mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
TRIBUTE TO JACK MIDDLETON
Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2019-6-13

today I wish to salute Jack Middleton for his 60-plus years of dedicated service to the Mount Washington Observatory. Jack is stepping down this year from his longtime post as secretary of the board of trustees. In this role, he helped to build the observatory into a respected authority on climate research, and he leaves a legacy worthy of our praise and our gratitude. prgtoken Those of us who know Jack recognize him as president of McLane Middleton, one of the largest law practices in the Granite State and a firm that encourages its attorneys to be active participants in their communities. This is undoubtedly a reflection of one of Jack's core beliefs. He has been a force in raising awareness and funds for programs like DOVE--the Domestic Violence Emergency Project--that provide legal representation free of charge for people in need. Jack has also served as president of the United Way and board member of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, New Hampshire Public Television, The White Mountain School, and The Nature Conservancy, always finding a way to employ his diverse talents in pursuit of a greater good. prgtoken Those of us who really know Jack understand that he is just as comfortable on top of a mountain as he is in a courtroom or boardroom. It was a young Sergeant Middleton--fresh out of his service in the Marine Corps--who arrived at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Pinkham Notch Camp in 1952 for a new job at a warming hut on Mount Washington's Tuckerman Ravine. He was drawn there after hiking in the White Mountains as a child and staying with friends in the Madison and Lake of the Clouds Huts as a teenager. This new venture was the beginning of a decades-long, unbroken connection to New Hampshire's highest peak. prgtoken While working as an observer at the Mount Washington Observatory in the early 1950s, Jack discovered another love--Ann Dodge, the daughter of Observatory founder Joe Dodge and Jack's future wife. Dating the boss's daughter has it challenges, but anyone could see that the bond between Jack and Annie was immediate and strong. On his days off, Jack would hike down the mountain to see her at the AMC Pinkham Notch Hut. Annie would return the favor when she was free, scaling the 6,288-foot mountain to visit Jack when his duties kept him inside the Observatory. prgtoken Jack left his job to attend law school after 1 year at the Observatory. Shortly after graduating, he was tapped to serve as corporate secretary by a board of trustees who both recognized his potential and appreciated his love of the mountain and its summit. That was 1957. Jack has been diligently taking minutes at board meetings ever since, and he remains an outstanding ambassador of the Observatory and an outspoken supporter of its important role in climate research. prgtoken Over the past few decades, the Mount Washington Observatory has emerged as a significant institution of science education and plays a
CARBON CAPTURE PRIZE ACT
Grace Meng (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2019-6-13

. Madam , we stand at a critical juncture where the decisions we make today about combating climate change will have lasting consequences for generations to come. Each year, millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are emitted into the atmosphere. These emissions are causing the planet to warm and creating more sudden, severe weather-related storms. On top of that, significant amounts of CO2 already reside in the atmosphere. While it is critical that all nations transition to a low-carbon future, we must also explore technologies that remove and sequester carbon pollution to keep global average temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees. That is why, today, I am introducing the Carbon Capture Prize Act, which would direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to create a prize competition to incentivize research, development, and commercialization of direct air capture technology to remove and permanently sequester CO2 from the atmosphere. Technologies, like direct air capture, can provide nations the tools needed to reduce carbon pollution in the atmosphere. The benefit of this technology is that it can be located anywhere, making its potential scale of deployment enormous. A major challenge facing direct air capture technology, however, is cost, which can range between $800 and $250 per metric ton of CO2 removal from the atmosphere. My legislation would address this issue by establishing a prize competition for direct air capture technology that reduces CO2 in the atmosphere. This bill authorizes an aggregate prize amount of $30,000,000, and DOE may run the competition individually or with other agencies. Prize competitions have long been an effective tool to find cost-effective solutions for expensive problems. Madam , I urge my colleagues to support the Carbon Capture Prize Act. It is undeniable that the fate of our children and future generations rests on the decisions we make today about fighting climate change.
TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM SAUBLE
Tom Udall (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2019-6-13

I rise today to honor William Sauble of Maxwell, NM, for decades of outstanding service to his community. prgtoken Bill was born into a ranching family in Maxwell, in North Central New Mexico, and has lived in that community almost all his life. After graduating with honors with a bachelor's degree in animal science from New Mexico State University in 1970, he married his high school sweetheart, Debbie. He then entered the Navy, where he served 2 years of Active Duty and 5 years in the Reserve. After returning home from the Navy, Bill and Debbie took up the family ranching business. They are the proud parents of two children, Troy Sauble and Tara Sauble Foster, and grandparents of two grandchildren. prgtoken Bill has been a leader in the community and in ranching in New Mexico all his life. The number of civic organizations that Bill has been a part of is too numerous to list. He has served as president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, the Colfax County Farm Bureau, and the Colfax County Fair Association, and as chair of the New Mexico Livestock Board, the Agricultural Advisory Committee to the New Mexico State Land Office, the city of Raton Extra-Territorial Zoning Commission, and the American Farm Bureau Public Lands Committee. prgtoken As a tribute to their ranching skills and acumen, in 2012, he and Debbie were awarded the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Farm Family of the Year. That same year, Bill was named Cattleman of the Year by the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association. Bill has not only worked hard for his own family ranch, but he has worked tirelessly to improve the cattle business throughout New Mexico, spending countless hours traveling the State on behalf of cattle growers and the livestock board. prgtoken Bill has the respect of his community and served on the Colfax County Commission between 2009 and 2018. As chair of the commission, he doggedly pursued Transportation Investment, Generating economic recovery, or TIGER, grants to obtain capital investment for transportation projects for his county. When Amtrak threatened to discontinue Southwest Chief service between Dodge, KS, and Albuquerque, NM, Bill worked with me, the rest of the New Mexico congressional delegation, and the Kansas and Colorado delegations to secure funding from Congress and commitments from Amtrak to continue this critically important service. prgtoken Bill is a person of integrity and character. He has a heart of gold. All his life he gave back to his community and our State. New Mexico owes him a debt of gratitude. I wish him and his family my very best.
HONORING BOB COFFIN
Dina Titus (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2019-6-13

. Madam , I rise to recognize Las Vegas Councilman Bob Coffin on the occasion of his retirement from political life. Councilman Bob Coffin was elected to represent Las Vegas Ward 3 on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, and was sworn into office on Wednesday, July 6, 2011. Councilman Coffin has deep roots in downtown Las Vegas, having been a resident in and around Ward 3 for more than 60 years and now lives less than a mile from his boyhood home. prgtoken Councilman Coffin's commitment to Southern Nevada can be seen through his decades of public service. He was first elected in 1982 to the Nevada Assembly, where he served for two terms. He continued his public service in the Nevada State Senate, where he served until 2011. During that period, he served on many influential committees as a ranking member of the powerful Senate Finance Committee as well as chairman of the Taxation Committee. On these committees he fought to balance budgets and cut unnecessary government spending. Fiscal responsibility continued to be a priority as he served Ward 3 along with ensuring public safety, cleaning up older neighborhoods, and attracting new development. prgtoken During his childhood in Las Vegas, Councilman Coffin developed a passion for two things--his Mexican-American heritage and the sport of golf. His ancestral family emigrated to Southern California from Mexico, and he saw firsthand the discrimination his mother faced as a young woman. Accordingly, the Councilman has spent much of his career fighting this injustice. He has traveled to Central America to monitor elections and to help children and families. He has also been a longtime active member in the Latin Chamber of Commerce. prgtoken Bob remained in Southern Nevada as a young man attending Bishop Gorman High School and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he earned an accounting degree. He went on to serve his country in the United States Army and later ran a successful insurance business. While concentrating on his studies at UNLV, Bob continued to focus on his favorite pastime, golf, and was named the Nevada Amateur Golf Champion at the age of 27. prgtoken Councilman Coffin has been recognized for his community service, receiving dozens of awards during his career. Most recently, he was named Person of the Year by the Southern Nevada Chapter of the Professional Golfers Association and received the Charles Dick Medal of Honor Award from the United States National Guard. He has twice been honored by the Latin Chamber of Commerce with its Hispanic Citizen Award and Public Service Award. prgtoken He continues his commitment to the public by serving on a number of boards and commissions, including the Board of the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame, Chief Local Elected Officials Consortium, Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial, Debt Management Commission, Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. prgtoken Bob is also a dear friend
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020
Harley Rouda (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2019-6-13

. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to recognize the contributions of Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian immigrants and to discourage attempts to repatriate them to those countries. prgtoken In 2008, Vietnam and the United States reached a formal agreement that contains specific restrictions on the repatriation of certain individuals to Vietnam, including barring the repatriation of any Vietnamese national who arrived in the United States before our two nations established formal diplomatic relations on July 12, 1995. prgtoken This limitation in the agreement, which has not been renegotiated since its signing, strengthens and protects our communities by keeping families together and empowering individuals who have lived in the United States for decades to continue to make positive change in communities across our country. prgtoken Under President 's Administration, however, we have seen an increase in deportations of Southeast Asian immigrants in a push to negotiate repatriation agreements across Southeast Asia, including using visa sanctions to unilaterally punish countries like Laos that do not currently have such an agreement with the United States. prgtoken I am proud to represent a thriving Southeast Asian community, including thousands of men and women and children who came to the United States fleeing violence and genocide during and after the Vietnam war in search of a better life. prgtoken I call upon President 's administration to cease these attacks on Southeast Asian constituents and halt all efforts to renegotiate the 2008 agreement with Vietnam and negotiate a new repatriation agreement with Laos. prgtoken I would like to thank the organizations, like the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and the National Pacific American Bar Association for their work to support these individuals and their help in raising this issue before the House. prgtoken I would also like to thank my colleagues, especially Representatives Alan Lowenthal, Lu Correa, and Zoe Lofgren for their important work on behalf of these communities. .
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020
Jim Banks (Republican, IN) \u2014 2019-6-13

. Mr. Chair, the contrast here couldn't be any clearer. We have so many young people who are watching us in the gallery today. At home, I have three daughters who are aged 9, 7, and 6. If we don't do something about a $22 trillion national debt today, they are going to be holding the bag for the lack of leadership in this Congress that they are seeing firsthand with the spend, spend, spend mindset of politicians in Washington, D.C. prgtoken My colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to continue spending outside of our government's means. What I hear from families back home in northeast Indiana is if they can live within a budget and if they can live within their means, why can't Washington, D.C do the same? prgtoken Hoosiers are used to a State government with a balanced budget every year, that passes balanced budget after balanced budget and lives within its means at our State house, as well. Yet, they see exactly the opposite time and time again in Washington. They see deficits on the rise. They see the national debt grow at astronomical rates, to over $22 trillion today. prgtoken That is why I am here again today, the second day in a row, offering an amendment to cut across the board 14 percent without affecting defense spending or foreign military financing to address our national security concerns. prgtoken Why am I here doing this for the second day in a row? It is because the ic majority has failed the most fundamental leadership test of all. The majority promised if they got the majority in the last election, they would pass a budget. They have failed to do that. By failing to do that, we are here today proposing cuts to discretionary spending to the tune of 14 percent. prgtoken Now, you might ask yourself, why 14 percent? That seems like an abnormal number to start with. Fourteen percent across the board is what it is going to take to balance the budget. prgtoken I have chaired the Study Committee's spending and budget task prgtoken force over the past several months. With a group of many of my colleagues, we worked tirelessly every week to propose a budget of our own. Right now, it is the only budget in this Congress that has been proposed. It cuts spending to the tune of trillions of dollars, and it balances in 6 years. prgtoken To get to that balanced budget, it is an across-the-board 14 percent reduction in nondefense and discretionary spending. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I am going to be back. I am going to come back time and time again, proposing this same amendment for across-the-board cuts of 14 percent because my daughters' generation and the young people who are watching us in the gallery today are depending on it. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020
Andy Harris (Republican, MD) \u2014 2019-6-13

. Madam Chair, here we go again. Obviously, we took a 5- hour break, but now we are back to not making priorities. prgtoken The bottom line is, now we are up to $27 million out of this basket of money that the Secretary has to manage a Department that is actually increasing in size and increasing in complexity. prgtoken This is a very worthy cause, and there is no question in anyone's mind, I hope, that colon cancer screening, for instance, is essential. Every American who falls within the guidelines should be encouraged to undergo the screening, but we have to set priorities. prgtoken If we are going to increase further the funding into that program-- because as we heard from the subcommittee chair, we have already increased the funding--if we are going to increase it further, we have to look somewhere to decrease funding. That is not a magical pot of money that is endless. Literally, it is true that, sooner or later, the Secretary is going to have to take out loans to pay salaries in his Department because we will have drained the entire amount. prgtoken Again, since the last vote series, which we had 1 a.m. eastern time-- it is now 9:20 eastern time--since then, we have drained that fund by $27 million. A lot of it transferred for good projects, but that is not the way we should be doing business here. prgtoken When families in my district have a priority, they set a new priority. They say this family needs this a lot right now. They look into their budget and ask what they are not going to spend on. That is what we ought to be doing. prgtoken If this is so essential, Madam Chair, I would suggest some other program, not a magical pot of money that some people believe has no bottom. prgtoken Again, the Secretary has to run an increasingly complex Department. The bottom line is that we have now drained, if all the amendments pass prgtoken that we have discussed since 1 a.m $27 million out of the fund. This is not the way we ought to do business. prgtoken Madam Chair, .
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020
Gary J. Palmer (Republican, AL) \u2014 2019-6-13

my amendment would strike the section that allows payments to go towards the Paris climate agreement. Most importantly, it would allow President to follow through on his plan to withdraw from the agreement. prgtoken Just a few months ago, it was reported that the U.S. economy exceeded analysts' predictions and grew at over 3 percent in the first quarter of this year. prgtoken In October of last year, unemployment had a mere 50-year low, and wages are going up. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there are 7.4 million jobs available. prgtoken Mr. Chair, now those on the other side of the aisle want to put at risk that growth and enforce policies that will do nothing to stop climate change. prgtoken What would staying in the agreement lead to? prgtoken The Heritage Foundation has modeled the policies that would be required to meet the administration's Paris commitments and found that by 2035 there would be an overall loss of nearly 400,000 jobs, half of which would be in manufacturing, an average total income lost of more than $20,000 for a family of four, an aggregate GDP loss of over $2.5 trillion, and an increase in household electricity expenditures between 13 percent and 20 percent. prgtoken My amendment would allow the United States to stay out of this unrealistic and overbearing agreement. I urge the Members to vote ``yes'' on this amendment.
MOTION TO DISCHARGE--S.J. RES. 20 AND S.J. RES. 26
Rand Paul (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-6-13

the Middle East is a hot caldron, continuing and continually threatening to boil over. I think it is a mistake to funnel arms into these century-old conflicts. prgtoken There is no great certainty that the arms we send into the Middle East aren't one day used against our own soldiers. In fact, there is a real threat that someday our young soldiers will be sent to fight against the very weapons we send to these so-called allies. prgtoken It has happened. In Iran, to this day, they still have some U.S. weapons that are left over from the weapons the United States supplied the Shah. In Iraq, some of the weapons we gave them to fight Iran were still there when we returned to fight Saddam Hussein. In Afghanistan, some of the weapons we gave to the mujahedin to fight the Russians were still there when we returned to fight the Taliban. These weapons have a life of their own. It is not certain that they will not be used against us and often have been. Proliferating arms in the midst of chaos is a recipe for disaster. prgtoken It is hard to argue that sending arms into Libya and Syria has, in any way, advanced liberty. Dreamers often longingly speak of a peace plan for the Middle East. Maybe we should consider a peace plan that doesn't include dumping more arms into a region aflame with civil unrest, civil war, and anarchy. prgtoken The argument goes that we must arm anyone who is not Iran. We are told that, because of Iran's threat, the United States must accept selling arms to anyone who opposes Iran, even bone saw-wielding countries brazen enough to kill a dissident in a foreign consulate. prgtoken It doesn't matter how you act, how you behave, or whom you kill, we will still give you arms. What would happen if we just said no? What would happen if we simply conditioned arms sales on behavior? Are the Saudis so weak that Iran will run over them and run over the whole Middle East without our arms? Of course not. prgtoken The Saudis now spend more on their military than the Russians. The Saudis have the third largest amount of military spending in the world, only behind the United States and China. Saudi is No. 3. Saudi Arabia is spending the prgtoken third most on arms of anybody in the world. The Saudis and their Gulf allies spend eight times more than Iran. They are perfectly capable of defending themselves against Iran. prgtoken What are the Saudis doing with all the weapons we give them? For one, they are bombing civilians in Yemen. They have been using our bombs and, up until recently, they were refueling their bombers with our planes. We have no business in the war in Yemen. Congress never voted on it. It is unauthorized, it is unconstitutional, and we have no business aiding the Saudis in this massacre. prgtoken The Saudis have used these bombs to bomb a funeral procession. They wounded over 400 at a funeral procession--they wounded over 400 and killed 150. The Saudis recently bombed and killed 40