mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RECOGNIZING FRANCES GIVENS OF FONTANA
Norma J. Torres (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-7-25

I rise today to honor the life of Frances Givens, a resident of our 35th Congressional District in Fontana, California, who was well known as a fierce advocate for senior citizens. prgtoken Fran Givens dedicated her life to promoting issues important to senior citizens such as affordable housing, increased availability of gerontology doctors, transportation, and access to and coordination of all available services. Fran served in the Senior Assembly of the California Senior Legislature from 2006 to 2014, where she was a leader among the volunteer body whose mission it is to enhance the quality of life for older Californians and their families. prgtoken As a committed advocate, Fran never missed an opportunity to raise attention to issues that affect senior citizens. Fran frequently served as a public speaker for senior citizen issues on the radio, at City Council meetings, clubs, dinners, and fundraisers. She could also be found passing out hundreds of brochures about the California Senior Legislature, to elevate the mission of the group. prgtoken The state of California is home to incredible people who possess a spirit of public service and a commitment to their communities. Fran was a champion for senior citizens' issues. Her advocacy efforts have made lasting contributions to the community of Fontana, the state of California, and beyond. prgtoken In 2014, I had the honor of awarding Fran the Woman of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award, a well-deserved recognition of her exemplary record of community service. prgtoken On July 5th of this year, Fran passed away at the age of 83. Her legacy teaches us all to relentlessly devote ourselves to what we care most about, and for that I would like to recognize Frances Givens.
RESTORING ACCESS TO MEDICATION ACT OF 2018
Danny K. Davis (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-7-25

who demonstrates with regularity the intensification of real care for the people. prgtoken Today, we take up another bill that does nothing to make up for the long-term sabotage of the Affordable Care Act. Tens of millions of working families also see their healthcare costs skyrocket due to the repeated efforts to undermine the healthcare system. prgtoken Tens of millions of Americans with preexisting conditions will still fear the loss of guaranteed health protections with the horrible choice of loss of health insurance or untenable premiums. prgtoken The s' sabotage will cost a typical family of four in my congressional district $2,250 more in insurance premiums in 2019. The s' sabotage will cost a typical 55-year-old couple in my congressional district $3,570 more in 2019. prgtoken The 2019 premium hikes follow an average 37 percent increase in 2018. These premium hikes are especially disturbing when contrasted with the billions in tax cuts the s gave to insurance companies in their tax law. prgtoken H.R. 6199 makes a small change to health savings accounts used exclusively by the wealthy. Many of my constituents have trouble paying for basic living costs like heat, food, and housing. They ask me regularly for a few hundred dollars to help their kids stay in college. prgtoken The vast majority of my constituents can't set aside tens of thousands of dollars to pay for their medical care out of pocket in a health savings account. This legislation does nothing to increase coverage, improve affordability, or change the skyrocketing costs of healthcare. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to reject this bill, and I urge my colleagues to bring up meaningful legislation to improve coverage and lower costs to help the tens of millions of Americans in need.
FEDERAL EMPLOYEE UNIONS
Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat, DC) \u2014 2018-7-25

I come to the floor today to speak to two issues. One, is the dagger thrown at the heart of the right of Federal employees to organize. The second will be ICE raids that randomly rounded up residents of the District of Columbia without a warrant and without any cause. prgtoken Let me proceed first to the gang-up on Federal employees by the executive and s in the House to undermine the rights of Federal unions to represent Federal employees. prgtoken We have seen s for years try to weaken the rights of Federal employees. Certainly, we have seen them go at unions before. But this time, they have gone even further. The intention to destroy the right of a union to represent Federal employees is the clear intent of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. prgtoken I shall explain why that intent is so obvious this evening. The American Federation of Government Employees had a rally today. Attending also were many other employee unions, but the AFGE led the rally because of the acute danger that the current work of the House and the President present to the right to organize and to be represented. prgtoken Federal employees are represented in virtually every category of work by the AFGE. If we look at what the President and the House s are doing, it is clear that they have declared war on their own Federal employees. They have done it by striking at the heart of the right to be represented by a Federal union. prgtoken I will explain how they have moved against that right, but, first, let me explain where that right comes from and why there is any such right at all. prgtoken You certainly don't have that kind of right in the business sector. You can't prgtoken go to the business sector and say: Hey, look, I have a right to have a union here. prgtoken You have to fight for it, and I might add, so do Federal unions have to fight for it. They have to get their cards and the Federal employee votes. But there is an important trade-off here. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, recognizing that the Government did not want to allow Federal workers the right to strike--which is a constitutional right--designed a system which is indeed a trade-off. You will give up the right to strike, and, in return, you, Federal employees, will have the right to be represented by a union if you win a union election and the Federal Government will not oppose your right to organize. prgtoken That is very important because employers in the private sector, of course, do oppose. I don't mean to say that Federal agencies don't try their best to see that an agency doesn't get representation, but they cannot simply keep that from occurring. That is the trade-off from the Civil Service Reform Act. prgtoken One of the most important aspects of the right to represent Federal employees is to use official time-on-the-job to represent employees to settle matters with a Federal agency. That is the whole reason
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019--Continued
Joe Manchin, III (Democrat, WV) \u2014 2018-7-25

I rise today to offer an amendment that would appropriate funding for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Department of Treasury to investigate the illicit trade of synthetic opiates originating from the People's Republic of China. prgtoken In 2016, synthetic opiates killed 19,413 Americans. That is more than heroin, which killed 15,469, and prescription pain pills, which killed 14,487. prgtoken Between 2013 and 2016, deaths involving synthetic opioids increased 625 percent. Most illicit synthetic opioids found in street drugs originate in China, with some shipped through Mexico, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration and United Nations narcotics monitors. prgtoken China produces over 90 percent of the world's fentanyl and exports a range of fentanyl products to the United States, including raw fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, fentanyl analogues, and fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescription drugs, like oxycodone and pill pressers. prgtoken Unlike previous epidemics where there are a few underground sources, many manufacturers of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors in China are legitimate companies legally producing and exporting legitimate drugs and chemicals to the United States. According to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, ``the primary obstacles to controlling fentanyl and NPS flows lie in China''--China itself. prgtoken Unfortunately, China has yet to meaningfully crack down on the illicit production and export of these drugs and their derivatives, despite the urgings of the President of the United States and all of our officials. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl will kill most people. prgtoken This amendment is simple. It dedicates $1 million for the Office of Terrorism Financial Intelligence within the Department of Treasury to study the illicit trade of synthetic opioids coming into our country from China. This is consistent with the office's dual mission safeguarding the financial system against illicit use and combating rogue nations, terrorist facilitators, weapons of mass destruction, money launderers, drug kingpins, and other national security threats. prgtoken I urge the adoption of this much needed amendment. prgtoken Thank you.
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019--Continued
Martin Heinrich (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2018-7-25

I just want to take a moment and, in particular, thank my colleagues from Kansas and Colorado, as well as my colleague from New Mexico, Senator Udall, and especially Senator Moran of Kansas, as well as Senator Roberts and Senator Gardner and Senator Bennet, all for their efforts on behalf of the Southwest Chief line. prgtoken Long-distance passenger rail routes, like the Southwest Chief, literally connect millions of Americans from across the country who live in rural communities to the rest of the Nation. They do that culturally, and they do that economically. prgtoken Each year, the Southwest Chief in New Mexico, for example, brings thousands of Boy Scouts from all across our great Nation to the Philmont Scout Ranch and generates economic activity in every community along the way, whether it is in Las Vegas or Lamy or Albuquerque--you name it. In many cases, long-distance routes provide the only affordable transportation alternatives to highways for rural residents, particularly the elderly and the disabled. prgtoken I thank all of my colleagues from these States for standing up for long-distance passenger rail, for working to reject any proposals that would suspend long-distance rail service and literally send rural residents back to the back of the bus. prgtoken We have a disconnect in this country between the rural and the urban economies, between the center of the heartland and the coasts in this country, particularly economically. If we are going to combat this, we have to invest in the transportation infrastructure and the information infrastructure that can make a difference in rural communities. prgtoken This is not the time to be turning our backs on rural communities with regard to passenger rail and transportation. That would be an absolute travesty for small communities all through the heartland, whether you are talking about Kansas or Colorado or New Mexico--or, really, from one end of the Southwest Chief all the way to Chicago, to the West Coast, in Arizona and California. prgtoken I thank all of my colleagues who have been fighting for this issue. It is incredibly important to so many of my constituents in New Mexico. I urge everyone to support the Moran-Udall amendment. It is absolutely critical.
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019--Continued
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2018-7-25

while our colleagues from Tennessee and Missouri are here, I just want to tell you that along with Lisa Murkowski and Tom Harkin, I worked on this issue when we were debating the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken As I recall, a provision on menu labeling was included not just in the Finance Committee version of the bill but also in the version that came through the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. That was adopted out when we did the Affordable Care Act--I want to say around 2009, 2010, 2011--and it has taken a long time for the FDA and other regulatory bodies to figure out how to actually implement our legislation. prgtoken The reason we adopted legislation is that we spend a whole lot more money on healthcare in this country than many other developed nations. In the United States, we spend 18 percent of our GDP--18 percent. In Japan, they spend 8 percent of their GDP. If you look at people in Japan--I have lived there and worked there as a naval flight officer. When you look at the people in Japan, compared to us, they are less obese. prgtoken We have a huge problem. One out of three people in our country are overweight or obese, including kids. Hence, we decided we weren't in the business of telling people what they should eat or shouldn't eat, but the idea of trying to inform people what they were eating and to work with the restaurants and grocery stores and others to try to make this happen is something that was close to my heart and certainly close to Lisa Murkowski's heart and Tom Harkin's heart. prgtoken I am not one of the people who has objected to what I think Senator Blunt is proposing, but I am still deeply interested in the issue and would welcome a chance to be involved with my colleagues from Mississippi and Tennessee going forward, if they would like, and I am sure Senator Murkowski would feel the same way. prgtoken That is not why I came to the floor, but thank you very much and bon appetit. prgtoken , what I did come to the floor for was to talk about something I think is important to almost all of us. prgtoken Back in the late sixties--actually early seventies--I served two tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war, and the highlight for us every day was mail call. Every day, every week we looked forward to what we would get from our families and friends back home. We even welcomed getting credit card bills. Just having some connection to the mainland was always welcomed then. prgtoken Today we have troops scattered around the world. They still get mail call. It is not as important to them. It is not as meaningful to them. They still get packages and that kind of thing--letters, birthday cards, and so forth--but it is not as important to them as it was to us. prgtoken We communicate a lot differently now. Folks who are deployed around the world can use Skype. They can use the internet. They can use text messaging and all kinds of ways to communica
EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FACES SIGNIFICANT READINESS CHALLENGES AFFECTED BY BUDGETARY UNCERTAINTY
John Garamendi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-7-25

such time as I may consume, as long as it does not exceed 20 minutes. prgtoken , the gentleman from Texas spoke boldly and correctly. If I could get a copy of his speech, as I will, I think I will use it myself. prgtoken He covered all the issues that I would want to cover in talking about the United States Air Force as a representative of two very important Air Force bases, Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield-Vacaville, California, and Beale Air Force Base just outside of Marysville, California. prgtoken I found myself not only in sympathy and empathy, but also marching right alongside the gentleman from Texas as he eloquently spoke about the role of the Air Force and the necessity of Congress to provide the adequate funding for not only repairing and maintaining the existing aircraft and bases, but also to expand and improve. prgtoken Certainly, I am looking forward to the arrival of the KC-46s to Travis Air Force Base. If Boeing will get that done, we will get on with it. prgtoken However, I want to remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that funding for the military is ultimately dependent upon the revenues of the Federal Government, which are dependent upon the health of the economy. Those things go together. prgtoken My esteemed colleague from Wyoming, in her remarks on the previous bill, addressed the issue of how we tax and who we tax or whether we tax. An interesting point was raised about this and whether it is possible to tax too low. prgtoken A situation has arisen in the State of Oklahoma, where they thought they could cut taxes continually and everything would grow, and there would be great opportunities. Well, the opportunity turned out for the highway patrolmen to buy their own gas, and for schools to go to 4- and even 3-day sessions, because there was no money. prgtoken So my point is this, that we have to balance things here. I raise this issue in the context of the appropriate desire of my colleagues to adequately fund the military, because I read in the newspaper yesterday and again today that my colleagues intend to go to tax cut 2.0. Very interesting. prgtoken In the face of a trillion-dollar deficit in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, we would do another massive tax cut in hopes that the situation would be such for the revenues of the Federal Government that we could fund everything that the military wants and whatever other needs we decide must be funded. prgtoken Well, let's see. We just borrowed, or are about to borrow, $12 billion from China to pay American farmers for their losses resulting from a trade war with China in which China was supposed to somehow grow our economy by not shipping as much to America. prgtoken That is convoluted, but it is what we are going to have to do if we cut taxes again. We are going to have to grow the Chinese economy, so we can borrow money from China, and then import from them. prgtoken I guess this makes sense to some, but I think
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019--Continued
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2018-7-25

. Thank you, . prgtoken I want to join my colleague from Virginia, Senator Kaine, and others who prgtoken have come to this floor to talk about the important work that is done every day on behalf of the country by our Federal civil servants. As my colleagues have said, these are people who do the work for the American people in Maryland, Virginia, and States in every part of this country. They are the nurses and doctors taking care of our veterans at veterans hospitals. They are the folks in our intelligence community who are the eyes and ears for our country, detecting foreign threats so that we can respond to them in time. They are the people at the Social Security offices, whether in Virginia or the Social Security Administration in Maryland or others around the country, who are making sure that people who put in a full day's work and had a long career can get the Social Security support they earned. They are the people at places like the National Institutes of Health who are working every day to discover cures and treatments for diseases that impact every American family. prgtoken Unfortunately, rather than treating these Federal civil servants with the dignity and respect they deserve, the administration is taking multiple steps to harm the ability of these men and women to do their job for the American people. It is especially ironic in an administration where we have seen people appointed to heads of Cabinet agencies who have been documented to have wasted lots of taxpayer dollars and abused the public trust--an administration that puts those people in the highest offices at the same time they are undermining the work of Federal employees who go to work every day. prgtoken I am pleased to join my colleagues today to stand up for these Federal employees. I wish we didn't have to be here, but we have to be here because the administration issued a series of Executive orders just a few months ago that go after Federal civil servants, just as we have seen this administration attack workers' rights in the private sector across the country. prgtoken The first Executive order that was issued short-circuits the collective bargaining process. It imposes a new, rigid process under which Federal agencies are allowed to impose workplace policies without good-faith negotiations. Good-faith negotiations are required now, and this would undermine that requirement. prgtoken The second order imposes arbitrary limits on the time that Federal employees in a union can carry out their duties to represent their fellow workers. No single case is the same, and Federal employee unions are required not only to represent the people who sign up as members of the unions but all Federal workers. So to arbitrarily dictate the amount of time necessary to protect the rights of a Federal employee is simply wrong and will undermine the justice within the system. prgtoken The third Executive order, which is especially egregi
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-7-25

I thank my friend and colleague from Vermont for yielding and my colleague from Alaska, as well, for allowing me to interrupt their very important and bipartisan debate. Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh prgtoken , 8 years ago, when Elena Kagan was nominated to the Supreme Court, Senate s said: We must get all of her documents from the Clinton Library and have enough time to analyze them so that we can determine whether she should be a Justice. The leadership did not say some of the documents; they did not say a subset of the documents; they did not say the documents for just one administrative job; they said all of her documents. prgtoken I showed this letter yesterday to my friend who is now the chairman of the Judiciary, Senator Grassley. He said it is totally different. He is a man of integrity, but I know there are times he gets twisted by his leadership and the President to do things that aren't consistent, and this is one of them. prgtoken The s didn't ask only for certain documents. They asked for all, and we are asking for all. This is one of the most important positions in the world and certainly in America. Shouldn't we know everything? It is not just some of the stuff and some of the stuff that the White House wants us to know--but everything. prgtoken Our friends on the other side of the aisle demanded all of the documents for Justice Kagan. The agreed. It was the right thing to do. And because Elena Kagan had nothing to hide, she went happily forward and said: Go right ahead. Now s ought to do the same thing for Judge Kavanaugh, particularly if he has nothing to hide. prgtoken For the last week, Senator Feinstein has been ready to jointly request the same documents of Judge Kavanaugh that s demanded of Justice Kagan, but our colleagues are dragging their feet and refusing to agree. They are the reason this whole activity has been slowed down. It is not ic obstruction. It is the ' desire for transparency and openness that the s are blocking. They are being the obstructionists. prgtoken The s' rationale is--they are downplaying Judge Kavanaugh's role as White House Staff Secretary. They argue that we don't need to see documents from that part of his career, although they have no argument against it. They think we don't need them. We think we do. Why not show them to us? prgtoken Here is what Judge Kavanaugh himself has said. He said that ``my 3 years as Staff Secretary for President --were the most interesting and in many ways the most instructive.'' prgtoken Kavanaugh himself said that the very documents we want to see and s are blocking us from seeing are the most instructive. Shouldn't the American people see the writings of what their own nominee calls the most instructive? prgtoken As Staff Secretary, Kavanaugh said he ``participa