mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2546, COLORADO WILDERNESS ACT OF 2019; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.J. RES. 79, REMOVING DEADLINE FOR RATIFICATION OF EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT; AND FOR OTHER...
Mary Gay Scanlon (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2020-2-11

. Madam , the balance of my time. prgtoken Madam , H.J. Res. 79 is a long-overdue, bedrock civil rights effort, while the Protecting America's Wilderness Act is an effort that took input from a broad coalition of stakeholders to end up with a bill to positively impact local communities and further our national interest in preventing climate change. prgtoken As Members of Congress, we have a duty to uphold and protect the Constitution and the charge of our Founders to continue to form a more perfect Union. Passing the equal rights amendment is truly representative of that oath to ensure that all Americans are treated equally and afforded equal rights under the law. prgtoken I would like to recognize some of the women in organizations who have gotten us to this point: Alice Paul, who graduated from college in my district; Crystal Eastman; Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, who issued the first public call for women's equality at Seneca Falls in 1848; the National Organization for Women and the League of Women Voters, which organized and activated so many Americans of both parties in support of this movement; and so many of the other countless advocates who have fought tirelessly for women's equality. prgtoken This resolution is for all of them and for all the women and girls seeking to further advance equality and fighting for a more just America. prgtoken This resolution is a bold step forward in the ongoing fight for equal rights. I recognize that I would not be here without the sacrifices made by the women who came before me. Their passion and strength paved the way for me and for so many of my colleagues to get to where we are today. prgtoken But the battle is not yet won. Let's pass this rule, pass this resolution, and show our children that all Americans deserve equal rights and protection under the Constitution. prgtoken Madam , I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the previous question.
Election Security (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-2-11

the 2020 primary elections are already underway, and the national election is only 9 months away. We know that foreign entities--Putin, China, perhaps others--are already scheming to undermine the public confidence in our elections. The threats to our next elections are real and growing nearer each day. prgtoken Last week the Senate concluded an impeachment trial of the President, who was accused of abusing the powers of his office to solicit the help of a foreign power in his reelection--solicit the help. It didn't just happen. He was soliciting it. prgtoken My Senate friends refused to hold the President accountable for his misconduct--refused to even hold a fair trial. Now, what do we think the President will conclude after the Senate majority let him off the hook for trying to cheat in our elections? He will conclude that he can try to do it again. Anyone who knows him knows that is what he will do. prgtoken Because Senate s chose to look the other way, the need for election security legislation is greater now than ever before. We cannot trust this President to stand up for the integrity of our elections. So Congress must stand up in his stead. prgtoken In a few moments, my colleagues Senator Warner, Senator Wyden, and prgtoken Senator Blumenthal will ask for unanimous consent to pass crucial election security legislation. They will talk about what their legislation will do. But know this: Protecting our elections should not be partisan. It should not be controversial. It should earn the unanimous support of every Member. prgtoken The very wellspring of our democracy is the principle of free and fair elections. Will our colleagues stand up for free and fair elections today or will they once again block commonsense legislation to defend our democracy? prgtoken I yield to the Senator from Virginia.
Election Security (Executive Session)
Mark R. Warner (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2020-2-11

I appreciate my colleague's comments about prgtoken State and local election security, which I support. prgtoken I see two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on the floor, and I am extraordinarily proud of the bipartisan, unanimous work that we have done to point out what happened in 2016 and to lay out with a great deal of specificity what we need to do as a nation to protect ourselves in 2020. prgtoken This legislation I am proposing today is really kind of the simplest, lowest hanging fruit. I think we all say that we don't want foreigners interfering in our elections. All this legislation says is if a foreign government or foreign agents interfere to try to help or hurt any Presidential candidate, we ought to make sure there is no ambiguity that the appropriate response is not to say thank you but the appropriate response is to call the FBI. prgtoken That is the message we have heard from Director Wray. That is the message we have heard from the intelligence community. If we can't agree on that, gracious, where are we? prgtoken And, candidly, in other times we might not have needed this kind of legislation. It seems so patently obvious. prgtoken I am disappointed with the objection. We will keep trying. prgtoken With that, to my colleague from Oregon.
Election Security (Executive Session)
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2020-2-11

I want to thank the vice chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence and pick up on his remarks. prgtoken For my colleagues, I believe they have asked that I give my remarks before I offer my unanimous consent request, and that is what I will do. prgtoken , America is 266 days away from the 2020 elections, and Majority Leader McConnell has yet to take any concrete steps to protect our foreign elections from hacking or foreign interference. Thanks to this legislative blockade, the Senate has been totally derelict in its duty to stop foreign cyber attacks on our election. prgtoken I want to give just one concrete example, having listened to my colleague from Tennessee. There is not one single nationwide, mandatory election cyber security standard on the books. That means there is not even a prohibition on voting machines having an open connection to the internet. Colleagues, that is the equivalent of stashing our ballots in the Kremlin. There is no such cyber security prohibition. prgtoken The election security debacle of 2016 was 4 years ago, but still this body has refused to act. We know Russian hackers probed all 50 State election systems. They hacked at least one election vendor. Russians penetrated two Florida county election systems, according to Florida's Governor. That is just what we know about. prgtoken Despite all the ways foreign hackers have already made it into our election infrastructure, the Congress has refused to arm State and county officials with the knowledge and funding they need to secure their systems. prgtoken I will state what I tell my constituents at townhall meetings at home--and I have more of them scheduled this weekend--I believe, as of today, the 2020 election is going to make 2016 look like small potatoes. The list of threats and vulnerabilities ought to be a wake-up call--a wake-up call--for every Member of this Senate. There were the ES&S voting machines that for years came with preinstalled remote- access software. There is the fact that Russia hacked an election vendor called VR Systems in the summer of 2016. VR Systems electronic poll books in North Carolina malfunctioned on election day that year, and one polling place had to shut down for hours. It was 2\1/2\ years before the Department of Homeland Security even investigated what had happened, and the government still has not adequately responded to questions I and Senator Klobuchar have asked about this. prgtoken Right now, many election officials across the country are buying election systems that they believe in good faith are high tech, but they are in fact vulnerable to hacking and are outdated the moment they come out of the box. There is the alarming trend of states using mobile voting apps, like Voatz, that haven't been vetted by top security experts. prgtoken This is the reason why so many cyber security experts have been sounding the alarms for years, warning that putting computers bet
Climate Change (Executive Calendar)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2020-2-11

I am here again, as the Senate returns to regular business, to call us again to respond to the threat of climate change. Here on the floor today, things seem back to normal. The floor is empty. We have a Senator instead of a Chief Justice in the chair. The quorum calls descend between the speeches. Our new pages are figuring out the nonimpeachment routines of the floor. prgtoken Outside of the Senate, things are anything but normal. The threat of climate change worsens by the minute. Carbon emissions continue to rise globally. We hurtle toward calamity. Yet we do not act. What is stopping us? The biggest, most powerful, most motivated force preventing climate action is the fossil fuel industry, and, of course, it would be. The fossil fuel industry reaps the biggest subsidy in the history of the planet. The International Monetary Fund estimates the global subsidy for fossil fuel in the trillions of dollars every year. In the United States alone, the fossil fuel industry got a $650 billion subsidy in 2015, according to the most recent report from the IMF. That is about $2,000 from every woman, man, and child in the country. prgtoken You wrote the check, and they will spend big bucks to defend that subsidy. In fact, to maintain their grip on that subsidy, fossil fuel companies deploy lots of propaganda on the American people. They swamp us in advertising. The game isn't just to sell you more gas. It is much bigger than that. prgtoken Professor Robert Brulle of Drexel University--now in Rhode Island at Brown University--together with his coauthors, wrote a recent article, ``Corporate Promotion and Climate Change,'' looking at oil companies' carefully crafted public relations campaigns deployed way back since legendary muckraker Ida Tarbell chronicled the greed and cruelty of the Standard Oil Company. To offset their reputation for greed and nastiness, ``fossil fuel companies have attempted to burnish their image in various ways,'' Brulle and his colleagues write, ``[including] contemporary multimedia promotional campaigns . . . to project the corporation as a positive, responsible, and legitimate social actor.'' Hah. prgtoken The public began to catch on to the harms of industrial pollution in the 1960s and 1970s, and Big Oil deployed public relations campaigns to stem the public opinion tide. prgtoken One example Brulle uses is Mobil Oil, pre-ExxonMobil merger. In 1970, Mobil began buying space on the opinion page of the New York Times. They called these things advertorials--not advertisements, not editorials, but prgtoken advertorials. They ran in the same section as real opinion pieces. Every Thursday, those ads promoted Mobil's image as a good corporate citizen and boosted its public policy priorities, like reduced regulation of Mobil's operations. Meanwhile, Mobil worked hard to place rosy ``earned media'' stories on airwaves and in print. ``Between 1975 and 1977 alone, Mobil representatives a
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2546, COLORADO WILDERNESS ACT OF 2019; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.J. RES. 79, REMOVING DEADLINE FOR RATIFICATION OF EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT; AND FOR OTHER...
Suzan K. DelBene (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2020-2-11

. Madam , I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. prgtoken I rise today in order to form a more perfect union, and I do that by supporting today's rule and the underlying prgtoken resolution which will finally allow for the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, the equal rights amendment. prgtoken The equal rights amendment will enshrine the fundamental principle that every American be afforded equal rights under the law, including women. prgtoken In 1971 and 1972, Congress overwhelmingly passed the equal rights amendment. And just a few weeks ago Virginia became the 38th State to ratify it and the last State needed to amend our Constitution. prgtoken H.J. Res. 79 would remove the deadline for States to ratify the equal rights amendment, clearing the path for full equality of rights for women. prgtoken Because women are still subject to significant pay disparities and sexual harassment, our work is far from over. prgtoken Madam , I urge all of my colleagues to support today's rule and the underlying resolution and join me in voting for a more perfect union.
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MR. DAVID STERN
Nita M. Lowey (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-2-11

. Madam , I rise to honor the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Mr. David Stern of Scarsdale, New York. Mr. Stern passed away on January 1, 2020, at the age of 77. An attorney by training, Mr. Stern served as commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 through 2014. Mr. Stern is survived by his adoring wife, Dianne, and his two sons, Andrew and Eric. prgtoken As NBA Commissioner, Mr. Stern shepherded the NBA from a middling American sports product to a global entertainment giant. During his tenure as commissioner, the NBA gained 7 new franchises, opened offices in 15 cities outside the United States, and televised games in more than 200 countries and in 50 languages. prgtoken Business accomplishments aside, David Stern's socially responsible leadership of the league was truly groundbreaking. He was deeply committed to advancing opportunities for women in the game of basketball, overseeing the creation of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 1997. In speaking of his commitment to the WNBA, the league's first president, Val Ackerman, said, ``Without his vision and engagement, the league wouldn't have gotten off the ground. He was the mastermind, and the WNBA was really in line with his vision about how sports and society are intertwined.'' prgtoken We also recognize David Stern for his support of Los Angeles Lakers forward Earvin `Magic' Johnson in the wake of Johnson's HIV+ diagnosis in 1991. In an era of great mythmaking and stigma regarding people living with AIDS and HIV, Stein appeared publicly with Johnson at a press conference in the announcement's wake and invited Johnson to participate in that NBA season's All-Star game. The next summer, he ensured Johnson's inclusion on the 1992 Olympic `Dream Team' that sent NBA players to compete in the Olympics for the first time in the league's history, an achievement Stern also masterminded. prgtoken Stern's public support for Magic Johnson, coupled with his efforts to educate both the league and the public about the reality of the disease, was more than just a nice gesture from employer to employee. It was a bold, public demonstration of compassion that changed minds and undoubtedly helped save lives. For this, we honor the character and strength of David Stern. prgtoken Madam , I urge all Members of Congress to join me in recognizing David Stern's exceptional accomplishments and in sending our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
DIRECTING THE REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES AGAINST THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2020-2-12

it is February 12, and I am here to remark on an anniversary and tell a story. It is quite appropriate that Senator Leahy should be here on the floor with me because he is a great friend of Vietnam and has done great work in the U.S.-Vietnam relationship. We are about to be joined by Senator Carper, who flew as a Navy pilot in Vietnam. prgtoken This story goes back to February 12, 1973. February 12, 1973, was the day that our POWs were freed in Vietnam. I told this story to Dan Sullivan when we were having dinner together a few months ago. He said: Sheldon, you should tell that story on the Senate floor and put it in the Senate Record. So, at Dan's suggestion, I am here today. prgtoken What happened on February 12, 1973? prgtoken Two things happened. The first was that the prisoners being held in North Vietnam were released at the Hanoi Airport and were delivered into U.S. custody, and that went quite smoothly. The North was organized, for the prisoners were there, and the planes were there. Our prisoners, who were released from North Vietnamese custody on that day--this one will look familiar to many of us here; he was our colleague John McCain--climbed aboard their aircraft and went to the Philippines for medical treatment. prgtoken Down at Tan Son Nhut Airport, in Saigon, things were a little bit different. Huey helicopters had been sent off to the rally point at Loc Ninh, where our helicopters were to pick up 27 American prisoners of war who had been held by the Vietcong, and that did not go smoothly. The helicopters took off. The military aircraft, with their hospital insignia, were waiting at Tan Son Nhut for our soldiers and Foreign Service officers to come out. Actually, the longest held POW in the group who was going out to the Tan Son Nhut Airport was a Foreign Service officer who had been held for more than 7 years. They were all waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting, and there were disagreements and uncertainties and suspicions. So the day on which the POWs were supposed to return and go to Tan Son Nhut wore into evening and then into night. prgtoken While everybody was waiting, there were some dignitaries there. This was the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam at the time, Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker. This was the Deputy Ambassador. This was the first time a U.S. Embassy had two Ambassador rank officials. It was because the operation was so big in Vietnam. The Deputy Ambassador was a guy named Charles Sheldon Whitehouse, who was my father. Because he was there and because I was visiting--one of a very small group of dependents who was in Vietnam at the time--I was there. I was on the field at Tan Son Nhut during that long day as we waited for the prisoners to come out and as we tried to get intel on what was holding things up, on why the helicopters were not bringing them back. prgtoken The day became night, and they brought out huge klieg lights that lit up the field. I can still rem
DIRECTING THE REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES AGAINST THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2020-2-12

I hadn't planned to say anything about the Violence Against Women Act, but given the remarks from my colleague from Texas, let me just say that the bill that passed the House last year is here in the Senate. While it is true that it did not have a majority of House Members supporting it, it did have votes in the House. It expands protections under the Violence Against Women Act, and, like many bills that passed the House, it had very broad support. prgtoken It is sitting right here in the Senate, along with legislation that requires universal background checks to reduce gun violence, along with legislation to get secret money out of politics and make sure we refresh our democracy and reduce barriers to voting, along with many other bills, including a long-overdue increase in the Federal minimum wage. prgtoken I would suggest that the best way to find out whether or not it, in fact, has majority support here in the Senate is to let us vote on it, and anyone who prgtoken wants to vote against it, obviously, has a right to do so. It might well surprise us and pass here, and then we would have addressed a very important issue. S.J. Res. 68 prgtoken , I am here today specifically to talk in support of the joint resolution offered by Senator Kaine of Virginia that directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran without an authorization from the Congress. prgtoken The Framers gave Congress, and Congress only, the power to declare war. As James Madison noted, ``the history of all governments demonstrates that the executive is the branch of [government] most interested in war and [therefore] most prone to it.'' The Constitution ``has accordingly with studied care, vested the question of war in the legislature''--meaning in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. The Framers did that because they didn't want one person--and one person alone--to be able to make such a momentous decision for the entire country. prgtoken They wanted to have a clear check on the President's ability to send our sons and daughters into harm's way. prgtoken The text of the Constitution cannot be more clear. Article I, section 8 states: ``The Congress''--not the President--``shall have Power . . . To declare War.'' prgtoken The resolution before us is equally clear. It reaffirms Congress's power and ``directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for the use of military force against Iran.'' prgtoken That is what the resolution says. I hope my Senate colleagues see this resolution for what it is: a clear and important reminder to the executive branch of the power granted to Congress by the Constitution. The much tougher vote