mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
EXPRESSING STRONG OPPOSITION TO D.C.'S ASSISTED SUICIDE PROGRAM
Andy Harris (Republican, MD) \u2014 2017-2-6

I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for yielding to me. prgtoken The gentleman just brought up an interesting point. It is true that in the Netherlands, when they reviewed their experience, they found that just legalizing physician-assisted suicide actually increases the amount of nonphysician-assisted suicide. It sends the wrong message. It absolutely sends the wrong message. prgtoken I want to thank the good doctor from Ohio for introducing this bill because certainly the Nation's Capital is one where we should be very careful since the Constitution has entrusted us with approving or disapproving the laws in the Nation's Capital. It behooves Congress to take a good look at a law like this, the so-called Death with Dignity Act. Now, that is striking because most people don't associate suicide with dignity in any way, shape, or form, and for good reason. But I will get to that. prgtoken There are a lot of myths associated with the bill. First of all, assisted suicide somehow offers patients more choices. It actually doesn't. What it does is it actually sends a very strong message that regardless of the many types of disease you might have and the many types of treatment that may be available, there is one final, common pathway that the State--in this case, the District--would now say is perfectly acceptable. In fact, it is not only perfectly acceptable, it is legal to actually go to a physician and ask them to participate in your suicide. That doesn't lead to more choice; that ultimately leads to less choice. prgtoken But the use of the word ``dignity'' is striking to me because the number one group of individuals, if we would collectively look at how we would describe those individuals to whom this applies, really, are individuals with some kind of disability, perhaps with a disease or disability that, according to the law, two physicians would just have to agree, knowing how imperfect the idea to predict lifespan is, that those could result in death in 6 months. Associating that kind of problem with the ultimate outcome of death by suicide I think removes dignity. It doesn't add dignity to anyone's life. prgtoken Worse than that, what we have done now and what we have seen in terms of the functional reduction of choice is that, according to many of the new payment systems for health care in this country, you actually align the incentives of the patient's health care from top to bottom. prgtoken What do I mean by that? prgtoken Now over half the physicians in the country no longer work for themselves; they are employed by entities. Frequently, these entities share the same financial risk as the physicians in terms of their being driven to save money. That is it. There are numerous incentives to save money within the law. If you don't believe me, go back and read the Medicare rules and regulations. prgtoken In fact, it should be noted that in the Netherlands, where assisted suicide has been legal
EMAIL PRIVACY ACT
Kevin Yoder (Republican, KS) \u2014 2017-2-6

such time as I may consume. prgtoken Thank you for this opportunity to have this very important debate on a critical piece of legislation that has been a long time in the coming. I thank the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Representative Goodlatte, and Ranking Member Conyers for their work and leadership in shepherding this bill through the process and getting us to this moment on the floor today Mr. Polis, for cosponsoring this legislation and working so tirelessly over the past few years. prgtoken I think we originally introduced this bill back in 2013, and it takes a while sometimes for a good idea to reach this point in Congress, Mr and this is an idea whose time has come. So I rise today to support these long overdue, bipartisan ideas in this legislation that will bring our digital privacy laws into the 21st century. prgtoken , the year was 1986. We can all try to think back where we were in 1986. I am sure Kentucky had a good basketball team back then. I know Kansas did. I was 10 years old, hoping to get a new Nintendo game console for Christmas so I could play Super Mario Brothers. You could buy a ticket to see Top Gun for $2.75. In the tech world, 1986 marked the debut of the first laptop computer. It was 12 pounds. A mobile phone was the size of a small pet. prgtoken , it was also the year in which Congress passed the Electronic Communication Privacy Act. Now, this law, at the time, there were only 10 million email users worldwide. Most of us probably didn't have email at that time. Most Americans didn't for sure. Now, today, 232 million Americans send an email at least once per month. The first text message wouldn't be sent for another 6 years, and now Americans send more than a billion texts each year. prgtoken , the times and technologies have changed, but the laws have not kept pace. Federal laws regarding how we treat and protect the privacy of digital communications have been unchanged since 1986 and, because of it, our digital content is not afforded the same Fourth Amendment protections as our paper documents on our desks in our home. prgtoken Now, the Fourth Amendment protects the ``right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures.'' Yet when it comes to what is on Americans' cell phones, their home computers, what might be in the cloud, or on their business computer, whatever it is, our laws allow Federal agencies like the IRS, the SEC, or law enforcement to kick down their virtual doors and search an innocent American's private communications and data storage without a warrant, without probable cause or any type of due process. prgtoken Now, many Americans take great precautions to protect and store their digital communications on services prgtoken like Dropbox, for example, or an iCloud. Yet our Federal laws perversely treat that data storage as if somehow that data has
Russia (Executive Calendar)
Richard C. Shelby (Republican, AL) \u2014 2017-2-6

I rise in support of the nomination of my colleague and friend Jeff Sessions to be the Attorney General of the United States. prgtoken Why? We have had this debate. It has gone on a long time, and we have heard from a lot of proponents and opponents of Jeff Sessions. Who would know Jeff Sessions better maybe than I would? I have worked with Jeff Sessions since he came to the Senate 20 years ago. Between us we have been here 50 years, 30 years for me, 20 years for him. Our staffs worked day and night on issues that have affected our State and affected the Nation. prgtoken I first really got to know Jeff Sessions when he was the Attorney General of Alabama. He had been the U.S. attorney. He was pretty well known, but I didn't know him. We didn't really know each other until he became the Attorney General. prgtoken I urged him to run for the U.S. Senate. I thought he could win, but I thought not just that he could win but that he could bring something to this body. I thought he would be a good colleague, he would be a good Senator for the State of Alabama and for the United States of America, and he has been. prgtoken When you deal with people day after day--remember, we all know each other as colleagues here. There are just 100 of us. It sounds like a lot of people, but it is not. When we interact on committees, when we deal with each other, when our families are thrown together, we talk, we debate, we maybe even fight a little bit at times over issues. We get to really know somebody. prgtoken I know Jeff Sessions pretty well. I believe he is competent as a lawyer, he was a good lawyer, he was a good prosecutor, and he served our State as Attorney General. He has been active on the Judiciary Committee where he has chaired a subcommittee. He has been active on the Budget Committee. He has been active on the Armed Services Committee. He has been active right here in the Senate--our Senate--on the Environment and Public Works Committee, and he is well respected. prgtoken What kind of Attorney General do we want? We want somebody who is competent, somebody with integrity--integrity above everything. That is what counts in this job. This is a very, very important job. These are big shoes. Jeff Sessions can fill those shoes, and I am happy and proud to be here and to vote for him tonight. I wish my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would join us. prgtoken .
SECURITY AND GENEROSITY: ON BEING AMERICA
Jeff Fortenberry (Republican, NE) \u2014 2017-2-6

. Madam , if the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke) would mind lingering in the Chamber for just a moment, I want to make a couple of comments on what he said. Because he began his talk with a commemoration of some extraordinary Americans, World War II veterans. And as I was waiting my turn to speak, I couldn't help but reflect upon perhaps one of the most extraordinary opportunities that I have been given as a Member of the House of Representatives. prgtoken A bipartisan delegation went to the 70th anniversary of the D-day invasion. President , of course, spoke, and dignitaries from around the world, including the Queen of England, also made an appearance. prgtoken When we got to the cemetery area at Omaha Beach, we were meeting veterans who had fought there or in the vicinity. One of the first gentlemen I met, he had only a thumb, and he was sitting in a wheelchair. And I just asked him, because it was such a celebratory atmosphere and everyone was so engaged by the heroism of these men and the opportunity to be back so many years later--I just asked him: Did that happen here? prgtoken He said: Yeah, right over there on the beach. prgtoken Well, his daughter was with him, and she told me a moment later: Actually, what happened was we think that he was shot on the hip and one of his grenades began to go off and he was throwing it away from himself. prgtoken I looked at him and I said: How are you here? prgtoken And he said: I don't know. prgtoken Another man had been a part of the paratroopers who dropped in behind enemy lines the night before near the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, and I will come to that town in a moment. And I asked him: What was your assignment? prgtoken He said: Hill 60, or some number. prgtoken And I said: Where is that? prgtoken He said: Right over there. He said: Guard the bridge at La Fiere. prgtoken I said: That is the bridge at La Fiere. prgtoken An old Norman-style, arched stone bridge, maybe a car-length wide, obviously just one lane to get a horse and cart over. prgtoken He said: Do not let the Germans cross that bridge, that was our assignment, and we held them. prgtoken Another man looked at me and said: I haven't been here in 70 years. A much better reception this time. prgtoken This great humor, this depth of character that these extraordinary men showed was so evident that day. prgtoken To continue the story a little bit more, Captain Luther Sextan Fortenberry, my grandfather, left his family in August of 1944. He was a medical doctor and was initially at a hospital in England. The records are a little bit unclear; but, in November of '44, he was killed, and he left his 8-year-old son--my father--behind. He was initially buried at Sainte-Mere-Eglise, at the cemetery there. He was reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery. prgtoken One of the guides that we had during that trip was a former British military officer, and he had a complete command of the details of the battle. In fact, I
HONORING STAN JONES
Luke Messer (Republican, IN) \u2014 2017-2-6

I rise today to honor a dear friend of mine--a policy leader who dedicated his life to providing better educational opportunities for Hoosier kids. His work spanned decades. I am speaking of Indiana's own, Stan Jones. Most recently, Stan founded Complete College America in order to build a network of states committed to substantially increasing the number of Americans with a postsecondary credential. Earlier in his career, Stan was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives at age 24. As a member of both the House Education and State Budget committees, he developed expertise in higher education and higher-education finance. All told, Stan served 16 years in the Indiana state legislature and more than five years as a senior advisor to Governor Evan Bayh. His service as Indiana commissioner for higher education spanned 12 years and the tenure of four different governors from both political parties. As commissioner, he was credited as a primary architect of several landmark education policy initiatives in Indiana. These initiatives included the 21st Century Scholars program, an early promise scholarship program aimed at increasing the number of low- income students attending and completing a postsecondary education; the development of Indiana's new community college system; the creation of Indiana's Education Roundtable; and the implementation of Core 40, a college prep curriculum that has contributed to a significant increase in high school seniors going to college. Stan was also instrumental in the high school drop-out reform legislation that I authored as a state legislator a decade ago. Those reforms helped drive Indiana's extraordinary progress with its statewide graduation rate improving to nearly 90 percent--an almost 20 percent increase from a decade before. It is no exaggeration to say those reform ideas were hatched over cheeseburgers and fries at Loughmiller's Pub & Eatery right across from the Indiana State Capitol. Truth be told, Stan had the ideas, and I simply worked to implement them. Another great Hoosier, former champion UCLA basketball head coach John Wooden once said, ``it's amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets credit.'' At his very core, Stan Jones exemplified that ideal. You will be missed, my friend.
ARMY RECOGNITION FOR ARKANSAS CONGRESSMAN STEVE WOMACK
J. French Hill (Republican, AR) \u2014 2017-2-6

I rise today to honor the achievement of a true Arkansas leader, my colleague and friend, Representative Steve Womack. prgtoken Early this year, Steve was awarded the Department of the Army's Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service, which is the highest award the Secretary of the Army may bestow upon a civilian. prgtoken Before being elected Representative for Arkansas' Third Congressional District, Steve dedicated most of his adult life to the Arkansas Army National Guard where he retired as a colonel after 30 years of service. prgtoken He has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Legion of Merit. His example is one all Americans and Arkansans can admire, and I treasure our work together here in the 115th Congress representing our State of Arkansas.
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR--Continued
Tom Cotton (Republican, AR) \u2014 2017-2-6

I have to admit that this is a bittersweet moment for me. I come here tonight to express my support for Jeff Sessions' nomination to be the next Attorney General of the United States. It is a high honor, and the nominee is more than worthy. The truth is, I will be sad to see him go. prgtoken In all the time I have known Senator Sessions, I have found him to be a consummate gentleman. We actually met before I entered the Senate. It was 2013. I was serving in the House of Representatives--a first-term Congressman. Senator Sessions, of course, was my elder in both age and rank. Yet he reached out to me humbly to discuss a hot topic-- immigration. Back then, there was an effort afoot to force through Congress a massive immigration bill the American people clearly did not want. So the two of us worked together to stop it, and I am glad to say we were successful. prgtoken I took away more from that experience than an appreciation of the Senator's legislative skills. I got a sense of his character: how he saw the world, what he believed, and why. If I had to sum it up, I would say this is a man who loves the law--who has spent decades doing all he could. prgtoken Senator Sessions knows the law shouldn't be the spider's web of old, which catches the weak but cannot constrain the mighty. It is supposed to uphold the entire community so all Americans can thrive. What we have is a legal system that at its best strives to be a justice system. prgtoken I think if you look at Senator Sessions' career, you can see the same qualities represented by the balance, the blindfold, and the sword of Lady Justice. First, like the balance, he has a judicious mind--honed over his 12 years as a U.S. attorney and his 2 years as attorney general of the State of Alabama. He evaluates the evidence carefully and comes to a well-considered prgtoken conclusion. I would argue it is this very approach that led him to advocate for an immigration system that works for working Americans. I have every confidence, as our top law enforcement officer, he will keep the interests of American citizens uppermost in his mind. prgtoken Second, like the blindfold, he is impartial and fair-minded. I think of the fair sentencing law he passed, with bipartisan support, to bring harsh penalties that fell disproportionately on African Americans more in line with the kinds of penalties that fell on other criminals. I also think of his work on behalf of a more equitable distribution of funding for HIV-AIDS patients. Just as Senator Sessions strove to represent the interests of all Alabamians, I think Attorney General Sessions will strive to uphold the rights of all Americans. prgtoken Third, like the sword, Senator Sessions believes in swift and strong enforcement. Perhaps the best argument for his candidacy is the extensive list of endorsements he has received: the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, and the list goes on. I w
HONORING JIM BOEHEIM'S COACHING CAREER
John Katko (Republican, NY) \u2014 2017-2-6

I rise to congratulate Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim upon the occasion of his 1,000th win this past Saturday over the mighty Virginia Cavaliers. prgtoken Coach Boeheim has dedicated over 40 years of his life to Syracuse University, and he and his wife, Juli, are known locally for their outstanding generosity and philanthropy. prgtoken While central New York happily celebrated Coach Boeheim's 1,000th win this past weekend, the occasion was not recognized by the NCAA due to arbitrarily harsh sanctions that followed an 8-year investigation that eliminated scholarship opportunities for students and that vacated Coach Boeheim of 108 wins. prgtoken While we cannot stand for impropriety in collegiate athletics, we must have transparency, consistency, and fairness from the NCAA--an organization that is charged with promoting higher education opportunities and protecting the welfare of students. That is why I have and will continue to champion bipartisan legislation in the House to reform the NCAA and bring accountability and due process to this organization. There is no denying that Jim Boeheim was the coach for 1,000 basketball wins at Syracuse University, and the NCAA should recognize that fact. prgtoken Our community celebrates and congratulates Coach Boeheim for this tremendous achievement, and it is my high honor to recognize him here today. prgtoken Congratulations, Coach--and Go Orange.
EXPRESSING STRONG OPPOSITION TO D.C.'S ASSISTED SUICIDE PROGRAM
Vicky Hartzler (Republican, MO) \u2014 2017-2-6

. Thank you very much, Representative Rothfus. I appreciate so much your leadership on this issue, as well as Dr. Wenstrup, bringing this very, very necessary bill to the floor. Time is of the essence, and literally lives are at stake. Sometimes you hear that discussed here, well, this bill is going to impact life. This one truly does. This is a life-or-death matter with just a time limit. prgtoken The way that this works is that the Constitution gives Congress authority over the District of Columbia. While they can have their own council and they can make laws, we have ultimate oversight as elected Representatives of this country over what happens here. When they pass a bill here allowing death to occur by physician-assisted suicide, we have the opportunity and we have the obligation to step in and to say no. prgtoken As Representative Rothfus said, this is the people's town. This is representative of our entire country here, and this does not represent what we stand for, that if someone has an awful diagnosis that they are encouraged and enabled to be able to take their own life without any-- any--oversight in this. prgtoken We have got to reject this. That is why we are here tonight. prgtoken The statistics are staggering. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death across the spectrum of ages, and the death toll is, sadly, on the rise. Nearly 43,000 individuals took their own life in 2014. Now, that is a heart-wrenching number of people desperate and seemingly without hope and whose solution to traumatic life situations, clinical depression, or mental disorders was to take their own life. prgtoken But another, more sinister layer to this suicide crisis in America arises when agents of healing become distributors of lethal dosages. Five States now and the District of Columbia have legalized physician- assisted suicide. prgtoken The taking of human life is a criminal act in nearly every State and throughout the Federal Code; yet a few regions of the country, sadly, have embraced the tragic idea that it is better to prescribe death than to provide life-sustaining care, and they are tasking the medical profession, those sworn to provide and take care of people--they have tasked them with carrying out this ghastly deed. prgtoken So you go to your doctor on one hand when you have an illness or your child is sick and you are asking and expecting the doctor to be looking out for your best interests and to prescribe medicine to help you get better, and then the next day you are tasking that same physician--you are supposed to go back and ask them to kill your relative and prescribe death medicine? This is wrong. prgtoken But here is another sobering fact: legalizing physician-assisted suicide can lead to an increase in overall suicide rates. That was just what was shared by Representative Hice, what has exactly happened in Oregon, with an over 40 percent higher rate of suicide there than in other places. So if you are con
Nomination of Jeff Sessions (Executive Calendar)
Tim Scott (Republican, SC) \u2014 2017-2-6

as we close this debate on Betsy DeVos, this debate should really be about public prgtoken education. I support public education. Education is the closest thing to magic in America. Let me say again that again. Education is the closest thing to magic in America. I experienced that magic. prgtoken As a kid growing up in a single-parent household, mired in poverty, disillusioned about life, I nearly flunked out as a freshman. I thank God for public education. But far too many kids--too many millions of kids today--do not have a quality educational choice in their communities. And what does that mean? There is a high correlation between incarceration, high unemployment, and lower lifetime incomes for those students who do not have quality public education. prgtoken This Nation--the greatest Nation on Earth--has afforded a kid who almost dropped out of high school to become a U.S. Senator. Why? Because I found a path that included public education, and quality public education. prgtoken So what does it look like in some of our cities? Let me give my colleagues an example from Detroit. Only 9 percent of African-American kids meet standards for English. Thirteen percent of White kids meet standards or exceed standards in English, and 12.5 percent of Hispanic kids meet or exceed standards in English in Detroit. We need to make sure that every child in every ZIP Code has a quality choice. prgtoken The Secretary of Education cannot--cannot--privatize education. That would take an act of Congress. prgtoken So, yes, we should have a passionate debate about education, and yes, we should make sure--make sure--that the focus of that debate is on the kid.