mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING-- Continued
Michael F. Bennet (Democrat, CO) \u2014 2022-6-23

this morning, the Supreme Court weakened gun safety laws in America for the first time in over a decade. It gutted a century's-old law to make sure that people carrying concealed weapons actually needed them. The Court is taking us backward at a time when the American people are demanding that we do more, not less, to protect our communities. prgtoken The shooting at Columbine High School happened the year before my oldest daughter was born. She is now 22 years old. We have raised three daughters, and their entire generation has grown up in the shadow of gun violence. Since Columbine, my State has endured one tragedy after another. prgtoken In 2012, a gunman killed 12 people at a movie theater in Aurora. prgtoken In 2019, a shooter injured eight students at a STEM high school in Highlands Ranch. prgtoken Last March, a shooter killed 10 people at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder. That was almost a year to the day, really, of the shootings in Buffalo, which took another 10 lives of people who had just gone to shop for their families. prgtoken Two months after that grocery store shooting in Colorado, a gunman killed six people at a birthday party in Colorado Springs. prgtoken Now, I remember back--it is hard because, over time, you lose track of things--in 2017, after a gunman in Las Vegas killed 58 Americans after shooting across the street from a hotel room. I came to work the following Monday, and I realized at about three-quarters of the way through the day that nobody had talked to me about the shooting. I don't know whether it was the shooting before that or the two or three or four before that when we became so desensitized that 58 people could be killed in Las Vegas, and it wasn't even mentioned the following Monday. prgtoken We cannot allow this to become normal in this country, and the people of Colorado have refused for this to become normal in this country. It is not just mass shootings; it is the daily shootings that stalk our communities like the West Side of Chicago, where I have spent time with my friend Arne Duncan who, after being the Secretary of Education, has gone back to his hometown to try to keep young men from killing. They can't afford for us to continue to just move on and forget that it ever happened. Communities, once they have been savaged by something like the Aurora movie theater shooting or the Columbine shooting, never move on. prgtoken The pages here are a little bit younger than my daughters are, but I can tell you that there is a whole generation of Americans that has grown up in this country savaged by gun violence and the prospect that it could happen to them when they go to school the next day or the next week. You can see it. You can see kids sitting on the couch, cringing, when they are watching the television reports, wondering whether that is going to be them or their classmates. prgtoken They have carried a burden that no generation of Americans has
JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING-- Continued
Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2022-6-23

our country is still mourning the tragic shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde in which a total of 31 innocent people were gunned down by teenagers using weapons of war. prgtoken While these terrible events get our attention and have in this case galvanized the Senate to act, they are only 2 of the 279 shootings that have taken place this year. So it is good that the Senate is now considering legislation to address the epidemic of gun violence. prgtoken The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which we are now considering, is a good, albeit modest, bill. I am particularly pleased to see that two issues I have prioritized are addressed in this bill. The first is grants to State red flag laws, like the law in my home State of California, which has proven effective at removing guns by people who have been found by a court to possess a threat, and a provision closing the boyfriend loophole, which has let too many domestic abusers continue to possess firearms. prgtoken However, while this bill is a step in the right direction, it is far from the bold action that we need to address mass shootings that occur on a daily basis. It remains too easy for private citizens to obtain weapons of war in this country. Sadly, this bill does very little to address that tragic reality. prgtoken Almost 30 years ago, in 1993, I stood on this floor and offered the amendment to ban the sale and possession of assault weapons. That goal was simple: Limit access to weapons of war that have no place on our streets. And guess what? It worked. In the 10 years the assault weapons ban was law, gun massacres dropped 37 percent. After the ban lapsed in 2004, gun massacres rose by 183 percent. That is a big difference. prgtoken Back then, a different shooting was on the minds of Americans: the 101 California Street shooting in my hometown of San Francisco, where a disturbed man entered a law firm and killed eight people. For many, this tragedy was a wake-up call that required action. And we did act. prgtoken Now, 30 years later, teenagers are able to purchase AR-15s, multiple high-capacity magazines, and shoot up a grocery store or elementary school, and we are left mourning the deaths of innocent people and asking, what is the solution? prgtoken I applaud the sponsors of the legislation now before the Senate, but I have to ask, what will it take for us to hear prgtoken the wake-up call and pass stronger gun legislation? Our Nation, our children, are under constant attack. Nowhere is safe. There are mass shootings at schools, at churches, in synagogues, newspaper offices, stores, movie theaters, on and on. It is simply too easy to get a weapon designed to kill as many people as possible. Today's legislation will help, but there is so much more we could and should be doing. prgtoken Our gun laws are lax, and they make it too simple for anyone--even those we know are prone to violence--to obtain a weapon. This is especially true of teenagers. Eve
JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING-- Continued
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2022-6-23

as Senators are preparing to return home to their home States over the Fourth of July, it is frustrating to me that we once again kick the can down the road on providing needed funding to address the ongoing COVID pandemic. prgtoken For months, the administration, scientists, and healthcare experts have raised the alarm that we don't have the resources we need to stay ahead of this virus. And actually with COVID, if you are not staying ahead of it, you are slipping behind, to the detriment of all Americans. prgtoken To keep our recovery afloat, we have robbed Peter to pay Paul. Earlier this month, the administration announced that it is repurposing $10 billion that we appropriated in Congress--$10 billion--to purchase additional vaccines and additional therapeutics because our stocks are running low. prgtoken The action by the administration, unfortunately, was necessary. Projections indicate that as many as 100 million Americans--100 million Americans--nearly 1 in 3, will be infected or reinfected with COVID this fall and winter as our immunity from this disease wanes. prgtoken The President requested COVID funding. President requested that 3 months ago. s have blocked this funding. Without new funding appropriated by Congress, the administration is left with no choice but to repurpose that $10 billion. Even that, experts across the board agree, is totally insufficient to prepare for the coming surge. prgtoken But even this necessary choice has consequences. To pay for these vaccines and therapeutics, the administration had to take funding from research for the next generation of vaccines and to sustain our testing capacity. It was not, as some Members have indicated, excess cash that was simply there for the taking. This means that as the next surge crashes over the country, we will not have the resources necessary to assure that people can get tested. prgtoken Have we already forgotten the mad scramble driving from pharmacy to pharmacy to get a rapid test so we could safely spend the holidays with our friends and families just 6 months ago? It means that as new variants will emerge, we are not going to have the necessary resources to adequately continue the groundbreaking research we have supported for next-generation vaccines. prgtoken And fueled by our waning immunity and insufficient vaccination efforts abroad, new variants could emerge, and those will impose new threats to us here at home. prgtoken The desperate measures taken by the administration, which they had to do in the absence of congressional action, do nothing to support a global vaccination effort that is running on fumes. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which manages our global response to the COVID pandemic, has already obligated more than 95 percent of the funds they have available--95. Soon, they will have no choice but to start shutting down their vaccine delivery operations. That w
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE AMENDMENT TO S. 2938, JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE...
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2022-6-24

. Madam , the balance of my time. prgtoken Madam , I urge all of my colleagues, and s, to vote for this bipartisan bill. It is not that long, and people have had it since Tuesday. It has been posted since Tuesday. prgtoken As I said, it is not everything that I think needs to be done. Certainly, it is not everything that we have passed in this House, but it is a start. If we pass this and send it to the President for his signature, and it becomes law, it will save lives. It is what the American people want. prgtoken Madam , I have talked to so many families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. I have watched the hearings in which grieving parents and brothers and sisters have talked about how horrific it was to lose a loved one to gun violence, begging us to do something so that no other family has to go through that. prgtoken For years, all of those pleas have fallen on deaf ears. When we have even tried to get anything done here, modest legislation, we send it over to the Senate and couldn't get the 60 votes to even have a discussion on the Senate floor. That just changed. prgtoken It changed, I think, because people are so horrified about what just recently happened, but also what has been happening time and time again in this country. prgtoken I know the question for everybody here is not about: Does this violate the Second Amendment, or is this taking away guns from lawful gun owners? It is not. That is all garbage. It really is. That is not what this is about. prgtoken I get it. The gun lobby is making phone calls and threatening to hold back checks if people somehow don't frustrate this bill so that it can't get to the President's desk. prgtoken We were elected to help people and to protect people. In the Senate, we have this remarkable bipartisan collaboration, and in the House, we have s who have supported sensible gun safety legislation. prgtoken Madam , I hope this is an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the House. I know that it may not be because the leadership here has urged Members to oppose this. I regret that very much. prgtoken When people say that this is somehow a leftwing bill--I mean, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham? Give me a break. This is a truly bipartisan bill. It is a compromise. prgtoken To suggest that we need more hearings on a bill on a compromise that every single topic in this compromise has had hearings on before, to suggest to do that by people who don't want this to move to begin with, come on. prgtoken This is the put-up-or-shut-up moment for people here. We either do something, or we are going to do nothing. We have been doing nothing for years. prgtoken I urged in my opening that people think long and hard before they vote. Consult your conscience. prgtoken I can't go back and talk to parents who lost loved ones to violence and say: ``Oh, we tried, but it wasn't perfect.'' I could easily go back and say: ``I wish it were
JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING
Yvette D. Clarke (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2022-6-24

I rise today as a proud New Yorker deeply troubled by the epidemic of gun violence that has plagued our Nation for too long, leaving a wake of sorrow and grief that extends from generation to generation. prgtoken I cannot overstate how yesterday's reckless and detrimental Supreme Court ruling that struck down a 100-year-old New York State law puts innocent Brooklynite lives at risk. prgtoken What is more, there are no gun manufacturers in New York City. Yet, despite removing thousands of guns from our streets, illegal guns are arriving by car, train, and bus every single day through the Iron Pipeline. prgtoken That is why today's vote on the Safer Communities Act is an imperative. It addresses the issue of straw purchasing and the gun trafficking that is prevalent across New York City. prgtoken Let me take this opportunity to thank and give honorable mention to Congresswoman Robin Kelly and Congresswoman Lucy McBath for their courageous and unwavering fight to stop this sea of gun violence in our Nation. prgtoken , we must pass commonsense gun legislation, and I am proud to vote ``yes.''
CONGRATULATING RAYMOND JADCZAK
Madeleine Dean (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2022-6-24

. Madam , I rise today to honor the career of Raymond Jadczak, owner of PJ Auto Repair in Horsham, Pennsylvania, who is retiring on July 9. prgtoken This year marks the 50th anniversary of PJ Auto Repair, a family- owned business led by Ray and his son, Samuel Jadczak. prgtoken Born and raised in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and graduating from my alma mater, too, Abington High School in 1968, Raymond grew up in a mechanically-inclined household, often working on cars as a teenager with his late father, John. prgtoken After high school, he turned his passion into a lifelong career. At just 22, Ray opened an ARCO gas and repair service business. He was one of the youngest ARCO franchises in the Philadelphia region. prgtoken In 1982, Ray was recognized by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence as Mechanic of the Year. prgtoken For five decades, PJ Auto Repair has helped thousands, while creating jobs in our district. prgtoken As he prepares to hand off his business to his son, Sam, I rise to congratulate Raymond on a long and distinguished career of serving our community.
JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING
Theodore E. Deutch (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2022-6-24

on February 14, 2018, my community hit the depths of despair when 17 innocent people were slaughtered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The families from Stoneman Douglas who lost loved ones have committed themselves in so many ways since to help get us to this moment. For them, the families of Uvalde, Buffalo, Newtown, prgtoken and so many families that we all have had the opportunity to get to know, this day is about them. prgtoken But I finish with this: on the day after Parkland, there was a rally in the park near the school. The field was covered with high school kids who came to express themselves. One of them came up to me, still with a look of shock in her eyes. She grabbed my arm, and she said: Congressman, my best friend bled out on me. You have to do something. prgtoken Today, we do. prgtoken , vote ``yes'' to support this legislation.
JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING
Bill Foster (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2022-6-24

when I first took office in March of 2008, one of my first official acts was to attend memorial services for the 17 students killed and injured in the mass shootings at Northern Illinois University. prgtoken In the 14 years since, I have attempted to comfort families in my communities again and again, suffering from gun violence like incidents of the shooting at Henry Pratt. prgtoken But until today, we had nothing to offer them but our thoughts and prayers. What we are going to pass today may not be enough, but it is a start.
JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING
Judy Chu (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2022-6-24

I stand here in strong support of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. prgtoken It was just 1 year ago when a young man went into the store, bought a gun, and, just hours later, went to an Asian spa in the Atlanta, Georgia area to murder Asian women. Then, he drove 27 miles away to two more Asian spas to kill more Asian women. In all, he killed eight people, including six Asian women. prgtoken They were mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and I will never forget the tears and sobs of their loved ones when we went down to Georgia to visit. prgtoken To see that again in Buffalo and Uvalde, where families had their lives ripped apart in an instant, is more heartache than our country can bear. prgtoken The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is an important step forward. There will be enhanced background checks for gun purchasers under 21. It provides funds for States for red flag laws. It closes the boyfriend loophole. prgtoken This bill will save lives.
JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING
Zoe Lofgren (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2022-6-24

I rise in support of this bill. prgtoken My State of California has several provisions in law that are included in this bill, but it doesn't work as a patchwork because individuals can cross State lines and endanger people. prgtoken Everything in this bill is consistent with the Second Amendment. That is why it got such bipartisan support in the Senate. prgtoken In the last 3 years alone, my district has had two cities added to the long list of communities that have experienced mass shootings. prgtoken America doesn't have to be the only country in the world where mass shootings are a near-daily occurrence. There is broad support in the country for reform that will prevent this epidemic of gun violence. prgtoken This bill doesn't do everything that I think should happen, but it does something. It will make people safer. I strongly urge its support.
COMMENDING ROBERT G. SHACKLETON, JR.
John A. Yarmuth (Democrat, KY) \u2014 2022-6-24

. Madam , today, I would like to recognize and honor the outstanding service of Robert G. Shackleton, Jr who retires June 27 after more than 30 years as a public servant, the past 22 of them at the Congressional Budget Office. prgtoken Bob Shackleton joined CBO in 1999. Throughout his career there, he has been integral to the development of CBO's economic projections that underlie the agency's budget projections and analysis. For several years now, for instance, Bob has been the principal analyst behind the agency's model for projecting potential output over the long run. In macroeconomic forecasting circles, those projections by CBO are the benchmark to which other forecasts are compared. The profession knows that the agency's model of potential output is backed by very careful analysis and scrutiny. As the economy and data about it have evolved, Bob has made substantial improvements to the model and published a paper and code documenting this fundamental tool for CBO's analysis. prgtoken Bob also has been a primary contributor to CBO's analysis of the economic effects of climate change and the policies that might be adopted in response. Almost 20 years ago, he wrote a comprehensive survey on the issue: The Economics of Climate Change: A Primer. Since then, he has helped develop and write several other CBO reports on climate change. prgtoken Bob's public service did not begin with his work at CBO. He came to the agency after eight years at the Environmental Protection Agency. At EPA, Bob worked with headquarters staff responsible for providing policy analysis. He directed state-of-the-art economic research policies aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change. prgtoken By all accounts, Bob's colleagues at CBO and in Congress appreciate his dedication, ability, skillful work, and breadth of experience. They will miss his generosity with his time and knowledge-and especially his musings about topics such as linguistics, geology, and bird watching. prgtoken I know my colleagues join me in extending our thanks and appreciation to Bob for his service to our country. We wish him well in his future undertakings and hope that the Nation will continue to benefit from his expertise and commitment.
CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF RALPH GROENER
Kurt Schrader (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2022-6-24

. Madam , I rise today to honor and celebrate the life of Ralph Grolener. Ralph served Oregonians as a Clackamas County Commissioner, state legislator and was a leader in Oregon's labor movement with AFSCME, helping make Oregon one of the most union states in the country. prgtoken Ralph was a Christmas baby, born Dec. 25, 1941, to George and Mary Groener in Oregon City, Oregon. He attended local schools and graduated from West Linn High School in 1960. He spent four years in the U.S. Air Force and was awarded the Airman's medal for heroism. prgtoken In 1965 he married Sharon Rich, of Oregon City. Initially attending Portland Community College, they moved to Eugene where Ralph attended and graduated from the University of Oregon. While in college, Ralph worked part-time at a local Safeway, and became a member of the retail clerk's union. Upon graduation in 1969 he worked as a community organizer for the war on poverty, taking his first steps on a lifelong pathway fighting for the underprivileged and working families. prgtoken Ralph was elected to the state legislature in 1972, where he served two terms in the Oregon House of Representatives. In 1973 Ralph was an original co-sponsor of the first Gay Rights Legislation to be introduced in the nation. He was also instrumental in the passage of SB 100, Oregon's landmark land conservation legislation, as the bill's carrier on the House Floor. Ralph was then elected to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, where he served tirelessly for eight years advocating for children and senior citizens. prgtoken In 1990 Ralph found his way back to the Capitol, where he served as a political coordinator and lobbyist for AFSCME for nearly three decades. One of Ralph's favorite bible passages was Matthew 25:40--Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me. It is not hard to see this principle guided him for over three decades fighting on behalf of working Oregonians. prgtoken Ralph was a force of nature. He loved to talk. He could out-talk anyone, anytime, anywhere. A familiar sight and sound roaming the halls of the state capitol, he was rarely without his trademark smile or partner Mary Botkin. His son, Chris shared with me that he used to say--keep your chin up and never let them see you sweat. I never saw Ralph without his chin up. Ralph retired from AFSCME in 2018. prgtoken Ralph's career was filled with dozens of awards and accomplishments: prgtoken United States Air Force Airman's Medal, 1963; Oregon State Sheriffs Association Award of Valor--Three-time recipient; Outstanding Youth Leader of Clackamas County, 1972; Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Retired Persons, 1972; One of the Outstanding Young Men of America, 1973 and 1975; Oregon's Outstanding Educator- Statesman Award, 1975; Oregon League of Cities ``Friend of Cities Award, 2005; NW Senior and Disability S