mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ALLOW STATES AND VICTIMS TO FIGHT ONLINE SEX TRAFFICKING ACT OF 2017-- MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2018-3-20

we are more aware than ever of the accelerating pace of climate change and of the serious threat that rising seas, higher temperatures, and changing weather poses. I suppose I don't need to lecture the Presiding Officer from Florida on the threat of rising seas. prgtoken The real-time effects of climate change are becoming clearer and clearer every year. Here is a telling example unfolding right now in the Arctic. prgtoken In this graphic, we see the mean area of Arctic sea ice over the last several decades. The maximum yearly extent of the ice, which occurs around this time of year, continues to shrink each decade. prgtoken This line tracks the sea ice in the Arctic in millions of square kilometers, running from February through to May. This is the track of the sea ice extent during the 1980s. If you take all the years in the 1980s and you average them together and you run through the calendar, it is like a clock going this way through these months. You would see the sea ice growing and fading away as spring came to the Arctic. prgtoken That is where the ice was when averaging the 1980s. This green line is the exact same thing; it is just for the 1990s. So we can see how much sea ice has been lost averaged decade over decade. prgtoken The blue line here is for 2000. Once again, we see a loss of sea ice--a considerable loss from the levels back as recently as the 1980s. prgtoken The purple line right here is the average of the years in this decade so far, from 2010 to 2017--that is the average of those 7 years. This dot is the high, the maximum ice extent recorded in 2016. This lower dot is the lower high of the ice recorded in 2017. So you can see that even though this is the average, the trend remains downward. prgtoken This red line is what we have measured so far in 2018. Here we are right now in March of 2018, and it is well below. Decade after decade, we see the ice melting away. prgtoken As these facts and so many others relentlessly pile up, it has become harder and harder for the fossil fuel industry and the web of front groups and the administration officials who do its bidding to claim that there is nothing to see here: Folks, move along; it is all just a big hoax. prgtoken The University of Alaska is our closest university to the Arctic. The University of Alaska actually has a climate science center where they are studying and teaching the science of climate change. The University of Alaska also actually has the Ocean Acidification Research Center. As I have pointed out in these speeches over the years, one of the most obvious and pernicious consequences of climate change is that when you ramp the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, the oceans, which cover 70 percent of the surface of the world, absorb not only excess heat, but they actually chemically absorb the carbon dioxide. When that happens, they become more acidic. In the wee hours of a morning months and months ago, I actu
Alcee L. Hastings (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-3-20

. Madam , the balance of my time. prgtoken I would say to my friend from Washington what I said last night: We would do a great service to Louise's memory if we were to make more open rules here on the House floor; and I will argue for her in that regard. prgtoken Madam , before I close, I want to again reiterate the tremendous loss felt in this Chamber with the passing of our longtime colleague, Congresswoman Louise McIntosh Slaughter. She was a champion of all the issues she cared about and a giant here in the House of Representatives. Her wisdom will be missed every day. prgtoken Madam , the people's House should be approaching our work in a manner that is fair to all Americans, in a manner where the appropriate committee of jurisdiction holds hearings and markups, in a manner where experts in the field are consulted, and in a manner where Members of both parties have the opportunity to offer amendments and debate the contents of the bill. prgtoken The process we are witnessing here today is truly a slap in the face to regular order. A bill that has zero input from members on the Energy and Commerce Committee or that has been the subject of any thoughtful discussion is suddenly on the House floor for a vote. prgtoken Now, I respect my friend from Texas' view that last year in the Senate, and even perhaps since that time, and throughout the country, right-to-try measures have passed in several States to some degree. But this particular bill that is on the floor that we are making a rule for has not gone through regular order; and that, then, disallows a significant number of persons who would have an opportunity to have input to what could be legislation that all sides could agree upon. Our failure to undertake to do that is a disservice, in my view, to the institution and to the measure that is being sought to be passed here today. prgtoken This is not just an affront to normal House procedure; it is downright undemocratic and emblematic of the majority's inability to govern. I think it will redound to their discredit that they are not allowing this House to proceed under regular order. prgtoken As I indicated earlier, more than 50 percent of all of the measures that have come to the Rules Committee and have ultimately come to the floor of the House of Representatives have been under closed rules, which means that Members who represent millions of people in America do not have opportunities to offer amendments that might make the measure better or, at the very least, have their views heard with reference to substantive legislation that is moving through this body. prgtoken If we continue down this path for the remainder of this session, we will probably break the 100th barrier on closed rules. We have already had more closed rules than in the history of legislating in this country. prgtoken That is not fair. That is basically all we are arguing. Open up the process. Let every Member
REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF NANCY ANN KUNOVICH
Tim Ryan (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2018-3-20

today I rise to remember the life of Nancy Ann Kunovich, age 82, who passed away peacefully on March 11, 2018. prgtoken Nancy was born on September 25, 1935 in Youngstown, Ohio. Nancy was married to Charles Kunovich and together they raised 5 children. In addition to being a mom, Nancy worked for the Austintown School District for over 30 years as one of the pioneers behind the ``I Can'' Program. Nancy's compassion and devotion throughout the program inspired countless young people to turn their lives around. prgtoken After retiring in 2005, Nancy moved to Manchaca, Texas. She enjoyed spending her retired life gardening, reading, cooking, and so much more. Her greatest pride and joy came in spending time with her family and friends. Her step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren lovingly referred to her as Grandma Nancy. prgtoken Nancy was preceded in death by her husband Charles, her daughter Elizabeth Blockinger, her parents Hannah and William Richards, and her brother William Richards, Jr. Nancy is survived by her children Glenn Johnson and wife Norma, daughter Lynda Self and husband Carl, daughter Christine Johnson; son, Eric Johnson and grandchildren Eric Betts, Kate Kam, and Hannah Blockinger. Nancy also leaves five step-children behind; Kathy Joyce and husband David, Michelle Chance and husband Joe, Charles Kunovich Jr Mary Jo Cusack and husband Jim, Michael Kunovich and wife Michelle. prgtoken I had the pleasure of knowing Nancy's son Glenn. She was a beloved mother and grandmother, and I know she is dearly missed. I extend my deepest condolences to Glenn and his family.
S.J. RES. 54--MOTION TO DISCHARGE--Continued
Tom Udall (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2018-3-20

I would like to say how glad I am to have Senator Menendez back in the saddle as our ranking member on Foreign Relations, and I thank him so much for his speech and for his leadership on our very important committee. prgtoken I join my colleagues from the Foreign Relations Committee in their critique of President 's handling--or maybe we would call it mishandling--of foreign policy. I am most concerned about how U.S. power, prestige, and diplomacy have been weakened across the world as a direct result of this President. The United States has stood as a world leader of liberal democracy, the rule of law, and human values since the end of World War II. Our actions abroad have not always been perfect, but over the decades, we have earned the world's respect because we have acted on our principles. prgtoken After the fall of the Berlin Wall, authoritarian regimes were in retreat. Today, authoritarianism is back on the march. The President himself even cheers them on, praising Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and others who fashion themselves President for life of one-party, repressive regimes. prgtoken In this President's short but raucous and chaotic tenure, he has diminished our standing within the world community by grossly offending other nations and their leaders, including many of our closest allies, by abruptly changing foreign policy with no clear policy basis, and by denigrating countries and an entire continent with comments laced with racism. The President issues conflicting messages. World leaders and international diplomats cannot rely on his word or his tweets. He has plenty of criticism for our friends and allies but little for strongmen like Vladimir Putin. The world is alarmed. It is less stable under this Presidency. prgtoken Secretary Tillerson had disagreements with the President, and early on, the President undercut and sidelined him. The day before Mr. Tillerson was shown the door, the Secretary broke with the White House by directly pointing the finger at Russia for using a chemical weapon on the ex-British spy in his homeland, and this incident shows that the President will not tolerate daylight between his own corrupt prgtoken political beliefs and the views of his lieutenants. prgtoken During confirmation hearings for Mr. Pompeo, our committee must find out whether he will hold fast to traditional American values or bend to the President's servility to Vladimir Putin and other autocrats around the world. prgtoken The President's own diplomacy has been chaotic and dangerous. He has alienated one of our closest friends and biggest trading partners--the country of Mexico. He insists that Mexico will pay for this offensive wall that he says is necessary to keep out rapists and criminals. prgtoken The President has imperiled our relationships with both Mexico and Canada with his threats to tear up NAFTA, which he seems to say over and over again. In my home State of New Mexico, bor
ALLOW STATES AND VICTIMS TO FIGHT ONLINE SEX TRAFFICKING ACT OF 2017-- MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2018-3-20

I thank Senator Portman and Senator Blumenthal for their work on this. Senator Portman and I have spent untold hours, and he has been a leader on this. I thank him for his leadership, in Toledo and Cincinnati, but especially in Toledo, where the sheriff, the community, Celia Williamson, and so many others have been so important in combating this terrible affliction in our society. I thank them. Wall Street and American Workers prgtoken , last week, the House passed another giveaway to Wall Street, siding with special interests and rolling back accountability on some of the biggest banks at the expense of taxpayers. It comes on the heels of last year's tax giveaway that will benefit those same megabanks. This Congress bends over backward to help Wall Street while working families continue to struggle. prgtoken It is not just that we are helping Wall Street with tax breaks, we are helping Wall Street with rolling back regulations. Let me outline what exactly all that means. prgtoken In a series over several months, I am laying out the case for how Wall Street undermines America's workers and some of the changes we need to make in this country to grow our middle class and make work pay off. prgtoken Remember, one of the points I made was that American Airlines announced that they were going to increase workers' wages, as did Chipotle, and Wall Street hit them with a lower stock price as a result. prgtoken In each installment of this series, we have talked about these issues. I want to talk specifically this time about what Wall Street's war on workers does to employment. You can follow each installment on my medium page at www.medium.com/@SenatorBrown. prgtoken Last time, I talked about workers' paychecks. Today, I want to talk about layoffs. prgtoken Wall Street's singular focus on padding their own pockets is bad enough, but worse, it comes at the direct expense of American workers. Corporations focus almost exclusively on their quarterly performance on the stock market. That is how a CEO's performance is evaluated. They are compensated in large part with company shares. They do better when their stock price goes up. They do things to make their stock price go up, and then they do even better because they are compensated in large part with company shares. prgtoken Wall Street analysts like it when corporations minimize their cost to boost their short-term profits; hence the stock price goes up even when the company is already profitable, and that leads directly to layoffs. Corporations lay off workers to show they are serious about cutting expenses, and their stock prices often rise as a result. Wall prgtoken Street's war on workers means not only smaller paychecks but also pink slips for those workers. prgtoken How did we get to a point where stock prices are more important than workers? It didn't happen overnight. prgtoken I was talking with Senator Whitehouse about
S.J. RES. 54--MOTION TO DISCHARGE--Continued
Edward J. Markey (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2018-3-20

I come to the floor to share my deep concern over the administration's approach to North Korea. prgtoken from New Jersey, the leader of the on the Foreign Relations Committee, for asking the Members to come out here to speak to the administration's foreign policy. prgtoken North Korea is a serious and ever-worsening threat to its people, to our allies and partners in the region, and to the United States. Unfortunately, the administration has mismanaged our North Korea policy, and the potential consequences of failure are too great to ignore. North Korea may have bent over backward to appear conciliatory during the Winter Olympics and through its offers of talks with South Korea and the United States, but Kim Jong Un has not stopped his dangerous activities--far from it. While the North Korean regime is all smiles and open arms, its malign behavior continues. prgtoken Its engineers race to perfect a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korean laborers around the world--modern-day indentured servants--send paychecks home to the regime to help fund its illicit military programs. Illegal ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products continue. North Korea's army of cyber warriors grows more capable, and the Kim regime's thugs make no efforts to scale back rampant human rights abuses. prgtoken However, President 's approach to date threatens to make an already bad situation even worse. Despite his recent announcement that he would accept a meeting with Kim Jong Un, President has systematically undermined the effectiveness of the very agency--the U.S. Department of State--he will need to make talks successful. By so doing, he has harmed U.S. foreign policy right as the United States is poised to embark on a crucial diplomatic effort with North Korea. prgtoken By firing Rex Tillerson, President threw the State Department further into chaos when what we need right now is more consistency. This is indicative of a President who considers himself to be his own diplomat, negotiator, and strategist. Yet the gutting of the State Department goes much deeper. It has been badly depleted of both staff and resources by the administration and is consistently ignored in the opaque process the White House is using to try to conduct American foreign policy. prgtoken President has stifled dissent, ignored experience, politicized key diplomatic and national security agencies. The Special Representative for North Korea Policy, Ambassador Joseph Yun--the lead American negotiator with North Korea--has stepped down. One wonders whether he felt his advice was being heeded. We still don't have a U.S. Ambassador to South Korea more than a year into the administration. We still don't have a confirmed Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. We still don't have a special envoy for North Korean human rights
HONORING LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER
Brian Higgins (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-3-20

Louise McIntosh Slaughter served the people of Rochester in Monroe County, as well as the city of Buffalo, in the United States Congress from 1987 until her untimely death last week. prgtoken Louise Slaughter was a champion of progressive causes and a liberal lioness in the United States Congress. She knew who she was fighting for, and she knew how to fight. prgtoken For the homeless, the hopeless, and the voiceless, Louise Slaughter championed all their causes because her political ethos was forever to defend the dignity of every citizen. She never deviated from that cause and reinforced it each and every day on the floor of this Congress, the institution that she loved. prgtoken She served as chair and ranking member of the Rules Committee and championed the first $500 million earmark for breast cancer research to the National Institutes of Health and the Violence Against Women Act. These are among a long list of impressive accomplishments that were championed by Louise Slaughter. prgtoken Her friends and her family will miss her, but her accomplishments will forever be enshrined on this institution representing the people that she loved in Rochester and Monroe County.
IN HONOR OF MR. TOGO DENNIS WEST, JR.
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2018-3-20

it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding leader and dear friend of longstanding, Togo Dennis West, Jr. Sadly, Togo passed away on Thursday, March 8, 2018. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 2 p.m. at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. prgtoken Togo D. West, Jr. was born to Togo D. West, Sr. and Evelyn E. Carter West in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on June 21, 1942. He graduated from Akins High School in 1965 as valedictorian, was a member of the National Honor Society, and an Eagle Scout with Bronze Palm. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and a Juris Doctorate degree from Howard University, where he graduated first in his law school class in 1968. prgtoken In 1969, he entered the United States Army as a Commissioned Officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He also served as a staffer in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs for four years. prgtoken In 1975, Togo was appointed Associate Deputy Attorney General by President Ford. He then served in several capacities in President Carter's administration including General Counsel to the Department of the Navy from 1977 to 1979; Special Assistant to both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense in 1979; and General Counsel to the United States Department of Defense from 1980 to 1981. In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed him the United States Secretary of the Army. As the second African-American to serve in this position, Togo oversaw the transition of the Army from a post-Cold War organization to a contemporary fighting force. He also was the driving force behind initiatives that granted women more opportunities to serve within the ranks and a strong advocate for harsher penalties for sexual misconduct. In 1998, President Clinton appointed him Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. During his tenure, he was a strong advocate for increased funding for veterans medical care and benefits. prgtoken Outside of his government service, Togo was also actively involved in the community. He presided on a variety of boards and served in a number of organizations at the local, state, and national levels. Over the course of his life, he received numerous awards and commendations, including the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal; Distinguished Eagle Scout in 1995; and the Silver Buffalo Award and the Silver Beaver Award. prgtoken George Washington Carver once said, ``No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.'' We are all so blessed that Togo West, Jr. passed this way and during his life's journey did so much for so many for so long. His leadership, his counsel, and his prominent presence will be greatly missed. prgtoken Togo is survived by his loving wife, Gail; his two daughters, T
GET SCREENED FOR COLON CANCER
Donald M. Payne, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-3-20

I rise today to urge each of my colleagues and the American people to talk to their doctors about getting screened for colorectal cancer. prgtoken Each year, I sponsor a resolution to recognize March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. By raising awareness about this preventable cancer, we can save lives. prgtoken During this Congress, Representative Charlie Dent and I introduced H.R. 1017, the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2017. This bill would eliminate surprise out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries who have polyps removed during colonoscopies. prgtoken I also introduced H.R. 1578, the Donald Payne Sr. Colorectal Cancer Detection Act of 2017, which would expand Medicare to cover certain blood-based colorectal cancer screening tests. prgtoken Named after my father, who passed away from colorectal cancer, this bipartisan legislation would significantly increase colorectal cancer detection and treatment. prgtoken Each year, I lead the appropriations letter to increase the funding for CDC colon cancer research. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to join me on these important bills. Together, we can save lives from colorectal cancer.