mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019--Continued
Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2018-6-12

I am here to talk about net neutrality. First, though, I wish to commend the Presiding Officer for the agreement we have made on the STOP Act. He is the lead sponsor, and I am the lead on the bill that will really get at these drugs, like fentanyl, that can kill someone with just a grain-of-salt amount of it, which have been coming in from China and other places through our own Postal Service, which is outrageous for Americans. We have valiantly worked on this bill, and the Senator has worked out an agreement with Senator Hatch and Senator Wyden on the Finance Committee. I want to commend him for that. We are excited the bill is moving forward. prgtoken , I also want to mention another completely separate issue as we debate the NDAA, which is the issue of the Secure Elections Act that Senator Lankford and I have put on as an amendment to this bill. prgtoken Let me remind my colleagues that we are approaching a different kind of warfare; that is, cyber warfare. It is certainly what we saw during the last election, but we have seen it in the area of business--in attacks on some of our major businesses in our own country--and, of course, we have seen it in elections, as well, with Russia attempting to hack into the election systems of 21 States. prgtoken What this bill does is make it easier for local elected officials to get the information in realtime when hacks that they may not know about are going on in other States and to have the classified information they need by getting the security clearance they need to protect their own election system. We have worked with the secretaries of state all over the country on this. Senator Burr, Senator Warner, the heads of the Intelligence Committee, support this bill. prgtoken I also thank Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator , who worked with us on the bill, and we are asking to get it on as an amendment to the Defense Act with the simple idea that warfare isn't the same as it was 50 years ago or 20 years ago or 10 years ago or even 5 years ago. Things are changing, and our laws need to be as sophisticated, the protection of our prgtoken country needs to be as sophisticated as those who are trying to do us harm. We are hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement on this, given that the Intelligence Committee has held numerous hearings about election security, as has Homeland Security, as has Judiciary. Net Neutrality prgtoken , today, I am here in opposition to the Federal Communications Commission's action on Monday to repeal net neutrality protections. Net neutrality is the bedrock of a fast, fair, open, global internet. It holds internet service providers accountable for providing the internet access consumers expect while protecting innovation and competition. prgtoken These protections have worked and are part of the reason the internet has become one of the great Am
HONORING THE VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Ruben J. Kihuen (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2018-6-12

today I rise to recognize the Vegas Golden Knights for their monumental accomplishments this past season. prgtoken , who knew there would ever be a winning hockey team in the desert? Never underestimate the people of Las Vegas and the State of Nevada. prgtoken The story of the Vegas Golden Knights is truly inspiring and symbolic of the strength and perseverance and unity in the Las Vegas community. prgtoken Following the October 1 shooting, a unique bond was created between Nevadans and the Golden Knights that helped mend a city that was torn apart by a devastating massacre. The community rallied around a hockey team made up of players from teams around the country. They called them the ``Golden Misfits.'' prgtoken These players fostered relationships that led to a magical season that will never ever be forgotten. The Golden Knights set an NHL record for an expansion team with 51 wins, along with a trip to the Stanley Cup finals. prgtoken I would like to congratulate and thank the owners, the players, the coaches, and the fans, as well as the Washington Capitals on their first Stanley Cup championship. prgtoken , Las Vegas and the Golden Knights will always be Vegas born, Vegas strong. Go Knights go.
SYNTHETIC DRUG AWARENESS ACT OF 2018
Hakeem S. Jeffries (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-6-12

I thank the distinguished gentleman, the ranking member, Mr. Pallone, for yielding and for his leadership on this issue. prgtoken I also want to thank Congressman Latta, as well as Chairman Greg Walden and my colleagues: Chris Collins, Trey Gowdy, and G. K. Butterfield, who all were sponsors of this legislation. prgtoken , I rise today in support of H.R. 449, the Synthetic Drug Awareness Act. H.R. 449 addresses a critical and sometimes overlooked threat: the use of synthetic drugs by teenagers. It requires the Surgeon General to prepare a report on the public health effects of synthetic drug use by individuals aged 12 to 18 throughout America. prgtoken With the information this study will provide, Congress can work to prevent substance abuse by younger Americans through an enhanced and enlightened lens. The opioid crisis has ravaged families across the country, without regard to ZIP Code, income, race, religion, or gender. prgtoken Unfortunately, this public health emergency is now taking hold, in insidious ways, of our Nation's young people. Throughout the country, the drug overdose death rate has more than doubled during the past decade amongst younger Americans. This troubling phenomenon, in part, results from the rise and availability of potent and dangerous substances like illicit fentanyl, and synthetic marijuana, drugs that fall within the category covered by this legislation. prgtoken Fentanyl, for instance, can be 50 to 100 times stronger than opioids, heroin, or morphine. Teenage fentanyl use, for instance, is a vicious cycle. Adolescents have a still-developing prefrontal cortex, which can facilitate drug-seeking behavior. The drug then alters the development of this area of the brain, making that behavior permanent. prgtoken The majority of adults who develop a substance abuse disorder or addiction begin using before they are 18 years old. In order to address the multifaceted public health crisis that the opioid epidemic represents, we must consider both the cause and the effect. prgtoken Advancing this legislation has been a collaborative process, and I greatly appreciate the hard work of all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. prgtoken , I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 449.
SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING
Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-6-12

I rise to solemnly remember the 49 individuals who died and the 53 who were wounded at Pulse Orlando, an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, FL, 2 years ago. prgtoken I will never forget waking up in the early hours that Sunday, to hear that a 29-year-old gunman, armed with a Sig Sauer MCX assault rifle, walked into a nightclub and massacred 49 individuals in one of the deadliest mass shootings ever witnessed in our country. prgtoken To this day, so many lives impacted from the attack are still on the long road to recovery and healing. To all of the families and loved ones of those who were lost and injured during the attack, please continue to accept my deepest condolences. prgtoken Please also know I will not rest until our country is safe from gun violence. We cannot simply sit back and do nothing while mass shootings continue to devastate our communities, our places of worship, our music venues, our schools, and our workplaces. prgtoken In the days that followed the Pulse nightclub attack, I, along with Senator Nelson and a number of my colleagues, resurrected calls for legislation to allow the FBI to deny gun transfers to known or suspected terrorists who pose a public safety risk. prgtoken The legislation was a direct response to Pulse. In fact, the gunman in Orlando was ISIL-inspired and fueled by hateful extremism and had previously been placed on the FBI's Terrorist Watchlist after earlier investigative warnings to the FBI were made about him. prgtoken And, yet, the man was allowed to walk into a gun store, pass a background check without any notification to the FBI, and walk out with a Sig Sauer MCX, a modern assault rifle with devastating killing capability. prgtoken Alarming statistics over a 10-year period demonstrate that, from February 2004 through December 2014, there were 2,233 cases in which a known or suspected terrorist identified in Federal terrorist watchlist records attempted to buy or receive a gun or explosives. prgtoken In 91 percent of these cases--a total of 2,043 different times--the known or suspected terrorist was cleared to buy or receive the firearm or explosives. In 2013 and 2014 alone, FBI data specifically showed that individuals on terrorist watchlists were involved in firearm- related background checks 485 times, and 455 of those--about 94 percent--were allowed to proceed. prgtoken It appeared there was widespread agreement to finally take action and ensure that no one who is a known or suspected terrorist, with ISIL affiliations, would be allowed to walk into a gun store and pass a Federal background check to obtain a gun. However, because of the gun lobby's strident opposition, and submission to that opposition, the legislation withered and failed. prgtoken Unfortunately, the problem of mass shootings has continued to devastate this Nation. In October 2017 in Las Vegas, a single gunman with multiple assault rifles outfitted with bump stocks killed 58 people gat
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Edward J. Markey (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2018-6-12

I come to the floor to raise my concerns over the outcome of the summit between the United States and North Korea. prgtoken Now, after witnessing heated rhetoric from both sides, the unexpected turn toward diplomacy by President and Kim Jong Un was, by all accounts, a very welcome development. As there is no military solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis, I was encouraged to see direct engagement, and I have long advocated for this approach. However, I am concerned that the agreement signed this morning does little to address the threats and challenges we face. prgtoken First, the text of the statement was the most vague and least detailed of any signed by North Korea over the past three decades. Despite his claims to the contrary, President got a weaker deal, with fewer commitments, than any of his predecessors. Nowhere does the document explain what ``complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula'' means. For example, Kim Jong Un can easily interpret the language to mean he will only relinquish his nuclear weapons once the United States does the same. After all, history shows us that North Korea interprets the term ``Korean Peninsula'' to include any U.S. nuclear weapon capable of striking North Korea. The loopholes in the agreement, it seems, are big enough to fly nuclear missiles through. prgtoken By contrast, previous agreements were much more stringent. The 1992 joint declaration signed by North and South Korea, for example, included conditions such as ``South and North Korea shall not test, manufacture, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy, or use nuclear weapons,'' and ``South and North Korea shall not possess nuclear reprocessing and uranium enrichment facilities.'' Unfortunately, neither of those commitments appears in the latest agreement. The language instead suggests something worrying. prgtoken As the administration must have realized this agreement was not as strong as the previous ones, it appears it was unable to convince North Korea to adopt tougher, more detailed commitments. If true, we should take the hint that North Korea has not yet felt the economic pressure necessary to compel it to accept our definition of ``denuclearization''--one where the Kim regime relinquishes its nuclear weapons and its means to produce more. prgtoken It appears, Kim Jong Un, having stockpiled a wide range of illicit and dangerous weapons, believes he is negotiating from a position of strength, rather than from a position of weakness. While the administration said it has imposed maximum pressure, the truth is, we haven't yet reached that level that could be called maximum pressure. prgtoken North Korea must understand that even if China eases the pressure, we in Congress are ready to step in to tighten the screws on the North Korean economy. prgtoken President appears to have made a second unforced error. By agreeing to curtail our joint military exercises with
TESTING INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS FOR ADOPTION AND USE OF CERTIFIED ELECTRONIC HEALTH Record TECHNOLOGY
Doris O. Matsui (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-6-12

I thank Mr. Pallone for yielding to me and for his leadership. prgtoken , while I believe that we need to do a lot more to combat the opioid and addiction epidemic, I am pleased with some of the specific steps being taken today to help communities. I specifically rise in support of legislation I coauthored with Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins on H.R. 3331. prgtoken In order to solve the root cause of addiction, we need more access to behavioral health in our communities, and we need to treat mental health and substance use disorder like diseases. That means integrating care and services for those conditions into the healthcare system. It means treating a person as a whole person. prgtoken Physical and mental health conditions interplay and should be treated as such. We cannot have a truly integrated system with the care coordination we envision if behavioral health providers don't have electronic health records. We must work to harness the power of technology to improve the accessibility of behavioral health treatment, particularly in underserved communities. prgtoken This bipartisan bill will incentivize behavioral health providers to adopt electronic health record technology. The Senate version of the bill, led by Senators Whitehouse and Portman, passed by unanimous consent last month, so I hope that we can continue the momentum around this legislation with the passage of H.R. 3331 today. prgtoken Before I close, I want to reiterate how important it is for my colleagues to join us in doing more. We need to protect and expand Medicaid, build on ACA successes in terms of access to behavioral healthcare, and fund treatment and prevention efforts in our local communities. We have a long way to go. This is a really good start, and I implore my colleagues to work with us as we move forward.
ANNIVERSARY OF PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING
Donald M. Payne, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2018-6-12

when will my colleagues divorce themselves from the NRA? Despite all the uncertainties in this world, there seems to be one truth, that there will be no action on gun violence. prgtoken That is what the NRA stands for: No Action. That is what the NRA pays for when it funnels tens of millions of dollars into our Federal elections. prgtoken Two years ago, 49 people were shot to death by a crazed gunman in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. On this, the anniversary of that massacre, I ask my colleagues to join with me in honoring those who were lost by uplifting the spirits of their families. prgtoken , to truly honor the lives lost at the Pulse nightclub, in Las Vegas, at Parkland in Florida, and in communities every day across this Nation, we have to change our laws, and we have to do it now.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2018-6-12

on North Korea, in the early hours this morning, President and Chairman Kim met in Singapore for the first meeting between a sitting U.S. President and the leader of North Korea. It was a welcome improvement to see the two of them having a dialogue rather than engaging in name-calling and saber-rattling. Certainly, Americans feel better about talking than name-calling and threats of war, which had characterized the relationship up until now. prgtoken Though we are all rooting for diplomacy to succeed, we must be clear- eyed about what a diplomatic success with North Korea looks like. A diplomatic success would be the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula--nothing less. Why do we say that? It is not to make any political points, but a nuclear North Korea with ICBMs probably presents a greater danger to the United States and the safety and well-being of prgtoken our country than any other in the world. It is imperative that we actually get action here, not just photo ops. Previous negotiations have sought the same goal, with good reason. In 1994 and 2005, those negotiations yielded agreements that were, in fact, much more rigorous than the initial communique issued by President and Chairman Kim. This communique lists denuclearization as a far-off goal but includes no details about a pathway to achieving it; no details about how the United States might verify that North Korea has disarmed when they repeatedly lied in the past; no details about stopping the enrichment of plutonium and uranium; no details even about the definition of complete denuclearization, which has been a main point of contention in previous negotiations. prgtoken Unfortunately, the entire document is short on details. As we have learned, in the wake of the collapse of the 1994 and 2005 agreements, North Korea is liable to backtrack on vague commitments as soon as it is in its interest. Chairman Kim, like his father before him, has a history of backing away from agreements. There is a great fear now that Chairman Kim has won a major concession from the United States of a meeting with our President, he may not go any further. prgtoken Now, as then, we must be wary of this probability. When trust is lacking, it is best not to dive in headfirst and hope for the best but rather to work slowly, transparently, and verifiably to build trust and lock in concessions. It is worrisome--very worrisome--that this joint statement is so imprecise. prgtoken What the United States has gained is vague and unverifiable at best; what North Korea has gained, however, is tangible and lasting. By granting a meeting with Chairman Kim, President has granted a brutal and repressive dictatorship the international legitimacy it long craved. The symbols that were broadcast all over the world last night have lasting consequences for the United States, for North Korea, and the entire region. prgtoken F
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Roy Blunt (Republican, MO) \u2014 2018-6-13

I begin today by congratulating my friend, the senior Senator from Kentucky, Mr. McConnell, on becoming the longest serving leader in the history of the Senate. prgtoken This is an institution where somebody once wisely, I think, observed that there are only really two rules. Unanimous consent and total exhaustion are the way the Senate has in the past reached conclusions. That would not be and is not an easy group to lead. But I think Senator McConnell, more than any other Member of the current Senate, appreciates and understands the institution in ways that very few people do. He used the skills of understanding the uniqueness of the Senate. There is no other legislative body designed, as this body was, to be sure that the minority is heard and to be sure that the time we take is adequate for points of view to be put out there. prgtoken During that time, in the past year, Senator McConnell has led our conference and the Senate in delivering the biggest tax overhaul in three decades, confirming a record number of circuit court judges, and overturning unnecessary regulations that were holding the economy back, and that is not easy to do. prgtoken Every Member of the Senate comes here on their own. They come here working for the people who elected them. In many ways, we have 100 independent contractors who understand their bosses--the people they work for--and the States they come from better than anybody else on the Senate floor does. Now, that is not a bad thing. That is an indication of bringing democracy to a place that has only 100 Members and always has almost 100 different points of view. prgtoken Senator McConnell has earned the confidence of his colleagues. He has led the Senate in a good way. I am proud to call him my friend. He was the Senate whip when I was the majority whip in the House, and I am grateful for the 11 years, 5 months, and 11 days of steady leadership he has given. prgtoken Now, , with the ic and leaders, the majority and minority leaders, both doing what they need to do, the work of the Senate continues. prgtoken This is the 57th time the Senate has dealt with the National Defense Authorization Act. It is the only bill that we pass as an authorizing bill every single year, and I think that is highly appropriate. The No. 1 job of the Federal Government is to defend the country, and we give that issue a different level of time on the Senate floor every year than we do anything else. prgtoken The national security threats facing the United States today are more complex and more diverse, certainly, than at any time since World War II and maybe at any time ever. The United States hasn't seen the kind of strategic competition we see from other places. We haven't seen the diversity of opposition that democracy faces today. Frankly, our competitive advantage is not what it once was. Our advantage on the battlefield is not what it once
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Bob Corker (Republican, TN) \u2014 2018-6-13

section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.