mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-3-6

I am stunned by President 's willful paralysis when it comes to holding Russia accountable on threats made crystal clear by our intelligence community. prgtoken Indeed, it has been more than a year since 17 U.S. intelligence agencies issued their report on how the Kremlin sought to ``blend covert intelligence operations--such as cyber activity--with overt efforts by Russian Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users, or `trolls' '' in order to undermine our 2016 elections. prgtoken Today, even the administration's own national security strategy warns that Russia will continue to challenge American power, influence, and security interests, at home and abroad. These threats are precisely why Congress imposed a mandate on President to act. Yet, time and again, this President has refused to hold Russia accountable and refuses to take steps to defend our democracy and our national security. It is alarming, it is reckless, and it is absolutely unacceptable, and, to be honest, I also find it baffling. Here is why. prgtoken Pick any policy issue. Chances are, since taking office, President has changed his mind about it at least once. Last week he changed his positions on gun safety so many times in 24 hours, it could make your head spin. A few weeks before that, he rejected a bipartisan deal to protect Dreamers that met the very specifications he outlined to my colleagues and me just days before. Throughout the past year, the President's remarks with respect to NATO's Article 5, the alliance's bedrock principle that guarantees mutual defense, have been wholly inconsistent. prgtoken But there is one thing that President has shown rock-solid consistency on since taking office, and that is his shameful embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his refusal to protect American democratic institutions. prgtoken President 's embrace of Putin has put a straitjacket on U.S. policy toward Russia. In many ways, we are more vulnerable today than we were in 2016. Think about it. Mr. Putin made a serious gamble when he decided to interfere in our election--a gamble that would normally draw the ire of any American President, regardless of their political party. But, as we know, nothing about this administration is normal, and the truth is that we are in far greater peril today because Mr. Putin knows that he has a friend in the White House--a friend who won't do anything to stop him from interfering in our democracy, nor those of our allies; a friend who won't even issue a statement condemning Putin's nuclear sabre rattling last week when he proudly showed a video simulating a nuclear attack on Florida. prgtoken It is time for the President to recognize that Mr. Putin's intentions are not up for debate. From the spread of extremist propaganda across Europe, to Russia's continued attack on Ukrainian sovereignty, to the latest revel
COMPREHENSIVE REGULATORY REVIEW ACT
Maxine Waters (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-3-6

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise in opposition to H.R. 4607, the so-called Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act. So instead of advancing legislation that improves our financial regulatory framework, the majority is pushing yet another bill that is a giveaway to Wall Street and predatory lenders. prgtoken Let's be clear. This bill is intended to dismantle rules considered inconvenient by the financial services industry. If this bill were enacted, financial services regulators would be forced to spend more time and resources on backward-looking reviews and deregulating the financial services industry rather than strengthening protections for consumers and the economy. prgtoken Allow me to explain. The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act, or EGRPRA, currently requires the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the OCC to conduct a review of the regulations that they have issued in order to identify outdated or otherwise unnecessary regulatory requirements imposed on insured depository institutions. prgtoken The banking regulators conduct this review every 10 years, but until now, this review has been a relatively balanced, careful assessment that the banking regulators have done twice in the last two decades, and the regulators have taken this process seriously. prgtoken The last review took about 3 years to complete. It involved field hearings and public engagement. The final review included many balanced and thoughtful recommendations to improve rules. Many of these would provide relief for community banks and credit unions but in a way that also maintains safeguards for consumers and protects the interests of the public and the broader economy. prgtoken Unfortunately, H.R. 4607, this bill, would make three major mistakes in changing the current review process. First, this bill actually requires regulators to change regulations so that they are less costly and burdensome for ``covered persons.'' prgtoken Well, who are these covered persons? Are they the millions of consumers who were harmed by Wells Fargo's scheme to open fraudulent accounts without their knowledge? Were they? No. prgtoken Are they the many consumers who learned just a few days ago that Citigroup violated the law by charging them too much interest on their credit cards? No, no. prgtoken Are these covered persons in this bill the Latino or African-American families who were discriminated against by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and so many other banks steering them into more costly mortgages when they qualified for more affordable loans? No, not at all. prgtoken Are they--the ones who are being protected--are they seniors or servicemembers who fall prey to payday lenders that trap them in a cycle of debt? No. prgtoken Are they college graduates who are harassed by debt collectors for their student loan debt? No. prgtoken Under this bill, , covered persons are defined as ``any person that engages
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2018-3-6

this week we are considering a bill to roll back the rules on some of the biggest banks in the country. Over the course of this week, I am going to be spending a lot of time on the Senate floor talking about the problems with this bill and how it threatens working families and American taxpayers, but I want to start by looking back to 2008 and the reason we have these rules in the first place. prgtoken Ten years ago next week, Americans started holding our breaths. For years, financial institutions had been riding high, selling dangerous products to consumers, and making risky bets. All the while, Washington looked the other way, cozying up to big banks, loosening rules left and right, and shrugging off rules they couldn't get rid of. And no wonder--the revolving door was spinning like crazy. Bank officials became regulators and then went back to the banks, getting richer and richer. Bank profits were sky high and getting higher. prgtoken But business built on scams and hype can't grow forever. Ten years ago this month, Bear Stearns, an 85-year-old institution on Wall Street, went belly up because of $46 billion in scam mortgages and other questionable investments on its books. The failure gave the rest of the world a glimpse of Wall Street's addiction to risky bets. The disease spread. It turned out that a lot of other banks had invested heavily in scam mortgages too. Investors panicked, sending the markets into a nosedive. prgtoken When the American economy fell off a cliff in 2008, American families got crushed. Almost 9 million people lost their jobs. Workers lost $2.6 trillion from their retirement accounts--about 25 percent of their savings for someone who had been working for 20 years. In 2008 alone, foreclosures spiked 81 percent, and 3.1 million notices went out to homeowners across the country telling them they would lose their homes. In a single year, 1 out of 54 homes in the United States was in foreclosure. prgtoken Behind those enormous numbers were real people and real families whose lives were shaken up and turned upside down, little kids who worried about where they were going to live, and bigger kids who worried about whether they would lose their chance to go to college. prgtoken I know that feeling. I lived in Oklahoma City, and my folks had picked out our house because it was right inside the boundary line of what my mother believed was the best school district in the county. Our lives seemed to be on track right up until the day my daddy had a heart attack, and then it all started sliding sideways. He was out of work for a very long time. prgtoken My mother usually picked me up from school in our bronze, two-toned station wagon, and one day she showed up driving the old, off-white Studebaker that daddy had been driving back and forth to work. As I climbed into the car, I asked where our station wagon was. prgtoken It is gone. prgtoken Gone where? prgtoken Gone. prgtoken I just
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-3-6

from Connecticut as well as our colleague from Rhode Island for calling us together on the Senate floor today to discuss a timely and important topic. prgtoken We know that Vladimir Putin and Russia attacked America's democracy in 2016, and it is clear Vladimir Putin will try again. CIA Director Pompeo recently said he had ``every expectation'' that Russia would try to influence our 2018 election. We have been warned. prgtoken We can expect Russia to continue to use the tactics they have used before and to come up with new ones. We can expect them to hack and leak sensitive information. We can expect these Russians to use social media and propaganda to spread false information. We see it almost every week. We can expect them to try to hack into State election systems and more. prgtoken I was home over the weekend in Springfield, IL--of course, the State capital--and ran into a fellow who works for the State Board of Elections. We talked for a few minutes about the experience we had in our State in the last election cycle when the Russians hacked into the computer network of the Illinois State Board of Elections. We were the only State, of those that were hacked, to come forward and identify the culprit. It was Russia. We also came forward and notified hundreds of thousands of our voters that their identity--at least in terms of the State election agency is concerned--had been compromised by the Russians. We were open about it. prgtoken I asked the individual what was being done for the next election cycle. He said we have patched the problem that gave the Russians entry into the system in 2016, and we spent over $100,000 as a State to put in new security, new cyber protections. We are taking it seriously in Illinois because we know what the Russians tried to do to us. We don't believe they changed a vote or changed a ballot, but we are not sure they will not try in the future. prgtoken That is the reality of what we face in Illinois, and that is the reality of what America faces. prgtoken Just last week, NSA and U.S. Cyber Command head ADM Mike Rogers bluntly acknowledged what most of us already know; that President is doing nothing--nothing--to protect Illinois or any other State against Russia's ongoing and future attacks on our election process. In fact, President reportedly refuses to even talk about the issue. prgtoken Admiral Rogers told the Armed Services Committee that Vladimir Putin has paid ``little price'' for his previous and ongoing attacks and, therefore, hasn't been stopped. Incredibly, the admiral said President has not granted him any new authorities to strike at Russian cyber operations. prgtoken Can anyone here imagine what President Ronald Reagan would have said at the stunning abdication of responsibility in addressing this Russian threat to America? prgtoken In the face of this fundamental threat of Russian attack on our democracy, we shou
TRIBUTE TO DENNIS FRYE
Joe Manchin, III (Democrat, WV) \u2014 2018-3-6

today I wish to honor a prominent Civil War historian, whose work spans the globe as a lecturer, guide, and preservationist. Dennis Frye is the chief historian at Harpers Ferry National Park in my home State of West Virginia. prgtoken Born out of the fiery turmoil of the Civil War, the Mountain State was founded by courageous patriots who were willing to risk their lives and fortunes in a united pursuit of justice and freedom for all. As West Virginians, we take great pride in our history, and it is so important to instill this commitment to our values in the next generation. That is Dennis's legacy. prgtoken As a preservationist, Dennis is a cofounder and first president of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation and is also a cofounder and former president of the Civil War Trust. His lifetime achievements in the Civil War history community have earned him numerous awards and recognitions, including the Shelby Foote Award by the Civil War Trust and the Nevins-Freeman Award by the Civil War Roundtable of Chicago-- the first and oldest Civil War roundtable. prgtoken Dennis has authored nearly 100 articles and 10 books and also helped produce the Emmy Award-winning television features about the Battle of Antietam, abolitionist John Brown, and Maryland during the Civil War. He has been published in countless prestigious Civil War magazines, including Civil War Times Illustrated, America's Civil War, Blue & Gray Magazine, North and South Magazine, and Hallowed Ground and has been featured as a guest contributor to the Washington Post. His book, ``Harpers Ferry Under Fire,'' received the national book of the year award from the Association of Partners for Public Lands. ``September Suspense: Lincoln's Union in Peril'' was awarded the 2012 Laney Book Prize for distinguished scholarship and writing on the military and political history of the Civil War. prgtoken Dennis is a highly sought after tour guide, having worked with the Smithsonian, National Geographic, and numerous colleges and universities. He has a remarkable gift for storytelling and has certainly made history a favorite subject for countless students. prgtoken West Virginia is great because our people are great--Mountaineers who will always be free. In fact, when visitors come to West Virginia, I jump at the chance to tell them about our wonderful State. We have more veterans per capita than most any State in the Nation. We have fought in more wars, shed more blood, and lost more lives for the cause of freedom than most any State. We have always done the heavy lifting and never complained. We have mined the coal and forged the steel that built the guns, ships, and factories that have protected and continue to protect our country. I am so deeply proud of what our citizens have accomplished and what they will continue to accomplish in the days and years ahead. prgtoken Dennis has been a vital part of keeping the legacy of our State alive and ins
COMPREHENSIVE REGULATORY REVIEW ACT
Katherine M. Clark (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2018-3-6

. Madam , this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. prgtoken My amendment is a commonsense measure that protects the American people from corruption and conflicts of interest. prgtoken My amendment simply states that before taking any action to eliminate or change a regulation, regulators must disclose any communications from the White House or the President's family advocating for the action and whether the President, his family, or any senior administration officials would benefit financially from such action. prgtoken The American people need to have confidence that their government is working in the best interest of the people and not to enrich a President and his family and wealthy friends. prgtoken Every day, the news is filled with stories that raise this very question. Does the family benefit when the EPA loosens environmental safeguards on construction projects? prgtoken Does Jared Kushner's deeply indebted family business receive favorable treatment when he advocates for certain policies? prgtoken Do the President's sons get special permits from foreign governments when the President changes policies towards those countries? prgtoken Who in the administration gets richer when our coasts are opened up to oil drilling, when tariffs are levied on steel, or when predatory lenders are allowed to prey on college students? prgtoken President has rejected the norm that all modern-day Presidents have followed. His refusal to release his tax returns or to remove himself from his family business necessitates codifying the norms and practices of previous Presidents into law in this disclosure. prgtoken Congress must do its job and provide a necessary check on a President who has shown contempt for his basic duty to put Americans first. All of these policies affect American families. They affect the taxes we pay, the air we breathe, and whether our kids can afford to go to college. prgtoken We deserve to know if these decisions are being made to enrich a President and if they are being made at the taxpayers' expense. This simple act of disclosure will allow the American people to judge for themselves who this administration is really looking out for. prgtoken Madam , .
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-3-6

. Thank you, . prgtoken We are here at a critical time for our democracy because our country is under attack. In fact, we are here because Russia is attacking our democracy as part of a campaign of informational warfare. That term is not mine; it is Russia's. It is quoted in an indictment that was handed down by the special counsel less than a month ago against 13 individuals and 3 entities. That document is absolutely stunning. It is chilling in its detail and breadth and in its revelations about the apparatus and personnel, the skills and expertise that Russia methodically and relentlessly brought to bear in the 2016 election, in its attack on our democracy. prgtoken That attack began in 2014. It was not a few hackers in the basement of some Moscow apartment; it was literally thousands of people, divided into different departments with different skills, pursuing disinformation, cyber attack, misinformation, and propaganda directed at undermining our democracy and, in fact, our election. prgtoken Let's remember, constitutionally, elections are foundational to our democracy, and Russia sought not just to sow discord and dissension but to affect the outcome. According to the indictment, its effort to affect the outcome was to assist then-Candidate and to disparage and damage Hillary Clinton. We will never know how much it affected the outcome, but it certainly impacted the views and the votes of some people in the United States of America. prgtoken That attack is now continuing. Our intelligence community is unanimous in the view that Russia interfered in our last election and that this effort is continuing. Indeed, all of the intelligence community that has come before the Armed Services Committee in the last 2 weeks has been unanimous that Russia is continuing its attack. prgtoken In his testimony, Admiral Rogers is very clear that they will continue that attack because they are paying no price for it. The cost to them is minimal, if any, and the benefit is highly asymmetrical. In other words, they pay very, very little to undermine our democracy, and they see a lot of return. That is because this country is doing little or nothing--or I should say more accurately that this administration is doing absolutely nothing to make Russia pay a price. In effect, that is the testimony from representatives of the intelligence community, including, most recently today, the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, and GEN Robert Ashley. prgtoken When I asked what was being done to deter, counter, or retaliate against the Russians, Director Coats said, in effect, that it is everyone's responsibility, which means, in effect, it is no one's responsibility; that it was the whole of government responding, which means no single agency, and there is no plan and no action underway. There is at most perhaps some kind of study of what should be done. prgtoken But the denial of meddling is really the reas
ELIMINATING GOVERNMENT-FUNDED OIL-PAINTING ACT
Gerald E. Connolly (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2018-3-6

such time as I may consume. prgtoken This is a sad day in the swamp, to eliminate oil paintings of men and women who consider themselves very important, to make sure that taxpayer funds are never used for such a thing; sad day for the swamp in Washington. prgtoken One can come to the Capitol and look at oil paintings that bestride every corridor and wall, in hearing rooms here in the Capitol, and not know most of these people. We haven't got a clue who most of them are. We recognize John Adams, but when we go to committee hearing rooms, one or two chairmen past, we often don't know who they are. prgtoken I guess it was an attempt to achieve immortality, but it really is an act of ego that is a little embarrassing, even for Washington, D.C. prgtoken This is an important bill, a commonsense bill, that brings us all back to Earth; that none of us is expendable and that, frankly, we make our contribution and we move on. prgtoken This bill strikes at the uncontrolled egos and, I hope, sends a message to those narcissists among us that they can stay that way if they wish, but the taxpayer is not going to pay for their oil painting. prgtoken I thank my friend from Iowa for bringing up the bill. I support the bill, and urge its passage. prgtoken , .
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2018-3-6

it is with a heavy heart that I honor the life and memory of Dana Marshall-Bernstein and express my deepest condolences to her parents, family, and friends. prgtoken Dana was diagnosed as a young child with Crohn's disease, which she succumbed to at age 28, but Dana did not allow her disease to define her and instead will be remembered for her infallible spirit, perseverance, strength, and courage. Through her large collection of hats and artistic spirit, Dana brought joy to so many. She was a light in the lives around her, as a ``spiritual warrior,'' giving hope and prgtoken support through her work with the southwest chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. prgtoken Dana lived life to the fullest--skiing, playing piano, creating art, and singing every chance she got. Dana's intelligence, brilliance, amazing sense of humor and wit, loving compassionate heart, and all- around remarkable soul will always be in the hearts and minds of her loving family and in those who had the fortune of knowing her.