mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS RELATING TO "REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES...
Todd Young (Republican, IN) \u2014 2023-4-19

we are entering graduation season; 17- and 18-year-olds should be attending their senior prom, preparing to finish high school, and looking forward to their futures, as my oldest daughter is right now. They should not be in the obituaries of our local newspaper. Their high school lockers should not be makeshift memorials covered in flowers. And yet all over America, they are. prgtoken Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45-- the leading cause of death. A rapidly increasing number of the dead are teenagers. And the rate of teen overdoses since the pandemic have more than doubled compared to the decade before. prgtoken Between 2019 and 2021, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl among 10- to 19-year-olds increased by 182 percent. And this is due almost entirely to the fentanyl found in counterfeit pills, many of which are sold via social media--platforms like TikTok and Snapchat. prgtoken The drug is incredibly lethal. Two milligrams, the equivalent of 10 grains of salt, can kill. It is inexpensive to produce and exponentially more dangerous than heroin or morphine. Even the overdose rate of children 5 and under is growing. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are dying, so many of our kids among them. prgtoken How can we be so powerless to prevent this? prgtoken To all the families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl, we grieve with you. We share your anger, and we vow--we vow--not to let your loved one's death be in vain. It is past time we took the fight to the monsters who traffic in this poison, who profit from our loss. prgtoken I know the Presiding Officer feels the way I do about this issue. prgtoken First, we know that the majority of fentanyl is making its way into our communities through Mexico. To President and his administration: Secure the border now. prgtoken Second, let's give the frontline soldiers in this fight the tools that they need to keep fentanyl off our streets. The HALT Act, which my colleagues and I recently introduced, would do this. It would permanently classify fentanyl-related drugs as schedule I, meaning they would be deemed dangerously addictive with no medical value, and holds those who deal in this poison liable to civil and criminal punishment. This legislation would enable our law enforcement officials to better fight the impact of this deadly drug. prgtoken Lastly, we need to cut off the dealers' back channels to our children. We know that pushers prey on teenagers across social media platforms, embedding advertisements with emojis or codes. Social media companies must work with the Federal Government to shut down these one- stop digital drug shops--shut them down. prgtoken Another recently introduced bill, the Cooper Davis Act, would require social media companies to play their part in this fight and duly report drug trafficking across their platforms. To accomplish this, our bill would create a standardized reporting system with th
FIRE GRANTS AND SAFETY ACT--Continued
Rick Scott (Republican, FL) \u2014 2023-4-19

I appreciate what my colleague has said. Let's remember that President declared the COVID emergency over. These are unobligated dollars. We do have $31.5 trillion in debt. I think the right thing to do is pass this prgtoken bill with this amendment to support our firefighters. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to all vote for this amendment. Vote on Amendment No. 81
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS RELATING TO "REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES...
Pete Ricketts (Republican, NE) \u2014 2023-4-19

I rise today to join my colleagues who are continuing to sound the alarm about the ongoing drug crisis we have here in our country. prgtoken I will reiterate what my colleague said with regard to the fact that the leading cause of death of Americans age 18 to 45 today is fentanyl. In 2021, 106,000 Americans died of a drug overdose, 70,000 because of fentanyl. Now, let's think about if a terrorist attacked our country and killed 106,000 Americans. We would be up in arms. We would be mobilizing the country. Yet we do not see that response out of the administration. prgtoken Fentanyl is a drug that is coming to us from across the border. The precursors of it are manufactured in China and shipped to Mexico, where the cartels then, in illegal labs, create the fentanyl that they ship across the border. When it comes across the border, it does not stay there; it goes all across our country. prgtoken The last 2 years I was Governor--the first 2 years of the administration--we saw the increase in the drugs the Nebraska State Patrol was confiscating go up dramatically. We saw twice the amount of methamphetamine confiscated, 3 times the amount of fentanyl, and 10 times the amount of cocaine. In 2019, Nebraska law enforcement confiscated 46 pills--46. In the first 6 months of 2021, that number had grown to 151,000 pills confiscated--unbelievable. prgtoken It is killing people in my State, as it is across the country. I have talked on this floor before about Taryn Lee Griffith, a 24-year-old mom of two. She was out with friends when she took a pill she thought was Percocet, but it was laced with a lethal dose of fentanyl. She died that night. Now, her two little girls are going to have to learn about their mom through pictures and stories from family. prgtoken This is shameful, and it must end. It is impacting people all across this country. As I have said before on this floor, if this is not our job, to fix this, I don't know what is. So what more can we do? Well, first of all, we can address the southern border. prgtoken I have had the opportunity to go to the southern border several times, and when I talk to Customs and Border Protection officials, they tell us they need three things: They need infrastructure--wall, build a wall; they need more technology, like better drones; and they need more personnel. This Congress needs to provide Customs and Border Protection the resources they need to be able to stop the flow of drugs coming into this country. prgtoken Another thing we can do--unbelievably, if you distribute fentanyl and it kills somebody, that is not a murder charge. However, I am proud to cosign on Senator Marco Rubio's bill, the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act, which would make it a Federal felony murder charge to distribute fentanyl and then have somebody die from it. This is a very serious crime that is going on. It needs serious consequences. We need to make th
RECOGNIZING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING
Lois Frankel (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2023-4-19

I rise today to recognize the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a profound and significant event in history that demonstrated the extraordinary resilience and defiance of the human spirit in the face of evil, hatred, and genocide. prgtoken In April of 1943, German forces entered the Warsaw Ghetto with the intention of relocating thousands of Jews to concentration camps, where they would face near-certain death. They were met by hundreds of courageous Jewish fighters, many of whom were just teenagers, who chose to stand their ground and resist despite having limited military training and weaponry. Led by the 24-year-old Mordecai Anielewicz, these brave individuals remarkably pushed back the Germans, forcing them to retreat outside the Ghetto wall. prgtoken The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising became the first urban--and first Jewish-- uprising in German-occupied Europe, inspiring uprisings in other ghettos in the region. The Jewish fighters and their supporters held the Germans at bay for nearly a month, displaying unwavering courage and determination in their struggle for freedom and dignity. Eventually, the Germans burned the Warsaw Ghetto to the ground, killing 13,000 Jewish men, women, and children, and sending the remaining survivors to death camps. prgtoken , as we gather here today to remember and honor those who courageously stood against the overwhelming force of the Nazis, let us also reaffirm our commitment to the values of tolerance, justice, and human rights. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of standing up against tyranny and oppression, no matter the odds, and highlights the power of unity and the indomitable will of the human spirit. prgtoken Today, it is our duty to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten, and that we pass on the stories of those who fought and resisted to future generations. I ask my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives to join me in honoring the remarkable bravery of these Jewish fighters, and in remembering their memory, we are reminded of the importance of remaining steadfast in our commitment to justice, equality, and the protection of human rights for all.
PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORTS ACT OF 2023
David N. Cicilline (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2023-4-19

I rise in strong opposition to this bill, which should be titled banning kids from school sports act. prgtoken No group of kids should be banned from school sports, period. We all know what school sports are about. It is about teamwork, determination, physical well-being. The Federal Government doesn't belong in our classrooms, in the locker rooms of these kids, or between these children and their parents. prgtoken There is this creepy idea that this bill is going to require genital inspections of children. I mean, this is outrageous. prgtoken There was an invocation of some liturgy just a few moments ago saying children are the creations of God. All children are the creations of God. It is not up to you to decide which children don't belong. These are all God's children. And don't accept this phony claim that this is about the safety of kids. In fact, we know otherwise. prgtoken A very conservative advocacy group came up with this idea. The President of that advocacy group said: ``We knew we needed to find an issue that the candidates were comfortable talking about, and we threw everything at the wall.'' They came up with this campaign against trans kids, a sinister, political operation to use these kids to advance their success in politics. It is wrong. All kids belong playing in sports, to play with their friends, to enjoy their childhood. prgtoken There are more than 450 anti-trans bills being introduced all across this country. It is terrible. These children matter. We see them. We value them, and we have to respect them. Actually, trans kids belong and deserve to participate in every school activity. prgtoken Mr. Chair, if my colleagues really cared about the well-being of kids, let me remind them that the leading cause of death in this country is gun violence. Yet, our colleagues will not do anything to protect children from being slaughtered in their schools-- the leading cause of death in this country. Instead, we are going to spend time debating a bill to insert the prgtoken Federal Government into elementary schools and middle schools to prevent all children from participating in sports. prgtoken What a terrible idea. Shame on you. This is a disgrace, and I urge Members to vote ``no'' on this hideous piece of legislation.
FIRE GRANTS AND SAFETY ACT--Continued
Christopher A. Coons (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2023-4-19

. At, apparently, another time, I look forward to having the opportunity to hearing some substantiation of the wild charges just made by my colleague from Ohio. prgtoken I did as much research as I could before appearing in what I had understood, mistakenly, to be the foundation of his objection. Now I look forward to figuring out how this nominee to serve again as an ambassador is an advocate of far-left gender therapies of some kind. prgtoken Let me make two simple points, if I can, in response to the comments I just heard on the floor. As someone who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds our development efforts around the world, and particularly in Africa, and as someone who was just in five different countries across the continent, to characterize China's engagement with Africa as one that promotes development in a positive way that is respectful and uplifting, and our engagement as simply ``hectoring,'' badly misses decades of the United States' being the No. 1 supporter of public health across the continent. prgtoken We are just now celebrating the 20th anniversary of President 's signature initiative, PEPFAR, which has saved 25 million lives. The Chinese do not invest in public health anything like the scale and scope the United States does. The Chinese, it is true, don't ask questions about the suppression of minorities, about the mistreatment of journalists, about the closing of political space, about domestic repression, and the United States does. So, if that is to be characterized as hectoring, then I would be glad to stand up for hectoring. prgtoken We do challenge autocrats across the continent of Africa, and we do stand up for democracy. We also invest significantly in human development at a time when China invests principally in airports and soccer stadiums and highways. prgtoken So I would be happy to have a debate at any time that my colleague from Ohio chooses to stay long enough to have the discussion about the foundations of our engagement in the developing world. prgtoken I also, frankly, take exception to his characterization of a talented, long-serving member of the Foreign Service who represented us as a confirmed ambassador in both Ghana and the ic Republic of the Congo. prgtoken Let me make the core point that I intended to make earlier, but in order to accommodate my colleague's need to be interviewed on television, I cut my comments short. prgtoken In Sudan today, a newly emerged war is raging between two militaries. Thousands of people are at risk. In particular, Americans are at risk. It is the African Union--a continent-wide organization headquartered in Addis, in Ethiopia's capital--that could and should be the entity that leads to peace in Sudan. To not have a confirmed ambassador is to weaken our ability to engage with the AU and to engage with the leaders of these two military factions in Sudan. prgtoken For too much of the 2 years of the admi
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS RELATING TO "REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES...
Catherine Cortez Masto (Democrat, NV) \u2014 2023-4-19

I join my colleagues today to continue to speak out against the far-right s' harmful and, frankly, insulting resolution to prevent women veterans from accessing essential healthcare in this country. prgtoken You know, our veterans stepped up to serve our country, putting their lives on the line to protect our freedoms and keep our families safe. We owe them a debt of gratitude. That is why I am working to ensure that we protect veterans' rights to essential healthcare. prgtoken We trust these women to make critical decisions in the line of duty to protect our national security; so why don't extremists on the right trust them to make decisions about their own bodies? prgtoken The purpose of the VA is to protect veterans' health and life. Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, my colleagues and I pushed the administration, including the VA, to take action to protect women veterans' access to abortion care across the country. At our urging, the VA created a rule to provide abortion counseling to pregnant veterans as well as abortion services in the limited cases of rape, incest, or the life or health of the mother. This is critical for women veterans, especially those who live in States with strict abortion bans and no access to care in their communities. prgtoken But we knew that after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-choice policymakers wouldn't stop trying to take away a woman's right to choose. And now they are going after the health and well-being of women who have fought for our country. There are 550,000 women veterans who get their healthcare through the VA. And 300,000 of those women veterans are at a point in their lives at which they need reproductive care. That is 300,000 women who have sacrificed for our country and who, according to extremist s, don't deserve to make their own healthcare decisions. Some of these women veterans live in States where they can access reproductive care outside the VA, but over 155,000 of them live in States with harsh abortion restrictions on the books. prgtoken Now, I am leading legislation to ensure our veterans--and all women-- maintain their right to travel to pro-choice States to get the care they need. Unfortunately, for many of these women, the VA is their only option for accessing abortion care. That is why the VA's new rule is so critical to protecting veterans' health and why extremist attacks on reproductive care is so dangerous. prgtoken Women veterans put their lives on the line to fight for our freedom, including control of our own bodies, our lives, and our futures; and now the far right wants to take these freedoms away. We cannot let that happen. We have to ensure that this resolution does not pass, because we should be looking out and protecting the rights of women across this country, not taking away their rights and freedoms. prgtoken .
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS RELATING TO "REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES...
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2023-4-19

ever since s succeeded in overturning Roe v. Wade and ripping abortion rights away from millions of women, they have been trying to hide how extreme their positions on abortion are and how devastating the fallout has been for families. prgtoken Even as each new day brings another horror driven by extremists, like the dystopian bill put forward in South Carolina which proposed the death penalty for women who get an abortion, one of my colleagues even recently said that as President, he would ``literally sign the most conservative pro-life legislation.'' prgtoken Let's not forget the terrifying lawsuit in Texas that is hanging over the entire country, where extremists want to overrule the FDA's experts, undermine its authority to review and approve all manner of drugs, from chemotherapy to insulin, and take the abortion pill mifepristone away from patients all across the country, even in States like mine where abortion is still legal and even though we have 20 years of data showing this drug is safe and effective. prgtoken Yet, when the district judge issued a dangerous ruling that would rip this drug off the shelf, 69 congressional s filed a brief calling for that ruling to go into effect and deny women in every single State access to this FDA-approved medication. The Supreme Court has stayed the decision for the time being, but this threat to women's ability to get this drug is as real as ever, and now 147 congressional s--many s who are in leadership, s with oversight authority over the FDA--have filed a brief opposing our efforts to protect access to mifepristone and protect the FDA's authority. prgtoken And this extreme lawsuit is far from the only dangerous anti-abortion policy some congressional s are pushing, as is the bill we are about to vote on today. prgtoken It has been incredibly infuriating for women to be told by s that we are overreacting, fearmongering, even as we are being told by patients and providers about the nightmares they are now living in, about the impossible decisions they have had to make, and about the decisions--the deeply personal decisions--they have not been allowed to make that politicians are, instead, now making for them. prgtoken It strains belief that s actually think victims of rape or incest are not being affected by their policies and that women whose health--whose very lives--are in danger are not facing any barriers or are being denied the care they need, especially when we see news stories reported every day showing that that is not the case--stories that show women are being put in horrific, unthinkable situations, forced to travel absurd distances for care after they are raped, forced to wait and bleed and get sicker and sicker before they can get the care they desperately need. prgtoken But even if s are ignoring the devastation
TRIBUTE TO ALAN KOHLER
Mark R. Warner (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2023-4-19

I rise today in recognition of the retirement of Alan Kohler. prgtoken Alan leaves the FBI as Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division, a challenging post he has held since 2020. Over his long and impressive career with the FBI, Alan has continuously worked on our most pressing national security issues. It is a career that has truly lived up to the FBI's prgtoken motto of ``Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity.'' prgtoken As part of its history, the Senate Intelligence Committee has worked to ensure the intelligence community works seamlessly across its many Agencies and with our allies to protect Americans. That is a goal Alan Kohler committed his life's work to, whether he was serving overseas as legal attache in the United Kingdom to coordinate efforts with our closest ally or developing new means of integrating and cooperating across Agencies like the Counterintelligence Task Force he established during his time as Assistant Director, his accomplishments have inspired junior agents and personnel to break through Agency stovepipes in defense of our Nation. prgtoken Alan's faithful service to the Bureau spanned three decades, through some of our Nation's darkest days. He joined the FBI in 1996 and was assigned to work counterintelligence cases in the Washington field office, right in the wake of and in the midst of some of the most damaging espionage cases the U.S. has faced. In the days after the attacks on September 11, Alan bravely served on the evidence recovery team at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. prgtoken After transferring to the New York field office in 2006, Alan Kohler worked cases that led to the arrest of 10 Russian illegals in 2010, earning the Attorney General Award for Exceptional Service and changing the way Americans understood the intelligence activities of our adversaries. He was also fortunate enough to be assigned as assistant special agent in charge of the Norfolk field office where he was responsible for all of the FBI's counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and crisis management programs for that community. prgtoken In 2017, after Russia's unprecedented interference in our elections, Alan established the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, an entity we on the Senate Intelligence Committee continue to rely on to collect on and report threats to the very foundation of our democracy. prgtoken As chairman of the Intelligence Committee, I have relied on Alan's integrity to provide the committee with honest and timely information, even when it was not easy for him to do. He consistently demonstrated professionalism in all our engagements and modeled a constructive relationship between the executive and legislative branches. It was a professionalism born of his commitment to safeguard our Nation. I am certain Alan will find ways to continue to serve as he enjoys his very well-earned retirement. I would also like to recognize his family who has supported him throu