mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Bill (Executive Session)
Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2018-3-8

10 years ago, millions of American families were on the verge of devastation. The failure of Bear Stearns in March of 2008 was the first major signal of a coming financial crisis that would cost 9 million people their jobs and millions more people their homes or their savings. Lives and plans and dreams would be crushed--and even after the economy began to recover its footing, millions of American families would have to spend years just to get back to where they started before 2008. A lot of those families have given up the dream of home ownership forever, and many are still struggling today. prgtoken But in the next few days, with broad support among s and far too much support among , the Senate is on the verge of passing a bill that puts American families in danger of that same devastation all over again. prgtoken Over the last few days, I have talked about what this bill will do. I have explained how it strips consumer protections for American families who are trying to buy a home, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color. I have talked about how this bill will peel away vital safeguards we put on large banks after the financial crisis to make sure they can't crash the economy all over again. prgtoken Now, as the bill is on the verge of passing the Senate, I want to stop and just ask a basic question: Why? Who exactly is asking us to do this? prgtoken Our constituents hate it. A recent poll showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose this bill. So why is it that the only thing Washington can agree to do on a bipartisan basis in this Congress is to help out giant banks? prgtoken I will tell you why. Washington's amnesia is legendary. We go through the same cycle like clockwork. When the economy is looking good, lobbyists flood Congress and tell politicians it is perfectly safe to roll back the rules on the big banks. It is always the same set of arguments: America needs more lending for more economic growth. Our country is losing ground to its competitors. Banks have learned their lesson and don't need rules to behave responsibly. And here is the kicker question: What could possibly go wrong? Every time, it works. prgtoken It works even though the lessons of history are clear. Strong financial rules help create a strong economy that works for everyone, and when we weaken the rules, it sets the stage for another financial crisis--a crisis that, every time, hits America's working families the hardest. prgtoken Let's go back to the beginning of the 20th century. A lot of our financial regulations in the United States come from the Great Depression. Before then, Washington ignored the booms and busts that rocked the country every few years. But after the unemployment rate topped 20 percent in the 1930s and the U.S. economy shrunk by about 30 percent, Washington--this Congress--finally got its act together to pass some laws. prgtoken Here is wha
Tribute to Mary Ann Kelley (Executive Session)
Christopher A. Coons (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2018-3-8

I rise in this historic Chamber to offer my thanks, my respect, and to pay homage to an incredibly valued member of my staff who is about to retire from the U.S. Senate after decades of dedicated service. prgtoken A New Englander by birth and a Delawarian by choice, Mary Ann Kelley has served as my deputy scheduler now for 7 years and is due to retire tomorrow, March 9. prgtoken Mary Ann Kelley--or MAK, as she is affectionately called in my office--started a career with the U.S. Senate way back in December 1990 as a staff assistant for then-Senator , Jr. Except for a break in service, Mary Ann served on Senator 's team until he resigned to become Vice President in 2009. She stayed on through the tenure of Senator Ted Kaufman and joined my scheduling team late in 2010. prgtoken In her having served now three U.S. Senators, Mary Ann brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to my front office and scheduling team. She helps to maintain my schedule, helps to organize and evaluate and to track hundreds of invitations and scheduling requests to coworkers and constituents. Mary Ann's professionalism and business acumen are unwavering and valued. She always maintains her composure despite the stress and sometimes craziness this unique position offers. My team in Delaware appreciates her ready wit, balanced judgment, and calming presence. prgtoken Krista Brady, my talented casework manager, said: MAK adds that something extra Irish to the office. Every morning, she comes in wearing her snazziest outfit, drinking her cappuccino from Starbucks, and ready to tell a funny story. prgtoken Krista reminded me about Mary Ann's love for cats, her famous Halloween mask, her curry chicken, and, prgtoken of course, her wicked New England spirit. prgtoken Mary Ann's story is rooted deeper than in just her years of Senate service. MAK's authenticity, personality, and devotion to friends and family make her a staff favorite and valued member of my team. To properly honor Mary Ann, let me share some details about her background and her persona. prgtoken A graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School and Framingham State University, Mary Ann was born and lived in Massachusetts until she moved to Delaware in 1979. Ask MAK about her hometown, and she will quickly chime in with ``Brockton, MA--home of Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler!'' Thanks to Rocky and Marvin, world heavyweight and middleweight boxing champions, Brockton is recognized as the City of Champions. prgtoken If Rocky and Marvin are Brockton's boxing champions, Mary Ann is the city's undisputed world champion in cooking, whether it be baking, roasting, or toasting. Like Rocky and Marvin, Mary Ann has a passion and talent for her own chosen sport, one that she has practiced and refined over many years. Marvin Hagler explained what makes a winner, and what Mary Ann did to become a well-seasoned top chef is the same
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Bill (Executive Session)
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-3-8

I rise to explain my opposition to the bill that is before the Senate, the banking deregulation bill, S. 2155. prgtoken First, I would like to say I am appalled this is how the Senate is spending its time this week. Three weeks ago, 17 students and teachers were murdered when a teenager, armed with an AR-15 decorated with swastikas, opened fire at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, but this week we are not banning the sale of high-capacity magazines that enable mass shooters to fire 30, 40, or even 100 rounds without stopping to reload; we are not closing the gun show loophole or stopping violent people from buying assault weapons online with the click of a mouse; we are not taking steps to report more cases of severe mental illness to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; we are not even passing President 's proposal to raise the age one can buy an assault weapon to 21 years. Simply put, this week we are not doing anything to stop the next mass shooting from taking place. prgtoken So what are we doing this week? prgtoken Well, this week the majority has brought to the floor legislation rolling back safeguards we passed after the financial crisis of 2008--not exactly something the American people have been clamoring for. prgtoken I want to be clear why I oppose this bill as written. It is not that I don't support measures that provide meaningful relief to small banks, credit unions, and consumers. I do. It is not that I don't believe in reexamining regulations and ways to reduce compliance costs. I do. It is not that I don't agree with efforts to better calibrate the rules of the road for small banks and credit unions while strengthening protections for consumers investors and taxpayers. I do. Indeed, I would support a bill like that, but that is not the bill we have before us today. prgtoken The bill before us today brings back risky mortgage lending practices that increase the likelihood of foreclosures. It undermines our efforts to police discriminatory lending practices, and it would allow 25 of America's 38 biggest banks to escape the safeguards we adopted after the 2008 financial crisis--a crisis that destroyed more than $12 trillion worth of American wealth, required huge bank bailouts, sent our economy into a tailspin, and saddled us with the great recession. prgtoken Ten years later, it is worth remembering what caused that crisis-- mortgages designed like ticking timebombs for home buyers and for our economy at large, large financial institutions making risky bets on those risky mortgages, and regulators who turned a blind eye to these risks. Borrowers were steered into loans with low interest rates, often below 4 percent at the start, but once the promotional period ended, these teaser rates disappeared, higher interest rates kicked in, and millions of borrowers suddenly saw their mortgage payments go through the roof--even doubling, in many cas
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Bill (Executive Session)
Edward J. Markey (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2018-3-8

anyone tuning into the Senate floor this week is probably very confused right now, and that is because we are not debating how to address the scourge of gun violence plaguing this country, just 22 days after the horrific Parkland mass shooting and following a near-universal call from the American people for Congress to get serious about guns. They are debating it in the State legislature in Florida, but we just don't have time in the U.S. Senate to debate this overarching issue of gun safety in our country. prgtoken The American people may be confused because we are not debating the fate of the 800,000 Dreamers and the uncertainty they still face; confused because we are not debating our crumbling infrastructure which, despite repeated calls from this President, we have seen nothing resembling a credible plan from him to fix our Nation's bridges, roads, and water systems and provide broadband for rural Americans. prgtoken do have a real plan, and we should be debating that. But no. Instead, just 3 months after the passage of massive tax giveaways that handed over more than $1 trillion to the wealthiest Americans and megacorporations, we are here debating a giveaway to the world's biggest banks. prgtoken We have moved on from tax handouts to the wealthy, to taxpayer-funded bailouts for Wall Street megabanks. That is not my opinion. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released their analysis of this bailout bill and noted that the risk of a financial crisis would go up under this legislation. prgtoken Why in the world is Congress doing anything that increases the risk of a financial crisis? It has only been 10 years since the great recession, but s seem to have forgotten about that. Maybe that is why this week is so confusing--because the backers of this bill are not talking about the risk to the entire financial system they are enabling. They have forgotten that and are only talking about the benefits to community banks. prgtoken Yes, there are some benefits. Those of us on the other side of this legislation are not arguing about that point. You could probably find consensus among all 100 Senators in this body that there is a legitimate, targeted relief we can and should provide for those community banks, but that is far from all this bill does. This community bank relief is being used to protect the giveaways for some of the biggest banks in this country. prgtoken Anyone listening to the supporters of this legislation would have no idea that 25 of the 38 largest banks in the United States will have critical Dodd-Frank rules rolled back for them. Anyone listening would have no idea that banks with up to $250 billion in assets are being told the current rules are too tough for them. These banks received $48 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money. Those banks are not community banks. prgtoken Now, a decade after the financial collapse of 2008, we are saying it is proba
GUN VIOLENCE
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-3-8

last week, I met in my office with four students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as well as one recent graduate. They are among the many students and graduates from Parkland, FL, who have been speaking out across the country, asking for commonsense gun safety reforms. They are having a real impact. They are changing the debate over guns in America. prgtoken Last week several of the Nation's largest gun retailers, including Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart announced that they had listened to the Parkland students, and heard them. Dick's Sporting Goods announced it will no longer sell assault rifles or high capacity magazines at any of its stores. Their CEO also announced that the company would stop selling firearms to anyone under age 21. Walmart which had already stopped selling assault rifles, made the same decision to stop selling guns to people under 21, as did Kroger and L.L. Bean. prgtoken Making 21 the minimum age for buying any firearm is an idea that makes sense. It is already the law that a person must be 21 to buy a handgun. Why should the law be different for an assault rifle? In fact, President initially came out in support of the idea of making 21 the age limit for all gun purchases, but then the NRA's lobbyists went to work on the President with a private lunch and an Oval Office visit. prgtoken We will see who the President and s ultimately end up listening to on commonsense proposals like these: the Parkland students or the gun sales lobby. prgtoken It is incredible to see students and businesses across the country taking a leadership role, in addressing gun violence. They have decided it is time to act, and they are acting. We have seen the Stoneman Douglas students convince companies to make meaningful changes when it comes to gun sales practices, and they have convinced many more companies to end their relationships with the NRA. That is a major development. prgtoken Unfortunately, the gun sales lobby has not been a constructive voice in this debate over the epidemic of gun violence. Their rhetoric has been increasingly paranoid and hysterical. It is clear that their priority is to preserve their ability to make gun sales. That is the gun lobby's agenda, but it doesn't need to be our agenda. prgtoken I want to commend the students and businesses that are showing such leadership in working to make our communities safer. Now the question is, Will the s who control Congress show any leadership as well? prgtoken If we let the gun sales lobby control this debate, we will never take the steps we need to keep our schools and neighborhoods safe from gun violence. Remember, the NRA doesn't like any proposal that might hurt gun sales. They don't want to close loopholes in our laws, instead, they would rather roll back gun laws already on the books. That is not the agenda America needs. prgtoken I stand with the 97 percent of Americans who support uni
DUI REPORTING ACT
Steve Cohen (Democrat, TN) \u2014 2018-3-8

I rise today in support of the DUI Reporting Act, a bill I introduced today with my colleague Steve Chabot prgtoken along with the support of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and a bipartisan coalition of Representatives from across the United States. prgtoken If enacted, it would address the loophole in our nation's drunken- driving laws that enables repeat DUI offenders to be charged and tried; as first-time offenders because of inconsistent reporting. prgtoken Currently, when police make a drunk driving arrest, they don't always have access to information about all of the driver's previous arrests for driving under the influence. prgtoken The reason is because not all police report DUI arrests to either the National Crime Information Center, or ``NCIC'' for short, or the Next Generation Identification database, or ``NGI,'' which are the national crime databases that can be made instantly available to police right from their patrol cars. prgtoken The consequences of this lack of reporting can prove tragic. Just a few years ago there was a terrible accident in northern Mississippi, just outside of my Congressional District. Two teenagers from Memphis were killed when the car they were driving was struck by a drunk driver who had accrued seven DUI charges since 2008 and had been allowed to plead guilty five times to a first-offense DUI. prgtoken When the law enforcement officer ran the suspect's driving record in the national database, his past DUI convictions never showed up. prgtoken This is shameful. A DUI somewhere should be recognized as a DUI anywhere. It should not matter where you were caught driving drunk. If you drive drunk, previous offenses should be recorded and penalties should increase so innocent lives can be saved. prgtoken The accrual of multiple first-time DUI offenses is unconscionable and must be brought to an end. prgtoken Our bill will save lives by enacting common-sense, bipartisan reforms to harmonize reporting standards for DUI offenses across the states. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to help pass it quickly.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-3-8

on March 5 and March 6, 2018, I was unavoidably detained attending to representation duties, and I would like to indicate how I would have voted had I been present. prgtoken On rollcall vote No. 92, I would have voted ``aye.'' prgtoken On rollcall vote No. 93, I would have voted ``aye.'' prgtoken On rollcall vote No. 94, I would have voted ``aye.'' prgtoken On rollcall vote No. 95, H.R. 4607, the Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act, I would have voted ``no.''
AMERICAN DOLLARS FOR AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE
Brendan F. Boyle (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2018-3-8

I just introduced legislation that would require all federally funded transportation and infrastructure projects to use materials made right here in America. prgtoken The Buy America 2.0 Act would bolster American manufacturing and create quality, family-sustaining jobs right here in our country. have been long fighting for these policies, but this effort should be bipartisan. prgtoken American infrastructure projects should start supporting American workers. This is a wonderful opportunity to create millions of jobs right here at home while investing in critical infrastructure needs that have been long neglected. prgtoken , I encourage all Members of this House, both and s, to cosponsor my Buy America 2.0 Act. Let's put the American people back to work.
SATISFYING ENERGY NEEDS AND SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT ACT
Daniel T. Kildee (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2018-3-8

this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. prgtoken , this bill is the latest attempt by s to undermine the Clean Air Act and give breaks to special interests, this time to power plants that burn waste coal. prgtoken The bill undermines the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the MATS rule, one of most important protections for public health from toxic air pollutants from waste coal-burning power plants. prgtoken Simply put, the bill would mean more pollutants being put into our air and our water by waste coal power plants. prgtoken And on that point, there is really no disagreement. That is the point of the legislation, to allow more pollutants to be put into the air. prgtoken But not only would this bill give waste coal power plants permission to pump more pollution into our air, it also prohibits higher standards from being enacted, even if future technologies are invented to help control toxic pollution emissions better. prgtoken My motion would protect public health and prevent more pollutants, toxic substances like mercury, sulfur dioxide, and other hazardous particles, from being released into the air and into the water. prgtoken These harmful substances impact brain development. They cause cancer. They harm respiratory systems. They pollute our lakes, our streams, our rivers, where people get their drinking water. prgtoken As this body has heard me discuss many times, I know firsthand what happens when we fail to protect our environment and when we fail to protect our water supplies. prgtoken We know what happened in my hometown of Flint, a city of 100,000 people, including thousands of children, poisoned by lead in their drinking water because of callous decisions by government that put the balance sheet approach, the dollars and cents that would accrue in this case to an operator, ahead of the interests of health. prgtoken For 4 years, the people I represent have not had access to safe drinking water because of decisions that were made by government that allowed the water to be contaminated with high levels of lead, a dangerous neurotoxin with irreversible and damaging effects on children. prgtoken America is the wealthiest, most prosperous country in the world. It is a shame that the people of my hometown can't turn on their taps and trust the water coming out. prgtoken What happened in Flint is the result of policymakers, again, putting the balance sheet ahead of the interests of people. We can't measure every question on the ledger of a corporation. We have to think about the health of our people. prgtoken Just looking at those short-term effects can lead to really bad choices. What happened in Flint is absolutely tragic. We ought to take that lesson and make sure that we do everything we can to prevent the consequences of ignoring environmental protections, the cons