mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELATING TO ``WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS''
Pramila Jayapal (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2023-5-24

I rise in opposition to this cruel resolution that will force low- and middle-income student loan borrowers to face severe financial hardship. prgtoken In a reckless reversal of the payment pause, this measure sends an average of $1,000 in surprise student loan bills to over 40 million Americans. This absurd prgtoken approach to block President 's student debt relief plan hurts those who are most at risk. prgtoken Older Americans owe a fifth of all student debt. Their debt has increased fivefold in the last 20 years. Black Americans owe an average of $44,800 in student debt. Over 6 million Americans living in rural areas owe an average of $35,000. Reversals to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness would put 260,000 public servants and 46,000 servicemembers back under the thumb of these crushing payments. prgtoken Those who receive that Public Service Loan Forgiveness have played by the rules for years and sacrificed too much to have partisan efforts steal relief that they were already given and counting on. prgtoken Our job is to protect working people, and that should mean ensuring that no one goes into unpayable debt just to get a degree to pursue their dreams. This plan would increase the likelihood of defaulting for teachers, for law enforcement, for public servants across the board, and it would be a drop in the bucket toward actually addressing the deficit. prgtoken Yet s took $1.9 trillion from taxpayers and handed it to corporations in tax cuts, and dozens of them have absolutely no qualms in pocketing over $22 million in PPP forgiveness just in this body across the aisle. prgtoken Congress should be prioritizing aid to seniors and borrowers from working families, not the wealthy. Vote ``no'' on this extreme, unworkable, and cruel resolution. prgtoken , I include in the Record a letter signed by over 260 organizations, including labor, civil rights, and consumer protection groups calling on Congress to reject this harmful resolution. May 8, 2023. Hon. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Hon. Kevin McCarthy, , House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, ic Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, McCarthy, and Minority Leader Jeffries: The undersigned 261 organizations representing millions of students, workers, people of color, veterans, people with disabilities, consumers, and people of faith write in strong opposition to bicameral efforts to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn President 's actions to pause student loan payments and provide student debt relief for low-income and working-class Americans continuing to recover from t
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELATING TO ``WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS''
Suzanne Bonamici (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2023-5-24

I rise today in strong opposition to this misinformed attempt by our colleagues to deny some needed financial relief to about 43 million Americans. prgtoken Education is the best investment we can make to give everyone the opportunity to be successful in school and in life. In this Congress, we have repeatedly seen how willing our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are to put politics over people and special interests over students. This CRA is no different. prgtoken Facts matter. Let's set the record straight. President 's loan forgiveness plan helps a lot of borrowers with debt but no degree. Many were borrowers who were defrauded by their schools or who had to take on other responsibilities and couldn't complete their education. prgtoken The President's plan directs 90 percent--let me repeat--90 percent of relief to borrowers earning less than $75,000 per year. This may be news to my colleagues who continue to misrepresent that student debt relief will be a bailout for the rich. It is not. prgtoken Another fact. Because of interest capitalization and negative amortization, many student loan borrowers who are current on their payments still have loan balances that are the same as or even greater than when they first took out their loan. That is unfair. prgtoken Beyond the numbers, we must humanize who will be hurt the most if we allow this CRA to pass: prgtoken Our Nation's teachers in red and blue districts who work with students every day; healthcare workers and first responders in red and blue districts who keep our communities safe and healthy; caregivers in red and blue districts who support the work of raising and sustaining families; and our Nation's small business owners in red and blue districts who make communities vibrant and unique. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to show some humanity, compassion, and empathy. Let's pass good-faith policies that make college more affordable and recognize the intrinsic value of opportunity and possibility in every American. prgtoken , I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this regressive resolution that will harm people in Oregon and across the country.
HONORING DETECTIVE AGNES WATSON FROM THE CITY OF RIALTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
Pete Aguilar (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-5-24

I rise today to recognize Detective Agnes Watson from the City of Rialto Police Department. Detective Watson was awarded the Rialto Police Department's Meritorious Service Award for her tenacious work to secure the release of a juvenile prgtoken who had been held hostage in New York City. This is the second highest recognition award a sworn member of the Rialto Police Department may receive. prgtoken On May 2, 2022, Detective Watson began following up on a missing juvenile report. Her instinct, initiative and discipline led her to believe the girl's disappearance was not voluntary. Her determination led her to take extraordinary steps to notify local agencies and coordinate with the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to save this child's life and fly her back to Rialto to be reunited with her family on Mother's Day. prgtoken Detective Watson's actions made national news, bringing credit to herself and to the entire Rialto Police Department. This is just one example of the outstanding job performance, high degree of initiative and ability in an extremely critical situation that Detective Watson demonstrates on a daily basis. That's why I am proud to recognize her.
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELATING TO ``WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS''
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2023-5-24

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 45. prgtoken Forty-three million Americans are eligible for President 's student loan relief. That is an average of almost 100,000 people in each of our districts. prgtoken Nearly 26 million borrowers in congressional districts all over the country have already applied for relief, including 16 million who have already been approved prior to litigation stopping the process. H.J. Res. 45 seeks to deny these borrowers the relief they were promised. prgtoken To be clear, the people who would be impacted the most are not the wealthy and well-connected. Ninety percent of the relief would go to borrowers earning less than $75,000 a year. You are not even eligible if you are making over $125,000 a year. That is in stark contrast, of course, to the tax scam, where 80 percent of the benefits went to the top 1 percent and corporations. prgtoken Moreover, my colleagues refuse to acknowledge the serious questions that have been raised about how the resolution would actually be implemented because, under the Congressional Review Act resolution, you don't get to pick and choose which parts of a rule you are overturning. You have to overturn the whole rule, including the pause in student loan payments and the deferral of interest. prgtoken How do you unpause a payment that you were supposed to make many months ago? What is going to happen to all those interest payments that now have to be added back to the loans? That is about $233 per month in interest and principal. prgtoken What happens to the credits that participants in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program were promised during those months? Are these firefighters, teachers, police officers, and other public servants who may have had their loans forgiven now on the hook for four additional payments? prgtoken The reality is that H.J. Res. 45 would trigger a wave of delinquencies and defaults for our most vulnerable borrowers. Intentionally or not, this resolution would create chaos for borrowers and their families, as well as loan servicers. prgtoken The Congressional Research Service has confirmed that this chaos would be triggered by the retroactive application of this rule. prgtoken , anyone in the country who wants to take advantage of the benefits of a college education should be able to do so, not just the wealthy few. That is the way it used to be just several decades ago. Pell grants covered 80 percent of the cost of attending a State college. Now, it is less than 30 percent. When adjusted for inflation, States are paying less for State colleges than they used to. prgtoken , this proposal does nothing to help students pay for their college education, so I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose the resolution. prgtoken , .
DISAPPROVING THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE RELATING TO ``PROCEDURES COVERING SUSPENSION OF LIQUIDATION, DUTIES AND ESTIMATED DUTIES IN ACCORD WITH PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION 10414''
Lloyd Doggett (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2023-5-24

within this very week, the World Meteorological Association has indicated that for the first time in human history, we will hit a critical high temperature level by 2027. prgtoken It reported that in just 2 recent years, there were 22,000 deaths from extreme weather events. prgtoken Recognizing that we already face a grave climate crisis, the American people need a true winning strategy to escape the addiction to fossil fuels. prgtoken More and more Americans are turning to clean energy, daring to go green. A growing solar industry plays an instrumental role in helping them in seeking lower global temperatures, in saving our planet. prgtoken Disregarding the extreme heat, extreme s only seem to get hot, to get warmed up, when they see the slightest opportunity to impede progress. prgtoken Their answer today to those who are trying to help solve this problem? prgtoken Punish American companies that are out there actually doing something about this problem. Punish them with a $1 billion retroactive tax that they will have to pay. prgtoken I believe that there is an opportunity to continue to resolve the problems that we face with climate change. We responded to it last year with a climate incentives law. Our colleagues are also seeking to repeal that law. prgtoken The pause that is involved in these tariffs ends in a mere 12 months, and s will not ultimately be successful today in blocking the President. prgtoken What happens with this, as with their challenge to our climate incentives law, is an indication of the many obstacles that we face that we must overcome if we are to address the climate crisis. prgtoken I am yielding my time now, but we must not yield in the determination to protect the only planet that we call home.
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE MUST CHANGE COURSE
Val T. Hoyle (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2023-5-24

the United States Postal Service is the only agency specifically mentioned in the Constitution. prgtoken It is essential for delivering everything from medicine, tax documents, and in Oregon, where we proudly vote by mail, ballots. USPS is a pillar for rural communities and communities without high-speed internet. prgtoken Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's leadership, workplace and revenue challenges at the Postal Service have caused a drastic decline in public trust. prgtoken One of the most significant issues facing the USPS is staff shortages. Issues like branch closures are forcing seniors and families in rural communities to travel further for postal services. prgtoken DeJoy's 10-year plan will only make things at the U.S. Postal Service worse. His plan includes downgrading service standards, reducing person-to-person interactions, cutting air delivery, and slowing mail. Unfortunately, efficiency and quality are being sacrificed. prgtoken The U.S. Postal Service must change course. Slashing services and raising prices harms their mission and diminishes the United States Postal Service popularity.
SUPPORTING OUR KUPUNA
Jill N. Tokuda (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2023-5-24

I rise today in support of my bill, the Keep Kupuna Fed Act. prgtoken According to the most current data from the USDA, 1 in 10 kupuna, or senior citizens, are experiencing hunger and food insecurity. prgtoken SNAP has played a critical role in preventing millions of Americans, including our kupuna, from going hungry in the face of a public health crisis, supply chain disruptions, and rising inflation. prgtoken While the historic 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment was welcome news to more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries, for many kupuna, this has resulted in a net loss. prgtoken Seniors in every one of our districts across the country have lost or will lose access to SNAP entirely, while others will see a significant decrease in benefits because of this bump in Social Security. prgtoken That is why I introduced the Keep Kupuna Fed Act, which would exempt title II Social Security benefits from the SNAP program's income eligibility requirements. This ensures more kupuna stay on SNAP and don't go hungry. prgtoken I invite my colleagues to join me in helping end senior hunger and keep our kupuna fed by supporting this important measure.
DEBT CEILING CRISIS
James A. Himes (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2023-5-24

in 1 week, on June 1, the country and the world is going to witness something that we have never seen before. prgtoken There will be an office in the United States Treasury, less than a mile from here, in which a group of people will decide: Are we going to pay the soldier deployed in Syria to combat ISIS, or are we going to send out Social Security checks? prgtoken Are we going to pay air traffic controllers, or are we going to support the Medicare program that provides healthcare for retirees? prgtoken That is tragedy in and of itself, but the world is going to see something it has never seen before. It is going to see that the United States is no longer trustworthy; that we don't pay our bills; that we don't abide by the obligations that we freely took in this Chamber. prgtoken Even worse, Putin and Xi and the leadership of North Korea and Iran are going to say, look, democracy does not work. The supposedly greatest country in the world won't pay its bills. prgtoken Now, are we in this place because we don't have the money? Of course we are not. We have the money. We are the richest, most powerful country in the world. prgtoken We are in this place because my colleagues have figured out that they have a perfect hostage situation; that if this Congress-- and make no mistake--it is the Congress' obligation to raise the debt ceiling. prgtoken It is not the President's obligation under the law. It is the Congress' obligation to raise the debt ceiling. They understand that if we don't raise the debt ceiling, catastrophe ensues. prgtoken They have a list of ransom demands, and we saw it because it passed in this House 2 weeks ago. It would require veterans with mental illness to work in order to receive food stamps. prgtoken It would reverse the historic measures that the Congress took to turn around the tragedy of climate change. prgtoken We know what the ransom demands are. Now, I happen to disagree with those ransom demands, and we have a mechanism by which the majority could pass those. prgtoken Anybody who ever watched ``Schoolhouse Rock'' knows what that mechanism is. You pass it in the House, you pass it in the Senate, the President signs it, and you get your way. prgtoken Of course, they can't get their way because they understand that that list of ransom demands is deeply, deeply unpopular with the American people. prgtoken Instead, they are saying, unless you do this stuff, , Mr. Schumer in the Senate, we are going to destroy the global economy and the reputation of the United States of America. prgtoken Now, am I being unfair and saying that it is a hostage situation? My colleague from Florida said yesterday: ``I think my conservative colleagues for the most part support Limit, Save, Grow''--that is, by the way, the ransom list--``and they don't feel like we should negotiate with our hostage.'' A Member of Florida: ``They don't feel we should negotiate with our hosta
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELATING TO ``WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS''
Robert Garcia (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-5-24

I rise today in strong opposition to House s' efforts to eliminate critical student loan relief. prgtoken Now, as an educator, it is shameful to me that my colleagues could look at this crisis of student debt in our country and decide to intentionally make it worse for 40 million Americans. prgtoken These are the same people that voted for tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations, and now they are telling everyday people that we can't afford to help them, and it is appalling. prgtoken When I was in the classroom, I saw my students take out loans for basic needs like rent and putting food on the table. We tell kids to go get an education, to go to college, to work toward the American Dream, but that also means taking out, oftentimes, thousands of dollars of loans. prgtoken Student loan debt also disproportionately impacts people of color, low-income students, and millions of young people that may not have had access to financial training. Millionaires are not burdened with student debt; working-class people are. prgtoken So let's be clear: s in the House are putting billionaires and large corporations over students.
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF OFFICER ROBERT J. SHISLER
Donald Norcross (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2023-5-24

family, friends, the community, police officers, and leaders from across the Nation, gathered inside Pfleeger Concert Hall at Rowan University on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 to celebrate the life, legacy and bravery of Officer Robert ``Bobby'' J. Shisler. prgtoken Officer Robert J. Shisler proudly served as a Police Officer for the Deptford Township Police Department. Born on October 22, 1995, Robert grew up in South Jersey. He graduated from Deptford High School in 2014, where he was an exceptional athlete, playing both varsity football and baseball. prgtoken Officer Robert J. Shisler continued his education and athletic career when he committed to play Division One baseball at Presbyterian College in South Carolina. He was also very passionate about hunting and weightlifting, taking first place in a bodybuilding competition in 2021. prgtoken Officer Robert J. Shisler will forever be remembered as a dedicated officer and a hero who gave his life to protect and serve his community, state, and country. His heroic actions and service, putting others safety above his own, will be etched in history for all to honor and remember. prgtoken Officer Robert J. Shisler was not only an exemplary officer, but he was also an excellent son, grandson, and brother. He came from a family committed to public service, working alongside his brother who currently serves as a Deptford Township Police Officer. He is survived by his parents Robert and Tracy, grandparents Marion, Robert, and Ethel, and his siblings Ashley and Tyler. prgtoken , on behalf of a grateful Nation, I ask you to join me in honoring and commending Officer Robert J. Shisler, for his outstanding service and his selfless dedication to the Deptford Township Police Department and community, the Great State of New Jersey and the United States of America.
HONORING MICHAEL OWENS
Tony Cárdenas (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2023-5-24

I rise today to honor Irma Cantu Acosta, a beloved leader, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. prgtoken As a former small business owner and realtor, I saw firsthand the efforts of Irma to help families and young real estate agents attain the American Dream. prgtoken Irma was born in a small rural town in southwest Texas, and in the fifties, her family moved to Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. prgtoken Irma began her career in real estate, a field where she helped thousands of families navigate the real estate market. Her passion was helping working families find a house they could call home. prgtoken In 2000, she led the creation of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, the largest voice and champion for Latino homeownership and empowerment, which is now tens of thousands of members strong. From the local to the national level, she mentored thousands of clients and colleagues with her warm, reassuring smile and valuable insight. prgtoken Irma is survived by her high school sweetheart and husband, Ernie, and her three children, four grandchildren, and one great- granddaughter. prgtoken Today, I stand to celebrate and honor the incredible life of my friend, Irma Cantu Acosta, someone who believed that we can all aspire for our own piece of the American Dream.