I ask the majority leader to clarify something in his remarks. He referred to amendments as ``Christmas tree amendments.'' There is one amendment on this side of the aisle that he supports on stem cell research. If this is Health Care…

what we have just seen happen is not surprising, but it is disappointing. Health Care Week has come to an end in the Senate on Wednesday evening. We have decided we don't have the time, interest, or inclination to take up other issues. It…

may I inquire of the majority leader, at this point, are we closing down debate on this bill?

I ask the majority leader if he would give me the option to make a closing statement, and that the Senate adjourn after that option is given.

If I may ask through the Chair to the majority leader, as I understand the procedural position we are in, earlier today the majority leader filled the tree, as we say, to preclude any further amendments. And now, as I understand it, the…

yesterday, the Senate voted on two motions to invoke cloture to proceed to legislation regarding medical malpractice. Due to a mechanical problem with the plane on my flight from Chicago, I was necessarily absent for this debate and the…

on vote No. 115, I was necessarily absent, due to a mechanical problem with the plane on my United flight 115 from Chicago. Had I been present for that vote, I would have voted against the motion to invoke closure.

That is exactly the point we should remember when it comes to stem cell research. How much better would our research be if this Government stood behind efforts to find cures instead of creating these obstacles? When President Bush made his…

What does $100 buy you? Two tanks of gas, if you're lucky? Is that the best we can do in Washington, D.C., and then say adios, voters, see you in November? We've taken care of the problem? Well, we certainly have not.

I had the good fortune early in my political life to meet and work as an intern for Paul Douglas, a Senator from Illinois from 1948 to 1966. He wrote several books about ethics in government that are still widely quoted. I was fortunate to…

His amendment increases funding for international peacekeeping efforts by $60 million. Another amendment that has been filed authorizes the Department of Defense to assist NATO in peacekeeping efforts in Darfur. The third sets aside funds…

before I yield the floor, on behalf of the Republican leadership, I understand that there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. The…

this morning across America, people got up to go to work. Some of them had a very unsettling moment because they had to fill up their gas tanks. So people heading off to work pulled into a gas station across America--in Chicago, in…

as we reflect on the Presidency of George W. Bush, there were moments of high drama. Certainly, the moment of highest drama in my recollection was when the President visited the site of the 9/11 attack. When he went to New York and walked…

Isn't it curious, as you drive around your hometown, that all the prices on all the pumps seem to go up at the same time and come down at the same time?

I will ask the Senator, you are asking for an opportunity to call your amendment to be voted on up or down, whether this subsidy to profitable oil companies will continue or whether the money will come back to the Federal Treasury. Is that…

it was recently brought to our attention by the Office of Compliance that the utility tunnels which carry steam and chilled water throughout the Capitol complex are rapidly deteriorating and are putting the workers who must enter these…

I ask a procedural point for those following this debate. I ask the Senator from Oregon, it is my understanding that what the Senator is doing is consistent with the Senate rules which allows a Senator to take the floor and offer an…

I salute my colleague, the leader on the Democratic side, Senator Reid, for addressing the shortcomings of the President's message yesterday. People across America get this. They understand that every morning when they go to fill up their…

more than half the men and women serving the United States now in Iraq and Afghanistan are members of Guard and Reserve units. Not that long ago they were working civilian jobs with regular payroll and, of course, performing their…

I am aware of it, and I feel sorry for the people who run these gas stations. One can imagine what their customers say when they come to the counter. They are outraged over the increase in gasoline prices, angry over this situation and the…

I am aware of that. I know the Democratic leader is also aware that two of our colleagues came to the floor yesterday and asked for emergency consideration of measures to deal with this right now, things that could make a difference…

the news this morning tells us Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is in Iraq. That is a good thing. It is a good thing for the leaders of our Government to be in touch in the field to let them know we are on their side. I am glad the…

this morning the President of the United States held a press conference and announced the following: Prices at the pumps reflect our addiction to oil. So it turns out it is our fault. It turns out it is the fault of the consumers. It is…

The prices at the pump don't reflect our addiction to oil, they reflect a failure in leadership by this White House.