mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
AUBURN MIDDLE SCHOOL MEALS PROGRAM
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2024-6-12

. Madam , I recently visited a visionary school meals program in Auburn, Massachusetts, that is providing students with nutritious, scratch-cooked meals and teaching them how to grow food using hydroponics. prgtoken Under the leadership of Superintendent Elizabeth Chamberland, Principal Gregg Desto, Food Services Director Brianne Pulver, and with the support from the Auburn School Committee, Auburn Middle School is showing all of us how transformative school meal programs can be in nourishing minds and educating students. prgtoken Utilizing a Federal Farm to School grant, AMS is prioritizing locally sourced foods. On May 8, they celebrated the 508 Day, our area code in central Massachusetts, where they serve meals prepared entirely from locally grown and produced foods. They have recently started a food recovery program to reduce waste. It is incredible. prgtoken On my visit, I also learned that, since Massachusetts adopted universal free prgtoken school meals, even more kids are taking advantage of nutritious options at schools. The kids were happy, and the food looked delicious. Let's expand this kind of programming to all schools in order to promote better nutrition and to end hunger now.
ORDERS FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2024
Jon Ossoff (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2024-6-12

. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 13; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Chang nomination postcloture.
TRIBUTE TO STELLA WHITNEY-WEST
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2024-6-12

I rise to pay tribute to Stella Whitney-West, a mother, grandmother, public health champion, mentor, and leader in Minneapolis. Ms. Whitney-West is retiring from her role as chief executive officer of NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center which, under her leadership, has become a strong and financially stable primary care institution that has improved the lives of thousands of Minneapolis families. prgtoken After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in biology and earning her MBA at the University of Saint Thomas, Ms. Whitney-West began her career as a public health specialist serving organizations in the Twin Cities before becoming director at the Minneapolis Urban League. prgtoken In 2004, Ms. Whitney-West joined NorthPoint as chief operating officer of Human Services and was named CEO three years later. With her at the helm, NorthPoint transformed from a struggling health center losing $2 million a year to North Minneapolis' foremost provider of health and wellness services for underserved families. Her leadership has been honored with several awards, including a Leadership Fellowship, the International Black Women's Congress Community Service Award, and the 2021 Minneapolis Saint Paul Business Journal Women in Business Award. prgtoken NorthPoint has been a pillar of North Minneapolis since 1968 and today serves over 30,000 residents, guided by its mission of ``Partnering to Create a Healthier Community.'' The Center improves the whole health of North Minneapolis residents. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, NorthPoint is also a certified Health Care Home and Ryan White HIV/AIDS clinic. NorthPoint is administered through a partnership between Hennepin County and a community board of directors composed of patients and professionals who live and work in the community NorthPoint serves. The center provides comprehensive medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, laboratory, lactation consultant, and radiology care as well as numerous human service programs. These programs include a community food shelf with culturally-relevant food, the African-American Men's Project, and a partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health to reduce Black maternal health disparities. The Northpoint Whole Family Systems Initiative focuses on providing culturally responsive perinatal care. prgtoken Under Ms. Whitney-West's leadership over the last two decades, NorthPoint has made lasting strides in public health. During her tenure, vaccination and cancer screening rates for Black, Latino, and Asian Americans in North Minneapolis have more than doubled to nearly 80 percent. Today, all patients--regardless of what brings them into the clinic--receive complimentary depression and dental screenings. And Ms. Whitney-West's work has touched lives beyond those the clinic treats; thanks to her advocacy, lead paint was safely removed from neighborhood homes. prgtoken Recently, I was
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 359--Continued (Executive Calendar)
Peter Welch (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2024-6-12

my colleagues on the side have made the assertion that this legislation would interfere with the independence of the judiciary. That is a serious assertion, and it deserves to be respected and responded to. prgtoken The judiciary is an absolutely vital branch of government that is independent. It is independent in the process by which it makes decisions that come before it for its decision. That is where it is independent. As much as I disagree with many of the decisions of the Supreme Court, that Court has the right, without interference from Congress, to make the decisions it makes. prgtoken There is absolutely nothing in this legislation that interferes with the judicial power that the Court alone exercises in considering cases and making decisions--there is absolutely nothing--and to have our colleagues suggest that this legislation would do that is flat-out wrong. prgtoken What this legislation responds to is the conduct of individual Justices that is, you know, frankly, pretty shocking. You get a call: Hey, there is a yacht that needs you on board. Hey, don't worry about how to get there; we have a private plane. Hey, don't worry--if you didn't come, that seat would be unoccupied. prgtoken The Justice actually does it. They get on that plane and go, and they get on that yacht. prgtoken Hey, by the way, we are having a fishing trip. It is in Alaska. It is really cool. Let's go. There is an empty seat. Why don't you come. It is worth $100,000, but it doesn't have to be reported. prgtoken You know, when we talk about a code of ethics for the Supreme Court-- and these are some of the examples of why it is needed--my constituents from Vermont say: Peter, what are you talking about--a code of ethics? They can get away with that? They can do that? They can take this free trip? prgtoken It is really, really shocking. prgtoken You know, my colleague from Connecticut said it right: The Chief Justice has not only the authority but the responsibility to deal with the problems of behavior on his own Court, and he is not doing it. He is not doing it. prgtoken Another point that my colleagues make that I am in 100 percent agreement with is that we need a Supreme Court that has the credibility and confidence of this country. We face very difficult decisions that are quite contentious and that divide America, and when those are contested and they go to the Court and the Court renders a decision that all of us have to abide by whether we were on the winning side or the losing side, we absolutely must have a Court that has credibility. The credibility has to be, if it is going to be enhanced by the Court, by following codes of conduct and by giving the American people confidence that they are on the level. They are not doing it. prgtoken These free trips, these private planes, the private yachts--that is just self-serving and, frankly, gross. Who has the opportunity to take those trips in the jobs they
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 359--Continued (Executive Calendar)
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2024-6-12

this last weekend, I held six townhalls in six rural counties, and in townhall after townhall, people asked me: What happened to the Supreme Court? How did it become so corrupt? Why hasn't the Chief Justice reined it in? prgtoken Well, these six townhalls were not an anomaly. I have held 25 townhalls previous to this weekend this year, and again, in community after community, people want to know how has it occurred that the Supreme Court has squandered its integrity. They are alarmed about the members of the Court taking special favors, gifts worth millions of dollars. prgtoken Wait, did I say millions of dollars? Surely thousands, not millions. Yes, the Justices have taken gifts worth millions of dollars. The Fix the Court group has documented gifts since--let's see, over the last 20 years--2004 valued at $6,592,657 to 18 current and former Justices of the Court, with 1 Justice alone, Justice Thomas, taking 193 gifts valued at over $4 million and with Justice Alito accepting gifts valued at over $170,000. prgtoken How is it possible that the highest Court in the land has sunk to such a low level? Those gifts--$300,000 luxury RVs, fishing trips to Alaska, superyacht trips to Russia and the Greek isles and Indonesia. prgtoken Well, the Court did respond. They responded early this year by releasing their own code of ethics--a publicity stunt. It is a code of ethics with no teeth, a code of ethics with no enforcement, a code of ethics that completely fails to address the obvious conflicts of interest and breaches of public trust. Justice may be blind, but we cannot turn a blind eye to these injustices. prgtoken Congress and the Court are separate but equal branches of power, and it is our job to check and balance one another. The Supreme Court certainly should have issued for itself a compelling code of ethics, but it has not, and so the balance is for us to do it for them. It is our responsibility to do it, to protect them from their own common instincts of taking gifts that they should never touch. prgtoken The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act will require a strong and enforceable code of ethics for the Supreme Court so that all Americans can trust that cases before the Court are being decided impartially, based on the facts of the case, the letter of the law, and the principles of our ``we the people'' Constitution, not based on relationships forged on superyachts and fishing trips and gifts of $300,000 RVs. prgtoken Who here, if you were called to defend yourself at a suit in court, would feel like you are getting a fair hearing if the party who brought the suit against you has been giving thousands or millions of dollars to the judge hearing the case? Who here would think that you are getting a fair hearing? No one. prgtoken We all understand that this is corruption. We all understand that this is a horrific conflict of interest. And we all understand it is unacceptable, and
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 359 (Executive Calendar)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2024-6-12

before yielding to the Senator from Rhode Island, one of the critics of this proposal said it was a solution in search of a problem. The side of the aisle believes, obviously, that for one Supreme Court Justice to accept lavish gifts and luxury trips from billionaires to the tune of millions of dollars and for another Supreme Court Justice to take an undisclosed fishing trip at the cost of $100,000 is business as usual in the Supreme Court. The American people, I am sure, would disagree. prgtoken .
RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL MERRICK B. GARLAND IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH A SUBPOENA DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON...
Madeleine Dean (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2024-6-12

when Attorney General Garland was before the Judiciary Committee, he described his career upholding the rule of law. In his own words, that means ensuring that ``we treat like cases alike: that we do not have enemies or friends, that we do not pay attention to the political parties or the wealth or the power or the influence of the people that we are investigating, that we follow the facts and the law. This is what distinguishes this country from our adversaries.''
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2024-6-12

section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.
Anti-Semitism (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2024-6-12

I come to the floor this morning sick to my stomach and profoundly disturbed prgtoken by pictures that were shared with me this morning of yet another anti- Semitic act in New York. prgtoken A few hours ago, the director of the Brooklyn Museum and several members of the board of directors had their homes vandalized with revolting anti-Semitic images, with images of fake blood, symbolism used by Hamas. I have a picture of some of the vandalism right here outside the home of one of the directors. prgtoken This is not New York. This is not America. And we must confront this bigotry and vicious intolerance with courage, with perseverance. prgtoken Every single American needs to see this. This is the home of a woman on the board of directors. It has her name. It says ``Brooklyn Museum,'' and then it says ``White Supremacist Zionist.'' And her home is smeared with blood. prgtoken Every single American needs to see these pictures. This is the face of hatred--Jewish Americans made to feel unsafe in their own home just because they are Jewish. prgtoken This is not even close to free speech. It is intimidation. It is scapegoating. It is dehumanization--invasive attacks loaded with the threat of looming violence. It is vile. It is nasty. It is un-American. prgtoken And, sadly, this kind of evil is something every Jew on Earth can recognize in an instant. Images like this remind us of evils our families endured for generations, evils that paved the way for unimaginable violence. prgtoken I cannot believe we are seeing this here in America, here in New York. Targeting someone for simply being Jewish, smearing their front door with fake blood, and calling them White supremacist is beyond the pale. Vandalism like this is a crime and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. prgtoken And it sickens me that, of all the targets these anti-Semites could have chosen, it was the leadership of the Brooklyn Museum. The Brooklyn Museum is deeply concerned with issues of social justice--I would say, more than most museums. Its doors are always open to all. prgtoken I have visited the Brooklyn Museum many times with my children and my grandchildren. I have spoken at their great ``First Saturday'' events. I have even voted there. prgtoken The best antidote for the poison of ignorance is, of course, knowledge, and that is precisely what we find in our museums-- knowledge. prgtoken These images break my heart. They fill me with both deep grief and profound anger. I condemn the actions of those who smeared these hateful images of the leadership of the Brooklyn Museum. The perpetrators must be held accountable for this hateful vandalism. These hateful actions--make no mistake about it--do nothing, nothing at all, to advance the cause these individuals profess to care about. prgtoken Again, this is not New York. This is not America. And we must confront this intolerance and bigotry with courage, with perseverance, and with commo
RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL MERRICK B. GARLAND IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH A SUBPOENA DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON...
Gerald E. Connolly (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2024-6-12

I thank my friend for yielding. prgtoken , if you gave truth serum to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I am pretty sure they would admit they would rather not be here today doing this. They would admit that Attorney General Merrick Garland is collateral damage in a failed effort to impeach the President of the United States. prgtoken There is no honor in that, and my colleagues are, for the most part, I think, honorable people, so this is not something they want to do, but it is demanded of them nonetheless. prgtoken Former President has repeatedly threatened the House Conference that they must impeach President or else. So here we are. prgtoken They found the Attorney General in contempt for providing a transcript, a full transcript and not an audio recording, of an interview from an investigation that ended up finding nothing. prgtoken By the way, , the recording in question is now subject to executive privilege, so their fight is not even with the Attorney General of the United States. It is with the White House. prgtoken I take some solace in the fact that many of my friends and colleagues are here doing the dirty work of one individual against their will and better judgment. I know deep down, very deep down, they would rather do the honorable thing and give up this miscarriage of justice today.
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 359--Continued (Executive Calendar)
Christopher A. Coons (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2024-6-12

I rise to urge this body to reconsider the objection that was just made by my colleagues. prgtoken The rule of law, the system of ordered liberty for which so many Americans have served and sacrificed at home and abroad, is a fragile thing. It is, at times, a mere tissue, and it is held together by the confidence of our people in the ethics and integrity of those whom they elect or who are appointed, nominated, and confirmed to serve them. prgtoken We have seen a number of challenging chapters around ethics and integrity in public service recently, but, tonight, we are on this floor to speak about our Supreme Court and a simply shocking series of revelations about ways in which Justices have accepted, over years, huge amounts of gifts. prgtoken The suggestion has been made by a number of my colleagues that this is just , that this is just a partisan attack on a few Justices to try and roll back or undermine decisions they have made that we dislike or their legitimacy. Well, I can give you a compelling counterpoint. prgtoken My friend and colleague Senator Cornyn and I have seen a whole series of stories in the Wall Street Journal in 2021 that revealed that there were dozens of Federal judges who had stock holdings in companies where issues before them implicated the value of that company. It moved us to introduce the bipartisan Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act. prgtoken Your typical bill takes 6, 7, 8 years to become law here in the Senate. This one moved faster than almost any other. On the Senate Judiciary Committee and here on the floor of the Senate, nobody argued that the Supreme Court needed to be above it all. Nobody argued that the Justices of the Supreme Court shouldn't be required to disclose their stock holdings and be accountable for their failures to recuse or disclose. In fact, that bill passed unanimously. Why, then, is this one not similarly situated? prgtoken Every Federal judge is subject to a binding code of ethics. Every Senator and virtually every Federal employee in a senior decision- making role is bound by a code of ethics. That is how the American people know that, if there is some sleight or false, some self-dealing or some action that creates the appearance of impropriety, action will be taken. prgtoken After months and months and months of reports of misconduct, failure to disclose, questionable conduct by a Justice or two of the Supreme Court, a recent poll by Marquette shows that a majority of the American people have lost faith in this institution and no longer have confidence in the political independence and the ethics of our Supreme Court. prgtoken Mr. Chief Justice, I hope you listen or watch. We believe you to be concerned about the legitimacy of this important institution. prgtoken The Supreme Court is the only Federal Court not bound by a code of conduct that is enforceable and where these disclosures and their consequences cannot be acted upon. <|
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4368 (Executive Calendar)
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2024-6-12

reserving the right to object, I am not going to mince words here. It is ridiculous to claim that this bill protects IVF when it does nothing of the sort. In fact, it explicitly allows States to restrict IVF in all sorts of ways. It is literally in the bill text. prgtoken Remember, it did not take State lawmakers in Alabama passing a ban on IVF for clinics in the State to suspend services. prgtoken Under this bill, there are a million ways -led States could enact burdensome and unnecessary requirements and create the kind of legal uncertainty and risk that would force clinics to once again close their doors. prgtoken Also, even though it is an inherent part of the IVF process that families will make more embryos than they need, this bill does absolutely nothing--not a single thing--to ensure families who use IVF can have their clinics dispose of unused embryos without facing legal threats for a standard medical procedure. Instead, this bill completely ignores the matter of what happens to frozen embryos in order to appease s' extreme anti-abortion allies. prgtoken This was intentional, and it leaves the door open to a lot of chaos. So this bill really is a PR tool, plain and simple. It is just another way for s to pretend they are not the extremists that they keep proving they are. prgtoken Meanwhile, there are bills some s are pushing for right now that would enshrine, as a matter of law, that life begins at conception and that discarding unused embryos is essentially murder. prgtoken Senator Cruz himself supported a personhood amendment to the U.S. Constitution. No way around that. The junior Senator from Texas wanted to change the U.S. Constitution to give embryos the same rights as living, breathing human beings. Look, the stone-cold reality is that you cannot protect IVF and champion fetal personhood. prgtoken So I would like to ask my colleagues who are offering this enormously inadequate bill--and I hope they do answer it directly--do you support letting parents have clinics dispose of unused embryos, which is a typical part of the IVF process, or do you support fetal personhood, which by its very nature will throw IVF access into chaos? Because until they clearly answer that question--and it is a couple simple ones--all the claims of supporting IVF will fall obviously short, just like this bill does. That is why I object.