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Max Baucus is a former U.S. Senator from Montana, serving from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, Baucus was known for his work on health care reform and tax policy. He played a significant role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act and was a key advocate for various economic initiatives during his tenure. Baucus also served as the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, where he influenced legislation related to taxation and trade. After leaving the Senate, he was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to China, where he focused on strengthening U.S.-China relations.
I would also like at this point to thank our leader, Majority Leader Trent Lott, who has worked hard, particularly in the last several weeks, with various Senators, various groups, to assure we could bring this bill, the highway bill, the…
I join my colleague in congratulating our friend, Senator Specter from Pennsylvania, on his 68th birthday. I have watched Senator Specter over the years, and I can say I do not think there is a Senator with a finer legal mind than the…
I rise, with all due respect, to ask the majority leader to reconsider the schedule which he has set so that we take up the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act, otherwise known as ISTEA, right away rather than deferring it as presently…
it is highways that are being postponed; it is transit being postponed; it is all the safety programs that are in the highway bill that are being postponed; it is the intermodal connections. My friend Senator Moynihan is the father of the…
I do have a couple of points I want to make which I think are very important. No. 1, this is a true compromise. We in this body suggested $500 million in new contract authority. The House originally suggested about $12 billion in new…
there are two points that I want to make. We are passing this rather significant piece of legislation because we are doing it in a bipartisan basis. I must remind all of my colleagues that when we get into partisan fights often nothing…
I say to my friend that this measure about to be passed is formula neutral. It in no way would prejudice the amendment to be offered at a later date by the Senator from Michigan, or other amendments offered by other Senators who wish to…
I rise to discuss the state visit of Chinese President Jiang Zemin to the United States last week. Let me begin with a reminder of our goals in Asia policy. They are: A peaceful Pacific, open trade, joint work on problems of mutual concern…
I think it is very clear. The point of this is we transferred 4.3 cents to the highway trust fund. Those are dollars that Americans expect to be used for highways. And I think the Senator is correct in saying there is a very strong…
The most important point is one the Senator from West Virginia has so correctly made. We have tremendous transportation infrastructure needs, and that they are not being met. Indeed, the Department of Transportation has concluded under the…
If the Senator will yield, if I understand the Senator, he is saying under the Byrd-Gramm-Baucus-Warner amendment it is true that it is up to the discretion of the Budget Committee and appropriations committees to make these decisions, but…
Next week Chinese President Jiang Zemin will arrive for his first State visit, the first State visit by a Chinese leader in 12 years. As this visit approaches, I rise to discuss our China policy and the things we might hope to see from…
If the Senator wishes, I will take the Senator up to Grinnell Glacier in Glacier Park where you can virtually watch the glacier move because the Earth is warming at such a rapid rate. It is moving in the wrong way. It is receding, is…
I also would like to get campaign finance reform passed. Why? I can tell you, having just been through an election, that this country has dramatically changed the way campaigns are run and financed from just a few years ago. The present…
Mr. President, today we are currently operating under a 6-year ISTEA highway bill. The bill before us is a new 6-year ISTEA bill. This new bill will bring up to date some of the provisions that are in the current law. By up to date, I…
He comes up with more new ideas, has a broader perspective on what is happening, which enables him to approach a subject from more angles, more ways, and he thinks more outside the box, if you will. There are many examples of that but one…
I join my colleague and chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee in recognizing and praising the intelligence and the vision of the senior Senator from New York. I think I can state without reservation and categorically that…
In 1990, we enacted 2.5 cents to deficit reduction. In 1993, the 4.3 was passed. In 1995, due to pressure from the public, we undid the 2.5 cents so that went to the highway trust fund. And right now, because of the public pressure, we are…
I first want to give by deepest respects and thanks to the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Chafee. He has put together a bill that has passed our committee unanimously 18 to 0. Not many committees can come…
This country is changing. The country, in 1997, is not what it was in 1987, not what it was in 1980. The fact is that, in 1991, in an ISTEA bill, the highway bill, this Congress essentially did not update data. It just took the 1980 data…
The dam is in need of $50,000 in repairs, and I would like to know if the Chairman would support the Bureau of Indian Affairs if the BIA could allocate funds within existing resources to make these much-needed repairs.
today, it is a real pleasure for me to join my colleagues on the Senate Environment and Public Works, Senators Chafee, Reid, and Kempthorne in introducing the Endangered Species Recovery Act of 1997. The bill we are introducing today…
I want all Americans to know just how much I appreciate the very, very hard work of the Senator from Virginia who has led the way among the three of us in developing, I think, a terrific bill. I compliment him, and I want all Virginians to…
we Americans are very lucky. We live in the most beautiful place on Earth. Our mountain chains, our Great Plains, our national parks, our coasts and forests are a heritage no other country can match. It is our responsibility, through this…
this week the United States Trade Representative will conduct a set of talks on China's accession to the World Trade Organization. Their results will have a great effect on our trade policy for years to come. So this afternoon I want to…
Politicians like Max Baucus
