mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
NATIONAL AGRICULTURE DAY
Ted S. Yoho (Republican, FL) \u2014 2018-3-20

President has declared today to be National Agriculture Day, a time of celebration and gratefulness to our Nation's farmers and ranchers. Whether we realize it or not, agriculture is a part of all of our daily lives from morning until night. In fact, each American farmer feeds over 144 people, providing vital nutrition, and helping us better connect with our God-given resources. prgtoken Every $1 of United States agricultural products and food exports creates another $1.27 in business activity. Our country's agricultural exports are valued at more than $100 billion, including $4 billion from my own home State of Florida. Every $1 billion in exports supports approximately 8,000 American jobs. That is over 8 million jobs created by agriculture. prgtoken While celebrations such as these mark tremendous achievements for U.S. agriculture, we must continue to construct policies that supports and strengthens all of our farmers and ranchers. As lawmakers, let us make this celebration a time of action and work towards initiatives that continually uplift our ag industry.
S.J. RES. 54--MOTION TO DISCHARGE
John Cornyn (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-3-20

this week we are discussing, among other topics, the sad fact of sex trafficking online. The reason is because yesterday we voted to advance a piece of legislation called SESTA, or the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act. The purpose of this legislation is crystal clear. We want to put an end to this abominable practice, and we want to stop shielding or protecting those web platforms that promote it. prgtoken I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation. Over the past year, like many of my colleagues, I met with law enforcement and victims' rights groups across the country who talk about this as a continuing problem. I met with technology providers who want to end the practice but want to make sure they maintain their independence from Federal regulation writ large. I have been in regular contact with my colleagues over at the House to make sure this bill is considered and passed in a timely fashion. I think it is fair to characterize the negotiations as delicate. prgtoken A small group of Senators, including our colleague John McCain, the senior Senator from Arizona, wanted to make sure that everyone understood what this bill does and what it does not do. What it does do is to protect our children. It provides justice to victims, and it makes sure that Federal laws don't protect those who profit from sex trafficking online. What it does not do is somehow to stymie free speech. It does not restrict web platforms from publishing objectionable content. prgtoken For example, under the Communications Decency Act, now websites have to screen for child pornography. That is one of the explicit exceptions to the Communications Decency Act, which basically provides immunity to these web platforms from liability. What we are doing is adding to that human trafficking, and it is appropriate that we do so. prgtoken This does not discourage websites that are already taking steps to proactively remove improper conduct and police their own networks. I would say to those who do: Keep up the good work. prgtoken Today the internet and other forms of technology have made certain forms of predatory behavior easier to engage in. This bill addresses this development head-on. It would allow sex trafficking victims to have their day in court by eliminating Federal liability protections for technology providers who knowingly facilitate online sex trafficking. It would allow State and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute providers that violate Federal sex trafficking laws. prgtoken This bill was introduced last summer after a 2-year inquiry by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which produced a report. That report found that not only had sex trafficking run rampant in certain online spaces but also that some websites had tried to cover it up. prgtoken Well, no longer. Last fall, the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved SESTA, the bill on the floor that the House passed last month. Now
CONGRATULATING BAKER'S CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH
Larry Bucshon (Republican, IN) \u2014 2018-3-20

I rise today to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Baker's Creek Baptist Church in Eureka, Indiana for 200 years of service and fellowship in Southwest Indiana. prgtoken Dating back to 1818, the Baker's Creek Baptist Church is the second oldest church in Spencer County. It has served not just as a place of worship, but also as a refuge for those in times of trouble and means of encouragement for men and women of faith, including influential Americans such as President Abraham Lincoln. prgtoken Through the Lord's grace and the devotion of leaders like Pastor James Carl Jones, Baker's Creek Baptist Church has remained a place for the congregation to worship and come together as a community. prgtoken I am grateful for Baker's Creek Baptist Church's rich history of service over the past 200 years and excited for what the future holds. Again, congratulations on achieving this tremendous milestone.
ALLEVIATING STRESS TEST BURDENS TO HELP INVESTORS ACT
Blaine Luetkemeyer (Republican, MO) \u2014 2018-3-20

the chairman can be assured that since my team was one and done, I will skip the bracket discussion here. prgtoken , I want to start by thanking the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin) for his work on this very reasonable legislation. prgtoken Stress tests are a good idea that should be standard practice in any company. What is not a good idea--and, quite frankly, not terribly helpful in promoting systemic financial stability--is the cryptic and arbitrary manner in which stress tests are handled today. prgtoken Today, the Federal Reserve imposes these stress tests on all financial firms with more than $10 billion in consolidated assets. This doesn't apply just to banks, despite the fact that the Fed is a bank regulator. This requirement to submit information extends to nonbank financial firms as well. prgtoken , let me take a moment to walk you through what one of these stress tests looks like. A financial firm is given cryptic instructions to run a number of scenarios to test the fortitude of the institution. That firm then submits tens of thousands of pages to the Fed. In some cases, that number can climb to more than 100,000 pages at a cost of millions of dollars. prgtoken , to give you an idea of what 20,000 pages is, in our committee hearing, we had a visual aid there with a table about this size right here in front of me today, about 3 feet tall, and boxes all around. That is 20,000 pages. Some of these stress tests, , are 100,000 pages, five times that amount, hundreds of thousands--if not millions--of dollars to do these stress tests; and, quite frankly, there is very little evidence that the Fed actually reads all the paperwork. In fact, one day you will probably get a call from the Fed, and they will tell you whether you passed or not. It is a very subjective test. There is no real explanation offered if a firm fails. The message is just to try again and keep trying until you finally pass the test and guess what the model is. This is not a productive exercise for anyone. prgtoken The truth of the matter is that the Fed has no business conducting and analyzing stress tests on nonbanks. Those firms have functional regulators, like the SEC and CFTC, which better understand the business models and performance of nonbanks and, as such, the risks those firms pose to the financial stability of the United States. The actual supervisor of these companies should be the only entity with the ability to require these sorts of activities, and Mr. Poliquin's bill allows for that. prgtoken , this legislation is about promoting thoughtful and effective legislation. It is about curtailing a one-size-fits-all--as the chairman mentioned earlier--approach to regulation, something Members from both sides of the aisle have claimed to support. prgtoken , I want to again thank the gentleman from Maine for his leadership on this issue, and I urge support of this legislation.
OUR JOB IS TO KEEP STUDENTS SAFE
Luke Messer (Republican, IN) \u2014 2018-3-20

as a parent with kids in school, I believe that no parent should have to worry if their child will come home safe at the end of the day. That is why I rise today to join President in urging the Senate to immediately pass the STOP School Violence Act. The House overwhelmingly passed this legislation last week, and now it is time for the U.S. Senate to act and pass this bipartisan, commonsense bill. prgtoken Among other positive steps forward, this bipartisan bill would provide funding to enable local schools to make physical and technological improvements to keep students safe. prgtoken Southwestern High School in my district has been called the safest school in America because of its focus on security, training, and coordination with local law enforcement. I have had the opportunity to visit Shelby County's Southwestern High School and speak with the leadership there and the Shelby County Sheriff's Department leadership as well, and, frankly, I could not have been more impressed. prgtoken If the STOP School Violence Act is enacted, more schools could follow the example set by Southwestern High School. The U.S. Senate needs to do its job now and act quickly to pass this commonsense legislation to secure our schools and keep America's children safe.
HONORING JUSTINE LEE SNYDER
Sam Graves (Republican, MO) \u2014 2018-3-20

I proudly pause to recognize Justin Lee Snyder. Justin is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1028, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. prgtoken Justin has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Justin has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Justin has become a member of the tribe Mic-O-Say. Justin has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Justin designed a wall to enclose the HVAC unit at his church where the Scout troop meets. He raised the funds with help from the Knights of Columbus, and organized a group of volunteers to build the enclosure. prgtoken , I proudly ask you to join me in commending Justin for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.
S.J. RES. 54--MOTION TO DISCHARGE--Continued
Todd Young (Republican, IN) \u2014 2018-3-20

in light of the vote later today on the Sanders-Lee-Murphy legislation, or S.J. Res. 54, I rise today to discuss the situation in Yemen and the path forward. As many know, over the last year I have focused persistently on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. prgtoken My activities have been manyfold. I have issued letters to the administration and the Saudi Government, an administration nomination, hearings, a Senate resolution, and countless meetings, briefings, and phone calls with senior administration officials, Saudi officials, and leaders of the NGO community. prgtoken My goal? My goal has been to address impediments to the delivery of humanitarian assistance--food, fuel, and medicine--into the country of Yemen. prgtoken Now, we have seen some progress, and I have been encouraged by this. The USAID-funded World Food Programme cranes have been delivered, and the Red Sea ports have been opened. According to the United Nations, since the ports were open, we have seen more than 884,000 metric tons of food and more than 410,000 metric tons of fuel delivered to the ports of Hodeidah and Saleef alone. prgtoken Of course, we understand the importance of the food. But why is the fuel so important? Well, without the fuel, you can't run the water treatment facilities and, therefore, the cholera epidemic that has broken out in Yemen will only get worse. So 884,000 metric tons of food and more than 410,000 metric tons of fuel have resulted in the saving of countless of lives in Yemen. prgtoken Look, there is a continued humanitarian crisis in Yemen. A lot of problems persist, and we need to address those. We have seen progress with respect to the delivery of some of the humanitarian assistance I mentioned, but commercial and humanitarian vessels have been offloading their lifesaving cargo less quickly than we would like. So there is a lot left for us to do. prgtoken The National Security Council presidential statement issued on March 15 related to Yemen indicated that there are still over 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. This is the world's largest humanitarian disaster. The risk of famine persists for millions of Yemenis. prgtoken The Saudi-led coalition continues, unfortunately, to impose unacceptable delays on ships carrying food and fuel into Yemeni ports. According to the U.N the Saudi-led coalition caused 5.9 days of additional delay in the month of February on ships going to the major ports of Hodeidah and Saleef. Those delays continue this month. prgtoken Now, why does this matter? Well, this matters, of course, because we don't want people to suffer. It is inconsistent with our basic human values. It is inconsistent with what we Americans believe. When people suffer, it also exacerbates a national security crisis. It facilitates radicalization. prgtoken In fact, last week I chaired a Foreign Relations Committee subcommittee on this very topic--the connection between food i
S.J. RES. 54--MOTION TO DISCHARGE--Continued
John Boozman (Republican, AR) \u2014 2018-3-20

. Thank you, . As you know, our Chamber is focused on a heavy subject at the moment--human trafficking. prgtoken An estimated 25 million people are victims of human trafficking all around the world. Smuggling people for forced labor and sex slavery is a heinous crime. It is the kind of crime that we tend to think happens in some far-off place, but these atrocities are happening all across the globe--sadly, including, unfortunately, here in the United States. In fact, human trafficking appears to be on the rise in our country, according to data released by Polaris, which shows a 13-percent jump in cases reported to the help lines it runs. prgtoken Since Polaris began operating over 10 years ago, its help lines have received reports of 203 cases of human trafficking from my home State of Arkansas. Almost half of those were reported in the last 2 years. Fortunately, our State is fighting back. Last year, Arkansas legislators approved a law requiring State-licensed truckers to be trained in spotting the red flags of human trafficking. Using their position on the road, these drivers have the tools to recognize the signs of human trafficking and alert the authorities to any suspicious activity. prgtoken Congress is also increasing its efforts to combat human trafficking. In September, the Senate unanimously passed two pieces of legislation to renew existing programs in support of survivors and help bring perpetrators of these horrific crimes to justice. prgtoken The Abolish Human Trafficking Act provides more resources to law enforcement in its effort to combat human trafficking and establishes human trafficking justice coordinators at every U.S. attorney's office and at the Department of Justice. In addition, the legislation helps survivors rebuild their lives by extending the Department of Justice Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund. prgtoken The Trafficking Victims Protection Act reauthorizes key programs to help survivors in their recovery, as well as offering specialized training on human trafficking to judges and Federal investigators. prgtoken We have made progress, but more needs to be done, and the legislation on the floor this week will help by giving law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to crack down on crimes involving exploitation of the vulnerable. It will help us to take on nefarious actors like Backpage, which hid behind the Communications Decency Act to avoid prosecution for trafficking crimes. prgtoken It is time to rip the cover away from these bad actors. We are going to do that by making narrowly crafted changes to the law to ensure that websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking online are held accountable. ``Knowingly'' is the keyword here. prgtoken During the last session of Congress, the Homeland Security Committee, under the leadership of Senators Portman, McCaskill, and Johnson, uncovered just how much Backpage knew. It was a lot. In fact, Backpage's operators h
A TRIBUTE TO JOYE E. FROST
Ted Poe (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-3-20

it is with great regret that we learned of the death on March 12, 2018 of a true advocate for crime victims and survivors. For most of her professional career, Joye Frost served crime victims through her efforts at the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), our nation's premiere agency dedicated to serving and advocating on behalf of victims of all types of crimes. prgtoken Joye Frost began her career as a Child Protective Services caseworker in South Texas and has worked in the victim assistance, healthcare, and disability advocacy fields for more than 30 years in the U.S. and Europe, including several years working at the community and headquarters levels for the Department of Army. prgtoken In January 2009, Joye was designated Acting Director of OVC and made the permanent Director in 2013. She was a strong and consistent advocate for the Crime Victims Fund, and developed a very close working relationship with state VOCA assistance and crime victim compensation program managers. prgtoken Perhaps her most profound and long-lasting legacy will be her inspiration and leadership encompassed by her landmark achievement: the development and implementation of Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services. Joye's nationwide initiative successfully sought to expand the reach and impact of the victim assistance field; recognize the role of victims in the nation's response to crime and delinquency; identify emerging and enduring challenges in the victims' field; and address the need to build the capacity of victim service providers to meet those challenges. Today and in the future, Vision 21 remains the ``blueprint'' for comprehensive, quality victim/survivor services nationwide. prgtoken She began her working on special projects at OVC in 1997 and, since 2001, directed OVC's annual observance of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, including its National Service Awards and the NCVRW Community Awareness Projects. As the Principal Associate Director for OVC, she developed national scope training, technical assistance and other resources to help crime victims, including the development of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) training and technical assistance project, as well as projects to help crime victims with disabilities. She also implemented grant programs to support comprehensive services for victims of human trafficking. prgtoken The U.S. Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, founded by Representative Jim Costa (CA) and me, recognizes that with Joye Frost's passing, crime victims have lost a strong and outspoken advocate. We have worked closely with Joye to improve the lives of victims for many years, and know that her positive and profound impact on the profession of crime victim/survivor services will endure far into the future. prgtoken And that's just the way it is.
WELCOMING DR. MICHAEL S. LEWIS
Barry Loudermilk (Republican, GA) \u2014 2018-3-20

today I have the honor of introducing our guest pastor, Dr. Michael Lewis, from my home district and from the great city of Marietta, Georgia. prgtoken Dr. Lewis graduated in 1996 with a master of divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In May of 2005, he received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Liberty University. He has had the honor of serving in churches in South Carolina, Texas, and Florida as their pastor. prgtoken Currently, Dr. Lewis serves as pastor of Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, where he lives with his wife of 25 years, Liliana, and their three wonderful daughters. prgtoken It is my privilege to introduce Dr. Michael Lewis, who opened us this morning in prayer.
COST ESTIMATE ON H.R. 5081, THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY AND TECHNOLOGY ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2018
Michael T. McCaul (Republican, TX) \u2014 2018-3-21

I include in the Record the following cost estimate for H.R. 5081, the Surface Transportation Security and Technology Accountability Act of 2018, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, which was not made available to the Committee at the time of filing of the legislative report. U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC, March 20, 2018. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, Washington DC. Dear : The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5081, the Surface Transportation Security and Technology Accountability Act of 2018. If you wish further detail on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. Sincerely, Keith Hall, Director Enclosure. H.R. 5081--Surface Transportation Security and Technology Accountability Act of 2018 prgtoken As reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on March 19, 2018 H.R. 5081 would direct the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee. The bill would specify details related to the composition and responsibilities of that committee, and it would require TSA to consult the committee when developing the agency's plan for making investments in security-related technology. Using information from the agency about the costs of similar activities, CBO expects that any increased costs to establish and support the proposed advisory committee would not exceed $500,000 annually. Such spending would be subject to appropriation. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5081 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficit in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028. H.R. 5081 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.