mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HONORING THE LIFE OF JACK MILLER
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (Republican, GA) \u2014 2021-7-19

. Madam , I rise today to remember and honor Coach Jack Miller of Tybee Island, Georgia, who passed away on June 23 at the age of 91. prgtoken Jack dedicated his life to mentoring and inspiring young athletes in the community. Jack's head coaching career started at Vidalia High School in 1961 and would span 53 years at 11 different schools. He recorded over 700 wins during his career. prgtoken Jack was defined by his work ethic, which he passed along to his players. As a lifetime coach, mentor, and motivator, Jack earned numerous awards throughout his career, including the Nike Coach of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award and the John F. Hodges Oasis Award for his outstanding achievement in sports in Savannah. prgtoken The only thing he loved more than coaching was his loving family and friends. prgtoken Jack's positive impact on his players went well beyond his athletic fields, and I know his legacy will remain. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all those who knew him during this most difficult time.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Marsha Blackburn (Republican, TN) \u2014 2021-7-19

there was such an interesting occurrence that happened down the street a bit at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue last weekend, and it is when White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki unveiled the scheme that her colleagues in the West Wing had worked out with Big Tech. prgtoken Well, what they are setting about to do is to remove--and I am quoting her--``problematic'' content from Facebook and other digital platforms. That is right. They, the White House team, have decided that they are going to work with Big Tech, and they are going to remove ``problematic''--their term--content from Facebook and other digital platforms. prgtoken Now, I am certain that the White House was very confident that the press would treat this rather bizarre admission like they have treated other blatant oversteps coming out of this administration. After all, they, the press, have provided reliable cover for this White House since Inauguration Day. prgtoken But here is the problem. It is no longer Inauguration Day. There is now a record to consider, and I will tell you what, no matter what they do, the mainstream media is not going to be able to turn the clock back on this overstep. prgtoken In just 6 months, the administration has done an admirable job showing the American people exactly who they are. We have seen enough at this point to take the admission of being in cahoots with Big Tech at face value. The administration has intentionally overwhelmed the airwaves with big promises that are conveniently light on details. prgtoken And there is a good reason for that. What President and the are trying to do would fundamentally transform this country into something that we, the people, would have a very difficult time even recognizing. prgtoken They got off to a great start toward their goals by killing jobs in the name of climate extremism and opening the border to a flood of illegal immigrants with no plan at all to manage the influx. They just said: Let's send them to the States, and let local communities and States cover this cost. prgtoken They tried to dupe the American people into getting behind a so- called infrastructure plan that was anything but infrastructure. Then they doubled down on a brazen attempt to extend the Federal Government's control over schools and homes. They labeled this spending spree the American Families Plan to provide cover for yet another attack on, what else, the nuclear family. prgtoken Then they launched an all-out war on the ballot box in the name of the people. And now we see that they worked out a perfect system to force the opposition to shut up--just throw a flag on your opponents and watch their digital footprint and their freedom of speech evaporate. prgtoken There is a way to shut them down. It is called government-approved messaging. Obviously, somewhere in the White House, they tucked their realities that they alluded to back in January, and now this is what we are
BASSAM BARABANDI REWARDS FOR JUSTICE ACT
Christopher H. Smith (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2021-7-19

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise in strong support of the Rewards for Justice Act introduced by our good friends, Joe Wilson and Congressman Deutch. It is a good bipartisan bill, and I think it will really make a difference. prgtoken The bill would expand the Rewards for Justice program at the State Department to authorize rewards for individuals coming forward with information on sanctions evasion practices. prgtoken The bill was inspired by Bassam Barabandi, a Syrian defector and former diplomat at the Syrian embassy in Washington, who worked to provide passports to critics of the criminal Assad regime. prgtoken For years after his defection, Bassam lobbied the U.S. Government with information on Syrian oligarchs close to Assad, detailing their sanctions evasion practices. Bassam's assistance highlighted the need to create a clear mechanism to incentivize individuals to come forward with this kind of vital information. prgtoken The legislation will do just that and ultimately enhance compliance with U.S. and international sanctions, increase confidence in the rule of law, and bring criminals and rogue regimes seeking to circumvent U.S. law to justice. prgtoken , .
ELECTION LAWS
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2021-7-19

now on an entirely different matter, a few months ago, a group of and leftwing activists brought the State of Georgia into the national spotlight. Tremendous outrage, an air of total crisis, was cooked up, cooked up out of nowhere. prgtoken The State of Georgia was passing a mainstream, commonsense election law. It combined widely popular integrity protections, protections like voter ID, with a great deal of flexibility and availability to make voting easy. It codified more flexible early voting and more flexible mail-in voting than many ic-run States offer--for example, New York. prgtoken Americans want to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. Voter ID, for example, is popular with majorities of Black, White, and Hispanic Americans. But in their ongoing bid to mount a Washington DC takeover of our Nation's elections, seized on this mainstream law and decided to start shouting that the sky was falling down in Georgia--the sky is falling down in Georgia. prgtoken Unfortunately, for the people of Georgia, many people in the press and corporate America bought it. They got Major League Baseball to move its all-star game out of Georgia. Actual work opportunities, actual prosperity for working people, were sacrificed to serve this faked hysteria. prgtoken Well, today, Georgians got what you might call a very weak consolation prize. Today, a week after the all-star game was supposed to happen in Atlanta, themselves descended on the State to stage a bit of partisan theater. Last week, the traveling road show was Texas coming here to Washington to beg Senate to seize power away from their own citizens and local governments. prgtoken This week, it was our own colleagues' turn to get on the jets, but the rhetoric was just as hysterical and the conclusion all the same: Washington need to grab unprecedented power and rewrite all 50 States' election laws. It is the same shtick we have been hearing here in this Chamber for multiple years now. prgtoken Remember, their sweeping takeover bill was written long, long before any of the State laws which they now claim are prompting it. This phony outrage is wearing thin on the American people. Citizens know it isn't attacking democracy to have things like commonsense voter ID and commonsense voter list maintenance alongside lots of early voting, lots of mail-in voting, and lots of election-day voting. prgtoken That kind of combination isn't an attack on democracy; it is the definition of democracy. It is exactly what Americans want.
THE ECONOMY
Tommy Tuberville (Republican, AL) \u2014 2021-7-19

I am starting to feel a little bit like a broken record. I am here on the floor again to echo the concerns of my constituents and so many folks across our great country. People across the country are cautiously checking their bank accounts, and they are looking at the price of milk, bread, and things that they have to buy every day. They are driving out of their way to see which gas stations even have gas, and when they do find that, they are looking for the lowest price. prgtoken Just as we are starting to come out of the pandemic, prices are starting to rise, and our dollar isn't going as far. Why? Because the want to spend their way out of a pandemic, and it really makes no sense. They are throwing trillions around like it is Monopoly money. It is not targeted to those who need it the most. It is on policy items that only appease their base--the far left--not even a majority of their party. They are flooding the zone with borrowed money like a credit card with no limit. They did it with their stimulus package earlier in the year, and it was disguised as a COVID relief package. Now they are getting ready to try the same thing again. prgtoken Last week, Leader Schumer announced that the had reached an agreement on a budget reconciliation resolution, which is like the pregame warm-up to the next reconciliation package. The pricetag for that agreement has been set at $3.5 trillion. Let me take a minute to highlight what I think is wrong with the bill. prgtoken First of all, I am not sure how anyone can call this an agreement. One ic Senator, who doesn't appear to have been consulted on the so-called agreement in the first place, said the package needs to be fully paid for. Let me translate that to you. That means we need tax increases. Last week, we talked about the 30 new tax increases that will probably be in this bill. On the other hand, we have ic Senators saying it is OK if this package adds to the deficit--$3.5 trillion added to the $30 trillion that we are already in debt. We already know at least one Senator wants the top-line number to be as much as $6 trillion while others are calling for $2 to $3 trillion, which, by the way, is still too much spending. prgtoken It doesn't seem like everyone has fully committed to this so-called agreement. It appears the are in disarray when it comes to agreeing to this. Announcing there is an agreement when they still have Members of their own party arguing over the final top-line number and how it will be paid for is a pretty interesting strategy. The only thing I can guess is that the strategy is really to pull the wool over all of our eyes. Trying to sell the agreement of a top-line number as a win is like saying that you have won the game after the first snap. prgtoken Folks, you have to play the game. You can't go by the first quarter's results. You have to play the entire game. prgtoken Second, I ca
OPIOID EPIDEMIC
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-7-19

over the last 16 months, no community has been spared from the devastation of COVID-19. The virus itself has claimed the lives of more than 600,000 Americans, including more than 50,000 Texans, and we are still gaining a fuller picture of the far- reaching consequences of this pandemic. prgtoken We know that the mitigation efforts led to the closure of countless small businesses and upended the livelihoods of millions of workers. The transition to virtual learning robbed children of valuable time alongside their peers in the classroom. And the emotional and financial stresses of the pandemic led to devastating consequences for our friends and neighbors who were already in a vulnerable situations. prgtoken As families spent more time isolating at home last year, we saw an increase in domestic violence. Individuals who were already experiencing anxiety and depression faced even greater challenges during this difficult period. And those battling substance-use disorders faced an even steeper uphill climb. On top of the stress and isolation of the pandemic, many lost access to treatment facilities and outreach programs. prgtoken No community has been spared from the wrath of the opioid epidemic. In 2019, there were more than 70,000 overdose deaths in America, a devastating number. Now we have a much clearer picture of how this crisis worsened in 2020. prgtoken Last year, more than 93,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. That is more than a 30-percent increase over the previous year. It marks the largest annual increase in at least three decades. prgtoken Following years of fighting to turn the tide on the opioid epidemic, this is a stunning blow and a deep disappointment. Here in the Senate, this issue is about as bipartisan as they come. As I said, every State, every community has been hit by the scourge of opioids, and every person in this Chamber, I believe, wants to turn the tide on this crisis. prgtoken In 2016, thanks to the leadership of our friend Senator Portman of Ohio, and the hard work of a bipartisan group of Senators, we passed what became known as CARA, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, to help end this devastating cycle of drug abuse and death. Just a couple of years ago, we celebrated some incremental progress. In 2018, drug overdoses were down, or deaths from drug overdoses were down 4 percent from the previous year, the first decrease in nearly three decades. prgtoken But, unfortunately, that trend was short-lived. Overdose deaths increased in 2019, and they skyrocketed in 2020. Now is the time for the Senate to take further action and help the American people fight back. prgtoken Tomorrow, the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control will hold a hearing on the Federal Government's response to the drug overdose crisis. We will hear from experts, including the acting directors of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental H
PROMOTING UNITED STATES WIRELESS LEADERSHIP ACT OF 2021
Debbie Dingell (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2021-7-19

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3003, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2021. prgtoken The policy choices of today will have lasting effects on the global 5G technology development of tomorrow. prgtoken This bipartisan bill, which I co-led with my fellow 5G Caucus co- chairs, Representatives Walberg, Kuster, and Johnson, would solidify United States leadership in 5G technology by encouraging interagency coordination, technical assistance, and stakeholder participation in international standard setting bodies. prgtoken We must take concrete steps to lower barriers to entry for U.S. companies and promote American competitiveness in this space. prgtoken This legislation will ensure the United States remains at the forefront of innovation in this evolving frontier by playing a central role in setting international wireless standards in emerging technologies. This approach has dramatic ramifications for our global competitiveness, 5G deployment, and our national security. prgtoken I strongly urge all my colleagues to support this important bill.
NATIONALS PARK SHOOTING
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2021-7-19

on Saturday night, baseball fans at Nationals Park here in Washington, DC, not far from where we stand, were sent into a panic by a sound that has become all too familiar in American cities: the sound of gunfire. prgtoken In the middle of the sixth inning, the teams left the field when it was reported that three people were shot outside the stadium on South Capitol Street. That burst of gunfire reverberated throughout the stadium. It could be heard on television and radio broadcasts of the game. It was bad; it could have been worse. Thankfully, nobody inside the stadium was harmed, and many thanks to the first responders for keeping the attendees safe. prgtoken But the photos and videos from Saturday night tell a clear story. We are a nation that has become traumatized by gun violence. prgtoken The Fourth of July weekend, the city of Chicago, a city I dearly love and am honored to represent, there were 104 gunshot victims that weekend, 19 deaths. prgtoken We have come to accept, sadly, mass shooting as a possibility anywhere in America, at a baseball park, in a movie theater, in houses of worship, even in our schools. prgtoken Mass shootings happen on the streets of Chicago almost every weekend. Just this last weekend, more than 50 were shot in our city, including 7 children and teenagers. The sad reality is gun violence has become as American as baseball. prgtoken The question before this Senate again and again and again is, Will we do anything about it? Will we take minimum steps to reduce gun violence in America, steps like making it more difficult for convicted felons and unstable people to buy firearms? prgtoken Nearly every American supports that, and yet the gaps in the Federal gun laws continue. Right now, it is simply too easy for a convicted felon or person with a history of serious mental illness to buy a gun from an unlicensed dealer. A person--no questions asked--can easily buy a gun from an unlicensed seller just minutes away from the city of Chicago, in the State of Indiana, and that gun will be sold and resold many times over in our city of Chicago--many times the same day. prgtoken In March, the House passed H.R. 8, a bipartisan measure to close the gaps in our background checks system. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Senator Manchin of West Virginia have been leading negotiations to get bipartisan support for that bill in the Senate. I am waiting for their signal, and I hope to receive it--that we are ready to move on that legislation. prgtoken I hope Senate s will join us in supporting this and other commonsense measures, like confirming a Director for the Agency that enforces the gun laws on the book--ATF--for the first time since 2015. Too many lives have been lost to gun violence in prgtoken this country. It is time for us to come together and put an end to the senseless violence. prgtoken . prgtoken .
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1520
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-7-19

I rise again--again--to call for every Senator to have a chance to vote on our bill, the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act. It is time to move the most serious crimes like sexual assault and murder out of the chain of command and put them in the hands of the most capable people in the military--independent, impartial, highly trained uniformed prosecutors. prgtoken This is an issue that deserves urgency. I have been calling for a full floor vote since May 24. Since that time, an estimated 3,136 servicemembers will have been raped or sexually assaulted and more will have been victims of other serious crimes. While I am heartened to see, after many years of pushing for reform, that growing numbers of our colleagues, the Department of Defense, and the President have acknowledged that we must move sexual assault and related crimes like sexual violence out of the chain of command, it is simply not enough. prgtoken I ask my colleagues to consider what it truly means to have special victim prosecutors looking only at cases of sexual assault and related crimes. It means that all the myriad crimes that are often linked to special victims' cases will get left out and pushed into a system that is not trained to see them for what they are. prgtoken Let's just take a simple case of a forged check. Say a soldier takes his girlfriend's checkbook and forges her name. If a commander looks at that, they are likely to take that at face value, see it as a simple, cut-and-dried case of someone stealing money from someone else, and move forward with nonjudicial punishment. prgtoken If a military prosecutor was to look at that same case, they might see something entirely different. That is because prosecutors are trained to see linkages between crimes. They are taught to ask different questions. So when they see a forged check, they ask: Is there more happening here? And there usually is. prgtoken Research has shown that financial abuse occurs in 99 percent of domestic violence cases. Financial abuse can be the means by which an abuser gains control in a relationship, and it is often the main reason a survivor stays with their abuser. While a prosecutor who has worked on cases of both financial crimes and domestic violence would know that, a commander wouldn't likely know. prgtoken The truth is, the realities of intimate partner violence go far beyond sexual assault and harassment. It can include forging checks and carrying out other forms of financial fraud, as well as other serious crimes. prgtoken We know that child endangerment can be linked to domestic violence and intimate partner violence, as can kidnapping. Arson can be the tool of someone attempting to cover up these prgtoken crimes. And murder, manslaughter, and murder of a pregnant woman can be, and often are, the final, tragic culmination of domestic violence. When these types of crimes are presented to commanders, they may be just t
PROMOTING UNITED STATES WIRELESS LEADERSHIP ACT OF 2021
Frank Pallone, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2021-7-19

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise in strong support of H.R. 3003, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2021. This legislation will help ensure the U.S. continues to lead the world in advanced communications technologies and deployments. It does that by directing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTIA, to encourage participation by American stakeholders and standards- setting bodies, such as the Third Generation Partnership Project, better known as 3GPP, and the IEEE. prgtoken The legislation also calls on the NTIA to offer technical assistance to U.S. stakeholders that do elect to participate in developing standards for 5G networks and future generations of communication networks. prgtoken Other governments around the world are engaged in the standards- setting process for advanced telecommunications technologies, and discussions about 6G are already underway. This legislation will give our stakeholders the ability to better engage in policy choices that are being made today by the standards-setting bodies. These policy choices will have far-reaching implications for the development of 5G and other advanced communication technologies in the future. prgtoken By ensuring that globally developed standards meet the needs of the U.S. and our partners, this bill will help the U.S. continue to innovate. It will also help us guard against nontrusted actors hijacking standards-setting processes, which is an important component of our continued engagement on future communications technologies. prgtoken , I want to commend this bipartisan effort from Representatives Walberg, Dingell, Johnson, and Kuster. I also want to thank our colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman Meeks, in particular, for working with us to bring this legislation to the floor. prgtoken I hope we can come together on this important issue, and I urge all of my colleagues to support the bill. . House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, July 19, 2021. Hon. Frank Pallone, Chair, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chair Pallone: I am writing to you concerning, H.R. 3003, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2021. This legislation contains provisions that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In an effort to work cooperatively and to expedite the consideration of the aforementioned bill, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will waive referral of H.R. 3003. This, however, is not a waiver of future jurisdictional claims by the Committee on Foreign Affairs over this or its subject matter. The House Foreign Affairs Committee