mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
REMEMBERING NEAL SMITH
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2021-11-4

I would like to expand on my tribute to former Iowa Congressman Neal Smith. prgtoken As I said yesterday, he was a true public servant, interested in doing right by his State rather than seeking self-aggrandizement. He was a real legislator, not a would-be pundit seeking the spotlight. These are attributes that make him a role model, and I feel lucky to have been mentored by him. When I was elected, I was the only in the Iowa delegation. He didn't care that I was of a different party. He knew we both had our political views, but we were both there to represent the state we love. I will never forget his kindness in taking me under wing. prgtoken Neal Smith is a legend in Iowa, as evidenced by the fact that his name is attached to several Iowa institutions, including the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge, which he was instrumental in establishing, the Neal Smith Trail, the Neal Smith Federal Building in Des Moines, which I helped to name after him with Senator Harkin, and the Neal and Bea Smith Law Center at their alma mater, Drake University. prgtoken His legislative legacy includes a long stint as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. prgtoken Neal Smith was instrumental in creating Lake Red Rock, Saylorville Lake, and Lake Rathbun, which help protect Iowans from flooding, serve as reservoirs, and provide recreational opportunities for Iowans. prgtoken He also authored legislation to help small businesses after a disaster and legislation helping small businesses with federal government contracts. prgtoken Perhaps his most prominent legislative accomplishment was passing legislation combatting nepotism in the Federal Government. prgtoken Neal Smith served in World War II as a bomber pilot, was shot down, and received a Purple Heart, as well as other medals. prgtoken He and his wife Bea attended Drake University Law School together. When they graduated, she was offered less than him for the same job with the same firm despite her having had better grades, so he turned down the job and opened a practice with her. prgtoken He soon entered public service locally, serving as assistant Polk County attorney and as chairman of the Polk County Welfare Board. prgtoken In 1958, Neal Smith was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served for 36 years, longer than any other Iowan has served in the U.S. House. prgtoken Even though he represented Iowa's largest metropolitan area, he came from a farm background like me and continued to farm near Altoona during his time in office. prgtoken I remember him as a strong defender of agriculture. prgtoken I value the friendship I had with Neal Smith starting as a freshmen Congressman and continuing through his time after leaving Congress. prgtoken Again, I pay tribute to this humble public servant. Barbara and I will continue to remember his family in our prayers.
CLOTURE MOTION
Patrick J. Toomey (Republican, PA) \u2014 2021-11-4

on Tuesday, the President of the United States officially nominated Cornell Law Professor Saule Omarova to be America's top banking regulator. She would be the Comptroller of the Currency. The Comptroller of the Currency is the lead regulator of all of our national banks. prgtoken Now, twice before today, I addressed her nomination on the Senate floor--her then-prospective nomination. Now she has been nominated. And I noted that Professor Omarova describes her own views as radical. For example, Professor Omarova has written that she wants to ``radically redefine the role of a central bank.'' She has also stated that her proposals represent a ``radical departure from what we've been conditioned to view as the `normal' state of play.'' prgtoken , probably the only thing I can think of in all of her writing that I agree with is her characterization of her views as radical. Specifically, let me be clear about what is radical about her whole approach. It is radical because she has a clear and obvious aversion to democratic capitalism itself, in other words, the central organizing principle of American society that we would be a free society and that that would include economic freedom and economic decisions can be made by free men and women pursuing their own understanding of their self-interest. prgtoken Instead of that, she has a clear preference for an administrative approach where decisions are not made by free men and women engaging voluntarily in exchanges but, rather, by technocrats who are deemed to know what is better for us than we could possibly know for ourselves. prgtoken The fact is, in my 11 years in Congress, I don't think I have seen a more radical nominee for any regulatory spot in our entire Federal Government. And I know that is a bold statement, but I stand by that. prgtoken Now, last month, I spoke about Professor Omarova's radical plan to have the Federal Government set prices throughout our economy. She wants the government to decide what people should pay for food and gas and wages and home prices and many other things. That is pretty radical. prgtoken Today, I want to focus on her radical proposal to nationalize the U.S. banking system. So let me first start by observing that Professor Omarova's plan to nationalize our financial system wasn't something that she wrote decades ago or even years ago. In fact, I believe she wrote it last year, and it was published in the Vanderbilt Law Review just last month. prgtoken Professor Omarova's radical plan to nationalize financial services was published just last month, and the paper was titled ``The People's Ledger: How to ize Money and Finance the Economy.'' ``The People's Ledger.'' Not the people's Republic, mind you, but ``The People's Ledger.'' That is her title for the paper. prgtoken In the paper, Professor Omarova outlined her plan to ``effectively end banking as we know it.'' prgtoken Now, that is a ve
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
Chip Roy (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-11-4

. Madam , November 11, 2021 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. On this date, one hundred years ago, the first body of an unknown soldier was laid to rest in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The soldier died in World War I on the fields of France. He was brought home with honor. A representative for every American service man and woman who have served or will serve and have paid the ultimate price as ransom for our freedom. prgtoken The Unknowns buried in the graves adjacent to the Tomb are no less honored and no less remembered. They are the nameless who bear all names. They are the dead who will rest forever, guarded by the men and women of the watch, the Sentinels of the 3rd United States Army Infantry Regiment, also known as the Old Guard. prgtoken New York Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr a World War I veteran, proposed the legislation that authorized the construction of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. prgtoken The Major James Kerr Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution from Kerrville, Texas is honored to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 2021. We unanimously pledge our devotion to the American soldier, both to those who currently serve and to those who have been involved in past armed conflict so that others might remain free. They are gone but will never be forgotten. prgtoken The Major James Kerr Chapter, NSDAR therefore asks that citizens remember on November 11, 2021 that the Unknowns who are buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns represent all men and women who have died in the service of their country.
HONORING THE 75TH INACTIVATION ANNIVERSARY OF THE 65TH INFANTRY
Steven M. Palazzo (Republican, MS) \u2014 2021-11-4

. Madam , today, I commemorate the 75th Inactivation Anniversary of General George S. Patton's 3rd Army, 65th Infantry Division. prgtoken The 65th Infantry Division was activated on August 16, 1943, at Camp Shelby, Mississippi under the command of Major General Stanley E. Reinhart. Upon completion of their training, the soldiers of the 65th Infantry Division were transported by train to Camp Shanks, New York and departed via troop ships on January 10, 1945, for combat in Europe. In the face of severe aggression from Germany, they were transported aboard ships from England to a barely functional France. The 65th Infantry Division set up Camp Lucky Strike despite extremely harsh winter conditions and low supply and food rations. During the Second World War, this unit fulfilled its motto of ``Right to Be Proud'' as they fought their way to victory. The soldiers traveled a total of 850 miles from Le Havre, France, to Enns, Austria. prgtoken The soldiers of the 65th Infantry Division have been awarded numerous honors for their heroism and valor in battle. They received the Congressional Medal of Honor, 7 Distinguished Service Crosses, 11 Legion of Merits, 67 Silver Stars, 4 Soldier Medals, 690 Bronze Stars, and 19 Air Medals. prgtoken On August 31, 1945, the 65th Infantry Division was inactivated. A few years later, veterans of the unit held annual reunions to provide support and encouragement to their comrades in arms and to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and did not make it home. prgtoken They were just young men when they put aside their hopes and dreams to answer our nation's call. Today, on behalf of the 4th Congressional District I am honored to recognize the heroes of the 65th Infantry Division on their 75th Inactivation Anniversary ceremony. prgtoken They are truly members of the greatest generation.
China (Executive Session)
Deb Fischer (Republican, NE) \u2014 2021-11-4

50 years ago this coming February, President Nixon made history as the first American President to visit the People's Republic of China. He thought that by inviting China to join what he called ``the family of nations,'' he could incentivize the Chinese Communist Party to liberalize at home and refrain from exporting its brand of communism abroad. prgtoken That may sound naive because, as we look back on those 50 years, the changes President Nixon hoped for never came. But he held out hope for change because he had faith in the Chinese people. He was an incredible admirer of their culture and their remarkable history. prgtoken And even though these past few decades have proven Nixon wrong about the CCP, he was right to have faith in the people of China. That is why we have to be specific when we talk about what the future holds for our two countries. prgtoken The Chinese people and the Chinese Communist Party are not the same thing. In fact, the opposite is true. We have seen countless examples of the Chinese people's bravery, from pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong to 1989's protests in Tiananmen Square. prgtoken They were born deserving the same universal rights that we enjoy in the United States: freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and so many more. prgtoken They deserve to live in a country that recognizes those rights and understands that true power comes from the consent of the governed, not from the iron fist of the party oligarchy. prgtoken Unfortunately, that iron fist is how the CCP has kept its grip on power for so many decades, and they have shown no signs of slowing down under President Xi Jinping. prgtoken As we approach the 50th anniversary of President Nixon's groundbreaking trip, we need to reflect on what those 50 years have brought us. prgtoken China has not become a democracy. Instead, the Communist Party is weaponizing new technologies to consolidate their rule. Through what President 's chief adviser for Asia, Kurt Campbell, has called digital authoritarianism, the CCP can now track the Chinese people's every movement with facial recognition. They have developed a social credit system that ranks the likability and trustworthiness of hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens. Using these and other technologies, the CCP is committing genocide against their own people. prgtoken Since April 2017, the CCP has detained over 1 million leaders and other Muslims in specially built internment camps in Xinjiang province. These are Chinese citizens, and their own government is subjecting them to forced sterilization, sexual abuse, forced labor, physical and psychological torment, and political indoctrination. prgtoken This is government-sponsored ethnic cleansing, and now China is starting to carry out this kind of state-sponsored racism and genocide outside Xingjiang. prgtoken In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the CCP is curtailing the use of the Mongolian language by
CLOTURE MOTION
Roger F. Wicker (Republican, MS) \u2014 2021-11-4

when we looked at the news this morning and we saw the evening news last night, when we tune in to the cable channels and we hear the radio, we see the astounding news of the voices of the voters on Tuesday of this week not just in Virginia and not just in New Jersey, but in the State of New York and throughout the Midwest and on over to the west coast. prgtoken The American people sent a strong message of disapproval to the administration this week, and I hope our ic friends and the administration will heed the message of the voters. prgtoken I normally don't bring the New York Times to the floor and quote it with approval, but it says here in the New York Times this morning: ``Bruised at Polls, Look at Their Missteps.'' prgtoken I hope that is true. I hope our ic colleagues and our friends in the administration are looking at their missteps because they are many and they have been harmful. prgtoken The Washington Post this morning, November 4, said: ``A sharp turn looms in Virginia.'' prgtoken Yes, Virginia went from the three constitutional statewide offices all being held by to a sweep, not only there but in the State General Assembly. prgtoken But then I see this other headline at the top of the page: `` race ahead on fiscal proposals.'' prgtoken Presumably, our friends are not hearing the message that the American people in State after State after State sent just Tuesday of this week. prgtoken Even vastly underfunded GOP candidates, like the candidate for Governor in New Jersey, came within a hair's breadth of being elected. Vastly underfunded GOP candidates for legislative positions actually prevailed over candidates with millions and millions of dollars on the ic side. prgtoken The American people have sent this administration and this ic majority in the House and this tiny ic majority in the Senate a very unmistakable message. They are rejecting the malaise that we are under. And the administration must understand that this election was the direct result of the President's failed agenda. prgtoken By all measures, our economy should be roaring by now. We are coming out of the pandemic. We should be back to the good news of February 2020, the month before the pandemic hit. The and tax cuts were in place. The unemployment rate was an astoundingly low 3.6 percent, something that we were told in our economics classes was impossible in the United prgtoken States of America. When I was taking kiddy economics, they said it couldn't go below 4 percent. prgtoken The unemployment rate in February of 2020 was 3.6 percent. Employment was up among women. Employment was up among minorities. Employment was up among veterans. Our economy was roaring. prgtoken And then the pandemic came, and we acted in a bipartisan way. But we are coming out of the pandemic now, and the administration
AFGHANISTAN AFTERMATH
Tom McClintock (Republican, CA) \u2014 2021-11-4

the President hasn't mentioned Afghanistan since he turned the phased, conditional withdrawal under into an unconditional surrender to the Taliban. Nor has he yet found the time to see, much less admit, the chaos that his policies have produced by collapsing our southern border. prgtoken Yet, putting these things out of sight and mind doesn't change the dangers they have unleashed. I am afraid that together, they pose a terrifying prospect for our country that Americans should prepare themselves to face in coming days. prgtoken 's phased withdrawal included keeping Bagram Air Base. This strategic American asset ensured that U.S. airpower could be projected throughout the region as both a bulwark to support the Afghan defense forces and a deterrent to the extremist regimes throughout the Middle East. In addition, Bagram included the Parwan Detention Facility that held, under Afghan control, between 5,000 and 7,000 hardened terrorists. prgtoken Instead, Mr. ordered--and his woke generals executed--a surprise abandonment of Bagram in the dead of night without even notifying our allies. It took the Afghan Government by complete surprise and set off a shockwave that resulted in the rapid collapse of Afghan forces. In turn, this meant not only the loss of billions of dollars of U.S. military equipment to the very forces that attacked us on 9/11, but also the release of the most dangerous terrorists in the world. prgtoken Now, we know where one of those terrorists went. Ten days later, Abdul Rehman detonated a bomb at the airport in Kabul, killing 13 of our servicemen and -women, including a constituent of mine, Sergeant Nicole Gee of Roseville, California. prgtoken That is what one of them did. We still don't know where the thousands of other terrorists released from Bagram are or the plans they are pursuing. prgtoken I think it is a very good bet that more than a few of them are making their way right now to our open southern border. We know the Border Patrol has intercepted a number of known terrorists already. The Government of Panama told Congressman Gonzales from Texas that it intercepted 52 known terrorists with intent to make their way into the United States and tried in vain to warn the administration. prgtoken What we don't know is how many have already infiltrated our country among the tens of thousands admitted by the administration since the surrender of Bagram. We don't know how many more are among the gotaways who escaped the Border Patrol while it has been overwhelmed processing the masses who responded to 's open border invitation. Nor do we know how many radicalized Taliban or ISIS-K are among the nearly 100,000 evacuees being admitted into the United States from Afghanistan. prgtoken The Homeland Security Secretary, Mr. Mayorkas, informed us that it is not necessary for them to show that they assisted U.S. forces, but only that we don't know of any hostile action
Afghanistan (Executive Session)
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2021-11-4

I rise today to speak about an issue that is very concerning and has to do with our national security and our homeland security. prgtoken I am the ranking on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and in my role on that committee, we have done a lot of investigation into what happened in Afghanistan in terms of the rushed and chaotic evacuation. prgtoken Unfortunately, I am here today to talk about a new threat to our homeland security due to the administration's failure to adequately vet the Afghan evacuees who came through this chaotic process. prgtoken Like many of my colleagues here on the floor--I think I can speak for them--I support the resettlement of those who stood with us and our allies who stood with us in battle, in particular, over the past two decades in Afghanistan. That is important. Yet everybody recognizes that the rushed nature of the evacuation resulted in some of the wrong people coming out and many of the right people not being rescued from Afghanistan. prgtoken Too many people were left behind. There is no question about that. There were American citizens left behind and permanent residents left behind, and many of the Afghans who had worked with us and with our allies as interpreters, as drivers, who worked at NATO, or who worked at the United Nations were left behind--so were a lot of people who were actually in the process of getting what is called a special immigrant visa, an SIV. Those would be our allies in Afghanistan, the Afghans who, again, stood with us as drivers or interpreters and so on. prgtoken Getting information has been really hard from the administration, and it is very frustrating to me, also to every one of my colleagues, and to the American people. In fact, in the recent continuing resolution, we actually got language included that requires, by November 30, for the administration to tell us exactly how many SIV holders--special immigrant visa holders--were left behind, how many citizens were left behind, and how many people, who were employees of a U.S.- or a U.N.- funded partner organization, were left behind. We still haven't heard, so we don't know the information. prgtoken What we do know is that very few of the evacuees who came out were either American citizens, permanent residents, SIV applicants, or, certainly, SIV holders. In fact, we know from the Defense Department that there were only about 700 holders of SIVs who came out of the, roughly, 78,000 people who were evacuated to the United States. prgtoken Let me say that again. Only about 700 of those people were SIV holders. That is out of thousands of SIV holders and applicants who were left behind in Afghanistan. There were 78,000 people who got out, but the vast majority of them--again, I am not represented by any of these groups that we would have thought would have been brought out. prgtoken It is also clear that, in the rush and chaos at the Karzai