mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
THE GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT
Lamar Alexander (Republican, TN) \u2014 2020-8-4

this morning, I had the privilege of attending the President's signing of the Great American Outdoors Act. prgtoken Now, this is a town, Washington, DC, that is accustomed to hyperbole--that is exaggeration--and excessive partisanship. Yet, today, we had neither. As the Secretary of the Interior said, the bill the President signed is, clearly, the most important conservation and outdoor recreation legislation that has passed in this Congress and become law in at least a half century. It may only be exceeded by the actual funding of the National Park System itself as it was gradually created, over time, to become an agency with 419 properties. prgtoken This legislation does two things. prgtoken One, it tackles the deferred maintenance backlogs in the Park System. By that I mean, look at our campground in the Great Smokies, which normally has 5,000 families camping there, but it has been closed for a number of years because the sewage system doesn't work. There are examples all across this country, from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center to the National Mall, of worn-out trails, of roads with holes in them, of roofs that leak, and of sewage systems that don't work. As a result, campgrounds are closed because bathrooms don't operate. prgtoken All of these are our national parks and our public lands, which is where we want to go and where we especially want to go right now because what all of us want is to get out. We want to get outdoors. We want some fresh, clean air that we can breathe. prgtoken The head of Bass Pro Shops was telling me at the White House this morning that, at first, COVID really hurt Bass Pro Shops and that they had to close a lot of stores. Guess what is happening now. The purchasing of fishing licenses is going up at a record level. People are taking their sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters fishing and hunting--outdoors and to the parks. This is something that everyone who cares about the outdoors has been worried about since the last generation--that young people were not going out to the parks. They are going today because they want to get outside. prgtoken So today was a wonderful day, and everyone agreed that this was the most important bill for conservation and the outdoors in at least a half century. The s agree with that. The agree with that. Hundreds of conservation groups agree with that. The President of the United States also agrees with that. It is no exaggeration to say that something remarkable and historic happened today when the President signed the Great American Outdoors Act. It is also accurate to say it was wholly bipartisan because it never would have passed if it had not been, and it barely passed even though it was. It took a Herculean effort. So I come to the floor briefly today to talk about some of those persons who made a difference in this historic event. prgtoken There were many marchers in this parade. There always
ORDERS FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2020-8-4

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m Wednesday, August 5; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; finally, that following leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Jody B. Hice (Republican, GA) \u2014 2020-8-4

. Madam , due to a recommendation by the Attending Physician to quarantine due to an interaction with a person having a confirmed COVID-19 infection diagnosis, I was unable to be present during House votes. prgtoken Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 168; NAY on Roll Call No. 169; YEA on Roll Call No. 170; NAY on Roll Call No. 171; NAY on Roll Call No. 172; NAY on Roll Call No. 173; NAY on Roll Call No. 174; NAY on Roll Call No. 175; YEA on Roll Call No. 176; YEA on Roll Call No. 177; and NAY on Roll Call No. 178.
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF CONGRESSMAN G.V. ``SONNY'' MONTGOMERY
Michael Guest (Republican, MS) \u2014 2020-8-4

. Madam , the State of Mississippi is known for many things--its magnolias, catfish, southern charm, and Sonny Montgomery. Today, August 5, is the 100th anniversary of his birth and I would like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to this legendary figure in Mississippi history. prgtoken Congressman Sonny Montgomery was a soldier, a public servant, a Veteran, and a southern gentleman. His friends called him ``Mr. Veteran'' and ``Mr. National Guard.'' He loved his family, his friends, his university, his state, his country and our God. prgtoken No one could meet Sonny Montgomery and not love his infectious smile and genuine warmth. He had an easy grin that made almost everyone he encountered feel like an old and trusted friend. While he travelled around the world, everyone knew Sonny's home was Meridian, Mississippi. And Mississippians knew and loved Sonny and they will for many generations to come. prgtoken Sonny Montgomery was guided by faith and principle. His strong character and integrity endeared him to many no matter their political allegiances or social status. He was genuinely prgtoken well liked on Capitol Hill, and no one on either side of the aisle ever questioned his sincerity, his integrity, or his independence. Sonny believed that partisanship should never get in the way of what he saw was good for the nation. prgtoken His philosophy for life and leadership focused on faith, patriotism, relationships and perseverance. This is what Sonny Montgomery called ``staying the course.'' prgtoken After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1943, Sonny Montgomery was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served with the 12th Armored Division in Europe during World War II and earned the Bronze Star Medal with ``V'' for Valor device for capturing a German machine gun nest. prgtoken After World War II, he joined the Mississippi Army National Guard. In 1951, he served on active duty again during the Korean War as a member of the 31st Infantry Division. In May 1961, as a Lieutenant Colonel, Sonny escorted a group of Freedom Riders from the Alabama border to Jackson. Our late colleague John Lewis was on that bus. Sonny retired as a major general in 1980 after 35 years of military service. prgtoken On January 3, 1967, Sonny Montgomery was sworn in as a Congressman from the district I represent today. Sonny's greatest legislative victory is the enactment of the bill which bears his name--the Montgomery GI Bill. As a World War II Veteran, he believed the country should provide educational benefits to its service members, and the combination of military service and a college degree would make these individuals valuable assets to the country. Sonny Montgomery saw the educational shortfall as a direct threat to America's military readiness and national security and used the GI Bill to reinvigorate the volunteer base of America's military. prgtoken In October 1984, President Ronald Reagan sign
IN HONOR OF PASTOR JOHN POWELL
Kevin Brady (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-8-4

. Madam , today I rise to honor the life of an incredible servant, John Powell, Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church of New Caney, Texas. prgtoken After stopping on the roadside to help someone in distress, Pastor Powell was tragically killed when he was struck by a passing truck. Robert Downen, a reporter with the Houston Chronicle, wrote a very touching article about Pastor Powell's life and the example he set for others--one of selfless service. According to Robert Downen's account, Pastor Powell and a friend were driving in Sherman, Texas, when they spotted a car catch fire on the side of the road. Pastor Powell immediately stopped, grabbed his emergency kit bag and rushed to help. Just as he and his friend arrived at the scene, the brakes failed on an approaching semi-truck and it veered toward the group. Pastor Powell took decisive action and was able to push one individual out of the way, saving their life. Unfortunately, the young pastor was unable to get out of the way himself, and was killed. prgtoken Pastor Powell grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where he knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue ministry. That desire led him to enroll in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky where he earned his Master of Divinity degree. While at the seminary, he showed his care and concern for those less fortunate and began leading worship services at local homeless shelters. prgtoken After graduation, Powell took on a challenging assignment and became the pastor of a small Baptist church in the West Texas town of Hamlin. When later reflecting on the lessons he learned during that time, Powell said, ``Success is faithfulness, even when it's hard, even when you want to give up.'' prgtoken In 2016, Powell and his family moved to the Eighth Congressional District of Texas, where he established the Emmanuel Baptist Church in New Caney. Over the years, Powell grew this small church into a pillar of the community and guided his 140 members to walk in the light of the Lord, and in fellowship with one another. prgtoken Those who knew Pastor Powell remember him as bright, passionate, and warm-hearted. Many spoke of him as, ``the best man [they've] ever known.'' Andrew Walker, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said of Powell, ``In every sphere of life where he had influence, he always wielded it for the betterment of others.'' prgtoken The Houston Chronicle reported that in Pastor Powell's final sermon before his death, he preached from Psalm 72, saying that, ``in the poor man's distress, Christians might be there'' and asked his congregation, ``How could we pray that God would have compassion on those that need it while not having that compassion on them ourselves?'' To those who knew him, it was no surprise that Pastor John Powell stopped on the side of a road to help someone in distress. He died as he lived-- helping others. He was a man of faith and faithfulness wh
CORONAVIRUS
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2020-8-4

I have listened to the presentations of my two colleagues, Senator Cassidy and Senator Menendez, and I could not agree with them more. We have an opportunity to solve a problem that is affecting each and every community in our country. prgtoken With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to devastate our public health and our economy, towns and cities across our country are facing increasingly significant new challenges and plummeting revenues at the exact same time. I urge my colleagues to be problem-solvers, to address this crisis as part of the relief package that is now being negotiated. We cannot wait. prgtoken I have joined with Senators Menendez and Cassidy and others in this Chamber in introducing the SMART Act. It would provide much needed financial assistance to State and local governments while providing safeguards to prevent wasteful spending. prgtoken It is a lifeline to our communities, just as the Paycheck Protection Program has been a lifeline to our small businesses and their employees. prgtoken The consequences of local government shortfalls are dire. Without our providing them relief, communities face having to lay off essential employees and reduced services at the worst possible time for working families. prgtoken What is their alternative? They cannot raise taxes. That would be the worst thing for them to do. Municipalities are already scaling back their budgets, furloughing workers, and postponing needed purchases and projects. prgtoken These cuts threaten the jobs of our police officers, our firefighters, our EMS personnel, our dispatchers, our sanitation crews, and our public works employees at the time when their services are vitally needed. They are the people who make our communities operate, who make them livable. We need them. prgtoken We already know about the stresses our schools are undergoing. Do we really want school budgets to be cut and educators laid off at this important time? prgtoken The CARES Act did provide $150 billion to our States and to very large communities, but those funds came with restrictions, and they did not require direct distributions to municipalities with populations under 500,000. There is not a single county in Maine, much less a city or town, that has a population of that level. prgtoken The National Governors Association has called for $500 billion in assistance to aid our Nation's recovery. Organizations supporting our towns and our cities and our counties have all endorsed the SMART Act. prgtoken Moody's Analytics warns that failing to act could shave 3 percentage points from real GDP, from our economic growth, and result in the loss of 4 million jobs. That is the worst thing to happen at this time. prgtoken This week, the Maine Municipal Association released projections anticipating a combined $146 million in lost revenue from Maine cities and towns by the end of this year alone. We know that the revenues are going to take a while to recover
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST
Martha McSally (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2020-8-4

5 days ago, I stood before you and this body and urged our fellow Senators to reach across the aisle and find agreement on how we can best help millions of Americans who have lost their livelihoods through no fault of their own due to this once-in-a- century pandemic. I made a simple request for Senators to be pragmatic, to meet in the middle, and to expand the unemployment benefits through Friday--for 7 days--while Congress continues to work through our differences and comes up with a solution. prgtoken I asked: Who could possibly be against this? Well, it turns out the minority leader came to the floor personally in order to object. The Senator from New York decided to play political theater and thought it was more important than assisting Americans who have been struggling to make ends meet. Once again, he led the way and used hard-working Arizonans and Americans as pawns in a political game. prgtoken For the many Arizonans who are out of work right now, this is not a game. So here I am again, asking for a simple extension through the end of this week so that Arizonans don't see an interruption to these benefits as we work through our differences. Again, I ask: Who could possibly be against this? prgtoken While some States continue expanded checks after they expired on Friday for a few weeks, Arizonans got their last one. These Arizonans live in my neighborhood. They live on my street. They worked paycheck to paycheck before this pandemic hit, and then they couldn't work. prgtoken These Arizonans are people we know, like the single mom of two from Phoenix who for the first time in her life had to rely on unemployment to survive. She is the owner of a catering business. She has seen her income drop drastically, as weddings and large events continue to be canceled. The $840 she collected a week on unemployment is helping her get through, keeping her afloat, keeping her business and her family afloat to care for her two sons, one of whom is autistic and requires significant support. prgtoken I am pleading with my fellow Senators: As we work through our differences, let's extend her benefit for 1 week. Who could possibly be against her? prgtoken Last week I heard from another single mother of three who lives in Tucson. She told me she is terrified of falling into poverty because she is forced to live on $240 a week. The extra that we provided during this once-in-a-century pandemic helped her pay her bills and make ends meet. prgtoken I am imploring my fellow Senators to extend her benefits, to keep her afloat for 1 week while we work through our differences, to address what we need to do to fight this pandemic, to defeat this virus, which we will, and provide the economic support and the recovery we need, because America will emerge stronger from this. We need to work through those differences. Let's just extend this for a week. Who could possibly be against her? prgtoken Arizona seniors are also su
Coronavirus (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-8-4

it was fortuitous that I was here on the floor when my friend from Illinois decided to talk about the liability provisions of the bill we filed last week, the next installment in the COVID-19 response. Let me just spend a couple of minutes talking about the issues he raised. prgtoken My friend, our colleague from Illinois, is a very talented lawyer. He has a lot of great experience in the courtroom. He understands how courts work and how the litigation practice works. prgtoken I think at last count I saw that roughly 3,000 to 3,500 lawsuits had been filed. I don't know what the exact number is, but it is pretty irrelevant because there is ordinarily, under State tort laws--at least in my State--a 2-year statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit. So I guarantee you that the flood is coming. Having survived one pandemic, the American economy is going to have to withstand a second pandemic of opportunistic lawsuits. prgtoken I think it is going to be hard for people to prove where they acquired the virus. Ordinarily, that would be an element of the plaintiff's burden of proof, but we know that in jury trials, where expert witnesses are hired, all they would need to say is that it is more likely than not that they got it at this daycare center or this nonprofit or in this hospital--enough to create a question for the jury. Then it is really a prgtoken matter of whose expert witness you believe, and, of course, the chances are that you will be found responsible based upon that contested factual issue. prgtoken It is more likely, I believe, that these lawsuits will have very little merit. The juries will be very skeptical of these lawsuits because they understand that this pandemic came out of nowhere. Actually, we know where it came from: China. But nobody was fully aware of all of the circumstances under which we would need to respond. prgtoken We have had to adapt as time has gone on, and we have had different advice from the CDC and the national experts. For example, I remember-- I went back and checked. The CDC didn't recommend that we wear masks until roughly April. Before that, they were really considered ineffective. So if somebody files a lawsuit saying, well, you should have been wearing masks at your workplace, and because you didn't, somebody got the virus, well, what is the timeframe in which that guidance would apply? Would it be retroactive to January, when the virus first broke out here in the United States, or would it be sort of based on lessons learned down the road? prgtoken Here is the real problem: My friend from Illinois knows that lawsuits are filed every day in America with no real expectation of ever trying the case in front of a jury--or a judge, for that matter--because we all know that the costs of defending those lawsuits can be enough in and of themselves to deter people from reopening their business. prgtoken Frequently, what happens--there is a phenomenon know
HONORING THE LIFE OF FORMER TAIWAN PRESIDENT LEE TENG-HUI
Paul A. Gosar (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2020-8-4

. Madam , I rise today to honor the life of former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, revered as Mr. Democracy. As the first democratically elected leader of Taiwan, Lee is an icon for democracy and pluralism to not just Taiwan, but freedom loving people around the world. prgtoken Well known for the symbolism of his election and his strong maneuvering which kept Taiwan from the grasps of the People's Republic of China, we cannot forget his extensive service to Taiwan. Beginning as mayor of Taipei, he would go on to serve as the governor of the Taiwan province and vice president before assuming the presidency in 1988. prgtoken It was from this position he would oversee the 1996 election, becoming the first democratically elected president. Even in the face of Chinese aggression, Lee preserved this advancement and upheld the integrity of his election. Today, Taiwan is a strong, key member of the global community of nations and serves as a symbol of freedom, human rights, and democracy for all. prgtoken Madam , I express my deepest condolences to the family of Lee Teng-hui and the people of Taiwan on his passing, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in celebrating his life and legacy as a beacon of democratic advancement
EMPOWERING OLYMPIC AND AMATEUR ATHLETES ACT OF 2019
Jerry Moran (Republican, KS) \u2014 2020-8-4

it is an honor and privilege to be here on the Senate floor today on this cause. Young athletes across this country dedicate years, sometimes decades, of prgtoken their lives to earn their spot on the world stage representing the United States at the Olympics. Standing on that podium, they should be proud of their hard work that earned them that place, the honor of wearing our flag's colors at the Games. But no athlete--no athlete-- whether an amateur athlete or an Olympian, should have to endure abuse and mistreatment to pursue the sport they love. prgtoken Were it not for the pandemic, hundreds of our athletes would have been in Tokyo right now representing the United States of America at the Olympics. Even though our athletes are unable to compete today, we owe it to them to create for future athletes and future competitors a safe place in which to compete. prgtoken Today's passage of S. 2330 marks a step toward providing effective safeguards and protection to Olympic, Paralympic, and amateur athletes across the Nation. prgtoken On January 25, 2018, the day after Dr. Larry Nassar was sentenced to life in prison, as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection, with jurisdiction and oversight over the health and safety of amateur athletes, I opened an investigation with my ranking member, Senator Blumenthal, into how the U.S. Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Michigan State University allowed girls and young women to be assaulted and abused over two decades. prgtoken Nassar was ultimately sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for his heinous crimes, but the fight to overhaul a system that had allowed him to evade justice and accountability was far, far from over. prgtoken Over the next 18 months, we conducted hundreds of interviews with athlete survivors, reviewed over 70,000 pages of documents, and held 4 subcommittee hearings, including listening to the horrific stories from survivors, issuing subpoenas to leaders who failed these athletes, watching those who were charged to protect them plead the Fifth, and even referring witnesses to the Justice Department for failure to tell the truth. prgtoken Senator Blumenthal and I stood in the Russell Senate Office Building with more than 80 courageous survivors of abuse. Some of these women had been assaulted by Nassar while competing at the Olympics, some while training with the national team, others while attending Michigan State. One by one, they told us the organizations that were supposed to protect them had failed them. prgtoken One person's abuse is too much, but the question asked that day by one of the athletes was, Why was there more than one? That question has stayed with me since it was spoken. Not only do we condemn the abuse, but we condemn those who allowed it to continue, who failed in their responsibilities as human beings as well as in their professional capacities to