mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HONORING ELMER JOSEPH ``ALMO'' LORENZI
Jim Costa (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-8-14

I rise today to honor Elmer Joseph ``EJ'' Lorenzi, an upstanding member of the Merced community, who has been recognized as ``Man of the Year'' for the 2018 Harvest of Hope by Catholic Charities of Merced. prgtoken EJ was born on May 18, 1931 at Mercy Hospital in Merced to Giuseppe and Rita Bernardi Lorenzi. Within a few, short years, it became clear that EJ was destined for an extraordinary life of serving others. His life-long dedication to service began at the age of 10, when EJ played the accordion for the United Service Organization to help raise money for war bonds. prgtoken From that moment, EJ's service and dedication to the Merced community never wavered. While he established himself as a mainstay in the business community, EJ's focus continued to be service. He has been a member of the 3rd degree and 4th degree Knights of Columbus Council 2384 for over six decades. He has served Merced with integrity and honor through the Merced City Chamber of Commerce, Merced Little League, and as Ambassador for the City Council of Merced. prgtoken EJ also served on many advisory boards in Merced County. EJ's tireless leadership as chairman of the advisory committee for Measure C was instrumental in passing the measure, which is expected to raise millions for the police and fire departments in Merced. prgtoken EJ has also been instrumental in restoring several historic buildings in Merced that were slated for destruction. Historic sites such as Bob Hart Square and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, still stand today because of EJ's unwavering leadership. prgtoken EJ's service to his community has always been backed by his lovely family. EJ married his high school sweetheart Evelyn Weres in June of 1950. Together, EJ and Evelyn have five children, ten grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren, who will carry on the family's great legacy. prgtoken At the spry age of eighty-seven years old, EJ continues to serve his community however he can, guided by the same three principles that have followed him throughout his life: God family, and his Catholic faith. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring the exceptional life of Elmer Joseph Lorenzi. I wish him and Catholic Charities of Merced the best as he is recognized for his contributions to our community.
RECOGNIZING THE PUYALLUP TRIBE AND THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE 2018 CANOE JOURNEY
Derek Kilmer (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2018-8-14

I rise today to recognize the Puyallup Tribe and all participants in the 2018 Canoe Journey. prgtoken This annual journey began in 1989 with Native Americans providing a vital voice in shaping the State of Washington's centennial. Now, all these years later, tribes from Alaska all the way to Willapa Bay have participated in this powerful cultural event. prgtoken Over the last few weeks, thousands of people from dozens of tribes put their canoes in the water and connected with one another. They participated in a celebration of heritage; sharing songs, stories, dances, and gifts. prgtoken But, beyond that, they celebrated the theme of Honoring Our Medicine. They gathered to honor the medicine of the Salish Sea and the waters that have been the lifeblood of past generations and that will be the lifeblood of our future as long as we rise to their challenge. prgtoken , Congressman Heck and I have stood on this floor many times and spoken about the importance of Puget Sound, our nation's largest estuary. The Sound is an icon of our region. It supports treaty rights and recreation. It supports shellfish growing and fisheries. It's a place where families--including my own--make memories. It is a legacy passed from generation to generation. It is a central part of who we are as Washingtonians. But this body of water--and others like it--are at risk. They are threatened. prgtoken The tribes that participated in the Paddle--and Native American leaders throughout our region--have shown more commitment, more leadership, more drive, more partnership, and more passion for recovering this vital body of water than any other. They have seen our waters as sacred--as givers of life. They have recognized that these waters are a lifeforce. That they are gifts from the creator. They have recognized that our passion for this medicine cannot simply be based in nostalgia and tradition but, rather, must be grounded in a hope for the future. prgtoken It is not enough for us to say thank you. We must back up those words with deeds. We must commit ourselves to protecting these waters and to preserving the majesty of our natural resources. We must recognize that our federal government must simply do better--on every day in every way--to value these treasures. prgtoken , there is a saying that change is inevitable, but progress is optional. Too often, we have seen change that has not meant progress. Too often we have moved backward and jeopardized our lifeblood. We must do better. prgtoken , today I want to express my gratitude to the Puyallup Tribe for hosting this important event and for all that they have done to strengthen our region for so long. And here in the United States Congress, I want to honor--and in the traditional custom, I want to raise my hands to--every person who participated in the paddle.
ACKNOWLEDGING MS. JENY WALKER UPON HER RETIREMENT AS CEMETERY DIRECTOR AT MOUNTAIN HOME NATIONAL CEMETERY
David P. Roe (Republican, TN) \u2014 2018-8-14

I rise today to acknowledge Ms. Jeny Walker upon her retirement as Cemetery Director at Mountain Home National Cemetery. Ms. Walker was named Director of Mountain Home National Cemetery effective July 27, 2015. She was responsible for all burial, maintenance and administrative operations at the facility. prgtoken Prior to this assignment, Ms. Walker served as Assistant Director of Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery from August 2014. She completed the National Cemetery Administration's comprehensive, year-long Cemetery Director Intern Program in August 2014. prgtoken Jeny is a pillar of her community and has brought much peace and comfort to Veterans and their families in the entire Northeastern Tennessee region. She has led significant improvement and expansion efforts at the cemetery to include an expansion project that doubles the size of the cemetery and will provide an additional 50 years of gravesite availability for veterans and their families. She also led her team to a recent National Cemetery Administration Organizational Assessment and Improvement award for exemplary performance in key management and operational areas such as customer service, cemetery service, and access to information. Jeny's enduring legacy includes a book she published about Mountain Home National Cemetery entitled, A Book of Heroes: Discover Their Story, Honor Their Sacrifice. In her three years as the Cemetery Director at Mountain Home, Jeny was driven to serve veterans and their families. She was a VA ambassador in the community and was led by the principles of servant leadership. When several headstones and monuments were vandalized at Old Gray Cemetery in Knoxville, Jeny organized a group of employee volunteers to spend a Saturday afternoon to share their expertise and repair the broken monuments and reset the headstones. This is a testament to the special kind of person Jeny is. prgtoken I include in the Record a message Jeny wrote her colleagues upon retirement: Long ago and far away, working in my first cemetery as an intern, I found this on a headstone. I've kept it and read it often because it eloquently states exactly what I feel: Remember me. Think of me. Love me as you do now. Essentially nothing changes by my leaving. If I were to ask anything of you, it's that you pray I will have more time than I think I do. More time with family. More time having fun. More time to live. Much love for each of you, Jeny. prgtoken I am grateful for Jeny's service to veterans and wish her peace. She is in my prayers and in the prayers of so many. I'd also like to thank the National Cemetery Administration for sharing Jeny's background
TRIBUTE TO VERLENE AND DEAN ARCHER
David Young (Republican, IA) \u2014 2018-8-14

I rise today to recognize and congratulate Verlene and Dean Archer of Orient, Iowa on the very special occasion of their 70th wedding anniversary. prgtoken Verlene and Dean's lifelong commitment to each other and their family truly embodies our Iowa values. As they reflect on their 70th anniversary, may their commitment grow even stronger, as they continue to love, cherish, and honor one another for many years to come. prgtoken I commend this great couple on their 70th year together and I wish them many more. I ask that my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives join me in congratulating them on this momentous occasion and in wishing them both nothing but continued success.
HONORING THE LIFE OF MICHAEL CHERUBINI
Elise M. Stefanik (Republican, NY) \u2014 2018-8-14

I rise today to honor the life and memory of Michael Cherubini, who passed away on July 4, 2018. prgtoken Mike lived a life of dedication to his country and community. A Vietnam War veteran from the U.S. Army, Mike committed his civilian life to helping others as a life-time volunteer firefighter. Mike served in the Hackensack, New Jersey, and South Hackensack, New Jersey, Ambulance and Fire Departments before joining the Hague Volunteer Fire Department in New York, totaling over 50 years of service. Throughout his career, he held the roles of both captain and chief in various departments. prgtoken Mike suffered an honorable death while in the line of duty. He was an exemplary member of his community and his memory will be prgtoken forever cherished in the hearts of the many people he touched throughout his life. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to Mike's family and friends, especially his wife, five sons, and eight grandchildren, by whom he will be greatly missed
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John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2018-8-15

I would like to spend time this afternoon talking about something I continue to hear about in Wyoming. I heard about it a lot over the past week. I heard about it last night in Sundance, WY. It is the Endangered Species Act. prgtoken The Endangered Species Act became law in 1973. That was 45 years ago. It was a bipartisan vote. The law has resulted in a lot of great work to save species from extinction. We have seen species such as the bald eagle come back from the brink of being almost completely wiped out. That is a great example of what this law was intended to do--to identify species in danger and to help them recover. prgtoken The problem is that there aren't enough examples like the bald eagle to point to because the goal of the law was to help species get to the point where they no longer needed the protection of the Endangered Species Act. We would put them on the list, they would recover, and then they would come off the list. That was the goal of the bipartisan legislation. That is how it was supposed to work. prgtoken Let's look at what has actually happened. Since the law was put on the books, Washington has put 2,424 different species of plants and animals on the list. Only 54 have ever come off the list because they actually recovered. That is just 54 species in 45 years. That is less than 3 percent. I am a doctor. As a doctor, if I were to admit 100 patients to the hospital and only 3 out of every 100 I admitted recovered enough to be discharged, maybe those patients ought to look for a different doctor. We are now in the same situation the Endangered Species Act. prgtoken When it comes to the Endangered Species Act, the status quo is not good enough. We need to do more than just put species on the list and leave them in the intensive care unit without a plan for recovery; we need to see them actually recover. That is the whole point. prgtoken The Endangered Species Act has not been substantially amended or updated in 30 years. That is a long time for a law to stay on the books without actually trying to improve it--and improvement is necessary. Americans across the country are telling us it is time. The Endangered Species Act needs to be modernized. As a former Governor of Wyoming, Dave Freudenthal, who came back to testify in front of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said, ``It just has too much sand in the gears.'' prgtoken Well, maybe the problem with the Endangered Species Act doesn't seem so clear to bureaucrats in Washington, DC, but when you go out West to places like my home State of Wyoming, the problems are obvious. We see how the law is failing to help species. We see it every day in Wyoming, and it comes up continually in my discussions with folks at home. We see how it is failing the communities--communities that suffer under the law's ineffective and burdensome redtape. That is why States in the West are tackling this issue when Washington, DC, has done s
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Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2018-8-15

I want to talk today about the opioid epidemic that has gripped my State of Ohio and so many other States represented by Members of the Chamber. This is now the No. 1 killer in Ohio. It has surpassed car accidents. It is the No. 1 cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. Unfortunately, although some are saying we have turned the corner, we haven't turned the corner in a lot of parts of my State. In fact, there are areas of my State where there have been more overdose deaths this year than there were last year. As tragic as last year was--and there was a big increase from the year before--I do believe that in this Chamber, we have made progress in passing legislation, which is beginning to make a difference. I will talk a little bit about that today. I also believe we have much more to do. prgtoken In the last couple of years, Congress has gotten busy on this issue. In 2016, we passed legislation called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. It was the culmination of 4 years' worth of work-- conferences here in Washington; bringing together some of the best minds from around the country; looking at some of the best practices to say ``How do you actually focus on this issue of the opioid epidemic in a comprehensive way?'' because we know that is what has to be done. It was about evidence-based prevention, strategies, evidence-based treatment, and longer term recovery. It was actually the first time Congress had ever passed legislation dealing with longer term recovery, and that is because we heard so much testimony--I, back home in Ohio, and Members from around the country but also here in Washington--from experts about the fact that when you go into treatment, particularly for this opioid epidemic, the chances of success are increased dramatically if you have longer term recovery. Think of sober housing opportunities, for instance, after somebody comes out of treatment, to help get them on the right track. prgtoken That bipartisan legislation I introduced with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is now working back home. It is now going out to programs that are evidence-based, proven programs, to try to give them a little boost, working with local government, State government, nonprofits, and others, leveraging some of the Federal money so that it ends up making a bigger difference in trying to turn the tide on this epidemic. prgtoken Maybe most important, this legislation, which is called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, CARA--maybe the most important thing about CARA is that it recognizes addiction as a disease. In some respect, it was the first time we had done that as a Congress as well. Recognizing it as a disease changes the way you view treatment because it is something that is not a moral failing. In fact, it is often caused by an accident or an injury--somebody getting a prescription pill that changes something in their brain, and they become addicted. prgtoken Th
Calling for the Release of Austin Tice (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-8-15

yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of the kidnapping of a brave young man named Austin Tice. prgtoken Back in 2012, Austin decided to put his law school studies on hold and spend the summer in Syria as a freelance journalist. He was frustrated with the lack of good information on Syria's civil war--a war that, by some estimates, has claimed more than one-half million lives and displaced millions more, having created a refugee crisis affecting neighboring countries, like Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon, and having destabilized the entire region. prgtoken In spite of the violence and political turmoil and as a strong believer in the freedom of the press, Austin wanted to let his fellow Americans know what was going on in that terrible civil war, which continues to this day. So he didn't wait around for someone else to act; he went to Syria himself, and he reported on the civil war. prgtoken As with most things he tried, Austin proved to be a very successful journalist. But then, in August of 2012, just days before he was planning to leave Syria, he was taken hostage, and little has been heard from him since. That is why I am again today renewing my call for Austin Tice's immediate release by his captors. prgtoken Over the last several years, I have had the privilege of meeting with Austin's parents a number of times, Mark and Debra Tice, who have worked tirelessly to locate him and bring him home safely. In fact, I plan to meet with them again this afternoon to bring them up to speed on my most recent conversations with National Security Adviser John Bolton, whom I have asked to meet with the Tices and maintain the continuity between the administration and now the administration when it comes to efforts prgtoken to return him safely to his family and friends. prgtoken Of course, his family doesn't know Austin as a journalist, primarily; they don't know him primarily as a decorated Marine Corps veteran, a Houston native, and a seventh-generation Texan, either--all of which he is. They, of course, know him as their friend, their brother, their son. prgtoken Austin Tice has a family who is waiting for him, missing him, and laboring to find any piece of information that will lead to his whereabouts and return him home safely. prgtoken Today, on the sixth anniversary, I am here to say that the entire Nation stands behind the Tice family. In solidarity with them, we call for Austin's immediate release by his captors and urge the administration to use all possible means to secure Austin's safe return home. I am thankful to the administration, as I am to the administration, and I have met with them both about Austin's case. prgtoken I know the former administration of President and the current administration of President share my desire to see Austin come home as soon as possible, but we need to take a step back and realize why people like Austin are taken hostage in the f
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Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2018-8-15

last week I announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court starting on September 4. The hearing will begin 57 prgtoken days after the President announced Judge Kavanaugh's nomination, more than a week longer than the period between the announcements and hearings for the last three Justices--Sotomayor, Kagan, and Gorsuch. prgtoken The Senate has already received more documents from Judge Kavanaugh's time in the executive branch than we did for any previous Supreme Court nominee. We have so far received more than 184,000 pages of documents, of which more than 124,000 are currently publicly available to anybody in this country going to judiciary.senate.gov. prgtoken The team of lawyers who work for the majority have already reviewed more than 10,000 pages of the 307 judicial opinions that Judge Kavanaugh wrote, along with hundreds more opinions that he joined, in his 12 years of service on the DC Circuit. The team of lawyers who worked for the majority have reviewed 110 pages of written answers and over 17,000 pages of materials Judge Kavanaugh submitted to the committee in response to its bipartisan questionnaire--the most robust questionnaire ever submitted to a Supreme Court nominee. prgtoken The team of lawyers who work for the majority has already reviewed every page of the more than 184,000 pages of emails and other records that the committee has received so far from Judge Kavanaugh's time as a government lawyer in the White House and also serving with Judge Starr when Starr was independent counsel. prgtoken I expect that we will receive even more documents this very night or, at the latest, tomorrow and that all remaining documents responsive to our request will be produced next week. We will work to make every unrestricted record publicly available as quickly as possible. prgtoken As I predicted, this confirmation process is the most transparent ever, particularly as it relates to the number of documents that we are receiving. We have already received more documents from Judge Kavanaugh's executive branch service than any nominee in history, with many more to come. prgtoken Senators have more time to review Judge Kavanaugh's record than they did for at least three Supreme Court nominees. So I am very confident that the committee and the Senate will have ample information and time to carry out our responsibilities under our Constitution to advise and consent. prgtoken But some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are attempting to manipulate the American people. I just described to you the largest document production in the history of a Supreme Court nomination. But guess what. The minority leader describes it as ``unprecedented secrecy.'' This argument is very ridiculous on its face, and the American people aren't buying it. prgtoken I got a lot of questions at my town meetings across Iowa over the last week. In