mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF THELMA C. CHILDERS
Ralph Norman (Republican, SC) \u2014 2022-5-24

. Madam , I rise today to celebrate the outstanding life and service of Thelma C. Childers. prgtoken Thelma was born on March 31, 1922, in Clover, South Carolina. Her doctor told her mother she would not live past the age of 2 due to a heart murmur, but Thelma proved that doctor wrong and just celebrated her 100th birthday. prgtoken Raised on a farm by a single mother, Thelma understands the value of hard work. During the day, her mother worked as a makeup artist at the local cemetery, and at night, she tended to the cows and other farm animals. Despite growing up during the Great Depression, Thelma never knew she was poor--she just knew she was happy and loved. prgtoken Thelma was married to the late Joe Childers for over 50 years. Joe was in the Navy and fought in the South Pacific during World War II. Throughout their joyful and prosperous marriage, Thelma helped Joe run his own life insurance business. The two were also big supporters of St. Jude Children's Hospital and members of the Travelers Protection Association, an organization that helps communities through travel safety issues, children safety programs, and various community service projects. prgtoken A proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Thelma is the epitome of a family matriarch. After attending Northside Baptist Church for most of her life, she now enjoys attending Eastside Baptist Church with her grandson Justin as often as she is able. prgtoken Thelma's secret to her health and long life is ``working hard in my yard, because all I have known my whole life is hard work and hard work hasn't ever hurt nobody.'' In addition to spending time with her family, her true passion is spending time outside digging in her flower beds. prgtoken On behalf of the Fifth District of South Carolina, it is my most sincere pleasure to recognize and celebrate the incredible life of Thelma Childers. May her life continue to be filled with joy, good health, and family.
TRIBUTE TO CYNDY NOVOTNY
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2022-5-24

I rise today to celebrate the retirement of Cyndy Novotny, principal of St. Anthony's Tri-Parish Catholic School in Casper, WY. prgtoken This summer, Cyndy Novotny marks her 17th and final year as principal at St. Anthony's School. The present St. Anthony's School building stands as a testament to her 45-year career in education. St. Anthony's Catholic School was dedicated on September 27, 1927, in the belief that education is one of the most important ways that the Catholic Church fulfills its commitment to God. prgtoken St. Anthony's School is dedicated to achieving academic excellence in a faith-filled community. Guided by strong religious and educational leadership, Casper students from preschool through eighth grade can learn to live enriched lives committed to Christian service. prgtoken Cyndy was instrumental in the design and fundraising for this classic, state-of-the-art building. The school is able to meet students' educational needs while keeping them connected to their faith. Her skills in fundraising also supported student tuition, making Christian education accessible for many families. prgtoken Cyndy grew up in the Chicago area, receiving her bachelor of science in elementary education from Illinois State University in 1977. After moving to Casper, she taught at several schools, including first grade at Southridge Elementary for 7 years and second grade at Sagewood Elementary for another 7 years. While continuing to teach, she earned her master's degree in teaching from Grand Canyon University in 2001. prgtoken Cyndy was a leading light in the development of the groundbreaking innovative Woods Learning Center in Casper. Cyndy taught at Woods for 14 years before accepting the principal position at St. Anthony's Tri- Parish Catholic School. prgtoken Cyndy is an accomplished academician, educator, and public servant. She worked to enhance educational curriculum and administration as a speaker at the National School Board Annual Convention and International Reading Association Annual Conference. Cyndy is also a dedicated wife, mother, and grandmother. While teaching, she met her husband, Scott Novotny, a now-retired teacher from Natrona County High School. Together, they have three children, Mick Novotny with wife Dr. Ruma Novotny, Caitlin Dixon with husband Brian Dixon, and Connor Novotny. Cyndy and Scott also have five grandchildren: Ashwin, Colter, Aubrey, Austin, and Jackson. prgtoken Cyndy's community involvement is extensive, having been awarded the Natrona County School District Significant Educator three times and the Ellbogen Meritorious Education Award She was nominated for Disney Teacher of the Year and was twice nominated for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. prgtoken Children across Wyoming and the Nation benefited from her involvement with the National Education Association, National Center of Innovation Conference, Wyoming Reading
Infant Formula Shortage (Executive Session)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2022-5-24

the hardest job in America during the pandemic certainly fell on the shoulders of our healthcare heroes. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the sacrifice and integrity they showed during this challenge. prgtoken But I want to add another category and that would be the category of parents, particularly of newborn infants during the pandemic. They have dealt with school closures and COVID lockdowns, rising prices at the checkout counter, and for parents with kids under the age of 5, the wait for COVID vaccine has been excruciating. prgtoken Now parents throughout the country are facing another burden--of all things--the availability and cost of infant formula. Since the beginning of this year, the supply of infant formula in America has been reduced by nearly half--half. The obvious question is, Why? prgtoken In February, the Food and Drug Administration discovered that Abbott's Michigan factory, which produces Similac, a well-known infant formula to many parents, may have been the source of a bacteria outbreak. That outbreak sent four infants to the hospital. Tragically, it claimed the lives of two. As a result, the factory in Michigan was shut down. prgtoken That shutdown and larger supply chain issues has caused a shortage and caused panic among many families. At this very moment, parents are frantically scouring the internet for formula, driving for hours from store to store, and paying obscene prices to shady sellers exploiting this desperate situation. prgtoken Some of the parents in Illinois have written to me. One of them is Jennifer Sendeski from Deer Park, IL. Eight months ago, she gave birth to her son. In her words, it was a moment of ``sheer joy, love and excitement.'' Soon after she gave birth, Jennifer joined millions of other women in supplementing her son's diet with formula. prgtoken Jennifer wrote to me that ``in the last several months we have been fighting an uphill battle to find formula . . . what would have once cost . . . $13 for 12 [ounce] can of powdered formula now sells for $40 . . . if you can find it on the shelves.'' prgtoken Jennifer describes her struggle to find that formula as a ``nightmare.'' She is not alone. Another mother named Jennifer, who lives in Lake Zurich, IL, said the formula shortage is ``becoming dire,'' in her words. prgtoken Sadly, these moms are right. The shortage is dire. That is why I am grateful that the President has sprung into action trying to help these parents and families. Two days ago, the administration completed its first shipment of more than 75,000 pounds of imported formula as part of Operation Fly Formula, enough for more than half a million bottles. The second shipment is expected in a few days. prgtoken As these shipments reach American shores, President has also invoked the Defense Production Act, an authority he has under the law to ramp up domestic production. This could help to eliminate supply chain bottlenecks and c
The Republican Party (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2022-5-24

it has become clear over the last few months that too much of the Party has been taken over by MAGA s, who are now dominating the party and s in the Senate, moving the party away from things it has often stood for in the pest. prgtoken The contrast has become clear: , for instance, want to codify a woman's freedom to make decisions about her own body into Federal law, but MAGA s want to take away women's rights by pushing national abortion bans, jailing women and doctors for carrying out abortions, and even pushing bans with no exception for rape or incest. prgtoken In the wake of the Buffalo shooting, MAGA s continue embracing unhinged conspiracy theories like the ``great replacement,'' which has been a rallying cry for ultranationalists and White supremacists in Europe for years. prgtoken And all year long, while have been pushing solutions that will lower costs, MAGA s and the chair of the campaign arm openly support raising taxes on the poor and working families, while cheering on inflation as a ``gold mine.'' And those were Senator Scott's words, not mine. He called inflation a gold mine. Imagine. prgtoken MAGA s are showing Americans exactly who they are. In an amazing happening this weekend, the Conservative Political Action Conference, the largest conservative organization in America, held their conference in Hungary and welcomed one of Europe's most notorious proponents of ``replacement theory,'' Viktor Orban, as their keynote speaker. prgtoken Again, the Conservative Political Action Conference, a very important organization in the new MAGA party, had Viktor Orban as their keynote speaker, an autocrat, who has whittled away democracy in Hungary. prgtoken It is sickening--sickening--to see that 2 weeks after the shooting in Buffalo, s as prominent as and Tucker Carlson, spoke at the same event as one of Europe's most prominent White nationalists and authoritarians. It is a scary and otherworldly turn for one of America's two parties to take. prgtoken I know not all s embrace the views of MAGA s. I know many of them support women's rights and embrace diversity and reject conspiracies like ``White replacement.'' prgtoken I urge these s in the Senate and the country to repudiate the MAGA wing taking over the GOP. I invite the voters to support ic candidates as a protest against extremism so we as a nation can halt the dangerous rise of the hard right. prgtoken This week, all of us in the Senate will have a chance to take a stand against extremism by voting to begin debate on the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. prgtoken For the information of all, I will take the first procedural step on this legislation later today, and Members can expect to vote on Thursday on this bill that will crack down on domestic terrorism and ex
CLOTURE MOTION
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2022-5-24

13 kids dead in an elementary school in Texas right now. What are we doing? What are we doing? prgtoken Just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down African-American patrons, we have another Sandy Hook on our hands. What are we doing? prgtoken There have been more mass shootings than days in the year. Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in a classroom because they think they are going to be next. What are we doing? prgtoken Why do you spend all this time running for the U.S. Senate? Why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in a position of authority, if your answer is that, as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing? What are we doing? Why are you here if not to solve a problem as existential as this? prgtoken This isn't inevitable. These kids weren't unlucky. This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day. Nowhere else do parents have to talk to their kids, as I have had to do, about why they got locked in a bathroom and told to be quiet for 5 minutes just in case a bad man entered that building. Nowhere else does that happen except here in the United States of America, and it is a choice. It is our choice to let it continue. What are we doing? prgtoken In Sandy Hook Elementary School after those kids came back into those classrooms, they had to adopt a practice in which there would be a safe word that the kids would say if they started to get thoughts in their brain about what they saw that day, if they started to get nightmares during the day, reliving stepping over their classmates' bodies as they tried to flee the school. prgtoken In one classroom, that word was ``monkey.'' Over and over and over through the day, kids would stand up and yell ``monkey,'' and a teacher or a paraprofessional would have to go over to that kid, take them out of the classroom, talk to them about what they had seen, work them through their issues. prgtoken Sandy Hook will never ever be the same. This community in Texas will never ever be the same. prgtoken Why? Why are we here if not to try to make sure that fewer schools and fewer communities go through what Sandy Hook has gone through, what Uvalde is going through? Our hearts are breaking for these families. Every ounce of love and thoughts and prayers we can send, we are sending. But I am here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues: Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely. prgtoken I understand my colleagues will not agree to everything that I may support, but there is a common denominator that we can find. There is a place where we can achieve agreement. This may not guarantee that America never ever again sees a mass shooting. It may not overnight cut in
Nomination of Stephanie Dawkins Davis (Executive Session)
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2022-5-24

I rise today in strong support of Judge Stephanie Davis, who is nominated to serve on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. prgtoken Judge Davis has spent her entire career in Michigan, and we are better for it. Judge Davis began work in the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Michigan in 1997. During her time there, she served in the office's civil and criminal divisions. She prosecuted fraud, bank robbery, embezzlement, violent crime, public corruption, and criminal conspiracies involving drug trafficking, as well as money laundering. She oversaw community and law enforcement initiatives and led the office's diversity efforts. prgtoken In 2016, Judge Davis became a magistrate judge for the U.S. District for the Eastern District of Michigan. prgtoken In 2019, with the strong support of both Senator Peters and myself, Judge Davis was nominated by President to serve as U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Michigan. Her confirmation was bipartisan, and so was her support in committee for this Sixth Circuit nomination. prgtoken Judge Davis has done an outstanding job every place she has been serving the people of Michigan, and I have no doubt that she will continue her strong record of public service on the U.S. court of appeals. prgtoken I have had the opportunity to get to know Judge Davis, and it has really been a joy. She is not just an extremely accomplished jurist, she is also a wonderful person, and those qualities, no doubt, are needed more than ever these days. So it is with great confidence that I urge my colleagues to support this wonderful nomination. prgtoken , I would now ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 2:15 as is part of the schedule.
CLOTURE MOTION
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2022-5-24

yesterday, I was in Southern Maryland at the Thomas Johnson Bridge. This bridge was built in the 1970s. It connects St. Mary's County with Calvert County. There are critical facilities that are located in this region. I say that because prgtoken this is an evacuation route. We have Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. We have Pax River. We have the Cove Point LNG facilities. prgtoken When it was built, a few thousand cars traversed the bridge on a daily basis. Now over 30,000 cars trasverse this bridge. It is not safe. It is a two-lane bridge, and it needs to be replaced. Major accidents occur on a regular basis, causing incredible congestion, as well as risking people's health. prgtoken I was there at the invitation of Senator Van Hollen. He could not make it physically to be there, but he helped arrange for a congressional earmark to help advance the replacement of this bridge. prgtoken I say that because we need to deal with traffic safety in this country, and replacing unsafe bridges is just one part of that program. prgtoken The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2021 fatality report was just recently released, and the numbers are shocking. Nearly 43,000 people lost their lives on our highways in 2021. This is the highest number since 2005. We are moving in the wrong direction on traffic safety. It is the largest increase in fatalities since we have been keeping the records since 1975. prgtoken Pedestrians and bicyclists, nearly 7,500 lost their lives in 2021. And if you look at the deaths between 2010 and 2019, 53,435 people, pedestrians, were killed as a result of traffic accidents. The impact is disproportionate in communities of color. prgtoken In its report, Dangerous by Design, Smart Growth America found that ``older adults, people of color, and people walking in low-income communities are disproportionately represented in fatal crashes involving people walking--even after controlling for differences in population size and walking rates. The fatality rate in the lowest income neighborhoods was nearly twice that of the middle income census tracts . . . and almost three times that of higher-income neighborhoods.'' prgtoken If you have had a friend or a family member killed or injured by a roadway collision, then the issue of safety is a personal one. The reality of the situation, however, is that this is an issue that affects all of us. All safety incidents cause delays and congestion on our roads, and these delays are disruptive. They make us late to pick up our kids from daycare. We miss important meetings. Our levels of anxiety rise as we sit in traffic frustrated as our cars burn fuel in stop-and-go traffic, sending excess pollution into the air we breathe. All of this hurts our wallets, our health, and our sense of well-being. prgtoken With new data sources and analytical tools, the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology, ``the CATT Lab,'' at the University of Maryl
HONORING DR. MARIA ELOISA ALBAY DE PADUA AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH
Darren Soto (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2022-5-24

. Madam , Maria Eloisa Albay de Padua, MD, is the longest-serving physician in Central Florida Health Care, a non-profit federally qualified community health care center. prgtoken After finishing her education in the Philippines, Dr. de Padua immigrated to the United States of America and did her residency at the Children's Hospital of Buffalo. After learning about CFHC's mission to help migrant workers and the underserved 27 years ago, Dr. de Padua joined and never looked back. prgtoken Going into medicine to help the sick and the most vulnerable, Dr. de Padua considered CFHC the perfect place to realize her dreams. Initially, she worked as a pediatrician for the Frostproof, Wauchula, and Avon Park Community Health Centers. Then, as CFHC began growing, Dr. de Padua helped start several other facilities by being one of the first providers in the Dundee, Mulberry, Lakeland, and Winter Haven Community Health Centers. prgtoken As a pediatrician, Dr. de Padua treats sick children from birth to age 18. Her focus is on helping children stay healthy by ensuring they get their well checks and immunizations promptly. Having served the community for 27 years, Dr. de Padua now has former patients who are parents, bringing their children to see her as patients. prgtoken For Dr. de Padua, her greatest reward as a pediatrician is to see her patients grow from newborns to young students to college graduates who then move on to become contributing members of society.
IN RECOGNITION OF ARGO COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL
Marie Newman (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2022-5-24

. Madam , I rise today to honor the critical work by the Argo Community High School administration to promote equity in their school. Argo Community High School is making history by erecting a bronze sculpture honoring the life and work of Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till and a graduate of Argo Community High School. Mamie Till's brave decision to hold an open casket funeral following the brutal lynching of her son provided a spark for the civil rights movement and brought lynching to the forefront of social conversation. prgtoken Argo Community High School's efforts to implement this project will serve as a road map for other communities to infuse equity in education. Through collaboration with individuals such as Reverend Wheeler Parker and Ollie Gordon, Emmett Till's cousins, to design the sculpture, Argo Community High School has incorporated the surrounding community into their project. Additionally, students have been an integral part of the process, and are currently documenting stories of living Till family members as well as community members who knew Mamie and Emmett Till. I am proud of Argo Community High School's leadership to uplift our civil rights heroes as we educate the next generation of American leaders. prgtoken I commend the Argo Community High School administration for educating their students about our nation's history through the Mamie Till Memorial Sculpture. This sculpture will serve as a catalyst for immediate and continued education of students at Argo Community High School as well as members of the Argo-Summit community around the issues of social justice and civil rights. I thank Dr. William Toulios and Dr. Brandon Cotter for their leadership and am honored to have such outstanding educators in my district.
HONORING MR. CLAUDE BROWN OF THE UAW ON HIS 100TH BIRTHDAY
Elissa Slotkin (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2022-5-24

. Madam , I rise today to honor and celebrate the 100th birthday of a resolute union organizer who has devoted his life to social justice and advocacy, Mr. Claude Brown. prgtoken Claude was born on May 27, 1922, in the small town of Columbia, Tennessee. He faithfully served his country in the United States Army from 1943 until 1946. One decade later, on November 5, 1956, Claude began a new chapter of service when he was hired at The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) Local 652 in Lansing, Michigan. prgtoken Claude dedicated 31 years of his life to working at UAW Local 652, where he served as the first Civil Rights Committee Chairman. As Chairman, Claude played an essential role in advocating for historic legislation such as prgtoken Medicare, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Employee Retirement Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Claude dedicated his career to advocating for health care and pension benefits for retirees, policies to address the impacts of climate change, robust workplace health and safety standards, and better safety net protections like unemployment insurance laws. prgtoken Claude has set an inspirational precedent for his successors while also inspiring his colleagues, community, and all those who had the pleasure of knowing him. Today, I want to honor Claude for his service and commitment to the UAW, and to celebrate the longevity of his life and the immense impact he has had on the Lansing community over the past century. prgtoken May we honor Claude for his willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty to fight for fair wages, benefits, and better working conditions for workers in Michigan and across this great nation. May these words stand as an enduring tribute to his many years of dedicated service.