mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Nomination of Ryan Bounds (Executive Session)
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2018-7-18

I rise to speak out in opposition to the nomination of Ryan Bounds to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. prgtoken I will be voting against his confirmation, and I ask all of my colleagues to do the same. My reason for this is not just the fact that in expressing his disdain for multicultural values in a series of college writings, he compared efforts to build tolerance and promote diversity to Nazi book burning; it is not just the fact that he advocated against policies designed to make prgtoken LGBTQ students feel welcome and crack down on campus rapists; it is not just the fact that when a bipartisan judicial selection committee asked him to disclose past controversies, he deliberately misled the committee and said there was nothing to worry about. prgtoken Now that his controversial writings have come to light, he refuses to retract or show remorse for his statements. Instead, he brushes them off as overbroad and overheated. prgtoken Ryan Bounds' writings show he does not believe in a tolerant and diverse America, where women and people of color are treated with equal respect. In my eyes, that alone disqualifies him from sitting on the Federal bench, but Bounds has not received the blue-slip approval of either Senator from his home State of Oregon. No judge in modern history has ever been confirmed without a blue slip from either home State Senator. prgtoken So a vote to confirm him is a direct attack on the Senate's constitutional responsibility to advise and consent. The blue-slip process is a critical function of the legislative branch. It gives every Senator a chance to have a say in the Federal judges who serve in their home State. prgtoken The nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will have a lifetime tenure. If confirmed, Ryan Bounds will have influence over our legal system for the rest of his life. Don't the American people and their elected officials deserve a say in whether he should be allowed to fill that seat? prgtoken This debate is not just about one unqualified judge and his racist ideas. It is about the duty of the legislative branch to serve as a check and balance on the President. Over the course of the administration so far, we have seen an unprecedented attempt to undermine the blue-slip process and pack the courts with judges favored by corporations and special interests. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to take a stand against President 's attacks on our legal system. Protect the integrity of the blue-slip process and vote against Ryan Bounds' nomination. The power and independence of the legislature is at stake. prgtoken .
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. CON. RES. 119, EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT A CARBON TAX WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE UNITED STATES ECONOMY
David N. Cicilline (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2018-7-18

I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule in order to make the Quigley amendment in order to restore urgently needed funds to prevent Russian interference in our upcoming elections. prgtoken And I would just ask the gentleman from Washington if he would yield for purposes of considering this unanimous consent amendment so that we can, together, and s, work together to protect the integrity of our elections. Restore funding so we can look our voters in the face and say, ``Your vote counted. We are going to protect it from Russian interference.'' prgtoken I am imploring my friend on the other side of the aisle to permit this unanimous consent question so we can restore this urgent funding. This shouldn't be a or a ic issue. It is an American issue. This is the integrity of our democracy. prgtoken Will the gentleman yield to a unanimous consent request?
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Betty McCollum (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2018-7-18

. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for this opportunity. I also thank the chairman of our subcommittee for accepting the amendment. prgtoken Mr. Chair, many cities don't have urban wildlife refuges nearby, and to address that challenge, the Service has 21 Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships spanning the country. These partnerships have nourished an appreciation of wildlife conservation to new audiences, and I have seen them in action, empowering local community organizations to inspire conservation in local parks and other natural areas. prgtoken I just want to list a few of these urban partnerships that can be found: New Haven; Chicago; Houston; Providence; Seattle; Baltimore; Los Angeles; Albuquerque; Santa Barbara; Yonkers; New Orleans; Denver; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Springfield, Massachusetts; Anchorage; Cincinnati; the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, St. Paul being my hometown; Elizabeth, New Jersey; West Palm Beach, Florida; San Juan; and Alamo, Texas. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to learn more about this program. prgtoken Once again, I thank the gentlewoman for the time, and I thank Chairman Calvert for accepting this amendment.
MANDELA DAY
Barbara Lee (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-7-18

I rise today in honor of the late, great President Nelson Mandela, whose 100th birthday we celebrate today. prgtoken Like many of my colleagues, I was first inspired by Mr. Mandela in the early 1970s. I was arrested in Berkeley, California, protesting apartheid, when our brave brothers and sisters in the labor movement refused to unload ships from South Africa that arrived at Oakland's port. prgtoken I remember very vividly when the African National Congress was designated a terrorist organization by the United States Government. It was illegal to meet with the freedom fighters in the United States, but many of us did anyway in safe places around the world. prgtoken I was so happy when we finally passed legislation, which I led, to lift President Mandela and the ANC off the terrorist watch list on his 90 birthday 10 years ago. prgtoken As an election observer, I will never forget the lines of people waiting to vote for Nelson Mandela as the first Black President of South Africa. prgtoken Madiba's impact was not limited to South Africa. He sparked social justice movements that reached around the world and reminded us of the power of the vote. As President noted yesterday, he said Madiba ``came to embody the universal aspirations of dispossessed people all around the world, their hopes for a better life.'' prgtoken President Mandela taught us many lessons, lessons in reconciliation, perseverance, and public service. Above all, he taught us that the fight for justice was never finished. His legacy will live forever.
National Security (Executive Session)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-7-18

I oppose the nomination of Andrew Oldham to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. prgtoken Mr. Oldham is only 39 years old. He checks the Federalist Society box, having been a member since law school of that rightwing legal group that vets all of President 's nominees. Mr. Oldham has spent much of his career litigating on behalf of elected officials in Texas State government, where he worked on challenges to the Affordable Care Act, the DACA and DAPA programs, the Voting Rights Act, Fair Housing Act regulations, ``Ban the Box'' regulations on job applications, and Clean Air Act regulations, among many others. prgtoken Mr. Oldham's extreme ideology is apparent from statements he has made in his personal capacity. At his nomination hearing, he refused to say that the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education was correctly decided. That was an astonishing moment. Every Supreme Court nominee who has been asked this question has said he or she believed Brown v. Board was correctly decided. In recent hearings before the Judiciary Committee, nominees have answered yes to this question without hesitation; yet Mr. Oldham wouldn't answer. prgtoken If a nominee refuses to say that Brown v. Board was correctly decided, it certainly raises questions in my mind about the nominee's judgment, but that is not all Mr. Oldham has said. prgtoken At his hearing, he refused to say whether he agreed that voter discrimination still exists in the United States. prgtoken He gave an interview in 2016 where he described the Supreme Court as ``the most dangerous branch'' and said ``they often fail to enforce our sacred rights that are in the Constitution, while creating rights that are not.'' Keep in mind, this is a Supreme Court where the majority of justices were appointed by Presidents. prgtoken He gave a speech to the Federalist Society in 2016 where he said, ``I have particular things that I think are illegitimate in the way that we conduct modern American law.'' He went on to say, ``It's not that I disagree with a particular Department of Labor regulation or a particular IRS regulation; it is the entire existence of this edifice of administrative law that is constitutionally suspect.'' prgtoken He also wrote in a law review article that ``the Sherman Act, as it is currently understood, is unconstitutional.'' The Sherman Act is one of our foundational antitrust laws; it prohibits monopolies and restraints of trade. prgtoken Mr. Oldham's views are clearly outside the judicial mainstream. His own words and writings show an extreme ideological agenda. prgtoken Of course, like all of President 's nominees, he has promised he would cast all his views aside if confirmed and simply follow the law. But time after time, we have seen these nominees get confirmed to the bench and then start interpreting the law to produce outcomes that align with their preexisting, Federalist Society-approv
Tariffs (Executive Session)
Jon Tester (Democrat, MT) \u2014 2018-7-18

I rise today to talk about tariffs and their impact on Montana's family farmers and businesses. In Montana we have more than 27,000 family farms and ranches. Folks who farm and ranch these lands are descendants of homesteaders and pioneers, including myself. They are also young producers who may be preparing for their first harvest. Might I add that we don't have enough young producers in our State. The population of farmers is getting far too old. prgtoken These folks work 7 days a week, for long hours, to raise the food that feeds our families across this world, and they power our rural economies in this country. Farmers and ranchers are small business operators and owners who are always on tight margins and always are looking to make sure that they can make the books balance by being on the positive side of the ledger. Why? So they can keep their farms and ranches viable to be able to have the next generation take over their operation. Just like any other business--a local bar or a hardware store--you need to be able to make a profit to stay in business. prgtoken Producers need to make sure that they have predictability in input costs--we are talking about fertilizers, fuel, and seed--and predictability in markets, the places where we sell our grain, which has always been a challenge and which has become more of a challenge over the past 6 months. When farmers plant a crop, they need to know there is a market for that crop, because if there is not, it can put them in a world of hurt financially. prgtoken Unfortunately, in Montana, we are preparing to harvest winter wheat crops as we speak. Spring wheat crops will soon be coming, pulse crops will soon be coming, and oil seeds will soon be coming. The fact is that there is no certainty in any of those crops right now. Why? Because our farmers and our ranchers are being used as pawns in a trade war that I can guarantee not one of them asked for. prgtoken This trade war is eliminating access to foreign markets that have taken generations to develop and putting family farm and ranch operations in a financial pinch--such a severe financial pinch that we haven't seen anything like it since the 1980s, when we saw a mass exodus off the land due to bad ag prices. prgtoken The retaliatory tariffs against family farmers and ranchers is harming Montana's No. 1 industry, agriculture. Montana's grain producers produce about $2 billion worth of wheat, barley, pulse crops, and oil seeds every year. Since the middle of June, the price of No. 1 Dark Northern Spring wheat in southeastern Montana has fallen more than 60 cents a bushel. That is more than 10 percent, and the same can be said throughout the State of Montana. prgtoken To put that in perspective, just think what would happen in your business if your prices were reduced by 10 percent right off the top. It would put you in a world of financial hurt, and that is where Montana's farms and ranches are tod
Trump-Putin Summit (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-7-18

yesterday, President went through a walk back. President 's walk back performance was pathetic. It was weak, insincere, and thoroughly unconvincing. The President read a scripted clarification yesterday like he was in a hostage situation. All you had to do was look at his face. He couldn't even fully commit to it, adding off-the-cuff that other people could also be responsible for election interference in 2016. That is hardly a walk back, and it was concerning only one particular comment. The President did not address his lavish praise for Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Is he going to walk that back? He blamed both countries--the United States and Russia--for the sour relations between us. Is he going to walk that back? He said U.S. stupidity and foolishness, not Russian aggression, was the reason our relationship with Russia was so bad. Is he going to walk that back? He did not address his brazen attacks on the FBI while on foreign soil. Is he going to walk that back? prgtoken Now, late last night and this morning, the President is back to celebrating his meeting with Putin. He is walking back the walk back. That is what he did this morning. This is like Charlottesville redux. We all know what the President really thought. We know what he thought at Charlottesville. The walk back was unconvincing, and he went back to his old ways. We know what he thought at Helsinki. The walk back was unconvincing. And now, with his tweets this morning, he is back to his old ways. prgtoken The only reason there was a walk back is that the President was forced by pressure from many of my friends here, from his allies in the media, and his own White House staff. They all pressured him to give that temporary walk back. But it is clear from today's tweets that he doesn't mean it, that he doesn't believe it, and, frankly, neither does anybody else. It is clear that he still believes President Putin over the consensus of the American intelligence community, and that puts Americans' security gravely at risk. prgtoken The President's reluctant, ham-handed, half-hearted ``clarification'' yesterday--almost entirely reversed this morning--is woefully inadequate. His behavior in Helsinki continues to demand a response from Congress, and there are many things we can do. But later this morning, if anything is true to form, the President will hold a Cabinet meeting, and his advisers will shower him with thanks and praise--this is what he craves--and will provide, perhaps, another version of what happened in Helsinki. prgtoken Given what happened in Helsinki and given that the President's walk back was so weak, there are several things we as a Congress can and should do. Talking the talk is not enough. Walking the walk is what is so important here. We need to act, not simply say ``tsk, tsk; bad President'' and then go back to business as usual, because the American polity, the American security, and the
SUPPORTING UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT
Jim Costa (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-7-18

I thank the gentleman for yielding. prgtoken , immigration is one of the more important issues that we must face around here. It is one we take seriously. This debate, sadly, is more about politics, in my view. prgtoken Our decisions affect people's lives and America's future. We must stop these partisan ``gotcha'' bills, empty-messaging resolutions, and ideological hijacking of our policy discussions. Rather, we must come together and do our work and create a fair and effective immigration system, one that reflects our values. prgtoken We must have and we need bipartisan, comprehensive immigration laws to fix our broken immigration system, much like was done in 2013. Unfortunately, it didn't pass. Then we must smartly enforce it. prgtoken We have big challenges. We must take care of the Dreamers stuck in DACA limbo; we must reunite families who are separated, secure our borders--yes, we must--using every effective means possible; and we must bring undocumented neighbors out of the shadows. prgtoken I will vote for this resolution, but it is not about abolish or support ICE.
Commemorating the Negro National League (Executive Calendar)
Bill Nelson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-7-18

. Further, as the Senator correctly pointed out, once Jackie Robinson was able to break into the majors in 1947, it would be another 11 years--1958--before the last team in the Major Leagues integrated. Would you believe, for all of that period of time, these great baseball players who have contributed so much had no pensions? prgtoken Further, it was years later in this Senate--in the last decade--that, finally, the Commissioner of Baseball was brought in front of the Commerce Committee in order to face the music about the fact that the retired players who had not played in Major League Baseball but in the old Negro leagues in America--because they couldn't get into Major League Baseball, even while the rest of the teams were being integrated, which took 11 years--had no pensions. Would you believe that Major League Baseball, through Bud Selig, finally agreed to give them onetime pension payments? prgtoken This Senator is so grateful because that has helped so many of the residents in my State who are these great players. Senator Blunt has so accurately described their considerable talents on the baseball field.
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LATEST TWEETS
John Garamendi (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-7-18

well, the latest tweets from the President: ``So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki.'' prgtoken Obviously, he is referring to Putin, because there are not many people in the United States who saw that press conference as a success. In fact, it was an unmitigated disaster. prgtoken Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said, ``The red lights are blinking.'' Our election process, our critical infrastructure, is being attacked by Russia, and what is the House of Representatives doing today? Eliminating funding to protect our election process. prgtoken Obviously, those who vote for this reduction in funding are not at the higher levels of intelligence.
SUPPORTING UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT
Steny H. Hoyer (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2018-7-18

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the ICE agents for being present. prgtoken It is unfortunate that our colleagues are not present doing the business that cries out to be done. prgtoken I am voting ``present'' on this resolution because it is a sham and a distraction. It is an outrageous attempt to hide the continued suffering of children behind a partisan attack on . prgtoken This is exactly the kind of gotcha vote that alienates Americans from our government. It is as shameless as it is inappropriate. It is inappropriate because s are not doing a single thing to address the crisis of children still separated from their parents, even after a court ruled that they need to be reunited. prgtoken refuse to play the s' game when it comes to children's well-being and the safety of those who come here seeking asylum. We are not falling for this trap, and you can say we are doing it as much as you want. support secure borders and honor the service of all whose lives are at risk in protecting our country and our people. prgtoken I take a back seat to no one in the House over the years in supporting our law enforcement personnel, but we will neither be silent nor will we cease fighting to bring an end to the dangerous and inhumane policies of the administration that are traumatizing families and children at our borders, which Senator McCain correctly called ``an affront to the decency of the American people.'' prgtoken Shame on the House majority for putting such blatant partisanship ahead of the children. Shame on you for using our law enforcement agents as pawns in your political games.
HONORING THE BIRTH OF NELSON MANDELA
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-7-18

today marks 100 years since the birth of famed political leader and philanthropist, Nelson Mandela. Often referred to as the ``Father of the Nation,'' Mandela is best known for serving as South Africa's first black head of state and using his administration to dismantle the strict system of apartheid that existed in South Africa from 1948 until the mid-1990s. Since that time, Mandela has become a global icon of democracy and social justice, which is relevant even today as we continue to wrestle with our own issues of divisiveness and racial disparities. prgtoken Mandela began his activism at a relatively young age. While studying law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Mandela quickly became involved in a movement fighting against racial discrimination. In 1944, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) and worked to establish its youth league, the ANCYL, in order to help foster new leaders and call for civil disobedience against the new laws that came with apartheid. prgtoken By 1961, Mandela co-founded an armed wing of the ANC once the government would not respond to peaceful demands for equality. Mandela was ultimately imprisoned for nearly three decades, where he was subjected to inhumane punishment and other atrocities. prgtoken Once Mandela was released from prison, he quickly moved to lead the ANC in negotiations with the governing National Party to bring an end to apartheid. By May 10, 1994, Mandela was elected and sworn in as the first black president of South Africa--a position he would use to bring peace and equality to the nation. After leaving office, he continued to help address global issues through direct intervention and through the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013, after a long and fruitful life. prgtoken , Nelson Mandela left behind a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire generations to come. It is fitting that even after one hundred years, as our society continues to overcome challenges to our democracy and social justice, that we honor such a timeless figure in our history. Even in death, his selfless dedication to equality and democratic ideology serve as a reminder that we must always be fighting to defend the values that we hold dear as a nation. It is in the absence of such a strong defense of our values that we succumb to the tyranny and oppression of the past.