today we were visited on Capitol Hill by Alan Greenspan. Alan Greenspan is the head of the Federal Reserve and is considered the economics guru who comes to Washington periodically, to Capitol Hill, and gives us advice. Sometimes that…

I would hope you'd look at it, because I think the death benefit, as well as monthly benefits, health insurance, and educational assistance----

But it is not fair, on one hand, to praise an employer who stands behind the Guard and Reserve activated person, and then for the Federal Government to say, 'We're not going to do the same thing.'

Forty-one percent of them take cuts in pay. We're now going to enact a new bankruptcy bill, which will make it tougher for those who lose their businesses and have to file bankruptcy because they've been deployed for 1 year or 2 years.

What you have said is, I believe, unequivocal, and that is the right answer, as far as I'm concerned.

pursuant to that consent, I would like to be recognized to speak to an issue which the whole world has focused on over the last several weeks and months. Within a few weeks, the Senate is likely to vote to send hundreds of millions of…

I am sure it could have been better. We produced a very good product on a bipartisan basis, and then we failed to reach agreement with the White House and our colleagues in the House of Representatives. My concern--which I am sure the…

President Bush and many of his supporters in Congress are trying to convince the American people about the so-called Social Security privatization plan. They are arguing that there is going to be a bargain by borrowing $2 trillion now…

first I salute my colleague from Utah. I agree completely with his conclusion--completely. We need to get together on a bipartisan basis and talk about the future of Social Security. That should be the starting point. Unfortunately, it is…

I would speak for a moment, if I could, on an issue which is near and dear to not just seniors but their families. Last night, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan acknowledged the cumulative cost of the Medicare prescription drug program…

To suggest we are facing a crisis in 2008 is to suggest we did not anticipate what will happen in 2008, and that is plain wrong. In 1983, we anticipated the baby boomer generation, larger numbers of retirees, and we did something about it…

As I understand it, we are currently collecting more from our workers across America for Social Security than we currently need to pay out to retirees. This has been the case since the mid-1980s because we saw this big tsunami of the baby…

I say to those of you who are following the Senate in action, welcome to our first substantive bill. That is right, this is the first substantive bill that we are considering. Some might conclude, if it is the first, it must be a very high…

Barry Goldwater was a proud, conservative Republican. Many credit him as being the father of the modern conservative movement in this country. He defended his conservative ideas and ideals vigorously. But he didn't attack his political…

After every war, history is written. There are stories of courage, compassion, and glory, and stories of cruelty, weakness, and shame. When history is written of our war on terrorism, it will record the millions of acts of heroism…

I do not know him personally. I met him in my office for a brief meeting, the first time we ever sat down together. I read his life story. I couldn't help but be impressed. Here is a man who came from a very modest circumstance, who served…

The criticism has been leveled that the Democrats are somehow obstructionists; that we are standing in the path of the President to filling his Cabinet. The Senator from New Mexico knows this is the second rollcall on the nominees of the…

another issue that is, of course, timely and is brought up on a regular basis is the future of Social Security. I believe there is a problem with Social Security. The President has said the same. However, I don't believe President Bush's…

I rise today to commend the fine members of the Union League Club of Chicago on the 125th anniversary of the organization's founding in 1879. On behalf of the people of Illinois, I thank all of the members of the Union League Club of…

we were encouraged to learn yesterday that the administration has announced that it will support an increase in death benefits for our troops and their families. This has been a priority for the Democrats in Congress as well as many…

I would like to speak to an unrelated issue but one which has been of great concern to me for some time and to many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle; that is, the situation in Darfur. Last week, the United Nations Commission on…

let me acknowledge my colleague from the State of South Dakota, who is unique in this Chamber. Those who voted on the question of whether America should go to war in Iraq were certainly representing our constituents in thinking of the…

In the New York Times yesterday, Thomas Friedman, their foreign correspondent, made a valuable suggestion that relates both to the Energy Department, which Dr. Bodman will be heading, as well as our challenge in the Middle East. It is a…

I expressed to Secretary-designate Bodman a few of my concerns about national energy policy. I stressed my belief that one of our most urgent national energy priorities is increasing fuel efficiency standards. This is a critical issue and…

Today we consider President Bush's nominee to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. At a time when America's men and women in uniform are not only serving but actively fighting in combat, this is a particularly significant nomination for…