mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2018-1-20

as a native West Virginian, I want to say how proud I am of our colleague, Mr. Manchin. prgtoken Perhaps you have heard the old saying: I am Tom Carper or I am so- and-so, and I approve this message. We do a lot of that on political campaigns. Well, I approve of much of what Joe says, and today is no exception. prgtoken My wife and I like to go to movies. We don't get to see much of them, but over the holidays we had a chance to see a couple of them. One of the best movies of this past year was a movie about World War II Britain, ``Churchill.'' I am reminded, as we wander through this impasse, of two things Churchill said. About democracy, he said, ``Democracy is the worst form of government [devised by man] except for all the [rest].'' prgtoken Think about that. This is a hard way to govern, and we have proved it again. A lot of democracies around the world prove it again year after year after year. prgtoken Churchill knew we saved their behinds over in Britain in World War II. We came to the rescue and helped turn the tide. He was always grateful for that, but he used to like to poke fun at our country. Another great Churchill quote was about America. He said this about America: ``You can always count on America to do the right thing in the end, after trying everything else.'' prgtoken Think about that. This situation we are in right now with the shutdown--a lot of people are calling it the shutdown--whatever you call it, I think it cries out for leadership. prgtoken I just want to quote comments of one person at the time, someone who was not in elective office, but he said these words talking about leadership during an earlier shutdown. This individual said: Well, if you say who gets fired it always has to be the top. I mean, problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top and the president's the leader. And he's got to get everybody in a room and he's got to lead. prgtoken This person went on to say: When they talk about the government shutdown, they're going to be talking about the president of the United States, who the president was at that time. prgtoken This individual goes on: They're not going to be talking about who was head of the House, the head of the Senate, who's running things in Washington. So, I really think the pressure is on the president. prgtoken The President will do what it takes to lead. Those comments were given in 2013 during an earlier shutdown. Those are the words of , criticizing then-President . prgtoken Think about those words then and think about those words today. The President has ``got to get everybody in a room and he's got to lead''-- has got to get everybody in a room, and he has to lead. This was true 5 years ago, 4 years ago, and it is true today. With this President, we find a willingness on the part of Senator Schumer, Senator McConnell, Rya
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Rosa L. DeLauro (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-1-20

the gentleman from Oregon does not know what the Health and Prevention Fund is all about. It is more than children's health. It is vaccines; it is insulin; it is lead paint protection programs. Know what it is. This is the majority who has spent the better part of the year decimating an Affordable Care Act and not caring a wit about what was happening to children and their healthcare. prgtoken We do not fund community health centers, and children who are eligible for CHIP will not be able to get the help they need because they can't go a community healthcare center. And if you are really concerned about the children of this Nation and their healthcare, bring a clean CHIP bill to this floor and let's make it permanent. Don't hide. Don't hide behind the children of this country.
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Louise McIntosh Slaughter (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-1-20

the balance of my time. prgtoken , this is the fifth government shutdown in the last 30 years. It is the first shutdown in modern history when one party held the House, the Senate, and the White House. prgtoken During the 2013 government shutdown, the economy lost $1.5 billion a day. I am sure it is even more now. prgtoken We need to work across the aisle, and the majority needs to work with us, and let's solve this problem. prgtoken , I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question and the rule, and .
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Al Green (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-1-20

I rise to explain why there is a government shutdown. prgtoken There is a government shutdown because the self-proclaimed great dealmaker breaks more deals than he makes. Just ask the Americans who are going to pay for the wall he said Mexico would pay for. Just ask the Senators who took him the deal that he asked for. prgtoken , when you break more deals than you make, you are not a great dealmaker; you are a great deal breaker. We have a great deal breaker in the White House. That is why we have a shutdown.
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Peter Welch (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2018-1-20

I want to acknowledge that we are all fortunate in this House and in this country to have the chairman of the Armed Services Committee that we do, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry). prgtoken He identified a problem. When we are operating by continuing resolutions, no one has any certainty or stability, particularly the military. This is the fourth continuing resolution in the fourth month of the budget year. prgtoken Give us a budget, a year budget. That is what we need and that is what the military needs. prgtoken Secondly, to the majority leader, my friend, if we are going to have involved, they have to be at the table. And there has been a decision made that to get to 218 votes, it is going to be the Tea Party that has the final say, not ic participation. Let's change that. prgtoken Third, the budget issues are not all that difficult. They have been mentioned: DACA, to be sure. It is the opioid crisis. It is veterans funding. It is community health centers. prgtoken Then, finally, on DACA, let's have an open rule. Let's bring to the floor the Goodlatte bill. Many favor it on your side. Let's bring to the floor the Hurd-Aguilar bill. It is bipartisan. Let's promise to put on the floor whatever bill may be passed in the Senate. That is called an open process. It is called taking accountability. prgtoken We are in a situation of our own making. None of us want to be here. We all know it is wrong for the American people and it is bad for the reputation of the government. prgtoken Let us have an open process, an open rule, and we will set America free.
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2018-1-20

before I make a unanimous consent request--and we will do that as soon as it is appropriate--I just want to stress again why we have been on the floor this afternoon. It is because we know we have bipartisan support not only for the Children's Health Insurance Program but for the health centers where they get their healthcare, and we can address this without pitting children against children through the unanimous consent request I have and the amendment I am offering along with Senator Brown and Senator Casey. prgtoken In addition to that, there are critical issues that normally get done before the end of the year but did not. Those issues relate to rural hospitals, ambulances, pregnant moms, children, and so on that normally have bipartisan support. So we put these together in a bipartisan effort that really addresses not just one piece of the Children's Health Insurance Program but the places where they go to get their healthcare. prgtoken They are going to small hospitals like in the town where I grew up or where my mom was director of nursing, and they are going to community health centers. We need to address these together. These are things we have done together. prgtoken Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 36, H.R. 1301; that the Stabenow-Brown- prgtoken Casey amendment, providing for a permanent extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program, a 5-year extension of the Community Health Center Program, and extensions of other expired Medicaid, Medicare, and health extenders, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2018-1-20

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. prgtoken , this is day one of the shutdown. What a sad day it is for this institution and what an incredibly sad day this is for our country. prgtoken This -controlled government is incompetent. It takes my breath away. You control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and this is what we get, one continuing resolution after another, and now a shutdown. You should be fired. This is so incredibly wrong. prgtoken You say you want to support your spending bills, yet you won't work with us, you won't even talk to us. Negotiating bills in back rooms with only s is not how you get a bipartisan vote. This my-way-or-the-highway approach undermines our democracy and results in lousy bills that do not serve the interests of the American people. prgtoken The leadership promised regular order. They promised to respect the views of everybody, including the views of the minority. They promised a more open process. That has turned out to be a big, fat lie. prgtoken I hear from my friends that they care about the DREAMers. We all know that if the Dream Act was brought before this House, it would pass with a bipartisan vote, but the leadership around here is so pathetically terrified by the most hateful, xenophobic, and bigoted elements of their base that they would rather shut down the government than put a bipartisan bill on the floor. prgtoken I would have thought that once the leadership got the one thing that gets them out of bed in the morning--massive tax cuts for hedge fund managers and multinational corporations--that they would be willing to actually govern. I guess not. prgtoken We need a permanent fix to CHIP, which has been expired for 112 days because the s have refused to reauthorize it, but we need to fund community health centers, medical research, and veterans' health. We need funds to deal with the opiate crisis. We need to support our men and women in the armed services. We desperately need to invest in our aging infrastructure. prgtoken What we don't need are more and more short-term CRs that fail to address so many urgent needs in this country. prgtoken My colleagues, today, millions of Americans, led by fed up women, are marching in cities and towns all across the country and they have a message. They don't like the way you are governing and they are not going to take it anymore. prgtoken So to my friends, ask yourselves if you want to keep following and the most extreme elements of your party off a political cliff, because that is where they are taking you. If you keep following them, history will not be kind. prgtoken So stop the nonsense, stop the obstructionism. Do your job and work with for the good of our country. The American people are watching.
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-1-20

maybe my good friend was not able to keep his eyes awake last night to see that a bipartisan group of Members in the other body voted resoundingly to defeat this insignificant and this shallow CR that you sent to the other body. Maybe you were not able to see that. prgtoken So what I will say to you is that I join with my whip in a 4-day CR, because maybe you have just forgotten the fact that the most catastrophic storm hit Texas, and then others went on to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and Florida. prgtoken No one has heard one word about those who are suffering with housing that still looks like this, or those houses that are under water. Maybe you don't know that the children who need children's health insurance need the clinics that you gutted. prgtoken I would ask you, if you really have any kind of compassion, to read Mr. Steele's comments, who indicated, as a former chair of the National Committee, that those who are at fault for shutting down the government is a President, House, and Senate. prgtoken You can't do your job. are trying to do their job for the American people. You shut the government down. Worry about those who are suffering from hurricanes. prgtoken Where is your compassion?
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2018-1-20

I thank Senator Casey and Senator Stabenow for their leadership. They are exactly right about this. They are right about maternal health, CHIP, rural hospitals, and community health centers that so many people depend upon, and I thank them very much for their work. I thank the ranking member of the Finance Committee, Mr. Wyden, for joining us. Mr. Carper, I believe, will be joining us too. prgtoken It has now been 112 days since funding expired for the Children's Health Insurance Program. It has been 112 days of uncertainty for families, 112 days of mothers worrying about being able to afford their child's checkups, 112 days of fathers who will have to choose between the heating bill and medicine for their kids, and for every one of those 112 days, the leaders in Congress have made a choice about extending CHIP, and we know it is something that has been bipartisan for two decades. prgtoken The chairman of the Finance Committee loves to brag about the fact that he was there at its inception. He invented it with Senator Kennedy or he invented it and Senator Kennedy came along afterward or whatever actually happened 20 years ago, he loves to brag about it. In the Finance Committee, with Senators Casey, Carper, Wyden, Stabenow and others, we asked him about it repeatedly during the tax bill. prgtoken Again, they were willing to pass a tax cut in December, where 81 percent of the benefits in that tax bill went to the richest 1 percent. That bill will encourage more companies to shut down in Erie, PA, and Ashtabula, OH, or in Pittsburgh or in Cleveland and move overseas. They were willing to do that. We asked them over and over--Senator Hatch and others in the Finance Committee--let's pass CHIP. They just couldn't get around to it. They made a choice. They made a choice to do tax cuts for the rich. They made a choice to let CHIP expire. They made a choice not to bring a bipartisan bill passed out of the Finance Committee to the floor. They made a choice to spend their time and energy on other things. prgtoken They have a choice today. I am calling on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle--and I think Senator Stabenow will make a motion to do this--to pass a permanent extension of CHIP, with no strings attached, the policy we agree on, protecting health insurance for 9 million children, with an added bonus of saving $6 million in savings for the Federal Government because CHIP frankly doesn't cost very much. prgtoken Children don't get sick very often and don't require a lot of medical care. Some children do, and that is the whole point of CHIP, so healthy children can stay healthy and get regular checkups and, with an occasional ear infection, go to the family doctor with an ear infection on the first day, rather than the emergency room after the child might experience intense pain or even, later in life, hearing loss, in some cases. It is there for those like Crystal's child in Columbu
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-1-20

let me thank my colleague from Tennessee. He is my friend. We have worked together on a lot of things, and I respect him very much. We have done some good things in areas like medical research and other very important issues. prgtoken Let me say at the outset that he and I are of the same mind when it comes to the future of the U.S. Senate. We have seen better days in this Chamber. In the past year, I don't believe we have had one honest, open debate with amendments on the floor--not one. We maybe got close on a couple, but not like we remember it, when it was an open process and Members brought their best ideas to the floor and the Senate decided things, debated and decided things. We have lost that. I tell new ic colleagues: God, you would have loved the old Senate. It was a great place. What you see today is a shell of what it used to be. prgtoken The second thing I would like to say is that I maybe have an old- fashioned view of these things, but it is one I feel very strongly about. I do not have the right to pass anything on the floor of the Senate. I have the right to offer a measure on the floor of the Senate, to make my best argument, to convince my colleagues that it is the right way to go, and to ask for a fair vote on the outcome. That is what I have a right to do as a Senator. prgtoken I have seen colleagues--and I would bet the Senator from Tennessee has too--in the past who say: I want to offer my amendment, and I want it to pass. Well, good. Good luck to you. Bring it to the floor, and do your best. prgtoken As intensely as I feel about this issue when it comes to Dreamers and DACA, I am not entitled to anything. All I am entitled to do is to offer to the Senate what I consider to be the best, most reasonable approach to solve the problem, and that is what I am looking for. prgtoken from Tennessee for the litany he produced of things that we are close to solving. That is a significant list when we consider the paucity of our performance over the last--I won't go into specifics--over a period of time. If we could do those five things that my friend mentioned, it would be significant in restoring the confidence of the American people in what this institution can be. prgtoken I think there is one element here that is critical. If the leader would come to the floor within the next hour and say: All right, I am going to allow those who have an opinion or a view or an amendment on the issue of Dreamers and immigration an opportunity to offer that on the floor starting tomorrow--we will start the debate on Monday or Tuesday, whenever it might be--and we will put that work product that comes from that--which would require 60 votes--put that work product into the package of five that you mentioned--caps, health insurance, clinics, the great work the Senator from Tennessee has done with Senator Murray on healthcare--then we would know we have done our j
WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON RULES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND...
Adam Smith (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2018-1-20

I have an enormous amount of respect for the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, but I would remind everybody that, back in September, he and a majority of the Armed Services Committee s voted against the CR, in September, 4 months ago. Why? Because at the time, he said: A CR is devastating for our military. It is the worst possible thing to do to our military. prgtoken Four months ago, he said that, and now he says that we should vote for a CR. prgtoken Think about it. Unless that vote, back in September, was simply hollow and hypocritical, he was prepared to shut down the government in September rather than continue to fund our military, and, by the way, the rest of the government, with a CR. prgtoken He was right in September, but it took to actually have the courage of that conviction to say: No, we are not going to continue to gut the military drip by drip by drip, CR by CR. We are going to stand up and say, no. Pass appropriations bills. prgtoken That is why we are doing this. prgtoken I would also point out that five Senators voted against the House bill. It is not a filibuster. They don't have 50 votes in the Senate for what you guys want to do. prgtoken Mac Thornberry was right, back in September. A CR is terrible for the military. Don't support a CR. Fund the military.
FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2018-1-20

before he leaves the floor, I know the distinguished Senator from Ohio is going off to champion yet another cause for workers--the whole question of justice with pensions. I want to thank him for his eloquent remarks, as well as our colleague from Pennsylvania, Senator Casey, and my seatmate on the Finance Committee, Senator Stabenow. prgtoken I will be making some remarks, and we may have another colleague or two come, and then Senator Stabenow on behalf of all of us will be making a motion with respect to these health programs. For my three colleagues on the Finance Committee, thank you for your commitment-- months and months of commitment around the proposition. As Senator Brown just said, this program should have become law a long, long time ago. prgtoken It is heartbreaking to see these CHIP families put through the political ringer; there is no other way to describe it. They come up to us--the moms, the families--and they talk about how they are being told: Well, maybe this program isn't going to be around pretty soon. And they heard that at the end of the year there was going to be big slabs of tax relief for those at the top and some multinational corporations. What did these kids get? They got something called a patch. In effect, that says it all. They were given second-class treatment, and the powerful and the well-connected got first-class treatment. As my colleagues have said, you didn't hear much of a mention about the Children's Health Insurance Program back then. prgtoken Our friend, the distinguished majority leader, Mitch McConnell, was over here last night--I think my friend from Michigan knows her well, but the majority leader, talking last night about the Children's Health Insurance Program, sounded as if he were Marian Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children's Defense Fund. Last night he was saying that this was the biggest priority to him. We had to make sure the kids got a fair shake. prgtoken I looked over and I said that I thought I was listening to Senator Ted Kennedy, who had devoted his whole life to healthcare. prgtoken Before we go to my colleague's important unanimous consent request, I just want to go through a little bit of the history on this. Back in the fall, on the Finance Committee, we were committed to a multiyear Children's Health Insurance Program, generously funded, and we wanted it done in early October. We had virtual unanimity in the Finance Committee. I think there was only one Senator who had reservation, and we worked with him as well. So we were ready to go in the fall. Had we moved then, all of those families wouldn't have had the months and months of heartache, and the wonderful people who run the Children's Health Insurance Program, who were trying to figure out if they had to send out a notice and tell people ``Well, maybe it is not going to be there,'' and how to tell them and when to tell them--we could have spared everybody all of tha