mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
IN RECOGNITION OF SIMON EAGLIN FOR HIS LIFETIME OF SERVICE TO THE YPSILANTI COMMUNITY
Debbie Dingell (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2017-5-16

I rise today to recognize Simon Eaglin, a prominent community leader who served Ypsilanti throughout his life. Mr. Eaglin served as Postmaster General for the Ypsilanti area for over two decades and provided impactful leadership to many local organizations and causes. prgtoken Born in 1917, Mr. Eaglin moved to Ypsilanti during the Second World War to work at the Willow Run Bomber Plant and aid the United States' war effort. After the end of the war, Mr. Eaglin became a radiation control technician at the University of Michigan medical center while working to complete his college degree at Eastern Michigan University. He was then named as the Ypsilanti Post Office's Postmaster in 1964, a position he served until his retirement in 1988. Mr. Eaglin was known for his efficient leadership in ensuring prompt delivery of mail and packages in the Ypsilanti area. He was also heavily involved in the Ypsilanti community, serving as a member of the local Kiwanis Club and spearheading several of the organization's outreach efforts and remaining involved with its committees. prgtoken As the first African-American Postmaster in Ypsilanti, Mr. Eaglin dedicated his life and career effectively served the public while helping to break down barriers. In addition to his pioneering career as Ypsilanti's postmaster, Mr. Eaglin was well-known as a kind, caring individual whose service to the Ypsilanti community was instrumental to making the city a great place to live and work. In addition to his career as Ypsilanti's Postmaster, Mr. Eaglin volunteered for years with St. John's Catholic Church, the Housing Bureau of Seniors and several local hospitals. His legacy of public service, as well as his upbeat and friendly attitude, made him a beloved figure in the community, and he will be missed. prgtoken , I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Simon Eaglin, Ypsilanti's former Postmaster and community leader. Mr. Eaglin went above and beyond to serve the city and its residents during his life.
National Police Week (Executive Session)
Tom Udall (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2017-5-16

it is an honor to join my colleagues. I know Senator Coons and others have come together as a bipartisan group to talk about fallen police officers. prgtoken It is with my greatest respect and deepest sympathy that today I honor five fallen New Mexico heroes on the floor of the Senate. These five brave men were police officers who died in the line of duty. Police officers who sacrificed their lives in service to the people of their communities and our State. prgtoken Police Officer Jose Ismael Chavez was a member of the Hatch Police Department. While conducting a traffic stop in Hatch on August 12, 2016, one passenger exited and opened fire on Officer Chavez. Officer Chavez is survived by his wife and two children. prgtoken Secondly, Police Officer Clint E. Corvinus of Alamogordo was part of the Alamogordo Police Department and was shot while pursuing a suspected felon on foot in Alamogordo on September 2, 2016. Officer Corvinus is survived by his daughter. prgtoken Deputy Sheriff Ryan Sean Thomas of the Valencia County Sheriff's Department was responding to a call for service on December 6, 2016, when his patrol car left the roadway between Los Lunas and Belen, and overturned. He was ejected from his car. He is survived by his wife, daughter, and a baby boy after he died. prgtoken Sheriff Steven Lawrence Ackerman, of the Lea County Sheriff's Department, was killed in a single vehicle crash near Encino on January 17, 2017. Sheriff Ackerman had served with the Lea County Sheriff's Department for 14 years and previously with the Lea County Detention Center for 12 years. He is survived by his wife, daughter, son, and grandson. prgtoken Police Officer Houston James Largo, of the Navajo Tribal Police, was shot while responding to a domestic violence call near Prewitt, NM. He passed away the next day on March 12, 2017. He was only 27 years old. prgtoken There are no words to express the sadness or the gratitude we all feel toward these New Mexico officers and their families and toward all police officers who are killed in the line of duty. We honor them all this Police Week and by legislation we introduced last week in the Senate to extend flying the flag half-staff for the first responders. We will push to give first responders the respect they are owed by passing the Honoring Hometown Heroes Act. prgtoken Every day, tens of thousands of policemen and policewomen serve our communities in myriad ways, from tracking down violent criminals to finding shelter for homeless persons. The police and their families deserve our respect, gratitude, and support every day. prgtoken I thank you, Officer Chavez, Officer Corvinus, Deputy Sheriff Thomas, Sheriff Ackerman, and Officer Largo, from the bottom of my heart and with sincere appreciation.
PRESIDENT'S BREACH OF INTELLIGENCE
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-5-16

I too rise to honor this week of celebrating our police officers and hope to be able to speak about their bravery throughout the week. prgtoken But I am overwhelmed and shocked at the actions of the President of the United States to have yielded classified information into code-word intelligence inside a room with the Foreign Minister of Russia and the Ambassador. prgtoken It is well known that Ambassador Kislyak is reportedly considered by the U.S. intelligence community to be one of Russia's top spies and a central figure in the FBI investigation into Russia's collusion with campaign officials during the 2016 Presidential election, along with the downfall of General Flynn. This is an absolutely unacceptable way for a President to act. prgtoken , you have jeopardized the lives of the American people; you have jeopardized the lives of intelligence assets around the world; and you have breached the liaison relationship that we have had with many of our allies. prgtoken This needs to have a full investigation, besides a number of tools of the commission, a special prosecutor. This Judiciary Committee on the House side needs to stand up and have full hearings regarding the investigation of these horrific actions, violations that may breach on high crimes and misdemeanors. prgtoken It is shocking that the day after the President fired FBI Director Comey to impede the Bureau's investigation of the campaign's ties to the Russian agents and entities that interfered in the 2016 presidential election, we learn that the President recklessly disclosed classified and highly sensitive information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak at a meeting held at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. prgtoken Ambassador Kislyak is reportedly considered by the U.S. intelligence community to be one of Russia's top spies and a central figure in the FBI investigation into Russia's collusion with campaign officials during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. prgtoken And yet, the President thought it appropriate to disclose to him classified information that had not even been shared with some of our allies. prgtoken The President's disclosure of classified and highly sensitive information may have severely compromised a U.S. intelligence partner. prgtoken But rather than provide a more thorough explanation for the President's actions, his surrogates are engaged in a bait and switch, feigning outrage over leaks when the President's loose lips are responsible for the crisis he has created for our nation and for himself. prgtoken Every day the President gives the nation another reason to question his judgment, doubt his word, mistrust his motives, or question his capacity and competence to manage the national security and foreign policy of the United States. prgtoken The American people deserve better. prgtoken Beginning with the creation of an indep
RAPID DNA ACT OF 2017
Steve Cohen (Democrat, TN) \u2014 2017-5-16

I thank Mr. Raskin for his kind words and his work on this. I particularly thank Mr. Sensenbrenner for his work. He has been the sponsor of this since it was introduced. I was an original sponsor since it was introduced as well. It makes a lot of sense for us to do this and get DNA evidence and use science to the advantage of the American people, and particularly in law enforcement where we have problems in identifying suspects and proving guilt on occasion, and also exonerating the innocent. DNA is a perfect tool as it exonerates the wrongfully accused and gets the person who has committed the crime. prgtoken I am honored to be a part of this. This bill, while a small part in the big picture, shows that and s can work together to get some things done. I appreciate the honor to be able to sponsor, and I appreciate Mr. Sensenbrenner's work.
National Police Week (Executive Session)
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-5-16

I rise with my colleagues today in recognition of Police Week. I thank Senator Blunt and Senator Coons for bringing us together, as well as Senator Grassley and Senator Cornyn. prgtoken Law enforcement officers play a critical role in keeping our communities safe, and Police Week is all about honoring their dedication and sacrifice and, sadly for so many families, those officers who made the ultimate sacrifice. Our officers are on the frontlines of public safety, and while most people run away from crime scenes or run away from disaster, they run bravely toward it. prgtoken In my State, we were reminded all too well of the courageous dedication of law enforcement just this last year when Jason Falconer, an off-duty police officer at a shopping mall spending his free time on his own, encountered a horrific scene of a man unhinged who was stabbing people in the St. Cloud shopping mall. Falconer didn't even pause. He made sure that he saved the people who were wounded; 10 were wounded that day. So many would have been killed if he had not intervened--an off-duty officer. prgtoken I think about Officer Shawn Schneider, who is no longer with us, in Lake City, MN. I met with his family several times. This was a brave officer, a popular officer in a small community. One night he was called to the scene of a domestic abuse case. A young woman, scared, had called. He showed up at the door, and a man unhinged opened the door and shot and killed that officer. prgtoken The story behind that officer and the people behind that officer are the ones who carry on his memory--his fellow officers, as we see this week during Police Week, his family, his widow, and their three children. I will never forget sitting in the pews of that church and hearing the story as those three little kids walked down the aisle. There were two young boys and a girl in a blue dress covered in stars. The story was that the last time the family had been in that church and the last time those children had been in that church was for the church nativity play, and their dad, Officer Schneider, was sitting there watching them with such pride. A few weeks later, there they were at his funeral. prgtoken Those are the people we remember during this important week. Our job as U.S. Senators is to treat them in the way that they treat their jobs. They go to work every day without fear or favor. That is what we have to do when we think about police officers. prgtoken There are issues, as Senator Coons mentioned, we need to work on-- policies and the relationship between officers and our communities. We have to promote more community policing, more training, more recruiting. That is why I am very positive about these bills--the COPS bill I have with Senator Murkowski, where we finally have bipartisan sponsorship for grants that have now helped to place approximately 129,000 police officers on the beat in more than 13,000 State, local, and Tribal la
TRIBUTE TO ANN KALAYIL
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-5-16

I want to take a few minutes to acknowledge Ann Kalayil. Earlier this year, after 6 years, Ann stepped down as Regional Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration's--GSA--Great Lakes Region. Ann Kalayil is a trailblazer. She is the first woman--and first Asian American--to serve as GSA Administrator of the six-State Great Lakes Region. I am honored to congratulate her on a job well done. prgtoken Headquartered in Chicago, IL, the GSA is the Federal Government's real estate and procurement manager. As Regional Administrator, Ann Kalayil was responsible for 128 Federal buildings, 986 leased locations, 11 U.S. land ports, nearly 1,000 employees, and about $150 million in contracts to small and economically disadvantaged businesses. To say Ann Kalayil had a big job is an understatement, but it will come as no surprise to the people who know her that she met the challenge head-on and thrived in the role. prgtoken Her story is the story of the American dream. Born in Chicago, Ann was the daughter of Indian immigrants. When she was 5 years old, her parents moved back to Kerala, India. It was the first time Ann met her siblings, Tom, Sales, and Lisa. They were ecstatic to meet their baby sister but spoke very little English and struggled to communicate with each other. So what did Ann do? She took it upon herself to learn Malayalam, a South Indian language native to Kerala, India. Malayalam is an extremely complicated language, but Ann picked it up immediately, and people never guessed it wasn't her first language. This is how Ann would handle situations throughout her career. She never feared going out of her way to learn the needs of the community or group, even if it meant she would do most of the work. All that matters to Ann Kalayil is getting results. prgtoken People who know Ann best describe her as fierce, outspoken, and compassionate--just like her late father, Philip Kalayil. Her dad taught her the importance of these shared values and public service. Philip Kalayil was a Chicagoland legend. He was leader in the Indian American community, starting organizations to help people stay in touch with their culture and religion. Later, he would start the Indo- American ic Organization, empowering people to register to vote and make their voices heard. Ann would later serve as its president. In 2008, Philip was recognized by the Association for Asian American Studies with its Heart of Asian America Community Award, a well- deserved honor. prgtoken You could say public service was in Ann's blood, and although Philip is no longer with us, I know he would feel the same way. What a proud moment it must have been for him, watching his youngest daughter being sworn in to a top Federal job--appointed by the President of the United States--while holding the family Bible. prgtoken Growing up as Philip Kalayil's daughter, Ann had a front row seat in how to be a leader in the community an
President's Meeting With Russian Officials (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-5-16

by now we have all had the chance to read the report in the Washington Post that alleges stunning behavior on the part of the President in a meeting with the Russian Ambassador and Russian Foreign Minister. prgtoken According to the report, the President revealed classified information about a terrorist threat to officials of a foreign government. The President didn't share it with just any government; the report states he shared it with the Russian Government, a global adversary that has violated the sovereignty of peaceful nations, propped prgtoken up dictators and human rights abusers, including Iran and Syria, and has been widely proven to have interfered in our elections and the elections of our allies in Europe. prgtoken If this report is indeed true, it would mean that the President may have badly damaged our national security, nothing less, and in several ways. First, the act of a disclosure of this type could threaten the United States' relationships with allies that provide us with vital intelligence and could result in the loss of this specific intelligence source. prgtoken We rely on intelligence from our allies to keep America safe. America can't have eyes and ears everywhere. If our allies abroad can't trust us to keep sensitive information close to the vest, they may no longer share it with us. That undermines key relationships and, even more importantly, makes us less safe. prgtoken Second, if accurate, such a disclosure could damage our interests in the Middle East. We do not collaborate with Russia in Syria or elsewhere in the Middle East for the simple fact that we have diverging interests. Russia, for example, has worked with Iran to prop up the brutal Assad regime. Sharing vital intelligence with Russian officials could allow the Russians to pursue or even possibly eliminate the source or figure out how the ally conducts operations, including any against Russia or Russia's allies in the region. prgtoken Third, if the report is true, the President's alleged carelessness with classified information will further damage the relationship between the White House and the intelligence community--an essential relationship for the security of America. The intelligence community needs to be able to trust the President and trust that he will treat classified information with caution and with care. Our intelligence professionals put their lives on the line every day to acquire information that is critical to our national security and critical to keeping Americans safe. They have done a very good job. prgtoken If the reporting is accurate, in one fell swoop, the President could have unsettled our allies, emboldened our adversaries, endangered our military and intelligence officers the world over, and exposed our Nation to greater risk. prgtoken Given the gravity of the matter, we need to be able to quickly assess whether this report is true and what exactly was said. So I am calling on the
RAPID DNA ACT OF 2017
Jamie Raskin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-5-16

such time as I may consume. prgtoken I rise in strong support of H.R. 510, the Rapid DNA Act of 2017. I also want to salute Mr. Sensenbrenner for his hard work on it. prgtoken This bipartisan legislation would integrate Rapid DNA technology into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, popularly known as CODIS, to enable law enforcement to perform valuable investigative functions faster and more efficiently. prgtoken DNA technology is a valuable, dynamic, and rapidly unfolding element of our criminal justice system. DNA technology helps us to identify suspects, eliminate false suspects, exonerate the innocent, and ultimately to convict responsible perpetrators of crime. My State of Maryland is home to the first capital prisoner in the United States who was exonerated while in prison for a homicide with DNA technology. prgtoken CODIS and the National DNA Index System play a critical role across the country in criminal investigations by Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. Rapid DNA involves a fully automated, hands-free process designed to produce a DNA profile within minutes at the booking stage outside of a crime lab. prgtoken Existing law does not provide for the inclusion of Rapid DNA analyses into CODIS. H.R. 510 would bridge the gap between Rapid DNA technology and CODIS by authorizing law enforcement to conduct Rapid DNA analyses and upload the results to the national index, as long as the Rapid DNA machines that are used are accredited. This adds a real-time layer to CODIS and saves us all significant time and resources, improving efficiency in the criminal justice process. prgtoken H.R. 510 has significant practical and positive consequences for law enforcement and for public safety. For example, Detroit, as of this April, has tested approximately 10,000 backlogged sexual assault kits. As a result, there have been more than 2,600 DNA matches, including CODIS hits; the identification of nearly 800 potential serial rapists; 92 convictions obtained by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office; and DNA crimes linked to 40 other States and the District of Columbia. prgtoken The addition of Rapid DNA information to the CODIS database will help identify serial rapists if matches are made to the lab analyses of the sexual assault kit samples. prgtoken I hope that the use of Rapid DNA will allow other DNA labs to focus more of their resources on reducing the backlog prgtoken of untested sexual assault kits across the country. My home State of Maryland has 3,700 untested rape kits right now, according to a report done last year. prgtoken Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join the chairman and those of us in the minority in supporting this important legislation. prgtoken , .
National Police Week (Executive Session)
Christopher A. Coons (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2017-5-16

in conclusion, s, Senators Klobuchar, Grassley, Cornyn, and Blunt, for joining us today in a colloquy on the floor. It is a small but important gesture of bipartisan support, sustained and long-lasting bipartisan support for the community of law enforcement that serves each of us and our communities every day. prgtoken I wish to yield to my friend Senator Blunt for his closing remarks.
INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK
Bonnie Watson Coleman (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2017-5-16

this year, the American Society of Civil Engineers once again gave America's infrastructure a D-plus rating. prgtoken During Infrastructure Week, I must highlight the need for action and investment in our Nation's infrastructure. Our roads, bridges, and waterways are neither nor ; they belong to all of us. prgtoken From the New Deal to the Federal interstate highways, infrastructure projects have traditionally enjoyed broad bipartisan support and leadership. Improving and maintaining our 21st century transportation system creates access and opportunities for all, allowing for job creation, economic growth, and fostering innovation. prgtoken As we continue to wait for the President to put forth a plan and true efforts toward investment in our Nation's crumbling infrastructure, we bear witness to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost economic productivity and a threat to the safety and security of our Nation. prgtoken It is time to build. It is time to invest in America.
PRESIDENT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO FIRE FBI DIRECTOR
Anthony G. Brown (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-5-16

why did President fire FBI Director Comey? He called Comey a ``showboat'' and ``grandstander'' and said he was going to fire him regardless of the rationale outlined by the Deputy Attorney General. He justified firing Comey, who was leading the investigation into Michael Flynn and Russian interference in our elections, by saying it ``is a made-up story.'' prgtoken But the President's political removal of Comey without any legal or ethical reason shatters the idea that the FBI is independent and insulated from partisan politics. The President should not be able to fire the FBI Director for political or personal reasons. prgtoken That is why, today, I introduced legislation to raise the standard for the President to dismiss the FBI Director. Congress placed similar restrictions on the President's power to remove members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Director of the CFBP, and special counsels. The FBI should be no different. prgtoken Congress cannot continue to be a rubberstamp for this administration. Let's uphold our constitutional responsibility to hold the President accountable.