hazylavender/hi huggingface dataset:
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1238-S1243] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. LEE: moments ago, when I asked to pass this resolution honoring the Heritage Foundation by unanimous consent, moments before I made that motion, I was informed of this policy, a policy that I have never seen. After more than 12 years in the Senate, I haven't seen this policy. It is a policy within the Judiciary Committee--not a rule but a policy--but a policy that is seldom employed. I have never seen it invoked. There are a couple of requirements in it. One is that a commemorative resolution, in order to be approved for clearance for passage by unanimous consent on the floor with the approval of the committee, would need to be bipartisan. I want to be clear that while this was not bipartisan, I invited Democrats to join in this. I genuinely think they should be willing to join it in the same sense that I would be willing to join them in something honoring Brookings or some other think tank. This group has done good work, and there is nothing in the resolution that commits them to substantively embracing every policy recommendation in the Heritage Foundation's past. So that one should be easily satisfiable. I hope to get to that point at some point. It is unfortunate that we can't get this passed today, but I would love to be able to do that. The other one is that no measure may commemorate any entity that is political. Heritage Foundation is a 501(c)(3), and it is a charitable nonprofit entity. It is not political, and it also can't commemorate a living person. This is there to commemorate an institution, a foundation--not an individual. So even though I wasn't aware of this policy until today, I think there is no strong reason why this should stop us from doing this. In any event, I hope we can get this passed, if not today, then on some other day soon. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1238-S1243] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. BUDD: taxpayers should not be forced to fund the taking of unborn life. That is why I voted in favor of Senator Tuberville's resolution to overturn the Biden administration's rule that allows the VA to perform abortions up until birth. Using taxpayer- funded VA facilities to perform abortions is a clear violation of Federal and State law, and it is a clear abuse of Executive power. The American people may have different views on abortion, but the majority of Americans agree: Their hard-earned tax dollars should not be used to pay for it. All told, the VA admitted that this rule will allow at least 1,000 taxpayer-funded abortions each and every year. That is unacceptable, and that is why this rule must be overturned. I yield the floor.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1238-S1243] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. CRUZ: I rise today to give tribute to a great American, a great Texan, a great friend, and a 24-year veteran of this institution who has dedicated his career to serving the needs of his fellow citizens. His name is Jason Fuller, and he has served as my regional director in the southeastern part of Texas, including my home city of Houston, for the last 5 years. He is now retiring and moving on to the private sector. Jason is a native Texan. Born in Corpus Christi, he graduated from the University of Houston, where he served as student body president. He is a proud Houston Cougar. Jason started working in the Senate in late 1994, after working on my predecessor Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's 1994 campaign for a full term in the Senate. At the time, Jason said he was only going to come to DC for 2 years, work for Senator Hutchison, and move on. He ended up working in the Senate for 19 years. During that time, he served as Senator Hutchison's personal aide, until 1997, when he moved back home to Texas and worked for her regional office in Houston. He eventually became regional director and served in that role until Senator Hutchison left office in 2013. In 2018, Jason heard the call to once again serve his fellow Texans, so he came on board as my regional director of southeastern Texas. His region stretches from the Texas-Louisiana border down south towards Victoria and all the way to the upper Texas gulf coast. Jason hates to be on the sidelines, and he is always eager to help others in a crisis. When Hurricane Katrina happened and everything was chaos, Jason had 12 people, 6 dogs, and 3 cats squeezed into his downtown residence. He helped out in the shelters in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. When the Santa Fe shooting horrifically happened in May of 2018, Jason was there to lend a helping hand to the victims and their families, as well as to law enforcement. Many of those people became his personal friends. When Jason is not helping his fellow Texans, he likes to travel to some of the most exotic and hard-to-get-to places on the planet. When Jason is getting ready for a trip, he spins the globe and sees where his finger lands. He has been to Iraq, China, Russia--anywhere that is going to give my State director and national security advisor heartburn. He has often helped people in stressful situations, navigating the leviathan of Big Government on behalf of fellow Texans in their time of need. He has taken the time to connect with them personally and to listen as a friend listens. In the coming days, Jason will start his new job in the private sector. We will miss him greatly, but we wish him well. The Senate, the people of Texas, and the thousands of people and families he has helped over the course of 24 years of service will miss him too. Thank you, Jason, for your hard work, your determination, your passion, and your patriotism. God bless you. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1238-S1243] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. COONS: I am, in a moment, going to ask unanimous consent that we proceed to confirm a nominee. Stephanie Sullivan has been nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to the African Union. She was nominated June 15, 2022, for a position now vacant since January of this year. Let me briefly say why this is important. The African Union is the entity most likely to successfully negotiate peace in Sudan, a country now roiled by domestic violence, by a war between one faction of its military and another, and thousands of Americans are at risk. I think it is crucially important to fill all of our vacant ambassadorial positions, but this one is particularly critical because of the role the AU can and should play in resolving this conflict. But we lack an ambassador in this vital continent-wide organization. I will go on at some greater length about the qualifications and the background of this talented career Foreign Service officer who has been an ambassador twice before in Africa. But I will also say that statements that she has made in her role as an ambassador reflect the policy of the administration at the time, not her personal preferences or values. She is a talented representative of the United States, as a diplomat, whose actions and statements reflect the administrations she has served. With that, I ask unanimous consent, as if in executive session, that the Senate consider Calendar No. 68, Stephanie Sanders Sullivan, to be Representative of the United States to the African Union, and that the Senate vote on the nomination without any intervening action or debate; that, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1236-S1238] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. SCHUMER: when the health and safety of our country is at risk, it is up to veterans to step up to protect us. They risk their lives for us. They are always there for us. But today Senator Tuberville from Alabama is pushing legislation that would take away reproductive care for hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families. That is right. The hard right is telling our veterans they should be treated as second-class citizens, our women veterans. It is the kind of extreme proposal millions of Americans strongly oppose and one which, if it is passed, would gravely harm women's health. There are over 150,000 women veterans. They risk their lives for us. Now we must protect them. The more Americans reject MAGA extremism, the more MAGA Republicans seem to double down, and this bill is a perfect example. That is the MAGA right in a nutshell: Eliminate women's choice at all costs, even at the cost of our national defense. Again, the MAGA right says: Eliminate women's choice at all costs, even at the cost of national defense. Here is the bottom line: Our veterans dedicated their lives to our freedom so we should protect their freedom of choice, plain and simple.  Order of Procedure  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote in relation to the Scott of Florida amendment No. 81 occur following the vote on the motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 10; further, I ask that the Senate vote at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow in relation to amendment Nos. 85 and 83; and the Senate vote on passage of S. 870, as amended, if amended, at 1:45 p.m., with all provisions under the previous order remaining in effect.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1227-S1236] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Ms. ROSEN: since the Supreme Court overturned longstanding protections for the fundamental right to access abortion care nearly a year ago, we have seen countless attacks on women's reproductive rights from anti-choice States across our Nation--States that are banning abortions without exceptions for rape or incest; States that are risking the lives of women who have miscarried; and I have been doing everything I can to stand up and to defend a woman's fundamental right to make healthcare choices for her own body without interference from anti-choice politicians. And this includes making sure we protect our veterans' rights, and that includes the right for those veterans to make decisions over their own bodies. Our veterans and their families--you know, they have risked so much to protect our Nation, to protect our rights. And we owe it to them to defend their fundamental right to access reproductive care, regardless of where they live. They put themselves in harm's way. We must protect them. That is why, last year, I urged the Department of Veterans Affairs to make it clear that they will provide access to abortion care to veterans and their families, and I am glad they listened. But today-- today--anti-choice Republicans in Washington want to overturn that decision, and they want to restrict our veterans' access to reproductive care. That is what today's debate is about. If they get their way and they roll back this rule, the VA healthcare system would no longer be allowed to provide abortion counseling or any kind of care to servicemembers and veterans and--listen to this--even in the cases of rape, even when the mother's life is at risk. I am not going to let that happen. My State of Nevada is honored to be the home of hundreds of thousands of veterans, and we are a proud pro-choice State. When Nevadans sent me here to the Senate, they sent me here to fight for their rights, and that is what I will always do. So I urge my colleagues to join me in fighting back against this ideological attempt to restrict reproductive rights for veterans by opposing this resolution. For our veterans, for our women in Nevada, for women everywhere in the United States, I urge a ``no'' vote.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1227-S1236] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Ms. CORTEZ MASTO: I join my colleagues today to continue to speak out against the far-right Republicans' harmful and, frankly, insulting resolution to prevent women veterans from accessing essential healthcare in this country. You know, our veterans stepped up to serve our country, putting their lives on the line to protect our freedoms and keep our families safe. We owe them a debt of gratitude. That is why I am working to ensure that we protect veterans' rights to essential healthcare. We trust these women to make critical decisions in the line of duty to protect our national security; so why don't extremists on the right trust them to make decisions about their own bodies? The purpose of the VA is to protect veterans' health and life. Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, my colleagues and I pushed the administration, including the VA, to take action to protect women veterans' access to abortion care across the country. At our urging, the VA created a rule to provide abortion counseling to pregnant veterans as well as abortion services in the limited cases of rape, incest, or the life or health of the mother. This is critical for women veterans, especially those who live in States with strict abortion bans and no access to care in their communities. But we knew that after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-choice policymakers wouldn't stop trying to take away a woman's right to choose. And now they are going after the health and well-being of women who have fought for our country. There are 550,000 women veterans who get their healthcare through the VA. And 300,000 of those women veterans are at a point in their lives at which they need reproductive care. That is 300,000 women who have sacrificed for our country and who, according to extremist Republicans, don't deserve to make their own healthcare decisions. Some of these women veterans live in States where they can access reproductive care outside the VA, but over 155,000 of them live in States with harsh abortion restrictions on the books. Now, I am leading legislation to ensure our veterans--and all women-- maintain their right to travel to pro-choice States to get the care they need. Unfortunately, for many of these women, the VA is their only option for accessing abortion care. That is why the VA's new rule is so critical to protecting veterans' health and why extremist Republican attacks on reproductive care is so dangerous. Women veterans put their lives on the line to fight for our freedom, including control of our own bodies, our lives, and our futures; and now the far right wants to take these freedoms away. We cannot let that happen. We have to ensure that this resolution does not pass, because we should be looking out and protecting the rights of women across this country, not taking away their rights and freedoms. I yield the floor.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1219-S1227] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. PAUL: I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 10 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote on my amendment No. 79.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1219-S1227] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. PETERS: firefighters are on the front lines of safeguarding our communities, often providing emergency care and interacting with high-risk populations. Firefighters themselves may also be at risk of COVID-19 infections. Vaccines are the safest and most effective way to make sure an individual doesn't get severely ill or spread COVID-19 to others. This amendment would interfere with State and local governments' ability to determine health policies for their own employees and how to best keep their communities safe. This amendment would also require FEMA to evaluate local and State government vaccination policies-- something well beyond the scope and responsibility to determine eligibility for grants. I would urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment to ensure that local communities can continue counting on these resources that these programs provide.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1219-S1227] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. HAGERTY: in the last fiscal year alone, appropriations to FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program have increased by more than 5 times, totaling approximately $1 billion in the last 2 years alone. Currently, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars appropriated to this program are doled out annually by a national board comprised of the very same organizations that receive those funds. This amendment in no way impugns the integrity of the organizations involved. Rather, it helps them avoid the reputational risks that can occur when the pitcher is also the umpire. My amendment is simple and common sense. It will restructure the Emergency Food and Shelter Program to ensure that the individuals sitting on that board do not have this obvious conflict of interest. Instead, the national board composition would be shifted to include qualified individuals who do not work for the organizations that seek funding from the board. At a minimum, Congress must resolve this blatant conflict of interest within the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, especially given its dramatic increase in funding in recent years. That is what this amendment does. I yield back.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1219-S1227] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. PETERS: this amendment is intended to make changes to an entirely unrelated program that is completely outside of the scope of this bill. The Emergency Food and Shelter Program is an important resource that provides aid to those who are at risk of experiencing hunger. And any changes certainly must be thoroughly considered. And I look forward to having an opportunity to work with a sponsor on this amendment in some other manner. However, the bill before us extends programs that firefighters are counting on to purchase lifesaving equipment or receive important cancer screenings. We should not jeopardize the enactment of this incredibly important bill by putting in completely unrelated matters.  I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.  Vote on Amendment No. 72, As Modified
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [House] [Page H1884] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. JOHNSON : I move that the House do now adjourn. The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 6 o'clock and 52 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 9 a.m.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [House] [Pages H1881-H1884] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. JOHNSON : this evening, I have some of the most influential leaders in the House Republican Conference to address some of the key issues we are addressing this week together in the people's House. Mr. Speaker, I yield first to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)] [House] [Pages H1881-H1884] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-19
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. TIFFANY: I thank the Representative from Louisiana for giving me a couple minutes here. I have been here for 3 years now in the House of Representatives, and we have seen the other side try to overturn the laws of economics. Here is a quote: ``We absolutely cannot go bankrupt because we have the power to create as much money as we need to spend. . . .'' That was Nancy Pelosi's budget chairman. Trying to overturn the laws of economics, trying to overturn the laws of physics, we are going to make internet power into base load power. It doesn't work. Well, now it is a sad day because now we are debating basic biology on the House floor. Unfortunately, over 50 years since Congress passed the landmark legislation of Title IX, we now have Democrats denying that basic biology and women's rights. Let me be clear: Biological men have no business competing in women's sports. It is anti-women and it is anti-science to think otherwise. Here is a headline from NBC news: ``Trans women retain athletic edge after a year of hormone therapy, the study finds.'' From The Guardian: ``Trans women retain 12 percent edge in test 2 years after transitioning.'' Those are the facts, and we have already seen the results. Over 20 biological men have won national or international competitions or championships in the women's category. With the Biden administration seeking to erase women's rights and continuing to make a mockery of Title IX's fundamental principle of basic biology, Republicans will protect them. Tomorrow, House Republicans will defend women's sports when we pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023. This will ensure that school athletics comply with the Title IX recognition of a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth. As a father of three daughters, I will always stand up to protect our daughters. I would hope all Members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, would protect decades of progress we have made in securing women's rights. That starts by passing this legislation. At a time when Democrats would rather erase our daughters' rights, let me repeat: Republicans will protect them. Thank you to the gentleman from Louisiana.