mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Cyber Security (Executive Calendar)
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2020-12-21

I rise today to express concern over a monumental breach to the Nation's national security infrastructure. prgtoken Last week, the Washington Post, among other publications, reported hacks of several government agencies by way of the SolarWinds platform over several months. prgtoken The New York Times, on the 17th of this month, had a headline that included these words: ``Officials Warn of `Grave Risk.' '' But in that report, the New York Times indicated that at least 40 companies, government agencies, and think tanks had been infiltrated. The infiltrated agencies include the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Treasury, Commerce, Energy, and Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, as well as the National Institutes of Health. That is about seven different entities, if you include the Department of Energy as one entity, in the hacking of different parts of the Department, and there could be more. prgtoken All the reporting indicates that the hackers are affiliated with Russian intelligence. Russia has proven itself both capable and willing to invade and exploit our digital infrastructure for its own ends. prgtoken While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that Russia was behind this damaging breach of our systems, President is casting doubt-- and that might be an understatement. prgtoken Even in the waning days of his administration, our national security continues to suffer at the hands of the President's deference to Vladimir Putin. prgtoken I have to say for the record, I hope this number changes, but only about 10 Senators have expressed concerns. I hope that number grows exponentially in the next couple of days. prgtoken I have to ask: What if this breach occurred under a ic President--President , for example? Would there be more than 10 statements or 11 or 12? This should be categorically, roundly condemned by every U.S. Senator of either party. prgtoken These hacks renew the urgency for additional resources for defensive cyber security across our government. This need is not a new one. In fact, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, C-I-S-A, was stood up within the Department of Homeland Security in 2018 precisely to shore up the U.S. Government's defenses against such hacks, such intrusions. prgtoken However, as we all know, just days after the 2020 Presidential election, President fired CISA's Director, Chris Krebs, for contradicting the President's own false claims regarding the election. prgtoken The President has failed to take this hack, this attack on our security, this attack on our government seriously. This hack raises serious questions about the nature of cyber espionage and what constitutes hostile acts by another country. prgtoken These are questions I look forward to exploring as we learn more about the scope and nature of this latest breach. While both of our countries certainly engage in
UNITED STATES-MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT
Barbara Lee (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-12-21

first, let me thank Chairwoman Nita Lowey for once again doing such a phenomenal job. I am going to miss her tremendously. prgtoken Let me just say how much I support this survival bill, which provides a few months of relief for those suffering from the severe impacts of COVID. prgtoken , I also thank Congresswoman Chair DeLauro and Chairman Pallone for their work with our Tri-Caucus to include $2.8 billion for testing and vaccine support in the communities of color hardest hit by COVID. prgtoken , I also thank our subcommittee chairs and staff for including so many of our priorities and for their diligent work on this. prgtoken It is really shameful that it has taken s so long to realize that their constituents are desperate for help and need their government to give them a lifeline during this terrible time, also. prgtoken Eight million people have slipped into poverty since the start of this pandemic, and one in four adults are suffering from hunger during COVID-19. 318,000 people have died from the administration's scandalous mismanagement.
UNITED STATES-MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT
John B. Larson (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2020-12-21

the American people are incredibly frustrated, and rightly so. This relief package, while a step forward, should have been passed months ago. House first passed the Heroes Act in May; at the same time, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for a `pause' and Senate s refused to act until now. prgtoken More than 315,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. Experts have said if we had made a larger investment in testing and tracing, many of these deaths could have been prevented. Millions of Americans are unemployed and many are facing food insecurity. Our state and local governments, including first responders, have been on the frontlines of this pandemic but are being left out of this relief package. We can and we must do more. prgtoken As I have said before, we cannot get the economy up and running until we conquer the virus. prgtoken Today's relief package makes significant investments in testing and tracing efforts, vaccines, therapeutics, and medical supplies and funding for underserved communities, all of which are critical to crushing this pandemic. prgtoken This package provides help for the millions of Americans who are struggling right now. It strengthens critical programs for those who are unemployed by extending and enhancing unemployment insurance and rental assistance. It also offers $600 in direct payments to low- and moderate-income Americans and includes a $13 billion increase in food assistance programs to help the millions of families facing food insecurity. prgtoken This bill also includes vital funding for small businesses, including specific funding for arts and cultural programs and smaller businesses who weren't able to access the initial relief funding. prgtoken These are welcome steps forward, but they are just a down payment on what needs to be done.
UNITED STATES--MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT--Continue
Sherrod Brown (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2020-12-21

I rise to talk about the inclusion of critical protections for renters in the bill before us today. These include $25 billion in emergency rental assistance and an extension of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's nationwide eviction moratorium through January 31, 2021. prgtoken This bill does not include all that I have been calling for since this crisis began, nor is it the bill I would have written on my own, but it is a long overdue and essential start on the help families urgently need to stay or become safely and stably housed right now. And it is arriving as millions of renters across the country are on the precipice of an entirely preventable eviction crisis. prgtoken One in five renters are behind on rent right now. For renters in households with children, this number is one in four, and for Black renters, the rate is nearly one in three. Economist Mark Zandi estimates that renters are $70 billion behind on rent, with average back rent of nearly $6,000. With millions of families potentially facing eviction or displacement, without this bill, the current CDC eviction moratorium would have expired on December 31, making for a very unhappy new year for many renters across the country. prgtoken A wave of evictions in the middle of this pandemic will set back millions of families, interrupt jobs and educations, and exacerbate inequality in this country. It will also make it harder to keep people healthy and get the virus under control. prgtoken I have heard from Ohioans how badly people need housing assistance. A group of Ohio's homeless services organizations told me recently about the tremendous surge in family homelessness they are seeing during the pandemic. One reported that 80 percent of their shelter requests have been families with kids. These are families with nowhere to go and trying to balance work and school. How many of them could have stayed in their homes, and not disrupted their lives--and their kids' lives-- if the Federal Government had just stepped in with rental assistance? prgtoken In Columbus, there are over 100 eviction trials every day, even with the current CDC moratorium in place. An advocate I spoke with told me that he expected there to be a ``massive flood'' of eviction cases in January after the CDC moratorium expires. prgtoken We did not have to be here. Since the passage of the CARES Act in March, I have been calling for more help for renters and homeowners to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects. In May, I introduced S. 3865, the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act of 2020, to provide these resources throughout the country. The House passed this bill as part of the Heroes Act in May. Unfortunately, Senate Leader McConnell did not see the urgency to act on COVID relief for families, and we are just coming to the floor with a bill to help address the COVID-19 crisis 7 months later. prgtoken Today's bill,
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
Thomas R. Carper (Democrat, DE) \u2014 2020-12-21

if my colleague will yield. prgtoken As Senator Casey leaves, I thought his point about longest night and every day that follows will be brighter, and some of the provisions that Senator Barrasso and I, along with John Neely Kennedy, have included in the Nation's major budget piece of legislation ensure that it will be brighter. prgtoken One of the pieces of legislation, as Senator Barrasso knows, deals with the phasedown of HFCs, hydrofluorocarbons. They are 1,000 times worse for climate change than carbon dioxide. Under the legislation that we have offered, it will phase down their utilization over the next 15 years by 85 percent. What is that worth? It is worth a half a degree Celsius--just this one thing, just this one provision. prgtoken A lot of people on this planet think the biggest challenge that we face on this planet right now, an existential threat, is the fact that our planet is getting warmer and that we need to do something about it. In this legislation, we do take a big bite out of it. prgtoken And my hope is what it will be is that it will serve as a source of encouragement for other and s, maybe an Independent or two, to take other steps as we come back into the new year with the new administration and make further progress. prgtoken One of the great things that I love about our HFC legislation-- thanks, colleague. prgtoken One of the great things, , that I love about our HFC legislation is that it shows that you can do good things for our planet and create jobs. That is what I said: do good things for our planet in the battle against climate change and create jobs. How many jobs? Tens of thousands of jobs--in this country, in this country; billions of dollars' worth of economic growth--in this country--and at the same time doing good things with respect to climate change. prgtoken Interestingly, it is not every day you find legislation supported by the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, most major environmental groups, and cosponsored by, gosh, two-thirds of the Senate-- and s alike. prgtoken In that case, we have done it. We threaded the needle. I just want to thank the chairman for his leadership and for his patience and the staff in working with us. And our thanks to Rich Russell, your staff leader on the majority side; Mary Frances Repko, the staff leader on our side; and everybody who worked with her. prgtoken But more than a decade ago, I remember standing next to my colleague John Barrasso--I remember standing right over close to where he is standing tonight, and a guy named George Voinovich came up to me--from Ohio. He and I had been Governors together for a number of years. Love the guy. prgtoken He said: I am looking for a ic cosponsor for a bill. He said: Do you want to think about it? I said: Well, what is it? He said: It is a proposal that fosters collaboration between businesse
THANKING STAFF
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-12-21

so much of the Senate's work happens behind the scenes and out of the spotlight. Over the past few weeks, there are scores of Senate staffers--probably more than scores; hundreds, I would say--who have spent many late nights and some sleepless ones putting this emergency relief and omnibus bill together, so I wanted to come back to the floor today and acknowledge all of the hard-working Senate ic staff. prgtoken To create a law, there are staffs from committees and Senators' offices who are truly experts. They make sure what we Senators want to achieve is written properly. They have years--some, decades--of experience in their prgtoken subject area. They are libraries of information of how programs work. They are also creative thinkers and masters of accomplishing what Senators might think is easy--turning a few lines of our direction into legislative text--under tremendous time pressure and, lately, during the pandemic. prgtoken These are the names of some of the Senate's unsung heroes to whom we all owe an amazing debt of gratitude: prgtoken From the Committee on Appropriations: Charles ``Chuck'' Kieffer, Chanda Betourney, Hannah Chauvin, Dianne Nellor, Jean Toal Eisen, Erik Raven, Doug Clapp, Ellen Murray, Scott Nance, Rachael Taylor, Alex Keenan, Jessica Berry, Michelle Dominguez, Tim Rieser, and Dabney Hegg. prgtoken From the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Beth Cooper, Megan , Homer Carlisle, Elisha Tuku, Corey Frayer, Jan Singelmann, Jeremy Hekhuis, Colin McGinnis, Phil Rudd, and Laura Swanson. prgtoken From the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: David Strickland, Melissa Porter, Ronce Almond, David Marten, Doug Anderson, Laurence Wildgoose, Kara Fischer, Michael Davisson, John Branscome, Shawn Bone, Alicia Brown, Mary Guenther, Jared Bomberg, Narda Jones, John Beezer, Sara Gonzalez-Rothi, Nikky Teutschel, and Chris Day. prgtoken From the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Lena Chang, Annika Christensen, Alexa Noruk, Yelena Tsilker, and David Weinberg. prgtoken From the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Evan Schatz, John Righter, Nick Bath, Andi Fristedt, Kara Marchione, Amanda Beaumont, Nikki McKinney, Joe Shantz, Kendra Isaacson, Colin Goldfinch, Manuel Contreras, Bryce McKibben, Mary Barry, Garrett Devenney, Leila Schochet, and Katlin Backfield. prgtoken From the Select Committee on Intelligence: Brett Freedman, Jon Rosenwasser, and Mike Casey. prgtoken From the Committee on Foreign Relations: Andrew Keller, Ruchi Gill, Heather Flynn, Sarah Arkin, and Shelby Boxenbaum. prgtoken From the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Joe Shultz, Jacqlyn Schneider, Mary Beth Schultz, Susan Keith, Kyle Varner, Katie Naessens, Claire Borzner, Sean Babington, and Adam Tarr. prgtoken From the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Renae Black, Sam Fowler, Brie Van Cleve, Rory Stanley, Luke Bassett, Ell
UNITED STATES-MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT
James E. Clyburn (Democrat, SC) \u2014 2020-12-21

while today's vote to provide relief to families who are suffering due to circumstances far beyond their control is welcome, it is long overdue and insufficient to fully meet their needs. prgtoken put forth our priorities last May to bring relief to those who are sick, unemployed, homeless, and hungry. s instead chose to ignore and obfuscate the widespread suffering. prgtoken This short-term package will provide direct payments and unemployment benefits extension and some assistance to help families afford rent, food, water, and broadband. I applaud our for negotiating these critical provisions and my colleagues who came together in a bipartisan way to drive this compromise, but this package must be viewed only as a downpayment. prgtoken Most of us can hardly wait to begin the new year with renewed hope. Our resolve as we come into 2021 with a new Congress and a new administration is to provide the leadership and support Americans need and deserve to get us beyond this pandemic. There can be no greater pursuit in 2021.
UNITED STATES--MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT--Continue
Mark R. Warner (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2020-12-21

. from Oregon. I agree that the report required by the IAA on PPD-28 is critically important and central to the committee's oversight responsibilities. I share the Senator's dismay that this provision was modified in this way and through what I consider to be an unfortunate conference process that should not be repeated. More generally, I oppose legislation that would purport to restrict full committee access and impede the critical oversight provided by the full committee. prgtoken This provision, as modified, states that the DNI will submit the report to the chairman and vice chairman. It does not, however, preclude its provision to the other members of the committee. As vice chairman of the committee, it is my intent to push for the full committee to get this report. It is also my intent to seek to amend this language so that it is not misinterpreted to limit full committee access.
CORONAVIRUS RELIEF AID
Thomas R. Suozzi (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-12-21

. Madam , I rise today in support of our bipartisan legislation to both fund the government and for the COVID relief package. As Pelosi just noted, this bill is far from perfect, but we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. prgtoken Madam , today, is the darkest day of the year. It is a fitting symbol of the misery and suffering that so many people are facing in our country right now. The effects of this pandemic have been cruelly uneven. prgtoken Some people have remained relatively unscathed. Some people can work remotely, still have their jobs, no one around them has gotten sick or died within their immediate circle, while others are awash in misery: unable to return to work, unable to pay their rent, to pay their utilities; people around them have gotten sick. prgtoken People have lost their lifesavings in their small business, and many hundreds of thousands have died, including my 92-year-old father-in- law, who, in April, was diagnosed with the coronavirus and died within 48 hours. prgtoken Today's relief package--and that is what it is is relief--will provide much-needed help for millions of Americans. prgtoken So while today is the darkest day of the year, every day will get a little brighter, and spring will surely follow our dark winter. But we must remember that, while spring is on its way, there is so much more that needs to be done. prgtoken Our State and local governments must have relief from their massive loss of revenues. Without our help, police officers, teachers, and other heroes on the front line will face layoffs. prgtoken Madam , we need to continue today's spirit of bipartisanship.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 133, UNITED STATES-MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT; PROVIDING FOR DISPOSITION OF SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1520, PURPLE BOOK CONTINUITY ACT OF...
Katherine M. Clark (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2020-12-21

. Madam , House took the necessary action to defeat this virus and restore the economy in May, but Mitch McConnell said let's hit the pause button. So Americans have waited 7 long months for the GOP to take action to end their suffering. prgtoken As over 300,000 Americans lost their lives, they said more testing was not necessary. prgtoken As veterans and children waited in lines at food banks, they proposed a tax credit for business lunches. prgtoken As 8 million more Americans fell into poverty, they proposed cutting unemployment benefits. prgtoken As one out of four women have lost their jobs and have left the workforce, they fought to limit paid leave and access to childcare. prgtoken As 40 million Americans teeter on the verge of homelessness, they fought to shield corporations from negligence and deny workers basic safety protections. prgtoken This bill is too little too late, but it is a lifesaving bridge to a better time and a new President who will focus on restoring Americans' jobs and their health.
UNITED STATES--MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT--Continue
Tina Smith (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2020-12-21

section 20l(f) of the unemployment extension provisions of the bill we are considering this evening contains language limiting retroactive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance compensation for applicants that had not applied by the date of enactment of this bill. prgtoken It is my understanding that this provision is intended to cover individuals who have known for months of their eligibility for benefits but failed to apply in a timely manner. However, it is also my understanding that this provision is not intended to apply in cases where the individuals have only recently learned they would be eligible for PUA and a State unemployment office had previously advised those individuals not to apply for benefits. This is the case, for instance, for secondary schools students in Minnesota, who were advised by the State that they were not eligible for PUA, but a court recently determined that the students were indeed eligible earlier this month. prgtoken It is also my understanding that this provision is not intended to apply to individuals who have filed a regular State unemployment insurance claim that remains in adjudication, who later find out that they are ineligible for regular unemployment compensation and must apply for PUA instead. prgtoken Senator Wyden was the lead ic negotiator on the unemployment provisions of this bill. Does he share the same understanding of the intent of this provision?
UNITED STATES-MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT
Adam B. Schiff (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-12-21

I rise to emphasize the appropriate application and interpretation of Section 404 of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which has been included as Division W of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. prgtoken Section 404 was authored by Chairman Bennie Thompson of the Committee on Homeland Security. Its essence is to establish a specialized fellowship program related to cybersecurity and intelligence within the Department of Homeland Security. The program is meant for certain undergraduate students from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and other backgrounds. And the Secretary of Homeland Security--who shall administer Section 404--also will have authority to hire successful fellowship participants as Department employees, and into positions involving cyber or intelligence. prgtoken The broader and most compelling goal being, of course, to ensure that the Department and the Federal government are doing their utmost to recruit, hire and retain a highly diverse workforce. The language of Section 404 must be interpreted and implemented by the Department broadly, with a mind towards attainment of this lawful objective; under no circumstances should it be read in an inappropriately narrow or needlessly restrictive fashion. prgtoken Although Section 404 does not require that students attend Historically Black Colleges or Universities or Minority-Serving Institutions in order to participate in the fellowship program, the Secretary of Homeland Security--who will administer this authority-- should make extensive efforts to promote the fellowship among students from HBCUs and MSIs. prgtoken Together with the other Members of the Homeland Security and Intelligence Committees, I will look forward to receiving the report required by Section 404, which will permit Congress to confirm that, in fact, the Department is conducting the necessary outreach to HBCUs, MSIs, and other Institutions of Higher Education; and, consistent with the approach I have set forth here, reading and applying Section 404's language in a manner that fulfills the initiative's overarching goal.