mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
MEDICAID INSTITUTES FOR MENTAL DISEASE ARE DECISIVE IN DELIVERING INPATIENT TREATMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS BUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEEDED ACCESS ARE LIMITED WITHOUT INFORMATION NEEDED ABOUT FACILITY...
Fred Upton (Republican, MI) \u2014 2018-6-12

I thank the chairman for the time, and I will be short. prgtoken This bill is important. It is bipartisan, and it ensures that patients will have access to the full continuum of care. prgtoken It is important to make sure that Congress and CMS understand how those dollars for Medicaid are being used. Whether that is under a waiver, whether it is under managed care, under fee for service, the goal of this legislation is to identify those gaps in our knowledge and to leverage MACPAC's research capabilities to address those gaps for the betterment of patients not only in Michigan but, obviously, around the country. prgtoken So this simply requires that Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission submit to Congress a report on the information about services furnished to Medicaid enrollees who are patients in an institute of mental disease, IMD, including standards that they must follow, including quality standards and recommendations how they can include the data collection for IMDs. This is going to be better for everybody, which is one of the reasons why it should have no opposition. prgtoken I appreciate the leadership of Mike Burgess, the chair of the Health Subcommittee, and Chairman Walden, and our friends on the other side of the aisle who, again, worked with us to make sure that this could be a reality this afternoon. prgtoken I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this bill.
CONGRATULATING MITCH McCONNELL AS THE LONGEST SERVING SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER
Lamar Alexander (Republican, TN) \u2014 2018-6-12

the Senate majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, will become the longest serving Senate leader in history, surpassing former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. This is according to the Senate historical office. Today is Senator McConnell's 4,179th day as Senate leader--a position he assumed on January 3, 2007, after s lost control of both Chambers of Congress. prgtoken I would like to take a few minutes to put Senator McConnell's leadership in perspective. That perspective begins in the year 1969. I was 29 years old and working in the Nixon White House. Senator Howard Baker, Jr of Tennessee, said to me: ``You might want to get to know that smart, young legislative assistant for Marlow Cook.'' Marlow Cook was Kentucky's newly elected Senator. That smart, young legislative assistant was 27-year-old Mitch McConnell. prgtoken If one has known him for a long time, the evolution of Mitch McConnell's Senate leadership isn't hard to trace. To begin with, when he was 2 years old, the doctor said: ``Mitch has polio.'' It is hard to imagine today how terrifying those words were for parents then. McConnell remembers: It was 1944. There was a serious epidemic that year all over the country. And the disease was very unpredictable. First, you'd think you had the flu, and a couple of weeks later, some people would be completely normal and some of them would be in an iron lung or dead. prgtoken He continued: In my case, it affected my left quadriceps, the muscle between the knee and your thigh. And in one of the great good fortunes of my life, my mother was living with her sister in this little crossroads of Five Points, Alabama, where there was not even a stoplight--while my dad was overseas fighting the Germans--and it happened to be 60 miles from Warm Springs, where President Roosevelt had gone [to treat his own polio]. My mother took me to Warm Springs. They taught her a physical therapy regimen, and said to do it four times a day and to keep me off my feet. She watched me every minute and prevented me from really walking. My first memory in life is when they told my mother I was going to be okay, that I'd be able to walk without a limp, and we stopped at a shoe store in LaGrange, Georgia, on the way back to Alabama to get a pair of low top shoes, which were a kind of symbol I was going to have a normal childhood. prgtoken If one knows about the determination of Mitch McConnell's mother, it is not hard to imagine how her son determined as a college student to be a U.S. Senator, and did; determined to be his party's Senate leader, and did; and then determined to hold that leadership position longer than anyone in U.S. history, and has. This was an arduous, two-decade leadership journey: chairman of the National Senatorial Commit
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-6-12

I rise today to mark an important milestone for our friend Senator Mitch McConnell, who has now become the longest serving leader, surpassing Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, who served from 1985 to 1996. prgtoken I told somebody in the press yesterday that Senator McConnell has done it the old-fashioned way: He earned it. He earned this role as our leader and the respect, certainly, that goes along with it. prgtoken He served as minority leader beginning in 2007, and I had the honor of presenting him with a copy of his maiden speech as leader back then. That was at the beginning of the 110th Congress, and he has served as either majority leader or minority leader ever since. What a historic tenure his has been, and what a privilege it has been for me to serve alongside him since I came to the Senate in 2003, but especially in my role as whip, I have had the opportunity to work with the leader on a daily basis, and it has been one of the highlights of my Senate career. prgtoken Senator McConnell is trusted. We all know he is whip smart. He is an impressive strategist. He understands the Senate better than anybody else here, and time and again, he has demonstrated what leaders always need to demonstrate, and that is a remarkable degree of humility, sometimes preferring to work for the betterment of the conference and the country behind the scenes rather than enjoy the spotlight on the frontlines. That takes a remarkable sense of self-confidence and team spirit that not everybody has. It is true that sometimes he is soft- spoken, but I can assure you that he is never afraid to take a hard line when absolutely necessary. But more than that, he is a rare example of what a Senator ought to be, what a true public servant ought to be. prgtoken As majority leader, Senator McConnell is a member of a storied group that includes the likes of Senator Charles Curtis, the first official majority leader of the Senate, who was famous for his Native American ancestry and racing horses, I am told. The` group includes Robert Taft of Ohio, who would work late into the night studying the rules of the Senate in order to outmaneuver his opponents. It includes Lyndon Baines Johnson from my State, who would go on to become President, as well as Mike Mansfield from Montana, Johnson's whip, who went on to serve as majority leader for 16 years. In more recent times, there have been great statesmen, such as Bob Dole, Trent Lott, and Bill Frist. prgtoken We all know that Senator McConnell is an avid student of history, and he has learned a lot from all of these leaders--their example, their ups and downs, their successes, and their challenges--and in a sense, he stands on their shoulders. The experience, the example, and the great leadership each of them demonstrated have benefited all of us but nobody more than our leader Senator McConnell. prgtoken In today's world, the qualities embodied by all of these
SPECIAL REGISTRATION FOR TELEMEDICINE CLARIFICATION ACT OF 2018
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (Republican, GA) \u2014 2018-6-12

I thank the gentleman for yielding. prgtoken , in 2008 Congress strengthened prohibitions against inappropriately distributing and dispensing controlled substances online by passing the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act. prgtoken The Ryan Haight Act made it illegal for a practitioner to dispense controlled substances through the Internet without at least one in- person patient evaluation. The law included the ability for the Attorney General to issue a special registration to healthcare providers detailing in what circumstances they could prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine in legitimate emergency situations, such as a lack of access to an in-person specialist. prgtoken However, the waiver process has never been implemented through regulation. Thus, some patients still do not have access to care that they need. prgtoken The Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act directs the Attorney General to promulgate interim final regulations within 1 year after passage of the law. The 62 million Americans living in rural communities are more likely to be older, poorer, and suffer higher rates of chronic disease than their urban counterparts. prgtoken Furthermore, a disproportionate number of Americans living in rural communities are struggling with prescription opioid abuse. We must ensure that these individuals are able to access the care that they need. prgtoken , I urge Members to support this bipartisan legislation co-led by my colleague across the aisle, Representative Bustos, to connect patients with the substance use disorder treatment they need without jeopardizing important safeguards to prevent misuse or diversion.
AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2018-6-12

I have 9 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. prgtoken Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs prgtoken The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Richard Clarida, of Connecticut, to be a Member of the Board of Governors, and to be Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors, and Michelle Bowman, of Kansas, to be a Member of the Board of Governors, both of the Federal Reserve System. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources prgtoken The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing. Committee on Finance prgtoken The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing. Committee on Finance prgtoken The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Jeffrey Kessler, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Elizabeth Ann Copeland, of Texas, and Patrick J. Urda, of Indiana, both to be a Judge of the United States Tax Court, and Amy Karpel, of Washington, and Randolph J. Stayin, of Virginia, both to be a Member of the United States International Trade Commission. Committee on Finance prgtoken The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at 2 p.m. to conduct a hearing. Committee Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions prgtoken The Committee Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Cost of Prescription Drugs: Examining the President's Blueprint American Patients First to Lower Drug Prices.'' Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs prgtoken The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Examining the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program.'' Committee on the Judiciary prgtoken The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Election Interference: Ensuring Law Enf
TAX REFORM
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-6-12

. Now, , speaking of the economy, by now it is no secret that under the last administration, our Nation's economic recovery was slow, stunted, and almost exclusively focused on the largest urban centers. Between 2010 and 2016, that is where more than 90 percent of the population growth happened; it is where nearly three-quarters of new jobs went. Most everywhere else--in our smaller cities, small towns, and rural areas--families heard a lot of talk about what my ic colleagues called an ``economic recovery,'' but they saw few or none of the effects in these small towns and small communities. So it is no surprise that after seeing their communities suffer under 8 years of ' policies, millions of Americans are ready to take a different route. That is why they elected a President and majorities here in Congress. And we set about implementing our agenda to take money and power out of Washington and put it back in the hands of middle-class families and small businesses all across our country. prgtoken But even as the positive effects of these policies have become more and more obvious, they continue to encounter near-complete party-line opposition at every turn. I recall that just 2 or 3 days after President signed our historic tax reform into law, several of my colleagues across the aisle were offering some dramatic predictions. prgtoken On Christmas Eve last year, the senior Senator from Montana took to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle with a piece titled ``Tax bill a disastrous plan, fails Montana and our future.'' Quite a pronouncement. It reminded me of the ic leader of the House. She said our plan to give tax cuts to middle-class families and businesses would bring about ``Armageddon.'' Armageddon. prgtoken How are these prognostications holding up? The new Tax Code is causing Northwestern Energy to pass along millions of dollars in savings to Montana utility customers. My friend Senator Daines recently shared what tax reform already means to Montana small business owners. In Chester, at Stricks Ag, it means bonuses of nearly $1,000 for each employee. In Missoula, at Big Sky Brewing, it means worker bonuses and money to purchase new equipment. The same goes for Cabinet Mountain Brewing in Libby. Over in Thompson Falls, tax reform gave Thompson River Lumber the breathing room to buy their first new forklift in 19 years. prgtoken These are the workers and job creators whom Senator Daines bet on when he voted for tax reform and helped make all of this possible. He voted for Montanans to send less to the IRS and keep more of their own hard-earned money to save or invest as they see fit. It is too bad their senior Senator took the opposite approach and tried to block these tax cuts from happening, let alone that ic leaders in both Chambers now say they will repeal tax reform if they get the chance. But s will keep picking up the slac
HONORING THE LIFE OF SERGEANT JULIUS E. McKINNEY
Trent Kelly (Republican, MS) \u2014 2018-6-12

I rise to recognize a former Ole Miss football coach, Billy ``Dog'' Brewer, who also passed away recently and was great friends with Judge Thomas. prgtoken Coach Brewer was always loved by his players. He was a fighter and he got the best out of all of his players all the time. He took Ole Miss back to a bowl that they won for the first time in 13 years in 1986, and took them to multiple other bowl games, including a Gator Bowl in 1990. prgtoken On this day, I would just like to recognize the contributions that Coach Billy ``Dog'' Brewer made to the University of Mississippi, and the great State of Mississippi.
25TH ANNIVERSARY OF SEEDS OF PEACE
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2018-6-12

in 1993, American journalist and author John Wallach hosted a dinner with leaders from Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority. As he toasted his guests, he urged each country to send 15 youngsters to a new summer camp he had established in Otisfield, ME. That year, 46 teens, ages 13 to 18, and including three Americans, comprised the first class of the Seeds of Peace Camp. prgtoken Twenty-five years later, Seeds of Peace now has 6,698 alumni throughout the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, and the United States. They came to Maine from 27 countries, many from places of conflict, for 3 weeks of camping and social activities to promote understanding, reconciliation, acceptance, dialogue, coexistence, and peace. They returned home uniquely positioned to lead change and with the courage to dispel the fear, mistrust, and prejudice that fuel conflict. prgtoken It is a pleasure to congratulate this remarkable organization on its landmark 25th anniversary. Seeds of Peace is able to bridge borders and foster peace in the midst of longstanding global conflicts. Many of those early campers are now holding decisionmaking positions in their home countries, and I believe that the ``seeds of peace'' that were planted during their time in Maine will blossom into lasting, visionary solutions to conflicts perpetuated by cycles of violence. prgtoken Building on the success of the international program, Seeds of Peace launched the Maine Seeds leadership program in 2000 in response to the changing demographics in our State resulting from a growing refugee population. These Maine Seeds organize year-round community and school activities that bridge divisions and create positive change. prgtoken Seeds of Peace reveals the human face of youth who are too often exposed to hatred by engaging campers in both guided coexistence sessions and ordinary summer camp activities, such as sharing meals, canoeing, swimming, playing sports, and exploring creativity through the arts and computers. These interactions and the lasting friendships formed are creating new generations of leaders who will choose dialogue and understanding over violence and hatred. prgtoken In addition to the summer camp in Maine, Seeds of Peace provides year-round opportunities, through regional programming and the innovative use of technology, to enable former participants to build on the relationships forged at camp, so that the learning processes begun at camp may continue in the participants' home countries, where they are most needed. prgtoken Seeds of Peace is strongly supported by participating governments and many world leaders. Federal funding for Seeds of Peace demonstrates and recognizes the importance of Seeds of Peace in promoting the foreign policy goals of the United States. prgtoken The Seeds of Peace mission--to inspire and cultivate new generations of leaders to accelerate the social, economic, and political changes essential for peace-
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019--Continued
Mike Rounds (Republican, SD) \u2014 2018-6-12

I have been listening to the debate, and I wish this debate would go on, on a regular basis, in the U.S. Senate. I think it is healthy. I wish there were a process in place today so that every single amendment brought up could have this type of discussion and debate and those proposals could actually be amended on the floor of the Senate to improve them. prgtoken I will share with you that I thought what our friend from Tennessee was trying to do was an honest attempt to bring back to Congress section 1 or article I responsibilities that we have, over a period of years, allowed to be delegated to the executive branch. prgtoken I also shared with the Senator that while the debate was a very healthy one, I felt at this stage of the game that it probably would not, in its current form, be appropriate and that the President was already acting on these tariffs. I thought that I probably could not support his bill, but I thought he should have an opportunity in this process to have the debate. prgtoken Let me now share that what the chairman--or the ranking member, who is acting as the chairman in this particular case--is doing is protecting the National Defense Authorization Act and making it as viable as possible in the long term to survive in both the House and the Senate. prgtoken For those who are wondering what we are talking about in a nebulous sort of way, what Senator Corker had tried to do was to have a debate about whether the tariffs that the President had proposed for national defense purposes under a 1962 law were appropriately determined to be a national security prgtoken threat. That was the language Congress had delivered to the President. prgtoken The President has made his choice, and there are a number of Members who feel that while they support the President, they think he has overstepped with regard to whether they were actually of national security importance. Senator Corker wanted to have that discussion, and I agreed he should be able to have that discussion. However, I had shared with him that I thought it needed to be in different order and that he was making it too tough for the executive branch to succeed with the numbers he had proposed. He wanted a 60-vote margin for the Senate to proceed. That is the way, though, he was going to introduce it. prgtoken I was prepared to vote on it and, hopefully, win in an honest debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate with those arguments, but in doing so, I also learned, as the chairman has shared, that the House had sent over a bill to us. We were on the House bill. In order to get, in this particular case, a vote on this particular topic, the Senator from Tennessee, in a very innovative way and one that normally would be used earlier in the process where everyone had the opportunity to recognize it, would have to change the underlying bill. In changing the underlying bill, it would have to go back to the House, and they would have to
RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF U.S.-TAIWAN RELATIONS
George Holding (Republican, NC) \u2014 2018-6-12

I rise today to recognize the vital importance to U.S.-Taiwan relations, and for the peace, security and stability of the Western Pacific, of the inauguration on June 12th of a new office complex for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). prgtoken The inauguration ceremony for this new facility will be attended by a number of dignitaries, including Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. This event represents much more than the opening of just another new office complex in Taipei. It stands as a concrete example of the firm commitment and unbreakable bonds that exist between the peoples of the United States and Taiwan. prgtoken Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the passage and signing into law of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) which has served as a cornerstone for our vigorous security, economic and people-to-people bilateral relationship. It was a proud moment in the history of the American Congress when we took the lead in assuring that the diplomatic recognition to Beijing would not come at the expense of Taiwan. The people of Taiwan have earned our friendship and support as they share our own dedication to democracy, human rights and a free market economy. prgtoken Let us stand with Taiwan here again today by recognizing the upgrading of the American presence on Taiwan through the inauguration of this new AIT facility.