mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
REQUIRING EVALUATION BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE OF SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND HISTORIC CONTRIBUTIONS BY MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Tim Ryan (Democrat, OH) \u2014 2020-3-10

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. prgtoken , one of the great nights in Washington, D.C throughout the whole Congressional year, is the night we do the Congressional baseball game, where play s at the Washington Nationals Park. There are 5,000-10,000 people there--maybe more, depending on the year--and it actually brings everybody together in Washington, D.C which, as many people know, is a unique night. Many of the players at that game wear their local Minor League Baseball uniform to represent their local community in Washington, D.C at the baseball game. prgtoken I have worn the Mahoning Valley Scrappers uniform there. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers have been just outside of Youngstown, Ohio, in Niles, Ohio, right by our mall, the Eastwood Mall at Eastwood Field, for 20 years. It is where young people and families can go watch professional baseball. They can afford it. They can hang out. It is a 5- or 10- minute drive. It is an important component of our community. prgtoken So, of all the ups and downs of our economy in northeast Ohio over the last 20 years, we have had baseball. And now Major League Baseball is saying: We want to cut over 40 teams. And what we are saying here in the United States Congress is: Congressman Bill Johnson, -- who also represents part of the area--myself, and others, are coming together to try to stop this from happening. prgtoken Young people in our area have been able to go to this field and watch CC Sabathia, Francisco Lindor, Victor Martinez, Jose Ramirez--names everybody knows in Major League Baseball, and when they were starting, they played in Niles, Ohio. prgtoken So, we want to make sure that we prevent this from happening. We want to save Minor League Baseball in communities all over the United States.
REQUIRING EVALUATION BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE OF SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND HISTORIC CONTRIBUTIONS BY MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Carolyn B. Maloney (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-3-10

such time as I may consume. Minor League Baseball has been part of the social fabric of America for over 100 years. prgtoken Today, there are 160 minor league teams across the country, including the Staten Island Yankees and the 2019 New York-Penn League Champion Brooklyn Cyclones. prgtoken This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the social, economic, and historical contributions that these teams have made to American society. Minor League Baseball provides family-friendly entertainment to millions of Americans. It is also an important economic influence in many communities, employing thousands of individuals, and often serves as an important source of charitable giving. prgtoken , I thank Representatives Lori Trahan and David McKinley for their leadership on this bipartisan effort. I also recognize the members of the Committee on Oversight and Reform who have cosponsored this measure, Representatives Comer, Haaland, Keller, Miller, and Welch. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and .
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2020-3-10

later today the Senate will be taking up the borrower defense CRA vote and likely voting on it tomorrow. Each and every Senator will have a choice. They can side with working students, or they can side with predatory, for-profit colleges. It should not be a hard choice, and that choice certainly should not be partisan. prgtoken Students who were cheated and defrauded by predatory, for-profit colleges are often left with crushing debt and no path forward. That is why President issued the borrower defense rule--to help students move forward with their lives and education and to get the debt relief they so urgently need. prgtoken Since taking office, Secretary DeVos has put up roadblock after roadblock for students and borrowers. First, she refused to implement the borrower defense rule that was on the books, until a court forced her to. She stalled on debt relief for hundreds of thousands of borrowers who were left waiting for an answer, with tens of thousands of them falling into default and collections. Once again, the Federal courts were forced to step in. prgtoken Now Secretary DeVos is trying to deny full relief to students who were clearly cheated by predatory colleges. For so many people, getting relief on your student debt means the difference between making ends meet or not, the difference between paying your rent or not, and the difference between getting back on your feet or not. prgtoken Now, to make matters even worse, Secretary DeVos has gone further than just delaying and limiting the relief. She has issued a disastrous new borrower defense rule intentionally designed to make it harder for defrauded borrowers--defrauded borrowers--to get relief even when predatory colleges clearly violated the law. It will prevent students from getting their day in court and let predatory colleges off the hook financially. This rule says, in the fine print, that students will be stuck repaying 97 percent of their fraudulent debt. The Department even admitted that students will be cheated out of $2.5 billion per year, and students will only get 3 cents back for every dollar of fraud they experience. That is cruel and wrong. prgtoken The Congressional Review Act, or CRA, would immediately halt Secretary DeVos's rule in its tracks and prevent it from going into effect. prgtoken It is time to put an end to the nonstop efforts by this administration to prioritize the interests of predatory, for-profit schools over the interests of our students. It is time for Senators to decide, once and for all, if they will support our student loan borrowers who have been cheated out of a quality education or help corrupt institutions with their bottom line. prgtoken I want to personally thank Senator Durbin for his tireless efforts to push this important issue forward. prgtoken .
LEGISLATIVE SESSION--Continued
Christopher Murphy (Democrat, CT) \u2014 2020-3-10

I rise in support of S.J.Res. 56, a resolution of congressional disapproval for the Department of Education's, Borrower Defense Institutional Accountability rule. prgtoken It is inconceivable to me that the Federal Department of Education would choose to protect the profits of predatory corporations instead of the students they ripped off, but sadly, that is exactly what Secretary DeVos's borrower defense regulation does. It is now up to Congress to step in and reverse the harm that her Department is seeking to do. prgtoken Four years ago, the administration took action when it became clear that a number of for profit colleges were defrauding students, leaving them on the hook for massive loans without an education or a job. The borrower defense rule established under President made sure that students who had been hurt by these schools could access debt relief and get a chance at restarting their education. Unfortunately, Secretary DeVos chose to gut that regulation, making it nearly impossible for defrauded students to get any kind of debt relief from the loans they took out to attend colleges that were later found to be bad actors. To make matters worse, Secretary DeVos also rescinded existing protections and ended forgiveness pathways that were included in the 2016 borrower defense rule. Secretary DeVos took what was a fair and transparent process and rigged the deck against students. prgtoken Because of the new barriers to debt relief established by Secretary DeVos's new borrower defense rule, only an estimated 3 percent of loans associated with school misconduct will be discharged. The DeVos rule eliminates the ability for borrowers to file for relief in groups and requires individuals to meet an unreasonably high standard of evidence that the school intended to mislead them. In addition, the rule only gives borrowers 3 years from the time they leave school to file a claim. In a large number of previous cases, it has taken many years to gather evidence of and establish fraud. Finally, the DeVos rule prohibits borrowers from appealing the decision on their claim, even if new evidence of a school's misconduct comes to light. prgtoken This new rule might be good for corporate profits, but it will have a cruel impact on many vulnerable people who can afford it the least. I hear often from Connecticut residents who have been crippled by massive debt accrued while attending what turned out to be a valueless institution and who desperately need access to debt relief through a borrowers defense claim. prgtoken I have heard from a number of students in Connecticut who joined a lawsuit in the bankruptcy case of ITT Technical Institute after its closure left 40,000 students in limbo. Students described falsified job placement rates, lack of career connection with industries associated with their degree programs, unqualified teachers, and inaccurate information about their loan terms. <|p
RECOGNIZING THE ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE FIRE AND RESCUE SQUAD
Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat, VT) \u2014 2020-3-10

I want to take a moment to recognize the brave and selfless individuals from the St. Michael's College Fire and Rescue Squad, based in Colchester, VT. These young men and women respond to emergencies on a moment's notice to help those in need--all while balancing the demands of their full college course load. St. Michael's College Fire and Rescue helps bring a greater degree of safety to residents in Chittenden County, and we are thankful for their efforts. Today, I would like prgtoken to commemorate their 50 years of service. prgtoken St. Michael's Fire and Rescue Squad was founded in late 1969, after a local student died while waiting for emergency medical services to arrive. The community recognized that in order to prevent further tragedies of this nature, greater resources must be dedicated to emergency responders. Students rose to this challenge, and with the help of Donald ``Pappy'' Sutton, the former dean of students, they formed the squad. Despite starting out with only minimal equipment, this remarkable group now serves 385 square miles of Chittenden County, spanning their reach into surrounding towns and along 26 miles of Interstate 89. The territory covered far exceeds what we might expect from a group of college volunteers, but their capacity to serve only goes to show just how dedicated the St. Michael's Fire and Rescue team truly is. prgtoken Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of this team is the fact that they are all between the ages of 18 and 22. The maturity and grace displayed by these young individuals while fulfilling their duties is nothing short of inspiring. These are people who, for some, have just left home for the first time and yet are successfully responding to crisis situations which would tax even the most experienced of us. These responders will sometimes be the first on the scene for a car crash, overdose, fire or medical emergency, and a split-second decision could make the difference between a life saved and a life lost. And we should not forget: these responders are all students managing their college classes in addition to volunteering. Emergencies give no credence to a student's sleep schedule; sometimes these students will get woken up in the late hours of the night or early hours of the morning to put out a fire, despite having class the following morning. Those who receive credit for their volunteer work are on call for 24 hours a week, taking turns sleeping in the designated volunteer bunks. prgtoken The work done by the St. Michael's Fire and Rescue team is not always glamorous, but it has kept the community remarkably safer. On average, the squad responds to more than 3,000 calls each year--some just false alarms, others far more severe in nature. But what has remained consistent is the relief that these volunteers have offered to local emergency responders and the peace of mind they have bestowed upon our residents. By offering support
CORONAVIRUS
Brian Higgins (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2020-3-10

the coronavirus is a public health crisis in need of a strong, clear, and consistent response from Washington. The only way to stop the economic damage is to stop the spread of the virus and to keep people from getting sick and dying. prgtoken Paid sick leave should be extended to 32 million Americans who currently do not have it. A onetime Federal tax credit could offset the cost of universal paid leave to help stop the spread of the virus. Public health costs for testing and treatment at the local and State level should be assumed by the Federal Government for spending on the crisis response. prgtoken Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Institute and Erie County Health Department in my community are doing that today at enormous expense and dwindling resources. prgtoken Every dollar spent on public health provides an economic boost. The time to stimulate the economy is after the virus has been controlled. Once that occurs, we need to go big on infrastructure to inject both growth and confidence in the American economy again.
TRIBUTE TO JANET WORKMAN--28TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Adam B. Schiff (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2020-3-10

. Madam , I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Janet Workman of the Elysian Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. prgtoken Janet Workman is a devoted wife and community leader in Elysian Valley. Ms. Workman was born and raised in Hermosa Beach and briefly lived in Sao Paolo, Brazil as an exchange student during her teenage years. While attending the University of Southern California, she majored in French, after which she spent several years teaching French and English at the high school level. She then moved to the City of Pasadena in 1981, where she started her career in corporate and emergency planning. An expert in her field, she ran her own company for twenty years before working for Southern California Edison. Additionally, she volunteered for eight years as a docent at the historic Gamble House and seven years on the board of a domestic violence shelter. Despite her full and active life in Pasadena, she and her husband, Robert, decided to relocate to Elysian Valley to start a new chapter in their lives. prgtoken Ms. Workman built a new sense of home in Elysian Valley for herself and her husband. Never one to sit idly by, she started the Frogtown Art Walk with a group of neighbors, of which she was an essential planner for several years. To ensure the Art Walk's success, she and Robert converted a small home into a meeting place for the event which eventually became the social hub for the entire neighborhood. A lover of art, she studied botanical drawing and watercolor, and produced her own stained-glass art that was exhibited at the Frogtown Art Walk. Ms. Workman was also instrumental in restoring the Elysian Valley Community Garden, where she took a hands-on approach to rebuild the garden back into a resource for local residents. She took charge of the restoration by building and painting a tool shed, helping to construct planting beds, and enlisted the City of Los Angeles to donate trees for the garden's orchard. Janet is currently a board member of Friends of Silver Lake Library, a volunteer group dedicated in supporting special programs and cultural events at this branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. As a very active board member, Ms. Workman has increased the library's programs for children and helped to organize the library's 10-year anniversary celebration. The Elysian Valley community and beyond has benefitted greatly from the generosity of Ms. Workman. With a focus on giving back, she has played a vital role in energizing her fellow community members to start their own neighborhood projects and organizations. I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28
HONORING THE WEST ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADERS
Donald M. Payne, Jr. (Democrat, NJ) \u2014 2020-3-10

. Madam , I want to congratulate, again, some exceptional young people from my district, the cheerleaders from West Orange High School. Known as the Mountaineers, they fought their way to the 2020 Universal Cheerleading Association's National Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida. They survived a tough regional in Pennsylvania to get there. prgtoken In Orlando, they faced the best high school cheerleading squads in the country. During their first UCA competition, they won their semifinal for the large varsity non-tumbling division and earned a trip to the finals. prgtoken Before they left, I said to them I hoped that they would bring the trophy home to West Orange, and that is exactly what they did. The Mountaineers earned a trophy for finishing eighth out of 32 squads, and I am extremely proud of them. They may not have prgtoken earned the top trophy, but they are champions to me and their entire 10th District of New Jersey.
CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE
Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2020-3-10

. Madam , I have always said that the role of the Federal Government is an umbrella on a rainy or stormy day. The Nation now faces the storm of coronavirus, and we should be the umbrella and be prepared and not panic. It is imperative that we provide widespread information on just the basics of how Americans can care for themselves. prgtoken I have organized a bipartisan task force on the coronavirus that includes an emergency doctor with experience, Dr. Ruiz from California, and our colleague, Congressman Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania. We want to emphasize prgtoken an opportunity for Members to talk about the issues within their congressional districts and try to ensure that the American people are well taken care of. prgtoken Unfortunately, the administration got a very slow start. In a hearing that we just had, one State had the ability to test only 472 people; another State had the ability to test only 350. Obviously, we need to be able to ramp up the number of test kits to help the American people, and we need the equipment to protect our medical professionals. prgtoken Madam , I end by saying, as hospitals face a crisis and clinics face a crisis, the American people must look to the Federal Government to do their job correctly.
ADVANCED GEOTHERMAL INNOVATION LEADERSHIP ACT OF 2019--Continued
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2020-3-10

last year, I was proud to stand with my colleagues as we introduced the For the People Act in the Senate just weeks after it passed the House of Representatives. This measure has already passed the House of Representatives. prgtoken If you took civics 101, they explain that after the House took action on a measure, it came here. So the obvious question is, What happened to it? It has been a year. It must be here somewhere. Well, we know exactly where it is. It is in Senator McConnell's office. He is the Leader of the U.S. Senate, and he has made a conscious decision that hundreds of bills just like this one will not even be considered on the floor of the Senate. It isn't that he doesn't have a majority; he does. But he doesn't want us to even debate or discuss these bills before the American people. prgtoken This U.S. Senate once enjoyed its reputation as the world's most deliberative body, which means we came here, debated, argued, and voted on things like amendments and bills like this one. Last year in the U.S. Senate, the calendar year 2019, we considered exactly 22 amendments in the entire year--22 amendments in 1 year in this Senate. Six of them were offered by Senator Paul, who, with a gun to our heads, said: If you don't give me a vote on my amendment, you can't go home. All six of his amendments were defeated, but that just gives you an example of why there is so little activity and why this floor is so empty so many times. prgtoken In fact, this floor has become a museum piece where bystanders, witnesses, and spectators can come in, sit in the Galleries, and look down on the desks that used to be occupied by Senators who debated and voted. We don't do that anymore. Instead, we consider one after the other after the other of judicial nominations. I am not going to get into that issue because it has been touched on already. prgtoken My contribution to this For the People Act goes to the heart of political campaigns. If you don't think American political campaigns are long enough, if you would like us to be on television a few more months each year, hang on tight because it is coming. If you don't think enough money is being spent on American political campaigns, hang on tight because more is coming. If you want to reach the point where we have no idea where most of the money is coming from that funds these campaigns, hang on. The Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court across the street has set the stage for that, and that is where we are headed in America today. prgtoken My proposal for fair elections now moves in exactly the opposite directions--shorter campaigns, smaller contributions, more confrontation between candidates over issues than to have this battle of television ads that goes on now. prgtoken My act would create a voluntary, small-donor, public financing system for Senate candidates who agree to raise only small-dollar contributions. I know it is a dream