Mike Thompson

All right. I was not aware that there was a time agreement. So I apologize for the necessarily abbreviated nature of the rest of my remarks, which basically have to do with the fact that we have an interpretation now by the Attorney…

last May, in the wake of India's nuclear weapons tests, the Senate rejected by one vote a motion to allow us to consider the need for a national missile defense. At that time I came to the floor and urged my colleagues to support defending…

S. 314, originally sponsored by Senators Thomas, among others, and Congressman Duncan in the House, was ordered reported by the Governmental Affairs Committee on July 15, 1998. The original S. 314 has had long and contentious past. The…

First of all, let's keep in mind my amendment makes the use of child labor grounds for disbarment and suspension. We need to keep that in mind. We set it out in bold type. It is already against the law, and now we are saying in addition to…

this amendment addresses a certain provision in the Postal-Treasury appropriations bill at section 642. It is a section that deals with procurement policies. It is a section that deals with a problem of goods that are produced by child…

I rise to pay tribute to Representative Louis Stokes for his twenty years of dedicated work on the subcommittee responsible for much of the work on this bill each year. Representative Stokes has always been a stout defender of the…

this amendment is offered to protect and preserve federalism. If there is one concept in recent years that has gained in credence, it is the concept of federalism. We have seen a lot of innovation happen in this country that has started at…

in May the President issued Executive Order 13803 which purported to set out a new definition of ``federalism.'' However, it explicitly replaced President Reagan's Executive order on federalism and, in reality, the new order undermines…

I want to ask my colleagues for their help to bring much-needed improvements to our federal regulatory system. In March, the Governmental Affairs Committee favorably reported S. 981, the ``Regulatory Improvement Act,'' by a 10-5 vote. At…

We have not made that kind of distinction; we have not made a distinction between those countries that pose a threat and countries that do not. We are going to have to address all of those issues and mainly we are going to have to address…

Daniel Smith's many and great accomplishments are far too numerous to list in this venue, but are celebrated daily in the freedom of our Nation and the struggles of the early Westward movement. Thomas Jefferson wrote of Smith after his…

As the Chairman knows, production activities at Y-12 were placed in a stand down mode on September 22, 1994, due to procedural and criticality safety concerns identified by the Defense Nuclear Safety Board. Since then, Y-12 has made…

The Chairman is correct. On June 8, 1998, Y-12 cast its first enriched uranium part since September, 1994. This achievement is a credit to the dedication and commitment of everyone at Y-12, and is a testament to the leadership and…

I know the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee agrees with me that nuclear deterrence is the cornerstone of our national defense policy, and we should do everything we can to maintain a strong, viable nuclear deterrent in this…

the Truth In Negotiations Act authorizes agencies to waive the requirement for contractors to provide certified cost or pricing data in "exceptional circumstances." Under current law, however, a subcontractor under a contract or…

Section 805 of the bill contains the ``Defense Commercial Pricing Management Improvement Act,'' which is designed to improve DoD's management practices and help address the spare parts pricing problems identified in the Armed Services…

I will offer three technical amendments on behalf of myself as chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee and Senator Glenn, the Committee's ranking minority member, and Senators Thurmond, Levin, Santorum, and Lieberman. Senator Glenn…

I think that the premises on which this legislation began were faulty. And I think they still are. I think it is basically the premise that in order for us to express our hatred for the tobacco companies and in order for us to express our…

on behalf of myself and a bipartisan group of senators, I introduce today the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. This legislation is needed to preserve one of the Senate's most important powers: the duty to advise and consent on…

I have a question. It seems to me that we both agree that we have a bill that we do not like and that we have an arbitration provision in that bill that we do not like. That legislation has not passed yet. The Senator says we are doing all…

despite the respect that I have for Members who are co-sponsors of this legislation, I must oppose S. 1605. I do not oppose this legislation because I believe that encouraging local law enforcement officers to be provided body armor is a…

I am pleased to support S. 2037, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This legislation implementing the World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty is of vital importance to the American economy. No nation benefits more from the…

as you know, part of the IRS reform bill has to do with the creation of an IRS Oversight Board. One of the new members of the IRS Oversight Board is delineated as a representative of an IRS employees union. However, because of the inherent…

I refer to the position of the Office of Government Ethics on this. They have considered this matter and wrote to the minority leader. One provision of the bill provides for waivers of applicable conflict of interest laws for one member of…

waiving these conflict of interest statutes establishes a very bad precedent. We have an opportunity here to avoid a serious conflict of interest pitfall, and I hope all Senators will agree and approve adoption of this amendment. Thank…