mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
VETERANS TREATMENT COURT IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2018
David P. Roe (Republican, TN) \u2014 2018-6-13

. Madam , as much time as I may consume. prgtoken Madam , I rise today in support of H.R. 2147, as amended, the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2018. prgtoken This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, to hire at least 50 Veterans Justice Outreach specialists, also referred to as VJO specialists, to serve in a veterans treatment or other veteran-focused court. prgtoken VJO specialists provide direct outreach to and case management services for veterans who are involved in the local criminal justice system. They serve to protect some of our most vulnerable veterans from unnecessary criminalization and incarceration by working with law enforcement and the courts to identify service-related mental health or substance abuse issues that may be underlying criminal behavior among veterans, and to link veterans with treatment they need from the VA to recover and become fully functional and contributing members of society. prgtoken This bill is sponsored by Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado. Mr. Coffman is a senior member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and a tireless advocate for service members, veterans, and their families. prgtoken Madam , I thank the gentleman for his leadership on this bill, and I urge all of our colleagues to join me in supporting this. prgtoken Madam , .
AMERICA'S OPIOID CRISIS
Rick W. Allen (Republican, GA) \u2014 2018-6-13

in America today, in every State, in too many families, there is a profound sense of pain, loss, and suffering caused by the horrendous opioid crisis. prgtoken Unfortunately, my home State of Georgia is not immune to this growing epidemic. Many of my closest friends have lost family members or children, and the question is always: Why? How can this happen? prgtoken From 1999 to 2014, prescription opioid deaths increased tenfold in Georgia. We saw over 500 deaths in 2015 as a result of opioid abuse. prgtoken Over the next few weeks, my colleagues and I in the House of Representatives are bringing opioid addiction out of the shadows and voting on over 50 pieces of legislation to prevent further opioid abuse and assist those currently dealing with addiction. We must take proactive steps to fight opioid addiction and focus on treating the mind, the body, and, most important in my view, the spirit. prgtoken The road to recovery may be long and hard-fought, but the American will is as strong as ever and shall prevail. We are at war with drugs, and we must defeat this enemy. prgtoken I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting the nearly 40 opioid-related bills before this House this week. America needs us.
HONORING JARED EICHHORN
Paul D. Ryan (Republican, WI) \u2014 2018-6-13

I address the House today to mark Jared Eichhorn's last week working as the Director of the House Cloakroom. The Cloakroom is a special place in the people's House, and Jared has been its reliable steward. prgtoken Jared's service to the House dates back to the summer of 2006, when he began his tenure as a staff assistant for then-Majority Leader John A. Boehner (OH-08). Jared kept his head down and worked his way up the ladder, ultimately moving to the House floor as a Floor Assistant, a role in which he would flourish. Working with members and staff from the GOP Conference, Jared became a trusted source for parliamentary procedure and floor strategy. prgtoken Given Jared's hard work and steadiness, it is no surprise that in 2015, Boehner named him to serve as the cloakroom's director, a post I asked him to continue in at the start of this speakership. prgtoken Jared is one of the good guys. He is a team player who shows up every day and gives everything he has for this place. Whether it is running the Cloakroom, managing his team, fielding countless questions and requests from member offices, coordinating with the House Rules Committee, Jared's departure will be a big loss to our office and the institution. His quiet dedication to the people's House is an example for all of us, as his unflappable nature. prgtoken A Cleveland native, Jared is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where I am also a proud alumnus. His bride, Sarah, is also a Cleveland native and Miami alumna. Yet while they were in both in Oxford at the same time, it would take a nudge by our former colleague from Ohio, Rep. Steve LaTourette, to make the first introduction. Jared and Sarah are expecting their first child later this summer and I could not be happier for them. I want to thank Sarah for her sacrifices during the late nights and long hours. prgtoken We are so grateful for Jared's service to this institution, and the whole House is in his debt.
TREATING BARRIERS TO PROSPERITY ACT OF 2018
Lou Barletta (Republican, PA) \u2014 2018-6-13

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , H.R. 5294, the Treating Barriers to Prosperity Act, positions the Appalachian Regional Commission, or ARC, to better serve communities across Appalachia that struggle with the ongoing opioid crisis. prgtoken In 2015, there were 5,594 overdose deaths in Appalachia, a drug- related death rate 65 percent higher than the national average. Sixty- nine percent of those deaths were a result of opioid abuse. prgtoken The majority of the lives lost were individuals between the ages of 25 and 44, people who were in their prime working years. prgtoken In my home State of Pennsylvania, the statistics are striking. The Drug Enforcement Administration reported that more than 4,600 Pennsylvanians died in 2016 from drug overdoses, with thousands more affected by addiction. prgtoken This is an increase of 37 percent from 2015, with opioids accounting for 85 percent of the overdoses. prgtoken These troubling statistics make it clear that the opioid crisis is not only destroying lives, it has created a significant challenge to workforce and economic development throughout Appalachia. prgtoken In distressed communities like many in Appalachia, economic development programs must adapt and become real partners in addressing this crisis. One approach is ensuring our economic development agencies have the clear authorities they need. prgtoken H.R. 5294 clarifies that ARC funds may be used to facilitate best practices among the Appalachian States and support programs designed to reduce the harm of opioids to the workforce and economic growth. prgtoken The bill also clarifies funds can be used specifically to attract and retain healthcare businesses and workers. prgtoken This is critical, as it will focus on both job creation and, at the same time, provide much needed access to healthcare services for those struggling with addiction. prgtoken Finally, the bill recognizes that in many areas of Appalachia, infrastructure, such as broadband, must be developed to support these businesses and innovations like telemedicine. prgtoken I want to thank the gentlewoman from Nevada for cosponsoring this important legislation with me, along with the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers) for his leadership on this issue. prgtoken , I urge my colleagues to support this bill and take an important step in combating a national epidemic. prgtoken , .
TEARING IMMIGRANT CHILDREN AWAY FROM THEIR PARENTS
Adam Smith (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2018-6-13

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this very important issue. I just want to echo the comments of my colleagues about the basic inhumanity the policy the administration is perpetrating on these people who are trying to cross the border in order to seek asylum, in order to flee violence and absolutely unlivable conditions in a variety of countries in Latin America. prgtoken To have a policy of separating them from their children is inhumane and goes against every basic value that we, as Americans, hold dear. The terrible thing about it is, if you listen to the administration, that seems to be the idea. Their notion is to make it as painful as possible, to discourage these people from wanting to seek refuge in the United States. prgtoken Think about how that policy just flips on its head everything that we were raised to believe about America. One of the things that makes America great is we are made up of people from all over the world, in many cases, those who have fled horrific living conditions, to come here and build a better life for them and their families. That has made us all better. Our country is stronger because we are renewed every generation by a new set of immigrants from a variety of places across the world. prgtoken The administration is the first administration in the history of prgtoken this country to be openly, 100 percent hostile to all immigrants. They are trying to make the policy as brutal as possible, because they don't understand the benefit of immigration. They seem to think that it is hurting us when it is not. prgtoken So they are wrong on that policy and it is a very simple policy to fix. In fact, it is interesting. We have heard the President on a couple of occasions in the last month say: Oh, not my policy. It is because of some law that Congress passed. prgtoken It is possible that he is that ignorant. I doubt it. I actually think that he is simply not telling the truth to the American people about a policy that his own Attorney General has stated clearly. prgtoken So President , if you are as appalled as you said you were on a couple of occasions by this policy, you are the President. Fix it. Change it. Stop it. prgtoken In my district at a Federal penitentiary in SeaTac that is supposed to be for the most dangerous criminals that have committed Federal crimes in the country, there are housed well over 150 women right now, many of whom have been separated from their children when they crossed the border. prgtoken There is a simple fix to this process. As previous speakers, including Mr. O'Rourke, have said, we have an asylum process in this country. There is a standard by which people can seek asylum and it can be granted or not. We should allow these people coming across this border to go through that asylum process. prgtoken This notion that we don't have room is patently ridiculous. Even at this point, we have all kinds of jobs going on unfilled i
TEARING IMMIGRANT CHILDREN AWAY FROM THEIR PARENTS
Vicente Gonzalez (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2018-6-13

I rise today to remind the American people of the quick phrase that was recently used by the current administration: ``It's not our fault.'' prgtoken It is not our fault. Really? That is that sentiment of our U.S. Attorney General who deflected the responsibility for a zero-tolerance policy that allows the separation of children from their parents. prgtoken In the month of May, this evil new policy led to the separation of more than 600 children in a short 13-day span. prgtoken Have we lost all our human decency? We are a Nation of laws. How can you explain family separation when it comes to asylum seekers? They have not crossed the border illegally, and yet they are being detained and their families separated as if they were here illegally. prgtoken This is a clear attack on immigrants who have exhausted every last resource to seek refuge in the Nation that once welcomed the tired, the poor, and huddled masses yearning to breathe free. prgtoken Have we forgotten the words spoken by Mark 12:31 to love thy neighbor as thyself? Is our new message to blame others and not take responsibility? prgtoken I think it is important to consider the possible logistical challenges before implementing such policies. Perhaps instead of calling for zero tolerance first, you put prosecutors in place and facilities to house folks in a humane manner. Instead, we asked the U.S. Department of Justice to lend us their lawyers and to rent out vacant Walmart stores. prgtoken I have no illusions about what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services are hiding behind those curtains. prgtoken We have to remember that these immigrant families are not committing dangerous crimes. Asylum seekers are not criminals and are not here illegally. prgtoken I represent an area along the border where crime is at record lows, yet the administration keeps saying the opposite. I believe our local officers and local courts and local judges and prosecutors in both State and Federal courts in my region. I believe them when they tell me what the crime rate is, what is happening in our communities. prgtoken Right now, the only increased criminal activity I see is the egregious method of ripping families apart and herding immigrant children into a broken system. prgtoken This is not the America the world knows and loves. This is a shameful period in our history, and we in this body have the responsibility to correct it. prgtoken , if any of these frightened, innocent children ask a Member of this House why they are being separated from their families, we cannot merely say: It is not our fault.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2018-6-13

let me first thank Senator Markey and Senator Warren for their comments and just state that this amendment is very straightforward and simple. It ensures that Congress has an oversight role in authorizing the development of new or modified nuclear weapons, including low-yield nuclear weapons. It reiterates what Congress does every year in the National Defense Authorization Act. I consider the oversight role of this institution essential for the Defense Department and, in particular, for nuclear weapons. prgtoken There are many devastating weapons of war in the world, but nuclear weapons are different. Thankfully, it has been over 70 years since the only time nuclear weapons have been used in war, but because it has been so long, I think many are not fully aware of the awful power of nuclear weapons. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. In the immediate aftermath, approximately 70,000 people--mostly civilians--were killed. Tens of thousands more would die of radiation poisoning within weeks. Approximately 80 percent of the city of 350,000 people was destroyed. The second nuclear weapon, dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later, killed 40,000 immediately and approximately 40,000 more people from radiation poisoning in the following weeks. A weapon that can kill more people in an instant than the United States lost in the entire Vietnam conflict deserves close congressional scrutiny. prgtoken To provide perspective on the size of these weapons, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was 13 to 15 kilotons. The bomb dropped on Nagasaki was 18 to 20 kilotons. A low-yield nuclear weapon is defined as a nuclear weapon whose yield is less than 5 kilotons of explosive yield. For comparison, the Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, used on an Afghanistan tunnel network in 2017--and featured all across the media as a devastating explosion--is 11 tons, or 0.01 kilotons, about 500 times less powerful than a 5-kiloton, low-yield nuclear weapon. So we are talking about an extremely powerful weapon that will result in thousands of casualties if used. prgtoken Two weeks ago, I visited General Hyten, who is the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. We participated in a classified exercise, involving the use of nuclear weapons. Again, the loss of life and destruction was truly sobering. I recommend that all of my colleagues participate in such a war game because it truly brings home the complexity and the essential role the Congress has in overseeing the development of nuclear weapons. prgtoken I would like to convey one point that General Hyten made to me at the conclusion of the war game--that his No. 1 job is to ensure that nuclear weapons never be used in the first place and that they act as a deterrence to their use. prgtoken With that, let me make a few observations on the amendment before us and why we are having this debate today. prgtoken T
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, IL) \u2014 2018-6-13

on Monday, in my office in Chicago, I met a woman and her daughter. The story they had to tell me was heartbreaking. This woman was from the ic Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa. prgtoken Something had occurred at her home while she was gone, where a child of hers left an iron on. Another child came in, grabbed the wire of that iron, was electrocuted, and died. It was a horrible accident that claimed the life of a child. prgtoken That child who died was the nephew of a general in the Army of the ic Republic of Congo. When he heard about his nephew dying in this accident, he said he would take care of the situation and that family would pay a price for the life of his nephew. prgtoken This woman, a mother of three, went into a panic because her daughter was going to be killed by this general--such a panic that she fled the country. Her journey is almost indescribable: From Africa to South America, up through Central America, finally arriving on a bus at the border, the port of entry in Southern California. She came there and asked for asylum. She was in fear of not only her life but the life of her daughter. prgtoken What happened next is what I want to speak to, because what happened next is something that I didn't think would ever happen in America. What happened next was a decision by the Federal Government to take her 6-year-old daughter away from her in California. They said initially that her request for assistance was a valid enough request to go forward to a hearing. But even having said that, they snatched this girl from her mother's arms and removed her screaming to another room. Then, they deported her daughter from Southern California to the city of Chicago--our government. prgtoken Was this mother abusing this child? Of course not. Was there any evidence of trafficking involved here? Of course not. Was this woman a terrorist? Of course not. prgtoken Why did they do it? prgtoken When I heard about it, I called the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Nielsen, and said: Why would you remove that child from that mother's arms and transport her 2,000 miles away? prgtoken She said: Oh, I will look into that. That is not our policy. We don't do that. prgtoken Well, historically, our government didn't do it, but it turned out that Secretary Nielsen was wrong. It is our policy--a policy that has been announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He says it is basically going to be a hard approach to those who try to come to this country and ask for asylum, ask for refuge. prgtoken So in the first two weeks of the month of May, with this new policy of Jeff Sessions--Attorney General Sessions' policy--658 children were removed from their families and taken to separate places. prgtoken Can you imagine the trauma on that child, let alone the mother? The American Academy of Pediatrics tells us that you don't do that to children without leaving some scar, some problem, but
CRUEL ACTIVITY AT OUR BORDERS
Lois Frankel (Democrat, FL) \u2014 2018-6-13

I stand here today, not only as a Member of Congress but as a mother, to say that I am outraged, I am heartbroken, and I am embarrassed by the barbaric activity of our government on our borders. prgtoken The administration's zero-tolerance policy is cruelly ripping children from the arms of their mothers and their fathers at our borders. They are separating them for indefinite periods of time, often in unspeakable, unbearable facilities. prgtoken We have seen a lot of ruthless actions from the administration, but this is as bad as it gets. I call it government-inflicted child abuse. I stand here committed, with like-minded citizens, millions of Americans across the country, condemning these actions and committed to keeping parents and children together when they come to the United States of America.
ASSISTING STATES' IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANS OF SAFE CARE ACT
Suzanne Bonamici (Democrat, OR) \u2014 2018-6-13

such time as I may consume. prgtoken , I rise in support of H.R. 5890. The most recent omnibus legislation increased funding for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, or CAPTA, by $60 million, and this bill would help States improve their support for infants, children, and families suffering from the opioid epidemic by requiring Health and Human Services to provide guidance to States on how to implement effective plans of safe care. prgtoken Pregnant women and young mothers can face seemingly insurmountable challenges when struggling with addiction. I think about Tiffany, whom I met in Oregon. She is from Happy Valley, Oregon, and her struggle with addiction began after she was prescribed medication following a C- section for her third child's birth. prgtoken After having to send her kids to live with her mom, she was finally able to access treatment and other support services. She is now clean, in recovery, able to care for her kids again, and, importantly, help others. prgtoken We must do everything we can to support moms like Tiffany and provide the necessary resources and care to parents and their children so they can have the opportunity to be reunited. prgtoken Although I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, it is important to note that CAPTA, even with the $60 million increase, is not fully funded. Only when CAPTA receives the full amount authorized under law will States be able to meet all requirements and adequately address the needs of children exposed to substance abuse. prgtoken , I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Garrett and Congresswoman Murphy, for their work on this important legislation, and .