at long last, I believe we are on the verge of passing legislation that is long overdue. Soon we are going to vote on a procedural motion, known as a cloture motion, for the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which takes us one step closer to raising…

As Congress considers our future course in Iraq, we remain committed on a bipartisan basis to providing our soldiers every resource they need to fight effectively and come home safely. But it's time to begin the orderly redeployment of our…

I rise to address the crisis in Darfur. I wish I could do more than speak out, but at the very least, I will continue to speak out. Today I want to specifically speak to an urgent humanitarian crisis. On January 17, 14 United Nations…

Most of the analyses of health benefit accounts say they primarily benefit people who are healthy and wealthy, and it seems to me the challenge for health insurance in America is for those in the lower income categories, and particularly…

When he was asked about Iraq, Vice President Cheney said: Bottom line is that we've had enormous successes and we will continue to have enormous successes. It is interesting that the Vice President would make this statement barely a week…

If the president says our continued course of action is a slow failure, you have to wonder where the vice president is receiving his information.

I doubt that. I really, honestly, don't believe that the enemy gets up each morning and looks at the news clips before they decide whether they're going to go build another IED on the roadside.

The alternative is what our generals have been calling for, for a long time, what Prime Minister al-Maliki is calling for, and what most Americans want: Start bringing American troops home.

Delusional suggests that you are out of touch with reality.

It's a question about the policy of this country.

I don't think he has a real realistic view of what's going on in Iraq.

Clearly, they're not in touch with one another about what's really going on in Iraq.

there is one moment each year when America comes together, when the leader of our country, our President, in his State of the Union Address, speaks of our experience in the past, our history, and his vision of our Nation's future. It is a…

I can say without exception that every time I have taken a trip, carefully planned, I have come back with a better knowledge of the world and a better appreciation of our home. I have learned things on these trips I just could not…

I rise today to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a great man who inspired ordinary African Americans to demand equal rights as American citizens. This year, we celebrate what would have been Dr. King's 78th birthday and his dream for…

the issue that is paramount in the minds of many Americans is the war in Iraq. It is a consuming issue for us because we know that as we stand in the safety of the Senate Chamber or in our homes across America, at the same moment in time…

for the record, a year ago when we debated ethics reform, the cloture motion was opposed on the Democratic side after we considered one amendment--one amendment. We have considered 12 amendments to this bill to this point, plus there have…

we have been working for a week and a half on this bill, S. 1, which is the highest priority of the Democratic majority in the new Congress because we believe, as it says, providing greater transparency in the legislative process is a…

If you have ever attended an Irish wake--and I bet you have--there is a passionate combination of sadness and celebration. In Chicago, such a wake is being held for a good and courageous man. Thomas G. Lyons died last Friday at the age of…

The purpose of my second-degree amendment is to address those flaws. It does not go to the heart of their argument about expanding the number of earmarks that would be subject to disclosure. In fact, if anything, it expands the number of…

there are two problems, at least, with the amendment. First, we try in the bipartisan Reid-McConnell earmark reform to include not only appropriations earmarks but also tax benefits. It is the same deal. You either send a million dollars…

I would like to make this point which I think the Senator's amendment misses. We cannot authorize a program with committee report language--we cannot authorize a program with committee report language. I learned long ago that unless we…

The redeployment would take the troops out of Iraq and, perhaps, position them in a nearby country. We would still be involved in trade, still be involved in hunting down al-Qaida forces and trying to stop terrorism. Yes, our feeling…

This notion that we are dealing with an unanticipated expenditure in the fourth year of this war is a charade. I think it would be better for us to deal with this in the regular appropriations process so that we can integrate the cost of…

I don't serve on the Armed Services Committee, but it is my guess that redeploying troops is also a very expensive endeavor-- maybe as expensive as deploying them and holding a position. So I don't know if there will be a savings if there…