macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-10-04
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding. I oppose this rule. and I oppose the bill. I dont oppose it because my district does not need the assistance. I represent one of the most impoverished and disadvantaged districts in America. We have great need. Fortunately. many of my constituents know the difference between genuinely trying to help them or. as the guys in the barber shop might say. "gaming them." Or they may say. "Fool me once. shame on you. fool me twice. shame on me." Or they could say that this piecemeal approach is not going to cut it. Poverty in my State of Illinois is at nearly 15 percent. And in my district. child poverty is 40 percent. Women. 28 percent. African Americans. 38 percent. Twentythree percent of Asian Americans and 24 percent of Latinos in my district live in poverty. Overall. 196.478 people in my district live in poverty. So you can see we need the assistance. But we also need affordable health care. We need LIHEAP. We need mortgage assistance. We need to get homeless people off the street during Chicagos cold winters. Therefore. I cannot support this piecemeal approach. What we need is a clean CR so that our employees can return to work and our people can receive the services and benefits that they so greatly need and rightly deserve. We need a clean CR.
Date: 2013-10-04
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in opposition to H.J. Res. 85. a bill which claims to fund operations at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. but in reality is a piecemeal approach to funding government operations in order to score political points. Let me be clear. I support FEMA and appreciate greatly the dedicated men and women who work on behalf of FEMA. but I do not support this bill because. in the end. it does more harm than good. I believe the proper way to fund FEMA is for Congress to fulfill its constitutional responsibility and pass regular appropriations bills. The House passed a full year funding bill for DHS in June that would provide $40.1 billion more for DHS than the bill before us today. Using a piecemeal approach to fund selected programs within an agency neglects other important programs within that same agency. In this case. supporting H.J. Res. 85 funds FEMA at the expense of the Secret Service. the Army Corps of Engineers and the Office of Disaster Assistance at the Small Business Administration. The fact is that by taking up the Senates clean continuing resolution and sending it to the President for his signature tonight. we can fund FEMA. DHS and all the other important programs and services of the government. That is why I call on my colleagues to bring up the Senate CR so we can end this shut down and get all our federal workers back on the job.
Date: 2013-10-04
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman. Madam Speaker. Congress should reopen the Federal Government in its entirety and not continue to hold the Federal Government and the American people hostage. The fact is. by closing the Federal Government. Republicans in the House are jeopardizing critical services for mothers and their children. They should have realized this when they shut down the entire Federal Government. It is not enough just to restore one set of services for women. infants. and children. like the WIC program. but not to fund food stamps or income assistance or housing vouchers. for example. which the same mothers and children rely on to hold their families together. This is literally taking food out of the mouths of children. Republicans are taking a lot of heat for closing down the government. so they want to open up one part or another to relieve the pressure under them. But this doesnt help these families. This doesnt help these families because theyre cutting other resources and services to these families. Republicans should allow the House to vote on a bill to open up the whole Federal Government. and then we can sit down and talk about what the budget will look like for the rest of the year. They should stop trying to kill the new health care law that will help some of these very same families that depend upon WIC. And they should stop picking winners and losers based upon the political realities out there that the American public is getting angrier and angrier at how theyre treating the recipients of Federal assistance in this country today. I urge people to vote against this legislation.
Date: 2013-10-05
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. Members of the House. this last week must have been quite a civics lesson for the members of the Tea Party who thought that they could shut down the governmentand. in fact. shut down the governmentand nobody would miss it. But soon they discovered that there were serious problems with that. Now we see one bill after another: to restore the NIH because they found they stranded cancer patients and other people in need of their health. to restore the WIC program because they found out that the newest born infants in this country would be without nutrition. the veterans programs because they found out our veterans would be stranded. the assistance to go to school would be cut off. Our national parks. they never thought those communities would be impacted by the national parks. They didnt care about that. They shut them down. But they were here asking for relief. They found they needed the weather service as the hurricane was approaching our Gulf States. They needed FEMA. They needed someone to organize the evacuation routes in case it became a fullblown hurricane. The CIA. they discovered they laid off 70 percent of the assets within the CIA. This goes on and on and on and on. Welcome to America. a big. diverse Nation where we all need one another at one time or another.
Date: 2013-10-05
Speaker: BEN RAY LUJAN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New Mexico

Mr. Speaker. words do have meaning. Instead of working together to do our jobs and resolve these critical issues. Republicans have taken a decidedly different approach. one they seem to have been looking forward to for some time. to make another desperate attempt to stop the Affordable Care Act. The government shutdown could be the most damaging thing to hit our economy since the budget sequestration they imposed on Americans. I would say to my colleague that I just heard from. the prayer this morning is so appropriate. a prayer of St. Francis: make me a keeper of your peace. There are people who are hurting and in trouble. Let us look inside to the moral obligations that we have and see what we can do to come together. Please. let us vote on the continuing resolution passed by the Senate. These are the Republican budget numbers the Democrats have agreed to compromise with. Please. listen to St. Francis. Look inside and see what we can do together.
Date: 2013-10-05
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank my friend from Maryland. No one should be made to suffer for actions that are no fault of their own. so Im very pleased that were taking up this measure to ensure that dedicated Federal workers who are among the many innocent victims of this government shutdown will be held harmless in the long run. But this important measure simply highlights the sheer folly of keeping the Federal Government shut down for one additional minute. These are public servants who are paid to do what they love to doto serve the public. So for goodness sake. let them all get back to work for the public now. This bill. Mr. Speaker. doesnt say lets just pay the Federal employees at FEMA. It doesnt say lets just pay the Federal employees at the national parks. It doesnt say lets just pay the Federal employees at the piecemeal. cherrypicking agencies that our Republican colleagues have brought to the floor. It says lets make sure we hold all Federal employees whole. Absolutely. And lets reopen the entire Federal Government and do it now. Mr. Speaker. let us have a vote on that very simple proposition.
Date: 2013-10-05
Speaker: BEN RAY LUJAN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New Mexico

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this bill which is important to all the Federal employees in New Mexico. This bill ensures that furloughed employees will be made whole. It is also important for contract employees who work at our national labs. It is clear that Congress intends to insulate those workers who provide vital services to our Nation from the effects of the shutdown. In the past. DOE has sought to treat lab employees the same as Federal employees. This legislation sets the precedent for how those employees will be treated. We are sending the message that DOE should certify backpay for lab employees as an allowable cost so they will be made whole if they are furloughed. I submit into the RECORD my letter to Secretary Moniz expressing congressional intent to insulate those workers who provide vital services to our Nation from the effects of a shutdown. which includes contract employees at our national labs.
Date: 2013-10-05
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 3223. the "Federal Employees Retroactive Pay Fairness Act." which provides for retroactive pay for nearly 800.000 federal workers who have been furloughed as a result of the government shutdown engineered by the Tea Party faction of House Republicans. I am pleased to cosponsor and support this bill because it is the right thing to do. The men and women who have been furloughed because of this manufactured crisis are not responsible for the budget impasse. They did not vote to reject the clean continuing resolution passed by the Senate that would have resolved the crisis and made this legislation necessary. The dedicated men and women of the federal civilian workforce. like those who serve in the Armed Forces. have not spent their professional lives trying to defund the Affordable Care Act or threatening to refuse to raise the debt limit and risking the full faith and credit of the United States. Instead. these loyal and committed public servants are motivated by their paramount interest in serving the American public without fear or favor and. for the last four days. without any guarantee that they would be compensated for their labor. And yet. they gladly and willingly serve. some risking their lives to keep us safe. Others stand watch monitoring weather systems and providing information necessary to protect the public from hurricanes and tornadoes and wildfires or conduct research to find cures for disease or that will lead to technological innovations or help us mark and measure the far reaches of space. Others work to secure the borders and homeland. ensure the safety of our food and water. serve our seniors and children. provide training and support for those looking for work. and protecting our environment and keeping watch over our treasuresour national parks and monuments. including this magnificent Capitol where the people have sent us to do their business. Mr. Speaker. the men and women of the federal workforce do the peoples business. They serve everyone equally. They do not single out some persons to serve and ignore others. They do not cherrypick. We should follow their example. And the best way to do that is to call up and put to a vote the clean continuing resolution passed by the Senate last week. That is the best way to keep faith with all persons who serve the American people as employees of the Federal Government. and those who depend upon the services they provide. Mr. Speaker. holding harmless the federal employees who have been furloughed by this unnecessary government shutdown is a matter of simple justice. I urge all Members to join me in voting for H.R. 3223.
Date: 2013-10-05
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. as we enter the fifth day of the Republican government shutdown. thousands of federal employees and their families must continue to face the uncertainty of how soon they will be able to return to work. The longer that this shutdown continues. the harder it will be for the more than 800.000 workers on furlough to budget and plan for the future. That is why. in a gesture of basic equality. I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 3223. the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act. This common sense legislation would provide retroactive compensation to federal employees who have been furloughed due to the House Republican leaderships refusal to pass a clean budget. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers. many of whom belong to the middle class. are still recovering from a threeyear pay freeze. Placing the additional burden of unpaid leave of absence on these families is both unnecessary and unjust. The consequences of the Republican government shutdown extend far beyond federal workers and their paychecks. Federal research activity is already grinding to halt. impacting our longterm competitiveness and capacity to innovate. Consumer protections through the Federal Aviation Administration. the Department of Health and Human Services. and others have ceased. Further. the U.S. economy is losing millions of dollars in lost economic output each day that the federal government remains closed. Mr. Speaker. House Republicans have been determined to cause a government shutdown in order to advance an extreme political agenda. Now. the American people and the U.S. economy are stuck with the consequences. Retroactively paying these federal employees will help mitigate the negative effects of this unexpected furlough. We owe it to the American people to practice good governance and Republicans in Congress have failed at this most basic responsibility.
Date: 2013-10-05
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker and Members. I want to wish a congratulations to our Republican majority and a thank you for bringing a bill to the floor that would guarantee the pay for the furloughed Federal employees. The essential employees who are already working will be paid from existing law. so now we pass it to the Senate where those furloughed employees will be able to be paid. My question of the majority Republicans is: now that were going to pay these furloughed employees. lets bring them back to work. Why would we not bring them back to work if were paying for them? Ive heard of people being paid not to work. but Ive never heard it from the Republican majority before that. I voted for it. and it passed unanimously out of the House. but lets bring those folks back to work. Lets reopen this government. and lets bring back those dedicated Federal employees so they dont have to stand down there and stop our veterans from going to the World War II Memorial. Theyre the folks who are working on all of the things that make our country great. so lets bring them back to work. We can do that. We are going to pay them. Lets let them come back and do their jobs.
Date: 2013-10-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the distinguished gentleman from California. and I thank him for his leadership. Mr. Speaker. what baffles me is that our Republican friends are seemingly acting like theres business as usual. that we are quietly on the floor of the House. just passing a food safety initiative. Our House is on fire. and theres nobody here to put the fire out. Were in the middle of a government shutdown. Of course Im committed to the principles of this legislation. as my colleagues. as the ranking member. as the ranking member of the full committee. as Ms. DELAURO and Mr. WAXMAN are. We are all committed to this. May I remind my friends that 45 percent of the FDA employees. they are on furlough. Just today. four people in Texas were arrested because of FDA criminal investigators. They were trying to sell stem cell packages to sick people. devastated people. that were fraudulent and diseased and inappropriate to terminally ill people. It was the FDA criminal investigators that were able to make this case and the U.S. Attorney in my district said "thank you." But right now there are U.S. Attorneys across the Nation getting ready to lay off their attorneys. The House is on fire. and my friends dont seem to understand. Let me just share with you that there are usually 80 inspections on food facilities a day. Theyre not going on right now. Up to October 17. there will be some 960 facilities not inspected. and the only reason is that we will not come to the floor. put the clean CR on the floor. and have 195 plus 21 people vote in the majority to open the doors of this government. But more importantly. have you heard the stories of families whose husbands or wives are laid off. struggling to make ends meet. calling on relatives to be able to help them? Youve heard of the young woman who came to my attention who had to be carried away to a shelter because she was suffering domestic abuse because of the financial crisis. or maybe you havent heard that 70 percent of Americans and 51 percent of Republicans are saying. We dont like what youre doing. Republicans. We want this government to open.
Date: 2013-10-07
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my friend from California. Mr. Speaker. I have the privilege of representing the congressional district that is home to the Food and Drug Administration. Those individuals do great work for our country. and I can tell you. Mr. Speaker. nobodyand I mean nobodyis being fooled by this ridiculous stunt that the Republicans in this House are pulling. trying to cherrypick little pieces of government to fund when they know theyre not going anywhere. when the American people know that this House is in possession of a piece of legislation that. if we were allowed to vote on it. would go to the Presidents desk tonight. he would sign it. and we would open up all of government immediatelyFDA. NIH. the VA. everything. The position Republicans are taking is made even more ridiculous by what we did on Saturday. On Saturday. we said. Were going to pay all Federal employeesnot just employees at FDA. not just at NIHall Federal Government employees. That was the right thing to do. Now youre saying you only want to keep some of those agencies open. not all of them open. So what our Republican colleagues are telling the American people is. we want to pay all the employees in the Federal Government. but we dont want to allow a lot of them to go to work. We want to pay for everybody in the Federal Government. but we dont want to allow everybody to go to work. What kind of policy is that? Now. Mr. Speaker. just this weekend. the Speaker of this House admitted on national television that he had reached an agreement with the Democratic leader in the United States Senate. Senator HARRY REID. where HARRY REID and the Senate Democrats said. We will agree on a temporary basis to the lower funding levels in the sequester in exchange for making sure we have a clean continuing resolution. that we keep the government open. Thats what the Speaker agreed to. But then he came back to this House. and he couldnt hold his caucus. Why? Because Senator CRuz and a radical reckless faction said. No. we cant do that. We have to close the government unless we shut down the Affordable Care Act. And that position hasnt changed. Thats why today we cant open the government. because our Republican colleagues want to continue to shut down the Affordable Care Act. Lets vote today to open the whole government. Lets have a vote. Mr. Speaker. on the bill thats in our possession.
Date: 2013-10-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to express my support for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which has already significantly improved health care for Americans. The six month enrollment period for Americans to sign up for affordable health care coverage in the statebased Health Insurance Marketplaces has begun. Important decisions on government finding and the debt ceiling await votes while politics take center stage and the soundness of our economy remains in question. House Republicans have caused a government shutdown in order to advance a delusional political agenda spearheaded by disdain for the Affordable Care Act. In a demonstration of hollow leadership. politics are being placed before people. Instead of approving the Senatepassed funding bill. House Republicans have cast yet another vote to undermine the Affordable Care Act for the fortythird time since its passage. However. the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and many have already benefited from its implementation. In Texas. families have saved $46.3 million in insurance company refunds. Medicare beneficiaries in the "donut hole" have saved $420.7 million in prescription drugs. More than 40.000 Americans and 17 million American children with preexisting conditions gained insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. The Congressional Budget Office released a study showing that the Affordable Care Act will provide coverage for an additional 32 million people while reducing overall health care costs. The new health care law will only grow stronger and expand access to quality coverage with the statebased Health Insurance Marketplaces for those who cannot receive coverage through an employer. The Affordable Care Act not only provides increased access to quality care but it marks the beginning of fewer health disparities across the nation and more investment in preventative health care. I am proud to stand with the President and my colleagues in support of the Affordable Care Act.
Date: 2013-10-08
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Instead of approving the Senatepassed funding bill. House Republicans have placed politics before people while important decisions on government funding and the debt ceiling await votes. Mr. Speaker. I rise today with excitement to express my support for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. which has already significantly improved health care for Americans. In my State of Texas. families have saved $46.3 million in insurance company refunds. Medicare beneficiaries in the doughnut hole have saved $420.7 million in prescription drugs. More than 40.000 Americans and 17 million American children with preexisting conditions gained insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Because of the health insurance marketplaces. in my district. about 204.000 individuals will have access to quality. affordable health care coverage. The Affordable Care Act will grow stronger and expand access to quality care for all Americans.
Date: 2013-10-08
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. the economic disruption caused by the Republicanorchestrated shutdown continues to mount. The negative impact on the lives of the American people and the loss of jobs and opportunities continues to rise. As one example. in my home district of New York. the shutdown is hitting some small business owners really hard because it brought to an absolute halt any work of the Small Business Administration. On average. the Small Business Administration approves over 9 million loans in my district alone for small businesses each month. but because of this shutdown. zero. Zero are being approvedsmall business loans. real estate or equipment loans. and this has a terrible ripple effect on our economy. It was bad enough that the majority would not bring a single meaningful jobs bill. infrastructure or transportation bill to the floor for a vote to create jobs. but now. this reckless. longplanned action to bring the work of the government to a halt. it is actively killing jobs. killing opportunity. killing hope. Lets bring a clean budget up for a vote today and put people over politics.