Those who argue that we are ``growing'' the Government at the expense of family needs across America just don't have the facts straight. Our gross domestic product, the sum total of goods and services in this country, continues to show a…

I think the Senators who spoke on the floor on this issue, Senator Feingold included, have benefited greatly from traveling to Africa, not just because we have seen firsthand this epidemic and its devastation, but frankly because it is…

the Senate has been debating, S. 625, the bankruptcy reform bill for weeks. I am happy to say that many Democratic amendments have been accepted which have brought much needed balance to the bill. The issue of bankruptcy is a highly…

I am more than happy to rise in support of what I consider to be a very important and valuable amendment in this debate on the bankruptcy bill. I am not one who is in favor of abolishing the second amendment, nor, I am sure, is the Senator…

Thank you. I am proud to be a cosponsor of Senator Dodd's resolution. What a curious footnote in the history of this world that this Senate Chamber would focus its debate and the attention of the media in this country on a little…

I hope next week the leadership of the Senate does not bring this matter before us. I will oppose it. I will support the resolution from the Senator from Connecticut. I think it is sensible. It answers the basic question with the most…

I think it is important we follow the lead of the public health experts, who tell us the incidence of HIV and AIDS in the District of Columbia is a national disaster. It is seven times the rate of the rest of the United States. If we do…

earlier we were discussing the District of Columbia appropriations bill. It is a bill that I have taken an interest in as the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee. One of the smaller spending bills, it has now become one of the largest…

That is true. I concede the overall spending is moving up, but they are slicing it back as part of the 1-percent, across-the-board cut. As we learned from the Congressional Budget Office yesterday, if the Republican leadership is to keep…

I want to make sure those who are following this debate understand what we are talking about. When we use terms such as ``fill the tree,'' which we are talking about, we are basically talking about a gag rule here which says Members of the…

It is a curious thing that this program, which once was so controversial, has now become so universally lauded and acceptable that both political parties are determined to be portrayed as the guardians of Social Security. Coming from the…

If every medical organization--doctors, nurses, specialists--has come down in favor of this bipartisan approach, who is on the other side of this? What is the force that is stopping us from passing this legislation?

If I might, then, say to the Senator from Massachusetts, the President's program for 100,000 cops has given the money directly to the police departments and the communities to put more cops on the beat. We have seen the crime rate coming…

This is an extraordinarily good time for America in terms of the state of our economy, its growth, the creation of jobs, keeping inflation under control, and giving businesses opportunities to start and expand. All of these things are good…

The debate then on the President's proposal for 100,000 teachers to reduce classroom size, so that teachers can give more attention to the students, really is kind of a parallel to the 100,000 COPS Program.

If you don't want to fight fires, don't become a fireman, and if you don't want to come to Congress and vote on tough amendments, don't run for the House or Senate.

If I recall correctly--I would like to ask the Senator from Washington--at one point, after many thousands of these policemen had been hired and crime rates were coming down, did not the same Republican Party object to extending the…

Further inquiring of the Senator from Washington, if we are going to talk about accountability and results in education--and we have a program where school districts will be held accountable, Senators will be held accountable in terms of…

I support her amendment. The basic issue is this: Will we give the pink slip to 29,000 teachers at the end of this school year, teachers who were hired to use their professional skills, to have reduced class size which helps kids along in…

Is it not true--I would like to ask further of the Senator from Washington--that most, if not all, of us believe there should be accountability in education, accountability by students with their testing, by teachers in terms of the…

Is it true, you are on the floor leading this debate because of one simple request, and that is that the Senate go on record--yes or no--with a rollcall vote printed for the Record to see whether or not we are going to continue this…

I was startled--I think the Senator from Washington, as a former classroom teacher, was surprised as well--when a successful program to reduce class size that put thousands of teachers in classrooms across America was not funded in this…

I ask the Senator from Washington: We are struggling to encourage people to become teachers because so many of our current teachers are retiring. Would it not be a disincentive if there were uncertainty about the commitment by the Federal…

It is my understanding, because of bipartisan action last year--an agreement between Republicans and Democrats that this was a good goal--we appropriated $1 billion or slightly more----

Should we in the Senate be kicking off a new century by announcing to America, when it comes to education, we will lay off 1,200 teachers in Illinois? I will ask another question: Should we announce to America that in terms of education as…