mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND SECURITY AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER ACT, 2019
Roy Blunt (Republican, MO) \u2014 2019-6-26

I want to talk a little bit about a bill we should pass this week--I believe we will pass this week--for the 59th straight year. prgtoken There are very few things we authorize every year--frankly, there are very few things we need to authorize every year--but the authorizing bill in defense is the opportunity for the country and the Congress to look at what we need to do now that is more appropriate than what we needed to do a year ago to defend the country. prgtoken Certainly the men and women who serve in the military do that job in a selfless way, and they deserve the best we can do to be sure they are never involved in an unfair fight. We want to be sure they are always involved in a fight in which they have every possible advantage. They put their lives on the line to keep us safe, and it is up to us to be sure they have the equipment, the training, and the authorization they need and the authorities they need to carry out their work. prgtoken Every year about this time, we move toward the authorizing of what the Congress thinks the military needs. That is followed later by an appropriations bill that is directed in substantial ways by what this bill says should happen. In fact, the only thing the appropriations bill normally does is determine whether it can all be funded and in what segments it is to be funded. prgtoken We are debating this bill. I hope both Chambers--the House and the Senate--can pass this authorization bill as we move on to our next step in this process of defending the country. prgtoken I think you can argue about almost anything else the Federal Government does, but the No. 1 priority of the Federal Government is to defend the country--the No. 1 thing that we clearly cannot do by ourselves; the No. 1 thing that State and local government can be a partner in on some occasions, but it is not their responsibility, and they do not have the capacity to do what we need to do to defend the country. So we are here to take this important step in that. prgtoken This version, the Senate's version for this year, authorizes $750 billion to support the Department of Defense and the nuclear and other defense responsibilities of the Department of Energy. Our adversaries are clearly increasing their military capabilities and their military commitments, and we need to be prepared to do just the same. prgtoken The burden of defending the country is an important one, and, frankly, it falls on a very small percentage of our population. About one-half of 1 percent of the American people serve in the military. We owe an obligation to that one-half of 1 percent to do our best for them. prgtoken This bill supports an across-the-board pay increase of 3.1 percent--a little more than inflation. It is the largest increase in nearly a decade at a time when the people who serve see challenges in more areas than we have seen in a while and coming from different directions than we have seen in a while.
TRIBUTE TO MR. BILL HENDERSON
Ross Spano (Republican, FL) \u2014 2019-6-26

. Madam , I rise today to honor a local legend who recently passed away in Lakeland, Florida. prgtoken Mr. Billy Henderson had a passion for flying planes since he was a young man. As a matter of fact, he used to fondly say he started flying in 1946 when he was 16 years old and began legally flying 20 years later in 1968. prgtoken Billy turned his passion into a life purpose, and in 1974, he and four others created SUN n' FUN, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting aviation education in central Florida. prgtoken SUN n' FUN has grown from hosting a small fly-in, which attracted 900 attendees, to the largest annual convention in Florida. prgtoken Every year, more than 100,000 visitors come to Lakeland to watch pilots, such as the Blue Angels, show off the best that aviation has to offer. prgtoken SUN n' FUN not only brings in $60 million to central Florida every year, but also has an impact beyond the convention. prgtoken The organization operates the Florida Air Museum, which houses over 100 aircraft, and sponsors over $2 million per year in scholarships for aviation education. prgtoken Madam , the skies over Lakeland will never be the same without Billy Henderson, but they will be marked by his legacy for years to come.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020--Resumed
Mike Lee (Republican, UT) \u2014 2019-6-26

it is one of Congress's main duties-- arguably, its single most important duty--to provide for the common defense of our great country. That sometimes means and necessarily entails providing additional funds for unforeseen costs and emergencies in times of war. Troops might run out of equipment or munitions or might need to be transported through war zones, and it is of the utmost importance that they have what they need and that they can get where they need to go to fight for our country and to protect us against our most pressing and dangerous threats. prgtoken In the past, Congress provided emergency supplemental funding to take care of precisely these costs. If it didn't appropriate enough to begin with or if some of these unforeseen costs arose, perhaps in excess of what Congress had already planned for, Congress would fill the gap and would make adjustments to the following year's base budget to account for them. In other words, Congress was doing its job, and it was doing its job in a thoughtful manner--one that was fiscally responsible and one that acknowledged Congress's constitutional role as a lawmaking body and the body responsible for funding war operations and declaring war. prgtoken But after the September 11 attacks, something seemed to change. In 2001, the administration created a fund called the Global War on Terrorism account, sometimes known operatively as GWOT, separate from the base budget. From then on, what was once emergency spending for warfighting gaps became a general fund that Congress has used for military spending and primarily for operations in the Middle East. Year after year, Congress has anticipated this very type of spending, and year after year it has failed to integrate that anticipated spending into the baseline budget. prgtoken When the administration took over, it changed the name from GWOT to Overseas Contingency Operations, or OCO. This is an account that was newly created in that administration, but the administration left the fundamental practice of GWOT in place. This was GWOT by a different name. prgtoken When the Budget Control Act was passed in 2011, President requested OCO to be exempted from its defense spending limits. That practice has continued to this day, such that these funds are still exempt from those limits. prgtoken What has been the result of this trajectory? Well, OCO has morphed into an unaccountable slush fund for the Pentagon, insulated from scrutiny and certainly unchecked by budget spending caps. It is no longer funds that are provided for unforeseen expenses, and no one here really pretends otherwise. prgtoken Instead, administrations from both parties have continued to ask for billions of these dollars each year, completely outside the budget process, for what really are predictable, ongoing activities in the Middle East and elsewhere. And Congress has continually enabled them, perpetuating this broken,
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020--Resumed
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-6-26

last night the House of Representatives passed a funding bill that would provide $4.5 billion in emergency funding to Departments and Agencies working to manage the humanitarian crisis on the southern border. I would note it has been 2 months--2 months since President requested that emergency appropriations bill. In the meantime, there have been many who have talked about the overwhelmed capacity at the border and the unhygienic conditions in which some of the migrants were being held, but frankly they seem to ignore the cause of that problem, pointing mainly to the symptoms-- actually, symptoms of their own inaction. prgtoken If we had simply acted more promptly, I think many of the problems we have seen along the border, where families and unaccompanied children are being detained and processed according to U.S. law--we could have avoided that. But, instead, the politics seemed to overcome good sense here in Washington once again, and rather than appropriate the money, as the President requested 2 months ago, to provide the resources they need in order to deal with this crisis, it just got worse and worse. prgtoken Of course these terrible pictures of people that we have seen, which are really hard to look at, showed the hardships being borne by some of these migrants. Indeed, some have lost their lives. People seem to have forgotten why people make the dangerous trip across Central America, across Mexico, and into the United States, and that is simply because they are taking advantage of congressional inaction when it comes to fixing loopholes in our asylum laws, which, if corrected, would provide an opportunity for people to claim asylum in a safer, more orderly way. It would also make sure they would not have to die in the process of making that terrible trip from Central America, across Mexico, and into the United States. prgtoken The House bill number matches our bill here in the Senate, but the contents of the bills are quite different. The of the House has been working furiously this week to get Members on board, taking the bill further and further to the left with each revision. prgtoken House have now rammed through a bill that withholds desperately needed funds from detention centers that are nearly bursting at the seams and creates overly burdensome and prohibitive regulations. prgtoken The House bill excludes funding for the Department of Defense as requested by the President, underfunds the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, and doesn't provide funding for new immigration judge teams to address the significant court backlog. prgtoken Just as an example of how far the bill goes, there is a section that requires a specific type of exercise for unaccompanied children in custody. That is the kind of micromanaging that the House of Representatives has included in their bill. It is inadequate by any measure. It ignores the most pressing funding needs and instea
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020--Resumed
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2019-6-26

ever since I was elected to the U.S. Senate, I have welcomed young Iowans to intern in my office. Internships provide students with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, to apply the things they learn inside the classroom to the real world, and to develop skills they will carry with them into the future. prgtoken That is why my office offers year-round internships in both Washington, DC, and in Iowa. I offer students the opportunity to work alongside my staff to learn more about our Federal Government, and it happens that about two-thirds of my staff were former interns. This is a wonderful educational opportunity, and I encourage all college-age students to apply. National Dairy Month prgtoken , on another subject, Wells Enterprises, the maker of Blue Bunny ice cream, produces more ice cream in one location than any other place in the United States. That is why Le Mars, IA, is called the Ice Cream Capital of the World. prgtoken It produces over 200 million gallons a year, which I appreciate, because I like to eat ice cream. The Wells Ice Cream Parlor is one of the busiest tourist attractions in our entire State, and I have been there multiple times. prgtoken With this being National Dairy Month, I am proud to recognize Wells and all of the hard-working farmers and dairy workers who produce the great dairy products that are enjoyed across the country. prgtoken . Recognition of the Majority Leader
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020--Resumed
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2019-6-26

there is no more important congressional responsibility than providing for our Nation's defense. There will always be those who wish our Nation harm, and our Nation must always be prepared to defend itself. More than that, our Nation needs to be ready to defend itself because being prepared for war is a strong deterrent to conflict in the first place. prgtoken As I have said before in this Chamber, it is not our strength that tempts our adversaries but our weakness. Maintaining our strength will ensure that bad actors, whether they are terrorist groups or major powers, think twice before attacking our Nation. In the words of Ronald Reagan, ``well, to those who think strength provokes conflict, Will Rogers had his own answer.'' He said of the world heavyweight champion of his day: ``I've never seen anyone insult Jack Dempsey.'' prgtoken This week we are considering the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual legislation to authorize funding for our military and our Nation's defense. Like last year's NDAA, this bill focuses on rebuilding our military and ensuring we are prepared to meet 21st century threats. prgtoken While many take it for granted that we have the strongest military in the world, the truth is that in recent years our military advantage has eroded. Budgetary impasses combined with increased operational demands left our military undermanned, underequipped, and ill-prepared for the conflicts of the 21st century. Meanwhile, other major powers have made investing in their militaries a priority, set on diminishing U.S. influence. prgtoken In November 2018, the bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission released a report warning that our readiness had eroded to the point where we might struggle to win a war against a major power like Russia or China. The Commission noted that we would be especially vulnerable if we were ever called on to fight a war on two fronts. That is not a good position to be in, and restoring our readiness has to be our top priority. prgtoken We are once again in an era of great power competition, while at the same time we continue to face threats from terrorists and rogue nations. We have to be able to credibly deter--and, if necessary, counter--any threat. prgtoken This year's National Defense Authorization Act continues the reinvestment that we have made in our military. It invests in the planes, the combat vehicles, and ships of the future, including the Joint Strike Fighter and the future B-21 bomber, which will be based at Ellsworth Air Force Base in my home State of North Dakota. It authorizes funding for research and development and advanced technology. It authorizes funds to modernize our nuclear arsenal to maximize our deterrence capabilities. It also focuses on ensuring that we are equipped to meet new threats on new fronts, including in space and cyber domains. prgtoken It is important that we invest in these new areas of the battlefield to
IN RECOGNITION OF MR. OTTIE JACKSON MOORE, SR.
Robert J. Wittman (Republican, VA) \u2014 2019-6-26

. Madam , I am honored to use this time to recognize my constituent, Mr. Ottie Jackson Moore, Sr. Born in Gladys, Virginia on December 26, 1928, Mr. Moore has committed much of his life and career to service of the Commonwealth of Virginia and our nation. Mr. Moore has protected our nation abroad, having served in the United States Army, both as an active and reserve member, in addition to protecting the United States at home, as a member of the Virginia State Police and a seven-term Sheriff of Caroline Country, Virginia. prgtoken In 1951, during the Korean War, Mr. Moore was drafted into the United States Army, going on to serve three years of active duty. Mr. Moore completed basic training school, basic schools of enlisted training and the U.S. Army's Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Bliss Texas in July 1952. After being commissioned a Second Lieutenant, Mr. Moore was assigned to an anti-aircraft unit as a commanding officer. After three years of active service, Mr. Moore joined the U.S. Army Reserves. prgtoken In the Reserves, Mr. Moore served as a commanding officer of a quartermaster unit and in several positions within the United States Army Reserves (USAR) School, including four years as Assistant Commandant. Over the course of his military service, Mr. Moore received the Meritorious Service Medal on two separate occasions. Mr. Moore would go on to serve a total of thirty years in the United States Army Reserves, completing his service having earned the rank of Colonel. prgtoken After graduating first in his class in 1955 from the Virginia State Police, Mr. Moore would go on to serve and protect the Commonwealth of Virginia for many years. After being elected Sheriff of Caroline County, Virginia in November 1963, Mr. Moore would serve seven terms until January 1992. In addition, Mr. Moore held several office level positions as a member of the Virginia Sheriff's Association, including President in 1975. Mr. Moore has actively advised the Virginia General Assembly on the passage of several bills related to advancements in training of local law enforcement personnel and was a founding member of the board that led to the creation of the Rappahannock Regional Training Academy in 1977. prgtoken Mr. Moore exemplifies the best of the First District of Virginia, with a life committed to service to his country and our commonwealth. Mr. Moore's life of patriotism, service, and selflessness should stand as an example to the ideals that make the First District, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States of America great.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020--Resumed
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-6-26

I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 3401, which was received from the House. I further ask that the time until 2 p.m. be equally divided between the two leaders for debate only; that at 2 p.m the Senate vote on the bill, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage; that if the bill is not passed, it remain pending and open to amendment, with the only amendments in order being the following: Shelby substitute amendment No. 901; the text of S. 1900, as reported; a Paul amendment, No. 902, to pay for spending by cutting foreign aid; further, that the Senate vote in relation to the Paul amendment and, following its disposition, vote on adoption of the Shelby amendment, with a 60-vote affirmative threshold for adoption; finally, that following disposition of the Shelby amendment, the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, if amended, with 60 affirmative votes required for passage and that the only debate in order be 2 minutes, equally divided, prior to each vote.
SALUTING COLONEL DAVID R. GIBSON
John R. Carter (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-6-26

. Madam , I proudly salute Colonel David R. Gibson as he retires after 33 years of honorable service. Throughout his extraordinary military career, COL Gibson embodied the duty, honor, and loyalty that makes the U.S. Army the world's premier fighting force. prgtoken COL Gibson's commitment to investing his gifts, talents, and abilities in service of his nation is a deeply held creed that speaks to the generosity and activism of a true and devoted patriot. Throughout his career, he earned numerous academic and military accolades that garnered the respect and admiration of his peers. His resume tells the story of a man unafraid to embrace the challenges that forge the leaders our nation needs. prgtoken Retirement is meant to be celebrated and enjoyed. It is not the end of a career, but the beginning of a new adventure. I thank Colonel David R. Gibson for his service and dedication to our great nation. I proudly join his family, friends, and colleagues in wishing him nothing but the best for his richly-deserved retirement.
EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND SECURITY AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER ACT, 2019
Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, WV) \u2014 2019-6-26

I rise to address two very important bills that are before the Senate this week--the National Defense Authorization Act and the border supplemental appropriations bill. prgtoken First, on the NDAA, I am pleased that this bill meets the needs of our all-volunteer force by providing the brave men and women with one of the largest raises in a decade, that of 3.1 percent. With the rising threat of countries such as China, Russia, and Iran, this NDAA authorizes funding for crucial defense efforts to make certain that our military is well prepared and equipped to defend this Nation from the threats and challenges we face. prgtoken The NDAA substitute actually includes an amendment I offered, joined by my Senate Environment and Public Works chairman, John Barrasso, of Wyoming, by Ranking Member Carper, and by several other bipartisan cosponsors. This amendment will formally address the PFAS contamination about which I have spoken on the floor. It directly mirrors my legislation, the PFAS Release Disclosure and Protection Act, which the committee approved last week. prgtoken PFAS pollution is a nationwide problem, but its effects are concentrated locally, often in rural and disadvantaged communities, especially those near military installations where large volumes of certain firefighting foams have been deployed. Significant exposure to the legacy compounds of PFOA and PFOS have been linked to rare cancers and developmental issues. prgtoken I got involved with this issue because it is important but also because two communities in West Virginia were all too familiar with the PFAS contamination and its effects--Parkersburg, WV, which has endured a history of industrial PFAS contamination, and Martinsburg, which has been impacted by the use of firefighting foams. prgtoken My amendment will provide certainty to our citizens that the water coming out of their taps is safe--in my opinion, that is really not much to ask--by requiring that the EPA set a safe drinking water standard for PFOS and PFOA within 2 years and that it look at regulating other types of PFAS chemicals as the science would merit. prgtoken It also provides funding and technical assistance to ensure that small and rural water systems can monitor and address this contamination. That is a big issue for our rural State. We have a lot of small water systems, and we want them to have the same access to the science but also to the remediation that large systems have. prgtoken My legislation will also improve transparency by requiring emitters to report to the EPA the release of any of one of hundreds of PFAS compounds into the environment. Sure, we want to know that. Sure, we do. This information is essential for citizens, their local governments, and Federal agencies to be able to quickly and adequately respond to this pollution before it pervades the water or the soil. I think this increased accountability will contribute to there being fewer PFA