Jeff Bingaman

I agree entirely with the Senator from Nevada. It is very important to Senators on both sides of the aisle for the drought relief assistance to be made available in short order. I hope very much we can move ahead with that. We can also do…

I want to begin by emphasizing the positive. We have come a long way to where we are today on trade adjustment assistance. The provisions in the conference report are far better than what exists in current law. I want to thank all my…

The estimate we have is that this $34 million the Congress appropriated last December, it was intended to provide effective, modern contraception for over a million couples to prevent over 500,000 unwanted pregnancies, to prevent a quarter…

We are spending a very substantial amount in trying to deal with the problem of HIV/AIDS in the world. We are being called upon by many of the world's leaders to spend substantially more, and, frankly, I think the drumbeat for us to spend…

As good information is given to parents, to mothers, about these issues, good education and information can also be provided about how to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, which is an enormous problem, a terrible tragedy afflicting many of…

Obviously, the work of an organization such as this United Nations Population Fund can only be effective if they can put in place programs they can then sustain over a period of years and actually do some educational efforts in these…

Again, let me respond by saying that is very true. The thrust of these efforts is to reduce the incidents of mothers dying while giving birth, reduce the incidents of child deaths, infant deaths. Clearly, that is the main thrust of what we…

I do agree this is a perfect example. This is a case where the Congress made a very clear decision to provide assistance to this United Nations Population Fund. It did give the administration discretion to look into the question of whether…

The estimates which I have given in my floor statement are that there will be in the range of 200,000 abortions performed as a result of our Government, our administration, withholding this money. I think those who are opposed to abortion…

I appreciate the Chair's information. While it is not conclusive, it does indicate that if Hispanic workers do have jobs where the employers offer some type of plan, they tend to participate. Unfortunately, the data indicates that…

I think it is easy for us to believe, when we are sitting here in a nice air-conditioned Senate Chamber, that there is no urgency and think these are all sort of theoretical problems out there and there is no urgency in getting about…

My information is that the money was appropriated, and that it was appropriated last December when we passed the foreign operations appropriations bill. There is no reason that money should not be released for the intended use. That is…

I believe there is a record of success with many of these programs, and with many of the efforts that have been made to this population fund. I think it makes good sense for the United States as the largest, most prosperous country in the…

We essentially do not think Government should be dictating at what level companies compensate workers. But we do think the various laws we pass in Congress should be written in such a way that we don't provide additional benefits for…

I think the entire country was appalled to see what happened to the pension savings, the retirement savings of various Enron employees when that company collapsed. Accordingly, we have spent a lot of time discussing how to ensure that…

I think people tend to lump all these issues together, understandably, because they are all part of a very much larger problem. One is the inadequate protection of the retirement savings of workers. Another issue is the inequity in…

I strongly agree with the main thrust of the amendment as I understand it; that is, the United States has a historically unique relationship with Israel; that we condemn violence; that we condemn terrorist attacks; that we condemn the loss…

Section 602 simply states that in order to ensure timely action on oil and gas leases and applications for permits to drill on lands otherwise available for leasing, the Secretary of the Interior is required to ensure expeditious…

Mr. President there is no aggressive advocates on this issue than Senator Boxer. I am willing to continue working with her to see if there is a solution that addresses the environmental concerns of her state, the concerns of the oil and…

The Senator is correct, Section 602 does not change any existing requirements or policies, including the potential wilderness review policy.

As I understand it, the existing hydro is deducted from the base before the calculation is made. So to that extent, existing hydro is included in the bill.

I think it is clear this is the fourth amendment we have dealt with on the Senate floor in an attempt to undermine the renewable portfolio standard we have in the bill. There are a lot of figures that have been cited, many of which have no…

No, hydro is included in this bill, to an extent, and this includes the hydro that is given credit for.

My understanding is that is inaccurate; that, in fact, although the Texas language does talk about capacity, the calculation as put in place by their utility commission was on the basis of actual power produced. My information is that…

What we did, in response to my friend's question, we modeled our proposal on the successful program legislated into effect in Texas. That is the basis upon which we came up with our estimate. It was very different from the Clinton…