So one has to ask oneself, why are we doing this? I think the Washington Post today had an excellent editorial in which they say, ``Why is the Senate taking up this matter now?'' They also point out how this issue is years away--years…

Now there is the question of the other bill that will come before us, known as DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. When I heard that there was going to be a bill before us called the Defense of Marriage Act, I thought it was going to be…

But I think, when we do this, we do lose something. I think we lose our soul. That is what you lose when you scapegoat a group of people, a whole group of people who have never even asked us to legalize gay marriage. Scapegoating is ugly…

tonight I rise to speak on the Employment Nondiscrimination Act and on the Defense of Marriage Act. The Employment Nondiscrimination Act, known as ENDA, is necessary, and I thank very much Senator Kennedy for being so tenacious to get it…

Last year Republicans waged a covert war against the environment when they attempted to drastically cut EPA's budget in order to cripple the EPA's ability to set and enforce environmental standards. The cuts that eventually passed were not…

I am very concerned by the possibility of dumping in this case. An internal analysis conducted by Cray Research estimated that NEC's costs exceed its sales price to NCAR by over 400 percent. According to Cray's analysis, NEC proposed…

I know that she shares my view that the NSF is a very important agency and that this procurement is very important both for NCAR and the U.S. supercomputer industry.

I rise to say how pleased I am on behalf of the people of California that we have made such progress on raising the minimum wage tonight and passing a long overdue health care bill. The things that we did tonight are going to ripple…

Thank you, Mr. President. I add my voice in support of this bill. I want to thank, particularly, the chairman of the committee, Senator Chafee, the ranking member, Senator Baucus, and Senators Kempthorne, Reid, and the other members of the…

Mexico is continually asking for cooperation with this country in the areas of trade. I say to my friend, I am in a little bit of a battle right now over the dolphin-safe fishing of tuna where the Mexicans are really fighting very hard to…

I want to make the point to the Senator from Texas, and others who have problems with this, that you are talking about real people when you stand here late at night and object. Sometimes we forget that. I think Senator Wellstone was very…

Absolutely. I want to say that the committee is doing its job. They were very clear with all of us--the Republican Senators-- saying we want to make sure when you bring people up that they have Republican support as well as Democratic…

I stand here for welfare reform but against this bill. I am voting no, because I am not for punishing kids, and I am not for punishing California or other States that have most of our legal immigrants. Saying that I am for welfare reform…

As much as Americans may want to reform welfare, they don't want a system that goes from a hand-out to the back of the hand. The House bill passed last week and a similar bill passed Tuesday by the Senate would end the 60-year-old federal…

I would like to ask the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies about a facility important to U.S. agricultural research and the State of…

Let me say that I have the honor and privilege of serving with my friend, Senator Reid, on the Environment Committee, and that is what brought me to the floor today. I ask Senator Bryan this question: Is it not true that the waste that…

We appreciate the chairman's past support for this project and knows he understands the value of providing key connections for transit with other modes of travel, such as airports. We also appreciate his concerns over local participation…

I first want to personally praise the distinguished chairman for this appropriations bill which does so much to enhance the safety and infrastructure investment in our Nation's transportation systems. I know the Senator is a long-time…

I feel compelled to make this statement at this time on the Senate floor. First, I want to express my profound dismay that after an attack of terrorism that occurred at the Olympics, colleagues on the other side of the aisle would use 1…

In my 30 seconds, I want to underscore, first of all, what my senior Senator said, which is that we are very willing to make changes in welfare. We want to reform welfare. We both said that when we ran for the U.S. Senate. We have both…

I want to make sure the Senator realizes that Senator Feinstein and I, in this amendment, do not change any of the things my friend is talking about. We do not touch anything in the underlying bill. All the Senator does, and I back her 100…

We believe that the sponsors who can, should and must pay for people they sponsor to come to the country. But I want to make a point to my friend. It is worthy to note that approximately 400,000 legal immigrants receive AFDC in California…

It is prospective. Our amendment makes it prospective, but it says to the folks here, ``We are not going to change your rules in the middle of the game.'' All the things my friend is explaining, none of those are touched by the…

I commend the Senator and both sides of the aisle for their leadership here, and say as one who has fought hard and long with the Senators from Maryland, Connecticut, and certainly Senator Pryor and others for nursing home standards, we…

May I ask the majority leader this. I understand his point, but 74 or so Senators voted for the minimum wage, and we do not seem to get action on that. So it is a matter of priorities, I say.