mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Calendar)
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2017-5-9

after some chaotic weeks of hush-hush deliberating, a lot of arm-twisting, and more than a few obvious buy- offs, the House has handed the Senate a healthcare bill that will plunge tens of millions of Americans into suffering. With it, the debate now comes to this side of the Capitol, and my colleagues seem to be competing to find out who can put the most distance between themselves and the House bill. prgtoken The message is that they are starting from scratch with a partisan working group and a new bill under construction. But I want to make sure that everybody is realistic about where this debate stands. There is not a shred of actual hard evidence that the Senate conference is objecting to nearly $1 trillion in tax breaks for the wealthy and the special interests, paid for by slashing middle-class tax benefits and cutting more than $800 billion out of Medicaid. The dates, the numbers, and the waivers might look a little different when Senate s write a bill, but the underlying framework will be the same. prgtoken This process, in short, is leading America back to the days when healthcare worked only for the healthy and wealthy. It is clear, when we look at the particulars, that the bill passed by the other body doesn't care whether you are young or old. It poses a threat of pain across all generations. prgtoken So this afternoon, as I begin what will be a series of discussions here on the floor in the days ahead to discuss these issues, I want to talk about what we are dealing with now. prgtoken Under the House bill, the youngster who needs special education services could see that set of opportunities disappear with cuts to Medicaid, a key source of funding for special ed school programs. prgtoken Are the tax breaks in this bill for the wealthy worth depriving kids of the opportunities they need to get ahead in life? prgtoken Under this bill, the young adult at 18 or 20 who has been through a cancer scare could wear that preexisting condition like a scarlet letter. They could face discrimination by insurance companies for life if their coverage ever lapses for more than a few weeks. prgtoken Are the tax breaks in this bill worth exposing Americans with preexisting conditions to this danger? prgtoken The 45-year-old who thought she was home free with an employer- sponsored plan that avoids the worst insurance company abuses could once again face a lifetime limit on certain health coverage. They would be at risk for personal bankruptcy if they suffer the wrong kind of injury or come down with the wrong kind of illness. prgtoken Are the tax breaks in this bill worth putting insurance companies back in the driver's seat? The 60-year-old, still years from retirement, would get clobbered by what I call the age tax, charged up to five times as much as a young person for insurance coverage. Are the tax breaks in this bill worth reviving insurance company abuses like this? <
Drug Epidemic (Executive Calendar)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-5-9

I wish to express concern with President 's nominee to serve as next Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, FDA. prgtoken The FDA Commissioner is responsible for overseeing our Federal agency tasked with protecting and promoting the public health through the regulation of food, tobacco products, dietary supplements, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and veterinary products. I am not convinced that Dr. Scott Gottlieb is the right person for this job, based primarily on his less than impressive record of defending women's access to healthcare, his association with an ecigarette--or vaping-- company that has produced and marketed tobacco products to youth, his stated desire to expand ``off-label'' communications between drug companies and health providers, and his long-standing and vocal opposition to the Affordable Care Act, ACA. If confirmed, I hope he proves me wrong. prgtoken Of particular concern to me is protecting our Nation's food safety. I was pleased that, in 2001, then-President signed into law the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, marking the most comprehensive reform of our Nation's food safety system in decades. Every year, 48 million Americans suffer from preventable foodborne illness. More than 120,000 people are hospitalized each year because of food contamination and 3,000 die. Every 4 minutes, someone is rushed to the hospital because the food they ate made them sick, and at the end of the day, eight will die--which is why I have spent much of my career working on various bills to strengthen food safety structures at FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to create a single food safety agency, and to support increased inspection and protection of foreign food imports. Even with passage of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, more work remains to be done. We must further beef up both foreign and domestic facility inspections. We must ensure the FDA has sufficient staff and resources to carry out their responsibilities. We must do a better job of effectively tracking and tracing high-risk foods in the event of a foodborne illness outbreak. prgtoken In addition, the FDA can and must do more to better regulate dietary supplements. I was pleased that, in 2015, the FDA announced creation of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs to increase focus on and regulation of the ever-growing dietary supplement industry. It is my hope that this FDA office continues to receive the funding they so desperately need to carry out their mission of regulating a $35 billion dietary supplement industry and aggressively pursue wrongdoing. prgtoken Finally, ecigarette products continue to be a growing threat to our Nation's youth. Last year, then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report, calling the skyrocketing use of ecigarettes among youth ``a major public health concern.'' Ecigarettes are now the most commonly used form of tobacco among young people in the Un
REMEMBERING JOHN C. ``SKEFF'' SHEEHY
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2017-5-9

today I wish to honor Justice John C. Sheehy, whose life was a Montana story, eulogized with these words from his family prgtoken The material follows: John C. ``Skeff'' Sheehy, 99, lawyer, jurist, and family patriarch, died Friday, April 7, 2017, at his home in Helena. Skeff was born Jan. 27, 1918, to Cornelius and Anna Sheehy in Butte, the first of seven children. Although he lived in other Montana towns for 80 years of his life, he believed, along with his brother Joe, that ``if you're not in Butte, you're camping out.'' He was educated at Catholic schools in Butte, attended the Montana School of Mines (now Montana Tech) and then the University of Montana School of Law. He obtained his law degree in 1943 and went to work in Helena for insurance commissioner J.D. Holmes. Skeff married Rita Ann Schiltz in 1945, and only death would part them. In 1947, they moved to Billings, Rita's hometown. Skeff began a 30-year law practice with his brother-in-law and great friend, Jack Schiltz. They tried all manner of cases and represented all sorts of clients. They also had a lot of fun. Schiltz and Sheehy were responsible for most of the skits, songs and frivolity at the Billings Bar meetings for decades. Over time, Schiltz and Sheehy joined others in the practice, including George Hutton, R.G. Wiggenhorn, and Brent Cromley. Skeff's professional accomplishments were recognized by the State Bar of Montana in 2005 with the Jameson Award and by the Montana Trial Lawyers Association in 2016 with its first lifetime achievement award. Between 1959 and 1970, Skeff served in both houses of the state legislature. He was the first to break the ``straight eight'' legislative block in Yellowstone County during those decades of county-wide ballots. In 1978, Gov. Tom Judge appointed Sheehy to the Montana Supreme Court. He was elected to his seat twice before retiring in 1991. Justice Sheehy was the author of the decision rejecting the challenge to Montana's coal severance tax. The United States Supreme Court upheld his decision. Throughout his tenure on the court, Sheehy was known as a champion of the powerless who recognized the role the constitutions of his state and nation played in ensuring that the least among us was accorded the same rights and privileges as those more fortunate. After his death, clients he represented and lawyers he influenced made sure his family knew about his quiet influence. The child of one client, whom he represented without compensation, told the family how much it meant to their family just to have a man like Sheehy at their side in a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service. ``It wasn't a fairy tale ending,'' she noted.
TrumpCare (Executive Session)
Margaret Wood Hassan (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2017-5-9

. I thank Senator Markey. prgtoken , I, too, want to thank Leader Schumer for his remarks and his work on national security and on healthcare and, in particular, on the opioid, heroin, and fentanyl epidemic, which is the greatest public health and safety challenge that the State of New Hampshire faces and which I know many other States face as well. prgtoken I rise today to oppose the nomination of Dr. Scott Gottlieb to serve as the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. It is the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration, starting with its Commissioner, to protect consumers and stand up for public health. prgtoken I have serious concerns about Dr. Gottlieb's record. I also have additional concerns from his nomination hearing about his stances on critical priorities for people in New Hampshire and across the Nation. prgtoken As I mentioned, and as Senator Markey has detailed, as well, the most pressing public health and safety challenge facing New Hampshire is the heroin, fentanyl, and opioid crisis. I want to thank the Senator from Massachusetts for his leadership and work in helping to identify the root causes of this terrible epidemic. prgtoken Yesterday, I was in New Hampshire, and I met with the Drug Enforcement Agency leaders and personnel there. I heard updates from those on the frontlines about the latest developments in the substance misuse crisis. We discussed the spread of the dangerous synthetic drug carfentanil, which is 100 times stronger than the already deadly drug fentanyl. prgtoken A report released this week by New Futures showed the economic impact of alcohol and substance misuse costs. It costs New Hampshire's economy now over $2 billion a year. It is clear that we need to take stronger action to combat this crisis. prgtoken We have to continue partnering together with those on the frontlines and at every level of government. We need to be developing new tools and leveraging the ones we have to combat this crisis. prgtoken What we cannot afford to do is to institute policies that would take us backward. Unfortunately, Dr. Gottlieb has been opposed to the creation of one of the key tools that the FDA has at its disposal--risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, otherwise known as REMS. The agency uses REMS--including, as a strategy, prescriber training--to try to stem the risks associated with certain medications. prgtoken The FDA should be making REMS stronger and making sure that all opioid medications have REMS. We don't need a Commissioner who opposed the very creation of the REMS program, as Dr. Gottlieb did. In the midst of a public health challenge as serious as this epidemic, we should be taking--and we have to take--an all-hands-on-deck approach. The fact that Dr. Gottlieb was opposed to the very creation of REMS raises questions about what strategies the FDA would support under his leadership. prgtoken There is another issue involved in this nomination of
Drug Epidemic (Executive Calendar)
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-5-9

before I discuss why the nominee before us, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, is the wrong choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, I want to take a minute to talk about the FDA's impact on the health and safety of patients and families nationwide and how that impacts my perspective on this nomination. prgtoken Our constituents rely on the FDA's work every single day. They trust that the food they buy from the grocery store is safe. They trust that when they go to the emergency room, the drugs and medical devices that are used in their care have been held to the highest standards of approval and that the FDA's decisions are based on science, not politics or ideology. In other words, they trust in FDA's gold standard of approval. So it is critical that the FDA continue to have strong, independent leadership, especially in light of President 's radical priorities. prgtoken Like many, I am deeply concerned by this administration's efforts to roll back the progress we have made to strengthen the FDA and to improve public health. Let me give two recent examples from last week alone. First, the FDA delayed the implementation of a rule on menu labeling requirements, which would have provided families access to critical nutritional information about the food they buy and eat. These requirements have been worked on for years by several Senators and the administration, with the support of public health groups and restaurants. The rule was less than 1 week away from going into effect. On the very same day, the FDA announced that it would delay the enforcement of a rule to ensure greater oversight over tobacco products, including cigars, pipe tobacco, and e-cigarettes. Now is not the time for the FDA to be taking its foot off the gas when it comes to protecting our children and youth from harmful marketing and flavoring tactics. These are significant steps in the wrong direction. prgtoken Families have every reason to be worried about this administration, and they are making it clear that they want leaders who are prepared to stand up for them, which brings us back to Dr. Gottlieb. prgtoken At our HELP Committee hearing, after scrutinizing his past record, asking where he stands on key policy issues, and reviewing his answers to many of my questions, it has been made clear to me that Dr. Gottlieb is not that leader. He has not convinced me that he can withstand political pressure from this administration or that he will be truly committed to putting our families' health first. For these reasons, I will be voting no on Dr. Gottlieb's nomination today. prgtoken In reviewing Dr. Gottlieb's professional history and background, I have grown increasingly concerned about whether he can lead the FDA in an unbiased way given his unprecedented industry ties. On numerous occasions, Dr. Gottlieb has invested in or advised a company and then used his public platform to promote policies that will benefit that comp
Recognition of the Minority Leader (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-5-9

first I wish to thank my friend and our great Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Markey, for the great work he has done on the opioid issue. He was one of the first to sound the alarm when prescription drugs just began to be overprescribed and has worked very, very hard, with many successes, in trying to deal with this problem. We have a long way to go. Things would have been a lot worse without the great work of the Senator from Massachusetts. prgtoken I see my colleague from New Hampshire on the floor, as well, and the same goes for her. She has done an outstanding job. She has worked and campaigned on this issue and is keeping her promises, working very hard here in the U.S. Senate. We know that their States are among the top States with opioid abuse problems.
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-5-9

I join my colleague in opposing the nomination of Dr. Gottlieb and thank him for laying out the case. prgtoken The FDA, of course, is an important part of our healthcare system, and just last week we saw the House of Representatives jam through a piece of legislation that would wreak havoc on the healthcare system. In fact, many people are appropriately calling what they did ``wealthcare'' because it represents a huge transfer of wealth away from caring for patients to the very wealthiest in our country, including many powerful special interests. prgtoken I think everybody understands--s, , Independents alike--the Affordable Care Act is not perfect and specifically that we need to address the issues within the Affordable Care Act exchanges. We need to address those issues to lower the deductibles, lower the copays, and make it more affordable. There are some very straightforward ways of doing that. prgtoken One good idea is to create a public option within the Affordable Care Act exchanges, a Medicare-for-all-type choice. What will that do? It will create more competition. That will drive down the price of insurance within the Affordable Care Act exchanges, and it will ensure that you have a provider everywhere in the United States in every community of this country. Even better, the Congressional Budget Office, the last time they looked at it, concluded that it would save taxpayers $160 billion over 10 years, so it would reduce our deficit. prgtoken The House wealthcare bill doesn't try to fix the exchanges. What it does is blow up the Affordable Care Act and in the process wreaks havoc on our entire healthcare system. You don't have to take my word for it. Just take a look at the long list of groups that have come out strongly opposed to the House bill, starting with patient advocacy groups, such as the American Lung Association, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and the list goes on. These aren't ic groups. They don't have only ic patients. They have patients who are , s, Independents, and people who aren't participating in the political process. These are groups that care about patients, they don't care about politics, and they are strongly opposed. prgtoken How about those who are providing care to those patients? Well, here is a partial list of the groups that are strongly opposed: the American Academy of Family Physicians; the American Medical Association, the doctors; the American Academy of Pediatrics, the folks who look after the care of our kids; the American Nurses' Association. prgtoken Let's look at the hospital groups. The American Hospital Association strongly opposes this; the Children's Hospital Association opposes this, and the list goes on. It is opposed by those who are spending all their time advocating for patients and opposed by those who provide
TrumpCare (Executive Session)
Edward J. Markey (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-5-9

. Thank you, . prgtoken I thank Senator Hassan for all of her great leadership as Governor of New Hampshire and now the Senator from New Hampshire. The epidemic has hit New Hampshire very hard, harder than any other place. Her leadership is absolutely outstanding. I thank her for all of her leadership on this nomination as well. prgtoken As we look at this issue, we realize that a whole epidemic was being created, but that epidemic was being created because of approvals of ``abuse-deterrent'' opioids since 2010. I put ``abuse-deterrent'' in quotes because it was extremely deceptive because too many people felt ``abuse-deterrent'' meant they could not ultimately become addicted to the medicine. The damage has now been done. The prescription painkiller abuse became rampant across the country. We had become the United States of Oxy, and the opioid issue was well on its way to becoming an opioid epidemic because when those who were addicted to Oxy could no longer afford $60 for a 60-milligram pill, they opted for low-priced heroin, which is why we should not be surprised that of those individuals who began abusing heroin in the 2000s, 75 percent reported that their first opioid was a prescription drug. prgtoken Taking advantage of the new demand for heroin, an incredibly sophisticated network of drug traffickers from Mexico set up franchises in the United States, and now they are responsible for nearly half of this Nation's heroin supply and are branching out from large urban areas into our suburbs. These systems collided in a perfect storm that has caused the epidemic we are experiencing today: the overprescription of opioid painkillers that were approved by the FDA, the over-the-top sales and marketing programs by a deceptive and deep-pocketed pharmaceutical giant that went unimpeded for years, and an overabundance of heroin flowing into the United States from Mexico and South America. All of that has led us here. prgtoken We know that nationally opioid overdoses kill more people than gun violence or auto accidents. Every single day in America, we lose more than 91 people to an opioid-related overdose. Nationally, nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid that was approved by the FDA and often prescribed by a physician. In Massachusetts, in 2016, 2,000 people died from an opioid overdose. prgtoken Who is the typical victim of an opioid overdose? Who is the typical substance abuser? The answer is that there is none. This epidemic does not discriminate on the basis of age or gender or race or ethnicity or economic status. It does not care if you live in a city or in the suburbs. It does not care if you have a white-collar or a blue-collar job. The 50-year-old White male attorney is just as likely to become addicted to prescription drugs or heroin as the 22-year-old Latina waitress. Opioid addiction is an equal opportunity destroyer of lives. prgtoken Those addicted to opiat