mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
CONFIRMATION OF ROB WALLACE
John Barrasso (Republican, WY) \u2014 2019-6-27

I would like to say just a few words about Rob Wallace, the newly confirmed Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks at the Department of Interior. prgtoken I have known Rob for over 35 years. Without question, Rob is the right person for the job. Throughout his long and distinguished career, Rob has struck the proper balance between wildlife management, habitat management, and the use of our public lands. prgtoken In terms of wildlife conservation, Rob is way up there in terms of his commitment. Rob's experience and leadership in Wyoming and in our Nation's capital are ideally suited for this critically important position. prgtoken Throughout his 45-year career, Rob has served in a variety of jobs that directly relate to the two Federal agencies he has been nominated to oversee. Rob began his career as a seasonal park ranger in Grand Teton National Park. Since then, Rob has served in a number of positions. He has been Assistant Director of the National Park Service, chief of staff for Wyoming Senator Malcolm Wallop, staff director for the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee--a committee on which I currently sit. He has been chief of staff for Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer, and manager of U.S. Government Relations for the General Electric Company. prgtoken Rob currently serves as the president of the Upper Green River Conservancy. It is the Nation's first cooperative conservation bank. Rob cofounded the Upper Green River Conservancy. It protects core sage grouse habitat in the ecologically rich and the energy rich Upper Green River watershed in Southwest Wyoming. prgtoken He built an innovative partnership of ranchers, conservation groups, energy companies, investors, and other stakeholders. Rob is also the founding member of the board of the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, a group of people absolutely working together, committed to the Grand Teton National Park. It promotes the park's cultural, historic, and natural resources. He has also served on the boards of many organizations dedicated to conserving wildlife and enhancing our national parks. prgtoken Rob's nomination passed the Environment and Public Works Committee by unanimous vote, and a near-unanimous reported vote in the Committee of Energy and Natural Resources. prgtoken Rob Wallace is an outstanding choice for this position of Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He is the right person for the job, and I am so pleased the Senate has now confirmed his nomination. prgtoken .
SECURING AMERICA'S FEDERAL ELECTIONS ACT
Barry Loudermilk (Republican, GA) \u2014 2019-6-27

. Madam , I thank my friend from Illinois for yielding this minute to me. prgtoken The distinguished talked about misinformation, and I agree. There is a lot of misinformation out there about elections and election security and a lot of that that goes on around here. Let's be factual here. prgtoken There has been zero solid evidence of voter suppression during the last election, which had the largest turnout in the history of this Nation. Our own committee held seven field hearings across the Nation, with zero solid evidence of voter suppression, but the only acts of voter suppression that they tried to bring up had to deal with purging voter rolls. prgtoken We actually had one hearing in Broward County. What is Broward County known for? Voter irregularities. Why? Many times, why? Because of paper ballots. prgtoken But yet this is the direction we are going in, and the distinguished said we are taking it into the 21st century. Show me how. How is this taking us into the 21st century? It is taking us back decades. prgtoken Look, if the Russians were actually physically invading our Nation with bombers and tanks, this bill would be the equivalent of giving our military pellet guns and paper airplanes to thwart the attack. This is taking us away from election security.
RECOGNIZING DuBOIS AREA MIDDLE SCHOOL
Glenn Thompson (Republican, PA) \u2014 2019-6-27

. Madam , I rise today to recognize the hardworking students, teachers, and staff at DuBois Area Middle School. For the fourth consecutive time, DuBois Area Middle School was one of over 465 schools from around the country named as a school to watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. prgtoken The Schools to Watch recognition is based on a comprehensive 3-year review of the entire school. Only one other middle school in Pennsylvania has remained at the top with DuBois for their continuous designations. prgtoken The students, teachers, and faculty members have joined together to create a learning community where everyone is supported. Every year, the community is challenged to maintain their success by continuing to put their best foot forward. This week, they were recognized for their 12 years of excellence at the National Forum Schools to Watch Conference here in Washington, D.C. prgtoken I look forward meeting representatives from the DuBois Area Middle School later today. Madam , the entire 15th Congressional District of Pennsylvania is proud of their continuous success.
NATIONAL DEFENSE
Mitch McConnell (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-6-27

on another matter entirely, later today, the Senate will vote to fulfill a solemn responsibility. For the 59th consecutive year, we will pass the National Defense Authorization Act. I hope and expect we will do it by a wide, bipartisan margin. prgtoken It would be difficult to overstate the importance of this legislation to the ongoing missions of our Nation's men and women in uniform. The NDAA is simultaneously a target to guide the modernization of our all- volunteer force; a supply line to restore readiness and keep U.S. personnel equipped with the most cutting-edge, lethal capabilities; a promise of critical support services to military families; and a declaration to both our allies and adversaries of America's strategic resolve. prgtoken This year's bill authorizes the investments that will support all these bills and a major pay raise for military personnel to boot. prgtoken I am especially proud that it supports the ongoing missions of Kentucky's installations and the many military families who call my State home. prgtoken The NDAA is a product of a robust, bipartisan process that has consumed our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee for weeks. Nearly 300 amendments were adopted during markup. So today, once again, I would like to thank Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed for their leadership throughout this process. They produced legislation that each Member of this body should be proud of. Particularly in these troubled times, this is exactly--exactly--the message the Senate needs to send. I look forward to passing it today. prgtoken Passing the NDAA itself is not the only important message the Senate will send this week on national security. On Friday morning, we will vote on a badly ill-conceived amendment that would literally make our Nation less secure and make American servicemembers less safe. I respect my colleagues, but this amendment from Senator Udall and others is a half-baked and dangerous measure--about as half-baked and dangerous as we have seen on the floor in quite some time. It should be soundly rejected. prgtoken We know that our ic colleagues have political differences with President --I think the whole country has gotten that message pretty loud and clear--but they have chosen a terrible time and a completely irresponsible manner to express themselves. Rather than work with the President, who shares the goal of avoiding war with Iran, they have gratuitously chosen to make him the enemy. prgtoken Let me repeat that. Rather than work with the President to deter our actual enemies, they have chosen to make him the enemy. prgtoken At the very moment that Iran has been stepping up its aggression throughout the Middle East, these Senators are proposing radical new restrictions on the administration's ability to defend U.S. interests and our partners. prgtoken The Udall amendment would require the administration to secure explicit authorization from Cong
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Susan M. Collins (Republican, ME) \u2014 2019-6-27

I rise today to introduce the American Broadband Buildout Act of 2019, or ABBA. This legislation would help ensure that rural Americans have access to broadband services at speeds they need to fully participate in the benefits of our modern society and economy regardless of whether they live in the largest cities or the smallest towns. I am delighted to be joined by my friend and colleague Senator Doug Jones in introducing this bill. prgtoken Twenty-five years ago, when the internet was known as the World Wide Web, Americans typically accessed the web using their home phone lines via modems capable of downloading data at just 56 kilobits per second-- too slow even to support MP3-quality streaming music. Today, the threshold for broadband service as defined by the FCC allows downloads at speeds nearly 500 times faster--25 megabits per second. At these speeds, Americans not only can watch their favorite movies on demand in the comfort of their very own living rooms but can also participate in the global economy while working from home, upgrade their skills through online education, stay connected to their families as they age in place, and access healthcare through advances in telemedicine. prgtoken While the increase in broadband speeds has been dramatic and is encouraging, these numbers mask a disparity between urban and rural Americans. Nearly all Americans living in urban areas have access to the internet at speeds that meet the FCC's broadband threshold, while one in four rural Americans does not. prgtoken Similar disparities occur in terms of broadband adoption--the rate at which Americans subscribe to broadband service if they have access to it. According to the Pew Research Center survey last year, 22 percent of rural Americans don't use the internet at home, compared to just 8 percent of urban Americans. prgtoken The bipartisan bill that we are introducing would help close the digital divide between urban and rural America by directing the FCC to provide up to $5 billion in matching grants to assist States and State- approved entities in building ``last-mile'' infrastructure to bring high-speed broadband directly to homes and businesses in areas that lack it. Let me briefly discuss a few key points about the bill that I would like to highlight. prgtoken First, projects that receive funding must be located in unserved areas where broadband is unavailable at speeds that meet the FCC standards. Narrowing the focus to those areas will ensure that the money goes where it is needed most and will also protect against overbuilding where broadband infrastructure is already in place. prgtoken Second--and this is important--the bill requires that this Federal funding be matched through public-private partnerships between the broadband service provider and the State in which the last-mile infrastructure project will be built. This means that States and their private sector partners will have ``skin in
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020--Resumed
John Thune (Republican, SD) \u2014 2019-6-27

if I might, let me describe where things are in the state of play with respect to the supplemental appropriations bill that deals with the border. prgtoken I know the situation at our border has been at a crisis point for weeks now. Our agencies are stretched to the breaking point, struggling to care for the overwhelming flow of migrants; yet we have House continuing to play politics with the border funding bill. prgtoken Again, to describe the state of play, we had a request from the President 7 weeks ago for $4.5 billion to address this humanitarian crisis we are having at our southern border, and the didn't act on it. They described it as a manufactured crisis. When I say the , I am talking about the House , which is where most spending bills originate. prgtoken After the House failed to act and failed to respond to the President's request for emergency funding, the Senate decided to act. So the Senate Appropriations Committee took up and passed a bipartisan bill out of the Appropriations Committee by a vote of 30 to 1--not a vote that you see all that often around here these days. prgtoken So that bill was reported out to the floor. In the meantime, the House decided that maybe it wasn't, after all, a manufactured crisis and perhaps they needed to act. So prgtoken they picked up a bill--a partisan bill--and passed it out of the House of Representatives on a party-line basis, after which the Senate voted on its bill, the bill I mentioned that was reported out of the Appropriations Committee by a vote of 30 to 1, and it came to the floor where it passed yesterday by a vote of 84 to 8--84 to 8 in the U.S. Senate. prgtoken Well, just to demonstrate that the bipartisan bill passed by the Senate is the vehicle that should move forward and should go to the President for his signature, the President had indicated he would veto the House-passed bill, but we took it up. We took up the House-passed bill yesterday on the floor of the U.S. Senate. We had a vote on it. It got 37 votes here on the floor of the Senate--not nearly enough, obviously, to pass the Senate. Of course, it was going to meet a certain veto by the President even if it had. prgtoken That being said, there were 37 votes for the House-passed partisan bill that came out of the House of Representatives. Here on the floor of the Senate, there were 84 votes for the bipartisan bill produced by the Senate Appropriations Committee. prgtoken Where we are right now is that was sent back to the House. The House, frankly, should just take up that bill and pass it. We know for certain the President would sign it. Again, I think it demonstrates a body of work that reflects the will of both sides, s and -- certainly in the Senate--to get a vote of 30 to 1 out of the Appropriations Committee or 84 to 8 on the floor of the Senate. You had to have a high level of bipartisan cooperation. <|p
IN HONOR OF W.S. EVERETT
Brett Guthrie (Republican, KY) \u2014 2019-6-27

. Madam , I rise today to honor the life and service of Wilson Spencer ``W.S.'' Everett of Glasgow, Kentucky. Mr. Everett was a proud patriot throughout his life, serving in the Kentucky National Guard and the United States Army during the Korean War. prgtoken For the last 30 years, Mr. Everett dedicated his time to honor the legacies of his fellow soldiers, whether through his involvement with the Glasgow chapter of the Disabled American Veterans, or his regular participation with the Chapter 20 Color Guard. Mr. Everett also designed two memorials in my district: the Hiseville Veterans Memorial and the Glasgow-Barren County Veterans Wall of Honor. His dedication to this endeavor was so great that even in his final days, Mr. Everett went to the Wall of Honor to install the final veteran's title. prgtoken Today, I join with Mr. Everett's family in remembering the legacy that he left behind. He is truly an American patriot that strived to live his life in honor of each fold of the flag and I am grateful for his service not only to the country, but also to his community.
FISCAL CHALLENGES
Michael B. Enzi (Republican, WY) \u2014 2019-6-27

from Ohio for his outstanding comments on faith-biased security and the immigration crisis that we are facing and the solutions he suggested. We have a lot of work to do there. prgtoken Now you get to hear from the accountant. prgtoken I come to the floor today to call attention to the Federal Government's unsustainable fiscal outlook. prgtoken Yesterday in the Senate Budget Committee we had a hearing on fixing our broken budget and spending process, with a focus on securing our country's fiscal future. Our witness was the Comptroller General of the United States, the head of the Government Accountability Office. prgtoken In April of this year, GAO issued its third annual update on the nation's fiscal health. The report concluded that the Federal Government is on an unsustainable fiscal path. prgtoken A Congressional Budget Office report released this week on the long- term budget outlook painted a similarly bleak picture, noting that our surging Federal debt is putting our Nation at risk of a ``fiscal crisis.'' This is one of the charts we got to see. I know it is pretty hard for people to read. We are figuring out a way to make this bigger. prgtoken The impact will be tremendous. It shows that, in 2019, Social Security spending passed the $1 trillion mark annually. In 2021, the highway trust fund will be unable to meet all obligations. In 2022, the discretionary spending caps will expire, allowing unlimited spending. In 2025, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation multiemployer fund will be depleted. It will be insufficient to pay full benefits to insolvent pension plans. In 2025, CBO projects the net interest spending will surpass the spending on national defense. In 2026, the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund will be depleted. With some incoming revenue, it will be sufficient to pay 91 percent of hospital- related Medicare spending, which is already forced to be low. prgtoken In 2030, the net interest spending will exceed $1 trillion annually. The interest will exceed $1 trillion annually. prgtoken In 2031, mandatory spending and interest will consume all Federal revenue. It means we will not get to make any decisions on anything that isn't mandatory, which we don't get to make decisions on right now. prgtoken In 2032, the Social Security trust fund will be depleted. The amount of money coming in that will be paid out right away will only pay 77 percent of the scheduled benefits. I will cover that more later. prgtoken Those are a few of the fiscal cliffs we are facing that could be solved now, that have to be solved now. If they are solved now, they have simpler, less impactful problems than if we wait until the cliff gets here. prgtoken The Federal Government is swimming in a sea of red ink that threatens to drown America's future generations. If current laws don't change, debt as a percentage of GDP, will soar to unprecedented levels over the next 30 years. Let me repeat t
RECOGNIZING LIEUTENANT GENERAL ROBERT SCOTT WILLIAMS ON HIS RETIREMENT
Neal P. Dunn (Republican, FL) \u2014 2019-6-27

. Madam , I rise today to recognize Lieutenant General Robert Scott Williams as he retires after 32 years of service to the United States Air Force. prgtoken On June 20, General Williams completed his tour as dual commander of Air Forces Northern and First Air Force headquarters at Tyndall Air Force Base, capping a long and distinguished career. prgtoken His service to the Air Force included a tour as commander of the 169th Operations Group and Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina. prgtoken General Williams' leadership during and after Hurricane Michael was top tier. He and his team at Tyndall Air Force Base overcame numerous obstacles and exceeded expectations by opening First Air Force headquarters way ahead of schedule. This is only 2 short months after the category 5 storm Michael devastated the panhandle. prgtoken Madam , I applaud the work he has accomplished over his last 3 years of command and his 32-year career. Please join me in saluting Lieutenant General Robert Scott Williams for his great service to the Air Force.
SECURING AMERICA'S FEDERAL ELECTIONS ACT
Ken Calvert (Republican, CA) \u2014 2019-6-27

. Madam , as a Member from California, it is hard for me to believe that the majority could possibly propose an election security bill that doesn't address the major vulnerabilities related to ballot harvesting. prgtoken Ballot harvesting is where paid campaign operatives collect up to hundreds or even thousands of ballots and drop them off at polling places or an election office. The practice is ripe for fraud and a recipe for disaster. Any serious effort to secure elections would address it. prgtoken Let's be clear: We want to give people who need it an opportunity to vote by mail, and we want to look for ways to make it easier for disabled or elderly Americans to participate in our elections. My concern is inserting campaign operatives into the ballot-handling process without any safeguards. prgtoken In California, paid campaign staff can collect hundreds of ballots without having to disclose who they are working for. When they hand over those ballots to election officials, there is no requirement to even provide their name. prgtoken Some of my friends across the aisle claim that the real problem is bad actors committing fraud. But it is the very practice of ballot harvesting being the problem. The reality is this process is an open invitation for fraud. That is why most States have banned the practice. prgtoken Ignoring the most notable threat to election security is unacceptable in a so-called election security bill. prgtoken Madam , American voters deserve better. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill until we can get serious about real threats to our democracy.
ISSUES OF THE DAY
Louie Gohmert (Republican, TX) \u2014 2019-6-27

. Madam , so we just took up the humanitarian crisis that is going on at our border and passed the Senate bill, so there will be a tremendous amount of money that will be going to provide more beds, shelter, food, transportation, whatever is needed. The one thing that the Senate bill is especially void of is money to secure our border. prgtoken It is something to say that, with all of the problems in the Senate bill, the things that were not addressed in the Senate bill, the fact that it was so much better than the House bill says an awful lot about the House bill and its shortcomings. prgtoken We have, still, and will after this bill is signed into law and money is put into use, a crisis on our southern border. prgtoken As was pointed out to me after some of us visited Normandy with the on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, on D-Day, we had 150,000 or so Allied troops that invaded Normandy, over 150,000, a tremendous number, landing craft, parachuting. Yet just in the month of May, that is about how many invaded our southern border--that we caught. We don't know how many didn't get caught. prgtoken Some think that for every one we actually catch and in-process, there is one that gets away. We don't know. prgtoken We know that there are a great number of people who are not caught because they are picked up on cameras prgtoken and with other information that is gleaned on the border. prgtoken But it will continue to be a problem after this money is spent, and there is some concern--it is legitimate--that when you have what the civil litigation would indicate is an attractive nuisance--that is the terminology in a lawsuit--and you don't put up a fence, a wall, something to impede people from coming into property illegally, then, if they hurt themselves--and the example most people think of is a swimming pool or a pool or a pond. prgtoken If you have that water on your property, and you don't bother to put up a fence or a wall, and someone comes onto your property and drowns, you are going to end up paying a tremendous amount of money, normally, to the family of whoever drowned coming onto your property when it was not properly secured with a fence or a wall. prgtoken That is not to say it has to be electrified or some kind of really intense structure. But you need to have something that would impede somebody from coming in and drowning in your water. prgtoken Now, the moment of silence earlier, most of us were deeply moved by the picture, horrendously tragic, of a child, who seemed to be so close, even sharing the father's shirt, with her little arm around his neck. prgtoken Having had girls growing up, that is an emotional picture for some of us especially. prgtoken But we have what most would say is the highest-evolved justice system, judicial system, litigation system in history. It has come through thousands of years of different types of laws, be them looking up at the bust of Hammurabi, the Code of Hammurabi, the Ju