mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CELEBRATING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF CECIL'S DELICATESSEN
Betty McCollum (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2019-7-18

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the 70th anniversary of Cecil's Delicatessen in Saint Paul, Minnesota. On July 1, 1949, Cecil and Faye Glickman opened the doors for the first time to hungry Saint Paul customers. Seven decades later, Cecil's is a landmark destination for Highland Park neighbors and international visitors alike. prgtoken In the early days, Cecil and Faye Glickman were among a large number of Saint Paul Jewish families operating restaurants and delicatessens. Today, Cecil's remains as the only traditional deli in the city. This long record of success is due to its loyal customers' love of Cecil's made-from-scratch dishes, baked goods and high-quality imported products served up each day by friendly, hardworking and dedicated staff. prgtoken Family has always been the key ingredient to success for four generations. In 1980, Cecil and Faye's daughter Sheila and her husband David Leventhal bought the deli from her parents when they decided to retire. Sheila still takes orders and David balances the books. In addition, Sheila and David's children and even grandchildren work around the deli, alongside many other longtime employees. Governors, movie stars and regular folks young and old have been served delicious Jewish delicacies and family creations by the Glickmans and Leventhals. In fact, there used to be a saying in Highland Park that a baby's first three words were mama, papa, and Cecil's. prgtoken Walking through the front door at Cecil's transports customers back to an earlier time. With its black and white parquet floors, diner style red chairs, and deli counter piled high with corned beef, potato salad, and a plethora of delicacies, Cecil's serves up delicious food with a perfect-sized side of nostalgia. While the menu has expanded to more than 150 items, one thing that has remained the same is the attention to detail, great food and service. prgtoken All of these ingredients come together to make Cecil's one of Saint Paul's most beloved places to relax and get a bite to eat with friends and neighbors. Madam , please join me in celebrating the 70th anniversary of Cecil's Delicatessen.
RAISE THE WAGE ACT
Carolyn B. Maloney (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-7-18

I rise in strong support of the Raise the Wage Act, which will raise the Federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. prgtoken I include in the Record a letter signed by many youth organizations in support of this legislation. Dear Members of Congress: The undersigned organizations are writing to express our support for the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, which would incrementally increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15.00 over the next 6 years. Beyond raising the wage, the bill's important provisions include phasing out the subminimum wages for tipped workers, people with disabilities, and youth. As organizations committed to the wellbeing and economic security of young people, we are united in our goal of ensuring all youth are paid a livable wage to provide for themselves and their families. Adults and youth both struggle to make ends meet on today's minimum wage. Currently, the poverty rate for youth {ages 18 to 24) is 16.1 percent, which is higher than the national rate of 12.3 percent. Existing law allows employers to pay youth under age 20 a subminimum wage of $4.25 for the first 90 days of their employment. While rarely used, this subminimum wage prohibits youth from being active consumers in their communities, saving money, or achieving true economic stability. The Raise the Wage Act will benefit millions of low-wage workers by increasing their income to a wage that would allow them to meet their financial needs. Youth, like many others in this country, use their wages to support themselves and their families. For example, young people use their summer jobs earnings to purchase school supplies and assist family with buying food and contributing to college costs. Some use their wages to support their own children, pay rent, and buy other basic necessities. According to the Census Bureau, approximately 27 percent of young adults with children live in poverty. Low wages make it increasingly difficult for these parents to appropriately care for their children. Congress has not raised the minimum wage in over a decade. Studies show that one in nine U.S. workers are paid wages that leave them in poverty, even when working full time and year-round. The economy is leaving too many people behind-- including youth and young adults. Because poverty is structural and caused by systems and policies--like discrimination, segregation, and low-quality jobs-- policymakers have an important role in addressing it. Congress must act to raise the wage because it's the equitable thing to do for workers and it's a financial imperative--providing individuals with the means to meet their basic financial needs. By raising the minimum wage and eliminating the subminimum wage
Order of Business (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-7-18

I will not object. First, I just want to thank both my colleagues from New York and Utah for working out this agreement with the leader and me. prgtoken What this does is it paves the way, finally, for what we have been waiting on for a very, very long time--an up-or-down vote on H.R. 1327. There will be two amendments offered. We will oppose them. I don't think they have much of a chance of winning, but there is a right to offer them. prgtoken I want to thank my colleague from Utah for moving forward here, as well as, of course, my colleague from New York for the great work. Right now, for the first time, we can not only see the light at the end of the tunnel, we are getting very close to getting out of the tunnel. I expect that by Wednesday, we will be out of that tunnel, the bill will head to the President's desk, having already passed the House, he will sign it, and our first responders can go do the job they have been intending to do all along, which is to take care of themselves, take care of their loved ones, and take care of their brothers and sisters who have these injuries or who will get these injuries. prgtoken It has been a long, long and hard, hard struggle for over a decade, but now, finally--finally--it looks quite certain that this bill will pass the Senate, go to the President's desk, and at long last become law, and those first responders who made this happen more than anybody else will not--will not--have to come back again. prgtoken I do not object to the offer by my colleague from Utah. prgtoken .
Order of Business (Executive Session)
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-7-18

I reserve the right to object. prgtoken I am grateful that we now have this agreement on timing so that we can get to the floor next week and have an up-or-down vote on the 9/11 first responders bill and the healthcare they desperately need. prgtoken I just want to go to the merits of Senator Lee's amendment because I think there is a misunderstanding. I understand that there is a concern about 72 years and that my colleague believes it is a recipe for trouble, but the truth is, the timing is limited for this bill because these men and women aren't going to survive. So many of them are already sick and dying, and all they care about is just being able to provide for their families. prgtoken There is nothing about this bill that is trying to play politics with the lives of men. There is going to be no fraud. There is going to be no disuse. This is literally all that is necessary for families to survive during these horrible times when their loved ones are dying. prgtoken I will not support my colleague's amendment because it will cap the bill needlessly, and it will mean that if there are survivors who still need healthcare, they will have to come back and walk these halls again. The gravest concern I have is that we dare ask these brave men and women to do this all over again. To watch someone come to the Capitol with an oxygen tank, in a wheelchair, unable to breathe or talk properly because of their cancer and their illness, is something I cannot accept. prgtoken I am grateful that we now have a time agreement for Wednesday, and I am grateful that we now have a chance to get an up-or-down vote and to get this done. prgtoken .
VERGENNES, VERMONT'S, ROLE IN THE APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2019-7-18

this week America celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of a monumental achievement for our country and all of humankind, the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first human beings on the Moon. prgtoken Like families across America and across the world, our family gathered in front of the television in our living room that Sunday night of July 20, 1969, to watch this history unfold. I was State's attorney then, and we lived in a duplex in Burlington. prgtoken Our 5-year-old son Kevin asked if he could stay up late to watch, and of course, Marcelle and I agreed. He stretched out on the floor in his PJs. He had nodded off by the time the images from the Moon started to come across, and we roused our little fellow. prgtoken We knew this was a night we would always remember. prgtoken The next day, I went to court for an arraignment. Then I met with police officers about several matters, and we all had a hard time concentrating as we excitedly discussed what we had seen the night before. prgtoken As Neil Armstrong so famously said, his one small step was a giant leap for all of humanity. prgtoken As he and other astronauts often noted, that leap was made possible not just by his step, but by the small steps of thousands of men and women across America who participated in the space program, including some from the town of Vergennes, VT. prgtoken Today, 50 years ago, the Apollo 11 mission was hurtling toward the moon, but getting to the Moon is not a matter of just pointing the nose of a craft and igniting the powerful engines. First, the command module had to dock with the lunar expeditionary module, then leave Earth's orbit, then navigate to get into lunar orbit, and then return. Throughout the process, Michael Collins needed to use the craft's engines, known as a burn, to adjust the heading. prgtoken But with no option to refuel, these burns had to be precise and effective, and any deviation from the planned fuel usage had to be worked into future plans. Otherwise, there would be no return for America's heroes. This is where Vergennes came in. prgtoken Vermont has a long tradition of building precision tools and machinery, and NASA turned to Simmonds Precision of Vergennes, VT, to ensure that the Apollo 11 crew and Mission Control knew exactly how much fuel they had. The fuel probes and valves had to be as nearly perfect as possible, and they had to perform perfectly in varying levels of microgravity. It was an immense technological challenge, which the engineers and workers in Vergennes met. prgtoken Fifty years later, the company is still there. Now operating under the name Collins Aerospace, they still make fuel probes, along with other aerospace technology that seems to be able to do the impossible. When you enter the factory, along their wall of history, the Apollo Program commands a special place of pride. It is a reminder of how the small steps taken by Americans everywhere, when working together, can
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Ed Case (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2019-7-18

. Madam , so to that point, my experience in Hawaii, where we have had a balanced budget for a long time--and I was a State legislator--so I had knock-down, drag-out fights over all this kind of stuff, whether it be to increase spending, or tax reductions, or tax increases. But it was always against the backdrop that it had to balance. prgtoken My sense was always that the folks that we represented understood that that presented us with a series of tough choices, and they understood that in the big picture, the tough choices that we had to make as a result of a balanced budget, were for the better, the overall, long-term, big picture fiscal health, economic health and social health of Hawaii. prgtoken Did the gentleman have that experience in Utah? prgtoken from Utah.
The Economy (Executive Session)
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2019-7-18

just another day on Wall Street and just another news story. The New York Times' headline today was ``Big Banks Are Earning Billions of Dollars. 's Tax Cuts Are A Big Reason.'' prgtoken So Congress can continue to do tax cuts for Wall Street. Congress can continue to weaken rules on Wall Street. Congress has forgotten. They have this collective amnesia about what happened 10 years ago when this country's economy almost imploded because of Wall Street greed. So now Congress--because of the tax cut and because of continued relaxation of Wall Street financial stability safety rules, Wall Street is doing really well again. prgtoken However, Congress can't pass an overtime bill--I mean, sorry. Congress can't pass a minimum wage bill. The last minimum wage increase in this Congress was signed by President in 2007. President never did it, and President continues to oppose a minimum wage increase. prgtoken President has rolled back an overtime rule, which in the State of Indiana--the Presiding Officer's State--almost 100,000 workers were going to get a raise because of the overtime rule we passed a couple years ago. So people, if they work more than 40 hours, they ought to get paid for more than 40 hours--President rolled that back--and 130,000 workers in my State alone would have gotten a big bump in their wages because they were working 45, 50, or 60 hours a week. prgtoken This Congress will not pass an infrastructure bill. Look at the conditions of the roads in Cleveland, Toledo, Mansfield, Findlay, Akron, Youngstown, Gallipolis, Chillicothe, and Portsmouth, in my State, and all kinds of communities in Indiana, which the Presiding Officer represents. Congress can always find the time and can always find the money to help the richest 1 percent and help the big banks, but we can't turn around and do what prgtoken we ought to do on the minimum wage, what we ought to do on the overtime rule, and what we ought to do to expand the earned income tax credit. I do appreciate the Presiding Officer's interest, especially in the earned income tax credit--what he has tried to do there. We just simply can't find the time to do that. prgtoken We always help the people who have much in this society, and we just never get around, in this Congress, to helping the people who need a break. prgtoken .
RAISE THE WAGE ACT
Mark Takano (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2019-7-18

I include in the Record a letter from the National Employment Law Project in support. July 16, 2019. The undersigned organizations enthusiastically support the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders (VT) and Patty Murray (WA), Representatives Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott (VA), Mark Pocan (WI) and Stephanie Murphy (FL). If enacted, this legislation would: Gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2025; After 2025, adjust the minimum wage each year to keep pace with growth in the typical worker's wages; Phase out the outdated subminimum wage for tipped workers, which has been frozen at a meager $2.13 since 1991; and, Sunset the much criticized ability of employers to pay workers with disabilities a subminimum wage through certificates issued by DOL. Phase out the subminimum wage for workers under the age of 20. At a time when wage stagnation and income inequality pose serious threats to our families and our economy, the Raise the Wage Act of 2019 will begin to reverse that cycle and raise pay broadly across the bottom of the workforce. According to the Economic Policy Institute, this Act will deliver long-overdue raises to more than 1 in 4 workers, 90% of whom are over the age of 20. The average age of workers who would get a raise is 35, nearly half have some years of college education. In fact, those who work year-round would see a raise in the order of $3,000 a year, which is enough to make a tremendous difference in the life of a preschool teacher, bank teller, or fastfood worker who today struggles to get by on around $20,000 per year. 28 percent are working parents with children, and half have family incomes of less than $40,000 per year. Women make up nearly 58 percent of the workers who would benefit from a $15 minimum wage, which would be instrumental in helping to close the gender-wage-gap. Raising the minimum wage to $15 would also significantly benefit workers of color, with 38 percent of African American workers and 33 percent of Latinos seeing a pay increase once this law goes into effect. These are the frontline workers who make America run--yet due to the erosion of the real value of the minimum wage over the last half century, they are struggling even as our economy enjoys a solid recovery. The time for the Raise the Wage Act is long overdue, and we cannot delay in working toward its passage. We call on Congress to enact this important piece of legislation as quickly as possible, and for President to sign it when it comes to his desk. Sincerely, RI Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW); Raise Minimum Wages; Raise t
RAISE THE WAGE ACT
Steny H. Hoyer (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2019-7-18

I thank the gentleman for yielding. prgtoken I like the gentleman from Pennsylvania. He and I are friends. We disagree. prgtoken I proudly voted against the tax bill which, I think, spiked the deficit, and we had a continuation of the extraordinary growth of jobs and the economy under the administration, and that has continued in a straight line. It didn't spike up--straight line. prgtoken , I rise in strong support of the Raise the Wage Act. This is direct--not indirect, not trickle down, direct--saying to some of the people who worked hardest and make the least: We are going to help. We think what you do is valuable to our community and to our society. prgtoken We need to make certain that wages keep pace with the cost of living. We haven't done that. For 10 years, we haven't given a raise. prgtoken We need to value the labor that our people contribute into the economy. That is why we have a Federal minimum wage, to ensure that everyone who works hard, full time, ought to be able to afford, not simply to get by, but to try to get ahead. prgtoken I have heard from many in my district who have told me that increasing the minimum wage will have a major impact on their incomes and their lives. prgtoken Dana Hudson from Owings in Calvert County, Maryland, makes the minimum wage of $10.10 an hour and supplements his income with farming on his land. He is 60 years old and looking ahead to retirement, knowing that a higher minimum wage in his final years of working will go a long way towards giving him and his wife retirement security. prgtoken Delano Alexander of Clinton, Maryland, is an environmental services aide at Prince George's Hospital Center. He earns $12.85 an hour, presently, and if we pass this bill, he will get an income boost through the years to help him and his family get ahead. prgtoken Victor Reyes of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, started his career as a nonunion day laborer barely making a living. Now he has a union construction job, and he is earning better pay. He wrote to ask me to support a higher minimum wage so that others who are working with him and haven't found better jobs can get the same economic security he now has. prgtoken We referred to 27 million, 33 million--whatever that number is between 27 and 33--are going to get a raise by this bill. That didn't happen in the tax bill. Some of the richest people in America got a huge increase, but not the average working guy and gal. prgtoken In June, we marked 10 years since the last minimum wage increase went into effect, the longest period without an increase since the minimum wage was first introduced under Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. prgtoken I was proud to bring legislation to the floor in 2007 to raise the minimum wage the last time Congress did so, and I am proud to do it again today. This is long overdue, something the previous majority should have made a priority but failed to accomplish. prgtoken Today, low-income workers
RAISE THE WAGE ACT
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2019-7-18

I rise today in support of H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act. We must advocate for an increase in the minimum wage, as stagnant wages impede economic mobility and are a detriment to our nation's working class. prgtoken According to the Economic Policy Institute, the current minimum wage places nearly 78,000 Texans at this unlivable income, while 118,000 Texans earn even less. The Raise the Wage Act will result in a significant increase in the average annual earnings for Texans. In my home district, this figure is estimated to increase by 18.2 percent, which will make an immeasurable different in our communities. prgtoken Many people in my district are forced to work multiple jobs for long hours to ensure food is on the table for their families. This legislation will eliminate this burden on our working-class families. The economy may be growing, and wages may be rising, but the benefits of economic and wage growth are not felt equally. Individuals working 40 hours a week should be able to afford the basic necessities for themselves and their family. prgtoken I proudly stand in this chamber as a cosponsor of H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act. I urge my colleagues on both sides to join me in voting for this legislation to promote economic freedom and equity for all Americans.
IN HONOR OF SERGEANT FREDERICK JOHN HORNE, II FOR HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
Debbie Dingell (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2019-7-18

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Sergeant Frederick John Horne, II for his dedicated service. His commitment to country and community is worthy of commendation. prgtoken Sergeant Horne entered the Armed Forces on September 7, 1967 and was stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky. He served in Vietnam where he was wounded in combat twice and received two Purple Hearts. Sergeant Horne was honorably discharged for his dedicated service on September 1, 1973. He returned to Michigan after a year at Valley Forge Hospital in Pennsylvania and worked for General Motors until his eventual retirement. Today we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Sergeant Horne receiving his Purple Heart for his sacrifice. He has shown tremendous bravery and selflessness throughout his decorated service. prgtoken Sergeant Horne has shown a tremendous love for his country and community. His years as a member of the United States Military exemplify the selflessness of public service and stand as a testament to duty, honor, and country. We thank Sergeant Horne for his commitment to protecting the American people. His service underscores the significant price of freedom, and the dedication and sacrifice of our servicemembers in the Armed Forces and their families. prgtoken Madam , I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Sergeant Frederick John Horne, II for his exemplary service. He has effectively served Michigan and our nation through his selflessness and leadership.