mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018.
Barbara Lee (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-9-12

. Madam Chair, this amendment cuts $5 million from the account that funds, mind you, Head Start, Runaway and Homeless Youth grants, and the Community Services Block Grant, among other critical programs, and uses it to provide $5 million in new funding for the Infant Adoption Awareness Training program. Now, this program did not receive funding in fiscal year `17. prgtoken Women should have access to all options when considering the impacts of an unintended pregnancy, of which one is adoption. But we should not ignore the irreplaceable role of preventing unintended pregnancy by providing education and health services. prgtoken The underlying bill limits women's access to care by prohibiting funding to the Title X Family Planning program, a program specifically created to ensure women have access to high-quality family planning services to prevent unintended pregnancies and access reproductive care services. By denying women access to comprehensive family planning and preventative health services, the bill would have a devastating impact on women and families, especially low-income women and women in rural communities. prgtoken In 2014, Title X Family Planning centers helped women avert 904,000-- that is 904,000--unintended pregnancies. Without the services provided by these Title X clinics, the rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, unplanned birth and abortion, each would have been 33 percent higher, and the teen pregnancy rate would have been 30 percent higher. prgtoken In addition, Title X providers are required to offer pregnant women the opportunity to provide information and counseling regarding all of their options--all of their options--in a neutral, nondirective, and factual manner, including adoption. For some women, adoption services and counseling may be the best option. But we must ensure that every woman has access to all options and is allowed to make the choice that is best for her and her family. prgtoken Unfortunately, this bill represents yet another missed opportunity to get serious about reproductive health and preventing unintended pregnancy in this country. This amendment uses funding from other programs in the Children and Families Services account that are critical to the well-being of children, women, and families as an offset for this new program. Funding for Head Start, the Domestic Violence Hotline, programs that help serve and protect runaway and homeless youth, among others, are at risk. prgtoken Madam Chair, I oppose the amendment, and .
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018--MOTION TO PROCEED
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-9-12

in this article, he spells out in some detail why some of the myths that were perpetrated by Attorney General Sessions and others last week need to be explained. One of them is that DACA somehow incentivized an increase in illegal immigration. Mr. Bier makes it clear that, when it comes down to it, you cannot arrive in the United States today and expect to be protected by DACA tomorrow. In fact, you have to have arrived in the United States at least by June 15 of 2007, more than a decade ago. So to argue that DACA was an incentive for more immigration in this country is just plain wrong. prgtoken What about those kids who showed up on the borders years ago, thousands of them? Well, it turns out that they weren't eligible for DACA or the Dream Act, and it also turns out that most of them were not from Mexico but from parts of Central America, which has been devastated by crime waves and gang activity. prgtoken The second myth that Mr. Bier addresses is that these DACA recipients--780,000--are taking jobs away from Americans. What he points out is that, if you start with the premise that we have a static amount of jobs in this country--what he calls a ``lump of labor fallacy''--then, it is dog-eat-dog to fight for those jobs. prgtoken It turns out that we have an expanding economy, and he proves it by giving us a statistic. Between 1970 and 2017, the U.S. labor force doubled. So rather than ending up with a 50-percent unemployment rate, our U.S. employment doubled. It is an expanding and dynamic economy. prgtoken The case can be made effectively that the DACA recipients are people who can add to the economy. All of them have to have the equivalent or a high school education. Many of them--large percentages of them--have college degrees and even more. So they can bring a lot to the economy. prgtoken The other point or the other myth that Mr. Bier addresses is whether repealing DACA would benefit taxpayers. The point he makes is that these DACA recipients are paying taxes in the jobs they are working and, by and large, are ineligible for any Federal programs or any Federal assistance. prgtoken So they are a net gain in terms of our Treasury and in terms of what they can do. For example, if you are protected by DACA today on a 2- year renewable basis, you do not qualify for a Pell grant to go to college. You don't qualify for a Federal Government loan. You have to find out how you are going to do it some other way. So these young people who are working and paying taxes are not drawing from any of the government programs that other people their age draw from. prgtoken There is also this argument that DACA somehow is going to make America less safe and that there will be more criminals. Don't forget what I said earlier. To qualify for DACA, you have to submit yourself to a criminal background check. The likelihood of the next crime being committed by a DACA recipient is very narrow. The likelihood that it
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018--MOTION TO PROCEED
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-9-12

once again I want to thank my colleague from Illinois for both his passion and his intelligence in terms of his approach to the Dream Act. We are getting closer to getting this done. It is hardly done yet, but without the Senator from Illinois, we would not be as close to ``as close,'' so to speak, as we are today. Hurricane Irma prgtoken Now, , I want to first start off by saying that I hope that everyone in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina is staying safe as Hurricane Irma continues up the coast. Reports indicate that as many as 9 million Floridians have gone without power during the storm. Large parts of Miami and Jacksonville are under water. The Florida Keys have taken a particular beating. I saw the pictures on TV this morning. prgtoken As with Hurricane Harvey, the road to recovery will be long. As I said yesterday, I am ready to work with the administration and my colleagues, when the time comes, to pass an aid package for the States dealing with Hurricane Irma. National Defense Authorization Bill prgtoken , as discussions continue on NDAA, I would highlight a few amendments that are important to the ic side. We will be offering two amendments as part of our Better Deal agenda, including a ``Buy American'' provision and an amendment that would drastically cut down on outsourcing. prgtoken For too long, loopholes in our ``Buy American'' rules have allowed Federal agencies to waive ``Buy American'' requirements and skirt the spirit of the law. A single loophole--the overseas exemption, which allows a Federal agency to waive ``Buy American'' rules if the product is intended for use overseas--accounts for 65 percent of the exemptions that the Department of Defense issues in a given year. prgtoken Senator Baldwin has an amendment that would eliminate these loopholes and ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent by Federal agencies to purchase products that are made here in the United States. prgtoken My friend Senator Stabenow has been a leading voice on this issue as well. She has an amendment that would also roll back the overseas exemption by requiring the DOD to identify and give consideration to domestically sourced items before soliciting any offers for anything that is not ``Buy American'' compliant. prgtoken Right now, there are also several American companies with records of outsourcing American jobs that are receiving defense contracts, and companies receive a tax credit for outsourcing expenses rather than incentives to prgtoken bring jobs back to the United States. We should put a stop to both, and Senator Donnelly's amendment will do that. His amendment will give a tax credit of up to 20 percent for expenses that companies incur to bring jobs back to our shores. prgtoken Another critical amendment is a bipartisan amendment offered by Senators Graham and Klobuchar on the issue of election s
NATURAL DISASTERS AND THE FEDERAL RESPONSE
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-9-12

Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma will both go down in history as two of the most costly and destructive hurricanes in United States history. Hurricane Harvey is thought to be the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years. Countless individuals, homes, and businesses across the country have been left devastated in their wake. Initial estimates suggest that Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma will have caused between $150 and $200 billion in damage to property, homes, and public infrastructure. prgtoken These unprecedented storms have already set new records in severity and cost to our nation as we begin to look toward recovery. A strong and coordinated federal, state, and local response is absolutely vital in these critical moments following the storm. More than prgtoken two weeks since Hurricane Harvey first made landfall in Texas, we have witnessed incredible cooperation among government agencies, individuals, charitable organizations, and others who have played an important role in the response, recovery, and relief efforts that have taken place over these past few weeks. prgtoken The intensity and frequency of these storms will only increase with time, as warmer oceans and extra heat in the atmosphere caused by climate change provide even more fuel for weather systems. Studies are already demonstrating that storms are intensifying significantly faster today than they did 25 years ago. Additional water vapor in the atmosphere is also leading to extreme precipitation. In fact, Hurricane Harvey brought more than 50 inches of rainfall to the Texas Gulf Coast, representing the greatest accumulation of rainfall ever recovered in the contiguous United States from a single tropical storm. prgtoken , we need to be taking these natural disasters and the environment more seriously. The financial and social costs to our society of these natural disasters are tremendous and the effects will only get worse. The role of the federal government in disaster response is critical to our nation's swift recovery. However, the level of coordination and resources necessary to properly respond to these historic natural disasters will grow with time as bigger and stronger natural events occur. For now, we must focus on the recovery at hand by assisting the victims and their families. Many survivors will remain unable to return to their homes for weeks, while others will be left cleaning up debris and other damage for months ahead. The federal response--and the compassion and help of others--is more important now than ever before.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018
Norma J. Torres (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-9-12

I rise to offer my amendment to this appropriations bill. prgtoken , since I have been in Congress, I have been working with manufacturers in my congressional district to ensure that we are doing all we can in Congress to support them in creating good-paying, high- skilled jobs right here at home. prgtoken Last month, I took a ``Made in the 35th'' tour and traveled across my district, meeting with manufacturers who are creating jobs here in the U.S. They told me about how they are competing with importers from Asia and an unfair playing field created by how our trading partners support their manufacturers. prgtoken I continued my tour to the Port of Los Angeles, where it became clearer where this unfair playing field has left us. Ships from Asia come in full and leave empty. prgtoken , the ships that leave Los Angeles should be full of American-made goods. This is the goal of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, or MEP: supporting American businesses through expanding markets and supporting innovation. prgtoken Two of the nine MEP success stories in California have happened in my congressional district. Insulfoam in Chino used the MEP to increase production by 20 percent, while reducing their energy costs by more than 5 percent. prgtoken Diamond Wipes, a very impressive company that I visited on my Made in the 35th tour, used the MEP to expand their wet wipes business to markets around the world. prgtoken A small investment in MEP meant real wins and expansions for these real American businesses. prgtoken , this amendment is common sense. For every dollar of MEP investment, we can generate nearly $20 million in new sales growth and $20 in new client investment. That is a $100 million return on my amendment. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to support this amendment because that investment could end up in one of our communities. prgtoken , I yield 1 minute to the congresswoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty).
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY DATA FRAMEWORK ACT OF 2017
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-9-12

I rise in support of H.R. 2454-- Department of Homeland Security Data Framework Act of 2017, which is the first authorization bill for the Department of Homeland Security since its creation. prgtoken I thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Thompson for working diligently to bring this suspension bill before the House of Representatives. prgtoken H.R. 2454 directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: prgtoken develop a data framework to integrate existing DHS datasets and systems for access by authorized personnel in a manner consistent with relevant legal authorities and privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties policies and protections; prgtoken ensure that all information of a DHS office or component that falls within the scope of the information sharing environment, and any information or intelligence relevant to priority mission needs and capability requirements of the homeland security enterprise, is included; and prgtoken ensure that the framework is accessible to DHS employees who have an appropriate security clearance, who are assigned to perform a function that requires access, and who are trained in applicable standards for safeguarding and using such information. prgtoken The bill excludes information that could: prgtoken jeopardize the protection of sources, methods, or activities; prgtoken compromise a criminal or national security investigation; prgtoken be inconsistent with the other federal laws or regulations; or prgtoken be duplicative or not serve an operational purpose. prgtoken DHS shall incorporate into such framework systems capabilities for auditing and ensuring the security of information. prgtoken Few can image how complex the federal government response to a Hurricane can be. prgtoken For example the need for information sharing is crucial to effect disaster response prior to, during and after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. prgtoken U.S. cooperation with the European Commission, facilitated by the Department of State, allowed for rapid activation of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS) over the Texas and Louisiana coasts affected by Category-4 Hurricane Harvey, the largest recorded rainstorms ever to hit the contiguous United States. prgtoken This service has provided local, state, and federal disaster managers with free, real-time, all-weather radar satellite images of the affected areas; we are grateful to our European partners, including the European Space Agency and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, for their assistance during this challenging time. prgtoken Since August 25, Europe's Copernicus EMS, at no cost to the United States, has generated up-to-date, satellite-based maps of the flood extent. prgtoken In combination with U.S. satellite data, these maps are critical tools for relief operations by U.S. federal, state, and local disaster responders. prgtoken First responders were in critical need of accurate information on per
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018
Katherine M. Clark (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-9-12

I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding me time. prgtoken While this amendment increases career and technical education funding, a worthy goal that I support, it comes at the expense of funding for critical higher education programs that support low-income and minority students. prgtoken Career and technical education funds help ensure students are well prepared for further education employment in high-skilled, high-demand jobs in the 21st century economy. prgtoken In days before the election, President , in reference to CTE, said: ``We're going to start it up big league.'' prgtoken Secretary DeVos, a few months ago, said: `` . . . this administration is committed to supporting and highlighting career and technical education.'' prgtoken Despite these promises, the -DeVos budget cuts CTE by $168 million, or 15 percent. prgtoken I am glad to see my colleagues on the other side of the aisle proposing to increase our investment in this critical area, but I am deeply concerned that the amendment proposes to slash $70 million in funding.
PATHWAYS TO IMPROVING HOMELAND SECURITY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL ACT
Nanette Diaz Barragán (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-9-12

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise in support of H.R. 2427, Pathways to Improving Homeland Security at the Local Level Act. prgtoken Sixteen years ago, the terrorist attacks of September 11 brought home the reality that terrorism prevention and preparedness is a shared Federal, State, and local responsibility. prgtoken Today, the Department of Homeland Security's training catalog is a primary resource for State and local jurisdictions to find opportunities to enhance their counterterrorism and preparedness capabilities. H.R. 2427 seeks to ensure that, going forward, this vital resource remains available to the first responder community. prgtoken Specifically, H.R. 2427 directs DHS' Office for State and Local Law Enforcement to produce and distribute an annual catalog of DHS' training, programs, and services for State, local, and tribal law enforcement. prgtoken Further, to ensure that this information is shared throughout the law enforcement community, the Pathways to Improving Homeland Security at the Local Level Act requires this comprehensive catalog be posted on the DHS website, as well as on the Homeland Security Information Network. prgtoken My district is home to the Coast Guard, DHS personnel, and officials from the Port of Los Angeles, who all have to work together to prepare and respond to threats. This bill would provide the information they need to work together and get the necessary training. prgtoken This measure, which was introduced by my ic colleague on the Homeland Security Committee, Representative Val Demings, highlights the importance of equipping law enforcement with necessary tools so that they can quickly adapt and discover new ways to evolve with the current terrorist threat landscape. prgtoken Enactment of this bill will further strengthen the Department's partnership with State and local law enforcement to help protect the homeland. prgtoken , H.R. 2427 is an important piece of legislation that has strong support on both sides of the aisle. prgtoken Consideration of this measure today is particularly timely, as this week we remember those who sacrificed their lives and ran toward danger during the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. We owe it to their memory and to the men and women that today stand on the front lines to ensure that they have access to the training and tools they need to keep their communities secure. prgtoken , I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 2427, and .
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018
Grace Meng (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-9-12

. Mr. Chair, this amendment seeks to increase funding for HRSA's Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program by $4 million, restoring program funding to the current enacted level. prgtoken I am thankful to the chairman for the funding amount already provided for in this bill, but I am hopeful that we can go one step further and fully fund this program again in the coming fiscal year. prgtoken The Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program improves healthcare for older Americans by providing clinical training opportunities to students, medical faculty and providers, direct service workers, patients, families, and caregivers that integrate geriatric and primary care delivery systems. prgtoken In the 2015-2016 academic year, grantees provided training to 18,451 students and fellows participating in a variety of geriatrics-focused degree programs, field placements, and fellowships. Of these trainees, 11,824 graduated or completed their training during the most recent academic year, and grantees partnered with 365 hospitals, long-term care facilities, and academic institutions to provide clinical training experiences to trainees. prgtoken America's population is aging, and it is imperative that new generations of healthcare professionals and providers have the skills needed to care for older Americans. Every person in this Chamber at some point in their life will wish their healthcare provider had this training. I hope we will all recognize that fact today and do what is prudent. prgtoken I hope we will unanimously support this amendment, plan for the future healthcare of our Nation, and restore funding to the HRSA Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program account. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I urge support for this amendment, and .
TRIBUTE TO ELIZABETH ATWOOD
Margaret Wood Hassan (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2017-9-12

this month, I have the distinct honor of recognizing Elizabeth Atwood, of Rochester, NH, as our Granite Stater of the Month for her contributions to her community as a capacity building specialist with SOS Recovery Community Organization, where she helps individuals who are struggling with substance misuse access recovery services and support networks. prgtoken As someone who struggled with substance misuse herself, Elizabeth has shown tremendous courage in telling her own story of accessing treatment and recovery services. At New Horizons homeless shelter, Elizabeth received help enrolling in Medicaid, allowing her to undergo treatment for substance use disorder, improve her physical health, and receive counseling. Through her perseverance and determination, Elizabeth regained custody of her son, gained employment, and now receives health insurance coverage through her employer. prgtoken Now working at SOS Recovery Community Organization, Elizabeth provides incredible value to her community, working tirelessly to help individuals struggling with substance use disorder. Elizabeth does everything from helping create policy and procedures and offering trainings to community members, to helping find detox beds for people who come into the Rochester facility. prgtoken As many Granite Staters like Elizabeth know, the heroin, fentanyl, and opioid crisis is the most pressing public health and safety challenge facing New Hampshire. Now more than ever, New Hampshire needs more people like Elizabeth who are dedicated to helping combat this crisis. I am deeply grateful for the courage she has shown in telling her inspirational story and her drive to help others who face the same challenges she did. Elizabeth represents the best of New Hampshire, and I am honored to recognize her as our Granite Stater of the month.