mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Michael Lawler (Republican, NY) \u2014 2023-11-14

. Mr. Chair, today, I rise in support of my amendment No. 146 to the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which increases funding for the Head Start program. prgtoken Head Start is a critical program that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health nutrition, and parental involvement services to low-income children and families. prgtoken My district alone has almost a dozen Head Start locations, each providing crucial services to families in Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties, which is why it is so critical that we continue to provide robust funding for Head Start. prgtoken My amendment does just that, increasing funding to the Head Start program by $100 million and ensuring that this critical service has the support that it needs. prgtoken As a father of a young daughter, I am seeing just how inquisitive and curious she is, and I know that there are tens of thousands of children like her in my district who would benefit from an early childhood development program. That doesn't even include the tens of millions of children who have benefited from the program's existence across the Nation. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I ask my colleagues to support amendment No. 146 and show the American people that we want to build on the successes of Head Start. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .
FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS AND OTHER EXTENSIONS ACT, 2024
Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (Republican, TN) \u2014 2023-11-14

I thank the chairwoman for yielding. prgtoken , I rise in support of H.R. 6363, the Further Continuing Appropriations Act. I applaud Johnson for his leadership in avoiding a harmful government shutdown, especially near the holidays. I also thank Chairwoman Granger for her work in putting together this clean continuing resolution. prgtoken No one dislikes CRs more than the Appropriations Committee. As chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, I know the importance of enacting full-year bills to address issues like the nuclear weapons modernization programs at the Department of Energy and the navigation, flood and storm-damage reduction projects of the Army Corps of Engineers. prgtoken House s all agree we need to get the Federal Government on a more fiscally responsible path, but lengthy government shutdowns don't save money. They actually cost more money. The CR will give us time to reach an agreement on a top-line spending level and to negotiate final bills with the United States Senate. prgtoken The two-step deadlines will also prevent a massive omnibus right before the holidays. A vote in favor of this continuing resolution is the only fiscally responsible vote. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Glenn Grothman (Republican, WI) \u2014 2023-11-14

. Mr. Chair, let me point out that there are many scientists in different countries who feel overwhelmingly that vitamin D would have reduced the number of deaths. prgtoken I believe, sadly, that both our research establishment and medical establishment kind of tilt toward something that will be more profitable. prgtoken If they would have gotten vitamin D out there in the almost year before vaccines were available, I think it would have saved a lot of lives, and it would have probably saved lives even after vaccines became available. prgtoken It is a mystery to me why the public health establishment does not get involved and, quite frankly, encourage people to take vitamin D well beyond the normal supplement level. You should probably take four or five times the amount of the supplement. prgtoken In any event, it is frustrating it wasn't done. It is frustrating we wouldn't check vitamin D levels when the cost to check them is, from what I could tell, if you go through a mail order thing, like, 50 bucks to check. prgtoken Nevertheless, it wasn't worthwhile for the medical establishment to do that. I don't see any harm in doing a prgtoken study, and it could result in a massive benefit. prgtoken Let me also point out that, disproportionately, people of color were dying from this disease, and a lot of people feel the reason they were dying far in excess of the population as a whole was because people with darker skin don't have as much vitamin D. In particular, it would have helped people of color. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 6126
Eric Schmitt (Republican, MO) \u2014 2023-11-14

I stand in solidarity with my colleagues on separating these issues. I think the American people think that is what we do here. I think the American people think we actually have an appropriations process where we have individual bills come forward and we are offering amendments and Senators can have their say and s and can have different ideas, offer different amendments and we vote on those things. prgtoken That is actually not what happens here at all. And this is now compounding this with a supplemental aid package of putting on a bunch of unrelated issues to try to bootstrap Ukraine aid when the most pressing need we have right now, the most bipartisan support we have right now, is the Israeli aid. And, by the way, it is paid for. prgtoken Now, I know listening to the hallways buzz in this town about actually paying for something is, like, unbelievable. You know, it is going to be catastrophic if we actually have that discussion. But I think it is healthy. I think it is healthy. But I think we need to separate these issues. prgtoken This is supposed to be the most deliberative body in the history of the world, and what we are told is: We can't do that. prgtoken And to my friend from Ohio's point, history doesn't begin and end with Neville Chamberlain. There are a lot of lessons from history about how you confront these things. prgtoken And, by the way, each theater is very different. What Israel needs is different; what Ukraine might need is different; what Taiwan might need is different. Oh, and by the way, what the United States of America might need is different as we face our chief rival in the world. We have never had one like this in the history of this country with China. We have never had an economic rival, a nuclear power, a militarized rival like we have with China. prgtoken Maybe we should be talking, as we talk about this military industrial base--and I think there is broad support for this--for long-range capability. prgtoken Our military industrial base is strapped right now. We are at capacity. We ought to be growing that. I support that. But I think we ought to have a discussion about: What does the United States need too? But as it relates to Israel, they have a clear objective, a likelihood of success, broad support. I have yet to hear any of that as it relates to Ukraine. prgtoken All we get are, again, slogans and fearmongering. I think, by the way, if you brought up that for an individual vote, it might pass. I don't know. We ought to try it. But I know this would. It should today. But we are going to hear objections now from the . They are going to object to this and forestall this important aid that our allies in Israel, who are facing a real existential threat right now, need. prgtoken Again--and, by the way, we have thrown in, you know, border here, and call me skeptical as it relates to and his administration on his seriousness w
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024
Kevin Kiley (Republican, CA) \u2014 2023-11-14

. Mr. Chair, throughout the COVID-19 era, the United States was an outlier in many ways, but perhaps most of all when it came to the treatment of young children. A very clear example of that is the policy of forcing toddlers to wear masks. prgtoken This is from an article from NPR in January 2022. It says: ``The United States is an outlier in recommending masks from the age of 2 years old. The World Health Organization does not recommend masks for children under age 5, while the European equivalent of the CDC doesn't recommend them for children under age 12.'' prgtoken When it came to the Head Start program, not only was it recommended, but it was mandated that children as young as 2 years old, over a million kids in Head Start, had to wear masks up until January 2023. prgtoken Now, this flew in the face of not only international norms, but of all scientific evidence. Study after study has shown no public health benefit to forcing young children to wear masks. prgtoken For example, a 2022 study by Dr. Ambarish Chandra and Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg was titled, ``Lack of correlation between school mask mandates and pediatric COVID-19 cases. . . . `' prgtoken At the same time, the evidence continues to pile up as to the harms done to young children when it comes to the disruption of holistic processing, of face perception, of social skills, of emotional development, not to mention the misery that they cause young children having to wear masks for hours on end each day. prgtoken Perhaps the need for this amendment was most clearly demonstrated in some truly unbelievable testimony by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra earlier this year. I asked Secretary Becerra whether the policy of forcing 2-year-olds to wear masks saved lives. prgtoken He responded by saying: Who did the forcing? The answer, of course, was him. prgtoken When I pointed this out, he said: ``We never forced anyone to do anything.'' That is what he said. ``We never forced anyone to do anything.'' prgtoken When, in fact, the relevant regulation stated that there was a requirement for universal masking for all individuals ages 2 and older. prgtoken I asked him: Can you point to any public health benefit to forcing young children to wear masks? prgtoken He could provide none. prgtoken I asked: Do you, as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, can you point to any evidence that there was a public health benefit to forcing young children to wear masks? prgtoken The flailing Secretary, unable to come up with anything, simply said that fewer people are dying in 2023 of COVID than were dying in 2020. prgtoken What a farce, Mr. Chair. Let's think about the parents who had to send their 2-, 3-, 4-year-old kids to school every day under this policy. And here the Secretary of Health and Human Services doesn't offer an apology, even though he can come up with not a single public health benefit to the policy that was enforced on these families. prgtoken We need to
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 6126
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2023-11-14

reserving the right to object, I understand the concerns raised by my colleague from Kansas. I share many of them. We have all seen the horrifying videos and prgtoken images, the scenes of death and destruction perpetrated by Hamas terrorists from October 7--the deadliest single day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. We all know that return to the status quo is unacceptable. So I support the Senator's sense of urgency that we must get security aid to Israel as it seeks to defend itself. prgtoken As a former chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, it was my privilege and honor to appropriate literally millions of dollars for Iron Dome, the air defense which today protects Israel. I believe in supporting our allies in France. In fact, I joined a quarter of my colleagues in the Senate in a letter to President just last week with this very same message. prgtoken But I want to be clear. Many of my colleagues harken back in history to the days of Munich and say we are stuck in that thinking. I would say: Forget Munich for a moment. Think of the days of Moscow. Think of this impromptu visit by the Hamas terrorists to Moscow to sit down with Vladimir Putin. Coincidence? Just happened to be part of the travel plan? No. Hamas had already attacked Israel. They were branded as a terrorist group. Where did they go to find solace? Where did they go to find a friend? They went to Moscow and Vladimir Putin. Why would we get soft on Putin at this moment? prgtoken What is happening in Israel is a mirror of what is happening in Ukraine--a tyrant, atrocious conduct, an unprovoked invasion of a country, innocent people killed. That is the story in both places. Yet the s come to the floor today and say to us: We are only concerned about one. We don't care about the NATO alliance and supporting it further. We don't care about supporting Ukraine further. We just want to help one of our allies. prgtoken I want to be clear. Just 2,000 miles north of Israel, there is another country fighting for its survival in the face of a brutal assault, also in need of sustained U.S. security assistance. That country is Ukraine. prgtoken Two months ago, I imagine, my colleagues all joined me and others, meeting in the Old Senate Chamber in a private, secret, confidential meeting with the President of Ukraine. President Zelenskyy told us without equivocation: Without the continued financial support of the United States and NATO, we will lose this war. He didn't say that once; he said it twice to make it abundantly clear. And now for the s to say that we will step aside and let the aid to Ukraine-- if it is ever going to come--come much later is to jeopardize their future and to really make a mockery of the amazing display of courage we have seen in Ukraine resisting the Russian aggression. prgtoken Just as Secretaries Austin and Blinken argued for emergency aid for Israel before the Senate Appr
TRIBUTE TO LAURIE GOLDMAN
Adam B. Schiff (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-11-14

I rise today in honor of Laurie Goldman, who passed away on September 11 of this year. prgtoken Laurie's dedication to the City of Los Angeles was formed at an early age as she came to appreciate its many landmark institutions. She watched the Beatles perform at the Hollywood Bowl, enjoyed ice cream at CC Brown's, and, at the tender age of six months, dined at Musso & Frank. prgtoken As a young girl, Laurie explored the City of Los Angeles; she absorbed its secrets, learned its rhythms, and took it upon herself to make it better. For more than four decades, Laurie volunteered her time and considerable energy to improve the lives of those in her community. She founded her first nonprofit, Youth for Cystic Fibrosis, while a student at Fairfax High School. Her commitment to helping those on the margins led to the creation of multiple nonprofit organizations over her lifetime. prgtoken Laurie's success in organizing her community around a common cause, in achieving consensus, and raising money, led to leadership roles in several of the City's most distinguished organizations. In addition to founding her own company, Go!, she served on the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council, the Hollywood Chamber Community Foundation, and the Hollywood Arts Council. Ms. Goldman's long list of achievements include serving on the 1984 Olympics Governmental Relations Committee, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Getty House Foundation. In 2016, she was elected President of the Hollywood Media Business Improvement District where she was instrumental in furthering its mission of public safety and economic growth. prgtoken Her devotion to Hollywood's rich history fostered an appreciation for what is possible in the world. Laurie was an effective advocate, a tireless activist, and a much-revered urban visionary. It is, perhaps, in this last role that she will be best remembered. As President of Friends of the Hollywood Central Park, Laurie was committed to building a sustainable, green space on top of the congested 101 freeway. Completion of this ambitious project promises to deliver a more equitable future for stakeholders in community and commerce. prgtoken I would like to convey my deepest sympathy to Laurie's family, friends, and colleagues. We owe Laurie a debt of gratitude for her decades of contributions to the Los Angeles community. I ask all Members to join me in recognizing the remarkable life of Laurie L. Goldman.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 6126
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2023-11-14

reserving the right to object, our colleague from Kansas has come to the floor and asked for unanimous consent for a bill of some major significance. prgtoken We have heard a lot of my colleagues explain why this Israel-only bill would be a disaster, because it throws Ukraine overboard. prgtoken And then I heard his rebuttal. His rebuttal was, ``Well, why not do Israel alone?'' as if we hadn't had this conversation for the last hour and a half. We know the answer: because the House has said it will pass an Israel-alone bill, leaving Ukraine abandoned. prgtoken So this UC is about abandoning Ukraine. That has powerful international consequences. Allow Ukraine to be torn apart by Putin's brutal invasion--that is what this UC does. It makes a group of American Senators Putin's best friends. This bill--this UC, this unanimous consent for this bill--will shatter the Atlantic alliance, deeply, deeply damaging the power of democracies working together. This bill will fracture NATO because if we don't stand with Ukraine, how many doubts creep in about any enduring effort to defend a smaller country assaulted by a dictator next door? prgtoken This bill will destroy American leadership in defending democracies. This bill will empower dictators around the world. They will conclude that they can outlast the attention span of a coalition of democratic republics as long as they stay the course. prgtoken Some of my colleagues in support of this bill say it is costing a lot of money. The budget that Russia is dedicating to this battle is, some estimate, 30 percent--30 percent--of their defense expenditures. Our GDP here is 1\1/2\ percent--1\1/2\ percent versus 30 percent. If we can't stay the course when the question is $1.50 out of every $100, when would we ever stay the course? prgtoken The last time this globe saw such complicity blockading a vicious conqueror was when Chamberlain went to Munich. prgtoken In Munich, Chamberlain told Hitler: You can take that massive slice of Czechoslovakia, and England will look the other way. We will simply declare peace in our time. prgtoken But that appeasement by Chamberlain didn't produce peace in our time. Instead, that appeasement of Hitler stoked Hitler's appetite for conquering adjacent lands. That appeasement of Hitler set the stage for the Second World War, with massive loss of life and treasure for the United States of America and nations around the world. prgtoken Appeasing Putin today is as wrong as appeasing Hitler 85 years ago. We must instead stand with the freedom-loving, fierce-fighting, democracy-defending people of the Republic of Ukraine. prgtoken If you come to this Chamber and you have followed former President 's lead in loving Putin, then say yes to this unanimous consent request and throw Ukraine under the bus. If you love China, love their authoritarian conquests, love their desire to invade Taiwan, then come to this floor and support this unanimous
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2023-11-14

we have until Friday to avert another costly, unnecessary, and avoidable government shutdown. Time is a luxury that neither side has. If we are going to keep the lights on beyond this Friday, our colleagues will have to work with in a bipartisan way to pass a clean extension without hard- right cuts and without poison pills. prgtoken So far, I am heartened--cautiously so--that Johnson is moving forward with a CR that omits precisely the sort of hard-right cuts that would have been nonstarters for . I certainly don't agree with everything the is proposing, and I can't imagine too many Senators would have taken the 's approach in drafting this bill. But the proposal before prgtoken the House does two things have pushed for: It will avert a shutdown, and it will do so without making any terrible, hard-right cuts that the MAGA rightwing demands. It also eliminates the poison pills that so many MAGA Congress Members put in the bills. prgtoken We will see over the course of today how the House moves forward. Over the past few days, a significant portion of the 's hard- right flank has torched his proposal precisely because it doesn't make cuts. I hope the does not yield to the demands of the hard right as we try to keep the government open. Instead, I hope the continues to recognize he will need ic votes in order to avoid a shutdown.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 6126
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2023-11-14

. Thank you very much, . I want to thank Senator Murray and Senator Reed for leading us in this time. prgtoken I want to make two relatively brief points to add to the discussion, and I will turn it over to others of my colleagues. prgtoken First, I understand that my colleagues want to avoid the question of priorities. The fact of the matter is, an Israel-only funding bill passed through the House of Representatives, and attached to it was a massive giveaway for the richest Americans: millionaires and billionaires who don't pay their taxes. So as we chart the path forward for a bill that only funds Israel, we know, in the House of Representatives, it has to be matched with a massive-- massive--giveaway for millionaires and billionaires. prgtoken I don't think you can ignore that fact that a large swath of the Party is using this crisis in Israel in order to deliver yet another gift to the very small slice of Americans who don't need any more gifts. There are 700 billionaires in this country who have more net worth than 50 percent of all Americans. The rules are already rigged in favor of the superwealthy. So the idea that we would facilitate a plan in the House of Representatives to use Israel aid as a means to continue to rig the rules in favor of those ultrarich Americans, it is just incredibly distasteful, and it is a signal about where the Party priorities are today. prgtoken Second, I do want to talk about what Senator Vance and others talked about, about the lazy precedent, referencing the sloganeering that they accuse of engaging in. prgtoken So it is correct that what is happening today in Ukraine does not have a modern precedent because never before in our lifetime, in the post-World War II order, has a large nuclear nation like Russia invaded another large neighboring nation with the purpose of annexation. prgtoken What Russia is trying to do is to fundamentally change the rules; to fundamentally shift international norms that have been in place since World War II. At the foundation of it is that big countries don't change their borders through force, through aggression. It is important to understand that these are the rules that have undergirded the last 70 years of U.S. growth and U.S. national security. prgtoken So we don't believe that we should support Ukraine because we just believe that Vladimir Putin is Adolf Hitler. We don't believe we should support prgtoken Ukraine to perpetuate some slogan about American greatness. No. We believe that we have an interest--as the most powerful nation in the world, as the nation that has benefited most from the post-World War II order--to defend those rules because, if we don't, no one else will. prgtoken And it just strikes me that my colleagues who have this fatalistic view of what is going to happen in Ukraine just really view America as weak, as impotent, and as powerless in the face