mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CELEBRATING GHOST TOWN TRAIL
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2020-2-4

I rise today to celebrate the Ghost Town Trail that runs between Ebensburg and Blairsville, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recently named the Ghost Town Trail the Pennsylvania Trail of the Year. prgtoken As a lifelong Pennsylvanian and avid outdoorsman, I am proud the 15th District is leading the way in developing and growing Pennsylvania's extensive trail network. It is important we cultivate an appreciation of the outdoors. prgtoken We know trails are environmentally friendly, but they also are economically friendly. Trails boost real estate values. They present new business opportunities and bolster tourist-related revenue. The 44- mile long Ghost Town Trail provides all of these benefits. prgtoken According to some experts, if it continues on its current trajectory, it will be the first trail in the East to connect in a full loop. prgtoken The Trail of the Year award is well deserved for the Ghost Town Trail, and I am proud to recognize it here today.
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
John Kennedy (Republican, LA) \u2014 2020-2-4

I will vote against each of the House ' Articles of Impeachment, and I would like to explain why. prgtoken The House ' impeachment proceedings and their Articles of Impeachment were and are fatally flawed. My friends, the House , say that the President is out of control. What they really mean is that the President is out of their control. And that is not grounds for impeachment. prgtoken First, the process. The House ' impeachment proceedings were rigged. Pelosi and the House ic leadership decided before they even began to give President a fair and impartial firing squad. Pelosi and the House ' judicial philosophy from the very beginning was guilty. That is why much of the proceedings were held in secret. prgtoken Democracy, they say, dies in darkness, and I believe it. That is why the House hid the identity of the original accuser, the so- called whistleblower, thus prohibiting the American people from being able to judge the accuser's motives. That is also why the House prevented the President and his counsel from cross-examining the House ' witnesses, from offering his own witnesses, from offering rebuttal evidence, and even from being able to challenge the House ' evidence. The House wouldn't even allow the President or his counsel to attend critical parts of the impeachment proceedings. prgtoken The U.S. Senate cannot and should not consider an impeachment based on such a deficient record. It is true that in America no one is above the law, but no one is beneath it either. Fairness matters in our country. prgtoken The House ' impeachment is also flawed because it is a partisan impeachment. Its genesis is partisan rage. Not a single, solitary House voted for the Articles of Impeachment--not one. prgtoken The House made a conscious decision to turn impeachment into a routine Washington, DC, political weapon, to normalize it. Our country's Founders were concerned about impeachments based on partisan rage and our country's Founders were adamantly opposed. That is why in the Constitution they required a two-thirds vote of the Senate to impeach. prgtoken Now, a word about the substance of the House ' Articles of Impeachment. The House accused the President of obstruction of justice. Why? Because he chose to assert executive privilege and testimonial immunity when the House sought testimony and documents from some of the President's closest aides. Anyone who knows a lawbook from a J. Crew catalog does not take this charge seriously. Executive privilege and testimonial immunity are well-established, constitutionally based Presidential and executive branch privileges that every President at one time or another has asserted. The proper course by the House in the face of the assertion of these privileges was to seek judici
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PRESIDENT FROM THE VANTAGE POINT OF THE WHITE HOUSE
Joe Wilson (Republican, SC) \u2014 2020-2-4

as the President in the State of the Union reviews his achievements from the vantage point of the White House, I have lived his successes on the ground level, in South Carolina and overseas. prgtoken In Orangeburg, his Opportunity Zone legislation with Senator Tim Scott has prompted a $20 million spec building for jobs. prgtoken In Munich, Germany, with Senator Lindsey Graham, I saw his urging NATO defense spending. prgtoken In Aiken, Chancellor Sandra Jordan has achieved the funding for the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative in USC-Aiken. prgtoken In New Delhi, India, and also in Houston, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured his alliance with President . prgtoken In Cayce, Lou Kennedy of Nephron Pharmaceuticals continues her success, growing over 2,000 jobs. prgtoken And in Manama, Bahrain, it was heartwarming to see our Arab allies appreciate peace through strength. prgtoken In Columbia, I joined Governor Henry McMaster to visit Fort Jackson to meet our reinforced troops. prgtoken In Krakow, Poland, our allies appreciate the 5,000 U.S. troops to stop Putin aggression. prgtoken In Barnwell, foreign investments at Swiss Krono have reached half a billion dollars. prgtoken In Israel, citizens are more grateful for the President's moving of the Embassy to Jerusalem. prgtoken Our prayers for Rush Limbaugh, an American icon of truth telling.
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2020-2-4

I am here today to talk about the Senate trial and the factors I have considered in making my decision on the Articles of Impeachment from the House. I have now read hundreds of pages of legal briefs and memos, including the testimony of 17 witnesses. Here, on the Senate floor, I have reviewed more than 190 witness videos and listened carefully to more than 65 hours of detailed presentations from both the House managers and from the President's legal team. prgtoken As cofounder and cochair of the Ukraine Caucus and someone who is proud to represent many Ukrainian Americans in Ohio, I have been active for the past several years in helping Ukraine as it has sought freedom and independence since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity that saw the corrupt Russian-backed government of Viktor Yanukovych replaced with pro-Western elected leaders. prgtoken Since first seeing the transcript of the phone call between President and President Zelensky 4 months ago, I have consistently said that the President asking Ukraine for an investigation into was inappropriate and wrong. I have also said, since then, that any actions taken by members of the administration or those outside the administration to try to delay military assistance or a White House meeting pending an investigation by Ukraine were not appropriate either. prgtoken But while I don't condone this behavior, these actions do not rise to the level of removing President from office and taking him off the ballot in a Presidential election year that is already well under way. prgtoken I first looked to the fact that the Founders meant for impeachment of a President to be extremely rare, reserved for only ``Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.'' Any fair reading of what the Founders meant in the Constitution and in the Federalist papers in the context of history and just plain common sense makes it clear that removing a duly elected President demands that those arguing for conviction meet a high standard. prgtoken As an example, for good reason there has never been a Presidential impeachment that didn't allege a crime. In the Clinton impeachment, the independent counsel concluded that President Clinton committed not one but two crimes. In this case, no crime is alleged. Let me repeat. In the two Articles of Impeachment that came over to us from the House, there is no criminal law violation alleged. Although I don't think that that is always necessary--there could be circumstances where a crime isn't necessary in an impeachment--without a crime, it is even a higher bar for those who advocate for a conviction, and that high bar is not met here. prgtoken What is more, even though it was delayed, the President ultimately did provide the needed military assistance to Ukraine, and he provided it before the September 30 budget deadline, and the requested investigations by Ukraine were not undertaken. It is an important poi
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
Pat Roberts (Republican, KS) \u2014 2020-2-4

tomorrow, on this floor, the Senate will reconvene again as a court to vote on two Articles of Impeachment against President . Now, after performing my due diligence, along with many others, and considering all assertions by the House and Senate managers, I believe the President should be acquitted from both charges. I do not believe that removal from office is warranted, more especially during an election year. prgtoken I, like everyone in this body, listened to 12 days of debate and testimony covering nearly 90 hours. I spent time meeting with my fellow Senators in order to reach a conclusion that was, one, fair; and two, met our constitutional mandates; and three, what will best serve our Nation. prgtoken I did not seek that responsibility. However, I have tried to carry it out to the best of my ability. As a Senate juror, I was asked to weigh whether or not the House Articles of Impeachment charging the President with obstruction of Congress or abuse of power had merit and, if true, whether the offenses rose to a level that requires the President to be removed from office--again, during an election year. prgtoken And like many of us, I am troubled by multiple factors. Quite frankly, I am troubled with the House managers' demand that we in the Senate fill in the gaps of their investigation and call more witnesses, something they failed to execute themselves. The job of the Senate is to be an honest jury, if you will, and not take up the role of prosecutor or prosecution. Nonetheless, after hearing House managers' statements, it is clear this is exactly the role they insisted we do. prgtoken I am troubled that countless times the House managers made Senators feel as if we were the ones on trial. I believe the House managers were both incorrect and demanding, constantly stating that Senators have no choice but to agree with their line of reasoning, and if we did not, then we would deal with the consequences--a veiled threat yet to be defined. prgtoken I served in the House 16 years. For 12 years before that, I was chief of staff for a House Member. I know the House. I truly enjoyed my service there. But you don't come to the Senate and point fingers at Senate Members and make the insinuation that we are on trial if we do not do the right thing, as they have concluded. Enough of that. prgtoken Additionally, my top concern was what precedence would be set for future Presidents and their expectations of privacy in conversation with their advisers, not to mention the future, with regard to this situation, once again, with our Nation finding itself in a whirlpool of partisan impeachment. I have been most troubled that the House managers have not put cause before personal animus. I would think, back in the day, perhaps, that they had a barrel--like a rain barrel to capture the excess water off of the roof. I know we had that in Dodge City. I think it probably sat right over there. It is flowing
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
Rand Paul (Republican, KY) \u2014 2020-2-4

the great irony of the last several weeks in the impeachment trial is that the accused the President of using his governmental office to go after his political opponent. The irony is, they then used the impeachment process to go after their political opponent. In fact, as you look at the way it unfolded, they admitted as much. prgtoken As the impeachment proceedings unfolded, they said: We didn't have time for witnesses. We had to get it done before Christmas because we wanted it done and ready to go for the election. We had to get it done--the entire process needed to be completed--before the election. prgtoken They didn't have time for the process. They didn't have time for due process. They didn't have time for the President to call his own witnesses or cross-examine their witnesses. prgtoken The great irony is, they did exactly what they accused the President of. They used the government and the government's process to go after their political opponent. prgtoken What is the evidence that it is partisan? They didn't convince one . Not one elected decided that any of their arguments were valid or that the President should be impeached. prgtoken They made it into a sham. They made it into a political process because they didn't like the results of the election. prgtoken When did this start? Did the impeachment start with a phone call to the Ukrainian President? No, the impeachment and the attacks on the President started 6 months before he was elected. prgtoken We had something truly devastating to our Republic happen. We had, for the first time in our history, a secret court decide to investigate a campaign. At the time, when those of us who criticized this secret court for spying on the campaign, they said: Oh, it is just a conspiracy theory. None of this is happening. There is no ``there'' there. prgtoken But now that we have investigated it--guess what--the FISA court admits they were lied to. The FBI has now been proven to have lied 17 times. We have a half a dozen people at the top level of our intelligence community who have admitted to having extreme bias. You have Peter Strzok and Lisa Page talking about taking down the President and having an insurance policy against him succeeding and becoming the President. You have McCabe, you have Comey, and you have Clapper. prgtoken You remember James Clapper, the one who came to the Senate, and, when asked by Senator Wyden, ``Are you storing, are you gathering information from Americans by the millions and storing it on government computers?'' James Clapper said no. He lied to Congress. Nobody chose to impeach him, but he lied to Congress and committed a felony. Is he in jail? No, he is making millions of dollars as a contributor on television now, using and peddling his national security influence for dollars, after having committed a felony in lying to us. prgtoken These are the people who plotted to bring the Pr
RECOGNIZING SUN HARVEST CITRUS
Marco Rubio (Republican, FL) \u2014 2020-2-4

as chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, each week I honor a small business that demonstrates America's unique entrepreneurial spirit. I am pleased to recognize a business that has been a notable member of their local community for nearly 30 years. Today, it is my pleasure to name Sun Harvest Citrus of Fort Myers, FL, as the Senate Small Business of the Week. prgtoken Founded in 1990 by Sandy McKenzie Nicely, Sun Harvest Citrus is known for their high-quality citrus products, which makes them a premiere Fort Myers destination. Their produce is sourced from citrus groves originally purchased by Sandy's grandfather Robert Edsall, Sr in 1940. The grove, located along the east coast of Florida and consisting of approximately 800 acres of land, has passed through her family for three generations and is now managed by her brother, David McKenzie. Sandy became inspired to open the Sun Harvest Citrus store in 1990 when the Florida citrus industry dealt with overproduction. The store became a great way to sell the surplus citrus from the groves, while offering a location for customers to gather. Since 1990, they have expanded their products to offer several different types of citrus produce, juices, candies, and sweets, as well as serve as a tourist attraction for the Fort Myers area. prgtoken Today, Sun Harvest Citrus employs more than 25 Floridians and produces a diverse variety of orange and grapefruit products. The store sells seasonal citrus baskets and produces up to 2,500 gallons of juice a day. One of their most popular products is the Orange Vanilla mix soft-serve ice cream that has become a well-known tourist stop for people traveling down the west coast of Florida. Many of their products are seasonal, such as Valencia oranges or Honeybell tangelos, with Sun Harvest Citrus providing each seasonal fruit and juice during the months they are produced. prgtoken In addition to their store and citrus groves, Sun Harvest Citrus has become a centerpiece in the Fort Myers community. USA Today listed Sun Harvest Citrus as one of the 10 best places to shop in the Fort Myers area. Sun Harvest Citrus also distributes their juice to local businesses and community events. For example, in an effort to spread Christmas cheer, Sun Harvest Citrus provided their fresh orange juice to patients and families at a holiday event hosted by the local Fort Myers Kiwanis at the John Hopkins All Children's Outpatient Care center. prgtoken Sun Harvest Citrus is an excellent example of a family run business that is making a positive impact in their community. I commend this Florida business for its dedication to providing great products to the community and creating a gathering place where all local residents and visitors are welcomed. I am proud to recognize everyone at Sun Harvest Citrus, and I look forward to seeing their continued success.
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
Roger F. Wicker (Republican, MS) \u2014 2020-2-4

tomorrow I will cast my vote against the removal of our duly elected President. I will do so based upon my understanding of the duty conferred upon me prgtoken by the Constitution of the United States. prgtoken I do not believe the House managers have proved the allegations contained in the Articles of Impeachment, nor do I believe the articles allege conduct that may be used as grounds for removal. I find the President's counsel to be persuasive in this regard. Significantly, much of the American public, without the benefit of learned constitutional instruction, has come to the same conclusion. prgtoken During the 2\1/2\ weeks of this trial, we have received more than 28,000 pages of documents, we have seen 192 video clips of 13 different witnesses, we had the opportunity to question each side for a total of 16 hours, and we have listened to literally hours and hours of argument. Clearly, I am unable to discuss every aspect of the trial in the time allotted me. Some facts in this case are in dispute, but many are not. Here is what we all know beyond a doubt: prgtoken First, we know that voices on the left have been calling for the impeachment of since day one--literally day one. The Washington Post on January 20, 2017, published an article titled ``The Campaign to Impeach President Has Begun'' on Inauguration Day. prgtoken Secondly, we know that the yearslong $32 million Mueller investigation failed to reveal sufficient ammunition for those who desired impeachment. prgtoken Third, the impeachment of this President in the House was the result of a narrowly partisan vote, with no Representatives--zero-- voting in favor of the articles. prgtoken And fourth, a guilty verdict this week would not only immediately remove the President from office, but it would also remove his name from the ballot in an election, which is already going on, and the first caucuses of which were conducted only yesterday. The words are right there in articles I and II, on pages 3 and 4 of the resolution: ``disqualification to hold . . . any office.'' prgtoken The Founders of this country entrusted Congress with the power of impeachment as a check and balance on the executive branch. This power was never intended to settle policy differences or political disagreements--even intense disagreements. It was not designed so that Congress could get rid of a President they found odious or obnoxious or with whom they vehemently disagree. prgtoken The Constitution gives Congress this extraordinary authority as a remedy only for what it calls ``high Crimes and Misdemeanors.'' And making it clear what an extreme action of impeachment is, the Framers required the support of two-thirds in this Chamber in order to convict. prgtoken These standards intentionally set a very high bar to prevent abuse of the impeachment process. Meeting these standards requires this process be used to try only the most serious allega
RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2020-2-4

we are in our third week of the impeachment trial right now. After thousands of documents being reviewed and over a dozen witnesses that we have heard, well over 100 video testimony clips that we have gone through, we are nearing the end. prgtoken The country is deeply divided on multiple issues right now, and the impeachment trial is both a symptom of our times and another example of our division. prgtoken The Nation didn't have an impeachment inquiry for almost 100 years, until 1868, the partisan impeachment of Andrew Johnson. prgtoken Another impeachment wasn't conducted for over 100 years after that, when the House began a formal impeachment inquiry into President Nixon with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 410 to 4. prgtoken Just a little over two decades later, there was another partisan impeachment process--President Clinton, when he was impeached on an almost straight partisan vote. prgtoken Tomorrow I will join many others to vote to acquit the President of the United States. His actions certainly do not rise to the level of removal from office. This is clearly another one of our partisan impeachments, now the third in our history. prgtoken Over the past 3 years, the House of Representatives has voted four times to open an impeachment inquiry: once in 2017, once in 2018, and twice in 2019. Only the second vote in 2019 actually passed and turned into an actual impeachment inquiry. prgtoken For 4 months the country has been consumed with impeachment hearings and investigations. First, rumors of issues with Ukraine arose on August 28, when POLITICO wrote a story about U.S. aid being slow-walked for Ukraine, and then September 18, when the Washington Post released a story about a whistleblower report that claimed President pressured an unnamed foreign head of state to do an investigation for his campaign. prgtoken Within days of the Washington Post story, before the whistleblower report came out, before anything was known, Pelosi announced the House would begin hearings to impeach the President, which led to a formal House vote to open an impeachment inquiry on October 31 and a formal vote to impeach the President on December 18. prgtoken The House sent over two Articles of Impeachment, asking the Senate to decide if the President should be removed from office and barred from running for any future office in the United States--one on abuse of power; the second on obstruction of Congress. Let me take those two in order. prgtoken The abuse of power argument hinges on two things: Did the President of the United States use official funds to compel the Ukrainian Government to investigate 's son and his work for the corrupt natural gas company in Ukraine, Burisma, and did the President withhold a meeting with President Zelensky until President Zelensky agreed to investigate 's son? prgtoken To be clear, the theory of the funds being withheld from Ukraine in exchange for an