mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Deb Fischer (Republican, NE) \u2014 2018-8-20

I rise today to offer a bipartisan amendment with my colleague, the junior Senator from Wisconsin. Our measure would provide much needed funding for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or the DPAA, so they can continue the important work of identifying and accounting for our missing servicemembers from conflicts around the globe. prgtoken Tragically, more than 83,000 Americans remain missing from World War II, the Korean war, the Cold War, and the Vietnam war. Many more remain unaccounted for as a result of more recent conflicts. The Defense POW/ MIA Accounting Agency is an agency within the Department of Defense whose mission is to recover personnel listed as prisoners of war or missing in action. Their core task is to provide the fullest possible accounting for these personnel to their families and to this Nation. The value of the work being done by DPAA cannot be overstated. No matter when an American servicemember goes missing, our commitment to fully investigating what happened and bringing closure to their family should never waver. prgtoken I am honored to represent one of DPAA's forensic laboratories, located at Offutt Air Force Base. There, they are currently working to identify the sailors lost in the sinking of the USS Oklahoma during World War II and conducting forensic identification of the Tuskegee Airmen who remain listed as missing in action. prgtoken As a result of North Korea's recent agreement with the United States, DPAA's work has taken on added significance. In July, North Korea turned over 55 boxes containing the possible remains of DOD personnel lost during the Korean war, who must now be processed and identified. On several occasions, North Korean officials have indicated they possess as many as 200 sets of remains they have recovered over the years. To this day, there are still 5,300 U.S. military personnel who remain listed as missing in action and are presumed deceased during the Korean war, their remains still located in North Korea. prgtoken For the families of those lost, this is a long-awaited opportunity to gain closure and to give their loved ones the respectful, dignified remembrance they deserve. For that to happen, we must ensure that DPAA has the resources it needs to conduct the forensic analysis of these new remains and continue working to locate and account for American servicemembers. That is why I am offering this amendment, which will provide $10 million in fully offset funding to allow DPAA to cover this additional workload. By supporting this amendment, we can ensure that this influx of new work can be handled without delay and that the talented men and women of DPAA have the support necessary to continue this important task. prgtoken For the families of those lost in service, it is never too late to offer closure, and for our heroes in uniform, it is never too late to remember and to honor their sacrifice. prgtoken I thank the junior Senator from
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-8-20

I rise today to call on my colleagues to vote in favor of the Menendez-Murkowski amendment No. 3705, which I understand we will be shortly voting on on the floor, to provide implementation funding for the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act. Many of our colleagues supported the authorizing bill when it was before the Senate earlier this year, and it was subsequently passed and signed into law by President . prgtoken There are many words that come to mind when we think of firefighters--``courage,'' ``heroism,'' and ``compassion''--but tragically there is another word all too often associated with firefighters, and that word is ``cancer.'' prgtoken According to the International Association of Firefighters, cancer is now the leading cause of death among firefighters. We know that firefighters confront more than smoke and flames while on the job; they also encounter dangerous fumes and toxins and known carcinogens that pose serious health risks. prgtoken The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act we created is the first ever national cancer registry for firefighters, and the law directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the relationship between career-long exposure to dangerous fumes and toxins and cancer. Our Nation's first responders put their lives on the line every day, whether it was charging into a burning building on September 11 or fighting wildfires out West today. Every day, our firefighters strive to protect us. This is the least we can do as a nation to protect them. prgtoken I hope all of us can unite in support of this amendment, which will enable the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to carry out its mission in the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act. prgtoken from Alaska, Senator Murkowski, for her stalwart commitment to this effort, both on the legislation that became law and in the process of trying to get this appropriation. prgtoken , .
NOMINATION OF BRETT KAVANAUGH
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-8-20

. Yes. I asked if, under the rules, all committee Senate records are the property of the Senate as a whole and that all Senators shall have access to those records--shall have access. prgtoken The Presiding Officer said: Yes, those are, in part, the rules. Of course, those are not all of the rules. prgtoken Is there anything the Presiding Officer knows in the rules that would undercut that ruling in the Senate rules?
THE JOHN S. McCAIN NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2018-8-20

the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, NDAA, provides crucial resources to our Armed Forces and our national defense. Although I have serious concerns with this law, many of its provisions play a vital role in strengthening our national security. prgtoken I championed numerous initiatives in this law that directly benefit the people of Maryland and our nation as a whole. The NDAA increases pay for our brave men and women in uniform by 2.6 percent. It authorizes essential funding for Federal agencies in Maryland, including the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. It includes resources for important infrastructure projects in Maryland, such as cleanup efforts in Edgewood and Aberdeen Proving Ground and road improvements at Fort Meade. It also ensures that the mission of the Defense Information Systems Agency and those working on it at Fort Meade will continue and protects thousands of jobs from potential loss. prgtoken I also support the NDAA's reforms to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. These reforms, which I debated and supported in the Senate Banking Committee, balance our ability to maintain an open environment for foreign direct investment and to protect our national security. The reforms are essential in responding to foreign nations that strive to gain a strategic advantage over the United States through the acquisition of our advanced technologies. prgtoken However, I find several elements of this law detrimental to our national security. For instance, the law eliminates the requirement for congressional authorization for the development of low-yield nuclear weapons. It also authorizes $65 million in funding for a new low-yield submarine-launched ballistic missile, an unnecessary new weapon that increases the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation. prgtoken In addition, the NDAA authorizes over $716 billion in defense funding for fiscal year 2019, a $133 billion increase in the defense budget since President assumed office. I look forward to working with the Defense Department to ensure additional funds are prioritized to improve readiness, enhance training, and focus our procurements on tomorrow's challenges--particularly those in the information space--but this steep expansion in military spending may reduce the Pentagon's incentives to address cost overruns of weapons systems. This dramatic increase in defense spending follows massive tax cuts for the wealthy and proposals from the administration to slash healthcare and other basic needs for middle-class families, which sets a fiscal course that weakens the Nation's long-term prosperity and security. prgtoken Furthermore, in his fiscal year 2019 budget request for the Defense Department, President elevated the possibility of great power conflict with China. Secretary of Defense Mattis reiterated this in the 2019 National Defense Strategy, asserting that
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2018-8-20

I am very pleased that the Senate is now considering legislation to fund the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for the coming fiscal year. prgtoken Both bills have been supported by broad bipartisan majorities. The Defense and Labor-HHS appropriations subcommittees are the largest of the committee's 12 subcommittees, with 19 members each, almost one- fifth of the Senate. prgtoken Despite the diversity of views on our committee, each was reported out of subcommittee and committee with strong bipartisan support. prgtoken As my colleagues know, these are the two biggest appropriations bills, which together comprise almost two-thirds of Federal discretionary spending. prgtoken I note that the last time the Labor-HHS appropriations bill was on the Senate floor was more than a decade ago, so it is an especially welcome development that we are debating this bill here today. prgtoken It is a testament to the work we have been able to do to push aside the partisanship and reject President 's budget requests and poison pill riders, and I am hopeful that this will continue. prgtoken I would like to congratulate Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Leahy, as well as Senator Blunt, for their commitment to working in a bipartisan fashion to restore regular order to the appropriations process. prgtoken This isn't the bill I would have written on my own, and it is not the bill Senator Blunt--or any other member of the committee--would have written on their own, but it is a good bipartisan compromise, and it would help so many workers, children, students, families, and communities if enacted. prgtoken Overall, we rejected the President's push for massive cuts to investments we know are so important, in education, public health, research, and workforce training, to programs that affect workers, seniors, students, women, and so much more. prgtoken I am particularly proud that and s stood together to roundly reject Secretary DeVos's budget requests, from her attempts to privatize and voucherize public schools, to her massive cuts to education funding that would have hurt so many students. prgtoken Earlier this year, we reviewed this harmful budget just as we saw teachers and parents around the country organizing and standing up for public education after years of budgets for education not keeping up with needs--because our kids shouldn't be forced to learn in crumbling classrooms with shabby textbooks and our teachers should be paid fairly for the important work they do. prgtoken Secretary DeVos wasn't listening to these parents and teachers, and her budget calls for more cuts. prgtoken It would eliminate afterschool programs for almost 2 million students, need-based financial aid that helps make college more affordable for millions of students, options for repayment and student loan forgiveness for millions of borrowers and their families, and grants that can be us
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Bill Nelson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-8-20

folks are voting today in Florida. As a matter of fact, they have been voting for some weeks since Florida started voting by mail, which started a couple of weeks ago. They are voting in early voting--a period of time of up to 2 weeks prior to the August 28 primary. They are voting early in these elections. They are exercising their most fundamental right, which is to vote. prgtoken Of course, there is so much at stake for Florida and our country in this year's elections. Last month, a Federal judge in Florida overturned a 2014 ban on early voting, and it was a ban on college campuses. Back in 2014, the legislature passed and the Governor signed into law a series of restrictions to make it harder to vote instead of easier. One of them, which was then implemented by the Division of Elections--secretary of state--was that there could not be a voting place on a college campus. Well, we have State universities, just as other States do, that have huge numbers of students. Of course, if you want to make it easier for students to vote, instead of their having to go out in the community, it is quite logical to have a place for them to vote on the campus. prgtoken Well, there was an attempt in the past to ban the voting. The particular case I weighed in on a few years ago was one in which they were banning voting from the student union building at the University of Florida in Gainesville--a campus, by the way, that enrolls some tens of thousands of students. In a scathing opinion, a Federal judge overturned that ruling, saying that the ban by Florida law was unconstitutional and that it seemed to put in place a prohibition on a geographical location for voting as a means by which to hinder younger voters--specifically, students--from casting their ballots. prgtoken Because of the Federal judge's ruling, there will now be an early voting location on the campus of the University of Florida for the upcoming general election this coming November. According to press reports, it doesn't look as though that is going to be the case in all places around Florida's colleges and universities. We just read a newspaper report that said that the supervisor of elections in Duval County--that is Jacksonville--says he might not be able to set up an early voting location on the campus of the University of Florida in time for the general election due to logistical and financial concerns. I hope that the Federal judge's ruling in this case makes very clear his displeasure about not making it convenient for students to vote by refusing to set up a precinct on the university campus location. I am hopeful that the logistical and other issues can be resolved as quickly as possible and that Florida's universities can host early voting during the general election. prgtoken Early voting is key to ensuring access to the ballot for all voters. We have found that with early voting and voting by mail, increasingly larger percentage
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2018-8-20

I know that Senator Shelby has spoken before and is going to speak again. I also know we are coming up on the time for some votes. Let me speak in my capacity as vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. prgtoken Today, as you know, the Senate begins consideration of the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies minibus appropriations bill. This will actually be the third appropriations package brought to the Senate floor this year. Once we complete action, the Senate will have passed 9 of the 12 committee- reported appropriations bills for the fiscal year 2019. It is certainly much faster than has been done in years. prgtoken I want to thank Chairman Shelby for his commitment to a bipartisan process. That and the fact we have been friends for decades have made this progress possible. I also want to thank Senators Blunt, Murray, and Durbin for their work on these bills--again, a bipartisan effort. I think the bipartisan progress is due to the Shelby-Leahy-McConnell- Schumer commitment to move forward on appropriations bills that have bipartisan support, are at spending levels agreed to in the bipartisan budget deal, and reject poison pill riders and controversial authorizing language. The two bills in this package meet this test. prgtoken The minibus before us represents 65 percent of all discretionary spending, but it also demonstrates the importance of the bipartisan budget agreement reached earlier this year. In this package, we see the priorities outlined in that agreement made into real policy to improve the lives of Americans. prgtoken It is no secret that the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the resulting sequestration cuts damaged our military readiness, resulting in canceled deployments and deferred maintenance. prgtoken It was in July of last year, I remind my fellow Senators, that Secretary Mattis testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee, and he said that ``for all the heartache caused by the loss of our troops during these wars, no enemy in the field has done more to harm the readiness of our military than sequestration.'' prgtoken But damage to our military readiness was not the only consequence of the Budget Control Act. Sequestration has led to schools that fail to prepare students for a challenging world, a steep decline in Federal investment for job training and employment services, healthcare crises left unaddressed, and childcare services eroded. prgtoken In fact, when thinking of the defense budget, it was reported in 2017 that 7 out of 10 people--7 out of 10--ages 17 to 24 in America would not qualify for military service because of reasons related to their physical health or education. That means that 24 million out of 34 million young adults are ineligible due to obesity and other health problems or criminal backgrounds or lack of education. prgtoken Now, if you want to talk about national security, that strikes at it.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2018-8-20

Today I wish to honor the memory of a Montana native who, through his faith and devotion to justice, touched the lives of thousands. prgtoken Raymond G. Hunthausen was born in the mining town of Anaconda. prgtoken Over the next two decades, he developed a strong faith in God, a devotion to humanity and peace, and a heart of compassion and advocacy. prgtoken He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Helena in 1946. He took over as president of Carroll College at the age of 35, where he taught, coached, and served as athletic director. In 1962, he was appointed bishop of Helena by Pope John XXIII. He attended the Second Vatican Council, which was convened by Pope John XXIII in the early 1960s to reconcile church teachings and practices with the modern world. He described the experience as transformative, and after, he set about making his mark on the church and on society. prgtoken In 1975, Pope Paul VI appointed Father Hunthausen archbishop of Seattle. Archbishop Hunthausen led reform efforts in the church. He led protests against nuclear weapons stockpiling, let a group of gay Catholics use a cathedral for mass, gave women leadership roles in the parish far before it was common, and defended the use of birth control. He wrote what is believed to be the first letter from an American bishop calling for the church to value the gifts of women equally with those of men. prgtoken He stood for peace and justice in all matters, even when it meant risking condemnation from the church, and he advocated strongly for conservation and human rights, all while remaining a humble servant of his religion and his diocese. prgtoken Above all, Archbishop Hunthausen stood for those who couldn't stand for themselves. prgtoken His legacy is one of peace and compassion and unrelenting devotion to others. I stand here today to honor that legacy and to implore us all to reflect on the lessons he had to offer during his remarkable lifetime.
RECOGNITION OF THE DEL RIO HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AS THE SMALL HISPANIC CHAMBER OF THE YEAR
Will Hurd (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-8-21

I rise today to recognize the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a premiere resource for businesses and leading advocate of economic growth in the state of Texas. prgtoken The Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has been a critical institution in the area since its founding in 2006. In just over 10 years, the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has supported a range of businesses in the border area. This Chamber of Commerce has established itself as a leader in strengthening and supporting small, minority and women-owned businesses and providing opportunities for business development and growth in the community. prgtoken I applaud the extraordinary efforts of this Chamber of Commerce and congratulate them for their recognition as the Small Hispanic Chamber of the Year. The work of this institution resonates across Texas' 23rd Congressional District, and will undoubtedly continue to have a lasting positive impact across Texas and the United States.
IN MEMORY OF SPECIALIST CHRISTOPHER HARRIS
Richard Hudson (Republican, NC) \u2014 2018-8-21

I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Specialist Christopher , who was killed in action on August 2, 2017 while defending our nation as part of the 82nd Airborne Division. SPC was a true American hero and our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family as they mourn the loss of this great man. prgtoken Enlisting in the United States Army in October of 2013, SPC ' list of accomplishments speaks to his bravery and commitment to service. As an infantryman, he was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. He received numerous medals, including the Bronze Star for Valor and the Purple Heart. prgtoken Men and women like SPC represent the best our nation has to offer. As a Paratrooper, he was always prepared to fearlessly jump into enemy territory to defend his country. That level of valor allows us to enjoy the blessings of liberty that have persevered for well over 200 years. When his country needed him most, he stood ready to answer the call to serve our great nation. prgtoken Leaving behind a wife and a newborn daughter who he never met, our country can never repay the debt we owe to SPC . He was a model citizen and soldier whose legacy will live on forever. He will always be remembered and I will do everything in my power to honor his sacrifice. prgtoken , please join me today in commemorating the life of Specialist Christopher for his service to God and country