mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EVIDENCE REPORTING ACT OF 2017
Ted Poe (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-12-21

one of the worst things that can happen to any of us is to lose their voice, and I have lost mine. I know some of the are glad about that. prgtoken But I want to say this on behalf of the SAFER Act. There are, in our country, on shelves, in warehouses, and in law enforcement office buildings rape kits that have never been examined. That is shameful. And everybody is to blame, from the Federal Government to local government. prgtoken It is shameful because victims--and I knew a lot of them at the courthouse as a judge--don't know who committed this crime against them, and we have the ability to tell them, but we don't because of bureaucratic incompetence. These haven't been examined. They have the right to know who sexually assaulted them. prgtoken Also, there are criminals running loose, who have never been prosecuted, because these rape kits have never been analyzed. And, yes, there are people incarcerated who are innocent, and the rape kit can prove their innocence. It is important that we pass the SAFER Act. Get those sexual assault kits analyzed. There are no more excuses. prgtoken , in 1984, Michelle was raped at knifepoint by two men who broke into her home. prgtoken They blindfolded her, tied her up with a phone cord, and gagged tit her before sexually assaulting her. prgtoken During the assault, they laughed and bragged that they had been getting away with committing this crime for seven years. prgtoken Much to Michelle's surprise, they left without ending her life. But hers would now be a life filled with suffering and fear. Michelle called the police and had a rape kit taken. prgtoken She hoped that by achieving justice against her attackers she would find some measure of peace and closure. prgtoken Michelle waited for the results, but she waited in vain. prgtoken The backlog of untested kits was too large, so her kit was never tested. prgtoken Over the next years, while her rape kit sat collecting dust on a shelf, break-ins and rapes continued to happen in her neighborhood. prgtoken She was in constant fear that her attackers were still on the loose. prgtoken Not only does the inability to test rape kits deny victims justice, it also puts the safety of other innocent people in jeopardy by keeping criminals on the streets. prgtoken To address this issue, Congresswoman Maloney and I introduced the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act or SAFER Act, which was signed into law in 2013. prgtoken This bill provides funds to states and localities to increase rape kit testing and expand forensic lab capacities. prgtoken In the years since SAFER's enactment there has been progress, but there are still hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits across the nation. prgtoken SAFER was slated to expire at the end of this year, but thankfully, with bipartisan support, Congress has secured its re-authorization and continued existence. prgtoken This legislation will continue to reduce the national rape kit back
CONGRATULATING KAREN BALLARD ON HER RETIREMENT FROM THE GRAPEVINE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Kenny Marchant (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-12-21

I rise today to recognize and congratulate Karen Ballard on her numerous years of service and dedication to the Grapevine Police Department in Grapevine, Texas. Karen retires this year after serving for fourteen years with the City of Grapevine, and accumulating over thirty-one years of dedicated service in emergency communications for the State of Texas. prgtoken Karen's admirable career first began when she joined the Arlington Police Department as a dispatcher in 1986. After serving for over seventeen years in the City of Arlington, Texas, Karen began her tenure with the City of Grapevine in 2003. prgtoken Throughout her career, Karen has served as a Dispatcher, Communications Coordinator, Coordinator Training Assistant, and a Communications Supervisor. Since joining the Grapevine Police Department, Karen has honorably served her community and has built a reputation as an outstanding Dispatcher and Communications Supervisor. prgtoken Karen's dedication as a public servant is apparent in her pursuit of continued education and trainings to help provide a better service to her community. In total, Karen has completed 4,227 training hours since beginning her career in emergency communications. prgtoken Karen's contributions to the emergency operations in the City of Grapevine have helped to ensure the Police, Fire, and EMS services have the best information available when they are needed. The importance of quick and accurate information can never be overstated in life-or-death situations. Karen's dedication and service have been a vital part of keeping our first responders effective, and more importantly, keeping them safe. Her legacy will leave a lasting mark on the City of Grapevine and the city's emergency services for many years to come. prgtoken , it is a pleasure to recognize the notable efforts Karen has contributed to the City of Grapevine. I ask all of my distinguished colleagues to join me in recognizing Karen Ballard and her many years of service and wishing her the best in her retirement.
FURTHER SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018
Nita M. Lowey (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-12-21

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , this legislation is a failure of both process and substance. When Congress received the paltry and insufficient disaster request from the administration, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees began a bipartisan and bicameral process to develop an emergency assistance package that would come closer to meeting the massive scale of need resulting from hurricanes and wildfires in the summer and fall 2017. prgtoken I sincerely regret that the majority leadership abandoned that process, choosing, instead, to disregard input from and even from Senate s, and developed their own partisan supplemental. The results of that decision is a poor product that will not be enacted into law. prgtoken Despite some robust funding levels, this bill fails to fix a potentially calamitous Medicaid system situation for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Without help from Congress, these programs will exhaust available funding within months. This bill also fails to waive unworkable and unjustifiable cost share requirements for FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers' projects, which could put Federal funding out of reach. prgtoken These and other serious shortcomings must be fixed before an emergency supplemental is enacted into law. Even if this supplemental passes today, the House majority's decision to exclude both and Senate s from this process means that it will not be enacted this year because it cannot pass the Senate. prgtoken Instead of the partisan product with no chance of advancement, we should be considering a responsible bipartisan emergency supplemental that both the House and the Senate could pass and enact into law. prgtoken , .
FAREWELL TO THE SENATE
Al Franken (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-12-21

this is my final speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. I have come to the floor many times, as we all have. We come to the floor to cast our votes on bills and amendments. We come here to discuss and debate the issues that are important to our States and to the country. We introduce and explain legislation. We talk about our States and what we learned on our latest visit to a community health center, a farm, or a small business. What we don't talk about all that often is the work of all the men and women on our staffs who make all of this possible. prgtoken I have been fortunate to have had a dedicated, hard-working staff both in Washington and in Minnesota, and I have no doubt that they will go on to do great things and to serve our Nation well. prgtoken I am also very lucky to have a wonderful family who has stood by me throughout the good times and the tough times of being a Senator. As Senators, we have packed schedules. There are late nights. There are difficult votes on divisive issues and a lot of time invested in better understanding the challenges our constituents face every day. All too often, that important work doesn't leave enough time for our families. I am grateful for my wife, my children, and their spouses, who stood by me and who have helped me to do my work effectively. prgtoken Finally, as I leave the Senate, I take great comfort in knowing that my successor, Senator-designate Tina Smith, has a well-earned reputation for being a smart, diligent, hard-working public servant, and I have no doubt that Senator Smith will serve Minnesotans and all Americans exceptionally well. prgtoken When most people think about politics, they think about arguments-- the arguments they have around the dinner table, the arguments they have online, and most of all, the arguments we have here in Washington. That is a big part of the reason why a lot of people just don't like politics. prgtoken Often, the debate here in Washington can sometimes seem arcane and tough to understand. Other times--especially in recent years--it can be so bitter that it doesn't even feel like we are trying to resolve anything, just venting our spleens at each other. I get that. I get why people want us to stop arguing and start doing stuff. prgtoken But since I am leaving the Senate, I thought I would take a big risk and say a few words in favor of arguments. After all, there is no single magic solution that can bring all 100 of us together because there is no one set of values that brought all of us here in the first place. I think many of my colleagues have heard me talk about what brought me to politics and what makes me a , and it is my wife Fran. prgtoken When she was 17 months old, her father, a decorated World War II veteran, died in a car accident, leaving her mom widowed at age 29 with five kids. There was one sibling younger than Franni, Bootsie, who was 3 months old. Franni's family made it--barely, bu
RUSSIA INVESTIGATION
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2017-12-21

, Senator Mark Warner from Virginia, for his powerful and eloquent remarks on the floor less than 24 hours ago. He talked about the threat that exists now--looming larger every day--of a constitutional crisis. It is a crisis that threatens the foundations of our democracy. It involves a potential confrontation and, indeed, a legal conflagration between the President of the United States and the special counsel who has been appointed to investigate wrongdoing in our government. prgtoken None of the facts that justified--indeed, required--the appointment of a special counsel has been controverted in any reasonable way by anyone since prgtoken the appointment of that special counsel. Now a campaign of mistruth and misdirection has been launched against that special counsel investigation. It is a campaign that is calculated, concerted, and coordinated. It is calculated because it is planned and premeditated; it is concerted in its consistency and vehemence; and it is coordinated among officials within the government, including the U.S. Congress and commentators and individuals outside the government. prgtoken The danger of a constitutional crisis is real and urgent, and we must come together in the U.S. Senate to face it and address it and deal with it. prgtoken This body has come together in the past when America has faced a foreign adversary that has sought to do our Nation harm. We have come together to hold our leaders accountable when they have broken faith with the American people. We have come together when forces of dissension and misdirection have sought to undermine or weaken respect for the law and law enforcement and, indeed, the rule of law. What is at stake here is nothing less than the rule of law. prgtoken Let's recognize what is happening. The President, in effect, is going down two tracks. On the one hand, he is saying that he has no present intention to fire the special counsel or to pardon anyone--yet. He adds that word very distinctly. The other track involves a coordinated, concerted, and calculated campaign that is continuing--indeed, rising-- in intensity and volume. prgtoken The President's supporters, even in raising that volume, have reached extraordinary lows. Let's remember. At first, our colleagues appeared to recognize that Robert Mueller was eminently--indeed, uniquely--qualified for his important task. House Members called him a ``man of the utmost integrity'' and ``someone we all trust.'' Now we hear that the Mueller investigation is somehow biased. One commentator known to be close to President suggested that the special counsel should not only be fired, he should be arrested. Even Members of Congress who once recognized Mr. Mueller's stellar record as a member of the Armed Forces, as well as in his capacity as the FBI Director, as a prosecutor, and as a public servant, have impugned his integrity. Indeed, they have
DACA
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-12-21

I thank Senator Durbin for his extraordinary leadership on this issue and so many others. prgtoken The Dreamers are part of this country. They are America's future. They are helping to build this great Nation, and they need our attention now. prgtoken The s control the House, the Senate, and the White House. One of their principal responsibilities is to pass a budget. We are now 3 months into the fiscal year, and we don't have a budget, and we are talking about another continuing resolution. A couple of weeks ago, we were told on the floor to give it a couple of more weeks, and we would work out some of these issues. I agree with Senator Durbin. The time to act is now. We should not be going into recess without dealing with the problems of our country. We need to deal with the budget problem, and we, certainly, need to deal with the problem of the Dreamers. Let me just talk a little bit about them. prgtoken They entered the United States before they were 16 years old--that is required--before 2007. Under President 's Executive order of 2012, they were entitled to a 2-year renewable work permit and the ability to remain in this country without being in fear of deportation. Each one has to go through a criminal background check. They need to be enrolled in school. They must either be high school graduates or in the U.S. military. In the United States today, we have 800,000 who are registered under the Dreamers. There are 10,000 in my State of Maryland, and they are contributing a half a billion dollars to Maryland's GDP, or gross domestic product. They are our next generation of teachers, doctor, engineers, and entrepreneurs. They are going to help build America, and they know no other country but the United States, which is their home. prgtoken In our values, what makes America the great Nation that it is is that we are a welcoming country. We are a country in which people have come over the years to build this great Nation. That is America's strength. prgtoken Are we going to turn our back now on the values that built this country? Are we going to rip families apart? Is that what America stands for? I find that hard to imagine. Would we do this to our own economy and hurt ourselves, as we are growing with their help? prgtoken I have met with many Dreamers, not as many as Senator Durbin. He probably has the record. But I met with several Dreamers in Maryland. We had one in our office yesterday who had tears in her eyes. She said: I have an expiration date on my back. She doesn't know what is going to happen when that date occurs. prgtoken How would you like to live under that fear in the United States of America? We are not talking about some communist country. We are talking about America, where people are living in fear. prgtoken I have had several roundtable discussions with Dreamers in Maryland. I have had them in College Park, Baltimore, and in other areas. Let me mention two Dr
NATIONAL SECURITY
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2017-12-21

I rise this morning to outline some ideas about our national security as we approach the end of the year. prgtoken Many Americans are heading into the holiday season with some very reasonable fears about the threats facing our Nation. In 2017, we saw an emboldened North Korean regime testing missiles and nuclear weapons. Terrorist groups continue to execute attacks across the globe. Violent state and nonstate actors continue to destabilize Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Yemen, Nigeria, and others. We saw Russia continue meddling in elections, just as they did in ours last year. prgtoken This is a year of great volatility and uncertainty. However, we also saw the U.S. military leading an international coalition that is loosening the stranglehold ISIS had on parts of Iraq and Syria. We saw the recovery of American hostages, including constituents of mine, held captive for years by terrorists. In Europe, U.S. and NATO forces partnered to counter Russian aggression and dispel propaganda. U.S. development assistance projects helped hundreds of millions of people across the world, including 11 million farmers and 27\1/2\ million children under the Feed the Future Program. prgtoken Even when it seemed like there were many reasons to be afraid, the U.S. military, diplomats, and development professionals were responsible for a lot of good progress this year. prgtoken On Monday of this week, President laid out his administration's national security strategy. I commend the work of the national security professionals who crafted the document which warrants a thorough review. It is a substantial body of work, but it paints a very dark picture of the world and our role in it. prgtoken A little more than 2 years ago, I stood on this floor and invoked the words of Senator Vandenberg--the Senator from Michigan back in the World War II era--for ``maximum united effort'' and Senator Vandenberg's admonition that politics should stop at the water's edge. When I spoke these words, this was at a time when it seemed the only response my colleagues had to the administration's foreign policy moves was categorical condemnation. prgtoken I will not categorically condemn the administration's new strategy, but I will pose a challenge to reject the false choice between investing at home and engaging abroad; utilize our diplomatic and development toolkit as much, if not more, than we exercise our defense capabilities; lead by example. The world will indeed become a dark place if we hide America's light under a bushel basket, to use words from Scripture. prgtoken In the face of our adversaries' aggression, we can choose between competition and cooperation. The new strategy outlined by the administration references competition nearly three times more than cooperation. I suggest to the administration the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said: ``Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certa
TRIBUTES TO AL FRANKEN
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-12-21

Senator Franken will shortly go on to his next chapter, which I hope will be wonderful for him and for Franni and for their family. I hope and believe that he leaves us with everyone's good will here in the Senate. He certainly leaves with mine. prgtoken Al Franken has been an unusually good Senator, in part because he has such a good staff. He has also, to me, been an unusually good friend, particularly in this hard town where you are supposed to buy a dog if you want a friend. We served together on the HELP and Judiciary Committees, where he did great committee work. He stood out particularly for his talent on Judiciary without even being a lawyer. prgtoken I will miss him. The Senate will come to miss him, too, I expect. He was a lot of things that one would want in a Senator: principled, innovative, hard-working, supersmart, bipartisan, generous, caring. Things will be different around here without him. It will be quieter on the floor without his big, bursting laugh. We will miss his presence on personal privacy issues, on monopoly power issues, on forced mandatory arbitration, and in championing LGBT kids, where he has real passion and expertise. prgtoken Senate hearing witnesses who have been up to no good will breathe a lot easier knowing they won't have to face Al Franken's pointed questioning. The Senate Secret Santa, a Franken legacy, will probably continue. Selfishly, I will miss Franni's amazing homemade pies. prgtoken As my friend departs, I am left at this difficult moment with this thought: I have been fortunate in the Senate to have had a colleague to whom it is so hard to say good-bye. prgtoken .
NO HUMAN TRAFFICKING ON OUR ROADS ACT
Grace F. Napolitano (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-12-21

I was absent during rollcall votes No. 701 through 710 due to a death in my family. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yea'' on the motion to recommit H.R. 4015, ``Nay'' on passage of H.R. 4015, ``Nay'' on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 670. ``Nay'' on agreeing to H. Res. 670, ``Yea'' on passage of S. 1393, ``Nay'' on the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 1370, ``Nay'' on Passage of H.R. 4667, and ``Yea'' on passage of S. 1532. Personal Explanation
DACA
Michael F. Bennet (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2017-12-21

I wish to talk about the Dreamers. prgtoken As I have from the time I was a school superintendent in Denver until now, I had the opportunity to spend time last weekend or the week before with a group of Dreamers in Alamosa, a small town in Southern Colorado. prgtoken These meetings are usually occasions for people to lay out their dreams for the future in America, the only country they know and the only country they love. This meeting was different than other meetings I have had recently. Instead of the hope and self-confidence I am so used to hearing from young people, what I heard was fear, anxiety, and pain. prgtoken Everybody in the group I met the other day came to this country as undocumented immigrants when they were children, some just months old. None of them made the decision to come here. They grew up here, and they know no other country besides the United States of America. prgtoken In 2012, they joined 800,000 Dreamers who came forward across the country to share their information for temporary legal status under the DACA Program. Over the past 5 years, many of these Dreamers grew into young adults, finishing school, starting families, launching businesses. They went about their lives, trusting our government would keep its word and find a way for them to stay in the only country they know. Then, in September, President rescinded DACA, throwing every one of their lives into chaos. prgtoken During our meeting in Alamosa, not a single person could share their story without breaking into tears. One young man, Julio Maldanado, told me about the iPhone repair business he opened on Main Street. Like so many immigrants, he poured himself into that enterprise as an entrepreneur. Thanks to his efforts, it is now not only turning a profit, it is providing a service to his community and supporting his family. Now all of that is in jeopardy. prgtoken As I said, Julio couldn't tell his story without starting to cry. When he turned to his business partner who was also there to help, his partner began crying too. Versions of that played out again and again in our meetings and in the meetings I have been having here in Washington, DC, as Dreamers take the risk to travel to Washington to share their stories--honest dream after honest dream being crushed by uncertainty, young people trembling in fear. prgtoken We hear a lot around this place about how we don't have to act until the last moment. We don't have to act until March 5. This is not true. There are so many children, young people, and young adults in my State who are losing their status as we sit here, unable to accomplish something everybody seems to say they want to accomplish. The President says he wants to accomplish it. The says he wants to accomplish it. Senators on both sides say they want to accomplish it. We have created this crisis that President set off when he rescinded DACA. prgtoken This isn't just affecting Dreamers