my second degree amendment reflects my belief that we cannot continue to import nurses from other countries without also taking steps to step up capacity for training nurses here in the U.S. We all know that the United States faces a…

I wish to discuss two issues this morning that I believe are important not only to Members of the Senate but everybody across America. You cannot go home and visit your home State and talk to real families and real businessmen and real…

It is not paid for, and now we hear from the President's party: We can't afford $3.2 billion to make America safe at home, for our own police departments, our own FBI, our own Drug Enforcement Agency. I think the Members who are pushing…

I rise today to support the funding bill for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science and Related Agencies and commend Senators Mikulski and Shelby for their hard work on this legislation. This bill provides important funding that…

Because in a week from now, this same President is going to come to this Congress and ask us for, I say to the Senator from West Virginia, $192 billion more for the war in Iraq.

This isn't a matter of the State of Illinois health insurance plan; it is a matter of our State or the State of North Dakota taking the Federal funds and buying private health insurance, which is something these families currently cannot…

The math is right. This President has funded this war in Iraq and Afghanistan borrowing money from future generations. He has not paid for a single day of this war by imposing a tax or cutting spending in some other area. He is the first…

The State of New York said: We want to cover families up to $83,000; it is more expensive to live in New York than it might be in some other State. But ultimately it was a decision to be made by the President. The President had to give…

I met with a lot of people and continue to be amazed that there is such a disconnect between the real world of America and the world of Capitol Hill. In about 48 hours, the U.S. House of Representatives is going to have a historic vote. It…

Since returning to session, much of our discussion has once again been dominated by Iraq. Given the tragedy of the administration's Iraq policy and the need to change course, this is understandable. Yet Iraq's dominance has meant that many…

it is a strange thing when the President of the United States uses his veto pen. He does it so rarely. He has only used it on two issues. Once, when we tried to change the policy on the war in Iraq and tried to bring our troops home in a…

this amendment on this Defense appropriations bill goes to the most important single foreign policy issue facing America: If this is a bill about spending for the military, this may be the most important single amendment we could consider…

over 2 million families are going to lose their homes in the next few years. Mr. President, 28,000 of those families are in Illinois. Why? Because they are stuck in bad mortgages. Homeowners across America don't need to hear from me to…

2 months ago, I traveled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, and Jordan. I also traveled to Iraq with my colleague Senator Casey of Pennsylvania. We went to talk to and listen to our top generals and diplomats but, equally important, the…

I commend the Republican leader for his statement on the situation in Burma. It is my understanding now that we anticipate this military junta is likely to engage in repressive tactics against the Buddhist monks and the people of this…

But we have kept our promise that we would have a pay-as-you-go plan. As we came up with new ideas for legislation, we paid for them--much different from what we saw around here as we were driven deeply into debt under the leadership of…

during the course of the deliberation on this Defense authorization bill, it has been my intention to offer an amendment to the so-called DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is a narrowly tailored, bipartisan measure that would give a select group of…

10 years ago the Senate created the Children's Health Insurance Program to help States provide health coverage for low-income kids across America. It is known as CHIP. It provides cost-effective health coverage to millions of kids. It is…

I just left a meeting of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The request of this administration for the next year for the war in Iraq is $189 billion--$189 billion. That comes out to about $15 billion a month that they are asking for…

I rise today to support this Nations' workers, who deserve better treatment than they currently experience when their employers fail them. We all remember what happened with Enron. Thousands of workers toiled over decades to slowly build…

Today, the Senate will send a bipartisan bill to the President that will improve the FDA's ability to assure the safety of drugs in our medicine cabinets and the food in our kitchens. The FDA is an essential guardian of the public's health…

I feel it is time for a change. I cannot in good conscience continue to give this President a blank check for this war because I know what he is going to do with that money. He is going to continue this failed policy with no end in sight…

The Cornyn amendment focuses on one organization and one attack on an honorable, patriotic leader of our military, General Petraeus. If this resolution that he offers would be fair, it would also take into consideration the situations that…

Madam President, this room we work in, this Chamber where the Senate meets, is a Chamber that has seen a lot of history in its time. There have been moments of great pride, and, unfortunately, moments I am sure where the opposite has…

in the 2004 Presidential campaign, I might ask the Senator from Texas, there was a group from Texas that attacked Senator John Kerry and said he was undeserving of the commendations and decorations he received for his courage in fighting…