mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CATTLE COUNTRY NEEDS USDA'S MARKET INVESTIGATION
Dusty Johnson (Republican, SD) \u2014 2019-9-19

this is a town where investigations can last for years, and sometimes, they cost millions. There are other investigations that are insignificant, little things. They are just meant to check a box so we can move onto the next task. prgtoken Yes, I think we all know that, in D.C there are two types of investigations, investigations that are for show and investigations that are for real. Well, in cattle country, we need an investigation for real. prgtoken Times have been tough, really tough for cattle producers, especially the last couple of years. The producers that I know, they don't ask for guarantees or handouts. All that they want is a fair chance to earn a living. Unfortunately, prices have been soft, and those producers aren't sure that the market is accurately applying margin to our feeders and to our ranchers. prgtoken Following the Holcomb fire, the market experienced extreme volatility. The producers that I know, smart and savvy professionals, are telling me that what happened in that aftermath did real damage to the viability of their businesses and to their way of life. prgtoken That is why I was grateful to see USDA, under the Packers and Stockyards Act, open up an investigation into the cattle market. An investigation like that does not happen every day, and it has folks in South Dakota anxiously awaiting the results. I know that I am. prgtoken What I have seen so far, what I have heard so far from USDA, gives me a good feeling that they are conducting this investigation for real, that they are working hard to gather and analyze the pertinent data. They want to get to the bottom of this. They want to determine to what extent, if any, there were unfair trade practices or market manipulation. prgtoken That kind of a determination, , won't be easy. It will require real effort, real persistence, a real willingness to dig deep. prgtoken As I said at the beginning, there are two types of investigations in this town, those that are for show and those that are for real. It looks like USDA is conducting this investigation for real, and thank goodness for that, because our cow-calf folks deserve that, our feeders deserve that, and, , our country deserves that.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4378, CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020, AND HEALTH EXTENDERS ACT OF 2019
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2019-9-19

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the previous question and, obviously, yes on the rule. prgtoken Let me just say that we need to do something about campaign finance. I think our current system is corrupt. I think people wonder why this institution has enacted tax bills that favor billionaires and millionaires at the expense of the middle class. Well, I think you can tie that to the money. When people want to know why we can't get the United States Senate to take up sensible gun control legislation, like universal background checks, I tell them to follow the money. I think we need to even the playing field so that middle class families, and those struggling to get into the middle class, are heard on this Hill as much as corporations and special interests have been over the past several years. prgtoken H.R. 1, which we passed in this House, I think is a step in the direction prgtoken toward giving government back to the people and taking it away from big corporations, ending the practice of tax bills that just favor the very well-off and the well-connected, so I disagree with the gentleman's amendment. prgtoken But let me say this in conclusion. As my good friend, Mr. Cole, pointed out, this is a bipartisan compromise continuing resolution. I thank Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger, as well as my colleague from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) who I know worked so hard on the Appropriations Committee, for getting us to this point. prgtoken I wish we did not have to do continuing resolutions. In the future that would depend on whether our colleagues in the United States Senate want to get their act together and deliberate and legislate in a timely fashion. We need to pass this because our farmers are hurting. Our retailers, our small businesses, and our local manufacturers are hurting. prgtoken Virtually, anyone who sets foot into a store is forced to pay more for products today than before he took office because President 's tariffs are causing the typical U.S. household $1,000 a year. That is $1,000, . prgtoken None of us can control the President's haphazard so-called negotiation with China, but we can control whether Congress acts to lift the threat of another shutdown. The Senate may be in disarray and the President may be focused on his latest Twitter feud or talking about how many mountain climbers couldn't climb over his new wall, or whether you can fry an egg on it, but this majority is focused on the American people. We are doing our job to prevent a shutdown to provide necessary funding that benefits all people in this country and buying some time so that we can work out a long-term deal. prgtoken So I urge all my colleagues to join with us today. Let's encourage the Senate s and the President to finally do the jobs they were elected to do and keep this government funded. We are doing our job, and in here, today, we will bring a bi
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 1044
Joe Manchin, III (Democrat, WV) \u2014 2019-9-19

I rise today to introduce a resolution that would recognize September as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. In the United States, more than 15,000 kids are diagnosed with cancer every single year, and more than 300,000 children are diagnosed globally. prgtoken On average, more than 75 children in West Virginia alone are diagnosed with cancer every year, which has been a steady increase over the last 10 years. We have made a lot of progress over the last few decades in research for prevention and care, but there is more work to be done. That is why I am here today to continue the drumbeat and elevate the issue. prgtoken I will share a story of a young man I met just last week. On Friday, I had the honor of visiting with students and teachers at George Washington High School in Charleston, WV. One student by the name of Nicholas ``Nick'' Spence came up to me during my visit and shared that at age 15 he was diagnosed with cancer. He later sent me a letter telling me about his story and asked me to help raise awareness of childhood cancer, which I assumed we had already done since we have done it for adult cancer. prgtoken Nick's letter goes like this: Dear Senator Manchin, Thank you for visiting my school on Friday. It was really cool to meet you. As I shared with you in person, at age 15 my life was changed forever. Before then, it never crossed my mind that I would become a cancer patient, much less a pediatric one. I was diagnosed with cancer and underwent chemotherapy. As a result, in May 2018, I had to have my leg amputated. After two long years, I am proud to say that I finally overcame and defeated my cancer, and I'm currently a senior at George Washington High School. I feel very strongly that there needs to be more awareness about childhood cancer in West Virginia, and I appreciated speaking with you about that during your visit. That's why I'm writing today to ask you to continue fighting for West Virginians and to do whatever you can to help raise awareness about childhood cancer. Signed, Nick Spence prgtoken Thank you, Nick, for standing up and reaching out to me. I will never forget how you walked across the gym after we were done with the meeting with all of the students at your high school, and I was impressed by your willingness to stand up and come over and tell me, basically, what you were concerned about and what you want to change. prgtoken In addition, I would also like to recognize some very special guests who have driven here today from West Virginia, and they are in the Senate Chamber today. From Charleston, WV, we have Kelly Wymer, Ali Wymer, and Cherie White. I thank them for attending and being here. They are in town representing the West Virginia Kids Cancer Crusaders at the CureFest here in DC on the National Mall. prgtoken When Ali was just 6\1/2\ years old,
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 1044
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2019-9-19

right now at this moment, thousands of UAW workers in Ohio--in places like the Chevrolet plant in Parma-Cleveland area, the transmission plant in Toledo, the plant in Defiance, OH, and all over the country--are going without their paychecks and without their health insurance to demand that General Motors respect the work they do to make their companies successful. prgtoken In a nutshell, workers are fed up. More and more of them are beginning to see that unions are the best way to make their voices heard. For too long, General Motors hasn't listened. Autoworkers are the engine behind GM's success. GM wouldn't be making a dime in profit without the workers who actually make their cars and trucks. prgtoken Back up for a moment. Think about what has happened to General Motors. The Presiding Officer has autoworkers in the State of Indiana, as I do in Ohio. Back up 10 years, when General Motors and Chrysler went into bankruptcy. The taxpayers and workers--through givebacks-- rescued both companies. For 10 years, GM has gotten more and more profitable. Workers were working hard, but workers were making significantly less money during those 10 years. Then you saw these companies' profits increase. GM started sending more jobs to Mexico to build the Chevy Blazer, for instance. The same day, they announced the layoff of one shift in Lordstown. Then there were the stock buybacks from the tax cuts, where 80 percent of the tax benefits went to the richest 1 percent of people in this country. The stock buybacks with the GM executives meant tens of millions of dollars more in their pocket. Yet they continue to squeeze workers. Now workers are simply saying: We want to be, in essence, paid back for the givebacks we did when we, as taxpayers and workers, rescued that company. prgtoken Rather than invest in American workers, the company shut down its most productive plant in North America and laid off hundreds of workers--4,500 workers, actually--in Lordstown, OH, while announcing they are going to build a place in Mexico. They could retool the Lordstown plant. They could build the Blazer in Ohio, but instead they throw workers out of a job, and they pay workers way less to make cars in Mexico. prgtoken Now GM workers are saying: Enough. I stand with them. They are standing up and fighting for increased investments in their local communities. We know if that Lordstown plant would reopen with the Blazer or with an electric vehicle--a couple of electric vehicles or whatever they put there--we know what that would mean for those Lordstown families, those GM families. We know what it would mean to that community. prgtoken I spoke yesterday with Dave Green, the former President of GM Local 1112. He is now working in another GM plant in the Presiding Officer's home State. He is away from his family. He is away from home. He didn't choose that. Dozens of workers are in that situation all because GM wanted to mo
HIDDEN FIGURES CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2019-9-19

. Madam , I rise today in support of H.R. 1396, the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act. prgtoken I thank the ranking member of the committee, Mr. Lucas, for joining me in introducing this bill and for his efforts to help secure the necessary support to bring the bill to the floor. prgtoken I also thank Senator Coons for his leadership in championing an identical companion bill in the Senate, which passed out of the Senate by unanimous consent in March. prgtoken I also wish to thank the 309 bipartisan cosponsors in the House. prgtoken The ``Hidden Figures'' of NASA include the now-well-known women mathematicians and engineers Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. prgtoken Their stories, portrayed in the 2016 ``Hidden Figures'' book and film, represent the stories of hundreds of women computers, mathematicians, and engineers working at NASA and its precursor organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NACA, from the 1930s to the 1970s. prgtoken In the early days of the space program, women and their talents were critically important but often overlooked. Women were typically not permitted to serve in any visible position or recognized publicly for their contributions. prgtoken Women of color faced the additional daily indignity of racial discrimination. prgtoken In spite of these challenges, these women chose to apply their considerable talents to help achieve what was, arguably, one of the Nation's crowning technological achievements: landing the first humans on the Moon. prgtoken The success of the NASA space program was due, in large part, to their brilliance, hard work, and perseverance in the face of adversity. prgtoken What better example can we hope to give our sons and daughters? prgtoken This bill will bestow Congress' highest civilian honor in recognition of the achievements of Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and all the other women computers, mathematicians, and engineers at NACA and NASA during this important time in our history. prgtoken Madam , I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Authorization for Use of Military Force (Executive Session)
Tammy Duckworth (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2019-9-19

I could stay here all day, listening to the names of the brave men and women whom I was lucky enough to serve with in the military. I could stay here all night, telling stories about their heroism and courage. I could stay here all week, all month, talking about the troops who are serving overseas right now and about those who are on their eighth or ninth tours of duty or about those teenagers who weren't even alive when the Twin Towers fell, yet who are ready to ship off to Afghanistan at this very moment if that is what is asked of them. I could go on and on all year if I wanted, and I still wouldn't be able to convey the sacrifices they are making because they love this country and would do anything to defend her. prgtoken I will not stand idly by and let a single one of them shed blood in an avoidable conflict because has abdicated matters of war and peace to a despot who regularly flouts basic human rights and openly murders journalists. Yet, after tensions spiked between Saudi Arabia and Iran this past weekend, that is exactly what he seemed to be willing to do. He tweeted that the U.S. was ``locked and loaded'' and just waiting for the Crown Prince to tell him how to proceed. We can't let that slip by. prgtoken The President--the Commander in Chief of the greatest military of the greatest democracy on the face of the Earth--just suggested that he was outsourcing the powers of war to a foreign monarch--powers that aren't even his to hand over--and he did it in a tweet. prgtoken While may have never read the Constitution, I have, so let me direct his attention to article I, which makes it clear that the President does not have the authority to declare war. Only Congress has that power. We are the ones tasked with deciding when and how Americans are sent into combat. We are the ones charged with that most solemn duty, not and certainly not Muhammad bin Salman. Yet is acting as if article I simply doesn't exist, as if he could just usurp this power from the legislative branch and trade it to whomever he pleases, as if obeying the Constitution is optional even while he tweets that he is willing to obey a foreign prince. prgtoken This should not be a partisan issue. No matter if you are struggling to pay rent or if your name is plastered in gold on the front of a building on Fifth Avenue, no one can overrule the Constitution. doesn't get to mire us in yet another Middle East conflict just because he has a bizarre tendency to bow down and kiss up to the world's cruelest tyrants. prgtoken Whether you ask constitutional scholars or high school students taking U.S. history classes, they will tell you the same thing--that on matters of military force, whether they are our allies or our adversaries, American Presidents do not get to choose to take orders from foreign leaders. They take direction from Congress--full stop. prgtoken I am here to say that we
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 1044
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2019-9-19

what we are seeing here today really disappoints me. We have, today, a straightforward opportunity to prevent a critical part of our higher education system--HBCUs, Tribal colleges, and other minority-serving institutions--from having to deal with a lapse in funding. We should take it. This is bipartisan legislation. It has passed the House. There is no reason at all to delay it a minute longer here in the Senate. prgtoken from Alabama for his leadership on this. I express my personal strong support for the FUTURE Act, which will give us then time to work out a permanent fix for funding HBCUs, Tribal colleges, and minority-serving institutions through a comprehensive HEA reauthorization, which is what I have made clear is necessary. prgtoken I appreciate what the Senator from Tennessee said about moving forward with higher education reauthorization. I am hopeful we can continue to work on reaching a compromise, as we have done on several other pieces of legislation. As I have said before, I believe any reauthorization of the Higher Education Act needs to have real answers to the challenges students are facing today on affordability and access and accountability and campus safety. I truly believe we have an opportunity to get a comprehensive bill done that helps solve these challenges for our students. prgtoken I hope the Senator from Tennessee and our colleagues on the HELP Committee continue to focus on our efforts there. Meanwhile, I believe we should listen to the Senator from Alabama. We should pass the bipartisan FUTURE Act instead of playing politics with valuable and underresourced institutions. prgtoken . prgtoken .
PCAOB WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT OF 2019
Sylvia R. Garcia (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2019-9-19

. Madam , this legislation is very simple. It would establish a whistleblower program at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board based on the program Congress established at the Securities and Exchange Commission under Dodd-Frank. prgtoken The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board was originally established to ensure proper oversight of audits of public companies. This was done after the implosion of Enron and its accounting firm Arthur Andersen, something that was very painful to many in my district in Houston. prgtoken In the Dodd-Frank Act Congress passed, it expanded the whistleblower program at the SEC to both provide individual protections for retaliation if they came forward to the Commission and made them eligible for monetary awards if their information led to enforcement action. Likewise, under my bill, individuals would be eligible for a reward program upon the successful completion of disciplinary action. Whistleblowers would be incentivized to come forward when they suspect violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; the rules of the PCAOB and the SEC; and other rules, laws, and professional standards governing audits of public companies. Importantly, these whistleblowers would also be protected against retaliation from their employers. prgtoken In July, this House overwhelmingly passed the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act by a vote of 410-12. prgtoken This bill uses the very same whistleblower protections that the House passed in that piece of legislation. prgtoken This legislation would implement a key recommendation that the Project on Government Oversight board made in a recent report. prgtoken Madam , as one can see from that report, it is likely more could be done to strengthen this oversight board and its enforcement abilities, but I am confident that this bill is a good first step. prgtoken One of the reasons that investors from around the world invest in America is the stability and transparency of our public markets. Congress, the private sector, and regulators have all worked hard to make transparency a selling point around the world. This bill is just one small tool in the toolbox of making sure that transparency and the investor faith it generates in this country continue. prgtoken Supporters of this bill include the National Whistleblower Center, The Institute of Internal Auditors, and Public Citizen. This bill passed by voice vote out of committee. prgtoken Madam , I want to thank Chairwoman Waters and the ranking member, Mr. McHenry, and their staffs for working with us to incorporate some of the bipartisan suggestions that I believe make this bill stronger by ensuring that the SEC and the PCAOB coordinate in their whistleblower efforts. Those changes make this bill stronger, and I thank them for their bipartisan support. prgtoken Madam , I will close by simply saying that PCAOB works. Let's prgtoken keep it going. I hope that all my colleagues will join me in supporting this le
REMEMBERING IRA A. LIPMAN
Steve Cohen (Democrat, TN) \u2014 2019-9-19

. Madam , I rise today in praise of my friend Ira A. Lipman, founder of the international private security firm Guardsmark, who was also a passionate advocate for social justice, a defender of journalistic freedom and a lover of history and the arts. Ira died Monday in New York at the age of 78. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Ira was a student at Little Rock Central High School and was an important anonymous source for NBC Newsman John Chancellor during the historic but contentious integration of the school in 1957. That led to a lifelong friendship and, in 1995, Ira created the John Chancellor Award of Excellence at Columbia University School of Journalism, honoring the best in the business with a $50,000 annual award. The selection committee for the award is led by the Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism, Jelani Cobb at Columbia. This prestigious award is presented at a dinner, a prgtoken prized event for those invited. In 2018, Columbia established the Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights. Mr. Lipman was a leader in social justice organizations, and served as chairman and later as honorary chairman for life of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He stood up to racism wherever it raised its ugly head. In 1983, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He served on the board of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and on the board of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Mr. Lipman held many positions with the United Way of America, including as the first chairman of its ethics committee, and headed up its Memphis United Way chapter with record-setting donations. In Memphis, Ira was a model of civic responsibility, a thoughtful philanthropist and, like ``Mr. Anonymous,'' was looked to for his leadership, including financial support for the Memphis and Shelby County Crime Commission. In 1992, when Minister Louis Farrakhan was given the keys to the city by then-Mayor W.W. Herenton, Ira stood up and made it clear the decision was questionable. When he realized his lifelong dream of moving to New York City, he became one of that city's leading patrons, serving on the board of The New-York Historical Society. As New York City's quasi-anthem says, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere, and Ira made it there and New York was the better for it. He was a longtime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and, in 2016, his generous gift created the Ira A. Lipman Chair in Emerging Technologies and National Security at the Council. Recognized worldwide for his dedication to Jewry, he was a member of the board of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for 38 years and last year received its highest honor, the Humanitarian Award. He also served as an officer of the American Jewish Historical Society. Ira served on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan U