mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HEALTH INSURANCE FOR AMERICANS WORKING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Doug LaMalfa (Republican, CA) \u2014 2018-1-8

today there is an estimated 11 million Americans working for small businesses who lack employer-sponsored health insurance. prgtoken The reality is that families across the country are struggling to afford coverage; they are priced out of plans and left with few options. prgtoken Last week, President 's Department of Labor proposed a rule to help these 11 million Americans, a move deserving of ample support. prgtoken The rule would enhance the market leverage of small groups, as well as individuals, by giving associations a meaningful role on the same playing field large corporations enjoy. prgtoken For example, a farmer will be able to buy insurance through the national Farm Bureau plan, or a restaurant manager could let his employees buy insurance through the National Restaurant Association. prgtoken Association plans are able to reduce costs by sharing risks in a larger pool, allowing flexibility to design plans to meet workers' needs, increasing negotiating power to lower prices with providers or drug prices. prgtoken It is not a complete fix for Care, but it is certainly a big leap in the right direction, allowing workers that are in small businesses to have more choices, better than what they have now.
CONGRATULATING SUPERINTENDENT RANDY KING ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
David G. Reichert (Republican, WA) \u2014 2018-1-8

as a member who has the honor of representing the heart of Mount Rainier National Park, the jewel of the 8th Congressional District and Washington State, I rise today to recognize Superintendent Randy King for his outstanding service to our country, the environment, and the National Park Service and to congratulate him on his retirement on January 2, 2018. prgtoken Randy was raised in Michigan and attended Michigan State University, where he developed his love of the outdoors through outdoor excursions with family and friends. After college, he began his accomplished 40- year career with the National Park Service, serving in six national parks including Yellowstone, Acadia, the Intermountain Regional Office, and even an assignment in Australia. In 2003, Randy moved to Mount Rainier National Park to serve as the Deputy Superintendent, including a 15-month detail as Acting Superintendent in 2009 through 2010. Since 2011, Randy has served as the Superintendent of the Mount Rainier National Park. prgtoken The challenges of managing the diverse landscape and needs of this park are endless. It includes 235,625 acres of forests, meadows, and mountains, and a National Historic Landmark District. Every year, Mount Rainier is graced with millions of day-hikers, climbers, and outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy the visitor centers, back-country, and summit of the mountain's 14,410 foot summit. With every visit comes inherent dangers from the wild landscape and it was often up to Randy and his team to plan and engage in rescue and recovery efforts. Randy managed all of these challenges with skill and grace. prgtoken During his tenure, Randy worked tirelessly to maintain open, honest relationships with surrounding community leaders, businesses, staff, and visitors. He oversaw upgrades to the permitting process, renovations to historical landmarks, improvements to trail and road access, increased stewardship opportunities within the park, and the opening of a memorial to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their service to this country. I had the honor of working closely with Randy when we passed legislation to name the Eatonville Post Office after Ranger Margaret E. Anderson who gave her life protecting visitors in the park. As Co-Chair of the National Parks Caucus, Randy and I have worked together on many projects over the years in an effort to strengthen and protect our parks. prgtoken Randy is a proven leader whose warmth, kindness, and charismatic leadership is a credit to the National Park Service and will be missed at Mount Rainier , I again offer my congratulations to Superintendent Randy King, for his service and dedication to the community and visitors of the Mount Rainier National Park.
TRIBUTE TO NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY BISONS
Kevin Cramer (Republican, ND) \u2014 2018-1-8

I rise to pay tribute to the North Dakota State University Bisons, who, on Saturday, won their sixth NCAA Division 1 football championship in the last 7 years. prgtoken When Chris Kliemen was named head coach at NDSU 3 years ago, he inherited a tradition of excellence and made it a dynasty. Merriam- Webster defines ``dynasty'' as ``a powerful group or family that maintains its position for a considerable time.'' prgtoken Well, , winning six national championships in 7 years certainly meets the second half of that definition. And anyone who knows Bison football knows that they are a family. It is what makes them special. prgtoken Quarterback Easton Stick was named the Game's Most Outstanding Player, but it was the Bison defense that shined the brightest on Saturday, holding James Madison University's explosive offense to a season low 241 yards and just 13 points. prgtoken Perhaps it was linebacker Nick DeLuca who put it best when asked how the Bison defense was able to respond so spectacularly in so many difficult situations. He simply said: ``Just remain focused and calm.'' prgtoken Good advice, Nick, in football and politics. prgtoken Congratulations, Bisons. You make us proud.
Iran (Executive Session)
Orrin G. Hatch (Republican, UT) \u2014 2018-1-8

before I turn to the main portion of my remarks, I wish to speak briefly on the situation in the Middle East. prgtoken The protests across cities in Iran reflect the failed leadership of a corrupt regime. The Ayatollah's negligence in denying the basic rights of his own people is inexcusable. Instead of allocating resources to care for families in need, the regime has chosen to use what economic gains it has accrued through the Iran deal to fund terrorism and sectarian violence in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and elsewhere in the region. I stand with the Iranian people in their demand for prosperity and freedom, and I call upon my colleagues in Congress to do the same.
NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT DAY
Erik Paulsen (Republican, MN) \u2014 2018-1-8

tomorrow, January 9, is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. It is a time to celebrate everything that our law enforcement men and women do for our communities. While it is important to appreciate their courage and bravery, it is also a time to honor them and thank them for their service. prgtoken Every single day, police officers go to work not knowing what dangers may lie ahead of them while on the job. They put their lives on the line with a mission to both serve and protect. By the way, these law enforcement personnel are our friends, our neighbors, and even family members. prgtoken Last year, 128 police officers lost their lives defending the thin blue line. One of them was Officer Bill Mathews of Wayzata, Minnesota. He was certainly well known and part of the fabric of the community. He is missed not only by a loving family--his wife, Shawn, and son, Wyatt--but also by those he worked with and the residents he served while on patrol in neighborhoods. prgtoken , those who serve in law enforcement will often say it is a calling, and we honor that calling of service on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
DACA (Executive Session)
Thom Tillis (Republican, NC) \u2014 2018-1-8

before the chairman leaves the Chamber, I wish to thank him for his leadership as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He has done an extraordinary job of bringing people together to really come up with a solution to this problem. prgtoken This is a problem that has existed for years--almost two decades. The first DREAM Act was filed in 2001, I believe. It has been some 16 years, and they have failed to produce a result. Now, think that through. That was through President , and it was through President . It was actually at a time when, in 2009, not a single vote would have been necessary to pass the DREAM Act. Yet my colleagues on the other side of the aisle could not produce a result. So we know we need to do something different. prgtoken There are things in the Dream Act that we need to file and put into a bill. In fact, it was instructed into a bill that I and Senator Lankford and Senator Hatch filed called the SUCCEED Act. It is a way to provide certainty for the DACA population, but it also needs to be paired up with reasonable border security provisions so that we get the broad base of support we need for enduring policy here. prgtoken There are some people who are talking about withdrawing from negotiations and trying to threaten a government shutdown to get something slammed into a year-end spending bill. But if you really care about the long-term certainty that we want to provide these young people who qualified under the DACA Program, the last thing you should do is to play politics and get something half baked into a provision that will always be a target of the next year-end spending bill. Why don't we do something crazy and actually sit down, check our Members on the side and the ic side who have extreme views on this issue at the door, and solve the problem. prgtoken I have taken a lot of criticism after filing the SUCCEED Act because I had a lot of people who said that I was soft on immigration. Well, I respectfully disagree with some of my friends who are themselves s and conservatives, because I don't think they have it right. I think that the young men and women who qualify under the DACA Program, who were brought to this country through the actions of their parents, through no fault of their own, deserve a respectful, compassionate, physically sustainable solution, and certainty. I have been working on it, and I have been taking the criticism ever since I filed the bill. I even had a congressional district in North Carolina censure me, saying, ``shame on you,'' for actually coming up with something that made sense. prgtoken One thing that I said, though, when we filed that bill, is that what we did in the SUCCEED Act had to be paired with reasonable, sustainable border security measures and interior enforcement measures--things that are important if we want to make sure that a decade from now, 15 years from now we are not ba
NOMINATION OF WILLIAM L. CAMPBELL, JR.
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2018-1-8

on another matter, later today the Senate will vote to advance the nomination of William L. Campbell, Jr to serve as a U.S. district judge for the Middle District of Tennessee. prgtoken Mr. Campbell's nomination is not controversial. Like the other three district court nominees before the Senate this week, he is well qualified. They are the kinds of nominees who, until recently, would have sailed quickly and smoothly right through the Senate. prgtoken So why will their four nominations consume a week of the Senate's attention? Why do we need to file cloture on each, and then exhaust the full 30 hours of debate? The reason is that Senate are choosing, for partisan reasons, to make these nominations take as long as possible. Their goal is to waste the Senate's time and prevent the President from promptly filling judicial vacancies. prgtoken , 2017 was a historic year of partisan obstruction by our ic colleagues, even for uncontroversial judges who went on to unanimous or near-unanimous confirmation votes. Our colleagues across the aisle used every possible procedural roadblock to delay and drag their heels. prgtoken Now 2018 is, unfortunately, starting off the same way. prgtoken Mr. Campbell is a Marine Corps veteran and a well-respected lawyer. His record is not partisan. His nomination was reported out of the Judiciary Committee on a voice vote. I look forward to the Senate confirming him, albeit after our ic colleagues waste more of the Senate's time. prgtoken I implore our ic friends to turn the page on the needless obstruction and permit the Senate to function smoothly so that we can attend to more of the people's business.
SHAME TRAFFICKERS
Ted Poe (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-1-8

the deviants of the slave trade operate all around us. Human trafficking occurs in our country, our States, and in our cities. prgtoken January, Human Trafficking Awareness Month, seeks to bring light to this scourge against humanity: nothing more than modern-day slavery. prgtoken We must not only remain vigilant but must go after the buyers and sellers in the sex trafficking trade. This is one of them right here. prgtoken That is why I have introduced, along with Carolyn Maloney, the Shame Act, to expose the identity of convicted traffickers and buyers of human beings. prgtoken The Shame Act allows judges to publish the names and photographs of convicted traffickers and buyers in public places, such as on billboards. prgtoken , as a judge in Texas, I successfully used shame punishment. It worked. Dubbed ``poetic justice'' by the media, I learned that the last thing criminals want are their faces exposed to the public. prgtoken Traffickers and buyers must know they cannot hide behind their dastardly crimes. It is time to send a message loud and clear about human trafficking: not in our cities, not in our States, not in our Nation, not anymore. prgtoken And that is just the way it is.
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS AND THE LEGACY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Dwight Evans (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2018-1-8

I want to thank our chairman, and that is why he is our chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, because you just heard him so eloquently express his thoughts and his feelings. He has done a fantastic job as the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I thank him. I always recognize the importance of what he brings to all of us. prgtoken The gentleman is correct about the next person. I want to add my voice to what he just said. I was 11 years old when he went across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I recall seeing it on CBS. I did not understand it, but, now, like the chairman, I serve in this body with him. I am a part of this body. And as I watch him and as I listen to him, all of the drive and the energy that he has--and he is always extremely positive. I have not met a person who is more positive and optimistic about the future of this country as he says and talks about walking in his shoes. I remember that he said that. prgtoken I remember that opportunity when I was down in Alabama on that Edmund Pettus Bridge--along with him and my good friend and colleague from Alabama, Terri Sewell--that I thought to myself, I said: ``Self, here I am with Congressman Lewis.'' He is someone who is renowned in this body and in this country and around the world. prgtoken , from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS AND THE LEGACY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Cedric L. Richmond (Democrat, LA) \u2014 2018-1-8

from Pennsylvania, Congressman Dwight Evans, for allowing me this time to speak. prgtoken , I heard Mr. Evans talk about Dr. King's roots and influence in Pennsylvania. I just want to note, and this would only be a small moment of my remarks, that as a Morehouse man, we remind everyone that Dr. King started at the age of 16 in his matriculation through college and his embarking on the world knowledge that he had at Morehouse College, which I spent just a few years at and graduated from myself. prgtoken I hope that there are a number of young people watching today, as well as those seniors whose backs I stand on, because a lot of people talk about Dr. King's dream, but I just want to say here publicly, and I have said it prgtoken privately so many times, we don't honor the dream. Everybody has a dream. The question becomes whether you have the courage, the fortitude, and the willingness to sacrifice your future to make that dream come true. prgtoken In this body, and as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, which now represents almost 78 million Americans in serving with real icons who paved the way to make this a more perfect union, I appreciate now more than ever the sacrifice that went into making this country what it is, and because of that and because of this time, let me just give 30 seconds of my history. prgtoken My mother is from the poorest place in the United States. She had 15 brothers and sisters, and all she had was a mother, a very dedicated mother who was a housekeeper we call a domestic or some other fancy term now. She was a woman who woke up every day, who would clean other people's houses to make sure that her 15 kids had an opportunity at a better future. You know what created that better future? Historically Black Colleges and Universities. prgtoken My mother went to Southern University. She shared a jacket with her sister, who was still in Lake Providence, which is about 200 miles away. I don't know how you do it, but they did it. prgtoken My mother, in that HBCU, because of the work of many people, was able to achieve an education, which is the best way to lift yourself out of poverty. She instilled in me two things: one, Cedric, you have to work hard, you have to do everything twice as good as everyone else so you can make it; and two, once you make it, you have an obligation to give back. prgtoken That is what is so special about Dr. Martin Luther King and the dream and the day that we celebrate. A lot of young people sit around and say: Oh, when I make it, I am going to give back. Oh, when I grow up, I am going to do something. prgtoken Well, Dr. King did everything that he did at a young age. If you talk about the Montgomery bus boycott, if you talk about our leaders in the civil rights movement, they didn't wait to grow into leadership. They created their own path. The remarkable thing is many of them sacrificed not only their future but their life. prgtoken
THE HISTORY OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS AND THE LEGACY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-1-8

I want to thank Congressman Evans for the mighty leadership that he has given and for the service that he gives to his constituents in Philadelphia. I accept his challenge, and I accept the challenge of my chairman, Cedric Richmond, who told a story that hopefully will be an inspiration and a guide for all of those who believe that they are not yet mature enough to serve, to give, to offer to the beloved community that Dr. King so aptly speaks of. prgtoken What can I say about John Lewis, whose moral guidance, but whose bloody brow, was never bowed. I thank Congressman Lewis not only for the straight talk but the loving talk. To my colleagues who are here, I know that each will have a moment, so allow me to take just a moment to be able to offer my tribute and commemoration of Dr. King's life. What a powerful year we face in 2018, and I am so grateful to have left 2017. prgtoken I believe that this gives a fresh look to America. I looked at the movie ``Remember the Titans,'' and maybe you saw that with Denzel Washington, and it reflected a racial conflict with football players just outside of Washington in Virginia. It is a moving story of how when you get young people together, we can break the chains of racism and differences. It brought tears to my eyes, because in 2017, we went that journey again, and I was hoping that we would come in this year, the commemoration year, to accept Dr. King's challenge of a beloved community. prgtoken I salute my community of Houston. Some say there was no civil rights movement, and I beg to differ with them. Dr. King came one time, and the clergy gathered, most of them gathered, those who were afraid; we know that most were not. They were all ready to have a big rally, and wouldn't you know it, a bomb threat. But our Houstonians were ready to march and to be out front in spite of the fear of a bomb. prgtoken I believe that every community that Dr. King was either invited to or that he went to, there were people of courage who were willing to stand up and embrace freedom in the face of devastating potential disaster. prgtoken So let me just say that my greatest claim for this legacy is my fight as a prgtoken younger person to be part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It will be my greatest honor to have been able to work for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to walk in that office on Auburn, that I believe may not be to meet Ralph David Abernathy because it was after the death of Dr. King, to know James Orange, and to know the brother that walked with the wooden leg, and to know Andy in a way that they were still engaged in Dr. King's work. prgtoken I am reminded of the message that he has given to us. And as Chairman Richmond said, he was young, and he asked the question: ``Life's most persistent and nagging question is''--he said--``what are you doing for others?'' And I think we as members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the adjunct of
CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2018-1-8

100 days is a significant period of time--significant, particularly, because it involves the health of our children, which has been neglected over the last 3 months plus. How is it that this Chamber managed to go more than 3 months and not get in place a permanent expansion or a 5-year expansion of healthcare for our Nation's children? prgtoken Well, I can tell you why. It is because my colleagues on the majority side of the aisle here in this Chamber had a different bill that they were immersed in and that was a healthcare bill that would be better termed a health destruction bill because it would have wiped out healthcare for somewhere between 20 and 30 million Americans, and eventually version No. 5 of that bill died here in the Senate. prgtoken Then my colleagues across the aisle said: Well, we have another beautiful idea. We are going to do a tax bill that will deliver trillions of dollars to the richest Americans. Well, our Constitution was crafted around the vision of government of, by, and for the people, but my colleagues across the aisle like a different version of governance. They like governance by and for the powerful and the privileged. prgtoken So here they have this tax bill, and this tax bill has provisions like eliminating the dynasty loophole so wealthy families can pass their dynasty inheritances from one generation to the next without ever paying capital gains. They had a provision that they wanted to change the tax brackets for the wealthiest Americans. They wanted to have corporations, which have paid a smaller and smaller and smaller share of the costs of the infrastructure and the healthcare and the education of America, to pay even less. They had a provision where passthrough corporations would get a sweetheart rate. If you add up these provisions, they total over $3 trillion. Now, not all of it goes to the wealthiest 1 percent, but most of it does, and most of it goes to the wealthiest 10 percent. prgtoken Let's just take and only count two-thirds of that $2 trillion. Now, let's think about that number. That is a number that we really can't imagine. How many grains of sand are on this beach? You just can't get your hands around that kind of money--$2 trillion to the richest Americans. So let's divide it by the number of American men, women, and children in our country, and what do you end up with? You end up with the fact that that bill that prgtoken my colleagues across the aisle were so insistent on passing delivers the equivalent of $6,000 for every man, woman, and child in America to the very richest Americans. prgtoken This bill was not about delivering benefits to the richest Americans. This bill was not about delivering benefits to the privileged. This bill was not about making the powerful more powerful. This bill was about children, and so it got set aside, one day after another after another, and we are at 100 days and counting. prgtoken Now, who are these ch