Putting a straitjacket on the ability of this country in future years to respond to a threat to national security by insisting on a declaration of war and actual conflict--actual conflict.

The point I am trying to get at here is the question of actual--the language here of section 5 is ``is engaged in military conflict.'' I make a strong case to the Senator here that in those situations we were not engaged in military…

Is there any other situation which my colleague from Utah can cite in which we have excluded the vote of the Vice President in a tie vote?

On matters that require a simple majority, will my colleague cite a single example where a simple majority is required in this body where the vote of the Vice President would be excluded?

I have known Alexis Herman for some time. She is eminently qualified, Mr. President, to fulfill the position of Secretary of Labor. There have been issues raised, and the purpose for which we have hearings is to allow those issues to be…

We do not do that under any other circumstance in the 208-year-old history of this Republic----

They were large. They were 36 percent of the overall budget, much larger than they are today.

Is my colleague suggesting, that the majority would go along willy-nilly with this resolution because they wanted to spend more on the program. Are we not faced with the perverse situation of having Presidents declare war in order to meet…

And you are offering, I suggest, to a potential enemy a wonderful arrow, an additional arrow in their quiver, where they can sit there and say, ``They are at the end of the fiscal year. These people have difficulties. They'd have to…

Please. I am not suggesting here--let us put aside the underlying debate on the constitutional amendment to balance the budget. Even if my amendment were to be adopted, I say to my colleague from Utah, he knows I have serious reservations…

let me briefly sum up, if I can, this amendment. I think the handwriting is on the wall. It is one of those moments, the wave is moving here, and I deeply regret it. I have the feeling my colleagues have just not read section 5 as…

The proposed language on the balanced budget constitutional amendment, section 5, reads as follows: The Congress may waive the provisions of this article for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. The provisions of…

first, I express my gratitude to the majority leader for graciously arranging at the end of the business time for me to address the issue at hand, and that is the proposed constitutional amendment to balance the budget. I, like all of my…

a third subject matter I raise here in morning business today is one that did not get national attention except for those who may have been interested. But I want to pay tribute to a neighbor of mine, Mr. President, a neighbor and a…

all of us in this country were deeply saddened by the tragic death of Pamela Harriman in Paris a few days ago. Regardless of party or political persuasion, this was a remarkable woman who spent a lifetime, from the basement of 10 Downing…

the conflict in Afghanistan has changed dramatically in recent months. In September 1996, the Taliban coalition seized the capital city of Kabul, thereby securing control of two-thirds of the territory of Afghanistan. The Taliban, many of…

as a matter of cold war aggression, Soviet troops invaded, as we all remember, Afghanistan in December of 1979. After years of harsh struggle for independence, the Afghan people finally achieved that goal of independence in 1992. No…

it is with a great sense of sadness that I rise today to pay tribute to a man who epitomized personal and political courage and a fervent commitment to public service--Senator Paul Tsongas. Paul and I both came to Congress in 1974, as part…

But, as we prepare to usher in Madeleine Albright as America's new Secretary of State, I wanted to take this opportunity to voice my strong support for the pending resolution that honors the man whose shoes she will soon be filling--Warren…

we do a great deal of important business here in the U.S. Senate, but much of it seems arcane and distant from the lives of American families. But last evening, with the airing of a CBS made for TV movie, ``A Child's Wish,'' we had a…

Does the bill address the State's authority to pursue any legal remedies necessary to provide medical care or treatment when such care or treatment is necessary to prevent or remedy serious harm to the child, or to prevent the withholding…

It is my understanding that concerns have been raised regarding outreach services that grantees must make to various communities. It is my understanding that when grantees engage in outreach activities, they must ensure that they maximize…

I also see that a new section has been added that requires the States to include in their State laws, as statutory grounds for the termination of parental rights, convictions of parents for certain specified crimes against children. It…

I speak today with a very heavy heart about the vote on whether to override the President's veto of H.R. 1833, known as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. First let me say, Mr. President, that the blatantly political nature of this bill…

I have served as a Member of this body for nearly 16 years. In that time, few accomplishments have given me as much pride as the day in February 1993 when President Clinton signed into law the Family and Medical Leave Act. Enactment of…