mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2023-2-2

now, on an entirely different matter, today, Ranking Member Capito of the Environment and Public Works Committee will introduce an important resolution on behalf of millions of American farmers, ranchers, and builders. prgtoken Two years ago, the administration picked up an -era crusade to micromanage the small businesses that help feed, clothe, and power America. Literally, on President 's first day in office, he signed an Executive order that began tearing down the regulatory certainty that s had worked hard to restore for American workers and entrepreneurs. prgtoken And in December, this crusade yielded a new rule from EPA that enacted a dizzying new definition of which temporary, tributary, and upland waterways fall under the Federal Government's authority. There is a case before the Supreme Court on this very subject right now. The Court's ruling in Sackett v. EPA will provide new clarity on just how far Federal bureaucrats can stretch their powers to meddle in working Americans' business under the Clean Water Act. prgtoken But instead of waiting to see whether a massive expansion of the regulatory state would be legal, the EPA went ahead with their new rule. Can you imagine why Washington would be in such a rush to get ahead of the law? prgtoken So what does this latest power grab by Washington mean for working people out in our country? Well, for starters, it means that cattlemen, contractors, and all sorts of folks have now had to put up with three--three--major changes to Federal regulation on the lands where they do business in just the past 8 years. prgtoken ' relentless attempts to step on State and local authorities in their own backyards has left small business owners across America chasing moving goalposts. The administration's latest rule means it will be harder for farmers in Kentucky to figure out which ditches on their property are subject to the whims of Washington bureaucrats. It will create new headaches for builders in West Virginia trying to make sure they dot every ``i'' and cross every ``t'' on much needed development projects. It will mean ranchers out West may discover that every ditch and low-lying puddle they own--even ones that only hold water when it rains--is now the business of EPA. prgtoken And as every American who has tried to create jobs or build something knows, redtape doesn't just cost valuable time. Legal experts project the administration's latest overreach would raise the cost of development and infrastructure projects near waterways by--listen to this--a million dollars an acre. prgtoken So while President takes a victory lap on infrastructure projects made possible by bipartisan work, this latest salvo in Washington ' war on working Americans would devastate the sort of small businesses that actually build the infrastructure projects. prgtoken But it isn't going unan
PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL SAW HIS SHADOW
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2023-2-2

today is a big day in the 15th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. Specifically, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, our most famous resident had his day in the sun, literally. prgtoken To quote Bill Murray: ``It's Groundhog Day, again.'' prgtoken Early this morning, Punxsutawney Phil, our weather expert groundhog, saw his shadow. For those of you who know the old German legend, this means we are in for 6 more weeks of winter. prgtoken Punxsy Phil has been forecasting the weather since the 1800s. Records going back to 1886 show that Phil has forecasted a longer winter 107 times and an early spring just 20 times. prgtoken Crowds gathered on Gobbler's Knob before sunrise today for the 137th celebration. prgtoken Phil has proven himself a devoted prognosticator year after year and is a true icon in the world of weather forecasting. prgtoken For these reasons and many more, Phil was inducted into the 2023 Meteorologists Hall of Fame by the Weather Discovery Center. prgtoken So don't pack up your winter gear just yet. Phil says we have 6 more weeks. Happy Groundhog Day.
DENOUNCING THE HORRORS OF SOCIALISM
John W. Rose (Republican, TN) \u2014 2023-2-2

today I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 9, which denounces the horrors of socialism in all its forms. prgtoken Whether it is communism, Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, anarchism, democratic socialism, ecosocialism, or liberal socialism, all of these have failed, and none of these ideologies should, God willing, ever be implemented in the United States. prgtoken By passing this resolution, we can send a message to the American people that we reject these deadly ideologies, and our Nation will always and forever be a bastion of freedom and a beacon of hope. prgtoken I pray for the more than 100 million lives that have been lost at the hands of Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships. prgtoken Socialism should never play any part in the American way of life. I hope we can all agree on this commonsense resolution. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on its passage.
REMOVING A CERTAIN MEMBER FROM A CERTAIN STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE
Michael Guest (Republican, MS) \u2014 2023-2-2

. Madam , the balance of my time to close. prgtoken Madam , I adopt the comments that were made by the then- chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel. prgtoken In late February 2019, after a third anti-Semitic statement in just over 2 weeks--17 days, to be exact--then-chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel said these words: ``It's unacceptable and deeply offensive to call into question the loyalty of fellow American citizens because of their political views, including support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. We all take the same oath. Worse, Representative Omar's comments leveled that charge by invoking a vile anti-Semitic slur;'' prgtoken Whereas, Chairman Engel went on to say that ``such comments have `no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives.' '' prgtoken I agree with the statements made by Chairman Engel. prgtoken Not only do Representative Omar's comments have no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee, I hold that anyone who makes such statements has no place serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee. prgtoken I ask all Members to support this resolution removing Ms. Omar from the Committee on Foreign Affairs. prgtoken Madam , .
DENOUNCING THE HORRORS OF SOCIALISM
Warren Davidson (Republican, OH) \u2014 2023-2-2

I enlisted in the United States Army after high school and arrived in West Germany in the spring of 1989. The Cold War was at fever pitch, and at the Brandenburg Gate, President Reagan famously said, ``Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.'' prgtoken On 9 November 1989, the East German people finally tore down their own wall; not Gorbachev, not America, not the West, but the people trapped on the other side of that wall. prgtoken I was there that Thanksgiving in the heart of Berlin when I met with people experiencing their first hours of freedom. One man asked me, ``Is it like this everywhere?'' I thought he meant like Berlin, a big city. I am from western Ohio and a small town. He corrected me. He said, No, the stores are open at night, and there is fresh milk and everyone can go in? prgtoken He had been told a lie that we were poorer in the West than they were, that only the elites could buy things, like the Communist Party officials. prgtoken He was not alone. The wall had separated their Communists from our freedom and free markets. The flood of people was to the land of opportunity, not to the failed ideas of Marx and Lenin. prgtoken The United States of America is worth saving. To do that, we must defend freedom and defeat socialism.
IMPORTANCE OF FREE SPEECH
Glenn Grothman (Republican, WI) \u2014 2023-2-2

the next thing I am going to address is Ukraine. Again, I don't think the American public or the American press, the mainstream media, are asking the right questions on this vitally important topic. prgtoken It would be better for Ukraine, it would be better for Russia, certainly their young people, and better for the stability of the world, if a peace agreement was reached. But there are too many people in this Capitol who I don't think, for whatever reason, consider peace a priority. Among those people, I will label the administration. prgtoken Eventually this war is going to come to an end. All wars come to an end eventually. The only question is: Will the war come to an end in 2023, 2024, 2027? prgtoken As the war goes on, obviously more and more people die, more and more people are injured, more and more property is destroyed. You create hard feelings such that more and more people in both Ukraine and Russia will have anger toward each other for years and years in the future. prgtoken Nevertheless, the administration, I get when I talk to them, is not aggressively looking for peace. Now, the United States has obviously weighed in very heavily on this war. It is hard for anybody to believe that we would be an impartial broker. But there are countries like Turkey, like France, like Israel that can be encouraged to step in and put an end to the war going on here. prgtoken I have said before, war between any two countries, they should want to look for peace. But between these two countries, that is particularly so. It is not talked about enough. prgtoken Ukraine has the second lowest birthrate in the world. I mean, if you have the second lowest birthrate in the world, you ought to be doing all you can to protect the few young people you have for the next generation. So among all countries, Ukraine especially should be saying they want this war to end. prgtoken Russia also has a very low birth rate. If my district is any indication, I think a lot of the young Russians that are there are leaving Russia for other countries, I think in part because of the bad economy they have in Russia and because we still, despite all our foibles, have a free market economy in the United States and a much more honest government. prgtoken I have no problem finding Russians in my district. Over a year ago now, when I was in the San Diego sector on the southern border, during that 2 or 3 weeks I was down there in just solely the San Diego sector, the second most common nationality coming from Mexico were Russians. Which means not only does Russia have a low birthrate, but they have a lot of their younger people with their children coming to the United States to get away from Russia. prgtoken So we have two countries that their number one priority really ought to be making sure we have as many young people as possible and making sure they have more children, or these two great cultures, Ukraine and Russia, are going to e
Tribute to Frank Hughes and Lincoln Bean (Executive Session)
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2023-2-2

it is Thursday, and it has been a while since I have been on the floor here on a Thursday afternoon, but it is my favorite time of the week because I get to do something that I certainly enjoy. We have a new set of pages here. I think they enjoy it, and I know some in our media enjoy it because it kind of signals the end of the week here. But it is when I get to talk about an Alaskan--or Alaskans, plural--who are doing great stuff for our State or their community or maybe even the country, somebody I refer to as the Alaskan of the week. We have been doing this for, geez, quite some time. I think 5 or 6 years, going on that. We have covered a lot of ground. prgtoken And before I talk about our two Alaskans of the week--special Alaskans--I usually give an update about what is going on in the great State of Alaska for anyone watching on TV. We have people back in the Gallery. So we love that. prgtoken We always do a plug for Alaska. You have to get up there. Take a vacation with your family. You will love it. You will have the vacation adventure of a lifetime. prgtoken So I usually give an update of what has been going on. We have had an intense winter, a lot of snow, particularly in Southcentral Alaska, where I live. Schools have even been closed. That is very rare for our State, to close schools because of winter or really cold weather, but we have had both--some cold snaps, some warming--and much winter fun, as you can imagine, if you love winter sports. prgtoken The winter solstice has already come and gone since my last ``Alaskan of the Week'' and so have Christmas and the holidays. By the way, there is no better place to spend Christmas than in Alaska, where a man named Santa Claus--a good man, by the way--lives in North Pole, AK, and even runs for Congress. You may have seen that news last year. He didn't win, but he is a good guy. I know him well: Santa--Santa Claus--a politician in North Pole, AK. prgtoken Now, our two Alaskans of the week are Frank Hughes and Lincoln Bean. They are both Alaska Native leaders, longtime community leaders and members of the organized village of Kake. Kake is a village of about 500 people in beautiful--gorgeous, actually--Southeast Alaska. So, again, if you are visiting, you have to come to Southeast. But we are such a big State that you have to go everywhere. prgtoken Now, Frank and Lincoln know what the holidays are about, which we just celebrated, and because of their efforts, they and many others in Kake got a very special early Christmas gift this year that I want to talk to everybody about. prgtoken On November 18, both Frank and Lincoln were on a plane from Oregon back home to Alaska. In the belly of the plane was a 40-gallon bin locked with zip ties, filled with 25 precious Native objects, some estimated to be up to 200 years old. And because of their efforts, these precious, sacred objects and the spirits in them were coming home once again and are n
Prescription Drug Costs (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2023-2-2

last weekend, the New York Times ran a story entitled ``How a Drug Company Made $114 Billion by Gaming the U.S. Patent System.'' This is an infuriating account of how a pharmaceutical company maintained a monopoly on a popular drug and the impact it has had on patients and taxpayers. prgtoken The company is AbbVie, and the drug is Humira, one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. It is an anti-inflammatory medication that is commonly used to treat arthritis and other conditions. prgtoken Despite the fact that Humira has been available for two decades, its first competitor didn't hit the market until earlier this week. That wasn't due to a lack of interest by other companies or an inability to produce the biosimilar that could earn Food and Drug Administration approval. It was because AbbVie used a maze of overlapping patents and an aggressive litigation strategy to stave off any competition. prgtoken Unsurprisingly, this led to big earnings for the company--$114 billion in revenue since 2016--and it has come at a high cost to patients who rely on this drug to maintain their health. The list price for Humira is more than $80,000 per year, per patient. That is higher than the median household income in Texas. prgtoken So depending on the patient's insurance, that price could be lowered significantly for the consumer or the patient themselves. A woman in Kentucky said her employer's health insurance plan kept her payments at around $60 a year. But, of course, we know that, if the insurance company is paying retail or some negotiated price, ultimately that price is going to be passed along in terms of higher insurance premiums for the consumer. prgtoken So there is a lot of bait and switch going on here. Once she retired and switched to Medicare, the cost skyrocketed to $8,000 a year. So her private insurance kept her payments to $60 a year, but when she changed to Medicare, it went to $8,000 a year. This is, again, part of the shell game in healthcare and in pharmaceuticals. prgtoken I can't imagine anyone living on a fixed income who could afford such an expensive drug. The good news, at least for this specific drug, is that, at long last, Humira's monopoly has come to an end. Earlier this week, the first biosimilar came to market, and more are expected later this year. prgtoken Humira is one of the most egregious examples of patent abuse, but it is far from the only one. Other pharmaceutical companies are engaging in this practice every day, and there is nothing to prevent others from using this same playbook. I hope that will change soon. prgtoken Earlier this week, Senator Blumenthal, the Senator from Connecticut, and I reintroduced a bill called the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act to put an end to this anticompetitive practice that keeps drug prices artificially high. prgtoken There are two practices in particular that this bill will address. One is called patent thicketing--p
REMOVING A CERTAIN MEMBER FROM A CERTAIN STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE
Carlos A. Gimenez (Republican, FL) \u2014 2023-2-2

. Madam , anti-Semitism has no place on the Foreign Affairs Committee. I will say it again: Anti-Semitism has no place on the Foreign Affairs Committee. prgtoken That is why Representative Omar has no place specifically on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where Israel's security is one of the issues of critical importance. prgtoken Without a doubt, the democratic Jewish State of Israel is America's strongest ally in the Middle East and has a fundamental right to exist. prgtoken Representative Omar has repeated anti-Semitic canards and perpetuated hateful tropes against the Jewish community. Her comments have compromised the ability of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to conduct its official business. prgtoken Madam , I urge my colleagues to vote in the affirmative to remove Representative Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
DENOUNCING THE HORRORS OF SOCIALISM
Tom McClintock (Republican, CA) \u2014 2023-2-2

it is often said that socialism is sharing and capitalism is selfishness. It is precisely the opposite. prgtoken The only way to prosper in a capitalist society is to identify what somebody else needs and to provide it for them better than they can provide it for themselves, whether it is sweeping a floor or designing a microchip. prgtoken Socialism is taking what one person has earned by helping others and giving it to someone who hasn't. prgtoken Socialism always produces poverty and misery because when you take a dollar from Peter and give it to Paul, both have been robbed of that dollar's incentive to help each other. Peter has been denied the reward of his dollar's worth of work, and Paul no longer needs to help someone earn that dollar. prgtoken Socialism and slavery both spring from exactly the same rotten principle, as Lincoln put it, that you work and toil and make bread, and I will eat it. Both have been championed by the same party through the ages.
Classified Documents (Executive Session)
Deb Fischer (Republican, NE) \u2014 2023-2-2

when I joined the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2013, I encountered a new world of information. Along with that information came a new world of security measures. As a member of that committee, I reviewed document after document apprising me of critical national security developments. I also received strict orders not to share the classified information that I encountered. The American people expect Senators tasked with this solemn duty to take our responsibility seriously. prgtoken Let me illustrate just how restrictive the rules are around these classified documents. When I receive classified information, I have to go to a secured place known as a SCIF to read the documents. There, a security manager and often a Capitol police officer will perform checks when I enter and when I exit. prgtoken My background on Armed Services is one of the many reasons that I am shocked at the news that classified documents dating back to President 's time in the Senate were found sitting haphazardly in his garage this month. The President's personal attorney confirmed that some of those documents came from the Senate, and they have apparently been collecting dust next to the President's Corvette for years. prgtoken It is also concerning that the President's documents were found, in the first place, by personal lawyers without the necessary clearances to view those classified materials. prgtoken We have all learned recently that the executive branch has issues regulating documents. I have refrained from commenting on that issue because I have never been a part of that branch of our government, and so I cannot speak to their regulations. But in the Senate, we have strict protocols that protect classified information. prgtoken Based on the rigorous security standards of the Senate, it is important that we now ask hard questions. How did classified Senate documents make their way from the Capitol Complex past Senate security managers and all the way to the President's House in Delaware? I think most people believe that this demonstrates incompetence, at best. If a newly elected Nebraska Senator in 2013 could figure out how these security procedures work, surely, a career politician like then-Senator could do so. prgtoken As chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, former Senator likely had access to information that could have jeopardized lives, especially those of patriots serving in sensitive roles overseas. President should know that leaked information puts people in danger. This affects all Americans, including the many Nebraskans that are serving abroad, not to mention that it impedes our national security here at home. prgtoken Of course, we have no idea what is in the Senate documents that found their way to Wilmington, DE, because the President and his personal attorneys refuse to share them with Congress. The administration argues that it cannot brief us on the mishand