mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HONORING BARD HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE PROGRAM
Donald M. Payne, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2019-3-11

I rise today to congratulate the Bard High School Early College science faculty for their work to advance science, technology, engineering, and math programs for their students. prgtoken Earlier this year, one of their teachers, Maria Agapito, was only 1 of 35 science teachers in the country who was selected by the Society for Science and the Public to receive a $1,000 grant. prgtoken Ms. Agapito and other science teachers will be using this grant to create a multiyear science program for student research. They will be able to use the funds to help buy equipment and materials, and for student projects. prgtoken Science teachers at Bard and public schools across the country are doing great things to help their students prepare for an increasingly technological future. prgtoken I am proud to represent such bright students and passionate educators. prgtoken , I thank all of America's teachers in this country and wish them continued success.
INTRODUCTION OF THE HIDDEN FIGURES CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2019-3-11

. Madam , today I am joined by my good friend from Oklahoma, Ranking Member Lucas, in introducing the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act. prgtoken Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson were pioneers. At a time of male dominance and racial segregation at NASA, women and their talents were often overlooked. When women were permitted to contribute, they were routinely not given credit for their work. Women of color faced additional daily indignities. In spite of these challenges, these women chose to apply their considerable talents to help land the first man on the moon. Their stories, portrayed in the Hidden Figures book and film, represent the stories of hundreds of women computers, mathematicians, and engineers working at NASA and its precursor organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), from the 1930s to the 1970s. prgtoken The success of the NASA space program is due in large part to their brilliance, hard work, and perseverance in the face of adversity. What better example can we hope to give our sons and daughters? prgtoken This bill will bestow Congress's highest civilian honor in appreciation of the achievements of Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, and all the women computers, mathematicians, and engineers at NACA and NASA during this important time in our history. prgtoken I am pleased to be joined by Ranking Member Lucas and our colleagues in the Senate in introducing the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act. I commend Senator Coons for his leadership in championing this bill. Fifty years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, it is high time we recognize the contributions the women of NASA have made in service to the nation. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to join us and help us move this legislation forward into law.
HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER MOBILITY DEMONSTRATION ACT OF 2019
Emanuel Cleaver (Democrat, MO) \u2014 2019-3-11

this piece of legislation is particularly significant to me. I lived in public housing for 5 years. I saw what the possibilities were there. I saw people who did not make it, and I saw people who did made it. prgtoken The one thing that I found difficult to accept was the fact that if you lived in public housing, almost every rule made was designed, unintentionally, to keep you in public housing. prgtoken My father didn't tell the truth about the fact that he was cleaning up at an office building on Saturday earning some additional money and then serving at parties on the weekends. He had to pretend that that didn't happen because he was saving money trying to get our family in our own home. And it worked. He is watching C-SPAN right now, hearing his son talk about what could have happened. prgtoken The essence of this bill was passed as a part of the appropriations package that was signed into law earlier this year. It promotes housing mobility for individuals who rely on housing vouchers. prgtoken Under this bill, the Department of Housing and Urban Development would establish a demonstration program to allow interested public housing agencies to form consortia to enhance mobility and provide residents with increased opportunity to move to higher-income communities. prgtoken There is something contagious about working around only poor people. If you live in a neighborhood and all you see are people who are struggling, it is easy to come to the conclusion that that is the way life is: that you are just supposed to struggle and that you are just supposed to barely make it. If you don't see the signs of people who are making progress--people who are achieving--you might come to the conclusion that achievement is beyond one's reach. prgtoken This was demonstrated with a research project from Harvard economists Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, and Lawrence Katz which indicates that children who move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods increase their chances of success. More specifically, the study found that children who were able to use housing vouchers to move to lower-poverty areas were 32 percent more likely to attend college and earned 31 percent more a year than their counterparts in lower-income neighborhoods. prgtoken This bill removes barriers by providing families with the tools to navigate a move from one neighborhood to another. H.R. 1122 will allow more families to thrive by increasing their access to higher performing schools, employment opportunities, fresh and affordably priced foods, and safe playgrounds. prgtoken There is something about homeownership or living in a nice neighborhood. Our family was able to move out. My father bought a house in a White neighborhood where we could not live and had it moved at night from the Midwestern Parkway to Gerald Street, where my father lives today. And, my goodness, I wish the world could see what transpired. prgtoken My father's yard is in contention with a
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2019-3-11

on International Women's Day, we reflect on the enormous contributions women make worldwide to their communities and their countries across every aspect of society including justice, politics, culture, peacebuilding, the economy, and national security. On this day, we also recognize and recommit to fighting on behalf of the many women whose voices governments seek to silence. Around the world, women take enormous risks to advance the rights of their fellow citizens and to promote the principles of freedom of expression, religion, and assembly. They fight for rights to access education and healthcare, and they fight discrimination, corruption, and violence. For their words and for their actions, all too often, governments turn these women into political prisoners. prgtoken Today, I want to highlight just a tiny fraction of the countless number of women and girls held behind bars unjustly. Similarly, unfortunately, the repressive governments detaining these women are just a small fraction of the governments around the world that lock up women for exercising their fundamental freedoms. prgtoken Just last week, the government of Saudi Arabia announced that it would put on trial its country's leading women's rights activists who have been in prison without charges since May 2018. The crackdown on these activists began just weeks ahead of the much-anticipated lifting of the ban on women driving, one of the very causes for which many of the detained activists had campaigned. While some were quickly released, others remain imprisoned. They include Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-Yousef, Eman al-Nafjan, Nouf Abdelaziz, Mayaa al-Zahrani, Samar Badawi, Nassima al-Saada, Hatoon al-Fassi, Shadan al-Onezi, and Amal al-Harbi. Credible reports indicate that Saudi interrogators tortured at least four of the women, including with electric shocks and whippings and sexual harassment and assault. prgtoken In the Philippines, Senator Leila de Lima, a brave champion of human rights, launched an investigation into extrajudicial executions that began shortly after President Duterte took office in 2016. As one of the only leaders bold enough to oppose President Duterte's ``war on drugs,'' she has faced prolonged arbitrary detention, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. President Duterte has sought to silence her courageous voice as she spoke out against widespread human rights violations, including thousands of extrajudicial executions of mostly poor and marginalized people. prgtoken In Egypt, Hanan Badr el-Din, a human rights defender and cofounder of the Families of the Forcibly Disappeared Association, was detained on May 6, 2017, at Qanatar prison while visiting an individual who had been forcibly disappeared. She started her activism following the forced disappearance of her husband in 2013. She suffers from a serious genetic disorder, and her health is rapidly deteriorating. prgtoken China is
HONORING WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
Darren Soto (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2019-3-11

in honor of Women's History Month, I want to recognize Juanita Geathers. prgtoken Juanita Geathers has six children and nine grandchildren with her husband, Lemuel Geathers, former mayor of Winter Haven. She has spent 34 years as an educator in Polk County schools, retiring as an assistant principal in 2004. She graduated from Jewett High School as valedictorian in 1959, went on to receive her bachelor of science degree from Rollins College and a master's in education from the University of South Florida. prgtoken Juanita served as Secretary for the Florida ic Party State Executive Committee and was the highest ranking African American woman during her tenure as Secretary. She also served as a ic National Convention delegate from Florida for three conventions. prgtoken As an active member of her community, she is a recipient of the Outstanding Community Service Award. She has served on the Polk Education Association, Polk County Opportunity Council, Polk County Voters League, Girls and Boys Club, and Girls, Inc. She is also a lifetime member of the NAACP and a member of the Hurst Chapel AME Church. prgtoken For that, Ms. Juanita Geathers, we honor you. Recognizing Monica Readus
COOPERATE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND WATCH ACT OF 2019
Maxine Waters (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2019-3-11

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , H.R. 758 would strengthen cooperation between financial institutions and law enforcement agencies to better detect, deter, and combat terrorism and financial crimes. prgtoken With respect to the Bank Secrecy Act anti-money laundering, referred to as BSA/AML, supervisory actions, this bill would carve out a narrow safe harbor for financial institutions to keep a customer's account open at the written request of a law enforcement agency, including those at the Federal, State, local, and Tribal levels. prgtoken This cooperation will enable law enforcement agencies to follow the money in the bank accounts of terrorists, human traffickers, corrupt officials, and those involved with organized crime. prgtoken Of equal importance, the legislation provides an assurance to financial institutions, clarifying that they will not be held liable for their cooperation and collaboration with law enforcement in helping to thwart illicit finance. prgtoken I will note that law enforcement agencies are currently expected to provide a written notice to financial institutions, requesting that the accounts of bad actors remain open to monitor transactions and build stronger criminal cases. However, this practice does not always happen and exposes financial institutions to enforcement actions from their banking regulators. Banks should not be put in a position to choose whether or not to help law enforcement out of concern about regulatory consequences. prgtoken We simply cannot allow bad actors to launder money and finance terror through our banks. H.R. 758 will encourage financial institutions to maintain a strong partnership with law enforcement. prgtoken In the 115th Congress, this bill was unanimously approved by the Financial Services Committee. The House passed the bill by a vote of 379-4. prgtoken I thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster) for introducing this bipartisan piece of legislation. This bill is one example of our committee's efforts to fight terrorism, corruption, and financial crime. I urge all Members to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 758. .
Central America (Executive Session)
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2019-3-11

last month, just hours after Congress passed bipartisan legislation to fully fund our Federal Government, I was privileged to join with Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and four Members of the House of Representatives, including our at-large Congresswoman from Delaware, Lisa Blunt Rochester, to lead a congressional delegation to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador--three countries that are oftentimes collectively referred to as the Northern Triangle. prgtoken Our delegation was on a factfinding mission. We wanted to drill down on the root causes of illegal immigration from Central America and assess the effectiveness of a new approach in recent years to help improve conditions on the ground in those three countries. prgtoken On our flight to Guatemala, several of us watched as President --in order to build his long-promised wall--declared a national emergency, even though while illegal immigration spiked in the last couple of months across our southern border, if you go back to 2001 through the end of 2018, it has actually dropped by, believe it or not, 80 percent. prgtoken As former chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I understand the need for secure borders, and I have supported efforts to enhance border security over the last two decades that I have served in this body. prgtoken I have been down to Central America any number of times with people like Gen. John Kelly, when he was the SOUTHCOM commander, with Jeh Johnson, with Ron Johnson, both of whom served as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and John McCain. We went into that part of the world and along our border with Mexico to better understand what our needs are for border security. prgtoken Since 2003, the United States has spent, believe it or not, $263 billion--that is almost one-quarter of a trillion dollars--on border security. prgtoken We have doubled the number of border agents. We have deployed hundreds of miles of barriers and roads in places where they are most effective. We have funded highly sophisticated surveillance aircraft, equipment on drones and airplanes, helicopters, mile-high dirigibles, along with motion detectors, high-speed boats, tunnel detectors, and a lot more. prgtoken The approach on border security at our border with Mexico needs to be multilayered, and it is. There are some places barriers do make sense-- a lot of places, in fact. There are some places that actually walls-- the kind President has envisioned, think San Diego and maybe Juarez--make sense, but there are a lot of other places where different kinds of barriers make sense. In some places, roads alongside of barriers make sense. prgtoken We have deployed aircraft. We have deployed fixed-wing aircraft. We have deployed helicopters. We have deployed drones. If you just put them out there by themselves, they are not going to do much good, but if you put highly sophisticated
Declaration of National Emergency (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-3-11

. By the end of this week, the Senate will vote on a resolution to terminate the President's emergency declaration. I have laid out the number of reasons why the Senate must vote to terminate. The President has not demonstrated that an emergency exists. During the announcement of the declaration, the President said he ``didn't need to do this.'' A few weeks later, 58 former national security officials, including former Secretaries of State and Defense, said there was ``no factual basis'' for an emergency declaration. For the sake of the facts, the Senate must vote to terminate. prgtoken We also have no idea which military construction projects might be on the chopping block. Senators who vote against this declaration do so at their own peril. They may be voting to deprive necessary funds from military installations in their States. For the sake of the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, the Senate must vote to terminate. prgtoken Of course, the constitutional questions loom largest. The President failed to convince Congress, the American people, and, perhaps most glaringly, Mexico to pay for his border wall. Now he is attempting to use emergency powers to subvert the will of Congress. If allowed to stand, this emergency declaration would be a defacement of our constitutional order and one of the largest power grabs for the executive branch in the more than 200 years this Nation has been in existence. prgtoken My colleagues must contemplate the possibility that if President were to succeed with his phony emergency declaration, future Presidents would have a precedent to claim emergencies whenever Congress failed to endorse their policies. In effect, Congress would no longer be a coequal branch of government. It would change the balance of power rather dramatically in ways the Founding Fathers would never have contemplated. In fact, it would horrify many of the Founding Fathers, who were so worried about an overweening Executive in the personage of King George. prgtoken I know many of my friends are afraid to cross the President. We know he can be vindictive. I know that several support the idea of building a wall but want to oppose the emergency declaration. I would say to my colleagues respectfully: You have been able to express your support for a border wall numerous times in the past Congress and in this one. Another amendment vote will accomplishment nothing new; it will only poison Congress's ability to pass this resolution. prgtoken This is not about policy at our southern border; this is about one thing and one thing alone--Presidential overreach. prgtoken Later this week, the Senate ought to vote a clean resolution to terminate the emergency. The bottom line is very simple: If we were upholding the Constitution, it would be 100 to nothing against the emergency. If there were no politics, no fear, no worry about crossing a President, the vote would be 100 to nothing. If p
THE EQUALITY ACT
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2019-3-11

I speak now to a bill we will introduce this Wednesday, the Equality Act. The Equality Act will be introduced by a group of us in the Senate and by another group led by Congressman Cicilline in the House. prgtoken It is an appropriate moment for us to ponder in this Chamber why this piece of legislation is part of our American journey toward the vision of opportunity for all and why we all should be supporting this beautiful legislative proposal. prgtoken My involvement in the Equality Act began in my home State of Oregon, when I was serving in the legislature there, and we had the question of how can we change the systematic discrimination against our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. How can we give them the same opportunity everyone else has? prgtoken So we came together and said we should do an Oregon Equality Act, an Oregon Equality Act that would create the same basic protections the Civil Rights Act has for race and gender and ethnicity. prgtoken We went about doing that. I was the speaker. I worked very hard to make that happen, and we succeeded. We ended discrimination in Oregon based on who you are or whom you love. Discrimination should be ended across the whole country. prgtoken I arrived here in January 2009, and I was assigned to the Health, Education, prgtoken Labor, and Pensions Committee--the Health Committee. I asked Senator Kennedy if I could possibly serve on this committee to help fight for health and education and labor, and he arranged that. I will never forget having his voicemail on my phone saying: Yes, you are a member of the committee. prgtoken A few months later came the real surprise. Senator Kennedy was struggling with the brain cancer that killed him later that year, and through his team, he asked me to take on one of his civil rights bills, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. prgtoken That was to end discrimination for LGBTQ Americans in employment, give them a fair chance to get a job here. Well, this is something that had been part of our Equality Act in Oregon. We had gotten that done, and because I helped lead that fight, he asked me to take over and lead the fight to end employment nondiscrimination. prgtoken That was 2009. It took 4 years of work--work with the community and work with our legislators inside this building. Then, finally, in 2013, the time was ripe to put it on the floor and have this debate. This Chamber, with the supermajority, bipartisan vote, said, yes, let's end discrimination in employment, and we passed the Employment Non- Discrimination Act. prgtoken Then I went over to the House, and it died without consideration. I got together with the advocates and asked, where do we go from here with the House not acting? Do we simply continue to reintroduce the Employment Non-Discrimination Act--which had been first introduced in 1996, first considered on this floor and almost passed just one vote short in 1998. Do we continue to do that? prgtoken Out of
FREEDOM AND EQUALITY FOR ALL
Katie Hill (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2019-3-12

. Madam , I rise in support of the Equality Act. prgtoken As the first LGBTQ woman in Congress from the State of California and the second openly bisexual woman to serve in Congress overall, I could not be prouder to support this landmark legislation. prgtoken Throughout my run, I got so many questions about why I chose to be honest about my sexuality. I am married to a man, I am from a purple, historically , district, and everyone said it would be easier for me to hide who I am. But the reality is that representation matters, especially for the LGBTQ community, when so many of our basic rights are still at risk. prgtoken Through my work on the issue of homelessness, I have seen how disproportionately our community is affected by discrimination still. The Equality Act will provide basic protections in terms of employment, housing, education, and more. Everyone should have a fair chance to earn a living and provide a home for their families without fear of harassment or discrimination. prgtoken I could not be prouder to be part of a new generation of leaders who will be the ones to finally pass the Equality Act and fight for true freedom and equality for all.