mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET, FISCAL YEAR 2017
Ted Cruz (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-1-5

in the final days of the administration's second term, with all eyes focused on the President- elect, the temptation to try to take a dramatic action to seal a cherished policy legacy must have been almost irresistible. So it proved for President on December 23, 2016, when he betrayed decades of robust bipartisan American support for Israel at the United Nations by abstaining from a completely biased resolution that condemns our close friend and ally Israel and condemns all the so-called settlement activity, defined as any construction in any territory won by Israel in the Six-Day War. prgtoken U.S. policy for decades has been to stand up for Israel at the United Nations, a hot bed of anti-Semitism that discriminately condemns Israel more than any country in the world, particularly when resolutions are being offered up that are outrageously biased, that attempt to predetermine the outcome of negotiations, that prejudge the basis for negotiations, or that try to dictate terms to Israel. prgtoken We have seen this pattern of appealing to the United Nations from the administration over and over with disastrous deals--the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the U.N. Convention on Climate Change, two international agreements that significantly threaten the security and prosperity of the United States. Both of them should have been submitted to this body, the Senate, as treaties. prgtoken But the President chose instead to try to impose them through the United Nations because he knew that they would never be ratified by the Senate, even when this Senate had a ic majority. So the administration's strategy, instead, has been to curb American power by subjugating our national interests to the globalist agenda of the U.N a policy that he is now attempting to extend to Israel. prgtoken Here are some of the main problems with UNSC Resolution 2334. First, it is an attack on Israeli sovereignty, as it falsely defines as illegal under international law building activity within Israel's own borders, which should be an internal Israeli issue. The historical connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel did not begin in 1967. prgtoken Let us not forget that the Six-Day War was a defensive war fought almost 50 years ago by the Jewish state against the Palestinians and their Arab enablers, who were gathering in a concerted effort to wipe Israel off the map. Against all odds, Israel won quickly and decisively and the map was redrawn to ensure that Israel was not endangered by its own borders, the weakness of which Israel's enemies had attempted to exploit. prgtoken Of course, the defeated party, the Palestinians, have not accepted this outcome. Israel has time and again invited them to negotiate a resolution--just one that involves Israel's continued existence as a Jewish state, something that the Palestinian Authority has over and over refused to ackn
SUPPORTING OUR NATION'S VETERANS
Gus M. Bilirakis (Republican, FL) \u2014 2017-1-5

as the 115th Congress kicks off this week, I remain committed to supporting our Nation's veterans. We made some good progress last year, but there is still much more work to be done. prgtoken While our military spends over 6 months preparing soldiers for assignment, we only spend 5 days preparing them to reintegrate to civilian life. I will be making it a priority to ensure veterans have a robust transition and support system for returning home. prgtoken We also must bring greater accountability and transparency to the VA. If a VA employee fails to do their duty to care for our Nation's heroes, they should be swiftly terminated. We need to turn around the culture of mediocrity at the agency. I look forward to working with Chairman Roe and my colleagues on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs this year to stand up for our men and women in uniform.
SUPPORT THE REINS ACT
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2017-1-5

as the House is set to begin debate on H.R. 26, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, commonly referred to as the REINS Act, as a cosponsor of this bill, I rise to express my strong support for its passage. prgtoken This bill requires that any Federal regulation with a significant economic impact be subject to an up-or-down vote in both Chambers of Congress. Currently, the President has the power to implement regulations over executive agencies on a broad basis with little congressional consent. prgtoken The balance of power in Washington has often shifted increasingly toward the executive branch. This enables executive agencies to create regulations that Congress would never have approved. The pace and volume of Federal regulations and rules are increasing. In 2016 alone, the administration broke all records in printing more than 97,000 pages and by issuing more than 3,800 rules and regulations in the Federal Register. prgtoken Unfortunately, the bureaucracy has been empowered to create punitive regulations rather than promoting collaborative efforts with States, businesses, and the average citizen I encourage each of my colleagues to think of the American people and vote ``yes'' on the REINS Act.
ORDERS FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2017-1-5

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12:45 p.m Friday, January 6; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the Senate stand in recess, to then proceed as a body to the Hall of the House of Representatives under the provisions of S. Con. Res. 2, for the counting of the electoral ballots; further, that upon dissolution of the joint session, the Senate stand adjourned until 2 p.m Monday, January 9; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; finally, that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of S. Con. Res. 3.
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Lisa Murkowski (Republican, AK) \u2014 2017-1-5

I rise today to once again open a small portion of the Arctic coastal plain, in my home State of Alaska, to oil and gas development. I am introducing the bill because, now more than ever, new production in northern Alaska is vital not only to my state's future, but also to our Nation's energy and economic security. prgtoken It has been known for more than nearly 4 decades that the 1.5 million acres of the Arctic coastal plain that lie inside the northern one- eleventh of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are the most prospective lands in North America for a major conventional oil and gas discovery. The U.S. Geological Survey continues to estimate that this part of the coastal plain--which represents just 3 percent of the coastal plain in all of northern Alaska--has a mean likelihood of containing 10.4 billion barrels of oil and 8.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, as well as a reasonable chance of economically producing 16 billion barrels of oil. Even the relatively recent major finds in North Dakota's Bakken field and the recent estimates of shale oil in Texas' Wolfcamp formation pale in comparison, as ANWR is likely to hold over three times more conventional oil than any other onshore energy deposit in North America. prgtoken In the 1990s, opponents dismissed ANWR's potential and argued that the nearby National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska was forecast to contain almost as much oil. However, early this decade the U.S. Geological Survey significantly reduced its oil estimates in the 23 million acre reserve. Instead of containing somewhere between the 6.7 to 15 billion barrels as forecast in 2002, the USGS now forecasts a mean of 896 million barrels--a dramatic downward revision. While I still believe oil production must be allowed to proceed in NPRA and that development of satellite fields must be allowed to occur, the revised forecast means that opening a small area on shore to the east on the coastal plain, is now more vital than ever for America's economic and national security interests. prgtoken That is especially the case given that President late last year closed almost all of Alaska's outer continental shelf oil and gas deposits to future exploration and development. That makes production of onshore deposits even more vital for Alaska's economic future, and for the Nation's long-term energy security. prgtoken America once received more than 10 percent of its daily domestic oil production from fields in Alaska. You heard correctly, production already occurs in Arctic Alaska, and has for nearly 40 years. We have successfully balanced resource development with environmental protection. Alaskans have proven, over and over again, that those endeavors are not mutually exclusive. prgtoken Today, however, we face a tipping point. Alaska's North Slope production has declined for years and now accounts for just under 5 percent of the Nation's daily production. It is now forecast to declin
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET, FISCAL YEAR 2017
Chuck Grassley (Republican, IA) \u2014 2017-1-5

it is because of Care that the health insurance markets in this country are badly damaged. They have gotten worse each year. They are now near collapse. prgtoken You were told 8 years ago that if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. Millions can't. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Millions of Americans were not able to keep their doctor. You were told that your health insurance premiums would go down $2,500. They have actually gone up probably $3,500. Some people don't have a choice in plans. Some counties don't even have a plan in the exchange. If you could get a plan, you might not be able to afford it. If you could afford the plan, you might not be able to use it because of the high copayments you have to have. So it is not a very good situation. prgtoken It took 6 years for the health insurance market to get as bad as I just described. It will take time for those markets to be restored. The next few years in health care will be challenging if Care is repealed or even if it is not repealed. If Care is not repealed, it will be even longer before Americans have access to a functioning health insurance market and the insurance plans they want. prgtoken When it comes to health care, every second counts. We owe it to the American people who are sick or who could get sick, as well as families and businesses trying to plan for the future, to start fixing that problem right now. That is the result of the election. That is what the Senate is going to do. prgtoken The Affordable Care Act, which could more appropriately be called the Unaffordable Care Act, has been a case of over-promise and under- delivery. People were told that their premiums would go down and that if they liked their doctor, their hospital, or their health care plan, they could keep all of it. The reality is much different. More than half of the country had two or fewer insurance plans from which to choose this year. Some regions had no insurance plans available at all. Even those who were strong supporters of the health care law, like the Minnesota Governor whom I like to quote, have prgtoken said the Affordable Care Act ``is no longer affordable to many Americans.'' prgtoken In my State of Iowa, the Affordable Care Act premium increases this year were over 40 percent for many individuals. Few people, of course, can afford that. Families that did manage to purchase Affordable Care Act insurance found that they could no longer afford to use it. prgtoken One Iowan recently called my office and told me that his premiums have increased 400 percent in 3 years. He also said that his deductible went up to--can you believe it--$14,000. Last year, one of his children had a major medical problem, and they had to pay for all of that care out of their pocket--not from the insurance. The family paid $12,000 for the Affordable Care Act insurance, which did not pay for any health care. Of course, that jus
Doug Collins (Republican, GA) \u2014 2017-1-5

the balance of my time. prgtoken It is amazing to me some of the stuff that I have just heard, Mr just in the last few minutes. And I appreciate my friend across the aisle, but the debate that we have been having here is amazing. So that is something I want to talk about, but also something that came up, just to take a few steps down the road. prgtoken It had been mentioned many times here on the floor today that a unanimous vote by the Security Council in some way implies that it was right or that it was proper. I am sorry, the groupthink of the United Nations Security Council on this issue was wrong. prgtoken The one that was left silent was the beacon of freedom to the world, the United States, and instead of engaging, instead of working as we have in the past abstained or voted against, there have been times when we actually, as my friend said a moment ago, , worked together. When that did happen in the past, there were times in which Israel and the U.S. worked together to soften or change, and we had, at that point in time, something that--not liked, but something that could be lived with. In this case, it was nothing Israel said. This is bad. America turned its back. prgtoken Where was the voice? It was silent. Where was the voice? We voted absent. That is not what the leader of the free world should do. That is not what the leader of the free world should do to his closest ally in the Middle East. That is why we are talking about this. prgtoken There are other things we can discuss today. There are other discussions on two-state solutions on another case on the settlement, but the bottom line here is that it goes deeper than the other issues. The deeper part here is that we simply sat silent while the world mocked and criticized our strongest ally, . prgtoken So don't talk to me about working together. I get it. But where was the working together on this? It was absent. A unanimous vote, especially of the United Nations Security Council, using that as your justification, I think we need to talk. prgtoken But also, , when we come to the end, regulatory environment, the REINS Act is simply saying: Congress, do what Congress is supposed to do. Congress, work as the voice of the American people. Work for the voice of helping companies start and create jobs. Work with the American people to relegate them forward instead of moving backward. prgtoken The REINS Act simply says: let's do our job here. Not the ones who are closed off from input but the folks who are elected to come to this place, to come to these hallowed halls and debate what we are talking about today: debate the regulatory environment, debate the environment. When we do that, then that is what we need to do. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill.
FOREIGN CULTURAL EXCHANGE JURISDICTIONAL IMMUNITY CLARIFICATION BILL
Orrin G. Hatch (Republican, UT) \u2014 2017-1-5

in the final hour of our legislative business early last December 10, we passed a remarkable bill. It had no ideological division, did not cost the taxpayers a dime, and will benefit Americans in every part of the country. And, like the House did, we passed it unanimously. prgtoken This bill had the somewhat unwieldy title of the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act. While not lending itself to a catchy acronym, it is accurately descriptive. For more than 50 years, a Federal law has provided legal protection for art loaned by foreign governments for exhibition in the United States. Confidence in that protection is an essential piece of the complex arrangements that can take years to complete in order to bring wonderful exhibits to American museums for everyone to enjoy. prgtoken America has hundreds of museums of all sorts. The art museum at Brigham Young University, for example, is one of the largest and best attended in the Mountain West. When it began working on a major exhibition of art from Islamic countries, some of its loan requests were unexpectedly denied. It turns out that a 2007 Federal court decision had made such loans risky, rather than secure. After that court decision, the act of lending, even after State Department review and approval, could actually lead to a new category of lawsuits against the foreign lenders. prgtoken This legislation, now signed into law, reverses that court decision and clarifies that lending art after State Department review does not raise the possibility of new litigation. Foreign governments can once again have confidence that lending art for exhibition will improve cultural understanding and enrich people's lives without the threat of new lawsuits. prgtoken The bill has two narrow exceptions. I want to thank Dr. Wesley Fisher, director of research at the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, and Rabbi Andrew Baker, director of International Jewish Affairs at the American Jewish Committee, for their help in drafting the exception for Nazi-era claims. The second exception covers comparable state-sponsored coercive campaigns of cultural plunder. Art that was looted in such a campaign should not be given protection for exhibition in the United States. prgtoken The senior Senator from California, Mrs. Feinstein, was my principal partner in this effort. She and her staff have been patient, thoughtful, and dedicated; in particular, I want to thank her chief counsel, Eric Haren, and counsel Lartease Tiffith for working so diligently with my own chief counsel, Tom Jipping. The problem to be solved was clear, but it was challenging to find the right language to solve that problem without unintended consequences. prgtoken I also want to thank the Association of Art Museum Directors, their director of government affairs Anita Difanis, and their special counsel Josh Knerly. They have been committed to this goal from t
ENDING THE REGULATION NATION
Tom Emmer (Republican, MN) \u2014 2017-1-5

I rise today to talk about the problem of excessive government. prgtoken The United States of America, the land of the free and the brave, a country created to provide everyone an equal opportunity to survive and thrive, has now become the regulation Nation. prgtoken In my travels across the great State of Minnesota, I have met and talked with people from all walks of life: farmers and manufacturers, teachers and entrepreneurs, community bankers and credit unions, and they are all crying out for relief from the excessive, overly burdensome, and duplicative regulation that is stifling growth and stealing opportunity. prgtoken For the past 8 years, opportunity in America has been under attack by regulations and unelected regulators from Washington. If every American is to have the opportunity to pursue the American Dream, this must end. That is why policy reforms such as the REINS Act are so important. prgtoken Under this vital legislation, any major rules from a Federal agency will require congressional approval. This is a great step to end the regulation Nation. We in the people's House must continue to work together to make life easier for the American people, not more difficult. prgtoken In the 115th Congress, we must--and we will--work with the incoming administration to roll back excessive and unnecessary regulation so that American families and businesses not only survive but can once again thrive.
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET, FISCAL YEAR 2017
Rob Portman (Republican, OH) \u2014 2017-1-5

I enjoyed listening to the comments of my colleague from Utah about the Affordable Care Act, and I wanted to expand on that a little if I could. I know we are having a discussion right now about whether to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and we are focused a lot on what the timeframe might be and what the replacement might be, which is appropriate, but we also have to remind ourselves as to how we got here. prgtoken We got here because the Affordable Care Act has not met its promises and has let down the people of Ohio and people around the country. Millions of these families have already had a tough time experiencing really a middle-class squeeze of flat wages, even declining wages, on average, over the last decade or so, and now higher costs. That squeeze is accelerated by the cost of health care which has gone up dramatically. prgtoken In my own State of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Insurance has reported a 91-percent increase in the individual market in Ohio in the last 6 years, an 80-percent increase for small businesses that are purchasing Affordable Care Act-compliant plans. This is since the Affordable Care Act went into effect. Think about that. There has been almost a doubling of health care premium costs. Who can afford that? People certainly can't afford that as their wages are flat or even declining. prgtoken According to the Kaiser Family Health Foundation, average family premiums since the Affordable Care Act was put into place have increased by more than $4,700. Recall that one of the promises of the Affordable Care Act was that costs would go down, on average, $2,500 per family. Exactly the opposite has happened. In fact, there has been an almost doubling, with a $4,700 increase. I don't think families got that kind of pay increase to be able to afford that. They certainly haven't in Ohio. prgtoken So this is a huge problem. To make matters worse, we think these cost increases are continuing to escalate in our State and around the country. In Ohio, premiums grew this year in 2017--on average, 13 percent higher than in 2016. So there have been double-digit increases in 1 year. With two plans in particular, premiums went up by 39 percent in Ohio. So for some families it was much worse than that. We have had good leadership in Ohio with Governor Kasich and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, who is also the insurance commissioner in our State, and because of that we have done a better job of trying to control these costs, but in many parts of the country, the situation is getting even worse. prgtoken Nationally, premiums are increasing by 25 percent just this year. In Arizona, they are doubling. In Tennessee, they are rising 63 percent. In Pennsylvania, right next door to Ohio, they are rising 32 percent. I can go on and on. I am sure North Dakota has had similar problems, as the Presiding Officer can tell us about. Some people might be able to afford these higher premiums, but I
OBJECTING TO UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2334
David A. Trott (Republican, MI) \u2014 2017-1-5

. I thank the chairman. prgtoken , I rise today in support of H. Res. 11, which offers a strong objection to U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334. prgtoken President started his foreign policy 8 years ago with an apology tour in the Middle East, and now, not surprisingly, he ends it with a slap in the face to our ally and friend, Israel. prgtoken For over 40 years, the United States Government--s and --stood shoulder to shoulder with our ally, vetoing countless resolutions at the United Nations. However, this past December, President broke that tradition and chose to allow this resolution to come before the Security Council for a vote. As Prime Minister Netanyahu said: ``This was a disgraceful anti-Israel maneuver.'' Not only does this one-sided resolution blatantly target Israel, it seriously impedes the peace process. prgtoken Unfortunately, while I wholeheartedly reject what happened at the United Nations, I cannot say that I am surprised. The administration has been more concerned with appeasing nefarious actors like Iran and Cuba, all the while ignoring friends like Israel. I look forward to a new era of foreign policy in which our enemies fear us and our allies respect us.