mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Continued
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2021-5-26

thank you very much. I wanted to rise today to talk about a matter that has come before the Senate in the bill that we are considering, the United States Innovation and Competition Act. I rise to talk about a particular amendment that I have been working on. It is amendment No. 1853. Of course I urge the Senate to act quickly to approve this amendment to protect our supply chains that are critical to the national security of the United States. prgtoken I wanted to explain what the origin of this amendment has been. It goes all the way back to the beginning of the pandemic, the worst public health crisis in over 100 years in our Nation. At that time, as so many Americans remember, we watched in horror as access to masks, gloves, gowns, and even more sophisticated equipment, like ventilators and other critical supplies--when all of that was necessary for pandemic response, all of a sudden, it dried up. prgtoken The reason why we had such a shortage of supplies and personal protective equipment and the like was that supply chains were delayed, and those supply chains, of course, were originating in China, which we know is a country where the government is run by the Chinese Communist Party. That same ruling party and that government even tightened restrictions on the exports of masks and other personal protective equipment. prgtoken So we learned the hard way, the very hard way, just how dependent our supply chains are on goods originating in China. We learned how vulnerable we prgtoken all are, our Nation was and is, to the Chinese Government's whims, really the whim of the Communist Party in China, because it is a fact that they control the companies that produce and export the critical supplies we depend upon. prgtoken This amendment, amendment 1853, which, by the way, is bipartisan in ways that you don't see very much of in the Senate these days--three and three s coming together on this bipartisan amendment. It is an effort to enhance our national security at its core. That is what it is about, enhancing our national security, but unfortunately corporate forces are blocking it. They are even blocking a vote on it. They don't, apparently, want to see a vote on this bill, and they also don't want to include it in an agreement between both sides when the bill is about to be completed in a so-called managers' package as part of the bill. prgtoken We just want to get it done because I am interested in and my five cosponsors from both parties are interested in protecting U.S. national security. prgtoken What we read today in a publication, POLITICO Pro, the morning trade edition--I am just holding up a copy of it here, and I will just make reference to it. I don't think we have to add all of it to the Record, but here is the lead for POLITICO Pro this morning. The lead says this: Trade groups representing some of the country's largest corporations are staunchly opposi
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Continued
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2021-5-26

I was just here yesterday reminding my colleagues that this is a bipartisan bill to help families across our country by boosting American's competitiveness. I have said it already. I will say it again. That means we have to ensure that American research is guided by science, not ideology. prgtoken This amendment does the exact opposite and undermines scientifically significant research that could actually help develop new treatments and ultimately lead to lifesaving organ transplants. prgtoken If we are serious about bipartisan commitment to American innovation, we have to stop these ideological attacks on medical research and focus on the science and ultimately the health of our patients. prgtoken I urge a ``no'' vote. Thank you. Vote on Amendment No. 1771
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-5-26

. Now, , on the competition act, the Senate today will continue work on the bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, legislation that will supercharge American innovation and preserve our competitive edge, not just for the next few years but for generations to come. It will be true that our children and even our grandchildren will benefit from this legislation. prgtoken Right now, this legislation doesn't get the big focus of the press-- A, because it is bipartisan; there aren't too many clashes; B, because it is positive; and, C, because it is long term. It won't have an immediate effect tomorrow, but it will have a profound effect 3, 4, 5 years from now and generations after. prgtoken So it is really important legislation. I think it is one of the most important things this Chamber has done in a very long time. And the hallmark of the bill has been its bipartisanship. It pulls together bipartisan legislation from no prgtoken fewer than six Senate committees and includes the input of nearly every Member of the Senate. The vote tallies you are seeing on this bill are from another era, maybe the John Warner era--24 to 4 in the Commerce Committee, 21 to 1 in Foreign Relations. The Senate, as a whole, voted to proceed to the bill by 86 to 11. prgtoken And the process here on the floor is no less bipartisan. I have heard it from Members on both sides of the aisle: Let's try to do regular order. Let's get on the floor and do amendments the way we used to. prgtoken Well, we are doing just that. We have already considered 10 amendments--more than I can remember in a long time--8 of which were led by s. So it is hardly that the ic majority is only doing what we want. Three amendments were adopted by voice vote last night. I mean, who would have ever thought that the Senate would adopt an amendment from Senator Rand Paul by voice vote? We did it. prgtoken So, look, we are moving forward in a very bipartisan way. We will consider at least another three amendments of the bill today, and if both sides continue in good faith to schedule amendment votes and debate, and there are no eleventh-hour decisions to delay or obstruct, there is no reason we can't finish this bill by the end of the week. That is my intention. prgtoken Taking a step back, the depth of bipartisanship on this bill reveals two things. One, Members want to work together if given a chance. This bill came through the regular order. Senate committees drove the process, and here on the floor, Members have participated in robust debate and a robust amendment process. But, second, and maybe even more importantly, it reveals that and s are united in our efforts to preserve and maintain American leadership on the world stage. prgtoken We all know that investing in sciences, innovation, and technology holds the key to our future--the key. It has been one of the great hallmarks of America from 1950 on,
RECOGNIZING THE FIRST CLASS OF GRADUATES FROM THE KIRK KERKORIAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2021-5-26

I rise to recognize the graduating class from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This is an incredible milestone in the school and university's history, as well as for Southern Nevada. Fifty students who began their studies 4 years ago as the charter class of medical students had their degree of medical doctor MD, conferred earlier this month on May 7, 2021. prgtoken For Southern Nevada, this is a pinnacle achievement because until now, Las Vegas was the largest metropolitan area in the Nation without an MD- prgtoken granting medical school. Nevada has grown exponentially over the past few decades, and the number of physicians has not kept pace in our communities. Nevada ranks 45th in the Nation for the number of active physicians per 100,000 residents and comes in 48th for primary care physicians and 50th for general surgeons. Making this graduating class all the more exceptional, 18 of the 50 newly minted physicians plan on staying in the Silver State for their residency. prgtoken Many of these graduates no doubt had some assumptions of what the beginning of their lifelong medical journey might look like when they began, and few could have anticipated what these past 4 years have brought. From the COVID-19 pandemic and before that, the Route 91 Harvest festival mass shooting in 2017, these graduates have mourned with their community, risen to the challenges, and proven just what it means to be battle-born. This is an incredible moment for Nevada, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, our communities, and these dedicated graduates and their families. prgtoken I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating this achievement.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2021-5-26

. Thank you very much, Senator Kaine and Senator Warner. prgtoken I am here today to pay tribute to an extraordinary gentleman, a great Senator, a decent and honorable individual, the paragon of what we would all like to be--John Warner. prgtoken John was someone who appreciated everyone, respected everyone, and treated people with kindness. He has monumental achievements, but at the end of his days, I think people remember him most for the kindness and the personal help that he gave naturally prgtoken because he was an extraordinary gentleman. prgtoken He also was a patriot, not just in words, not wearing a lapel pin or doing something like that. He joined the Navy at 18 years old at the end of World War II because he wanted to defend and serve the Nation. He didn't get overseas, but in 1950, with the Korean war, he decided to drop everything he was doing and join the U.S. Marine Corps, and he served with distinction and left the service as a captain. prgtoken So he knew what it was like to be a sailor, a marine, a soldier, an airman, and he never forgot that, and that molded his service to this country. It was about service. It was about sacrifice, and it was about protecting the other fellow and other men, and that was John Warner. prgtoken He was bipartisan because, again, his focus was the country. It wasn't party. It was principle and what is best for the country, and I think that dedication stemmed from the fact that he knew that all across the world, all through his tenure in the Senate and his public life, there were thousands of young Americans defending us, and he wanted to make sure they were well prepared and well protected. prgtoken And as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, he did that. He did it in an extraordinarily bipartisan way. He set a tone and a tempo for the committee that still is with us today, that is imbued in what we all try to do. prgtoken Now, he was someone who had a sparkle in his eye. He always had a sense of humor, a sense of--I won't say mischief, but probably close to mischief. And I remember a specific codel he organized. This was his major codel going into Iraq in 2003, and, of course, it was bipartisan: Senator Levin, Senator Cornyn, myself, and others. We were in there because John had to see firsthand what the troops were experiencing, what he could do to help them, what we needed to know about the situation. Again, public service--even if it is inconvenient--is something that he did constantly. prgtoken But also he had, as I said, this sense of mischief and a twinkle in his eye. Now, as we flew out of Iraq, we had to find a place to spend overnight so the crew could rest. And John, being a very sophisticated gentleman, a former Secretary of the Navy, knew that there was a nice place to spend a few hours. prgtoken So we landed in Souda Bay, and John arranged that we would get on a bus, drive up to this beautiful restaurant overlooking the Aegean, and have a nice night of
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Continued
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-5-26

I rise to once again call for this entire body to have the opportunity to consider the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act, which would ensure people in the military who have been subjected to sexual assault and other serious crimes get the justice they deserve. prgtoken I rise on behalf of the supporters of this bill, including a bipartisan, filibuster-proof group of 65 Senators, major veterans service organizations, and the veterans they represent. Every day we delay a vote on this bill is another day that their voices are being silenced. prgtoken Our legislation makes the commonsense reform that our veterans and our servicemembers have asked for. It takes a decision on whether to prosecute serious crimes out of the chain of command and moves it to independent, trained, military prosecutors. This will create a system that is free of bias and capable of fairly trying these complex crimes. prgtoken This legislation, as I mentioned, is supported by the Nation's major veterans service organizations. These organizations recognize that this reform would build a military justice system worthy of the service of our members--a system that delivers justice, consequences, and convictions. prgtoken This bill is supported by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Their CEO, Jeremy Butler said: The status quo with our military chain of command's response to military sexual assault is not working and this continuing threat to our military requires this commonsense solution to protect our servicemembers. prgtoken It is supported by the American Legion, which recognizes that this legislation will ``improv[e] the system by which the Department of Defense investigates and prosecutes reported cases of military sexual trauma so that it is on par with the civilian system.'' prgtoken It is supported by Protect Our Defenders. Retired Col. Don Christensen, the president of Protect Our Defenders said: Every year, generals come before Congress and tell Congress that sexual assault is a cancer in the force. This is a readiness issue. This is a force protection issue. This is an issue that drives out thousands of good men and women every year who want to serve. This [reform] will finally see the justice that our members deserve and the prevention they deserve. prgtoken It is supported by the Vietnam Veterans of America. In a letter of support for this legislation, national president John Rowan wrote: After decades of hearing that the military will not tolerate military sexual assaults and that it has zero tolerance of such, the numbers continue to climb. prgtoken Vietnam Veterans of America believes it is time to make real change to the process if real action is to be taken in its attention to the victims and the violence. Fear of reporting the crime of sexual assault is a barrier in addressing the justice these v
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mark R. Warner (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2021-5-26

I rise to mourn the passing of a statesman, a patriot, a mentor, a friend, and someone who loved this institution as much as anybody I know. It was the passing late last night of Senator John Warner. prgtoken I am joined here by my friend of 39 years--now maybe 40--Tim Kaine, and we are going to go back and forth a little bit as we talk about someone who played an enormously important role in both of our lives, both, I can say, on a personal basis and on a political basis, and we will get some of the basic facts out. prgtoken John Warner was 94 years old when he passed. He was born in Washington, DC, into a family from Amherst, VA. He joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 18 in the waning days of World War II. He served from 1945 to 1946. He left the military and then rejoined the Marines in 1950, when the Korean war started. prgtoken After he left the military, he worked for the U.S. attorney, worked in private practice, and then got involved in politics in Virginia at that point. prgtoken I think Senator Kaine will probably speak to this. Being involved in politics in the late fifties and early sixties was the progressive party in Virginia. prgtoken He ended up serving President Nixon as Secretary of the Navy, and he was the head of the Bicentennial. Then, in 1978, in a campaign that Tim will probably comment on, he got elected to the U.S. Senate, where he then served for five terms--30 years. prgtoken John Warner was a remarkable guy. He was someone--and I say this, again, respectfully--who looked the part, who sounded the part. He could say things that, if they came out of my mouth or even somebody's as eloquent as Senator Kaine, they might sound a little over the top. Coming out of John Warner, they always sounded senatorial, thoughtful, and pretty darned cool. prgtoken How I got to know John was in really kind of an unusual way. I was a little bit active in ic politics in the late eighties, early nineties. Then I had the audacity in 1996 to actually run against John Warner. By the way, you know, John Warner v. Mark Warner managed to confuse the hell out of Virginians. The takeaway from that campaign-- and Tim has had to hear this story many times, and John always used to tell the story as well--is that we had a bumper sticker from the campaign that simply read--and it was our one good idea--``Mark, not John.'' It is the honest-to-goodness truth. prgtoken I was down in Danville one day, which is near the North Carolina border, and got in the car, and somebody saw the bumper sticker as I was trying to shake hands, for I was not that well-known. He looked at me, and he said: Excuse me. Is that a biblical reference? prgtoken There was no divine intervention. The right Warner won that race, and John Warner got reelected. prgtoken The thing that I didn't understand then but that I understand better now is, after you run against somebody, even in a respectful campaign, you be
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Continued
Christopher A. Coons (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2021-5-26

I rise to call up my amendment No. 1588, which is cosponsored by Senators Graham and Lujan, Barrasso, and Collins. prgtoken This amendment would establish a Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation, a nonprofit Foundation to support the Department of Energy's mission to help raise private capital to accelerate the commercialization of new and cutting-edge technologies. prgtoken As China has dramatically ramped up their R&D funding, our Federal funding has remained stagnant, threatening U.S. competitiveness and our potential to develop, bring to scale, and export clean energy technologies. prgtoken This amendment will take a model already proven by Foundations affiliated with the NIH, the CDC, the Department of Agriculture, and create a Foundation to channel private sector investments into our world-class scientific innovation institutions, our National Labs. prgtoken This new Foundation would support the great work already happening at prgtoken the Department of Energy by leveraging public-private partnerships to address tech transfer barriers. prgtoken Working on this bill over the years, I have heard significant interest from the private sector and philanthropists looking for an entity to coordinate their investment. prgtoken This bipartisan and bicameral bill passed the House last year with the leadership of now Senator Lujan, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage. prgtoken I want to thank my partners, Senators Graham and Lujan, for their leadership and thank Senators Barrasso and Collins for cosponsoring, Senators Schumer and Manchin for their support, and Senators Wicker, Cantwell, and Young for their leadership on the Endless Frontier Act. prgtoken .
125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2021-5-26

I rise to ask the Senate to join me in recognizing the Maryland State Bar Association on the 125th anniversary of its founding. Since its founding on August 28, 1896, the Maryland State Bar Association, MSBA, has advanced and protected the interests of Maryland attorneys, their clients, and the general public. prgtoken Over the past 125 years, the MSBA has grown into a premier professional trade association comprised of over 20,000 members from every segment of the legal profession. This includes large law firms, solo and small-firm practitioners, government lawyers, in-house counsel, nonprofit attorneys, judges, and legal academics. The MSBA has steadfastly supported the Maryland legal community in its important work to serve the public interest, facilitate commerce, and create a more fair and just society. prgtoken In the decades since its founding, the MSBA has advanced and supported the demographic diversification of the Maryland bar. In partnership with the Judiciary of Maryland and numerous nonprofit partners, the MSBA and in particular its Committee on Diversity & Inclusion have fostered policies and programs to enhance the diversity of the practice of law in the State to the benefit of all Marylanders. The committee is charged with promoting recruitment, hiring, and retention processes to create environments within the legal community in which all individuals are encouraged to join, thrive, and lead the legal profession regardless of race, color, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other characteristic of identity. prgtoken Over the years, the MSBA has also expanded its vision and mission to include efforts to promote access to civil legal services. The association has advocated for legislation to support the Maryland Legal Services Corporation, a critically important organization that raises and distributes funds to nonprofit organizations that provide civil legal assistance to low-income individuals in Maryland. As chair of the corporation from 1988 to 1995, I know firsthand the extraordinary and needed service that it provides. In addition, MSBA has in recent years integrated the operations of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission, an independent entity that convenes partners from the State attorney general to the private sector, to academia, to advance equal access to the civil justice system. prgtoken In the community at-large, the MSBA has played a significant role in enhancing civic literacy in Maryland, including by hosting thousands of high school students participating in mock trial and moot court competitions. These programs offer students the opportunity to enhance their skills and expose them to the practical implications and importance of the law. As a Maryland lawyer myself, I ask the Senate to join me in congratulating the Maryland State Bar Association for its exemplary service to the Maryland legal community over the
COVID-19 ORIGIN ACT OF 2021
Maria Cantwell (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2021-5-26

I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to call up the following amendments: Lee, No. 1929; Coons, No. 1588; Braun, No. 1771; Marshall, No. 1973, as modified; and Sasse, No. 2023; further, that at 9:15 p.m. today, the Senate vote in relation to the amendments in the order listed with no amendments in order to these amendments prior to a vote in relation to the amendment, with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption and 2 minutes of debate, equally divided, prior to each vote.
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Robert Menendez (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2021-5-27

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 available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.