mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
IN HONOR OF ANNA MAC CLARKE
Andy Barr (Republican, KY) \u2014 2020-9-11

. Madam , I rise today to honor Ms. Anna Mac Clarke. Ms. Clarke was a native of Anderson County, Kentucky and worked to desegregate our nation's armed forces during WWII. Today she is honored with the renaming of her hometown Main Street in her honor. prgtoken Ms. Clarke grew up in Anderson County and was a 1937 graduate of Lawrenceburg High School. She then furthered her education at Kentucky State College where she participated in athletics, wrote for the school newspaper, and joined Delta Sigma Theta sorority before graduating with a bachelor's degree in sociology and economics in 1941. Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Ms. Clarke decided to join the all-female Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). prgtoken Upon completion of WAAC officer training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, Third Officer Anna Mac Clarke became the first African-American WAAC assigned to a command that was otherwise an all-white unit. Ms. Clarke went on to lead a unit of 144 African-American women in service at Wakeman General Hospital at Camp Atterbury, Indiana before also serving at the WAAC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. After the WAAC auxiliary units became a part of the regular army, Ms. Clarke let the first Women's Army Corps (WAC) unit onto base at Douglas Army Air Field in Arizona. When she and her unit first arrived, the base was segregated. However, Ms. Clarke stood against this injustice, refused to sit in the colored section, and raised this issue with commanding officers. In response, the commanding officer issued the following order, ``Educate properly all enlisted and civilian personnel in your respective departments to accept any colored WACs assigned as you would any white man or woman in the Army of the United States. Every consideration, respect, courtesy, and toleration will be afforded every colored WAC. No discrimination will be condoned.'' prgtoken Ms. Anna Mac Clarke sadly passed away on April 19, 1944 at the age of 24 following complications from surgery. Yet, her steadfast contributions to the desegregation of our armed forces serve as an extraordinary example of courage and patriotism in service to one's country. It is my honor to recognize Ms. Clarke, as a street is renamed today in her honor in her hometown of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. I am forever grateful for brave Americans like Anna Mac Clarke.
RECOGNIZING THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY
Michael T. McCaul (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-9-11

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the important work of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Specifically, I want to recognize the important partnership between the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Red Cross, as well as congratulate them on celebrating their Centennial in the United States. prgtoken For the past 10 years, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Red Cross have teamed up to host the ``Muslims for Life'' Blood Drive Campaign to remember the lives lost on 9/11. I am proud to work alongside the dedicated members of this community as they push to spread the message of peace and global unity. It is through their message of religious tolerance and freedom where we can truly bring people together in peaceful harmony. prgtoken It is through actions like that I stand as a proud member of the bi- partisan Congressional Ahmadiyya Muslim Caucus, which works with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to protect religious freedom and fight against religious intolerance. prgtoken Through the work in the Caucus, I have been fortunate to meet His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who serves as the fifth Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. As the spiritual leader of the community, his message of global peace and devotion to human rights radiates to his millions of members around the world. prgtoken As we persevere in the movement for human rights and religious tolerance across the globe, I am grateful to continue this partnership with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and thank them for their positive work in our communities.
APPRECIATING BILL RISER
Joe Wilson (Republican, SC) \u2014 2020-9-11

. Madam , the Midlands of South Carolina is appreciating the extraordinary service of the late Bill Riser, as so well revered by The Times and of Orangeburg on August 21, 2020: John W. Riser Sr. West Columbia--On Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, John William ``Bill'' Riser Sr loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away at the age of 86 after a short illness. Bill was born on Jan. 4, 1934, in Bowman, to the late Thomas ``Doc'' Riser Sr. and Nell Weathers Riser. He received a BS degree from Clemson University in 1957, where he played basketball from 1952-56. He was on the first Clemson team to play in the first ACC Conference in 1954. He worked for the Clemson University Extension Service in Aiken, Saluda and Richland counties retiring in 1989. In 2015, he was in the first class of inductees to be inducted into the A. Frank Lever County Extension Agent Hall of Fame for service to S.C. and the farming industry. Bill also served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1991-2002 for House District No. 69, Lexington County. His tenure in the House included effective membership on the critical Ways and Means Committee and on the budget subcommittee for Higher Education, TECH, and Cultural, as well as his vital chairmanship of the legislative Personnel and Benefits Subcommittee. He was also a member of the Agricultural, Natural Resources and Environment Affairs Committee for four years. Bill served his community well, and never met a stranger. When he became Richland County's top agent, he became a media star, hosting the Early Riser show from 1976-89, and was a columnist for The State. A longtime farmer and extension agent, he never refused to share plant and garden tips as he traveled the countryside. Bill was a former Jaycee, Lion's Club member, and worked with the youth in the 4-H program in Saluda County. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Peggy Ann Gwinn Riser. They raised three children, Deborah A. Riser of Columbia, Karen R. Roof (Robert) of Eastover and John W. Riser Jr. (Jennifer) of Atlanta; four grandchildren, Caldwell Roof, Kirsten McClam, Emma Riser and Chloe Riser; as well as one great-grandchild, Drakeford McClam.
HONORING BUMGARNER FAMILY FUNERAL SERVICE
Dan Bishop (Republican, NC) \u2014 2020-9-11

. Madam , today I salute the people of Bumgarner Family Funeral Service in Laurinburg, North Carolina, who helped raise the spirits of their community in these difficult times by giving away 50 3x5 American flags to honor the Fourth of July. Their initiative to give out American flags for free not only serves their community, but also honors their country. I want them to know that their efforts have not gone unrecognized and that I am doing everything I can to help small businesses like Bumgarner in these trying times. prgtoken The Bumgarner family has taken time and effort on their part to remind us all that we live in a wonderful country, a country worth celebrating. They have my sincerest admiration and thanks. Their example of patriotism and fortitude deserves recognition. It is this kind of initiative and patriotism that I love to see in our communities, and I am proud to represent them in Congress.
HONORING EMORY ALTIZER
H. Morgan Griffith (Republican, VA) \u2014 2020-9-11

. Madam , I rise in honor of Emory Ralph Altizer of Cedar Bluff, Virginia, who passed away on August 29 at the age of 99. Once recognized as America's oldest coal miner, Mr. Altizer represented the strong work ethic, spirit, patriotism, and faith that characterize the people of Virginia's Ninth Congressional District whom I am honored to serve. prgtoken Mr. Altizer was a native of Tazewell County, born on August 12, 1921 to William and Chloe prgtoken Day Altizer. He graduated in 1940 from Richlands High School. He began his career in the coal mines of Southwest Virginia in the 1930s. He told Coal People Magazine in 2007 that the first time he entered an underground mine, he could stand up in low-seam coal. ``I was raised in mining,'' Mr. Altizer said. ``Don't know why I liked it. I just did.'' prgtoken Like many of his generation, his life was interrupted by World War II; also like so many, he proudly served, manning the tail gun of a Martin PBM Mariner flying boat stationed aboard the USS Chandeleur. prgtoken After the war, he resumed his career in the coal mines, working at a succession of them over 68 years. He saw the industry change many times, but he remained dedicated to it. As he said to Coal People Magazine, ``I'm getting old, I know, and I realize someday I'm going to have to quit, but I don't want to. Don't want any handouts. If I ever thought I couldn't help, I would quit.'' prgtoken In 2012, when he stopped working in the mines at last at the age of 91, he was recognized as America's oldest coal miner. He met then- candidate in 2016, and I had the honor to meet Mr. Altizer several times as well. prgtoken Mining was important to Mr. Altizer, but it wasn't the only thing. He was a charter member of the Richlands Tabernacle and attended Belfast Full Gospel Fellowship. He was married for 73 years to his wife Lila, and they had six children. prgtoken Emory Altizer is survived by Lila, his children Danny, Dana, Diane, and Doug, thirteen grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, two great-great grandchildren, and his brother Landon. I would like to offer them my condolences. In a region that takes pride in its coal mining heritage, Emory Altizer became a legend.
RECOGNIZING HOWARD BERRY'S TIRELESS ADVOCACY FOR VETERANS
Brad R. Wenstrup (Republican, OH) \u2014 2020-9-11

. Madam , I am honored to recognize Mr. Howard Berry of Cincinnati, Ohio, who passed away on June 17, 2020, for his tireless advocacy for veterans of the United States Armed Forces. prgtoken After tragically losing his son, Joshua, a U.S. Army veteran, to suicide, Mr. Berry dedicated himself to veteran mental health issues and veteran suicide. His advocacy throughout Greater Cincinnati led to expanded resources and programs for veterans experiencing post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). prgtoken Recognizing a serious problem, Mr. Berry started Flags for Forgotten Soldiers, which placed American flags on the graves of servicemembers who died from suicide to honor their service. Flags for Forgotten Soldiers has now been replicated in 32 other states. prgtoken Mr. Berry was passionately committed to raising awareness about veteran suicide, and in February 2020, Ohio became the first state in the nation to dedicate a highway and recognize veteran suicide in that way. prgtoken I thank Howard for his commitment to drawing greater attention to this issue and providing better resources and care for our nation's brave and deserving veterans. Our community is grateful for his many years of advocacy and contribution.
CONGRATULATING JANET MENZIE ON BEING NAMED SECONDARY TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Pete Olson (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-9-11

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Clements High School choir director Janet Menzie for earning the Texas Association of School Administrators 2021 Region 4 Secondary Teacher of the Year. prgtoken The fine arts play an integral role in our education system, and our teachers are the backbone. The arts also support the emotional and mental health of our children, a worthy cause especially during this global pandemic. Mrs. Menzie is a gift to her students and an exceptional example for her peers. Her dedication to empowering our youth deserves recognition and the utmost appreciation. prgtoken On behalf of the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas, congratulations, Mrs. Menzie, on this achievement. I thank her for her commitment and passion while teaching our kids the power of music.
ONGOING TRANSATLANTIC ENGAGEMENT THROUGH THE OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
Richard Hudson (Republican, NC) \u2014 2020-9-11

. Madam , I rise today to update my Congressional colleagues on my continued consultations with transatlantic partners to address critical challenges in European security. prgtoken On September 2nd, I joined a video meeting of the leadership of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA), in my capacity as Chairman of that body's Committee on Political Affairs and Security. The meeting included about one dozen parliamentarians from across Europe. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi also participated in the discussion. prgtoken The news of the confirmed poisoning of Russian political figure Alexey Navalny broke during our meeting, and I am pleased to report that my colleagues and I immediately agreed to unanimously condemn this heinous act, whose origins can be traced directly to the Putin regime. There are now reports that some in Germany are reconsidering the Nordstream 2 pipeline deal with Russia. I have long argued against this project in the Parliamentary Assembly on grounds that it jeopardizes Europe's energy security. prgtoken The Assembly's leadership continues to monitor the deeply concerning developments in Belarus in the wake of the falsification of the results of the presidential elections in Belarus on August 9. Detentions and brutal treatment of protesters, members of the media, and bystanders continues unabated even as the Belarusian people rise in defense of their fundamental rights, rights the Belarusian government has pledged itself to uphold under the Helsinki Final Act. I am honored to represent the U.S. Congress in discussions with our European partners as we try to encourage a peaceful and democratic way forward for the people of Belarus. prgtoken Among the other issues under discussion was the outbreak of fighting along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in mid-July and the role that regional powers may be playing in the tense security situation. We agreed that the parties should continue to look for ways to de- escalate, and to resume negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Assembly has generally backed the work of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the agreed international format for addressing the conflict; the prgtoken Co-chairs have called for all sides to refrain from provocative statements and actions. We were asked to look into troubling reports that, following the devastating August 4th Beirut port explosion, de facto Armenian authorities in Nagorno Karabakh are resettling displaced Lebanese Armenians to disputed or occupied territories. While any reasonable person witnessing that horrible event would welcome the Armenian Government's efforts to provide relief and resettlement support to displaced Lebanese Armenians, I fear that resettlement in disputed or occupied territory could damage prospects for a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The Assembly's leadership agreed to consider additio
CORONAVIRUS
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2020-9-14

. Now, , on a totally different message, I had hoped, s had hoped, and the American people had hoped that the Senate would be spending this week finishing up another bipartisan agreement on coronavirus relief. We want to get hundreds of billions more dollars into the pipeline for kids, for jobs, for healthcare. prgtoken Unfortunately, Senate chose to block it all. Our ic colleagues voted against hundreds of billions of dollars to help Americans fight the virus. This wasn't even a vote on final passage, just a procedural vote to break the ic leader's filibuster and move forward with something. Senate , nevertheless, filibustered the aid. prgtoken Then, just a few short days later, they went right back to signaling that a ic Senate majority paired with a President would abolish the filibuster and permanently vandalize this institution to more easily force radical change on the country. This threat to permanently disfigure the Senate has been the latest growing drumbeat in the modern ic Party's war against our governing institutions. prgtoken There was former Senator Reid starting the ``nuclear'' exchange back in 2013. There have been years of unprecedented tactics to try and deny President the government the people elected. There has been the least fair, least thorough, and most rushed impeachment inquiry in modern history. prgtoken Now, the most shameless--the most shameless--hypocrisy: Senate happily use the filibuster to block coronavirus relief and Senator Tim Scott's police reform bill at the very same time they are conspiring to destroy that very tool so they can ram through their radical agenda if they ever win power. Grade A hypocrisy and nothing more. prgtoken We have had former President call for ``eliminating the filibuster, another Jim Crow relic,'' about 1 month after his own party used it to kill Senator Tim Scott's police reform bill. We have some of former Vice President 's allies in the Senate daydreaming about ending the filibuster even as they themselves use the filibuster to kill pandemic relief for working families. prgtoken want completely different sets of rules depending on whether they hold power--different sets of rules depending upon whether they hold power. They want to assert minority rights when they have the minority and steamroll them if they get a majority. prgtoken Here is NBC News: ic insiders are assembling a coalition behind the scenes to wage an all-out war on the Senate filibuster. . . . Veteran party operatives, activist groups and supportive Senators are coordinating message and strategy. prgtoken This takes measuring the drapes to a new level. The ic leader and his colleagues aren't just measuring the drapes; they are calculating how much kerosene it would take to burn the drapes down. prgtoken They aren't just threat
COVID-19 PANDEMIC TIMELINE
Michael C. Burgess (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-9-14

I thank the gentleman, Dr. Roe, for yielding and for convening this hour. prgtoken I think it is so important that the people hear directly from us, the doctors who are serving in the United States House of Representatives. prgtoken When Dr. Roe was delivering his remarks, I was reminded of how the information about this illness came to us prgtoken and how serious it seemed that a city in China, a city of 10 million people, would be shut down. prgtoken Clearly, this was a significant illness and must be taken quite seriously, but I will say the committee on which I serve, the Subcommittee on Health for the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the very committee that the Congress before had worked on the reauthorization of the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act, would not hold a hearing on this during the month of February. It was a missed opportunity. prgtoken We had created the legislation that reauthorized pandemic preparedness. The President had signed that into law in June 2019. Now, 6 months later, we are faced with this possible worldwide pandemic. prgtoken You would think there would have been enough curiosity on the committee to do some real-time oversight. Did we get it right? Were we focused on the right conditions? Were we responding to the right signals? prgtoken But we don't know because we didn't look. We had to do hearings on flavored tobacco, horse racing, ticket stubs, all kinds of other things. prgtoken It was not until the end of February, tacked on to the waning moments of a budget hearing, that we heard from the Secretary of Health in the principle subcommittee that deals with health in this United States House of Representatives. prgtoken Dr. Roe also has talked about the speed with which the development of the vaccine is progressing, and it is truly remarkable. prgtoken Just as a data point, for people who may not remember, when Ebola was careening through western Africa, in August 2014, we basically had a vaccine that was at the same place as our candidate vaccines were at the end of August 2014, the end of phase 1 trials. The final approval by the Food and Drug Administration came in December 2019. prgtoken Clearly, that 5-year time horizon is just too long in this situation, and the administration recognized that. The President recognized that and leaned into the process of developing a vaccine. prgtoken One of the more remarkable things I have seen is that the Food and Drug Administration is going to license the production of appropriate vaccine candidates prior to their approval. prgtoken Now, they can't be sold until they get that final approval, so there is a financial risk that is taken by the companies that proceed with the production of that vaccine. prgtoken But for those who remember the fall of 2019, when H1N1 was such a problem in this country, remember the vaccine was developed and then another month went by before there was sufficient quantity of the vaccine to begin vaccinating t
RUSSIA
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2020-9-14

the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which happened last month, was a very disgusting thing to hear about. Such action in Russia or by Russia is not unprecedented. In 2015, the leading democracy advocate in Russia, Boris Nemtsov, was gunned down within the sight of the Kremlin. The square in front of the Russian Embassy in Washington is now named in his honor, echoing the effort that I led to name the street in front of the old Russian Embassy after the dissident Andrei Sakharov. prgtoken Nemtsov's protege in the Russian opposition, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was then poisoned--poisoned twice but miraculously survived and continues to work for Russian democracy. The good news is that Mr. Navalny is reportedly conscious. prgtoken Now, a silver lining may also be that Putin's latest attempted assassination is bringing our allies toward a consensus to treat Putin as a pariah. prgtoken There are reports of senior German politicians reconsidering their support for Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which divides our European allies. This pipeline is opposed by countries like Poland and the Baltics that truly understand that Putin will use it as a strategic influence tool, as well as by the administration and bipartisan majorities in Congress. prgtoken I hope all of these happenings are a start of a new era of cooperation with our Russian allies to counter Russian influence. prgtoken . prgtoken .