mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
COLORADO RIVER DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN AUTHORIZATION ACT
Martha McSally (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2019-4-10

on Monday, the Senate passed my bill, and yesterday, we passed identical House legislation to ensure this went to the President as quickly as possible. I would like to take a few minutes to thank those involved with these agreements and again highlight the importance of this historic achievement. prgtoken The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, also known as the DCP, was negotiated between the seven Colorado River Basin States to respond to this prolonged drought. It is designed to protect Lakes Mead and Powell from reaching certain critical water elevations that would trigger severe water supply and hydropower impacts, including the risk of reaching crisis levels where operational control of the Colorado River System is lost. prgtoken The set of five agreements that makes up the DCP builds off of the tools and water saving commitments made by the basin States in the 2007 Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lakes Powell and Mead to further address water security and respond to actual water conditions as demanded by responsible water resource management. These added savings bring the risk of the Mead hitting 1,000 feet over the next 7 years to near zero. prgtoken I am especially proud of the work done on these agreements in Arizona, which takes the biggest and most immediate reduction in water supply under the DCP. Through inclusive, prgtoken good-faith negotiations, cities, farmers, tribes, and conservations groups came together to make the tough decisions required to improve long-term water security and avert the looming water supply crisis. prgtoken I would like to thank and congratulate Governor Doug Ducey and his staff, the Arizona State legislature, Tom Buschatzke and his team at the Department of Water Resources, the CAWCD board, Ted Cooke and the CAP staff, Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Lewis and the Gila River Indian Community Tribal Council, Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairman Dennis Patch and the CRIT Tribal Council, and the dozens and dozens of ag, water, municipal, NGO, and other stakeholders, including the entire Arizona DCP Steering Committee, involved on this outstanding achievement that will improve Arizona's water security for years to come. prgtoken Work on the DCP has been underway for nearly 6 years. It has spanned the terms of two Presidents, three Interior Secretaries, and 13 Governors. The effort has seamlessly transitioned between and administrations, both here in DC and out in the States, and I am proud of the swift action taken by Congress to authorize this agreement. prgtoken The Colorado River DCP Authorization Act was developed in a bipartisan and bicameral manner, and involved the Governors' representatives for each of the seven basin States. Responding to concerns of some in the House and Senate about potential unintended consequences of the legislative language proposed as part of the
HONORING AMERICAN LEGION NEW JERSEY COMMANDER RAY MILLER
Christopher H. Smith (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2019-4-10

. Madam , Raymond A. Miller, of Ocean County, N.J. is a dedicated, decorated American hero who has served our country in wartime and peace. Ray donned the uniform first as a member of the U.S. Air Force to serve and protect his country. After success in the military, Ray put on a different uniform that was no less important--serving and protecting the citizens of New Jersey during a long and distinguished career in law enforcement, all-the-while and even to this very day, never forgetting his fellow veterans. Born in Jersey City and raised in Trenton, N.J Ray went on to join the Air Force in 1963, completing both basic training and Air Police School as part of four years of active duty in Germany, as well as two years in the reserves. He entered the State Police Academy in 1969, and after 30 years as a New Jersey State Trooper, he retired as a lieutenant. Ray continues to work for the NJ State Police as a part- time background investigator of applicants to law enforcement. Ray married his loving wife Laurinda in 1971, and together they raised two wonderful daughters, Kimberley and Natalie in Manchester Township, N.J. in my district. Laurinda has served the Unit 129 Auxiliary for 28 years and is the current president of the Ocean County American Legion Auxiliary. Ray and Laurinda have four grandchildren: Kailee Lynn, Kyle, MacKenzie and Brooke. Today Ray and Laurinda live in Island Heights, Ocean County, N.J. As a trooper Ray was decorated for valor twice: first for helping apprehend a murderer who killed two police officers and permanently maimed another in Mount Holly, N.J and later for selflessly and courageously saving a Westfield police officer who was being assaulted by two escaped murderers. A dedicated Airman and trooper, Ray's service was complemented by his tireless efforts to aid his fellow veterans--the core of the mission of the American Legion. I have known Ray Miller for a long time. He is a friend. One of our many, many meetings was last year at the New Jersey American Legion's Centennial Gala in Point Pleasant, N.J where we kicked off the celebration of the successful and awesome history of the Legion. This coming September 16, 2019 will mark the 100th anniversary since Congress passed the Charter for the American Legion. It has been a good 100 years for the Legion, and Ray has the honor of leading legionnaires in the State of New Jersey during this special century anniversary. Since its founding, the American Legion has become the largest wartime veterans' organization, counting nearly two million members across the U.S.A. with more than 12,000 posts. Established by an act of Congress, the Legion--with leaders like Ray and his predecessors at the helm locally, statewide and nationally--was instrumental in getting the original GI Bill through Congress and the creation of the Department of Veterans Affairs, today known as the Veterans Administration. A nonp
Tax Reform (Executive Session)
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2019-4-11

Members of the Senate, if you look at the poster I just put up, you know what I am going to talk about--the devastating floods in Iowa and the Midwest. prgtoken In Western Iowa, we still have areas underwater from flooding on the Missouri river and its tributaries. In the east, we are dealing with the Mississippi River and tributary flooding. Unfortunately, the weather isn't cooperating with additional storms and rain throughout the Upper Midwest, as I speak, that could exacerbate flooding and hinder cleanup and repairs. prgtoken This flooding is still a very active event, but as we move to recovery, we know the original damage estimates in Iowa are increasing. I can say that for Nebraska as well. Many roads are still closed; levy damage is extensive; towns are devastated; and many individuals lost their homes and businesses. prgtoken In just 6 of our 99 counties in Iowa, 416,000 acres of cropland was flooded. Much of that cropland is still underwater. These farmers are facing the challenge of not being able to plant this year. Unfortunately, many of these farmers' fields were just recovering from previous years of major flooding. In this area of Iowa, that would have been in 2011. prgtoken This is compounded by many losing their previous harvest through having their on-the-farm storage bins destroyed, as you can see here. prgtoken Throughout the Midwest area that had severe flooding, 832 on-farm storage bins have been identified as being like these, destroyed. We don't have a complete estimate of that, but I think 832 on-the-farm storage bins would be at least a figure up to a certain date. prgtoken These bins hold an estimated 5 to 10 million bushels of corn or soybeans, so, collectively, that would be a loss of worth between $17 million and $34 million. prgtoken There is an existing program that goes by the acronym WHIP in the Department of Agriculture that is designed to address agricultural losses not covered by crop insurance and other programs. I reached out to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to see if this program could be used for losses such as those seen here, particularly in Iowa and Nebraska, for corn and soybeans. prgtoken I was told because the WHIP program was designed for other commodities affected by hurricanes and wildfires, they needed a few words added to the law to extend the same help to these problems we now have in the Midwest. I asked what those words were, and I spoke to Senator Shelby, who manages this bill on the floor of the Senate, and to Senator Perdue, who has a great deal of interest in the bill because of agricultural losses in Georgia. These two Senators agreed to work with me. These two Senators agreed to work with me. So I filed a shorter amendment of a disaster bill along with Senator Ernst and several of my colleagues from the Midwest to make sure that devastation like this is covered. I am optimistic that this simple fix, which will mean so much to far
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Michael B. Enzi (Republican, WY) \u2014 2019-4-11

I rise to introduce the Association Health Plans Act of 2019. I have been championing association health plans, which I sometimes call small business health plans, for more than 15 years. As a small business owner, I understand firsthand the difficulties these employers face trying to provide health insurance for their employees. Small business owners want to provide comprehensive health insurance to their employees, but it can be a real struggle to afford those plans. In part due to these pressures, the number of small businesses offering coverage has dropped substantially over the years, from 47 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2017. prgtoken Few families are shielded from the rising costs of healthcare and, by extension, the rising cost of health insurance, but among the hardest hit are American small businesses. prgtoken Small businesses have limited ability to pool risk and lack coverage in the market, so they often end up paying more for health insurance than large employers who have more buying power. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, small businesses pay about 8 to 18 percent more on average than large businesses for the same health insurance policy. prgtoken To put it another way, one family shoe store probably can't get an insurance company to play ball, but 1,000 family shoe stores probably could. This is the premise of the association health plans. Let's let small businesses band together and leverage their shared power in numbers to obtain comprehensive and affordable health insurance as though they were a single large employer. prgtoken This does not mean they are allowed to cut corners. The coverage offered to association members is subject to the consumer protection requirements that apply to large employers. That includes important consumer protections established on a bipartisan basis under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HIPAA, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, COBRA. Association health plans also comply with the Affordable Care Act requirements for large-employer health plans. prgtoken Association health plans are not a new concept. They have long been permitted under Federal law. For example, the Wyoming Chambers Health Benefit Plan has served Wyoming's Chambers of Commerce since 2007. It currently offers comprehensive and affordable coverage to 11 local Chambers of Commerce, 52 employers, and 255 employees. prgtoken Last year, the administration issued a new rule that made it easier for small businesses to band together for the purposes of offering an association health plan. Specifically, the Department of Labor created a new ``pathway'' for forming the association so that small businesses can band together by common industry or common geography. For example, flower shops across the Nation might band together to offer an association health pla
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
James M. Inhofe (Republican, OK) \u2014 2019-4-11

Senator Reed and I are today introducing, by request, the Administration's proposed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. As is the case with any bill that is introduced by request, we introduce this bill for the purpose of placing the Administration's proposals before Congress and the public without expressing our own views on the substance of these proposals. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, we look forward prgtoken to giving the Administration's requested legislation our most careful review and thoughtful consideration.
TRIBUTE TO JESSICA HEINZ
Mike Rounds (Republican, SD) \u2014 2019-4-11

today I recognize Jessica Heinz, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all the hard work she has done on behalf of myself, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. prgtoken Jessica is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. She is currently pursuing her master of science degree in terrorism and security policy at American University. Jessica is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience and has been a true asset to the office. prgtoken I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Jessica for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.
Nomination of Drew H. Wrigley (Executive Session)
Kevin Cramer (Republican, ND) \u2014 2019-4-11

in a little bit, we are going to have the opportunity to vote to confirm Drew Wrigley as the next U.S. attorney for the District of North Dakota. First of all, I want to thank Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer for providing this opportunity to vote to confirm this outstanding candidate. prgtoken A little bit about Drew. First of all, he is a good personal friend. Drew is a sincere public servant. He has served our State as our Lieutenant Governor and previously as U.S. attorney for North Dakota under President . He has a servant's heart. prgtoken The thing I like so much about Drew is, besides being a professional prosecutor--and prior to even being a U.S. attorney, he was a longtime prosecutor in Philadelphia in the district attorney's office. He is good at his job. He is smart. He is compassionate. He cares as much as anything about the rule and the letter of the law and the victims of crimes. But the thing I like the most about Drew is that he is a courageous prosecutor. He doesn't just take the layups. He is willing to push to the edge for victims, for justice. He takes the tough cases, and he takes them on. Win or lose, he fights as hard as he can for the cause of justice and for the victims of crimes. prgtoken So it is a great honor for me today to advocate for Drew's confirmation, and I look forward to the opportunity in a little bit to vote for it. prgtoken . prgtoken .
Confirmation of David Bernhardt (Executive Session)
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2019-4-11

we just voted in a very important vote on the Senate floor--a bipartisan vote--to confirm Mr. David Bernhardt as the next Secretary of the Interior for the United States of America. It was a strong vote--56 to 41. prgtoken I want to begin my remarks this afternoon by rising to express my gratitude and appreciation to Mr. Bernhardt for stepping up to the plate to continue to serve his country and to continue to serve the Department of the Interior now in the role of Secretary, the individual who is going to be running the Department of the Interior for the United States. prgtoken s. It was a bipartisan vote in the Senate, which I think is important for voting for now-Secretary Bernhardt. Actually, I would like to be the first Senator to call him Secretary Bernhardt. If you and your family are watching, Mr. Secretary, thank you. prgtoken I also want to mention that I have been listening to some of the speeches made by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. To be perfectly blunt, I find what we just witnessed a bit disheartening. I would like to say at the outset that we can and should disagree on policy disputes. Certainly issues like land issues are really important to me in my State, that is for sure. We can disagree about the direction of how we are going to move some of those policies forward. What is disheartening, though, is when you have someone like Mr. Bernhardt, who is willing to serve his country again--and I am going to talk about that--essentially getting his reputation dragged through the mud on the Senate floor. It is not a good thing. It doesn't encourage people to want to serve. prgtoken So, Mr. Secretary, thank you. I know this wasn't an easy confirmation process. prgtoken When you look at his background, this is actually one of the most qualified individuals to serve as the Secretary whom we have had in many years. He was the Solicitor General under President , confirmed by the Senate; he was the Deputy Secretary for the last 2 years, confirmed by this body; and now he is the Secretary. I would say those are very high qualifications. I just want to talk about him for a little bit. prgtoken Why do I support Mr. Bernhardt? The Secretary of the Department of the Interior is really important to America. It is critically important to my State, the great State of Alaska. We have over 200 million acres of land under the Department of the Interior's control in Alaska--200 million acres. That is over two times the size of California. In fact, one-quarter of all the lands that the Department of the Interior manages for the United States reside in Alaska. Let me repeat that. One-quarter of all the lands that the Secretary of the Interior manages in America are in my State. prgtoken So we take this role of Secretary of the Interior very, very seriously, which is why I wanted to come to the floor and again thank Secretary Bernhardt prgtoken and let him
Nomination of David Steven Morales (Executive Session)
Marsha Blackburn (Republican, TN) \u2014 2019-4-11

. Thank you, . Today I rise to speak about the legislation I introduced to the Senate this week, S. 1116, the BROWSER ACT. prgtoken Broadband or high-speed internet has absolutely revolutionized the way we communicate, the way we conduct commerce, and actually the way we participate in government. prgtoken Broadband is one of the greatest innovations in history. It allows near-instantaneous exchange of information and brings efficiencies to the daily life of millions of Americans as they move more of their transactional life online. prgtoken Thanks to broadband, entrepreneurs have been able to bring thousands of new applications to consumers. These edge services are now an essential part of our lives. We find ourselves every day saying: I can't imagine what we did before we had this or before we had that. These apps give consumers access to entertainment, news, information, helping us drive around town, and access to emergency services. prgtoken As consumers use these applications, they generate massive amounts of data about themselves, and that is the problem. Many companies collect this data and use it for a range of purposes without the user's knowledge. prgtoken They are collecting all of this--every bill you pay, every website you visit, these platforms are following you. prgtoken After all this information is shared, the question is, Who owns the virtual you? Who owns you and your presence online? Our laws have not kept pace with technological innovation. prgtoken Now we see some States and we even have some cities that are adding more complexity to the problem by enacting their own privacy rules and standards, despite the fact that digital commerce is not restricted to one area. Digital commerce is interstate and global in nature. prgtoken It is time we have a consistent national law regarding online privacy. We need one set of rules and one regulator for the entire internet ecosystem. It just makes sense. prgtoken That is why I have introduced the legislation I previously proposed as a Member of the House of Representatives. As I said, it is called the BROWSER Act. Americans want to be certain their privacy is protected in the physical and the virtual space. Broadband users--who are each and every one of us--should have the right to say who can or cannot access their private data. prgtoken Think about it. At this point, how and when you pay your bills, the credit cards you use, the sites you visit, the merchandise you shop for, friends you connect with, there is somebody tracking that activity with every move of the mouse. They are on it. prgtoken Consumers should have the right to clear and conspicuous notice of a service providers' privacy policies and the ability to either opt in or opt out, depending on the sensitive nature of that data. The BROWSER Act requires digital services to provide users with clear and conspicuous notice of their privacy rights. It also requires digital services to pr
REMEMBERING JAMES C. FOX
Thom Tillis (Republican, NC) \u2014 2019-4-11

Judge James C. Fox, who served as a Federal District Court Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina for more than 35 years, passed away Saturday, March 23, 2019, at the age of 90. prgtoken Judge Fox was born on November 6, 1928, in Atchison, KS. As a young boy, his family moved to Greensboro, NC, where he grew up. Judge Fox graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1950 and married Katharine deRosset Rhett on December 30, 1950. Judge Fox served as a corporal in the United States Army Reserve from 1951-1959. prgtoken Judge Fox attended law school at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he graduated in 1957 with highest honors. Subsequently, he took a clerkship with Judge Donnell Gilliam who predated Judge Fox as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Judge Fox entered private practice in 1959 with the firm Carter & Murchison in New Hanover County, NC, where he practiced for 20 years. While in private practice, Judge Fox served as the county attorney for New Hanover County for 13 years. prgtoken President Ronald Reagan nominated Judge Fox to serve as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina on September 13, 1982. Judge Fox served the residents of North Carolina for more than 35 years. He served as chief judge from 1990 to 1997 and assumed senior status on January 31, 2001. Even after assuming senior status, Judge Fox maintained a full caseload until he retired in 2017. Judge Fox was known as courteous but firm and was widely respected by everyone who came into his courtroom. prgtoken In addition to his decades of public service, Judge Fox served as director of the law alumni association for the University of North Carolina in 1964 and president of the law foundation at the University of North Carolina from 1977 to 1979. Judge Fox served on numerous civic boards, including the University of North Carolina Board of Visitors, the Boy Scouts, the United Way, the Family Service Society, Opportunities, Inc Davis Healthcare, and the Children's Home Society. Judge Fox was also an active member of Ducks Unlimited. He loved the outdoors and spent significant time and resources on conservation management efforts. prgtoken Most importantly, Judge Fox was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. I am grateful to Judge Fox for his service and to his family for sharing his time with the residents of North Carolina. He will be greatly missed.