mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
JUNETEENTH NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE DAY ACT
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2021-6-16

. Madam , on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, more than two years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and six months after the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment outlawing slavery, Union Troops seized control of the area and declared all slaves free. prgtoken Since then, ``Juneteenth'' has been observed in Texas and in many places as Emancipation Day and the end of slavery in the United States because many of those enslaved had not yet received the news of President Lincoln's January 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation. prgtoken The news surrounding the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery reached different regions at different times. While many commemorate this occasion on June 19, in areas such as Russell County, Alabama, the date marking the end of slavery is May 28, and as such, locals have established May 28 as a community holiday to celebrate the day of freedom. prgtoken For many of the enslaved, in communities across the south, this news was purposefully kept from them--denying them the freedom and rights they were due. It is a dark legacy we see repeating itself today which reminds us that freedom and rights--even that most fundamental right to vote--are precious and precarious. prgtoken It has been a long and continuing march towards equality and justice. So long as slavery existed and persisted, our country could never truly live up to its founding ideals of ``life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'' The great strides made by courageous pioneers such as William Lloyd Garrison, Theodore Parker, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell, William Wells Brown, and Frederick Douglass were among the early steps to realize those ideals in America. prgtoken Through Reconstruction, a Civil Rights Movement nearly 100 years later, and up through current efforts to eliminate the residual effects of slavery on the descendants of former slaves, the fight continues into this century. Every step forward seems to have been met with opposition--too often violent opposition--against recognition that ``all men are created equal''. The words of Frederick Douglass ring true today that ``freedom is a constant struggle''. prgtoken As we remember the struggles and successes of the past, we must use this occasion to renew our efforts to wipe out the vestiges of slavery that still remain. prgtoken Juneteenth is not only a reminder of the end of an odious era in our Nation's history, but a reminder of the work that still needs to be done before we can truly celebrate freedom.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2021-6-17

I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Nadia for her hard work as an intern in the Senate Conference. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. prgtoken Nadia is a native of Maryland. She is a student at American University, where she studies psychology and communication: film and media arts. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. prgtoken I want to thank Nadia for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her next journey.
FOR THE PEOPLE ACT OF 2021
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2021-6-17

next week looks like a busy week. That is fine. We have a lot of things we need to be able to cover and to be able to walk through as the Senate. prgtoken Next week will be particularly divisive, though, in some of the issues that are coming up. Let me give you two examples that I hear are on the docket for next week. One of them deals with how we vote in America. prgtoken In Oklahoma, we know how we vote. Each State determines its own structure of how they vote. In Oklahoma, you can do absentee mail-in voting, with no excuses. If for any reason you want to be able to mail in a ballot, you can do that. You can do in-person voting early. In fact, this year, our State legislature met, and they added another day of in-person voting. So there are lots of days of in-person voting in Oklahoma. You could actually go to the poll the day of the election and be able to vote then. It is up to you. prgtoken We have very straightforward voter ID laws. We have a system set up that if you do early voting or absentee voting, all the disputes on those are handled before election day itself, so that on election day, when the polls close at 7 p.m we then finish all the voting--or the counting, I should say, on early absentee, on early in-person, and then we are counting the day of. Usually by about 10:30 at night on election day, we are done voting and everyone is watching all the final results in from the entire State. prgtoken It is a pretty straightforward, clean process that we have seen that is exceptionally reliable. In fact, it is so tough, in 2016, when the Russians were probing different systems to try to get into it, our State was one of the States the Russians tried to get into, couldn't get into our system, and they moved on to other States to try to get into those. prgtoken We have a secure system. We have a reliable system. But that is apparently not enough because S. 1 that is coming to the floor next week would say: Oklahoma, we are going to completely change your system. People in Washington, DC, don't like how you vote, don't like your clean, reliable efficiency. Regardless of complaints, we think we want to change it here in Washington, DC. prgtoken Interestingly enough, we have a system that can also verify if someone voted twice. In fact, in this past election, 57 people in Oklahoma voted twice. We could verify that after the fact based on all the records, and we can go back and be able to actually prosecute those individuals who chose to vote twice because that is not legal. prgtoken Here is what happens when S. 1 comes to the floor. The debate here on S. 1 will begin with no voter ID. Take away your voter ID in Oklahoma. Change the way you do early voting. In fact, change the way the ballots are actually collected entirely. No longer in Oklahoma will we know the winner of our election at 10:30 on election night. S. 1 changes that and said that ballots have to be able to be allowed to tric
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Steve Scalise (Republican, LA) \u2014 2021-6-17

I thank the gentleman. Hopefully, we can have that debate and work together to achieve that vision for the future as we are dealing with the problems of today and our infrastructure needs for today, but also do it in a fiscally responsible way. I think that is what the two sides, especially in the Senate, are looking at. prgtoken I still haven't gotten an indication, specifically, as it deals with some kind of reconciliation bill that may or may not come to the floor. Hopefully, it is not some attempt to raise taxes and do things that would undermine our economy, our competitiveness, and our ability to create more opportunities for people to achieve the American Dream by entering into the workforce and ultimately moving their way up and having their own opportunities as well, which would be undermined with higher taxes. prgtoken If that part of the equation gets brought in, clearly, that changes the dynamic. But, hopefully, we stick to the traditional infrastructure needs that you and I would both agree need to be met. Hopefully, we can find a path to get there together. That is what we will be working toward in the week ahead. prgtoken , if the gentleman has nothing else, I am prepared to yield back.
RECOGNIZING DICKINSON HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL CHAMPIONS
Kelly Armstrong (Republican, ND) \u2014 2021-6-17

on Saturday, June 5, the Dickinson High School girls softball team capped off an extraordinary season by winning the North Dakota Class A State Championship. prgtoken Dickinson had 13 hits, and Mataya Mortensen's dominant pitching performance led to the team's first-ever State title. Dickinson's 10-0 win was their 30th in 33 games. Mortensen surrendered only two hits in the shutout. And senior Paige Balliet ended the game with a walk-off double to trigger the 10-run rule. prgtoken Dickinson finished the season with 30 and 3. They had 487 hits, 110 doubles, 19 triples, and 51 home runs. Their team batting average was .464, and they averaged 14.5 runs a game, contrasted with a team ERA of 1.42 and 250 strikeouts in 196 innings. prgtoken Both Taya Hopfauf and Jenna Decker were named to the all-State team, and Coach Amanda Mickey was named coach of the year. prgtoken Congratulations to the entire team on a great year, especially Paige Balliet and Madison McChesney.
Censorship (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2021-6-17

at the end of May, Facebook announced that it would no longer censor claims that the coronavirus was man-made. The mainstream media, which had savaged the story during the previous administration, suddenly started backpedaling, and the White House, which had reportedly canceled the previous administration's investigation into whether the novel coronavirus originated in a Wuhan lab, announced a 90-day inquiry into the virus's origins. prgtoken The occasion for all this backpedaling was apparently a report in the Wall Street Journal that three researchers who worked at Wuhan Institute of Virology ``sought hospital care'' in late 2019 for symptoms consistent with the coronavirus. In the wake of that report, it became impossible for the President or the mainstream media or Facebook to deny what had always been a plausible theory: that the virus came from the virology lab in Wuhan. prgtoken Journalists moved to explain their previous rejection of this theory, and some of them openly admitted what had been obvious: that they rejected the theory not because of flaws in the theory itself but because of those who had advanced this hypothesis. prgtoken We don't know what these revived investigations will ultimately show, but the Wuhan reversal illustrates multiple issues. One, of course, is the need to remember that our social media experience is heavily curated. The posts and ads we see are selected for us by complex algorithms that analyze the data social media companies have collected on each of us and curate our experience accordingly. prgtoken On top of that, as the past year or two has illustrated, social media companies actively censor certain material, meaning that there are posts we will never see. prgtoken As chairman and now ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee's Communications and Tech Subcommittee, I have pushed for transparency requirements for social media companies, and I have introduced two bipartisan bills that would increase internet transparency while preserving the light-touch approach to regulation that has allowed the internet to flourish. prgtoken My Filter Bubble Transparency Act would allow social media users to opt out of the filter bubble--in other words, to opt out of the filtered experience tailored for them by opaque algorithms--and instead see an unfiltered social media feed or search results. prgtoken The Platform Accountability and Transparency Act, which I introduced with Senator Schatz, would increase transparency and accountability around content moderation. Sites would be required to provide an easily digestible disclosure of their content moderation practices for users, and, importantly, they would be required to explain their decisions to remove material to consumers. prgtoken Under the PACT Act, if a site chose to remove your post, it would have to tell you why it decided to remove your post. The PACT Act would also require sites to have an appeals pr
BIDEN INFLATION
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2021-6-17

I rise to address the hidden tax that is plaguing hardworking Americans. This hidden tax is inflation. prgtoken Under President , we have seen the largest spike in 13 years, with consumer prices surging 5 percent in May. Core inflation rose at its fastest pace since 1992. prgtoken American families are being forced to pay more for the products that they need. Gasoline is 56.2 percent more expensive today than 12 months ago. Transportation services have increased 11.2 percent. Together, food and energy prices have increased 3.8 percent. Even used cars and truck prices have increased 29.7 percent. prgtoken Yet, rammed through a trillion-dollar package that is crushing small businesses and hurting hardworking American families by incentivizing Americans to stay at home and not get back to work. We are currently down 7.6 million jobs from our pre-pandemic levels. Our inflation is rising because of President 's far-left tax-and-spend proposals. prgtoken Americans cannot afford the inflation tax. We know wasteful government spending will not solve this crisis, no matter how many times President and the propose it.
TRIBUTE TO COLONEL DAVID W. TROTTER
Joni Ernst (Republican, IA) \u2014 2021-6-17

as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I rise to pay tribute to COL David W. Trotter, who has selflessly served our great country as a U.S. Army intelligence officer. He is a fellow alumnus of the Iowa State University Cyclone Battalion and a dear friend of mine. prgtoken Colonel Trotter will retire on November 30, 2021, after a successful 30-year military career as an accomplished leader, infantry, and intelligence officer. Dave's leadership abilities were evident early on. I met Dave early in my days at Iowa State, where he served as a personal mentor and driving factor to my own service to this great Nation. From those early days, he grew even more as a leader and soldier, ultimately completing a storied career at home and abroad, in peace and in war. It is fitting that we recognize his service to this great Nation. prgtoken Colonel Trotter was commissioned in 1992 upon graduating from Iowa State University as a distinguished military graduate with a bachelor in business. Dave served as an infantry platoon leader in Korea and a company executive officer at Fort Carson, CO. He then was selected as a company commander for 18 months with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment in Fort Lewis, WA. After command, he served as an operations officer for the Des Moines, IA, Recruiting Battalion before being selected for the prestigious 75th Ranger Regiment. prgtoken Upon arrival at the 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Benning, GA, Dave served as an assistant intelligence officer. He then was selected again for command, where he served as the military intelligence detachment commander. Throughout his time in the 75th Ranger Regiment, Dave deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. prgtoken As a field-grade officer, Dave served as an operations officer in the XVIII Airborne Corps, G2 section at Fort Bragg, NC. He then served as an operations officer and executive officer within the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, where he also deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He then served again as an operations officer for the Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir, VA, before being selected for command of the Army Geospatial Intelligence Battalion at Springfield, VA. prgtoken After various staff positions, Dave served as the chief of staff, Afghanistan Ministry of Interior Advisory Group, where he deployed again to Afghanistan in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Freedom Sentinel. After a brief year on staff at Fort Huachuca, AZ, Dave deployed again in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, where he served as the III Corps G2. After redeployment, he was chosen to serve as the Army North senior intelligence officer. He then would transfer once more to Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Sam Houston, TX, where he served as the executive officer to the commanding general of Army North, Fifth Army. <|
IN RECOGNITION OF THE CAREER OF JEFF VandeLeest
Mike Gallagher (Republican, WI) \u2014 2021-6-17

. Madam , today I rise to honor the career of retiring President and CEO of Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, Jeff VandeLeest. prgtoken During his 25 years at Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, Jeff VandeLeest served as Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, and finally President and CEO of the organization. Mr. VandeLeest's dedication and commitment to Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin and the people it serves is truly remarkable. prgtoken Throughout his tenure, Mr. VandeLeest's leadership and knowledge lead to the expansion and long-term success of the organization. Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin is a non-profit, human services agency that offers more than 35 programs to people within Northeast Wisconsin during challenging periods in their lives. In 2019 alone, under the leadership of Mr. VandeLeest, Family Services was able to assist over 18,000 children, families, and individuals through some of life's most challenging transitions. prgtoken For 25 years, Mr. VandeLeest has upheld the mission of Family Services; to protect, heal, and care. Throughout his 25 years with Family Services, the organization has grown exponentially. Mr. VandeLeest has been an prgtoken advocate for a wide range of services, from training individuals to handle the most traumatic of cases, to educating communities about prevention. Mr. VandeLeest's expertise and knowledge in the services provided by Family Services will surely be missed by his peers and the entire Green Bay community. prgtoken Prior to Jeff's career at Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin he spent nearly 20 years delivering and managing juvenile justice services. Jeff has dedicated his entire career to giving back to those in our community who are most in need. prgtoken Madam , please join me in recognizing Mr. Jeff VandeLeest's 25-year career with Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin and wish him and his wife, Mary, all the best in retirement. His service and commitment to Northeast Wisconsin is deserving of the highest degree of recognition.
HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF BARBARA MORRIS STAFFORD
H. Morgan Griffith (Republican, VA) \u2014 2021-6-17

. Madam , I rise today in great sadness. Last night, at 6:16, my friend, a community leader and a member of my district staff, passed away, Barbara Morris Stafford. prgtoken Barbara was born in 1953, and was part of a political family. Her father, Howard Morris, was chairman of the Giles County Board of Supervisors. Her husband was a 10-term member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and when he died young, she took over his seat. prgtoken Now a single mother to Chris, Elizabeth, and Mary, she served her community for many years as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates; mayor of her hometown of Pearisburg, Virginia; director of the chamber of commerce; and then, for over 10 years and until last night, as a constituent services representative in my district office. prgtoken Barbara was a great leader and she will be sorely missed by the community she loved and the community that loved her.
1200 PREPARATIONS TO EVACUATE AFGHAN INTERPRETERS
Peter Meijer (Republican, MI) \u2014 2021-6-17

I rise today to address the dire situation of our interpreters in Afghanistan, where we are over halfway through our planned withdrawal. Meanwhile, almost 20,000 Afghans who worked with U.S. forces are anxiously awaiting special immigrant visa approval, a process that can take years. Making matters worse, our Kabul Embassy suspended visa operations last week due to a surge in COVID cases. prgtoken , President must immediately start preparations to evacuate those Afghans to Guam to safely await visa approval. My colleagues and I on the Honoring our Promises Working Group urged the administration to do so 2 weeks ago, but we have yet to hear back. This is unacceptable. prgtoken President ended the remain in Mexico for economic migrants but insists on a remain in Afghanistan policy prgtoken for Afghans who risked their lives to help American forces. While they wait, the Taliban are hunting them down. Dozens have already been killed while bureaucrats dither. prgtoken We cannot abandon our Afghan allies to die. We must get them to Guam.
ELECTION SECURITY
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2021-6-17

next week, as the ic leader has indicated, the Senate will finally get the opportunity to vote on the bill that House and Senate have both made their No. 1 priority for the entire Congress. S. 1 is a bad bill filled with bad ideas, and I have been crystal clear about opposing it from the very beginning. prgtoken But for themselves, coming up with a compelling rationale for this unprecedented political power grab has been a long and winding road. It started back in 2019. Then, our friends on the left were still trying to wrap their heads around a stunning defeat in the 2016 Presidential election, so the of the House billed H.R. 1 as a major overhaul for what her party concluded was a profoundly broken democracy. prgtoken Then, 2020 changed everything. A actually won the White House. I guess our democracy wasn't broken after all. This time, apparently, Federal authorities just needed urgent protection from State legislatures running their own elections. prgtoken So we are talking about fundamentally the very same bill. And one thing is for certain: Major overhaul doesn't even begin--begin--to describe it. The awful guts are all in there. prgtoken There is the plan to forcibly rewrite large portions of the 50 States' respective election laws and the plan to create new, publicly funded accounts not for building roads or bridges, expanding rural broadband, or fighting the opioid epidemic, but just piles of Federal dollars going to yard signs, balloons, and TV ads for candidates at least half of Americans disagree with. prgtoken There is the plan to trash a decades-old, bipartisan consensus on the right way to call balls and strikes on elections and turn the even split of the Federal Election Commission into a partisan majority and the one to give that majority new and broader tools for chilling the rights of citizens to engage in political speech it doesn't like. prgtoken It is such a radical proposal that even prominent voices on the left have urged caution. Lawyers from ACLU, no less, have sounded the alarm on its proposed encroachment on free speech. One liberal expert went further, saying that if think their bill is ``essential to secure democracy, they are self-deceived or deceitful.'' And voters themselves are hardly convinced. When asked about election policies like voter ID, large--large--majorities consistently come down on the opposite side of Washington . The bill is so transparently opportunistic, the ' spin has failed to even unite their own party here in the Senate. It is a massive takeover of our election system with a fill-in-the-blank rationale. Nobody is fooled, and next week, the Senate will reject it