mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CELEBRATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR LADY OF PEACE HOSPICE & HOME HEALTH CARE
Betty McCollum (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2021-12-30

. Madam , I rise today in recognition of the staff, volunteers, patients, and families of Our Lady of Peace Home on its 80th anniversary of service to the Saint Paul community. A non- profit community hospice and home health care organization offering care at no cost to those in need, Our Lady of Peace has been a beacon of light caring for more than 25,000 people at the end-of-life and their families over the past eight decades. prgtoken The Our Lady of Peace legacy in Saint Paul began in 1941 when nine nuns from the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne traveled to Minnesota from New York to open the Our Lady of Good Counsel Home. This was the sixth home established by the nuns, and their focus then was on serving terminally ill cancer patients without means to pay or care for themselves. This service was started by Rose prgtoken Hawthorne Lathrop who nursed cancer patients in New York City in the late 1800s before founding the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. The hospice home in Saint Paul was the furthest west out of all six homes and took shape during a globally perilous time in history as World War II was waging in Europe. Nevertheless, the grand opening for Our Lady of Good Counsel's home in Saint Paul was set, and they opened their doors on December 7, 1941--a day that would live in infamy for the attack on Pearl Harbor that would launch the United States into the war. prgtoken From that day onward, the sisters and other volunteers at the home have provided compassionate care for terminally ill patients while bringing comfort and support to their loved ones. Though the modern practice of hospice care was not introduced until the late 1960's, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne had been quietly providing hospice care for decades. Throughout those first few decades of service, Our Lady of Good Counsel depended entirely on donations of goods, money, time, and service, and they never accepted payment from patients, families, insurance companies or the government. Today they still rely heavily on volunteers and donations to cover any costs not covered by Medicare payments in order to ensure a free service to patients and families. In 1980 they were able to replace the old Tri-State Telephone Company building in which they were founded with a brand-new building. The new building included a chapel, central courtyard with gardens and a fountain, and two floors for patient rooms; expanding their capacity to the twenty-one beds that remain today. prgtoken The turn of the century marked a period of expansion and transition for the organization. In the early 2000's they introduced an official hospice program which allowed them to provide end-of-life care outside of their residential facility and serve people in their homes throughout the entire 7-county metro area in Minnesota. They also established the Home Health Care program which provides in-home help with daily living, post-operative care and other therapies. They ar
HONORING THE LIFE OF MONICA CRIADO-CUEVAS
Jim Costa (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-12-30

. Madam , I rise today to honor the life of Monica Criado-Cuevas. Monica passed away on December 13, 2021. She was an inspiring woman, mother, mentor, wife, and cultural figure. Monica was born on February 5, 1967 in Fresno, California, where she was raised. Monica was brought up from humble beginnings. Her parents worked as seasonal farmworkers, and she herself took on the same responsibility to support her family. This was no small feat for Monica. While working to become the first individual to ever graduate in her family, she worked long hours picking oranges, peaches, and grapes. Monica persevered and went on to earn her bachelor's degree at Fresno State and her master's degree from National University. Monica worked for State Center Community College District for 23 years and became the Dean of Student Services and Counseling at Fresno City College, where she will be remembered for her care, kindness and commitment to the students and faculty. Monica was a beacon of light for many students that came from similar circumstances as herself. Her ability to recognize and understand the challenges that presented themselves in those students' lives allowed her to help them overcome their obstacles more effectively. She was adored by her students. In 2019, Monica was inducted into the Muro de Honor (Wall of Honor) for accomplished district alumni. Monica's excellence extended far beyond her profession. She was a prominent cultural figure in the Latino community. Monica served as president of the Latino Educational Issues Roundtable and was secretary of the Hispanic Serving Institution Consortium of the San Joaquin Valley. Her heritage was captured vividly in her love for Folkloric dance, which she developed a deep passion for at a very early age. Monica would put audiences in awe while perfectly executing elaborate traditional dances at charitable events and gatherings. Monica will be remembered for her profound impact on the lives of those she came across. It was her kindness, care, and charisma that allowed her to touch the hearts of everyone around her. We send out our thoughts and prayers to her family. She is survived by her mother, Alicia Criado; her sister Leticia Montes; children Michael, Matthew, and Miranda; and two granddaughters. Madam , I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Monica Cuevas. Her service and contributions to the city of Fresno will be missed dearly. I join her family and friends in celebrating Monica's life.
False Claims Act (Executive Calendar)
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2022-1-4

we study about checks and balances in government in political science classes. prgtoken Often, people think in terms of the Court, the Supreme Court, primarily, being a check on the Congress of the United States not doing constitutional things or things in a constitutional way or maybe checking a President not doing things that he is constitutionally empowered to do. prgtoken We don't often think of Congress being a check on the judicial branch of government, but from time to time we pass legislation that says: To you folks on the Supreme Court making a decision, you didn't make that decision according to what congressional intent was. So we find ourselves passing legislation to overturn some Court case that misinterpreted a statute. At least that is our view that they misinterpreted a statute or congressional intent. prgtoken The last time I remember doing this was maybe a couple, 3 years ago on a tax bill. It happened that I had at least one person interpreting our statute correctly on this tax provision. It was Justice Breyer. I got a little note from Justice Breyer, pointing to his dissent in that case, and it said: It is an opportunity for you to pass a statute correcting what, I think, was a misinterpretation by the majority of that tax provision. prgtoken And we got that passed. prgtoken So here I am again. I don't know how many times in the last 30 years I have had to correct Court decisions misinterpreting the False Claims Act. We are in the process of trying to do that on the subject of whether or not certain actions of our government are material to that case actually being able to be prosecuted. I am talking about the False Claims Act that I and a liberal Member of the House of Representatives got passed in 1986. prgtoken The False Claims Act is the government's most powerful tool in fighting and deterring fraud. And I say to my fellow colleagues that any law that has brought in about $65 billion of fraudulently taken money, that ought to, in itself, prove the worth of this legislation. prgtoken On the other hand, the courts interpret it and maybe weaken it, so I am back here to make an argument for strengthening it but not strengthening it beyond the original intent of the Congress of the United States in 1986. I have devoted much of my time in the Senate to strengthening this law on behalf of the taxpayers. prgtoken Last November, the Judiciary Committee voted on a bill that I sponsored that was very much a bipartisan cosponsorship to further strengthen the False Claims Act by clarifying what violations are ``material.'' Some of my colleagues expressed concern with my amendment, even in light of the fact that this legislation has brought $65 billion of fraudulently taken money back into the Federal Treasury. Most of those concerns by my colleagues were based on debunked, recycled talking points from lobbyists that sound a lot like the ones that I have been hearing since 1986--the pur
Remembering Johnny Isakson (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2022-1-4

before I begin, I want to express my deep sorrow at the death of former Senator Johnny Isakson. I served with Johnny for a long time, not just here in the Senate, where we came in together as freshman Members in 2005, but also in the House of Representatives, and I was honored to call him my friend. prgtoken Johnny was a tremendously effective legislator and, in particular, a champion for veterans and a model of decency and graciousness. When I came down to the floor to discuss his retirement 2 years ago, I read a quote from a politics professor in Georgia that I thought really captured Johnny. I think so still. Here is what that professor had to say: As a political science professor and an administrator, I'm often asked by students if good people can serve in government and keep their integrity. Johnny Isakson is always the first example I come to. It's very often a shocking revelation to most people--that good people can, and often do, serve in government for long periods, fight hard for what they believe in, and remain true to themselves and their principles. And they don't have to sell their souls to do it. It's a great lesson, really. prgtoken , that was Johnny--a good man, one of the best I have ever known. He came to Washington to serve his State and his country and served them faithfully throughout his life. prgtoken My thoughts and prayers are with Johnny's wife Dianne and with his children and grandchildren.
Biden Administration (Executive Calendar)
Marsha Blackburn (Republican, TN) \u2014 2022-1-4

I know that you are probably like me and you have been grateful for the time to be home and to see family and friends and just to chat with them about what is going on in their lives and the issues that are important to them, what they are looking at. It has been so interesting to get their perspective as we have visited. prgtoken I flipped through the papers yesterday, and I realize that many of our friends around town have this renewed sense of optimism about President 's ability to lead the country. I found that really quite interesting. You could look at it and say: It may be a new year, but it is the same old . prgtoken It goes without saying that I do not share what I see as a misguided view. I entered this year with the same prgtoken healthy skepticism that I had back in December as we were finishing that legislative year. I will say this; that for the past year, the ic majority has indulged an administration that has treated their electoral victory like a mandate to enact some of the most irresponsible and radical policies we have seen in over a generation. prgtoken Now they are dusting off an agenda that is so unhinged, it has kept the deadlocked against one another for the year. We have seen this agenda breed mistrust, tension, and anger between the American people and their government. Few, if any, of those people could state that they are better off now than they were under President and leadership. But still, the ic majority has continued to push 's agenda on behalf of the most radical portions of their base. prgtoken Yes, leaning left--they are leaning far left. They are listening to the social justice warriors and the climate partisans and the Big Government activists, and the ic leadership is doing exactly what they are telling them they want done. Meanwhile, they are ignoring the people back home who actually have to deal with the consequences of this political tunnel vision. prgtoken Time after time in poll after poll, even more polls that have come out today, the American people have made it abundantly clear that they are not just dissatisfied with the President's failure to lead, with his radical agenda--you know what, they are not just angry. What I learned from Tennesseans is that people are really frightened by what they see taking place with this far-left, hard-left turn. prgtoken President has to know all of this. The ic leadership has to know all of this. Look at all the polls. It doesn't matter if it is NPR, it doesn't matter if it is AP, it doesn't matter if it is CNN, the agenda, the President, the Vice President--they are all underwater. I think they have probably seen this coming since day one of this disastrous administration. prgtoken Take some of the specific issues. The ic leadership has had a front row seat to what is happening on the southern border. So has the administratio
REMEMBERING DR. JERALD F. COMBS
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2022-1-4

in eastern Kentucky, one man has been at the center of efforts to expand eye care for nearly 40 years. Dr. Jerald Combs, who passed away last month, played an instrumental role in modernizing and extending access to optometric care across Kentucky's Appalachian region. Today, I recognize Dr. Combs as an outstanding Kentuckian whose work made a vast impact on the lives of his patients. prgtoken When Dr. Combs began his practice in Martin, KY, in 1983, optometry in eastern Kentucky was an underdeveloped practice. Many residents lacked access to the eye care they needed, leaving far too many without good vision. Dr. Combs made it his mission to change that status quo and improved many lives in the process. His clinic served the entire eastern Kentucky region, attracting patients from far and wide who needed his care. prgtoken Perhaps Dr. Combs' greatest legacy will be his efforts to increase optometry training opportunities in his community. Because of his work in this area, the University of Pikeville named their college of optometry in his honor. The school's Jerald F. Combs Endowed Scholarship gives students of all backgrounds the ability to study the subject, providing expertise to those who will stay in eastern Kentucky and help develop the field further. prgtoken Throughout his life, Dr. Combs was committed to serving his community and our Commonwealth and earned many awards for his efforts. The Kentucky Optometric Association lavished him with praise, granting him both their Optometrist of the Year Award and Distinguished Service Award twice. He also served as president and a board member of the association for many years. Outside of optometry, Dr. Combs helped his community through the Knott County Youth Foundation, the Knott County Little League, the Kiwanis Club, and the Hazard Lions Club. He served on the University of Pikeville Board of Trustees, steering the school to success. prgtoken I knew Dr. Combs personally and was saddened to learn of his passing last month. Few Kentuckians play as big or instrumental of a role in their community as he did. While we all mourn his loss, we can also be confident that his legacy, expanded access to eye care among Kentucky's most vulnerable communities, will last for many years into the future. I would like to express my personal gratitude for Dr. Combs' decades of service to the Commonwealth and encourage my Senate colleagues to join me in sharing condolences with the family, friends, and colleagues.
Bipartisanship (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2022-1-4

. Happy New Year. It is good to see you and everybody back at the beginning of a new year after, I hope, a few days of respite and relaxation with friends and families and, hopefully, we have all had a chance to recharge our batteries now for the work ahead. prgtoken One of the great things about taking a few days off during the holidays is you get a chance to reflect on your work, your life, your family, what you are doing right, what you are doing wrong. That is what New Year's resolutions are all about, changing some of those habits that maybe aren't serving us all that well. prgtoken But it is also to sort of reflect on the work here in the Senate. And I want to start by quoting one of the wisest men I knew, and that was my dad. My dad said--he had a whole list of aphorisms, most of which kind of embarrassed my brother and sister and me because they were so corny, but some of them were pretty shrewd and right on. prgtoken And one of them was that he said the hallmark of intelligence is to learn from your mistakes. The hallmark of intelligence is to learn from your mistakes. prgtoken And we are merely human and we all make mistakes--we all acknowledge that--but learning from our mistakes is perhaps the most important thing we can do to make progress, to get smarter, to learn from experience, and to do things better the next time. prgtoken I also thought of another wise man--you might call him a genius-- Albert Einstein, who supposedly said--and I can't vouch for this, but maybe it is apocryphal; maybe it is accurate. prgtoken He said: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. prgtoken Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I was reflecting on this--these two definitions of intelligence and insanity as I thought about the year past and our 50- 50 Senate. In 2020, we had a historic election, no doubt. Our ic colleagues captured not only the White House but the Senate and the House of Representatives. prgtoken But what is so amazing about that is the lessons that they learned from that 50-50 election in the Senate and a bare majority in the House was very different from what I think, historically, people have come to believe that that kind of message would send. prgtoken Ordinarily, you would think that--well, first of all, this is not the New Deal and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had huge majorities in the House and the Senate when he passed the New Deal legislation, historic legislation by any count. prgtoken Conversely, in 2020, when President was elected, the American people basically said we don't particularly trust either one of the major political parties so we are going to divide power equally in the Senate and give you a bare majority in the House, believing, I think, maybe intuitively, if not consciously, that that would force us to work together. prgtoken
Remembering Johnny Isakson (Executive Calendar)
Jerry Moran (Republican, KS) \u2014 2022-1-4

today is an opportunity for me to remind our colleagues of the value of Senator Johnny Isakson. I particularly want to speak this afternoon about his work in regard to our Nation's veterans. prgtoken When Senator Isakson retired, resigned from the U.S. Senate, I replaced him as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, but I served the entire time he was the chairman. In fact, I have served the entire time I have been in the Senate and the entire time I have been in the House. And Senator Isakson and Congressman Isakson and I served together in both bodies. prgtoken I want to highlight for my colleagues and for Americans--and particularly the veterans across the country--that they had an advocate in Senator Johnny Isakson for them, for our Nation's veterans. He knew--he knew--the debt we owe to our veterans and kept that at the forefront of his mind and his heart as he led the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. prgtoken His service as chairman was motivated by the stories of veterans who had touched his own life. Senator Isakson regularly spoke about two veterans--two veterans who shaped his approach as chairman: his college friend Jackson Elliott Cox III and Georgia native Noah . prgtoken Jackson Cox volunteered to serve in the Marines in Vietnam and was killed by a sniper a month before he was scheduled to return home. Noah had volunteered to serve in the Army after 9/11 and was killed while serving in Iraq. Both men volunteered to serve their country in the military during times of war, and both men gave their lives in that service. prgtoken Senator Isakson was compelled by their service to remember and speak about the men and women who gave their lives to defend our Nation and believed that we must also remember and honor those who made it home. prgtoken Senator Isakson was involved in a number of legislative successes that improved how our Nation serves its veterans after they leave the military, and I want to highlight four of those pieces of legislation. prgtoken First, the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act finally gave the VA the tools it needed to hold officials accountable following several scandals at the Department and set the expectation that the VA would maintain a high-performance workforce to serve our veterans. prgtoken Second, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 modernized the archaic benefits claims process at the VA and allowed VA to reduce its appeal backlog from nearly half a million appeals down to around 100,000. Veterans now have choices as to how they appeal benefits decisions and can receive timely decisions rather than waiting and waiting and waiting. prgtoken Third, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2017, which is known as the Forever GI Bill, revolutionized veterans' education benefits by eliminating the 15-year window after service during which a veteran