mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, RELATING TO...
Joni Ernst (Republican, IA) \u2014 2019-10-23

I come to the floor frustrated--frustrated by the fact that it has been 327 days since President signed the USMCA, and the House has done nothing to take it up. prgtoken It is not because the House hasn't had time. They have found time to do a lot of things, like continue on their partisan expedition toward impeaching the President. They passed a bill without a pay raise for our troops, spent a lot of ``energy'' on the Green New Deal, and one Member of the House took the time to show the world she was frightened by her garbage disposal. prgtoken The question is, What is preventing Congress from getting the USMCA done? prgtoken From Humboldt County all the way to Hamburg, IA, at my townhall meetings or during a visit to a small business or manufacturing plants and everywhere in between, I have been hearing one thing consistently and across the board: Iowans want the USMCA now. prgtoken These hard-working folks know the impact the USMCA will have on Iowa's economy and the U.S. economy as a whole. There is no reason Iowans should be waiting in limbo for this agreement to be ratified. prgtoken This trade agreement is a win for the American people, plain and simple. Mexico has already ratified the deal, and Canada is well on their way. Our trade partners are ready. The United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement is about modernizing a trade deal with two of our closest allies that would grow more than 175,000 jobs across this country. prgtoken NAFTA was ratified in 1994. That was 3 years before Wi-Fi became available to the public, 5 years before USB drives were invented, 12 years before the launch of Facebook and Twitter, and 16 years before computer tablets were on sale. None of us are living with 1994 technology, so why should we be living with a 1994 trade policy? prgtoken President understands the need to modernize trade with two of our closest allies, and that is why he negotiated a great trade deal with Mexico and Canada--the USMCA. Passing the USMCA will allow us to compete in today's 21st century economy. It will provide folks back home in Iowa with some certainty--certainty in a time where prices have been low and markets have been eroded from other trade wars. prgtoken Iowans want and need USMCA. Canada and Mexico are our States' top two trading partners. In 2018 alone, we exported $6.6 billion worth of products to our neighbors to the north and to the south. Trade with Canada and Mexico directly increases the value of Iowan exports like beef, adding $70 in value to each head that comes from the State. prgtoken In case you didn't know it, Mexico is the No. 1 consumer of Iowa corn. I was up in Northwest Iowa a couple of weeks ago visiting with one Iowa corn farmer, and he said that if we were able to get the USMCA deal done, it would have a direct impact--positive--on his farm. prgtoken It is not just our farmers who will benefit from the USMCA; it is also our businesses and our manufactur
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, RELATING TO...
Josh Hawley (Republican, MO) \u2014 2019-10-23

as we gather today here in peace and safety in this quiet Chamber, we must remember that there is a city half a world away that is struggling to survive--a city that is fighting for human rights and human liberty and a city that is a solitary pinpoint of light on a continent of authoritarianism, a city called Hong Kong. prgtoken The need there is urgent, and the hour there is late, and it is time for America to act. I know this because I have been there. I have been there myself. I have seen it. I have been to Hong Kong. I have been to the streets of Hong Kong. I have seen the protesters marching in support of and in defense of their basic human rights. I have seen them demonstrating for their basic human liberties. I have seen them confronting the police with their tactics of brutality and oppression. prgtoken It makes me think that sometimes, in the course of history, the fate of one city defines the challenge of an entire generation. Fifty years ago, that city was Berlin. Today, that city is Hong Kong. The situation there is critical. Hong Kong is sliding toward becoming a police state. Have no doubt and make no mistake that Beijing wants to impose its will on Hong Kong. It wants to silence dissent in Hong Kong. It wants to steamroll Hong Kong, just as it wants to steamroll all of its neighbors in the region, just as it wants to control the region, and just as it wants ultimately to control the entire international system. prgtoken We know what is at stake in this country because we have gotten all too familiar with Beijing's tactics. We have seen what Beijing has tried to do to this country for decades now. They have stolen our jobs. They have stolen our technologies. They have tried to build and are building their military on the backs of our middle class. Their aims are expansionist, and their aims are domination, and their aims are not compatible with the security or the prosperity of this country. That is why what is happening in Hong Kong today is so important and the fight there is so significant. prgtoken Will a totalitarian China and totalitarian Beijing be allowed to dominate the city of Hong Kong, to silence it, and then to turn to the region as a whole? prgtoken You know, let's review what is actually happening there in the streets of Hong Kong. This didn't start with the people of Hong Kong; this started with Beijing. This started with Beijing and its puppet government and its puppet chief executive in Hong Kong attempting to revoke the rights of Hongkongers--the rights, by the way, that Beijing promised to the people of that city in 1984 and again in 1997. They are trying to revoke those rights by bringing in a bill for extradition of Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong residents to mainland China to be tried in China's courts, where there is no due process, where there are no basic guaranteed liberties, and where there is no recourse. That was Beijing's plan, and that would have
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, RELATING TO...
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2019-10-23

I echo what my colleague said about S.J. Res. 50, a congressional resolution of disapproval we are being asked to vote on this afternoon. I agree with the Senator from Texas. It is a mistake. It is wrong. I think he used the words ``ironic,'' ``mistaken,'' and ``duplicitous.'' I would call this ic proposal the height of hypocrisy. That is what we are looking at right here, and I am planning to oppose it. prgtoken Two years ago, the s passed major tax reform for this country. What we wanted to do was to make the Tax Code simpler, make it fairer, and have people pay less, and that is what we have seen. To do it, we have also eliminated some tax deductions for the wealthy. One was the State and local tax deduction that was specifically aimed at the wealthy. We eliminated it. That is what our goal was--to eliminate those sorts of deductions so that people all across the country could see the benefits of tax reform. prgtoken Let's be clear about who will be benefiting by the Congressional Review Act that is being proposed to be voted on today. There will be 94 percent of the benefits going to those with incomes over $200,000. Those aren't the people who need tax relief in this country. prgtoken We made choices when passing tax reform. We wanted to provide tax relief for the middle class, and we wanted to double the child tax credit. It worked. We wanted to double the standard deduction, and that worked. We wanted to lower the tax rates as well. The results are that a great majority of American households are actually paying less in taxes today than they were before. prgtoken We have also had this great boost to the economy. We have more people working and one of the lowest unemployment rates we have seen. We have seen wages and incomes grow. We have seen the unemployment rate drop to a 50-year low. We have also seen economic growth beat all previous predictions. That is what we have gotten with the tax reform--the tax relief--that the s have passed and that President has signed into law. The s are going to continue to focus on keeping taxes low for all Americans. prgtoken The best description I have heard of this proposal is that it seems to be an effort to give tax breaks to rich people in blue States. prgtoken .
DEBBIE SMITH REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019
Kelly Armstrong (Republican, ND) \u2014 2019-10-23

. Madam , only in Congress can we fight about something that I think we all generally agree on. prgtoken The bill the House is considering today will reauthorize the Debbie Smith grant program. I strongly support reauthorization. prgtoken But this law has a 15-year history of nearly unanimous support in Congress under both and ic majorities and Presidents, but more importantly, it has a 15-year history as a standalone bill. prgtoken So my question is: What changed? When did it become so essential to become a part of VAWA? And if it is essential to be a part of VAWA, then why did we pull it out, and why are we voting on it again as a standalone bill? prgtoken On May 16, the Senate continued the bipartisan tradition and they passed a standalone reauthorization. We sat on that bill for months in the House. prgtoken House s--I know; I was part of it. I was on the floor arguing for it before the last break, before the September 30 authorization lapsed. We tried twice to get it voted on. prgtoken As stated by the founder of the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, the House is using the Debbie Smith Act as leverage to get the Senate to pass other things that have nothing to do with DNA testing. prgtoken So, finally, today we brought the Debbie Smith Act to the floor, but even today, it is the wrong bill. The bill we are considering today has some serious flaws, but, more importantly, it is making changes to the Senate bill that nobody ever asked for. prgtoken Just like the Senate, it extends the program to 2024. However, for some reason, we have inexplicably omitted accountability provisions that Congress has required for these grant programs for nearly a decade. prgtoken These accountability measures are important. They include mandating a report on the effectiveness of the grant program to reduce the backlog of unanalyzed DNA evidence in sexual assault cases. They require recommendations to enhance the grant program, and they require the National Institute of Justice to define goals of the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction program and develop performance measures for each one of these goals. All of these are worthy.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4617, STOPPING HARMFUL INTERFERENCE IN ELECTIONS FOR A LASTING DEMOCRACY ACT
Tom Cole (Republican, OK) \u2014 2019-10-23

such time as I may consume. prgtoken Just quickly, to respond to a couple of points my friends made, first, let's remember, in 2016, President was the President of the United States when a lot of the activity that my friends are concerned about took place. In 2018, when President was President, we don't have accusations of foreign interference. As a matter of fact, it was a pretty good election cycle for my friends, and I congratulate them on that. prgtoken So, I suspect this administration has done a better job than the last administration in dealing with these issues. But I agree there are some things we can and should work on to improve our system, and we have offered--Mr. Davis chief among them--a variety of areas where we can cooperate and where we, frankly, agree. prgtoken In the areas where we can't agree, let's set them aside and have our disagreements. But where we can, let's put things together that we all agree on and at least get those things passed. That would be my recommended choice. prgtoken Madam , if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to immediately suspend the House's impeachment inquiry until the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 and the Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2020 are law. prgtoken Madam , Congress has failed to meet the deadline for one of our most crucial responsibilities, to pass the authorization act and the appropriations bill for our national defense prior to the start of the fiscal year. We did not succeed in getting either of these bills into law by September 30, and now the Department of Defense is operating under a continuing resolution, which in no way adequately supports and funds our military. prgtoken Instead of pushing forward, the House is distracted by an unprecedented and unauthorized impeachment inquiry, which is remarkable mostly for the complete lack of transparency the majority has adopted. s have been repeatedly denied their reasonable requests to attend depositions with witnesses and even to review transcripts and other documents. Moreover, the House is proceeding in this inquiry without ever taking a vote to authorize it or establish the parameters and ensure due process. prgtoken At a time when threats are continuing to emerge around the world, and our constituents want us to tackle important issues impacting their everyday lives, the House can ill afford the distraction this inquiry is causing. prgtoken Consequently, my amendment will require us to suspend the impeachment inquiry until such time as both the NDAA and the Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2020 have been enacted. prgtoken Madam , I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4617, STOPPING HARMFUL INTERFERENCE IN ELECTIONS FOR A LASTING DEMOCRACY ACT
Alcee L. Hastings (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2019-10-23

. Madam , on Tuesday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 650, providing for consideration of H.R. 4617, the Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy, better known as the SHIELD Act, under a structured rule. prgtoken The rule provides 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the Chair and ranking member of the Committee on House Administration. The rule also executes a manager's amendment from Chairwoman Lofgren, makes in order 14 amendments, and provides one motion to recommit on the bill. prgtoken Madam , it is going to be interesting to watch my friends twist pretzel-like today to convince themselves that voting against a bill that will protect the sanctity of our electoral process from foreign interference is the right thing to do for the American people. prgtoken Through today's rule, the bring to the floor a bill that states that those campaigns that are offered assistance from foreign actors should be required to report such attempts at assistance. prgtoken Sadly, I predict that my friends will vote against such protections. prgtoken We, as , say that foreign governments should not be allowed to buy political advertisements in a clear and ongoing attempt to spread conspiracy theories and sow discord among the American electorate. prgtoken I predict that for reasons undecipherable, the s will still vote against today's bill. prgtoken In fact, let us pause here for a moment. The use of social media platforms by maligned actors to undermine our democracy is not only historical, but is happening today, as we speak. An article that appeared in yesterday's Washington Post outlines how Russia's intelligence apparatus through the Internet Research Agency continues to use Facebook and Facebook's photo-sharing app, Instagram, to sow discord among the American people. prgtoken With alarming precision, they target our vulnerabilities, our fears, our baser instincts in hopes of tearing asunder the fabric of our democracy. prgtoken As it turns out, past is indeed prologue, and unless we want Facebook and others to be left to play an ongoing game of whack-a-mole against Russian, and now apparently Iranian, and potentially other intelligence agencies, we in Congress need to provide the needed support that any platform can fully meet the threat posed by these nefarious actors. prgtoken Madam , on this side of the aisle, we say that we should strengthen the ban against foreign nationals and foreign governments spending money in our elections, and we have put pen to paper in today's bill to ensure that we do, indeed, strengthen such a ban. prgtoken Again, I predict that many, if not all, of my colleagues across the aisle will vote against today's bill, and, therefore, against the notion that foreign governments ought not to be spending money in our elections. prgtoken Today's bill is a direct rebuke of the ca
STOPPING HARMFUL INTERFERENCE IN ELECTIONS FOR A LASTING DEMOCRACY ACT
Antonio Delgado (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-10-23

. Madam Chair, I would like to note, to bring the discussion back full circle, when my friend says that the FEC is dysfunctional but began this conversation saying that it has the responsibility to enforce election laws, those two points don't really go hand in hand. prgtoken I think it is important that if we are going to make the FEC able and capable of enforcing the laws that we know are critical to protecting our democracy, then we should operate on the assumption of how we could make the FEC as functional as possible and give the FEC data and information to achieve its stated purpose. prgtoken I thank Chairwoman Lofgren for her leadership on this issue and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to put the protection of our democracy over partisan division and pass both my amendment and the underlying bill. prgtoken Madam Chair, .
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, RELATING TO...
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2019-10-23

I want to make sure the Senate and the country understand what this debate is all about. prgtoken Senate s have been writing letters to the Department of Treasury saying that the Treasury SALT rule hurts their State charities. Yet they have been unwilling--at least based on what I am told--to be part of an effort to fix this and to support those charities. That is what we would be doing in our effort today to overturn the Treasury Department's flawed--deeply flawed--SALT regulations. prgtoken My view is that these regulations illustrate essentially what was wrong with the s' 2017 tax law. This was a law that was half- baked and rushed to shovel hundreds of billions of dollars to those at the top of the economic pyramid in our country. Then $1.5 trillion was borrowed so that and his allies could find a way to cover this tax cut for cronies and donors. prgtoken Then, because they still needed revenue, s deliberately targeted middle-class homeowners in States like New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Oregon for tax increases. prgtoken For some communities in Oregon, it is not uncommon for property tax bills alone for middle-class folks to exceed $10,000. But when our colleagues took this flawed approach on the SALT issue, they didn't want to listen to experts. So the Treasury Department stepped in, and without any clear authority to do so, the Treasury Department reversed a longstanding IRS provision that had allowed taxpayers a full deduction for charitable contributions to State tax credit programs. prgtoken In essence, the Treasury Department created a new rule that extended the $10,000 cap on State and local tax deductions to also include charitable contributions to State tax credit programs. prgtoken To make matters worse, because Senators began to see what an absurd approach this was, Secretary Mnuchin put together another carve-out for interests, trying to figure out how to manage this flawed regulation. In effect, businesses using these same workarounds to fund private school voucher programs would be exempt from the regulation. Middle-class families pay more; businesses pay less. That is the way. prgtoken My view is that the Treasury Department shouldn't be putting its thumb on the scale on behalf of s, and it certainly shouldn't be using what amounts to a phony regulatory justification to fix this extraordinarily poorly drafted law. prgtoken While certainly intended for these regulations to hurt middle-class families in some parts of the country in ic States and protect interests, the bad news for my colleagues--and this is why so many Senators are writing the Treasury Department, talking about why their State charities are getting hammered. The regulations produced by the Treasury Department are overly broad, and they hurt the
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN...
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2019-10-23

I think everyone in this Chamber would agree that free and fair elections are the bedrock of our democracy. We know it has been under attack. We know, from the Mueller report, that Russia, in 2016, used a systematic and comprehensive attack on our free election system to try to undermine our democracy. prgtoken That attack occurred in the State of Maryland. Let me just quote, if I might, from the Washington Post article that said: Maryland was never in play in 2016. The Russians targeted it anyway. prgtoken The article states: Russia's Twitter campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election in Maryland began in June 2015, 17 months before Election Day, when the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency opened an account it called @BaltimoreOnline and began tweeting about local news events. Yet, the IRA, the Russian troll factory that U.S. prosecutors blame for the massive disinformation efforts during the 2016 campaign, devoted enormous attention and preparation to its Maryland operation, all in a likely effort, experts say, to widen racial divisions and demoralize African American voters. prgtoken That is what happened in 2016. Our intelligence community tells us that Russia is active today trying to influence our 2020 elections, and they are using technology to try to undermine our free election system. We must do more to protect our system. prgtoken It was for that reason and many others that I introduced S. 1834, the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2019. It is cosponsored by Senator Klobuchar, Senator Leahy, Senator Feinstein, and others. This bill is an effort to try to protect us from this type of international interference in our elections, as well as local efforts that are aimed at trying to intimidate voters targeted at minority voters. That should have no place in American politics. prgtoken This bill did pass the House of Representatives in March of this year in H.R. 1. prgtoken Very quickly, let me tell you what this bill does. It prohibits individuals from knowingly deceiving others about the time, place, eligibility, or procedures for participating in a Federal election; addresses new digital challenges that pose a threat to citizens exercising their right to vote, particularly the use of digital platforms to disseminate false information regarding Federal elections; and combating voter intimidation, especially efforts aimed at suppressing voter rights. prgtoken I would hope every Member of this Chamber would support these efforts. Unfortunately, the majority leader has failed to bring any of these issues to the floor or give us any time to take up legislation in order to protect our free election system. Time is running out. The election primaries will start early next year. We need to take action now. prgtoken That is why I am going to make this unanimous consent request.