hazylavender/hi huggingface dataset:
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1206-S1207] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. PADILLA: I rise today to celebrate the life of Irma Cantu Acosta, a titan in Southern Californian real estate and a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother. Irma grew up in Los Angeles after her parents, Tomasita Saenz Cantu andBenjamin Cantu, moved their family from Texas to California in 1950. She graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and attended Stockton Bible College in Stockton, CA. But after only one semester, as her son Gary says, Irma and her high school sweetheart Ernie ``missed each other too much,'' and they chose to get married in 1962. Together, they had three children--Gary, Yvette and Daliah Lynn--before Irma started what would become a highly accomplished career in real estate. Because of her intelligence and uncompromising drive, she quickly became an association executive for the Montebello Board of Realtors, where she would serve for 43 years. While there, she received numerous awards for both her personal and professional achievements, including Woman of the Year for her record in association management. As a founding board member of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, she helped make the dream of homeownership possible for more Latinos. She served as a mentor to countless real estate professionals and business owners, providing guidance and care to the next generation of business leaders in Montebello. Throughout our Nation's long and storied history, there have been leaders, allies, and advocates who have chosen not just to work hard and succeed in their chosen fields, but to turn around and help others achieve the American dream. Irma was one of those leaders. In the families she helped, the mentees she guided, and in her three strong, compassionate children, Irma kept that dream alive. What better gift to leave behind than hope for the next generation. California's thoughts are with Irma's husband Ernie; her children Gary, Yvette, and Daliah Lynn; and all those who knew and loved her.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Page S1206] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Ms. CORTEZ MASTO: I rise today to recognize the 75th anniversary of Sky Tavern. In 1948, determined to help young Nevadans learn how to ski, Marcelle ``Marce'' Herz filled her station wagon up with kids and drove up the Mt. Rose Highway, fit them with equipment and gear, and began teaching them about the sport and the environment around them. Ms. Herz's efforts eventually led to the creation of the Sky Tavern's Jr. Ski Program, which has taught over 100,000 Reno area youth how to ski and snowboard and continues to serve over 2,000 children each winter. Today, Sky Tavern is a nonprofit organization that provides summer and winter outdoor sports training, competitions, recreation, and events that are open to all in the region. Sky Tavern's goal and mission is to give as many youth as possible the opportunity to engage in outdoor sports and recreation--no matter their financial or physical abilities--providing lifelong experiences that promote personal growth and responsibility. Operated by a volunteer workforce, Sky Tavern is a shining example of what is possible through strong community engagement. From the instructors down to the lift operators, nearly everyone helping Sky Tavern achieve its mission is taking time out of their personal lives to do so. At its core, Sky Tavern runs on the spirit of giving back, while also striving to fulfill founder Marce Herz's goal of helping any child learn to ski and have fun doing it. There are many examples of how Sky Tavern has helped people grow through their love of the outdoors. Sky Tavern Ski Program alumni include Olympians such as three-time medalist David Wise, Lane Spina, and Tamara McKinney. Sky Tavern's promise to give opportunities to anyone, regardless of their physical or financial ability is the cornerstone that they operate on. The specially trained volunteer staff in their adaptive program are dedicated to helping children with disabilities learn how to ski and enjoy the outdoors. That dedication has yielded results; several Paralympians, including Gold-medalist Ricci Kilgore can trace their roots back to Sky Tavern. Congratulations to Sky Tavern on its 75th anniversary. I look forward to seeing their continued impact on the lives of young people in Nevada.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1205-S1206] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. BLUMENTHAL: I rise today with a heavy heart to pay tribute to Ralph ``Teddy'' Brown, Sr., a dedicated police officer, community leader, and friend to many. Sadly, Mr. Brown passed away on March 14, 2023, at the age of 82. He will be remembered for his commitment to his country and community of West Haven, CT, and his love for his family. Born in Ansonia, CT, Teddy served in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Washington State. It was there he met Carroll, who would become his wife of65 years. After Teddy's military service ended, the Browns moved to West Haven, CT, where they have been deeply enmeshed in the community for over six decades. In 1977, at the age of 37, Teddy made history as one of the first three Black police officers in the city of West Haven. He ably served the department for 28 years, retiring as a detective sergeant. On the force, Teddy was known as a positive role model for all, particularly for West Haven's youngest residents. After his retirement, Teddy continued his outstanding legacy of community service. He served as commissioner on West Haven's Parks and Recreation Board and president of the West Haven Library Board. He continued to elevate future generations by coaching youth basketball. Teddy was also one of the strongest supporters of the West Haven Black Coalition, founded by his wife Carroll in 1986. This long- standing community organization has disbursed more than $200,000 in scholarships to students, in recognition of their academic achievements, leadership skills, and community service. For the past 37 years, Teddy was a strong advocate for the coalition, contributing financially to the scholarships and supporting Carroll's great work. The West Haven Black Coalition is a remarkable testament to the Browns' dedication to their community. Through his decades of service as a law enforcement officer and a civic leader, Teddy left a lasting impact on everyone around him. But he will be remembered first and foremost as a man who loved his family. He led by example as a mentor and a role model to countless young people. My wife Cynthia and I extend our deepest sympathies to Teddy's family during this difficult time, particularly to his wife Carroll, his three sons, and his grandchildren. May their many wonderful memories of Teddy be a blessing. I hope my colleagues will join me in honoring Teddy's life and legacy, both large and lasting.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Page S1205] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. HEINRICH: on April 17, 2023, I was unavoidably absent for rollcall vote No. 83. My absence was due to a family commitment that could not be moved. Had I been present, I would have voted yea on vote No. 83.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Page S1204] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. DURBIN: this week, the Senate will consider legislation to protect and support firefighters across the country: the Fire Grants and Safety Act. Every day, our Nation's bravest run headfirst toward danger to extinguish fires and defend our communities. And they do it without a moment's hesitation--no matter the risks they face. We saw that last week, when a 2-day chemical fire raged at a plastics recycling plant in Richmond, IN, forcing thousands of people to evacuate. Firefighters worked around the clock, while inhaling toxic plumes, to battle the flames and protect families. This was just weeks after firefighters in East Palestine, OH, responded to a similar crisis, when a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and exploded into a raging ball of fire. But it is not only huge, headline-making fires that expose firefighters to dangerous pollutants; it is nearly every household fire, as well. The No. 1 line-of-duty cause of death for firefighters is occupational cancer from toxic exposure. And yet fire departments still lack critical equipment--like self-contained breathing apparatuses--that protect firefighters from toxic gases. Even when departments do have this gear on-hand, it can be dangerously outdated. In many cases, this equipment is nearing--or past--its expiration date, oftentimes by 10 years or more. Before the recess, the Senate voted 96-0 to advance the Fire Grants and Safety Act, which would help fire departments obtain updated, lifesaving equipment. It would reauthorize two grant programs through 2030: the AFG Program and the SAFER Program. Whether career, volunteer, or combination fire departments, AFG helps ensure that they have the resources they need to train and equip personnel. And SAFER helps with hiring and staffing to ensure 24/7 community protection. In the history of these programs, AFG has provided $8.1 billion to fire departments, and SAFER has provided $5.2 billion. We need to pass this bill before these programs expire on September 30, so our fire departments have the resources and personnel they need to keep our communities safe.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1154-S1161] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. SCHUMER: I ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion with respect to S. 870 be withdrawn and that the only amendments in order to the bill be the following: Lee No. 80; Scott No. 81; Hagerty No. 72, as modified; Van Hollen No. 85; Sullivan No. 83; and Paul No. 79; that if offered, the Senate vote in relation to the amendments listed at a time to be determined by the majority leader following consultation with the Republican leader; that following disposition of the above amendments, amendment No. 58 be withdrawn; that the bill, as amended, if amended, be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the bill; that 60 affirmative votes be required for the adoption of these amendments and passage of the bill, with the exception of the Sullivan and Paul amendments; and that there be 2 minutes for debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designees prior to each vote, all without intervening action or debate.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1154-S1161] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. LEE: wildfires pose a significant threat to the safety and well-being of our citizens, particularly those living near Federal lands. One way to protect against wildfires is with the use of fuel breaks. Fuel breaks are--think of them as firewalls, firewalls for our communities. They are manmade areas with a reduced fuel load that are set up to act as a barrier to slow the spread of a wildfire. They slow it down and make it so the fire can't spread as quickly. In 2021, Congress created a series of categorical exclusions specifically for the creation of fuel breaks. That was good. They were intended to protect communities adjacent to Federal land from the devastating effects of wildfires. However, the Federal Agencies responsible for implementing theseexclusions have been bogged down by regulatory delays. These delays are really problematic, and they are adding up, especially in certain parts of the country where there is a lot of Federal land and where there is a lot of Federal land near where people live. For example, in California, there are 5.1 million homes in the wildland-urban interface. The Forest Service and the BLM will never have the capacity to protect these homes. The hands of the States shouldn't be tied while they watch their homes being burned. So Congress did a good thing by creating these categorical exclusions, but it has been more or less rendered--I think by mistake-- a dead letter in many areas because of these regulatory problems. Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, we need to make this one work. My amendment aims to do precisely that. It aims to create a process for States to assume responsibility for the environmental analysis, approval, and execution of these projects. By allowing States to take on these responsibilities, we can expedite these critical projects for community protection. The safety and well-being of our citizens and our communities are at stake. By passing my amendment, we can take a significant step toward protecting our homes, communities, and critical infrastructure from the devastating effects of wildfires. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 80 and ask that it be reported by number.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1154-S1161] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. CARPER: I don't rise every day to oppose amendments offered by Senator Lee. I am afraid I am going to have to oppose this one for a couple of reasons. One, as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and as a recovering Governor who has helped run a State and was actually the chair of the National Governors Association for a while, I believe this amendment undercuts the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Government's important role in managing our Federal lands. While I appreciate the need for Federal Agencies and States to work together to minimize wildfire risks on our public lands, this amendment, I am sorry to say, misses the mark. Specifically, this amendment would require--and I underline the word ``require''--this amendment would require the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to allow States to take over Federal responsibilities for environmental reviews of many activities on public lands. This would be asignificant change in the management of our public lands, which belong, as we know, to all Americans. Although Senator Lee's proposal is modeled on a program at the Department of Transportation that allows States to assume some responsibilities for highway projects, this amendment is far broader in scope and impact and lacks the numerous safeguards that are in place for the highway program. For instance, this amendment establishes mandatory--I emphasize ``mandatory''--not discretionary assignment of responsibilities to States. It has no requirement, as best I can tell, for public notice and comment and does not require the Federal Agency to verify that the State has the resources and the personnel available to carry out Federal responsibilities. It also includes, as best I can tell, no auditing or monitoring requirements. I am working with my colleagues, I believe on both sides of the aisle, on opportunities to improve environmental review procedures. But I must say, this is not the right vehicle or way to proceed on this provision, and I am reluctantly going to have to urge our colleagues to vote no on this particular amendment.  I yield the floor.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1154-S1161] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. LEE: I appreciate the insight and the observations of my friend and distinguished colleague, the Senator from Delaware. I appreciate the amount of effort that he puts into this and I am sure a lot of hard work. He raises some good points, and there are points that I might find persuasive if they were accurate. He seems to be under the impression that these would be broad categorical inclusions, that these procedures we contemplate would apply broadly to all Forest Service operations. It wouldn't. This is talking only about fuel breaks and only about fuel breaks in narrow sets of circumstances. He suggested incorrectly that there is no requirement in place to make sure that the States have the resources financially, regulatorily, and otherwise to undertake the analysis contemplated under this. It does. He has been misinformed on that point. Finally, I might feel differently about this if, like my friend from Delaware, if I were from a different State, if I were from the State of Delaware. But when you look at the Western United States, we have Federal land everywhere. In every State to the east of Colorado's eastern border, the Federal Government owns less than 15 percent of the land in each State, and in most cases, it is in the single digits. In many States, it is in the low single digits. I don't remember what the percentage of land is in Delaware. I can find that out. But in Utah it is two-thirds of our land. It is 67 percent. In every State to the west of Colorado's Eastern Rim, it is more than 15 percent and usually a lot more than that. That affects people. These are people's homes, their livelihoods, their communities, their economies are all put in jeopardy by the fact that the Federal Government owns too much land. It owns so much land that no one would have the capacity to operate this. No one. It is impossible. More than 5 million homes in California alone are in these affected areas. No matter how efficient we may be in the Forest Service, no matter how many employees we authorized them to hire, they are still not going to be able to keep up with it. It is a matter of doing this or losing more property, losing more ecosystems and losing more homes and communities and sources of economic activity. That is what is at stake. Now, if the points he made were factually correct or legally correct, he might be right, but they are not correct. We need this, and we need to pass this now. Mr. President, thank you.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1154-S1161] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. CARPER: I am looking at the language of the amendment. On page 4, subparagraph (D), which is entitled ``Verification of Resources,'' reads--I will read part of this. It says:  As a condition on entering into an agreement under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned may require a State or [may require] an Indian Tribe to verify that the State or an Indian Tribe has the financial and personnel resources necessary to carry out the responsibilities described in that paragraph.  It doesn't say ``should.'' It doesn't say ``must.'' It says ``may require a State or . . . Indian tribe to verify that the State or Indian Tribe has the financial and personnel resources necessary to carry out the responsibilities described in that paragraph.''  I, again, have significant concerns here. I appreciate the intent of the author of the amendment, but I will just reiterate again the concerns that the more I look at this, the more concerned I am. I would rather be less concerned but more concerned I have become. With that, I yield back my time.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1154-S1161] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. LEE: this is how the western lands suffer--people from the Eastern United States, with neither the knowledge nor the concern about how they are managed and don't care. And so while they passed something in 2021 to make these firebreaks easier to put in place, as a practical reality, the regulatory hurdles are proving too much. This would fix that. This is reasonable. There is nothing that the Senator from Delaware has pointed to that makes this amendment to this bill objectionable in any way. I urge my colleagues to support it. And if you do so--if you come from the west of Colorado, you know exactly what I am talking about. If you come from the Eastern United States, I beg you to imagine, for a moment, that you represent a Western State, where we have experienced, in some cases, decades of drought and where we are sitting ducks, where we are an island of private land amidst a vast overwhelming sea of Federal land that is chronically mismanaged just because it is physically impossible for them to manage it properly to avoid this kind of thing. I urge you to be sympathetic to this and support it.
[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1154-S1161] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. SCHUMER: few have left their mark on this country like our dear friend Senator Dianne Feinstein. She is a legend in California, the first woman Senator from the State. She is a legend here in the Senate--the longest serving woman Senator in U.S. history. She built a reputation as an expert legislator on so many issues--gun violence, VAWA, the environment, women's rights, and so much more. But her impact doesn't end there. Dianne is a legend throughout the country. She shattered enumerable glass ceilings, moved countless mountains, and molded millions of minds. Few have accomplished as much in office as Senator Feinstein. Our colleague and friend has made her wish clear, that another Senator temporarily serve on the Committee on the Judiciary until she returns. I thank Senator Cardin for agreeing to step in. So today, I am acting not just as leader, but as Dianne's friend in honoring her wishes until she returns to the Senate. Mr. President, when someone as dear and as accomplished as Senator Feinstein asks us for something so important to her, we ought to respect it. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of my resolution which is at the desk; I further ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.