mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION RELATING TO ``UPDATE OF COMMISSION'S...
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2021-5-19

a couple of weeks ago, President unveiled his so-called American Families Plan, which one might summarize as free stuff--free preschool, free community college, lots of government subsidies. It sounds great, but the problem, of course, is that none of that is really free. The government may not send individuals a bill for any of those items, but that doesn't mean they don't have to be paid for by someone. So President proposed a raft of tax hikes to at least partially pay for his proposals--a hike in the capital gains tax, an additional new death tax to add to the one we already have, and a hike in the top income tax rate. prgtoken Now, President is selling these tax increases as tax hikes on wealthy Americans, whom view as a bottomless source of funding for new government programs, but there are two problems with that. prgtoken In the first place, there is no question that some middle-class Americans will be hit by President 's new death tax. While he provides an exemption for gains of $1 million or less, the truth is that it is possible to die with an estate whose value has increased by more than $1 million over the course of your life, while never breaking out of the middle class. We are not talking about individuals with a yearly income of $1 million; we are talking about the lifetime gains on assets an individual has at his or her death. prgtoken Then, of course, there is a good bet that many of those individuals' heirs--the ones whose inheritance will be diminished by this tax--are thoroughly middle class. Your parents might die with an estate that has gained $1 million-plus in value, but you yourself might be earning just $40,000 or $50,000 a year. prgtoken All this is especially true in the case of family farms and businesses. Farming is a cash-poor business. Farmers might have land that has appreciated over decades by substantially more than $1 million even though the farmers themselves may at times struggle even to break even. Levying President 's new tax at death could permanently destroy a family farm or business. prgtoken Now, President has suggested that he will carve out an exemption for family farms and businesses if the next generation commits to running them, but it remains to be seen what that exception looks like and whether it truly protects family farms. He has not pledged to carve out an exception for middle-class Americans whose inheritance will be hit by this new tax. prgtoken Then there is the fact that President 's new income tax hike will also hit small businesses, many of whose owners pour a substantial part of their profits back into the business instead of raking in a large salary. prgtoken But even leaving all that aside and supposing that President 's new taxes will be levied only on wealthy Americans, there is still a problem. Sure, if you are in the middle class, the government might not be sending you a tax
HONORING FIREFIGHTER MIKE PETENBRINK
John Joyce (Republican, PA) \u2014 2021-5-19

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Firefighter Mike Petenbrink for his 35 years of service with the Meyersdale Volunteer Fire Department in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. prgtoken Firefighters' commitment and service to our community are invaluable, Volunteer firefighters often are called on to respond to emergencies of all types. From battling structure fires to conducting search and rescue operations, volunteer firefighters respond immediately whenever disaster strikes. These heroes often go above and beyond--they teach first aid, educate students about fire and other dangerous hazards, and even install car safety seats for children. Through their diverse and often-difficult work, volunteer firefighters provide lifesaving services and are a staple of our local community. prgtoken Firefighter Petenbrink has worked throughout his career to serve the people of Somerset County. On behalf of Pennsylvania's 13th Congressional District, I thank him for his work to protect life and property in our community and wish him continued health, safety, and success.
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-5-19

the situation in the Middle East is a stark contrast from that of just 9 months ago. prgtoken Last summer, the United States helped broker the Abraham Accords--a historic step in the relationship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE became the third Arab country--the first Gulf State-- to recognize and normalize relations with Israel. Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan would follow suit shortly thereafter. These agreements mark historic progress toward peace in decades and appear to open a new era of diplomacy in the Middle East. prgtoken Today, though, the optimism we felt just a little less than a year ago has been replaced with more violence--more violence--and more destruction than we have seen in years and civilian casualties that continue to climb every day. prgtoken Hamas has fired thousands of rockets into civilian populations in Israel. If not for the Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system and the U.S. support and funding that made it possible, the death toll would be significantly higher than it is. prgtoken Just as any sovereign state under attack by terrorist forces would do, Israel has defended its citizens. Given the way Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields--a war crime, by the way, for which Hamas alone is responsible--the counterstrikes have carried a human cost. prgtoken As the conflict has intensified, some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have called into question Israel's right to defend itself. They have acted as though there is some moral equivalency between the terrorist acts of Hamas and Israel's right to defend itself. They have called on the President to speak out against the conduct of Israel but not Hamas. It is as though they think that Israel is somehow a terrorist group, not the other way around. prgtoken As I said, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets specifically headed toward civilian targets in Israel. The moral equivalency argument between Hamas's attack and Israel's response is clearly divorced from any reality. prgtoken Let's be clear, though. This conflict is not a welcome development for anyone. The Israeli and the Palestinian people are bearing the cost of a conflict that they had no hand in creating. prgtoken It is important to remember that two things can be true. First, Israel has a right to defend itself. If Hamas or any other terrorist group or state launches an attack on Israel, its government has both the right and the responsibility to respond and protect its citizens. Secondly, the number of civilian casualties on both sides, particularly the number of children, is heartbreaking. Both of those things are true. prgtoken The violence and destruction we are seeing is devastating, made even more upsetting by the progress we appeared to have made just last year. But this is not a conflict between two governments; this is a sovereign state defending itself against a terrorist attack. prgtoken I am afraid that message
NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2021-5-19

. Madam , I rise today to recognize May as National Foster Care Month and to say thank you to every parent, volunteer, and mentor who work with our foster children. prgtoken I am a proud member of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and had a foster brother growing up, who is still part of my family. prgtoken During this month, we renew our commitment to ensure that every child has a safe and loving family. prgtoken I know firsthand how a supportive and loving home can make all the difference in a young person's life. prgtoken There are over 460,000 children and youth in foster care. These children and youth range from infants to 18 years old, when they age out. prgtoken Foster youth who transition out of the foster care system without a permanent home are at a higher risk of unemployment, poor educational outcomes, health issues, early parenthood, long-term dependency on public assistance, increased rates of incarceration, and homelessness. prgtoken Every child deserves a safe, supportive, and permanent family. We have the responsibility to continue to create policies that will improve the outcomes of the overall well-being of foster youth and their families.
CRISIS AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER
Madison Cawthorn (Republican, NC) \u2014 2021-5-19

according to recent data from my district, the number one concern of my constituents is the border crisis. Let me repeat that: The number one concern of my constituents in North Carolina is the crisis at our southern border, over 1,600-miles away. prgtoken It is beyond clear that the response by the administration has not simply been weak; it has also been counterproductive. Americans nationwide are sensing what the international community has known for the past 6 months: Our leaders are not strong, our border is open, and America is ripe for the taking. prgtoken Fifteen hundred illegal immigrants cross into our country daily without ever being tracked, according to border data. Two Yemeni men on a terror watchlist were just apprehended at the border, and this administration has turned a blind eye to one of our biggest national security crises in recent history. prgtoken , I am disappointed, because it seems that the political maneuvering of one select class has co-opted the good of the people. What can we, as individual Americans, do in the face of such abject disregard for our well-being? We can speak out.
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT
Rick Scott (Republican, FL) \u2014 2021-5-19

the COVID-19 pandemic was devastating to our Nation and Congress came together in a bipartisan fashion to provide unprecedented relief for 2020. prgtoken Unfortunately, ditched that bipartisan approach in their so-called COVID bill, the American Rescue Plan, which was full of wasteful spending which has nothing to do with the crisis. It didn't receive a single vote. Only 10 percent of the funds in the American Rescue Plan are related to COVID-19 and spending for vaccines is less than 1 percent. prgtoken With our Nation nearly $30 trillion in debt and rising inflation, this spending is irresponsible and reckless. prgtoken One of the more ridiculous examples of waste was $350 billion included for State and local bailouts, even though our States are doing just fine. In fact, California just announced it will have a $75 billion surplus. Reckless spending has consequences, and we need to be fiscally responsible in every use of taxpayer dollars. prgtoken This amendment would simply pay for the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act and all provisions of this bill by using unobligated, unnecessary funding for the American Rescue Plan. I ask for your support.
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-5-19

in a moment I will propound a unanimous consent request. Before I do, I want to make some brief remarks. prgtoken Right now, gas stations all over the eastern seaboard are suffering from a week-long gas shortage that has left thousands of stations completely out of gas. What we have seen is reminiscent of the 1970s, when Americans had to sit in long lines to fill their cars with gas. prgtoken Why are we experiencing this crisis? Because Russian hackers attacked the Colonial Pipeline, which had to shut down operations on May 7. prgtoken What is the reward Russia gets for attacking our infrastructure? Well, on the topic of Russia, just yesterday, President doubled down on what is becoming a consistent ``soft on Russia'' position from the administration, making the decision to disregard bipartisan legislation that passed through this body seeking to shut down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that Putin is desperately trying to complete between Russia and Germany. prgtoken That pipeline had been shut down. We had succeeded in a bipartisan victory, stopping that pipeline, but, sadly, Putin resumed building the pipeline shortly after was elected. Yesterday, President made the decision to refuse to enforce the bipartisan sanctions on the company building the pipeline for Putin. prgtoken If that wasn't enough, it is clear the administration does know how to shut down pipelines--the Keystone Pipeline. His first day in office, signed an Executive order shutting down the Keystone Pipeline, destroying 11,000 jobs, including 8,000 union jobs--all destroyed by the - administration. For whatever reason, the - administration seems to have a philosophy that American pipelines and American jobs are bad, but Russian pipelines and Russian jobs are apparently good. And Russian hackers should get rewarded with Putin getting billions of dollars because refuses to stand up to Putin. prgtoken On the impact here at home of the Russian hacking, Colonial Pipeline transports 100 million gallons of fuel all over the east coast every day. It is responsible for transporting 45 percent of the fuel on the east coast, running from Texas to New Jersey. prgtoken The Colonial Pipeline is a critical piece of infrastructure, and when it shut down, it gravely disrupted the daily lives of millions of Americans--fuel for cars, for aviation fuel, for heating homes, all completely shut down. I am standing here today because one thing this crisis has shown us is that we need to diversify how we transport energy in this country so that if our critical infrastructure is attacked again--and we know it is going to be attacked again--that we have other reliable ways to transport energy. prgtoken One way to strengthen redundancy and to strengthen our ability to make it through another attack is to allow liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to be transported by rail. prgtoken Last year,
REMEMBERING ANDRE THE GIANT
Dan Bishop (Republican, NC) \u2014 2021-5-19

. Madam , last but certainly not least, today I rise to honor the life of the eighth wonder of the world on what would have been his 75th birthday: Andre Roussimoff, better known as Andre the Giant, who spent his final years in the small town of Ellerbe, right in the middle of the Ninth District of North Carolina. prgtoken Standing 7 feet 4 inches tall and weighing over 500 pounds, Andre was known for his time in the World Wide Wrestling Federation, where he was a fan favorite. During his professional career, he headlined WrestleMania and also defeated Hulk Hogan to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. To nonwrestling fans, he is best known for playing the role of Fezzik in the 1987 film ``The Princess Bride.'' prgtoken Despite his great size, those who knew him found him to be gentle and kind. Andre passed away at the age of 46 in 1993, and his ashes were scattered on his beloved Ellerbe ranch. prgtoken I am proud today to pay tribute to the memory of Ellerbe's most famous resident.
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT
Thom Tillis (Republican, NC) \u2014 2021-5-19

there are inventors in Colorado and Hawaii and across this Nation whom we don't even know about because the fact is, we have missed the opportunity to engage more people and have more diverse inventors. prgtoken We have to look at this from several different perspectives. Let's look at it from a national security perspective. prgtoken I have chaired the Intellectual Property Subcommittee for the last two Congresses. We heard endless reports of how China is churning out patents and more and more patents, breaking records every day. This commonsense amendment does nothing more than allow people to submit information that we can use to get a better beat on communities that we need to get into to create more intellectual property, to create more patents, and to get more people engaged in the patents and intellectual property system. With this bill, I believe we will make great strides. prgtoken I hope everybody will vote for this amendment. prgtoken Thank you. Vote on Amendment No. 1517
HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. DON HARP
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (Republican, GA) \u2014 2021-5-19

I rise today with a heavy heart to remember and honor Dr. Don Harp, who passed away on April 20 at the age of 82. prgtoken Dr. Harp was born in Inman, Georgia, where he had a humble upbringing as a farmer. He went on to become a baseball star and student leader at Young College and Huntington College. He was also dedicated in his pursuit of ministry, going on to earn a doctorate from the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. prgtoken Dr. Harp's accolades are impressive, but his greatest legacy was his gift of connecting with people. He could always find good in any situation and gave unselfishly to his alma mater and friends. prgtoken As a husband, father, and grandfather, many say that his greatest love was his family, and those who knew him best know his greatest love was also the Lord. prgtoken , I had the honor and privilege of serving with Dr. Harp on the Young College board of trustees. Don Harp loved Young College, and Young College loved Don Harp. prgtoken My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all who knew him during this most difficult time.
RECOGNIZING FARMERS FEEDING UTAH
Mitt Romney (Republican, UT) \u2014 2021-5-19

I rise to commend the outstanding charitable efforts of the Farmers Feeding Utah campaign, a project of the Miracle of Agriculture Foundation and the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. As the pandemic brought new challenges to farmers, ranchers, and families everywhere, volunteers and community leaders across the State joined together to help our neighbors in need. prgtoken Last year, disruptions to our food security and supply chains led to uncharted economic hardship for both producers and consumers. For many, this included putting food on the table. Nevertheless, Utahns were determined to chart new opportunities for creative and charitable giving. prgtoken Recognizing an alarming increased demand in food pantries statewide, the Utah Farm Bureau Federation launched a campaign to deliver food to disadvantaged Utah families. To achieve this, the Farmers Feeding Utah program collects generous donations used to purchase commodities from Utah farmers facing pandemic-related market shortages and losses. These products are distributed to food pantries with the help of numerous community-based organizations, which in turn sustains our farms and ranches. prgtoken To date, the Farmers Feeding Utah campaign has collected over 1.5 million pounds of food, worth over $3.2 million, from donations by individuals and organizations passionate about alleviating hunger. These extraordinary acts of kindness have provided nutritional relief to more than 23,000 Utah families along the Wasatch front, northern Utah, the Navajo Nation, and across southern and rural Utah. prgtoken The success of this initiative underscores Utah's excellence in fielding solutions to complex problems, to the benefit of individuals and families in need. The collaboration of diverse partners across the agriculture industry, health sector, and religious and academic institutions highlights our State's esteemed tradition of charity. In addition to the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, partners like Utah State University's Hunger Solutions Institute and Create Better Health programs, the Utah Department of Agriculture & Food, the Farm Bureau Financial Services, the Utah Petroleum Association, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and scores of generous Utah companies and individuals have provided invaluable support to this effort. prgtoken There is more work to be done, which is why the Farmers Feeding Utah program continues to organize food drives and deliver critical assistance in cities all over Utah. With every additional meal donated to a hungry family, our Utah family grows ever stronger. Thank you to all involved in this tremendous public-private service initiative, with special gratitude for the strong leadership of Ron ``The Milkman'' Gibson as Farm Bureau president. Keep up the great work.
NATIONAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL COMPLEX ACT
John Katko (Republican, NY) \u2014 2021-5-19

I ask that we all take a deep breath right now. Everybody breathe for a minute and everybody stop the theatrics, and everybody stop the arguments that are not relevant to this issue. prgtoken This is a very solemn moment. We are here to talk about something that is very important to the entire of our Government and the entire of our country. I ask that we think about the officers and their families and conduct ourselves accordingly. prgtoken , .
THREE MAJOR CRISES
J. French Hill (Republican, AR) \u2014 2021-5-19

I commend my friend from Louisiana for bringing our Members to the floor tonight to talk about something that is so essential to American life, our careers, our work, our independence, our ability to pursue happiness. prgtoken This pandemic has thrown many off track for that, and it is House s that want to make sure we pursue policies that get people back to work, back to opportunity, back to independence. prgtoken Our small businesses in my home State of Arkansas and local economies across our country are recovering from the devastation of the pandemic. They now face a threat that has resulted from President and House ' inflated and fiscally irresponsible approach to unemployment benefits. prgtoken The Wall Street Journal reports there are over 8 million job openings, , in the United States right now. That is almost more jobs open than every person currently out of work. prgtoken Instead of encouraging these positions to be filled, my friends on the other side of the aisle have disincentivized going back to work and have made these benefits so appealing that it has disrupted labor markets across the country, particularly in Arkansas, particularly lower-income labor markets. prgtoken Medical workers, small businesses, and restaurants all tell me that this is creating problems for them. It has hurt States so much that a handful of individual States are now rejecting participating in Federal unemployment benefits. prgtoken This is not the direction we need to go, and it does not take an economist to understand this is not a permanent solution. We cannot keep tying policies back to a once-in-a-century pandemic that will systematically change our country forever. prgtoken The solution is simple, and it is what House s are advocating and have been advocating for months. We need policies that encourage Americans to get back to work, not policies that encourage reliance on the Federal Government.