mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. 543 (Executive Calendar)
Alex Padilla (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2024-2-6

reserving the right to object, these past 2 weeks have given the American people a clear window into the mind when it comes to immigration. They can't decide if immigration reform is the responsibility of Congress or if it is the responsibility of the President. They can't decide if the border is in crisis or if they would rather wait until after the election to talk about it or try to do something about it. prgtoken Today, in this resolution, they are doubling down on declaring an ``invasion'' and vilifying immigrants, while preventing the Federal Government from keeping order on the border. prgtoken My first message to my colleagues here today is this: Make up your mind. Do you want to get serious about immigration reform or not? prgtoken They can't do it, and these past few weeks we saw why. s believe that fear of our border translates into turnout at the ballot box. And because they believe that a narrative of chaos and fear would help in November, they are saying the quiet part out loud. They are saying it. They are repeating it. They are amplifying it on social media. prgtoken It is the same reason that they can greet Secretary Mayorkas at the negotiation table during these supplemental negotiations with one hand, while with their other hand they file baseless impeachment articles against him. prgtoken Today's resolution is just as unserious as it was the last time that they brought it up. prgtoken Let's put aside, for a moment, the obvious constitutional concerns, put aside, for a moment, and discuss what giving immigration powers to Governors would look like. prgtoken Colleagues, the fact is, you don't even have to imagine. Let's look at what is happening in Texas. Governor Abbott has shown us the cruelty and lawlessness of what it would lead to: unconstitutional legislation to terrorize immigrants in Texas, putting them at risk of racial profiling and civil rights violations; razor-lined buoys that have pushed asylum seekers and their families, including small children-- nursing babies, colleagues, nursing babies--into dangerous waters with deadly consequences--you want to know why we talk about humanity; this is happening--and razor wire along the border that prevents Federal officials from doing their job of securing the border; State governments preventing Federal officials from doing their job. prgtoken Is that what you want? For the self-proclaimed party of law and order, s are acting like anything but. prgtoken Now, let's not lose sight of the very real danger of this kind of action and this kind of rhetoric. The idea that immigrants are invading has radicalized people in our country to perpetuate terrible violence in the not so distant past, including the 2019 shooting in an El Paso Walmart, where a White nationalist murdered 23 people, Hispanic families who were back-to-school shopping. prgtoken My colleague from Kansas asked some
Supplemental Funding (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2024-2-6

. In that letter Senators Ricketts, Barrasso, Cassidy, Cotton, Ernst, Graham, Mullin, Sullivan, Risch, and Wicker asked one thing of me before the first vote on legislation. They asked for 72 hours to read the bill. We met that request. The bill was posted at 6:45 p.m. Sunday, February 4. If they want until 6:45 tomorrow evening, that is fine with me. Actually, I will even offer to delay that vote until sometime on Thursday to give even more time for Senators to make up their minds. prgtoken But I suspect they won't accept even that offer because they really don't want more time. They are just using it as an excuse. In fact, it will surprise no one that some of the signers of that letter actually did not wait 72 hours before they rejected the bill. Senator Cotton declared his opposition after 16 hours and 48 minutes, less than 25 percent of the requested time. Senator Risch took a little longer--an additional 15 minutes--to read the bill before announcing his opposition. Clearly, this wasn't about having 72 hours. That is OK. I can recognize when Senators grandstand. But this--this--is no time for grandstanding. This is a time for serious people to work together to solve serious problems. prgtoken , Senators are elected to vote, not to be afraid, run away, make excuses, when it comes to voting on the tough issues. Senators are elected to debate and deliberate, not just to say no when a former President instructs them to. We were sent here to make laws, not just to make speeches. prgtoken If my colleagues want more time, fine--fine. All they have to do is vote yes tomorrow. That will mean the Senate will have up to 30 hours of debate before we lay down the motion to proceed. Again, I want to be clear. The vote tomorrow is not about the substance of the bill. No one is being asked to take a position on the supplemental tomorrow. The only thing a ``yes'' vote would allow is for the Senate simply to begin to consider, discuss, and debate the vitally important issues before us now. And we will have plenty of time to do so because we will stay here in session as long as it takes. prgtoken That brings me to the 's second claim. They want an amendment process. Well, during my time as majority leader, I presided over more amendment votes than the Senate held in all 4 years of the administration. I would like to remind my colleagues about Senate procedure. If you want a chance to amend a bill, it turns out you actually need to get on the bill first. Voting no says no amendments. Further, once we are on the bill, you still possess the power to kill the entire bill if the amendment process is not to your liking. You can hold out for your amendments. You can hold out if you want to reread the bill again and again. And you can hold out if your amendments fail. prgtoken But our colleagues--we know this--really don't want any of those things. And when they won't, they forfeit their abil
Supplemental Funding (Executive Session)
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2024-2-6

we recently released the text of the supplemental. This bill is about our national security, it is about our national credibility, and it is about our future. That is why have been glued to the table, negotiating in good faith every step of the way, because the stakes could not be higher. prgtoken On Sunday, we rolled out a bipartisan, compromise package with $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel, $4.8 billion to support our allies in the Indo-Pacific, $10 billion for humanitarian assistance, $20 billion for operational needs at the border, and more. prgtoken Now, I want to be clear, this is not the bill I would have written on my own. It is compromise legislation that came out of negotiations between Senate and Senate s. As I have said before, I never believed that we should condition emergency aid for our allies on unrelated partisan priorities, but s demanded that. They insisted we needed not just Executive action at the border or new resources but policy changes. So my colleagues--the junior Senator from Connecticut and the senior Senator from Arizona--worked around the clock, and now we have a bipartisan set of proposals, just as our colleagues demanded. prgtoken Now, before I say anything else, this will not be the last word on immigration reform. I will keep fighting--and I know many of us will-- day in and day out until we deliver on comprehensive immigration reform that creates a pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America and makes our system work better and more fairly. I know we need to finally pass the Dream Act. We need an immigration system that creates new pathways for legal status, eliminates dysfunction and backlogs, and recognizes that immigrants do make America great. prgtoken Immigrants are not just crucial to our economy--although they absolutely are--they enrich our communities and strengthen the fabric of our country in countless ways. And we should, of course, be inviting the world's brightest minds and hardest workers to make America home. That will always remain a North Star for me as we push to make our system work better and meet new needs as more folks come to our country, fleeing persecution and seeking opportunity. prgtoken We also have to address the root causes of migration in a way that promotes stability and mutual economic prosperity for everyone. prgtoken The bipartisan compromise before us does not accomplish all of that. Border policy and immigration reform is a very tough issue, and in a divided government, compromise is required. So what we have in front of us is a tailored package aimed at addressing some of the challenges before us and one that can win passage in both Chambers. prgtoken I am not thrilled with several of the provisions, but there are some important steps forward in it, like a quarter of a million ne
ISRAEL SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Rashida Tlaib (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2024-2-6

here we go again, sending $17.6 billion of U.S. tax dollars with no conditions attached to Netanyahu's extremist government to drop more bombs on innocent Palestinians. prgtoken The Israeli Government has already killed 27,000 people, 11,500 of whom were children. prgtoken I am tired of my colleagues coming to me, whispering: I don't really like Netanyahu. Well, then, why are we sending him billions of dollars with no conditions? prgtoken He literally is telling us over and over again what his intention is. prgtoken I am tired of my colleagues coming to me and whispering to me: Rashida, I support a two-state solution. Great. Then send money that has conditions for a two-state solution because Netanyahu has over and over again told us he never wants to see a Palestinian state. prgtoken I am tired. I oppose Netanyahu's war crimes and want him gone, too, but many of my colleagues that continue to tell me that do not want a condition to aid. They will just give it to a genocidal maniac. prgtoken My message to my colleagues is simple: If you don't support Netanyahu, if you are disgusted by the countless videos of lifeless children pulled out of the rubble, if you actually believe in upholding human rights and international law, vote ``no'' on a blank check to Netanyahu's genocide.
POVERTY AND INEQUALITY
Mark DeSaulnier (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2024-2-6

. You can have individual responsibility in this country, and you can have social responsibility. That is when we have been the most successful. prgtoken When Eisenhower was President, when the middle class was strong and the union movement was strong, people got the GI Bill, and he implemented in his own way what Franklin Roosevelt put together. That is when this economy was the best. It was growing at over 6 percent GDP year over year, and it was benefiting everybody. prgtoken I tell you, one of the things that brought me to this was when I was a restaurant owner, you would read in the trade journals about disposable income. This is our friend Bob Reich's argument and Stiglitz' argument: If you don't have disposable income, it hurts everybody. prgtoken Unfortunately, now people in places like the Roosevelt Institute, our friends, say that, no, more and more the top 1 percent is just selling to themselves and gaining themselves off. prgtoken As Thomas Piketty has said, the inevitability in Western history, when you get to this level of inequality, is social disruption and civil distress. If we don't fix it here, we will have more of what happened a few years ago outside this Chamber.
RISING COSTS
Donald G. Davis (Democrat, NC) \u2014 2024-2-6

. Madam , listening to constituents is the most important thing we can do, and they are telling me back home about the burden of high costs. prgtoken One constituent shared: ``I have to continue working even after retirement. My husband cannot afford to retire due to rising costs. I also have to assist my mom with her bills, which puts further strain on our finances.'' prgtoken Too many find it challenging to make ends meet while caring for an elderly parent. prgtoken Another constituent shared: ``My income doesn't cover common life. I can't afford decent housing, meats at the grocery store, or basic life necessities. It is harder now.'' prgtoken Madam , Congress must take every possible measure to ensure that residents of eastern North Carolina, rural America, and those across America do not feel the financial strain in their pocketbooks and wallets.
PRAISING ILWACO COMMUNITY RESILIENCY
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2024-2-6

. Madam , I rise today in praise of the resilience of my community in southwest Washington. prgtoken Last month, a fire broke out at one of two seafood processing facilities near the Port of Ilwaco in my district. In the aftermath of the catastrophic fire, the unity and support demonstrated by the Ilwaco community have been remarkable. prgtoken Whereas lesser men would have seen an opportunity for competitive advantage, these folks chose to stand together and see each other as neighbors, lending out crab pots to each other, which they didn't have to do. prgtoken I am incredibly grateful to come from a community that supports each other in the wake of a tragedy. Their community spirit is a competitive advantage that money cannot buy and natural disasters cannot shake. prgtoken I extend my thanks to the brave first responders who responded to the fire. Several of them were treated for heat exhaustion, a testament to their tireless effort in combating the blaze for hours. prgtoken I also recognize the folks in Ilwaco who stepped up to help local crabbers, dropping off sandwiches and shipping up crab pots from as far as California and Alaska. prgtoken Rebuilding and recovery will take time. They will never get back those hours of sleep, the heartache, or the monetary loss, but their moral fiber has been revealed in a way that is durable and will strengthen the community. It is its own reward. prgtoken Madam , I stand with them in their fight, and I am so grateful for their leadership.
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 1199 (Executive Calendar)
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2024-2-6

I very much share the stated goals of the STOP CSAM Act. Child sexual abuse material is a toxic plague on the internet. There are real victims who need real support and criminals who must be hunted down and locked up. prgtoken I take a back seat to no one when it comes to helping kids and punishing predators. However, this bill would weaken the single strongest technology that now protects children and families--that's strong encryption. It will make it easier to punish sites that use encryption to secure private conversations and personal devices. While STOP CSAM's sponsors have argued that the bill does not target encryption, the bill explicitly allows courts to punish companies that offer strong encryption. It also would encourage scanning of content on user's phones or computers before information is sent over the internet, which has the same consequences as breaking encryption. prgtoken Weakening encryption is probably the single biggest gift that you can give to the predators and the monsters who want to stalk and spy on kids. Sexual predators will have a far easier time stealing and extorting photographs of children, tracking their phones, and spying on their private messages once encryption is breached. prgtoken Doing so threatens the privacy and security of every single law- abiding American. prgtoken I also think it is surprising that the Senator is asking to pass this bill at the very same time its sponsor is reportedly circulating an updated version of the bill with a number of changes. Although that new version of the legislation has not been made public, it certainly would be a mistake to pass legislation that apparently is still in the process of being revised. prgtoken , what this is all about is talking about doing something effective or actually taking effective action. I have proposed doing just that. We ought to focus on giving law enforcement officials the tools they need to find and prosecute criminals responsible for exploiting kids and spreading these vile materials online. That way, we can help keep kids from becoming victims in the first place. prgtoken Let me also say that we can do this if Members support my bipartisan Invest in Child Safety Act. The bill directs $5 billion in mandatory funding to do three things which would ensure that we have an effective response for families and parents: one, give law enforcement agencies the tools and personnel they need to catch the predators who are creating and spreading CSAM; two, fund community-based programs to prevent at-risk kids from becoming victims in the first place; three, invest in programs to support survivors of abuse. prgtoken Any legislation that doesn't include these pieces is missing the point; therefore, I object.
Supplemental Funding (Executive Session)
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2024-2-6

this is unbelievable. Like, I can't believe this is happening. We were all here. This wasn't a dream. This really happened. prgtoken s all stood up and said that they wanted a bipartisan bill to fix the border. The border is a priority. The border is a crisis. prgtoken We delivered a bipartisan bill to fix the border with the Senator appointed by the caucus to cut the deal. And within 24 hours, before the ink was even dry, Senators decided they don't want a bipartisan bill to fix the border. They want to pretend they never asked for a bipartisan border bill because what they actually want is chaos because that is what says he wants. What the hell just happened? prgtoken Here is what happened--because the facts are just the facts. In October, s refused to support funding for Ukraine. They voted against stopping Putin from making Kyiv a Russian city, not because they opposed Ukraine funding, they said, no, because they demanded that Ukraine funding be paired with bipartisan border reforms. prgtoken took them at their word. America took s at their word that these two things had to be combined. s appointed a lead negotiator--one of their most conservative Members, a serious legislator--Senator Lankford, an unquestioned border hawk. prgtoken I represented the ic caucus in those negotiations. Now, I will be honest with you, a lot of my friends told me that I was crazy. They told me that I was hopelessly naive, that s are never going to agree to a bipartisan bill to fix the border. This is just a setup. You shouldn't go into the negotiating room. It is a trap. But I did because, you know what, I am an optimist, maybe a hopeless optimist. prgtoken I still believe that when people say things in this body, they mean what they say. And I do believe that the border is a mess. It is too chaotic. We can't handle 10,000 people crossing on some days. prgtoken And I believe the asylum system is broken, and my constituents, whether they be right or left, believe the asylum system is broken. It shouldn't take 10 years to process an asylum claim, especially when the majority of those asylum claims are ultimately rejected. prgtoken And so I went into the room skeptical that we could get a deal but sincere because my party actually wants to fix the problem at the border, and we are willing to reach out across the aisle and find a compromise in order to do it. prgtoken And so we met for months every day. We took Thanksgiving off. We took Christmas off. But that was it because s told us that they wanted a bipartisan border deal. We met every Saturday, every Sunday. We worked straight through the holidays because we saw an opportunity to cut through the politics, to get a bipartisan agreement done, to finally start fixing the border. prgtoken We saw that opportunity because Senators told the co
Border Security (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2024-2-6

an early report suggests that the administration may have set yet another record at our southern border-- and not the good kind. If this early report is accurate, the number of migrant encounters at our southern border in January is the highest January number ever recorded. That, of course, would follow December's recordbreaking number of migrant encounters, which was a staggering 309,034. That is not only the highest December number ever recorded but the highest number for any month ever recorded. Before that, of course, there was September's recordbreaking number, and the list goes on. prgtoken The administration has presided over a truly unprecedented crisis at our Nation's border. We have had 3 years of recordbreaking illegal immigration under the administration. Fiscal year 2021 saw a recordbreaking 1,734,686 migrant encounters at our southern border. Then fiscal year 2022 broke that record, and then fiscal year 2023 broke that record. They didn't break that 2021 record by a small margin, either. Fiscal year 2023 exceeded fiscal year 2021 by a staggering 740,000-plus encounters. If the current trajectory continues, it is likely that fiscal year 2024 will break the record yet again. prgtoken All told, since President took office, there have been more than 7 million--million--migrant encounters at our southwest border, and that is just counting the individuals who were stopped by Customs and Border Protection. Since January 2021, when President took office, there have been more than 1.7 million known ``got-aways,'' and those are individuals the Border Patrol saw but was unable to apprehend. We have no idea how many unknown--unknown--``got-aways'' there have been over the same period. prgtoken I could keep throwing out numbers all day, but needless to say, my point is this: The situation at our southern border is a disaster, it is unprecedented, and it is untenable. We have to get this crisis under control. prgtoken I am thankful for Senator Lankford's efforts to address the chaos at our southern border. Senator Lankford has spent months now working to develop serious border security reform, and his work has further highlighted the ways the administration has invited illegal immigration and undermined security at our Nation's border. prgtoken The worst border crisis on record will be a defining feature of President 's legacy, in addition to the high cost of inflation imposed on American families and the weakening of America's standing on the world's stage.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE
Cliff Bentz (Republican, OR) \u2014 2024-2-6

. Madam , it has been said that Secretary Mayorkas is dishonest, duplicitous, and derelict in his duties, and I agree. prgtoken However, he has also willfully refused to comply with and enforce our Nation's immigration laws and explicitly instructed his employees to not enforce these laws. prgtoken Additionally, the Secretary has willfully obstructed inquiries of the Judiciary Committee regarding entry of illegal aliens into our country. The constitutional standard for impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas has been satisfied. prgtoken I commend Chair Mark Green for his excellent work in managing this important constitutional matter, and in following regular order while doing so.