mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Tax Reform Bill (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-12-12

I approach this topic with a little bit of trepidation. Ordinarily when people make outrageous, outlandish, and unbelievable statements, I usually think it is best just to let them go because when people make these kinds of statements, I think they lose their own credibility, and maybe it doesn't bear any particular comment by anybody else or a desire or an attempt to refute it. But on the subject of tax reform, there have been some incredible statements that have been made, and I am going to mention a few of those because I think they really paint an ugly picture of what is supposed to be a debate on tax reform policy, but I think probably they relate more to sort of the nature of what passes for debate here in Washington, DC-- and particularly the Congress--on matters of important public policy. In other words, there isn't a lot of debate. There is accusation after accusation. It gets repeated on social media, then the press picks it up, and then people just assume, well, it must be true since nobody has ever denied it or offered any contrary narrative. prgtoken For example, the House minority leader apparently had the time to read every bill that has ever been written since the year 1789 because she felt comfortable calling this tax bill, which is still in the process of being written--reconciling the House and Senate versions-- she called it the ``worst bill in the history of the United States Congress.'' She has been busy if she has read every bill since 1789. Then she went further because that apparently wasn't enough for her. She said that our tax bill isn't just poor legislation; she said that it is an existential threat to the Nation and possibly the entire planet. Can you believe that? An existential threat to the Nation and possibly the entire planet. prgtoken Well, you can see why perhaps I was reluctant to come address these accusations, because I think anybody who would make those kinds of accusations has lost all credibility. But acting either as a prophet or an amateur astrologist--we are not quite sure--she called the prospect of passing tax reform ``Armageddon.'' prgtoken Well, it is hard to know what to say or do in the face of that sort of rhetoric because, frankly, this tax reform bill is a good thing. I wish our friends across the aisle, the , would join us in trying to make it better. That is what happened the last time we tried to do this or this Congress tried to do it. prgtoken In 1986, a President; a ic Senator from New Jersey, Senator Bill Bradley; Dan Rostenkowski from Chicago, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a ; and other Members of Congress came together to try to reform our Tax Code, and they were successful in doing it against all odds. prgtoken But today, we have an entirely different scenario. We have s seeing that the economy is growing at a very slow rate and that wages for most workers have bee
SERGEANT JOHN BASILONE POST OFFICE
Leonard Lance (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2017-12-12

I rise today to honor an American hero and a proud son of New Jersey, Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, and I offer this bill to name the post office in Raritan, New Jersey, in his honor. prgtoken Gunnery Sergeant Basilone is an exemplar of brave service in our Armed Forces, and a member of the Greatest Generation, whose collective bravery and selflessness won World War II and liberated millions from oppression. prgtoken In Congress, there are many actions we take to honor and remember those who serve our Nation. These commendations matter. Younger generations ask whose name is inscribed on monuments and flag posts or on Federal properties; and in retelling these stories, we inspire young Americans to appreciate the generations that came before in public service. prgtoken Sergeant Basilone, indeed, has a tremendous story. Born on November 4, 1916, in Buffalo, New York, he was 1 of 10 siblings born to Salvatore and Dora Basilone. His father, an immigrant from Italy, and his mother, a native of Manville, New Jersey, decided to raise their family in the Somerset County, New Jersey, Borough of Raritan. prgtoken At just barely 18 years of age, a young Basilone decided to enlist in the United States Army in the 1930s. He would begin his military career with a tour of the Philippines. prgtoken In the Army, he was popular, extremely well-liked. He boxed and contributed to a sense of camaraderie that put the young men who were a world away from home at ease. He would later be honorably discharged from the Army and return home. prgtoken But in 1940, the trumpet summoned him again, and he re-enlisted, this time in the Marines. He would be dispatched to the height of battle in the Pacific theater. prgtoken Sergeant Basilone and many fellow marines were part of Operation Watchtower to regain territory in Guadalcanal, the site of a Japanese airfield. On August 7, 1942, the group took the airfield and defended it bravely from Japanese attempts to reconquer the territory. prgtoken In October of 1942, the Japanese began another land attack to regain control of Guadalcanal. Sergeant Basilone fought bravely for 2 days and prgtoken ultimately contributed to the annihilation of a considerable portion of the Japanese regiment. prgtoken In a moment of selfless service to his fellow marines, Sergeant Basilone endured brutal enemy fire during the assault to assist nearby machine gunners in trouble. prgtoken Seeing the immediate danger, he killed eight encroaching Japanese soldiers and quickly provided aid and equipment to the pinned marines. He saved many lives that day and, in later testimony, his fellow marines credited Sergeant Basilone's gallantry and heroic conduct for saving their lives, actions that would earn him the Medal of Honor in recognition of his actions at Guadalcanal. prgtoken Sergeant Basilone would return home for a short time, selling war bonds to continue doing what he could for the country he loved and the work of whic
COMMUNITY INSTITUTION MORTGAGE RELIEF ACT OF 2017
Keith J. Rothfus (Republican, PA) \u2014 2017-12-12

I rise in support of H.R. 3971, the Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act, and I thank Representative Tenney for her hard work on this piece of legislation. prgtoken At the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee, we often talk about right-sizing regulations. If we want to have a robust financial system that balances smart regulation and consumer protections with the need to make capital available to American consumers, we need to consider targeted opportunities to tailor requirements to fit the size and nature of the financial institution. Representative Tenney's legislation does just that. prgtoken This Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act directs the CFPB to exempt creditors with $25 billion or less in assets from certain costly escrow and impound requirements on loans secured by a first lien on a consumer's principal dwelling. These requirements are especially burdensome for community financial institutions. They often force institutions to pass increased costs on to their consumers. This can drive business away from small banks and credit unions which are already suffering from overregulation and other economic challenges. As a result, in some cases, community financial institutions have exited the mortgage business altogether. This does not help consumers, and it further imperils our shrinking number of community banks and credit unions. prgtoken This bill offers a targeted, reasonable fix so that these institutions can continue to serve their customers. This is smart. It is reasonable. It is common sense, particularly for those who understand how overregulation from Washington, D.C has hurt consumer choice. prgtoken I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.
COMMUNITY INSTITUTION MORTGAGE RELIEF ACT OF 2017
Mia B. Love (Republican, UT) \u2014 2017-12-12

I rise in support of H.R. 3971, the Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act, because the ability to purchase a home is one of the most sacred financial goals we have as Americans. This is an important path to home ownership, and we are doing everything we can to make sure it remains accessible. prgtoken This bill will help do that by ensuring that community banks and credit unions stay in the mortgage lending business and continue to provide potential homeowners with diverse credit options in their communities. prgtoken I would like to thank Representative Claudia Tenney from New York for providing such a great relief to community institutions. prgtoken Unfortunately, as we have seen too often, this is one more instance where government efforts to protect people are inadvertently having the opposite effect. Though intended to protect homeowners, the CFPB's final rule and guidance on escrow and mortgage service requirements are so burdensome and costly for smaller institutions, that we are driving mortgage businesses away from them. prgtoken This comes on top of an already burdensome regulatory environment in which our small financial institutions are facing rules and regulations that were made for larger banks, causing them to close their doors at a rate of one small institution a day. prgtoken We need a more tailored regulatory environment that balances the credit needs of consumers with appropriate consumer protections. This legislation would do that by exempting lenders with assets of $20 billion or less from escrow requirements on high-priced mortgage loans they hold in portfolio and would provide much-needed regulatory relief for small servicers. prgtoken With smaller staff and fewer resources, existing escrow rules are financially and technically prohibitive for small community institutions. In addition, these smaller lenders often hold the liability in portfolio for the term of the loan, making an escrow account unnecessary, because the lender has a strong interest in protecting its collateral by ensuring that taxes and insurance premiums get paid. prgtoken When it comes to purchasing or refinancing a home, it is tremendously important that consumers have credit options. We preserve those options by allowing community institutions to enter or remain in the mortgage market.
DR. WALTER S. McAFEE POST OFFICE BUILDING
Christopher H. Smith (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2017-12-12

I thank my friend, the gentleman from Montana, for yielding and for the support that he and the ranking member provided for this important legislation. prgtoken It is an honor to bring H.R. 3655 to the House today to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 1300 Main Street in Belmar, New Jersey, as the Dr. Walter S. McAfee Post Office Building. prgtoken Dr. Walter McAfee was a scientist, educator, and adviser to the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command and the Fort Monmouth community. prgtoken , I reached out to the leaders of the Information Age Learning Center, also known as InfoAge, several months ago and asked them if they could recommend a member of their community who they believed ought to be honored in this way, and they recommended Dr. McAfee. prgtoken As some of you may know, InfoAge has been the leading organization preserving scientific history, innovation, and communications located at the former Army camp, Camp Evans, and subpost of Fort Monmouth. prgtoken Dr. McAfee was instrumental in the success of Project Diana, an effort by scientists at Camp Evans that pierced the Earth's outer atmosphere with high frequency signals, in other words, radar. It was his mathematical calculations that enabled the team to bounce the first radio signals off the Moon's surface. Without the success of his calculations that allowed for communication to occur between Earth and space, the achievements of launching the satellites into space or sending a man to the Moon would have not been possible. prgtoken It is the achievement of this extraordinary man that actually helped launch us into the space age. During his time at Fort Monmouth, Dr. McAfee also developed sensors which were used to detect and track enemy movements during the Vietnam war. He served as director of a NATO study on surveillance and target acquisition, high-priority technologies, during the Cold War. prgtoken Dr. McAfee was the first African American to be promoted to GS-16, a supergrade civilian position in the U.S. Army Materiel Command, AMC, and to be inducted into the AMC Hall of Fame. Throughout his lifetime, his achievements were recognized through dozens of awards and honors that he received for his contribution to science and to the defense of the United States and our allies. prgtoken He was known for his love of learning, his high ethical standards, and great sense of humor. prgtoken He passed away in 1995 in Belmar, New Jersey. He and his wife, Viola, were married for close to 54 years and are survived by their daughters, Diane Mercedes McAfee and Marsha Bera-Morris. prgtoken s for their anticipated support for this legislation.
ATTACK ON RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS
Louie Gohmert (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-12-12

I do appreciate the concerns of my friends here in Congress because this is just incredible. prgtoken You know, many of us have read, understood what happened during Watergate, and we thought surely there have been enough things put in as checks to prevent an administration from totally co-oping the Department of Justice. No one President should be able to have an administration that is powerful enough that it could be a self- sustaining party where all of the powers, whether it is the IRS that has people in key places that prevent people from guilt giving, for example, proper tax status to opponents of an administration so that they stand a better chance of being defeated in running for a second election. prgtoken It happened in the administration. And to the great embarrassment or what should be embarrassment of the administration, of the IRS, and of the United States Congress, nothing was done. It appears crimes were committed. Nothing was done. prgtoken We are just aghast. prgtoken How could this happen? prgtoken Surely the DOJ would jump into the IRS and correct this and stop this so that the IRS could not be weaponized as a political tool. I mean, Nixon may have dreamed of that at some point, but we are not aware of it. prgtoken I mean, it is just hard to believe that anybody would anticipate using the powers of government in such a flagrant form as we are finding out almost every day now. New allegations, not just--not allegations; new facts show that corruption and political animus and anything but justice was being conducted for a number of years in the Department of Justice. prgtoken You know, as an assistant district attorney in east Texas, as a judge getting to know and hearing so many different Federal agents testify, most people felt like, gosh, if the FBI comes in, these are the guys in the white hats. But much of America has seen what can only be styled as real corruption that has turned those white hats into a stinking brown for some of the top people. prgtoken We heard Christopher Wray, the FBI Director, saying: You know, I think of the FBI and I think about these thousands of great Federal agents across the country who care about their country and protecting people's lives and protecting the law. prgtoken Well, yeah, I think about that, too, until my mind comes back here to Washington, and not just a swamp, but areas that have become a cesspool. It is unbelievable to think--I mean, I saw ``All the President's Men'' the other night about Watergate and Deep Throat. And as I watched, oh, my gosh, you mean somebody in the White House may have had contact with somebody that may have had funds that could be used? prgtoken I mean, you look at what is coming out in the news every day and it makes that look like Keystone Cops--nothing compared to the extent that this administration used the Justice Department. prgtoken And going back to the IRS, what did Rosenstein or all these other great
Republican Tax Bill (Executive Session)
Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-12-13

we are in the middle of a historically important debate here in Washington. s have hatched a partisan proposal behind closed doors that would shovel a trillion dollars in tax giveaways to giant corporations and the wealthy while undermining the healthcare and raising taxes for millions of middle- class families. If it passes, it could affect the lives of every single American for an entire generation. prgtoken Now, last night, the people of Alabama elected a new Senator to represent them here in Washington. So now s who control the Senate face a choice. Will they allow Senator-elect Doug Jones to take his seat among his colleagues before a final vote on their tax plan? prgtoken We actually know something about that kind of choice in my home State of Massachusetts. On January 19, 2010, Massachusetts elected a new Senator to represent them here in Washington. The result was just as shocking to as last night's result was to s. It also came when we were in the middle of another historically important policy debate here in Washington--healthcare. A lot of people thought should ram through the final version of their bill in Congress before Brown could be seated. prgtoken Now, I could stand here and read you quote after quote after quote from s, who now control the Senate, talking about how unfair that would be, how corrupt that would be, and how anti-democratic that would be. I could go on and on about how today's Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said this would be gamesmanship, but I am going to talk about what actually did. prgtoken rejected the idea of ramming through the bill before Brown could take his seat in the Senate. Almost immediately, Jim Webb, a ic Senator from Virginia, called for a suspension of any healthcare vote until after Brown arrived. The day after the Massachusetts election, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said publicly: ``We're going to wait until the new Senator arrives until we do anything more on health care.'' prgtoken Massachusetts ic Senator John Kerry held a joint press conference with Scott Brown that same week, where he said: Seating Scott Brown as expeditiously as possible is important. We want to respect the election results. And nobody wants to delay this process. prgtoken President , whose entire healthcare agenda was on the line, said this: Here's one thing I know and I just want to make sure that this is off the table: The Senate certainly shouldn't try to jam anything through until Scott Brown is seated. People in Massachusetts spoke. He's got to be part of that process. prgtoken Now, this wasn't an easy decision. Waiting for Brown slowed down the adoption of healthcare for 2 additional months. More importantly, it meant lost their filibuster-proof majority and, as a consequence, the fin
DACA
Bill Nelson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2017-12-13

Senator Durbin has been leading a group of us talking about DACA, or the Dreamers. I wish to tell the Senate two stories. prgtoken I wish to tell you about Elisha Dawkins. He was a baby who was brought from the Bahamas at age 6 months. He grew up in America. He grew up in Jacksonville, FL. He never knew anything about his roots. He only knew that he was in America. prgtoken He served two tours in Iraq. He came back and joined the Navy Reserve. He had a top secret clearance and was sent to the very sensitive post of Guantanamo, where he was given a job as a photographer--obviously, a very sensitive position. prgtoken Through an application for a passport and checking on the background of the passport, it came to be learned that he had come to America as an infant, and for what reason--for the life of me, it has not been explained--he was arrested and thrown in jail by a U.S. attorney. Once this case came to the light of day and some of us started speaking out about it, a Federal district judge took it in her hands to lecture the U.S. attorney, and only because of that, Elisha Dawkins was released from jail. prgtoken As a result, we then started getting into it, and Elisha Dawkins was finally given his citizenship, and he is now serving in his native Jacksonville. He is a nurse. prgtoken Here is an individual who had served two tours in Iraq and was in a top secret clearance in the service to the prgtoken Navy Reserve in Guantanamo. This just shouldn't happen. Individuals in good faith have gone about carrying on--some not even knowing; and Elisha certainly didn't know of his undocumented status--but now we have many others. These individuals, in good faith, have divulged personal information to the Department of Homeland Security, which could eventually deport them, and that is why it is critical that we pass the Dream Act as soon as possible. prgtoken I have heard from DACA recipients from all around the country, but especially I have heard from a lot of the 30,000 who are in the State of Florida. I have heard from DACA recipients who are valedictorians, medical students, even priests. Many are the primary breadwinners for their families. prgtoken Senator Durbin has already highlighted some of my constituents over the years, including Cristina Velasquez, a graduate of Miami Dade community college who will soon graduate from Georgetown University and fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher for Teach For America. prgtoken Cristina came to America at age 6 from Venezuela, a country whose problems Senator Durbin and I, but also the Presiding Officer today, have consistently been concerned about--the plight of Venezuela. prgtoken If we fail to pass the Dream Act, are we saying that we are going to send Cristina back to the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela, a dictatorship that can't even provide the basic staples for its citizens? Are we going to allow this young lady--who grew up thinking she was an Amer