María Elvira Salazar

I conclude by urging my colleagues to vote no on the Inhofe amendment. At the end of the day, what the Inhofe amendment is proposing to do is to undo executive orders that have been signed by both the Clinton administration and the Bush…

as we resume the immigration reform debate in the Senate this week, I am mindful of the fact that we have indeed come a very long way and that this Senate has spent a significant amount of time dealing with the issue of immigration. Last…

let me make a closing comment prior to adjourning the Senate for the day. We begin our work on immigration reform legislation in this time after the work period for Memorial Day. We have a lot of work ahead of us in this week ahead. It is…

first I want to make a comment about the process that has been underway on immigration. We sometimes think about what is the most important thing we are given as Senators. What is the privilege we get to exercise on behalf of the American…

I also want to say that Senator McCain has always spoken to the highest moral values of this Nation. His history in terms of his contributions to this country are unequaled. His involvement in trying to deal with this issue, including…

I wish to respond to the notion that this Chamber is not taking sufficient time in order to consider the issue of immigration and immigration reform. We have, indeed, been on a very long journey to try to grapple with this issue which, at…

A concern I have with his amendment, and I will take a further look at it, is that it seems to strike at the heart of the AgJOBS provision of this legislation. The AgJOBS provision of this legislation is an essential part of the agreement…

I wish to remind the Senate how far along this road we have come. This debate on immigration reform is not one that started on this Monday. It is indeed a debate the Senate started over a year and a half ago, and it started in the…

I rise this morning, first of all, to congratulate my colleagues. Senator Alexander has worked tirelessly with us in putting together the legislation on the implementation of the Iraq Study Group recommendations. He has been a key leader…

I rise to remember a Coloradan lost to us in Iraq. Army PFC Jeffrey A. Avery was just 19 years old when he was lost to this life late last month in Muqudadiyah, Iraq. Jeffrey attended Coronado High School in 2005 and went on to attend…

I join my colleagues, the floor managers of this bill, Senators Kennedy and Specter, in urging our colleagues to vote against the Gregg amendment. There is broad agreement among all Members who have been working on this reform package that…

today Senator Allard and I introduced the ``Rocky Mountain Science Collections Center Act of 2007,'' a bill to establish a secure collections facility and education center for archeological, anthropological, paleontological, zoological…

I believe that Congress has now approved nearly $510 billion for military operations since 2001, with nearly no oversight on spending. Operation Iraqi Freedom alone has cost American taxpayers $51 billion in 2003, $77.3 billion in 2004…

let me first begin by making some acknowledgments as we move forward on this debate on immigration reform for our country. First, to the majority leader, Senator Reid, for having kept the feet to the fire in this Chamber so that we finally…

this morning as we stand here in our Nation's Capitol, family and friends in Colorado are gathered together to celebrate the life of a truly great American, a wonderful human being. The child of Mexican immigrants, Eva Baca was born on…

back in December when the Iraq Study Group first came out with its recommendations, the recommendations were heralded by many people around the country as a new way forward--a new way forward for us to deal with this very difficult and…

just for the record, I want everyone to know that I am wearing one of my favorite ties, which is a horse tie. I have been a lifelong farmer and rancher, and I can assure you that no one in this Chamber loves horses more than I do. But the…

I know that in some of my farming country and my own farm in Costilla County, every now and then, almost every year, we have a beautiful potato field that is run over by a herd of wild horses just because BLM does not have the proper…

I think it is clear, with the figures that you have given us, that the $378 billion is not really a true reflection of what the Iraqi war has cost us. And you are absolutely right, we as Blue Dogs, we as Democrats will stand strong with…

I am proud today to be joined by my colleagues of the Blue Dog Coalition to speak about our Nation's problems. Mr. Ross brought up the U.S. national debt now being $8.8 trillion, knocking on the door of $9 trillion. I remember the very…

I was in the Soviet Union during the fall of communism when Gorbachev was still in power in 1989, when we were out there studying international government with the Colorado Agriculture Leadership Program. It's true, I couldn't agree with…

May I ask a question? You have some figures on this chart that show that basically through the Iraqi war supplementals we have actually budgeted $378.5 billion. Could I ask the gentleman, is this really the true cost of the war, or is this…

But is this the actual, is this an actual true reflection of what the war in Iraq has cost? For example, we see that our troop levels, our military armor, and the equipment that our troops have is not adequate in many cases. So are we…

I often tell this story of my father. I served during the tail end of Vietnam and my father was a World War II veteran. My son served now during Iraqi Freedom. He just finished his tour last December, but I like to tell this story of my…

I stand today to honor the life of a great American. Lt. Col. Raymond Gerald Murphy was born on January 14, 1930, in Pueblo, Colorado. He graduated from Pueblo Catholic High School and attended Fort Lewis Junior College in Durango, then…