the Commerce-State-Justice portion of this bill contains a few technical and clarifying changes to the Prison Litigation Reform Act enacted last year. The Majority Whip of the House of Representatives and I have been working together on…

I wish to speak in relationship to this legislation, and in favor in particular of title II of the District of Columbia portion of this legislation. Title II incorporates an agreement reached recently between House and Senate negotiators…

I am disappointed over that decision, Mr. President, for passage of H.R. 2516 would have provided my State of Michigan with approximately $200 million more than we averaged under ISTEA. However, I stand by ready to assist the chairman in…

this information, if true, is very inconsistent with what was asserted by Federal officials at a June 5 hearing of the full Agriculture Committee. There, USDA officials testified at the hearing that they knew nothing more than nonspecific…

I would like today to speak briefly about an issue that pertains in large measure to the Subcommittee on Immigration, which I chair. In the last several months, a number of incidents have come to our attention involving the pursuit by the…

Unfortunately, the INS appears to maintain, regardless of the intention, that the law clearly calls for a record of every entry and departure by noncitizens entering or departing the United States. I will be sending a letter to INS…

I rise today to note a recent injustice done to one of America's most valuable associations, the Boy Scouts, by one of our most valued institutions, the Smithsonian. I also rise to express my appreciation to Smithsonian Secretary I…

My colleague is again correct. the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust and the Forest Service have a great opportunity to protect some of Michigan's pristine natural resources. Unfortunately, if we do not act soon, this opportunity will quickly…

The senior Senator from Michigan is correct. These funds have been budgeted but have not yet been earmarked for specific purchases.

Yes, the Forest Service has expressed its desire to purchase these acres. I understand that this acquisition is on the Forest Service's priority list.

This amendment seeks to accomplish several key objectives. First and foremost, it has been my goal since arriving in the Senate to move the NEA in a direction of being a private national entity supporting the arts. I believe that is in the…

I will quickly summarize. My amendment is designed to accomplish two things: To begin an effort to privatize the NEA so it can be as large as it wants to be and as liberated from the strings which Congress has attached to it as it wants to…

despite their many disagreements, supporters of both the pro-life and pro-choice positions on abortion have been able to agree on one fundamental point: American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize abortions. This is a consensus…

I rise to speak today with respect to a development which has occurred by an act of omission rather than commission on the part of the Secretary of State. As the President I am sure is aware, for approximately 10 years American citizens…

in March of this year, over 200 schoolchildren in my State contracted the hepatitis A virus from food served by the school lunch program. As news of the outbreak began to pour in, the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Centers…

I would like to raise with the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary, an important issue related to restrictions included in the CJS bill that reform the taking and…

As we come into the final stages of these negotiations, we are very optimistic that we will be able to realize the objective that many of us came here to achieve: to finally bring an end to higher taxes in Washington and begin, finally, to…

Citizens in my State are extraordinarily concerned about the potential treaty that has been in the media very much lately. The people of Michigan care greatly about their environment and the ramifications of various emissions that are…

On July 2, a series of high-wind storms raged through my State of Michigan. They struck in numerous communities ranging from Chesaning, a small city in Saginaw County, to Thetford and Vienna Townships in Genesee County to Holly, MI, and…

Featured in the story is discussion of a gentleman named Larry Niec. Larry's 1,000-acre farm is depicted here with a caption that reads in part: ``strewn with pieces of once-sturdy buildings, like his roofless dairy barn and severed silo…

I want to be very explicit about both my position on the issue of prisoners working as well as what the intent of this amendment is that I am a cosponsor of. First of all, I believe prisoners should work. I am not for a no work policy. I…

late on Wednesday, July 2, the State of Michigan was the recipient of an uninvited guest for the holiday weekend: Namely, a series of intense thunderstorms which ripped through the south-central and south-eastern portions of our State…

I was wondering if Senator Nickles and I could engage the chairman of the Finance Committee in a colloquy regarding the proposed tax on the domestic portion of international journeys [DPIJ]. As I understand the new tax, it will impose a…

I think the bill that the Finance Committee has brought us today is a very good bill. I look forward to supporting it against some of the amendments that would seek to undercut the basic thrust and to see it to final passage. Obviously…

I urge my colleagues to begin the examination process of what, separate from acting in the context of most-favored-nation status, we might do as a matter of American policy. The concerns that many of us have with respect to human rights…