mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR (Executive Session)
Maria Cantwell (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2021-12-14

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 402, 587, 606; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
RELATING TO THE CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE REPORT 117-216 AND AN ACCOMPANYING RESOLUTION
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-12-14

while in a meeting with constituents, I missed the rollcall No. 441 vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 441. Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress Allred (Davids (KS)) Amodei (Balderson) Armstrong (Johnson (SD)) Axne (Wild) Baird (Bucshon) Barragan (Beyer) Bass (Cicilline) Bera (Aguilar) Bilirakis (Fleischmann) Blumenauer (Beyer) Bonamici (Kuster) Bowman (Pocan) Boyle, Brendan F. (Evans) Brooks (Moore (AL)) Brownley (Kuster) Buchanan (Waltz) Butterfield (Kildee) Carl (Joyce (PA)) Calvert (Garcia (CA)) Cardenas (Gomez) Carter (TX) (Weber (TX)) Case (Correa) Cawthorn (McClain) Clark (MA) (Kuster) Cohen (Beyer) Crist (Soto) Cuellar (Green (TX)) Curtis (Stewart) DeFazio (Brown (MD)) DelBene (Larsen (WA)) DeGette (Blunt Rochester) DeSaulnier (Beyer) Diaz-Balart (Reschenthaler) Doggett (Raskin) Donalds (Mann) Doyle, Michael F. (Evans) Escobar (Garcia (TX)) Espaillat (Correa) Fletcher (Raskin) Frankel, Lois (Kuster) Garamendi (Sherman) Gohmert (Weber (TX)) Gonzalez, Vicente (Correa) Gosar (Boebert) Granger (Arrington) Green (TN) (Fleischmann) Grijalva (Stanton) Guthrie (Bucshon) Hagedorn (Moolenaar) Hartzler (DesJarlais) Hayes (Wild) Herrera Beutler (Rice (SC)) Horsford (Carter (LA)) Huffman (Levin (CA)) Jacobs (CA) (Correa) Jacobs (NY) (Garbarino) Jackson (Van Duyne) Jayapal (Raskin) Jones (Craig) Joyce (OH) (Garbarino) Kahele (Mrvan) Katko (Meijer) Keller (Joyce (PA)) Khanna (Connolly) Kilmer (Kildee) Kim (CA) (Gonzalez (OH)) Kinzinger (Meijer) Kirkpatrick (Pallone) Krishnamoorthi (Brown (MD)) Lamborn (Bacon) Lawson (FL) (Evans) Leger Fernandez (Gallego) Lesko (Joyce (PA)) Long (Banks) Loudermilk (Fleischmann) Lowenthal (Beyer) Luetkemeyer (McHenry) Maloney, Carolyn B. (Wasserman Schultz) Mast (Waltz) McEachin (Brown (MD)) Meng (Kuster) Meuser (Reschenthaler) Mfume (Brown (MD)) Miller (WV) (Van Duyne) Moore (UT) (Stewart) Nadler (Pallone) Napolitano (Correa) Neal (Beyer) Neguse (Perlmutter) Nehls (Fallon) Newman (Wild) Nunes (Garcia (CA)) O'Halleran (Stanton) Owens (Stewart) Palazzo (Fleischmann) Pascrell (Pallone) Peters (Kildee) Pingree (Kuster) Porter (Aguilar) Posey (Cammack) Price (NC) (Connolly) Reed (Rice (SC)) Rodgers (WA) (Joyce (PA)) Rogers (KY) (Reschenthaler) Roybal-Allard (Connolly) Ruiz (Aguilar) Ruppersberger (Aguilar) Rush (Quigley) Ryan (Kildee) Salazar (Cammack) Sanchez (Costa) Schrader (Correa
RELATING TO THE CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE REPORT 117-216 AND AN ACCOMPANYING RESOLUTION
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2021-12-14

. Brian Kilmeade, ``Please get him on TV. Destroying everything you have accomplished.'' prgtoken Sean Hannity, ``Can he make a statement?'' prgtoken And Jr in profanity, said, Please help us. prgtoken But I want to just say, the United States v. Bryan says, ``A subpoena has never been treated as an invitation to a game of hare and hounds, in which the witness must testify only if cornered at the end of the chase. If that were the case, then, indeed, the great power of testimonial compulsion, so necessary to the effective functioning of courts and legislatures, would be a nullity. We have often iterated the importance of this public duty, which every person within the jurisdiction of the Government is bound to perform when properly summoned.'' We must do this, sadly, in order for his remarks to save the democracy to be heard. prgtoken , as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, and on the Budget, I rise in support of the rule governing debate for H. Res. 851, ``Recommending That The House of Representatives Find Mark Randall Meadows In Contempt of Congress for Refusal to Comply with a Subpoena Duly Issued by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on The United States Capitol.'' prgtoken It is with a heavy heart that I stand here today; this resolution will find a former colleague in contempt of the very body he once faithfully served. prgtoken However, protecting our democracy is the ultimate duty for each of us in this body, so we will do what must be done. prgtoken It is my sincere hope that during the course of this day, Mr. Meadows will reverse course and agree to comply with this lawful subpoena, in order to protect the dignity and sanctity of Congress. prgtoken On January 6th, the domestic terrorists who beat law enforcement officers and breached the Citadel of democracy of the United States proudly wore symbols of White Supremacist groups, waved confederate flags, hung a noose on the lawn, and they shouted racial epithets. prgtoken Mark Randall Meadows, former White House Chief of Staff, had a part in the perpetuation of the Big Lie of election fraud, and we must investigate and report upon the facts, circumstances, and causes ``relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power'' that Mr. Meadows was involved in. prgtoken Mr. Meadows was one of a relatively small group of people who witnessed the events of prgtoken January 6 in the White House and with the former president. prgtoken Mr. Meadows was with the former president on January 6 as he learned about the attack on the U.S. Capitol and decided whether to issue a statement that could stop the rioters. prgtoken In fact, according to documents already handed over to the Committee, as the violence at the Capitol unfolded, Mr. Meadows received many messages encouraging him to have the former president issue a statement that could end the violence. prgtoken According to the records, m
MORNING BUSINESS
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2021-12-14

I would like to take a moment to recognize Xusana Davis, who delivered the keynote address for Vermont's 24th Annual Women's Economic Opportunity Conference earlier this year. Each year, Marcelle and I host this conference to bring together Vermonters to learn how to navigate, grow, and succeed in today's workplace. While public health concerns led to an online conference this year, the dedication of the women who participated shone through. I hope the participants were as inspired by Ms. Davis's words as I was. prgtoken Xusana Davis is Vermont's first Executive Director of Racial Equity and was appointed in 2019 by Vermont Governor Phil Scott. In her position as the Director of Racial Equity, she works with Vermont agencies and communities to address systemic racial disparities, ensures the State's operations meet its equity goals and objectives, and guides policy on equity issues. She offered an insightful view of how we can all advance equity in our communities and offered her remarks with grace and eloquence. prgtoken Ms. Davis's leadership comes at a time when we continue to see great need for equity in the workplace. The pandemic has worsened preexisting disparities that have effected women, especially those who identify with historically marginalized communities. As Ms. Davis emphasizes in her speech, we must all work to promote equity as we collectively participate in our Nation's economic recovery. I would like to share her inspiring words by submitting them for inclusion in the Congressional Record in the hopes that we may all take her message to heart. prgtoken I ask unanimous consent to have them printed in the Record.
Introductory Statement on S. 3387
Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-12-14

today, I am reintroducing legislation that would help bolster the Nation's background check system for firearms. prgtoken Under current law, the FBI is forced to remove records from incomplete background checks from their systems if those checks are not finalized within 90 days. As a result, many firearms are sold without completed background checks--a dangerous practice that allows individuals to access a firearm even if they are prohibited by law from possessing such weapons. prgtoken In 2020, Americans purchased a record number of guns--over 23 million firearms--and this year is expected to set records once again. That record number of purchases is overwhelming our background check system. prgtoken The large majority of background checks are straightforward and are completed within 3 days, but especially due to the volume of checks required by the increase in gun purchases, some can take significantly longer. prgtoken According to Everytown for Gun Safety, between March 2020 and July 2020, the FBI was unable to resolve 207,694 background checks within 90 days and was therefore required to wipe the incomplete checks from their systems. Since these background checks were never completed, it is impossible to know how many firearms were transferred to prohibited purchasers. prgtoken As firearms sales continue to soar, Congress must act to protect public safety by ensuring background checks are completed. prgtoken This bill would do exactly that. It would allow the FBI to maintain gun purchase records until the background checks is completed. It would also require the FBI to query additional relevant databases as part of a firearm-related background check. This would guarantee that the information necessary for conducting effective firearm background checks is maintained. prgtoken I thank Senators Blumenthal, Booker, Brown, Menendez, Murphy, Padilla, and Whitehouse for their support and urge the rest of my colleagues to support the bill as well.
Tornadoes (Executive Session)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2021-12-14

the monstrous chain of tornadoes and violent storms that rampaged across Illinois and five other States last Friday is a terrible reminder in America that we are all one people. prgtoken The killer storms didn't stop at State lines. They didn't discriminate based on skin color, creed, political party, or age. Among the more than 90 victims that we know of at this moment, the eldest was 86 years old; the youngest, sadly, was a tiny baby of just 5 months old. prgtoken Even as people in my State of Illinois grieve for victims in our State, we also mourn for and with all those who died and are suffering in nearby States: Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, and especially our neighbor to the south, Kentucky. prgtoken Senator McConnell has spoken, and we have all seen reports, of the staggering destruction in Mayfield, KY, and other communities. prgtoken I want to say a few words about the destruction that was wreaked on my own State and also about the tremendous outpouring of compassion and community. prgtoken The National Weather Service tells us more than 30 tornadoes tore through 6 States last Friday night. The most destructive may go down as the longest continuous tornado in the history of the United States. That tornado appears to have remained on the ground for 4 hours, traveling 290 miles across prgtoken four States, pulverizing everything in its path. prgtoken From Kentucky, there were reports of objects being lifted 30,000 feet in the air by the force of the tornado. Treasured family photos were found 100 miles away. Sadly, at least 80 people have lost their lives in Kentucky. prgtoken In Illinois, we have also suffered staggering losses. Four tornadoes tore across our State between 7:30 and 10 last Friday. The greatest devastation was in Edwardsville, IL, Madison County, where a powerful tornado with winds up to 155 miles an hour peeled the roof off a massive Amazon distribution facility about 9 o'clock. I know the facility. I have been there. prgtoken Massive concrete walls 11 inches thick and 40 feet high caved in, trapping employees who were working to fill Christmas and holiday orders. Fire and rescue crews from at least 20 communities rushed to the scene. More than 45 workers managed to escape from that mountain of rubble, but 6 workers died when the warehouse collapsed. The oldest was 62; the youngest was 26. Thirty more workers were hurt. One is still hospitalized with critical injuries. prgtoken I know I speak for millions of Americans when I say that our hearts go out to all those who perished in Friday's tornadoes and to those they left behind. prgtoken I thank President for responding quickly. Yesterday, our Governor, JB Pritzker, requested an emergency declaration, and of course we joined him. The President issued the emergency order just a few hours after that request. This assistance will help our State immediately, but there is more to do. Our thanks to the Red Cross a
RELATING TO INCREASING THE DEBT LIMIT--Continued
Michael F. Bennet (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2021-12-14

it is a wonderful moment to be here with my colleagues to acknowledge that in March we passed the biggest reduction in poverty in generations in our country. That was through the expansion of the child tax credit, which increased the credit, made it payable on a prgtoken monthly basis, and, for the first time in American history, made it fully refundable so the millions of children in this country who were too poor to get the benefit of the credit because their families were too poor would get the benefit of that credit. And we needed to do it. prgtoken The United States, before we passed this, was 38th out of 41 industrialized countries in the world when it came to childhood poverty. The poorest generation in this country are our children, and I think what we said was that there is no reason for us to accept those outcomes or those numbers as a permanent feature of our economy or our democracy. And in the end, this isn't about numbers. This is about children all over our country and the future of the United States of America. prgtoken Childhood poverty costs this country a trillion dollars a year, and one of the things we decided was that maybe, instead of paying for the effects of childhood poverty, we could actually begin to try to reduce the amount of childhood poverty that exists in our country, the way other countries around the world have already done it. prgtoken Nationally, the child tax credit, as I say, is cutting childhood poverty in half. It is reducing hunger among families by a quarter. Let that linger for a second. prgtoken When was the last time we were able to come to the floor of the Senate and say we cut hunger in this country by a quarter? It has been generations since anybody has been able to say that on this floor. prgtoken In Colorado, a million kids and their families are benefitting from this credit. That is 90 percent of the kids in my State. It is 90 percent of the kids across the country. Parents in Colorado are getting an average of $240 a month to pay for groceries, to help with the rent, and, really importantly, to pay for a little extra childcare so people can stay at work. And I know that because of what parents have told me they are spending the money on. prgtoken When we first passed this credit back in June--I think it was then that it first went into effect--July and August, people were getting ready to go back to school, and I had mom after mom after mom across the State tell me how important it was that they were able to buy school clothes for their kids without bankrupting their family, for the first time. prgtoken And, you know, all of this is the reflection of an economy that for 50 years has worked extremely well for the top 10 percent of Americans and hasn't really worked for anybody else, and where the families who come to see me in my townhall say: Michael, we are working really hard, but no matter what we do, we can't afford some combination of hous
RELATING TO INCREASING THE DEBT LIMIT--Continued
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2021-12-14

like all Americans, Nevadans have been through a difficult 2 years. Our State was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Nevada relies on tourism and the travel industry, and with the country in lockdown, a huge proportion of our families saw layoffs or furloughs. In fact, we had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country at one time: 30 percent. prgtoken For those families, the middle-class tax cuts we passed in the American Rescue Plan have been an incredible lifeline. Today, I am joining my colleagues to stand up for extending these tax cuts. It is so important that we get this done for people not only in the Silver State but across the country. prgtoken In many cases, this is money that Nevadans have earned, and it really needs to go back into their pockets. We are talking about a tax cut that benefits the vast majority of families in Nevada. prgtoken In July of this year, because of the American Rescue Plan, the child tax credit increased to $300 per month for children under 6 years of age and $250 a month for children between 6 and 17 years of age. Working families with two young kids are receiving more than $500 a month back from the government to help them make ends meet, and it is making a tremendous difference. Over 594,000 children in Nevada and their families qualify for this money. prgtoken I have heard story after story from people in the Silver State about the way the money is supporting their children. Some families are using the money for rent, to make sure that their kids don't suffer from housing insecurity. Others use it for clothes for their children or schoolbooks and other school supplies. prgtoken Lori Munoz from Henderson, NV, told the Las Vegas Sun that she uses it for school lunches and other school expenses. She said, ``You always think, `oh, it's some extra money.' It's never extra money. . . . Kids always need, there's always something that needs to be bought.'' prgtoken Many families use it just for food on the table. After those first payments were issued in July, the number of adults reporting that children in their households didn't have enough to eat fell by one- third. prgtoken And Jessie Cartinella from Reno told me that receiving the monthly payments let her stay afloat as a single mom on a teacher's salary and kept her from running up credit card bills. She said, and I quote: ``Thanks to the Advance Child Tax Credit, I've mostly avoided this and been able to pay bills and even enjoy special outings with my children. The Child Tax Credit encourages my family to make better choices in general--affording me assistance with quality childcare, options for healthier products and food, and providing the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities that I believe are critical to a kid's social and physical development.'' prgtoken That was Jessie. And that is why it was so beneficial to her family and her children. prgtoken Social interactions are
Senate Legislative Agenda (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-12-14

today, the Senate will vote to advance at least one more judicial nominee; we will move forward on our annual Defense bill; we will vote on the motion to proceed on legislation to raise the debt ceiling--all, hopefully, before we start the afternoon. It is a busy day for the Senate, so let me break down each of these items in some detail. prgtoken On the legislative front, later this morning, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the annual Defense bill, negotiated on a bicameral- bipartisan basis. For over 60 years, the NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act, has passed without fail, on a mostly bipartisan basis. So I thank all of my colleagues for working in good faith to get this Defense bill done. prgtoken The Senate will then turn to the critical matter of addressing the debt limit in order to avoid a first-ever default on our sovereign debt. Last week, and s came together to pass legislation, setting up a fast-track process for addressing the debt limit. Today, we are going to complete that process, and it will come in two steps. prgtoken First, as I said, we will vote on the motion to proceed, followed by a vote on final passage later today. Thanks to last week's agreement between and s, today's motion to proceed will be set at a majority threshold. Once we are on the bill, no amendments will be in order. Debate will be limited to 10 hours, and we hope to yield back debate time on our side to keep this process moving. The resolution we will vote on will provide for the raising of the debt limit to a level commensurate to funding that is necessary to get into 2023. prgtoken As I have said repeatedly, this is about paying debt accumulated by both parties, so I am pleased s and came together to facilitate a process that has made addressing the debt ceiling possible. I want to thank the leader and all of my colleagues who reached out across the aisle in good faith to bring us to this point--no brinksmanship, no default on the debt, no risk of another recession. Responsible governing has won on this exceedingly important issue. The American people can breathe easy and rest assured there will not be a default. prgtoken So, once again, I thank the leader and my colleagues who voted with us to address this issue. The Senate can be done with this matter before the end of the day-- prgtoken crossing another major item off of our December to-do list. prgtoken Off the floor, continue working to put the Senate in a position to act on President 's Build Back Better Act, along with the timeline I have set out for our caucus. This week, bipartisan Byrd bath meetings with the Parliamentarian will continue. s, the Parliamentarian, and her team for working through this important and difficult process. prgtoken The President will also continue his conversatio
RELATING TO INCREASING THE DEBT LIMIT--Continued
Mark Kelly (Democrat, AZ) \u2014 2021-12-14

the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering is a critical position that helps lead and manage our military's science and technology work. This includes work on disruptive, cutting-edge technologies like quantum science, hypersonics, and artificial intelligence. Maintaining our competitive edge over China in these areas has been a focus of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, which I chair, and I know that all of us--all of us--here understand how important it is. prgtoken We worked on a bipartisan basis to include investment and policy changes for these priorities in the NDAA that we are hoping to pass this week. The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering is tasked with carrying out many of these changes. Yet the nominee for this post has yet to be confirmed. prgtoken Dr. David A. Honey is qualified. He brings decades of experience, including as an Air Force pilot, an intelligence officer, and in leadership roles at DARPA, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and within the intelligence community. Reflecting his qualifications, Dr. Honey's nomination has bipartisan support and was voice-voted out of the Senate Armed Services Committee in October. prgtoken At a time when our adversaries are investing heavily in an attempt to outpace the United States, we need all hands on deck and confirmed leadership in this post, so I am very disappointed that we could not do that today. This is a matter of national security. prgtoken .