mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CONDEMNING THE HORRIFIC SHOOTINGS IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA ON MARCH 16, 2021
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2021-5-19

. Madam , as Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Homeland Security, and Terrorism, and a senior member of the Homeland Security, and Budget Committees, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 275--Condemning the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021, and reaffirming the House of Representative's commitment to combating hate, bigotry, and violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community. prgtoken Madam , we all awoke earlier this year to the horrific news that in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, a 21-year old angry white man murdered 8 persons at three Asian massage spas. prgtoken Among the innocent victims were 6 young Asian American women who worked in the establishments. prgtoken The suspected perpetrator of these brutal crimes has been arrested and charged with 8 counts of murder. prgtoken According to the Atlanta Police Department, the killer is reported to have told police that he has an issue, what he considers a `sex addiction,' and `sees these [Asian massage spa] locations as something that allows him to go to these places' and `it is a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate.' prgtoken Adding insult to injury, a Georgia sheriff's captain, acting as spokesperson for law enforcement investigators, characterized the killer as ``having a really bad day.'' prgtoken Madam , since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, there has been a significant increase in harassment and violence against the Asian American community. prgtoken Unfortunately, this is not new; there is a long history of racism again Asian Americans, especially during times of social and economic unrest. prgtoken Throughout American history Asian Americans are often blamed for the emergence of pandemics and diseases, even if the sickness originated far outside the Asian American community. prgtoken The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception, as American citizens, and residents of actual or perceived Chinese descent, have received intense and unjust scrutiny, violence, and harassment as perpetrators associate them with the cause of the pandemic and resulting social and economic turmoil. prgtoken And the racist practice of the 45th President of always referring to the coronavirus as the ``China Virus,'' or ``Kung Flu'' certainly contributed to, and inflamed, an already dangerous climate for persons of Asian descent. prgtoken Asian migration to the continental United States can be traced as far back as 1800's. prgtoken Despite their long residence in the country, throughout American history Asian American communities have been stigmatized as perpetual foreigners. prgtoken These xenophobic sentiments are especially exacerbated in times of social and economic discontent, leaving Asian American communities vulnerable to white supremacist and racist violence and harassment. prgtoken Especially notable to today, historically anti-Asian racism often associates Asian communities with illness--leaving Asian A
NATIONAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL COMPLEX ACT
Kathleen M. Rice (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-5-19

I rise today in support of H.R. 3233, the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act. prgtoken This cannot be said enough. January 6 was an act of domestic terrorism. An armed mob of insurrectionists stormed the Capitol intending to murder the , the Vice President, and Members of Congress. prgtoken We cannot let our friends on the other side of the aisle whitewash the events of that day. We cannot let them gaslight the American people by calling January 6 an ordinary tourist visit. prgtoken The 9/11-style commission we are proposing in this bill will issue a full report on the facts and provide recommendations to prevent future attacks. prgtoken , I truly appreciate Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Katko for negotiating this bill in good faith. prgtoken I thank my friend, Ranking Member Katko, for actually recognizing the events of January 6 and working to find a bipartisan path forward, despite the opposition in his own party. That is a true act of courage and being a true American.
ENCOURAGING APPLICATIONS FOR UNITED STATES SERVICE ACADEMIES
Mary Gay Scanlon (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2021-5-19

I rise today to encourage young people in my district to learn more about the opportunities offered by our U.S. service academies. prgtoken One of the greatest honors of being a Member of Congress is having the ability to nominate outstanding students for appointment to West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy. prgtoken As high school students contemplate what they will do after graduation, I encourage them to consider the benefits of attending one of our service academies, including the unique opportunities for leadership and entry to a range of careers, at no cost to the student or their family. prgtoken The process is competitive, so it is never too early to get started. prgtoken I encourage any students in Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional District who might be interested in attending a service academy to attend our next virtual information session hosted by my office on May 27 at 7 p.m. They may sign up at scanlon.house.gov. prgtoken I look forward to nominating another amazing group of young leaders to the service academies this fall.
NATIONAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL COMPLEX ACT
Hakeem S. Jeffries (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-5-19

I thank the distinguished chair for his tremendous leadership. prgtoken , the January 6 bipartisan commission will explore what happened on that fateful day, why it happened, and how do we prevent another violent insurrection and attack on the Capitol from ever happening again. prgtoken In the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, America had a bipartisan commission. In the aftermath of the September 11 attack, America had a bipartisan commission. In the aftermath of the attack on this Capitol on January 6, America should have a bipartisan commission. prgtoken The violent insurrection was an attack on the Congress, the Constitution, and the Capitol. Lives were lost. More than 140 officers were seriously injured. A violent mob stormed this building to assassinate the , hang , and hunt down Members of Congress. They urinated, defecated, and desecrated the citadel of our democracy. prgtoken It was a violent attack designed to bring about one objective; halt Congress from undertaking our constitutional responsibilities. And yet, a few of my colleagues seem to want to convince America that it was all puppies and rainbows. We will not be hoodwinked. We will not be bamboozled. We will not be led astray. prgtoken The January 6 bipartisan commission will find the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And that is the American way.
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION
Alex Padilla (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-5-19

I rise to introduce the ``Rosie the Riveter National Historic Site Expansion Act.'' The Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park honors the history of Richmond, California as the home of World War II shipyards and the women and men who supported the war effort domestically. prgtoken Richmond, California was chosen as the site for this National Historical Park because it has so many surviving sites and structures from the World War II era that help tell the diverse stories of the home front. According to the National Park Service, ``these stories include the mobilization of America's industry and the changes in production techniques; the struggle for women's and minority rights; the labor movement; the growth of pre-paid medical care; advances in early childhood education and day care; recycling and rationing; major shifts in population; and changes in arts and culture.'' prgtoken This legislation would add the Nystrom Elementary School to the existing National Historical Park. prgtoken During World War II, the Nystrom Elementary school was built to teach the children of shipyard workers. The school was part of a planned development including the Maritime Child Development center, which has already been preserved as part of the park, and the Nystrom housing area, which has been scheduled for future preservation and redevelopment by the city of Richmond. prgtoken The bill would also give the National Park Service the authority to add additional sites to the park through cooperative agreements and to acquire additional sites for inclusion in the park. prgtoken Having the Nystrom Elementary school identified as a site of the park will help the National Historical Park better preserve, interpret, and share that history with visitors. To understand the social changes that occurred during World War II, it is important to have sites that represent those changes as tangible evidence. prgtoken The City of Richmond and the West Contra Costa Unified School District support adding the school to the site Representative Mark DeSaulnier, for championing this effort in the House. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to support the passage of the ``Rosie the Riveter National Historic Site Expansion Act'' as quickly as possible. prgtoken Thank you, . .
NATIONAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL COMPLEX ACT
Stacey E. Plaskett (Democrat, VI) \u2014 2021-5-19

I rise in strong support of this bill, the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. prgtoken I want to thank Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Katko for bringing this bill to the floor. prgtoken On January 6, we witnessed one of the darkest moments in our Nation's history when a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol. These individuals desecrated the Halls of Congress, attacked law enforcement, and attempted to stop the democratic process. The clearest way for us to uphold our oath to defend the Constitution and protect this institution, our democracy, from those who directly attempted to thwart its operations, is through an independent, evenly-divided, bipartisan commission. We need to understand not just what were the breakdowns in security and the failures of our intelligence, but why. What are those issues which caused fellow Americans to believe they needed to overthrow their government? prgtoken Those who believe the former President had no culpability should not be afraid of a commission that derives its power from both sides equally. prgtoken I ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3233, NATIONAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL COMPLEX ACT; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3237, EMERGENCY...
Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat, DC) \u2014 2021-5-19

. I also appreciate that the appropriations bill would mirror two of my bills, prohibiting the use of funds in the bill to install permanent aboveground fencing at the Capitol complex, and requiring Capitol Police officers to wear body cameras. prgtoken In February, I introduced legislation to prohibit funds for permanent fencing at the Capitol complex, and in March the House passed my bill to require Federal police officers to wear body cameras as part of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT
Edward J. Markey (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2021-5-19

I appreciate the points that my colleague from Texas is making, but the bill he is proposing to pass by unanimous consent has not been considered by the Commerce Committee, and it would drastically and unilaterally tie the hands of the Department of Transportation from protecting communities from having massive amounts of dangerous, explosive liquefied natural gas shipped right through their towns and cities. I understand that the s and natural gas companies want to railroad through the Senate a bill that would undermine the safety of the railroads in our communities, but we just can't allow this to happen. prgtoken In 2020, the administration moved to allow trains of 100 or more cars to begin transporting liquefied natural gas with no additional safety regulations. It did this over the objections of the attorneys general of 15 States and the District of Columbia. Firefighters opposed it. Railroad unions that represented the railroad employees objected to it. The environmental community objected to it as did the National Transportation Safety Board. prgtoken Listen to this: A train of 110 tank cars, filled with liquefied natural gas, would have more than five times the equivalent energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. prgtoken We cannot put our firefighters, our railway workers, and our homes and families at risk from loose regulations on what could be catastrophically dangerous trains. Too many lives are at stake, and the Department of Transportation should have the ability to review this rule. This bill that is being propounded right now would blind our safety watchdog when we should be putting these threats under a microscope. prgtoken I object.
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT
Mazie K. Hirono (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2021-5-19

I would like to thank Senator Tillis for working with me on this amendment, amendment No. 1517, to the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which comes from our work on the IDEA Act, a bill that passed the Judiciary Committee last month with bipartisan support. prgtoken Promoting innovation is key to ensuring the United States remains competitive in an increasingly competitive global economy. Unfortunately, the limited data that is available suggests large segments of American society are not engaging with a key component of the innovation economy, the U.S. patent system. prgtoken Women make up only 13 percent of inventors. Black and Hispanic college graduates patent at approximately half the rate of their White counterparts. Closing these patent gaps would turbocharge the U.S. economy. prgtoken One study found that including more women and Black Americans in the early stages of innovation could grow our economy by 3.3 percent. Hold that thought. Another found that eliminating the patent gap for women with science and engineering degrees alone would grow the economy by another 2.7 percent. We are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars of growth to our economy. prgtoken But if we have any hope of closing these patent gaps, we must first get a firm grasp on who is and who is not using the patent system. Unfortunately, the PTO--Patent and Trademark Office--does not collect demographic data on applicants. As a result, researchers are forced to guess an applicant's gender based on his or her name, determine an applicant's race by cross-referencing census data, or explore other options that are time-consuming, unreliable, or both. prgtoken Our amendment solves this problem. It would enable the PTO to collect demographic data from patent applicants on a volunteer basis. I want to repeat that. This is on a volunteer basis. Nobody is forcing anyone to provide this kind of information. This data could then be analyzed by the PTO and outside researchers to identify where patent gaps exist and how to address them. prgtoken Let me be clear. Simply providing researchers more data would not solve prgtoken the patent gaps facing women, racial minorities, and so many others, but it is a critical first step. We need to have data with which to make decisions. prgtoken I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment. prgtoken Thank you. prgtoken .
NATIONAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL COMPLEX ACT
Ritchie Torres (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-5-19

when I was sworn in the week of January 6, I never imagined living through an insurrection against the U.S. Capitol during the electoral college vote count. prgtoken On January 6, I felt the same sense of shock and trauma that I had felt on 9/11. Like most of America, I took for granted that the peaceful transfer of power is so natural as to transcend even the most turbulent period of partisan politics. prgtoken I was wrong. We were all wrong. Democracy is too fragile to be taken for granted. It demands from all of us a vigilant defense. prgtoken As Members of the United States Congress, we took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States. The insurrection against the U.S. Capitol was a literal and metaphorical assault on the very Constitution we have been charged with defending. prgtoken The January 6 Commission is, therefore, not a choice, but an obligation. We have a duty to investigate what happened and why it happened and who is responsible. prgtoken As a Congress, if we are not able or willing to ascertain the full truth surrounding an invasion of our very home, prgtoken of our Nation's Capitol, then why are we here? The 11th-hour attempt to sabotage a bipartisan, bicameral position is not a difference of opinion, nor is it politics as usual. It is an abdication of the oath that we took to uphold the Constitution. prgtoken The United States of America is not a cult of personality, it is a Nation of laws. And our loyalty should not be to one political figure or one political party. Our highest loyalty should be to our country and the Constitution that governs it. prgtoken We must never forget that the truth trumps politics. And if the truth is what we seek, then we have nothing to fear from bringing the clarity that only truth can bring to the chaos and confusion of January 6.
NATIONAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL COMPLEX ACT
Bonnie Watson Coleman (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2021-5-19

I just want to say that January 6 was a frightening experience. It was an assault upon the fundamentals of this Government. It was an assault upon the place I thought I was going to be the safest I could possibly be, and we politicize this. prgtoken This is an opportunity to bring this bipartisan commission into existence so that we can get out of the politics of it and look at the facts that happened, the evidence that happened, and the recommendations that will ensue from that effort. prgtoken I wholeheartedly support this effort. I am grateful for the bipartisanship of it, and I pray that all of our colleagues will support this.
HONORING THE SERVICE OF JOHN EADE
Marcy Kaptur (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2021-5-19

. Madam , as our Nation approaches Memorial Day 2021, I am deeply privileged to enter into the Congressional Record the true story of a great soldier and an agonizing battle during the War in Vietnam. prgtoken The story recounts the superhuman valor of a great army soldier named John Eade, heroic son of my hometown of Toledo, Ohio. John is held in the highest esteem by all who know him. He is a faithful friend and a true patriot, a superlatively strong soldier, yet a humble decorated warrior for liberty. Yes, he is a Purple Heart and more. He has been tested beyond human limits his entire life. He has triumphed against overwhelming odds, including lifelong war wounds, time and time again. prgtoken In November 1965, Sergeant John Eade, then 21, was deployed in Vietnam, a fire team leader in the 1st Calvary division and its ill- fated 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company. On November 14, 1965, Sergeant Eade and his team were sent to reinforce their sister battalion that was engaged in very heavy fighting at Landing Zone X-Ray in La Drang Valley. Two days later, believing the enemy was destroyed and the worst fighting seemingly over, the 1st and 2nd Platoons Bravo were all choppered out. But John Eade and his team left Landing Zone X-ray the morning of November 17, marching 10 kilometers to nearby Landing Zone Albany. They were the first to arrive. prgtoken They established the command post and defense perimeter, and other companies were still coming up the trail. Sergeant Eade, with Alpha's 2nd Platoon, was sent into the trees to the left while the 1st Platoon went right. That is when the two much larger North Vietnamese regiments encamped nearby attacked. prgtoken Sergeant Eade's platoon was immediately pinned down in ferocious hand-to-hand combat as the North Vietnamese swarmed down on them through the trees. Sergeant Eade reflected, ``it was like a gang fight. It was small groups of us versus small groups of them. It got down to knives. It got down to choking people.'' prgtoken Sergeant Eade and his team, Wilbert Johnson, Barry Burnite, and Oscar Barker, Jr tried to outflank the attacking Vietnamese but were badly outnumbered. Eade recounts: ``Burnite, a machine gunner, was hit in the chest by shrapnel and his gun was disabled. Johnson, his crewman, dragged Burnite 30 meters back to a position of cover in an effort to save him.'' Eade recounted, ``It was the greatest feat of human strength I have ever witnessed. I don't know if Burnite was still alive.'' prgtoken Johnson and Barker holed up amongst some trees and continued to fight. Johnson was killed and Eade was shot in the gut and the right shoulder, forcing him to fire his M-16 left-handed. Under RPC fire, Eade said his legs and boots were sprayed with shrapnel that left a large piece stuck in his foot, leaving him unable to walk. prgtoken Barker tended to Eade's wounds. Everyone else was dead. Eade urged Barker to flee 50 meters beyond the woods where the command e