mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Resumed
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-5-27

I would like to actually give some information to the chairman about what these other nations' leaders have actually said about this issue. prgtoken Major General Blaise Cathcart, advocate general of the Canadian Armed Forces, wrote: The 1999 changes to the military justice system were battle tested in the theater of active operations and, in my view, were a key contributor to combat effectiveness of the Canadian armed forces. The current military justice system contributed substantially to the fielding and sustainment of a disciplined and efficient force with high morale. prgtoken Air Commander Paul Cronan, director general of the Australian Defense Force Legal Service: At this point, it's appropriate to reflect on the effect of the reforms made to the Australian military justice system in 2003 and 2006. These reforms have undoubtedly had a significant and positive impact on the efficacy, impartiality, and perceived fairness of Australia's military justice system. This is a fact confirmed by a number of subsequent independent reviews of the effectiveness of the 2003 and 2006 reforms. As a result of their independent review, they concluded that the reforms had been effective, and that as a result of these reforms, ``The military justice system is delivering and should continue to deliver impartial, rigorous, and fair outcomes. Enhanced transparency and enhanced oversight is substantially more independent from the chain of command, and is effective in maintaining a high standard of discipline both domestically and in the operational theater.'' prgtoken In the UK, Commander Andrei Spence, Commodore Naval Legal Service, Royal Navy, UK: Probably the most pressing question that you need answering from me, and if I may preempt it slightly at the risk of being too forthcoming, is what's the effect on command of our changes? How do they view it? Do they feel disempowered, disenfranchised? I have to say that the simple answer to that is no. prgtoken , I ask unanimous consent to enter this testimony into the Record
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Resumed
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2021-5-27

I, too, want to express my appreciation to Senator Crapo. We are partners in the Senate Finance Committee. As Senator Crapo really touched on, we know that sometimes around here in the Senate, it is hard to get Senators to agree on the proper way to butter a piece of toast. But what Senator Crapo and I have tried to show--and I believe this amendment does it--is that the Senate is going to come together on the urgency of outcompeting China, and that is what our legislation is all about. prgtoken Senator Crapo ticked off a number of the key measures. Obviously we feel very strongly. We spent weeks looking at it in hearings and in discussions--at how China rips off our intellectual properties, steals technology, sends dangerous counterfeits to our market, and how it undercuts manufacturers with overproduction and unfair subsidies. The fact is, the Chinese have deployed massive subsidies, incentivized overproduction in key manufacturing sectors like steel, aluminum, and solar panels, that undercuts our competitors. They have shaken down American firms for intellectual property and stolen cutting-edge technology. prgtoken Worst of all, colleagues, is the practice of forced labor, which we looked at in the Senate Finance Committee. It is morally repugnant on its own, and it is also a very substantial threat to American jobs. prgtoken I do want to spend a moment on an area where we are going to be doing a lot more work, and I am going to have plenty to say about it before this bill becomes law; and that is, as my friend from Idaho just talked about, the Chinese Government's great firewall. It blocks more than 10,000 American websites and digital platforms, and others are subjected to extreme censorship. Americans who are blocked can only watch as Chinese homegrown competitors then rip off their very best ideas, thrive in the absence of real competition, and then grow into tech behemoths themselves. prgtoken The catch is, as those Chinese-grown tech giants get bigger and bigger, using ripped-off American tech and ideas, they are also exporting their government's intolerance of free speech. prgtoken So in the case of the great firewall, we now have trade enforcement tools that really go back to the Dark Ages. Literally, some of them date back to some cases in the middle of the last century, and that, in no way, leaves us in a good position. prgtoken As Senator Crapo and I have found--and we agreed in a bipartisan manner on this--it leaves us ill-prepared to handle the fast-moving world of digital trade, where there are a lot of high-skill, high-wage jobs on the line. prgtoken So, for now, I hope Members of the Senate will strongly support this bipartisan amendment. prgtoken As Senator Crapo said, we have a lot of other things we are going to tackle. As the Presiding Officer knows, I think what we talked about yesterday, in terms of clean energy, can build on ideas of both political parties. Senator Cra
AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2021-5-27

I have 8 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. prgtoken Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry prgtoken The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 9:30 a.m to conduct a hearing on a nomination. Committee on Armed Services prgtoken The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 9:30 a.m to conduct a hearing. Subcommittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs prgtoken The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 10 a.m to conduct a hearing. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources prgtoken The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 9:45 a.m to conduct a hearing on nominations. Committee on Foreign Relations prgtoken The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 11 a.m to conduct a hearing. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions prgtoken The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 10 a.m to conduct a hearing. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs prgtoken The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 10:15 a.m to conduct a hearing on a nomination. Committee on the Judiciary prgtoken The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 10 a.m to conduct a hearing on nominations.
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Mazie K. Hirono (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2021-5-27

I rise today, in recognition of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Every year throughout the month of May, the people of the United States come together to celebrate the contributions of generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, AA NH/PI, who have enriched our society and whose legacies are deeply intertwined in our Nation's history. prgtoken The AA NH/PI communities are among the fastest growing and most diverse demographic groups in our country. Today, approximately 23 million people of AA NH/PI descent live in the United States, representing more than 45 ethnicities and speaking more than 100 languages. As AA NH/PI communities increase their social and political presence in our country, we must work to raise the visibility of issues important to AA NH/PIs. One way to do prgtoken this is to uplift the diverse voices of our communities through representation. This year, there are a record 21 AA NH/PI Members serving in Congress, and we celebrate the historic election of to be the first woman and the first Asian American to hold the Office of the Vice President. However, even with today's progress, our AA NH/PI communities continue to face issues of disparity and prejudice. prgtoken This year, we once again commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month amid a global pandemic. While the pandemic has claimed the lives of more than half a million Americans, COVID-19 has had an outsized impact on communities of color, including Pacific Islanders, who are three times more likely to contract COVID-19 and are nearly twice as likely to die from the disease. The pandemic has also exposed and exacerbated social and economic disparities in our country. Throughout the pandemic, Pacific Islanders and other vulnerable groups have been disproportionately impacted by unemployment, food and income insecurity, and unstable or inadequate housing, among other hardships. This pandemic has highlighted the work we must do to ensure that all Americans, especially individuals from marginalized communities, have access to quality healthcare, fair pay, workplace protections, and other civil and human rights. prgtoken Violence and discrimination against Asian Americans have also surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March 2020 and March 2021, Stop AAPI Hate received over 6,600 reports of discrimination and hate incidents across all 50 States and the District of Columbia. These unprovoked, random attacks can happen anywhere--on public transportation, on sidewalks, in businesses, and even in the workplace. prgtoken The dramatic rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans might be a recent development, but we all know that racism has never been far beneath the surface in our country. Part of honoring the rich history of the AA NH/Pl community includes reflecting on some of the darker moments in our Nation's past. AA NH/PIs have always been targeted as the ``othe
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Resumed
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2021-5-27

I have the opportunity to chair the U.S. Helsinki Commission. prgtoken I am taking this time--I understand there is a break in the action in regards to the underlying bill. If I am wrong on that, I will yield the floor to someone in regards to moving us forward, but I understand that we are not ready for the next issue yet. prgtoken So with that in mind, let me just take this time as the Chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission representing the U.S. Senate. In the Helsinki Commission, my counterpart is Senator Wicker. Senator Wicker, by the way, is the vice president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, and I am the Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance. prgtoken The Helsinki Final Act speaks very clearly against all forms of intolerance and discrimination. And we have seen in recent months current events trigger latent bias in our community. prgtoken We go back to 9/11, where we saw the uprise of hate against the Muslim community, which was translated into violence against Muslim Americans. prgtoken We saw during COVID-19 latent bias against the Asian-American community. As a result, we saw a rise of hate, of anti-Asian activity, bias, and violence, and this body took action. prgtoken And, once again, as a result of recent violence in the Middle East, we see a rise of anti-Semitism here in the United States and around the world. prgtoken I mention all of that because we need to speak out whenever we see the rise of intolerance in our community. So let me just talk about anti-Semitism and what has happened recently. prgtoken A 29-year-old Jewish man was punched, kicked, and pepper-sprayed last week in New York in broad daylight, as a group of men yelled anti- Semitic statements. People in cars began throwing bottles and yelling anti-Semitic slurs, including words like ``dirty Jew,'' at a dinner party in Los Angeles. In Skokie, IL, someone shattered a window at a synagogue. In Bal Harbour, FL, men yelled, ``Die Jew,'' at a man in a skull cap, and then threatened to rape his wife and daughter. prgtoken These instances are compounded by an uptick in anti-Semitic speech online, with the Anti-Defamation League finding 17,000 tweets between May 7 and May 14--1 week--with some variation of the phrase: ``Hitler was right.'' prgtoken These attacks follow the January 6 Capitol insurrection earlier this year, where White Supremacist and extremist groups displayed anti- Semitic and racist symbols and recited conspiracy theories blaming Jews for the pandemic. These conspiracy theories have proliferated alongside anti-Semitic stereotypes and images being mainstreamed by some political leaders and public figures. prgtoken While these events are shocking, perhaps we should not be surprised. The ADL Global Index on Anti-Semitism, updated in 2019, found that more than 1 billion people--nearly 1 in 8--around the world harbor anti- Semitic a
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Resumed
Brian Schatz (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2021-5-27

a couple of points. On taking 55.3 acres into trust, this is not like the Federal Government is going to have new land management responsibilities. This is a matter of principle for the Senator from Utah, and I recognize that; that he thinks, basically, no additional land should be taken into trust, even though this government-to-government relationship--this authority over these government relationships are enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and this government-to-government relationship has already been established by statutory law and the process for putting land into trust is already a well-established pathway. But what the Senator from Utah is saying is no more or we are going to have to do a one-for-one swap or even sometimes a two-for-one swap. You cannot have a net increase in the acreage, even if it is 53 acres, even if there is an established process. prgtoken And so, I do find that difficult to work with. I know that the Senators from Arizona are in discussions with the Senator from Utah. prgtoken We will find our way forward. This is 53 acres. It is important, obviously. We are going to enact this legislation. prgtoken I like the Senator from Utah. We will find a way on this one. prgtoken But if he would entertain an amendment to the request, then I would be pleased to pass the RESPECT Act by voice vote, if that is something that the Senator from Utah would be amenable to.
ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT--Continued
Maria Cantwell (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2021-5-27

my colleague also knows the work of the Commerce Committee because he is on the Commerce Committee, and this bill came out of the Commerce Committee 24 to 4. So I know the Senator knows the work of that legislation. prgtoken The remarkable aspect of this legislation is that it did compile product from various committees, and those committees did their regular order process. In fact, this process for the last several--you could say 24 or 48 hours was held up because one committee's product wasn't considered, and your side said it wanted it considered before we could move forward. And, guess what, we accommodated that. prgtoken So we now have a work product that is, I think, ready to be voted on--again, in a bipartisan fashion, working together with both leaders and with committee chairs and the ranking members. So I object to the modification.
MORNING BUSINESS
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2021-5-27

the Budget Control Act of 2011 expires this year, and that is a good thing. prgtoken This law led to a decade of underfunding our domestic priorities, from which it will take years to recover. Right now, in communities across the country, our infrastructure is crumbling, millions of Americans cannot access Federal programs for which they qualify, and we are falling behind in investing in science, research, and development on the global economic stage--all of this because the Budget Control Act set artificial and unrealistically low caps on discretionary spending, and it inflicted arbitrary, across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration. prgtoken President understands the real consequences of this decade-old decision. That is why tomorrow, President will propose a 16- percent increase for nondefense investments in his budget. We cannot build back better until we recover the ground we have already lost. prgtoken I want to give a few examples of what I mean. For many low-income families with young children, the beginning of summer means the end of school breakfast and lunch programs and waking up every morning dreading how you will be able to put food on the table for your children. Basic nutrition is a basic requirement for child health, development, and education. prgtoken The Summer EBT program is meant to help these families bridge to this gap, with an extra $30 or $60 per child every month. This is a program that has proven itself successful, reducing the number of households with food-insecure children from 43 percent to just under 35 percent. But because of the Budget Control Act, this program has been flat- funded. We could not expand upon its success. And today, only 16 percent of children who need access to USDA food programs have that access. prgtoken This problem of underinvestment in successful, worthwhile programs is true across our appropriations bills. prgtoken Our country, which has led in some of the greatest scientific discoveries of the last century, ranks 24th out of 36 developed nations for investments in university research and development as a share of GDP. prgtoken We once accounted for 69 percent of global research and development expenditures but have fallen to just under 30 percent. China now accounts for 23.9 percent of global research and development spending, and growing. prgtoken How did this happen? One analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science directly attributes $200 billion in lost Federal research and development investments to the Budget Control Act. The National Science Foundation alone has lost $2 billion a year, which could support more than 5,500 grants and 65,000 scientists, technicians, and students. prgtoken We cannot lead in a rapidly evolving technological landscape unless we are investing in science and our scientists. prgtoken Failing to do so only cedes the next great discovery to China at the cost of innovati
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION
Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-5-27

I am pleased to introduce the ``San Francisco Bay Restoration Act.'' Thank you to Senator Padilla for cosponsoring and I am happy to be once again be working with Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who is leading the bill in the House. prgtoken This legislation would create a San Francisco Bay Program within the Environmental Protection Agency dedicated to conserving and protecting the San Francisco Bay estuary ecosystem--the largest estuary in the western United States. prgtoken The San Francisco Bay estuary is truly a national treasure, and it is vital to the nation's environmental and economic health. It is home to more than 1,000 plant and wildlife species, roughly 77% of California's remaining perennial estuarine wetlands, and an important stopover for birds along the Pacific Flyway. The Bay region produces more than $370 billion in goods and supports more than 4 million jobs. prgtoken Unfortunately, during the last 150 years, the water quality and health of the San Francisco Bay has been diminished. According to the United States Geological Survey, the Bay has lost 95% of its wetlands, which serve as both habitat for vulnerable species and as an important barrier to protect against climate change impacts such as rising sea levels and extreme weather events made only more common by global warming. prgtoken The program created within EPA to focus on the San Francisco Bay Estuary would increase federal investment into the San Francisco Bay Estuary to ensure that it can continue to support the environment, agriculture, and economy for generations to come. prgtoken A 2018 General Accounting Office report on the San Francisco Bay Delta Watershed found that the lack of sufficient Federal funding is one of the biggest risks to long-term restoration efforts, and a major factor limiting habitat restoration and water quality improvement. prgtoken The GAO noted that while Bay Area voters established a local funding source through a bond measure for some Bay restoration, local funding ``needs to be leveraged by significant state and Federal dollars to meet the estimated $1.5 billion needed for restoration in the Bay Area.'' prgtoken This bill recognizes the important restoration work that must be done to protect and restore the iconic San Francisco Bay Estuary. It authorizes $50 million per year for five years for the creation of the San Francisco Program office. prgtoken This program office would work with local stakeholders to compile an annual list of project and study priorities that advance the goals of the National Estuary Program for the San Francisco Bay estuary. prgtoken Funds would be distributed by the agency in a competitive grant program, prioritizing projects that improve water quality, provide wetland restoration, promote endangered species recovery, and support adaptation to climate change. prgtoken This legislation would bring the Federal funding investment in line with other major estuaries in th