Harry Reid

Maybe the Senator was busy with his staff, but in the 1996-1997 court term, the Ninth Circuit reversal rate was 90 percent. Five other circuits--the Fifth, Second, Seventh, D.C., and Federal Circuit--had a 100-percent reversal rate. The…

The point, I say to my friend from Alabama, recognizing the different workloads the courts had, the appellate division with 51 million people has thousands of cases every year. Also, the Senator has every right to feel the way he does…

The answer is yes. They have the right to offer amendments. Sometimes they offer an amendment and debate it. I see my friend, who I came to Congress with in 1982, from Florida, the senior Senator from Florida. I have been talking about…

We have gone through two very big, complicated pieces of legislation: The bankruptcy bill, with over 300 amendments, and the nuclear waste bill, with the potential of well over 100 amendments. Those have gone through now. I appreciate…

This legislation is a big lemon. Whatever they do with it, it is still bad. It is just like those cars that are lemons.

I appreciate the outline of today's activities by the acting leader. I would say, however, I think we had better understand that there is a unanimous consent agreement floating around now that is not even close, and so unless there is more…

If I may also say to my friend before he leaves the Chamber, I hope it is more than just talk. I acknowledge Mr. Ziglar is doing a wonderful job, and I appreciate that. But I want him to come forward with a program to accomplish what we…

Isn't it interesting, the colder they get in their graves, the less talk there is about trying to take care of that problem. Had it been there, their lives would not have been snuffed out. I am so appreciative of the Senator speaking out…

I say to the leader and the chairman of the full committee that I am sorry I was late, but we had a hearing on suicide which Senator Specter was gracious enough to hold. I was there because, as the leader knows, my dad killed himself a…

I say about Senator Murkowski, we have been real adversaries on this issue, but I have to say that he has been a total gentleman about everything he has done on this. As bitter as are some of the pills he has asked us to swallow, the fact…

I believe in our system of justice, where juries make decisions. I believe in following the law. What I mean by that is, if there is a law on the books, or the Supreme Court has interpreted that law, I believe it should be followed. There…

If I could through you to the majority leader indicate that certainly the right decision was made today. I think we have become kind of spoiled back here in Washington; we have had such mild winters. If we reflect back on the days of our…

We have worked this afternoon to try to come up with something that is fair and reasonable. I think we have done that. With this agreement, we should be able to complete the bankruptcy legislation that has been pending for some time now.

I think the Senator has done a good job of indicating these cuts are related to real people, people who get sick. They are not numbers. They are not statistics. It was a few months ago at the West Front of the Capitol that I was here with…

Isn't it true, also, when they talk about 1 percent--which we know has to be 6 percent--isn't there that much waste in government? The Senator knows they are talking not about looking at pockets of waste, fraud, and abuse. But these are…

Isn't it true that in addition to the so-called forward-funding, they are also talking about an across-the-board cut that would also affect the programs at the National Institutes of Health in addition to what the Senator has spoken about?

Is the Senator aware that about 12 or 15 miles outside Reno, NV, the newest generation facility in Nevada is clean coal technology?

In short, I say to the Senator, and I think the Senator would agree, it is great, now that the Republicans, the majority, who have been opposed to Social Security, opposed to Medicare in years gone by, suddenly, in effect, have found…

I further say it was just a few years ago when the Senator from South Dakota joined a number of us on the floor in opposing a constitutional amendment to balance the budget which used Social Security surpluses to balance that budget. Is…

And the present majority leader of the House said he thought Social Security was a ``rotten idea.'' Is the Senator aware of that?

It is also true when Medicare was adopted, that was a Democratic program. There was some support from the Republicans, but not very much?

The Senator is also aware in recent years, under the leadership of Newt Gingrich, the House Republican leadership spoke out in opposition to Medicare and Social Security? Is the Senator aware of that?

I ask the leader if it is somewhat startling, amusing--whatever word we want to use--that the majority, the Republicans, did not support Social Security when it was adopted in the 1930s; the Senator is aware of that?

That is the whole point. The rules have not changed. The fact is, however, the majority is not treating this body in the senatorial tradition. The rules have held that we in the Senate have the right to offer amendments. This body is being…

My friend from Illinois learns quickly. The fact is, that is not how this body has run in the past. For over 200 years, this body has been able to survive in comity. We recognize the minority has rights. There was a time not long ago when…