macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I thank Mr. OBERSTAR for his leadership on this matter and for forging this bipartisan agreement. I rise today in support of H.R. 4979. the Local Community Recovery Act of 2006. I want Members to know I approve of. this language allowing setaside contracts based on a geographic region. Florida for yeats has pushed for more local company involvement. . This is something that Florida has been pushing for after every hurricane has battered our State. Every time contracts go to outof�state contractors who have- relationships with FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. Florida companies do not get the work. This provision will allow local communities to recover more quickly. It is important for all contractors to work with local compaiies and local workers who know the area and the best way to get the job done. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act provides assistance to States in response to natural disasters. I recommend that the agencies follow the law and allow local communities to recover from these natural disasters. Mr. Speaker. onApril 1-. hundreds of us will be going to New Orleans. It will be my second trip to work in that area and to try to encourage local participation and to find but the status so we cancome back and report to the Congress on the progress. I think every Member shodld go to the region and work in that region to make sure that the $100 billion dollars that we are appropriating is spent in the local area.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. it is a privilege to be here once again with the 30Something Working Group. and I want to thank the Dbmocratic leader. the gentlewoman from California . for giving us the opportunity to spend some time talking toiight about the priorities of the American people. I am thrilled this evening to be joined. as we. come to the end of Womens History Month. to be joined by my fellow freshman colleague and also my roommate while here in Washington. D.C.. the gentlewoman from Illinois
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

We talk about the deficit quite a bit in our 30something hour. and one of the ways that I sort of try to boil it down. because. you know. when you think about the number 8 trillion.. especially. I mean. I imagine you were talking to seventh graders. and 8 trillion is a really big number. Even $27.000 is a big number.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

So when we are on the floor here. I often try to boil down what those numbers mean in more simplistic terms. I can tell you that we. what we do is we talk about how it relates to someones household budget. And you know. of course. families. millions and millions of families across this country struggle every day to balance their budgets to make sure that they are not spending more than they take in. And they are hoping that they are not racking up credit card debt and trying to balance all the needs that their family has. plus. you know. hopefully buying a few things that maybe arent necessarily a need. but are just a want. I mean. that is something that in America we all strive to be able to accomplish. Hl 184 But unfortunately. in Washingt when we got here. we found that th seems to be. between the two si here. an ongoing struggle over whet or not it makes sense. amazingly. not spend more than you take in.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Just further explain the concept of PAY( we. as Democrats. have repeatedly troduced amendments and other I posals that would reestablish th PAYGO rules. the payasyougo ru. and we have supported them. We h put all of our votes up on the bo here that shows. where we are ver where our colleagues on the other.s of the aisle are. and Democrats h. " consistently supported returning pay as you go. returning to the ti when we didnt have to talk abou - deficit. where we had a surplus. wh was just" before this. the beginning this administrations tenure. And would be wonderful if we could back to talking about how we w going to spend the surplus. which wish we had. when now. unfortunat( we are mired in debt and mired in icit
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

just cant have it all. rmean. the ot story that I share with people when are here on the floor during this on. something hour is it is like when we ere talk to our kids. You know. sometimes des my 6yearold twins will say. Mom. .you her know. I really want. we will be in the to toy store and they want everything in every aisle. And. you know. gosh. I Low would love to buy them everything in ted every aisle. But often. I have to say tess "no." and then I try to explain to use them. you know. our budget. the Low money that morn and dad earnreally to only enables us to afford to buy you Ms. some of these things. You cant have g a everything you want. les. Ms. BEAN. Exactly. It is so fun to be ngs here with you because this is my first as time joining you in your 30something rk. colloquy. because at 44 I am a little gs I out~ide of the age span. so I appreciate you inviting me today. But it is fun for ing us to be able to talk about our children id. on the House floor where we havent ley done that before. But I think there are some very you strong parallels in what you are sayid.. ing. in that oftentimes I think in our tty roles in Congress with the public. with out our constituents. we have to bring a on little bit of tough love to the equation .his the way we do with our children. We to cant just tell people what they want of to hear. but. what they need to hear. nce which is the reality of our fiscal chaland lenges. s a Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. And. re- boy. as moms. we certainly have a lot. lef- of practice at that. and Ms. BEAN. At the tough love.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Tough to love is something that unfortunately 10. the word "no" gets thrown arounaI a lot in- more than I would like. than my kids ro- would like to hear. "No" -doesnt seem ose to exist in this body. at least under les. this leadership in the Congress. ave Ms. BEAN. Well. that is why PAYGO ard is an important thing. because it cresus ates an environment that forces those side kind of tough decisions and forces a ave more honest dialogue with the public to about what is affordable and what is me not. Absolutely. t a -Ms. WASSERMAN. SCHULTZ. I want ich to go back if you dont mind. I want to of go back to the chart that I was referit ring to earlier. get One of the things that we do try to ere do. and -I am pleased to see: that our we colleagues from Florida and Ohio have ely. joined us now. gut when we talk about lef- $8 trillion. and when we talk about what a billion means. we have come up an. with a chart that kind of tries to boil ced that down. This chart will help people. .ter it has helped people understand the nosty tion of how much a billion is. . to A billion hours ago. humans were n a making the first tools in the Stone hat Age. A billion seconds ago. it was 1975 hat and. the last American troops had the pulled out of Vietnam. A billion mindlse utes ago. it* was 104 A.D.. and.the Chire- nese first invented paper. And then. of course. under the leadership of this Toi Congress. and this administration. a her billion dollars ago was only 3 hours and we 32 minutes at the rate thatthe govern30- ment spends money today. That is a startling contrast. and I have some excellent staff work that went into developing that. that figur6d that out and boiled down what a billion is. But vhen you think about it that way. that means that. we are spending money at a startling clip and that given how much in other definitions it took to get. it takes to get to a billion. it is really amazing when you look at it in these terms.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Absolutely. We have another chart that we talk about. The amount of debt that has been racked up in just the last few years. just in the last 4 or 5 years is actually greater than all of the 42 administrations before this one. Imean. that is a truly astonishing statistic. I was really incredibly surprised about that. We also try to boil down the difference between the debt and the deficit. The deficit is related to the fact that we spend more than- we take in.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Right. The debt is the amount of money we borrow from other countries in order to remain fiscally solvent. I mean. that is truly amazing that we have s6 much debt that is owned by foreign nations. And I dont know if the gentleman from Florida is ready to jump in yet. but he has an amazing chart. as well. that shows the United States of America and the percentage of the debt that is owned by other nations.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It is just. we have got to get a handle on this. We have to restore some fiscal sanity. We have to put on some brakes and we need a little tough mother love. Maybe it is just that we need to bring a few more moms into this Chamber and we will have a little more tough love. because apparently the folks- here are either out of practice. or I dont know. maybe the discipline around their homes isnt. you know. is not so strong.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Actually this is a little "bit of a leap. but you and I sit on the Financial Services Committee together. and I know that you have been very involved in the data security issue because. in addition to the concern that Americans have over our debt and our deficit. they are also very concerned. and I know my constituents talk to me about this all the time. about the financial information that is out there about them personally is being compromised on a regular basis. And I know that you have really been a leader in that effort. and it would good for you to talk about it.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

That is somethipng that. with my 6yearolds and 2yearold coming up behind them. my husband and I are already talking about how to safeguard the information that they have access to and make" sure we are aware and keep them and their computer in close proximity to us because there is so. much out there. The Internet is an amazing thing. but there is so much out there. And whether it is data security or the security of our kids. we really have to make sure. that we strike a balance. which is what you have been fighting for. and I have as well and other Democratic members on our committee. We have to strike a balance between making sure that business has the ability to operate and function and that we not unnecessarily restrict comnierce on the Internet. I
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

You are absolutely right. One of the most amazing things about having the privilege that we have to represent our communities in Washington is the people that wO get to meet and interact with. And you and I. along with the other members of the bipartisan Womens Caucus. had an opportunity tonight to have dinner with former Justice Sandra Day OConnor. the first woman ever to serve on the United States Supreme Court.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It was incredible. And I mentioned to her that I was 13 when she was first nominated by thenPresident Reagan and that my parents raised fe to believe that young women. young girls could grow up and truly be anything they wanted to be and that was my first memory that that was the most clear example of that being true. And it was just a thrill to be able to share that with her tonight.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Absolutely. And I think it is only 70 women that serve with us in the House of Representatives out of 435 Members. You boil that ddwn even further. there is only a lrandful of us who are moms with young children. There are only four of us that are younger than 40 years old. The thing that sticks in my mind from the time that we were elected 1 h years ago now is that story that they shared with us when we were at our orientation initially. If you recall. there is a statistic that they described there. There have been a little less than 12.000 people in American history who have served in the United States * House of Representatives in all the 230year history. And of that number. only 211 of them have been women and 70 are serving now. So as we close out Womens History Month. Madam Speaker. and you are one of those women members in the Womens Caucus. and I remember talking with you. Madam Speaker. actually about when we heard that information. It was really astonishing. March.28. 2006
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It shows you that we have really come a long way. but it really demonstra tes why we need to continue to have Womens History Month and how it is so important to show young girls who are coming up behind us that they have the opportunity: They have to reach out and grab it. And it is our responsibility to pull other young women up on the platform with us now that we have been able to have an opportunity like this. not to be discriminatory against our male colleagues whom we are sharing the Chamber with this evening. And actually the gentleman from Florida is the dad of a young girl who is a wonderful young woman and works hard in school. and I know that especially since you are the son of one of the House of Representatives most revered women. former Congresswoman Carrie Meek. that surely you have something to add at the end of Womens History Month.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

How aboutthe amazing experience we had 2 weeks ago with the President of Liberia. the first woman president ofan African nation who addressed the joint session?
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

It was incredibly moving for all of us. And she didnt mention it during -her speech. but it was very fitting that she spoke during Womens History Month. And I am not certain of this. but she is certainly one. if not the only. woman leader to ever address a joint session of Congress. unless Margaret Thatcher had previously addressed a joint session. I have not found anyone .who actually could recall a woman addressing a joint session. So it was just really historic in so many different ways. I really also thought about how we could take several pages from her lesson book because a lot of things that she talked about. making sure that you did not only look out for the privileged and making sure that you thought about the needs of young children and young girls inparticular who needed to get an education and have hope and opportunity. In this country so often it appears as th6ugh the leadership in this body and in this country now has had a lot of disregard. -quite a bit of disregard. for those things. And I am certainly hopeful that our colleagues. were listening very carefully to her remarks and took them to heart.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Just to shift gears a little bit. recently we have been talking about homeland security quite a bit. and I am not sure if you had a chance to talk about that with the. seventh graders when you *ere in the classroom with them. but since we just came off a week. and. Mr. MEEK. I know that you spent some time talking to your constituents as well. I was really struck when I was home last week during our recess 15y how many more of my constituents appealed.to me to come back to Washington and make sure that I continue to fight to improve our national security. that their confidence in this governments ability to keep them safe has really been shaken on so many levels. not just in terms of protecting them from terrorists and from outside actors. but just generally had their confidence shaken in their. governments abilityto function. Ql 2245 I mean. the culture of corruption that has been .hanging over.this institution. sadly. and this administration. really has shaken the confidence. I think. of our constituents to their core. We really need to return to a tfme when we can restore that confidence. let them know that not all of the people in this government are in it for the wrong reasons. and that. in particular. we do put a very high priority on our national security.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And that the port deal that was recently proposed. and. seemingly. not had. an interest in even a 45day security review with a country that had been implicated in some way. in the 9/11 attacks. that is the kind of thing I heard about when I went home. I heard about how they are really deeply concerned about the lack of port security. I mean. we have invested now. we have thirdparty validators that we talk about here on this floor.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. MEEK. the thing that keeps coming to mind when I think about the comparison between the stress that has been put on airport security versus port security. if you ask. if you go out into the country and ask most Americans the difference that they have seen since 9/11 and in security in general. basically about the only thing that Americans could say that they could identify is they have to remove their shoes before they walk through a magnetometer at the airport. I think most people really feel Voday *that we should not be resting the sum total of our national security on taking your shoes off as you" go through a metal detector. American people expect quite a bit more than that when it comes to homeland security. especially if you live near a port. like my district includes .two. Port Everglades and the Port of Miami. We have sb many. so many potential openings around this country. and vulnerabilities. To focus all of our attention on only the ones that are most visible that provide the leadership here. the ability to say. see. we did that. we have taken care of that. and just provide surface reassurance about homeland security. that is the difference between words and action. It is the difference between nice commentary in speeches and actually backing up those words with action.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

You know what strikes me when you say that is that we talk abput the culture of corruption and cronyism and incompetence that has existed for quite some time now and it is only getting worse with every passing day. it is interesting that the. administration appears to think that just .by changing out a staffer. by swapping one person. a chief of staff. for another. that that is somehow going to magically transform this administration into a competent one. It is amazing to me that they could get materials into this country if they have been supposedly stepping up their commitment and our ability to keep our Nation secure in the last 5 years. How is that possible if they are running a tight ship like they say they are?
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr.- partyline vote. DELAHUNT. Mr. RYAN. you talk about Time and time again. the Democratic A.D.D. and lack of focus in terms of Party has offered amendments in commaking sure we can keep this Nation mittee to increase funding for homesafe. Lest people think that the DPW land security. and the majority side. port deal was an isolated incident time and time again. shoots .down where we think that that was an anom- those amendments to add additional aly and we are not continuing down funding. But if it comes to giving. tax that path of engaginig foreign govern- cuts to the wealthiest people in the ments and the corporations they own country. they are all standing. saying to help us with our national security or we have got to go for it. but if we need to be involved in our national security. an extra $1 billion for homeland securight after the withdrawal of DPW we rity. everyone heads for the hills. and learn. and through a third party they hide under the seats. validator again. the Associated Press. Heres a list. June 17. 2003. Mr. OBEY that the administration acknowledged from Wisconsin. increase port and marthat they issued a nobid contract to itime security by $500 million. RepubHutchinson Whampoa Limited which licans defeated the amendment on a represents the first time a foreign com- partyline vote. pany will be involved in running a -so- June 24. 2003. another amendment by phisticated radiation detector at an Mr. OBEY. increase port and maritime overseas port without American cus- security again by $500 million. We are toms agents present. not even addressing the problem. I I mean. what is going on? mean. $7 billion more we need. $6- or $7 We are from Florida. The Bahamas is billion more just to address what the 30 minutes by plane. It is really unbe- Coast Guard is telling us we need. Mr. lievable that there is an astonishing OBEY is only asking for $500 million. lack of concern about the gaping holes Madam Speaker. Republicans block in our national security that this ad- consideration of that amendnYent by a ministration appears to have no vote of 222200. That is Rollcall vote qualms about leaving unprotected. 305. Madam Speaker. and this other one
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

that alluded 97. for the Members. Madam Speaker. earlier to the experience of Katrina and who would like to look it up. othernational disasters. I mean. there We are not making this up. You peowas a report issued again by a sub- ple want to know what the Democrats committee of this House that con- want to do? We want to increase fundcluded that the response to Katrina ing for port security. and the Repubwas a failure of leadership. I mean. lican majority will not let us. that cannot be said any more suc- September. 17. 2003. Mr. OBEY. Mr. cinctly or simply. SABO and Senator BYRD tried again to A member of the committee. again. a increase funding to enhance port and Republican. let me repeat that. not a maritime security. $475 million. Guess Democrat but a Republican. our col- what happened. Madam Speaker. Releague. CHRIS SHAYS from Connecticut. publicans defeated this amendment on said this: The report is very tough on a partyline vote. You want to know the President. It is very tough. on the what the Democrats want to do. Department of -Homeland Security. It Madam Speaker? We want to increase is a blistering report but I think it is funding for port security by half a bilfair. lion dollars. Thepanel found that Homeland Secu- June 9. 2004. another amendment by rity Secretary Michael Chertoff was Mr. OBEY of Wisconsin in the Approdetached. and that the thenFEMA Di- priations Committee to increase port rector Michael Brown was clueless. and container security by $400 million. We are not asking for an arm and a leg here. We are still $6.5 billion away from where we need to be. but we are just trying to chip away. Throw us a bone. Help us out. We just want to get moving in the right direction here. What happened again? Republicans defeated the amendment on a partyline vote. Hbuse Report 108541. page 128. Go look it up. I am quite frankly tired of hearing that the Democrats do not have an agenda because every single day in committee. no matter what committee it is. Appropriations Committee. .Armed Services Committee. Education Committee. Homeland Security Committee. we are trying to get things done. and the Republicans block us every single time. This is what the Democrats want to do and we are getting blocked.
Date: 2006-03-28
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Make* sure we are clear about which part of the Congress is afraid and where the leadership has been exercised on our side of the aisle in terms of that oversight and where it has been shunned on the Republican side of the aisle. Mr.