mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RECOGNIZING SHERIFF DAVE CROMELL FOR RECEIVING THE ``HUB'' PERREAULT CITIZENSHIP AWARD
Jack Bergman (Republican, MI) \u2014 2019-9-12

. Madam , it's my honor to recognize Sheriff Dave Cromell for receiving the ``Hub'' Perreault Citizenship Award from American Legion Post 131 in Munising, Michigan. Through his exceptional leadership and steadfast devotion to his community, Dave has become an indispensable part of Michigan's First District. prgtoken Born and raised in Munising, Sheriff Cromell has dedicated decades of his life to the people of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Dave first joined the Alger County Sheriff's Office in 1975 as a Deputy Sheriff/Animal Control Officer. After revamping Alger County's animal control system, Dave attended Northern Michigan University's Police Academy, where he graduated as a Certified Police Officer. Following the retirement of Sheriff Malone in 1980, Dave was appointed interim Sheriff and was elected by the people of Alger County later that year. Sheriff Cromell would eventually be elected eight consecutive times. Over the course of his extensive career, Dave improved the county's EMT and 9-1-1 emergency response services, oversaw the repair and improvement of the Alger County Jail, and ensured the continuation of the DARE program in area schools--to only name some of his accomplishments. Sheriff Cromell's unwavering dedication to the public good is commendable, and the impact of his work for the people of the Upper Peninsula cannot be overstated. prgtoken Madam , it's my honor to recognize Sheriff Cromell for his decades of service to the people of our state and for receiving the ``Hub'' Perreault Citizenship Award from American Legion Post 131. Michiganders can take great pride in knowing the First District is home to such a selfless individual. On behalf of my constituents, I wish Dave all the best in his future endeavors.
RECOGNIZING THE SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL OF THE COMMUNITY OF WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA
Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, WV) \u2014 2019-9-12

I am really pleased to be here with my fellow Senator from the State of West Virginia to talk about a really great city and very historic city in our State of West Virginia, and that is to recognize the 250th birthday anniversary of the city of Wheeling, WV. prgtoken In September of 1769, Ebenezer Zane set out into the great unknown, as many of our brave earlier settlers did. He found a place nestled at the mouth of a river, and he girdled a group of trees together and carved his family name into them, claiming his tomahawk right, as was the custom of the time. That clearing that Zane created, where he built his home and raised his family, would develop into the city of Wheeling. prgtoken I grew up just 10 miles south of Wheeling, WV. Wheeling is a city of industry, good people, and growth. Yes, there have been ups and downs over the years, but today it is as vibrant as ever. As West Virginians, we all take pride in our State's progress through the years, but Wheeling has made a particularly special mark on our State. prgtoken During the Wheeling Convention of 1861, Western Virginians voted to secede from Virginia so that we could remain loyal to the Union. They declared that Virginia officials had abandoned their posts, and they established a provisional government with Francis Pierpont as the Governor. prgtoken Then, in 1863--something we are very proud of--President Lincoln issued a proclamation admitting the State of West Virginia into the Union and instituting Wheeling, WV, as our first State capital. prgtoken The bold actions of the men of the Wheeling Convention opened the gate for the creation of the State I know we know and love, the State that we are so proud to call home and to serve here in the Senate. prgtoken As a matter of fact, we have a statue to honor our first Governor, Governor Francis Pierpont, the father of West Virginia, and it still stands in the Capitol in Statuary Hall today. prgtoken As a new State following the Civil War, West Virginia sought to cement its place in the recovering Union, and Wheeling became an early transportation epicenter. Probably, traveling to the Presiding Officer's State, you had to go right through Wheeling. prgtoken With the presence of the National Road, including the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, which is still there today, the city connected the Ohio River with the Potomac River and offered further expansion to the west. As a result, Wheeling, WV, was able to become a powerhouse in the steel industry. We have all heard of Wheeling steel. In the late 19th century, Wheeling was producing nearly half of the Nation's nails, earning it the nickname ``Nail City.'' prgtoken Today, Wheeling has revived its downtown, winning the 2019 Great American Main Street Award. prgtoken In the past 3 years, they have opened 37 new small businesses--the backbone of our State--and the city has opened tourism to the Ohio River Valley, from the Victorian Capitol Theater an
ARCTIC CULTURAL AND COASTAL PLAIN PROTECTION ACT
Jared Huffman (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2019-9-12

. Mr. Chair, I know the gentleman does not mean to disrespect or trivialize the interests of an indigenous tribe that for hundreds and hundreds of years has depended on the Porcupine caribou herd, where its calving grounds and the heart of its migratory road is right in the refuge we are talking about. I know the gentleman doesn't mean to disrespect them by suggesting that their voices don't matter, but we believe that the Gwich'in people's voice does matter. Mr. Chair, you are going to hear us stand up for their interests consistently on this issue. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Levin).
WE NEED A RESET
Earl Blumenauer (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2019-9-12

we have a crisis in housing, in homelessness, growing wealth inequality, and it is all not an accident. It is the result of deliberate discrimination and policy failure. prgtoken The Federal Government, for years, intervened in housing for White veterans, for middle-class homeowners, for developers and property owners, but shut out poor and, especially, people of color--African Americans, most notably. is making it worse. prgtoken Tonight, 550,000 people will go to sleep homeless. We have a gap of 7 million affordable rental units, and income inequality grows. We need a reset. prgtoken Last week, I released this report, ``Locked Out: Reversing Federal Housing Failures and Unlocking Opportunity,'' which details solutions for our most vexing housing policy challenges. It is available on blumenauer.house.gov website. prgtoken We must be bold, transformative, and ambitious in solving these challenges. We can't afford another generation of small-scale thinking and large-scale failure.
DIRECTING THE CLERK TO PROVIDE AUDIO BACKUP FILE OF DEPOSITION OF ROGER J. STONE JR.
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2019-9-12

I send to the desk a resolution (H. Res. 553) directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide a copy of the on-the-record portions of the audio backup file of the transcribed interview of Roger J. Stone Jr. conducted by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on September 26, 2017, to the prosecuting attorneys in the case of the United States of America v. Stone, No. 1:19-cr-00018-ABJ (D.D.C), and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House.
TRIBUTE TO MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2019-9-12

I wish to recognize Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president emerita of the Children's Defense Fund, for her powerful advocacy for racial justice and on behalf of children, the poor, and all marginalized people. prgtoken On September 18, the Coalition on Human Needs will honor Mrs. Edelman as an extraordinary Human Needs Hero. Mrs. Edelman's storied career spans several epochal chapters of American history. Her activism and leadership led to the creation of programs such as Head Start, federally funded child care, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and tax credits for low-income families. Through the Children's Defense Fund and in her earlier work, Mrs. Edelman led in opening doors for children with disabilities, overhauling child welfare services, and expanding educational opportunities and health care for all children. From her early fight to ensure that nutrition aid reached the poorest families to her ongoing advocacy to protect children of color and all children from the ravages of poverty, Marian Wright Edelman has assisted tens of millions of children living in poverty and touched countless lives for the better. prgtoken Mrs. Edelman grew up the daughter of a Baptist minister, who raised her with a strong emphasis on the value of faith, family, and education. These values would guide her through the challenges of entering the public sphere as an African-American woman. Mrs. Edelman's advocacy began while she was a student at Spelman College, where she was an active participant of the civil rights movement. Upon graduating from Yale Law School, Mrs. Edelman became the first African-American woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar. In Mississippi, she practiced with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and was an integral part of the Freedom Summer of 1964. She was instrumental in exposing the plight of child poverty in the South and throughout the United States, culminating in Senator Robert Kennedy's historic trip to witness the plight of hungry children in Mississippi. prgtoken Subsequently, Mrs. Edelman served as counsel to the Rev. Martin Luther King's Poor People's Campaign. In 1973, prgtoken she founded the Children's Defense Fund, an organization that to this day continues to work tirelessly to ensure child poverty will one day be a thing of the past. The CDF's ``Leave No Child Behind'' mission is to ensure every child ``a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.'' To that end, CDF continues the tradition of Freedom Schools in 28 States and empowers outstanding high school students who have overcome tremendous adversity through its Beat the Odds program. prgtoken Through her work, Mrs. Edelman has achieved international renown, garnering numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has authored several books on her life a
EMERGENCY FUNDING
Tammy Duckworth (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2019-9-12

in this day and age, it would be easy to grow cynical and simply tune out the noise of a 24-hour cable news cycle that feeds off the latest tweet. From 's recent decision to invite the Taliban to join him for a retreat at Camp David for the weekend of the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to his earlier statements caught on tape, bragging about sexually assaulting women, I fear that too many--including Members of this Chamber--have become numb to this repeated debasing of the Presidency, numb to a President who lacks even a hint of remorse or shame as he spews lies to the people he was elected to serve. prgtoken We cannot afford to be numb. We cannot let this become normal. No, we must hold accountable for his false promises and for his lies. We must ask what happened to Mexico's paying for the wall. promised every American over and over again that they wouldn't have to spend a dime on his wall, pledging that Mexico would pick up the tab 100 percent. He even said, ``It's an easy decision for Mexico: make a one-time payment of $5-$10 billion.'' prgtoken Of course, it wasn't so easy, and now has done a 180, falsely claiming that he never said Mexico would write that check, trying to gaslight us all with every lie that he tells. We simply can't let him get away with it. prgtoken The truth is that already revealed whom he really wants to pay for his wall. He discloses it every time his administration begs Congress to spend billions of your tax dollars building it. He doesn't care that many who live on the border believe building a wall from sea to shining sea is the least effective and most expensive way to secure the border. may not care, but that helps explain 's failure to convince Congress to fund his vanity project--even when s controlled both Chambers for 2 years. prgtoken His outrageous response to his failure revealed another sad truth: The Presidency hasn't changed one bit. President is the very same old whose true character was revealed on the leaked ``Access Hollywood'' tapes. prgtoken In 's mind, when you are the President, you can do anything. Congress didn't appropriate funds for your ineffective wall? Well, just grab funds that Congress authorized for more important programs. Tired of failing to convince Congress to spend American tax dollars on your wall? Well, just declare a fake emergency. Senate s will let you do it. prgtoken Listen, 's decision to build his vanity wall with funds stolen from military construction projects and Homeland Security initiatives isn't really about border security; it is about politics. If he actually wanted to secure our Nation's border, he wouldn't be stripping away funding from the dedicated men and women who are responsible for defending it: the U.S. Coast Guard. Yet that is exactly what he has done--ripped
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF EMMA BRUTON TERRY
Brian Higgins (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-9-12

. Madam , today I rise to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Emma Bruton Terry, who passed away on September 8, 2019 at the age of 92. prgtoken After spending her formative years in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Emma moved to Buffalo in 1952, and graduated from Bryant and Stratton College. prgtoken Emma then met and married her first love, the late Isiah Terry. From this union came five beautiful children, the keystone of her legacy. She was both a loving spouse and a caring mother. prgtoken No stranger to hard work, Emma was employed at many local small businesses including New York Lerner Shops, the Medical Records Department at Children's Hospital, Saturn Ring Company, and lastly the Buffalo China Company from which she retired in 1992. prgtoken Emma was the epitome of a dedicated mother, and a true steward of her community. Throughout her life she garnered many awards in honor of this yearning penchant to help. prgtoken To those that knew her best, her family and loved ones, Emma will always be memorialized as a committed parent and a loving friend. In their hearts she will be remembered as a Jazzy Stepper, and simply a kind soul. prgtoken Madam , thank you for allowing me a few moments to honor a woman who was beloved in my hometown of Buffalo, New York. May Emma's memory live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Steny H. Hoyer (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2019-9-12

I thank the gentleman for yielding. prgtoken I understand the gentleman said a lot of things about reaching bipartisan agreements and all of this sort of stuff, and the Senate needed 60 votes. They didn't introduce a bill. Not a single appropriation bill was introduced. prgtoken They had the same 60-vote requirement last year, and they passed a lot of bills last year. The reason they didn't pass bills is that the President of the United States wouldn't come to the table and agree on caps. They could have done the same thing we did. prgtoken We are an independent branch of government. We are the Article I branch of government. We appropriate money. We spend money. But the Senate has not done its work. prgtoken If you brought the bills to the floor and couldn't get 60 votes, we get it. But I will tell my friend that there is great frustration. For the first time since my friend has been a Member of the Congress, we passed 96 percent of the funding for government by June 30, otherwise known as 3 full months before the end of the fiscal year, giving the Senate a lot of time. prgtoken But, no, we had to wait and wait and wait until the President sent down Secretary Mnuchin, and we finally made an agreement on 302(a)s, in other words, the caps, what we were going to spend. prgtoken With all due respect to all this talk about bipartisanship and that we need to work together, that is, of course, true. It was not true in the Congresses when my friend's party was in the majority. The s passed partisan bills, and they went over to the Senate. The Senate didn't take them, and we went back and forth. prgtoken There has been no back and forth. We did our work, and although the s disagreed with the numbers publicly, privately, very frankly, a lot of my friend's Members told me the numbers were pretty good numbers, and they liked them, including defense. We passed a Defense bill with a substantial increase for our troops, readiness, operations, and training. prgtoken I say that to Mr. Whip not to criticize my friend but to simply say that of all this verbiage about being nice to get together and do something, the regular order is we pass bills, the Senate passes bills, and then we have a conference. Unfortunately, we have gotten away from that, which I think is very bad for the House, the Senate, and the American people. prgtoken We cannot go to conference if the Senate doesn't even pass a bill, doesn't even introduce a bill, waiting on the President of the United States to say, ``Simon says.'' prgtoken We can't get a bill supported by 90 percent of the American people, comprehensive background checks, which 90 percent, a majority of my friend's party, a majority of my party, and a majority of independents thinks makes common sense. We passed it in February, and we can't even have it on the floor in the United States Senate. prgtoken Not only are they not doing appropriations bills, but they are not doing an
IN HONOR OF THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF LEGAL SERVICES ALABAMA
Terri A. Sewell (Democrat, AL) \u2014 2019-9-12

. Madam , I rise today to honor Legal Services Alabama on their 15th Anniversary Award Dinner. Legal Services Alabama provides quality legal services to low-income residents of Alabama, filling a gaping need in a state that does not offer a statewide public defense program. prgtoken So often our legal system, whose creation and purpose is to maintain equal justice under the law, regardless of economic factors, connections or other indicators, fails to do so. The reality is that under-resourced individuals are provided decreased access to quality legal counsel, while those who can afford it are granted superior services. This fundamentally contradicts the intent of our court system and undermines the very framework of our country. The work of Legal Services Alabama is to prgtoken right that imbalance, restoring justice not only to the economically disenfranchised, but to every Alabamian and American. prgtoken Founded on February 1, 2004, Legal Services Alabama began as three separate Legal Services programs, Legal Services Corporation of Alabama (founded 1977), Legal Services of Metro Birmingham (founded 1977) and Legal Services of North-Central Alabama (founded 1969). The three regional offices merged resources to become the statewide entity Legal Services Alabama which provides free legal services to low-income Alabamians across all of the state's 67 counties. The merger reflected a nationwide imperative, initiated by the Legal Services Corporation, which encouraged consolidation in order to provide improved and more efficient services to those in need. prgtoken Alabama has long been a bastion of grassroots activism in pursuit of civil rights and economic justice. Alabama is the birthplace of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and played a prominent role in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign. Economic inequalities are inextricably tied to racial inequalities and Alabama has, since our nation's birth, been ground zero for some of the worst racial and economic injustices and the greatest moments of uprising and activism. Along these lines, it is impossible to consider the work of the Legal Services Alabama on behalf of low-income Alabamians without pointing out the systems of racial hierarchy that our current justice system tacitly endorses through its passivity. prgtoken The reality is that the vast majority of those unable to afford adequate legal representation in Alabama are African American. It is essential that organizations like the Legal Services Alabama do the important work of uplifting those who have been historically marginalized and disenfranchised, despite the fact that our current system is not set up to do so. Just as we, as a nation, must reflect openly and honestly on the ills of a criminal justice system that disproportionately jails people of color, we must commend those organizations like LSA that have stepped in and addressed an urgent need. prgtoken Legal Services Al
FALUN GONG
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2019-9-12

throughout my years in the Senate, I have met with people from around the world who have been persecuted by their own governments, but the stories I have heard from survivors and family members of the victims of China's efforts to silence and eliminate religious minorities continue to shock me. The Chinese Government systematically brutalizes millions of people, including Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners. prgtoken Those who practice Falun Gong use meditation and are guided by a philosophy of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, but because the Chinese Communist Party fears any organized religion or association it cannot control, it views this revival of traditional Chinese religion as a threat to its survival. prgtoken Falun Gong practitioners recently marked the 20th anniversary of the beginning of China's campaign of brutality against their community. On July 20, 1999, hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in their homes in the middle of the night. Over the following week, as many as 50,000 Falun Gong were reportedly detained. In the years since that initial crackdown, the Chinese Government has relentlessly continued its repression of Falun Gong. prgtoken Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested, interred at reeducation camps, beaten, sleep-deprived, starved, sexually assaulted, electrocuted, force-fed, shackled, and had their limbs slowly broken, until they have renounced their beliefs and practices. They have been ordered to participate in propaganda vilifying their own community. They have had their organs harvested against their will. They have been murdered. We will probably never know how many innocent people have been the victims of these atrocities, since the Chinese Government denies to the outside world that it is happening, while justifying it to their own citizens. prgtoken The Chinese Government should immediately cease its arbitrary detention and brutalization of Falun Gong practitioners and other religious and ethnic minorities. It should release political prisoners from reeducation centers, decriminalize religious and spiritual practices, and allow international human rights groups and journalists to interview survivors. It should commit to ending the use of torture, organ harvesting of prisoners, and propaganda against minorities. prgtoken The plight of these people in China, the horrors of torture and murder by the government, can seem very far away from Washington, DC, and very far away from my State of Vermont. Yet Vermonters travel to Washington to meet with me and my staff, urging Congress to take action on behalf of Falun Gong. Vermonters are persistent people who rightly refuse to let us forget about Falun Gong and the other victims of China's repression. It is all too easy to ignore crimes against humanity on the other side of the globe, when the victims are people we will never meet, but Vermonters demand that we p