mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
UNITED STATES-MEXICO-CANADA TRADE AGREEMENT
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-11-12

I was privileged to spend a good chunk of the day yesterday with the hardworking men and women of North American Stainless in Carroll County, KY. They are a high-quality stainless steel manufacturing firm that is actually the largest fully integrated stainless steel producer in the entire United States. prgtoken They produce about one-third of all U.S. stainless. The company brings 1,500 jobs to its rural community that is Kentucky's 8th largest manufacturer by total employment. I joined them yesterday to celebrate an important legislative accomplishment that I was able to spearhead back in July: the long overdue Senate ratification of a bipartisan tax treaty protocol with Spain. By passing this new protocol, we cleared away a mess of confusing and unfair double taxation, the threat of which had stunted growth and investment right here at home. prgtoken I got to hear again, firsthand, what a significant difference the approval of prgtoken this simple bipartisan tax treaty will make for this American manufacturer. I was happy to hear the CEO announce that the company can now move forward with a major $30 million capital investment in developing its facility and its workforce as a direct result of the ratification of that treaty. prgtoken It was just another reminder that the economic policies we vote on here, often on a bipartisan basis, make an enormous difference for workers and job creators in each of our States. prgtoken While we applauded the Spain tax treaty and the new prosperity it will unlock, it was impossible to overlook the fact that USMCA is still being blocked over in the House of Representatives. By one analysis, 12 million American jobs are dependent upon trade with Mexico and Canada. Together they make up a $500 billion market for U.S. exports. It is no surprise that updating our trading relationships with both of our North American neighbors would stand to have a major positive effect on our economy. prgtoken To be more specific, according to data from the International Trade Commission, the USMCA would generate about 176,000 new American jobs. It would pump nearly $70 billion into the U.S. economy, and the already massive markets for U.S. products would be expected to grow by tens of billions more. prgtoken For months, Pelosi and House have been claiming they notionally support this agreement and want to get to yes, but month after month, this happy talk has seemingly led to no tangible progress, just more heel-dragging. Hard-working Kentuckians, people like our farmers and our cattlemen, keep writing to me and asking Congress to pass the USMCA, but Pelosi will not make time for it. prgtoken House have enough time to continue their 3-year-old obsession with impeaching the President, but they cannot find the time to pass a landmark trade deal that will create 176,000 new American jobs. Just saying their priorities out loud indicates how backward they are
TRIBUTE TO ANN AND VINCE BELLIS
Gregory F. Murphy (Republican, NC) \u2014 2019-11-12

. Madam , I rise to pay tribute to Ann and Vince Bellis of Greenville, North Carolina. prgtoken In October of this year they were honored by the Friends of Greenville Greenways for their efforts to champion, create, and expand the family-friendly walking, running and biking space. They have given countless hours over several years to the fulfillment of this community-enhancing project. prgtoken This couple have been honored for a lifetime of civic engagement, their incredible technical knowledge of the environment including a plethora of horticultural expertise and for unselfishly sharing that knowledge with the community. prgtoken Many citizens of Greenville daily enjoy the Greenway and I applaud the work of the Bellis' in making what was once just an idea into a beautiful reality for the betterment of our city.
Immigration (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-11-12

I know my friend from Illinois, Senator Durbin, is sincere in his desire to get some relief for the DACA recipients, whose case is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. I share a desire to give them some certainty. That is why I supported what President offered in February of 2018, which was a pathway to citizenship not only for the individuals who had applied for and received deferred action under President 's administration but for all those who were eligible but did not apply. prgtoken What continues to confuse me is how our ic colleagues will routinely vote against that offer, which was incredibly generous. I don't think any other President in my lifetime would have had the boldness and the courage to offer a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million DACA-eligible young people, but President did, and our ic colleagues turned it down. That leads me to wonder about their sincerity. Do they like this political issue more than they have a desire to find a solution to the problem? prgtoken I agree that these young people, who through no fault of their own came to the United States because their parents brought them here, are the most sympathetic and deserving cohort of immigrants in the country. I wish we could work together to come up with a solution. But at some point you have to wonder whether our ic colleagues prefer not to solve the problem but would rather try to portray this as a political football for partisan advantage in the runup to the next election. prgtoken That is tragic--toying with the lives of these young people, stoking their insecurity, telling them you are on their side but on the other hand voting against an offer to provide them a pathway toward citizenship. I don't know how you reconcile those two positions.
RECOGNIZING MAC'S VACS
James E. Risch (Republican, ID) \u2014 2019-11-12

as a member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, each month I recognize and celebrate the American entrepreneurial spirit by highlighting the success of a small business in my home State of Idaho. However, in honor of Veterans Day on November 11, this month I will honor a veteran-owned small business for each of the 10 days the Senate is in legislative session. The personal sacrifices made by America's veterans have protected the very freedoms and values that give each of us and our children the ability to achieve the American dream. The skills veterans learn as members of the military are invaluable and undoubtedly contribute to Idaho's flourishing veteran business community. I am proud of the sacrifices veterans have made to protect our country and that they are choosing Idaho to call home when they complete their service in the military. prgtoken As your U.S. Senator from the great State of Idaho, it is my pleasure to recognize Mac's Vacs in Lewiston as the Idaho Small Business of the Day for November 12, 2019. Mac's Vacs was founded in 1950 and is owned and operated by U.S. Air Force veteran Dennis Prine. The company first opened in a garage and has since moved into a local storefront in the same neighborhood. After serving in the Air Force, Prine acquired Mac's Vacs in the 1980s and has expanded and improved its services since. prgtoken Mac's Vacs offers a variety of appliance services for customers, including vacuum sales and service, central vacuum systems, commercial chemicals, and more. Prine even offers technical assistance through a YouTube channel. The company's mission to provide quality products, knowledge, and service to customers has proven fundamental to the success of the business. prgtoken Congratulations to Dennis Prine and all of the employees at Mac's Vacs for being selected as the Veteran-owned Idaho Small Business of the Day for November 12, 2019. You make our great State proud, and I look forward to your continued growth and success.
DEBORAH SAMPSON ACT
Andy Barr (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-11-12

I thank my good friend, Dr. Roe. I wish the gentleman a happy belated Veterans Day, and I hope he had a good weekend. I certainly did back home in Lexington, Kentucky, at Veterans Park with the Veterans Park Elementary School choir singing to our great veterans back home. prgtoken , I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3224, as amended, the Deborah Sampson Act. prgtoken As my colleagues before me have already pointed out, women have served our country since the very earliest days of the American Revolution. But as the fastest growing segment of our veteran population, they are only now starting to get the recognition that they deserve. prgtoken I am proud to be here today to support this bill that will ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs provides them the care and benefits that their service and their sacrifices have entitled them to. prgtoken And I commend the gentlewoman from New York for her leadership on this important legislation. prgtoken I do have to say, , however, that any characterization that my colleagues on the Veterans' Affairs Committee and I feel anything less than pride in the many women who have served and the many women who continue to serve today, and a steadfast commitment to support them and to meet their needs, is simply untrue. Had my colleagues or I been allowed to speak on this bill in committee, that would have been very evident to any Member of this House. prgtoken What my colleagues and I do object to are the overly partisan tactics that were deployed by the majority when this important bill was being considered. prgtoken I am new to the Veterans' Affairs Committee in this Congress, but I know that the committee has a long tradition of bipartisanship, where Members check their party affiliations at the door and do not shy away from debates or disagreements in the spirit of living up to the very democratic ideals that our veterans fought to defend. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost sight of that great tradition this year. prgtoken As Dr. Roe referenced in his comments earlier, I have been trying since February to address an unintended consequence of a House-passed bill that could allow an accused child molester who is awaiting prosecution to care for a veteran's child in a VA childcare program. prgtoken I do not know any parent in any political party who would want one of their own children to be cared for by someone who has been charged with a serious crime, like a sexual assault against a minor, before they have been fully cleared. Yet, the majority has twice used parliamentary procedures rarely if ever seen in the Veterans' Affairs Committee to refuse to allow our committee to consider my legislation to prevent that from happening to the child of one of our Nation's veterans. prgtoken Most recently, the majority did that when this bill, the Deborah Sampson Act, was being considered. Their actions were so unexpected that my colleagues and I left the marku
VA OVERPAYMENT ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
J. French Hill (Republican, AR) \u2014 2019-11-12

I thank my friend from Tennessee and my good friend from California for their leadership of our Veterans' Affairs Committee. They are a dynamic duo. I appreciate the opportunity to be on the floor to be in support of this list of good bills tonight. prgtoken , I particularly want to thank my friend from New Jersey, Mr. Kim, for his hard work and collaboration on this important bill for our veterans. prgtoken , in the last 5 years I have served in this House, I have had over 3,200 cases completed and closed for veterans in my district. prgtoken As a former community banker, when I look at those cases and I listen to these stories, this too often is a challenge for our veterans. It is a crazy challenge that withholding a payment can have severe consequences for our brave veterans who are out there just doing their job, through no fault of their own and through a computer mess up or an IT problem, our veterans receive an overpayment and then suddenly get a letter a few weeks later saying, ``Oh, hey, we made a mistake. You owe us $5,000 back.'' prgtoken Well, the normal American, , doesn't have that kind of financial planning expertise, and relies on the quality of our VA services to not make mistakes like that. prgtoken So it is a pleasure to work with Mr. Kim on this measure to try to improve that situation and answer the IG's own report at the VA that this is a serious problem affecting over 1.5 million veterans. prgtoken This bill tries to tackle this issue by improving Veterans Administration IT systems, which are often the cause of this challenge, and offers veterans that unknowingly are forced to go without their earned benefits for extended periods of time some recourse on being a victim of an overpayment and have their credit impaired. prgtoken I am proud to represent veterans from Camp Robinson and Little Rock Air Force Base in our central Arkansas area. I am proud to work on something that rectifies a common problem across this country. prgtoken , I thank my friend from New Jersey for his work and for the leadership of the committee for bringing this bill to the House floor.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
James M. Inhofe (Republican, OK) \u2014 2019-11-12

I rise to offer a tribute to Nancy J. Fletcher, a long-serving chief executive of a respected national trade association whose leadership has benefited Oklahoma and the Nation. prgtoken Nancy Fletcher led the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, now known as the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, for nearly 30 years as president and CEO. prgtoken An attorney, Ms. Fletcher shares my deep respect for property rights, as spelled out in the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment: private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. prgtoken Ahead of Ms. Fletcher's retirement, I recall some of her important contributions to the Nation and to Oklahoma. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Ms. Fletcher and her colleagues in the industry immediately posted messages of national unity and resolve. prgtoken During her long leadership, technology changed all types of media, including out of home media. As some billboards were converted to digital electronic displays, Ms. Fletcher pioneered partnerships with law enforcement, emergency managers, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. These partnerships, including with the National Weather Center in Norman, have had positive benefits for communicating emergency services, featuring tip lines to locate fugitives and share information to help missing children return home. prgtoken Please join me in extending congratulations to Nancy Fletcher for her successful leadership of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and her contributions to the public good.
VA OVERPAYMENT ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
David P. Roe (Republican, TN) \u2014 2019-11-12

. Madam , as much time as I may consume. prgtoken Madam , I rise today in support of H.R. 4360, the VA Overpayment Accountability Act. prgtoken Veterans receive overpayments for many reasons. For example, a veteran may erroneously receive drill pay and disability compensation at the same time. A veteran may reduce their course load after their GI Bill payment has been sent from the Department of Veterans Affairs to the school, or a veterans' marital status may have changed, but they continue to receive additional compensation for dependents. As a result, VA creates a debt that the veteran must pay back. prgtoken In some instances, the veteran may be aware that he or she had been overpaid and that VA will most likely ask them to return the money, but in other circumstances, they may not. prgtoken I am concerned that many overpayments are caused by VA's negligence, not the veterans. prgtoken Unexpectedly receiving a debt notification letter can create big problems for veterans and their families, especially if they can't afford to pay VA back; therefore, it is critical that the VA has the tools it needs to effectively prevent overpayments, and that if certain types of overpayments are unavoidable, VA's recoupment process is fair and considerate for veterans. prgtoken This bill is sponsored by Congressman Andy Kim from New Jersey and is intended to ensure that veterans are not unduly harmed by VA's debt collection process. prgtoken Madam , I appreciate his leadership on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4360. prgtoken Madam , .
PRESIDENT ERDOGAN
James Lankford (Republican, OK) \u2014 2019-11-13

the United States is always grateful to receive heads of State from around the world. Heads of State from around the world come to the United States because they know we are 25 percent of the world's economy. We are the most powerful military in the world. We are the most moral Nation in the world in how we manage freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of opportunity for all people within our country. When we see a problem in our country, we work to address that. prgtoken So with that, we are welcoming another head of State to the United States today, President Erdogan of Turkey. Turkey has been a long- standing NATO ally. NATO was formed in the late 1940s. Turkey and Greece were the first two countries that came into NATO after its formation in the 1940s. Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952. We have a very important military base based in Turkey, Incirlik Air Force Base. It is key in the war against terror in that entire region. Turkey hosts the largest Syrian refugee population. Turkey has been very engaged in NATO, filling all of its billets and all of its requirements. They have worked to be a good partner. They have partnered with us in not only the War on Terror in multiple different countries in the regions, but they have been very faithful to engage with NATO as a whole. prgtoken But something is happening in Turkey that I hope President and President Erdogan had a very frank discussion on because since 2016, President Erdogan of Turkey is shifting Turkey away from NATO toward Russia, toward a more authoritative regime, changing their Constitution to give more power to Erdogan and to whoever his successor is--if there is a successor to Erdogan, if he doesn't maintain power and keep it forever from here on out. prgtoken There was a mayoral election in Istanbul that Erdogan didn't agree with, and so he declared it null and void and forced another election in Istanbul, hoping to get the outlook he wanted, but the Turkish people actually voted even more so against Erdogan in the next election in Istanbul, putting in someone who directly opposed Erdogan and his party. prgtoken President Erdogan recently imprisoned an American pastor who had served more than 20 years in Turkey, serving people of all faiths and all backgrounds in the beautiful city of Izmir. He rounded up Andrew Brunson with tens of thousands of other people whom President Erdogan and his government considered a threat, and most of them they have been held without charges for years now. There are thousands of people right now who are still awaiting their day in court from the 2016 coup. Not knowing if any of these folks were actually connected to the coup, they rounded up teachers, journalists, law enforcement individuals--just everyone they could round up that they had any suspicion of and imprisoned them and said: We will bring charges to you later. Thousands are still waiting for ``later.'' <|
SUPPORT NATION'S FARMERS AND RANCHERS
Michael Guest (Republican, MS) \u2014 2019-11-13

. Madam , the Founding Fathers understood the important role that our farmers and ranchers would play in the construction of our great Nation, and Congress has always played a pivotal role as a friend to our agriculture community. prgtoken The USMCA is an agreement that would strengthen trade relations with two of our largest trading partners, Mexico and Canada, and would give a much-needed boost to the American farmer. prgtoken In August of this year, I toured Mississippi with the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. During these visits, and in subsequent meetings, the Mississippi agriculture community has consistently discussed the importance of the USMCA and asked for its approval. prgtoken Unfortunately, the House majority has chosen impeachment instead of ratifying this trade agreement. The majority is prioritizing a partisan political process over substantive policy issues that would strengthen our country. prgtoken Madam , I ask that we focus on the real work that needs to be accomplished this year and pass the USMCA in support of our Nation's farmers and ranchers.
COMMEMORATING THE NAMING CEREMONY OF OCUSOFT'S BERNARD T. HALLORAN BUILDING
Pete Olson (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-11-13

. Madam , I rise today to commemorate OCuSoft's dedication of their new building in the name of their co-founder, Bernard T. Halloran. prgtoken Thirty years ago, Bernard, alongside Nat Adkins and Cynthia Barrett, helped form OCuSoft, a ground-breaking company in my district specializing in the research, development and supply of skin and eye care products. They are a pioneer in their field, innovating many new products including the first commercially available eyelid cleanser. prgtoken Mr. Halloran embodies everything that's great about America-- entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation. It's inspiring to think about all the advances that will take place within the building bearing his name in the years to come. prgtoken I had the pleasure of speaking at the dedication ceremony, where I asked who was in favor of naming the new building after Bernard. prgtoken Needless to say, the ``EYES'' had it. prgtoken Congratulations to OCuSoft and Bernard T. Halloran on this tremendous achievement.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. RES. 150
Lindsey Graham (Republican, SC) \u2014 2019-11-13

No. 1, there is nobody I admire more on foreign policy than Senator Menendez. He has been a champion of this cause. My objection will not be to sugarcoat history, nor to rewrite it. I just met with President Erdogan and President about the S- 400 purchase and about the problems we face in Syria from the military incursion by Turkey, and I do hope Turkey and Armenia can come together and deal with this problem. But given where we are in Syria and some hope that maybe we can resolve things, I object, not because of the past but because of the future.