mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RELATING TO A NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE PRESIDENT ON FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2019-3-14

today, I am voting against the resolution to end the national emergency. Make no mistake: Our Nation is facing a prolonged and worsening security and humanitarian crisis on our southern border. Lethal drugs are flooding across the border at an alarming rate. Just last year, enough fentanyl to kill 88 million Americans was seized by border patrol agents between our ports of entry. We are also witnessing unprecedented levels of illegal immigration and are on track for the highest level of illegal immigration in more than a decade. That means more human trafficking, more forced labor, and more exploitation of people along the dangerous journey to the United States. Failures by Congress to adequately address our immigration and border security issues have only exacerbated this crisis. prgtoken Here is just a sample of the data from our Federal authorities. The total volume of illegal immigration is increasing. Illegal immigration is on pace to exceed the highest level in more than 10 years. There has been a 338 percent increase in family units from the Northern Triangle apprehended thus far in fiscal year 2019 compared with same period in fiscal year 2018. There was 54 percent increase in unaccompanied minors apprehended thus far in fiscal year 2019 compared with same period in fiscal year 2018. prgtoken Additionally, drug seizures are increasing between ports of entry. In fiscal year 2018, U.S. Border Patrol intercepted 388 pounds of fentanyl between our ports of entry. That is enough to kill 88 million Americans; that is right, 88 million Americans. Fentanyl seizures increased 73 percent between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018. Heroin seizures also increased 22 percent between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018. Methamphetamine seizures increased 38 percent between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018. prgtoken As I have said repeatedly, even though the President is using the authority given to him by Congress, I share my colleagues' concerns that too much authority has been delegated to the executive branch. In 1976, Congress gave the President the authority to declare national emergencies, so we shouldn't be surprised when he seeks to use it, just as others have done. For this reason, I will continue working to pass meaningful legislation, like the ARTICLE ONE Act, to reclaim congressional power from the executive branch and improve congressional oversight of the National Emergency Act. I encourage my colleagues to join in this effort, which takes real action, as opposed to symbolic show votes that don't address the root of the problem.
HONORING BOY SCOUT ADAM PIETRAS
Christopher H. Smith (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2019-3-14

. Madam , I rise today to call attention to the true story of Adam Pietras, a Boy Scout from my home town of Hamilton, N.J. in the Fourth Congressional District. prgtoken Adam's remarkable courage--without any concern for his own personal safety--and his immediate and decisive response action literally helped save the life of his sister. prgtoken This Saturday, March 16, 2019, Adam will be honored at a Court of Honor by his fellow scouts of Boy Scout Troop 87, members from the Veterans of Foreign War who host Troop 87, friends, and family. We will be proud and humble to present him with a U.S. flag, flown over the U.S. Capitol in his honor. prgtoken Madam , Adam was only 10, when he acted without regard to his own safety as he fought off a loose Bullmastiff dog that was charging to attack his younger sister, Rachel, then age 7, in the family's backyard in 2015. Though Adam sustained severe injuries from the powerful dog, his actions enabled his sister to escape and his brother, Tyler, to run for help. Truly, Adam and Tyler's teamwork to protect their little sister prevented what could have been a tragedy. Adam was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital--Hamilton. He lost a lot of blood and needed 200 stitches and months to recover. prgtoken Adam's exceptional actions went largely unreported in the news and were not well known outside his immediate family and community. That changed when he was a guest of the Sunshine Foundation Mercer County Chapter's 2018 Operation Dreamlift that takes children to Disney World. Trentonian reporter L.A. Parker happened to be on that flight, met Adam and heard Adam's story. In a column detailing the dog attack and Adam's actions, L.A. Parker--my fellow Trenton State College alumnus, quoted Adam as saying ``Yes, I was afraid really afraid. But I had to save my sister.'' prgtoken Adam is a student at Reynolds Middle School in Hamilton, N.J. I've had the pleasure to meet Adam's father, Peter Pietras, who with his wife, Lisa Pitoniak-Pietras, and family and friends, are immensely proud of Adam. Adam, whose outstanding love for his sister shows he puts other people first, has a bright future. prgtoken Adam was honored by Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede with a proclamation as an example of a model citizen, and by the Boy Scouts of America with its highest national award for lifesaving and meritorious action, the Honor Medal With Crossed Palms. Given only for outstanding and unusual acts that demonstrate unusual heroism, skill, or bravery and reflect Scouting ideals, the medal is only presented to Scouts who have ``demonstrated unusual heroism and extraordinary skill or resourcefulness in saving or attempting to save life at extreme risk to self.'' That sounds like Adam to me. prgtoken Today it is my honor to make Adam's heroism and extraordinary act a permanent part of the Congressional Record. prgtoken In an age of fictional movie action heroes and comic book superheroes, this S
TRIBUTE TO PETER KAISER
Dan Sullivan (Republican, AK) \u2014 2019-3-14

it is that time of day on the Senate floor when I get to recognize someone special from my State, someone we refer to as the Alaskan of the Week, someone who makes our great State of Alaska, in my opinion, the best and most unique State in the country. I know it is the pages' favorite speech of the week as well. I don't think you are going to be disappointed with this one, the young men and women here working as pages. prgtoken Now, some may take issue with the claim of the most unique State in the Union, but consider this: Right now we have teams of mushers and their dogs that are barreling 900 miles across the State of Alaska toward the city of Nome in some of the harshest conditions and some of the most difficult and rugged terrain on the planet Earth. The Iditarod--the ``Last Great Race on Earth''--is still under way in Alaska. Right now, mushers, literally as we speak, are rolling in to Nome today, tomorrow, and in the next few days. prgtoken We salute all of the mushers and their dogs, the athletes--these dogs are great athletes--for their hard work. We are particularly proud this year. For the first time in history, three women--Page Drobyn, Jessie Royer, and Aliy Zirkle--are among the top ten finishers in the Iditarod. prgtoken Like all races, there is a winner, and our Alaskan of the Week--we see a great picture of him and his dogs here--is the winner. After 9 days, 12 hours, 39 minutes, and 6 seconds on the trail, at 3:39 a.m yesterday morning, in Nome, AK, Bethel resident Peter Kaiser crossed the finish line in Nome to win this year's Iditarod. prgtoken This win is also historic for a number of reasons. Pete is the first person from Bethel, AK, to win the race. He is the fifth Alaska Native to win and the first Alaskan of Yupik descent to take the title. prgtoken A crowd was there waiting for him. It seemed like half the town of Bethel was there waiting for him. As he crossed the finish line, they were chanting: Way to go, Pete. Way to go, Pete. Alaska Native dancers performed. There were hugs and tears of joy all around. His wife Bethany was there. Their two children, Ari Joseph and daughter Aylee, were also there. prgtoken This is also exciting because of the race's historic roots. Before I talk more about Pete, for a little bit, let me take you back to a remarkable piece of history that happened in Nome, AK, in 1925, when diphtheria serum was desperately needed in Nome for several very sick children. prgtoken It was 1925, in Alaska, and the nearest batch of serum was 1,000 miles away in Anchorage. There weren't--and, unfortunately, there still aren't--any prgtoken roads between Nome and Anchorage. As a matter of fact, Alaska has almost 200 communities that don't have any roads connecting them to other places. There were no commercial airlines back then. The nearest train station to Nome was roughly 700 miles away. So, in the winter, people traveled mostly by dog sled. prgtoken On th
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
James E. Risch (Republican, ID) \u2014 2019-3-14

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 to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.
GENERAL LEAVE
Doug Collins (Republican, GA) \u2014 2019-3-14

. Wow. Thank you, , for enlightening us on that. It is okay, basically, if you impugn the integrity of a sitting member of the Cabinet. I guess we just learned something new today. That is encouraging. As far as Members of the House, I get that it is not in the rules, but it also shouldn't be a part of this debate. prgtoken This is a simple resolution. It simply restates the regulation. Don't make it any more or any less than what it is. That is why we are here. We are going to approve this, we are going to vote for it, but let's not make it any more than what it is. Let's continue on so we can get a vote, everybody can go home, and maybe we will come back and actually vote on legislation that actually matters. prgtoken , .
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019--Motion to Proceed
Lindsey Graham (Republican, SC) \u2014 2019-3-14

I thank Senator Schumer. I appreciate getting this done quickly. prgtoken I will just say, there are a lot of Americans, including Jim Jordan, who believe that what happened in 2016 with the Clinton email investigation and the FISA warrant against Carter Page showed corruption at the highest level of the government. I agree that there are more than smoking guns here. There is overwhelming evidence that somebody outside the political system should look into. I can't find anybody much on the other side who seems to give a damn about that. prgtoken Mueller, I get. Mueller has been allowed to do his job. We are going to find out what he found pretty soon, as much as we can, consistent with the law. But I am not going to give up on the idea that we are just going to look at one problem of 2016. I have been talking to myself for the most part; now I have a forum. prgtoken I will introduce a resolution asking you to do a simple thing. Ask somebody outside of politics--a special counsel--to look into how in the world the system got so off track, to use a document prepared by foreign agent, paid for by the ic Party, collected in Russia, to obtain a warrant against an American citizen that is garbage to this day? How in the world could the investigation get so off track that the two people in charge of it openly talked about making sure that there was an insurance policy against if he won and openly espoused support for Clinton. How do you interview Clinton the way she was interviewed? Any American out there who did what Secretary Clinton did you would see in jail now. prgtoken The question I want to know is, Does anybody other than me believe that? I don't ask you to believe me. We let Mueller look at all things related to collusion and otherwise. Somebody needs to look at what happened on the other side and find out if the FBI and the DOJ had two systems--one supporting the person they wanted to win and one out to get the person they wanted to lose. prgtoken Some of these people have been fired for lying, and it is now time to have a special counsel look at all things 2016, not just .
RELATING TO A NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE PRESIDENT ON FEBRUARY 15, 2019
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-3-14

when President declared a national emergency over the crisis along our southern border, it was immediately met with expressions of concern--some, in my view, illegitimate; others, quite legitimate. prgtoken As I have said in the past, I will repeat again that this--what we are doing here today--is no one's first choice, but it is useful to recall how we find ourselves at this point today. prgtoken Of course, when it comes to funding, when it comes to appropriations, Congress holds the purse. That is why, prgtoken each year, the Congress receives the President's budget request for the upcoming fiscal year, just as we did earlier this week. prgtoken Even though, in the President's budget, he outlines his priorities, my experience in the Senate is that most Presidential budgets, while they are an expression of the President's priorities, are dead on arrival. It then falls to us, in the Senate and the House, to look at his request and to work on a compromise budget and appropriations process and fund the operations of the Federal Government. prgtoken This process is arduous, it is time-consuming, and it is often frustrating, but it is the way the system is supposed to work. As all Americans can attest, what we have seen over the last few months looks like something very different. The refusal of in the House and the Senate to engage in negotiations on border security funding led us to a 35-day government shutdown. prgtoken Despite the clear message from border security experts, despite seeing the humanitarian crisis at the border, described by President in 2014, get many times worse, our ic colleagues decided to play politics instead of dealing with the problem. prgtoken We heard the of the House call border barriers immoral. The minority leader here in the Senate said that there would be no additional money for physical barriers along the border. They know, just as I know, that back in 2006 and 2008, the Secure Fence Act was passed with broad bipartisan support, including support from then- Senator , then-Senator Hillary Clinton, and Senator Chuck Schumer, currently the ic leader in the Senate, who now feels that this President should not get any additional money to fund border security measures that the President believes are an important response to the crisis we see at the border. prgtoken My preference would be for the normal appropriations process to be used, but when your negotiating partners refuse to take a seat at the table, normal goes out the window. Our colleagues across the aisle left the President with few options to fund what he believed was so important for the Nation's security, and that is what led us to this situation. prgtoken Enter the 1976 legislation, the National Emergencies Act. What the President did is ask his lawyers to look at what other authority, under congressionally passed laws signed by previous Presidents, might he
RELATING TO A NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE PRESIDENT ON FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2019-3-14

I am here to talk about the vote that we will take later today on this floor regarding the President's national emergency declaration. prgtoken From the outset of this process, I have had two objectives. One is to support the President on the crisis at the border. I believe his plan to address that crisis is a good one, and we should support it. But, second is to do it in the right way, without setting a dangerous new precedent counter to a fundamental constitutional principle, without tying up the needed funds for the border in the courts, and without taking funds away from important military construction projects for our troops. prgtoken Unfortunately, despite a sincere effort by the administration as recently as this morning to try to work with me and other colleagues, including the Presiding Officer, we were not able to agree on a path forward that addresses those concerns that I just outlined. prgtoken I am going to lay out in a minute how I think we can better achieve the President's goals of strengthening our border security without invoking the national emergency and the funding he prgtoken seeks through that national emergency. prgtoken First, let me repeat what I have said on this floor many times and said consistently: I do believe we have a crisis at the border--a humanitarian crisis, a trafficking crisis, a drug crisis. According to Customs and Border Protection, in February--last month--76,000 illegal immigrants arrived at our southern border. That is an average of about 2,000 every day. Since October of last year, we have apprehended more than 268,000 people at the border. That is about a 100-percent increase over the same period last year. We have also seen a 300-percent increase in families arriving at the border compared to this time last year. By the way, the vast majority of those are from three countries in Central America. prgtoken This is a humanitarian crisis. The journey to the United States from these so-called Northern Triangle countries is incredibly dangerous, especially for women and for children. They face violence from gangs and traffickers and hunger and dehydration in the rough terrain. Many of them arrive at our border traumatized, hurt, sick, and often we don't have the resources to provide for those needs. prgtoken There is also a growing human trafficking crisis. Our lack of border security allows these smugglers--human smugglers--to move across the border unchecked. Increasingly, they are taking advantage of these flows of individuals to traffic women and children. prgtoken In particular, I will say the Border Patrol resources are spread thin trying to monitor these areas that do not have barriers. prgtoken Third, this is a drug crisis. The Drug Enforcement Agency has said that the southwest border ``remains the primary entry point for heroin into the United States.'' That is not a debatable point. I am told that with regard to Ohio, where we have been devastate
REMEMBERING THE HONORABLE LOUISE SLAUGHTER
Dan Newhouse (Republican, WA) \u2014 2019-3-14

it is hard to believe that it has been almost a year since we lost our beloved colleague, the Honorable Louise Slaughter. prgtoken Louise always believed personal relationships could transcend politics. She set an example for us all through her acts of kindness, particularly with those of us in the other party. prgtoken We bonded as members of an exclusive club, a club I wish upon no one: those of us who have lost our spouses. Somehow she made me feel like I was helping her through the loss of her husband when, in fact, she, being much smarter than I, knew that, through my attempts to help her, she was really helping me through the loss of my wife. prgtoken It was recently announced that Louise, the first female chair of the House Rules Committee, would be inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. What a deserving honor. prgtoken I will always appreciate my friendship with the Honorable Louise Slaughter and will never forget the efforts she made to take me under her wing from across the political aisle.
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-3-14

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the Record.
COMMEMORATING DR. JOHN BARDO
Ron Estes (Republican, KS) \u2014 2019-3-14

I rise today to honor the life of Wichita State University President Dr. John Bardo, who sadly passed away on March 12, 2019. In his 7 years as president, Dr. Bardo's devotion to education and Wichita State was unsurpassed as he led the university in a bold direction that benefited students and the entire Wichita community. prgtoken Dr. Bardo's tenure was not his first job at the university. In 1975, Dr. Bardo, then an assistant professor of sociology, met his wife, Deborah. prgtoken When Dr. Bardo returned to Wichita State as president in 2012, he said: ``We came home . . . to reposition this university as a key driver of the future of Wichita.'' From developing the Innovation Campus and WSU Tech, to increasing online courses, research, and dorm space, his leadership accomplished that goal and set the university on a path to be a nationwide leader in education. prgtoken Last July, Dr. Bardo was invited to come testify before the House Education and the Workforce Committee about Wichita State's leadership in innovation. As a member of the committee at the time, I will never forget the pride Dr. Bardo showed for the university and our community. prgtoken I know Shockers are better off because of his leadership, passion, and vision. prgtoken I ask my colleagues to join me in praying for the Bardo family.