mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
RECOGNIZING THE FISCAL IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC ON THE TOWN OF CLINTON, NEW JERSEY
Tom Malinowski (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2020-5-1

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the devastating impact the coronavirus pandemic continues to have on the Town of Clinton, New Jersey and many local governments throughout my district and the country. The coronavirus has decimated local revenues and increased costs and only Congress can provide a lifeline to small towns through direct and flexible funding. prgtoken As a mayor of a small town in NJ I am not only worried about my current year's revenue loss but also the implication of that lost revenue on my 2021 budget. We cannot anticipate in a future year more revenue that we actually brought in. What we do anticipate is probably a 15-20 percent reduction in miscellaneous revenue (which is approximately one quarter of my total revenue)--this would include our court fees, permitting, Energy Tax Receipts, hotel/motel occupancy fees as well as UCC fees. What does this mean? Services may have to be cut back or eliminated that residents count on, we would not furlough employees because this is not a savings for a small town like ours--we are a ``pay as you go'' unemployment. Any employees we lay off we would still be responsible for the two-thirds of the salary. prgtoken What communities like Clinton need to have is the ability to replace the lost revenue in the line items so that we do not see a longer term impact with future budget years. prgtoken I know that I am not alone in my concerns and other mayors are struggling to manage--we work with slim margins and any reduction creates havoc with municipal budgets and tough decisions that impact our residents.
RECOGNIZING LESLIE WILLIAMS FOR SEEING A NEED IN THE MOLINE COMMUNITY AND MAKING OVER 1,200 MASKS FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS ONE
Cheri Bustos (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2020-5-1

. Madam , I rise today to honor Leslie Williams for recognizing a need in Moline, Illinois for protective masks and making over 1,200 of them for police, firefighters and all who need them. prgtoken Leslie is currently out of work as a server and owner of a cleaning company; but is using her time to help others by creating masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The masks are meant to go to first responders, front liners and all who need them. She says there is always something we can do to help others and that mentality is why she is a Hometown Hero. Leslie is using her forced time off to do good in the world and in her community. I commend Leslie for her efforts to help others and I wish her all the best in her future endeavors. prgtoken It is because of leaders such as Leslie Williams that I am especially proud to serve Illinois' 17th Congressional District. Madam , I would like to again formally recognize Leslie Williams for her generosity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HONORING LIEUTENANT CAMERON McCORD
Jimmy Panetta (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-5-1

. Madam , I rise today to recognize and congratulate Lieutenant Cameron McCord for his faithful service to our country as an esteemed member of the Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives. In this capacity, Lieutenant McCord facilitated interaction between the Department of the Navy and Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. These engagements included, but were not limited to, formal responses to congressional inquiries, counsel to Members and staff, and execution of congressional and staff delegations. These interactions were pivotal in providing Members and staff a greater understanding of the issues facing our Navy and its sailors. prgtoken I am particularly proud to note that Lieutenant McCord planned and executed CODEL Panetta to the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility to examine aspects of U.S. Special Operations Force and partner nation operations in North and West Africa. He coordinated and facilitated movement across six countries and three continents for seven individuals. I am forever grateful for his leadership, persistence, and support of CODEL Panetta. prgtoken Lieutenant McCord's distinguished career began after commissioning in the U.S. Navy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His first assignment was in Charleston, SC, where he entered the Nuclear Power School and Nuclear Power Training Unit. After completing the Submarine Officer Basic Course in Groton, CT, McCord reported to the USS Helena (SSN 725) in 2015, where he served as the Chemistry and Radiological Controls Assistant, Information Technology Officer, Antiterrorism Officer, and the Assistant Weapons Officer. McCord stood both Junior Officer of the Deck and Officer of the Deck on a dynamic EUCOM deployment from 2016 to 2017, completing multiple missions vital to national security. prgtoken McCord holds a Navy Commendation Medal, two Navy Achievement Medals, and has served on a team onboard USS Helena that has earned two Navy ``E'' Ribbons, amongst other personal and unit awards. prgtoken Madam , I commend and thank Lieutenant Cameron McCord on his service to prgtoken the United States of America, the House of Representatives, and my office. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors. I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing him today.
AIKO PRINDAVONG
Ed Perlmutter (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2020-5-1

. Madam , I rise today to recognize and applaud Aiko Prindavong for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. prgtoken Aiko Prindavong is a student at Three Creeks K-8 and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities. prgtoken The dedication demonstrated by Aiko Prindavong is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives. prgtoken I extend my deepest congratulations to Aiko Prindavong for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassador for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all of her future accomplishments.
THE 72ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
A. Donald McEachin (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2020-5-1

. Madam , l rise today to include in the Record a statement from Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman, founder and spiritual leader of Temple Lev Tikvah in Virginia Beach, and the representative of the Jewish Community at the City of Chesapeake's civic occasions. As the State of Israel celebrates its 72nd anniversary in its eighth decade, we miss the prophetic voice and heroic presence of Amos Oz (1939-2018), one of Israel's premier authors whose books were translated into forty-four languages. His life mirrored the history of the reborn Jewish state out of the monumental Holocaust that consumed a third of the Jewish people. He was the very embodiment of an inspiring Israel and its acknowledged representative to the world, with foreign leaders seeking his perspective on events involving Israel. He fought in both the 1967 and 1973 wars. Oz was honored with significant international literary awards, though the Nobel Prize somehow eluded him while being a perennial nominee. He served as Professor of Hebrew Literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er-Sheva though he was courted by Jerusalem's Hebrew University from which he graduated. Oz was a great humanist and a distinguished member of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism. He was born in Jerusalem during the British Mandate to Fania and Dr. Arye Klausner, a gifted linguist of sixteen languages. They immigrated to then-Palestine from Eastern Europe. Oz's great-uncle was Professor Yosef Klausner, the Hebrew University's renowned scholar of the Second Temple period. Following Fania's suicide at age thirty-eight, Oz opted at age fifteen to leave his Jerusalem home by himself and move to Kibbutz Hulda where he changed his surname Klausner to the Hebrew Oz which connotes courage. It befitted the kibbutz's pioneering Labor ideology and its break with the European experience to which his parents were attached, particularly its culture. It was a turning point for Oz who was raised on Zeev Jabotinsky's Revisionist ideology of manifest Jewish power. He consequently began identifying with the ``new Jew'' finding fulfillment in returning to till the ancient homeland, in contrast to the perceived Diaspora Jew represented in his own family. There is an intriguing early religious chapter in the author's life attending an Orthodox elementary school while his family was secular and even anti-religious. He was exposed to working class students who regarded him as an outsider, a rejection he later experienced in the kibbutz. His second-grade teacher, who deeply impacted him, was the famous poetess Zelda, whom Oz described as his first love. In his book, A Tale of Love and Darkness, Oz recalled the dramatic vote at the United Nations on November
REMEMBERING DAVID MARTIN
Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican, MS) \u2014 2020-5-4

it is with a heavy heart that I honor the life of Mississippi native, William David Martin. A paramedic with American Medical Response, David served his community during the coronavirus pandemic until he passed away due to complications of COVID-19 on April 22, 2020. His dedication to his patients and community represents the best of Mississippi, and I send my deepest sympathies to his family and friends. prgtoken Mr. Martin was born in 1967 in McComb, MS, to Joyce F. Martin and the late Billy B. Martin. Mr. Martin was a national registered paramedic with American Medical Response of Southwest Mississippi and worked as a paramedic in Natchez and Gulfport. Throughout his career, Mr. Martin served on the frontlines of Mississippi healthcare, helping care for patients during emergencies and times of great need. When COVID-19 began to spread in the United States, Mr. Martin answered the call and continued to serve and protect his community from this dangerous new virus. Mr. Martin will be known as a hero not only in Mississippi but throughout our Nation. As a symbol of his dedication to his team of paramedics, his coworkers from AMR Southwest Mississippi served as the pallbearers at his funeral. prgtoken Mississippi and our Nation have been well-served by the diligence, sacrifice and love provided on a daily basis by paramedics like David Martin. His big heart and dedication to his community will be greatly missed. I offer my condolences and prayers for Mr. Martin's children, his fiance; and members of his family. I also pray that God will protect his coworkers at AMR and all paramedics in Mississippi, who are still working tirelessly to protect our loved ones throughout this pandemic. They, like so many of our healthcare workers on the frontlines, deserve our support and appreciation during this time.
BUDGET ENFORCEMENT LEVELS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020
Michael B. Enzi (Republican, WY) \u2014 2020-5-4

section 251 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, BBEDCA, establishes statutory limits on discretionary spending and allows for various adjustments to those limits. In addition, sections 302 and 314(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 allow the chairman of the Budget Committee to establish and make revisions to allocations, aggregates, and levels consistent with those adjustments. prgtoken The Senate recently considered three measures that were signed into law to combat the coronavirus. These measures, the Family First Coronavirus Response Act, P.L. 116-127; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, P.L. 116-136; and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, P.L. 116-139, provided supplemental emergency appropriations to support activities related to public health and response to the coronavirus that qualify for cap adjustments under section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of BBEDCA. prgtoken The Family First Coronavirus Response Act included emergency appropriations totaling $82 million in revised security budget authority and $2,389 million in revised nonsecurity budget authority. The Congressional Budget Office, CBO, estimates that these appropriations will result in $843 million in outlays in fiscal year 2020. prgtoken The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act included emergency appropriations totaling $10,525 million in revised security budget authority and $319,158 million in revised nonsecurity budget authority. CBO estimates that these appropriations will result in $98,789 million in outlays in fiscal year 2020. prgtoken The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act included emergency appropriations totaling $162,100 million in revised nonsecurity budget authority. CBO estimates that these appropriations will result in $113,132 million in outlays in fiscal year 2020. prgtoken As a result of the emergency designations, I am revising the budget authority and outlay allocations to the Committee on Appropriations by increasing revised security budget authority by $10,607 million, revised nonsecurity budget authority by $483,647 million and outlays by $212,764 million in fiscal year 2020. Further, I am increasing the budgetary aggregate for fiscal year 2020 by $494,072 million in budget authority and $212,655 million in outlays. prgtoken I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables, which provide details about the adjustment, be printed in the Record.
TRIBUTE TO BRIANNA GOODELL
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2020-5-4

I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Brianna for her hard work as an intern in my Casper office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming. prgtoken Brianna is a native of Douglas. She is a student at Casper College, where she is studying pre-pharmacy. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. prgtoken I want to thank Brianna for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her next journey.
Coronavirus (Executive Session)
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2020-5-4

I am learning the etiquette of the mask as we try to make certain we set a good example for our country that is very attentive to the public healthcare crisis we face. prgtoken I listened carefully to the remarks of the majority leader. He spoke about the reconvening of the Senate this day, and he talked about the work that we achieved a few weeks ago in passing the CARES Act--$2.2 trillion in rescue funds for America--by 96 to nothing. Then, by a voice vote, we passed $484 billion more--almost $2.7 trillion. That is an amount that is far in excess of the annual Federal budget of the United States of America for domestic discretionary spending, and we did it in a matter of days and weeks. We knew that we were facing, as the President characterized it, a national emergency, and we still do. prgtoken The Senate is here today because, against medical advice, the majority leader has brought us back to Washington. We know what the standard is prgtoken in the District of Columbia for the people who live here--to stay home; not to meet in groups; to work away from your normal working place to protect yourself, your family, and everyone else. Yet we are back in town. The majority leader tells us we don't take days off. He says we are here to do the Nation's business, which can only be done--that it is only possible--when we are here. He talks about taking careful steps back. I have been waiting for the majority leader to announce what the business of this week will be. Boy, there are a lot of things we should be doing. prgtoken I know, back home, from the endless telephone conference calls that I am involved in and from the comments by my friends and neighbors in Illinois, that there are many unanswered questions which they would like this Congress to address. We have been waiting carefully, expectantly, for the majority leader to announce what we are doing this week that merits this return. It is not just because Members of the Senate are being asked to come back. Listen, that is what we ran to do. We promised the people of our States that we would be there to do the business of the Senate and the Nation when called upon. Certainly, I want to keep that promise. All of us do. Yet it is appropriate to ask exactly what it is this week that we will be doing. prgtoken There is a noncontroversial nomination that will be before us in a matter of 2 hours, which is likely to pass by an overwhelming vote. That can't be the reason. There must be more, but what is it? There are lots of things which the majority leader could bring us back to do. It appears one of the things he is most intent on is to make certain that we consider the nomination of a young district court judge from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This individual was nominated last year to serve on the district court in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. His name is Justin Walker. prgtoken Justin Walker has a distinction. He is one of nine Presi
Coronavirus (Executive Session)
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-5-4

the Senate convenes a session this evening during a trying time for our Nation. As we speak, millions of our citizens are respecting stay-at-home orders and doing their part to stop the spread of this pernicious disease. Millions upon millions are now newly unemployed, dependent on the actions we take in Congress to stave off financial disaster. More than 1 million Americans have tested positive for COVID-19. More than 67,000 lives have been lost. prgtoken My home State of New York has been hit the hardest. The loss of so many precious lives, the suffering of so many families unable to comfort or even say goodbye to a loved one have been extremely painful, enough to break your heart. prgtoken At the same time, while we are grieving, we are also inspired by the bravery of our doctors and nurses, healthcare workers, first responders, and other daily heroes--many of them immigrants--on the frontlines of this crisis. To them we owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude, an enormous thank-you that I hear out the windows of my apartment and many in New York at 7 p.m. when we applaud them as they change shifts every night--an act that brings isolated New Yorkers together. prgtoken More than that, this Congress, this Senate, must deliver the people of our country relief. We have come together on several occasions to pass historic legislation in this time of crisis. They passed 96 to 0, which shows that this body can come together in a time of crisis, which should give Americans some hope and some solace. Let me be very clear. Our work is far from over. prgtoken The leader has called the Senate back into session despite the fact that the District of Columbia appears to be reaching the peak phase of this public health emergency, despite the risks we face by gathering here in the Capitol, despite the risks faced by security guards, cafeteria workers, janitors, and the staff who operate the floor of the Senate. I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of them--and all of those Capitol Hill workers--for being here today, for doing their jobs so that we may do ours. prgtoken If we are going to be here, if we are going to make these fine people come into work in these conditions, let the Senate at least conduct the Nation's business and focus like a laser on COVID-19. At the moment, the leader has scheduled no significant COVID-related business for the floor of the Senate. Tonight, we will vote on a nomination to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Later this week, the majority on the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing for a manifestly unqualified, totally divisive, rightwing judicial nominee. prgtoken When the topic of COVID-related legislation has come up, Leader McConnell has simply drawn partisan lines in the sand. First, he has suggested that States and localities should go bankrupt--let them go bankrupt. He has since realized his mistake and walked that back.
Nomination of Robert J. Feitel (Executive Session)
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2020-5-4

I rise today to speak on behalf of the nomination of Robert Feitel to serve as inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees the safety and security of almost 100 nuclear powerplants throughout this country--an important job. prgtoken This is a nomination I urged the majority to take up and pass, not this week, not this month but before we went into recess on April 8. We are prgtoken here, and this is a good nomination. I hope my colleagues will support it.
WELCOMING THE HONORABLE KWEISI MFUME TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Steny H. Hoyer (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2020-5-5

. Madam , all of us, of course, were deeply saddened by the passing of our friend, Elijah Cummings, last year. He was a giant of moral strength and unquestioned integrity. prgtoken In his 24 years in office, Elijah built a reputation for legislative skill, excellence in constituent service, an unyielding energy for rooting out corruption in government, and fighting tirelessly for justice, equality, and opportunity. He served his constituents in Maryland's Seventh Congressional District well. And today, Madam , they are sending someone to take his place whom I believe is an excellent choice. prgtoken As the dean of the Maryland Congressional delegation, it is my honor today to welcome the House's newest Member, Representative Kweisi Mfume. prgtoken However, he is not new to the House. He is a veteran of this body, a skilled and experienced legislator, who represented Maryland's Seventh District from 1987 to 1996. When he left to become the national president of the NAACP, Elijah Cummings was chosen to succeed him. prgtoken Now, as we continue to mourn Elijah's passing, we welcome Representative Mfume back to his old seat to carry on the work that he and Elijah have both been engaged in for many, many years. prgtoken The voters of the Seventh District, to their credit, replaced great intellect with great intellect, a passion for justice, equality, and opportunity, with a successor who mirrors and shares that passion and history of commitment. prgtoken Their shared work has been to ensure that the promise of America is kept for all Americans equally, regardless of race or faith or gender or sexual orientation or national origin; to break down disparities in justice and access to opportunity; to address the tragic and unacceptable disparities in access to quality, affordable healthcare, which the COVID-19 tragedy has made so starkly evident; to make certain that every child in this country can go to a good, safe public school and receive a quality education that leads to a rewarding career. prgtoken That is what Representative Mfume fought for as a member of the Baltimore City Council and as a Member of this House. It is what he worked hard to achieve as a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and as the NAACP national president. prgtoken I speak on behalf of our delegation, but all who served with him here in the Congress of the United States, we are pleased that he is back with us. And I know that those who were not Members when he last served will find him to be a wonderful colleague, a man of wisdom, thoughtfulness, depth, and whose experience can help guide this House and our majority as we navigate challenges both longstanding and new. prgtoken I hope that all of my colleagues will join me in congratulating Representative Mfume on his election to represent Maryland's Seventh Congressional District once more and in welcoming him back to the House. prgtoken I am now honored, Madam , to yield to my frien