macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 3. line 5. strike "or". Page 3. after line 5. insert the following: "(C) the date on which such issuer has. during the previous 3year period. issued more than $1.000.000.000 in nonconvertible debt. or". Page 3. line 6. strike "(C)" and insert "(D)". Page 4. line 8. strike "or". Page 4. after line 8. insert the following: "(C) the date on which such issuer has. during the previous 3year period. issued more than $1.000.000.000 in nonconvertible debt. or". Page 4. line 9. strike "(C)" and insert "(D) ". The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 572. the gentlewoman from Texas and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me acknowledge. first of all. the combined efforts that have generated this approach to putting Americans back to work. Let me acknowledge the manager that is on the floor. Congresswoman WATERS. for her enormous leadership on many of these issues. as well as the ranking member of the full committee. Mr. FRANK. who certainly has served and exercised his willingness to deal with questions of these markets. and. of course. my friend from Texas who is managing this and is. again. I hope working with us in a bipartisan way on some very serious matters. Again. let me emphasize that the most effective way to reduce our deficit is to put Americans back to work. My amendment in this legislation deals with acknowledging that the emerging companies under this legislationprovides for 5 years from the date of the EGCs initial public offering. 2. the date an EGC has $1 billion in annual growth. and then the date the EGC becomes "a large accelerated filer." which is defined by the Securities and Exchange. a number of provisions to. in essence. help small businesses. This is an important principle. But my amendment adds a requirement that a company would not be considered an emerging growth company. an EGC. if it has issued more than $1 billion in nonconvertible debt over the prior 3 years. Let me suggest that we are doing better than many of us might think. Many aspects of this bill. for example. will help community banks. which will help other small businesses. But if we look to the economy as we speak. the private sector unemployment has grown for 23 straight months. the economy has grown for 10 straight quarters. overall business investment is going up. corporate profits are up. as are investments in equipment and software. and exports have been a source of growth. But emerging growth of small businesses needs the extra push. because when you think of the backbone of America. you think of small businesses. As a matter of fact. it is not uncommon for a company to be financed with debt as opposed to equity. and that while $1 billion is not what it used to be. it is still a pretty substantial sum of money. So what I am saying is I want to help small businesses. but I also want to ensure that we do not expand this legislation where it is not actually helping those smaller emergent growth companies that truly are in need. For years. both Wall Street and big banks lacked the requisite government and oversight accountability. and I believe that it is important to ensure continued oversight but continued help for these particular companies. With that. Id ask my colleagues to support this amendment. and I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I like the concept of emerging growth. and I think the concept is to build these businesses up. to give them greater opportunities. What I am suggesting is that. the amendment suggests that if you have issued more than a billion dollars. you have grown sufficiently to have an additional standard or a different standard. This particular amendment suggests that we have a framework for emerging growth.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Id tell my good friend. it is not 3 years. I thought that was an appropriate framework for a billion dollars. If you spread it out over a period of time. thats $300 million to $400 million a year. Let me just say that I think the concept is so important. to my friend from Texas. that a friendly modification would be welcomed in the timeframe. But I think the billion dollars is an appropriate standard. if you will. for trying to ensure that we really do boost and give latitude to emerging growth companies.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me just conclude my remarks. and if I might. let me yield to the gentleman. because I did not hear him clearly. Let me yield to the gentleman from Texas. Id like to raise the question. I did not hear your support or opposition to this initiative.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 13. line 10. strike "or institutions that are accredited investors". Page 13. line 11. strike "terms are respectively" and insert "term is". Page 13. line 12. strike "and section 230.501(a)". The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 572. the gentlewoman from Texas and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the chairman very much. I started my earlier discussion with a previous amendment by suggesting that our underlying premise or the goal should be to reduce the deficit and to put America back to work. This concept of emerging growth opportunities or emerging growth companies is. in fact. I believe. a viable step of doing so. I do want to remind my colleagues again that overall business investment is growing. corporate profits are up. as are investments in equipment and software. Exports have been a source of strength. Were working very hard to ensure that we reinvigorate manufacturing. We want to make it in America. We want to bring companies back home. and certainly we want to encourage investment. Private sector employment has grown for 23 months. and the economy has grown for 10 straight quarters. My amendment is to discuss the fine distinctions between those who are very sophisticated and those who are not. My amendment narrows the permissible exemption to allow oral or written communications with potential investors who are qualified institutional investors. but it omits accredited investors from this exemption in the name of investor protection. That is simply to say that we know that the accredited investors are less. if you will. able with the information that they have to compete with what we have classified as qualified institutional investors. The idea of this amendment is to ensure that an accredited investor would not be considered a qualified investor and therefore be taken advantage of. Under the bill. the commonly known testthewaters provision would amend the Securities Act of 1933 to expand the range of permissible prefiling communication to sophisticated institutional investors to allow emerging growth companies to determine whether qualified institutional or accredited investors might have an interest in a contemplated securities offering. Mine is an amendment simply being concerned about the accredited investors and whether or not there is the equal playing field alongside of the qualified institutional investors. which you would expect would have far more sophistication in making determinations about investments. It is simply an effort to provide extra protection for those who will now be out in the marketplace under these emerging growth concepts. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. and I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 15. line 16. strike the quotation mark and final period and after such line insert the following: (3) ADDITIONAL FILING FEE.-In order to discourage frivolous filings with the Commission. the Commission shall establish a fee that shall apply to any draft registration statement submitted to the Commission for confidential nonpublic review pursuant to paragraph (1). The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 572. the gentlewoman from Texas and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me say to my good friend from Texas. Im going to look forward to working with him on the previous amendment that simply was misconstrued. and we certainly want to respect those who have a million dollars outside their window. but we also want to ensure that we have protection for those less sophisticated investors. The amendment that I have before me. likewise. has an intent to allow the SEC not to be plagued by frivolous filings. But I want to work with the committee going forward. and so I will not pursue this amendment. And. Mr. Chairman. Im going to ask unanimous consent to withdraw this amendment No. 8 at this time. I will conclude by saying I like batting .500. and I will continue to work with this committee on these important issues. The Acting CHAIR. Without objection. the amendment is withdrawn.
Date: 2012-03-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor the achievements of Captain Robert C. Grant. who has dedicated his life to serving our Nation and protecting the residents of south Florida. Captain Grant is retiring after a distinguished career with the United States Coast Guard Reserve. where he served as the deputy chief of staff of the Seventh Coast Guard District. His selfless work has included providing support to Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. assisting in relief efforts after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. and building strong bonds between the Coast Guard and the Cuban and Haitian communities of south Florida through dedicated public outreach. In his capacity as a congressional liaison. he was instrumental in this bodys work on combating maritime smuggling and other threats. He has received numerous military awards and unit citations. and is capping a career that has also included service in the United States Air Force Reserve and the United States Treasury Department. On a personal note. I cant thank Captain Grant enough for his friendship over the years. I know I speak for my staff as well as the greater south Florida community when I say. Cap tain Grant. we are all so proud of your career and your accomplishments. and you will be sorely missed. Thank you for your service.
Date: 2012-03-08
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Speaker. I rise today in recognition of International Womens Day. Today is a day that honors numerous women who have actively and passionately participated in various economic. social. and political issues within their communities. Women around the world continue to face significant obstacles in all aspects of their lives. including discrimination. gender bias. and the denial of basic human rights. Lets take a look at Vietnam. for example: Ms. Bui Thi Minh Hang. who was sentenced without trial to 2 years of reeducation camp for participating in peaceful protests related to the Eastern Sea. or Ms. Do Thi Minh Hanh. a labor organizer. who was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for advocating for farmers and workers rights. or Ms. Pham Thanh Nghien. who was unfairly sentenced to 4 years imprisonment. followed by 3 years house arrest for participating in a nonviolent hunger strike in her home related to the issue of the Eastern Sea. In the discourse of womens rights. these women are only three of the many voices who have been unjustly sentenced to prison without any due process. Madam Speaker. I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in recognizing International Womens Day and the women who are advocating for freedom and democracy in their communities and in countries such as Vietnam. 1l 1010
Date: 2012-03-08
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I was very happy to yield to the gentleman. and I indicated to you in the spirit of bipartisanship. although Ive not had the privilege of having Joe cut my hair. let me congratulate Joe the Barber because he is the epitome of a public servant. He has worked for this august institution for 42 years. and Im very proud to say that he can claim that he has cut the hair of all of our Speakers. And I dont think our Speaker. who has outstanding Italian heritage. our former Speaker. Speaker PELOSI. would in any way shy away from congratulating this distinguished gentleman who came to this country and literally is a walking. if you will. American Dream. So I want to congratulate you. Joe the Barber. on behalf of a bipartisan Congress and join my colleague. Mr. BURTON. in congratulating you for your service. You are truly a public servant. an inspiration to all of your family members. and we wish you a long life. Again. congratulations for 42 years to Joe the Barber. With that. I will continue my remarks and thank the Speaker.
Date: 2012-03-19
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3992. Introduced by my friend and colleague from California. HOWARD BERMAN. this bipartisan bill will allow Israeli nationals who want to make substantial investments and create jobs in the United States to obtain E2 "treaty investor" visas. if the Government of Israel extends an equivalent status to U.S. citizens. An E2 visa is a temporary. nonimmigrant visa that permits foreign investors to temporarily live and work in the U.S. if they make a substantial investment in an enterprise in the United States. Nationals of 79 countries are now eligible for E2 visa status. including almost all of the United States allies and trading partners. Yet Israel. one of our closest and dearest allies. is not on the list. Since April 3. 1954. Israel has been eligible for E1 visas through the E1 "treaty trader" program. which makes temporary visas available to employees of firms engaged in substantial trade between our two countries. These visas helped increase trade between our two nations. which saw trade exceeding $36 billion in 2009. In 2009. Israel was the company to invest cash and inventory into a medical equipment company based in Massachusetts. The E2 visa program would create an incentive for these investments. and many others. Those investments in the United States will benefit both countries economically. helping to spur economic growth and job creation. And all of this with one of our countrys closest and most steadfast allies. This bill is essentially a nobrainer. It is not easy these days to find common ground on immigration issues. Mr. BERMAN deserves a good deal of credit for finding an area where we can find such common ground and for working with our Republican colleagues to make this a bipartisan bill. I want to extend my thanks to him for identifying this deficiency in our current immigration law. crafting a smart solution and then marshaling broad support for its adoption. Our country will be more prosperous. as will Israel. as a result of his efforts. I also thank Chairman SMITH and Chairwoman ILEANA RoSLEHTINEN of the Foreign Affairs Committee for their support of this important piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Date: 2012-03-19
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I would like to announce that I am going to cosponsor H.R. 4169. the Sudan Security. Peace. and Accountability Act. Im doing this. Mr. Speaker. because it has been called to our attention that there are atrocities still taking place in Sudan. People are suffering. people are dying. and there is a possibility of a humanitarian crisis developing. This bill will allow sanctions to be imposed. I would also like to thank Mr. George Clooney and his father for calling these atrocities to our attention. I hope to say more about this in the days to come.
Date: 2012-03-19
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. how much longer can we continue to watch the bloodshed and slaughter in Syria without demanding the United Nations collaborative action providing those rebels. along with states out of the Arab League. the weapons that they need? We know that there is a hesitation to begin air attacks. but when you see the slaughter. the loss of life of women and children. it is outrageous. We learned today that Russia joined the Red Cross in calling for a daily truce in Syria for humanitarian needs. That is not enough. Russia and China should stop their blocking of the United Nations and the Security Council of providing some aid to save the lives of innocent women and children. This is a humanitarian crisis and it calls for a quick response. Yes. the Red Cross and humanitarian aid should be allowed in. but we should provide for those who are trying to defend themselves against oppression the kind of support on the ground that is necessary. Where is the Arab League? Where is the collaborative effort of the United Nations? Where is the outcry for the bloodshed in Syria?
Date: 2012-03-19
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. as we celebrate the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act this week. we should reflect on the progress made in this country. It has only been two years since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. but millions of Americans are already seeing lower costs and better coverage. This includes tens of thousands of people in the 30th District of Texas. Texans are saving more than $1.3 million in health care costs. an average of $639.36 per beneficiary. and 210.700 Texans are directly saving on their Medicare prescriptions. Residents of my district. ranging from young adults to seniors to children with preexisting conditions. are all already receiving critical benefits. 9.100 young adults in my district now have health insurance. and 54.000 seniors have received Medicare preventative services without paying any copays. coinsurances. or deductibles. Mr. Speaker. as the many benefits of the health care law continue to be implemented. I will continue to fight efforts to repeal this critical law. Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act will put the insurance companies back in charge and will lead to higher costs and reduced benefits for millions of Americans across the country.
Date: 2012-03-20
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to give a great expression of gratitude to the Clooney family. Mr. George Clooney and his father. Nick. were among the many who were arrested on Friday. March 16. protesting over at the Sudanese Embassy. I am saluting them. and am grateful to them because not only of what they did that day but of what Mr. Clooney did when he went into Sudan. at some considerable risk I might add. to secure evidence of what was taking place there and what is taking place. Those who would like to see some of the evidence can go to www.enoughproject.org. You can actually see the video. I believe what he and those others who were arrested have done merits having a flag flown over the Capitol. We will fly a flag over the Capitol in honor of those who participated in the protest movement.
Date: 2012-03-20
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Thank you. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to offer a final amendment to H.R. 2087 that. if passed. would bring the bill promptly back for a vote on final passage. Mr. Speaker. this final amendment is noncontroversial. and it aims to do one simple thingand that is to protect the land of taxpayers. The bill. itself. goes against so many things that the majority has said that they would fight for in this Congress. This legislation would provide a local county in Virginia an $800.000 windfall by allowing the county to violate a contractual agreement without any justification. Thats the current bill. Thats what the bill that you want to pass does. Im against that. Here in this Congress we did away with earmarks. But when I look at this $800.000 windfall that you are voting on. I say thats an earmark. This is a very small step in the larger Republican plan to sell off our valuable Federal land. such as National Parks. forests. and public lands to developers. However. even if youre for giving away land the way thats done in this bill. my final amendment would give us the opportunity to ensure that this land would not be owned and used for adult entertainment facilities or sold to or used by a foreign government that could use this to steal our national security secrets. So I ask my colleagues on the other side: Will you join us in protecting taxpayerowned land? The final amendment is very simple and would outlaw the sale or the use of the land for any ownership or operation of an adult book store. a novelty adult store. a video adult store. an arcade or live entertainment facility. I think we can all agree that we should not be giving away Federal property to facilitate adult live entertainment. In fact. if youre not convinced of that. then let me tell you the second thing we dont want to happen close to that land. and that is that land adjoining this piece of property were talking about today should not fall into the hands of those who would want to spy on our top secrets. As you probably know. Im a senior member of both the House Armed Services Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. and every day. I deal with the issues of national security threats. The issue is the proximity of the NASA Wallops spaceflight facility to the land in question. so my final amendment is aimed at protecting national security secrets from countries like China or Iran. What if a country like Iran or China would purchase that land and eavesdrop on our NASA spaceflight facility? I am sure that my colleagues would agree that this land is worth protecting. In fact. to remind my colleagues on the other side. this is the final amendment to this bill. Its not going to kill the bill. and it wont take it back to committee. So. if adopted. the bill would be amended and it would go to final passage. I ask my colleagues to do the right thing to protect our taxpayerowned land. Regardless of how you feel about the bill. this amendment is one that I believe we should all be behind. I believe that we can all vote "yes" on this final amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2012-03-21
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. for decades. women in this country have unfairly borne the burden of excessive health care costs. Fortunately. through the Affordable Care Act. millions of women no longer have to worry about going bankrupt if they get sick. The Affordable Care Act ensures that being a woman will no longer be treated as a preexisting condition. The Affordable Care Act bans insurance companies from requiring women to obtain a referral for access to necessary OB/ GYN care and bans insurance companies from dropping women when they get sick or pregnant. Despite these accomplishments in womens health. the war on women continues in Texas. Governor Perrys political decision to forgo nearly $40 million in Federal funding for the Texas Medicaid Womens Health Program will leave 130.000 women without access to preventative health services. Despite these obstacles. I will continue to fight for the increased access to quality health care for women in Texas.