mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2017-7-12

today I wish to recognize Suzy DeYoung from Cincinnati, recipient of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service. The Jefferson Awards Foundation was founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft, Jr and Sam Beard to power others to have maximum impact on the things they care about most. prgtoken Suzy cares about helping her community and has a passion for good food. She was born to be a chef. Her father, Pierre Adrian, was head chef at the five-star Maisonette restaurant in Cincinnati and her grandparents were chefs in New York. She and her sister co-ran La Petite Pierre restaurant until Suzy split off to focus on La Soupe. prgtoken Now, Suzy is more than a chef. She is a business owner, transportation manager, teacher, and a fundraiser. prgtoken In response to growing childhood poverty rates and the fact that one- third of all food produced worldwide is either lost or wasted each year, Suzy DeYoung started La Soupe to close the gap between food waste and hunger. La Soupe rescues otherwise wasted produce to create delicious and highly nutritious meals for customers, nonprofits, and food-insecure families. prgtoken In 2016 alone, La Soupe rescued 125,000 pounds of food from going to the landfill and donated over 95,000 servings to people living in food insecurity. prgtoken La Soupe partners with Kroger, Jungle Jims, Crosset Company, Sugar Creek, and various local organic farms who provide ingredients allowing La Soupe's team of volunteer chefs to share their culinary magic turning rescued produce into soup or sometimes stew or gumbo or a casserole to feed to people who are hungry. prgtoken Suzy also spends time helping parents learn how to feed their kids and teaches weekly cooking classes at area schools, sending kids home with ingredients and recipes to cook for their families. In addition, she operates a retail ``Soupe Shack,'' where sales of the meals made from rich ingredients fuel donations to Cincinnati's food-deprived individuals. prgtoken An energetic social entrepreneur, Suzy has inspired chefs to create and give. She has inspired parents to provide healthier options to their families, and she has also inspired kids to pursue culinary careers. prgtoken I would like to congratulate Suzy DeYoung and thank her and all of the volunteers at LaSoupe for their dedication to closing the hunger gap for so many in greater Cincinnati.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018
Mike Rogers (Republican, AL) \u2014 2017-7-12

. Mr. Chair, again, I want to remind the gentleman that nobody has indicated that Russia has any intention--they see no signs that Russia has any intention of coming back into compliance. prgtoken I think this is poorly thought out. We need to go forward and not be giving vetoes to other people about what weapon systems we can start developing. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .
AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET
Thom Tillis (Republican, NC) \u2014 2017-7-12

I have 11 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. prgtoken Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: committee on armed services prgtoken The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at 9:30 a.m in open session to consider the nominations. committee on commerce, science, and transportation prgtoken The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to hold a meeting during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at 10 a.m in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. prgtoken The Committee will hold a Hearing on ``Force Multipliers: How Transportation and Supply Chain Stakeholders are Combatting Human Trafficking.'' committee on environment and public works prgtoken The Committee on Environment and Public Works is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at 9:45 a.m in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate office building. committee on environment and public works prgtoken The Committee on Environment and Public Works is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at 10 a.m in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate office building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Use of TIFIA and Innovative Financing in Improving Infrastructure to Enhance Safety, Mobility, and Economic Opportunity.'' committee on foreign relations prgtoken The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at 10 a.m to hold a business meeting. committee on foreign relations prgtoken The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at 10:05 a.m to hold a hearing entitled ``Consideration of the Taylor Force Act.'' committee on the judiciary prgtoken The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on July 12, 2017, at 9:30 a.m in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Nominations.'' committee on indian affairs prgtoken The Committee on Indian Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in room SD-628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, at 2:30 p.m to conduct a legislative hearing. committee on aging prgtoken The Special Committee on Aging is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Nourishing our Golden Years: Ho
NOMINATIONS
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2017-7-12

on another matter, yesterday I shared some data reflecting the historic level of obstruction Senate have displayed when it comes to confirming our President's nominees. I noted that the opposition they have shown to these nominees most of the time seems to have little to do with the nominees themselves, nor whether or not even support them. In many cases, our ic colleagues actually support the nominees. prgtoken Take the nominee before us today for a U.S. district court judge in Idaho. He was reported out of committee on a voice vote. Every single then voted for cloture on his nomination. Yet still chose to throw up procedural hurdles to a nominee for whom they have no objection. prgtoken In fact, Senate have continuously forced procedural hurdles more than 30 times, compared to only 8 cloture votes s required on nominees at this point in President 's administration. prgtoken They are obviously bound and determined to impede the President from making appointments, and they are willing to go to increasingly absurd lengths to further that goal--like requiring 30 hours of debate time on a noncontroversial nominee after having just voted unanimously that debate on the nomination was unnecessary. prgtoken If our ic colleagues keep up this current rate of obstruction, only allowing about one confirmation every 3\1/2\ days, it will take the Senate almost 11\1/2\ years to confirm the remaining Presidential appointments that must come before us. prgtoken I will say that again. At this rate, it would take us nearly 11\1/2\ years to confirm the remaining Presidential appointments. That is why I say to my friends across the aisle, this near total obstruction simply cannot continue. prgtoken As the ic leader once said himself, ``Who in America doesn't think a president, or , deserves his or her picks for who should run the agencies? Nobody.'' That is a direct quote from the ic leader. prgtoken He went on. He said: ``The American people deserve a functioning government, not gridlock.'' prgtoken So I would again ask my friend the ic leader and his party to consider the consequences of their actions and chart a different path. That is the best outcome for the country and for the Senate. prgtoken .
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Calendar)
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2017-7-12

I come to the floor today to talk about what I saw happen over the Fourth of July in Wyoming while visiting with people, visiting with patients, doctors, and nurses. What I am seeing is that the pain of Care continues to worsen. The healthcare crisis we are seeing across this country continues to grow. The crisis is rising, the choices are disappearing, and the American people are desperate for Congress to step in and do something to help rescue them from the rising costs and collapsing choices of the healthcare law. prgtoken It is interesting. When the passed Care, the ic leader at the time, Harry Reid, said that we would all get an ``earful of wonderment and happiness.'' Those were his words about how great the law was. Well, every weekend at home in Wyoming and I am sure in the Presiding Officer's State of North Carolina, we get an earful, too, and it is not about wonderment and happiness over Care. What I hear from patients, doctors, and nurses at home is that Care is hurting them, hurting our communities, hurting our State. I hear about the rise in premiums. I hear about the declining number of options, the collapse of Care. We have one choice in Wyoming. We used to have two. Both lost money in spite of very high premiums. What we saw is that one ended up going out of business, and the one we have in business--the only one we have--is still losing money. prgtoken We are fortunate because we have at least one provider providing coverage. There are now 40 counties across America where no one will be selling Care insurance next year--no one, not a single company will be selling Care insurance. prgtoken In Nevada, where prior Senator Harry Reid is from, only three counties are going to have anyone selling on the Care exchange-- only three of the counties in the entire State, the State that Harry Reid represented in the Senate for many years. People living everywhere else in his home State will have I think one choice, maybe more, but in terms of these counties, no one is selling Care insurance at all. The State health insurance exchange put out a statement in his home State that said that the people living in the rest of the State face what they described as a healthcare crisis. prgtoken predicted wonderment and happiness about Care, but there is a healthcare crisis all across the country. People in that State are going to have no access to the insurance plans the promised them under Care. A lot of Americans are not much better off or in better shape right now. prgtoken There was a headline in the Independence Day edition of USA TODAY that said ``1,370-plus counties have only one ACA insurer.'' The article was about a study that was done by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They found that people living in 1,300 counties have no choice when it comes to the Care plan; there is just one com
CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF YOUNG, OAKES, BROWN, & COMPANY, P.C.
Bill Shuster (Republican, PA) \u2014 2017-7-12

I rise today to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Young, Oakes, Brown, & Company, P.C. prgtoken Young, Oakes, Brown, & Company, P.C. is the oldest professional firm in Blair County and one of the largest independently owned accounting and consulting firms based in Central Pennsylvania. Founded in Altoona, Pennsylvania in 1917, the firm has grown to employ 30 individuals that maintain the company's reputation of Excellency in the accounting, tax preparation, and auditing profession. Throughout their 100 years, Young, Oakes, Brown, & Company, P.C. has continuously been an active community partner supporting charities, service and fraternal clubs and contributing to the 9th District of Pennsylvania. Young, Oakes, Brown, & Company, P.C.'s current stakeholders are an outstanding example of integrity and professionalism in the workforce, and I know their founder, Robert E. Young, would be proud of the legacy they have continued. I ask that all of my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives join me in congratulating Young, Oakes, Brown, & Company, P.C. on this historic milestone, and wishing this business nothing but continued success.
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Calendar)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-7-12

as we continue to discuss the Better Care Act, which is an alternative bill that we will propose next week and vote on, which takes the disaster known as Care which for millions of Americans has led to sky-high premiums and unaffordable deductibles, if they can even find an insurance company that will sell them an insurance product--we will propose a better care act, as we call it, not a perfect care act but a better care act. prgtoken It would be even better if our ic colleagues would join us and work with us in this effort, but as we have come to find out, they are unwilling to acknowledge the failures of Care. So we are forced to do this without their assistance. It would be better if it were bipartisan, if they would work with us, but they have made it very clear that they are not interested in changing the broken structure of Care. What I predict is that what they would offer is an insurance company bailout, throwing perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars at insurance companies in order to sustain a broken Care that will never work--no matter how much money you throw at it. So people will continue to suffer from the failures of Care unless we will have the courage to step forward and to say we are going to do the very best we can with the tough hand we have been dealt to help save the American people who are being hurt right now. prgtoken Basically, there are four principles involved. One is we want to stabilize the individual insurance market, which is the one that insurance companies are fleeing now because they are bleeding red ink. They can't make any money, and they are tired of losing money so they basically pull their roots up and leave town, leaving customers in the lurch. prgtoken Secondly, we want to make sure we actually lower insurance premiums. Under the original discussion draft bill that we introduced about a week or so ago, the Congressional Budget Office said we will see premiums go down as much as 30 percent over time. Now, I wish I could say we were going to be able to have an immediate effect on those premiums, but the truth is this is much better than our friends across the aisle have offered us with the offer to basically sustain a broken Care system. prgtoken The third thing we want to do is protect people who might have their health insurance hurt or impeded by preexisting conditions. We want to maintain the current law so people are protected when they leave their work or when they change jobs. prgtoken The fourth is, we want to put Medicaid on a sustainable path. Medicaid is one of the three major entitlement programs, and now we spend roughly $400 billion on Medicaid in this country. Our friends across the aisle don't want to do anything that would keep that from growing higher and higher and higher, to the point where basically the system collapses. We believe that is not the responsible choice. What we propose is to spe
Calling for the Release of Liu Xiaobo (Executive Calendar)
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-7-12

I stand here today on behalf of a hero of freedom and democracy in the People's Republic of China. Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia are the faces of liberty in China. They have sacrificed comfort and normalcy to chart a path toward political liberalization. For that, they have been detained, imprisoned, and abused. prgtoken In 2008, Liu Xiaobo coauthored ``Charter 08,'' a manifesto that shined a light on the Communist Party of China and its totalitarian abuse of power. Though many brave souls signed their names and their fates to that document, Dr. Liu's name was at the very top. For this reason, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. He also received charges of ``inciting subversion of state power'' and an 11-year prison sentence. It is impossible to neglect the stark irony: a man dedicated to nonviolence, imprisoned for promoting peace. prgtoken Motivating Dr. Liu's tremendous courage and self-sacrifice was a determination to remember what the People's Republic of China desperately wants the world to forget: Tiananmen Square. A poet, author, and political scientist, Dr. Liu was, in 1989, a visiting scholar at Columbia University, but when the pro-democracy protests broke out in Beijing in June of that year, he raced back to China to support them. He staged a hunger strike in Tiananmen Square in the midst of the historic student protests and insisted that they would remain nonviolent in the faces of the tanks, which the Chinese military deployed to smash them. prgtoken In 1996, the party subjected him to 3 years of ``reeducation through labor'' for continuing to question China's one-party system. prgtoken In 2008, on the eve of the 100-year anniversary of China's first Constitution and the 30-year anniversary of Beijing's Democracy Wall movement, Dr. Liu dedicated his work on ``Charter 08'' to the martyrs at Tiananmen Square. prgtoken Today, 8 years into his unjust imprisonment, Dr. Liu needs our help more than ever. Last month, it was revealed that Dr. Liu has contracted an aggressive, late stage form of liver cancer. Although PRC authorities ``released'' him ``on medical parole,'' both Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia linger without freedom. Even worse, Liu Xiaobo is dying. prgtoken His condition is critical, and we are running out of time to act on his behalf. prgtoken Although Chinese authorities compelled the Lius to sign an affidavit allegedly attesting to their satisfaction with the medical care they have received in China and their wish to remain there, Liu Xia has communicated to their attorney their desire to spend Liu Xiaobo's final days in America. PRC doctors insisted that Dr. Liu was too ill to travel, but medical experts from the United States and Germany--one of them being Dr. Joseph Herman of the MD Anderson Cancer Center of the University of Texas--visited Dr. Liu and attested to the contrary. Issuing a joint statement, they agreed that Dr. Liu ``can be safely transported with appropriate me
RECOGNIZING JULY AS DRY EYE AWARENESS MONTH DURING THE DECADE OF VISION 2010 THROUGH 2020
Pete Sessions (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-7-12

in 2009, I was proud to co-sponsor with my then-House colleague the Honorable Tammy Baldwin the successfully passed H. Res. 366, which designated 2010 through 2020 as ``The Decade of Vision.'' Accompanied by the Senate's successfully passed companion legislation S. Res. 209, these resolutions recognized the challenges to the vision health of our nation's citizens as the population ages and the incidence of chronic diseases--such as diabetes--grows, causing eye disease and visual impairment. prgtoken In the spirit of those resolutions, I am pleased to recognize July as Dry Eye Awareness Month. Dry eye, a growing global problem that affects more than 30 million people in the United States alone, occurs when the eye does not produce tears properly or they are not of the correct consistency and evaporate too quickly. It can range from discomfort to a painful chronic and progressive condition that leads to blurred vision or even vision loss. Dry eye impacts our nation's healthcare policy, as it is one of the most frequent causes of patient visits to eye care providers. prgtoken Although past research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its National Eye Institute (NEI) on the causes of and treatments for the condition has identified age, sex, and gender as factors, it has now discovered ethnic and racial differences, and that dry eye impacts younger patients. This ``equal opportunity'' disease can have many causes, including environmental exposure; side-effects from medications; eye surgery; eye lid disorders; immune system diseases such as Sjogren's syndrome, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis; contact lens wear; cosmetic use; aesthetic procedures; and an increasingly common cause--staring at computer or video screens for too long without blinking. Many are calling dry eye the ``Disease of the Millennials'' due to its increased incidence in that population. prgtoken Dry eye has also been a major issue for our brave soldiers who were engaged in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Veterans Administration reports that upwards of 70 percent of Traumatic Brain Injury-exposed veterans have dry eye symptoms. prgtoken During the 2017 Dry Eye Awareness Month, the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society's Dry Eye Workshop II (TFOS DEWS II) Report will be published in The Ocular Surface Journal, updating the definition of dry eye and addressing its greater impact on vision health--the first such re-examination since 2007. Report highlights will be presented at a July 12 Congressional Briefing, accompanied by a ``Test prgtoken Your Tears'' Screening and presentation of research posters. prgtoken The vision community and its coalition partners are uniting to recognize this growing threat to vision health, and I stand in support of these awareness and educational efforts.
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Bill Cassidy (Republican, LA) \u2014 2017-7-13

I rise to speak to the repeal and replace effort that is before us, and the challenge has been how to do so. Senator McConnell has recently introduced a bill, and as we pore over it, there is much to like, but quite likely, there will be some Senators who will still express reservations as to whether this amendment adequately fulfills President 's campaign pledges--those pledges specifically to continue coverage, care for those with preexisting conditions, eliminate mandates, and lower premiums. prgtoken If more is required, Senator Lindsey Graham and I have actually come up with an amendment that we will add to the bill being offered. It doesn't replace it but, rather, it adds to it. In it, we return to conservative solutions that devolve power back to States and rely upon the States to, in turn, devolve power to the patient. prgtoken So what does this bill do? What we do basically is take the dollars that the Federal Government would give to a State under Care and we give those same dollars in the form of a block grant. We allow the State to then administer the money in its best way to, one, give patients the power, and two, fulfill President 's pledges. prgtoken We think this works. It is a 10th Amendment solution in which that which is not specifically given to the Federal Government is, in turn, given to the State. Let the States decide what they want to do. Some object. They say: Oh my gosh. A conservative State may do something that we don't think--whoever is speaking--it should be allowed to do. Another might say: Well, I don't think a liberal State should be allowed to do that. Under our bill, we devolve to the State, so a blue State can do a blue thing and a red State can do a red thing. Let's let our States be the laboratories of democracy that teach each other the best way in which to insure others. But we say it will be the State that has the power and not the Federal Government. prgtoken If you oppose this approach, it means you would trust a Washington bureaucrat more to address the needs of your State than you would trust the people of your own State. prgtoken We would still have those protections which would allow folks to get the adequate coverage they need. There would still be--for example, preexisting conditions will be covered, fulfilling President 's pledge to that end. We would fulfill what I call the Jimmy Kimmel test--that everybody who is ill or has a loved one who is ill would have adequate resources to have that person's illness addressed. prgtoken We have a precedent as to how this is done. Congress, I am told, when it addressed the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, gave the dollars necessary, with flexibility to the States. Although at the time the solution was criticized as giving too much money to the States, since, the Federal Government has not had to put in more money. Because of the flexibility, the States have been able to u