mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
ORDERS FOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2024
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2024-2-11

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12 noon on Monday, February 12; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of Calendar No. 30, H.R. 815; further, that all time during adjournment, recess, morning business, and leader remarks count postcloture on the substitute amendment.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2024-2-11

in this Chamber over the last couple of months, we have heard haunting echoes of the past, haunting echoes of Chamberlain going to Munich in 1938 to say to Hitler: Go ahead. Take that slice of Czechoslovakia. We will simply look the other way and declare peace in our time. prgtoken The parallel is not just haunting, it is scary. Folks advocating for saying to Putin: Just go ahead, take Ukraine. We will look the other way and tackle other challenges. prgtoken In both cases, you had an authoritarian in Hitler, in Putin, determined to take adjacent land and certainly in Putin's case, determined to crush the democracy of the Republic to the south. Ukrainians speak a language that is a close cousin to Russia. Putin particularly resents the loss of so much territory, so many states that he controlled--or the Soviet Union controlled--not so long ago, and his mission is to reclaim as much as he can. prgtoken It should be our mission--it is our mission; it is the American mission--to defend democracy in the world, to stand with people who are all about freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and freedom of religion and the freedom to cast a fair ballot to determine their own future. Those are all the values that Putin opposes. prgtoken So much is at stake here for the future freedom of the people of Ukraine but also for American leadership in the world. If we follow in Chamberlain's footsteps from 1938 and look the other way, where else-- where else--will Putin decide to tackle? And how much partnership will we lose in the cause of democracy and freedom by breaking the pact we have forged so carefully with Europe to support Ukraine? And how much future blood will flow from our sons and daughters as we stand in other battles because of our failure in this case to stand with the people of Ukraine? prgtoken Xi of China is watching carefully. Can the autocrat simply endure until the American people are tired, endure until the partnership between Europe and the United States breaks down? Can he simply maintain an assault on Taiwan until we fade away with other priorities? prgtoken It is a vision in the world that we have been proud to fight for, the vision of democracy and the vision of freedom. This is the moment when we have the opportunity to actually secure a bill here in the Senate to fund the people of Ukraine. We are not being asked to shed our blood. We are not being asked to put our soldiers, our men and women, on the battlefield. We are not even being asked to put a huge share of our budget into this battle. It is 1.5 percent of our national budget--one and a half pennies on the dollar of our budget. prgtoken If we cannot sustain even that modest commitment to stand for freedom, to stand for voting integrity in a Republic, in a democracy, then on what course has the United States gone? prgtoken Let us stay the course as champions of freedom and champions of democracy and take a strong step forward tod
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2024-2-11

I have spoken quite a bit about how the votes we cast as U.S. Senators for this funding have tremendous consequences. prgtoken I have talked about whether or not we deliver this aid, especially to Ukraine, is a question of whether or not America will stand by the world and stand by its allies. prgtoken How we all decide to vote on this bill could not be more important. It was just last night we heard the presumptive nominee for President openly encourage Russia to attack our NATO allies. All of us in this Chamber--all of us--understand those words have consequences. prgtoken Our friends and adversaries alike listen to what major political leaders here in America have to say about issues of global concern, but as my colleagues know, our votes matter tremendously as well. Action, legislation that actually gets signed into law, $60 billion to support our Ukrainian allies, that sends a lot more than a message to Putin; it sends badly needed ammunition and weapons to Ukraine so they can put an end to Russia's bloody invasion. prgtoken So I urge every one of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me not only in sending a message to our friends that they can count on America to stand by its word, to our adversaries that they cannot invade sovereign democracies unchecked and unanswered, to civilians caught in conflict around the world that America will help deliver food and medicine and more, but to join me and vote against this tabling motion so we can finally take action and show the world that Congress is united when it comes to American leadership and resolve on the world stage. We have been negotiating for months now trying to get this funding over the finish line. prgtoken Let's all recognize that each time we falter, our adversaries have not been subtle in making a show of it, claiming that America will not do anything to protect its friends and allies. prgtoken This--this is the time to prove them wrong. I said it before; I will say it again: Those of us who understand the gravity of this moment are ready to stay here as long as it takes to get this done. I hope we can soon come together quickly and get this to the finish line as soon as possible. prgtoken .
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Democrat, PA) \u2014 2024-2-11

I rise to talk about an amendment that I filed. We are hoping we will get to the point where both sides will come together and have an agreement on amendments, but I know we have some more work to do. prgtoken If I had to describe this amendment, this is one of those you can describe in one word: ``fentanyl.'' prgtoken There is not a community in the country--big city, small town, rural area, suburban community--that hasn't been ravaged by fentanyl in one way or another. We all know it is in every State. prgtoken When I consider the challenge we have in Pennsylvania, when I look at the counties with the largest percentage of their population who have been victims of an overdose, the so-called overdose death rate, those counties are not one kind of county. They are a lot of small, rural counties that have a lot of small towns. They are counties with big cities in them and big urban populations. So no matter where you live, fentanyl is a problem. prgtoken The overdose death rate is almost all fentanyl-related in my State of Pennsylvania. Something on the order of 70 or 75 percent or higher of the overdose deaths are fentanyl-related. prgtoken So I don't think anyone in this Chamber--, , or Independent--would disagree with the scale and the severity of the fentanyl problem. There are some things we can do about it, investments we can make that we should not fail to make in the short term, in the near term, and, I hope, with this legislation. prgtoken We all know that the fentanyl problem starts in China. China for years now has been producing the chemical precursors. If anything, we should continue to crack down on the bad guys in China and the cartels in Mexico. The good news is, this legislation, by including the FEND Off Fentanyl bill, which is an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill out of the Banking Committee, will help us do that, to target the bad guys, to target money laundering with provisions that will focus on anti-money laundering provisions. It will also target the bad guys by way of sanctions against transnational criminal organizations. prgtoken This all starts in China, but of course it does end up coming across the border. Most of the fentanyl coming into the United States is trafficked into the country through official land border crossings. This isn't a problem where someone is crossing the border and has fentanyl in their pocket. That is not where most of the fentanyl comes in. The fentanyl comes in in vehicles, in cargo. prgtoken The good news is, we have the technology to detect that and to stop it at the border. But because most of it is coming across those land border crossings by those transnational criminal organizations that start in China--here is the data: prgtoken In fiscal year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, CBP, seized 240,000 pounds of drugs at the southwest land border, which included an estimated 1.1 billion doses of fentanyl. That is just in fi
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Ron Wyden (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2024-2-11

just very briefly, my sense is that, after we are done voting on the piece of legislation that is in front of us, we will have, I would say to my friend from North Carolina, a crucial period where we can come together and start looking at ways to find common ground and get this passed. prgtoken The reality is it has been weeks now since the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and I brought forward our proposal--the one that got 357 votes. I have been saying to folks on the side of the aisle: My door is open. Tell me what you want in terms of a couple of these provisions I have heard mentioned, but we haven't heard anything. prgtoken So I want, as chairman of the Finance Committee, to again extend an olive branch to say: The door is open. Have you got ideas on pay-fors that both sides can go along with that we can get passed in the other body? Have you got issues--I mean, we have had a discussion about the work requirement, for example, and I have looked at all of these experts and this fellow from the tax organization, Grover Norquist, who is certainly one of the more conservative people in this town, who says this doesn't discourage work. But he doesn't have an election certificate, and s do. So we are going to all sit down and work this through, but we have to get it done quickly because people are filing their returns now. We want those small businesses and we want those families to get a fair shake. prgtoken So to all Senators who are listening to this: My door is open. Let's move quickly after we get through this bill and be ready to go when we get back and move this legislation to do something significant, which, by the way, also has an added benefit because it will set the table in a responsible way for the bigger tax debate come 2025. prgtoken . prgtoken .
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Brian Schatz (Democrat, HI) \u2014 2024-2-11

there is no good reason to delay the security and humanitarian assistance in this national security supplemental package any longer. prgtoken Ukraine is running dangerously low on munitions on the eve of the second anniversary of Putin's invasion; millions of innocent Palestinians in Gaza are suffering daily without access to basic necessities; and our allies in the Indo-Pacific are counting on our support to counter China's aggression and maintain stability in the region. prgtoken None of these priorities can wait months longer without being addressed. All of them are vital to our security interests. We need to pass this supplemental urgently. prgtoken When Ukrainian officials warn that they are running out of shells and bullets, it is not an exaggeration. In the fight for an eastern Ukrainian city, the ratio of Russian to Ukrainian artillery fire was 5 to 1--5 to 1. Ukrainian soldiers are being forced to ration their bullets even when enemy soldiers are bearing down on them. That is what Ukraine is contending with on the frontlines as we speak. prgtoken Meanwhile, Putin is intensifying his onslaught with the help of Iran and North Korea which are more than happy to replenish his stockpiles if it means ending world order as we know it. In Gaza, millions of innocent civilians have been, for months, enduring unimaginable horrors on a daily basis. prgtoken More than 28,000 people have been killed since the start of the war. Hundreds of thousands are starving with widespread famine looming. Just about everyone is displaced with nowhere else to go, and humanitarian assistance getting through the few available checkpoints is nowhere close to enough. These people need our help, and it can't arrive soon enough. prgtoken Just as we have a responsibility to help Israel defend itself against Hamas terrorism, we also have a responsibility to make sure that innocent Palestinians caught in the crossfire have access to basic necessities--food, water, medical supplies. prgtoken This package also includes important assistance for our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region in order to counter China's aggression in the region. Chinese President Xi has made no secret of his desire to take Taiwan by force if need be. prgtoken And just because there are wars going on in the Middle East and Europe, it does not mean that we can take our eye off threats brewing in Asia and the Indo-Pacific. It is in both our interest and our allies' interest for us to stay vigilant and provide support to maintain stability in the region. prgtoken Later this week, I will be part of a bipartisan delegation with 14 of my colleagues attending the Munich Security prgtoken Conference in Germany. And one of the pressing questions among world leaders will be: Where does America really stand? Do we still believe in defending democracy and freedom? Are we still willing to rally the world in standing up to autocrats and authoritarianism? <|p
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2024-2-12

I understand why many Americans would like to find a quick way to end the horrific war Russia unleashed on Ukraine. It is tempting to think we can ignore it and hope it will not affect us down the line. However, whether we like it or not, Vladimir Putin's Russia has launched the largest war in Europe since World War II, and if not stopped now, it will only expand until U.S. allies and U.S. troops are dragged in. I want to prevent that from happening. prgtoken Russia is not our friend, nor is Russia neutral toward the United States. Putin, with his roots in the KGB, has identified us as an adversary and actively works to undermine the United States. All the way back in 2005, Vladimir Putin said, ``The demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'' Obviously, for those countries previously held captive by the Soviet empire, and now free and independent, the collapse of their Soviet prison was anything but a catastrophe. Putin's lackey, former Russian President Medvedev, has recently threatened our NATO ally Poland with losing its statehood. Putin likes to repeat the phrase that ``Russia's borders do not end anywhere.'' A billboard was recently spotted with Putin's face and that phrase just before the border crossing with Estonia, another deeply pro-American NATO ally. Maybe this is all bluster, but history shows that we should take it seriously. prgtoken Some people on my side of the aisle have suggested that we should deny Ukraine the arms and ammunition they need to defend themselves and push the Ukrainians to negotiate an end to the war. But we already tried that. This was the policy, and it failed miserably. Remember, Putin invaded Crimea and parts of the Donbas in 2014. President responded by refusing lethal aid to Ukraine and urging negotiations, effectively locking in Russia's territorial gains. Far from ending the conflict, this led Putin to conclude that he could get away with invading all of Ukraine, which he did in February 2022. I am very surprised to see some s now urging a return to the dangerously weak and failed policy. That would be a huge mistake. I also want to be clear that I do not wholeheartedly support prgtoken President 's handling of Russia's invasion. If the administration had made the decision to send key weapons sooner, the Ukrainians might have been able to take back even more territory. prgtoken Both Putin and most Western analysts expected the mighty Russian army would take Kyiv in days. The Ukrainians shocked the world with their will to defend their homeland. Western support trickled in, with some of our European allies leading the way. Ukraine was then able to take back half of the territory Russia initially captured in its full-scale invasion. Today, Ukraine remains in control of roughly 83 percent of its territory. That is a remarkable success, thanks to the support of Europe and t
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Marco Rubio (Republican, FL) \u2014 2024-2-12

I want to start by talking about Ukraine because we have a lot of different opinions here on it. So I wanted to take a moment and discuss this issue of Ukraine because there has been a lot of talk about it. prgtoken I have been watching. As the Senator from Kentucky has just pointed to a moment ago, there has been a lot of debate over the last 5 days about the topic of Ukraine. prgtoken I want to set the stage for why what is happening in Ukraine happened. But let me just, first, preface it by saying what is happening there is not irrelevant to this country and certainly not unimportant. prgtoken To set the stage, we have to go back a little bit. In 2014, Vladimir Putin actually invaded Ukraine. He didn't admit it was his people. He sent in these special forces. They were dressed in costumes. He pretended that wasn't his people, but it was. prgtoken The rationale was this. I want to go back for a moment with the history about Ukraine. Ukraine was supposed to join--wanted to join-- Europe. There was this push inside of Ukraine to join the European Union and to become European in its orientation. Putin didn't like it and began threatening and pressuring the then-President of Ukraine. The then-President of Ukraine, under that pressure from Putin, backed down. prgtoken Upon backing down, he faced a fierce public resistance to that decision. As a result of that, the then-President of Ukraine ordered security forces into the street to attack protesters and crack down. Those protesters eventually overwhelmed the government, overthrew that government. Basically, the President had to flee under the auspices of Vladimir Putin's protection, and then Putin decided to take what they call ``little green men,'' because they weren't dressed like the regular Russian military, and some of these separatist groups--again, supported by Vladimir Putin--to seize portions of the Ukrainian national territory. prgtoken In addition, the Russians did send their troops, dressed in these little green men costumes, to take a portion called Crimea. There are several reasons why that was important to them. The first is obviously access to the ocean, access to the sea, and for the Navy and so forth. And the other is because Crimea has been historically a pretty vibrant and profitable tourism site. So they believed it would add to their economy as well. prgtoken They even went so far as to conduct a fake referendum--a fake election--in which the people of Crimea allegedly voted to join the Russian Federation. prgtoken That was the status quo beginning around this time in 2014, up until the invasion that began almost 2 years now. prgtoken There was this line of demarcation between these separatist forces backed by Putin and the Ukrainian military. They faced off, and there were skirmishes and the like. Then Putin decided to invade. prgtoken Why did Putin decide to invade? Well, Putin--I am confident--was told by his people two things:
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Roger Marshall (Republican, KS) \u2014 2024-2-12

I rise today to discuss the supplemental bill that is before us, but what should be appropriately called the ``Ukraine funding bill.'' prgtoken It is only in America where we try to fund other nation's problems, to fight other people's wars for them, before we fix our own budget. prgtoken We are just weeks away from our own government funding ending. We had the President's budget, which was due several weeks ago--we don't have that budget. We have not done the funding for this year yet. Yet we are moving on to a supplemental bill, of course, all in the background of $34 trillion of debt. prgtoken A couple of things to point out about this supplemental bill. Stating the obvious, there is no border security in this bill--nothing to secure our border. We are about to send almost $100 billion overseas without addressing our most imminent national security threat that our Nation faces: our open southern border. prgtoken I want to start also by saying this. I am not apologetic about being a patriot. A patriot is a person that puts America first. Look, I am always going to root for my home team, the Panthers. I am always going to root for the Kansas City Chiefs. I don't wish other players any ill will, but I will always be an American first. When the American hockey team is playing the Russian hockey team, I am going to root for the American hockey team. If the American soccer team is playing the German soccer team, I am going to root for the American team. I don't have ill will toward the others. I will be American first and set American priorities first. prgtoken I think the next thing we need to point out about this bill is that two-thirds of Senators voted against it. Two-thirds of Senators have voted against proceeding with this legislation. In a -controlled House, I don't see how you are going to find more than 50 percent of those s to pass this bill. It just isn't going to happen. prgtoken As I take a look at these last 4 months up here, I realize that the White House negotiating on securing the border was actually a charade. They were never serious about it. And, of course, it never made sense to the folks back home. Why would we have prgtoken to beg the President of the United States to secure our own border? Why would we have to negotiate over that? Why would we have to give them Ukraine funding in return for a secure border? It makes sense to nobody. prgtoken I want to take a second and talk about why this is important--why this issue is important--why are so many of us standing up and fighting against this $95 billion to never-ending wars. prgtoken I think, as I even consider the 300 people who die from fentanyl every day in this country, this is important. The fact that we don't secure our border is going to allow more of that fentanyl into this country. We are seeing just upshots and upshots of human trafficking, sex trafficking going on across our Na
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2024-2-12

last week, General Kurilla, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, gave me a briefing that was directly relevant to the national securities supplement that we are now considering. During the course of that briefing, the general told me that this is the most dangerous security situation in 50 years. The threats that the United States faces from an aggressive Iran and its proxies, an imperialistic Russia, a hegemonic China, are interconnected, and they require our immediate attention and a strong response. prgtoken That is why this bill focuses on fortifying our military, rebuilding our prgtoken own defense-industrial base, and strengthening and defending our partners and allies. prgtoken This legislation would send a strong message to Putin that his goal of capturing free democratic nations will not be allowed to succeed. It would reassure our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, that terrorists will not achieve their goal of wiping that nation off the map, and it would counter ever-growing Chinese aggression. prgtoken I urge our colleagues to recognize the perilous times in which we are living and vote for this absolutely essential national security bill. The world is watching to see if the United States is still the leader of the free world.