macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-01-20
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. as we wait for the Republican leader. let me say that I have enjoyed this debate. These are noncontroversial bills that are being brought to the floor. and yet theyre important. And. also. there are issues that have been brought out and that will be brought out now. I will oppose the previous question to bring out the issue that Mr. BUCHANAN talked about and bring it to a floor vote this morning. Since the Democrats regained the majority in the House. I have heard a number of Members come down to the floor and quote Supreme Court Justice Brandeis that sunshine is said to be the best disinfectant. I think that quote is fitting. Its fitting today considering. as Mr. BUCHANAN pointed out. that as we speak. the majority is drafting. behind closed doors with no sunshine in sight. health care legislation that will affect every American. So I think the question is begged. what is going on behind those closed doors? We dont know. We do not even know who is at the table. The American people deserve to know what is going on behind closed doors. We need to bring sunlight. sunshine. into a process that is shrouded with secrecy. That is why I. along with a bipartisan group of 163 Members of this House. have cosponsored House Resolution 847. a resolution by my friend and colleague. Representative BUCHANAN. that expresses the sense of the House that any meetings held to determine the final contents of sweeping health care legislation be held in public view and not behind closed doors. Mr. BUCHANAN pointed out the fact that CSPAN has offered. in fulfillment of a campaign promise by the President. to be present at the negotiations. Now. in order to help bring in sunshine to a process that the majority continues to hide from public view. I will be asking for a "no" vote on the previous question so we can amend this rule and allow the House to continue the Buchanan transparency resolution. This vote will give Members of the majority a chance to live up to their promise. as the distinguished Speaker said. "to lead the most honest. most open and most ethical Congress in history." Madam Speaker. I know that Members are concerned that this motion may jeopardize consideration of the water rights bills and of the settlement bills that are being brought to the floor today. but I wish to make clear that the motion I am making provides for the separate consideration of the Buchanan transparency resolution within 3 days so we can vote on the water rights bills and then. once we are done. so that we can consider the Buchanan transparency resolution. H. Res. 847. I have been informed that the Republican leader will not be coming down to the floor at this time. Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
Date: 2010-01-21
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the idea of transparency in this and in all things. I think that some observers may not appreciate the issues that are before us when we are dealing with Indian rights. whether it is settlement or something else. because of the unique situation of Native Americans in the United States and how the relationship that we have with the Indian Nations is as a result directly of the Constitution of the United States. Often it is good for us to remind ourselves of the first principles involved when we are dealing with these issues. And therefore. Mr. Speaker. I would like to also mention that today. in a blow for freedom. in a tremendous action of a return to first principles under the Constitution. the United States Supreme Court finally got it right. The United States Supreme Court. in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. finally focused on the first amendment and talked about the essence of the first amendment being political speech. We have been distracted so often in other decisions by the Court that they have lost in many times their focus on the fact that the first amendment is in essence a protection of our political speech. And today they overruled a previous case where they had wandered from that. They said to us that Congress cannot in fact make choices between preferred speakers and nonpreferred speakers. preferred organizations and nonpreferred organizations. And here is one of the kernels of truth contained in todays majority opinion. "Political speech is so ingrained in this countrys culture that speakers find ways around campaign finance laws." That oftentimes in this body we. in the effort to try and cleanse the political system from the possibility of people who might take undue advantage of it. render political speech to the sidelines. And the Court has said the people are smarter than that. They can get around that. and therefore we ought to attempt to allow the full flowering of political speech. The Court also said this. "Rapid changes to technologyand the creative dynamic inherent in the concept of free expressioncounsel against upholding a law that restricts political speech in certain media or by certain speakers." This is a great day. Mr. Speaker. This is a great day. The Court said. "Differential treatment of media corporations and other corporations cannot be squared with the first amendment. and there is no support for the view that the amendments original meaning would permit suppressing media corporations political speech."
Date: 2010-01-21
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. It is said that their previous decision in Austin allows "censorship that is vast in its reach. suppressing the speech of both forprofit and nonprofit. both small and large. corporations." Earlier this week the people of Massachusetts reminded us that here the people prevail. that the Constitution starts with the words. "We. the people." That despite what the pundits say. despite what special interests say. the people prevail. Today the Supreme Court said the people can speak. It is a great day.
Date: 2010-01-26
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. This legislation will ensure that American citizens returning from the devastation in Haiti in the days ahead will receive the same help and support as those who have already arrived and gotten their way home. It also will ensure that the many individuals hard at work assisting their fellow citizens will get the resources they need to continue these important efforts. I would ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
Date: 2010-01-26
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of House Resolution 1024. which expresses support for designating January as Poverty in America Awareness Month. As Im sure my colleagues would agree. awareness of poverty is something that Congress should never lose sight of. not for one single day. But it also should be noted that poverty can only be eliminated in this country when there are jobs available for every ablebodied man and woman. I know this firsthand because I grew up in poverty. I know that the only way that my mother helped get my brother and me out of poverty was by having a great work ethic and working her way out of poverty. The government does not create jobs. small businesses do. The American people know this even if the majority in Congress does not. That is why CNN is reporting that 75 percent of Americans polled believe that at least half of the stimulus has been wasted. and a third of those believe that it actually has made the economy worse. In a perfect world. the President could hold a jobs summit and everyone would breathe a sigh of relief as they went off to new jobs created. But in the real world. sitting around and talking about jobs does not magically make them appear. In a perfect world. the money to pay for the stimulus and the endless unemployment extensions would come from a magic tree growing on the South Lawn of the White House. But we know that unemployment benefits are no real substitute for a paycheck. We know that the stimulus didnt work. And we know that the closest thing the government has to a money tree is the money that it takes out of taxpayers pockets. The bottom line is. if they are serious about reducing poverty. the President and my Democrat colleagues need to stop talking about jobs and start working with Republicans to support and facilitate an economy that will create them. Specifically. the Democrats. who control the progress of legislation in this town. should do three things: First. they need to end their obsession with the trilliondollar takeover of health care. because this singleminded approach is coming at the expense of everything else that matters to the American public. Second. the tax code should be reformed to protect workers wages. to encourage investment and entrepreneurship. to reward saving. and to provide the American people with the confidence and certainty about their financial future. And third. my Democrat colleagues need to take a long. hard look at their failed trilliondollar stimulus plan and fix it. Dont just borrow another hundred billion dollars here and there and hope that it works better this time. Raising awareness about poverty is important. and I support this legislation. But before we spend too much time patting ourselves on the back for this feelgood resolution. let us get down to business in a bipartisan manner and really do the hard work of making this economy great again. With that. Madam Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2010-01-26
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. in closing. I want to reiterate that there still is much work to be doneand undoneto breathe new life into this economy. The Democrats told Americans that if their stimulus passed. unemployment would stay below 8 percent and millions of Americans would continue receiving paychecks. Instead. the stimulus passed and a record 12 million Americans are now collecting unemployment checks. As predicted. that is triggering massive State tax hikes that will continue for years to come. Frankly. Madam Speaker. that is why the stimulus isnt working. Every dollar spent by government is a dollar that first must be taken out of the economy. That dollar of government spending is a dollar that a business owner can use to hire a new worker and its a dollar that a mother can use to feed her child. My colleagues will say that this is what the stimulus was supposed to do. but what they wont tell you is that the government wastes 50 cents collecting that dollar and fumbling around trying to put it back into the economy. As part of our awareness of poverty. let us also be aware of that.
Date: 2010-01-27
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Mr. Speaker. since the $862 billion stimulus bill was signed into law last February. nearly 3 million more Americans have lost jobs. The projected deficit for this year is $1.3 trillion. second only to last years $1.4 trillion. Its time to stop Washingtons wild spending and start creating hometown jobs. Families want paychecks. not unemployment checks. Thats why we introduced a bipartisan American Conservation and Clean Energy Independence Act. H.R. 2227. which opens up the U.S. coasts for environmentally responsible oil and gas exploration. This bill produces 1.2 million new. goodpaying jobs and an $8 trillion economic boost over 20 years. We will clean up Americas waterways. We will clean our air by replacing old coal plants with new clean coal. nuclear. wind. solar. and geothermal energy generation. We will conserve energy by rebuilding our old infrastructure and a smart grid. Americans will modernize buildings to cut energy waste by 25 percent. We stop spending hundreds of billions of dollars on OPEC oil. We stop borrowing from China. and we do all of this without raising a single tax. Join me in supporting H.R. 2227 with new jobs for a new energyindependent America.
Date: 2010-02-02
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. the administration made a tragic mistake when it decided to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his confederates in a civilian courtroom in New York City. We now find that they realize theres been a mistake. but we dont know where theyre going to go next. Ill give them a clue: If you didnt have Guantanamo Bay. youd have to build it. Thats the place he should remain. Thats the place he should be tried. We should resume the military tribunals where he and his confederates had already indicated they wanted to plead guilty. We should forget this nonsense about bringing them to civilian courts in the United States. If its too dangerous for New York. if it doesnt make sense for New York. it doesnt make sense for anywhere in the sovereign territory of the United States. Guantanamo is the perfect place for them to remain. Do not close Guantanamo. Keep them there. Try them there. Give them their meeting with justice there as well. Mr. Speaker. theyre not attacking us because of Guantanamo Bay. Theyre attacking us because of the Statue of Liberty. F- 1930
Date: 2010-02-03
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. its kind of interesting that my friends from the other side keep beating up on Democrats. I think Bill Gates is a Democrat and I think the other gentleman that you mentioned is as well. But let me just say this. Mr. Speaker. It is amazing on this floor how we have convoluted the thought process. You see. we have a PAYGO system on the Democratic side that says you have to pay for tax cuts. What is that assumption? That is. every time you have a tax cut. thats a tax expenditure. Thats the other language they used to use. In other words. the premise is that every dollar in your pocket is owned by the government. and only when they. at their sufferance. allow you to keep it is it okay. So if you give a tax cut or you maintain tax rates at present levels. you have an obligation here to somehow say. Thank you. Thank you Federal Government. Thank you members of the leadership on the Democratic side. Youve allowed me to keep my money if I can show how you pay for it. It used to be the other way around. government only spends what it takes in. not saying that you. the average American. have an obligation to pay for whatever they want to do. and if you dont. you have to somehow pay for it. It is your money in the first instance.
Date: 2010-02-03
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. this is a very simple bill. It returns the authority of managing our place to the Members of Congress. We are the legislative branch. The Capitol is our House. It is not the purview or within the province of the President of the United States. It seems strange. to say the least. that we have a process by which we do not direct who it is we establish as the person who is really the official caretaker of the Capitol. The Architect suggests that you sit in a room designing architectural designs for the purpose of new additions and new buildings. and the Architect would be responsible for that under his direction. But he really takes care of this place. He is the top appointed official to make sure that the House of Representatives. the United States Senate and the entire Capitol complex runs. And somehow. we have set up a situation in which there is input by the House. input by the Senate. and the tiebreaker is the President of the United States essentially. and that really doesnt make sense. We dont choose who the chief usher of the White House isand when I say "chief usher." people dont realize thats the person who runs the White House complex. And so it just makes very. very good sense. And I congratulate the gentlelady for bringing this to our attention. the gentleman. Mr. WAMP. and the other cosponsors. So I rise in support of this bill. which will. as we say. establish a bicameral process by which we appoint the Architect of the Capitol. The Architect has carried the responsibility of preserving and enhancing the Capitol complex since construction on the U.S. Capitol began in 1793. Following the construction of the Capitol Visitor Center. management and administration of that center was placed under the purview of the Architectfurther cementing the Architects role in support of the legislature and its operations. So accordingly. it is. as I say. the appropriate process by which the Architect is appointed by a bipartisan. bicameral process free of decisionmaking responsibility by the executive branch. The appointment process will be better aligned with the mission of the Office by emphasizing the relationship between the Architect and the ongoing legislative operations of the Federal Government. Mr. Speaker. I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee .
Date: 2010-02-03
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I hope we have a unanimous vote in favor of H.R. 2843. and then I hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will see the wisdom of this and join us in reasserting the proper role of the legislative branch. And hopefully we can convince the President to give up this responsibility that I am sure does not weigh heavily on him at the present time. This makes good sense. It ought to be accepted on a unanimous vote.
Date: 2010-02-03
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Filing for disability benefits isnt easy. There are deadlines to meet. complicated questions to answer. confusing forms to fill out. and doctor reports that need to be sent to Social Security. Its no wonder that close to twothirds of all those who appear before an administrative law judge need a representative to help them navigate the complex process. If benefits are paid. most representatives receive a fee of 25 percent of past due benefits. capped at $6.000. Since 1967. through a process known as "fee withholding." Social Security has withheld these fees from past due Social Security disability benefits and paid attorney representatives directly. However. nonattorney representatives and attorneys representing those applying for Supplemental Security Income. or SSI. benefits had to collect their fees from their clients. This changed in 2004 when Congress passed the Social Security Protection Act. This legislation created a 5year demonstration program that expanded fee withholding to SSI benefits and also allowed qualified nonattorneys to participate in fee withholding from Social Security and SSI benefits. The program expires March 1 of this year. Both the Social Security Administration and the Government Accountability Office have studied these programs and found that they are working. Well qualified nonattorneys are participating in fee withholding. and those applying for SSI benefits have greater access to representation. Now that the demonstration program is about to expire. advocates for those with disabilities and associations representing attorneys and nonattorneys alike support making these provisions permanent. I agree. So I was pleased to join with Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman JOHN TANNER. one of the great Democrats over there. along with Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman JIM MCDERMOTT and Ranking Member JOHN LINDER. to introduce H.R. 4532. the Social Security Disability Applicants Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010. Not only does this bill help those filing for disability benefits. it also saves the taxpayers $55 million over 10 years. as representatives pay the government a user fee for processing their payments. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I also hope our subcommittees will do more to make filing for disability benefits easier. The more progress we can make. the more our constituents will avoid losing their hardearned benefits to representatives in the first place. I thank Mr. TANNER for helping us with this. and I appreciate your time this morning as well.
Date: 2010-02-04
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Remember September 11. 2001? Two planes hit the World Trade Center. One plane crashed into the Pentagon and another was stopped from hitting its targets in Washington by the brave action of its passengers. All together. thousands diedcivilians and soldiersin that terrorist attack of war. Now. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. the selfprofessed mastermind of this act. and his four coconspirators are to be tried for this act. But the administration wants to take them out of the detention facility at the Navy base Guantanamo and try them in a civilian court. not a military court. To sweeten the deal. the administration is offering $200 million in a cash for courtrooms deal. No amount of Federal funds can compensate for the risk this trial would place on the people of New York. Pennsylvania. Virginia. or any other State that would seem to have jurisdiction. This unnecessarily jeopardizes the safety of the citizens. the jurors. and the judges in those communities. Mohammed and his coconspirators should be tried not in a civilian court for the terrorist acts of war. The American people get it. They want them to be judged by a military court. Why doesnt Washington get it. too?
Date: 2010-02-04
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. the Presidents $3.8 trillion budget proposal sets a lot of new recordsrecord spending. record deficits. record debt. We cant tax. spend. borrow. and bail out our way to recovery. If we could. we wouldnt have 10 percent unemployment after passing a multibilliondollar stimulus package and raising the debt limit to $14.3 trillion. Thats $47.000 for each American. Americans are sick and tired of the Democrats taxandspend agenda. Unfortunately. this Presidents budget only proposes more of the same. Its time for a new approach to fixing our economy. Lets focus on balancing the budget and lowering taxes for small businesses. Thats the way to grow the economy and finally create jobs. Congress should never vote for anything less.
Date: 2010-02-04
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Madam Speaker. as Yogi Berra once said. Its d6jd vu all over again. No way. It is d6ji vu all over again. Just a few months ago. the Democrats marched us down here to the House floor to raise the debt ceiling by over a quarter of a trillion dollars. But that wasnt enough. Here we are again. 90 days later. this time for a whopping $1.9 trillion debt limit increase. For the uninitiated. a century ago Congress very wisely instituted a statutory cap on the amount that the Federal Government could borrow. Unfortunately. Congress being Congress. this body raised that cap dozens of times during the 20th century and has apparently carried that tradition into this new decade with spectacular new fashion. As my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are no doubt clamoring over themselves to point out. both parties have done it in times of war and times of crisis. and more recently. this Democrat majority has made spending more of a priority than saving. In short. Madam Speaker. excuses dont make it right. I wanted to mention PAYGO. I actually voted for PAYGO. I was one of 18 Republicans who. when the Democrats took over. I voted for PAYGO. Unfortunately. this Democrat leadership has waived it so often it has become very ineffective. They waive it more than they implement it. So I ask my colleagues. dont be misled by socalled PAYGO language. because it simply isnt real.