mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2017-7-25

the pitch to Senators this afternoon before the first vote was that it was nothing but a little bit of throat clearing--just a first step to get the conversation started. prgtoken Let's be clear, nobody can pretend the stakes aren't real now. In a few minutes, the Senate will be voting on yet another version of the Senate Care bill. I call it the BCRA 3.0. It features a special gut punch to consumer protection offered by Senator Cruz. prgtoken My view is, the Cruz proposal is a prescription for misery for millions of Americans dealing with serious illness and bedlam in the private insurance market. Forget, colleagues, all the talk about bringing costs down. This bill is going to send health expenses like deductibles and copayments into the stratosphere. prgtoken Care 3.0, BCRA 3.0, tells insurance companies: Look, you are off the hook for basic consumer protection. You get to bring back annual and lifetime caps on coverage, and those caps would hit people who get their healthcare through their employer, as well as those who buy it for themselves in the individual market. You can forget about essential health benefits. You get to flood the market with bargain-basement insurance plans, as long as you offer one, single, comprehensive option, the kind of plan that actually works for people with preexisting conditions and, by the way, you get to price that through the roof. prgtoken Under the Cruz proposal, we will be looking at a tale of two healthcare systems in America. The young and healthy are going to opt for the bare-bones insurance plans that don't cover much of anything, but there are millions of people in this country who cannot get by with skimpy Cruz-plan insurance. They are people who have had a cancer scare or suffer from diabetes. They are people who get hurt on the ski slopes or in a car accident. The only coverage that works for them will come with an astronomical pricetag. prgtoken There was no hearing in the Finance Committee, no hearing in the HELP Committee. Senators are flying in the dark, and as far as I can tell, the proposal is going to be before us without having been scored by the CBO. prgtoken Let me close with this. It is not too late for Senators to put a stop to this shadowy, unacceptable process. Nobody in this Chamber--not one Senator--has to choose between Care and straight repeal or any partisan plan. I hope my colleagues will reject Care 3.0, BCRA 3.0 and say it is time to stop this my-way-or-the-highway process and say, after rejecting this ill-advised amendment, that they would like to return to the regular order, where we look to bipartisan approaches. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to oppose and to oppose strongly this first amendment that we will vote on tonight, BCRA 3.0. It is a prescription for trouble for millions of consumers, and I think it is going to cause chaos for the reasons I described in the private insuran
COUNTERING AMERICA'S ADVERSARIES THROUGH SANCTIONS ACT
David E. Price (Democrat, NC) \u2014 2017-7-25

I rise to stress two critical aspects of this legislation. prgtoken First, it would impose tough sanctions on Russia for its serious international violations, the seizure of Crimea, its violent incursion into Ukraine, its cyber interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Perhaps most importantly, in the present context, it would prevent President from removing or softening existing sanctions without congressional approval. prgtoken Second, the bill addresses Iran's unacceptable behavior in the non- nuclear realm, such as ballistic missile development, human rights violations, financing of terrorism, without violating the nuclear deal with Iran. prgtoken The JCPOA celebrated its second anniversary 2 weeks ago. It has given the international community 24/7 access to Iran's nuclear sites, provided an enforcement mechanism to ensure that Iran's nuclear-related activity is solely peaceful, and elongated Iran's breakout time to over a year. It has made the world a safer place.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Bill Nelson (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2017-7-25

I am so encouraged by the words of our dear friend and fellow Senator, Mr. John McCain. prgtoken First of all, I am so encouraged by seeing that fighting spirit of John McCain and so glad to see him back. In the midst of everything he is facing, that he would come and insert himself to give us some considerable words of wisdom--it was such an enormous, emotional experience when John walked in. Then, to have all of us seated here because of the vote that was occurring--and not a Senator left after the vote was concluded because we wanted to hear from John and did so willingly. His eloquent words about how we all need to come together and stop being driven apart by partisan reasons were timely, and they were well received. prgtoken , this Senator never thought we would see a vote to advance a bill which, to so many, feels as though it is going to harm so many of our fellow Americans. Obviously, we can disagree on specifics, but we have seen that particular expression of opinion of harm over and over. We have seen it in the coverage of the townhall meetings, where people stand up and say: If I didn't have this healthcare, I would be dead. prgtoken This Senator has seen it in Florida over and over, as I have had people come up to me wherever I am--in a meeting, on the street corner, in the airport, wherever--and say: Senator, please don't let them take my healthcare away from me. prgtoken Indeed, when people explained their particular circumstances, four different families--one family, if they did not have the waiver on Medicaid, indeed, that fellow would not only not be alive, but even if he were alive, he would be in an institution instead of being able to be cared for or three other families who brought forth testimonies about how the Affordable Care Act has given them insurance they had never been able to get before. It was at a price they could afford and involved coverage they never could have had. prgtoken In other cases, people had preexisting conditions. This Senator, as a former elected insurance commissioner of Florida, has seen insurance companies refuse to insure people because they had a preexisting condition. If you had asthma, that was a preexisting condition; if you had a bad rash, that was a preexisting condition, and they were not going to insure you. Also, insurance policies never had the guarantee of lifetime coverage but instead the policy said you had lifetime caps. There was a dollar figure which, if you exceeded it, the insurance policy was not going to cover any more. prgtoken If we are really serious about wanting to fix the situation, if our brothers and sisters on the other side of the aisle are not successful in proceeding with what the majority leader is going to be coming forth with, if that is voted down, and if we are serious about it, take what is left, which is the existing law--the Affordable Care Act--and fix it. prgtoken Senator Collins, a former i
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION RELATING TO ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS
Maxine Waters (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-7-25

I am now prepared to close, and the balance of my time. prgtoken , today we have heard speak about the importance of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's rule to stop forced arbitration clauses in contracts for consumer financial products and the harm that would result from this joint resolution to repeal the rule. prgtoken Forced arbitration clauses severely limit consumers' legal rights and prevent groups of consumers from holding financial institutions accountable for wrongdoing. The Consumer Bureau's rule helps to ensure that financial institutions are held accountable and fully protects the legal rights of consumers, including servicemembers and veterans. prgtoken The majority has shamefully moved to nullify the Consumer Bureau's good work in a move that ultimately enables financial institutions to get off the hook when they commit wrongdoing, with less redress for consumers. prgtoken Studies have shown that forced arbitration favors big business and results in less compensation for American consumers who have been abused or defrauded, if they receive any at all. prgtoken This resolution steamrolls over the Consumer Bureau's sensible rule without regard for the harm that will result for American consumers and families. This is also despite the broad support for the rule from consumer advocacy, civil rights, and faith-based groups, legal scholars, and advocates for servicemembers. prgtoken Congress must not curtail the legal rights of consumers, must not repeal the Consumer Bureau's forced arbitration rule. Vote to protect consumer rights. Vote to fully restore the American principle of right to trial by jury. Vote ``no'' on H.J. Res. 111. prgtoken , I would simply like to say that I keep hearing my colleagues talk about how fast consumers are taken care of under the arbitration rule. Yes, because they are getting railroaded. prgtoken As I mentioned, they are in the back room without representation. These are people who have been forced to sign these arbitration agreements, not even knowing that they signed them. prgtoken Most people who go out now to get a credit card or to get a loan of some kind, they are forced into these agreements and they don't even know it. They are shocked and surprised when they cannot join with others who have been ripped off in class action lawsuits. prgtoken So don't pay attention to all of the information that you have received from the opposite side. Remember that the banks and big businesses win 93.1 percent of the time, not consumers. prgtoken Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of consumers or are you protecting big business? prgtoken , .
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-7-25

despite all Senate leaders' efforts to keep this mean bill hidden from public view, patients and families know the truth. prgtoken This legislation would cause families' healthcare costs to spike. It will gut Medicaid, and it will deny tens of millions of people their healthcare coverage. It will defund Planned Parenthood and take away critical healthcare services that women and men rely on, especially in our rural areas where it is already hard enough to get the care you need. Care would also completely pull the rug out from under patients with preexisting conditions. I could go on. prgtoken I hope every one of my colleagues joins me in voting against this awful legislation, but this vote is far from the last time Senate s need to reject Care, if they are really serious about protecting patients and families from the damage it would do, because if any version of this awful bill leaves the Senate, extreme s in the House are going to do everything they can to make it even prgtoken more damaging--and anyone who believes differently is refusing to see the writing on the wall. prgtoken I urge my ic and colleagues to vote against this bill and every other version of it that we are going to see in the coming hours and days. prgtoken , all of our time.
TRIBUTE TO SABRA FIELD
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2017-7-25

Vermont is a place of natural, exquisite beauty. From the expansive, rolling Green Mountains, to the crystal shores of Lake Champlain, Vermont is home to some of the most iconic geographic scenery our country has to offer. I am so proud to call Vermont my home. prgtoken Vermont is also continually ranked as having the most artists per capita than any other State. Our many artists--writers, photographers, painters, sculptors, potters, and more--help capture the iconic beauty that has long made Vermont a destination for visitors from across the country and around the world. One such artist, Sabra Field, is among the most gifted and extraordinary of them. prgtoken Sabra first came to Vermont in 1953 to attend Middlebury College. An Oklahoma native, she has since been lauded as a ``Vermont Living Treasure.'' Perhaps most well-known for her vivid landscapes, Ms. Field's impressive and iconic paintings are now of signature familiarity across our State and beyond. Any Vermonter who sees a painting of purple mountain majesties against a starry, blue night sky knows they are looking at one of her paintings. In 1991, Sabra was commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service to create a postage stamp of a red barn, blue sky, and green hills, a stamp which sold more than 60 million copies. She has also designed images for IBM, the Rockefeller Center, and UNICEF. prgtoken Yet what most suspect only to be Ms. Field's effort to capture Vermont's impressive geography may be surprised to discover that the meaning behind her artwork spans much further. In a new exhibit of Sabra's six-decade long career, showcased by the Middlebury College Museum of Art, her artistry takes on a deeper meaning, as told by the artist herself. prgtoken The Middlebury exhibit showcases some of Ms. Field's most iconic pieces, with each painting accompanied by a description of the memory or inspiration behind it. For instance, in a caption situated under an illustration of a family of hippopotamuses, Sabra writes of her first child who was hit by a car just short of his 10th birthday and died tragically 2 days later. In a 2011 panorama painted of Hawaii, she captions the story of the passing of her late husband, Spencer, who passed away on his favorite island of Kauai from complications related to cancer. The exhibit also depicts her work beyond that of a pastoralist, with self-portraits and paintings inspired by her personal exploration of spirituality, mythology, the cosmos, world history, and life after death. prgtoken These images and others reveal the often somber trials of Ms. Field's life. They also expose the ways in which her artistry has helped her heal and grow over time. Ms. Field is hoping this new exhibit will help avoid her being known as purely a pastoralist, as she feels her art is both an expression of beauty and a representation of the obstacles and rebounds of her life. prgtoken Marcelle and I would like to congratulate Sa
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2017-7-25

. Four-and-a-half years. prgtoken He is a newbie, and he has not seen the Senate I am describing. prgtoken Can you believe there was a time in the Senate when we would bring an important measure to the floor on many different issues, and Members would come to the floor--I am not making this up--and actually hand an amendment to the clerk and say: I would like to offer an amendment to the bill. Then we would debate it, and then we would vote on it. Sometimes you won, sometimes you lost, and you moved on to the next amendment. That actually happened on the Senate floor. For the people who are new to the Senate, I am sure they do not believe me, but it did happen over and over and over. We had a healthy respect for one another. The amendments went back and forth, and we ended up seeing bills passed that made a difference in America. prgtoken What we are doing now is a disgrace to this institution, and it does not honor the Senate, its Members, or our Constitution when what is at stake is prgtoken so important. In looking at some of the provisions that have been brought before us in the Senate's repeal bills to repeal the Affordable Care Act, I do not know how they can do it. I do not know how Senators could go home and say in their home States: A million of you are going to lose your health insurance because of something I just voted for. prgtoken Health insurance means a lot to me personally. I have said it on the floor. There was a time in my life when I was a brandnew law student and was married. God sent me and my wife this beautiful little baby. She had some health issues, and we had no health insurance, as I was a law student. We ended up sitting in the charity ward of a local hospital here in Washington, hoping our baby girl would have a good, talented, capable doctor walk through the door and see her. I was not sure because I did not have health insurance. I will never forget that as long as I live, and I thought to myself that it will never happen to me again. I am going to have health insurance no matter what it takes. It meant that much to me, and it means that much to everybody. prgtoken There is not a single one of us who does not want the peace of mind of knowing that if we get sick or if someone we love gets sick, he will have access to good hospitals and good doctors. That is what health insurance is all about. As the proposals eliminate health insurance for 60 million, 20 million, 30 million Americans, you ask yourself: How can you do that to this country? prgtoken The cuts they make in Medicaid have really educated America about Medicaid. People know about Social Security. They know what that is all about. We all pay into it and wait to receive our Social Security checks when we reach that age. They also know about Medicare. You have to be 65 years of age. It is pretty good coverage, isn't it? The ones who receive it think it is a pretty good deal to have Medicare coverage whe
MEDICARE PART B IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2017
Doris O. Matsui (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-7-25

I rise today in support of H.R. 3178, the Medicare Part B Improvement Act, and, specifically, a provision to extend the IVIG demonstration project that Chairman Brady and I worked on together. prgtoken I have long been a champion of those impacted by primary immunodeficiency diseases, which include more than 300 rare genetic diseases, all of which keep the immune system from functioning properly. A mild infection can cause serious problems and even death for these patients. prgtoken Thanks to the IVIG demo, Medicare beneficiaries with immunodeficiency diseases are now able to receive in-home IVIG therapy, meaning they can avoid community settings of care, which can be very important to people with compromised immune systems. prgtoken I am pleased that this provision was included in the Medicare Part B Improvement Act. I urge support of this important bill.
HEALTHCARE
Michelle Lujan Grisham (Democrat, NM) \u2014 2017-7-25

I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Garamendi, and certainly thank Mr. Tonko for their incredible statements about what is really at risk and why it is at risk. prgtoken I think it is very important for viewers, and our constituents, and families, to really understand that this is not a healthcare debate. This is not a healthcare reform measure. prgtoken Nothing that has occurred and passed in the House or in the Senate has involved serious discussion or debate of any kind of healthcare reform because what this really is, as you stated, is a tax break, not just for the wealthiest of Americans, but for two critical corporations, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, who, I assure you, do not need additional tax breaks, who are still making record profits. And when we look at the pharmaceutical industry, in particular, it has been one of the most profitable industries in America's history. prgtoken So this is an effort to provide more benefits to the three groups who do not need these benefits; and the way in which they pay for it is to remove healthcare benefits from millions of Americans. And as the gentleman pointed out, 32 million Americans are at risk of losing their healthcare, and many more who are in jeopardy of having to pay far more for the benefits that are necessary and lifesaving. prgtoken I really wanted to weigh in because States like mine, rural, frontier, very poor States, in fact, we have the most to lose of any State in the Nation if this draconian measure, which is one step closer, is passed in the Senate after today's procedural vote. prgtoken It means $11.4 billion out of our economy. It is a devastating blow to one of the poorest States in the Nation, who has one of the highest percentages of individuals in Medicaid to the expansion. prgtoken For the first time in my lifetime, I am seeing New Mexicans in a position to have access to care, the right care at the right time at the right place. If this country is going to get healthcare right, then we have got to make sure that people have access so we are not the sickest population in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. prgtoken The only way that you do that is providing access. We provide access in the Affordable Care Act by giving people subsidies and asking insurance companies to treat their beneficiaries and enrollees fairly, right? Subsidies to afford those premiums, by making sure that they have to cover preexisting conditions, by making sure that they are not making women and other populations pay more for their care. prgtoken This is a Congress that has an obligation to address the things that both s in Congress and pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies have done to us, not for us. Premiums are still too often too high; copays still too often too high; and deductibles, still too high. prgtoken But is that the fault of the or an administration that worked to make sure that insurance comp
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-7-25

in a short time, we will vote on the motion to proceed to debate the House healthcare bill. Several months into this new process, with s in the majority in both Chambers, the American people have not been treated to a high- minded debate or to much debate at all. prgtoken The very first action of this Congress was for the majority to pass reconciliation instructions on healthcare--a process which has locked out from the very beginning. The very first thing this Congress said to the American people is that healthcare is going to be a partisan project, undertaken by s and s alone. Right out of the gate, were locked out. The majority leader elected to forge a bill in secret and bypass the committee process entirely--no public hearings, no open debate, no opportunity for the minority to amend the bill or even to read it before it emerged from the leader's office. Their plan all along was to keep their bill hidden for as long as possible, evade scrutiny, hide the truth from the American people, and then jam the bill through in the dead of night on a party line. prgtoken Now, here we are, after so much cloak-and-dagger legislating, about to vote on proceeding to a debate on one of the most important issues of our time--one-sixth of the economy and tens of millions' health and even lives affected without knowing exactly what we will be debating on. Perhaps nothing could sum up the process that has gotten us here quite as well as this. The best the majority leader has been able to cook up is a vague plan to do whatever it takes to pass something-- anything--to get the bill to a House and Senate conference on healthcare. prgtoken My colleagues, plain and simple, it is a ruse. The likeliest result of a conference between the House and Senate is the full repeal of the Affordable Care Act or something very close to it. It will, certainly, mean drastic cuts in Medicaid, huge tax cuts for the wealthy, no help for those with preexisting conditions, and tens of millions losing healthcare, particularly in poorer and more rural States. prgtoken The hard-right Freedom Caucus in the House would never accept a bill that only repeals a few regulations in the ACA but leaves much in place. prgtoken I would say to my colleagues, particularly those on the other side of the aisle who have heartfeltly fought hard for not cutting Medicaid drastically, for keeping preexisting conditions, for not giving tax cuts to the rich while you are cutting healthcare for the poor, do not go along with this motion to proceed, because you know and I know what it will lead to. All of the things that you have been trying to avoid will emerge from that conference, and you will hurt the people of your States dramatically. prgtoken We all know what is happening here. The leader could not get the votes on a full repeal because it is so damaging to America. He coul