mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
FOR THE PEOPLE ACT OF 2021
Chip Roy (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-2

. Madam , I would point out that the of the House came to the floor and used her magic minute, but doesn't stay on the floor and debate. There is no debate on this floor. prgtoken And then the said that there were amendments, 56 amendments. Forty-nine of them are ic amendments, hand-selected by a small group in the Rules Committee. Forty-nine are ic amendments. prgtoken So don't buy into the Kabuki theater that you are seeing on the floor of the House of Representatives. prgtoken You know what? prgtoken I can't ask to take down the words of the , even though the essence of her argument is that I am a bigot. Let's be very clear. The arguments being distilled on the floor today is that s, my colleagues and I, that we are bigots. prgtoken Why? prgtoken Because they use fancy words like ``voter suppression'' to say that we are wanting to tamp down people's access to polls. prgtoken Nothing can be further from the truth. Heaven forbid we want to use voter identification. Heaven forbid we want to honor the will of the people through their legislature in the States passing rules to make sure that our system is actually working, using voter identification that the American people use to fly, that the American people use to do everything else. If I demand that, I am a bigot.
FOR THE PEOPLE ACT OF 2021
David G. Valadao (Republican, CA) \u2014 2021-3-2

. Madam , I thank the ranking member for yielding. prgtoken Madam , I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1, the For the People Act. This piece of legislation undermines State authority over voter registration and election procedures while federally mandating practices we have seen fail in California during the 2018 and 2020 election cycles. prgtoken California's motor voter law automatically registers people to vote when registering their car or applying for a license with the DMV. This program was found to create over 120,000 errors, including registering at least 1,500 residents who were not eligible to vote. prgtoken Senator Padilla, while serving as California's secretary of state at that time, stated these mistakes ``threatened to undermine public confidence in the program.'' prgtoken H.R. 1 exposes our elections to voter fraud and is especially dangerous at a time when so many Americans are questioning the validity of election results. I ask my colleagues to join me in voting ``no'' on H.R. 1.
IN RECOGNITION OF GREGORY J. WASHINGTON ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT
Steve Scalise (Republican, LA) \u2014 2021-3-2

. Madam , it is my pleasure to extend my personal congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Gregory J. Washington, a New Orleans native, on the occasion of his retirement this year. prgtoken Greg began his forty-year career in the energy sector as a ``roughneck'' in the fields of south Louisiana during his high school summer breaks. For those of us who know Greg, it seems obvious that he would find success in the industry that offered him his first job. After graduating from Southern Methodist University in 1978, Greg started with Texaco as a ``landman'' in New Orleans and went on to become the State Mineral Board Representative from 1986 to 1990. Greg was later promoted to be Texaco's Senior Public and Government Affairs Representative for Louisiana and was eventually asked to transfer to Washington, D.C for what he thought would be a short-term assignment. After many years with the Texaco and Chevron Washington offices, Greg has decided to hang up his hard hat for good and enter retirement. prgtoken Throughout his career, Greg has shown his strong Louisiana work ethic and his ``come early, stay late'' attitude. He has always been eager to share his love of Louisiana and our culture with everyone he meets. He has continued to approach his work with an enthusiastic and positive outlook. As a result, he is well known and well liked, and his decision to retire certainly leaves a void that will be hard to fill. I know all his friends and colleagues will miss him dearly. prgtoken Greg and Cassandra, his lovely wife of 40 years, are looking forward to spending more time together in their well-earned retirement. I expect that this will surely include more time in his hometown of New Orleans. prgtoken I wish Greg and Cassandra all the best.
FOR THE PEOPLE ACT OF 2021
Bill Posey (Republican, FL) \u2014 2021-3-2

. Madam , I rise today to express my strong opposition to H.R. 1 and my great disappointment that the Majority refused to allow my commonsense amendments to be offered to this bill. This bill was written behind closed doors and though Members of Congress offered over 180 amendments to improve this bill only 56 were allowed to be offered on the House floor. That is a travesty for Congress and the American people who want and deserve honest and transparent elections. prgtoken While serving in the Florida Senate I was tasked with reforming Florida's election laws following the 2000 election and chaos that ensued. Having tackled election reform in the aftermath of an uncertain election, I know firsthand how important it is to restore confidence and eliminate existing grey areas that may lead to fraud or raise questions about fairness. prgtoken Events surrounding the 2020 election raised questions from my constituents about the operation and certification of voting machines used throughout our state and the nation. Chief among those concerns was whether our voting machines are connected to the internet and vulnerable to manipulation through hacking. To answer these and other questions I contacted the U.S. Election Assistance Commission which certifies voting hardware and software for use in our elections. prgtoken In her letter to me, the Inspector General of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission addressed this topic stating that the ``EAC believes Michigan may use modem transmission features in at least some of its Dominion voting systems.'' This is in direct conflict with assertions by the maker of the Dominion Voting System who stated, ``. . . Voting systems are by design meant to be used as closed systems that are not networked meaning they are not connected to the Internet.'' prgtoken To end the confusion on this issue and restore confidence in our system, I filed an amendment that would prohibit voting systems from being connected to the Internet; specifically, stating that no system or device upon which ballots are programmed or votes are cast or tabulated shall be connected to the Internet at any time. That would ensure the integrity of voting machines. Unfortunately, that amendment was not allowed to be debated and voted on. prgtoken My second amendment would ensure that election machines are fully auditable--no longer would election officials and election equipment providers deny full audits of elections due to proprietary software or hardware. The American people have a right to a full audit of any election to ensure the full integrity of elections. There is no good reason to oppose this amendment but, again, it was not allowed to be debated and voted on. prgtoken And, my third amendment would have prohibited the use of voting systems produced by a foreign entity. It would also require all components of the voting systems be manufactured and maintained in the United States. Why should the votes of the
Texas Independence Day (Executive Session)
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-2

I rise today to commemorate Texas Independence Day. One hundred and eighty-five years ago today, on March 2, 1836, the Republic of Texas declared our independence from the nation of Mexico. Fifty-nine delegates who adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence on that day gathered at Washington-on-the- Brazos. The delegates adopted a declaration, modeled in significant parts after the Declaration of Independence of the United States. prgtoken The declaration decried the arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny from the Mexican Government under the dictator General Santa Anna. In particular, it noted that that government had ``ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people from whom its legitimate powers are derived.'' And the Texans signing that declaration sought to protect their rights of free speech, their rights to keep and bear arms, and their rights of freedom of religion. prgtoken Signing that declaration commenced the Texas Revolution, our battle for independence, where we won independence from the nation of Mexico. And for 9 years, the State of Texas became the Republic of Texas, an independent nation. That, of course, ceased in 1845, when we joined the United States. And today, we celebrate that spirit of independence that is still found throughout all 29 million Texans
FOR THE PEOPLE ACT OF 2021
Gary J. Palmer (Republican, AL) \u2014 2021-3-2

. Madam , if my colleagues were serious about making elections fair and honest they would start by enforcing a law they passed--The National Voter Registration Act of 1993. That law requires that every state and every county maintain accurate voter files. Yet the Pew Research Center reported that there are 24 million people improperly registered . . . 1.8 million are dead, 2.7 million are registered to vote in more than one state. The state of Michigan is 105 percent registered to vote with sixteen counties with voter registration between 110-119 percent. prgtoken Pennsylvania has over 800,000 inactive voters still on the state's voter registration files and Los Angeles County had 1.6 million more people registered to vote than people living in the county who are qualified to vote. The failure to maintain accurate voter files is an invitation for election fraud. If my colleagues are serious about restoring confidence in our elections they should be pushing states to comply with the law. There are 17 members still serving in this Congress who voted for the National Voter Registration Act including the and the Majority Leader. Why aren't they pushing for cleaning up our voter registration files in every state? prgtoken As if the federal takeover of elections wasn't enough, this bill would also force taxpayers to foot the bill for campaigns. Just a few weeks ago the majority stripped my colleague Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments. This week they seem to believe that though she isn't allowed to serve on any standing committees she should receive taxpayer financed campaign contributions. Based on the formula in this bill and what Rep. Greene has raised already this bill would give her over $7 million. Every who voted to strip Rep. Greene of her committees has also co-sponsored the bill that would send over 7 million dollars to fund her re-election. prgtoken If this bill passes it will create a ruling class and tremendously undermine Americans' right to self-government. In fact, this bill should be called the For The Permanent Ruling Class Act. No one who truly wants fair and honest elections, No one who wants the American people to trust our elections, to have faith that their vote counts, will vote for this bill.
Coronavirus (Executive Calendar)
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2021-3-2

last week we paused as a Congress to recognize half a million people who have died in the United States due to COVID. Unfortunately, that number is still climbing. Half a million. That is a lot of families that are affected. Those are a lot of lives lost. That is a lot of pain that we have experienced as a nation, and obviously that is a global pain that is being experienced. prgtoken Over the last now 11 months, this Congress has gathered in a bipartisan way five times, with wide bipartisan majorities, to be able to address the issue of COVID-19. We have allocated $4 trillion, all of it borrowed, all of it--none of this was budgeted money--all of that borrowed money, with a common agreement that this is a pandemic and a crisis and that to be able to stabilize the American economy, we have to do what we have to do, but we should not do more than we have to, knowing that every dollar we are spending is borrowed. prgtoken Last year, at almost this exact same date, this Congress gathered together and put together a $2 trillion CARES Act package. It was an aggressive package because we saw the shutdown of the American economy. Quite frankly, we saw the shutdown of the world's economy at that time period. Literally, the world seemed to stop by the end of March, and we all went into seclusion. We saw dramatic spikes in unemployment and desperate need around the country, but we all knew this was a crisis moment and we would get through it and we would get out of it. prgtoken Now, almost a year later, where we saw unemployment soaring to 15 percent-plus across the country, we are now at 6.7 percent unemployment. Every State is opened at some stage, and some States completely opened. Many schools are open. Some schools continue to stay closed and say they are afraid and that they are not going to reengage, while thousands and thousands of other schools around the country are open and taking care of their kids in person. prgtoken We have seen this patchwork of response, but one thing is very true about right now versus 11 months ago. We are in a very different place now, as an economy and as a nation, than what we were 11 months ago. But the strange thing is, now, 11 months later, my ic colleagues are putting forward a $1.9 trillion package, almost the exact same size of what we had getting into the beginning of this. They are doing it. As just about everyone sees we are at the end, they want to borrow another $2 trillion. prgtoken It is not just $2 trillion to be able to spend toward COVID. I wish that were so. One percent of this package actually goes toward vaccines. Five percent of this package actually goes toward public health. In the school funding portion of it, 95 percent of the funding in the school funding portion of it, which is $170 billion for school funding, won't even be spent this year at all--at all. prgtoken Let me run that past you again. Ninety-five percent of the $170 billion
Whistleblower Program (Executive Calendar)
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2021-3-2

I want to compliment that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission operates a highly successful whistleblower program. As one of the Senators who led the effort to establish that whistleblower program back in 2010, I am proud of what this program has accomplished. prgtoken Since the Commission issued its first whistleblower award in 2014, whistleblowers have helped the Agency root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the commodities trading industry and has recovered nearly $950 million. That is a very good reason to compliment the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That is a lot of restitution for harmed investors. It is also a lot of money going to the U.S. Treasury and to the American taxpayers. prgtoken Now, if Congress doesn't act quickly, all of that progress could come to a swift and sudden halt. prgtoken Several months ago, the Commission contacted my office to tell me that its whistleblower program is facing the prospect of a sudden cash shortage--one that could require it to furlough staff and even close down its operations. prgtoken The reason for this potential shortage isn't that the whistleblower program has wasted or mismanaged funds or that it hasn't been doing its job. It is just the exact opposite. Whistleblowers have been approaching the Commission to report actionable claims of wrongdoing in far greater numbers than before, and its whistleblower program has grown at a much faster rate than Congress expected when we created it in 2010. prgtoken Last year, the Commission issued a single whistleblower award for approximately $9 million. In the past, it has given out awards for as much as $30 million. Remember, this is money given out to find out about fraud so people can be punished, bringing money into the Federal Treasury. prgtoken As a result of these successes, in the near future the Commission faces the possibility of having to pay out several large whistleblower awards in close succession. Now, if that happens, the whistleblower program could run short of having the cash on hand that it needs to pay these awards and other office operating expenses. Again, this is not an issue of bad management. It just means that the program works better than we thought when we enacted it in 2010. prgtoken By law, the Commission is only allowed to keep a certain amount of cash on hand to pay out awards, and that amount is capped under existing law at $100 million. Because Congress expected the program to remain relatively small, which it has not, it set the cap for the Consumer Protection Fund lower than the cap it has set for larger whistleblower programs, such as the one at the Securities and Exchange Commission. prgtoken The Consumer Protection Fund is also used to pay the operating expenses of the Whistleblower Office--in other words, the employees that follow up on these fraudulent claims. prgtoken Increasing the cap will ensure that the Commission can keep enough of the proceeds from the
Coronavirus (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-2

this week our ic colleagues are striving to break Congress's perfect record of bipartisan pandemic relief. Last year, five relief packages were signed into law, each with overwhelming bipartisan support. No bill received fewer than 90 votes here in the Senate, and 1 even passed unanimously. The reason why these bills received such broad support is because they address the crisis at hand in a targeted manner; no controversial provisions or unrelated partisan priorities, just clear-cut relief for the American people. prgtoken As I said, the perfect record of commonsense, bipartisan relief packages will apparently end this week. prgtoken The bill our ic colleagues are preparing to bring to the Senate floor has been drafted by only one party. As you can imagine, that process lends itself to a sort of partisan Christmas tree decorating. have taken the framework of the COVID relief bill and added a range of liberal priorities that have absolutely nothing to do with COVID-19: a Silicon Valley subway system, a blank check for mismanaged union pension plans, a bridge from New York to Canada, and funding for climate justice. prgtoken It is no surprise that this bill passed the House on a strict party- line vote. But the COVID-19 relief label isn't fooling anybody. This is a partisan wish list that does more to advance a political agenda than to respond to the legitimate public health and economic needs of our country. That is why our ic colleagues have chosen to abuse the budget reconciliation process in order to make a law. prgtoken Based on the pricetag of this bill, you would think it was March 2020 all over again. Despite the fact that we have made serious headway in vaccinations, our economy is recovering by leaps and bounds, and all signs show we are moving toward that light at the end of the tunnel, our ic colleagues are prepared to spend another $1.9 trillion of borrowed money. That is about half as much as all previous bills combined. prgtoken What is even more concerning than the cost is how the money is going to be spent. One great example is funding for education. So far, Congress has provided more than $110 billion for K-12 education, including $68 billion in the relief bill that was signed into law in December, just a couple of months ago. Schools in Texas have used this money to update air filtration systems, purchase personal protective equipment, prgtoken and implement regular disinfecting so students and teachers can safely return to the classroom. After all, we know in-person instruction is best for our children. prgtoken I have had sections of my State where at least a third of the lower income students don't have dependable access to broadband, much less the kind of supervision that they would need in order to continue their learning. Study after study has shown that kids have fallen behind while learning virtually, especially in foundational su
PRIORITIZE SAVE OUR STAGES FUNDING
Roger Williams (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-2

. Madam , I rise today to speak for thousands of music venues, movie theaters, and museums that are struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. prgtoken Over the past year, Congress has come together in a bipartisan manner to pass over $3.5 trillion in pandemic assistance. While much of this aid was necessary, government bureaucracy has routinely delayed getting this money into the hands of the American people. As of today, there are still $1.3 trillion in unspent COVID-19 relief. prgtoken In December, the House passed my bipartisan Save our Stages Act, which established the $15 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, providing direct relief for music venues, movie theaters, and museums devastated by the pandemic. These businesses were the first to close and will be some of the last to reopen. prgtoken Nine weeks have passed since President signed this into law, and the SBA still has not even produced the application for venue owners to apply. At this rate, some grants won't be delivered until summer. prgtoken This is unacceptable, and the SBA needs to get to work immediately. Every day we wait, there is another door that permanently closes. The bottom line is: The shows must go on. prgtoken In God we trust.
FOR THE PEOPLE ACT OF 2021
Louie Gohmert (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-2

I thank the ranking member. This bill that is supposed to be for the people, one of the things it is really supposed to do, we have been told, you know, this is going to eliminate foreign interference with our bill. They have been preaching on it for years. There was the whole Russia hoax, all these other things. It turns out there hasn't been foreign interference, but the friends across the aisle were not serious, and are not serious with this bill about eliminating all foreign interference. prgtoken In fact, that is why I filed an amendment that would have addressed that. They got loopholes big enough to drive several trucks through. So we took care of it in my amendment. My amendment says, ``Each State shall ensure that no foreign entity carries out any role in the administration of elections for Federal office in the State, including providing, maintaining, programming, operating, storing, or compiling any of the equipment, software, supplies, or information used in the administration of the election. ``A nonprofit organization may not carry out any activities related to voting or elections for public office in a State if the organization accepts any funds from a foreign entity.'' prgtoken And then it defines foreign entity, where it covers everybody and everything that is not American. prgtoken So we have got this amendment that would completely plug the loopholes that the have so that foreigners can't continue to influence the election. prgtoken And what do they do? prgtoken They say: prgtoken Your amendment, we don't want it. It is not in order. We are not even going to give you a vote on it. prgtoken They are not serious about eliminating foreign interference, and that is a shame.