mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CLOTURE MOTION
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2022-5-25

farmers across Iowa are finishing their planting of corn and soybeans. As for the Grassley farm, Robin and Pat Grassley finished planting last Thursday. prgtoken Most people have never stepped foot on a family farm, let alone know all about the complexities that go into planting, growing, and harvesting a bountiful crop. That is why I often use my social media to show my followers what is going on in farming--hashtag ``corn watch,'' hashtag ``soybean watch.'' I like to show how only 2 percent of the population raises food for the other 98 percent, plus exporting one- third of our production to feed people overseas. Food doesn't just magically appear on grocery store shelves. prgtoken When so few people know what it takes to produce food, we often run into obstacles at policymaking tables here in Congress and around Washington, DC. I often quote something Dwight Eisenhower said, and he said it best: Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you're a thousand miles from the corn field. prgtoken There has never been a more important time than right now for farmers to have a successful year. We are facing a world threatened by food shortages and food insecurity the likes of which we haven't seen since the Arab Spring a decade ago, in large part today because of Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. prgtoken The productivity of the American farmers and ranchers this crop season will have a big impact on the security and prosperity of countries around the world, as well as to make sure we don't get into a devastating shortage of food. prgtoken With so much at stake, Washington, DC, must provide farmers across the country a consistent policy when it comes to regulation of inputs and crop protection products. One State out of fifty can't go another direction without bringing harm to food production. prgtoken When it comes to the regulation of these products, public policy must be based on the best science available to make informed decisions. Science-based decisions shouldn't surprise anybody in this town because science was the Golden Rule in every coronavirus decision made in the administration and still being made in the administration. prgtoken The best science is why Congress enacted, in 1972, the regulation that goes by the title of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act or FIFRA for short. Since 1972, FIFRA has expressly preempted State law, vested the EPA with final authority over pesticide labeling and the usage of that pesticide. Specifically, FIFRA gave the EPA authority over pesticide labeling and the usage of that pesticide. Under FIFRA, it is the EPA's responsibility to undertake very extensive scientific review of regulated products and then determine what disclosures, if any, must be on the product labels. FIFRA provides that EPA conduct studies to determine product safety. prgtoken Congress intended that there be a Federal regulato
Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar (Executive Calendar)
Rick Scott (Republican, FL) \u2014 2022-5-25

. . prgtoken Throughout his presidency, and his administration have shown an inability to place qualified and competent people in many positions of power across the Federal Government. We have had crisis after crisis due to the failed leadership of President and his appointees. prgtoken Americans have been left with no faith in President 's ability to lead or appoint qualified individuals to serve in these important roles. And this nominee, who will be in charge of critical healthcare programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs, is no different. prgtoken I cannot and will not consent to allow this nominee to move forward in an expedited manner. prgtoken We should take a vote so every Senator can get on the record with their support or opposition to this nominee. prgtoken Therefore, I object.
Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar (Executive Calendar)
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2022-5-25

shortly, the Senator from Rhode Island, Mr. Whitehouse, will come to the Senate floor and attempt to have a live unanimous consent request for a nominee to be the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. When he does so, , I intend to object to that request, and I want to explain why to my colleagues. Senator Whitehouse has been delayed in getting to the Senate floor, so I am going to outline my objections prior to his making the request. prgtoken , in all of the time that I have served in the U.S. Senate, I don't ever recall coming to the Senate floor to object to a unanimous consent request. I say that because it demonstrates how unusual it is for me to be standing here objecting to one of my colleague's unanimous consent requests. Indeed, as I said, I don't believe I have ever done this in all of the time I have served in the Senate. prgtoken So let me give the Presiding Officer and my colleagues some background. On May 1, despite the objections of the entire Maine congressional delegation and its ic Governor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, better known as NOAA, imposed onerous new regulations on Maine's lobster industry. prgtoken Now, , if I asked you what is the first thing you think of when I say the State of Maine, you probably would say lobster, our iconic industry. We have more than 4,500 lobstermen and -women, each of whom is self-employed. They have been good stewards, always, of the lobster resource. They have taken care over the decades to make sure that the lobsters are large enough, for example, to keep. They throw back egg-bearing lobsters. There are all sorts of rules and regulations that the lobster industry has worked with the State of Maine over decades to preserve the precious resource. prgtoken But, now, in comes NOAA. NOAA is imposing onerous, possibly impossible new regulations that do not reflect the reality in the Gulf of Maine with regard to the right whale. The final rule imposed on May 1 does not even come close to reflecting the reality of the Maine fishing and lobstering industry and the endangered right whale. prgtoken NOAA's focus on the State of Maine's lobster industry is flawed and unfair. In fact, , the Agency's own data show that there has never, never been a right whale entanglement death attributed to the Maine lobster fishery. prgtoken NOAA denied an entirely reasonable request to at least delay the implementation of these onerous new regulations for just 2 months until July 1. The entire delegation, plus our Governor, asked for this delay, this 2-month delay, because our lobstermen cannot even find enough of the gear, the new gear that is being mandated by NOAA. Just a 2-month delay would have helped to prevent huge losses to these small business owners. prgtoken Now, this isn't the first request that NOAA has refused. We have worked over more th
CONFIRMATION OF BRIDGET A. BRINK
Rand Paul (Republican, KY) \u2014 2022-5-25

I opposed the confirmation of Bridget Brink to be U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine because of her support for the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. Ambassador Brink believes in expanding NATO to any country who would like to join, including Ukraine. prgtoken An important part of diplomacy is understanding your adversary. When I questioned Ambassador Brink about the eastern expansion of NATO, however, she expressed her belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin merely uses the NATO question as a pretext for actions he would take anyway. I strongly disagree. We must evaluate our leaders' actions, as well as the actions of our adversaries, on the world stage. prgtoken Putin is an aggressor and must be condemned, but we cannot allow our revulsion for his invasions to blind us to the fact that our adversaries react to the actions of the West. For years, Putin stated that any attempt to expand NATO to Russia's borders would be perceived as a direct threat. Fifteen years ago, Putin asked, ``Against whom is this expansion intended?'' Yet, a year later in 2008, NATO promised that Ukraine and Georgia would one day join the alliance. Russia's invasions of Georgia and Ukraine are not a coincidence, but I left my meeting with Ambassador Brink believing that she is not willing to reflect upon the actions of the West and how they would be viewed by Russian eyes. prgtoken Putin has no justification for embarking on a war and invading another country. I fully support the Ukrainians in their fight against Russia. Russia's brutal use of its military to achieve its objectives is unacceptable. But we must understand the reasons why he chose to invade in the first place. prgtoken When the Cold War ended, the United States had the benefit of the wisdom of foreign policy officials who took Russia seriously. George Kennan warned that NATO expansion would ignite a new cold war. Henry Kissinger proposed a peaceful coexistence in which Ukraine pursued a policy of neutrality, with one foot in the West and one foot in the East. Jack Matlock, our Ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991, called the current crisis ``predictable'' and, in 1997, warned Congress that he believed that NATO expansion ``could well encourage a chain of events that could produce the most serious security threat to this nation since the Soviet Union collapsed.'' prgtoken Those wise voices are either gone or retired. Had we listened to their warnings, today's crisis might have been averted. But the State Department is now filled with officials who refuse to listen to adversaries or consider how our actions may make peace more difficult to obtain. prgtoken Although I opposed the confirmation of Bridget Brink to be Ambassador to Ukraine, I wish her luck in representing the United States and finding a path to a peaceful end to the conflict.
CLOTURE MOTION
Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, WV) \u2014 2022-5-25

as ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, I rise to oppose the nomination of Dr. Chris Frey due to the consistent lack of responsiveness from the EPA on our critical oversight matters. prgtoken The leader, Senator McConnell, just talked about Dr. Frey's research on gas grills and grilling out, but over the past 16 months, my objections are that the EPA has repeatedly slow-walked responses to reasonable oversight requests for Agency briefings and documents related to implementation of policies with huge, huge implications for our economy and our constituents' lives. prgtoken We cannot adequately oversee the Agency's programs--including historic levels of drinking water infrastructure funding made possible by the bipartisan IIJA--without this transparency. Until the EPA heeds congressional oversight requests, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing Dr. Frey's nomination.
Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar (Executive Calendar)
Mike Lee (Republican, UT) \u2014 2022-5-25

I appreciate the longstanding friendship I have with my friend and distinguished colleague, the Senator from Illinois. I know he has no objection to passing this bill in this fashion. In fact, it was after a long negotiation process culminating with an agreement between me and the Senator from Illinois that we made modifications to this legislation--modifications I didn't want to make but I made in order to get this passed. prgtoken It was represented to me in good faith by the Senator from Illinois that it would pass the hotline; it could pass by unanimous consent, if it happened. Had it all gone according to how we had every reason to believe and how the Senator from Illinois had every reason to believe at the time, this would have been passed by now. prgtoken What we didn't anticipate was that the lead cosponsor of this legislation who had herself been a part of these negotiations, been a part of the conversation about how we were going to get it passed, and been a part of the conversations about the very modification that might be necessary in order to get it passed by unanimous consent, would then suddenly decide to object. prgtoken Again, this is based not on a substantive objection to the bill, of which she is the lead cosponsor; it is based solely on her assessment that this might somehow jeopardize her chances of passing another antitrust bill, an antitrust bill that does not contain any provision like this one, an antitrust bill that does not preclude consideration of this one nor would this preclude consideration of that one. It is, in short, folly, to say the least, to object to this under these circumstances. prgtoken It is also bad faith, I believe, to object at the very last minute after many, many months of negotiation on this issue as the lead cosponsor of the legislation. It is unfortunate that she is unwilling to agree to that. prgtoken It is unfortunate, also, she is not willing to be here to raise the objection on her own but insisting on doing so through a third party-- through no fault of his own--who is here at her request, being a good colleague, as he is, doing as she had requested. prgtoken This is unnecessary. This is petty. We are better than this. We need to pass this bill. I will be back. I am not going to quit until this thing is passed, because the fact is, all 100 Senators agree that this is good legislation, including the objecting absent party. prgtoken We should never get to the point where egos get in the way. And egos, alone, prevent us from passing legislation that all 100 Senators agree would make things better. I can tell you, there is no one who would be happier about this than Big Tech. So if the objecting Senator, who is absent today, wishes to make sure that Big Tech is held accountable, then she should allow this to pass forthwith without her objection. If, on the other hand, she wants to make it easier for Big Tech, then this objection would be t
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Rand Paul (Republican, KY) \u2014 2022-5-26

. Today, we will have a bill before us ostensibly titled and ostensibly about the subject of domestic terrorism. prgtoken But this bill would be more accurately called the plan to brand and insult our police and soldiers as White supremacists and neo- Nazis. How insulting. prgtoken I have met our Nation's policemen. I have visited with policemen across Kentucky, through our big cities and small, and I have not met one policeman motivated or consumed with any kind of sort of racial rage. What I have met are proud policemen and women who care about the people that they protect in our society, but also who care about their fellow officers. prgtoken I have not met one policeman who would not defend their partner: Black, White, Jewish, Christian, Muslim. I don't see the kind of sort of insulting rage that the have for our police. prgtoken I have met our country's young soldiers and marines. I don't meet racists. I don't meet White supremacists. I don't meet neo-Nazis. I meet young men and women who are courageous enough to defend our country. And what an insult it is to put a bill before this House that says: Oh, somehow our marines are consumed with White supremacy and neo-Nazism. How insulting. prgtoken In fact, I don't think you could look at a group of young men and women who are more adapted to the times, who are more accepting of their fellow man. And I have never--I have never--heard of a marine saying: Oh, I am not going to carry my fallen colleague out because he is African American. I have never heard of an African-American marine saying: I am not going to carry out my fellow marine because they are White. prgtoken If there is any kind of grouping in our country more accustomed to treating people because they are your fellow soldier and your friend, it is the military. To insinuate that the military is consumed with White supremacy is an insult. To insinuate that our soldiers are somehow these terrible people, these neo-Nazis and White supremacists, that we are going to get a new government Agency to police the marines--the marines are a proud part of our military. Our soldiers are a proud part of our country. These are the people who do not see color, who do not see race, who do not see religion. These are the people who don't leave their fallen. prgtoken Do you think the marines go around saying ``Oh, we are going to leave our fallen if they have a certain race or religion''? You don't see that. The marines, the soldiers in our country, the people who defend our country, the people who defend and love our country, are the least consumed with any kind of notion of race. How insulting. prgtoken This bill states as if it were a fact in the beginning of section 5 that this bill will create ``an interagency task force to analyze and combat White supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services and federal law enforcement.'' This is not just an insult to your local police or to th
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Ron Johnson (Republican, WI) \u2014 2022-5-26

let me first also express my condolences and associate myself with the comments of the Senator from Texas. The tragedy is horrific. It is hard to think of anything more awful than what happened in Texas and in other schools over the last few years. Asylum Rule prgtoken , I come to the floor today for another reason--in support of using the Congressional Review Act to disapprove of and prevent the implementation of a rule titled Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection Claims by Asylum Officers. I will refer to this rule as the ``asylum rule'' to make it a little bit simpler. As the title suggests, there is an awful lot to this, but the reason we ought to disapprove of it is actually quite simple. prgtoken This rule will go into effect at the end of this month, on May 31. On May 31, what this new rule will do is it will allow the USCIS, asylum officers, to begin granting asylum without review by an immigration court. prgtoken It is important to note that section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which governs removal proceedings, states: [a]n immigration judge shall conduct proceedings for deciding the inadmissibility or deportability of an alien. prgtoken Now, an immigration court is an adjudicative court. It is a separate unit of government from a USCIS officer, who is within the Department of Homeland Security in the executive branch. It is a check and balance on executive action. It is a very necessary check and balance on an executive who is not faithfully executing the laws, as we have today with President and Secretary Mayorkas. prgtoken On May 1 of this year, news reporter Bret Baier asked Secretary Mayorkas in an interview: Is it the objective of the administration to sharply reduce the total number of illegal immigrants coming across the southern border? prgtoken The obvious answer to Bret Baier's question is, That is the goal--to reduce the flow of people coming into this country illegally. prgtoken That ought to be every administration's goal. That is what a President and an administration would do if they were faithfully executing the laws; but listen to Secretary Mayorkas's reply, his answer. prgtoken Secretary Mayorkas stated: ``It is the objective of the administration to make sure that we have safe, orderly, and legal pathways for individuals to be able to access our legal system.'' prgtoken I first must note that our legal system is horribly broken. It is that legal system that has produced this result. Now, I don't expect the viewers to look at and to be able to see everything on this chart, but you can go to my website and download this, and you will see the cause and effect of various directives, of various rules, of various regulations, and of various court orders and proceedings to cause this explosion--th
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2022-5-26

I speak today on the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. prgtoken As I have said many times, I am committed to fighting political violence from across the political spectrum. This bill doesn't help us do that. prgtoken In fact, career DOJ attorneys reviewing the legislation have indicated that the bill is ``harmful'' and ``counterproductive.'' I use their words. prgtoken This short bill merely reorganizes the government offices that already fight domestic terrorism in DHS, DOJ, and the FBI. This reorganization wasn't sought by the Agencies themselves. prgtoken In fact, in technical assistance provided to us, the operators pointed out a number of problems with it. For example, the bill assigns responsibilities monitoring and analyzing domestic terrorism activity to DHS that actually belong in FBI. prgtoken The other major feature of the legislation is a direction to the Agencies that they must focus on the greatest historical threats, looking backward. prgtoken The operators have told us this means they can't be agile or address rapidly evolving threats if they were to follow this law. prgtoken I am always willing to listen to the needs of Agencies that keep Americans safe. prgtoken In fact, there are authorities that DOJ and the FBI need, for international terrorism. prgtoken I introduced an amendment to the NDAA last year, to expand these authorities. I hope we will pass it into law this year. prgtoken The domestic and international functions work together, and siloing them would not help DOJ fight terrorism. prgtoken The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act won't help us prevent or combat terrorism. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to vote no on moving to this bill.
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY RELATING TO...
Roger Marshall (Republican, KS) \u2014 2022-5-26

USAID awarded a $200 million grant for a 10-year viral emergence early warning project known as PREDICT. prgtoken We have uncovered evidence of possible embezzlement, possible money laundering, and insider threats, as well as other concerns related to the PREDICT and other USAID grant awards. prgtoken PREDICT was led by a consortium spearheaded by UC Davis and EcoHealth Alliance, which funneled taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to conduct risky research on potential pandemic pathogens, including bat coronavirus research. prgtoken USAID and NIH both awarded multimillion dollar grants to EcoHealth Alliance during the same 5-year period leading up to and immediately preceding the COVID-19 outbreak. prgtoken EcoHealth is unable to produce to NIH proof of its research, such as lab notebooks and virus samples, so we are simply asking USAID for proof of the EcoHealth research they funded. We requested records from USAID that grant recipients are legally required to maintain. Our requests are, indeed, fact-based. prgtoken At this point, we believe either the USAID staff is withholding the records from Congress or they have failed to access them through the UC Davis and EcoHealth Alliance. Either option is unacceptable. As such, I object to the unanimous consent motion but look forward to working with the chairman to address these issues.