mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2021-3-18

I rise to introduce School Food Modernization Act to assist our schools in updating outdated kitchen equipment, allowing them to provide healthier meals to students. I also thank my colleague from Minnesota, Senator Smith, for cosponsoring this bill. prgtoken School meals play a vital role in the lives of so many of our children. As one school nutrition director from Maine recently told me, school meals are the ``foundation for student success.'' Nearly 100,000 schools participate in the National School Lunch program, serving 30 million children each day, helping to prevent hunger. Many children consume up to half their daily caloric intake at school, and some get their most nutritious meals of the day at school instead of at home. Because school meals are a significant source of daily nutrition for so many, we must consistently aim to improve the program to best serve students. prgtoken The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of school meals for many families. Across the country, schools and nutrition programs were adapted to remote and hybrid learning models during the pandemic. Nutrition programs in Maine and other states have tirelessly continued to support the nutritional needs of students despite school closures, with many schools offering as many as four or five meal delivery options to ensure families can continue to access food seven days a week. I met recently with school nutrition directors from Maine who said lack of equipment, including access to cold storage, has forced them to be even more creative in continuing to serve children across Maine during COVID-19. Many schools are using stoves from the 1960s and others lack adequate storage facilities to store the large amount of food needed to provide multi-day bulk meal bags for children and families who are learning remotely or attending school only part-time. prgtoken The fact is schools built decades ago often lack the equipment and infrastructure necessary to do more than reheat and serve one or two meal options each day. Even before the pandemic, nearly 90 percent of schools needed at least one piece of updated school kitchen equipment. It is estimated that Maine schools alone would need $58.8 million for equipment infrastructure upgrades needed to serve healthy meals to all of our students. The Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, on which I serve, has consistently recognized this need and appropriated $30 million for School Equipment Assistance Grants last year. The School Food Modernization Act would codify and improve this successful grant program to better meet the growing need nationwide. prgtoken The School Food Modernization Act seeks to help school food service personnel offer a wide variety of nutritious and appealing meals to all students. First, the bill would provide targeted grant assistance to supply the seed funding needed to upgrade kitchen infrastructure or to purchase high-quality
ADDRESSING THE BORDER CRISIS
Michael Cloud (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-18

we are indeed a compassionate Nation, we recognize that everyone on this planet are people created in the image of God. We understand that people are hurting all over the world. prgtoken The solution for that, however, is for us to be that shining city on the hill, for us to be an example to the world. For them to know that if you live by the same principles that have made this Nation into one of the brightest beacons of freedom through all of human history that you can achieve the same results. prgtoken We want people to prosper everywhere. We want every nation to prosper, and that is why we are so intent on stopping this terrible scourge that is at our southern border. These cartels are wreaking havoc in the lives of these people, and we have to put an end to this. prgtoken , I include in the Record an article titled ``Color-Coded Passage: Why Smugglers are Tagging U.S.-Bound Migrants with Wristbands.'' prgtoken It has recently come to light that a number of the migrants are coming over with wristbands. The question was asked, Why? [From Reuters, Mar. 9, 2021] Color-Coded Passage: Why Smugglers Are Tagging U.S.-Bound Migrants With Wristbands (By Adrees Latif, Laura Gottesdiener, Mica Rosenberg) Penitas, TX.--Along the banks of the Rio Grande in the scrubby grassland near Penitas, Texas, hundreds of colored plastic wristbands ripped off by migrants litter the ground, signs of what U.S. border officials say is a growing trend among powerful drug cartels and smugglers to track people paying to cross illegally into the United States. The plastic bands--red, blue, green, white--some labeled arrivals or entries in Spanish, are discarded after migrants cross the river on makeshift rafts, according to a Reuters witness. Their use has not been widely reported before. Some migrants are trying to evade border agents, others are mostly Central American families or young children traveling without parents who turn themselves into officials, often to seek asylum. Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley sector, which spans more than 34,000 square miles (88,000 square kilometers) along the border in southeast Texas, have recently encountered immigrants wearing the bracelets during several apprehensions, said Matthew Dyman a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The ``information on the bracelets represents a multitude of data that is used by smuggling organizations, such as payment status or affiliation with smuggling groups,'' Dyman told Reuters. The differing smuggling techniques come as ic President 's administration has sought to reverse restrictive immigration polices set up by his predecessor, former President . But a recent jump in border crossings
AMERICAN DREAM AND PROMISE ACT OF 2021
Yvette Herrell (Republican, NM) \u2014 2021-3-18

. Madam , I find the name of this bill, the American Dream and Promise Act, to be quite a nightmare because while this may be a bill that will help some, it destroys the dreams of the American children. prgtoken The contradiction and the hypocrisy in this entire bill can be summed up in this way: I have heard over and over, Madam , these Dreamers are frontline workers; they have been in harm's way; they have helped with this pandemic. Yet, we are going to open the border and allow people into our country that do not have a COVID test. We are putting our Dreamers in harm's way. I find the hypocrisy of this bill somewhat puzzling. prgtoken But I also want to point out that this bill allows those convicted of dangerous crimes, including MS-13 and other gang members, to receive a green card by including the following exceptions if the applicants with multiple misdemeanor convictions, even if the crime was violent or resulted in death or bodily injury, they can still get a green card. It will not take into account violent crimes committed as a juvenile when adjudicating the application. prgtoken I strongly urge a ``no'' vote on this bill.
FARM WORKFORCE MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2021
Chip Roy (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-18

. Madam , I thank the gentleman from California for yielding. prgtoken Madam , I hear a lot from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that this is not how people should be treated, whether it was with respect to the first broader amnesty bill, with respect to the Dreamers, or whether it is this bill with respect to farmworkers, which is, in fact, an amnesty bill. But the fact of the matter is that nobody on this side of the aisle and nobody I know in Texas disagrees that the system is broken and that we need to make sure that people are treated fairly and treated appropriately. Nobody disagrees with that. prgtoken The problem is that what we are doing is putting this bill in front of any kind of enforcement mechanisms that will prevent the continued abuse of human beings because we refuse to do our actual job under the Constitution of the United States to secure our border. prgtoken We are just refusing to do it, and then we pass legislation in the name of helping people who, yes, are stuck in a system because we created this system because it is so badly broken. You then create the magnet, Madam , that empowers cartels and continues the vicious cycle. prgtoken Today, when this passes off the floor, there will be a lot of backslapping and congratulations: Isn't this great, isn't this awesome, and aren't we so proud of ourselves for what we are doing for these immigrants, these workers? prgtoken But we are not doing a darn thing to actually fix the system that prevents the flow, prevents the danger, prevents the cartels, prevents the abuses, and prgtoken prevents essentially the indentured servitude that this bill would actually create for the farmworkers in question, leaving them stuck with Band-Aids of having to work certain hours as farmworkers, continuing the process, by the way, while we continue to encourage sex trafficking, human trafficking, crimes, violations, and children being abused. prgtoken As I said before, as we sit here in this august body--not actually amending, by the way, just bloviating--while we are sitting here, some little girl is getting raped in Mexico on a journey because of the pressure that we are causing by empowering cartels to do it. That is occurring, and we are just whistling, and we are just sitting here, burying our head in the sand. prgtoken Like I said, go give the press conferences and go pat ourselves on the back as a body for being pro-immigrant. How is it pro-immigrant to have wide-open borders being exploited by cartels, wide-open borders with narcotics coming across, and wide-open borders with human beings coming across it? prgtoken By the way, when the media says this crisis has ended, if they ever acknowledge it exists, it will be because numbers are going down in facilities because catching and releasing is going up. That is what is going to occur.
AMERICAN DREAM AND PROMISE ACT OF 2021
Andy Biggs (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2021-3-18

as we see the ongoing impacts of 's inhumane border crisis, I rise in opposition to H.R. 6. prgtoken , it is irresponsible to be considering this bill today. This bill provides amnesty to millions of those who are illegally in this country. This promise of amnesty is a magnet for aliens attempting to enter the United States today. For at least 35 years, we have seen a direct correlation between promises of amnesty and an increase in illegal border crossing. prgtoken The ongoing inhumane border crisis is a direct result of then- candidate and now-President 's flawed border policies, including amnesty. That is why I reintroduced the Fund and Complete the Border Wall Act earlier this year and introduced the Stopping Border Surges Act earlier this week. prgtoken These bills include real reforms that will have real impacts. Specifically, the Stopping Border Surges Act fixes problems caused by the Flores settlement agreement that prevent DHS from detaining family units for more than 20 days, ensures that unaccompanied alien children are quickly and safely returned to their homes, and promotes increased integrity in the asylum system. prgtoken H.R. 6 will cause more problems than it will solve. It has serious flaws that lead to fraud and abuse. prgtoken This bill gives the Secretary broad authority to waive grounds of inadmissibility for humanitarian purposes, family unity, or because the waiver is otherwise in the public interest. That means that, under this bill, even convicted criminals will be eligible for amnesty. prgtoken If that is not bad enough, under this bill, aliens who were removed from the country by DHS will be allowed to return and get amnesty. Let me repeat that: Aliens who were ordered removed by an immigration judge after receiving due process and were actually removed will be allowed to return and get amnesty. prgtoken Last year, USCIS, the agency that administers this amnesty program, almost had to furlough 70 percent of its workforce because the fees it collects do not cover the costs of adjudicating immigration benefits. But this bill actually sets the amnesty fee arbitrarily low and will allow most aliens to obtain a fee waiver. That is a recipe for disaster. prgtoken This bill prohibits information from being shared with ICE so that our immigration laws cannot be enforced. Instead of prohibiting information sharing, we should require information sharing. prgtoken This bill does nothing to secure the border or close loopholes in our immigration laws that encourage illegal immigration. prgtoken , I oppose this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
CONGRATULATING THE RED RAIDERS BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM
Scott Fitzgerald (Republican, WI) \u2014 2021-3-18

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the Wauwatosa East High School boys' basketball team for winning the Division 1 state championship earlier this month. prgtoken What started as a nail biter with the Red Raiders trailing the Papermakers 27-26 at the half, ended with a triumphant turnaround by the Wauwatosa East team on their way to a 62-44 victory. The Red Raiders shot an impressive 71 percent from the floor in the second half and finished at 55 percent for the game. This marks the Red Raiders fourth state championship win in the program's 17th tournament appearance and their first appearance in the tournament since 2008. prgtoken I applaud Coach Arndorfer and the entire team for a terrific season. This team overcame many obstacles in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they persevered and brought home the win. Congratulations to the Red Raiders, or as they call themselves, the ``band of brothers.'' This achievement is well-deserved.
ADDRESSING THE BORDER CRISIS
Ralph Norman (Republican, SC) \u2014 2021-3-18

I thank Congressman Cloud for organizing this Special Order on this topic that the country is dealing with today. prgtoken The administration established strong laws against illegal immigration. President has decided to disregard any success achieved by his predecessor and, instead, announced open borders to the world. prgtoken This problem was not created due to conditions abroad but by decisions made at home, and they were political decisions, unfortunately. prgtoken Since President was elected, illegal border crossings have skyrocketed. In February 2020, the CBP announced that over 35,000 migrants tried to cross the border illegally. To put this in context, this past February, that number far surpassed 100,000. prgtoken Despite having the statistics to prove it, President refuses to call this situation a crisis, which it is. prgtoken Aside from halting construction on the border wall as performed by President , the administration prgtoken has reimplemented a system of catch and release and implemented selective enforcement of our immigration laws. prgtoken They have suspended the removal of most people with active deportation orders and even released COVID-positive detainees into our country. Really? If you go out of the country as an American and come in, you have to be tested. This administration has no policies in place to test or provide masks and definitely not to know what is coming into the country for other viruses. prgtoken The problems we are experiencing are more than politically motivated. They are counterproductive and put the safety of the American people in jeopardy. Our social systems and border officials don't have the capacity or the resources to handle an overwhelming surge in illegal border crossings. prgtoken Let me be clear, our immigration system needs judicial review and legislative reform. Americans want a secure southern border. Disregarding any form of success on our border is not the answer that we need. prgtoken As I said before, legal immigration has countless benefits to this great Nation. We have a right and a responsibility to know who and what comes into our great country.
Remembering Robert Gutz Thompson (Executive Calendar)
Roy Blunt (Republican, MO) \u2014 2021-3-18

I want to join my fellow Senators in remembering Senator Manchin's family, his sister, and the rest of his family as they deal with the loss of his brother-in-law. prgtoken I want to talk today about a draft I just received--a bill we are actually going to have a hearing on next week--S. 1, the so-called For the People Act. prgtoken This bill is the companion act to the House version of H.R. 1. I actually think it is even longer than H.R. 1, which I would have thought impossible. It is over 800 pages. I think they will be introducing the final version in the next day or so, and that is a good thing, since we are supposed to have a hearing on it in the middle of next week. prgtoken It packs a lot of what I consider bad changes relating to election administration, campaign finance, redistricting, and so much more into those 800 pages, but there is a lot of space there to pack things in. prgtoken I would have to take a lot more time than I have got today to talk about all the things in the bill that I have had concerns about, but I would say, to start with, this idea that one size fits all, this Federal takeover of elections, can't be in the interest of voters in our country. prgtoken It would force a single and, I believe, a partisan view of elections and how they should be run in 10,000 different jurisdictions in the country. I don't know how you do that. I don't know how you take 10,000 jurisdictions and try, at the Washington, DC, level in legislation, to determine changes like how they would register voters. Every State, under this bill, would do it exactly the same way--which voting systems they would use; how they would handle early voting and absentee ballots, no matter how long they had been doing it one way that worked for voters in their State; and how they maintain their voter list, whether you can go in and verify whether people on the voter list were still there. prgtoken We used to think that was a critically important protection in the election system; that you knew that the voters that had registered to vote in a jurisdiction actually were still in that jurisdiction. It was actually, in every State, a bragging point of responsible election administration. That would largely go away in this bill. prgtoken This bill would require States to make ballot drop boxes available for 45 days prior to the Federal election. Those are boxes that--it even designates the locations and tells the local jurisdiction how they need to handle those ballots as they come out of the boxes and would be processed. prgtoken Remember, these are not mailboxes. They would be the ballot drop boxes all over the jurisdiction, if you could find one. prgtoken It would mandate unlimited ballot harvesting. That is a process where one person could collect and submit as many ballots as they could collect and submit. You know, in recent elections, we have seen ballot harvesting as a real problem in these elections. Not only
PROTECT DEMOCRACY IN BURMA ACT OF 2021
Michael T. McCaul (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-3-18

. Madam , such time as I may consume. prgtoken Madam , Members across the aisle share the same concerns about Burma's military coup, and the brutal human rights violations it has caused. This bill ensures that the United States of America's condemnation of this coup is a matter of record, and it asks the administration to report to Congress on this critical issue. prgtoken Madam , I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and .
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Bill Cassidy (Republican, LA) \u2014 2021-3-18

I rise today to speak to the fortitude of the students, faculty, and staff of LaGrange High School. Located in Lake Charles, LA, LaGrange High School educates over 1,000 students and is led by their Principal Monica Guillory. As you may know, on top of a global pandemic, southwest Louisiana was ravaged by two major hurricanes last year. In most cases, people would try to return to some sense of normalcy or return to the status quo following a deadly virus and multiple natural disasters. However, the LaGrange High School girls' basketball team, known as the Lady Gators, would not accept the status quo. Led by head coach La'Keem Holmes, and assistant coaches Patrick Woodard, Sharde Henry, and Sean Andress, these ladies carried their school and community through troubled waters and became back-to-back Class 4A State champions. This is the first school in the Lake Charles area to be State champions back-to-back. These young women gave their community something to rally behind during hard times, the purple and white. What a gift that is. It is my honor to visit them and learn of all the great things they are accomplishing.
CONDEMNING MILITARY COUP IN BURMA
Andy Levin (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2021-3-18

. Madam , I thank Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul for their support in bringing this resolution to the floor today. prgtoken Last month, the Burmese military, Tatmadaw, staged a coup and quashed Burma's fragile experiment with democracy. prgtoken Burma had struggled during that time to enfranchise its minority population, and to respect their human rights. The genocide of the Rohingya is perhaps the best known example, but it is far from the only one. prgtoken In fact, when Burma's November 8, 2020, elections resulted in the National League for Democracy winning an overwhelming victory and securing enough seats in Parliament to form the next government, it was notwithstanding the disenfranchisement of more than 1,500,000 voters, mostly from ethnic minority communities in Kachin, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, and Chin states. prgtoken The resolution before us today condemns the February 1st coup unequivocally and calls on the Tatmadaw to free all those they have detained arbitrarily and return members of the civilian government to power. prgtoken We are considering this resolution at a critical time. More than 2,100 people have been arrested, charged, or sentenced in relation to the coup. The military and police have been ordered to fire on protesters. More than 200 people have been killed in cold blood in these violent crackdowns. prgtoken On top of mobile data blackouts, there is now concern that the Tatmadaw could cut off WiFi as well, and even reports of fiber lines being cut, which would cut off access to the internet altogether. prgtoken Clearly, there is no time to waste. The junta's rule must end. But it will not be enough simply to return to the status quo ante. This resolution calls on President and Secretary Blinken to encourage not just the return to power of the civilian government, but also, subsequently, constitutional reforms to address the undemocratic power reserved for the Tatmadaw in Parliament, and the disenfranchisement of Burma's ethnic minorities. prgtoken Democracy is something we must ever defend and nurture. That is why we who believe that all people are created equal and must be treated as such, whether here in America or anywhere else around the globe, must speak up, not only for full civilian control in Burma, but also for democracy, not for some, but for all. prgtoken And so this resolution makes clear that Congress stands with all of the people of Burma in their ambition for sustainable peace, a genuine democracy, and the realization of human rights for all. prgtoken , I want to thank Ranking Member Chabot for authoring this resolution with me, as well as Subcommittee Chairman Bera, Chairman Meeks, Ranking Member McCaul, and all of my colleagues who have cosponsored this important resolution, which I am proud to say, on a completely bipartisan basis, we passed through the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to support this resoluti