mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CALLING FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-3-7

this morning the Judiciary Committee will have a hearing on the nomination of Mr. Rod Rosenstein to serve as the Deputy Attorney General. During the hearing, Mr. Rosenstein should commit to naming a special prosecutor to look into the campaign's ties to Russia. prgtoken There is a strong legal rationale for a special prosecutor. A special prosecutor, by the Department of Justice rules, would be free of day- to-day supervision by anyone at the Department of Justice, would be free to follow the investigation where it leads, and would be subject to an increased level of congressional oversight. Moreover, it is the right thing to do to ensure that this investigation remains impartial, nonpartisan, and truly gets to the bottom of the matter. The bottom line is very simple. The special prosecutor can only be fired for cause, but a line person in the Justice Department could be fired at will. We saw that happen when President didn't like what Sally Yates said about his Executive order. He simply fired her. prgtoken Mr. Rosenstein is a very fine man, an excellent, longtime prosecutor in the Justice Department, but this is when we call for a special prosecutor. It is not an aspersion against him in any way. We are worried the White House will not let an investigation within the Justice Department, without the insulation of a special prosecutor, go forward. prgtoken So if Mr. Rosenstein is unwilling to commit to naming a special prosecutor or says he needs to be confirmed, and in his position he can make an assessment, that is insufficient. The need for a special prosecutor is clear enough today to make that call. prgtoken Of course, we don't need to wait for Mr. Rosenstein. Mr. Boente, the Acting Deputy Attorney General, can make the call today, but if neither will commit to a special prosecutor, Congress will have to consider bringing back a narrower independent counsel law to see that this investigation is conducted properly.
CELEBRATING MARIACHI AZUL Y PLATA'S STATE CHAMPIONSHIP WIN
Filemon Vela (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-3-7

I rise today to recognize Mariachi Azul Y Plata of the Ben Bolt Palito Blanco Independent School District for recently winning its second consecutive state mariachi championship in Class 2A. Ben Bolt High School and the people of South Texas are proud of the musicians of Mariachi Azul Y Plata for their hard work and impressive talent. This accomplishment is a testament to the dedication of these young men and women. Through their state title, Ben Bolt has set the bar for generations of high school mariachi musicians to come. The mariachi band is composed of 23 students, who jointly participated in auditions against other schools to attend the competition. Azul Y Plata excelled in their division and they continue to embrace the Mariachi culture and keep our Hispanic heritage alive. Congratulations again to the Palito Blanco High School Mariachi band in Ben Bolt for their tremendous achievement.
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-3-7

I come to the floor actually on behalf of students across the country, and for those who are so passionate about their education that they want to dedicate themselves to teaching, and to urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution and support strong and accountable teacher preparation in America today. prgtoken While this rule may not be the rule that any of us would have written on our own, it is important. prgtoken Let me say at the outset that there are many great teacher prep programs that exist around our country, and they are doing a great job preparing our teachers to succeed in the classroom, but there are also teacher preparation programs out there that are struggling and need support to help make sure they produce great teachers for our schools. prgtoken Now, as a former preschool teacher and as a mom, I know how important it is to have great teachers in our classrooms, and I understand how a good education, with an amazing teacher, can change a child's life. I am sure all of our colleagues think back on that one special teacher they had who shaped their mind and changed their life. They teach us not only how to read and write and do arithmetic, but good teachers teach us how to think critically, how to be creative, how to form an argument. I know I am not alone in saying that I owe much of what I have to the quality of the public education I received growing up, and I have spent my career fighting to make sure every child in America has the same opportunity I did. prgtoken Unfortunately, too many teaching students today are forced to take out huge amounts of student loans to afford continuing their education so they can realize their dream. They are willing to make this sacrifice. They don't complain. The very least we can do for those who want to become teachers is to make sure they are actually getting their money's worth when they make an investment in themselves. prgtoken That is what this rule does. It helps make sure students can make informed decisions about the quality and preparedness of their education. prgtoken Here are a few of the ways this rule does that--and I am hoping my colleagues will see that this shouldn't be controversial. This rule strengthens and streamlines reporting requirements of teacher prep programs to focus on employment placement and retention of graduates. It provides information from employers to future teacher candidates so they can make an informed decision about their education by choosing a school that improves the likelihood they will find employment after graduation. It makes sure that prospective teachers can access this information they need before they take out massive amounts of student debt. prgtoken When teacher programs are struggling, this rule helps States identify at-risk and low-performing programs so States can provide them the support they need to adapt or adjust their programs and help their teaching students succeed. prgtoken Ther
FAIRNESS FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS ACT OF 2017
Joseph P. Kennedy III (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-3-7

I want to thank my colleague for his work on this. prgtoken , after weeks of empty promises that he had a secret plan to insure every American at lower costs with higher quality care, President is now standing behind a House GOP repeal plan that was introduced last night that fails every single one of those promises. Based on estimates that we have seen so far, millions of Americans stand to lose coverage, out-of-pocket costs will skyrocket, and the quality of care will plummet. prgtoken But today, hours after that bill was introduced, , our President referenced a to-be-announced second and third phase of his healthcare rollout that Secretary Price referred to as ``a work in progress,'' once again injecting our healthcare system with crippling uncertainty that is hurting our patients, hospitals, behavioral health providers, and local economies. prgtoken If you are so proud of this bill, why has it been locked in dark rooms? Why not have an open debate? What are we so afraid of to have a debate on this floor? prgtoken That is why I urge my colleagues, and s alike, to support my resolution of inquiry tomorrow, to try to make sure that the details that have been discussed by this White House and by the s behind closed doors are open for America to understand before we cram a healthcare overhaul down our throats.
DISAPPROVING A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR-- Continued
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-3-7

. Well, that is going to be very important and really an opportunity to make sure that this works for patients with rare diseases and their families. We know that affordability and accessibility remain paramount. We should also think about the burden that these conditions play and the critical role of the voice of the patient. prgtoken As you stated, Senator Hatch, more than 7,000 rare diseases exist, and the vast majority have no treatment. This is an extraordinary burden borne every day by Americans in every single State across the country. As we seek to continue making progress, including monitoring implementation of the advances in the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, we must ensure that rare disease treatments receive sufficient attention. prgtoken We also must encourage Federal agencies to better incorporate the patient's voice in their decisionmaking process. As I mentioned earlier, all too often as we rightly focus on evidence-based medicine, we can lose sight of the human experience of these and different therapies. What may seem simple in a lab may be overwhelming or difficult when applied to patients in real life situations--all the more so when children are involved. The FDA and all agencies should ensure that they have appropriate processes to seek and incorporate this vital input. The user fee agreement will be an opportunity for us to make this case. prgtoken I would like to thank Senator Hatch again for his time to discuss these issues that are very important to both of us. We look forward to engaging with our colleagues on these issues as we move forward to the implementation of the Cures Act, as well as the work on the Orphan Drugs Act, and as well as the user fee agreement.
DISAPPROVING A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR-- Continued
Brian Schatz (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2017-3-7

last night the s in the House revealed their plan to scrap the ACA and replace it with something much worse--Care. There are so many things that are wrong with this bill. A lot of us are still going through the 184 pages and all of its implications, so it is impossible to encapsulate all the difficulties in this legislation in one speech. prgtoken I am going to highlight eight problems with this bill to start. First of all, this bill is a complicated and rushed mess. Despite the fact that they had 7 years to work on their own plan, the s cobbled together a bill that makes no sense. In an effort to make everyone in their caucus happy, they have made no one in their caucus happy. That is why we have seen conservative groups--from AEI to AFP, the Heritage Foundation, the Koch brothers--come out and express opposition to the legislation. prgtoken Second, this bill cuts Medicaid. They are going to use a phrase called block grants, but I want everyone to understand that is cutting Medicaid. That is a euphemism for cutting the resources for Medicaid. This cuts a program that helps more than 70 million Americans across the country get the healthcare they need. It means less care for pregnant moms, less care for families with loved ones in nursing homes. Nursing home benefits will be totally trashed, and all of these changes will reduce Medicaid to a level not seen before. prgtoken By the way, Medicare doesn't escape the ax. It is also in trouble if we enact the House legislation. Care will actually move up the date of insolvency of the Medicare trust fund by 3 years, to the year 2025. That is not 20, 30 years from now when they talk about the Social Security trust fund. That is quite soon to have Medicare be insolvent, and they are accelerating the date in which Medicare becomes insolvent. prgtoken Third, this bill hits the elderly with an age tax. Here is how the law currently works. It is basically a cap on the amount that an insurance company can charge a senior for healthcare. It says you cannot charge more than three times the amount you charge a young person for a senior citizen. prgtoken It is capped at three times what you charge for young people. This would increase the cap to five times the cost. If a young person's health insurance costs $250, the maximum under the current law is $750. Now you are talking five times $250--$1,250 per month. prgtoken This is an age tax. If there is any doubt about how difficult this is going to be for senior citizens, ask the AARP. They are a bipartisan, well-respected organization that works in every State. Seniors across the country need to understand what this age tax is. You will pay more for health insurance if the law passes as it is. prgtoken Fourth, and this is a very important point. This is basically not a healthcare bill because if it were a healthcare bill, everybody knows it would require 60 votes. It would be enacting n
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-3-7

this is my ``Time to Wake Up'' speech No. 159. In giving these speeches, I have come to realize that some of my colleagues seem to have a hard time wrapping their heads around the basic understanding of climate change. Some of President 's Cabinet nominees seem to have the same problem. prgtoken They say the scientific community is split on the issue. It is not. prgtoken They say the climate has always been changing. Not like this, it hasn't. prgtoken They say we can't trust projections and complex computer models. But overall, they have actually been right. prgtoken And, of course, they have the notorious ``I'm not a scientist'' dodge. Well, if a colleague doesn't understand this, then perhaps he ought to trust the scientists at NOAA and at NASA, at our National Labs, and at universities in Rhode Island and across the country--the scientists whose job it is to understand this. prgtoken I must say, in addition to trusting the scientists, I also trust Rhode Island fishermen who see the changes in their traps and nets and our shoreline homeowners watching the sea steadily rising toward their homes. You don't need fancy computer models to see the ocean changes already taking place; you just need a thermometer to measure rising temperatures, basically a yardstick to measure sea level rise or a simple pH kit to measure the acidification of our oceans. prgtoken Let's look at ocean acidification. The oceans have absorbed about one-third of all the excess carbon dioxide produced by humans since the industrial revolution, around 600 gigatons' worth. When that carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean, chemistry happens, and it makes the oceans more acidic. prgtoken Carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid. Carbonic acid isn't stable in ocean water, so it breaks down into bicarbonate ions, a base, and hydrogen ions, an acid. The increase in acidic hydrogen ions is the crux of the chemistry of ocean acidification. More hydrogen ions lower the water's pH, prgtoken and the lower the pH, the higher the acidity. prgtoken Regular viewers of my ``Time to Wake Up'' speeches or people who spent the night up with us while we objected to Administrator Pruitt's nomination may remember that I demonstrated this in a simple experiment on the Senate floor just a few weeks ago. I took the glass of water on my desk, and I used the carbon dioxide in my own breath. Blowing through an aquarium stone, I was able to show, with the help of a little pH dye, how easy it is to actually measure the effect of CO2 on the acidity of water. With just a few breaths into the water, I was able to visibly make this glass of drinking water more acidic. prgtoken That little experiment is a microcosm of what is happening in our oceans right now, except, instead of bubbles blown through a straw, it is a transfer of excess CO2 from the atmosphere into the surface waters of the ocean all around the globe. prgtoken Scientific observation
REMEMBERING DOUGLAS SELPH HENRY, JR.
Steve Cohen (Democrat, TN) \u2014 2017-3-7

earlier this week, Tennessee lost one of its most outstanding citizens, a person who loved Tennessee as deeply, if not more deeply, than anyone. Douglas Selph Henry, Jr who served in the Tennessee State Senate in the Tennessee State House, served longer than any person ever did in the Tennessee General Assembly--44 years. prgtoken Senator Douglas Henry served 24 of those years with me. He was a gentleman, a scholar, a man who said he was a State man, as distinguished from a Federal man, and he was a public man, going to more events in Nashville in his district and for his community than anybody ever has. There was not an event that Douglas Henry wasn't there and helping to fund. prgtoken He was a conservative Senator. We had differences on issues many times. But Senator Henry was a man who you could disagree with, and he was never disagreeable. He was truly a gentleman at all times and a credit to his State and a credit to politics and a credit to his family. prgtoken He loved his wife, Lolly, who predeceased him, his five children, and his grandchildren. And though we differed on issues and he was pro- life, he cared about children after they were born, passed the mandatory child seatbelt law, and supported all types of education endeavors and endeavors to support mothers and young children. He was just a gentleman's gentleman. I was honored to spend time with him. It is a great loss to Tennessee. My thoughts go out to his family.
FALEOMAVAEGA ENI FA'AUA'A HUNKIN VA CLINIC
Timothy J. Walz (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-3-7

as much time as I may consume. prgtoken I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1362. This tribute to our fellow colleague, a fellow veteran, our friend Eni, who passed last month, is truly well deserved. prgtoken I would also like to thank the gentlewoman from American Samoa for bringing this bill to the floor. And just as importantly, in her time here, she has proven to be the staunchest advocate of this Nation's veterans, a true friend to veterans, and a colleague who carries on Eni's commitment to this unwaveringly. prgtoken Eni devoted his public life to service, it was clear, ensuring that the unique needs and interests of the people of American Samoa were met in every bill that came through this body. For any of us who worked alongside him during those 13 terms, his unfailing commitment to his people and his ever-present smile will never be forgotten. prgtoken In addition to his work here and the things you heard the gentlewoman say, Eni served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1969 and as an officer in the United States Army Reserve from 1982 to 1989. He served honorably in the Vietnam war and left the military with the rank of captain. prgtoken He and his wife were also active members of their church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. prgtoken As a Vietnam veteran and Army Reserve captain, congressional aide, lieutenant governor, and Member of Congress, there simply could be no better example of what it means to be a representative of his people and a citizen of this great Nation. prgtoken I fully support the naming of this outpatient clinic at Pago Pago in his honor and urge my colleagues to do the same. prgtoken , .
FAIRNESS FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS ACT OF 2017
Mark Sanford (Republican, SC) \u2014 2017-3-7

. I thank the chairman for yielding to me. prgtoken , I rise with the greatest respect for my colleague from the District of Columbia and her passion on this subject and the bill that she has introduced. I rise with equal respect for my colleague, Chairman Barletta, and the way in which he has walked this bill through the process, but I am going to oppose this bill. I am going to do so on the basis of process. I thought it important to explain why, given, I think, the amount of energy that has gone into the bill and the fact that I wasn't able to voice a vote against it when it was voice voted at the committee level. prgtoken I do so because I think that blank checks rarely work out well for the prgtoken taxpayer. In fairness to the bill, it is not a blank check. The bill is actually prescribed in three different ways--the way in which it will impact Federal buildings. My problem, though, is on methodology in that the General Services Administration that ultimately gave the numbers to the CBO on which they base their score did not get in final form how many Federal buildings we are talking about. I think that leaves, therefore, something of an open end as to what this bill will ultimately cost; and that then goes to impact the very children for whom the breastfeeding will take place. prgtoken A child born in America today is going to inherit a giant liability from the Federal Government in terms of the cost of our Federal Government. By accountants from both the left and the right, they have said what we have in place is not sustainable. Therefore, I think it is very important, from a process standpoint, that we look at a final form number on any of these bills that we throw out and we prescribe, regardless of, again, how well-meaning they are and how measured they are, which is certainly the case with this bill. prgtoken I wanted to stand to give a quick explanation. I thank the gentleman for the time.
DISAPPROVING A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-3-7

yesterday the House of Representatives released a way forward to dismantle and replace Care, which will be to deliver on one of our biggest campaign promises made to the American people, not just in 2016 but in essentially every election since 2010. prgtoken We know Care has been an unmitigated disaster. Premiums on the Care exchanges are up by 25 percent. Millions of Americans have been kicked off their healthcare plans, and the economy has been saddled with billions of dollars in new regulations. prgtoken The fact is, Care has been one broken promise after another. President and advocates of this law said if you wanted to keep your plan, you could keep it, but that didn't pan out. They said if you liked your doctor, you didn't have to find another one. That didn't turn out to be true either. They promised people across the country would have more coverage, more options, and better healthcare, all at a more affordable price. Well, that ended up not being true either. prgtoken The truth is, Care hasn't made healthcare more affordable for a lot of Americans. In fact, in Texas, if you have a gross income of $24,000, you can end up spending up to 30 percent of your gross income just on healthcare costs. That is not affordable healthcare. That is unaffordable healthcare. prgtoken Clearly, Care is no gold standard. It is a failed piece of legislation, one that is full of empty promises and one we have to scrap and start over again. Now we have an opportunity to do better for the people we represent, who are counting on us to deliver, to repeal Care and replace it with options that work. prgtoken I believe the plan released last night is a major step in the right direction. Patients need better tools like health savings accounts. That way they have more control over their healthcare decisions, and we can keep the bureaucracy out of it. We need to break down the barriers that restrict choice and keep Americans choosing an insurance plan that works for them and their families, and we need to empower employers, particularly small business owners, to provide their employees with the kind of affordable coverage that meets their needs. prgtoken To sum it up, we need to move healthcare decisions out of Washington and send them back to the States and back to patients and families and their doctors. That will only happen once we prgtoken repeal Care and replace it with options that work for more affordable healthcare coverage that patients choose, not that the government mandates and punishes you if you don't buy it but freedom of choice at a better cost and meeting the needs of individual patients. prgtoken I am glad our colleagues in the House and our friends in the White House fully understand why this is such a priority and why we need to keep the promise we made. As soon as we can do that and deliver on that major promise to the American people--the sooner we do t