mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Abortion (Executive Calendar)
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2020-2-25

I rise to have a dialogue. Let me start it this way. My brother and I did not always agree on things. I know that may be shocking that two brothers did not get along on everything. Maybe in your house you got along on everything, but my brother and I, growing up, did not agree on everything. prgtoken In fact, growing up, I distinctly remember the day we reached epic levels, and we actually got masking tape out in our room and put a line down the floor that ran from one wall across to the other wall. We had an old-school stereo record player in our room. The line ran up the record player so that on one side he had the tuning knob and on the other side I had the volume knob. We would have to reach some sort of detente to listen to anything. If he turned it to a station I didn't like, I could turn the volume all the way down. We would have to work things out. The line even went through our closet, with his clothes and my clothes on it, and we had a clear line of separation that you could not cross that line. The rules were very clear in our room. For whatever reason, our mom put up with it for quite a while as we had our ``Don't cross the line into my side'' kind of moment. prgtoken It is interesting that today in the Senate there was in some ways kind of a line-drawing moment to not draw a line but to try to figure out where are our lines, where are our boundaries on an issue that Americans talk about all the time, in many ways, but always get nervous in that dialogue. It is the issue about when is a child a child. prgtoken We have this weird dialogue as a nation because we have a great passion for children. We spend a tremendous amount of money, personally, on our families and in our communities and in nonprofits and Federal taxpayer dollars to walk alongside children to do everything we can to protect the lives of those children. prgtoken We have some in this body who have proposed Federal taxpayer dollars for children in their very first days of life to have childcare that is available for them, but literally 3 days before that, they have also proposed Federal tax dollars for abortion to take that life. prgtoken It begs the question: Where is your line on life? What is that moment? For me, I go with the science. It is conception. That is a dividing cell that has DNA that is different than the mom and different than the dad. That dividing cell is a uniquely different person. Every science textbook, every medical textbook that you look at would identify that DNA is different than any other DNA in the world. That is a different person. As those cells grow and divide and as that child grows and divides, whether they are 50 years old or whether they are only days old still in womb, the DNA is the same. All the building blocks are in that child from their earliest days. prgtoken Others will look at it and will ask the question--like the Supreme Court did in 1973, when they ruled on Roe v. Wade on th
GOLD STAR SPOUSES AND SPOUSES OF INJURED SERVICEMEMBERS LEASING RELIEF EXPANSION ACT OF 2019
David P. Roe (Republican, TN) \u2014 2020-2-25

. Madam , the balance of my time. prgtoken Madam , I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill. prgtoken This takes me back to when I was in college in 1965, and my scout master was killed in Vietnam leaving behind four children. They were responsible for all these things with no resources, no money. I think our lives then were worth, at the most, if you bought extra insurance, $20,000, not much money. prgtoken This is the right thing to do. I am sorry it took 50 years to get it done. I certainly appreciate all of my colleagues, especially my good friend Dr. Wenstrup and Representative Bustos who brought this to our attention and got it done. prgtoken I encourage all my colleagues to support this bill prgtoken Madam , .
IMPEACHMENT
Thom Tillis (Republican, NC) \u2014 2020-2-25

during the impeachment trial, this Chamber considered the evidence and heard the arguments presented by the House managers and White House Counsel. During the 12 days of the impeachment trial, the Senate heard from the House managers for nearly 22 hours, and we heard from the White House Counsel for nearly 12 hours. This was followed by 180 questions asked and answered over 2 days, concluding with closing arguments by the House managers and White House Counsel. prgtoken Ultimately, there were two questions the Senate had to answer when considering the Articles of Impeachment. prgtoken The first question, for the near-term, is should the President be removed from office? prgtoken The second question, for the long-term health of our Nation, is whether we should allow the impeachment process to be weaponized and used by a majority in the House to settle partisan political scores? prgtoken My answers to both questions are a resounding no. prgtoken That is why I voted against both Articles of Impeachment. prgtoken While my ic colleagues operated under the presumption of guilt, even if one is to assume the worst, the reality is the allegations against President were neither criminal nor impeachable. They did not come close to meeting the standard of treason, bribery, or high crimes or misdemeanors set by our Founding Fathers. prgtoken It is remarkable to read the Federalist Papers and appreciate their clairvoyance. Federalist 65, written by Alexander Hamilton, was frequently quoted throughout these proceedings, and for good reason. Hamilton's warnings to this body of using impeachment as a partisan device were borne out. Hamilton wrote that impeachment: [W]ill seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused. In many cases it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions . . . and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt. prgtoken By placing the impeachment power within the House and Senate, Hamilton acknowledged that power may wind up in the hands of ``the leaders or tools of the most cunning or the most numerous faction,'' which may ``hardly be expected to possess the requisite neutrality towards those whose conduct may be the subject of scrutiny.'' It is because of this remarkable power that Hamilton argued the Senate had been granted the power to try impeachments because the Senate is more likely to preserve ``the necessary impartiality between the INDIVIDUAL accused, and the REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE, HIS ACCUSERS?'' prgtoken It is important to note that the of the House previously warned about the dangers of a politically motivated impeachment effort, stating in March 2019 that ``impeachment is
PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2020-2-25

I would like to bring my colleagues up to date on a bipartisan bill to lower drug prices and also, at the same time, give an update on the pharmaceutical industry's opposition to this legislation. prgtoken Beware the next time Big Pharma claims what we are trying to do to lower drug prices, in their words, ``undermines the free market.'' Just remember this. The pharmaceutical industry supported Care. prgtoken Big Pharma doesn't want a free market. Take note that this industry opposes every proposal that would cost it money and supports every proposal that ensures another government revenue stream. That is exactly what Care did and that is what Medicare and Medicaid do now. prgtoken Big Pharma has become so big and entitled that they have the gall to claim that limiting taxpayer subsidies is somehow socialism. Care has a stream that does that, as does Medicare and Medicaid. In fact, this is what ending corporate welfare and demanding accountability to taxpayers is all about. It seems to me that ending those subsidies would be a very conservative principle. prgtoken The Grassley-Wyden prescription drug bill saves tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money and has no negative impact on pharmaceutical innovation. That is exactly what the CBO has said and that is why even the free-market, libertarian CATO Institute has endorsed this legislation. prgtoken So I encourage my colleagues to join me and Senator Wyden in that bipartisan effort. prgtoken .
Abortion (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2020-2-25

today we will vote on two pro-life bills: the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act and the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. prgtoken These bills should be completely uncontroversial. Every one of us in this Chamber ought to be able to agree that infants who are born alive during an abortion procedure should receive the same care that a baby born alive in a hospital would receive. prgtoken Every one of us ought to agree that, at the very least, we should not be aborting babies after the point that they can feel pain, but unfortunately the abortion extremism in the ic Party is such that it is unlikely that these two bills will even get a chance to be debated. prgtoken We shouldn't even need the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. It should be obvious that any baby born alive, wherever he or she is born, ought to receive care, but with more than one leading over the past year refusing to rule out infanticide, it has become clear that we need to underscore that being born alive in an abortion clinic instead of a hospital doesn't eliminate a baby's right to medical care. prgtoken Like the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, the Pain- Capable Unborn Child Protection Act should be a no-brainer. This legislation would ban abortions beginning in the sixth month of pregnancy, a point at which science has clearly demonstrated that the unborn child is able to feel pain--and not only able to feel pain. By this point in a pregnancy, approximately 20 weeks, babies are almost able to survive outside of their mothers. Babies have survived after being born at 25 weeks, at 24 weeks, at 23 weeks, and, like Ellie Schneider, who attended the State of the Union Address with her mom, at 21 weeks. prgtoken It is unthinkable that we are killing babies who are so far advanced that it is possible for them to survive outside of their mothers, but we are. In 2016, somewhere around 11,000 babies were aborted at or after the 21-week mark in pregnancy--11,000 in one year. prgtoken like to point to European countries to support their push for government-run healthcare and other socialist policies, but they never mention--they never mention--that almost every European country has more limits on abortion than we have here in the United States. In fact, the United States is one of just seven countries in the entire world that allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Among the other countries are China and North Korea--not exactly the kind of company we want to be in when it comes to keeping and protecting human rights because--make no mistake--that is what we are talking about with abortion: human rights. prgtoken Abortion denies unique, individual human beings, with their own fingerprints and their own DNA, the most basic of human rights: the right to life. It is happening on a massive scale. Every year, in the United States alone, hundreds of thousand
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Ben Sasse (Republican, NE) \u2014 2020-2-25

reserving the right to object, I would like to address Senator Durbin's comments and his unanimous consent request through the Chair. prgtoken First, I am glad the Senator from Illinois wants to reduce infant mortality rates and wants to reduce maternal mortality rates. I agree on both of these goals. prgtoken On the subject of infant mortality, the Senate is going to vote on one infant mortality bill in about an hour. The senior Senator from Illinois said a moment ago that there are two anti-choice pieces of legislation this afternoon. For reporters and the public paying attention, Lindsey Graham's bill is about abortion. I support Senator Graham's bill. I don't exactly agree with the characterization of it as leading with the anti-choice language, but it is an abortion bill. prgtoken The second piece of legislation we are considering today is not in any way an abortion bill. The anti-choice legislation rhetoric that you are using doesn't have anything to do with the actual legislation that we are considering this afternoon. prgtoken Yet I hope that you would consider on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act the fact that it is addressing some cases of mortality by making sure babies who have survived abortion get care. These are babies who are already born and outside the mother. prgtoken The Senator's passionate speech about infant mortality suggests that either we are doing more cynical posturing around here or that folks plan to actually support this bipartisan piece of legislation. I hope it is the latter. I sincerely hope that the Senator would vote in accord with the positions he took earlier in his career and that we would vote in favor getting important stuff done on this legislation. prgtoken In addition, as for the comments he made on the subject of maternal mortality rates, I agree with him. Many of these tragedies are preventable and, I believe, despite being the second or third or fourth most conservative Member of the Senate by my voting record and believing in small government, I agree we underfund a lot of these pieces of public health investment, and I would like us to do more to address preventable maternal tragedies as well. prgtoken Therefore, in a moment, I am going to ask if the senior Senator from Illinois would agree to modify his unanimous consent request to include the Grassley amendment. I will use all of the appropriate parliamentary language at the end but, for public understanding, this amendment, the Grassley amendment, would give States $2.5 billion new dollars to address maternal health and at-risk communities. In addition, this amendment would give $200 million to address maternal mortality under the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program. We are talking about more funding, fully offset, for at-risk moms--no politics, no gimmicks. It is in line with the policies that the senior Senator from Illinois was just advancing. prgtoken It is
TRIBUTE TO JAY KHOSLA
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2020-2-25

on a totally different matter, I have a duty this morning that somehow ranks among my most favorite activities and least favorite activities simultaneously. The good news is that I get to recognize a key member of my staff whom I have come to know and admire a great deal. The bad news is the occasion. This week, after 15 years of outstanding service, he is bidding farewell to the Senate. So I am unhappy with the circumstances, but I could not be more happy to talk about Jay Khosla. prgtoken For just shy of 2 years, Jay has served as my chief economic policy counsel. Trade, taxes, banking, and financial services; pensions and retirement; housing--for 2 years, any answer I needed on any of these subjects was one phone call, one email, or one quick meeting away. You can go a long way in this town if you master either the policy details of big issues or the politics surrounding those issues. Jay has mastered both. prgtoken When you have a lot of talent and intelligence, major projects tend to find their way to your desk. So consider the fact that Jay has been at the center of practically every major economic policy achievement over the past decade-plus. prgtoken Jay arrived as a young healthcare staffer for then-Majority Leader Bill Frist. Talk about an opening act--not just working for a majority leader, but one who is also an M.D. and who is focused on healthcare. The bar was set high, but Jay, of course, exceeded it. prgtoken He moved to the Budget Committee and then crafted policy for Senator McCain's Presidential campaign. Then, he returned to work for Senator Hatch and the Finance Committee. Before long, Jay was Senator Hatch's secret weapon. As he rose through the ranks to policy director and then to staff director, he rapidly became a not-so-secret weapon. He was an invaluable asset to the chairman, to the committee, and, really, to our entire conference. prgtoken His relationships extended across the aisle as well. Our ic colleagues respect him greatly. His colleagues on the committee remember that, even when it might have been easier to pull back behind party lines and just try to craft a bill within the majority, Jay stayed stubbornly dedicated to the bipartisan process as long as possible. prgtoken A team player, an honest broker, Jay doesn't want to just get big things done, he wants to get them done the right way. From trade promotion authority in 2015 and historic tax reform in 2017, to USMCA this past year, these huge accomplishments and many more, like fighting the opioid epidemic and fixing the dysfunctional sustainable growth rate that has plagued Medicare--all of these issues had this staff leader right at the center. In many cases, his work started months or years in advance, meeting with leaders, pouring the foundation for new policy, and staying on the case right through to the finish line. prgtoken Needless to say, this is a resume that, basically, anyone in Washing
CONGRATULATING TRACEY CHILDRESS AS THE HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Bruce Westerman (Republican, AR) \u2014 2020-2-25

. Madam , I rise today to congratulate Ms. Tracey Childress of Hot Springs on her recognition as the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce's 2020 Woman of the Year. This award is given yearly by the Chamber of Commerce based on the impact that members of a community have on their fellow man. Since she moved to Arkansas in 1992, Ms. Childress has been a vital part of the Hot Springs area, specifically in her work with the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center where she has served as Director since January 2019. She worked as a forensic interviewer for several years, often cited as one of Arkansas' leading experts on Child First Forensic Interview Protocol. In addition to her work, she is also a respected and active member of her church, a state and national forensic interview instructor, a certified law enforcement instructor, and a beloved mentor in the local YMCA Reach and Rise Program. Ms. Childress provides this nation with a perfect example of what service can accomplish in a community both professionally and personally. I am proud to call her a friend and a fellow Fourth District citizen. I take this time to congratulate her on her success as Woman of the Year and thank her for her continued service to the young people around us.
RECOGNIZING PETTY OFFICER KWAME KUSI-APPIAH AS THE 2020 MARGARET FLOWERS AWARD RECIPIENT
Matt Gaetz (Republican, FL) \u2014 2020-2-25

. Madam , I rise to recognize Petty Officer Kwame Kusi-Appiah as the 2020 Margaret Flowers Award recipient. This award goes to military members who have served their communities, apart from their active duty capacity. Petty Officer Kusi-Appiah is a member of the United States Navy, as well as an upstanding citizen of Florida's First Congressional District. prgtoken In Northwest Florida, we are fortunate to have some of the bravest individuals in our nation. Our district has been gifted with a population that is deeply rooted in military service. Petty Officer Kusi-Appiah has shown his willingness to serve our nation through his service with the Navy, being the Leading Petty Officer for the Blue Angels' Supply Department, as well as his willing to serve the community around him. prgtoken Petty Officer Kusi-Appiah was the Detachment Leading Petty Officer for the 2019 Winter Training Detachment, and supported 32 different sites during the year. Even though he was on the road for much of the year, he devoted 525 hours to the local Big Brothers program, the United Service Organization, and local elementary Schools. He has also been the mentor to a local second grade student. In addition to volunteering, Petty Officer Kusi-Appiah is the command organizing and certifying official for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, coordinating over 3,000 hours of service to the community and producing 7 awards. prgtoken For all of his admirable contributions to our community, I am truly proud to have Petty Officer Kusi-Appiah as a constituent of Florida's First Congressional District. prgtoken Madam , on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged to recognize Petty Officer Kwame Kusi-Appiah for his many accomplishments, and his commitment to altruism and excellence in our district. I thank him for all of his service and wish him all the best for his continued success.
HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF MR. JAMES ARRIGO
John Katko (Republican, NY) \u2014 2020-2-25

. Madam , I rise to honor the life and service of Mr. James Arrigo as he celebrates his 96th birthday. Throughout his life, Mr. Arrigo has demonstrated exemplary patriotism through his service in World War II, and longstanding devotion to his family. After graduating from North High School in 1942, Mr. Arrigo enlisted in the United States Air Force, proudly serving his country in World War II. During the war, he was stationed in Japan, working as a bombardier with the 20th Air Force 313th Wing. In December of 1945, Mr. Arrigo was discharged as a 1st Lieutenant, after flying 35 missions over Japan. Following completion of his military service, Mr. Arrigo returned home to Central New York and on April 7, 1947 married Mary Ann Cali. Together they lived in North Syracuse and raised two children. After many years working as a self-employed barber at Jimmy's Barbershop, Mr. Arrigo retired at the age of 82. In addition to working as a barber, Mr. Arrigo served as a Town of Clay councilman from 1966 to 1970 and served as an active member of the Town of Clay Men of Rotary. Madam , I ask that my colleagues in the House join me in honoring the life and service of Mr. James Arrigo. Mr. Arrigo's life has been one marked by admirable devotion to his family and country.
NORM HURST RECEIVES THE PRESIDENTS' CHOICE AWARD
Paul Cook (Republican, CA) \u2014 2020-2-25

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the service and commitment of Norm Hurst, who received the Presidents' Choice Award from the Victor Valley College Foundation on February 22, 2020. prgtoken After serving in the United States Air Force, Norm Hurst went on to become a Deputy Sheriff for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Within the span of his 32-year career in law enforcement, Norm would ultimately be promoted to Deputy Chief. Long before he was a Deputy Chief, Norm's association with Victor Valley College began when he received his Associate of Science degree in the Spring of 1974. Not long after receiving his Bachelor's in Criminal Justice, Norm was encouraged to begin teaching within Victor Valley College's Criminal Justice Department. His service to the College continued in 2011 when he joined the Victor Valley College Foundation Board of Directors. Today, Norm continues to be an advocate for student success, and works tirelessly to fundraise for the Foundation's scholarships and grants to VVC's departments. prgtoken Norm Hurst has dedicated decades of his life to serving the public. Throughout his career in the military, law enforcement, and education, he has embodied one of the Air Force's core values--Service Before Self. Congratulations, Norm.