mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
HONORING BIG SUR FIRE CHIEF MARTHA KARSTENS
Jimmy Panetta (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-12-6

I rise today to recognize the extensive contributions made by Big Sur Fire Chief Martha Karstens to the well- being and prosperity of our community on the central coast of California. Chief Karstens has been an invaluable asset to the Big Sur community, a rural area of my District adjacent to historic Highway 1 on the California coast. I know that every Big Sur resident can attest to Chief Karsten's character, integrity, and devotion to protecting and serving her community. prgtoken Residents of Big Sur have historically experienced a lack of access to basic services due to the community's rural location. Chief Karstens sought to fix this, and in 1976, enrolled in the first Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) class ever offered in Big Sur, eventually becoming involved with the American Red Cross' Central Coast Chapter as a volunteer ambulance emergency responder. In 1979, Chief Karstens became president of the Red Cross Big Sur Ambulance, the only emergency first response service stationed in Big Sur at the time. Chief Karstens also served on the Board of the Red Cross, Carmel Chapter, as a representative of the Big Sur community. Chief Karstens continued as the Big Sur Ambulance President until 1991, when Monterey County funded a full-time, paid ambulance crew for the Big Sur community. prgtoken Following fourteen years of service with the Big Sur Ambulance, Chief Karstens joined the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, where she has served for the last twenty-eight years. She was named the Brigade's first Medical Battalion Chief in 1991 and was instrumental in developing the Brigade's medical first responder and EMT mission. In 1994, Chief Karstens transitioned into an administrative role for the Brigade and was asked to become a Duty Officer, requiring her to respond to and direct responses for a wide range of incidents. Following further trainings and certifications in fire safety and emergency response, Chief Karstens was voted in as the Administrative Assistant Chief of the Brigade and recognized as Volunteer Firefighter of the Year in 2003. In 2009, Chief Karstens became the Chief of the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade. During her tenure as Chief, she has overseen the organization throughout several devastating fires on the Central Coast. These included the Pfeiffer Fire in 2013, where, despite losing her own home, Chief Karstens continued serving as Incident Commander. She also played a crucial operational role during the Soberanes Fire and the coordinated response to the subsequent storms that collapsed the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge and stranded hundreds of Big Sur residents. Chief Karstens helped to ensure these residents had access to food, medicine, and other essential supplies until the bridge could be restored several months later. prgtoken Chief Karstens' dedication to her community is evident in her work to protect and serve her fellow Big Sur community members over the last forty-two years. Thro
TRIBUTE TO BOB CORKER
Christopher A. Coons (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2018-12-6

I am honored to have the opportunity to join my colleagues and rise today to speak in tribute to my friend Senator Bob Corker and in recognition of his remarkable service to our Nation here in the Senate of the United States. Senator Corker and his staff have left an astonishing legacy of tireless energy, engagement, and productivity, and I am thrilled to have a few minutes to follow on the comments of the majority leader and the senior Senator from his home State of Tennessee. prgtoken When I first came here as a freshman in 2010, I partnered with Senator Joe Manchin, who was elected at the same time as I was in a special election. We decided that the first thing we had to do was to go to Afghanistan and see our troops in harm's way. Having never been a Senator before, I had no idea how one went about getting to Afghanistan, but Senator Manchin assured me he had it under control and it was all going to be just fine. prgtoken Just a few weeks later, I ended up on an airplane with two Senators I had never heard of--Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Bob Corker of Tennessee. Maybe I had heard of them, but I certainly had never met them and knew little about them. prgtoken As we all got engaged in this trip--we went to Pakistan and Afghanistan--I learned more and more about Bob Corker. You just heard it, but I will prgtoken repeat it. Possessing a fierce work ethic, incredible intellect, and a determination to get things done, Mr. Corker is a builder who reaches across the aisle, extends his hand, and doesn't relent until there is a deal done. I can't think of a more frustrating place to try and bring that attitude than Afghanistan. We were there at a time when our own law enforcement had just informed us that then-President Hamid Karzai's half-brother had stolen nearly a half billion dollars from the American taxpayers. Chairman Corker unleashed on the President of Afghanistan with a focused communication that I will not soon forget, and that left me looking around to make sure there were folks from our side in the room. prgtoken He was respectful and supportive of our men and women of the Armed Forces. He was engaged and purposeful with the leaders of Afghanistan. In every single meeting we had in Pakistan and Afghanistan and then in the follow-on in Jordan and Israel, Bob was a blizzard of activity with purpose. What an introduction that was. prgtoken What I realized on our trip is that my background as a county executive who did a lot in land use and development and Bob's background as an entrepreneur and a builder and then a mayor and someone passionate about providing housing to those in need meant that we had a lot in common. He has an attitude of wanting to get a lot of things done and refusing to be satisfied with a body where folks talk too much and accomplish too little. So from that first trip, I concluded Senator Corker was someone with whom I could really get things done. prgtoken He is
Robert Mueller (Executive Calendar)
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2018-12-6

I rise today to talk about not the Mueller investigation as much as I want to talk about Robert Mueller himself because of the substantial responsibility that he has, and I think it is important for us to remind ourselves, as well as to remind our country, about his service at a time when he has often been attacked by folks in Washington. prgtoken When I think of an individual like Robert Mueller, I think of two words: ``public service''--or maybe just one word: ``service.'' He was inspired, as many people know, to become a marine by one of his friends from the college lacrosse team he was on. This man's name was David Hackett, and he later died on the battlefield of Vietnam. prgtoken Mr. Mueller said in a speech: One would have thought that the life of a Marine, and David's death in Vietnam, would argue strongly against following in his footsteps. But many of us saw in him the person we wanted to be. And a number of his friends, teammates, and associates joined the Marine Corps because of him, as did I. prgtoken So said Robert Mueller about his friend David Hackett. prgtoken To paraphrase the words of President Kennedy, Robert Mueller didn't join the Marine Corps because it was easy; he joined because it was hard. While many of his peers were seeking to avoid the horrors of the Vietnam conflict and the combat in Vietnam, Robert Mueller volunteered to face those horrors. That sense of duty is the essence of public service. prgtoken Robert Mueller enlisted in the Marines just a few weeks after graduating from Princeton in 1966 and went through the demanding programs of the Army's Ranger School and Airborne School. He then spent a year in combat on the ground in the jungles of Vietnam, leading an infantry platoon. The Washington Post described the conditions the regiment faced as a ``hellscape'' of ``bloody jungle warfare.'' It was under these difficult circumstances that Mr. Mueller received the Bronze Star for ``heroic achievement'' after leading his fellow marines through an 8-hour battle where, under enemy fire, ``Second Lieutenant Mueller fearlessly moved from one position to another, directing the accurate counterfire of his men and shouting words of encouragement to them. . . . [H]e then skillfully supervised the evacuation of casualties from the hazardous fire area.'' prgtoken Just 4 months later, he was shot in the leg when he responded to an ambush by enemy forces. He received the Navy Commendation Medal with a citation praising him for rushing to save his fellow marines while ``completely disregarding his own safety.'' prgtoken That sense of serving a cause larger than himself is what led Robert Mueller to enlist in the Marines and what led him later to apply to law school so he could continue serving the country through our system of justice. He served in the U.S. States Attorney's Offices and the Justice Department for years, working his way up the cha
REMEMBERING JACK MACKENZIE
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-12-6

on November 28, Quincy, IL, lost a legend in Coach John ``Jack'' Butler Mackenzie at the age of 77. Jack was the architect of an amazing soccer program at Quincy University. He led the Franciscan school's soccer program to nine National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, NAIA, National Championships and 516 victories, making him the tenth all-time in NCAA history for wins, regardless of division. He did all of this while setting examples as a coach, a father, grandfather, and leader. prgtoken Jack was born on February 26, 1941, to John ``Scottie'' and Mary Jane Mackenzie. He attended McBride High School in 1959 and earned a scholarship to play football at the University of Missouri. After a year, Jack left to attend Washington University in St. Louis, earning both a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's in education. prgtoken Jack married his high school sweetheart, Sharon Bechtold, in June of 1962. He enjoyed telling people that he fell in love with her in sixth grade. Jack worked at Augustinian Academy in St. Louis and was on the cusp of making a big decision. prgtoken In 1969, at the urging of his best friend, Frank Longo, who introduced soccer to Quincy, Jack moved from St. Louis to run the Quincy University soccer program. QU had already won prgtoken two NAIA national championships in the program's first 5 years of existence when Jack arrived, but the QU Hawks reached new levels of success under Jack. prgtoken Jack's Hawks finished in the top three in the national tournament 12 times, including nine championships. They won five consecutive titles from 1977 to 1981. During his four-decade career, Jack won the NAIA National Coach of the Year four times. Thirty one All-American athletes came out of his program. prgtoken Jack loved the game of soccer, and soccer's popularity in Quincy exploded. The Quinsippi Soccer League formed in the late 1960s, helping young kids learn about soccer in elementary school. Jack helped teach adults who volunteered to coach the league, offered practice drills and strategies for helping boys and girls learn the game. prgtoken With QU's success, the school moved to NCAA Division I in 1984 and then to Division II in 1995, joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Quincy University didn't dominate as they did in the early days of Jack's tenure, but they regularly made the playoffs and had winning records. prgtoken In 2011, Jack's Hawks won the Great Lakes Valley Conference for the first time since joining the conference. It was Jack's last season coaching the team full time. It wasn't the biggest victory he had ever had, but it was one he loved like the others. prgtoken In retirement, Jack remained active in the community. He helped out with Special Olympics teams. He rarely missed a home game of QU's soccer team. Jack was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame, NCAA Hall of Fame, United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame, St. Louis Players, and QU Hall o
CLOTURE MOTION
Bill Nelson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-12-6

I wish to speak about one of the world's great natural treasures, the Florida Everglades. Eighteen years ago, there was an anniversary; as a matter of fact, it was in December of 2000. One of the major water bills that Congress passes, usually about every 5 to 7 years, was enacted, and they typically contain Army Corps of Engineers' projects for water handling, water channeling the great rivers and lakes of America. All of these water projects are so vital to the economic functioning of this country. This water bill was passed back in December of 2000 to provide funding for projects on ports, dams, and beach renourishment projects all across the country. It also authorized for the first time the comprehensive restoration plan for America's Florida Everglades. It was a 30-year, multibillion dollar effort to restore the Everglades. prgtoken What had happened, ever since the beginning of the previous century-- in the early 1900s--as Florida started to be discovered and as people increasingly had come, the way it was paved in the late 1800s, with Henry Flagler building his railroad, the railroad went down the east coast of Florida. He would build it as far as he could get, first to St. Augustine, where there was built a big hotel. That hotel today is the administrative building of Flagler College in downtown St. Augustine. prgtoken Then Flagler extended it further to the Daytona-Ormond Beach location, where another big hotel was built. Taking it further south, all the way to West Palm Beach, the famed Breakers hotel in Palm Beach was built, as well as a Biltmore hotel. prgtoken Finally, Henry Flagler took it on to Miami and then did a feat thought impossible and went through a string of islands called the Florida Keys. He took the railroad all the way to Key West. prgtoken This was a means of travel that opened up to Americans in the Northeast this beautiful land called La Florida in Spanish, the name given by the prgtoken Spanish conquistadors who came to Florida. Indeed, they came and they loved this land. prgtoken As more and more people came and started settling, they found that sometimes Mother Nature was harsh. When Mother Nature came in its full display of fury, hurricanes would come; quick rainstorms would come; quick changes of temperature occurred, from warm to suddenly freezing, even with--albeit, not a lot of snow, but I have seen parts of Florida with the ground covered in snow and other parts that were pelted with freezing rain. prgtoken As people tried to adapt to this land of contrasting environments, all of a sudden, they started to see nature, and along in the late 1920s came a hurricane of such magnitude that when it hit the coast around West Palm Beach and then went inland to Lake Okeechobee, 3,000 people drowned. prgtoken As a result of that experience, the governmental structure said: We have to do something about flood control. Thus, the diking and draining for three-quarters of
Nomination of Bernard L. McNamee (Executive Session)
Tina Smith (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2018-12-6

I rise to discuss the urgency of addressing climate change. I will also address the nomination of Mr. Bernard McNamee to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which we are debating on the Senate floor today. prgtoken Recently, the administration released the latest installment of the National Climate Assessment. This report is the work of over 300 expert scientists and 13 different government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, NASA, and others. The report makes an urgent case for action by detailing the extreme threat that is posed to our Nation and to our world by climate change. prgtoken The need for forward-looking environmental and energy policies is obvious to anyone who reads this report, and it is telling that this report was mandated by a law signed by the late George H. W. in 1990--a President whose life we came together to celebrate yesterday. prgtoken The administration doesn't want to talk about the report's findings, but the problems of a changing climate are already well known to us in Minnesota. Our winters are milder than they used to be. Rain patterns are changing. We are now prone to long, hot dry spells in the summer, but when the rains do come, they are more intense. Big storms used to be rare in Minnesota, but now we suffer more than almost anywhere else in the country from these climate-driven increases in so- called mega-rain events. When it rains 6 or 8 or even 10 inches all at once, houses flood and fields flood. The water can't run off or soak into the soil fast enough. As Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor and now as a Senator, I have seen the consequences of these storms. prgtoken Without action on climate change, these problems are only going to get worse. Even to those who have long accepted the scientific consensus on climate change, the new report makes for a sobering read. The assessment tells us that if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, ``the Midwest is projected to have the largest increase in extreme temperature-related premature deaths.'' By 2090, the Midwest can expect 2,000 additional deaths a year alone due to heat. That will be more than in any other region in the country. prgtoken We know that there are health consequences to a warming climate and also important impacts on our food supply. Minnesota is a vital contributor to our world's food supply. We rank fourth in the country in corn production, and corn is our No. 1 agricultural commodity. In 2017, Minnesota farmers produced $4.5 billion of corn on 8 million acres. This agricultural productivity is threatened by climate change. The problem going forward is that corn doesn't tolerate extreme warm temperatures. Corn plants grow best at approximately 80 degrees, and above 95 degrees, reproductive failure is a risk. U.S. corn yields per acre grew 60 percent from the 1980s to today. Because of warming temperature
CLOTURE MOTION
Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-12-6

. If I may respond just briefly, the State has mandated that 50 percent of its electricity must come from renewable sources by 2030. We are actually ahead of schedule and on track to reach that deadline by 2020. If we do, we will both be here. I hope that will be a real signal to people that standards can be set and they can be met and that we can save this planet. prgtoken very much.
CLOTURE MOTION
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2018-12-6

. . prgtoken Senator Feinstein may remember, I came here in 2007. I was sworn in in January of 2007. In 2007 and in 2008 and in 2009, just what we would expect to be happening on an issue like this was actually happening in the Senate. By my recollection, we had four bipartisan climate bills, we had bipartisan climate hearings, and we had constant bipartisan climate conversations. This was an issue which was being taken seriously by this body through 2009, then in 2010 something happened, and all of that bipartisan work came to a screeching, dead halt. What happened was that the Supreme Court--five Justices on the Supreme Court--issued a decision called Citizens United, which told big industries, big special interests like the fossil fuel industry: You can now spend as much money as you want in politics. There are no limits on what you can spend. That industry took off like a gunshot, like a runner from the start with that decision--I suspect they anticipated it--and instantly shut down all bipartisanship on climate change by virtue of the political spending and threats that Citizens United allowed them to do. prgtoken If we could do it before Citizens United, we ought to be able to do it still now that we have a better understanding of what the threats are. This is a very real proposition to get something done, and for her leadership over many years on this and many causes.
Climate Change (Executive Calendar)
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2018-12-6

on November 23 of this year, we had release of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which is required to be released under the Global Change Research Act that was passed by Congress in 1990. prgtoken This climate assessment is put together by 300 experts, guided by a 60-member Federal advisory committee, including 13 Federal Agencies. They rely heavily on the panel from the National Academy of Sciences. My point is, this is the best scientific information we have as to the risks of climate change. The Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume 2, was issued on November 23, 2018. prgtoken Its conclusions should be sobering to all of us; that humans are responsible for the current climate crisis and that we must take responsibility to minimize future destruction. prgtoken Four years earlier, the first volume of the Fourth National Climate Assessment was issued, and its prediction was that we would see increased instances of flooding, wildfires, and higher temperatures. Unfortunately, that has come to pass, as we have experienced this year and in the last several years an unusually large number of flooding episodes, wildfires that we have just experienced, and higher temperatures. prgtoken The findings make two critical assertions in regard to how it will affect our lifestyle. First, it said climate change is a growing risk to the danger of human health. By human health danger, you can look at the direct impact of climate change--those whose lives have been forever changed as a result of storms or as a result of flooding or as a result of wildfires or as a result of sea level rising. We know many people have lost their lives, and their lives have been compromised as a result of the reality of the new current weather conditions. prgtoken It also affects the safe supply of water--clean drinking water is very much impacted by what is happening with climate change--and sea level rises and the spread of diseases, from people who are suffering from asthma to the spread of West Nile disease, and prgtoken many other examples of how climate change is accelerating those types of conditions which have a major impact on human health. prgtoken The report then indicated that, yes, it directly affects the health of the people of our country and the globe, but it also has a direct economic impact. The damage affects, in a negative way, the rate of our economic growth. prgtoken I will give you many examples why. Take a look at infrastructure damage. We recognize that the bridges and the highways in this country--our infrastructure--were not designed and constructed with the realities of the weather conditions we are now experiencing. As a result of much heavier damage that we have to deal with, adaptations and changes, that affects the resources we have to devote to the new realities of our infrastructure. prgtoken Coastal communities have been put at direct risk. First of all, I have seen coastal communities shri