mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Roger F. Wicker (Republican, MS) \u2014 2018-5-24

I rise this morning to encourage my colleagues to support and cosponsor the Mobile Accuracy and Precision Broadband Act, also known as the MAP Broadband Act. prgtoken If we want to get broadband deployment right in this country, if we want to close the digital divide, particularly in rural America--in that great heartland of America--we need for the FCC to be working with an accurate map, and right now they are not working with an accurate map. The agency needs to know which areas are in the most desperate need for consistent wireless service, and the FCC's current map does not even come close to doing this. prgtoken I certainly was not alone in my surprise when I saw the coverage shown on the map released by the FCC in late February. It portrayed my home State of Mississippi as basically a wireless hot spot, with only 2 percent of my State not covered with a reliable 4G LTE connection. prgtoken This was an absurd conclusion based on what is actually taking place on the ground. That would mean that 98 percent of my State should have one of the fastest mobile broadband connections on the market. That is ridiculous. prgtoken I doubted that the map was accurate based on my own experiences, but I wanted to know what others had to say. So I did a survey in April. I sent out a survey asking Mississippians to tell me about their issues with connectivity. Their responses, which totaled more than 1,800, supported my conclusion that the FCC map is just wrong, and something needs to be done about it. The responses also reaffirmed what is at stake if the FCC does not correct the situation and get these maps right. prgtoken Mississippians and Americans across this great country need better service so their children can do their homework. They need it so they can FaceTime with loved ones who are away from home in military service. They need it for jobs. They need it for healthcare. A bad connection is inconvenient, to be sure, but it means so much more to public safety and jobs. prgtoken Americans in rural areas should not be at a disadvantage because of where we live. Strong, dependable broadband paves the way for economic growth for us all, and it allows for life-giving telehealth and cutting-edge agricultural technologies. prgtoken No one thinks my State is an exception to the FCC map. I have yet to hear from any colleague in the Senate who thinks this national map accurately reflects the coverage back in our State. So I propose that we continue to work together with legislation to direct the FCC to get this right. Let's harness the best data for closing the digital divide. Let's make sure decisions are informed by the most accurate maps possible. prgtoken Now, what is at stake here? There is $4.53 billion that is at stake here. The way we are headed now with this program and with this inaccurate map, the Mobility Fund Phase II program is about to go forward with funds being distributed based on a map that i
Venezuela (Executive Calendar)
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2018-5-24

as I often have to come to the floor to clear things up, I am back once again. prgtoken I have been seeing reports--reports that are wrong--that individuals within our Federal law enforcement agencies who want to talk to Congress about problems they have seen on the job have a fear that if they do that, they could be punished. The reports say these individuals then want to be subpoenaed by congressional committees rather than come forward voluntarily. There is a perception that without a subpoena, they have no legal protection against retaliation for their cooperating with Congress. prgtoken That is nonsense, and that is a misrepresentation that has been fomented by the FBI's and the Department of Justice's leadership for many years under both and ic administrations. I have worked hard to strengthen legal protections, especially for FBI employees. FBI employees have a right to cooperate with congressional inquiries just as they have a right to cooperate with the inspector general. Anyone who tells these FBI agents anything else is lying. FBI agents and all Federal law enforcement are protected if they want to provide information to the Congress. That is true whether it is by subpoena or not. prgtoken If that is news to law enforcement people, including the FBI, I would encourage you to research the law individually. It is found at title 5, U.S. Code, section 2303. prgtoken As you will see in the law, nowhere in that language do its protections require a subpoena, nor do they require the approval of an agent's chain of command or congressional affairs staff approval. prgtoken Moreover, Federal appropriations law also forbids the use of taxpayers' dollars to pay the salary of any individual who interferes with or attempts to interfere with a Federal employee's right to communicate directly with Congress. prgtoken The Government Accountability Office recently found that an Housing and Urban Development congressional affairs official did interfere that way in 2013, so paying that salary violated the restrictions Congress had placed on the money. Based on that ruling, Housing and Urban Development initiated collection efforts to recover a portion of the salary paid illegally, as a debt owed back to the United States from this executive branch staffer, as a result of interfering with somebody's right to talk to Congress. prgtoken Congress has the power of the purse, and bureaucrats need to understand that funding for their salaries comes with strings attached. Federal employees cannot be prevented from talking directly to Congress--pretty plain--period. prgtoken There can be no interference with any Federal employee talking directly to Congress. I should add that you shouldn't even try. prgtoken If unelected bureaucrats have so much contempt for an employee who voluntarily informs the people's elected representatives of facts necessary to do our constitutional responsibility of
VA MISSION BILL
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2018-5-24

I will start by congratulating Senator Klobuchar, who was on the floor earlier to speak about the Congressional Accountability Act, and Senator Blunt for their hard work to enact legislation that will make this place work better. It is a rare display of bipartisanship, coming together to improve our processes with regard to sexual harassment and other issues, and I thank them for that. prgtoken Earlier this week, some of us talked about the veterans bill that passed this Chamber--another sign of bipartisanship. It passed with a big vote, and it will help our veterans in Ohio to get the care they need, where they want it. Going into Memorial Day, I am very glad it passed. prgtoken We have heard a lot of concerns that my colleagues raised about veterans not being able to get the care they wanted in their hometowns or the specialist they wanted or not being able to get reimbursed appropriately for care outside of the VA system, and now they will be able to do it. prgtoken Another part of that legislation that helps our veterans deals with an issue that is affecting all of the States in this body and sadly has become an epidemic in our country; that is, the opioid epidemic. It is an issue that some of our veterans are facing when they come back from service. Some have PTSD. Some have traumatic brain injuries and other injuries that require procedures. In response to the acute pain and some of these other conditions, they are given opioid medication. As a result, sadly, a number of our veterans have become addicted to opioids. prgtoken This legislation will help by, No. 1, cutting back on the overprescribing of opioids but also by using nonaddictive pain alternatives--medicines that do not have opioids in them--and other forms of therapy to help them deal with pain. These therapies will now be used more in our VA hospital system. That is a good thing for our veterans.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
A. Drew Ferguson IV (Republican, GA) \u2014 2018-5-24

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I want to thank, first of all, Chairman Thornberry for working with me on this amendment to provide a clear legislative direction for the GSA's new e-commerce portal provider system for commercial off-the-shelf sales. prgtoken My amendment would strengthen supplier data protection requirements and express the sense of Congress that implementation of this program will be done in a manner that enhances competition. prgtoken I fully support the committee's efforts to reform the procurement process to increase efficiency and reduce waste for the Federal Government, and most importantly, the taxpayers. prgtoken However, there are still some unanswered questions regarding the implementation of the program. prgtoken Moving forward, I believe that there is still important work to be done to ensure that the portal results in robust competition from a broad range of suppliers, which is vital to achieving the efficiencies and cost savings that the committee is seeking. prgtoken The American people have told us over and over again that they do not want the Federal Government picking winners and losers, and I fully agree. We do an amazing job around here sometimes of creating very large monolithic monopolies as unintended consequences. prgtoken , I want to make sure that we don't do that with this important reform. prgtoken While my amendment takes steps to improve data safeguards, I remain concerned about the anticompetitive efforts of concerns from suppliers, both large and small, regarding the baseline data access between competitors. prgtoken Whether a small business or a multinational corporation, private companies are fiercely and understandably protective of their proprietary data. prgtoken Competition requires willing competitors, and competitors expect a level playing field, a playing field on which the referee is not also a player on the other team. prgtoken Promoting competition in this program requires that we continue to listen to and, more importantly, address the concerns of potential suppliers. prgtoken My amendment is a step in the right direction, but there is more work to do, and I look forward to continuing to work with the chairman in good faith to improve this system to make sure that it is achieving the results that we truly know that it can. prgtoken , today, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of amendment No. 168, and .
Confirmation of Brian Montgomery (Executive Session)
Richard C. Shelby (Republican, AL) \u2014 2018-5-24

I rise today in support of Jelena McWilliams to be the Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. prgtoken A native of the former Yugoslavia, Jelena earned her bachelor's degree and J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. From tough experiences that her family shared in Europe, Jelena understands the value hard work provides in a free market environment like ours. prgtoken The FDIC plays an important role in ensuring consumer confidence in our Nation's banks. In addition to their work as the prudential regulator for State-chartered banks, the FDIC is also a key part of many interagency efforts to appropriately regulate financial institutions. prgtoken Due to her vast experience, Jelena is beyond qualified for this esteemed position. To put it clearly, she has worked in all fields that interact with her new role. She is certainly no stranger to the Senate. During my time as chairman, Jelena served as chief counsel and deputy staff director of the Senate Banking Committee. Additionally, she was assistant chief counsel on the Senate Small Business Committee and has experience working for the Federal Reserve. Jelena also has private sector experience as an attorney in private practice. She also served as executive vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary for Fifth Third Bank. prgtoken Opposition to her nomination is unfathomable. Ms. McWilliams was reported out of the Banking Committee by a voice vote in February. She understands all sides of the areas she will regulate with the highest level of sophistication. However, that has not prevented Members of this body from being unreasonable. Opposition has appeared due to the nature of the Senate today, not due to any question regarding Jelena's qualification for the job. prgtoken Passage of her nomination builds on positive moment this week. With the passage of S. 2155, Congress has advanced appropriate scaling back of over-burdensome financial regulations. By confirming Jelena, the Senate has the opportunity to continue providing Main Street with commonsense regulatory relief. I am certain that Jelena is up for the challenge and confident that she will do an excellent job in this esteemed position.
VA MISSION Bill and Memorial Day (Executive Session)
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2018-5-24

a lot of our colleagues have been coming down to the floor today and had come down yesterday to talk about two things that are actually very connected. The first is the VA MISSION bill, which we just passed, that is going to significantly transform how we treat our veterans and how we make sure our vets are getting the care they have earned and deserve. Also, appropriately, as that bill has just passed the Senate and is heading to the President's desk, we are talking about Memorial Day and the Memorial Day prgtoken weekend that is fast approaching--a very important, sacred time for our country and, certainly, for my State, the great State of Alaska. prgtoken What I would like to do is to talk a little bit about the bill and then reflect a little bit more on the importance of Memorial Day as we move forward into this weekend. prgtoken One of the things we all do is, certainly, with regard to legislation like this is to look at the national implications. We also look at how our own constituents will be impacted and make sure their interests are served when there is broader, national legislation that we have been working on for months. Many of us had been working on this bill for almost a year. The Presiding Officer and I are on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, so we were very focused on it. prgtoken In my State, we proudly claim more veterans per capita than in any State in the country, but we also have unique challenges. Alaska is a very, very big place. With regard to enabling our veterans to get the healthcare they need and the services they need from the VA, it can be a challenge. So one of the things that we worked hard on was to make sure that if a veteran lives in a big State in a very rural part of America, they will still get the benefits they have earned as a veteran. prgtoken There are a number of things in the VA MISSION Act, which we just passed, that focus on the unique elements of Alaska. I will give a couple of examples that are now in the legislation that will be signed by the President in a couple days. prgtoken The bill requires access to community care--non-VA care--where the VA does not operate a full-service facility in the State. Well, there is no full-service VA facility in Alaska. So what this enables our veterans to do is to get care from other medical service providers, particularly our veterans who are in some of the more rural parts of the State. prgtoken It has a specific Alaska fee schedule for the reimbursement of providers because healthcare costs are structurally so much higher in my State, as are transportation costs. There is a fee schedule that the VA uses in this bill just for Alaska. It continues to allow the VA to have Tribal sharing agreements with members of Tribal organizations that, again, have a very far reach and provide excellent care to so many Alaskans, both Natives and non-Natives. prgtoken By the way, Alaska Natives serve at higher rates in the U.S.
HONORING J. HAGAN CODELL
Andy Barr (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-5-24

I rise today to honor a great Kentuckian, Mr. J. Hagan Codell. Mr. Codell is retiring after a successful career as Senior Vice President and Market Leader of Traditional Bank, headquartered in Mt. Sterling, KY. prgtoken Prior to his banking career, Mr. Codell worked for Codell Construction Company for 28 years, serving as Vice President. He worked at First National Bank in Jackson, KY as a loan officer then began working at Traditional Bank in 2002. With strong community relations, Mr. Codell has grown the Winchester, KY market in loans, deposits, and a solid customer base. His co-workers describe his leadership style as considerate and selfless. prgtoken Mr. Codell is a true community leader. He serves as an elder at First Christian Church, a chairman/director at Cardinal Hill Hospital, a director of the Breathitt County Industrial Board, a director and treasurer of the Jackson-Breathitt County Airport Board, and a director of KY Easter Seals, in addition to other volunteer leadership positions. He is a servant leader who is a role model for others to emulate. prgtoken As Hagan Codell reaches the end of his professional career and begins a well-deserved retirement, I join many others in thanking him for his service to his profession and to his community. It is my honor to recognize J. Hagan Codell before the United States House of Representatives.
RECOGNIZING LEVY COUNTY SCHOOL EDUCATORS ON THEIR RETIREMENT
Neal P. Dunn (Republican, FL) \u2014 2018-5-24

I rise today to recognize Brad and Sue Penney, and congratulate them on retiring after 30 years of service to the Levy County School system. Brad and Sue both began their careers at Cedar Key School in 1988, the very school that they are retiring from on May 31st. They have led a life of service to Levy County and represent the best of America. prgtoken Sue spent her career instilling a love of books and reading in students in the library and media center. She also served as a substitute teacher, assisting teachers and students of all ages. She went above and beyond for her students over the years, serving as a class and club sponsor, track coach, and cheerleading coach. She received ESP of the Year for the second time this year. prgtoken Brad began his career as the janitor, moving into the roles of physical education teacher, and computer lab specialist. He then went back to school to earn his teaching degree; going on to teach history, social sciences, and Spanish. Throughout his time in education, he also served as the track and basketball coach, as well as Athletic Director and Assistant Principal. He was awarded Teacher of the Year, as well as Teacher of the District in 2006-2007. prgtoken Brad and Sue have 4 daughters, all of whom graduated from the same school where they teach. prgtoken , please join me in congratulating Sue and Brad Penney on their retirement and thanking them for their dedication to enriching the lives of students across the Second District of Florida.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Mac Thornberry (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-5-24

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I want to take a moment as we approach the conclusion of this debate to again express my appreciation to the members of the Armed Services Committee, to all of the Members of the House who have contributed to this product, as well as to our staff. prgtoken , I think many Members do not realize that it requires a lot of long, hard, late work on the part of the staff to sift through the 578 amendments that were filed for the Rules Committee in order to make our floor consideration go as smoothly as it has. prgtoken I want to express again, as I have started our general debate, my appreciation to not only our committee staff, who have been doing this throughout markup and on to floor consideration, but the Rules Committee staff and the leadership staff on both sides that have facilitated this product. prgtoken It was a good bill to begin with, but with the assistance of a number of Members, it has become a better product, and it is certainly a worthy cause for Members to participate in and to show our support for the men and women who serve. prgtoken , .
Abortion (Executive Session)
Mike Lee (Republican, UT) \u2014 2018-5-24

last week, the administration proposed new rules to finally bring Federal policy back in line with Federal law. This should not be controversial in a republic committed to the rule of law. But this new policy touches the question of abortion, which tempts all three branches of our Federal Government to turn truth, justice, and the law inside out in the service of violence. President , to his credit, is resisting those temptations and affirming what the law should do--affirming the fact that the law should do what the law says. prgtoken The particular law in question is the Public Health Service Act. Every year, it allocates hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to public health centers across the country. Under the 1970 statute, no Public Health Service dollars ``shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.'' That is, the bill was expressly written to fund healthcare for lower income communities, including family planning services, but not to fund or facilitate abortion, which, of course, is the opposite of healthcare. prgtoken Yet in the 1980s, the General Accounting Office found that abortion providers were colocating their nonabortion and abortion-providing services and just keeping two different sets of books. This put patients, policymakers, and taxpayers in an impossible position. So regulations correcting this obvious abuse of the law were implemented; then they were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. prgtoken Subsequent ic Presidents rescinded these regulations, leaving the abortion industry free to indulge its ever-growing appetite for Americans' blood and treasure. This is the unacceptable status quo that the administration would correct. prgtoken By reinstating some of those prior regulations, President is following through on his campaign promise to the American people to get taxpayer money out of the abortion industry. This is to his great credit. Wherever you stand on the question of legalized killing of unborn children, it is essential that we draw the line at taxpayer funding of it. prgtoken The new rule would indeed reduce the flow of Federal dollars to abortion providers, including the billion-dollar behemoth of the grisly industry, Planned Parenthood. Even a modest step in this direction--in this case, about 15 percent--is to be commended. prgtoken In addition to incremental reform, this new rule is also a clarifying asset. After all, it does not deny Planned Parenthood or any colocated clinics anything. It doesn't deny anything to them. It simply offers them a choice, and given Planned Parenthood's protestations that abortions are just a tiny fraction of what Planned Parenthood does, the choice should be easy enough. prgtoken If, despite their billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies and private donations, Planned Parenthood and its accomplice organizations can't afford two local facilities--one for abortion and o