mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
LOWER ENERGY COSTS ACT
Kim Schrier (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2023-3-29

just last year, we made the largest investment in clean energy technology and climate science ever. The intention is to spur research and innovation in cutting-edge technologies and then accelerate development and construction of a modernized electric grid, solar and wind farms, modular nuclear reactors, and improved hydropower. However, none of that funding will actually affect climate change if we can't streamline the permitting process. prgtoken Frankly, it is pretty exciting to me to think about permitting reform as an area where and s can work together, but let's be clear that speeding up the permitting process does not mean throwing all environmental protections out the window. That is essentially what today's bill, H.R. 1, their top priority, does today. prgtoken It doesn't streamline permitting. It undermines environmental protections and is a huge handout to fossil fuel companies, in some cases allowing them to avoid environmental regulations altogether. It pushes our energy system in the wrong direction. prgtoken There is urgency to shift to energy sources that don't emit greenhouse gases. Some of the glaciers on Mount Rainier in my district have already disappeared. That is why we do need to improve the permitting process. prgtoken However, the bill we are addressing today decimates that process, putting natural resources at risk and fast-tracking more drilling for oil and gas and mining for minerals on our public lands. prgtoken By the way, there are already 9,000 permits out there for oil and gas extraction that aren't even being used, and oil and gas companies are making record-shattering profits right now, quarter over quarter. They don't need another gift from Congress. prgtoken It is time to prioritize clean energy projects, and it is those permits that require the most expediency. prgtoken This bill isn't permitting reform, and it won't cut costs for American families. When they are ready, I look forward to working with my colleagues on real, serious, pragmatic permitting reform that will allow for the quickest possible transition to cleaner sources. We owe it to generations we will never know.
RELATING TO A NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE PRESIDENT ON MARCH 13, 2020
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2023-3-29

I rise to discuss the promotions and appointments of general and flag officers in the United States military, including several appointments to lieutenant general and vice admiral. prgtoken These are officers who would hold positions of particular importance and responsibility to the Nation. The promotions of these military leaders were reported out of the Armed Services Committee over the past 2 months. prgtoken There have been no substantive objections raised against these nominations. For the benefit of my colleagues who may not appreciate the nature and volume of military promotions and nominations considered by the Armed Services Committee, last year, the Committee considered and the Senate confirmed nearly 20,000 military officers, including 656 general and flag officers. prgtoken The Senate confirmed 20,000 nominations through bipartisan unanimous consent because the tradition of the Committee and of the Senate is to consider military nominations as apolitical and thus process them in a timely and respectful manner so our troops do not experience delays in their promotion or appointment or in their pay and benefits. prgtoken Moreover, the sheer volume of nominations we consider means we cannot subject them to the ordinary political gamesmanship we see with civilian nominations. prgtoken The senior Senator from Alabama has made these promotions a political matter. He and he alone placed a blanket hold on these officers, unrelated to their qualifications, because of a policy disagreement with the administration that these officers played no part in deciding. prgtoken This, in my view, is a profound assault on the professionalism of the men and women of the armed services. prgtoken The vast majority of these officers were selected by promotion boards, which are panels of military officers who decide promotions purely on merit, considering the skill, talent, and the military's collective assessment of their potential to lead in the grades for which they have been nominated. prgtoken Blanket political holds on military officers, in an attempt to overturn a civilian policy decision, sets a dangerous trend for our military, our political process, our Nation, and this Senate. prgtoken The senior Senator from Alabama placed his hold on February 16th, and as a result, not a single general or flag officer nominated in this Congress has been confirmed. prgtoken Let me repeat that. prgtoken Due to the senior Senator from Alabama's hold, not a single general or flag officer has been promoted. prgtoken As the Senator's hold moves into its third month, we will quickly reach a critical mass of backlogged nominations, if we are not already there, that will imperil our national security, degrade unit readiness, and place undue, and undeserved, hardships on military families. prgtoken It may not be his intent, but he is effectively accomplishing what our adversaries could only dream of: denying our military of its l
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Tim Kaine (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2023-3-29

the United States invaded Iraq following congressional authorization exactly 20 years ago, March 19 and 20, 2003. prgtoken In that war, nearly 4,500 Americans lost their lives and more than 31,000 American troops were wounded--some grievously--who will carry that wound for the rest of their lives. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were killed. prgtoken I rise thinking about all of them as we come close to a vote to declare these wars are over. prgtoken It wasn't too long into the war when criticism of the decision to go to war began. There is no criticism of the heroism of the American troops who served ably, who did so well, who protected their colleagues, who protected civilian life the best they could. But there began to be criticism of the rationale for the war. prgtoken Two of the rationales for this war were that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. That was very convincing to many colleagues here. It turned out not to be true. And another of the rationales that was occasionally advanced was that Iraq had participated in the 9/11 attack. That proved not to be true. prgtoken So much of the analysis of the Iraq war, looking backward over 20 years and lessons learned, has focused upon the rationales advanced that turned out not to be true. prgtoken But there was another challenge; and today is an effort, in many ways, to try to fix that challenge. And the challenge was this: We rushed into it. There were 4,500 who died; 31,000 who were wounded, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. prgtoken What we have to contemplate is the reality that we rushed into a war--this body rushed into a war. The Iraq war resolution was filed in the House in early October 2002, assigned to a committee, and came out of the House in a week. The resolution was pending in the Senate--no committee action, no committee opportunity for inquiry, amendment, debate. It was pending in the Senate for 3 days--3 days. prgtoken The Senate voted to go to war--a war that has had massive consequences--with a total of 3 days of analysis. Taking the time to be the greatest deliberative body in the world does not guarantee that we will get everything right. But short-circuiting a decision, especially a decision of such magnitude as to whether the United States should go to war, maximizes the chance that we, as fallible humans, will get it wrong. prgtoken I believe many of the challenges that we faced in the Iraq war began with that rush. I am very dedicated to the proposition--and I have been since I came here--that the United States and the article I branch of Congress, we should never be pushed into a war and we should never be rushed into a war. prgtoken The repeal of the 1991 and 2002 AUMF has been on the floor of the Senate for 2 weeks, not 3 days. The repeal has been pending before the body since 2019. It has had two different markups in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where members got chances to offer amendme
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND THE...
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2023-3-29

I think we have another Senator from West Virginia that is ready to speak over here. prgtoken I want to just close with this. The U.S. Department of Agriculture stands ready to work with farmers and ranchers to assist them with compliance. I will say that again: The U.S. Department of Agriculture stands ready to stand with farmers and ranchers to assist them with compliance. prgtoken Finally, I think this is a moderate rule that thoughtfully responds to the concerns of farmers and ranchers. I met with Administrator Regan personally. This is not the rule, and this is not the rule. It is a compromise, and I think it is one that deserves to be supported. prgtoken So I would ask for a vote that is against the measure that is before us today. prgtoken I yield to the Senator from West Virginia.
LOWER ENERGY COSTS ACT
Paul Tonko (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2023-3-29

. Mr. Chair, I rise in deep opposition to H.R. 1, or as we have heard, the polluters over people act. prgtoken When House had an opportunity to bring an H.R. 1 to the floor, it was to protect Americans' sacred right to vote and curb the influence of dark money and politics. prgtoken Compare that to this H.R. 1, which is nothing short of a bonanza for corporate polluters. prgtoken It creates loopholes in our Nation's most important environmental laws, laws that exist to ensure Americans have clean air, that they have clean water, and do not need to live in fear of industrial accidents in their backyards. prgtoken It does this so that the richest oil and gas companies in the world can indeed continue to achieve a record-breaking bit of profits at the expense of everyday Americans. We know the best way for us to avoid volatile fossil fuel price shocks is to become less reliant on fossil energy by transitioning to a strong, clean energy future, one that will also protect our air and our water and create millions of well-paying American jobs. prgtoken This is exactly what the Inflation Reduction Act is doing. New clean energy projects are underway across our country. There have been tens of billions of dollars in domestic manufacturing announcements, which will ensure that solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, EVs, and the other technologies we will need will be made here in America. prgtoken This bill seeks to stop that progress. It would repeal critical sections of the IRA. The greenhouse gas reduction fund will leverage private funding to make clean energy investments across the country, including in disadvantaged communities. prgtoken The methane emissions reduction program is going to drive down highly potent climate pollution from the oil and gas sector. New rebates will enable low- and moderate-income Americans to save significant money by upgrading their appliances. These programs will be wiped out by this bill. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I am not opposed to examining how we can improve permitting processes, but it must be done with the intention of accelerating the clean energy transition--building out our transmission infrastructure to enable our electricity system to be cleaner, more reliable, and, yes, more affordable. prgtoken Unfortunately, this bill is only interested in giveaways to outdated, outmoded, and polluting industries, not in bringing our energy system into this 21st century. prgtoken , I urge Members to oppose it.
LOWER ENERGY COSTS ACT
Lizzie Fletcher (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2023-3-29

by its position, H.R. 1 reflects a top priority of the House majority. There is much that my constituents in Houston agree we should be prioritizing in this Congress when it comes to energy--not only lowering energy costs, which is the bill's title-- but strengthening our energy security, ensuring and enabling domestic energy production of all kinds, and ensuring our energy future. prgtoken That comes from serious legislating. That comes from listening. That comes from stakeholders of all kinds coming to the table to grapple with the competing interests here and come up with workable, durable policy. prgtoken That is, unfortunately, not what we have in this massive bill and not what we are seeing in this Chamber in our debates on energy policy here or across the country. That is a problem. prgtoken I have warned and will continue to warn that the politicization of energy policy and energy production is one of the most dangerous things that is happening in this country right now, and I am sorry to see that this debate is no different. prgtoken We simply cannot repeat cursory talking points and epithets that do not get to the complex and urgent challenges in front of us. There are real and dire consequences for our people who produce the energy that we need and use every day and for our environment if we cannot get it together enough to take this work seriously here. prgtoken We must move from politics to policy. I can't go through all the policy in this bill in the time that I have here. However, I do agree that we must reform the permitting process, that we should continue exports of oil and natural gas, that we need an offshore leasing plan, that we should increase offshore revenue to coastal States, that we need to secure critical minerals, and other ideas contained in this bill. prgtoken However, H.R. 1 contains so many unworkable provisions that create unrealistic deadlines, threaten our national security, and repeal key environmental and public health protections and programs--including the historic work that we did just in the last Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce methane emissions, incentivize clean energy investment, and protect communities--that I cannot vote for the bill.
LINCOLN WARE MAKING AN IMPACT FOR 50 YEARS
Greg Landsman (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2023-3-30

. Madam , I rise today to recognize one of my favorite people and a Cincinnati radio icon, Lincoln Ware. prgtoken For 50 years now, across southwest Ohio, folks have listened to Lincoln Ware. From deejaying aboard the USS Midway as a marine to WCIN, one of the oldest, Black radio stations in the country, to helping ``The Buzz'' get off the ground with the very famous ``Lincoln Ware Show'' to his talk show ``Cincinnati Issues'' on Star 64, Lincoln has made an enormous impact on our city and region. prgtoken Off the airwaves, Lincoln is always out in the community. From celebrations to protests, he is there. You can even join him as part of his walking club at Winton Woods on Saturdays during the spring, summer, and most of the fall. prgtoken He brings humor, wisdom, and clarity to thousands of Cincinnatians every day. I thank Lincoln, and I congratulate him.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2023-3-30

the Senator is right--I have very little interest in engaging on the merits of these proposals in a dialogue on the floor of the Senate because they are not serious attempts to make our kids safer. prgtoken These unanimous consent requests that Senator Cruz makes--they are going to get a lot of clicks online. The confrontation that he is looking for will probably lead to a bunch of cable news appearances being booked, but it is not going to save any kids' lives. prgtoken The Senator knows this is not how the Senate works. This isn't an autocracy. It is not a dictatorship. You don't come down here and introduce a piece of legislation and 2 minutes later demand that the entirety of the Senate agree to it without any debate, any negotiation. prgtoken The Senator says these are the same bills he introduced last year, but as far as I can tell, he introduced the bills he is making unanimous consent requests on minutes ago. They are not even fully formed pieces of legislation. This thing is so ham-handed--one of the bills--that there are literally brackets and question marks in the text. The legislative drafters--at least in the version I see--haven't made decisions on when the money is being spent. prgtoken The Senator says there is this pattern that plays out after these shootings in which make demands about taking people's guns away but aren't serious about making our kids safer. Is that how it played out after the shooting in Uvalde? Is that what happened last summer? No, that is not what happened. What happened last summer after the shooting in the Senator's State is that serious Members of this body--Members of this body who are more interested in legislating than enacting political theater--sat down together and negotiated a bill to save children's lives. Did it solve all of the problems in this country? Did it guarantee every child's safety? No, it did not. But let's be clear. Senator Cruz never expressed one iota of interest in being part of those negotiations. Other Senators did. prgtoken While I understand he objects to the gun provisions in that bill, guess what--that bill also put $15 billion into school safety, into mental health, into hardening our schools, into community anti-gun- violence programs. prgtoken I can't speak about the other Members of the group who authored that bill, but I never got a single phone call from Senator Cruz during the month of negotiations suggesting that we add the language he is talking about to that proposal. Last summer, there were serious legislators who came to this floor to enact legislation, to set aside our differences and pass legislation that makes our kids safe--willing to make compromise. Senator Cruz didn't even sniff that room. prgtoken He references the unanimous consent requests he made later last year that I objected to. I think I suggested then, as I suggest now, that the result of that unanimous consent request was to cre
LOWER ENERGY COSTS ACT
Raúl M. Grijalva (Democrat, AZ) \u2014 2023-3-30

. Mr. Chair, this amendment says that if the Secretary of Defense takes any action under the Defense Production Act related to solar panels or electric vehicles, it can't be treated as a covered project under FAST-41. I have my own concerns about FAST-41, specifically around ensuring that communities have proper input in project permitting. This amendment is a blatant attack on clean energy infrastructure, and I cannot support it. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote, and .
HONORING IRVIN LEWIS COIN
Greg Stanton (Democrat, AZ) \u2014 2023-3-30

I rise to honor the life and legacy of Irvin Lewis Coin--an educator, philanthropist, and community leader in my home state of Arizona. Irvin was a member of the Hopi Tribe and devoted his life to ensuring that young people, regardless of their background or social status, had the opportunity to pursue higher education. Throughout his 40- year career, he helped change the lives of many-and my state, and our nation, is a better place because of him. prgtoken Irvin grew up in a one-bedroom house just steps away from the railroad tracks along the historic Route 66 in Winslow. Early in life, he learned to play the trumpet--and he was good at it too. His musical talent helped him earn a scholarship to Arizona State University in Tempe, and he graduated in 1958 with a bachelor's degree in education. Irvin began teaching in public high schools in the Phoenix area, and after earning his master's degree, he became the first director of ASU TRIO, where he laid the groundwork for ASU's TRIO Programs at the university. Because of his work, thousands of low-income, first- generation college students and students with disabilities have been empowered with the tools to achieve their highest aspirations. prgtoken Irvin also served as the president of the Western Association of Educational Opportunity Personnel Board of Directors, where he worked to ensure educational opportunities through the members that represented the TRIO program personnel. He strived to create what he called ``an army of leaders whose purpose is to change the world.'' Today, students and teachers across the nation benefit from Irvin's philanthropy--and his visionary leadership has created intergenerational prosperity and opportunity for families in Arizona. prgtoken Arizona owes a debt of gratitude to Irvin, who we lost at the age of 82 on February 24. His commitment to making a difference in the lives of others will be felt for generations to come. In this spirit of gratitude and remembrance, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Irvin Lewis Coin.
TRIBUTE TO SHEILA R. TILLERSON ADAMS
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2023-3-30

I would like to offer my congratulations the Honorable Sheila R. Tillerson Adams on her recent retirement as chief and administrative judge of the Circuit Court for Prince George's County and Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland and to thank her for her long career of distinguished public service. Judge Adams served as the administrative judge for 12 years. prgtoken Judge Adams has been a trailblazer, the first Black woman to serve as a judge in Prince George's County. She graduated from Morgan State University in May 1979 with a bachelor of science degree in psychology, cum laude. She received her juris doctor degree from Howard University School of Law in May 1982 and a master of laws in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in May 1987. She gained admission to the Maryland Bar in June 1983, the Federal Bar in July 1983, and the Supreme Court in May 1992. prgtoken Judge Adams began her legal career in 1982 and, in 1984, became only the second Black female State's attorney in Prince George's County, after being hired by the State's attorney at the time, Arthur M. ``Bud'' Marshall. She was appointed by then-Governor William Donald Schaefer to the District Court of Maryland in Prince George's County in June 1993. She served with distinction in that capacity for 3 years before she was elevated to the Circuit Court for Prince George's County by Governor Schaefer's successor, Parris Glendening, in 1996. On September 4, 2010, following the Retirement of Judge William D. Missouri, then-Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell appointed her as administrative judge of the Circuit Court for Prince George's County and the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland. prgtoken Judge Adams led the court through floods and fire that damaged court facilities and the COVID-19 pandemic. She persevered. While she served as chief and administrative judge, Judge Adams articulated a vision statement to exemplify the court's goals when providing judicial services: ``The Circuit Court Welcomes All--A Forum for Justice.'' This statement has served as the foundation for every initiative, program, and goal at the court. Judge Adams expanded the Problem-Solving Courts to provide greater assistance to youth and adults facing a myriad of challenges. She established the Veterans, Re-Entry, Truancy Reduction, Juvenile Diversion, and Back on Track Courts to help people who have served in the military, people who struggle with substance issues, students with truancy problems, and the formerly incarcerated succeed in life. Through counseling, rehabilitation services, and intense monitoring, these programs are changing lives for the better every day. Judge Adams also focused on providing resources and assistance to survivors of elder abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, and sex trafficking with the creation of the Prince George's County Family Justice Center--PGCFJC--an initiative of the circuit court. With