mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
DHS ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION INTEGRITY ACT OF 2019
John Joyce (Republican, PA) \u2014 2019-5-14

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise today in support of H.R. 1912, the DHS Acquisition Documentation Integrity Act of 2019. This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security to better document its major acquisition programs that are essential to keeping America safe. prgtoken While every Member of Congress will agree that protecting our Nation and its citizens is vitally important, we must also agree that protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring accountability for the government agencies is also essential. prgtoken The Government Accountability Office assists Congress in its efforts to ensure accountability by producing a report every 2 years that identifies areas in the Federal Government that are at high risk of waste, fraud, and abuse. Major acquisitions by DHS have consistently been identified by the GAO as high risk. prgtoken This legislation requires DHS to improve management of its major purchases of systems to secure the border, provide screening for travelers, and protect our shores, and for our other vital missions. prgtoken Too often, DHS has failed to document what these programs will cost, when they will be completed, and what they will deliver. It is unacceptable to spend billions of taxpayer dollars and not document this important information. prgtoken To address these issues, DHS has updated its acquisition policy to follow corporate best practices. However, it must take additional steps to ensure its components adhere to these policies. prgtoken H.R. 1912 provides important tools to ensure that these policies are being followed. It will improve visibility into DHS major acquisition programs and promote better management of DHS acquisitions of items that are expected to cost more than $300 million. prgtoken Under the bill, the Undersecretary for Management must require the relevant component or office to maintain documentation that provides validated operational requirements, a complete lifecycle cost estimate, an independent verification of that cost estimate, a cost-benefit analysis of the program, and a complete schedule for the acquisition program. prgtoken With this documentation, Congress and other government watchdogs will be able to conduct necessary oversight to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively. prgtoken This bill passed the House of Representatives by voice vote in both the 114th and 115th Congresses. prgtoken , I commend Representative Torres Small for reintroducing this language, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. prgtoken , .
REAUTHORIZING BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT PROGRAM
Doug Collins (Republican, GA) \u2014 2019-5-14

I am ready to close, and the balance of my time. prgtoken Again, I will come back to the issue. This bulletproof vest bill is a great bill. It needs to be permanent. In fact, if we can do better, it would be great. We need to do more. prgtoken I made my point about this letter, and, unfortunately, this is a stain on Police Week, and hopefully we can do better, and I know we will. prgtoken I trust my friend from Georgia. I trust my friend from New Jersey. We can do this, and we can do this better. I am sorry that this is the way it has had to start, but actions do speak louder than anything else, than words, like I said, and this is an action on Police Week that, frankly, is unbelievable. prgtoken Support this underlying bill. Support this bill for bulletproof vests. Support our officers not just with words, but with actions as well, and I know the Members here on this floor are doing that. It is just a shame that this had to come out with that. prgtoken , .
HONORING CHEF ESTEVAN JIMENEZ
Jimmy Panetta (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2019-5-16

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Chef Estevan Jimenez for his exemplary community service on the central coast of California. Chef Jimenez's important work with at-risk youth at Ranch Cielo has had a lasting impact on the community and continues to inspire young people to pursue careers in the culinary arts. Recently awarded the 2019 Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation's Monterey Bay Chapter, Chef Jimenez exemplifies the very best of the Central Coast. prgtoken Chef Jimenez attended the California School of Culinary Arts' Le Cordon Bleu program. He moved to Monterey shortly after graduating to work as a chef for Bon Appetit Management, handling the restaurants and events for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Always exuding professionalism and expertise, Chef Jimenez was promoted in 2007 and eventually moved on to the position of executive sous chef at the Ventana Inn in Big Sur. He then returned to the Monterey Peninsula to work for Aqua Terra Culinary and eventually Rancho Cielo's Drummond Culinary Academy. Over the years, Chef Jimenez has blazed a fiery trail in the culinary industry and has always promoted excellence and encouragement. prgtoken As executive chef of the Drummond Culinary Academy, Mr. Jimenez oversees all of the culinary education programs and acts as a mentor to underserved and disconnected youth to provide a path for a brighter future. Chef Jimenez has also volunteered his time for a variety of fundraising causes throughout Monterey County including the United Way, Salinas Rotary, Kinship Center, ASPCA, Meals on Wheels, Artichoke Festival, and Community Christmas Dinner of Monterey. Utilizing his culinary talents, Chef Jimenez has mentored and prepared our community throughout his career. prgtoken Madam , it is my honor to recognize the incredible community service of the American Culinary Federation's Monterey Bay Chapter 2019 Chef of the Year, Chef Estevan Jimenez, for his tremendous contributions to California's 20th Congressional District. I ask my distinguished colleagues to join in me in thanking him for all that he has done for our community on the Central Coast and congratulating him on this prestigious award.
Healthcare (Executive Session)
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2019-5-16

across America, there are 130 million individuals who have a preexisting condition. This means individuals have a diagnosis, an illness, a medical condition that without the Affordable Care Act would likely mean they were priced out of insurance because the costs associated with their illness are so high that no insurer would provide them coverage or the cost of insurance is much higher than those who don't have that illness or that condition. prgtoken These preexisting conditions don't discriminate. They affect s and , liberals and conservatives, people who watch FOX News, people who watch MSNBC. This isn't a partisan issue; preexisting conditions affect everybody. prgtoken In my State, give or take, 522,000 people have preexisting conditions, and I talk to them every time I go back to Connecticut. I remember 2 years ago when I was walking across the State--something I do every year. I take about a week in the summer, and I walk from one end of the State to the other end--there were families who would find out on social media where I was going to be walking that day and pre- position prgtoken themselves hours ahead of time by the side of the road so they could tell me about their diagnosis. One young woman was sobbing on the side of the road in Meriden, CT, as she explained to me her lupus diagnosis and how, without the Affordable Care Act and the protections it provides her, she would not have insurance; she would not be able to afford the medications that keep her well and alive; and her life would be ruined. Those individuals are freaking out today because they have watched this President--and frankly this Congress--use every power at their disposal, every tool in their toolkit to try to take away these protections for people who are sick, for people who, through no fault of their own, just have higher medical bills than the rest of us. They don't feel like they should be discriminated against or forsaken by the health insurance marketplace because of their unfortunate diagnosis. prgtoken The latest assault on people with preexisting conditions comes through an effort by the administration to allow States to sell insurance plans that don't cover basic medical needs, plans that would allow for a skimpy set of benefits to be sold out on the insurance marketplaces. Now, admittedly, that might be good news for pretty healthy people who don't want to pay for a full insurance product because they think they don't need it. prgtoken The first problem with that is you are only healthy until you are not healthy. The second bigger problem is, when all the healthy people go to these skimpy plans--sometimes called junk plans--and all the people with preexisting conditions get left behind on the regulated plans, where insurance is real, where it covers everything you need, costs go down for the healthy people, and they go through the roof for the sick people, which is the e
HONORING GARDEN GROVE'S FALLEN FIVE
J. Luis Correa (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2019-5-16

. Madam , I rise today to honor the City of Garden Grove's Fallen Five: Sergeant Myron L. Trapp, Officer Andy Reese, Officer Donald F. Reed, Officer Michael Rainford, and Master Officer Howard Dallies, Jr.--the officers Garden Grove has lost in the line of duty. prgtoken On October 6, 1959, Sergeant Myron L. Trapp was responding to a call involving a man who was angry about the noise from road work on his street. Trapp was trying to talk the man out of his house when a fellow officer approached the front door. The man fired his rifle through the door. He missed the first officer but struck and killed Trapp. prgtoken Officer Andy Reese, a reserve officer, was directing traffic during the Strawberry Festival on May 30, 1970 when an impatient driver sped past slow-moving traffic and hit Reese, killing him. prgtoken On June 7, 1980, Officer Donald Reed and three fellow officers entered a bar to serve a man with an arrest warrant. Reed was escorting him out the back door when the man drew and fired a semi-automatic handgun. Reed was struck in the chest and killed. prgtoken Officer Michael Rainford was conducting a routine traffic stop on a Garden Grove Freeway on-ramp while on patrol on November 7, 1980. He was killed by a drunk driver. prgtoken Master Officer Howard Dallies, Jr. pulled over a motorcyclist on March 9, 1993. As Dallies approached the motorcycle, the driver fired six shots at the officer, hitting him four times. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died from his wounds. prgtoken For the past three decades, the city of Garden Grove has honored the Fallen Five with a memorial service that brings together family, friends, and colleagues of the fallen officers, as well as community organizations and the public, to pay tribute to the lives and sacrifices of these men. This year, the theme of the Call to Duty Police Memorial is `The Thin Blue Line,' a symbol of law enforcement solidarity. prgtoken These five brave men donned the uniform and badge for the Garden Grove Police Department and they all sacrificed their lives to keep their community safe. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring these officers for their service.
MARKETING AND OUTREACH RESTORATION TO EMPOWER HEALTH EDUCATION ACT OF 2019
Ann M. Kuster (Democrat, NH) \u2014 2019-5-16

. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Pallone for yielding and for his guidance and leadership on the Energy and Commerce Committee as we advance critical legislation this week to stabilize the Affordable Care Act and drive down prescription drug costs for all Americans. prgtoken Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 987, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act. I rise hand in hand with Granite Staters and all Americans who have been denied care or have been charged more for care because of preexisting conditions. prgtoken Asthma, allergies, Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes--you can go right through the alphabet--having a child, these are preexisting conditions. And I believe people should not suffer more when they are at their most vulnerable. Patients should not be discriminated against or treated unfairly when they need help the most. prgtoken I am committed to reversing the administration's continuous, unrelenting sabotage of the Affordable Care Act that allows and encourages junk health plans. prgtoken H.R. 987 invests in access to quality care while lowering prescription drug prices. It ensures that generics can come to market as soon as possible so that seniors are not skipping the medication they need because they cannot afford it. prgtoken I support this legislation because it puts patients first. I thank Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester for her leadership on this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 987.
Nominations (Executive Session)
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2019-5-16

I come to the floor again this morning to discuss several judicial nominations considered by the Senate this week. prgtoken Earlier this week, the Senate voted to confirm Michael Truncale to the Eastern District of Texas and Kenneth Lee to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seat in California, and today we will be voting on the nomination of Wendy Vitter to the Eastern District of Louisiana. prgtoken The Senate is considering and confirming nominees whose records indicate they are far outside the mainstream. I have worked very hard over a number of years now--I guess we are in our eighth year--working with Senator Toomey, to fill district court vacancies in Pennsylvania with well-qualified and experienced judges whom I believe will be able to set aside their ideologies or personal beliefs and apply the law to the cases before them. But I do not have the same confidence in many of the nominees before this body today and especially the nominees we are considering. prgtoken I will go in the order that I mentioned before--first, Michael Truncale, then Kenneth Lee, and Wendy Vitter. I believe that in all three cases, all are not mainstream conservatives. Their backgrounds and records are very political, and they have long records of advocating for certain positions on issues that may come before them as either a U.S. district court judge or an appellate judge. prgtoken First of all, Mr. Truncale has advocated strongly for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which provided healthcare coverage and critical patient protections for 20 million people prgtoken in terms of coverage and tens of millions more in terms of protection. prgtoken He said that the Affordable Care Act would ``lead to the rationing of healthcare.'' He has personally advocated for abolishing the Department of Education, and he used false, unfounded claims of voter fraud to support voter ID laws that disproportionately affect low-income voters and communities of color. prgtoken Second, Kenneth Lee was confirmed over the objections of both California Senators, Senator and Senator Feinstein--Senator Feinstein, in this case, being the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, the very committee that considers judges. Mr. Lee has a litany of writings that include offensive statements about immigrants, people of color, and LGBT Americans. He has strongly opposed affirmative action policies that help make our institutions of higher learning more diverse, and it is very possible that he may consider matters relating to these policies as a member of the Ninth Circuit. prgtoken Finally, Wendy Vitter has virtually no Federal trial court experience, has a long record of opposing contraception, and has promoted false information about the safety of oral contraceptives. These views are not only outside of the mainstream--the judicial or legal mainstream--but they are also not supported by science. prgtoken I don't believe these nominees wil
IN RECOGNITION OF VA-10 UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ENLISTEES
Jennifer Wexton (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2019-5-16

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the 27 high school seniors from Virginia's 10th Congressional District who plan to enlist in the United States Air Force after graduation. These students have excelled over the course of their high school careers and I congratulate them on their graduation and their future plans. I commend these student leaders for their courageous decision to pursue a path to serve their country as a member of the United States Air Force. I rise to recognize the following students: Dewan Abdullah, Ishmael Bobbitt, Mia Broady, Ivanna Jenkins, Michael Jones, Alexine Koiwood, Kirsten Ladestron, Stefanie Marroquin, Jeremy Michaels, Kendal Riley, Kamaryn Sablan, Adam Sibal, Ian Allison, Shawn Bourne, Daniel Castano, Nicholaus Featherston, Douglas Flenniken, Benjamin Hayams, Guillermo Lozano, Jayden Nowicki, Tim Rickard, Elijah Robinson, Sean Stewart, Amanda Vacher, John Zuniga-Castaneda, Corbin Tucker, and Dallas Tucker. The students were recognized at a ceremony conducted in Sterling, Virginia on May 16, 2019, by the Northern Virginia chapter of Our Community Salutes and the Blue Star Mothers of Northern Virginia. Madam , I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing and applauding these students and their families on their pursuits and wish them the best as they set forth to begin the process of learning to defend our great nation and remember that we owe those who serve a debt of gratitude.
MARKETING AND OUTREACH RESTORATION TO EMPOWER HEALTH EDUCATION ACT OF 2019
David N. Cicilline (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2019-5-16

every day in kitchens and living rooms all across America, working men and women sit down and try to figure out how to pay for their prescription drugs. That is because 25 percent of the people in this country can't afford the medicine they have been prescribed. prgtoken Seniors are choosing between COPD and their the groceries. People with cancer are being forced to delay their treatment, cut pills in half, or even forgo treatment altogether. This is happening in the richest, most powerful nation in the history of the world. It is a disgrace. prgtoken If government is going to work for the people, then the people who serve in government need to end this crisis, and are committed to doing just that. We are taking on the big pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists, and we are going to get the job done. prgtoken That is why I am proud that my legislation, the CREATES Act, is included in this legislative package. The CREATES Act will save taxpayers $3.9 billion, according to the CBO, and bring down the cost of some prescription drugs by as much as 85 percent. prgtoken The CREATES Act does this by directly addressing the abusive delay tactics that big drug companies use to block or delay generic competitors from entering the market. prgtoken Over the past decade, some of the biggest drug companies have abused regulatory protocols so they can prevent the sale of affordable drugs. This lets them maintain their control of the marketplace, pull in monopoly profits, and keep their prices at inflated levels. prgtoken If it is signed into law, the CREATES Act will create a tailored path for generic drug competitors to obtain the samples that are necessary for regulatory approval of their lower cost formulations. prgtoken I am proud that this bill is not only backed by many of our colleagues, but it also has the support of a diverse coalition of healthcare providers, patient groups, and public interest organizations, including AARP and Public Citizen. And I am proud it is included in this package today. prgtoken The majority leader in the Senate likes to describe himself as the grim reaper for ic legislative proposals. I hope that won't be the case here. He needs to put the interests of the American people ahead of his obsession with fighting every step of the way. prgtoken The CREATES Act and these other proposals that are contained in this package deserve an up-or-down vote in the United States Senate. The American people deserve relief from these outrageous prescription drug prices, and this legislation will achieve that.
MARKETING AND OUTREACH RESTORATION TO EMPOWER HEALTH EDUCATION ACT OF 2019
Peter Welch (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2019-5-16

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , this amendment, which I will describe in a moment, is about improving and preserving the Affordable Care Act. The word ``sabotage'' has been used here. We don't need that word. We have a very straightforward, very transparent difference of view. prgtoken The supported and passed the Affordable Care Act. We have been defending it for years. The s opposed it. President made it a campaign pledge to get rid of it, and they came within a vote in the Senate, except for John McCain, of repealing the law altogether. prgtoken We don't have to use words that are pejorative. We think we should have the Affordable Care Act. We think we should make it stronger, and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to vote against it and now want to repeal it. prgtoken One of the ways to make the Affordable Care Act effective is to have automatic reenrollment. If a family is in the Affordable Care Act and the time for reenrollment comes up, if they take no action, then they are automatically reenrolled in the plan that they are already in. prgtoken If you take away the automatic reenrollment, folks fall off, oftentimes for no particular reason. They were doing other things; they didn't notice it; they didn't have the time; or they didn't get to a navigator. There are lots of things that come between automatic reenrollment and picking your own plan. prgtoken By the way, studies have shown that automatic reenrollment, like automatic withdrawal to go into your retirement account, is very, very effective. prgtoken The President has indicated a desire to get rid of the automatic reenrollment program. He hasn't done that yet. This amendment would prohibit him from doing so. prgtoken There is a reason why the administration would like to get rid of automatic reenrollment. The evidence suggests that that would mean about 2 million Americans would then lose access to their healthcare because they hadn't reenrolled. prgtoken We don't want that to happen. We want those American families who depend on the healthcare that they have to continue receiving that healthcare next year just like they received it this year. prgtoken This amendment makes it very clear that that automatic reenrollment program would continue to be part of the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken Keep in mind, it in no way limits the ability of a family or an individual to decide to get into a different plan or to affirmatively say they don't want to be in any plan. That can still happen. There is total and complete freedom of choice, but it gives security. It is going to be very beneficial to about 2 million American families. prgtoken , .