mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Introductory Statement on S. 273
Pat Roberts (Republican, KS) \u2014 2019-1-30

I rise today to speak about an important piece of legislation I just filed, aptly named after the young Kansan whose life and bright future was cut short by a senseless act of violence and whose case now is the inspiration for why we desperately need to update the law. prgtoken Almost 12 years ago, on June 2, 2017, 18-year-old Kelsey Smith was abducted in broad daylight from an Overland Park, KS, parking lot. Kelsey's abduction was captured on the store's closed-circuit security camera, which left little doubt about the emergency sense of the situation. This was an emergency. prgtoken Here is the tragedy. Four days after Kelsey disappeared, authorities were able to locate her body after a wireless provider finally released the call information from her cell phone--4 critical days. Providing location information as fast as possible is absolutely critical to ensure that law enforcement officials can rescue victims in imminent danger of death or serious physical harm and hopefully prevent future fates similar to Kelsey's. prgtoken This legislation is the culmination of years of work among legislators at both the Federal and State levels, including industry stakeholders, privacy advocates, and, most importantly, Kelsey's brave parents, who spearheaded this initiative and have advocated to create commonsense reforms that properly balance the needs of law enforcement with Fourth Amendment protections for all of our citizens. prgtoken Through their advocacy and tireless efforts, Missey and Greg Smith have helped enact laws, oftentimes with unanimous support, in 23 States, including my home State of Kansas. This law provides law enforcement with the necessary tools to rescue individuals in emergency situations where the threat of death or serious bodily injury is imminent. prgtoken The impact of this law at the State level has been real and measurable. For example, in May 2012, one month after the enactment of its State's version of the Kelsey Smith Act, local authorities in Tennessee were successful in saving the life of a child who had been abducted by a suspected child rapist. Because the child was believed to be in imminent danger, the police were able to successfully receive the location of the suspect's cell phone in a window of time that led to the safe recovery of the child alive and before she was assaulted. prgtoken In February of 2015, Kelsey's Law helped save the life of a 5-month- old Lenexa, KS, girl when a car with a baby in the back seat was stolen from its mother. Through Kelsey's Law, police were able to ping that mother's phone, which was left in the car, and, within an hour, the baby was reunited with her parents. prgtoken According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the first 3 hours are critical to recovering a child alive. That is why it is necessary that in these narrowly defined, isolated instances in which a person's very life is at stake, an exemption sho
FEDERAL CIVILIAN WORKFORCE PAY RAISE FAIRNESS ACT OF 2019
Jim Jordan (Republican, OH) \u2014 2019-1-30

I am not painting with a broad brush. Look, I know there are lots of good employees there. All I am saying is an agency that did what the IRS did, that rehired people who had been fired, some of them had been fired for not paying their taxes, an agency that went after people for their political beliefs, I just--call me crazy, but you can go ask your average taxpayer: Do you think that agency that did those things, do you think those people need a pay raise? prgtoken My guess is most of the constituents I get the privilege of representing in the Fourth District of Ohio would say: Nope, I am not for that. prgtoken That is all I am saying, not painting with a broad brush. prgtoken All I know is what this agency did. And it is not a conspiracy theory, and the gentleman from Virginia knows it. prgtoken The inspector general did a report and said targeting occurred at the Internal Revenue Service. They went after conservative Tea Party conservative groups, and it happened just as sure I am standing here speaking on the House floor, and the gentleman from Virginia knows that to be the case.
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019-- Resumed
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2019-1-30

s started out the last Congress with one goal, and that is to make life better for American families. prgtoken After years of economic stagnation in the administration, too many families were struggling, wages were stagnant, and opportunities were few and far between. s were determined to change that. We knew American workers and American businesses were as driven, creative, and innovative as ever. We also knew we were facing a lot of obstacles, including burdensome regulations and an outdated tax code that acted as a drag on economic growth. So we took action. prgtoken We eliminated excessive regulations. We undertook historic reform of our tax bill to put more money in Americans' pockets and get our economy going again. The Tax Code may not be the first thing people think of when they think about economic growth, but it is actually one of the key factors that determine how well our economy functions. The Tax Code can encourage growth and job creation or it can make it difficult for businesses to even operate, much less grow and create jobs. prgtoken Prior to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, our Tax Code was not helping our economy. Large and small businesses were weighed down by high tax rates and growth-killing tax provisions and all the regulatory and compliance burdens that came along with it. Our outdated international tax rules left America's global businesses at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy. That had real consequences for American workers. prgtoken A small business owner struggling to afford the annual tax bill for her business was highly unlikely to be able to hire a new worker or raise wages. A larger business struggling to stay competitive in the global marketplace, while paying substantially higher tax rates than its foreign competitors, too often had limited funds to expand or increase investment in the United States. prgtoken In December of 2017, after months of work, we passed a comprehensive reform of our Nation's Tax Code. We took action to put more money in American families' pockets immediately by cutting tax rates, doubling the child tax credit, and nearly doubling the standard deduction. Then we focused on improving the playing field for American workers by improving the playing field for businesses. We lowered tax rates across the board for owners of small- and medium-sized businesses, farms, and ranches. We lowered our Nation's massive corporate tax rate, which up until January 1, was the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world. We expanded business owners' ability to recover the cost of investments they make in their businesses, which frees up cash they can reinvest in their operations and in their workers. We brought the U.S. international tax system into the 21st century so American businesses are not operating at a competitive disadvantage next to their foreign counterparts. prgtoken Now we are seeing th
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019-- Resumed
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2019-1-30

as most people are painfully aware, we just went through a 35-day government shutdown. It didn't work for anybody. I am here today to talk about a very simple way to keep these shutdowns from happening in the future. I am also here to talk a little bit about how it fits into the broader discussion we are having. prgtoken What I am not suggesting is that we somehow leave the border security issue aside. It is a very important issue. We have to address it. The President has presented a reasonable plan. His plan is, actually, to rely on the experts to determine what kind of barriers ought to be along the border. His funding of $5.7 billion that he talks about for these barriers is to fund exactly the top 10 priorities of what the experts are saying, which are within the Customs and Border Protection's ``Border Security Improvement Plan.'' prgtoken Along with many other things, I think that makes sense. A structure alone--a barrier alone--is not enough. You have to have cameras. You have to have ways to see who is coming, and you have to have ways to respond to it. You have to have more Border Patrol, and you have to have more technology. He also has more drones in his proposal. He has screening at the ports of entry to be able to stop some of these drugs from coming into our communities--the cocaine, the crystal meth, and the heroin, most of which are coming from Mexico. prgtoken I think it is a good plan. I think we should provide him help on this plan. We have a true crisis at the border, no matter how you measure it--whether it is in terms of the drugs, whether it is in terms of people coming over, or whether it is in terms of the human trafficking that is occurring, according to the experts. Let's do it the right way. Let's do it through experts. Let's not do it because the politicians say it is the right thing to do; let's do it because the experts on the border say it is the right thing to do. Let's put the right kind of barriers in the right kind of place. That is what I see in the President's plan. prgtoken He is also talking about working with on some immigration priorities they have had over the years. For the last 10 years, there have been who have talked about these young people who came here as children through no fault of their own. The President has said he would like to give them more certainty as part of this plan. Let's take him up on that. Why would we miss this opportunity? It is a good idea. It is the right thing from a policy perspective. By providing that kind of help to those DACA recipients--those young people who are now working, who are in school, and who are in our military--I think we can actually also get some to be helpful, to provide more border security at the same time we are helping those who are here and who are deserving of that help. prgtoken The President has also proposed to help people who come from 10 different countries aro
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019-- Resumed
John Kennedy (Republican, LA) \u2014 2019-1-30

as you know, today, or very shortly, the Senate is going to be taking up S. 1, called the Strengthen America's Security in the Middle East Act. prgtoken Through the Chair, I would say, S. 1 is being offered by Senator Marco Rubio, the senior Senator from Florida. He is, as we also know, whip smart, and Senator Rubio has forgotten more about foreign policy than I will ever know. I have enormous respect for him, and nothing I say today is meant to criticize his extraordinary efforts on this bill, much of which I have supported and will continue to support, but there is a deficiency in S. 1. We can do better by filling that hole. prgtoken Once again, Congress is paying lip service to protecting our allies in the Middle East. We are calling this bill a protector of our allies in the Middle East, and in large part it is, with a major exception-- because, once again, the U.S. Senate is leaving behind our friends and allies, the Kurds. prgtoken It is not the first time the Kurds have been left behind. The Kurds were left behind when the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and they remained a stateless people. The Kurds were left behind as modern states grew up around them, in Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, where they had no political representation, where the Kurds had no future besides oppression. The Kurds were left behind again in 2011, when allied troops pulled out of Iraq, and ISIS was just beginning to emerge. It is time we break that pattern, once and for all, and the Senate can do it in Senator Rubio's stellar effort in the form of S. 1. prgtoken As I said, S. 1 does some really good things. I thank Senator Rubio. It will reaffirm our commitment to protecting Israel, certainly our closest friend in the region, maybe our best friend in the world. Sometimes I think Israel is our only friend in the world. S. 1 will strengthen our bond with Jordan, another key ally in fighting terrorism and the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Syrian refugee crisis. It will combat a radical economic warfare campaign against Israel. Let me say that again because it is important. S. 1 will combat a radical economic warfare campaign against Israel. I support that unconditionally. S. 1 will create new sanctions on the Government of Syria that targets those who have been laundering money to help the Assad regime. prgtoken I support all of those things, but with all the respect I can muster, I say, gently, it is a lie. It is a lie for anyone to say that S. 1 protects all of our allies in the Middle East because it will not. S. 1 makes no mention of our Kurdish allies at all. I have an amendment pending--I have offered an amendment, rather, that would fix that. prgtoken There are 30 million Kurds in the Middle East. They don't have a state, they don't have a country to call their own. They are not really safe anywhere. As a result, the Kurdish people have suffered tremendously throughout history. They have been subjected to d
TRIBUTE TO ROBERT CARDILLO
Roy Blunt (Republican, MO) \u2014 2019-1-30

I take this opportunity to honor the work and career of Mr. Robert Cardillo. On February 7, 2019, Robert Cardillo will conclude nearly 36 years of service with the U.S. intelligence community, ending as Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or NGA. prgtoken In 1983, Robert began his career at the Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, as an imagery analyst. He served in a multitude of positions for DIA and NGA, to include Acting Director of Intelligence for the Joint Staff, in which he supported the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is the first time a civilian has ever held that position. He was then selected by the Director of National Intelligence, the DNI, to be the first ever Deputy Director for Intelligence Integration. In that capacity, he was responsible for vastly improving intelligence integration, the principal mission of the DNI as established under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. As a critical additional duty, Robert also served as the primary briefer for the President's daily brief at the White House. prgtoken From 2014 to 2019, Mr. Cardillo then led NGA as its Director. Under his guidance and direction, NGA provided much lauded geospatial intelligence support to U.S. and allied combat operations in Southwest Asia and around the globe, assisting in the fight against militant extremists. NGA also conveyed key indications and warning during crises in Northeast Asia, the Middle East, North and Central Africa, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. prgtoken Highlighting the need to get unclassified data to the warfighter and our allies, Director Cardillo pushed hard for unclassified geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT, to exist in the open. He urged NGA to work in tandem with commercial satellite imagery providers and other unclassified industry partners. His support of innovation in artificial intelligence, automation and augmentation, and his focus on activity- based intelligence set NGA on a course to improve the speed and quality of geospatial and imagery analysis. His attention to the ebola crisis in West Africa and other humanitarian assistance and disaster response initiatives showed the value of human geography to the world. prgtoken Director Cardillo was equally successful at forging new multinational partnerships in Europe and Asia, and his outreach to industry, academia, think tanks, and other international partners led to an informal but increasingly thriving global GEOINT enterprise. prgtoken Mr. Cardillo was also the first NGA director to emphasize the importance of the Arctic and Antarctica and the first to take on the security, quality, and pedigree of imagery pixels and data, so that the GEOINT enterprise can continue to serve as a safe foundational frame of reference for the entire intelligence community. prgtoken Robert led NGA with integrity for more than 4 highly challenging and demanding years, to include the selection of a
ISSUES OF THE DAY
Louie Gohmert (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-1-30

. In 1 month. That is not everybody that was coming in. prgtoken My friend, being a general in the United States Army, served our country so meritoriously. We had a situation under President Woodrow Wilson where a small part of Pancho Villa's gang came across the border into the United States, killed some families, and then went back into Mexico. prgtoken Devout that Woodrow Wilson was, he apparently saw that small incursion as an invasion. He sent--and I have asked the Congressional Research Service for their best numbers, and the estimate, taken from articles and information they had gotten, was probably around 75,000 of a new group called the National Guard--new back in the early 1900s. prgtoken He sent them down to stand guard on the border--75,000--and sent General John Pershing down into Mexico pursuing Pancho Villa's troops. They prgtoken didn't ever get him; they got a lot of his lieutenants. But, apparently, when 75,000 people were put on the border, there was no more invasion. prgtoken If you look at the U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 4--this is our Constitution--says: ``The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion.'' prgtoken Now, 51,000 in a month is many, many times more than the folks that Pancho Villa had come in and kill Americans. Would the gentleman consider that an invasion, what we have going on on our southern border? prgtoken Madam , from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019-- Resumed
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2019-1-30

first, I associate myself with the remarks that we just heard from the distinguished Senator from Missouri, who made some wonderful points about how important the bill that we are discussing on the floor continues to be. I appreciate his remarks and his leadership in this body. Government Funding prgtoken , I come to the floor to discuss a different topic, which is that the government has reopened for 3 weeks. It is welcome news that President has signed the stopgap funding measure and has fully paid furloughed Federal workers. prgtoken There was an important workforce story that, I believe, was lost over the last couple of weeks during the shutdown--the story about the great news of the American economy. I certainly feel it at home. I know the Presiding Officer does in Utah, as do others, as we head home and see the ``help wanted'' signs that are up and the people who are looking to hire more people. prgtoken This economy continues to fire on all cylinders. It is fueled, certainly, in part by what s have been able to accomplish due to our policy, which is a pro-job policy of tax cuts and regulatory relief. Since the tax cut law that was signed a year ago, this economy has created 2.6 million American jobs in the last year. There is additional good news. I hear it in Wyoming, I heard it last weekend, and I expect to hear it this weekend. Americans are seeing that there is actually more money in their paychecks. There is more money for a couple of reasons. One is that wages are up, and the other is that taxes are down. Last month, there was a 3.2-percent year-over-year increase in average hourly wages. It matched October as the biggest increase since 2009. This wage increase was even stronger for production workers and non-managers, who saw an additional increase in year-over-year growth. prgtoken The economy is working well. It is producing more jobs. For 9 straight months now, there have been more available jobs in this country than individuals looking for work. Last week, we saw jobless claims drop to the lowest level since November of 1969--1969, the year we put a man on the Moon and the year of Woodstock. That was 50 years ago. It was the lowest since then. That is half a century. prgtoken Now that this partial shutdown is over, I believe we need to refocus our attention on continuing to grow the economy, continuing to increase wages, and continuing to create more high-paying jobs for American workers. Meanwhile, seem to want to put the brakes on the economy. They are proposing higher taxes and expansive new regulations. prgtoken We still have our work cut out for us. This excellent economic news underscores the need for us to work together to resolve our differences on important government funding legislation. Let's keep in mind that 70 percent of the government is already funded all the way through the end of the fiscal
EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS ARE DETRIMENTAL TO NATION AND SHOULD NOT OCCUR
Scott Perry (Republican, PA) \u2014 2019-1-30

people at home think they are watching C- SPAN, but this is more like ``Masterpiece Theatre.'' I mean, this is actually like a documentary where we record what happened in history, but here we see that we are going to change and revise history. We are going to remind everybody who is watching and everybody in this House that, under this minority leader, who was the majority leader at the time, we passed a bill in this House to keep the government open. prgtoken We didn't want to shut down the government. We wanted to keep the government open and fund border security. We passed it in this House. prgtoken , I know everybody is smiling over there because you voted against it, but we passed it in this House, and we sent it to the Senate. It was the Senate who said, ``Oh, no. Oh, no, we are not going to do any of that border security stuff. We want you to go ahead and have the shutdown, and then we will blame it all on you.'' prgtoken , we are not here to revise history. We would like to get to the task at hand, which is solving this issue of border security. prgtoken We ask the other side, instead of engaging in this blame game, of which they are wholly part of, obviously--they didn't want to keep the government open. The Senate didn't want to do anything to keep the government open. Forget this charade, this theater, and let's get to negotiating on border security and making sure that the American people are safe.