mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mike Lee (Republican, UT) \u2014 2021-8-7

we are debating a bill that a number of us have spoken of on a number of occasions. Since my last address on the Senate floor on this topic, we received a score on the bill from the Congressional Budget Office. prgtoken Now, remember, it is the CBO's role to put together a score on legislation we are considering. It is part of how the system works in Washington so we can assess what will and will not add to the deficit and how it will do so if it does. It is an important part of the process. prgtoken When we finally received the CBO score just about 48 hours ago, we discovered a few things. We discovered that, despite the representations we have heard by the bill's staunchest advocates to the effect that the bill would be paid for--that it is, that it would not add to the debt and deficit, and that it would not add to the debt and deficit in a way that also didn't involve raising taxes--it turned out that the CBO rejected the claim that this bill was paid for. In fact, the CBO concluded that $256 of the $550 billion it claimed in pay-fors did not pay. They are not paid for, and thus that they will considerably--I mean, we are talking here about over a quarter of a trillion dollars that would go right on to the debt and deficit. prgtoken They also concluded that in the long run, over the next 10 years, we will be looking at an additional $340 billion in cost to the Federal Government--a cost that by some estimates could reach as high as $400 billion because of the spillover effect that this bill is likely to have on future spending, contracting authority, and otherwise. prgtoken So this bill is not paid for. The pay-fors suggested by the bill's proponents don't get the job done. In fact, more than half of them simply don't get there. We do, however, see that there are some of the pay-fors that create significant policy concerns. prgtoken One of the pay-fors that isn't fake is an extension of the so-called g-fees--g-fees being imposed by entities like Fannie Mae that will inevitably increase the cost that home buyers will face when they go to buy a home. Now, why does that matter here? Well, we have seen a startling uptick in inflation--inflation across the board, everything from gas to groceries and everything from healthcare to housing. We see that increasing stunningly in a way that a lot of people are pointing out, correctly, that first-time home buyers are now finding it very difficult to get into a home. This is something that is going to end up affecting all poor and middle-class Americans at a time they can little afford it. And yet we are increasing these fees--fees that are in effect a back-door invisible tax on a lot of those who are least in a position to pay. prgtoken Some of the other non-fake pay-fors that actually do bring something in include an increase in the fees paid by manufacturers and distributors of certain chemicals. The issue there is that this fee, while labeled as not
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2021-8-7

now that cloture has been invoked on the substitute bill, we are one step closer to completing this product, which has been the subject of bipartisan negotiation with the White House for quite some time. I know a lot of hard work has been put into this, and I want to thank all of our colleagues who have contributed to it. prgtoken After much anticipation, we finally received the bill text earlier this week. Of course, a lot of it was what we expected to see: funding for roads, bridges, ports, waterways, airports, and broadband. prgtoken Under normal circumstances, an infrastructure bill would go through a long and arduous committee process prgtoken before ever coming to the floor. Members of the committees of jurisdiction would have an opportunity to debate and offer amendments and get votes on their proposals to try to improve the bill at the committee level. This provides a very important part of the ability of everybody to be able to participate in the process, one that is denied members of their committees of relevant jurisdiction when a bill comes to the floor already negotiated. prgtoken One of the challenges is when you have 20 people who agree on something and then they bring it to the floor, and, of course, then the 80 who have not been part of that discussion want to participate and want to try to improve the underlying bill. prgtoken I hope that now that the cloture on the substitute has been invoked, there will be an opportunity for us to vote on some additional amendments. prgtoken I have been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to identify new pay-fors that could be adopted as amendments, and we have come up with some good ideas that I hope can receive votes now, even postcloture. prgtoken But I want to talk specifically about an amendment that I have worked on with Senator Padilla, the junior Senator from California, to fund infrastructure projects in communities across our country without increasing the deficit. Our amendment simply gives States and local governments the flexibility to use unspent COVID relief funding on infrastructure projects. prgtoken Right now, there are limitations that we put on that funding. Of course, at the time those limitations or guardrails were put on that funding, we didn't know how long this pandemic would last or what the actual needs were of the various States and local jurisdictions. prgtoken So qualifying expenses include things that are directly related to the pandemic, like COVID-19 testing sites, vaccine PSAs, and additional bed space for hospitals. But here is the rub: That funding cannot be used on expenses unrelated to the pandemic or items that were previously included in the budget. They must be new pandemic-related expenses. prgtoken In theory, and at the time, that made a lot of sense. After all, this funding was meant to bolster the fight against COVID-19 in our communities. But not every community has the same need. In m
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Rand Paul (Republican, KY) \u2014 2021-8-7

. The Treasury has been so thoroughly looted that we are incurring debt at a record-setting and alarming pace. Never in the history of our country have we incurred so much debt so fast. prgtoken Our national debt now exceeds $28 trillion. It is now at 128 percent of our GDP. And we are asked by the ic Party to add $48 billion without so much as a--could we have a debate in committee?--so much as even a word spoken over this. We are just going to add $48 billion with no discussion. It is a huge mistake. prgtoken Now, it has been alleged that, well, the thing is that the restaurants are suffering because of COVID. No. They are suffering because Governors locked them down. This is a manmade phenomenon. The economic disaster that we are in, that restaurants are in, is completely and entirely caused by Governors. prgtoken In my State, they are suing the Governor because he won't let them open up. This is a manmade phenomenon. So if you reward a manmade phenomenon, you will get more of it. prgtoken You reward Governors who shut these restaurants down, guess what, they will shut them down longer. The longer you give money to Governors for their lockdown policies, the more lockdowns you will get. prgtoken We need to open up the country. We need to learn to live with this disease. As tragic as it has been, we need to learn to live with it. prgtoken But the lockdowns have not worked. Closing the restaurants did not work, did not change the trajectory of this virus one iota. The only thing that is changing the trajectory of this virus now is the vaccine, plus natural immunity. Closing the restaurants did nothing and is doing nothing, except for devastating the bottom line of restaurants. prgtoken So with that, I would object to the unanimous consent.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Marsha Blackburn (Republican, TN) \u2014 2021-8-7

I want to concur with my colleague from Tennessee in his beautifully stated remarks and the way he has brought forward the frustration that Tennesseans have. prgtoken You know, I had the opportunity to be at home yesterday. We have a great event going on in Nashville this weekend. It is called the Grand Prix. I had the opportunity to be at the opening event with a lot of women, small business owners. I had the opportunity later in the day to go cut the ribbon for a big county fair and see lots of families and talk to families who were there. Do you know what? They are completely confused with what is going on. prgtoken See, Tennesseans are really smart. They watch what is happening in Washington, DC. They are so concerned about the future and about freedom and freedom's cause, and they continue to say, as my colleague from Tennessee stated, that they want the best for their children and for their grandchildren because they appreciate the American dream. prgtoken Many of them have lived the American dream, whether they are a farmer or a teacher; whether they are a lawyer, an accountant, a mom, a dad, somebody who owns a small business on Main Street in one of our 95 counties in our beautiful towns. They have lived it. They are living it every single day--blood, sweat, tears, working long hours, investing. They look at what is happening here in Washington, and they are saying: Why are you in such a rush to force us into bankruptcy? prgtoken You know, July 6, 2010--I use this statement all the time, . Someone you and I each know because of our work on Armed Services: Admiral Mullen. July 6, 2010, he was asked a question: What keeps you up at night? What is the greatest threat to our Nation's freedom, our democracy? Do you know what he said? He said: Our Nation's debt. prgtoken Now, let me walk you back through the history of that debt. If we were to go from the time that George Washington became President up until the time that stepped out of office, our Nation had accrued a total of $10.6 trillion in debt--too much for me. prgtoken When I would go to the White House with President , I would say: , there are two things that I think need to be addressed. No. 1 is the out-of-control Federal spending, and No. 2 is the issue of illegal immigration. prgtoken Well, he left office $10.6 trillion in debt, but still very mild compared to what we are facing today, I think we would have to say. prgtoken Now, President took office, and he and went to work. Do you know what they did in 8 years? They ended up just about doubling our Nation's debt--double. prgtoken President came in, tried to pare back on regulations and cut the size of the Federal Government. And then we had COVID. That added to the debt. prgtoken Then here comes President , and it is as if the printing presses have cranked up on printing those dollar bills, running them through as
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Bill Hagerty (Republican, TN) \u2014 2021-8-7

I support hard infrastructure. It is in my DNA. As a kid, I grew up shoveling asphalt. My father and my grandfather were in the road construction business. prgtoken I served as the economic development commissioner in my home State of Tennessee. I understand firsthand the importance of quality infrastructure. It was essential to attracting good jobs to my State. So I am in complete agreement that shoring up our hard infrastructure is a worthy cause. prgtoken This bill does some of that, and that is good. But there are both good ways and bad ways to achieve noble ends. And the question is, What is the best way to achieve this goal? And my frustration is with the methods and with the vehicle that is being used here. prgtoken The first problem is that the bill sponsors repeatedly said it would be paid for. In fact, it is not. And it is more than a little bit off. It is over a quarter of a trillion dollars short. That is almost seven times the budget of my home State of Tennessee. prgtoken We waited weeks for the text of this legislation. And before the text even existed, the leader forced the Senate to vote on proceeding to it. There is absolutely no reason for rushing this process and attempting to limit scrutiny of this bill other than the ' completely artificial, self-imposed, and politically driven timeline. There will be more on that later. prgtoken The text, all 2,700-plus pages of it, was finally made available to us 6 days ago. The Senate has been able to consider that this week, but the Senate continued to wait all week for the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of what it would cost. prgtoken The CBO is the entity that Congress has agreed is responsible for scorekeeping on what legislation will cost the American people. prgtoken Let's keep in mind that meeting the definition of ``paid for'' in the CBO's eyes doesn't always make sense to the average American. For instance, CBO allows spending now to be offset by projected savings that won't happen for 10 years. CBO can allow savings that are already occurring naturally to count, effectively, as new savings for purposes of scoring a bill. prgtoken The point is, this kind of scoring is designed to make it easier for a bill to be scored as paid for, at least on paper. prgtoken As an example, the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Wharton Budget Model estimates that this legislation would actually add $351 billion in deficit spending, an even higher total than the CBO estimate. prgtoken The point is, even using these scorekeeping advantages, the CBO has made it clear this bill isn't paid for. prgtoken I understand why the ic leadership kept the CBO score under wraps until Thursday. It showed that the bill fell far short of ambitions. The CBO said that it misses the mark of being paid for by a cool quarter of a trillion dollars. prgtoken As an aside, I found it incredible that despite--or perhaps because of--getting this ne
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mitt Romney (Republican, UT) \u2014 2021-8-8

it is said that politics is the art of the possible, and I am afraid that, over time, someone might argue that politics has become the art of confusion. prgtoken There is so much confusion that goes on around issues of significance that in some cases, the media or the public has a hard time quite getting to the bottom of what is a fact and not a fact. prgtoken Perhaps, in some cases, the confusion is purposely spread by politicians like me and by others. So I hope today to be able to reduce some of the confusion for those who are paying attention to this debate. I will begin by focusing on some things that I think we can pretty much all agree on. prgtoken The first is that we as a nation need to invest in our infrastructure. Our prgtoken highways are often in disrepair. In many places, people spend way too long getting to and from work. People in business that are shipping goods from one place to another find that they get stuck in traffic for long periods of time. That hurts our economy. It makes it difficult for us to be competitive globally. I think we mostly can agree with that. prgtoken Bridges, as well--we have got our structural engineers who say that literally thousands of bridges across this country are in disrepair. Some are in such bad repair that trucks have to go to long-distance routes to avoid those bridges that are so damaged. prgtoken We need also to make an investment in our rail. For some time, I lived in the Northeast. People travel from Boston to New York and New York to Washington and so forth on Amtrak, and in many cases, it takes almost as long to get to those places on Amtrak as it would to drive because the rail is in such disrepair and because passengers compete on that rail with freight. So we need to upgrade our rail system. prgtoken Our transit is, in many cases, also in disrepair. We use old technology for a lot of our railcars. Modern technology has the cars themselves that are powered as opposed to being pulled by a huge locomotive or engine. We can improve the technologies we are using. We are just out of date there. prgtoken I believe in buses. I think that we can do a better job connecting communities through transit systems like buses that can change their routes as commuting routes also change. prgtoken I think we can agree that broadband ought to be available to all Americans, whether in rural areas or in low-income areas. Kids need to be able to connect to their school and get their assignments and follow what is going on in the world through the media, through the internet. People need to be able to use telehealth to get consults with doctors. If we are going to have economic growth in depressed areas of our urban areas or in our rural parts of our country, we need to have businesses know that they have access to high-speed internet, or they simply won't go there. prgtoken Our water systems are in need of repair. We have some water systems that date back a hund
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Mike Braun (Republican, IN) \u2014 2021-8-8

. I was listening with interest earlier to Senator Durbin and Senator Carper talking about not only the bill in front of us--but I think there is a lot of merit, by the way, to address difficult subjects like infrastructure. And I believe defense is the most important thing we need to do, and I generally have questions about that: Why we don't do audits, why we don't adhere especially to budgeting here, why we don't do budgets across the entirety of the Federal Government. I think, give or take, it has been 20 years since we have done one and have adhered to it. prgtoken So in looking at our infrastructure plan and the merits within it, everyone is going to find something that they like. And I am talking about the $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan. I think probably for roads and bridges and a lot of that physical hard infrastructure, the need is even more than that. prgtoken But Senator Carper, who used to run a State--I used to be on a school board in my hometown for 10 years and served as a State legislator, with the intention of going there to do something on infrastructure in Indiana, the crossroads of America, living in the southern part of the State that has never had its fair share. prgtoken I think you need to be entrepreneurial through government in certain cases, especially at the local and State level where you are accountable, to where your entrepreneurism through government--and I almost don't like to use that word because I have been a Main Street entrepreneur my entire life and it is hard to use that as an analogous term to what we do here. prgtoken Anyway, Senator Durbin was talking about, I think, more than just the content of the bill. I--generally when I am coming down to vote for something--look at the principles that I know have worked in the real world in building a business or running a school board, local or State government. He referred to something that really caught my intention; and that is, inevitably, in times like these we will then, on our side, revert to wanting to do a balanced budget amendment. Of course, I have been a proponent of that and term limits as well--not at the local and State level, but here. prgtoken I don't think that the Founders ever intended us to grow a government like this, that for all the good intentions of policy that we want to put in place, to where we do it on the back of borrowing money and not doing it in a way that is painful, takes political will. prgtoken I will never forget, back in Indiana, 2017, 70 percent of Hoosiers wanted better infrastructure. We polled, and 70 percent didn't want their taxes to go up. Fiscal conservatives like me even got in trouble talking about paying for it, not borrowing the money, not pushing it down the road. At least there you can make the argument, you need a dedicated stream of payment for something that we most agree is essential. prgtoken When you drive that point home and when you took it through regular order--
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2021-8-8

I come to the floor to ask unanimous consent on two pieces of legislation. prgtoken The first one is a bipartisan amendment that I have with Senator Klobuchar. It has been cleared on both sides of the aisle. It does not cost anything. It is noncontroversial, and I am not aware of any opposition or controversy about it. prgtoken I filed this amendment as soon as we were on the bill and have been asking for a vote ever since. I am happy to accept a voice vote. I do not understand why that is not possible. prgtoken This amendment is entitled ``Assisting Broadband Connectivity Act'' that Senator Klobuchar and I introduced last month. This amendment will make changes to the rural broadband program at USDA so that areas aren't automatically ineligible for Federal funding because a project previously received State funding. In other words, if a project got State money, now they can't qualify for Federal money. This change will ease the administrative burden for those applying to provide broadband in rural America. However, this won't change the requirements for Rural Utilities Service when they administer these programs, such as overbuild and coordination with other broadband entities. prgtoken This bill also provides more flexibility with funding and resources by allowing States to use funds received from the Federal Government, such as COVID State funding, to be used for the matching fund provision that is required for most applications. This update will help rural America move forward by providing more coordination and funding availability for broadband projects. This is not unusual for the Rural Utilities Service. They currently allow CDBG and State revolving loan funds for water and wastewater to be used for matching purposes. prgtoken This amendment will help our States and providers connect all the pieces from both the State and Federal level to help get some of these expensive and urgent rural broadband projects completed. prgtoken This amendment has been cleared by the Senate Agriculture Committee. There is no reason it should not get a vote. I am not aware of any opposition. prgtoken The second amendment is also--the second bill is also a bipartisan bill by Grassley and Leahy. My amendment provides anti-fraud provisions to the infrastructure package. prgtoken This amendment combines two of my bills, the False Claims Amendments Act and the Administrative False Claims Act, both of which are bipartisan and have garnered support from both the good-government and inspectors general communities. prgtoken By the way, this amendment is scored by CBO to bring in more than $100 million, and it seems to me that is a pretty significant amount of money, particularly when the infrastructure bill was scored by CBO to add $256 billion to the debt. prgtoken This amendment provides long needed improvements to combat fraud perpetrated against the Federal Government. I would like to thank my bipartisan group of frie