mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CONFIRMATION OF DEBRA ANNE HAALAND
Mazie K. Hirono (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2021-3-15

I rise in support of the historic nomination of Deb Haaland to serve as the next Secretary of the Interior. When confirmed, Congresswoman Haaland will be the first Native American to serve in a Cabinet position. prgtoken Deb Haaland's nomination to become Secretary of the Interior means so much to the future of this country. prgtoken For the historically underrepresented and mistreated indigenous communities of these United States, it means that their experiences and perspectives will be valued and represented at the highest ranks of our Federal Government. This important milestone and this reflection of their stories cannot be overstated. prgtoken It means that young Americans and perhaps especially young people in indigenous communities, who put themselves through school, take out student loans, raise children, and run a business, will see their struggles in this nominee and realize that they, too, can work their way to high-ranking government positions. prgtoken Deb Haaland' s confirmation means that our country will, after 4 years of neglect and catering to the fossil fuel industry, work again to ensure that our natural resources are conserved for the next generation. prgtoken It means that the Federal Government will take swift, meaningful actions to address climate change. prgtoken It means that trust and relationships between local communities, Tribes, and the Federal Government will be restored and strengthened. prgtoken My colleagues have gone to great lengths to smear Congresswoman Haaland as an extremist. They point to the commonsense policies and positions that she took while representing her constituents as ``radical'' and framing her as ``outside the mainstream.'' They are adamantly opposed to President 's environmental agenda and, regardless of what Deb Haaland says in response to their concerns, oppose her because they simply oppose the President's agenda. prgtoken If you took them for their word, you would believe that fossil fuels would disappear overnight. You would believe that workers in that industry would immediately lose their jobs, that our energy grids would become unreliable, that the sky would be falling. prgtoken What they don't talk about is how the Department of the Interior is putting a pause on new, not existing, oil and gas leases. A pause. prgtoken They don't mention how Deb Haaland, during her confirmation hearing, repeatedly assured them that the administration will not abandon workers and families in the fossil fuel industry as we transition to clean energy. prgtoken They ignored and discounted her repeated commitments to working with Senators and stakeholders in their respective States on issues that they care about. prgtoken They don't talk about the impacts of climate change on American communities, how climate change is an environmental justice issue, or the benefits of expanding our country's clean energy production. prgtoken Instead, their messa
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2021-3-15

section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.
Maiden Speech (Executive Session)
Alex Padilla (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-3-15

on behalf of the people of California, it is my honor to address this body today. I stand before you, humbled and inspired by this moment in our Nation's history, as the Senator from the most populous and most diverse State in the Nation and as the first Latino Senator from the State of California. Let me begin by saying what a great country this is. prgtoken My name is Alex Padilla. (English translation of statement made in Spanish is as follows:) prgtoken I am the son of Santos and Lupe Padilla. prgtoken I am also the proud husband of Angela Padilla and the proud rad dad of Roman, Alex, and Diego. prgtoken I love you guys. prgtoken Colleagues, my family's journey is central to my public service. My parents immigrated to California from Mexico in the 1960s in search of a better life. They arrived from different regions of Mexico, with little formal education but with a tremendous work ethic and big dreams. They met in Los Angeles. They fell in love. They decided to get married and apply for green cards--in that order. prgtoken I thank the U.S. Government every day for saying yes to those applications, because, if they had been denied, no doubt my life story would be a lot different. prgtoken For 40 years, my father worked as a short order cook--hard work, honest work--and as he will proudly tell you, his kitchen never failed an inspection. For the same 40 years, my mom worked tirelessly cleaning houses. It seemed like she never had a day off, but, together, they raised three of us--my sister, my brother, and me--in a modest, three- bedroom home in the proud, working-class community of Pacoima, CA, in the northeast San Fernando Valley. prgtoken Now, our neighborhood had more than its share of challenges--from poverty to crime to unhealthy air. It might not have been the safest neighborhood, but my mom felt blessed that we had the sanctuary of a backyard and a strong sense of community. It was there that my parents taught us about the values of service to others and of getting a good education. prgtoken Today, my sister, my brother, and I are all public servants. My sister has been a teacher, a principal, and, today, she works in administration for the Los Angeles Unified School District. My brother serves as chief of staff to Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez. If you pay close attention there, yes, I am the middle child. It may explain a lot. prgtoken Think about that. In one generation, our family has gone from being immigrant cooks and house cleaners to serving in the U.S. Senate. That is the California dream. That is the American dream. That is the dream I was raised to believe in and the dream that Angela and I are working hard to keep alive for our children and for future generations. prgtoken I think about my parents often, and I think about all of the hard- working people in our State and in our Nation who are hurting right now. I rise today on their behalf. prgtoken I rise on beh
NOMINATIONS
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-3-15

the past few weeks in the Senate have been extremely productive. Senate delivered on our promise to pass bold COVID relief legislation, and we have now confirmed 16 Cabinet-level officials. Today, we will continue moving the ball forward on the President's nominees by confirming Representative Deb Haaland to serve as President 's Secretary of the Interior. prgtoken Representative Haaland has already made history as one of two Members to become the first Native American woman to serve in the House of Representatives. She is a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo nation, and her family's roots in New Mexico can be traced back 35 generations. By her own account, she grew up poor, moving frequently. Her mother served in the Navy, and her father spent a 30-year career in the Marines. While the Federal Government has often mistreated and neglected Indigenous Americans, the Haaland family has proudly and bravely served this country. Now Representative Haaland is making history twice over as the first Native American Secretary of the Interior and as the first Native American Cabinet official in American history. prgtoken Representative Haaland's confirmation represents a gigantic step forward in creating a government that represents the full richness and diversity of this country because Native Americans were, for far too long, neglected at the Cabinet level and in so many other places. prgtoken Representative Haaland will have an important task ahead of her. She must refocus the Interior Department on preserving and protecting almost 500 million acres of public lands, combating climate change and environmental degradation, and upholding the Federal Government's obligations to Tribal nations. The administration did more to undermine the relationship between the Federal Government and the sovereign Tribes than many have in decades--from desecrating sacred burial sites to build a border wall to neglecting the desperate situation of Native Tribes during the pandemic. Shame on them. prgtoken In elevating Representative Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior, we reset the relationship between the Federal Government and Tribal nations to one of cooperation, mutual respect, and trust, which is so different prgtoken from the last administration's attitude. I greatly look forward to voting in favor of Representative Haaland's nomination in a few short hours. prgtoken Throughout the week, the Senate will process even more of President 's highly qualified Cabinet nominees, including Xavier Becerra to serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services; Isabella Guzman to serve as the SBA Administrator; and Katherine Tai to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative. prgtoken As President continues to fight the COVID pandemic and begins implementing the American Rescue Plan, he deserves to have his team in place ASAP, as soon as possible.
AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2021-3-15

I have a request for one committee to meet during today's session of the Senate. It has 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 committee is authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Foreign Relations prgtoken The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Monday, March 15, 2021, at 6 p.m to conduct a hearing.
Information Sharing (Executive Session)
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2021-3-15

today, I am going to discuss a very important issue that I started to investigate during the last Congress, and it is an issue that the executive branch must continue to improve upon. The subject is information sharing between the intelligence community and the Department of Health and Human Services. The connection between those two entities is a critical information sharing data point, and it must last beyond the current pandemic. prgtoken To state the obvious, the healthcare landscape has evolved considerably in the past several decades. More specifically, the healthcare landscape has changed considerably in just the last year because of the COVID pandemic. Threats to healthcare now include cyber, intelligence, and counterintelligence threats. prgtoken For example, we know the Chinese Government engaged in cyber attacks to steal American COVID-related research. The Communist Chinese Government will stop at nothing to steal our hard-earned work product. They know, as does the world, that the best of the best is still right here in America. prgtoken Last Congress, as chairman of the Finance Committee, I focused a good deal of my oversight efforts on the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of National Security. For example, in June of 2019, I held a hearing on foreign threats to taxpayer-funded research, where the Office of National Security was one of the government witnesses. After the hearing, I then held a classified committee briefing with all the government witnesses to further discuss the foreign threats that we face. prgtoken That office is the Department's connection, then, to the intelligence community and, accordingly, it plays a critical role in the Department of HHS's overall mission. That mission includes pandemic response and countering national security threats prgtoken To fully perform its function, HHS needs access to intelligence community products and databases. So with that access, they would have information that is vital to mitigating threats to the Department, its funded partners, and its interagency colleagues. So, as part of my oversight efforts and before the pandemic even started, I worked to get that process done. prgtoken I noted my concerns to the administration that the Office of National Security hadn't been adequately incorporated into the intelligence community. To their credit, the administration rightly and quickly resolved many of these issues. The administration created links and information sharing between the intelligence community and the Department of Health and Human Services where that cooperation hadn't existed before. prgtoken Those links should have existed many years ago, but prior administrations, like the - administration, failed to see around the corner and get the job done. Just as an example, even with the swine flu and outbreaks across the globe, the - administration failed to plug the Depa
Vote on Haaland Nomination (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2021-3-15

. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso), the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Hagerty), the Senator from Wyoming (Ms. Lummis), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey). prgtoken Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey) would have voted ``nay,'' the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Marshall) would have voted ``nay,'' and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) would have voted ``nay.''
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
Joni Ernst (Republican, IA) \u2014 2021-3-15

in this country we are so blessed to call home, every woman, no matter her background--like growing up on a small farm in Iowa--can be the next first. prgtoken After serving in the U.S. Army Reserves and the Iowa Army National Guard--a historically male field--I became the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. I was also the first woman to represent the great State of Iowa in Congress. Now, just 6 years later, women make up a majority of the Iowa congressional delegation. Iowa is also blessed with a fierce female Governor in Kim Reynolds and some extremely talented and strong women leaders in our State legislature. Today, there are over 140 women serving in Congress--more than ever before in U.S. history. prgtoken Because of the suffragettes and so many other determined women who stepped up and broke the barriers society placed on us, female trailblazers across this country are writing new pages in history books every single day. Women have made strides in the boardroom, on the playing field, in the military, and through elected office. prgtoken But this pandemic has been tough on women in the workforce, threatening to derail the progress we have made. Before COVID, women made up the majority of the U.S. workforce, but 1 year later, women have lost over 2 million jobs--nearly 1 million more than our male counterparts. prgtoken There are many reasons for this but two major factors. First, moms tend to be the sole caregivers in the family. With schools going remote and childcare centers closing, working moms have been forced to choose between their careers and their children. Second, women tend to work in fields that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, such as the hospitality industry, restaurants, education, and retail. prgtoken We absolutely need to focus on getting these women back into the workforce and on their feet so that they can support themselves and their families. The focus needs to be on three things: first, safely reopening our schools; second, expanding access to childcare, which I have worked with the Presiding Officer on--thank you very much; and producing, distributing, and administering the vaccine as quickly as possible so folks can get back to work safely. prgtoken If I were able to choose the theme for Women's History Month based off of this past year struggling through the pandemic, it would be ``Overcomer.'' Woman to woman, we all, no matter what we do, are overcomers by nature. prgtoken Moms, you overcome so much every single day when you work tirelessly at the thankless and never-ending job of caring for your children and for your families. You have the one and only job that you cannot simply clock out of, especially this year, when many of you had to balance being a teacher for the first time in your life. prgtoken Women in the workforce, you overcome stereotypes daily and have continued to smash glass ceilings and set new standards in co
CORONAVIRUS
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2021-3-15

last Thursday, I spoke about the pain and disruption this pandemic has caused this past year. I also discussed the optimistic springtime that lies before us. The brighter horizon is not a product of a partisan bill that was signed last week or an administration that was sworn in less than 2 months ago; it was built by the American people and supported by the five historic and completely bipartisan bills that Congress passed just last year. prgtoken Later on Thursday, the Nation heard remarks from President . The President spoke in a heartfelt way about grief and loss, but his vision for the days ahead was badly lacking. Along a number of crucial dimensions, the administration keeps trying to rewrite recent history and overrule science. prgtoken Let's take vaccinations. The President's speech tried to reinforce the myth that his administration inherited a shambles on vaccines, set goals that nobody believed were achievable, and has met those goals against all odds. This is just not true. prgtoken The President said: I set a goal that many of you said was . . . way over the top. prgtoken But the benchmark of 100 million vaccines in 100 days was not some audacious goal that was met with great skepticism. A million shots per day was just the pace that the administration actually inherited. We averaged more than 1 million shots per day the week of the inauguration. We totaled more than 1.5 million the day the President was sworn in. prgtoken The groundwork we laid last year is proving a historic success. Where the prgtoken administration is continuing to help streamline distribution, they should, of course, get some credit, but their effort to sprint to the front of this yearlong campaign should not fool anybody. prgtoken The President announced another supposedly audacious goal on Thursday: that all adults in all 50 States should be eligible to schedule vaccinations by May 1. Here is the problem: Dr. Fauci said a month ago we would be there by April. I would imagine by the time we get to April, that will be what I would call . . . `'open season'' . . . namely, virtually everybody and anybody in any category could start to get vaccinated. prgtoken That was Dr. Fauci's prediction last month. So the President's announcement of May 1 wasn't ambitious good news; it was actually a walk-back. prgtoken Something tells me that if the last administration had contradicted Dr. Fauci and pushed the vaccine milestone back a whole month, we might have heard about it from the media. prgtoken Then there is the K-12 schooling. For months, science has confirmed that schools are remarkably safe and do not surge transmission of the virus. This administration's own experts amplified this before liberal politics got in the way. prgtoken In early February, President 's CDC Director specifically said vaccinating the grownups who work in schools should not be a pr
Border Security (Executive Session)
Marsha Blackburn (Republican, TN) \u2014 2021-3-15

. Thank you, . prgtoken The southern border. The situation at our southern border has devolved into chaos. That is what I am hearing from some of my former House colleagues who have been on that border today. prgtoken According to them, we are once again facing a crisis. Thirteen days ago, Customs and Border Protection announced that they were deploying more agents to help manage the spike and apprehensions of adults and unaccompanied alien children. prgtoken Then, last Monday, news broke that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had sent an email to DHS staff begging for volunteers to go to the border and help with logistics and humanitarian aid. prgtoken It is obvious they need help on the border. In January alone, the Customs and Border Patrol detained nearly 78,000 people--more than double the number of apprehensions in January of 2020. prgtoken In February, that number jumped to more than 100,000 arrests and detentions. CBP took more than 9,000 unaccompanied minors into custody that month, prompting the administration to open two overflow detention centers to house them. prgtoken Listen to these numbers: 100,000 arrests and detentions in February; 9,000 unaccompanied minors being taken into custody that month--having to open 2 overflow detention centers. prgtoken New data released last Wednesday shows that our agents are now detaining more than 4,000 people along the border every single day-- 4,000 every day. prgtoken Our facilities and resources are exhausted, and so are the agents responsible for controlling this out-of-control situation. prgtoken It did not have to be this way. Secretary Mayorkas has accused the administration of ``dismantling our Nation's immigration system.'' That is his quote. But if he wants to know who is really responsible, he should look to the current White House. prgtoken I have stated time and again how disastrous President 's policy of governing by Executive fiat has been. Thirty-four Executive orders in his first 50 days--34. prgtoken Also, he has suspended construction of the border wall, jeopardizing our national security. He has embraced DACA. He halted most deportations. He cut domestic immigration arrests by 60 percent and dismantled the migrant protection protocols. prgtoken This administration threw our existing immigration law out the window and let the world know that when it comes to illegal entry, not only will we look the other way, this administration is encouraging them to come. Even their Cabinet nominees are playing by these new rules of encouraging individuals to break our laws, to come to the country illegally. They are encouraging this. prgtoken Last week, this Chamber voted to discharge Xavier Becerra's nomination from committee. I voted no. He is one of the most flagrant offenders out there when it comes to sending these signals. He has openly admitted he would like to decriminalize illegal entry and offer Medicaid to anyone who m