mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RECOGNIZING ANDREW CONNERY'S SERVICE TO THE NEW DEMOCRAT COALITION
James A. Himes (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2017-7-27

I rise today to thank Andrew Connery for his many contributions to the New Coalition. Next month, Andrew will be leaving the New Coalition to attend law school. prgtoken The New Coalition, which I have the honor to Chair, is made up of 61 forward-thinking in the U.S. House of Representatives who are committed to pro-economic growth, pro- innovation, and fiscally responsible policies. New are a solutions oriented coalition seeking to bridge the gap between left and right by challenging outmoded partisan approaches to governing. prgtoken Andrew joined the New Dem staff as the Policy & Member Services Aide in February 2015. Prior to joining the New Dew staff, Andrew was a legislative assistant for former New Coalition Member Rep. Joe Garcia of Florida. In recognition for his hard work, he was promoted to Senior Policy Advisor in January 2016 and Policy Director in June 2017. prgtoken Originally serving former New Coalition Chair Ron Kind, Andrew has been a trusted advisor to me and many Members of the Coalition. Over his tenure, the New Coalition has been active on many issues of national importance that have benefitted directly from Andrew's policy knowledge and expertise. These include working on the development of the American Prosperity Agenda, building support for President 's trade agenda, developing a tough and smart national security agenda, advocating for a bipartisan deal on tax reform and infrastructure, helping craft a path forward on fixing the Affordable Care Act, and working on several other policy issues through the New Coalition's task forces. Andrew also served as a key advisor for New Dem Members and their staffs working with them to develop individual policy priorities, counseling on floor votes, and advising on other matters. prgtoken , on behalf of the Members of the New Coalition, I thank Andrew.
CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF LENNIE STEVEN CHEUNG
Ted Lieu (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-7-27

I rise today to celebrate the life of Lennie Steven Cheung--a devoted husband, loving father, wonderful grandfather, and great-grandfather--who passed away on July 16, 2017. He was 93 years old. Mr. Cheung was also a scholar, a visionary, an inventor, and engineer. prgtoken Mr. Cheung was born on April 1, 1924 in Tainan, Taiwan, youngest son of Mr. Ding-Chi Chang and Mrs. Po Chang-Su. During the Japanese era in Taiwan, he was educated in the Japanese education system. He scored the highest mark in the history of the General Civil Examinations when he was just 18 years old. Later he studied law and worked in the Tainan state office. After 1949, due to the change in government in Taiwan, the law he studied became invalid. He went abroad and studied engineering in Japan as he predicted that electronics and technology would become an important part of our society. prgtoken In 1970, a U.S. electronics company, Transworld Electronics, hired him and the family moved to Hong Kong. In the 1980's, he started his business, Winner Electronics Company Limited, and set up an electronic factory to manufacture exclusively for Sony. During his career as an electronics engineer, he was an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and was awarded several patents. prgtoken During his visit to the United States in 1982, he fell in love with the spirit and people he met. The following year, he set up a branch office in Los Angeles, California. Ten years later, in 1993, he, his wife (Mrs. Helen Cheung), and their youngest daughter (Mrs. Josephine Gow) were naturalized as U.S. Citizens and called America their home country. prgtoken Mr. Cheung lived in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and the United States for many years. He was fluent in Taiwanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, and English. prgtoken Mr. Cheung was a man of many talents and interests. He was a great scholar and had the nick name ``the living encyclopedia'' from his friends and family. He was a great mentor and advisor to his friends and family. During his free time, he enjoyed reading, listening to music, attending magic shows, and watching detective and action movies. He also had a green thumb, and enjoyed gardening and golfing. prgtoken Mr. Cheung was loved and respected by all and he will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Helen Cheung, five children (Roger, Simon, Shen-Long, Alice, and Josephine), ten grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017--Continued
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-7-27

I intend to offer a motion to commit the reconciliation bill to the Finance Committee with instructions to report the bill back to the Senate within 3 days, not counting any day on which the Senate is not in session, with changes that would eliminate or reduce access to affordable preventive services that are currently offered without copayment or cost-sharing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, ACA, including blood pressure screening, colorectal screening, breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening and domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling. prgtoken I am offering this motion because the Finance Committee should review the implications of reducing access to affordable preventative services to millions of Americans. A key provision of the ACA is the requirement that private insurance plans cover recommended preventive services without any patient cost-sharing. Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, are responsible for 7 of every 10 deaths among Americans each year and account for 75 percent of the Nation's health spending. Research has shown that evidence-based preventive services can save lives and improve health by identifying illnesses earlier, managing them more effectively, and treating them before they develop into more complicated, debilitating conditions. prgtoken I ask unanimous consent that the full text of my motion to commit be printed in the Record.
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-7-27

today I am joined by Senators Casey, Gillibrand, Hassan, and Whitehouse to introduce the Layoff Prevention Act of 2017. This bill renews and extends Federal support for State short-time compensation--or work sharing--programs, which help avert layoffs and the economic effects of long-term unemployment. prgtoken Work sharing is a proven concept that is endorsed by economists across the political spectrum. When business slows down, employers feel pressure to lay off employees. Under work sharing, employers may instead opt to reduce hours across-the-board, and employees may then collect a pro-rata unemployment compensation check for the hours they lost. This prevents layoffs, lowers employers' rehiring and training expenses, and costs States only a fraction of what they would pay if workers went on full unemployment. prgtoken The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 included my Layoff Prevention Act, which modernized prgtoken Federal work sharing laws. Partly as a result of this increased Federal support for work sharing, State work sharing programs helped to save over 130,000 jobs between 2012 and the expiration of Federal incentives in 2015. prgtoken The legislation I am introducing today would renew incentives so that States with existing work sharing programs, and those considering enacting a program, can qualify for Federal support. Our economy has come a long way in recent years, and we should invest in proven programs like work sharing to ensure we do not experience again the same scale of job loss that we endured during the Great Recession. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of this bill to keep American workers on the job, save taxpayers money, and provide employers with a practical, positive, and cost-effective alternative to layoffs.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017--Continued
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2017-7-27

there has been a lot of talk here on the Senate floor about this so-called skinny health package, and if you believe the reports, the skinny health package was going to be written today at the Senate lunch. On the day that the Senate is supposed to vote, the future of American healthcare may have gotten an overhaul between the salad course and the entree. prgtoken I would like to talk a little about where things are and really contrast these reports about the skinny health package with the process that brought together the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken Our colleague, the Presiding Officer, now serves on the Finance Committee. There were dozens of hearings in the Finance Committee about the Affordable Care Act, and there were dozens of hearings in the HELP Committee. Both committees had markups that lasted longer than a week and incorporated ideas from both sides. I was a pretty junior member of the Finance Committee at that time, and I remember a flock of amendments being added, in the Finance Committee, to the Affordable Care Act. When the bill came to the floor, the Senate debated it for 25 legislative days. It was the second-longest consecutive debate in history. prgtoken We are not seeing anything that resembles that today. You have a rush job. So I am going to try to spend a few minutes talking about what comes out when you have a rush job and about some of the red flags that I think my colleagues might want to think about, particularly some on the other side of the aisle who are thinking about voting for this skinny package. prgtoken Any Senator who believes that Medicaid makes it out of the skinny package without taking a hit ought to take a look again. Senator Murray and I spent a long time in working with the Congressional Budget Office to, in effect, get them to do some analysis of some of the ideas that are part of a CBO package. What the Congressional Budget Office said-- and it is the impartial, nonpartisan umpire--is that under this skinny package that is not supposed to do any harm to Medicaid--and it is on the first page of the CBO report--Medicaid gets hit with a $220 billion reduction for over a decade under this so-called skinny proposal. prgtoken So if you are one of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who say they really feel strongly about Medicaid and about seniors-- Medicaid, we all know, picks up the cost of two out of three nursing home beds, and it covers a wide variety of community-based services. prgtoken I have loved to watch the development of those community-based services. We started them in Oregon back in the days when I was the director of the Gray Panthers. prgtoken In this so-called skinny budget, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Medicaid would get hit with a $220 billion reduction. I think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are saying ``Hey, the skinny package isn't going to have any implications for
TRUMPCARE AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Maxine Waters (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-7-27

yesterday was the 27th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is a day to reflect on how people with disabilities are treated in our society. prgtoken Our President indicated to us what he thinks about people with disabilities long before he was elected when he mocked a disabled reporter. Mocking the disabled is rude and insensitive, and it sends a terrible message to our children. prgtoken Who are the disabled people who were mocked that day? They are veterans who lost a limb or suffered a traumatic brain injury while courageously serving our country. They are children who were born with serious medical conditions like autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. They are victims of workplace accidents and car accidents. They are victims of mass shootings and terrorist attacks. They are senior citizens in nursing homes. They are our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters, our friends and neighbors, and our children. prgtoken They might be with us today or they may be with us a year from now. They deserve to be treated with respect, and they deserve quality healthcare. prgtoken Given that we already know about the attitudes that have been displayed against them, it should come as no surprise that Care would have a devastating impact on people with disabilities. prgtoken The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has scored several versions of Care. Most would cause at least 22 million people to lose their health insurance. The so-called repeal only bill, which repeals the Affordable Care Act and does not replace it with anything, would cause 32 million people to lose their health insurance. Even the so-called skinny Care would cause 16 million people to lose health insurance and increase premiums by 20 percent. prgtoken When people with disabilities lose their health insurance, they cannot get affordable treatment for their medical conditions; and when healthy people lose their health insurance and then become disabled, they, too, will not be able to find affordable treatment for their injuries. Furthermore, when they try to find a new health policy, their disability will be considered a preexisting condition. prgtoken Care cuts more than $700 billion from Medicaid. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, more than 15 million children and adults with disabilities rely on Medicaid for their health coverage and could lose it if Care became law. prgtoken The President's budget would also have a very devastating impact on all people with disabilities. 's budget cuts $50 billion over the next 10 years from benefits earned by American veterans who are unable to work because of a service-connected disability. prgtoken His budget cuts billions from Social Security Disability Insurance, which provides earned benefits to workers who become disabled after years of paying Social Security taxes on their earnings. prgtoken His budget cuts billions from
A BILL TO REAUTHORIZE THE SOUTHEAST CRESCENT REGIONAL COMMISSION
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2017-7-27

today I am introducing a bill to reauthorize the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission. prgtoken While this bill will reauthorize the Northern Border Regional Commission, the Southwest Border Regional Commission, and the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, I will focus my remarks on the need for a commission that covers parts of my district--the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission. prgtoken The Southeast Crescent Regional Commission encompasses most of the counties of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and parts of my district in Georgia. prgtoken This area is home to millions of rural and impoverished Americans still reeling from decades of job displacement and a lack of investment. prgtoken Families in Georgia and all across the South need the help of this Congress as well as the Administration to break out of the unacceptable cycle of poverty and unemployment. prgtoken Although the Commission was first authorized by Congress in 2008, a federal co-chair has never been appointed and thus, has not yet had a chance to make a difference. In addition to the introduction of this legislation, I will be calling on President to appoint a federal co-chair so that the full potential of this program can be realized to put the Southeast Crescent region on the road to recovery. prgtoken Working with the states and localities, the Commission can assist in leveraging public, private and philanthropic resources to improve the overall economy and infrastructure of the region to encourage private investment and promote growth in distressed areas. We have seen the success achieved through targeted investments by other regional economic development agencies, it is now time for the Southeast Crescent region have the same opportunity. prgtoken The Commission can help develop the community's economic competitiveness and leverage private investment to help improve infrastructure and public transportation, so that workers aren't stuck in endless gridlock and can get to and from work seamlessly. It can help provide job skills training and entrepreneurial development, ensuring that the jobs that are available can be filled by competent workers. prgtoken We have an historic opportunity to help create good jobs and develop an historically disadvantaged region. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure and finally giving a region that has suffered from historic disadvantages the chance to thrive and succeed.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN PRESIDENTS FROM PARDONING THEMSELVES
Brad Sherman (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-7-27

today, I joined as an original cosponsor of the Constitutional Amendment of Al Green of Texas. That Amendment states that a President may not pardon him or herself for violations of United States law. prgtoken I believe that the Amendment is likely unnecessary. I believe that the Supreme Court, in construing the existing Constitution, would reach the conclusion that the President's power to pardon does not include the power to pardon the President. prgtoken However it is always useful to provide a clarification of a meaning of a statute, or even a Constitutional provision, whenever any doubt its meaning or construction. prgtoken I doubt that the amendment could be adopted and ratified with sufficient speed to prevent the current President from pardoning himself. I believe the adoption of the amendment could still be useful in providing a clarification should this issue arise in future presidencies.
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-7-27

I rise today to introduce the Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Rates Act. This critical health care reform bill would address the soaring cost of insurance premiums. prgtoken Many factors contribute to increasing premiums, from the increased prevalence of chronic disease to the consolidation of the insurance market. But no matter the root cause of premium hikes, it is important that rate increases are reviewed to ensure they are fair. When consumers see insurance premiums increase by double digits, it can add an additional burden on top of prgtoken mortgage payments, childcare, and student loans. If rates are unreasonable, they should be blocked or modified. prgtoken The Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Rates Act would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to act on behalf of consumers to protect them against egregious increases in health insurance rates in States that do not take this action. prgtoken In California and several other States across the Nation, State regulators lack the authority to block or modify extreme health insurance rate increases. This legislation does not change any State's ability to take this action. Rather, it simply allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to help fill in the gaps in the health care regulatory space so consumers in all States would have adequate protections against this type of price gouging. prgtoken The Affordable Care Act slowed the growth of premium increases and improved the value of health insurance--including how much of premiums insurers must spend on actual medical care and ensuring rate increases are at least reviewed. These were good first steps, but more needs to be done. Far too many Americans are facing rate increases and full consumer protections must be in place to ensure that prices reflect true cost and not simply profits. Providing all Americans with affordable, quality healthcare is of the utmost importance and Congress ought to be building on the successes of the Affordable Care Act while making improvements where necessary. prgtoken This bill provides a straightforward, direct enforcement mechanism to ensure that insurers may not impose unreasonably high costs on consumers, by empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to step in when State regulators do not, or are unable to. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to protect Americans from unreasonable rate hikes and move toward real, commonsense health care solutions.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018
Thomas R. Suozzi (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-7-27

I would just like to point out to the gentlewoman, respectfully, that it will cost billions of dollars to clean up these sites in the United States of America. The increase that we are seeking here, in a bipartisan fashion, is $34 million to simply match the amount of money that was authorized in the NDAA. prgtoken In addition, this percentage increase that we are seeking is commensurate with the overall percentage increase in the overall NDAA budget this year from last year. So we are just simply seeking the same commensurate amount increase in this portion of the budget that there is in another portion. prgtoken We are looking to have the pay-for to come from the operations and maintenance defense-wide account, of which there is over $33 billion. We are looking for $34 million just to try to advance some of these cleanups.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017--Continued
Martin Heinrich (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2017-7-27

for over 7 years, s in Washington have cheered shortcomings in our healthcare system and blamed the Affordable Care Act for every problem under the premise that they would do so much better if just put in charge. prgtoken Repealing the law made for great bumper stickers and great campaign promises, but the trouble is that their opposition to the ACA has always been more about politics than it ever was about actual policy or, for that matter, plans to do better for the American people. prgtoken The shockingly rushed and secretive effort on display this week in the Senate is only further evidence that President and s in Congress don't have any real solutions to improve our Nation's healthcare system. After months of negotiations behind closed doors, when Senate s released their secret Care bill, its contents proved too harmful for passage, even among themselves. Stuck without a path forward, their latest idea is to pass a small backroom deal before sundown today--which no one has seen yet--and then go to conference with the tea party and the Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives. prgtoken While we still don't know what we will be voting on, we know that the so-called skinny repeal bill would mean higher premiums and millions of Americans losing their healthcare coverage, not to mention deep cuts that would dismantle the Medicaid Program as it currently exists and throw millions of Americans off their healthcare coverage and put our entire healthcare system into chaos--all to give a massive tax break to the wealthiest among us. That is awful policy any way you look at it. prgtoken Since January, I have heard from literally thousands of New Mexicans who have told me how important their healthcare coverage is to them and their families. What answers do President and s in Congress have for the grandmother in Santa Fe who wonders where she will go when her nursing home closes because of Medicaid cuts or the woman in Albuquerque who wrote to me about how scared she is about losing access to mental healthcare for her depression and anxiety? What are they going to tell the single mother in Rio Rancho who relies on Medicaid to cover her children's medical costs or the young man in Espanola who needs treatment prgtoken to get clean from opioid addiction? These New Mexicans and millions of other Americans will be harmed if this bill becomes law. prgtoken I am not outraged about all of this because I am a or because of what I think of President . I am outraged about this bill because of what it will do to my constituents in New Mexico. I will do everything I can to oppose this appalling legislation and this appalling process and fight to keep quality healthcare accessible and affordable for New Mexicans. prgtoken If we can halt this mad rush, we can all work--s and --to get to the things that we agree need fixing