mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
SECURING GROWTH AND ROBUST LEADERSHIP IN AMERICAN AVIATION ACT
Jerry Moran (Republican, KS) \u2014 2023-9-28

I rise this afternoon to have a conversation with my colleagues and with my constituents to talk about an issue that is important to our Nation here in the Nation's Capital for the well-being of our country but, certainly, an issue Kansans care greatly about, and that is our crisis on our southern border, in particular, but border security across and around the country. prgtoken The administration's continued failure to control the border has created not just a humanitarian crisis but also a national security crisis as well. prgtoken It is no secret that the lack of operational control of the border has led to the apprehension of Chinese nationals, individuals with ties to ISIS, and others who wish to do this country harm, serious harm. prgtoken Perhaps the biggest failure of the nonchalant approach of this administration to the border is the rampant flow of harmful drugs into the United States. Deadly drugs, such as methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine, and most critically in today's world, fentanyl--fentanyl being freely carried into this country and distributed to the cities, towns, and neighborhoods. It is a real detriment to our children and the most vulnerable. Those drugs are distributed to cities in Kansas and causing the death and misery of many Kansans and Americans today. prgtoken A bright spot in this effort to combat fentanyl and other drugs is the Drug Enforcement Agency. This morning, I was at their headquarters to celebrate with them the DEA's 50th anniversary. prgtoken I am the ranking member of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee; therefore, Senator Shaheen and I are responsible, generally, for the appropriations of the Drug Enforcement Agency. I have seen firsthand the critical results achieved by the DEA and their personnel in this fight. prgtoken DEA agents, investigators, analysts, chemists, attorneys, and support staff have provided invaluable services to the public since the creation of the DEA 50 years ago in 1973. prgtoken The DEA has faced increasingly well-equipped, well-financed, and well-resourced international drug trafficking organizations pushing more complex drugs: synthetic opioids which mimic controlled substances, including fentanyl. prgtoken I would like to commend the DEA for their work. I would like to recognize their 50th anniversary in that process by thanking those in the DEA today. We need to be reminded of the number who have been wounded and injured in the line of duty, including 79 individuals who have received a DEA Purple Heart. prgtoken This administration, this Congress, this Senate--we owe it to the dedicated individuals at DEA and to the lives and family members of those who lost loved ones to put forth the effort required to create a whole-of-government approach to securing the border to cut off the pipeline of drugs into this country. prgtoken In 2022 alone, there were around 110,000--let me say that correc
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mike Lee (Republican, UT) \u2014 2023-9-28

when the government shuts its doors, public attention often falls on our national parks. This should be surprising to no one. Year after year, whenever anyone does a survey, they discover the most popular and least popular parks of the Federal government. The answers tend to be the same. prgtoken As I recall, the least popular parks often focus on the IRS, for understandable reasons. For similarly understandable reasons, the most popular parks involve our National Park System. When the government shuts down, a lot of attention turns to them, as it should. The stark ``closed'' sign that barricades the entrance to our cherished parks is more than just a sign of circumstances where it arises during a shutdown. It is a palpable consequence of a government bereft of funds and a dysfunctional process in Congress that leads to that moment. prgtoken This issue is close to the hearts of a lot of people in a lot of parts of the country, but it is especially close to the hearts of people in my home State of Utah. Every State in this great Union, especially every State that is fortunate enough to be home to one or more of our Nation's national parks, has to deal with some of these issues in one way another. prgtoken To be clear, I abhor the notion of government shutdowns. They are neither my wish nor my aspiration. However, as the close of fiscal year 2023 approaches, a government shutdown looms very large on our horizon. prgtoken Utah, like many States, finds its identity intertwined with its magnificent landscapes and national parks. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef--these are not just names on a map; they are proud symbols of our State, and local communities in many parts of Utah depend on them and depend on the traffic that comes in and out of those national parks. Visiting these parks isn't just about tourism; it is about livelihoods, our families, and our economic lifeblood. prgtoken The grim reality is that our communities will bear the brunt if these parks, in fact, close their gates due to a shutdown with no means to recuperate the loss. With 2 days left, my frustration mounts knowing the Department of the Interior has not updated its shutdown contingency plan for national parks since 2017. How can the administration expect our communities to prepare without a blueprint for such eventualities? prgtoken In my recent communication with Secretary Haaland, I emphasized that numerous tools lie at her disposal to keep our parks functioning even during a shutdown. Using the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, or FLREA, as it is known, to harness nonappropriated fee revenues for essential park operations is a clear path and one that should be pursued here. After all, these very same funds ensure many parks remained open during the December 2018 to January 2019 shutdown. The Department of the Interior should also designate as ``essential'' as many park and land management em
SECURING GROWTH AND ROBUST LEADERSHIP IN AMERICAN AVIATION ACT
Rand Paul (Republican, KY) \u2014 2023-9-28

reserving the right to object. We can today renew the National Flood Program and reform it. All it takes is for the Senators assembled here not to object to the reforms. prgtoken I think that flood insurance provided by the taxpayer, subsidized by the taxpayer, shouldn't be for rich people or for their vacation home or their beach homes. Government has no business insuring rich people and their second homes. So I have some proposals to reform this system. We are being asked, though, to extend the flood program without any reforms, without any reforms to protect the taxpayers. Like many Federal programs, the flood insurance is well-intentioned, but it very well may be the best real-life example of a moral hazard. prgtoken The program covers over 5 million policyholders and provides over $1 trillion in coverage. We are told that the program is funded through insurance prgtoken premiums. But charging well below the market price of insurance and capping how much these rates can rise inevitably leads to shortfalls. prgtoken A 2014 report by the Government Accountability Office found that the flood program collected as much as $17 billion fewer in premiums than what the market would have dictated. So when the program inevitably found itself in need of money, in theory, it borrowed that money from the taxpayers, not that the taxpayers had any choice in the matter. They took it. As they often are, they were on the hook regardless of whether they wanted to be or not. prgtoken Just a few years ago, the flood program owed over $30 billion to the taxpayers. Congress later canceled $16 billion in debt, but the flood program has not made any further repayment to the taxpayers and now stands at over $20 billion in debt. prgtoken In short, it is a subsidy. It is a gift. It is the taxpayers giving people who have homes along the coast subsidized rates, and we all have to pay for it. prgtoken You might say: Well, maybe some poor people have no place to go; the government has a role in that, but a lot of these homes are people's second homes. prgtoken I say we should limit the insurance to houses under a certain amount, modest homes. Some guy has a $5 million mansion on the coast of Florida should not get his insurance through the government. We shouldn't all have to pay for the insurance for some somebody who has a $5 million home. prgtoken The taxpayers are expected to cough up money whenever the program needs it, but the program doesn't seem to be in a hurry to pay the taxpayer back. But perhaps the greatest insult to the taxpayer is the lack of true limits on the delinquent program. There are no limits on how many claims that can be filed and how much money can be received by a policyholder. Rather than encourage people to leave flood-prone areas, it encourages people to stay and rebuild. prgtoken And, in thousands of instances, the program encourages people to rebuild and rebuild and rebuild. According to the PEW C
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Carol D. Miller (Republican, WV) \u2014 2023-9-28

. Mr. Chair, American frontier investors can be a powerful partner of the State Department and emissaries of American values in developing regions of the world. In these critical regions, they provide ideal alternative sources of capital over China or other authoritarian regimes. For our friends and allies with developing or unstable economies that China or other adversaries want to undermine, American investment is hard power, creating infrastructure, factories, boosting crop yields, industrial output, and jobs. In countries where America is locked in competition for influence, American investment in a gas plant, pipeline, or telecom network can sway the strategic calculation of the home government. prgtoken We rightly hold our investors to a high standard, through the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws, but that higher standard makes it harder for them to compete against Chinese or Russian investors that are heavily and unfairly subsidized. In exchange, when they come under attack by corrupt home governments, we owe them the support of our diplomats and the full weight of the U.S. Federal Government. prgtoken Diplomatic support can persuade corrupt governments to change course and to play by the rules, but too often, the State Department takes a hands-off approach. prgtoken The hands-off approach can reach absurd heights. Even in cases where a kleptocratic government blatantly expropriated American investments, these investors took that government to arbitration and won, and then took that award to our United States Federal prgtoken Courts to get recognition of the award under the Federal Arbitration Act, our State Department has refused to help Americans right the wrong and collect the award. prgtoken This has to stop. We are in competition with corrupt dictators all across the globe. American investors need to know that American diplomats have their back. prgtoken I ask for your support of the amendment.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2023-9-28

the administration's war on affordable and reliable energy continues. prgtoken Three weeks ago, the administration announced a cancellation of seven oil and gas leases in the small portion of ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that is available for energy exploration and development. prgtoken It was just the latest move by the administration to stifle conventional energy production. In his State of the Union Address this year, the President acknowledged that ``[w]e're going to need oil for at least another decade . . . and beyond that.'' Let me just repeat that. Again, these are President 's own words: We're going to need oil for at least another decade . . . and beyond that. prgtoken Well, in this case, the President is right. While alternative energy is powering an increasing share of American energy production, we are nowhere near being able to rely exclusively on alternative energy technologies. We are going to need conventional energy for quite a while yet. prgtoken The best way to get that conventional energy is by developing the United States' abundant domestic resources in an environmentally responsible way. But the President's anti-development strategy seems designed to force us to remain at the mercy of producers like OPEC and to rely on expensive imports from sometimes dangerous or unstable countries and regions. prgtoken There are multiple problems with relying on foreign sources of oil, not the least of which is the potential for our oil dollars to fund oppressive regimes. But even leaving that aside, depending on foreign oil sources threatens the stability and affordability of our oil supply. You only need to look at the energy challenges and soaring costs countries like Germany have faced in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine to recognize how perilous it can be to rely on another country for energy. prgtoken Anyone who is concerned about the environment should recognize that oil and gas production here in the United States is likely to be substantially more environmentally friendly than a lot of foreign production. prgtoken The President's war on domestic production isn't the only dangerous element of his energy strategy. Also of deep concern is the President's apparent determination to force Americans to adopt electric vehicles on a broad scale within the next decade. Why is this so concerning? Because our electric grid is nowhere near capable of supporting that kind of widespread transition to electric vehicles. prgtoken Rising electricity demand is already stretching our grid, which has been weakened by the move away from conventional energy sources. In an apparent response to the impact of overreaching Green New Deal-style politics, NERC, which is the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, for the first time identified energy policy as a risk to grid reliability in its recent biennial report. prgtoken Discussing the move away
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Barbara Lee (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-9-28

the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration supports humane migration around the world. It is the first intergovernmental agreement to cover all dimensions of international migration at a time when we are facing a migration crisis, as my colleagues like to remind us. prgtoken The Global Compact's guiding principles and objectives encompass a range of humanitarian, development, and other migration management activities, most of which the United States Government supported long before the Global Compact on Migration existed. prgtoken These activities include the provision of lifesaving humanitarian assistance, countering trafficking in persons, border management, access to consular services, and also dignified return and reintegration. prgtoken In 2022, we saw a 21 percent increase in displaced people around the world. The largest ever single-year increase, and the largest number of people forcibly displaced in written history. It is only common sense to work with others on this challenge. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and .
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2023-9-28

many of our allies and friends live in tough neighborhoods, and I am very glad that Pakistan lives in a neighborhood with friends; that is India and Bangladesh, that at least they are engaged. They also live in the neighborhood of Afghanistan where the Taliban has risen again. Pakistan soldiers have fought against the Taliban. prgtoken You don't turn your back on a nation where 650,000 Pakistani Americans are living here in the United States, they are contributing, they are patriots, and they serve in the United States military. prgtoken We have been able to facilitate safe immigration and relocation of Afghans with Pakistan. Pakistan has provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, following our lead. Our bilateral ties are further strengthened by the presence of nearly 650,000 Pakistani Americans. prgtoken Pakistan is a democratic state working against challenges. Yes, it is. Its parliament has just completed its third consecutive 5-year cycle without disruption. They are planning democratic elections. prgtoken What we need to do is to ensure that Pakistan has access to migration and refugee assistance, economic support, international disaster assistance, global health, humanitarian assistance, and economic development. These are important taxpayer dollars that help Pakistan become even stronger as a democratic nation and an ally. prgtoken For the issues my good friend has spoken about, diplomacy works these issues out. prgtoken Mr. Chair, as the founder and Chair of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, I stand in strong opposition to this irresponsible and dangerous amendment. prgtoken The passage of this amendment would be detrimental to Pakistani U.S. relations and would put the livelihood of millions of people at risk. prgtoken The United States and Pakistan have a long-standing and enduring partnership spanning 76 years. prgtoken Over the decades, both countries have built a multifaceted and diverse relationship, driven by cooperation in areas including defense, counter-terrorism, trade and investment, agriculture, energy, climate, health, and education. prgtoken This cooperation is rooted in our shared democratic values and convergence of interests on regional and strategic security. prgtoken The passage of this amendment would severely damage our unique and longstanding partnership. prgtoken In its Congressional Budget Justification for FY 2024 Foreign Operations, the United States State Department reported foreign assistance to Pakistan of about $218 million. prgtoken These essential dollars fund critical programs in Pakistan that include: prgtoken Migration and Refugee Assistance: $62 million; prgtoken Economic Support Funds: $50 million (``Funding will support stability and political, economic, and judicial reforms in communities bordering Afghanistan, increase private-sector-led trade and investment, foster people-to-people exchanges, strengthen civil society, support climate mitigation and adaptati
UKRAINE SECURITY ASSISTANCE AND OVERSIGHT SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Rosa L. DeLauro (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2023-9-28

I have witnessed a lot of surprising and at times confounding things in my time in the House of Representatives, especially in this 118th Congress, but I do not recall a time that this body with an overwhelming bipartisan majority voted to appropriate funds that were then stripped from a bill in the darkness of night. prgtoken Three hundred thirty-nine members of the House of Representatives, including a majority of the majority, voted yesterday to include support for Ukraine in the Defense appropriations bill. Ninety-three voted against it. prgtoken Then the s stripped the Ukraine funding from the Defense bill to placate an extreme minority over the will of the majority and prioritizes maintaining the gavel over responsible governing. prgtoken Russian tyranny and aggression threaten more than just Ukraine's borders. We learned in Georgia, we learned in Crimea, if you stand by while Russia takes an inch, they will take a mile. Vladimir Putin must be held to account for upending Europe's security and peacetime for a pointless and bloody war which has disrupted energy markets and triggered food insecurity around the world. prgtoken We must be clear about what this means, plain and simple. This is appeasement like the world experienced in 1938, which led to a cascading murderous result. prgtoken Ukraine's fight for democracy and sovereignty requires decisive action and absolute support from the free world. We must act like the leaders of the free world. We must not abandon our position as the world's beacon of democratic values. We must not surrender our global influence to Russia, China, or any group that threatens democracies. prgtoken Members of this body have come together again and again to reaffirm our commitment to helping Ukraine defend itself against this vicious invasion. We did so again yesterday. Regardless of which votes the majority is afraid of taking, will not be afraid of supporting our allies. prgtoken Funds for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative should remain in the base bill. That is where they have been since 2015. s now have an $826 billion Defense bill that does not include any assistance for Ukraine, the most urgent security crisis that we face in the world. Even if House s insist on upending our process, we cannot abandon Ukraine. prgtoken I urge the of the House to lead those who actually wish to govern, not those who seek to appease Putin. We need to support Ukraine.
HONORING JUDGE RICHARD C. VARA
Sylvia R. Garcia (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2023-9-28

l rise today to honor the 44\1/2\ years of service and dedication of Houston's own Judge Richard C. Vara, a trailblazer who was the youngest person to be elected Justice of the Peace at that time. prgtoken Judge Vara grew up in the historic east end of Houston, graduating from Austin High School. the University of Houston. and South Texas College of Law. prgtoken The Judge got his first encounter with politics by going to LULAC meetings with his parents. This sense of service to the Latino community remained with him throughout his career. prgtoken Both in the courtroom and in the community, Judge Vara has exemplified public service and commitment to bettering his community. prgtoken He has created and volunteered for countless organizations in Houston, all aimed at improving the lives of those around him. prgtoken Please join me in congratulating Judge Richard Vara for his many years of service. Felicidades.