mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
TRIBUTE TO LAURIE BONER
Cynthia M. Lummis (Republican, WY) \u2014 2024-7-29

with the August work period just around the corner, preparations are being made and events are being scheduled for several weeks back home in Wyoming. The Cowboy State is truly wonderful all 12 months of the year, but August brings a lot of opportunities for outdoor activities, family gatherings, and one of my favorite events of the year: the Wyoming State Fair. prgtoken For more than 120 years, the Wyoming State Fair has taken place in Douglas and has been the perfect place to take in a rodeo, play carnival games, eat some terrific fair food, and celebrate Wyoming agriculture. As a lifelong rancher, the Wyoming State Fair has always held a special place in my heart. It is a place to welcome and witness the next generation of ranchers and to honor those who have made so much of a difference to agriculture in Wyoming with an induction into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. prgtoken Today, I have the distinct honor to welcome Laurie Boner of Glenrock, WY, to the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. prgtoken In every walk of life, the Hall of Fame is synonymous with excellence. Not only in ones profession, but also in their character. It is traditionally a place reserved for those who have made significant contributions to ensure growth in their industry and who have left a lasting impact for future generations to look up to. Laurie personifies all of these attributes, and being inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame is a fitting and well-deserved honor and recognition for her. prgtoken It did not take long for Laurie to begin showing an interest in agriculture. At a young age, she would spend time with her grandparents who raised sheep and cattle and grew up with quarter horses, which were raised and trained by her mother. The influence and knowledge they shared ultimately sparked an interest in Laurie's heart which has since developed into a passion for ranching and agriculture in addition to her love for Wyoming. prgtoken This passion soon transitioned into a career. After her graduation from the University of Wyoming, Laurie spent more than 15 years working for the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, where she was able to use her knowledge and expertise to guide Federal and State agriculture policies in Wyoming. Laurie, however, felt she had more to offer and so much more she could do. prgtoken This led her to join numerous associations to help advocate for Wyoming's ranching and agriculture industries. She has served on the Wyoming Quarter Horse Association (WQHA), Wyoming Wool Growers Association (WWGA), Converse County Stock Growers, the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust Board, the Wyoming State Fair Board, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA), and was appointed by the Governor to the Wyoming Livestock Board (WLSB), where she served for 6 years. During her busy career, she still found the time to start up LB Designs, a business specializing in website design and print-re
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2024-7-29

. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven), the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Ricketts), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Scott), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance). prgtoken Further, if present and voting: the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven) would have voted ``yea.''
NATIONAL FOSSIL ACT
Kevin Cramer (Republican, ND) \u2014 2024-7-29

thank you to my friend and colleague Mr. Merkley for yielding a few seconds early in the evening. prgtoken It is my honor to recognize a remarkable milestone in the Fargo, ND, and Moorhead, MN, area. For 60 years, Rick Electric, Inc has been a shining example of hard work, dedication, and innovation in the Fargo- Moorhead area. prgtoken Founded by David and Beverly Rick in 1964, this family-owned business has been a fixture in Fargo-Moorhead, providing topnotch electrical services and unwavering commitment to excellence. Their sons Gregory and Dennis took the helm in 1998, continuing the legacy of their parents with a passion for their craft and a deep-seated commitment to serving their communities and the region. prgtoken Rick Electric's involvement in the National Electric Contractors Association speaks volumes about the family's dedication to upholding the highest standards of safety and professionalism. Their contributions go beyond providing quality service, as they have been integral to the growth and prosperity of the Fargo-Moorhead area and the surrounding region. prgtoken As they celebrate this anniversary, I speak on behalf of all North Dakotans in recognizing Rick Electric for 60 years of outstanding service, leadership, and community involvement. The impact they have had on our region cannot be overstated, and I am honored to congratulate them on this remarkable achievement. prgtoken Here is to Rick Electric and to many more years of success and prosperity. Thank you for all you have done over these past 60 years. Congratulations and happy birthday. prgtoken .
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
John Boozman (Republican, AR) \u2014 2024-7-29

I rise today to applaud the efforts of the young people who supported the State of Arkansas as summer interns in my Washington, DC, and State offices. prgtoken I appreciate their commitment and dedication to serving Arkansans and being an ambassador for our office. These talented students and recent graduates have grown professionally and personally through this unique experience. On a daily basis, they provided essential support to my staff including giving tours of the U.S. Capitol, as well as drafting communications materials and researching policy issues. They played a vital role in helping my team offer the best possible constituent service and meet needs throughout the place they call home. prgtoken I am proud to provide this opportunity to help instill a passion for public service and inspire future generations of Arkansas leaders. I am confident our congressional interns found this internship valuable and rewarding. prgtoken I would like to recognize the following interns for their hard work and service to Arkansans: Kate Edelen, Buddy Gaston, Hunter Ross, Alex Holder, Sydney Roulhac, Camryn Hughes, Anna Kate Davis, Katie Gage, Hadley Burke, Zach Ingle, Meredith Pinkston, Ella Brewer, Luisa Lawson, Henry Oltman, Hank Herzfeld, Elaine Shue and Joseph Osborne all served in the Washington, DC, office. Reese Mitchell, Taylor Hoover, Ella Hommel, Lexi Dilbeck, McCully Allen, Lauren Berry, Jacob Major, Kyla Clouthier and Josie Kelly served as interns for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Michelle Sutton served as legal clerk. Connor Ragan and Masheyat Rahman served in the Northwest Arkansas office. prgtoken I extend my deepest gratitude to each of them for their service and wish them the best in school and beyond, knowing their time spent representing the Natural State will serve them well in the future.
TRIBUTE TO GRACE STEENBERGEN
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2024-7-29

I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Grace for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. prgtoken Grace is a native of Pine Bluffs, WY. She attends Baylor University, where she studies political science. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. prgtoken I want to thank Grace for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.
Nomination of Michael Sfraga (Executive Session)
Lisa Murkowski (Republican, AK) \u2014 2024-7-29

it is Monday afternoon. We are back for what appears to be the last week of full session before we are due to go on an August recess. There is lots to do back home but clearly lots to do here in the Senate as well. prgtoken It looks that this week we are going to probably spend the end of the week wrapping up some of the nominations that are out there, and I want to speak to a nomination that I feel very, very strongly about and would hope that we will have an opportunity to weigh in as a Senate on, on a priority that I don't think enough of us as Americans think about: our role as an Arctic nation. prgtoken As we are processing nominations, I want to kind of move our attention to the top of the world, up in the Arctic. prgtoken We have a lot of hotspots in the world right now, and the last thing in the world that we need is for the Arctic to become one of those hotspots. Whether we want it to or not, whether we want to will it away or not, the Arctic is increasingly gaining attention by others for different reasons, and the fact that the United States doesn't have that diplomatic presence, if you will, is a disservice, I believe, to us as an Arctic nation. prgtoken So I have come to urge this body to take up the nomination of Dr. Mike Sfraga. Mike is an Alaskan, but he would be our Nation's first Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs. prgtoken We have not had a confirmed Ambassador at Large position. We have had a Special Representative to the Arctic, but when you send a ``Special Representative'' to some of these dialogues, to sit at tables with other countries' Ambassadors, there is a disparity there, and I think we have recognized the importance and the role of this Ambassador at Large position. prgtoken Dr. Sfraga was nominated in February of 2023. He was reported out of the Foreign Relations Committee this March, and it is time for us to take him up and confirm him. prgtoken And I get it. I mean, there is a lot going on. I mentioned hotspots around the world. You look at what is happening in Ukraine and in Israel and in Taiwan and in China and in North Korea, and you have everything that is happening domestically. Sometimes I think the Arctic is out of sight, out of mind for many, but it is important that we not lose sight of the consequential nature of the Arctic itself. Again, we use the phrase ``It is a cold place,'' but it is becoming its own hotspot. So what we can do, again, to assert not only our areas of oversight and overlay but also from the diplomatic perspective is something that I think is worthy of focusing on. prgtoken So why this time? Why this particular nominee? prgtoken First, we have incredible opportunities on the Arctic issues-- everything from resource development to tourism, to shipping, to infrastructure. You have the people who live and work and raise their families there. Thousands of American Alaskans live in the Arctic, and their interests deserve to be taken ser
Israel (Executive Session)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2024-7-29

I want to make sure that the record is clear and unequivocal. The Vice President of the United States, , met personally with Prime Minister Netanyahu. At that point, she said, with him and publicly, that our alliance with Israel is ``unwavering.'' That was her exact quote, despite what you might have heard to the contrary. prgtoken Then she went on to say she believed that Israel had the right to exist and the right to defend itself, but how it does it makes a difference. That is a significant statement because what she is suggesting is our alliance has to reflect our values as well as our commitment to Israel. prgtoken I don't believe that is a radical statement. I agree with that statement. And I believe that to suggest otherwise is to mischaracterize what the Vice President said. I think she speaks for America. I hope she does. She speaks for me when she says those words. I thought her meeting with Netanyahu was historic, important, timely, and repeated the basic principles that guide our two nations.
NATIONAL FOSSIL ACT
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2024-7-29

now I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 30; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that following the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Neumann nomination; further, that notwithstanding rule XXII, the order of July 25 with respect to the House message to accompany S. 2073 be modified so that at 12 noon, amendment No. 3022 be withdrawn and the Senate vote on the motion to concur in the House amendment to S. 2073 with amendment No. 3021 without further intervening action or debate; further, that following the disposition of the House message to accompany S. 2073, the Senate resume executive session and recess until 2:15 to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; that at 2:30 p.m the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Neumann nomination; further, that if cloture is invoked on the Neumann nomination, all time be considered expired at 4:15 p.m. and that if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024 (Executive Session)
Brian Schatz (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2024-7-29

after a long time of talking over the ways social media is harming kids and debating what to do about it, this week, the Senate is taking some action. prgtoken For years, kids have been swimming in a toxic stew of bullying and harassment, glorified violence, and constant false comparisons, and the results have been absolutely catastrophic--record rates of anxiety and depression, unimaginable levels of suicidal ideation and self-harm, an alarming epidemic of loneliness and low self-esteem. prgtoken These things are not a given. They did not just happen overnight. The fact that young children as young as 8 or 9 or 10 can feel so sad and so helpless that they think they would be better off not living at all--that is a uniquely modern malady inflicted by social media. prgtoken Sadness in kids is not new, but a pandemic of youth depression is new. The fact that it is a relatively recent phenomenon is also cause for us to have some hope. It does mean that this is fixable. This is not the way it is supposed to be. This is not the way it has always been. It means that if we choose to take some pretty commonsense steps, we can finally get kids the help they need, and commonsense steps are exactly what the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act are. prgtoken I am proud to cosponsor both bills, which will provide important tools to protect the safety and privacy of kids online. I want to thank Senators Blumenthal and Merkley for their early leadership on both these bills. prgtoken For the first time in the age of social media, Congress is taking meaningful action to confront the very worst of the internet's ills. It has been a long and difficult journey to get to this moment, not least because some in Big Tech have done everything in their power to protect profits over kids. So it is to the credit of everyone involved in these bills that we are here, overcoming stiff opposition and inertia, to finally enact something. prgtoken It is a good step, but we have to do a lot more because we have yet to address the fundamental question of, when is it appropriate for a child to be on social media? prgtoken We have more than enough data, more than enough lived experience, more than enough scientific expertise to know that social media is harming kids' brains, pushing them down rabbit holes, plunging them into deep and dark places. We know that even adults aren't equipped to process the dizzying amount of information available online at all times, and that is to say nothing of the hate and the vitriol and the abuse served up on an endless loop by coercive algorithms. prgtoken That begs the question--why is a 7-year-old or an 8-year-old on TikTok to begin with? Why are young boys and girls, instead of playing with their friends outside or learning an instrument, getting radicalized or starving themselves because of something they saw on Instagram? prgtoken The fact is, we need
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATIONS
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2024-7-29

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 prgtoken to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.
NATIONAL FOSSIL ACT
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2024-7-29

the Postal Service in the United States has always in the past been about great service. Their motto said all: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night shall stop these courageous couriers from swift completion of their prgtoken appointed rounds. That just rings with the ethic of good service. prgtoken But today the Postal Service is run by a man named Louis DeJoy. Louis DeJoy is the Postmaster General, and I am sorry to report that there is no joy in DeJoy-ville. prgtoken Smalltown America relies on the U.S. Postal Service. In the Postal Service's own words, it ``operates as a basic and fundamental service provided by the Government of the United States to the American people.'' prgtoken It continues: Our basic mission is to provide prompt, reliable, efficient mail and packaging service to all Americans, regardless of where they live and at affordable rates. prgtoken So one can understand, then, why so many Members of this Chamber on both sides of the aisle are alarmed by the growing chorus of complaints about the deteriorating quality of service by the U.S. Postal Service. prgtoken Postmaster General DeJoy labeled his restructuring plan ``Delivering for America.'' A better name for this plan would be ``Delaying Mail in America.'' You only need to look at what is happening in my home State. Postmaster DeJoy's 10-year ``Delivering for America'' reorganization plan for the U.S. Postal Service calls for consolidating mail processing, which means downgrading regional mail processing facilities, which means sending all the mail to Portland, OR, to be sorted before it is returned to the community it originated in. prgtoken Now, my State is 300 miles north to south, 400 miles east to west. That is a very large place, so it takes a lot of time if all the processing occurs in Portland. prgtoken Medford in Southern Oregon was the postal sorting facility. It sorted, postmarked, and distributed millions of pieces of mail every year for Southern Oregon. But now, under ``Delivering for America''-- otherwise known as ``Delaying Mail in America''--now all that mail has to be shipped to Portland, OR, 270 miles to the north, and sorted and then trucked 275 miles back to the south even if you are sending a letter just across town. The Postal Service claims that this doesn't delay mail, but they refuse to explain how adding on 500 to 600 extra miles of driving doesn't delay the mail. prgtoken Meanwhile, for this deteriorating service, they are raising prices. July 14--a single stamp now costs 73 cents. So, folks, just start to think about, if I want to send a letter, it is going to cost me a dollar, the envelope and the stamp. prgtoken The Postal Service says: Our new system is more efficient and more cost-effective. prgtoken It is not more cost-effective if people quit using the service because it is so terrible. prgtoken You know, these price hikes and these delivery delays--they hit our rura
Tribute to Matt VanKuiken (Executive Session)
Debbie Stabenow (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2024-7-29

I rise today to pay tribute to my chief of staff and dear longtime friend, Matt VanKuiken, who will be moving on to the next step in his career this week, after 16 years of outstanding service in my office. prgtoken Those of you who know Matt understand how passionate he is about golfing. We have all experienced also his witty sense of humor. Matt is a literal political pundit. prgtoken With that, Matt, I want you to know there are no ifs, ands, or putts about it. You have been a terrific chief of staff and the best, by par. I could always count on you to drive right in to solve problems, to scramble and find the best approach to any situation, and to stay the course until the job was done. prgtoken Matt, from what I understand, my phone calls to you while you were golfing really helped you improve your game over the years. So I want you to know that I have a gift for you back in the office, some golf balls and tees with my campaign colors, so that you won't ever forget about my calls when I am not calling you every day. prgtoken True story, : Matt first applied to work in my office when he was a student at Western Michigan University. We offered him an internship in my West Michigan office, and he turned us down. But, fortunately, we didn't hold that against him. Sixteen years ago, I made one of the best hiring decisions ever when I hired Matt as a legislative aide, handling energy and environmental issues, which I know, Madam Chair, you care so much about, as do I. prgtoken He went on to serve in senior roles over the years, including as my legislative director and my chief of staff, including his role now as a key member of our top leadership chiefs. He has had an incredible Senate career. prgtoken Since his early days in the office, Matt had a way of rising to the occasion. A perfect example of this happened one day, a late afternoon in 2013. For reasons unknown, Matt was left alone in the office when my private incoming line rang. Unsure of exactly how to answer or transfer the call on this line, he was going to let it ring. He soon realized that the line had no voicemail, and he decided he should attempt to answer it. It was a good thing he did because it was President trying to reach me. prgtoken In typical Matt fashion, he figured it out. He kept his composure. The call went off without a hitch, although he claims to this day that President could hear his hand shaking through the phone. prgtoken I can point to so many big accomplishments where Matt has played an absolutely instrumental leadership role. Over and over again, he doesn't give up, and he finds creative ways to get things done in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. prgtoken Getting funds to address the needs of families and fix the pipes in Flint was a herculean effort. Because the crisis wasn't a natural disaster, Flint didn't qualify for certain types of disaster funding. Under Matt's leadersh