mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
NO TAXPAYER FUNDING FOR ABORTION AND ABORTION INSURANCE FULL DISCLOSURE ACT OF 2017
Pramila Jayapal (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-1-24

. Madam , I rise in strong opposition to this bill. This weekend, millions of women made it clear that they demand respect. prgtoken Instead, for their efforts, they have received a trip to 1984 where, once again, a paternalistic White House signed executive orders infringing on a woman's right to choose. prgtoken H.R. 7, the bill we are considering here today, is the next notch in the belt that will take away our control over our own bodies. prgtoken I have years of experience working in family planning, and I can tell you that this bill takes away our ability to plan our families properly and to make decisions about our own bodies, a decision that should be left to a woman and her physician. prgtoken Make no mistake, this isn't a healthcare issue. It is part of an extreme rightwing political agenda that puts women's rights on the chopping block. prgtoken H.R. 7 tells millions of women that their voices don't matter and their rights don't count. Passing this bill will create even more barriers for women, including women of color, trying to access quality health care. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to oppose this misguided and heavy-handed bill.
H.R. 7 AND GAG RULE
Rick Larsen (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-1-24

. Madam , I rise in opposition to H.R. 7, the latest attack on women's reproductive rights. prgtoken Today's bill comes on the coattails of the new administration's yesterday reinstating the global gag rule, which limits women's reproductive health care outside the U.S.--and all of this after 3.2 million women and men across the country participated in the women's march last Saturday. The march sent a clear message that this administration should not undermine women's rights and women's health care. prgtoken And this is the response--to undermine women's reproductive health care? prgtoken Madam , the people of our country are watching; they are showing up; they are paying attention; and they will not back down in the face of attempts to move this country backwards. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 7.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-1-24

today I would like to pay tribute to a dear friend, the Honorable Aaron A. Baer, who died yesterday, just 2 days shy of what would have been his 103rd birthday. He was the oldest living judge in Maryland. prgtoken Judge Baer was known to his family as the ``centennial cowboy'' who had ``a great ride,'' as his family put it. He was a Baltimore native, the son of a Russian immigrant who worked in a clothing factory and became a tailor. Judge Baer graduated from the University of Baltimore Law School in 1937. He supported himself and paid for law school by repairing and replacing tar roofs. prgtoken Judge Baer practiced real estate law for several years before becoming an assistant Baltimore City solicitor, an assistant attorney general, and a State senator for the 5th District in 1959. He was appointed to the Municipal Court of Baltimore City in 1961 by then- Governor J. Millard Tawes. In 1971, he was appointed to the newly created District Court of Maryland by then, Governor Marvin Mandel. He retired as a district court judge in 1981 at the age of 67. prgtoken Judge Baer was married to Judy Weinberg for 66 years before her passing in 2007. He and his wife had two daughters. The older daughter is Susan Reichmister, who is married to Dr. Jerome Reichmister. They have two children: Beth, who is married to Bart Casper, and Jodi, who is married to Craig Kessler. The younger daughter is the Honorable Barbara Baer Waxman, who is administrative judge of the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City. She is married to Dr. Carl Waxman. Judge Baer had four great-grandchildren: Nicole, Sloane, Mitchell, and Blair, and numerous nieces and nephews. prgtoken The Cardin family is friends with many members of the Baer family. Judge Baer and my parents were close friends. It has been a great privilege to know Judge Baer, to receive his counsel, and to count him not just as a close friend of my father's, but as my close friend, too. prgtoken Judge Baer lived an exemplary life devoted to public service, the community, and to his family. He started riding Indian motorcycles as a youth and then became an avid horseback rider until he turned 100, which is how he earned the nickname ``centennial cowboy.'' He did have ``a great ride,'' and I am grateful for having been along for some of it. My wife, Myrna, and I send our deepest condolences and prayers to his family.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7, NO TAXPAYER FUNDING FOR ABORTION AND ABORTION INSURANCE FULL DISCLOSURE ACT OF 2017
Joseph P. Kennedy III (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-1-24

. Madam , a few days ago, I stood immersed in a sea of women, of men, and of children of all colors, creeds, and backgrounds; citizens who fiercely believe that the diversity of their opinions anchor, that they do not undermine, the values that we share, and that their personal activism and unique advocacy could be traced back to one collective, guiding principle--equality. prgtoken As hundreds of thousands of people swarmed this Capital, Boston Common, town greens from Wilton, New Hampshire, to Newport, Oregon, they sent a clear message to their government that when you treat any of us as less, you threaten all of us. prgtoken And that is what this bill does. It tells women across this country that their health can be compromised; that constitutionally guaranteed means something different to them than it does to men. prgtoken If this was a simple attempt to limit a woman's legal right to abortion or reproductive health care, that would be bad enough. But it is more than that. prgtoken Combined with yesterday's reinstatement of the global gag rule, this bill crystallizes the fact that our new GOP-led government sees women's health care as expendable, both within and far beyond our borders. prgtoken Make no mistake, if my colleagues continue down this path, I know that there will be a few million men, women, and children willing to keep marching.
44TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROE V. WADE
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2017-1-24

this past Sunday we celebrated the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, a ruling that assured every woman of her constitutional right to make her own decision about whether and when to have a child. That fundamental constitutional right is the right to privacy, which all women should cherish and protect. prgtoken This weekend, in fact, many of us in Washington, DC, and around the country marched in the streets of our home States--or here, as I did-- in support of these ideals and values, including the right to privacy, other civil rights and liberties, economic opportunity, and women's access to health care, which truly make America great. prgtoken Fundamental to the principle of women's access to health care is the Roe v. Wade decision that reaffirms the constitutional right to reproductive decisions made by women individually on their own in consultation with their health care providers, their families, their clergy. I was a clerk for Justice Blackmun in the term after Roe v. Wade was decided, and I can tell you that we all believed then very strongly that that Supreme Court decision would put to rest the question of legal access to abortion in this great country. prgtoken In fact, it did not. Despite 7 in 10 Americans opposing the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center, the outliers and extremists still seek to eliminate the right to legal abortion. That broad public support was embodied in the spirit and dedication shown over this past weekend by protesters across the world, and I was reminded yet again that we must continue to fight for what we believe, particularly in light of the ongoing threats to and attacks on women's health care. prgtoken Efforts to undermine these rights have redoubled in recent years, and throughout the past decade we have seen unprecedented attacks through State efforts to chip away at that vitally protected constitutional right. From 2011 to 2016, there were 334 restrictions enacted by States that would cut back on Roe v. Wade rights, accounting for 30 percent of all abortion restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court decided that case. prgtoken The force dedicated to enacting these restrictions, which are designed to undermine the right to reproductive health care, can be particularly disheartening as they disregard the health needs of the most vulnerable population of the women who are most often impacted, by also seeking, or at least claiming to seek, to advance women's health care. In fact, many of those restrictions are a ruse. They are enacted in the name of health care but are a disguise for restrictions on health care. They have left many women, particularly in rural and underserved locations, with little access to health care, including basic care such as cancer screening, STD testing, and preventive health care. Clearly, improving women's health care has failed to be the focus o
44TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROE V. WADE
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-1-24

this past Sunday was the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I wish to take a moment to reflect on how far we have come since the Supreme Court decision. prgtoken Because of Roe v. Wade, American women for the last 44 years have had the right, the freedom, the privacy to make their own decisions about their own bodies with their doctors and with their families, without the Federal Government barging its way into the conversation and telling them what they can or can't do with their own bodies. prgtoken Roe v. Wade was one of the most important Supreme Court decisions in the history of women's rights in this Nation, but it was only a start. In the 44 years since, we have made so much progress with women's health, and much of that progress has to do with what we accomplished in the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken Millions of American women now have access to health care coverage that used to be extremely difficult and expensive for a lot of women to get. Millions of American women now have access to affordable preventive health care services, including contraception, birth control, STD screenings, mammograms, breastfeeding support and supplies, and cervical cancer screenings, and since the Affordable Care Act was passed, the number of unwanted pregnancies has gone down, in part, because more women have access to affordable contraception. prgtoken There is no doubt that American women have better access to safe and affordable health care because of Roe v. Wade and the Affordable Care Act, but some of my colleagues are committed to turning back the clock on women's health and taking away women's access to this lifesaving care. They are doing everything in their power to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, and they are determined to see Roe v. Wade get overturned. prgtoken One of President 's first Executive orders was so extreme that it would take away funding for any international organizations that even talk about whether a woman might want to terminate a pregnancy. We should never let this happen. If we take away women's access to the health care they need, it would be devastating--even life-threatening-- for millions of American women. prgtoken This weekend, a massive group of women and men and children joined together in women's marches across the globe. They were there to speak out, to be heard, to protest some of these issues that would deeply affect American families and women in particular. I was so proud to march with them. I was inspired by them--their passion, their determination, and their commitment to never give up. prgtoken The women's marches were truly the biggest outpouring of support and activism I have seen in my lifetime and certainly that we have seen in this generation. They were loud and clear statements that we will not let the government dictate to us how we should manage these most personal decisions--when you are going to have a family, how big your family is going to be.
MAKING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE SECOND TO NONE
Suzan K. DelBene (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-1-24

I am honored to represent some of our nation's leading innovators in Congress, who are pioneering unprecedented improvements in manufacturing and infrastructure from Washington's First Congressional District. The exciting work being conducted by forward-thinking companies like Modumetal, a woman-owned business in Washington state, has the potential to lower the long-term costs of rehabilitating our roads and bridges while also making them safer and longer-lasting. prgtoken Christina Lomasney, co-founder of Modumetal, published an open letter to President on January 6, 2017, highlighting the importance of performance-based standards as he begins to work with Congress on investments in our infrastructure. I am pleased to share her letter with my colleagues, as we look to develop infrastructure solutions that will allow us to get the best return on our investments. President-elect , on election night, you promised cheering supporters, ``We're going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none.'' As we move from the script of campaigning to the act of execution, you may find a more challenging landscape than your statement belies. That's not because you won't endeavor to achieve nor that Congress won't collaborate with you to fund. But the challenge of bringing the United States back to a ``top 10'' infrastructure position in the world, much less number one, is one that many have tried and failed and that could, in present reality, undermine the solvency of our Nation. In the span of the decade that precedes your Administration, we have fallen from 1st place in Global Competitiveness, according to the World Economic Forum, to between 3rd and 7th place. This has been attributed in great part to the decades-long decline in the viability and competitiveness of our national infrastructure. (We've not even been in the top 10 of transportation infrastructures for several years). More to the point, to keep up with expected infrastructure decline, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates we'll need to spend $3.6 trillion just in the next five years. This estimate doesn't get us to 1st place, this just keeps us from failing further! Why has this issue of infrastructure become such a burden to competitiveness and our deficit? For one thing, if we continue rehabilitating our infrastructure as we have, our Nation will be stuck installing and repairing infrastructure using outdated technology from the 1930s. Today, through the Departments of Transportation at state and federal levels, the regulatory frameworks for materials of construction define requirements that, in most cases, were set several decades to almost a century ago. For a case in point, hot-dipped galvanizing,
INTRODUCTION OF DEADLY FORCE TRANSPARENCY ACT
Steve Cohen (Democrat, TN) \u2014 2017-1-24

the fact that after the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, the Eric Garner killing in Staten Island, and so many other, similar tragic events around the country, we still don't have reliable statistics about when, where and against whom law enforcement uses deadly force is shameful. prgtoken Even FBI Director James Comey has said it is, ``ridiculous that [he] can't tell you how many people were shot by the police last week, last month, last year.'' prgtoken If we are serious about addressing excessive force, we need to know the full scope of the problem. For example, how often is deadly force used? Are minorities disproportionately the victims? Could other, non- lethal measures have been taken? prgtoken That is why today I am introducing the National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act. It would require collection of this type of information. Although a provision of the 1994 Crime Bill requires the Attorney General to collect statistics on the use of excessive force, there is no enforcement mechanism and the federal government has been unable to gather data from many local police departments. Since excessive force can be difficult to define, this bill would be limited to just instances where deadly force is used. prgtoken Specifically, this legislation would require any law enforcement agency receiving federal funds to provide data to the Department of Justice on when each instance of deadly force occurred, including the race and gender of both the victim and the officer involved. It would also require an explanation as to why law enforcement felt deadly force was justified and any non-lethal efforts that were taken before deadly force was used. prgtoken The Department of Justice would make this data publicly available but would not disclose any personally identifying information. prgtoken This is information the public should already have. The fact that we don't is absurd. I urge my colleagues to fix this problem and pass the Deadly Force Transparency Act without delay.
DACA
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-1-24

it was 16 years ago when I introduced the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act was a response to a call I received in my office. A young woman had been brought to the United States as an infant, at the age of 2, from Korea. She lived in the United States and grew up here. When she became an accomplished pianist and was accepted at some of the best musical schools in the Nation, she started to apply but didn't know what to put down in terms of her citizenship. She called and asked, and it turned out that her mom and dad had never filed the papers that would have allowed her to become a citizen of the United States. She was undocumented. Through no fault of her own-- brought to the United States--her papers weren't filed. prgtoken She grew up in Chicago, went to school, and did well, despite having a family of modest means. As I said, she developed a skill as a pianist and now had an opportunity of a lifetime and wanted to know what her legal status was. We checked the law, and it was pretty clear. She was undocumented, and the laws of America said you have to leave for 10 years, go outside of the United States, and petition to come back. prgtoken It didn't seem fair or reasonable that a child, an infant of 2, would be held responsible for mistakes made by their parents, so I introduced the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act said that if you are one of those kids and you finish school and you don't have a serious criminal record, we will give you a chance--a chance to become legal in America, a chance to become a citizen. prgtoken Those kids grew up going to school in our classrooms, pledging allegiance to that same flag we pledge allegiance to. They believed they were Americans, but it was not so in the eyes of American law. prgtoken I introduced this bill 16 years ago. It passed the Senate in one form, the House in another. It has never become the law of the land. A few years ago I wrote to President and said: As President, can you find a way to protect these young people until we do what we are supposed to do in Congress? prgtoken He did. He created something called DACA. By Executive order, these young people could apply, pay about $500 in a filing fee, go through a criminal background check, and if they had no problems--no threat to this country--be allowed to stay here on a temporary 2-year basis. They could go to school but with no Federal help, no Federal assistance for their education. They could work and renew it every 2 years. That is DACA. prgtoken Over 750,000 kids signed up. These were kids just like the one I described earlier--now young people who are going to college and doing important things with their lives. I have come to the floor over 100 times to tell their stories because political speeches, as inspiring as they are, usually don't move people. When you hear about these people and who they are, it can make a difference. prgtoken I want to introduce one today. It will just take a few minutes.
CAMPAIGN PROMISES OF PRESIDENT TRUMP
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-1-24

according to President 's words, yesterday--not Friday--was his first official day in office. It is an important distinction because throughout the campaign, President made numerous promises about what he would do on his first day. So we went through them. Turns out he made upwards of 30 promises of Executive actions or plans that he would announce on day 1. This didn't require any congressional approval; he could just announce it. Even by a generous count, the President fulfilled only two or three of them. Let me mention just a few of the important omissions. prgtoken The President campaigned against both establishments, promising to oppose elites and the powerful in Washington, ``to drain the swamp.'' He campaigned against the ic establishment, but he also campaigned against the establishment. As a result, he explicitly promised to introduce an 18-point plan for ethics reform on day 1. How did he do on that? He promised to sign a 5-year ban on lobbying after officials worked in Congress or the White House, but he did not deliver. He promised to institute a lifetime ban on White House officials from lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, but he did not deliver. He promised to put in place a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections, but again he did not deliver. prgtoken On day 1, did President fulfill his pledge to bring ethics reform to Washington? No. In fact, looking at his ``swamp Cabinet''-- stacked with billionaires and bankers with myriad conflicts of interests--he may have already lowered the ethical standards in our government. prgtoken On trade--this is an issue where I am probably closer to the views of the President's than I was to either President 's or President 's, but it seems President is again failing to deliver on his day 1 promises. He promised over and over again--it was one of the few things he said in the campaign I really liked. He said he was going to label China a currency manipulator on his first day. But he did not deliver. Instead, he issued an Executive action withdrawing from the TPP. prgtoken Everyone knew the TPP was dead in the water a month or two ago. Leader McConnell would not bring it up on the floor of the Senate because he did not have the votes. Furthermore, saying we won't do TPP, which is not in effect anyway, isn't creating a single new job. prgtoken So there is something else he could have done--his promise: On day 1, label China a currency manipulator. China is propping up their currency at the moment. They do whatever is best for China even if it hurts American jobs and American workers over and over again. You can be sure they will continue manipulating their currency when it is in their best interest to do so. You can be sure, even when they move up the currency, they are manipulating it. prgtoken Guess who I worked with on the issue of currency manipulation.