The fight to ban soft money is a fight to regain the public's trust, and Mr. President, there's no fight in our democracy today more worthwhile than that.

I rise today to explain the reasons I voted against the Omnibus Appropriations Conference Report. This bill has both good and bad parts. But unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the bad outweighs the good.

This bill contains disastrous dairy policy. It allows the Northeast Dairy Compact, a pricing scheme that gives dairy farmers in the six Northeastern states higher prices for their milk, to continue for two more years.

For over sixty years, Wisconsin farmers have struggled with the inequity of the current pricing system, which sets milk prices according to the distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

It is wrong to add this measure to this must-pass legislation without debate.

The bill provides funding for the class size initiative that permits the hiring of 100,000 new teachers so that our children can have smaller, more effective classes.

It also provides funding for the COPS program which puts more neighborhood police officers in our communities.

I rise to honor Mr. Clarence Kailin of Madison, and the brave men and women who volunteered to serve in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War, especially those courageous volunteers from my home state of Wisconsin.

Our country's reluctance to aid the Spanish Republican government did not deter these brave people who understood what the consequences were if a legitimately elected government were to fall.

Their foresight in recognizing the rising tyranny of fascism was a call to arms that went unheeded by the free world, and resulted in the long and bloody conflict that became World War II.

The strength of character of Clarence Kailin and others from Wisconsin who volunteered in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade are the qualities which we all can take pride in and celebrate in this Congress.

I want to express my gratitude to these men and women who helped to defend the democratic Spanish Republic from fascist aggression, at a time when the fate of democracy in Europe was being threatened by all sides of the political spectrum.

The fact that people do not have a lot of money can keep them out of politics.

What he is talking about--and this is his nature--is to actually get something done.

I believe in some cases, I say to the Senator from Nebraska, the amendments that will be offered will be helpful and do not threaten our ability to win, but in some cases I think they are poison pills.

Mrs. Haugh's commitment to quality care is a quintessential example of the kind of selfless dedication that millions of American nurses demonstrate every day.

We should all be fortunate to have health care professionals of her caliber working in our hospital and medical centers.

This week is National Nurses' Week, and we should all pause to celebrate Mrs. Haugh and all America's nurses; the heroes of the best health care system in the world.