mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
SETTING FORTH THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2021-2-3

I am here today to speak in favor of the underlying resolution and urge my colleagues to support it. I will be very brief. prgtoken I would like to tackle three topics, amongst many, in this package. I would like to talk a bit about the crisis that stands ahead of us with respect to summer learning and summer programming for kids all across this country. I would like to talk a little bit about the importance of expediting the pace of vaccinations and then, lastly, about the global fight that lies ahead of us to make sure that we are building a pandemic response infrastructure around the world that makes sure this never, ever happens again. prgtoken Before delving into those three topics, let me just say that we have an opportunity to pass programming to meet this moment that is wildly popular. There was a poll out yesterday that suggests that many of the most important programming in this package enjoy 70 percent support amongst the public. The relief checks, which will total $2,000--$600 from last year, $1,400 in this package--have 74 percent support among the American public. Only 13 percent of Americans oppose those checks. Increased Federal funding for vaccinations--69 percent favor that increased funding; 17 percent oppose it. Those are difficult numbers to get on any major area of policy in the United States today. To have 74 percent in favor of anything is pretty impressive. prgtoken But it speaks to the moment. It speaks to the expectations that Americans have. But it also speaks to the prgtoken fact that there is unity in the American public about what we need to do. prgtoken President rightly talked about unifying the country around an agenda to build back this country better, and these polling numbers show that he has done that because you don't get to 74 percent support for an initiative without a whole bunch of , Independents, and s supporting that measure. prgtoken So we hope--we want to get to a place where we have bipartisan support in the Senate, but we know we have bipartisan support for this agenda out in the American public. These polling numbers and polling numbers to come will prove that. The reason is that the crises we are trying to address don't really care what your politics are. prgtoken Let me talk about these three distinct areas. prgtoken First, I want to talk about what is happening in our schools. Others have done that in a far more articulate way, so I want to drill down specifically on what is going to happen this summer. prgtoken Schools are in crisis right now. I know that because I have two kids in public school--in a big, urban public school. They haven't been back in the classroom at all. They have continued to learn from home the entire time. But they have all the support that they need around them-- two loving parents who are willing and able to help in any way that we can. Not every child has that. So schools have been scrambling just
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Michael F. Bennet (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2021-2-3

I want to say what a pleasure it is to see the Presiding Officer in the Chair and to know that, together, we have the opportunity, the great privilege, to represent the greatest State in America--the State of Colorado. And welcome to the Chamber. It is great to have you here. S. Con. Res. 5 prgtoken , I want to talk a little bit about our State. The last time I was running for office, 2016, I remember I went to Rifle, CO, which the Presiding Officer knows well, and I met there with a group of moms who were showing off the early childhood center that was there. It was newly created, and they were extremely happy to have it because before that early childhood center was there, in order to get childcare or early childhood education for their kids, these moms were having to drive through the canyon to Glenwood Springs--about 35 miles away, I guess, or so--and then go to work and then go back and pick their kid up and bring them back. So they were very, very happy that it was there. prgtoken But at a certain point during the conversation, one of the moms looked at me, and she said: Michael, I work so I can have health insurance. And every single dollar I make goes to pay for this early childhood center so I can work--that triangle that she is trapped in because of the compression of wages in this country that is a story that millions of American families can tell about an economy that, for 50 years, has worked really well for the people at the very top but not for anybody else. prgtoken Ninety percent of the American people, basically, for 50 years, have not seen a pay increase in this country in real terms. That is terrible for them, obviously, because they can't afford health care, housing, higher education, or early childhood education. They feel like they can't live a middle-class life or, if their kids are living in poverty, they can't get their kids out of poverty. prgtoken It is a danger to our democracy because democracies do not do well when prosperity is not shared and when you have one group of people at the very top who are doing extremely well and everybody else is struggling to get by, everybody else is struggling to get into the middle class or stay in the middle class or lift their kids out of poverty. That is where we have been as a country for a long time. prgtoken We have some of the lowest mobility rates of any industrialized economy in the world, and it is taking its toll. It is taking its toll on the American dream, and that is before COVID. COVID has made matters much, much worse for families in our State--for families in urban parts of the State and rural parts of the State. prgtoken Even before COVID hit, when people would ask me--I used to be the superintendent of the Denver Public Schools--people would say: What has changed in education since you were superintendent until now, what I would tell people is mental health, mental hea
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Brian Schatz (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2021-2-3

we are 1 year into the worst pandemic in a century, and it is clear that Native Americans have felt some of the most severe impacts of COVID. prgtoken Here is what we know: The number of confirmed cases per capita among Native Americans is 3\1/2\ times that of White Americans; they are almost twice as likely to die from COVID than White Americans when they contract it; and over a third of all Native Americans are at high risk of serious COVID-19-related complications--the highest percentage of any group in the United States. Native Americans need help now, and it is our job to deliver. prgtoken President has proposed a bold plan, one that meets the moment and one that helps our most vulnerable communities. The President's plan includes more than $28 billion for Native people, making it the largest investment in Indian Country in American history. From Hawaiian homelands to villages, pueblos, rancherias, and other Native communities, our fellow Americans who live on or near these lands need immediate relief, not half measures, not delays. prgtoken As the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this resolution and delivering critical relief to all Native Americans--Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and American Indians. prgtoken First, to help slow the spread in Native communities, we have to invest in healthcare, and that is why this resolution includes millions of dollars in critical resources to support the Native Hawaiian Healthcare Systems and more than $6 billion for the Indian Health Service, which is the primary vaccine distributor for more than 330 Tribes and urban Indian organizations across the country. prgtoken These funds are going to help enhance healthcare services, particularly by improving the IHS's telehealth infrastructure. The IHS and Tribal healthcare facilities are overwhelmingly located in rural and isolated settings, with little access to specialty services, like cardiology. So expanding telehealth so that more people can get the specialty care they need wherever they are is a game changer for Native communities. Finally, these healthcare funds will support the medical workers who are on the frontlines every day, caring for Native families and fighting the virus. prgtoken We also need to shore up Tribal governments and Federal programs and services that Native people rely on with an infusion of resources. That kind of historic, critical investment is exactly what President proposes to do. Because Tribes are uniquely dependent on their business enterprises to fund essential government services for their citizens, this budget resolution calls for $20 billion to support Tribal governments. To put a fine point on it, the gaming operations are mostly closed, and that is how they fund health and education in many instances. These funds will enable Tribes to continue to provide services like elder care an
SETTING FORTH THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2021-2-3

I am really pleased to follow my colleague Senator Murphy after that very articulate case and to build on the case for keeping our promises to America. The Presiding Officer knows that promises made must be kept, including another $1,400 in stimulus payments to every individual, bringing that total to $2,000, which is what we promised; to make sure that vaccines are available broadly across this country and that schools become places of learning again, in person for students and teachers in a safe learning environment. prgtoken What we are doing in this package, which is big and bold--and it has to be--is to put money in people's pockets, put vaccinations in people's arms, and put children back in schools safely. And I emphasize ``safely.'' prgtoken Now, I was very excited over this past week or 10 days to travel throughout the State of Connecticut and visit clinics where vaccinations are being prgtoken provided to thousands of people in Connecticut, raising our rate to one of the highest in the country--about 10.3 percent. prgtoken I saw nurses and doctors at Danbury Hospital, led by John Murphy, making promises real for people. prgtoken I visited Rentschler Field, a former runway turned into a vaccination site for people receiving those shots in their arms from the Community Health Center, headed by Mark Masselli. prgtoken I saw vaccinations at Griffin Hospital, a wonderful team headed by Pat Charmel. But here is the story at Griffin Hospital. Last week they did 6,000 doses. This week it will be 2,000, not because of any lack of skilled vaccination person power, not because of any lack of determination--because of lack of vaccine. prgtoken Shortages in Connecticut and around the country are impeding and setting back our effort. They are lengthening the tunnel. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it is longer as we delay the vaccine that is necessary to do the job. prgtoken There is not enough. It is not reaching the people who need it in enough supply, and it is not being delivered equitably. The numbers in Connecticut show that people in communities of color are nowhere near as likely to receive that vaccine--in fact, perhaps three times less likely. prgtoken We need to make sure that delivery is fair and effective in this country, or we will never conquer this pandemic and put America back to work. Using the national Defense Production Act is absolutely necessary, but so is the commitment of $160 billion in this big and bold relief program. prgtoken It has to be big and bold. It also has to be done now. Time is not on our side. I have no tolerance for delay or dithering. I have no patience for cuts in this package; $1.9 trillion ought to be our floor, not our ceiling. And if there is a need for targeting those stimulus payments, the money ought to be reallocated to vaccines and to creating safer environments to work and to learn. prgtoken Vaccines are important to our schools. Teachers ar
SETTING FORTH THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2021-2-3

I will continue with the brief discussion about home and community-based services. prgtoken It is so critical, as I mentioned earlier, to have these services available for seniors and for people with disabilities, and it is also relevant in the life of a child. We know--and as the Presiding Officer knows well in her efforts to provide these services to those in the disability community and among seniors--that it is important to children as well. Medicaid home and community-based services provide over $4 billion right now in support so that children can receive therapy and other necessary services to participate in school, and as I mentioned earlier, we know the impact upon seniors and people with disabilities. So that is the reason we are emphasizing, among many reasons, the investment in this bill for home and community-based services in the context of the pandemic and the devastation of the virus and more broadly. prgtoken The second issue I will raise--I know we are short on time--is an issue that I mentioned earlier. In addition to home and community-based services, this is an issue that relates to the family's ability to pay for childcare. So it affects the parents as well as the children. It is the child and dependent care tax credit. Obviously, it is an existing tax credit, a credit that parents have been able to rely on, but it is nowhere near robust enough to make it possible for more parents to afford childcare. prgtoken Here is the reality when it comes to what happens in the midst of this pandemic: We know that families have many reasons they can't make ends meet, but, also, many families have members of their families who want to get back to work. We are told that about 20 percent of working adults say the reason they are not working is that COVID-19 has disrupted their childcare arrangements. So it is both a childcare access and affordability question. prgtoken The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that women accounted for all jobs lost in December of 2020--not most jobs, not some jobs. All jobs lost in the United States were among women. Women lost 156,000 jobs. Their labor force participation rate is at its lowest point in a third of a century. One of the big reasons is childcare. We need to expand the child and dependent care tax credit to give parents the ability to recoup thousands--not hundreds but thousands--of dollars in childcare expenses. prgtoken That is what my legislation will do. That is what the new administration wants to do, and that is what we should do in this next COVID bill, and there are a lot of reasons for it. prgtoken I will end with this. Last year, the National Academy of Sciences released a roadmap to reduce child poverty. We have heard of the good provisions in this legislation on the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit and of the substantial impacts they have had on lowering child poverty--one estimate, by half. prgtoken Also contribu
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2021-2-3

I will take this time, as the incoming chairman of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, to just go over with our colleagues the importance of this budget resolution as it relates to the small business community. prgtoken I think Members of this Chamber know that small businesses represent the growth engine of America. That is where job creation occurs at the greatest numbers. Almost half of the jobs in America are in small companies. Just as importantly, when we look for innovation, we see innovation in small businesses. They are the ones that figure out how to do things more efficiently and better, and that has also been true during COVID-19. prgtoken As we have seen small businesses around the Nation struggle, we have seen how creativity among small business has saved so many small businesses in America, where they figure out a better way to deal with the food service because they can't have in-restaurant service, in how they have dealt with the service industries generally, in how they have dealt with retail sales, safety with COVID-19 and delivery and internet. They have come up with better ways to do things, and that is why our economy is performing at the level it is--not the level we want it to be--because small businesses have figured out ways to do things better. prgtoken But there is another characteristic of small business I think we all understand. They don't have the same degree of resiliency. They don't have the deep pockets. They don't have the outside financiers. So they don't have the big reserves. So when we hit a bump in our economy, small businesses really suffer. prgtoken In every economic downturn, we know that small businesses are going to do worse than larger companies, and during this pandemic, it was particularly important for us to respond to help our small businesses so that when we get out of this pandemic, when our economy returns, the small business community is healthy and our economy can continue to grow. prgtoken This has been made even more challenging because we have imposed restrictions, as government, on the operations of small businesses during COVID-19. We have told restaurants they couldn't serve in- restaurant. We limited the number of people who can gather. All that has affected the economic strength of small businesses in America. prgtoken So Congress has responded. We have responded. We need to do more. Our first major response was in the CARES Act. Let me remind the Presiding Officer and the Senate and all that that bill was passed in mid-March. It was a bipartisan bill, and it was bold. It was a major effort to deal with the pandemic as we understood it in March of last year. prgtoken So we recognized that the first thing we had to do if we were going to help rebuild our economy, if we were going to help small businesses, the very first thing we had to do was get the virus under control. That is why the CARES Act in March had what we
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021
Rashida Tlaib (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2021-2-3

this pandemic has taken the lives of nearly 16,000 Michiganders with 25 percent of the deaths from Wayne County and the city of Detroit. prgtoken Our communities are forever changed. The U.S. is on a course to reach 500,000 deaths by February 20. That is a half a million lives lost. prgtoken And in response to this record death toll, Congress has sent out one $1,200 check almost a year ago and another $600 check, for a total of $1,800. That is an average of $163 per month. prgtoken , there is not a single person in this Chamber or in my district who can survive on that little per month. My residents cannot afford to wait. The bills don't stop after 1 month; neither should the checks. The budget resolution ensures that we can do the work of delivering urgent relief to our families and every single district across the country.
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2021-2-3

today I am introducing the River Democracy Act of 2021, to add 4,702 miles of rivers and streams in Oregon to the national Wild and Scenic Rivers system to protect the recreational opportunities, clean drinking water, fish, and wildlife prgtoken habitat that they provide from harmful activities. prgtoken Oregon's 110,994 miles of rivers and streams are an invaluable part of Oregon's livability and an irreplaceable resource that must remain intact for future generations. Currently, Oregon has only protected 2% (2,173 miles) of rivers and streams under the national Wild and Scenic Rivers system--including gems like the Rogue and Deschutes Rivers and many other iconic salmon and steelhead streams. prgtoken Our rivers and streams are Oregon's lifeblood--they provide clean drinking water to millions of Oregonians, sustain our thriving outdoor recreation economy, nurture the salmon and steelhead that fuel our important commercial and recreational fishing industries, and help maintain the quality of life that brings new investments, businesses, and jobs to our state. Oregon's outdoor recreation industry is an economic engine in Oregon. According to the Outdoor Recreation Industry, it supports 224,000 jobs and generates $15.6 billion in economic activity. Healthy rivers are the foundation for Oregon's outdoor recreation economy. prgtoken With the climate crisis worsening, access to clean and safe drinking water has perhaps never been more important. America's Wild and Scenic Rivers Act aims to protect and preserve the character of our nation's most important rivers while balancing recreation, multiple use, habitat, and conservation. It encourages public participation in developing goals for river protection, and helps safeguard important waterways as a legacy for future generations. prgtoken While I am proud that Oregon has 2,173 miles of protected Wild and Scenic Rivers, it is still a small fraction of Oregon's total river mileage. prgtoken On October 2, 2019, I began a public process to solicit recommendations from Oregonians on rivers and streams that deserve protection under the national Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. I held several open-to-all public meetings specifically to hear from Oregonians and gather feedback. The topic has also come up at most townhalls I've since held. Since then, nearly 2,500 Oregonians submitted over 15,000 nominations. prgtoken I called on Oregonians to help me develop new legislation to protect Oregon's rivers and they, clearly and loudly, responded. Whether they were a whitewater rafter, a brewer, an elementary school science student, an angler or simply an Oregonian who believes strongly in protecting rivers or streams that provide safe drinking water to their community, they had the chance to speak up for their favorite rivers and highlight the outstanding values that make each river worthy of protection. prgtoken Today, I am continuing the effort to protect rivers and st