mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 Vaccine (Executive Calendar)
Doug Jones (Democrat, AL) \u2014 2020-9-9

I rise in support of my distinguished colleague Senator Duckworth and her resolution to honor our veterans, military servicemembers, and their families. prgtoken Senator Duckworth knows more than anyone in this Chamber about what it means to serve and to sacrifice, and I am honored to serve alongside someone who has given so much to our country--and I might add, she got her training in Alabama, down in Fort Rucker, where we have the training for all Army helicopter pilots. So thank you for that, and I hope you enjoyed your time, and we are going to get you back. Senator Duckworth is but just one representative here with her many brothers and sisters in uniform who have worn the uniform throughout. prgtoken Many in this body have served, and we heard a lot today about Senator McCain. I think few stand out as a military veteran more than our late colleague John McCain, the Vietnam veteran war hero, someone whom I served with but never, unfortunately, had the chance to meet. He was still a Member of the Senate by the time I got back here in January of 2018. His illness prevented him from coming to the floor. It will always be one of my great regrets that I could not have had at least 1 day on the floor of the U.S. Senate with John McCain. prgtoken He was a Vietnam veteran and a war hero, but he dared to speak out against a President. And this President, to this day, almost 2 years after John McCain's death, John McCain is the target of the President's wrath. Two years later, and he still has comments about a war hero. prgtoken I will tell you, to stand on the same floor at a moment like this, the same Senate floor where a hero like Senator McCain of Arizona spoke so passionately on behalf of our military and on which Senator Duckworth speaks so passionately about our military and our veterans, it is truly an honor. prgtoken Today, the loss of John McCain's voice in this Chamber is magnified by the silence of too many who will not say what needs to be said. Our military families and veterans deserve our full support. They don't deserve insults. They deserve our support every day, not just when it is politically convenient. It is the duty of this body and every Member of this body to defend those who have sacrificed so much to defend and protect our Nation. It is the obligation of all patriots in this country to do the same. In fact, true patriots would never think to do otherwise. It would never cross our minds as true patriots--it would never cross their mind to launch an insult to our military and our veterans, much less those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. It is what I do today and every day, as a Senator from Alabama, to honor our military--to honor them because I come from a State of heroes: Alabama. prgtoken I worked for one of those heroes. He was a military hero who later became a distinguished Member of this body from 1979 to 1997. Howell Heflin distinguished himself as a Marine officer i
COVID-19 Vaccine (Executive Calendar)
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2020-9-9

I rise to express my strong support for the Senate resolution sponsored by Senator Duckworth, which condemns the denigration by President of our Nation's Armed Forces and veterans. I also want to commend Senator Duckworth for her extraordinary and heroic service as an Army aviator. She inspired all of us with her courage and her sacrifice. prgtoken In a September 3 article in The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg catalogued a list of disparaging comments President has made about members of the U.S. military and wounded warriors. Such remarks are not unusual for this President, and most are public knowledge. However, we should not become numb to such behavior, so some of the comments bear repeating. prgtoken The Atlantic article states that the President refused to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France, the final resting place of 2,289 Americans who died in battle, ensuring our freedom and the freedom of our allies against the march of totalitarianism, authoritarianism, fascism, and communism over the past century. He refused to visit because he said the cemetery was filled with ``suckers and losers.'' prgtoken Several years ago, in planning a military parade to honor himself, he refused to include wounded war veterans, stating ``no one wants to see that.'' When he visited the grave of Gen. John Kelly's son who died in Afghanistan at prgtoken the age of 29 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, he wondered to General Kelly why his son joined the Marines: ``What was in it for him?'' prgtoken When impressed by a presentation by Gen. Joe Dunford, then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he asked his staff why such a talented person would join the military. prgtoken is a man who cannot conceive of service to others before oneself. His view of the world is transactional. The only thing of value to him is money--not ideals or principles or the lives of our fellow Americans. He simply doesn't understand the words of one of his predecessors, President George Herbert Walker , who said: On this day, we must tell the stories of those who fought and died in freedom's cause. We must tell their stories because those who've lost loved ones need to know that a grateful Nation will always remember. We must tell their stories so that our children and grandchildren will understand what our lives might have been like had it not been for their sacrifice. prgtoken does not think deeply about what it means to be in the military; to be deployed in a battle zone, wondering if every day would be your last day; to be a family member waiting anxiously at home; to be a young, healthy person suddenly disabled or a Gold Star family who wakes every day, mourning their lost son or daughter but understanding the great cause they died for. only cares about the next ``win'' for himself, his fortune, or his popularity. <|
COVID-19 Vaccine (Executive Calendar)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2020-9-9

I am honored to join Senator Duckworth in supporting this proposal. It gives me great pride to serve in the Senate with her. She is the living embodiment of the kind of sacrifice that our President does not understand. prgtoken There are two things here, though, that are very wrong. One is a President who thinks that the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have laid down their lives for this country are ``suckers'' and ``losers'' and that it is OK to say that about them. It is beyond disrespectful. It is beneath contempt, and it is totally in character for this man. Those soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines can't answer; they can't speak for themselves any longer. So when something like that is said, it is very important that people in the highest offices of the country stand up and push back. prgtoken In graves in France and Belgium and Manila and around the world lie the mortal remains of men, boys, women who gave their lives and who cannot speak for themselves. It is heartbreaking for me to see that we cannot come together to agree on that in this body. prgtoken I can promise you that if President or President Clinton had said anything like this, the other side of this Chamber would have been in pandemonium. It would have been a scene of hysteria. Senators would have been lining up through the doors to come and condemn this foul and hateful speech. We would have been hearing a lot about the last full measure of devotion. Instead, we are seeing the last measure of devolution of a great party into what now resembles, as much as anything, a cult. prgtoken I will be interested to see what my colleagues have in mind as they go through next year's Veterans Day and Memorial Day having been unable to say one word against this calumny of our troops today. It is, frankly, heartbreaking. prgtoken I traveled a lot with John McCain, and one of our trips took us to the Philippines. I got up very early in the morning to go and have basically a dawn visit to the Manila American Cemetery. The particular reason I went there is to see a name on the wall of the memorial: George Bruen Whitehouse. George was 21 when he was killed. He was flying fighter planes as a Navy pilot off an aircraft carrier called the USS Cowpens. His body was never recovered. His plane was shot down and crashed into the wilderness, and that was the end of it, but his name is still there, carved high up in the marble as a last memorial of his sacrifice. A President who doesn't get that is a disgrace. prgtoken . prgtoken Particularly, to a colleague who is an American combat veteran from the Vietnam war, to which my father dedicated 5 years of his life. It is a remarkable honor for me to be able to speak in between Senator Duckworth and Senator Carper. I am cognizant of that honor. prgtoken .
REMEMBERING RONNIE LOPEZ
Kyrsten Sinema (Democrat, AZ) \u2014 2020-9-9

today I wish to honor the I life of Ronnie Lopez, a beloved men to, and community leader in Arizona. Lopez is intimately known around the Valley by many for his efforts championing public policies and civic engagement for Phoenix's Latino community. prgtoken Born in the small mining town of Miami, AZ, Ronnie was raised alongside his two older brothers by his hard-working mother, who cleaned houses and worked in the area mines to provide for their family. Ronnie's professional career in Phoenix began in them id 1960s as a field representative for the Arizona State Civil Rights Commission, where he investigated discrimination allegations. Shortly after, Ronnie extended his expertise to Chicanos Por La Causa, an organization dedicated to supporting underserved Latinos in Phoenix, and was elected justice of the peace in West Phoenix. In 1978, Ronnie accepted a position to serve on the staff of Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, where he championed better housing and education for the Latino community. In the many years that followed, Ronnie ran his own consulting firm--working with government leaders, businesses, and public campaigns to facilitate change for Arizonans in need. In what free time he had left, Ronnie endeavored to mentor many of Arizona's young public servants, some of whom serve as elected officials today. Above all else, those who had the pleasure of working with Ronnie will remember him for his selflessness. prgtoken Please join me in honoring life of Ronnie Lopez, a devoted leader, mentor, and personal friend whose impact will not be forgotten.
Introductory Statement on S. 4543
Josh Hawley (Republican, MO) \u2014 2020-9-9

I come to the floor today to address the growing crisis in our country, in our cities and towns across our country: a crisis of law and order, yes, a crisis of the rule of law, a crisis of confidence, a crisis of solidarity. As our cities and towns come under siege, as so many of them descend into violence and lawlessness night after night, we witness before our eyes the fraying of the American fabric, the breaking of American bonds. prgtoken The violence that we are witnessing is not just about the individual lives harmed or lost, neighborhoods destroyed, businesses burned and looted, families living in fear, whole neighborhoods cowering behind locked doors. No. The devastation that we are seeing, the crisis that we are facing is about the confidence in our society itself, in our ability to come together, to live together, to find common ground, to build this common community and pursue that more perfect union. All of that is under threat in this current crisis of lawlessness, of lack of respect for the rule of law, of the decline of due process and law and order. prgtoken Let's just be clear. These are not peaceful protests that we are seeing across the country. They are violent and increasingly violent riots and attacks and looting, and I am sorry to say that too many in the media and my colleagues across the aisle are appeasing the mobs and the Marxists whose desire is to burn our cities down, to burn our neighborhoods to the ground. prgtoken These attacks are occurring because they are increasingly enabled by the mainstream press and local and national politicians who are pushing a historically fraudulent version of American history, one where America is a fundamentally racist nation, one where America is systemically evil, one where police officers are cast as agents of oppression. prgtoken What our leaders fail to recognize is that our police officers, the brave men prgtoken and women in blue, those who choose day in and day out, of their own volition, of their own accord, to go out to the streets, to put their lives on the line to serve and protect their neighborhoods, their fellow citizens, and to stand for our values--those police officers are an example and exemplars of our deepest held and most cherished beliefs because, without those police officers--let's just be clear--the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, those things are just words on a page. prgtoken Without law enforcement officers giving their lives, risking their lives to enforce and make available the fair and equal rule of law, well, our Constitution is just a parchment barrier. It may as well not exist. prgtoken Now, our police officers are the best among us. They are the guardians of our neighborhoods. They are the sentries on the streets. But too often now, in the press, right here in this body, we hear attacks on police officers, we hear rushes to judgment. These voices of criticism don't see poli
TRIBUTE TO DAVID ABNEY
David Perdue (Republican, GA) \u2014 2020-9-9

one of America's founding principles is the belief that anyone of any background can achieve anything with hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude. This belief is the very foundation of the American dream. prgtoken Mr. David Abney, who is retiring after over 40 years at Georgia's own UPS, is the epitome of the American dream. prgtoken David grew up in the Mississippi Delta, which is one of the most economically challenged areas in the country. Yet David didn't let his circumstances determine his fate. From an early age, David worked odd jobs to help support his family while making sure he kept his grades up at school. This dedication paid off when he got into Delta State University on scholarship, where he met his future wife, Sherry. prgtoken At the age of 19, while working as a package loader at UPS to pay for his education, a manager recognized David's talent and work ethic and encouraged him to join the company full time. Although he didn't realize it at the time, this encouragement transformed David's life. It was then that David became, as they say, ``brown-blooded,'' devoting his career to UPS. prgtoken Although he had found his professional home, the road ahead wasn't always easy. The work could be grueling. He moved around a lot. He often put in difficult hours. However, just as he had diligently worked his way into college, David worked his way up the ladder. prgtoken What has always made David an exceptional leader is his devotion to the people who work for him. Having done the work himself, David understood the needs and challenges of his employees, and he always put their needs over his own. In one case, when the center he managed experienced difficult times, David laid himself off so that his employees could keep their jobs. prgtoken This selfless, employee-oriented leadership style eventually propelled David to the highest levels of leadership at UPS. He became COO in 2007, CEO in 2014, chairman of the board in 2016. prgtoken Under David's leadership, UPS has grown into one of the most exceptional logistics companies in the world. He guided UPS through major changes, adapting to the new needs of the digital world. He focused on strengthening the company's diversity and inclusion practices, so that anyone, of any background, would always find a home at UPS just as he had. prgtoken Today, UPS supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and helps our economy grow and thrive every day. prgtoken The values of hard work, optimism, and service to others that have guided David's life are infused into the company that he has led. For example, during the COVID-19 crisis, UPS helped manage logistics to deliver critical aid to those who needed it. UPS workers put their own health and safety at risk to serve their communities. prgtoken David's devotion to serving others extends beyond UPS. He has helped support local businesses as the chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He served o
IOWA FARMERS
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2020-9-9

this year has been one of the most challenging years for Iowa farmers during my 40 years in the Senate. Farmers have had to confront coronavirus supply chain disruptions, widespread drought, and a record windstorm that moved across our State. prgtoken During my 99 county meetings, I saw Iowa fields that were completely destroyed--150 miles long and 40 miles wide. The images of mature crops lying flat on the ground were heartbreaking. Iowans are a very resilient people, but the hurt the farmers have endured this year will be felt in our State for a few years to come. prgtoken Senator Ernst and I will keep fighting to strengthen Iowa's farm economy despite this year's very challenging situations. prgtoken .
Coronavirus (Executive Calendar)
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2020-9-9

for the past several weeks I have had the opportunity to be able to travel around the great State of Oklahoma. I have literally been from Guymon to Talihina, to Bartlesville, to Lawton to cover as much space as I could and talk to as many people as I could. prgtoken Obviously, we were in smaller groups, with masks and social distancing and doing all the things we could to take care of each other, but taking the moment to meet with school superintendents, parents, teachers, healthcare providers and hospital administrators, small business owners and employees of large and small businesses, not- for-profits and their volunteers, law enforcement individuals, city managers, mayors, city councilmen, State leadership. prgtoken I wanted to hear what was happening on the ground in my State in order to know what needs to be addressed because there has been a lot of noise in Washington, DC, about what needs to be done on COVID. prgtoken There are many people in the national press who are struck by the fact that $3 trillion has already been allocated to deal with COVID-19 and a tremendous number of changes have already occurred. But in this town there are a significant number of people who say: We just spent $3 trillion. That was fun. Let's do it all over again and see how we can spend even more. prgtoken My focus has been very simple: What is needed to be able to beat the virus? What I heard all over Oklahoma wasn't ``Go do more; just spend more and create new programs'' but ``How can we beat this virus back so that we can actually get to a moment where we can function again economically as a nation?'' prgtoken People are returning to work, but they are asking very basic questions. The first of those is ``This is a health crisis. What do we do?'' prgtoken The bill that has just been released, which we are voting on in the Senate tomorrow, has a whole series of issues tailored to actually work on beating the virus back and getting our economy going and helping to protect our families. That is the design of this. It is not just doing something; it is trying to do the right things to actually help us get through this and get to the other side, starting with money for testing--not just additional testing but new types of testing to make sure that we have even faster tests out there and that we have more testing that actually addresses the issue of how we can do it on-site, get an accurate result, and not wait weeks. While we literally have millions of tests that have been done, we have some tests that take a long time to get back. In March, we were dealing with ``Let's get a test,'' prgtoken and now we are dealing with ``Let's get a faster test.'' That is a lot of the focus of the funding here: faster testing. prgtoken On vaccines, there are six vaccines right now that are in human trials or that are approaching human trials, which is remarkable, thinking about the history of vaccines and how long it has taken.
COVID-19 Vaccine (Executive Calendar)
Lamar Alexander (Republican, TN) \u2014 2020-9-9

this morning, our Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee had a hearing, and one of the members came up to me on the floor and said: That was the most civil hearing I have attended in the Senate in a while. The truth is that most of our hearings in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee are civil. We have Senators of widely different points of view. prgtoken I thank Senator Murray, the Senator from Washington State, who is the ranking member of our committee and a member of the ic leadership, for the way that she and the ic members of the committee worked with the members so that we can have the Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Adams, and Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, who is one of our country's most esteemed scientists and the man who headed the human genome project, there for 3 hours and we can ask questions. Virtually every Senator participated, and we got some good answers. prgtoken I would like to report to the other members of the Senate about that hearing. I began it by saying: I have been rereading the book ``Guns, Germs, and Steel,'' a book by Jared Diamond, written in 1997, which is as relevant today--maybe more relevant today--than it was when he wrote it. prgtoken Mr. Diamond, who won the Pulitzer Prize and is a professor of geography in California, said: There is nothing new about mass epidemics that causes deaths and social upheaval that we are witnessing today, and there is nothing new about where most of those epidemics in history have come from. Diseases that caused those deaths for the last 10,000 years, he says, have come mostly from animals that transmit them to humans, and during most of history, there were three ways to deal with these epidemics. prgtoken One was to isolate the infected, as in, for example, leper colonies to deal with leprosy. One was, according to Mr. Diamond, that over thousands of years, there have been genetic changes in the human population in response to the infectious diseases that have gone through those populations, and they have produced a resistance to the infectious diseases, as in the case of smallpox. Of course, that didn't do much to help the Native Americans in this country when European settlers, who had some resistance to smallpox, arrived here and gave blankets to the Native Americans that were infected with smallpox or contained smallpox and wiped out 90 percent of the tribes who received them because they didn't have that resistance. prgtoken There is a third way of dealing with epidemics. Throughout most of history, the most common way was to let the epidemic run through the population until everyone had been either killed or recovered and developed some resistance to the disease. Diamond says that the Black Death killed about one-third of Europe's population between 1347 and 1351 as it ran through the population killing people. prgtoken