It seems to me we are already making changes to the legislation. We should not be so hidebound to every specific jot and tittle in a bill which is now 327 pages long, very complicated, that we can't make a few changes in this legislation…

I agree with him the support is much more than pro forma; it is sincere and thought-out support. I do not know how many pages of this very complex legislation there are. There are numerous areas that represent room for improvement, and…

I started to comment earlier about the degree to which veterans organizations and individual veterans around the country have relied upon my colleague from Arizona, Senator McCain, to carry their flag in battles here in the Congress. It…

I will answer the question of the Senator from Virginia by simply saying it is based upon EPA recommendations. We know growth States, population changes, account for a big part of the increased needs. The Senator is also correct that there…

then I will ask for a second question with the indulgence of the Senator. With all due respect, the answer is a nonanswer. It doesn't tell us when we might consider these nominees. The distinguished assistant majority leader said phrases…

This nomination is a great nomination, as the Senator from Nevada pointed out. It would not be my intention to object. What it demonstrates is, my understanding is that the President, or someone on his behalf, called and said can't we…

The Senator from Idaho was instrumental at the end of the week in getting an agreement from the Democratic leadership to take up the nomination of Jack Crouch, sometimes known as J.D. Crouch, a distinguished expert in, among other things…

let me mention a couple more before my time is up. One would think we would want to have in place the Solicitor for the Department of Labor to ensure the Nation's labor laws are fairly and forcefully adhered to. Eugene Scalia was nominated…

I think the Senator just hit the nail on the head. This isn't an abstract proposition, the fact that the President needs to have his team in place; I think everybody recognizes that. But it has real ``on the ground'' meaning for everyday…

when we first came back and began this Congress in January, there was a lot of talk about bipartisanship at that time due primarily to the fact that the Senate was equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, and we knew we better…

if I may pursue this, it is an excellent example of one of the nominees who has been pending for a long time. John Negroponte was nominated on May 14. As the distinguished Senator from Idaho pointed out, it was very shortly thereafter that…

I believe everyone is aware that Senators do a certain amount of posturing. We are a political body. People who are watching us, however, I am sure, cannot get a sense that none of this is posturing. Everything that has been said by…

We started this session of Congress, I think, on a fairly high note of bipartisanship. While there have been some recent events that may have detracted from that, I think most of us would like to proceed with as much bipartisanship as…

I wanted to speak briefly about the decision made last Friday to hold the next Olympics in Beijing, the 2008 games. Our Government was not involved in that. It is not a government-to-government kind of decision. But I am hopeful the fact…

let me say I appreciate what the Senator from Nevada said about the reforms that Senators Domenici, Murkowski, and I effectuated with respect to the Department of Energy. It was a time of some confusion, and reasonable people could differ…

Senator Domenici does not simply put together what he has been told is a good idea. He has taken a career to learn from these laboratories... what is best in our national interests and what needs to done. It is not glorious work and there…

I want to simply urge the support of my colleagues for the amendment that my colleague, Senator McCain, has brought forward. We have to care about the lives and the safety, as well as the ability to carry out the mission that we have…

I would like to change gears a little bit and talk about another subject that is very distressing. Throughout this break I would turn the television on to the evening news, and invariably there would be a story about yet more violence in…

I suspect that most of my colleagues, as myself, talked to a lot of our constituents over the Fourth of July recess who reminded us of the fact that out in America there is still a problem with an energy shortage. I know I had to gas up my…

I appreciate his efforts and the efforts of all of those who have worked with me. Just to summarize for those who were not here earlier, my amendment is very simple. It merely provides an option for employers that offer plans that are…

It simply says to the consumer: You have a choice. What the Senator from Arizona is suggesting is to take what is a sound idea for the automobile insurance market, Auto Choice, and apply it to the health insurance market.

I rise to introduce the consumer health care choice amendment. This amendment would amend section 302 of the underlying legislation to provide that employers and health plan issuers would be free to offer, and participants and…

I am very sorry to have to say this, but the amendment that Senator Kennedy has just proposed is not our amendment. I want to be very clear about what our amendment does. The amendment that Senator Kennedy has been talking about was part…

For those who were not in this Chamber last night to hear the debate, let me make it clear that there were two essential problems that we saw that needed resolution. We had worked with Senator Kennedy, Senator Edwards, and others--and…

President Bush has just returned from his trip to Europe, and the newspapers are full of glowing accounts. Some of the headlines include the following: ``Europe sees Bush's Trip Exceeding Expectations.'' That from the New York Times on…