mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
NOMINATION OBJECTION
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2018-4-16

I am putting a hold on the nomination of Mr. Jason Klitenic to be General Counsel of the Office of Director of National Intelligence. I intend to maintain the hold until there is a satisfactory response to the March 6, 2018, letter Senator Grassley and I sent the Director of National Intelligence regarding the Intelligence Community Office of Inspector General, OIG, and the termination of its Executive Director of Intelligence Community Whistleblowing and Source Protection. To date, we have received no response to the letter, nor have we been provided the documents related to the Executive Director's termination requested in the letter. prgtoken My hold is not connected to the qualifications of Mr. Klitenic to serve in the position to which he has been nominated, and it is my intention to release the hold once my concerns related to the OIG are resolved. prgtoken I ask unanimous consent to have the March 6, 2018, letter printed in the Record.
RECOGNIZING JOSEPH GRAUBART
Theodore E. Deutch (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-4-16

I rise today in honor of Mr. Joseph Graubart and his efforts investigating and researching cold case homicides. Mr. Graubart has rendered extraordinary service in these efforts, which have helped provide answers to relatives and communities in cases where official action has long ago been terminated. prgtoken Mr. Graubart, and his team of fellow volunteers, have relentlessly pursued answers, disclosure, and justice. Devoting thousands of hours to the public interest of not allowing homicide cases to be forgotten because they are old, cold, or related to corruption or organized crime. His efforts, lauded by local law enforcement, have shined a bright light on the coordinated efforts of organized crime and the relationship amongst over three dozen cold case homicides. prgtoken , I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mr. Joseph Graubart for his efforts in seeking truth and justice on behalf of victims, communities, and our nation.
HONORING SHELLEY BRODERICK
Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat, DC) \u2014 2018-4-16

I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Shelley Broderick of the District of Columbia for her 20 years of outstanding service as Dean of the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. prgtoken In August 1999, Shelley Broderick was appointed Dean of the law school, after serving as interim dean since 1998. In 2011, she was named the Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Chair of Social Justice. prgtoken Shelly Broderick began her legal career as a clinical professor at the law school, and in 1999, she received the William Pincus Award for outstanding contributions to clinical legal education from the American Association of Law Schools. As Dean of the law school, she has received the Outstanding Dean of the Year Award from Equal Justice Works; the Servant of Justice Award from the Legal Aid Society; the Deborah L. Rhode Award from the American Association of Law Schools; and the highest award given for outstanding educational leadership at a historically black college or university from the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. prgtoken During her tenure as Dean, the law school has achieved the highest level of American Bar Association accreditation; forged a memorandum of understanding with the University of Havana, a first for an American law school; and has raised more than $20 million to support endowed and other student scholarships, summer public interest fellowships and clinical programs. During her tenure, more than 2,000 diverse law students have represented thousands of vulnerable D.C. residents through the school's top ranked legal clinics. She served as chair of the UDC Faculty Senate for three years, and is a founder and participant of the D.C. Consortium of Legal Services Providers. She was appointed by the D.C. Court of Appeals to serve on the District of Columbia's Access to Justice Commission and has also served on the board of D.C. Appleseed for many years. I am particularly indebted to Shelley Broderick, who I appointed to serve on my Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission. The Commission made recommendations to me for candidates for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, U.S. Marshals for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the D.C. Superior Court and other critical federal law enforcement positions in the District. The Commission's recommendations were of such high quality that I was able to select exemplary candidates, and submitted all of them to President for nomination. prgtoken While Shelley Broderick plans to step down as Dean, she will soon rejoin the law school faculty after a sabbatical. prgtoken Therefore, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Shelley Broderick for her many years of dedicated service and outstanding contributions as Dean of the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law.
CONGRESSMAN BRIAN HIGGINS HONORS VETERANS HENRY AND GWEN COLON
Brian Higgins (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-4-16

today I rise to honor the accomplishments of Henry and Gwendolyn Colon, upon the recognition of a lifetime together of faithful and courageous service in the U.S. Navy. prgtoken Henry and Gwen Colon had quite a journey together in the Navy. Henry joined the Navy in 1974. Gwen enlisted into the Navy in 1979 because she was inspired by her father William McKinley Hawkins who served in the Navy during World War II from 1943 to 1948. Gwen's father received several medals and awards for his service in World War II and his name is listed on the African American Veterans of Western New York exhibit located at the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr Library on Jefferson Ave. in Buffalo, NY. prgtoken Henry and Gwen first met on June 9, 1980 at the Navy Exchange where their barracks were located. Days later they went on their first date and only four months later Gwen knew Henry would be the man she would marry. Henry and Gwen Colon's military service took them to several states including California, Virginia, Florida, and Mississippi. Gwen was also stationed in Naples, Italy and conducted inspections throughout the Mediterranean. While it was always a challenge living in two separate places throughout much of their time in the military they always found a way to be together. They were married in 1987, had a child together in 1989, and served together at the U.S. Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico. In September of 1989 Hurricane Hugo hit Puerto Rico and Gwen brought her son back to Buffalo to her parents' house until it was safe to return to Puerto Rico. prgtoken Henry and Gwen Colon had 35 combined years of military service. Henry served from 1974 to 1993 and Gwen served from 1979 to 1995. While in the Navy they rose a combined 11 ranks. They received many medals and awards. Henry Colon received the Good Conduct Medal with two bronze stars, Navy Expeditionary Medal with one bronze star, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one bronze star, Humanitarian Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Ribbon with one bronze star, the Navy Sea Deployment Ribbon with one bronze star, and the United States Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation with Distinguished Device. Gwen was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, prgtoken Humanitarian Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon with one bronze star, United States Coast Guard Special Operation Service Ribbon, and the New York State Medal for Merit. prgtoken After many years of service Yeoman Second Class Gwen Colon was honorably discharged from the Navy and worked as a paralegal for a prominent attorney and Henry become Company Commander at the Recruit Training Center in Orlando, FL. Radioman First Class Henry Colon was honorably discharged in 1993. In 1999, Gwen returned to Buffalo where
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF A RULE SUBMITTED BY BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION--Continued
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2018-4-17

I just had a chance to hear my colleague from Nevada talk a little bit about the importance of the tax cuts and tax reform that this Chamber passed at the end of the year and that is now in effect. prgtoken All I can say to my constituents is, this is the last year you are going to have to file under the old code. You will have the new code next year. Why is that important? Because it is simpler. It doubles the standard deduction, as an example, which is a great simplification for a lot of taxpayers. It also takes about 3 million people off the tax rolls altogether. prgtoken Think about that. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, over 3 million Americans, who currently have income tax liability, will no longer have it under this new tax reform bill. Why? Because it focuses on lowering the rates, doubling the standard deduction, and doubling the child tax credit. That helps people who are lower income Americans, who right now have tax liabilities and will not in the future. So it will be easier for a lot of people a year from now because they will have no tax-filing debate because they will not have any tax liability, and for others, it is just a simpler form. prgtoken What is already happening this year is that the paychecks are changing. Why? Because the IRS is saying the employees are going to get more money in their paychecks because the employers are going to withhold less as we go into 2018 because the tax proposals went into effect at the beginning of this year. So even though this is the last time we will have to file under the old code, people are already seeing some of the benefits of tax reform. prgtoken When I go around Ohio, I talk to people, and they say: You know, Rob, my paycheck has already changed. That is because 90 percent of Americans are now being told they will have less withholding taken out of their paychecks, again, because of the lower tax rate, doubling of the child tax credit, and doubling of the standard deduction. prgtoken This is really helping. The average person in Ohio will probably see maybe $30, $40, $50 every 2 weeks in their paycheck. That adds up. The average in Ohio for a median income family is about $2,000 a year in tax relief. That is the average. That is a big deal. That is not just crumbs. prgtoken Most people I represent live paycheck to paycheck. Most people I represent think $2,000 is really helpful. By the way, they tell me they are using it. It might be for a long-planned vacation they couldn't afford. It might be, as a couple of people have told me, to help with healthcare because they couldn't afford to buy healthcare until they had that extra $2,000 in their pocket--or more for some people--to be able to afford healthcare. prgtoken For others--we heard a great story this morning from my colleague from West Virginia about a woman who said her daughter used to have to do her schoolwork at school or maybe at the library. She couldn't come
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR NATION'S DEBT
David Schweikert (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2018-4-17

as I get myself organized here, this evening I am going to actually try to do something that is probably a little dangerous and a little tricky. I am going to try to do some math from behind the microphone. prgtoken You know, we have a running joke in our office that being a Member of Congress means you often work in a math-free zone but the math always wins. prgtoken And, you know, to our friends over here, I guess I should--I don't mean to jump onto this, but we just heard some of the discussion about Ms. Slaughter. I am, obviously, from a different part of the country, a different party, different philosophy, and she was always incredibly kind to me and funny. Most people, I don't know, completely understood. She had a brutal wit, and so a couple of times, when I would go in front of the Rules Committee, sometimes the banter back and forth, you sat there and go: Is she just playing with me? So just for my friends that are just leaving from that. prgtoken All right. So I am going to try to do a couple of things here, Mr. . I am going to actually sort of walk through what was in the most recent CBO report, but also a couple of the previous CBO reports and what is happening in our Nation's debt. At the same time, I am also going to talk about some of the positive things that are happening, and some of it because of the tax reform, some of the things that are happening in our unemployment and opportunity out there. prgtoken So, first off, let's walk through a couple of baseline numbers, and then I am going to grind through these so it tells a story of where we are going and where we are at as a country. prgtoken When we get behind these microphones and say, ``We have an entitlement crisis coming that we have to deal with,'' they have been saying it behind these microphones for 30 years. Well, it is here. The peak of the baby boom, I think, today, is about 62 years old. There are 74 million of us who are baby boomers, who will be moving into our benefits, and we don't have the resources to cover our promises, the way things are structured today. prgtoken Yet if you look at the Pew poll from a couple of years ago, only 15 percent of s believe there is an entitlement crisis coming, but only 5 percent of believe it. So this is one of the great difficulties in this body where you often hear us saying: Speak truth to power. Well, how about math to power? prgtoken Well, what about our own constituents when they don't believe us because maybe there has been crying wolf or because it has been easier to say things like: Well, the problem is waste and fraud. There are problems with waste and fraud, but the numbers are tiny compared to what is about to happen. prgtoken So, some baseline math. When I was born, 1962, there were five workers for every one retiree. Today--and let's actually do 12 years from now, because that is when it gets dramatic. Twelve years from now, there will only be two. You and
Order of Procedure (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-4-17

I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, if applicable, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18, the Senate resume consideration of the Muniz nomination, with 1 hour of debate remaining, equally divided between Senator Gillibrand or her designee and Senator Alexander or his designee, on the nomination; further, that following the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote on the nomination as under the previous order; finally, that the Senate now proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF A RULE SUBMITTED BY BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2018-4-17

today is tax day, not typically a day of celebration for anyone, with maybe the exception of the IRS. But this year there is--believe it or not--something to celebrate because tax day 2018 marks the end of the old tax system. prgtoken Next year, Americans will be filling out their taxes under the new tax system that was created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That means that they will be paying less in taxes and keeping more of their hard- earned money. prgtoken If anything became clear during the last election cycle, it was that the economy was not working well for American families. In CNN exit polling, 62 percent of voters rated the economy as poor, and that wasn't surprising. The administration was tough for American workers. Job creation was sluggish, wages were stagnant, and economic growth lagged far behind the pace of other recoveries. Opportunities for workers were few and far between. It is no wonder that so many hard-working Americans felt like they had been left behind. prgtoken s were listening, and one of our top priorities in this Congress has been improving the economic outlook for the American people, which is why last fall we took up tax reform. prgtoken The Tax Code may not be the first thing people think of when they think of economic prosperity, but it actually plays a key role in determining the success of individual families and of our economy as a whole. The more money the Federal Government takes from you in taxes, the less money you have to pay bills or to buy a house or repair your car or save for retirement. The more money a business has to give to the Federal Government, the less money it has to grow the business and to invest in its workers. prgtoken So when it came time to draft a tax bill, s had two goals. First, we wanted to put more money in the pockets of hard-working Americans right away. Second, we wanted to create the kind of economy that would give Americans access to economic security over the long term. prgtoken Now, I am proud to report that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has already achieved the first goal and is well on its way to achieving the second. To put more money in Americans' pockets, we lowered tax rates across the board and nearly doubled the standard deduction--the amount of Americans' income that is automatically free from taxation. prgtoken We also acted to provide relief for parents, who are doing the hard work of raising the next generation, by doubling the child tax credit and allowing more parents to claim the credit. We eliminated the individual mandate tax, which disproportionately hit low-income families. We also made sure to protect key retirement savings plans-- 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts--and we improved education savings accounts, allowing families to use their 529 plans to save for elementary and secondary as well as higher education. prgtoken Thanks to the IRS's new withholding tables and its ne
PROVIDING FOR A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR TAX-RELATED IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS
James B. Renacci (Republican, OH) \u2014 2018-4-17

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I believe that modernizing the IRS' ability to administer our Tax Code is a critical next step following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I am pleased that today we are considering H.R. 5439, which creates a single point of contact at the IRS for identity theft victims. prgtoken I introduced this legislation with my good friend, Representative John Lewis. He and I have worked tirelessly over the last few years to protect the identity of taxpayers, having introduced legislation that has passed the House and was signed into law in 2015 that took steps to help reduce identity theft. prgtoken I was proud to reintroduce with him this Congress the Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Prevention Act that has nearly 20 bipartisan cosponsors and which included the provision that we are considering today. prgtoken Identity theft has become a growing concern in Ohio and across the United States. Unfortunately, it seems as if there is now constant news of individuals having their identities stolen due to massive data breaches. It is one of the most costly crimes to consumers and businesses, and it is the fastest growing white-collar crime in America according to the Federal Trade Commission. prgtoken As many of my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee have heard, I, myself, was also the victim of identity theft not too long ago. I understand the frustration, fear, and sense of helplessness that many feel when learning that a criminal has stolen their identity. prgtoken In 2016, a criminal stole my personal information and filed a return with my name, my wife's name, our Social Security numbers, and other personal information. The thieves even had a W-2 from the U.S. Congress that contained a fake version of my information. I didn't learn about this fraud until I received an IRS notice questioning a return I had filed--even though I had not yet filed. prgtoken Each year, thousands of families trying to resolve this same sort of headache have to prove to the Federal Government that they are who they say they are. That included me, right along with everyone else, creating this tremendous call volume the IRS receives on a given day. I had to go through that same process. prgtoken People thought: Wow, you had to go through the same process trying to get through to the IRS? prgtoken I said: Yes, I did. I had to reexplain my story every time I called. prgtoken This commonsense legislation will simply require the IRS to establish a single point of contact at the IRS for taxpayers who have been impacted by identity theft. This will help everyday Americans who have had to deal with the stress and inconvenience of having their identity stolen get the service they deserve from the IRS. prgtoken I thank Chairman Brady, Ranking Member Neal, and the Ways and Means Committee staff for moving this legislation forward, and I encourage my colleagues to support its final passage. prgtoken
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF A RULE SUBMITTED BY BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
Jerry Moran (Republican, KS) \u2014 2018-4-17

I am here to lend my support to a measure that I have had the honor of working on with the Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. Toomey, and I have worked side by side with the chairman of the Banking Committee--of which I am a member--the Senator from Idaho, Mr. Crapo. I very much appreciate the leadership that both of those individuals and my other colleagues have provided over a long period of time on this issue. prgtoken Dodd-Frank was passed as a result of the concerns that many had across the country and here in the Congress regarding the financial challenges that our Nation faced resulting from mortgages that were sold. It really was a Wall Street crisis that, in so many ways, became challenging for Main Street, with Main Street having the consequence of having the difficulties presented to them based upon what happened on Wall Street, and in so many instances, consumers ended up paying the price. But as we tried to correct the problem when Dodd-Frank was passed, it got way beyond the culprits--those who were culpable for creating the financial crisis in our Nation--and began to penalize those who had nothing to do with them. prgtoken One of the creatures of the passage of Dodd-Frank was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and one of the aspects of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was their effort to regulate indirect auto lending. prgtoken I think the chairman, the Senator from Idaho, did a great job of explaining this resolution. Today, we have the authority to reject the decision that was made by the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau, and I hope my colleagues will join me in doing so. I have introduced this resolution to accomplish that. prgtoken Senator Toomey has made clear by his efforts that this guidance that was issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is subject to a CRA, and that is our mission today--to accomplish the passage of that CRA. prgtoken While the chairman was speaking, I jotted down perhaps four or five points that I would like to make to my colleagues. One is that those who lend money to someone buying an automobile had nothing to do with the financial collapse that occurred as a result of the mortgage crisis in 2007 and 2008. prgtoken I think s probably made a mistake--I could take out the political word ``probably.'' s made a mistake in saying ``We are going to repeal Dodd-Frank,'' and responded by saying ``You are never going to touch Dodd-Frank.'' As a result, since 2008, we have been unable to correct, in a bipartisan way, the problems that many of us saw with Dodd-Frank. There are those who say ``We are going to get rid of the entire thing,'' and those who say ``You can't prgtoken touch it.'' Therefore, the consumers--the citizens of this country-- have struggled and been damaged by the consequences of Dodd-Frank. prgtoken Today we are dealing with a specific provision, and that is the indirect automobile lending--a