mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
EXTENDING BEST WISHES TO CONGRESSMAN STEVE SCALISE WHO WAS WOUNDED IN THE MASS SHOOTING AT SIMPSON PARK IN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-6-16

I rise to wish our colleague Congressman Steve Scalise a full and speedy recovery in the wake of this most recent act of senseless violence. prgtoken Wednesday morning, June 14, 2017, a deranged assailant launched an unprovoked attack against several Members of Congress, who along with some staff members, were practicing at Simpson Park in Alexandria, Virginia for the 56th Annual Congressional Baseball Game, an event designed to build amity across the aisle and raise funds for charity. prgtoken Among the five persons wounded was Congressman Steve Scalise, the Majority Whip, who sustained serious injuries and remains in critical condition. prgtoken Our hearts and prayers are with Congressman Scalise and his family. Our thanks and appreciation go to the first responders who rescued and treated the wounded, and the U.S. Capitol Police officers who subdued the shooter and neutralized the threat of this vicious attack. prgtoken , the damage from this mass shooting would have been much greater if not for the heroism, courage, professionalism, and skill of the U.S. Capitol Police Special Agents David Bailey and Crystal Griner, who swiftly responded to sound of gunshots and both of whom were struck and injured in the line of duty. prgtoken , it is no exaggeration to say that political discourse is too charged, too inflammatory, too uncivil these days, and I urge all of us in positions of leadership and influence to exercise calm and restraint and to be mindful of the impact of our words and rhetoric on others. prgtoken But we also cannot ignore that Wednesday's attack constitutes the 154th mass shooting in our country since the beginning of the year, or that the too easy access to guns helps to make these terrible attacks possible. prgtoken Today, however, is not the day to debate gun violence prevention policy, but the occasion to wish Congressman Scalise a speedy recovery and a Happy Father's Day: and to hope he will soon be reunited with his wonderful wife Jennifer and their two children, Madison and on.
HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS AMERICAS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Jody B. Hice (Republican, GA) \u2014 2017-6-16

I rise to pay tribute to Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc.'s Monroe-based manufacturing facility on its 20th Anniversary. It is with a great sense of pride that I rise to celebrate its achievements and the positive contributions it has made to Georgia's 10th Congressional District. prgtoken Built in 1996, the plant has undergone three expansions over the years and employs a myriad of Georgia workers in the manufacturing industry. In 2014, Hitachi continued its commitment to the citizens of Georgia by approving the latest expansion, which increased its size to include 520,000 square feet of manufacturing space and doubled its workforce to provide more than 600 jobs in the 10th District. prgtoken Monroe's Hitachi facility remains extremely competitive and was named the 2014 Manufacturer of the Year for the State of Georgia for its commitment to manufacturing in education, community service, and economic growth. These achievements are a result of the partnership of several organizations working together to improve Georgia's economy and workforce potential. I would further like to recognize Athens Technical College, which has joined with Hitachi Automotive Systems to create an internship program as part of Georgia's Quick Start program, providing customized training programs to fill vital skilled-labor positions necessary to employers like Hitachi. prgtoken For these reasons, it is my honor to recognize Hitachi's Monroe facility on the occasion of its 20th Anniversary as well as the partners that contribute to its continued success. Furthermore, I extend my personal appreciation to those who have joined in improving Georgia's workforce to ensure that we succeed today and in the future.
TRIBUTE TO CLARENCE J. ``BUD'' BROWN, JR.
Jim Jordan (Republican, OH) \u2014 2017-6-16

I am honored to commend to the House the admirable service of former Congressman Clarence J. ``Bud'' Brown, Jr on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday on June 18. prgtoken Born in Columbus in 1927, Bud spent much of his youth in the Washington area, as his father, the late former Congressman Clarence J. Brown, Sr represented Ohio's Seventh Congressional District in the House from 1939 to 1965. A Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Bud was a 1947 graduate of Duke University and a 1949 graduate of Harvard Business School. prgtoken Bud succeeded his father in Congress in 1965, representing the people of the Seventh District with distinction until 1983. Following his House service, he was tapped by President Reagan to serve as the nation's fifth Deputy Secretary of Commerce. He ably filled the role of Acting Secretary for several months following the 1987 death of Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldridge. prgtoken From 1992 to 1999, Bud served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Capitol Historical Society, a congressionally chartered non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the heritage and history of the Capitol. The Society honored him with its Freedom Award in 2000, created to recognize those who advance the understanding and appreciation of representative government. prgtoken Throughout his life, Bud worked in various roles at the family-owned Brown Publishing Company, a vast nationwide network of local newspapers that was in business through 2010. Bud oversaw company operations from its headquarters in Urbana, Ohio, as President and later as Chairman of the Board for many years. prgtoken Bud and his wife, Joyce, are the proud parents of four children: Cate, Clancy, Roy, and Beth. Beth died in 1964 at age seven after a three-year battle with leukemia; Bud and Joyce established the Beth Brown Memorial Foundation in her name later that year. Foundation scholarships have helped hundreds of high school graduates from Champaign County study medical and related careers in college. prgtoken Bud and Joyce have both been active in promoting the Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, a 450-acre site south of Urbana that is considered a crown jewel of Ohio's natural areas. They were instrumental in building the Preserve's endowment fund and in making its new education center a reality. prgtoken This Sunday in Urbana, Bud's family and friends will gather at an open house in his honor. I look forward to joining so many other well- wishers on this occasion to thank Bud and Joyce for their years of selfless sacrifices. prgtoken , Bud Brown has been a personal friend and mentor for many years who has made service to others the foundation of his life. We are grateful that good men like Bud commit their lives to public service and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-6-19

I am very worried about people who have preexisting conditions. I have watched two of my best friends survive cancer this year. They have both had intensive treatments, surgeries, and chemotherapy. They both have young daughters. I cannot imagine how worried they are right now because they do not know what is in this healthcare bill, and they do not know whether or not they will actually be able to afford any insurance coverage. I am worried about millions of Americans who may not have access to affordable insurance under this bill because we have not read it. prgtoken , I ask unanimous consent that it not be in order to proceed to Calendar No. 120, otherwise known as the American Health Care Act, until the full text of the bill is available to the public for review and comment for a minimum of 30 days--that is the same amount of time we give everyday regulations that come out of our agencies--because this bill could have such a negative effect on millions of Americans.
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2017-6-19

I am proud to join my colleagues tonight because this Nation stands at a precipice--on the verge of a tragic mistake, about to embark on a travesty that mocks the democratic process. Truly, the combination of secrecy and speed are a toxic recipe in our democracy. Secrecy and speed will bring us recklessly over the edge of that precipice to tragic mistakes that belie and betray the people of America and the values that we all share in this Chamber, because they are basic to the American way of life. prgtoken Healthcare is a right, and it should be recognized as a right. The goal of extensive and comprehensive insurance coverage has to be, ultimately, a goal that we share in common, but, right now, we are speeding secretly toward a betrayal of American values and even of our constitutional duties. I am deeply disappointed that the secrecy employed by my colleagues has brought us, recklessly and reprehensibly, to the verge of gutting the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken The absence of hearings before the committee, the absence of public debate, the absence of any text of a bill that can be debated and offered for public comment leaves us without the democratic bedrock principle of listening to the people of America and listening to the people who are most affected, who know the most--the experts and the patients. In fact, it is the patients who deserve to be heard here perhaps most of all. Yet my colleagues on the other side of the aisle seemingly will go to any length to suppress the cruelty that lies in their alleged healthcare bill. President has called it mean, and that is an understatement. It is cruel beyond words and costly in lives and in dollars and cents because it will deepen and worsen healthcare issues that can be prevented and made curable or more palatable. prgtoken Let's be clear. This secrecy--a small group of men making decisions about our entire healthcare system, with no input from women, from Medicaid beneficiaries, from people with substance use disorders, from patients struggling with mental health illness, or struggling with any disease at all--is irresponsible and deadly and truly cruel and costly to our democracy. prgtoken The way these discussions have been done are a stain on this body and a slap in the face to every American who relies on us to make decisions that are in the best interests of their family as well as themselves. My colleagues seemingly would prefer to ram and rush a deeply flawed and unpopular bill through this body, ignoring the needs and will of the people they represent. That is a sad day in this Chamber. prgtoken We need public hearings, not for their own sake, not for our sake but for the individual recovering from substance use disorder thanks to Medicaid; for the mother of a little girl with a preexisting condition, terrified of how she will pay for her care and able to do so now because of the Affordable Care Act; for the woman who is at a P
HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION
Tammy Baldwin (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2017-6-19

I rise tonight to join my colleagues in our fight to protect the health and economic security of the American people. prgtoken I am here to express my deep concern, anguish, and disgust with the fact that instead of working across party lines, working together to protect healthcare, instead, the majority is writing secret legislation behind closed doors--legislation that is going to make the American people pay more for less care and take healthcare coverage away from millions of American families. prgtoken I am disgusted because this issue is very personal to me. When I was 9 years old, I got sick. I got very sick. I was hospitalized for 3 months. I eventually recovered, but when it came to health insurance, it was as if I had a scarlet letter. My grandparents who raised me couldn't find a policy that would cover me, not from any insurer and not at any price. They had to pay for my healthcare out of their pockets, and they made incredible sacrifices to do so--all because I was a child who had been branded with those words ``preexisting condition.'' prgtoken No parents or grandparents should have to lie awake at night worried that if their child has an illness or an injury, they will have no way to pay to cover their care. No child should have to lie awake at night hearing the whispered tones of their parents wondering how they might pay the bills to care for an ill child. It is not right, it is not fair, and it is not fundamentally who we are, but that is exactly what people were wondering last night in America, and they will do so again tonight. Families across this country will go to bed anxious and scared because of the partisan politics happening right here in Washington-- the politics that is moving forward with a plan that will make things worse and not better for the American people. prgtoken This isn't just personal for me, it is personal for the Wisconsin families I work for. I have listened to them, and I am here to give them a voice. prgtoken This is personal for Jim from Appleton, WI, and for Jim's daughter who has multiple sclerosis. Jim told me that his family needs strong protections for people with preexisting conditions so that his daughter can continue to receive treatment that her family can afford. prgtoken This is personal for Greg from Stoddard, WI, who has no idea how he and other older Wisconsinites will be able to afford higher costs for their healthcare and for Greg's two sons, both of whom have diabetes and are already struggling with skyrocketing prices for insulin. prgtoken This is personal for Barbara from Madison, who is deeply concerned about cuts to Medicaid because her son has a disability and he relies on Medicaid to work and to live independently. prgtoken This is personal for Chelsey from Shelby, WI, whose daughter Zoe was born with a congenital heart defect. Right now, Zoe is guaranteed access to coverage without being denied or charged more because of her pre
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Tim Kaine (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2017-6-19

I also rise to talk about the healthcare of every American. This is critically important to every person and every family in this country. It is critically important to every local, State, and Federal budget in this country. It is also critical to the economic productivity of our Nation. prgtoken In a purely partisan move, the House barely passed a bill that would take health insurance away from 23 million American people over the next 10 years, dramatically increase premiums to seniors, jeopardize coverage of people with preexisting conditions, and impose huge burdens on States. prgtoken One of the reasons the House bill was so bad--condemned even by President , who labeled it ``mean''--was because it flowed from a bad process. The House held no hearings on the final bill. There was no meaningful testimony from patients or healthcare providers. They did not accept any amendments from . They rushed the bill through to vote before the Congressional Budget Office could score the bill. So no wonder. No wonder the House bill is opposed by the American Medical Association, the AARP, nurses, hospitals, patient organizations, ic and Governors. Yet the Senate is poised to make exactly the same mistake--preparing a secret bill, with no testimony, no public scrutiny, no opportunity for meaningful amendments, no opportunity for to participate. prgtoken We have the opportunity to get this right, and we have the responsibility to get this right. prgtoken There are so many problems with the House bill. As a member of the HELP Committee, I went on Friday to the Culpeper Free Clinic about 75 miles from here to talk about the need for real improvement in our healthcare system, not a repeal that would hurt vulnerable people. At this clinic, which is celebrating its 25th year, I saw dedicated staffers and volunteers, and I talked to patients. I talked to them about how this organization has provided compassionate care to working people in this region of Northern Virginia who don't have health insurance. prgtoken The fact that Virginia has refused to expand Medicaid is one of the reasons the need for their care is so significant. Fully 70 percent of the free clinic patients in Virginia would be eligible for Medicaid if the State would just join the 35 other States that have expanded Medicaid. prgtoken What I heard at the Culpeper Free Clinic is that they are already bursting at the seams because we haven't expanded Medicaid. prgtoken If there are additional cuts to Medicaid, it would overwhelm the ability of the 60 free clinics in Virginia to provide compassionate care. prgtoken Just a few hours ago, earlier today, I went to Albemarle County near Charlottesville and had a roundtable session with educators, families, and children's advocates to highlight another key problem with the approach. By dramatically cutting Medicaid, who is the most likely victim? Childre
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-6-19

I am pleased to follow the Senator from Minnesota, as because of him I had the chance to be on the HELP Committee during all of those hearings--all of those dozens and dozens of amendments that took place during the vibrant, robust, bipartisan process in the HELP Committee. Senator Franken was still in litigation over his election so his seat on the HELP Committee was vacant, and Harry Reid asked if I would take that seat. My senior Senator Jack Reed and I, both of Rhode Island, were there in the room day after day, week after week, while this exhaustive, public, bipartisan process went forward. prgtoken I can even remember working with Senator Isakson, of Georgia, and supporting his amendment that would allow a doctor to be paid for having a conversation with a very ill patient about what his desires were if his condition did not get better. What type of end-of-life care did he want? Did he want every possible intervention or did he want dignified time at home with his family? What were his desires? That is a conversation that is important for doctors to have with those patients. prgtoken In the environment of the time, that became the death panel phony story. So I was there. I saw it happen. Thanks to Senator Franken's delay in getting here, Jack Reed and I were in the room. prgtoken Why does this matter? This matters because, like the story of Leanna and Henry, there are people on the other side of what is--apparently, for our colleagues--a purely political piece of parliamentary chicanery. prgtoken I have a constituent, a woman named Pamela, who lives in Jamestown, RI. She works with people and nonprofit organizations that advocate for people who have very rare diseases so, in her work, she has seen the before and after of the Affordable Care Act. ``Before the Affordable Care Act,'' she wrote to me, ``I saw many patients and families distraught by medical bankruptcy.'' prgtoken Then it came even closer to home for Pamela when she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. If there were an annual or a lifetime limit on health benefits, she would be in deep trouble. If the protection for people with preexisting conditions were undone, that would imperil her ability to get insurance in the future. prgtoken She wrote to me: As a patient myself, with a chronic, costly medical condition, I am very worried that [these] protections will be taken away, making my life-sustaining care unaffordable. prgtoken Pamela deserves to be heard, but nobody can speak up for her with a bill that nobody can see. prgtoken From Cumberland, Marilyn wrote to me. Marilyn is a family physician. She knows the healthcare system. She also has severe asthma. She has had asthma since she was a little child, and she manages her severe asthma with very expensive medication. Her husband is retired, and Marilyn purchased her health insurance through HealthSource RI--our Care health ins
HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION
Joe Donnelly (Democrat, IN) \u2014 2017-6-19

over the last several months, there has been an important debate about healthcare--a debate between those who believe we can strengthen the American healthcare system by improving the Affordable Care Act and those who believe the law must be repealed and replaced. If you listen closely, however, the question at the heart of both sides of this debate sound oddly the same--how do we make sure Americans have access to quality healthcare they can afford? It is this shared concern about the affordability of quality healthcare and the recent actions of the administration that I would like to discuss today. prgtoken For a moment, let's set aside the healthcare reform debate because whether we agree to work together in a bipartisan way to improve our healthcare system, as I strongly believe we should, or whether s push through a partisan proposal to significantly change the way in which Americans receive healthcare, we should all be able to agree that we want to protect the stability of the insurance markets and access to quality, affordable healthcare. Yet, despite this shared objective, protecting the stability of our healthcare system has not been the approach of this administration. Instead, it has done the opposite. It has tried to drive change by creating instability and chaos. prgtoken On his first day in office, the President did not ask how he could fix the Affordable Care Act or improve the healthcare system. Instead, he began a deliberate, strategic effort to undermine the healthcare system, to drive up costs, and to create a scenario so painful for regular folks that we would have no choice but to rebuild the healthcare system from scratch. prgtoken On the day he was sworn in, President signed an Executive order to exempt, to delay, and to defer the implementation and enforcement of the law, creating instability in the marketplaces where millions of Americans obtained the coverage they needed. The administration canceled enrollment efforts to attract younger and healthier Americans into the insurance markets. This resulted in an estimated 500,000 fewer Americans purchasing coverage. Most notably, the administration has refused to commit to continuing critical payments that lower deductibles and copays for our families. This drives up the costs for our friends and neighbors, and in some States, it drives insurance companies out of the market completely. prgtoken To be fair, though, the President has been straightforward about his strategy to undermine the Affordable Care Act, noting that the best thing we can do ``is to let Care explode. Let it be a disaster because we can blame that on the .'' prgtoken For the President and many in Washington, healthcare seems to be a political exercise. I can assure you that for the citizens of my State back home in Terre Haute, in Richmond, in Fort Wayne, in Indianapolis, in Lawrenceburg, and in Evansville--particul