mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CENTENNIAL OF MILLS, WYOMING
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2021-5-11

I rise today in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Mills, WY. prgtoken On Saturday, June 12, 2021, the town of Mills will honor this milestone with a 100th Anniversary Summer Fest Celebration. The event will host a parade, concerts, and other festivities throughout the day. It is an excellent opportunity for the people of Natrona County and Wyoming to gather and commend the strong, lasting character of this community. prgtoken Mills was established in May of 1921 at a location near the Fort Caspar site along the northern banks of the North Platte River. Many pioneers traversed this area along the Oregon Trail before oil was discovered in the Salt Creek Field. In 1919, with the growth of the oil and gas industry, brothers James, William, and Thomas Mills and their Mills Construction Company purchased a homestead owned by Charles M. Hawks. Company employees and their families began to settle in the surrounding land. By 1921, over 500 people lived in the quickly developing area. A need for local organization resulted in Mills' incorporation as a town, becoming the third in Natrona County. prgtoken The story of Mills is a microcosm of the story of Natrona County and Central Wyoming. The town has navigated through the booms and busts of the oil industry throughout its century and continues to navigate its unique place across the river from Casper. Industry has always played a large role in the development of the community. From its beginnings with the Mills Construction Company, Mills now hosts a wide range of manufacturing, fabrication, heavy machinery, and oil and gas businesses. Yet, Mills still maintains its prgtoken quaint charm with Oregon Trail historic sites, river recreational opportunities, and local watering holes. prgtoken Mills held its first election on May 10, 1921. The first mayor was George E. Boyle, who was elected alongside new Councilmen Fred Hunter, Fred Shackleford, G.W. Lindsley, and Michael Kennedy. A century later, Mills is served by Mayor Seth Coleman with Councilmembers James Hollander, Darla Ives, Sara McCarthy, and Brad Neumiller. They continue their tradition of public service and stewardship. prgtoken From its incorporation as a town with a population of 500, Mills entered 1990 with over 1,500 residents. Today it boasts a population of over 4,000 people and is one of the fastest growing communities in Wyoming. On August 4, 2020, Governor Mark Gordon signed a proclamation declaring Mills a ``First-Class City.'' This is another milestone to add to the summer celebration. prgtoken It is my honor to commemorate this historic milestone for the city of Mills. Their centennial celebration is a tribute to generations of determination and community. Bobbi joins me and everyone in Wyoming in our appreciation of everything the people of Mills have contributed to our great State and Nation. We extend our congratulations as we look forward to the next 100 ye
TRIBUTE TO RYAN TUCKER
Joni Ernst (Republican, IA) \u2014 2021-5-11

I rise today on behalf of Iowans across our State to recognize the distinguished career, dedication, and lifelong hard work of Mr. Ryan G. Tucker as he concludes his time as president of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association, IFDA. prgtoken As many who know him will tell you, Ryan grew up with a spirited commitment to his community, his family, and to others. A native of Sumner, it did not take long for Ryan to begin working in the trade. As a student at North Iowa Area Community College, prgtoken Ryan started as an employee at Fullerton Family Funeral Home in Mason City. He would go on to study at Worsham College of Mortuary Science, earning an internship in Fort Dodge under a former IFDA president, Scott Graham. prgtoken His experiences early on in his career have led him to where he is today, as co-owner of Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home in Waverly, Readlyn, Shell Rock, and Denver, serving Iowa families with his critical work. prgtoken Ryan assumed his role as president of the IFDA at a time unlike any other, as the COVID-19 pandemic tragically took hold early last year, but, in the face of enormous challenges and uncertainty, Ryan displayed steadfast leadership for his colleagues that surely allowed for countless families to find comfort in such difficult times. prgtoken Ryan guided the IFDA through the pandemic, being especially focused on ensuring the hard work of our State's funeral directors could continue with safety top of mind. At the pandemic's start, Ryan issued daily briefings to IFDA members that became vital. He provided information about best practices, updates on policies and proclamations by the Governor and State government, and materials to make sure that Iowa funeral directors could continue to serve families while adhering to public health limitations. prgtoken Ryan's lifetime of work, his dedication to his craft, and his leadership in a uniquely challenging time have all undoubtedly made a positive impact on the lives of countless Iowans. As he takes the next step in his distinguished career and steps down as president of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association, we wish him, his wife Kayla, and his two sons, Colby and Griffin, all the best, and we thank Ryan for everything that he has done for our State and our communities.
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY RELATING TO ``NATIONAL BANKS AND FEDERAL...
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2021-5-11

this is National Police Week. It is a time every year when we stop to pay tribute to our law enforcement officers around the country, the men and women in blue who serve us every day in my State of Ohio and every State represented in this Chamber. prgtoken We also remember the brave law enforcement officers who tragically died in the line of duty. We can never forget this is a dangerous profession. The National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum reported that 2020 was the deadliest year for law enforcement in decades. In Ohio alone, we sadly lost six brave law enforcement officers over the past year. Here in the Capitol, of course, we lost three officers over the past year, including on January 6. In the course of our Nation's history, more than 24,000 officers have died in the line of duty. prgtoken I was proud to join colleagues in March in sponsoring legislation called the Protect and Serve Act, which would create Federal penalties on those who would attempt to harm or kill a police officer. I believe Protect and Serve would send a strong message to help deter these crimes. Ultimately, I think it would make our men and women in blue safer and help save lives. prgtoken This week, I urge my colleagues to join me in standing with the families of our fallen police officers and thanking them and thanking law enforcement for what they do every day to protect us. One way to express our gratitude is passing laws that will assist them in their critical work to keep us safe. Opioid Epidemic prgtoken With that in mind, I am also on the floor today to call on my colleagues to support our law enforcement by taking decisive action to help them to keep some of the deadliest drugs in the world from coming into our communities. It is not an overstatement to say that this is a matter of life or death. prgtoken Overdose deaths in the United States have sadly reached a record high during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control, 87,000 Americans died during the 12-month period between September 2019 and September 2020, the most recent data we have. This can be directly attributed to the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. So many families are feeling the pain of these losses. Sadly, based on the current trends, we expect calendar year 2020 in full to be even worse. prgtoken What is the main driver of these overdoses and overdose deaths? Synthetic opioids, most notably fentanyl. Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin, relatively inexpensive, deadly, and incredibly addictive. For years, this has been coming to our shores from China, first predominantly prgtoken through our mail system, and with our new legislation in place to prevent that from happening, much of it is now coming in through Mexico. In 2019, there were 70,630 deaths from opioids and other drugs, and more than half of those--36,359--involved fentanyl, sometimes mix
TRIBUTE TO ROBERT CAMPBELL
Richard C. Shelby (Republican, AL) \u2014 2021-5-11

I rise today to pay tribute to Robert Campbell, of Mobile, AL, who will soon step down as regional manager at Lamar Advertising. prgtoken Robert Campbell joined Lamar Advertising in 1972 as a posting manager in Mobile. Robert rose through the ranks of sales manager and general manager before being appointed regional manager in 1983. Throughout his tenure, Robert oversaw the integration of numerous meaningful acquisitions and hired and trained dozens in the company. He has served on the national legislative committee for the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, OAAA, for over two decades, and in 2007 he was inducted into the OAAA Hall of Fame. prgtoken Further, Robert is a longtime supporter of the University of Alabama and its football program. His enthusiasm for Alabama is unwavering, even though the corporate headquarters of his company is based in Baton Rouge. prgtoken Robert is an effective legislative advocate, and I appreciate his hard work throughout the years. It is with great pleasure that I join his friends, family, and colleagues in recognizing his commitment. I congratulate him on his retirement, and I wish him all the best as he transitions into a new chapter of his life.
NATIONAL POLICE WEEK
John Joyce (Republican, PA) \u2014 2021-5-11

. Madam , during National Police Week, it is my honor to pay tribute to all of the men and women who put their lives on the line to serve and protect all of our communities. prgtoken In Pennsylvania and around the country, including here in Congress, dedicated law enforcement officers show up for work every day and quietly do the job that we have entrusted to them. They uphold the law, they promote safety, and, most importantly, they preserve human life. prgtoken Far too often these officers, unfortunately, do not come home. Today I ask that the American people join me in remembering our Nation's fallen police officers and honoring their service and their sacrifice. prgtoken More than a profession, law enforcement is truly a calling. Whether on the streets of Pennsylvania, on our borders, or across our great Nation, I thank our law enforcement officers for answering the call to serve the American people.
Biden Administration (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2021-5-11

``infrastructure,'' ``court packing,'' ``crisis,'' ``Jim Crow,'' ``bipartisan''--all words that we recognize, all words with fixed, long-established meanings, and all words whose meanings are currently being twisted unrecognizably. prgtoken In the brave new world of the administration, the ic Congress, the plain meaning of language is no longer so plain. prgtoken Take the term ``infrastructure.'' Ask anybody what they think of when they think of infrastructure, and I can guarantee what they will tell you: roads, bridges, waterways, maybe airports. I can also tell you what they won't think of: Medicaid expansion, support for Big Labor, free community college. prgtoken Why? Because none of those things has ever been part of the definition of ``infrastructure,'' until now. Now are claiming that infrastructure is pretty much whatever they want it to be. prgtoken One ic Senator tweeted: Paid leave is infrastructure. Childcare is infrastructure. Caregiving is infrastructure. prgtoken Well, actually, no, they are not. Those are policy proposals-- proposals that could be discussed, but they are not infrastructure. Saying something is infrastructure doesn't make it so. prgtoken And, unfortunately, ' redefinition of infrastructure, as Orwellian as it is, is actually less alarming than some of ' other attempts at linguistic redefinition. prgtoken Take court packing. Everyone who has ever sat through an American history class knows exactly what court packing refers to--expanding the number of Justices on the Supreme Court so that you can get the Supreme Court decisions that you want. prgtoken President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed it in the 1930s, and it was defeated by a bipartisan majority of Senators. And most thought the idea had been consigned to the ash heap of history, until resurrected it during the administration. prgtoken Upset by the Court's current makeup and worried that the Court might not rubberstamp ic policies, a growing number of are getting behind the idea of court packing. prgtoken But, of course, they are eager to escape the negative connotations of the prgtoken term. After all, President Roosevelt's Court-packing attempt is not exactly regarded as a shining moment of his Presidency. And so in a move worthy of Orwell's ``Nineteen Eighty-Four,'' are asking us to accept the fantastical notion that s packed the Court-- indeed, packed the entire judiciary--and that are merely seeking to restore balance. prgtoken Yes, in the ' brave new world, the President performing his constitutional duty to nominate judges and Justices, and a Senate duly confirming them, is now defined as a nakedly partisan power grab akin to President Roosevelt's attempt to secure a favorable outcome for his policies from the Supreme Court. prgtoken I should say a President fulfilli
CANCEL CULTURE
Liz Cheney (Republican, WY) \u2014 2021-5-11

I would like to thank very much my friend, colleague, Mr. Buck, for yielding me time this evening. prgtoken I know the topic, , is cancel culture. I have some thoughts about that. But tonight I rise to discuss freedom and our constitutional duty to protect it. prgtoken , I have been privileged to see firsthand how powerful and how fragile freedom is. Twenty-eight years ago, I stood outside a polling place, a schoolhouse in western Kenya. Soldiers had chased away people who were lined up to vote. A few hours later, they came streaming back in, risking further attack, undaunted in their determination to exercise their right to vote. prgtoken In 1992, I sat across the table from a young mayor in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. I listened to him talk of his dream of liberating his nation from communism. Years later, for his dedication to the cause of freedom, Boris Nemtsov was assassinated by Vladimir Putin's thugs. prgtoken In Warsaw in 1990, I listened to a young Polish woman tell me that her greatest fear was that people would forget; they would forget what it was like to live under Soviet domination, that they would forget the price of freedom. prgtoken Three men--an immigrant who escaped Castro's totalitarian regime, a young man who grew up behind the Iron Curtain and became his country's minister of defense, and a dissident who spent years in the Soviet gulag--have all told me it was the miracle of America, captured in the words of President Ronald Reagan that inspired them. prgtoken I have seen the power of faith and freedom. I listened to Pope John Paul II speak to thousands in Nairobi in 1985, and 19 years later, I watched that same Pope take my father's hands, look in his eyes, and say, ``God bless America.'' prgtoken God has blessed America, , but our freedom only survives if we protect it, if we honor our oath, taken before God in this Chamber, to support and defend the Constitution, if we recognize threats to freedom when they arise. prgtoken Today, we face a threat America has never seen before. A former President, who provoked a violent attack on this Capitol in an effort to steal the election, has resumed his aggressive effort to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him. He risks inciting further violence. prgtoken Millions of Americans have been misled by the former President. They have heard only his words but not the truth, as he continues to undermine our democratic process, sowing seeds of doubt about whether democracy really works at all. prgtoken I am a conservative , and the most conservative of conservative principles is reverence for the rule of law. The electoral college has voted. More than 60 State and Federal courts, including multiple judges the former President appointed, have rejected his claims. The Department of Justice investigated the former President's claims of widespread fraud and found no evidence to support them. The election is over. That is the
BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION GUIDELINES ACT OF 2021
Frank Pallone, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2021-5-11

. Madam , such time as I may consume. prgtoken I rise today in support of H.R. 2877, the Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act. prgtoken Madam , behavioral intervention teams are multidisciplinary teams that support students' mental health and emotional well-being by detecting patterns, trends, and disturbances in behavior, and by conducting outreach to students who are unable to manage distress in healthy and constructive ways. These teams are already active in some educational settings, such as Wichita State University, Southern Connecticut State University, and Rochester Institute of Technology. prgtoken This bill requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration to develop best practices for schools that have or want to have behavioral intervention teams. These best practices would cover the proper use of these teams and how to intervene and avoid inappropriate use of mental health assessments and law enforcement. These best practices would then be required to be posted publicly on the Department of Health and Human Services website. HHS would also help to provide technical assistance to entities implementing these best practices. prgtoken We know that three in four children between the ages of 3 and 17 with depression also have anxiety. Anxiety and depression are the top two mental health concerns among college students as well. Unfortunately, recent prgtoken data found that over 80 percent of young people with mental health needs did not receive the care that they needed. prgtoken Young people in crisis should be able to access the care they need or be able to find support from peers who can direct them toward appropriate services. This bill helps bridge that gap. prgtoken The champions of this legislation, Representatives Ferguson, Peters, Burgess, and Panetta, worked together to help provide these behavioral health prevention tools to schools and colleges around the country, and I applaud them for their bipartisan effort. prgtoken Madam , I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and .
HONORING MR. JAMES TOBIN
Elissa Slotkin (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2021-5-11

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Mr. James J. Tobin--a man who dedicated almost 40 years of his life to the automotive industry before retiring at the end of last year. prgtoken In the close-knit community of auto manufacturing, Mr. Tobin was a model of integrity, leadership, and hard work. As an executive with Magna International, the world's largest supplier for vehicles and automobiles, he was integral to strategic planning for an ever-changing landscape. prgtoken That knack for adapting--the ability to innovate as an industry leader while having the flexibility of someone helming a start-up--was instrumental when the first wave of COVID-19 hit our state last March. prgtoken Working closely with the State of Michigan, Oakland County, and my office, Mr. Tobin helped retool Magna's global supply chains to secure PPE for our frontline workers. His expertise with logistics and operations helped overcome challenges by bridging the gap between Asian and North American markets. prgtoken Whether it was supporting domestic production of gowns, face shields and ventilators, or coordinating meals to local health care workers, Mr. Tobin stepped up when folks needed it most. prgtoken The open dialogue and communication between his team and ours brought essential supplies and equipment to the front lines of the pandemic. prgtoken I am ever-grateful to have had him as a partner in our efforts. There is no doubt in my mind that lives in Michigan were saved because of Mr. Tobin and the folks at Magna. prgtoken Now, as he enjoys his well-earned retirement, I am wishing him all the best. He deserves the R&R but, knowing him, I'm certain he'll continue to give back--as a loving husband and father of three and as a dedicated role model in the community. prgtoken It's my privilege to recognize him on the floor of the People's House so his achievements and contributions can forever live on.
BLOCK, REPORT, AND SUSPEND SUSPICIOUS SHIPMENTS ACT OF 2021
Debbie Dingell (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2021-5-11

. Madam , I thank the gentleman for being a very good and fair chairman. prgtoken I rise in support of the Block, Report, And Suspend Suspicious Shipments Act. This bipartisan legislation would implement safeguards against pill dumping and other abusive practices to address the ongoing opioid epidemic, which remains one of the most pressing public health threats facing our country. prgtoken Last year, over 88,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of the opioid crisis, including 2,650 individuals in my home State of Michigan. Communities across the country are hurting, and new tools to address pill dumping and other dodgy practices that have exacerbated the opioid crisis are needed now more than ever. prgtoken The Block, Report, And Suspend Suspicious Shipments Act will strengthen oversight and integrity of the opioid supply chain by requiring that drug manufacturers and distributors exercise due diligence when they receive a suspicious order for controlled substances. This includes blocking or declining to fill the suspicious order and providing DEA additional data and background on the indicators of the order in question. prgtoken This legislation's commonsense protection will save lives in Michigan and all around this country by making distributors and manufacturers active partners in curbing these abuses. prgtoken I would like to recognize my colleague, Congressman McKinley, for his record of leadership, concern, empathy, compassion, and working to address this longstanding issue that has helped perpetuate the opioid crisis. prgtoken I would also like to thank Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Rodgers, as well as the ic and committee staff, for their hard work to build consensus and advance this important bipartisan priority. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.