mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Trump-Putin Summit (Executive Calendar)
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-7-17

I rise to urge this body to uphold our solemn responsibility to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and to protect the Nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic. prgtoken I have long believed the President's words and actions have undermined our national interests and our values, but yesterday felt different. prgtoken As someone who has sat for 26 years on the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it was a day of infamy in the history of our foreign policy. prgtoken Yesterday, the American people witnessed a supplicant President of the United States capitulate to a brutal foreign leader on the world stage. Far from standing up to Putin, President was unable to even acknowledge Russia's attack in 2016 and the continued threat it poses today. Instead, the President reverted to his own insecurities about his electoral victory and disturbingly subverted the work of the men and women who lead our intelligence community. prgtoken I shouldn't have to repeat this, but I will, and I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are as unequivocal as well. Seventeen-- seventeen--U.S. intelligence agencies together assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a sophisticated influence campaign aimed at the 2016 Presidential election. Yet the President said he had ``no reason to believe'' Russia interfered, and I have no reason to believe what he tried to clean up today. prgtoken Those statements directly contradicted statements from then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo--who is now the Secretary of State--the U.S. Vice President, Michael , and the Director of U.S. National Intelligence. prgtoken The President said: I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. And what he did is an incredible offer; he offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators-- prgtoken With respect to the 12 military intelligence officers that the special counsel indicted-- I think that is an incredible offer. prgtoken The only incredible thing about that offer is that the President of the United States would invite the perpetrator of the crime to help with the investigation. That is incredible. prgtoken Every time President failed to stand up to Vladimir Putin felt like a collective punch in the gut of the American people. It was disturbing and saddening to see the leader of the free world shrink in the face of a dictator. prgtoken Just as disturbing is, we have no idea what transpired between President and Putin during their secretive, lengthy meeting. What could the President need to discuss with President Putin for 2 hours with no other advisers present? If President said such appalling things in public, Lord knows what he would have said to Putin in private. We deserve to know what w
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 996, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Eliot L. Engel (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-7-17

I thank my friend from Massachusetts for yielding to me, and I want to strongly identify with his remarks. prgtoken , I led the Foreign Affairs Committee last week urging President to cancel his meeting with Vladimir Putin because I knew this was going to turn out badly, but, frankly, I didn't know how bad it would be. It turns out President embarrassed himself and disgraced our Nation. prgtoken Standing on foreign soil, the President of the United States questioned America's intelligence community; he attacked America's law enforcement with bizarre conspiracy theories; he lobbed petty political insults; and he did it all while standing next to America's chief rival, Vladimir Putin. prgtoken When faced head-on with the question, ``Who do you believe?'' President sided with Putin and affirmed Putin's brazen lies. This is the tyrant who directed attacks on America's democracy in an effort to elect and hurt Hillary Clinton. And, as Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said, these attacks are still ongoing. prgtoken As we all know, Putin is a ruthless leader who seeks to tear down our alliances, undermine Western unity, and destroy democracy. With the eyes of the world on them, it is plain that the President of the United States is now Putin's willing accomplice, Putin's poodle. It is outrageous; it is disgusting; it is dangerous; and it has been met with near universal condemnation. prgtoken Here is what Ryan said just yesterday, and I agree with the : There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world. The President needs to understand that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalency between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals, and that Russia must be held accountable. prgtoken That is what our said, and I agree with him. prgtoken I have introduced this resolution so that the entire House can go on record agreeing with the , affirming that we stand with the . I deeply regret that a member of the 's own party just blocked the House from speaking with one voice and taking up this resolution by unanimous consent. prgtoken We must reject the President's capitulation to Putin; we must stand up for American leadership on the global stage; and we must demand that this administration treat Russia like the enemy it is. prgtoken How can you treat Putin better than U.S. intelligence? It just boggles my mind. prgtoken , I ask unanimous consent for the immediate consideration of the resolution I have just introduced, which is H. Res. 999.
Trump-Putin Summit (Executive Calendar)
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-7-17

I am honored and grateful to follow the very powerful comments of my friend and colleague from Arizona. They remind me of our mutual friend, his colleague and partner from the State of Arizona, Senator John McCain, whom we miss at this moment more than ever. Senator McCain is with us in spirit, and those words remind us that the threat we face at this perilous time in our national history must be met with a truly bipartisan response. prgtoken The threat we face is every bit as serious as any in the history of this country because it involves an attack on the pillars of our democracy. We know that 9/11 and Pearl Harbor involved a prgtoken physical assault with immediate loss of life. Russia's attack on this country in 2016 is every bit as serious and urgent. prgtoken In the words of the Director of National Intelligence, our former colleague Dan Coats, this incident should put us truly on alert. Those blinking lights based on objective and unvarnished evidence, as he put it, of a pervasive, continuing attack should bring us together as a legislative body and as a country. prgtoken This issue really is not about as much as it is about our Nation. The summit in a sense realized our worst fears; indeed, our deepest nightmare. At best, it was going to be a gift to President Putin because it legitimized him and elevated him on the world stage, even if no words followed that private meeting. prgtoken The truth is that it happened, and the President of the United States was a puppet, a patsy, a pushover--in fact, an appeaser, in the worst tradition of that term--on the public stage. The President put Russia over this country. He failed to fulfill his oath of office to defend this Nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He failed to put America's interests first. In fact, he blamed America first. He blamed everyone except for Putin and himself. prgtoken Now he has attempted, shamefully, to rewrite history--unartfully, incredibly. He has said, in effect, that some editing, some minor change in grammar, would allow him to escape the universal condemnation from all sides of the political spectrum of his shameful surrender to Vladimir Putin. prgtoken The question is, What does Vladimir Putin have on ? We will not know until the special counsel finishes his investigation. We must do everything in this body--and this point is central to what we are saying today--to protect the special counsel against the continuing onslaught and assault from 's cronies and surrogates on the far right--the fringe of the Party--who are seeking to discredit the special counsel investigation; indeed, talking about impeaching Ron Rosenstein and demanding documents involved in that investigation. We must now pass the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act. prgtoken If is serious and he believes that the Russians, in fact, interfered with our democracy, what
LANSDALE MURAL ARTS PROGRAM
Brian K. Fitzpatrick (Republican, PA) \u2014 2018-7-17

I rise today to recognize a program in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, that brings together members of our community to celebrate artistic expression and economic opportunity. prgtoken The Lansdale Mural Arts Program seeks to beautify areas in Lansdale by painting murals on buildings in need of rehabilitation. By improving the aesthetics of many of these beloved community landmarks, the Lansdale Mural Arts Program hopes to enhance the economic and social value of the services and goods that the building's tenants provide. prgtoken Started in 2013, the Lansdale Mural Arts Program has painted the walls of local businesses: Chantilly Floral, Wes Carver Electric, The Underground at Round Guys Brewing Company, and perhaps the most profound, an American flag mural at the Lansdale VFW Post. prgtoken Currently, the program is looking to continue its work on the American Legion Post 206 building, and I applaud the Lansdale Mural Arts Program for their work, especially organizers Margie Booz and Ellen Foulke for their thoughtfulness and dedication to our community. Recognizing the Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic
Tariffs (Executive Session)
Lamar Alexander (Republican, TN) \u2014 2018-7-17

today the Senate is finally voting to confirm James Blew, who has been nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education. He is well-qualified to lead that office. For 20 years, in various roles, he has advocated for improving educational opportunities by overseeing grants to low-income, high-risk schools. He has a M.B.A. from Yale University. He will be in charge of helping to manage the Department's budget and ensure that programs are working as intended. prgtoken Mr. Blew's sin with some of my friends on the other side is that he is in favor of giving low-income children a choice of a better school and in favor of prgtoken public charter schools, which gives teachers more freedom to teach and parents more freedom to choose the school for their child. prgtoken No one should be surprised that a president would nominate such an Assistant Secretary of Education. Every president has nominated assistant secretaries of education and secretaries of education--I was one of them--who support giving low-income children more choices of good schools--the same choices that wealthier children have--such as public charter schools. prgtoken As far as public charter schools go, every ic president since 1990, when the first charter schools were formed, has supported public charter schools. prgtoken Mr. Blew did not deserve to be subjected to the unreasonable delay and obstruction that the have given to his nomination. He was nominated on September 28, 2017, 292 days ago. We held a hearing on November 15, 2017, 244 days ago. prgtoken Going back to the Clinton administration, there had been no hearings for this position, but I held one anyway, as chairman of the committee, as a courtesy to . Then, forced Mr. Blew's nomination to be returned to the President at the end of the congressional session last year. prgtoken Let's see how that compares to how President 's first Assistant Secretary for the same job was treated. Carmel Martin was nominated on March 18, 2009, and was confirmed by voice vote without a hearing on May 1, 2009, 44 days later. prgtoken It is one thing to vote against a presidential nominee. That is appropriate. Any of us can do that. I think it is wrong to always vote against a presidential nominee just because you disagree with that nominee's point of view. Why would you not expect a president to nominate an assistant secretary who favors giving poor children choices of good schools and supports public charter schools that were invented by the ic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota and were supported by every ic president since 1990? So this unreasonable delay of a well-qualified Assistant Secretary is not good for the Senate, not good for the country, and not good for children who need that sort of leadership. prgtoken I support and urge my
TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT
Marco Rubio (Republican, FL) \u2014 2018-7-17

the events of the last 36 hours, particularly the issue that now dominates the media coverage in America, and our political debates on the floor cause me to come today to the floor of the Senate to speak for a few minutes to my constituents in the State of Florida but also to anyone else who clearly should care about this issue across our country, for it is one that impacts our Nation in ways that I don't think have been fully vetted or are clearly understood by enough people. prgtoken The idea that the Russian Federation, at the command of Vladimir Putin, interfered in our election is something that most Americans are now familiar with. It has been a topic of ongoing conversation, discussion, debate, argument, and dispute, pretty much since the fall of 2016 and to the present day. It has morphed into something that has become domestically more of a partisan issue. It is hard to believe. If you were able to get in a time machine and go back just 5 years and tell someone that Russian interference in our election would become a partisan issue, along the lines in which we see it play out now, few would believe you. prgtoken I will spend very little time today talking about the past and saying ``you guys did this on the other side of the aisle before we did'' and vice versa because it isn't constructive and means nothing to the future. prgtoken It wasn't long ago, in a major Presidential debate where the nominee, Mitt Romney, pointed to Russia as the greatest geopolitical challenge of the United States, that he was roundly mocked not just by President , who was running for election and subsequently won, but by many in the press. I don't say that for purposes of drawing a ``you guys were wrong back then'' kind of argument. I say it solely for purposes of understanding how far we have come and where we are today. prgtoken By the way, I wouldn't necessarily agree with that statement. I believe, by and large, that the greatest geopolitical challenge for the United States and the world in the 21st century will be whether China's rise is peaceful and productive or not. prgtoken When the story of the 21st century is written, there will be some chapters in that book about Vladimir Putin and Russia, and it is a topic that increasingly dominates our domestic debate today in ways that I think require more careful examination and understanding if we are to make from it good public policy and good decisions for the country. prgtoken I think it begins with something that I talked about last week; that is, understanding the nature of this conflict. It begins with a man, Vladimir Putin. I don't know the man, but I know enough about him and have certainly learned enough about him to make some pretty clear assessments that I believe in deeply. The first is that this is a man who was raised in the Cold War Soviet Union, where people were trained to be suspicious about each other, and who then went on
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Doug LaMalfa (Republican, CA) \u2014 2018-7-17

again, I appreciate the conversation here, but when you look at the depth and the danger of what is being brought into our States and my own part of northern California, my colleague in the Cleveland National Forest, this is an acute problem. The environmental damage is unspeakable with the amount of chemicals, the damage to the wildlife, and the threat this poses to people out there innocently hiking camping, utilizing the forest or maybe for even logging operations. prgtoken So we need to kick-start this as strongly as possible, and that is why I offer this amendment tonight in order to counter and send a message that we are taking this seriously where Federal employees, Federal agents have feared to tread in recent years because of this tremendous threat that the Mexican nationals and gang activity has caused in our national forests that belong to the people. prgtoken So, again, I urge my colleagues to support this. It is an important start and weaves into so much with human trafficking, environmental destruction, and even, in some cases, murder associated with the problems of the growth of this product in our national forests. prgtoken , .
EXPRESSING SENSE OF THE HOUSE THAT THE UNITED STATES NAVY'S TOTAL READINESS REMAINS IN A PERILOUS STATE
Robert J. Wittman (Republican, VA) \u2014 2018-7-17

I begin by thanking the gentlewoman from Wyoming for all of her efforts, as well as all of my colleagues for their continued effort to do everything possible to assure the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act and the Defense Appropriations bill prior to the end of the fiscal year. That is key. prgtoken We have heard testimony about how money is wasted and uncertainty has led us to where we are today. Without that, we must do everything we can to assure passage of both of those bills. prgtoken , I rise today in support of H. Res. 998, which expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Navy's total readiness remains in a perilous state due to high operational demands, increased deployment lengths, shortened training periods, and deferred maintenance all while the Navy is asked to do more with less as financial support for critical areas waned in the era of sequestration and without consistent congressional funding. prgtoken We have heard that laid out. We agree on both sides that this has created the uncertainty that creates the situation we found ourselves in today. prgtoken I think it is important to define what the term ``Navy total readiness'' truly means. The Navy conducted an independent Strategic Readiness Review composed of retired Navy admirals, as well as current senior civilian executives in the aftermath of the tragic USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain collisions. This Strategic Readiness Review identified institutional deficiencies that have developed over a long period of time resulting in a weaker Navy. prgtoken Factors that contribute to total Navy readiness include: the total number of assets--we know them as ships--manning and training, that is, in particular, personnel, in how well they perform their jobs; equipping and maintaining, that means providing sailors gear and maintaining ships; command and control, which means establishing clear lines of leadership and funding; and operations, which is the tempo at which our men and women in uniform execute their missions. prgtoken If one or all of these total readiness factors are lacking, the Navy will suffer. Unfortunately, that is the situation we find ourselves in today. prgtoken But we didn't arrive here by accident. I believe we have a tendency to respond to the crisis of the day rather than prepare for long-term strategic problems with corresponding solutions. prgtoken Make no mistake about it, our adversaries are looking in the long term. Don't think for a moment that China isn't watching what we are doing and planning for where they will be not next week, not next month, not next year, but 10 years down the road, 20 years down the road, or a century down the road. The same with Russia, North Korea, and Iran. We need to do the same. prgtoken After the Cold War and the Reagan administration came to an end, our Navy rapidly decreased in size. In the next few decades, funding levels became smaller and sm
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Glenn Grothman (Republican, WI) \u2014 2018-7-17

. Just a comment from the humble Congressman from Wisconsin. It was said that this is a small amount. I still think $300 million is a lot of money, okay? And we are only taking about $45 million out of that. We are leaving a lot behind. We are leaving--I don't feel, at this time, with such a big debt, we should be setting the all-time high that we have ever put in the endowment for the humanities and higher than any other amount we have put in the arts for the last 8 years. prgtoken And when I run for this job, I don't find anybody running around saying that they have got a big crisis in this country. I have a lot of rural area. And we have got to spend a lot more money in Washington, we have got this big debt, on the arts and humanities. prgtoken My local and municipal government are pleased to fund this. Philanthropists are pleased to fund this, and even people without a lot of money like me are happy to fund it on our own. prgtoken I request that the amendment pass and we make a little dent in this huge level of spending, and take a small amount out of here; not as much as President , who cares so much about our children and grandchildren, wanted to take out, but at least a small 15 percent out due to our huge debt. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .