mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
TAX CONVENTION WITH CHILE
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2023-6-21

1 year ago, Americans lost a constitutional right for the first time in history, and they didn't just lose it--s ripped it away. prgtoken Just 1 year now after the Dobbs decision, more than 22 million women have lost their right to an abortion, and no corner of our country has been spared from the fallout. Abortion providers in States where abortion is legal, like in my home State of Washington, are being overworked and just totally overwhelmed with patients who have had to wait weeks and travel hundreds of miles to get an abortion. prgtoken Then there is the wave of other appalling attacks on abortion: proposals to charge grandmas and older sisters with human trafficking if they drive a minor out of State for an abortion, prosecute abortion providers--doctors--as criminals, ban emergency contraceptives like Plan B, and let's not forget the partisan lawsuit on mifepristone to rip safe medication abortion off the shelves in all 50 States. prgtoken You know, when you listen to patients about what this all means and when you hear the actual stories--the nightmares--that s are putting women in this country through, they are heartbreaking: parents driving miles and miles because their child was raped, their child is pregnant, and abortion is banned in their State; doctors being forced to forgo providing lifesaving care because they fear politicians will put them in jail for doing their jobs; women facing miscarriages, left bleeding, unable to get the care they need for days on end. prgtoken One woman learned that her fetus had no skull--had no chance of survival--and she still could not get abortion care in her State. prgtoken Another woman learned that she had an ectopic pregnancy--a serious, life-threatening condition. She was not able to get an abortion. Instead, when she was at death's door, she ended up having to get a hysterectomy. Why? Because politicians decided that their views mattered more than her health and mattered more than her family. prgtoken Let's be clear. The vast, overwhelming majority of Americans stand with women and support the right to choose abortion. In every place abortion rights were on the ballot last November--every single place-- abortion rights won. Still, the s are ignoring their own constituents and doubling down on their extreme anti-abortion politics. prgtoken Just now, when we tried to pass other basic protections--and I mean the most simple, most straightforward protections imaginable, protections that just say, yes, you can travel to another State for an abortion; that, yes, doctors can provide an abortion in States where it is legal without fear of being thrown into prison; that, yes, we will protect the right to birth control; that, yes, we will keep your online health and location data private so it cannot be used against you--the s said: No, we are not going to let you do that. prgtoken
PAYING TRIBUTE TO CHRISTOPHER PARSONS
Betty McCollum (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2023-6-21

I rise today with a very heavy heart to pay tribute to St. Paul firefighter, my friend, Captain Christopher Parsons, who was just 48 years old when he sustained a major medical event shortly after completing his shift and passed away last week. prgtoken Christopher's untimely passing is a deep and profound loss for his loved ones, fellow firefighters, our entire city, and, in fact, the entire State. prgtoken After joining the department in 2000, he was promoted to captain in 2007. He served in leadership roles for the IAFF Local 21, the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters, and the Minnesota Fire Service Foundation, and he took his expertise and passion for public safety to our State capital, where he improved public safety for so many. prgtoken Chris was a guide for me. I learned so much from him about firefighting and the needs of those who fight fires. prgtoken Captain Parsons had an impact on so many lives. He fought to save lives during his time on Earth, and he continues to do so through the gift of organ donation. prgtoken I extend my deepest condolences to Chris' family, and I express my gratitude for all those who put their lives on the line day after day to keep our communities safe.
TAX CONVENTION WITH CHILE
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2023-6-21

listening to this debate today, I can't believe we are having these debates in 2023. It is just stunning to me that we are having to debate privacy and the ability to make your own reproductive health decisions and all the ramifications for it. But here we are. prgtoken So I rise today to speak up for American women, the doctors who care for us, and our freedom to make our own healthcare decisions. What a novel idea that, in the United States of America, we would be able to make our own healthcare decisions. prgtoken But thanks to a radically conservative Supreme Court and radicals in State legislatures, reproductive freedom is no longer a constitutional right in the United States. prgtoken Roe v. Wade protected our freedoms for 50 years, until it didn't. Nearly half of the 50 States have already banned abortion or are likely to do that--half. And, sadly, this change is already making American healthcare worse. It just breaks my heart to hear about the individual situations of women. prgtoken In Michigan, fortunately, we are in a situation where the people of Michigan have stood up for reproductive freedom. But to see the women coming into Michigan, the people who are pregnant coming into Michigan, who are coming in to get help that they can't get in their own State, it just breaks my heart. prgtoken A poll of OB/GYNs released today by the independent health policy research organization KFF shows the effects. Sixty-four percent of OB/ GYNs surveyed said that the Dobbs decision has increased pregnancy- related deaths. Now think about that: 64 percent of the doctors--of the OB/GYNs surveyed--said that this Supreme Court decision has increased pregnancy-related deaths. prgtoken Seventy percent of OB/GYNs said that the Dobbs decision has made racial and ethnic inequalities in healthcare worse. And 68 percent of OB/GYNs--the doctors serving women--say that the Dobbs decision has made it harder for them to manage their patients' pregnancy-related emergencies, including women who desperately want their babies. They are desperate for this. They want to have this child. And something comes up, and it breaks their heart and their family's hearts. And there is an emergency that may threaten their life, and doctors are saying that it is harder for them to respond in an emergency. prgtoken Just think about that: 68 percent of doctors say that this Supreme Court decision makes it harder for them to keep patients alive. prgtoken These doctors know what they need to do to save lives. In many States, they are just not allowed to do it. How could that be in America in 2023? prgtoken And even doctors in States like Michigan--and I am proud to say we now protect reproductive freedom in our constitution, voted on by the people of our State, overwhelmingly, last November. But even we aren't immune from that. prgtoken A State law in Texas allows vigilantes to sue doctors even in States where abortion is legal. So much fo
TAX CONVENTION WITH CHILE
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2023-6-21

this Saturday marks 1 year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade at the urging of extremist politicians upending 50 years of precedent protecting women's right to healthcare. prgtoken In the year since that decision, half the States in our country have banned or effectively banned access to abortion. Women in those States have extremely limited options for getting the healthcare they need. Those who can afford to travel have no choice but to go to other States to receive critical reproductive care. prgtoken That is what happened to Lauren Hall. She and her husband were excited that she was pregnant for the first time. But then she learned that her fetus was developing without a skull--a condition that meant it wouldn't survive. This condition also increased Lauren's risk of hemorrhaging. Her doctors at home in Texas refused to help her terminate the pregnancy, so she had to travel to Seattle, where she was finally able to get the abortion care that she needed. She is currently prgtoken suing the State of Texas for refusing to give her potentially lifesaving medical care. prgtoken We knew that after the Dobbs decision, stories like Lauren's would only happen more often and millions of women would lose the healthcare they need. Even before Roe fell, healthcare organizations in Nevada were prepared for an influx of women from out of State who needed abortion services. prgtoken Justice Brett Kavanaugh recognized this too. In his concurring opinion, he indicated that women who have to leave their home State to get the care they need would be protected by the constitutional right to interstate travel. prgtoken But we could see from miles away in Nevada that the far right would never stop plotting to roll back women's rights even further. In the last year alone, we have seen extremist s try to stop women in our military from getting the healthcare they need. They have come after safe and effective birth control, and they have even supported a Federal abortion ban to outlaw reproductive care in all 50 States. And now we are seeing far-right extremists actively work to bar women from seeking care in States outside their own. prgtoken Let's be clear: This is about controlling women. The far right doesn't trust women to make their own healthcare decisions, so they think those decisions should be made by politicians instead. Well, I don't know about some of my colleagues across the aisle, but I don't think elected officials should be telling women what to do with their bodies, and neither do the vast majority of Nevadans. prgtoken We are a proud pro-choice State. Back in 1990, Nevadans overwhelmingly voted to codify a woman's right to choose. And, today, over two-thirds of Nevadans believe that a woman's healthcare decisions are between her and her doctor, and that is across all parties-- , s, and Independents. prgtoken But even though Nevada is a safe place for women who ne
TAX CONVENTION WITH CHILE
Tammy Baldwin (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2023-6-21

earlier this afternoon, my colleague Senator Markey asked unanimous consent to advance the Right to Contraception Act. There was an objection heard, but I wanted to come to the floor to voice my strong support as a cosponsor of the Right to Contraception Act. prgtoken Across the country, women are frightened. They are frightened that after decades of progress in advancing their rights and freedoms, they are watching an activist Supreme Court ignore precedent and strip away their rights and freedoms. prgtoken For nearly six decades, American women have come to rely on their right to control when and if they are going to have a family, including through the use of contraception. In fact, about 90 percent of women in the United States have used contraception. prgtoken In 1965, the Supreme Court correctly decided Griswold v. Connecticut, reaffirming that our Constitution guarantees the right to privacy. This particular case was over a Connecticut law that banned the use of contraception and imposed penalties, including up to 1 year in prison for doing so. The Supreme Court correctly overruled the law as an invasion of the right to privacy and determined that Americans could use contraception should they choose without government interference. prgtoken At the time, the majority opinion reasoned that there were many implied rights that Americans have within the Constitution. On a basic level, this is obvious. Not every single right we are due could be written into our Constitution. So this concept of ``implied rights'' is the foundation for various rights that Americans have come to rely on and, frankly, never think twice about, like the right to learn a foreign language or to travel across State lines or to live with your own family. prgtoken Famously, 8 years after Griswold was decided, the Supreme Court used a similar legal foundation--the constitutional right to privacy--to rightly decide in Roe v. Wade that women in the United States have the right to abortion care. prgtoken But, despite Roe being the law of the land for nearly 50 years and ``settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court, entitled to respect under principles of stare decisis,'' according to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, it was thrown out the window. prgtoken This Saturday will mark the 1-year anniversary since this activist Supreme Court--crafted, of course, by anti-choice politicians--stripped 22 million women and counting of their freedom to control their bodies, families, and futures; 1 year since women lost the right to an abortion nationwide; 1 year since women in my home State of Wisconsin were sent back to 1849--and I didn't misstate that, 1849--living under an archaic law that effectively criminalizes all abortion procedures; 1 year since women in America became second-class citizens. prgtoken Sadly, that fateful decision that overturned Roe v. Wade put more of Americans' rights on the chopping block. <|
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2023-6-21

this year marks the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the United States and Chile and 20 years since Congress approved a free-trade agreement between our two countries. prgtoken In April, I led a codel to Chile. I had a chance to meet with Chile's leaders and American businesses operating there. We were a bipartisan group. I went with Senator Kaine, Senator Hagerty, and Congressman Tony Cardenas. prgtoken We met with tech companies. We met with insurance companies. We met with mining companies--you name it. Do you know what every single one of them said to us? Do you know what they all wanted from the U.S. Senate? To approve the Chile tax treaty. prgtoken They said, if the United States doesn't ratify the treaty, they will continue to be at a huge disadvantage. The world is changing--we are undergoing an energy transition--and without this treaty, we are going to fall behind on critical minerals and manufacturing of the future. prgtoken And they are right. China already has a tax treaty with Chile. If the United States wants to level the playing field for American businesses and deepen our ties with Chile, we need to act. prgtoken Chile is one of our strongest democratic partners in the Americas, and the Chileans want us to ratify the treaty as well. We heard that message loud and clear when we spoke to the President and senior Members of Chile's Senate. We heard it from the of the Chilean Congress, and we heard it directly from President Gabriel Boric, a strong democratic leader who seeks closer ties with the United States. prgtoken We live in a world with increased global competition and in a contest between democracy versus prgtoken authoritarianism. The United States needs to be strategic about how we deepen our relationships with key democratic partners like Chile and President Boric. We must avoid unnecessary delays that undercut our competitiveness. prgtoken Remember, we signed this agreement in 2010--that was 13 years ago-- and this would be only our third bilateral tax treaty in all of Latin America. China is not waiting around. So, if we want to be competitive, we need to move forward with the same determination, and the Chile tax treaty is an incredible opportunity in that regard. prgtoken Chile is an important market for U.S. goods and manufacturing, including aircraft, vehicles, and machinery. Chile is a leading producer of copper, and Chile has the second largest lithium reserves in the world. This critical mineral is the building block for many modern technologies. prgtoken As global demands skyrocket in the coming years--by as much as nearly 4,000 percent--this tax treaty will make it easier for U.S. businesses to be competitive in this emerging sector. prgtoken U.S. businesses and their Chilean counterparts want predictability and consistency in tax treatment. As they continue to scale up operations and as the United States and Chile forge even stronger economic ties, they wa
MY 40-YEAR ADDRESS
Haley M. Stevens (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2023-6-21

I am calling this Special Order hour the 40-year address, not to self-aggrandize, although I am marking that milestone year on Saturday when the House Chamber is not open and I will not be able to make such an address, but more so to reflect, to look back, to comment on how we got here, and on what it means as Michigan's 11th District has only had in the 187 years of our State's existence 25 Members of Congress. prgtoken I happen to be the 25th Member of Congress to hold Michigan's 11th District, and I happen to be the first woman to ever represent Michigan's 11th District and, therefore, the first woman to ever turn 40 in Michigan's 11th Congressional District. prgtoken By right, I also claim that I am the first millennial whom Michigan ever sent to Congress in the year 2018. It was that magnificent year when many men and women stood up to run for Congress. A lot of us called ourselves the never evers. We had never ever run for office before, but we felt a call to serve in the face of what we saw as leadership taking this country backwards, leadership in the Oval Office, leadership that was putting forward terminology that was dubbed the Muslim ban in the early 21st century which was almost inconceivable particularly for me representing and coming from southeastern Michigan, a place of great Arab-American presence and all the frustration that we felt with governance by Twitter and anti-democratic principles, but more so because of love of country. prgtoken I could start with when I got to Congress, but I don't think that would be totally appropriate because there was a journey to getting here, and it is a journey we are sharing in this largely empty Chamber before the C-SPAN cameras and before the folks watching at home of what brought us here and what brought me here. prgtoken I did not come from a family that was preordained to send a daughter to Congress. I was born in the eighties, a decade I barely remember, partly because a person doesn't gain full consciousness as a human being until age 5, so largely the eighties were not that memorable. Of course, my parents have great memories of that decade and the decade prior to it. prgtoken My parents are surely incredible people, incredibly hardworking Michiganders. My mom came to Michigan by way of Oakland University. She graduated a year early. She was always ahead of her time. She worked her way through school. In the school cafeteria she was washing dishes. I think she finished school 3 years early. prgtoken She probably wanted to do something in the STEM field but, interestingly, the woman who went on to Congress and founded the Women and STEM Caucus is the daughter of a woman who was told the only thing she could study in school was either education or art history. So she studied art history, and she is to this day, obviously, a masterful painter. prgtoken More than that, my mother's life is determined by very hard work and exceptional brilliance, tink
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELATING TO "WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS"
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2023-6-21

. These student loans were well invested because they are now, many of them, in the workforce. prgtoken I want to add another component. Sometimes in life there are hills and valleys. Many of these individuals may have had some difficulty, may have been unemployed for a period of time. If you talk to these young people, or individuals that have had this student debt who are not young people anymore, some crisis in their life prevented them from making these payments it topples them. It just doesn't give them a moment to breathe. It is not that they are trying to default on the United States of America or be a deadbeat. We will be better off to give them another lifeline so they can contribute to this society. prgtoken That is all this effort was. It was not frivolous. It was not selecting people who didn't want to pay. There was an application process, and it is a legitimate way of responding to the outcries of Americans and young people. Let us not approve this disapproval.
GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
Rashida Tlaib (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2023-6-21

firearms are now the leading cause of death for our children in the United States. This is the reality that we are living with, and it is one that we should refuse to accept. prgtoken Every day, over 100 Americans are killed from gun violence and more than 200 people are shot and wounded. These are not just statistics, , they are human beings with lives and futures, with mothers, friends and loved ones. prgtoken It is sickening that the NRA and the gun lobby have bankrolled many of my colleagues in this Chamber into silence and inaction on this issue. prgtoken Many of these deaths involve the accidental discharge of a firearm, often by a child, including a number of recent tragic incidents in southeastern Michigan. Just this month, there was a horrific incident where a 2-year-old gained access to an unsecured gun and was tragically killed. prgtoken It is alarming that 4.6 million children in our country live in homes with loaded and unlocked firearms. prgtoken This is Gun Violence Awareness Month, and I am proud to introduce the Safe Storage Saves Lives Act with prgtoken colleagues like Rosa DeLauro, Max Frost, and Robin Kelly to reduce firearm deaths among our children. prgtoken This legislation requires every firearms seller to provide a gun lock or a gun safety device every single time that a firearm is sold in the United States. prgtoken Far too often, , gun owners fail to properly secure their weapons with tragic consequences leading to accidental deaths, preventable suicides, and on several occasions, school shootings and other mass violence. prgtoken These deaths are preventable through proper gun storage and safety. When used correctly, a gun lock or secure gun storage or safety device makes it impossible for the gun to be fired. prgtoken Gun locks, , like this one, have already saved countless lives, and requiring their use is key to combating America's gun violence crisis. prgtoken This bill does work in tandem with Representative DeLauro's Ethan's Law, which mandates safe storage, requiring gun owners to secure their firearms in their home. prgtoken However, this crisis must be tackled with even more urgency because our children's lives depend on it. prgtoken Madam , this gun lock was $10 and $10 could save the life of a child. prgtoken These gun locks are a commonsense solution that every Member of this body should support. This should not be controversial. Keeping firearms out of the hands of our children should not be a partisan issue. prgtoken I will not stop fighting until Congress finally takes action to end the gun violence epidemic in our country. We must honor the lives of those killed with action. prgtoken Our communities deserve better, . Our families deserve better, and our kids deserve so much more than prayers. Honoring Sergio Martinez