mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RECOGNIZING MICHAEL N. COPPOLA
Brian Higgins (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2023-3-1

I rise today to pay tribute to the late Michael N. Coppola. He was an outstanding man of character who touched the lives of countless people and contributed to the betterment of the Buffalo community. prgtoken He was born at Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo, New York on August 25, 1948. He was the oldest of 10 children of Angela Coppola and Dr. Joseph R. Coppola. He attended Christ the King School in Snyder, New York, moving on to Canisius for high school. He continued to attend Canisius through college, where he earned a degree in Business Administration and Management. He was honored as an Outstanding Graduate by Canisius College in 2016. prgtoken At the age of 16, Michael Coppola began working as a stock boy for Tops Markets. Over the next 33 years, he climbed the ranks within the company, eventually earned the title of Executive Vice President of Marketing. He was considered an innovator in the supermarket industry, even opening up the first Tops International Store in order to meet the demands of the diverse cultures living within the City of Buffalo and the metropolitan area. prgtoken Michael Coppola was regarded as a dear friend, mentor, teacher, and inspiration both within and outside of the Tops company. It gave him great joy to guide and mentor others throughout his life and career; his lifelong motto was ``Choose Love.'' Before his passing, he was able to organize a reunion with his former Tops colleagues, further strengthening his local community. His leadership and dedication to God, family, and community will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. prgtoken Michael Coppola passed into the arms of the Lord on August 21, 2022. On the day of Michael Coppola's funeral, Byron W. Brown, Mayor of the City of Buffalo, proclaimed October 29, 2022, as ``Michael N. Coppola Day'' in the City of Buffalo and joined his family and friends in celebration of his life and selfless legacy. prgtoken Michael Coppola leaves behind to cherish his children Jennifer, Jill, Michelle, the late Joseph, and Jeffrey; his grandchildren the late Angelina, Serena and Arabella, Ryan and Miranda, Zach, Hailee and Addison; his siblings Leonard, Joe, Jack, the late Mary, Peter, Paul, Robert, Richard, and Donna--and a host of other family members and loving friends.
CELEBRATING THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF SISTER JENNIE LOUISE JONES, S.S.F.
Troy A. Carter (Democrat, LA) \u2014 2023-3-1

I rise today to celebrate the life of a true New Orleans spiritual leader, educator, culture bearer and mentor, Sister Jennie Louise Jones, S.S.F. who passed away at the age of 70 years old. Sister Jennie Louise Jones, S.S.F the daughter of the late Leonard Earl Jones, Jr, in union with Mrs. Jennie Gourrier Jones, entered eternal life on Sunday, February 26, 2023. She was born on June 15, 1952, Sister Jennie entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family on September 8, 1970, and made First Vows on August 15, 1973. Sister had celebrated 52 years as a Sister of the Holy Family. prgtoken Raised and deeply rooted in New Orleans culture, Sister Jennie attended Corpus Christi Elementary School and was a 1970 graduate of St. Mary's Academy. In preparation for her ministry in education, Sister Jennie received a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Master's degree in Educational Administration from the University of New Orleans. Sister Jennie served as teacher, principal and assistant principal in her ministries. She taught and was assistant principal at St. Raymond Elementary School, assistant principal at St. Paul the Apostle, principal at Corpus Christi Elementary and Marian Central Middle School, all in New Orleans. Sister Jennie also taught at Ecumenical High School in Dangriga, Belize, Central America. After Hurricane Katrina, Sister Jennie taught at Pineville Middle School in Pineville, Louisiana. Sister's longest tenure was as principal of St. Mary's Academy, serving over twenty years, from which she retired in 2022. Sister Jennie kept the school open after Hurricane Katrina, when the City of New Orleans planned to turn the school's campus into a green space. Sister also served as a member of the Sisters of the Holy Family Leadership Team. prgtoken In 2012, ``Sister Jennie Jones, Principal of St. Mary's Academy, was among an elite group of nine Catholics honored as `Champions of Change in Catholic Education' at a special White House ceremony,'' honored by then President , as the school was rebuilt and even expanded. During her tenure, their curriculum and program grew to include classes from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade to accommodate students and families displaced by the Hurricane. Now, middle and high school students are able to enjoy a new state of the art building because of her leadership and commitment. prgtoken Sister Jennie is preceded in death by her beloved father, Leonard Earl Jones, Jr and brother, Benjamin ``Bennie'' Jones, and her paternal and maternal grandparents. prgtoken Sister Jennie leaves to cherish her memory: her mother, Mrs. Jennie G. Jones, two brothers, Carl A. Jones and Leonard E. Jones, III (Gwendolyn); niece Mikeall Caesar (Rickey); two nephews, Jeffery Lewis and Jude Lewis, great nephew Stanley Tate, great niece, Jennie Louise Hawkins; and a host of uncles, cousins, faculty, staff, and students
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Tina Smith (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2023-3-1

I appreciate my colleagues' remarks today. You know, the issue that we are debating is whether or not retirement plans should be allowed to consider a company's environmental, social, and governance goals when they make investments. That is ESG, and it is pretty simple. prgtoken My colleagues and I say that people who make investments for retirement accounts and pensions plans may--they don't have to; they may--consider ESG in their decisions about what stocks to buy so long, of course, as they adhere to their principal fiduciary responsibility, which is to put the financial best interests of their clients first. prgtoken Now, on the other hand, our colleagues are saying: No, retirement plans can't consider ESG goals. They are somehow claiming that this rule will undermine free and fair markets--undermine the free market and promote ``woke'' capitalism. And, if you can tell me what that means, then I will look forward to your explanation. prgtoken So let's figure out what this is really about. prgtoken People invest their life savings for a safe, secure retirement, and a lot of people want those investments in companies that reflect their values, companies that protect the safety of their workers, that have excellent ethics rules in place, guarding against conflicts of interest; companies that are committed to protecting the environment and managing the risks of climate change. In fact, companies with these kinds of positive environmental, social, and governance policies are often good financial investments as well. The two go hand in hand. prgtoken The foundation of a free market is that people can decide for themselves where to invest their money, and they should have good, trustworthy information in order to make those decisions so that the market is fair and they don't get taken advantage of. prgtoken That is all this ESG rule that we are defending today does. It asserts that investors should have the option, if they choose, to make ESG investments. It is not a mandate. It does not elevate one type of investment over another. All this rule does is allow workplace retirement plans to offer ESG investments as an option to people who want them, provided, of course, that those investments are prudent and provide a safe and secure retirement. prgtoken So I can tell you that out in the real world of Minnesota, this is no big deal. For decades, great Minnesota companies have been looking for excellent returns on their investments. That is their job. But they have also been trying to improve how their companies help their community, help their employees, and help the environment. A lot of people would say that is good business. prgtoken In fact, ESG investing has been growing in this country for decades. People like it. They want to invest in companies that reflect their values. More than $18 trillion are held in investment funds that follow the ESG investment principle. So this isn't some
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mark R. Warner (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2023-3-1

I rise today in joining my other colleagues, organized by my friend the Senator from Hawaii, to ask my colleagues to vote against the resolution, which I think we will be taking up literally in the next 10 minutes, which would strip away a commonsense Department of Labor rule that simply provides fiduciaries-- remember who we are talking about: fiduciaries, people who are responsible, under ERISA plans, to think about their beneficiaries over the long term. We are trying to make sure that those fiduciaries who are charged with maintaining retirement plans have the ability to adequately account for environmental, social, and governance factors. prgtoken I know some of my colleagues have come on the floor and said this is an prgtoken attempt by the Department of Labor to somehow mandate the retirement investments of hard-working Americans. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is, we look at profit and loss, we look at cash reserves, and we look at financial accounting. But the idea that environmental, social, and governance factors can't even be looked at is an interference in the business cycle that really kind of goes beyond the pale. prgtoken I am often regarded--I have to acknowledge this--in my caucus as sometimes being a Member who has the most experience with capitalism, the most experience with business. I absolutely believe in our system. There is nothing better. But the idea that today--and I don't want to copy some of the comments that have been made, but the idea that today, a lot of folks who have never been able to read a balance sheet are going to come in and tell paid fiduciaries what they can consider or what they can't consider in terms of the long-term economic returns for their beneficiaries--I wonder if things have gotten a little topsy- turvy here. prgtoken I can imagine if some people were saying ``Well, we need to make sure we have this rule in place'' or ``Overrule this rule'' or ``Put this binding in place'' if you are talking about day traders or if you are talking about a hedge fund that only looks at the next quarter's results--the kind of short-term capitalism that too often, I think, is eating at the core of our great system. But if we are going to look at long-term returns, we ought to take and have to take into consideration factors--in many cases, factors that may not have been as relevant 30, 50, 70 years ago. Some are going to say we can't look at those. prgtoken Unfortunately, my colleagues across the aisle have decided to take away a useful term, a useful set of analyses, something that has been asked for by these pension funds, by these beneficiaries, and instead try to turn it into a political issue. prgtoken Let me recall back 75 years ago. If you look at the Fortune 500 and the companies that were involved in that Fortune 500, about roughly 75 to 80 percent of those companies' assets were tangible assets. What does that mean? It means it was
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2023-3-1

section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2023-3-1

I will be honest. Based on the arguments I have been hearing, I am not sure everyone who is opposing the administration's ESG rule has actually read the policy. Some of the arguments for the resolution overturning this rule simply don't add up. In fact, they are a contradiction. ESG investing is simply the practice of taking into account the environmental, social, and governance practices of companies that you invest in. prgtoken For instance, just as a hypothetical, if you are against investing in so-called ``woke'' causes, you are actually laying out your own ESG criteria. Here is the thing: The administration rule would allow that. They would allow that because--and this is an important point, I think, folks are missing--the rule is fundamentally neutral on how ESG factors are taken into consideration, so long as the investment fund is meeting its fiduciary obligations to its beneficiaries. prgtoken I am not sure anyone gets that because the fact of the matter is that some of the same people who are railing against this rule and against ESG investing have advocated for positions that essentially are ESG investing. prgtoken When s push for legislation to protect local and State governments that divest from companies based on their policies toward Israel, that is a form of ESG investing. It is also worth noting, if you manage a retirement plan for a faith-based organization and you want to make sure you are investing in accordance with your client's faith, that, too, would be ESG investing. When we call for divesting from foreign adversaries due to human rights and national security concerns, again, we are actually talking about ESG investing. prgtoken If anyone wants to argue that that is different, that it is a matter of national security, I will note there is no question that climate change is also a really serious national security issue, but that is, honesty, beside the point here. prgtoken Let me say it again: The rule we are talking about is neutral-- neutral--on whether a fiduciary is considering these factors from a particular perspective. This rule is not about saying the left's or the right's taking on a given environmental, social, or governance issue is correct. It is about acknowledging that these factors are reasonable for asset managers to consider. It is about risk mitigation to safeguard retirement plan savers' nest eggs. It is about letting asset managers do their jobs without the government getting in the way. That shouldn't be controversial. It, actually, should be common sense. prgtoken I mean, think about it. When it comes to environmental factors, shouldn't financial advisers have the freedom to consider environmental practices when climate disasters cost trillions of dollars a year? prgtoken Shouldn't they have the freedom to take into account whether a company is adopting sustainable practices that reduce its costs and consumption or if it is
REDUCE EXACERBATED INFLATION NEGATIVELY IMPACTING THE NATION ACT
Hakeem S. Jeffries (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2023-3-1

. Mr. Chair, I thank the distinguished gentleman from the great State of Maryland for his tremendous leadership. prgtoken I rise today in opposition to the amendment, as well as to the underlying bill, the so-called REIN ACT, which is not really designed to do anything meaningful in terms of addressing the economic concerns of the American people. prgtoken That is consistent with the fact that over the last 2 months of this extreme MAGA majority, they have been focused on doing anything but dealing with the real kitchen-table pocketbook concerns of the American people. prgtoken Over the last year or so, all we heard was that this extreme MAGA majority was going to try to address the economic concerns of everyday Americans. prgtoken So we have been waiting and waiting and waiting for the big, grand plan--waiting for it, notwithstanding the fact that President 's administration has done a tremendous job pulling us out of a once-in-a-century pandemic, and in partnership with through the American Rescue Plan, saved the economy from a deep recession, put shots in arms, money in pockets, kids back in school, invested in the infrastructure of this country, which will create millions of good-paying jobs; passed the CHIPS and Science Act to bring domestic manufacturing jobs back home to the United States of America; passed the Inflation Reduction Act to strike a dramatic blow against the climate crisis, set our planet on a sustainable trajectory forward; strengthened the Affordable Care Act, lower healthcare costs, drive down the high price of lifesaving prescription drugs for millions of Americans, including many on insulin, which will now be reduced to $35 a month. prgtoken That is the economic record of this administration: 12 million good- paying jobs created over the last 2 years, record unemployment. prgtoken Yes, we still have challenges that we need to address as we try to emerge from this inflationary environment that has afflicted the entire world. prgtoken Oh, by the way, the United States' economy has emerged from COVID in a better position than any other developed country because of the economic plan and the partnership with House and Senate . prgtoken But we have been waiting and waiting and waiting for the grand plan, and here it is, the so-called REIN IN Act. Three pages. Three pages. prgtoken What does it call for? Reports. Reports. It is the grand economic plan. Why? Because you have been focused on the wrong things. prgtoken Now, House , we are going to continue to invest in the American people, invest in education and job training, invest in transportation and infrastructure, invest in research and development, invest in technology and innovation, invest in the creation and preservation of affordable housing, invest in the health, the safety, the economic well-being of the American people. prgtoken That is
Nomination of Margaret R. Guzman (Executive Calendar)
Edward J. Markey (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2023-3-1

I come to the floor today to speak in support of the nomination of Judge Margaret Guzman to serve as a U.S. district judge for the District of Massachusetts. Yesterday, the Senate invoked cloture on Judge Guzman's nomination, and in a few minutes, we will vote on her confirmation. prgtoken Margaret Guzman currently serves as a Massachusetts State district court judge. She is a Massachusetts native and a graduate of Clark University in Worcester and the Boston University School of Law. prgtoken In addition to Judge Guzman's more than 20 years of service on the Massachusetts State judiciary, her three-decade career in the law includes work as a solo practitioner handling civil cases and a public defender representing indigent criminal offenders. Judge Guzman will therefore bring to the Federal bench not only the knowledge and experience of a State court judge who has presided over more than 1,000 cases in her career that have gone to verdict or judgment but the wisdom of a public defender and solo practitioner, joining together precisely the kind of professional legal diversity that the administration has made a priority and that the Federal judiciary badly needs. prgtoken But there is more to Margaret Guzman than this impressive legal resume. Her personal story has also shaped her and her outlook from the bench. In 1999, during a challenging time for her family, she became the guardian and custodian to six of her nieces and nephews, then age 3 to 15. During this time, she also took on a caretaker role for her ailing mother. These daunting personal experiences helped Judge Guzman understand and appreciate the difficulties that so many people-- especially those who are involved in the criminal justice system--face in their day-to-day lives. prgtoken Her lived experience has led her to always show compassion and understanding to her own clients as a practicing attorney and to the litigants who appear before her as a judge and to ensure that those who must navigate our judicial system--especially the indigent and marginalized--are always treated fairly and with dignity and respect. prgtoken Finally, Judge Guzman will be a trailblazer. When confirmed, she will be the first Latina to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts--a long overdue milestone in a State that has nearly 1 million Latinos who call Massachusetts their home. Out of our 7 million residents, 1 million are Latino. prgtoken Senator Warren and I are proud to recommend Judge Guzman as a nominee to President and proud to have that nomination before the whole Senate today. Judge Guzman leaves me with no doubt that she will serve the people of Massachusetts with distinction as a Federal district court judge. I urge all of my colleagues to vote yes on her confirmation today. prgtoken Senator Warren and I give you our assurances that she will be a superior district court judge representing our entire country
REINTRODUCTION OF THE CABIN AIR SAFETY ACT
John Garamendi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-3-1

today I reintroduce the ``Cabin Air Safety Act,'' with U.S. prgtoken Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Congressman Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA). prgtoken All Americans have the right to expect safe, clean air when travelling or reporting to work. I am deeply concerned by the documented cases where pilots, flight attendants, and airline passengers have been incapacitated or even hospitalized following exposure to toxic cabin air. prgtoken The ``Cabin Air Safety Act'' takes commonsense steps to protect airline crewmembers and the traveling public from toxic fume events, which occur when air contaminated by engine exhaust, fuel fumes, deicing fluids, and ozone enters the aircraft cabin through the jet- engine intake or the auxiliary air intake at the stern of the aircraft when on the ground. Exposure to even low levels of these contaminants can incapacitate passengers and crew. Long-term exposure could lead to serious, debilitating health issues. prgtoken Our bicameral, bipartisan legislation would better protect airline passengers and crew by mandating training on how to respond to toxic fumes, requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to record and monitor reports of toxic fume events, ensuring that investigations occur following reported toxic fume events, and installing air quality monitoring equipment such as carbon monoxide sensors on commercial aircraft as standard equipment. Lastly, the ``Cabin Air Safety Act'' makes clear that the FAA can indeed set standards for cabin air quality to safeguard the health of airline crewmembers and the traveling public. prgtoken , I urge all Members of the House to join me in cosponsoring this bicameral, bipartisan legislation. As a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I plan to make the ``Cabin Air Safety Act'' a major priority in the coming FAA reauthorization.