mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
FOSTERING UNDERGRADUATE TALENT BY UNLOCKING RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION ACT
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (Republican, WI) \u2014 2020-7-22

. Madam , I rise today in opposition to the No BAN Act. prgtoken This bill is being framed as a ``religious freedom'' initiative. I have fought for religious freedom throughout my career. I know what religious freedom means. This bill is not about religious freedom. It is about scoring cheap political points against President . prgtoken The President is granted broad authority to take quick action to limit the entry of foreign nationals into the United States. This is needed for a variety of reasons, including national security and public health. Whether it is addressing shortcomings in a certain country's vetting and information sharing or limiting the potential influx of coronavirus cases, we entrust the Executive Branch to keep America safe. prgtoken President 's actions have been mislabeled as a ``Muslim Ban.'' But that is not the case. There is no religious test anywhere in the President's travel restrictions. North Korea, an essentially religious- less society, is one of the countries included. Myanmar, another country affected, is more than 80 percent Buddhist. Indonesia, which was not included in the covered travel restrictions, has the largest percentage of the world's Muslim population at over 12 percent. prgtoken Rather than try to paint with a broad brush, we should look at the causes of these travel restrictions. Eritrea--Does not comply with the established identity-management and information-sharing criteria. Kyrgyzstan--Does not comply with the established identity-management and information-sharing criteria. Nigeria--Does not comply with the established identity-management and information-sharing criteria. And so on. prgtoken This isn't about religious freedom. It is only about convincing people it is. prgtoken In addition to the deficiencies of the underlying policy, the Majority has made a mistake in including the Senate version of pharmaceutical legislation as its pay-for. prgtoken Last year, the House Judiciary Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to advance two important bills. One to reduce the burdens of patent litigation when a company seeks to bring a complicated biosimilar drug to market. And another to create a new antitrust authority to prevent companies from playing games that could artificially suppress generic competition. prgtoken Chairmen Jerrold Nadler and David Cicilline were great partners to me and then-Hanking Member Doug Collins in that effort. It was refreshing during a time of increasingly partisan hostility to work together in a thoughtful manner to address drug pricing in the country. prgtoken Unfortunately, rather than take up that bill, the Majority has simply ignored our weeks of careful negotiation and has chosen instead to blindly attach the Senate language. prgtoken The shortcomings of this version of the legislation were already addressed in committee. The text included in the No BAN Act gives the FTC the authority to find a company liable even if all the
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Kevin Cramer (Republican, ND) \u2014 2020-7-22

in reserving the right to object, I, like the entire staff in the Chamber today and like the Presiding Officer for most of this time, has endured this for the last hour, an hour that has been very similar to the hour we had yesterday on the very same topic and with the very same motion to have the very same amendment passed in the Defense Authorization Act. prgtoken I am a member of the Committee on Armed Services. Prior to the Presiding Officer, I was presiding. I was honored to sit in that chair and watch the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services and the ranking of the Committee on Armed Services talk in glowing terms about each other and the bipartisan effort that has led to a National Defense Authorization Act that has considered 807 amendments to this point. As we sit here, 40 more amendments--20 by s and 20 by --are being hotlined for further consideration for, hopefully, tomorrow's final passage. prgtoken The National Defense Authorization Act has been greatly debated. In fact, it has been the most debated bill that I have been part of since I got here. Not only that, the amendments that are represented in this 807 are almost, nearly, equally divided among the two parties represented in this great Chamber. prgtoken What we have been witnessing tonight is a diatribe--in some cases, fantasy but, in every case, an exaggeration and, in many cases, a fabrication. The good Senator from Oregon has shown us pictures of what democracy looks like. I don't disagree. We are self-governed. The exceptionalism of America is that we are self-governed. prgtoken Democracy also demands protocol in this Chamber, the most deliberative body in this world. Yet, without any warning--without any heads-up--here we are, dealing with a unanimous consent motion on an amendment that has already failed to get unanimous consent just in the last 24 hours on a bill that has already been debated for weeks and months. It included bipartisan amendments across the board. Then we are confronted with this breach of not only protocol but of--well, let's just say--common decency and respect for each other. prgtoken I do agree with the Senator from Oregon on this point: He is right in that we should have the debate, and that is why it is too bad that his amendment wasn't allowed to be debated in Senator Tim Scott's JUSTICE Act. prgtoken And the reason it couldn't be debated there was because he and most every one of his colleagues on the side other than three filibustered against Tim Scott's police reform bill. prgtoken I don't think they want a solution. They want to have this crazy rhetoric, demagogue all day and all night, wherever they can have a demagogue, and they want to blame President for the actions of criminals. prgtoken Now, I have heard it all when I have heard, from the Senate floor, antifa referred to as the anti--what did he call them? The antifascists. The anti
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2020-7-22

the legislation that Senator Alexander is talking about probably is something we ought to look at in connection with this legislation that we are likely to pass here in the Congress in the next week or so regarding the COVID-19 crisis that we face. I am here on the floor prgtoken today to talk about that--to talk about what the next steps ought to be and how we should be responding as Congress to this unprecedented challenge we have of the pandemic. prgtoken We are now about 5 months into it, and for much of April and certainly in the month of May we were seeing pretty good progress on the coronavirus pandemic. The situation was improving, and many of us thought we were turning the corner. Unfortunately, as we have moved into June and July, we are now trending in the wrong direction in much of the country. Over the past week, the number of hospitalizations, for instance, has risen in many of our States, and there is concern that the situation could worsen when the weather begins to cool. prgtoken Today, in Ohio, our Governor announced a statewide mask mandate, as an example. We have not had that yet. He did so because he is concerned about some of the numbers. Ohio is not in as bad a shape as some of the States, but we are not seeing the progress we hoped for. prgtoken The past few months have been a somewhat better story for the economy. After the initial shocks of the self-imposed economic shutdown this past spring, a couple months ago, we have seen a steady rebound taking place in most parts of the country. New unemployment claims, put out just last week, while still far too high compared to where we were before this pandemic, are the lowest we have seen since the crisis began. Recent retail sales numbers are about where they were a year ago when there was no pandemic. So we are seeing better improvement in the economy as compared to the disappointing progress we were making recently on the pandemic prgtoken Thanks to unprecedented Federal action, such as the Paycheck Protection Program which has allowed small businesses to keep their doors open and to retain employees, thanks to some of the targeted tax relief to help our families and also our businesses, we have been able to prevent an even more serious economic collapse that in my view would have had a devastating impact on all of us. However, we are not out of the woods yet. There are still, roughly, 17 million Americans out of work. That is a lot of Americans who have been furloughed through no fault of their own because businesses are not operating. This corresponds to about an 11-percent unemployment rate, more than three times higher than it was just 5 months ago. prgtoken You will recall that in February we had historically low unemployment. Now we are up to 11 percent. Of course, there are parts of the economy that have not seen the progress that other parts have. prgtoken So there is a lot for us to consider now that Congress is back
TAXPAYER FIRST ACT OF 2019
Garret Graves (Republican, LA) \u2014 2020-7-22

I want to thank the ranking member for yielding. ``Quick, there is a global pandemic. Let's spend billions of dollars repairing fences, putting up new signs, and fixing toilets at our wildlife refuges, parks, and forests,'' said no one ever. Ever. prgtoken I have been sitting here listening to this debate over the last several minutes, and I have no idea what planet people are on right now. prgtoken There is a global pandemic right now. What this legislation does is it takes everything else and puts it on the back burner. That is right. Unemployment assistance goes behind this; job opportunities go behind this; improving our schools and getting our kids actually educated go behind this; medical care for our seniors goes behind this because this is mandatory spending. prgtoken , I have heard Members sit here and say that we have a $20 billion maintenance backlog. Do you know why that is? Because we failed to appropriate the money because we have determined it is not a priority in the appropriations process. prgtoken Why are we now stepping in and circumventing that whole process again, , in the middle of a pandemic to determine that this is the greatest priority? prgtoken , let me give you an analogy of what this bill really does. This is like someone going over to their neighbor's house, taking their credit card, and going out there and using that credit card to get a new address sign in their front yard and maybe to get a new coating of paint on their house. Meanwhile, that person who took the credit card has multiple cars and has an expansive real estate holding and never thought once about their own financial situation but instead took the credit card of their neighbor who is maybe up to their neck in medical bills because their spouse is on their deathbed. That is what this bill does. prgtoken I have heard people say: ``Well, oh, this is not taxpayers' money.'' prgtoken Whose money is this? What dream world are you living in? This absolutely is funds that are taxpayer funds. ``Oh, but it comes from energy revenues.'' prgtoken Where do those go? They go into the general treasury. This isn't excess money. This isn't some money tree. prgtoken , let me tell you about one of the most offensive things about this bill that my friend Cedric Richmond, Congressman Richmond, talked about. And he tried to address this in committee by proposing a bipartisan amendment with Congresswoman Sewell, with Congressman Bennie Thompson, with Congressman Scalise, with myself, and others, a bipartisan amendment to fix this. prgtoken Virtually all of the money that this bill is spending comes from energy production off the coast of Louisiana. This bill, as many have said, this goes on in perpetuity. In 5 years, we are spending $1 billion a year; in 10 years, $1 billion a year; in 50 years, $1 billion a year; in 100 years, $1 billion a year. prgtoken , do you realize that today 28 percent of this country is owned by the Fede
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2020-7-22

before I begin, I would like to take a moment to honor Congressman John Lewis, who died on Friday. A leader of the civil rights movement, he was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders and an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. He was a man of conscience, conviction, and supreme courage. ``When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to do something,'' he would say. prgtoken John Lewis did something. Confronted by the great sin of segregation, John Lewis put himself front and center in the fight. He organized sit- ins. He led demonstrations. He marched for prgtoken freedom. And he paid for his convictions with his blood. A man who espoused nonviolence, he suffered incredible brutality at the hands of both police officers and civilian mobs. He was attacked and beaten an untold number of times prgtoken During a march in Selma, AL--on a day that lives in infamy--a police officer fractured John Lewis's skull, leaving him with a scar that he carried to the end of his life. Yet John Lewis was unbowed. No matter how many times he was attacked or what he suffered, he got up again and rejoined the fight. prgtoken His death is a great loss, but John Lewis will live on in the annals of American heroes. May we all have his courage in fighting for the right. Coronavirus prgtoken , so far, Congress has provided $2.4 trillion to fight the coronavirus. Over the past couple of months here in the Senate, we have been closely tracking the implementation of this money and working with the administration on disbursement. prgtoken In June alone, we held 30 hearings in the Senate on COVID-related issues. All of this has helped us identify the priorities that need to shape our next bill, which we are hoping to pass in the next couple of weeks. Those priorities are kids, jobs, and healthcare. prgtoken First, kids: Getting kids back in school safely needs to be a priority. Being able to attend school in person is important for students' academic development and for their social and emotional well- being. prgtoken The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated: ``All policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.'' prgtoken Now, not every school may be able to fully reopen this fall, but we need to make sure that those schools that can reopen have the resources they need to reopen safely. That is why the legislation the s are drafting here in the Senate would provide more than $100 billion to help schools ensure they have what they need to safely welcome students back to class. prgtoken While our first priority in getting kids back to school is ensuring their academic and social well-being, getting students back in school is also important for families' economic health. There are a lot of parents in this country who can't afford to have one parent
REPLACING BUST OF ROGER BROOKE TANEY WITH BUST OF THURGOOD MARSHALL
Paul Mitchell (Republican, MI) \u2014 2020-7-22

I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) for yielding. prgtoken , I wasn't planning on speaking on this. It is an honor to speak after Mr. Hoyer. prgtoken I heard Mr. Clyburn speak eloquently regarding the removal of statues, statues including that of former Chief Justice Taney, a statue honoring him for what we all agree was the most dreadful decision the Supreme Court has ever made in this country, not based upon the law but based upon his feelings that African Americans weren't people. prgtoken I am speaking today not so much that it convinces anybody in this Chamber, but I am speaking about history, and I am speaking about my children, my children and my grandchildren, that they need to remember the history of this Nation. prgtoken The history of this Nation is so fraught with racial division, with hatred, and the only way to overcome that is to recognize that, acknowledge it for what it is. prgtoken , I support this resolution, and I support what Mr. Clyburn said: to remove statues such as that of Mr. Taney, to lawfully remove them--not tear them down, not destroy them--return them back to the States and places from which they came, and to study, to put them in the study of the history of this Nation, because it should not be lost. Tearing it down does not do justice to the history of this Nation and what our young people must understand. prgtoken , what you have gone through in your life, Mr. Lewis did and others, we can't simply ignore it and say, because we tore down statues or we burn things, it is suddenly gone. No, we need to recognize those things as part of our history in order to move on beyond them. Because, as many have said, to not acknowledge, to recognize, to understand our history runs a very real risk of reliving it. And, my God, we can't continue to do that. prgtoken , I support the resolution and support the removal of statues.
REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS
Dan Newhouse (Republican, WA) \u2014 2020-7-22

today, I rise with a heavy heart to honor the life of the distinguished Congressman from Georgia's Fifth District, John Lewis. prgtoken Few members of this body have had such a profound impact on the fabric of our Nation as John Lewis. He was a man of honor, a freedom fighter, and one of the truly great leaders of the civil rights movement. prgtoken From the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he marched with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr to demand an end to segregation to the Halls of the Congress of the United States of America where he dutifully and faithfully served his constituents, Representative Lewis spent a lifetime showing Americans what it means to stand up for what is right, even at great personal cost. prgtoken He understood something that is all too often forgotten: that the work of creating a more perfect union and the pursuit of liberty and justice for all is never finished, but it is an ongoing and often frustrating process. Nevertheless, he demonstrated both to the Members of this body and to the American people the value of compassion, dedication, and civility. prgtoken The world is a better place because of John, and it was an honor to serve alongside him in Congress. May he rest in peace, and may we always honor his example.
TAXPAYER FIRST ACT OF 2019
Doug LaMalfa (Republican, CA) \u2014 2020-7-22

I thank the ranking member and colleague from Utah. I appreciate his service and his force with which he does things here. prgtoken , all right, where are we? Gigantic deficits, yet we want to add to the burden of that deficit with a forced $900 million, nearly $1 billion, every year in this bill for acquiring new Federal land. prgtoken Now, I come from the West, so we are already ravaged by wildfire, by unmanaged lands that are detrimental to the neighbors, to the private lands. I have three fires going on in my district right now. A lot of this emanates from unmanaged Forest Service lands. So, we want to add to their inability to manage even more lands in this legislation. prgtoken Now, the part of the bill that Mr. Bishop had authored is a good part, taking care of the backlog that we have in our parks and our lands, if you would listen to him, $20 billion worth of backlog that we haven't found a way to pay for yet. Yet, instead of finishing our dinner, we are already going for the dessert by buying more lands that we can't afford and we know we can't manage. prgtoken I will be thinking about this, and my constituents will, as more and more forest lands burn each year and threaten communities. These forests are gated off because they don't have time to do the maintenance and the work that needs to be done so the public can have access to these lands because of the $20 billion backlog or the funding to take care of the juniper problem that we have in northeast California, the wild horse population that needs to be managed so they don't die out there of starvation during the draught, the sage grouse habitat so they don't become endangered, and our local counties, our rural counties, that are already struggling with the lack of PILT funds because they have to come back here and beg every year for the payment in lieu of taxes to get this place to keep its commitments on that and prgtoken to secure rural schools funds that our rural counties need. prgtoken , I say ``no'' on this bill and get back to managing what we should manage.
FOSTERING UNDERGRADUATE TALENT BY UNLOCKING RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION ACT
Doug Collins (Republican, GA) \u2014 2020-7-22

. Madam , I thank Representative Biggs for yielding. prgtoken Representative Biggs just highlighted, frankly, the problem, Madam , that we see in this, and it has been reiterated over and over again. prgtoken This is not about a policy. This is about a person. It is about a person, the President, who the other side, and especially this committee that I have served as ranking member on and now prgtoken serve as a member of, has consistently gone after for, now, almost 19 months. prgtoken It has nothing to do with policies that at one point they did or did not believe in because, if this were true, we would have had a mass outcry in 2011 when President used this authority to keep out folks because of human rights issues and other things. prgtoken So, again, the problem here is it is great to couch this in political terms; it is great to couch this in great, deep policy issues; but, for 18 months, this is all that we have heard. prgtoken I heard my chairman just a minute ago speak about how these policies that he disagrees with and doesn't like that are found under the law and that we are dealing with here today in this so-called NO BAN Act have tarnished us. Well, I will tell everybody what is tarnishing us in this country. It is acts like this and the constant back-and-forth. prgtoken There are times I have wondered--and I know my friend from Arizona has as well. We have talked about this a little bit. I have wondered why we have sort of kept the House locked down for the last 5 or 6 months, but if this is what we come back to do, maybe we should just stay away, because if this is what we are doing, it is, frankly, frustrating, because November 3 will be the chance to talk about this. prgtoken It is very policy and politically driven when we come to this floor on anything that really has to do with a political agenda, when there is a date on the calendar, as I talked about before, more than actually changing policy, because when you look at this, I will almost guarantee you that my friends currently in the majority, if they had a President of their party in the White House, they would come back on this very quickly and be very scared of messing with this power Presidentially. prgtoken This is a problem that we are seeing over and over and over and over again. prgtoken This NO BAN Act would strip the President of his ability to use the Immigration and Nationality Act to ban travel from certain countries that present national security concerns. prgtoken Ironically, as I said earlier, this is the very power that President used in January to deal with the coronavirus in China. If this were in place, he may not have had the ability to actually work on what we know now as the pandemic early on to help stop the spread. prgtoken There are consequences to political legislation. This is one of them. We saved countless lives because of that, and now they want to strip the President of the authority to do that. prgtoken N