mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
REMEMBERING DR. WILLIAM ``ED'' KOIS
Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2019-11-14

I rise on behalf of the New Hampshire congressional delegation--Senator Maggie Hassan, Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster, and Congressman Chris Pappas--to pay tribute to Dr. William ``Ed'' Kois, a passionate and caring provider at the Manchester Veterans Affairs Medical Center, whose life was tragically cut short in July of this year. Dr. Kois was relentless in making sure that each patient coming through the hospital doors received the best medical care possible. He was often described, especially by the many veterans he served, as the quintessential ``patient's doctor.'' prgtoken Dr. Kois began his work at the Manchester VAMC in 2012 after two-and- half decades of private practice in Nashua, NH. He specialized in physiatry, a branch of medicine devoted to the treatment of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and joints. His expertise made him a natural fit for the Manchester VAMC's Spinal Cord Clinic, and he began to treat many veterans whose mobility and well- being were impacted by spinal cord injury or dysfunction. Dr. Kois sought to provide a standard of care consistent with the core values of the Veteran's Administration--integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence--and his own strong moral compass. prgtoken This fierce devotion to his principles compelled Dr. Kois to lead a team of 11 whistleblowers alleging inadequate care at the Manchester VAMC. Although soft-spoken among friends and colleagues, he became a powerful voice and a public face in the effort to expose substandard treatment and demand better care for America's veterans. The advocacy of Dr. Kois and his colleagues caught the attention of the Boston Globe Spotlight investigative team, which published a story in July 2017 that directed public attention to the shortcomings at the Manchester VAMC. It prompted a top-to-bottom review that delivered needed changes and improvements at the site. prgtoken As with any whistleblower complaint, Dr. Kois undertook significant risk in bringing these subjects to light. Yet, with an uncompromising spirit that many attribute to his amateur boxer father, he was willing to sacrifice his livelihood if it meant that veterans would receive the care they need and deserve. And he was eager to sit down with hospital administration and work with them to develop policies that fulfill that promise. His efforts benefited countless men and women in the Granite State and across the country. prgtoken Dr. Kois is survived by his wife of 29 years, Pamela Greenley, as well as many loving family members, treasured colleagues, and cherished friends. Ms. Greenley will be on hand next week to accept the First Amendment Award on her husband's behalf from the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications. This distinction honors Granite Staters who go above-and-beyond in their use of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. We join the Loeb School, as well
DIRECTING THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE TO MAKE A CORRECTION IN THE ENROLLMENT OF H.R. 2423
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2019-11-14

this week, America is paying tribute to more than 19 million people in our country and a half million people in Michigan who show us every day what service is all about. prgtoken America's veterans have served in many ways and on many different fronts. However, I think they all have a couple of things in common. prgtoken The first is that they love our Nation so much that they are willing to put their lives on the line for our Constitution, our democracy, our values, and our ideals for our country. The second is that they understand that patriotism is a lot more than a feeling of pride. Instead, it is a way of life. prgtoken Veterans don't finish their military service, hang up their uniforms, go home, never to be heard from again. Instead, these are the people around us who take a good look at their community, their State, our country, see what needs to be done, and step up. prgtoken Not all of us have what it takes to serve in our Armed Forces. Yet all of us do have the ability to follow the example of those who have served us, see a need, and raise our hands. Imagine how much better off our Nation would be if we all had that same dedication to give something back. prgtoken As we have been celebrating Veterans Day this week, we should all remember that when American men and women sign up to serve in our armed services, they really sign a blank check to our country--a check that could include everything, including losing their life. When our Nation accepts that check, we need to make sure we are holding up our end of the bargain. prgtoken Unfortunately, the administration is failing to provide veterans with the benefits they have earned, especially when it comes to healthcare. prgtoken Congress passed the VA MISSION Act last year to improve veterans' access to healthcare and to expand benefits to caregivers, which is so important. Yet the VA missed the October deadline--missed the October deadline--to include Vietnam and Korean war veterans in the expansion. prgtoken The VA has kicked eligible veterans out of the caregiver program without explaining why. Meanwhile, more than 60,000 veterans who received emergency care at non-VA facilities in 2017 are still waiting for the VA to pay their medical bills. prgtoken Perhaps worst of all, this administration turned their backs on more than 80,000 Vietnam-era veterans who developed illnesses because of toxic exposure to Agent Orange. We have known for a long time that Agent Orange exposure has caused many serious health issues. prgtoken In fact, I first started working on this issue regarding Agent Orange and fighting for our veterans when I was in the Michigan State legislature, trying to get the Federal Government to recognize and provide VA health coverage for these illnesses. Over the years, some things have changed and improved, but it has been way, way too slow. prgtoken Veterans who have been suffering for years were offered hope in 2017 when the
HONORING THE KICK FOR NICK FOUNDATION
Rosa L. DeLauro (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2019-11-14

. Madam , just a few weeks ago I had the extraordinary opportunity to participate in a local fundraiser for the Kick For Nick Foundation and was so inspired by the generosity of the participants and the mission of the Foundation that I wanted to share the experience with my colleagues. prgtoken PFC Nicholas A. Madaras of Wilton, Connecticut served our country bravely in Iraq until his life was cut tragically short by an IED on September 3, 2006. He was just 19 years old and weeks away from the scheduled end of his deployment. Nick had been an avid soccer player, coach, and referee growing up and when he had last came home on leave he had shared stories about connecting with young Iraqi children through the sport, often using anything they could find as a ball, most times nothing more than a tin can. Nick asked friends and family to send him a few soccer balls to share with the children in Baqubah. Unfortunately, he never got that chance. prgtoken Yet, from their grief, Nick's family and friends found a new mission--a way to pay tribute to Nick's memory, his passion for soccer, and his desire to make a difference in the lives of the children he had met in the war-tom country where he served. Shortly after his passing, Nick's family was approached by Ken Dartley, also of Wilton, who had read Nick's story and asked to start a program collecting soccer balls in his honor to fulfill his wish to share his love and passion for the game with Iraqi children. It was through this first effort that the Kick For Nick Foundation was born. prgtoken What began with a few soccer balls in a net donated at the James P. Whipple American Legion Post 86 in Wilton has since grown exponentially with over 50,000 soccer balls having been donated and distributed to date. The Kick For Nick Foundation has received donations from 47 of the 50 states and, prior to distribution, each one is inscribed three times with Nick's name. Initially the balls were distributed only by US troops in Iraq, but over the years, in addition to soldiers, the distribution network has grown to include US military contractors, volunteers, individuals, schools, and charitable organizations. Balls have been given to underprivileged children in more than 50 countries including Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Bhutan, Guatemala, Colombia. Beyond, the distribution of soccer balls, when they have the opportunity and the supplies, Kick For Nick has also provided uniforms, cleats, shin guards, personal hygiene supplies such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, school supplies such as pencils, notebooks and backpacks, as well as occasional food supplies. prgtoken As I walked through the fundraiser and the many who had gathered to support the Foundation, I was inspired by the displays showing pictures of troops distributing the balls and of notes of thanks from the soldiers distributing them as well as the young people receiving them. I had the opportunity to speak with Nick's
RISING PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS
Joe Courtney (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2019-11-14

last Friday, November 8, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the new Medicare part B premiums starting in January 2020 will increase by $9.10 a month, a 6.7 percent increase over last year. prgtoken In dollars and cents, this means that premiums will go to $144.60 a month, up from $135 a month. As seniors know all too well, that $144 will be deducted automatically from their Social Security checks, which is a bitter pill given the fact that Social Security itself is slated only to rise by 1.6 percent starting January 1. prgtoken Very simply, that $9-a-month increase for millions of seniors will chew up a large part of any COLA that they can possibly receive starting in January. prgtoken So, , I just want to footstop that point about the fact that the Social Security system's COLA, which is tied to general inflation in the economy, is going up 1.6 percent; whereas, the Medicare part B premium, which is tied to healthcare costs, is going up 6.7 percent. prgtoken This is something that we know is endemic throughout the healthcare system. In the State of Connecticut, the Department of Insurance increased commercial insurance rates, that went up again above inflation, and identified the fact that prescription drug cost was the primary cost driver. prgtoken The Center for Medicare Services last Friday, when they announced the Medicare part B premiums, also confirmed the fact that it is prescription drug costs that are driving that 6.7 percent increase. prgtoken The increase in prescription drug costs that Medicare paid from 2018 to 2019 was 10 percent, and they are projecting that it is going to go to 10.10 percent in 2020; thus, we have a $9 increase coming up in terms of people's premiums. prgtoken This is not going to come as a great surprise to the American people. If you go back to last year's election in 2018, the exit polls showed that the number one issue that people cared about and were concerned about and wanted Congress to act on was healthcare costs--more specifically, prescription drug costs. prgtoken That was an election that had the largest voter turnout since 1914 in a midterm election and elected a new majority with a 10-million-vote plurality. prgtoken So, that is the context that we are in right now, at a moment where this Congress, and particularly the House of Representatives, is poised to take up H.R. 3, which is the Lower Drug Costs Now Act. And in the midst of all the media focus on impeachment, it is important to know that the committees that have cognizance over healthcare--the Ways and Means Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Education and Labor Committee, prgtoken on which I sit--reported out basically the same version of H.R. 3. prgtoken And it is, again, a matter of just a couple of weeks for the Congressional Budget Office to finish scoring the bill that we are going to take up that measure for a vote. prgtoken What does it do? It basically unhand
INTRODUCTION OF THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT ACT
Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat, DC) \u2014 2019-11-14

. Madam , I rise to introduce the Federal Employee Recruitment Act of 2019 to require the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to develop, within three months of enactment of this bill, a plan for recruiting new workers into federal service. With the aging of the federal workforce, this bill is more important than ever. prgtoken The average age of federal employees has steadily increased over the course of the last two decades, hitting 47.5 years in 2017. In the private sector, 54 percent workers are over 40 years old, while in the federal workforce, that number is 69 percent. At the end of last year, only 6 percent of the federal workforce were under 30, while almost a quarter of private-sector employees were under 30. prgtoken There are numerous consequences to an aging federal workforce. For example, as older federal employees opt to retire, the government risks permanently losing much of its institutional knowledge if federal agencies cannot find adequate replacements. prgtoken Possible solutions to the problem of a graying workforce include increased federal recruitment at college and university campuses, increased technological innovation in how applications are submitted, and a greater number of internships. Improved benefits, including paid family leave, increased telework, prgtoken and short-term disability insurance allowing coverage for non-work- related injury or illness or pregnancy, can also likely increase recruitment and retention of employees by the federal government. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.
SUPPORTING THE FARM WORKFORCE MODERNIZATION ACT
Antonio Delgado (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-11-14

I rise today on behalf of the nearly 5,000 farmers in my district, 96 percent of which are family-owned farms. prgtoken Every time I am home, I meet with farmers about the major challenges they face today. The need to modernize and make more effective our H2A visa program is consistently flagged. prgtoken That is why I am proud to support the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a historic bill that both simplifies and broadens the scope of the H2A application process. In addition to ensuring critical protections for work, the bill will finally allow dairy and other farm operations to access the H2A farm worker program, a critical priority for farmers in New York-19. prgtoken , on behalf of upstate produce and vegetable growers, dairy operators, and all farmers in my district, I applaud the bipartisan work of my colleagues in negotiating this important agreement. Now let's come together and get this done.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2019-11-14

I rise to speak up for those who serve our country all around the world, courageously, selflessly, with great sacrifice. I rise on behalf of our diplomatic corps, our Foreign Service Officers, civil servants, and State Department personnel. I rise on behalf of patriotic Americans serving our country on the front lines of war zones and devastating conflicts, in countries with oppressive governments and societies hostile to our own. prgtoken Our national security is stronger because of them. American people are safer because of them. Our children's futures will be more secure, more prosperous, because of them. And because prgtoken of them and their hard work and sacrifice, our grandchildren may know a world with less pain, less strife, less conflict. And yet they have come under attack, simply for serving their country. prgtoken This week, three State Department witnesses are testifying during the House of Representatives' impeachment hearings on the -Ukraine scandal. These individuals have, in many cases, spent their entire careers serving our Nation with distinction, on behalf of both and ic administrations. Some have even worn the uniform of the U.S. Armed Forces. prgtoken These men and women are not partisans. They are patriots, patriots who put our country first. And for putting country first, for being willing to tell the truth, they have come under attack--not by a foreign regime bristling at their efforts to promote democracy, not by oligarchs and criminals who fear their effectiveness--though that has happened as well. prgtoken No. They have come under attack in our own country, by our own President, by the head of our government that they so bravely and selflessly serve. It pains me, and so I am standing before you today to speak up on their behalf, on behalf of each voice that has come forward in this time of need and tumult for our country. This is a time when we need truth--truth above party, truth above political loyalties and expediency, truth above self-interest. These diplomats, these professionals, these proud public servants are putting the country before themselves--if only this President could do the same, if only he--just once--could put the interests of others ahead of his own. prgtoken But frankly, I am not the one who should be standing up on behalf of our diplomatic corps, nor should it be only the on the Foreign Relations Committee. There is a job post that actually entails standing up for the men and women of our State Department each and every day. The job is called Secretary of State. It is a job held by Secretary Mike Pompeo. Yet under Secretary Pompeo's watch, the dedicated Americans who serve in the State Department have been thrown to the wolves. prgtoken Our Secretary of State should be the No. 1 defender of our diplomatic corps. He should come forward and tell the American people what he saw, what he heard, and what he did about
Remembering Kay Hagan (Executive Session)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2019-11-14

last month, we lost Kay Hagan after a long illness. prgtoken Kay was always a fighter, starting with her days in the North Carolina State Legislature and continuing to when she answered the call of serving the Senate during the perilous days of the great recession. Kay was the right person to fight for North Carolina when she was needed the most. prgtoken She came from a family who knows service and sacrifice. Her uncle was Lawton Chiles, a Korean war veteran and former Representative, Senator, and Governor of Florida. Her father and brother served in the Navy. Her father-in-law was a major general in the Marine Corps. Her husband is a Vietnam veteran who used his GI bill to pay for law school. When Kay talked about veterans' issues, she spoke from the heart. prgtoken Kay was born into politics. As a young girl, she was putting bumper stickers on cars for her uncle. Her father won an election to become mayor of Lakeland, FL. While interning for her uncle, Kay learned about the ups and downs of Congress, literally. She operated the Senators- only elevator in this building. prgtoken North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt first encouraged Kay to run for office when she served as his Guilford County campaign chairman. In 1998, she unseated a incumbent and won a seat in the North Carolina State Senate. For 10 years, Kay Hagan earned a reputation as a commonsense hard worker, interested in results, not partisan fighting. As cochair of the State budget committee, she increased the State's rainy day fund and balanced five straight budgets. She helped make record investments in education, raised the pay for teachers, and increased the minimum wage. prgtoken She was one of the most versatile women in her State. She juggled Girl Scout events, winning reelection four times, raising her growing family, and serving as a Sunday school teacher and a Presbyterian Church elder. prgtoken In 2008, Kay ran for and won a U.S. Senate seat, becoming the Senate's first female ic Senator. With her family's military background, it surprised no one that Kay fought hard in the Senate for military families and veterans. When she heard about 9-year-old Janey Ensminger--daughter of a retired marine--passing away from leukemia because of contaminated water on the base of Camp Lejeune, she worked to pass the Janey Ensminger Act to help those affected receive healthcare. prgtoken Kay also introduced a bill that was close to my heart. It would ban for-profit colleges from using the phrase ``GI bill'' in their aggressive marketing efforts aimed at separating veterans and servicemembers from their hard-earned education benefits. prgtoken Kay was fearless with her voting. She made the toughest votes count, knowing the consequences to her own career. As long as it helped people of North Carolina and the United States, she was always a crucial partner. The Affordable Care Act and the 2009 economic stimulus package were pol
Farmers and Veterans (Executive Session)
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2019-11-14

I appreciate the good-faith objection from my friend from Mississippi, but the good news that I can convey to her is that my Senate friends who want to have some impact into the consideration of the future of American gun laws have ample opportunity to do that because they are in the majority. prgtoken Senate s control the Judiciary Committee. Senator McConnell can decide to bring any measure to the floor. If the concern is that there hasn't been enough input into the question of whether criminals or terrorists or people who are seriously mentally ill get guns, then, convene a discussion on this, bring a debate to the floor, have a process in the Judiciary Committee. Don't just stay silent. It doesn't pass the straight-face test to come down here and say: Well, we can't take up H.R. 8, despite the fact it has 90 percent public approval because we haven't had input on it. You are in the majority. You have the ability to pass legislation that you support and that can support as well. prgtoken The idea that we are just going to sit here and twiddle our thumbs week after week as 100 people are killed by guns through suicides and homicides and accidental shootings is an abdication of our basic responsibility as U.S. Senators. There is nothing that matters more to our constituents than their physical safety. prgtoken There are kids who are walking to school in cities in every single State in this Nation who fear for their lives, whose brain chemistry is changed by the trauma they go through because of that fear for their safety, and they can't learn, they can't cope, and they can't build strong relationships. prgtoken My kids go through active shooter drills at school because they, in fact, expect that someday someone will walk through their doors and start firing a military-style assault weapon in one of their classrooms. prgtoken I get it that there is a difference of opinion on exactly how we should expand background checks. I understand that maybe my colleagues don't want to support H.R. 8. But you are in the majority. You have the ability to lead a conversation that can find that common ground on expanding background checks. prgtoken I am not going to accept this argument that we can't bring H.R. 8 to the floor because we have some concerns about it. I can't get a piece of legislation to the floor any other way than to offer this motion. prgtoken The American public is not going to accept silence from this body week after week, month after month, in the face of this epidemic carnage that is happening across this country. Parents know their kids aren't safe, and they expect us to act. prgtoken The President's Attorney General said the other day that we made some progress on the issue of background checks over the summer, but now we have the impeachment proceedings, and so that stops all of this discussion. prgtoken That is not true. The impeachment