mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
SO-CALLED IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY IS AN ABOMINATION
Alexander X. Mooney (Republican, WV) \u2014 2019-10-16

. Madam , during the impeachment inquiries of Presidents Nixon and Clinton, the House of Representatives, led, respectively, by s Carl Albert and Newt Gingrich, established the following procedures that are currently not being followed in this rushed process to impeach President . Let me lay them out for you, because I think the American people need to understand this. prgtoken First, there should be coequal powers to both the chair and ranking member of the committee; prgtoken All subpoenas are subject to a vote of the full committee; prgtoken The President's counsel would have the right to attend the hearings and depositions; prgtoken The President's counsel has the right to present evidence; prgtoken The President's counsel has the right to object to the admittance of evidence; prgtoken The President's counsel has the right to cross-examine witnesses; and prgtoken The President's counsel has the right to recommend a witness list. prgtoken These are being denied to the President of the United States. If this could be denied to the President, it could be denied to you or your child. prgtoken This is so wrong. This so-called impeachment inquiry is an abomination.
IN RECOGNITION OF SCHROEDER'S FLOWERS 120 YEARS OF SUCCESS
Mike Gallagher (Republican, WI) \u2014 2019-10-16

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the 120th anniversary of Schroeder's Flowers. prgtoken This family-owned flower shop began in 1899 when award-winning florist Carl Meier immigrated from Germany to Green Bay and opened his own flower shop. A few years after opening, Carl asked Otto Schroeder to leave Germany and help him grow his business. Schroeder stayed in Green Bay and later married Carl's daughter, Clara, and the business was renamed Schroeder's Flowers. prgtoken Schroeder's Flowers has always been a family business. In 1949, Otto's son, Otto Jr took over the business and moved the location of the shop to Webster Avenue in Allouez. Today the business is run by fourth and fifth generation owners, Charles and Peggy Schroeder and their son, Brian. prgtoken Schroder's Flowers remains a pillar of the Green Bay community. Its prioritization of customer service has created a loyal customer base that depends on Schroeder's for its floral design expertise. Through the years, Schroeder's Flowers has fostered a strong relationship with its customers, who have showed continuous support for the family and their business. From a small shop that used to deliver flowers by horse and wagon, to one that has adapted to the changing economy and now processes orders online, Schroeder's Flowers continues to evolve and provide customers with quality service and beautiful floral arrangements. prgtoken Family-run small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. I am proud to have such a flourishing business in my district that puts the needs of the community and its customers first. It is encouraging to see a local business succeed across two centuries, and to continue to uphold the values of Northeast Wisconsin. Family's like the Schroeders are what make our district great, and I am proud to represent them. prgtoken Madam speaker, it is my honor to congratulate Schroeder's Flowers on 120 strong years in business. I wish the Schroeder family many more years of continued success.
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, WV) \u2014 2019-10-16

with the election of President in 2016, it was reasonable to believe that the war on coal was settled, or at least we had a lasting cease-fire. This administration's policies, supported by the Congressional Review Act resolutions, undid many of the excesses of the administration's regulatory prgtoken assault on coal country. Congress and the President overturned the so- called stream protection rule, which would have made it nearly impossible to mine coal in Appalachia. prgtoken The administration has returned sanity to the clean water permitting process in section 404 and is in the process of restoring the Waters of the United States rule to align with congressional intent of protecting Federal waters and not every stream, ditch, and gully across this country, but the jewel of the War on Coal's crown was always the Clean Power Plan. prgtoken A sweeping rule to limit the use of coal in our power generation mix, the Clean Power Plan ran roughshod over utility investments and States' rights to protect their taxpayers and ratepayers. In a moment of clarity, then-Candidate acknowledged that under his vision for our power system ``electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.'' prgtoken The Clean Power Plan, if implemented, would have made that vision a reality. Energy is a topline item in many of our families' budgets and very expensive, and this policy would have grown these costs significantly. This plan was so disastrous and so clearly beyond the scope of EPA's authority that 24 States--with West Virginia in the lead--sued to stop it. The Supreme Court--our Supreme Court--heard the call and placed a stay on the rule while a lower court weighed the merits. prgtoken This June, the EPA finalized its replacement for this unlawful CPP with the Affordable Clean Energy rule. This commonsense alternative acknowledges the need to reduce carbon emissions from our power sector but ensures that EPA targets are actually achievable and will not kill jobs in the utility and energy sectors, nor crush American families with higher electric bills. prgtoken Fully implemented, the ACE rule will reduce the CO2 emissions by as much as 35 percent from 2005 levels. This administration understands that protecting our environment need not come at the expense of a growing economy. The result has been a growth in our national GDP that the administration's economic projections predicted would be unachievable. prgtoken The unemployment rate of my own State of West Virginia is now 4.6 percent, after it had peaked in 2010 at 8.8 percent. This week, many in this body want to put all this progress in jeopardy and reopen the War on Coal with a Congressional Review Act resolution to block the ACE rule. prgtoken Senate and their Presidential candidates have doubled down on policies that would destroy our jobs, hammer consumers, and burden future generations with staggering amount
HIGH PLAINS HONOR FLIGHT
Cory Gardner (Republican, CO) \u2014 2019-10-16

I stand here today to recognize the veterans of High Plains Honor Flight who have made their inaugural trip to Washington, DC. Distinguished veterans from World War II, the Korean war, and the Vietnam war have made the journey to visit the national memorials dedicated to their service. prgtoken Military service is an exceptional duty to the country. Few words can describe the gratitude we all share for sacrifice that these men and women have made to preserve our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When the United States has been threatened, our veterans have bravely answered our countries call without reservation. Twice a year, the Honor Flight welcomes veterans from across the country to fly to Washington, DC, free of charge, so that they can visit the national memorials dedicated to their service. prgtoken Please join me in honoring Charles Assmus, Clarence Carlson, John Dutton, Gordon Norton, Willis Sibley, Michael Abramovich, George Edinger, James Forrest, Alan Gates, Charles Hall, Jason Laguna, Richard Lindemann, Richard McCown, James McWilliams, Gerald Mitchell, Erlis Morse, John Oliver, Bernard Pisciola, Donald Price, Earle Ridgway, Richard Stoltzfus, Wayne Tobey, Johnny West, Benjamin Zimmerman, Robert Davison, Gerald McDuffee, Jed Pancoast, Ronald Adam, Ronald Albers, Leon Bartholomay, Richard Belt, Hal Bennett, Kenneth Blum, Clyde Bullard Jr Kenneth Butcher, Jan Carlson, Allan Cazer, Terry Chandler, Spencer Chapin, Daniel Crego, James Crowell, James Davies, Robert Delva, William Dowling, Gerald Ecker, Carl England, Thomas Evans, Ricky Farrier, Markton Gadbury, Roy George, Don Gooding, Jack Hall, Calvin Hamilton, Robert Jacobson, Charles Jett, Larry Johnson, Daniel Katze, James Keeler, Gene Keys, Daniel King, Raymond Kirchner Jr Damian Kisner, Richard Knight, Terrence Kullbom, Dale Langholf, Noel LaRose II, Harvey Lawson, Richard Lawson, Robert Loner, Jerald Lucas Antonio Luna, Thomas Mason, Tony Mathias, Bobby Matthews, Charles McConnell, Timothy McGinnis, Allen Meyer, Blythe Miley, Richard Miller, Thomas Mitchell, Robert Montgomery, James Morgan, Richard Morris, Paul Niebel, Larry Odegard, Carol Jean Padilla, Theron Parlin, David Patterson, Mark Patterson, Robert Pennington, Randall Peonio, Arturo Perez, Floyd Peterson, Christopher Petroff, Linda Pickett, Gary Pitt, Donald Posselt, Richard Ranabargar, John Rasmussen, Robert Righi, Gary Schuler, Curtis Shaffer, John Shaffner, Lee Sherbenou, Donald Simmons, Jerry Skelton, Richard Smith, Richard Smith Jr Jimmy Spence, Donald Spotanski, Roger Stocker, Thomas Tedesco, Virgil Treadway, Ted Turner, Thomas Wartella, Arthur Weidner, Mark Williamson, Garry Wilson, William Woolman, Darell Zimbelman.
Hong Kong (Executive Calendar)
Tom Cotton (Republican, AR) \u2014 2019-10-16

as we speak, the brave people of Hong Kong are demonstrating to protect their freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. Chinese state TV has portrayed these millions of demonstrators as violent anarchists and separatists, but these Hongkongers are merely insisting that China live up to the promises it made to Hong Kong and the United Kingdom--promises China made as binding conditions of the transfer of sovereignty from London to Beijing. prgtoken The Chinese Government promised that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy, including many of the freedoms that Beijing denies to its more than 1 billion subjects on the mainland, but, as the world has learned through bitter experience, the Chinese Communist Party's promises aren't worth the paper they are written on. Slowly but surely, Beijing has chipped away at the independence it promised Hong Kong-- disappearing citizens guilty of wrongthink, undermining Hong Kong's longstanding political and judicial systems, and issuing menacing threats of military intervention to crush the demonstrations. prgtoken Most Americans are rightly outraged by China's brutal crackdown in Hong Kong. Daryl Morey is one of them. He is the general manager of the Houston Rockets. Just a few days ago, he tweeted a simple and justified phrase: ``Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.'' prgtoken Morey probably knew his words would offend the Chinese Communist Party, but he was also violating a different party line--that of his own league, the NBA. For daring to speak up about Hong Kong, Morey was disavowed by his team, his fellow executives, and some of the most famous prgtoken athletes in the NBA. That is because he was threatening not only the powers that be in China but the cash cow that China represents for American business, including professional basketball. China's government may be red, but its money is green, and plenty of people are willing to cash its checks, no matter the cost. prgtoken The league's biggest star, LeBron James, said that Morey's support for Hong Kong was ``misinformed'' and ``not educated.'' He reportedly called for Morey to be punished. Perhaps it is no coincidence that LeBron James stands to make billions of dollars from the Chinese market--not only from a higher NBA salary cap, shoe sales, and Nike ads, but also from his own movie company. Often known as King James, perhaps ``Chairman LeBron'' would be a better honorific today. prgtoken Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets, called the protest in Hong Kong a separatist movement that was trying to carve up Chinese territories like colonial powers or Imperial Japan. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Mr. Tsai is an executive at Alibaba, a Chinese company that developed a Communist propaganda app that hijacked cell phones of anyone who downloaded it. prgtoken At a Wizards game last week, security confiscated a protest sign that said simply ``Google Uighurs,'' referring to the na
OPPOSING THE DECISION TO END CERTAIN UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO PREVENT TURKISH MILITARY OPERATIONS AGAINST SYRIAN KURDISH FORCES IN NORTHEAST SYRIA
John Shimkus (Republican, IL) \u2014 2019-10-16

it is great to come down here today and talk on this issue. I have been a little bit outspoken since the decision was made by the executive branch, so it is great to see the legislative branch take a stand and talk about what this policy decision has made. And I am good friends with Chairman McCaul and, of course, Eliot Engel who is the chairman of the committee. prgtoken As someone who served for many years in the military, and I am very involved with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and our alliances-- alliances and values are important. Walking away from friends is the sad indication of policy that we don't want to support, we don't want to condone. Yes, we want America to be great, but we are also great because of our friends and our allies. prgtoken Coalitions are not bad. Coalitions strengthen our public policy around the world. And our relationship with the Kurds goes way back to the first Gulf war and the protection of the northern Iraqi Kurdish area protecting the air space. prgtoken Talk to people in uniform who have been protected by Kurdish fighters throughout these 20 years of involvement in Syria. We give them our word that we will be with them. I liken it to being in a foxhole with someone from another country, and the attack is coming. You don't get out of the foxhole and go to the rear and leave your ally in the foxhole to defend themselves. prgtoken We see what is going on. I think this could have been predicted. It is unfortunate. I don't know how we get the genie back in the bottle, but I am glad we are getting a chance to make a statement from Article I of the Constitution to the legislative branch that we think this policy has been wrong and failed and we do it in a strong bipartisan matter. prgtoken So I thank both of you for bringing this, and I look forward to voting ``yes'' on it.
Introductory Statement on S.J. Res. 58
Ben Sasse (Republican, NE) \u2014 2019-10-16

I come to the floor today to ask each and every Member of Congress to answer this simple question: Is it right for the U.S. Federal Government to get into the business of policing Muslims', Jews', and Christians' religious beliefs, about whether or not they are acceptable? Is it the business of the Federal Government of the United States to determine true and false religion? prgtoken Last week, a former Member of Congress now running for President, didn't blink an eye when he announced that he would strip religious institutions, colleges, churches, and other not-for-profit service organizations of their tax-exempt status if they don't agree with his political positions. prgtoken That is a pretty major departure from what America is and what we usually talk about in this body. So we should pause, and we should call that what it is. That is extreme intolerance, it is extreme bigotry, and it is profoundly un-American. prgtoken The whole point of America is the First Amendment, and the whole point of the First Amendment is that, no matter who you love and no matter how you worship, we believe in America that everyone--everyone-- is created with dignity. This is a fundamental American tenet. It is why this country was founded. prgtoken Because we are all created with dignity, none of us has the right to dictate the conscience commitments of other people. The freedom of conscience is a fundamental American belief, and, thankfully, politicians have no business policing that. prgtoken At the end of the day, there are really just two kinds of societies. There are societies that are about force and power, and there are societies that are about persuasion, about assembly, and about love. prgtoken For more than 230 years, we have decided in this country that we are the latter. We are a community of persuasion, not primarily a community of power and force. prgtoken In America, we don't think the center of life is defined by government. We think the frame of life is defined by government. prgtoken Abraham Lincoln often, sort of apocryphally summarizing George Washington, used to talk about the silver frame and the golden apple. In America, the government is just the silver prgtoken frame. It is the structure that defines the framework for the order of liberty so that the golden apple--the good, the true, and the beautiful, the things that you love and that you want to build--you go do by persuading people to join with you in a cause. Government doesn't define the center. prgtoken Washington, DC, is not the center of American life. Washington, DC, is supposed to be a servant community that exists to maintain a framework for the order of liberty and guards us against enemies, foreign and domestic, so that your household and your neighborhood and your place of worship can be the center of life. prgtoken We are not Chinese Communists who take Uighurs and throw them into camps. We are not Russian oligarchs who tell journal
Trump Administration (Executive Session)
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-10-16

I mentioned yesterday the contrast between our work in the Senate and what is transpiring over in the House. prgtoken On this side of the Capitol, we are focused on working for the American people. We are overcoming the ' historic delay tactics and obstruction to confirm more of the President's impressive nominees for the executive branch as well as for the judiciary. Later today, we will confirm a new Secretary of the Air Force and will then turn to several impressive nominees to district court vacancies in order to continue our renewal of the Federal judiciary. prgtoken We will also keep working on the appropriations process and on providing the funding our Armed Forces certainly need, and we are discussing ways to discourage the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East and ensure the United States continues to provide the essential global leadership that has cornered ISIS and other radical Islamic terrorists and has kept our Nation safe. prgtoken So what is going on over in the House? prgtoken Those in the House are doubling down on their 3-year-old obsession of finding ways to nullify the decision the American people made back in 2016. Pelosi's are blocking the USMCA, which is the landmark trade deal that would create 176,000 new jobs for American workers. They are dragging their heels on funding the government, which is keeping our military commanders in limbo. All of their energy is going into this all-consuming impeachment parade that has been rolling on for 3 years now--ever searching for a rationale. prgtoken Remember, it was literally on Inauguration Day of January 2017 when the Washington Post ran this headline: ``The campaign to impeach President has begun.'' Well, the Post got it right. Before President even took office, one prominent House had already declared he would not be a legitimate President. Just a few months later, another was already promising she would not rest until she impeached him. prgtoken From the very beginning of this Presidency, Washington have lived in a state of denial. They have seemed positive that some inside- the-Beltway maneuver would save them from the consequences of Secretary Clinton's defeat. They had hoped Special Counsel Mueller's report would have validated their theories about the conspiracy between the campaign and the Russians. They used their minority powers in the Senate to effectively try to nullify his Presidency by obstructing even completely uncontroversial nominees to all kinds of government posts simply because this President was the one who nominated them. prgtoken There have been 3 years of this. Now, finally, Pelosi's efforts to hold back her leftwing caucus have officially crumbled, and the House has thrown itself into impeachment. prgtoken Given the lip service the House pay in defending the norms and institutions of American Government, you might think they wou
REMEMBERING HOWARD LUKE
Lisa Murkowski (Republican, AK) \u2014 2019-10-16

I want to take a few minutes to recognize the life of a highly respected Athabascan elder Howard Luke, who died September, 21, 2019 in Fairbanks, AK, at age 95. prgtoken With the passing of Native elder Howard Luke, Alaska has lost a highly respected Athabascan leader who dedicated his life to empowering the Alaska Native community and ensuring that cultural and traditional knowledge will be passed down to younger generations. prgtoken Howard Luke was born in 1923 in Nenana, later moving to Fairbanks with his mother at age 13. A man with a true gentle spirit, Howard made a unique contribution to our State, and he shared his passion of the Athabascan language and traditional ways. prgtoken He always stressed the importance of school for young people while also learning their traditions. At his mother's side, he learned the stories and values and subsistence way of life of his people. He sometimes talked about wishing he had received more formal schooling and that he felt hindered by stopping school after the fourth grade; yet he was constantly pursuing learning. He travelled to New Zealand, Australia, Russia, and visited other Tribes throughout the United States. In honor of his efforts, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District named an alternative school after him. In 1991, he received an honorary high school diploma from that school. Howard later received an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. prgtoken In discussing his efforts with schools, he said that he wanted teachers to help the kids more than anything else. He knew that you can't just tell them, ``This is the way to do it,'' and leave them alone. You have got to help them. His approach was based on the idea that you have got to make the kids proud of themselves for what they were able to do. prgtoken Howard made sure to focus on educating young indigenous people, ``the grandkids,'' about the rich culture and values that are their inheritance. prgtoken Howard dedicated his later life to culture camps and cultural education in the schools. He started a camp on the banks of the Chena River, the Gaaleeya Spirit Camp, to teach skills to Native youth, such as art, language, and how to live off the land. prgtoken He was a common and welcoming elder in Canada and the Chilkoot Culture Camp in Haines. He shared traditional practices of hunting, teaching deep respect for those resources that are so much a part of Alaska Natives lifestyles. prgtoken The knowledge that he had and shared with others is something you cannot learn in a university. This knowledge is passed down from elders to youth, and he recognized the importance of sustaining places for younger generations to learn the ways of their ancestors. prgtoken Howard Luke always said, if you love the kids, they will know that they are loved. He also always told the kids to be proud of themselves. Howard was loved in return, and Alaskans are immensely proud of all th