mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
NATIONAL PENNSYLVANIA DAY
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2019-7-18

I rise today to recognize this Saturday, July 20, as National Pennsylvania Day. prgtoken The Keystone State has played a historic role in our Nation's founding and continues to shape our future. It is the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and home to our Nation's very first capital, Philadelphia. prgtoken Pennsylvania is also the site of several historic battles, including the Battle of Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. It is where Betsy Ross handcrafted the first American flag and Colonel Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well, in 1859. prgtoken Pennsylvania has a proud history of American craftsmanship and work ethic, from our steel mills and coal mines to our farmlands and forests. prgtoken This great State's many contributions to our Nation are a strong testament to the diverse, industrious citizens who make up this Commonwealth. prgtoken , today and every day, I am proud to call Pennsylvania my home.
UNITED STATES-MEXICO-CANADA TRADE AGREEMENT
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2019-7-18

with the record rainfalls and the negotiations of Chinese tariffs going on, our farmers are hurting, but we can give them some certainty by passing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade. prgtoken In my home State, 86,500 Iowans in farming depend upon agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico, adding $10.3 billion to our State's economy. Manufacturing and services are also going to have a big boom out of this agreement being agreed to. Every third row of Iowa soybeans are exported, and this trade deal will ensure that these farmers continue to have duty-free access to our North American neighbors. prgtoken The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement also provides new export opportunities for American dairy farmers, poultry, and egg producers. prgtoken Let's give a boost to our farmers and all the jobs related to farming and in cities and also give a boost to the entire country, by passing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and do it very soon. prgtoken . prgtoken .
IN RECOGNITION OF MAJOR GENERAL MARK BERRY
Bruce Westerman (Republican, AR) \u2014 2019-7-18

. Madam , I rise today to honor Major General Mark Berry, commander of the Arkansas National Guard. After a long career of dedicated service, Major General Berry is retiring on August 10, 2019. prgtoken He first assumed duties as the adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard on January 13, 2015. Prior to this post, Major General Berry was the A-4 assistant to the director of the Air National Guard in Arlington, Virginia. prgtoken In addition to his highly decorated career, Major General Berry is a man who goes out of his way to protect and to serve his fellow countrymen. Most recently, Major Berry provided critical immediate assistance when flooding devastated many parts of Arkansas. prgtoken I had the opportunity to work side by side with him during flood relief efforts and saw how he worked around the clock to save lives and to protect homes and businesses. He is a great leader, a great friend, and, above all, a great American. prgtoken I thank Major General Berry for his service and wish him all the best in retirement.
HONORING NEIL ARMSTRONG
Steve Chabot (Republican, OH) \u2014 2019-7-18

as the Representative of Cincinnati, Ohio, I rise this morning to recognize an Ohioan who was a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to that, he was a naval aviator, a test pilot, and, later, an astronaut. prgtoken , 50 years ago, the words he spoke now reside in history: ``That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'' prgtoken Everyone on Earth at that time remembers where he or she was when Neil Armstrong took that step. His contributions to space exploration did not end on the surface of the Moon. Neil Armstrong was also on the team that investigated the Apollo 13 accident, and he was vice chairman of the commission that investigated the space shuttle Challenger disaster. prgtoken Ohioan Neil Armstrong is a true American hero, and his extraordinary service to our country--to all of humankind, really--will be forever remembered.
Consumer Privacy (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2019-7-18

these days, there is an online component to almost everything that Americans do. Were you at the beach last weekend? You undoubtedly posted pictures on Facebook and Instagram. You probably used Google Maps or Waze or another map app to find your way there. You undoubtedly booked a hotel stay on one of the myriad hotel booking sites, and you transmitted your credit card information online to pay for it. During your stay, you probably took advantage of the hotel's free Wi-Fi, whether you were uploading pictures or watching a show on Netflix. If you had dinner at a restaurant while you were there, there is a good chance you used the internet to make a reservation. If you booked an excursion while you were there--maybe a fishing trip or a boat tour--chances are good you made that reservation online as well. prgtoken I could go on, but you get the idea. The internet and mobile internet-enabled devices like our phones and watches have resulted in an explosion of opportunity and innovation. Information is more accessible than ever before. We can communicate more swiftly and easily than ever before. We can shop without leaving our house, strike out confidently into the unknown without a map and still find our way back, turn on the air conditioner or heater with a simple voice command, and see who is knocking on our door while we are 600 miles away on vacation. prgtoken With the convenience and opportunity of the internet revolution comes serious privacy concerns. Every time we book a hotel, navigate a new town, buy movie tickets, or buy groceries online, we are putting a lot of personal information into the hands of a lot of different companies: banking information, health information, information about our location, our preferences, our habits. All of this information is likely used in some form or fashion by some of the world's most successful internet businesses to personalize our search results on Google or to deliver the content that we see on Facebook or Instagram. prgtoken As a member and former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, I have gotten an up-close look at the issue of consumer privacy. I believe that developing bipartisan consumer privacy legislation needs to be a priority in Congress. prgtoken Last year, as chairman of the Commerce Committee, I convened hearings into consumer data privacy and the accessing of millions of Facebook users' personal data by the political intelligence firm Cambridge Analytica. I also led a hearing to discuss the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and California's new privacy-related law. I have continued to focus on consumer privacy this year as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet. prgtoken A few weeks ago, I convened a hearing to look at the use of persuasive technology on internet platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Sites like YouTube and Facebook use algorithms and
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Steve Scalise (Republican, LA) \u2014 2019-7-18

. Madam , specifically, if I could ask my friend, H.R. 336 was not one of those bills that was marked up. The only bills that were marked up were resolutions. prgtoken Again, while some of those resolutions might have some good language in them, there are no actual teeth. There is no policy. There is no change in law to give us more tools as a country to stand up to the BDS movement, to defend our friend Israel. prgtoken As we know, the BDS movement really is rooted in anti-Semitism to undermine Israel's economy, which none of us should want to see. I know my friend doesn't want to see Israel's economy undermined, but there is a movement to do that. If we are going to truly stand up against it, words are not enough. We need action. prgtoken H.R. 336, again, reflects similar legislation that passed the Senate with an overwhelming vote, s and coming together to give real tools to stand up to this movement and support our friend Israel. prgtoken Madam , I would inquire of the gentleman, would that bill be considered? It was not part of the package of bills that were brought up in committee this week. .
Debt Ceiling (Executive Session)
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2019-7-18

according to the Treasury, since 1960, Congress has acted 78 times to raise the debt ceiling. Let me run that past you again. Since 1960, we have had 78 debt ceiling increases, under Presidents, ic Presidents, Congresses, and ic Congresses. There has been a steady increase over and over again with the debt ceiling. prgtoken The debt ceiling was originally designed to provide a moment of fiscal restraint for Congress, a moment for Congress to look at the debt and determine whether to increase debt again or to determine how to restrain ourselves. prgtoken Going back to post-World War II, we had an enormous debt left over after World War II. That was the triggering mechanism for them. Throughout the Korean war, for instance, they didn't raise the debt ceiling. They found ways to find fiscal restraint because they had so much debt. prgtoken That doesn't even seem to be the conversation anymore. Now debt ceiling conversations are about what bill will we get it into to make sure it passes so we can just keep going. That moment of determining how we can deal with fiscal restraint seems to be gone. prgtoken Let me state just how severe this has become. Right now, our current debt to GDP--that is, gross national product--our debt compared to our gross national product is at 78 percent. That is an enormous number. That means, if you take all of the American economy, every single person in the entire country, group it all together, what they receive in pay, what they make, and put it all together, it would take 78 percent of every single person in the country to pay off our debt for an entire year. prgtoken If we were to maintain that debt-to-GDP ratio at 78 percent, just not get worse than where we are at $22 trillion right now, we asked the Congressional Budget Office how much we would either have to raise in taxes or cut in spending each year to not make it worse. The answer that came back from the Congressional Budget Office was $400 billion, but the hard part about that--not that $400 billion is not bad enough-- we would have to cut or raise in taxes $400 billion every single year for 30 years in a row. That is not the original $400 billion but a new $400 billion every year for 30 years in a row just to keep us at a debt-to-GDP ratio of 78 percent. prgtoken That is not going to happen. There is not the will in this Congress to reduce $400 billion this year much less do it every single year for 30 years in a row. prgtoken So my simple push is this. We have to get to a real conversation about what we are going to do about our debt and how we are going to respond to this. prgtoken I have committed, around any kind of debt ceiling conversation, that the conversation should not be about just raising it and going on; it should be about how we are going to address our debt. I cannot support a debt ceiling that just raises the debt ceiling without any consideration about
Order of Procedure (Executive Session)
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-7-18

. I ask unanimous consent that following leader remarks on Tuesday, July 23, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 1327, as under the previous order; I further ask that notwithstanding rule XXII, at 12 noon, the Senate proceed to executive session and, if cloture has been invoked on the Esper nomination, all postcloture time be considered expired and that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action. Finally, that following the cloture vote on the Dickson nomination, the Senate resume legislative session and consideration of H.R. 1327 with all debate time considered expired at 2:30 p.m.
Trade (Executive Calendar)
Roy Blunt (Republican, MO) \u2014 2019-7-18

something I want to talk about today is something that you and I both care a lot about, and that is farming families and trade. For those of us who grew up on or near farming families, we know that there are a lot of things that are beyond the control of families who farm. For farming and ranching families, the only real certainty is uncertainty. prgtoken The only thing you know for sure, if your mom or dad is a dairy farmer, like my mom and dad were, is that you don't know anything for sure. You don't know about the weather. You don't know absolutely for sure that all of your equipment is going to work exactly like you need it to and at exactly the time you need it to. prgtoken In some farming situations, you don't know whether the help you need is going to be available the day you need it. The watermelons can't wait. The strawberries can't wait. The tomatoes can't wait. But you can't have a staff on all the time, ready to pick the watermelon the 2 weeks they need to be picked, or whatever those farmers have to deal with. prgtoken Uncertainty is part of farming. That is why trade agreements with other countries are so important to America's agriculture. This is a part of our economy that not only feeds our country but goes so far toward feeding the whole world. Trade agreements can provide a little bit of certainty about markets and the opportunities people have to sell the products they are able to grow. prgtoken In Missouri, agriculture is an $88 billion industry. It employs nearly 400,000 people in our State. Missouri farmers and ranchers export more than $4 billion worth of products every year. prgtoken Trade deals that lower tariffs that are paid by Missouri farming and ranching families are a good deal now. I could go a long way beyond this, too, because not only does the agricultural sector impact people who make agricultural products but seeds and chemicals that we need fewer and fewer of all the time because people who make and repair machinery get more effective all the time. So both in the seed and chemical area but also people in transportation, people in insurance, people who run the local coffee shop, people whom the school district depends on for those property taxes are all benefited by a strong agricultural sector. prgtoken We make lots of other things in our State too. We make airplanes. We make pickup trucks. We make cars. We make beer cans. We make all kinds of things that are impacted by trade, but I say to the Presiding Officer, particularly when you and I are out talking in our neighboring States with the communities we deal with in agriculture, trade is a top-of-the-line issue. prgtoken It is just an important part of the economy of most of our States, frankly. Because of our location, where we live, infrastructure is critical. We are also the hub for products that go all over North America. Integrating that infrastructure--water, rail, cars, and prgtoken trucks--makes a
ONE SMALL STEP TO PROTECT HUMAN HERITAGE IN SPACE ACT
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-7-18

this week marks an extraordinary milestone in the history of humanity. prgtoken Fifty years ago, on July 16, 1969, the entire world watched in awe as the Apollo 11 mission took off from Cape Canaveral. Four days later, on July 20, again the entire world held its breath as the lunar lander made its descent and as Neil Armstrong and then Buzz Aldrin both stepped onto the surface of the Moon. prgtoken As Neil Armstrong famously said, ``It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'' prgtoken On Saturday, 50 years will have passed since man first stepped onto the Moon. We are celebrating that as a nation, and we are celebrating that across the world--the 50 years that have passed since. We are also looking prgtoken forward, with hope and optimism, to the next 50 years of space exploration and America's continued strong leadership in space. prgtoken I thank my friend Senator Peters for his leadership on this legislation that we have just passed through the Senate. It is legislation that ensures that those artifacts, those footprints, made by those historic pioneers for humanity will not be disturbed, will not be violated, will not be destroyed but, rather, that they will be preserved for future generations so that decades and centuries from now those shrines to the incredible imagination and the unstoppable potential of the human spirit will be preserved for all of history. prgtoken This is a time of partisan division on many, many issues. Yet I am encouraged when it comes to space and America's leadership in space that we continually see the bipartisan cooperation of and s working hand in hand. prgtoken I also commend NASA, in particular, for announcing the Artemis Project. Artemis, as you know, is the twin sister to Apollo in Greek mythology, and Artemis will be the next journey to the Moon that the United States will be undertaking. prgtoken I am particularly grateful that the Administrator of NASA has committed that when we, once again, land on the surface of the Moon in the coming years, among those astronauts to land on the Moon will be the first woman ever to set foot on the surface of the Moon. As the father of two young daughters, after 50 years, I say it is about time that we land a woman on the Moon. I am particularly proud that it will be an American astronaut whose boots will return to the Moon and that we will continue to make history together. prgtoken This is a moment to celebrate American leadership, but this is a moment, even more fundamentally, to celebrate what mankind can do--the frontier spirit of discovery and exploration. It is a spirit that should unite us all. prgtoken .
HONORING LOU MONEYMAKER
Susan W. Brooks (Republican, IN) \u2014 2019-7-18

. Madam , I rise today to honor Lou Moneymaker on the occasion of his retirement as President and Chief Executive Officer of Bosma Enterprises. Throughout his impressive career, Lou proved to be an innovative leader in the Indianapolis nonprofit community. Over the past 17 years, Lou served as the President and CEO of Bosma Enterprises, working tirelessly to improve the quality of life of blind and visually impaired Hoosiers. The people of Indiana's Fifth Congressional District are forever grateful for Lou's dedication to transforming lives in Indiana. prgtoken A lifelong Hoosier, Lou graduated from George Washington High School in Indianapolis before joining the U.S. Army in 1967. After completing his service in the Army in 1973, Lou attended Indiana University where he earned a bachelor's degree in education. Following that, Lou earned a master's degree in school administration from Butler University. Lou transitioned these achievements into an extraordinary 32-year career with the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI), one of the largest PreK-12 schools for visually impaired students in the country. ISBVI has earned an excellent national reputation for its commitment to the Indianapolis community, in part, because of Lou's strong leadership and charisma. As a track and field and wrestling coach, Lou inspired many students to succeed. This coaching, combined with his work as the Dean of Students at ISBVI, helped the institution gain national recognition for its innovative educational opportunities. prgtoken After leaving the ISBVI and joining Bosma Enterprises in 2001, Lou immediately set about driving the nonprofit to a new level of exceptional growth and success. Under his guidance as President and CEO, Bosma's revenues grew from two million dollars to over seventy million dollars per year. This growth allowed Bosma Enterprises to expand its training and employment facilities to serve nearly 800 blind or visually impaired individuals per year, helping to drive down the nearly 70 percent unemployment rate among such individuals. Bosma Enterprises employs more than 100 blind and visually impaired Hoosiers, making them the largest such employer in the state. prgtoken Today, Bosma offers programs to help those living with blindness and visual impairment maintain a positive lifestyle, especially by giving them tools to live independently. Through their new Center for Visionary Solutions for the Blind, Bosma provides programs to help people of all ages succeed in higher education and find work. Their innovative BosmaForce program utilizes modern education tools to give students around the country access to high skilled job training, in particular, computer and technical jobs. Bosma's Orientation and Mobility Trail gives visually impaired individuals an opportunity to practice navigation in a real-world environment on a variety of surfaces and around many types of obstacles. Together, pro
CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF HULL, TEXAS
Brian Babin (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-7-18

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the 100th Anniversary of the First Baptist Church of Hull located in east Liberty County, Texas. prgtoken On July 19, 2019, a group of dedicated Christians met in a home for the purpose of organizing the First Baptist Church of Hull, Texas. On July 24 of the same year, Mr. S.E. Beavers donated two lots of land for a church site. Mr. Beavers was later elected as a Trustee of the church and his widow was the last surviving of the fourteen charter members. The original church building was built from lumber salvaged from the neighboring abandoned sawmill community of Budconner. prgtoken On January 4, 1956, the church voted to construct the present auditorium, which was completed in 1957 and dedicated on August 31, 1958. The original frame of the church building was used for several Sunday school classrooms until the current education building was completed on December 13, 1969. In January of 2012, First Baptist voted to build a Family Life Center. prgtoken Over the years, the church's resiliency has been tested through several natural disasters: the flood of 1994, Hurricane Ike in 2008, and Hurricane Harvey in 2017 each caused considerable damage to First Baptist's property. Hurricane Harvey inundated it with several feet of water, wiped out nearby Hull-Daisetta Elementary School, and caused considerable damage to much of the surrounding community. prgtoken During the aftermath of Harvey, the damaged Family Life Center at First Baptist served as a distribution center for supplies and provided meals for first responders, disaster relief crews, and local residents. Each time the church was damaged, church members, aided by groups like the Texas Baptist Men's (TBM) Builders, have rebuilt. To date, the parsonage has been restored and work on the sanctuary and education building is ongoing. prgtoken In addition to being on the receiving end of mission efforts following natural disasters, individuals and groups from First Baptist Church, Hull have been missionaries at home and abroad. The church has made several trips to bring the Gospel to the people of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. They have also aided in many construction mission projects, conducted numerous Vacation Bible Schools for children and young adults residing in the surrounding community, and have been active at the East Texas Baptist Encampment in Newton, Texas. prgtoken Throughout the past century, the First Baptist Church of Hull has had twenty-seven pastors. Although most have been ``full-time,'' some have been bi-vocational. On October 19, 1919, Rev. R.L. Nash was called to be the first pastor on a part-time basis. The first full-time Pastor, Rev. R.W. Lindsay, began serving First Baptist on September 26, 1920. The first deacons were elected on May 29, 1921. The church is actively seeking a pastor at this time. prgtoken On July 20, 2019, my brothers and sisters in Christ at the First Baptist Church of Hull will cele