macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise to applaud the passage of the FY 2006 ScienceStateJusticeCommerce Appropriations Bill. which includes funding for Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties Joint Gang Suppression and Prevention Initiative in my district. I salute my colleague Mr. WOLF and thank him for his leadership on confronting the issue of gang violence in the Washington metropolitan area. The federal funding approved today builds on the ongoing work of the Joint County Gang Prevention Task Force. which was established by the county executives of Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in February 2004. This funding will allow for the establishment of centralized antigang units within each countys police force. enabling them to pursue a zerotolerance policy for gang violence. A cross jurisdictional communitybased program. serving youth and families. would be created to provide gang prevention education. mentoring. and outreach services. Critical afterschool programs would be funded for areas where there is a high incidence of gang activity. Law enforcement research shows that there are approximately 3.600 gang members in Maryland. the District of Columbia and Virginia and that there are nine major active gangs and more than 100 additional crews region wide. Montgomery County Police estimate that. there are 20 to 22 active gangs with approximately 540 to 560 active members and associates. Prince Georges County Police estimate that there are 50 crews or gangs in that county with a total of over 400 members. Officials in Prince Georges County note a recent increase in the number of Latino gangs and report that the criminal activity of these gangs has expanded to sophisticated car theft rings and prostitution. This funding will help the people of Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties fight the growing problem of gang violence and teach young people that gang life is not the road to success. but rather the path to prison. It is important that we provide our law enforcement officials. our teachers. and our community leaders with the support they need as they work to keep our youth safe from gangs and teach them the long term consequences of joining a gang.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: LANE EVANS (democrat)
Chamber: H

(IL) for his cooperation in moving this legislation to the floor. I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of Mr. BoozMAN (AR). and Ms. HERSETH (SD). the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. through whose leadership and hard work. this legislation has come before the House. Its timing is especially propitious. the day after tomorrow being Veterans Day. Madam Speaker. I strongly urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

We have a very important holiday coming up the day after tomorrow. and each of us is hoping that we have an opportunity to go home and look ourveterans in the eye and tell them how much we appreciate and honor thenf. And I know that I will be able to do that in good- conscience. I know that I will stand proud with my veterans and tell them that I did everything I could and will continue to do everything I can axid House Democrats will continue to do everything we can to ensure that we honor their service. I certainly would not want to be any Member of Congresswith an R next to
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. Iheard some of our friends on the other side of the aisle taking issue or calling into question what we have been saying about what they would propose to do to our Nations veterans. I did not notice them holding up anything in. black and white that disproves what we are saying.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And their answer to the deficit that they have ballooned is to not just hurt veterans. but to hurt people just when they are on the cusp of being able to make a change and turn the corner in their life. There are $844 million in food stamp cuts in this bill. Now. I have heard some of our friends on the Republican side of the aisle argue that there is fraud in thef.food stamp program and that there are people who are collecting food stamps that do not deserve it or maybe we do not have as many people who need food stamps these days. Well. today. not yesterday. not 5 months ago. not a year ago. today. this is a picture of a line .of 25.000 people. 25.000 people in Broward County where I am from. who lined up as early as 3:00 in the morning to sign up for food stamps following Hurricane Wilma. Now. I checked to make sure that I was being accurate when I came down here tonight. This food stamp application process is through the regular food stamp program. nothing special. no special appropriations. nothing from FEMA. This is 25.000 people. most of whom have never before applied for .public assistance. Now. if the Republicans are going to say that there are not people in need and that it is more important to cut taxes for the wealthy then to provide for the people who are standing in this line. who have already been through so much. then really I guess we are serving with many who are serving in this Chamber without conscience.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let us just make sure people understand and the Speaker understands that we are not talking about madeup numbers here that we are just pulling out of thin air. In the Washington Post last Thursday. another thirdparty validator. they describe the cuts in this bill and they go on to say. The food stamp cuts in the House measure would knock nearly 300.000 people off nutritional assistance programs. including 70.000 legal immigrants. according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. which is the office that we get our economic facts from. -Those immigrants would lose their benefits because the House measure would require legal immigrants to live in the United States for. 7 years before becoming eligible for receiving food stamps. About 40.000 children would lose eligibility for free or reducedprice lunches. the CBO estimated. The food stamp cuts. if approved. will especially affect 11 States. including Maryland. that use the changes in the food stamp law. approved with the Presidents support in 2002. to expand eligibility and to simplify the application process. Under the House measure that we will consider tomorrow. eligibility for food stamps would be tightened to exclude some recipients. get this. who qualify for nutritional support simply because they qualify for other antipoverty programs funded by the Federal welfare program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. not eliminate fraud. not eliminate people who are not supposed to be getting food stamps. but eliminate people who already qualify because they qualify for other poverty programs. And then today we have 25.000 more people in one county applying for the same program that we are going to cut 300.000 from tomorrow if this bill passes. Where is outrage? Where is the conscience? I want to know how our colleagues are going to sleep tonight knowing that they have to cast this vote tomorrow.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. do you- know what that is -called? That is called taking from the ffeedy and giving to the greedy.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

But do not worry because last week President Bush rode in on his white steed to the rescue of the American people and addressed the culture of corruption and cronyism and lack of competence that is going on and emanating from the White House.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

No. -This is a 4hour class that actually I think it is being given this week by White House counsel Harriet Miers office. who. of course. we know has been doing such a bangup job at guiding the White House through their ethical morass.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Because. you know. I think most people would understand why a CIA agent. a fellow CIA agent. would be outraged at the conduct coming from the Vice Presidents chief of staff. that he would do anything that would potentially put their lives or the lives of their colleagues in jeopardy. So some peoplemight say. well. of course that would upset other CIA agents. and of course they would think that that was a problem. But in the spirit of continuing our desire to demonstrate that this is not just our opinion. and that we have some other thirdparty validators who agree. let us look at what Ed Gillespie. who is the chairman of the Republican National Committee. said. . He was speaking to Chris Matthews on "Hardball." and Chris Matthews asked him what he thought of it. And his comment to Chris Matthews then was that I think if the allegation is true. to reveal the identity of an undercover CIA operative is abhorrent. and it should be a crime and it is a crime. And then Chris Matthews went on to ask Chairman Gillespie. he said. it would be worse than Watergate.would it not? And Gillespies response was. Yeah. I suppose in terms of the real world implications of it. it is not just politics. I mean. if that is not the ultimate thirdparty validator saying that it is abhorrent and it should be a crime and it is a crime to reveal the identity of an undercover CIA operative. Now. let us just make sure we. say that Mr. Libby has only been accused of conduct related to that likelihood. not convicted of that. So. you know. of course we want to remember that this is a democracy and in our democracy you are innocent until proven guilty. However. it is really deeply disturbing that this is the first time in 130 years. 130 years. that we have had a White House official indicted on anything. never mind betrayal of this countrys deepest secrets. And we have a long list of people who have commented" on that possibility. We also have in the White House. still. I mean. Scooter Libby has left. Scooter Libby has now resigned from the White House. But you still have Karl Rove there in the White House as the right hand of the President with full. the highest level of security clearance.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

He has multiple titles. actually. I know that he has more than just that one title. .And the President has not dismissed him or asked him to step aside.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

You know. let us just give them the benefit of doubt. Let us say we did not think the President should fire him. We do. but let us say. why has the President not suspended him at least until he called upon even the White House council to do an internal investigation? They are really good at copping to internal investigations and not allowing independent investigations of wrongdoing or potential wrongdoing. But he has not even suggested that his duties should be suspended so that you can clear the cloud away. fl 2300
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Does the gentleman remember when we were growing up. it seemed like any time you turned on CSPAN or there was a shot of the Congress doing something. when we were kids. it was a shot of the Congress in a hearing. the Iran Contra hearings or some kind of investigatory hearing that would immediately be called. The ink on the accusation would not be dry before congressional hearings were called to investigate. Am I missing something? Maybe I am not in the loop.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I think it is always helpful for us to provide information to pQople who do not really know much about this process here. It is kind of arcane. Maybe you could help describe for people who are wondering about the process. we have to name. each piece of legislation. so that it is descriptive for the membership.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Yes. of course. The name of this legislation is the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. I am a freshman and I do not know the rules in that book as well as the two of you or -as well as some of my senior colleagues. So I wonder if there is anything in the book. the rules book. that says you cannot be inaccurate or misleading.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And this does not come from FEMA money. This is not the emergency funding. This comes right out of the food stamp program. We have cuts in child care. We have cuts that would prevent us from ensuring that deadbeat dads are pursued. There is a $4.9 billion cut from child support programs. As a result. parents will receive $7.1 billion. as the chart points out. less in child support over 5 years and $21.3 billion less over 10 years. There is a $577 million cut from foster care. Now. I know there are colleagues of mine on the other side of the aisle who are just bristling at that possibility. They do not want to make it so that families cannot take children in.
Date: 2005-11-09
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. it is with great pleasure that I rise to commend John E. Taylor for his dedicated service to the National Archives. Mr. Taylor has worked for the National Archives since 1946. Throughout those years. Mr. Taylor has been acclaimed by researchers worldwide for his extraordinary grasp of history and ability to locate pertinent documents. Mr. Taylor specializes in World War II documents and records of the Office of Strategic Services. Mr. Taylors colleagues praise him as one of the most knowledgeable and generous archivists. known for his sound advice and resourceful assistance to authors. scholars and historians. Throughout his illustrious career. Mr. Taylor has been honored by groups all over the worid. In 1997 Mr. Taylor was honored by the Japanese Embassy for helping Japanese historians and journalists for the previous 40 years In 2003 the American Jewish Historical Society awarded Mr. Taylor its first "Distinguished Archivist Award" for his lifetime of work as an archivist. He has also received nu.merous honors from the National Archives itself. The National Archives has a special John E. Taylor Collection of books on espionage and intelligence which largely consists of works with which Mr. Taylor provided critical .assistance. Mr. Taylor is truly an invaluable resource. His service at the .National Archives is legendary. I applaud his outstanding achievements and dedication to his work. and this landmark achievement of 60 years of service. E2318
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. last week. President Bush said it was irresponsible for people to rewrite the way the war began. and the White House communications director said the Americafi people expect an. honest debate. I could not agree with both statements more. Then. yesterday. the President donned his flight jacket and suggested that he was going to attack his critics and. in fact.-attacked his critics rather than contribute to the honest debate. * The American people need to know. after the dramatic failure of intelligence. just how that intelligence was used. how it was emphasized. how it was manipulated. and who was the source of much of the intelligence that this administration used to hook peo* ple into the war in Iraq. Did they use the intelligence provided by Mr. Chalabi. who was on our payroll. and by Mr. Chalabis defectors. who paid and bribed to provide that intelligence to the administration? Did the administration. and this goes to the crux of the question: Did the administration do the due diligence that was necessary before they made the decision to put American men and women in harms way into Iraq? Did they look at the case and make the case that this was an imminent threat to the security of the United States? So far. we do not have the answers to those questions. We know that there was a concerted effort within the Department of Defense. within the administration to push us into the war in Iraq. We now need to know how that was done. We need that honest debate. We do not need the President to continue to attack his critics. The American people are entitled to that debate. They are entitled to the results of the investigations that were promised 17 months ago. and nothing has happened from those investigations.
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor the life of Ed Roybal. a member of this House o( Representatives. and also to honor the work that his daughter. my colleague. LUCILLE ROYBALALLARD. does in this House. Ed Roybal for many of us was a pathmaker. He was the first Mexican American on the City of Los Angeles City Council. and he was the first Mexican American from California to this House of Representatives. He is probably best known for his work in civil rights and his work on behalf of all people in California. Tonight. we honor him. We honor him. because for many of us he was an inspiration. an inspiration that told us that we could be a politician. that we could be a legislator. that we could be a leader from our community. I hope that this HouSe will remember the great work of that appropriator. Ed Roybal.
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subjectof my special order today.
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. we ha#e heard many things today about Congressman Edward Roybal. what a giant he was. what a leader he was. how he stood up for people who had too little. how he changed our world. I am mindful all of us who lost a dad know how very hard it is in a very personal way. Leader or no. it is still your dad. I also know that the best way maybe to know a person. to know someone like Congressman Roybal. is to look at his daughter. who is the same kind of tenacious. dignified person who will stand up for those who have nothing and make a difference. as she is making a difference. just as her father did in the Congress for those in need. EJ 2115 I would like to yield to our beloved colleague. the gentlewoman from California .
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. it is with a heavy heart at the loss but pride for the service of Congressman Ed Roybal that we yield back the balance of our time.
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

This is really amazing. and I guess. you know. it would not be a surprise. It was an excellent suggestion on your part. Mr. RYAN. and we. I think. are trying to make our generational working group here innovative. I mean. I think we all. as individual Members of Congress basically make our highest priority the ability and desire for us to interact directly with our constituents. And the one place that we are generally. not able to do that is on the floor when we are here debating the very issues that impact everyone in this country.. We can interact fairly well with constituents in committee because they can obviously testify in front of us in committee meetings. We obviously interact with constituents in our offices. But once we are here. this is a very insular environment. This opportunitytonight for us to kick this off. 30something Live. and interact with people who will be submitting questions to us online will be historic and exciting.
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

This is not the last time we are going to do this. We are kicking this effort off. So even if we do not get to all the questions tonight. which with over 400 we obviously will not be able to in the 60 minutes. wewill be doing this again.
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Both of my colleagues are absolutely right. The President has some nerve questioning our patriotism. That is what America is all about. I happen to be in the middle of reading Washingtons biography. The Founding Fathers created this country so that there could be an opportunity for a vocal minority to express dissent. The farthest thing from their mind when they created this country was that opposition would be. unpatriotic. Of course it is certainly understandable given the climate that the Republican leadership has created here where they do not allow or expect either members of their own party to disagree with them and certainly have structured the rules so that it is virtually impossible for us to voice disagreement or make a significant impact on the process once the process reaches here. Mr. Speaker. the people that have communicated with us have caused me to ask this question.-Not only has the President called into question the patriotism of those of us who have questioned why we are still there and when are we going to have a plan to withdraw. but he has also implied that Democrats who have objected to the way we got into this war and the misrepresentation or misallocation of the facts that led us into this war. he has also suggested that those same Democrats saw the same intelligence that the President did. No. they did not. That is factually inaccurate.
Date: 2005-11-15
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

The bottom line is that every morning the President gets an intelligence document that we are not privy to. He gets massive amounts of intelligence that they do not widely distribute. even though we have . security clearance. widely distribute to Members. of Congress. So they were able to be. one would think. Mr. Speaker. selective in what they released to the Members of Congress when we were in the throes of making the decision about whether or not to support. and I was not here at that time. but when those of you that were here were in the throes of deciding whether to support the war. I just want to read this question that brought this all to mind. You have Mr. Lehman from Goshen. Indiana. who said to us. Since the Iraq war and tax breaks for the wealthy have devastated our Federal budget. why cant the Democrats invoke procedures to semiclose down Congress as this is an emergency situation which is affecting our national economy when- the money could be better spent on domestic social programs including hurricane relief. Cutand strut. That is a really good point. If the American people are asking what are we doing in Iraq when we have so many needs here. when we have literally hundreds of thousands of people in our gulf coast twisting in the wind literally because we cannot get them the assistance they need. yet we are sending millions of dollars. billions of dollars as the gentleman from Ohio has detailed in the charts we have here in the last few weeks that we have been talking about this. the administration has literally chosen sending assistance. infrastructure rebuilding assistance. to the Iraqi people and we are not able to provide that for our own people. All the while. today. they may still be in the committee meeting now. our own Ways and Means Committee is marking up the tax reconciliation bill. $70 billion in tax reconciliation to supposedly balance out the budget deficit. the budget deficit reduction act which is a total misnomer that they could not pass last week. The reason that they could not pass it and the reason that it makes no sense is because if you are passing $70 billion in tax cuts and $50 billion in spending cuts. that still leaves $20 billion. That is the kind of thing that the people who are communicating with us -are asking. just like Mr. Lehman from Indiana.