mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
STUDENT, TEACHERS, AND OFFICERS PREVENTING SCHOOL VIOLENCE ACT OF 2018
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-3-14

I thank the distinguished ranking member, the chairman of the committee, and the proponents of this bill. I acknowledge their commitment and certainly their sincerity. prgtoken , I joined the thousands of young people today on the west side of the Capitol as they came from schools throughout this region to stand for 17 minutes to acknowledge those who lost their lives in Florida at a high school. prgtoken That should not have been their destiny. It should not have been their destiny to die in a bloody massacre in their school. It should not have been the destiny of those in the Pulse nightclub, Sutherland Springs, Columbine, Las Vegas, Texas Tech, the streets of Houston in my district, Chicago, or any other place. prgtoken This bill is not about preventing the unsafe use of guns. Guns kill. The young people today made it very clear that they will not stop until we have real gun safety legislation barring the AR-15 and we have universal background checks. prgtoken At the same time, I believe these bills of our colleagues are important legislative initiatives. So, in tribute to these individuals who have passed, but also the Members, I believe the STOP School Violence Act of 2017 is a ready response to aspects of school safety and security that are very important. prgtoken One of the unique aspects of this bill that I think should be noted is the language in the bill itself that indicates it is through evidence-based strategies and programs to prevent violence, which may include the use of appropriate technologies. The bill readily acknowledges many aspects of school safety. prgtoken The AFT and the National School Boards Association are two of the supporters of this legislation. But it does not answer totally the question of the parent who said: ``I didn't get a chance that morning to say good-bye to my daughter.'' prgtoken We must address the question of gun violence. I believe it is important that we put a stop to children evacuating schools, like this one, and for us to be able to address a real, nonpartisan, bipartisan response to the proliferation of guns, whether it means enforcing gun laws, lifting the age to 21, or banning bump stocks, all points we thought the President was supporting but, unfortunately, he is not. prgtoken I do want to raise the point of the tip line. I think it is extremely important, as long as it is guided by teachers, counselors, and mental health experts. We must be very sure that we do not have racial disparities where the largest percentage of individuals impacted by the tip line may be African-American youth, Hispanic youth, or Muslim youth. prgtoken We know that racial disparities are real because the largest percentage of those who are sent to detention or juvenile centers happen to be African-American children, young boys and girls, which I really believe is something that has to stop. prgtoken In addition, it is important that we comply with civil rights law. I think the ad
STUDENT, TEACHERS, AND OFFICERS PREVENTING SCHOOL VIOLENCE ACT OF 2018
Elizabeth H. Esty (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-3-14

I rise in support of the STOP School Violence Act. Mark Barden and Nicole Hockley each had a child killed in the first grade classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the district where I live 5 years ago. They and other parents took their grief and formed a group called the Sandy Hook Promise. That group has been working tirelessly for over 5 years now, and the bill we address here today is largely a testament to the hard work that they have put in working with mental health professionals, school officials, and law enforcement to come up with real steps that will help save lives. prgtoken The STOP School Violence Act will not save every life threatened by gun violence, but it will save some, and we need to do what we can. But let me be very clear. This needs to be the first step of many steps we can and should be taking in this House to address the scourge of gun violence. We have enormous support for bipartisan comprehensive background checks, for a Fix NICS bill, and for banning of bump stocks. This needs to be the first of a long line of steps that this Congress owes to the American people and owes to the students gathered on the lawn of the Capitol today and in every classroom throughout America.
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2018-3-14

10 years ago this month, we saw the first domino fall toward the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Some of our country's largest financial institutions were facing capital and liquidity crises, and it became clear that many of the biggest banks would need a massive injection of capital, in the form of a taxpayer bailout, to prevent what then-Chairman Bernanke called the ``chaotic unwinding'' of financial markets. prgtoken The near collapse of the U.S. financial system had a real and lasting impact on the prosperity of the United States, reaching the pocketbooks and kitchen tables of every American family and the stability of the world's economy across all sectors. We--and I do mean we--you, me and all tax-paying U.S. citizens footed the bill for the risky and cavalier behavior of our country's biggest banks, allowed largely by a poorly regulated system that brought our economy to its knees. American taxpayer dollars propped up our financial system to prevent its catastrophic failure, an economic collapse that would have wrought even more damage and misery on tens of millions of American households. prgtoken The crisis clearly exposed deep flaws in our regulatory system and a serious lack of oversight of the financial sector. It taught us that looking the other way and trusting the system to check and right itself will always result in a race to the bottom in terms of capitalization, risk-taking, transparency, and, too often, casual lending practices. prgtoken Big Banks and their executives took on untold and unnecessary risks, hid their financial well-being and, at best, misinformed their investors and, at worst, downright lied. This behavior was supported and left unchecked by a regulatory regime without the oversight to identify and teeth to prevent rampant risk-taking in the name of short- term profit. prgtoken We vowed we would never again put American taxpayers on the hook to bail out Big Banks. To that end, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, the most sweeping, comprehensive reforms to our financial system since the 1930s. These changes, including new regulations and enforcement mechanisms, were necessary to prevent the recurrence of the systematic profit-driven actions of bad actors throughout our financial system. Dodd-Frank required Big Banks to meet capital requirements, pass stress tests, and make plans for their orderly liquidation in case of failure. All of these requirements were designed to prevent another taxpayer bailout, and they are working. By design, these standards are difficult to meet, but they have not prevented banks from profiting. Big Banks, in fact, are thriving. They continue to protect American taxpayers who are, rightly, wary of the behavior of Big Banks. Now is not the time to roll back these protective rules for Big Banks. They don't need it. No one except these big hanks will benefit, and it would all be at the risk of future bailouts. Withou
HONORING CONGRESSWOMAN MARCY KAPTUR, THE LONGEST SERVING WOMAN IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Janice D. Schakowsky (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-3-14

I thank the gentlewoman, Congressman Waters, for pulling this little surprise together. prgtoken I thank Marcy Kaptur. It is so great to be able to stand on the floor of the House and laud one of our great, great Members on her great achievement of serving here for 36 years in the House of Representatives. She continues every day to bring her intelligence and persistence to issues from labor and working people to Ukraine. prgtoken Her accomplishments are enormous. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school. She earned a BA and an MA, served in the White House, and now is the longest serving woman in Congress. prgtoken Marcy has never forgotten her blue-collar roots. She knows the importance of unions in providing job security and good wages. She has focused on making sure that workers get their earned pension benefits. This is a big issue right now that she is leading the charge on. prgtoken I feel, and have felt from the beginning, a special affinity, being a midwesterner and coming to this Congress with these Midwestern values: nothing fancy; it is just about working people who want a good life and deserve to get it. prgtoken Marcy can match anybody with her understanding in the details of pension policy. She always stays focused on the fundamental goal of pensions, which is simply making sure that, after a life of hard work, women and men can retire with dignity and security, something that I am afraid is in too short supply today. Marcy is continuing to lead that battle. prgtoken Marcy has been an expert on trade policy. I learned that early on in my tenure here in the House. On the 10th anniversary of NAFTA, Marcy, with the help of the Teamsters union, organized a visit and took a group of us first to the border city of El Paso, Texas, to look at and talk to people who had lost their jobs and had moved across the border. prgtoken We then crossed the border to Ciudad Juarez, where we actually saw people living in the packing crates of the products they were working to manufacture at the maquiladoras. prgtoken So, on both sides of the border, we saw the pain that was caused. prgtoken On that trip, we went to Mexico City, talked to leaders, talked to union leaders and political leaders, government leaders. We also went to the city of Puebla and talked to people there. It was a really comprehensive trip that gave us a sense of what happens to people when they are not being considered when policies are being made. prgtoken She continues today, as we renegotiate the NAFTA agreement and the administration works on that, to have input on what a really fair trade deal looks like--not just free trade, but fair trade--where it is not just the big corporations, but it is the workers in all the countries, in the United States of America and the workers in countries that we have trade agreements with, and that all the workers get a fair deal. prgtoken Marcy fights for people who played by the rules, faithf
TAKING ACCOUNT OF INSTITUTIONS WITH LOW OPERATION RISK ACT OF 2017
Maxine Waters (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2018-3-14

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , Members, and to my colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle, I am going to take a couple of minutes to bore you. I am going to bore you with all of the groups who are opposed to your legislation. prgtoken I heard one of your Members say that you have tremendous support. I didn't hear where that support is coming from, but I do believe that probably the biggest banks in America are supporting your legislation. So please allow me to share with you who is opposing your legislation. prgtoken Allied Progress; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Americans for Financial Reform; the Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending; Center for American Progress; Center for Economic Integrity; Center for Justice and Democracy; Center for Responsible Lending; Consumer Action; Consumer Federation of America; Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety; Consumers Union; Demos; the Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection; Indivisible; Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility; Jacksonville Area Legal Aid Incorporated; the Kentucky Equal Justice Center; the NAACP; the National Association of Consumer Advocates; the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys; the National Center for Law and Economic Justice; the National Coalition for the Homeless; the National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients; the National Consumers League; the National Fair Housing Alliance; the National Urban League; the People's Action Institute; PolicyLink; Progressive Congress Action Fund; Prosperity Now; Public Citizen; Public Justice Center; Reinvestment Partners; Statewide Poverty Action Network; Tennessee Citizen Action; U.S. PIRG; West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy; the Woodstock Institute; and the World Privacy Forum. prgtoken If you have time, I would like you to share with me who is supporting your legislation. prgtoken , .
STUDENT, TEACHERS, AND OFFICERS PREVENTING SCHOOL VIOLENCE ACT OF 2018
Theodore E. Deutch (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-3-14

I thank my friend from New York. prgtoken , the trauma that my community in Parkland, Florida, experienced was not unique. Gun violence tears apart American communities on a daily basis. So, no, what happened on February 14 when 14 students and three teachers were hunted in their schools with an AR- 15 assault rifle by a former student, that wasn't unique. prgtoken But the problem of gun violence in America is a uniquely American problem. It is an epidemic. It is a complex problem. There are many facets. But we know what we need to do, and I am committed to taking any step to getting any new policy across the finish line that will make our kids safer. prgtoken This bill, the STOP School Violence Act, is a good bill. It will not solve our gun problem. It won't ban bump stocks or require Americans to be 21 to buy a gun, fix our broken background check system, or get weapons of war--the weapons of choice for mass shooters--off our streets and out of our communities. But it will help troubled students who need help get help, and it will help teachers and law enforcement identify potential threats before it is too late. prgtoken Before we vote, I would like to make a few things clear. First, this isn't a response to the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. In fact, Congressman Rutherford and I introduced this bill a week before the shooting. The programs in this bill are based on rigorous, evidence- based evaluation. They are proven to help reduce isolation and identify kids who need help. prgtoken We had no idea at the time that we wouldn't be able to move fast enough to stop this tragedy. We had no idea that we would have an urgent need to help get more American schools access to these programs. But since Congress has failed the American people by ignoring the deadly scourge of gun violence, since we failed the families of Stoneman Douglas just like we failed the families of Sandy Hook, Columbine, and so many others, we owe it to students and teachers across this country to at least give them tools to help identify dangerous behavior. prgtoken The failure of Congress to take action in response to gun violence has left the American gun violence debate in a ridiculous place. Armed teachers in every hallway? Is that what we want education to be in America? No. I am glad this bill includes a specific prohibition against the use of grant dollars to arm school personnel, including teachers, or to train school personnel to use firearms. prgtoken Since Congress has failed the American people by ignoring the scourge of gun violence and failed the families of Stoneman Douglas, the failure of Congress to take action has left us in this position of debating gun violence where we are hesitant to even take small steps. This is a small and important step. prgtoken I have heard civil rights concerns related to racial profiling and discrimination associated with threat assessments in anonymous reporting, and I am sensitive to tho
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2018-3-14

I join with my colleagues today to give the country a sense of the scope of this epidemic. We have tried every means to move our colleagues to action, but in remembering the names of people who have been lost, it is a reminder that there is a human face behind every single one of these numbers, and behind that victim there is a trail of trauma--family members, friends, classmates--that is difficult to unwind. prgtoken On December 14, 2012, armed with a tactical semiautomatic weapon with clips of 30 bullets, a gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, and killed 20 children, 6 adults, and himself. prgtoken Among them were Rachel D'Avino, 29, a teacher's aide; Dawn Hochsprung, 47, the principal; Anne Marie Murphy, 52, a teacher's aide; Lauren Rousseau, 30 years old, a teacher; Mary Sherlach, 56 years old, a school psychologist; Victoria Soto, a 27-year-old teacher. prgtoken The students were Charlotte Bacon, 6 years old; Daniel Barden, 7 years old; Olivia Engel, 6 years old; Josephine Gay, 7 years old, Dylan Hockley, 6 years old; Madeleine Hsu, 6 years old; Catherine Hubbard, 6 years old; Chase Kowalski, 7 years old; Jesse Lewis, 6 years old; Ana Marquez-Greene, 6 years old; James Mattioli, 6 years old; Grace McDonnell, 7 years old; Emilie Parker, 6 years old; Jack Pinto, 6 years old; Noah Pozner, 6 years old; Caroline Previdi, 6 years old; Jessica Rekos, 6 years old; Avielle Richman, 6 years old; Benjamin Wheeler, 6 years old; Allison Wyatt, 6 years old. prgtoken I have a 6-year-old, and yesterday he and 24 of his classmates were locked in a tiny bathroom for several minutes for an active shooter drill. When he came home last night, he said: Daddy, I didn't like it. prgtoken Since Sandy Hook in Connecticut, there have been hundreds more: Lisa Infante, 52, of Shelton; Antoine Heath, 29, of New Haven; Jonathan Aranda, 19, of New Haven; Miguel Arguelles, 22, of Bridgeport; Cameron Chapman, 25, of Waterbury; Sherrie Blount, 31, of Danbury; Ebony Swaby, 22, of Waterbury; Daniel Joseph Caron, Sr 63, of Bristol; Michael Watkins, 26, of Bridgeport; Keon Huff, Jr 15, of Hartford; Joshua Rivera, 28, of New Haven; Deon Rodney, 31, of Bridgeport; Khali Davis, 22, of Bridgeport; Norris Jackson, 36, of Bridgeport; Eduardo Anes, 37, of Hartford; Alfanso Anderson, 49, of Bridgeport; Guy Moore, 26, of Waterbury. prgtoken That is just the tip of the iceberg as to what has happened since Sandy Hook, just in my State of Connecticut--representing only 1 percent of the population. prgtoken A 6-year-old shouldn't be locked into a bathroom, smushed together with 24 of his classmates, preparing for the day when a shooter potentially walks into his public elementary school. We have a duty to act. prgtoken .
ECONOMIC GROWTH, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-3-14

most people cannot remember what happened in the first grade--I have vague memories of being a first grader--but there are certain things that may happen even at a young stage in your life that will be remembered. prgtoken My 6-year-old granddaughter, who attends first grade in Brooklyn, NY, a few weeks ago was told by her teacher what to do if a shooter, if a gunman came into the first grade classroom. My little granddaughter was told: Don't stand by the window; you could get shot. If they enter the classroom with a gun, get down on the floor. prgtoken Is there any sane person in America who believes that is what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights--the right to bear arms--that we would have reached a point in America where the prospects of gun violence in the first grade classrooms and all the way through school, through high school, and college would become a reality in America? I can't imagine anyone in their wildest dreams would have imagined that possibility. prgtoken Today is March 14. On February 14, a gunman went into a high school in Parkland, FL, and killed 17 people--14 students and 3 members of the faculty. It is not the first, by any means. Ten years before it, at Northern Illinois University, a gunman killed five there and injured many others. The list goes on and on and on. prgtoken This gunman who went into Parkland, FL, wasn't carrying a handgun. He was carrying an AR-15. It is a semiautomatic weapon that he was able to embellish with a high-capacity magazine that could kill 30 people at a time. prgtoken Why? Why on Earth would that man, 19 years of age, be allowed to buy a weapon that was created to be used by the military--a military assault weapon, a weapon that sometimes our police may need, but hardly ever an individual American could need or want to buy for a legitimate sporting or hunting purpose? prgtoken But he did, and 17 were dead after that rampage. prgtoken There has been a lot of reaction to that--more than I expected, I will be honest with you, because mass killings have become way too common in America. Something happened there--something we saw across America today. High school students in that high school came out and said: Enough, we are fed up with the laws of this land and the politicians who refuse to change them. We are fed up with the fear that comes with just going to school in America. We are fed up with those who say the Second Amendment requires us to live in fear. prgtoken They have marched in towns across America today. They have marched on Washington. They have come to my office and visited with me. I believe they have become a major force in the national debate. I commend them. I encourage them. I hope they will continue. prgtoken What can we do? You know, politics is tough. It ain't beanbag, as they used to say. There are forces like the National Rifle Association and the gun lobby that threa