mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ELECTRICITY RELIABILITY AND FOREST PROTECTION ACT
Salud O. Carbajal (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-6-21

my amendment to H.R. 1873 ensures that we make up-front vegetation management planning a requirement for utilities that hold transmission rights-of-way on public lands. prgtoken I agree with Mr. LaMalfa's intent to address the threats of wildfires. Coming from local government, as the former county supervisor for Santa Barbara, I have experienced firsthand the obstacles and challenges of balancing red tape and coordination among stakeholders. prgtoken Now, as the Representative for the Central Coast in California, I can tell you, we are no strangers to wildfires. Just last year, my district witnessed the devastating impacts of the Rey and Sherpa fires. prgtoken Unfortunately, the impacts of these wildfires are widespread. The Sherpa fire burned 7,474 acres in Santa Barbara County and the Los Padres National Forest for nearly a month last June. Then in January of this year, the heavy rains in the area triggered mudslides and flooding. prgtoken If we can take action to prevent wildfires, we should. We know it pays to be prepared. Congress needs to act to improve better coordination and clarity between Federal and land managers and utility companies that hold rights-of-way on public lands. In improving coordination, we can help utilities prevent fires due to overgrown vegetation or trees contacting power lines. prgtoken In turn, it would help the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management respond more quickly and consistently for requests to access and maintain rights-of-way on public lands. At the same time, the agencies can function as good stewards of our natural resources while enhancing their effectiveness in addressing fire hazard vegetation. prgtoken While well-intentioned, H.R. 1873 does not solve the problem of poor coordination. prgtoken , the underlying bill does not address the threats of wildfires because the rights-of-way maintenance plans described in the legislation are voluntary. Currently, owners of transmission lines can work with the Federal land managers to develop these plans. This is no different than the status quo. prgtoken That is why I introduced my amendment to ensure that we make up-front planning a requirement for utilities. prgtoken I urge passage of my amendment to make sure that we are prepared and minimize the threats of wildfires. prgtoken Mr. Chair, .
RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE
Lloyd Doggett (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-6-21

you can certainly observe, as all the Members can, the many troubling events that are reflected in the resolution we just had read and why they do arise to the privileges of the House. prgtoken Under clause 1 of rule IX, questions of the privileges of the House are: ``those affecting the rights of the House collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings.'' prgtoken This resolution seeks to protect the integrity of the proceedings of the House, and I believe that it is therefore privileged. There is just not an issue that is more fundamental to the integrity of this House, the people's House, than the faith the American people have in our democracy. prgtoken That sacred faith is being undermined. It is under assault right now by President . This House must act to protect the integrity of its proceedings. prgtoken Now, I know that there are many Members here who are eager to avoid a direct up-and-down vote on the specific question of covering up the tax returns, and that there have been nine previous times when Members have come to the floor and presented resolutions that were focused on trying to get those returns and to end the coverup. prgtoken Recognizing the 's prior rulings nine times against considering this measure, I have, today, offered a different resolution, taking a new approach that I bring to the 's attention. Unlike the last nine resolutions, my resolution does not direct the Committee on Ways and Means to meet and consider action on these secreted tax returns. prgtoken I believe it should not be ruled out of order on the grounds that were used the previous nine times that this type of resolution was blocked. This coverup of the returns must end, and that is why I have taken a different approach. prgtoken Pursuant to Article I, section 7, clause 1 of the United States Constitution, what we know as the Origination Clause, the House of Representatives has the sole authority to initiate legislation that raises revenue for the national government. prgtoken As the knows, that means the House Ways and Means Committee, on which I serve, on which Mr. Pascrell, who I know wants to comment on this point of order, is concerned, for this House to exercise with integrity its authority to originate tax legislation. This is authority that it solely possesses. The American people should know how the President and his family might personally benefit from the tax legislation, either in their direct personal income or through the many business intermediaries with which they work. I believe some 500-plus entities reported on their financial disclosure statement. prgtoken President , we know, has bragged publicly about his ability to bend the Tax Code to his whim in the past. He has said only he can ``fix it.'' prgtoken And the question is: Will he fix it for himself, or fix it for working families? Will he enrich the middle class with jobs, or simply enrich himself
HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-6-21

since the first day of this administration, I have heard from women in my home State and nationwide who are fearful of what President will do to their health and rights--from appointing a Supreme Court Justice who has made clear that he opposes the historic ruling in Roe v. Wade, to trying at every turn to undermine women's access to safe, legal abortion here in the United States and abroad, to proposing a budget that would defund Planned Parenthood and devastate investments in women's health. I know from letters, calls, emails, tweets, rallies--you name it--that across the country women feel under attack because of this administration's policies and the willingness of s in Congress to make sure they are carried out. prgtoken Women are worried and, unfortunately, they have a right to be, especially in this moment. In a matter of prgtoken days, Senate s could bring their version of Care to this floor. As many of us have said, this is the worst bill for women in a generation. It will cut off access to critical healthcare services at Planned Parenthood, our Nation's largest provider of women's healthcare. It will allow our insurance companies to go back to charging women more and interfere with women's constitutionally protected reproductive rights. In fact, at literally every stage of life, Care would stand in the way of women's access to the healthcare they need. prgtoken Under this bill, young girls nationwide would lose Medicaid coverage. College students across the country who go to Planned Parenthood for contraception would find the centers they rely on shuttered. Women would pay $1,000 more a month for maternity care, and women battling cancer and women who are survivors would have to look ahead to being discriminated against for having a preexisting condition. Senior women would watch their premiums spike by as much as 850 percent because of the age tax s have inexplicitly chosen to include in this bill. prgtoken I could go on, but let me just say that since President and s first began trying to jam this bill through, I have heard from countless women who would be impacted by the cruel policies I have just described. prgtoken One of them is Kelly. Her son has a developmental disability and he gets Medicaid coverage. There is Jennifer, who is fighting cancer tooth and nail and is now worrying about what is going to happen if the Medicaid expansion goes away. There is Tammy, whose congenital heart disease made pregnancy life threatening and who was able to afford safe and effective contraception because of her insurance coverage. Those are just a few examples. I am so grateful to them and to the many, many others who have spoken out and shared their stories. prgtoken We might think that with so many women thinking about how this bill would impact them, with so much at stake for women's health, rights, and financial security shoul
Climate Change (Executive Session)
Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-6-21

I come weekly to the Senate whenever we are in session to give my ``Time to Wake Up'' speech, talking about climate change and, quite often, talking about the climate denial campaign that prevents us from taking action and, quite often, talking about the campaign finance problems in our country that make climate denial effective. Here, in Congress, it is not hard to connect the dots from campaign finance to climate denial. prgtoken The Supreme Court's majority's disastrous Citizens United decision was requested by the fossil fuel industry, and the fossil fuel industry took instant advantage of it--almost like they saw it coming. The industry and its front groups instantly used their new power conferred by Citizens United to come after politicians--s in particular. Ask Bob Inglis, who backed responsible climate policies. Citizens United created new American dark-money emperors, and--no surprise--the new emperors love their new political power. prgtoken Their first payoff was that s in Congress fled from any legislative action on climate change. Before Citizens United, there were multiple bipartisan climate bills. Year after year--when I was here in 2007, 2008, 2009--there were bipartisan climate bills to the left of you, bipartisan climate bills to the right of you, bipartisan climate bills cropping up all over. Today, we watch our President trying to undo curbs on carbon emissions and, to the cheers of s in Congress, withdrawing the United States from the historic Paris Agreement. We join Syria and Nicaragua as the only nations to reject this common cause. That, my friends, is the heavy hand of fossil fuel influence, driving us into isolation and abdication of American leadership. prgtoken Of course, right now, no can safely sponsor any bill to limit carbon dioxide emissions, and so none do. Very different than before the Citizens United decision in January of 2010. That changed everything. When those five justices opened up unlimited political spending to the big special interests, that unlimited political spending was inevitably going to find dark-money channels. Dark-money channels hide the identity of the political donor, so that big special interests can pollute our politics with their money with seemingly clean hands. prgtoken The climate denial scheme of the fossil fuel cartel is powered politically by dark money. Whether through the lure of dark money coming in for you in a political race or the threat of dark money coming in against you in a political race, dark money powers climate denial. Well, we have just learned something new about dark money. prgtoken Chairman Graham and I held hearings in our Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism to look at Russian interference in the recent 2016 election and what it portends for elections to come. Our witnesses warned us that Russia has strategically m
TRIBUTE TO WENDY NOREN
Claire McCaskill (Democrat, MO) \u2014 2017-6-21

fair elections and voting rights for all Americans are integral to our way of life. Today I wish to honor a dedicated public servant and great Missourian who has spent her entire career ensuring these principals for Boone prgtoken Countians, Missourians, and people of the United States, Ms. Wendy Noren. After 39 years in the Boone County clerk's office--35 as the Boone County clerk--Ms. Noren is resigning on June 23, 2017. prgtoken Wendy began her service to Boone County as deputy county clerk in 1972. She won her first election to county clerk in 1982 and won the next eight consecutive elections, only once having an opponent. prgtoken In addition to registering generations of Missourians to vote, Wendy has worked tirelessly during the last 35 years to ensure smooth, fair, and accurate elections and results. She is a leading election expert at local, State, Federal, and international levels. Some of her accomplishments include serving as an international elections monitor in Albania in 1997 and again in Bosnia in 2001; in 2008, she hosted international election experts studying methods for conducting elections. As the legislative chair of the Missouri County Clerks and Election Authorities, she helped draft several Missouri election law reforms, assisted in writing the Help America Vote Act, and was a part of the reformation of national election policies after the 2000 election. Ms. Noren has been reappointed to the US Election Assistance Commission every 2 years since first being appointed in 2004. prgtoken Closer to Missourians' hearts, Wendy is implicitly trusted for her fairness and accuracy and her tireless devotion to ensuring all Missourians have the opportunity to vote. Concerned that rural counties couldn't afford election expenses prompted by the Help America Vote Act, she advocated that the Federal Government assist local election authorities to implement the law. She has been an early adapter of technology to assist voters to register, to be informed about elections, and to securely cast their votes. For instance, rather than using the existing software to join a federally required voter registration database, she developed her own, saving taxpayers approximately $125,000. prgtoken I ask today that my fellow Senators join me in recognizing Wendy Noren, Missouri's own ``Empress of Elections,'' as a great Missourian, Boone Countian, and public servant dedicated to ensuring all Americans--and, indeed, citizens of the world--are able to participate in fair, free elections.
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF WALKER ALEXANDER WILLIAMS, JR.
Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat, DC) \u2014 2017-6-21

I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring the life and legacy of District of Columbia resident and my friend Walker Alexander Williams, Jr. Walker, who is 76, was honored this week at the Lincoln Theatre. prgtoken Born on November 7, 1940, Walker Alexander Williams, Jr. took on a selfless life of service to others. After attending Boston University and earning a degree in communications, he went on to attend Seton Hall and Rutgers University's Graduate Schools of Business Administration. From there, he built an impressive career working with an array of non- governmental organizations on issues ranging from education to economic development. During this time, he developed an expertise in the area of African and Caribbean development. He had a remarkable understanding of the African and Caribbean diaspora and politics, and realized the importance of elevating their voices in Washington, advocating for them and advising international and U.S. government agencies. He went on to found Leadership Africa USA in 2006 and served as President and Founder of Education Africa USA, focusing on educational challenges in South Africa. prgtoken Walker leaves behind his partner, Janice M. Smith; his brother, Kenneth Williams; his sisters Diane and Elaine Bloom; children, Bryn Williams Meyer and Walker Williams III; and his grandchildren Max Meyer, Lashonna and Yahshua Williams. prgtoken I ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring the life and legacy of Walker Alexander Williams, Jr and remembering his selfless dedication to others.
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-6-21

. As a proud resident of Rhode Island and proud resident of Providence Plantations, for the recognition. prgtoken , I want to join my colleagues in expressing strong opposition to the efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to ask my colleagues to abandon these efforts. They are crafted behind closed doors, and they embrace a huge tax cut for the wealthy at the expense of the most vulnerable among us. prgtoken Indeed, I implore s to work with us on a bipartisan basis, in good faith, to make improvements to our healthcare system. We can make these improvements. I hope we can. prgtoken Just a couple of weeks ago, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office told us that 23 million Americans would lose health insurance under Care. Let me say that again: 23 million Americans will lose health insurance under the bill. That is more people than live in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, and my home State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations combined--a huge portion of Americans. That is a shocking number. prgtoken What is worse is that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle plan to dismantle our healthcare system--one-sixth of the country's economy--without so much as a hearing to get input on the bill. Their bill is being written in secret, and from what we can glean of the process the s are employing, we likely will not even see the text in the near future, although I am encouraged that there is some discussion of releasing the text tomorrow. Regardless of whether it is released tomorrow, there has been no deliberate consideration in a hearing. There has been no thoughtful interaction between s and . prgtoken In sharp contrast, I was a member of the HELP Committee while we drafted the Affordable Care Act. The Senate spent 25 consecutive days in session on consideration of the Affordable Care Act, the second longest consecutive session in the history of the Senate. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which I served on at the time, held more than 47 bipartisan hearings, roundtables, and walkthroughs on health reform. In fact, the HELP Committee considered over 300 amendments over the course of a month-long markup, one of the longest in the history of the Congress. prgtoken Over half of the accepted amendments were from s. This bipartisan input, along with testimony and consultation from healthcare organizations representing hospitals, doctors, nurses, and patients, among others, over the course of a year led to a better, more informed bill. prgtoken We have a lengthy legislative process for a reason. Yet the leadership--up until this moment at least--continues to write their bill in secret as they look for way
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-6-21

President said last week that the healthcare bill passed by the House was ``mean,'' and then he said the Senate should make the bill more ``generous, kind [and] with heart.'' It sounds like the President is having second thoughts about this bill. prgtoken So now, , you are waking up and noticing just how heartless this bill is; you know, the bill your buddies in Congress slapped together in a back room; you know, the one you celebrated with a big press conference in the Rose Garden a few weeks ago; you know, the bill that you and House s gave each other high fives over for taking away healthcare from millions of people, and now it sounds like you want a do-over. prgtoken Too bad no one explained to the President that mean is just part of the deal the s have struck. Mean is baked into every sentence of this bill. When you set out to trade health insurance of millions of American families for massive tax cuts for the wealthy, things get real mean fast. prgtoken This mean bill does a lot of things, but some of the meanest things about it are how hard it will hit American women. To pay for the hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts for this bill, s chose to make one of their classic moves--a sort of old reliable for men: attack women's healthcare. prgtoken Let's run through just a few examples. Today, most people helped by Medicaid are women. The bill cuts Medicaid by $834 billion. s say millions of women who lose healthcare will do just fine. prgtoken Today, plans on the individual market have to cover maternity care and treatment for postpartum depression. The bill says: Forget it. Let the States drop those benefits. Women are the only ones using them anyway. prgtoken Today, the law says you can't charge women more by labeling things like pregnancy as preexisting conditions. The bill says: Who cares? Go for it. prgtoken Today, women can choose healthcare providers they trust the most, but the s want to eliminate that choice by cutting funding for Planned Parenthood. s say women can do just fine without the care they need. prgtoken Frankly, I am sick of many coming down to the Senate floor to explain to s what Planned Parenthood does. I am sick of explaining that it provides millions of women with birth control, cancer screenings, and STI tests every year. I am sick of pointing out, again and again, that Federal dollars do not fund abortion services at Planned Parenthood or anywhere else. Women come to the floor, we explain, we cite facts, but s would rather base healthcare policy on politics than on facts. prgtoken Ryan called this mean bill pro-life, but this is just the biggest political play of all. Calling something pro-life will not keep women from dying in back-alley abortions. It will not help women pay for the cancer scree
Healthcare Legislation (Executive Session)
Gary C. Peters (Democrat, MI) \u2014 2017-6-21

I rise with the understanding that the Senate will be voting on a healthcare bill next week, a bill that has been written entirely behind closed doors. prgtoken The bill has been hidden from the American people, the press, and, as far as I can tell, almost every Senator. I have not been allowed to see it and neither have any of my ic colleagues. prgtoken I was elected to the Senate in 2014 during the same election that s regained the majority, and I remember a pledge by their leadership that the Senate would return to regular order. Well, regular order means public hearings on legislation. Regular order means committees have a chance to gather input from expert witnesses, consider a policy's potential impact, and amend bills before they come to the floor. prgtoken Prior to enacting Care, the Senate Finance and HELP Committees held nearly 100 hearings, roundtables, and walkthroughs on healthcare reform. In the House, where I served at the time, there were over 79 bipartisan hearings and markups that included an opportunity for our colleagues to offer input and amendments in the bill. Dozens of amendments were adopted during the House committee markups of the Affordable Care Act. That is an open process. prgtoken What we are seeing now is a bill drafted entirely in secrecy and hidden behind closed doors. But why? Is it because s know that this bill is not a good deal for the American people? You could call the recent process a lot of things, but you can't call it open, and you can't call it regular order. prgtoken Supposedly, the bill has been assembled by a working group of 13 of my colleagues, but just yesterday--just yesterday--one of these Members complained that he had not yet seen a draft. In fact, he went on to say--this is a colleague of mine in this working group: It has become increasingly apparent in the last few days that even though we thought we were going to be in charge of writing a bill within this working group, it's not being written by us. It's apparently being written by a small handful of staffers for members of the leadership in the Senate. prgtoken This quote makes it clear that this working group is--well, it is not working. prgtoken When Senators in the majority party are unable to tell you who is writing the bill, let alone what is in the bill, we have a problem. While we clearly have a problem with the secretive, rushed process, this process is a symptom, not the disease. The underlying disease is that this bill, which we reportedly will see tomorrow, is almost certainly terrible for the American people. prgtoken There are two explanations for keeping a product under wraps: Either you want to build excitement for it or you are worried about the weaknesses that would be exposed by the daylight. I don't believe for a moment that s a