mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-3-12

on a different subject--Russia. Despite heaps of evidence Russia interfered in our election, President has hardly lifted a finger to punish Russia or safeguard future elections. This is a dereliction of duty. prgtoken Over the last few weeks, the Senate has heard testimony from the DNI--the Director of National Intelligence--and the head of the U.S. Cyber Command. Neither had been directed by the administration to counter Russia's continued efforts to undermine our democracy. A report in the New York Times last week documented how President 's State Department ``has yet to spend any of the $120 million it has allocated since late 2016 to counter foreign efforts to meddle in elections or sow distrust in democracy.'' Still, the administration has not fully implemented the sanctions Congress passed to punish Putin. prgtoken Meanwhile, Russia-linked bots continue to sow division and inflame political tensions on social media. Multiple officials from the intelligence community have warned that Russia will try to interfere in our elections again. We have done nothing to harden our election security in anticipation of the midterms. prgtoken Our democracy is under attack, and the President of the United States seems unwilling to punch back or even harden our defenses. It is as if an enemy naval flotilla were headed to our shores, and we didn't put up any defense. That is exactly what is happening. It is a new world. It is not a flotilla of a navy or planes buzzing along our coasts, but it is these cyber attacks and social media attacks on our election system, but they are every much as vital to America as our physical defense. Yet we hear nothing, nothing, nothing out of the White House. prgtoken You only have to look to our ally, the United Kingdom, for an example of how a nation should respond to the threat from Russia. Just today, Prime Minister Theresa May went to the House of Commons to expose a likely Russian attack against two people in her country using a nerve agent. She demanded a response from President Putin and promised appropriate countermeasures if he refuses or the answer is insufficient. prgtoken Prime Minister May's quick and decisive action is exactly what is missing from President when it comes to cyber security in our elections. prgtoken President still has an opportunity. Over the weekend, President Putin rather ridiculously blamed Ukrainians, Jews, or other minorities for the attack on our election in 2016--another attempt, of course, at misdirection and distraction. In reality, Special Counsel Mueller's investigation has charged 13 Russian nationals with subverting the 2016 elections--not Ukrainians, not Tatars, not Jews but 13 Russian nationals. prgtoken Today Leader Pelosi and I, alongside Senator Feinstein and Congressman Nadler, sent President a letter urging him to use all available resources to extradite the 13 Russian nationals named in
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2018-3-12

when you went to a local bank in Mansfield, OH, to buy a house 30, 40, or 50 years ago, you knew the lender, and the lender knew you. You saw him or her at the grocery store. Maybe they went to your church or synagogue. Your kids probably went to the same school. You knew that your deposits at the bank helped fund your neighbor's house or the hardware store down the street. A lot of banks and credit unions don't work this way. prgtoken The 2008 crisis taught us that finance has changed. Now a mortgage in Zanesville, OH, is diced and sliced and sold to an investor in Zurich, Switzerland. Banks in Frankfurt place bets on loans in Fostoria. prgtoken When the system went bust a decade ago and predatory loans began to fail, Ohio taxpayers picked up the tab, including for foreign banks headquartered an ocean away. The Federal Reserve opened up a spigot of cheap money to keep the global economy from tanking. Banks in Spain, France, Japan, Canada, and Korea all came to the United States for help to weather the financial storm. prgtoken Think about this. An analysis of the Fed's lending from February 2008 to 2009 showed that the vast majority of loans went to foreign banks. After the crisis, records released to the public showed that foreign banks took more than 70 percent of the Fed's loans during the crisis and 65 percent of loans from other emergency programs. prgtoken Under one bailout scheme, British Barclays alone borrowed $232 billion from the Fed at a sweetheart interest rate--the kind of rate a hardware store in Hillsboro, OH, could never get on a loan to keep them afloat back in 2008. Think about that. British Barclays got a sweetheart deal, a better deal than a hardware store in Ohio could get from a bank. prgtoken After the crisis, Congress responded with a law, the Wall Street reform act, to ensure that taxpayers would never again have to send bailout money to British and Swiss megabanks. We ordered the Fed to keep a closer eye on the big banks--to use their power to make sure the largest global banks did not again crash the economy. prgtoken Congress instructed that the Fed apply the strictest protections to the biggest banks--those with more than $50 billion in assets. We know that. prgtoken When the Fed implemented these rules, they applied some standards to banks that have more than $50 billion across the globe, but for global banks that have more than $50 billion in the United States, the Fed applied the strongest standards. For foreign banks with not only trillions worldwide but systemic operations in the United States, the Fed wrote rules that are as strict as those for our domestic megabanks, standards that former Fed Governor Dan Tarullo called ``special prudential measures.'' They are standards that ensure that we only import Swiss chocolate, not Swiss bank failures. These special measures are important. prgtoken Last year, the Office of Financial Research released a report showing t
REMEMBERING CHARLES PENCE SLICHTER
Tammy Duckworth (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-3-12

today I wish to pay tribute to the remarkable life of Charles Slichter, a University of Illinois professor emeritus of physics and of chemistry, who died on Monday, February 19, 2018, in Boulder, CO, at the age of 94. prgtoken Slichter was a pioneer in the development and application of nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR, spectroscopy to elucidate the structure and behavior of matter at the atomic scale and a renowned expert on superconductivity. Slichter's seminal contributions to the fields of condensed matter physics and chemistry have been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2007 National Medal of Science. prgtoken Slichter is revered at the University of Illinois, where he served on the faculty for 57 years, for his fostering of the ``Urbana style,'' a way of tackling longstanding scientific problems by a combination of theory and experiment that emphasizes close interdisciplinary collaboration and mutual respect. Known by everyone for his brilliant smiles, infectious enthusiasm, and trademark bowties, Slichter exemplified science at its finest: creative, rigorous, curious, and scrupulously honest. His inspired teaching trained generations of American physicists and chemists and, through them, enabled a host of modern technologies. prgtoken NMR studies atomic nuclei by probing them with radio waves and measuring their response. The nuclei respond only when the radio waves are tuned to specific resonance frequencies, which depend on both the properties of the nuclei and their local magnetic field. The measured spectrum of resonance frequencies, as well as the time dynamics of the resonance response, gives information about the local environment of the nuclei. Magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, widely used in medicine, is an extension of NMR that enables 2D and 3D images to be reconstructed from NMR spectra. prgtoken Slichter pioneered many fundamental techniques in NMR. He was a codiscoverer, with H.S. Gutowsky and D.W. McCall, of indirect spin-spin coupling, known as J-coupling, in molecules. This phenomenon enables structural information about molecules to be deduced from their NMR spectrum and is a key analytical tool in modern chemistry. With T.R. Carver, Slichter performed the first dynamic polarization of nuclei using electron spins. Dynamic nuclear polarization can be used to increase the sensitivity of NMR dramatically, enabling the study of more complex molecules and smaller samples. Extensions of the technique are used to determine aspects of molecular structure or to provide a method of operation for the three-level maser, a microwave-frequency precursor to the laser. prgtoken Slichter and his student L.C. Hebel performed the first NMR studies on superconductors, materials in which electric current can flow without resistance. This was a major feat in itself because superconductors exclude the magnetic fields and radiowaves used to perform NMR spectroscopy. The resul
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
Bill Nelson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-3-12

so many are still grieving from the atrocious killing of 17 people at the high school in Florida. Indeed, our entire State is grieving. Broward County is grieving. Parkland is grieving. I think we are going to find on March 24, in the rallies and the marches that will occur in 500 cities around this country and will have a focus of the main one in Washington, that a lot of people are grieving, because a lot of people all across this country have been touched by these massacres that continue to occur, starting almost three decades ago at Columbine in Colorado. We have certainly had our fill of it in Florida just in the last 2 years: 49 people gunned down with an assault rifle, a Sig Sauer MCX, at the Pulse nightclub; another assault pistol used to gun down 5 people in the Fort Lauderdale Airport; and now an AR-15 used to gun down 17. He would have gotten a lot more had he been able to open the third-story window overlooking the courtyard from a perch as the students fled across the courtyard to get out of the schoolyard. He couldn't get the window open. He tried to shoot it open, but it was hurricane-proof glass, and it only shattered; it didn't break. prgtoken It has been almost 1 month since the tragic shooting. Those 17 families--14 students and 3 adults--are certainly grieving, and we have seen in the last few weeks many of the parents, students, families, and community leaders stand up to say that enough is enough. They are asking us, the U.S. Congress, to enact meaningful legislation to reduce gun violence. prgtoken The action starts in Tallahassee, and the students are going there while the State legislature is still in session, talking about commonsense solutions, such as enacting universal background checks in the purchase of a gun; not allowing a gun show loophole or a private transaction loophole; not allowing a loophole for orders on the internet; universal background checks that would include mental problems; if you have been on the terrorist watch list, that would include, of course, criminal records but also mentally adjudicated records; universal background checks in the acquisition of a gun, particularly an assault rifle. But we can't get that passed here because some folks aren't listening. prgtoken Take, for example, what was said at the White House just last night. Giving in to the will of the NRA, the White House announced that it would provide Federal funding for firearms training for teachers and other school personnel. This Senator thinks that arming teachers is a terrible idea. It is not what the students are asking for. It is not what the teachers are asking for. It is not what the American people want us to do. prgtoken Just last week, the Florida legislature passed and the Governor signed into law a bill--a watered-down version, but it is still arming school personnel, and it falls short on what is really needed to reduce gun violence and especially the massacre
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-3-12

today, with a heavy heart, I wish to pay tribute to Carmen Rodriguez, a wonderful leader, role model, and family woman. Sadly, Mrs. Rodriguez passed away on January 22, 2018--her 83rd birthday. She will be remembered for her outstanding public service, particularly her advocacy of Hartford's Puerto Rican community. prgtoken Mrs. Rodriguez was born in Aguirre, PR, where she lived until she moved to Buffalo, NY, with her husband, Faustino, and their seven children. She became an active member of the Puerto Rican community there, serving as a member of the Puerto Rican Center, as well as the director of bilingual education at Public School 76, now known as the Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy. During her time in Buffalo, Carmen worked tirelessly on her own education, obtaining her GED, a bachelor's degree from Rosary Hill College, a master's in education from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and began her PhD. prgtoken She took her passion for learning and educating to Hartford, CT, in 1979, where she managed the Work Places program at the Hartford Board of Education, which helped students learn specific trades. Soon after, she began working for the deputy mayor to measure the efficiency of the program. Subsequently, she supervised Hartford Housing Authority's tenant education program for a decade. For 3 years, Carmen served as the executive director of La Casa de Puerto Rico, until retiring in 1994. prgtoken Her legacy of extraordinary service and dedication to her community shines clearly through the many people she affected, as well as through her children's unfailing efforts to uphold their mother's progress. I have seen this firsthand as two of Carmen's children, Maria and Raul, served in the Office of the Connecticut Attorney General during my tenure as attorney general. prgtoken Carmen is known by many of us throughout Connecticut as an invaluable supporter of Hartford's best interests and a fearless leader of the Puerto Rican community. Her passion to use politics to initiate change has left her town--as well as the entire State--with great hope for the future. prgtoken My wife, Cynthia, and I extend our deepest sympathies to Carmen's family during this difficult time, particularly to her 7 children, 15 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. May their many wonderful memories of Carmen provide them solace and comfort in the days ahead.
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2018-3-12

today I wish to recognize the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Baccalaureate, which has made significant contributions to educating students around the world. prgtoken In 2018, the IB celebrates 50 years of a curriculum that prioritizes critical thinking skills with a focus on international mindfulness. This organization pioneered a movement of international education in 1968 that now offers four high-quality, diverse and challenging educational program for students aged 3 to 19 years old. Through a unique curriculum of high academic standards, the IB program emphasizes critical thinking and flexibility of learning by intertwining disciplines across cultural and national boundaries. The IB currently works with more than 1.4 million students in over 4,775 schools in 153 countries. prgtoken The IB's founders sought to create a program with a multinational approach to scholarship that would help young people develop the skills, values, and knowledge necessary to build a more peaceful future. The program inspires young people to become lifelong learners, using their energy, conviction, and positivity to engage with increasingly complex and interconnected global issues. Its program is highly respected, as the best universities in the world actively seek out IB students because of their experience with IB's crossdisciplinary and crosscultural approach. IB alumni are equipped with the skills and mindset needed to succeed and to approach challenges in innovative and effective ways. prgtoken The International Baccalaureate is one of the world's leading educational initiatives. I am honored that the IB Global Centre is located in Maryland and am delighted to recognize IB's achievements and the profound contributions it has made to education throughout the world.
NOTICE OF INTENT TO OBJECT TO PROCEEDING
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2018-3-12

I intend to object to any unanimous consent request at the present time relating to the nomination of Jason Klitenic, of Maryland, to be General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), until the ODNI and the Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (IC IG) provide fulsome responses to questions posed and documents requested concerning the Acting IC IG's efforts to terminate the Executive Director for Intelligence Community Whistleblowing and Source Protection and to hamstring the whistleblower protection program in the intelligence community. prgtoken To be clear, I have no concerns regarding Mr. Klitenic's capabilities or qualifications, and ultimately no intent of withholding my support for him as soon as this matter is resolved. prgtoken On November 29, 2017, I sent a letter to ODNI Director Daniel Coats and to Acting IC IG Wayne Stone noting disturbing allegations my office received that the IC IG was moving to terminate the Executive Director as part of an effort to significantly weaken the IC IG's role in ensuring consistent and effective whistleblower protections throughout the intelligence community. I requested that the offices seek to preserve all information contained in the Executive Director's office, much of which concerned highly sensitive protected disclosures made by individuals within the intelligence community, as well as allegations of wrongdoing against senior officials within the IC IG. I also sought all documents related to the IC IG's efforts to place the Executive Director on administrative leave and pursue personnel action against him. At that time, I informed the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that I would object to any unanimous consent request to confirm Mr. Klitenic until I received an answer to my letter. To date, I have received no response. prgtoken Since that time, the IC IG has indeed moved to terminate the Executive Director, and I have continued to receive reports that this process has been marked by significant irregularities, conflicts of interest, and ongoing efforts to ``stack the decks'' in hiring prior to the arrival of a new permanent, Senate-confirmed head of that office, who rightfully should have the authority to make such decisions. Moreover I have reason to believe these latest efforts may be a direct response to displeasure within the IC IG with Congress's exercise of its constitutional responsibility to provide fully informed advice and consent with respect to the President's nomination of a permanent IG. If true, such behavior is totally unacceptable. It is an affront not only to this institution but to the President's prerogative to choose nominees, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to lead the agencies under his authority. On the contrary, I would note that there is no independent authority anywhere in the Constitution granted to freewheeling bureaucra
CONGRATULATING KENTUCKY NCAA BASKETBALL TEAMS
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-3-12

I want to start with what I know is on everybody's mind, and that is Kentucky basketball. prgtoken The University of Kentucky Wildcats men's team won their 31st SEC title--their fourth straight, by the way. Hall of Fame coach John Calipari is leading Big Blue Nation back to the NCAA tournament and, we hope, to the school's ninth national championship. prgtoken At Western Kentucky University, the Lady Toppers just brought home a second straight Conference USA title. They are hoping the hardware keeps on coming as they head to their school's 20th showing in the NCAA tournament. prgtoken I proudly join many Kentuckians in congratulating both UK and WKU. We will be rooting for them in the Big Dance.
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-3-12

this week, we will complete work on an important bipartisan bill. Thanks to the leadership of the Senator from Idaho, Mr. Crapo, who is chairman of the Banking Committee, they passed it out of the Banking Committee, and now it is time for us to do our job and pass it out of the Senate. Last week, we voted to proceed, and we will vote to pass it out of the Senate in the next few days. prgtoken Senator Crapo explained why this work is so important. Since the passage of the Dodd-Frank legislation in 2010--as we all recall, after the great recession of 2008, when Wall Street melted down together with our financial institutions, there were reform efforts undertaken known as Dodd-Frank--Senator Dodd and Congressman Frank--which imposed regulatory requirements on banks large and small. The problem is, the small community banks--the ones that are disproportionately harmed by this overregulation--weren't the cause of the great recession, the financial meltdown of 2010 and 2009, but they are the collateral damage. What has happened is, there has been a lot of consolidation. Many small community banks and credit unions have simply had to close or been consolidated with other larger banks and institutions. It has taken a toll on our economy, and it has taken a toll on our communities across the country. What happens is, these community banks have less money to loan because they have had to use the money they would loan to hire more people to help them comply with all the unnecessary redtape because of the Dodd-Frank overregulation. Some have had to basically defer that sort of investment in their communities and prgtoken others have had to shutter completely because of the financial burden. prgtoken The second-order effect is, some people don't have access to capital; that is, to loans they need. They can't get credit they need in order to start a small business, grow an existing business, or even get a mortgage to buy their first home. prgtoken Let's be clear, though, about which financial institutions this bill is tailored toward helping. It is small community banks, midsized regional ones, as well as credit unions. The bill we are considering somehow does not exempt large banks from those regulations, and saying it does, which some have said, doesn't make it so. It is a claim too eagerly peddled by those who want to maintain the status quo, to the detriment of our smaller communities and small businesses. Large banks are still subject to measures designed to protect the stability of the overall economy, like rigorous stress testing. prgtoken After all, this bill is called the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. What it actually does is rightsize those regulations. It does this by providing targeted exemptions from risk-weighted capital requirements, for example, and the Volcker rule. It also provides a qualified mortgage safe harbor for small banks and raises the SIFI thre