I agree with that. Of course, I would agree in some areas there are no rail lines available to relieve that congestion. While many metropolitan areas do have rail lines, they are definitely an efficient alternative. In many areas of the…

if I may respond, I don't see any clearly defined mission. If my colleague doesn't agree that Amtrak should be providing efficient and effective passenger service in those travel markets in which passenger rail offers a trip time and…

I wish to thank everyone for all their work in putting this bill together. I fully appreciate the significant challenges that Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Specter face in balancing spending priorities with limited resources. I want…

today our friends and colleagues Senators Lieberman and Warner are introducing their bill to cap carbon emissions. I would like to outline some of the ways their approach will unfairly and unnecessarily hurt our most vulnerable families…

Further, is it the expectation of the subcommittee that funding for the Arabadopsis 2010 program continue to be financed through the BIO directorate, yet separate from funds provided for the plant genome project as it has in the past?

I thank the Chair. Most of all, I thank my chairman, Senator Rockefeller. I thank the chairman of the committee and all of the members of the committee to be able to pass this very important intelligence authorization bill. We have had a…

I want to talk more broadly about the war on terror and say it is with pleasure that we see the President's policy of bringing back troops home when they complete their mission successfully. Return on success is working. Marines are coming…

I last came to the floor to speak on the subject of the way ahead in Iraq. Since that time, significant events, both good and bad, have occurred. First and foremost, General Petraeus has presented to the Congress a candid and encouraging…

I believe that the earmarking process in the past decade has ballooned out of control at a cost of billions of dollars to taxpayers. I don't believe that all earmarks, per se, are bad, but that as a general policy, we need more…

before my friend from Oklahoma leaves, we talk a lot about safety. This is one of the problems when we try to take a meat ax to all earmarked programs in the States that have been worked out. I was working on another amendment, so I didn't…

shortly, I hope we will be able to clear my amendment No. 2832, which deals with mitigation assistance to eliminate the default and foreclosure of mortgages of owner-occupied single family homes. As we all know, the subprime market…

the reason we put in a barrier on this bridge between north Kansas City, a vibrant growing community, and, of course, the heart of Kansas City, MO, is that many people cross that bridge on foot and on bicycles. The traffic is getting so…

I always enjoy a discussion with our colleague and neighbor from the State of Oklahoma. His comments that earmarks have caused bridge deficiencies and tragedies is a bridge too far. I believe as well-intentioned as this amendment is, it…

It relates to the fact that the U.S. Federal inspectors will be going to Mexico and making those inspections with Mexican trucks would satisfy his concern about the enforcement. Before the trucks can come in, U.S. Federal inspectors go to…

I can assure you, without going into the details, that we continue to make a major effort to find Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the No. 2 man. If any Senator wants to come to the Senate Intelligence Committee in Hart 219, we will…

my sincere thanks to Senator Murray for being such a good partner on this bill. It is a very challenging bill, particularly under the constraints in which we are supposed to work. It is always a difficult bill and many complex and…

I am under no illusion that I can change the mind of my good friend from North Dakota, but maybe I can ease his concerns, at least in several areas, because he did raise some things that I think should be noted. Prior to 1982, Mexican…

may I ask another question? We are not talking about packing houses where there was obviously a failure of sanitation. We are talking about a situation where U.S. Federal inspectors go down, conduct a pretest, a preinspection of the…

as we approach the sixth anniversary of September 11, 2001, we are reminded of the consequences of ignoring the threat al-Qaida and other ``mufsidoon'' terrorists pose to our Nation. Al-Qaida and radical extremists declared war, or…

Yes. I have a very important message from the DNI: We understand that the FISA court judges urgently support a more appropriate alignment of the court's caseload and jurisdiction away from the focus on non-U.S. persons operating outside of…

Yes, it is vitally important that we change this now. I hope my colleagues will review this and that we can get a large, bipartisan majority. This is not a Republican proposal. I tried my Republican proposal and didn't get a majority to…

I hope I have the attention of all of my colleagues because I believe we have an opportunity--we have an absolute necessity--to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act modifications prior to leaving for the August recess. It is…

Let me tell you, none of us have seen this bill that is a total new draft of the measure until just a few minutes ago, and we are absolutely stunned that this bill adds new burdens to the already overburdened process of collecting against…

I cannot support the proposal. It creates significant uncertainty in an area where certainty is paramount in order to protect the country. I must have certainty in order to protect the Nation from attacks that are being planned today to…

What we have before us is what is absolutely necessary to keep our country safe. He asked for the basic provisions. Basically, what Senator McConnell has proposed--which is not a Republican proposal, it is not a Democratic proposal, it is…