mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
DRINKING WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ACT OF 2021--Resumed
Joe Manchin, III (Democrat, WV) \u2014 2021-4-29

I rise in opposition to this amendment by Senator Lee. His amendment would amend the Antiquities Act to prohibit the President from reserving water when designating a national monument. prgtoken The amendment states that any water rights associated with a national monument may only be acquired under State law. The Lee amendment overturns decades of Supreme Court precedent that when a President designates a national monument under the Antiquities Act, the designation reserves the right to use enough water to fulfill the purpose of the monument. prgtoken But the water infrastructure bill is not the appropriate place for this amendment. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.
DRINKING WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ACT OF 2021--Continued
Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-4-29

I rise today in support of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure prgtoken Act, S. 914, introduced by my colleague Senator Duckworth. This bill would provide much needed funding for drinking water and wastewater cleanup across the country, addressing climate change and assisting underserved communities. prgtoken Millions of Americans do not have access to clean water. In California alone, it is estimated that nearly 1 million Californians do not have access to clean water from their tap. California faces unique water challenges, and in the face of climate change, drought per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination, and population growth, my State's aging water infrastructure, like many others, is in need of support. prgtoken The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act authorizes more than $35 billion for updating and repairing aging infrastructure, and also assisting historically underserved and marginalized communities. prgtoken Communities of color and low-income communities are more likely to lack the infrastructure to provide safe drinking water to households and prevent water contamination. For example, the farming communities of the San Joaquin Valley face a frequent danger of drought that threatens to dry up their groundwater supply. prgtoken These predominantly Latino communities also face the threat of growing nitrate levels in their ground water supplies, forcing families to forego using tap water for drinking, cooking, and even showering. prgtoken This bill would fix these disparities by funding investments and advancements in infrastructure to ensure that families have access to clean water, no matter where they live. prgtoken I am pleased that my amendment to Section 203 was included in the substitute bill. Section 203 of the base bill creates a new EPA grant program for water recycling and other sustainable water supplies that will complement the existing Bureau of Reclamation water recycling program. prgtoken In the base bill, section 203 prohibits water recycling projects that have received any Bureau of Reclamation funding from receiving EPA funding. I think it is reasonable to prohibit water districts that have received Bureau of Reclamation construction funding from also receiving construction funding from EPA. prgtoken But the base bill would also prohibit water districts from applying for EPA grants if they received even preliminary Reclamation funding years ago for feasibility studies, planning, or design. prgtoken The new EPA program is needed precisely because there is a backlog of $800 million to $1 billion for water recycling projects under the Bureau of Reclamation's program. prgtoken I don't believe it makes sense to prohibit water districts from accessing available EPA funding to build needed water recycling projects just because they got a little Reclamation study funding years ago. prgtoken My amendment, which Senators Padilla and Kelly cosponsored,
JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-4-29

last night, before a joint session of Congress, President laid out a comprehensive, thoughtful vision for the country. prgtoken First, he spoke about what we have accomplished so far, and on that front, there was plenty to talk about. prgtoken The ic majority in Congress passed the most sweeping Federal recovery effort in a new generation, the American Rescue Plan, accelerating the pace of vaccinations and our economic rebound. As a result, the United States administered more than 200 million shots in less than 100 days. More than half of American adults have gotten at least one shot, and two-thirds of American seniors are vaccinated. Eighty-five percent of all Americans have received a stimulus check of $1,400 through the American Rescue Plan. More than 160 million relief checks have been delivered. prgtoken Our economic recovery continues apace. The United States created more than a million jobs over the past 3 months--the most new jobs in a President's first hundred days in American history. And just this morning, we learned that jobless claims hit a new pandemic low for the third straight week. Today's numbers are an indication that our economy is back on track and should be going full throttle. America is turning the corner. America is turning the corner. prgtoken Over the first quarter, the American economy grew by 6.4 percent--6.4 percent. Under President and ic majorities in Congress, America is turning the corner--6.4 percent growth, wow. That shows you that America is back, and that shows you that the kind of strong, active proposals that we have made are the right direction for the country and have the support throughout the country of , Independents, s because it is the right thing to do--the right thing to do. prgtoken The story of the first hundred days is a story about shots going into arms, checks going into pockets, life getting back to normal, and the economy picking up a lot of steam. After one of the most difficult years in history, we have made extraordinary progress. prgtoken President spoke last night about how and where we can build on that strong foundation. We can't rest. We have a lot more to do. We want to keep this country going at a strong rate of growth, creating new jobs, making America healthier. We want to continue to do that. We are not just going to stop with the ARP. We can't. prgtoken President proposed commonsense investments and policies that will provide a pathway to success for working people and for America as a prgtoken whole. In particular, the President's focus on jobs, middle-class incomes, and helping families and workers succeed in a 21st-century economy was very much welcomed. prgtoken America is breathing a sigh of relief to see in that chair and not the previous President, who just all too often, even in those speeches where he was supposed to rise to the occasion, app
Introductory Statement on S. 1459
Alex Padilla (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-4-29

I rise to introduce the ``Protecting Unique and Beautiful Landscapes by Investing in California (PUBLIC) Lands Act.'' This measure would increase protections for over 1 million acres of Federal public lands throughout northwest California, the Central Coast, and Los Angeles, including nearly 600,000 acres of new wilderness, more than 583 miles of new wild and scenic rivers, and the expansion of an existing national monument by more than 100,000 acres. prgtoken This legislation would preserve our public lands for the benefit of current and future generations and help protect California's communities from the impacts of the climate crisis. prgtoken The ``PUBLIC Lands Act'' is grounded in the best conservation principles: it expands access to the outdoors for all, addresses disparities in access to nature, supports locally led efforts, and is based on science. prgtoken In Northwest California, this bill would designate new wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, recreation and conservation areas, and forest and watershed restoration areas. Importantly, it would increase wildfire resiliency in Northwest California, where the impacts of the climate crisis have resulted in more frequent and severe wildfires. prgtoken Along the Central Coast, the bill would designate nearly 250,000 acres of public land in the Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument as wilderness, and establish a 400-mile long Condor National Recreation trail, stretching from Los Angeles to Monterey County. The designations in the bill would protect the Central Valley's abundant biodiversity, including threatened and endangered species. prgtoken In Southern California, the bill would expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and establish a new National Recreation Area along the foothills and San Gabriel River corridor. Los Angeles County is one of the most park-poor, densely populated, and polluted regions in the Nation--this legislation would begin to rectify that by providing increased outdoor opportunities for all Angelenos, ensuring that disadvantaged communities can more easily benefit from our public lands. prgtoken I want to highlight that this legislation protects existing water rights, property rights, and land-use authorities. The bill does not create any new public lands--rather, it protects existing public lands through the high-value designation as wilderness in order to keep these lands as untouched and wild as possible. prgtoken The science is becoming increasingly clear that we must conserve 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030 in our efforts to solve the climate crisis, protect nature, and save America's wildlife. This legislation would provide a down payment on that goal, helping California and the Administration meet our 30x30 goals and reverse the worst effects of climate change. prgtoken The bill would also provide outdoor recreation opportunities to park- poor communities. It i
Introductory Statement on S. 1443
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2021-4-29

today I have introduced the Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act. This legislation would permit employers to make matching contributions to workers under 401(k) and similar types of retirement plans as if a worker's student loan payments were salary reduction contributions to the retirement plan. This legislation will help workers who cannot afford to both save for retirement and pay off their student loan debt by providing them with employer contributions to build their retirement savings. This legislation is a common sense fix to the rules that govern employer-sponsored retirement plans and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I ask unanimous consent that this bill be printed in the Record.
SAFEGUARDING AMERICAN INNOVATION ACT
Gary C. Peters (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2021-4-29

. Thank you, Senator Portman. You have my commitment to work closely together on this multi-committee process. I believe we can find common ground with our colleagues and an agreement with the administration and Leader Schumer in the coming weeks. Thank you for your partnership on these important issues. I look forward to advancing an important, bipartisan Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee package and ensuring our priorities are included in the final bill passed by the Senate.
DRINKING WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ACT OF 2021--Resumed
Tammy Duckworth (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2021-4-29

I remember sitting in a House Oversight Committee hearing years ago on the Flint water crisis. At the time, my oldest daughter Abigail was just a year old. prgtoken I remember looking out into the audience and seeing just a hand holding a baby bottle up from the middle of a crowd in that hearing room. That baby bottle looked exactly like the one that my own baby drank out of. It was a little bottle with a pink top. prgtoken But unlike my daughter's bottle, the water in this one was brown, a muddy, murky brown. prgtoken I couldn't, and all these years later I still can't, begin to imagine what it would have been like to have to drink that water while I was pregnant or to have no choice but to give it to my baby because the system that I trusted to provide my family with clean, safe drinking water had failed me. prgtoken But that kind of nightmare remains the everyday reality for far, far too many parents across this country. prgtoken It has been 7 years since the leaders of the city of Flint tried to save a few dollars by swapping out its drinking water supply from Detroit's system to the Flint River, setting off a chain of events that poisoned nearly 9,000 kids in just 18 months. prgtoken But the damage inflicted on that community will never go away, and while Flint was a tragedy, it was not an anomaly. According to both the EPA and CDC, there is no known safe level of lead in a child's blood. Yet more than 6 million homes continue to get water from lead service lines, including in my own home State of Illinois, which has more known lead service lines than any other State in the country. prgtoken And despite lead service lines being banned nearly 35 years ago, as of 2019, roughly half a million children under the age of 6 still had elevated levels of lead in their blood--something that can cause permanent brain damage. prgtoken And lead is just one of the many issues that communities struggle with every day due to our outdated and dilapidated water systems. prgtoken But instead of working to address these known issues, the Federal Government's share of capital spending in the water sector fell from 63 percent in 1977 to a meager 9 percent in 2017. prgtoken And now, our dwindling Federal and State investments into our water infrastructure are allowing countless Americans to be exposed to pollutants, whether it is from taking a sip from their kitchen faucets or even just living near an outdated stormwater system. prgtoken Part of the problem with water infrastructure is that it is expensive and no one sees it--out of sight, out of mind. But that only lasts until there is a major problem, like in Texas, where over 15 million people were temporarily left without access to clean water. prgtoken Well, we have to stop waiting for our infrastructure to fail before we invest in it. We cannot wait around for another crisis to sicken our families before we decide to put real State and Federal dollars into rebuilding
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2021-4-29

. Today, I am joined by Senators Warren, Brown, Van Hollen, and Gillibrand to introduce legislation to ensure that at least one Federal Reserve Governor has demonstrated primary experience in supporting or protecting the rights of workers. prgtoken Our legislation is not the first to require a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to have a particular area of expertise. Indeed, as part of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, which passed the Senate by a vote of 93-4 and was signed into law on January 12, 2015, Congress amended the Federal Reserve Act to require at least one of the seven Federal Reserve Governors to be an individual ``with demonstrated primary experience working in or supervising community banks.'' Our legislation would ensure that workers get the very same representation that community bankers already have on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. prgtoken As we all are aware, the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment. Our bill is designed to better ensure that future Boards of Governors continue the current Board's focus on its full employment mandate as evidenced by its explicit acknowledgement last August in its revised Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy that ``maximum employment is a broad-based and inclusive goal.'' This reflects the Fed's ``appreciation for the benefits of a strong labor market, particularly for many in low-and moderate-income communities,'' with policy decisions to be informed by the Board's ``assessments of the shortfalls of employment from its maximum level'' rather than by ``deviations from its maximum level'' as in its previous statement. While this may not seem like a huge difference, it is reflective of the Board's ``view that a robust job market can be sustained without causing an outbreak of inflation.'' prgtoken To put it more simply, this current Federal Reserve ``will remain highly focused on fostering as strong a labor market as possible for the benefit of all Americans,'' and our legislation seeks to ensure that future Federal Reserve Boards will continue to do the same. prgtoken COVID-19 has shown us just how essential workers are to our economy and our physical well-being. We all know grocery store workers, nurses, firefighters, delivery workers, and other workers in both the public and private sectors who, despite the risk to their own health, have been literally holding together the fabric of our society and economy so that we can make it safely to the other side of this public health emergency. As such, they too deserve at least one member of the Board of Governors with demonstrated primary experience in supporting or protecting the rights of workers. I thank the AFL-CIO, Columbia University Professor and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, MIT Professor and Former International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Simon Johnson, and Georgetown Law Profes
DRINKING WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ACT OF 2021--Resumed
Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2021-4-29

I rise today to speak in support of Senate amendment No. 1461, which I have offered to expand a key program that helps address contaminated drinking water. But before I do, I would like to commend Senator Duckworth, Chairman Carper, and Ranking Member Capito for developing the bipartisan legislation currently before the Senate, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act. This bipartisan bill will invest more than $35 billion for water infrastructure across the country. This can't come soon enough for States like New Hampshire. prgtoken Like most States, New Hampshire is suffering from aging infrastructure, much of it is between 50-100 years old. And unfortunately, our State government and municipalities simply do not have the ability to fully fund the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to address the rising costs of failing infrastructure, population growth, and changes in regulation. Communities across the country are facing similar financial challenges. prgtoken That is why Congress must pass sweeping legislation to tackle our Nation's water infrastructure problems, build climate-resilient systems, and ensure that all Americans have access to clean and safe water. The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act is a good first step, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do more. prgtoken The amendment I am offering today with Senators Collins, Gillibrand, King, Rounds, and Peters will help more people impacted by drinking water contaminants, including those who rely on wells. While America's drinking water is among the safest in the world, unregulated contaminants, such as PFAS, are increasingly being detected in drinking water across the country. This is a problem in particular for New Hampshire's southern cities and towns, including Merrimack, Londonderry, Portsmouth, and Dover. prgtoken It is not just unregulated contaminants. Pollutants and known carcinogens like arsenic, radon, iron, and manganese have been found in New Hampshire groundwater sources at levels that threaten public health. According to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, approximately 98,000 Granite Staters who utilize private wells have unsafe levels of arsenic in their water. prgtoken As I have heard again and again, discovering that you have been drinking contaminated water can produce a range of emotions, from anger and fear to guilt. It is heartbreaking to hear stories of parents worried about what their kids' exposure will mean for their health. I am committed to finding every opportunity to improve this situation. That is why I am proposing to expand a key part of the Environmental Protection Agency's Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities Program to help States respond to water contamination in more places. prgtoken I want to make clear that States have flexibility to support a range of projects to address contaminants inclu
SUPPORTING H.R. 1996
Steve Stivers (Republican, OH) \u2014 2021-4-30

. Madam , I include in the Record the following letters of endorsement for H.R. 1996, the SAFE Banking Act of 2021. Due Process Institute. Washington, DC. Support H.R. 1996--SAFE Banking Act Due Process Institute supports the SAFE Banking Act, H.R. 1996, and urges you to vote in support of this bipartisan bill when it comes to the House floor this evening. Nearly every state has legalized a form of marijuana, including medical marijuana or cannabidiol (CBD). Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have either decriminalized marijuana or legalized recreational use for adults. The cannabis industry is growing. The American cannabis industry saw $17.5 billion in sales in 2020, a 46 percent increase over the previous year. The industry, which already supports 250,000 jobs, is expected to continue to grow, particularly as more states legalize marijuana. Although nearly every state has taken some step to liberalize marijuana laws, Congress has not yet taken action to support their self-governance, which creates a problem for businesses operating legally under state law. Because of the federal treatment of marijuana, the owners or employees of legitimate cannabis-related state businesses are forced to make cash-only sales rather than doing business with federally regulated banks. Additionally, proceeds from any legitimate state cannabis-related business can currently be considered unlawful ``proceeds'' from a crime and subject to federal anti-money laundering and forfeiture laws. The SAFE Banking Act provides safe harbor and other protections for financial institutions--banks and credit unions--that transact with legitimate cannabis-related and hemp-related businesses. (Hemp was federally legalized in 2018.) The bill also protects ancillary business entities that transact with legitimate cannabis-related legitimate businesses and creates a regulatory framework. The legislative history of the SAFE Banking Act shows broad bipartisan support. In the 116th Congress, the SAFE Banking Act passed with 229 and 91 s voting for the bill. The SAFE Banking Act the House will vote on this evening has 168 co-sponsors, boasting diverse support from across the ideological spectrum. Due Process Institute encourages Members to vote YES on the SAFE Banking Act, H.R.1996. Due Process Institute is a bipartisan nonprofit that works to honor, preserve, and restore principles of fairness in the criminal legal system.