mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
FOURTH AMENDMENT IS NOT FOR SALE ACT
Harriet M. Hageman (Republican, WY) \u2014 2024-4-17

. Mr. Chair, such time as I may consume. prgtoken Mr. Chair, there are a couple of points that I would make. One is that I reject the notion that in order to beat China or other foreign adversaries, we must become like they are. prgtoken If the real opposition to this bill is that it prevents the United States Government from becoming the same type of surveillance state that Communist China is, then I think that says everything that we need to know about those opposed to the bill, and I challenge them to explain that position to their constituents. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I believe absolutely in protecting our constitutional rights, and I believe it is important to understand the significance of how these various Federal agencies have been abusing this power to surveil and persecute American citizens. prgtoken As part of the Committee on the Judiciary's investigation into the IRS' troubling visit to the home of journalist Matt Taibbi on the very day that he testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, we learned that the IRS collected personal data from data brokers to use in its investigation of Mr. Taibbi. For example, the IRS collected data from the data broker Anywho, a people search website. prgtoken It is concerning enough that the IRS would take the extreme step of visiting someone's home on the day he testified before Congress, but the IRS also compiled its information from a data broker, potentially accessing vast amounts of Taibbi's private information. prgtoken That is the nature of the abuse that these Federal agencies are engaging in in violating Americans' civil rights. prgtoken Mr. Chair, the Fourth Amendment exists for a reason. There is no exception to the Fourth Amendment requirement of getting a warrant. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner) to speak on this bill.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Ron Johnson (Republican, WI) \u2014 2024-4-17

. from Utah, and I was not aware of all of those titles, but I will accept them. prgtoken , if we would have had a trial--and it is a travesty we haven't. There has been great damage done to our Constitution and to this institution by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle because they didn't want the American people to see this. prgtoken Now, I have described this chart--had we had a trial, this would have been the irrefutable DNA evidence that proved the crime. There is no way you can take a look at the history of illegal entry into this country and not recognize that what has happened under the administration and under Secretary Mayorkas is nothing less than an utter catastrophe. prgtoken Yesterday, I spent about 10, 15 minutes on the floor going through the history of the cause and effect that this chart shows. But what I really want to point out today is what the did not want us to reveal, because what this chart shows is that this was purposeful; this was willful. President and Secretary Mayorkas and our ic colleagues here in the Congress and in the Senate, they want an open border. They caused this crisis. This didn't just happen. This was a game plan that they implemented. They aided and abetted it. All the damage, all the destruction, all the crimes that are a result of this-- they have aided and abetted it. prgtoken What this chart does show is that the lawlessness started back in 2012 by the administration under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This took prosecutorial discretion, which is-- again, I am not a lawyer; I am not a prosecutor, but I believe that is supposed to be applied on a case-by-case basis. President took prosecutorial discretion and granted it to hundreds of thousands of people. That is what has sparked every surge in illegal immigration since that point in time. prgtoken I used to have a chart that just showed unaccompanied children. Prior to DACA, there were maybe 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 unaccompanied children per year that our Federal Government had to account for and had to deal with. In 2014, because of DACA, we encountered 69,000 unaccompanied children--69,000. Even back then, President , when his Department of Homeland Security and his Customs and Border Patrol were dealing with 2,200 illegal immigrants being encountered per day, he declared that to be a humanitarian crisis--2,200 people a day. prgtoken By the way, I went down to McAllen, TX, with a bunch of ic colleagues in February of 2015, during this surge, and people were singing the praises of CBP, of their kind of skirting bureaucratic rules and setting up a detention facility that would protect children. They used chain-link fences. Again, we were singing their praises. were singing the praises of the CBP. A few years later, when President had to deal with the crisis--again, sparked by the unlawful DA
REFORMING INTELLIGENCE AND SECURING AMERICA ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED-- Continued
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2024-4-17

7,633,650, that is the number of migrant encounters at our southern border since President took office-- 7,633,650. The situation at our southern border is out of control. We have had three--three now--successive years of recordbreaking illegal immigration under President , and we are on track for a fourth. prgtoken There have been more than 1.3 million migrant encounters at our southern border since October 1 of last year, which was the start of this fiscal year. That is 1.3 million, just since October 1 of last year. And that number just refers to individuals who are actually apprehended. There have been almost 150,000 known ``got-aways'' so far this fiscal year, and those are individuals the Border Patrol saw but were unable to apprehend. Often, we see migrants turning themselves in to authorities, so it is especially concerning to know that so many individuals have purposely evaded interdiction. And of course, we don't know how many unknown ``got-aways'' there have been. prgtoken U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, in a March interview with CBS News, said the number of known ``got-aways'' is keeping him up at night. That is ``a national security threat,'' he noted. That is a quote. ``Border security is a big piece of national security,'' he goes on to say. ``And if we don't know who is coming into our country, and we don't know what their intent is, that is a threat and they're exploiting a vulnerability that's on our border right now.'' prgtoken That, again, from Jason Owens, U.S. Border Patrol Chief. prgtoken Well, the situation at our southern border right now is a national security threat. There is no question that the kinds of numbers we are seeing smooth the way for dangerous individuals to enter our country. During fiscal year 2023, 169 individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist were apprehended trying to cross our southern border--more, I might add, than the previous 6 years combined--and that is just the individuals, again, who were actually apprehended. With somewhere around 1.8 million known ``got-aways'' since President took office and an untold number of unknown ``got-aways,'' I think we can safely assume that there are plenty of dangerous individuals making their way into our country without being stopped. prgtoken While there are always various factors that affect the flow of illegal immigration, we are on track for a fourth recordbreaking year of illegal immigration under the administration because of the actions that President has taken or failed to take. From the day he took office, when he rescinded the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border, President made it clear that border security was at the bottom of his priority list. And over the 3 years since, he has turned our southern border into a magnet for illegal migration from repealing effective border security policies of the administration to abusing our asylum
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
John Boozman (Republican, AR) \u2014 2024-4-17

I rise today to congratulate and recognize Lynette West of Jonesboro on being named Arkansas' 2024 Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. prgtoken As the owner of HealthWear Corporation, a boutique business that offers medical uniforms and accessories, West is an inspiring entrepreneur who has worked hard to attain success personally and professionally, including putting herself through college while raising two young children. prgtoken Her journey with HealthWear began in 2013 when she started working part-time at the specialty shop before it even opened its doors. She played a crucial role in getting the shop ready for its grand opening, working closely with vendors to ensure a successful launch. When HealthWear faced the possibility of closure in 2015, West stepped in and took over as the full-time owner, determined to turn things around. prgtoken Since acquiring the business, she has been actively involved in all aspects of its operations, including managing the team of five employees to ensure they provide excellent service to their customers. Her hands-on approach has helped create a welcoming and friendly atmosphere in the store, attracting a loyal customer base. prgtoken Under her leadership, HealthWear has received recognition not only for its stellar reputation among clientele, but also for the quality of its products, including an award for best uniform from Premiere Magazine in northeast Arkansas. These accolades and West's pursuit of support and mentorship have helped her guide the business through challenges and opportunities alike. prgtoken Congratulations again to Lynette West and her entire team, as this distinction is a result of their outstanding efforts. Her passion for her business, her community, and her family shines through in everything she does. We are proud to celebrate the hard work and success that has made HealthWear such an integral part of the economic and medical care needs in the region.
CONGRATULATING TOM FANNING ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM SOUTHERN COMPANY
Rick W. Allen (Republican, GA) \u2014 2024-4-17

I rise to congratulate Tom Fanning on his retirement after more than four decades of service to Southern Company and its customers in my region. prgtoken Tom Fanning was named President of Southern Company in August of 2010, and assumed the additional roles of Chairman and CEO four months later. During his time at Southern Company, Tom held executive roles across various business disciplines, including finance, strategy, international business development, and technology. As President, Chairman, and CEO, he received numerous awards and accolades, including being named one of the most influential leaders in the energy industry in the past 25 years. prgtoken Under Tom's visionary leadership, Southern Company led the way in providing clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy to its customers. Tom's tenure was characterized by his boundless energy and his strong commitment to innovation and the development of new energy technologies to meet the challenges of the future. During his tenure, Southern achieved a number of remarkable milestones, most notably completion of the first new nuclear generation unit in the United States in three decades at Plant Vogtle in Georgia's 12th District. prgtoken Tom also became one of our country's leading voices in the area of cybersecurity. For nearly a decade, he served as co-chair of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, which is the principal liaison between the federal government and the electric power sector protecting the electric grid from threats. Fanning's leadership was recognized by the U.S. Senate in 2019 with an appointment to the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a group charged with developing a strategy to protect the cyberspace interests of the U.S. He was also appointed by the White House to serve as chairman of the advisory board to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with protecting the Nation's critical infrastructure from both cyber and physical threats. prgtoken Although he is stepping down from his role at Southern Company, I know Tom will continue to be active on the many issues about which he is passionate. I salute him for his extraordinary service, and I wish him and his family all the best in the years ahead.
BORDER CRISIS JEOPARDIZES AMERICANS
Joe Wilson (Republican, SC) \u2014 2024-4-17

President and far- left continue to jeopardize the safety of American families and national security with open borders. prgtoken Mr. 's failure has allowed over 9 million illegal aliens to cross our borders, including more than 300 on the terrorist watch list. Due to Mr. 's irresponsibility, all families are at risk, as evidenced by the brutal murder of nursing student Laken Riley of Georgia. prgtoken House s continue to work to protect Americans and strengthen our borders, including passage of the Secure the Border Act to reinforce border security and impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, who shamefully put every American family at risk of murderous attack. prgtoken In conclusion, God bless our troops who successfully protected America for 20 years as the global war on terrorism moves from the Afghanistan safe haven to America. We don't need new border laws; we need to enforce the laws we have. shamefully opens borders for dictators, as more 9/11 attacks across America are imminent, as repeatedly warned by the FBI.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2024-4-17

. I am sorry to say that my friend from Kansas is not wrong. In the 237 years of our Nation's history, I don't know that there has been a more shameful day in the U.S. Senate than today. prgtoken What we just witnessed was a travesty. It was a travesty to the U.S. Constitution, and it was a travesty to the American people. And it is important to understand why the did what they did. prgtoken We are here on the Senate floor right now, but I want the record to reflect that I am going to do a very accurate count of the number of who are with us. That would be zero, other than the Presiding Officer, and somebody has to preside. Not a single Senator chose to come to this floor and listen to one word of evidence. prgtoken When it comes to the Constitution, the concluded that and Alejandro Mayorkas defying Federal law, ignoring the text of the statute, deliberately releasing criminal illegal aliens over and over and over again--that is just hunky-dory. You can't impeach him for that. Every just voted. prgtoken By the way, every Cabinet member--guess what--you have just been given a blank slate. Ignore the law. When are in charge of the Senate, the entire Cabinet can ignore the law. It is no longer impeachable in wonderland when a member of the executive branch openly defies the law. prgtoken By the way, every just voted that way. They didn't hear one word of argument. The majority leader didn't stand up and say: Here is the reason why it is OK. No, he didn't present that argument. prgtoken They didn't read a brief. Nobody wrote a brief. They didn't care enough to know what Senator Lee just laid out, that the Department of Justice went in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and said: If the executive defies the law, the answer is impeachment. prgtoken The willingness of every to be blatantly hypocritical--just last year, the Justice Department said: No, no, no, no, no. You can't sue in court when we, the administration, defy the law. The answer is impeachment. prgtoken And like three-card monte, every Senate said: No, no, no, no, no. The answer is not impeachment. I don't know what it is. prgtoken Actually, I do know what it is. There is only one answer left, which is that everyone who is unhappy about the open border shows up in November. And, to use the phrase, throw the bums out. prgtoken Because if you are not willing to do your job--is there not one Senator on that side of the aisle who cares enough to honor the Constitution? prgtoken And, by the way, the second article they threw out said that lying to Congress is not a high crime or misdemeanor. It is not impeachable. prgtoken Now, as the Senator from South Carolina pointed out, Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath. And do you know what happened? He was ultimately acquitted, but after a full trial, where they heard the evidence, when the Senate di
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mike Lee (Republican, UT) \u2014 2024-4-17

. Thank you, Senator Blackburn. prgtoken Another great mind that we benefit from in the Senate is our friend and colleague, the junior Senator from Florida. prgtoken Before he became the Senator from Florida, Senator Scott was previously Governor Scott, a Governor of one of the most heavily populated States in America. And prior to that, he was famous in the business world, personally employing hundreds of thousands of people. prgtoken So the Department of Homeland Security is an enormous organization. Nobody understands how best to run an enormous organization and to do so with exceptional skill better than Senator Scott, and nobody understands better than him how the buck stops with the person running that organization. We would love to hear from him now.
RESPONDING TO AMERICANS' CONCERNS
Blake D. Moore (Republican, UT) \u2014 2024-4-17

I thank the gentleman and appreciate his willingness to participate always. prgtoken , as I wrap up our Special Order and my remarks, the world watched over the weekend as Iran launched an unprecedented attack on our ally, Israel. prgtoken This attack deservedly was met with scorn and contempt from governments across the world, and it was reassuring to see such strong cooperation from the U.S U.K Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia to intercept Iranian missiles to keep Jerusalem and its holy sites from being completely destroyed. prgtoken I never thought I would be in that situation, to be in Congress, to be a part of legislation this week, to be at this moment, to meet this moment. prgtoken People watched across the world because of these holy sites. Look, I have said this before, and as I finalize my thoughts here, I think back to one of my first meetings in my first term of Congress. I got to meet with the Consul General from the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles. He was in Utah, and I got a chance to sit down with him. I said, as I dig into this, I am so impressed with the Abraham Accords. prgtoken Candidly, I think it was President and Vice President 's most significant success in our foreign policy during their administration. The Abraham Accords are diplomatic and trade relationships with Israel and Arab nations. I mean, when you think about the years and decades and centuries of us trying to find common ground and peace in that region of the world, we created an opportunity, and the U.S. was a big part of this, to establish these relationships with Arab nations and Israel. Potential bellwether countries like Saudi Arabia could have joined on. prgtoken I asked him what the recipe was for success to make that happen, and he said that it came down to one thing, that these Arab states--Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain--knew the U.S. stood firm against Iranian aggression. That was what he boiled the whole entire experience down to. prgtoken Nobody in that region wants Iran to gain more influence. They want to destabilize everything over there. The whole region understands this. Arab nation, Jewish nation, whatever, they all understand that Iran wants to destabilize. prgtoken They want to have the U.S. as a presence, a strong presence, to make sure that the U.S. had the backs of Arab nations and had Israel's back against continual potential aggression from Iran. prgtoken Knowing that, they were willing to enter into these trade relationships that were potentially treacherous because Iran doesn't want anybody to have a trade relationship, a diplomatic relationship with Israel. prgtoken This is my number one, biggest complaint with President 's foreign policy, is to just--okay, look, President was going on the JCPOA, so let's just start those talks back up again and completely ignore the success that we had had to create peace in the Middle East. prgtoken It is something that every
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2024-4-17

we set a very unfortunate precedent here. This means the Senate can ignore, in effect, the House's impeachment. It doesn't make any difference whether our friends on the other side thought he should have been impeached or not. He was. prgtoken And by doing what we just did, we have, in effect, ignored the directions of the House, which were to have a trial. We had no evidence, no procedure. prgtoken This is a day that is not a proud day in the history of the Senate. (Applause.)
MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2024-4-17

I opposed Majority Leader Schumer's constitutional points of order because I have concerns about the precedents they set for future impeachments. prgtoken Once a majority of the House of Representatives votes to adopt Articles of Impeachment, the Senate should fulfill its constitutional role to ``try all impeachments.'' Simply ending an impeachment proceeding without any consideration of the substance of the allegations--as the Senate ic majority did today--sets a terrible precedent that could be exploited in the future. Today, not only did the Senate fail to perform its constitutional duty, but it also set an additional precedent that something as serious as a felony is not a high crime or misdemeanor under the Constitution. That is why I voted against both points of order. Let me make clear that my votes today do not reflect my views on the merits of this matter, which I would only consider after a presentation of the evidence at trial. prgtoken I believe the Senate will come to regret today's votes to shirk our constitutional responsibility and inappropriately short-circuit the constitutional process for considering Articles of Impeachment adopted by the House of Representatives.
RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL "EDUCATION AND SHARING DAY"
Marcus J. Molinaro (Republican, NY) \u2014 2024-4-17

I recognize the significance and importance of Education and Sharing Day, a commemoration in honor of The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, and the values of education and moral cultivation for which he stood. prgtoken The Rebbe emphasized the significance of moral and ethical education as the foundation of humanity and an essential characteristic of a thriving society. Throughout his lifetime, his work cultivated hope for a brighter future through the establishment of more than 6,000 educational and social institutions across all 50 states and in 100 countries spanning six continents. prgtoken Over the last four decades, the U.S. Congress has set aside ``Education and Sharing Day,'' and the recognition is proclaimed annually by presiding U.S. presidents on the anniversary of the Rebbe's birth, in honor of his commitment to teaching the next generation of Americans the values that make our country strong. Remembering the Rebbe's message of education and contribution to society, Education and Sharing Day provides the opportunity to recognize our responsibility in ensuring that our Nation's youth have the tools to live a life of purpose and fulfillment. prgtoken , I ask that my colleagues in the House join me in celebrating April 19, 2024 as Education and Sharing Day, to honor the birthday of Rabbi Schneerson.