macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-01-21
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate my University of Florida football team for winning its second NCAA BCS championship bowl game in the last three seasons. Go Gators. I want to congratulate the University of Florida not only for being the best academic school. but also athletic school in the country. * Their 2414 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners showed off teamwork. sportsmanship. and one of the defense plays that I have seen. They held the team with the highest scoring offense to just 14 points. The Gators once again came back to prove that the University of Florida season was no fluke. and that the Florida Gators are again a championship team that made history. Congratulations to their great players and outstanding coach. Urban Meyer. for coaching a remarkable group of guys. Lets do a quick fact check. The Gators won their second national championship in the past 3 years and the third in the schools history. Florida is the fourth school in the modern era to win two outright national titles in 3 years. Florida finished the 2008 season with a 131 record. matching the singleseason school record for wins. Tim Tebow became the fifth player since 1950 to win a Heisman Trophy and two national championships. The win makes Urban Meyer the fifth active coach With multiple national titles and the fifth coach since the AP poll began in 1936 to win two national championships in his first four seasons at a school. Tim Tebow. Floridas leader and quarterback. not only ran for 109 yards. but threw 18for30 and was flawless in the fourth quarter alone when it mattered the most and the pressure was on. Percy Harvin. whose gutsy play won him the game ball. came back from an ankle injury and dashed for 122 yards on only nine carries. And it was his 52yard run down the stretch that set up Jonathan Phillips 27yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 1714 lead. which the Gators never.lost and never looked back. There has been some discussion in this body about having a national championship playoff. Let me be clear. weve had a playoff. And I hate to say it. that everything is just not all equal. We want to encourage all of our kids to participate in sports and activities because we know that it builds character. but it is clear that the Gators are superb to any other schools with the conferences that we play in. So. in closing. I want to leave you again with the Gators chant that I just love: "One. two. three. four. five. them there Gators dont take no jive."
Date: 2009-01-22
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. on the afternoon of January 22. 2009. I was unable to vote due to illness and missed three rollcall votes. Had I been present. I would have voted "nay" on rollcall No. 27. H.J. Res. 3. a resolution to disapprove the use of the second $350 billion of the funds that were made available to the Secretary of the Treasury under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. "yea" on rollcall No. 28. on agreeing to H. Res. 56. expressing support for designation of the week of February 2 through February 6. 2009. as "National School Counseling Week". and "yea" on rollcall No. 29. on passage of H. Res. 58. commending the University of Florida Gators for winning the.Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.
Date: 2009-01-23
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. pursuant to Rule Xl. Clause 2(a)(2) of Rules of the House of Representatives. I respectfully submit the rules for the 111th Congress for the Committee on Education and Labor for publication in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. The Committee adopted these rules by voice vote. with a quorum being present. at our organizational meeting on January 21.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. today marks the second day of Tet. or more commonly known as the Lunar New Year. This year is the Year of the Water Buffalo. Tet is a reaffirmation of the Vietnamese cultural heritage and tradition and is the largest and the most celebrated holiday for the Vietnamese people. It is when friends and families come together to celebrate the past year and. of course. we look to the future year. On January 30. the Union of the Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California will hold its annual Tet Festival in the City of Garden Grove. I would like to recognize the UVSA and the Vietnamese community for their endless efforts in bringing students. young professionals and community organizations together for the annual Tet Festival. The Vietnamese American community plays a vital economic and cultural role in the 47th District of California. and I am very proud of its efforts in fighting to achieve freedom and human rights for all Vietnamese people. As the Representative of the 47th District. it is a great honor to rep-: resent one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the world. and I would like to congratulate the Vietnamese community for all theirsuccesses this past year and to wish them a very happy new year. Chuc Mung Nam Moi.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. pursuant to H. Res. 87. I call up the Senate bill to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. and to modify the operation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice. and for other purposes. and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on S. 181.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I yield myself 15 seconds just to say. according to the analysis done by the Congressional Budget Office. there is no new cost associated with this legislation because it creates no new cause of action. and no anticipated increase in litigation in spite of the remarks of the gentleman from the other side of the aisle. And thats what the independent analysis shows of this legislation. I would like now to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut . a champion of fair pay and equal pay for women.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today as an original cosponsor of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. to express my strong support for the bill. I am pleased we are taking up this bill as passed by the senate so we can finally send it to the Presidents desk after previously passing it twice in this chamber. The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act corrects and clarifies a serious misinterpretation by the Supreme Court in its 2007 ruling in the case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear. In that 54 decision. the majority ruled that Lilly Ledbetter. the lone female supervisor at a tire plant in Gadsden. AL. did not file her lawsuit against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in the timely manner specified by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of The court determined a victim of pay discrimination must file a charge within 180 days of the employers decision to pay someone less for an unlawfully discriminatory reason such as race. age. sex. or religion. The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act clarifies that each paycheck resulting from a discriminatory pay decision constitutes a new violation of the employment nondiscrimination law. as long as the charge is filed within 180 days of the employee receiving the paycheck. The LedbetterFair Pay Act restores workers ability to pursue claims of pay discrimination onnot only sex. but race. religion. age. or for any other reason. Congress must pass this legislation to help ensure all workers are treated fairly in the workplace and the standard of equal pay for equal work is upheld. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill to end pay discrimination.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. Members of the House. this motion to commit is clearly an effort to not only send this bill back to committee. but to kill this legislation. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle recognize the situation that we find ourselves in. TheHouse has passed this legislation earlier. in this session. and the Senate has passed similar legislation which we are now taking up. And when we vote in a little while. this afternoon. we will pass this legislation. and it will go to the President of the United States. So this is a desperate attempt to somehow keep that from happening. And what we will be sweeping is we will be sweeping away a policy of discrimination in the workplace against women who are paid less than their male counterparts for the same work. The fact of the matter is that there were hearings held both in the Judiciary Committee. in the last session of Congress. and in the Education and Labor Committee. and all sides were allowed to present their views in those hearings. [] 1545 In the last Congress. it was subject to a full committee markup. which all Members could have offered as many amendments as they like. They offered two amendments. Those amendments were rejected. They could have offered more. They chose not to. The bill went to the House floor. debated. and was passed on a bipartisan vote of 225199 in June of 2007. The minority had an opportunity to offer a motion to recommit. They chose not to. The bill went to the Senate. where it was filibustered. Filibustered. And then the bill was reintroduced identical to what the House had already passed earlier this month. On January 9 of this year. we passed the bill on the House floor again. 247171. on another bipartisan vote. The minority had another opportunity .to offer a motion to recommit. They chose not to. The bill went to the Senate. where it was subjected to amendment after amendment. The bill was passed on a bipartisan vote of 6136. And now we are on the cusp of sending this bill to President Obama for his signature. That is what we should do. We should reject this motion to commit. an attempt to kill this legislation. and make sure that this bill goes to the Presidents desk and ends this discriminatory policy against women in the workplace. I urge my colleagues to vote "no" on the motion to commit and vote "aye" on the passage of the legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the chairman. and rise in strong support of this legislation because of the boost it will provide to our ailing economy and the priority investments it makes in our Nation. To struggling families and communities around the country. with the passage of this bill we can say help is on the way. We have heard from economists from all sides of the political spectrum. and they all agree inaction and doing nothing is not an option. We need to join together with our new President. President Obama. and act boldly and decisively. and that is what this legislation does. by directing $825 billion in stimulus where it is needed most. readytogo projects to put people back to work. investing in clean energy and the infrastructure we need for the 21st century. and middleclass tax relief for struggling American families so they have a little more breathing room in their budgets. I am especially pleased with the provisions relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy that we have worked on. on a bipartisan basis.loan guarantees for renewable energy projects that are sidelined because of the credit crunch. and new authority for homeowners to retrofit their homes. I urge passage of this legislation.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

If the gentleman would yield. I want to say to the gentleman I share your concern that women receive equal opportunity to be trained and hired in the types of higherpaid positions that are traditionally occupied by men. The bill provides approximately $4 billioil to train workers who need new or additional skills. Job training to train women in nontraditional job retains its priority recognition asunder current law.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. The bill also provides $80 million to enhance worker protections on those jobs including through the Office of Federal Contract Compliance. Health and Safety. and wage and hour enforcement.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I want to thank the Chair of Transportation. as well as the Chair of Appropriations. for the hard work they put into this. . Mr. Chairman. you know I strongly support the underlying bill. I know that I understand it differently than some others here. But if we keep doing the same thing that we have been doing for the last 8 years. we will get the same results. You cant do the same thing and expect the results to change. The needed funds for our Nations roads. bridges. transit systems. airport and waterrelated infrastructure are very much needed. Over the past 2 years. the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment has held numerous hearings on the Nations waterrelated infrastructure needs. whether it is the $300 billion to $400 billion investment needed to restore and upgrade our Nations network of wastewater treatment infrastructure. or the projection of $50 billion to $60 billion for vital projects of the Corps of Engineers. The waterrelated infrastructure needs of this Nation are struggling and growing ever longer. and the longer it is put off. the more it will cost. Each $1 billion of Federal funds invested in infrastructure creates and sustains approximately 34.000 to 47.000 jobs and $6.2 billion in economic activities. The $3 billion in infrastructure investment funding in the bill for the State of Texas will provide a real tangible benefit to the 700.000 individuals currently unemployed in our State. whether as a paycheck for those responsible for constructing these vital projects or through increased productivity for small businesses that produce the materials needed for these vital infrastructure projects. These people cannot pay taxes. They dont have jobs. However. unlike other economic recovery proposals. infrastructure investment provides not only a shortterm benefit to American families. it also provides a longterm benefit in terms of sustainable and reliable infrastructure. as well as the potential for increased productivity for the Nations economy through the efficient movement of goods and services. It also can enhance the overall quality of the Nations waterrelated environment through the implementation of environmental restoration projects by the Corps of Engineers. and through the control of pollutant discharges from combiried sewer and sanitary sewer upgrades. Finally. infrastructure investment provides one of the only benefits that cannot be shipped off to foreign lands. The direct beneficiaries of domestic infrastructure projects are our towns. our local communities. our constituents.
Date: 2009-01-27
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of this legislation to address the urgent problems occurring with the digital television transition. After participating in numerous oversight hearings by the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee on the DTV transition in the 110th Congress. and seeing the mismanagement of the transition by the previous administration. we need time to get this right and correct the problems left for the Obama administration. I am supporting this legislation. not because I think moving the transition date back is a good idea. but because when the National Telecommunications and Information Administration notified the Committee late last year that they would run out of money in the coupon program. postponing the date to get every household the coupons they need became necessary. Our office sent out the coupon application in our constituent newsletters. handed them out at our townhall meetings. and took them to other events in our district to distribute. For their part. broadcasters. cable. and satellite television spent millions in advertising to educate the public about the upcoming transition. The primary reason we have to delay this transition is due to the mismanagement of the program by the NTIAafter months of asking questions in hearings and letters to the Administration. members of the Telcom Subcommittee were assured there was plenty of money to finance the program and provide every household that needed one a converter box coupon. On December 24. however. the Energy and Commerce Committee finally received word from NTIA that the program would run out of money. much too late for Congress to address the problem. and now there are over 2 million households on the coupon waiting list. As expected. more problems are also surfacing as we have gotten closer to the transition. Last week the Washington Post ran an article about problems people are experiencing with their antennas. and in my hometown of Houston. we have continually raised the issue of there being limited options and availability of batterypowered converter boxes for households to purchase in the event of a hurricane like we experienced last September with Hurricane Ike. Currently. households must buy a separate batterypack for a converter. and the coupon program does not cover the batterypack. I understand getting the coupon program rolling again is the most pressing matter. but I hope between now and June 13 we can address these other issues and create a program that will assist households who need to do more than just hook up a converter box to acquire the equipment they need to make the transition. Again. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation so we can get the households the coupons they need to purchase converter boxes to keep their analog televisions from going black. and to address other issues that are arising with the digital transition.
Date: 2009-01-28
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of the Nadler amendment and full support for the bill. With my Texas accent it is hard to say anything in 30 seconds. but with a light rail transit project. the new starts that would come under this amendment. we can put $410 million worth of hiring people to do utility easement work and have light rail in the fourth largest city of the country if this amendment passes. That is why this amendment is important. and I am proud to be here and support it. Mr. Chair. I rise today in support of Congressman NADLERS amendment to H.R. 1 and the full bill. I ask unanimous consent to place the full statement in the RECORD. This amendment will increase transit capital funding by $3 billion including $1.5 billion for Capital Assistance Grants. also known as the New Starts program. It is important that we invest additional capital in the New Starts program simply because these are new projects and they will create new jobs as opposed to just funding existing contracts on existing projects. The latter will not stimulate the economy. For example. there are two light rail projects in my district that are near the end of the FTA review process and could be under contract with a designbuild firm within 90 days. About $410 million of early work items for the projects are shovel ready because the transit authority has already selected contractors and completed all necessary engineering and design and purchased all necessary rights of way. These are exactly the kinds of infrastructure projects that make sense for an economic stimulus bill in 2009. creating about 18.000 jobs within 90 to 120 days. These projects will promote transit ridership which is a far more environmentally friendly way to move people more efficiently. These projects will also serve economically disadvantaged areas under Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) criteria. So not only will the projects enhance mobility for transit dependent and lower income persons. but it will rejuvenate the surrounding communities by spurring economic development. Mr. Chair. Houston METRO has the expertise and experience delivering such projects. They already built and operate one of the most productive light rail lines in the nation. Therefore. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to increase New Starts money so that Houston METRO and other transit agenciesacross the country can start turning dirt. creating jobs. and stimulate this economy.
Date: 2009-01-28
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. I just finished a 5hour hearing where we had both passenger rail and freight rail in a hearing. And we have the second largest committee in infrastructure in the entire Congress because there is such an interest in passenger rail. My colleague. I got some breaking news for you. There is no form of transportation that pays for itself. none whatsoever. whether we are talking about rail. airlines or cars. none of it. We subsidize all of it. The chairman of the committee had recommended $5. billion for rail. This is a very bad idea. Im encouraging all of my colleagues to vote "no." Kill this bad idea before it multiplies.
Date: 2009-01-28
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank Mr. REYES. the chairman of the Intelligence Committee. and the ranking member. Mr. HoEKSTRA. I again want to remind the House this is a bill that has been voted on here before. It passed with a bipartisan majority of 33194. Nevertheless. Mr. PLATTS and I have agreed to address the concerns that have been raised by the Intelligence Committee. We will do that in consultation with the Senate and conference committee to make sure that were all on the same page in agreement with respect to this national security component.
Date: 2009-01-28
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia changed her vote from "nay" to "yea." So the bill was passed. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Date: 2009-02-03
Speaker: HERSETH SANDLIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. it is with great joy that my husband. Congressman Max Sandlin. a former Member of this distinguished body. and I introduce to you and to all of our colleagues the newest addition to our family. Zachary Lars Sandlin.