mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Nomination of Tanya J. Bradsher (Executive Session)
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2023-9-11

with a historic number of veterans receiving care and benefits under the PACT Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs needs a qualified second-in-command. prgtoken Now more than ever, the VA needs a steady hand to uphold its mission to deliver veterans the healthcare and benefits that they have earned. prgtoken I rise today because Tanya Bradsher is that leader. She has an impressive record of serving our country in and out of uniform, especially in her current role--which is VA Chief of Staff--where she has been critical in overseeing the Department's implementation of the PACT Act. prgtoken Between her time serving in the U.S. Army--including a deployment to Iraq--and working in Congress and working at the White House and the Defense Health Agency and at the Department of Homeland Security, it is clear that she is qualified for the job and ready to hit the ground running to serve our Nation's veterans. prgtoken It is no secret that the VA has a lot of work on its plate. From rolling out the Electronic Health Record Modernization program to working with the Defense Department to improve transition process for servicemembers who are leaving the military, these are challenges VA's No. 2 official is directly tasked with, all while running the day-to- day operations of the VA. prgtoken That is why this body needs to come together in a bipartisan way to make Tanya Bradsher the permanent leader--the leader who will tackle these challenges and ensure that the VA is upholding its mission to the veterans and their families. prgtoken The fact is, having a permanent leader in this role ensures that we can hold the VA accountable to do their job. And our veterans deserve no less. prgtoken In the past, this body has been able to rise above politics to install qualified individuals at the VA responsible for getting vets the healthcare and the benefits they need and that they have earned. Today, we must do that again to confirm Tanya Bradsher as VA's next Deputy Secretary and making her the first woman ever confirmed for this position. prgtoken With that, .
Violent Crime (Executive Session)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2023-9-11

today we take a moment to remember the anniversary of September 11, 2001. prgtoken Many people recall vividly that day where they were. I was in this building outside that door and a few steps down the hallway. I can recall seeing, on a small television set, the planes striking the towers in New York. First, we were confused: What is going on here that a plane would strike a building? But when the second one took place, it started to dawn on us that this was no longer an accident; it was by design. prgtoken I can recall looking down the Mall toward the Washington Monument and seeing black smoke billowing across the Mall. It took a few minutes to establish what had happened, a plane had crashed into the Pentagon and our Department of Defense, killing the innocent people on the plane and in that building. What we were seeing was the smoke from the fire of that crash. prgtoken It wasn't a few moments afterward that someone came to the door and said: Evacuate. Leave the building. prgtoken I have been around Capitol Hill for a number of years. I had never heard that before. But we all took it seriously, and we piled out onto what was the lawn between here and the Supreme Court Building. And people gathered. Tourists came up to me and said: Do you work here? prgtoken I said: Yes. prgtoken They said: Where are we supposed to go? It was a very fundamental question because, at that point, we heard sonic booms from the jets that were being scrambled to protect this building. We assumed it would be the next target. And it might have been were it not for the courage of the passengers and crew on that United Airlines flight that was brought down in Pennsylvania before it could reach Washington, DC. prgtoken These are memories we all have and will carry for a lifetime of what had happened 22 years ago. prgtoken Now, 22 years later, we are connected by sadness as we reflect on 2,977 lives lost at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, and that field in Pennsylvania. prgtoken But we also remember the care for our communities and the common purpose we found after that tragedy, after the attacks, as our Nation sought to find light amidst the darkness. In our most divided moments, we should look to that as a reminder that America, as a nation, is at its best when we seek unity and humanity over separation and hate.
REMEMBERING FRANK SULLIVAN
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2023-9-11

it is my privilege to honor a request from the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Sam Nunn. prgtoken I request unanimous consent that the following statement by former Senator Sam Nunn regarding the passing of Mr. Frank Sullivan, who was staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Appropriations, be printed in the Record. I also ask unanimous consent that Mr. Sullivan's obituary be printed following Senator Nunn's statement.
Recognition of the Majority Leader (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2023-9-11

there is one day of the year that for me will always embody what is most admirable and most enduring about the human spirit, and that day is today. prgtoken Twenty-two years after the towers fell in New York, after a plane crashed into the Pentagon, after United No. 93 came down in Pennsylvania, we pay our respects to those we lost on September 11. We mourn their loss--every last soul taken from us too early. We honor and thank every single American who became an unassuming hero in the aftermath of the attack: the first responders, the legions of volunteers and blood donors, the nameless many who did their part. prgtoken I will never forget so many scenes. One of them was a guy who owned a shoe store a few blocks north of the World Trade Center, who was just handing out shoes to everybody because many people had lost their shoes as they tried to escape from the towers. But there were so many different things. prgtoken Everywhere I go, I always wear this pin on my lapel as a reminder of our prgtoken sacred promise to never forget. I called on Americans the day after to wear and display the flag. Just about everybody did as a sign of unity, of our coming together after an awful day. I wear it every day, and every time I look at this flag, I think about so many who were lost. prgtoken I was at Ground Zero this morning. I mean, you just hear the names that were read, those of every different background. They had people come up who had lost loved ones of every different background, of every different philosophy, race, creed, color, religion, origin, talking about the people they had lost. prgtoken I remember, when I went down the day after when President sent a plane for then-Senator Clinton and me to come up, there were 1,000 people on line, holding up little signs--``Have you seen my brother, Bill?'' ``Have you seen my daughter, Mary?''--because when people were missing that first day, people had hoped and prayed that maybe they were still alive, but, of course, very few were. prgtoken So a lifetime can pass, but, to me, it always feels like yesterday. I look out my window, and I see the Freedom Tower--a symbol of resilience in New York--and I can see it from my window in Brooklyn, but I also think of the Twin Towers that were there and of so many who were lost. prgtoken I remember that day: the smell of the pile, human flesh; the noise from the chaos of the aftermath; the images of destruction that New Yorkers and Americans had never seen. I remember three friends of mine who perished--a guy I played basketball with in high school, a businessman who helped me on the way up, and a firefighter I went around New York City and did blood drives with. They are gone 22 years ago. prgtoken But most of all, that day stays with me because on that day and on the days that followed, I saw countless ordinary Americans do extraordinary things. Taxi drivers and store managers and businessmen and city workers an
Military Promotions (Executive Session)
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2023-9-11

as you know, we are at an unprecedented moment in the history of the Senate. There are hundreds of brave, courageous leaders in our military who are being denied--promotions being denied--the rank that they deserve because of the actions of Senator Tuberville and Senate s. prgtoken And Senator Tuberville was out on the floor just moments ago defending his actions. I think most Americans believe that his hold on all of these promotions is indefensible. But what probably won't get covered is an additional idea that he presented to the Senate in his remarks. prgtoken Senator Tuberville said today that he thinks that our military leadership should be fired for failing to defeat the Taliban. That is pretty extraordinary. For those of us who have served in the Senate and in the House during the time that we have been in Afghanistan, we had the opportunity to see that mission on the ground. It was a difficult, hard mission. Some might say it was an impossible mission, badly underresourced, right from the beginning. prgtoken But the idea that our soldiers or our military leadership--captains, lieutenant colonels, generals--should be fired because they couldn't perform a mission that was likely impossible, that, frankly, will have an even bigger chilling effect than Senator Tuberville's hold on military promotions. prgtoken There is no doubt that there should be consequences for gross negligence on the job in any profession, including the military, but for any of us who saw the work being done in Afghanistan, our military from the top down, they were doing the best they could under difficult circumstances. prgtoken Refusing military promotions apparently isn't cruel enough. Now, s want military leaders fired when they can't complete impossible, underresourced missions. prgtoken This is a growing attack, a growing set of attacks on our military, and all in the service of a bunch of old men telling young women what healthcare they can get and what healthcare they can't get.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2023-9-12

Senator Klobuchar has said it very well, and I want to pick up on her remarks. And we are here to reflect on the extraordinary achievement in the Inflation Reduction Act in order to provide for the first time a real measure of relief--a real measure of relief--for these staggering costs seniors and others pay for medicine in our country. And I am going to talk about the negotiation issue. prgtoken And I want to say, this is just the next and essential piece of what we are doing to get relief for the consumer. For example, through most of the summer, I talked about the price-gouging penalty that we got in the law. prgtoken And I see my friend Senator Stabenow, my colleague who has been my seatmate on the Finance Committee--we sure wish she wasn't retiring-- but the price-gouging penalty is the first such thing in Federal law. This is a penalty that it has imposed, as Senator Stabenow remembers, when drug companies hiked their prices over inflation. They have to pay a rebate to Medicare, which is used to lower the out-of-pocket costs for seniors. And Senator Stabenow and I have been out crunching the numbers on this issue. And one of the areas that we found is that these drugs, particularly those that are administered in a doctor's office, already are producing massive savings. prgtoken Senator Stabenow, we found a drug a couple of weeks ago where seniors are saving several hundred dollars per dose--per dose--I would say to my colleagues--on one of these cancer drugs you get in the office. And this is just the beginning, as Senator Klobuchar has said. prgtoken So this legislation, which didn't, unfortunately, get a single vote, represents a seismic shift in the relationship between consumers and Big Pharma and especially authority for Medicare to negotiate prices of prescription drugs with manufacturers. prgtoken And I just want to take a few minutes to pick up on this issue of the barrage of legal actions Big Pharma and their allies are taking to stop Medicare drug price negotiation. And we have been talking about all these lawsuits that the big companies--and I gather the Chamber of Commerce is with them all the way--have filed to prevent seniors and families from getting a break on medicine. prgtoken So these legal actions that the big companies and the Chamber of Commerce are taking beg the question that I just want to offer up this afternoon: What would happen in America if our country didn't negotiate in our economy? prgtoken The fact is, negotiating on price is the underpinning of the American marketplace. It ensures you bring two sides together to get a fair deal. And the question really has to become: Are these companies that have filed these suits really arguing that the government shouldn't try to get a fair price on medicine for more than 50 million American seniors? prgtoken Senator Stabenow, that is the essential question--are they really arguing to the American people--and by
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Peter Welch (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2023-9-12

I join my colleagues in celebrating a major and long overdue achievement allowing the American people to have the benefit of a government that will stand up to negotiate prices and try its best to make the prescription medications that they need for themselves and the people they love to be affordable. prgtoken You know, what is a greater responsibility that a government has to its citizens to help create a healthcare system that is accessible and is affordable? Why is it that in this country, the citizens that we all represent are getting hammered on the cost of medications that if they just go across the border to Canada, they can get at one-tenth, one- fifth of the price? prgtoken Why is it? It is because until this day, we have been the only government that has not been willing to use price negotiation to protect consumers from price gouging by Big Pharma, and it is really brutal. I mean, every one of us--I talk to Vermonters, Senator Stabenow was talking about Michiganders, Senator Whitehouse was talking about constituents in Rhode Island--by the way, some of whom are s, some of whom are , some of whom are Independents, many of whom don't even bother to pay much attention to the political process. But when they have to get access to that medication that is really essential to their well-being, they can't afford it. prgtoken We are paying, they are paying--all our citizens--in many cases, 2\1/ 2\ times, on average, what folks across the border in Canada or in Europe are paying for the same medication. And, you know, it is terrific when Big Pharma, through their research, comes up with medications that can extend our life. But if they charge so much that we can't afford it, what does that do? prgtoken And time after time, we have seen folks make these horrible decisions about cutting back on their medication at the threat to their own life and safety because they literally can't afford it. prgtoken Now, the pharmaceutical industry, let's give them credit: They have created lifesaving drugs. That is a tremendous thing. But they can't use the fact that they are doing something good to jack up prices to make it unaffordable just for self-enrichment. prgtoken You know, we, as a government, have done an enormous amount to help pharma with the innovation side, and they are suggesting that this legislation is going to interfere with that capacity. Is it true? No. Think about what we have done--we, the government, taxpayers. No. 1, the intellectual property is protected; so for that period of time, oftentimes well over a decade, they can charge whatever they want to charge and they have the exclusive right to have that drug on the market. And they charge a lot. prgtoken No. 2, we have created an employer-sponsored healthcare system where we have employers in all of our States where it is really important to that employer to provide good-quality healthcare to its employees, and they ha
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2023-9-12

I really feel like this is a celebration because we have been talking about how Americans have been taken advantage of for years--forever--in terms of high prices. We have been paying the highest prices in the world forever and oftentimes three and four times more than people in other countries. prgtoken I know I receive messages from families every day who are struggling to pay for their prescription medications. The truth is, we understood this. We finally had the opportunity where we had President and a ic majority in the House and the Senate. We took on Big Pharma, and we won. So this is really a celebration. prgtoken We are not done. We have more to do. We are just getting started, but this is a big deal. It is a big deal. prgtoken One out of four Americans can't afford their medicine right now--one out of four. That is shameful in the United States of America. Back in 1998, when I was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I took busloads of seniors from Detroit, one side of the Ambassador Bridge to the other side. A few minutes across the bridge was Windsor, Canada. We crossed the bridge and cut prescription drug prices by 40 percent by crossing a bridge. prgtoken It has made no sense to me. The reason I have been championing this for so long and so appreciate the leadership of Senator Klobuchar and so many of us who have worked together is that this just simply makes no sense, and it has cost lives and people's livelihoods, trying to pay for their medicine. You shouldn't have to skip doses or split pills in half or choose between paying your electric bill or taking your medicine. prgtoken So the good news is, despite the fact that if you just look at the U.S. Senate--just in the Senate, there are 15 lobbyists for every Senator, and they work every day to try to stop us from lowering prices. But despite that, we took on Big Pharma, and we won. prgtoken I want to thank the Presiding Officer for your leadership on the first thing we were able to do that is so tangible. prgtoken In Michigan, we have nearly 67,000 Michiganders on Medicare who now benefit from a cap on insulin of $35 a month--not the $600 or $700 that the average person was paying; $35 a month. That is saving lives. prgtoken By the way, insulin is something that was discovered and developed 100 years ago--100 years ago. It costs $10 to make, and we had to go through a major fight to cap it at $35. But our Presiding Officer, the Senator from Georgia, led that, and I want to thank you for doing that. prgtoken We have nearly 673,000 Michiganders who are going to save an average of $356 thanks to the $2,000 total cap we are going to put on. Right now, folks are, on average, paying $14,000, $15,000 a year and oftentimes thousands of dollars more than that. We are capping that. This next year, it is capped at $3,200; next year, $2,000, and that is it--$2,000-a-year out-of-pocket costs for seniors. It is extraordinary
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2023-9-12

there are over 578,000 Nevadans across my State enrolled in Medicare, and their hard-earned Medicare benefits provide coverage for their healthcare expenses. prgtoken The problem is, when I travel around my State and I speak to Senators, the No. 1 thing that I hear about is how difficult it is to afford the prescription drugs that they need. Let me give you an example. prgtoken Sue Bird and her husband Tom, they live in rural Nevada in Fernley, NV. Tom has diabetes; and even though they are both on Medicare, covering all their healthcare expenses costs them nearly $1,000 a month. That can be a crushing amount for two retirees on a fixed income. prgtoken The stress of Tom's diabetes alone affects his blood sugar, but add in the worry over the price of their medication, their dental and vision and other healthcare costs, and it becomes almost too much to handle for them. prgtoken So why are Tom and Sue's medications so expensive? I will tell you why, and you have heard it from my colleagues over and over this afternoon: Because, year after year, Big Pharma has decided that they need to jack up prescription drug prices. All the while, their executives are raking in millions of dollars in profits. prgtoken These pharmaceutical companies are driving higher prices. They are forcing millions of older Americans to pay more in premiums and out-of- pocket costs. prgtoken Our seniors made this country what it is today. Tom is a fourth- generation Nevadan. We really have a duty to ensure quality affordable healthcare for people like Tom and Sue and seniors across the country when they retire. prgtoken That is exactly what did when we passed the Inflation Reduction Act. We capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for people with Medicare. We made vaccines free to seniors, and we are holding drug companies accountable for raising the prices faster than the rate of inflation. prgtoken Now you are hearing, in a major victory that has been decades in the making, that we finally gave Medicare the green light to negotiate lower prescription drug prices directly with Big Pharma. This is going to make a huge difference for Nevadans and for Americans across the country. prgtoken The administration just selected the first 10 drugs for price negotiations under Medicare Part D. These are widely used medications. About 10 million people with Medicare take one or more of these drugs each year to treat serious conditions like diabetes, heart failure, blood clots, and cancer, and they are extremely expensive. Medicare enrollees taking any of these 10 medications paid a total of $3.4 billion out of pocket in 2022. prgtoken For his diabetes, Tom Bird takes Jardiance, one of 10 drugs on the list. This month, he paid about $466 for it. prgtoken Now, these 10 drugs cost Medicare over $50 billion last year alone. That is outrageous. Think about where that money is going. Think about where it is going. How much money is