mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Motion to Proceed--Resumed
James M. Inhofe (Republican, OK) \u2014 2020-6-25

for the next week, the Senate is going to be debating what I consider to be and what I think most people consider to be the most important bill of the year--the National Defense Authorization Act. It is an act that we passed and have passed every year for 60 years. prgtoken In just a few days, American families across the country will celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day--the day that honors our blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Not all countries share these values; in fact, they reject them. China and Russia would rather have an authoritarian world, one where democracy doesn't exist, where the rest of the world yields to them. prgtoken The national defense strategy is a document that I refer to all the time. It was put together a few years ago when actually 12 really expert and 12 expert s came to an agreement as to what our defense should look like in the future. According to this book, China and Russia are our greatest threats right now. They are building up their militaries and expanding their influence around the world. prgtoken The fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is about sending a message to China and Russia that there is no way you can defeat us, so don't try. That is a pretty blunt message. We couldn't have sent that message 2 years ago. We have been building up, but we are still not where we should be. prgtoken We know the way we preserve peace is by demonstrating our strength. We have the best military in the world, and our enemies need to know that. We can't rest on our laurels. We have to implement the national defense strategy because our comparative military advantage is at risk right now. China and Russia are actually catching up and have surpassed us in some areas. Here is one big reason: China and Russia have invested in their military. prgtoken This is a shocker when you talk to people because they don't expect it. I learned many years ago--or at least I believed--that we had the best of everything ever since World War II, and it was true for a long period of time. Yet, during the period of time between 2009 and 2018, China increased its military spending by 83 percent. That is just remarkable. Russia has grown its budget by 35 percent. During that same period of time, from 2010 to 2015, for that 5-year period during the administration, we reduced our military by 25 percent. Think about that. China increased theirs by 83 percent, and we reduced ours by 25 percent during that same time period. prgtoken Don't forget that these countries willfully mislead on many things, including on the actual sizes of their defense budgets. Russia's is almost three times larger than most people think it is. They look at it and think, well, ours is larger than theirs. It is just that we don't get accurate information, and we know the threats that are out there. prgtoken Because of these investments, China and Russia
GEORGIA ADVANCES DEMOCRACY
Joe Wilson (Republican, SC) \u2014 2020-6-25

. Madam , this week was extraordinary for the advancement of democracy in the Republic of Georgia with the first step of adoption of important electoral reforms by the Parliament, led by Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. The constitutional amendment approved by Georgian lawmakers this week will lead to a mixed electoral system in Georgia, a compromise brokered between the country's political rivals pursuant to the March 8th agreement. The Parliament's approval of this crucial reform signals Georgia's serious commitment to democratic consolidation and Euro- Atlantic integration. prgtoken The people of America appreciate the courageous Georgian lawmakers supporting the March 8th agreement. This includes this week's important electoral reforms but also efforts addressing political interference in the judicial system. In doing so, Georgia will safeguard the progress it has made and prove itself once again as an undeniably successful regional model of democratic transition. prgtoken Georgia is well represented in Washington with Ambassador David Bakradze. South Carolina has a special warm relationship developed by Honorary Consul of Georgia, Admiral David Shimp, of Charleston.
ORDERS FOR MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2020
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2020-6-25

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until Monday, June 29; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 483, S. 4049; and, finally, that notwithstanding rule XXII, all postcloture time on the motion to proceed to S. 4049 expire at 5:30 p.m.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Tom Cotton (Republican, AR) \u2014 2020-6-25

our country faces real challenges today. For example, anti-American mobs are roaming the streets in many cities, tearing down statues of our greatest statesmen, men like Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant, and George Washington, after whom this Capital City is named. prgtoken But the aren't doing anything about that problem. Oh, no, on the contrary, the mob is, in many ways, the youth movement of the ic Party. So they are perfectly content to look the other way-- or even cheer it on. I mean, have you heard , Chuck Schumer, or Nancy Pelosi denounce the mob violence we see on our streets? Me neither. prgtoken Instead, the have found another pressing issue. The House is voting tomorrow on a bill to make Washington, DC, a State. If that sounds insane, you are not alone. More than two-thirds of the American people oppose DC statehood, according to a Gallup poll last summer. prgtoken By some estimates, DC statehood is less popular even than defunding the police. So why are the pushing for it? The answer is simple--power. The want to make Washington a State because they want two new ic Senators in perpetuity. prgtoken The are angry at the American people for refusing to give them total control of the government, for going on a decade now. So they want to give the swamp as many Senators as your State has. They want to make Washington a State to rig the rules of our democracy and try to give the ic Party permanent power. prgtoken In doing so, the are committing an act of historical vandalism as grotesque as those committed by Jacobin mobs roaming our streets. In their rush to make Washington a State, they disregard the clear warnings of our Founding Fathers. prgtoken If the succeed in forcing through DC statehood, they will do so only as a narrow faction that scorns the history of our country and seizes power against the will of the people who want Washington to remain what it has been for more than 200 years--a Federal city, our Nation's Capital. prgtoken The District of Columbia is unusual, though not unique, among capitals of the world, in that it didn't grow naturally over the centuries but was purpose-built as the Capital of our Nation. The Founders created Washington as a Federal city so that the operations of government would be safe and free from domination by the States around it. prgtoken James Madison wrote in Federalist 43 that ``the indispensable necessity of complete authority at the seat of government, carries its own evidence with it.'' prgtoken It is so obvious as to be self-evident. Without complete control over its territory, Madison wrote, the government ``might be insulted and its proceedings interrupted with impunity.'' prgtoken Hostile magistrates or an angry mob might interfere with the people's elected representatives or even usurp the government. prgtoken Now, this was no abstract concern f
RECOGNIZING CHUCK BROADWAY
Ross Spano (Republican, FL) \u2014 2020-6-25

I rise today to add my voice to the millions in our country demanding that the communist Chinese Government be held accountable for its deception regarding the coronavirus, COVID-19. China lied and Americans died. It is really that simple. prgtoken For too long, our own national leaders have looked the other way as China has taken advantage of American ingenuity and naivete. They have continually countered our interests around the world, and it is our companies and our citizens that have paid the price. prgtoken China intentionally mislead the international community about what it knew regarding the deadliest pandemic our world has seen in over 100 years. COVID-19 has since caused the deaths of over 100,000 Americans and over 9 million people worldwide. prgtoken China's complicity in this crisis has, likewise, brought ruin to economies around the globe while increasing their relative advantage, and for this they must answer. I have introduced and joined numerous legislative initiatives to do just that, and I ask my colleagues to join me to do the same. prgtoken China must and will be held accountable. In Support of the Second Amendment
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Patrick J. Toomey (Republican, PA) \u2014 2020-6-25

reserving the right to object, I think it is worth reminding my colleagues exactly what the Ex-Im Bank is all about. What this is, then, is a Bank by which taxpayers are required to subsidize big corporations. That is what Ex-Im Bank is. prgtoken The precise way that it works, though, is to provide the subsidy directly to foreign entities--often state-owned entities, often Chinese state-owned entities--when they buy an American product, when they buy an American export. The Ex-Im Bank is in the business of forcing taxpayers to subsidize foreign, often state-owned, entities buying American products. I object to that activity and so do many of my colleagues. prgtoken This is a controversial entity. It is a controversial idea that we would expand the population on the Board because doing so diminishes the likelihood that they might be at a point, at some point in the future, where they would not have a quorum. prgtoken My own view is that what we ought to be doing is having a mutual negotiation with our trading partners to phase out all of these export subsidy banks all around the world. And, unfortunately, neither this administration nor the previous administration has had any interest in pursuing that. prgtoken In the meantime, I have asked for improvements in the operations of the Export-Import Bank--operations such as transparency and controlling taxpayer risk and the extent to which it crowds out private financing and other areas. I will say that I appreciate Ex-Im Bank President Reed's efforts in these areas, but there is a long way to go. It doesn't solve the fundamental problem, which is the mission of the Bank. prgtoken The defenders of Ex-Im will sometimes argue that Ex-Im Bank--the subsidy that taxpayers are required to provide to foreign purchasers-- is essential for our exports, that we need it and jobs depend on it. It is interesting because we have a controlled experiment that addresses that question directly. From 2015 through the early part of 2019, the Ex-Im Bank didn't have a quorum, so it could not legally engage in large-scale transactions. It couldn't do anything, and they didn't. prgtoken You have a period of about 4 years, and during that time, the volume of financing--the volume of transactions that Ex-Im Bank was doing-- dropped by about 80 percent. That is huge. The Ex-Im Bank for several years was a shadow of its former self. prgtoken What happened to American exports during the time when the Ex-Im Bank was basically out of business? I will tell you what happened. American exports grew and hit an all-time record high in 2018. That is what happened. The fact is, Americans make great products, and we can sell them overseas without having to subsidize the buyer. Buyers and sellers arranged private financing. There are lots of banks and institutions that are in the business of providing this financing. Taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize it. The proof is in the p
HONG KONG AUTONOMY ACT
Josh Hawley (Republican, MO) \u2014 2020-6-25

a week ago, I stood in this Chamber and spoke about the death of democracy. I spoke about how free people are slowly losing their basic liberties right in front of our eyes. I spoke about how deeply oppressive regimes are defiling laws and prgtoken tearing up treaties that offer protections and peace. I spoke about how the bright light of a great city is descending into darkness and chaos. I spoke about the plight of the people of Hong Kong. prgtoken I take this opportunity to remind everyone, both at home and those listening abroad, about the urgent and existential crisis that plagues this outpost of liberty in the Indo-Pacific. On May 28, the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing adopted a resolution and began drafting a new national security law in Hong Kong. That is what they call it, anyway. But the more we learn about this impending legislation, the more concerned we should be. That is because we know that this is no legitimate law. prgtoken I will tell you what this is. It is a dictate from a dictatorship, and its passage will deal a mortal blow to the freedoms and liberties that Hongkongers have enjoyed for decades now. It is a permanent break from the one country-two systems principle that has governed that city since 1997, the principle to which Beijing committed in the 1984 Sino- British Treaty, when they also committed to upholding the basic rights and liberties of the people of Hong Kong. prgtoken Beijing wants to violate all of that now. They want to sweep it aside, and they want to do it through so-called legislation adopted through their fake legislature that would roll back the commitments they have made, roll back the protections and rights of the people of Hong Kong, and snuff out this light in the Indo-Pacific. prgtoken Imagine this great city with new restrictions on speech, assembly, and religion, because that is what the Chinese Communist Party wants. They call it a national security law. It doesn't have anything to do with national security. It has everything to do with ending liberty. It has to do with banning the freedom of assembly. It has to do with squelching the freedom of speech. It has to do with denying the freedom of religion. That is the agenda. That is the substance. That is what Beijing wants, and it is what they are going to do unless the free world, beginning with the Members of this body, stand up and say no. prgtoken This body must take action today to support the people of Hong Kong. It must speak with one voice. It must tell the world that this is not acceptable and that it must not stand, and free peoples the world over must not silently acquiesce prgtoken Now, a week ago, I tried to do just that. I asked this body for consent, unanimously, to pass a resolution that would condemn this new dictate from Beijing and emphasize its clear violation of both Hong Kong basic law and the Sino-British joint declaration. This resolution that I am here again today to off
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Rick Scott (Republican, FL) \u2014 2020-6-25

I look forward to working with my colleague from Virginia to do what we both tried to do as Governors and we were both focused on. It is hard to keep tuition down and to make sure kids get jobs at the end. It is a very difficult job. prgtoken I don't think what we are doing today with Senator Kaine's proposal is going to help our students get the jobs they need and help keep our tuition down. I don't think we ought to be giving a blank check to our institutions that raise tuition on our students. We all know the mountains of debt--over $1.7 trillion--which is ridiculous. I think my STEM Act is a solution to help make our higher education system affordable and ensure kids have a future. But, unfortunately, we are not able to do that today. I respectfully object. I look forward to working with Senator Kaine to try to do everything we can to get this tuition down and help our kids get jobs.
GEORGE FLOYD JUSTICE IN POLICING ACT OF 2020
Andy Biggs (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2020-6-25

. Madam , I thank the gentleman for yielding some time to me. prgtoken Madam , we consider something very serious today, and that is reformation of policing. And we are, as Federal elected officials, reaching into State and local police agencies. And if this bill were to become law, we are imposing the values of us collectively--because that is the way this works--on those State and local agencies. prgtoken Madam , when we had this debate in the Committee on the Judiciary, it was often pointed out by some on my side of the aisle that there was movement afoot to defund, and in some cases, even eliminate police agencies at the local and State level. And that was viewed as a ruse, as a deflection from the issue. But in reality, indeed, this bill itself will have that effect. prgtoken Madam , see, on the front side of it, you have a radical group of folks, people who are agitating to actually defund or eliminate police agencies--whether they are affiliated with any of my colleagues, I don't know. We have had some Members of this body suggest that their own police departments are cancerous and should be amputated. We have seen that. prgtoken And then on the other hand, though, this bill actually is a rear- guard action. prgtoken So you have a frontal attack on State and local police--eliminate them. Then you have a rear-guard action. That is what this does. It brings power to control local and State police to this body. prgtoken Madam , as my friend from California said earlier, one of the most unique things about policing is it is tied to community. So we need to consider that. We need to consider that this bill will actually have the impact that so many seem to want, and that is to attenuate State and local policing. So when we start talking about qualified limited immunity and the proposed elimination of that in this bill, I recall that there were several Members from my side of the aisle that wish to see that. I mean, Mr. McClintock said he would like to see it done away with. Others said the same thing. But there were also efforts and attempts to modify the qualified limited immunity rules. prgtoken Madam , now why is this important? Because you need to understand that QLI does not protect a police officer from charges for illegal or unconstitutional conduct. It just doesn't. But when you totally eliminate it, the same protections that are there for, whether it is a schoolteacher prgtoken or social worker or some other government worker, police officers will now be left without protection whatsoever. And the result will be, it will be harder to recruit, train, and retain police officers. We are not going to have the best police officers we can get anymore. prgtoken Madam , so what is going to happen, then, is you are going to see fewer police officers. So you are going to see, for instance, in one of the big cities in my State, hundreds of vacancies already there. You will see that move to thousands of vacanci
IN RECOGNITION OF DR. RUTUL DALAL
Fred Keller (Republican, PA) \u2014 2020-6-25

as Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District continues to emerge from the COVID-19 virus pandemic, we can recognize the people in our community that have played a uniquely outstanding role in this unprecedented time. prgtoken Today, I recognize the work of Dr. Rutul Dalal, the head of the infectious diseases unit at UPMC Williamsport. In the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Dalal, along with the administration of UPMC Williamsport, provided a critical voice of reason, calm, and thoughtfulness in reassuring our community of local health providers' ability to deal with COVID-19. prgtoken Dr. Dalal was a participant in a rural health roundtable our team held in March that discussed COVID-19 testing capabilities, surge capacity, and what government can do to ensure the medical community has the tools it needs. prgtoken Dr. Dalal later joined me for a telephone townhall on COVID-19, where he spoke to over 10,000 residents in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania about how to protect themselves in the pandemic and answered their questions. Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Dalal has spoken with many area lawmakers, community leaders, and others, while maintaining his hospital responsibilities on the front lines of fighting this terrible virus. prgtoken For his work, professionalism, and expertise, Dr. Dalal is truly a PA-12 COVID-19 hero.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Continued
Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican, MS) \u2014 2020-6-25

it is a shame the Senate has been prevented the opportunity to discuss meaningful legislation to strengthen and improve our law enforcement system. prgtoken The Senate had an opportunity to implement public safety measures the American people believe are needed and the American people want. Most importantly, the Senate was blocked from working toward helping bind the Nation together. prgtoken Sadly, this was due to partisan politics by our ic colleagues. It is disappointing that, when given the chance to back up a lot of big talk about reform and change, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle simply walked away. I was under the impression we were all in agreement that the matters addressed in this legislation were, at the very least, worth debating. By refusing to even consider a debate, Senate leave the American people with irresponsible demands to defund the police and destruction of public property. prgtoken My friend and colleague, the junior Senator from South Carolina, worked tirelessly to produce very good legislation. He and the leadership offered to work with our ic colleagues and assure them there would be an open amendment process. prgtoken Had we had a chance to proceed, I was prepared to file an amendment that would have gotten the top Federal and State law enforcement officials together from rural and urban areas and developed a best practices curriculum for training incoming law enforcement officers. The amendment would have provided the resources to train the trainers. prgtoken This simply illustrated that Members on both sides of the aisle wanted an opportunity to offer meaningful changes to the bill, but only one side of the aisle thought that opportunity was worthwhile. I am ready to debate on that and any other amendment should we do the right thing and have an open, purposeful conversation on a very critical issue. prgtoken The tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month exposed an erosion of public confidence in the rule of law and law enforcement practices. There is no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of law enforcement officers, who are very good friends of mine--many of them across the country--do their jobs fairly and justly. However, the bad actions of a few are enough to cause us as elected leaders to consider responsible changes to improve police practices and rebuild public confidence in those we trust with ensuring our public safety. prgtoken I encourage my colleagues to reconsider and engage in this debate. It would be a real tragedy not to use this national moment in our history to improve law enforcement through more accountability, transparency, and better training. prgtoken Let's stop looking for ways to divide the American public. Let's bring people together and work together toward meaningful reform that improves law enforcement, public safety, and the confidence Americans deserve in the rule of law. prgtoken