mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
DISAPPROVING THE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL TO TAKE AN ACTION RELATING TO THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION--Motion to Proceed
Johnny Isakson (Republican, GA) \u2014 2019-1-15

I wasn't going to come over here today--I just got off an airplane a little while ago--but I am here because of what I have been hearing. prgtoken What I have been hearing is that we need to be talking about the shutdown and not other subjects. When I met with the TSA agents on my plane flying up here, they said: Why don't you get our work back for us? prgtoken We are not even talking about TSA. We are not even talking about the shutdown. We are talking about different opinions at different times and different things that don't really matter in the scheme of things. prgtoken I appreciate what the distinguished ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee just said, but quite frankly, last week he was talking about how important it was for us to stay on the shutdown and not do anything else. Now the leader on the minority side says it is important for us to get this Russian gentleman or oligarch--whatever that is--whom we are already punishing, and then we will go back to the shutdown. prgtoken My point is this: There is only one thing we need to be doing-- restoring the confidence of the American people in the Senate and the House. They don't have it right now. We haven't given them anything to hang their hat on--not a single thing. prgtoken We have been shut down for 23, 24 days. I am not a Johnny-come- lately--pardon the reference--to the issue of shutdowns. I have been in the Senate and House for 20 years. I voted against five shutdowns-- every one I had a chance to. Shutdowns cost the government more money; they don't save the government any money. They don't solve any single problem whatsoever, even when you mask them by only shutting down a little bit of the government, like we are right now. Not much of the government is really shut down--just the part that hurts the smallest income earners from our government. We are doing the wrong thing, punishing the wrong people, and that is just not right. prgtoken All the speeches you are going to hear today, including mine, don't matter at all unless we, first of all, get on the shutdown, correct the problem, and find a way to bridge the gap. The President is not moving. The aren't moving. The majority leader is not moving. We are not doing much. That doesn't solve anything. Somewhere along the line, we have to agree to find a way to do something different that may not be the end deal but the bridge to do an end deal, or else we are all going to look silly. prgtoken The truth is, everybody in this negotiation right now is sitting in their office or sitting and talking to some people, having a beer or doing whatever, and saying: How are we going to stick them--meaning the other party--and get this shutdown over before our people drive us crazy? prgtoken We are caught in our own trap. Things like what we are debating this afternoon just emanate that. prgtoken This oligarch, who has a huge investment in the largest aluminum company in Russ
TRIBUTE TO DR. CHI WANG
James E. Risch (Republican, ID) \u2014 2019-1-15

today I wish to honor the long and distinguished career of Chi Wang, Ph.D. The year 2018 marked the 90th anniversary of the creation of the Chinese Section at the U.S. Library of Congress in 1928. Dr. Wang spent nearly 50 years working at the Library of Congress, ultimately serving as the head of the Chinese and Korean section until his retirement in 2004. prgtoken Dr. Chi Wang came to the United States from China as a high school student in 1949. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in the Washington, DC, area, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in American diplomatic history from Georgetown University in prgtoken 1969. He also began pursuing his own American dream by becoming a U.S. citizen, getting married, starting a family and starting a career at the Library of Congress. prgtoken Dr. Wang worked for 3 years at the State Department's Foreign Service Institute before starting at the U.S. Library of Congress. He served in several positions during his 47-year career at the Library and reached the position of head of the Chinese and Korean section in 1975, which he held until he retired. During his tenure, he expanded the library's Chinese collection from 300,000 volumes to more than 1 million. Under his guidance, the Library of Congress became a top resource for the study of China in the United States. Dr. Wang met with countless U.S. Representatives, Senators, officials, and academics to help them effectively use the Library resources. prgtoken After President Nixon traveled to China in 1972, Dr. Wang embarked on a trip to China in his role at the Library of Congress to promote library and educational exchanges. The trip was a great success, leading to future exchanges, large book acquisitions, and an increase in mutual understanding between the U.S. and China during a very delicate time when the two countries were only just beginning to establish ties. prgtoken Although the Library of Congress Chinese section was abolished and its collection integrated into the larger Asian division, the legacy of the Chinese collection and the contributions Dr. Wang made to develop this important resource still remains. His efforts over the years have helped deepen the U.S. understanding of China, something that is especially necessary today. Professor Wang continues to dedicate his time to improving U.S.-China mutual understanding as the cofounder and president of the Washington, DC-based nonprofit, the U.S.-China Policy Foundation. He also contributes his own scholarship in the field, having published multiple books and articles on U.S.-China relations. prgtoken Dr. Wang still remembers fondly his decades working at the Library of Congress. What started simply as a job turned into a career and lifelong passion. He especially enjoyed the times he met with various Members of Congress. prgtoken As we, again, face a challenging time in U.S.-China relations, the resources and information available in t
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019--Motion to Proceed--Continued
John Hoeven (Republican, ND) \u2014 2019-1-15

I extend my thoughts in regard to the comments made by the senior Senator from Texas in the need for border security. I appreciate his comments, and I, certainly, agree with them. North Dakota State University 2018 FCS Title Victory prgtoken , I rise to take a minute to recognize the incredible achievements of the North Dakota State University Bison football team today. prgtoken On January 5, it earned its record seventh national championship title. For 7 out of the last 8 years, it has been the national champion. prgtoken In a hard-fought victory, NDSU defeated the Eastern Washington University Eagles by a score of 38 to 24 in Frisco, TX. With that win, the Bison have now won an unprecedented, as I say, seventh NCAA Division I football championship series championship, setting a record for the most FCS titles of all time. The Bison now have a total of 15 NCAA championship titles. In addition, the team completed the 2018 football season with a perfect record of 15 wins and zero losses, displaying just an extraordinary resilience and skill. prgtoken This achievement puts the 2018 Bison in, truly, elite company as it has become only the fifth team to cap off an undefeated season with a national championship title. The 2018 team joins the 2013 NDSU team in accomplishing this impressive feat. prgtoken Further, NDSU is one of only five FCS teams to have ever won back-to- back titles. NDSU is the deserved holder of the longest title winning streak in FCS history, with its obtaining five titles in a row from 2011 to 2015. It has been victorious in every FCS title game in which it has played. prgtoken After the title game, NDSU quarterback Easton Stick became NDSU's record holder for the most passing yards, having a total of 8,693 passing yards in his college career. He also became the NCAA record holder for the most all-time FCS wins by a quarterback, having a total of 49 career wins. prgtoken I also recognize the impressive achievement of NDSU's head coach, Chris Klieman. During his 5 years as head coach, he led the Bison to an outstanding record of 69 wins and only six losses, winning four national championships in the process. Coach Klieman's achievement of four titles in 5 years equals the NCAA's FCS record for obtaining the most titles as a head coach. Coach Klieman and his entire staff instilled character and perseverance in the members of the NDSU Bison football team. prgtoken While I know it is bittersweet, I am sure that Bison Nation will join me in wishing Coach Klieman the best of luck in his continued career as the new head coach of the Kansas State University Wildcats next season. We welcome Matt Entz as the new head coach, who was formerly the defensive coordinator. He has, certainly, been part of this great dynasty. prgtoken Finally, I recognize all of Bison Nation for its vibrant and unwavering support of the team during another successful season. prgtoken As the
DISAPPROVING THE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL TO TAKE AN ACTION RELATING TO THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2019-1-15

I want to spend a few minutes talking about the partial government shutdown, which is happening right now, and, more importantly, related to it, the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard who are working today, like every other member of the military, risking their lives here, in my State of Alaska, and overseas in the Middle East, and are not getting paid to do so. They are the only branch of the U.S. military not getting paid to risk their lives for their country. They missed their first paycheck today, but here is the good news. We are offering a solution--a solution that is working through the Federal Government that has a lot of potential. prgtoken Before I get to that, I want to talk a little bit about the partial government shutdown itself and make clear that I believe the administration's effort to secure the border should be part of the solution. Every nation has the right and has the responsibility to protect its citizens and to protect its sovereignty. In my view, this is something that should not be controversial. Every nation has the right and responsibility to do this, and that is what the citizens of each country expect. It should not be controversial. prgtoken In fact, over the past 25 years, every single President of the United States-- and --has attempted to secure the southern border and has come before the Congress and said: I am going to secure the southern border. They have campaigned on securing the southern border. They have all said this. Even the Members of Congress-- and s--year after year have come to the floor of both Houses and said: We need to do it. prgtoken In a big speech in 2014, President called the situation on the southern border a crisis. That was 4 years ago. He called it a crisis-- the previous President, President . I agreed with his assessment then, and I agree with President 's assessment now, which is the same assessment. prgtoken That is why the President is asking for $5.7 billion to secure our border. It is not an unreasonable request, particularly, when Members of this body, just last spring, when we were debating immigration reform, voted for dollar amounts that were much greater than that. Again, and s, last spring, debating on the floor of this body immigration reform and border security, voted way north of $5.7 billion. prgtoken This is just one of the many solutions we need to grapple with in order to have a functional immigration system that secures our border, enforces the law, helps to grow our economy, and, importantly, keeps families together. Securing the border is an important goal. prgtoken I am hoping that as we all work on this, Pelosi, Minority Leader Schumer, the President, and my colleagues could get to a compromise on this issue soon. We all need to come together. prgtoken The good news, as I mentioned, is that we might be on the verge of
HONORING PCN FOR 25 YEARS OF FARM SHOW COVERAGE
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2019-1-15

. Madam , I rise today to honor PCN for 25 years of outstanding coverage of the Pennsylvania Farm Show. prgtoken Pennsylvania Cable Network, now called PCN, was organized August 29, 1979, as a nonprofit corporation by Pennsylvania cable companies. prgtoken PCN marked the first use of cable television for distance education, and it was the first educational cable television network in the Nation. PCN was on the air before CNN, ESPN, FOX News, MSNBC, and nearly all other nationally distributed cable networks. prgtoken In November 1993, PCN began providing public affairs programming in prime time to provide viewers coverage of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. prgtoken In 1994, it expanded beyond government and covered every aspect of the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show. prgtoken This year, PCN exclusively delivered the Pennsylvania high school championships rodeo, the sale of champions, the celebrity rabbit hopping contest, the grand champion junior market goat and lamb show, the draft horse competitions, the mini-horse pull, square dancing competitions, and much more. prgtoken Madam , I commend PCN on 25 years of exclusively delivering the Farm Show to viewers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and I congratulate PCN on this outstanding achievement.
DISAPPROVING THE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL TO TAKE AN ACTION RELATING TO THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2019-1-15

it is amazing how much we talk about our kids. People talk about bipartisan things here all the time. There is a bipartisan conversation often about our families and about our kids and how proud of them we are and about sharing our lives with each other. prgtoken My two daughters are a remarkable part of my family, of who I am. I can't even process life without thinking about the two of them. prgtoken Our kids are some of the most valuable moments of our entire lives and our greatest memories. When they were little, we looked into their eyes and saw potential, and we dreamed for them. From our earliest days of pregnancy, Cindy and I talked about the future for our girls as we prayed for them, thought about them, prepared for them, and it had sunk in what an incredible responsibility they really were. Kids are that way. That is that earliest moment that we talk about all the time. prgtoken What is remarkable about this photo is thinking about just exactly what this moment could be like because, in this moment, there are really two directions that it could go in America. This little one was born several weeks early. For that little one, life could have gone in two different directions. This group of doctors is gathered around this little one, delivering this child, and watching him take his very first breath. Only seconds before that, that same little one we see there with this same group of doctors could have been destroyed--that life in the womb--and it would have been OK. prgtoken You see, in America, this moment could go two different directions at any time. This life could be there, and we could watch the decades ahead of him or, seconds before this picture was taken, when that child was still in the womb, that life could have been destroyed, and no one would have paid attention because the determination of whether this is a child or whether this is just a little lump of tissue is determined by a few seconds in a delivery room. If it is still inside the womb, it is not a child; it is just tissue. A few seconds later, when he is delivered, everyone smiles and looks at the face of this baby and says: What a beautiful child, and what a remarkable miracle that is. prgtoken How do we do that in America? How do we decide what is life and what is just tissue? prgtoken Some people would say it is only a child if we believe it is a child. If we don't believe it is a child, it is not a child; it is only tissue. prgtoken Some people say it has incredible value, and we should prepare for his or her college, and we should think and pray about his future and his spouse and what he is going to do. Some people would say it is meaningless--just flesh that can literally be put into a bag and taken to the curb. The determination is really by the mom and the dad there. They get to choose whether that is a child or whether that is tissue. prgtoken I honestly don't understand that conversation because when I look at t
THE CRISIS AT THE BORDER
Mo Brooks (Republican, AL) \u2014 2019-1-15

. Madam , in 2018, more than 2,000 illegal aliens were apprehended by Federal law enforcement officers for homicides committed on American soil; that is roughly 2,000 dead in just 1 year. And that does not count some number of the 70,000 Americans whose lives are snuffed out each year by poisonous drugs, much of which is shipped illegally into America across our porous southern border. prgtoken Americans would know more about these horrific killings if the media diverted just a fraction of the time it spends on extolling illegal aliens and attacking our brave border patrol and ICE officers and agents to telling the stories of American lives needlessly ended by illegal aliens and our porous southern border. prgtoken Today I share a few stories about those who died solely because of illegal aliens and our porous southern border. prgtoken Louise Sollowin was a beloved mother, wife, and grandmother. Louise spent 50 years helping her sister fire up the oven at Omaha, Nebraska's, Orsi's Italian Bakery, where she worked well into her 80s. prgtoken In 2013, after 93 years of life, Louise was brutally raped and beaten to death by an illegal alien. To make matters even more horrific, Louise's daughter found her bleeding, battered, and dying mother with a naked illegal alien passed out on top of her. prgtoken In 2010 in Houston, Texas, 14-year-old Shatavia Anderson was shot in the chest and killed by two illegal aliens. Shatavia loved her family and loved talking on the phone. She proclaimed that one day she was ``gonna be somebody.'' Shatavia was robbed of that dream by illegal aliens. prgtoken In July 2018 in my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, two drug-cartel related illegal aliens took Oralia Mendoza and her 13-year-old granddaughter, Mariah Lopez, from their prgtoken home in the dark of night. Oralia was stabbed to death while her teenage granddaughter, Mariah, was forced to watch. Later, and in order to eliminate a witness, the illegal alien drug cartel members then beheaded Mariah and abandoned her body in the woods not far from where I live. Mariah's decaying body was not found for weeks. Mariah was a special needs student at Challenger Middle School. Her teachers described her as a ``sweet little girl'' who ``had a lot of friends.'' prgtoken I have a Washington staff member, Michaila Lindow, who well remembers being baby-sat as a young child by family friend, Tad Mattle. In 2009 in Huntsville, Alabama, then 19-year-old Tad Mattle was driving home with his girlfriend from a church social. While stopped at a traffic light, an illegal alien, who was fleeing the scene of yet another crime and whose blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit, rear- ended Tad Mattle's car. This illegal alien had three prior DUIs. Tad Mattle's car exploded on impact, tragically killing Tad Mattle and his girlfriend. Tad, the oldest of three children, enjoyed making music and served as percussion leader in the Grissom High School
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019--Motion to Proceed
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2019-1-15

continue to talk about the need to fully reopen the government, and I cannot agree with them more. It is time to end this partial shutdown and get the government fully operating again. But there is a problem. may talk a lot about the need to reopen the government, but they are not willing to do the work that would be required to actually get the government open. prgtoken In a divided government, negotiation and compromise are essential. If you want to get something done in a divided government, you have to compromise. But that doesn't seem to be something the understand. For , it is ``my way or the highway.'' They won't give an inch. They want their way, and they want their way only. All of us would like to get our proposals passed exactly as we want them, with no changes, but we all know that is unrealistic. If you want to get something done, you usually have to compromise. prgtoken The White House has a strongly held position but has also made it very clear that it is willing to be flexible and negotiate with , but the refuse to play ball, and they continue to hold parts of the Federal Government hostage. prgtoken We just heard our colleague from New York, the ic leader, suggest that it should be leader Senator McConnell's job to solve this problem, but the fact is--and we all know this--the negotiation in this circumstance has to be between the President of the United States and the in the Senate and the House who have refused to budge on that position. prgtoken The leader has made it very clear that as soon as the President is willing to sign something and the here are willing to produce enough votes to give us the 60 votes that are necessary to pass it in the Senate and the House, he will move a bill through the Senate that we can get to the President and end this shutdown, get the government open again, and fund border security, which is an important priority for our country and for our national security interests. prgtoken That is a position which, until recently, was also held by the . As recently as December, the ic leader indicated that to solve this budget stalemate, this impasse we seem to be having, we needed to have the support of the leaders in both the House and the Senate and the President before either Chamber should vote on legislation. He suggested that the President needed to come out publicly in support of it--in other words, to indicate he would sign any legislation that might move. prgtoken So that is where we are. It is not a function of the leader's. The leader is prepared to produce the votes that are necessary to pass legislation to reopen the government. It is entirely dependent upon the President of the United States, who must sign that bill into law, and the here in the Senate, who have to produce the requis
TRIBUTE TO SUSAN McVEY
James M. Inhofe (Republican, OK) \u2014 2019-1-15

I would like to offer my congratulations to Susan McVey, a fellow Oklahoman, on her exemplary service to the State of Oklahoma as a dedicated librarian for the past 32 years. prgtoken Ms. McVey's distinguished and honorable record of leadership within the Oklahoma Department of Libraries is a model for future generations. Her effort to bring access to online reference and information resources for all Oklahoma libraries and schools continues to impress. Additionally, thousands of Oklahomans have been granted access to library services through her work to reform the administration of State aid grants to public libraries. I am confident these efforts will reap benefits for generations. prgtoken Ms. McVey's legacy will be an inspiration for many in the years ahead, and I am proud to call her a fellow Oklahoman. Again, congratulations to her on her well-deserved retirement, and I thank her for her commitment to the people of Oklahoma.