I thank my leader for his comments and his spirit because it is the spirit we need in this country, which is the can-do spirit. We can take care of the people's business, even if it is difficult for my friend. I know it is because I know…

For anyone who just fell off the turnip truck, Republicans in Congress have a new rallying cry--``We won't let them raid Social Security!''. . . . [Tom] DeLay asks us to believe that the Social Security trust fund is under assault by…

Yes. I have been waiting 3 days to see us get into a debate on the things that matter to people--things such as the minimum wage and environmental protection.

I am so proud of the Senator's leadership today on this issue and so many others. I think these ads are going to backlash. In the end, the truth will come out. The American people are fair people. The American people are going to judge us…

I think my friend makes a very important point about the priorities when he talks about the overall size of this budget of the United States of America. Comparing that with the $200 million we are asking for in this program would add…

The amendment we have at the desk--and it is cosponsored by many on my side of the aisle--would allow 370,000 children the opportunity to get into afterschool programs. This is a program that works. I understand both sides agree that it…

The number of dollars that would have been lost in the school year 1999-2000 as a result of the Republican tax cut was $5.273 billion in the first year, this year that we are talking about. They were willing to give to the wealthiest…

What I said was I felt the program should be ratcheted up in a logical fashion, and that we are at the point where the Department of Education, Secretary Riley, has stated that $600 million is what he needs and what he can now handle to…

What the Senator is trying to do is reach an agreement. I would reach an agreement if I knew we would have a vote on my second degree. If you object to Senator Specter trying to be accommodating, that is your choice.

As I repeat to my friend and colleague, a real leader in this area, this number was not pulled out of a hat. This number comes from the President's request. The President's request has a rationality.

simply put, what we do is we add another $200 million to afterschool programs. We believe it is very important to do this. I have a number of cosponsors. This would take the funding to the President's requested level of $600 million. It…

I thank the Senator. He is so kind to me. What I said was, there are many more applications than were funded. I did not suggest that we fund all 2,000.

I assure my friends I do not intend to take the full time I have allotted to me. That will make the Senator from Pennsylvania very happy. Maybe he might even vote for this amendment if I keep it very brief. I do thank my friend from…

I have strongly supported, for a very long time, the President's request--$600 million--I say to my friend. Not only that, he did join me in an amendment I offered earlier on that point. Six hundred million dollars is where we ought to be…

The fact is, the President, in his budget request, studied the number of applications that were coming in from the districts all across this Nation and looked at the backlog. It is amazing what we have done. Since my friend has been…

If we do not make changes and if the President does not prevail with the Republicans and this bill passes as it is, we will not only lose 29,000 teachers out of the classrooms, but next year a lot of those kids who were in classroom sizes…

So this bill that purports to do something for our children, in essence, is a pink slip for 29,000 teachers across this country who were hired under the Clinton-Murray initiative to lower classroom size; is that correct?

It seems as if there is a shell game being played with money that is not behind the piece of paper, and they have completely zeroed out this important class-size reduction plan which we began. Is my friend saying to me that unless we can…

I have to ask my friend, what kind of message are we sending to our kids when, on the one hand, we say to them as parents that education is crucial to them in this incredibly important global marketplace where they are in competition with…

But is it not true that out of that increase there is $1.2 billion for a program that does not exist and the funds will not be spent unless the program is authorized? And is it not true that $1.2 billion is supposed to replace the lower…

Education, in my view, is the No. 1 issue in this country today. Why? Because we know that if we do not give our children a good education, a series of bad things happen: They will not be productive, they will drop out, they will get into…

So in my sum up, from what I get from the Senator from Washington, there is no money for school construction, there is no money for class size reduction, and there is $200 million less for afterschool care. I say to my friend, please, when…

I will vote in favor of S.J. Res. 33, a resolution which disapproves of the President's decision to grant conditional clemency for certain individuals who were convicted of crimes related to the activities of the Armed Forces for National…

I hate to break into the flow of thought, but in listening to my friend from Illinois I am wondering if he is aware that the first President to call attention to the needs of education in modern American history happened to be a Republican…

I simply care about the Senate too much to see it be a party to a deliberate scheme by just 5 percent of the oil companies to underpay their royalty payments to our constituents. The Hutchison amendment allows the situation to continue by…