mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HONORING SENIOR MASTER SERGEANT TIMOTHY J. THIELE
John W. Rose (Republican, TN) \u2014 2020-12-18

. Madam , I rise today in tribute to a true patriotic Tennessean and American, Senior Master Sergeant Timothy J. Thiele. Sergeant Thiele will retire from the Tennessee Air National Guard later this month after 31 years of dedicated service to his state and nation for which I offer him my most sincere and heartfelt thanks. prgtoken Tennessee has long been known as ``The Volunteer State,'' a nickname that was first heard after Tennessee sent a large contingent of soldiers to help fight the British during the War of 1812. The moniker was solidified and forever etched into the history of our state in 1846 when Tennessee was asked to send 2,800 soldiers to help fight the Mexican-American War, but over 30,000 Tennesseans volunteered to go. prgtoken Sergeant Thiele's 31 years of volunteer military service is a modem manifestation of that proud Tennessee legacy of honor and sacrifice during which he deployed overseas eleven separate times as a part of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Inherent Resolve, Freedom Sentinel, and New Dawn. Closer to home, and as a part of its unique dual role, the National Guard is often called into action to provide relief and assistance during ruinous natural disasters. Sergeant Thiele was an important part of such efforts on three separate occasions when Hurricanes Gustav, Rita, and Katrina devastated regions of our country. His valiant efforts and those of his fellow Guard members saved lives and eased the pain inflicted by the storms' destruction on countless fellow Americans. prgtoken I would be remiss if I didn't properly note that the families of our men and women in uniform also sacrifice much, especially when their loved ones in the military deploy overseas. Two-parent families suddenly become one-parent families in a practical sense, with the obvious burden that ensues. Sergeant Thiele's wife of 20 years, Tyran, along with his children Tanner and Addison, sacrificed along with him during his deployments, albeit in different ways. Military families understand all too well the sacrifice represented by missed birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions while their loved ones are separated from them in service to their country. For this I want to extend my sincere thanks to Sergeant Thiele's family as well for their own dedication and service to our nation. prgtoken As Sergeant Thiele rose through the ranks during his career, he personally trained hundreds of AeroMed Evacuation personnel in Tennessee in addition to leading multistate joint medical training efforts. He became known as a ``proven leader'' and a ``superior role model'' by his own superiors, and I couldn't agree more. It is truly an honor to represent this genuine, modem day patriot in the United States Congress. prgtoken Madam , I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating Senior Master Sergeant Timothy J. Thiele on his retirement, in thanking him and his family for their sacrifice and service, a
CONGRATULATING DR. GLENN DEIBERT
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (Republican, GA) \u2014 2020-12-18

. Madam , I rise today to congratulate Dr. Glenn Deibert, who will be retiring as Coastal Pines Technical College's president at the end of February. prgtoken Dr. Deibert has served 27 years in higher education and has served four of Georgia's technical colleges, including Okefenokee Technical College, Coastal Pines Technical College, Southwest Georgia Technical College, and Southern Technical College, formerly known as Swainsboro Technical College. prgtoken Because of his dedication to improving education and the lives of students, he was recently named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend's yearly publication. This title recognizes some of the most prestigious folks who have contributed greatly to the State's success. prgtoken Dr. Deibert attended Central High School in Thomasville, Georgia, and graduated from Thomas Area Technical School, which later became Southwest Georgia Technical College, so his appreciation for technical colleges is personal. prgtoken Dr. Deibert's work to improve Coastal Pines contributed to record enrollment at the college for multiple years. prgtoken Madam , I wish him and his family the best of luck as he begins his retirement, and I am thankful for his many years of dedication to improving higher education in Georgia's First Congressional District.
Coronavirus (Executive Calendar)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-12-18

there is a lot going on and not enough of some things we really need to go on going on. prgtoken But I think it is worth noting again--lest the moment be lost somehow in all the back and forth and all the chaos--that we have reached a watershed moment in the war against COVID-19. prgtoken As you know, the first successful vaccine was approved last week. I watched online as the Vice President of the United States and his wife received the vaccine. I applaud them for demonstrating their confidence, which should be all of our confidence, that this vaccine is not only effective but also safe. prgtoken In my State of Texas, it is estimated that there will be a million people vaccinated by the end of this month. That is a modern medical and logistical miracle. prgtoken Yesterday--the news keeps getting better--the FDA's expert advisory panel recommended the Agency approve a second successful vaccine, meaning millions more doses, over and above the Pfizer vaccine, could be headed out the door in a matter of days, if not hours. prgtoken The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and brighter every day, but we are not out of the dark yet. As we know, tragically, more than 300,000 Americans have lost their lives to this virus. Millions have lost their jobs and their livelihood. Countless small businesses have permanently closed their doors, and the devastating impact of the virus across the country is growing day by day. prgtoken Earlier this year, we were able to come together in four separate pieces of legislation in a bipartisan--nearly unanimous--manner and respond with the sort of alacrity and speed and with the scope that I think our constituents expected us to. We didn't exactly know how big we needed to go. We just knew we needed to go big and we needed to go fast. prgtoken We appropriated more than $3 trillion of coronavirus relief. We didn't know how long the virus was going to last. And when we tried to offer additional aid to the American people, unfortunately, the partisan dysfunction that sometimes creeps in--particularly, in the days leading up to a national election--prevented us from providing that relief. prgtoken But the election is over, and it is time for us to do our jobs. Really, we need to build on our past success. prgtoken The bills culminating in the CARES Act in March bolstered our healthcare response by making testing free of charge. Remember that used to be the watchword, what people would continue to say day after day after day: testing, testing, testing. You are not hearing that anymore because testing is ubiquitous. prgtoken We provided vital funding for hospitals and armed our medical workers with the personal protective equipment they needed to sustain this fight on the frontline. We poured funding into research and development of vaccines, therapeutics, and treatment. And by any measure, those efforts have been a success. prgtoken While, as I said, the number of pe
HOLIDAYS FOR HEROES
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2020-12-18

I rise today to remind us all of the great American Red Cross program, Holidays for Heroes, an opportunity to thank and support our military, veterans, and their families throughout this holiday season. prgtoken We all look forward to gathering with family and friends and loved ones this time of year. For our servicemembers, that is a luxury that all too often is not able to happen. prgtoken These men and women spend many months at a time--at times over a year and, in their service, years--away from their families. That is difficult no matter what time of year it is, but it is around the holidays their sacrifice is magnified. prgtoken I would like to encourage everyone to reach out to their local Red Cross chapters to find out how to send a card, how to volunteer or get involved however they see fit to spread some holiday cheer to our heroes. Even a small gesture can brighten the holiday season for those that are deployed; a reminder that they are remembered, that they are appreciated every day, especially during this holiday season. prgtoken So take a moment out of your day today to let a soldier know just how much you appreciate them.
Coronavirus (Executive Calendar)
Ron Johnson (Republican, WI) \u2014 2020-12-18

the Senator from Vermont made a couple of statements that I would just like to repeat the words: that we are in a crisis; this is an emergency; we can't turn our backs on the suffering. prgtoken I agree. I have agreed for months. But he also said something that is completely incorrect. You might call it a lie. He said that s have done nothing. That is not true. prgtoken I was on daily calls during the August recess after we had attempted and were debating internally a trillion-dollar package at the tail end of July before the August recess, recognizing--and I was one of the ones pointing out--the fact that we had already passed, as the good Senator from Vermont said, over $3 trillion in four different COVID relief financial packages early in the pandemic. At that point in time, there was $1.2 trillion of that unspent. A big chunk of that wasn't even obligated. Today, as we stand here debating this now, we still have a little under $600 billion unspent and unobligated. prgtoken So the point I was making to my colleagues during those last few weeks in July and those conference calls in August was, before we authorize any more money, before we further mortgage our children's future, why don't we first repurpose and redirect what we already passed because what we passed, we passed very quickly because we had to. We had to do something massively, and we did something massively so that markets wouldn't seize, so that the people--the individuals who were out of work through no fault of their own and the businesses that were shut down through no fault of their own could get financial relief. prgtoken So we came together unanimously, and we did that, but doing it fast, doing it massively--I certainly knew it was going to be far from perfect. We found out the Federal Government actually has a hard time spending $3 trillion because, over the course of a number of months, they didn't spend it all. They couldn't even obligate it. prgtoken So what s did during the August recess--because we couldn't come to an agreement by the end of July--was we worked long and hard on a targeted bill, more than $600 billion, $300-plus of it for people on unemployment, $260 billion for small businesses, $100 billion for education, and tens of billions of dollars for vaccines and testing and agriculture and childcare. We offered that on the floor, and 52 s voted to proceed to that bill. just said no. prgtoken I felt it was a crisis, an emergency, and we shouldn't have been turning our backs on these people who are suffering in September. said no. All they had to do was say yes. They couldn't take yes for an answer. prgtoken , I often use this analogy: I go up to you, because I know you are a generous person, and say: , give me 200 bucks. And you kind of look at me with a little shock and say: Well, I won't give you 200, bu
Coronavirus (Executive Calendar)
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2020-12-18

my colleague from Connecticut just said that they were being tough on China. As I explained, this bill is not being tough on China. prgtoken But a bit of good news: They will have the opportunity, moments from now, to in fact be tough on China. I have introduced, roughly, a dozen separate pieces of legislation designed to do exactly that, to stand up to the Chinese Communist Government. I am glad also to see my ic colleagues discovering the human rights travesties that are playing out in China. prgtoken Look, my family knows the oppression of Communist governments. My father was imprisoned and tortured in Cuba. My aunt, my Tia Sonia, was imprisoned and tortured by Fidel Castro's thugs. So, when it comes for standing for dissidents, there is a reason why, for 8 years, I have gone to the Senate floor over and over and over again speaking up for dissidents who are being tortured and oppressed by Communists. Here is a chance for the to join us in that regard. prgtoken , there are two separate bills that I have introduced that I am going to discuss. The first is a bill called the SCRIPT Act. prgtoken For years, we have known that China's surveillance state and censorship practices are used to maintain its human rights violations. And what this devastating pandemic has shown us is that China's surveillance state and its censorship practices are also profound threats to our national security, to our public health, and to our public debate, as the Chinese Government hid information about the COVID-19 pandemic that began in Wuhan, China, hid it for months on end and allowed millions across the globe to be threatened--their lives and health and safety to be threatened. prgtoken In addition to their espionage activities, the Chinese Communist Party invests billions into spreading propaganda, even using American media outlets, telecommunication infrastructure, movies, and sports teams to spread their propaganda, from buying media outlets so that they broadcast propaganda into America to coercing Hollywood studios and sports leagues to self-sensor by threatening to cut off access to one of the world's largest markets. The Chinese Communist Party spends billions and billions of dollars to mislead Americans about China and to try to shape what we see, what we hear and think. prgtoken All of these activities are part of China's whole-of-state approach to amass influence around the world through information warfare, and we need to stand together to stop it. prgtoken That is why I will be momentarily asking for unanimous consent on the SCRIPT Act, which would cut off Hollywood studios from the assistance they currently receive from the U.S. Federal Government if those studios allow the Chinese Communist Government to sensor what they are producing. prgtoken We have seen this pattern over and over and over again--Hollywood being complicit in China's censorship and propaganda in the name
FURTHER ADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021
Mario Diaz-Balart (Republican, FL) \u2014 2020-12-18

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise today also in support of this short-term continuing resolution. There have been negotiations taking place day and night for weeks now to reach an agreement on a full-year appropriations bill and, very importantly, a coronavirus relief bill. prgtoken The negotiations are moving forward. We are very close to a final package, but there is a little bit more time required to get this legislation finalized and drafted. Passing this CR is simply a very short-term, stopgap measure to allow those negotiations to finalize. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of this, again, very short-term resolution, and .
UNITED STATES SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL COMMISSION AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2020
Cory Gardner (Republican, CO) \u2014 2020-12-19

I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the message to accompany S. 3989. prgtoken The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, that the bill from the Senate (S. 3989) entitled ``An Act to amend the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016 to modify certain membership and other requirements of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission, and for other purposes.'', do pass with an amendment. Motion to Concur
Vote on the Dietz Nomination (Executive Session)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2020-12-19

. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Enzi), the Senator from Iowa (Ms. Ernst), the Senator from Nebraska (Mrs. Fischer), the Senator from Georgia (Mrs. Loeffler), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Perdue), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Portman), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch), and the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).
Nomination of John Chase Johnson (Executive Session)
Roger F. Wicker (Republican, MS) \u2014 2020-12-19

Chase Johnson is the nominee here. This is a cloture vote. He is a marine. He is a Marine Reserve veteran. He is an accomplished attorney. He was reported from the Commerce Committee on a unanimous, bipartisan vote. The distinguished ranking member who just spoke made the motion that Chase Johnson be reported. prgtoken We are the victim this afternoon of some absences. We are also the victim this afternoon of some discussion and some differences that have arisen over extraneous issues, and I would just urge my colleagues, both on and off the committee, to remember that this was a unanimous vote out of the committee. prgtoken This is an outstanding candidate, and he deserves to be confirmed. With that, I ask for a yes vote. prgtoken And, , I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived.
2020 ELECTION
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2020-12-19

in this town, political arguments often change places very quickly. Actually, observers could get whiplash when that happens. prgtoken Now, just think about just a few months back. Before this election, we had elected scaring voters with irresponsible conspiracy theories that President was going to somehow use his office to interfere with State elections or that he was in cahoots with the Postal Service not to deliver ballots. prgtoken Remember back after the 2016 election, the irresponsibly worded talking point was that Russia ``hacked our elections,'' leading to polls 2 years later showing that 67 percent of believed falsely that ``Russia tampered with vote tallies in order to get elected.'' prgtoken Now let's turn to the 2020 election just completed. Those same people are now earnestly warning of the dangers of Americans questioning certified election results. Think just for a minute. Those who supported hashtag ``resist'' after 's election are now lecturing others about the need for faith in elections. prgtoken It is kind of disturbing to me--the hutzpah of some of the people around here, what they said in 2016 and after versus what they are saying now. prgtoken .
Coronavirus (Executive Session)
Marsha Blackburn (Republican, TN) \u2014 2020-12-19

isn't it interesting? Here we are, Christmas week, the weekend before Christmas, and we are talking about needing targeted relief. Now, the have spent their year pushing off targeted relief. They have had their opportunities to tackle this issue. They have chosen not to tackle this issue. They have chosen to play politics with this issue. So, on the Saturday before Christmas, when we should be home and visiting with our families--I would love to be home with my children and grandchildren--here we are. prgtoken I honestly have decided that my friends across the aisle must not be paying very much attention to what is going on back home because the people back home in Tennessee are very frustrated with them. They seem out of touch. They seem to not care. They don't seem to be interested in taking care of people with needs who have been adversely impacted by COVID. They seem to be more interested in taking care of themselves. prgtoken This year really did not have to end this way. As I said, our friends across the aisle could have addressed this back in the summer. In July, the minority leader and his colleagues in the House immediately rejected our HEALS Act proposal in favor of Pelosi's mega- trillion-dollar--$3 trillion--wish list that they had dubbed the ``Heroes Act.'' You know, they always give such nice sounding names to things. Who could be against this? Yet they rejected the HEALS Act proposal that was targeted-specific relief and went with the Heroes Act. prgtoken It was a very partisan bill. It contained provisions that had nothing to do with COVID relief and that the House and Senate knew were going to be stumbling blocks. Their bill was filled with things-- nothing to do with taking care of people, but, oh, they had it filled with poison pills. Why? They wanted to make certain that relief didn't come. They wanted to make certain that they could run this out and get it past the election. Then we found out from Pelosi herself and from some of the other who are in leadership why they did this. Oh, politics. It helped them with the election, they thought. They used people as pawns. prgtoken That Heroes Act that they continue to like to talk about would have undermined State voter ID requirements and given the green light to some ballot harvesting schemes. Isn't it interesting? What are we talking about? What are Tennesseans talking about so much? Yes, you got it--ballots, elections, some of the harvesting, some of the tricks. Those items they had in the Heroes Act didn't have anything to do with targeted relief, but do you know what? They were willing to play these games and to withhold that relief. Why? They thought it would help them in winning an election. prgtoken That was all back in July. Then comes September 10. The again block the forward motion on another targeted bill, throwing a procedural hurdle in between the American people and des
Coronavirus (Executive Session)
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2020-12-19

I am going to be speaking just a few minutes on another matter, and I believe I will have time at 1 o'clock. prgtoken With nobody else seeking the floor at the moment, I would just add to what the distinguished Senator from Texas just said. I discussed this with him off the floor after he spoke. prgtoken There is a concern about what might be in the omnibus bill and in the COVID bill, and here on a Saturday and tomorrow, Sunday, or whatever, we are finished, and we are rushing it through. I would remind everybody that we were ready to bring up the appropriations bills that make up the omnibus in July. The House of Representatives had sent over--in June, it sent over their COVID bill. We could have brought it up then. We could have started having a series of votes. It might have taken us 2 or 3 weeks to have votes every day on different parts of their proposal--' proposals, s' proposals, the Appropriations' proposals--and vote them up or down. I had urged that. prgtoken s have the majority in the U.S. Senate. If they didn't like proposals the had, they could vote them down. But instead they seemed almost terrified to vote. prgtoken Ah, but there was a reason. We would have had to take 2 or 3 weeks to vote all of this up or down, but we had to take, instead, the time to put through lifetime judgeships of people who have been recommended by special interest groups. That is beneath the U.S. Senate. prgtoken But, unfortunately, while these people got lifetime jobs with high pay, hundreds of thousands and millions of Americans have lost their jobs, have lost their places to live, are unable to educate their children, and hundreds of thousands have lost their lives. This is not the U.S. Senate's finest hour. prgtoken We should have been doing our job and voting these things up or down. I know some may be afraid of what they had to vote, but so what? I have cast over 16,000 votes. Not all of them were easy, but I never thought there was any question about whether I would vote. (Mrs. HYDE-SMITH assumed the Chair.)