mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Nomination of Tom Marino (Executive Calendar)
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2017-10-16

the addiction epidemic is a national emergency that takes far too many lives and destroys too many families across the country. Unfortunately, my State, in some ways, leads the way. Four thousand Ohioans died from drug overdoses last year, more than any State in the United States. Four thousand families lost a mother, a father, a daughter, a son, a sister, or brother. prgtoken We need to treat this epidemic like the public health emergency it is. We asked the President to proclaim it a public health emergency. He talked about it but still hasn't done it. prgtoken That is the same reason I can't support Representative Tom Marino's nomination to head our country's drug control policy. First of all, fundamentally, I don't want an elected official, a politician, in that position. I want somebody from the treatment community. Congressman Marino is a nominee who, in his time in Congress, showed he was too cozy with the drug companies that helped create this epidemic. prgtoken Earlier today, President responded to reports about Congressman Marino and said he is looking at those reports very closely. I hope he does. I hope he withdraws that nomination. Make no mistake, Congressman Marino does not want to take us in the right direction in this fight. prgtoken Today I was in Austintown--a township on the edge of Youngstown, in Mahoning County--talking to Officer Toth and Chief Gavalier at the Austintown Police Department about the opioid crisis. It is coming up on Drug Take Back Day, where on Saturday all over the country, the DEA is asking police departments to allow people to bring their unused drugs in to get them out of the medicine cabinets. We were talking about much more than that. We were talking about how State governments and the Federal Government haven't stepped up the way we should to partner on prevention and education in medication-assisted therapy treatment and all the things we should be doing. prgtoken Mr. Marino seems to think we arrest our way out of this problem, but that is not what law enforcement officials across this country are saying. Detective Toth and I didn't talk about arresting people's children and arresting parents. We talked about how to promote the Department's Drug Take Back Day. prgtoken Addiction isn't an individual problem or a character flaw; it is a chronic disease. We need someone running our drug policy who understands that, not someone who simply wants to pull patients out of treatment in the middle of an epidemic. We know what that was about when on this floor, not much more than a month ago, only by one vote were we able to preserve the treatment that so many opioid-addicted people are getting. Right now, in my State, 200,000 Ohioans are getting opioid treatment because they have insurance under the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken We need the enforcement piece. That is why I have introduced the bipartisan INTERDICT Act and why I have worked with Senator Por
Healthcare (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-10-16

first, on the issue of healthcare, last week, President committed two prgtoken acts of pointless sabotage of our Nation's healthcare system. He signed an Executive order that would give insurers more latitude to sell temporary, junk plans that are not only incredibly risky to the consumer but undermine the rest of the healthcare market by drawing healthy Americans out of the pool. Even worse, President decided to stop the cost-sharing program, which reduces premiums, deductibles, and copays for 7 million Americans a year. There is literally no upside to the President's decision to end the cost-sharing program. prgtoken Because of the President's actions, premiums will go up between 20 and 25 percent, according to the CBO. Just today in Pennsylvania, we saw premiums rise by 30 percent as a direct result of the President's actions. Deductibles and out-of-pocket costs will go up by thousands of dollars. Deficits will rise by $194 billion because the government will have to pay more in subsidies to make up for the lack of the cost- sharing program, and the marketplaces will become less stable because more people will go uninsured. prgtoken The Governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval, may have said it best: It's going to hurt people. It's going to hurt kids. It's going to hurt families. It's going to hurt individuals. It's going to hurt people with mental health issues. It's going to hurt veterans. It's going to hurt everybody. prgtoken That is from Governor Brian Sandoval. prgtoken Another point that the President should hear is that nearly 70 percent of the Americans who benefit from these cost-sharing payments live in States that won in the election. prgtoken Make no mistake about it--the President is deliberately undermining our healthcare system with these two actions. When premiums go up because of this action, the blame will fall on his shoulders. prgtoken There is a way out. The way out of all of this is for Congress to aggressively pursue a bipartisan healthcare bill that will take cost- sharing out of the President's hands by locking in the payments. For many months, have been pushing to stabilize the markets and to work toward a bipartisan agreement that would keep premiums down for millions of Americans. Senators Alexander and Murray have been negotiating a package that would include cost-sharing as well as some provisions that the s want. These negotiations began long before the President's decision to end cost-sharing last week. I am encouraged by the progress of the negotiations, and I am hopeful that we are nearing an agreement that makes clear that we have no intention of supporting the President's reckless efforts at sabotage. prgtoken If President is now supportive of an agreement that stabilizes and improves the existing system under the Affordable Care Act, we certainly welcome the change of h
ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR DISASTER RELIEF REQUIREMENTS ACT, 2017
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-10-16

I rise in support of H.R. 2266, which provides $36.5 billion in aid to respond to the damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and the wildfires currently raging in California. prgtoken Specifically, the aid package before us provides an additional $18.7 billion in supplemental appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) under the continuing resolution (CR) that runs through Dec. 8 (P.L. 115-56). prgtoken Of this amount, as much as $4.9 billion could be transferred to FEMA's Community Direct Loan (CDL) program to help local governments and U.S. territories provide essential services. prgtoken The legislation before also provides an additional $16 billion in borrowing authority to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which reached its borrowing limit after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. prgtoken To alleviate the damage and suffering caused by the wildfires in California, the legislation provides $576.5 million for federal wildfire suppression programs. prgtoken There are particular concerns for our seniors who survived the terrible storms that ravaged the Texas Coast, Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico because so many of them are alone, while trying to the do difficult and hard job of cleaning out their homes, or removing debris from their yards. prgtoken , the work is not done in my State of Texas. There are thousands of families who have no home to return to following the historic flood. prgtoken We have low-income communities that are struggling to find the new normal that FEMA officials warned Texans would need to accept following the historic flood. prgtoken A substantial portion of Houston's residents live in multi-family dwellings. prgtoken The city has lost low-income housing for the elderly and the disabled. prgtoken The number of persons who remain displaced and unable to find permanent housing remains unacceptably high, with many towns and cities left without space at hotels for visitors or tourists, which contribute much needed dollars to local economies. prgtoken As we rebuild the city must have sufficient numbers of low-income, affordable, and accessible housing within the city limits so that lives, families and communities can be restored. prgtoken The economics of a city requires that we make room for everyone as Houston recovers. prgtoken Part of the work of rebuilding is to be sure that post-Hurricane Harvey rebuilding and recovery leads to a better quality of life for all of the people of Houston. prgtoken If we have the right balance of low income, and affordable housing in the mix as we plan the rebuild the recovery efforts will be a great success. prgtoken We need a commitment that Community Development Block Grant Program dollars will have a dedicated amount to rebuild, repair, or replace low-income affordable housing. prgtoken Recovery work in homes damaged by flood water is hard work for young people, but it is almost an imposs
HONORING STAN BETZ
J. Luis Correa (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-10-16

I would like to honor one of my constituents, Mr. Stan Betz, for his immense dedication serving the community of Santa Ana. prgtoken Mr. Betz, who passed away on September 28, 2017 and whose life we will always remember was a well-known custom car builder and an Anaheim High School Hall of Famer who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Mr. Betz grew up on an orange ranch on Lemon Street in Anaheim and was a member of the Anaheim High School Class of 1946. From an early age, Mr. Betz became interested in cars and they remained his passion throughout his entire life. His uncle, Dick Kraft, one of the original Hot Rodders who came up with many innovations during his career, was a great source of inspiration and encouragement for Mr. Betz. And his legendary skills as a master car builder and painter made him famous in the automotive world. prgtoken Moreover, Mr. Betz's shop was a popular local meeting spot for all car enthusiasts and aficionados in the 1950's. His commitment and passion with automobiles and his work in the industry creating masterpieces continued throughout the decades. When business slowed down, Mr. Betz added paint products to his establishment, and his shop soon gained the reputation for being the best place to find a precise paint color. prgtoken Mr. Betz fully embodied the value of community service in all aspects of his life. He was not only a pioneer in the automotive industry but also a skilled businessman. As an avid community advocate, he made valuable contributions to the local community, such as stopping by Anaheim High School to interact with students. Mr. Betz combined his passion for cars with his passion to uplift the community, and kept them both firmly rooted as a part of his life. prgtoken , Mr. Betz is an example of the value found in community engagement. I am honored to recognize Mr. Betz for doing his part in bridging the gap, and thank him for the positive impact he has made on the Santa Ana and Orange County community.
HONORING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF COLOSSIAN BAPTIST CHURCH
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2017-10-16

I rise today to honor the 150th anniversary of Colossian Baptist Church in Newport News, Virginia. prgtoken Colossian Baptist Church was established in 1867 on Mulberry Island, Virginia. Reverend Henry and Reverend Walter Williams worked together to organize the church along with other members of the First Baptist Church in Hampton and locals from the Island. The group began to meet together with the hope that they could build a congregation born out of community and anchored in faith. These early services were held in a barn on Mulberry Island's Follies Farm, led by Reverend Williams. prgtoken Reverend Williams served as the church's pastor for its first five years. Following his service, he was succeeded by Reverend Thomas Poole in 1872 and Reverend Thomas Wright in 1887. prgtoken The congregation of Colossian Baptist Church continued worship in the Follies Farm Barn until it burned down in a fire. Reverend Aaron Wyatt, elected as pastor in 1894, oversaw the church's transition into their new building. prgtoken The church was then rebuilt in 1915 following a devastating windstorm, but the congregation soon needed to move again. In response to the outbreak of World War I, the United States Army bought and repurposed the Colossian Baptist Church property. That area is currently the United States Army Transportation Center at Fort Eustis, Virginia. Following their displacement, the church moved to Newport News, and has remained there ever since. prgtoken Reverend Irvin D. Melvin was named the first full-time pastor of Colossian Baptist Church in 1989, and the church has only grown stronger since that time through the expansion of their music, fellowship, and youth programs. prgtoken Reverend Peter A. Evans became the church's third full-time pastor in 1999. Under his leadership, the church broke ground on a new edifice in 2005, and construction was successfully completed in 2006. prgtoken Over the years, Colossian Baptist Church has continued to grow as it expands its outreach to the community. The church works with Greenwood Elementary School in a partnership dedicated to mentoring young men. Since 2014, the church has overseen the ``Christmas House'' program during December, which serves the local community by providing an avenue for the needy to access clothing, food, and more free of charge. prgtoken Over the last 150 years, Colossian Baptist Church has been served by many dedicated men of faith--Rev. Henry , Rev. Walter Williams, Rev. Thomas Poole, Rev. Thomas Wright, Rev. Aaron Wyatt, Rev. Frank Ashby, Rev. David D Rev. Thomas Ash, Rev. Andrew D. Holmes, Rev. Frank Rylander, Rev. William Cheeseman, Rev. Elick Edlow, Rev. James M. Lee, Rev. Irvin D. Melvin, Rev. Steven W. Banks, Rev. Lloyd Williams, Sr and Rev. Peter A. Evans. prgtoken , as Colossian Baptist Church of Newport News, Virginia celebrates this historic milestone, its congregation can rejoice in 150 years of successful d
REMEMBERING LIEUTENANT THOMAS F. BURKHART AND VETERANS OF THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-10-16

this week my constituent Caroline Burkhart of Baltimore, MD, is on a historic trip to Japan of remembrance and reconciliation. A guest of the Japanese Government, she will follow the journey of her father, Thomas F. Burkhart, who was a prisoner of war of imperial Japan 75 years ago. Her trip will include a visit to the site of the camp in which her father was held as a POW. prgtoken At the start of WWII, Lieutenant Burkhart served in the Philippines with the Headquarters Company of the 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, an elite U.S. Army unit composed of American officers and Filipino enlisted men. After Japan's December 8, 1941, invasion of the Philippines, his battalion helped defend the withdrawal of American forces on Luzon to the Bataan Peninsula. Barely a month after being promoted to first lieutenant, on January 24, 1942, Lieutenant Burkhart earned a Silver Star for ``Gallantry in Action'' at the Battle of Abucay Hacienda, January 15 to 25, 1942, which maintained the first battle position on Bataan. prgtoken Sick with malaria, Lieutenant Burkhart was in the open-air general hospital No. 1 near the tip of Bataan when Major General Edward King surrendered the peninsula to Japanese forces on April 9, 1942. Soon thereafter, the patients were taken by truck, boxcar, and foot up to Camp O'Donnell, an overcrowded, makeshift POW camp. In early June, the Japanese, fearing the deaths of the prisoners from the horrific conditions in the camp, began to release their Filipino POWs and transfer the others to a new facility at Cabanatuan. It is estimated that 1,550 Americans and 22,000 Filipinos died at Camp O'Donnell, the overwhelming majority within the first 8 weeks. prgtoken On November 6, 1942, Lieutenant Burkhart was among 1,500 prisoners packed into the coal bunker of the unmarked ``hell ship'' Nagato Maru to Japan. It took three torturous weeks for the ship to make its way from the tropics to the cold of Northeast Asia. Lieutenant Burkhart, nearly blind from malnutrition, was used as a slave laborer for the construction company Toshima Group--today's Tobishima Corporation. He was soon moved to the Hiroshima No. 1-B Zentsuji POW Camp on the island of Shikoku. The enlisted men at Zentsuji were slave stevedores for Nippon Express Co.--Nippon Tsuun--at Sakaide Rail Yards and the Port of Takamatsu. As an officer, Lieutenant Burkhart worked in the camp garden. On June 23, 1945, he and 334 officers were transferred to POW Camp 11-B Rokuroshi, deep in the Japanese Alps. Food was scarce, conditions were overcrowded, and winter clothes were unavailable, leading many to fear that they would not survive the harsh winter. Lieutenant Burkhart was liberated from this camp in early September. prgtoken Lieutenant Burkhart remained in the Army and had a distinguished career with the quartermaster corps, retiring in 1957 as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. Throughout his life, he was plagued by
Nomination of Tom Marino (Executive Calendar)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-10-16

let me echo the remarks of the senior Senator from Ohio. prgtoken Like Ohio, Rhode Island has a very significant opioid problem, and we came together in this Chamber to support the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. I had the privilege of being the principal ic author of that piece of legislation, and Senator Portman of Ohio was the principal author of that legislation. We worked for years to set it up--to hold the hearings necessary, to get the information together, to make it work. When we did, it passed this body with a massive bipartisan expression of support. prgtoken It makes no sense to nominate somebody to this position who does not understand what we understand, which is prgtoken that the drug epidemic is, at its heart, a public health emergency and an illness. A reversion to law enforcement harshness in dealing with this problem will simply not be effective.
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Bob Corker (Republican, TN) \u2014 2017-10-16

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.
Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act (Executive Session)
Orrin G. Hatch (Republican, UT) \u2014 2017-10-16

the Washington Post article discusses virtually none of this. Rather, it baldly asserts that Congress cut out DEA's legs from underneath it through a sinister conspiracy of deep- pocketed drug companies and their cunning allies in Congress. Nothing could be further from the truth. prgtoken To begin with, I have spent 40 years of my life in the Senate fighting the scourge of drug abuse. I stood side by side with Ronald Reagan in the War on Drugs. In 2000, I coauthored the Drug Addiction Treatment Act, or DATA 2000, one of the first efforts in Congress to address the opioid epidemic. Last year, I led conference negotiations on the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act, a landmark piece of legislation that is making a real difference in the fight against opioid and heroin abuse. Currently, I am working on legislation to address opioid addiction in the veteran community. I am no patsy when it comes to drug abuse--prescription or otherwise--and neither are my colleagues. prgtoken Indeed, forget me for a moment. Let's take Senator Whitehouse, who helped me negotiate the bill with DEA and DOJ. Are we to believe that Senator Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island attorney general and a former U.S. attorney, a crusader against corporate interests, is somehow in the pocket of the drug companies? Of course not. The charge is laughable on its face. prgtoken How about the fact that this bill passed both Houses of Congress by unanimous consent? Did the entire U.S. Congress decide to shield its eyes to the true sinister intent of this legislation? Did the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approved the bill by voice vote, decide to look the other way? This is a committee that includes former prosecutors, state attorneys general, and U.S. attorneys who, at the time, included both the current Attorney General of the United States and the current Senate minority leader. prgtoken Are we seriously to believe that Jeff Sessions, the toughest foe of illegal drugs I have ever known in my entire life, sat on his hands while Congress eviscerated the DEA's enforcement authority? No, of course not. prgtoken To merely state these allegations is to make clear how utterly ridiculous they really are. Not one Senator or Member of the House opposed this bill. Do you know why? Because DEA, the very agency the bill impacts, the very agency that supposedly can no longer do its job because of this legislation, agreed to let it go forward. prgtoken Let me be clear. The DEA could have stopped this bill. They could have stopped it at any time. In fact, they did stop a previous version in 2014 that had different language. I spent months negotiating with DEA and with DOJ until they were at a point they were comfortable allowing the bill to proceed. If they had asked me to hold the bill or to continue negotiations, I would have done so. prgtoken I brought the bill to markup only after DEA and DOJ agreed with me on a path forward. Anyone who
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. PETER'S BOYS HIGH SCHOOL
Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. (Republican, NY) \u2014 2017-10-16

I rise today to recognize St. Peter's Boys High School on the 100th anniversary of its founding. While founded in 1917, St. Peter's Boys High School can trace its roots back to 1839 when the parish was originally dedicated. Operated by the Christian Brothers of St. John Baptist de La Salle, St. Peter's has a proud history of providing boys in the community with a quality education. After the Christian Brothers were temporarily recalled due to the First World War, local clergy ran the school until 1930. In 1943, St. Peter's officially moved to its location on Clinton Avenue where it has been educating Staten Island's youth ever since. St. Peter's Boys High School is an unwavering commitment to turning students into intelligent, mature young men. Moreover, under the guidance of John Fodera for the past 50 years, St. Peter's has had an outstanding impact in the Staten Island community. The school's dedication to instilling proper morals, ethics, and civic responsibilities is nothing short of commendable. Furthermore, St. Peter's top priority to helping every student achieve his fullest potential proves what a blessing the school has been to Staten Island I want to congratulate St. Peter's Boys High School on its 100th anniversary. Its long success in education has benefitted not just students, but parents and faculty as well.