mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
BANKRUPTCY JUDGESHIP ACT OF 2017
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2017-10-24

I don't need to tell anyone that middle- class Americans have had a rough time in recent years. Stagnant wages and a lack prgtoken of opportunities have left many American families stretched thin. Sending the kids to college, a secure retirement, putting something away for a rainy day--for too many families, these hallmarks of the American dream have started to seem more and more doubtful. prgtoken A recent survey found that 50 percent of people in this country consider themselves to be living paycheck to paycheck. And about one- third of people in this country say they are just $400 away from a financial crisis. If anyone wants to know why we are taking up tax reform, this is why. We are taking up tax reform because it is not acceptable that 50 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and because it is not acceptable that one-third of voters are one unexpected car repair away from a financial crisis. prgtoken How is tax reform going to help? For starters, our tax reform bill is going to make sure that hard-working Americans are taking home more money from every paycheck. We are going to cut income tax rates. We are going to double the standard deduction--the amount of Americans' income that is not subject to any income tax--and we are going to significantly increase the child tax credit. All these things mean that American families are going to see an increase in their take-home pay. They are going to get to keep more of their hard-earned money. We are also going to simplify and streamline the Tax Code so that it is easier for Americans to figure out what benefits they qualify for, so they don't have to spend a lot of time and money filling out their tax returns. prgtoken But we are not going to stop with reforming the individual side of the Tax Code. Another key part of improving Americans' financial situation is reforming the business side of the Tax Code so that we can give Americans access to the kinds of jobs, wages, and opportunities that will set them up for a secure future. prgtoken In order for individual Americans to thrive economically, we need American businesses to thrive. Thriving businesses create jobs. They provide opportunities, and they increase wages and invest in their workers. prgtoken Right now, though, our Tax Code is not helping businesses thrive. Instead, it is strangling businesses large and small with high tax rates. Our Nation has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. It is at least 10 percentage points higher than the majority of our international competitors. prgtoken It doesn't take an economist to realize that high tax rates leave businesses with less money to invest in their workers, with less money to spend on wages, and with less money to create new and better paying jobs. This situation is compounded when you are an American business with international competitors that are paying a lot less in taxes than you are. prgtoken It is
2017 IDAHO HOMETOWN HERO MEDALISTS
Mike Crapo (Republican, ID) \u2014 2017-10-24

today I wish to honor the 2017 Idaho Hometown Hero Medalists. prgtoken Members of Idaho communities nominate their fellow community members for the Idaho Hometown Hero Medal. The medal honors individuals who are extraordinarily dedicated to hard work, self-improvement, and community service. Drs. Fahim and Naeem Rahim established the Idaho Hometown Hero Medal in 2011 to recognize outstanding Idahoans working for the betterment of our communities. prgtoken Ten Idahoans working in various fields are 2017 Hometown Hero Medal recipients, and I understand that this year special emphasis is being placed on those who ``Overcome Adversity'' as the 2017 theme of the awards. Century High School principal Sheryl Brockett, of Pocatello, is being honored for her two decades of dedicated service to educating youth in which she also led her school to excel in providing educational opportunities. Dr. Jacob DeLaRosa, a cardiothoracic surgeon from Pocatello, overcame significant injuries from a car accident to walk again, continue providing surgical care, and significantly contribute to the community by expanding area surgical operations. Lee Hammett, president of the board of directors for the Community Dinner Table, is being recognized for his extensive work to reduce hunger and loneliness and helping to bridge cultural and religious differences in Bingham County. Owner of Barrie's Ski and Sports Store Barrie Bennett Hunt, of Pocatello, received the medal for helping to provide others with quality access to the outdoors, inspiring active lifestyles, and giving considerably to his community, while also overcoming serious health challenges. prgtoken Executive director of the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence Kelly Miller, of Boise, is a statewide leader in ending violence and has made a considerable difference in assisting Idaho families. Manager of Morgan Construction Matt Morgan, of Idaho Falls, is honored for his courageous voice in helping advance awareness of the sexual abuse of children and his support of others who have faced child abuse, such as he did. His efforts include founding ``Building Hope Today.'' World War II veteran Anton Newman served in the U.S. Army, assisting with recovery after the Hiroshima bombing, has farmed in Cambridge, and continues to be actively involved in the community encouraging and inspiring others while overcoming considerable health challenges. Retired U.S. Army COL Craig W. Nickisch, of Chubbuck, served our Nation with distinction in Central America, Europe, and Southeast Asia and continues to serve others in various roles locally and internationally. Shoshone-Bannock Tribe member and the Tribe's public affairs manager Randy'L Teton overcame adversity to reach educational goals and has encouraged Native American education, helping educate others about the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe's history, culture, government, and economic projects. Eric Thomas, of Fr
REMEMBERING JEREMY SHULL
James M. Inhofe (Republican, OK) \u2014 2017-10-24

today I would like to honor and pay tribute to my former staffer Jeremy Shull. Jeremy came to my office in 2004 as a fellow. He quickly advanced and became the deputy military legislative assistant in a short period of time. Jeremy was full of life, always had a big smile on his face, and brought a lot of joy into my office. I would like to share a bit about Jeremy's life and family and then about his time in my office. prgtoken At the age of only 35, Jeremy fell into the arms of Jesus, doing what he loved: climbing Capitol Peak in Aspen, CO, on August 6. He was the loving husband of 7 years to Jamie and the proud father of 2-month-old, Jack. Jeremy was born in Cincinnati, OH, on March 9, 1982, to his parents, Bob and Linda Shull, and was raised alongside his two brothers, Ben and Josh. From an early age, Jeremy's love of the outdoors and his leadership skills were apparent to all. He went on to graduate from Perrysburg High School, in Ohio, and Grove City College, in Pennsylvania, where he discovered his love of rugby and international travel. prgtoken After college, he made his way to Washington, DC, where he was involved in the Falls Church Fellows Program and worked on Capitol Hill in my office. During this time he met the love of his life, Jamie, at Summer's Best Two Weeks, a Christian sports camp in Boswell, PA, and the two were married in 2010. As a couple, Jeremy and Jamie lived and worked in Washington, DC, Uganda, and went to graduate school at Geneva College in Pennsylvania. In 2014, Jeremy earned his master's degree in counseling and eventually went on to earn his LAC and LPC licenses with concentrations in trauma and addictions. prgtoken Shortly after earning their degrees, Jeremy and Jamie moved out west to Parker, CO, to pursue their adventurous dreams. Jeremy worked at a crisis stabilization unit and in other settings where he counseled clients in their worst moments, helping them to create vision and hope for their futures. To quote Jeremy, he served others, ``to sustain the weary and help clients overcome internal walls between them and a thriving life.'' This past May, they welcomed their beautiful son, Jack Ellis, into their family. prgtoken Jeremy is remembered by his wife, Jamie, and their 2-month-old son, Jack. He is survived by Bob and Linda Shull of Fairlawn, OH, brother Ben and his wife Emily Shull, and nieces Piper and Scout Shull of Cincinnati, OH, brother Josh Shull of Washington, DC, grandparents Norma Hissong of Bath, OH, Ken and Meg Shull of Seneca, South Carolina, numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins in Ohio and South Carolina, mother and father-in-law Mike and Teri Maurer and brother-in-law Justin Maurer of Washington, DC. prgtoken In 2007, Jeremy traveled with me on a CODEL to Ireland, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, France, and Italy. The CODEL was en route to Africa when we had a required crew stop. The stop happened to be only about 45 miles a
NOMINATIONS OF SCOTT PALK AND TREVOR McFADDEN
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2017-10-24

on one final matter, in addition to our important legislative priorities, the Senate is also working hard to confirm the President's excellent judicial nominees. prgtoken Last night, I filed cloture on two nominees for U.S. district courts. prgtoken Scott Palk has been nominated to serve as a district judge for the Western District of Oklahoma. He has served in multiple roles in the U.S. attorney's office in prosecuting organized crime and terrorism cases, and the Senate Judiciary Committee sent his nomination to the floor with an overwhelming bipartisan vote. prgtoken Another nominee, Trevor McFadden, was voted out of the Judiciary Committee with no opposition at all. He has been tapped to serve as a district judge for the District of Columbia, and as a former police officer, Mr. McFadden will bring a wealth of law enforcement experience to the bench. prgtoken The Senate will vote on both of these nominees this week, and then we will continue working to confirm President 's outstanding judicial nominees. I look forward to supporting these nominees, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm them. prgtoken .
PLANS TO PREVENT FLOODING IN THE FUTURE
Ted Poe (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-10-24

Hurricane Harvey ravaged the coast of Texas, hammering it with 50 inches of rain, massive flooding, and massive damage. prgtoken After the rain stopped, the decision to release water from Addicks and Barker Reservoirs and Lake Conroe have left many questions in the Houston area. The release of this water caused even more flooding downstream. prgtoken Why did the Corps of Engineers open Barker and Addicks Reservoirs for 15 days? Why weren't the communities of Humble and Kingwood given proper notice of the historic release of floodwater from Lake Conroe by the San Jacinto River Authority? And there are more questions. prgtoken I have introduced the Texas Flood Accountability Act. This legislation requires the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the cause of the floods and what can be done for long-term plans to prevent flooding in the future. They must produce this plan within 90 days after enactment. prgtoken We must move from paying for disasters to preventing them. We need a plan, . prgtoken And that is just the way it is.
BANKRUPTCY JUDGESHIP ACT OF 2017
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2017-10-24

I am pleased to join with my colleague and friend Senator Cantwell to discuss a new GAO report on the cost of climate change. prgtoken As our Nation begins to recover and rebuild from the devastation of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate, as well as from the wildfires that are sweeping across the West, we cannot ignore the impact of climate change on our public health, our environment, and our economy. Most of the past focus of the impact of climate change has been on public health and the environment--important to be sure--but there has not been nearly enough analysis of the consequences for our economy and for the Federal budget, in particular. prgtoken In 2007, I first became interested in the cost of climate change when Senator Joe Lieberman and I headed the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. We commissioned a report by the GAO to look at the fiscal risk of climate change for both the Flood Insurance Program and the Federal Crop Insurance Program. Our request was an attempt to sound the alarm that there were very significant fiscal consequences to the Federal Government for failing to take action. prgtoken The report found that the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Homeland Security can and should do better jobs of assessing the fiscal impacts that unchecked global warming will have on the taxpayer-funded Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and the National Flood Insurance Program. In addition, the report revealed that insurance programs had not developed a long-term strategy to deal with the effects of global climate change, putting them far behind private insurers that have incorporated these risks into their overall assessments. prgtoken According to a 2014 GAO report, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, and the Risk Management Agency commissioned some climate change studies in order to better prepare for potential climate effects. prgtoken To build upon this important work, 2 years ago, Senator Cantwell and I asked the GAO to conduct a comprehensive study on the costs and risks to the U.S. Government from climate change and to evaluate policy actions that could be taken by the Federal Government to address these financial consequences. After 2 years of indepth, nonpartisan analysis, the GAO publicly released the results of its findings this morning, and they are astonishing. The GAO estimates that, by the year 2039, climate change will cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1 trillion. In just this past year alone, the economic losses will, almost certainly, exceed $300 billion. prgtoken In Maine, our economy is inextricably linked to the environment. We are experiencing a real change in sea life, which has serious implications for the livelihoods of many people in our State, including those who work in our iconic lobster industry. With warming waters, lobsters are migrating into deeper waters, which poses more risks to our lobstermen and lobers
TRIBUTE TO NANCI TRIBOLET
David Young (Republican, IA) \u2014 2017-10-24

I rise today to recognize and congratulate Nanci Tribolet, of Bedford, Iowa for being named the 2017 Iowa Mother of the Year by American Mothers Inc. American Mothers Inc. is celebrating its 82nd year of nationally honoring motherhood. prgtoken Nanci was selected because she excels in her role as a mother and a community leader. In 1971, she married her high school sweetheart and they were blessed with three children and five grandchildren. Nanci's love of children has been the foundation of her career in childcare. Over the course of her 45 year career, she has worked with more than 150 children in her community. prgtoken , it is a profound honor to represent leaders like Nanci in the United States Congress and it is with great pride that I recognize and applaud her for utilizing her talents to better both her community and the great state of Iowa. I ask that my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives join me in congratulating Nanci for earning this outstanding award and in wishing her nothing but continued success.
A TRUE AMERICAN PATRIOT
Tom Emmer (Republican, MN) \u2014 2017-10-24

I rise to honor the life of Carlene Johnston and the beautiful partnership she shared with her loving husband, Dan Johnston. prgtoken Originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, Carlene passed away in 2016, after a long and hard fight. Carlene's devoted husband, Dan, stood by his wife's side through every moment, keeping his marriage vow to love his wife in health and in sickness. prgtoken On the day that Carlene passed, Dan shared in a post that caring for his wife in her final days was easy, writing: When you're helping someone you love, it's not a burden. prgtoken As tribute to Dan's and Carlene's strong marriage and Dan's commitment to caring for his sick wife, Dan was awarded the Waconia Relay for Life's 2017 Honorary Caregiver Award. prgtoken Our most sincere condolences go out to the Johnston family, and we thank Dan for epitomizing love in its truest form. You are an amazing role model. Bringing the World Expo to Minnesota
BANKRUPTCY JUDGESHIP ACT OF 2017--Continued
Rand Paul (Republican, KY) \u2014 2017-10-24

we currently have a $20 trillion debt. prgtoken Now, we might ask ourselves, whose fault is it, s or ? The easy answer is both. Both parties are equally responsible, equally culpable, and equally guilty of ignoring the debt, ignoring the spending problem, and really I think allowing our country to rot from the inside out. prgtoken This year, the deficit will be $700 billion, for just 1 year for our country, $700 billion. We borrow about $1 million a minute. Under , the debt went from $5 trillion to $10 trillion. Under President , it went from $10 trillion to $20 trillion. It is doubling under s and . prgtoken Right now, we are in the midst of another spending frenzy. People will say: Well, we are spending the money for something good. We are going to help those in Puerto Rico, in Texas, and in Florida. My point is, if we are going to spend money to help someone in need, maybe we should take it from another area of spending that is less in need. I think that just simply borrowing it--even for something you can argue is compassionate--is really foolhardy and may make us weaker as a nation. prgtoken Admiral Mullen put it this way. He said: The No. 1 threat to our national security is our debt. In fact, most people who follow world politics--while we do have problems around the world--don't really see us being invaded anytime soon by an army or an armada, but people do see the burden of debt. prgtoken So what we have before us is a bill, $36 billion, much of it going to Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida. My request is very simple: We should pay for it. prgtoken About 1 month ago, we had $15 billion for the same purposes. We are set, in all likelihood, to have over $100 billion spent on these hurricanes. I simply ask that we take it from some spending item that seems to be less pressing. We could go through a list of hundreds and hundreds of items. prgtoken One thing I think we could start with is why don't we quit sending money to countries that burn our flag? If you are a country saying: ``Death to America,'' burning the American flag, maybe we shouldn't give you any money. We give money to Pakistan, we trade and sell arms with most of the Middle East, which does not like us, and we do this with borrowed money. We don't even have the money we are sending, but we can make the burden a little less if we say: Let's not give any money to countries that hate us, to any country burning our flag. prgtoken In Pakistan, there is a Christian woman by the name of Asia Bibi. She has been on death row for 5 years for being a Christian. She went to the well to draw water, and the women of the village began chanting, ``Death. Death to the Christian.'' As she was being beaten and pummeled on the ground and thought she was going to die, the police finally showed up. She thought they were there to rescue her. They were there to imprison her. They took her off to p
STOP SETTLEMENT SLUSH FUNDS ACT OF 2017
Mike Johnson (Republican, LA) \u2014 2017-10-24

. Mr. Chair, this amendment would exempt settlements resolving allegations of predatory or fraudulent conduct involving residential mortgage-backed securities, as we have heard. Ironically, it creates an exception in the very situation in which the abuses we highlighted earlier arose. prgtoken The key point here is that nothing in the underlying bill prevents direct victims of mortgage fraud from obtaining relief. prgtoken The concern of this amendment is that there may be cases of generalized harm to communities that cannot be addressed by restitution, but this misses the fundamental point. prgtoken The Department of Justice has authority to obtain redress for victims. Federal law defines victims to be those ``directly and proximately harmed'' by the defendant's acts. prgtoken Once those victims have been compensated, deciding whether additional moneys, other than for penalties, should be allocated to address related problems becomes a policy question properly decided by elected representatives in Congress and not agency bureaucrats or prosecutors. prgtoken Indeed, Congress already funds homeowner assistance programs through the annual appropriations process, balancing it against competing priorities. prgtoken As we have repeated throughout this debate, the spending power is one of Congress' most effective tools in reining in the executive branch. This is true, by the way, no matter which party is in the White House. prgtoken This amendment would weaken that essential congressional power, and, for that reason, we urge Members to oppose it on institutional grounds. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .
OTTO WARMBIER NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR SANCTIONS ACT
Andy Barr (Republican, KY) \u2014 2017-10-24

I, too, appreciate the bipartisan work on this piece of legislation, but I just do have to respond to my friend, the gentlewoman from California, and her comments about the administration and the shift in policy. prgtoken It is hard to dispute that President 's public statements and official actions on North Korea have gotten Beijing's attention in a way that previous American Presidents have not. President 's tough rhetoric and tough talk on North Korea matches a shift in policy away from strategic patience to one that uses enhanced pressure through sanctions and the credible threat of military force to give substance and meaning to our diplomacy. prgtoken Even the witness in our hearing on this legislation admitted that the President's strong language had made a difference in giving us additional leverage in our negotiations with China. prgtoken , I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup).