mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Claire McCaskill (Democrat, MO) \u2014 2018-1-20

I would like to once again state for the record of this august body that the very first effort that was made after the vote was declared to not pass the CR was my standing at this podium and asking unanimous consent for us to pass my amendment that would pay the military and the death benefits. That was objected to by the majority leader. I am hopeful that this will get worked out quickly. The last time we had this kind of dysfunction in the government, we did this by unanimous consent very quickly, so there wasn't even a hint that anybody in this body was not 100 percent behind making sure our military got the pay they deserve. I am hopeful that this will be done yet today. I think it would be good if we could do it today, but certainly no later than tomorrow we need to take care of that because I am guessing every single Senator will support it without anyone objecting. Remembering Frankie Muse Freeman prgtoken , the reason I rise today is because I had to miss a very, very important event in St. Louis this morning. There was a going home celebration for a warrior in St. Louis this morning. prgtoken I have been blessed to have the opportunity to meet so many amazing people in my journey serving the public. I don't think anybody I have met could in many ways stand up to Frankie Freeman. Frankie Freeman was a woman who had a very simple goal in life. Her goal was to do everything she could to eliminate discrimination. prgtoken Frankie was born in November of 1916. She was one of eight children. She was raised in a segregated neighborhood in Virginia, and she said that from the time she was a very young girl, she wanted to change the world. prgtoken She met her husband of over 50 years in New York, where he was attending graduate school. Why was he in New York attending graduate school when he was from Missouri? He was in New York attending graduate school because after graduating from Lincoln, a historically Black college in Missouri, the University of Missouri refused to admit him and said: Rather than allow you on our campus, we will pay to send you to New York for graduate school. prgtoken Frankie was in New York, and her husband was in New York. They met, they fell in love, and they got married. Then they moved to the Washington, DC, area, and Frankie then decided she was going to law school. She went to Howard Law School. She was 9 months pregnant when it was time to sign up for her third year of law school. prgtoken She went to the dean of the Howard Law School and said: Could you allow me to join a few weeks late in the term? prgtoken He took one look at her, 9 months pregnant, and said: You are going to have to sit out a year. prgtoken She said: I don't want to sit out a year. I have to get this done. I have work to do. I have justice to seek. I will not sit it out. prgtoken So she went out and stood in line to sign up for her third-year classes literally w
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-1-20

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership. I also thank all of the members of the Rules Committee for the time that they put in bringing rules to the floor that relate to a vast array of legislation that we deal with here. prgtoken Today, we are talking about martial law so that we will be prepared to take up something that will open up the government and meet the needs of the American people. prgtoken It is interesting to see the enthusiasm on both sides on these subjects because we have a long history on some of these issues. We have a long history and a commitment to CHIP. When we brought it to the floor when I was , when we first had a ic President who would sign the bill, 144 s voted against that bill. But that is then. This is now. prgtoken I think that now we are closer than the debate here would indicate. I think there is a path forward. I think that is how we have to be thinking about what is next. prgtoken We all have our, shall we say, reputations for where we have been on certain votes about CHIP, about shutting down the government, and the rest, but let's put that aside. The challenge that we have right now is what is that path. prgtoken That path has four corners to it. One of them is the caps parity. We have talked about parity. Other Members have talked about it. I am sure Mr. Hoyer did again today. It is about parity. If you are going to have increases in defense, we need the same increases in domestic. If that is what the Defense Department decides its missions require, then we want to be respectful of that. prgtoken But we also know that in the domestic budget, one-third of the budget--34 percent--are security functions: Homeland Security, antiterrorism activities at the Department of Justice, Veterans Affairs, the Department of State. That is 34 percent of the domestic budget. prgtoken We are saying that the strength of our country is not measured just in our military might--as important as that is and respectful of it that we are--but also in these security functions in the domestic budget. In addition to that, in the health, education, and well-being of the American people, which are also on the domestic side. prgtoken So I think on the caps, we just have to get in a room and make those decisions. The challenge that I see is that it has been reported to me that there are those on the side who have some unease in increasing the domestic budget because they know that they already had a big increase in the deficit in the tax bill and are reluctant to add any more investments for fear that it would increase the deficit. prgtoken However, these investments in research and development, in education, and in infrastructure, really bring revenue to the Treasury, so they help decrease the deficit. In fact, I think most economists will tell you that nothing brings more money to the Treasury than the investments in education, early childhood, K-12, highe
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Frank Pallone, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-1-20

you know, I respect my colleague from Oregon, but you have done nothing over the last year but sabotage the Affordable Care Act and sabotage healthcare in this country. The fact of the matter is that the only reason you are willing to bring up this CHIP bill as part of the CR is because you put in a tax plan that eliminates the mandate for health insurance, which means 13 million people are not going to have health insurance in this country over the next few years, and the money that would have subsidized their premium now does not have to be paid. prgtoken So all of a sudden you say: Okay, we will put a 6-year CHIP bill on the floor. prgtoken The pay-fors were not only from the Prevention Fund. The pay-fors also said that if somebody didn't pay their health insurance within 30 days, they were going to lose their health insurance. And the CBO said that another 500,000 people would lose their health insurance. prgtoken Everything that this majority has done since day one of this session has been to sabotage the ACA and not allow people to even know that they can buy insurance through the exchange, taking away their cost- sharing subsidies. The list is endless. prgtoken And for you to come up here today and suggest that somehow you care about the kids and you are going to have CHIP continue for the next 6 years, where are those kids going to go? prgtoken You haven't done anything about community health centers. Forty to fifty percent of them have to use community health centers because people won't take CHIP. You haven't done anything about the hospitals, the disproportionate share hospitals that many of them have to go to. That is not addressed in this legislation. prgtoken So the only reason that you have brought this bill and put it on the CR is because of the fact that you have sabotaged health insurance for millions of Americans. So don't stand up here and tell me that somehow the Party cares about the kids. They don't. And you also know that this was not going to pass. You know that it wasn't going to pass. prgtoken You are not trying to act in a bipartisan, bicameral way. You know that this is going nowhere. You are responsible for the shutdown, and putting CHIP in the bill is part of that responsibility that you have created here today. So don't go on and on and on about how the Party cares about the kids. The Party does not.
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Joe Manchin, III (Democrat, WV) \u2014 2018-1-20

late last night this body voted on the fourth short-term continuing resolution for fiscal year 2018. That means we are already into this by 3 or 4 months. I voted for the continuing resolution last night because I refuse to support a government shutdown in any way, shape, or form, but it doesn't mean I believe this should be the way this Congress works. prgtoken To my good friend from Alaska and all of the good people here, I consider everyone in this body my friend. To the blame game, I got here in November 2010. The were the majority at that time, and I wondered why we weren't voting. I didn't understand the process. As I started learning the process, I kept wondering, why aren't we voting? There were filibusters and cloture and we couldn't get things done. prgtoken I am not here to say who is at fault. I know when you are in the majority, you are in a leadership position, and you are supposed to lead. We expect leadership to lead. Leadership has to make sacrifices sometime to find a pathway forward. Both sides are guilty of not doing that as well as it should be done. prgtoken We are in a government shutdown. It should never happen. Three hundred million people shouldn't be penalized for the dysfunction of this body. As and s, I would hope we would be Americans first. prgtoken I don't think of my ic Party before I think of what is good for the country or what is good for the State of West Virginia. I have my ic principles I believe in. As a West Virginia , perhaps they are a little different than maybe a Washington , and I have my friends in West Virginia who believe a little differently than Washington s. At the end of the day, we always try to do what is right for the State of West Virginia and, most importantly, what is right for the country. prgtoken We are not going to let our troops down. There is no way, shape, or form. You have to be accountable and responsible. In all the things we are doing, I can't fathom how we have allowed so much power in two people's hands--both leaders of our respective caucuses--where it seems any negotiations are only done between two people. The only negotiations are with the staff of those two people, and we are supposed to, as a body, blindly go along. As you know, I don't do that all the time. My votes are pretty independent, and they will be. I always said if I can go home to West Virginia and I can explain what I am voting for and why I did it, whether they would agree or not, if I can explain it, I can vote for it. If I can't look a West Virginian in the eye and explain my vote, I made it for political reasons for myself or for somebody else but not for my State. I am not going to do that. prgtoken For us to go beyond tomorrow would absolutely be a travesty. If we can't open this government back up and work through our differences, it would be a travesty. If we allow th
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Steny H. Hoyer (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2018-1-20

let me say at the outset, we ought to both put sanctimony aside. Both sides are accusing one another of closing down the government. prgtoken , you voted to close down the government, and then you voted against opening it up. prgtoken Both sides have accused the other of doing what they have done. prgtoken Now, the fact of the matter is, , we are here because we have not succeeded in passing the appropriations bills and sending them to the prgtoken President. That is why we need a continuing resolution. prgtoken My friends are in charge of the House. My friends are in charge of the Senate, and they are in charge of the White House. We have not passed a single appropriations bill. prgtoken My view is, we have not done so because we have been unwilling to compromise. That is what this is about. It is about s, frankly, being unwilling, in our opinion, to work together to get to agreement. prgtoken We don't want this shutdown. Our friends say they don't want the shutdown, and we have said from the beginning that we are ready to work across the aisle to prevent it. In fact, the s have had four opportunities. One hundred percent of the voted for a 90-day CR to give us time to get to agreement on appropriations bills and a level of funding. prgtoken , you know that. We have been talking about that for some time. We have not come to agreement. Therefore, we find ourselves here, notwithstanding the fact that we agree on a lot. We have asked to adhere to parity as you know, it is the process that you agreed with Senator Murray that we have followed for the last 4 years. All we are asking is, let's follow it again. That is why we are here, because we have not been able to get such an agreement. prgtoken We have also asked that we be able to protect--at the request of the President of the United States--DREAMers, put something on the floor, as he said, and send it to him, and he would sign it. We want to reauthorize the CHIP program, the community health centers, and other health programs. We agree on that. prgtoken The American public has got to be so distressed that they see this going on on this floor of the House. prgtoken We want to provide disaster relief to those in Texas, those in Florida, those in Puerto Rico, those in the Virgin Islands, and, yes, those who have been subjected to fires in the West.
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2018-1-20

from Missouri for sharing Frankie's story with us today, the fight for progress, and the life she lived. prgtoken I was thinking last night as we were debating here on the floor about one of the ways that Martin Luther King summarized how we move forward toward justice. He said that it takes ``the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.'' That is what it takes to move us forward, and it sounds as though she was every bit the tireless individual, the passionate individual, who worked to advance justice. prgtoken for sharing that story. prgtoken Speaking of fighting and justice, we have a lot to talk about. We are here in the middle of the shutdown. Last night was quite interesting. came to the floor and said that we need to keep the government open. We want to have a debate and a vote on a provision to extend the government by 24 hours so that we could really force leadership to get in the room and work out a resolution on multiple issues that are already bipartisan issues. prgtoken It shouldn't be that hard, but the majority leader, who is in control of this body, proceeded to say that he objected. It takes unanimous consent to get to a bill, so he sealed the deal on the shutdown. He made sure this body couldn't debate or vote on keeping the government open for another day. prgtoken Senator Nelson put that forward, and then Senator Tester tried to say: OK, let's take a little more time. If you don't think you can do it in a day, how about 3 days? Senator Tester moved to proceed to consideration of an amendment that would provide a continuing resolution for 3 days--to keep the government open 3 days to force our leadership on both sides to sit down and work out the details on these bipartisan proposals. prgtoken Again, the majority leader objected. He sealed the deal on the shutdown. Then he had the gall to come to this floor and blame others when he is in charge. This blame game by those who are in charge is fascinating. s are in control of the Presidency. s are in control of the House. s are in control of the Senate. prgtoken The leader objected to debating an extension for our government to stay open. Not once, but twice last night, he blocked it. prgtoken Well, it is very clear where the responsibility lies for this situation, which never occurs here in the United States--no. President , back in 2013, said that the responsibility for a shutdown--this was when President was in office. He said that it always comes back to the President. Well, how true those words are today. prgtoken In 2013, there wasn't unified control. You didn't have the same party in charge of the Presidency and the House and the Senate, so it was a little bit of a more mixed-up story. But then Citizen said: It is all the President's fault. Now we have a different situation wh
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2018-1-20

let me first thank my friend from Oklahoma. We often disagree; indeed, we often violently disagree on matters of environmental issues. But we have been teammates--indeed, close teammates on the chemical safety legislation, which has been passed into law; on water resources bills, which have been passed into law; and on the last highway bill, which was passed into law. The lesson I take from that is, in the Senate, we can disagree, and we can disagree violently, but where we agree, push the throttles forward and get it done.
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-1-20

we are in the midst of the shutdown, aptly named for him because he is the one--perhaps the only one in America--who thinks it is a good shutdown. In fact, his head of Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, gloated that it was ``kind of cool'' that he was the one who got to shut down the government. ``Kind of cool,'' he said on Friday in a radio interview. prgtoken As I speak tonight, all Americans know there is no such thing as a good shutdown. All of us in this body strongly believe that we must end this shutdown. prgtoken We mark the first-year anniversary of the Presidency with the shutdown and his now infamously saying on May 2 that our country needs a ``good shutdown.'' But this shutdown has damaging, even potentially devastating effects on millions of Americans--our troops whose pay will be delayed, our families who rely on the Children's Health Insurance Program and who will soon be without funding, community health center patients whose source of healthcare will be closed, government workers who keep our Nation running every day, the disaster relief victims in Puerto Rico who will be denied relief, along with their fellow Americans in Texas and Florida. This shutdown is not a ``good shutdown,'' and it is not ``kind of cool.'' prgtoken I beg to differ with the majority leader, who has just come to the floor saying that agree with everything that is in the measure that came to us from the House, because, as damaging as a shutdown is, so is a continuing resolution. It is corrosive and destructive to good government. prgtoken We have been through three continuing resolutions--each a month--in as many months, and now a fourth in the fourth month is proposed. That is no way to run a government. Whether it is 3 weeks or 4 weeks, at the end of that so-called continuing resolution--a short-term temporary patch--we will be in the same place as we are today. prgtoken The good news is that we have bipartisan consensus not only that we must end the shutdown but also on each of those issues that are necessary to reach consensus on a longer term, full fiscal year package. That is also why a continuing resolution and the measure that came to us from the House are completely inadequate--because they continue to fund those programs at the same level as the previous year, 2017. The Pentagon, the Secretary of Defense, and our military leaders have told us unequivocally and clearly that those levels are inadequate to our national defense. prgtoken I hope there is bipartisan consensus among us on the Armed Services Committee and in the Chamber as a whole that we need a strong national defense--both military and nonmilitary funding--and there needs to be an increase in that funding, which the bill presented last night did not provide. prgtoken So far from agreeing with every provision in that 4-week extension, it is inadequate. It would be irresponsible and reprehensible fo
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2018-1-20

. I thank Senator King for the question. prgtoken Last night, as we approached midnight, I got an email from one of my good friends in Montana who is in the business of agriculture. He is a rancher in North Central Montana, actually on the Rocky Mount front. He said: Why does this have to happen? prgtoken My comment to him was that continuing resolutions don't work well for this country. They cost taxpayers a bunch of money, and they don't give folks the kind of predictability in their government that they elected us to give them. prgtoken I am with the Senator. I voted for the continuing resolutions--the one that extended it to December 1 and then the next one, which went to I believe December 19. At that moment in time, I thought, well, Christmas is looming, and we will come to an agreement, and if not, we will just stay here throughout the Christmas break and do it because it is that important. prgtoken I believe strongly in my family, and I love to be there, and I was there for Christmas, but the truth is, this job here is critically important for the whole country, and we need to do our job. prgtoken The motion for yet another CR from December 19--to move it to January 19 came up, and I held my nose and I voted for it. At that time, I said: I am not going to do this again. In that month between December 19 through January 19, we were supposed to have worked out a deal. Guess what happened. There was no deal worked out. Now we are back in exactly the same place. prgtoken What Senator King said is exactly correct. What are we going to know in February that we don't know now? The point is, nothing additional is going to be added to the equation. We all know what it is--deals with border security, the military, healthcare issues, pensions, opioids, and a budget that goes until the end of September, which is the end of the fiscal year for this country--but it is simply not going to happen unless we get folks working together again. prgtoken Look, the s have majorities in the House and the Senate. They control the Presidency and the White House. I am telling you, if the floor leader doesn't provide the kind of leadership that we need to get to a point where we address the issues that are important to this country, we will never address the issues, and we will continue to have continuing resolution after continuing resolution. prgtoken So what I would ask is that folks from both sides lock themselves in a room. The two leaders, lock themselves in the room. Ultimately, that is what it is going to come down to, to come to an agreement that works for this country and gives predictability over the long haul. prgtoken I happen to be on the Appropriations Committee. We are going to be starting to work on the fiscal year 2019 budget, and we are not even done with the 2018 budget because of these continuing resolutions. prgtoken So I would tell Senator King that the people of Montana are frustrated. They want to see t