mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF S. 910, THE NATIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2020
Ed Case (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2020-11-17

I rise today in strong support of S. 910, the National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2020. prgtoken For decades, the Sea Grant College Program has provided essential oceans-focused research and support for our communities nation-wide and especially now as we face the impacts of climate change on coastal communities. The bill before us today would authorize an increase in funding for our Sea Grant programs and enhance our efforts to study, conserve and effectively use U.S. coastal resources. prgtoken Climate change is wreaking havoc on our coasts, including throughout my Hawaii where coastal roads are crumbling as sea level rise and erosion take their toll. Coral reefs, which are vital resources for our ecosystems and provide protection from storm surges to our coasts, are facing mass bleaching events due to warming waters. Fish stocks are moving from traditional areas because of warming waters. The Sea Grant Program works with communities to research these issues and many more to provide useful information to make informed management decisions based on science. prgtoken The University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program (Hawaii Sea Grant) is a prime example of focus on critical issues related to sustainable coastal development, tourism, hazard resiliency, sustainable aquaculture, indigenous knowledge, and the impacts of climate change. In all of its efforts, Hawaii Sea Grant strives to promote stewardship of Hawaii's coastal ecosystems and increase public awareness of the need to preserve and protect Hawaii's precious marine resources. prgtoken Just some Hawaii Sea Grant impacts in 2018 included: prgtoken Created or sustained 43 jobs for an economic benefit of at least $4.2 million; prgtoken Generated $6.8 million in leveraged funds, resulting in a return on the federal investment of approximately 200 percent; prgtoken Supported the education and training of 53 undergraduates and graduate students; prgtoken Assisted 47 communities throughout Hawaii with implementing sustainable development practices and policies; prgtoken Helped 762 fishers adopt safe and sustainable fishing practices; prgtoken Educated over 30,000 K-12 students in Hawaii through Sea Grant education activities; prgtoken Helped restore an estimated 5,500 acres of coastal ecosystems; and prgtoken Improved community resilience statewide through outreach and distribution of more than 75,000 copies of the Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards publication. prgtoken These impacts prove the longstanding importance of Sea Grant to many such communities nationwide. I am proud to support this continued work and urge all my colleagues to pass S. 910.
CALLING FOR COVID-19 AID
Daniel T. Kildee (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2020-11-17

Michigan, like many States, continues to see a skyrocketing number of COVID-19 cases. In my own family, we have cases, serious cases, of this terrible virus. prgtoken This pandemic is far, far from over. It is actually getting worse, and Congress has to do its job. prgtoken Families, seniors, small businesses, they need our support right now. I have heard from thousands of constituents who are still struggling to pay their bills, to put food on the table, to pay rent, and to protect themselves. prgtoken This Congress needs to pass emergency relief now. It has been 6 months prgtoken since the House passed a COVID relief bill, a bill that would put money in the pockets of workers, up to $6,000 per household; it would extend unemployment benefits for those people who have lost their jobs as a result of this pandemic; and it would support small businesses, importantly, those small businesses that are just on the brink of failure, to ensure that relief gets to those underserved communities and especially to some of our nonprofits. prgtoken Sadly, the COVID bill sits on Mitch McConnell's desk, gathering dust. prgtoken This is a pandemic. It is a health crisis. It is an economic crisis. We need to come together, put politics aside, negotiate with one another, come to a compromise, and help the American people.
MASKS
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-11-17

. Now, before I begin, , I want to remind Senators to wear a mask as much as possible on the floor. I personally take my mask off when addressing the Chair, so long as other Senators or staff are not nearby. Otherwise, a mask should be worn at all times on the floor. prgtoken This is not only for the safety of other Senators. This is for the safety of our staffs, everyone who works here on the floor, and everyone who works here in this building, as well as setting the right example for the American people.
VOTE EXPLANATION
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2020-11-17

I was unable to attend the rollcall vote No. 227 on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Aileen Cannon to the United States Southern District of Florida. Had I been able to attend, I would have voted to oppose cloture. prgtoken I was unable to attend the roll call vote No. 228 on the motion to confirm the nomination of Aileen Cannon to the United States Southern District of Florida. Had I been able to attend, I would have voted to oppose confirmation.
REMEMBERING MARINE CORPORAL RONALD R. PAYNE, JR.
Ross Spano (Republican, FL) \u2014 2020-11-18

I rise today in memory of Sergeant Daniel McKinnon Angus, a local hero of Florida's 15th District who was killed in action in Afghanistan on January 24, 2010. prgtoken Daniel graduated from Armwood High School in 2000 and, in 2003, joined the U.S. Marine Corps, where he knew he belonged and hoped to make a career of serving his community and his country. prgtoken Daniel stood out among his peers and received a Combat Action Ribbon, two Good Conduct Medals, the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and a number of service decorations. prgtoken He loved spending time with his wife, Bonnie, and his 1-year-old daughter, now 11 years old. May she always know and treasure the knowledge of her father's heroism. prgtoken You see, men and women like Daniel, who are willing to lay down their lives in defense of our country and in support of others many miles away, are what makes our Nation the greatest on Earth. prgtoken Let us never take their sacrifice or that of their surviving families in vain.
THANKS BLAKE
Billy Long (Republican, MO) \u2014 2020-11-18

. Madam , today I rise to pay tribute to a great man and citizen of the Show Me state, Mr. Blake Hurst, as he celebrates his upcoming retirement. Since being elected the President of the Missouri Farm Bureau on December 7, 2010, Blake has helped strengthen the Bureau financially and grow its influence in Washington, D.C. prgtoken The Missouri Farm Bureau was founded as the first state Farm Bureau in the United States in 1915, and over the years, it has grown to include over 130,000 members. During his tenure, Blake was a strong advocate for Missouri's farmers. He will be leaving the Missouri Farm Bureau in a stronger position than when he came into office and has ensured the long-term success and influence of the organization. prgtoken Blake has been an active member of the Missouri Farm Bureau for much of his life, serving on the Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee before becoming the statewide chairman and eventually serving on the state board of directors. For eight years, Hurst served is a district board member for the state of Missouri and seven years as the Vice President of the Bureau. Blake has earned a national reputation as a leader in agriculture policy. Over the years, Blake has written numerous pieces which have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The American, Weekly Standard, Wilson's Quarterly, Reader's Digest, Today's Farmer, and the Show Me magazine of Missouri Farm Bureau. Hurst continues to be an active member of his community, running a wholesale greenhouse business with his wife, Julie, daughter, Lee; and sons-in-law, Ryan Harms and Matt Schlueter. prgtoken I wish Blake the very best as he embarks on this new chapter of life, and I am grateful for his service to his community.
Farewell to the Senate (Executive Calendar)
Martha McSally (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2020-11-18

I rise to give my final speech on the Senate floor, with a heart of gratitude. Serving and fighting for Arizona as a U.S. Senator has been the opportunity of a lifetime. prgtoken Many times in the last 2 years, I had to pinch myself that this middle-class veteran became one of only 1,984 Americans to serve in the U.S. Senate and only 677 to serve in both Chambers of Congress since our Nation was formed. prgtoken Like most Americans, on my life's journey, I have overcome adversity which could have crushed me but, by the grace of God, gave me a purpose to fight for others. When I was just 12 years old, my dad died unexpectedly of a heart attack. I learned at that early age to treat each day of this life as a gift. I was reminded of that lesson again this year when my 58-year-old brother Martin passed away. Though it wasn't from COVID, this type of deep grief--unexpectedly losing a family member--is one too many of us have faced in 2020. We have been reminded once again that every moment, every day, every chapter of our lives is truly a gift. prgtoken As it has been for most chapters of my life, I didn't come here in a traditional or easy way. prgtoken I want to first thank Governor Doug Ducey for the blessing to serve the great State of Arizona, especially during these times of unprecedented challenges. prgtoken Accepting the Governor's appointment to be a Member of the world's most prestigious and powerful governing body was, like most missions in my life, a high-risk, high-purpose endeavor. Becoming a U.S. Senator was the ultimate expression of one of my life's principles: Do things afraid. I took on the mission with my eyes wide open. I gave it my all, and I left it all on the field in my fight for the Grand Canyon State. prgtoken When I gave my maiden speech on this floor, I shared my approach to service, which was forged through 26 years in uniform: Honor your oath. Live up to your calling. Don't walk by a problem. To paraphrase renowned fighter pilot John Boyd, choose to ``do something'' instead of trying to ``be somebody.'' prgtoken As I make the trip back home from DC to Arizona for the last time and close out this 9-year chapter of my life, I do so with gratitude, with joy, with no regrets, and with the pride of having represented the most optimistic, resilient, and gritty people on the face of the Earth. prgtoken While my name is on the door of our office here, this has always been a team effort. None of what we have achieved would have been possible without an exceptionally talented, selfless, and committed staff, many of whom are here today. I am so thankful for my team of professionals in DC and Arizona, who truly embody our core values of integrity, service, excellence, teamwork, and a ``make it happen'' mindset. prgtoken I especially want to thank those who have been with me for all 6 years of my time in the House and Senate: my chief of staff, Justin Roth, whom I trust completely as my
Thanksgiving (Executive Session)
John Hoeven (Republican, ND) \u2014 2020-11-18

I want to acknowledge and express my appreciation for the comments of the Senator from West Virginia, her father's service, and the service of so many veterans, as well as our colleagues here in the Senate who are here today saying thank you as we enter this time of Thanksgiving for our veterans and all those who serve today. We appreciate them so much. prgtoken Of course, that is what this colloquy is all about, for us to come down today and to say thank you to our veterans, thank you to those who serve. I know the Presiding Officer's State has a number of military bases and a large contingent of servicemembers, and they are truly fantastic. They are just amazing. We have two large Air Force bases in my State, and, of course, our Guard and others who serve in our military. I am impressed every day when I see what they do and how they serve. We are so deeply appreciative. prgtoken That is what today is all about. It is thanking our veterans and making the point, I think, that we need to be there for our veterans and our servicemembers every day, not just on Veterans Day, but that we need to be out there every day saying thank you for all that they do for us--and to their families--and to always keep in our hearts and our prayers all of those who are deployed around the world today keeping us safe. prgtoken In my State of North Dakota, we have a rich tradition of service. I am so proud of all of our North Dakotans who have served in the military and serve today. prgtoken Since I was Governor of North Dakota, from 2000 through 2010, and even since I have been here in the Senate, I don't think I have ever missed participating at home on Veterans Day in ceremonies for our servicemembers. Really, because we were in session last week, this was the first time in, I think, more than 20 years that I wasn't able to attend services at home for our veterans on Veterans Day. So what I did is I went over to Arlington Cemetery and spent some time there. prgtoken I also went to the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, and I particularly wanted to go over to the Marine Corps Memorial because my father was a marine. Of course, for his life--he died when he was 87 years old, but throughout his life, you could never say he was a marine because once a marine, always a marine. So even when he was in his eighties, he would say he still is a marine. If you said ``was a marine,'' then he would get mad at you, but now that he has passed, I can say he was a marine. But he was awfully proud of his service. prgtoken As I looked at that Marine Corps Memorial, it made me think of him. It just is, again, a recognition for all of us of how much we owe our veterans. prgtoken So it is about thanking them and acknowledging them, but it is also very important that we show our gratitude in other ways, by making sure that our Armed Service forces, members, as well as all of our veterans receive the care, the benefits, the recognition, the thin
HONORING LUKE JAMES STANTON
Sam Graves (Republican, MO) \u2014 2020-11-18

. Madam , I proudly pause to recognize Luke James Stanton. Luke is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1376, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. prgtoken Luke has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Luke has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Luke has earned the rank of Warrior in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. Luke has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Luke replaced all the service flag poles at the Veteran's Memorial in Liberty, MO. prgtoken Madam , I proudly ask you to join me in commending Luke James Stanton for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.
Thanksgiving (Executive Session)
Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, WV) \u2014 2020-11-18

I am here today to join some of my fellow Senators here to talk about giving thanks to our military servicemembers and our veterans. Certainly, this is the thankful and grateful season that we are heading into. I think November has a lot of celebratory times both for our families and also for our veterans and military families. prgtoken There is no question that this year has been most different and has looked very different than most. We have faced so many challenges and adjusted to a new norm of teleworking, telehealth, telecommuting, all kinds of different ways to communicate on our devices, FaceTiming--I do a lot of FaceTiming with my family--and other socially distanced activities, and I don't see that coming to an end in the near future. But in the midst of all of this, we certainly do have so much to be grateful for and thankful for. prgtoken A little fun fact is, I was actually born on Thanksgiving Day, and my parents always joked that they were going to name me ``Thankful Ever Moore'' because my last name was Moore at the time. And while my parents, thankfully, decided to go a different route with my name, the meaning still holds true today. prgtoken It is true because I am thankful evermore for many things, especially, as I said, as we approach this Thanksgiving holiday, which is just around the corner. And it is going to look a little bit different for a lot of people, but that doesn't mean it can't be just as special. prgtoken I am thankful evermore for my own personal good health and that of my family's. I am very, very grateful and thankful for the first responders and the essential workers and now those workers in the hospitals who are really seeing a lot more patients coming in with COVID. I think about the grocery store workers, the truckers, and others who have really kept life moving during those first months when we weren't sure how to cope. prgtoken I am very grateful for my wonderful community of Charleston, WV, where I have lived for over 40 years. And I am very grateful for the opportunity and the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. I am grateful for our country and all of the great American thoughts and prayers that have carried many of us through these last few months. prgtoken But I am especially thankful and grateful for the brave servicemembers who have put their lives on the line for our country year after year. I am grateful for the many veterans who have come before them and for the military families from all over the country who support the men and women who serve. prgtoken Just last week, we celebrated Veterans Day. It is always a very special, kind of solemn day in our State, and it is very well attended. This year we couldn't have the parades. We did a lot of virtual celebrations, but it was no less special. This is a day to honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, both past and present, who have stood up
RECOGNIZING SIGNIFICANCE OF GENUINE AUTONOMY OF TIBET AND TIBETAN PEOPLE
Scott Perry (Republican, PA) \u2014 2020-11-18

I am proud to join my friend, the gentleman from Florida, in support of this important resolution. prgtoken We know as a fact, confirmed by Reuters, the New York Post, and many other news outlets, that the Chinese Communist Party has recently forced 500,000 Tibetans into labor camps--500,000. prgtoken Through these camps the CCP wishes to sinicize the Tibetan people and destroy their religious and cultural heritage and national identity. prgtoken If you asked the General Secretary Xi Jinping why his country continues to undermine the national identity of the Tibetan people, he would tell you that his party's initiative is simply part of a poverty alleviation program wherein the CCP hopes to move surplus rural labor to other parts of the country. It is absurd, and it is outrageous. The fact that a foreign leader could believe that this kind of public policy is morally acceptable is beyond me, and it is beyond the civilized world. We have heard similar explanations before. prgtoken We know what these so-called poverty alleviation programs are really about: Xi Jinping desperately wants to crush the spirits of those who are living under his dictatorial regime. He wants to indoctrinate people in those camps and ruthlessly marginalize their identities. prgtoken , you don't need camps for people who are seeking to do better in their life; you just give them the opportunity, and they will do it. They don't need to go to camp to do that. prgtoken He will fail in his effort. Make no mistake about it. He will fail spectacularly in his effort to quash the hopes of millions of Tibetans who dare to dream and fight for a free nation. One of the reasons he will fail is because the United States is with the people of Tibet. prgtoken Our Tibetan friends have long since recognized the significance of the genuine autonomy of Tibet, and today I am proud to join them.
Coronavirus (Executive Calendar)
Tom Cotton (Republican, AR) \u2014 2020-11-18

a great American anniversary is upon us: prgtoken 400 years ago this Saturday, a battered old ship called the Mayflower arrived in the waters off Cape Cod. The passengers aboard the Mayflower are, in many ways, our first founders. Daniel Webster called them ``Our Pilgrim Fathers'' on the 200th anniversary of this occasion. Regrettably, we haven't heard much about this anniversary of the Mayflower. I suppose the Pilgrims have fallen out of favor in fashionable circles these days. I therefore would like to take a few minutes to reflect on the Pilgrim story and its living legacy for our Nation. prgtoken By 1620, the Pilgrims were already practiced at living in a strange land. They had fled England for Holland 12 years earlier, seeking freedom to practice their faith. But life was hard in Holland, and the Stuart monarchy, intolerant of dissent from the Church of England, gradually extended its oppressive reach across the Channel. So the Pilgrims fled the Old World for the New. prgtoken In seeking safe harbor for their religion, the Pilgrims differed from those settlers who preceded them in the previous century, up to and including the Jamestown settlement just 13 years earlier. As John Quincy Adams put it in a speech celebrating the Pilgrims' anniversary, those earlier settlers ``were all instigated by personal interests'' motivated by ``avarice and ambition'' and ``selfish passions.'' The Pilgrims, by contrast, braved the seas ``under the single inspiration of conscience'' and out of a ``sense of religious obligation.'' prgtoken Not to say all aboard the Mayflower felt the same. About half of the 102 passengers were known as ``Strangers'' to the Pilgrims. The Strangers were craftsmen, traders, indentured servants, and others added to the manifest by the ship's financial backers for business reasons. The Strangers did not share the Pilgrims' faith, suffice it to say. Winston Churchill, in his ``History of the English-Speaking Peoples,'' wryly observed that the Strangers were ``no picked band of saints.'' prgtoken So these were the settlers who boarded the Mayflower, which Dwight Eisenhower once characterized as ``a ship that today no one in his senses would think of attempting to use.'' One can only imagine the hardships, the dangers, the doubts that they faced while crossing the north Atlantic. The ship leaked chronically. A main beam bowed and cracked. The passage took longer than expected--more than 2 months. Food and water--or beer, often the beverage of choice--ran dangerously low. prgtoken But somehow, through the grace of God and the skill of the crew, the Mayflower finally sighted land. Yet the dangers only multiplied. William Bradford, a Pilgrim leader whose ``Of Plymouth Plantation'' is our chief source for the Pilgrim story, recorded those dangers: They had now no friends to welcome them, nor inns to entertain or refresh their weatherbeaten bodies; no houses or much l