mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Maria Cantwell (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-7-13

. Thank you, . prgtoken I know my colleagues are working on versions of the healthcare bill they have been talking about today, and I know my colleagues are going to try to say they are protecting the sickest of Americans, and they are saying they do want to ensure that people with preexisting conditions don't have to pay through the nose when they need care. I think the President called the House version of this attempt a mean bill, and I think the original Senate bill was just as mean, if not meaner, with the number of people who would be cut off of Medicaid over a period of time and left without access to care. prgtoken Today's bill also includes an amendment or a package of ideas by my colleagues from Texas and Utah--a provision that allows insurers to sell junk insurance on the individual health insurance market. As long as they offer at least one plan that is real insurance, insurers could offer a bunch of plans that, as CBO has said, are not really insurance; that is, they just cover one or two things. Yes, they would be cheaper, but if CBO doesn't consider these types of plans insurance, how are they insurance? prgtoken I think the whole notion of junk insurance being invested into this bill is very problematic. Under junk insurance plans, they can limit or deny coverage of essential benefits, including hospitalization, maternity care, preventive care, prescription drugs, laboratory care, and substance abuse treatment. That is what they can limit. We wouldn't want those limited. This is why CBO says that if you can't go to the hospital and get care, then it is not really insurance. I have to agree with them on that. prgtoken These plans could charge people more or simply deny them based on preexisting conditions, and these plans could pay out less than 60 percent of the healthcare expenses, leaving the beneficiary with unbelievable, insurmountable deductibles that would be hard to pay. These plans could also impose an annual or lifetime cap on insurance. prgtoken I had a young woman come to my office today who was treated at Seattle Children's Hospital in our State. This family actually lives in a neighboring State, but Seattle Children's Hospital is such a regional entity in the State of Washington, in Seattle, and we are so proud of that. They told me about the debilitating disease this young child was born with and how many surgeries she has had. Literally, with the brain treatments she has had to receive, she and her mother told me that if there had ever been any lifetime caps, they would have exhausted them in the first few years. I am so proud that she came to see us today and is continuing to talk about why capping healthcare plans would be so devastating to somebody like her. prgtoken We don't want to create two markets of insurance. We don't want the one that is the real plan, real insurance, and the one where everybody goes and buys insurance that even CBO says is not re
DON'T REPEAL ACA
Gerald E. Connolly (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2017-7-13

I would say to my friend who just spoke, if he wants to do something for Alzheimer's, don't pass the Senate healthcare bill. It would devastate Medicaid and Alzheimer's victims who rely on Medicaid service. prgtoken Ensuring that every American has access to high-quality and affordable healthcare is the most important and enduring challenge, arguably, facing our Nation today. Ironically, we are closer than ever before to achieving that goal. prgtoken Since the Affordable Care Act was adopted, more than 20 million previously uninsured Americans have gained quality coverage. In fact, we have reduced the uninsured rate to the lowest level ever recorded. Americans no longer face punitive annual and lifetime limits, and they no longer have the fear of having their inadequate health insurance cut off if they dare get sick. Insurance companies can no longer refuse to cover Americans who suffer preexisting conditions, which is the case for tens of millions of Americans. prgtoken The Affordable Care Act has been the difference between life and death for adults who have been locked out of the system for years, for sick children who have reached their lifetime limits before they can even leave the hospital where they were born, for families bankrupted by a cancer diagnosis, and for everyday Americans that will require expensive treatments for the rest of their lives due to a chronic illness or accident. prgtoken The effort to repeal this bill is a unilateral retreat from the progress made under the Affordable Care Act and from President 's own promise that there would be ``insurance for everybody.'' I guess there was a footnote: except for 23 million. prgtoken This promise made by the President is not the only falsehood perpetrated by many of my friends on the other side of the aisle about the Affordable Care Act. Here are three more: prgtoken Falsehood number one: s say costs are out of control. prgtoken The truth is, since the Affordable Care Act became law, healthcare costs have grown at the slowest rate in 50 years. That is right, the slowest rate in 50 years, and considerably below the decade preceding the adoption of the act. s conveniently ignore the fact that, under their own repeal plan, their premiums would go up an average of 64 percent. prgtoken Falsehood number two: s claim the Affordable Care Act is in a death spiral. prgtoken Well, this would come as news to the Congressional Budget Office, Standard & Poor's, and the American Academy of Actuaries, all of whom have concluded that the Affordable Care Act's individual markets are stable and could continue to improve, except, of course, for s talking it down. prgtoken Falsehood number three: s say that insurers are fleeing the markets and consumers will have no choice. prgtoken The truth is the Affordable Care Act is not imploding, but s have certainly tried to sow dysfunction
FUTURE Act (Executive Session)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-7-13

it is a great pleasure for me to be here with Senator Heitkamp. We knew each other as attorneys general so I have admired the Senator from North Dakota for a long time. From my time in West Virginia, I remember Senator Capito's father who is a very formidable and renowned political personality in West Virginia. To be here with the two of them is a personal pleasure. Senator Manchin is also joining us, so I am very happy to be here. prgtoken I thank Senator Heitkamp, Senator Capito, Chairman Barrasso, and my friend Senator Graham for leading this bipartisan effort, and I thank Senator Manchin for joining us on the floor. prgtoken We have more than 20 other cosponsors so this is a bill that has broad bipartisan support and has a great coalition behind it. It has everything from my great friends at the Natural Resources Defense Council, many of our friends in the AFL-CIO, to nonprofits like the Clean Air Task Force, to moderating groups like Third Way and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, which are trying to pick their way through the divide, industry groups like Wyoming's Cloud Peak Energy coal company and West Virginia's Peabody, a coal company, and the ethanol industry. So we have really good, broad support. It is an unusual coalition, and I am excited by it. prgtoken There are ways to remove carbon dioxide from the air and from emissions, and we are seeing a lot of it. I went with Lindsey Graham up to Saskatchewan to see the Boundary Dam facility, where they basically put the output of the coal-burning powerplant through a cloud of amino droplets that strip out the carbon dioxide and pump it to a nearby oilfield where they can use the carbon dioxide to pressurize the oilfield and facilitate the extraction of oil. That is made possible because they have an oilfield nearby that will pay for that carbon dioxide to use in order to extract the oil. If I remember correctly, they were getting close to $30 per ton. That is a pretty real revenue stream, but a lot of our American coal facilities do not have the luxury of being next to an oilfield that will pay for the carbon so you have to look elsewhere for revenues to make it worth your while. What we have in America is a market failure in which there is nobody who will pay you for removing carbon pollution. The way our market is structured it just does not work. prgtoken The simplest approach, of course, would be to put a proper price on carbon and let the whole economy go to work in solving the problem of carbon pollution. Short of that, this bill takes an important step by putting a value on reducing carbon emissions by paying facilities with a tax credit for every ton of carbon emissions they can keep out of the atmosphere. If we can get this passed and if we can get this into the Tax Code so it is lasting, then investors can look at it and say: Hey, we can finally put some money behind these technologies, and we can get them going,
WILSON AMENDMENT TO THE 2018 NDAA
Frederica S. Wilson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2017-7-13

on the night of April 14, 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School in Nigeria, a night we all remember. prgtoken Although some girls fled or have been released, more than 100 Chibok girls remain in captivity today with Boko Haram, the deadliest terrorist organization in the world. prgtoken Last year, Congress unanimously passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Susan Collins and myself to require a 5-year strategy to conquer Boko Haram. Last night, an amendment to solidify the bill and add a sense of Congress that expresses our support for the kidnapped schoolgirls and the United States strategy for countering Boko Haram was passed in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. prgtoken I thank Armed Services Committee Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith, Rules Committee Chairman Sessions, Ranking Member Slaughter, and Congressman Alcee Hastings. prgtoken We will continue to fight against Boko Haram and their vicious and cruel tactics against the Nigerian people. We will continue to wear red every Wednesday until all of our girls are released. prgtoken Remember to tweet, tweet, tweet, #bringbackourgirls.
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Edward J. Markey (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-7-13

I am speaking today because proponents of Care have their heads stuck in the sand. Many of the s in this Chamber are clearly in denial that we live in a country where 91 Americans die each and every day from an opioid overdose; where 1.3 million Americans went to the hospital for an opioid-related issue in 2014; where 2,000 Massachusetts residents died from an opioid overdose just last year, and 69 percent of those cases had the illicit opioid fentanyl in their bodies. If people across the country were dying from overdoses at the same rate as in Massachusetts, that would be 100,000 people per year--two Vietnam wars' worth of deaths every single year. Over 10 years, that would be 1 million people who die if they were dying at the same rate as they are in Massachusetts--1 million people over 10 years dying from opioid overdoses in our country. prgtoken If these s took their heads out of the sand, they would hear the near-unanimous calls from the experts and the pleas of mothers and fathers to stop this machete to Medicaid which they have brought with their new healthcare reform bill. They would hear the alarm bells Americans across the country are ringing against this cruel and heartless and immoral legislation. prgtoken These desperate voices should be enough to get s to abandon their efforts to rip away insurance coverage for treatment and recovery services for Americans struggling with substance use disorders, but instead of accepting the truth and listening to their constituents, they have decided to take a cynical path and replace these lifesaving services with a paltry opioid fund of $45 billion over 10 years. prgtoken There has been a lot of talk from the s about so-called fixes that they can work on with , but this opioid fund isn't a fix, it is a falsehood. It is a false promise to the people suffering from opioid addiction. It is a prgtoken false future that won't include critical Medicaid funding for treatment and recovery services. It is a false bargain that s will make at the expense of families desperate for opioid addiction treatment. prgtoken This opioid fund is a politically craven effort to buy votes from s whose States are being ravaged by the prescription drug, heroin, and fentanyl crisis, but the American people will not be fooled. This opioid funding is nothing more than a public health pittance, a wholly inadequate response to our Nation's preeminent healthcare crisis. In fact, the amount included in this latest version of Care is not even half of the amount that the Affordable Care Act would have spent on covering opioid use disorder treatment if we just left that law alone to work as intended. prgtoken Here are the numbers. The Center for American Progress has estimated that the Affordable Care Act would spend $91 billion for opioid coverage alone over the next decade, compared to the $45 billion
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-7-13

I am honored to be here today with Senator Heitkamp, from North Dakota--my friend from across the border, the prairies--and also Senator Shaheen, from the Granite State. I don't think it is a coincidence that the three of us are here today. We have worked on a number of bipartisan issues over the years. prgtoken As I was sitting here, I was remembering when Senator Collins stood during the government shutdown and asked for people who would be interested in working with her on a bipartisan plan to get ourselves out of that mess. And all three of us were involved in that effort, which was, I note, half women in the group. I think it is time to do that again when it comes to healthcare. prgtoken I appreciated it when last week Senator McConnell said it may be time to work to strengthen the exchanges and to work across the aisle. Like Senator Shaheen, I didn't see it as a last option, I saw it as a first option. prgtoken I certainly appreciate the work my colleagues have done to propose some smart ideas that could help us improve the Affordable Care Act, including the Marketplace Certainty Act. When I talked with our small businesses and our citizens in Minnesota, they want that kind of certainty to help with cost sharing. prgtoken The idea of doing something more with reinsurance, which we just passed on a State basis in Minnesota with a legislature and a ic Governor--we are awaiting a waiver from Health and Human Services here in Washington. We think we should do it in a bigger way on a national level, so I also support the Kaine-Carper bill. prgtoken The work that I have been doing on prescription drugs--much of it across the aisle with Senator Grassley--to stop this unprecedented practice of big pharmaceutical companies paying off generics to keep their products off the market--it would save billions of dollars for our taxpayers if they stopped that practice. prgtoken Unleash the power of 41 million seniors who are currently barred from negotiating for less expensive drug prices. Bring in less expensive drugs from Canada--a bill that I have with Senator McCain. There is nothing in this new proposal we have seen today that would help in any way with prescription drug prices, and that is just wrong. prgtoken That is why we are here to welcome our colleagues to work with us on some improvements in a bipartisan way to this bill, because the bill we saw this morning would again not do anything--minor tweaks but nothing about these major Medicaid cuts that have brought so many people together against this bill. prgtoken Minnesota seniors organizations have said that these proposals we are seeing that are not bipartisan--it feels like we are pulling the rug out from underneath families and seniors. That is why we have seen AARP so strongly opposed to a number of the proposals that have been circulating around with no ic input. prgtoken Many, many people have come up to us across o
80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JUDGES
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2017-7-13

today I am honored to congratulate the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges on 80 years of promoting justice for children and families. prgtoken On May 22, 1937, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, NCJFCJ, was established by judges who came together with a vision of strengthening the juvenile court system and providing support, sharing knowledge, and facilitating an exchange of ideas with their colleagues across the Nation. The NCJFCJ is the oldest judicial membership organization in the country and a leading provider of judicial education. The NCJFCJ believes judges are the leaders of the juvenile and family court system, and by engaging all stakeholders, better decisions are made with improved outcomes for children, families, and victims of domestic violence. I am so proud that they have made Reno, NV, their home. prgtoken The NCJFCJ brings together a broad constituency of judicial officers, attorneys, advocates, court administrators, clerks of court, probation officers, child welfare professionals, and others with a common goal of ensuring the most effective juvenile and family court system. It addresses a wide range of complex issues impacting the well-being of children and families that encompass juvenile delinquency, domestic child sex trafficking, child abuse and neglect, child custody and visitation, substance abuse, domestic violence, trauma, mental health, and military issues. The NCJFCJ also leads development and implementation of policies and practices to ensure fair, equal, effective, and timely justice for children, families, and victims of domestic violence. prgtoken For eight decades, the NCJFCJ has been known for the exemplary quality of its services, including advanced education, training, publications, technical assistance, research, data and statistics, and policy development to promote justice for children and families. Inspired by the leadership, experience, expertise, dedication, and passion of its members, the NCJFCJ is committed to another 80 years of efforts to meet the ever-evolving needs of our most vulnerable population: the children and families who seek justice. prgtoken I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing and honoring the 80 years of achievements and tireless efforts of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, its members and staff, past and present, to ensure a timely, fair, and coordinated justice system for children and families and safer communities across the country.
CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS MEETS WITH SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Luis V. Gutiérrez (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-7-13

yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. prgtoken We asked him about veterans who are being deported. We asked him why American citizens were increasingly having their families broken up by deportation. We asked him about the 800,000 young people who signed up for DACA and the hundreds of thousands of long-term residents of the U.S. who have temporary protected status. He really had no answers. prgtoken We know he is on board with 's agenda to deport millions and millions of people or he would not have been appointed to his position. But, honestly, he seemed not to understand what his own agency does, the statutory powers he has as Secretary of Homeland Security under current law, or, for that matter, even how Congress works--so naive. prgtoken Let me give Members some examples. prgtoken Number one, Francisca Lino lives in Chicago, and her husband and six children are U.S. citizens. For nearly a decade, she stayed out of trouble and reported every year to immigration authorities. prgtoken Now people who work for the Secretary decided she must leave the country and leave her American citizen children and her American citizen husband this August. Why? What changed, Mr. Secretary? Absolutely nothing, except you. prgtoken The same goes for Jesus Lara in Ohio. He has four American citizen children who have lived their entire lives here but their family is being broken up by their own government. prgtoken According to the Secretary, the courts are deporting them, not he or his agency. He denied any responsibility and said he can't do anything about it. But we all know the Secretary of Homeland Security has extraordinary powers to spare families from deportation, especially when doing so would not be in our national interest. prgtoken I told him he could just pick up the phone and stop the deportation of Ms. Lino and Mr. Lara and spare the American people the cruelty and the hardship. But he is hiding behind the old ``it is out of my hands'' bureaucratic dodge and the old ``I am just following orders'' defense-- the general following orders. prgtoken But, General, that is completely invalid because we know you have the power to do the right thing. prgtoken On TPS, a program that currently allows hundreds of thousands of people to live and work here legally, the Secretary has almost unilateral power to extend it. But the Secretary was like: Well, I don't know what I'm gonna do. They have been here a long time. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I have to decide. prgtoken What kind of answer is that, Mr. Secretary? prgtoken To me this means that hundreds of thousands of people's lives, the lives that have been built in the United States, are about to be turned upside down. He wants to take hundreds of thousands of legally documented immigrants and make them undocumented and then go after them and their families. How does that make America great? prgtoken Then t