mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 118TH CONGRESS
Andrew S. Clyde (Republican, GA) \u2014 2023-1-9

I thank the gentleman for yielding. prgtoken Last week I was part of the 20 conservative Members who fought for a significant institutional change in order to restore the people's voice in the people's House. prgtoken Of the many victories we secured for the American people, the Thomas Jefferson motion to vacate the Chair is the most important to me, as it holds the accountable to the people. prgtoken This Jeffersonian motion stood strong for more than 200 years before then- Pelosi removed it in 2018, consolidating power in the hands of a select few in leadership. prgtoken By restoring this historic rule, every solitary Member has the authority to hold the accountable for following all of the rules, including passing single-subject bills, allowing Members at least 72 hours to read the legislation before voting on it, and reinstating the Holman rule which allows amendments to decrease funding for certain government programs all the way down to the individual job description. prgtoken , I thank my colleagues and McCarthy for working in good faith to produce and pass a rules package that ensures this body is working for the people and not for itself. I encourage every Member to vote for it. Fixing a broken Washington, D.C is a major win for every citizen.
FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
Nicole Malliotakis (Republican, NY) \u2014 2023-1-9

at a time when we should be tightening our belts, plan to spend $80 billion on 87,000 IRS agents, doubling the size of the department. prgtoken This is meant to nickel-and-dime, audit, and harass America's small businesses and families, who they know cannot afford the legal fees to fight this army. prgtoken , 87,000 IRS agents but we only have 20,000 Border Patrol agents and an unprecedented crisis with terrorists, convicted criminals, and illegal immigrants crossing, in addition to fentanyl. We only have 5,000 drug enforcement agents to stop traffickers who are peddling this poison to our kids, the number one killer of young Americans. prgtoken , 87,000 IRS agents is more than twice the size of the FBI and more than the entire staff of the Department of Justice. prgtoken We know that our colleagues on the other side love taxes, spending, Big Government, and bureaucracy, but the American people don't. That is why we should be voting ``yes'' on this legislation today.
ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 118TH CONGRESS
Steve Scalise (Republican, LA) \u2014 2023-1-9

again, thank my friend from Oklahoma for yielding. prgtoken , we are here to discuss the rules of the House, actually to debate the rules package. Why this is so important is because this lays out the ability for the House to conduct business, for the House to not only conduct business, but for the House to address the problems that the American people across this country face. prgtoken Let's just be very clear up front. We saw a lot of debate about this last week. At the heart of all of the discussions last week was very clear, surely from our side, that Washington is broken. Not just is Washington broken, but the way that this House has been running for the last few years has not been designed to address the problems of the people across this country. prgtoken In fact, we have seen many of the problems that families are facing across America created by the things that have come out of this Congress signed by President . Why is inflation running away? Because spending is out of control, because bills appear by dark of night, bills that nobody has read that are thousands of pages long, where Members aren't even allowed to give input in committee or on the floor to address problems they know their constituents will face if these bills pass. Yet, the bills are passed because they are written in rooms behind closed doors by a small number of people, not concerned about the consequences that will affect so many millions of people across this Nation. prgtoken , for a long time, we have been saying this needs to change. In fact, we ran on an agenda to change the way that Washington works, to fix this broken system, to get our country back on track, and we were awarded the majority by the people across this country. Today starts that process of fixing what is broken in Washington so that Washington can finally start working for the people of this country who are struggling. prgtoken Let's start with one basic thing: reopening the people's House. For years, the American people were shut out of coming and seeing their government work. In fact, with proxy voting, which, by the way, ends in this rules package, Members of Congress have to show up and work again. prgtoken Just look at the bill that passed a few weeks ago, the omnibus spending bill, $1.7 trillion, mostly borrowed from countries like China. You look at all the things that had absolutely nothing to do with the general operations of government that were thrown in that. prgtoken Now, you can start looking at it today, but you surely couldn't look it the day of the vote because very few people had an opportunity to read it, over 4,000 pages dumped by dark of night, right before the vote. Yes, a majority of this Congress voted by proxy on that bill. They weren't even here showing up to vote. prgtoken You know what? Americans all across the country have to show up to vote. They have to go to their worksite. They can't work remotely. In fact, Congress doesn
ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 118TH CONGRESS
Michelle Fischbach (Republican, MN) \u2014 2023-1-9

I thank the chairman of the Rules Committee and my friend from Oklahoma for yielding me the time and for the experiences we have had on Rules in the last year. prgtoken , for far too long have run roughshod over the norms and practices of the people's House, weaponizing our rules to insulate themselves and protect their allies in the administration from proper oversight. That ends today. prgtoken I thank the chairman, McCarthy, and our leadership for spending countless hours putting together this package that better reflects the historical practices of this institution while receiving feedback to ensure prgtoken the work we do is by the people and for the people. There are numerous items that I truly believe are vast improvements from the previous 2 years, but I will focus on three. prgtoken First and foremost, this package finally ends the ludicrous pandemic procedures that have done lasting, if not permanent, damage to this institution. Legislating requires us to see each other eye-to-eye in order to understand where the other is coming from. Remote proceedings and a locked-down Capitol have reduced this institution to a computer screen, and the work product has deteriorated as a result. It is long past time for us to get back to work. prgtoken Second, the rules package finally creates a more transparent process by which we legislate. As then-Chairman McGovern once said, ``a lousy process leads to bad legislating.'' Today, through a mandatory 72-hour rule, we allow more thoughtful and deliberate consideration that will improve what we pass out of this House. prgtoken Finally, this rules package helps restore some fiscal sanity. Over the past 2 years, the American people have been hindered by out-of- control spending by the government and now our constituents are saddled with trillions in debt and the highest inflation levels in a generation. prgtoken House s today will once again ensure the Federal budget operates like any other, requiring offsets for any additional spending increase, eliminating budget gimmicks, and requiring inflationary analyses of the bills we consider. prgtoken , I am proud to stand by my friend and colleague from Oklahoma in support of this package, and I urge Members to do the same.
FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
Ben Cline (Republican, VA) \u2014 2023-1-9

it is a bright, new day. Today, we begin to deliver real results for the American people by passing legislation to block the administration from unleashing 87,000 new bureaucrats and agents at the IRS on families and small businesses. prgtoken Last Congress, voted to supercharge the IRS with $80 billion of taxpayer money focused on IRS enforcement and hiring more auditors to squeeze taxpayers. prgtoken It is not just wealthy Americans. With that expanded audit capacity, the IRS can squeeze more money out of middle- and lower-income families and small businesses, as well. prgtoken The ' American Rescue Plan called for the IRS to require payment apps like Venmo and PayPal to report Americans who made over $600 in transactions. prgtoken Imagine what 87,000 new agents will do. prgtoken s want an IRS that works for taxpayers, not targets them. That is why this bill leaves in place the IRS funding for improvements to customer service and technology. prgtoken Because Americans demand and deserve a government that is accountable, not to the powerful but to the people, repealing funding for 's army of auditors is a great first step in the right direction.
FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
Victoria Spartz (Republican, IN) \u2014 2023-1-9

I will clarify what exactly this bill is doing. Last year, Congress gave an additional $80 billion to the IRS on top of $12 billion of existing funding, which increased the IRS' budget by almost eight times. prgtoken This bill still keeps almost $10 billion in additional funding to modernize IRS, which is still almost doubling their $12 billion budget but eliminates over $70 billion of wasteful and egregious aggression against the American taxpayer by the Federal Government. prgtoken As someone who spent over a decade in public accounting and also started my own businesses, I never felt that we didn't have enough government. On the contrary. prgtoken I hear the same message when I go all across my district--small businesses and entrepreneurs have a hard time surviving. prgtoken I hope my colleagues will also support this commonsense adjustment to relieve the undue burden on American families.
FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
Glenn Grothman (Republican, WI) \u2014 2023-1-9

I have a very high opinion of the gentleman from Massachusetts, but what scares me in this bill are the numbers. prgtoken Right now, the IRS has about 78,000 employees, of which about 10,000 are what they describe as agents. It is not surprising that is less than you had in 1954 because, in 1954, nothing was computerized. Now, the 1099s, the W-2s, they come in and automatically the computers show whether they are on your return or not. If they are not on the return, you get a letter from the IRS saying you owe X amount of money. prgtoken Now, we are going, in one bill, from 78,000 employees, adding an additional 83,000. We have no idea how many of those are going to be agents poking around, looking at people, but you have to figure it is going to be an increase of five or six times what they already have. prgtoken Wisconsin and Massachusetts are States about the same size. You are talking about adding 1,600 employees--assuming it is the same per capita, about 1,600 new employees to Massachusetts and Wisconsin. prgtoken What are they going to do with 1,600 new employees? I mean, I can't imagine. If you deal with the IRS, the way they deal with it, they do things like: ``Well, you owe $20,000.'' You have to find a lawyer to fight that.
FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
Carol D. Miller (Republican, WV) \u2014 2023-1-9

I rise in support of the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act. prgtoken The last 2 years under rule have resulted in terrible policies and more unnecessary taxes for the American people. Americans have been feeling the weight of destructive policies since their first day in power, and now it is time for our majority to fix this mess. prgtoken The pressure on American taxpayers has continued to increase since the passage of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act when they gave $80 billion of new funding for the IRS to hire the 87,000 new agents to needlessly audit families and small businesses that are forced to fund the out-of-control spending and misguided Green New Deal priorities. prgtoken How do more audits and scrutiny from the IRS benefit hardworking Americans? Liberals in Congress chose to target American taxpayers by supercharging the IRS, which solely focuses on auditing the hardworking Americans who already pay more than their fair share. This is unacceptable and must be reversed. prgtoken Through the Inflation Reduction Act, used the tools of the IRS as a means to increase reckless spending.
ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 118TH CONGRESS
Ralph Norman (Republican, SC) \u2014 2023-1-9

it is a new day in Congress. prgtoken Mr. McGovern, you mentioned the 72-hour rule was put in by you and the . Why didn't you enforce it? You didn't. We were forced to vote on bills like the omnibus that was 4,155 pages long. prgtoken The American people are tired of it. Last week was a great week. You saw democracy at its best. prgtoken Guess what? We were off 24 weeks during the last session. We can take however many days it is to debate something that the American people should see. prgtoken The great part about this rules package is it restores financial sanity. That is why I am proud to support, along with McCarthy, this new rules package that implements fiscal and budgetary restraints on Congress. Provisions included are huge wins for the American people for everybody to see. prgtoken We were given the assurance that this package will do the job, and we could not continue the downward trajectory that your party has put the American people on over the last 2 years and last 4 years. prgtoken Now is the time that we deal with what is the growing insanity. I am just thankful that we are here.
FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
Daniel Meuser (Republican, PA) \u2014 2023-1-9

I thank my friend from Nebraska for yielding. prgtoken The idea, , of hiring 87,000 new IRS agents to close the tax gap is misguided. I served as revenue secretary for the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We did, in fact, close a tax gap through what proved to be very effective measures. These measures included improving IT systems and processes, which truly determined tax evasion from tax avoidance. prgtoken Largely taking the easy approach of hiring 87,000 new agents, doubling the size of the IRS--I don't know who thinks that is a good idea--does not improve the quality of information used to accomplish the goal of collecting all tax revenues that are due. It will only increase the number of audits, most often on innocent small businesses and individuals. prgtoken As well, the CBO projection of $186 billion of increased revenue was established before the administration said that only those above $400,000 in income would be audited. Currently, nearly 90 percent of the audits are conducted on small businesses and those making less than $400,000. prgtoken How can you make a projection when your targeted audience is reduced by 90 percent? prgtoken This is an absolutely flawed plan that will do nothing but increase the size of government, increase audits on law-abiding businesses, and fail to achieve its intended results. It is Big Government at its worse. prgtoken According to the CBO, the hiring of these new IRS agents will also cause audit rates to rise on all taxpayers. A bipartisan analysis found that this increase in funding would result in 1.2 million more audits; 700,000 of them will target taxpayers making $75,000 or less. These new IRS agents will not be targeting wealthy tax cheats as they claim. They will be targeting everyday Americans.
THE END OF MANDATES
Thomas Massie (Republican, KY) \u2014 2023-1-9

last month we ended the vaccine mandate for the military, but there are still many unscientific, illogical, and unconstitutional mandates for vaccines in this country. prgtoken If you watched C-SPAN last week, you saw 434 of us in here screaming, yelling, cheering, speaking--many of us unvaccinated. Most of us probably not boosted. prgtoken Why do we have a double standard? prgtoken Why do we make visitors of this country get vaccinated just to visit their friends and family? prgtoken Why are we separating families over this? prgtoken We need to end that mandate. We need to end the healthcare mandate. We need to end all of the mandates, and we need to do this now.
FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
David Kustoff (Republican, TN) \u2014 2023-1-9

I rise today in support of the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act. prgtoken This new majority is focused on protecting taxpayers and small businesses from overreach and abuse. Blocking the administration from unleashing 87,000 new IRS agents on taxpayers is a crucial first step toward fulfilling our commitment to America. prgtoken This legislation will prohibit the IRS from using new funds to target lower- and middle-class families and small businesses with more burdensome and intrusive audits. prgtoken As households grapple with a struggling economy, the last thing they need is more harassment from a supercharged IRS. prgtoken s are unified in our effort to bring economic relief to Americans, not more government overreach and hardship. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and stop the administration's weaponizing of the IRS.
FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT
Pat Fallon (Republican, TX) \u2014 2023-1-9

I rise to speak in favor of H.R. 23, which would defund the $80 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act or, as I call it, the inflation enhancement act, and thereby defund the hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents, which would, in effect, double the agency. prgtoken Nary a one, not one, of my constituents has asked to hire 87,000 new IRS agents, but, in fact, countless have asked if we can hire 87,000 new Border Patrol agents because there is a crisis and a catastrophe on our southern border. prgtoken The last thing we want is to double an agency that is already bloated and have them with these 87,000 new agents or, in military parlance, five new divisions to harass, stalk, and otherwise terrorize law- abiding American citizens. prgtoken Who is this going to really kick in the teeth? It is not going to be the wealthy or the poor. It is going to be the small business owners and the middle-class, hardworking Americans. prgtoken Do you want to start a new Congress and do it well? This is a great bill, and I urge the passing of H.R. 23, the Small Business and Taxpayer Protection Act.
HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF CAPTAIN THOMAS EDWARDS DAVIS
Gus M. Bilirakis (Republican, FL) \u2014 2023-1-10

I rise today to celebrate and remember the life of service of Captain Thomas Edwards Davis. Born in Arkansas, he attended Mississippi College, Tulane University, and Southwestern at Memphis, and entered the United States Navy in July of 1945. prgtoken As an Aviation Midshipman, Captain Davis underwent flight training at the Naval Air Station, Ottawa, Iowa; Corpus Christi, Texas; Pensacola and Jacksonville, Florida; and was designated a Naval Aviator in June 1949. He served in Fighter Squadron 173 from August 1948 until released to inactive duty in January 1950. prgtoken He was recalled to active duty in June 1950 with Reserve Fighter Squadron 791 and deployed to Korea on the USS Boxer. He later served with the Fleet Gunner Unit at El Centro, California as a gunnery instructor from January 1953 to August 1954. He was also a gunnery instructor at the Naval Air Station Barin Field, Alabama, from August 1954 to March 1956. prgtoken Captain Davis attended the Air Launched Missile School at the Naval Air Technical Training Center, Jacksonville, FL, after which he served with Fighter Squadron 101 at the Naval Air Station Cecil Field and Key West, FL, until June 1960. prgtoken He was a student at the United State Naval Postgraduate School from August 1960 to August 1962. In September 1962, he was transferred to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operation. From September 1964 to August 1965, he was attached to the Staff of Commander Naval Air Force, United States Atlantic Fleet, as Armament Officer, after which he served as Executive Officer and later Commanding Officer of Training Squadron 9 at the Naval Air Station, Meridian, Mississippi until January 1967. prgtoken He served as the Carrier Air Traffic Control and Strike Operations Officer while on the USS Intrepid deployed in the Tonkin Gulf. prgtoken Leaving the Intrepid in August 1968 to become a student at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Earning his Master of Science degree in International Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. prgtoken He returned to the Staff of Commander Naval Air Force, United State Atlantic Fleet in July 1969. Captain Davis reported to CF-1 in June 1972 as Commanding Officer and served there until transferred to Naval Air Maintenance Training Group, NAS Memphis, in August 1975. prgtoken Captain Davis was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, four awards of the Air Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, the Vietnam Navy Distinguished Service Order and the Navy Commendation Medal. He has also earned the Korean Service Medal, the China Service Medal, the United Nations Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal. prgtoken Our Nation is forever in the debt of Captain Davis and his family for his many years of service to our country. He leaves behind a legacy of service to others that
TAX RELIEF FOR DISASTER VICTIMS
Doug LaMalfa (Republican, CA) \u2014 2023-1-10

victims of disaster don't need to be hassled by government, especially by new taxes. prgtoken The 2018 Camp fire in California was the deadliest and most destructive in our State's history. The Fire Victim Trust was set up to compensate these people for their loss and help them rebuild their homes and their lives. However, these fire victims had to deal with the possibility that some of their settlement money and money for attorney's fees that they would pay would be taxed as income by the IRS. prgtoken To prevent the further victimization of these folks who lost so much already, Representative Thompson and I have introduced a bill to exempt payments from the Fire Victim Trust from being taxed by the IRS. prgtoken The bill received bipartisan support in the House and Senate, but was not included in the end-of-session vehicle last year, unfortunately. So, getting this bill passed and signed into law is very important and right. prgtoken The survivors need this money to help get their lives going again. They don't need the government as a partner in the middle taking their cut. It is essential we act quickly so that they can get back to their lives and get the dollars moving toward rebuilding their homes and whatever it is they need from having suffered this already.