mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Steny H. Hoyer (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-11-9

a lot more is the answer. prgtoken Why is the NFIB, , against this bill if it is so good for small business? Why is the AARP against this bill if it is so good for small business? Why is the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which is worried about the national debt, against it? prgtoken , since I have been here, my friends have been talking about we have got to balance the budget. The President said he is going to balance the budget in 9 years. That was hooey. prgtoken Our friends have said they are going to balance the budget. They said it in the Price budget. They said it in the Ryan budget. The budget deficit keeps getting bigger, and they have been in charge of economic policy for a long time. prgtoken The fact of the matter is, , I have got a list of 50 groups that are against this bill because they think it hurts both the debt and middle-income people. prgtoken The distribution, according not to fact-checkers but the Joint Committee on Taxation, $1 trillion of the tax cuts go to business, $230 billion to individuals, and $170 billion on estates essentially. Now, that doesn't add up to the $1.7 or $1.8 trillion that has been computed to be the deficit created--the additional debt--by this bill. prgtoken In fact, that is why this bill is being rewritten right now. I guarantee my friend--and he can call me this next week--that the bill that was introduced last Thursday will not look like the bill that we will consider on the floor. It won't. prgtoken It won't because, first of all, the debt is a problem for, apparently, some people. It is a big problem for me. We ought to pay for what we buy. That is what the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Camp, did: a bill that was paid for--an honest bill that was paid for, as was the 1986 tax reform bill. It did not add to the debt. prgtoken This adds an extraordinary amount to the debt. As a matter of fact, it adds in one fell swoop the debt that was created on the Reagan administration approximately $1.7 trillion. It is being rewritten now. prgtoken My presumption is, as we have done 49 times this year, that this bill will be presented under a closed rule in a transparent Congress, where everybody's views are going to be considered. I stand here and say that the gentleman is not going to bring this bill to the floor with an open rule where amendments can be offered, where people can discuss options, and we can see what the ramifications are to middle class taxpayers. prgtoken The Joint Committee on Taxation also pointed out that, of this figure, individuals are going to get a tax cut of prgtoken which Mr. Ryan talks about of $1,182--a typical family, he refers to them--but that figure will start to go down in 2019 and will go down further in 2020 so that it is a bait-and-switch. You get it up front, but we are going to take it away. prgtoken In the Ways and Means Committee, one of the reasons, , I tell the majority that I am not very enth
IN MEMORY OF DR. JACQUELINE BOLDEN BECK
Al Lawson, Jr. (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2017-11-9

I rise today to pay tribute to an educator par excellence, university administrator, trailblazer and community servant, Dr. Jacqueline Bolden Beck, who died on Tuesday, October 31, 2017, at the age of 86. prgtoken Dr. Beck was born and raised in Gulfport, Mississippi. After completing her high school education, she went on to Dullard University where she graduated as an honor student receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1955. She continued her education at the Indiana University, where she received her Master of Science degree in Nursing in 1958. Later, Dr. Beck would complete her Ph.D. studies at the University of Florida earning a Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in 1976. prgtoken Dr. Beck and her late husband, Dr. James Beck who she married in 1957, both joined the faculty at Florida A&M University (FAMU) in 1958. She rose quickly through the faculty ranks, first as an instructor, then Assistant Professor, followed by Associate Professor and Acting Dean of the School of Nursing. prgtoken In 1978, FAMU's former president, Walter L. Smith, Ph.D entrusted Beck with developing the proposal that led to the creation of the School of Allied Health Sciences in 1982. Beck served as the founding dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences until 2000. prgtoken During her time as Dean, the School of Allied Health Sciences received more than $13 million in extramural funding from Federal, State, and local agencies. The school evolved from two divisions, the Division of Medical Records Administration and Physical Therapy to five divisions, offering bachelor's degrees in cardiopulmonary science, healthcare management, health information management, occupational therapy and physical therapy and a master's in physical therapy by 2000. Additionally, the school's programs were all accredited by their respective accrediting bodies and were sought after by students from across the country. prgtoken Upon her retirement as Dean, Dr. Beck was appointed to the rank of Professor Emeritus. To commemorate her many contributions and dedication to the University, in 2007, the building that houses FAMU's Allied Health Sciences programs (Lewis-Beck Building) was named in her honor along with the late nursing school dean Margaret Lewis, Ph.D. prgtoken She served on numerous boards and commissions including the Pew Health Professions Commission, Board of Directors of ASAHP, Board Member of the National Society of Allied Health, College of Health Deans Group, Board of the National Society of Allied Health Journal and as a member of the State-Wide Allied Health Articulation Task Force, appointed by the Florida Commissioner of Education. prgtoken Dr. Beck was the recipient of the Cultural Pluralism Award by the Association of School of Allied Health Professions and in 2005, she was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the State University of New York, Down State. Dr. Beck was also very
REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-11-9

on Monday, I was in Crystal Lake, IL, in the 6th Congressional District. I was joined by realtors and local elected officials to talk about how the GOP tax plan would hurt families in my home State of Illinois. The families in the 6th Congressional District would be hit especially hard since they are in the 12th highest district in terms of the benefit received from the State and local tax deduction--a deduction that is gutted in the House tax plan. prgtoken s released this plan last Thursday, have been marking it up in committee this week, with the plan to have it on the House floor next week. prgtoken It is already clear that this partisan plan does nothing more than double-down on some of the most damaging ideas from the framework congressional s and the White House released in September-- and the bill gets worse the closer you look. prgtoken The House bill would bankroll massive tax cuts for the wealthy few and the largest corporations on the backs of hard-working families in Illinois and across the country. prgtoken The bill eliminates some of the most vital tax breaks for people in Illinois--making it so that struggling seniors no longer will be able to deduct costly out-of-pocket medical expenses and that the 1.5 million Illinoisans with Federal student loan debt will no longer be able to deduct the interest paid on those loans. prgtoken Congressional s didn't stop at eliminating deductions for medical expenses and student loan interest. prgtoken s want to take away one of the most valuable deductions for working families in this State--the State and local tax deduction. prgtoken Eliminating this deduction to fund a massive tax cuts for corporations and the ultrawealthy was a centerpiece of the Framework s released earlier this year--a move that would raise taxes on one-third of all taxpayers. prgtoken After strong opposition within their ranks for eliminating the State and local tax deduction, the House plan released last week proposes a ``compromise'' to obtain the support of congressional s that represent States like Illinois. prgtoken This so-called compromise eliminates the tax deduction for State and local income taxes, and caps the deduction for property taxes, so instead of eliminating the deduction altogether, they just gut it. If you ask me, that is no compromise at all. prgtoken The result is still the same: middle-income families would still be double taxed when it comes to income, sales, and some property taxes-- once by the Federal Government and again by the State. prgtoken This would make it more expensive for families to fund services at the local level like the local schools, police and fire departments, and local roads and bridges. prgtoken Make no mistake, in Illinois--the State with the fifth highest number of taxpayers claiming the State and local tax deduction--would be hit especially
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-11-9

on Tuesday, November 6, 2017, I requested and was granted a leave of absence for the rest of the week due to the death of my sister. prgtoken For the information of our colleagues and my constituents, below is how I would have voted on the following votes I missed during this time period: on rollcall 607, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish assistance for adaptations of residences of veterans in rehabilitation programs under chapter 31 of such title, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``aye''; on rollcall 608, on passage of VA Management Alignment Act of 2017, I would have voted ``aye''; on rollcall 609, on approving the Journal, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 610, on motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule providing for consideration of both H.R. 3441 and H.R. 3043, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 611, on rule providing for consideration of both H.R. 3441, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 612, on approving the Journal, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 613, on ic motion to recommit H.R. 3441, I would have voted ``aye''; on rollcall 614, on passage of H.R. 3441, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 615, on passage of the Risk-Based Credit Examination Act, I would have voted ``aye''; on rollcall 616, on ordering the previous question for consideration of H.R. 2201, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 617, on rule providing for consideration of H.R. 2201, Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act, I would have voted ``no''; on rollcall 618, on the passage of the Veterans Crisis Line Study Act of 2017, I would have voted ``aye''; on rollcall 619, on the passage of Rush Amendment, which adds a new section to the Federal Power Act to improve the hydropower licensing process, I would have voted ``aye''; on rollcall 620, on passage of H.R. 3043, Hydropower Policy Modernization Act of 2017, I would have voted ``no''; and on rollcall 621, on passage of Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017, I would have voted ``aye.''
VOTE EXPLANATION
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2017-11-9

I was necessarily absent due to a family funeral for the votes on confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 407 and the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 159. prgtoken On vote No. 268, had I been present, I would have voted nay on the confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 407. prgtoken On vote No. 269, had I been present, I would have voted yea on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 159.
VOTE EXPLANATION
Claire McCaskill (Democrat, MO) \u2014 2017-11-9

I was necessarily absent for vote No. 253 on October 30, 2017, on the confirmation of Trevor N. McFadden to be U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia. Had I been present, I would have voted yea. prgtoken , I was necessarily absent for vote No. 254 on October 30, 2017, on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to be U.S. circuit judge for the Seventh Circuit. Had I been present, I would have voted nay. prgtoken , I was necessarily absent for vote No. 255 on October 31, 2017, on the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to be U.S. circuit judge for the Seventh Circuit. Had I been present, I would have voted nay. prgtoken , I was necessarily absent for vote No. 256 on October 31, 2017, on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Joan Louise Larsen to be U.S. circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit. Had I been present, I would have voted yea. prgtoken , I was necessarily absent for vote No. 257 on November 1, 2017, on the confirmation of Joan Louise Larsen to be U.S. circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit. Had I been present, I would have voted yea. prgtoken , I was necessarily absent for vote No. 258 on November 1, 2017, on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Allison H. Eid to be U.S. circuit judge for the Tenth Circuit. Had I been present, I would have voted yea. prgtoken , I was necessarily absent for vote No. 259 on November 2, 2017, on the confirmation of Allison H. Eid to be U.S. circuit judge for the Tenth Circuit. Had I been present, I would have voted yea. prgtoken , I was necessarily absent for vote No. 260 on November 2, 2017, on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Stephanos Bibas to be U.S. circuit judge for the Third Circuit. Had I been present, I would have voted nay. prgtoken , I was necessarily absent for vote No. 261 on November 2, 2017, on the confirmation of Stephanos Bibas to be U.S. circuit judge for the Third Circuit. Had I been present, I would have voted nay. (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the Record.)
TRIBUTE TO VETERANS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-11-9

I, too, rise to salute our veterans and to indicate to all of them that they are truly heroes walking amongst us. prgtoken I want to thank all of the armed servicemen and -women for their selfless dedication to the protection of this Nation every day, putting on the uniform unselfishly and standing in the gap. prgtoken I think it is also important to note the many families who are also a part of this freedom. prgtoken And let me acknowledge the 21.6 million brave men and women who are veterans of our Nation's military service: 30,000 of them in the 18th Congressional District. prgtoken But I want to take a moment--and I will be speaking about this tomorrow and on Saturday, Veterans Day, about POWs and MIAs. I want to salute Congressman Sam Johnson from Texas and Senator John McCain from Arizona, both of whom suffered injuries, whom you can even see now in the United States Congress, during their time as a POW. I honor them, and I hold them in high esteem. prgtoken And to the families of the MIAs from all of the wars, I want to say to them that we continue to pray for your loved ones. prgtoken As a sponsor of eight pieces of legislation and 35 pieces of legislation that I cosponsored to make lives of veterans better, today I salute you and say happy Veterans Day. God bless all of you, and God bless this free Nation, the United States of America. prgtoken , I rise to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States and risked their lives to defend our freedoms and way of life. prgtoken Veterans are truly heroes walking among us. prgtoken I want to thank all of our armed serviceman and women for their selfless dedication to our protection every day. prgtoken Each Veterans Day, Americans come together to remember those who have served our country around the world in the name of freedom and democracy. prgtoken The debt that we owe to them is immeasurable. prgtoken Their sacrifices, and those of their families, are freedom's foundation. prgtoken Without the brave efforts of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, Coast Guardsmen and women, and the National Guard and their families, our country would not live so freely. prgtoken I offer my deepest gratitude to our nation's troops and reservists, their families, and the 21.6 million veterans, including 29,126 here in the 18th Congressional District. prgtoken 21.6 million brave men and women are veterans of our nation's military service. prgtoken Nine in ten military families believe the public does not understand or appreciate their sacrifices. prgtoken We use Veterans Day to show our veterans and military families how important they are to us and how grateful we are for them each and every day. prgtoken November is National Caregivers Month to show our caregivers how grateful we are for them. prgtoken It is only fitting that we thank those caregivers who serve our military today. prgtoken 5.5 million spouses, parents, children, and ot
MICRO OFFERING SAFE HARBOR ACT
Maxine Waters (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-11-9

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , the North American Securities Administrators Association sent this letter of concern. They said that H.R. 2201 would result in an overly broad Federal exemption that would allow public solicitation and sales to any investor, regardless of sophistication or financial wherewithal, subject only to the requirement that there be a previously existing relationship, a standard that is not difficult to establish. prgtoken In practical terms, this means that Main Street investors could be solicited and sold up to $500,000 in private security by bad actors, including persons having been convicted of crimes or subject to one or more previous State enforcement actions, without any disclosure to the investor and without any notice to State or Federal regulators. prgtoken There is no valid basis for Congress to prevent State officials charged with protecting their constituents from making decisions about purely local or regional issues that would rely on the exemption established by H.R. 2201. prgtoken Further, preemption of State review or even notification for the type of small, localized offerings contemplated by H.R. 2201 would effectively handcuff the regulators best positioned to oversee such offerings. prgtoken Public Citizen said this bill ``would permit small offerings with no investor protections, such as notice of the offerings. It will enable a type of affinity fraud, where the seller can unload dubious securities, provided there is some relationship between seller and purchaser. This bill assumes that a preexisting relationship will deter abuse, which is a tenuous foundation, at best. Further, the relationship can begin with the offer.'' prgtoken They don't have to have a previous relationship. It would start when the offer takes place. prgtoken Public Citizen further stated that ``the bill says the relationship must only exist before the purchase.'' prgtoken , I include in the Record letters from these groups, as well as a letter from Americans for Financial Reform. North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc Washington, DC, November 7, 2017. Re H.R. 2201--The Micro-Offering Safe Harbor Act. Hon. Paul Ryan, , House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, ic Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Ryan and Leader Pelosi: On behalf of the North American Securities Administrators Association (``NASAA''), I write to express concern and raise specific objections to certain provisions of H.R. 2201, The Micro-Offering Safe Harbor Act, which is scheduled to be considered by the House of Representatives this week. The legislation would amend securities laws in ways that could be profoundly detrimental to investors, and detract from
COMMEMORATING VETERANS OF THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AND THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES
Stacey E. Plaskett (Democrat, VI) \u2014 2017-11-9

on behalf of my family and staff, I want to salute and commemorate the veterans of the U.S. Virgin Islands and throughout the United States on this Veterans Day. prgtoken The Virgin Islands along with the other territories send more men and women per capita to serve in the U.S. military than anywhere else in this Nation. prgtoken I would like to personally recognize Task Force Alpha on St. Croix, Task Force Bravo on St. Thomas, and St. John Responders. prgtoken On Veterans Day, we salute the men and women who have proudly worn the uniform and the families who have served alongside them. We affirm our sacred duty as citizens to express our enduring gratitude, both in words and actions, for their service. prgtoken As part of Veterans Day this year in the Virgin Islands, we will be honoring female veterans in the territory. Being honored as parade marshal and guest speaker on the island of St. Croix is Major Kathleen Parris; on St. Thomas, Sergeant First Class Laurel Maloon-Francis, serving as parade marshal; and serving as guest speaker on the island of St. Thomas will be former military spouse, Monique Y. Ferrell, director of the Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program. prgtoken , just as we vow to leave no soldier behind on the battlefield, we vow not to forget any veteran when they return home.
MICRO OFFERING SAFE HARBOR ACT
David N. Cicilline (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-11-9

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. prgtoken I want to begin, , by responding to the gentleman from Texas, who began this debate by saying how this was a continuation of an ongoing effort by s to promote progrowth tax reform in particular. prgtoken I want to be very clear, . The proposal that is currently before this House with respect to the tax changes is a tax scam. It is not a tax plan. It is a scam. It gives $1.5 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, the biggest corporations, and the millionaires and billionaires. It increases taxes on tens of millions of middle class families. It pays for this big gift back to corporations and billionaires and millionaires by deep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, infrastructure spending, education--the things that actually create jobs. prgtoken It creates additional incentives to ship American jobs overseas, creates incentives for American companies to take jobs here and ship them overseas, not to keep them here in our own country. It is another maybe more robust example of trickle-down economics. It has failed before. It will fail again. prgtoken The American people might have the benefit of understanding this more completely if there were actually a process where this was debated, witnesses testified, and experts came in to talk about the implications of this. But this is being done in the dark of night, at the speed of light so the American people won't find out what is about to happen to them. So the idea of describing this as progrowth in this context, both with the provisions and the process, seems, to me, laughable. prgtoken Let me just give the American people a couple of examples: prgtoken It denies individuals the right to deduct State and local taxes but preserves that right for corporations; prgtoken It denies the worker who is forced to leave his home and move because his employer is moving--either do that or he loses his job--from deducting the cost of moving, but it preserves the right of a company who is offshoring jobs overseas to take a deduction for the cost of moving those American jobs overseas. prgtoken Those are just two examples. So this isn't a progrowth tax policy. This is trickle-down economics designed to let the people at the very top hold onto more of their money and corporations to keep more of their profits in the hope that it will trickle down to the rest of the American people. prgtoken It doesn't work. It doesn't represent a progrowth tax policy. It is a tax scam, and so I want to just correct the record, , with all due respect to the gentleman from Texas. prgtoken , I rise, in addition to that, to express my strong opposition to H.R. 2201, the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act. prgtoken In light of the devastating 2008 financial crisis and the regulatory weaknesses revealed by the Wells Fargo and Equifax scandals, we should be considering legislation that will bolster consumer and investor protections; but today, instea