mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Colorado Wildfires (Executive Calendar)
Michael F. Bennet (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2020-10-25

before I begin my remarks about the nomination, I want to acknowledge that tonight, as we are here, there are fires in many places across the State of Colorado. There are people who are out of their homes and out of their communities, who have had to evacuate their towns, and there are first responders on the ground in Colorado who are fighting these fires bravely every single day. prgtoken They have been stretched all summer through a fire season that has lasted into the fall because of our inability to deal with our forests and because of climate change. My hope tonight, as we are here, is that the snow that has fallen is going to be more of a benefit than a curse to everybody who is out there. prgtoken So, with that, I thank the Presiding Officer for recognizing me, and I will now give my remarks about this confirmation
Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett (Executive Calendar)
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2020-10-25

two powerful phrases we often hear in America: one is ``We the People,'' another is ``equal justice under law.'' ``We the People,'' the first three words of the Constitution, written in supersized script so that everyone could have no doubt that that is what that Constitution--our Constitution--was all about. You can see those words from across the room. They echo so often, how can we possibly forget the soul of our Constitution is, as President Lincoln described, ``of, by, and for the people''--``of, by, and for the people.'' prgtoken That second phrase, ``equal justice under law''--a phrase so important to our system that it is carved above the doors of the Supreme Court. Just the across the hallway here from the Chamber in which I now stand, the Senate Chamber, you can go into the Johnson Room. It served, when Johnson was the majority leader of this Chamber, as his office. And you look out the window, you can see the Supreme Court Building with that phrase carved into it: ``Equal Justice Under Law''--two powerful phrases that, taken together, lay out the foundation for our democratic Republic. prgtoken They also represent a vision that is aspirational--one that we had not achieved when our Constitution was first written, one that we have not achieved yet today but that we work toward, we strive toward, generation after generation, knowing that, in our hearts, that is what we wish to achieve--a nation where everyone is created equal, in which everyone is afforded the same rights and privileges, they are all treated equally, have the full measure of opportunity to pursue their life ambitions. prgtoken Today, this evening, we are considering, in this final 30 hours of debate, a nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court for a person who will wear one of those nine black robes and sit in that Supreme Court Chamber across the plaza from where we now stand, a person who will sit in a Chamber behind the doors with ``Equal Justice Under Law'' inscribed. prgtoken But instead of making a stride toward that vision of ``equal justice under law,'' instead of making a stride toward that vision of government of, by, and for the people, this nomination imperils that vision. This nominee, if confirmed, will damage that vision. prgtoken We have a decades-long scheme by a powerful and privileged minority to destroy the ``we the people'' vision of equality and opportunity in our Constitution, to erode the foundation of our institutions so that they can rig the system in their favor. prgtoken This has always been a dynamic of republics--those who love that vision of a government ``of, by, and for the people'' and those who fear that vision of government ``of, by, and for the people'' because they want to rig the rules in their favor. They want to rig the rules with a vision that would never have a chance at the ballot box, that would never be embraced by the majority. They want to pull the levers of power from beh
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR--Continued
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2020-10-25

I want to start by thanking my friend and colleague, the Senator from Pennsylvania, for talking this evening about what is at stake for so many of his constituents with this Supreme Court nomination and the very real possibility that the Affordable Care Act will be struck down and what that means to so many of his constituents. prgtoken I do think this is a moment where we need to reflect and take stock of where we are as a country on many fronts. We are in the middle of a global pandemic. We just saw the highest single day of new reported cases on Friday. Millions of Americans are unemployed and worried about how they are going to pay their rent and how they are going to pay for their medications. prgtoken We are here at a time when a -led lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act, supported by President and his Department of Justice, is scheduled for a fateful hearing in the Supreme Court on November 10--1 week after the upcoming election. prgtoken We are here in the wake of the killings of Black men, like George Floyd, and Black women, like Breonna Taylor, which sent throngs of protesters into the streets across the country to rightly demand greater police accountability and racial justice. prgtoken We gather here as wildfires in the West and hurricanes in the South demonstrate with deadly and destructive voracity the accelerating and dangerous consequences of climate change. We meet as voters are filling out mail-in ballots as early as they can to make sure that the Postal Service, which this administration has deliberately slowed down, can get their ballots delivered on time so that they can be counted and as voters stand in long lines, with their masks, 6 feet apart, to cast their ballots in the early vote. prgtoken At this moment, this country is facing all these pressing issues, but as I come here this evening or early this morning, we are not considering solutions to any of those critical and urgent issues, not a single one. Instead, we are blowing up the precedent that the Senate leader and other Senators themselves established 4 years ago and considering a Supreme Court nominee closer in time to the Presidential election than ever before in American history, as millions of Americans have already have already cast their ballots. prgtoken We are blowing up this Senate established precedent and racing toward a nomination that will turn the clock back, take us backwards on all of those pressing issues that I just outlined. But sadly, I suppose none of us should be surprised that we are focused here on another judicial nomination at the expense of focusing on legislation to advance and address the interests of the American people on so many front-burner pressing issues. prgtoken Indeed, as I reflect on the last months and years, just about the only thing this Senate has done is pass nominations. Week after week, we ignore our
Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett (Executive Calendar)
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2020-10-25

first, let me thank the Presiding Officer, the staff on the floor, and the staff in both caucus rooms, for putting up with a very, very late night to take the floor just past 3:30 in the morning. I thank my friend Senator Schatz for picking up about an hour and a half, from 2 until 3:30, and I know that Senator Kaine will be joining the floor shortly. prgtoken This is an exceptional night because we are living in exceptional times. We are likely to see tomorrow a record number of COVID cases diagnosed in this country. I know that it now feels like the new normal 7, 8 months into this pandemic, but this is unthinkable that our country has been ravaged by a virus that less than a year ago no one had ever heard of. prgtoken Sometime in November or December of last year, COVID-19 started popping onto the international public health radar screen in China, and a few months later, it was here in the United States. Most countries were able to come up with a plan to control, contain, or essentially eliminate the threat of COVID-19 in a matter of months. The United States was not, because of an abysmal failure by this administration. prgtoken We are now living with a third wave of COVID. As we speak on the floor tonight, we are looking down the barrel of 300,000 Americans dead by the end of this year. No one is safe. There are millions of kids who can't go back to school, businesses that have gone under, and 10 percent of our workforce that is out of work. prgtoken This is an exceptional night because we are living in an exceptional moment, and I will talk over the course of my remarks about the President's failure to meet the moment and to be able to rescue this country from this pandemic--in fact, his daily actions now to actively spread the disease. There is no one who is doing more to spread COVID- 19 across the country today than the President of the United States, who is holding daily superspreader events, who is shaming individuals who wear masks, and who is deliberately trying to reduce the number of tests that are done in this country. prgtoken I also want to acknowledge that the vote that we have pending, ready for action tomorrow, is directly connected to the question as to whether this country is going to be able to turn the corner on COVID, because the first case Amy Coney Barrett will likely hear after she is confirmed by this body, as it looks like will happen tomorrow, will be a case on the Affordable Care Act--a case that asks the Supreme Court to invalidate the entirety of the ACA. prgtoken It draws issue with one specific provision in the ACA, but the remedy it seeks--the remedy the President of the United States is asking for-- is the complete invalidation of the Affordable Care Act. That is 23 million people losing healthcare. That is 130 million people all across this country who have preexisting conditions potentially losing protections that, under the ACA, prohibit insurance compan
prayer
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2020-10-25

I rise in opposition to the pending confirmation vote of Amy Coney Barrett to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom we lost in September of this year. Justice Ginsburg was a champion of women's rights and civil rights, and she is going to be sorely missed on that Court. prgtoken Article II, section 2 of the Constitution provides that the ``President shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . Judges of the Supreme Court.'' One of a Senator's most solemn responsibility is to evaluate the nominee's qualifications as well as the process the Senate uses to provide their advice and consent for a lifetime appointment to our highest Court. I believe, on both substance and process, this nomination should be rejected. prgtoken First, on process. Let's talk about fairness. Let's talk about the integrity of the Senate. Let's talk about living up to your own words. Let's talk about using the same rules for s that you use for . prgtoken Let me remind my colleagues what happened in 2016 in the Senate during President 's final year of a term in office in a Presidential election year. Justice Scalia died in February of 2016. Within just a few hours after the death of Justice Scalia, Leader McConnell unilaterally announced that the Senate would not consider a replacement for Justice Scalia until after the November 2016 Presidential election, which established a yearlong vacant Supreme Court seat. prgtoken The leader's action, backed by his caucus, set a very clear precedent: Under no circumstances do Senate s consider a Supreme Court nominee in a Presidential election year. prgtoken It did not matter that in March 2016, President appointed Merrick Garland, a respected DC Circuit judge, with bipartisan support. They would not meet with Judge Garland, hold a hearing, or allow a vote on him for 293 days. prgtoken In 2016, the Presidential election was nearly 9 months away. Four years ago, our colleagues said: 9 months was not time enough. Leave it up to the voters. We will do this whether it is a or in the White House. prgtoken The leader, Mitch McConnell, said: , the next Justice could fundamentally alter the direction of the Supreme Court and have a profound impact on our country, so of course--of course the American people should have a say in the Court's direction. . . . The American people may well elect a President who decides to nominate Judge Garland for Senate consideration. The next President may also nominate somebody very different. Either way, our view is this: Give the people a voice in filling this vacancy. . . . The American people are perfectly capable of having their say on this issue, so [let's give] them a
Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett (Executive Calendar)
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-10-25

. I rise today to speak about the future of the Supreme Court, the future of our country, and the responsibility this body has to the people of our Nation. prgtoken It seems that my colleagues have lost sight of what the people of our States have sent us here to do. They sent us here to raise their voices, represent their interests, and provide them with the help they need. prgtoken The American people are truly struggling, and they are calling upon us to provide them with real relief during this public health and economic crisis. That should be our No. 1 priority. prgtoken Eight million Americans have fallen into poverty during this pandemic, including an outsized number of people of color and children. The proportion of American children who sometimes do not have enough to eat is now 14 times higher than it was last year. Parents are now joining food lines for food banks because they cannot feed their children. Cases of COVID are on the rise as we head toward our third peak. Small businesses and their employees don't see a rebound on the horizon. People are sick. They are struggling and scared about the future. prgtoken For months, my fellow and I have been calling for a vote on the relief package the House put forward to address these concerns, and we have been met with silence. Then, after dragging their feet, s put forward a totally inadequate $500 billion package that puts the needs of big businesses ahead of working families. What is worse is that they know it has absolutely no chance of becoming law. Their only aim is to score political points, all the while the American people keep suffering. prgtoken The weeks we should have dedicated to negotiating a real relief package have instead been spent rushing through the confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice. The hypocrisy is truly stunning. The same people who denied Merrick Garland a hearing months before an election are now trying to ram this process through while an election is already happening. Millions of ballots have already been cast. Millions of Americans are already voting. Their futures are on the line. They should have a say in this outcome. prgtoken We know why s are rushing. They are rushing because they know it is their last chance to impose a very extreme conservative view on this country. They are rushing because they see a clock ticking toward November, when the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether 129 million Americans with preexisting conditions will continue to have access to affordable healthcare. They are rushing to seat Judge Barrett in time for her to rule on that case--a case that could strip millions of Americans of healthcare in the middle of a pandemic, at the very moment they need it the most. It is simply inhumane. prgtoken The Affordable Care Act is a matter of life or death. I recently spoke to a New Yorker named Allie Marotta, who has been living with type 1 diabetes since 2
Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett (Executive Calendar)
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2020-10-25

today, I rise as our country faces a monumental choice. It is a choice about who we want to be as Americans and the future we want to build as Americans. All across our country this year, we have seen Americans standing up and speaking out for greater equality and greater justice. Our choice is this: Does the highest Court in the land stand with the people of America as we strive to build a more perfect Union, or does the Court side with the most powerful interests and most extreme views that will take our country backward in our quest for justice and equality? prgtoken Judge Amy Coney Barrett does not stand on the side of the American people. She does not represent mainstream values--certainly, mainstream values that we cherish in Michigan. prgtoken Right now, we are in the middle of a pandemic. Over 225,000 Americans have already died, and we are nowhere near getting it under control-- nowhere. prgtoken Instead of providing help to families, communities, and businesses that are suffering, s are rushing through. Here we are on a Sunday, not talking about how we help people, help our small businesses, help our communities, do what needs to be done to get this pandemic under control. No, we are seeing a rush to get a Supreme Court nominee on the Court that will have disastrous consequences for our Nation, both for today and for decades to come. prgtoken On behalf of the majority of the people of Michigan, I am strongly opposing this nomination, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. prgtoken Perhaps, nothing is more at risk right now than healthcare--the healthcare that Americans depend on. Exactly one week after election day, the Supreme Court, as we know, will hear arguments in the case that could very well overturn the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a pandemic--in the middle of a deadly pandemic. prgtoken s in Congress have tried to repeal the healthcare law for 10 years now--10 years. And each time, people across our country, people across Michigan, have spoken out. They have demanded that s protect their healthcare. Healthcare is not political in the eyes of Americans. It is personal. They want us to strengthen and improve healthcare, not rip it away from them. But, unfortunately, s have voted more than 100 times in those 10 years--more than 100 different times--to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and more than 100 times they have failed. prgtoken So now President has turned the job over to the courts. He expects Judge Barrett to, in his words, terminate the healthcare law. That is the word of the person who nominated Judge Barrett. He wouldn't have nominated her to the Supreme Court if he didn't trust that she would do just that. prgtoken Judge Barrett has already called the Court's previous decision to uphold the ACA ``illegitimate.'' She publicly criticized Chief Justice Roberts for upholding the law. She said that if the Supreme Court read
Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett (Executive Calendar)
Mazie K. Hirono (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2020-10-25

every woman in this country owes a debt of gratitude to my friend, Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink. Americans probably know Patsy best for her fiery advocacy to pass title IX into law. This landmark piece of gender equity legislation, which now bears her name, has benefited millions of women and girls across our country. prgtoken But I would wager that very few people know about how Patsy changed the course of history for women's equality and helped to enshrine the right of women to control our own bodies in the Supreme Court. prgtoken Let me tell you a story. In 1970, the same year that Hawaii became the first State in the country to decriminalize abortion, Patsy did something no one had done before. She made women's rights a key issue in a Supreme Court nomination when she testified against the nomination of Judge G. Harrold Carswell. prgtoken In her testimony, Patsy brought up Judge Carswell's decision in the case of Ida Phillips, a woman denied a factory job because she had preschool-aged children. Of course, no such rule applied to fathers. prgtoken Judge Carswell, along with 10 of his colleagues on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, had refused to hear Ms. Phillips' case. Patsy told the Senate Judiciary Committee: ``Judge Carswell demonstrated a total lack of understanding of the concept of equality. . . . His vote represented a vote against the right of women to be treated equally and fairly under the law.'' prgtoken When a Senator tried to defend Judge Carswell by pointing out that 10 other judges had also voted to refuse to hear the case, Patsy responded: ``But the other nine are not up for appointment to the Supreme Court.'' prgtoken Patsy understood the critical role the Supreme Court plays in the lives of every American. She pointed out to the committee that ``the Supreme Court is the final guardian of our human rights. We must rely totally upon its membership to sustain the basic values of our society.'' prgtoken Patsy's testimony marked a turning point in Judge Carswell's nomination, which the Senate ultimately rejected. Her courageous action paved the way for President Richard Nixon to appoint Justice Harry Blackmun to the Court. prgtoken Then, 3 years later, Justice Blackmun wrote the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, recognizing a woman's constitutional right to control her own body. Justice Blackmun, unlike Judge Carswell, understood the right of women to be treated equally. Upon his retirement, he observed Roe was, ``a step that had to be taken. . . . toward the full emancipation of women.'' prgtoken This story about Patsy is not very well known, but it underscores how one person can make a difference and how one vote on the Supreme Court can make a difference. prgtoken During his years on the Court, Justice Blackmun became a reliable vote for racial and gender equality, and his decisions reflected an understanding of how the Court's decisions impact the lives of mil