mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2021-8-2

I come to the floor today to bring attention to the wildfires raging in our Western States, devastating community after community. I am also here to call on my colleagues to use the ongoing infrastructure discussions to take the swift, bold action necessary not just to confront the current crisis but to address the root cause and help save others from having to endure similar fires and tragedies in the future. prgtoken For nearly a month now, the Bootleg Fire, pictured here, has been the biggest of 91 fires burning across 12 States. It has been raging in Southern Oregon. It has burned about 415,000 acres. Translate that into square miles. That is 646 square miles. Translate that. That is an area about 20 miles wide and 30 miles long, half the size of the State of Rhode Island reduced to ash and smoke. prgtoken It is ranching country. There are not a lot of developed communities, but you still have a lot of homes getting burned, at least 161 homes; double that or roughly double that in outbuildings. Hundreds of vehicles have been destroyed. Thousands of families have been forced to evacuate. prgtoken This fire grew so large, it started generating its own weather system. Think about that. Usually, we watch the weather to see how the weather is going to influence the fire. Will rain and storms slow them down? Will humidity slow them down a little? Will dry, hot conditions help them grow or, worst of all, hot and dry with wind? Well, that is not the case with the Bootleg Fire, which created these massive clouds rising more than 30,000 feet into the air, and as the air surges up, then below it, it pulls in air from all around, which feeds oxygen to the inferno. Then, when that air cools and drops down, it pushes the bottom air out, spreading sparks like some living monster sucking in fire, intensifying oxygen, and then spewing out fire-spreading embers as the air cools and descends. It even generates its own lightning storms and spawns fire tornadoes, swirling vortexes of heat and flame. prgtoken Fires are an annual occurrence in Oregon, but decade after decade, they are getting a lot worse. There are two major reasons for this. Climate chaos is one, and poor forest management is the other. The forests, due to climate chaos, are drier and more prone to fire. Why are they drier? Because, well, carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and methane gas leaking out of our natural gas systems are heating the prgtoken planet. So we have to pivot quickly and transition to renewable energy to stop it from getting worse. prgtoken But that is a discussion really for another day. Let's focus today on the second part of the challenge, which is forest management. prgtoken When fires erupt, we put them out as fast as we can, trying to prevent devastating fires like the Bootleg Fire. But the result of putting fires out fast over decade after decade after decade is that a lot of fuels build up on the floor of the for
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2021-8-2

thanks for the recognition. I want to start by thanking Senator John Thune on this amendment. He and I cosponsored this together. prgtoken There is incredible investment in broadband infrastructure in this bill. For obvious reasons, the pandemic has taught us that we need to have better broadband service if we are going to be able to have distance learning, if we are going to have telehealth, and if we are going to have businesses have it and give them the opportunities to be able to expand their customer base. prgtoken Well, the challenge out there is workforce, and what this bill will do is it will help us better understand how many folks are actually going to need to be hired to train on this enormous endeavor. It will not only help with workforce, but it will also help to make sure working conditions are safe and the folks are fairly compensated for a hard day's work. prgtoken Look, the broadband provisions in this bill are landmark and will create good-paying jobs not only during the building of the infrastructure but also well on for decades and decades past. We need to make sure every community is included and nobody is left behind. This amendment will help us achieve those goals. I would encourage my colleagues to support it. prgtoken With that, .
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2021-8-2

. As many of my colleagues know, it is unprecedented to get the American Gas Association, the National Association of Home Builders, and the energy efficiency advocates all in agreement, and that is the result of the extensive negotiations that went into this section of the bill that Senator Barrasso would overturn. prgtoken Now, Energy Chairman Manchin wasn't able to get here to speak to this provision and this amendment, but he opposes it. And if he were here, he would say: ``Let's not mess with a good thing.'' prgtoken This provision doesn't ban--it doesn't even touch natural gas. So I strongly support the bill as written and urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment. prgtoken . prgtoken , I ask unanimous consent that the vote that is scheduled begin immediately.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2021-8-2

. Would the Senator yield the floor? prgtoken While the Senator is still on the floor, we are talking about the serious side of Carl, and there is also a lighter side of Carl, as you know, and I just want to recall one of those today. prgtoken I was elected to--been State treasurer and elected to Congress in `82, and one of the Members of my professional class was Sandy Levin, Carl's brother--his older brother--who apparently had run for Governor--not successful--and later on got elected to the House, and I think he served as the Ways and Means Committee chair. prgtoken But, anyway, so I got to meet Carl pretty early, although he didn't join me here until about 20 years ago. But he is from Detroit and that area and loves the Detroit--loved the Detroit Tigers, and so do I. And try to figure out why an Ohio State boy would end up being a big Tigers fan, but I was. prgtoken Ended up on the Homeland Security Governmental Affairs Committee, and he was in charge of the Subcommittee on Investigations, and I ended up being the chairman of the committee; worked pretty close with Tom Coburn and others. prgtoken And Carl asked me--he said he wanted me to come up--as chairman, he wanted me to come up and tour the border--the U.S.-Canadian border, and right there by Detroit on boat, by water, by helicopters, and so forth. prgtoken I said: Sure. Count me in. prgtoken We just had one--just one heck of a day. It was a lot of fun and very informative. Got to spend time with Coast Guard people and others just very much involved in our border security. prgtoken And late in the day, it was opening day of baseball season, and the Tigers were playing in Minnesota, the opening game. It was an afternoon game. prgtoken And after we had finished our day's activities, it was moving on toward suppertime. He said: Let's go to this area of Detroit where they have all these Mexican restaurants, and we will have dinner. prgtoken And when we got to the restaurant, the Tigers game was on the radio, and he said let's have a couple of libations and sit in his car and listen to the Tigers game, and so we did. prgtoken And the game--we were in the 7th or 8th inning. We stayed until the very end, and it turned out to be a very sweet ending and the Tigers won the ballgame and we had a couple libations and some laughs. And then we went inside, and for, like, six bucks we bought two of the biggest dinners I have ever seen, and I had a wonderful time. prgtoken But I loved Carl. Loved Sandy too. And the idea that Carl has left us is real sad. Barbara, his wife, wonderful woman, thank her for sharing her husband with us. prgtoken Here is an issue, on a more serious note, called beneficial interests, which involved shell corporations and some criminal people who are doing untoward--maybe illicit, illegal things. They are using shell corporations to try to do those bad activities. And there was a question about who should have the authority, who should be responsible f
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2021-8-2

. I want to thank the senior Senator from Delaware for those kind, personal reflections about Carl Levin prgtoken , today I wish to pay tribute to the life and career of Senator Carl Levin, who passed away on July 29, 2021. As the longest-serving senator in Michigan history, Senator Levin was a role model as a person and as a public official. prgtoken Senator Levin was born on June 28, 1934 in Detroit, MI, the city he would call home for his entire life and continually fight for during his six terms in the Senate. I am proud to say that he received his bachelor's degree in political science at Swarthmore College, which is located in my home state of Pennsylvania, in 1956. During his undergraduate education he worked as a taxi driver and on an auto factory line. He would continue to keep his union card in his wallet for many years, a habit emblematic of his commitment to American workers. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1959, he practiced law for several years before becoming an assistant attorney general and general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, beginning his long career as a defender of civil rights. prgtoken Senator Levin first entered elected office as a member of Detroit City Council in 1969. In 1978, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he would earn a reputation as an effective legislator, tenacious investigator and person of integrity. He understood that serving in political office is a public trust and demanded the same degree of accountability and transparency from corporations and government that his constituents came to expect from him. Whether on the floor of the Senate or abroad during our trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2008 when he served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator Levin led with humility and a sharp intellect. prgtoken Senator Levin's service in the Senate was the kind of public service we should all emulate and his death is a loss for our Nation and, of course, his loving family. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Barbara; his three daughters, Kate, Laura and Eric; his six grandchildren; and his nephew, Congressman Andy Levin, as they mourn his passing. May we all learn from Senator Levin's example, and may he rest in peace. prgtoken .
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2021-8-3

it has been a little more than 6 months since the administration and our ic-led Congress were sworn in. So let's zoom out from the daily political drama and ask the simplest possible question: How is it going? How is the leadership working out for middle-class families? Or put more directly: What big aspects of our national life could even claim are headed in the right direction on their watch? prgtoken In January, our ic friends inherited the most favorable trend lines that any incoming administration could possibly ask for. Three safe and effective vaccines had been discovered, developed, and were already spreading across our country. Our economy was packed with dry powder and ready for a historic comeback. It was already morning in America when this ic government showed up. Mostly what they had to do was not get in the way. prgtoken So where are we 6 months in? The U.S. economy has broken some recent records, mostly the wrong ones. Inflation just clocked its steepest 12- month increase in more than a decade. The month before, a separate measure of core inflation rose at its fastest rate since 1992--higher gas prices, higher grocery prices, soaring costs for everything from household purchases, to automobiles, to housing itself. prgtoken Inflation is painful enough, but it isn't the only problem. Employment growth has not been fast enough. Last quarter, GDP grew much more slowly than anticipated. Six months and trillions of dollars of government spending into the ' efforts at a recovery, and Gallup says America's economic confidence is still only neutral. We are not--we are not--where we need to be. prgtoken What about the rule of law? There is still a historic surge in people trying to come across our southern border, but administration officials have spent far more energy denying responsibility for the problem than trying to fix it. Catch and release is still the name of the game. prgtoken According to news reports, out of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who have simply been released into the interior of our country without a court date--now listen to this--just 13 percent--13 percent have shown up at their mandatory meeting with ICE afterward. prgtoken So the border is functionally open--especially absurd at a time when many leaders are asking American citizens to step up various COVID precautions. Not much testing, social distancing, or mask wearing is happening in the Rio Grande Valley. prgtoken Meanwhile, a surge in violent crime, including recordbreaking murders in many places, has too many citizens afraid of their own city streets. prgtoken Perhaps our ic friends think foreign policy is going well. I sure wish it were. The President's rushed pullback from Afghanistan has left our friends and partners in the lurch and rolled out a red carpet for a Taliban takeover that is already underway. Its approach to Iran appears to be pro
HONORING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST AERIAL APPLICATION MADE BY AN AIRPLANE
Sam Graves (Republican, MO) \u2014 2021-8-3

. Madam , I rise today to recognize a very special anniversary for our country, an anniversary that exemplifies American ingenuity in aviation and agriculture--two industries very dear and important to me as well as vital to our planet. This anniversary is that of the first aerial agriculture aircraft taking flight. This type of aircraft makes it possible to feed not just America, but the entire globe. prgtoken Exactly 100 years ago today, on August 3, 1921, Lt. John Macready piloted a modified Curtiss JN-6 ``Super Jenny'' over a plot of catalpa trees. Macready had a passenger that used a hand-crank 10 dispense lead arsenate from a rudimentary hopper, which helped eradicate insects that were harming the crucial crops. Crop-dusting, now also known as aerial application or agricultural aviation, was born. prgtoken Today's agricultural aviation industry consists of 1,560 aerial application businesses that make aerial applications in all 50 states. The average agricultural pilot has approximately 25 years of experience. These pilots treat 127 million acres, or approximately 28 percent of cropland, each year. That means that just under a third of the food, fiber, and bioenergy produced in the United States today receives an aerial application. Not only does agricultural aviation feed our population--but it protects forests and eradicates disease- carrying pests. The industry's ability to constantly evolve to the technological needs of the nation over the past hundred years is why aerial applicators have remained so important for a century. prgtoken Certainly, the future will be filled with unimaginable advances just as the past has. Lt. Macready in 1921 likely never could have imagined flying a massive aircraft, led by orbiting satellites and warned of weather, to a specific plot of farmland. Agricultural aviation's history is the story of agriculture's history--which is the story of American innovation. It is a story of adaptation and overcoming challenges for the public good. We give thanks to the industry and those that gave their lives to the industry. Please join me in wishing a happy 100th anniversary to this great American invention, and in looking forward to many, many more anniversaries in the future.
HONORING THE GRAND OPENING OF THE COLLEGE OF THE FLORIDA KEYS UPPER KEYS CENTER
Carlos A. Gimenez (Republican, FL) \u2014 2021-8-3

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the grand opening of the College of the Florida Keys Upper Keys Center. The College of the Florida Keys, CFK, is part of the Florida College System and has been an integral part of higher education in Florida for nearly 50 years. prgtoken Over the years, CFK has accomplished significant milestones such as instating bachelor programs that are accessible to the neighboring communities, introducing prominent skilled programs, and preparing students for their future endeavors. prgtoken The grand opening of the Upper Keys Center will expand and enhance the college's mission in equipping the student body with additional space that will allow them to study, learn, and grow. The new center will include new classrooms, nursing labs, a bio-chemical lab, apprenticeship labs, an auditorium, a testing center, and a library. Additionally, the center will also feature learning spaces, lounges, an activities room, and a patio deck. prgtoken Again, I rise to recognize the College of the Florida Keys Upper Keys Center. CFK has provided meaningful contributions to the Florida Keys community. Many individuals from all walks of life have been able to fulfill their goals and foster meaningful relationships that have helped them advance and enrich their academic careers. I know that CFK will continue to do this for decades to come.
HONORING SILVER KEY
Doug Lamborn (Republican, CO) \u2014 2021-8-3

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the fiftieth anniversary of Silver Key, a non-profit organization in Colorado Springs, Colorado, whose mission is to support a healthy quality of life for seniors, allowing them to age safely with dignity and independence. prgtoken Silver Key was founded in 1970 by Betsey Myers-Burroughs, Clifford King, and a group of concerned citizens who wished to improve the well- being of older individuals in the Pikes Peak region. From extremely humble origins grew a Nursing Home Volunteer Program to help alleviate isolation and loneliness for elderly residents. Silver Key soon broadened its mission to assist seniors who desired to age in place, independently, in their homes. prgtoken Thanks to visionary leadership, impassioned volunteers, dedicated staff, diverse funding sources, and the philanthropic culture of this community, Silver Key has helped more than half a million seniors remain safe, independent, healthy, and thriving over the last half- century. They have grown to include services such as Silver Key Connections Cafe, home-delivered meals including Meals on Wheels, Reserve & Ride transportation services, volunteer events, and service opportunities, and vital Silver Key Health & Wellness Services providing a wide array of senior assistance services including behavioral health, companionship, case management, and government food program distribution. prgtoken Madam , I ask that my colleagues in the House of Representatives join me in honoring this important organization's history and mission. I congratulate and thank Silver Key and all of those who make independence and health a reality for senior citizens in Colorado's Fifth Congressional District.
RECOGNIZING FOREST CITY GUN CLUB JUNIORS OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (Republican, GA) \u2014 2021-8-3

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the Forest City Gun Club Juniors of Savannah, Georgia, for winning the 2021 Scholastic Clay Target Program National Championship. prgtoken The Scholastic Clay Target Program is an annual competition among amateur shooters across the country. This year, thousands of athletes traveled to Ohio to compete in this event. prgtoken In the championship match, a number of Forest City Gun Club Junior athletes rose to the challenge on the nation's largest stage. prgtoken This is the second year in a row Forest City Gun Club Juniors has won the Scholastic Clay Target Program National Championship. prgtoken I commend this team for their hard work and dedication in achieving success. prgtoken I am extremely proud to have these great athletes and program here in the First Congressional District of Georgia. prgtoken To the coaches, parents, and team at the Forest City Gun Club: Congratulations on another year of success, and keep up the good work.
TRIBUTE TO KARI JOHNSON
Marco Rubio (Republican, FL) \u2014 2021-8-3

I am pleased to recognize Kari Johnson, the Sarasota County Teacher of the Year from Fruitville Elementary School in Sarasota, FL. prgtoken Helping guide her students as they grow, Kari strives to have an impact on the lives of her students. She works with her school's positive behavioral support committee to instill kindness and compassion and provides weekly videos to families to reinforce class lessons. prgtoken Kari mentors novice educators by sharing strategies for classroom management and student engagement. As a leader of the school's professional learning community, she focuses on encouraging students to also learn outside of the classroom. prgtoken A kindergarten teacher at Fruitville Elementary School for the past 15 years, Kari received her master's degree in elementary reading and literacy from Walden University. prgtoken I offer my gratitude to Kari for her dedication to educating students. I look forward to hearing of her continued success in the years to come.
REMEMBERING IAN F. FERGUSSON
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2021-8-3

I also rise today to recognize the service of Ian Fergusson and his contribution to a deeper understanding of trade law and policy. prgtoken For decades, Ian provided comprehensive and detailed reports on economic history, trade policy, and key legislative authorities. He worked on everything from Canada to the World Trade Organization to access to medicine. Ian was instrumental in assisting me and my staff on numerous occasions as we examined congressional delegation of trade authorities, such as TPA, and the workings of multilateral institutions, such as the WTO. He also provided clear and concise information to support debates on the merits and implementation of U.S. trade agreements, including the South Korea--U.S. Free Trade Agreement and USMCA and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership--TPP--agreement. prgtoken I join my colleague in offering my sincere condolences to Ian's family, friends, and his colleagues at CRS and will continue to think of them during this difficult time.
EMERGENCY CHILD & ADULT NUTRITION ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2021
Alma S. Adams (Democrat, NC) \u2014 2021-8-3

. Madam , today I introduced the Emergency Child & Adult Nutrition Assistance Act of 2021. This legislation will extend COVID-19 relief for both the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the school food authorities through the end of the 2021 school year to help cover their operational costs. This bill will also extend the availability of funds through September 2022. Additionally, each state that carries out a reimbursement program, will be required to submit a report on the use of such funds no later than March 2023. prgtoken As we continue to recover from the pandemic, many school districts and school food authorities are still facing major challenges to the fiscal sustainability of their school meal programs due to decreases in meals served and supplemental sales, and many adult and child care centers and after school programs continue to need support to feed children and adults in need during the public health crisis. The increased cost of food and supplies and the loss of revenue have dealt critical blows to funding for these essential programs. prgtoken The supplemental funding provided by the Emergency Child & Adult Nutrition Assistance Act will ensure that school meal programs and child and adult care programs have sufficient support to continue feeding the most vulnerable in our communities as we grapple with the continued impacts of this pandemic.