mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RUSSIA INVESTIGATION
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-5-23

on another matter, this morning, with increasing desperation, President tweeted several inaccuracies about the special counsel's investigation. No one should take the bait. I doubt very few who are looking at this in a nonpartisan way will. prgtoken The recent demands from President and his allies are just another part of a shameful campaign of harassment, intimidation, and obstruction of the Russia probe. It is all too clear that President and his allies want to change the subject away from the duly constituted investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election and toward another fabricated scandal. prgtoken It began with conspiracies cooked up by Representative Nunes from ``deep state'' leaks to unmasking requests, claims of phone taps at Tower, Uranium One, Nunes's midnight run to the White House, and the infamous Nunes memo. Now House conservatives, with the aid of the White House, seem to have successfully badgered DOJ officials into giving them a briefing on sources and methods of an FBI investigation. That is unprecedented and so very wrong. prgtoken Everyone knows what they are doing. They are hunting desperately for any scrap of information or innuendo that might help them sully the investigation or provide them a sneak peek at any evidence the FBI may have against the campaign. If they have to distort and spread falsehoods about what is revealed in any meeting, they will, and for the President of the United States to pressure the Justice Department to reveal details and documents pertaining to an active investigation of the President's campaign for the purpose of denigrating it is a gross and unprecedented abuse of power, unlike any we have seen in a very long time. That is why so many people don't trust this President. prgtoken The only thing more outrageous than this meeting occurring at all is the fact that it is partisan. It is crystal clear that Representative Nunes intends to interfere with the investigation. He is not a down- the-middle investigator looking for truth. Everyone has seen that. Nunes gave up any pretense of objectivity long ago in that ridiculous, late-night charade to the White House. Shamefully, someone I respect and someone I like, Ryan, is allowing this to happen. It will forever be a blot on his record. He can't be so afraid of the hard right and the President that he would allow this kind of ``banana republic'' behavior to go forward, and that is what Nunes is doing. prgtoken Regrettably, a few of my Senate colleagues seem to be allowing it to happen as well. Yesterday, I saw that a few of my friends on the other side sent a letter requesting to attend the meeting and supporting it but making no mention of the fact that not a single was invited. prgtoken My friends know we have a process for dealing with the highly sensitive information of this type. It is called the Gang of 8. It is bipartisan. It has w
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Thomas R. Suozzi (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-5-23

I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me. prgtoken , I am pleased that my bipartisan amendment has been included in this en bloc package. prgtoken There is a major problem in our country that Americans want us to address. It is a bipartisan issue related to contamination related from defense-related activities, and I want to thank prgtoken the chairman of the committee for his assistance in working on this, as well as my colleagues, Congressman Cook and Congresswoman Hanabusa, for their work in helping to get this done. prgtoken Military bases and munitions storage depots and armament manufacturing facilities have left behind a multibillion-dollar legacy of required environmental cleanup. prgtoken Under my amendment, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and the Environment will be required to brief the Committee on Armed Services on initiatives being pursued to accelerate environmental restoration efforts. prgtoken In my district alone, there is a site that was contaminated by a Grumman in conjunction with the United States Navy. It was discovered over 40 years ago. It has contaminated groundwater, which is the sole source of drinking water on Long Island. prgtoken There are people that are trying to get these things cleaned up, but there is so much bureaucracy, so much red tape, so much finger- pointing, that we need to send a clear message from Congress that we need the executive branch to work together with us to accelerate this cleanup. prgtoken , this amendment will help get that done.
RECOGNIZING JAY ROBERTS
John Garamendi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-5-23

I rise today to recognize and honor Mr. Jay Roberts, who is retiring after thirty years of dedicated service in music education and as a community leader. prgtoken Mr. Roberts began his career in 1988 as a part-time elementary music education teacher while working at home repairing musical instruments. He began teaching full-time at Brentwood Union School District in 1990. In 1995, he entered the Elk Grove School District system, teaching music education at Harriet Eddy Middle School, and will retire as the music director for the award-winning Toby Johnson Middle School Band in Elk Grove, where he's taught since 2001. prgtoken Mr. Roberts has served admirably as an outstanding and accomplished music educator and leader in our community. He can be credited with the recognition of Toby Johnson's Middle School Jaguar Marching Band and Color Guard, an award-winning marching and jazz band. As a music education teacher, Mr. Roberts has impacted the lives of hundreds of students, giving them a sense of confidence and accomplishment. He's challenged them in a way to make them realize their potential, and the results are an award-winning middle school music program--an incredible accomplishment. In the community, he founded the Elk Grove Community Concert band, the Jay Roberts Swingtime Orchestra and he also conducts for River City Theater Company. prgtoken Mr. Roberts holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from California State University, Fullerton and completed his graduate work at California State University, Hayward. prgtoken , Mr. Roberts has served our student community with admirable leadership, passion and dedication. He leaves a remarkable legacy. It is my honor to thank him for the positive impacts he's had on his students and wish him the very best for an enjoyable retirement.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Mark Takano (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-5-23

I rise in support of my amendment, which would create a demonstration program in the Air Force for 15 to 20 deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to serve their country. prgtoken This amendment is inspired by a young deaf man I met a few years ago named Keith Nolan. He excelled at the first two levels of Army ROTC and was prepared to take the next step when he was told that he could not continue because he is deaf. Including this amendment is an incredible tribute to Keith's advocacy, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to maintain this provision. prgtoken I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for including this amendment. I am excited that we are taking this step forward to give the deaf community a chance to defend the country that they love and that we love.
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
Ro Khanna (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-5-23

I thank Representative Ellison for those words and for explaining so simply and powerfully what is at stake with the Janus case and why the constitutional right is actually with the unions, as he put it, to assemble and not to freeload when someone is getting a benefit. I thank him for his leadership and fight on this. prgtoken , I want to make one other point before yielding to my friend. One of the contemporary examples of the need for collective bargaining is seen with CWA in their struggle with American Airlines when passenger service agents aren't making a living wage. I don't understand it. I pay so much for these American Airline tickets that I wonder who the money is going to. prgtoken Would any American think that the passenger service agents aren't getting a fair wage, given what we are paying in airline tickets? prgtoken Yet the truth is many of those workers aren't getting a fair wage, particularly those who are working for Envoy Air and those who are working with Piedmont Airlines. prgtoken There are many Members of this House--81 of us--who believe that American Airlines needs to do the right thing and pay a living wage and CWA's ability to bargain, to ask for a fair wage for what all of us pay when we pay for tickets, to ask that the workers benefit from that as well. That is what is at stake in this Janus case: Can CWA organize and get a fair wage so that workers benefit? prgtoken , from Florida (Mr. Soto), a good friend, who is in my freshman class and who is a great leader on so many issues--on issues of technology and the future of work--so that he can speak out on this important Janus decision. He has come out to Silicon Valley. But what I respect about him is he has his values in fighting for working families, for the middle class, for people who have been left out. Those are the issues he is most passionate about.
REMOVAL OF NOMINATION OBJECTION
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2018-5-23

on May 10, I announced my intention to object to a unanimous consent request for the Senate to take up the nomination of Christopher C. Krebs who has been nominated by President to serve as Under secretary of the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, DHS. I did so because DHS had yet to clear for public release important information about vulnerabilities in U.S. telephone networks that are being exploited, potentially by foreign governments, to target Americans. prgtoken Last week, I discussed with Mr. Krebs our shared interest in protecting Americans from sophisticated cyber security threats, particularly those that exploit flaws in U.S. communications networks. I am pleased to say that DHS subsequently provided me with a letter that included much of the information that I had previously requested. I intend to make this letter public in the coming days and believe that it will further much needed debate about the security of U.S. telephone networks and the Federal Communications Commission's lax approach to regulating the privacy and cyber security practices of wireless carriers. prgtoken In light of this action, I will no longer object to any unanimous consent request for the Senate to take up Mr. Kreb's nomination.
Russia Investigation (Executive Session)
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2018-5-23

good morning. I looked down, and the Presiding Officers have changed. It is nice to be here with you this morning. prgtoken Our Presiding Officer is tied to the military--Army colonel, highly distinguished. She comes from Iowa and travels home every weekend. She covers every county in Iowa. In a year, I cover every county in Delaware, sometimes in a day. We only have 3; she has probably 100 or so. But we have the opportunity to go home frequently to our respective States and to be with our families and the folks we work for. I love doing it, and I know our Presiding Officer does as well. prgtoken People come up to me--I go back and forth on the train just about every prgtoken night and will do that tonight, as I did last night. I feel very fortunate to be able to be that close to my constituents. I serve in the Senate with my colleagues and actually live in my home State. It is a blessing. prgtoken I think I am approachable. I know our Presiding Officer is. Senator Cornyn is approachable. People come up and talk to us all the time, which is good--which is good. Sometimes I just want to say hello. Sometimes I will ask them how they are doing. More often than not, lately, people say: I wouldn't want your job for anything. You have the worst job in the world. prgtoken I say: No, no. I feel really lucky. prgtoken Throughout the 200-and-some years we have been a country, only about 1,800 people have been privileged to serve in this body, and we are fortunate that we are able to serve here today, especially during these challenging times. prgtoken Since the 2016 election, however, a broad number of Delawareans and American citizens have approached me, whether in the Rite Supermarket or on the Amtrak train, to share with me their sense of uncertainty and their fears regarding the trajectory of our country. Specifically, they have expressed their uncertainty about the future of the special counsel's investigation and their fears that the President may put his own personal interests above the interests of all Americans and the Constitution of our country. prgtoken As we pass the 1-year mark following Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein's appointment of former FBI Director Bob Mueller to become special counsel, I think it is worth remembering why the investigation began, what it has uncovered, where it is headed, and how we can uphold the rule of law and protect the investigation from political interference as we seek to ascertain the truth. prgtoken During the 2016 Presidential campaign, our democracy was attacked by a foreign adversary. No shots were fired. No bombs were dropped. But let me be as clear as I can be. Russia attacked the United States of America. Using sophisticated cyber warfare, Russia interfered in our electoral process. As they have in other Western democracies, Russia borrowed from their tried-and-true playbook. Russian internet trolls posed as American citizens on Facebook and on
Healthcare (Executive Session)
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-5-23

starting in January of 2017, extending to today, the President, often with the help of this Congress, has engaged in a very deliberate, very purposeful campaign of sabotage to the American healthcare system. We are now starting to see the very serious consequences of this campaign of sabotage. It started on Inauguration Day when President signed an Executive order that ordered all of his agencies to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. It found its way to the Senate floor when s spent most of 2017 trying to pass legislation that would take insurance away from 23 million people, according to the CBO. prgtoken The President undertook a number of steps to try to weaken the exchanges where millions of people get their healthcare. He cut the open enrollment period in half. He stopped funding advertising. He pulled funding for the navigators, who are the people who go out and try to help people sort through their healthcare options. There is no reason to do that, to try to stop people from being able to sign up for healthcare, unless your intention is sabotage. There is no public policy reason to give people less time to sign up or to give them less information about their options. prgtoken Most recently, the s finally succeeded in repealing the individual mandate which the Congressional Budget Office said will, by itself, increase premiums by 10 percent and wipe out insurance for 13 million people. The administration is now trying to expand the sale of what we call junk plans, which are insurance plans that don't have to cover a minimum set of benefits, that don't have to protect people with preexisting conditions or existing sicknesses from higher premium rates. prgtoken I think I came down to the floor 2 weeks ago to talk about the first two rate filings of the rate filing season. These were in Maryland and Virginia. The rate filings were, quite frankly, catastrophic. While these were the worst of the bunch, all of the rate filings were much higher than the rate of medical inflation. prgtoken The worst requested increase was when one insurance plan in Maryland asked for a 91-percent increase in premiums. One insurance plan in Virginia asked for a 64-percent increase in premiums. In Maryland, the head of the insurance plan who asked for the 91-percent increase said the reasons for it were the continuing actions on the administration's part to systematically undermine the market and to make it almost impossible to carry out its mission. No one can afford a 91-percent increase in premiums, and no one can afford a 64-percent increase in premiums. Frankly, very few people can afford a 15- or a 20-percent increase in premiums. prgtoken This week, we received the rate filings from the State of Oregon. In Oregon, the Providence Health Plan, with about 90,000 customers, which is one of the bigger plans in the State, is asking for a 14-percent premium increase. Now, that
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Frederica S. Wilson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-5-23

I rise in strong support of amendment No. 73, requiring a report to relevant committees on the missions, operations, and activities of the Department of Defense in Niger and the broader region. prgtoken I believe that key components of the amendment are necessary to obtain critical, tactical, operational, and strategic improvements in U.S. Africa Command's efforts to achieve stability and security in the region, and most importantly, keep our troops safer. prgtoken As evidenced by the tragic deaths of the four soldiers who were ambushed by ISIS near Tongo Tongo, Niger, last October, improvements throughout the chain of command and military services are necessary, and DOD must provide greater transparency and communication with Congress regarding legal, operational, and funding authorities for military operations in Africa. prgtoken The amendment requires DOD to specify its objectives in Niger and justify their relevance to U.S. national security. For the safety of our troops, the amendment also requires DOD to identify measures to mitigate operational risk and increase the preparedness of members of the Armed Forces in Niger and the broader region. prgtoken It will also mandate that DOD assess the command and support relationships of U.S. Africa Command with subordinate commands like Special Operations Command. This will help to ensure improved command and control throughout the chain of command, that the commander's intent is clear, and that operational guidance is consistent and concise. prgtoken Indeed, the tragic deaths of the four soldiers killed in action affected me personally in an overwhelming way. One of the four soldiers killed was a dear constituent of mine, Sergeant La David Johnson of Miami Gardens. prgtoken Sergeant Johnson, who was killed while bravely defending our country, was 25 years of age. He left behind a lovely extended family, a beautiful wife, and three young children. He was a member of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence, and 50 members are visiting us here today. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I am hopeful that with actions currently being taken by the DOD, along with the prescriptive elements of this amendment, our Nation will not have to suffer another tragic loss like we did last October.
HONORING OFFICER AMY S. CAPRIO
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2018-5-23

I rise today to mourn the loss of Amy S. Caprio of the Baltimore County Police Department, who was 29 years old. Sadly, Ms. Caprio is the first female police officer to be killed in the line of duty in the history of the Baltimore County Police Department and the 10th officer killed in the history of the department. prgtoken As a longtime resident of Baltimore County and as the Senator from Maryland, I want to express my profound sadness and condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Caprio, especially her husband Tim. prgtoken Officer Caprio was killed on Monday after responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle and potentially a burglary in progress in the Perry Hall region. According to police reports, Officer Caprio had ordered suspects to leave the car when she was deliberately run over by a suspect. It is unclear whether a firearm was discharged, and police are reviewing the footage from her body camera before she was killed. prgtoken The Baltimore County police now report that they have several suspects in custody, including juveniles who have been arrested and charged as adults with first-degree murder. prgtoken A resident of the neighborhood told the Baltimore Sun that his son saw the officer struck by a vehicle. Tony Kurek, 54, had just walked into the door of his home when his son, Dakota, shouted to him: ``Dad, Dad, a cop just got run over out front,'' the father recalled his son saying. The officer was lying in front of his house, he said. Dakota told his father he had seen the officer draw her gun on a black Jeep Wrangler and order the people inside to get out. Instead, the driver sped forward, ramming the officer with the vehicle. She landed about 20 feet away. ``She basically landed almost in front of my mailbox,'' Kurek said. prgtoken Let me thank the Kurek family, as well as the EMS and MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center staff, who rushed to try to save Officer Caprio's life. I know this event has shaken the Perry Hall community, as well as residents who were asked to shelter in place, and several local elementary schools were placed on lockdown during the police search for the suspects. I am hopeful that the Blue Alert System in use helped to quickly catch the suspects in this case. prgtoken As we learn more about Officer Caprio's life, we grieve for her loss. According to a story in the Baltimore Sun, she served just shy of 4 years with the Baltimore County Police Department, but she had already proven herself to be a dedicated officer. She was credited with bringing down a pair of alleged package thiefs, closing dozens of cases reported around the county at the end of last year. Because of her efforts, the department was able to recover a cache of stolen property. prgtoken The department officials stated: She didn't realize she was embarking on what would become a considerable investigation into holiday package thefts around the eastern portion of Ba
IN RECOGNITION OF THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HAMLET OF LAKE VIEW, NY
Chris Collins (Republican, NY) \u2014 2018-5-24

I rise today to recognize the 150th Anniversary of the hamlet of Lake View in the Town of Hamburg, New York. The history of this hamlet has been shaped by earnest individuals who worked diligently to make Lake View the great place it is today. prgtoken The fervor of the railroad era brought prosperity to many communities across the country, especially the hamlet of Lake View. The Lake View rail stop connected the hamlet to many important railways allowing the community to reap the benefits of the businessmen traveling between the cities. prgtoken I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the residents of Lake View on their 150th Anniversary, and thank them for their commitment to the American ideals of prosperity and success.