mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2020-7-23

every year, the Senate considers sweeping legislation to authorize operations of the Department of Defense and certain functions of the Department of Energy. The fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act provides a roadmap for spending for national defense, spending which reflects over half of the annual Federal budget. Its importance is enormous, and its consideration important. Regrettably, the Senate in recent years has reduced consideration of the NDAA to a perfunctory exercise occupying a couple of weeks of debate, and little consideration of amendments. While I support much of what is included in this authorizing package, I cannot support its passage. prgtoken I am most concerned that the FY21 NDAA includes authorization for testing of nuclear devices. Where our President fails to lead in global diplomacy and common decency, he seems enthralled with an approach favored by autocrats and dictators: demonstrations of military might over strategic partnerships and alliances. I am concerned that, under this administration, we are inexorably trending toward a new nuclear arms race, where demonstrations of power have taken the place of treaties that made the use of history's most dangerous weapons less likely. prgtoken Coupled with authorization to build a new nuclear warhead, the Senate's fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act goes beyond the nuclear modernization plan set in action by the administration in concert with ratifying New START. Rather, it takes scientifically dubious and strategically unnecessary steps to support the President's seemingly exclusive interest in brandishing-- literally--our military might. Congress and Presidents of both parties have worked for decades to help the world avoid repeating the precarious situation of the 1960s; I worry we are starting a slow march back to that edge. prgtoken Like many Senators, I am disappointed that a simple amendment I have authored to provide resources through the Department of Defense to communities who are the home to significant military missions through our National Guard did not receive consideration. The men and women of our National Guard are members of our communities. They are our mothers and fathers, our husbands and wives, our coworkers and neighbors. The important missions they serve help not only our prgtoken communities, but our national defense. The Department of Defense should not only support the men and women who serve in uniform, but also the communities in which they partner. This simple, straightforward amendment would have provided $20 million for the Department of Defense to support multiple communities where certain military missions that serve the national defense are based. As communities across the country support our military's missions, so, too, should our Department of Defense serve their needs. prgtoken I am also disappointed that the Senate has rejected an amendment to rei
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7608, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021
Bennie G. Thompson (Democrat, MS) \u2014 2020-7-23

. Madam , I would like to enter into a colloquy with the agriculture chair, Mr. Bishop of Georgia. prgtoken Mr. Bishop, I have a concern about the eligibility of Piney Woods School and Farm in Piney Woods, Mississippi, which is the only African- American boarding school left in America to receive Community Facilities Grant funding. prgtoken Currently, Piney Woods is ineligible to receive Community Facilities Grant funding because its geographic location is considered to be in a suburban area in Mississippi, when, in fact, the school's location should be designated as rural. The current designation is limiting Piney Woods from receiving much-needed funding. prgtoken Can we work together to try and find a solution? prgtoken from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), the subcommittee chair, for an answer.
QUESTION OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE
Steny H. Hoyer (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2020-7-23

. Madam , this is an issue of who we are as a people. Many women have spoken on this floor, but this is an issue for fathers. This is an issue for sons. This is an issue for brothers. prgtoken I have three daughters, two granddaughters, and three great granddaughters. They must not be confronted with this kind of attack, and that is what it was. prgtoken Some have tried to demonize the gentlewoman from New York who does, in fact, bring the intellect, the passion, and the focus on issues surprisingly that the gentleman mentioned yesterday in his non-apology. All the men on this side of the aisle are supportive of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and all of her sisters and all of her mothers as well.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021
Sean Patrick Maloney (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-7-23

I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 7608, Division B--Agriculture, Rural Development Appropriations Act of 2021. My amendment, included in the bipartisan en bloc, will increase funding for the Crop Protection and Pest Management program by $1 million. In 2017, the Allium leafminer-- an invasive pest that threatens onion crops--was discovered in Orange County's black dirt region. Orange County produces half of New York State's onion crop, generates $25 million in annual sales, and employs hundreds of residents. So, my office got to work with Dr. Brian Nault of Cornell. By leveraging a grant from the Crop Protection and Pest Management program, Dr. Nault has been working to find effective and sustainable solutions for managing the Allium leafminer. But he needs more help. My amendment will add $1 million into the program helping to save Orange County's onion crop. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021
Lucille Roybal-Allard (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-7-23

I rise in support of H.R. 7608, and I commend and thank the chairman and chairwomen who worked very hard to produce funding bills that reflect our ``For the People'' vision for America. prgtoken This mini-bus composed of the State and Foreign Operations, the Agriculture, Interior and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bills provides critical resources for a wide range of our important domestic and international priorities. prgtoken While there is much to be thankful for in this mini-bus, I would like to highlight a few of the many critical protections I requested for vulnerable animals which these subcommittee chairs graciously included in their bills. prgtoken This bill defunds dog testing at the Veterans Administration and prohibits notorious Class B dealers from selling illegally acquired pets into research. It also provides emergency shelter options for domestic violence survivors with companion animals. prgtoken It prevents horses from being slaughtered in America for human consumption and cracks down on the painful practice of horse soring. prgtoken It pushes FDA to reduce primate testing and to retiree these animals to sanctuary. prgtoken Finally, the mini-bus combats wildlife poaching and trafficking around the world and provides recovery funding for endangered species like the California Condor. prgtoken Madam , Mahatma Gandhi once said the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. I thank Chairman Bishop and Chairwomen Lowey, McCollum and Wasserman Schultz for demonstrating what that greatness looks like. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to support animal welfare and our many ``For the People'' priorities and vote YES on H.R. 7608.
REMEMBERING CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS
Rashida Tlaib (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2020-7-23

. Madam , we learned from civil rights giant Congressman John Lewis that we have a moral obligation, a mission, and a mandate to speak up, to speak out, and do it in good trouble. prgtoken In honor of your legacy, Congressman Lewis, I will continue the path of good trouble by demanding that water is a human right, by banning racist facial recognition technology, repealing the opportunity zones and spend that money on helping end poverty in Black communities. I will continue to fight to pass your Voting Rights Act. prgtoken You reminded us every single day in this Chamber that waiting isn't always the right option. Too many of our residents don't have time to wait any longer. The oppression is killing them. prgtoken It is an honor to have served with you, Congressman. I will never forget walking across the Pettus Bridge with you and my young son. prgtoken Peace and love.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2020-7-23

I would say to the Senator from Oregon that the Department of Justice made an announcement yesterday that they were, in fact, sending, I assume, a number of Federal agents--150--into Chicago in pursuit of an operation known as Operation Legend. This is an operation which began July 8, 2020, by the Federal Government starting in Kansas City because of the death of a 4-year-old young man, Legend Taliferro, shot and killed in the early morning hours in Kansas City on June 29. prgtoken I received a phone call this morning from John Lausch, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, a man whom I was instrumental in selecting and supporting and still do support to this day--his professional activities--who gave me his personal assurance that what happened in Oregon was not going to happen in Chicago; that this Operation Legend, as he described it to me, was in coordination with State and local law enforcement in the city of Chicago, the State of Illinois, to make certain that their activities were coordinated and known in advance and that they were focusing on gun violence and drug trafficking in the city of Chicago. prgtoken I have also been alerted by Mayor Lori Lightfoot that she has received the same assurances and briefing, as well as Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois. prgtoken So our circumstances are different from the ones that Portland faced. I will tell you that we are going to hold Mr. Lausch and the Department of Justice and all others to their word that we will not see in Chicago anything like we witnessed in the streets of Portland, OR. prgtoken I just want to say in closing to the Senator from Oregon: Thank you for bringing this to our attention because when we were alerted--the Governor, the mayor of Chicago--Senator Duckworth and I both jumped on this immediately and contacted the administration for clarity about what was going to happen in Chicago. We have been given these assurances. prgtoken I ask unanimous consent that the lengthy press release, which describes the activities that are going to take place, again, with the knowledge and coordination of local law enforcement, be printed in the Record at this point
QUESTION OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE
Mikie Sherrill (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2020-7-23

. Madam , I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding. prgtoken Madam , the 116th Congress has the largest number of women serving in this body's history: 101 women serving in the House and 26 women in the Senate. This historic class of women represents the broad and diverse America that we live in. prgtoken We are all public servants. We all came here to serve our country and our communities. I frequently disagree with colleagues, but policy differences are no excuse for personal attacks, and we know that some of the harshest personal attacks are often reserved for women of color. Furthermore, telling a woman, ``I am sorry you heard it that way,'' is a cliche as old as time to belittle and dismiss women after attacking them. prgtoken We have got to do better. We are role models for our children. I am standing here not just for my two daughters but for my two sons. We have got to do better.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2020-7-23

from Oregon for his eloquence and for the power of his remarks. He speaks not only for Oregon but for America. He speaks for every one of our communities and States that ought to fear this overreach. It was, indeed, one of the main fears of our Founding Fathers that the misuse and abuse of our military and policing power--of violating fundamental rights--would encroach on our basic liberties. prgtoken Now, let's be very real. Federal forces were used before to restore order in the face of violence after the Rodney King incident, after the killing of Martin Luther King in 1968, in Little Rock in 1957, in Oxford, MS, in 1962, and in going further back in our history, after the Pullman Strike and after the Detroit race riots in 1943, but this time is different. This time is fundamentally different. prgtoken As my colleague has so powerfully described from the descriptions and the photographs that he has brought to the Senate floor, what we have here is not some violent encroachment by one group against another and not just some use of violence. We have peaceful protests. In fact, the purpose and effect of the use of Federal forces here has been to incite and fuel violence. It was the same purpose that Richard Nixon sought to use Federal force when protesters against the Vietnam war came to Washington. It was Richard Nixon who said that law and order was the political issue of his day, but the use of Federal forces here is not to restore order or to enforce the law. It is, instead, to incite lawbreaking and violence. prgtoken What is different also is the use of unidentified, military-like forces. We have seen a growth over the past years in the form of such forces that are available to the President to use. The Customs and Border Patrol, the Department of Transportation, and other agencies have militarized Federal law enforcement agents. They have put them in camouflage, and they have given them armaments. They have taught them tactics that, in effect, turn them into military-style forces. They have become secret police when they are unidentified. They are like the little, green men in Russia who show up at demonstrations and throw people into vans to disappear them. That is what they have been doing in Oregon. So whereas before the National Guard might have been called out as a show of force to restore order, now we have a perniciously different use of military force in the name of law enforcement. prgtoken I will say, as someone whose career as a U.S. attorney and then as an attorney general for 20 years was involved in law enforcement, I am ashamed and embarrassed to use, in effect, secret police in this way, supposedly in the name of law enforcement but, in reality, as a political tool. If you have any doubt about the political purposes here, just watch the latest ads, which are the other side of this coin--raising fear, exhorting people to panic, and then respon
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR (Executive Session)
Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2020-7-23

I thank Senator Brown for the leadership on this. prgtoken I am very sorry that the s will not agree to moving forward on this bill today. The urgency of the moment cannot be overstated. prgtoken President 's utterly failed response to the coronavirus pandemic has allowed a dangerous virus to spread, uncontrolled, throughout our Nation. More than 4 million Americans have contracted coronavirus, and more than 140,000 people are dead. prgtoken While the death toll mounts, the President's failure to control the spread of COVID-19 has caused a second crisis, following closely on the heels of the virus. Our economy is in shambles, and now we are forced to fight on two fronts: to keep families safe from the coronavirus and safe from the economic fallout. prgtoken So I am here on the Senate floor today to talk about one piece of the economic emergency unfolding in our country. Right now, we are just days away from a completely preventable housing crisis. The CARES Act eviction moratorium is currently protecting more than 12 million renters from losing their homes while the virus rages across our country. On Friday at midnight, those protections will disappear, allowing a tsunami of evictions that will hit communities of color and low-income families the hardest unless we act now. prgtoken Let us be clear. Eviction is not a new problem in this country. Too many families were already on the financial brink before the virus crashed our economy. Close to 40 percent of adults don't have enough cash to cover an unexpected $400 expense. More than half of households didn't have enough savings to cover 3 months without income. More than one in four renters were paying more than half of their income to housing. prgtoken Now families are facing the worst economic crisis of their lifetime. About 30 million Americans are officially unemployed or out of work. One-half of all Americans have lost employment income since the start of this pandemic, and communities of color have been hit the hardest. It is not possible to fix this economy without containing the virus, but we can make sure that millions of Americans don't lose their homes because President closed his eyes and hoped that the pandemic would just go away. prgtoken This is really a commonsense solution. My bill, the Protecting Renters from Evictions and Fees Act, would extend the Federal eviction moratorium through March of 2021, and it would expand the moratorium to protect every single renter. prgtoken Congress should pass this bill immediately, and we should pair it with Senator Brown's bill to create a $100 billion emergency rental assistance fund to help struggling renters make their payments. Families would get the help they need to stay in their homes and stay current on their rent, and landlords would get their payments. This would help families. It would cover landlords, and it would help protect renters and communities from the s
TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT GENERAL STEPHEN M. ``STEPH'' TWITTY
James E. Clyburn (Democrat, SC) \u2014 2020-7-23

. Madam , I rise today to pay tribute to a great leader, an exceptional officer, and a dear friend. Lieutenant General Stephen M. ``Steph'' Twitty, my fellow South Carolina State University (SCSU) alumnus and Omega Psi Phi fraternity brother, will soon retire after more than 36 years in the U.S. Army, and I commend him for his extraordinary service to our country. prgtoken Lt. Gen. Twitty is a native of Chesnee, South Carolina and his hometown has honored him by naming State Highway 11 in his honor. The local American Legion Post 48 proudly displays signage proclaiming him as a native son. prgtoken While growing up as a self-proclaimed ``country boy,'' Steph fell in love with the military. His grandfather, Spc. Carson Mackerson, served 11 years in the segregated U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. As a child, his grandfather ran him through infantry maneuvers in the yard and inspired him to join the National Guard as a junior in high school. prgtoken He matriculated at SCSU and joined the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program, which had about 600 cadets at that time. Lt. Gen. Twitty graduated among the top of his ROTC class in 1985, and having a choice of any assignment, he chose to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and become an Army infantryman. prgtoken He is part of a proud tradition at SCSU which boasts of 22 ROTC graduates who have attained the rank of general officer. Lt. Gen. Twitty is a shining example of a dedication to excellence and leadership that SCSU's ROTC program instills in its cadets. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2004 and inducted into the SCSU ROTC Hall of Fame in 2009. He has given back by establishing a program in which senior Army officers provide mentorships and leadership development to ROTC cadets at SCSU. prgtoken Lt. Gen. Twitty has earned a master's degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University and a master's in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University. He has served five combat tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. His service has taken him to 174 countries and every continent except Antarctica, and he has held some of the most critical positions in defense of our nation. prgtoken After his first assignment with the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, he deployed with the 24 Infantry Division during Operation Desert Storm. He has commanded infantry units at the company, battalion, and brigade levels. Lt. Gen. Twitty's assignments as a general officer include deputy commander and commander of the 1st Armored Division, Deputy Chief of Staff of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and commander of the First United States Army. prgtoken For the past two years, Lt. Gen. Twitty has been the deputy commander of United States European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. During this period of extraordinary change and challenge in Europe's security environment. He improved relationships with NATO
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7608, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021
Michael C. Burgess (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-7-23

the balance of my time. prgtoken , we really do not have time to waste. Not only must we provide for the American people, but we have the added responsibility of continuing to fight and recover from the coronavirus pandemic. prgtoken I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will see the futility of passing purely partisan appropriations bills. That being said, there are provisions included in this bill where we can all agree, and I hope we can sit down and negotiate with the other side so we can prevent a disruption at the end of the fiscal year for the American people. prgtoken , I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question, ``no'' on the rule, ``no'' on the underlying measure, and .
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021
Jack Bergman (Republican, MI) \u2014 2020-7-23

on behalf of all veterans living rurally and remotely, I rise in support of my amendment included in this en bloc package. prgtoken The amendment focuses additional efforts within the Veterans Health Administration Office of Rural Health on solutions that will bring more connectivity to veterans living in rural and remote areas. prgtoken My district features not just rural but remote communities where many veterans are unable to access high-speed broadband. The coronavirus has only further highlighted this digital divide. prgtoken The VA and Congress proactively responded to the pandemic with increased telehealth resources for veterans. This is a crucial and critical step, but what good is it for the veterans who don't have access to broadband in the first place? prgtoken We need to keep our Nation's promises to all veterans, including those living in rural and remote communities. prgtoken , I strongly urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
BRINGING JOBS TO SOUTH CAROLINA
Joe Wilson (Republican, SC) \u2014 2020-7-23

. Madam , this month, the Midlands of South Carolina has been chosen as the location for major job creators. prgtoken The University of South Carolina and Navatek, LLC have been awarded a $9.2 million contract by the U.S. Office of Naval Research for the research of power and energy systems and the development of digital twin prototypes. This is a win-win for all parties, especially the people of South Carolina. I am grateful that projects like these will grow our STEM-focused workforce, resulting in more career opportunities and good-paying jobs. prgtoken I am grateful that Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation plans a new $215 million investment in Lexington County, bringing 380 new full-time jobs to the area by 2024. CEO Lou Kennedy has been a superstar for creating jobs and supporting the community. This is great news for Lexington County, and I commend Nephron for creating important job opportunities in Lexington. prgtoken In conclusion, God Bless our Troops, and we will never forget September 11th in the Global War on Terrorism.