mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CREATING CONFIDENCE IN CLEAN WATER PERMITTING ACT
Jack Bergman (Republican, MI) \u2014 2024-3-21

I am here today to offer my amendment to H.R. 7023. prgtoken Michigan's First District is home to more than 2,000 miles of Great Lakes coastline. It is by far the most of any congressional district, and it touches three of the five Great Lakes. prgtoken For those of us who call Michigan home, the Great Lakes play an invaluable role for our natural ecosystems, communities, economies, and our general way of life. prgtoken Protecting our lakes is a unifying goal that crosses all political lines. prgtoken My amendment is simple. It would clarify that nothing in this legislation would affect the longstanding ban on oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. prgtoken To be clear, I don't believe a reasonable reading of H.R. 7023 would directly lead to drilling activities in our Great Lakes. Nonetheless, if there is one thing I have learned in my years in the military and here in Congress, Mr. Chair, you can't always trust the Federal bureaucracy to do the reasonable and right thing. prgtoken The vital importance of the Great Lakes to those of us who live near them demands certainty and security. This is a concrete assurance that these protections, which have wide bipartisan support, will stay in place. prgtoken This is especially true when we are discussing permitting under the Clean Water Act, including for energy producers. prgtoken With this protection included, H.R. 7023 will be able to properly balance prgtoken sound environmental stewardship with responsible infrastructure development and cut the amount of red tape. prgtoken Providing regulatory certainty and clarity while maintaining longstanding protections, like the ban on Great Lakes drilling, is not a zero-sum game. We can and must do both. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and the underlying bill, and .
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
John Boozman (Republican, AR) \u2014 2024-3-21

I rise today to recognize the 150th anniversary of Charleston, AR. prgtoken This city in western Arkansas, incorporated in 1874, has a rich history as an education, business, and government hub. prgtoken Located within the former territorial area acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase, the community was eventually named for one of its first settlers, Charles R. Kellum, who moved to Arkansas from Massachusetts. He operated a general store, organized a Baptist church, and was appointed as Charleston's first postmaster. prgtoken In the decades that followed, Charleston became a stop along the Butterfield Overland Mail Company route and served as a home to many businesses. Its first school was established in 1855 and soon had more than 100 students. prgtoken During the Civil War, skirmishes between Union and Confederate soldiers resulted in a tragic consequence when most of the city's buildings and homes were burned. This didn't stop the resolve of Charleston residents. When the war ended, citizens returned to rebuild and laid out a new community. prgtoken Because Franklin County was divided in half by the Arkansas River, the State legislature created a second county seat in Charleston to serve the southern portion of the county in 1885. The community was an important stop for the railroad and flourished with cotton, coal, and eventually natural gas. prgtoken World War II brought new opportunities to Charleston with the creation of Camp Chaffee less than a mile from the city limits. The new Army fort brought jobs and helped develop a strong economic and cultural bond between the city and military members. prgtoken Charleston is also noted as the first school district in Arkansas to desegregate after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Just days after the ruling, the schoolboard voted to enroll 11 Black students in the Charleston School System. prgtoken The community is proud of its native son, Dale Bumpers, who was the 38th Governor of Arkansas before being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served for 24 years. Bumpers was a soldier and a statesman who was born and raised in Charleston. He was known as the Senate's best orator. In his decades of service, one role he held was the chairman of the Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee, which led him to promote agriculture in Arkansas tirelessly. The results of his advocacy continue to impact farming and rural support programs in the State today. prgtoken His story is just one of many that help define the city's growth and progress over more than a century. prgtoken Congratulations to the entire community on this 150th anniversary. Charleston continues to be a place people are proud to call home. I am excited to recognize this milestone and look forward to continuing to work with area leaders to support this great Arkansas city and its bright future.
CREATING CONFIDENCE IN CLEAN WATER PERMITTING ACT
John R. Moolenaar (Republican, MI) \u2014 2024-3-21

. Mr. Chair, my amendment is straightforward. prgtoken It prohibits the EPA from issuing a water permit to a company that is based in a foreign country of concern as well as any of its subsidiaries. prgtoken The countries of concern are China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. This is common sense. prgtoken As a member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, I have seen firsthand how the CCP is trying to disrupt American leadership around the world and replace it with their own authoritarian regime. prgtoken Here at home, Americans feel like China is constantly taking advantage of our country and our freedoms. They are sick and tired of seeing the CCP fly spy balloons over our country, bribe our servicemembers to spy on us, hack our computer systems, poison our communities with fentanyl, and depress our children with secret social media algorithms based in Beijing. prgtoken Mr. Chair, if you talked to constituents in your hometown and asked them if we should allow CCP-affiliated companies to use 700,000 gallons of water a day, they would all say, of course not. prgtoken Unfortunately, in my district, the CCP-affiliated company called Gotion is trying to bully its way into town. The company was rejected in a recall election last November and now it is suing a rural township over its plans to build a factory and use 700,000 gallons of water a day. prgtoken The EPA should not be issuing permits to CCP-affiliated companies and their subsidiaries. prgtoken We cannot allow China to take advantage of our country's natural resources. prgtoken My amendment is necessary, and it is common sense. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and .
Israel (Executive Session)
Pete Ricketts (Republican, NE) \u2014 2024-3-21

on October 7, Hamas--a terrorist organization--committed a horrible atrocity on the people of Israel. Over 1,100 people were killed, hundreds taken hostage. prgtoken We must support Israel to destroy this terrorist organization called Hamas. We must get our five American hostages back, and all the hostages must be released. We need to have an ironclad friendship with Israel to get this done. prgtoken This seems obvious to most Americans. However, on the floor of this very institution, the majority leader got up and called for new elections in Israel; and Israel's Prime Minister, he said, was the obstacle to peace. prgtoken It is absolutely outrageous the majority leader would make that speech from this floor while we have five American hostages being held by a terrorist group. He was pandering to the fringe anti-Israel, pro- Hamas wing of his party. It is despicable. It is terrible that he would undermine an ally of ours who shares our values, who has a democratically elected government, and undermine them in their hour of need when they are fighting against a terrorist organization. prgtoken This is good versus evil. The atrocities Hamas committed were barbarous, uncivilized. And yet the majority leader took their side. prgtoken Americans know Hamas must surrender--Hamas must surrender and release the hostages--and that we need to support Israel until Hamas is destroyed. prgtoken So what was the majority leader doing? Well, was he really concerned about the elections in Israel, or was he concerned about our elections? Pandering to the pro-Hamas terrorist wing of his party, somehow trying to distance himself from Israel--it is unbelievable. prgtoken Now, President , on October 7, talked the talk. He said we would stand with Israel no matter what. But the President called the majority leader's speech a good speech. He has been backing away from our ally Israel. prgtoken There are even reports that he is considering conditioning some of the aid to meeting Hamas's conditions. This is outrageous. What do you think Hamas does when they see the President of the United States start to step back from our ally? prgtoken If they were going to negotiate a cease-fire and somehow release hostages, you know that this is actually the opposite of what they are going to do now. They know if the President is weakening, the longer they hold out, the better their position is. It is the opposite of what we should be doing. prgtoken Hamas is a terrorist organization and understands one and one thing only, and that is strength. We need a President who is going to project that strength--project the strength and support our ally Israel. That is what would bring our hostages home. That is what would bring all the hostages home. prgtoken Let Israel do the work of civilized nations and destroy this terrorist organization. That is what needs to happen. prgtoken Everyone in America knows it is not the Israeli Prime Minister
DENOUNCING THE HARMFUL, ANTI-AMERICAN ENERGY POLICIES OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
Jasmine Crockett (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2024-3-21

. Madam , I rise today in strong opposition to this ridiculous attempt to deny reality. prgtoken You know, I must first start off by making sure that I can respond to some things that were just said. As a member of the Agriculture Committee, you probably know just like I do that we have a thing that we have been fighting for called sustainable aviation fuels. This is something that we know in speaking to organizations such as Boeing, we know that we can actually operate planes off of something like sustainable aviation fuels, and they are ready to do the hard work, and guess what? Our farmers are ready to participate. Our farmers need to make sure that they are going to expand their options for earning a dollar because we have this thing called climate change that is taking place. prgtoken Right now, especially in the State of Texas, we are losing so much of our farmland because of this thing called climate change. We just had wildfires that destroyed land. prgtoken We know that right now when it comes to our sugar crops we are having issues because it takes 6 years just to raise a sugar crop. So guess what? We have got to be creative. Honestly, if we would allow the s to continue to decide on what we are going to do when it relates to energy, well, by gosh darn it, I think we would still be in a horse and buggy because it seems like advancements in technology are not what we are looking for. prgtoken No one is saying that it is either or. What we are saying is that we need to make progress instead of being regressive. Under this current administration, we know that we have a record amount of oil that is being produced, but that doesn't mean that we can't also be smart about our energy and move forward. prgtoken Now, let me get to my prepared remarks. prgtoken Instead of taking action to build on President 's progress, House s would rather sit on the sidelines in the least productive Congress in modern history and ridicule rather than serve. prgtoken In this resolution, s ridicule the President's energy supply chain policy, but while s ridicule, brings results.
U.S. Supreme Court (Executive Session)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2024-3-21

I am here for what is No. 30 in my series of ``Scheme'' speeches, about the scheme to capture the Supreme Court. And I thought this would be a good time to give sort of a quick overview of where we have been since most of my speeches have been rifle-shot speeches at individual issues that the Court has caused us to have to face up to. prgtoken So the fundamental problem here is that we have a Supreme Court that has been captured by rightwing special interests, and we see this in decision after decision after decision. And it is affecting the lives of ordinary Americans all over. prgtoken When I say that this is a Court that has been captured by rightwing special interests, what do I mean? Well, there is considerable research out there and considerable literature out there about a phenomenon that is sometimes called Agency capture, and it is sometimes called regulatory capture. It is the same thing. It is the capture of regulatory Agencies. And you can look it up in your library. You can look it up on the internet, and you can get a sense of the extent to which this is recognized in the economic literature, recognized in the administrative law literature. And it is a frequent avenue, unfortunately, of corruption into government decision making. prgtoken And if you want an example to think about, you could imagine a railroad commission whose job is to set rates for the railroad, back in the era of the railroad barons, and the railroad barons have chosen who is on the railroad commission. So the railroad commission isn't serving the public. It is doing exactly what the railroad barons want. That, in a nutshell, is what ``Agency for regulatory capture'' is all about. prgtoken And one of the things that we have discovered in the course of this is that the effort to capture the Court has been a very expensive effort. This is no small or casual thing. prgtoken True North Research has done a lot of this research. And so far, they are up to finding $580 million that have been spent on this Court capture operation. It is not always easy to figure out because the money flows from one place to another through indirect sources and into entities that obscure who the original donor is. It is complicated. But $580 million is a lot of money, and even very, very, very rich rightwing billionaires aren't going spend that much money on a whim. They are going to spend that kind of money because they are going to get a return on their $580 million investment. prgtoken So that is the fundamental problem we are facing--a Court captured by special interests in the same way that, in the old days, Agencies and Commissions were captured. But that technique jumped the rails and was applied to our Supreme Court and with a very, very robust scheme behind it, with at least $580 million spent to accomplish these goals. prgtoken So there you go. You have got your captured Court. You have spent your $580 million. But can you really
FREE LUNCH TO EVERY CHILD
Ro Khanna (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2024-3-21

Art Ellison has one final wish: to provide free lunch to students in need. prgtoken Art, a from the New Hampshire State House, is currently in hospice and knows he doesn't have long to live. He is using his final time to try and pass a bill to increase eligibility for free lunch to all students at or below 350 percent of the Federal poverty line. prgtoken Making kids go hungry is cruel. That is why I am on a bill with Senator Sanders to provide free lunch and free meals to every child. We can do it for $3.30 a day. prgtoken Let us honor Art Ellison and get this done. He represents the best of politics.
HONORING EUGENE CORNACCHIA
Donald M. Payne, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2024-3-21

I rise today to honor Eugene Cornacchia, the longest serving president of St. Peter's University in Jersey City, New Jersey. prgtoken President Cornacchia is retiring this year after 17 years leading this prestigious university. prgtoken During his tenure, President Cornacchia helped St. Peter's become a university and gain national recognition. He helped start the university's first doctoral programs and the new schools of business, nursing, and education. He oversaw the construction of the new student center, Panepinto Hall, and the creation of the STEM empowerment center. prgtoken In addition, President Cornacchia secured more than $134 million in funding and $25 million in Federal grants for the school. prgtoken I enjoyed being there along with my two sons, Donald and Jack, to watch St. Peter's magical run during the 2022 NCAA tournament. Since then, they both have graduated from the school. I will be rooting for the Peacocks during tonight's tournament, as well. prgtoken , President Cornacchia is an exceptional leader and will be missed at St. Peter's University.
Tribute to Diana Baron (Executive Session)
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2024-3-21

. I thank the Presiding Officer from the State just north of mine. prgtoken , I rise today to honor a longtime member of my staff, Diana Baron, as she celebrates her 25th year serving the people of Ohio. prgtoken Diana is a dedicated public servant, a caring colleague, and an effective and indispensable member of my staff. She is on the floor right now wondering why we got her in here. I see the surprise on her face, but the camera will not show that. prgtoken Despite growing up in Oklahoma City, graduating from Tufts University in Boston--a school she still dearly loves--Diana found her way to this Ohio office 25 years ago. We are lucky that she stayed. prgtoken Today, new staff are always surprised to hear that Diana isn't from Ohio. She knows more about our State than almost anybody I know. Over the years, we have given her the title of ``Honorary Ohioan.'' prgtoken She joined our team serving Ohioans back when I worked down the hall, when I represented the people of Lorian, Elyria, Medina, and Wadsworth, in that part of northeast Ohio. She worked her way up. After a few years serving as a legislative assistant, Diana was ready for something new. prgtoken As we moved to the Senate, Diana led the way. With her command of logistics, her efficiency, and her work ethic, she found a role that suited her perfectly and suited us perfectly: director of scheduling-- one of the most important offices, as all of my colleagues know, in the U.S. Senate. She has been leading the way ever since. From making sure I can meet with every Ohioan possible to making it all over the State to roundtables and plant tours and picket lines and speeches and events, Diana is behind the scenes making it happen. Surely--pardon the cliche--she keeps the trains running every day, every hour. She navigates ever-changing vote schedules in this body, getting staff the information they need to do their jobs. You always rely on her to get it done. prgtoken We don't always make it easy. My staff, I--none of us makes it easy. There is always another event to schedule, something to change, a meeting with an Ohioan who drops by at the last minute, or a different corner of the State to visit when I am home every weekend. Day to day, messages go long, traffic slows us down, but Diana keeps at it. She is always thinking three steps ahead of each of us. She comes ready, if plan A doesn't work, to do plan B; if plan B doesn't work, to do plan C. prgtoken We ask Diana to fit more in 1 day than 24 hours should allow. She not only makes the most of every minute, she makes an exceptionally challenging job look oh so easy. She makes it look easy on the hardest days, on the days when the stress has to be pretty overwhelming. She juggles a million different responsibilities. That doesn't go unnoticed. That is why I am here. prgtoken Ohioans, on their way in and out of meetings, express their gratitude to Diana for making it happen. They thank her for fi
Electric Vehicles (Executive Session)
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2024-3-21

. My colleague John Barrasso has just spoken. He and I used to lead the Environment and Public Works Committee. We worked together over the years on a lot of issues. He is good at finding the middle in a bunch of those and I think I am, too, and so is our Presiding Officer. prgtoken I want to follow up on the issue of electric vehicles. The reason why there is a strong interest in this country and around the world in electric vehicles is because they don't put greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The reason why we are concerned about greenhouse gases coming out of fossil fuel vehicles--it is something like 30 percent of the greenhouse gases in this country being produced by our mobile fleet, our cars, our trucks, our vans--almost all of them are gas- and diesel-driven. prgtoken We are seeing a real tick up in the last 3 or 4 years in electric vehicles. There is a lot of interest right now in a combination-- hybrids--where you run for a while--vehicles run for a while on battery and for a while some of these on other sources of fuel. I think we need both of those. prgtoken The reason, again, why it is important for us to do something real with respect to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, about 30 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions come from the cars, trucks, and vans we drive--about 30 percent. About another 25 percent comes from the powerplants--coal-fired plants, natural gas-fired plants. That creates the electricity we use in our businesses and our homes. Maybe another 20 percent of our greenhouse gases in this country come from manufacturing plants--steel mills, asphalt plants, that kind of thing. prgtoken Should we be concerned about this? Yes. Last year was the hottest year on record on our planet--hottest year. It was the hottest year in the United States, and the expectation is that it is going to continue to worsen as time goes by. prgtoken For those of us who live in the coastal communities, there is a great concern in Delaware and all up and down the east coast, gulf coast, and Pacific coast about sea level rise. We see threats to people's homes, their businesses, their jobs. So there is a real incentive to do something about that as well. prgtoken One of the things Senator Barrasso and I and John Neely Kennedy, the Senator from Louisiana, have worked on before is one of the major sources of carbon emissions, which, as I mentioned, is our mobile fleet. But another one comes from, believe it or not, refrigerants that are in the air-conditioners, the freezers--the coolants that we have used--something called HFCs, hydrofluorocarbons. There is a need to actually phase those down. prgtoken We have new substances that can be used as a refrigerant to address the concerns that we have with HFCs, hydrofluorocarbons. prgtoken The two colleagues I just mentioned, we all worked together toward legislation--a treaty called Kigali--the last couple of years to adopt a stepdown plan over 15 years so we reduce abo
COMMENDING IVELISSE DIAZ
Delia C. Ramirez (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2024-3-21

I rise today in honor of Diana Martinez, a powerful Latina voice for our art, culture, and community in Illinois' Third District. prgtoken The proud daughter of a Salvadoran immigrant single mother, Diana demonstrated an early passion for creativity and the arts. prgtoken A Glen Ellyn native, she started her young career by participating in the Park District's theater programs and then nurtured her love for theater at Glenbard West High School and the University of Illinois. prgtoken In her current leadership role directing the McAninch Arts Center, Diana curates culturally impactful art experiences in DuPage County, including bringing major exhibits to our region featuring renowned paintings from legends like Frida Kahlo and Andy Warhol. prgtoken As an active and engaged neighbor, Diana seeks to protect and preserve her community's cultural and historic character through her work with Protect Glen Ellyn and Save Main. prgtoken For her dedication to art as a powerful means of building community, on prgtoken behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my great honor to commend Diana Martinez for her dedication to service and leadership. Congratulations to Diana. Commending Elizabeth ``Lisa'' Hernandez