mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7888, REFORMING INTELLIGENCE AND SECURING AMERICA ACT; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 529, EXTENDING LIMITS OF U.S. CUSTOMS WATERS ACT; PROVIDING FOR...
Teresa Leger Fernandez (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2024-4-10

the balance of my time for closing. prgtoken I want to give everyone at home a behind-the-scenes look at what we just did here today. s needed filler this week because they have no real agenda to work on. Of the four bills, three of them are do-nothing bills that attack the President, a customs bill that has broad support and didn't need a rule, and a FISA reauthorization which we don't even know will pass. prgtoken I think Americans want to know what we are not doing here. They want to know that we are not taking up the important legislation that Americans are worried about, like security assistance for Ukraine, which the Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass. The crucial aid to Ukraine would be critical to fight for democracy, but we are not even taking it up. prgtoken We are not taking up the need to pass a farm bill. Everywhere I go in my district, my rural area, I am asked: What is happening with the farm bill? prgtoken We are not taking it up. We are not taking up legislation to protect a woman's access to healthcare, so that if she has a miscarriage she is welcomed with assistance from her doctors and not handcuffs. prgtoken We have pointed out that the last bill to pass the Rules Committee and become law was almost a year ago, because s in this Congress have been trying but failing over and over to govern in contrast, are willing to work across the aisle on bipartisan issues, to attack the important issues our constituents know we need to get done. We cannot continue to have the kind of infighting that stops legislative action for us to get the work done we need to get done. prgtoken , because of all the important issues that were raised and we need to take up, for women and people who love the women, who want to make sure they have the healthcare they deserve, vote ``no'' on the previous question. Let's take up the Women's Health Protection Act. Let's move on things that in every State, election after election, we know we need to get done. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to oppose the previous question and the rule, and .
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7888, REFORMING INTELLIGENCE AND SECURING AMERICA ACT; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 529, EXTENDING LIMITS OF U.S. CUSTOMS WATERS ACT; PROVIDING FOR...
Kim Schrier (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2024-4-10

I thank my friend and colleague, Representative Leger Fernandez, for her commitment to ensuring women's access to abortion care, no matter where they are in this country. This is because extreme s are doubling down on their out-of- touch--and I will repeat--extreme attacks on women as they march toward a national abortion ban. prgtoken Make no mistake. By overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court deprived millions of women the freedom to make one of the most personal and important decisions of their lives. prgtoken As a physician, in fact, a pediatrician, I understand that reproductive healthcare, including abortion, is part of women's healthcare. prgtoken There is simply no place for politics in the exam room. This is a personal decision between a woman and her doctor. It is not a government decision, and government should not be meddling in healthcare. This is a slippery slope, as we are already seeing. prgtoken When there is a claim by my colleagues, by my colleagues, that life begins at conception, the moment a sperm touches an egg, boy, that is a slippery slope. prgtoken We have already seen what that has done to IVF care. Parents who desperately want children are unable to have families now in Alabama because of this ruling. This is interfering with even more aspects of women's healthcare. prgtoken Next is contraception. Again, make no mistake. As one of two pro- choice woman doctors in Congress, you can count on me to do everything I can to protect women's access to safe abortion. prgtoken , this is why the Women's Healthcare Protection Act, which will keep government out of this most personal and important medical decision, is so critical to pass.
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2024-4-10

I certainly want to be very clear in the hearts and minds of Americans and the hearts and minds of Texans, the hearts and minds of the ic Caucus that no one in our Caucus condones the killing of innocent people no matter where we find ourselves. prgtoken So I rise today to take great issue with any suggestion that our ic Caucus would not fight for those who are the most vulnerable. prgtoken I recognize the Maryland delegation and the leader, Mr. Mfume, who comes to the floor to ensure that the voices of Marylanders are heard in helping to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge but also to ensure the representation of the American people that we do not discard our friends. prgtoken What we will do is demand that our friends stand up for the vulnerable, that our friends love babies and women and children, and that we make sure that there is not an unequal mistreatment of individuals who are here in this country and who are overseas. prgtoken So I must challenge any interpretation of as being anything but supportive of the President's policies, which are policies that believe in protecting human rights workers, and again, as I started out, by protecting those vulnerable persons in the--how should I say it--in the very vigorous war that is going on and the loss of life that we see. prgtoken That is why you hear a difference of opinion in the ic Party. That is why you hear from the majority leader of the United States Senate a different voice because that voice has to speak for, again, the most vulnerable. prgtoken At the same time, would we not want to have the Nation acknowledge the tragedy that happened in Maryland in the Baltimore Harbor where so many detrimental disasters could be forthcoming because of the terrible tragedy of the bridge coming down, the lack of prgtoken money to be able to support a new system of construction, as well to be able to pay for it. prgtoken So here is the real story. Tragedy struck the Baltimore Harbor some weeks ago. We saw not only the Maryland delegation come together, but we saw the Nation come together. prgtoken The Nation has come together to be able to speak to the pain of the people that are in Maryland, that are in Baltimore, and in particular, in the city of Baltimore. That is what happened. prgtoken So I am standing with and supporting Mr. Mfume who comes to represent the Maryland delegation to ensure that those funds are forthcoming and that they are not dismissed. I think it is extremely important that we know to help our various communities that are suffering from hurricanes, suffering from a particular type of disaster that no one had ever heard, which is the disaster of the collision of a cargo carrier, if you will, going into the Francis Scott Key Bridge that many of us remember as the source of the Star Spangled Banner. prgtoken So I would not be here if I didn't think the value that I stand for is to stand alongside Mr. Mfume to reco
Israel (Executive Session)
Peter Welch (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2024-4-10

it has been more than 6 months since Hamas's horrific attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 innocent Israelis and led to the capture of 240 hostages. Around 130 people are still being held hostage, and an estimated 100 are alive and remain in captivity in absolutely horrific conditions. The cruelty that has been and continues to be inflicted on them is horrendous, and obtaining their freedom becomes a more urgent priority every day. prgtoken In the past 6 months, Israel's indiscriminate bombing has obliterated most of Gaza's infrastructure. Nothing has been spared. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed. Another 7,000 are believed to be buried beneath the rubble. And among the dead are hundreds of aid workers and health workers. Nearly 2 million people have been displaced. Aid trucks are lined up for miles in Egypt waiting to get into Gaza, while the bombs and shells keep exploding. The magnitude of this calamity is staggering. prgtoken Now, 6 months into this war, Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced that a date has been set for an invasion of Rafah. Rafah today is jammed with an estimated 1 million desperate, destitute Palestinians who were ordered by the Israeli military to leave their homes in the north--homes that have since been demolished--and who are now sheltering under plastic with the few possessions they could carry and not nearly enough food. prgtoken And last week, less than a month after Jose Andres briefed me and other Senators on the daunting challenges his remarkable organization, the World Central Kitchen, faces in getting food to desperate families in Gaza, Israeli missiles destroyed three of their vehicles and killed seven of their aid workers. prgtoken The descriptions and coordinates of the World Central Kitchen vehicles that were targeted had been shared with the Israeli military. There was nothing about those vehicles or the people in them that could reasonably have been confused with Hamas. The vehicles were far apart. They were labeled as World Central Kitchen vehicles. Each was targeted and destroyed separately. prgtoken The deadly attacks on aid and health workers in Gaza have become shockingly common. World Central Kitchen and other humanitarian organizations, which so many people depended on, have had to suspend operations in Gaza. This incident and the killings of other aid and health workers must be thoroughly and independently investigated. Calling it a mistake begs the question: We need to know what happened and why. prgtoken This outrageous attack on aid workers and Prime Minister Netanyahu's plans to invade the very place his government told Palestinians to go is the latest evidence that the way the Netanyahu government is conducting this war is terribly wrong. It is yet another tragic reason why a cease-fire is immediately needed. prgtoken Our priority must be to secure a cease-fire to free the hostages and get adequate food, water, and medical c
S.J. Res. 61 (Executive Session)
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2024-4-10

from West Virginia, my native State, for yielding to me. Out of the three Senators in the U.S. Senate from West Virginia, today we are all speaking on this proposal by Senator Cramer. prgtoken I rise today in opposition to S.J. Res. 61, a Congressional Review Act resolution that would overturn the Federal Highway Administration's greenhouse gas performance rule. This rule is critical to helping the United States meet our climate goals, and I want to start off by laying out the scale of the challenges we face in addressing climate change and the climate crisis. prgtoken All of us know by now that we are confronted almost daily by signs that our planet is literally on fire, and as the days and weeks pass, the urgency to act only grows stronger. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States just experienced the warmest winter on record--not ``one'' of the warmest winters on record but ``the'' warmest winter on record. And last year, 2023, was the world's warmest year on record--not ``one'' of the warmest years on record but ``the.'' This is not a mere coincidence but an unabated body of evidence that shows our planet continues to grow warmer and warmer. prgtoken Extreme weather is affecting communities across our Nation, from hurricanes to drought, to flooding made worse by rising sea levels. prgtoken Last year, the Environment and Public Works Committee that I am privileged to lead, along with Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, held a hearing where we heard firsthand about the negative impacts of extreme heat on our transportation systems and the punishing effects--truly punishing effects--it could have on the health of our transportation workforce. prgtoken The science is clear that greenhouse gas emissions are having a substantial effect on our changing climate. prgtoken So where do those emissions come from? Where do they come from? Well, the transportation sector in America is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Let me say that again. The transportation sector is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accounting for nearly 30 percent of our emissions economywide. The transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. After that, another 28 percent comes from our powerplants generating electricity, and yet another 25 percent comes from our manufacturing operations, like cement plants and like steel mills. This means that the cars, the trucks, the buses driven on our highways every day are a major source of the emissions that are warming this planet that we call home. prgtoken That is why the Federal Highway Administration's greenhouse gas performance rule is so important and must be upheld by Congress. It is simply not possible to meet our climate goals without addressing emissions from the transpo
Border Security (Executive Session)
Joe Manchin, III (Democrat, WV) \u2014 2024-4-10

I did not intend to speak on Secretary Mayorkas, but I want to say a few words before I get to the content of my speech. prgtoken What I would say is that I respectfully disagree with my colleagues and my friends on the side of the aisle and with the politics that are being played. prgtoken I was the Governor of the State of West Virginia, and I made an awful lot of appointments under what we call will and pleasure. I asked the State senate to confirm people I thought would work and do a great job for the people of West Virginia. It was my responsibility. If it went wrong or they did not basically fulfill their duties, that was my responsibility. If they had criminal charges brought against them, whether they were civil or criminal, then the courts would take it. They have a right to remove, and I would have been respectfully obligated to remove. And, if not, they had a right to impeach. prgtoken We are not there. Everyone seems to be upset that Secretary Mayorkas, whom I know to be a good man, is being ostracized for doing the job he has done, that he has been basically directed to do by his boss, the President of the United States. If you are unhappy, go to the polls. It is the boss, OK? That is where it is. I think it has been a disaster. The first 2 or 3 years, right now, have been a disaster. prgtoken I have asked--I have begged--the President to change: Secure our border. It has to be secured. It is the most dangerous thing we face. prgtoken And when I have said that, I have said: Declare a national emergency. prgtoken Well, the mistakes the President has made, basically, were tried to be corrected when he supported the piece of legislation we had before us, about 2 or 3 weeks ago, that was negotiated. The lead negotiator, I think, is one of the most honorable people we have in the Senate, and our friend James Lankford from Oklahoma--Senator Lankford. I think it was a tremendous piece of legislation that would have given us more security at the border, and it would have stopped all the illegal flow. But it was still politicized, and it didn't happen, and I think Ali Mayorkas is being blamed for that too. prgtoken I am sorry. It was not him. And for us to go through a trial with what precious time we have left and all the challenges we have--let's just vote on securing the border. Once and for all, secure the border. Let's vote on taking care of our responsibilities around the world and at home--securing our border and helping our allies defend their own. That is what we should be doing. prgtoken Everything is politicized to the point now that we can't get beyond whose fault it is rather than say: Hey, we are Americans. If I am a and you are a and vice versa, you are not my enemy. You are my colleague whom I might have differences with, but we can work it out. No one wants to find that sensible middle anymore. It is a bad word--``compromise.'' You n
Abortion (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2024-4-10

former President reminded us just a few days ago that he--he--is to blame for the grotesque reversal of women's personal freedom. He said it himself. He said he is ``proudly the person responsible'' for the annihilation of Roe v. Wade. prgtoken Let me repeat those words because the American people need to hear it over and over again. said he is ``proudly the person responsible'' for ending Roe. prgtoken Yesterday, we saw another consequence of a post-Roe America. The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a Civil War-era law banning abortion almost entirely, without exceptions for rape or for incest. The Arizona Supreme Court's decision goes as far as to suggest that doctors can be prosecuted for assisting in an abortion. All of these regressive MAGA judges on the Supreme Court, in some of the other Federal courts, and in the State courts--all come from and he, appointing MAGA judges, and his goal to restrict women's freedoms and to have Roe v. Wade be annihilated. prgtoken Make no mistake about it. and MAGA s own the consequences of the Arizona Supreme Court decision. Does anyone seriously doubt that, should become President again, he won't try to add even more extreme jurists to the bench so he can continue his assault on women's reproductive freedoms? Of course, they will. If and MAGA s get into power they would see to it that reproductive freedoms are curtailed even more, from the local level to the national level. prgtoken Even in his remarks the other day, when he was trying to cover up what he did, he couldn't resist saying he is ``proudly the person responsible'' for the annihilation of Roe v. Wade. He couldn't resist because that is where he is at. We know that. prgtoken And don't take it from me. House s included a national abortion ban in the Study Committee budget. And remember, the Study Committee includes a majority of House s and their leadership, and they came out for a national abortion ban. prgtoken On IVF, s try to talk a good game about supporting access to reproductive services, but not 1 month ago--not 1 month ago-- s blocked legislation in this Chamber that would have preserved IVF protections under Federal law. And, while prgtoken hopes people forget, he himself is on record supporting a national abortion ban when he was President. prgtoken So, unsurprisingly, and MAGA s are now trying to hide their antiabortion records because they know how dangerously out of step their views are with the public. But they can't help themselves, as the President's speech showed 4 days ago. Again, he had to repeat that he was responsible--the one responsible--for the abolition of Roe. prgtoken Make no mistake, that is what they will do. And, make no mistake, and MAGA s will have to answer to the American peopl
CONGRATULATING REVEREND DR. DONALD RIBEIRO
Donald G. Davis (Democrat, NC) \u2014 2024-4-10

I rise to recognize North Carolina Player of the Year, Zam Jones, who is living proof that you can never underestimate the power of eastern North Carolina. prgtoken Jones is one of only four North Carolina players to make the ESPN Top 60 and is ranked number 17 in the country. prgtoken Five-star guard Zam Jones will play college basketball in the ACC at North Carolina State University. prgtoken Jones led North Pitt High School to victory in the 2024 North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A Women's Basketball Championship. prgtoken Recently, she helped the East clinch a tight victory over the West in the McDonald's All-American game. prgtoken , Zam is a shining example of excellence in the East.
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE
Kweisi Mfume (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2024-4-10

I want to do a couple of things here. Number one, I thank Johnson for the conversation that we had shortly after this bridge collapsed and for his full understanding of the impact on the Nation and why this is so very important that we, again, allow commerce to flow through that port. prgtoken I thank Rosa DeLauro, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, and Hakeem Jeffries, our minority leader, for their understanding on this issue, particularly Leader Jeffries, who went above and beyond a commitment personally to try to get this thing done and to make sure that we did it together. prgtoken I would be remiss if I did not thank Tom Cole, the new chair of the Appropriations Committee, who spoke with me just 2 days after this happened and who understands completely the economic impact that this poses for our Nation as well as to Members on both sides of the aisle as we try to find a way to make sure that we move forward. prgtoken , let me be redundant and underscore the fact that this is one of the Nation's top ports. It is the largest estuary that it sits over, meaning the Chesapeake Bay and the Patapsco River, but the port itself is a significant contributor to our economy, and it is the number one port in terms of roll-on and roll-off of new automobiles. It is a great exporter of titanium, sugar, coal, and a number of other imports, as well as exports. prgtoken I will also say it has been a pleasure working with our Governor; Mayor Brandon Scott of Baltimore; County Executive Johnnie O of Baltimore County; Bill Ferguson, the president of the senate in Maryland; and Adrienne Jones, the speaker of the house, who have pushed through emergency legislation to help us to assist all of the dock workers and small businesses that are affected and helping us to move toward some sort of resolution of this issue. prgtoken I began my remarks by saying that we must not ever forget the human souls, the lives lost that day. Again, as we think about this well into the future, I hope that all of us remember that this was a bridge, but this was more than just a bridge. It became a graveyard also. prgtoken So because of the suffering that these families have endured, I would ask everyone all over the Nation to join us in understanding that this is not a partisan issue, that we must find a way together to get through this, that we must protect our Nation's supply chains and all of the risk that it poses for consumers in our society, and we can do it together. prgtoken There will be a process to determine the funding mechanisms and the funding ratios. That will all be a part of some of what the Appropriations Committee will do, I am sure, but more than anything else, this becomes a milestone. I hope that we look at it as a problem that occurred that was solved by the work, potential, and input of everybody who cared, no matter where, in fact, they were or are. prgtoken , .