mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Facebook Cryptocurrency (Executive Calendar)
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2019-7-17

yesterday the Banking Committee heard from one of Facebook's executives about, if we can believe this--it almost doesn't seem possible--how Facebook wants to create its own monopoly money. That is right, after scandal after scandal with Facebook, where they betrayed the public trust, with the damage they have done to journalism and the damage they have done to democracy, the compromising and betrayal of people's privacy. prgtoken Again, believe it or not, even the United Nations said what Facebook did to contribute to the humanitarian disaster in what we know as Burma, Myanmar, where literally hundreds of people died--the United Nations said Facebook contributed to the genocide. That almost doesn't sound believable, but they contributed to the genocide, a U.N. report said, in that part of the world. prgtoken Now, after scandal after scandal, Facebook expects Americans to trust them with their hard-earned paychecks. It is pretty breathtaking. prgtoken When you think about it, in this body, you know what happens when corporations want something. They always get it. With the leadership in this body and with the White House looking like a retreat for Wall Street executives and the big banks, they always get what they want. prgtoken When have big corporations ever been held accountable? Look how the majority leader and President treated Wall Street banks. Of course Facebook thinks they can make mess after mess, they can refuse to clean it up, and they face no consequences. prgtoken We know that big banks scam customers and break laws. Not only do they get away with it, they get rewarded. Last year, as we know, this Congress passed and President signed legislation rolling back laws protecting working families from Wall Street greed, as if Wall Street weren't doing well enough. They had record profit and record executive compensation. prgtoken Remembering 10 years ago and what happened with Wall Street--there is a collective amnesia in this body. My prgtoken colleagues seem to forget what Wall Street did to our country 10 years ago. prgtoken I have said this on the floor before, and I will say it again: My ZIP Code in Cleveland where Connie and I live is 44105. That ZIP Code had more foreclosures in 2007 than any other ZIP Code in the United States of America. I still see the remnants of those foreclosures--high levels of lead-based paint, homes abandoned, property values going down. Yet this Congress and President want to do more for Wall Street. prgtoken The big banks ask for weaker rules, even though it put millions of families at risk--job losses, the evisceration of retirement plans, people losing their jobs, people losing their homes. President said: OK. Let's do what the banks want. prgtoken The year before that, Congress passed and President signed a $1.5 trillion tax cut for corporations, big banks, and the richest Americans. Since the tax bill passed, corpora
IN RECOGNITION OF THE CITY OF DEARBORN FOR ITS 90TH BIRTHDAY
Debbie Dingell (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2019-7-17

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the City of Dearborn, which is celebrating its 90th birthday. Dearborn is a vibrant city with an immense history and diverse community. prgtoken Originally established as the Detroit Arsenal and coined the ``Dearbornville'' United States Military installation in 1864, Dearborn housed and supplied Union soldiers during the Civil War. Situated on the River Rouge in southeast Michigan, Dearborn was officially incorporated as a city in 1927. The birthplace of manufacturing pioneer Henry Ford, Dearborn rapidly industrialized in the early 20th century. The city is home to the River Rouge Complex and now-closed Ford Airport, which were once the largest integrated factory and most advanced airport in the world, respectively. prgtoken A melting pot of races, ethnicities, and religions, Dearborn embodies the diversity of our nation. During the 19th and 20th centuries, immigrants from across the world flocked to Dearborn in pursuit of safety, tolerance, and economic opportunity. Similarly, during the Great Migration, African Americans moved to the city to escape racial violence and discrimination. This tradition of heterogeneity continues today, as Dearborn has the highest per-capita Muslim population of any city in the country and is home to both the Arab American National Museum and the largest mosque in the United States. We recognize and thank the Dearborn community for their commitment to economic and cultural excellence. They have built a vibrant, inclusive, diverse community that serves as a role model across the nation. prgtoken Madam , I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the city of Dearborn for its 90th birthday. I wish Dearborn a successful celebration as they mark this special milestone.
VOTE EXPLANATION
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2019-7-18

I had expected to be able to vote on the confirmations of Mr. Clifton Corker to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Ms. Lynda Blanchard to be Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia, and Mr. Donald R. Tapia to be Ambassador to Jamaica. Instead, I am in Nevada for a funeral. prgtoken On the question of the confirmation of Mr. Clifton Corker to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, I would have voted no. prgtoken On the question of the confirmation of Ms. Lynda Blanchard to be Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia, I would have voted no. prgtoken On the question of the confirmation of Mr. Donald R. Tapia to be Ambassador to Jamaica, I would have voted yes. prgtoken Thank you.
RAISE THE WAGE ACT
Henry Cuellar (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2019-7-18

I rise today to recognize the importance of raising the minimum wage for millions in our country. This important legislation raises the wage for 45 percent of workers in my district, and provides a wage increase of nearly $640,000. prgtoken The Raise the Wage Act will indeed lift thousands of my constituents out of poverty and provide opportunity for economic mobility. However, I would like to highlight the work I have done on this legislation to make it more amenable to small, family owned businesses. prgtoken While I certainly acknowledge that every day Americans deserve a raise, we in Congress must be above rhetoric and talking points. With such a significant change proposed to the minimum wage, this must be carried out in a precise, tactful manner. As of June of this year, the unemployment rate in the United States is a mere 3.7 percent. It is critical that policies we pass through this House do not interrupt or deter this economic prosperity. prgtoken Furthermore, while I support this important legislation, we must consider how it will affect small businesses and their economic futures. Therefore, I have negotiated with the Committee a provision to lengthen the phase in period to $15 minimum wage until the year 2026. prgtoken Additionally, I am a co-sponsor of the O'Halleran Amendment. This amendment will require a comprehensive GAO report on national and regional economic impacts of the minimum wage increases in this bill. The report will have a special focus on small business and agricultural sectors. It will facilitate Congress' ability to make policy changes based on the actual economic effects of this legislation. prgtoken Lastly, I submitted two amendments that exempt local and small farms, as well as small businesses from the $15 minimum wage. These amendments delayed the minimum wage from reaching $15 until the year 2029, as well as kept the current ``tipped-wage'' provision for restaurant workers. I also sought to create a small business tax credit, along with providing two additional years to comply with a doubling of the federal minimum wage. prgtoken By providing tax credits, compliance exemptions, and a longer runway to $15, my amendments intended to give small businesses the tools they need to thrive in the economy this bill will create. prgtoken I was disappointed that my amendments were not included in this measure, but will work for their inclusion elsewhere given the vast economic benefits that small businesses provide in my community, and around the country. There are over 30 million small businesses in the United States today. Additionally, there are 24.3 million individually operated businesses with no employees. Small businesses employ over 60 million Americans--nearly half of the private workforce--and there are now over 287,000 small business exporters. prgtoken The United States small business community contributes approximately $8.5 trillion to the economy, roughly half of the Uni
RAISE THE WAGE ACT
Mark Pocan (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2019-7-18

I thank Mr. Scott for yielding. prgtoken I do find it interesting to sit and listen to a debate today where people who make $174,000 a year and half of which are millionaires are telling people they should be satisfied trying to exist on $15,000 a year, which is the very reason we are here today: to try to raise the wage for 33 million people, a quarter of the workforce in this country. prgtoken No family in the United States can live on $7.25 an hour and make ends meet. prgtoken In my home State of Wisconsin, you would have to work 93 hours a week at minimum wage in order to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, and there is not a single county in the country where a worker earning the minimum wage for 40 hours a week can afford a two-bedroom apartment. prgtoken I come to Congress with 3 decades as a small businessowner. Small business owners know our workers are our customers, our neighbors, and our community members. prgtoken When workers have more money in their pockets, they have more money to spend to care for their families and stimulate our economy. prgtoken This is especially true in rural areas, where workers have only a handful of employment options. If the primary employer in a rural town is a multibillion-dollar corporation like Walmart, they can afford to pay their workers $15 an hour instead of holding down wages for the entire community. prgtoken Congress recently set a new record for the longest stretch in U.S. history without a hike in the minimum wage: 10 years. It is long past due that we show workers respect by putting more money in their pockets and support this bill. prgtoken , I include in the Record a letter from the United Food and Commercial Workers.
Healthcare (Executive Session)
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2019-7-18

I come to the floor today to ask my colleagues a simple question. There is a lawsuit that is proceeding through the court system right now that has succeeded the district court level, that has had a hearing at the appellate court level, and may be speeding toward the Supreme Court. It is a lawsuit that was brought by 20 attorneys general. It is a lawsuit that is being supported by the administration. It is a lawsuit that many of my colleagues have gone on record saying they support. It is a lawsuit to undo the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, to throw out insurance for 20 million Americans and to end protections for people with preexisting conditions. It is an attempt to do through the court system what this Congress refused to do, which is to obliterate the Affordable Care Act and all the insurance it provides for people without any plan for what comes next. prgtoken I have served in both the House and the Senate, and I listened for a long time to my colleagues say that while they don't like the Affordable Care Act, they certainly understand that there has to be something else, and that something else should be just as good as the Affordable Care Act. In fact, the President himself said that whatever plan he supported in substitute of the Affordable Care Act would have better insurance, cheaper insurance, and would insure more people. prgtoken s never came up with that plan. In fact, the replacement they jammed through the House of Representatives in 2017 was much worse than the Affordable Care Act. The Congressional Budget Office said that 24 million people would lose insurance because of that piece of legislation and rates would potentially skyrocket for people with preexisting conditions. prgtoken There has never been a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. The only plan from the beginning has been to repeal it. Now that Congress has said it won't repeal the Affordable Care Act--why? because Americans do not want the Affordable Care Act repealed with nothing to replace it--now that Congress won't do it because the American people don't support the repeal of the protections for sick people in the Affordable Care Act, s are trying to get the courts to do it. prgtoken We are perhaps 60 days away from the Sixth Circuit invalidating the entirety of the Affordable Care Act. Likely, if that is the case, the judgment will ultimately be rendered by the Supreme Court. But that could come as soon as the beginning of next year. We could still be months away from a humanitarian catastrophe in this country in which the entirety of the Affordable Care Act is invalidated and what to do about it is put back before Congress. prgtoken It would stand to reason that if your plan is to try to get the entire Affordable Care Act thrown out in Congress, you would maybe start thinking about what would replace it. As far as I can tell, s have no plan
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2019-7-18

today I am reintroducing the State Flood Mitigation Revolving Fund Act of 2019 along with Senators Kennedy and Menendez. prgtoken The purpose of our bill is to reduce flood risk and the costs associated with flooding by establishing a State revolving loan program to fund mitigation projects for property owners and communities that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. By funding projects that reduce risk, such as home elevations, flood proofing, acquisitions, and environmental restoration, the bill also provides an avenue to help middle-income and low-income property owners reduce their flood insurance premiums. It is a proposal that has been endorsed by over 200 local and national organizations, including the Pew Charitable Trusts, Association of State Floodplain Managers, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Property Casualty Insurance Association of America, the Nature Conservancy, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the U.S. Resiliency Council, and others. prgtoken Flooding is the most costly hazard facing American property owners. With increasing frequency we see news stories of catastrophic flooding in communities across the Nation. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, seven out of ten Presidential Disaster Declarations in the last ten years have involved flooding, and data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that there were 27 flooding disasters or hurricanes in the last decade that each caused more than $1 billion in damage. prgtoken But the increase in major flooding disasters has also been accompanied by increases in nuisance, urban, and high tide flooding events, which don't trigger the full complement of Federal disaster assistance but are devastating to every homeowner and community that is affected. prgtoken Experts agree that the best way to reduce the cost of flooding is to engage in proactive, not reactive, flood mitigation. The National Institute of Building Sciences' 2018 Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves study found that every Federal dollar spent on up-front mitigation provides $6 in national benefits, and investments in flood mitigation yield $7 in benefits per dollar spent. This is the kind of saving the State Flood Mitigation Revolving Fund Act seeks to promote and leverage. prgtoken Modeled on the successful Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, this bill creates a straightforward and easily accessible program through which States can offer low-interest loans to property owners and communities who want to mitigate their flood risk. By creating a revolving fund, the bill will allow States to design and more efficiently implement their own flood mitigation strategies provided that such strategies help achieve Federal objectives such as reducing disaster payments. prgtoken Within this construct, the bill gives States the flexibility to undertake flood mitigation projects expeditiously. The bill re
VOTE EXPLANATION
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2019-7-18

unfortunately I was unable to attend the rollcall vote on the nomination of Clifton L. Corker to be a judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Had I been able to attend, I would have opposed his nomination. prgtoken , unfortunately I was unable to attend the rollcall vote on the nomination of Lynda Blanchard to be United States Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia. Had I been able to attend, I would have opposed her nomination. prgtoken , unfortunately I was unable to attend the rollcall vote on the nomination of Donald R. Tapia to be United States Ambassador to Jamaica. Had I been able to attend, I would have opposed his nomination. (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the Record.)
RAISE THE WAGE ACT
Lori Trahan (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2019-7-18

I include in the Record a letter from women's community groups in support of this legislation. July 15, 2019. Pass the Raise the Wage Act Dear Members of Congress: As members of a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic security and equity for women, we strongly urge you to pass the Raise the Wage Act as a top priority of the 116th Congress. The Raise the Wage Act will raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2024, then index the minimum wage so that it continues to rise along with wages overall. It will also end unfair exclusions for tipped workers, people with disabilities, and youth so that they, too, can benefit from a decent minimum wage. Women across the country--especially women of color-- continue to experience a pay gap and a higher risk of poverty than men. Women working full time, year round typically make only 80 percent of what their male counterparts make, leaving a wage gap of 20 cents on the dollar. This wage gap varies by race and is larger for women of color: Black women working full time, year round typically make only 61 cents, Native women only 58 cents, and Latinas only 53 cents, for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. While Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women make 85 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, many AAPI communities experience drastically wider pay gaps. Women's overrepresentation in low-wage jobs is a driving force behind the gender pay gap. Women are close to two- thirds of the workforce in jobs that pay the minimum wage or just a few dollars above it, as well as two-thirds of workers in tipped jobs. Women of color are particularly overrepresented among tipped workers and other low-wage workers. They are particularly harmed by the $7.25 federal minimum wage that has not gone up in a decade and by the $2.13 tipped minimum cash wage that has been frozen for an astonishing 28 years. Poverty-level wages heighten women's economic vulnerability, which in turn heightens their vulnerability to sexual harassment on the job. Women who rely on tips to survive often feel compelled to tolerate inappropriate behavior from customers so as not to jeopardize their income and employers are often unwilling to protect their employees for fear of upsetting a paying customer. Women's lack of economic power in these workplaces perpetuates the already pervasive culture of sexual harassment in industries that employ large numbers of tipped workers. The Raise the Wage Act is critically needed to advance women's economic security and dignity in the workplace. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that increa
Border Security (Executive Session)
Tim Kaine (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2019-7-18

I rise today to talk about an experience that I had on Sunday. Sunday was the day, July 14, that President had preannounced that massive deportation and immigration raids were about to begin. It looks like those raids maybe didn't start on Sunday, but the communities of immigrants in Virginia and elsewhere, who have been experiencing tremendous fear, had that fear dramatically accelerated by the announcement. prgtoken On Sunday, my wife and I, who live in Richmond, went to a town called Kilmarnock, about an hour and 10 minutes away from us, where my wife's parents are in a nursing home. They are 95 and 93 years old. We went down to spend the day with my in-laws and to take my mother-in-law to church at the local Episcopal church where she has long been a member. prgtoken I was struck by the readings. It was a day of fear for many immigrant communities, and the readings that occurred in the Episcopal church, which are readings that are delivered in Catholic and Presbyterian and other churches on a set schedule, struck me as I was thinking about the fear in these communities. prgtoken For the Old Testament reading, normally, in most churches around the globe, Catholics and Episcopals read from Deuteronomy, but for some reason, the pastor of this church--it was his goodbye ceremony, and he was leaving after serving for an interim--had switched the Old Testament reading and instead put in a reading from the Old Testament Book of Amos, Chapter 7, verses 7 through 9. This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumbline in his hand. And the Lord asked me, ``What do you see, Amos?'' ``A plumbline,'' I replied. Then the Lord said, ``Look, I am setting a plumbline among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.'' prgtoken A plumbline is a device used when you are constructing something. It is just a weight on a string, nonmagnetized, and it will show up and down so that you can build something that is square and that has a solid foundation. prgtoken It is a reading about principles and values and what is a solid foundation. prgtoken The Gospel reading that we heard in our tiny church in Kilmarnock and around the world was the Good Samaritan story. Jesus is being pestered by a lawyer: What do I do to inherit eternal life? prgtoken And Jesus said: You know the answer. Tell me the answer. prgtoken And the lawyer does. He is smart. prgtoken Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. prgtoken Jesus says: Fine. You know the answer. Just live that way. prgtoken But the lawyer, either to trap Jesus or because he was confused or he was trying to figure it out, says: But who is my neighbor? prgtoken And then Jesus tells the story of a person beaten on the road to Jericho and lying at the side of the road. Some passed by pretending not to notice, though they do notice. Some noticed and sort of half go over to help but