mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE DEMOCRAT PARTY?
Mark E. Green (Republican, TN) \u2014 2019-2-14

I ask one question today: What happened to the party? prgtoken , up until just recently, were a lot closer to the middle. Take John F. Kennedy, for example, who argued in favor of supply-side economics and fought for tax cuts and personal responsibility. prgtoken Bill Clinton and Dianne Feinstein are recorded decrying rampant illegal immigration. Bill Clinton described policies on abortion as safe, legal, and rare. Even as recent as last decade, attacked companies for hiring illegal aliens. prgtoken But something new is emerging from their ranks. Dangerous extremist ideas are becoming the new normal on the left side of the aisle. prgtoken Let's begin with infanticide. Are truly accepting killing babies outside the womb now? prgtoken A head of State, last month, casually defended it on a radio station broadcasting in the Nation's Capital. He explained to listeners that an infant already delivered would be kept comfortable while a mother and a doctor discussed letting the child die. prgtoken When pressed for clarification, he explained that the scenario he envisioned involved a baby with deformities. Assuming he meant something like Down syndrome or something similar, this is an outrageous claim. If you go and ask people with Down syndrome, they think their life is worth living, and I couldn't agree more. prgtoken If all of that is not sitting well with you right now, well, we are just getting started, or I should say, they are just getting started. prgtoken How about the newly unveiled Green New Deal? This massive overhaul of the entire U.S. economy was reportedly drafted over a single weekend by a bunch of staffers and environmental activists. The visionaries behind this massive bill are hoping to eliminate air travel, gut and rebuild every building in America, eliminate 99 percent of cars, eliminate nuclear energy, and ban affordable energies like natural gas. prgtoken One of the authors of the Green New Deal laments that we aren't sure we will be able to fully get rid of flatulating cows fast enough to get down to zero carbon emissions. Of course, that has been pulled off their website, following the appropriate national response. prgtoken But don't worry, the authors tell us, if passed into law, the government will guarantee each and every one of us a high-paying job, free education for life, a house, free money, and healthy food for all Americans. prgtoken How about the various proposals to get free healthcare for everyone? The most popular one of these, Medicare for All, was introduced by a self-described socialist and has received enthusiastic endorsement of 2020 ic Presidential candidates. Cautious estimates of the cost of Sanders' plan start at around $32.6 trillion over the next 10 years. prgtoken Even if we implement the most aggressive tax plan to seize and redistribute wealth, the hard-earned work of some Americans, we only raise $720 bil
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.J. RES. 31, FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, 2019
Michael K. Simpson (Republican, ID) \u2014 2019-2-14

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. prgtoken , I rise today to support this conference report and commend Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger and their staffs for the hard work that goes into this. Not many people understand the important and long time that is spent by the staff in trying to put these bills together. prgtoken I could sit here until the cows come home, which might be shorter than we think if we run out of cows and get rid of those. But anyway, I could talk about the provisions in this bill that are important to Idaho, whether it is the PILT payment, the sage-grouse listing, or other provisions, but this is an important bill. prgtoken What I would like to bring to my colleagues' attention is a very important section of this conference agreement, section 7. It is with sadness that this section is included. It honors the late Stephen Sepp. prgtoken Sepp, as he was known to his friends and colleagues, spent the last 8 years as a senior adviser to the House Appropriations Committee. He was instrumental in the enactment of division O of the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act. I know this division well because it was the fire borrowing and forest management reforms I advocated and worked on for several years. prgtoken Sepp steadfastly worked with Members, the committees, the administration, and staff over several years to resolve the problems that fire borrowing caused for the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior. More than that, he helped solve a problem that threatens the lives and property of people in the West and, in fact, all over the country. prgtoken His strength, his courage, his sense of humor, and his vast knowledge of the Federal budget law and rules made him indispensable, especially to his colleagues. Without Sepp, division O would never have passed. prgtoken Along with my fellow colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, the chairwoman, and the ranking member--and I know our former colleague had a hand in this, Rodney Frelinghuysen--we would all like to express our gratitude to his wife, Diem, and children, Ashley and Matthew, for allowing him the many, many hours he spent with us making Congress and the Nation better. prgtoken Our thoughts are with him today as we pass this. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Let's put the 2019 appropriations behind us so that we can move on to 2020.
Government Funding (Executive Calendar)
Michael B. Enzi (Republican, WY) \u2014 2019-2-14

I rise to support William Barr's nomination to be Attorney General of the United States. After meeting with Mr. Barr, I am convinced he is a qualified candidate and is committed to upholding our constitutional liberties. prgtoken Mr. Barr's record of achievement and civil service to our country stretches back over 30 years. Early in his career, he served as an intelligence analyst at the CIA and an assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel. He was later appointed Deputy Attorney General in the George H.W. administration before becoming our 77th United States Attorney General. Mr. Barr's suitability for the role of attorney general has been tested before; in fact, he has excelled in that capacity. prgtoken Concerns have been raised regarding Mr. Barr's position with respect to the Second Amendment. Wyoming is a State of gunowners, and I am a strong defender of our Second Amendment rights, so naturally I probed these concerns. I had the opportunity to personally meet with Mr. Barr and directly ask him about his stance on the Second Amendment. He gave me direct answers and made it clear that he does not support limiting our Second Amendment rights. prgtoken Ultimately, the Constitution solely grants Congress power of law- making. I am prepared to work with my Senate colleagues to protect against any efforts that would undermine our constitutional rights, and I will continue to conduct congressional oversight on the executive branch, a duty I take very seriously.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.J. RES. 31, FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, 2019, AND PROVIDING FOR PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM...
Tom Cole (Republican, OK) \u2014 2019-2-14

. Madam , the balance of my time. prgtoken Madam , I thank my friend, and, again, I thank him quite sincerely for his work. We have had the opportunity to work together now in the Rules Committee for a little while. We hadn't had that opportunity previously. He is always a thoughtful and an interesting voice in that body and certainly here on the floor. prgtoken While we will disagree over the rule and might well disagree over the previous question, on the underlying legislation, I suspect my friend and I will be voting on the same side tonight. prgtoken That is something I hope that the American people take note of. We will have lots of and lots of s voting on the same side. Yes, we have our differences about how we got here or what we would have liked. But at the end of the day, we have come together and given the American people what they deserve, and that is a fully funded, operational government, and we have resolved our differences in conference. prgtoken I, too, want to join my friends in congratulating the chair of the conference committee, Chair Lowey; congratulating our ranking member, Kay Granger; and congratulating their counterparts, Senator Shelby and Senator Leahy for the work they did in working through these knotty issues and bringing us together. prgtoken Yes, I wish it happened more quickly, but they are not the only players. I think all four of them worked in good faith and served our Chambers well in their deliberations. prgtoken Madam , in closing, I urge support for the underlying measure. While the process of finalizing full-year funding for fiscal year 2019 may have taken longer than we expected, today's measure will complete the process. I expect the House will pass these seven bills today, and I expect that the President will sign them in the very near future. prgtoken I applaud and commend my colleagues for their hard work and hope that we will carry this spirit of bipartisanship with us as we move forward into the fiscal year 2020 appropriations process. prgtoken Madam , .
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.J. RES. 31, FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, 2019
David P. Joyce (Republican, OH) \u2014 2019-2-14

I rise in strong support of this bipartisan conference agreement, and I thank my ranking member for yielding time to highlight several items in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies division of this agreement. prgtoken I also want to thank my colleague, Ken Calvert, the former chairman of the subcommittee, for his leadership on this bill last Congress. prgtoken The highlights I am about to summarize are really a result of efforts to negotiate a reasonable compromise with the Senate and our mutual friend and current chair of the subcommittee, Betty McCollum. prgtoken Division E of the conference agreement provides $35.6 billion for the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, the Smithsonian Institution, and more than a dozen related agencies. prgtoken This conference agreement enhances our Nation's economic prosperity in many ways: prgtoken By cutting an additional $15 million from the EPA regulatory programs; prgtoken By fully funding the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, which is critical to the counties with Federal lands; and prgtoken By increasing America's investment in its own abundant energy resources. prgtoken Additionally, this conference agreement promotes health and safety by providing targeted increases to accelerate the cleanup of America's most polluted lands, waters, and airsheds; prgtoken By providing an additional $300 million for healthcare, law enforcement, and related programs to honor our country's sacred trust and treaty obligations to American Indians and Alaska Natives; and prgtoken By providing $3.9 billion for the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service to fight devastating wildfires that threaten our communities, and to reduce the severity of future wildfires. prgtoken Finally, this conference agreement continues to make critical investments in our Nation's infrastructure, including: $47 million to reduce the maintenance backlogs at our Nation's national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands; $2.9 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds; and $68 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, which will be leveraged with private investments to finance more than $7 billion in water infrastructure projects, nationwide. prgtoken Personally, I have a vested interest in the resources provided in this bipartisan package. Having grown up in northeast Ohio, I cherish my memories of fishing and swimming in Lake Erie with my family and friends. My wife, Kelly, and I have been proud to share the importance of protecting this precious resource with our children. prgtoken The Great Lakes are one of the greatest natural resources and economic powerhouses in the United States. They constitute the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth and hold 95 percent of the United States' surface freshwater. The lakes also support over 1.5 million
Government Funding (Executive Calendar)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2019-2-14

later today, we hope we will have an opportunity to vote on legislation that will fund the government and provide much needed support for border security. While no agreement is perfect and not everybody gets everything one wants, this makes a significant downpayment on a border wall as well as on other border security measures. At the same time, it funds all of the appropriations bills for this fiscal year. prgtoken I hope, as our Members review the text, they will have an opportunity to conclude that we will be able to get the votes that will be necessary to move the legislation through the Senate and, hopefully, ultimately, through the House and to the President and that the President will be able to sign it into law. So stay tuned on that. Hopefully, that will all transpire later today.
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.J. RES. 31, FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, 2019
Kay Granger (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-2-14

such time as I may consume. prgtoken I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 31, a bipartisan plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security and the remaining appropriations bills for fiscal year 2019. prgtoken Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to travel to the southern border to see firsthand the situation we face and hear from experts on the ground about the best way to address the crisis there. The President is correct; this is a crisis that must be addressed, both for the safety and security of the American people and for the well-being of those who are coming here. prgtoken We have a responsibility to come together and support what experts on the border say they need to address the security and humanitarian crisis. prgtoken While this bill falls short of what I would like to see, it will provide our Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents the tools necessary to continue combating the threat we face. prgtoken In particular, the bill provides $1.375 billion for 55 new miles of wall or physical barriers, as well as additional technology to combat human and drug trafficking. It is a good downpayment that will allow us to build new barriers in the areas that the Border Patrol says it is needed most. prgtoken The bill also supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement priorities by funding detention beds at a higher level than the amount enacted last year. This will allow agents the flexibility to address surges in illegal immigration and apprehensions. prgtoken It also does not include any limits on ICE enforcement actions that could cause dangerous criminals to be released into our country. prgtoken The agreement prevents another unnecessary shutdown by including funding for the remaining unfunded appropriations bills: Agriculture; Commerce, Justice, Science; Financial Services and General Government; Interior; State and Foreign Operations; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. prgtoken By voting for these bills today and funding these vital areas of the Federal Government, we will secure America and our allies, promote economic prosperity, protect human life, promote the health and safety of all Americans, and make vital investments in our Nation's infrastructure. prgtoken , it would take hours to go through all the bipartisan provisions included in this bill, so let me take a few minutes to discuss some of the highlights. prgtoken They increase funding for Federal law enforcement to combat terrorism, espionage, drug traffickers, gangs, and violent criminals; combat the financing of terrorism and terrorist groups; and strengthen the development and enforcement of sanctions against Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Cuba by providing increased funding for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. prgtoken We keep our commitment to Israel's security by fully funding the new memorandum of understanding. prgtoken We encourage economic developme
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2019-2-14

today I want my colleagues to listen to some ideas that I have about tariffs, generally, and where we are on tariffs and where we might be on tariffs in a couple of weeks, depending on what the Secretary of Commerce says, because in a few days, that Secretary is expected to provide the President a report. prgtoken This report will detail his Department's findings in the investigation of whether imports of automobiles and auto parts pose a national threat to the United States. Common sense tells me it doesn't. Let me repeat that because I think it is important for us to understand whether the cars that everyday Americans rely on to get to work, to drive their children to schools, to visit their families--whether or not the importation of those automobiles threatens national security. prgtoken Now, having said that, you might think that I disagree with the President--and I don't--that we must have fair and enforceable trade agreements that benefit Americans. Sometimes we have to make hard decisions in order to get and have fair and enforceable agreements. I do not agree that we should alienate our allies or jeopardize the health of our economy to achieve the good outcomes of fair and enforceable agreements. prgtoken The Tax Foundation has found that a 25-percent tariff on auto imports would amount to roughly a $73.1 billion tax increase. According to the Center for Automotive Research, a 25-percent tariff on auto imports would also result in the loss of 700,000 jobs and raise the price of an average car by nearly $7,000. prgtoken Dealers would see a decline in annual sales by as many as 2 million vehicles. Consumers would face up to a 10-percent increase in the cost of repairs and replacement parts. In short, raising tariffs on cars and parts would be a huge tax on consumers who buy or service their cars, whether those cars are imported or domestically produced. Make no mistake, Americans will be paying those taxes. prgtoken Tariffs are a tax paid at the time of import. Historically, they have been a protectionist tool intended to prop up domestically produced goods by making foreign goods more expensive. Tariffs are not a long- term solution, and nobody wins with the producing of tariffs. prgtoken While they may provide short-term protection for domestic industries, they do so at the expense of ordinary consumers and industries increasingly dependent on a complex global supply chain. On the whole, I think this all adds up to damaging the economy. For an administration, including this Senator and most s on this side of the aisle, who have been crowing about the benefits of the tax bill of late 2017 and the jobs it has created and the good it has done for workers, why would you want to put on a $73 billion tax increase through tariffs that would undo a lot of good that we say and the President says the tax bill has done. Let me repeat it again. On a whole, this is going to be damaging to t
Government Funding (Executive Session)
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2019-2-14

I had planned to come to the floor this evening to talk about our national parks and to talk about the lands bill that just passed, but I also want to talk for a moment, if I could, about the legislation we just voted on on this floor. It had to do with border security, and it had to do with six other appropriations bills that include many of our Departments and Agencies. It also had to do with keeping the government from shutting down. If this legislation is now passed by the House tonight, which is expected, and is signed into law by the President, which is expected, we will avoid a government shutdown, which is really important. We don't need to go there again. prgtoken I also want to talk, for a second, about the package itself and the most controversial part of it, which has to do with the border. I voted yes this evening, and I did so because the legislation we just signed takes really important steps towards strengthening our southern border. Frankly, I am not hearing much about that on either side of the aisle. prgtoken First, let me just say that President had a proposal on the border. His was a comprehensive proposal--yes--of more barriers and fencing but also of more cameras, more remote sensing, more screening at ports of entry, more judges, more Border Patrol, and so on. prgtoken That legislation that he asked us to take up included $22.8 billion-- a lot of money, right? prgtoken Now, some will say: But Congress didn't follow what President wanted to do because they gave him less money. prgtoken The border security funding in this package is actually about $300 million less than the President asked for. It is $22.5 billion. prgtoken But Congress decided--and I think Congress is right about this--that our southern border is in need of help right now. Some call it a crisis. Some just say it is a big problem. I don't care what you call it. We need more help on the border. We need more barriers, but we also need more cameras, more remote sensing, and more ways to stop the drugs from coming in, most of which come through the ports of entry. Yes, we need more people to be able to respond. Yes, we need more judges to be able to handle this backlog of immigration cases that has built up. Yes, we need more humanitarian assistance. prgtoken By the way, the administration and the from Congress supported both of those things. The place where there was a difference was the amount of funding to put into the barriers. They gave him less money than he asked for for new barriers and new fencing. prgtoken The agreement includes nearly $1.4 billion for that--for the new barriers and new fencing. By the way, it might also surprise you to learn that that is the most money Congress has ever appropriated for fencing and new barriers in any fiscal year. prgtoken Let me repeat that. This is the most money Congress has ever voted for to provide more barriers along the border. And these a
HONORING BUCKS COUNTY FIRST RESPONDERS AT HEARTS FOR OUR HEROES RECEPTION
Brian K. Fitzpatrick (Republican, PA) \u2014 2019-2-14

Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is home to some of the most thoughtful and compassionate people in the Nation. This was on full display earlier this month when parents and students from the Howard Hersch Religious School at Congregation Brothers of Israel held a reception for first responders, called Hearts for Our Heroes. prgtoken Held at the Newtown Township Building, first responders in attendance received letters of appreciation and cookies for their service and their sacrifice. Students also sang a song of gratitude to the heroes in our community. prgtoken I would like to honor several people, , who played a pivotal role in ensuring that our community's first responders received the recognition they deserve: Joan Hersch, Congregation Brothers of Israel Religious School director; and Janet Barudin and Amy Stinson, who co-chair the congregation's Caring Committee; as well as Rabbi Aaron Gaber. prgtoken I would also like to extend my gratitude to all first responders in Newtown Township and throughout Bucks County for all they do to keep us safe. Recognizing Judge Rea B. Boylan