mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
IN RECOGNITION OF THE TOWN OF CONWAY, MASSACHUSETTS
Richard E. Neal (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-6-22

I want to take this opportunity to recognize the town of Conway, Massachusetts as they celebrate their 250th anniversary. Since its establishment in 1767, Conway has continued to flourish as a rich agricultural community located in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. prgtoken The town of Conway was first established as the southwest portion of the town of Deerfield, Massachusetts. After the end of the French and Indian Wars, the area was divided and the town Conway was official established in 1767. Named after General Henry Seymour Conway, a leader in the British House of Commons, the town was known for its sheep farming along with other agricultural pursuits. The first settlers of Conway were able to build gristmills and sawmills to harness the power of the many waterways that flowed through the town. As the Industrial Revolution began in the United States, Conway was no exception to the rise of the manufacturing industry. Factories began to emerge in Conway along the South River, where power could be readily accessible from the mills. Everything from textiles and hats, to washing machines and furniture were manufactured in these factories. As Conway transitioned into the 20th century, their manufacturing industry began to suffer as a result of the high cost of transporting goods from the town. The town has transitioned back to a farming community and the remnants of the old factory buildings serve as reminders of the town's history. prgtoken Today, Conway is a quiet, beautiful town with much to offer. Bardwell's Ferry Bridge still stands as a treasured historical landmark, stretching across the Deerfield River and connecting Conway to the nearby town of Shelburne Falls. Every fall, the annual Festival of the Hills serves as a way for the community to come together to celebrate the town's long and distinguished history. The events of the festival include a pancake breakfast, live music, as well as various family activities. All the proceeds raised from the festival go towards scholarships for local high school students, as a way for the town to continue its legacy as a hardworking community dedicated to supporting its citizens. prgtoken , the town of Conway is an important piece in Massachusetts history and I am honored to represent it. I wish them all the best as the town continues to preserve their rich history and community involvement that has been the legacy of Conway for these past 250 years.
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Calendar)
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-6-22

I rise today to join my colleagues to speak out and ask for a normal process, for hearings, and for debates. prgtoken The Presiding Officer and I have talked about this issue. I know the Presiding Officer has many good ideas to contribute, and I am hopeful that we can start over with a bill that would consist of a number of changes in our existing healthcare system. That is what I think we need to do, instead of this repeal bill that came to us without hearings. It is just not the right way to do this. prgtoken I have already gotten reactions from my State. Just to use some quotes from an article in the Minneapolis StarTribune that was just posted--we have our health plans saying that what matters is Medicaid, and they are the leaders in our healthcare community, calling this bill disappointing because of the continued insistence on significantly cutting Medicaid, the federally paid health insurance program for those who are the most vulnerable. prgtoken They have said things--the big story has been, What is it going to do to Medicaid? But, in fact, what our experts in our State are saying-- our health plans--is that this is really more of the same from what we have seen in the House bill, but over a different time period. There is an argument that in the end, it involves even deeper cuts. prgtoken The Minnesota Hospital Association came out and has already, in just the last few hours, said that the last of the guaranteed benefits discourages preventive care and that this proposal ``creates a lot of chaos.'' prgtoken One of the heads of one of our major hospitals said: They are shortening up the money. But they're not giving us the ability to manage the care. prgtoken I have long advocated for changes to the Affordable Care Act-- significant changes. I think seniors should be given the ability to harness their marketing power and negotiate for lower prices under Medicare for prescription drugs. They are currently prohibited from doing that. I think that is wrong. I said that when the Affordable Care Act passed. prgtoken I think there are many good things we could do to help with the exchanges and with small business rates, including doing something federally on reinsurance. My State legislature, which is a State legislature, joined with our ic Governor and worked out an agreement on insurance. We are currently awaiting word from the administration on a waiver, but we think that is a good idea, and there are things we can do to bring that out nationally. I don't see that happening with this bill. prgtoken In the end, what matters to me is how this bill affects individual people in my State. Laura from North St. Paul wrote to me about her concerns about the very similar House bill. Laura recently retired, but she will not be eligible for Medicare until next year. She has a daughter with several chronic health conditions. She is concerned that if these proposals get pass
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2017-6-22

I am struck by this conversation as the ranking on the Senate Finance Committee. My colleague and distinguished Senator from Texas is on the Finance Committee. He knows I know something about writing bipartisan healthcare reform bills. I have written them. They have become law. I could tell my colleague, I have not once--not once--been asked to be part of any bipartisan effort with respect to this legislation. prgtoken I think, colleagues, it is real clear what is going on here. Senate s are going to keep telling Americans they are fixing their healthcare right up until the second it gets taken away. prgtoken Now, as the ranking member of the Finance Committee, I find it bizarre that a health bill of this importance was hidden for so long behind closed doors, denying the American people the opportunity to see it in an open debate. prgtoken There have been no hearings on this dangerous, destructive proposal, not one hearing on whether Medicaid should be slashed to pay for tax cuts for the fortunate few, not one hearing on whether the bedrock protections for those with preexisting conditions ought to be shattered, not one hearing on whether Americans should face higher costs, along with annual and lifetime limits, on insurance coverage. prgtoken This secretive process of concealing and rushing this bill, which until today had been seen by nobody--nobody outside of the leadership and their lobbyist allies who dwell on K Street--the secretive process stands in sharp contrast to the process that led to the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken I now put forward a parliamentary inquiry. Is the Chair able to confirm that the Committee on Finance considered S. 1796, the America's Healthy Future Act, which was ultimately incorporated into H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in executive session on 8 separate calendar days prior to reporting the bill favorably?
VA ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT
Brian Schatz (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2017-6-22

the Senate recently passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. This legislation is intended to improve the VA by strengthening the process of holding nonperforming VA employees accountable, but it does this by removing certain due process protections that are currently in place to protect VA employees from unlawful discrimination or retaliation. Dr. David Shulkin, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, asked for this authority to reform the personnel system, and the Senate obliged his request. prgtoken In Hawaii we have a much different and more pressing problem that this legislation does not address, and that is the challenge we face with recruitment and retention of VA leaders and filling vacant positions at the VA. prgtoken Nowhere is this challenge more evident than in the VA's yearlong search to recruit a new executive director for the Pacific Island Health Care System in Honolulu. During this time, six executive directors from six different VA healthcare systems on the mainland rotated through Hawaii on an interim basis. The VA said that its search dragged on for so long because it faced a shortage of individuals with the right skills to fill these medical director positions, but that is no excuse. The VA should have been doing more to develop a pool of qualified people to fill vacant medical director positions. Failure to find long-term, stable leadership undermines accountability not only at the highest level, but across the entire healthcare system. prgtoken I am also bothered by the decision to rotate medical directors in from other healthcare systems, even on an interim basis. This stopgap measure failed to ensure the proper leadership required to provide long-term direction for the Pacific Island Health Care System and to make sure that there was someone to hold accountable for the delivery of services to the more than 120,000 veterans that the VA is responsible for in the Pacific. Those veterans and their families deserve better. prgtoken Leadership recruitment is not the only staffing issue we face. In its September 2016 report on the Pacific Island Health Care System, the VA's Office of the Inspector General specifically noted that recruitment and retention of staff is an ongoing challenge across our neighbor islands, in large part due to cost of living, distance, and physical isolation. At the time of its report, the OIG noted that there were 75 unfilled positions at community-based outpatient clinics across Hawaii. These are vacant positions at clinics that directly affect veterans' access to healthcare. prgtoken I worry that removing important due process protections for VA employees will only make this problem worse, because, where there are already issues in physician recruitment and retention, the VA could compete through the promise of a stable job, in an environment free from unlawful discrimination or retaliation. Knowing tha
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-6-22

several weeks ago the House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to replace it. It was passed without hearings. It was passed without an amendment process, and it was passed before the Congressional Budget Office provided the traditional analysis that we count on before we take up a measure of such magnitude. prgtoken The measure passed with a party-line vote--all s. Had two s voted the other way, it would not have moved forward. prgtoken After it passed, the President of the United States decided to have a celebration at the White House. We saw him on television, gathering the Members of the House of Representatives and celebrating the fact that this measure had passed and that, finally, they were going to repeal the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken But then the American people took a close look and the Congressional Budget Office issued its analysis, and it turns out that 23 million Americans would lose their health insurance because of this measure that passed the House of Representatives. prgtoken It turns out as well that there would be a dramatic increase in health insurance premiums for people between the ages of 50 and 64. prgtoken It turns out that in my State and many other States hospitals were in danger. The Illinois Health and Hospital Association says they would lose 60,000 jobs in Illinois with the dramatic cutbacks in Medicaid, endangering hospitals in rural areas and inner-city areas. prgtoken The facts started coming out about this repeal bill passed by the House of Representatives, and the President of the United States had a change of heart and announced to the American people that it was a mean bill--a mean bill. The President was right. It was mean legislation-- mean to the millions who lost their healthcare, mean to seniors who would find their premiums going up dramatically, and mean to the people living in rural areas and small towns who count on those hospitals. prgtoken The President was right. It was mean. prgtoken Then, the responsibility shifts to the Senate. The majority leader, Senator McConnell, and his followers had a chance to do a bill that was not mean. They had a chance to sit down on a bipartisan basis and to have the same process we used to create the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken That would have involved public hearings. We had 50 public hearings on the Affordable Care Act. It would have involved a real amendment process. The Affordable Care Act had 300 amendments. How many were offered by the s? There were over 150 offered and adopted in a bipartisan process when we passed the Affordable Care Act. The American people got a good look at the bill. The Congressional Budget Office issued their analysis before we voted on it. We passed it, and I am glad we did, and I am proud of that vote. prgtoken But what happened in the Senate when it came to the s? They went i
SUPPORTING THE VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT
Terri A. Sewell (Democrat, AL) \u2014 2017-6-22

today I rise in support of a critical piece of legislation, the Voting Rights Advancement Act. I am proud to sponsor this legislation and to be joined by my colleagues, Representatives Judy Chu, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and John Lewis. In March of 2015, I, alongside former Presidents and , both and Members of Congress, and thousands of people from across the world marched over Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ``Bloody Sunday''. We honored great Americans like Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was brutally murdered for attempting to vote, Ms. prgtoken Amelia Boynton Robinson and our fellow Congressman John Lewis, who were both bludgeoned for marching for their right to vote. Their sacrifices and courage paved the path for Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with overwhelming bipartisan support. As we reach the fourth anniversary of Shelby v. Holder, the landmark case that overturned and gutted a vital part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it is clear that Americans' right to vote is under attack now more than ever. While people of color are no longer subject to irrational literacy tests, arbitrary grandfather clauses, or high poll taxes, the reversal of Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act once again subjugates minorities to voter discrimination tactics. This section provided preclearance measures for states where voter discrimination has occurred. Section 4(b) required any changes of voting laws to first be cleared by the court in the determined states. Since Shelby v. Holder nullified this crucial part of the Voting Rights Act, 10 states have passed laws requiring photo identification to vote, and several more states now require government issued identification in order to cast a ballot. These identification laws have been proven to negatively affect minority and low-income voters disproportionately time and time again. Moreover, instead of working to enhance the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and working to protect the voting rights of all Americans, the Administration is wasting valuable time and resources creating a commission to investigate the groundless claim that millions of people voted illegally in the last election. The creation of this commission demonstrates a clear disregard for the millions of disenfranchised minorities across America. My legislation, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, will effectively create a new coverage formula and provide updated preclearance procedures for states that have had 15 or more voting violations within the past 25 years. With the addition of this new formula, 13 states including Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, 9 of which have already passed discriminatory voter identification laws, would be subject to federal oversight. The Voting Rights Advancement Act pres
HONORING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HAMPTON JAZZ FESTIVAL
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2017-6-22

I rise today to honor the Hampton Jazz Festival on its 50th Anniversary. prgtoken The idea for a jazz festival emerged after a visit between friends-- the President of Hampton Institute Jerome Holland and jazz entrepreneur and promoter George Wein, who was prgtoken noted for his festivals in Newport, Rhode Island, New York, California, and New Orleans. prgtoken This first festival was in 1968 when Hampton Institute--present day Hampton University--celebrated its 100th birthday with a musical night filled with jazz. This celebration took place on Hampton's campus at Armstrong Field. Artists that performed at the original festival included Dizzy Gillespie, Ramsay Lewis, Herbie Mann Quintet, Nina Simone and her Trio, Muddy Waters and his Blues Band, and many more. It was supposed to be just a one-time event, but the attendees loved it and wanted more. In 1970, the City of Hampton became the third partner when the festival moved from Hampton Institute to the newly built Hampton Coliseum due to growing crowds; it went on for three days and has been a tradition in Hampton Roads ever since. prgtoken The Hampton Roads community welcomes fans who travel from all over for the weekend long Jazz Festival each year. Many think of it as more than just a few concerts. The festival is a celebration of jazz, pop, blues, soul, and R&B music and artists. It is a time for fans and artists to celebrate the culture and the life of jazz. It is a terrific opportunity for the community to come together for a great time listening to great music. As a result, many events surround the dates of the festival, including parties, family reunions, class reunions and other gatherings. prgtoken There are fans who have attended the festival since its beginnings, and enjoy it just as much as they did when they were younger. And I count myself as one of those fans, as I attended the very first festival at Armstrong Field and have attended virtually every festival since. Because jazz is such a unique genre of music that crosses so many ethnic and cultural barriers, the festival is a way for different generations and diverse groups of people to come together and share in their love of jazz. prgtoken I commend Hampton University and the City of Hampton for their ongoing partnership to bring well-loved and critically acclaimed artists and musicians to Hampton Roads for this annual event. A record was set in 2011 for the festival when all three shows, featuring the artists Charlie Wilson, Kem, Jonathan Butler, Chaka Khan, Boyz II Men, and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, sold out. prgtoken Last year's festival included Babyface, New Edition, Gladys Knight, and many more. Hampton strives to make the festival better and better each year with more artists and vendors, and I know this 50th Anniversary festival will be no different. prgtoken The remarkable success of the Jazz Festival has helped the City of Hampton build up the reputation of the Hampton Coli
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2017-6-22

I want to indicate before the distinguished majority whip leaves that what is being talked about here is like having a hole in the roof of your house. Instead of patching it, they want to burn down the house. What we are not willing to participate in is burning down the house. We are more than happy and, in fact, have proposals and are anxious to work with the majority to improve healthcare--not rip it apart, not take tens of millions of people's healthcare away, but improve it. prgtoken Before asking a question of the majority whip, I also want to indicate for all those listening that we have the bill. We can actually read pretty quickly, and it has been out. Even though it is considered a discussion draft--we don't know what it is at this point--we have it. We are analyzing it. prgtoken What our leader, the ic leader, indicated is what we have been able to read in this discussion draft, which is not only more of the same but is worse for seniors, those in nursing homes, and children in Michigan and across the country. That is what is in this, which we now have, whatever it is called. prgtoken I would ask the majority whip, instead of burning down the house at this point in terms of ripping apart the healthcare system, would you join with us in putting forward a bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices for seniors, which my hospitals and insurance companies tell me are one of the driving forces that are raising the costs of healthcare? Would you be willing to work with us on a bill to lower prescription drug prices and allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices on behalf of America's seniors?
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-6-22

here is the correct analogy: Yes, there has been an accident. Yes, someone needs help. Someone who is not a doctor, not a physician, doesn't know how to help the patient--our s friends go by the side of the road, but they don't know what to do. prgtoken So the come by. We are doctors. We say: We know how to fix this system. We know how to fix this patient, and the s say: No, don't help with us. We will drive right by. Now the patient is ailing. prgtoken I would ask my colleagues, let's forget the past for the moment because we have a much better argument than you. We had hundreds of amendments offered by s that became part of our bill. I doubt there will be a prgtoken single ic amendment that will be--we had hours of hearings, hours of debate. You didn't. So you may not have thought the process was perfect, but it was a lot more open than yours. prgtoken I have a proposal to my friend. Let us forget this draft bill. Let us right now, and s, sit down and try to come up with a bipartisan bill. We are willing to do it today, now, this minute. Will you accept that offer?
LGBT PRIDE MONTH
Pramila Jayapal (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-6-22

all over the country, millions of Americans are celebrating Pride Month and our LGBTQIA communities across the country. In fact, this week I will join tens of thousands of Washingtonians at our annual Seattle pride events. prgtoken We will come together to support our family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues; we will come together to celebrate the advancement of LGBTQ rights in our country; and we will come together to celebrate the second anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision that reaffirmed our commitment to the principle of marriage equality in this country. prgtoken But this year, we also come together to acknowledge that we have seen a spike in hate crimes, an increasing coarseness of public discourse, and greater fear-mongering for political gain. We have a lot of work to do. prgtoken We intend to protect every advancement that has been made and continue demanding progress toward full protections in employment and housing, safety for our transgender brothers and sisters, and equitable access to healthcare and other services. prgtoken There is a lot to celebrate, but much more to do to ensure the promise of equality for all in our Nation. That is what this month has been about, and we celebrate it.