Byron Dorgan

Let me make some comments about the broad question of homeland security and relate it to the discussion yesterday at the United Nations that was offered by President Bush.

I believe we have significant economic difficulties in this country. The Federal budget deficits now continue to skyrocket. We have a budget that does not add up, a fiscal policy that does not make much sense. I think we ought to have an…

We do not have perfect solutions, but we must in the next day or two make progress to get this bill completed so that we can go to conference with the House and make prescription drugs available to senior citizens, especially in the…

Executives must return all compensation, as Senators Dorgan and McCain have urged, that is directly derived from proven misconduct.

But is it not then the case that they are not FDA- approved drugs and therefore our amendment deals with that?

The amendment deals with FDA drugs, so the condition under which that drug from Canada would come into this country would be it was purchased at a Canadian-licensed pharmacy or distributer by a licensed facility or distributor in this…

I must say that is one of the more tortured explanations I have heard about why a bill has been delayed coming to the floor of the Senate. Of course, everyone has that right.

This is, of course, the last chapter on amendments, and a pretty sad book. I know people will go up to the gallery--and I understand someone is at a press conference from the other side--claiming credit for this bill. I want to know who…

I offered an amendment a couple of hours ago that was simple and germane. It should have had a vote. It said that if the CEOs and directors of a corporation waltz out the door with millions of dollars of bonuses, stock options, and…

Why will we not get a vote on the simple proposition that those corporate leaders who run their corporation into bankruptcy and who take $10, $20, $30, or $50 million out of it just prior to bankruptcy-- why will we not allow a vote on an…

I have just visited with the chairman of the committee and you know there exists a list of amendments that Members of the Senate wish to offer to this legislation. As I have watched this process over the last couple of days, it appears to…

I did. And it is ironic that the Senator who makes the point about the Jordan agreement voted to keep the Jordan agreement labor standards out of this fast-track legislation. I voted for the bilateral trade agreements that the Senator From…

I wonder if the Senator will agree that, while fast track is making new agreements and shoving them through the Congress with no amendments, efforts to correct the problems in trade that are faced by so many American workers and so many…

How about the disputes against unfair foreign trade practices that the steel industry raises or that family farmers or textile manufacturers raise--do the disputes they deem they need to bring because they are victims of unfair trade get…

They talk about pension reform a lot around here but they fail to mention that a good many Americans have no pension. The Senator from New Mexico used statistics--for example, 61 percent in my home State, and I think 70-some in New Mexico…

Given that record of success and assuming a treasury rate of interest, would it be reasonable that the $20 million a year included in this bill for the early years of this program could fund a treasury rate of interest broadband loan…

Does the legislation give the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service flexibility to adopt a definition of broadband, which encourages advancement in all modes of communications?

I certainly respect his view, but I don't share his view that this amendment would in any way be unconstitutional. I believe the amendment, if I modify it, would be less likely to achieve its purpose. If I don't modify it, I think it is a…

We were fighting with Europe about bananas and we don't produce them. Those bananas were coming from the Caribbean, and Europe would not let them in.

No. We were fighting with Europe because they would not allow bananas into the European economies. I mentioned today that we had a dispute with Europe about beef. We went to the WTO and won a case against Europe. You know how we penalized…

Senator Hollings raised the issue of bananas. I wanted to explore that for a moment. Is it not the case that our country had a big fight with Europe about bananas?

There is no doctrine of comparative advantage in most of these unfair trade circumstances. Most of what has happened with respect to advantage is political; that is, the political system of the country decides we are going to have a state…

I ask the Senator from Texas, could he not find the definition of a derivative by talking to people who used to run Long Term Capital Management? As the Senator from Texas will recall, it lost a fortune sufficient so that it almost took…

We all know the issue of energy security is more than just finding additional supplies of energy. As a result of September 11, and other concerns about the broader area of energy security, the majority leader decided to bring to the floor…

This does not wash--to stall for 2 months, to filibuster for 2 weeks, then walk around here pretending you are out of breath from running so far. Every step of the way, we had people on that side of the aisle trying to prevent us from…