Lateefah Simon

I thank my colleague. Though I obviously would feel more comfortable if funds were appropriated specifically for this purpose, I appreciate my colleague's efforts to accommodate my concerns regarding this important program.

I am concerned that funds for library literacy have been eliminated in the committee report. This is a particularly important program that supports literacy projects in over 250 libraries across the country. I did note and do appreciate…

two items I have read on Burundi recently suggest that continued interest and support for peacemaking endeavors and positive solutions really can be of help. The one is an article in the New York Times by two distinguished Americans…

shortly after I announced that I would be retiring from the Senate, President Clinton called and suggested that from time to time, I should give a report on some issue facing the Nation, and today I am again doing that--this time with a…

Last week the major leaders of the television and movie industries in the United States met with President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and in separate meetings with several of us in Congress to address the issues of glamorized violence…

I simply want to underscore what Senator Kennedy has had to say. One of the things that is happening in our world that is really dramatic is the spread of democracy. It is in Russia, it is in Poland, it is in many countries of Africa now…

It does not make sense. The bill that is before the Senate, among other things, codifies existing sanctions. That means, and I say to my colleague from Georgia and I say to my colleague from Wyoming, if Bob Dole is elected President of the…

I recognize this bill is going to pass, and I recognize the President is going to sign it. It is bad legislation. It is an emotional reaction to a situation that, obviously, all Americans are unhappy about. The action of Castro in shooting…

Frankly, if I could vote to cut it off tomorrow, I am going to vote to cut it off tomorrow, because I think it is getting nowhere. I think the American people understand that. But I think we have to recognize the political purposes. Why…

we have a very fundamental policy decision here. Vouchers are being tried right now in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and perhaps elsewhere. That is the advantage of the Federal system. I happen to think we have to be very careful as we…

I support this compromise farm bill. While I do not agree with everything in the bill, I think it has a chance of passing the House and being signed into law. In many ways, it is a good bill for Illinois. It offers farmers limited…

China is making bellicose statements about Taiwan. This morning's Washington Post begins an editorial with these words: If it came to that, the United States would have no choice but to help Taiwan--a flourishing free-market democracy…

Several weeks ago I attended a memorial service for Dr. Ernie Boyer, a man who had dedicated most of his life to improving education and educational opportunities for all Americans. The memorial service was more of a celebration of who…

first of all, in response to what Senator Specter had to say, we are not asking that these funds be taken out of the Ryan White Program or NIH. Everyone knows the budget figures are not written in stone yet. Ask the American people…

I confess, I have mixed feelings about this bill. There are good things in it. One-stop shopping makes a great deal of sense. Labor market information makes a great deal of sense. My staff, who know more about the Adult Vocational…

The National Literacy Act--by the most conservative estimates, we have 23 million adult Americans who cannot read a newspaper or who cannot fill out a job application form. This is a massive drag on our economy. We have to make our people…

I agree with everything the Senator from Georgia had to say. I reach a different conclusion. And I may be the only one voting against this. Tom Friedman of the New York Times had a column recently in which he said, ``France acts like a…

I am pleased with the negotiations that have taken place with Senator Hollings, Senator Hatfield, Senator Biden, Senator Gramm, and others. They have improved this bill. Let me add one concern I do have. This bill authorizes $250 million…

I hope that in conference my colleagues will keep in mind that even the House, conservative as they are, put in $425 million for U.N. peacekeeping compared to our $250 million. I hope we will go to the House figure on this.

I simply want to acknowledge that the person who educated me on gross interest over against net interest was the Senator from South Carolina. Administrations like to put net interest into their budgets. We do not do that with any other…

What we know from studies, and particularly the Harvard study, is that union workers by and large are more satisfied, and more satisfied workers produce quality work, and that union workers stay at a job longer. This moves us in the…

Statement in Support of U.N. Peace Operations The United Nations is playing an increasingly critical role in preventing and resolving conflicts that have broken out across the globe. We welcome this expanded mission envisioned in the…

let me just add one other point. We talked a lot on the floor in the Senate about the crime problem. My instinct is, if we guarantee jobs to people and require work--not just guarantee but require work--we will see a change in the crime…

Every change we have made in immigration in the past has been prospective, not retroactive. That is the way it should be. To say that if, for example, Senator DeWine was the chief sponsor for an immigrant named Senator Ford, and he agrees…

Sometimes the good news that we get comes in small pieces that we hope portend better things to come. The recent agreement between Turkey and Armenia for an air corridor is a small step toward improved relations between those two countries…