I rise to support the appointment of John W. McCarter, Jr., to serve on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents. The Board of Regents is vested with authorities typically given to boards of trustees of not-for-profit and educational…

the flags are at half-mast today in the village of Tinley Park, IL. They will be lowered for 5 days, 1 day for each victim of the tragic and senseless shootings that took place last Saturday. Five lives were cut short that morning: Carrie…

I recall that somehow the Republic survived and the Nation did well, we kept our armies in the field and built our highways and passed our bills, and we did that for a long period of time without requiring 60 votes on every amendment. Then…

It seems to me we need to put our heads together to work this out. Extending this law so that there is no damage or hazard to our country is a reasonable way to do this. But I can't understand how the President and the Republican leader…

I will support the Judiciary Committee substitute to the FISA Amendments Act. As a member of the committee, I wish to commend Chairman Leahy for his leadership. I think we have struck the right balance to give the Government the power they…

Tomorrow, the city of Chicago and Cook County, IL, will say goodbye to a legend. John Stroger was born into poverty in Arkansas at the start of the Great Depression. He lived to become the first African American ever elected president of…

If Members look at the list of things John Sweeney has highlighted, he understands what I have just described: the rules of economics, the fact that a lot of working families have not been part of the grand bargain in Washington for a long…

for 46 hours and 8 minutes--for 46 hours and 8 minutes--the Senator from South Carolina has had an opportunity to go to the Internet and see this bill in its entirety, with his staff, and to read every page--46 hours and 8 minutes. For…

Times have changed in America, and not for the better when it comes to food pantries. People need help. I just this Sunday visited the Greater Chicago Food Depository and learned that there is an 11-percent increase over last year in the…

I join my fellow Senators in wishing my colleague, Trent Lott, the best of luck as he begins the next chapter in his life. You are getting to hear your eulogies today, Trent, and they are pretty good. Most of us never think we will have…

Welcome to the Senate where we pass a budget resolution. We did that this year. It is new to the Senate. We did not do that last year. Welcome to the Senate where we are going to pass appropriations bills. It did not happen last year. The…

the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bills do not adequately address all of the long-term needs of the American people. We have no one to blame but the President and his Republican allies who have chosen to stand by his side. The bills we…

I support the 2007 farm bill. I would like to begin by thanking the chairman, Tom Harkin, for his hard work and determination on this bill. I also would like to thank Senator Saxby Chambliss for his efforts on this bill. Lastly, I would…

I thank Senator Levin of Michigan and Senator Warner of Virginia. This is a big piece of work and it took them a long time and a lot of patience and a lot of skill. It is voluminous and contains so much of importance for our national…

the Senate is considering one of the most important pieces of legislation that I have worked on in my legislative career--the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. I thank all the Senators who helped to craft this important bill…

this last vote was a historic vote for America. This was a decision about whether we were going to look to the future to change to an energy policy and a environmental policy consistent with America's best interests. Pitted in that vote…

It seems that every week there is a new revelation about how this administration has engaged in activity that is not consistent with American laws or values when it comes to the issue of torture. Last week, CIA Director Michael Hayden…

one of the bills Republicans are stopping is the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which I cosponsored. This is one of the key civil rights bills of this Congress, creating new positions at the Department of Justice in the Civil…

He, of course, wants us to only allow a registry for Lou Gehrig's patients if we will allow a debate on providing $50 billion, $60 billion, $70 billion more for the war in Iraq--not paid for--and that it happen immediately, even though we…

Isn't this perfect? The minority leader on the Republican side comes to the floor, lamenting the fact that we aren't moving to the farm bill immediately. I think there is something in the water in the U.S. Capitol that leads to political…

I have regularly come to the Senate floor to speak about the genocide in Darfur. For 4 long years, the world has watched this tragedy the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, the torching of entire villages, rape…

This is a medical malpractice amendment on a farm bill. This amendment picks a class of Americans who will be denied their day in court and restricted in what they can recover if they are victims of medical malpractice. The people who will…

I respect my colleague from Oklahoma. There is one simple fact of legislative rule and law that he does not express accurately. There is a world of difference between an authorization and an appropriation. An authorization gives you…

this morning, newspapers across America reported that the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies have destroyed evidence, videotaped evidence of the interrogation of prisoners. It is a startling disclosure. The United…

In response to the fiscal year 2008 Transportation-HUD Appropriations Act conference report and again requested in a letter dated December 7, 2007, from Sen. Richard Durbin and 11 other senators to former FTA Administrator James Simpson…