macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1988-05-24
Speaker: VANDER JAGT (republican)
Chamber: H

As the gentleman from Tennessee has asked a very pertinent question. as I indicated. that First Congress by the time it was over had a staff personnel of three people. Now I emphasize that was not three staff people per Member. that was three staff people for the whole Congress of the United States. If you want to bring It up a little more recently. Senator ALAN SIMPSONS father served in that august body and during his service there he. as a U.S. Senator. had one employee. a secretary. So today we have grown to where 35.000 staff personnel are engaged in serving the Congress of the United States. So that is quite a growth from 3 to 35.000.
Date: 1988-05-24
Speaker: VANDER JAGT (republican)
Chamber: H

The not only did not have elevators. I am sure if they had had elevators they would not have hired personnel to run elevators that operated automatically.
Date: 1988-05-24
Speaker: VANDER JAGT (republican)
Chamber: H

I do not think anyone has suggested that the quality of the legislation has grown with the size of the staff. In fact. I think quite the contrary. as has been pointed out. that if you have staff that is now approaching 35.000 for the Congress of the United States. each person has to do something to justify the salary and maybe that explains the plethora of Federal rules and regulations and taxes that are heaped out on the American people. I think it is very possible that there is wisdom in the gentlewomans question. that if we had smaller staffs we might have better legislation.
Date: 1988-05-24
Speaker: VANDER JAGT (republican)
Chamber: H

I am delighted that the gentleman from Georgia propounded the question that he did because the great explosion in resources made available to Members to get themselves reelected followed the 1974 election. The distinguished gentleman from Ohio. Wayne Hays. was then the chairman of the House Committee on House Administration and out the back door of the House Administration Committee. with closed rules where Members had most of the time no opportunity to vote was a great acceleration of perks that were made available to incumbents. I would like to point out that on those rare occasions when it was not a closed rule and we had an opportunity to save some taxpayers dollars. virtualy a unanimous Republican Party voted against the Members of Congress feathering their own nests with perks that aided their own reelection. and virtually a unanimous Democratic Party voted for the feathering of that nest.
Date: 1988-05-24
Speaker: DONALD E. LUKENS (republican)
Chamber: H

I too thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. If I might pose a question to my good friend with whom I was elected over 20 years ago to this body. the gentleman from Michigan. it occurred to me in our initial election our staff was 12. 10 were elected and 12 the second term. When I left in 1970 it Jumped to 14. At the same time. I remember. and I think my memory serves me correctly. that I probably went over $1.200 over my budget here. I was really scratching to find out whereI was going to get that $1.200 to reimburse the people of the United States. My problem was resolved because several Members on the other side had gone thousands of dollars over. one about $14.000. so the budget was. in the lameduck session of that year. expanded by $20.000. So we actually had a surplus. 11ow much further can this Congress go on this path of continuing to do these selfserving things at the expense of the taxpayers before the body collapses from its own weight of selfserving?
Date: 1988-05-24
Speaker: VANDER JAGT (republican)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am delighted to have a question from my friend. the gentleman from Ohio . who did come to the Congress with me yea those many. many years ago. The gentlemtns question raises a little reminiscing on my part. When I arrived here. we were allowed one return trip home to our districts. That has grown to be absolutely unlimited. The gentlemans question was. how long can t. - Congress continue to vote these selfserving perks of Members of Congress and provide these resources for our own reelection before the system collapses? Well. I would hope that before the system collapses the American people would wake up to this sorry spectacle of Members of Congress voting constantly to feather their own nests and to insulate us from real competitive challenges in our districts. making us a "House of Lords" that goes on in perpetuity rather than the peoples House. which it was intended to be. May 2.4.1988 May 24. 1.988 COT So I hope the American people will finally get sick enough at the spectacle they have heard about in this excellent special order and will exercise the right that our Founding Fathers intended the people would have. and that is the right to throw the rascals out and put In some new management for the first time in a third of a century.
Date: 1988-06-07
Speaker: CAROL FRASER FISK (republican)
Chamber: H

Commissioner. Administration on Aging. Office of Human Development Services. Department of Health and Human Sevices. Washington. D. DEaR CoMIssIoNEa Frsx: We. tile undersigned. as strong supporters of the Older Americans Act Amendments of 1987 (P.IL 100175) wish to provide you with our comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking� 45 CFR Parts 1321. 1320 and 1328. We recognize the critical importance of these r.gulations to the effective operation of the Older American3 Act over the four years of the latest reauthorization. Therefore. we wish to recommend that you Issue a notice of Interim final rules to permit further review of changes which should be made. These suggested changes and revisions are based in large measure on testimonies received at the public hearing held by the Subcommittee on Human Services. House Select Committee on Aging on April 20. 1988 where you also presented testimony. The Subcommittee elicited the views of a number of organizations with a direct intereat in the Older Americans Act and the regulations. Some of their views are reflected In our comments. Further. others of our comments are based on resolving what appear to be either conflicts or misinterpretatlons of Congressional intent of certain sections of P.L 100175. The following represent changes we Urge be made in the proposed regulations:
Date: 1988-07-07
Speaker: K ASTEN (republican)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. the purl)ose of this amendment is to correct an absurd Interpretation by the administration of the amendments to thIll 1936 Merchant Marine Act relat ive to the socalled Great Lakes SetAside Program. The amendments to tle 1936 Merchant Marine Act require that about 250.000 of Public Law 480 title ]I cargoes destined for developing count ries must be shipped through Great Lakes ports every year. This requirement was a concession to those of u.s concerned about possible reluction of shipping business In the Great Lakes ports as a result of raising the U.S.flag allot ment of Public Law 480 shipments from 50 percent to 75 percent. As those who are familiar with this issue know. no U.S.-flag lines serve the Great Lakes. I offer this amendment because the Agency for Internal tonal Development. together with (lie Departinent of Agriiultur- and tile U.S. Maritlme Administration. have countted an inland waterway shipment against the Great Lakes allotment. contrary to anyones understanding of the Great Lakes set -aside. The purpose of my amendment. which is aimed at tie Agency for International Developnent. is to clarify the obvious intent of tle amendinents to the 1936 act. That is. t he s taside should be for oceangoing vessels which pass through the St. Lawrence Seaway system. Any argument based S 9001 on the fact that barges going inland were not mentioned in the law makes about as much sense as declaring that we can count west coast shipments against this setaside because west coast shipments are not mentioned in the law. The point is. they are violating the agreements that were reached in previous legislation. My amendment would simply deal with that problem.
Date: 1988-07-12
Speaker: JIMMY QUILLEN (republican)
Chamber: H

the dean of the Tennessee delegation. that I do seriously appreciate the fact that he has made this special order possible for our dear and departed friend. JOHN DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker. those of us who hold elective office often have the title "Honorable" bestowed upon us. In the case of our late departed colleague JOHN DUNCAN. there could be no better word than "honorable to describe all of his endeavors. whether they were of a public or private nature. Despite the powerful position that he held as ranking minority member of the Ways and Means Committee. JOHN DUNCAN never wavered from his (etermination to take actions that mere fair and honest. He was a man of great dignity. and recognized that all of usmen and women. rich and poor. powerful and powerlessshould be treated with that same dignity. It is a rare privilege when. during the course of our lives. we have the opportunity to associate with people like JOHN DUNCAN. He was one of the Members of this body who did not appear on the weekly television talk shows. He was one who was not sought out by the media for the statements about the most recent news Item. Instead. he. was content to work hard on behalf of his congressional district and on behalf of our great country. He was content to quietly seek results from his work and not headlines. He was truly an example of what a Member of Congress should be. We. in this body. are going to miss his leadership and his hard work. Those of us who served with him in the Tennessee Congressional Delegation are going to miss him even more because we came to rely on his quiet counsel and his thoughtful leadership. In closing. I am proud to have known JOHN DUNCAN and deeply regret his untimely death.
Date: 1988-07-27
Speaker: DON YOUNG (republican)
Chamber: H

also of Alaska. requested that the Government Accounting Office. the nonpartisan Government Accounting Office evaluate the Forest Service efforts to maintain employment In the Tongass timber industry. And since employment seems to be an important issue on tile mind of the gentleman from Alaska. I would like to briefly reiterate the points made by the Government Accounting Office in their study. According to the Government Accounting Office: Timber Industry employment declined from 2.700 jobs In 1080 to 1.420 Jobs In 1980. primarily because of the decreased harvest levels resulting from declining demand for timber. During 1086. the Tongaas timber sales program had expenditures of $47.9 million and revenues of $3.3 million. If this was working as a jobs bill there would be at least some foundation for saying that it should be continued. but it Is a failure as a Jobs bill. Just as It is destructive to the environment in that region. and I hope that we can pass H.R. 1516. the Miller substitute. because it is a fine bill and one that will I believe Increase emloyment in the future in southeast Alaska and resolve some very significant con. troversial problems once and for all.
Date: 1988-08-03
Speaker: NEIL MCCANN (republican)
Chamber: S

Chairman and CEO of Fruit Importers of Ireland. the largest fruit and vegetable importing company in Ireland. Mr. McCann is also a founder member of the Dundalk Economic Development Co.. Ltd.
Date: 1988-08-03
Speaker: PATRICIA BYERS (republican)
Chamber: S

He was on a breathing machine for probably most of that first week. He also had a massively destroyed pelvis bone so that he required operations for that. His bladder was ruptured. he had broken legs. so he really went through quite a bit. FERRUGIA. Do you think that you would have survived had you gone to another hospital. one without a trauma center? ROBERT HERTADO. I dont think so. I think if they would have taken me to another hospital. I wouldnt have made it. FERRUGIA. When you first saw your son. did you think hed live?
Date: 1988-08-09
Speaker: BILLY ARCHER (republican)
Chamber: H

the gentleman from Tennessee. Mr. DON SUNDQUIST. the gentleman from Michigan. Mr. BILL BROOMFIEL. the gentleman from Colorado. Mr. DAN SCHAEFER. the gentleman from Ohio. Mr. MICHAEL OXLEY. the gentleman from New York.
Date: 1988-08-09
Speaker: JACK KEMP (republican)
Chamber: H

the gentleman from Texas. Mr. DICK ARMEY. and the gentleman from California. Mr. ROBERT J. LAGOMARSINO. the home State of my colleague. the gentleman from California. Mr. COELHO. Mr. Speaker. I yield to another distinguished Member of this House and of the Foreign Affairs Committee. the gentleman from Iowa .
Date: 1988-08-11
Speaker: PAUL SCHOTT STEVENS (republican)
Chamber: H

Executive Secretary. National Security Council. Old Executive Office Bldg.. Washington. DC. DEAR MR. STEVENS: The General AccountIng Office. has been requested to undertake a study of Panamanian leader Gen. Manuel Noriegas alleged drug activities. The study. under code 472165. will examine (1) the broad parameters of U.S.-Panamanian relations over the past 20 years. (2) the type of information about Noriega developed by various intelligence and lawenforcement agencies. (3) the extent to which this information reached foreign policy decision. makers. and (4) the role that such information played in decisions on U.S. foreign policy. This work will be performed by Mr. Donald L. Patton. Group Director. Mr. James 0. Benone. EvaluatorinCharge. and Mr. Jon Chasson. of our Foreign Economic Assistance Group. The work will be conducted at the National Security Council. the Department of State. the Department of Defense. the Department of Justice. and other federal agencies. We appreciate any assistance you can provide to our staff. If you have any questions. please contact Mr. Patton at 2751898 or Mr. Benone at 2757487. Sincerely yours.
Date: 1988-08-11
Speaker: MANUEL RODRIQUEZ (republican)
Chamber: H

Legal Counsel Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. Department of Justice. DEAR MR. RODRIQUER: The General Accouting Office. has been requested to undertake a study of Panamanian leader Gen. Manuel Noriegas alleged drug activities. The study. under code 472165. Will examine (1) the broad parameters of U.S.-Panamanian relations over the past 20 years. (2) the type of information about Norlega developed by various intelligence and lawen. forcement agencies. (3) the extent to which this information reached foreign policy decisionmakers. and (4) the role that such information played in decisions on U.S. foreign policy. This work will be performed by Mr. Donald L. Patton. Group Director. Mr. James 0. Benone. EvaluatorinCharge. and Mr. Jon Chasson. of our Foreign Economic Assistance Group. National Security and International Affairs Division. We would like to meet with the U.S. At. torneys in both Miami and Tampa. Florida. who have brought indictments against Gen. Noriega to discuss the genesis of the indictments. identify other people that we should talk with. and obtain information about the cases. We also plan to conduct work at other Department of Justice offices. the Department of Defense. the Department of State. and other federal agencies. We appreciate your assistance in notifying the appropriate officials of the assignment. If you have any questions. please contact Mr. Patton at 2751898 or Mr. Benone at 2757487. Sincerely yours.
Date: 1988-08-11
Speaker: PAUL SCHOTT STEVENS (republican)
Chamber: H

Executive Secretary. National Security Council. Old Executive Office Building. Washington. DC. DEAR MR. STEVENS: As we Informed you li our letter of May 13. 1988. and Mr. Rostow in our letter of June 23. the General Accounting Office is undertaking a case study of how Information about General Noriega was developed by various government agencies. and what role such information played in policy decisions regarding Panama. At the request of the National Security Council staff. we initially postponed audit work at tile Council and several other government agencies until we had met with them to more fully explain our review objectives and had given them an opportunity to coordinate agency participation in our review. However. because we have not received a response to our letter of June 23. and because of the high level of congressional interest in this assignment. we must now implement our review Independently at each agency. We have sent requests to each agency. asking that appropriate officials meet with us to establish a timetable for collecting and reviewing relevant documents. We ask that the National Security Council provide ts with: 1. Documents outlining the organizational structure and the operational procedures related to the National Security Councils requests for and analysis of foreign Intelligence data provided by the various collection agencies. 2. Any memos. reports. analyses. studies. briefing papers. meeting records. or other documents generated by the National Security Council staff which discuss allegations of Illegal activities by General Norlega and the possible Impact of such activities on U.S. relations with Panama. We anticipate that as our review pro. gresses. we will make additional requests for documentation. To facilitate our review. we request that appropriate officials meet with us at all opening conference no later than July 20. At that time. we will establish a schvdule for obtaining the needed documents. 1t 6853 Wilh the input and cooperation of National Security Council officials. I am confident that we can successfully complete our review in a timely manner. If you have any additional questlonis about our review. please contact Mr. Donald L. Patton at 2751898 or Mr. James 0. Benone at 2757487. Sincerely yours.
Date: 1988-09-22
Speaker: VIRGINIA F. DEAL (republican)
Chamber: S

Route 5. Box 214. Taylorsville. NC. DEAR MRS. DEAL: Thank you for the letter and accompanying articles you forwarded to me after my recent visit to North Carolina. The "homework" regulations come under the Fair Labor Standards Act. and have been on the books for forty years. They cover seven different types of employment: knitted outerwear. womens apparel: jewelry manufacturing. gloves and mittens. button and buckle manufacturing: and embroidery. In all other types of work. persons can be employed at home. so long as that employment meets the applicable Federal minimum wage and overtime law and. of course. any local legal requirements. But in these seven areas. "homework" had been absolutely prohibited by regulaton for anyone in the employ of another person or a company. I have always thought that this approach to regulating workers was wrong and. whats more. it didnt work very well. either. There. fore. early in my presidency. I targeted these regulations for change. After a great deal of effort and much litigation by opponents of any change. the Labor Department was able to implement a new regulation which eliminated the "homework" prohibition for one of the seven industriesknitted outerwear. Under this new regulation. "homework" is permitted if the employer first notifies the Department that It is going to employ homeworkers. When this new regulation was published. the Department made a commitment to study its impact for a period of time to see how it worked. That study has now been completed. and the Labor Department believes the regulation has worked well. The Department. therefore. is moving rapidly to publish proposed regulations that would lift the "homework" prohibition entirely. utiliz. Ing the notification procedures that now apply to knitted outerwear. I expect that this proposal will be published during July. with final regulatory action scheduled before the end of the year. I appreciate your providing me with your views on this matter and hope that you will share this letter with your coworkers. Sincerely.
Date: 1988-10-21
Speaker: TRENT LOTT (republican)
Chamber: H

who was one of my primary opponents in base closing on behalf of his great State of Mississippi. I want to make this perfectly clear. the gentleman from Mississippi . did not support that legislation. Mr. Leader. I cannot help but reflect back on the first time I ever heard of TRTEN LoTT. I was running for Congress In 1984. I had never met a Congressman or perhaps I might not have been running. My young campaign advisers were preparing me for a debate and one of them said "If somebody in the debate asks you what kind of Congressman you would like to be. who among the current Members of Congress you wouldlike to emulate. say
Date: 1988-10-21
Speaker: TRENT LOTT (republican)
Chamber: H

and his influence over me and my ability to work in this body for the first 4 years of my tenure here. clearly I want to thank TRENT LOTT for helping me understand how the body works and how I ought to conduct myself in order to work effectively within it. That to me is what leadership is. to help the new people who Join the organization. sit in and accomplish results on behalf of the organization. I thank TRENT LOTT for that. and I thank you. Mr. Leader. as well. for taking out this special order.
Date: 1981-01-22
Speaker: JACK WALTER (republican)
Chamber: S

Director. Office of Government Ethics. Washington. D.C. DEAR MR. WALTER: In preparation for my confirmation hearings as Secretary of the Interior before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources I have developed the attached statement on recusal. This statement has been discussed with the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This statement will be presented at the confirmation hearings. Sincerely. JAMES 0. WArr.
Date: 1981-02-26
Speaker: JAMES K. COYNE (republican)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. Members on both sides of lithe aisle. in both Houses of Congres... have pledged stippor for the Presidents efforts to restrain Government spending. However. even as we are considering a $50 billion spending cut natioliwide. the House will begin to vote on a seris of requests for our own committee budgets that contain increasesover II7 70 actual 1980 expendituresof up to 39.2 percent. I simply do not believe that we can justify. to ourselves or to our constitunents. such dramatic fiscal irresp~onsibilit y. Of the first seven budgets approved at committee level. only oneHouse Adiniistra..tionre(quiested an amount below that expended in 1980. The others. without exception. were for increases of at least 16 percent. Considered in total. the 1980 comm11ittee funding resolution of $42 million represents a shocking sevenfold increase over t lie 1970 resolution. We must begin immnediately to put owt- own House in order by putting a lid onl thlese exipendit tires. I firmly support the 10percent acrosst heboard cuits proposed by mly fellow Republicans onl the House Administration Committee. and urge that you defeat the committee funding resolutions when they are brought to thle House floor. [11120