mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
China and the Student Visa Program (Executive Session)
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2018-6-7

I come to the floor today to speak on the nomination of Kenneth Marcus to lead the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, a nomination we are going to vote on in just a few minutes. prgtoken First of all, I want to say that I am pleased President and Secretary DeVos have moved away from their original choice for this position. I believe the current Acting Assistant Secretary, Candice Jackson, is unfit for this role and should be removed from her current position, not just because of the callous, insensitive, and egregious comments she made regarding sexual assault on college campuses but also because of the way she has worked to narrow the role of this office and back away from enforcing transgender students' rights and take away the tools and resources it has as an office to protect our students and actually move it away from its core mission. So as I have said before, I am very glad President and Secretary DeVos decided to nominate someone else to replace Ms. Jackson. prgtoken Secondly, I want to thank this nominee, Kenneth Marcus, for his service over the years and for his commitment to the goal of halting discrimination on our college campuses, which is certainly an issue the OCR will face in light of incidents of hateful rhetoric and violence occurring on our campuses and in schools. prgtoken I respect Mr. Marcus's commitment, but right now, in this administration, it is not enough. We are now just a bit more than 500 days into President 's term, and when it comes to his record and his rhetoric on civil rights, I haven't been surprised once. prgtoken I want to start with his rhetoric. This is a President who kicked off his campaign by calling Mexicans criminals, who has called for a ban on all Muslims coming to America, who has openly ridiculed a journalist with a disability, who has openly demeaned women, who defended White supremacists rallying in Charlottesville by saying there were ``many fine people'' among them, who compared immigrants to ``animals'' and referred to entire countries with an expletive I will not repeat on the Senate floor. Sadly, I can go on. prgtoken It goes beyond his hateful rhetoric. President has tried to implement that Muslim ban. He has actually rolled back guidance on enforcing transgender students' rights. He revoked title IX guidance, which protects women and helps bring perpetrators of sexual assault to justice, halted investigations into systemic discrimination, and has pushed his administration to engage in appalling behavior on our border, dehumanizing immigrants and separating kids from their families. That list goes on. prgtoken I feel very confident in saying that when it comes to civil rights, when it comes to the rights and safety of women, of people of color, of LGBTQ people, of people with disabilities, this President has purposefully fanned the flames of racism, ableism, bigotry, and sexism in ways that we hav
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Marcy Kaptur (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2018-6-7

essentially, the LaMalfa amendment would prohibit funds from being used to enforce the criteria for abandoned prior converted cropland. Currently, if land categorized as prior converted cropland has not been used for agricultural purposes for 5 consecutive years, if the owner of that land wanted to fill or dredge it, they would need to get a section 404 permit from the Corps, and those are generally wetlands. prgtoken So this amendment would basically create a ``once exempted from having to get a Section 404 permit, always exempted'' standard, overturning 35 years of Federal policy. prgtoken The amendment makes a significant change to the Clean Water Act regulations, one that deserves thoughtful consideration. Under current law and regulation, activities that convert wetlands that occur as a part of existing ongoing farming, ranching, and silviculture activities do not require section 404 wetlands permits. prgtoken Let me repeat that for my colleagues. The Clean Water Act explicitly exempts certain activities from regulation, including normal agricultural activities like plowing fields, planting and harvesting crops, and maintaining irrigation and drainage ditches. prgtoken The gentleman from California wants to go further than the exemptions already in the law and in the underlying bill. In his view, wetlands should be able to be filled, even when prior converted farmland has had no action or indication of actual agricultural use for 5 consecutive years; that is, there has been no cropping, no management, no maintenance activities related to agricultural production. prgtoken I say to my dear colleague from California, it is hard to understand how prior cropland wouldn't be abandoned if none of the activities of farming are performed there for 5 consecutive years. prgtoken I would also like to point out that this specific regulation has been on the books for 35 years; yet this amendment would overturn at least 35 years of policy to create a ``once exempted, always exempted'' standard for any land that was ever used as farmland. prgtoken Now, let me tell you, additionally, why this concerns me. According to the Ohio--my home State--Environmental Protection Agency, since the late 18th century, 90 percent of Ohio's wetland resources have been destroyed or degraded through draining, filling, or other modification. Because of the valuable functions the remaining wetlands perform, including filtration to adjoining lakes and streams, it is imperative to ensure that all impacts to wetlands are properly mitigated. prgtoken Wetlands help filter impurities from water. Sediment settles out the runoff, and contaminants bind to plant surfaces in wetlands, resulting in improved water quality. Wetlands perform other valuable functions, including reducing flood flow and shoreline erosion control. prgtoken In Ohio, we also depend upon our wetlands as a haven for rare and endangered plants, and one-third of all the endan
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Tom O’Halleran (Democrat, AZ) \u2014 2018-6-7

. Mr. Chair, I rise to bring attention to a matter of critical importance to the health and safety of my constituents and citizens across the country. prgtoken We need to act swiftly to clean up abandoned uranium mines in the Southwestern United States. On the Navajo Nation alone, there are over 500 abandoned mine sites that remain unaddressed and pose a danger to area residents. prgtoken Many of these mines provided uranium to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for defense activities between 1947 and 1970, putting them in the purview of the Defense-Related Uranium Mines Program. While this program is working to inventory and assess sites, we must begin planning to clean these sites up. prgtoken This past week, I was in Cameron, Arizona, a community on the Navajo Nation which has been impacted by uranium mining. The town sits right above the Little Colorado River, and the mine sites are not far from the river, whose water eventually flows into the Grand Canyon. prgtoken In Cameron, I heard stories about how these sites have gone decades without the necessary cleanup. At this same meeting, I heard from community members and Tribal leaders that sites like this are a growing concern across the Navajo Nation. These communities need us now, Mr. Chair. prgtoken Across northern Arizona, uranium mining has a toxic legacy, and many of my constituents continue to fight the cancers and diseases that were caused by radiation exposure decades ago. This exposure was so severe that Congress went so far as to pass the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. prgtoken Today we understand these health risks, and we know that unaddressed sites pose a danger to public health and will continue to pose risks until they are remediated or reclaimed. prgtoken In some communities, abandoned mines are near water, near schools, or are places where livestock graze. The potential contamination of these areas that are so critical to our communities and our food and water resources is a serious issue that we have put off for too long. We must step up now and clean these sites. prgtoken My amendment simply designates funding to expedite cleanup of sites through the Defense-Related Uranium Mines Program. This amendment will ensure that we are doing our part to improve public health for long- neglected communities in Arizona and the Southwest. prgtoken It is past time to turn the page on the Federal Government's disgraceful failure to address this issue for the families affected spanning decades. I urge my colleagues to support my commonsense amendment on behalf of these families and their communities. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Raul Ruiz (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-6-7

. Mr. Chair, I want to thank the chairman for not opposing. I also want to thank the ranking member for yielding me the time and allowing all of this to proceed. prgtoken On behalf of those children with pediatric asthma, on behalf of our seniors with COPD, chronic bronchitis, and on behalf of the doctors who work in emergency departments, I truly want to bring this awareness to everybody here that this is a pending public health nightmare catastrophe that, if we do nothing, will cost up to $9 billion to address the effects--the public health and the economic effects--that this will do. So putting money in the front end is going to save money in the back end, and it is going to prevent the bad health of our pediatric and our senior populations. prgtoken , I thank the leadership for both listening, understanding, and proceeding with this amendment. prgtoken , .
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2018-6-7

I simply add that we are not cutting the fossil fuel research and development, which we do believe in. This is a plus-up from last year of at least $30 million and 50 percent more than President has requested. prgtoken All we are simply doing is trying to appropriate to ARPA-E what was enacted by this Congress and, also, to point out that ARPA-E does not exclude fossil fuel research. prgtoken , .
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Ruben J. Kihuen (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2018-6-7

to H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2019. prgtoken This amendment, , is very simple. It would strike language that would prohibit the closure of Yucca Mountain. prgtoken This site sits in my congressional district, less than 100 miles away from Las Vegas, a city that sees 42 million visitors each year, with many of these visitors coming from your districts. Nevada depends on these visitors. Nevada's economy depends on these visitors. prgtoken Putting a nuclear repository this close to millions of Americans is simply irresponsible. And I have grave concerns with the transportation of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain should this project move forward against the will of Nevadans. prgtoken , Nevada has no nuclear-energy-producing facilities, and it should not be the dumping ground for the rest of the country's nuclear waste. The bottom line is this: If your State generates nuclear waste, then you should keep it in your backyard. prgtoken Or if any of my colleagues are okay with sending nuclear waste to my State, then maybe they should consider keeping it in their own State. I will be more than happy to work with them on an amendment. prgtoken So, again, , the people in Nevada do not want this nuclear waste stored in their backyard. Yucca Mountain needs to close, and that is why I encourage my colleagues to vote in support of this amendment. prgtoken , I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus), my colleague from the First Congressional District.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2018-6-7

earlier this year, the Commerce Department found the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE guilty of persistently and willfully violating U.S. sanctions laws on North Korea and Iran. That is a pretty serious offense for a large company to commit. It found that the company then repeatedly lied about it and went to great lengths to cover it up. prgtoken In response, as we should, across party lines, our government took action and put a series of strict export and transaction prohibitions on ZTE in mid-April of this year. We did what we should do. A large international company--it happened to be Chinese in this case--broke the law, broke a serious law on sanctions and then lied about what it did, so we took action. prgtoken It is pretty galling to learn that early this morning, the Commerce Department announced yet another agreement with the Chinese telecommunications giant to enable it to interact with U.S. companies. They committed that kind of offense, then they lied about that kind of offense, and now we are saying: It is OK. You can come back into our country and do business with us. prgtoken What gives here? We can't allow a Chinese company or a company anywhere--I mean, I am not picking on China in this case, but China is a country we have had difficulty with. It is habitually breaking international trade laws and seems to have as much trouble with the truth as some people in the White House have. Yet we have allowed this Chinese company to violate U.S. law time and again, to lie about it time and again and get away with it. By turning a blind eye to ZTE's blatant violations, the administration is putting Chinese jobs ahead of American jobs, putting Chinese national interests over America's national security. Why in the world would we do that? prgtoken ZTE is a Chinese company best known for making cheap smartphones, mostly sold in developing countries, although it also sells them here. That is important. It means a company that knowingly breaks U.S. laws could have control over information people have on their phones. prgtoken It is bad enough that we send this message: OK, you broke the law. That is bad enough. Then you lied about it. You broke serious international law, sanctions laws that protect our national security in part and protect the world from these countries--countries such as North Korea and Iran, which are bad actors. You broke the law by helping them, breaking sanctions laws, and then you lied about it. That is bad enough. Now we are not only not penalizing them, we are giving them an advantage when these companies could have control over information people have on their phones. prgtoken This company that cheated isn't a company that makes cars; this is a company that makes telecommunications equipment that can be used in an insidious sort of way against our own people. This could have real national security implications if that information is abused. As we have seen w
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Niki Tsongas (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2018-6-7

. Mr. Chair, my amendment increases funding by $5 million for the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the purposes of offshore wind job training grants. prgtoken The amendment is paid for by using an equal offset from the Department's administration accounts. prgtoken According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, our Nation's offshore wind energy potential is nearly double our total electricity need. It is also an energy resource available to nearly every coastline in the country, including the Great Lakes. prgtoken Offshore wind is broadly recognized as our Nation's next great energy resource, one that has the potential to create tens of thousands of new jobs in manufacturing, logistics, engineering, construction, and long- term operations and maintenance of these projects. prgtoken This potential has been acknowledged by the administration. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke recently spoke at an offshore wind energy conference and said that offshore wind has more growth potential than any other energy resource. prgtoken In fact, he also published an op-ed in The Boston Globe in April underscoring the importance of offshore wind to the administration's all-of-the-above energy strategy and announced two new proposed lease sales in Massachusetts for commercial wind development. prgtoken As he said in the op-ed--and we have it printed right here: ``The administration supports an all-of-the-above American energy policy, and wind energy is an important part of the energy mix. Just like the pioneers who drilled our Nation's first offshore wells in the 1890s, those men and women who construct wind turbines in American waters in the years to come will continue to set our Nation toward clean energy dominance.'' prgtoken To realize the full potential of our Nation's offshore wind resources, we must make sure that a cadre of American workers are fully trained and ready to pave the way for growth and innovation in this rapidly growing industry. This amendment makes a modest investment toward this goal by specifically appropriating $5 million for offshore wind job training grants at the Department of Energy. prgtoken Workforce development and education is one of several focus areas at the Wind Energy Technologies Office, and grants funded by this amendment would help develop curricula, apprenticeships, health and safety certification programs, and other activities that help workers transition to the offshore wind industry. prgtoken The administration recently announced similar workforce training grants for solar through DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Office, and we should be doing the same for offshore wind workforce development through DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support American energy jobs by voting ``yes'' on this amendment. prgtoken And .
VOTE EXPLANATION
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-6-7

I was unable to appear in the Chamber today to vote on the nomination of Kenneth L. Marcus, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education due to official business away from the Senate. I would like the record to show that I oppose his nomination and would have voted against his confirmation. prgtoken Throughout his confirmation process and career, Mr. Marcus has demonstrated consistent disregard for the rights of the very students he would be expected to protect in this role: women, LGBTQ individuals immigrants, and students of color. It is clear that Mr. Marcus is in lockstep with the Department of Education in this regard. He has supported the Department's decision to dismantle critical title IX protections for survivors of sexual assault, stood in the way of LGBTQ students seeking an educational atmosphere free from discrimination, and refused to commit to protecting a child's constitutional right to an education regardless of immigration status. prgtoken Mr. Marcus has made abundantly clear that he is unfit to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department or Education. I would like the record to show that I oppose his nomination and would have voted nay during today's confirmation vote. (At the request of Mr. Durbin, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the Record.)
Pardon Power (Executive Session)
Cory A. Booker (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-6-7

I rise today to speak in opposition to the nomination of Kenneth Marcus to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education. One of the most critical functions of the Department of Education is the role in enforcing Federal civil rights and upholding the protection of students' civil rights in schools. prgtoken The Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education is a particularly important instrument in enforcing civil rights in schools, protecting those precious rights of our children, and ensuring that schools provide students with access to equal educational opportunities and a nondiscriminatory environment in which to learn. It is an idea we have in our country that it is fundamental that we have a level playing field and abundant opportunity for all kids, no matter what their background is. prgtoken The continued need for this office is clear. In fact, during the administration, the Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Education handled 76,000 complaints over 8 years and issued dozens of policy guidance documents to help schools better protect and preserve civil rights of students. prgtoken In the last year alone, or year and a half, we have seen what is clearly an abdication of this leadership in the administration and what that has meant for the protection of civil rights for our country's children and for our country's students. We have seen an Office for Civil Rights that has rolled back protections for LGBTQ students, an office that has rolled back protections for students with disabilities, and an office that is set on gutting the very mission of the office itself, which is to protect all of our students from discrimination and empower them with equal opportunities to succeed. prgtoken The confirmation of Kenneth Marcus would be another blow to the civil rights of our students. Mr. Marcus is someone who, in his record and in his testimony to my colleagues on the Senate HELP Committee, has demonstrated that he possesses at best a disturbing apathy and at worst a wanton disregard for the importance, if not urgency, of protecting the rights of our kids in school. prgtoken When Mr. Marcus was asked by Senator Murray to name an example of something--anything--that had said or done when it comes to discrimination or civil rights that he disagrees with, and Mr. Marcus could not name any area of disagreement. He couldn't find a single disagreement in the way that demeaned Americans with disabilities or how the President has spoken about Mexicans or even the way the President has issued policies that attack the rights of Muslims or the rights of LGBTQ Americans. There was no disagreement mentioned whatsoever. prgtoken When he was asked during his confirmation hearing if as Assistant Secretary he would intervene in an instance where Black students in a school district were receiving lower quality teache