mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RECOGNIZING SHARON STARK FOR HER SERVICE AS DISTRICT DIRECTOR FOR THE 11TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Gerald E. Connolly (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Madam , I rise today to honor my dear friend and District Director, Sharon Stark, on her retirement after more than a decade of dedicated and faithful service to our community. prgtoken Mrs. Stark's strong work ethic started at a young age when she got her first job selling shoes at the age of 15. After college, she began her career as a bank teller and worked her way up to be a Vice President of Operations by the time she was 29. She then started a second career as Vice President of a Top 25 title company for residential and commercial real estate. prgtoken In 2005, Sharon was selected to be a member of Virginia's 11th Congressional District ic Committee where she served as the Treasurer for many years with our dear friend Chairman George Burke. Two years later, in 2007, she was named finance chair for George Barker's campaign for the Senate of Virginia. The success of the Barker campaign flipped control of the Senate and helped secure the majority. prgtoken Sharon has managed my Congressional district offices since 2009. Under her leadership, the office has established a stellar reputation for constituent services and community engagement. prgtoken It was during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent collapse of the housing market that Sharon demonstrated just how hard she was willing to fight for constituents. She put her considerable talent and expertise to work for our constituents. People came to our office at risk of being foreclosed upon, having their utilities turned off, not knowing where they would be sleeping the next night, and Sharon took up their cause. She fought with the banks, gave people hope where they saw none, and even went to the courthouse steps to prevent foreclosures. She saved people's homes and changed their lives for the better. prgtoken Since 2011, our offices have kept track of the financial assistance we have been able to secure for our constituents. This assistance includes helping constituents receive their refund from the IRS or benefits from the Veterans Administration, helping someone resolve their Social Security Disability Insurance claim, and other efforts that result in constituents receiving financial assistance owed to them. Over the past 9 years, Sharon and her team have helped our constituents obtain nearly $20 million in one-time or retroactive benefits plus $9 million per year in recurring benefits. prgtoken Sharon has organized countless events for the benefit of our constituents. She has established an Open Season event that brings together various health plan providers and industry experts to educate thousands of federal employees, retirees, survivor annuitants, and veterans on their health plan options for the coming year. Sharon spearheaded the annual Congressional Art Competition for VA-11 and has grown the event into something truly prgtoken memorable for the participants and their families. Students compete for more t
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2021-1-6

. . January 6, 2021, will forever mark a historic day for our Nation. Not simply because our beloved Capitol building--the very heart of our democracy--laid under siege. Not simply because rioters stormed the Senate and House floors, assaulting Capitol Police officers and leaving a wake of destruction along the way. Not simply because the President of the United States encouraged his supporters to commit these felonies--to march to the Capitol and ``to fight,'' in his words. No, today will also be remembered because of what happened before all of that. Today, over 100 Members of the House and a dozen Senators supported a ploy to deprive the States and the American people of their constitutional role to choose our next President--a ploy that amounts to nothing less than an assault on our Constitutional republic. prgtoken The President's obscene claim that the election was stolen from him, which he continued to spout even while his rioting supporters roamed the Halls of the Capitol today, has been disproven time and again. Every single Senator knows that Vice President won the election and did so decisively. Claims that President won reelection are not just fantasy; they are delusional. And citing voters' mistrust in the election results as grounds for this stunt is particularly disingenuous given that those concerns have been fueled by the President's own baseless conspiracy theories--not by the evidence, not by the facts, and not by State election administrators, both s and , who actually oversaw these elections and know what they are talking about. prgtoken President and his allies have now lost more than 60 cases in courts across the country, by judges of every political stripe, including those appointed by the President. The lopsidedness of these decisions has been extraordinary. It has been nothing less than a wholesale rejection of the President's claims. But this is not surprising. The President's own Attorney General said there is no evidence of widespread fraud. His own Department of Homeland Security described it as the ``most secure election in American history.'' prgtoken President serves no one but himself. He is not a custodian or guardian of our democracy. He is a man whose every decision is driven by his shallow self-interest. I did not expect him to be gracious in defeat. I expected him to throw tantrums. I am not even surprised that his rhetoric has incited violence, as it has today. That is who President is; we have all known that for some time. I am surprised and disappointed that so many Members of this body have let it get this far. After he incited rioters and criminal actions by a mob attacking America's symbol of democracy, our Capitol, what more will he do? He should just leave. He has damaged the country enough. prgtoken Our job today is simply to count the votes and to certify that won the election. Pretending
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT
Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2021-1-6

. . Today has been a dark day that will take a long time and a lot of work to overcome. It has been a day truly unworthy of our Nation. prgtoken I thank the U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Secret Service, the law enforcement officers from Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, the National Guard, and others who have protected this institution and the U.S. Congress today. prgtoken There will be time to say more about today's events, but I rise now to speak about the unprecedented actions today to attempt to undermine a fairly and properly conducted democratic election. prgtoken Under our system of government, States bear the primary responsibility for runninq elections and certifying election results, and that is exactly what we have seen--all 50 States and the District of Columbia have certified the results of the 2020 Presidential election. prgtoken The results of the election are clear: and won. prgtoken Challenging these electoral votes now is the height of hypocrisy for a party that prides itself on States' rights. prgtoken Even worse, today's actions are based on the faulty premise that this election was somehow tainted by widespread fraud, which is flat out wrong. prgtoken Protesting these votes today is a disservice to our constitutional order and the more than 81 million Americans who voted for and . prgtoken We must also recognize that today's actions could echo far beyond this election. Our democratic Republic has survived as a result of certain bedrock principles, including the peaceful transfer of power and the right of the people to elect their leaders. prgtoken For Congress to challenge the legitimacy of electoral votes because President is upset that he lost far exceeds our role as envisioned by our Founding Fathers. prgtoken These challenges threaten the very core of a functioning democracy-- that voters and votes matter. prgtoken If a State's electoral votes can be set aside by Congress based on conspiracy theories dreamed up by the President and his followers, the value of free and fair elections is damaged. prgtoken , those who feel they needed to protest today's results say they do so because of allegations of fraud. The problem is, those allegations all originate from President himself. prgtoken The Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud. Attorney General Barr himself said there were no irregularities that could have affected the outcome of the election. prgtoken Likewise, our courts--including the Supreme Court--have tossed out lawsuit after lawsuit filed by President and his allies, more than 60 in total. prgtoken I appreciate those s Senators who have stood up for democracy and against these baseless objections to the election results. prgtoken Senator Romney called it an ``egregious ploy.'' prgtoken Senator Toomey said, ``Allegations of fraud by a losing campaign cannot justify overtur
CHALLENGE TO THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Mr. Vice President, as prescribed by the Constitution and the laws of the Nation, the purpose of this joint session is for tellers, appointed on a bipartisan basis by the two Houses, to read to the Congress the results of an election that has already happened. We are here to receive an announcement of a vote that has already been certified by every State in the Union and confirmed by the courts many times--many times over. We are here to watch the current Vice President open envelopes and receive the news of a verdict that has already been rendered. It is a solemn and august occasion, no doubt, but it is a formality. prgtoken The Congress does not determine the outcome of elections; the people do. The Congress is not endowed with the power to administer elections; our States are given that power. prgtoken By the end of the proceedings today, there will be confirmed once again something that is well known and well settled: The American people elected and to be the next President and Vice President of the United States. Yet a number of our colleagues have organized an effort to undermine and object to that free and fair election. They are in the minority. They will lose; they know that. They have no evidence of widespread voter fraud upon which to base their objections. That is because there is none. There is none, not brought before any of the courts successfully. prgtoken They know that President and his allies have suffered a defeat in court after court across the country, losing no fewer than 62 legal challenges. And, I might add, many -appointed judges--some appointed by President --rendered those decisions. prgtoken They know--you all know--that and are going to be sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States on January 20, but they are going to object to the counting of the vote anyway, and in the process, they will embarrass themselves, they will embarrass their party, and worst of all, they will embarrass their country. prgtoken This insurrection was fortunately discouraged by the leadership of the majority party, but it was not quelled. prgtoken It is a very sad comment on our times that merely accepting the results of an election is considered an act of political courage. Sadder and more dangerous still is the fact that an element of the Party believes their political viability hinges on the endorsement of an attempted coup, that anyone--much less an elected official--would be willing to tarnish our democracy in order to burnish their personal political fortunes. prgtoken Over the course of the afternoon and however far into the evening this band of Republic objectors wants to take us, Senators of good will from both sides of the aisle will explain why these challenges must be dismissed. The Senators from States whose electoral votes are being challenged will explain how the allegations of fraud are baseles
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT
Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2021-1-6

on January 3, I, along with 31 of my colleagues, stood in this Chamber and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. It is both ironic and deeply disappointing that only 3 days after swearing these oaths, some of my colleagues are coming close to breaking this promise. prgtoken Since 1797, each U.S. President has peacefully handed over power to the next, and that will happen again on January 20, when , despite the protesters today, the violence today--when leaves the White House at noon and becomes President. prgtoken We have heard tonight from both and s about the importance of the voters speaking in the election and about the fact that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. But this is not just an issue for us here in the United States; this is an issue for nascent democracies around the world, which, as Senator Romney said, look to the United States as an example. We are the shining city on the hill. We give those struggling under oppression hope for a better future. prgtoken Now, like so many of us in this Chamber, I have traveled to developing democracies around the world--to Afghanistan and Iraq, to the Western Balkans, to Africa, to the country of Georgia. I went there with my colleague Senator Risch. prgtoken In 2012, we went to Georgia to observe officially, on behalf of the Senate, the election between outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili and his United National Movement Party and the challenge by Georgian Dream, which was a newly formed party supported and funded by billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. It was a battle for Parliament, but also for control of the government. prgtoken Senator Risch and I visited multiple polling places on election day, and we agreed with the international assessment that that election was free and fair and that Georgian Dream were the winners. prgtoken But there was real concern in the country that Saakashvili was going to refuse to give up power--that that would lead to violence, and it would end the nascent democratic reforms that were happening in that former Soviet Republic. prgtoken So Senator Risch and I, the day after the election, went to visit President Saakashvili to try and talk him out of staying in power. I remember very clearly going to his home, and we sat down with him, and we pointed out that the hallmark of a democracy--what he had worked so hard for in his 8 years as President of Georgia--the hallmark of that was to turn over power in a peaceful election to the person the voters chose. Well, President Saakashvili listened to us, and he did leave office peacefully. prgtoken But it is important that future generations recognize that America-- like democracies everywhere--depends on a peaceful transition of power, on believing in what the voters say, and ensuring that happens. prgtoken Unfortunately, we have heard from some Senators today who
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Mr. Vice President, in March of 1861, a Springfield lawyer caught a train to Washington. His name was Abraham Lincoln. It wasn't his first trip there. He served as Congressman 15 years before and returned in the beginning of the Civil War to serve as President. prgtoken It was a different place than he knew as a Congressman. In 15 years, it had changed a lot. The Sprigg's boarding house across the street, which is now the Library of Congress, was gone. And this building was changing--big changes. They were building a dome on the Capitol. But they were also in the earliest days of war, and President Lincoln was counseled: Stop building the dome. It costs too much money. We can't spend any more time on it. prgtoken And he said: No. We are going to build that dome, and we are going to finish it. That dome and this building will be a symbol of this country that will survive this Civil War and come back strong. prgtoken So they built the dome. They won the war. And since those days, that dome and this building have been a symbol to this country, a symbol of unity and of hope. prgtoken Tours come through here--before COVID-19--by the tens of thousands. If you have ever noticed their tours, they are often shushed. People are saying: Show some respect for this building. prgtoken We know this building and the Rotunda as a place where some of the greatest American heroes of both political parties lie in state, and we go there to honor them. We know this building because we work here. We enact laws here that change America. We gather for State of the Union messages from Presidents and honor the people in the gallery. prgtoken This is a special place. This is a sacred place. But this sacred place was desecrated by a mob today, on our watch. This temple to democracy was defiled by thugs who roamed the halls and sat in that chair, Mr. Vice President, the one that you vacated at 2:15 this afternoon--sat and posed for pictures, those who were roaming around in this Chamber. prgtoken What brought this on? Did this mob spring spontaneously from America? No. This mob was invited to come to Washington on this day, by this President, for one reason: because he knew the electoral college vote was going to be counted this day. He wanted this mob to disrupt the constitutional process which we are part of. This mob was inspired by a President who cannot accept defeat. prgtoken If you wonder whether I am going too far in what I say, just read the transcript with the secretary of state from Georgia and listen to this President's wild conspiracy theories, one after the other, swatted down by that -elected official and his attorney as having no basis in fact. This President begs, he coaxes, he even threatens that secretary of state to find the votes he needs. In any other venue, that would be a simple, obvious crime. prgtoken The lengths he will go to are obvious. The Texas Senator says to us: Well, many people still agree with him
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2021-1-6

. Mr. Vice President, I know that this room is full of leaders of both parties who love this country, and many believe that for America to succeed, our politics must find common ground. That has never been clearer than today, when armed rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, emboldened by President 's false and inflammatory rhetoric about the 2020 elections. prgtoken I believe that we, in this Chamber, have a special duty as leaders to work together to lower the temperature of our politics, and I hope that my colleagues, who have questioned the legitimacy of this election in Arizona and all of these other States, now see the dire and dangerous consequences of sowing doubt and uncertainty. prgtoken I also know that, as U.S. Senators, we all take solemnly the oath we swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. At this moment in history, I can think of nothing more patriotic than renewing our faith in the Charters of Freedom that our Founding Fathers crafted for our Republic, starting with the fundamental American principle in our Declaration of Independence that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. prgtoken The people have spoken in this election, and our only job here today is to do what they ask. It is not to argue election security. That is not the place for what we are doing today. prgtoken Our Constitution specifically reserves to the people the right to meet in their respective States and vote for the President and Vice President. As a result, individual States oversee and implement the election process, not the Federal Government. prgtoken To guard against fraud or irregularities in the voting process, the States are required to have robust election security measures. Likewise, State legislatures have the opportunity to examine evidence of voter fraud before they certify their electoral college votes. And our courts--from district courts to the United States Supreme Court-- adjudicate legal challenges and election disputes. All of those things happened after the 2020 election. prgtoken Statehouses and courts across the country took allegations of voter fraud seriously and followed the constitutional process to hear challenges to this year's election. No State found evidence of any widespread voter fraud and neither did any court ask to review the State's findings. prgtoken In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey; the ic secretary of state, Katie Hobbs; the attorney general, Mark Brnovich; and the State supreme court chief justice, Robert Brutinel all certified the results of the election on November 30. prgtoken And we know--we have heard--Arizonans have been voting by mail for almost 30 years, and Governor Ducey has expressed confidence in the State's process numerous times. In November, he said: We do elections well here in Arizona. The system is strong, and that is why I have
OBJECTION TO COUNTING OF PENNSYLVANIA ELECTORAL VOTES
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2021-1-6

with just a few minutes to speak, I am going to get right to the point. prgtoken Gunfire in the halls here, IEDs on the Capitol grounds--I will say to my colleagues, with the domestic terrorists roaming the halls just a few hours ago, I have been stunned that this debate is actually going forward, and that is because, colleagues, this is a fake debate on electoral certifications; that is because it lends credibility to the bogus idea that the Congress can actually toss out the results of the election, and, as we saw today, it serves to fuel insurrection. prgtoken Contrary to what some of my ``aye'' voting colleagues believe by votes cast just a few minutes ago, this debate has never been about setting up some kind of routine election tribunal. This isn't about election security. If the Republic majority for the last 2 years had actually been interested in election security, they would not have worked relentlessly to block my legislation to secure our 2020 elections with hand-marked paper ballots and post-election security audits. prgtoken By the way, those are the kinds of approaches that are part of the Oregon system, where for 25 years we voted by mail. I am the Nation's first mail-in U.S. Senator. The second--and I see my colleagues from Maine and Alaska here because they are very fond of him, like I am-- Gordon Smith, a , was the second mail-in U.S. Senator in our country. That is because we do the job right. It is efficient. prgtoken Our late- secretary of state, Dennis Richardson, actually told President there was no evidence of fraud. prgtoken So if s had been interested over the last 2 years in actually working with me and colleagues on both sides of the aisle and secretaries of state, we could have had an approach that would have empowered the Oregon idea to go national. Instead, we are now debating tonight the idea of--a discussion grounded in total fiction, brewed in cauldrons of conspiracies online. These, colleagues, are fever dreams-- fever dreams laundered by people with election certificates and real power. And I will tell you, it has been painful to watch colleagues sidle up to some of those conspiracies that would inflict so much damage on the American experiment. prgtoken Colleagues, I am going to close with one last point. We saw today an effort by domestic terrorists to try to punch our democracy to the ground, to the ropes. I am going to close by simply saying something that hadn't been said tonight, and that is that can do enormous damage to our country in the next 2 weeks. In the next 2 weeks, colleagues, can do enormous damage to our wonderful country. prgtoken This afternoon--I don't know if my colleagues saw it--the National Association of Manufacturers--an organization with thousands of businesses, thousands of companies, and not exactly a leftwing outfit-- they called for moving forward with the 25th Amendment