mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2019-1-24

I thank my friend and partner from Maryland for all of his work in ending the shutdown. prgtoken I thank him, as well as our friend from Alaska, Senator Murkowski, for bringing us together in a bipartisan way to find a solution to end this shutdown as soon as possible. That is why I support the bipartisan amendment that will be filed this afternoon to open the government for 3 weeks. prgtoken I should stress that this is not my preferred solution. I would like to take up the bill that is at the desk that would open eight of the nine Federal Departments right away and give us time to deal with the Department of Homeland Security. Yet the proposal before us is our best option at this point in time for resolving this shutdown. prgtoken What will 3 weeks accomplish? It is a fair question. prgtoken First of all, it will allow Federal Government employees--all of them--to get back to work for the American people and help resume vital services. prgtoken No. 2, it will make sure that all of them get paid--those who are working without pay and those who have been locked out. That is important because all of us know that tomorrow marks the second full pay period of when they will get big fat zeros on their paychecks even as their bills keep coming through the door. prgtoken It will do something else that is very important. It will give the Senate and the House a little breathing room to work together on a bipartisan basis to address a number of priorities--priorities to make sure we provide adequate border security, which can include additional resources. We can spend some time addressing immigration issues, including those that were just mentioned by the Senator from South Carolina. prgtoken I believe this time and space is absolutely needed to allow us to work together in a bipartisan way. While 3 weeks may not sound like a lot of time, in part, it will help focus our attention on getting the job done, and we will all be held accountable in the House, in the Senate, and in the White House for getting our work done in that period. prgtoken I thank our colleagues for showing this good faith in trying to find a solution to doing it. Take 3 weeks. Open the government. Let's have those very important discussions. Let's do it in a sober and serious way. If we do so, I am confident that we can find a permanent result that will help us get out of this crisis. prgtoken . prgtoken .
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Ron Kind (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2019-1-24

. Madam , I was unable to have my votes recorded on the House floor from Tuesday, January 22 through the first vote series on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 due to flight cancellations from heavy snow in Wisconsin. Had I been present, I would have supported the passage of all bills and resolutions considered on the floor. In particular, I strongly supported the passage of H.R. 676, the NATO Support Act. NATO has been a critical organization in protecting the rules-based international world order that was created by the U.S. and its allies after WWII, and it deserves the full support of the U.S.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2019-1-24

. Madam , I rise following our 11th vote earlier today to reopen government and end the senseless chaos and the pain of this shutdown. prgtoken Why won't the s take yes for an answer? Why won't they provide relief for the hardworking Americans suffering in their own communities? prgtoken It is important to note, Madam , that on every occasion we have presented to the floor initiatives that had been passed by the s in the Senate, just their own bills, sending them back to them, and they have said no, or their bills acted upon by a bipartisan group in the House, our most recent contribution to send over to the Senate, and they have said no. prgtoken And today, in the simplest--the simplest--of resolutions, we said please vote ``yes'' for $12 billion for disaster assistance--we all know that we have to do that--and open up the government for 2 weeks in order to have a discussion of how best to protect our borders. And they said no. prgtoken Madam , $12 billion for disaster assistance and 2 weeks of opening up government to allow the debate to continue so that people can come to work and those who are working already, all of them, can be paid: prgtoken Americans like Brenda from Maine, whose family can no longer pay for heating fuel this winter, while temperatures remain below freezing; prgtoken Americans like Julie from rural Iowa, who says that farmers, already hit hard by tariffs, will feel the squeeze even more now; prgtoken Americans like Sarah from Colorado, whose new job at the VA is on hold, adding to wait times for veterans who need healthcare services; and. prgtoken Veterans, who comprise nearly a third of our Federal workforce, 31 percent. Our veterans' security clearances are at risk. You can lose your security clearance if you lose your credit rating, and you can lose your credit rating if you cannot pay your bills on time--your mortgage, your rent, your car payment, your credit card bills, and the rest. If your credit rating goes down, the vulnerability of your security clearance is increased. prgtoken So it is harmful to our veterans to be doing this, and it is important for everyone to know how they are affected because our veterans, who have donned the uniform of our country to protect us and then carry on their commitment to public service in the public sector as Federal employees--in some ways still continuing to protect us, in other ways meeting our needs in another way--all of them are affected by this shutdown. prgtoken Or like Lila from Georgia, who says: ``Food stamp recipients will go hungry. Many will lose subsidized housing. State and local services will be overwhelmed trying to make up for the losses.'' prgtoken One woman, Vivian, from Maine, asked: ``How is a wall more important than families?'' prgtoken This senseless shutdown throws the American people's safety and security into peril. prgtoken This week, FBI agents released a report warning of the dire effects of the s
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2019-1-24

today I rise to continue my series of speeches on Russian hybrid warfare. prgtoken I have done a series of speeches on the Russian hybrid warfare threat. It poses a great challenge to our national security. Russian hybrid warfare occurs below the level of direct military conflict, yet it is no less a threat to the national security and integrity of our democracy and society. prgtoken One tactic that Russia deploys as part of their hybrid warfare arsenal, and the one I would like to focus on today, is information warfare. prgtoken Russian information warfare includes the deployment of false or misleading narratives against the targeted civilian population or government, often through deceptive means, in order to intensify social tensions, undermine trust in government institutions, and sow fear and confusion, which advances their strategic objectives. prgtoken The Defense Intelligence Agency highlights in their Russia military power report in 2017: ``The weaponization of information is a key aspect of Russia's strategy . . . Moscow views information and psychological warfare as a measure to neutralize adversary actions in peace and to prevent escalation to crisis or war.'' prgtoken Russia developed its playbook over time, enhancing both the technical and psychological aspects of these information operations in capability, sophistication, and boldness. Lessons learned from previous information warfare campaigns culminated in the attacks the Kremlin unleashed against the United States during the 2016 Presidential election. prgtoken The 2016 information warfare campaign, according to our intelligence community, ``demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.'' prgtoken Let's be clear. Russian interference in the 2016 election was an attack on the Nation. It was just not a type of attack that has been commonly recognized as warfare. As former Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper stated recently, ``[I]t's hard to convey to people how massive an assault this was.'' prgtoken While Russian hybrid attacks were detected by our intelligence community and our National Security Agencies in a runup to the 2016 election, the seriousness of the threat was not absorbed across the government, including Congress. There are a variety of reasons for this, including political paralysis and a collective unwillingness to believe that these attacks could compromise our political and social institutions. prgtoken Two years on, we still have only scratched the surface in our understanding of about the nature of Russian information warfare attacks. Gaps in our knowledge include the extent to which these attacks have been perpetrated at Putin's direction, by Russian military intelligence units, known as the GRU, and through Kremlin-linked troll organizations. Yet we have no time to waste. Information warfare attacks continue against us, our
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Brian Schatz (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2019-1-24

it has been 34 days since the President fulfilled his promise to shut down the government, and the American people are not happy about it. prgtoken Poll after poll shows that people are not OK with the way the President of the United States is handling his job, and it is getting worse by the day, because to any reasonable person, this shutdown has been stupid and useless and cruel. prgtoken There are so many failures to talk about, but I want to talk about four specific failures that, if it were any other President, if it were any other time in modern history, would bring a President and a Congress to its senses and end the shutdown. prgtoken The first failure is this. Federal workers are in food lines. Federal workers are in food lines. People with jobs are now in food lines. Hundreds of thousands of people who work for the government are either furloughed or working without pay, and, tomorrow, these American public servants will miss their second paycheck. prgtoken There is a big difference between missing the first paycheck and the second paycheck. Some people can absorb missing the first paycheck, but this second paycheck is going to be really, really challenging for tens of thousands of American public servants because the rent is due, the mortgage is due, the car registration is due, the insurance is due, and the utilities are due at the beginning of the month. prgtoken This brings the amount of money that American public servants are owed by their government for work already performed to $4.7 billion. Remember that about a third of all Federal workers are veterans. prgtoken It may be hard for billionaires in the Cabinet to understand, but for the middle class, missing two paychecks in a row is a total disaster. prgtoken I have met people working in airport security who can't concentrate. They can't sleep because they can't stop worrying about how they are going to pay their bills. I have met government workers in the midst of applying for food stamps and asking local charities for help. I met a single mom who spent her career working hard to build a life for her family, and she told me that without these paychecks, it is all going backward. prgtoken As one Washington Post columnist put it, under the leadership, the United States is starting to look like the failed Soviet system, with middle-class workers literally waiting in bread lines. prgtoken I am grateful that for every story I have heard of someone suffering, there is also a story of people stepping up to help. In Hawaii, in particular, local utility companies, financial institutions, and others have decided that they will not penalize Federal workers hurt by the shutdown if they miss a payment. I want to thank our local banks for allowing unpaid Federal workers to make a late payment on their mortgage without a penalty, and I want to thank our credit unions for extending very cheap credit. I want to thank people who are organ
THE SHUTDOWN STRUGGLE
Nita M. Lowey (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-1-24

. Madam , Federal workers should not have to struggle to pay their bills just because my colleagues across the aisle and the President refuse to end the shutdown. They should not be in a position of having to apply for unemployment while continuing to work without pay, which is exactly what one of my constituents from Westchester County, New York, has been forced to do. prgtoken Others in my district, nonprofit employees, working reduced hours because of the shutdown, have been forced to rely on food donations to feed their families. prgtoken It is inexcusable that s have rejected 11 opportunities to end the shutdown, pay workers, and reopen government. I urge them to come to their senses and reopen government without further delay.
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019--MOTION TO PROCEED--Resumed
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-1-24

President has kept the government shut down for 34 days, and the pain inflicted on the American people and their government is getting deeper and deeper every day. prgtoken Our economy is suffering. First quarter GDP is in the tank. Consumer confidence has fallen. prgtoken Our national security is suffering. FBI agents attest that criminal and anti-terrorism investigations are severely constrained. Border patrol, TSA, and hundreds of thousands of homeland security personnel are working under limitations. These people are all part of our security. prgtoken President keeps saying that we need the wall for security. Most people disagree with that, but even if we did agree, it is not going to be built for years. Our security is suffering today because of the shutdown. It is so bad that five former DHS Secretaries wrote a letter to President , urging him to end the shutdown without the wall, including his former Chief of Staff John Kelly, a loyal soldier if ever there were one. Kelly knows and they all know that this shutting down of the government for the President's wall, which most Americans believe we should not build, is wrong. The President's former Chief of Staff is telling President that his position on the shutdown is wrong, that his position on the shutdown is a threat to national security--I would argue far more than not building a huge, ineffective wall. prgtoken Yesterday, a joint statement from the air traffic controllers, pilots, and flight attendants unions issued a dire warning: ``In our risk averse industry, we cannot even calculate the risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the system will break.'' prgtoken Mr President, if you cared about security, you would open the government now. You are the only one standing in the way. We know most of our colleagues want the government opened. They are, in a positive way, loyal to you and, in a negative way, afraid to buck you, but they all know it. Everyone knows it. prgtoken Of course, 800,000 Federal workers are on the cusp of missing their second paycheck--a month's share of pay. Some require the assistance of food banks to get by. That is so disheartening. Hard-working people who just want to help their families have a decent life have to go to a food bank. They did nothing wrong. President is using them as hostages. Here is how callous this administration is. When asked about that fact this morning, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a billionaire, said ``I know they are, and I don't really quite understand why.'' He argues that it is easy for furloughed workers to get a loan. prgtoken Those comments are appalling and reveal the administration's callous indifference toward the Federal workers he is treating as pawns. Secretary Ross's comments are the 21st century equivalent of ``Let them eat cake.'' prgtoken Many of these Federal employees live paycheck to paycheck.
REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT NOW
Darren Soto (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2019-1-24

. Madam , America is in crisis. What will it take for the President to reopen the government? Will it take families across America to not get their tax return? Will it take Federal employees going without a second paycheck or without healthcare? Will it take millions of families who are going hungry without SNAP, without food assistance? prgtoken Maybe it will take Customs and Border Patrol walking off the job or uninspected planes falling from the sky due to mechanical failure--or worse. prgtoken I have here a letter from Doug Lowe, one of my constituents, who is an aviation specialist, and he talks about how these planes aren't even being inspected right now. prgtoken Or, even worse, for all the President's bragging about the economy, we could be going into a recession in what would otherwise be a boom period. prgtoken So I ask again: President , what will it take? What disaster will it take for you to reopen this government now?
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019--MOTION TO PROCEED
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-1-24

I rise to strongly support the Senator from Alaska and the Senator from Louisiana and the Senator from Mississippi. prgtoken We should pay our Coast Guard. It is not right that we aren't paying the Coast Guard. Right now, every other military branch is being paid. The Army is being paid. The Navy is being paid. The Air Force is being paid. The Marines are being paid. Those in the Coast Guard are not being paid even as they are risking their lives. prgtoken Many of us in Texas and along the gulf coast saw the incredible heroism of the Coast Guard in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, during which so many brave men and women risked their lives to save thousands upon thousands of innocents. They should be paid. I think it is important for the American people to understand what just happened here because it is highly consequential. It is easy for things to get lost in procedural gobbledygook and to assume: Well, this is some back and forth about the shutdown and about the wall. It has nothing to do with any of that. prgtoken What Senator Kennedy did was to bring forward a bill to pay the Coast Guard. The bill did nothing else. It didn't address any aspect of the shutdown. It didn't address any aspect of the wall. It simply said: Let's pay the men and women in the Coast Guard--yes or no. That means you can be a yes on that, whether you think we need to secure the border and have a steel barrier or whether you support open borders. It doesn't say anything either way. It just says that the men and women in the Coast Guard deserve paychecks. prgtoken We could have passed that right here today. There is one reason and one reason only that we didn't. It is because the ic leader stood up and said: I object. prgtoken I note that if there are on the ic side of the aisle who are not comfortable with that, who agree that the Coast Guard should be paid, let me encourage my ic colleagues to say so because it is their party's leader who has lodged an objection on behalf of, effectively, every ic Senator. prgtoken The are fond of using the phrase ``hostage-taking.'' They are, quite literally, holding the men and women of the Coast Guard hostage because they want to win a political victory against the President. Their objective here is to have the President back down and to have not a single mile of border wall built--never mind that the ic leader and every in this Chamber voted in 2013 to build and fund 350 miles of border wall. That was 350 miles that every in this Chamber voted for. prgtoken We are in a shutdown today because they are now unwilling to fund 234 miles of border wall, which is less than they voted for in 2013. prgtoken We understand that politics rears its head in this business, and the want to defeat the President politically, and so the substance is secondary to trying to get the partisan victory over the Presiden
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Lisa Murkowski (Republican, AK) \u2014 2019-1-24

from Maryland and all Senators--on the side and the ic side--who came to the floor after these two votes to express this air of optimism that we can figure this out. prgtoken One of the things I have heard very clearly from both sides is enough already--enough already. That is what the American people are saying about this shutdown: Enough already--figure it out. prgtoken Well, we got the message. We know what the mission is, and I think what you have seen expressed here on the floor is the good will and the good faith that will be extended in these hours and days going forward, knowing that there is an urgency to get the government open and to address the legitimate priorities that the President has outlined. prgtoken . prgtoken .
STOP ROE V. WADE FUNDING
Doug LaMalfa (Republican, CA) \u2014 2019-1-24

this week marks the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, bringing us close to 50 years since unborn children have not had legal protection. prgtoken Since then, there have been an estimated 60.9 million abortions in America. In 2018, an unborn child was aborted every 34 seconds, on average. prgtoken These aren't new statistics, but they are still shocking and horrifying to those of us who believe that all life is sacred. prgtoken The country is split nearly in half when it comes to being pro-life or pro-choice, but a majority of Americans don't believe their tax dollars should be used to fund abortions. prgtoken The largest provider of abortions in the United States, Planned Parenthood, is taxpayer subsidized, despite reporting over $1.4 billion in revenue for 2016-2017. prgtoken It is big business. Planned Parenthood makes millions each year providing over one-third of the Nation's abortions. prgtoken It is unconscionable that millions of Americans are forced to contribute tax dollars to create profit for an industry they are fundamentally or morally opposed to. prgtoken If only they understood the whole truth on the abortion industry and how much it hurts women and the unborn.