mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1625, TARGETED REWARDS FOR THE GLOBAL ERADICATION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING; AND PROVIDING FOR PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 23...
Pete Sessions (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-3-22

when the Committee on Rules filed its report (H. Rept. 115-614) to accompany House Resolution 796 the Committee was unaware that the waiver of all points of order against consideration of the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1625 included: prgtoken A waiver of section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act, which prohibits consideration of legislation providing new budget authority in excess of a 302(a) allocation of such authority. prgtoken A waiver of section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act, which prohibits consideration of legislation that would cause the level of total new budget authority for the first fiscal year to be exceeded, or would cause revenues to be less than the level of total revenues for the first fiscal year or for the total of that first fiscal year and the ensuing fiscal years for which allocations are provided.
THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
Luke Messer (Republican, IN) \u2014 2018-3-22

I rise today to support President 's plan to tackle the opioid epidemic, a crisis that has plagued communities and devastated families all across Indiana. prgtoken In Indiana, roughly 40 percent more people die from drug overdoses than they do from car accidents. Since 2010, opioid-related deaths have nearly tripled in my State. prgtoken It is past time to address the opioid epidemic and get serious about saving lives. prgtoken Growing up in the 1980s, Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign had a real impact on my life, and I applaud President 's plan to do more to educate young people about the horrific effects of drug use. prgtoken I also support the President's plan to address the opioid crisis by securing our border, stopping the flow of drugs pouring into our country, and reducing rampant prescription drug abuse. The President is right. For the worst drug traffickers, the death penalty should be an option. prgtoken Today we took a big step in the right direction, but more must be done to help families dealing with the devastating effects of opioid abuse.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018-- MOTION TO PROCEED
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-3-22

I rise to mention one piece of legislative business and then will pay tribute to the senior Senator from Mississippi, Senator Thad Cochran. prgtoken Last night, the Appropriations Committee, which Senator Cochran chairs, released the 2018 Omnibus appropriations bill. It includes a proposal that I feel very strongly about, and I am grateful to him and all of our colleagues for their support. I particularly want to acknowledge the advocacy of the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, to make sure this provision is included in the omnibus bill. The House will soon vote on the omnibus, and then I hope we can quickly follow suit here in the Senate. prgtoken The provision I am referring to is, in shorthand, called Fix NICS. NICS, of course, is the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. I think it is a reasoned and reasonable response to the shootings that have, appallingly, occurred in our schools, our churches, and in our public spaces. prgtoken Just this last week, a gunman opened fire at a high school in Maryland, not far from here, and, of course, shootings have occurred in Florida, Texas, Nevada, Charleston, SC, and elsewhere. Our constituents are frustrated, frightened, and fed up. They want us to do something. More importantly than that, they want us to do something that will be effective and save lives. I am happy to say the Fix NICS bill fits that description. prgtoken People who haven't been active on this issue now are raising their voices and demanding that they be heard. Students are worried, understandably, and parents of students are worried. They simply don't want what happened in Parkland, FL, to occur to them. We need to listen to all of these voices, including to these students, who obviously will shape our Nation's future. They don't want to go to school and wonder whether bullets will rain down their hallways or whether their friends might be the next victims. prgtoken In a recent interview, one teenager said something that was trite but true. She said: ``Guns are not the problem. The people are the problem.'' I happen to agree with that. prgtoken One question about school shooters is, How did they get to the point at which they thought that shooting up public places was what they really wanted to do? How did they justify it in their own minds, as warped as that might be? Also, what is it about our culture, their home environments, or their mental states that allows them to rationalize violence that does such tremendous harm? How does slaughter--because that is what it really is--become justified in their warped perspectives? I admit that those are tough questions to answer, and they are tough to even ponder, but we still can and have to do what is possible to protect our schools, our churches, parents, teachers, and our children. prgtoken Recently, 13 families from Parkland, FL, wrote in support of this particular legislation--legislation that would improve school safet
RECOGNIZING DR. REYNOLD G. LEMP
Daniel Webster (Republican, FL) \u2014 2018-3-22

I am honored to recognize Dr. Reynold G. Lemp on the occasion of his 90th birthday. prgtoken At the age of 13, Dr. Lemp preached his first sermon, ``Let Go and Let God,'' under the ministry of his grandfather, Rev. William Dunn. Before entering college, Dr. Lemp worked for Edison Electric Co. for one year while preaching at a mission and a church in Detroit, Michigan. Upon graduating from Bob Jones University in 1953, Dr. Lemp moved to Winter Garden, Florida and started Calvary Baptist Church on June 7, 1953. prgtoken Appointed in 1960, Pastor Lemp serves on the board of Bob Jones University. He started Calvary Christian School in 1976. During the 30th anniversary of Calvary Baptist Church, Dr. Bob Jones, Jr. presented Dr. Lemp with a Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa). Dr. Lemp retired from ministry in 2003 shortly before the 50th anniversary of Calvary Baptist Church. Many lives have been impacted through his ministry and that of the church. prgtoken It is my pleasure to recognize Dr. Lemp on this momentous occasion. I wish him a very happy 90th birthday and may God continue to bless Pastor Lemp and his family.
RECOGNIZING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARAB TRIBUNE
Robert B. Aderholt (Republican, AL) \u2014 2018-3-22

I want to recognize and honor a monumental occasion in the history of journalism in Alabama's Fourth Congressional District, which I am proud to represent. On March 27, 1958, 60-years- ago, The Arab Tribune published its first edition. prgtoken The paper began that first edition by saying, ``With this issue--Vol. 1, No. 1 of The Arab Tribune . . . a new paper is born. We sincerely hope you will like it.'' I believe after six decades of publication, it is clear that the people of Arab and Brindlee Mountain more than like The Arab Tribune. prgtoken The Tribune began as a vision of Ralph Reed who put the first issues into print. Sadly, he died a short time later in a bus accident. prgtoken His brother, Ewell Reed, who was at the time an FBI agent, moved his family from Virginia to Arab, where he put down his badge and took up a notebook and pencil. He continued his brother's dream and turned The Arab Tribune into a success. Since 1970, Ewell's son Ed Reed has been the publisher of the paper. prgtoken The Arab Tribune has been in the Reed family for its entire existence and that has meant no corporate takeovers dictating news content from a faraway city. Quite the contrary, The Arab Tribune was and is community focused. Current editor Charles Whisenant, and the reporters at the Tribune, make sure the paper is focused on hyper-local content. prgtoken In our current world where people have access to large amounts of national and international news, it is ever more important that local, community newspapers continue to thrive. Our democracy depends on people being engaged, not just in what's happening in Washington, New York or Los Angeles, but also what's happening down the street and in their local government. prgtoken I congratulate the men and women of The Arab Tribune for six decades of putting the people of Arab and Brindlee Mountain first and foremost. And I wish them many more years of success as the ``Ledger of Community Progress.''
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Thom Tillis (Republican, NC) \u2014 2018-3-22

reserving the right to object, first, I thank Senator Durbin for 17 years of work on this issue and for highlighting the reality that there are so many people who came here through the decisions of their parents--not decisions of their own. I, for one, believe they deserve a path to citizenship. prgtoken I felt so strongly about it that I did something I don't believe any -only bill has ever done before. I filed a bill, along with Senator prgtoken Lankford, to do just that--to provide a path to citizenship not only to the 690,000 who had enrolled in the DACA Program but to some 1.2 million. prgtoken I believe we need to come up with a solution to this problem, and I thank Senator Durbin for his dogged tenacity on this issue. I believe that if we continue to focus on it, we will succeed. prgtoken I just need to set a few facts straight. I know the majority leader is in the Chamber, and I will keep my comments brief. prgtoken I was in that January 9 meeting as well. In the January 9 meeting, we had an extraordinary meeting, and most of it was on tape. But the reality is, in the January 9 meeting, we walked away with an understanding that there were four pillars on which we were going to build a bipartisan bill. The President looked to the whips in the minority and the majority, and he said: You guys get together, produce a bipartisan bill, and I will support it. prgtoken The goal was to go out and have everybody get together with the diverse interests that were represented in the room and come up with that bipartisan bill. We have to talk about ``bipartisan.'' A bipartisan bill is not a bill that gets just s and on it. A bipartisan bill is a bill that gets up to 60--at least 60-- s and on it. About a month ago, we came to the floor and had four bills. There was no open debate. It was just an up- or-down vote. That is why it failed. It also failed when there were supermajorities, when President was in place, when not a single vote was necessary. That is why President issued the DACA Executive order. prgtoken President did not create this problem. It was the inaction of Congress and even a ic-controlled Presidency and supermajority- controlled Congress that couldn't solve this problem for whatever reason. prgtoken On the bill that we had, we had three vote. I guess I could argue that 39 votes were . That was a bipartisan bill, but it was a bill that didn't get 60 votes. prgtoken I hope we will continue to work on this issue so that we can provide certainty to the DACA population. It is not too late to do it. I think about the Dreamers every single day. They deserve a path to citizenship. The President deserves to be able to look the American people in the face and say he secured the border and made the homeland safer. I think we can work on some of the legal immigration issues that can actually get th
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Mike Rounds (Republican, SD) \u2014 2018-3-22

first of all, let me offer my thanks to Senator Alexander and Senator Collins, and let me add my support for what Senator Graham has just indicated in terms of the importance of this particular amendment to the omnibus bill. prgtoken Look, I am a pro-life . By allowing the Hyde amendment to prevail in this particular case, as it does with all of the other funding that we send back to the States so that it cannot be used to fund abortions--and that prgtoken is what this is all about--it allows us to still continue to provide, with clear consciences, the dollars necessary to provide healthcare for individuals who otherwise may not get it. prgtoken This particular proposal allows for States to, once again, take charge of part of the healthcare that we want to see delivered at the local level. By taking section 1332 and expanding what States can do, we actually provide more local control, which is a conservative approach. It is also one more opportunity to reduce the impact of what many of us have said was a mistake with Care in the first place. prgtoken For conservatives, a lot of us campaigned on the fact that we wanted to repeal and replace Care. To repeal it and replace it, you have to have 60 votes here. In this particular case, what we have said is: Let's take those parts that are the most onerous and those parts that are adding to the cost of healthcare and take those out, but let's provide and continue to provide the protections that some people feel Care was responsible for, such as guaranteed renewable products, which were included in South Dakota's law before Care ever came along, and the opportunity for everybody to apply for a policy and to be accepted one way or another. prgtoken This particular piece of legislation allows for, perhaps, as many as 3.2 million Americans to actually be able to afford the policies that, today, they can't afford. I believe Senator Alexander used the example of someone who is making $60,000 a year and has a bill of $20,000 for his healthcare. The reality is that that person is not buying healthcare. So let's allow those folks the opportunity to have a reduction in the premiums that they otherwise could not afford to pay. prgtoken This allows for the States, on a very responsible basis, to do what Senator Collins, as a former insurance commissioner, understands so clearly. What we have done with Care is to force individuals who have no place else to go into what we call the individual market. When we force all--or the vast majority--of the individuals who have health problems into the individual market to get coverage, it artificially drives up the cost of that individual policy. That individual market makes up 6 percent of the total number of the people who are covered, but that 6 percent of the premium going in picks up an unfairly large number of individuals who have no place else to go to get insurance. That drives the
TARGETED REWARDS FOR THE GLOBAL ERADICATION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Charles W. Dent (Republican, PA) \u2014 2018-3-22

I am pleased and, I must say, relieved to describe for my colleagues the good news in the Military Construction/ VA division in the omnibus. prgtoken At times, it seemed like we might not ever get here. I regret that our servicemembers and veterans have had to wait almost 6 months for us to complete our jobs, but I think our final bill is worth the wait. prgtoken I want to certainly congratulate our chairman, Mr. Frelinghuysen, for his incredible patience and deft negotiating skill to bring us to this point. I also want to thank Mrs. Lowey and my comrade-in-arms Ranking Member Debbie Wasserman Schultz for her rock-solid support and keen analytic eye during this process. prgtoken Thanks to the budget caps agreement, we are able to provide long overdue support to our military and their family members with a $2.4 billion, or 31 percent, increase, for a total of $10.1 billion for military construction. With that funding we are able to provide $708 million for 12 medical facilities, $249 million for DOD schools, and $8.2 billion for military construction projects in the United States. prgtoken Our Members will appreciate that we were able to provide $585 million in unfunded requirements requested by the services, as well as significant increases in planning and design for Active and Reserve construction and unspecified minor construction. The bill also includes $750 million in OCO funding, more than doubling the 2017 level. prgtoken Our bill fulfills Congress' commitment to our Nation's veterans, with total discretionary funding of $81.5 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, a $7.1 billion, or 9.5 percent, increase over 2017. These funds provide important medical services to veterans as well as disability compensation, post-9/11 education benefits, and a host of insurance and lending programs. prgtoken Of note, we are able to provide $782 million for the new electronic health record contract, the same record as DOD's, which will allow the exchange of veterans' health records with DOD and community providers. prgtoken In addition and consistent with the budget caps agreement, our bill provides $2 billion in medical infrastructure assistance--nonrecurring maintenance, minor construction, and grants for State veterans retirement homes. The $2 billion gives us the rare opportunity to completely eliminate the backlog of approved State home applications. prgtoken I'm also pleased that we have the resources to make an important down payment on the Southern Expansion of Arlington National Cemetery, extending the Cemetery's capacity to 2050. prgtoken I urge an `aye' vote on the package. Help us do right by our servicemembers and veterans and their families who have given us so much. prgtoken Support the bill.
FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE WALK
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican, FL) \u2014 2018-3-22

today I rise in support of the annual Walking 4 Friendship event. prgtoken This past March 18, friends, families, and neighbors from my congressional district walked three kilometers to promote awareness and acceptance of children, teens, and young adults with special needs. prgtoken More than 1,000 of my constituents walked to raise support for The Friendship Circle of Miami. This volunteer organization provides a number of social, recreational, and educational programs for some of the most vulnerable members of our society and helps them build lasting friendships. prgtoken , the positive impact of The Friendship Circle is felt widely throughout our community and brings so much joy and comfort to young people with special needs and their families. prgtoken I would like to thank the countless volunteers and local sponsors who make this organization and this wonderful annual event possible. Let us not forget their theme: Together, we can perform miracles.
TARGETED REWARDS FOR THE GLOBAL ERADICATION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Kevin Brady (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-3-22

the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1625, showing the text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, before the House for debate today includes tax provisions, including technical corrections to tax legislation enacted prior to 2017. These tax technical corrections are important to provide clarity to taxpayers and to the administration of the law. As Ways and Means Committee Chairman and Ranking Member, I and Richard Neal asked the staff of the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation to make available to the public a technical explanation of the tax provisions of this legislation. The technical explanation expresses the Committee's understanding and legislative intent behind the tax provisions of this legislation. It is available on the Joint Committee's website at www.jct.gov. It is document JCX-6-18, Technical Explanation of the Revenue Provisions of the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1625 (Rules Committee Print 115-66).
TARGETED REWARDS FOR THE GLOBAL ERADICATION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Harold Rogers (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-3-22

I thank the chairman for yielding me time. prgtoken , despite his laudable efforts to complete all fiscal year 2018 House bills on time, the perpetual stalemate on unrelated matters left us with this undesirable choice of several continuing resolutions. prgtoken Piecemeal funding of government is universally harmful, but now we have a chance to get back on track and finalize funding for fiscal year 2018. prgtoken , there is a reason why we have a rule against legislating on appropriations bills, and yet here we are. The only holdback that kept us from getting these bills done on time was the fact that a lot of people--some, even, in leadership--who want to load onto this must- pass bill legislation that is controversial. Yet our committee has to cope with an unsatisfactory arrangement. prgtoken Protecting American interests around the globe through military readiness and diplomacy is not a luxury in this hostile environment. It is a responsibility. This bill provides the necessary resources to fulfill that responsibility. prgtoken It upholds our commitments to key strategic partners and allies such as Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Ukraine. The bill also will assist other partners to fight terrorism, secure borders, resist aggression, and stabilize communities affected by conflict. prgtoken We also uphold our longstanding commitment as Americans to help those displaced by conflict or natural disaster or who are facing famine. prgtoken Today's bill will also fight back against the scourge of opioid abuse and prgtoken help reignite the economy of coal country. Like Operation UNITE, in my Kentucky district, the Federal Government has taken a holistic approach to tackle the complex opioid problem. The agreement provides historic levels of funding for law enforcement, treatment, prevention, recovery, and research. Only when these elements all work in concert will we truly be able to turn the tide and save lives. prgtoken In addition, after struggling under the war on coal, it is time to turn a new page in central Appalachia. This bill will give us more tools to strengthen economic development in that region. prgtoken First, the agreement invests in cutting-edge technologies to ensure coal remains a significant part of our energy portfolio, both here at home and abroad. There is also continued support for the Abandoned Mine Land pilot program.