mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 2022--Motion to Proceed--Continued
Tommy Tuberville (Republican, AL) \u2014 2022-3-1

last week, President Putin of Russia ordered 100,000 to 200,000 Russians across Ukraine's border. Air raid sirens rang out. Bombs rained down. Russia declared war on Ukraine--the first war in Europe since 1945. prgtoken Putin's terror is hard to watch. We have all seen it on television in realtime, but it is important we not look away. Amid it all, we are seeing examples of heroism and hearing stories of strength. prgtoken Early in the fight, Russian warships called for Ukrainians to lay down their weapons on the small Snake Island. Ukrainian fighters answered with a bold response that has reverberated as a sort of drumbeat of defiance across the country. Since then, we have seen Ukrainians embody determination in the face of desperation--all in the name of freedom and love for their country. A Ukrainian marine sacrificed himself to blow up a bridge near Kyiv so that Russian tanks could not cross. prgtoken All the while, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine has stayed. He has not abandoned his country, even though he knows Putin's goal is to topple the Ukrainian Government--all this while knowing that President Putin of Russia has sent over assassins to eliminate him. He planted his feet and squared his shoulders for the fight and is rallying his fellow countrymen to do the same. prgtoken Ukrainian citizens are following suit, showing true bravery in the face of madness. As the Ukrainian Government began to hand out weapons, thousands and thousands lined up to receive them, men and women. Volunteers, ordinary citizens, are adding to the resistance. They are men and women, young and old, coming from all backgrounds and walks of life--all to defend freedom and democracy in their country. prgtoken It is clear Mr. Putin underestimated the Ukrainians' will to fight. While Ukrainians are handing Russia a tough fight, we know there will be hard days ahead. Mr. Putin's rationale for invading was the ``demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine,'' arguing that, if Ukraine joined NATO, the West would have an excuse to invade Russia. That is paranoia. That is delusion. That doesn't sound like a strong leader. It sounds like a weak leader. Putin was betting that NATO would fold and that countries would turn against one another. If anything, Mr. Putin's bullying has strengthened NATO. prgtoken Last week, Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, and now, in a somewhat surprising about-face, Germany is agreeing to send weapons to Ukraine. This not only frees up other countries to follow suit, but it also reverses their historic policy of never sending weapons to a conflict zone. prgtoken Over the weekend, the United States joined with the European Commission and Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany to ban select Russian banks from SWIFT. By limiting access to this international payment system, we move closer to the goal of further isolating Russia. Additionally, the group leveled sanctions on
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3967, HONORING OUR PROMISE TO ADDRESS COMPREHENSIVE TOXICS ACT OF 2021
Guy Reschenthaler (Republican, PA) \u2014 2022-3-1

I have no further speakers at this time, and the balance of my time. prgtoken , I am an Iraq war veteran. I was in Baghdad for 6 months in 2009. I can tell you that I am committed to ensuring the men and women who served our Nation receive the care and benefits they deserve. It is of utmost importance to me as a Member of this body and as an Iraq war veteran. prgtoken That is the reason why I am so disappointed in my friends across the aisle. I am disappointed that instead of considering the Senate-passed Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act--which, again, could immediately be sent to the President's desk--House are prioritizing legislation that is still a long way away from enactment and will delay benefits for toxic-exposed veterans. prgtoken Let me be clear. We can get help to veterans. We can get this bill to the desk of the President by the end of this week. The only thing standing in the way are my friends on the other side of the aisle. prgtoken It is for that reason I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question and vote ``no'' on the rule. prgtoken , .
POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 2022--Motion to Proceed--Continued
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2022-3-1

Russia is waging war, the likes we have not seen since World War II. They are waging war on freedom and democracy. prgtoken Over recent days, the world has watched in horror as Russian troops have invaded and brutally attacked Ukraine and Ukrainians. So far, estimates are that 350 Ukrainians have been killed. We really don't know what the number is, but we do know that countless civilians have been injured, and more than half a million Ukrainians, including women and children, are now refugees. prgtoken This invasion was not weeks or even months in the making; this has been Moscow's plan for years. Putin has made no secret of his desire to redraw the maps of Europe and to restore the Russian Empire. That is why in 2008, Russia invaded the nation of Georgia. In 2014, it invaded Ukraine, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, taking the Crimea region. So the current invasion of Ukraine is really the second invasion we have seen from Vladimir Putin's Russian Federation since 2014. Putin's appetite has not been satisfied. If anything, these invasions have made him hungrier for power. prgtoken The people of Ukraine have lived under the shadow of Russian aggression for years, and it has always been a question of when, not if, Russia would finally act. For months, Russia has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops on Ukraine's border, with numbers growing from a few thousand to more than 150,000. prgtoken Defenders of freedom and democracy everywhere look to the United States for leadership. But, sadly, they were let down. That is because when it comes to projecting strength to authoritarians like Vladimir Putin and President Xi, to the Ayatollahs in Iran and Kim Jong Un in North Korea, the administration repeatedly projects not strength but weakness. prgtoken First of all, when it comes to Europe and Ukraine and Russia, President should not have waived sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline last year. He should have never suggested that certain Russian attacks would be disregarded by the United States. A minor incursion, he said, might be overlooked. prgtoken And he should have taken swift action and imposed paralyzing sanctions on Russia before--before--an invasion to give them a taste of what might come, in an effort to deter Putin from invading in the first place. And we should have earlier sent greater defensive weapons to the Ukrainians. Strong action was called for before the war started, but unfortunately, we have been playing catchup since it did start. prgtoken But now, we have a critical task ahead of us. Between this crisis and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan stranding thousands of Americans without consultation or communication with any of our NATO allies that were discouraged and shocked to find out that we would leave them hanging, President has repeatedly given our NATO allies reason to doubt our commitment and our credibility. prgtoken I am sure V
POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 2022--Motion to Proceed--Continued
James E. Risch (Republican, ID) \u2014 2022-3-1

I rise today to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and in a moment, I am going to ask unanimous consent to pass some legislation which has been kicking around here for a while and is way overdue. prgtoken What we have witnessed over the past 5 days is a flagrant act of unprovoked aggression perpetrated by Russia against Ukraine. prgtoken The world we are living in today is different from the one we lived in last week. For months, I, along with my Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle, have watched the conflict inch closer and closer. prgtoken The intelligence community provided accurate and clear information on the situation, and for this, I commend them. I also commend them for releasing the vast majority, if not all of the information they had in an attempt to deter Putin. That didn't work. However, there is no question, we should have taken action sooner rather than later, and it is time to do so now in a much more aggressive fashion. prgtoken In preparation for this invasion, many of my Senate colleagues and I drafted hard-hitting sanctions and called repeatedly for more lethal assistance for months. We used all leverage at our disposal to pressure the administration to take sufficient action, but despite our actions, our efforts, it didn't happen. Certainly, some military assistance was provided, but it is hard not to think that if we had expedited Javelin and Stinger deliveries last year and let our allies move more equipment sooner, the Ukrainians would be making the Russians pay a much higher price. prgtoken Right now, Ukraine desperately needs the support of the international community. It needs us to sanction Russia, to punish its government for this unjustified attack. These Ukrainian heroes need more weapons, armor, and supplies to fight back the Russian invaders and preserve the lives of its population. prgtoken The administration was well-intentioned in pursuit of a diplomatic resolution for Russia's aggression, but the administration was wrong to oppose our congressional efforts to impose even tougher sanctions that were essential to make our deterrence credible. President made it clear that maximum economic sanctions would only come after Putin invaded. The administration's promise that the threat of sanctions would be enough to deter Putin was a mistake. Look where we are now. Diplomacy has failed. The invasion has happened. prgtoken While sanctions have now been levied on Russia, there is still room for more robust sanctions in order get Putin to pull back. I have always said I am all in on all of the above when it comes to Ukraine and Russia. prgtoken I am happy to support legislation proposed by my colleagues, but the Senate must take the lead and mandate the massive economic sanctions that President and his officials committed to. prgtoken The NYET Act, which I introduced 2 weeks ago with numerous cosponsors, prgtoken contains the tough sanct
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2022-3-1

tonight, on the other side of the Capitol, President will tell the American people what a great job he has done. He will read a speech, and seated behind him will be Nancy Pelosi and Vice President . prgtoken Not even the most extreme ic partisan can believe that the last 14 months have been a success. campaigned for President as a reasonable and centrist moderate, and he abandoned every one of those promises the moment he put his hand on the Bible. Instead, he has handed the agenda over to the most radical and extreme voices on the far left, and the result for the country has been disastrous. prgtoken In 14 months, we have seen trillions of new spending and trillions of new debt, the highest debt in the history of our Nation. prgtoken We have seen a war on domestic energy production. In his first week in office, shut down the Keystone Pipeline, destroying 11,000 jobs, destroying 8,000 union jobs. He halted new leasing on Federal lands and offshore drilling, and the predictable result of launching an assault on domestic energy production is that energy prices skyrocketed. prgtoken But for that matter, everything has skyrocketed--food, electricity, rent, home, lumber, gasoline, heat, every basic expense. Working families are suffering and especially seniors--especially those on fixed incomes. prgtoken Then we have our southern border--the absolute chaos and crisis on our southern border--over 2 million people crossing illegally into this country, the worst rate of illegal immigration in 61 years. And it is worth noting that inherited, the year before, the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. So he turned success into failure because he implemented the radical leftwing ideas of open borders from the extreme left. prgtoken The crime and chaos of disease coming from 2 million illegal immigrants is compounded domestically by the extreme left's war on the police. We have seen the far left advocating abolishing the police, advocating defunding the police. We have seen George Soros' funded district attorney releasing violent criminals. And as a result, crime is up, murders are up, carjacking is up. And the administration has embraced that radical agenda, nominating not one, but two of the leading advocates of abolishing the police to senior positions in the Department of Justice. Unfortunately, every single in this Chamber voted to confirm those leading advocates for abolishing the police. prgtoken We have seen implementing illegal and unconstitutional vaccine mandates; standing up and firing soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines; advocating that doctors be fired, that nurses be fired, that police officers be fired, that firefighters be fired, that airline captains and flight attendants be fired--an assault on our liberties. And as disastrous as the domestic policy has been and as disastrous as the econo
CELEBRATING THE ATHLETES FROM BEARDEN HIGH SCHOOL
Tim Burchett (Republican, TN) \u2014 2022-3-1

. Madam , I rise to recognize somebody who really needs no recognition at all but is somebody who is very dear to me. He is a good friend of mine. He is a Tennessee Volunteer legend, Gus Manning. He is turning 99 this July, and I wanted to take a few moments to recognize Gus' life and distinguished career here on the House floor. prgtoken Gus is a lifelong Knoxvillian. He graduated from Rule High School, the Fighting Golden Bears, and then served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. After he completed serving his country in the Marine Corps he decided to become a Tennessee Volunteer, and that journey began. prgtoken A tremendously athletic individual, Gus walked onto UT's football team in 1947 and played baseball for the Volunteers. He graduated from Tennessee in 1950 but returned to UT in 1951 when the athletic director, General Robert Neyland, hired him to be the sports information director for Volunteer athletics. This was the beginning of Gus' nearly half-century long professional career with UT's athletic department. prgtoken Outside of the athletic department, Gus co-hosted Vol Sports Report on WIVK. He also served as president of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Southeastern Conference Sports Information Directors, and the Southeastern Conference Business Managers. prgtoken From 1951 to 2003, Gus attended 608 consecutive Tennessee Volunteers football games. His dedication to the University of Tennessee's athletic program earned him inductions into halls of fame and awards from various organizations. His greatest recognition came in 2015, when Gate 16 at Neyland Stadium was renamed Gus Manning Gate. It is fitting that an individual who dedicated so much of his life to the football teams that play in that stadium is now a part of it forever. prgtoken I thank Gus for continuing to be such a great representative of the University of Tennessee and its athletic programs.
PUTIN'S WAR
Joe Wilson (Republican, SC) \u2014 2022-3-1

on Friday, I was grateful, as the ranking member of the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to address the Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna, Austria. Our delegation was ably led by Co-Chair Steve Cohen. prgtoken The bipartisan United States delegation of and s being transatlantic, with our valued European and Indo-Pacific allies, have been unintentionally united about the Putin war of mass murder in Ukraine, violating the principles of the Helsinki Final Act. Here, we want to emphasize the devastating human cost of the Putin war against the families of Ukraine, isolating Russia and Belarus from the modern world. prgtoken I was grateful over the years to have visited Russia a number of times where I was so impressed by the talented citizens. Today, they are being betrayed by Putin in his obsession for oil, money, and power. Two months ago, I visited Kyiv and it is horrifying to know of the attacks. prgtoken Sadly, in Belarus, dictator Lukashenko has become a puppet facilitating the Putin war. It is inspiring that the legal President of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, would have her first loyalty to the people of Belarus, not the war criminal, Putin. prgtoken In conclusion, God bless Ukraine. God save Ukraine. Long live President Volodymyr Zelensky.
VOTE EXPLANATION
Mark Kelly (Democrat, AZ) \u2014 2022-3-2

on February 16, 2022, I missed vote No. 56, cloture on Executive Calendar No. 692, Celeste Ann Wallander, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yes. prgtoken , on February 16, 2022, I missed vote No. 57, cloture on Executive Calendar No. 476, David A. Honey, of Virginia, to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yes. prgtoken , on February 16, 2022, I missed vote No. 58, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 692, Celeste Ann Wallander, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yes. prgtoken , on February 16, 2022, I missed vote No. 59, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 476, David A. Honey, of Virginia, to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yes. prgtoken , on February 17, 2022, I missed vote No. 60, motion to invoke cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 6617; a bill making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yes. prgtoken , on February 17, 2022, I missed vote No. 61, on the amendment S. Amdt. 4929: Lee Amdt. No. 4929; to prohibit funding for COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted no. prgtoken , on February 17, 2022, I missed vote No. 62, on the amendment S. Amdt. 4927: Cruz Amdt No 4927; to prohibit the use of Federal funding for schools and early childhood development facilities that enforce COVID-19 vaccine mandates on children in order to protect the rights of parents to make medical decisions that affect their child. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted no. prgtoken , on February 17, 2022, I missed vote No. 63, on amendment S. Amndt. 4930: Braun Amndt. No. 4930; to strike the Statutory PAYGO exemption and require balanced budgets in concurrent resolutions on the budget. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yes. prgtoken , on February 17, 2022, I missed vote No. 64, on passage of the bill: H.R. 6617; a bill making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yes.
SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE
David N. Cicilline (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2022-3-2

I thank Chairman Meeks for his extraordinary leadership in this very important moment. prgtoken I rise in strong support of H. Res. 956 and in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. prgtoken On February 24, Vladimir Putin thought he was making another step toward realizing his delusional pursuit of reconstituting the U.S.S.R. when he ordered the brutal invasion of the sovereign and peaceful nation of Ukraine. prgtoken Vladimir Putin thought the Ukrainian people would give in quickly to the violence and abandon their freedoms. prgtoken Vladimir Putin thought President Zelensky would flee and capitulate to Russian demands. prgtoken Vladimir Putin thought the world would turn a blind eye toward Russian aggression. prgtoken Vladimir Putin thought wrong. prgtoken In fact, as Chairman Meeks said, we saw firsthand the determination and the will of the Ukrainian people to fight to preserve their own country and their own freedoms. They are doing that today, fighting day by day, hour by hour, to protect their country and secure a free and democratic future for themselves and their families. prgtoken The free world has rallied together to impose devastating sanctions against Russia, against the Russian economy, and to hold the Putin regime and his enablers to account for their crimes. prgtoken I strongly support this resolution, and I know the United States and its allies are united behind the people of Ukraine, behind the values of freedom and democracy and against the tyranny of a thuggish dictator, Vladimir Putin. prgtoken I thank Chairman Meeks for his extraordinary leadership and thank Ranking Member McCaul as well.
HONORING OUR PROMISE TO ADDRESS COMPREHENSIVE TOXICS ACT OF 2021
Abigail Davis Spanberger (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2022-3-2

my commitment to supporting veterans suffering from toxic exposures has been ironclad since I first met the late Michael Lecik, a father, a husband, a firefighter, and a veteran who died of cancer related to his exposures. prgtoken It continued when I met Gillie Jenkins, an atomic war veteran from Chesterfield, Virginia, who in his 90s is still fighting for the recognition of his brothers in arms and the sacrifices that they made. prgtoken Today, when I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 3967, I am doing so inspired by William G. Collins, a veteran from Louisa County, Virginia. My amendment would require the VA to investigate the long- term health impacts of jet fuel exposures on our country's servicemembers. prgtoken Mr. Collins, a veteran from Louisa County, Virginia, is living with Parkinson's. As a former Air Force crew fire chief, his years of constant exposure to jet fuel put him at risk, but now the VA does not recognize Mr. Collins' condition as having a service connection. Mr. Collins served honorably, and he should know that his country has his back. prgtoken , this amendment would bring us one step closer to ensure that veterans like William have the healthcare benefits they deserve and the acknowledgment of their sacrifice. prgtoken Mr. Collins says, ``This disease has impacted my health, my economic security, and potentially my wife and I's dream of spending our last years on our beloved farm where we raised our family.'' prgtoken , today I urge my colleagues to support this long overdue amendment as we support all of our Nation's veterans.