mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
AGRICULTURE AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2018--Continued
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2018-6-28

I want to thank my colleague Senator Murkowski from the great State of Alaska--our great State--for talking about someone we really care about and someone who will do really important things for the entire country. prgtoken Senator Murkowski talked about Tara Sweeney's background. When we had the confirmation hearing in Indian Affairs, I had the honor of introducing her. She did fantastic in that interview. s and all agree. prgtoken When you look at her background, she is a leader. You can read her resume. You can see all of the things that this relatively young woman has accomplished. Senator Murkowski mentioned some. She was, for example, the cochair of the Alaska Federation of Natives. That is an elected position in Alaska. Almost 20 percent of our population is Alaska Native. She was one of the youngest cochairs ever on that incredibly important organization. prgtoken She was the chair of the Arctic Economic Conference. She has also served in leadership positions at her Alaska Native Regional Corporations and the prgtoken National Congress of American Indians, and she is ready to lead an organization that needs leadership. She is clearly qualified. prgtoken Sometimes there can be confusion in terms of the laws that this body passes. In 1971 the Congress of the United States passed, and the President of the United States signed, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA back home. As Senator Murkowski mentioned, this set up not reservation systems like we have in the lower 48 but a very innovative approach to Alaska Native claims for their land, and 44 million acres of State and Federal land went to the possession and ownership of the first peoples of Alaska. It was very innovative. prgtoken This body created Alaska regional corporations and village corporations, of which all our Alaska Native people are shareholders. My wife is a shareholder. My daughters are shareholders. That was mandated by the Congress. Yet, as Tara Sweeney has gone through her confirmation process, the Federal Government seemed to wake up to the fact that Alaska Native individuals owned shares in these Alaska corporations that Congress created, and time and again, they started to seemingly almost hold it against her. prgtoken Let me give you a little bit of a timeline of the delays that Senator Murkowski mentioned. She was nominated by the President to serve as the Assistant Secretary on October 16, 2017. That is almost 9 months ago. prgtoken First, her nomination went through a very long process through the Office of Government Ethics--again, because of the birthright shares that she is entitled to as an Alaskan Native because Congress told them that. So there was confusion. Again, a lot of people didn't know what this was. At one point, there was even the sense that she couldn't have the job until she sold her shares. But she can't sell her shares, as Senator Murkowski said. It is not like own
AGRICULTURE AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2018
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-6-28

I am a day late with the news, but Justice Anthony Kennedy, of course, announced prgtoken he is leaving the bench at the end of the month, and I would be remiss if I didn't start my remarks this morning by thanking him for his 40- plus years of service to this country on the Federal bench. prgtoken He has presided over and authored the majority opinion in many high- stakes cases of national importance. As the news has pointed out, after Sandra Day O'Connor left the Court, he has been that pivotal fifth vote in a lot of really significant cases, which is to say, you can't really typecast Justice Kennedy, but I do believe he has remained committed to upholding the integrity of the legal system throughout the course of his career. prgtoken I can say, as a former State supreme court justice myself, I know the work he has been doing has been painstaking, time-consuming, and extraordinarily important all at the same time. So I express my gratitude, on behalf of my constituents, to Justice Kennedy for his willingness, ability, and determination to carry out that work. prgtoken While serving on the Supreme Court for the last three decades, after having been appointed by President Reagan, he has furthered the pursuit of American justice, one case at a time, which is exactly what Justices are supposed to do, through calm times and politically turbulent times--perhaps, some might say, times like the present. He recognizes that our core institutions are essentially democratic institutions, answerable to the people through their elected representatives. prgtoken While the Court has a unique role in interpreting the Constitution-- which is the fundamental bedrock law of the Nation--in cases that don't turn on the constitutionality of the statute, it is important to defer to decisions made by the elected representatives of the people because we are the ones accountable to the electorate for those decisions. Judges, by their nature, are not because they aren't elected. They don't run for election. So their fidelity is supposed to be to the law and not to a personal agenda or politics or any other agenda. prgtoken Justice Kennedy was an important member of the Court that recognized an individual right to bear arms under the Second Amendment and recently upheld the President's prerogatives to protect national security. prgtoken As Justice Kennedy concludes his term this next month, we, of course, wish him well, along with his wife Mary and their children, and we wish them many more happy--and, hopefully, a little less stressful--years together. Filling the Upcoming Supreme Court Vacancy prgtoken Meanwhile, the Senate will conduct our constitutional role of offering our advice and consent on whomever President nominates. As the senior Senator from Connecticut said yesterday, ``The Senate should do nothing to artificially delay'' consideration of the next Justice. I have heard conflicting views, bu
INSISTING DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMPLY WITH REQUESTS AND SUBPOENAS
H. Morgan Griffith (Republican, VA) \u2014 2018-6-28

I thank the gentleman and appreciate the time. prgtoken I would say that that is a good bill, and I am glad to have been an original cosponsor with the gentleman from North Carolina on the bill related to making sure that families are not separated. prgtoken Now, the previous gentleman also said for us to do our jobs. It is curious, because, as I understand it, part of our job is to make sure that we are overseeing the Federal Government. Our Founding Fathers created something that had never been created before, a checks-and- balance system. prgtoken There was supposed to be a natural tension between the various branches, and Congress is supposed to be an equal branch with the power of oversight over the administrative branch to make sure that they are following the laws and to make sure that they are meting out justice evenhandedly. That is what this resolution is about. prgtoken But Congress too often sits back and does not do anything. It just says: Oh, well, we can't get that information. We are so sorry. This resolution points out that we have been patiently waiting for some of these documents for years, for months, for weeks, for the administrative branch of government to respond to its coequal branch, the United States Congress, and they have refused to do so. prgtoken I would submit that this is a very measured resolution; that it does not immediately call for holding somebody in contempt, or holding somebody to find that somebody should be impeached. It says, instead: Here is the deadline. What we are trying to seek here are the facts. If you are afraid of the facts, then, yes, you stand up on the floor and you rail about all other kinds of issues. But the facts, the truth, needs to come out for the American people. prgtoken So I would submit that this resolution is very reasonable and ought to be passed. Because if there is not a response, it is our duty to hold those who do not respond properly in contempt.
WHERE IS THE GOP?
Ruben Gallego (Democrat, AZ) \u2014 2018-6-28

it is an honor to follow Mr. Rush, who was my Congressman growing up all through high school and actually in elementary school. prgtoken , at this very moment, House s are racing out of Washington. Families are being torn apart; children are being ripped from the arms of their mothers; and women who have fled horrific violence are being deported back to their abusers. Yet my colleagues are nowhere to be found. prgtoken Where are they, ? prgtoken House s are fleeing the scene of an accident. They are running from the shame and embarrassment of yesterday's vote on the GOP immigration bill. They are headed for the exits while thousands of kids cry in cages at our borders tonight. prgtoken That is right, with the world watching and with a humanitarian crisis unfolding right here in America, Ryan and the House s simply just gave up and went home. prgtoken The other party fought for weeks behind closed doors. They traded accusations and insults, many of which were quickly leaked to the press. Yesterday, they finally put an immigration bill on the House floor, and it failed by the largest margin in recent memory. prgtoken But instead of allowing a vote on a true compromise, like the Aguilar-Hurd legislation, Ryan and his leadership team decided to call it quits. They chose to put their fingers in their ears while thousands of kids are crying out for their mothers. prgtoken , 121-301. That was the vote yesterday, and 121-301 tells the story of a Conference in crisis. When he officially retires, 121-301 should be in the first line of any story written about Paul Ryan's speakership. prgtoken If s aren't interested in governing, they should at least step aside and let take over. If Ryan isn't interested in actually solving problems, he should get an early start on his retirement, because right now, it sure looks like House s are more interested in fighting each other than fighting for the American people. prgtoken , we have been hearing a lot about civility as of late. s are upset that Members of this body have said mean things about the President. s whine on FOX News about the White House press secretary being turned away from a restaurant. s writing in the opinion pages are wringing their hands about the deterioration of our public discourse. Give me a break already. prgtoken Isn't it time that we worried less about the lack of civility in our politics and more about the lack of humanity in our government? prgtoken Here is all I ask: When my Republic colleagues are enjoying their fireworks and barbecues with their loved ones next week, I hope they will spare a thought for the mothers separated from their loved ones because of 's outrageous cruelty. And I hope, just for a minute, that my friends will pause and think about their own responsibility for this tragedy. prgtoken I hope,
AGRICULTURE AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2018
Tina Smith (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2018-6-28

I rise today to voice my strong support for the farm bill that the Senate is currently considering. prgtoken First, I would like to thank Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow for their strong leadership on this bipartisan bill. When I first became a Senator just months ago, I asked for a seat on the Agriculture Committee, and I immediately formed a farm bill working group in Minnesota so that I could hear from farmers and ranchers, foresters, researchers, rural community leaders, and Tribes, as well as experts on nutrition, energy, and conservation, to make sure that Minnesota's priorities were included in this farm bill. prgtoken In the last few months, in Minnesota, my staff and I have convened over 30 listening sessions around the State, and I am very grateful for the input and ideas we have gotten through the farm bill process. prgtoken The farm bill touches the lives of virtually every American, and it is vital to my State's economy. This bill will provide important stability and predictability to Minnesota farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and Indian Country, while also sustaining tens of thousands of Minnesota jobs. prgtoken The farm bill works when all three pillars of the bill work together: traditional farm programs, rural development, and nutrition. If we remove one of these pillars, the farm bill will not be able to stand. prgtoken The nutrition programs reauthorized by the Senate farm bill are of vital importance. According to the Agriculture Department, in 2016, over 41 million people, including millions of children across the country, lived in food-insecure households. This is why, when you talk to farmers and ranchers in my State, they know how important it is to support nutrition programs, and they understand, as I do, that any efforts to weaken nutrition programs will ensure that this bill does not pass. prgtoken I was proud to be able to participate in crafting the farm bill as a member of the Agriculture Committee. It was a truly bipartisan process, an example of how we can get things done when we work together. prgtoken I am very happy that this bill includes many of the provisions I worked hard on, on behalf of Minnesota. For example, the Senate bill maintains the sugar program, which is so important to Minnesota's sugar beet farmers. The sugar industry employs about 29,000 people in Minnesota and provides 142,000 jobs nationwide. Sugar is a $20 billion- a-year industry--$3.4 billion in my State alone. prgtoken The U.S. sugar policy runs at zero cost and ensures that American farmers are on an even playing field against subsidized foreign sugar. Any amendment that threatens the safety net for sugar farmers could put many farmers into bankruptcy and should be opposed. prgtoken This farm bill also expands gains made in the dairy safety net earlier this year. I pushed for these improvements to help Minnesota dairy farmers who are facing falling milk prices. prgtoken I am
AGRICULTURE AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2018
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-6-28

yesterday, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, creating a vacancy on the Supreme Court. After Kennedy's departure, the Supreme Court will be evenly divided between Justices appointed by Presidents and Justices appointed by ic Presidents. Whoever fills Justice Kennedy's seat on the Court will have an opportunity to impact the prgtoken laws of the United States and the rights of its citizens for a generation. prgtoken Because Justice Kennedy was frequently independently minded and was a deciding vote on important issues like marriage equality and a woman's right to choose, a more ideological successor could upend decades of precedent and drag America backward to a time before Americans with preexisting conditions could affordably access healthcare, to a time before women could not be prosecuted as criminals for exercising their reproductive rights, to a time before gay and lesbian Americans could marry whom they love. An ideological Justice more extreme in his views than Kennedy could eviscerate the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively for a fair wage and stretch the bounds of Executive power for a President who has demonstrated little respect for them. prgtoken Of course, if s were consistent, they would wait to consider Justice Kennedy's successor until after the midterm elections. Time and again, Leader McConnell justified his unjustifiable blockade of Merrick Garland by claiming the American people should have a voice in deciding the next Supreme Court Justice. That was in February of an election year. It is now almost July. prgtoken If the Senate's constitutional duty to advise and consent is just as important as the President's right to nominate, which the Constitution says it is, why should a midterm election be any less important than a Presidential election? Leader McConnell is simply engaging in hypocrisy. prgtoken Whomever the President picks, it is all too likely they are going to overturn healthcare protections and Roe v. Wade. We don't need to guess. President has said time and again he would appoint judges who would do those two things--overturn Roe v. Wade and overturn healthcare protections. On November 11, 2016, then President-Elect said: ``I am pro-life; the judges will be pro-life.'' In a debate against Secretary Clinton, then-Candidate said: ``Because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states.'' It is impossible to conclude that President will appoint a Justice whom we can have faith will leave Roe v. Wade as settled law. President said, in his own words, that he wants to appoint a Justice to give the Court a majority that will overturn Roe v. Wade, so count on it. prgtoken President will, in all likelihood, nominate a Justice willing to send Roe ``back to the states''--again, those are President 's
AGRICULTURE AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2018
Maria Cantwell (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2018-6-28

I come to join the debate this morning on the farm bill and to make sure we get the farm bill passed. It is so important to the State of Washington and to our country. prgtoken I know many of my colleagues have been down here talking about agriculture, but in the State of Washington, it is responsible for about 164,000 jobs. And while we produce about $10-plus billion of economic activity, about $180 billion of economic activity goes through our ports every year. So if you are growing an agricultural product in the United States, there is a good chance you are shipping that product through Washington ports, going to Asia and a variety of places. prgtoken The agriculture and food industry is a huge part of our U.S. economy as well, and provides 11 percent of total U.S. employment. So to say this bill is an important economic tool is an understatement. prgtoken We know that in the United States of America, a trade surplus in agriculture has existed for 50 years. So when we are talking about making investments and opening new markets and protecting agriculture from the trade war that we are seeing, it is very important that this bill helps recognize the hard work that the farmers in the United States of America have done in growing our economy. We must make sure they continue to have those economic opportunities in the future. prgtoken Since U.S. exports gained access to markets like South Korea more than a decade ago, Washington farmers in my State have seen increases in exports of up to 80 percent for potatoes and 200 percent for cherries. Agriculture exports support more than a million jobs around the United States, so it's important to maintain our agriculture trade surplus. prgtoken I am proud to say that, working with our colleagues, the chairman of the committee, Senator Roberts, and the ranking member, Senator Stabenow, we have worked to make sure that we are making improvements and increasing MAP, the Market Access Program. This critical program provides technical assistance and more flexibility for the Secretary of Agriculture to help our farmers increase access to new markets. This is so important at a time when we are seeing so much chaos in the marketplace. We want to make sure we continue to have an aggressive attitude toward opening markets--not closing them. prgtoken From 1977 to 2014, it is estimated that our market access programs produced an average return on investment of $28 for every dollar that was invested--that is, when you are opening a market to sell U.S. products abroad. That is a huge investment for us to export our product into those countries. prgtoken I know that some of our colleagues have been working across the aisle to help make sure that MAP funding is more secure and that we invest more. I am working with my colleague, Senator Crapo from Idaho, to make sure that provisions are in this bill that give the Secretary more flexibility to help us on things like our fru
VOTE EXPLANATION
Tammy Duckworth (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-6-28

I was necessarily absent for vote No. 140 on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018. On vote No. 140, had I been present, I would have voted yea. prgtoken , I was also necessarily absent for votes related to consideration of H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019. Had I been present for vote Nos. 138 and 139, I would have voted yea on the motion to table Mr. Lee's amendment No. 3021, as modified, and I would have voted yea on passage of H.R. 5895. prgtoken As an original cosponsor of Mr. Tester's amendment No. 2971 to prevent the denial of access to records and documents by various inspectors general, and as an original cosponsor of Mr. Bennet's amendment No. 2983 to increase employment for members of the Armed Forces in emerging industries, had I been present for vote Nos. 136 and 137, I would have voted yea on both amendments. In addition, on vote No. 135, had I been present, I would have voted yea on Mr. Young's amendment No. 2926 to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the Veterans Crisis Line.
SUMMER RECESS STOPS SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
Theodore E. Deutch (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-6-28

in the 4\1/2\ months since 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, there have been 15 shootings at schools and colleges around the country. prgtoken In the absence of congressional action, the only thing that has stopped these school shootings is summer recess. prgtoken But summer recess won't stop the daily gun violence in communities across the country. In the past 72 hours, 97 people were killed and 180 people were injured by gun violence. prgtoken And summer recess won't provide relief to the families who are still grieving the loss of their children, their loved ones. prgtoken Earlier this month, four Stoneman Douglas seniors were honored with degrees they earned but never received because they were murdered in their school. Their parents and siblings walked onto that stage instead. It shouldn't have been this way. prgtoken It is time for this House to act on gun violence. Bring up the bipartisan bills on universal background checks, banning bump stocks, gun violence restraining orders. prgtoken We cannot wait until the school bell rings again this fall. We have to act now