mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018
Francis Rooney (Republican, FL) \u2014 2017-10-5

. Mr. Chair, with all respect, the cruel and unusual punishment is the ic-proposed substitute amendment. The raw deal is the ic-proposed substitute amendment that increases spending $6.2 trillion over our budget. prgtoken This thing raises taxes--$2.7 trillion, the largest tax increase in American history, at a time when we are drowning in debt and stagnant wage growth. prgtoken It requires a one-to-one match of defense and nondefense discretionary spending at a time when we can't keep our F-18s flying and we have airplanes crashing around the country for lack of maintenance. prgtoken This is unconscionable. This budget never balances. It will leave us with an $852 billion deficit by fiscal year 2027. It expands Care, the most disastrous and heinous trick played on the American people that I can remember. It prioritizes amnesty over security. prgtoken We are never going to get our country straight and preserve our sovereignty if we don't protect our security. On the other hand, we have got the budget that offers to do a lot of things. One thing it offers to do is put a work requirement for able-bodied adults with no dependent children into welfare. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I include in the Record an article by Nicholas Eberstadt of AEI talking about the horrible condition of our labor force now and how drastically important this is and how much it will improve the opportunities for people to rise out of poverty. We have got three 25- to 54-year-old males sitting out of the labor force collecting benefits for every one that is unemployed. The unemployed rate is 4.7 percent. That makes the total 20 percent. It is almost over 5 million people that we owe them a moral obligation to offer them an opportunity to rise out of poverty through work, and that is what the budget does. [Commentary, Feb. 15, 2017] Economy: Our Miserable 21st Century (By Nicholas N. Eberstadt) On the morning of November 9, 2016, American's elite--its talking and deciding classes--woke up to a country they did not know. To most privileged and well-educated Americans, especially those living in its bicoastal bastions, the election of had been a thing almost impossible even to imagine. What sort of country would go and elect someone like as president? Certainly not one they were familiar with, or understood anything about. Whatever else it may or may not have accomplished, the 2016 election was a sort of shock therapy for Americans living within what Charles Murray famously termed ``the bubble'' (the protective barrier of prosperity and self-selected associations that increasingly shield our best and brightest from contact with the rest of their society). The very fact of 's election served as a truth broadcast about a reality that coul
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Jeff Flake (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2017-10-5

I rise today in support of the Border Security and Deferred Action Recipient Relief Act, which I am introducing. prgtoken This bill offers solutions to the serious problems facing us with regard to border security, while at the same time addressing the needs for a legislative solution for those issues faced by the children who were brought here through no fault of their own. prgtoken With respect to the border, this bill provides $1.6 billion in funding for border security measures that the President requested and the House has already approved in a bipartisan vote. As an Arizonan, I am more than familiar with the steps we need to take to increase border security. We have a better situation on the border than we have had in a while, but there are still measures that need to be taken. prgtoken In addition to the appropriate barriers that will aid in preventing illegal crossings, we need access roads that actually get to the border. If there is one issue I hear from property owners, ranchers, Border Patrol agents, and others near the border, it is that they need better access. We have had an issue with regard to roads that are used by the Border Control that are paid for by the county. It is a situation that needs to be resolved, and it will benefit all of us who travel near the border. This bill addresses that. The road issue was also raised by the GAO. I requested a study on behalf of my constituents, prgtoken along with my colleagues, to see what we could do with the roads and access situation. GAO came back with recommendations, and this would implement some of the recommendations. prgtoken The bill also aids law enforcement by ensuring the swift deportation of individuals determined to be members of violent gangs and drug cartels. prgtoken I would also like to thank Congresswoman Barbara Comstock for her leadership on this issue by sponsoring the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act, which passed the House. prgtoken With respect to the children brought here through no fault of their own, this bill takes a measure that has already earned bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, the Recognizing America's Children Act, which provides a solution for the DACA kids. These young immigrants were brought here as children and simply know no other country. For all intents and purposes, these young people consider themselves Americans. If we can protect these DACA recipients and provide solutions to better secure our borders at the same time, that is a win-win. prgtoken The President and Congress both want to improve border security. We both want to respond to the threat of dangerous gangs and drug cartels. We both want to arrive at a legislative solution for the rescission of the DACA Program that benefits those who want to contribute to their communities and to the American dream. This bill is the best way to thread the needle and deliver what the President has asked for, what the Congress
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Kevin McCarthy (Republican, CA) \u2014 2017-10-5

I thank the gentleman for yielding. prgtoken The gentleman is correct. The White House has sent up a supplemental, and I do not believe this will be the last of the supplementals, based on the damage that has been done from the numerous hurricanes. But, yes, there will be more money for the Disaster Relief Fund to help throughout Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. prgtoken As you know, too, the West had devastating forest fires, so there is roughly $577 million there. And the National Flood Insurance Program has hit a ceiling. To deal with all of the flooding that has gone on, we have to deal with that, as well. prgtoken The Appropriations Committee has just received that last night. They are working through it now. I don't intend on seeing other things with it. I look forward to the Member working with me on that to make sure we get it right from what the President has asked.
106TH NATIONAL DAY OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Mike Coffman (Republican, CO) \u2014 2017-10-5

I rise today to acknowledge the 106th National Day of the Republic of China. The annual celebration commemorates the start of the Wuchang Uprising of October 10, 1911, which led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty in China and the establishment of the Republic of China on January 1, 1912. Double Ten Day is marked every year in Denver, Colorado with an honorable reception organized by our local Double Ten Day Celebration Committee. prgtoken I rise today to acknowledge Chairman, Dr. Paul C. Cheng and the volunteers who serve on the Double Ten Celebration Committee. Additionally, I would like to recognize the past Chairs of the Double Ten Celebration Committee who have served since I have represented the Sixth Congressional District; Nancy Tan, Nelson Ho, Ming Der Liu, Sylvia Edgar, Dr. Tai Dan Hsu, Lily Shen and Kevin Hsu, who have each year managed to expertly execute this important event in our community. The United States and Taiwan enjoy a longstanding relationship that stems from our shared values: democracy, the rule of law, and free enterprise. The Taiwanese-Americans living in Colorado bring a wealth of knowledge and entrepreneurial energy to our community, contributing in an integral way to its growth and success. prgtoken , I offer my warmest and best wishes to the people of Taiwan on this 106th National Day of the Republic of China. I also extend my congratulations to Chairman Dr. Paul C. Cheng and the Double Ten Celebration Committee on organizing another successful Double Ten Celebration for our community in Colorado. The work of this committee has helped the Taipei Economic and prgtoken Cultural Office to excel in its services to and relationship with the greater Denver area community. I look forward attending this event every year and to the continued and growing friendship and partnership between the United States and Taiwan.
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018
Mark Walker (Republican, NC) \u2014 2017-10-5

$20.2 trillion. Our national debt is more than $20.2 trillion. prgtoken Let's put it this way: each American's share of the national debt is $62,000. From the retiree in North Carolina who has already done so much to serve the country, to the newborn child in New York with so much potential, that is $62,000. In fact, it is more than the median American family brings home in an entire year. prgtoken Our debt continues to mount, even as Federal reserves reach record highs. This leads to an undeniable conclusion, even from Captain Obvious: the Federal Government has a spending problem. prgtoken The growing Federal Government has significant negative consequences for the country and its people. The large Federal debt reduces investment, productivity, and wages, while Federal interventions in the economy reduce the incentive to work, resulting in a shrinking labor market. prgtoken The debt can have dangerous implications for our national security, recently causing a bipartisan group of leading national security officials to write that ``our long-term debt is the single greatest threat to our national security.'' prgtoken Most fundamentally, when the Federal Government is too big and too intrusive, it interferes with our unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. prgtoken Eleven months ago, the American people voted to give s unified control of government. Now it is time to follow through and implement the policy agenda that Congress and the President were elected on. prgtoken As the calendar moves into fall, the grade of the 115th Congress will be delivered on whether we can reform our inefficient Tax Code. This process starts with the budget. Along with repealing Care and securing our border, the Study Committee budget allows us to fulfill these promises, and more. prgtoken This fiscal year 2018 RSC budget ensures a strong national security, robust economic growth, equal opportunity for all, a sustainable social safety net, and a return to constitutionally limited government, all with a goal of securing America's future economy. prgtoken Instead of a future of high debt and low growth, the RSC budget proposes a positive blueprint for success and opportunity. Our budget focuses on progrowth, profamily policies that will boost America's economy and provide a strong fiscal foundation for generations to come. prgtoken , in closing, I would like to thank my friend, Mr. McClintock, for his leadership of the RSC budget task force, as well as all the members of the Study Committee who participated in this effort. prgtoken With this budget, we have accomplished our goals of detailing the variety of bold policy solutions, as well as helping to influence the balanced budget offered by my friend, Chairman Black, to include meaningful, enforceable, reconciliation targets, as the RSC budget does, so that we can begin the essential task of implementi
REMEMBERING FANNIE LOU HAMER, COURAGEOUS AND TIRELESS FIGHTER FOR VOTING RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE WHO SPOKE TRUTH TO POWER AND TOUCHED THE CONSCIENCE OF THE NATION
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-10-6

as a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus and a Co-Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, I rise in remembrance of Fannie Lou Hamer, a leading heroine of the Civil Rights Movement, a fearless fighter for voting rights and social justice who spoke truth to power and touched conscience of the nation. prgtoken On this day, exactly 100 years ago, October 6, 1917, Fannie Lou Hamer was born in Montgomery County, Mississippi to Lou Ella and James Lee Townsend, the youngest of twenty children. prgtoken Although she managed to complete several years of school, by adolescence Fannie Lou Hamer was picking hundreds of pounds of cotton a day. prgtoken She would later meet and marry Perry Hamer, known as Pap, and work alongside him as sharecroppers at W.D. Marlow's plantation near Ruleville, in Sunflower County, Mississippi. prgtoken From these humble beginnings Fannie Lou Hamer would go on to become one of the iconic figures of the Civil Rights Movement that succeeded in bringing down the Jericho walls of de jure segregation and winning passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the greatest victory for civil rights and human dignity since the Emancipation Proclamation. prgtoken , one of our proudest boasts as Americans is that ``one person can make a difference.'' prgtoken The life of Fannie Lou Hamer demonstrates that this is not an idle boast but a simple truth. prgtoken Fannie Lou Hamer dedicated her life to the fight for civil rights, working for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, an organization that engaged in acts of civil disobedience to fight racial segregation and injustice in the South. prgtoken During the 1950s, when Fannie Lou Hamer was in her 30's, she attended several annual conferences of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL), a civil rights and self-help organization that ignited her passion for activism. prgtoken In 1962 Fannie Lou Hamer took up the call to try and register to vote in Mississippi, a state whose constitution and laws erected barriers such as poll taxes and literacy tests to disenfranchise African Americans. prgtoken It was on the bus trip to Indianola, Mississippi to register to vote that, in what would become her signature trait as an activist, she began singing African American spirituals such as ``Go Tell It on the Mountain'' and ``This Little Light of Mine.'' prgtoken Singing spirituals reflected her firm belief that the struggle for civil rights was a righteous cause and toiling in this vineyard was the Christian thing to do. prgtoken Fannie Lou Hamer's courage and leadership in Indianola came to the attention of SNCC organizer Bob Moses who recruited her to travel around the South doing organizing work for the organization. prgtoken Being an African American activist was at that time in that place was dangerous, but that did not deter the fierce Fannie Lou Hamer: I guess if I'd had any sense, I'd have been a little scared--but what was
RECOGNIZING MS. CONSTANCE HADDELAND, 2017 RECIPIENT OF THE PATRICK HENRY AWARD
Betty McCollum (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-10-6

it is my privilege to recognize Ms. Constance Haddeland, a 2017 recipient of the Patrick Henry Award from the National Guard Association of the United States, which honors local civic leaders who have distinguished themselves with outstanding and exceptional service to the Armed Forces of the United States and the National Guard. ``Connie'' as we know her is a Constituent Services Representative in my Saint Paul, Minnesota office. She was nominated for this recognition by MG Richard C. Nash, Minnesota National Guard Adjutant General, who presented this award to her this week at the 133rd Airlift Wing in Minnesota. prgtoken For more than 10 years Connie has exemplified a wholehearted commitment to the well-being of Minnesota service members, veterans and their families. Her efforts have resulted in quality of life benefits for National Guard members and Reservists, improved services to veterans and all Armed Forces Service Members serving in Minnesota. prgtoken First in 2010 and again in 2012, Minnesota National Guard members returned home from deployments and found themselves without Post Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence Program (PDMRA) benefits and ``bonus pay.'' Connie spearheaded communication between constituents and my office on this issue, providing updates to veteran service organizations and other stakeholders, and working to ensure benefits parity for Guardsmen and Reservists by correcting errors in the way the Department of Defense implemented this program. prgtoken As coordinator for U.S. Service Academy nominations in the Fourth District, Connie has led an exemplary program, shepherding applications from hundreds of students resulting in the nominations of scores of Minnesota's best and brightest high school students to attend our nation's prestigious service academies. prgtoken Connie has touched the lives of hundreds of veterans, military personnel and their families in deep and meaningful ways through her thoughtful, patient and tireless advocacy on their behalf. Among the most poignant casework successes include assisting the family of an ailing World War II veteran locate the service records necessary to award him the Bronze Star before he passed away. She also assisted a young soldier correct his military records, which allowed him to access GI Bill benefits to pursue a career in medicine and become a trauma surgeon. prgtoken The National Guard Association of the United States Patrick Henry Award citation states it best: Connie Haddeland has distinguished herself by providing selfless and dedicated service to the Minnesota National Guard and the United States, by working long and tireless hours representing the members of the National Guard. Her steadfast professionalism, knowledge of Minnesota National Guard priorities, outreach efforts, and casework management have significantly contributed to successful and meaningful legislation adva
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018
Elijah E. Cummings (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-10-6

. Mr. Chair, as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I strongly oppose House Concurrent Resolution 71. prgtoken This Budget Resolution would direct the Oversight Committee to identify a minimum of $32 billion in savings over ten years. prgtoken Only two of the other 11 authorizing committees would be instructed to make more drastic cuts to federal programs--the Ways and Means Committee would have to identify at least $52 billion and the Judiciary Committee would have to identify at least $45 billion in cuts. prgtoken Once again, House s are targeting middle class civil service workers and their pensions for massive reductions. prgtoken The Budget would require federal workers to contribute significantly more to their pension plans than they do now. prgtoken It would also end the retirement supplement for employees like law enforcement officers who are required by law to retire before reaching eligibility age for Social Security benefits. prgtoken It would also eliminate pensions altogether for new hires. prgtoken This Budget Resolution would slash the federal workforce by 10 percent through attrition in certain agencies by limiting agencies to one new hire for every three employees who leave. prgtoken I am utterly dismayed at the relentless attacks on middle class federal workers without any real consideration of what they do every single day for the American people. prgtoken Over the past several years, s in Congress have cut federal employee compensation and retirement benefits for a total of nearly $200 billion in order to pay for deficit reduction and other government programs. prgtoken The argument that federal workers must sacrifice for the good of the country might have made some sense when the country was struggling during the Great Recession, and they did sacrifice. prgtoken But it makes much less sense now that our economy is recovering and the wage gains made by private sector workers are far outstripping those of workers who commit their lives to public service. prgtoken The argument that federal workers must be continually forced to sacrifice for deficit reduction also loses its strength when House s are trying to give tax cuts to the wealthy without paying for it. prgtoken The tax package would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, and 80 percent of tax cuts would benefit the top 1 percent of Americans, who earn at least $900,000. prgtoken While the wealthiest in our country would receive the vast majority of tax cuts, one third of middle class families making between $50,000 and $150,000 would see their taxes increase. prgtoken Many of these middle class families are federal workers who dedicate their lives to serving the American people. prgtoken It is unfair and uncompassionate to treat our civil servants in this way. prgtoken These are the men and women who aided in the rescue and recovery efforts as Hurri
RECOGNIZING DR. CHRIS DOMES
Patrick Meehan (Republican, PA) \u2014 2017-10-6

I rise to today to recognize Dr. Chris Domes and congratulate him on the occasion of his inauguration as the sixth president of Neumann University in Aston, PA. Dr. Domes succeeds my friend of many years Dr. Rosalie Mirenda, who served Neumann and our wider community for more than four decades. prgtoken Neumann University is a well-respected Catholic institution founded with the mission of nurturing the intellectual and religious spirit of its students. Neumann opened its doors as Our Lady of Angels College in 1965, with the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia educating 115 female students. In the years since, it has welcomed male students and changed its name to honor Saint John Neumann, the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia and a pioneer in Catholic education in the United States. Today, Neumann educates almost 3,000 students and nearly 14,000 alumni have benefitted from their Neumann education. prgtoken It was at a school not unlike Neumann where Dr. Domes found both his Catholic faith and his love of teaching--St. Bonaventure University, in Upstate New York. Since then, he has devoted his life to scholarship and worship. prgtoken Dr. Domes is exceptionally qualified for this position. He has over 31 years of experience in education and most recently served as president of Silver Lake College in Wisconsin. In this capacity, Dr. Domes oversaw a 52 percent expansion of the school's enrollment and a 64 percent increase in annual fundraising. He is a proven leader who will bring years of relevant experience to Neumann. prgtoken I know Dr. Domes will fit well into the Neumann University family and will work to make it stronger. I also wish Dr. Mirenda the best as she moves on from her position as President, and I wish the Neumann community continued prosperity with Dr. Domes at the helm.
CONGRATULATING SARATOGA COUNTY PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP'S SILVER EXCELLENCE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARD
Elise M. Stefanik (Republican, NY) \u2014 2017-10-6

I rise today to congratulate the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership for receiving a Silver Excellence in Economic Development award for its 8@8 e-Newsletter. prgtoken Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership is the leading agency in advancing economic development in Saratoga County. The Saratoga Partnership sends out a biweekly e-Newsletter featuring the top eight news items affecting the Saratoga County economy. 8@8 provides important information to stakeholders in the community as a way of creating opportunities that benefit business in Saratoga County. To recognize this important service, the International Economic Development Council presented the Silver Excellence award to the Saratoga Partnership at its annual conference held in late September. This award reflects the Saratoga Partnership's commitment to building a business environment where all companies can succeed. prgtoken On behalf of New York's 21st District, I want to congratulate the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership on its well-deserved award. We are grateful that the Saratoga Partnership can provide this informative e-Newsletter to the people of Saratoga County.