mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2018-7-26

I want to visit with my colleagues for the same reason Senator Durbin, about 15 minutes ago, spoke to my colleagues about the high price of pharmaceutical drugs and maybe at least one little thing we can do to help moderate that price or at least inform the public, accordingly, in a better way than we have so far. prgtoken Every American within earshot of a television has heard ads for prescription drugs. Almost every night, as I watch television, I see something along that line. These ads promise patient relief from nearly every medical problem, and informing the public is important for us to do in many areas. prgtoken The pharmaceutical companies want you to know that their drug is on the market to help you. They want you to talk to your doctor about the newest drugs. prgtoken As many of my colleagues know, I am an outspoken supporter for transparency. I hope it is one of my attributes I bring to the U.S. Senate. From the Physician Payments Sunshine Act to whistleblower protections, I am a strong believer that transparency keeps citizens informed, and, for sure, transparency in government brings accountability from those of us in government. prgtoken Senator Durbin and I have amendments to the current funding bill which would shine transparency light on prescription drug prices. These amendments would allow patients and their doctors to make informed decisions. Drug advertisers want to tell consumers all the benefits of the drugs. At the same time, drug advertisers are required to tell you about the side effects. In fact, half of an ad has something about side effects. That is usually in the small print and when somebody is babbling something very rapidly about the side effects, but they aren't as gung-ho to show how much that particular drug would cost. I believe it is something the public would like to be well-informed on when they are considering the advertisement and the purposes of the drug. prgtoken Six billion dollars is what pharmaceutical companies spent on direct- to-consumer advertising last year. Why would they spend that amount of money on TV commercials? Because it works. By bypassing the trusted physician and the ability of patients to decide for themselves, TV ads increase prescription drug utilization and, with it, drug spending. This increases drug costs to patients and taxpayers. In one case, a single drug in Medicaid costs the taxpayers an additional $207 million just because of ads. prgtoken The President's blueprint to lower drug costs includes a provision for FDA to require the inclusion of the list price in these drugs. Senator Durbin and I agree on that. I hope, since it is in the President's blueprint as one step to bring the high cost of drugs, it would be easy to get bipartisan support for the Grassley-Durbin amendment. This is a very simple, commonsense step to get drug prices down for consumers. prgtoken I have to confess to you, it is not the only answer, but it
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Richard Burr (Republican, NC) \u2014 2018-7-26

I rise today to honor and celebrate the life of C.D. ``Dick'' Spangler, a great North Carolinian who passed away earlier this week. prgtoken The true mark of a great man, a great contributor to our society is the fact that there are several acts in that individual's life, there is no one single attribute to which to ascribe that contribution, and Dick Spangler was such a man. prgtoken In that first act, Dick built an impressive wealth, at the time making him one of the wealthiest individuals in this country in the family construction and real estate business. The son of a Charlotte contractor and real estate investor, Dick attended Woodberry Forest School, then the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard Business School. After serving 2 years in the Army, he moved back to his native North Carolina to work in the family business, C.D. Spangler Construction. prgtoken In 1973, while continuing to serve in the family's construction company, Dick became chairman of a little bank at the time, the Bank of North Carolina, and was subsequently elected director of NCNB, which would eventually be sold to Bank of America. prgtoken Although he was a brilliant businessman, in my mind Dick Spangler will best be remembered in our State for his commitment to education and what it means for lifting individuals out of poverty, giving them a path for learning, and expressing their individuality. He did this by advocating for a return to an emphasis on teaching the basics, higher salaries for teachers, and programs for training high school principals for a very challenging job. That second act and the energies and personal contributions he made to it are what made Dick the remarkable man he was. prgtoken During his time as president of the University of North Carolina System, a position he held for over a decade, Dick was laser-focused on keeping North Carolina's public university system affordable and low- cost for all seeking postsecondary education. It is because of his dedication so many years ago to low-cost tuition in the UNC System--a mission he pursued without a paycheck during his time as president-- that current North Carolinians today receive an affordable, great university education. Dick Spangler once said: Low tuition is not a gift. It's an investment in these students. They go to work and pay that back over a lifetime. prgtoken The number of individuals who have chosen to do just that by making North Carolina their home after graduating from one of the UNC System's great schools is a testament to that effort. prgtoken He viewed leading the UNC System as one of the truly great jobs anyone could have. On the eve of his departure, he said, when talking about the UNC System: We're on the side of angels. Spending time with our students--to be with them is one of the great joys a person could experience. . . . I live in a community that is vibrant--not asl
HONORING THE MEMORY OF SPECIAL AGENT NOLE EDWARD REMAGEN
John Katko (Republican, NY) \u2014 2018-7-26

. Madam , I rise today to talk about a disease that touches nearly every family in our country. prgtoken There are more than 5.7 million Americans living with Alzheimer's and more than 16.1 million unpaid caregivers who dedicate much of their lives to caring for their loved ones struggling with this terrible illness. prgtoken I became familiar with Alzheimer's long before I came to Congress. You see, my father, Andy Katko, or Pop-Pop, as he became known to us, his 7 children, his 18 grandchildren, and his 6 great-grandchildren, as well as everyone else, began, in 2008, to show signs that his memory was deteriorating. He was eventually diagnosed with dementia that same year. prgtoken His condition progressed significantly each and every year after his initial diagnosis, and he was ultimately diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. My mother, his wife, Mary Lou, took on the challenging role millions of loved ones do and became his primary caretaker. prgtoken Mary Lou remained by Andy's side, helping him with everything from cooking, bathing, dressing, and taking his medications, to offering him love and reassurance when he would wake up in the middle of the night confused and sometimes scared of his surroundings. prgtoken About 1\1/2\ years ago, with Andy's condition progressing dramatically, and my mother, Mary Lou, suffering from her own health issues, our family had to make the terrible decision that many other families have to make and admit my father, Andy, into a nursing home, where he could receive the 24-hour care and attention that he desperately needed. prgtoken Although Andy and Mary Lou lived apart since then, their strong bond of love for each other was still evident, perhaps in the hand-holding, perhaps in the kiss on the cheek, or perhaps just giving a reassuring look. prgtoken Andy's eyes would light up at any mention of Mary Lou, especially when she came to visit him. In March of this year, when we had to tell him that Mary Lou had died, his beloved wife of 64 years, it barely registered. In fact, we can't tell whether he understands that his wife, the love of his life, is gone. prgtoken Today, Andy still resides at our local nursing home. His condition has worsened, and he can no longer recognize his children or grandchildren, nor can he form coherent sentences. It is extremely difficult for our family to see him in this condition, as he is no longer the same talkative, strong-willed father and grandfather he once was. prgtoken Although Alzheimer's has diminished my father, Andy's quality of life, the disease has not diminished his spirit. Yes, Andy's sincere appreciation for his family is still evident, and he has maintained his distinct sense of humor and happy-go-lucky disposition, which allows our family some temporary relief and lightness amongst such a heavy situation. prgtoken This struggle my father and our entire family is going through is not unique. I have heard nearly identical stories told
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Todd Young (Republican, IN) \u2014 2018-7-26

I rise today to speak in support of career and technical education, also known as CTE. prgtoken As cochair of the Senate CTE Caucus, along with Senators Baldwin, Kaine, and Portman, I am very proud of the work we have done in the Senate to advance CTE and to ensure that our students have the training and the skills needed to succeed in today's ever-changing workforce. prgtoken The career and technical education statute was last updated in 2006-- over a decade ago--and it was due for reauthorization 6 years ago. Earlier this week, the Senate passed a historic agreement to update the law and to make a number of important changes. I was proud to help pass this legislation out of the HELP Committee and through the full Senate. Yesterday, the House also passed this reauthorization, sending it to the President's desk. prgtoken Here are just a few reasons why investing in CTE is so critical to our country. By 2020, 30 percent of job openings will require some college or a 2-year degree. In the next 10 years, 3 million workers will be required for the Nation's infrastructure needs. We know that high school students who take CTE classes have higher graduation rates, and they are more likely to find employment or attain higher education. Postsecondary CTE programs are also a proven, cost-effective means to obtain a credential or other form of degree. prgtoken So it is worth noting that this reauthorization of our Nation's career and technical education law includes important components from legislation introduced by our Senate CTE Caucus. prgtoken The Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act and the Perkins Fund for Equity and Excellence Act are just two key bills that help align CTE programs with the jobs of tomorrow and ensure that quality is maintained and strengthened in our CTE programs. prgtoken The reauthorization also includes provisions from a bill I helped introduce with Senator Peters to support training for career guidance and academic counselors so they can help inform students of opportunities in the workforce, and it includes a measure Senator Gillibrand and I worked on to encourage professional development change and hands-on learning approaches like makerspaces, which provide students the tools and space needed to build, create, and learn critical skills. prgtoken In conclusion, we critically need to update the law to reflect the current and future workforce. I am pleased the House overwhelmingly passed the Senate CTE bill, and I look forward to it becoming law very soon. prgtoken Thank you. prgtoken .
TRIBUTE TO DAN WALTERS
Tim Scott (Republican, SC) \u2014 2018-7-26

I would like to acknowledge Mr. Dan Walters of Greenwood, SC, for his dedication and willingness to provide children without families a home of love and support for over 15 years and congratulate him on receiving the 2018 Angels in Adoption award. prgtoken Mr. Walters has truly opened up his heart and home through his exceptional service for children in the foster care system. Since entering the foster care program, Mr. Walters has fostered 15 children, provided long-term care for three children, and also adopted one child. I had the pleasure of working with one of those children through my internship program, and he credits Mr. Walters for giving him a ``second chance at life.'' He truly has made an incredible difference in the lives of many foster youth. prgtoken Aside from being a foster parent, Mr. Walters is also an engaged member of the community as a businessowner, active Rotarian, and deacon at Connie Maxwell Baptist Church. prgtoken Mr. Walters is an outstanding example of a foster parent, and I applaud him on his continued commitment and compassion towards helping foster care children. He truly has been an ``angel in adoption,'' and I congratulate him on this special recognition.
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 5515, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Mac Thornberry (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-7-26

5 minutes. prgtoken , first, I want to express my appreciation to the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Smith, not only for his work on this conference, but also for his work throughout the process of bringing this bill to fruition. However strongly he and I may disagree on some particular issues, it is always clear that he seeks, first and foremost, to do the right thing for our military personnel and our country's national security, and I very much appreciate the opportunity to work with him. prgtoken Second, I want to thank all the members of the conference committee and of the House Armed Services Committee. Each of them has contributed to this final product, although I suspect none of them is pleased with everything that is or is not in it. prgtoken It is the result of a negotiation between House and Senate Members with a variety of interests. Taken as a whole, however, I think all Members who participated, whether in committee, in conference, or here on the floor, can be proud of the result. prgtoken Third, I want to thank our staff, both committee staff and personal staff. They worked long and hard to get this done and get it done earlier than we have in many years. I especially want to thank the committee staff director Jen Stewart, as well Paul Arcangeli and my personal chief of staff, Josh Martin, for all of their work. prgtoken , next, I want to express particular appreciation to a group of folks who often do not get publicly recognized in order to do this conference report and do it on the timeframe we have had available. Those working in legislative counsel have had to work extraordinarily hard, and I am grateful to each of them. Some of those in legislative counsel who have worked on this product include Hadley Ross, Sherry Chriss, Tony Sciascia, Noah Wofsy, Ken Cox, Brendan Gallagher, and Mat Eckstein. There are others who will be named shortly. prgtoken Finally, , I want to thank the Rules Committee and that staff for helping us work through a procedural issue in the last couple of days. prgtoken , this bill takes a major step forward in rebuilding our military, reforming the Pentagon, and better preparing this country to deal with the national security challenges that lay before us. Announcement by the Pro Tempore
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 5515, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Mike Coffman (Republican, CO) \u2014 2018-7-26

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5515, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. I wish to thank Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith, Chairman McCain, Senator Inhofe, and Ranking Member Reed for their leadership throughout the conferencing of this bill. The bill contains a number of significant policy and funding initiatives that continue our commitment to maintaining military personnel and family readiness. prgtoken To that end, this bill: prgtoken Increases end strength across the Services and reserve components allowing the military services to increase mission readiness while reducing strain on service members and their families; prgtoken Extends pay and bonuses for service members in high demand fields, providing the military services with necessary tools to attract and retain critical talent; prgtoken Improves the Transition Assistance Program to ensure that service members who are leaving the military receive training and resources tailored to their post-military career plans; prgtoken Requires a comprehensive review of wounded warrior care and mental health care services, ensuring the highest possible quality of care to those who have sacrificed for our nation; prgtoken The bill also continues to provide oversight of critical issues, including additional protections for victims of sexual harassment, improvements to the Department of Defense's process for reporting crimes to the FBI database, and the establishment of a Department of Defense prescription drug monitoring program to share information with state drug monitoring programs. prgtoken In conclusion, I want to thank my fellow conferees for their contributions to this truly bi-partisan conference report, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support its passage.
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Michael B. Enzi (Republican, WY) \u2014 2018-7-26

I want to begin by thanking my friend from Pennsylvania, Senator Casey, for his commitment to the students who will benefit from the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and for the bipartisanship that helped us to reach this point. I also want to thank Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray for prioritizing the effort to reauthorize Perkins CTE. Their recognition of the importance of this work was key to getting past an impasse that only a few months ago looked unlikely to break. prgtoken Senator Casey and I have had a lot of hours of working together to come up with a bill that would make a difference for people who want to work with their hands. I have a favorite book that talks about this, and part of the title is ``From Coal Miners to Cowboys,'' referring to the people who get their hands dirty every day to provide what we need. This is a segment of the economy we really need. I know that if you need an electrician or a plumber, you want them right away, and you want them trained. That is what this bill emphasizes and provides for. prgtoken I do need to thank the administration, and Ivanka Kushner, in particular, for putting the spotlight on the reauthorization of Perkins CTE and workforce development generally. With a laser-like focus on strengthening the economy, the President and his administration have rightly recognized that a strong and prosperous economy requires a skilled and ready workforce. This combined, bipartisan effort resulted in the Senate unanimously passing its amendment to the House's own bipartisan bill. We did it by voice vote, and that is as bipartisan as it gets around here. prgtoken Now the House has taken that bill and approved of the changes that were made, which we coordinated with them during the time that we were negotiating, and they have taken the same action. So that bill is now on the way to the President, who emphasized that we need to do it. prgtoken Passing this reauthorization is particularly important to Wyoming, where one-sixth of school districts have chosen not to participate in Perkins CTE because the compliance and reporting burdens were too heavy to justify the funds they would receive. That changes with this bill. prgtoken For years, States have been leading the effort to tackle the national workforce skills gap and ensure that they, and our country at large, have a workforce that is capable of meeting the challenges of an increasingly dynamic, competitive, and global economy. Unfortunately, States have been meeting these challenges under a program that was last authorized in 2006. prgtoken By modernizing Perkins CTE, we are taking the important step of better aligning the primary Federal career and technical education program with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act. We like these all to work together--and these are all achievements that have been done
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 5515, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Andy Barr (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-7-26

I rise today in support of major reforms included in the National Defense Authorization Act conference report regarding the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States and export controls. prgtoken I thank the chairman of the Armed Services Committee for his excellent leadership in addressing the readiness crisis and giving our men and women in uniform the tools they need to defend our freedoms. prgtoken The House Financial Services Committee held four hearings on CFIUS reform, inviting a diverse set of witnesses that ranged from government officials who currently serve on CFIUS to members of the defense, intelligence, and business communities. prgtoken We also held numerous briefings and meetings with experts, equally diverse as those who testified before the committee, on the threat that China and other adversaries pose to the national security of the United States. prgtoken In the end, I am pleased to see we have a bipartisan, bicameral product that reflects the work and views of these experts. prgtoken Specifically, these critical reforms counteract the surge in malign foreign investment from China that threatens our national security by enhancing the review process of transactions where our enemies could steal technologies and infrastructure critical to the defense of our country. prgtoken The gaps that we have closed in security that China and other adversaries have circumvented from CFIUS review include noncontrolling investments, joint ventures, and acquisition of real estate near sensitive military sites. prgtoken At the same time, these reforms ensure that America's doors remain open to benign foreign direct investment that in 2016 added $894 billion to the value of the U.S. economy and that support 6.8 million workers today in this country. prgtoken , I want to thank Congressman Pittenger, Senator Cornyn, Congressman Heck, Chairman Hensarling, Chairman Thornberry, prgtoken Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Waters, and House and Senate leadership for their dedication to getting these much-needed reforms done in a bipartisan way. And I encourage my colleagues to support the underlying bill, the NDAA conference report.
EXTRADITION TREATY WITH THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO (Executive Session)
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-7-26

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following treaties en bloc: Calendar Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5. I further ask unanimous consent that the treaties be considered as having passed through their various parliamentary stages up to and including the presentation of the resolutions of ratification; that any committee-reported conditions, declarations, or reservations be agreed to as applicable; that any statements be printed in the Record; further, that when the resolutions of ratification are voted upon, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be notified of the Senate's action, all en bloc; and that following the disposition of the treaties, the Senate return to legislative session.