mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Maria Cantwell (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2022-3-24

I come to the floor to talk about supply chain issues, but before I do, I wanted to say a word about March Madness. prgtoken I am pretty sure that most of my colleagues who know me think the next words out of my mouth are going to be something about a small Jesuit school in the eastern part of our State, but it is not. What I am going to talk about is congratulating the Western Washington University Vikings Women's Basketball team Division II final championship game players. prgtoken The Vikings will be playing in the NCAA Division II Championship after defeating North Georgia last night with a score of 74 to 68. It was an outstanding performance by Brooke Walling, Emma Duff, and the entire team that represents people from all over our State--Everson, Tumwater, Monroe, Vancouver, Arlington, Marysville, Napavine, Ferndale, and various other places. prgtoken I also want to congratulate Head Coach Carmen Dolfo, who is in, I think, her 31st season leading the Vikings, and the fact that this is such a great accomplishment for the women of Western Washington. prgtoken I hope that we will continue to figure out ways to promote women's basketball in the NCAA tournament. I watched this game last night and saw a few people from our State who had made it there to cheer on the Vikings, but the actual pavilion looked pretty empty. Yet I guarantee you it was great basketball. prgtoken We need to continue to encourage the NCAA to figure out ways to promote women's NCAA March Madness. They are great players, they are great teams, and they deserve to have the same kind of attention. So we look forward to cheering them on in that final NCAA tournament Division II game.
TRIBUTE TO RETIRING SUPERINTENDENT HENDERSON LEWIS, JR., PHD
Troy A. Carter (Democrat, LA) \u2014 2022-3-24

. Madam , Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. has served as the Superintendent of NOLA Public Schools since March 18, 2015, becoming one of the youngest and longest tenured leaders in the 180-year history of public education in New Orleans. With over 25 years of educational experience as a teacher, mentor, assistant principal, instructional coach, curriculum expert, principal, and school district leader, Superintendent Lewis brings a unique, classroom focused perspective to the table. prgtoken Dr. Lewis first worked for the Algiers Charter Schools Association for six years, serving as the founding principal at Algiers Technology Academy. He taught for seven years at neighboring St. Bernard Parish Public Schools and represented District 9 on the St. Bernard Parish Public School Board for 11 years. Dr. Lewis then went on to become a celebrated superintendent for East Feliciana Parish, which is just north of Baton Rouge. Under his leadership, the district was recognized by the Louisiana Department of Education as second in the state for elementary student academic growth. Throughout his tenure at New Orleans Public Schools, he has not wavered from his mission as a citywide regulator of schools, a protector of family and student rights, and a thoughtful steward of public resources. prgtoken Superintendent Lewis has been at the helm of NOLA-PS during a pivotal time in the school system's history. He oversaw the 2018 unification of public schools in New Orleans with those schools run by the state of Louisiana. NOLA-PS now has 76 schools under the oversight of the Orleans Parish School Board. prgtoken Thanks to his team and his leadership, New Orleans community of schools is better structured today than ever before. NOLA-PS established an accountability framework that holds charter schools to high standards. During his tenure, Dr. Lewis has worked to add strong school options to the portfolio, including new and innovative school models, transformations, and replication of successful school models to provide the best possible options for students. prgtoken During his time as Superintendent, he faced the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He helped NOLA-PS lead the way nationally by building partnerships, using data to drive decisions, and leading NOLA Public Schools through the COVID-19 pandemic. That work has helped NOLA-PS lead the way nationally when it came to reopening schools with adequate technology, gaining access to COVID testing, and securing access to vaccines. Dr. Lewis also coordinated the district-wide commitment to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for students five years and up. prgtoken His dedication to promoting equality and equity led to the renaming of 21 school buildings in 2021 to separate the school system of today from the dubious honors bestowed in the past to slaveholders and segregation sympathizers. He also implemented an equity initiative within the school
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2022-3-24

. I reserve the right to object in regard to the Senator from Kentucky's request. prgtoken , first, let me just correct some of the statements that were made. This bill went through the committee. It was voted on in the committee. Amendments were offered in the committee. The Senator from Kentucky was present during the markup in the committee. That is the way legislation should be considered in this body. prgtoken We are talking about how the Senate can work the way it should? Let the committees function. And that is exactly what we did in regard to the legislation that is on the floor. It went through the regular process. And the Senator's request is despite the fact that the majority leader has said he will allow a vote on the floor and let the Members of the Senate make the decision as to whether they agree or disagree with the arguments made by the author of the amendment. That is how a democracy should work. That is how the legislative process should work. prgtoken So I am somewhat shocked that the Senator would object to the majority leader's request that would allow the legislation to come to the floor and let the Senate work its will by majority vote. That is what the majority leader said. prgtoken Let me give you a little bit more history on this. The original Magnitsky bill was originally attached to the PNTR for Russia, and it was aimed solely at the tragic death of Sergei Magnitsky. We wanted to hold those responsible for his death accountable. That is why the language the Senator is referring to was included in the original act. It was aimed at one episode and one set of abusers. prgtoken It became such a successful tool for diplomacy that, working with Senator McCain, the two of us worked on making it a global bill so that it would apply beyond just Russia and that we could use this to advance American foreign policy. prgtoken And we worked--and quite frankly, we didn't have the enthusiastic support of the administration because the Senator from Kentucky is right: Administrations like to have their own authority; they don't like Congress to intercede. And on the Magnitsky, we can make recommendations as to who should be considered for sanctions. So it was a major step forward, and we were able to pass Global Magnitsky. prgtoken In the meantime, President worked with us on this. He was a supporter of using this tool. And he passed an Executive order--signed an Executive order, that included provisions that we asked him to include in the Executive order because we recognized that corruption was the fuel for Mr. Putin and Russia and authoritarian regimes. So we wanted to make sure that we could include corruption. We wanted to make sure that we could include the enablers--those who enabled these human rights abusers to do what they do, and that was included in the Executive order. prgtoken And we worked with the administration. And we have worked with the administration.
TRIBUTE TO ELIAS PARONG SABLAN (1899-1968)
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (Democrat, MP) \u2014 2022-3-24

. Madam , Elias Jacobo Parong Sablan was a visionary, linguist, and pioneering leader of the people of Saipan, guiding them out from under the 400-year rule of foreign powers to the beginnings of our self-government under the trusteeship of the United States after World War II. prgtoken Born on November 8, 1899, to Felix Delos Reyes Sablan and Luisa Malug Parong, Elias was the fourth child in a family of six. He learned our native languages at home: Chamorro from his father Felix and Carolinian from his mother Luisa. prgtoken Felix also taught his son to speak, read, and write the English language. In his own youth, Felix served as a cabin boy aboard the Charles W. Morgan, an American whaling ship out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. From his crewmates he learned English and about life in the United States of America. He also collected English textbooks on navigation, United States history, and other subjects, books he shared with his son Elias as the boy grew. prgtoken The year before Elias' birth, Germany purchased the Northern Mariana Islands from Spain, which had ruled the islands for some 377 years. Elias attended the German school on Saipan, and then was sent to the island of Yap, also under German control, to be educated in communications. By the time he was 15, Elias had learned the international Morse code and added Yapese and German to his linguistic skills. prgtoken Japan seized control of the Northern Mariana Islands from Germany at the outset of World War I and after the war was granted a mandate to govern by the League of Nations. This occupation provided Elias the opportunity to learn one more language, Japanese, while working at the Japanese sugar mill. He also married during this Japanese period, wedding Carmen Romolor Mangarero on January 23, 1921. Together they would have 13 children. prgtoken Elias' heritage, his upbringing, his education, and experience all prepared him well for the life-threatening events of World War II and what came after. In fact, Elias' knowledge of English would save his life and the lives of his family. prgtoken World War II came to the Mariana Islands on June 10, 1944, when the United States attacked the Japanese military forces on Saipan. After a brutal and destructive battle, killing tens of thousands of Japanese and American soldiers, as well as non-combatant civilians, the United States took control of the island on July 9, 1944. prgtoken Throughout the battle, Elias and his family hid in a cave in the hills, listening as bombs dropped on the island and watching as Japanese and American airplanes fought in the skies overhead. One day, spotting movement near the cave's entrance, U.S. battleships just outside the island's reef aimed their fire at the family's hiding place. prgtoken When the shelling subsided, those sheltered in the cave could hear voices outside speaking a foreign language. It was U.S. Marines talking in English and combing the area for prgtoken Japan
HONORING JJ GERTLER FOR HIS PUBLIC SERVICE
Adam Smith (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2022-3-24

. Madam , I wish to honor the achievements of Jeremiah ``JJ'' Gertler, Specialist in Military Aviation, Congressional Research Service, on the occasion of his retirement from the Service on February 28, 2022. prgtoken JJ Gertler served Congress with distinction for more than 22 years at the Library of Congress as a Specialist in Military Aviation for the Congressional Research Service, as a professional staff member of the House Armed Services Committee, and as a Defense Legislative Assistant for then-Senator Chuck Robb of Virginia. He earned a bachelor's degree from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, a master's degree in international security policy from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C as well as graduating with distinction from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. prgtoken JJ is recognized throughout Congress, the military Services, the defense community, and the military aviation community as an expert in U.S. military aviation programs, capabilities, and strategy. He authored numerous reports and products pertaining to important military aircraft programs across the military services, ranging from the F-35 fighter to the Marine Corps Osprey to privatized adversary air combat training. He also is an expert in the strategic use of military aviation, writing extensively on no-fly zones, possible air strikes in numerous conflicts, and on the strategic implications of the Air Force's long-term budget priorities. He excelled at consultative work for Members of Congress and staffers, developing and maintaining long- term relationships with offices and committees of jurisdiction. prgtoken JJ also exercised true leadership at CRS. He was chosen, based on his outstanding skills as an analyst and public speaker, to moderate numerous high-profile panels organized by the Service, most notably the plenary session for the 2019 New Members' Seminar in Williamsburg, Virginia. His skills at presentation are well noted by both members and peers, and a House Armed Services subcommittee chairman once told him, ``I have been here 10 years, and I have never heard a better presentation.'' He created the first podcast for CRS aimed at Congressional clients, served a year in a rotation as a Senior Advisor to the Director of CRS, and piloted multiple new written CRS products during his tenure. prgtoken During his tenure as a professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee from 2000 through 2004, Mr. Gertler oversaw the defense procurement and missile defense budgets, including all classified programs, during the Fiscal Year 2000 through 2005 budgets. Prior to serving on the committee, he was a defense legislative assistant from 1990 to 1995 for Senator Robb who was simultaneously serving on the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence committees. prgtoken JJ Gertler, in addition to his tremendous work and profess
REMEMBERING DR. DONALD PINKEL
Steve Cohen (Democrat, TN) \u2014 2022-3-24

. Madam , I rise today to pay a respectful tribute to Dr. Donald P. Pinkel, a pediatric oncologist whose aggressive treatment of childhood cancer at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, and elsewhere, has saved thousands of lives. Dr. Pinkel died last week in California at the age of 95. Already an established childhood cancer specialist in his native Buffalo, Dr. Pinkel was lured to St. Jude in 1961 by its founder, Danny Thomas, before the physical structure had been built. He was instrumental in its development and staffing as its first chief executive and medical director. In segregated Memphis, he insisted that all facets of St. Jude be integrated and that the malnutrition of his patients, many of them Black, be addressed by a nutritional assistance program that became the model for the federal government's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as W.I.C. With other top researchers, he developed chemotherapy protocols for treating almost always fatal acute lymphocytic leukemia that were considered radical and dangerous, but which proved over time to transform the illness into a treatable disease which now has a 94 percent five-year survival rate. As Danny Thomas' daughter Marlo said in a statement last week, her father and Dr. Pinkel ``had the same unyielding hope and were equally audacious in their determination that childhood leukemia could be vanquished.'' Memphis and the nation can be grateful this man of science devoted his life to saving vulnerable children. I send my condolences to his wife, children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren. His was a life well-lived.
NOMINATION OF ERIC M. GARCETTI
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2022-3-24

2 weeks ago, I introduced a statement into the Record which indicated my intent to object to any unanimous consent request relating to the nomination of Mayor Eric Garcetti to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India. I did so because I had received multiple whistleblower complaints that Mayor Garcetti witnessed and was aware that his deputy chief of staff, Rick Jacobs, sexually harassed city employees. In my statement, which I have copied below, I made clear that I needed to investigate the allegations being made by whistleblowers and that I needed to review the investigation that the city of Los Angeles had commissioned which supposedly cleared Mayor Garcetti of any wrongdoing. prgtoken At the time, I instructed my staff to complete this investigation in no more than 2 weeks, since it is not my intent to drag this out. My staff spoke with additional whistleblowers and subsequently made three separate requests to representatives of the mayor to send us the city's investigative report--on March 11, 18, and 21. The mayor's staff provided me with a copy of the report on March 21. However, we were just notified last night, March 23, that there was also an updated report, along with a summary that was completed several months after the original report that my office received on March 21. prgtoken While I am still reviewing this report, my staff informs me that the report is focused exclusively on allegations made that Mr. Jacobs sexually harassed an LAPD officer. It does not address other allegations made, including allegations that Mr. Jacobs had sexually harassed the mayor's senior staff and made racist comments toward staff in front of the mayor. prgtoken Due to the extremely narrow scope of this report, the fact that many of the allegations brought to my office were not investigated in that report, and the fact that we only received the updated report last night, I have instructed my staff to continue investigating these allegations. prgtoken As I said earlier, it is not my intent to drag this out and I anticipate that my investigation will be concluded in the near future. [Prior Statement] , I intend to object to any unanimous consent request at the present time relating to the nomination of Mayor Eric Garcetti, of California, to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India. I will object because I have received numerous credible allegations from multiple whistleblowers alleging that Mr. Garcetti, while Mayor of Los Angeles, had knowledge of sexual harassment and assaults allegedly committed against multiple city employees and their associates by his close advisor, and that he ignored the misconduct. The allegations involving the mayor's office have been the subject of public reporting and a purportedly independent investigation. However, serious questions remain regarding the alleged misconduct,
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2022-3-24

the border crisis continues. prgtoken In February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 164,973 individuals attempting to cross our southern border illegally--a 63- percent increase from a year ago and the highest February number in more than 20 years. Border encounters in February over the past decade or so have generally been low, with numbers far under 100,000--but not since President was inaugurated. Almost from the day the President took office, our Nation has been experiencing an unprecedented border surge. prgtoken In fiscal year 2021, the Border Patrol encountered more than 1.7 million individuals attempting to cross our southern border--the highest number ever recorded. We have had 12 straight months of border encounters in excess prgtoken of 150,000. And these numbers only reflect individuals the Border Patrol has succeeded in apprehending. There is no question that many other illegal immigrants have crossed the border in the past year without being apprehended and have disappeared into the United States. prgtoken The situation at our southern border is out of control--it is a security crisis, it is a humanitarian crisis, and it is an enforcement crisis. Our Border Patrol officers have done heroic work this past year, but they are stretched incredibly thin and are having to spend too much time caring for migrants and not enough time patrolling the border. prgtoken This sharply increases the risk that dangerous individuals--from terrorists to drug smugglers to human traffickers--will slip across our southern border and into the country unnoticed. prgtoken And apart from the serious security concerns that go along with not knowing who is entering our country, allowing this border crisis to continue also presents serious humanitarian concerns. There is nothing compassionate about encouraging individuals to undertake the dangerous journey to our southern border, to run the risk of exploitation and disease and exposure. Unfortunately, neither humanitarian nor security concerns have moved President to meaningfully address this border crisis. prgtoken Every month, we see massive numbers of individuals attempting to cross our southern border, and every month, the White House just doesn't seem to care. The President travels regularly, including regular weekends away from the White House, but he can't seem to bring himself to visit the border and see the situation firsthand. prgtoken It is a disturbing abdication of responsibility from the man charged with defending our Nation's security. And let's remember, the President isn't just ignoring this border crisis; he is partly, if not largely, responsible for it. Immediately upon taking office, the President took steps that weakened our Nation's border security. prgtoken On his first day in office--very first day in office--President rescinded the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border. He halted c
CONGRATULATING WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR
Blaine Luetkemeyer (Republican, MO) \u2014 2022-3-24

. Madam , today l congratulate the Washington High School Choir for their prestigious selection to perform at the 100th anniversary celebration of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. As the only choir selected from Missouri, it is truly an honor to represent such hard-working and dedicated students. Under the direction of Ms. Jessie Patterson, the Washington students will be experiencing a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I could not be prouder to represent them. Missouri is lucky to be represented by the WHS Choir.