mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
John Kennedy (Republican, LA) \u2014 2021-11-17

. Gosh, , I wish I didn't have to give this talk. prgtoken I think it is a bipartisan observation that, unfortunately, Americans are paying a lot more for just about everything. I asked my staff to put together some inflation numbers, and they are just breathtaking: gasoline, up 50 percent; rental cars, up 42.9 percent; you need a used car or truck, they are up 26 percent; a turkey, 20.2 percent; bacon, 20.2 percent; beef, 20.1 percent; pork chops, 15.9 percent; bedroom furniture, 12 percent higher than last year; eggs, up 11.6 percent; televisions, up 10 percent; frozen fruits and vegetables, up 7\1/2\ percent; chicken, up 8.8 percent; shoes, up 8 percent; baby food, up 8 percent; children's clothes, up 7.6 percent. And I could keep going. Unbelievable. prgtoken Now, I believe in calling them like I see them. I think most fairminded Americans know that President is responsible for this inflation. You don't have to be Einstein's cousin to figure that out. But put the politics aside. The shame of all this is that the burden of these price increases is falling on the backs of the American people, and while Washington is obsessed with the politics of it, the American people and the people in my State have to bear the cost. prgtoken A lot of people, , as you well know, just can't afford to pay 50 percent more to fill up their gas tanks. They can't afford to have to stop and go arrange a bank loan to go to the gas station or to the grocery store. prgtoken Unfortunately, for Americans in my State and your State and across the country, here with winter coming on, the cost of heating homes is also going up just in time for temperatures to fall. So the cost of heating is going up, and the temperatures are going down. A lot of families are going to have to shell out up to 30 percent more for natural gas than they did this past year. Ask them if their income went up 30 percent. prgtoken As our days grow shorter, the economic landscape, unfortunately, is getting darker. prgtoken Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It is a cherished American holiday. prgtoken But even the holiday that Americans observe in order to count our blessings is coming with new hardships. According to the New York Times, Thanksgiving 2021, and I quote, ``could be the most expensive meal in the history of the holiday.'' prgtoken As I just mentioned a few seconds ago, frozen turkey is going to set you back 20 percent more than it did last year. If you like gravy with your turkey, get ready to pay 7 percent more for gravy. Maybe you don't eat meat. Maybe you are a vegan. Unfortunately, frozen vegetables are also going to cost you 7 to 7\1/2\ percent more, and the high prices only apply if you can find food in the supermarkets. Some of these food products, you can't even find with Google. There is no guarantee that the cranberry sauce and the sweet potatoes will be in stock come dinnertime. prgtoken Now, this is America.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Rick Scott (Republican, FL) \u2014 2021-11-17

I appreciate my colleague, and I am proud to serve on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with her. prgtoken Just remember, what we are talking about here is a supply chain problem, and let's not ignore a very important fact. That committee has not held a single hearing on this crisis. prgtoken I have been calling for Secretary Buttigieg and Secretary Raimondo to testify in the Commerce Committee on 's supply chain crisis for weeks and haven't seen one bit of action taken to make that happen. I don't think we can wait any longer. American families can't wait any longer. prgtoken 's supply chain crisis is hurting American families everywhere right now. The President's failed policies and unconstitutional vaccine mandates are stifling business growth, crippling our supply chain, and fueling his--his--inflation crisis. Restoring our supply chains is critical to getting the American economy rolling again and something President doesn't seem to understand, but we need solutions. prgtoken I actually feel sorry that my ic colleagues have to cover for the President's failures instead of actually helping the American people. Passing this bill today would have given us the opportunity to provide some needed relief in the supply chain and help lower costs for American families who are worried about whether they will be able to afford Thanksgiving dinner and Hanukkah gifts and holiday gifts. prgtoken We need solutions now, and today's inaction is a perfect example why the American people don't trust Washington to get anything done. prgtoken .
TRIBUTE TO JAMES AND MARTY HARRIS
Tammy Baldwin (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2021-11-17

today I rise to honor Wisconsin residents James ``Jim'' and Marty for their humanitarian work in Southeast Asia and their embrace of those displaced from that region. These two lifelong educators have made it their life's mission to welcome Hmong and Lao refugee families to Central Wisconsin, as well as make a positive impact for those living in Laos. prgtoken Over the course of more than 20 years, the ' have made over 20 trips to Laos. Beginning in 2000, they began the effort to reconnect families from their Wisconsin community with friends and relatives left behind when they departed their homeland. During these trips, they assisted Lao villagers in desperate need of medical care, helped provide hospitals with medical supplies, and provided many Lao schools with their very first library, a most appropriate endeavor for the now retired elementary school principal and retired English and art teacher. prgtoken However, their largest impact comes with their assistance in the removal of bombs, land mines, and other unexploded ordnances that dot the Laotian landscape after years of war and turmoil. As Jim told me during a visit I made to Laos several years ago, ``Many villagers are waiting 40 years for four days of help.'' To address this, the 's founded the nonprofit ``We Help War Victims,'' an organization that assists survivors of war and other conflicts to rebuild their lives. With half of its annual budget stemming from fundraising sales of Lao coffee beans, it allows paid teams to continue ordnance removal even when Jim and Marty aren't able to be halfway around the world. Countless lives and limbs have been saved because of this continuing work and dedication. Now, villages can enjoy expanded gardens and rice fields. This increased agricultural output allows these populations to better sustain themselves and provide food for neighboring communities. prgtoken With every trip, Jim returned to Wisconsin with relics and mementos gathered during his time in Laos. Slowly, this collection has amassed to become one of, if not the largest, known private collection of Southeast Asian artifacts in all of the United States. Jim started off by displaying some of these items at the school he worked at as principal. In 2016, he made the collection more accessible by developing an exhibition called ``From Laos to America: The Spirit of '76'', which was housed at the Wausau Center Mall in Wausau, WI. Since then, more than 10,000 people have visited the museum. prgtoken The ``From Laos to America'' collection now enters into a new chapter in 2021. This impressive collection has found a new home in Washington Square in downtown Wausau. Jim and Marty have also partnered with the Hmong American Center to ensure that this collection remains in central Wisconsin. This new home will highlight the full collection and provide educational opportunities so the community and visitors alike can learn
ORDERS FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-11-17

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m Thursday, November 18; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 4350, the National Defense Authorization Act, postcloture; further, that all time during adjournment, morning business, recess, and leader time count postcloture.
TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
Al Green (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2021-11-17

. Madam , I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. prgtoken And still I rise, Madam , as a proud ally of the transgender community. And I rise tonight with a special message. This message means a lot to me because I truly believe that the pledge is correct. We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. prgtoken All cannot exclude the trans community. All has to include the trans babies and the children in Texas who are having to suffer through debates about what they can do athletically. All has to include people who lose their lives simply because they are being who they are. prgtoken I rise with a message of I am with you, I am your ally, and I live today to live to see the day that transwomen will not have to live in fear of dying because of who they are and trans children can grow up and simply be children in this country where we pledge liberty and justice for all.
CENSURING REPRESENTATIVE PAUL GOSAR
Nydia M. Velázquez (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-11-17

. Madam , Representative Gosar is a member of this institution as am I, and as is Representative Ocasio-Cortez, and so are roughly fifty other women of color. prgtoken We all walk the same hallways and took the same oath of office. We are here to serve our districts and the American people. The graphic video that Rep. Gosar posted violates every sense of mutual respect that we should have for one another. Not only that, but it also dangerously promotes violence towards a sitting member of Congress who is a powerful Latina. It's exactly the type of misogynistic and racist recklessness that the previous President deployed, and social media companies eventually stripped him of his accounts. prgtoken Rep. Gosar needs to be held accountable for this and that's what we are doing today. We need to deliver a message that in the people's house, this dangerous behavior will not be tolerated.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2021-11-17

earlier this afternoon, I convened a meeting of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee as its chairman. We had noted an agenda to act on the nomination of Dilawar Syed to be the Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration. prgtoken This was not our first attempt, and I am going to outline all the efforts that we have made to get a vote on Mr. Syed. But to my disappointment, the were there ready to vote on the nomination. prgtoken We also had two important pieces of legislation that we were scheduled to vote on, and every refused to show up, denying us a quorum to be able to conduct business. prgtoken Let me share with my colleagues the state of play on this individual and on this nomination. President nominated Dilawar Syed to be the Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration on March 3. He is a well-qualified entrepreneur and a small business advocate. prgtoken After reviewing his paperwork and ethics agreement, the committee held a hearing on Mr. Syed's nomination on April 21. Now, during that hearing, Ranking Member Paul raised serious concerns about PPP and Economic Injury Disaster Loan--EIDL--received by Lumiata, a tech company from which Mr. Syed serves as the CEO. After weeks of negotiations, I brokered a compromise between Ranking Member Paul and the SBA that provided access to the company's loan applications. prgtoken On June 8, I personally sat down with Ranking Member Paul and a representative of the Small Business Administration outside the Senate Chamber to review those documents and ensure that the loans were properly attained, which they clearly were. The prgtoken following day, the documents were made available to all of the committee members on the Small Business Committee. prgtoken Now, what that record showed is that those loans were taken out in regular order, that they were entitled to the PPP loan and the EIDL. But it also showed something that was quite remarkable. Mr. Syed returned the PPP loan without forgiveness. He was entitled to forgiveness, but, as he said, he was able to get access to additional capital and didn't need the government help and thought it was the right thing to return the loan without forgiveness. What exemplary action. prgtoken Satisfied that we had resolved the issue, Senator Paul agreed to my request that the committee schedule a vote to report out the nominee on June 16. After achieving a quorum of Senators, I moved to report the nomination by voice vote, as requested--a common practice in the Senate. A few members asked to be recorded as voting no, which is also a common practice in the Senate. prgtoken However, we were later informed by the Senate Parliamentarian that the nomination could not be reported to the full Senate because a staff member raised an objection that there had not been a rollcall vote in our committee. prgtoken A new objection was then rais
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 789, CENSURING REPRESENTATIVE PAUL GOSAR
Mary Gay Scanlon (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2021-11-17

. Madam , as I indicated, there are some in the Conference who want to kick 13 s off their committees for voting for an infrastructure bill that will benefit their constituents, but when a Member of Congress publicly celebrates a video depicting the murder of a colleague, silence. prgtoken It is disgraceful that Congress is the one place in the United States where a video calling for the murder of a Member of Congress is not universally condemned, and it is a sad thing for this institution. prgtoken Madam , we are here to address the conduct of a Member of Congress who disseminated and celebrated a video that portrays him murdering another Member of Congress and attacking the President of the United States. prgtoken The evidence speaks for itself. There is nothing more to review. Nothing to investigate. No questions to answer or facts to find. prgtoken We have all seen the video. We have heard Mr. Gosar's response, and we have seen the lack of response from the Party leadership to condemn Representative Gosar's celebration of violence to make clear that such actions are unacceptable, and that political violence is unacceptable in the United States of America. prgtoken In the absence of meaningful action by his own party, it is up to Members of the House of Representatives and the country as a whole to decide whether such actions deserve consequences. prgtoken Today, we ask ourselves, is this behavior acceptable to you? Is it acceptable to the American people? The way we vote today says a lot, not only about the integrity of the Members who are entrusted with the privilege of representing this great country, but also the direction in which we are headed. prgtoken I am grateful to the few colleagues who have the integrity and the guts, quite frankly, to condemn Mr. Gosar's actions. But, once again, leadership lacks the courage to properly manage the actions of their conference, and so Congress must act. prgtoken Rejecting political violence should not be a partisan effort. How far has the party of Lincoln fallen that it would excuse this conduct? We must say that political violence is not acceptable in the United States of America. prgtoken Madam , I urge all of my colleagues to support the rule and underlying resolution.
PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS
Teresa Leger Fernandez (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2021-11-17

. Madam , I think this reference to how history will judge us is important because we are facing a historical moment right now. The decisions we make on the floor of this House this week will determine whether our future is one that is inclusive and that includes every single family and community in this great Union of the United States or whether it continues to leave people behind. prgtoken Right now, those who are being left behind include the vast majority of Americans. What we are doing with this legislation is creating the kind of opportunity, creating the kind of jobs so that everybody can come forward and thrive. prgtoken We are focusing on women. This is a women's agenda. The Build Back Better Act is a women's agenda because it is the women who had to drop out of the workforce to care for their children because there wasn't enough childcare available or it was too expensive. prgtoken In New Mexico, we just learned that almost 21 percent of the women in New Mexico dropped out of the workforce because they could not afford childcare. prgtoken Build Back Better addresses that. It is going to make sure that no family pays more than 7 percent of their income on childcare. That is the kind of agenda that every family wants, because they want to make sure that their children are cared for and are either in a great childcare center or are in that pre-K that is so essential so that they can succeed later in life. prgtoken We know that the science has shown us that if you have quality pre-K for your 3-year-olds, for your 4-year-olds, you are going to have a successful life, you are going to earn more in income, you are going to graduate from high school, you are going to earn additional degrees. It is going to be better. prgtoken So we are taking the investments today and we will recoup the benefits 12 years from now, 18 years from now. And that is believing in our future. We are investing in what we believe in. prgtoken I also want to take a moment to address the fact that this bill is fully paid for, so when anybody ever says that it is going to increase our deficit, know ye that it is not true what they say because this bill is fully paid for. prgtoken It is paid for by making sure that tax cheats don't get to cheat anymore. We are going to invest in the IRS so that they can audit and go after tax cheats. Who wants to defend tax cheats? Do you really want to be defending tax cheats? I hope not because everybody should pay their fair share. prgtoken We are going to make sure that nobody earning less than $400,000 a year pays any more in taxes. Indeed, this is one of the biggest tax cuts that we are doing for regular people. Not like the tax cut they passed in 2017 which benefited only the wealthy and the corporations. This tax cut is a benefit to our working families, to our middle-class families. prgtoken The child tax credit is available to all now. Everybody who is receiving that $300-per-child payment every m
HOLD MEMBERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR VIOLENT SPEECH
Nikema Williams (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2021-11-17

. Madam , I rise in support of the House resolution calling for the immediate censure of Representative Paul Gosar. Posting an edited video on social media depicting violence against another Member of this body is reprehensible. prgtoken Make no mistakes, violent speech breeds violent actions. On my third day of Congress, I learned exactly how dangerous words of leaders in this country can be. Allowing this type of dangerous messaging to go unchecked puts all of our lives at risk. Following the January 6 attacks, my family had to get security for our safety. I never imagined having to drop my kindergartner off at school with security in tow. prgtoken This routine brand of violence against women in politics is a direct attempt to silence us. We can hold different opinions and disagree, but violent hate speech is unacceptable in any party. Leaders in Congress must be held accountable for their actions. prgtoken Madam , I urge my colleagues to support this basic standard of conduct and join me in holding my colleague accountable.
TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
Mark Takano (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-11-17

. Madam , I thank Congresswoman Newman for yielding. It is a great honor to be here today under such somber circumstances. prgtoken Madam , I rise today in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance and Transgender Awareness Week. It is with a heavy heart that I recognize that this has been the deadliest year on record for our transgender sisters, brothers, and siblings. I want to share with you the names of three individuals that we lost in my home State of California. I grieve with the families, loved ones, and communities that lost these young people far too early for no reason other than hate. prgtoken Rayanna Pardo, age 26, was a beloved daughter and sister living in East Los Angeles who left behind a family and community that loved her deeply. She was lost in March of this year. prgtoken Natalia Smut, age 24, was a celebrated drag artist from Milpitas, California. She gave captivating performances and had a courageous and creative spirit, and she was described by those who knew her as a jewel in her community. She was lost in April. prgtoken Poe Black, also known as Oliver Jackson and Legion, was an indigenous, trans-masculine and two-spirit activist and artist. He was a tireless advocate who used his social media platform to support various social justice causes, including by documenting his transition to educate and inspire his followers. He was lost in May. prgtoken Each of these young people leaves behind a network of family, friends, and community upon which they have made an indelible impression. I join their communities in honoring their light and legacy and share in the grief that they were taken from the people who loved them. prgtoken It is in remembrance of these three individuals that I say this: Transgender Week of Awareness cannot only be about awareness. It also must be about action. prgtoken We cannot pretend that the rhetoric heard here in this Chamber and in statehouses across the country does not have a direct impact on the lives of transgender people. This year, we have seen the introduction of over 100 anti-trans bills in State legislatures, whipping up a moral panic around the identities of adults and targeting children. prgtoken The dehumanizing debates over whether an individual should have control over their own body, whether they should be allowed to compete on the athletic field, whether they even exist, these arguments all connect directly to the types of attacks that killed Rayanna, Natalia, Poe Black, and so many more. prgtoken It is not enough to only recognize the devastating statistics. We must also make policy decisions that recognize transgender people for who they are. prgtoken Who are they? They are loved ones, community members, family members, individuals who add depth and richness to our society and are defined by far more than statistics, hatred, or bigotry. prgtoken So this Transgender Remembrance Day, remember those who were lost by making noise. Raise your voice ag
CENSURING REPRESENTATIVE PAUL GOSAR
James E. Clyburn (Democrat, SC) \u2014 2021-11-17

. Madam , I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. prgtoken Madam , I rise in strong support of this censure resolution. Today's action is necessary due to Representative Gosar's shocking depiction of a murder of a colleague and a violent attack against the President of the United States. This incendiary behavior cannot go unaddressed. The minority leader's failure to hold his conference Member accountable leaves us no choice but to proceed with this action. prgtoken I often refer to the Hall of this House as America's classroom. As Members of this august body, we should conduct ourselves in the way that we want our students to emulate. Mr. Gosar's behavior fails our students, fails our colleagues, and fails our Nation and ideals we espouse. prgtoken Madam , I urge a unanimous vote for this resolution.