mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN...
Steve Daines (Republican, MT) \u2014 2019-10-30

just over a year ago, President signed into law a major bipartisan bill, the SUPPORT Act, to help combat the opioid and drug epidemic that is devastating this country. I call that a very good first step in this long fight, and now we must continue working to do even more. prgtoken Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for those under age 50 in the United States. Our country is in the middle of a major opioid and meth crisis, and the sad reality is, this epidemic isn't slowing down anytime soon. It has been said that meth is the next wave of the opioid crisis. prgtoken Sadly, in my home State of Montana, that wave is already reality. Meth is destroying Montana families and communities. As I travel across Montana, I hear far too many heartbreaking stories of addiction and tragedy. From Great Falls to Wibaux, to the Flathead and across Indian Country, the stories are all too real. prgtoken We need to do more to put an end to the tragic stories we are seeing in the news--no more stories of babies being born addicted to meth; no more stories of meth breaking up families; no more stories of babies being left in the forest--literally left in the forest--because their parents were high on meth. These stories are real, and their impacts are real. prgtoken Montana's meth crisis is claiming lives, breaking up families, and leaving our foster care systems overcrowded and sometimes overloaded. It is leading to a significant rise in violent crime. In fact, from 2011 to 2017, there was a 415-percent increase in meth cases in Montana, with meth-related deaths rising 375 percent during those same years. prgtoken In Montana, the meth crisis is disproportionately impacting Native American Tribes. Enough is enough. That is why I fought to include my legislation, the Mitigating METH Act, which strengthens Indian Tribes' ability to combat drug use, in the SUPPORT Act that was signed into law just last year. prgtoken That historic and comprehensive legislation was a great first step, but there is a lot more work that needs to be done, and tangible things can be done. prgtoken In Montana--we are a northern border State, but we have a southern border crisis. I say that for a very clear reason. There is no denying the fact that the meth that is invading Montana and that is devastating Montana is Mexican cartel meth. It is not homegrown meth anymore; it is Mexican cartel meth that is smuggled across the southern border. prgtoken Mexican meth is cheaper and more potent. In fact, several years ago, the meth we saw in Montana was homegrown meth. It had potency levels around 25 percent. Today, the Mexican cartel meth has a potency level of over 90 percent. That results in a much more dangerous form of meth. It is much more widespread, and the price has dropped. prgtoken I have met with Montanans across our State--whether it is law enforcement, doctors, nurses, treatment facility professionals--to come together,
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN...
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2019-10-30

the passing of former Senator Kay Hagan was sad news to all of us who were privileged to serve with her and counted her as a friend. prgtoken In her final address to the Senate 5 years ago, Senator Kay Hagan reminded us of our obligation to work together on behalf of the American people with these words: ``To whom much is given, much is expected.'' prgtoken Kay Hagan was given much. She had the energy, intelligence, dedication, and compassion, and she gave back to her home State over many years of public service. As a person of deep faith, she fully understood the New Testament ``Parable of the Talents.'' Its message that gifts must be put to use in service of others guided her life. prgtoken In this time of sorrow, I offer my deep condolences to Kay's family. I hope that they will find comfort in knowing that Kay left an inspiring legacy. She left the world a better place for her service. The loss felt by the people of North Carolina and by her family, in particular, is felt by people throughout America. prgtoken I was privileged to serve with Kay for 6 years. We served together on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I always appreciated her focus on solutions rather than partisan advantage. She was passionate about many issues, particularly those affecting children. prgtoken In 2011, Kay and I introduced legislation to commemorate the work at the March of Dimes by minting a coin to celebrate the 75th anniversary of this organization and directing the proceeds to the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign. As the author of the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act, Kay reaffirmed her belief that we in Congress must always remember whom we are advocating for. prgtoken When Kay took office in 2009, she was very proud to be one of 17 Senators who were female. It is significant that her very first speech on the Senate floor that January was in support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to strengthen protections for women against wage discrimination. prgtoken It was so refreshing to hear her assert that neither party had a monopoly on good ideas. Throughout her time in this Chamber, she proved the truth of that maxim. prgtoken In the ``Parable of the Talents,'' the master leaves on a journey and entrusts a servant with a portion of his treasure. Upon his return, the master is delighted to find that his wealth has been wisely invested and multiplied. prgtoken Kay Hagan was entrusted with the great treasure of principles, determination, and spirit. She invested that treasure wisely and multiplied its benefits for all. Like the master in the Parable, to Kay Hagan we say: ``Well done, good and faithful servant.'' prgtoken May God bless her and her family and may we all keep her memory in our hearts. prgtoken .
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN...
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-10-30

so far, the 116th Congress has been full of a number of dubious measures, as I might characterize them, by our friends across the aisle as it relates to our healthcare system. prgtoken For starters, our ic colleagues in the Senate and the House and on the Presidential campaign trail are hailing Medicare for All as the gold standard for healthcare in America. prgtoken I was here during the debates over the Affordable Care Act, and I remember President 's saying, if you like your policy, you can keep it and that if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Neither one of those proved to be correct and true. Yet, here, our ic colleagues have simply given up all pretense and have embraced a Medicare for All Program that would outlaw some 180 million Americans' private health insurance policies. In other words, the policy you get through your employer as part of the fringe benefits of your employment would no longer be available under Medicare for All. This is, of course, socialized medicine, which ensures long waits for substandard care. prgtoken Yes, it is true that I have heard some say: ``Well, it is Medicare for All. Who would want it?'' and others say: ``No. I am for the public option.'' Both of these are slippery slopes into a single-payer, socialized medicine healthcare system that will deny consumers the choices they might prefer to make for themselves rather than to leave the government to make those choices for them. Not only would this trigger a lot of disruption, it would also lead to sharp increases in taxes to fund this, roughly, $30 trillion pipedream. prgtoken Last month, Pelosi managed to take this debate on healthcare to the next level. It seems like controlling people's healthcare alone isn't enough. Now they want to run the drug industry too. Forget about choice. Forget about competition. Forget about innovation. One of the things that has characterized the American healthcare system is the lifesaving innovation of drugs. The want to now have the Federal Government determine what the formulary is, what drugs are available to you. They want to set the prices and ensure the bureaucrats rather than families are at the center of our healthcare system. They are churning out partisan healthcare bills, one after another, and taking their party further and further to the left with every move. prgtoken I would like to think, ultimately, cooler heads will prevail in the Senate, where we have been working on bipartisan bills to bring down healthcare costs. For example, the Senate's Judiciary, Finance, and HELP Committees have each passed bipartisan packages of bills to end surprise billing so as to prgtoken create more transparency when it comes to pharmaceuticals and increased competition, but that doesn't mean this side of the Capitol is immune from some of the politics when it comes to our healthcare system. prgtoken Rather than following the 's lea
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN...
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2019-10-30

I wish to thank my colleague from Iowa for her comments and also for her organizing this event this afternoon. This is an opportunity for us to talk not only about some of the things we have done in the U.S. Congress that are positive in terms of addressing the largest drug crisis we have ever faced in our country but also about what we need to do going forward and how we need to keep our eye on the ball to be sure that we don't see more addiction coming, that we don't see some of these new dangers--like crystal meth and other drugs--coming up. prgtoken Again, from Iowa. Iowa has been hard-hit; so has Ohio. In fact, in 2017, our opioid overdose rate was about three times the national average. We have, unfortunately, been in the top five in terms of overdose deaths for most of the last 10 years. We have had nearly a dozen Ohioans dying from these dangerous drugs every single day. This has now surpassed car accidents as the No. 1 cause of death in my home State of Ohio. prgtoken What has happened is, since 2017, with a lot of work from a lot of people on the ground, with some help from Washington--about $4 billion in new funding that this body has approved and taken the lead on--we have begun to make progress. prgtoken Last year, in 2018, Ohio had a 22-percent reduction in overdose deaths. This leads the country in reductions, and we are proud of that because of the lives that have been saved. But we also realize that we came from such a high mark, high watermark, that it is important for us to keep the pressure on to continue to make progress. prgtoken What has happened in Ohio is what is happening around the country, which is the SUPPORT Act, which was signed into law by the President just about 1 year ago, and other legislation, like the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act--the CARA legislation--and also the State Opioid Response grants, have started to work. prgtoken I see the Senator from Missouri is on the floor today. What they have done in the Appropriations Committee to fund these projects is making a huge difference back home. I have spent a lot of my time working with the community organizations, talking to addicts and recovering addicts. I have talked to a couple thousand in the last couple of years alone. I will tell you, it is working. What is working are more innovative programs back home to close some of these gaps. prgtoken Recently, I had the opportunity to go out with the RREACT team in Columbus, OH. They are being funded with a grant of about $800,000 from the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, the CARA legislation. Again, this has been funded by the Appropriations Committee, actually, at above its authorized level. prgtoken It is working. They are closing an obvious gap, which was that people were overdosing, getting Narcan. Our brave first responders were saving their lives, and then those people were going back to the community they were from-
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN...
Mitt Romney (Republican, UT) \u2014 2019-10-30

I rise today to talk about two problems that are related. These two problems have been spoken about for I think virtually decades here in this Chamber and across the political spectrum. prgtoken One relates to preserving our extraordinary entitlement programs-- Social Security, Medicare, our highway trust fund, and the like. These programs are very much under threat because within 13 years, each of these trust funds, each of these programs will face insolvency. prgtoken The other problem I want to talk about is the massive overspending, the deficit and the debt we have. That is something which s and have been speaking about for a long time, although speaking about it less frequently as of late. prgtoken These two problems are related because two-thirds of our spending at the Federal level is automatic. It is associated with our entitlement programs. So let me start with the debt. prgtoken When I was running for President and when I had the chance also to run for the Senate, the No. 1 issue among the people in my State was the issue of whether we would stop spending more money than we take in. We took in about $3 trillion last year in tax revenue, but we spent about $4 trillion. prgtoken There are some people who have decided to stop thinking about the deficit, to stop worrying about the debt, but as the debt reaches almost $23 trillion, it is beginning to be a real issue. I don't think we are about to face a failed auction where people won't be willing to buy our debt. We are, after all, the reserve currency of the world, and people want to have American dollars. But I am concerned that the interest is beginning to have an enormous impact on our capacity to meet our priorities. prgtoken Last year we spent almost $300 billion on interest on the Federal debt, and over time, this debt, as we add to it year after year after year, is going to mean that the burden of interest payments on the American people will get larger and larger. prgtoken There is a small group of people who say: Well, this isn't a problem because interest rates are so low. prgtoken Well, it is not a problem until it becomes a problem, because if interest rates start creeping up at some point, it can become an extraordinary burden on the American people. prgtoken If we are sending hundreds of billions of dollars to people like the Chinese, when they use those dollars to confront our military, we have a real problem leading the free world. prgtoken The issue is, how come we can't deal with the debt and the deficits, and why haven't we been able to do so? There has been effort to talk about that, even though more recently it has been kind of quiet. It relates, of course, to what I started to speak about, which are our trust funds, with Medicare, with Social Security, our retirement programs. Social Security, the disability program, as well as the highway trust funds--these are scheduled to run out of money within 13
HONORING SAINT PETER'S BAPTIST CHURCH
Steven M. Palazzo (Republican, MS) \u2014 2019-10-30

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Saint Peter's Baptist Church in Pascagoula, MS which will be celebrating its 200th anniversary. The founding of this church tells the story of Mr. Dudley Brooks, who was a former slave that gained his freedom by saving the life of his master's wife. Mr. Brooks then went on to work as a ship caulker so he could save up money, eventually buying his wife's freedom in Louisiana. Together, they traveled back to Scranton, presently known as Pascagoula, where they built their home on Market Street. prgtoken Mr. Brooks started by gathering a small group of community members to worship in his home which eventually transformed into the First Free Mission Baptist Church, later installing Reverend George Washington as the first pastor. The congregation soon outgrew the Brooks' home as worshippers traveled from Gautier by boat to attend the church, requiring the church to move the service underneath a huge oak tree on Market Street, presently known as Canal Street. With the oak tree's roots serving as pews for family members, and a small ship's bell fastened to the tree churchgoers would summon worshippers to join their service by ringing the bell. While times were tough and money was limited, members of the congregation were able to raise $250 to purchase a 200 ft. by 60 ft. lot. While Mr. Brooks and the congregation were unable to write at the time the church was established, the story of the church's beginnings have been passed down through generations. prgtoken The new church purchased a larger bell and placed it in the tree where the old ship's bell hung. While the church has since moved locations, the larger bell still hangs from an oak tree on Canal Street. Mr. Dudley Brooks' hardships are a real test of the human spirit, and through his determination, he created something that would continue to touch lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for centuries. His story is a true miracle and inspiration to us all. I want to congratulate the members of Saint Peter's Baptist Church for continuing to build on the foundation laid by Mr. Brooks and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
TRIBUTE TO JENNIFER EVANS
Johnny Isakson (Republican, GA) \u2014 2019-10-30

today, I rise to pay tribute to Jennifer Evans, the president of Leadership Georgia for 2019. Leadership Georgia is one of the Nation's oldest and most successful State leadership training programs. Leadership Georgia serves primarily young business, civic, community leaders who have the desire and potential to work together for a better Georgia. prgtoken The idea for a statewide leadership development program was first proposed in 1971 during an informal conversation between several key business leaders at a Georgia Chamber of Commerce meeting. This inspired group included Pat Patillo, then-president of the Georgia Chamber; business leader Jim Lientz, Sr.; Rogers Wade of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation; and community visionary J.W. Fanning, who would eventually serve as the program's longtime advisor and guiding hand. prgtoken The first class of Leadership Georgia started in 1972 and included aspiring leaders from across the State. Future U.S. Senator Sam Nunn was a member of the inaugural class who, at the time, was a young lawyer from Perry, GA. The story goes that Nunn was inspired to run for the Senate shortly after attending his first Leadership Georgia Program. I am also a proud alumnus of the organization, as is my former colleague, Saxby Chambliss. prgtoken Beyond its founding, Leadership Georgia leads the way in many areas. Thanks to J.W. Fanning's active wife Cora Lee, Leadership Georgia has always stressed partner and spousal participation. Another key focus of Leadership Georgia is diversity among its members. The highly competitive selection process includes participants from every comer of the State and seeks out those from different occupations, genders, cultures, and races. The philosophy behind this diversity goal is that each Leadership Georgia class of 120-plus participants connects on a deeply personal level that highlights different perspectives while learning how to work together as one united force for Georgia's best future. prgtoken As president of Leadership Georgia for 2019, Jennifer Evans was responsible for selecting the five locations where the Leadership Georgia class have spent their time together. To showcase the ``Georgia United'' theme she chose, Jennifer selected the Georgia communities of Young and its Brasstown Resort in the North Georgia mountains; Albany, which has been resilient in the face of recent natural disasters; Gainesville, the poultry capital of the world; and Perry, home to the Georgia National Fairgrounds. prgtoken This year, Jennifer also set aside one of these programs to visit us here in Washington, DC, to allow these emerging leaders to interact with their elected and appointed officials to deliver the message of ``United We Can'' and encourage us to find common ground for the betterment of our State and Nation. That is a message I think all of us need to hear on a regular basis. prgtoken Both members of Leadership Georgia's Cl
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN...
Joni Ernst (Republican, IA) \u2014 2019-10-30

just over a year ago, President signed into law the most comprehensive and sweeping opioid response package in the Nation's history, a piece of legislation that passed this body with overwhelming bipartisan support--a rarity in gridlocked Washington. The reason we came together was simple: Opioid abuse is tearing apart families, straining our law enforcement and emergency services, and engulfing our communities. Young mothers with precious babies and young people in the prime of their lives are focused on fentanyl rather than finding their path toward success. prgtoken This crippling epidemic has touched the lives of Iowans from all walks of life and from all areas of our State. We have seen the harrowing statistics and the ongoing struggles that many of our loved ones face. In Iowa, we also struggle with an ongoing meth epidemic that further threatens our communities. In just one of many statistics, the number of children put into foster prgtoken care in the United States due to parental drug use nearly doubled from 2000 to 2017. prgtoken I have heard so many heartbreaking stories from families who have a loved one battling addiction. prgtoken A mom from Polk County shared with me her son's 7-year battle with addiction and how the vicious disease affects all levels of society, including our friends, our neighbors, and in her case, her family. She concluded by pleading with Congress to act to end, in her words, ``this horrific situation and serious threat to our nation's future.'' Families like this are desperate for their loved ones to reach recovery and good health before their story ends in tragedy. As is sometimes quoted, ``Addiction is a family disease. One person may use, but the whole family suffers.'' prgtoken It is these heartbreaking stories that propelled me and my colleagues to take action. This bipartisan package named the ``SUPPORT Act'' expanded treatment and recovery options for opioid addiction, created new tools for prevention and enforcement, supported safe disposal of opioids, strengthened first responders' training, and provided for the safe disposal of unused drugs. It has produced real results for Iowans and for folks all across the country. prgtoken Just last week, I had the chance to join the First Lady of the United States, Melania , Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and a number of other administration officials to discuss the progress made on opioid abuse, including efforts to reduce the number of women using opioids during pregnancy. prgtoken This President and this -led Senate are tackling the opioid crisis in a meaningful and thoughtful way, and I couldn't be prouder to be associated with this work. In Iowa alone, for instance, we have seen the number of deaths from opioids decrease by 19 percent. In September, the administration announced $932 million in awards for State opioid response grant funding, including over $11 million