mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Mr. Vice President, you said things more eloquently than how we say it in Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, we say something like: Why in God's name would someone think attacking law enforcement and occupying the United States Capitol is the best way to show that you are right? Why would you do that? prgtoken Rioters and thugs don't run the Capitol. We are the United States of America. We disagree on a lot of things, and we have a lot of spirited debate in this room, but we talk it out, and we honor each other, even in our disagreements. That person, that person, and that person is not my enemy. That is my fellow American. And while we disagree on things, and disagree strongly at times, we do not encourage what happened today--ever. prgtoken Now, I want to join my fellow Senators in saying thank you to the Capitol Hill Police, the law enforcement, the National Guard, the Secret Service who stood in harm's way. While we were here debating, they were pushing back. And I was literally interrupted midsentence speaking here because we were all unaware of what was happening right outside this room because of their faithfulness and because of what they have done. I want to thank them. prgtoken Ronald Reagan once said: Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. prgtoken The peaceful people in my State of Oklahoma want their questions answered, but they don't want this, what happened today. They want to do the right thing, and they also want to do it the right way. They want to honor the constitutional process, but they also want to have debate about election security because they want to make sure it is right, which is why it is an important issue that still needs to be resolved. prgtoken Transparency in government just doesn't seem like a bad idea. Obviously, the Commission that we have asked for is not going to happen at this point, and I understand that. And we are headed tonight toward the certification of to be the President of the United States, and we will work together in this body to be able to set a peaceful example in the days ahead. prgtoken .
COUNTING ELECTORAL VOTES--JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE HELD PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1
Jim Jordan (Republican, OH) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Madam , Americans instinctively know there was something wrong with this election. During the campaign, Vice President would do an event and he prgtoken would get 50 people at the event. President , at just one rally, gets 50,000 people. President increases votes with African Americans; increases votes with Hispanic Americans; won 19 of 20 bellwether counties; won Ohio by 8; Iowa by 8; and Florida by 3. President got 11 million more votes than he did in 2016, and House s won 27 of 27 toss-up races. prgtoken But somehow the guy who never left his house wins the election? prgtoken Eighty million Americans, 80 million of our fellow citizens, s and , have doubts about this election; and 60 million people, 60 million Americans think it was stolen. prgtoken But say: No problem. No worries. Everything is fine. prgtoken We asked for an investigation. We asked Chairman Nadler, Chairwoman Maloney for an investigation. They said no. They wouldn't want to investigate something that half the electorate has doubts about. It is just the Presidency of the United States. prgtoken Why? Why not one single investigation? Why not even one single hearing over the last 9 weeks in the United States House of Representatives? Why? prgtoken Because all the care about is making sure President isn't President. For 4\1/2\ years that is all they have cared about. prgtoken July 31, 2016, before he was elected the first time, Jim Comey's FBI takes out the insurance policy; opens an investigation on the President based on nothing. prgtoken May 17, 2017, Bob Mueller was named special counsel. Two years they investigate the Russia hoax. Nineteen lawyers, 40 agents and $40 million of taxpayer money for nothing. prgtoken December 18, 2019, House Members vote to impeach President based on an anonymous whistleblower with no firsthand knowledge, who was biased against the President and who worked for . prgtoken But none of that worked. As hard as they tried, none of that worked. They threw everything they had at him. prgtoken So what did they do next? prgtoken They changed the rules. They changed the election law and they did it in an unconstitutional fashion, and that is what we are going to show over the next several hours of debate. prgtoken The Constitution is clear, as Whip Scalise just said. State legislatures and only State legislatures set election law. prgtoken In Arizona, the law says voter registration ends on October 5. prgtoken said: We don't care what the law says. prgtoken They went to a court, got an -appointed judge to extend it 18 days. No debate, as Steve talked about. No debate. No discussion. They just did it. prgtoken Pennsylvania, same thing. Pennsylvania laws says mail-in ballots have to be in by 8 p.m. election day. prgtoken Supreme Court said: Nope. We are going to extend it. prgtoken Election day doesn't end on Tuesday now
COUNTING ELECTORAL VOTES--JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE HELD PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1
Paul A. Gosar (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Madam , I filed my challenge on the slate of electors from the State of Arizona that was actually put forward by Governor Ducey of Arizona. prgtoken My ask to you, the , through the Vice President, is simple. Do not count these electors until and unless the secretary of state allows a forensic audit of the election, a request she has denied repeatedly. prgtoken We have been told over and over that even though this was a public election using public money and public machines utilizing public employees, the public today has no ability to simply double-check the veracity of these results. prgtoken If the Presidential election was a football game, we would get a slow-motion review from multiple angles and a prgtoken correction of a controversial decision. But not so, we are told by our secretary of state, for the Presidential election, no review for you. prgtoken No access to the Dominion voting machines with a documented history of enabling fraud through its now discredited adjudication system, a system that literally allows one person to change tens of thousands of votes in mere minutes. prgtoken In the only audit done in Arizona, a court found 3 percent error rate against President . Vice President 's margin of error was one-tenth of that, at 0.03 percent. By the way, a 3 percent error rate at minimum is 90,000 ballots. After finding the 3 percent error rate, the court stopped the audit and refused to go further. prgtoken In Arizona, as my attachments make clear, mail-in ballots were altered on the first day of counting as shown in data graphs we have provided, as concluded by data analysts. Over 400,000 mail-in ballots were altered, switched from President to Vice President , or completely erased from President 's totals. prgtoken The proof is in the counting curves, the curves that cannot occur except with odds so rare and unlikely that winning the Mega Millions lottery is more probable. prgtoken , can I have order in the Chamber? Recess
COUNTING ELECTORAL VOTES--JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE HELD PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1
Tom Reed (Republican, NY) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Madam , I encourage my colleagues to always search their conscience and their souls. I respect my colleagues and my ic colleagues, but today, let us pause and remember what happened here today. Let us pause that our tenure in this Congress will far surpass the time that we stay here. And let us pause and cast our votes today recognizing that what we do here today will set the course of this institution for years to come. prgtoken This institution, Madam , shall not fail because the United States of America shall forever be the beacon of hope, the inspiration to all. prgtoken May God bless our great country.
COUNTING ELECTORAL VOTES--JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE HELD PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1
Mo Brooks (Republican, AL) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Madam , for years, and their media allies deceived America about -Russian collusion and the extent of foreign interference in the 2016 elections. Yet, in 2020, promoted massive foreign interference in American elections by helping illegal aliens and other noncitizens vote in American elections, thereby canceling the votes of and stealing elections from American citizens. prgtoken Want evidence? Exhibit A. In 1993, rammed through Congress the National Voter Registration Act, making it illegal--illegal--to require proof of citizenship that prevents illegal aliens and noncitizens from registering to vote. prgtoken Why did do that? Simple. To steal elections, of course. prgtoken Exhibit B. How bad is the noncitizen voting problem? In 2005, President Jimmy Carter's Commission on Federal Election Reform warned that ``noncitizens have registered to vote in several recent elections'' and recommended that ``all States should use their best efforts to obtain proof of citizenship before registering voters.'' prgtoken Exhibit C. A June 2005 General Accountability Office report discovered that up to 3 percent of people on voter registration lists are not U.S. citizens. prgtoken Exhibit D. In 2008, Electoral Studies surveyed 339 noncitizens. Eight percent admitted voting in American elections. prgtoken As an aside, I have seen higher percentages in other studies. prgtoken Exhibit E. The 2010 Census counted 11 million illegal aliens in America. prgtoken Exhibit F. A 2018 Yale study estimated as many as 22 million illegal aliens in America. prgtoken Exhibit G. The math means between 880,000 and 1.72 million illegal aliens illegally voted in the 2020 elections. prgtoken Exhibit H. In 2014, Old Dominion University and George Mason University professors surveyed noncitizens and illegal aliens and found they vote roughly 80 percent of the time. prgtoken Exhibit I. The math is again straightforward. The 60 percent advantage times the illegal alien voting number means gained roughly 1,032,000 votes from illegal alien voting. That is the high number. prgtoken Exhibit J. While no one knows for sure how massive the illegal alien voting bloc is, we do know and his campaign believed it large enough and critical enough to winning the Presidential race that, at the October 22 Presidential debate, publicly solicited the illegal alien bloc vote by promising: ``Within 100 days, I am going to send to the United States Congress a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people.'' prgtoken Ladies and gentlemen, Madam , that is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for illegal aliens. knew exactly what he was doing by seeking the illegal alien bloc vote. After all, on May 11, 1993, then-Senator voted for the National Voter Registration Act, which makes it illegal to require proof of citizenship from illegal aliens and
COUNTING ELECTORAL VOTES--JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE HELD PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1
Bill Posey (Republican, FL) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Madam , as you have heard from both sides of the aisle over and over and over today and tonight, Members of Congress take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. prgtoken Clearly, the Constitution says State legislatures make voting laws, period, end of subject. And, clearly, in Pennsylvania and some other States, nonlegislators changed those voting laws. prgtoken No matter who wins or who loses, those are violations of the Constitution whether you, me, or anyone else likes it or not. prgtoken As Congressman Davidson pointed out, over a dozen FBI agents were immediately dispatched to fully investigate Bubba Wallace's garage door. But, sadly, the FBI never responded to my request to investigate massive voting irregularity accusations, like the video footage from Georgia that we all wished we didn't see. prgtoken Neither has the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, the Postal Inspector General, the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA, and, saddest of all, the U.S. Department of Justice. prgtoken The right to vote is not only a constitutional right, it is also a civil right, and we must protect it. Running a fair and transparent election is not something America should run away from. It is something we must live up to. prgtoken Every eligible American has a right to have their vote counted and the right to feel confident that his or her vote was counted, not neutralized by an illegal vote. prgtoken Otherwise, I fear our Republic is doomed. That is why I implore you to support a full investigation. prgtoken Madam , I yield the balance of my time to the fine gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly).
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT
Josh Hawley (Republican, MO) \u2014 2021-1-6

I want to begin this evening by saying thank you to the men and women of the Capitol Police, the National Guardsmen, the Metropolitan Police, and others who came to this Capitol and put their lives on the line to protect everybody here who was working inside. I want to thank law enforcement all across this country--in my home State of Missouri and everywhere else--who do that day in and day out. prgtoken I just want to acknowledge that, when it comes to violence, it was a terrible year in America this last year. We have seen a lot of violence against law enforcement, and today, we saw it here in the Capitol of the United States. In this country, in the United States of America, we cannot say emphatically enough: Violence is not how you achieve change. Violence is not how you achieve something better. prgtoken Our Constitution was built and put into place so that there would be, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, no appeal from ballots to bullets, which is what we saw, unfortunately, attempted tonight. There is no place for that in the United States of America, and that is why I submit to my colleagues that what we are doing here tonight is, actually, very important because, for those who have concerns about the integrity of our elections and for those who have concerns about what happened in November, this is the appropriate means. This is the lawful place where those objections and concerns should be heard. This is the forum that the law provides for--that our laws provide for--for those concerns to be registered, not through violence--not by appealing from ballots to bullets--but here, in this lawful process. prgtoken So to those who say that this is just a formality today--an antique ceremony that we have engaged in for a couple of hundred years--I can't say that I agree. I can't say that our precedent suggests that. I actually think it is very vital, what we do. The opportunity to be heard and to register objections is very vital because this is the place where those objections are to be heard and dealt with, debated, and finally resolved--in this lawful means, peacefully, without violence, without attacks, without bullets. prgtoken Let me just say now, briefly--in lieu of speaking about it later--a word about Pennsylvania, which is a State that I have been focused on and have objected to, as an example of why people are concerned--why millions of Americans are concerned--about our election integrity. prgtoken I say to Pennsylvania, quite apart from allegations of any fraud, you have a State constitution that has been interpreted for over a century to say that there is no mail-in balloting permitted except for in very narrow circumstances, which is also provided for in the law. Yet, last year, Pennsylvania's elected officials passed a whole new law that allowed for universal mail-in balloting, and they did it, irregardless of what the Pennsylvania Constitution said. prgtoken Then, when Penns
CITIZEN'S COMMITTEE FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY'S FINDINGS ON FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS
Michael K. Simpson (Republican, ID) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Madam , election law and regulations must be developed and administered at the state and local level. To that end, I believe criteria and engagement from all Idahoans must be included in this debate and want to enter the Committee's recommendations into Congress' current debate on free and fair elections. The Citizen's Committee for Election Integrity's findings and recommendations: All political power rests with the people. Our Constitutionally guaranteed form of government relies on free, fair, and honest elections to select our representatives and leaders. To ensure equal protection and equal representation of the people, laws governing our elections must meet certain minimum standards. It is the purpose of this Citizens Committee to concisely articulate the minimum standards for free, fair, and honest elections. These standards shall then be used by our local, state and federal legislators as a metric for reviewing and revising election law to ensure free, fair, and honest elections where the outcome is accepted by all citizens of good will. Minimum Standards for Fair and Honest Elections Our Constitutionally guaranteed republican form of government relies on free, fair, and honest elections to select our representatives and leaders. The standards listed here shall be used by our local, state and federal legislators as a metric for reviewing and revising election law to ensure free, fair, and honest elections where the outcome is accepted by all citizens of good will. All voting processes, other than those needed to preserve the privacy of a citizen's vote, must be open and available for direct observation, with no minimum distance requirements, and audit by agents of the candidates or parties. All election materials must have a secure chain of custody at all times. Election officials must be accompanied by observers when accessing any election materials. Records of the chain of custody shall be complete and available for audit. All votes, regardless of voting method, shall be held to equal standards. Voters shall only be qualified electors that are able to verifiably provide their government issued photo identity before being issued a ballot. Voters who provide false information, including information of voter qualification, should face severe penalties. As a condition of being issued a ballot, the voter's identity and signature must be recorded in a permanent record (Poll Book). Original Ballots must have a physical form that allows voting choices to be examined and properly interpreted by the naked eye. Ballots must have features designed to prevent counterfeiting. An auditable system for tracking the statu
CHALLENGE TO THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-1-6

we gather together at a moment of great division, at a moment of great passion. We have seen and, no doubt, will continue to see a great deal of moralizing from both sides of the aisle, but I would urge to both sides perhaps a bit less certitude and a bit more recognition that we are gathered at a time when democracy is in crisis. prgtoken Recent polling shows that 39 percent of Americans believe the election that just occurred ``was rigged.'' You may not agree with that assessment, but it is, nonetheless, a reality for nearly half the country. prgtoken I would note it is not just s who believe that. Thirty-one percent of Independents agree with that statement. Seventeen percent of believe the election was rigged. Even if you do not share that conviction, it is the responsibility, I believe, of this office to acknowledge that is a profound threat to this country and to the legitimacy of any administrations that will come in the future. prgtoken I want to take a moment to speak to my ic colleagues. I understand. Your guy is winning right now. If vote as a bloc, will almost certainly be certified as the next President of the United States. prgtoken I want to speak to the s who are considering voting against these objections. I understand your concerns, but I urge you to pause and think: What does it say to the nearly half the country that believes this election was rigged if we vote not even to consider the claims of illegality and fraud in this election? prgtoken And I believe there is a better way. The leaders just spoke about setting aside the election. Let me be clear. I am not arguing for setting aside the result of this election. All of us are faced with two choices, both of which are lousy. One choice is vote against the objection, and tens of millions of Americans will see a vote against the objection as a statement that voter fraud doesn't matter, isn't real, and shouldn't be taken seriously. And a great many of us don't believe that. prgtoken On the other hand, most, if not all, of us believe we should not set aside the results of an election just because our candidate may not have prevailed. So I endeavored to look for door No. 3, a third option, and for that I looked to history, to the precedent of the 1876 election, the Hayes-Tilden election, where this Congress appointed an electoral commission to examine claims of voter fraud. prgtoken Five House Members, five Senators, five Supreme Court Justices examined the evidence and rendered a judgment. What I would urge of this body is that we do the same; that we appoint an electoral commission to conduct a 10-day emergency audit, consider the evidence, and resolve the claims. prgtoken For those in the ic aisle who say there is no evidence, they have been rejected, then you should rest in comfort. If that is the case, an electoral commission would reject those claims. prgtoken B