mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2018-3-6

I rise tonight to talk about the bipartisan legislation that is before the body. It is an opportunity that provides significant needed regulatory relief, primarily to smaller financial institutions like community banks and credit unions. prgtoken The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act will modernize the Federal Dodd-Frank regulations to ensure that small- and medium-sized banks, as well as credit unions, can lower their compliance costs, which will mean more loans to small businesses and better deals for their customers. prgtoken For years, Dodd-Frank has hurt these smaller community banks and credit unions that have been caught up in this broader effort to rein in a select few larger financial institutions--primarily financial institutions on Wall Street. In effect, these smaller banks were caught in the web. prgtoken Last week, I met with some of Ohio's community banks. I meet with them regularly, and they tell me these stories. Their view, of course, is these Dodd-Frank rules targeted at the big banks are actually hurting the little guys. Over the past several years, they have told me story after story about how their compliance costs have increased. A small bank will say they used to have one person doing compliance, but now they have three people doing compliance, and those costs get passed along to their consumers. They also say, with the redtape and regulations and rules they live under, it makes it harder for them to lend to small businesses, which is one of the problems we have today in our economy. As the economy is beginning to grow, we need to ensure that startups and people who are interested in taking a risk and may not have a lot of business experience are able to get that loan to get started. prgtoken What has happened is, there has been a consolidation of these community banks because of these costs. In fact, they say one community bank is becoming insolvent every day in this country because of these big compliance costs, but others are consolidating into larger banks. That may be fine in some cases, but I like these community banks. prgtoken I like the fact that these community banks are close to the people in the neighborhood, and they know the businesses that are coming to them for loans. Again, it is easier for small businesses to get loans when you actually have a banking relationship. They also are very involved in our communities. prgtoken So these community banks, which are really the backbone of America's financial sector, are what this bill is primarily about. The bill on the floor this week makes it easier for them to extend credit, loans, mortgages, and provide other products and services to working families in Ohio and around the country. prgtoken The legislation does more than that though. It also focuses on the regional banks in Ohio. These are banks that were not part of the financial crisis. They had nothing to do with it, but despi
SOCIAL MEDIA USE IN CLEARANCE INVESTIGATIONS ACT OF 2017
Ron DeSantis (Republican, FL) \u2014 2018-3-6

in the private sector, if an employer is going to hire somebody, a lot of times they will do a Google search, they will check social media postings to try to learn a little bit more about this prospective employee. prgtoken It may be hard to believe, but the Federal Government often fails to conduct a simple internet search on individuals before they are trusted with a security clearance. prgtoken Publicly available social media is one of the best ways to understand an individual's interests and intentions, but our investigatory process still focuses on interviewing the applicant's family, friends, and neighbors. For over a decade, various agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, have conducted studies and pilot programs to assess the effectiveness of social media checks in security clearance investigations. Congress has not been provided those results. prgtoken What this bill will do is it will require these agencies to identify best practices so that we can use this going forward to make sure that the people who are employed by this government, armed with a security clearance, who have access to sensitive information that puts the security of the country at risk, that these are people whom we want to have there and they are not folks who have ulterior designs. prgtoken A lot of times it is going to be much more informative to look at their publicly available writings than to talk to somebody who may have lived next door to them in an apartment 10 years ago. prgtoken I think that this bill is overdue. prgtoken , from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) for cosponsoring it for me, and I am proud to be here today as the sponsor. I think this should have bipartisan support. I think it will give us some good answers and we can move forward and modernize this process.
AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2018-3-6

I have 6 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. prgtoken Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Armed Services prgtoken The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at 9:30 a.m to conduct a hearing. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources prgtoken The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at 10 a.m to conduct a hearing on the nomination of James Reilly, of Colorado, to be Director of the United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. Committee on Finance prgtoken The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at 10 a.m to conduct a hearing entitled ``Protecting E-Commerce Consumers and from Counterfeits.'' Committee on Veterans' Affairs prgtoken The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at 2 p.m to conduct a joint hearing. Select Committee on Intelligence prgtoken The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at 2:30 p.m to conduct a closed briefing.
NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR COMBATING THE FINANCING OF TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS ACT
David Kustoff (Republican, TN) \u2014 2018-3-6

I thank the chairman for yielding. prgtoken , I rise today in support of my bill, the National Strategy for Combating the Financing of Transnational Criminal Organizations Act. prgtoken On February 9 of 2017, last year, President issued an executive order directing the Federal Government to combat international drug trafficking. Now, before I go any further, I want to take note that this executive order was issued in the third week of the administration. This early action gives us an idea of how seriously we must take this issue. The executive order recognizes that illegal drugs are pouring into our country and they are threatening American safety, primarily at the hands of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations. prgtoken These criminal organizations are responsible, in large part, for the rising opioid epidemic sweeping across our Nation. Take my district of west Tennessee, where we continue to see a rise in the deaths caused by opioid overdoses. From heroin to fentanyl, and the more potent synthetic opioid known as carfentanil, we must continue to use every available resource to prevent the further destruction of our communities. We have got to say enough is enough. prgtoken The important legislation that we are discussing today will create a plan to track illicit money channels and cut them off at the source. Specifically, it directs the United States Treasury Department to develop a national strategy aimed at disrupting these financial crimes. The Treasury Department will work hand in hand with the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the State Department, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to produce a yearly report outlining a strategy and detailing ways that the United States Government can continue to prevent these financial crimes. prgtoken For far too long, these criminal organizations have used illicit business ventures to further finance their activities, which range from money laundering and cybercrime to the trafficking of drugs, human trafficking, weapons trafficking, and trafficking in endangered species. prgtoken The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that these cartel and transnational criminal organizations generate nearly $870 billion a year. This money is used to directly threaten the security and the prosperity of the United States of America and other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Our legislation is a critical step in disrupting this illicit finance and putting an end to the needless crimes committed by cartels. prgtoken As we have seen, these organizations have evolved in a continued effort to evade law enforcement. Therefore, in an effort to stay one step ahead of these bad actors, we have also got to evolve. These transnational organizations have developed interstate networks to and from the border in which drugs come up from Central America and the cash retu
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-3-6

yesterday, the Senate learned that its quiet persuader will be leaving us after a long and distinguished career. Senator Thad Cochran's retirement will mark the end of a tenure defined by steady, honorable leadership. prgtoken Since the day he arrived in this Chamber, Thad's focus has been squarely on serving the people of Mississippi with integrity. For nearly four decades, he has done exactly that, and he has earned the admiration and gratitude of countless friends and colleagues along the way. prgtoken Those of us here today are proud to have had the privilege of working with Senator Cochran. His expertise as chairman of the Appropriations Committee will be sorely missed. So too will be the collegiality, warmth, and grace that is so characteristic of the senior Senator from Mississippi. prgtoken But the Senate's loss is Thad's family's gain. As we say our farewells over the next few weeks, I know all of our colleagues will join me in wishing him every happiness in his next chapter. prgtoken , on another matter, the Senate will vote today to begin consideration of S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. prgtoken This bill recognizes a simple truth: Small community banks and Main Street credit unions are not the same as the multitrillion-dollar banks on Wall Street. It is a simple enough observation, I might add, but, at present, our laws fail to account for it. prgtoken Since Washington imposed the Dodd-Frank financial regulations back in 2010, small-scale lenders have been subjected to a litany of new regulatory, compliance, and examiner demands that were designed with the country's largest banks in mind. Dodd-Frank's enormous regulatory burden has been inefficient and unhelpful for financial institutions of all sizes, but it has hit Main Street lenders especially hard. prgtoken Many small banks have had to hire additional staff and expend additional resources solely to deal with the staggering compliance burden. According to a survey conducted last year, community bank compliance costs have risen to an average of 24 percent of net income. Let me say that again. Community bank compliance costs have prgtoken risen to an average of 24 percent of net income. prgtoken This regulatory burden crowds out the capital that is available to American families and small businesses, especially in rural communities. According to researchers at the Harvard Kennedy School, community banks provide over 50 percent of all small business loans and nearly 80 percent of agricultural loans. In Kentucky, for example, there are more than 100 community banks and more than 20 credit unions. Many of them are the only financial institutions that are present in rural and underserved communities. prgtoken But while Dodd-Frank supposedly took aim at too big to fail, in the first 4 years after it passed, the share of U.S. deposits in small banks shrunk by nearly a quarter. Deposits
TAX REFORM
Jack Bergman (Republican, MI) \u2014 2018-3-6

what a great opportunity to really stand up here and smile and talk to the American public with the words of constituents from Michigan's First District, because these are not my words. These are their words over the last 2\1/2\ months or so since we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. prgtoken You know, in November 2016, the great people of Michigan's First District sent me to Washington with a direct, yet simple, mandate: Get Washington, D.C out of our pockets and off our backs. For a marine, that is a pretty simple mission-oriented instruction. prgtoken The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was the first major step to accomplishing that goal. Since we passed tax reform, I have travelled throughout many of the First District's 32 counties talking with constituents, business owners, and hearing their individual stories. Farmers, businesses, both large and small, and families are already seeing the benefits that tax reform brings, and we are just getting started. prgtoken Many of these small companies said: Well, I don't know yet, but I have got to meet with my accountant around the middle of April, and then we will really see. prgtoken But now they are starting to see wage increases and bonuses, and business expansions are all beginning to roll in and take effect, and it is long overdue in our neck of the woods. And when I say, ``our neck of the woods,'' that is not a figurative statement. That is a literal statement. prgtoken You know, many families in our district live paycheck to paycheck, and even a small crisis could send them into a tailspin. An extra $100 or $150 in a paycheck in my district is not crumbs. It is not Armageddon. It is a big plus. It gives that family flexibility to live their life and to raise their kids and be a proud community--wage- earning members of that community. prgtoken That $1,000 a year may mean a new set of snow tires. And by the way, we only have, roughly, a little over 2 weeks of winter left, but we use our snow tires up there through about mid-May. That is just the way it works. prgtoken That money might go for the kids to play on a sports team. Hockey is not a cheap sport to put your son or daughter in. Or it could be, possibly, just saving up in that family rainy day fund for an emergency. prgtoken We hear of businesses from Boyne City to Marquette expanding, growing their staff, raising wages, all a result of a fairer and simpler Tax Code. prgtoken You know, when I talk to some folks, they say: You know what, I don't mind working. I am proud to work. The dignity of work is what makes me strong as an individual, what makes me strong as a mother or a father. prgtoken They just think, in some ways, it is just not fair if you don't earn your wage. So there is a certain sense of pride that goes along with that. prgtoken We all know that if you are looking for thanks, running for office probably isn't the field of work you should get into. Yet everywhere I go in the district these last
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Marco Rubio (Republican, FL) \u2014 2018-3-6

since the tragedy 3 weeks ago tomorrow in Parkland, FL, we have all, as a nation, had a conversation about how did this happen, why did it happen, and what can we do to make sure something like this never happens again. As part of that conversation, we have spent a significant amount of time talking to all sorts of different groups and individuals--from students and teachers impacted by this to experts across the country, to other communities that have put in place policies to address this. We have learned a lot about not just this particular incident but some of the dangers around the country. prgtoken It is interesting, just in the last couple of weeks since it happened, you have seen a significant increase in the number of potential shooters who have been reported to law enforcement and people who have been arrested. I think one of the lessons from this terrible tragedy is, we live in a day and age when someone who is out there talking about hurting people has to be taken seriously. We can no longer afford to be a country in which people make these sorts of threats, and they are taken lightly. prgtoken Based on all of this information we have gathered, last week I came to the floor and announced a number of initiatives that I hope the Senate will move forward on to make sure these things never happen again. It is important to begin by recognizing that those of us who serve here are in the business of passing laws and making public policy. Making public policy isn't just about coming up with the best idea you can come up with, but it is also about coming up with the best idea you can come up with that actually has a chance of being implemented into law. What that means is, in order to get something done, we need 60 votes in the Senate on virtually any issue, we need a majority of the votes in the House, and we need a White House that is willing to sign it. If those three things don't happen, you do not have a law. prgtoken So what we spent time trying to do is identify what can we get 60 votes for in the Senate, can pass in the House, and be signed by the President that will make a difference. That has been our criteria. That does not mean there are not other important issues that deserve to be debated--and they will continue to be debated--but it means what can we pass quickly and put in place because, unlike tax policy or some of the other issues we talk about here, there is a time urgency related to this. The time urgency is that it is fair to say there is a high probability that somewhere in America today there is someone like the killer in Parkland who has ideas about doing something similar, and we do not have the luxury of waiting until November or waiting until next year before we act, especially if there are things we agree on. prgtoken Something remarkable happened over the weekend. Almost all of the 17 families impacted by this horrifying event came together and spent a signifi
CONGRATULATING THE CITY OF ALTON, ILLINOIS
Mike Bost (Republican, IL) \u2014 2018-3-6

I rise today to recognize the determination of a young man from my hometown of Murphysboro, Illinois. prgtoken Rowdy Loyd has cerebral palsy and a nerve disorder, but that has not stopped him from trying out for the Murphysboro Red Devils basketball team year after year. While he hasn't made the official roster, he serves as team manager. Going to every game all through his high school career, and every practice, Rowdy had a constant presence with the team, coaches, and our community. prgtoken Last month, Rowdy finally got the chance to see game time. Rowdy scored 10 points on the night, including a buzzer-beating 3-point shot. In Rowdy's own words: I got a whole lot of school behind my back, and my family. I've got a lot of people that support me. So it was awesome to know that they all came to the game to watch me play. prgtoken Rowdy, we are all proud of you. Wishing a Happy Anniversary to Tracy Bost
THE UNHRC MUST STOP UNFAIRLY TARGETING ISRAEL
Joe Wilson (Republican, SC) \u2014 2018-3-6

Israel is America's treasured ally in the Middle East, and we must stand up for our friends when they are being treated unfairly. Recently, we have seen the United Nations targeting Israel with six anti-Israel resolutions passed in the last year alone. This is hypocritical discrimination. prgtoken That is why I introduced House Resolution 728, which recognizes that the United Nations Human Rights Council wastes U.S. taxpayers' money by targeting Israel and reiterates that they prgtoken need to stop the shameful, prejudicial behavior toward Israel. Even U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed disappointment with the Human Rights Council singling out Israel, given the multitude of other human rights violations occurring around the world. prgtoken I was grateful for the opportunity to have attended the AIPAC Policy Conference this weekend, where I participated in a panel discussion on the threat to Israel from Gaza. There I highlighted the broad security concerns Israel is facing, such as the Hamas tunnels, and discussed ways in which the United States can assist to address the threats of kidnapping and murder, such as the murder of Taylor Force. prgtoken In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September the 11th in the global war on terrorism. prgtoken Americans appreciate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a world statesman, for his visit to Congress today.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Bill Huizenga (Republican, MI) \u2014 2018-3-6

I rise today regarding missed votes due to a mild medical issue. Had I been present for roll call vote number 81, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 1222 the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2017 I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 82, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 2422 the Action for Dental Health Act of 2017 I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 83, on the Table Appeal of the Ruling of the Chair, I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 84, On Ordering the Previous Question, on H. RES. 748 Providing for consideration of the bill H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 85, On Agreeing to the Resolution to H. RES. 748 Providing for consideration of the bill H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 86, On Ordering the Previous Question, to H. RES. 747, Providing for consideration of the bill H.R. 4296 to place requirements on operational risk capital requirements for banking organizations established by an appropriate Federal banking agency, and providing for consideration of the bill H.R. 4607 the Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act, I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 87, On Agreeing to the Resolution, to H. RES. 747, Providing for consideration of the bill H.R. 4296 to place requirements on operational risk capital requirements for banking organizations established by an appropriate Federal banking agency, and providing for consideration of the bill H.R. 4607 the Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act, I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 88, On Motion to Recommit with Instructions, H.R. 4296, To place requirements on operational risk capital requirements for banking organizations established by an appropriate Federal banking agency, I would have voted ``nay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 89, On Passage to H.R. 4296 To place requirements on operational risk capital requirements for banking organizations established by an appropriate Federal banking agency, I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 90, On Agreeing to the Amendment to H.R. 1865 Mimi Walters of California Amendment No. 2, I would have voted ``yay.'' Had I been present for roll call vote number 91, On Passage of H.R. 1865 Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, I would have voted ``yay.''