mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Peter A. DeFazio (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2020-8-22

see this mask? What does it say? ``United States Postal Service.'' Not ``business''; ``service.'' prgtoken For every American, no matter how remote they live, they can get mail. They can get their prescriptions. They can have a small business in Powers, Oregon, pretty remote from everything, and use the Postal Service. prgtoken Now, you can't have it both ways, guys. You say the Postal Service doesn't have a problem. Well, wait a minute. DeJoy is making these cuts because he says it has a revenue problem. He has prohibited overtime because they have a revenue problem. They can't move their delivery vehicle more than four times on a route. Eight-mile-long route, you are going to walk 2 miles each way. prgtoken Guess what? Mail is getting delayed all across the country. prgtoken The fact is, before the pandemic, they were breaking even or making money if we did away with the stupid prefunding of 75 years of healthcare that was put in in the dark of the night by the administration in a lameduck Congress, and 309 people in this House, including 87 s, voted for that in February, but it hasn't happened. prgtoken So you can't have it both ways. prgtoken But there is no doubt that the mail is being delayed. I am hearing it from everywhere. prgtoken Ms. Lorey, she cares for a blind elderly veteran: I ordered the VA refills for him. They were so late arriving, we had to ration out his most important medication from two pills a day to one pill a day until the prescription arrived. prgtoken Ms. Trudy, Eugene, Oregon: My husband is a Vietnam war veteran. His meds are delivered by mail. I love my husband. I want him to get the meds he needs to survive. prgtoken Last year, the Postal Service delivered 125 million VA prescriptions on time, but somehow, with the efficiency measures and the cuts--which I guess they don't need to make, but he is making because of the financial crisis--they can't deliver VA meds on time. They can't deliver prescription drugs for seniors and many other Americans who are required by their insurance plan to get their meds through the mail with just-in-time delivery, which isn't happening. prgtoken You cannot deny those things. prgtoken Why are they happening? How are you going to fix it? prgtoken You are up here blathering about all sorts of crap. Talk about how we are going to restore this Postal Service in the United States of America to efficiency.
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Hakeem S. Jeffries (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-8-22

I thank the distinguished chair for yielding and for her tremendous leadership. prgtoken The post office is as American as motherhood, baseball, and apple pie. It is one of the only entities actually mentioned in the United States Constitution. It has been around for hundreds of years. The first Postmaster General was Dr. Ben Franklin. It is part of the heart and soul of this country, and the attacks on the post office by the administration are shameful. prgtoken The American people deserve a Postal Service that delivers Social Security checks to senior citizens, delivers medicine to disabled veterans, delivers unemployment insurance checks to displaced Americans, and, yes, delivers ballots to those who choose to vote by mail in the midst of a deadly pandemic, because no American should ever have to choose between their health, safety, and well-being on the one hand and the constitutional right to vote on the other. prgtoken This is why we need a fully functional Postal Service. Don't mess with USPS.
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2020-8-22

. Madam , such time as I may consume. prgtoken Madam , I would love to spend weeks and weeks discussing this in committee, but the truth is that is what the administration wants, to run out the clock before the November elections. So trust in our democracy is undermined, and they can act like there is some conspiracy if he loses. prgtoken I have heard my friends on the other side of the aisle talk about process, but I really question their judgment here. They thought that dealing with cheese was such a national emergency last Congress that they used emergency powers to bring a bill on that topic to the floor during a government shutdown no less. prgtoken But today, as seniors can't get lifesaving medications and our veterans can't get social security checks, they want to hit pause. Our Postal Service is in chaos. Give me a break. prgtoken You know, my friends say they don't know who the Postmaster General is. prgtoken Let me tell you who he is. He is like the least qualified candidate for the job. He is a big, mega donor to . And my friends are believing everything Mr. DeJoy says, like claiming there is no mail shutdown. prgtoken Well, let me remind them what the Postmaster General wrote in a recent memo that these changes have had: ``Unintended consequences that have impacted our overall service levels.'' Those are his words, Madam . prgtoken He is transforming the Postal Service all right. Transforming it from reliable to chaotic right before an election. So even if you trust Mr. DeJoy, which I do not, even he acknowledges that there is something happening here. prgtoken Those on the other side of the aisle cannot have it both ways here. This administration apparently won't lift a finger to fix this problem, but this Congress is acting. And I would respectfully urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join us. Help the American people. They should be your priority, not the guy in the White House. prgtoken Madam , I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
William R. Keating (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2020-8-22

. Madam , for several years, I was a letter carrier, working my way through college and grad school, working overtime as mail volume necessitated--and, yes, necessitated. It was understood then that it was a necessity. prgtoken I worked with dedicated postal workers, many of whom were veterans who persevered through emergencies--hurricane, blizzards, floods. As the motto says, ``gloom of night.'' prgtoken Now, our country faces new emergencies, a pandemic that threatens lives and encumbers our basic rights, like the right to vote safely and in an economic crisis, where 600,000 Postal Service workers battle back, providing economic stimulus and $1.6 trillion in sales revenues. prgtoken The Postal Service is an economic and healthcare lifeline, a lifeline that is trying to sever, all to sabotage mail-in voting he thinks will dampen his chances to cling to power. prgtoken He is the gloom of night, and it is our job, our duty, to throw some sunlight his way and to stop him.
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-8-22

I thank the gentlewoman for her kind words of introduction, but I most importantly want to thank her for being the champion, the champion in defense of the Postal Service. I rise to join her in support of the Delivering for America Act, to protect lives, livelihood, and the life of our American democracy during a critical moment for our Nation. prgtoken I thank you, Madam Chair, again, for the intellectual resource you have been in shaping the legislation, for making us current in terms of the reports from the Postal Service, what is at stake, and why this legislation, , is so important. prgtoken I salute House for their enthusiasm, energy, and insistence on delivering for America. Since day one of the postal crisis, they have conveyed the concerns of their communities to Congress, holding events, accelerating a drumbeat, and shining light on this crisis. prgtoken I am going to talk about three things, and Madam Chair and Mr. Ranking Member. This is about the provenance of the postal system and how important it has been to America, also what the challenges are in delaying service and, therefore, why this legislation is so necessary. prgtoken First, let me say that, in the Constitution of the United States, it says that Congress shall have the power to establish post offices and post roads, Article I, Section 8. So the post office is there in the Constitution. prgtoken But even before that, it has been a pillar of American democracy. It is an all-American institution, which enjoys the overwhelming support of the American people for a reason. Again, enshrined in the Constitution, an inseparable part of our national story, helping transition America from colonies to country. prgtoken In the early 1770s, our Founders relied on the precursor of the Postal Service, the Committees of Correspondence, to educate people about the abuses of the British and to build support for independence. prgtoken Even before the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Continental Congress had established the Postal Service as one of the first and most important offices that would be part of the new government. prgtoken Two of our U.S. Presidents, Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman, would proudly hold the title of postmaster. One of our Founders, Benjamin Franklin, was the Postmaster General. Actually, he established the Postal Service. prgtoken So this goes to the heart of our country and the connection that the Postal Service, throughout our history, from the very start, has been in tying our country together. prgtoken In the early 19th century, when visiting America to write his great book, ``Democracy in America,'' Alexis de Tocqueville praised the Postal Service as being the great link between minds, writing that not ``in the most enlightened rural districts of France there is an intellectual movement either so rapid or on such a scale as'' this, as the Postal Service. prgtoken So it has been excellent from the start,
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Mark Pocan (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2020-8-22

. Madam , this President is on a warpath to destroy the Postal Service and, through that, our elections. prgtoken After months of hearing this President, and now Members of Congress, spread conspiracy theories and misinformation about voting by mail, he has made GOP megadonor Louis DeJoy his new chief of chaos in voter suppression. prgtoken In an attack on the Postal Service, DeJoy has removed mail processing equipment, collection boxes, and cut back on overtime. Ninety , led by Congresswoman Katherine Clark and me, already demanded his immediate removal. prgtoken Because, on top of this blatant voter suppression, and DeJoy are hurting millions who depend on the Postal Service every day: seniors and veterans waiting for lifesaving medications, families waiting for paychecks, small businesses with delayed packages whose very survival is already threatened by COVID-19. prgtoken On Thursday, the Progressive Caucus held a hearing and heard from David Williams, the former vice president of the Postal Service Board of Directors, who resigned in protest to 's actions. What he told us, unfortunately, shocked no one: that the Postal Service was fully prepared for mail voting until this administration manufactured an intentional crisis; that DeJoy wasn't selected by the firm that was hired to find a new Postmaster General, but he was the only candidate interviewed and was unqualified to lead the Postal Service; and that Steve Mnuchin sought intrusive control over core Postal Service operations and wanted to impose a pricing practice that would ruin the Postal Service. prgtoken This chaos is not the result of a pandemic. This chaos was manufactured by the administration and is intentional. prgtoken That is why Congress is acting today. prgtoken We are reversing Louis DeJoy's disastrous actions and providing the Postal Service with the funding it so desperately needs. We won't let anyone dismantle our Postal Service. The Postal Service belongs to the people.
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Danny K. Davis (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2020-8-22

I rise in support of our Postal Service and in support of its mission to serve our people, in support of its role in our democracy, in our elections, in support of its role in delivering vital goods and services critical to the health and well-being of our people and our economy and in support of the men and women of the Postal Service who have added the pandemic to the list of barriers they cast aside each day in their daily rounds. prgtoken , I note that we do not require that our government departments and agencies show a ``profit.'' That is not their purpose. We do not defend our country for a ``profit.'' We do not educate our children for a ``profit.'' We do not protect our environment for a ``profit.'' prgtoken , we long ago rejected the Luddite movement which advocated breaking machines in a futile effort to turn back scientific and technological progress. Breaking and discarding postal sorting machines is sabotage today, just as it was in the 1800s. prgtoken , I am deeply troubled by the alarming delays in First- Class, marketing, and Priority Mail documented by the Postal Service's own briefing packet for the Postmaster General from last week. I have seen evidence of these delays in the pictures sent and the stories told to me by postal employees. prgtoken , I proudly cast my vote in support of the request from the Postal Board of Governors for $25 billion in aid and in support of H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act.
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Jerrold Nadler (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-8-22

I rise in strong support of the Delivering for America Act (H.R. 8015), which would restore normal U.S. Postal Service (USPS) operations and prohibit the Administration from implementing or approving any changes that would impede service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill also provides $25 billion in emergency funding, matching the level requested by the bipartisan Board of Governors, and which the House passed as part of the Heroes Act in May. prgtoken For over two and a half centuries, our nation's Postal Service has stood as an independent, neutral entity focused solely on connecting Americans and providing essential services. This independence has allowed the Postal Service to maintain its status as the country's most trusted government agency for decades. prgtoken Over the past several weeks, the Administration has turned the Postal Service into an instrument of partisan politics by enabling Postmaster General DeJoy to implement harmful and unprecedented operational and service changes at the Postal Service, such as reducing overtime, restricting deliveries, and eliminating sorting machines and mailboxes. These actions have resulted in unacceptable wait times for mail across the country, delaying timely delivery of prescription medication and other vital mail, and endangering our upcoming election. prgtoken Following heavy criticism, the Postmaster General issued a wholly insufficient and misleading pause in operational changes. But it is now clear after his testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, that he has no intention of taking meaningful action to reverse the damage that the Postmaster General's sweeping changes have inflicted. Additionally, the pause does nothing to ensure voters that their election ballots will be delivered in time if they mail their ballots account to their state's deadlines. Finally, the pause is only temporary, and the damaging changes are set to return after the election. Two weeks ago, I called for the Postmaster General to resign. Today, I repeat that call and stand firm that he must step down. prgtoken The Administration's efforts to sabotage the Postal Service have endangered the lives and livelihoods of millions who rely on the USPS for essential services like delivering life-saving medications, medical equipment, Social Security benefits and paychecks. The Postmaster General's decision to impose these dangerous changes in the middle of an ongoing pandemic has magnified the disruption of many of these vital services. prgtoken The use of mail-order prescriptions, for instance, has increased by 20 percent during the pandemic. Due to the degradation of service, mail-order medications are reportedly taking weeks to be delivered, forcing patients to skip doses of life-saving medicines. Veterans throughout the country have reportedly faced wait times of three weeks or more for mail-order medications, which h
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Judy Chu (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-8-22

. Madam , I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act, because I will not tolerate sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service. prgtoken This week, I went to my local post office to fight back against the attacks on mail delivery that my colleagues now claim never happened. But I stand by those who know better than anyone, our country's postal workers. prgtoken They talked about how cuts to overtime are forcing mail carriers to abandon their routes halfway through, and how deliberate reductions to operating capacity mean that they cannot meet their community's needs. prgtoken My constituents also know better. Every day, I have heard from seniors whose medications have been delayed, small businesses unable to get orders to customers, and workers waiting to receive a check. Pharmacies in my district have even needed to tell customers to pick their medicine up in person instead of relying on the mail. prgtoken No one should have to risk exposure to COVID-19 just to pick up a prescription, especially not so the President can suppress votes in November. prgtoken Madam , vote to save the post office.
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Mike Thompson (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-8-22

I rise in strong support of H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act. This legislation will put a stop to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service and help reverse the damage that has already been done. H.R. 8015 will prohibit operational or service changes during the COVID public health emergency and ensure the level of service that was in place on January 1, 2020. The bill also includes $25 billion to help shore up postal operations that have been badly impacted by the pandemic. prgtoken I have been deeply disturbed by recent operational and organizational changes at USPS designed to sabotage mail delivery service ahead of our 2020 presidential election. In his brief tenure as Postmaster General, Mr. DeJoy--a major contributor to the President's reelection campaign-- has pushed through sweeping changes to mail delivery processes and procedures, dismantled vital mail sorting equipment, and undertaken a major restructuring intended to sideline career postal officials. This nakedly partisan attempt to subvert democracy and undermine confidence in the integrity of our election process is unconscionable and unacceptable. The Postmaster General should be ashamed of himself. prgtoken The USPS is a vital lifeline to millions of people across our country, especially now. Veterans and seniors rely on the mail to get prescriptions, people are staying connected with loved ones through mail while sheltering at home, and more voters will cast their ballots by mail this year than ever before. Fast, reliable postal service is critical to providing these essential services. Yet, my office has received numerous complaints of late or inconsistent mail service since the Postmaster General's changes went into effect. One constituent, a senior from Napa, wrote to me afraid her necessary medication would be useless by the time it arrived. The medication, which is temperature sensitive and usually takes 2-3 days to deliver, hadn't shown up in more than 10. prgtoken Our letter carriers are dedicated to providing our communities the highest level of service. Since the founding of our Post Office, they have lived by the motto: ``Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.'' The Delivering for America Act will help ensure postal employees can keep this oath. That's why I am proud to support and to be a coauthor of the legislation. I urge a yes vote.
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Robin L. Kelly (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2020-8-22

I stand with my colleagues today shocked and dismayed by the actions of this administration. prgtoken For the past few years, the Oversight and Reform Committee has worked in a bipartisan fashion to modernize the Postal Service with former Representative Mark Meadows leading the charge. prgtoken Now, like too many things over the past 3\1/2\ years, mail has become a partisan issue. The Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy. It is essential for providing critical services such as: lifesaving prescriptions, Social Security prgtoken benefits, paychecks, tax returns, letters home from military families, and absentee ballots to millions of Americans. prgtoken The VA delivers prescriptions to 80 percent of our veterans via the mail. This intentional and ridiculous slowdown means vets are skipping doses while checking empty mailboxes. prgtoken While I was back home, one of my businesses told me they hadn't received mail for 10 days. Another person told me they received mail every other day. prgtoken This cannot go on, and we cannot trust the word of a Postmaster General who is unqualified and whose sweeping operational changes degrade the Postal Service, delay the mail, and threaten our upcoming election. We must pass the Delivering for America Act so we can return the United States post office to normal and ensure we have a safe election where everyone is counted.
J. Luis Correa (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-8-22

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Priscilla Arceo. prgtoken Santa Ana High School's valedictorian, Priscilla Arceo, made us proud when she appeared and earned the spot of student speaker at the national Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Student Class of 2020. prgtoken I also thank our Santa Ana High School principal, Jeff Bishop, for his support. And, of course, I thank the debate coach and teacher, Sal Tinajero, for bringing the debate program to Santa Ana High School. Mr. Tinajero continues to make champions out of these great kids at Santa Ana. prgtoken Madam , today, Priscilla is headed to the University of California for her college degree, and I extend congratulations to Priscilla.
DELIVERING FOR AMERICA ACT
Barbara Lee (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-8-22

we see across the country the dismantling of the Postal Service, which has been a lifeline in American life. prgtoken My constituents are terrified, and they are angry because they are not receiving their medications on time; delays are hurting our small businesses; and they are outraged that their constitutional right to vote could be taken away. prgtoken This is not only an attack on our democracy but also on our workforce heroes, who, in spite of the pandemic, deliver our mail. Forty percent of these heroes are people of color. My grandfather retired as a letter carrier after 35 years of service. prgtoken I urge an ``aye'' vote to support, rather than to destroy, our Postal Service.