mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CHOICE IN AUTOMOBILE RETAIL SALES ACT OF 2023
Tim Walberg (Republican, MI) \u2014 2023-12-6

. Madam , I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 4468, the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act, or the CARS Act. prgtoken In April, the administration's EPA opposed a rule setting light- and medium-duty tailpipe emissions standards so stringently that the EPA expects the proposal would force two-thirds of new light- and medium-duty vehicles sold in 2032 to be electric. prgtoken There is no hiding that the proposed rule is an electric vehicle mandate. Not only does this EV mandate display breathtaking government overreach into the auto industry, but it is also unaffordable, unattainable, and unrealistic for American consumers. prgtoken EVs are $13,000 more expensive than the average, gas-fueled vehicle. Repairs to an EV cost $2,300 more on average, leading to higher insurance costs, over $500 annually. prgtoken The proposed standards are also unattainable. Our grid cannot handle the power load that is required, plus most of the country lacks the charging infrastructure needed for the mandate. prgtoken We also don't have access to all the critical minerals to produce the vehicles or the capacity to refine those minerals for use in batteries. China controls most critical mineral mines, processing, and manufacturing for EVs. China has 78 percent of the world's cell manufacturing capacity for EV batteries. prgtoken Have we already forgotten the disastrous realities of overreliance on China for our supply chain? I have yet to hear a constituent say we need our supply chains to be more reliant on China. prgtoken Opponents of the CARS Act argue that EVs are growing in popularity and prices are dropping. If that is the case, why is the mandate necessary? Just last week, nearly 4,000 car dealers sent a letter to the administration pleading with them to pump the brakes on the proposed rule, citing lack of demand. prgtoken The range of EVs is another concern. Currently, one charge couldn't even get me across my district. EVs have almost 80 percent more issues and are less reliable than other vehicles. prgtoken Let me be clear: I am not against EVs. I am against EV mandates. A single EV battery requires the mining of hundreds of thousands of pounds of minerals. Those minerals are then refined using energy from China's coal plants. Ironically, an EV mandate is not a silver bullet to reduce global emissions. prgtoken Sadly, the biggest loser for this mandate may be the American autoworker, since significantly less labor is required to assemble EVs. The future of those working at engine plants, like the one in my district, are now in peril, too. The administration should side with consumers and innovators, not pick winners and losers. prgtoken EVs will play a significant role in the future of the industry, but so should hybrids and other solutions as they become more functional, reliable, affordable, and chosen by the consumer. prgtoken Madam , let's allow consumers to have access to affordable and reliable cars, encourage A
Supplemental Funding (Executive Session)
Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, WV) \u2014 2023-12-6

as this body continues to discuss the need for a national security supplemental, I rise today to discuss the important elements that need to be included in this supplemental and to, once again, emphasize the growing demands for increased border security in our country. prgtoken For a nation as powerful and as impactful as ours, there are obligations that we inherently have to meet, both to ourselves and our allies. At the center of these obligations rests defending our homeland. This security is imperative to the sovereignty of our Nation, with our other obligation being to support our allies abroad as they face hostilities. We must realize that these two priorities are deeply woven together. We cannot achieve national security as a whole without securing our own borders. In fact, President 's own national defense strategy reflects this very sentiment, citing protection of the homeland as the No. 1 defense priority. prgtoken It is essential that border security remains one of our four pillars that need to be included in any national security supplemental that is approved by this Congress. In order to properly secure and defend our allies, we must properly secure and defend our own Nation at the same time. prgtoken As I have said on the floor many times, , with you presiding--I have said many times that there is no doubt that we currently live in a time of heightened national security concern. Not only is this concern felt around the globe but in almost every State and community in our own country because of this crisis at the border. prgtoken Because of this crisis at the border, we see chaos. We see it on our news channels every evening. We see the monthly records of illegal crossings--as a matter of fact, I think several days ago, the highest daily number. We see how those who are truly seeking asylum are being disadvantaged by the cartels and smugglers who are playing the system. prgtoken It is obvious that the policies which have led to this crisis need to be addressed, and they need to be changed and reformed. prgtoken I often talk about American leadership and our historic ability to respond with strength in times of crisis. Well, this is a time of crisis, and our porous southern border is something we desperately need to act upon. prgtoken It is not lost on me or on my colleagues, the urgency to address the four central national security emergencies of our time. Ukraine is facing an unjust and unprovoked ground war perpetrated by Russia. Our ally and friend Israel is under attack by terrorists who are holding women and children hostage. The recounting that we have heard of the sexual violence against the women in Israel on October 7 is appalling. Our allies in the Indo-Pacific face heightened concern as rival nations increase their aggression. Right here in the United States, we are facing the worst border crisis in our Nation's history. prgtoken These four a
MORNING BUSINESS
Tom Cotton (Republican, AR) \u2014 2023-12-6

I would like to take a few moments to recognize Maj. Allen ``Sig'' Black who has worked in my Senate office this year as a defense fellow. Major Black is a patriot who has served our country nobly and made it a safer and better place. It has been a pleasure to have him in my office. prgtoken Major Black joined the Air Force in 2011 as a distinguished graduate of the ROTC program at Pennsylvania State University. He began flying the F-22 fighter aircraft soon after completing the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training in Texas and has since become a masterful Air Force pilot and knowledgeable authority on virtually every detail of the Raptor. In total, Major Black served as an operational F-22 pilot for 5 years, deploying for combat operations in Operation Inherent Resolve and executing numerous homeland and Presidential protection missions. prgtoken Prior to moving to Washington, D.C Major Black spent 3 years at Edwards Air Force Base in California. There, where he attended the U.S. Air Force Pilot Test School and left as a distinguished graduate and the Liethen-Tittle Award winner as the top test pilot graduate in class 19A. While still serving at Edwards, Major Black also distinguished himself as F-22 command chief pilot and assistant director of operations of the 411th Flight Test Squadron, 412th Operations Group. prgtoken In 2021, Major Black led the F-22 Combined Test Force through 26 F-22 and 20 F-16 developmental test missions and several first-time events. Twelve of his missions were supporting elevated risk F-22 envelope expansion tests. For one such mission, Major Black planned and led the first F-22 high angle of attack test in 17 years while carrying a new externally podded capability. His success in executing 12 additional missions evaluating new F-22 software led to the fielding of the first F-22 Rapid Agile Capability Release operational flight program. prgtoken Major Black is a skilled military leader. He directed the No. 1 DOD weapon program, developed new F-22 open software pathways, and has helped lead numerous working groups. According to Air Force Materiel Command, ``The distinctive accomplishments of Major Black reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.'' For these achievements, Major Black was awarded the Lieutenant General Bobby Bond Memorial Aviator Award, which is the award for the best test pilot of the year in the entire Air Force. prgtoken I could not have been assigned a more talented pilot to join my office in January 2023, representing the Air Force in Congress as a Defense Fellow. prgtoken During his time in my office, he staffed over 25 high-level engagements and at least 10 hearings, along with helping draft dozens of pieces of legislation to strengthen our Nation's defense. He has also provided meticulous and incisive research that has guided my office on important public policy questions. His colleagues have been consistently grateful
CHOICE IN AUTOMOBILE RETAIL SALES ACT OF 2023
Bill Johnson (Republican, OH) \u2014 2023-12-6

. Madam , I have tremendous respect for my colleague that just spoke, but I have to say that this idea that electric vehicles are emission-free is totally unfounded. prgtoken In fact, it is totally false. All you have to do is look at where the raw materials come from. Look at how China produces those materials. There are lots of emissions. If the argument is legitimate that we are going to saves lives here, we are going to cost lives over there because they are not concerned about the climate. They are not concerned with the environment, they are not concerned about the people that they use--slave labor in many cases--to try to harvest the materials that make these electric vehicles in the first place. prgtoken Madam , I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).
CONCERN FOR OUR COUNTRY
Bob Good (Republican, VA) \u2014 2023-12-6

. I want to go back to what you were talking about in the supplemental, actually on the spending, as well as on the FISA reforms. prgtoken This is a town of power and persuasion of leverage. I'm not sure we effectively know how to use leverage when we have it. We are a town that does things--a body that only does things when we have to, when there is a deadline and when there is the pressure. prgtoken You talked about relieving the pressure on the FISA reforms because of prgtoken the approaching deadline, the expiration of the current authorization. Why would we be so fearful of that expiration to the extent that we are unwilling to force upon the Senate the reforms that we are trying to pass out of the Judiciary Committee? The Judiciary Committee voted 35-2 on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis that would pass this body if we put it on the floor today. prgtoken The Senate apparently isn't so worried about the expiration that we think they will take up our bill and pass it. There we would relieve the pressure to reform FISA so it doesn't expire. prgtoken You can apply that to the debt situation. We did another continuing resolution where we extended the , Pelosi, and Schumer policies and spending levels into mid-January and early February with the promise that we work on passing our remaining five bills. prgtoken I am sorry to say and disappointed to acknowledge, we have not had any demonstrated effort to bring those remaining five bills to the floor. We don't have the commitment to the top line total programmatic spending levels. Our commitment to cut spending, no matter how modest, to cut spending from a year ago. This is something Congress hasn't done--you know your history better than I do--in how many years, where they cut the spending year over year. prgtoken We relieve the pressure. And then instead of trying to work during the time that we have to pass these spending bills, we are not doing it as we approach January 19. I expect this body is going to go home next week and not report for nearly a month to work on the spending bills that, in theory, we are supposed to pass before January 19's expiration, this continuing resolution. prgtoken Where is our unified commitment? prgtoken We talk a lot about unity here. Unity requires a unified mission, a unified purpose, and a unified vision to accomplish what? prgtoken We could point to so many existential crises created by our friends on the other side, the ic majority when they had control, the Senate majority, and the White House. I think you might agree, the two most pressing are the two we mentioned tonight: the border and the spending. prgtoken What, in the words of one of my favorite movies, ``The Untouchables,'' Sean Connery saying, ``What are you prepared to do?'' prgtoken What are we prepared to do to force a lawless administration to secure the border? prgtoken What are we prepared to do to deal with the unprecedented level of spending that is lit
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Roger Marshall (Republican, KS) \u2014 2023-12-6

I sure appreciate the Senator from Texas speaking up and the wise words he shared. It reminds me of an old saying, that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, that funding Israel today is worth two of these other issues that seemingly just never can come together as we try to solve this four-headed riddle. prgtoken As I said earlier, this is now my third time to the floor to try to pass with unanimous consent the House-passed, stand-alone aid package to Israel that would provide our ally with $14 billion in military assistance. prgtoken Now, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle stood on the Senate floor and debated with us and lectured us on why this bipartisan, House-passed legislation that maintains the exact spending levels requested by President is somehow unreasonable. But I would like to share with you what I think is unreasonable. I think it is the ' unwillingness to help our ally and separate this package to get it to the President's desk today. Unreasonable is my colleagues across the aisle using the crisis in Israel to secure more money for Ukraine. But what is unfathomable is what this body just admitted--that we are nowhere closer to getting this aid package passed than we were on October 7 when the war broke out. prgtoken In case nobody is paying attention, tomorrow will be 2 months to the day that Hamas brutally and savagely attacked the people of Israel. prgtoken I think we need to be honest with the American people. Negotiations aren't just stalled; they never started. Meaningful negotiations never started. We have a better chance of finding an ocean in Kansas than this $106 billion package seeing the light of day. prgtoken Today, every single sent a unanimous message to the leadership and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: We will not be bullied into voting on massive spending packages that use Israel as leverage to fund priorities, and we will not vote for any legislation that secures foreign nations' borders but not our own. prgtoken So here we are once again offering an olive branch to separate this package out and address each of these issues one at a time. The House made this easy for us. They passed a bipartisan bill that would grant aid to Israel and allow us to break this logjam and focus on the more pressing matter to our national security: the border. The border. The border. The border. prgtoken Now, the showed their hands 2 weeks ago when they voted unanimously against our bipartisan, stand-alone Israel aid bill that would have fast-tracked this package straight to the President's desk before Thanksgiving. But, sadly, this city loves to make the perfect the enemy of the good. prgtoken The sensible thing for this body to do now is pass this bipartisan, stand-alone aid bill for Israel. This legislation passed the House over a month ago and could be delivered to President 's desk tonight. We should pass aid t
RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE
Michael Lawler (Republican, NY) \u2014 2023-12-6

last week, I joined my colleague, Anthony D'Esposito, in introducing a resolution to expel disgraced former Congressman George Santos. It was warranted. It was warranted because he defrauded the voters and defrauded donors, and he is facing a 23- count indictment. prgtoken He did not belong in Congress. I was willing to take on a member of my own party and reduce our majority by one because he was unfit to serve. prgtoken Now, as a Congressman from the 17th District of New York, I share Westchester County with Mr. Bowman. I have gotten to know Mr. Bowman throughout the course of my tenure here in Congress. We have even flown home together to Westchester County Airport. prgtoken What happened on September 30 was wrong. I am sure he is embarrassed. He should be. As a former middle school principal, he understands the difference between a locked door and a fire alarm. To suggest that somehow he was confused is laughable. prgtoken As the video evidence shows, he did push the door, and being locked, it didn't open. Nonetheless, he then took down the signs. He threw one on the ground, carried one, walked over to the fire alarm on the wall, and pulled the fire alarm. It didn't say: Pull to exit. It didn't say: In case of a locked door, pull the fire alarm and the door will open. prgtoken No. It said: In case of emergency, pull fire alarm. prgtoken He then proceeded to throw the other sign on the ground, and he ran past seven--one, two, three, four, five, six, seven--Capitol Police officers and did not utter one word about accidently and embarrassingly pulling a fire alarm. prgtoken In fact, when the BOLO went out and the Capitol Police came to question him about it, he lawyered up. He then went and met with Leader Jeffries. prgtoken That is not taking accountability right away. That is not taking responsibility. In fact, a few days after it happened, he called me directly to ask me: Please don't get on a censure or an expulsion resolution. prgtoken I said to him: I will not do anything until I hear from the Capitol Police as to what happened. prgtoken He told me: Oh, I won't be charged. They are dismissing it. I didn't do anything. prgtoken They ended up referring it to prosecutors. He was charged, and he pled guilty. prgtoken I don't think he should be expelled. I think what he did was wrong. I don't think it was an accident. It was absolutely done to disrupt a proceeding as the were pulling all sorts of stunts that day, including walking single file in to vote by paper even though they all had their electronic voting cards. Hakeem Jeffries was doing his magic minute. We all know what it was. prgtoken Let's be honest. Let's take accountability here. prgtoken If you are taking accountability, then you should actually tell your colleagues: Do you know what? I did wrong. I accept the censure. prgtoken Instead, you are sitting there smirking and laughing. I don't think your constituents think it is funny. In fact, I know
RECOGNIZING THE JACKSONVILLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MILITARY LOUNGE
Aaron Bean (Republican, FL) \u2014 2023-12-6

when I'm traveling to and from my home in Florida, it always lifts my heart to see men and women in uniform at the airport. We have all seen those incredible videos . . . the moment when a deployed service member comes home to the loving embrace of a child or a spouse tell me you don't get choked up when you see one of those videos. Our Nation's armed forces are full of heroes who go where duty calls, and so, whether headed to deployment, or making their way home, you are know they are defending our great freedoms. prgtoken That's why today, I stand before you to recognize the new Jacksonville International Airport Military Lounge. This is a place where service men and women can feel at home, even when they are headed for a long road ahead. prgtoken This home away from home for active-duty military includes all the amenities of home, and a very special display of the flags of all branches of the military, and the POW/MIA flag, to remember those who may never come home again. prgtoken This Military Lounge is a reality due to the dedication of the North Jacksonville Rotary Club, the Veterans Council of Duval County, the NE Florida Green Beret Chapter 88 of the U.S. Army Special Forces Association. Several other veterans-civic-governmental organizations assisted in recruiting volunteers to staff the lounge. prgtoken , it is my privilege to honor the Jacksonville International Airport on the grand opening of their new Military Lounge and thank them for their ongoing efforts to help our veterans, active- duty military, and their families.
ISSUES OF THE DAY
Blake D. Moore (Republican, UT) \u2014 2023-12-6

President is once again circumventing the rule of law and leaving hardworking Americans who never went to college with a $559 billion bill to cover unpaid student loans. prgtoken House s will bring to the floor H.J. Res. 88 expressing our disapproval of President 's Saving on a Valuable Education, SAVE, plan which would drastically alter the Income-Driven Repayment program and make America's student loan program even more expensive for taxpayers. Let's be clear: This sets the precedent that Federal education loans do not need to be repaid. prgtoken Using American tax dollars to give a blanket subsidy to those who earn disproportionately more money than others is government at its worst. For those who never went to college, for those who are struggling with inflation and don't need more money flooding into a broken system, and for those who already paid off their loans, any effort to wipe the slate clean is completely unfair. prgtoken I, along with many other House s, support universities focusing on a strong ROI to keep costs down. We support Federal student loan reforms. We do not support blanket student loan forgiveness for political pandering in an election year. prgtoken Even though the system has plenty of room to improve, it is my job to highlight ways the State of Utah is getting it right. Utah has the lowest average student loan debt per borrower in the country and the lowest percentage of graduates leaving campus with student debt. The University of Utah's medical school and nursing program at Weber State University work to hold down student debt by designing instructional schedules to allow students to work while attending college. prgtoken I have had to apologize multiple times to constituents in the First District who built businesses after paying their way through school or other programming and paid their taxes, only to have their hard-earned dollars transferred to folks who have chosen a career and a different approach that required carrying some debt that they planned for. prgtoken Now, with the government saying they don't need to plan for it, we are teaching our children the exact wrong thing that made our country so great. I am deeply frustrated that I am going to have to continue to apologize.