mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
NOMINATION OF LLOYD JAMES AUSTIN (Executive Session)
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2021-1-22

. In order to expedite the vote, I will proceed. prgtoken , I rise to express my support for the confirmation of Lloyd Austin to be the Secretary of Defense of the United States. prgtoken General Austin is an exceptionally qualified leader with a long and distinguished career in the U.S. military. He has served at the highest echelons of the Army and capped his service as the commander of U.S. Central Command. His character and integrity are unquestioned, and he possesses the knowledge and skills to effectively lead the Pentagon. prgtoken The United States faces many complex security threats. If confirmed as Secretary of Defense, General Austin will lead the Department during a time when U.S. strategic priorities have shifted to focus increasingly on near-peer competition with China and Russia. The Department must also transform how it operates with an increased focus on critical technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and cyber security, while also emphasizing rapid delivery of advanced new weapons systems on timelines that keep pace with technological change. prgtoken In addition, President must address the urgent and dire challenges that few of us would have anticipated 4 years ago. Our country is in the midst of a pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and infected millions more and resulted in billions in economic damage, and the virus is still not under control. Recently, it was revealed that large segments of the Federal Government and major companies were hacked by Russia. We are still trying to ascertain the extent of the breach, but it could be the most significant cyber intrusion in the history of our country or perhaps the world. This event, too, should prompt us to move promptly to fill Cabinet positions that are critical to our national security. prgtoken Unfortunately, the Department of Defense is adrift and in desperate need of steadfast leadership. Over the course of the past 4 years, there has been repeated turnover at senior levels of the Department and a concerted effort to purposefully leave multiple civilian offices unfilled, necessitating the installment of career or midlevel officials into positions in an acting capacity. prgtoken Unlike other nominees for Cabinet positions, Congress must provide, as Senator McConnell indicated, an exception for General Austin to serve as Secretary of Defense. Under the current statute, individuals are prohibited from appointment if they are within 7 years of military service. Congress found itself in a similar situation 4 years ago when President nominated Gen. James Mattis to be the Secretary of Defense. prgtoken Prior to General Austin's confirmation hearing, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on civilian control of the Armed Forces that focused on the erosion of civil-military relations. At the hearing, valid concerns were raised about providing another waive
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-1-22

I ask unanimous consent that upon the conclusion of morning business on January 25, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 2, the nomination of Janet Yellen to be the Secretary of the Treasury; further, that the time until 5:30 be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, and that at 5:30 the Senate vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
NOMINATION OF JANET LOUISE YELLEN
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2021-1-22

a few minutes ago, Chair Janet Yellen was approved by the Senate Finance Committee to be Secretary of the Treasury by an extraordinary 26-to-0 vote. prgtoken I have seen times around here in the Senate where you come away convinced you couldn't get 26 to 0 among Senators to buy a soda. I want to thank Senators Grassley and Crapo for working very closely with me and Senate to achieve this remarkable vote this morning. prgtoken The fact is, Janet Yellen has been confirmed by this body four times. She really belongs in the Senate confirmation hall of fame, and the reason that she has been confirmed all of these times is because of what we saw at her confirmation hearing on Tuesday. She did a superb job. After the hearing, she responded in a substantive way to hundreds of questions that came from colleagues and has made a real commitment to transparency. prgtoken Now, I know that Senators are working on a variety of issues now, but I would like to say that I think, given the urgency of the economic challenge our country faces, in a truly perilous economic time, I would very much like to work with all of my colleagues, particularly Senators Crapo and Grassley, to find a way to, today, bring up Chair Yellen for confirmation to be our Secretary of the Treasury. prgtoken I want to say I very much appreciate the conciliatory way this was discussed today, and I really hope the Senate can vote on her nomination today. prgtoken .
MEMORANDUM REGARDING AUTHORIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-1-25

. Madam , I submit the following memorandum regarding authorization of the Department of Homeland Security: We, the chairs of the committees with jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security or its components, are hereby recording our agreement on the following principles for the 117th Congress: 1. The Department of Homeland Security (``the Department'') and its components should be authorized on a regular basis to ensure robust oversight and improve its operation. 2. Committees with jurisdiction over the Department and its components will prioritize any expired or expiring authorizations within the Department and its components in that committee's jurisdiction. 3. To the maximum extent practicable, the committees with jurisdiction over components of the Department will coordinate with the Committee on Homeland Security to produce comprehensive authorization legislation for the Department and consult with the Committee on Homeland Security prior to consideration of component authorization legislation in a committee markup. Prior to consideration of component authorization legislation in a committee markup, the Committee on Homeland Security will consult with any other committee that is a party to this agreement that is a committee with jurisdiction over that component. 4. The Committee on Homeland Security will coordinate with the committees with jurisdiction over components of the Department in the development of any comprehensive authorization bill for the Department. 5. The committees will work in good faith to expeditiously consider any bill to comprehensively authorize the Department, including timely resolution of any matters subject to a sequential or additional referral. 6. To the extent that there are policy differences between the committees regarding a provision of a bill or comprehensive authorization bill for the Department, the committees will make best efforts to resolve any such dispute and where the Committee on Homeland Security has policy differences regarding a measure to be advanced by another committee that is a party to this agreement, the Committee on Homeland Security will make best efforts to achieve a timely resolution of such dispute. 7. Consistent with existing rules and precedents of the House, the Committee on Homeland Security Committee shall not include any provision in a bill that the chair of the Committee on Ways and Means has determined to be a revenue provision or a provision affecting revenue. Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to preclude the Committee on Ways and Means from exercising an additional or sequential referral over any measure or to waive clause 5(a) of Rule XXI of the Rules of th
PASSING THROUGH THE FIERY TRIALS OF DEMOCRACY TO SAVE AND RENEW OUR REPUBLIC
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2021-1-25

. Madam , as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary and on Homeland Security, as the descendant of patriotic and heroic veterans who risked their lives to defend our nation and our freedoms, as a parent with the fervent hope and determination to pass on this great democracy to the next generation, and as a citizen of the greatest republic in world history, I rise to reflect on the state of our democracy as it is about to open a new chapter in the remarkable story of America. prgtoken In 1776, the Framers declared the self-evident and later the universal truth that all persons are created equal and endowed by their Creator with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As important, the Framers declared that ``to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed.'' This genius of self-government is the Framers' gift to us and America's gift to the world, and for nearly 250 years the world has looked upon the United States with wonder, awe, and envy not just for its awesome powers and achievements, but for being the exemplar to which most freedom-loving nations aspire. prgtoken But as President Lincoln reminded us at Gettysburg, the proposition that a people can govern themselves is not to be taken for granted; it is a proposition that will be tested time and again and it for us, the living, to highly resolve to commit ourselves to the great task always before us, that government of the people, by the people, and for the people not perish from the earth. prgtoken As Thomas Paine said in his time, the past four years were times that tried one's soul. The nation was tested, severely so, by what can only be described as the modern-day Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: a deadly pandemic, economic devastation unseen since the Great Depression, social justice unrest, and the very real threat of authoritarianism. While the threat posed by these challenges are still with us to varying extent, we can all rejoice that the nation withstood the challenge, e pluribus unum, by standing together as ``We The People.'' President Lincoln reminded us that in times of testing and challenge that ``the fiery trial through which we pass will mark us down in honor or dishonor until the latest generation'' but that so long as the people ``retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in the short space of four years.'' prgtoken And Lincoln was right, for on Election Day 2020, Americans by a substantial majority, voted to withhold consent to govern from an incumbent administration and confer it upon another. That act of self- government and sovereign expression was solemnized on January 20, 2021, at noon when and Kamala D. took the oath of office as the 46th President and 49th Vice-President of the United States. prgtoken
REINTRODUCTION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE BREAST RECONSTRUCTION ACT
Alcee L. Hastings (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2021-1-25

. Madam , I rise today to reintroduce the Comprehensive Breast Reconstruction Act. This legislation will bring Medicaid and Medicare programs into compliance with the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998, and will expand post-mastectomy breast reconstruction patients' access to modern and innovative procedures, products, and therapies to support their return to a healthy normal. prgtoken In 2020 alone, almost 280,000 new instances of breast cancer were estimated to have been diagnosed, and anticipated deaths from breast cancer were over 42,000. However, the breast cancer survival rate has steadily increased faster than the rate of new diagnoses, which is believed to be related to prgtoken new treatments and procedures, such as early detection screening. prgtoken My legislation builds on past advancements and successes to heal the whole patient following a medically-necessary mastectomy. Deciding to receive a mastectomy is undoubtedly an emotional decision in an impossible situation. In order to alleviate the toll this decision has on breast cancer patients, breast reconstruction is an option for them to build a sense of well-being and confidence as well as regain a sense of wholeness. prgtoken More patients are opting for breast reconstruction, with over 107,000 in 2019, a 36 percent growth since 2000. Unfortunately, many patients face a complex landscape of what exactly a breast reconstruction entails, and laws and policies intended to provide healthcare coverage for this procedure are antiquated and do not account for advances in this area. prgtoken My legislation will establish a more uniform and comprehensive breast reconstruction process that can be tailored to fit each patient's needs. Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries will be guaranteed access to post-mastectomy reconstruction under the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act and by expanding coverage to include nipple-areola complex tattoos for those who elect to undergo this procedure. The goal is to expand access to scientifically proven healthcare that increase patient well-being and satisfaction with their results. prgtoken Madam , breast reconstruction and the nipple-areola complex tattoo are not about cosmetic change. They are about holistic outcomes and choice in what the patient and provider decide is best physically, emotionally, and mentally to attain the ideal outcome and long-term health. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this long-overdue legislation.
Nomination of Janet Louise Yellen (Executive Session)
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2021-1-25

it is a pleasure tonight to be making the case for Janet Yellen, former Chair of the Federal Reserve, to be the next Secretary of the Treasury. It is an awfully easy case to make. prgtoken Chair Janet Yellen deserves to be in the Senate confirmation hall of fame. She has already been confirmed four times for key economic positions. Tonight, the Senate can deliver an especially important economic judgment: Confirm Janet Yellen a fifth time and know that she will work with every single one of us to get our workers, our small businesses, and all Americans, from sea to shining sea, back on solid economic footing. prgtoken Tonight, I am going to spend just a few minutes discussing several important matters we learned from Chair Yellen's confirmation hearing. First, Chair Yellen is an exceptional economist who has a rare gift. She can take complicated economic theories and put them into understandable language, all while showing a real heart for the millions of Americans who are hurting through no fault of their own. prgtoken I asked Chair Yellen at her confirmation hearing: What will give Americans the most bang for the economic recovery buck? And Chair Yellen simply walked through the priorities, particularly going to bat for our small businesses. I come from a State where we have only a handful of big businesses. We are an overwhelmingly small business State. At her confirmation hearing, she spoke clearly about those small business needs, and she talked about the concerns she has for innovative and important approaches to expanding unemployment benefits to make sure that we are meeting the needs of our people. She also focused on reducing hunger and approaches that will help stretch anti- hunger dollars prgtoken Second, Chair Yellen knows that it would be a big mistake for the Congress to go small on economic relief. She is acutely aware of what happened in 2009, when the government took its foot off the economic gas pedal too prgtoken soon, and recovery was compromised as a result. She also understands that emergency economic relief, like unemployment compensation, needs to last as long as the emergency. It cannot be tied to arbitrary expiration dates, where potential political agendas come before human needs. There is a reason why the Finance Committee approved her nomination unanimously on Friday morning. I touched on some of those factors, and I am going to amplify a little bit. prgtoken For example, nobody deserves more credit than Chair Yellen for the longest economic expansion in American history. It lasted until the pandemic hit. As Federal Reserve Chair, she led an important change to the status quo in economic policy. Previously, there had been too great a focus on inflation and deficit. Chair Yellen said: Let's zero in more on unemployment, income, and inequality, and she believed that the economy could run a bit hotter. The record shows that the Yellen approach was right on. Unemploym
REMEMBERING PAUL SARBANES
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2021-1-25

all of us in this body mourn the recent passing of former Senator Paul Sarbanes. Those of us who served with him have known him as one of the finest and most accomplished Senators with whom we have served. And what a great pleasure it was to work with him, on so many issues. prgtoken In addition to his impressive legislative accomplishments, Paul Sarbanes was one of the Senate's keenest interrogators and one of the Senate's finest orators. In the Senate community, most of all we knew him for his wit, for his warmth and kindness, and for his decency. prgtoken I would like to call to the Senate's attention an insightful remembrance of Senator Sarbanes by Paul Glastris that was published this month by the Washington Monthly. prgtoken I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the Record.
AMERICAN FOOD FOR AMERICAN SCHOOLS ACT OF 2021
John Garamendi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-1-25

. Madam , today I reintroduce the ``American Food for American Schools Act,'' which I have sponsored since the 114th Congress. I want to thank Representatives Kaptur (D-OH), Fortenberry (R-NE), Ryan (D-OH), LaMalfa (R-CA), Carbajal (D-CA), Young (R-AK), and Kilmer (D-WA) for their support as original cosponsors. prgtoken Our ``American Food for American Schools Act'' would strengthen enforcement of the existing ``Buy American'' requirements under the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) school breakfast, special milk, and national school lunch programs. This will ensure that school districts use federal taxpayer dollars to purchase domestically sourced food products for all in-school meals and afterschool snacks. Our bipartisan bill would also increase public transparency by allowing parents to know from where the food served to their children in school comes. prgtoken Even in California's Central Valley, which includes many of the most productive agricultural communities in the nation, school districts continue to misuse taxpayer dollars to buy imported foods, unnecessarily, without informing parents. In numerous cases, these same imported foods have been recalled due to safety concerns and outbreaks of food borne diseases. This is especially troubling as those same foods could have been sourced locally in the first place as required by federal law. prgtoken Under our bill, school districts would be required to obtain a written waiver from USDA to use federal taxpayer dollars to purchase foreign-sourced food products. Any such waivers would only be granted by USDA if the domestically produced food was cost prohibitive or simply unavailable. Our bill would also require that school districts notify parents of all foreign-sourced foods served to students, by posting any such waivers obtained from USDA on the school's website. This would increase public transparency and provide American farmers the opportunity to seek out school districts in need of affordable, domestically grown foods. Our nation's schoolchildren should be served nutritious, American-grown foods produced under the strictest food safety standards in the world, as required by federal law. That is exactly what our bill would accomplish. prgtoken In the 115th Congress, we included a ``Buy American'' enforcement provision for the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Program in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-334), commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill. This was a first step in addressing this critical issue for American farmers and parents with school-age children. Now, Congress needs to finish the job by passing our ``American Food for American Schools Act'' into law. prgtoken Madam , I hope all members of the House will join us in cosponsoring the ``American Food for American Schools Act of 2021.'' I look forward to working with the Committee on Education and Labor to ensure that our bipartisan bill is included in a
WELCOMING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
Haley M. Stevens (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2021-1-25

. Madam , I rise today in celebration of the newly inaugurated Administration. prgtoken I have every confidence that my friend, and a good man, President , will serve as the head of state that this weighty moment deserves. With Vice President by his side, America will heal, America will innovate, and America will lead. prgtoken My partnership with President began on the campaign trail in 2008, and it continued to the U.S. Auto Rescue Task Force, where he showed every day his care for the needs of hardworking Michigan families and our manufacturing economy. I am ready to work alongside the Administration and my colleagues in Congress to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, get our economy back on track, and help Michiganders get back on their feet. prgtoken I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in congratulating the new Administration and welcoming the first family to the White House. prgtoken Now, we begin a new chapter in American history--one of innovative, collaborative, and forward-thinking leadership to strengthen our nation for generations to come. prgtoken We will build a future for our children that is guided by truth and science, energized by the will of the people, and fortified by love for our resilient republic. May we be successful in this endeavor, and may we never lose faith in America's promise.
IN RECOGNITION OF ROSEMARY HEARD, FORMER PRESIDENT OF CATCH NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING
Ann M. Kuster (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2021-1-25

. Madam , I rise today to honor Rosemary Heard's life, career and many years of service as President and Chief Executive Officer of CATCH Neighborhood Housing. prgtoken As President, Rosemary was responsible for the administration and management of CATCH Neighborhood Housing, an organization whose mission is to make sure every person is confident in having a place to call home. Rosemary's ingenuity led to the construction of numerous new affordable housing units and revitalized existing housing in areas where affordable options are limited. prgtoken Rosemary's dedication to her community and bettering the lives of others did not stop at CATCH. She also served on the Municipal Housing Commission for the City of Concord, the Public Policy Committee for the National NeighborWorks Association, the City of Concord's Plan to End Homelessness, and Concord Hospital's Board of Trustees. Recognized for her professional excellence, Rosemary was the recipient of a Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce 2019 Business Leader of the Year award. prgtoken On behalf of New Hampshire's Second Congressional District and all those who have been impacted by Rosemary's important work, I'd like to thank Rosemary for her commitment to and passion for housing security that will continue to benefit Granite Staters for years to come.