mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Highland Park Shooting (Executive Calendar)
Tammy Duckworth (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2022-7-14

2-year-old Aiden McCarthy was lying bloodied and pinned underneath his unconscious father when he was found--just a toddler, Aiden was still in diapers, had somehow lost one shoe and was down to just one blood-soaked sock, with scrapes across his body. prgtoken It was last Monday, July Fourth, and Aiden was rescued from the site of a massacre, from the site of the latest mass shooting that has marred our country and left scarred all those who bore witness to its senseless terror. prgtoken I was at a nearby parade in Illinois when I heard about the shooting. I rushed to the emergency operation center and was there the moment the police came in and told us that two Good Samaritans had found this young boy sheltered under his father's body. prgtoken When Aiden was rescued, he kept asking for his mom and his dad. But, tragically, horribly, we later learned that they were never going to be able to comfort him ever again. Both his mother and father were among the seven people murdered during that Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park. Their names were Irina and Kevin McCarthy And they, like so many of us, had spent that holiday morning eager to take pride in our country, eager to celebrate the freedom and goodness and greatness that has defined our Nation since its first breaths on that first July Fourth, eager to celebrate America at her best. prgtoken Instead, they experienced the very worst of it. They saw firsthand what can happen when a sick fealty to the gun lobby is prioritized over American lives. And Aiden is an orphan because of it. prgtoken I woke up today unable to get the image of 2-year-old Aiden's one bloodied sock out of my mind. I woke up, as I have every day since that day, unable to stop thinking about how his mom or his dad put on his diaper that morning, just like I have done thousands of times with my own two little girls. prgtoken I woke up thinking about how, when the first shots of that military- style rifle rang out, his parents' first thoughts must have been about saving him, shielding him. prgtoken So today, I come to the floor to say their names and the names of the five other victims, my constituents who should still be breathing at this very moment but aren't: Katherine Goldstein, Jacquelyn Sundheim, Stephen Straus, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, Eduardo Uvaldo, and Irina and Kevin McCarthy. prgtoken There are too many victims of preventable gun violence to name all of them here. In fact, gun violence is the largest killer of children under the age of 16 in this country--not disease, but the disease of gun violence. It happens in Buffalo, in Chicago, in Uvalde, in Newtown, in Pittsburgh, in DeKalb, in Virginia Beach, in El Paso, in two different Auroras, in Las Vegas. It happens in wealthy suburban communities, in low-income rural communities, and in urban areas across our Nation. prgtoken It happens everywhere in America but almost nowhere outside of this country. It ha
Inflation (Executive Calendar)
John W. Hickenlooper (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2022-7-14

the Senate should absolutely support the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act. prgtoken Currently, abortion is banned in 10 States, with many more set to follow--now, not in Colorado, where we acted strongly to support access to reproductive care. Like other pro-choice States, prgtoken we are seeing a large influx of patients. Yet we have heard tragic stories of women sleeping in their cars overnight outside of clinics, after traveling hundreds of miles, as they wait for appointments. prgtoken After the Texas abortion ban took effect, one woman had her water break at 19 weeks--actually, on her wedding day. She had moved up her wedding day. The doctors recommended terminating her pregnancy to protect her life, increase the possibility, the likelihood, she could have children in the future. But it wasn't allowed in Texas, so she flew to Colorado for emergency care. Her doctor had her make a plan for this travel, make a plan in case she went into labor on the flight. The plan was to sit near the bathroom. prgtoken That is what it will soon come to for women in half of America. Without this legislation, a woman could face prosecution for traveling across State lines. Let that sink in: Her choice would be possible jail or probable death. prgtoken This bill will protect every woman's right to travel to seek reproductive care--basic freedom. It would also protect doctors who would practice in States like Colorado and protect them from prosecution and lawsuits for helping out-of-State patients. prgtoken Fundamentally, as my fellow Senators have said, this is about freedom. In this new post-Roe era, women can be forced into government- mandated pregnancies. States are stripping women of the freedom over their bodies and their future. The least we should do is protect every patient traveling to receive care that just a few weeks ago was permitted nationwide. prgtoken Threatening millions of women and doctors with jail time for seeking or providing reproductive healthcare would be a stain on this Nation. I hope we can find 60 Senators to support this bill. prgtoken .
HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EDWARD STACK
Thomas R. Suozzi (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2022-7-14

. Madam , I rise today to honor a remarkable man, a living legend, and a champion of civil rights. Although Edward Stack is not being inducted today, and it has been said by his high school coach that he couldn't ``catch a baseball with a bushel basket'', this man is the heart and soul of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Born in Sea Cliff, and a longtime resident of Glen Head, New York, Ed served as Chairman of the Board from 1977 to 2000, and as an officer from 1961 to 1977. Due to his tireless efforts, the Hall of Fame saw tremendous growth and multi-million-dollar expansions. Even more significant, were the historical milestones which took place under Ed's leadership. The most notable being the inclusion of former Negro League players, who had been excluded from Major League baseball prior to Jackie Robinson. prgtoken The inclusion of the Negro League superstars was a moment of lasting pride, according to Ed. It was a victory for civil rights and the correction of an injustice which, Ed says, took way too long to be corrected. With Ed's efforts, players such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Judy Johnson, Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, and Martin Dihigo, those whose groundbreaking accomplishments had been overlooked simply due their color, were finally given the recognition they deserved. prgtoken In order to protect the integrity of baseball, Ed fought to prohibit players who broke the rules, specifically those who used performance enhancing drugs. Ed is well known to many acclaimed baseball celebrities who adore him. Babe Ruth's widow, Claire, considered him a close friend. Yogi Berra and his wife affectionately called Ed ``blue eyes.'' Ed has also visited numerous presidents in the Oval Office and had a special bond with Ronald Reagan. prgtoken As impressive as Ed's professional accomplishments is his generosity. In his retirement, Ed serves as an officer or director for 19 different charitable and cultural organizations, including the Bassett Medical Center, the Farmers' Museum, the New York State Trooper Foundation, the Salvation Army, and the Mental Health Association of Nassau County. prgtoken He is a frequent donor to his alma mater, Pace University, where he once served as student council president. Ed invests in education because he hopes to give others the same opportunity for success that he had. In 1991, Pace recognized his outstanding contribution by awarding him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. In tribute to Ed's constant support, the University named the Edward W. Stack ``56 Suite'' at Alumni Hall, in his honor. prgtoken Today, Ed and his wife, Christina, have used their financial success to support those in need. They are significant donors to multiple philanthropic causes. The SCO Family of Services describe the couple's compassion by saying, ``Ed Stack and his wife Chris are in a league of their own when it comes to helping others.'' prgtoken Ed and his wife raised three beautiful daugh
Inflation (Executive Calendar)
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2022-7-14

I thank Senator Cantwell for her leadership and especially Senator Cortez Masto for her legislation which I am about to address. I know that she is running to things today--was in the Banking, Housing Committee and is doing this on the floor. I am so appreciative of her time and efforts from housing to protecting women's health and protecting women's rights. prgtoken I want to comment on some of the things that she said and that Senator Cantwell said about this issue and then one specific thing that has happened in my State, which is outrageous and immoral. prgtoken The extreme decision a few weeks ago of five Justices took away women's freedom to make their own personal healthcare decisions and hand it over to politicians. We are also seeing how this put women's health at risk. Senator Cortez Masto and many others on the floor already said that. prgtoken My State is, unfortunately, worse in what has happened. Fewer than 10 hours after the Supreme Court's announcement, Ohio's 6-week abortion prgtoken ban took effect. They even banned abortion in cases of rape and in cases of incest. That night, women across Ohio received calls from their doctors letting them know their appointments had been canceled. They need to travel to another State for necessary medical care. Ohio politicians are forcing Ohioans--those that can--to take extra time off work to find childcare, to spend resources that they may not have to travel to get the lifesaving care that they need. prgtoken One group at a roundtable I did--I do this job much by listening to roundtables of 10 or 15 or 20 Ohioans who talk to me about veterans' care or healthcare or, in this case, women's health or jobs or all the things that I learn and take back to Washington. prgtoken I did a roundtable recently where I was hearing from doctors that because Ohio's laws are so extreme--so extreme--that women and men-- especially women but men, too--young doctors who might do their residency at some of the best hospitals in the world, the Cleveland Clinic or University Hospital or Cincinnati Children's or Nationwide Children's--that doctors are having second thoughts about wanting to move to Ohio because these abortion laws are so radical and so immoral and so extreme. prgtoken I am also hearing that prestigious colleges or colleges of all kinds that we attract--Ohio has more small colleges and small universities, private 4-year schools, than almost any other State in the country. We have great State universities in Ohio and great community colleges. I am hearing from college Presidents that students who are considering coming to Ohio to go to school are having second thoughts, again, because of the extremism of this legislature on abortion and, as the Presiding Officer knows, the Senate's expert on this issue, the extremism on gun laws in Ohio. prgtoken One candidate was campaigning for Congress in Northwest Ohio, and he had a holster--under a new Ohio law, h
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2022-7-14

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 924, 979, 982, and 983; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; and that the President immediately be notified of the Senate's action.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023
Mike Bost (Republican, IL) \u2014 2022-7-14

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , this amendment would provide access to VA medical care and services for veterans who served in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea during the Vietnam conflict. prgtoken There are approximately 3,000 Korean veterans living in the U.S. as citizens and who served alongside American forces during the Vietnam conflict. This amendment would grant them eligibility to enroll in the VA healthcare system. This would create an inequity between these individuals and veterans of U.S. Armed Forces who are not currently eligible to enroll in the VA care. prgtoken It would also create a disparity with the veterans of other allies of other conflicts who later became U.S. citizens. Ultimately, the amendment unfairly singles out one group of service above others. That is why I cannot support the amendment's inclusion in the NDAA. prgtoken , .
AN UNBORN CHILD IS A HUMAN LIFE
Mike Kelly (Republican, PA) \u2014 2022-7-14

I rise today in honor of the 2,500 unborn lives we lose to abortion each day who cannot stand for themselves. That is nearly half a million little boys and little girls in the United States alone this year. These numbers don't reflect, though, and take into consideration self-administered chemical abortions. prgtoken Last month, the Supreme Court announced what the pro-life movement was waiting half a century to hear: Roe v. Wade is overturned. As a proud pro-life grandfather of 10, I enthusiastically applaud the Justices for recognizing that this terrible relic from 1973 has no place in 2022. prgtoken Roe was both a legal and moral abomination from the beginning. It mocked our Nation's Constitution and paved the way for the abortion of more than 63 million innocent babies in the years since. prgtoken The men who first decided Roe invented the right to abortion out of thin air. By adding an extra line to our Constitution, they ignored one of the first sentences of the Declaration of Independence, which holds that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. prgtoken With Roe in the dustbin of history, the abortion question returns to the democratic arena where it belongs. The most contentious of issues can now be properly debated and deliberated at both the Federal and State levels, where, ideally, the most logical and persuasive arguments can triumph and translate into new law. prgtoken Let us have clear eyes to see exactly what science shows us, that fetuses in the womb are human beings who develop with each passing second. These innocent children have their own DNA and soon develop hands, feet, eyes, and lips. They can also feel pain. Just as importantly, they have the potential to grow up, flourish, and achieve amazing dreams. Let us have the compassion to give them that chance. prgtoken For those of us in elected office who sincerely believe that human life is a sacred gift from God in need of society's protection, our position is no prgtoken longer theoretical. We now have a pressing responsibility to examine how public policy can best be crafted to adequately accomplish our stated goal. prgtoken I believe we already have an answer. When an expectant mother visits a doctor for an ultrasound, the image of a beating heart is the first confirmation that a child has been conceived. When someone is involved in a severe accident, a medic will check right away to see if there is a pulse to make sure the victim is alive. In short, a heartbeat means a life. prgtoken Now, to legislate consistently with this truth, I introduced the Heartbeat Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill would legally prohibit future abortions from being performed if a preborn child's heartbeat can be detected, with the exception for when a mother's life is in danger. It is a science-based, humanity- respecting solution suited to the
General Mark A. Milley (Executive Calendar)
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2022-7-14

I am here today in the Senate to sound the alarm about one of America's guiding principles--everybody knows about this--the constitutional principle of civilian control of our military, very much a cornerstone of our Republic. prgtoken This fundamental principle of self-government may have been in jeopardy during the final days of the administration, but before I get to that, I will provide a historical context. prgtoken That principle became part of the American fabric on June 14, 1775, when the Congress of the Continental Congress appointed George Washington commander of the Continental Army. His commission ordered him to report to civilian authorities. prgtoken It specified: You-- prgtoken Meaning the new General Washington-- are punctually to observe such orders and directions, from time to time, as you shall receive from this, or a future Congress of these United Colonies. prgtoken Well, he followed that. At the war's end, General Washington gave this prgtoken principle lasting purpose, and he did it with power and grace. prgtoken On December 23, 1783, in a solemn ceremony at the statehouse in Annapolis, George Washington voluntarily surrendered his commission, as well as his military power, to civilian authority, the President of the Continental Congress. The scene is memorialized in a dramatic John Trumbull painting that is displayed in the Rotunda not far from here. All of my colleagues go through that part of this Capitol every day and probably don't pay a lot of attention to it, but it is an important description of our basic constitutional principles. prgtoken We know there are other ways of doing these things in other countries. We know that dictators rule their nations with an iron fist because they control the sword. Washington selflessly laid down that sword to ensure America's destiny for generations to come. He chose to disband the Army and return to private life at Mount Vernon. prgtoken One scholar explained it this way: The Virginian . . . went home to plow. prgtoken By this noble act, Washington cemented a crown jewel of self-rule: civilian control of the military. Five years later, as Washington was elected President, this bedrock principle was enshrined in our Constitution. prgtoken While this governing rule is essential to the preservation of democracy, it has been challenged with grave consequences. The Truman- MacArthur dispute over conducting the Korean war is a case in point. President Truman wanted to limit the war. General MacArthur disagreed. General MacArthur defied orders, and General MacArthur criticized his Commander in Chief's--Truman's--decision, and he did that publicly, so Truman fired him for insubordination. prgtoken Now I want to get to the main purpose of coming to the floor. Recently, several books, including a book entitled ``Peril'' by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, suggest that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Inflation (Executive Calendar)
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2022-7-14

this is my first time to be able to stand and speak since the Court made its decision in Dobbs. I have been on this floor I actually don't know how many times talking about the value of every single child. prgtoken The conversation today is not just about the right to travel and the right to healthcare. It is deeper than that. It is the right to live. prgtoken The conversation today is not just about women. There are two people in this conversation--a child with 10 fingers and 10 toes and a beating heart and DNA that is uniquely different than the mom's DNA or the dad's DNA. They have a nervous system. They feel pain. There is a child in this conversation as well. prgtoken In my conversation when I have come to the floor over and over again, it has been to say that at some point our Nation should look at basic science and to say when you have DNA and you have a functioning nervous system and you have cell division, in every health book everywhere in the country, they call that life, but for some reason, on this floor, it is just tissue. prgtoken I actually come to be able to thank millions of women and millions of men who for five decades have not written off children, who have walked out, who have marched, who have silently prayed, who have gathered in places and said: When are we going to recognize what is self-evident? That child in the womb is a child, and that child may be inconvenient, but that is a child. When are we going to recognize that basic thing? prgtoken For 50 years, that conversation has gone on with the simple statement of, at what point will we be able to speak out for the value of every person, and I do mean every person, including the mom? prgtoken It has been interesting to be able to hear all the misinformation in the past couple of weeks. I have read story after story and seen all these breathless news reports about how women with an ectopic pregnancy will not be able to get care; they will be doomed to die--except there is no State law that would prohibit someone getting treatment that is lifesaving for an ectopic pregnancy in any State. I have seen all these breathless reports about how there will be miscarriages and you won't be able to get care--except that is not true in a single place, not one. This over and over riling people up. prgtoken What I have seen are 50 churches that have been attacked. What I have seen are 57 crisis resource centers for pregnancy resource that have been attacked and firebombed. I have seen that. Now, we don't seem to discuss that here on the floor. No one is actually saying that all this conversation, all this misinformation, all this noise is actually leading to actual violence across the country. Everyone is like: Oh, no, no; that is not related. Oh really? So when a pregnancy resource center is firebombed and spray painted on the side of it ``If abortions aren't safe in America, neither are you''--we should probably just
RECOGNIZING THE KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, POLICE DEPARTMENT
Roger Marshall (Republican, KS) \u2014 2022-7-14

I rise today to honor and recognize Captain James Grasela III, Sergeant Lee Ann Shelton, and Officer Dallas Thompson of the Kansas City, KS, Police Department. prgtoken On January 7, 2022, while the Kansas City Police were conducting a burglary investigation, Officer Thompson found pills crumpled in an envelope belonging to a detained suspect. Captain James Grasela immediately recognized the pills as ones which might be laced with fentanyl. Officer Thompson did everything by the book: placed the pills and envelope in an evidence bag, sealed it, and removed his gloves, yet just minutes later, he dropped to the ground, struggling to breathe. It was only through the quick action of Captain Grasela and the other officers on the scene that Officer Thompson was able to survive. prgtoken If the officers had not been there to administer emergency medication, Officer Thompson would not have made it home to his two daughters. Thankfully, this accidental overdose did not end in tragedy. Unfortunately, deaths involving Fentanyl are not uncommon in this country. Fentanyl kills more Americans than any other drug and is a clear threat to our society. The fact that it takes less Fentanyl than can fit on the tip of a pencil to kill someone makes this crisis even more severe. prgtoken I want to honor these officers for everything they do to protect our citizens from the dangers of fentanyl. They put their lives on the line every day to shield Americans from this crisis, as seen this past January. I now ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the bravery of our Kansas City, Kansas, police officers and to honor them for their dedication to protecting their fellow Americans from the scourge of Fentanyl.