mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2022-9-22

first this morning, I was deeply saddened to learn we lost a dedicated and long-serving member of the Senate family this week. prgtoken Officer William Thomas of the United States Capitol Police passed away after a battle with cancer. He was only 38 years young. prgtoken Officer Thomas joined the force nearly 14 years ago. He quickly became a familiar face to many of the Senators and staff serving on this side of the Capitol. By all accounts, his dedication, his professionalism, and his service in the Senate Division and most recently in the Communications Division were a credit to the entire Department and to our institution. prgtoken The loss of Officer Thomas leaves a hole in the close-knit community of brave men and women who keep us safe here at the Capitol. prgtoken The entire Senate joins Officer Thomas's brother Vincent, as well as his brothers and sisters here in uniform, in mourning this tragic loss. Inflation prgtoken , now on an entirely different matter, the painful story of Washington ' runaway inflation is playing out in hard-working communities all across our country. We learned last week that food inflation is now at its highest level since 1979. prgtoken For folks in the Phoenix metro area, where inflation already outpaces the national average, that has meant a 3-percent inflation tax on food in just the last 2 months. According to one Arizona shopper: It's all almost $300. I used to get the same groceries like around $150 before. prgtoken Across the border in Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported recently how local coffee shops are caught between eating higher costs for supplies and chasing their customers away with higher prices. The owner of one shop says that as everything from coffee beans to cups gets more expensive, they have had to raise prices by about 10 percent: We've done our best not to pass this on to our customers, because we do understand that we are all in the same boat together. prgtoken The Colorado Sun spoke with one new resident of Westminster who said he had moved to town to ``lower the impact of an 18-percent rent increase.'' He has cut back on cable, driving, and buying meat at the grocery store. prgtoken In Washington State, the Seattle Times is reporting that 4 in 10 area renters are now spending more than 30 percent of their paychecks on rent. When one resident learned her rent would be increasing by nearly 10 percent, she said: I just wanted to cry. I'm barely making it. I'm just a senior citizen. prgtoken In Georgia, the Augusta Press reports that local small businesses are still facing a rocky road. According to the owner of one power-washing business in Evans: ``Materials are getting more expensive,'' and potential clients are ``more hesitant to get any work done right now.'' prgtoken And further north, with winter cold fast approaching, o
TYPHOON MERBOK
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2022-9-22

I want to talk about one of the strongest storms in many, many years to hit my State. It was called Typhoon Merbok, and it hit western Alaska late last week and into the weekend. It brought gale-force winds, massive flooding, and loss of power, water, and communications. It has wreaked havoc. prgtoken I have just a few photos here. You see a house literally floating away into the ocean; whole communities completely flooded; a giant wave system--again, communities completely flooded in western Alaska. prgtoken This is an area of our State dotted with dozens of small villages, nearly all of them, the majority, Alaska Native communities. Roughly about 21,000 people live in these communities in western Alaska with a coastline of roughly 1,300 miles. That is just one little, small part of my State, but that is just about as many miles of all the Florida coastline combined just here in western Alaska. They got hammered. prgtoken There are very, very few roads. Alaska has over 200 communities that are not connected by any roads at all, and so it presents many challenges in terms of relief. Unfortunately, the very small number of roads that we have, many were washed away in these communities. The storm knocked out lines of communication, prompted evacuations, and wrenched homes from their foundations, as I mentioned, floating in the water. prgtoken The preliminary assessment shows very significant damage to bridges, roads, water treatment plants, bulk fuel tanks, seawalls, breakwaters, airstrips--if you don't have a road, every one of these small communities has an airport, a tiny little airport--generators, powerplants. This was a devastating storm. prgtoken But I am proud to say my fellow Alaskans pulled together--the Native communities in particular, as they do so often--to make sure that all residents and particularly the most vulnerable, the elderly in particular, were out of harm's way when this storm came pounding ashore in western Alaska. prgtoken Our State and local government emergency management teams, the Alaska National Guard, the Coast Guard, and our first responders have also been working day and night to ensure that communities are safe and that utility services and major infrastructure are becoming operational as soon as possible, but it is still a real challenge. prgtoken I will say from the Federal Government's perspective, FEMA has done a good job thus far--a really good job. They immediately got teams on the ground and are working to evaluate the damage. The head of FEMA, whom I spoke to shortly after the storm hit, is on her way to Alaska. The Secretary of Homeland Security just called me today on their focus on this. The Region 10 FEMA Director--which covers Alaska--is also on the ground there. prgtoken Thankfully, thank God there have been no reports of death or serious injury, and it is in part because of the resilience of the people in Alaska and the preparation. prgtoken Further
NANCY HUDANICH
Jefferson Van Drew (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2022-9-22

. Madam , last month, I had the pleasure of attending Nancy Hudanich's retirement celebration. Nancy began her career in education as a math teacher. She taught in Cape May County for 16 years and at Middletown High School for 23 years, where she worked as both a teacher and as the assistant principal. In August of 2006, she became the assistant superintendent of Cape May County Technical Schools. Then, in July of 2012, Nancy took on the role of Superintendent of the Cape May County Special Services School District. In 2018, she went on to become the Superintendent of Cape May County Technical School District. In addition to her active involvement with educating the youth in South Jersey, Nancy also made a positive impact in the city of Avalon. She served as an elected councilwoman for Avalon for 32 years and served 5 terms as President of Avalon Borough Council. As a councilwoman, Nancy served on the Finance Committee, Technology Committee, and Insurance Committee. She also started Avalon's first Brownie Girl Scout Troop, as well as the Avalon Garden Club. Nancy should be proud of all her service to the South Jersey community, and it is truly my honor to have had the opportunity to attend her retirement celebration and recognize her many accomplishments. God Bless Nancy, and God Bless our United States of America.
HONORING MR. LANDON VICTOR BUTLER
Michael C. Burgess (Republican, TX) \u2014 2022-9-22

. Madam , I rise today to recognize a man whose philanthropy and dedication to the Washington, D.C. community is an admirable example of a life of service. prgtoken On October 3, 2022, Mr. Landon Victor Butler will be honored by the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) with the company's 2022 Sidney Harman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts, recognizing his exceptional support for the theater--and Washington, D.C. at large--over the past four decades. One of the nation's leading arts organizations, the Tony Award-winning Shakespeare Theatre Company is synonymous with dramatic excellence and devoted to making classical theater more accessible, both on a local and national level. Mr. Butler has played a dedicated and pivotal role in achieving their goals, as well as the goals of many other honorable efforts, by utilizing his many years of public service to collaborate with business, government, and arts organizations for the betterment of his city, his region, and his country. prgtoken Mr. Butler has served on STC's Board of Trustees since 1997, serving a decade as Chairman. During his tenure as Chair, Mr. Butler helped oversee the planning, construction, and opening of the theater's state- of-the-art Sidney Harman Hall in 2007. He also spearheaded the creation of District Shakespeare, an ambitious arts education program that invites every Washington, D.C. public high school student to experience at least one live classical theater performance before graduation. prgtoken A native of Memphis, TN and an Officer in the US Marine Corps who proudly served his country for three years during the Vietnam War, Mr. Butler started his career building affordable housing in the Atlanta area in the early 1970's. During this time, he became centrally involved in Governor Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign, and he has been an active part of the D.C. community since arriving here for the inauguration of President Carter in 1977. As President Carter's Deputy Chief of Staff, he facilitated communications across a broad array of Administration-wide task forces that were formed to support Carter- Mondale initiatives, playing lead roles in the Panama Canal Treaty and SALT II ratification efforts. In 1981, Mr. Butler co-founded the Multi- Employer Property Trust, one of the nation's largest commercial real estate commingled funds, serving U.S Canadian and European pension plans. He was also a founder of the first private venture capital fund in eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and he served as President of the investor relations firm Landon Butler and Company until his retirement in 2010. prgtoken A proud graduate of Washington & Lee University and Harvard Business School, Mr. Butler has spent a lifetime in service to his community, admirably leveraging his strengths in business, government, and non- profit organizations to improve countless facets of life in the Washington, D.C. region and beyond. In additi
INFLATION
Roger Marshall (Republican, KS) \u2014 2022-9-22

last week, we received what might have been the worst economic news I have ever seen in 1 day in my lifetime. prgtoken In 's America, it costs more to feed your family. In 's America, your commute to work is more expensive. In 's America, it is a struggle to pay the bills that power your home. In 's America, farmers and ranchers are facing prgtoken such high input costs that they are struggling to grow the food that feeds our Nation and those around the globe. In 's America, just as kids are heading back to school, the price of school supplies has increased by over 9 percent. prgtoken This President continues to preside over the worst economy that most Kansans have ever seen in their lifetime. This is all thanks to the ' massive, hyperpartisan, tax-and-spending bills and, of course, their business-crushing Federal regulations. prgtoken As you can see on this chart, inflation was just 1 percent in January 2021--1.4 percent. Today, it is over a staggering 8 percent, almost 6 times higher than when took the reins and his woke inflationary policies wrecked our economy. prgtoken Look, energy, groceries, and shelter account for two-thirds of inflation, and they always lead inflation. Inflation is not going away unless this administration does an about-face on its policies, and we know that is not going to happen. prgtoken Let's take a look at what has done. prgtoken Energy--energy is up 23 percent; groceries, up 13 percent; shelter, up 6 percent. You might ask: Why? Why has shelter gone up 6 percent? Look, mortgage rates on 30-year loans have quadrupled under this President. Energy, grocery, shelter--all up across the board. All are essential to every individual's comfort and prosperity. prgtoken Finally, have you looked at your retirement accounts lately? Down, if you are lucky, maybe some 17 percent off its peak values. prgtoken Kansans are hurting. Main Street merchants are hurting. Americans are hurting. Instead of helping, this administration continues to pour gas on the fire with another massive spending bill. Then they had the gall to publicly celebrate last week on the south lawn of the White House-- the very day the stock market went into a spiral after the CPI came in showing the highest inflation rate in nearly 40 years. prgtoken What is more, Sunday night on ``60 Minutes,'' the President said inflation was up ``just an inch, hardly at all.'' prgtoken Are you kidding me? I can't imagine an administration more out of touch, more apathetic to the pain of the people who elected him than this one. An 8.3 percent increase in inflation over last year is not just an inch. This kind of minimization infuriates everyone. I have heard it at every one of my 100 townhall meetings. prgtoken Let's not forget, since took his oath, inflation has increased over 13 percent. When you live paycheck to paycheck, 13 percent is not just an i
MENTAL HEALTH JUSTICE ACT OF 2022
John Joyce (Republican, PA) \u2014 2022-9-22

I rise today in opposition to this bill. prgtoken The crime rates that we have seen skyrocket across the United States can be traced directly back to calls from far-left Members of Congress to defund the police. prgtoken In my own district, we have seen more violent crimes than ever before. In the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a community of just 20,000 people, we have already seen 10 murders so far this year. prgtoken Instead of confronting this issue head-on, this legislative package hands out over $2 billion to far-left programs while only funding $60 million worth of grants for police officers, and that $60 million would be spread out over 50 States. prgtoken This bill is deeply misguided and will not address the root issues of the crisis that we are facing. Instead, it spends Federal tax dollars funding social workers under the guise of supporting law enforcement. prgtoken , I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``no'' on these bills, and I myself will vote ``no.''
VOTE EXPLANATION
Josh Hawley (Republican, MO) \u2014 2022-9-22

had there been a recorded vote, I would have voted no on the confirmations of Executive Calendar No. 1101, E. Martin Estrada, of California, to be United States Attorney for the Central District of California for the term of four years and No. 1102, Gregory J. Haanstad, of Wisconsin, to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin for the term of four years.
Border Security (Executive Calendar)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2022-9-22

new data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that the crisis at the border isn't going away even if that may be the wish of the administration. In the last year, Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than 2.3 million migrants at the southern border, which is an all-time high. prgtoken I know some people think, well, these are economic migrants or people fleeing violence and persecution. Some of them are asylum seekers who might potentially qualify, although the data indicates that, if in fact they end up showing up for their immigration court hearing years after they claim asylum, because of the backlogs, only about 10 percent qualify for asylum. Then you have the economic migrants. You have criminals. You have drug smugglers. It is a hodgepodge. And while many people turn themselves in in order to invoke our asylum system, which is broken and results in many people being given a notice to appear for a future court hearing that they never show up for, the situation at the border remains a public safety threat and a humanitarian crisis. prgtoken Customs and Border Protection is the first line of defense against dangerous threats to the country. Over the last 11 months, the hard- working men and women of CBP have arrested nearly 700 criminal gang members and have stopped more than 140 people on the terrorist watch list from crossing the southern border. They have interdicted more than 645 pounds of illegal drugs, including 13,600 pounds of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. I think it takes roughly the point of a pencil lead, a couple of milliliters, of fentanyl to kill a person. So you can imagine what 13,600 pounds would do, and these are only the drugs that we have caught. Nobody believes that we catch even the majority of the drugs coming across. prgtoken CBP seized illegal currency, weapons, ammunition, counterfeit goods, and other products that could hurt the American people or our economy. prgtoken I want to just take a moment to thank the Border Patrol agents and Customs officers who take on this challenging and important work every day. Sometimes they are met with nothing more than derision or ridicule or a lack of support for their important work. These men and women put their own health and safety at risk to keep our borders and keep the American people safe, and they don't receive nearly the level of thanks that they deserve. prgtoken Coming from a border State, as you might imagine, I have visited the border many, many times. I always enjoy talking to these men and women because they are, frankly, the experts about what we need to do in order to fix what is wrong about the borders. They are true professionals, and they know more than just about anybody else I have talked to about what the problem is and what the solutions are. prgtoken Many of these officers and agents have worked for Customs and Border Protection for years, some even since its foundi
Border Security (Executive Calendar)
Joni Ernst (Republican, IA) \u2014 2022-9-22

the No. 1 job of our Commander in Chief is to prgtoken protect the homeland. The constitutional oath we all take as Members of Congress, similar to the one I swore when I joined the military, is to protect our citizens against all enemies, foreign and domestic. prgtoken I want everyone in this Chamber, the American people, our allies, and our adversaries to all hear me today. Iran, the world's most deadly state sponsor of terrorism, announced its intentions to track, target, and kill American citizens here on our shores. The radical Islamists of Iran and their terrorist proxies across the Middle East are seeking to destroy America, and they are coming here to our soil. prgtoken As you can see, the Iranian regime promises to ``bring the orchestrators and perpetrators to justice.'' This is an undeniable death threat, one that they have already attempted to follow through on. prgtoken Iran isn't making this threat from Tehran, over 6,000 miles away. They made it here, for example, in New York City. Yesterday, at U.N. headquarters, the Butcher of Tehran, Ebrahim Raisi, was flanked by his personal security force, IRGC terrorists, tagged by our Justice Department as the entity responsible for attempting to kill Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, Brian Hook, and others who ordered and executed the strike on Qassem Suleimani. prgtoken This President's obligation is to safeguard and protect the life, liberty, and prosperity of our people and to deter, defeat, and, when necessary, destroy our enemies. prgtoken The administration's desire to bring the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement back to life is delusional. Continued renegotiation with Russia as our proxy--no joke--ignores our men and women in uniform, the Iranian dissident community, our allies and partners in the Persian Gulf, and American citizens on the homeland who have bounties on their heads today. prgtoken Our Middle Eastern partners, in particular, are begging the administration not to reenter this so-called nuclear agreement. They plead with us not to give Iran access to $1 trillion in capital by 2030. Don't fund their military support of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and don't fund their acts of terrorism against our own people, they ask. prgtoken I am demanding that America does not fund or support a regime trying to kill our own people. The President's ongoing negotiations pacify rather than hold Iran accountable for targeting American citizens. The administration's foolish pursuit of peace through appeasement must be stopped, and we can start today. Yesterday, with 26 of my colleagues, I introduced the PUNISH Act, or the Preventing Underhanded and Nefarious Iranian Supported Homicides Act. My bill would enforce U.S. sanctions on Iran until the Secretary of State certifies to Congress that Iran has not supported any attempt or activity to kill a U.S. citizen, former or current U.S. official, or Iranian living within the United St
BORDER SECURITY
Tommy Tuberville (Republican, AL) \u2014 2022-9-22

sometimes setting records is a good thing. Forty years being a college football coach in this country, you try to set records. But the records this current administration has been breaking aren't exactly worth celebrating. prgtoken For example, we are seeing record crime and record price increases. President even threw a big party last week at the White House to celebrate record-high prices, the same day there were record market losses in the market. prgtoken But even those stats pale in comparison to the record-shattering crisis at our southern border, another thing that they declared victory on without attempting to solve the problem. We could solve it, but don't want to solve this problem. prgtoken I guess they would rather listen to James Taylor on the White House lawn, but the people of Alabama haven't forgotten what is going on at the southern border because we are seeing the same influx in our State. prgtoken Let's look back into the 2 years of recordbreaking that we have seen since the border crisis began and the solutions that refuse to use to fix the problem. prgtoken When President took office, he rolled back as many policies as possible that secured our southern border. This immediate reversal in security measures was something he had promised on the campaign trail, so we expected it. Migrants from around the world were prepared to take advantage of the new administration's soft-on-security approach at our border. Since then, the border crisis has set record after record. prgtoken In this fiscal year alone, we have surpassed 2 million apprehensions of illegal immigrants at our southern border for the first time ever in the history of our country. Last year, that number was over 1.7 million--showing the crisis at our border is accelerating, not slowing, under this administration. prgtoken This is after almost 2 years of the Vice President's work to address what they call the ``root causes'' of migration. It has been a disaster. Some will try to twist those numbers to use as proof that enforcement is working, but that is obviously a red herring. prgtoken The staggering--staggering--encounters and arrests only highlight that even more shocking number of illegal immigrants we never see-- those who get away, what we call the got-aways. Those are whom we release into the United States and they never come back. The truth is, we will probably never, ever get a true number of those who have entered our country illegally. We are a country of immigrants--we like immigration--but come here legally. prgtoken But we do know that this surge was stretched, and the resources have been thin ever since the border has been open. We cannot follow up with the illegal immigrants we do encounter to properly screen them and begin immigration proceedings. You can't have proceedings on people whom you do not recognize and know where they have gone. prgtoken Almost one-third of i