mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Introductory Statement on S. 3095
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2018-6-20

I am pleased to be joined by Senator Blunt in reintroducing the Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act. prgtoken According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, by 2030, there will be a shortage of up to 120,000 physicians. Over one third of the shortage, up to 49,300, will be in primary care. Individuals and families living in underserved areas--urban and rural--will continue to be those most disadvantaged by this shortage. prgtoken The passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 ushered in an expansion of access to health insurance for millions of Americans. While we fight to protect these gains and work to improve the system further, many Americans are going to the doctor for preventive health care for the first time. In order for this to be successful, we must expand our health care workforce to ensure that we have enough health care professionals to seamlessly accommodate the newly insured as they join the ranks of those who already have coverage. In addition, as the baby boomers age, we will need health care professionals to care for them as well. According to the Pew Research Center, roughly 10,000 baby boomers will become eligible for Medicare every day through 2030. prgtoken The Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act would authorize programs that would grow the overall number of health care providers, as well as encourage providers to pursue careers in geographic and practice areas of highest need. prgtoken Building on the success of the National Health Service Corp (NHSC) Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program and the State Loan Repayment Program, our legislation would establish a State scholarship program. Like the NHSC State Loan Repayment Program, States would be able to receive a dollar-for-dollar match to support individuals that commit to practicing in the state in which the scholarship was issued after completing their education and training. At least 50 percent of the funding would be required to support individuals committed to pursuing careers in primary care. The States would have the flexibility to use the remaining 50 percent to fund scholarships to educate students in other health care professions with documented shortages with the approval of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. prgtoken The Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act would also authorize grants to medical schools to develop primary care mentors on faculty and in the community. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, graduating medical students consistently say that one of the most important factors affecting the career path they choose is role models. Building a network of primary care mentors in the classroom and in a variety of clinical settings will help guide more medical students into careers in primary care. prgtoken The legislation would couple these mentorship grants with an initiative to improve the education and training off
ZTE POSES A THREAT TO OUR SECURITY
A. Donald McEachin (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2018-6-20

ZTE, the Chinese telecom corporation, poses a clear threat to our security. The Pentagon has banned the sale of ZTE devices on U.S. bases, saying they ``may pose an unacceptable risk to the Department's personnel, information, and mission.'' prgtoken Similarly, there is no dispute that ZTE violated sanctions designed to pressure Iran and North Korea. In April, the Department of Commerce instituted appropriate penalties. prgtoken Now, for transparently political reasons, President has reversed those penalties, giving ZTE a new lease on life. prgtoken As elected officials, one of our most basic responsibilities is to keep Americans safe. In granting ZTE an undeserved reprieve, the President did just the opposite. The failure is dangerous and unacceptable. prgtoken Last week, the Senate approved a bipartisan NDAA amendment to restore the penalties President revoked. I am pleased by their success, and I will strongly support efforts to maintain that language in the coming NDAA conference. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same. prgtoken Politics needs to stop at the water's edge. Congress can and must do what the President will not.
HONORING GEORGE MATTHEW COCKERTON
Mike Thompson (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-6-20

I rise today to honor Mr. George Matthew Cockerton, a veteran school administrator, who is retiring after serving twenty-seven years in the Kelseyville Unified School District. prgtoken Mr. Cockerton was born in Oakland, CA, and has two adult children, Cori and Ryan. He attended California Polytechnic State University in San Louis Obispo and California State University, East Bay where he received his Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and his teaching credential. He also earned a Master's degree in Education and an Administrative Credential from the University of San Francisco and received a Tier II Clear Administrative Credential from National University. prgtoken Mr. Cockerton began his career in education as a Physical Education teacher, Athletic Director and Coach in 1985. In 1991, he became the Vice Principal and Athletic Director of Kelseyville High School. Mr. Cockerton was the Principal of Mountain Vista Middle School from 1996 to 1997. He has been Principal of Kelseyville High School since 1997. He is a member of the California Association of Teachers and the Association of California School Administrators. He was also a member of the Coastal Mountain Conference, a local high school sports league, for twenty-seven years and served as president for two years. prgtoken Mr. Cockerton has been active in our community. He is a long time coach for Westshore Little League Baseball and has served on their board. He is also a coach for Westshore Youth Football, where he has been the President of the organization. prgtoken , George Matthew Cockerton has served his community honorably as a school administrator and coach. It is therefore fitting and proper that we honor him here today.
INDIVIDUALS IN MEDICAID DESERVE CARE THAT IS APPROPRIATE AND RESPONSIBLE IN ITS EXECUTION ACT
Bobby L. Rush (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-6-20

. Mr. Chair, such time as I may consume. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment that finally addresses a longstanding and discriminatory gap in coverage and expands treatment options for those suffering from addiction. prgtoken This House, , should be commended for its work on opioid addiction, but let us not forget that we have insidiously ignored another pervasive and catastrophically destructive addiction that is known as crack cocaine. prgtoken To remedy this, , my amendment would expand the bill to include those individuals suffering from cocaine use disorder and explicitly clarifies the inclusion of cocaine base, more commonly known as crack cocaine, which, along with opiates, is a double-barrel cause of drug-related deaths in communities like mine all across this Nation. prgtoken Too often, , this House seems to only have focused on issues when they have affected the majority, the White population. This leaves vulnerable, non-White, minority Americans without any chance to escape from their illness and their resulting suffering. prgtoken Too often, , the government's response to minority Americans has been mass incarceration instead of treatment. Too often, , crises that impact the African American communities are seen as a criminal justice problem, while those that affect the White community are seen as a public health problem. That phenomenon changes today. prgtoken I know opponents of this amendment will say that we should be expanding coverage to all those suffering from addiction. I wholeheartedly agree, , with that statement. However, while more remains to be done, today's action is a step in the right direction. prgtoken This is an important moment for those who have been addicted to crack and have been denied such access to treatment. Today they will finally get relief as we make historic progress in the fight against addiction and the injustice that continues to tear communities apart. prgtoken For this reason, I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this worthwhile and meaningful amendment. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .
FORCED FAMILY SEPARATION
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-6-20

I come to the floor to talk about the President's Executive order about the separation of family policy and about the incarceration of family policy that has now replaced it. There are details that are unknown at this point about how this program will be working as we go forward, but we know enough right now to have the most serious and significant concerns about the President's Executive order. prgtoken Every great nation--even the greatest Nation in the history of the world like the United States of America--has moments of extraordinary shame, times when it loses its moral compass, and it simply takes the wrong direction. We can remember a number of them in our own Nation's history. One of them was the internment of Japanese children who were thrown into World War II-era detention camps and imprisoned, in effect, with their parents. Almost every lawyer in the United States of America and most citizens know the name Korematsu, and that is because it was a moment of shame for this country. prgtoken Ending family separation--the process of tearing children away from their moms and dads--is a welcomed and humane step, but the solution should not be the indiscriminate and indefinite detention of children. Family separation should not be replaced by family imprisonment. There is no moral advantage to incarcerating children as opposed to tearing them away from their parents. In fact, it is not only immoral, it is illegal. The courts have said so on a number of occasions--in 1997, in the Flores case, which is now well-known to everyone, but more recently, in fact, as recently as 2016. The reason goes to the core of our constitutional principle about how and when and whom we imprison, how we take liberty away from people. prgtoken Indefinitely imprisoning children and families is still inhumane and ineffective law enforcement. President 's current policies will put children behind bars indefinitely and indiscriminately. Children will experience many of the same enduring of trauma, pain, and harm. The world will continue to watch the United States of America lock up innocent children and throw away the key. prgtoken Much like the policy of family separation, this new policy of indefinite and indiscriminate family detention harkens back to those dark days, to those moments of shame in this country during World War II. History will judge us as harshly if we fail to speak out and stand up at this moment of testing. The gaze of history is upon us now. It is upon the President. It is upon every Member of the U.S. Senate. prgtoken There are immense costs to this policy--$775 a day, per individual, at these detention camps. Yet the costs are way beyond dollars and cents; they are to the moral image and authority of this country and to our self-image--the accountability to ourselves, to our own sense of morality and humanity. prgtoken The world was outraged when it saw children being torn away from parent
IN RECOGNITION OF DIXIE HORNING
Jackie Speier (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-6-20

I rise to recognize one of the most gifted and effective leaders I have met, had the distinct honor to work with over several decades, and am proud to call a dear friend. Dixie Horning is retiring from her leadership roles as Executive Director of the University of California, San Francisco National Center of Excellence in Women's Health and Associate Chair for Finance and Administration for the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, after 20 years of service with that esteemed institution. Her transformational work at UCSF followed 30 years of transformational public service in Texarkana, Arkansas, Lafayette, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. prgtoken Dixie is a master at building communities, designing public policy, administering complex programs, and managing organizations and people. prgtoken Dixie has been honored by UCSF with two prestigious Chancellor's Awards recognizing her service above and beyond her appointed roles. The Chancellor's Award for the Advancement of Women recognized her contributions to success of many individuals through her coaching, mentoring and sponsorship of UCSF staff, faculty, high school young women and leaders of community organizations. Dixie's vital efforts to advance and improve UCSF's partnerships with its community, with an emphasis on the sharing of power in these relationships, was recognized by the Chancellor's Award for Public Service. Dixie's contributions to our network of National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health cannot be understated. She traveled across this big country of ours guiding and supporting other Centers in transforming women's health and healthcare. prgtoken There is no task imaginable Dixie couldn't tackle. To understand why she is so effective it helps to understand her life philosophy--what I like to call the Five Dixie Principles: 1. Earn leadership through presence and performance. 2. Practice active skill transfer to build sustainability: everyone has something to learn and everyone has something to teach. 3. Don't go anywhere unless invited. 4. Prepare a place at the table for all stakeholders. If a stakeholder is not yet ready to join, don't delay, begin the work but leave the seat open for future participation. And 5. Long term change requires long term presence. Those have been Dixie's ingredients for long term and sustainable success. prgtoken Dixie started her remarkable career in Texarkana, Arkansas in the early 1970s. She was hired as a gym recreation program coordinator in the Model Cities Program, an initiative of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. She embraced the goals of developing new antipoverty programs, achieving community integration, building better local government, engaging citizens in meaningful ways and translated them into reality. She built ten major parks, established the first domestic violence shelter, created art museums for children and community centers for seniors. She launched si
ENERGY AND WATER, LEGISLATIVE BRANCH, AND MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019--Continued
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2018-6-20

I come to the floor today to talk about the 74th anniversary of the GI bill, which we will be celebrating later this week. prgtoken Before the Senator from Connecticut leaves the floor, I want to thank him for his comments. I want to follow up briefly on what he has said. As the Presiding Officer knows, and our colleague from Connecticut knows, every Wednesday morning, there is a prayer breakfast s, Independents, and a number of Senators from both sides have breakfast together. One of the Senators talks about their faith and how their faith affects the way they approach their work here, our work here. prgtoken Today, I was invited to speak, and I mentioned that sometimes when people say ``What kind of are you?'' I say I am a who has read Matthew 25. prgtoken People say: What is Matthew 25? prgtoken Matthew 25 goes something like this. When I was hungry, did you feed me? When I was naked, did you clothe me? When I was thirsty, did you give me something to drink? When I was sick and imprisoned, did you visit me? When I was a stranger in your land, did you welcome me? prgtoken Every day here, the Chaplain starts our session with a prayer, and we have Bible study groups. I want to take a minute, and I don't expect my friend from Connecticut to stay on the floor, but I want him to hear the beginning of this. I just want to cite a couple of Scriptures. There are one or two in the Old Testament and maybe one or two in the New Testament. prgtoken In the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament, chapter 19, we read these words: ``When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him.'' prgtoken The next verse, 34, reads: ``You should treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him [or her] as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.'' prgtoken In the New Testament are the words of Jesus. We read in Matthew 18, I think verses 2 through 6: ``He called a little child [meaning Jesus] and placed the child among them.'' prgtoken Jesus said to them: ``Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child [who was with him that day] is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my Name welcomes me.'' prgtoken Matthew 18:6 reads: ``If anyone causes one of these little ones, those who believe in me, to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck than be drowned in the depths of the sea.'' prgtoken That is pretty straight talk or, as we used to say in the Navy, the straight skinny. Those are good words from the Old Testament and the New Testament to keep in mind. prgtoken Again, from Connecticut for his words. 74th Anniversary of the GI Bill prgtoken , our colleague fro
HONORING SALVATORE LUCIANO ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT
Rosa L. DeLauro (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-6-20

I am pleased to rise today to join the family, friends, and colleagues who have gathered to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to Salvatore Luciano as he celebrates his retirement, marking the end of a nearly 50-year career in public service and Connecticut's union movement. prgtoken Sal has dedicated a lifetime to Connecticut's working families. Beginning his career in 1980 as a social worker with the Connecticut Department of Children and Youth Services, Sal spent many years working on behalf of some of our most vulnerable children. Investigating cases of abuse and neglect, Sal worked to ensure their safety and protection. It was also at this time that he began his involvement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). prgtoken First serving as a steward in Local 2663, Sal was elected the chapter's President in 1989 and of AFSCME Council 4 in 1999. In 2001, he left state service when he was appointed Executive Director of Council 4 to fill a vacancy. He would go on to win the election outright in 2002 and has held the position he has served in ever since. Headquartered in New Britain, Connecticut, Council 4 represents 35,000 workers in state and local government as well as the private non-profit sector. Sal has led the fight on behalf of his membership, striving to ensure a fair wage, quality, affordable health benefits, and security in their retirement. Sal has been a vocal and tenacious advocate and his presence at Council 4 will most certainly be missed. prgtoken Sal's involvement with Connecticut's Labor movement extends beyond his work at Council 4. He is also the Executive Vice President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO and a member of the International Executive Board of AFSCME. He serves as a Vice President of the United Labor Agency, (AFL-CIO) and is a Board Member of the State of Connecticut Retirement Commission. Sal has dedicated much of himself to improving the quality of life of Connecticut's working family--a legacy that will serve as an inspiration to future labor leaders. prgtoken I have had the pleasure of knowing Sal for many years and have always considered myself fortunate to have benefitted from his experience and guidance and to call him my friend. Today, as he celebrates his retirement and begins a new chapter, I am honored to have this opportunity to join family, friends, and colleagues in thanking Salvatore Luciano for his outstanding service to Connecticut and our working families. I wish him all the best for many more years of health and happiness.
FORCED FAMILY SEPARATION
Kamala D. Harris (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-6-20

I want to thank Senator Merkley for bringing us all together to address what is, I think, as my colleague Senator Hassan has said, one of the dark marks in the history of our country. prgtoken I rise today to call attention to what has clearly been a human rights abuse committed by the U.S. Government, and that is the outrageous and inhumane separation of children from their parents at the border. This morning, prgtoken thousands of children woke up without their parents, not knowing where they were, not knowing when they would see them again, not knowing the adults who surround them, having no relationship of trust with these people who have removed their ability to be in the arms and embrace of their parents. This is simply inhumane, and it is unacceptable. prgtoken Even with the Executive order from the President of the United States, that number will be the same tomorrow. Those 2,000-plus children will be in the same situation tomorrow that they were in today and the day before and the day before and the day before that. prgtoken Over the last few months, the Department of Homeland Security has separated more than 2,000 children from their parents at the border, many of them younger than 4 years old. Let's be clear about what that point is and that moment is in this stage of human development. Age is more than a chronological fact. There are phases of childhood that can never be replaced--phases of childhood that when that child experiences trauma, he or she will have lifelong impact; phases of life during which a child is so innocent and needs love and needs nurturing and needs that love and nurturing from their parents. It cannot be replaced by anyone else, and certainly not by the cage in which they are now being held. prgtoken So let's look at where we are. It is a child's worst nightmare, a nightmare that is displayed, as my colleagues have discussed, in the stories of a child who was apparently ripped from her mother's breast while being breastfed. There are nightmare stories of a 3-year-old who was torn from the arms of his father and the father being so distraught that he took his own life. prgtoken We should tell the truth. We have to speak the truth. The American public knows the truth. Let's speak truth here in the U.S. Senate. Let's speak truth as leaders and acknowledge the lifelong consequences of the separation we visited upon these children and their parents. The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have weighed in on this topic, and what they have said is that family separation in these cases, not as a general matter--it is generally true--but specifically in these cases it will cause lifelong trauma. They have indicated there is empirical evidence of the fact that it is likely to cause significant harm to the brain structure of these children and will affect these children's long- and short-term health. prgtoken Let's be clear. A society is jud