mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
SUPPORTING OUR MILITARY
James M. Inhofe (Republican, OK) \u2014 2017-12-21

President 's commitment to our veterans is only matched by his commitment to our servicemembers and our national security. You can't really segregate it out and say, well, we are going to take care of our veterans' activities and then still say we are not going to allow our country to have the national security they fought so hard for. prgtoken We saw that earlier this week when the President outlined his national security strategy, charting a new course for American foreign policy, leaving behind the failed policies of the administration. With his national security strategy, President has been clear that he is committed to protecting the homeland, promoting American prosperity, and advancing peace through strength. Have you ever heard that before, peace through strength? I am one of the few who is old enough around here who remember our great President we had who talked about peace through strength when he had to rebuild the military after the Carter administration. It was actually as bad--or as downgraded as our military has become from the last administration. prgtoken Now he is asserting America's leadership in the free world. We saw how under President the military was forced to divert resources for priorities that weren't even about defending America. He used the military to advance his liberal agenda, which led to the wasteful spending on what they call the green Navy and the green bullets. The idea that climate change was the largest threat to our national security, all of that has changed and not a moment too soon. prgtoken President is focused on what matters, rightfully taking out things like just worrying about climate change as opposed to rebuilding our military, and he is building it at a very rapid rate right now. prgtoken We passed the bill, the Defense authorization bill, and we have made a great start on this. prgtoken Now, when the President came into office, our military was facing a readiness crisis, and Americans didn't really understand this. They didn't know. They had not been told this. We had a biased media that didn't allow this information to get out. As an example, our Air Force today, right now, is short 1,500 pilots, and 1,300 of those are actually fighter pilots. Only 50 percent of the Air Force squadrons are trained and ready to conduct all of their assigned missions. I have to repeat that. Only 50 percent of our Air Force squadrons are trained and ready to defend America. prgtoken The Navy is the smallest and least ready it has been in years. It currently can only meet 40 percent of the demand for regional combat. The commanders in the field include only enough personnel to man six and a half of our nine carrier air wing. prgtoken A carrier air wing is something a lot of people are not familiar with. A carrier air wing has approximately 75 combat aircraft. Currently, we have manned only 6\1/2\ wings and are 8,000 sailors short. prgtoken
CHIP REAUTHORIZATION
Brian K. Fitzpatrick (Republican, PA) \u2014 2017-12-21

I rise this morning to once again implore this Congress to take bipartisan action to extend Federal funding of the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. prgtoken In my home State of Pennsylvania, more than 176,000 children have gained access to affordable, comprehensive healthcare coverage through CHIP, providing them with age-appropriate medical and developmental care. prgtoken Since the program became law, the percentage of uninsured children nationwide has decreased by more than half, from 13.9 percent in 1997 to 6.6 percent in 2016. prgtoken As a result of its reliability and effectiveness, CHIP has consistently enjoyed strong bipartisan support. In September, I joined a bipartisan group from across Pennsylvania in urging leaders of both parties to take action to ensure that children have access to high- quality health insurance coverage during their formative years, a move we know yields an abundance of positive outcomes: fewer hospitalizations, increased earning power, and better healthcare outcomes as an adult. prgtoken While this Chamber has already taken action, passing legislation last month to fund CHIP, the Senate has yet to act. It is crucial we provide certainty and security for children, parents, and providers and move to sign into law CHIP extension legislation as soon as possible. prgtoken , the time is now for the Senate to act.
SENATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-12-21

I would like to speak briefly today about the year we have had here in Washington, DC. prgtoken At times along the way, it wasn't easy. There were more than one or two bumps in the road, and there were times when we got discouraged because we weren't able to accomplish everything we wanted to accomplish on the part of the American people. But looking back, I am proud of what we were able to get done. prgtoken The first thing is to notice the speed with which President was able to nominate and we were able to confirm Federal judges. Everyone remembers last January when President prgtoken nominated Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. This was an excellent choice. He is an experienced Federal judge and accomplished scholar who understands the proper role of a judge under our Constitution. prgtoken I think the weather and my sinuses are not cooperating here at this moment. prgtoken I will be back later. prgtoken .
TRIBUTE TO SUELLYN WRIGHT NOVAK
Lisa Murkowski (Republican, AK) \u2014 2017-12-21

Suellyn Wright Novak of Eagle River, AK, retired from the Air Force with the rank of colonel in 2003 after a distinguished 32-year career in the biomedical field. She was commander of three different medical squadron, a clinical laboratory officer, and leader of the Air Force Blood Program worldwide. She returned home to begin a second career as a professional volunteer. At one time, she held 26 different volunteer positions. prgtoken Suellyn's work with the Eagle River Presbyterian Church, the Chugiak/ Eagle River Chamber of Commerce, and the American Heart Association cannot go unmentioned, nor can we ignore her work as a service officer for VFW Post 9785 or the Alaska State Veterans Advisory Council, but Suellyn is best known for her work as the president and executive director of the Alaska Veterans Museum. prgtoken Suellyn officially retired from this second career in October, handing the reins over to Mike Waller. In early 2018, the Alaska Veterans Museum will host an event to commemorate her service in January. I want to take a few moments to express my appreciation to Suellyn for her service to our Nation and to those who have served it. prgtoken Alaska takes great pride in its standing as the State which hosts more veterans per capita than any other. About 70,000 veterans call Alaska home. It is fitting that Alaska host a museum honoring the service and sacrifice of our veterans. Suellyn is best known for taking the Alaska Veterans Museum from idea to reality. In 2005 she began collecting oral histories of veterans from all conflicts. She took on additional roles as researcher, display designer, fundraiser, grant writer, and membership chair. The museum was virtual at that point. It organized exhibits for the Anchorage Museum, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the Anchorage libraries, but didn't have a space of its own. It was Suellyn's vision to move the museum from a virtual space to a physical space in downtown Anchorage. She raised funds and worked with realtors to secure a prime affordable location. And once that location was secured, Suellyn recruited a handpicked team to get the museum open in just 11 days. The Alaska Veterans Museum opened on April 17, 2011. prgtoken Suellyn staffed the museum during nearly all the hours it was open-- except when she might be in an elementary school classroom presenting as a Continental soldier during the American Revolution or speaking about how those who fought for America's independence survived the battle or when she was coordinating ``Fan Mail'' to the troops. The Alaska Veterans Museum, I am told, sends more fan mail to troops than any other small organization in the United States. Suellyn's impact in recognizing and supporting our veterans and Active-Duty servicemembers is remarkable. prgtoken One of the most remarkable examples of Suellyn's determination involves her efforts to place a memorial in the village of Attu in memory of th
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BLUE CAMPAIGN AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2017
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2017-12-21

pursuant to House Resolution 670, I call up the bill (H.R. 1370) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue Department of Homeland Security-wide guidance and develop training programs as part of the Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.
SENATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, WV) \u2014 2017-12-21

I wish to thank my colleague from Missouri for highlighting a lot of the good work of this past year in the Senate and touching on some highlights, particularly in the veterans area, that have great impact across the country. It is something on which we all joined together compassionately, wanting to help our veterans and wanting to make sure they get the best care in the best way as quickly as possible, and I appreciate his highlighting that. prgtoken I wish to highlight the positive change that this majority has brought to the American people in the first year of President 's administration. I am going to talk about a few different things than my colleague from Missouri, and I think you would expect that. I come from the State of West Virginia. Certain policies impact us differently, and so that is what having the time to talk about our accomplishments over the past year gives us the ability to do. prgtoken I can't begin without talking about one of the biggest and boldest actions that we have taken this week, and that is our pro-growth tax reform bill. Throughout the process, I traveled across the State and heard from many constituents--friends and many strangers--all about this effort. Not only at the beginning did they realize what a difference this will make in their lives, but, as my colleague from Missouri said, as we move through this year, when you start to see your paychecks change and you bring home more of your own money because your rate went down or when you begin to file in April, realizing that this is the last time you have to file this complicated thing--I am going to be able to make it easier on myself--families, workers, and small businesses across our State are really counting on relief, and this week we delivered on that. prgtoken In West Virginia, particularly when asked ``How is this really going to help the bulk of the people in the middle-wage earning families?'' I like to highlight the fact that in my State in particular, 83 percent of our tax filers don't take itemizations. They file with the standard deduction. That has now been doubled. prgtoken The child tax credit has been doubled, as the gentleman from Wyoming said. It gives that child tax credit, and that goes right to the heart of the middle-wage earning family trying to make ends meet at the end of the day. prgtoken They are predictions, but we feel certain that with the doubling of these deductions and this credit, more people will file on the smaller form and also push that number to maybe over 90 percent. prgtoken This year, we also delivered on significant regulatory reforms, especially in the energy realm, which is absolutely impactful in my area of the country. Under the Congressional Review Act, the Senate has repealed 14 of President 's very onerous regulations. prgtoken I led the effort to enact a CRA to fix the burdensome stream protection rule. This rule really threatened what
FURTHER SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018
Mimi Walters (Republican, CA) \u2014 2017-12-21

California is experiencing the worst fire season in its history. Tragically, these fires have taken 46 lives, including one of our brave Cal Fire firefighters, Cory Iverson. prgtoken California has lost nearly 10,000 homes and structures since the start of the October wildfires. The need for relief and assistance is immediate. prgtoken , I support the swift passage of the Emergency Disaster Aid Package, which includes legislation I introduced, the California Wildfire Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2017. prgtoken These specific provisions will allow victims to deduct property damages and access retirement funds without penalty, as well as encourage charitable giving. prgtoken Passage of this bill will help mitigate the burden of these devastating wildfires and allow people to begin rebuilding their lives. prgtoken , California faces a long road to recovery and rebuild from this devastating fire season. I urge my colleagues to aid in that recovery by voting for the Emergency Disaster Aid Package.
FURTHER SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018
John R. Carter (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-12-21

I thank the gentleman for yielding. prgtoken The bill also includes $1.1 billion to address the damages to important Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and Transportation Security Administration facilities. prgtoken The supplement provides $4.4 billion more than requested, but we looked at prgtoken each project to ensure that funding was only going to projects that address damages, improve resiliency, and increase disaster responses. prgtoken , I thank Chairman Frelinghuysen for his leadership. He has been right on top of this, and we have got a good product here. prgtoken , I urge a ``yes'' vote on the supplemental.
TAX REFORM BILL
Tim Scott (Republican, SC) \u2014 2017-12-21

. Thank you, . prgtoken This week, we took a major step toward helping the middle- and working-class family by passing the first significant tax reform package in a generation. prgtoken I wanted to take a few minutes to thank a lot of folks for their efforts, hard work, and dedication to this process. At the Member level, both Leader McConnell and Chairman Hatch did amazing work leading us through this process. prgtoken I also had the privilege of working as part of the Core 4, with Pat Toomey, John Thune, and Rob Portman, over the past year developing this bill. Those three guys are some of the hardest working Members we have. prgtoken I also thank Marco Rubio for his dedication to improving the child tax credit, as well as Mike Lee and Ivanka . prgtoken We were also able to include my Investing in Opportunity Act as a part of the legislation. This is legislation that will help distressed communities throughout the country. More than 50 million Americans today live in those distressed communities, and the Investing in Opportunity Act can usher prgtoken in trillions of dollars of investment to improve the quality of life and create a spark in some of the most challenging areas of our country economically. prgtoken I thank my House sponsor of the bill, Pat Tiberi, and my ic cosponsors, Corey Booker and Ron Kind. prgtoken We could not have gotten this far without the hard work and dedication of the Finance Committee staff. I thank, in particular, Jay, Mark, Jeff, Jenn, as well as the entire Finance team for their amazing work. prgtoken I also want to take a few minutes to thank my staff. I have been blessed with an amazing staff here on Capitol Hill, one of the hardest working staffs I have ever seen. I want to start off by thanking my tax guru, Shay Hawkins, who has done a tremendous job of leading us through this process--fielding thousands of calls and responding to tens of thousands of emails. I would also like to thank my LD, Charles Cogar, for his dedication and his leadership through this time. My chief of staff, Jennifer DeCasper, has done an amazing job of making sure we stayed focused on the objective. The objective was not to simply pass legislation; the objective was, in fact, to change lives where we live, to help the average American experience a little more hope, a little more opportunity by keeping a little more of their money. I also thank my commerce director who has done a fabulous job, Sean Smith, in making sure we communicated effectively the message of hope and opportunity, and my scheduler, Brie Kelly. Thank God for someone who could keep me moving in the right direction. One of the hardest jobs in Washington is being a scheduler for a Member, and being a scheduler for this Member is perhaps the hardest job of scheduling. prgtoken My entire team worked diligently, long hours, but that is why we are here. We are here to work long hours, but to produce results-- unparallele
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2017-12-21

I rise to join my colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Reed, in introducing the Museum and Library Services Act of 2017. This bill would reauthorize the core programs administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which support libraries and museums in Maine and across the country. This bill includes important updates to improve the abilities of libraries and museums to meet the needs of local communities. prgtoken The Museum and Library Services Act represents a commitment to supporting libraries and museums that enrich our communities. Libraries provide not only a wonderful learning tool, full of books, public documents, and internet access, but also are community hubs where citizens can meet to share and explore ideas. Likewise, great museums do more than accumulate artifacts--they tell stories. The programs reauthorized in this bill would help libraries and museums across Maine and the United States better serve the public by helping with research, planning, and programming. prgtoken The Museum and Library Services Act would make important improvements to IMLS's ability to collaborate with states and communities. It would reauthorize the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the only federal program that helps public libraries meet their community's needs, enhance their services through technology, reach underserved and rural populations, and recruit new professionals to the library field. Ensuring that federal resources reach our rural communities is particularly important to me, and I am pleased that this bill highlights support for rural and tribal areas. prgtoken Every state in our country receives its share of the LSTA, which leverages the federal investment with a state and local funding match. In Maine, the LSTA has helped libraries lend books and other materials by mail to reach residents in communities that do not have libraries nearby or who are homebound. It has helped Maine libraries serve individuals with disabilities through access to book recordings and special media players, including braille and audio downloads. It has helped my state improve online access to magazines, newspapers, and reference books, and spurred innovative collaborations with schools statewide. prgtoken The bill would also reauthorize the Museum Services Act, providing support for museums to collaborate with schools, libraries, and colleges and universities, and to encourage new technologies to extend the reach of programs and museum collections. As with the LSTA, museums are incentivized to leverage other sources of support to match the federal investment. prgtoken This reauthorization underscores the role that libraries and museums play in community revitalization. Libraries are important information centers for workforce development, health information, and digital and financial literacy. Museums are also vital community partners that work to connect our communities to the
UNITED NATIONS JERUSALEM VOTE
Claudia Tenney (Republican, NY) \u2014 2017-12-21

I rise today to express deep disappointment in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/ES-10/L.22 and state my serious concern over the anti-American and anti-Semitic behaviors of the United Nations. prgtoken Today, the United Nations continues its ugly legacy of singling out Israel for condemnation. According to the NGO, UN Watch, 86 percent of the U.N. General Assembly resolutions criticizing countries between 2012 and 2015 have targeted Israel. prgtoken It is a sad and confounding sight to watch Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and other human rights abusers degrade our ally, Israel, and attempt to nullify a decision made by the United States regarding our own Embassy. prgtoken I applaud Ambassador Haley for her resolute remarks and strength of spirit as she stood against rogue regimes for democratic values and American interests. prgtoken I look forward to working with the administration and my colleagues in Congress to reassess our foreign aid commitments and realign them with our values and our strategic interests.
TRIBUTE TO A WORDSMITH
Michael T. McCaul (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-12-21

I rise today to honor an integral part of my communications team, Renn Osborne. Renn proved to be a valuable asset and a dedicated team player who helped articulate the mission of the Homeland Security Committee and our Members. He first served as an intern in the Committee's press office, then as a Press Assistant, and finally rising to the position of Deputy Press Secretary. prgtoken Renn effortlessly juggled print media requests with the daily challenges of the Committee's fast-paced press office. His sound judgment, quick action, and strong political acumen helped shape the Committee's message development. Renn was crucial in communicating the Committee's actions to help protect the American people. prgtoken His abilities were on display at the 53rd United States-Mexico Interparliamentary Group Meeting in Mexico City this past summer. The meeting transpired at a pivotal time, and Renn's efforts were key in communicating the close historic, economic, and cultural bonds that have been forged as a result of the U.S.-Mexico relationship over the past 192 years. prgtoken I am pleased that Renn has continued his public service on Capitol Hill as the speechwriter for Senator Rob Portman. I look forward to seeing him continue to grow and develop as a wordsmith and as a communicator who is happy to serve his fellow citizens.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Kevin McCarthy (Republican, CA) \u2014 2017-12-21

I rise for the purpose of making a scheduling announcement. prgtoken , Members are advised that these are the last votes expected in the House for the day, the week, the month, and the year. prgtoken Now, I want to thank all of the Members for their service to our Nation. I want to wish you and your families a blessed holiday and a very Merry Christmas, and I look forward to working with all of you in 2018.