this year the waiting list for organ transplants among Americans stands at more than 75,000. I rise to urge all Senators, and all Americans to become organ donors. I rise to introduce legislation to make it easier for individuals to donate…

I certainly don't. Usually they fight like cats and dogs. When it comes to this bill, both sides believe the HMOs and the health insurance companies should not be above the law. They should not be a special class. They should be held…

this amendment I am offering addresses an issue of which I think every parent is well aware. In this debate about education, we are focusing on critical needs in American education. One of those critical needs is the ability of a child to…

What really frustrated many of us was the fact that Congress was unwilling to even look at the issue. It is something to go back home, whether the home State is Illinois or Nevada, and find people who are telling you real-life stories…

I can't think of a bigger issue in terms of the people I represent in the State of Illinois. A lot of families in Illinois who rely on natural gas to heat their homes saw dramatic increases in their heating bills this past winter. Families…

I understand there is change, and with change there is pain. I hope we can do our best to be positive and constructive as the Senate leadership does change. I hope we can continue to show mutual respect for our colleagues, as I have great…

The Nation and perhaps many parts of the Western World will be focused on the comments of Senator Jeffords this week. They are particularly important not because a man who was a lifelong Republican has declared that he would become an…

I ask the Senator another question. When we ask the people in the energy business, why are prices out of control, they say it is the market mechanism, market forces. There are two things I find interesting. Our common experience says when…

I follow up on a point. There was an old saying during debate of the Clean Air Act, a belief that once we established standards for clean air in America, it was said as a result of that Government decision, the people in the automobile…

There are those who argue from the energy industry side that the only way we can improve our energy future in America is by compromising on air quality standards. They suggest it is environmental regulation which is causing the problem we…

Members of the Senate, this is an amendment I am offering for Senator Kennedy. The HOPE scholarship tax credit is valuable to students but not to those who are attending community colleges and public universities. It is limited to tuition…

I supported this effort from the beginning. I believe that when you ask American families about tax cuts, their highest single priority is this amendment. This is a rather substantial proposal in reference to cutting the taxes of America's…

I thank the Senator. The difference here is that most of us come to this debate as former students and parents. Senator Murray comes as a former teacher--one of the few in this body. She has stood in front of classrooms of children and…

However, this wasn't the case for African Americans 40 years ago. Forty years ago, desegregation laws in bus and train stations, as well as their waiting rooms and restaurants, prohibited African Americans from enjoying the same facilities…

With my 3 minutes remaining, Mr. President, let me say to my colleagues and those who are following this debate that I want to give you a political science 101 introductory course on how you can evaluate what politicians say and what they…

We believe testing is an important part of education. It has proven itself in the city of Chicago with our public schools. But if we in fact agree to test students as we have debated for a long time, and don't provide any resources once we…

A budget resolution is basically the blueprint which says this is how far we can go and no further under the rules of the Senate and the House, in spending. So once you put that blueprint in place, when the Appropriations Committee sits…

I ask the Senator from North Dakota, so there is clarity on the record: We have been debating for 2 weeks about education on the floor of the Senate. But it is a debate about authorizations and this is a debate about a budget resolution…

The President's motto is ``Leave No Child Behind.'' Only one out of three kids is currently enrolled in Head Start--that early learning experience which gives kids a chance to be successful in the classroom. Only a third of the kids who…

Today marks the 210th anniversary of the Polish Third of May Constitution, which was the first democratic constitution in Europe and the second one in world's history after the American Constitution was ratified in 1788. On May 3, 1791 the…

The dropout rate for white students in America is 7 percent. The dropout rate for African American students is 13 percent. The dropout rate for Hispanic, Latino students is 30 percent. It is higher among Latinos, Hispanic American women…

I think these recess periods are valuable because, as close as we think we are to people, there is absolutely no substitute for sitting down with them and having some conversations about the issues we are debating. One of the issues we…

Let me tell you what we are proposing with this tax stimulus package: a one-time tax refund check for all people who pay income or payroll taxes of $600 per couple and $300 per individual. A new 10-percent tax bracket applies to the first…

What the Senator is saying is that no one has come to the floor defending the payday loans and the loan sharks?

Every time Senator Hatch tells you there is a provision in the bill before us that is not included in the Durbin bill--believe me, every time the credit industry gave us a morsel, they took away a beef steak. And that is what happened when…