mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Ukraine (Executive Session)
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2022-9-7

I rise today to report back from a trip that Senator Portman and I took to Ukraine last week. And the No. 1 thing I would like to report is that President Zelenskyy personally asked us--and I know that Senator Portman addressed the Senate last night and reported this--but he personally asked us to thank the U.S. Senate, to thank the people of this country for the generous and unending continuing help that the Senate has given to Ukraine in their fight for democracy. prgtoken This is a country that has given it all. Sometimes we wonder, in our own country, what are we going to put on the line for our democracy? Are we going to go over and vote today? How much do we care? There, the people of Ukraine are putting their lives on the line every single day. prgtoken The ballerina who puts on camo and goes to the front lines, the exhausted workers at the nuclear plant trying to protect not just the country of Ukraine, but surrounding countries because it is the biggest nuclear plant in all of Europe, supplying 20 percent of the electricity to the people of Ukraine. prgtoken They go to work every day, under incredible stress and pressure that we can't imagine, trying to keep their country safe while surrounded by 500 Russian troops. We think of the cellist playing beautiful melodies on the front steps of bombed-out remnants of a prgtoken town square to remind people that culture and love still exist in this country. prgtoken I think of the mass grave that we visited in Bucha, in Irpin, the apartment buildings after apartment buildings burned out, but Ukraine goes on. We saw firsthand the strength of the Ukrainian people in the face of Vladimir Putin's inhuman barbarism. But just as Putin has shown his true colors, so have the people of Ukraine in brilliant blue and yellow. Over the past 6 months since the invasion, their bravery and humanity has consistently shone through. prgtoken When Senator Portman and I went to Ukraine last January as part of a group of Senators--we were the last group which went in before the war started, with Senators Shaheen and Murphy and Senator Blumenthal and Senator Wicker and Senator Cramer--we witnessed the incredible resolve of the Ukrainian people. Last week, we saw up close a nation defending its homeland in a way that few expected would even be possible. prgtoken We had an excellent hour-long meeting with President Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Reznikov and the President's chief of staff. prgtoken Our country has helped them so much. We heard the story of how our employees at the Embassy--we now have people located in Kyiv--went to get some takeout food from a Ukrainian restaurant, and when they got the food back, got the bag back, someone, not even knowing who they were or where they worked but thinking they were American, had written on it: ``Thanks for the HIMARS.'' prgtoken Along with at least 42 other nations, from Japan to South Korea, to Poland, we have stood with
RECOGNIZING THE GRANITE INDUSTRY IN BARRE, VERMONT
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2022-9-7

I have been honored that Vermonters have sent me here to the U.S. Senate to represent them for many years. In turn, I always welcome the opportunity to recognize the commitments, achievements, and successes of Vermonters and the industries found in the Green Mountain State. Today, I want to highlight the granite center of the world--not Italy, China, or Brazil--but Barre, a small town of just over 8,500 year-round residents nestled among the Green Mountains in central Vermont. prgtoken It was 350 million years ago when geologic processes created a unique granite formation 10 miles deep, 4 miles long, and 2 miles wide in the heart of present-day Barre. This extraordinary formation is now home to the world's largest deep-hole granite quarry that produces a form of granite called ``Barre Gray.'' Known around the world as the finest quality gray granite on the market, Barre Gray has been an economic engine and tourist attraction in central Vermont since the first quarry opened in the 19th century. Barre Gray is renowned by fine architects, builders, and sculpture artists in every corner of the world and is just another example of the exports coming from Vermont and extracted by Vermonters. prgtoken The granite industry in Barre has brought jobs and economic opportunity to thousands of Vermonters over the years, including many immigrants. Like my grandparents, many people came to Vermont from Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries in search of a better life. Through a combination of hard work, skill, luck, and the geologic processes that created Barre Gray 350 million years ago, many Scottish, Irish, and Italian immigrants were able to build better lives for themselves in Vermont working in the granite industry. Unfortunately, many of the immigrants working in the Barre granite industry also died in high numbers during the 1918 influenza pandemic. As many of the Vermonters we tragically lost to COVID-19 are now laid to rest under Barre Gray granite headstones, so too are many of those who worked the Barre granite quarry over 100 years ago. prgtoken Today, the granite quarry and surrounding manufacturing facilities employ more than 1,000 Vermonters who create the vast majority of the granite used in headstones and memorials in the United States. The Rock of Ages visitor center offers tours of the quarry and their 160,000- square-foot manufacturing facility, which in addition to the nearby Vermont Granite Museum, attract more than 100,000 visitors per year. These institutions also serve as important educational experiences for classes of local school children who frequently take field trips to see the geology taught in their textbooks take place in real life. prgtoken The granite industry and its history in Barre were profiled in a June 16, 2022, article published in the Washington Post. I ask unanimous consent that the article titled, ``In Barre, Vt granite is a way of life--and beyond,'' be pri
VOTE EXPLANATION
Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2022-9-7

had there been a recorded vote, I would have voted no on the confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 1105, Carrin F. Patman, of Texas, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Iceland. prgtoken , had there been a recorded vote, I would have voted no on the confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 812, Douglas T. Hickey, of Idaho, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Finland. prgtoken , had there been a recorded vote, I would have voted no on the confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 785, Randi Charno Levine, of New York, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Portuguese Republic. prgtoken , had there been a recorded vote, I would have voted no on the confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 979, Margaret C. Whitman, of Colorado, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Kenya. prgtoken , had there been a recorded vote, I would have voted no on the confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 782, George J. Tsunis, of New York, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Greece.
ORDERS FOR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2022-9-7

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 8, and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Mathis nomination, postcloture; and that all postcloture time on the nomination be considered expired at 11:30 a.m.; further, that following the vote on the Mathis nomination, the Senate resume consideration of the Mendoza nomination; that the cloture motions filed during yesterday's session ripen at 1:45 p.m and that at 1:45 p.m. the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Mendoza nomination; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Thursday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be notified immediately of the Senate's action.
Student Loan Debt Relief Plan (Executive Calendar)
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2022-9-7

in reserving the right to object, it is time for a reality check here in the Senate. prgtoken The far right has had an awful lot to say about the IRS in these last few days. Even Senators who should supposedly know better are spinning wild fantasy stories about 87,000 agents who are armed to the teeth and coming to prgtoken the doors of innocent small business people. All this talk is unscathed by the truth. prgtoken Here is what is true: Every year, wealthy tax cheats and scofflaw corporations skip out on paying what they owe and rip off the American people for billions and billions of dollars. Let me say that again. Wealthy tax cheats are ripping off innocent taxpayers, every year, of billions and billions of dollars. They are sophisticated. They are wealthy. They want to protect the status quo. By attacking the IRS, the s are helping high-flying tax cheats get away with breaking the law. prgtoken The IRS has had its resources gutted by the s over the last decade. It is badly outmatched now by the wealthy tax cheats, who have armies of lawyers and accountants who are prying open loopholes and hiding income in the shadows. Let me give the Senate an example. prgtoken A few weeks ago, I put out the findings of a yearlong Finance Committee investigation into the largest alleged tax evasion scheme by one individual in American history. With the right financial wizardry and a complicated network of offshore accounts and partnerships, this individual, Robert Brockman, was able to evade taxes on over $2 billion in income. To hide his money, he set up offshore entities that we call shell banks. They were offshore entities dressed up like financial institutions that Mr. Brockman set up to hide his money from the IRS, betting correctly that the IRS wouldn't have the resources to uncover his scheme. There may be hundreds of thousands more of these shell banks that the IRS has never examined. prgtoken The Finance Committee is also in the midst of an investigation into the tax practices of some of the biggest members of Big Pharma. One of the companies whose tax data we examined was AbbVie. In 2020, 75 percent of AbbVie's sales were made in the United States, but AbbVie reported only 1 percent of its income to the United States for tax purposes. Earlier this year, we requested financial information from Merck, which makes nearly half of its sales in the United States, but it reported only 14 percent of its income here. We also requested information from Bristol Myers Squibb, which reportedly used a thicket of foreign subsidiaries and partnerships to take its effective tax rate from 24.7 percent all the way down to a negative 7 percent in a single year. prgtoken The IRS struggles to do anything about many of these cases even when they get reported in the press. Criminal tax evasion cases have fallen nearly by half. The number of highly trained experts who know how to break down these comp
Climate Change (Executive Calendar)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2022-9-7

I will proceed with my trusty, battered ``Time to Wake Up'' chart and my--I don't know--280-something speech. prgtoken For once, I can start with some good news, which is that the , at last, passed a climate-focused reconciliation bill this year. This is a huge step and essential, given the cascade of harms climate change is already inflicting: wildfire in Yosemite National Park, billions of dollars in flood damage; Europe broils in heat wave; extreme heat led to ``brutal'' rise in sea temperatures; dangerous heat hits United States; emissions rising of methane, glacier tragedies; Houston slogs through brutal heat; climate change is forcing massive wildlife migration. Wherever you look, you see the news of what is happening--heat waves, droughts, wildfires, collapsing glaciers, rising seas, record carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in the atmosphere. prgtoken It is a bombardment of hard evidence that the Earth is fast becoming less hospitable for human life. The costs of our political negligence are high and rising. prgtoken My friends across the aisle like to fixate on the price of gasoline, which undeniably affects family budgets. But climate change imposes costs on American families much worse than gasoline prices. Climate change causes effects that raise insurance premiums, snarl supply chains, reduce crop yields, sicken people, and damage cars, homes, and businesses. prgtoken A lot of thoughtful groups have quantified this damage. The International Monetary Fund estimates this ``climate tax'' on American families at over $5,000 per year based on their calculation that we subsidize fossil fuel by allowing them to get away with doing all this pollution and harm for free to the tune of $660 billion every year. That is the International Monetary Fund--5,000 bucks per family from climate change harms. prgtoken They are not alone, of course. Resources for the Future, which is a well-regarded, well-trusted calculation shop, has just looked at what the social cost of carbon should be, and they pegged it at $185 per ton of carbon emissions. Right now, the nominal social cost of carbon left over from the administration is $51 per ton. Resources for the Future has done a more rigorous calculation and puts it at $185 in harm per ton of carbon emitted. prgtoken What does this all add up to? Well, you can go to corporate consulting firm Deloitte, which is a corporate consulting firm. We are not talking about, you know, Green New Deal folks here. This is a corporate consultancy. They say that inaction on climate change could cost the world's economy $178 trillion over the next 50 years. prgtoken Now, the bad news is climate change harms could cost $178 trillion. The good news is if we got after this and behaved responsibly, you could gain $43 trillion in economic development in that same time period. So if you put the two together, that is a $220 trillion swing depending on decision
ENERGY
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2022-9-8

now on a completely different matter, I have been talking all week about the ways that liberal policies hurt American families in their daily lives. prgtoken After 2 years of total ic control in Washington, we have seen how reckless spending comes home to roost in the form of decades-high inflation and shrinking paychecks for working Americans. prgtoken We have seen what happens when one of our two major political parties decides in its rhetoric, in its personnel, and in its policies that keeping our streets safe, our border secure, and prgtoken criminals behind bars are simply not their priorities. And despite multiple glaring cautionary tales both at home and abroad, we are seeing the early warning signs of our ic colleagues' hostility to an all-of-the-above American energy strategy. prgtoken In Europe, some of America's closest allies are reaping the painful effects of years of shortsighted green policies. By swapping affordable and reliable domestic power for half-baked fads, our friends have placed themselves at the mercy of Vladimir Putin to meet demand ahead of another cold winter. prgtoken Working families and small businesses are taking this tradeoff on the chin. I saw one shop owner in Ireland explain she has just had to pay almost as much for 2 months of electricity as she did throughout all of last year. Unfortunately, millions of Americans can sympathize. An estimated 20 million U.S. households are already behind on their energy bills thanks to ' runaway inflation. prgtoken And out in California, State and local have wasted no time taking things even further--even further--in the wrong direction. have made California's electrical grid into a giant experiment to try out all of their misunderstandings about energy policy. It is not going well. With hot weather demand surging, California authorities are sweating political shortfalls of up to 5,000 megawatts. California's love affair with fickle, unreliable green energy could force its residents to put up with rolling blackouts just to conform to wealthy liberals' preferences. prgtoken The government had to send out an emergency message begging citizens to ration power. Ironically, just weeks after announcing a future ban on gas-powered automobiles, the State is now begging folks not to charge their expensive electric cars to avoid crashing the grid. prgtoken So California don't want you putting gas in your car; they don't want you to plug in your car either. That is exactly where their war on energy would leave the American people: Going nowhere fast. prgtoken President 's Secretary of Energy, Secretary Granholm, literally said less than a week ago that: California is in the lead-- prgtoken In the lead-- and can show the rest of the nation how it is done. prgtoken So at home and abroad, our ic colleagues have been given sobering warnings of what not to do on ener
RECOGNIZING THE HITCHING POST AND OLD COUNTRY STORE OF AURORA, KENTUCKY
Rand Paul (Republican, KY) \u2014 2022-9-8

as a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, each week I recognize an outstanding Kentucky small business that exemplifies the American entrepreneurial spirit. This week, it is my privilege to recognize The Hitching Post and Old Country Store of Aurora, KY, as the Senate Small Business of the Week. prgtoken For generations, Land Between the Lakes has been one of the premier travel destinations in Western Kentucky. The gorgeous strip of land nestled between lakes Barkley and Kentucky contains breathtaking nature scenes, a plethora of outdoor activities, and numerous local businesses that visitors travel from far and wide to enjoy. A local favorite among those many businesses is The Hitching Post and Old Country Store. Located on 4 and a half acre property on the western side of Kentucky Lake, The Hitching Post and Old Country Store first opened their doors to customers in 1941. The structures themselves are over 200 years old, but starting with the Perryman family in 1941, three families of stewards have maintained these stores in all their historic glory. Today, the stores are owned by Su Festen and her husband Tom Trenkle, who ventured south from Illinois to buy the property in 2008. In the years since, Su will tell you that she has grown a Southern heart, which is more than evident in the warm hospitality she shows to all who dawn her doors. prgtoken Though The Hitching Post and the Old Country Store needed some notable maintenance when it came into Tom and Su's hands, they both decided to maintain the old-fashioned nature to the interior of the stores. Su was inspired to perpetuate the historic feeling of the of the property on her first day on the job as one of the very first patrons to come in was a fourth-generation customer with an abundance of love for these two stores. From then on, Su and her husband ensured that The Hitching Post and Old Country Store would be a place where everyone from out of town travelers to generational customers and locals could come to reminisce, remember, and enjoy the simpler things that only a small-town small business could provide. prgtoken When travelers traverse the beautiful land between lakes Barkley and Kentucky, they are confronted with the abounding beauty of the landscape surrounding them. Given this gorgeous scenery, it would be easy to overlook the charming shops around them. This is not the case for patrons of The Hitching Post and its neighboring Old Country Store. Customers are struck by the old-fashioned interior which harkens back to memories from a simpler time. From the stacks of local fruit preserves and canned country favorites, to spiced apple cider, customers are reminded of a time when local produce was the all that was available before the days of instant gratification fostered by online shopping and rapid delivery. prgtoken Not only are the two stores brimming over with charm, the two provid
Socialism (Executive Calendar)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2022-9-8

I am a firm believer in the American dream. People come to this country, perhaps as legal immigrants, start with little, invest themselves in a lot of hard work because they don't have anything else to invest, provide for their families, maybe even eventually start a small business of their own, create jobs and a means to earn a livelihood for their employees. That is what I think most people think of when they think about the American dream. prgtoken And it is built on an economic system known as capitalism, as distinguished from socialism. And capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any other economic system known to humankind. prgtoken There are those who have a different point of view. They call themselves democratic socialists. prgtoken I actually have here before me the ic Socialists of America web page that asks the question: ``What is democratic socialism.'' prgtoken They start first with the criticism of capitalism. They say: Capitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit. prgtoken That is an incredibly cynical and, I think, misguided view, but that is their opinion. prgtoken And they go on to say: We must replace it with democratic socialism. prgtoken And there are a number of Members of Congress, notably the junior Senator from Vermont here who is an advocate for democratic socialism. I have read where he gave a speech explaining why he thinks that is a better way to go. prgtoken And then there are a number of Members of the House known colloquially as the Squad, who are members of the ic Socialists of America and advocate their particular point of view. prgtoken Even though was elected President of the United States in 2020, he essentially has embraced the democratic socialist agenda--the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, free college, free childcare, free everything. prgtoken Well, to no one's surprise, once people called it what it was and what it is, it didn't make it very far. The American people experienced a severe sticker shock when they heard the cost of these proposals. prgtoken One estimate pegged the cost of the Green New Deal at a whopping $93 trillion, an absolutely unfathomable amount of money. prgtoken And much to our ic colleagues' surprise, families do not want the Federal Government managing every little detail of their lives, from making their childcare arrangements to determining which doctors they can see or, rather, which doctors they can't see. prgtoken Our ic friends found that socialism wasn't as popular as they hoped, but they weren't ready to give up on the bigger government dreams so they made a few marketing changes. prgtoken They switched branding. They adopted a new strategy, and now what we are seeing, I believe, is the new socialism. prgtoken Now, it is not as in your face, not as startling as what we saw a couple of years ago when people