mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Government Funding (Executive Calendar)
Jerry Moran (Republican, KS) \u2014 2020-12-7

2 weeks ago, I stood in this same position and gave remarks to my colleagues about the importance of, even though we can't do everything, that we do something. It seems to be too often that the way the Senate has operated is that unless we can do everything everyone wants, we do nothing. I encouraged us to try to figure out what it is we can agree on and address that legislatively and save the issues we don't agree on for later. prgtoken The challenge that I presented was the circumstance of the consequences of COVID-19, the difficulties that Americans--Kansans--are facing, and the importance of our completing our work in regard to an additional response to try to help the economy and to make sure people are healthy and know that they are healthy. prgtoken We seem to be making progress in regard to that desire to address the needs of Americans. While my complaint or concern 2 weeks ago was ``we don't have to do everything, we can do something,'' it appears that we are going to do something, which is really important. prgtoken Now, I would raise the issue of timing. It is very discouraging to me to return to Washington, DC, to learn that the continuing resolution, which expires on Friday, is to be extended until next Friday at a time in which Americans have little ability to wait, at least, to know what they are going to be able to expect. prgtoken Small businesses, individuals, employees, employers all need the certainty, and every day that we are unable to accomplish what we can agree on is another day in which those Americans, those workers, those businessowners don't know what they face. Christmas ought to be a time, the holiday season ought to be a time for expectations and joy and comfort, and yet what we are doing here by this continued delay is creating uncertainty which creates great challenges. prgtoken The mental health and well-being of Kansans and Americans is at stake here. Again, my guess is that whatever we could agree on next week, we could agree on this week, so I would encourage my colleagues and me to redouble our efforts, not only to do what we can do, but to do it in a timely enough fashion that people get the benefit. prgtoken I think of those who work in hospitals in Kansas, those who care for people who are suffering from the symptoms of COVID. We need to make certain that we provide them the necessary personal protection equipment; that we need to have the necessary testing; that every hospital, every clinic, every doctor has the resources necessary to care for those who are ill today. That is something that can't wait. prgtoken When it comes to the economy, too many businesses, retail establishments, motels, restaurants, venues, theaters, the uncertainty that we are creating that every day goes by in which they don't know whether Congress is going to respond to their needs is a day in which we may lose another business, we may lose another person's employment. prgtoken The
HONORING RECIPIENTS OF THE INNOVATION AND ADAPTATION RECOGNITION
Adrian Smith (Republican, NE) \u2014 2020-12-7

. Madam , today I honor nine individuals and businesses from Nebraska's Third District for receiving the Innovation and Adaptation Recognition. prgtoken Throughout the 75 counties of the Third District, Nebraskans know our communities grow when individuals step up: helping their neighbors, being involved, and creating opportunities for themselves and others. prgtoken In August, I called for nominations as part of a new initiative to acknowledge the contributions of individuals, organizations, and those who are working every day to improve and help their communities in the current environment. prgtoken Billy Estes is the Executive Director of the Midwest Theater of Scottsbluff. Midwest Theater's programming, which includes live performances, orchestras, and concerts, makes an important contribution to the cultural and social experiences of Nebraska's panhandle. When the Coronavirus pandemic reached western Nebraska, under the guidance of Mr. Estes, the Midwest Theater partnered with the Legacy of the Plains Museum to create the Skyview Drive-in Movie Theater. As the pandemic progressed, this venture proved so popular they outgrew their location and had to move to larger accommodations. Thanks to the creativity and leadership of Mr. Estes, in spite of the pandemic, the Midwest Theater has continued to thrive throughout 2020. prgtoken Grand Central Foods of York is owned by the Warren Thomas family. Mr. Thomas prides himself on his commitment to the York community. In ``normal'' times, Warren and the Grand Central Team are the first to ask where they can help with a project or how can they partner on events. The selflessness shown by everyone at Grand Central is a testament to the example of the ownership. Within a few days of the pandemic's arrival to York, Warren purchased a second grocery delivery van, and expanded his service to the entire community. Because Warren believes in positive reinforcement, he encouraged his customers to wear a mask while in his store by offering a 5 percent discount on their purchases. He is an active member of many community groups, and his passion and commitment to his community is unmatched. prgtoken Alyssa Cochnar of Crete is the leader of Gold Star Martial Arts of Crete and Seward. At 26 years old, she is already a 5th degree black belt, chief instructor, and co-owner of the martial arts facility. When directed health measures forced Gold Star to close in-person training classes, she spearheaded the process of creating online modules for her students to continue their training independently. Before long, she began offering Zoom Classes to provide her students with another safe and flexible option to continue their training and explore expanded experiences to encourage healthy eating habits and socialization while social distancing. I commend her positive attitude and commitment to an enriching educational experience for all her students, regardless of their experience level.
AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
Daniel Lipinski (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2020-12-8

when I was a professor teaching American Government before I was elected to Congress, the first thing I would do when beginning to teach a class about Congress and the legislative process would be to show this video. It is the 3-minute ``Schoolhouse Rock'' cartoon video from the 1970s called ``I'm Just a Bill.'' prgtoken The cartoon begins with a group of constituents calling their Congressman with an idea for a new law. The Congressman introduces a bill, which goes through House committee debate and amendment before a vote to report the bill favorably to the House floor. prgtoken On the floor, the bill goes through debate and amendment before a majority vote that sends the bill over to the Senate, where the process continues. prgtoken This is a process that we call regular order. Regular order in the House is a standard way of legislating that facilitates extensive participation of Members in the deliberative, consensus-based decisionmaking process. prgtoken More importantly, this is how the Framers of the Constitution not only intended the House to work, but believed that the House needed to work if the United States, then in its infancy, was to succeed. prgtoken Congress was created in Article I of the Constitution because the legislative branch, being closest to the people, was necessarily the linchpin of American representative democracy. prgtoken While the Framers didn't include in the Constitution the rules by which the House and Senate would operate, they understood that the way in which the lawmaking process was conducted was critical to the creation of laws that were good for the Nation as a whole and to the legitimacy of Congress and those laws. prgtoken James Madison, oftentimes called the Father of Congress, believed it was essential that the legislative branch make policy in the manner that well represented the vast and varied Republic and best served the Nation as a whole. prgtoken Remember, our Nation began as a unique experiment in self-governance. There was great doubt about whether the views of people so diverse could successfully be forged into good policy that served such a large nation. prgtoken Madison believed that the way to do this was for Members of Congress to represent the multiple and diverse interests and ideas of their constituents in an open marketplace of ideas in Congress. Through the legislative process, the people's Representatives would debate, deliberate, and put together a consensus on legislation that served the common good of the Nation. prgtoken What the Constitution created was not a parliamentary system, because the Framers did not intend to empower temporary majorities. Instead, they wanted to compel compromise in a diverse society. prgtoken The exercise of power was shared so that all American voters had an opportunity to be heard in the lawmaking process and to ensure that only the will of broad, durable majorities could be acted upon. Especially because America was
Nomination of Nathan A. Simington (Executive Calendar)
Maria Cantwell (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2020-12-8

I come to the floor today to urge my colleagues to vote against the nomination of Nathan Simington to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission. prgtoken We definitely want the FCC to focus on commonsense consumer protections, universal broadband, and the survival of our news and local journalism industry as it faces unbelievable and unfair competition and practices by the tech sector, and we also want to make sure that the next President of the United States also gets to choose their member and representation to the FCC. prgtoken The Senate has a tradition of confirming Commission nominees in pairs to ensure equality on both sides of the aisle. I think moving this nominee without that democratic paring is contrary to what we have usually operated under in good governance. prgtoken Every Member of this body should be concerned about setting a precedent and what it will mean in the future if we don't have essential consumer protections and oversight in this important institution. prgtoken We need high-quality, affordable broadband for the underserved and the unserved. That includes Tribal country. prgtoken We need to make sure that we are working hard as a result of the pandemic and for people to understand that broadband is now essential to our healthcare, to being able to work, and certainly to the education of our children. According to the AP, 16 percent of families with children have no access to broadband, and we need to make sure that all students have the tools for distance learning. prgtoken We need to make sure that Washingtonians have access to broadband for healthcare centers and clinics and to make sure that their initial contacts can be done online, just to help us in fighting the pandemic. prgtoken Especially, we need to preserve a free and open internet that is not divided into haves and have-nots. prgtoken The innovation economy is so important to my State, but it is important to the entire United States, and we need to have nominees who will fight for these policies, to get them implemented. That is why it is important that we look at FCC Commissioners. prgtoken Mr. Simington was before our Commerce Committee. We had another nominee whom the White House abruptly, unexpectedly pulled from its renomination--Commissioner O'Rielly--just days after the committee reported that nomination to the Senate, allegedly because he spoke his mind and because he did not agree with the President of the United States. Mr. Simington was nominated instead just a few weeks later, coming from NTIA, which asks the FCC to issue rules. prgtoken It raises questions in my mind about the White House's choice in Mr. Simington, particularly given these issues as it relates to the FCC and key responsibilities. I have questions about his neutrality and independence on issues before the Commission and about whether he aggressively and actively sought the media attention to personally and explicitly direc
Tribute to Tom Udall (Executive Session)
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2020-12-8

I know we are about to vote, and I will speak further at another time about Senator Udall, but I just want to tell him what I told you--all of you--what I said to him when he finished speaking: In my 46 years here, it is one of the finest and most moving, heartfelt, honest speeches I have heard. I have also sent a note, I say to Senator Udall, to Jill Udall to tell her how great you are, but I think she probably knew it. But I will speak further at another time. prgtoken .
Nomination of Nathan A. Simington (Executive Calendar)
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2020-12-8

in just a few moments, we will vote on the nomination of Nathan Simington to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission. We will do so in the middle of a pandemic when this agency is of more importance than ever to students, businesses, and families who are vitally dependent on broadband, on the consumer protection that this agency provides, and to net neutrality, which is a vital issue for them and for our country. ``Nathan Simington'' is not exactly a household word, but his name and his presence on the FCC will have important meaning to households around the Nation; nor is the ``FCC'' a household word, but it, too, affects literally hundreds of millions of households. The FCC will have an increasingly important role in this Nation as we conquer the pandemic and deal with the economic crisis that faces this Nation. prgtoken There are 15 to 16 million students who are locked out of the internet because of the unavailability of broadband connectivity or devices that make the internet real in their lives. The FCC is the key to their participating in schools, and it is the key to businesses being able to communicate with customers. The FCC is at the crossroads of making rights real. Nathan Simington is dangerous to those rights and to the FCC at this moment in history. prgtoken Why is he the nominee? The answer is that the current FCC Commissioner, Michael O'Rielly, was originally nominated for another term, and the Commerce Committee even held a vote for him in July. Yet, after Twitter and Facebook had the temerity to label 's misinformation about voting and COVID-19, the President issued an Executive order that had the simple purpose of retaliating against these social media platforms. The President, in effect, demanded that the FCC revise section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in order to punish those companies for the mild inconvenience of a fact check. They didn't take down his posts; they said they needed to fact check them. prgtoken Commissioner O'Rielly recognized the dangers and the potential illegality of the President's Executive order. Again, he had the temerity to speak up and tell the American public on C-SPAN that he had ``deep reservations'' if they, meaning Congress, ``provided any additional authority for the FCC in this matter.'' In a later speech, he appeared to challenge the order on First Amendment grounds, which it well-deserved, in fact, because it potentially violated the First Amendment. prgtoken Despite years of a pristine record of positions, this objection now was disqualifying to Commissioner O'Rielly in the view of the White House. The President pulled his nomination and substituted Mr. Simington, who was well qualified, for he had auditioned for the role of doing the President's bidding. We know Mr. Simington tried to pressure the FCC to cave in to the White House and to rightwing media outlets on this very issue, sect
SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS INITIATIVE ACT OF 2020
Veronica Escobar (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2020-12-8

in closing, I would like to thank my colleagues, specifically Mr. Taylor for his partnership on this very important bill and, again, Chairman Nadler and all of those, including staff and members of the Department of Justice, who made this a better bill. prgtoken Our servicemembers and veterans have worked tirelessly to protect us at home and abroad. It is only right that we work as hard as possible to protect their rights and shield them from abuses such as fraud, predatory lending, and other victimization. prgtoken , I urge all Members to support this bipartisan effort to ensure the best for our servicemembers, veterans, and their families, and .
ALS DISABILITY INSURANCE ACCESS ACT OF 2019
Judy Chu (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-12-8

. Madam , I rise today in support of the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act, which would help those diagnosed with ALS get their benefits quickly by making them eligible to receive Social Security Disability Insurance immediately instead of having to wait 5 months. prgtoken I have heard heart-wrenching stories from my constituents whose lives have been upended by this cruel and aggressive disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease over the course of which those with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement. This leads to paralysis and, ultimately, death. prgtoken Tragically, ALS has a fatality rate of 100 percent. Unfortunately, this disease is so aggressive and can take so long to diagnose that some patients lose their battle with ALS before the 5-month waiting period for SSDI benefits is over. This bill would ensure that those who have an ALS diagnosis are not denied their benefits when they need them most. prgtoken I am proud to be a cosponsor of the House version of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill before us today.
HONORING MAYOR ELIZABETH PATTERSON
Mike Thompson (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-12-8

. Madam , I rise today to honor Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, and to celebrate her retirement from the City of Benicia after 17 years of public service. prgtoken Born in Los Angeles, Mayor Patterson has lived in Benicia since 1983. Prior to her time in local government, she worked for California's Department of Water Resources as an environmental scientist for three decades and served as the Executive Director of the Partnership for Regional Livability on the White House Task Force on Livable Communities under President Clinton. In 2003, Mayor Patterson was elected to the Benicia City Council, where she served for four years before being elected as Mayor in 2007. prgtoken Throughout her years of leadership in Benicia, Mayor Patterson has championed environmental preservation initiatives. She was instrumental in the creation of Benicia's Community Sustainability Commission, which will promote environmentally friendly economic development for years to come. Mayor Patterson has also played a vital role in enacting Benicia's Water Smart Program, both conserving water and lowering costs for the community. Beyond her commitment to sustainability, Mayor Patterson has been a leader in promoting cultural advancement and preservation in Benicia by creating Benicia's Arts and Cultural Commission and increasing the number of designated historical properties. prgtoken Madam , Mayor Patterson is an outstanding public servant with a deep dedication to her community. Even in retirement, she plans to continue fighting for environmental protections. Mayor Patterson exemplifies true leadership and integrity, and she will have a lasting impact on the City of Benicia. It is therefore fitting and proper that we honor her here today.
COMBAT ONLINE PREDATORS ACT
David N. Cicilline (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2020-12-8

I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan measure because stalking is a crime in which victims are made to live in constant fear. The effects of stalking can manifest both physically and mentally and have short-term and long-term consequences. prgtoken In this digital and technological world that we have now all immersed ourselves in, it is imperative that we remain more vigilant of the nefarious activities of those lurking in the shadows to exploit our children's vulnerabilities. prgtoken Hence, I support the Combat Online Predators Act and I urge all of my colleagues to do the same. prgtoken , .
Farewell to the Senate (Executive Calendar)
Michael F. Bennet (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2020-12-8

I want to take just a few minutes to speak about my colleague from Colorado, Senator Cory Gardner--a kid from Yuma, as he described himself a minute ago--and to recognize the work that we have done for our State together in a bipartisan way. prgtoken Over the past 6 years, one of the most common and sometimes surprising questions I have gotten from reporters and constituents was: How is your relationship with Senator Gardner? Can you work together with Senator Gardner? prgtoken It is really an innocent question, but I have come to think about it as a reflection of the sad state of our politics and the Senate for the moment, in particular. Behind the question is the assumption that because Cory is a and I am a we, somehow, can't work together for the benefit of our State. That hasn't been the case, far from it. prgtoken Sometimes he would say and sometimes I would say that we felt like there were times when we were working together better than States that were represented by two people from the same political party. prgtoken In this Congress, Colorado is 1 of just 10 States that isn't represented by Senators from the same party. Think about that--just 1 of 10 States with a split caucus in this body, just 10 out of 50. You would think it would be a lot higher, given how evenly divided we are as a country. prgtoken A lot has been written about the divide in our country today, and one of the divides is the rural-urban divide in America, which reporters like to talk about. In our delegation, Cory and I have tried to bridge that and, I have to say, it has helped a lot that Cory was born and raised in Yuma, CO, a town on the Eastern Plains with a population of 3,500 people, roughly. It is the place where Cory grew up, working in his parents' implement dealership--the red tractors, not the green tractors--where community tradition and ties to the land, like a lot of places in our State, run very, very deep; a place where rush hour means getting behind a tractor. prgtoken It is a beautiful place, and Cory was kind enough to invite me to Yuma after he was elected. During that visit we made a commitment to work together despite our political differences, prgtoken which we certainly have, and that is exactly what we have tried to do over the past 6 years. We worked together on legislation to ban Members of Congress from becoming lobbyists. I tell my colleagues today that I think there would be no bill we could pass that would do more to lift the reputation of this body than that one. Over half the people who leave here don't retire but become lobbyists. It was hard to find somebody to cosponsor that legislation. Cory saw the benefit of it, and we have been fighting for it ever since. prgtoken We wrote bipartisan legislation to prevent government shutdowns; to make our energy grid more resilient; to secure funding, as Cory mentioned, for the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a critical water projec