mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HONORING HOMETOWN HEROES ACT
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-2-8

after much consideration, I will reluctantly vote for this legislation. The bipartisan agreement included $6 billion to combat opioid abuse and improving mental health, $2 billion for research at the National Institutes of Health and $4 billion for college affordability. The measure extends one of my legislative priorities, the Children's Health Insurance Program for 10 years. prgtoken Since Hurricane Harvey's landfall in last August, I have worked tirelessly with the Texas Governor, the Texas Congressional delegation, local mayors, county commissioners and police and fire chiefs to identify and meet the needs of impacted Texans. The agreement increases overall disaster relief from $81 billion to $89 billion which means it will increase Texas's share of that relief and to significantly increase the funding for critical Army Corps flood management projects that help Texas to take necessary measures against future flooding events. prgtoken Additionally, I have fought hard for many years to fund the needs of our veterans, and our transportation infrastructure. This bill provides $4 billion to reduce the VA healthcare maintenance backlog. There will be $20 billion to invest in infrastructure, including programs related to rural water and wastewater, clean prgtoken and safe drinking water, rural broadband, energy, innovative capital projects, and surface transportation. prgtoken The agreement includes funding for child care, including the bipartisan Child Care Development Block Grant program and funding for student-centered programs that aid college completion and affordability, including those that help police officers, teachers and firefighters. prgtoken , I will vote yes on this bill because the measure also closes the Medicare Part D ``donut hole'' for seniors in 2019. I will continue to work to make sure that Congress follows through on this deal, and that Texas' 30th District gets what it needs to move our communities, our state and the Nation forward.
AVIATION SAFETY IN THE CROSS-STRAIT BETWEEN CHINA AND TAIWAN
Robert A. Brady (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2018-2-8

I rise today to bring to your attention that China's civil aviation authority unilaterally announced on January 4, 2018 that it would activate four air routes along its southeast coast near the midline between Taiwan and China without prior consultation with the Taiwanese authorities. These routes, which are critically close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, are very likely to endanger aviation safety and security and to interfere with flight services in the Taipei Flight Information Region. prgtoken This unilateral move by China without any prior consultation with the Taiwanese government is an irresponsible act that not only seriously affects aviation safety but is also a violation of longstanding cross- strait status quo. Moreover, with this irresponsible act, the potential of military crisis could emerge in the Taiwan Strait, becoming a major threat to the peace and security of the East Asia region. prgtoken As ensuring aviation safety and maintaining peace and stability in the region remain the common concern of all relevant parties, I urge my colleagues and the House as a body to exhort China to give priority to restoring negotiations with Taiwan on the flight paths as soon as possible. The safety, security and stability of the region are at stake and the United States shall not turn a blind eye against Chinese coercion.
HONORING HOMETOWN HEROES ACT
Gary C. Peters (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2018-2-8

last year, Congress passed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which imposed tough new sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea. prgtoken There was broad bipartisan agreement on the need to put these enhanced sanctions into place. The legislation passed in the Senate by a vote of 98 to 2 and in the House by a vote of 419 to 3. In combining both Chambers, the vote was 517 to 5 in favor of enacting these sanctions. The legislation passed with a veto-proof, broad, bipartisan majority. It can be very difficult to get 500 Members of Congress to agree on anything, but imposing sanctions on Vladimir Putin's cronies and those who do business with him should be a no-brainer. prgtoken Just last week, we learned that the administration had chosen not to enact these sanctions. Yet, on the same day that the administration argued the sanctions were not necessary, President 's own CIA Director said that Russia will continue to attack our democracy. He said: ``This threat is not going to go away. The Russians have been at this a long time, and I fully expect they'll continue to be at it.'' prgtoken In January 2017, the CIA assessed: ``Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. Presidential election.'' prgtoken In January of 2018, the CIA Director confirmed he believes that Russia will continue to assault the 2018 elections. prgtoken Yesterday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Russia is already trying to impact the 2018 U.S. election and that it will be difficult for the United States to preempt it. prgtoken It is clear that we have not done enough to deter Russia from interfering in our democracy, but the administration is choosing not to put in place sanctions on Putin's cronies whom over 99 percent of the Members of Congress supported. prgtoken I am a member of the Armed Services Committee. Earlier this week, we received a briefing from Secretary of Defense Mattis on the recently completed national defense strategy. That strategy identifies that Russia is seeking to prgtoken discredit and subvert democratic processes all across the world and to shatter the NATO Alliance. Russia is expanding and modernizing its nuclear arsenal and has a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council that provides it veto power in a critical international organization. prgtoken In quoting directly from the national defense strategy, Russia is attempting to ``change European and Middle East security and economic structures to its favor.'' What does it mean, and I quote again, to attempt to ``change . . . security . . . structures to its favor''? prgtoken One example is Russia's continued support of the Assad regime in Syria, which continues to use chemical weapons against its own people. Russia uses its role on the Security Council to prevent the international community from holding Assad responsible for these obvious crimes against h
HONORING HOMETOWN HEROES ACT
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-2-8

I rise to explain the importance of the pending legislation, which extends the Continuing Resolution passed by Congress on January 26, 2018 but expired at midnight, February 8, 2018, by an additional six weeks, or until March 23, 2018. prgtoken This crucial legislation rests upon three pillars. prgtoken First, the legislation before us provides $89.3 billion in aid to respond to the damage caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and the wildfires in California. prgtoken Second, the Continuing Resolution pending before us is necessary to finalize and implement a bipartisan and bicameral budget agreement gives parity to defense and non-defense discretionary funding and provides $117 billion more funding for needed non-defense investments in the areas of education, public health, infrastructure, community development, and disaster relief than proposed under the FY 2018 budget. prgtoken Third, I will be advocating for a nay vote on the Previous Question in order to bring to the floor a crucial legislative fix for debate and vote that will provide permanent legal residence and a path to citizenship to the more than 800,000 Dreamers, including the 124,000 who live in Texas, whose lives have been turned upside down because of this Administration's cruel, unwise, and reckless termination of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. prgtoken And in connection with legislation to protect Dreamers, I will insist that the Administration rescind the revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, El Salvador, and Honduras, or failing that, TPS for those countries be extended by congressional legislation. prgtoken , 44,800 residents of Texas are TPS holders from El Salvador (36,300), Honduras (8,400), and Haiti, who combined are parents of 53,800 U.S.-born children in Texas and 14,000 of whom have home mortgages. prgtoken These TPS holders are integral members of the Texas's social fabric, having lived in Texas an average of 20 years, and contribute an aggregate $2.2 billion to the Texas economy. prgtoken This legislation provides $89.3 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations to help states, communities, businesses, and individuals respond and recover from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the California wildfires. prgtoken This amount represents a doubling of the woefully inadequate $44 billion disaster relief package proposed by the Administration and a substantial increase over the $81.1 billion disaster relief funding approved by the House. prgtoken Ever since the widespread and catastrophic destruction of Hurricane Harvey occurred, I have been working closely with Senator Cornyn and other federal, state, and local officials, along with my colleagues in the Texas congressional delegation to secure the help necessary for the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey recover and rebuild. prgtoken The $8 billion increase in disaster relief funding reflected in this legislation is d
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
Jared Huffman (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-2-8

President 's mantra is ``no collusion.'' He says this constantly because he wants people to think collusion--a hard thing to prove--is the only question in the Russia investigation. It is not. prgtoken Even putting aside the mounting evidence that did collude with Russia, there is an equally serious question about obstruction of justice, and, for that, the evidence is overwhelming. prgtoken The greatest hits of obstruction include: prgtoken Requesting an improper loyalty pledge from FBI Director Comey; prgtoken Telling Director Comey to drop the Flynn investigation; prgtoken Asking the DNI and the CIA Directors to lean on Comey to drop the Flynn investigation; prgtoken Firing Comey when he continued the investigation; prgtoken Admitting on national TV that the firing was because of the Russia investigation; prgtoken Admitting, essentially, the same thing to top Russian officials in a White House meeting; prgtoken Drafting a deliberately misleading statement for his son about the infamous Tower meeting; prgtoken Attempting to fire Special Counsel Mueller; prgtoken And, most recently, this ham-handed choreography with Chairman Nunes to undermine all of the pending investigations--an attempt to set up the argument that we should drop the Russia investigations and, instead, investigate the investigators. prgtoken That is just the ``Greatest Hits of Obstruction,'' volume I. There is a lot more to come, .
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENT TO HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1892, HONORING HOMETOWN HEROES ACT
Jared Polis (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2018-2-8

I am saddened that this body is descending down a fiscally irresponsible path, a path to trillion-dollar deficits, a path to mortgaging the future for my children and yours. prgtoken To be clear, what this massive spending bill includes is a 14.6 percent increase in defense spending and a 12.2 percent increase in nondefense spending this year. Next year, a 15.1 percent increase in defense spending and 12.9 percent in nondefense spending. prgtoken The headlines in The New York Times, , says: ``As Deficit Soars Toward $1 trillion, Congress Shrugs and Keeps Spending.'' prgtoken I also want to quote from the Los Angeles Times. It says: ``The budget deal also means that the United States probably will be returning to trillion-dollar annual deficits . . . .'' prgtoken When took office about a year ago, the Congressional Budget Office projected the Nation's deficit would run between $500 billion and $700 billion. Now, with lower tax revenues and new spending, the deficit will blow past $1 trillion in 2019. prgtoken To be fair, I have long argued that $500 billion to $700 billion deficits are too large. I have supported spending cuts, and I opposed the massive giveaway to special interests through the tax reform bill. prgtoken It would be easy to say here, , that the s own this deficit, the s own this debt. But that is too easy, Mr. . prgtoken Do you know who owns this debt? prgtoken My family and yours. It is owned by the American people, , in the form of future taxation, in the form of future reduction in services, in the form of a future threat to Social Security and Medicare. prgtoken This fiscally irresponsible path has got to end. I will be opposing this bill, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who care about the fiscal solvency of this Nation to join me in opposing this irresponsible spending bill. prgtoken As has been mentioned, this bill also fails to include comprehensive immigration reform or the Dream Act. prgtoken I would note that comprehensive immigration reform, which passed the Senate with a more than two-thirds vote a few years ago, would reduce our budget deficit by over $200 billion in increased tax revenue and increased economic productivity. prgtoken While the Dream Act and similar measures haven't been formally scored, they also would contribute to reducing our budget deficit because hardworking Americans would be able to get jobs, pay taxes, and participate in the American Dream. prgtoken If this massive spending bill passes, it will only dig our Nation deeper into a debt that will become harder and harder to ever emerge from. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to reject this massive spending bill and to get to work on fiscally responsible measures, like comprehensive immigration reform and the Dream Act; to reduce our budget deficit and, hopefully, eliminate it rather than bloat it further and further.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1892, HONORING HOMETOWN HEROES ACT
Betty McCollum (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2018-2-8

I will vote no on H. Res. 727 because of my strong objections to the majority's refusal to do Congress' work on time and their rejection of regular order for debate on critical national priorities. prgtoken H. Res. 727 makes in order H.R. 1892. This bill is entitled the Honoring Hometown Heroes Act, but in its current form this legislation has nothing to do with recognizing our first responders. I voted along with 410 of my colleagues for the original version of H.R. 1892 when it passed the House of Representatives on May 18, 2017. In fact, the version of H.R. 1892 the House will consider under H. Res. 727 denies our first responders the certainty they deserve by providing them just 43 days of federal funding. prgtoken Discord and delay is no way to run our government. Instead of playing political games, it is time that s join to reach a bipartisan budget agreement that keeps our government open, protects our national security, and meets our commitments to hardworking families.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENT TO HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1892, HONORING HOMETOWN HEROES ACT
Michelle Lujan Grisham (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2018-2-8

I stand here this morning for Nicole, Miriam, Antonio, Karen, Leo, Adriana, and hundreds of thousands of other young Americans who dream and pray for only one thing: that this esteemed body of elected Representatives, endowed with a solemn responsibility to enact laws, will see a piece of themselves in them; that they will see beyond the circumstances by which they came to call America home and, instead, see the American values that they hold deep in their heart of hearts. prgtoken I would surmise that there isn't one congressional district that isn't home to a DREAMer, and, by God, we are all lucky for it because, to our kids, DREAMers are their friends; to our students, DREAMers are their teachers; and to our seniors and elders, DREAMers are, in fact, their caretakers. prgtoken DREAMers are entrepreneurs with the grit and determination to do something with nothing, following in the footsteps of intrepid explorers who forged new paths that led us to amazing discoveries. prgtoken To our economy, DREAMers are a well-oiled engine of valedictorians, doctors, software engineers, and technicians hoping to give back to their communities. Their imagination and determination is a driving force in the offices of Fortune 500 companies and the Main Streets of our towns and cities. prgtoken And every year, for the next decade, DREAMer ingenuity and tenacity will quite literally pump billions into our economy. Their efforts help America grow faster and stronger. And collectively, for our Nation, they represent our future and are a reflection of our values. prgtoken DREAMers are wide-eyed American optimism. They work so hard because they are so grateful and, despite setbacks, they persevere. Despite struggles, they overcome, just as Americans always have. And in the face of unbelievable adversity, DREAMers beam the hopefulness and dynamism that gives meaning to the American promise. prgtoken Our Founders knew that our democracy wasn't perfect, but they believed that, as lawmakers and representatives, we would work every day to live up to the ideals they set forth. And today, we have an opportunity to do just that. prgtoken All we have to do is enshrine the promise that unlocked the incredible potential of these young Americans by passing the Dream Act now. With one vote, we have a chance to unite our country around young people who embody our belief that hard work actually pays off. prgtoken So I ask my colleagues to vote against the previous question so that we can immediately bring the Dream Act to the floor and provide certainty for Americans like Nicole, Miriam, Antonio, Karen, Leo, and Adriana who want to continue to contribute to the country that they love, the only country they have ever known. We cannot afford to wait another day.
HONORING HOMETOWN HEROES ACT
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2018-2-8

in that event, let me commence my 196th ``Time to Wake Up'' climate speech. prgtoken The last year has been a lousy one for environmental policy in the United States. While the rest of the world began implementing the Paris Agreement to reduce the carbon emissions that are changing our climate and our oceans, this proud body, the U.S. Senate, sat on its hands. prgtoken When President handed the keys to his administration over to what I call the three stooges of the fossil fuel industry--Pruitt, Perry, and Zinke--the Senate sat on its hands. The recent interview with British journalist Piers Morgan shows willing to make a scientific fool of himself on the question of climate change to please the general managers pulling the strings of his administration, the Koch brothers. prgtoken This record puts them all way out of line--way out of line--with most Americans. Overwhelming numbers of younger Americans demand climate action and plan to hold politicians who stand in its way accountable. Faith groups, universities, State and local governments, and businesses have stepped up their climate leadership. Businesses hear from their customers and know the American people want action, but if corporate America is serious about climate action in Washington, corporate America needs to explain why the Big Business lobby groups in this town--the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Petroleum Institute, and the National Association of Manufacturers--stand so resolutely in the way of climate action. These three industry groups have been instrumental in blocking climate action, using lobbying, dark money election spending, and threats of dark money election spending. prgtoken Today, I want to take a look at the biggest and swampiest of the three, the so-called U.S. Chamber of Commerce. First, let's clear up some common misperceptions about the chamber. It is not a government agency, and it bears almost no relation to your hometown chamber of commerce. prgtoken Instead of representing the interests of small businesses, the chamber represents the interests of giant corporations, international corporations, and the ultrarich. The chamber president, Tom Donohue, admitted as much in a letter to the tobacco company Philip Morris. He wrote that small businesses ``provide the foot soldiers, and often the political cover, for issues big companies want pursued.'' prgtoken Why this service to giant corporations and the ultrarich? Easy answer: They pay the bills. The vast majority of the chamber's $275- million-per-year budget comes from just a handful of donors. For instance, in 2014, just 119 donations accounted for over $160 million of the chamber's fundraising haul. Who are these donors? Well, the chamber doesn't want you to know. It does all it can to resist transparency, but thanks to voluntary disclosures by some corporations and the tax filings of some nonprofit groups, we know that its donors include ma
HONORING HOMETOWN HEROES ACT
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2018-2-8

I will be brief and speak briefly in my capacity as vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. There are things here that could be exciting to talk about, and some things are kind of dry, but when we talk about the budget, the consequences affect every single one of us, in every single State, and for multiple generations. prgtoken The consequences of the Budget Control Act sequestration cuts since 2011 have been devastating and are going to last for generations. Its impact on military readiness led Defense Secretary Mattis to say that no enemy on the field has done more harm to our military than what we have done to ourselves through sequestration. By not investing in our domestic priorities, we allowed our infrastructure to crumble, care to our veterans to be delayed, and investments in education to fall behind. prgtoken The bipartisan budget deal announced yesterday by Senator McConnell and Senator Schumer is the first step toward providing much-needed relief from sequestration and stability in the appropriations process. prgtoken I have followed very carefully what they have been doing. My staff, especially on the Appropriations Committee, has been very much involved. Defense caps have been increased by $80 billion in fiscal year 2018 and $85 billion in fiscal year 2019. Nondefense caps are increased by $63 billion above the caps in fiscal year 2018 and $68 billion above the caps in fiscal year 2019. Those are the numbers. Let's look at a couple of things these numbers mean. prgtoken This additional funding will allow us to increase support our troops, improve care for our veterans, repair our crumbling infrastructure, take care of our seniors, and invest in our economy in real ways. prgtoken This bipartisan deal we have worked out--and I stress that it is bipartisan--advances our priorities by guaranteeing that we can make real investments in addressing the opioid crisis. We can all give speeches about the opioid crisis, but speeches don't solve the problem. Actually putting money in there to fund the necessary resources does. prgtoken It lets us fund medical research. Keep in mind that we can't turn medical research on and off. We can't say: Oh, you are making great steps in cancer research, but I will stop it for a few years, and then we will come back with money. You have to continue it. prgtoken It is also going to improve college affordability. Everywhere I go in Vermont, I hear people say: I haven't been able to buy a house because I have had to borrow so much money for college. prgtoken I am particularly pleased that the bill includes an important provision I worked on with my colleague and the chairman, Senator Cochran, which is going to improve assistance to our Nation's dairy and cotton farmers. In prgtoken Vermont and across the country, it is going to mean immediate relief for struggling dairy farmers who can't wait for the next farm bill for assistance. We will work on th