Mike Levin

Senator Allard, Senator Nelson of Florida and others, Senator Dodd, are working hard to see if we can come up with something which moves in the direction we all want to move in terms of voting rights for our military personnel and that…

The resolution we adopted, as the Senator from West Virginia said, is much narrower in terms of its authority. The draft we began with, that the White House submitted to us, had unprecedented broad authority, far too broad for most of us…

We not only want to thank our good friend from Virginia for those thoughts about the religious holiday--which I am now going to leave here to celebrate--but I want to thank him for the sensitivity which he has shown to that issue and to…

This is a vital bill for the success of our military. The problems we have now are no longer related to the jurisdiction of this committee. We think we have resolved the last problem, or we are close to resolving the last problem that…

The Senator from Maine is quite correct in her observation and assessment that medical treatment is a part of war that sometimes may be taken for granted, and that the medical care of our service men and women is an area of defense that…

I commend our good friend from New Mexico. He and Senator Bingaman and others have fought hard and long for equity in this area. We intended to do it for some time, but it has always been subject to appropriation. The Senator from New…

Dear Mr. Chairman: As the full Senate deliberates the FY 2002 Defense Authorization Bill I would like to reiterate how critically important it is that Congress authorize another round of base closures and realignments.

We support Senator Warner's amendment. It is obvious the circumstances have changed in a massive way. Senator Warner knows, probably more than anybody I know of, firsthand, what the necessity is out there. We certainly support his…

No. It allows competition where there is none now. The Federal prison system now can declare a monopoly for something, and declare that no private sector can bid on an item that it wants to supply to the Federal Government. That prevents…

That part doesn't change. They can still produce what they want but they wouldn't be allowed to declare a monopoly so nobody else could compete for that product.

I emphasize that the right to compete with the private sector is in the bill. The amendment which will be offered would have to be written with language that allows competition in the bill.

I will correct my friend. This is not a question of a right to sell to the customer. They have ever right to sell to the customer.

But I also think people who are not in prison ought to have the right to at least bid when their Government is buying items. Right now there are too many occasions when people in the private sector are prohibited from bidding for items…

That is what we tell China--that we don't want China to use prison labor to make products to sell to us and that compete with us. We tell China that we don't want prison labor to make products that come into this country and compete with…

At the appropriate place in the bill, add the following: SEC. . AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS. (a) Authorization.--$1,300,000,000 is hereby authorized, in addition to the funds authorized elsewhere in Division A of this Act, for…

In the wake of the terrible events of September 11, 2001, there have been reports of senseless acts of gun violence against innocent Americans, whose only crime was their ethnicity or religion. In this time of national crisis we must not…

I want to be clear on one point: We are not adding terrorism to make sure we are covered. We are applying these new standards to all criminal activity, not just terrorism.

This amends, though, our statutes. I am not arguing the pros and cons. It amends not just terrorism, but it amends the wiretap law and all criminal activity, including terrorism; is that correct?

So it is broader than terrorism. I am not debating merits plus or minus. I am trying to understand what is in it since it came to me for the first time tonight. I want to be very clear, at least the way I read this, that this is not…

I have not had a chance to read this language until tonight. I guess that is part of the problem. It also is clear this is going to be adopted. I want to ask one question for the record. This amendment goes beyond changes in the wiretap…

Madam Speaker, clearly our relationships with Vietnam represents a major challenge. There is the troubled past... the beginning of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. These negotiations went on for several years. They were…

As the Senate considers the fiscal year 2002 Appropriations Act for VA/HUD and Independent Agencies, which includes funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, I wonder if the distinguished Senator from Maryland would be willing to…

Vietnam represents another challenge, how we integrate a command economy and a command society into the rule of law. It needs the right combination of engagement and pressure. I do not think trade is a magic wand. It is more than about…

The Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, MI is a critical project for the State's trade infrastructure. It is one of the three busiest border crossings in North America, and more trade moves over this bridge than the country exports to Japan. It…

As the Senator from Michigan knows, thousands of Hmongs immigrated to the United States after the Vietnam War. The transition to life in the United States has not always been easy, but the Hmong community has grown and is prospering. There…