mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2020-7-21

we are in unprecedented times. Modem transportation and communication technology make our world more interconnected than it has ever been. These advancements, especially international travel, create risks, as we have seen through the devastating spread of the novel coronavirus all over the globe. But close global connections also strengthen our capacity to work collaboratively to tackle threats facing our communities. The COVID-19 pandemic is one such threat--it is a challenge that we will only be able to overcome together. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres put it best when he said, ``We are only as strong as the weakest health systems.'' prgtoken President 's decision on July 6th to begin formally withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization, or the WHO, is irrational, reckless, and simply the wrong thing to do. While the WHO is not perfect, its technical capacities and relationship with nearly every country in the world make it the best organization to manage the response to a global pandemic like COVID-19. A few weeks ago, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard from a panel of public health experts who all spoke with one voice--leaving the WHO in the middle of a global pandemic will not only compromise the international response to COVID-19, it will put Americans' lives at risk. prgtoken Today, I am introducing a resolution with 28 co-sponsors that expresses the sense of the Senate that withdrawing from the WHO undermines U.S. global health leadership and the international COVID-19 response. This resolution recognizes that since the WHO was founded in 1948--with help from the United States--it has relied on U.S. support to lead the world in disease detection and eradication and strengthening health systems. The resolution also highlights the significant benefit the U.S. gains by participating in the WHO, including the ability to improve public health in regions of the world that would be impossible to reach on our own. prgtoken Finally, the resolution highlights the lifesaving work of the WHO in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This work includes convening an unprecedented global clinical trial--the Solidarity Trial--to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19; coordinating global supply chains of personal protective equipment and other health commodities for more than 135 countries; and pre-positioning manufacturing capacity and distribution channels to ensure that all countries have access to future therapies and vaccines faster and at a fair price. Last month, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging U.S. participation in global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development and delivery to address COVID-19. Leaving the WHO will make it drastically more difficult to accomplish those goals. prgtoken The WHO has its flaws, but the United States is best positioned to effect positive changes by maintaining our seat at the ta
LIMITING DEBATE TIME ON MOTION TO CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 1957, TAXPAYER FIRST ACT OF 2019
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2020-7-21

I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding House Resolution 1053, during consideration of the motion to concur in the Senate amendments to H.R. 1957 pursuant to such resolution, debate on prgtoken such motion to concur shall not exceed 80 minutes, with 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the majority leader and the minority leader or their respective designees.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-7-21

our country faces the greatest health threat in 100 years and the greatest economic crisis in 70 years, but here in the -led Senate, you would prgtoken hardly know it. Over the past several months, even as COVID-19 surged through the country once again, even as our States hit new records of infections and hospitalizations, the majority in the Senate dithered and delayed on the next phase of major emergency relief. prgtoken In April, May, and June, tried to jolt the Senate into action, but almost every time we tried to pass much needed legislation by average Americans, our colleagues objected. Unemployment claims reached 50 million. The number of cases topped 3.8 million as the virus resurged over the past several weeks, and more than 140,000 Americans have died. Still, Senate s wanted to, in the words of their leader, ``hit the pause button'' and ``assess the conditions'' in the country before providing any more relief. The country was burning, and Senate s, led by Leader McConnell, said: ``Let's wait a little longer and see how this goes.'' prgtoken Like President , they were hoping it would go away, ignoring all of the scientific evidence but paying obeisance to the hard right, which didn't want to spend money no matter what the cost to America. prgtoken Now it seems our friends have finally found the motivation to do another emergency relief bill. Even they, with their heads still half in the sand, have to see the crisis the country is in. But instead of working with in either the Senate or the House, Leader McConnell has decided to write the bill behind the closed doors of his office--the same partisan, one-side-only process that has failed time and again to produce successful legislation in the Senate. prgtoken McConnell talked about how the Senate led in the last three bills. I would add a word to that. It was Senate that led. s put a small, stingy, corporate-oriented proposal before the Senate. We said no, and they were forced to add provisions friendly to workers and average American families. That is what happened. History knows that. prgtoken Yesterday, Leader McConnell, once again, called for the same spirited bipartisanship that helped us pass the CARES Act. Well, Leader McConnell, writing a bill in your own office without any input from , dropping it on the floor, and demanding that support it is no one's idea of bipartisanship. You can't fool the American people with these facile words that just don't ring true. prgtoken Even worse, the proposal appears destined to fall drastically short of what is required. From all indications, the bill will prioritize corporate special interests over workers and Main Street businesses. It will not provide hazard pay for essential workers. It will not provide new funding to State, local, and Tribal governments o
PEACEFUL PROTEST IS THE BEST PROTEST
Al Green (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2020-7-21

and still I rise. prgtoken I rise here in the House of Representatives because many persons made great sacrifices so that I would have this opportunity to stand and speak today. prgtoken Many of these persons were the persons who protested. They faced Bull Connor's dogs and Jim Crow's laws. They know what a billy club hurts like. They know what losing a loved one to a cause feels like. These were the protestors that made it possible. prgtoken I can only imagine what would have happened had the Honorable John Lewis, Hosea Williams, and Jimmy Lee Jackson, those persons who protested--Jimmy Lee Jackson lost his life; Reverend C. T. Vivian was there on the Edmund Pettus Bridge--if they had assaulted the police, if they had confronted the police and met them with force, would I be standing here today? I think not. prgtoken I believe that peaceful protest has made it possible for a good many Members of Congress to be here. Not all of us are here because we are so smart. A good many of us are here because others made great sacrifice so that we would have these opportunities. prgtoken This is why I stand here today to say that we can peacefully protest; we can be disruptive without being destructive. prgtoken If you are being destructive, you are not helping the cause. prgtoken Peaceful protest is the best protest. It is what has made a difference for so many of us in so many ways: We have integrated facilities because of peaceful protest; labor laws have been changed because of peaceful protest; persons have the right to vote because of peaceful protest. prgtoken Peaceful protest is the best protest, and it has made a difference in the lives of a good many people in this country. prgtoken So I absolutely salute those who peacefully protest, and I do not condone those who protest otherwise. prgtoken Now, with reference to the constabulary, there have been unidentified persons, Federal agents, who have been policing the streets of American cities. They do not have the right to pick people up indiscriminately. They do not have the right to take people away and hold them and then drop them off at some location. They are not within the law when they do this, and officers of the law should not break the law. These are unidentified Federal agents, and they must be stopped. This is not the American way. prgtoken I support the law as it relates to the protestors; I support the law as it relates to the Federal agents. All should obey the law. prgtoken Now, you say to me: ``Well, how is it that you went to jail?'' Well, I went to jail, and I was willing to suffer the consequences. I was protesting. I was in the middle of the street, as a matter of fact, here in Washington, D.C when I went to jail once. I was there, and I suffered my consequences. prgtoken Dr. King wrote his ``Letter from Birmingham Jail'' from the Birmingham Jail. prgtoken It is disruptive action, not destructive action. This was a disruption that we created in the
WILLIAM M. (MAC) THORNBERRY NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021
Gwen Moore (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2020-7-21

I rise in opposition to the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. prgtoken Our country is going through turbulent times. prgtoken People are taking to the streets to cry out for real justice and an end to racism that pervades so many institutions in our country, not just the police or criminal justice system. prgtoken They are crying out for investments in society; in education, social services, housing, and healthcare. prgtoken Over the weekend, we lost one of our true champions for justice and equality, and a true leader a remarkable human being, Congressman John Lewis, who I was privileged to call a friend. prgtoken A deadly pandemic has killed over 140,000 Americans in nearly four months, and cases are still surging, setting new records almost daily in the last few weeks. Yet, the President continues to dissemble, disengage, and diminish the threat of this pandemic, despite the advice of our nation's public health experts and the obvious and immediate need for a credible and strong federal response and leadership. prgtoken That's what this moment is calling for . . . Leadership. Not more of the same. prgtoken But what we have here before us today folks is legislation that won't invest in a single meal for a hungry child, a vaccine for the pandemic, or help for the homeless or those about to lose their homes. Furthermore, the bill, in my opinion, is a retreat by Congress from its power to protect the power of the purse and our war powers. prgtoken I recognize and appreciate the work of Chairman Smith and his committee on this legislation. I know that countless hours of hearings, testimony, and a long markup went into putting together this bill. prgtoken However, anyway you slice it, the Pentagon's budget has increased dramatically since September 11, 2001. The war in Afghanistan is the longest conflict in our nation's history and it shows little sign of ending, even with a supposed peace deal in hand. prgtoken I support the amendment put forward by Mr. Pocan that would cut the defense budget while still providing for our national defense. The amendment would exempt the Defense Health Programs and Military Personnel Accounts from any cuts. prgtoken We cannot continue to mindlessly push forward defense budgets that are out of line with the threats that face our nation or the needs of our country. The U.S. spends more money than any other country on our military, but can any American look around and say with a clear conscious that all that spending has produced more peace, more world stability, or better overall outcomes for Americans, or our global brothers and sisters? prgtoken All this treasure we throw at defense is not even helping the military itself, as a series of incidents over the past year has raised concerns about readiness. prgtoken In fact, we appear to be spending more and more money on defense, yet our forces are less and less prepared, and it is taking longer and more money to deploy weapons sys
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2020-7-21

I appreciate the words of the distinguished Senator from Hawaii. Those of us who served in law enforcement know the temptation to seek out this kind of military hardware and the basic uselessness and cost of it when that is done. prgtoken I will just be very brief in mentioning that we had a small, very safe, and very quiet community. The police chief was in my office when I was State's attorney, and the chief law enforcement officer of the county was all excited because he was going to get an armored personnel carrier. I said: What are you going to do with it? prgtoken Well, just in case there is an uprising. prgtoken I said: An uprising is whether somebody is shouting too much on your Fourth of July parades. I said: If you get that, I can assure you that if it is used, I will have an inquiry into why it was used, and no cases from your jurisdiction will be allowed in the court. He decided he could find better uses of their other things. prgtoken I said: Besides, you are going to get laughed out of town if you get it. Coronavirus prgtoken I have spoken many times about the need for another COVID-19 supplemental. We see the frightening trajectory of this virus. The terrible human suffering, loss, and economic devastation that is causing families, businesses, and public services in every State and municipality in this country have greatly accentuated the urgency of that need. prgtoken As the coronavirus continues to outpace the White House's appallingly belated, I would say, incompetent, inadequate, and incoherent efforts to contain it, and while they keep trying to make a sound bite, the number of Americans becoming sick and dying continues to rise. prgtoken They ought to be worried, first and foremost, about Americans and Americans' health and Americans' safety far more than what might be a political sound bite for this fall's election. I remind those who are running this fall, if you want to make sound bites about this and not do anything, as of yesterday, the virus has infected more than 3.8 million Americans. It has killed more than 143,000. Those are not numbers. Those are people. There have been 30,000 more Americans who have been killed by this virus in the past 5 months than died in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined. prgtoken What is the President's response? Well, the virus will soon just go away. After dismissing the virus as nothing to worry about and predicting that the U.S. economy would come roaring back in June, our self-proclaimed wartime President has, for all intents and purposes, left the battlefield. prgtoken Unfortunately, the people who are fighting COVID have not left the battlefield. These are friends of mine. I have known people who have died from this. We all do. Hopefully, we all know doctors and nurses and others who work on the frontlines of this. prgtoken After months of the President belittling those who wear masks to prote
WILLIAM M. (MAC) THORNBERRY NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021
Adam Smith (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2020-7-21

legislatively, this is a terrible idea, to introduce a 13-page sanctions bill at the last possible second and expect us to vote on it without knowing the true impacts of it. prgtoken I absolutely agree that we should have tools to hold the Chinese, the Russians, anyone accountable who does any of the things that the gentleman said. Within current law, there are a ton of tools to do precisely that. Putting in law brand-new sanctions legislation without thinking about it is a bad idea. prgtoken And if this was so crucial and so important, why are we seeing it just at this last second? prgtoken There was somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 ideas submitted to be added to the defense bill all along the process. We would have had time to work on it and think about it and actually craft a decent piece of legislation. This clearly does not have that objective in mind or they would have introduced it a long time ago. This is a bad way to make law. prgtoken , I urge us to vote ``no'' and not to jeopardize all the incredible work that Members on both sides of the aisle did in this bill. There are a ton of Members, s and alike; those 2,000 provisions are roughly equal between s and . We have an incredibly bipartisan piece of legislation before us in which individual Members decided something is important, worked the issue, and got us a product that we could support. prgtoken , this puts us in the very risky position of passing really bad legislation at the last second for no good reason, and I would urge Members to vote ``no.'' prgtoken Now, let me be clear. We absolutely need to hold accountable Russia, China, whoever wants to interfere with our process of developing a vaccine or cyber hack us in any other way, and there are an enormous number of tools to do so. prgtoken I do want to point out and just simply make an urgent plea. prgtoken One of the gentleman's arguments was that China hid the true risk of the virus from the American people, and, yes, that is terrible that China did that. It is not actually their job to warn the American people. It is the President's job to warn the American people. And talk about someone who has done a horrible job of warning us of the true dangers of the virus. prgtoken It was just, I think, last week, maybe a week and a half ago, when the President said 99 percent of the cases will be completely harmless. That is wrong. prgtoken The President said again, just a couple days ago, it is just going to magically disappear. He cannot even bring himself to tell us to wear a mask. prgtoken Some people don't like mandates. Okay. That is fine. Let's have the leader of our country tell us what we ought to do to protect ourselves. prgtoken He is the one who is not warning the American people of the true danger of this virus, because, sadly, we would kind of listen to him. We are not going to listen to the Chinese. We don't trust them, for all the reasons t
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2020-7-21

this afternoon because he speaks today with passion and facts and clearly outlines what our constituents told us at home this past week, and I thank him for this partnership that Oregonians are seeing again on the floor of this great Senate. prgtoken , has deployed a paramilitary squad to our hometown in Portland. His secret police are terrorizing my friends and neighbors. People across the country need to understand that yesterday announced to America that your friends and your neighbors are next. prgtoken There are unmarked vans full of armed men in military gear snatching people off the streets. They take people away. They hold them. They interrogate them without justification and ultimately without charges. prgtoken Over the weekend, a very close personal friend, Sharon Meieran, an ER doctor and a mom, was protesting peacefully and was tear-gassed without provocation. She felt like she was seeing democracy pass right in front of her eyes. prgtoken Millions of Americans have seen the video of that local Navy veteran who was repeatedly beaten and pepper-sprayed and left with broken bones. People ask me: Ron, what was his offense? prgtoken I am sure Senator Merkley gets exactly the same question: What did he do wrong? prgtoken He was standing motionless, hands by his side, speaking up for the liberty that he served to protect. People are stunned that this is happening on the streets of our hometowns. We have seen reports of agents ripping a mask off of a protester who is obeying commands, with hands in the air, only to pepper spray the protester's face. The secret police even threw flash bombs and tear gas at a ``wall of moms.'' Here they are. Here they are in our hometown. You can see them, over the last couple of days: Moms and dads and now their kids are going to peacefully sing songs and protest for justice. prgtoken Oregonians are just standing up for what is right. Only the cowards of the administration would try to convince America that these peaceful protesters, the ``wall of moms,'' represent some kind of anarchist threat. It is nonsense. prgtoken I condemn violence by anybody--always--and I spent much of last week working for nonviolent solutions in my hometown and fresh approaches to reduce tensions on our streets. The fact is, the protests in Portland have been overwhelmingly peaceful. Crime in Portland and across Oregon was down before sent in his secret police. prgtoken did not send that paramilitary force to keep people safe. is doing it to create an image of chaos, to air it on far-right television, scare the country, turn them into campaign ads, but these are the people Senator Merkley and I are honored to represent. These are the people 's paramilitary forces attacked and terrorized. He calls it a ``great success.'' As we have indicated, he has a game plan to b
HONORING EDDIE GALE
Zoe Lofgren (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-7-21

. Madam , I rise today to honor a musical icon and celebrated community member, Eddie Gale, who passed away on July 10, 2020. Since making his home in San Jose in 1972, he enriched many lives through his music and community involvement. prgtoken An accomplished jazz musician and trumpeter, Eddie Gale, grew up in New York. He was the third of five children of Edward and Daisy Stevens. His young life was filled with music, from gospel at Rose Hill Baptist Church, to his Cub Scout's marching band where he played the bugle, to his lessons with jazz legend, Kenny Dorham. In the early 1960s, Eddie Gale joined Sun Ra's Arkestra and released two Blue Note albums in 1968 and 1969. Throughout his career, he played alongside acclaimed jazz figures including John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Jackie McLean, Larry Young, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Max Roach. prgtoken After moving to the West Coast, Eddie Gale started to focus on teaching and sharing music with local youths. He was an Artist in Residence at Stanford and San Jose State University. He also worked with Monroe Middle School, McClymonds High School, EastSide Arts Alliance, and Black Dot Artists Collective. To create spaces where music could thrive, he helped establish the Evergreen Youth Adult Jazz Society, the We're Jazzed! Youth/Adult Jazz Festival and the annual Concert for World Peace and Peace Poetry Contest. prgtoken Mr. Gale was an important part of Bay Area music culture and was known as ``San Jose's Ambassador of Jazz.'' He was also named an Ambassador of Music, from the Association of World Citizens, San Francisco. prgtoken His dedication to sharing music was well known in the Bay Area. He received the Jefferson Award for community service in the arts and received the Sankofa Award from the California Arts Council for 25 years of service in the arts for training youth and adults in music. In the community, he coordinated the giveaway of trumpets and helped raise money for the Bay Area Jazz Musicians Self-Help Healthcare Project. prgtoken Eddie Gale made a lasting impression on our community through his music and service to others. He is survived by his wife, Georgette, three of his siblings, his six children, 12 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. I enjoyed the many times I was able to talk with Eddie and to enjoy his music. I join Mr. Gale's family, colleagues, and our neighbors in expressing my great sense of loss and appreciation for the 78 years he shared with us. He will be dearly missed but he leaves our community and world a better place.