mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ANZAC DAY
Ted Poe (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-4-26

yesterday marked the anniversary of the ANZAC Day. On this day, 102 years ago, while horrific trench warfare was taking place in Europe, half a continent away, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, came together for a noble cause. Together they set out to capture the Dardanelles and Gallipoli to open a route for the allied navies. prgtoken The combined forces were met by fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turks. What was originally intended to quickly eliminate Turkey from the war turned into a bloody, 8-month battle. More than 8,000 Australians and 2,400 New Zealanders died in that campaign. prgtoken The tragic losses of so many brave soldiers caused Australians and New Zealanders to remember the sacrifice of all those who died on ANZAC Day. On this national day of remembrance I am humbly inspired by how Australians show gratitude to their fallen warriors. prgtoken Today I ask my colleagues to join our friends and allies, the Aussies and the Kiwis, across the sea, as they honor their fallen and reflect on the many different meanings of war. prgtoken And that's just the way it is.
Climate Change (Executive Session)
Lamar Alexander (Republican, TN) \u2014 2017-4-27

the supporters include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Association of Manufacturers, the International Franchise Association, the Associated Builders and Contractors, and the American Beverage Association. prgtoken Here are some examples of what these groups had to say about Mr. Acosta. The International Franchise Association said, ``Franchise owners around the country are facing a great deal of regulatory uncertainty as a result of the wreckage created by the previous administration's out-of-control Department of Labor. Mr. Acosta's exemplary record handling labor issues as a member of the NLRB has shown the appropriate balance needed to protect the interests of employees and employers.'' prgtoken The National Federation of Independent Business said, ``Alexander Acosta is an experienced public servant with a distinguished record. His knowledge of labor issues and his service as U.S. Attorney make him an especially strong candidate to take on the entrenched bureaucracy, which has imposed unbelievably severe and costly regulations on small business in the recent years.'' prgtoken The National Retail Federation said, ``Mr. Acosta's diverse experiences in both public service and the private sector position him well to be an effective and pragmatic leader at the Department of Labor.'' prgtoken Why is this nomination so important? In his new book, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman uses the term ``Great Acceleration'' for all of the technological, social, environmental, and market changes simultaneously sweeping across the globe and argues that we are now ``living through one of the greatest inflection points in history'' as a result. Add Ball State University's finding that automation is responsible for the loss of 88 percent of our manufacturing jobs. Add globalization. Add social, cultural, climate changes, and terrorism, and you get a big mismatch between the change of pace and the ability of the average American worker to keep up and fit in the accelerating forces shaping the workplace. prgtoken Earlier this year, after a group of senators listened to a group of scientists talk about the advances in artificial intelligence, one Senator asked, ``Where are we all going to work?'' prgtoken Tom Friedman says that probably the most important governance challenge is a great need ``to develop the learning systems, training systems, management systems, social safety nets, and government regulations that would enable citizens to get the most out of these accelerations and cushion their worst impacts.'' prgtoken One of the federal government's chief actors in this drama should be the U.S. Secretary of Labor. In fact, as many have suggested and the House of Representatives has done, the title of the job for which Alexander Acosta has been nominated should be changed to the Secretary of Workforce, not Secretary
TRIBUTE TO MADISON ENGLUND AND JENNIFER TROUTMAN
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2017-4-27

every week I have been coming down to the prgtoken floor for months now to recognize someone in my State who has made a difference, someone who has devoted time and energy to making Alaska a better place to live for the community and for others. We call these individuals our Alaskan of the week. It covers Alaskans from all over the State. prgtoken As I have said repeatedly in every one of my ``Alaskan of the Week'' speeches, I believe Alaska is the most beautiful State in the country-- I would argue, in the world. I urge everybody in the room--the pages, the Presiding Officer, and the folks watching on TV--to come see for yourself. It will be a trip of a lifetime, I guarantee it. But it is the people who truly make Alaska unique, people who are helping each other, people who face tough odds and conquer them, strong-willed, warm-hearted, tenacious people who have carved generous lives and sometimes in very extreme conditions. prgtoken Today, our Alaskan of the week is going to be a twofer. We are going to do two today. So I would like to recognize two Alaskans, Madison Englund of Fairbanks and Jennifer Troutman of Anchorage, as our Alaskans of the week. These are two special athletes who have made all of us in Alaska very proud. prgtoken Last month, Madison and Jennifer returned to Alaska with a slew of medals from the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria. First, these young women did everything in their power, including training their hearts out, to qualify for these world Olympic games, and when they got there, they excelled. Madison won a Gold Medal in the advanced super-G snowboard race and added a Silver Medal in the advanced giant slalom. Jennifer claimed a Silver Medal in Monday's advanced super-G ski race, as well. prgtoken Jennifer has been an athlete with Special Olympics for 11 years. During her freshman year of high school, she participated in bowling, track and field, and floor hockey through the Partners Club. During her junior year, she found a passion for skiing and has been excelling on the slopes ever since, as you can see from these incredible medals from the Special Olympics. She also works at Petco during her free time. prgtoken Madison has been part of Special Olympics for 7 years. Aside from sports, she enjoys other hobbies, to include playing the cello, camping, fishing, and caring for animals. She is proud of her dogs, and she has three of them. She also loves to make jewelry. She said it is her favorite hobby. In addition to all this, she has also won the Good Citizens Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution. prgtoken Since its founding nearly 50 years ago and subsequent growth to all corners of the globe, the Special Olympics has brought hope and joy and self-esteem to countless children and adults with intellectual disabilities and, of course, to their families and friends and their supporters like me. Special Olympics has shown what can happen
Remembering Jay Dickey (Executive Session)
John Boozman (Republican, AR) \u2014 2017-4-27

I rise to address the urgent crisis taking place in Sudan, but, first, I wish to take just a moment to remember former Congressman Jay Dickey, who, as many in Washington and Arkansas now know, passed away last week. prgtoken Jay was a native of Pine Bluff and represented Southern Arkansas in the Fourth Congressional District for four terms between 1993 and 2001. Jay was known as a fierce advocate for Arkansas and worked hard to ensure that our State had a strong voice in Washington. prgtoken A successful business owner and attorney, Jay was a well-respected member of the Pine Bluff community. He served as Pine Bluff city attorney and had a brief tenure on the Arkansas Supreme Court. Jay was a friend to many and built a warm relationship with almost everyone he met--even those who disagreed with him politically. He also wore his faith on his sleeve as a proud born-again Christian. prgtoken I will always appreciate Jay's kindness to me when I first started serving in Congress and truly valued his friendship. He was a loving father, a dedicated public servant, and he will be missed by many. prgtoken My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends as they mourn his loss, but I know they are also incredibly proud, as I have been, of the legacy Jay leaves behind, which will continue to have an impact on us all in the years ahead.
T-45 Goshawk Fleet (Executive Session)
Roger F. Wicker (Republican, MS) \u2014 2017-4-27

I come to the floor to speak about a troubling issue for our Navy, our national defense, and a problem that should be of concern to Members of this body. Our Navy pilot training installations, including Naval Air Station Meridian in my home State of Mississippi, produce some of the finest pilots on the planet. They trained on the T-45 Goshawk. prgtoken On Friday, March 31, a significant number of T-45 instructor pilots at NAS Meridian, NAS Kingsville in Texas, and NAS Pensacola in Florida decided not to fly because of safety concerns. As you can imagine, this was an almost unprecedented act and brought considerable attention to a problem plaguing the Navy's tactical fighter community: a dramatic and sustained increase in so-called physiological episodes, or PE events, across the FA-18 Hornet, the EA-18 Growler, and the training jet T-45 Goshawk fleets. prgtoken Physiological episodes occur when air crew experience diminished inflight performance related to loss or contamination of oxygen, depressurization in the cockpit, or other factors. There are some technical terms I am going to mention to my colleagues. Hypoxic hypoxia occurs when pilots are getting insufficient oxygen. A more serious phenomenon called histotoxic hypoxia occurs when they are breathing contaminated oxygen, and of course depressurization occurs when the cabin pressure drops. prgtoken I have been assured that solving this physiological episode problem is now naval aviation's No. 1 one safety priority. As chairman of the Armed Services Committee's Seapower Subcommittee, I intend to continue the committee's oversight on this issue and, if necessary, include provisions in the upcoming Defense authorization bill to help. I applaud the work of our full committee chairman, Senator McCain, on his efforts so far. In fact, Senator McCain knows NAS Meridian very well, having served there as an instructor pilot. The airfield named ``McCain Field'' is in honor of Senator McCain's grandfather, ADM John McCain. prgtoken The Navy has told Congress and the American people repeatedly that its effort to mitigate and solve the problems of these PE events, including histotoxic hypoxia, are ``resource unconstrained.'' In other words, the Navy has told us that money is no object in solving this problem, time is no object, and personnel is no object. As chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee, I intend to put that claim to test. prgtoken I would like to update my colleagues on the situation--my factfinding trip to Meridian, the state of play, and the plan going forward. prgtoken Beginning around 2010, a significant increase in reported PE events occurred, which led to the establishment of a Physiological Episode Team to identify root causes, develop mitigation efforts and solutions. This team mainly addressed the less serious problem of hypoxic hypoxia, but in recent months, there has been an alarming uptick in histotoxic hypoxia, a relatively new phe
TRIBUTE TO EMMA HOMER
Steve Daines (Republican, MT) \u2014 2017-4-27

this week, I have the distinct honor of recognizing Emma Homer of Ashland for the many years she has helped children in eastern Montana. Her generosity and compassion is commendable. prgtoken Emma began fostering children in 1979. For nearly 38 years, she has opened her home, and her heart in order to help the local community. The longevity of her noble accomplishment is truly remarkable. Over the years, Emma has directly helped to improve the lives of over 40 children through her service as foster parent. The children she has cared for have varied in age from infants just a few months old to teenagers in high school. prgtoken In addition to her contributions as a foster parent, since 1981, Emma has worked in the food service department at St. Labre Indian School. During that time, she has helped prepare hundreds of thousands of nutritious meals for the students and staff. prgtoken A loving home and a warm meal are essential elements in every Montana community. Emma has helped provide both of these essentials to many children for well over a generation. Thank you, Emma, for the outstanding example you have set for the next generation.
FANNIE AND FREDDIE OPEN RECORDS ACT OF 2017
Dennis A. Ross (Republican, FL) \u2014 2017-4-27

it is imperative that Fannie's and Freddie's conservator--the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA--scrutinize new purchasing strategies to ensure that the enterprises' dealings are in line with their charters to stimulate homeownership. If FHFA fails to guarantee the soundness of their business dealings, FOIA could empower the taxpayer to step in and hold accountable Fannie or Freddie. prgtoken For instance, thanks to taxpayers' explicit backing of Fannie earlier this year, Invitation Homes, the single-family rental business owned by the lucrative private equity firm Blackstone, secured a $1.8 billion initial public offering, or IPO, the largest since October of 2015. prgtoken In its IPO filing, Invitation Homes disclosed that Fannie, which received over $116 billion from the taxpayers in the aftershock of the financial crisis, is guaranteeing up to $1 billion in debt from Invitation. While Blackstone gets the money, the taxpayers take on the risk; and Fannie pivots unimpeded into the rental markets, leaving those hopeful of homeownership with less support. prgtoken Applying FOIA to Fannie and Freddie under this bill strengthens the guarantee that government-sponsored entities are fulfilling their mandate to stimulate homeownership rather than being in the business of supporting profitable, private equity investors on the backs of taxpayers. prgtoken , this amendment further clarifies the legislation's assurance of applicable disclosures as a mechanism to keep Fannie and Freddie consistent with their Federal charters to stimulate homeownership. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and .
DILIGENT CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATION
Louie Gohmert (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-4-27

it has been interesting hearing about a situation in the country--and it is amazing how some of us can look at the same thing and see very different situations. I know there are some that think we should stay in session all the time, but as is normally said back in Texas about the Texas legislature--and it applies even more so to the U.S. Congress--and that is, when legislature is in session, neither man nor property is safe. prgtoken We are voting on bills every day we are in session. As I understand it, there was a time when Congress could be in session, have hearings during the day, maybe vote in committee but not actually have votes on the floor during the day. But I think over the years, the concern has been if we are not voting on the floor where it is recorded, then people might not show up. There is certainly a body of evidence to support the country being better off when Congress doesn't come into session. prgtoken I had read that one of our Founders, Thomas Jefferson, for all his wisdom and his incredible draft--his was the first draft of the Declaration of Independence--Jefferson was not actually there in Philadelphia to help draft the prgtoken Constitution in 1787. But I had read that he sent a letter and remarked that if he had one thing that he could get into the Constitution-- realizing, of course, it was too late at that point--but it would be a requirement that no bill could be voted on in Congress until it had been on file for a year. prgtoken Some might immediately respond: well, gee, there are so many bills that we pass as emergency bills; and I would respond that yes, and usually those things that are drafted so quickly are more problematic than other legislation that goes through a lengthy and more diligent look at what is in the bill before it is passed. prgtoken In fact, if we had such--and I am not advocating that we have this constitutional amendment--but I am noting, , the merits of having bills on file for a lengthy period of time so people have a chance to think about it, talk about it, weigh the merits, and go back to our districts and talk about the merits there. prgtoken Of course, I am not talking about going back and having these fake news townhalls where people who supported opponents demand townhalls, and they have their playbook for how you go about trying to intimidate your Member of Congress and keep intimidating until your Member of Congress becomes a coward and he is afraid not to have, or she is afraid not to have, a townhall. And then once you have cowarded them into having a townhall, then they have the playbook for how you totally disrupt the townhall. prgtoken That is not what I am talking about. I am talking about going all over your district talking to people eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart, and finding out where people are. It is incredible how people have come to be hurting over the last 8 years. prgtoken For all the talk that President had about Fat Cats o
FIRST 100 DAYS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Rob Woodall (Republican, GA) \u2014 2017-4-27

I appreciate you yielding and being willing to stick around with me this afternoon. I have a great pleasure this afternoon, and that is to talk about successes that we have had together. prgtoken I was down on the floor earlier when we were debating the rule, and I was talking to my ic colleagues on the Rules Committee about the good work that was going on in the Rules Committee; the good work that was going on on the House floor. In fact, we brought the bill--it was a raucous debate, . You will remember it. We argued for an hour about all sorts of extraneous things, then we brought the bill down, and it passed, I believe unanimously, here on the floor of the House just a few minutes ago. prgtoken I don't understand that. I just don't understand what those drivers are in politics, , that encourages us to tear folks down instead of build folks up. And that is why I want to talk about some successes today. You can't see my slides, , but I have got some numbers written down to the left in red, and those are the numbers that are worth paying attention to. prgtoken Twenty-eight. Twenty-eight is the number of bills President has signed into law in his first 100 days; 28. That is more bills signed into law than any other American President since Harry Truman. prgtoken More bills. Now, I read the same newspapers you read, . I listen to the same news broadcasts you listen to. I hear folks talk about inaction. I hear folks talk about confusion. I hear folks talk about division. I don't prgtoken hear folks talking about success, and success is what marks these first 100 days. prgtoken Again, there has been more legislative activity than any other President and Congress--collaboratively Congress, House, Senate, s, --more legislative success than we have had in any Congress and White House combination since Harry Truman. prgtoken , we had the first Supreme Court confirmation in the first 100 days since 1881--since 1881. Now, it is with no joy that I share with you that the Supreme Court is such a powerful institution, Mr. . I think too often we fail to get the job done legislatively, and the Court steps in and legislates from right across the street. That wasn't the job the Constitution envisioned. That wasn't the job assigned in Article III, but it is the job that has been taken on by default. So it has become increasingly important that we make sure the Court is staffed. prgtoken I supported the Senate having hearings on the Garland nomination last cycle. I supported the Senate having hearings on the Gorsuch nomination this cycle. Decision after decision in the last session went 4-4, which meant we could sustain the underlying Court's decision, but we couldn't decide these important questions that were still a source of confusion across this country. We now have a fully staffed Supreme Court again-- the first time since 1881. We have seen a Supreme Court confirmation in the first 1
No Budget, No Pay Act (Executive Session)
Dean Heller (Republican, NV) \u2014 2017-4-27

as we approach yet another deadline to continue funding for the government, I rise to speak today regarding my frustration and disappointment that Congress is once again kicking the can down the road. I am frustrated that I keep having to have this same conversation with my colleagues. I am disappointed in the lack of responsibility of everyone here in Washington, DC, to prgtoken do their job. Washington, DC, is the only place I can think of where people believe it is OK not to do their job, miss their deadlines, make up a new deadline, and then repeat that same process year after year after year. prgtoken I am upset that continually I have to remind everyone in Congress that the most basic responsibility that we have is to pass a budget and all of the appropriations bills and we should do it on time. It seems like Members of Congress now depend on the countdown clock at the bottom of every news channel to remind them to do their job. prgtoken Here we are, 4 months into 2017, and we still have not completed the appropriations process that was supposed to have been done half a year ago. If that is not bad enough, we only have 15 legislative weeks left to finish funding for the next fiscal year. My colleagues, I believe we are setting ourselves up for failure. prgtoken Washington is a consequence-free zone. That is why I will continue to advocate for my No Budget, No Pay Act. I have personally never seen Congress pass all 12 appropriations bills on time, on their own, without an omnibus or a CRomnibus. Regardless of who is in the majority, regardless of who is in the minority, my No Budget, No Pay legislation says that if Members of Congress do not pass an annual concurrent bipartisan budget resolution and all 12 spending bills on time, each year, then, they should not get paid. prgtoken Let me repeat that last part. If Congress fails to pass all 12 spending bills on time each year, then, they should not get paid. The American public is just as frustrated as I am. Since I have introduced No Budget, No Pay, I have been getting some much positive support for this idea. A woman by the name of Patricia from Fernley, NV, wrote to say No Budget, No Pay is long overdue. prgtoken Dorothy from Henderson, NV, wrote me to say No Budget, No Pay is a wonderful solution. Just last week, speaking in Reno, NV, I was asked when Congress is going to finally pass the No Budget, No Pay Act. Until the No Budget, No Pay Act is passed into law, I don't see any other way to motivate Members of Congress to do their job and avoid these continuing resolutions in the future. prgtoken I cannot support a CR that just boots our problems to another day without enacting the principles that are outlined in my No Budget, No Pay Act. There are important issues that need to be addressed through the appropriations process. For my home State of Nevada, we are looking at proposals from this new administration to cut funding to vitally im
TRIBUTE TO JOHN ``JACK'' KILL
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2017-4-27

today I recognize the hard work of my Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee intern Jack Kill. Jack hails from Houston, TX, and is a rising senior at Notre Dame University. prgtoken While interning on the Commerce Committee, Jack assisted the Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security Subcommittee. He is a dedicated worker who was committed to getting the most out of his internship. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Jack for all of the fine work he did for the committee and wish him continued success in the years to come.