mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
National Defense Authorization Bill (Executive Calendar)
James M. Inhofe (Republican, OK) \u2014 2018-7-10

. First of all, , we are about to go to conference. The first three votes here are very, very significant. They are considered to be maybe the most consequential votes of the year. prgtoken We have been working closely with the President on our John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act. It is going to be a reality. We have done this through regular order in a very effective way. The Senate Armed Services Committee has been in concert with our combatant commanders, with Secretary Mattis, with the service chiefs, with the President. We have had a markup, our committee markup. We actually had over 300 amendments. prgtoken I am disturbed that we can't change this policy we have had for a long period of time that says that if one person on the floor objects when we are considering a bill--the NDAA, which we have considered successfully for 57 years--we are not going to be able to consider amendments. That is something we may want to address. To overcome that, we adopted 47 bipartisan amendments, both through the managers' package and the votes on the floor. prgtoken Tomorrow, we are going to hold our first big meeting of the conferees. I have been through a number of these in the past. This is where Members of the House and the Senate meet each other, talk about their issues, and talk about their successes and what they want to accomplish in this conference report. I have already visited with Ranking Member Senator Reed, Chairman Thornberry, and Ranking Member Smith, and we have a commitment to finish this conference report by the end of July. It is very ambitious. It is something we will be able to do. prgtoken The second vote we are going to have is to instruct the conferees in terms of the CFIUS issue. Personally, having recently been to China and the South China Sea, seeing what they are doing right now in northern Africa, in Djibouti--we have a different China than we had before. We are going to have to thoroughly review foreign transactions for national security concerns. I think Senator Cornyn is on the right track. I fully support his amendment. prgtoken The last one we will have is from Senator Reed, and I think this is significant too. Our President has said several times--I have to say this. Not one President in my memory, ic or , has been successful in getting our allies and NATO to carry their share of the burden. This President is getting very tough on that. I think the Reed motion to instruct conferees on NATO is one that will give him a lot of the force that he needs to impact these other countries. prgtoken If you take 29 countries--67 percent of our actual budget for our country is the entire amount for 29 countries. That isn't right. This is something we can change, and we will hopefully succeed in doing that during this conference we will have.
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Bob Corker (Republican, TN) \u2014 2018-7-10

section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. prgtoken In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.
Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh (Executive Calendar)
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2018-7-10

last evening I joined many of my Senate colleagues at the White House as the President introduced Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh is one of the most widely respected judges in the country. I heard the President last night refer to him as a judge's judge. He is an outstanding choice to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court. prgtoken Judge Kavanaugh is a former law clerk of the Justice he has been nominated to replace, and that is Justice Kennedy. I talked about Justice Kennedy's service on the Supreme Court and to the people of this country in my speech yesterday. Judge Kavanaugh earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale University. He then clerked for judges on the Third and Ninth Circuit before joining the chambers of Justice Kennedy as a law clerk. He served in the Office of the Solicitor General and also the Office of the Independent Counsel. prgtoken After several years in private practice, Judge Kavanaugh returned to public service, working in the White House Counsel's office and as staff secretary for President . In 2006, he was confirmed to the DC Circuit, where he has served since. He is also a well- regarded law professor at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. prgtoken Judge Kavanaugh is a leader not only in the law but throughout his community. As examples, he volunteers at Catholic Charities on a regular basis and coaches both daughters' youth basketball teams. prgtoken The committee has received a letter from former law clerks of Judge Kavanaugh, people who represent views across the political and ideological spectrum. Many judges describe their former law clerks as adopted family members. In other words, law clerks know their judges best. prgtoken So I turn to what some of those said through letters they sent to our committee. Judge Kavanaugh's former law clerks write that he is a person with immense ``strength of character, generosity of spirit, intellectual capacity, and unwavering care for his family, friends, colleagues, and us, his law clerks.'' prgtoken I want to read a longer quote from that letter. He is unfailingly warm and gracious with his colleagues no matter how strongly they disagree about a case, and he is well-liked and respected by judges and lawyers across the ideological spectrum as a result. . . . He always makes time for us, his law clerks. He makes it to every wedding, answers every career question, and gives unflinchingly honest advice. That advice often boils down to the same habits we saw him practice in chambers every day: Shoot straight, be careful and brave, work as hard as you possibly can, and then work a little harder. prgtoken His judicial record is extraordinary. The Supreme Court has adopted his view of the law in a dozen cases. Judge Kavanaugh's opinions demonstrate profound respect for the Constitution's se
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-7-10

this motion to instruct conferees for the Defense authorization bill is related to our reforms of the operation of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. prgtoken It is no secret that China is weaponizing its investments in the United States to exploit national security vulnerabilities, including backdoor transfers of dual-use U.S. technology and related know-how. prgtoken I am delighted to be working with Mrs. Feinstein, the Senator from California, on this issue. I thank our friend Senator Inhofe, who has taken a leadership role on the Armed Services Committee, and Senator Crapo for the unanimous vote on the Banking Committee. prgtoken I yield to Senator Inhofe.
AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-7-10

I have 2 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. prgtoken Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Foreign Relations prgtoken The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 10, 2018, at 2:15 p.m to conduct a hearing. Committee on Veterans' Affairs prgtoken The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 10, 2018, during votes, to conduct a hearing on the nomination of Robert L. Wilkie, of North Carolina, to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh (Executive Calendar)
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2018-7-10

there are a lot of things you need to know when you are considering voting on a candidate for Congress--for example, what are his or her views on healthcare, taxes, the military, the economy, the First Amendment? The list goes on and on. When it comes to judges, there are only two important questions: One, is this individual well-qualified, and two, does this person understand the proper role of a judge? Unlike legislators' opinions, judges' political opinions should be irrelevant because a good judge will leave his or her political opinions outside the courtroom door. A good judge knows that her job is to prgtoken judge based on the law and the facts, not political opinions or personal feelings. prgtoken Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, whom we lost in 2016, had this to say about the proper role of a judge: If you're going to be a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you're not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like them all the time, you're probably doing something wrong. prgtoken Current Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has said more than once that ``a judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge.'' prgtoken Last night, the President nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be the next Supreme Court Justice. This is another outstanding pick from President . Like Justice Scalia and Justice Gorsuch, Judge Kavanaugh understands that the job of a judge is to interpret the law, not write it; to judge, not legislate; to call balls and strikes, not rewrite the rules of the game. prgtoken His qualifications are outstanding. He is a graduate of Yale Law School. He clerked for a Supreme Court Justice. He is a lecturer at Harvard Law School. Most importantly, he has had an outstanding career as a judge on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, where he has handed down thoughtful, well-reasoned decisions that reveal his deep respect for the law and the Constitution. His opinions have been endorsed by the Supreme Court more than a dozen times and are regularly cited by courts around the country. prgtoken I am looking forward to sitting down with Judge Kavanaugh during the confirmation process. We are going to follow regular order on this nominee, just as we did with Justice Gorsuch. The Judiciary Committee will vet Judge Kavanaugh, and Senators of both parties will have the chance to sit down with him before the full Senate votes on his nomination this fall. prgtoken Unfortunately, a number of Senate have already made it clear that they are going to make this process as partisan as possible. One ic Senator--the senior Senator from Pennsylvania--put out a statement yesterday announcing his intention to oppose the President's Supreme Court nominee before the President had even made his announcement. That is right--the ic Senator from Pennsylvania decided he wasn't even going to pret
INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE STANDARDS ACT OF 2018
Sean P. Duffy (Republican, WI) \u2014 2018-7-10

I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan, who is also a very good friend of mine, for yielding. prgtoken I rise in support of H.R. 4537, the International Insurance Standards Act. I first want to start with thanking the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck) for the countless hours and effort that he put in, in a bipartisan effort, crafting this bill that would allow us to get an incredibly wonderful bipartisan vote. prgtoken On top of that, we had some jurisdictional issues, so we had two chairmen from Texas, of the Ways and Means and Rules Committees, Chairman Brady and Chairman Sessions, who also worked with us to navigate those jurisdictional issues. prgtoken I also want to thank the ranking member, Ms. Waters, for working with both Mr. Heck and me to navigate some of the issues that she had with this bill to allow us to craft a piece of legislation that could get bipartisan support. I know at a time when a lot of people don't think that bipartisanship necessarily happens in this Chamber or in this town, because it doesn't make great news, it happens. People work together; they compromise; and they find a pathway forward. I think this is a prgtoken great example of that, and I want to thank the ranking member for her help in this effort and for her support. Again, it passed out of committee 56-4. prgtoken In essence, what we are doing here is saying that we have had a State-based model in America that has served this country very well for 150 years. We have been focusing on policyholder protection and solvency protection. Our insurance industry has been pretty resilient, and we are proud of it. prgtoken But we also recognize that the world is changing. It has become a far smaller world. We have different standards in different countries, and we have to be able to navigate those differences. As Americans, we have to be able to engage with the rest of the world. That is a good thing. But as we engage, we also want to make sure that we don't sell our State-based American model for some other model in some other country. prgtoken If we want to change an insurance model of regulation in America, that is our job in this Chamber. We shouldn't have some executive appointee negotiate a trade deal that undermines our State-based model. So that was the vision of what we are trying to accomplish. prgtoken In essence, we provide parameters to U.S. negotiators to prevent Federal U.S. negotiators from entering into an international insurance agreement unless it is consistent and reflective of the existing U.S. system of insurance regulation. So, again, it has to be consistent and reflective of our model. prgtoken It creates more transparency in the international insurance negotiation process, as U.S. negotiators have to regularly inform Congress as to the state and content of the negotiations that are being undertaken. It also ensures that our State insurance regulators are closely consulted in a process of the internati
IN RECOGNITION OF POLICE CHIEF SCOTT BROWN
Mark Meadows (Republican, NC) \u2014 2018-7-10

I rise today to recognize the exemplary career of Scott Brown, Chief of Police at the Lenoir Police Department, Caldwell County, North Carolina. I would like to express my appreciation to Chief Brown for over 32 years of dedicated service to the citizens of Western North Carolina. prgtoken Chief Brown's career in public service began as a telecommunicator for Caldwell County Sheriff's Office in 1987. He then joined the City of Lenoir's Police Department as a patrolman in 1989. Chief Brown went on to become a detective with the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office in 1990 and was promoted to both Patrol Sergeant and D.A.R.E Officer. prgtoken Chief Brown proudly rejoined the Lenoir Police Department in 1998 as the D.A.R.E. Officer and went on to serve as Sergeant, Lieutenant, and later took over the roles of Operations Division Commander, overseeing both the Patrol and Investigation Divisions as a Captain. He acted as the interim chief of police while being a Commander and was later selected to become the Chief of Police on April 23, 2012. prgtoken During Chief Brown's six years as Chief of Police, he has served the people of Lenoir with humility and honor. As an advocate for building up community relations with the Police Department, Chief Brown participated in and implemented several programs, including: Take 25, Take a Kid Fishing, Coffee with a Cop, Chat with the Chief, and the lunch buddy program in schools. He is known for treating every person he meets with respect and for being a kind and generous leader. prgtoken Under Chief Brown's leadership, the Lenoir Police Department expanded the Narcotics Investigation Unit to address opioid abuse, instigated the Narcan program, implemented department-wide Body Worn Cameras, and was named the 4th safest city in North Carolina in 2017. Chief Brown has been supported throughout his tenure as Chief of Police by his wife, Dawn, and his two children, Staff Sergeant Grayson Brown and Molly Brown. prgtoken Chief Brown has deeply impacted the lives of the people he has proudly served through his dedication to the citizens of Lenoir and his overwhelming involvement in the community. He has served well, and it is my distinct honor to recognize his outstanding work and express the best wishes of the people of Western North Carolina to Chief Brown on the occasion of his retirement.
CASTLE ROCK PARKS AND RECREATION
Ken Buck (Republican, CO) \u2014 2018-7-10

I rise today to recognize the exceptional work done by the Parks and Recreation Department of Castle Rock, Colorado. prgtoken This year, Castle Rock Parks and Recreation was named a finalist in the 2018 National Gold Medal Award Program for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management, hosted by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA). prgtoken AAPRA is an association of 120 national leaders in parks and recreation management. All the individuals in this exclusive group have at least 15 years of high-level park administration experience or currently manage an agency that serves a population over 550,000. This limited number of high-caliber members makes AAPRA a premier authority on parks and recreation administration. prgtoken When it gives out its gold medal awards, AAPRA reviews applications from parks and recreation departments of various sizes across the nation. For its population size, Castle Rock Parks and Recreation ranked as one of the top-five agencies in the nation. prgtoken Coloradans know that Castle Rock is synonymous with natural beauty. The town's parks and recreation department works tirelessly to preserve wild areas, make the outdoors accessible to all residents, and provide high-quality indoor facilities. prgtoken , I am proud to honor Castle Rock Parks and Recreation in the Fourth Congressional District for its stellar work to strengthen our community and support our people.
Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh (Executive Session)
Orrin G. Hatch (Republican, UT) \u2014 2018-7-10

I enjoyed listening to the minority leader and disagree with almost everything he said. I do believe he is one of the great Senators here, and I care for him. He has a job to do, I suppose. prgtoken It seems strange that every time a Supreme Court nominee comes from the s, there is every reason in the world not to confirm that nominee in the eyes of the current . Even without the first day of hearings, we are getting that type of situation. It is hard to believe. It is really hard to believe. prgtoken I rise today in strong support of the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. I have known Brett for quite a while. He is a terrific human being. He is honest, decent, and a good family man. He is everything you would want on the Bench. He is fair. He is considerate. He is knowledgeable. He is intelligent. He understands the law, and when he doesn't understand the law, he will search it until he does. prgtoken President has made an outstanding choice. He has kept his commitment to the American people. He has selected a nominee with deep experience in the law and an understanding of the proper role of a judge under our Constitution. prgtoken I first met Brett Kavanaugh 14 years ago when he came before the Judiciary Committee for his first confirmation hearing to the DC Circuit. I was the chair of the Judiciary Committee at that time. I was impressed at that time by Brett's sterling credentials, his broad knowledge of the law, and his demeanor. At only 39 years of age, he knew more about the law than most lawyers who have practiced a lifetime. I think anybody who is fair would acknowledge that. prgtoken Brett was confirmed to the DC Circuit in 2006 following years of obstruction by Senate . I was pleased and proud to support Brett's prgtoken nomination to the DC Circuit. I have followed his work on that court the last dozen years with great interest. He spent a dozen years on that court, the second greatest court in our country, without criticism, by the way--or at least, I should say, without fair criticism. He has been a true intellectual leader, authoring landmark opinions on the separation of powers, administrative law, and national security. prgtoken It is no overstatement to say that Judge Kavanaugh is among the most distinguished and most influential judges in the entire country. The Supreme Court has adopted his positions and his opinions no less than 11 times. He has authored multiple dissents that ultimately prevailed in the Supreme Court. That ought to be complimented, not condemned. prgtoken He has taught courses at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. I would have preferred if he had taught some courses at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, but that was too far west, I guess. But you can't knock Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. prgtoken It bears mention that liberal and conservative Justices alike have hire
RECOGNIZING BETTY WALKER
Virginia Foxx (Republican, NC) \u2014 2018-7-10

I rise to recognize Betty Walker of Roaring Gap, North Carolina. This remarkable and talented woman has been the coordinator for the Alleghany Memorial Hospital Thrift Shop for 15 years. prgtoken Betty began volunteering at the Thrift Shop in 2000 and became coordinator in 2003. During her time as coordinator, Betty has expanded and renovated the Thrift Shop in addition to managing its volunteers. prgtoken The Alleghany Memorial Hospital Thrift Shop opened in 1991 and has raised nearly $1 million for Alleghany Memorial Hospital. Those funds are extremely important in this small county. prgtoken In 2011, Betty and the shop's volunteers received the Governor's Award for Volunteer Service, which recognizes the top 20 volunteers in North Carolina. prgtoken Betty Walker is an extremely dedicated volunteer, a role model for us all, and a pillar in her community. Alleghany County is fortunate to call this hardworking citizen one of its own.