mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HONORING ELLEN DUNLAP
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2020-12-10

. Madam , it is a great honor to rise today in recognition of Ellen Dunlap of West Boylston, Massachusetts, who is stepping down as President of the American Antiquarian Society after 28 extraordinary years in that position. prgtoken America's history, Madam , is our greatest natural resource. It speaks to us across the years and serves as a source of great inspiration and hope for people across this country. It is an acknowledgement of America's triumphs and our imperfections; a reminder of who we are and who we're called to be. prgtoken Ellen is the President of the American Antiquarian Society--a remarkable institution in Worcester, Massachusetts founded by Revolutionary War patriot and printer Isaiah Thomas in 1812 and dedicated to preserving our treasured history. The Society serves as an incomparable resource for scholars and historians and a preeminent and comprehensive depository of American history and culture that is unparalleled in size and scope. prgtoken As President--the first woman to hold that post, by the way--Ellen has spent her career not only preserving our past, but bringing it to life in a way that truly excites others. Ellen's work and leadership are extraordinary, she has the incredible talent and vision to clarify and animate history so that all of us can better understand and learn from our collective past. She has worked tirelessly to open up the Society's extraordinary archives to a wider audience, including teachers, scholars, artists, and writers. Under her leadership, the Society undertook a massive effort to digitizing their collections. Ellen also spearheaded the construction of a major expansion and renovation of the Society's home at Antiquarian Hall, and has sought to engage the Worcester community in new and exciting ways like free public programs and partnerships with cultural groups. prgtoken Ellen has chaired the board of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, and she has advised many prestigious institutions such as the Library of Congress and George Washington's Mount Vernon. Ellen's vision and leadership earned the American Antiquarian Society a National Humanities Medal from President in 2013. prgtoken Madam , there is so much more I could say about how grateful I am that Ellen has devoted her life to preserving our American story and how lucky we are that the American Antiquarian Society calls Worcester home. But let me end on a personal note to say that Ellen is a treasured friend and a wonderful person, I'm grateful that I've had the privilege of getting to know and work with her, and I know she will continue to give back to our community in the years ahead. prgtoken On behalf of the United States Congress, the people of Massachusetts' Second Congressional District, and all the people who will benefit from her incredible work for generations to come, it is my great honor and privilege to recognize Ellen
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-12-10

with each passing day, we get another round of news underscoring how costly this pandemic has been. Yesterday, over 3,000 Americans--3,000--died from COVID-19, the highest single-day death toll to date. prgtoken If you were making a list of some of the deadliest days in American history, your mind would jump to Gettysburg, Antietam, Pearl Harbor, or 9/11. You can now add to that somber list last Thursday, Wednesday, last Tuesday, last Friday, and yesterday. Each day, nearly 2,500 Americans or more lost their lives to COVID in the course of a single day. prgtoken Now time is running out for Congress to finish our most pressing priority: passing an emergency COVID relief bill to help American families in need. prgtoken Right now, there is one clear path to getting an outcome: a bipartisan group of Senators and House Members who have reached an initial agreement on another emergency relief bill. In the spirit of compromise and for the sake of getting something done for the American people, Pelosi and I have endorsed those efforts as a framework for a final bill. prgtoken Everyone knows that this bipartisan proposal is the only real game in town at the moment, the only proposal with enough bipartisan support to, hopefully, pass both Houses of Congress before the end of the year. Everyone knows that, it seems, except Leader McConnell, who continues to stand in the way of bipartisan progress and who seems to wake up each morning with a new round of outlandish reasons why are somehow to blame for all the world's ills. prgtoken As the bipartisan group of Senators continue to work toward a final agreement, I want to address an incredibly false equivalency that has been drawn between two provisions: providing aid to State and local services--essential State and local services--and granting sweeping immunity to corporations that put their workers in harm's way during the pandemic. prgtoken You will hear voices say: want to fund State and local services while s--that is, Leader McConnell--want a corporate liability shield. Each side wants something that the other side doesn't want to accept. But as I said, this is a false equivalency, incredibly false, for two reasons. prgtoken First, State and local aid has broad bipartisan support, totally unlike the leader's liability provision, which is expressly partisan. Let me say that again because it is important. There is strong bipartisan support for State and local aid. There is not the same broad bipartisan support for sweeping corporate immunity. prgtoken Second, the two policies are not remotely equivalent in terms of importance or relevance to what is going on in our country right now. When we talk about providing Federal aid so the States don't have to cut essential services, we are talking about saving lives, and we are talking about saving jobs. We are talking about boosting the economy. According to the Congres
AERIAL INCURSION REPERCUSSION SAFETY ACT OF 2020
Jared Huffman (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-12-10

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise in support of H.R. 5040. This is a bipartisan bill introduced by my fellow committee member, Utah Congressman Curtis, along with myself. prgtoken The Aerial Incursion Repercussion Safety Act, or the AIR Safety Act, requires the Director of BLM, in consultation with the Chief of the Forest Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Association of State Foresters, to conduct a study on the effects of drone incursion on wildfire suppression. prgtoken It is already a Federal crime to interfere with wildfire suppression efforts on public lands. In addition, the FAA often implements temporary flight restrictions, or TFRs, around wildfires to prevent aircraft from getting involved and interfering with suppression operations. prgtoken Despite these deterrents, private drone incursions near wildfires continue to be documented as causes of delays in airborne firefighting response that can pose threats to firefighting on the ground, undermine ongoing suppression efforts, and allow wildfires to encroach on nearby communities. prgtoken There have been many examples of this, but I specifically remember, during the October 2017 firestorms in Sonoma County, in my district, we received multiple reports of private drones interfering with firefighting helicopters and air tankers, forcing them to stay grounded for the safety of the Cal Fire pilots during the critical days when we needed them in the air. prgtoken This bill would raise awareness of the impacts of drone incursions on wildland fire suppression while examining ways to avoid future incursions. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and . House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC, September 1, 2020. Hon. Colin Peterson, Chair, Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chair Peterson: I write to you concerning H.R. 5040, the ``AIR Safety Act of 2019.'' I appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation. I recognize that the bill contains provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture. l acknowledge that your Committee will not formally consider H.R. 5040 and agree that the inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill does not waive any future jurisdictional claim over the matters contained in the bill that fall within your Committee's Rule X jurisdiction. I will ensure that our exchange of letters is included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. l appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to working with you as this measure moves through the legislative process.
TRIBUTE TO MIKE ENZI
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2020-12-10

one factor that helps make someone a strong representative of their constituents is the body of experience they bring to their job. Mike Enzi has spent his life representing his constituents, first as a mayor, then in the Wyoming Senate, and ultimately in the U.S. Senate, a post to which the people of Wyoming have elected and reelected him four times. prgtoken While our States are quite different geographically, Wyoming, like Vermont, is State of close-knit communities, and it is easy to see how deeply Senator Enzi cares for his fellow Wyomingites and how firmly he prioritizes his constituents. As a Senator, he has worked to expand resources for vocational and technical education programs nationwide, and he has worked to protect and create jobs in Wyoming and across the United States as a strong advocate for domestic energy production from a diverse array of sources. prgtoken Mike has been a longtime member and top of the Senate Budget Committee and, before that, of the prgtoken Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Although we certainly have not agreed on many policy issues and priorities over the years, I have greatly appreciated working alongside Senator Enzi to fund and define many other legislative priorities to meet the needs of the American people. prgtoken I will miss my fellow Italian-Irish friend. We were a proud caucus of the only two Irish-Italian American Senators. Upon his retirement from the Senate, I would like to thank Senator Enzi for his service, and Marcelle and I wish Mike and his wife Diana all the best.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Michael F. Bennet (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2020-12-10

I rise to commend a great educator, Susana Cordova, for her service to Denver, our schools, and our children. As Susana steps down as superintendent of Denver Public Schools, it is the right time to say thank you and, more, to say how much we love and respect her for her dedication. She has done so much more than give 30 years to the Denver Public Schools. prgtoken At every moment of her DPS career, Susana has been an educator's educator--committed to each student, able to see their unique gifts and envision their individual success, and willing to meet them where they are so she could walk alongside them as they learned. prgtoken She began as a teacher, first at Denver's Horace Mann Middle School and West High School. There, she taught language arts to students who mostly spoke Spanish at home. She became an assistant principal at Bryant-Webster Elementary School and then a principal at Remington Elementary School, two more schools that served Spanish-speaking families. In her 4 years at Remington, the school saw gains of 33 percent in reading. prgtoken In 2002, she joined district leadership and again worked tirelessly to improve outcomes for students. Susana knew that the way to do this was to challenge students academically--to read the poem and write a clear argument about it, to think like a mathematician and show your work, to take courses that earned college credit or offered real workplace experience. Her approach placed high expectations on teachers and principals, not just students. But because she had done the work herself, she was compassionate and always joined with her colleagues learning how to meet those expectations. prgtoken In nearly all of these years, DPS improved graduation, literacy, and math rates faster than the State of Colorado. Just as important, achievement gaps narrowed. Throughout Susana's tenure as an instructional leader, DPS focused on improving the academic outcomes of students of color and students from families who qualify for free lunch. She would be the first to say that Denver, like other big-city school systems, has plenty of work left to do. There are still Denver children who might have even greater opportunity when they graduated if they were challenged to read ``Bless Me, Ultima,'' if they had a few more chances to learn how to balance a chemical equation, or if they graduated with a little college credit to help them along the way to earning a college degree. prgtoken Susana's commitment to DPS is more than professional. As a student, she attended kindergarten at Denver's Barnum Elementary School. She went on to Kepner Middle School and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High prgtoken School. She became the first in her family to go to college. Her roots in DPS span three generations. Her mother, Rita Cordova, attended Denver's Franklin and Greenlee elementary schools, Baker Junior High School, and West High School, before beginning a career as an office
REMEMBERING JEREMY DODD
John B. Larson (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2020-12-10

. Madam , on Monday, December 7th, I attended the funeral service of a dear friend and mentor. A complex, sensitive, intuitive observer of this human comedy we call life. Jeremy Dodd was a remarkable man. I include in the Record this brief introduction is his obituary written by his son, Owen, and a poem entitled, ``The Dash.'' prgtoken In 1978, Jeremy and I worked down the hall from one another. I knew of him because his father was a United States Senator from Connecticut, who the Irish and Americans across the country had always taken great pride in his role in the Nuremberg Trials, and also his brother Chris, who at the time was the sitting member of Congress from the 2nd District and would go on to follow his father and become a United States Senator. Jeremy historically and culturally knew politics, he gained that knowledge from growing up in a family immersed in it. Beyond politics, he could conduct prgtoken conversations on any subject, from sports, to theater, literature, art, and photography--he had a feel for life and a keen way of listening to others. Moreover, a very likable man able to focus in on the simple aspect of human interaction--the handshake, the greeting, and a smile. Most of all, he was great fun, always able to use self-deprecating humor and weave stories of life, history and literature from his unique perspective. That perspective was usually made clearer or more fuzzy depending on what we ordered from the top shelf. He was above all genuine, not without his faults, but his virtue far surpassed what he would call his inconsistencies. He was great company: engaging, quick- witted, and loved a good laugh. prgtoken The funeral was in the ancestral neighborhood of his grandparents and where his father, Tom, and his mother, Grace, are buried in an old Irish cemetery. The center of which was the Church of St. Michael the Archangel built by the Irish who lived in the area. The wooden beams, the stained-glass window, the tiled floor, wooden confessional, all works of art in their own right. prgtoken Before the funeral began, I had the opportunity to talk with Owen, Jeremy's son who was my press secretary, and present him with a flag flown over the United States Capitol in his father's honor. I also spoke with his uncle, United States Senator Chris Dodd, whom I had been a district coordinator for in his 1980 run for the Senate and when I came to the Congress in 1998 he took me under his wing and always gave wise counsel and stellar advice. He told me he was going through Jeremy's belongings and came across this poem that Jeremy was very fond of. He then thanked me for being there and gave me this poem called ``The Dash.'' prgtoken It is my honor to introduce it and include it in the Congressional Record. This poem, written by Linda Ellis, aptly describes Jeremy, his family, his father, his brother U.S. Senator Dodd, his son Owen, and the entire Dodd family: a family that was an exemplary exam
INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION DECLARING THAT PUBLIC TRANSIT IS A NATIONAL PRIORITY WHICH REQUIRES FUNDING EQUAL TO THE LEVEL OF HIGHWAY FUNDING
Jesús G. "Chuy" García (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2020-12-10

. Madam , I rise today to introduce a resolution declaring that public transit is a national priority which requires funding equal to the level of highway funding along with my colleagues Hakeem Jeffries from New York and Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts. prgtoken Joining us in this introduction are 30 other members from across the country and dozens of organizations invested in ensuring we build a more just, equitable, and sustainable transportation system in America. prgtoken The near 40-year precedent of an ``80-20'' split between highway and transit funding does not reflect our citizens, businesses, and communities' needs for safe, reliable, and convenient public transportation. The split underfunds transit needs leaving too many reliant on deteriorating transit systems with infrequent, inconvenient, and unreliable service. prgtoken The 80-20 split was agreed to in 1982, when 1 cent of a 5 cent gas tax increase was dedicated to transit. But since 2008, over $144 billion in taxpayer dollars have supplemented gas tax revenues for highway and transit spending. The user fee is not working as intended, yet the 80-20 funding split persists. prgtoken Transit is an essential lifeline for the over one million rural households without a car and millions of Americans of color disproportionately reliant on public transit. 2.8 million essential workers and millions more rely on transit to access their jobs, food, and health care. prgtoken In Chicago, CTA trains and Pace Buses are the arteries of our city and they've kept our prgtoken people moving--especially frontline workers who keep our country moving despite the raging pandemic. prgtoken Rebuilding a stronger, sustainable economy will require robust, reliable, and frequent transit and we must fund transit equitably like the vital public good and toll for economic empowerment that it is.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--CONFERENCE REPORT--Continued
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2020-12-10

I have come to the floor today and will shortly ask for unanimous consent on H.R. 2420, the National Museum for the American Latino Act. prgtoken Let me just thank my colleague, the senior Senator from Texas, Mr. Cornyn, who has been a great partner throughout this entire process, a strong advocate who helped us navigate some of the challenges we have had along the way. I am also thrilled to be on the floor with Senator Collins, who will shortly make a motion on the Women's History Museum, which I strongly support, and I appreciate her support for the American Latino Museum. prgtoken Today the Senate stands at the precipice of history. We have before us an opportunity to set in motion a process that will eventually culminate in the establishment of a national museum devoted to the history, struggles, and achievements of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. This is long overdue. prgtoken Some colleagues say: Well, why do we need another museum? Well, it was in 1994 when the Smithsonian Task Force on Latino Issues published its report entitled ``Willful Neglect''--a report acknowledging the Institution's own glaring omission of Hispanic history and culture. prgtoken This is what the report found: The Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum complex in the world, displays a pattern of willful neglect towards . . . Latinos in the United States. Because of both indigenous roots and Spanish heritage, Latinos predate the British in the [United States]. They have contributed significantly to every phase and aspect of American history and culture. Yet the institution almost entirely excludes and ignores Latinos in nearly every aspect of its operations. Latinos are absent from positions of power and authority within the institution, which helps to perpetuate the exclusion of Latino history and culture from the museum's collections, exhibitions, and programs. prgtoken The report also acknowledges how the Smithsonian's exclusion of Latinos and Latinas has not only harmed Hispanic Americans but all Americans. prgtoken The report says: The failure of the Smithsonian to reflect and represent Hispanic contributions is twice damaging. It denies Latinos their right to feel recognized and valued as part of the country's heritage. At the same time, it perpetuates among the general population the inaccurate belief that Latinos have contributed little to our country's development or culture, rather than reflecting the multicultural history . . . of the United States. prgtoken Without treading into politics, I think it is important we acknowledge that this misconception is alive and well today. In recent years, we have heard Hispanic Americans, immigrants, and their families used as scapegoats for every economic ill facing our Nation. We have witnessed the rise of nativism and xenophobia. We have seen t
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Steny H. Hoyer (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2020-12-10

I hope he will sign it. I know he has concerns about a section that Senator Inhofe said ought not to be in the bill. But whether it should or should not, it is not in the bill, and the conferees determined that it should not be in the bill. prgtoken As the gentleman knows, this has great consequences for our national security and for our troops. I would hope the gentleman would, and I would, urge the President to sign the bill. prgtoken I thank the gentleman for yielding.