mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
INNOCENT PARTY PROTECTION ACT
Ann M. Kuster (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2017-3-9

this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. prgtoken Today, our country is in an era where appropriate ethics and conduct by elected officials is of the utmost importance. prgtoken I think we can agree that many representatives and others in government have failed to live up to the expectations of the American people. prgtoken We all have immense responsibility to advocate for our constituents, and it is so important that our work and the work of those in this administration reflect our genuine desire to do well on the part of those we represent. prgtoken I have heard from literally thousands of my constituents in New Hampshire who are concerned about the President's reluctance to fully give up control of his businesses, his refusal to publicly disclose his tax returns, and the connections between Russia and those in his campaign and the administration. This pattern of nondisclosure and hidden interests in the administration could put our public welfare and, indeed, our national security at stake. prgtoken Citizens must have all the legal tools at their disposal to push back against improper ethics and crony capitalism at all levels of government, including the highest levels of the Federal Government. prgtoken This also includes instances in which a business could face unfair competition because conflicts of interest in government provide unfair support to their competitors. prgtoken Unfortunately, the bill before us today makes it harder for those who may have been wronged by established and well-funded interests to get a fair shot in court. prgtoken My amendment simply states that nothing in this legislation shall be construed to apply to any civil action related to ethics in government. Private citizens trying to hold government officials to high ethical standards should not have barriers like this legislation thrown in their way. prgtoken Going forward, I hope that as s and we can work together to promote legislation and efforts that increase transparency in government, rather than making it more difficult for citizens to hold the government accountable. prgtoken I ask that my colleagues support this important motion to recommit. prgtoken , .
HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA
Keith Ellison (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-3-9

. Congressman, thank you for that introduction, and thank you for your service to the Congress and the great people of Maryland. prgtoken I think it is really important tonight to focus on a few key things about what is happening in Congress. One is that 20 million people stand to lose their healthcare coverage. Many have never had it, and the majority is set to snatch it from their hands. That is really sad. prgtoken One of the people who come to mind is actually a young woman who works on my staff. Her name is Abby, and she is a young woman who has her whole life to look forward to, but as a young person, when she was born, she had a disease called toxoplasmosis. She doesn't mind me talking about it because what Abby would tell you if she were here is that it was tough growing up. prgtoken She had a lot of medical attention growing up. She was a good student, and she really braved all of the medical care she needed with tremendous courage, and her family was there with her the whole time. But she had numerous surgeries growing up, and she also came close to death's door on more than one occasion. prgtoken One thing that she says--and says to anybody who is willing to listen--is that the Affordable Care Act helped save her life. Why? Because Abby has a preexisting condition, a pretty serious illness. And she had insurance companies that have lifetime limits and annual limits on coverage and care. prgtoken Without the Affordable Care Act and with the provisions that preceded the Affordable Care Act in the insurance industry, she simply was uninsurable, therefore, not in a position to get the care she needed. By some miracle, she made it to adulthood with the status quo before the Affordable Care Act, but the Affordable Care Act made the difference between her being with us and not. prgtoken I was talking to a physician who operates an institution in my district called the Hennepin County Medical Center, HCMC, who said: Look, if you were to stack up all of the diseases in our country that end in fatality, you would have to put up there car accidents, you would have to put up there heart disease, you would have to put up there pulmonary illnesses and cancers, of course. But, he said, if you stacked those illnesses up on a list, the most fatal in a given year, he said, the third one would be uninsured, people dying because they don't have insurance. prgtoken And our majority is here to tell us they are okay with that. It is hard for me to believe, but it is true. prgtoken Right in front of us, we know that this repeal will relieve wealthy individuals of paying taxes. If they are able to repeal the Affordable Care Act, people with a lot of money are going to have more of it, and people who needed health care will have less of it. prgtoken People who need help dealing with the doughnut hole and need to be filled in with the moneys that come from the Affordable Care Act won't have that anymore. Now
INNOCENT PARTY PROTECTION ACT
Jerrold Nadler (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-3-9

I rise in opposition to H.R. 725, the misnamed Innocent Party Protection Act. The main purpose of this bill is to make it easier to remove State cases to Federal courts, where large corporate defendants have numerous advantages over consumers and injured workers. prgtoken Let's not talk about the emotional devastation. We are talking about large, corporate defendants. We are not worried about their emotions. Their litigation departments are quite capable of handling the emotions. prgtoken This bill will clog the Federal courts, drain judicial resources, upset well-established law, and delay justice for plaintiffs seeking to hold businesses accountable for the injuries they cause. It is yet another attempt by the majority to stack the deck in favor of large corporations. prgtoken This bill is the opening salvo of this week's series of bills by the s to close off access to the courts to ordinary Americans. With every step they take, whether it be to remove more State cases to Federal courts, to make class action suits more difficult to bring, or to reclassify more lawsuits as frivolous and subject to mandatory sanctions, they are limiting access to court help for ordinary Americans. prgtoken The so-called Innocent Party Protection Act would upend the century- old doctrine of fraudulent joinder, in which a defendant from the same State as the plaintiff is improperly added to a case in order to defeat diversity jurisdiction in Federal court, and, therefore, keep the case in a State court. Under current law, a defendant claiming fraudulent rejoinder has the burden of showing that there is ``no reasonable basis'' for a claim against the instate defendant, and, therefore, the case should remain in Federal court. prgtoken This bill would turn that process on its head by placing the burden on the plaintiff to show that there is a ``plausible'' claim against the instate defendant and that the plaintiff has a ``good faith intention'' to pursue a claim against that defendant. Both standards are undefined in the bill, but it is likely that many plaintiffs would find these hurdles impossible to overcome at the initial stages of litigation before discovery. prgtoken Furthermore, defendants will use this forum shopping bill to delay justice by routinely challenging jurisdiction. It will drain court time and allow corporate defendants to force plaintiffs to expend their limited resources on what should be a simple procedural matter. Under this bill, the preliminary determination of jurisdiction would become a baseless, time-consuming mini-trial before a second time-consuming trial on the merits. While large corporations could easily accommodate such costs, injured workers, consumers, and patients cannot. prgtoken The practical effect of this bill is to force cases based on State law, which should properly be heard in State courts, to be considered in our overburdened Federal courts instead
HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA
Jamie Raskin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-3-9

I just want to tie up some loose ends by exploring a few of the points that Mr. Ellison raised. But one of the very messy features of this legislation that is barreling through Congress this week is that the GOP leadership understood how popular the ban on denial of coverage for preexisting conditions is. That is going to be a mainstay of American life. prgtoken People should not be denied health care because they have a preexisting condition. That is the reason they should get health care, because they have a preexisting condition and they need it. prgtoken So they don't want to get rid of that. They understand that that is politically toxic. But they don't want to have the mandate for individuals to have to purchase insurance under the Affordable Care Act. That has been the major problem they have with the ACA. That is their major anathema. They can't stand that. prgtoken But guess what? You can't have one without the other. And if they believe in economics and they are being honest, they will have to concede that. Why? prgtoken Well, if I am a healthy young person, as I used to be, I will say to myself: Wow, an insurance company has got to cover me, even if I have got a preexisting condition, and I am perfectly healthy now, and I don't have to buy the insurance. So I am just going to go on my merry way, la-di-da, until maybe 1 day I have got a problem, I am in an accident, or I get some kind of diagnosis. At that point, I go to an insurance company, and they are going to cover me. prgtoken So they have kept the preexisting condition provision of Care, which is wildly popular in the country now. They are terrified to touch it now, although they were opposed to it before. But their proposal gets rid of the individual mandate, and it doesn't work. It will bankrupt the entire system. It is not going to work. prgtoken Now, another thing is that they are ignoring the extraordinary success of the Affordable Care Act. With whatever flaws it has got, it has been extraordinarily successful. It has dramatically reduced the number of uninsured people. It has insured more than 20 million people who did not have insurance before, and, therefore, it has dramatically reduced the number of people prgtoken showing up at the hospital in the emergency room with no insurance, and the hospitals have been obligated to see them. prgtoken And who pays for that? Guess who pays for it? You do, I do, the American public does when people show up without insurance. But the Affordable Care Act reduced, in a very significant way, the number of people showing up like that. prgtoken Now, in my home State of Maryland, we have seen extraordinary reductions in the numbers of people showing up in the emergency room without insurance because of the ACA. We have cut the uninsured rate by more than one-third in Maryland. We had a rate of 10.6 percent. Now it is down to 7 percent since the ACA was implemented. prgtoken All of the people who run
FAIRNESS IN CLASS ACTION LITIGATION ACT OF 2017
Theodore E. Deutch (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2017-3-9

section 1983 that my friend, the chairman, refers to as to providing attorney's fees, requires a determination of attorney's fees by the number of hours reasonably expended on litigation multiplied by a reasonable hourly fee. prgtoken This bill is very different from that. Instead of referring to hours and an hourly rate reasonably spent by an attorney, this bill requires the court to establish the value of the actual, equitable, or injunctive relief. prgtoken As I have suggested already, I cannot think of anyone who would believe that we should leave it up to a court to put a value on our constitutional rights that are, without question, priceless in our democracy. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to support this good amendment, and .
RECOGNIZING THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS CARLA HAYDEN
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-3-9

today I want to recognize the historic appointment of Ms. Carla Hayden to the post of Librarian of Congress. This is so significant because although more than eighty percent of librarians nationwide are females, the position of Librarian of Congress has been held exclusively by men, until Carla Hayden was appointed by in 2016. prgtoken Carla Hayden was enamored by books and reading from an early age, and began her career as a librarian in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry and the Chicago Public Library. It was during her time in Chicago that she met Barack and Michelle . prgtoken After her impressive time in Chicago, Ms. Hayden left the windy city to take the position of Director at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the public library system in Baltimore, Maryland. It was here that Ms. Hayden showed her true leadership as she improved and maintained an enormous public library operation. After the death of Freddie Gray, Ms. Hayden made the difficult decision to keep the Baltimore public libraries open in order to encourage people to use safe spaces and avoid violence. It is strong leadership like this that made her an excellent choice to become Librarian of Congress. prgtoken , yesterday, we celebrated International Women's Day, and I cannot think of a better way to acknowledge this day than by recognizing Carla Hayden, a pioneering woman of color whose very job will allow stories like hers to be told forever.
American Health Care Act (Executive Session)
Edward J. Markey (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-3-9

here we go again, debating the nomination of a candidate who is both unqualified and reflects an extreme ideology for the Department she will hope to lead. In this case it is Seema Verma, and the Department is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, or CMS, as it is often called. prgtoken Why is CMS, an acronym for a department that most Americans don't even know about, so important that its nominee would make it to the floor of the U.S. Senate for debate? Because 100 million Americans receive health insurance coverage under one of our Federal insurance programs--Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, all of which are under the jurisdiction of CMS. prgtoken CMS is the traffic cop of our Federal Government healthcare system. It makes sure that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare by administering and overseeing all aspects of our Federal health program. It promotes healthcare innovation and works to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse throughout our healthcare system. prgtoken Under the administration and leadership, which has vowed to repeal Care and get rid of Medicaid as we know it, the leader of CMS will be the person responsible for reducing Federal spending on public insurance programs, particularly for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. Seema Verma is President 's nominee to try to meet that misguided and heartless challenge. prgtoken s have an ancient animosity toward Medicaid, and it would seem that Ms. Verma shares that prejudice. Ms. Verma is most well known for proposals that penalize and create roadblocks to coverage for low- income Americans. She supports changes to Medicaid that would make it harder for those who need Medicaid to access it. This stance is fundamentally antithetical to the core principle of Medicaid, which is providing coverage for those who cannot afford it. For the most part, we are talking about poor people in the United States of America in 2017. prgtoken Despite the fact that research shows the onerous premiums or cost sharing for low-income individuals served as barriers to enrolling in and obtaining care, Ms. Verma supported a plan to require Medicaid enrollees to pay premiums through monthly contributions to a health savings account. Guess what. People who are poor enough to qualify for Medicaid rarely have enough money to dedicate to savings accounts of any kind. They are living day to day, week to week, month to month. prgtoken She also supports putting in place restrictions that put more burdens on low-income Americans than even private insurance. It will be Grandma and Grandpa who will pay the highest price. prgtoken Medicaid isn't just a line in our healthcare budget; it is a lifeline for millions of seniors in every State of the country. Here are the facts about the importance of Medicaid to our sen
Nomination of Neil Gorsuch (Executive Session)
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2017-3-9

it is good to be with my colleagues and the chair of the Senate Finance Committee. I am pleased to say a few words about the President's nominee, Seema Verma, who, if confirmed, will lead us at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She is from Indiana, and folks I know in Indiana have said that she knows a lot about Medicaid, but not nearly so much about Medicare, which is a cause for some concern. prgtoken If confirmed, let me just say we certainly look forward to working with her and with the team she will have around her in that responsibility. It is a very tough job, as the Presiding Officer knows.
INTRODUCTION OF SEAT EGRESS IN AIR TRAVEL (SEAT) ACT
Steve Cohen (Democrat, TN) \u2014 2017-3-9

today I introduced, along with my colleague Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act, which would direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish minimum seat size standards necessary to ensure the safety and health of airplane passengers. The bill would also require each airline to display the space available (size, width, and distance between rows) for each passenger on the airline website. The bill was introduced in the Senate today by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Ed Markey and Bob Menendez. prgtoken Consumers are tired of being squeezed. The average seat distance between rows of seats has dropped from 35 inches before airline deregulation in the 1970s to about 31 inches today. The average width of an airline seat has also shrunk from 18 inches to about 16\1/2\. prgtoken This isn't just a matter of comfort. It is about safety and health. The FAA requires that planes be capable of rapid evacuation in case of emergency. Furthermore, doctors warn of deep vein thrombosis which can afflict passengers who don't move their legs enough on longer flights. prgtoken Moreover, average seat sizes have been shrinking while the average size of Americans has been growing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average man in 1960 weighed 166 pounds, and the average woman weighed 140 pounds. Now the average man is 196 pounds and the average woman is 166 pounds, and both are about an inch taller. prgtoken This just doesn't make any sense. prgtoken I hope that Congress will quickly act on this bill to direct the FAA to establish minimum seat size standards to protect the safety and health of airline passengers.
Cloture Motion (Executive Session)
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2017-3-9

I thank Senator Cantwell for raising the issue about the impact of this decision that the Congress will make with regard to a particular healthcare bill and then also, particularly, the Medicaid consequences. prgtoken I was just looking at what is a 2-page report that was just produced today and that I was just handed from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. It is State specific. prgtoken In this case, looking at the data from Pennsylvania--I will not go through all of the data on Medicaid--just imagine that three different groups of Americans have benefited tremendously from the Medicaid Program every day. That is why what is happening in the House is of great concern to us. prgtoken We have in Pennsylvania, for example--just in the number of Pennsylvanians who have a disability--722,000 Pennsylvanians with disabilities who rely upon Medical Assistance for their medical care. Medical Assistance is our State program that is in partnership with Medicaid. There are 261,000 Pennsylvania seniors who get their healthcare through Medicaid. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people who happen to be over the age of 65 or who happen to have a disability of one kind or another are totally reliant, on most days, on Medicaid. The third group, of course, is the children, and 33 percent of all of the births in Pennsylvania are births that are paid for through Medicaid. prgtoken When we talk about this bill that is being considered in the House or when we talk about the confirmation vote for the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, this is real life. What happens to this legislation and what happens on this nomination is about real life for people who have very little in the way of a bright future if we allow some here to do what they would like to do, apparently, to Medicaid. prgtoken It sounds very benign to say that you want to cap something or that you want to block-grant. They are fairly benign terms. They are devastating in their impact, and we cannot allow it to happen. That is why this debate is so critical. prgtoken I have more to say, but I do commend and salute the work by Senator Cantwell, Senator Stabenow, and Senator Wyden in fighting these battles. prgtoken I will read just portions of a letter that I received from a mom in Coatesville, in Southeast Pennsylvania, about her son, Rowan. The mom's name is Pam. She wrote to us about her son, who is on the autism spectrum. In this case, she is talking about the benefits of Medicaid-- Medical Assistance we call it in Pennsylvania. prgtoken Here is what she wrote in talking about the benefits that he receives. After he was enrolled in the program, she said that Rowan had the benefit of having a behavioral specialist consultant. That is one expert who was helping Rowan, who was really struggling at one point. A second professional they had helping him was a therapeutic staff support worker. So there was real experti