mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ISSUES OF THE DAY
Doug LaMalfa (Republican, CA) \u2014 2022-7-27

. Madam , from Louisiana again for leading us here tonight and getting the message out to the American people that this doesn't have to be this way. What we are going through--what we are all going through--together, with the increased costs and with shortages is unnecessary. prgtoken This isn't caused by nature with a hurricane or a tornado or a fire or an earthquake or even a war, though some are trying to point to the actions by Putin and Russia and Ukraine being responsible for everything. This is a government-caused situation we are seeing with inflation in fuel and energy. It doesn't have to be this way. prgtoken So what is really disheartening as a Representative of folks is that we know our constituents, good people, are suffering from inflation. It is impacting everyday Americans and northern Californians in my district, everybody. prgtoken I have firsthand accounts from people in my district who are struggling financially due to these rising prices and inflation. Inflation is a tax on every American, as my colleagues have been saying. And we are hoping people will hear. prgtoken Rural Americans are feeling additional financial struggles even more so probably than the urban dwellers, but maybe it is the same. Maybe it is just different. prgtoken Rural residents tend to drive more. They have to drive farther distances to do what they do if they work on a ranch or live on a ranch, a timber operation or a mining operation, or they just live out. Maybe they are a park ranger. Maybe they take care of the parks. There are many reasons why you would live in a rural part of the State of California or any part of America, Madam . prgtoken That puts more mileage on your vehicle and uses more gas. You may tend to have a four-wheel drive vehicle in those areas, Madam , because you might have snow. There are other reasons that you might have to have a vehicle that has a little more oomph, a little more ability to get around than perhaps one in southern California. So it is likely they are going to use a little more gasoline to go where they need to go, and getting gasoline delivered to areas like that costs a little more. It is a little higher. prgtoken In my northern California district it is not uncommon to see $6 on the sign for diesel or even premium gasoline--$6. It is routinely $6 for diesel. A lot of people drive diesel vehicles. prgtoken They have less retail options nearby. Their stores ship from farther distances, so the trucks that brought it--``if you got it, a truck brought it'' is the saying--have to ship it farther to get there. So that store might need to prgtoken have just a little higher price to cover shipment. So further shipping, all these things just add up, especially for rural residents, on that. But they have a reason why they are rural residents, and we need them to be for producing what they produce in rural areas that we all use. prgtoken So a couple of residents in nort
SERGEANT FIRST CLASS HEATH ROBINSON HONORING OUR PROMISE TO ADDRESS COMPREHENSIVE TOXICS ACT OF 2022--Resumed
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2022-7-27

I rise in support of the Right to Contraception Act. prgtoken Thirty-three days ago, the Supreme Court issued a rule shredding nearly five decades of precedent protecting a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions. Now women, as we have seen over the last weeks, are at the mercy--are at the mercy--of a patchwork of State laws governing their ability to access reproductive care, leaving them with fewer rights than their moms and their grandmas. So now a woman in Minnesota has different rights when it comes to her reproductive care than a woman in Missouri, and a woman in North Dakota has different rights than a woman in Indiana. That is what we are dealing with right now. prgtoken Two weeks ago, I joined several of my ic colleagues on the floor to push for legislation to preserve a woman's right to travel to other States to access reproductive care, led by Senator Cortez Masto. Unfortunately, s on the other side of the aisle blocked us from that vote. prgtoken So we came back last week to push for legislation, led by my colleague Senator Tina Smith, to protect and expand funding for a program created under a administration, a Presidential administration, to fund clinics that support maternal care, conduct cancer screenings, and provide contraception, but, again, that vote failed because we were not allowed to move forward with it. prgtoken So we came back to the floor today because if the Supreme Court won't protect people's fundamental rights--that is why we have three branches of government. That was the concept of our Founding Fathers. So if the Supreme Court isn't going to protect people's fundamental rights, then everyone in this Chamber has to decide whether or not they are going to do it, and that includes making sure everyone can access contraception. prgtoken I am concerned that the worse is yet to come. Right now, State and local legislators are literally racing, along with Governors, to be the first to say: Which State can limit rights the most first? Which rights can we take away? Sadly, it is not too hard to guess. prgtoken In his concurring opinion in Dobbs, Justice Thomas actually laid out a roadmap with clear directions for how the Court could overturn the right to contraception. He said that the Supreme Court ``should reconsider''--``should reconsider,'' those two words--whether the Constitution protects the right to access contraception, as well as the right to marry whomever you love. Why? Because he talked about looking at other cases with regard to the right to privacy. prgtoken The Supreme Court has recognized the right to access contraception for more than 57 years, but the conservative Justices on the Supreme Court have shown they won't hesitate to overturn decades-old precedent no matter what they say at their Supreme Court hearings. prgtoken This threat is not hypothetical. Last year, the Missouri State Legislature tried t
SERGEANT FIRST CLASS HEATH ROBINSON HONORING OUR PROMISE TO ADDRESS COMPREHENSIVE TOXICS ACT OF 2022--Resumed
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2022-7-27

reserving the right to object, here is what the Senator from Texas is saying: It is fine to sell to China so long as you are a big American oil company and profiting off of it. prgtoken That is the bottom line. prgtoken The Senator had the chance to endorse the policy that would have stopped all American exports to China. If the priority is to not enrich the Chinese Government, then let's enact that policy. prgtoken What Senator Cruz is essentially saying is that if the end result is massive profits for the oil company, then we are just going to look the other way. Then we are just going to look the other way. prgtoken The strategic petroleum reserve? No, we are going to keep that oil here. That can't go to China. That would be an immoral abomination if the Chinese got their hands on that oil. prgtoken But if the end result is that oil companies get to pad their profits by selling oil to the Chinese, well, then that is fine. Well, then, that is fine. prgtoken So let's be 100 percent clear in what is happening here. If your priority is not selling oil to China, then let's make that the policy. Let's make that the policy. prgtoken But that is not the priority. The priority is to make sure the oil companies can make as much money as possible. prgtoken ExxonMobil expects to make $10 billion in profit--not revenue, in profit--in the second quarter of this year. So I don't apologize for a second for making my priority the people of this country, not the profits of the oil companies. prgtoken Yes, I want to keep American oil here because I want it to benefit American consumers, not the oil companies' bottom line. prgtoken And spare me the rewrite of history on Nord Stream 2. Those sanctions that we passed were ready to go for . What I objected to was the Senator being silent when sat on the sidelines and refused to implement those sanctions, and then taking a hard line when a was in the White House. prgtoken Senator Cruz held up every State Department nominee that President offered, as hostage in order to get a change on Nord Stream 2 policy. The Senator did not do that when was in office, during a period of time in which the pipeline was being built. prgtoken By the time that left office, that pipeline was 95 percent built, and had Senator Cruz taken the same policy during the administration, arguably, we could have been in a different place by the end of 2019. prgtoken So I don't apologize for saying: You know what. The oil companies are making too much money. Our prices, our constituents, our consumers should come first. And if we are serious about not exporting oil to China, then let's be serious about it and make the policy universal. prgtoken And so for that reason, I would object.
SERGEANT FIRST CLASS HEATH ROBINSON HONORING OUR PROMISE TO ADDRESS COMPREHENSIVE TOXICS ACT OF 2022--Resumed
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2022-7-27

the good Senator from Pennsylvania is correct. I want to see this bill passed. I want to see this bill passed for all the reasons I have talked about many times in committee and on this floor. prgtoken This is about living up to the promises for our veterans. This is about making sure that when the veterans come back from exposures to burn pits or oil well fires or Agent Orange, that they don't have to go to the VA and fight for their healthcare and their benefits. prgtoken It impacts 3\1/2\ million veterans in this country. By the way, there will be a few more who die before we get this bill passed. prgtoken And I would also say that, as the Senator from Pennsylvania says, I am all for the $278.4 billion over 10 years on this bill; I have got no problem with that--well, the fact is, he does have a problem with that. The fact is, by doing what happened today on this floor, the real issue here--and make no mistake about it--is the money that is being spent to take care of our veterans. prgtoken And I have said it before, and I will say it again. If you have the guts to send somebody to war, then you better have the guts to take care of them when they get back home--or don't send them in the first place. prgtoken Now, let's talk about the $400 billion, OK, because, quite frankly, what this is about--this is about not even trusting the people in this body. We have an Appropriations Committee, and we vote on appropriations bills, and we set the levels in the accounts based off of appropriations. Let the process work. Let's not tie the hands of appropriators. Let's make sure we let the process work. That is what we have always done. prgtoken But the good Senator from Pennsylvania's amendment ties the hands of the appropriators. Make no mistake about this, the American people are sick and tired of the games that go on in this body. They are sick and tired of us working for or working for s and not working for the American people. But this is bigger than that. prgtoken We have an All-Volunteer military in this country. If you don't think young people are watching what we are doing today who are thinking about signing up for the military, you are sadly mistaken. And when we don't take care of our veterans when they come home, they are going to say: Why should I ever sign on the dotted line because, of the promises that I made and the promises the country made, only half that deal is being respected--my half. prgtoken This is a sad day in the U.S. Senate. This is the biggest issue facing our veterans today. Make no mistake about it, if it wasn't, every veterans service organization wouldn't be out there talking to us and have been talking to me for the last 15 years. prgtoken So we can make up all sorts of excuses about how this is going to move money around, but--let me tell you something--we are the ones who decide that. If we want to move money around, we will; if we don't, we won't.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS TAKE ACTION
Julia Brownley (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2022-7-27

. Madam , the American people are feeling the effects of rising costs. As these costs continue to put pressure on the pockets of America's working families, House are working tirelessly to provide relief. prgtoken When gas prices soared earlier this year, House took action to fight price gouging at the pump. prgtoken House took action to lower insulin costs and ensure that lifesaving prescriptions do not send families into bankruptcy. prgtoken As food prices rose, House took action to reduce prices for American farmers and lower prices for families in the grocery aisles. prgtoken But our work is far from over. prgtoken We understand that prices are too high and Americans are struggling to make ends meet. Fighting inflation and lowering costs for families remains our top priority. prgtoken s have tried to obstruct bills to cut costs to earn political points at the expense of hardworking American families. It is time to put people before politics. prgtoken House are working for America's working families, and it is time my colleagues do the same.
SUSAN MUFFLEY ACT OF 2022
Marcy Kaptur (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2022-7-27

. Madam , I thank Chairman Kildee for yielding time. prgtoken Madam , a miracle is happening here. Michigan Wolverines and Ohio Buckeyes, on a bipartisan basis, are agreeing. Wow. Everybody should vote for this act, for America's sake. prgtoken I am so proud to help celebrate the passage day of the Susan Muffley Act that will restore retirement benefits for thousands of Delphi retirees. Hard work should be rewarded. prgtoken The men and women who built up Delphi were made a promise in return for their years of hard work, and they were promised a stable and secure retirement during their golden years. prgtoken Over the years, the American worker has time and again seen promises broken, and they have seen the financial security they earned and is rightfully theirs thrown away. Now, the Susan Muffley Act makes good on Delphi's original promise. prgtoken Workers in Defiance, Ohio, and Sandusky, Ohio, and throughout Michigan and the Midwest will see, by restoring their benefits, the retirees who worked hard and built America will have the future they paid for and earned. prgtoken We know that the Susan Muffley Act is a giant step forward in justice, justice for Americans who worked hard and were cast aside until now. prgtoken I thank Congressman Kildee for his absolutely tireless and relentless efforts to bring this to the floor. To get anything out of the Ways and Means Committee is a miracle anyway. prgtoken For Ohio, this means 5,000 families--believe me, many who can't afford their medicine, many who worry about tomorrow--will be celebrating. There will be a sense of being made whole again because of what they gave to this country, what they gave to their employers, and that bargain should be kept. prgtoken Madam , I congratulate Congressman Kildee. The Wolverine State has sent a highly capable American to Congress. I thank Congressman Turner of the great Buckeye State of Ohio, from the Dayton region, for this great partnership to help thousands and thousands of America's retirees.
SUSAN MUFFLEY ACT OF 2022
Tim Ryan (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2022-7-27

. Madam , 13 years; 13 years. I have been in Congress now for a little while, and I cannot begin to tell you what an example that the Delphi salaried retirees have set. It is the absolute gold standard for activism and lobbying their government. prgtoken And I, you know, normally get up here and get pretty upset; but I have got to kind of laugh because when I hear our friends on the other side talk about irresponsibility and gimmicks and nanny states and socialists, I think of all my friends in the Delphi salaried retirement. prgtoken These are the most hardworking citizens that I have in my district. And they show up for work. They coach the baseball teams. They work at the church. They are veterans. They give back. They are great parents. They are prgtoken great-grandparents. They are involved in the community. prgtoken Our job here is pretty simple. We look at the field, see what is happening in the country, and if some person or group of people are being wronged unfairly, it is our job to fix it. It is not a thing. It is not a thing. It is not a left-right thing, not a free market thing, or a socialist thing. prgtoken It is about people. It is about American citizens who did everything right. They showed up one day in the middle of a bankruptcy that, as Mr. Kildee has articulated here, the government was organizing, and reorganizing, the American auto industry. This isn't some private- sector bankruptcy. The government was in there manipulating everything, and they screwed up. prgtoken There was no one screaming louder than I was at the administration, Sherrod Brown and I, in meetings with Tim Geithner and all the rest over the last 13 years.
SENATOR JOHNNY ISAKSON VA REGIONAL OFFICE ACT OF 2022
Raphael G. Warnock (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2022-7-27

I come to the floor today to honor a friend, our late Senator from Georgia, my predecessor, Senator Johnny Isakson, as we work across the aisle, just as he did, to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office in his honor. prgtoken I thank my brother and fellow Senator from Georgia for leading this effort. prgtoken Without a doubt, Senator Isakson loved Georgia, and he cared deeply for our country. He was a patriot, a public servant, and I am proud to say that there are members of my staff who used to work for Johnny Isakson. They will tell you that he never hesitated to show up. prgtoken In my other job as a pastor, I talk often about the ministry of presence. Sometimes, it is not about what you say, because there are some situations, quite frankly, for which there are no adequate words. When someone has lost a loved one, and you are standing there at graveside or standing in a hospital at bedside with a patient, sometimes the issue is really showing up--the ministry of presence. prgtoken Johnny Isakson had it. He knew how to show up. Whether it was paying a visit to an ill patient or seeing a disabled veteran, he was there. Senator Isakson, the consummate public servant, dedicated his years of service to our beloved Georgia, to veterans, to our families, and to our children. prgtoken He always made it a point to show up at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Every year in January, as we celebrate Georgia's greatest son, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Johnny Isakson, without fail, was always in the house. Now, to be sure, when the King holiday rolls around, politicians do tend to show up, but what was so impressive about Johnny Isakson is that, not only did he show up for the service, he stayed for the whole service--a service which, I will admit, is long, even by Baptist standards. He stayed there the whole time. prgtoken He was unafraid to work across ideological and political differences in our State, in our country. I shall never forget his example of public service. prgtoken We talked from time to time. In fact, it occurs to me that the first time I stood in this Chamber, I stood not as a Senator but as Chaplain of the day, and it was at Johnny Isakson's invitation. I remember his graciousness on that day and on so many occasions. prgtoken When he announced his retirement, he called me and said: Raphael, I am retiring, and I want to drop by Ebenezer and say goodbye. prgtoken When he came that Sunday, he asked the members of our church who are veterans to stand. As he looked across the audience and saw all the veterans who were in our church, he said: I want to leave a special offering for the veterans ministry in this church. prgtoken That was Johnny Isakson. prgtoken So I am thrilled that today, with great appreciation and admiration for Senator Johnny Isakson, our bipartisan legislation honors his life and his legacy by renaming the Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Reg
SUSAN MUFFLEY ACT OF 2022
Debbie Dingell (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2022-7-27

. Madam , I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6929, the Susan Muffley Act of 2022. prgtoken Every worker deserves a secure and dignified retirement. That shouldn't be negotiable, especially when they were promised a pension as part of their income and put into it. prgtoken This legislation restores the pension benefits of Delphi salaried retirees that were impacted by the Great Recession, some of whom saw their pensions cut by as much as 70 percent as a result of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's termination of their benefits unfairly. prgtoken My State of Michigan was particularly impacted, as I know the State of Ohio was--it was a good midwest company--by the termination of these plans, with thousands of retirees losing pension benefits they earned, they were promised. They deserve the full value of what they earned and were promised. prgtoken These retirees have been fighting for over a decade to receive these benefits, and it is time to make them whole. prgtoken I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this important bipartisan bill. prgtoken for his leadership. When we are home, we listen to these people who are just in total tears. They don't know what to do. And my colleague has never stopped leading the charge for them.
SERGEANT FIRST CLASS HEATH ROBINSON HONORING OUR PROMISE TO ADDRESS COMPREHENSIVE TOXICS ACT OF 2022--Resumed
John W. Hickenlooper (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2022-7-27

in 1963, Americans could be arrested in some States simply for buying birth control pills. Sixty years later, if many States have their way, Americans may face that reality once again. prgtoken The Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade is so sweeping, so unprecedented that it now threatens the right to contraception. IUDs, emergency contraceptives, and other birth control could well all be banned, which seems hard to imagine. We are going backward in time to when women did not have control of their own bodies, nor the freedom to decide how and when they wanted to begin their families. prgtoken Who really believes that a woman shouldn't be able to use birth control; that a woman shouldn't be able to decide whether or not she wants to get pregnant; that a couple can't decide they aren't ready for a family? How many children should each woman have? Should it be as many as possible? Are they allowed to stop reproducing or is it a lifelong duty? Politicians should not be making these decisions. prgtoken This is a bill that guarantees a woman's right to access legal contraception. That is it. There is no trick, no sleight of hand. We can pass it into law today. The House has passed it already. prgtoken Starting a family is among the most private and personal decisions a person can make. It changes your life in ways that most of us can't even imagine. Yet there are people who want to force this restriction on women. prgtoken For women everywhere but especially in rural and low-income areas, birth control is essential healthcare. If you want to prevent unintended pregnancies, well, that is where you start. prgtoken When I was Governor, Colorado made long-acting, reversible contraception, like IUDs, available at little or no cost. That reduced unintended pregnancies by 54 percent--54 percent. Yet, now in Colorado, some s are campaigning to put an initiative on the ballot this November that could make contraceptives illegal. Many other States are considering similar moves with bills or amendments waiting in the wings. prgtoken I think this is far, far beyond the mainstream of what most Americans believe. In fact, 92 percent of Americans, in a recent Gallup poll, said that contraception is morally acceptable. prgtoken My mother was born in 1921, a child of the Great Depression. She scrimped and saved every penny, but she always, always made it a point to make some donation to Planned Parenthood. Some years, it might only be $10. But she believed there were few burdens harder for a woman to bear than being compelled to start a family before she was ready. As a mother of four, she knew how important it was for women to be able to make that decision for themselves. prgtoken Who are we, as politicians, to tell American women who has children, how many, and when? prgtoken .