mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CELEBRATING THE 25TH PASTORAL ANNIVERSARY OF BISHOP LESTER LOVE AND PASTOR FRAN LOVE OF THE CITY OF LOVE
Troy A. Carter (Democrat, LA) \u2014 2023-12-11

I rise today to celebrate 25 years of faithful, phenomenal leadership from an outstanding New Orleans Co-Pastor couple, Bishop Lester Love and Pastor Fran Love. prgtoken Bishop Lester Love is the Lead Pastor of the City of Love. He possesses unique leadership skills, and yet, widely recognized for his ability to organize a team of people, energize them to accomplish any challenges that are set before them, and provide them with strategies for implementation. Bishop Love was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 1, 1965, and currently serves as the Executive Secretary of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International. He received his license to preach in 1989, and was ordained on May 1, 1992 under the administration of Bishop of the Paul S. Morton, Sr. prgtoken On December 22, 1997, then interim Pastor Love of Greater Antioch presented his first message. One year later in April of 1998, both the Co-Pastor couple were installed as Pastors. In July 2005, he was consecrated to the highest position in the church, the office of a Bishop. He began his leadership as the Lead Pastor of the Greater Antioch Full Gospel Baptist Church in 1993. prgtoken Bishop Love, always seeking to make the Word of God as clear and relevant as possible, was asked constantly about the meaning of the word ``Antioch''. The Bible states that Antioch was the first place that the followers of Jesus were called Christians because of the love that they showed to one another and to the community at large (Acts 11:26). Thus, in 2009, the name Greater Antioch Full Gospel Baptist Church was changed to The City of Love. Pastor Fran was elevated to the office of Prophet in August 2022. Currently, the membership has exceeded 2,000 active members. prgtoken Bishop Love has published several books including Synergy, Catching the Mantle and The Art of Armor Bearing: God's Blueprint for Effective Servanthood, which quickly became the ``how to'' book for leadership and excellence in service for churches and corporations. His latest book ``Whatever It Takes''encourages us to maximize our potential. prgtoken His many talents also include singing. He was the featured soloist on the CD ``Where Love Abides,'' which won the Big Easy Award (New Orleans' version of the Grammys) for Best Gospel Artist. He has also garnered national attention for his YouTube ``Love Songs'' clip, which has millions of views. prgtoken Bishop Love has served as the host of the Essence Music Festival Gospel Tribute for several years and daily radio host on WBOK for ``The Lester Love Show.'' He's been crowned ``The Voice of Hope'' by many and this title is fitting of Lester Love--Senior Pastor of The City of Love in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lester Love's messages of hope, positive thinking and empowerment are sustaining and motivating both young and old across the country. His motto ``Living the Good Life'' encourages us to `Think Bigger, Dream Bigger, Live Better.' prgtoken Al
PREEMIE REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2023
Anna G. Eshoo (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-12-11

I thank the ranking member of the full committee for yielding time. prgtoken Today, the House is going to vote on my legislation, H.R. 3226, the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act. I thank the co-leads of this legislation: Representatives Miller-Meeks, Kelly of Illinois, Burgess, Blunt Rochester, and Kiggans for their work on this important effort. prgtoken I first introduced the PREEMIE Act in 2005. It is the first and remains the only law to focus solely on the prevention of preterm births. prgtoken H.R. 3226 will improve future policy by studying the current gaps in our healthcare system that have kept rates of preterm births high and by crafting recommendations for how to address them. prgtoken Every day in the United States, 1 in 10 infants are born prematurely, placing them and their mothers at an increased risk of complicated health problems. prgtoken America's prematurity rate is one of the highest in the developed world, and it is the leading cause of newborn death. prgtoken Even babies born just a few weeks prematurely can face serious health challenges. We saw a significant 4 percent increase in preterm births in 2021, the highest recorded rate since 2007. prgtoken This bill was advanced by the Subcommittee on Health and the full Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously and enjoys bipartisan cosponsorship. prgtoken The PREEMIE Act will help prevent newborn death and disability, expand research into the causes of preterm birth, and promote the development, availability, and uses of evidence-based standards of care for pregnant women I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS AND COMMUNITIES REAUTHORIZATION ACT
Ann M. Kuster (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2023-12-11

I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the SUPPORT Act, comprehensive bipartisan legislation to address the overdose crisis across this country. prgtoken In 2022, nearly 110,000 Americans died because of substance use disorder or overdose. No community in this country is immune to this crisis. As we head into the holidays, thousands of families will have an empty seat at their table. We can and must do more to help save lives, expand access to treatment, and address the substance use disorder crisis. That is why passing the SUPPORT Act is so critical. prgtoken While I wish this legislation had been passed earlier this year before these programs expired, I am pleased that the House is now taking up this legislation to reauthorize the SUPPORT Act and to ensure that local communities nationwide have the tools to address substance use disorder at the local level. prgtoken Tackling the overdose crisis requires an all-of-the-above approach. I hope this legislation can serve as a building block to strengthen our national approach to this crisis and help save lives. prgtoken , I thank Chairman Guthrie and his team for his partnership to get this over the finish line. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important legislation and to work with us to address this crisis.
Guatemala (Executive Session)
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2023-12-11

it was bullets not ballots. Bullets were the way that policies were set when I visited Guatemala in the spring of 1980: a soldier with a gun on every corner of Guatemala City, the army going village to village killing indigenous young men, rebels attacking government officials, and rightwing death squads assassinating professors and students. prgtoken I had the unfortunate experience of coming around a street corner just after a death squad had assassinated a professor at San Carlos University and left his body lying in the street. prgtoken Well, four decades ago--that is a long time ago--and, fortunately, Guatemala has come a long way since I visited as a young man. Now, the battles over the country's future are being fought not with bullets but with ballots. prgtoken But maintaining the integrity of balloting, the peaceful transfer of power, which are the hallmarks, the foundations of representative democracy, is not inevitable. And in Guatemala, the system is being stressed. In Guatemala, the system is being tested. prgtoken The ballot box is beautiful because it creates the opportunity for citizens to call on their leaders to change direction, actually, to select leaders who are calling for a change in direction. prgtoken If the government isn't serving the people, the people can change the government. And every now and then, one of these elections is particularly exciting, and Guatemala's recent Presidential election has certainly been exciting. prgtoken The current Guatemalan Government is mostly a government by and for the powerful, rather than by and for the people, and the powerful blocked several candidates that they didn't want as the next President from even running in the election. prgtoken But one person they didn't stop was Bernardo Arevalo and his Semilla or ``Seed Movement'' Party. This gray-haired academic and anti- corruption advocate was running far back in the pack, virtually unnoticed, some eighth place just a couple weeks before the election, a campaign staff of only five people, so certainly not a serious contender--not a serious contender until he was a serious contender, and that happened because of two factors: The first was young people on social media. Nearly two-thirds of Guatemala's 17 million citizens are under the age of 30, and young people on TikTok flocked to the honesty of the man often referred to as ``Uncle Bernie'' and his campaign against corruption. prgtoken Soon Semilla's seedlings were spreading across social media. And one of the Semilla's leading advocates on social media was a young woman whom our delegation met this last weekend named Marcela Blanco. Ms. Blanco is a 23-year-old influencer who was arrested in November by the government for a tweet, arrested for her campaign activities, held for 11 days, and then released under house arrest and allowed to come to a meeting at the Embassy, which was fortunate because we were able to meet her. prgtoken S
MORNING BUSINESS
Jon Ossoff (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2023-12-11

today it is with great pleasure that I honor a dedicated Army noncommissioned officer, legislative liaison, and public servant. I wish to recognize SGM Tyrone C. Marshall for 2 years of exemplary service with the Senate Liaison Division and congratulate him on his selection to serve in the Pentagon as an operations sergeant major with the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs. prgtoken On this occasion, I recognize Sergeant Major Marshall's distinguished 25-year career spent serving the American people, whether here in the Halls of Congress or with his boots on the ground. A native of Ashbury Park, NJ, and a fourth-generation soldier, he enlisted in the Army in 1998, serving first as an administrative specialist for 7 years before transitioning to public affairs in 2005. Sergeant Major Marshall deployed to Iraq twice, serving first in 2005 with the 25th Infantry Division public affairs, Task Force Lightning, and later with Task Force Wings as Brigade PAO for 25th Combat Aviation Brigade in 2008. prgtoken In 2011, Sergeant Major Marshall began his first tour at the Pentagon as the senior public affairs NCO for the Defense Media Activity's Armed Forces Press Service, Pentagon Bureau, later designated DoD News. In this role, he served as the sole military adviser to a 20-person civilian news team supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His service in this capacity demonstrates his steadfast commitment to the defense of the United States, whether on the ground or over the airwaves. prgtoken In 2015, Sergeant Major Marshall returned to the line as a platoon sergeant at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA. He then returned to the Pentagon as Public Affairs and media adviser to the 15th and 16th Sergeants Major of the Army and as an operations NCO. prgtoken In 2020, Sergeant Major Marshall arrived on Capitol Hill to serve as a defense fellow for Representative Elise prgtoken Stefanik of New York before his selection as a legislative liaison in the Senate Liaison Division. In each of these positions, his primary responsibility was to help continue and strengthen Army relationships across both Chambers of Congress. Over the past 2 years, Sergeant Major Marshall has done just that: He has been an indispensable resource and representative of the Army and traveled all over the world facilitating congressional and staff delegations. prgtoken He will now continue his distinguished Army career, once again returning to the Pentagon as an operations sergeant major. He will assume responsibility for his new position later this December. prgtoken I am personally thankful for his shared wisdom, service, and sacrifice. I am grateful to him for the help he provided my staff and me to better serve our Georgia Army families and communities. And on behalf of the U.S. Senate, I thank SGM Tyrone C. Marshall for his time here in the Senate as a legislative liais
UKRAINE IS THE SCRIMMAGE LINE FOR LIBERTY
Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-12-12

. Madam , I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her tremendous leadership over a long period of time. She is a great intellectual resource in helping Ukraine. I thank Marcy Kaptur very much for her leadership. prgtoken Madam , nearly 1 year ago, many of you will recall, in this Chamber we had a joint session of Congress. We were honored by the presence of President Zelenskyy who had come directly from the battlefield and brought us a flag signed by the soldiers. He delivered a magnificent speech. prgtoken President Zelenskyy made clear the necessity of American support by saying: Your money is not charity. It is an investment in global security and in democracy. prgtoken The fight of the Ukrainian people for democracy is just remarkable to behold, but their fight is for their democracy and ours, as well. prgtoken Being empowered by the investment we made last Congress, passed by an overwhelming bicameral vote, Ukraine has battled historically against the tide of the biggest army in Europe, the Russian Army. prgtoken It is important for the American people to know that Ukraine has reclaimed and won back 50 percent of the land previously seized by the Russians. They have won back 50 percent. More than 60 percent, close to two-thirds of the money that we have invested in military assistance for the Ukrainians has been spent in the United States. It has been spent in the United States creating jobs here as we support the Ukrainians. prgtoken Madam , nearly two-thirds of the money has been spent here, and 100 percent of the determination of victory belongs to the Ukrainian people. prgtoken Others have mentioned, Mr. Hoyer included, that at the same time, our hearts break when we hear about the atrocities committed against women by Putin's forces. prgtoken Women are subjected to rape as a weapon of war. They have been murdered in front of their parents or in front of their children and raped in the same way. Tens of thousands of children have been kidnapped by the Russian soldiers. prgtoken I said to someone who knows about these things: Isn't it sad that the brutality of war has turned these soldiers into brutes? prgtoken They said: Make no mistake. The Russian soldiers do what they are ordered to do. prgtoken These rapes, these kidnappings, and these murders of families in front of family members are the direct order of Vladimir Putin, who is a very evil person. prgtoken We must put an end to this unadulterated evil. The longer we wait to get them the money, more people will die, more children will be kidnapped, more women will be raped, and more uncertainty will be injected into the situation as to whether or not we are there to protect democracy and to support it. prgtoken As the war wages on, the administration has repeatedly made clear: America is at the end of the supply of money we have voted and Ukraine is nearly out of time. prgtoken Today, President Zelenskyy returned to the Capitol to make a compelling
ORDERS FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2023
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2023-12-12

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 13; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 2670 postcloture; further, that all time during adjournment, recess, morning business, and leader remarks count postcloture.
UKRAINE IS THE SCRIMMAGE LINE FOR LIBERTY
John Garamendi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-12-12

. Madam , I thank my friend, Marcy, for her leadership. prgtoken Madam , I have listened to this debate, and as it has gone on, I am becoming more and more depressed that we do not have the courage to continue to support Ukraine. Why? What is going on here? prgtoken I want us just to think for a moment about the blood that has been spilled by the Ukrainians trying to protect their democracy. For more than almost 2 years now, they have fought every way to protect themselves. The women and children and men of Ukraine are dying, and we are sitting here doing nothing. prgtoken This is a disgrace. There is no other way to describe it. Holding Ukraine hostage for an unnecessary change in the asylum laws is absolutely wrong. Yes, we do need to deal with immigration, but at what price to Ukraine, at what price to the women, the children, the incoming missiles from Russia? prgtoken Putin is having a glorious day, and we are a disgrace. There is no other way to describe that the most powerful Nation in the world is unwilling to stand up to continue to support Ukraine in its hour of need. Who are we that we are unwilling to do this? Did anybody in this House actually read H.R. 2, the asylum legislation? Eighty percent of it is downright foolish. prgtoken Is there a compromise available? Absolutely. Who is working on it in this House? Show me one Member of this House that is working on a compromise on that. I don't know who they are. prgtoken Johnson, where are you? Where are you hiding? Where is your leadership? Ukraine is at risk. Think about it. It will be 1\1/2\ months before any legislation will pass this House. If, in fact, we get our act together over the holidays, what will happen? The Ukrainian Government depends upon the American money to pay the police, the firemen, the first responders. They prgtoken won't have that money and the military, the flow of equipment, the flow of ammunition, it will diminish. prgtoken How do they get started? How are they going to replenish? It is time for us to stand. It is time for us to act. We have 1\1/2\ days to do it. Can we do it? You are damn right we can do it; if we find the courage to do it. If we find the very same courage that President Zelenskyy has exhibited over the last 2 years and, more importantly, the men and women of Ukraine that are fighting a desperate fight for their own future. prgtoken I wonder if we have the courage. I know I have to stand down. I know the people of Ukraine will never stand down. The question is whether we will stand with them.
ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY IN AGENCY RULEMAKING ACT
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2023-12-12

. Madam , I thank the gentleman very much and his good friend as well for yielding, and I appreciate their intent, but let me be very clear: What we have here is a complete collapse of a system that is attempting to save lives. prgtoken Our administrative process, our administrative APA, these individuals are grounded with the expertise of the particular agencies that they are in. prgtoken Under this legislation, what we would have is a complete politicizing of the Presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed appointees because that would be another monkey wrench, if you will, into why they should not be confirmed. prgtoken In addition, this will encourage gamesmanship. If you think the confirmation process is slow, wait till this bill becomes law. prgtoken Congress already has, and the s have used it quite often, the Congressional Review Act so that we can determine whether or not rulemaking or a particular issue is one that is not only reviewed but should be changed. prgtoken In the rulemaking process with experts that we oversee, because we have congressional hearings, we are dealing with clean air, clean water, safe toys, safe cars, and safe workplaces, but, more importantly, as I was sitting in a meeting today, we are dealing with a new initiative dealing with taking lead out of water. prgtoken Do we want to stop the process of removing lead from the water that our children drink because we implement this particular procedure that will stop our Presidentially-appointed officials from doing their job, from helping us to ensure that our children are safe? prgtoken This is a slowdown. This is where lives are not saved. I would argue to my friends that this legislation, unfortunately, should not move forward because there is too much good work going on and the work that is going on will be thwarted, will be stopped. prgtoken Madam , I include in the Record a letter from the AFSCME, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, who oppose this particular legislation, along with the administration policy statement as well as a number of other agencies.
National Defense Authorization Act (Executive Session)
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2023-12-12

this is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body on earth. This body is supposed to be a body that works for the American people and exemplifies what the greatest Nation in the world should exemplify and lead in that vein. prgtoken I rise today to highlight that we are not living up to expectations. I want to highlight the very real consequences of this body's failure to deliver a Defense appropriations bill that would provide urgently needed resources to our men and women in uniform and keep this country safe. prgtoken As most folks know, I am a farmer. We are getting winter underway, and I am planning for what I am going to plant next spring in the fields. I will tell you that when spring planting time comes, I will have to do that job. And I will work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to get that job done. Because if I don't, I lose the farm--literally. If I don't tend to business, I go broke. prgtoken I want you to take a look at this body. We should have had a Defense bill, Defense appropriations bill, done the end of September, 3 months ago. And instead, we did a continuing resolution, then we did another continuing resolution, then we did another continuing resolution--keep kicking the can down the road. And the result of that is uncertainty, and the result of uncertainty is putting this country at risk. prgtoken By the way, what I do on the farm is what people do every day in their businesses. And folks who go to work, they don't throw in the towel at any moment in time because they can't. They have to stick around. They have to get the job done. We need to follow our constituents' lead. prgtoken I serve as chairman of the Senate committee that works on that military appropriations. I have been working with s and for months to make sure that we have an appropriations bill that invests in the United States of America; that makes sure we stay ahead of our pacing threat, China; that we defend our country from foreign adversaries; and we take care of our servicemembers and their families. prgtoken That Defense Appropriations Committee came together, and we produced a strong, bipartisan appropriations bill in the Senate that meets the needs of our military. That bill passed through committee months ago. In fact, it passed back in July by a vote of 27 to 1. Of course, it was a bipartisan vote. prgtoken What that bill did was it included a 5.2-percent pay raise for our troops; it significantly ramped up production of made-in-America defense systems; it modernized our nuclear weapons programs; it accelerated investments in modernization to make sure that we, the United States of America, stays ahead of the countries that want to harm us and threaten our way of life. prgtoken Let me be frank. This bill should have been passed by the House and the Senate back in September. If that had been done, we would not be talking here in the middle of December about taking up a bill in F