mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
SECURE ELECTIONS ACT
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2018-8-22

yesterday Facebook, Google, and Twitter removed hundreds of pages, groups, and accounts of Iranian and Russian individuals who had coordinated attacks to try to influence our election. Earlier this week, conservative think tanks, groups, and Senate official sites were targeted by Russian hackers. Today, the ic National Committee just detected and announced what it believes was a sophisticated attack to try to hack into its database system--very similar to the attack Hillary Clinton's campaign had during the 2016 election time period. Today, we postponed in the Senate a committee debating election security. prgtoken Clearly, states such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, and others are trying to influence our elections. They demonstrated the capability, the willingness, and the intent to come after us to try to influence us. They are looking for vulnerabilities in States, not to necessarily pick one candidate over another but to sow chaos and use information against us. prgtoken These same nation states are also pursuing independent hackers--not necessarily working for their government at all but just individual hackers who are willing to be hired to do whatever these nation states want them to do or to hack in and get information and then sell that information to a nation state that might be interested in it. prgtoken Election security is not a partisan issue; it is a democracy issue. We should take the security of our next election seriously, just as we take the security of our infrastructure, our banking system, our power and electrical grid, and our water seriously. Those are areas that need to be secured. I am disappointed that there was yet another delay in working through that on election security. But I do appreciate the work of the Rules Committee and what they are doing to continue to refine this. prgtoken I do anticipate that in the days ahead, we will have a hearing on this issue, and it will move to this floor for final passage. The bill that is being debated is pretty straightforward. prgtoken It requires voter-verified paper audit trails. In order to receive any kind of Federal funding, they have to have some way to audit their elections. prgtoken It requires that all States that take Federal money to help them in their election systems also conduct post-election audits that are determined by the States. It is not a reason for the Federal Government to step in and tell the States how to do that; that is uniquely a role of the States. prgtoken It requires communication between the States and the Federal Government on election infrastructure breaches. There are ways to do that, to honor the States' authority to run their elections but still understand that we have vulnerability nationwide if any one State is vulnerable. I heard the arguments on the bill and on information sharing, but I would say that it is clear that an attack on any one State, on any one county, cou
VETERANS PROVIDING HEALTH- CARE TRANSITION IMPROVEMENT ACT
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-8-22

I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the message from the House to accompany S. 899. prgtoken The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 899) entitled ``An Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that the requirements that new Federal employees who are veterans with service-connected disabilities are provided leave for purposes of undergoing medical treatment for such disabilities apply to certain employees of the Veterans Health Administration, and for other purposes.''
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Roger F. Wicker (Republican, MS) \u2014 2018-8-22

I rise today to support Judge Brett Kavanaugh and to join the chorus of Members of the Senate and millions of Americans who are coming to the conclusion, as I have, that Judge Kavanaugh will be an excellent addition to the U.S. Supreme Court. He has outstanding qualifications for the Court, but some of my friends on the other side of the aisle are desperately seeking to find an argument--any argument--to derail his nomination. prgtoken The latest attempt by my friends on the other side of the aisle is to claim they simply do not have enough information about him to make an informed opinion. Yesterday, the distinguished minority leader of the Senate came to the floor and suggested that s and Judge Kavanaugh are hiding something. This raises the question: How much can you hide about a distinguished judge who has been issuing opinions for 12 straight years on the circuit court of appeals? How much can you hide about that person's legal philosophy? prgtoken In the past, my friend Senator Schumer has asserted that the best way to evaluate judicial nominees was to review their judicial record. Perhaps he should follow that advice this year, 2018, in our approach to Judge Kavanaugh. In 2009, when considering Judge Sotomayor's nomination to the High Court, my friend the senior Senator from New York encouraged this body to focus on the nominee's 17-year record as a judge rather than engage in what he called fishing expeditions. prgtoken To supplement Judge Kavanaugh's 12-year record of judicial opinions, the Senate is receiving a lot of documents--more than 1 million documents so far, the largest volume of records ever reviewed for any Supreme Court nominee. It is the largest volume of records ever. If our ic friends want documents, we have them for our ic friends to read. prgtoken In addition, Judge Kavanaugh has submitted more than 17,000 pages in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee's questions. The documents that have been turned in from his time in the White House total more than 238,000 pages. Most of these were already available to the public. In comparison, Judge Gorsuch made available 182,000 pages. Justice Kagan, when she was being confirmed, made available 170,000 pages for review. In comparison, Judge Kavanaugh's number is 238,000 pages. prgtoken What has changed? I think the American people know what is happening in this debate. The Senate should not be distracted by these stall-and- delay tactics. Instead, let's focus on the fact that Judge Kavanaugh brings with him a respected reputation and legal record. He has written some 300 published legal opinions. Let's use the Schumer rule and judge him on those legal opinions. prgtoken Judge Kavanaugh's positions have already been adopted by the Supreme Court. No fewer than 13 times, the Supreme Court has adopted for the law of the land an opinion put forth at the circuit court level by Brett Kavanaugh. I wil
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-8-22

from Tennessee for his kind words and thank him for his leadership on so many issues. He is chairman of the health and education authorizing committee, and we also serve together on Appropriations Committee. It has been a real pleasure to work with him over the years on so many issues but particularly on the issue of medical research. prgtoken It would surprise a lot of people--maybe even disappoint them--to know how bipartisan we are when it comes to this issue. I can say, on behalf of Senator Murray on our side of the aisle and Senator Blunt on the other side of the aisle, that he and I have created a little team, a little cabal, that watches the authorization and appropriations bills. prgtoken This will be the fourth consecutive year that we have had 5 percent real growth at the National Institutes of Health. As Dr. Collins--one of the great living Americans--has told us, this is going to reap dividends, as the Senator described earlier in his speech, in terms of breakthroughs when it comes to dealing with suffering and disease and early death that we can do something about in our lifetimes. prgtoken I don't quarrel with the Senator's conclusion in his speech that we are talking about the direct appropriations bills here, the direct spending of the government, and we are keeping that at a slow rate of increase. prgtoken On the mandatory side of the programs where we see dramatic increase, part of it has to do with the cost of healthcare in America. That cost continues to go up. One of the drivers of the cost of healthcare, according to insurance companies and others, are the costs of prescription drugs. They are going up dramatically. prgtoken We had a hearing yesterday, and a young mother came to tell us the story of losing her son who, I think, was about 23 years of age. No, I know exactly; I remember now. He was 26 years of age. He no longer qualified to be on the family health insurance. He was diabetic, and he went to buy his insulin at the drugstore and was told it would cost him $1,300. He wasn't going to get paid for 4 days, so he put it off. During that period of time, he died from complications of diabetes. prgtoken The cost of insulin at $1,300 is incredible to me. This is a drug that has been available for decades, and that it would go up in cost so dramatically that he would be unable to afford it and lose his life is scandalous in this country. prgtoken I know the Senator senses this, as well, and believes, as I do, that we want pharmaceutical companies to be profitable, we want them to do research, and we want them to invest in new drugs. But we cannot step back and ignore when their pricing is out of control, and in many instances that is the case. prgtoken I have said before on the floor--I have asked the people who gathered here to follow our speeches: How many of you have never seen an ad on television for a drug? If you held up your hand, I know one thi
NOMINATION OF BRETT KAVANAUGH
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-8-22

yesterday I met with President 's nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Our conversation covered many different topics. Unfortunately, Judge Kavanaugh refused to answer even the most basic questions about his jurisprudence. prgtoken He refused to say if he believed Roe was correctly decided. He refused to say if he believed Casey was correctly decided. He could not name for me a restriction on a woman's right to choose that he would consider an undue burden. Even when I asked him if a ban on abortion after only 4 to 6 weeks would be an undue burden, he said he couldn't answer that. prgtoken He could not tell me if he believed the Affordable Care Act was constitutional. Nor would he answer or recall his level of involvement in a number of controversies during his time in the White House, a portion of his record the Senate has been denied access to by the majority. prgtoken Now, I understand the imperative all judges face not to bias themselves by commenting on cases that could come before their court, but these are some basic questions of already decided cases. Furthermore, I told Judge Kavanaugh that he is in a different place than others. prgtoken President has said that he will only appoint nominees who will undo Roe v. Wade. President has said he will only appoint nominees who will declare the ACA unconstitutional. Judge Kavanaugh is under a burden to refute that. prgtoken I asked him if, even when he sat with the President, did he tell the President not to count on him, that he will not absolutely vote to repeal Roe. He didn't. prgtoken So Kavanaugh has a burden beyond that of a normal Justice because of what President , the person who selected him, has said unequivocally. prgtoken So here is Justice Kavanaugh's silence or refusal to commit to even the most common things that should be said. He said he would say Brown was correctly decided. Why can't he say Roe was correctly decided? There is his silence, especially given his recent praises of dissent in Roe and Casey. In 2016 and 2017 he praised Justice Rehnquist and Justice Scalia's views that Casey and Roe were decided wrongly. What is anyone supposed to reasonably believe? prgtoken Given that President said that he will only choose people who will repeal Roe and declare ACA unconstitutional, given that he has praised the dissents in Roe and Casey, the fact that he was unwilling to refute any of that in any way or to even say that a limit on abortion after 4 weeks was an undue burden should raise real questions for any American who believes in choice and who believes in the constitutionality of government helping with healthcare, including preexisting conditions. prgtoken Then, there is one issue we discussed yesterday that took on a whole new light mere minutes after our discussion concluded. I asked Judge Kavanaugh about his remarkably expansive views on executive authority. As c
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019--Continued
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2018-8-22

the work that reporters do as members of a free and independent press is vital to our country and to our communities. prgtoken It is why, last week, in an unprecedented action, nearly 300 newspapers all over the country--a dozen or so in my State--came together to stand up for the free press and defend the First Amendment. There were 300 newspapers that wrote editorials--all independently written, of course, with all different takes on this--to advocate for a free press and to defend the First Amendment. prgtoken The Chagrin Valley Times, which is not far from where I live in Northeast Ohio, wrote: We are indeed your lens into your community. We are not your enemy. prgtoken Clearly, this was a takeoff on the President's comments that the media are the enemies of the people. prgtoken The Athens NEWS, from Southeast Ohio, wrote: ``Good reporting often succeeds in righting wrongs and making things better for people.'' prgtoken The Akron Beacon Journal, one of the great newspapers in this State, wrote: Power . . . belongs to the people. The press thus received extraordinary protection because of its capacity to inform readers and check the powerful. prgtoken It is shameful that journalists have to defend their First Amendment rights, our First Amendment rights, our Nation's First Amendment rights just so they can do their jobs. As these community papers show us, nothing could be further from the truth. That is why I want to highlight yet another story by an Ohio paper, informing the public, that has been reported by a journalist who serves her community. prgtoken CityBeat Cincinnati describes itself as having been ``a voice in Greater Cincinnati for nearly a quarter of a century now, publishing a print edition weekly, and producing regular content throughout the week online to try to help keep you informed of what is happening in your city.'' prgtoken A great example of that content was in a story last week that was reported by Maija Zummo on the Black Family Reunion that took place in Cincinnati and its celebrating its 30th year. The event was founded in 1989 by the iconic Dr. Dorothy Height, who served as President of the National Council of Negro Women for more than 50 years. prgtoken As Ms. Zummo reported, the festival brings together community groups, performers, and small businesses to ``celebrate the values and strengths of the black family.'' Ms. Zummo's reporting informed Cincinnati readers about the events they could attend that weekend, including a parade, festival, church service, and other community activities. prgtoken That kind of reporting is what journalists do every day, every week, every month across Ohio and around the country. They serve their readers, their viewers, and their communities. They deserve our respect. They don't deserve a President who calls reporters, journalists, and all kinds of people in this business the enemies of the people. Again
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019
Martin Heinrich (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2018-8-22

I rise today to call on each of us to take seriously one of our most important duties as Senators--our constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on Presidential appointments to the Supreme Court. prgtoken As we all know, over the last 3 years, the longstanding tradition of building bipartisan consensus in the Senate around nominees to our highest Court was flown into the ash heap of history. The majority leader and Senate s completely dismantled the rules that made advice and consent real in the Senate--all to steal a Supreme Court nominee from our last President. By making nominations to the highest Court--perhaps the most consequential votes we take as Senators-- subject to only a simple-majority vote, s rigged the system to make it possible for the most extreme nominees to make it all the way to the Bench. prgtoken Before they broke the rules, requiring 60 votes ensured that both parties would have a real seat at the table and that mainstream nominees would be nominated and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate. Now we have been told that we must accept the resulting new normal of a politicalized and completely partisan selection process to fill any new vacant seat on the Court. prgtoken I, for one, refuse to legitimize this broken process. Under these broken rules, the minority party--even in as closely divided a Senate as we currently have today--has effectively zero ability to say: Wait. Hold up. There is something about this nominee that is too extreme or too disqualifying for a lifetime appointment to the highest Court in the land. prgtoken That is not democratic. That is not what the Founders had in mind when they created the Senate as a deliberative body. This body was intended by the Founders to be the methodical answer to the fiery passions of the day, not an amplifier of them. prgtoken I fear that this broken system will create potentially disastrous consequences for the health of our democracy as a whole. It has already resulted in a crisis of confidence where the public no longer views our Supreme Court as independent. Frankly, the public is correct--not just because of the precedent it set and hostility that it created but also because of the nominee before us. prgtoken Because President knew going in that he would not need a single ic vote, he went straight to a predetermined list of names given to him by the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. That meant that the President only considered nominees who fulfilled all of the ultraconservative special-interest litmus tests. This ensures that each of the judges he considered opposed women's prgtoken healthcare, environmental protections, and workers' rights. You don't have to take my word for that; President was very explicit on the campaign trail in saying that he would only choose from this list of extreme conservatives for the Supreme Court. Without real ad
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Gary C. Peters (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2018-8-22

today I wish to recognize and congratulate Grace Shore, CEO of the Macomb County Chamber of Commerce. Grace is being honored for her lifetime achievements and her 40 years of service to the Macomb Chamber and to Macomb County, upon her induction into the Macomb Hall of Fame. During her tenure with the chamber, Grace has been a champion for businesses throughout Macomb County and an advocate for improving the community where she has spent most of her life. prgtoken Grace has been with the Macomb Chamber for 40 years and was named its CEO in 1991. Since then, Macomb has grown economically and cemented itself as a key economic player in the region. During her tenure, Grace has implemented many programs to help bolster Macomb's economy. A recent program was ``Shop Local Macomb'' during the 2017 holiday season, a campaign that encouraged residents to prgtoken visit stores in their local community in order to ensure that their holiday shopping made an impact close to home. prgtoken In her role as CEO, Grace has brought innovative thinking, new programs, and the ability to create partnerships with local governments and stakeholders, turning the Macomb Chamber into a catalyst for economic development, and allowing it to provide member organizations with a number of economic development initiatives, networking opportunities, and professional development seminars. All of these achievements have earned the Macomb Chamber the respect of its peers, not just in the region, but around Michigan. Grace's hard work and efforts have culminated in the Macomb Chamber being recognized twice with the Outstanding Chamber of the Year Award from the Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals. Grace has also been previously named the Michigan Chamber Professional of the Year by the Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals. prgtoken The Macomb Chamber has two branch organizations that work side-by- side with it: the Macomb Foundation and Macomb Advocacy for Business. The Macomb Foundation hosts events such as the annual Macomb Hall of Fame and the Athena Award with the aim of expanding the role Macomb County plays in Michigan's economy and to support the many community and nonprofit groups throughout Macomb County. Macomb Advocacy's mission is to educate member organizations and the public on policy and political issues, as well as candidates, to make Macomb a better place for businesses and residents alike. prgtoken In the 40 years that Grace has been with the Chamber of Commerce, Macomb has diversified from its manufacturing heritage and grown into a high-tech corridor. While it still stays true to its industrial roots, it now has many defense and technology companies within its borders and continues to present more opportunities every day. I would like to congratulate Grace on reaching the momentous milestone of 40 years with the Macomb Chamber of Commerce and on being inducted into the Macomb Hall of Fame. I a