mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
IN RECOGNITION OF SANFORD AND JOAN WEILL ON THE OCCASION OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RENAMING OF WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THEIR HONOR
Carolyn B. Maloney (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-3-7

I rise to pay tribute to Sanford and Joan Weill as we mark the 20th anniversary of the renaming of Weill Cornell Medical School in their honor. The Weills are renowned for their extraordinary philanthropic contributions to culture, education and medical research. prgtoken Mr. and Ms. Weill are Brooklyn natives who grew up in modest circumstances, and worked hard to make a better life for themselves and their family. Mr. Weill started out as a $30-a-week runner at Bear Stearns, while Ms. Weill worked as a teacher to help them make ends meet. Wanting more, in 1960, he and his partners founded their own investment firm. The firm was eventually sold to American Express and Mr. Weill became President of American Express. He left American Express and started acquiring financial services companies, until he created the financial giant now known as Citicorp. prgtoken Throughout their lives, Mr. and Ms. Weill have been incredibly generous supporters of many of the institutions and organizations that are central to New York. They founded the National Academy Foundation, a foundation that partners with schools in underserved communities to connect them with specialized training programs and internships in finance, STEM, and hospitality & tourism. Inaugurated with one pilot finance academy in the heart of Brooklyn, the foundation has now grown to 675 academies in over 36 states and serves approximately 100,000 children a year. prgtoken The Weills have played a key role in our cultural institutions. Mr. Weill served for many years on the board of Carnegie Hall, and helped shepherd it through a major renovation. Thanks to their generosity, one of the three performance halls is named the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall. A devotee of modern dance, Ms. Weill served on the board of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater for 20 years, 14 as Chair. At her retirement celebration, more than $40 million was raised in her honor, capping off an eminent career and enabling the company to expand its building. prgtoken More impressive still is the enormous impact Sanford and Joan Weill have had on medical education. Mr. Weill was a longtime Trustee of Cornell University and became Chairman of their medical school. In 1998, the Weills gave $100 million to the medical school, prompting the school leaders to rename the institution Weill Cornell Medical College. Since then, the couple has generously given over $600 million to the school, helping to ensure its legacy as one of the premier medical institutions in the world. prgtoken In 2001, I had the pleasure of helping to midwife the creation of a medical school in Qatar. I brought Qatar's interest in having a school that offers an American medical degree to the attention of Mr. Weill and he helped make it happen. Thanks to his vision, Cornell University is the only institution to offer its MD degree outside the country. The Weills also made possible the Weill Bugando University College
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2018-3-7

the first three words of our Constitution are, ``We the People.'' This is the mission statement of the United States of America. Our government was set up not to create a government by and for the powerful and the privileged but by and for the people of the United States and, as Jefferson put it, the government would reflect the will of the people. It is quite a different concept from many of the European governments that operated directly for the benefit of the best-off or the wealthy and well connected. prgtoken We have seen a corruption of the American Constitution. We have seen it turned on its head, with government implemented by and for the rich and powerful, time after time over this last year. prgtoken What did we see in 2017? We saw much of the year spent destroying healthcare for 22 million to 30 million Americans and increasing the cost of healthcare for everyone else--certainly not reflecting the will of the people--and then we saw a tax bill taking $1.5 trillion from our children and our grandchildren and giving it to the richest of Americans, the largest bank heist in world history. prgtoken Well, now we have another assault on ``we the people'' government. S. 2155 undoes a lot of the work to create a financial system for America to thrive, for families to thrive, and restores the lack of regulation and high-leveraged bets that brought the economy down in 2007 and 2008. prgtoken When the economy came down, the wealthy and well-off did quite well. They picked up properties at pennies on the dollar, but who was hurt? The American people were hurt. The American workers were hurt. They lost their jobs. They lost their retirements. Certainly, they lost so much in terms of the financial foundation for their families. Yet here we are again. We seem to have forgotten that when you let the big banks rampage through our economy, you are setting the stage for another big mess--high-risk gambling on Wall Street, destroying Americans' financial lives, lost homes, lost jobs, and lost retirement savings. prgtoken When we passed Dodd-Frank, the principle was, never again will we let the Wall Street casino crash our economy. Well, ``never'' hasn't lasted very long. prgtoken In the bill before us, section 203 exempts financial institutions-- smaller banks with assets under $10 billion--from the Volcker rule. What was the Volcker rule? The Volcker rule was a firewall that said: Take deposits to make loans but don't engage in high-risk, high- leverage bets on the future price of stocks or the future price of currencies. Those are called derivatives, those bets on those future prices. Those are appropriate in a hedge fund. If somebody wants to compile money for millionaires and billionaires and make bets on the future prices, then go ahead and gamble in your hedge fund, but don't do it in our banks. prgtoken So now we have this bill that says: Well, let's open the door to reestablishing the Wall Street cas
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2018-3-7

. Thank you, . prgtoken The legislation we are considering today has been portrayed as modest, not that big of a deal, that it doesn't matter that much, that it is something narrow to help community banks and credit unions and regional lenders like the three institutions in my State--Huntington, Key, and Fifth Third--all pretty much things I support. Unfortunately, that is really not the only thing this bill does. prgtoken I tried for months to work with Chairman Crapo, whom I respect and admire--and I mean that. People say those things on the floor, but I actually mean that. I tried for months to work with Chairman Crapo on a commonsense package of reforms aimed at community banks and credit unions and small and midsized financial institutions. We had a lot of agreement on that. Then the creep began. Then the expansion began. Then leaking into this process were all kinds of help for all kinds of bigger banks. prgtoken These are the local lenders that we want to help to fuel home ownership and small business in our community. I get that. These are the community banks in Lakeview, Cleveland, Milford, Parma, and West Chester, the banks that we lost when the big banks crashed the economy a decade ago. prgtoken I know people in this institution--especially those who get lots of money from Wall Street--like to blame Dodd-Frank for so many community banks going out of business, but it was really what led up to the crash, including the crash, that caused so many community banks to go out of business. prgtoken Here is how this place works. I think most Senators understand this. If they don't understand it, they don't want to understand it. When the big banks and when Wall Street and the lobbyists--and there are hundreds of them for big banks in this town--when the big banks spot some legislation crawling through this body, when they see a bill in front of the Senate or the House that might help some small institutions, do you know what they do? They see an opportunity. They see an opportunity to grab more for themselves. It is the history of this country. We know what happens whenever Congress listens to Wall Street and listens to the big banks and Wall Street and the big banks get their way. Inevitably, the economy stumbles or, worse, crashes because we have given too much to the big banks. They put too much risk on the system, and in places like my ZIP Code in Cleveland, OH--ZIP Code 44105--my ZIP Code in 2007 had more foreclosures than any ZIP Code in the prgtoken United States of America. That is not because people in my ZIP Code have anything about them that they deserved this; that is just what happens in an economy when the big banks get too powerful, when Wall Street runs Congress, and we see what happens. prgtoken Now we see Wall Street moving in, trying to grab more for themselves despite the fact that some of these big banks wouldn't exist today without taxpayer bailouts of a decade ago. We remem
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Peter A. DeFazio (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2018-3-7

on March 5, 2018, I was not present for votes due to a medical procedure in my District. If I had been present, I would have voted: prgtoken On Roll Call vote 92, on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3183, I would have voted Aye; and prgtoken On Roll Call vote 93, on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 4406, I would have voted Aye. prgtoken On March 6, 2018, I was not present for votes due to flight delays. If I had been present, I would have voted: prgtoken On Roll Call vote 94, on the Motion to Recommit with Instructions to H.R. 4607, I would have voted Aye; and prgtoken On Roll Call vote 95, on Passage of H.R. 4607, I would have voted No.
BLOCKING REGULATORY INTERFERENCE FROM CLOSING KILNS ACT OF 2017
Kathy Castor (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-3-7

this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. prgtoken , my motion to recommit is simple and should garner the support of all Members who dislike government waste and abuse of power. prgtoken My motion goes to the heart of the costly ethical violations by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and his penchant for flying first class in violation of Federal regulations and billing it to taxpayers. prgtoken He has done this at a time when he has supported cuts to EPA clean water and clean air initiatives in the communities we represent back home. prgtoken So my amendment is simple. It says: ``Nothing in this act may be construed to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to charter a flight, or travel in any class of air accommodation above coach class.'' prgtoken See, Federal regulations right now require government officials to consider the least expensive class of travel that meets their needs. Now, agencies are allowed to travel first class in very rare instances, such as a flight of 14 hours or more, a medical disability, or for exceptional security circumstances if your life or government property is in danger. prgtoken Well, Administrator Scott Pruitt has abused these exceptions. This came to light after the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the EPA Administrator to explain his costly travel records, which showed he repeatedly booked first class flights at taxpayer expense, and he hoped no one would notice. There is no adequate justification for this wasteful spending and abuse of power by Scott Pruitt. If he enjoys flying first class and staying in luxury hotels, then he should pay for it himself and not ask the taxpayers to foot the bill. prgtoken Here is what we know per press reports and committee research: last June 5, Pruitt settled into his $1,641 first class seat for a short flight from D.C. to New York. The ticket cost more than 6 times that of the two media aides who traveled along with him and sat in coach. In Manhattan, Administrator Pruitt made two brief television appearances praising the White House's decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. He stayed in an upscale hotel near Times Square and returned to Washington the next day. That Wednesday, after traveling on Air Force One for an infrastructure event in Cincinnati, Pruitt and several staffers raced back to New York on a military jet, at the cost of $36,000, to then catch a plane to Rome. The transatlantic flight was part of a round-trip ticket for the Administrator that cost over $7,000, according to EPA records, several times what was paid for other officials who went. prgtoken In total, the taxpayer-funded travel for Pruitt and his top aides during that stretch in June cost at least $90,000, thanks to the Environmental Integrity Project, which got the record
BLOCKING REGULATORY INTERFERENCE FROM CLOSING KILNS ACT OF 2017
Frank Pallone, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-3-7

I rise in opposition to H.R. 1917, the so- called ``Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act of 2017.'' prgtoken This is the first in a series of dirty air proposals on the floor this week. The BRICK Act is part of the ongoing effort by s to undermine the commonsense protections found in the Clean Air Act, in order to give special breaks to polluters at the expense of public health. prgtoken We have seen this bill before. Last Congress we debated and voted on the BRICK Act: I opposed it then, and I oppose it now. Frankly, I have even more concerns with this legislation than I did in 2016. prgtoken That is because the BRICK Act was amended by the Rules Committee to include two separate attacks on clean air safeguards. Like previous versions, this version before us today would indefinitely delay standards to reduce toxic air pollution from brick and clay manufacturers. However, it now also incorporates a separate bill that would delay long-overdue pollution standards for new wood fired heaters. The only thing these bills really have in common is that they both undermine Clean Air Act protections and endanger the health of our children. prgtoken Regarding the treatment of brick and clay manufacturing facilities, the bill automatically delays implementation of EPA's final Brick and Clay rule by extending all deadlines . . . by however long it takes to complete all possible litigation. This blanket extension would be given to all facilities covered by the final rule, without regard for the merits of the legal challenges or their final outcome. prgtoken But that is not Congress' job. The courts already have the ability to issue a ``stay'' of any compliance dates in a final rule. Delaying a rule for legitimate reasons does not require action by Congress, but a legislative quick fix is the only remedy the proponents of this bill appear to care about. prgtoken By throwing out the existing judicial process, s are giving polluters an incentive to ``run the clock'' on frivolous litigation, to put off ever controlling their pollution. prgtoken This is especially problematic because Administrator Pruitt has announced plans to reconsider the Brick and Clay rule, which is expected to be finalized in 2019. At that point, the pollution control standards for brick and clay facilities will be almost two decades overdue, and this bill would delay those protections even longer. prgtoken The new wood heater provision is not much better. The bill delays EPA's pollution standards for new wood-fueled heaters that have not been updated in nearly 30 years. The final rule included a gradual, five-year phase in to allow manufacturers time to adapt and develop cleaner and more efficient technologies, and the phase 2 requirements don't kick in until 2020. prgtoken These newer appliances are a win for consumers. The 2020-compliant products are both cleaner and more efficient, generating more heat per unit of
RECOGNIZING THE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT OF DR. LEONARD L. HAMLIN, SR.
Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2018-3-7

I rise today to officially recognize the outstanding public achievement of Dr. Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr. Since November 1996, Dr. Hamlin has served as Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Arlington. Under Dr. Hamlin's leadership, Macedonia Baptist has experienced continuous growth in membership which today stands at approximately 1,300 members. During Dr. Hamlin's time at the Church, he's led the development of Annual Leadership Conferences, major renovations of the upper level of the Church, the implementation of Before and After Care School Program and the partnership with the Arlington Housing Corporation for the development of thirty-six affordable housing units which opened in May 2011. Dr. Hamlin is a pillar of the Nauck community and Arlington is truly blessed to have had his service. Godspeed to Dr. Hamlin as he leaves Macedonia Baptist to take on a senior position at the National Cathedral.
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-3-7

President 's instincts on China are correct, but his execution is poor. He should stick with those instincts and not those who label anything we do to protect America against China's rapacious policies as protectionist. At the same time, he should fix his plan so it really does what he intends it to do or wants it to do. prgtoken I have been one of the chief critics of the status quo on trade. Americans--and I share this view--resent all those academics who any time we try to do anything with China say: protectionist, trade war. prgtoken The bottom line is simple. China is eating our lunch. China is rapacious. China, day by day, gnaws away at our economy by manipulating currency. They sometimes do it, they sometimes don't, but they will again when they can. prgtoken By having no reciprocity, they don't let good American industries in, but they want to come here--and do, easily--buying our family jewels, our intellectual property, our leading companies in robotics, artificial intelligence, chips, and pharmaceuticals. prgtoken China has a plan to take advantage of America, to surpass us economically by not being fair. They keep their huge market protected, steal our stuff, learn how to do it, then try to come sell it here and gain an advantage when they can by manipulating currency. prgtoken The President should not be deterred by all of those business interests that are only interested in their profits, not in what is good for America. That is their job, their shareholders--I get it--but he should not be deterred by them. At the same time, he has to back off this plan which doesn't do what it is supposed to do. Major harm is done to allies like Canada and Europe, not to China. prgtoken That is the tightrope we need to walk on. If the President walks on that tightrope carefully and well, we will support him. prgtoken The President's instincts to go after China are correct, but the policy he proposes doesn't fit the bill. It is not well targeted, it is not precise and, as a result, it could cause a mess of collateral damage that hurts America more than it helps. prgtoken The sweeping nature of the tariffs has already justifiably angered key allies in Canada and Europe and could draw reciprocal tariffs on American goods, raising costs on average consumers from coast-to-coast. A country such as Canada, with which we have a trade surplus, could retaliate. prgtoken , focus on China. Go after China and do it in a smart, focused but sharp-edged way. Don't create a policy that hurts our allies more than it hurts China and causes China to sort of giggle at our ineffectiveness. prgtoken A trade war is not what we want. Making China play by the rules is what all Americans want, except for a handful of businesses that just see their interests and raising their profits no matter where the jobs go or where they sell goods. prgtoken China dumps counterfeit and artificially cheap goods into our market,
UNITED STATES-GUATEMALA BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-3-7

I wish to affirm the partnership between the United States and Guatemala. I also rise to speak to the crucial role the Guatemalan attorney general has in efforts to strengthen the rule of law and the importance of the selection of the country's next attorney general. prgtoken In addition to the important contributions that more than 1 million Guatemalan Americans make to the United States, our two countries share a wide range of economic, social, and cultural linkages. In the past 2 years, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has emerged as a partner on U.S. foreign policy priorities. He has supported U.S. efforts to increase diplomatic pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the face of the humanitarian, economic, and political crisis in Venezuela. President Morales is also working to align Guatemalan foreign policy with the U.S. approach to the Middle East, both at the United Nations and by recently announcing that Guatemala will move its embassy to Jerusalem. prgtoken Since 2014, I have supported increased U.S. assistance for Guatemala and the other Northern Triangle countries in order to address levels of violence and poverty that drive migration in the region. I believe that continued U.S. engagement can be transformative for efforts to increase security, strengthen democratic governance, support civil society, improve protections for human rights, and foster economic development. However, we must recognize that these efforts would be futile without the work of Guatemala's attorney general. prgtoken While President Morales made the commendable decision to increase the budget for Guatemala's Public Ministry, which is overseen by the attorney general, I am troubled by recent actions that run counter to the Ministry's work. For the past 11 years, Guatemala has become an example in the fight against impunity. This is due, in no small part, to the work, commitment, and determination of Guatemala's attorneys general and the efforts of the United Nations International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala--known by its Spanish acronym, CICIG--an independent investigative body that works closely with the Public Ministry. prgtoken Since its creation in 2006, CICIG has worked with the Public Ministry to investigate and dismantle the criminal networks that seek to influence the Guatemalan state, while also helping increase the capacity of local judicial institutions. Such efforts have contributed to reducing Guatemala's overall impunity rate for homicides from 95 percent to 72 percent. These institutions deserve our steadfast support so they can continue their progress building a safer and more prosperous Guatemala, which in turn contributes to a more stable hemisphere. The success of this model has served as a model for similar efforts in other countries. prgtoken Although there has been tangible progress, much work remains, and Guatemala will continue to benefit from a sustained