mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
REMOVING DEADLINE FOR RATIFICATION OF EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
Virginia Foxx (Republican, NC) \u2014 2020-2-13

. Madam , from Georgia for yielding time. prgtoken Madam , I rise in strong opposition to H.J. Res. 79. prgtoken As a woman who has worked all her life, often in male-dominated professions, I detest discrimination in any form against any group, and I have always done all that I can to eliminate it. Furthermore, I welcome any discussion on how to root out discrimination against women where it exists. prgtoken But do not be deceived. This is not what this legislation is about. prgtoken The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution already provides women and all Americans equal protection under the law, but the goal of this legislation is different. The goal here is to expand access to abortion up to birth and to overturn the broadly supported policies that protect taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortions. prgtoken As we know all too well, Roe v. Wade has broadly legalized abortion in the United States, but the equal rights amendment that this resolution tries to ratify goes much further. prgtoken There is a broad consensus that the ERA could be used to overturn pro-life laws, legalize abortion up to birth, and mandate taxpayer- funded abortions. prgtoken The expansion of abortion is not the only harmful impact of the ERA. It would have a harmful impact on shelters that protect women from violence, eliminate women-specific workplace protections, and destroy women's sports. prgtoken Furthermore, were this resolution ever to become law, the Supreme Court would undoubtedly rule that it does not ratify the equal rights amendment. prgtoken As everyone in this room knows, when Congress initially passed the equal rights amendment, it intentionally included a 7-year deadline for the required 38 States to ratify, a deadline which has long since passed. Multiple States have also rescinded their ratification. prgtoken As such, Supreme Court precedent requires that any attempt to ratify the ERA must start at the beginning. Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was recently quoted saying she would like the process to start over. prgtoken To be perfectly clear, with this resolution, the are attempting to write into the Constitution the right to an abortion at all three trimesters, force taxpayers to pay for them, and eliminate all conscience protections for medical providers who wish to abstain from abortion. prgtoken This resolution is not about protecting women. It is a partisan messaging bill designed to appease radical pro-abortion groups. If the majority were serious about the equal rights amendment, it would start the process anew and give all States the option to consider the ERA again.
Black History Month (Executive Session)
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2020-2-13

in 1924, when Oklahoma was a very young State, a young lady named Ada was born in Chickasha. Now, you would get that joke if you are from Oklahoma because we have a town in Oklahoma called Ada and a town in Oklahoma called Chickasha. This is a young lady named Ada born in Chickasha. prgtoken She thrived. She was an excellent student. In fact, she was the valedictorian of her high school, Lincoln High School. She left that and went to college. She stayed 1 year at one college, then transferred to another college and graduated with honors in 1945. prgtoken She dreamed of being a lawyer. She had graduated with honors. She had graduated valedictorian. She had all the credentials and all the capabilities to do it, but she had one big problem: She was Black. In Oklahoma in the 1940s, there were no law schools that would allow a Black student to attend. So, in Oklahoma, the policy was to help Black students who wanted to be a lawyer leave the State to study somewhere else. prgtoken She really didn't want to do that. She had graduated from the great Langston University and had a great education there and had every ability to do that. She interviewed with the University of Oklahoma-- interviewed, actually, with the president of the school at that time-- to go through the process to get into the University of Oklahoma law school. prgtoken She was found to be fully qualified, but the problem was, again, she was Black. And it wasn't just a problem with the University of Oklahoma. At that time, there was State law that did not allow Black students and White students to study together--and certainly not to study law together. prgtoken So she did a radical thing. On April 6, 1946, she filed a lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma saying that she wanted to study law at the very good University of Oklahoma law school. A young lawyer took up her case, a gentleman named Thurgood Marshall, a young lawyer who later became Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Young Thurgood Marshall took up her case to argue in front of Oklahoma district court, where they lost, arguing it all the way to the State supreme court, where they lost, lost, lost. Then they took it into Federal court, saying that, constitutionally, neither the United States of America nor any State in the United States could block a student from studying law simply because they were Black. They won that case. prgtoken Probably returning back to Oklahoma to study, the Oklahoma Legislature hurriedly put together a new law school and called it Langston Law School and opened up a room in the State capitol and put a few books there and said: There is your law school. prgtoken Thurgood Marshall and Ada Fisher did not accept that--nor should they have--and started the process again of saying: We can't have a separate but ``equal'' law school in Oklahoma. They argued again in State courts, eventually ending up again heading all the way back to the Supreme Court. <
REMOVING DEADLINE FOR RATIFICATION OF EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
Doug Collins (Republican, GA) \u2014 2020-2-13

. Madam , three-quarters of the States failed to ratify the equal rights amendment by the 1979 deadline set by Congress, yet House are trying to retroactively revive the failed constitutional amendment. prgtoken Congress does not have the power to do that. Congress set the deadline; it was passed; it did not get approved; and now there is an end run to go around that. prgtoken The United States Supreme Court recognized this in 1982 when it stated that the issue was moot because the deadline for ERA ratification expired before the requisite number of States approved it. prgtoken The next year, the ic leadership in the House of Representatives, prgtoken acting on the same understanding, started the entire process of ERA approval over again. But that new ERA also failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority in the House on November 15, 1983. prgtoken But today, in defiance of historical reality and the clear acceptance of the situation by all relevant participants in the original debate, the have brought forward a resolution that denies the obvious. Now, the proponents of this resolution want to convince their base that if both Houses of Congress pass this joint resolution, and it is signed into law, the 1972 ERA will become part of the Constitution just because the control the Virginia State legislature and that legislature passed the ERA this year. prgtoken Even current Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg--and she is taking a lot of heat for this--a supporter of ERA since its beginning, has said, just a few months ago: I hope someday we will start all over again on the ERA, collecting the necessary States to ratify it. prgtoken On Monday of this week, Justice Ginsburg said of the ERA: I would like to see a new beginning. I would like to see it start over. There is too much controversy about latecomers-- Virginia, long after the deadline passed. Plus a number of States have withdrawn their ratification. So if you count a latecomer on the plus side, how can you disregard States that said: We have changed our minds. prgtoken Congress does not have the constitutional authority to retroactively revive the failed constitutional amendment and to subject the citizens of all 50 States to what may be the current political trends in just one State. prgtoken The U.S. Supreme Court has already recognized that. Past ic leaderships of the House have recognized that. Justice Ginsburg has recognized that. But apparently, the current ic leadership is intent on rewriting history. prgtoken As we have our debate today, I will show, and our speakers will show, what the real intent about this is, and it has nothing to do with equal rights. It has a lot to do with other issues that will be exposed today. prgtoken With that, .
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2020-2-13

no one wants war with Iran, but while I respect Senator Kaine and my other colleagues who are supporting the broader AUMF, it has fatal flaws. prgtoken First, it says the United States should cease its hostilities against Iran. This is completely backward. The United States is not actively conducting hostilities against Iran, but Iran has been actively conducting hostilities against us and our troops for decades. Just look at the long, bloody list: thousands of Americans dead and wounded, Marine barracks in Lebanon, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, Soleimani, and deadly IEDs in Iraq. prgtoken Second, the broader AUMF of Senator Kaine dramatically limits our ability to protect these very forces from future attacks, which we know the Iranians are planning. Close to half of the forces in Iraq right now are Alaska-based military forces, our friends and neighbors in Alaska. I want to make sure they are protected.
PROTECTING PAIN-CAPABLE UNBORN CHILDREN
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-2-13

earlier this week the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss the level of care babies who are born alive should receive. You heard me correctly. We had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the level of medical care a baby that is born alive should receive. prgtoken As heartbreaking as it is to even ask that question--as if there were more than one option--this is a real debate and something that needs to be paid attention to. prgtoken There are actually some folks who think it is appropriate for doctors to provide something less than the highest standard of care to babies who survive abortions, and there are those who believe babies who survive abortions should receive the same level of medical assistance as any other baby. That is certainly where I stand. I believe that all life is precious and that every baby deserves a fighting chance. prgtoken I can't imagine that there is a divergence of view on this topic. Of course, public opinion polling, for what that is worth, shows that the vast majority of Americans agree. Last year, a poll found that more than three-quarters of Americans support providing medical support for babies who survive abortions. It is hard for me to believe that there would be 25 percent on the other side of that, but, suffice it to say, the vast majority of people agree with the proposition that the same medical standard of care should apply. prgtoken Unfortunately, there are people who make up that 25 percent in government who are in high-ranking positions and who wield a great deal of influence on this question. Take, for example, Virginia's Governor Ralph Northam. About this time last year, he made prgtoken comments which were deeply disturbing about how to care--or rather, not care--for certain newborn babies. prgtoken He was caught during an interview. I would like to think he misspoke, but he certainly didn't claim that. This was actually his view. He said that after the baby was delivered, it would be kept comfortable. The baby ``would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.'' prgtoken What would be the subject of that discussion, whether the baby would live or die? Presumably so. Instead of providing prompt care to save the baby, Governor Northam--who is, by the way, a pediatrician, of all things--believes that you should sit down and decide whether to let the child live or die. That is not healthcare. That is infanticide. prgtoken In response to Governor Northam's comments--which, apparently, he spoke not just for himself but for a significant segment, maybe the 25 percent in that poll I mentioned earlier--our colleague from Nebraska, Senator Sasse, introduced a bill called the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This legislation is very straightforward. It would require doctors who treat babies who survive an abortion with the
INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM ACT
Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat, DC) \u2014 2020-2-14

. Madam , today, I rise to introduce the National Children's Museum Act, which would require the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to enter into a cooperative agreement with the National Children's Museum (NCM) to allow NCM to remain in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, a federally owned building, without charge. My bill would allow the newly redesigned NCM, the nation's first combination children's museum and science center, to remain centrally located in the nation's capital for the benefit of all. prgtoken Originally named the Capital Children's Museum, NCM was a staple in the District of Columbia for decades. The institution opened in 1974 in a former convent on H Street Northeast. In 2003, Congress recognized the immense value in having a children's museum in the District and officially designated the museum the National Children's Museum. By 2004, NCM had outgrown its home on H Street, but had difficulty securing a new location. Since 2015 NCM's presence has been digital, serving D.C. public school students and public libraries online. prgtoken Now located in its new home in the Ronald Reagan Building at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, NCM is poised to bring new and innovative STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) exhibits to the nation's capital, building on more than 30 years of educating D.C. children and families. prgtoken Despite its many benefits it brings to the nation's capital, NCM remains an outlier in terms of upkeep and maintenance. NCM is the only congressionally designated museum expected to pay rent in a federal building. This bill would allow NCM to remain in its current federal location without payment of rent, allowing staff to focus on bringing 21st century STEAM learning techniques to the nation's capital. prgtoken I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
RECOGNIZING BRAD GORDON ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Gerald E. Connolly (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2020-2-14

. Madam , I rise to recognize my dear and longtime friend Brad Gordon on the occasion of his retirement, concluding a career of dedicated public service and advocacy spanning more than 40 years. prgtoken Brad Gordon has personified excellence throughout his career. He graduated cum laude and with Honors in Politics from Brandeis University in 1971. He went on to earn a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Vermont, a Master of Philosophy from Columbia University, and a Certificate from their Middle East Institute. While at Columbia, Brad was a National Defense Foreign Language Fellow in Arabic, while also serving as a Research Assistant. By 1979 he had begun his career in public service, working for the Central Intelligence Agency as a Political Analyst in the Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis. prgtoken Brad spent 6 years at the CIA before he transitioned to a legislative role as both a foreign policy advisor for Senator Rudy Boschwitz (R- MN), and as a professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where I had the privilege of also serving. prgtoken Based on his wealth of foreign policy knowledge and experience, Brad was appointed the Assistant Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency for Nonproliferation Policy. During his tenure, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Fourth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in Geneva. He was responsible for issues related to the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. prgtoken In 1993, Brad became the Staff Director of the International Operations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he helped oversee the operations of the State Department, the Agency for International Development, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the U.S. Information Agency. prgtoken In 1995, Brad started working on constituent and issue advocacy as the Legislative Director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He went on to serve as the Director of Policy and Government Affairs and eventually as the Director for Strategic Policy at AIPAC. Throughout his career, Brad was an asset to all those around him. His intelligence, veracity, unflagging work ethic, persistence, and quality of character are unquestionable.' prgtoken Madam , I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating my friend, Brad Gordon on his retirement and in wishing him all the best in his future endeavors.
HONORING ABDULLAH EL-AMIN
Rashida Tlaib (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2020-2-14

. Madam , I rise today to celebrate Imam Abdullah El- Amin's commitment to community service. prgtoken Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Abdullah El-Amin moved to Detroit, Michigan at the age of 7. His interest in the sciences led him to Shaw College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry and worked for twenty years as a medical technologist at various laboratories. prgtoken Abdullah El-Amin was called to pursue a more spiritual path. In 1983, Imam Abdullah, along with other members of the community, founded the Muslim Center of Detroit. It was incorporated in 1985. The mosque was formed primarily as a place for worship and as an outreach center to bring people from different religious backgrounds together. Imam Abdullah has always been passionate in his belief that interfaith dialogue creates stronger and more meaningful relationships across cultures. prgtoken Imam El-Amin is known for his ability to create connections across communities, and he has served as a delegate for projects internationally. Imam El-Amin also co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (formerly, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan). His work there allowed him to forge many relationships and friendships with the broader Muslim community. In addition, he founded Crescent Janazah Services after seeing the need for quality end-of-life-care in the Metro-Detroit area, where he fostered the assistance of hundreds, if not thousands of families in their time of need. In addition to his spiritual and charitable work, Imam El-Amin is passionate about civic engagement. He served former mayor Dennis Archer as manager of the Neighborhood City Hall. prgtoken Imam El-Amin is foremost a family man. He was married to the love of his life, Dr. Cheryl El-Amin who he misses terribly. They are the parents of three children, Maurice, a high school principal; Zarinah, anthropologist and cultural entrepreneur; and Idris, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. prgtoken Please join me in saluting Imam El-Amin, as we recognize his many contributions to the spiritual and civic life of Detroit.
IN RECOGNITION OF CAPTAIN DAVID OWEN
Michael C. Burgess (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-2-14

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the exemplary work and life of service of Captain David Owen of the University of North Texas Police Department in Denton, Texas. prgtoken Captain David Owen began his law enforcement career with the Titus County Sheriff's Office in 2004. He was hired by the University of North Texas Police Department on June 13, 2005 as a Police Officer. He served the UNT students, faculty, and staff until his death on February 11, 2020 after a courageous battle with cancer. prgtoken Captain Owen received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and political science from Midwestern State University and a graduate certification in criminal justice education from the University of Virginia. He also attended several leadership training programs including the 270th session of the FBI National Academy, the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators Executive prgtoken Development Institute and the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration's School of Police Supervision. prgtoken At the time of his death, Captain Owen supervised the Field Services unit of the police department, overseeing patrol and special events planning. His prior roles in the department include serving as Support Services Unit Supervisor, Criminal Investigator and Patrol Officer. Captain Owen was a certified TCOLE Master Peace Officer and Police Instructor. He had served on UNT's Student Support Task Force, and earned a Police Commendation and the Excellence in Public Service award, as well as being recognized by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). prgtoken David Owen was extremely tough and resilient in his last fight, a reflection of the type of person he was--dedicated to performing the job well and to the best of his abilities. He stood up for what he believed was right but was always thoughtful enough to consider the viewpoints of others. He believed strongly in educating himself and others so that clear and informed decisions could be made. He is survived by his wife Joy and their six children who live in Krum, Texas. prgtoken Captain Owen devoted over 20 years of his life to protect and serve his community, putting strangers' safety above his own, and we are indebted to him. His positive impact and worthwhile contributions to the UNT Police Department and UNT community will be sorely missed. I am deeply grateful for his service and pray for comfort and peace for his wife, children and friends.
HONORING DANIEL C. WEBER
Daniel Webster (Republican, FL) \u2014 2020-2-14

. Madam , I rise today to honor the life and service of Daniel C. Weber, veteran, husband, father, grandfather, entrepreneur, visionary and giant in the conservative movement. Dan passed away in February. He embodied the American dream: humble and optimistic, resilient and resolved, hopeful and quick to give. Dan was never without a ready smile, never without appreciation for good fortune, never without faith in America, his fellow Americans, and his loving God. prgtoken Believing that Americans aged 50-plus deserved better representation in DC, Dan and his wife Judy created AMAC--the Association of Mature American Citizens for Americans. AMAC is the voice for individuals concerned with the spread of big government and its intrusion into their daily lives, the erosion of personal liberties and disregard for the Constitution, a document Dan believed to be the greatest ever conceived by mankind. Dan envisioned AMAC to be a right-of-center, member-driven organization with an unwavering focus on the best interests of its membership. prgtoken From very humble beginnings in 2007, today AMAC has a membership of over 2 million people residing in every state of the country and it continues to grow. AMAC's common-sense, free-market approach to the problems facing the country resonates with Americans looking for an organization that holds their values of faith, family and freedom in the same high regard. prgtoken Dan Weber was an American success story and pillar of the conservative movement. We are grateful for the example he set. May he rest in peace knowing that his ``good fight'' to preserve America's best will continue. I am confident his beloved AMAC army will grow ever stronger, bigger and more resolved to see the mission through.