I wish to express on behalf of the people of Tennessee to the people of Japan our sympathy for the devastation they have experienced. I applaud the administration and the American people for their immediate response to offer assistance…

Will we or will we not stop spending money we don't have? I repeat, the question is: Will we or will we not stop spending money we don't have? Do we have the courage and the common sense and the sense of responsibility to make difficult…

in Rochester, NY, today and tomorrow, family and friends are celebrating the life of David Kearns, who died a few days ago at age 80. David Kearns was the former chief executive officer of the Xerox Corporation who, during the 1980s, led…

I appreciate the comments of my friend, the Senator from California. We have to be serious about the country's debt. Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the debt is our biggest national security threat. Anyone…

in Jerusalem last week during a private meeting with U.S. Senators, the Prime Minister of Israel suggested creating a new Marshall Plan to help the people of Middle Eastern countries who are struggling to gain more freedom. I was one of…

I congratulate the Senator from Kentucky. He is on the mark. Our priorities are two: One, to make it easier and cheaper to create private sector jobs; two, to reduce the Federal debt. The Paul amendment makes it easier and cheaper to…

I appreciate the remarks of the Senator from Connecticut. I am glad I had the opportunity to hear them. I, too, am here to celebrate Ronald Reagan's life, born 100 years ago, but also his nearly 50 years of influence on American public…

I will say that I join the Senator from New York in welcoming another West Virginia Governor to the Senate. Governor Manchin succeeds a man who is irreplaceable in the Senate's history--Senator Byrd--but he brings to our Senate the skills…

in his last appearance before the Rules Committee, Senator Byrd quoted James Madison's description of this body as a necessary fence against rulers and transient impressions and said the right to filibuster anchors this necessary fence and…

What we are trying to do today is to move past this time where we point out that the majority leader has cut off our right to amend and debate six times more than recent majority leaders. It is like telling us we can join the Grand Ole…

I wish to congratulate Senator McConnell and Senator Reid for leading us in this way. Changing rules is an important step forward. I do not in any way want to diminish what I believe we are about to do, but we need a change in behavior…

Senator Grassley and Senator Wyden and more recently Senator McCaskill, have pointed out the obvious fact that so-called holds that Members of the Senate place on nominations or legislation should be public. I think that is a good idea…

I wish to thank the Senator from New York, the Senators from New Mexico and Oregon, and Senator Harkin of Iowa for their efforts--some over many years--to achieve two goals: to help make the Senate a place that is better able to deal with…

this amendment might be called the ``if you are going to hang me later, hang me now'' amendment. This would eliminate the filibuster by making certain that it only took 51 votes, eventually, to pass a bill. This filibuster, according to…

I have already congratulated Senator Udall, Senator Wyden, Senator Merkley, and Senator Harkin for stimulating a good, full discussion about two objectives. No. 1 is, how do we make the Senate the best possible place to deal with serious…

Isn't it true that if your side didn't go out to dinner--since you asked to be elected to the Senate, you raised a lot of money, and you worked hard and defeated some Republican to get here--if you really think somebody over here is…

the Senator from Oregon has talked about the number of nominations that couldn't be considered. I am sure the Senator from Oregon remembers that there cannot be a filibuster on a motion to proceed to a nomination. All the majority leader…

Senator Harkin is very straightforward about his difference of opinion. He believes we ought to bring every debate eventually to 51 votes. So I would respectfully term his amendment as sort of a ``hang me now or hang me later.'' We know…

Before we change the rules, use the rules. We talk about Senator Byrd a lot because he understood the rules so well. I have often told the story of when Senator Baker became the Republican majority leader in 1981. He went to see Senator…

I am a little amused by the suggestion the Senator from Iowa made and others made that somehow the Senate has been paralyzed for the last couple of years. Most of the people I know are concerned about what the Senate did do, not what it…

I thank the Senator. No one is doubting the President's commitment. He has made an extraordinary commitment. I congratulate him for that. It is just the suggestion of doing it a little differently, if the President thinks it is practical…

I came to the floor to express my admiration for the Senator from Arizona. I was listening to his address and I heard my colleague from Tennessee. Senator Kyl's work on nuclear modernization is no surprise to any of us who know him very…

I applaud the President for the updated report that was received on November 17. A lot of work was done. This is a lot of money to say we want to make sure these nuclear weapons work and we are going to spend $85 billion over 10 years. The…

why are these two so necessarily linked--the treaty and the plan for nuclear weapons modernization? The answer is, if we are going to reduce our number of warheads, we want to make sure we are not left with what amounts to a collection of…

ratifying this treaty would extend the policies of President Nixon, President Reagan, President George H.W. Bush, President George W. Bush, as well as Democratic Presidents. The Republican Case for Ratifying New START (By Henry A…