Let me tell you this in closing. I have heard a lot of arguments tonight made about the defense of tobacco. I say to my colleagues on both sides, if you are ready to vote for this tax bill, you are already imposing a tax on tobacco of 20…

simply put, this amendment which I have offered asks that we move toward more equitable tax treatment for the self-employed with respect to the deductibility of their health insurance premiums within this budget process. I believe this…

I voted for the welfare reform bill, and I thought it was long overdue. The welfare system in America definitely needs to be changed, reformed, and in many areas just plain abandoned. It was a system which had sustained many families, but…

I know the hour is late but the subject is very important and in a few moments I would like my colleagues to consider what this amendment would do. During the course of passing the welfare reform bill, we made many changes in many programs…

What is this all about? Well, you say the word ``Medicare'' and senior citizens start listening. ``Medicare, wait a minute, that is my mother's health insurance protection, it is my grandfather's health insurance. What are they doing to…

70 percent of the people of age 65 today have no health insurance. The Senator suggests it is just going to vanish. This is reality, what families face.

let me say at the outset I want to acknowledge the leadership role that has been played by my colleague, the Senator from Nebraska, who preceded me on the floor. He is calling on us as Members of the Senate and the House to face the…

In conclusion, I will say that my colleague from Rhode Island brings home the conclusion to this debate; that is, if we shirk our responsibilities to these working families, if we walk away from a Medicare promise of over three decades, we…

I have in my hand a letter signed by some 80 businesses and business organizations objecting to the increase in the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. These are not just a few odds and ends when it comes to the business profile of…

my colleague, Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, and I would like to take the floor for 10 minutes to address an issue of great importance, one that is appropriate to consider as we debate the foreign affairs bill, because this is an issue, to…

In closing, there are 102 counties in Illinois, and of the 12 or 13 million people in the State, most are Bulls fans. There is one exception. Hamilton County, in southern Illinois, had a banner on its courthouse which said ``go Jazz go.''…

I offer an amendment for consideration by the Senate which I have discussed with Senator Biden's staff as well as Senator Helms' staff. The Senator from Illinois [Mr. Durbin] proposes an amendment numbered 377: The amendment is as follows…

There was a Senator from Illinois many years ago named Everett Dirksen who said on another totally unrelated issue that ``There is nothing more pregnant than an idea whose time has come.'' The idea of NATO expansion, the idea of involving…

This amendment designates Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Romania as eligible to receive assistance to prepare for future NATO membership. This amendment does not require that any nation be invited to join NATO. It simply makes Lithuania…

I am learning in the Senate that accommodation is a good idea if your amendment is well received. I sense the amendment is well received.

for more than 5 years now, the tobacco companies have said repeatedly, ``We do not want to sell our products to kids.'' They have bought full page ads in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, saying that…

If we are going to use our schools so that kids have a better chance in life, don't we want them to be decent, safe buildings? Honest to goodness, if we fail, if these kids go out in the street, get in trouble at the malls, or wherever it…

yesterday we had a vote that was very important about health care for children. I thought it was a watershed vote, because it is an issue which very few American families would quarrel with. Children were not insured. They weren't…

I have seen the advertisements against the Senator, full-page ads which have called the Senator every name in the book. But I know, having tried to do the same thing, that the Senator addressed this issue in an honest and forthright way…

You are certainly welcome. How did we come to this day? Make no mistake, if the American economy were struggling, if we faced high unemployment, slow economic growth, few housing starts, businesses failing, trade accounts in the red, we…

it has only been a few weeks since this Chamber was the platform and the focus for a debate on amending the Constitution of the United States. Members of this Senate came to the floor, mainly Republican but some Democrats, and argued it…

it may be of interest to note why we are here and what we are talking about. Nominally, we are here to consider Senate bill 543, an important piece of legislation and one which I cosponsored in a slightly different form as a Member of the…

people often ask their elected officials, ``If smoking is so dangerous, why does Congress subsidize tobacco?'' Today, my colleagues Senator Gregg of New Hampshire and Senator Lautenberg of New Jersey are joining me in introducing…

I could not disagree with him more. If this really is a contest over the professionalism of Attorney General Janet Reno, I feel very confident to stand by her. On four separate occasions, Attorney General Reno has exercised the right to…

If there has been any criticism of Attorney General Janet Reno in the last 6 months, it is that she is too independent. There was a question as to whether this President would even reappoint her because of her independence, the fact she…