mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Thad Cochran (Republican, MS) \u2014 2017-5-25

I am pleased to commend Harry Simmons, Jr of Yazoo City, MS, for his service and contributions to the State of Mississippi while serving as the 81st president of the Delta Council. prgtoken Since its founding in 1935, Delta Council has grown to be a widely respected economic development organization representing the business, professional, and agricultural interests of the Mississippi Delta region. I am grateful to Delta Council for its continuous role in meeting the economic and quality of life challenges in this unique part of our country. prgtoken Harry Simmons's tenure as council president began in May 2016. In leading the council, he has been a notably strong advocate for Federal flood control, farm support, and infrastructure improvements in the Delta region. prgtoken A Yazoo County native, Mr. Simmons graduated from Yazoo City High School and earned an agricultural economics degree from Mississippi State University. He has had a strong career as a catfish and row-crop producer. Mr. Simmons, with his daughter Katy and son-in-law Andy Prosser, jointly manage both his farm operation and highly successful catfish processing operation, Simmons Farm Raised Catfish. His processing facility employs more than 200 people in Yazoo County, and his farming operation consists of catfish, corn, soybeans, and cotton production. prgtoken In addition to his leadership in Delta Council, Mr. Simmons has served as chairman of the Catfish Institute, president of Catfish Farmers of America, and on the boards of both the prgtoken Yazoo Planters Cotton Gin and Yazoo County Development Foundations. He also served our State and Nation as a commissioned officer in the Mississippi National Guard. prgtoken I am pleased to join the people throughout my State in commending Harry Simmons, Jr and sharing our appreciation with his wife, Shirley, and their children, Emily and Katy, and grandson, Miller, as the 82nd annual meeting of the Delta Council membership convenes in June.
PROTECTING YOUNG VICTIMS FROM SEXUAL ABUSE ACT OF 2017
Susan W. Brooks (Republican, IN) \u2014 2017-5-25

. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1973, Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act. prgtoken Since my time as U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Indiana, I have been committed to battling child exploitation and abuse. prgtoken Last year, I was shocked, along with much of the country, when The Indianapolis Star published an investigative piece that exposed troubling allegations of sexual abuse at USA Gymnastics programs across the country. prgtoken According to their report, over the last 20 years, at least 368 young people, most Olympic hopefuls, were the victims of sexual abuse at the hands they trusted--coaches, trainers, doctors, and other adults associated with USA Gymnastics. They reported the abuse to USA Gymnastics, but, unfortunately, USA Gymnastics failed, in many cases, to report those allegations of abuse to law enforcement authorities. prgtoken The article shed light on their stories and inspired the legislation that is before us today. According to more than 5,600 pages of USA Gymnastics records, released by The Indy Star, some of the 54 coaches, who had been accused of sexual abuse by young athletes in their care, weren't banned from gymnastics until years after their history of abuse had been reported to and kept in complaint files by USA Gymnastics. prgtoken One USA Gymnastics doctor already referenced, Dr. Nassar, stands accused of having abused young women and girls for more than 20 years. More than 100 women have come forward today to share their stories of abuse at his hands. prgtoken I understand how challenging it is to share painful stories of sexual abuse, and I am proud of these brave gymnasts who shared their stories: stories that never should have happened, and stories that went inexcusably unanswered. prgtoken Their stories demand our action and our attention, not only to provide victims with the justice denied to them for so long but also to protect future generations of Olympic hopefuls. prgtoken I want to acknowledge the work of Senator Feinstein of California, who is leading this bill in the Senate, and my colleagues in the bipartisan Women's Caucus, specifically Representative Frankel of Florida. I want to commend the chair and the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, and other members of the committee, for taking the lead in protecting young victims from sexual abuse. Our legislation is an important step forward toward protecting these young athletes. prgtoken It addresses that dangerous silence that, as The Indy Star investigative piece showed, plagued USA Gymnastics and other governing bodies of our Olympic sports--a silence that led to more girls being abused, hurt, and harmful coaches, and others, who faced little or no repercussions for their heinous actions. prgtoken The abuse should have been, first and foremost, prevented. The system utterly failed when the abuse was not detected and not promptly reported. The U.S. Olympic Committee failed and
ARCTIC COUNCIL
Lisa Murkowski (Republican, AK) \u2014 2017-5-25

I often come to the floor of the U.S. Senate to discuss issues of the Arctic. Since the United States is an Arctic nation, it seems that it is only appropriate to give updates when there have been items and events that are noteworthy in this space. prgtoken Several weeks ago, we hosted in Alaska the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, an event duly of note and an event upon which I would like to spend a few moments this afternoon updating colleagues on all that took place at this ministerial and provide a little bit of a recap of the role of the United States as chairman of the Arctic Council for these past 2 years. prgtoken This opportunity today to congratulate those in the State Department, the people of Fairbanks, AK, and the Alaska Arctic Council Host Committee for a successful Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Fairbanks is certainly timely. prgtoken I have also come to review the accomplishments and the challenges of the Arctic Council during the recent chairmanship by the United States and I think also to look ahead at what I hope and expect will be our Nation's continued leadership in the Arctic. prgtoken As I mentioned, for the past 2 years now, the United States has been chair of the Arctic Council. This is an international forum for the eight Arctic nations. That includes the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. It also includes six permanent participant organizations that represent the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, as well as dozens of interested observer nations and international organizations. prgtoken I think it is important to recognize that while you would understand and assume that the Arctic nations are clearly interested in happenings in the Arctic, the interest in being an official observer as part of the Arctic Council has grown steadily in these recent years as nations around the world are recognizing the opportunities that are presenting themselves in this portion of the globe. prgtoken The Arctic Council was established in 1996, and it focuses its work on sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic. When we speak at these council meetings, as Arctic Parliamentarians, we always refer to the Arctic as a zone of peace. It is that way now; we would like to see it remain so. prgtoken Back in April of 2015, the United States took over as chair from Canada, and at that time, the United States proposed three thematic areas that we would focus on during this 2-year chairmanship. Those three areas were improving economic and living conditions in Arctic communities; Arctic Ocean safety, security, and stewardship; and the third issue area was to address the impacts of climate change. prgtoken While there were many who believed that the previous administration focused most of its attention on climate change--sometimes at the expense of the other two areas and most notably the focus on economic and living conditions
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-5-25

I want to spend a little bit of time today talking about how badly Care is failing the American people and how my colleagues and I are working to repeal and replace it with healthcare that works. I wish I could say that and s were working together to replace it with healthcare that works. Unfortunately, our ic colleagues have taken a walk on this particular topic and, apparently, are not interested in participating. prgtoken Even though 30 million Americans remain uninsured under Care, the individual market--where people buy their health insurance if they do not have employer-provided coverage or government-provided coverage--is in a death spiral. This was confirmed by a study by the Department of Health and Human Services. It was also the subject of a Wall Street Journal article today that makes the point that average premiums in the individual market have increased 105 percent since 2013 in the 39 States in which the Care exchanges are federally run. This translates into $3,000 more out-of-pocket for middle-class, hard-working families--a 105-percent increase in premiums since 2013. prgtoken I dare anybody to say Care is working as it was intended. All one has to do is look back to President 's very words, when he said: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor; if you like your health insurance policy, you can keep that. He also said: Oh, by the way, we are going to save you money too. A family of four will save $2,500 a year. Contrast that to the $3,000-a-year increase since 2013 in the individual market--a 105-percent increase. prgtoken As I said earlier, this week the Department of Health and Human Services released a report that underscores the negative impact Care is having on families across the country. The report highlights the incredible increase in annual premium prices since Care took effect, and I mention that in the aggregate. prgtoken Let's look at places like Texas. In Texas, the average monthly premium jumped from $222 in 2013 to $404--about an 82-percent increase. If you are a young person buying health insurance, a young family or anybody, for that matter, spending $222 a month and it jumps 82 percent, to $404, that is a big bite out of your disposable income. That is pretty bad, there is no question about it, but Texas wasn't close to being the hardest hit. prgtoken For example, in Wisconsin, premiums have almost doubled. In Montana, they have gone up 133 percent. In some States, the premiums have actually tripled. As I said, the average individual premium has more than doubled in the 39 States using healthcare.gov--an increase of 105 percent since 2013. prgtoken That is not the only problem with Care. This year, one in three counties across the United States have just one insurer on the Care exchange. In other words, Care has gotten it so wrong that the risk pools are mainly
ISSUES OF THE DAY
Louie Gohmert (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-5-25

I thank my friend from Florida for those remarks. Mr. Gaetz represents the First District of Florida, a brother in arms, prgtoken since I represent the First District of Texas. prgtoken We are very grateful for Brian Mast and what he has given for his country, what he has been willing to give for his country; and it is an honor to serve with him in the trenches--sometimes literal trenches around here--a great, honorable patriot for America. prgtoken On Monday, that is what we will celebrate, Memorial Day, and I want to talk further about that. prgtoken Right now I want to touch on an issue that has occupied a lot of people's concern and time this week over CBO scoring, rather important, but it should not be. prgtoken The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Tax Commission do the scoring. Historically, the projections by CBO seem all too often to be far too out of line that any governmental entity would base important critical decisions over people's lives, their healthcare--it will certainly affect their lives--and base it on a group that, as they have explained: We set up models. And we feed the garbage--they don't use that term. But, as far as I am concerned, they feed garbage in and they get garbage out. prgtoken And projections: Oh, we have to wait and see what CBO says. People waiting with bated breath: Oh, is it going to be in line? prgtoken For heaven's sake, anybody that waits on a score for the JTC or the CBO in dealing with the tax reform that we should do doesn't have much sense. And there is nothing wrong with not having much sense. It just hurts the country when people without much sense are here in Washington making decisions about people's lives and encroaching on their liberty and freedom. prgtoken So we have people like Brian Mast, and we have those who have given all, the last measure of devotion, for our liberty. Then we turn around and have a Federal Government that passes laws about healthcare reform and decides that they have to have all of the medical records here in the Federal Government. prgtoken And do you know what? We need to have a Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to protect people from unscrupulous bankers, so we are going to get everybody's banking records. prgtoken Well, as a former judge and as a former prosecutor, if you wanted somebody's banking records, you had to have sworn proof rising to the level of probable cause that a crime was committed and this person committed it, and then you got the records when a judge signed off on it. Not now. Not with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They just get everybody's records. prgtoken And then, without reining in Care and if we did not rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Washington continues to gather people's medical records through sweetheart deals with private entities, a hypothetical I raised many years ago as Care was being pushed through, came ever closer--really, is here--to the point that
MEMORIAL DAY
Ted S. Yoho (Republican, FL) \u2014 2017-5-25

I would like to take this time to honor our country's fallen servicemen and -women. This weekend, we will observe Memorial Day, a day dedicated to those who have fought and died selflessly to protect our country. prgtoken Since 1868, Americans have celebrated what was once called Decoration Day to honor the fallen. Every year since then, we have honored those who have fallen at Gettysburg, at San Juan Hill, in the Argonne Forest, on the shores of Normandy and Guadalcanal, at Inchon, at la Drang, in the desert at Objective Norfolk, on the streets of Fallujah, and in Zabul Province. prgtoken This important day is not only meant to commemorate those who lost their lives fighting for our country but also to highlight why they were called upon to serve our country in battle. They fought to preserve the great privilege of freedom that we must never take for granted. prgtoken America's promise of liberty would not be possible without the courage and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. We owe these patriots a debt that can never be repaid but that must be remembered always, not just on Memorial Day. prgtoken This day of remembrance is a solemn occasion, and, therefore, let us not only say prayers for the fallen, let's also celebrate their lives and give heartfelt thanks to God and their families for their sacrifices in protecting our Nation, the world's bastion of liberty and freedom.
TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH CARVALHO
Ken Calvert (Republican, CA) \u2014 2017-5-25

I rise today to honor and pay tribute to an extraordinary man, Joseph John ``Joe'' Carvalho. Joseph passed away on May 22, 2017 at the age of 88. A resident of Hacienda Heights, California, he was a pillar of the community and will be deeply missed. prgtoken Joe was born on June 3, 1928, in Tiverton, Rhode Island and grew up in North Dighton, Massachusetts. He served in the Navy for two years and obtained the rank of Engineerman Third Class while working in a POW camp in World War II. In 1951, he enrolled in the Massachusetts Maritime Academy where he received his degree in Marine Engineering. Upon graduation, he served with the Merchant Marines for two years. prgtoken Joe married the love of his life Audrey Enos on November 21, 1953. They moved to California and welcomed the birth of their children: Catherine, Cynthia, Barry, Pamela, and Janet. He worked for the Department of Water and Power for 33 years as an Electrical Engineer. At 55, Joe retired and worked for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Organizing Committee while also maintaining his own real estate business. He was a founding member of Saint John Vianney Parish and was a dedicated usher and volunteer. He was a dedicated Red Sox fan and was able to see his dreams realized with the 2004, 2007, and 2013 World Series Championships. Joe's greatest joy was his family. He became known as Poppi to his five grandchildren: Danielle, Tara, Nicole, Hope Willard, and Brennan Carvalho, and two great grandchildren: Emma and Quinn Massari. prgtoken On Friday, May 26, 2017, a memorial honoring Joe's extraordinary life will be held in Hacienda Heights, CA. Joe will always be remembered for his incredible work ethic, generosity, contributions to the community and love of family. His dedication to his family, work, and community are a testament to a life lived well and a legacy that will continue. I extend my condolences to Joe's family and friends. Although Joe may be gone, the light and goodness he brought to the world remain and will never be forgotten.
IN HONOR OF THE DEEP EAST TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT
Kevin Brady (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-5-25

today I, along with Representative Brian Babin and Representative Louie Gohmert, recognize the 50th anniversary of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments and Economic Development District, better known as ``DETCOG.'' prgtoken In November of 1966, over fifty community officials and leaders, concerned with the economic growth and development of East Texas and the quality of life of its residents, gathered together to lay the groundwork for the Deep East Texas Economic Development District. prgtoken The Honorable Charles Wilson, a Member of the Texas Senate and later a Member of the United States House of Representatives, was unanimously elected Chair, and later President, of the new organization. prgtoken The Deep East Texas Economic Development District continued its meetings throughout 1967. It employed its first Executive Director in August and opened its first office in September. In 1968, the District even became a Regional Planning Commission under the laws of the State of Texas, and in 1972, it adopted the new name of Deep East Texas Council of Governments and Economic Development District. prgtoken DETCOG has facilitated the development of effective responses to such issues as community and economic development, affordable housing, aging and disability services, public safety and emergency response, disaster recovery, information and referral services, volunteerism, transportation and the environment that have had a profound and positive impact on the Deep East Texas Region. prgtoken Over the past half-century, DETCOG's activities have improved the quality of life for all residents in the 12-county region known as Deep East Texas, including the counties of Angelina, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity and Tyler. prgtoken Representative Babin, Representative Gohmert, and I are proud to congratulate the Deep East Texas Council of Governments and Economic Development District on its 50th Anniversary and its legacy of outstanding service to the governments and citizens of the Deep East Texas region.
PROTECTING AGAINST CHILD EXPLOITATION ACT OF 2017
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2017-5-25

I rise in opposition to H.R. 1761. prgtoken I first want to point out that the case outlined by the chair of the Judiciary Committee that failed in Federal court could have been brought in State court and the defendant would have been subjected to extremely long, lengthy prison time for the heinous conduct that he had participated in. prgtoken , this legislation expands the use of preexisting mandatory minimum sentences. Although the bill does not technically create new mandatory minimums, it does expose additional defendants to preexisting mandatory minimum sentences of 15, 25, and 35 years. prgtoken While I support the underlying goal of punishing sex offenders--and they should be punished harshly--the use of mandatory minimums has time and time again been shown to be inappropriate. prgtoken This expansion of mandatory minimum sentences comes on the heels of the Attorney General's memorandum of May 12, 2017, which has been roundly criticized for directing all Federal prosecutors to pursue the most serious charges and maximum sentences, to include mandatory minimum sentences. This directive takes away from Federal prosecutors and judges the ability to individually assess the unique circumstances of each case, including any factors that may mitigate against imposing mandatory minimum sentences. prgtoken This law is particularly appalling because it would apply to people who I think we should all agree should not be subject to these long mandatory minimum sentences. I am talking about teenagers. Teenage sexting is widespread. Under this law, teenagers who engage in consensual conduct and send photos of a sexual nature to their friends or even to each other may be prosecuted and the judge must sentence them to at least 15 years in prison. prgtoken The law explicitly states that the mandatory minimums will apply equally to an attempt or a conspiracy. That means if a teenager attempts to obtain a photo of sexually explicit conduct by requesting it from his teenage girlfriend, the judge must sentence that teenager to prison for at least 15 years for making such an attempt. If a teenager goads a friend to ask a teenager to take a sexually explicit image of herself, just by asking, he could be guilty of conspiracy or attempt, and the judge must sentence that teenager to at least 15 years in prison. prgtoken Under the Federal code, the term ``sexually explicit conduct'' includes actual or simulated conduct. That means if a teenager asks another teenager for a photo simulating sex, even if the minor is fully clothed, that attempt would violate the law and the teenager must get a sentence of at least 15 years mandatory minimum for making that attempt. prgtoken This law does not allow the judge to consider whether or not the conduct may have been consensual between minors. This circumstance is irrelevant when the sentence is mandatory. prgtoken For decades now, the extensive research and evidence has demonstrated tha