mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET
Richard Burr (Republican, NC) \u2014 2017-9-19

I have 10 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. prgtoken Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry prgtoken The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 9:30 a.m in 216 Hart Senate Office Building, in order to conduct a hearing to consider the nominations of Ted McKinney and Stephen Censky to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Committee on Armed Services prgtoken The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, at 10 a.m in open session, to receive testimony on recent United States Navy incidents at sea. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation prgtoken The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources prgtoken The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to hold a Business Meeting on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources prgtoken The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to hold a hearing on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 10 a.m. in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. Committee on Finance prgtoken The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 10 a.m in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Business Tax Reform.'' Committee on Foreign Relations prgtoken The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 10 a.m to hold a business meeting.'' Committee on Foreign Relations prgtoken The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 10:15 a.m to hold a hearing entitled ``Nominations.'' Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions prgtoken The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Nominations'' on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, at 10 a.m in room 430
Tribute to Joe Donoghue (Executive Calendar)
John McCain (Republican, AZ) \u2014 2017-9-19

this week marks 30 years of loyal service to the Senate by one Joe Donoghue, my legislative director--30 years working for the citizens of Arizona and trying to make me a better Senator. During those three decades, he worked his way from the mailroom to a position of considerable importance on my staff. He has made himself something of an expert not only on Senate procedure but on all the many issues our staff has worked on over the years--from budget matters to immigration reform, to national security. prgtoken Joe is capable, intelligent, hard-working, and trustworthy--a justifiably proud professional staffer, a pro's pro. He is well liked by staff and Members on both sides of the aisle, especially by those who, like him, have dedicated most of their careers to the Senate. I have come to depend on his professionalism and his counsel. More than that, my wife Cindy and my children treasure his friendship, as do I-- as do I. prgtoken Joe and I began our Senate careers around the same time. He started sorting mail and performing other entry-level duties in the first year of my first term. He was 18 years old. I wasn't quite that young, but it was a long time ago for both of us. prgtoken When he came to work with us, I don't think Joe knew if I was a or . He just knew he needed a part-time job to pay for books and beer. These were pre-internet and email days, and making certain the immense amount of mail we received from constituents was opened, given to me or to appropriate staff, and answered as quickly as possible was very labor intensive and challenging, but he acquitted himself well, as he has with every responsibility he has accepted on my behalf. prgtoken His work ethic and reliability quickly made him indispensable. He worked his way up to legislative correspondent and then to legislative assistant, with the lead responsibility for, among other things, helping me fight years of pitched battles with appropriations bills, targeting wasteful spending, and the practice of earmarking. Those were the days when the Senate actually debated appropriations bills. I have many fond memories of Joe drafting thousands of amendments at my direction to strike wasteful earmarks, although I am not sure they are fond memories for the floor staff who had to process the amendments. prgtoken As I mentioned, in addition to his legislative work, Joe was my driver for over 20 years. I travel an awful lot, back and forth to Arizona on weekends, campaigning for colleagues, and on overseas trips. During the week, when the Senate is in session, my nights are often consumed with meetings, dinners, and speeches. Joe worked a long shift in the office during the day and drove me to various appointments day and night--taking me to airports and picking me up, getting me safely and on time through Washington traffic to keep a schedule that was always impossibly crowded. prgtoken We spent a lot of hours toge
HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES
Orrin G. Hatch (Republican, UT) \u2014 2017-9-19

it is with great reverence that I rise today to pay tribute to one of Utah's great soldiers, SSG Aaron Butler, who was tragically killed on August 16, 2017, by an improvised explosive device in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. On that fateful day, Butler was searching for Islamic State loyalists in a booby- trapped building and was caught in an explosion that took his life and injured 11 of his comrades. prgtoken Staff Sergeant Butler was a member of the Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group of the Utah National Guard. Butler's desire to serve in our Nation's military started at a young age when, as a first-grader, he told his family he would grow up to be a soldier. His actual military service began in high school when he enlisted in the Utah National Guard. Staff Sergeant Butler continued to look for opportunities to make a difference, and a few years later, he began the very difficult Special Forces training. He graduated from this program with honors on January 14, 2016. He deemed it a tremendous honor to don the Green Beret. prgtoken Butler has been described as a natural leader, an accomplished athlete, and an adventurous soul. As a young man, he excelled in football and wrestling. In fact, through talent and sheer determination, Butler became a four-time State wrestling champion, only the 17th wrestler in Utah history to accomplish such a feat. He loved the outdoors and embraced the scouting program, earning the rank of Eagle Scout. prgtoken Butler loved to serve his fellow men and women and did it in variety of ways including, as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission in Africa. During this time, he spent months improving the infrastructure and daily lives of those living there. He also brought a message of peace and testified of the love our Savior, Jesus Christ, has for all his children. prgtoken I have been deeply touched by the many tributes and words of honor offered on behalf of this courageous soldier since this tragedy occurred. He was a truly remarkable young man and a seasoned soldier who possessed an unwavering commitment to what is right and good. prgtoken Butler also had a great love for our Nation's military. His Special Forces teammates described him as a ``warrior,'' an ``incredible man, teammate, and friend,'' and someone who ``fought with everything he had to the very end,'' but perhaps the greatest tribute paid to this brave soldier was simply stated by his brother, Shane Butler, who said, ``[Aaron] showed us how to live.'' prgtoken Butler leaves behind his loving parents, Randy and Laura Butler of Monticello, UT; six brothers and one sister; his fiancee, Alexandra Seagrove, and many neighbors, fellow soldiers, and friends. prgtoken The men and women of our Nation's military are my heroes. I honor them for their courage, their service, and their sacrifice. I am deeply humbled by this y
Tax Reform (Executive Calendar)
John Kennedy (Republican, LA) \u2014 2017-9-19

I wish to change the subject slightly. I will be back on the floor next week to defend my good friend and colleague Senator Cassidy's ideas on the reform of healthcare for America. He received a letter today from our Governor and the Secretary of our Department of Health and Hospitals, which, in my opinion, espouses points of view on healthcare prgtoken that are not in the best interests of the people of Louisiana. prgtoken Just for a moment, I want to talk about tax reform because that is the other big issue in front of us. prgtoken Like the Presiding Officer, I have been in government for a while. I have great respect for professional economists, but it has been my experience that for every economist, there is an equal and opposite economist, and they are both usually wrong. prgtoken Economics today is more art than science. That is why I say it doesn't take an expert economist to see that something is wrong with the American economy. prgtoken , 2016 was the 11th straight year our economy failed to achieve 3 percent annual growth, which has been our average annual growth every year since 1960. I have heard numerous pundits act like returning to 3 percent growth is something special, something extraordinary. No, sir, look at the numbers. It is just average, and I think the American people deserve better than just average growth, but even average growth is optimistic if we keep hamstringing the men and women who create the jobs in this country. prgtoken Our 40 percent business tax rate--let me say that again. Our 40 percent business tax rate and our broken Tax Code are chasing our ideas, our jobs, and our investors into the open, waiting arms of foreign countries. Our 40 percent business tax rate and our broken Tax Code are keeping wages and productivity low, they are crippling our small business women and small business men, and they have to go. prgtoken When we are talking about tax reform, I think it is very important that we not forget the primary vehicle--not the only vehicle but the primary vehicle for economic growth in America is the middle class, which is what I want to talk about for a moment, tax relief for ordinary people. prgtoken My constituents tell me every day: Kennedy, we look around in our economy today, and we see too many undeserving people at the top getting bailouts, we see too many undeserving people at the bottom getting handouts, and we are in the middle and we get stuck with the bill. prgtoken They say: Kennedy, we can't pay it anymore because our health insurance has gone up--thanks to Care--our kids' tuition has gone up, and our taxes have gone up. I will tell you what hasn't gone up, our wages and our income. prgtoken They feel that we in Washington don't listen and we don't care. They feel like they have no voice and no chance, and that anger is understandable. prgtoken This bar graph shows U.S. real median household income going all the way back to 199
TRIBUTE TO ALISON CHEPERDAK
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2017-9-19

today I recognize the hard work of my Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee intern Alison Cheperdak. Alison hails from Hopkinton, MA, and is in her third year at George Washington University Law School. prgtoken While interning on the Commerce Committee, Alison assisted the Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security. She is a dedicated worker who was committed to getting the most out of her internship. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Alison for all of the fine work she did for the committee and wish her continued success in the years to come.
Healthcare (Executive Calendar)
Roy Blunt (Republican, MO) \u2014 2017-9-19

I want to talk about healthcare and what it means to families and what it means to communities. It is the most personal thing that families deal with. Every family knows that at some point they are going to deal with not one but multiple healthcare issues as life progresses, as things happen in life--at times you don't expect them to happen in life--and nothing is more riveting or focusing than healthcare. prgtoken Somebody told me one time--and I have said this on the floor of the Senate before because I think it is such a good observation about what happens in healthcare. Somebody told me that when everybody in your family is well, you have lots of problems. When somebody in your family is sick, you have one problem. prgtoken So it is not like tax policy or energy policy or the intricacies of this or that; it is something that every family and every individual identifies with in a unique way. It is one of the reasons the debate is so passionate, and I think it may be one of the reasons why sometimes we see exaggerated claims about how a plan I may be for is going to cause more people to have healthcare problems than if that plan didn't pass. I certainly wouldn't intend for that to be the case. What we are all looking for is the best plan that addresses this problem in the best way. prgtoken In the debate we had 6 weeks ago, I remember looking across the Senate floor at one of my colleagues who stood up and said: If the plan passes that many of my colleagues are going to vote for--he may have said the people across the aisle are going to vote for--health insurance rates are going to go up next year by 20 percent. Missourians have already seen a 145-percent increase, under the plan we have now, in 3 years. The rates that were just filed have ranged from a 35- percent increase to a 47-percent increase. So it is a pretty safe prediction by my friend on the other side who said that if the plan I was for passed, health insurance rates would go up 20 percent. prgtoken The plan he had been for--the plan they were defending--is out of control. There is no argument that what we have now is not working. prgtoken Families who have coverage don't really have access. So many families with coverage have these high-deductible policies with insurance rates that, first of all, they can't afford the premium. If they are somehow able to scrape the money together to afford the premium--I think the average deductible in the bronze plan was $6,000 per individual, and for almost all of those plans, if you had more than one individual in your family, you had to hit the per individual rate twice if two prgtoken people got sick. So you were paying maybe $1,000 or more a month, and that was for insurance coverage. Then, if somebody got sick, you had another $12,000 that potentially would kick in before your insurance plan helped at all. prgtoken Not only was that not real coverage, but it clearly wasn't access. It clearly
FISA and CFIUS (Executive Session)
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-9-19

as the subway attack in London last week proves all too well, when terrorism goes underground, it doesn't disappear. Every day there are individuals operating in the world's shadows in places like the Parsons Green station in Fulham. They mean to do our allies and us great harm, and they are not going away. prgtoken As President said last week, in this era in which attacks like that in London are the new normal, we have to be proactive. We can't take our security for granted. We can't naively assume that when it comes to threats like that and others even bigger, our country is out of the woods. One way to be proactive and to keep our country safe is to reauthorize section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. prgtoken Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats sent a letter to congressional leadership calling for this reauthorization. It is easy to see why. Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the intelligence community to collect vital information about international terrorists, cyber actors, and other important foreign intelligence targets. Information collected under one particular section--section 702--produces particularly important foreign intelligence that helps prevent terrorist attacks and malign state actors as well. It does so by focusing on non-U.S. persons, which is important, because, as it is called, it is foreign intelligence surveillance. It focuses on non-U.S. persons located outside of the United States who are foreign intelligence targets. prgtoken But that is not all. Just as importantly, section 702 also includes a comprehensive oversight regime to make sure the privacy of U.S. persons is protected under the Constitution. That is done by not only oversight here in the Senate and in the House through the intelligence committees but also by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which monitors compliance with the law. prgtoken There has been some criticism of this provision, but I must say that the overwhelming support for the section 702 reauthorization is quite remarkable in this polarized environment in which we live. Even the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board gave the program a ringing endorsement. prgtoken But the criticism that has been made is actually based on very few actual facts and often reflects a misunderstanding, both of the purpose of FISA and the controls that constrain government action. Just to be clear, section 702 does not allow intelligence personnel to evade the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It may not be used to intentionally target a citizen of the United States. That citizen could be in New York or New Delhi. It simply doesn't matter. He or she is off limits. prgtoken Section 702 also does not allow for bulk collection or the unlimited dissemination of intelligence that is obtained. Rather, the government's capabilities
Hurricane Irma Recovery (Executive Calendar)
Marco Rubio (Republican, FL) \u2014 2017-9-19

2 weeks ago this very evening, I had just finished my time as Presiding Officer over the Senate, and I made the decision that early the next morning I would be returning to Florida instead of staying here the following day. The reason was that at that time and in that moment, the strongest storm ever recorded out of the Atlantic was bearing down first on the Caribbean and headed not just toward Florida but actually toward the city in which I live. Then the Nation and State watched over the next few days as that storm took its track. prgtoken There has been a lot said about Hurricane Irma since that time. I have heard some say that it could have been worse, and I imagine in some particular instances perhaps that is true. Had that storm entered through Tampa Bay, FL, the loss would have been incalculable. Had it hit directly throughout the southeast coast, right through the major metropolitan areas of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, the economic costs would have been very significant. So it is possible that the storm could have had an even greater impact, but it is difficult to say that to the people who were impacted by it. prgtoken It was a unique storm in a lot of different ways, like the sheer scope of it. One of the things that really perplexed people in Florida, including myself--we were thinking perhaps we should move our families to another part of the State. We have a very good building code in Florida, but there are no structures under our building code that can withstand the hurricane winds of a category 4 storm. It is very difficult to do that, given the height and level of construction. prgtoken One of the difficult things about figuring out where to go is that the whole State was covered by it. It was a huge storm in its size and an enormous storm in its impact. I know for a fact that dozens of people left South Florida, as an example, and drove to another part of the State, only to find themselves actually worse off than they would have been had they stayed home. There was no way to know that at the time. prgtoken I can tell you, maybe it is because of our history with hurricanes. Obviously, in 1992, as a student at the University of Florida, I was home, the semester was about to begin, and Hurricane Andrew came barreling through there. It fundamentally altered what South Dade looked like. prgtoken Whether it was the impact of the storms in 2004 or 2005 or perhaps it was the images from Harvey from just a few weeks ago and the impact it has had on Houston and the State of Texas, people took the threat incredibly seriously, and there was a massive evacuation, perhaps the single largest evacuation in the history of the United States. prgtoken In any event, the storm did come. We measure the impact of the storm first and foremost by the loss of life, and there were 59 people who lost their lives--directly related to the storm in one way or another. Eleven of those people
TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL BARRY GASDEK
Michael B. Enzi (Republican, WY) \u2014 2017-9-19

I wish to honor retired LTC Barry Gasdek of Laramie, WY, for his decades of past and present service to our country, the sacrifices he has made, and to commemorate his recent naming as commander of Region III of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. prgtoken A man of distinction, heroism, and continuous achievement, Mr. Gasdek is a supremely decorated veteran, having been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, five Bronze Stars, the Soldier's Medal, 17 Air Medals, and two Purple Hearts, among other awards. Mr. Gasdek earned these Purple Hearts during his service in Vietnam for wounds he sustained under heavy enemy fire and explosives. It was once said by his commander that Mr. Gasdek was a ``magnet'' for enemy fire, but this didn't stop him from charging forward to protect his men and give them the leadership they needed when they found themselves right in the thick of it. prgtoken It is clear to anyone who knows Mr. Gasdek that he is an outstanding American veteran, and his valor has not gone unnoticed. I congratulate Mr. Gasdek for his achievement with the Military Order of the Purple Heart and wish him the very best with his continued work helping Wyoming veterans in need. prgtoken Thank you.