mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CONGRATULATING LORI CHRISTIAN ON BECOMING A DISTINGUISHED FINALIST IN THE PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARDS PROGRAM
Jaime Herrera Beutler (Republican, WA) \u2014 2020-2-5

. Madam , I rise today to recognize and congratulate Lori Christian of Chehalis, Washington, on becoming a distinguished finalist and top volunteer in the 2020 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. prgtoken These annual awards were founded in 1995 to highlight individuals' service to our communities, and to encourage younger members of this nation to continue this tradition early on and throughout their lives. prgtoken Lori, a junior at ``William F. West High School'' in Southwest Washington, founded the organization ``Teens for Abused Children (TFAC)'', which works with local hospitals and Child Protective Services to assist with cases involving abused children. Lori has also worked independently to raise awareness for related issues. She has also organized community toy, clothing, and diaper drives. prgtoken Once again, I want to extend my sincerest congratulations to Lori on becoming a distinguished finalist in this program and applaud Lori's commitment to improving her community.
IMPEACHMENT
Tom Cotton (Republican, AR) \u2014 2020-2-5

I will soon join a majority of the Senate in voting down the Articles of Impeachment brought against the President by his partisan opponents. The time has come to end a spectacle that has elevated the obsessions of Washington's political class over the concerns and interests of the American people. prgtoken This round of impeachment is just the latest ic scheme to bring down the President. I say ``this round'' because House have tried to impeach President at least four times--first, for being mean to football players; then for his transgender military policy; next for his immigration policy. And those are just the impeachment attempts. Along the way, also proclaimed that Robert Mueller would drive the President from office. Some even speculated that the Vice President and the Cabinet would invoke the 25th amendment to seize power from the President--a theory that sounds more like resistance fan fiction than reality. prgtoken What is behind this fanaticism? Simply put, the have never accepted that won the 2016 election, and they will never forgive him, either. prgtoken It is time for the to get some perspective. They are claiming that we ought to impeach and remove a President from office for the first time in our history for briefly pausing aid to Ukraine and rescheduling a meeting with the Ukrainian President, allegedly in return for a corruption inquiry. But the aid was released after a few weeks and the meeting occurred, yet the inquiry did not--even though, I would add, it remains justified by the family's obvious, glaring conflict of interest in Ukraine. prgtoken Just how badly have the lost perspective? The House managers have argued that we ought to impeach and remove the President because his meeting with the Ukrainian President happened in New York, not Washington. prgtoken When most Americans think about why a President ought to be impeached and removed from office for the first time in our history, I suspect that pausing aid to Ukraine for a few weeks is pretty far down the list. That is not exactly ``treason, bribery, or other prgtoken high crimes and misdemeanors.'' And that is especially true when we are just months away from the election that will let Americans make their own choice. Indeed, Americans are already voting to select the President's ic challenger. Why not let the voters decide whether the President ought to be removed? prgtoken The ' real answer is that they are afraid they will lose again in 2020, so they designed impeachment to hurt the President before the election. As one ic congressman said last year, ``I'm concerned that if we don't impeach this president, he will get reelected.'' Or, as minority leader Chuck Schumer claimed earlier this month, impeachment is a ``win-win'' for ; either it will lead to the President's defeat or it will hurt enough R
IMPEACHMENT
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2020-2-5

as Senators, we cast a lot of votes throughout our tenure in this body. I have cast over 13,200 of them. Each vote is important. A vote to convict or acquit the President of the United States on charges of impeachment is one of the most important votes a Senator could ever cast. Until this week, such a vote has only taken place twice since the founding of our Republic. prgtoken The President has been accused of committing ``high Crimes and Misdemeanors'' for requesting that a foreign leader launch an anti- corruption investigation into his potential political opponent and obstructing Congress's subsequent inquiry into his actions. For such conduct, the House of Representatives asks this body to remove the President from office and prohibit him from ever again serving in a position of public trust. As both a judge and juror, this Senator asks first whether the conduct alleged rises to the level of an offense that unquestionably demands removal. If it does, I ask whether the House has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the conduct actually occurred. The House's case clearly fails on the first of those questions. Accordingly, I will vote not guilty on both articles. prgtoken The President's request, taken at face value, is not impeachable conduct. A President is not prohibited by law or any other restriction from engaging the assistance of a foreign ally in an anti-corruption investigation. The House attempts to cure this defect by suggesting that the President's subjective motive--political advantage--is enough to turn an otherwise unimpeachable act into one that demands permanent removal from office. I will not lend my vote in support of such an unnecessary and irreversible break from the Constitution's clear standard for impeachment. prgtoken The Senate is an institution of precedent. We are informed and often guided, especially in times like this, by history and the actions of our predecessors. While we look to history, however, we must be mindful of the reality that our choices make history, for better or for worse. What we say and do here necessarily becomes part of the roadmap for future Presidential impeachments and their consideration by this body. These days, that reality can be difficult to keep front and center. Partisan fervor to convict or acquit a President of the United States who has been impeached can lead to cut corners, overheated rhetoric, and rushed prgtoken results. We are each bound by the special oath we take while sitting as a Court of Impeachment to ``do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.'' But as President pro tempore, I recognize we must also do justice to the Senate as an institution and to the Republic that it serves. prgtoken This trial began with a full and fair opportunity to debate and amend the rules that would guide our process. The Senate considered and voted on 11 separate amendments to the resolution, over the span of nearly 13 hou
PROTECT AND RESTORE AMERICA'S ESTUARIES ACT
Jenniffer González-Colón (Republican, PR) \u2014 2020-2-5

I thank Congressman Mast for yielding. prgtoken , I rise in support of H.R. 4044, the Protect and Restore America's Estuaries Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. prgtoken The National Estuary Program is an initiative committed to protecting and restoring the water quality and ecological integrity of 28 estuaries across the country, including the San Juan Bay Estuary Program in my congressional district. prgtoken This estuary is the only tropical estuary in the program and the only one outside the continental U.S. It also provides habitat to 160 species of birds, 200 species of wetland plants, 124 species of fish, and 20 species of amphibians and reptiles, including endangered animals such as the Antillean manatee and the hawksbill and leatherback turtles. prgtoken The San Juan Bay annually receives 80 percent of imports for Puerto Rico through docks and ports throughout the system, playing a crucial role for the island's economy. Last year alone, the estuary received 9.5 million visitors, numbers only expected to increase as the island recovers from past hurricanes. The estuary aids in flood prgtoken prevention for the island's metropolitan area, which is located within the boundaries of the estuary. prgtoken I thank the chairman and the ranking member for bringing this bill forward. Of course, I am going to be for it, and I think it is a great initiative not just to protect but also care for all our wetlands in the Nation.
IMPEACHMENT
Patrick J. Toomey (Republican, PA) \u2014 2020-2-5

I rise to speak about the House Articles of Impeachment against President . prgtoken In 1999, then-Senator of Delaware asked the following question during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton: ``[D]o these actions rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors necessary to justify the most obviously antidemocratic act the Senate can engage in--overturning an election by convicting the president?'' He answered his own question by voting against removing President Clinton from office. prgtoken It is this constitutionally grounded framework--articulated well by Vice President --that guided my review of President 's impeachment and, ultimately, my decision to oppose his removal. prgtoken House ' impeachment articles allege that President briefly paused aid and withheld a White House meeting with Ukraine's President to pressure Ukraine into investigating two publicly reported corruption matters. The first matter was possible Ukrainian interference in our 2016 election. The second was Vice President 's role in firing the controversial Ukrainian prosecutor investigating a company on whose board Vice President 's son sat. When House demanded witnesses and documents concerning the President's conduct, he invoked constitutional rights and resisted their demands. prgtoken The President's actions were not ``perfect.'' Some were inappropriate. But the question before the Senate is not whether his actions were perfect; it is whether they constitute impeachable offenses that justify removing a sitting President from office for the first time and forbidding him from seeking office again. prgtoken Let's consider the case against President : obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. On obstruction, House allege the President lacked ``lawful cause or excuse'' to resist their subpoenas. This ignores that his resistance was based on constitutionally grounded legal defenses and immunities that are consistent with longstanding positions taken by administrations of both parties. Instead of negotiating a resolution or litigating in court, House rushed to impeach. But as House noted during President Clinton's impeachment, a President's defense of his legal and constitutional rights and responsibilities is not an impeachable offense. prgtoken House separately allege President abused his power by conditioning a White House meeting and the release of aid on Ukraine agreeing to pursue corruption investigations. Their case rests entirely on the faulty claim that the only possible motive for his actions was his personal political gain. In fact, there are also legitimate national interests for seeking investigations into apparent corruption, especially when taxpayer dollars are involved. prgtoken Here is what ultimately occurred: President met with Ukraine's President, and the aid was rele
IMPEACHMENT
Lamar Alexander (Republican, TN) \u2014 2020-2-5

in this impeachment proceeding, I worked with other Senators to make sure that we had the right to ask for more documents and witnesses, but there was no need for more evidence to prove something that I believe had already been proven and that did not meet the U.S. Constitution's high bar for an impeachable offense. prgtoken There was no need for more evidence to prove that the President asked Ukraine to investigate and his son, Hunter. He said this on television on October 3, 2019, and he said it during his July 25, 2019, telephone call with the President of Ukraine. prgtoken There was no need for more evidence to conclude that the President withheld United States aid, at least in part, to pressure Ukraine to investigate the s. The House managers have proved this with what they called a ``mountain of overwhelming evidence.'' One of the managers said it was ``proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.'' prgtoken There was no need to consider further the frivolous second Article of Impeachment that would remove from the President and future Presidents--remove this President for asserting his constitutional prerogative to protect confidential conversations with his close advisers. prgtoken It was inappropriate for the President to ask a foreign leader to investigate his political opponent and to withhold U.S. aid to encourage this investigation. When elected officials inappropriately interfere with such investigations, it undermines the principle of equal justice under the law. But the Constitution does not give the Senate the power to remove the President from office and ban him from this year's ballot simply for actions that are inappropriate. prgtoken The question, then, is not whether the President did it but whether the Senate or the American people should decide what to do about what he did. I believe that the Constitution clearly provides that the people should make that decision in the Presidential election that began on Monday in Iowa. prgtoken The Senate has spent 11 long days considering this mountain of evidence, the arguments of the House managers and the President's lawyers, their answers to Senators' questions, and the House record. Even if the House charges were true, they don't meet the Constitution's ``Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors'' standard for impeachable offense. prgtoken The Framers believed that there never ever should be a partisan impeachment. That is why the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict. Yet not one House voted for these articles. prgtoken If this shallow, hurried, and wholly partisan impeachment were to succeed, it would rip the country apart, pouring gasoline on the fire of cultural divisions that already exist. It would create a weapon of perpetual impeachment to be used against future Presidents whenever the House of Representatives is of a different political party. prgtoken Our foundin
IMPEACHMENT
Richard C. Shelby (Republican, AL) \u2014 2020-2-5

over the past 2 weeks, my colleagues and I have patiently listened to arguments from both the House managers and the President's counsel right here in the Senate regarding a grave allegation from the House that the President has committed an act worthy of impeachment. prgtoken As a Senator, I believe that the first and perhaps most important consideration is whether abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are impeachable offenses as asserted by our House managers. prgtoken Impeachment is a necessary and essential component of our Constitution. It serves as an important check on civil officers who commit crimes against the United States. However, our Founding Fathers were wise to ensure that the impeachment and the prgtoken conviction of a sitting President would not be of partisan intent. Since President took office, many have sought to delegitimize his Presidency with partisan attacks. We have heard this right here in the Senate, and we have experienced it. This extreme effort to unseat the President, I believe, is unjustified and intolerable. prgtoken Now that the Senate has heard and studied the arguments from both sides, I believe the lack of merit in the House managers' case is evident. The outcome of the impeachment trial is a foregone conclusion. Acquittal is the judgment the Senate should and, I believe, will render--and soon. prgtoken For my part, I have weighed the House managers' case and found it wanting in fundamental aspects. I will try to explain. prgtoken I believe that their case does not allege an impeachable offense. Even if the facts are as they have stated, the managers have failed, I believe, as a matter of constitutional law, to meet the exceedingly high bar for removal of the President as established by our Founding Fathers, the Framers of the Constitution. prgtoken In their wisdom, the Framers rejected vague grounds for impeachment-- offenses like we have heard here, ``maladministration''--for fear that it would, in the words of Madison, result in a Presidential ``tenure during [the] pleasure of the Senate.'' ``Abuse of power,'' one of the charges put forward here by the House managers, is a concept as vague and susceptible to abuse, I believe, as ``maladministration.'' If you take just a minute or two to look at the definitions of ``abuse'' and ``mal,'' they draw distinct similarities. ``Mal,'' a prefix of Latin origin, means bad, evil, wrong. ``Abuse,'' also of Latin origin, means to wrongly use or to use for a bad effect. There is a kinship between ``mal'' and ``abuse.'' prgtoken As the Framers rejected in their wisdom ``maladministration,'' I believe that they, too, would reject the noncriminal ``abuse of power.'' Instead, the Framers, as the Presiding Officer knows, provided for impeachment only in a few limited cases: treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors. Only those offenses justify taking the dire step of removing a duly elected President from
REAUTHORIZING LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN RESTORATION PROGRAM
Garret Graves (Republican, LA) \u2014 2020-2-5

I promise to conserve time and conserve the lake. prgtoken , Lake Pontchartrain is perhaps not a very well-known lake. It is actually the second largest saltwater lake in the United States, but it wasn't always this way. prgtoken Lake Pontchartrain, as a result of coastal land loss in Louisiana, has had this intrusion of saltwater that has fundamentally changed the ecosystem of that lake and the communities. prgtoken This is a lake that serves as a watershed for 16 parishes in Louisiana, 4 counties in Mississippi, and most importantly, this lake takes the brunt of the surge from 2 Canadian provinces and 31 States. prgtoken , what happens is each time we have these high-water years on the Mississippi River system which drains 31 States and 2 Canadian provinces, there is an emergency relief valve that sends water through the Bonnet Carre Spillway into Lake Pontchartrain. prgtoken This isn't water that is coming from Louisiana. In fact, less than 1 percent of the water is even coming from the State of Mississippi. It is water coming from all of these States, from Montana, to New York, to Canada, and all of these States in this large watershed funnel in- between. prgtoken And so on average, the Bonnet Carre Spillway had been operated once every decade; once every 10 years. Yet, in recent years, we have had to open it four times, including last year. Last year, for the first time ever, it was opened in January, and for the first time ever, it was actually operated twice in 1 year. prgtoken And so this is in the State of Louisiana. This is this lake, this basin, this watershed that has been taking it on the chin for the rest of the country. prgtoken The reason this is important, , is because this lake is an incredibly productive ecosystem with recreational and commercial fishing. You see lots of folks out there in sailboats and other boats out there enjoying the lake. prgtoken What has been happening as a result of all the Nation's water's drainage coming into here is that the health of the lake has been compromised and challenged, which therefore affects our fisheries, both recreational and commercial, and the millions of pounds of crabs that are harvested out of the lake. prgtoken This lake bounds New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. It bounds the north shore and the river parishes, such as Saint John Parish and Saint Charles Parish over on the west side. prgtoken This is an important part of Louisiana. Because of the coastal land loss that we have experienced and the change in this ecosystem, we must make investments to maintain this as we help to manage this rapid and unfortunate transition from a freshwater lake into a brackish and saltwater lake that we now have. prgtoken , I do want to thank my good friend from California, the chair of the subcommittee, Congresswoman Napolitano, and her staff, Ryan. I want to thank Congressman Westerman, the ranking member of the subcommittee; Ian Bennitt as well as Maggie Ayrea
USPS FAIRNESS ACT
Rodney Davis (Republican, IL) \u2014 2020-2-5

I would like to thank my good friend, Mr. Meadows. We have been working on issues like this relating to the long-term solvency of our Postal Service for many years, and I look forward to standing on this floor with him in the near future when we come up with a good, comprehensive solution that addresses issues like this. prgtoken I thank him for his leadership and his support of the Postal Service and the great postal workers who make up one of the greatest services that we have in our country. prgtoken Unfortunately, the Postal Service today is forced to play by a different set of rules, and those are unfair. This bill corrects this by repealing the 2006 mandate that the Postal Service prefund future retiree health benefits. prgtoken In 2006, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act mandated that the Postal Service prefund retiree health benefits decades in advance, something no other public or private enterprise is forced to do. Over the years, this mandate has caused severe cuts and damaged the Postal Service's ability to invest in even new delivery vehicles. prgtoken I have always been a steadfast supporter of the Postal Service and its workers. In fact, after speaking to many of the postal unions in my district, like the Letter Carriers and the Rural Letter Carriers', I proudly cosponsored this piece of legislation. prgtoken I look forward to working with my colleagues on this issue and other important pieces of legislature that impact our postal unions, such as opposing the privatization of the Postal Service and protecting the 6- day delivery, door-to-door service, and our rural post offices. prgtoken , we have to work together. We need to make sure that our Postal Service remains viable. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I look forward to working with everyone in this institution in the future.