mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Nominations of Steven Mnuchin and Tom Price (Executive Calendar)
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2017-1-31

I rise to discuss what happened in the Finance Committee today--or what didn't happen in the Finance Committee today. Two newspapers--one, the Columbus Dispatch, one of Ohio's best and most conservative newspapers, and the Wall Street Journal, one of this country's most conservative newspapers--reported that the two nominees in front of the Senate Finance Committee had lied to the committee. Treasury Secretary-Designee Mnuchin had lied when asked if his bank, OneWest, had done robo signings; he said no. prgtoken The Columbus Dispatch investigative reporters found, in fact, that they had done robo signings, and they found that dozens--probably hundreds, maybe thousands--of Ohioans lost their homes. A woman named Miss Duncan, who had paid her mortgage month after month, was doing everything right. She was foreclosed on--not anything of her doing--and her financial life was turned upside down. prgtoken The Wall Street Journal reported that Congressman Price, the designee for Health and Human Services, had lied about insider information he had. He had advantages that other investors didn't have in buying health care stocks as he sat on the health care committee in the House, as he voted, as he wrote amendments and bills dealing with health care. prgtoken These are nominees for agencies--the two most important economic agencies in the Federal Government, probably, at least in the Cabinet-- who have lied about things that affect people's lives. It is hundreds of people--thousands, maybe, in my State. We are not even the largest State on foreclosures caused by OneWest. Thousands, hundreds of thousands--who knows how many around the country, as he will not tell us yet--have lost homes because of his and his bank's actions, making him wealthier, to be sure, but upending people's lives in the cruelest kind of way when their homes are foreclosed on. prgtoken We are saying to Senator Hatch, the chairman of the Finance Committee: Get some answers here. Find out why these two nominees lied, and find out what they are going to do to fix it. Find out what they have in their backgrounds that they haven't disclosed to this committee. prgtoken We have no business voting on nominees before we have that kind of information. That is the reason that ic Senators of the Finance Committee, led by Ranking Member Wyden, decided not to come to the committee to vote today--because it is the only way we can get Senator Hatch to bring those two forward to give us the information and to give the American public the information they need. prgtoken I might add that we probably did President a favor today, because if these two nominees had been brought forward--and I assume confirmed, because s are voting for every nominee, it seems, no matter what; I haven't seen a break from that yet--they may have come to the floor and have been confirmed, and there likely would have been a scandal early in the Admi
Nominations of Betsy DeVos, Tom Price, and Andrew Puzder (Executive Calendar)
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2017-1-31

as the Presiding Officer well knows, the Secretary of State is one of the most important positions in the President's Cabinet. He is the Nation's chief diplomat, and he champions American values. He is the symbol in a sense, the chief voice and advocate around the world of America. The Secretary of State is in a sense our representative to the world, embodying and promoting, hopefully, the best in America to billions of people around the globe, proving to the world yet again that America is exceptional, that we are the greatest country in the history of the world, and that we have a respect for the rule of law, for human dignity and rights for all, including the right to live in a safe and free environment. prgtoken Past Secretaries of State have changed history, averted and navigated war, brokered peace, championed human rights, and fought to make the world a better place. In this time of immense uncertainty, we must demand nothing less of our next Secretary of State than that he be a great reflection and representative of the United States to the world. prgtoken The likes of Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, George Marshall, and Charles Evan Hughes have all held this position. To join these titans or even to aspire to their position is no small challenge. We need a candidate who will continue to embody what is right even in the face of resistance from adversaries and foes who do not admire and, in fact, seek to do harm to our way of life. prgtoken As ExxonMobil's CEO, the President's nominee, Rex Tillerson, has worked hard and successfully for his corporation. In fact, he has put that corporation's interests ahead of America's interests. That may have been his job, and I understand that was his job description, but doing that job well does not qualify him to be our Nation's chief diplomat and to assume the mantle of defending our national interests. prgtoken Having worked for four decades for this oil giant, without any government experience, I am unconvinced that Mr. Tillerson has shown he is able to reverse this oil interest mindset and put America's needs before his former employer. I do not have faith that he can rise to the paramount challenge of representing us on the world stage. prgtoken I share my colleagues' concerns. We have heard numerous of our colleagues express the same view--that his oil interests will harm the progress we have made to protect the environment and slow the impact of climate change. I say that reluctantly because I hope I am wrong. He is likely to be confirmed, but I hope my colleagues think hard and long and join me in opposing Rex Tillerson. prgtoken I am also hopeful that a number of his other stances, such as enforcing sanctions that hold our adversaries accountable--notably, Russia and Iran--will change as well. These stances have been troubling. I have little confidence that Mr. Tillerson will vigorously enforce these sanctions and even less
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.J. RES. 38, DISAPPROVING A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Zoe Lofgren (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-1-31

the President's executive order of Friday violates the law, it violates the Constitution, and it violates good sense. prgtoken How does it violate the law? Section 202(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act specifically prohibits nationality-based discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas and other visas. That is what this order did. prgtoken Now, the law is clear that individuals who pose a threat to the United States can--and I should add, should be--barred from the United States; but you can't just legally make a blanket objection based on nationality and, I would add, based on religion. That is what the President's order does. It suspends refugee admission completely for months. prgtoken Who are these refugees? Most of the refugees admitted last year were from Burma and the Congo, not from Syria. They are people who have been vetted for years, many of whom are fleeing for their lives and will continue to live in fear. prgtoken It does something else. It suspends admission even of legal permanent residents from seven countries, violating their rights to equal protection and to due process. prgtoken People want to keep the country safe--we all do; of course, I do--but how does this order keep us safe? Let me just give an example. prgtoken General Talib al-Kenani from Iraq commands the elite American-trained counterterrorism forces that have been leading the fight against ISIS for 2 years. His family relocated to the U.S. for safety. He can't visit them anymore. He said this: I have been fighting terrorism for 13 years and winning. Now my kids are asking: Am I a terrorist? I am a four-star general, and I am banned from entering the United States. prgtoken I ask you: How does this advance our safety by barring our allies who are fighting ISIS? It doesn't. prgtoken I have got to correct something else. People have said that President had an order in 2011 barring immigrants from Iraq. That is false. We did additional vetting in 2011 because we wanted to make sure that anyone coming in was thoroughly examined. That slowed things down a little bit because there were new procedures, but there was never a halt to admission from those who are our allies in Iraq, those fighting ISIS with us. prgtoken I would just like to say that, in addition to violating the law, causing hardship for families trying to visit people in the hospital, permanent residents who are engineers trying to come back to run their companies in Silicon Valley, this order is a gift to ISIS. They are already using it to recruit enemies of our country by saying: America is fighting Islam. As said when he was President, our argument, our fight is not with Islam. Our fight is with terrorism. prgtoken To issue this order with the President's rhetoric saying that we are going to make a distinction on who is admitted to the United States based on their religion is not only illegal, it is contrary to American
Priorities of the Republican-Led Congress (Executive Calendar)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-1-31

. Thank you, . prgtoken , Rex Tillerson of ExxonMobil has been nominated to be our Secretary of State. We are going through a procedural 30 hours of debate, moving to that issue. As we can tell, many speeches are being given on the floor on a lot of different topics, but the underlying order of business is the next Secretary of State of the United States of America. His nomination comes to us at a particularly challenging time. We live in a dangerous world. We know that. We learned it on 9/ 11, and we learn it every day when men and women in uniform are risking and sometimes sacrificing their lives for this great Nation. prgtoken We also live in a complicated moment in time with the changeover in Presidents and clearly a changeover in foreign policy. We note that in the first 12 days--the first 12 days of the Presidency--how many serious foreign policy issues have arisen, some the creation of the new President of the United States. prgtoken It is customary, it is traditional, for the President of the United States to make one of his first major visits to Mexico, or Mexico to the United States. The reason, of course, is they are our third largest trading partner, and in so many different areas, we work together closely with Mexico. We certainly work together with them on issues of security, issues of terrorism and narcotics and trade issues that go on, on a daily basis. Unfortunately, this new President is off to a rocky start with the President of Mexico, to the point where the President of Mexico canceled his visit to the United States. prgtoken Strong statements were made during the campaign by President about building a wall and the Mexicans will pay for it. How many times did we hear that? Over and over again, the Mexican Government has said: We will never pay for it. So that standoff over a campaign threat or promise is at this moment inhibiting a relationship which traditionally has been strong for generations. prgtoken Secondly, since being elected President of the United States, President has said that NATO is obsolete. NATO is the alliance created after World War II to protect Europe against aggression from outside, particularly from the Soviet Union. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO has expanded to include many other countries--the Baltics, for example, and Poland. As a result, these countries have become dependent on NATO for their security. prgtoken The theory behind NATO is very basic. If one of our NATO allies is attacked, we will all defend. So we can understand why a small country like Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, even Poland, realizing that they are vulnerable to Russian attack, count on NATO. When the President of the United States says that NATO is obsolete, people living in those countries wonder: What about tomorrow? What happens tomorrow if Vladimir Putin, who has been guilty of aggression in Georgia, as well as Ukraine, decides to pic
Nominations of Betsy DeVos, Tom Price, and Andrew Puzder (Executive Calendar)
Bill Nelson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2017-1-31

I rise to speak in opposition to the confirmation of Rex Tillerson, the President's nominee to be Secretary of State, and I will tell you why in two words: Vladimir Putin. prgtoken Rex Tillerson's ties to Russia have been widely reported. The Senator from Massachusetts has outlined a number of them, specifically his ties to President Putin, who awarded him the Order of Friendship after signing deals with the state-owned oil company, Rosneft. prgtoken Now isn't the time to cozy up to Russia. Now is the time to stand up to Russian aggression in Crimea, in eastern Ukraine, and Syria. prgtoken Just yesterday, we heard reports of another outbreak of fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in war-torn eastern Ukraine. And all you have to do is speak to a Ukrainian and let them tell you--as I met with the former Prime Minister yesterday, and I will be meeting with a former Member of their Parliament, let them tell you what it is like to have the Russian Army march on your country and take part of it away, as they did with Crimea, and then come in under the disguise of little green men, as if they did not have ties to the Russian Army. That is going on in eastern Ukraine right now. prgtoken Our own intelligence community has told us that the Russian President personally ordered a campaign to influence the 2016 Presidential election prgtoken right here in the United States. That campaign--a mix of covert Russian operations, cyber attacks, cyber operations, and propaganda--was only the latest in a series of efforts to undermine American leadership and democracies around the world and what is coming next for the elections in Europe in the next few months. prgtoken Russia is testing us, and I am concerned that Mr. Tillerson cannot stand up to the Russian President who, I am afraid, thinks of himself as the next Russian czar. prgtoken In Mr. Tillerson's past, as Exxon's CEO, he lobbied against sanctions on Russia for invading and seizing Crimea--the very sanctions that we and our allies have put on Russia for taking over sovereign territory of another independent country. And now it is not clear, as our Nation's top diplomat, that Mr. Tillerson would fight to keep the sanctions in place, even as President is now considering lifting them, despite the clear evidence of Russia's continued aggression. prgtoken During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Tillerson refused to condemn the Russian and Syrian bombings in Aleppo as war crimes, a question that was proffered to him by the Senator, my colleague from Florida, who happens to sit in the Chair right now. prgtoken I also have serious concerns that Mr. Tillerson doesn't understand the urgent need to combat climate change. You don't have to remind us about climate change in Florida. South Florida is ground zero for climate change. Miami Beach is awash at the seasonal high tides as the water flows over the curbs and over the streets, causing Mi
Travel Ban (Executive Calendar)
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2017-1-31

today the Senate is considering the nomination of Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State. Mr. Tillerson is an intelligent, hard-working, and successful businessman. He is also, in my view, the wrong choice to be our Nation's top diplomat. prgtoken To effectively confront the many challenges our country faces in an increasingly globalized and volatile world, we need a Secretary of State who, with credibility and conviction, can clearly and effectively articulate our interests and values and who has experience advocating for them abroad. prgtoken We need someone who will work with the international community to combat climate change, bring to justice war criminals like Bashar al- Assad, and stand up to corrupt, abusive regimes that violate international humanitarian law and territorial integrity as Russia has done in Syria and Ukraine. prgtoken We need someone who will advocate for fundamental human rights and democratic values when they are threatened by friend or foe. prgtoken I am unconvinced that Mr. Tillerson is that person. prgtoken As an accomplished businessman, Mr. Tillerson's lone qualification for Secretary of State seems to be his success in tirelessly circumnavigating the globe to negotiate oil deals. There is no doubt he has helped ExxonMobil expand its business and made a lot of money doing so. But contrary to the view being promoted by the administration, running a for-profit business is fundamentally different from running a large Federal agency. prgtoken As the CEO of ExxonMobil, Mr. Tillerson worked closely with corrupt autocrats like Vladimir Putin who were actively undermining U.S. interests and acting in ways that were counter to our values. In doing so, Mr. Tillerson served his shareholders, but he disregarded the national interests of the United States. prgtoken Unlike some in this body, I believe we should have relations with governments we disagree with. But I also believe that, in doing so, we must act in accordance with our principles and values. And I don't believe that being the CEO of one of this country's wealthiest companies entitles you to ignore those values for the sake of making money. prgtoken Mr. Tillerson's confirmation hearing provided him the opportunity to reconcile his track record of a lifetime in the oil business with the responsibilities he would have as Secretary of State. prgtoken In his testimony, he stated that ``American leadership requires moral clarity.'' I agree. But he was challenged by Senators Rubio, Murphy, and others who observed that despite this statement, Mr. Tillerson was unwilling to label the relentless bombardment and destruction of Aleppo by Russian forces as a war crime or the extrajudicial killings of thousands of civilians in the Philippines as a blatant violation of human rights, to cite only two examples of well-documented cases of atrocities he refused to recognize as such. prgtoken I worry that Mr. Tillerson will too often b
SECURING THE CITIES ACT OF 2017
Cedric L. Richmond (Democrat, LA) \u2014 2017-1-31

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise in support of H.R. 655. prgtoken For over a decade, the Securing the Cities program has provided a growing number of first responders from New York City and Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles and Long Beach to Washington, D.C Houston, and Chicago with the tools they need to detect radiological and nuclear threats. prgtoken Securing the Cities is administered by the Department of Homeland Security's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, DNDO, which houses the Department's experts on preparing for and responding to rad/nuc events. prgtoken The program makes funding available to participating jurisdictions for planning and analysis related to radiological and nuclear threats, as well as equipment purchases, training, and exercises. prgtoken Through this program, DNDO supports grantees by providing subject matter expertise, training, coordination, and technological support. H.R. 655 would formally authorize the existing Securing the Cities program and improve it by directing the Government Accountability Office to assess the program and offer recommendations for how it could become more effective. prgtoken , this bill passed the House last Congress by a vote of 441-4. prgtoken , the Securing the Cities program plays a critical role in protecting communities across America from the threat posed by radiological and nuclear weapons. prgtoken H.R. 655 will ensure that this important program continues and becomes more robust in future years. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 655. prgtoken , .
Affordable Care Act (Executive Calendar)
Christopher A. Coons (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2017-1-31

after two long one-on-one meetings with Mr. Rex Tillerson, after a thorough confirmation hearing in the Foreign Relations Committee that stretched over some 9 hours, and after extensive additional research and reading and digging into his record, his public statements, and his views, I announced last week that I would oppose the nomination of Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State of the United States. prgtoken I will say that over our meetings, our conversations, and my review of his record, I have come to respect Mr. Tillerson as a thoughtful and seasoned and capable professional in his line of work, with impressive international business experience. And I will say that his quick action to sever financial ties with ExxonMobil is a strong example that I wish President had followed with regard to his own private business interests. prgtoken I found encouraging some of Mr. Tillerson's statements in the confirmation hearing and his public stances, including his commitment to NATO, his respect for U.S. leadership in multilateral initiatives, from the Paris climate change agreement to the Iran deal, and his support for development programs throughout the world but especially in Africa, a continent where I have been engaged in my 6 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken His nomination has the support of highly respected former officials, from Brent Scowcroft and Bob Gates to James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, former Secretaries and National Security Advisors. prgtoken But Mr. Tillerson and I disagree strongly on key issues. I believe, for example, that climate change is a pressing national security threat that must be addressed. Mr. Tillerson saw it somewhat differently. I believe in advocating for human rights, for a free press, and for democracy around the world because these principles advance our security and our economic interests here at home. I don't believe that human rights, press freedom, and democracy are add-ons, are things that we can address and deal with after national security is addressed. These are core to who we are as a nation and to the advocacy and engagement that I hope for and expect from our State Department and our next Secretary of State. prgtoken These are just a few of the reasons why I ultimately decided to oppose Mr. Tillerson's confirmation, but that is not why I have come to the floor today. I am here today principally because the challenge we face is not whether a single nominee is the perfect person for this particular role; the challenge we and the American people now face is to determine the future we seek for our country and the world stage and whether we will choose to continue to lead the free world. prgtoken Do we envision the United States leading by example through actions that show we will stand by our values, especially when it is challenging or difficult? Do we envision the United States leading a coalition of democratic allies an