mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CONDEMNING IRAN'S UNPRECEDENTED DRONE AND MISSILE ATTACK ON ISRAEL
Kevin Kiley (Republican, CA) \u2014 2024-4-18

. Madam , I stand in strong support of this resolution condemning Iran's unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel. prgtoken However, it is important to note that for the people of Israel, attacks and threats from Iran are far from unprecedented. Every single day, the people of Israel face attacks from Iran's terrorist proxies that literally surround the State of Israel: Hezbollah, the Houthis, and, of course, Hamas. prgtoken We saw the consequences of Iran's massive support for these terrorist proxies play out in horrifying fashion on October 7. Now, with this latest unprecedented attack directly from Iran, we saw almost all of the missiles and drones intercepted. This is a testament to the strength and the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship, both in terms of the partnership that has allowed Israel to develop such an impressive capacity to defend itself and in terms of the collaboration that was on display. prgtoken I am glad that we will soon have an opportunity to provide long overdue support for Israel in this time of such great importance for the region. prgtoken Something else, though, is equally important to note about what happened last weekend, and that is that you had regional allies, other countries in the region, also rally to Israel's defense. This is something the likes of which we have not seen before, and it speaks to the extraordinary success of the Abraham Accords to usher in a new era of peace in the region. This, of course, is exactly what Iran does not want. This is the reason for their desperation. They understand what is unfolding if they do not respond, if they do not somehow stand in the way of it. prgtoken This is a time not only for the United States to stand with our ally, Israel, but for every nation around the world that values peace, freedom, and democracy to do so as well. prgtoken I strongly support this resolution. I would hope it passes this House with strong, unanimous, bipartisan support.
REFORMING INTELLIGENCE AND SECURING AMERICA ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED-- Continued
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2024-4-18

. The administration, tomorrow, is going to say: We don't care about the law. We are going to take that off the table and reverse the EIS and the road that you guys have, tomorrow--for good. Again, who is going to benefit? prgtoken Who is going to benefit? prgtoken Well, I think these dictators are going to benefit--the Ayatollah, Xi Jinping. Certainly, the Alaska workers aren't going to benefit. That is a big issue. prgtoken The Presiding Officer is my friend, but I am going to say something I said on the floor many times. When it comes to national ic policy, when they have a choice between that guy or that woman building a pipeline--the great men and women who built this country--their interests--because everybody wants to develop resources in my State; that is the Trans-Alaska Pipeline--or the interests of the radical far left who is driving these policies to shut down my State, every time, the national ic leaders go with the radical far left, and they tell that young woman who is building that pipeline: Good luck. Sorry for your job that you just lost. prgtoken So the working men and women of Alaska, of America, because these are big projects, they are going to lose. prgtoken But I will tell you who else is going to get hurt really badly by this--and this is a fact--by these decisions tomorrow: These great people. These great people. prgtoken This is a picture of some of the Inupiat Native Alaskan leaders from my State. They live on the North Slope of Alaska. They have been living there for thousands of years--thousands of years. They are fully, unequivocally against this rule that Secretary Haaland and the White House are putting out tomorrow--100 percent against it--the tribal leaders, the borough leaders--that is our new borough mayor, the North Slope borough, Josiah Patkotak--the Alaska Native Corporation leaders. They are fully against this. Every Alaskan Native leader who lives up there--this is where they are going to do this. This is their homeland. And the administration tomorrow is going to look at them and go: We don't care what you think. We don't care what your interests are. The lower 48 eco-colonialists are telling us what to do, so you Alaska Natives, tough luck. prgtoken Now let me tell you a story that is really infuriating. We held a press conference a couple months ago in Alaska, led by these great Alaskan Native leaders. They are wonderful, incredible people. They have been living in Alaska for tens of thousands of years. They don't like this rule, so they come to DC. They came to DC eight times--eight different times--traveling over 4,000 miles. The leaders of the North Slope, where the administration is going to issue this rule tomorrow, eight times they came to DC, flew here, and asked for a meeting with Secretary Haaland to advocate: Madam Secretary, this is bad for us. Bad for our future. Bad for our economy. Bad for jobs. We do not want this rule.
PRAYING FOR THE RETURN OF THE MOUNTAIN GATEWAY MINISTRIES PASTORS
Barry Moore (Republican, AL) \u2014 2024-4-18

. Madam , evangelists with Mountain Gateway Ministries have worked across the country doing disaster recovery, providing food, clothing, and planting churches with the support and assistance of the Nicaraguan Government. prgtoken Americans and their Nicaraguan counterparts associated with Mountain Gateway have made it their mission to spread the hope of the Gospel to the Nicaraguan people for nearly 30 years. prgtoken In January, the attorney general of the Nicaraguan Government began pursuing charges against 3 U.S. citizens associated with Mountain Gateway and 11 of the Gateway Nicaraguan pastors on trumped-up charges of money laundering and organized crime. Since then, 11 pastors have been charged with up to 15 years in prison and a combined $1 billion in fines. prgtoken These pastors were working to bless the people of Nicaragua, and now all their personal property has been seized. They have no legal representation, which is a violation of their human rights. prgtoken These sentences leave families without income, children without mothers and fathers, simply for sharing the good news of Jesus. prgtoken I am deeply concerned these citizens and pastors are being targeted for sharing their faith. I ask the Nicaraguan Government to release the imprisoned pastors immediately. prgtoken Matthew 5:10 says: ``Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.'' prgtoken I am praying for a swift resolution to the persecution of these pastors and that they be safely returned.
RECOGNIZING DR. BEN CHAN
Mike Gallagher (Republican, WI) \u2014 2024-4-18

today I rise to honor a local Green Bay celebrity and Jeopardy champion, Dr. Ben Chan. prgtoken In the Spring of 2023, Ben captured the attention of Jeopardy viewers nationwide. He went on a nine-game winning streak and won more than $250,000 on the trivia show. While he was competing, the fans were charmed by his positive attitude; oftentimes, he could be seen ``raising-the-roof,'' and he always placed an exclamation point after his name. He shared stories about his dogs, Ruthie and Chester, who he plans on spending a portion of his winnings on. Although Ben's winning streak ended over a controversial rule, he was invited back to compete in the Tournament of Champions. Ultimately, Ben has won over $350,000 on Jeopardy. prgtoken While Ben has an extensive fan-base nationwide, some of his most loyal fans reside in his hometown of Green Bay. Ben is an assistant professor of philosophy at St. Norbert College in De Pere. The college community continues to embrace Ben and his success on Jeopardy. When he is not on campus, Ben can be found greeting fans in the community. Recently, he hosted public watch parties for his appearances on Tournament of Champions. Wisconsinites flocked to local restaurants and breweries to cheer him on. In addition to these events, Ben uses his platform to promote Northeast Wisconsin organizations. Appleton's Minor League Baseball Team, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, invited Ben to throw out the first pitch last summer. He even had the opportunity to shoot the famous Bratzooka cannon, which launches brats into the stands. When he competed in the Tournament of Champions, he highlighted one of Green Bay's main attractions, Bay Beach Amusement Park. prgtoken , I offer my sincerest congratulations to Dr. Ben Chan. He is a trivia genius who is making monumental impacts in the Green Bay community. I, along with many Wisconsinites, will miss seeing Ben compete on the show. I look forward to seeing what Ben accomplishes next.
PROHIBITING THE USE OF FUNDS TO IMPLEMENT, ADMINISTER, OR ENFORCE CERTAIN RULES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2024-4-18

it is good to be here with my friend and colleague who just addressed the body on this legislation. I remember he said: Who is going to be on the other side of the position that he has taken? Well, I am the face of the person who is on the other side. prgtoken I am here with students from Wyoming, 4-H kids, who understand from an agricultural standpoint what kind of vehicles families in Wyoming want and need and the freedom to choose the kind of vehicles that they drive, the practicality of what they can afford and of what they know will work for them. They are from Sheridan and they are from Gillette, WY, and they are here because they support the freedom to choose what kind of vehicles people want to drive in America. It is not just Wyoming; it is all across the country. prgtoken I want to thank the Senator from Idaho who wrote this legislation, because he is the driving force behind this very important bill, which I am here to support. prgtoken This legislation that we are talking about today would prohibit any government money from going to fund 's obscene attacks against American cars and American trucks. Every day, people in Wyoming rely on their cars and their trucks to get to work, to get to school, and to do the daily work of our economy: agriculture, ranching, farming. There are great distances that people travel in Wyoming, and they need reliability. They need vehicles that they can trust, that they can count on. This bill today is about defending their freedom, and it is against those who want to take away that freedom. prgtoken What President and the are trying to do is to force Americans to switch to electric vehicles--vehicles that many people don't want, can't afford, and that aren't practical for them in their daily lives. The actions by the and the EPA aren't driven by facts. They are driven by that party's blind faith in their climate religion, a faith that says we need to prioritize--as the President has told the EPA--climate over energy for our country that is affordable, available, or reliable. prgtoken How is that way out? How do people feel about that? Which do you want? Do you want energy that is affordable, available, and reliable? Well then, you are going to be for this piece of legislation that we are talking about today. prgtoken But for the climate alarmists who continue to come to this floor and harp about the issues, let me point out to them the inconvenient truth. The inconvenient truth is that the American people do not want to buy EVs, and they actually are voting with their feet. They aren't buying electric vehicles. They simply aren't interested in that car or the truck that they know is too expensive, too unreliable, and, for them, too inconvenient. That is what it is about. prgtoken The public has absolute legitimate concerns about the lack of charging stations around the country and the time it takes to recharge. prgtoken
CELEBRATING CHARLES CAUVEL'S 100th BIRTHDAY
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2024-4-18

I rise today to celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Cauvel, a lifelong resident of Cranberry Township in Venango County. prgtoken Charles was born on March 24, 1924. He is the oldest of four children. He left high school in 10th grade when he was offered a job driving a truck. A year later, he started working on the railroad. prgtoken A few years later, in May 1943, he was drafted into the United States Army at 19 years of age, where he served until 1946. Charles spent 3 years overseas in the Pacific theater and was even part of the division sent to clean up Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped. prgtoken Following his discharge in 1946, he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, World War II Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze Service Star, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars. prgtoken After the war, Charles returned to Cranberry Township, working as a pumper on an oil lease. prgtoken Today, Charles has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and he continues to share stories of his time in the Army and growing up in Venango County. prgtoken , I wish Charles a happy birthday, and I thank him for his service to our country.
CONDEMNING IRAN'S UNPRECEDENTED DRONE AND MISSILE ATTACK ON ISRAEL
Thomas H. Kean, Jr. (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2024-4-18

. Madam , as people are here witnessing us speaking about how the attacks are all interconnected, Iran, Russia, and China all are seeking to do harm to our Nation and to the Western rules-based order. prgtoken It is extraordinarily important in these times that we show strength and unity of purpose. I am thankful that the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, supported this measure both in the Rules Committee as well as on the floor here prgtoken today. It shows the very strong importance of this resolution and our unparalleled support for the State of Israel and its right to defend itself. prgtoken We, as the House of Representatives, have the responsibility to pass--and I expect later this week we will--a strong foreign aid package that will support our opposition to Iran, Russia, and China, and make sure that we support the people who are fighting for their freedom in Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan to make sure that we have strong support of the American people. That is why it is important on a bipartisan basis that we work together to support this measure. prgtoken Madam , .
CONGRATULATING THE SIRMON FAMILY OF BALDWIN COUNTY
Jerry L. Carl (Republican, AL) \u2014 2024-4-18

I rise today to congratulate the Sirmon Family of Baldwin County on their family farm being awarded the 2024 Alabama Farm of Distinction. Sirmon Farms is owned by Joel and Patti Sirmon, and Joel's mother, Shirley, and brother, James also help run the 5- generation family-owned farm. At Sirmon Farms, they grow cotton, corn, peanuts, and sweet potatoes across 4500 acres in the Belforest Community. They will go on to represent Alabama during the Sunbelt Agriculture Expo in the Southeastern Farmer of the Year contest this fall. Congratulations to the Sirmon Family and their family farm. I am thankful for the impact they make on our state, and I am proud to be their representative.
REFORMING INTELLIGENCE AND SECURING AMERICA ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED-- Continued
Mike Lee (Republican, UT) \u2014 2024-4-18

over the last few hours, I have listened to debates occurring on the Senate floor over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and specifically discussions surrounding section 702 of FISA, discussions surrounding, among other things, the FISA 702 reauthorization passed last week by the House of Representatives. prgtoken That bill they passed last week is commonly known as RISA, and under RISA, there are a lot of conversations going on about what does and what doesn't concern Americans, what should or shouldn't concern Americans. prgtoken Under this bill I am going to be talking about today, RISA--it is an acronym that stands for Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act. Like so many other bills that get passed by Congress, RISA has a really Orwellian name. It purports to do something that, upon further inspection, it doesn't do, and in some cases, it does quite the opposite of that. So there has been a lot of misinformation being peddled by the purveyors of the cult of infallibility surrounding FISA and those who implement it, so I have come to the floor to dispel some of those myths. prgtoken The first myth I would like to try to dispel today involves what exactly it is that we are talking about with the FISA 702 collection and what exactly it is that some of us find objectionable. Remember that under FISA 702, a collection that is supposed to occur under that section really doesn't trigger Fourth Amendment concerns. In fact, most of what they collect I am willing to assume and have reason to believe doesn't trigger Fourth Amendment concerns because it is there to collect information about foreign adversaries operating on foreign soil, doing things against American national security. prgtoken We are not concerned about someone plotting a terrorist attack overseas as a non-U.S. citizen--we are not concerned about that person's Fourth Amendment rights. We are concerned about that person and what that person intends to do, but that person doesn't have Fourth Amendment rights--at least not rights that are cognizable under the U.S. system of government. That is why Congress was willing to enact FISA--to allow for the acquisition of intelligence on foreign targets operating outside the United States. prgtoken But under FISA 702, there are some communications from some U.S. citizens that are, as we say, incidentally collected, that get swept up into the collection under FISA 702--meaning, if you are a U.S. citizen and you are in the United States and you have a phone call with someone, there is a possibility that that person is outside the United States and is not a U.S. citizen and might be under some sort of collection--some kind of FISA 702 collection effort. There is a possibility that when you talk to that person that that phone call is being recorded or that text message exchange or that email thread is being collected by U.S. intelligence Agencies, and we call that incidental collec
REFORMING INTELLIGENCE AND SECURING AMERICA ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED-- Continued
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2024-4-18

next week, the Federal Communications Commission will take a pointless and destructive vote to reimpose onerous net neutrality regulations. Like the FCC before it, the FCC wants to assert broad new government powers over the internet, using rules that were designed--if you can believe this--for telephone monopolies, back during the Great Depression. If there were ever a solution in search of a problem, this is it. prgtoken We have tried the ' heavyhanded net neutrality experiment before, and it didn't go very well. Back in 2015, the FCC implemented the regulatory regime the FCC is planning to impose starting tomorrow. This opened the door to a whole host of new internet regulations, including price regulations, and broadband investment declined as a result. That was a problem for Americans generally who benefit when the United States is at the forefront of internet growth and expansion, and it was particularly bad news for Americans in rural States like South Dakota. prgtoken Deploying broadband to rural communities already has a number of challenges, and adding utility-style regulations, not meant for today's broadband market, acted as a further disincentive to expanding access. Recognizing the chilling effect the FCC's regulation were having on internet innovation and expansion, in 2017, the FCC, under Chairman Pai, voted to repeal the heavyhanded net neutrality regulations passed by the FCC. prgtoken The prospect was greeted with absolute hysteria from . You would have thought that the sky was about to fall. So dire were their predictions. prgtoken We were told that the internet, as we know it, would disappear, that providers would slow speeds to a crawl, that we would get the internet word by word, that our freedom of speech was threatened. prgtoken But the repeal went into effect. And guess what happened. Lo and behold, none of the ' dire predictions came to pass. As anyone who has been on the internet lately knows, the internet has not just survived but thrived. Innovation has flourished. Competition has increased. The internet remains a vehicle for free and open discourse. And internet speeds have not only not slowed down; they have gotten faster and faster. So where, I might ask, is the problem that requires this new onerous regulatory regime? Well, there isn't one. prgtoken But, unfortunately, that is rarely enough to stop , who seem to lose sleep at the thought of some aspect of society not being subjected to heavyhanded Federal regulation. prgtoken In fact, of course, the Federal Government already regulates the internet, but it does so using a light-touch regulatory approach that has allowed the internet to flourish. But if the FCC's new regulatory regime goes into effect, those days of flourishing may be numbered. As I said, the last time that these heavyhanded regulations were imposed, broadband inve
TRIBUTE TO DAVID BEARDEN
Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, WV) \u2014 2024-4-18

I rise to honor Mr. David M. Bearden for his lengthy career of public service to the U.S. Congress and the American people. After more than 33 years at the Congressional Research Service, or CRS, Mr. Bearden recently retired at the end of March as a specialist in environmental policy prgtoken Mr. Bearden hails from Guntersville, AL. After graduating from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, with a theology degree and backpacking around Europe, he moved to Washington, DC. In August 1990, Mr. Bearden was hired as a clerk at the Library of Congress, where he began to gradually climb the ranks. In 1991, Mr. Bearden served in the CRS inquiry unit, where he earned the prestigious Award for Meritorious Service for his work during the Persian Gulf War. Following his stint with the inquiry unit, Mr. Bearden became a production assistant, helping colleagues to prepare reports and memoranda in varied subject areas. After several years as a production assistant, Mr. Bearden became an environmental information analyst and began to specifically focus on environmental issues. Mr. Bearden became an analyst in environmental policy in 2002 and continued to amass a wealth of knowledge on the topics he covered. prgtoken As an analyst, Mr. Bearden primarily focused on the implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as the Superfund law. His extensive research of individual contaminated sites was immensely beneficial for Members' offices representing their impacted constituents and communities. It was in this capacity that I first interacted with Mr. Bearden professionally. I relied on his expertise in the aftermath of the 2014 Elk River chemical spill in Charleston, WV, and I was not shy do to so again in the future. Beyond Superfund, Mr. Bearden specialized in some of the most complex environmental laws on the books, including the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, National Environmental Policy Act, among others. prgtoken With decades of experience, Mr. Bearden became the go-to-analyst and coordinator for high-profile cross-cutting environmental issues that involved clean-up or contamination, including concerns over specific chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. Much of his work involved direct support of the legislative process by providing expert analysis and consultative support for a wide range of environmental policy issues. Through it all, Mr. Bearden approached each request with a high level of consistency in objectivity, nonpartisanship, authoritativeness, and timeliness, the core values of the Congressional Research Service. He has a particular quality of breaking down complex topics into easy-to-understand narratives that intersperse facts-of-the-matter with the law and relevant legislative history. Members an