mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
MAGA REPUBLICANS DEFAULT ON AMERICA
Bennie G. Thompson (Democrat, MS) \u2014 2023-5-25

I rise to demand that s fulfill their job and pay America's bills. prgtoken House s have rushed out of town knowing that they are essentially forcing a default that will be extremely expensive for families. prgtoken We know what comes next: unemployment will double, retirement savings will be lost, and costs for everything from mortgages to vehicle payments will increase. prgtoken Extreme MAGA s, though, are still to blame for America's current economic disaster. They have departed town, leaving behind working families. prgtoken have come together to resolve the debt without playing political games. s who identify as ``moderate'' cannot hide. Either they side with Team Extreme, or they join us to end this crisis.
RECOGNIZING REVEREND NELL FIELDS
William R. Keating (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2023-5-25

I rise today in recognition of Reverend Nell Fields and her commitment to both the Waquoit Congregational Church and the people of Cape Cod. prgtoken The youngest of five daughters, Nell was raised in Kentucky, where her father was stationed at Fort Knox as an Army officer. Nell attended the University of Kentucky and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1981. Nell then went on to receive her Master of Fine Arts in English as a graduate fellow at Mills College in Oakland, California. prgtoken Nell worked in a variety of positions over the years in the publishing, financial services, and technology sectors, but after her bus was evacuated in Manhattan on September 11, 2001, Nell felt a strong calling to ministry. The CEO of Clickshare at the time, Nell started taking courses at the Andover Newton Theological School in 2002. After four years of attending part time, Nell enrolled in school full time and later graduated with her Master of Divinity in 2008. prgtoken During her time at the Andover Newton Theological School, Nell was required to serve as a pastoral resident in a hospital. Believing that it was important to increase the number of chaplains within the mental health field, Nell worked at the Westborough State Psychiatric Hospital and served as the chaplain for three years. Nell then worked at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, where she also helped to create an animal therapy program. Nell has continued her service in the mental health field at the Waquoit Congregational Church by collaborating with the Gosnold Center to set up a series of workshops addressing addiction. prgtoken Now the Rector of the Waquoit Congregational Church, Nell first joined the congregation in 2010 as the church's first female pastor. Throughout Nell's time at Waquoit, she has established herself as a pillar of the Falmouth community and has continuously worked to ensure that all who come to the prgtoken congregation feel welcome, no matter who they are or where they are from. prgtoken Nell's commitment to supporting and bettering the lives of those around her has not gone unnoticed. On May 25, 2023, Nell is being honored by the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce as their 2023 Citizen of the Year. Nell is being recognized not only for her contributions as a pastor, but also for her work across Falmouth and Cape Cod. Nell has served on several boards within the community including the No Place for Hate Falmouth Steering Committee, Belonging to Each Other, and the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission. Additionally, Nell is the Director of Neighborhood Falmouth and the Falmouth Service Center. prgtoken , I am proud honor Reverend Nell Fields and ask that my colleagues join me in thanking her for her dedication to her congregation and community.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Gregory W. Meeks (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , I ask, where are they? Where did they go? prgtoken Where are they? prgtoken Did they leave us for a recession, allowing revenues to fall and borrowing costs to skyrocket? prgtoken Where are they? prgtoken Capital markets alone will be out of reach, and many small businesses won't make their payroll at the end of the month. prgtoken Where are they? prgtoken The world is looking at us and questioning our leadership and where we are going to move and how we are going to save our own people and our values. prgtoken Where are they in this time of need? prgtoken I know where the are. They are right here talking about how we will stand for them and not allow this -made default on America last. prgtoken Where are they? prgtoken They need to get back here and get back here now for the sake of the American people. The world is watching us. They are looking. prgtoken They are saying that we may not have to worry about our competitors. prgtoken We don't have to worry about them. We have to worry about our MAGA s who have decided to leave and not address the issues that are most important to America today. prgtoken Where are they? prgtoken Come on back here and get to work.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Tony Cárdenas (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , House s are playing political games and threatening to default on our country's debt. prgtoken The extreme MAGA s have taken over the House of Representatives, and they are creating a crisis. It is a crisis that they created, they manufactured in their minds, and now they are trying to convince the American people what they are doing is right. prgtoken It is not right for them to make cruel cuts to hurt children, seniors, veterans, and teachers, threatening a devastating default on our debt. prgtoken Ladies and gentlemen, Madam , the s gave billions of dollars in tax cuts to the biggest corporations and the wealthiest people in America. That was step one. prgtoken Now, step two, they are coming after you, the hardworking American people, saying now we are going to take away from you after you have actually done so much for your country. prgtoken They are stepping into this situation. They want to take food away from children and seniors. They want to see us lay off 100,000 teachers and take away childcare from children. prgtoken They are doing this only to try to score political points. prgtoken Let's get back to work, s. Let's do the right thing.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Alma S. Adams (Democrat, NC) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , today, I rise for the millions of American families that will suffer due to the manufactured debt ceiling crisis. Defaulting on our sovereign debt will be a disaster from Wall Street to Main Street to streets in my district and to the kitchen table. prgtoken Our economy is being held hostage for so-called ``work requirements'' that disproportionately harm women and people with disabilities and people of color. Just one example: Food insecurity is at the highest level in 4 years, but MAGA s will only prevent a financial catastrophe if we cut SNAP benefits for families, for veterans, for students, and for our seniors. prgtoken This would only deepen the hardships that vulnerable Americans face. Shame on you, s. There is a simple solution to averting catastrophe: Pass a clean debt ceiling bill. Quit playing games with our country's future and come on back to Washington and do your job.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Terri A. Sewell (Democrat, AL) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , I rise to demand that McCarthy and my colleagues in the House return so that we can pass a clean bill to prevent a devastating default. prgtoken Let me be very clear. We, as Members of Congress, have a solemn obligation to pay our Nation's bills and to protect the full faith and credit of the United States. prgtoken We have never defaulted on our debt, but this time, House s are refusing to address the debt limit unless we cut serious programs that Alabama families that I represent need most, like veteran benefits and food assistance for our seniors and children. prgtoken Madam , this is a manufactured crisis. s could pass a clean debt ceiling bill but chose not to. We passed such a bill three times under the administration. prgtoken Today, s have chosen to send us home instead of doing our job. prgtoken Our job is to protect the American people and to make sure that the full faith and credit of the American Government stands. It has never been in default and shouldn't be in default now. This is a dereliction of duty.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Troy A. Carter (Democrat, LA) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , I rise today to urge my colleagues to step up to the plate, come back to work, and pay our Nation's bills. prgtoken Defaulting on our debt would be catastrophic. In my district alone, this will kill some 6,700 jobs, jeopardize Social Security payments for 91,000 families, put health benefits at risk for 388,000 people, and threaten the retirement savings of 99,100 people near retirement. This is in my district alone. prgtoken Look around. House s went home and dodged their responsibilities, hurting everyday working people in the process. I stand firmly united with my ic colleagues and the American people to pay our debt without playing games with people's lives. prgtoken I urge the s to put on their big boy pants and big girl pants and come back to work. Do the right thing. Do the right thing for the American people because the American people deserve better. prgtoken Let's do our jobs.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Jill N. Tokuda (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , in 7 days, our country will face one of the greatest self-inflicted threats to national security in our lifetime. prgtoken In 7 days, our country faces default while House s continue to play partisan political games with the debt limit. prgtoken In these Chambers, we talk a lot about keeping Americans safe, strategic competition, and national security. prgtoken We point a finger at foreign threats and international bad actors but let us be clear: The biggest threat to American lives and livelihoods is House s holding everyday Americans hostage for partisan political gains. prgtoken If we as a Congress are serious about ensuring national security, then we must stand up against this House manufactured crisis. prgtoken We must do the right thing, invest in our country, and recognize that: prgtoken Financial security is national security. Health security is national security. Food security is national security. Housing security is national security. People's security is national security. prgtoken I will not support lifting the debt ceiling on the backs of working families, our veterans, or our seniors. Know this: As , we will continue to do the right thing and put people over politics.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Suzanne Bonamici (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , I rise today to call on Congress to reject the s' reckless default on America act and to protect the progress that we have made in the very important transition to clean energy. prgtoken The Inflation Reduction Act is a significant investment in our country's clean and healthy future. We are on the cusp of a major clean energy expansion, generating billions of dollars in private clean energy investments and thousands of clean energy jobs. prgtoken In northwest Oregon, the Inflation Reduction Act has brought millions of dollars in funding for climate-resilient infrastructure, low- emission public transportation, and clean schoolbuses. prgtoken Benefits are flowing to red, blue, and purple States, bringing cost savings to our constituents. Texas and Iowa, for example, are leading the U.S. in solar and wind production. It would be foolhardy and fickle to disrupt or delay this important work, just like it is foolhardy and fickle of the s to try to force draconian budget cuts by threatening default. prgtoken We must put our constituents first by passing a clean debt limit increase so we can turn our attention to the real work at hand, creating jobs, cutting energy costs, growing our clean energy economy for the sake of our vulnerable communities, future generations, and our planet. prgtoken Madam , it would only take five brave s to put country over party and sign the petition.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Haley M. Stevens (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , around the world, our adversaries are watching a manufactured crisis play out. prgtoken This is the chaos dictators like Xi and Putin have been hoping for: The leader of the free world on the brink of default is facing the very real possibility that we won't even be able to pay our own troops. prgtoken My question for the majority party is simple: Haven't the American people been through enough--over 1 million Americans are dead from a pandemic that hit us 3 years ago, rising costs due to supply chain disruptions, stresses on our education system, George Floyd murdered 3 years ago today, and January 6 that saw our Capitol under siege. prgtoken Americans do not need more pain, especially manufactured pain. prgtoken The GOP needs to come back to town, deliver for the American people, and end this debt crisis.
DEBT LIMIT
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2023-5-25

one of the cardinal rules of negotiation is never to negotiate when you have a gun pointed at your head. The rationale is self-evident. One of the parties--namely, the party which is staring down the barrel of the gun--is more than likely going to either get the short end of the deal or, worse, end up dead. prgtoken In the case of the debt limit negotiations currently underway between President and McCarthy, the risk isn't just that one of the parties will be unhappy with an agreement. If the United States defaults on the federal debt for the first time in the nation's history, it will risk a devastating wound to financial markets at home and around the world, push our country into a recession, erase 7.8 million jobs, and wipe out as much as $10 trillion in household wealth. prgtoken The crisis, of course, is a manufactured one. The national debt has increased under every presidential administration since Herbert Hoover. According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, Congress has acted 78 separate times to permanently raise, temporarily extend, or revise the definition of the debt limit--49 times under presidents and 29 times under ic presidents. prgtoken s aren't interested in getting our fiscal house in order. They don't want to address entitlement programs, which are the big drivers of projected spending growth. They don't want to touch raising revenues or cuts to military spending. prgtoken Instead, s are aiming their weapon at nondefense discretionary spending. They want to slash funding for our nation's schools, our national parks, our farmers, and our police officers. Nondefense discretionary spending only accounts for 15 percent of the $6.3 trillion the government is expected to spend this year. prgtoken s even want to take money away from health care for our nation's veterans. Their Default on America Act would underfund programs that help our veterans exposed to bum pits by $20 billion. prgtoken America must pay its bills as it has always done. At a time when America is facing many challenges at home and abroad--from inflation to competition with China to the ongoing war in Ukraine--we must ensure that our word is trusted. In the end, we must do what is right and raise the debt ceiling without any conditions and especially without a gun pointed at our heads.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
Mary Gay Scanlon (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2023-5-25

at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday morning, with the U.S. on the brink of a devastating default, our colleagues across the aisle decided to call it a week. Turning their backs on the American people to beat Memorial Day traffic is a new low for House s. prgtoken House s have left town while America speeds toward a devastating default, and they chose that route. They are willing to drive our Nation off an economic cliff and trigger a global recession, cutting veterans' benefits, taking food from hungry families, and laying off first responders. prgtoken The American people didn't send us here to play chicken with their retirement plans. House s created this crisis, and they can end it. There is an off-ramp from this highway to hell. The overwhelming majority of Americans don't want the far right driving our national agenda. prgtoken Responsible s need to come to the table for the American people, not skip town with the MAGA extremists.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS IMPACT ON VETERANS
Mike Levin (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , I rise today in opposition to House s holding our economy hostage and planning to slash billions of dollars from veterans' services and benefits in return for maintaining the full faith and credit of the United States. prgtoken s are delivering a one-two punch to veterans. First, their default on America act would slash $30 billion from veterans' services, eliminate housing vouchers for 50,000 homeless veterans, and cut 81,000 jobs from the Veterans Health Administration. They can say whatever they want, but this is what they voted for. prgtoken Second, s just released a bill to gut the healthcare funding we promised to toxic-exposed veterans in the PACT Act. prgtoken How about instead of cuts to veterans' services and benefits, we reduce our deficit by ending tax loopholes for the ultra wealthy and by ensuring the largest corporations pay their fair share? prgtoken House are united in opposition to s' veteran funding cuts, and we will not go back on the progress we have made. prgtoken As we all head into this Memorial Day weekend, we must do better. We must not default on our debts. Let's keep our promises to our veterans.
REPUBLICAN FAILURE TO ACT ON DEBT CEILING
Maxwell Frost (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2023-5-25

I rise today because after weeks of pointing fingers on the debt ceiling negotiations, House s have finally shown their true colors. prgtoken It is leadership that controls this Chamber. It is McCarthy who controls the floor. Yet, instead of working overtime to make sure that we don't default on our Nation's debt and send the economy into a tailspin and stop the benefits of millions of Americans, Members of Congress are going home this weekend. prgtoken The interesting thing is that many of these folks, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, are the same people that clowned me on Twitter for not having the best credit after my campaign and being denied an apartment here in D.C. prgtoken Imagine the hypocrisy of poor-shaming working people for trying to pay off their debts, and then turn around and refuse to pay the country's debt to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. It is distasteful, disgraceful, and we have to do better.
RECOGNIZING JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (Republican, GA) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Jewish American Heritage Month. prgtoken The Jewish-American community has played a critical part in shaping American culture and history since the country's inception. The Jewish community in my home district has strong roots, going back all the way to when Georgia was first founded as a colony. prgtoken In Savannah, Georgia, you can find Congregation Mickve Israel, or the Hope of Israel, which is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States and the first synagogue built in Georgia. prgtoken Historic communities like the Hope of Israel synagogue highlight the importance of Jewish-American communities in Georgia's past, as well as how they continue to impact Georgia today. prgtoken It is a pleasure to be able to honor the Jewish-American community that has had such a big impact on both Georgia's and America's history.
HONORING THE SERVICE OF DR. FREDERICK D. TAPPAN
Mark E. Green (Republican, TN) \u2014 2023-5-25

I rise today to honor the ministry of Dr. Frederick D. Tappan to Eureka Truevine Baptist Church and the Memphis community. prgtoken Dr. Tappan has served as the senior pastor of Eureka Truevine Baptist Church for 27 years, working toward their 50-year commitment to perform the work of God in service to His message. Tasked with the care of precious souls, each of them God's children, Dr. Tappan's ministry has been a blessing to all that he has served. Feeding both the souls and stomachs of the Memphis community through ``The Vine Loves Memphis'' Initiative, Dr. Tappan and his faithful wife, Regina, show each of us what it means to truly be the hands and feet of Jesus. prgtoken Dr. Tappan has made the church's mission to be about Real Ministry, with a Real Message, for Real people. On the ground in Memphis, Eureka Truevine Baptist Church has planted two additional churches to meet the community's spiritual needs, to spread the Gospel, and to shine light into darkness. ``Call unto me,'' Jeremiah 33:3 says, ``and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.'' Through Dr. Tappan's partnership with my free healthcare clinic in Memphis, God has certainly worked great and mighty things in the community. prgtoken On behalf of the United States Congress, and joining Congressman Steve Cohen, I thank Dr. Tappan for his many years of faithful and dedicated service. May he continues to honor God, serve others, and bless our community.
END RACIAL PREFERENCE POLICIES
Glenn Grothman (Republican, WI) \u2014 2023-5-25

. Madam , most of the discussion in this building over the last 2 weeks has been on the debt limit, and I guess I should lead off by addressing it a little bit. prgtoken A lot of the American public is thinking, why are people fighting on this bill? What difference does it really make? Let us get it behind us. prgtoken I want to leave the American public with two reasons why at least the Party wants a little bit more fiscal restraint than otherwise would happen. prgtoken First of all, the debt is now 100 percent of GDP. It is just shy of that. That is the first time it has happened since World War II. prgtoken At the end of World War II, we knew we were going to lay off millions of people in the military. We were going to stop making ships. We were going to stop making planes. We were going to stop making tanks. So, there would be a dramatic reduction in government spending, and that is exactly what happened. prgtoken Slowly, the debt fell from 100 percent to a little over 20 percent of GDP before recently rocketing up, in part due to COVID and in part due to President 's reckless spending. prgtoken Now, we are at 100 percent of GDP, but all we see in the future is more people retiring, more money spent on Social Security, and more money spent on Medicare. We can never cut either one of those two programs--we should not--which means we have to exercise fiscal restraint everywhere else. prgtoken The time to do that is now. If we do not dial things back a little now, it is going to get that much worse next year and that much worse the year after. prgtoken The other thing I want to leave the American public with is, with interest rates going up, we right now are spending every year about $2,000 per man, woman, and child on interest rates alone. prgtoken If you are a family of four--think about that--every year you have to start by paying $8,000 just to cover your share of the Federal debt. That is a disaster. prgtoken If we don't address it now, then it is going to be worse next year. prgtoken The position is very moderate. Probably the public would be outraged if they found out how moderate the position is. We do not plan on balancing the budget this year. prgtoken Even if the s got all they asked for, and they are not going to get all they asked for, but even if they got all they asked for, it would still result in a significant increase in debt over the next year. prgtoken The brakes should be put on a little bit. We should acknowledge the problem. prgtoken The s love their children, and they love their grandchildren. They don't want to see the country that much more in debt, and we are worried we are approaching the point of no return. prgtoken In any event, I am proud my leadership attitude is that we have to do something when we see debt equal to 100 percent of GDP and when every American is paying $2,000 of interest by itself. The only responsible th