mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Opioid Epidemic (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-24

as we all know, over the last year, COVID-19 has taken center stage as the No. 1 public health crisis facing our Nation. No community has been spared from the devastation caused by this virus, which has claimed more than 540,000 American lives. prgtoken But beneath the surface, the problems we were facing before the pandemic still exist, and, in many cases, they are getting worse. A year of stress, isolation, and loss has taken a serious toll on America's mental health and has led to increasing rates of anxiety and depression. prgtoken These same factors have led to an increase in domestic violence as families have spent more time at home, often while battling the stress of job losses, financial difficulties, and virtual learning. prgtoken And, of course, there is the opioid epidemic, which continues to destroy communities across our country. prgtoken In 2019, there were more than 70,000 overdose deaths in America-- 70,000. We are still waiting on the complete figures for 2020, but preliminary data shows that things are trending in the wrong direction. From June 2019 to May of 2020, more than 81,000 Americans have died from overdoses. prgtoken We know a significant portion of those deaths involve heroin--roughly 20 percent of those who overdosed in 2019. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency's ``National Drug Threat Assessment,'' the vast majority of that heroin comes from Mexico, a staggering 92 percent. prgtoken As we have discussed the crisis at the border, I have talked about ways the surge of unaccompanied children affects Customs and Border Protection's ability to carry out its other missions, including stopping the flow of these illegal drugs. Time spent processing and caring for children means less time on the frontlines catching or deterring the cartels from moving their poison across the border into the United States. prgtoken A Bloomberg report last year brought another aspect of this epidemic to light: the fact that chemicals made in the United States by U.S. companies were key ingredients in the manufacturing of heroin in Mexico. One of those companies is Avantor, a Fortune 500 company that supplies chemicals and lab materials and services across a number of industries. Avantor produces millions of products, including everything from medical masks to high-quality chemicals for pharmaceuticals, to kits for science labs in schools. But the focus here is on one particular chemical--acetic anhydride. prgtoken This is an 18-liter jug of acetic anhydride, and you can see Avantor's name on the label. Avantor sells this through a subsidiary known as J.T. Baker into Mexico. Now, there are legitimate uses for acetic anhydride. It is used to make cigarette filters and chemicals used for photographic films, but this wasn't a photo taken in a chemical lab or a manufacturing plant here in the United States. This was taken by a Bloomberg reporter in Mexico who was able to purchase this chemical
Opioid Epidemic (Executive Session)
Mike Lee (Republican, UT) \u2014 2021-3-24

I have read the accounts and so have many of you. A young mother from Honduras, two young sisters from Guatemala, a 6-year-old child from El Salvador--they were all told by a local cartel that, for a price, a better life awaits them in America. prgtoken They are told, as evidenced by those chanting ``, '' at the border, that this new President has opened the borders and that amnesty is imminent, so get in while you can. prgtoken These vulnerable people are flocking to smugglers and violent criminals and paying them all that they have for their chance to get in while they can. In the last month, traffickers have allegedly made as much as $14 million a week smuggling men, women, and children across the border. prgtoken Once indebted to cartels and coyotes, the price these vulnerable people pay is far more costly than money. According to media reports, men are used as slaves; women are raped endlessly. In fact, one-third of the women making their way to the border are reportedly sexually assaulted, and 68 percent of the people coming across the border are physically assaulted. prgtoken Children are rented, trafficked, and ``recycled,'' as they put it, forced to pose as the child of one illegal immigrant after another to activate the so-called Flores get-out-of-jail-free card. One former Border Patrol agent told me that the smugglers prefer to use babies because they are unable to tell Border Patrol agents that these are not, in fact, their parents. prgtoken What of those who escape the clutches of the cartels? Well, estimates of how many children are currently in Customs and Border Patrol custody vary from more than 4,000 children to well over 15,000. Thousands of these children are being held, packed into housing facilities, for well over the 72-hour limit required by Flores--and with no end in sight. prgtoken The administration is doing all it can to hide the humanitarian crisis created by its own immigration policies--a disaster that Secretary Mayorkas refuses to acknowledge as a crisis. It denied media access and appears to be enforcing an unofficial gag order on Border Patrol agents. Journalists have not been permitted inside the detention facilities since President took office. prgtoken Now, it shouldn't be a surprise to any of us that the administration's open border policies have resulted in this overwhelming crisis--and a crisis it is. This is what then-Candidate promised us in the very first prgtoken ic Presidential primary debate. He promised us that when he became President, there would be immediate surges along the border. Unfortunately, in this case, he has delivered exactly what he promised. How exactly did he deliver? Well, first, he made it known that once he was elected, the border would be open for business. Then he reversed course on a number of -era commonsense immigration policies. This incentivized vulnerable people to entrust the
Gun Violence (Executive Session)
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2021-3-24

small businesses and their employees are the backbone of our economy, particularly in States like those of the Presiding Officer and the State that I am privileged to represent, the great State of Maine. prgtoken Later today, the Senate is slated to vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 1799, the PPP Extension Act of 2021. prgtoken As a sponsor of the Senate companion bill, along with my colleagues Senator Cardin and Senator Shaheen, I urge my colleagues to support the cloture motion. prgtoken We are also delighted that several of our colleagues have joined us as cosponsors of the Senate companion bill. prgtoken The Paycheck Protection Program continues to be a lifeline for small businesses. It has made the difference between their shutting their doors and laying off their employees and their being able to remain open, survive the pandemic, and most important of all, send paychecks to their employees. prgtoken Since the program was created last year, more than $718 billion in forgivable Small Business Administration loans have been approved, securing tens of millions of jobs in this country. prgtoken The program has also been responsible for bringing approximately $3 billion to the State of Maine in forgivable loans that have allowed our small businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry, to survive the pandemic and continue to send paychecks to their employees. prgtoken The current application deadline for the PPP is March 31. That is just days away. I continue to hear about the urgent need for more PPP assistance from Maine's small businesses and to hear from others who are eligible for assistance but whose financial institutions are getting error messages from the Small Business Administration's computer system. prgtoken Originally, the SBA had used the E-Tran system. For some reason, it switched computers for this round of PPP, and we understand that there are more than 190,000 applications that are pending for approval that are likely eligible for assistance but are held up because of computer glitches or other errors. prgtoken The bill before us today mirrors the legislation that I introduced with Senators Cardin and Shaheen in that it provides for a clean extension of the PPP application deadline. It would simply extend the application deadline for PPP loans from March 31 to May 31, just 2 more months, and then it would provide an additional 30 days for the SBA to process pending applications. prgtoken So if a small restaurant, for example, applied for a second PPP loan for which it is eligible because its revenues are down by 25 percent, comparing similar quarters in 2019 and 2020, it would not lose out because it applied in May and the SBA did not get time to process the application. prgtoken Our bill has been endorsed by more than 90 organizations, including the Nation's largest small business advocacy group, the National Federation of prgtoken Independent Business,
Filibuster (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2021-3-24

I have come down to the floor multiple times in the past week to talk about the filibuster. I have talked a lot about the dangers of eliminating the filibuster, from the loss of bipartisanship to the loss of meaningful representation for Senate minorities and the constituents they serve. prgtoken One thing I haven't mentioned yet, though, is the fact that are increasingly calling for eliminating the filibuster despite the fact that s haven't actually filibustered any legislation yet this Congress. prgtoken In fact, the ic leader was just down here talking about attacking the s for opposing H.R. 1, S. 1, or whatever it is that is the election bill that have put forward, but there hasn't been any effort that I am aware of to reach out to s to talk about things that they might want to be involved with in terms of election reforms or reforming our election system in this country. In fact, this last election, we saw record turnout. Millions of people more than the previous election came out and voted. It was run by the States across the country. prgtoken The proposal that is before us, the H.R. 1 proposal--now, I guess, S. 1--would attempt to federalize that election process, to nationalize the elections, to take the power away from the States that currently administer and run elections and have that run out of Washington, DC. prgtoken It seems to me that a lot of people across this country would rather deal with State leaders, State Governments, when it comes to administering our elections than having them run out of Washington, DC. prgtoken There are lots of other provisions in that bill that many of us would object to. I think, frankly, it is a good thing to have a photo ID to vote. That is something that my State of South Dakota has. I think it makes sense, when people come in to vote, to be able to prove who they are. Obviously, it is a voter fraud prevention measure that has been adopted by many States across the country and upheld by the courts. prgtoken It just strikes me that there are a lot of provisions in that bill that would need to be fixed, honestly. And, frankly, just the very premise to have the Federal Government running elections in this country, essentially taking over something that has been historically handled by the States, strikes me that that would be something the American people would have a lot of issues with. prgtoken Now, I am not sure exactly what, given the fact that we had millions more voting in the 2020 election than the previous Presidential election, would suggest that we need to make changes to election laws across this country. prgtoken The States, in my view, when they certified the election, like they typically do, in the 2020 election, did it on time, in accordance with the law, and the system, I believe, worked pretty well. But the seem to believe that there need to be changes in our elections
Opioid Epidemic (Executive Session)
Rick Scott (Republican, FL) \u2014 2021-3-24

I rise today to discuss another issue in the ' massive COVID spending bill that we need to fix. prgtoken My ic colleagues want to keep spending into oblivion, taking our national debt to $30 trillion. This would be bad enough on its own, but tucked into the bloated spending package were new tax hikes on self-employed individuals. prgtoken President and the didn't talk about it, and they certainly aren't talking about it as they travel the Nation to brag about their bad bill. prgtoken are quietly raising taxes, hoping the American people don't notice. The $1.9 trillion so-called American Rescue Plan Act, of which less than 10 percent went to actually help fight COVID and 1 percent to vaccines, had several tax increases and burdensome reporting requirements, including one that significantly impacts the gig workers--those who have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. prgtoken Starting in 2022, this bill requires many contractors with gig economy companies like Uber, DoorDash, Airbnb, and Lyft to file 1099 forms when they previously would not have. The new requirement dramatically lowers the annual 1099 reporting threshold from $20,000 and 200 transactions to just $600 and eliminates the transaction minimum. prgtoken In late February, before the rushed their spending bill through Congress on a purely partisan basis, a coalition of groups wrote to Pelosi and Leader Schumer, asking that this onerous new provision, which has nothing to do with addressing the coronavirus crisis, be removed or at least reconsidered. The letter was signed by groups such as the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, the National Asian American Chamber of Commerce, National Association for the Self-Employed, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Women Business Owners. prgtoken After receiving such a letter, one would think that would want to reconsider. Raising taxes and reporting requirements in the midst of a pandemic? This is never good policy, but I can't think of any worse timing. Of course, kept the provision buried deep within the bill, hoping the American public wouldn't notice. prgtoken The ' new reporting requirements are effectively a tax hike and will ultimately hurt low- and middle-income contractors, the self- employed, and freelancers, many of whom have been devastated by the pandemic, prgtoken while Federal and State Governments will collect billions more in income tax revenue. prgtoken My ic colleagues want the American public to believe this is about catching tax cheats. And, to be clear, any attempt to evade taxes and defraud the public by not following the law should be condemned, and Congress should appropriately address it. However, a massive new reporting requirement of gig workers, many just trying to make ends meet in the midst of this pandemic, is not
HONORING OFFICER TYLER HERDON
Richard Burr (Republican, NC) \u2014 2021-3-24

I want to honor the life of Officer Tyler Avery Herndon of the Mount Holly Police Department. On December 11, 2020, Officer Herndon's life was tragically cut short at just 25 years old while responding to a report of a break-in. I want to take a moment to remember him and his commitment to his community. prgtoken Officer Herndon had served in the Mount Holly Police Department for just shy of 2 years before his young life was taken. He had ambitions of becoming an FBI agent and was approaching the time needed as a police officer to become eligible to apply. He was described by his fellow officers as ``the guy you just can't help but like'' and someone who ``lived a life of service, and always wanted to do what he could to help others.'' prgtoken Officer Herndon served the people of Mount Holly, NC, and today, we remember how he made the ultimate sacrifice. I want his family and the Mount Holly Police Department to know that my thoughts and prayers are with them as they grieve the loss of this exceptional young man. I know that Officer Herndon will be forever missed, and his service and sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Nomination of David Turk (Executive Session)
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2021-3-24

today the Senate is going to vote on the nomination of David Turk, who will be serving as Deputy Secretary of Energy. If confirmed, he is going to play a critical role in our Nation's energy agenda and in leading the Department. prgtoken His experience in energy policy is extensive. He served in leadership positions at the International Energy Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of State, and the National Security Council. He is an expert in the field, and his qualifications are very clear. prgtoken It is also clear from his nomination hearing that he is dedicated to all types of American energy. This is critical if we are going to keep America an energy-dominant nation. I especially appreciated his commitment to advance nuclear and carbon capture utilization and sequestration technologies. prgtoken During his hearing, he said that there are huge opportunities on carbon capture utilization and sequestration if we can work together and really go to scale. He also emphasized the need to construct CO2 pipelines to move the captured carbon, and I agree. Carbon capture technologies hold the key to major emission reduction while enabling America to use the tremendous natural resources with which we are blessed. prgtoken This issue has broad bipartisan support. Last Congress, I worked with , including Sheldon Whitehouse and Tom Carper, as well as s, including Shelley Moore Capito, to pass the USE IT Act into law. This bipartisan law will support the development of carbon capture and direct air capture techniques. prgtoken This kind of groundbreaking research is already happening in Wyoming. The Integrated Test Center located outside of Gillette, WY, is hosting carbon capture research teams today. These research teams are looking at how we can take captured carbon emissions and transform them into marketable products like building materials, clothing, and even hand sanitizer. So I would welcome Mr. Turk and Energy Secretary Granholm to come to Gillette to see the fantastic research taking place there. prgtoken Mr. Turk was also very responsive to the committee's questions for the record. That has not been the case with every one of President 's nominees so far. prgtoken If he is confirmed, Mr. Turk must prioritize policies that take advantage of the enormous economic and national security benefits generated by America's oil, natural gas, and coal resources. prgtoken The administration has taken a sledgehammer to the economies of Wyoming and other Western States by declaring war on these natural resources. Let me be very clear: Coal, oil and natural gas are not going away. America is going to rely on these resources for decades to come. We need to use and promote every kind of American energy and the thousands of jobs that come with them prgtoken Coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, and renewables are all essential to America's energy mix. Mr. Turk dem
TRIBUTE TO ROD BOYCE
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2021-3-24

it is not Thursday yet, but it is almost Thursday, and that is when I love to come down to the floor of the U.S. Senate to recognize an Alaskan who is doing something great for our State. And as many know here, we call this person our Alaskan of the Week. prgtoken Now, it is one of my favorite times of the week. I know that a couple of Hill watchers like it too. I want to give a shout-out to Chris Cioffi from Roll Call. He actually did a piece in Roll Call today about the ``Alaskan of the Week'' series. So thank you, Chris. I hope you are watching. It is a little late, and it is not Thursday. But anyway, I appreciate the shout-out in your series today. prgtoken I am going to get to the punch. Our Alaskan of the Week tonight, this week, is Rod Boyce, a friend of mine, a former longtime editor of one of my favorite--actually, it is my favorite newspaper in Alaska, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. He clearly is deserving of this great, important award. prgtoken But before I talk about Rod, let me give you a little update about what is going on in the State. First, some good news, something we are all very proud of in Alaska. The economy is hurting; we are not proud of that. But in terms of the pandemic, the health elements, our State continues to be the No. 1 State vaccinated per capita of any State in the country. This is a minimiracle, by the way, because we are a really big State, and we are really spread out, a really small population. And yet, the Federal Government, Tribal healthcare system, VA, State of Alaska, everybody coming together is making it happen. prgtoken About 3 weeks ago, we announced that anyone over 16 could get a vaccine. And some communities are hitting 60, 70 percent vaccinated already in Alaska. Really important. We are opening up. If you are watching, and you don't live in Alaska, come visit. It is going to be safe, but we are very proud of that accomplishment because it has taken a lot of work. prgtoken Of course, it is cold in Alaska, but the Sun has been shining. The snow has been amazing. We have had a lot of it recently. The spirits are up. We have an Iditarod winner. Congratulations to Dallas Seavey on your fifth Iditarod win. Incredible, incredible. prgtoken You know, some may take issue with the claim that Alaska is the most unique State in the Union, but consider this: Every year, teams of mushers and their dogs barrel hundreds of miles across the State toward the city of Nome, in some of the harshest conditions, rugged conditions on the planet Earth. prgtoken Certainly, these are the kind of events that we think make Alaska unique and a big sense of community. I have said it before: Alaska isn't always the easiest place to live. It is far from the lower 48. The weather can be extreme, very tough. But as a result, the people and communities bond, and they work together, particularly in some of our most remote communities. We are one big community in the great State