mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Mario Diaz-Balart (Republican, FL) \u2014 2019-1-10

here is the sad truth which, by the way, everybody knows, unfortunately: This bill, if passed, will not reopen the Federal Government. prgtoken By the way, how do I know that? Because this bill already passed last week. It is sitting in the Senate. It has not reopened the Federal Government. This is another false attempt to fool the American people. prgtoken Some of the great Appropriations members of our time would be rolling in their graves right now if they knew that the House is taking up a Senate bill with zero input and zero amendments from any Member of the House--not one Member of the House. So, obviously, we should reject this flawed strategy. prgtoken But I want to thank the ranking member, Mr. Aderholt, for speaking about some of the specifics. I want to just talk about a couple of specifics in this bill where it falls, frankly, very, very, very, very short. Let me talk about a couple issues that are very important to Florida. prgtoken Citrus is a key, critical industry for Florida. This bill does not adequately fund citrus greening research. It falls seriously short on funding something that is so important for the survival of our farmers and the industry in Florida. prgtoken Also, , it falls short on combating the oriental fruit fly, another critical issue for our farmers in Florida. prgtoken We have to recall that Florida is still recovering from the devastation caused by recent hurricanes. This bill falls short in helping the farmers in the State of Florida. prgtoken But as I said at the beginning, , if that wasn't enough, this is all a charade. prgtoken By the way, do you know what the sad part is, ? I am going to be proven right. prgtoken Last week, a lot of us said that about those bills that our friends on the other side of the aisle said were going to reopen the government. Do you know who was proven right and who was proven wrong? We are going to be proven right again.
RECOGNIZING LIZ DUNBAR
Derek Kilmer (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2019-1-11

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Liz Dunbar for her many years of transformative public service on behalf of folks in my region. prgtoken As executive director of Tacoma Community House, Liz has been an unyielding advocate for social justice. Liz has lived a life of service. She spent 25 years at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, where she worked in several capacities, including State refugee coordinator, diversity director, assistant secretary for economic services, and, ultimately, as the deputy secretary of the department for 6 years. prgtoken But 10 years ago, Liz stepped into her role at Tacoma Community House, an extraordinary 100-year-old organization dedicated to empowering immigrants and ensuring that all people in the greater Puget Sound region can live with dignity and achieve their personal and professional goals. prgtoken Each year, Tacoma Community House serves approximately 3,500 clients from more than 100 different countries through its four core programs of employment, education, immigration, and advocacy. prgtoken Madam , Liz Dunbar has made a difference. She has helped thousands of people get the chance to realize the American Dream. prgtoken So I rise today on behalf of our community to thank Liz and to recognize her for a career well spent in public service.
ORDERS FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019
Tammy Baldwin (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2019-1-11

I rise to speak about President 's shutdown and the real pain that it is causing in my home State of Wisconsin and in communities across this country. The shutdown is now in its 21st day, tying the longest Federal Government shutdown on record. Today is also the day that approximately 800,000 Federal workers will not get their regularly scheduled paychecks, including approximately 3,000 Wisconsinites. Many of these workers are doing their jobs without pay: Coast Guard workers, Transportation Security Administration agents, air traffic controllers, along with Federal law enforcement, including FBI and DEA agents. prgtoken These hard-working Americans are suffering because President and s in Congress refuse to support bipartisan legislation to end this shutdown and reopen the government. prgtoken We should be working today to pass bipartisan legislation to end this senseless and useless shutdown and reopen the government. Sadly, no votes are scheduled today by the Senate majority leader, meaning that the shutdown will continue. prgtoken The House did their job and passed bipartisan legislation to end the shutdown, but Senator Majority Leader McConnell has thus far objected to bringing up this legislation in the Senate. In fact, yesterday, I joined many of my colleagues on this Senate floor in an effort to pass, once again, bipartisan legislation to reopen the government, but Majority Leader McConnell blocked our efforts, and the pain will continue for so many across this country. prgtoken Why is the government shut down? Over the past 3 years, President has publicly promised well over 200 times that Mexico would pay for his wall. Now he has shut down our government over his failure to keep his promise. He even said that he takes pride in this shutdown. prgtoken The American people shouldn't pay for this deception, and Congress should not make taxpayers pay billions of dollars for his wasteful and ineffective wall. What we should do instead is reopen the government and pass bipartisan Homeland Security legislation--supported by both and s--that provides smart and cost-effective border security. prgtoken President 's shutdown has many consequences, and he has created many victims. I want to speak about some of the pain Wisconsinites are feeling. prgtoken In Wisconsin, the shutdown is hurting farmers and rural communities. It really could not come at a worse time. Wisconsin lost over 600 dairy farms last year and over 500 the year before. In response, Congress worked together on a bipartisan basis to pass a farm bill that would support our farmers and our rural economy. prgtoken Unfortunately, with this shutdown, President has threatened all of that progress. His shutdown is stalling the implementation of the bipartisan farm bill and delaying things like subsidy payments and loans that farmers need to get ready fo
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019--Motion to Proceed
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2019-1-11

today marks the 21st day of the government shutdown, an unnecessary and shameful government shutdown. We are now tied with the longest shutdown in American history. prgtoken A few weeks ago, the President of the United States, President , said he would be ``proud'' to shut down the government if he didn't get his way. This is nothing to be proud of, and the harmful impacts of the shutdown are growing by the day, growing on people throughout this country who are being denied important government services, impacting every American. prgtoken We just heard the other day from the Food and Drug Administration that they are no longer going to carry out some of their food safety inspections, putting at risk the American food supply for every American. We heard from the EPA that they are going to be suspending their monitoring of some toxic pollutants, also having a growing harmful impact every day on the country and putting the health of American citizens at risk. So that is nothing to be proud of, nor should any of us be proud of the fact that today marks the first full pay period in this shutdown where Federal employees are going to get no pay. These are civil servants who go to work, when they are allowed to, for the good of our country in all sorts of Agencies, providing fundamental services. prgtoken Today--I know you can't read this document from there--they are getting pay stubs, and on the pay stubs in the place where their normal pay period salary should be, there are zeros--zeros. prgtoken I just arrived on the Senate floor from a meeting that Senator Cardin, my fellow partner representing the State of Maryland, held in Howard County, MD. We met with 16 Federal employees, most of whom have been locked out of work and all of whom are not getting any paychecks. We wanted to bring them together to hear about the impact this shutdown was having on their lives and on their families. prgtoken The first thing they wanted to talk about was that they wanted to get back to work to do the business of the American people. When they are out of work, so many Americans who rely on their efforts are denied the benefit of their work. So they emphasized the fact that their No. 1 priority was to get back to work on behalf of the American people. prgtoken We also wanted to hear from them directly about what the impact was on them as individuals and their families because they are now getting a big zero on their pay stubs. prgtoken One of the people we heard from was Freda McDonald. She works at FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Administration. She has a chronic medical condition that requires her to get treatments every week. She said she has pretty good insurance to cover most of her health condition, but the insurance doesn't cover the cost of her medication fully, and she needs to get that on a weekly basis. Then, on a weekly basis, the copays amount to hundreds of dollars. So she is going to be squee
PASSAGE OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
Carolyn B. Maloney (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-1-11

in Washington continue to urge the President to reopen the government, end the crisis of his own making, and get Federal employees back to work. prgtoken Despite this unfortunate situation dragging on, we can celebrate good news out of Richmond, Virginia. Wednesday marked the first day of Virginia's State legislative session. And on day 1, a Senate committee passed a resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. prgtoken Thirty-seven States have voted to ratify the ERA since it passed Congress in 1972, two in the last 2 years. Thirty-eight States must ratify a constitutional amendment, and Virginia could get it across the finish line. prgtoken I am thrilled to witness this energy to enshrine women's equality in the Constitution where it belongs. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this incredible State effort, in Virginia and elsewhere, to amend the Constitution to finally ensure equality for all women and men in this country.
ORDERS FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019
Mark R. Warner (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2019-1-11

. As somebody who has been in the private sector longer than the public sector, like my friend the Senator from Virginia, we both had the honor of being Governors of Virginia. We have both been in executive positions. We have both been in positions where we had workforces. As a business guy, you could tell how well the business would do by how you treated your workforce. That is the most important asset you have, your human capital. prgtoken If we think back on the past decade, we found ways, appropriately so, for our military to get funded. We found ways, I think irresponsibly, to dramatically cut our taxes, particularly for folks at the top. Every time we had to try to make cutbacks. Where we made cutbacks has been in what we call domestic discretionary, which in English are things like the TSA, like air traffic controllers, like the Agriculture Department, like the Coast Guard, and each year, whenever we find short cuts, we cut those programs. prgtoken As a matter of fact, domestic discretionary spending is at the lowest percentage it has been since the 1960s. So we asked all these folks who were furloughed or being asked to work without pay, we asked them to do more with less, which isn't great for the workforce morale. prgtoken Now we have a White House--and, my gosh, I wish somebody from the White House could have sat there today. I would have loved for them to try to explain how they ought to go back and negotiate with their landlords about the rent due, or how they ought to make do with a side job, or how they ought to do, as some folks were doing, as I was going to report--some Virginians are selling their personal possessions on eBay to pay the bills. The fact that this White House is willing to go to the border for a political photo op--the President's words, not mine--or get on television and blast his political opponents but not be willing to send anyone from this administration to sit down and listen to the concerns of our Federal workforce is disgraceful. prgtoken I again thank my colleague from Virginia for his great work on this. I think it is appropriate that we are in session today raising these issues. Think of the level of angst that is going to take place over the next 48 hours as more and more people get those paychecks with zero on it. We haven't seen anything yet. The kind of angst we felt in Virginia, in Maryland, and the District, people will feel all over the country. prgtoken We need to bring this government shutdown to an end. We need to put our workforce back to work, and we need to make sure the services they provide are being applied in a way to make our country safer and find a way to make sure that never ever again will we use these folks' lives as what they are being used right now--their words, not ours--political pawns. They are more important, their jobs are more important, their lives are more important than the way they have been treated over these last 21 days. prgtoken
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Ken Calvert (Republican, CA) \u2014 2019-1-11

. Madam , such time as I may consume. prgtoken Madam , I rise in opposition to H.R. 266, the ic proposal for funding the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and related agencies for the remainder of fiscal year 2019. prgtoken This bill is almost entirely a Senate product. As such, it ignores the bipartisan priorities of the House and, perhaps even worse, it abdicates congressional responsibility under the Constitution to keep the executive branch in check. prgtoken Before I get into the details of the bill, however, I want to take a moment to congratulate my friend and colleague, Betty McCollum, for her appointment as the new chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. prgtoken She has been a tireless advocate for programs under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee, a firm but fair overseer of agency operations, a tough negotiator and, above all, a good friend. She will be an outstanding chair. I wish her well, and I look forward to working with her in both of our new capacities. prgtoken Madam , over the past year, Ms. McCollum and I worked in collaboration to write a bill representing the needs and priorities of the House. We held nine budget oversight hearings, including four hearings with nearly 80 Tribal leaders regarding programs that honor treaty rights promised to our Native American brothers and sisters. prgtoken We wrote a bill that accommodated, in some shape or form, roughly 93 percent of all House Member requests, regardless of party. On top of that, when the bill came to the House floor, 70 amendments were debated and 50 were adopted. prgtoken And when told to begin negotiating the House-passed bill last year, we defended it against competing priorities in the Senate. We came together on numerous topics to write report language directives that maintain a check on the executive branch. prgtoken I am extremely proud of our work. We are so close to a final product. We shouldn't be throwing it all away with the bill before us today, a bill that the Senate has already said it will not consider and the President will not sign. prgtoken Let me highlight just a few of the House priorities missing in this product which concern me the most, and which are likely to concern our colleagues on both sides of the aisle. prgtoken First and foremost, the bill leaves behind all congressional report language directives. These directives are critical for keeping the executive branch in check. These directives are also the conduit through which the concerns of our constituents back home are heard directly by agency officials at the highest levels. prgtoken All of our colleagues in the House who have worked with their constituents and worked with the Appropriations Committee over the past year to craft these directives understand the effort that went into them and the impact they have on people's lives back home. The bill
HONORING CHAPLAIN G. WILLIAM BRYAN
Ted Budd (Republican, NC) \u2014 2019-1-11

. Madam , I rise today to honor the life, legacy, and ministry of Chaplain G. William Bryan. I just knew him as Chaplain Bill. prgtoken He was a fellow alum of Dallas Theological Seminary and was most widely known as DTS' beloved chaplain. To many, he was a friend and encourager. To Shirley, he was a devoted husband. He was the father of three, grandfather to nine, and a spiritual mentor to many, including me and my wife, Amy Kate. prgtoken I will never forget, when tragedy struck my family a few decades ago, that Chaplain Bryan was one of the first to reach out with comforting words, prayer, and follow-up. His role as chaplain served thousands every year, but when you saw him, you felt as if you were connecting with a best friend. prgtoken Chaplain Bill was also known to play his trumpet with full vigor. As a student at DTS, I avoided the front row in chapel for fear he might actually explode during the hymn, ``All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name.'' prgtoken Chaplain Bill, we will miss you down here, but we look forward to joining you in the everlasting song, with your trumpet at full tilt, as we crown Him Lord of all.
ORDERS FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019
Lisa Murkowski (Republican, AK) \u2014 2019-1-11

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m Monday, January 14; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; finally, that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture motion with respect to the motion to proceed to S. 1 ripen at 5:30 p.m Monday.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Michael K. Simpson (Republican, ID) \u2014 2019-1-11

I thank the gentleman from California, my good friend, for yielding and for the job that he has done as chairman of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee in the past. prgtoken Let me begin by saying that we all want the government to reopen--all on this side, all on that side. We don't agree with this shutdown. I also want strong border security, and I know you all want strong border security. We disagree about how to get there. prgtoken These can both be accomplished with a little word called ``compromise.'' I heard everybody throw around that word quite a bit and then go back to their hardened positions and forget what a compromise is. So I looked it up in the dictionary, because I thought maybe I was mistaken about what a compromise is. prgtoken The dictionary says it is ``a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, et cetera, by reciprocal modification of demands.'' prgtoken We can't call for a compromise and then go back to our hardened positions and say: ``I want everything I want, and you get nothing you want.'' prgtoken This bill is not a compromise. If you would bring up the compromised conference bills between the House and the Senate, you would have my support, but that is not what this is. This is the Senate bill. prgtoken We have a conference bill between the House and the Senate that was prepared to be brought to the floor last year and never made it. Bring up that conference report. prgtoken Unfortunately, by adopting just the Senate bill, we might not even have a House Chamber. Why have a House Chamber if all we are going to do is adopt whatever the Senate decides to do? prgtoken This bill, as has been mentioned, reduces funding by $160 million from the House bill for Indian Country, and has a: $21 million reduction from the House bill for hazardous fuels reduction that prevents catastrophic wildfires; $23 million reduction from the House bill in sage-grouse funding, which is vital to keeping the species off of the endangered species list; $27 million reduction from the House bill for national parks funding, which is needed to solve the maintenance backlog; and $12 million reduction from the House bill for the Water Infrastructure Finance Act, which is critical to financing community water projects, given the enormous backlog that exists for our water system. prgtoken The bill also leaves out vital report language directives from the House bill that were carefully crafted to represent House Members' priorities, both and ic priorities. They are being totally ignored with this legislation. prgtoken In the end, we all know that this isn't going anywhere. This is just a game. And I have got to tell you, , I am tired; I am tired of the finger-pointing, the name-calling, and the games we are playing. prgtoken I know that on the ic side of the aisle you are gett
STRENGTHENING BORDER SECURITY
Neal P. Dunn (Republican, FL) \u2014 2019-1-11

I rise today on behalf of the people of Florida's Second Congressional District who stand in strong support of the administration's efforts to secure our southern border. Unfortunately, obstructionist leadership on the other side of the aisle is unwilling to even consider a commonsense solution to the problem that hurts the security of our Nation. prgtoken This has become a needlessly divisive issue. We simply must secure our borders. Despite the steadfast efforts of law enforcement, human traffickers, drug dealers, and other violent criminals continue to enter our country from the southern border daily. Furthermore, the majority of heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in America are smuggled into America from Mexico. prgtoken With the opioid epidemic and drug addiction costing our economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually, and taking countless lives, we must take action. prgtoken I stand with my colleagues and President in our commitment to secure our Nation and protect our people.