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John Peter Spyros Sarbanes is an American politician serving as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd congressional district since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Sarbanes has focused on issues such as campaign finance reform, healthcare, and education during his tenure in Congress. He has been an advocate for transparency in government and has worked to strengthen the Voting Rights Act.
If the Senator would yield, hopefully many of them would be sufficiently enlightened to perceive that by strengthening our society through implementing the Leave No Child--actually, this goes beyond implementing the legislation because it…
It is my understanding in some schools they are cutting back the school week from 5 days to 4 days because they have inadequate resources.
What good does it do us if we pass this legislation on homeland security, we beat our chests about it, and then we don't provide the resources? The Senator's amendment will provide the resources to carry out this legislation.
First, I commend the very able Senator from West Virginia for this amendment. This is an extraordinarily important amendment. If we are going to provide for homeland security, we must provide the resources for homeland security; otherwise…
Contributing to the war effort in the construction of Liberty ships. We passed the Maritime Transportation Security Act last year; 95 to 0 I believe was the vote in this body. But what good does that bill do us if we do not have the…
I want that organizing resolution to contain in it an understanding with respect to the allocation of resources so I can be certain we will be able to meet our responsibilities; furthermore, an allocation of resources comparable to what is…
Let me say to my colleague, as a consequence of what occurred in the 107th Congress and the very close divisions that took place, and indeed the assertion by what was then the Republican minority of the necessity of protecting their staff…
It is our assertion that the organizing resolution ought to at least encompass the allocation of staff resources and that the minority now should receive a treatment on that issue comparable to and paralleling what the other side of the…
We certainly did so in the 107th Congress. In the 107th Congress, when it came to that question and we became the majority, we accorded, I think, a very fair and eminently reasonable treatment to the minority, and that is all we are…
In other words, all we are seeking is that the majority now accord us as a minority the same treatment that we accorded to them when they were in the minority and we were the majority. That seems to me an eminently reasonable and fair…
I say to the Senator, my understanding is that we have treated the organizing resolution as encompassing the allocation of resources in the past.
It is headlined: ``Byrd, at 85, Fills the Forum With Romans and Wrath.'' They should have gone on and added one other thing. They should have said ``and wisdom,'' because that is exactly what he has provided to all of us. We are…
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and the wonderful method it can be for…
Most alarming is that the version of the legislation passed by the House on Wednesday--with the Senate apparently soon to follow--is a 500-page, 11th hour rewrite few lawmakers have read and perhaps none fully understands.
New snakes slither out daily, but doubtless many will remain hidden until long after the measure is enacted into law.
I missed that. But that is just another example of what may well be stacked away--it is not as though this is simply or straightforwardly a revision or an alteration of provisions directly related to homeland security which we have been…
I just wondered, has the Senator noticed that the newspapers are filled now with stories about provisions that are in this legislation that have appeared, in a sense, out of nowhere? All of a sudden they have manifested themselves in this…
I think that is a point we have not really touched on much in this debate, but I think it is an extremely important point. What has happened--you pass this resolution, you make a major grant of war-making authority to the President, but…
It is worth engaging in this discussion just to underscore the sweep of authority that is being provided. Again, I thank my colleague for his leadership on this issue and especially commend him for what I thought was a very thoughtful and…
But the fact is that a President who wanted to keep that authority and may well want to use it, as long as he could keep the support of one-third--not of each House of the Congress but only one-third of one House, either a third of the…
This, of course, is a decision with far-sweeping consequences, certainly as it deals with Iraq and all of its implication. But the precedent is being established in terms of the future, it seems to me, and that constitutes a major erosion…
We may not always be able to avoid war, particularly if it is thrust upon us, but Congress must not attempt to give away the authority to determine when war is to be declared. We must not allow any president to unleash the dogs of war at…
When would the President have to decide whether he was going to use this authority? Let's assume with respect to passing it later in the evening--although I will oppose it--assuming it is passed and the Congress authorizes the President to…
Let me ask my colleague this question: Suppose some unforeseen, extraordinary development should take place after this resolution is passed and sent down and signed by the President which transforms perhaps the weapons of mass destruction…
The Senator did this last night, and he is doing it again today. He has inserted into the authorization to use force pursuant to a U.N. resolution the word ``only.'' The word ``only'' is not there. These are two separate sections. One…
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