environment." Lets let Dale. Jamie. and other farmers in our country continue to do what they do best. Let the EPA bureaucrats understand first. before they implement a new rule. what kind of effect. if any. it will have negatively on jobs and the economy throughout our country. I urge a "yes" vote. and I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2011-12-13
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this bill. Id like to begin by thanking the leadership and the chairman for including in this bill a provision of mine that will help eliminate waste. fraud. and abuse with respect to the refundable child tax credit. This simple commonsense provision will save the American taxpayer $9.4 billion by stopping illegal immigrants from getting the refundable child tax credit. I first introduced this provision as a bill in January 2010 and reintroduced it this past May. My legislation is based on the good work of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration which said in its report on the credit that although the law prohibits aliens residing without authorization in the United States from receiving most Federal public benefits. an increasing number of these individuals are filing tax returns claiming this refundable credit. According to the IG. illegal immigrants bilked $4.2 billion from the U.S. taxpayers last year. I think that its time that we fixed it. Currently. if individuals do not have a Social Security number. the IRS will give them an individual taxpayer identification number to get the credit. This provision will root out waste. fraud. and abuse by the IRS simply requiring individuals to provide their Social Security number in order to claim this refundable credit. Mr. Speaker. there has been a lot of debate regarding the extension of the payroll tax cut and Social Security. Given this debate. as chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly talk about the importance of securing this programs future. Last year marked the first time since 1983 that Social Security paid out more in benefits than it took in in payroll taxes. 1983 was also the last major reform of Social Security. As a result. over the next 10 years. Social Security will be in the red by over half a trillion dollars. As a result. Social Security must rely on general revenues to pay back with interest the Social Security surpluses that Washington has spent. That means Treasury has to borrow more. According to the CBO. we do so at our own economic peril. Mr. Speaker. the American people want. need. and deserve a factbased conversation about how we can fairly and responsibly fix Social Security for good. That would send a powerful signal that we are serious about getting our fiscal house in order. Lets do it now.
Date: 2011-12-19
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 497) to provide for the placement of a statue or bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the United States Capitol.
Date: 2011-12-19
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
Date: 2011-12-19
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. it is my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio . the author of this resolution and distinguished Speaker of the House.
Date: 2011-12-19
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi . the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Elections for the Committee on House Administration.
Date: 2011-12-19
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas . a distinguished member of the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees.
Date: 2011-12-19
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Returning to the subject at hand. we have the great portrait of General Lafayette here in the House Chamber. one of seven honorary citizens of the United States. Winston Churchill being another. Winston Churchill was. as is evident. one of the great men of the last century. one for whom inspiration was a way of life. and one who. as the Speaker said just a few moments ago. was the best ally that the United States has ever had. As a young boy. having been born somewhat after World War II. I remember with fascination seeing this figure on television. He seemed to remind me of every newborn baby Ive ever seen. They all look like Winston Churchill without the cigar. You wondered what was it that made this man great. And you began to read history. You began to talk with your father who had served in World War II about what this man was. and you realized this was someone who. in his youth. was involved in cavalry charges. and in his oldest age. was leader of a country at the beginning of the thermonuclear world. Talk about the span of time and the span of greatness and the ability to perceive. through all of that time. despite his mistakes. being a fallible man. perceive the greatness of the individual and the opportunity that democracy gives to individuals as no other form of government does. At the time when he criticized Nazi Germany. it was not something that all then said. The late Christopher Hitchens. in an April 2002 article in "The Atlantic." said this: But alone among his contemporaries. Churchill did not denounce the Nazi empire merely as a threat. actual or potential. to the British one. Nor did he speak of it as a depraved but possibly useful ally. He excoriated it as a wicked and nihilistic thing. That appears facile now. but was exceedingly uncommon then. In what was perhaps his best ever speech. delivered to the Commons 5 days after the Munich agreement on October 5. 1938. Churchill gave voice to the idea that even a "peaceloving" coexistence with Hitler had something rotten about it. "What I find unendurable is the sense of our country falling into the power. into the orbit and influence of Nazi Germany. and of our existence becoming dependent upon their good will or pleasure." That was an uncommon statement at the time. That was a courageous statement at the time. That was a visionary statement at the time. It is to honor that vision. it is to honor that ally. it is to honor that person who was dedicated to the best of Western civilization. who was one who stood with very few at a time when that civilization was threatened as never before. Mr. Speaker. it is an honor to be on the floor to offer this resolution to allow for. to authorize. a statue or bust of Winston Churchill here in the United States Capitol. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time as I urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution.
Date: 2011-12-20
Speaker: AUSTIN SCOTT (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Good morning. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this issue. I. as most Americans. love this time of year. Its Christmastime where we celebrate the birth of Christ and spend time with our family and friends and at church. I sent a quick message to my wife last night. and I said: Honey. I may be here for a while. And she said: We have 5 days until Christmas. Stay in the fight. Americans need you. I know a lot of people on the other side of the aisle want to use that as an excuse to go home. but America needs us to be up here and work. A lot has been said today. but the fact is simple: The Senate put a bad amendment on a good bill. a bill that passed this House with almost as many Democrats voting for it as Republicans who voted against it. a bipartisan bill that does what the President asked us to do. which is to extend the payroll tax cut for 12 months. Twelve months is what the President asked for. 12 months is what we did. Now. the Senate. in their haste to get out of townthe Senate. in their haste to get out of townpassed it for 60 days. I would respectfully submit that if they had done any consideration at all. they would have made it at least 90 days. Im one of those who signed a quarterly wage and tax return like many of my freshman colleagues. I. again. want to ask the President to stand with the Republican House. Lets pass this tax cut for a year and do what the Americans need us to do.
Date: 2012-01-24
Speaker: AUSTIN SCOTT (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Georgia

Mr. Speaker. as I heard the gentleman from Oregon speaking of debt. doubt. despair. decline. I couldnt help but think that all of those words start with "D." just as "Democrat" does. and "recovery" starts with "R." just as "Republican" does. Now. Mr. Speaker. the President presented a budget. and thats a fact. and the House passed a fiscally responsible budget. The Senate defeated both of those budgets and then failed to produce an alternate. Republicans in the House stand willing to work and want to move to regular process. Senator REID has closed that door at every opportunity. Today. we call on the President to appeal to the Senate in his State of the Union address tonight to ask the Senate simply to pass a budget. Without a budget. there is no plan. With no plan. that means no recovery. and no recovery means no new jobs. Mr. Speaker. Americans did not send us here to play the same tired old games that Senator REID continues to play. They sent us here to get something done for this generation. This is my son. Wells. Hes 12 years old. Our class represents over 300 children and grandchildren. Now. times are tough. but Americans are tougher. so the future of America is bright. But today is 1.000 days that this country has operated without a Federal budget. I understand the majority leader likes to say that we dont have a budget because of House freshmen. but thats simply not true. When we arrived in Washington. we were sworn in just over a year ago. and America had operated at that time without a budget for 678 days. Our freshman class knew we could do better than that. and we did better than that. Mr. Speaker. We passed a budget in the House. and we call on the President tonight to ask the Senate to fulfill their job for the American people and simply pass a budget.
Date: 2012-01-25
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. last night. President Obama asked Congress to support his same failed policies that have kept unemployment above 8 percent. This administration has caused our economy to fail. The House has passed more than 30 bipartisan bills that will create American jobs. but the Democraticcontrolled Senate has failed to move on 27 of them. Its time for the Senate and the President to get behind these commonsense bills that will boost job growth. cut spending. shrink the deficit. and get the government out of the way of small business. Just last week. the President rejected the Keystone project. which would create tens of thousands of jobs. draw billions of dollars in new investment to the United States. and increase our domestic energy security. Americas energy independence should be a top priority for the White House. Americans want. need. and deserve immediate action on these bills and the Keystone pipeline.