mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2018-1-18

to paraphrase a President I enjoyed knowing, here we go again. prgtoken In 1995 s shut down our government. They wanted to recklessly cut education programs and environmental programs, and they even wanted to raise Medicare premiums on millions of senior citizens, and they were willing to shut down the government to do it. prgtoken Of course, more recently in 2013, s once again sought to strip the healthcare of millions of Americans. They wanted to shut down the government in a failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Actually, that is an effort they continued this summer instead of negotiating a bipartisan budget deal that could have averted the situation we find ourselves in today. prgtoken In 2015 s continued their attack on healthcare by bringing us to the brink of yet another government shutdown in an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is the source of healthcare to millions of Americans in rural America. Millions of American women, men, and young people--certainly, tens of thousands of Vermonters in my little State--trust and depend on Planned Parenthood for their basic healthcare needs, including annual health exams, cervical and breast cancer screening, and HIV screenings--terrible that they might provide that care to Americans. prgtoken They tried to shut down the government because of it. It was also in 2015 that the s began their attack on Dreamers. They attempted to shut down the entire Department of Homeland Security, which protects our skies, our borders, and everything else, and they were risking our national security because they wanted to block DACA, the Dreamers bill. prgtoken If these were just talking points and political ploys, it would be one thing, but they have real consequences. prgtoken The 2013 shutdown dealt a devastating blow to economic growth amounting to $1.5 billion per day. For a State the size of Vermont, $1.5 billion is a lot of money. It was an estimated $1.5 billion for each of the days of the shutdown, and there were 16 of those days. That is economic growth we lost that we never get back. Hundreds of thousands of Federal workers were furloughed through no fault of their own for a combined total of 6.6 million days. Lifesaving research on cancer, on diabetes, on heart conditions ground to a halt. The doors and fences of our iconic national parks and monuments that Americans have always relied on to go and see were shuttered. prgtoken Now, in 2018, President wants to shut down the government over a cynical and misbegotten ``big, beautiful wall.'' And he wants that ``big, beautiful wall''--whatever it might be--to be paid for by U.S. taxpayers, not Mexico. He is using the Dreamers as negotiable commodities, as though they are some kind of money, instead of people, to meet his unreasonable demands to spend $18 billion on last century's technology. President
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4712, BORN-ALIVE ABORTION SURVIVORS PROTECTION ACT, AND PROVIDING FOR PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 22, 2018, THROUGH JANUARY 26, 2018
Diana DeGette (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2018-1-18

this bill imposes dangerous new standards of care on doctors under threat of criminal penalties, including up to 5 years in jail. It is just another attempt by the majority to interfere with the medical judgment of doctors and other trained healthcare professionals, and it is, frankly, another example of why it is such a very, very bad idea for Congress to be legislating medical standards. prgtoken H.R. 4712 is also a solution in search of a problem. There is simply no evidence that current law is insufficient to protect infants. prgtoken It should go without saying that it has always been illegal to kill newborns. It is a complete distortion of the truth to say anything otherwise. prgtoken In 2002, as my colleagues have said, Congress reaffirmed that infants are entitled to appropriate medical care under a law that passed on a bipartisan basis. I voted for it. That law left medical judgment where it should be: in the hands of doctors, instead of politicians. prgtoken Today, the only example that we have heard from the other side of a horror that they are talking about was Dr. Kermit Gosnell, and it was a horror. prgtoken And guess what? prgtoken He was prosecuted under current law. prgtoken And guess what? prgtoken He is spending the rest of his life in prison, which is where he should be. prgtoken Sadly, the true intent of this bill is to intimidate and shame doctors out of providing comprehensive reproductive healthcare to patients. prgtoken The extreme and vague requirements of this bill, coupled with its stiff criminal and civil penalties, are only meant to have a chilling effect on providers, which will reduce access to safe and legal abortion. prgtoken Do you know what? I have been saying this every time we have one of these bills on the floor--the bills that are solutions in search of problems. Here is what I have to say, , to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: If they truly want to reduce abortion in this country, work with us on providing family planning and long-acting birth control to everybody. prgtoken Abortion is at the lowest rate in history in this country, and the reason is because States, like my State of Colorado, are providing birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies. We can do this on a bipartisan basis, but, instead, my colleagues choose not to, and I think that is a shame for every single woman and family in this country.
ISSUES OF THE DAY
Al Green (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-1-18

I clearly, truly, and sincerely thank the gentleman from New York for yielding to me. I would like to acknowledge that his message was most edifying. It was made perspicuously clear, and anyone having the opportunity to hear his message clearly understands that there is a pathway to success for the DREAMers. I am grateful that he has given his message, and I am honored that he has yielded to me. prgtoken , Dr. King--and I mention him tonight because we just celebrated his life and legacy, and I am still celebrating--but Dr. King reminded us that the time is always ripe--r-i-p-e--always ripe to do right. The time is always beneficial, the time is always right to do that which is right. There may appear to be circumstances before you that would cause you to conclude that there are great obstacles in your way, and because of these great obstacles, you probably should wait just a little bit longer. But there are some questions that cannot wait, and allowing time to pass will only allow greater harm to manifest itself. The time is always ripe, and the time is always right to do that which is right. prgtoken In the past, the not too distant past, I was accorded the preeminent privilege of bringing a privileged resolution before the Congress, and that resolution was one for impeachment. That resolution received 58 votes to further the opportunity for impeachment to be voted upon. There were a good many people who were of the opinion that this was 57 more votes than expected. I had no idea as to the number of votes that would be cast for moving the resolution forward such that there might be an up-or-down vote on impeachment. I had no idea. Fifty-eight votes was acceptable to me. But I also want the Record to show, , that if there had been but one vote, that would have been acceptable to me because the time is always ripe to do that which is right, and it was the right thing to do to bring the Articles of Impeachment. prgtoken , I am honored to say that I believe the time is ripe for additional Articles of Impeachment, and, as a result thereof, tomorrow, additional Articles of Impeachment will be brought because the time is ripe and because allowing additional time to pass will only allow additional harm to manifest itself without a proper challenge having been made to things that are occurring from the Presidency that, Mr cannot be tolerated. prgtoken , I am honored to say that I have no idea as to what the vote will be when we vote tomorrow or within the next 2 legislative days, as required by the rules. My suspicion is that the vote will take place tomorrow. I don't set the time for the vote. I determine when the resolution will be presented, and the of the House determines when the actual vote will take place. That is his to decide. I respect any decision that he makes. prgtoken But as to my colleagues, I am not lobbying anyone to vote for this resolution. Each person must address what his or her c
ISSUES OF THE DAY
Adriano Espaillat (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-1-18

I stand on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as the clock keeps ticking for us to act on behalf of DREAMers and DACA recipients. prgtoken Tonight, this House approved a continuing resolution funding government to continue to stay open for another 4 weeks that did not include a resolution to the dire conditions faced by DREAMers and DACA recipients. It did not include funding for community based health clinics, and it certainly did not adequately support the men and women in our Armed Forces. prgtoken Yet, , as we continue to move forward, many Members of this House have worked diligently throughout the months to address the issues faced by DREAMers and DACA recipients. In fact, they have engaged in bipartisan legislative solutions. And we currently have three bipartisan bills that could have been voted on today on this very same floor of the House of Representatives. I guarantee you that if they would have been brought here to this floor and they would have given us the opportunity to vote on them, they would have passed. prgtoken Because DREAMers are very popular in America. All polls show that over 80 percent of Americans across the Nation in different States, in different cities, want these young people to stay. Once you meet them, once you see their young faces, their energy, their desire to work and move forward, their patriotism for America, they win you over. prgtoken No other immigration-related issue, I believe, has polled as high as the support that DREAMers are getting from across the country. Folks who live in red States and blue States, in districts represented by , districts represented by s, feel overwhelmingly that these young people should stay here; that they should not be punished and sent back to a country that many of them don't really know, where they have no connection with family members. prgtoken Some may not even speak the language spoken in those countries or be familiar with the customs in those nations. They feel they are Americans, and they have contributed tremendously to our Nation. So these bipartisan efforts and solutions that my colleagues have engaged in are very important. prgtoken Let's begin by talking about the Dream Act, a clean Dream Act, which is a bipartisan bill led by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard, a from California; and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a from Florida. prgtoken This particular bill, the Dream Act, a clean Dream Act, has 200 bipartisan cosponsors, including myself. This is not amnesty. Many have tried to portray the DREAMers' quest and fight as a fight for amnesty. This is not amnesty. This particular bill, which has over 200 cosponsors, asks of the DREAMers that in order for them to be eligible for the Dream Act, that a person needed to have been 18 years of age on the date of entry, that they must have been physically present in the U.S. 4 years prior to the enactment of the legislat
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-1-18

to delay a vote on cloture makes no sense when we all know the outcome. The government's funding expires tomorrow night at midnight. Let's vote tonight on cloture so we can move forward so, perhaps, we can bring the President to the table--if not, so we can undergo serious negotiations to get things done. prgtoken You have just heard from the Pentagon. The Pentagon thinks this CR is wrong for our military. This is again the statement from Dana White, the chief Pentagon spokesperson. I want to repeat it so my colleagues can all hear it. We have been working under a Continuing Resolution for three years now. Our current CR expires tomorrow, 19 Jan. This is wasteful and destructive. We need a fully-funded FY18 budget or face ramifications on our military. prgtoken Because of the urgent needs we face--the military and so many of the others: opioids, veterans, pensions--we should not delay any further. We should move cloture tonight and see the outcome--I think we all know it will be defeated--and start serious negotiations tomorrow morning. That is what we should do. prgtoken I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived and that notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture motion filed on the motion to prgtoken concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 195 ripen at 10 p.m. on Thursday, January 18--10 p.m. tonight.
IN RECOGNITION OF AMANDA EDMONDS FOR HER DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE YPSILANTI COMMUNITY
Debbie Dingell (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2018-1-19

I rise today to recognize Amanda Edmonds for her service to our southeastern Michigan community and Growing Hope, an Ypsilanti based non-profit, over the past 15 years. She has enriched countless lives as a local leader and Executive Director of Growing Hope. prgtoken Raised in Missouri, Ms. Edmonds has been a passionate community leader and social justice advocate since she was a young student. After receiving her B.S. and M.S. from the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment, Ms. Edmonds became involved as a volunteer in Ypsilanti in 1999. She started volunteering at Perry Learning Garden, now Growing Hope, in Ypsilanti and is looked to as a leader in sustainable gardening, economic development and local food access. Through her passion for food sustainability, she worked to expand the Perry Learning Garden into Growing Hope, a non-profit that serves southeastern Michigan communities with start-up and gardening assistance, teaching classes, and hosting local farmer's markets. prgtoken Ms. Edmonds is a beloved leader in our community and has served as the Mayor of Ypsilanti since 2014. As Growing Hope's Executive Director, Ms. Edmonds has greatly expanded the facility's urban farm and instituted teaching programs for students and adults all throughout Michigan. The program serves as an example for other sustainable urban farms, and Ms. Edmonds travels to share how Growing Hope's success can be mirrored in other communities throughout the country. Her work as Growing Hope's Executive Director has seen her appointed to the Michigan Food Policy Council, where she chaired the Healthy Food Access Task Force for the state, as well as Vice Chair of the Washtenaw Food Policy Council and Ypsilanti Parks & Recreation Committee. Ms. Edmonds has been an invaluable leader at Growing Hope, and we look forward to her continued positive impact on our Michigan community. prgtoken , I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Amanda Edmonds as she retires from her position at Growing Hope. Her work has bettered Ypsilanti's food sustainability and access for years to come.
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2018-1-19

let me start by agreeing with the Senator from Utah that we should extend the Children's Health Insurance Program. We should do it for 6 years. I want to commend the Senator from Utah for his work in creating the CHIP program, along with Senator Kennedy. It is good work, and we need to extend it. prgtoken We also have an obligation as Senators, on a bipartisan basis, to get together and put together a budget for the United States of America. We are now 4 months into the current fiscal year, and we do not have a budget that provides the resources necessary for the Department of Defense. We do not have a budget that provides resources to fight the opioid epidemic. There has been a lot of talk here in the U.S. Senate about fighting the opioid epidemic, but we have no resources to do that. We need a budget to get that done. prgtoken So, yes, we should extend the Children's Health Insurance Program. We need to do that. But we also need to do our job--which we should have done back on October 1, the first day of this fiscal year--and actually adopt a bipartisan budget for the United States of America. prgtoken The tragedy right now is that at midnight tonight the government will shut down unless the Senate leadership comes to its senses and supports a bipartisan budget agreement--a bipartisan agreement, which is really in plain sight right here in the U.S. Senate. prgtoken Look, the American people understand very clearly that s control the White House, s control both Houses of Congress, and with that comes a responsibility to govern for the good of the entire country and not focus on narrow, partisan interests. Instead, what we have here as the clock ticks is dysfunction and chaos. prgtoken Yesterday I heard the leader, Senator McConnell, say on the Senate floor that he would not support a bipartisan agreement, reached by Senators right here, unless he knew where President stood on those issues. Then, in the same breath, he indicated he did not know where President stood on those key issues. prgtoken The Senate is a separate and equal branch of the U.S. Government with its own constitutional responsibilities. We have a bipartisan agreement here on so many of these issues. We should not now be outsourcing our constitutional duties to a White House that, according to Senator McConnell, doesn't know where it stands on these issues. prgtoken Senator Lindsey Graham had it right when he said that we don't have a reliable negotiating partner at the White House. And, in the last week, we heard President 's own Chief of Staff, General Kelly, acknowledge that the President was ``uninformed'' on some of the issues being debated here. prgtoken So let's do our job as the U.S. Senate, with our own responsibilities under the Constitution, and not say that we have to wait on a dysfunctional White House and not say that we have to wait on a President who once t
BORN-ALIVE ABORTION SURVIVORS PROTECTION ACT
Ami Bera (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-1-19

I thank my good friend from New York for his leadership on this issue. prgtoken Over 26 years ago I graduated from medical school and took an oath-- an oath that hundreds of thousands of doctors have taken over the years--to do good, to do no harm, and to help our patients make the best healthcare decisions that affect their own circumstances. prgtoken But this bill, , would criminalize the practice of medicine and questions doctors' judgments. This bill attempts to intimidate doctors from providing safe, evidence-based healthcare. It would set the precedent that those without medical training can make choices for patients and dictate medical practices. prgtoken Why are we having politicians fill in for doctors? prgtoken Get the politicians out of the delivery room and let doctors care for their patients. prgtoken There is no disagreement that every baby born should receive all the medical care and treatment to survive. We are all in agreement. That is not what this bill is about. This bill is an attempt to undermine a woman's access to safe and legal reproductive health services. It is a blatant attempt to intimidate doctors from practicing the medicine that is in the best interest of their patients. prgtoken That is why I, along with my colleague and fellow physician, Dr. Ruiz, attempted to offer an amendment that upholds existing law that healthcare providers must exercise the same skill, care, and diligence as they would any other child born at the same gestational age.
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Joe Donnelly (Democrat, IN) \u2014 2018-1-19

I rise today to discuss two important issues: keeping our government running and protecting an important tool in the fight against the opioid epidemic. I know how strong the Presiding Officer is on that as well. prgtoken Today we face a deadline to fund the government. It is the most basic duty of Congress to keep our government running. prgtoken I was elected by the people of Indiana to work every day on behalf of Hoosiers to do my job as a U.S. Senator. Keeping the government running is our job, and I will vote to keep the government open. prgtoken I hope that s and will join together to reach an agreement that avoids a shutdown. We still have that opportunity to prevent a shutdown. I stand ready to work with anyone. prgtoken I share the frustration of many Hoosiers and Americans. We have been down this road before, but Congress does not need to follow that path again. prgtoken As a potential shutdown looms, the President's opioid public health emergency declaration is on the verge of expiring. According to reports today, the administration is planning to cut the Office of National Drug Control Policy by 95 percent. Let me say that again. The President's opioid public health emergency declaration is on the verge of expiring, and according to reports today, the administration is planning to cut the Office of National Drug Control Policy by 95 percent. prgtoken ONDCP coordinates Federal efforts to combat opioid abuse and heroin use, as well as drug trafficking in Indiana and across the country. In addition, ONDCP administers the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, or HIDTA, which supports and enhances cooperation between Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to combat drug trafficking. It is a program that effectively brings together critical law enforcement partners in Indiana, and the reported cuts to ONDCP could upend the good progress that is being made. prgtoken As we work to confront the opioid crisis, we should be investing in critical tools for Hoosier law enforcement and communities to combat drug abuse and trafficking. This is a crisis. It is not a time for the Federal Government to take critical tools for Hoosiers communities off the table. We should be doubling down on effective efforts. We must confront the opioid epidemic with all possible tools available and everyone working together to address this public health emergency. prgtoken .