mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
Montana Ag Summit (Executive Calendar)
Jack Reed (Democrat, RI) \u2014 2017-5-2

I rise in opposition to the nomination of Jay Clayton to be Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC. prgtoken Mr. Clayton has achieved great personal success as a corporate attorney, where for years he represented some of our Nation's largest financial institutions, such as Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Goldman Sachs. Personal success is not the same as being willing to safeguard the interests of all who participate in and rely on our capital markets, especially working-class Americans, as I believe a good SEC Chairman must. Based on Mr. Clayton's testimony and his answers to my questions and those of my colleagues on the Banking Committee, I am unable to support his confirmation. prgtoken As more and more working-class Americans know, pensions are becoming rarer, and more American families, assuming they even have extra money to spare from their paychecks, must invest in securities to save for retirement or send their kids to college. The integrity and efficiency of our capital markets then are not only of great importance to the megabanks and tycoon investors, but also to working-class Americans. prgtoken It is therefore in all of our interests to have strong and vigilant Federal financial regulators who can help ensure we avoid another financial crisis. While the megabanks have bounced back after staring into the abyss, the last financial crisis, which began in the administration, had devastating consequences on working-class Americans, too many of whom lost their jobs, their nest eggs, and their homes. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average has recovered, the impacts are still felt by too many in Rhode Island and throughout the country. prgtoken While it is vitally important to help small businesses raise capital and grow their companies by actually creating jobs here in the United States, it is also equally essential that we have a strong cop on the beat that upholds and improves the integrity of our capital markets. prgtoken Initially, I was encouraged to read in Mr. Clayton's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee that ``there is zero room for bad actors in our capital markets'' and that ``I am 100 percent committed to rooting out any fraud and shady practices in our financial system.'' prgtoken During his confirmation hearing, I asked Mr. Clayton if he would support my bipartisan legislation with Senator Grassley that would deter fraud by increasing the statutory limits on civil monetary penalties. Our legislation responds to former SEC Chair Mary Shapiro's statement that ``the Commission's statutory authority to obtain civil monetary penalties with appropriate deterrent effect is limited in many circumstances.'' In his response to me, Mr. Clayton said, ``I am very willing to take a look at the issue and work with you on it and give you my views after I've been better educated on it.'' I accepted this response for the time being and wrote to Mr. Clayton a
HONORING INVESTMENTS IN RECRUITING AND EMPLOYING AMERICAN MILITARY VETERANS ACT OF 2017
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (Democrat, GA) \u2014 2017-5-3

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. prgtoken , I rise in support of the omnibus appropriations bill. As the ranking member on the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, I would prgtoken like to take a few moments to highlight a few areas in the bill's agriculture section. prgtoken This has been a long time coming, beginning with a markup over 1 year ago in April 2016. Since then, many things have changed, but what has remained constant is the desire of the House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee to address the needs of rural America by adequately funding programs that serve them and the country. prgtoken While the total funding level is below 2016 and the House-reported bill, I believe we used what we had wisely. For example, we secured increased funding for agriculture research, food and plant health programs, the Farm Service Agency, and for rural development. prgtoken The bill also expands telemedicine, broadband access, and STEM distance learning, as well as provides $400 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for disaster assistance. prgtoken In rural development, which is central to rural communities and the economies vital for producing America's food and fiber products, the bill provides $37 billion in direct and guaranteed loans to support clean water, decent housing, telecommunications, electric services, and rural businesses, which is more than we provided last year. prgtoken On the grant side, water and waste grants are more than 10 percent higher than the President's budget request, broadband grants are more than three times higher than 2016, and community facility grants are 25 percent higher than the 2016 request and what was appropriated. prgtoken All the domestic nutrition programs, , are funded at levels that will fully meet estimated needs for the rest of the fiscal year. FDA is funded above both FY16 and FY17 requests. prgtoken However, for the third consecutive year, I am disappointed that Congress continued to keep the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at $250 million, making it increasingly difficult for the CFTC to carry out its core mission as well as its responsibilities under Dodd-Frank. prgtoken I am very disappointed the omnibus does not include carefully crafted cottonseed legislation to assist American cotton producers. I am looking forward to beginning FY 2018 reviews and farm bill negotiations to close the remaining gaps left with the FY 2017 omnibus. prgtoken Despite those concerns, I think this is a good bill. As a proud Representative of the largest cotton-producing district in the State of Georgia and the number one peanut- and pecan-producing district in the country, I urge my colleagues to support it so that we can get started on FY 2018 work and complete it in a timely manner for the benefit of our fellow Americans. <|p|
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 244, HONORING INVESTMENTS IN RECRUITING AND EMPLOYING AMERICAN MILITARY VETERANS ACT OF 2017
Richard E. Neal (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2017-5-3

. We have debated health care since Harry Truman was President. We have debated health care since Lyndon Johnson offered Medicare and Medicaid. Bob Dole and Mitt Romney and Richard Nixon all understood you needed the mandate to provide health care to all members of the American family. They are going to shun that today and tomorrow by turning their backs on preexisting conditions. Remember, real national defense also means providing health care for members of the American family.
HONORING INVESTMENTS IN RECRUITING AND EMPLOYING AMERICAN MILITARY VETERANS ACT OF 2017
Nita M. Lowey (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-5-3

such time as I may consume. prgtoken I am pleased to be here with Chairman Frelinghuysen to complete the fiscal year 2017 appropriations process. Bipartisan negotiations resulted in a bill. The product of compromise makes important investments such as: increasing biomedical research at the NIH by $2 billion; increasing investments in early childhood and education programs such as Head Start, Title I, IDEA, and afterschool programs; making college more affordable by increasing Pell grants and making them available year round; providing robust funding for public broadcasting and community service; and investing in transportation, housing, first responders, and providing our military with the tools to deter and defeat threats abroad. prgtoken It would also: ensure American citizens in Puerto Rico continue to have access to health care; permanently extend health insurance benefits for retired mine workers; increase funding to combat the opioid epidemic; preserve Planned Parenthood's eligibility for Federal funds; provide $1.1 billion in disaster assistance for regions affected by storms and flooding, including North Carolina, California, Louisiana, West Virginia, and more. prgtoken It is imperative to note what this bill does not contain: not one cent for President 's border wall or additional fencing; no poison-pill riders that would have prevented so-called sanctuary cities from receiving Federal grants, undermined the Affordable Care Act, or harmed the FDA's ability to regulate tobacco products. prgtoken While I am pleased we reached this agreement, we should not celebrate coming to a full-year agreement in May for a fiscal year that began 7 months ago. prgtoken Last year, our committee was negotiating in good faith until the transition team interfered, insisting on a CR until late April. This unnecessary and costly delay, combined with the President's proposed cuts for the FY17 and FY18 spending bills, do not bode well for our work in the coming months. prgtoken So, while I support this bill, I am under no illusions and expect this President will again insist on draconian cuts that will harm hardworking families and interfere with our ability to negotiate. prgtoken Just yesterday, the President irresponsibly tweeted: ``Our country needs a good `shutdown' in September. . . . `' Perhaps the President needs a history lesson. The Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse. I hope the President is watching and that he will learn that good things happen when we work together for the American people. prgtoken Of course, our good bipartisan work on this bill would not have been possible without our excellent staff, and I want to personally thank all the minority and majority Appropriations Committee staffers, especially our ic Staff Director Shalanda Young; and Deputy Staff Director Chris Bigelow; and their majority counterparts, Nancy Fox and Jim Kulikowski. prgtoken Again,
USPS FOOD DRIVE
Jackie Speier (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-5-3

in advance of the 20th annual Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive next Saturday, let us recognize the unsung heroes within our communities: our letter carriers. prgtoken Take David Crestik from San Diego, who carried an injured elderly woman out of a burning mobile home, called 911, and then finished his route; or Shawn Kang from Stockton, who rescued a person trapped underneath his car. prgtoken On May 13, letter carriers will stock struggling food pantries across our country through the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Last year, they collected over 80 million pounds of nonperishable canned goods, a record. Let's remember, one in six Americans don't know where their next meal is coming from. So let's honor and recognize the tremendous leadership, compassion, and dedication of our letter carriers. They serve our communities and they are a vital part of them.
DISAPPROVING A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Joe Donnelly (Democrat, IN) \u2014 2017-5-3

from Minnesota for her wonderful remarks and for her wonderful comments about those people who go down into the mines every day. prgtoken I acknowledge the permanent healthcare fix we have for our miners and their families that was included in the fiscal year 2017 appropriations legislation. This was a promise made by Harry Truman. It was a promise that was our obligation to keep, and the keeper of the flame for making sure it got done was my colleague, Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia. prgtoken As he knows, my State, the State of Indiana, the Hoosier State, has thousands of miners as well. They go to work in the dark, and they come home in the dark. They work in grueling conditions and have done so for decades. Part of it was the promise that was made to them that they and their family would have healthcare, a promise made by Harry Truman that is our obligation to keep. When the lights were starting to flicker and it was getting dimmer on this promise that it would ever be kept, we fought for years. Joe Manchin led the fight, led the crew, and we got this done. prgtoken It is a good example of what Congress can do when we work in a bipartisan manner. I thank all of my colleagues on both sides for being part of this. Many people worked hard to secure the passage of this fix. Part of it was an amazing group of folks who came to visit us on a constant basis, our friends from back home, the miners from Virginia and from West Virginia and from Indiana and from Ohio and from all around this country who--if you remember, my colleague Joe Manchin was there that hot day this summer when it was 100 degrees outside. prgtoken All of these retired miners--many in their seventies, eighties, some in their nineties--were here on one of the hottest days of the year. Under extraordinarily difficult conditions, they stayed and sat in the Sun and in the heat because, they said: We are here for our brothers and sisters. They said: We know you are here for us too. prgtoken Our leader was Joe Manchin. He lived this every single day, every single conversation that we had. We were in it together. We told our miners: We will never stop until we get this done, and we have the permanent healthcare fix done. It was a wonderful team to work with, but there is no question that the captain of our team was a fellow from West Virginia. prgtoken To my colleague Joe Manchin, we are so proud of you and so proud of you for keeping us moving forward. prgtoken .
CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT RESOLUTION
Patty Murray (Democrat, WA) \u2014 2017-5-3

from Connecticut, who frames this exactly correctly on the vote that we are about to take on a motion to proceed to yet another CRA that will be another broken promise on the part of President and s. President said that he would help workers and put them first. But the legislation we are about to move to will get in the way of our States' efforts to expand access to retirement savings programs, which is something that so many workers in this country really need. prgtoken President said that he would drain the swamp, but by rolling back this rule in question, as s are proposing today, President and his party are sending yet another very clear message, on top of many others in the last 100 days. They are listening to Wall Street rather than working families. prgtoken This rule--all it does is clarify an existing safe harbor that affords flexibility to States that want to give workers more options for their retirement. It is not complicated. It would do a lot of good for families across the country, including in my home State of Washington. prgtoken I will have a lot more to say this afternoon, as I know many of our colleagues will, but this is about taking away the options for people's retirement security. I hope the Senate will turn this down. prgtoken .
PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS
Mark Pocan (Democrat, WI) \u2014 2017-5-3

I would like to read a little bit from The Washington Post. ``This new budget points the way forward for .'' prgtoken And what this specifically is addressing is the Progressive Caucus budget. It is looking at it and saying: `` should recognize its ideas as an inspiration for the party going forward. ``The People's Budget starts by acknowledging a problem that most leaders acknowledge but few have addressed: the country's crumbling infrastructure. It provides $2 trillion over 10 years to repair bridges and tunnels, revitalize mass transit, replace contaminated water systems, rebuild public schools and more.'' prgtoken And that is what we talked about. Those are the very provisions that we put forward in that $2 trillion investment in our infrastructure. prgtoken , I will go back to reading this. ``The Economic Policy Institute projects that the People's Budget would add 2.4 million jobs and increase GDP by 2 percent in the near term.'' prgtoken That is 2.4 million people with a good family-supporting job while we are rebuilding our Nation's infrastructure and increasing our Nation's gross domestic product. prgtoken What does that mean? prgtoken I have been a small-business owner for 29 years. It is the rising tide that lifts all boats. The more people that have money in their pockets that can spend it, puts money right back into the economy. prgtoken If we make sure that more people are working and more people have a family-supporting wage that they can buy a sofa, they can take their family out to dinner or to a movie, that creates more economic activity, and that creates even more jobs. That is exactly what we need in this country. prgtoken That is, again, the Economic Policy Institute projecting what our budget would do. prgtoken , let me go back to the document. ``While s struggle to reconcile repealing Care with keeping health care affordable, the CPC puts forward actual ideas to bring the cost of health care down: The People's Budget introduces a public option--which would lower premiums--and ends the ridiculous prohibition on Medicare negotiating drug prices.'' prgtoken Can you believe that? prgtoken We don't use our purchasing power right now to negotiate for cheaper prices for prescription drugs. There is a reason why we pay sometimes 8 more, 20 times more, than other countries for the exact same drug. It is because we are not allowed to use that purchasing power in a way that will help create that economic savings. prgtoken , I will go back to the document. ``The document also recognizes the dangers of climate change, putting a price on carbon and eliminating tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry.'' prgtoken Think about it. We still subsidize gas and oil, which is one of the most profitable businesses on the planet, and we are subsidizing them with tax subsidies. We get rid of those tax subsidies. prgtoken , I will go back to the document. ``And it funds uni
CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT RESOLUTION
Charles E. Schumer (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2017-5-3

let me talk about the retirement CRA, the vote that is coming before us quite soon. prgtoken So far this Congress, the majority has passed 13 CRAs-- Congressional Review Act resolutions--all on party-line votes. Far from being a major accomplishment, these CRAs just overturn rules passed at the very end of the administration. To make them a major accomplishment of the first 100 days misreads what they are and history, when compared to many other Presidents. Most of them, to boot, even worse, rather than benefiting the American people, just benefit large, wealthy, special interests--not just this one but just about all of them. They are not for working people. They are not for middle-class Americans. If there is some narrow special interest that doesn't like it, then this -led Congress goes along. It is not right. Let me give a few examples. prgtoken The s passed a CRA that removed protections for our waters and streams from the harmful pollution that comes from the runoff of mining sites. Why? Large mining companies wanted it. The American people weren't crying out for it. prgtoken This Congress passed a CRA that would make it easier for the adjudicated mentally ill to purchase firearms--a priority of the gun lobby, certainly not of the American people. They even passed a CRA that allowed large oil, mining, and gas companies to make payments to foreign governments--essentially bribes--without even having to disclose them. prgtoken That is not the America we know. That is not the Shining City on the Hill. That is not the lady in the harbor with a torch. prgtoken Today, the majority is going to have a vote on another CRA. This one may be the worst of all because it would block initiatives by States to provide alternative retirement savings options for millions of Americans. Is that because Americans are clamoring: Take away my ability for retirement if my company doesn't give me one. No, we haven't heard a peep about that. It is because the private financial institutions--Wall Street--that manage retirement plans don't want to see any competition from city or State retirement plans. This is just another giveaway to the wealthy special interests that will hurt working Americans who should have more low-cost choices when it comes to their retirement. prgtoken We all know our Nation faces a serious retirement security problem. Pensions, often a guarantee for large numbers of Americans, are vanishing. New employers often don't provide pensions. Older employers' pension plans are running low. People who used to feel, when they retired, there would at least be something there so they could live their final years in dignity, are worried, as they should be. Fifty- five million working Americans do not have a way for retirement to save through their employer. That is nearly half--half--of all private sector workers aged 18 to 64. It is a huge concer
DISAPPROVING A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, MD) \u2014 2017-5-3

I come to the floor with a simple question for my colleagues, especially my colleagues: Why is it that this Senate is working to pass a law which will deny millions of our fellow Americans access to the kind of retirement saving plans which we have access to as U.S. Senators? Why are we doing that? prgtoken I know all of us recognize that we have a retirement savings crisis in this country. Too many Americans are saving too little for their retirement years. We should be making it easier for people to put aside some savings for their retirement rather than making it harder. Yet this legislation will indisputably make it harder for millions of Americans to put aside the kind of savings for their retirement that Members of the U.S. Senate enjoy. prgtoken All of us know there are really about three legs to the retirement stool. The fundamental basic piece is the Social Security savings. That is the bedrock of the retirement system, but we all know that living off of a Social Security retirement benefit by itself is very difficult. After all, the average monthly Social Security benefit as of January of this year was $1,360 a month. That is the average. That means there are a lot below it and a lot above it. I can tell you, $1,360 a month and below is really difficult for somebody to get by on in terms of housing costs, medical costs, and other costs people are facing today. That is why we need to strengthen Social Security, not weaken it. prgtoken The second leg of the retirement stool for most Americans for much of our history in the postwar period was a defined benefit plan through our employers, where employers--especially prgtoken large employers--would provide their employees a retirement benefit of a set amount over a fixed period of time during retirement. So that was something people could rely on. As we all know, we have seen that leg of the three-legged stool be dramatically cut down. It is not the practice of most businesses today to offer defined benefit plans. prgtoken The third leg of that stool has been personal savings, the ability of people to put aside a little money for their future. Just a few years ago, we had a big wake-up call from the General Accountability Office, where they looked at retirement around the country and concluded that almost 50 percent of households of age 55 and older have no retirement savings in vehicles such as 401(k) plans and IRAs. That same GAO report found that 57 percent of workers' entire household savings and investments was less than $25,000. More striking was that almost one- third of American workers had less than $1,000 in total savings. One- third of American workers had less than $1,000 in total savings. prgtoken We also know that 55 million Americans today do not have access to tax-benefited, tax-incentive retirement plans like 401(k)s enjoyed by those who work for major businesses. In fact, as all of us know, Members and employees o