mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FORMER FIRST LADY ROSALYNN SMITH CARTER
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2023-12-5

I rise in celebration of the remarkable life of an extraordinary woman, a true Georgia treasure, First Lady Rosalynn Carter. I extend my deepest condolences to her family and friends. prgtoken In my representation of the citizens of Georgia's Fourth Congressional District, it is my honor to acknowledge the indelible impact Mrs. Carter had, not only on the State of Georgia but also on our country. prgtoken From her tireless advocacy for mental health and disability rights to her dedication to humanitarian causes, Rosalynn Carter exemplified the essence of public service. prgtoken A graduate of Georgia's Southwestern College in Americus, Georgia, Rosalynn Carter was an accomplished woman who graduated as valedictorian of her class in 1946. prgtoken She became an accomplished businesswoman while establishing herself as an equal partner to her husband, Jimmy, who would later become President of the United States. prgtoken Mrs. Carter was a devoted wife and mother, and her love and support for her husband, President Jimmy Carter, was unwavering. prgtoken Her grace, resilience, and unwavering commitment to fostering a compassionate society have left an enduring legacy. prgtoken In her selfless pursuit of making the world a better place, Rosalynn Carter embodied the finest qualities of leadership, even expanding the role of First Lady by attending Cabinet meetings and offering wise counsel to her husband, our President. prgtoken As we celebrate the life of this consummate southern gentlewoman, let us all commit to living a life such as hers, one that has enriched the fabric of our country and serves as a guiding light for generations to come. prgtoken I thank the gentleman representing Georgia's Second Congressional District (Mr. Bishop) for organizing this Special Order hour.
REMEMBERING GARY PETERSEN
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2023-12-5

I rise today to pay one final tribute to Gary Petersen, a close friend and devoted public servant who recently passed away. Gary's devotion to the Tri-Cities was unparalleled, with his work covering everything from our national security, to environmental cleanup, to the growing and evolving missions of the Hanford Site and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory--PNNL--in my home State of Washington. prgtoken This certainly isn't the first time I have spoken in honor of Gary. He was a Washingtonian through and through, raised in Okanogan County before serving in the military and eventually attending my alma mater, Washington State University. He went on to work for more than five decades in the Tri-Cities before retiring in 2017, and over the years, I had the great pleasure of working with Gary time and time again. prgtoken In 1965, Gary landed his first job out of college at Battelle, and he couldn't have had better timing--Battelle had just won a contract to operate a major research and development laboratory at the Hanford Site, which is now known as PNNL. Gary was truly in on the ground floor, working in communications and handling other tasks including leading tours of the Hanford Site, which eventually became his specialty. Whether he was showing around new employees, elected officials, or foreign dignitaries, Gary gave a tour of the sprawling 580-square-mile site that is still unsurpassed. prgtoken Afterward, Gary briefly worked in Nevada for the Department of Energy's--DOE--predecessor--the Atomic Energy Commission--before returning to Washington to work for Westinghouse on the new Fast Flux Test Facility project. Gary further honed his nuclear expertise later working for the Washington Public Power Supply System, which is now Energy Northwest. He went on to rejoin Battelle to work at PNNL, eventually working on key international nuclear safety programs established following the Chernobyl disaster. Eventually, Gary was recruited to volunteer on a part-time basis at the Tri-City Development Council. In true Gary fashion, this quickly became a full-time commitment and he spent the rest of his career advocating on behalf of the Tri-Cities--in Washington, DC, Olympia, and everywhere in between until his retirement in 2017. prgtoken One project that Gary spearheaded before his retirement resulted in DOE returning 1,614 acres of unused Hanford land just north of Richland to the Tri-Cities for economic development. His advocacy--whether it was for small local businesses, historical preservation efforts, or Washington State interests in the Columbia River Treaty--was unmatched. And the impact of his work has only become more evident in the last few years: The progress on Hanford cleanup, the preservation of Hanford's B reactor, the expansion of workforce safety programs at the Hanford Site, and the Tri-Cities' growing role in the clean energy future are all tied to Gary's decades of effort. <|
CONGRATULATING MASSILLON TIGERS
Emilia Strong Sykes (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2023-12-5

today, I rise to recognize the Massillon Tigers high school football team as Ohio's 13th Congressional District champion of the week. prgtoken With a record-breaking season of 16-0, the Tigers won their first- ever Ohio High School Athletic Association Division 2 championship last week. prgtoken In a repeat of the Massillon versus Archbishop Hoban High School, another Ohio 13th District high school, playoff rivalry for the fifth time in 6 years, the Tigers edged out their opponents with a hard- fought 7-2 victory. prgtoken More than 14,000 fans filled the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium to cheer on the best of Ohio's 13th Congressional District, demonstrating just how much this team and this championship mean to the entire district. prgtoken This victory is a testament to the hard work and determination of these exceptional student athletes both on the field and in the classroom. prgtoken Once again, our phenomenal student athletes in Ohio's 13th Congressional District are reaffirming our district's legacy as the Birthplace of Champions and the City of Champions, which is the motto of Massillon. prgtoken , I congratulate the Massillon Tigers for their hard work, and I hope they continue to dominate the world of sports one play at a time.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2023-12-5

today I rise to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and the important place this institution occupies in our great State. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada serves the northern Nevada region through a network of over 150 organizations dedicated to helping families in need. In their 40 years, they have grown from a small pantry serving their community, to a large regional leader in the fight against food insecurity. In 2022, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada provided over 19 million meals. prgtoken The Food Bank of Northern Nevada is a proud member of the Feeding America network, which includes more than 200 food banks nationwide. Their collaborative and innovative solutions to addressing food insecurity in northern Nevada are vital to the health of communities across our State. The Food Bank delivers tens of millions of nutritious meals to families annually. Every month, they serve over 140,000 prgtoken people through their support of an extensive network of community pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and specialized programs for children and seniors. As we see record-setting numbers of families in need of food assistance, the Food Bank continues to play a vital role in serving our great State. prgtoken Food insecurity affects our entire community. Food insecure children can struggle to achieve their potential in school, and seniors are too often faced with having to choose between medical care and putting food on the table. Among the Food Bank of Northern Nevada's clients, 58 percent are over age 50, and another 37 percent are under age 18. We recognize the Food Bank of Northern Nevada for continuing to innovate with their prescription pantry program, connecting families with Federal nutrition programs like SNAP and bringing healthy fruits and vegetables to families and seniors in the neighborhoods where they live. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada could not tackle the important task of working to end hunger without the support of countless Nevadans. Volunteers are at the heart of the organization from those who donate and sort food at the distribution center, to the many businesses and individuals whose donations ensure there is always food available to those who need it. prgtoken I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Food Bank of Northern Nevada for 40 years of tireless commitment to serving the most vulnerable members of our community and helping working families live healthy lives. I know the Food Bank of Northern Nevada will continue to advocate for families and deliver nutritious food to many throughout northern Nevada.
Inflation Reduction Act (Executive Session)
Joe Manchin, III (Democrat, WV) \u2014 2023-12-5

I rise today, I can say, out of frustration, out of anger, out of disappointment that our administration is continuing to break the law that we all passed and that President signed, knowing full well what was in it. I am talking about the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRA. The reason I am saying this is because, in putting this bill together, at the time that we did, I made sure that everyone involved had to sign off on it. The President, the majority leader, and the knew exactly what was in the bill and the purpose of the bill. prgtoken I still believe that the purpose of this bill was done in the right, proper way. I think it was a transformative bill, if we could just stay within the guidelines of how the bill was written. It is not left to interpretation, but they have interpreted. prgtoken They are trying to, basically, implement a piece of legislation that they couldn't get passed, and I have said this. The purpose of the bill had three purposes. The first on the Inflation Reduction Act was to reduce our debt. We all talked about that. prgtoken We have $33.8 trillion in debt today, and if everything that we do does not take that into account and we do not think about our children and grandchildren and future generations, what we are leaving them is untenable. Something has to be done. So that piece of legislation had debt reduction in it--debt reduction. prgtoken It is also based on securing our energy. When the Ukraine war broke out, we were not energy secure. We couldn't help our allies over in Europe, and basically energy was weaponized by Putin. He used it as a weapon, which was very harmful to our allies. Basically, I said this: If you can't help the people who are willing to fight and die for the cause you believe in and we all believe in--the freedoms and democracy that we cherish--then they are not going to be there when you do need them. prgtoken The third thing was to bring manufacturing back to America, the building blocks that we need. And transportation is a major building block of how we deliver our goods, how we basically take care of our lives, how we secure our own jobs, and how we are able to pay for our own way through this wonderful world of ours, but it also runs our economy. prgtoken And I still believe the intent and the ability of the IRA to work as we hoped, the level of investment that we have been seeing from the IRA is transformative. We have never seen this fight. People have been predicting us to fall into a recession, if you will, with high inflation, and we have been able to stave that off because we had this piece of legislation that has given us kind of a shot in the arm that nowhere else in the world has had. prgtoken But here is the problem we are running into. It really, truly seems from my standpoint--because we in my Energy Committee wrote the bill, unknown to most any American for over 3 months before it was introduced, and it was done becaus
ORDERS FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2023
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2023-12-5

. Finally, , I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 6; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Rayes nomination; further, that the cloture motions filed during yesterday's session ripen at 12:30 p.m.; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Wednesday's session, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
Brig. Gen. Steven J. Butow (Executive Calendar)
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2023-12-5

I am rejoicing in the orders that Senator Schumer read. The first thing I would like to do is apologize to the hundreds of officers--men and women who dedicated themselves to their country--and also to their families for this unusual, shall we say, disruption of their promotions to ranks they have won through their merit and effort. prgtoken I think also, too, that it is important to note the contribution of Senator Sullivan and Senator Ernst and Senator Young and Senator Graham and others. They recognized that military officers are not political pawns; that they are men and women who have dedicated themselves and their families to service, to protect the Constitution of the United States. So they joined in to ensure that, today, we could have these much delayed promotions on the floor of the U.S. Senate. prgtoken Once again, , we have to recognize, in the future, we can never do this again; that these men and women served their lives, decades; they served with courage; they served with integrity; they have served with decency. They do it for this country--not for a political party, not for a cause or a popular emotion. They do it to defend their country. And they are aided every step of the way by their families, by their spouses, by their children. In fact, these spouses and children make as many, if not more, sacrifices than the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and guardsmen themselves, in my view. prgtoken But let us commit that, as we go forward, we shall not view a soldier in the context of a political dynamic but in the context of his or her quality of service, her integrity, her decency, and--above all--their not only solemn obligation but complete life of preserving and defending the Constitution of the United States. prgtoken .
RECOGNIZING JORDAN DUNCAN
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2023-12-5

today, I would like to share that I was deeply disturbed to read some antifarmer propaganda in a national news publication. prgtoken Going out and buying a plastic Christmas tree that will take 5,000 years to degrade is antithetical to the real spirit of environmentalism. prgtoken My county, Lewis County, is the number one producer of Christmas trees in Washington State, and we grow Christmas trees for a living in the State, so this is a big deal. prgtoken This terrarium view of nature, where you can buy plastic to celebrate nature, is antithetical to the true spirit of American values and environmentalism. prgtoken I applaud all of our farmers who are fighting hard to keep this tradition alive. Recognizing Importance of Cranberry Growers
HONORING JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR
Marcy Kaptur (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2023-12-5

I rise to honor the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, who passed away last Friday. prgtoken Frequently referred to as the most powerful woman in America, Justice O'Connor, who was highly gifted and dignified, paved the way for women on the highest court in our land. prgtoken Justice O'Connor knew the value of being the first. She felt a special responsibility as the first woman. When she was appointed to the Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, no women in the Court's nearly 200-year history had ever graced the bench with their intellect. Her diligence and legal mastery moved America forward, and she always knew how to find the big middle in her opinions. prgtoken Since her retirement in 2006, four female Supreme Court Justices have been appointed and confirmed to the bench of the highest court in our land. That is only five women in 234 years. prgtoken In our Nation's history, our great State of Ohio has never elected a female Senator. Including myself, Ohio has only ever elected 13 female Representatives. Our Nation has not seen a female President yet. Women in our Nation have many glass ceilings to shatter and many more firsts to go. prgtoken , I honor Justice O'Connor, her character, and her legacy, and I honor and encourage the new firsts yet to come from among America's young women.
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 1669 (Executive Calendar)
Ben Ray Luján (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2023-12-5

I want to express thanks for the leadership of my colleagues from Texas and Massachusetts and for the work they have done in this space, bringing more and more attention to something that doesn't impact our daily lives until we need it most, when there is often an emergency, as there was in New Mexico about 2 years ago, when the world's attention was on our beautiful State and we suffered the worst fires in our State's history. prgtoken Now, these were forest fires that received so much attention in our State because they were started by the Federal Government. How, you might ask. These were prescribed burns that went out of control. prgtoken Now, when cell phones were not working, when other methods of media were not able to connect because powerlines were going down, it was one local radio station, KNMX, an AM station in Las Vegas, NM, that was streaming more and more news to volunteers coming in on their time off, radio personalities ensuring that people would know what was happening because they were being told to evacuate from their homes, folks driving home from work in rural areas. As Senator Cruz points out, when there is no news connectivity, no other information coming in, we depend on AM radio. prgtoken I just don't understand why there is opposition to this. I was hoping Senator Cruz and Senator Markey and I could come to the floor today to celebrate the passing of this important legislation, not to sit and listen to that objection. prgtoken Just to point this out, in local news reporting, predominantly through AM radio, and in New Mexico because of the fires, we heard from the FEMA Administrator--from Administrator Criswell--who said ``AM radio is one of the most dependable ways that we can reach individuals across this country to get warnings out there.'' prgtoken We saw this play out firsthand in New Mexico, and, as we have been reminded, this is not just a challenge in my State or in Texas or in Massachusetts but in every one of the 50 States across the country. The Federal Government should be doing more to make it easier for Americans to access potentially lifesaving emergency broadcasts--plain and simple. prgtoken With natural disasters happening every day in every State, I wanted to clarify a few points, some of which I heard today. prgtoken One, I heard a claim that the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act will force manufacturers of electric vehicles to completely redesign the drivetrain. I heard a little bit about that today. prgtoken Here are the facts. The fact is that car companies have already solved this engineering challenge. We have already heard of the number of companies that have come forward. With the 20 letters that Senator Markey sent out, 10 companies responded--Honda, Hyundai, Land Rover, Kia, Lucid, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, and Toyota--that they already figured this out. Brilliant engineers at those companies figured this out. prgtoken Some of the folk
Nomination of Elizabeth H. Richard (Executive Calendar)
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2023-12-5

shortly, we will be voting on Elizabeth Richard to be the State Department's Coordinator for Counterterrorism, the motion in regard to invoking cloture. I speak prgtoken in favor of her nomination as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken We need someone at the helm of our civilian and diplomatic efforts on counterterrorism who has the experience of working in some of the most dangerous and challenging environments. We need someone who is qualified to direct and successfully implement the Department's counterterrorism programs and who can work hand in hand with the Department of Defense on counterterrorism issues. We also need someone who has proven they will stand up for American values. prgtoken The threat from terrorism has not gone away but has changed dramatically. Not only has terrorism spread across more countries, but today it takes on a different form. prgtoken Protecting our Nation from the evolving counterterrorism threat is absolutely critical to the security of the United States. That is why we must have an experienced leader at the helm of the Bureau of Counterterrorism and why we must confirm Ambassador Richard without delay. prgtoken Ambassador Richard has over three decades of experience in the Foreign Service. She has served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State; as Deputy Chief of Mission in Yemen; as Border Coordinator in Pakistan; and as Ambassador to Lebanon--a career diplomat who has served our Nation. Throughout her tenure, she has led efforts with our partners and allies to confront the challenges from terrorist groups. prgtoken Ambassador Richard's nomination was reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by a voice vote. She has overwhelming endorsements from military and civilian leaders alike, including the support of some of our most experienced and senior national security officials, from General Votel, retired four-star general and former commander of Special Operations Command and Central Command; to General Nagata, former commander of Special Operations Command Central and Director of Strategy for the National Counterterrorism Center; to retired Major General Fontes of U.S. Army Cyber Command. prgtoken All endorse her candidacy, as does Jeffrey Feltman, the former Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs of the United Nations, Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs, and U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa; as has Anne Patterson, former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Egypt, and Colombia, and Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs. prgtoken I could go on. prgtoken Ambassador Richard has earned the support because of her long career. They all speak highly of her ability and qualifications to lead the Department's counterterrorism policy. As one of them said, she is ``among the very finest diplomats our nation has produced.'' prgtoken I have every confide