mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024--Continued
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2023-10-25

we have the opportunity to take a really big step today that the entire country would pause and go: Finally. We have the opportunity to end government shutdowns forever. We will say: That is off the table. We, as a nation, don't do government shutdowns. prgtoken Government shutdowns haven't always been in our system as a nation. They really started in the 1980s, and we have had this repetitive cycle of government shutdowns over and over and over again. prgtoken The American people and folks in my State in Oklahoma say: How do we make this stop? prgtoken Well, this is how we make it stop. Senator Hassan and I sat down 5 years ago and just said: Everyone wants to stop it, but we have never figured out a way that is a totally nonpartisan way. Let's figure this out. What is a nonpartisan way to end government shutdowns? prgtoken So we sat down and worked on some language to try to figure out how to be able to do this. We took input from Members all over this conference on both sides of the aisle. We actually sat down years ago with the administration and worked with their Office of Management and Budget and then have since sat down with the administration, with their Office of Management and Budget, to make sure the process would actually work; that it would actually be effective because we weren't interested in having a messaging bill; we were interested in actually ending government shutdowns--that it would work. prgtoken The idea is really very simple. If Congress gets to the end of the fiscal year and the appropriations work is not done by the end of the year, we stay in session 7 days a week. We can't move to any bill other than appropriations until we actually finish appropriations. prgtoken If I can just make it just this simple: If we don't finish our classwork, we have to stay after class. That is all it is. In the meantime, the government continues to run at the previous year's levels. That way, Federal workers are held harmless. The American people are held harmless. The pressure is on the people it should be on: us. prgtoken Now, I have heard from some folks that this won't work because the House is crazy, and they won't care about staying here 7 days a week because they are crazy. Well, I would respectfully say that House Members, though definitely crazy at times, still love their families, still have responsibilities back in their home district. They also want to be able to get back home. They are not going to stay here 7 days a week forever. prgtoken We do have other bills to be able to pass--the National Defense Authorization and thousands of other things that we still have to do. So the thought that we would be in continual CRs, both here, House and Senate, 7 days a week and never leave and that we would never do other bills is just not realistic. prgtoken I have also heard that if we take away the threat of a government shutdown, we would lose the pressure point to be ab
SPINA BIFIDA AWARENESS MONTH
Kevin Hern (Republican, OK) \u2014 2023-10-25

I rise today to recognize National Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Day, as well as October as National Spina Bifida Month. prgtoken Spina Bifida impacts families across these United States, my own included. My sister and niece have lived with Spina Bifida since childhood. prgtoken Spina Bifida is a birth defect which results from a hole in the spiral cord that fails to close properly, which allows nerves and fluid to form a sac outside the body. This defect means that a child must undergo dozens of surgeries before adulthood, and even then, they face a multitude of mental and physical health issues. Each condition is unique, and no two children will be affected the same way. prgtoken In a testament to the innovation and research of our American scientific ingenuity, we now have the first generation of adults who are living with Spina Bifida. However, there is still much work to do. prgtoken It is our obligation to ensure proper funding for Spina Bifida care and research so that treatment and quality of life can improve for all Americans with this condition.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2023-10-25

early yesterday morning, I returned from a whirlwind trip to the Middle East as part of a bipartisan codel, or a congressional delegation, to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The trip was a direct response to Hamas's savage attack on Israel. The codel, led by my friend Senator Lindsey Graham, brought together 10 Senators from both parties to show the United States' support for Israel and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to protecting our now-threatened national interests in the region. prgtoken Our message was united: The United States stands with Israel. Iran is on notice, and it must stand down; and we need to get hostages freed and Americans out of harm's way. prgtoken We are committed to seeing Hamas defeated so that a new chapter of prosperity for Israel and its Arab neighbors can begin, of which normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be a keystone. prgtoken Our engagements on the ground included frank and candid discussions with heads of state, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and our U.S. Embassy teams on the ground. Our day in Tel Aviv began with meeting the families of hostages being held in Gaza, including Americans who shared their painful stories. As a parent and grandparent, it is heartbreaking to see and hear the grief of these family members. prgtoken Later that day, we met with Israeli defense officials for an update on the war. We were shown video evidence of the unnerving atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists--horrific images that I will not soon forget. Our meetings made clear the absolute imperative to see Hamas defeated. prgtoken Hamas's attacks have been likened to Israel's own September 11; but Prime Minister Netanyahu made a point that is especially chilling for Americans but that every critic of Israel must hear. He pointed out that, on 9/11, our enemy was thousands of miles away. In Israel, their enemy is only a kilometer away. prgtoken For more than 15 years, Israel has had to live every day with a terrorist organization on its border whose sole mission in life is to kill Jews and to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth; and during that time, Hamas has loomed as a persistent threat to Israel, attacking, kidnapping, and killing Israelis. But the barbarism and brutality that Hamas displayed in its October 7 attacks took its evil to new heights, and now Israel knows what it has to do: It has to wipe Hamas off the face of the Earth. prgtoken For the Israelis, this is existential. Israel's cause is just, and its resolve is firm, and it should have every peace-loving nation in the world on its side. Now, how Israel goes about that mission matters, and it needs to be done in a way that minimizes civilian casualties. prgtoken The Palestinians living in Gaza are also victims of Hamas's reign of terror. Hamas has made it clear that the only value it places on the lives of Palestinians is to use them as fodder to direct attention away from its atrocities and to try a
STANDING WITH ISRAEL AS IT DEFENDS ITSELF AGAINST THE BARBARIC WAR LAUNCHED BY HAMAS AND OTHER TERRORISTS
Andy Barr (Republican, KY) \u2014 2023-10-25

I rise in support of this important resolution affirming Israel's right to self-defense against this savage war perpetrated by Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorists. prgtoken While it was Hamas terrorists who invaded peaceful communities across Israel, decapitating babies, burning elderly women alive, kidnapping innocent civilians, including Holocaust survivors, it was Iran that was working behind the scenes to fund these acts of terror. prgtoken I support this resolution because it calls out the mullahs in Tehran for funding Hamas and enabling this attack to occur. prgtoken How did this happen? In short, it happened because the administration's foreign policy allowed it to happen. Our government designated Iran as a state sponsor of terror, yet the administration pursued a policy of weakness and appeasement toward Tehran. prgtoken Since the administration took office, Iran has generated approximately $80 billion in revenue from oil sales, and that is because this administration rolled back the administration's successful maximum pressure campaign.
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Garret Graves (Republican, LA) \u2014 2023-10-25

. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Fleischmann and Ranking Member Kaptur for their cooperation here. prgtoken Mr. Chair, dating back to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, there was funding that provided important advancement of projects known as the Comite project, which is north of my hometown of Baton Rouge, as well as the West Shore project in the River Parishes. prgtoken , these projects date back, in the case of Comite, date back all the way to the early 1980s, one of these awful Army Corps of Engineer projects that has been stalled for so long. We had a record flood in 2016, by some measure a 1,000-year flood that would have been tempered or mitigated if this project had been constructed, and thankfully in BBA 2018, the project was fully funded. The folks were excited and believed that we were going to be moving forward on this project. prgtoken Similarly, , the West Shore project actually started before I was born, literally, 1970, 1971. That project had been stalled and had not advanced at all until we were able to get the authorization passed through Congress in 2016 and we were able to get the project what we believed was also fully funded in BBA 2018. prgtoken , what we found today is that these project costs have skyrocketed. In the case of the West Shore project, it is approximately $1.3 billion short now and in the case of the Comite project, it is about $447 million short. What this amendment does, this is an increase/decrease amendment of approximately $1.75 billion and it is designed to complete these projects. prgtoken , it is kind of like being a little bit pregnant. The project just doesn't work. It is either completed and it is functional, or it is not. We have got to finish these projects. We have to ensure the resiliency of these communities. I know that my two colleagues here being the chair and the ranking member of this committee, the subcommittee, with the Corps of Engineers knows the importance of investment in resiliency or mitigation efforts and certainly know the importance that they share. prgtoken I thank them again for accepting our amendment and look forward to continuing to work with you.
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Chip Roy (Republican, TX) \u2014 2023-10-25

the amendment that I have here fully defunds the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. prgtoken The FY23 omnibus gave this office $3.5 billion, and while the underlying bill and rule cut funding down to $2 billion, we believe we ought to defund it entirely. prgtoken That is particularly true coming on the heels of the $1.2 trillion, if you believe the media accounting and reports on the impact of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. We believe this is additional spending that the American people do not need. prgtoken Let the market do what the market is going to do. If people want to go out and get electronic vehicles, and people want to go out and spend their money on something, good for them, great. prgtoken This office continues to be funded to continue to perpetuate this when the office's mission is ``to equitably transition America to net- zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050,'' which is a fool's errand. prgtoken We are undermining our own national security and undermining our own economy in the process, making us beholden to China and undermining our ability to actually have a serious policy in the Middle East, by the way. Right now, we don't even have sanctions in place. We are allowing Iran to make billions of dollars, upward of $30 billion to $60 billion, depending on what reports you look at, on exporting oil to China. We have totally blown it with Saudi Arabia, which has created the environment that we are now dealing with in the Middle East, all while this administration, by the way, dumped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, all of this while pursuing this foolish energy policy, which is undermining our own national security and economy. prgtoken Now, we are going to go ahead and say, sure, let's appropriate another, in this case, $2 billion for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. We don't need to be doing this. Let the American people go sort this out. prgtoken We say that we are going to subsidize wind and solar because it is supposedly enhanced reliability. Tell that to the people of Texas. Texas has more wind than any other State in the country. prgtoken Thumbs up. That is great. Say that to all the people who are wondering whether they are going to have power because the grid in Texas is getting dangerously close to not having the ability to sustain. The only reason we are able to sustain it is because Texas is trying to push and hold up the coal and the gas-fired plants that actually provide reliable energy. prgtoken We are subsidizing the unreliable energy at the expense of the reliable energy. Instead of building nuclear power, instead of making sure a gas-fired plant is sitting there ready to roll--there is no investment in any of the projects going on into Texas' gas-fired plants. American, Texas gas that we should, by the way, be exporting around the world, including to Europe. Instead, we are under
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
John Hoeven (Republican, ND) \u2014 2023-10-25

as elected Members of Congress, our most important obligation is the safety and security of all Americans. Events here at our southern border and across the globe are putting at risk the safety and security of Americans today. prgtoken We are appalled by the terrorist attacks Hamas committed against Israel. Those attacks did great harm to the prgtoken people of Israel and also to American citizens, some of whom are still being held hostage. prgtoken We support Israel's efforts to secure the release of all of the hostages held by Hamas. prgtoken That means we also expect the Government of Qatar to do more to bring those hostages safely out of Gaza. I say that because the Government of Qatar hosts the leadership of Hamas. That is where the leadership of Hamas is. I find it remarkable that they are living in Qatar rather than in Gaza. It says a lot; doesn't it? But because they are there, the Government of Qatar is in a position to do a lot more and be helpful in getting these hostages released. prgtoken We continue to stand--and we will continue to stand--with Israel as it prepares to remove Hamas from power in Gaza, and that is something they must do for their own safety and really for the safety of many other countries, as well, because Hamas is a terrorist organization dedicated to terror. That means killing indiscriminately, and that is exactly what they have been doing and what they are doing. prgtoken We know that this will require the Israeli people to make enormous sacrifices, but that these sacrifices will ultimately bring security to Israel and to the region. More broadly, we know that many Americans, including members of our military, our diplomats, and many civilians in the Middle East, are threatened by violence instigated by Iran. prgtoken We owe it to these Americans to provide the protection they need and to deter further violence from Iran. So we must set aside fruitless negotiations with the terror regime in Tehran, increase sanctions, and demonstrate that we will respond forcefully to Iranian-backed violence against our people and our interests. prgtoken The threats that Americans face are not confined to the Middle East. Our porous southern border opens the door to threats that can emerge here at home--threats from terrorists--and we need to address that. Instability in the Middle East and other parts of the world make securing our southern border even more urgent. prgtoken We must identify who is attempting to enter the United States and stop those who are entering our country illegally. A secure border helps us identify potential threats before they get inside the United States. prgtoken Just last week, Customs and Border Protection confirmed that the United States experienced the highest ever monthly encounters at the southern border, nearly 270,000--270,000--in 1 month. And with nearly 2.5 million crossings, fiscal year 2023 has now seen the highest ever annual toll of encounte
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Scott Perry (Republican, PA) \u2014 2023-10-25

. Mr. Chair, this amendment eliminates the funding for the Delaware River Basin Commission, the funding that is from the Federal Government. prgtoken Unfortunately, this bill provides nearly three quarters of a million dollars to the Delaware River Basin Commission, meaning that since 1998, the Federal Government has provided funding of some sort to this commission full of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats that have unilaterally, in this case, instituted a hydraulic fracturing ban for a portion of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, literally stripping away the property and mineral rights from Pennsylvanians in direct contravention of the will of the legislature. prgtoken These people aren't elected by anybody. They are not accountable to anybody. Most people have no idea who the people on this commission even are. prgtoken The result is a prohibition on the development of critical shale plays in eastern Pennsylvania that can bring desperately needed natural gas to the market and the unconstitutional taking of mineral rights of the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Americans are having unelected bureaucrats take their rights away. prgtoken It is an attack on Pennsylvania energy and American energy. At a time when residential natural gas prices are near record highs, it creates significant inflation, cost-of-living increases for our constituents, and empowers our enemies abroad. prgtoken Now, instead of taking action to stop this unconstitutional seizure of State authority, as my other amendment that was not made in order would have done, or better yet, dissolving the compact altogether, this bill, as it currently exists, rewards the radical commissioners with money from the very taxpayers the Delaware River Basin Commission is attacking. prgtoken Providing funds to such an out-of-control, radical commission is a step in the wrong direction that incentivizes others like it to follow. prgtoken This amendment that I am offering would rescind this money and move it to the spending reduction account, ensuring that we do not further incentivize this commission to attack American energy and the rights of Pennsylvania while trying to pay off some of our $33 trillion of debt. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and send a message to these unelected bureaucrats by supporting this amendment, and .
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Tom Cotton (Republican, AR) \u2014 2023-10-25

today marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Grenada. This short and prgtoken largely overlooked conflict is one of the most successful military interventions in history. In just 4 days, President Ronald Reagan toppled an anti-American regime, rolled back communism in the hemisphere, and saved American lives. In the years that followed, we built a strong, genuine, and enduring partnership with the people of Grenada. prgtoken But this success was far from certain. It was only possible because of President Reagan's decisive and overwhelming military response to a crisis on the island. The seeds of this crisis were sown--like many others--during Jimmy Carter's disastrous Presidency. Under President Carter, communism began to metastasize in Latin America, and in the especially pivotal year of 1979, both Nicaragua and Grenada fell to communists. prgtoken As he returned from Managua, Fidel Castro boasted, ``Now there are three of us.'' The Cuban dictator had big plans to add more captive nations to his anti-American axis in the hemisphere. prgtoken Grenada is a small island located in the southeast Caribbean and strategically vital to both Cuba and Soviet Russia during the Cold War. Barely 150 miles off the coast of Venezuela, the island could serve as an offshore arms depot for communist rebels in Latin America and other Caribbean nations. Russia could also use Grenada as a base to launch submarines into the Caribbean Basin. prgtoken Most concerning was Grenada's proximity to Africa, which made it the potential final link in a chain of communist air bases from Southern Russia to North Africa, to West Africa, to Grenada, and then finally to Cuba. Soviet bombers and heavy-cargo planes could fly between these lily pads of bases for refueling and largely beyond American detection. prgtoken This grave threat materialized when Grenada welcomed hundreds of Cubans to construct a massive airport with a 9,000-foot runway. What Ronald Reagan called a ``suspiciously huge'' runway was far larger than anything Grenada's commercial aviation required. It was, curiously enough, just big enough to support the largest Soviet bombers and cargo aircraft. prgtoken This airbase posed a two-way threat. Russia could use Grenada as a launching pad in the hemisphere to arm Cuba and other Latin American communists. Going the other way, Castro could export revolutionaries to the bloody war in Angola and elsewhere in Africa. prgtoken Tensions boiled over into crisis in October 1983 when an even more radical, bloodthirsty gang of communists toppled the ruling communists in Grenada. The new government killed the former Prime Minister and instituted a 24-hour shoot-on-sight curfew that threatened hundreds of American medical students on the island. The Reagan administration feared a replay of the Iranian hostage crisis, and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States pleaded with the administration to intervene and preven