the American public has had the opportunity for the last 8 hours to watch what is wrong with the Republican minority. No wonder an election in a heavily Republican House district, the seat of the former Speaker of the House of…

Yesterday there was a vote, as we all knew there would be--an overwhelming vote--to proceed to legislation to stem the tide of global warming. This strong bipartisan vote came only after the Republicans forced us to file cloture and use…

there are lots of different stories around the country and around the world as to why people feel so strongly about the environment. My story I think is similar to others but just in a different context. As most everyone knows by now, I…

I wish to express on the record my appreciation to Senators Warner and Bingaman for this most important resolution that just passed. It expresses the sense of the Senate that Americans are contending with rising gasoline prices. Their…

I join Senator Ensign today to recognize the remarkable life of Joe Egan, who passed away on May 7, 2008. Joe is known in Nevada and throughout the country as a skilled attorney who worked hard to make our Nation safer and to stop the…

Joe Egan was a talented person who led a rich life which was tragically cut short by an aggressive cancer. I am saddened by his death, and will not forget all that he has done for the people of Nevada. To his wife, children, and family, I…

64 years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation that would change the course of American history and greatly enrich the lives of millions of our country's finest minds and bravest souls. That day, President Roosevelt said…

I think what we are going to do, as the House has done--I think at this time it is our intention to override the veto of the President. He vetoed 14 of the 15 sections of the farm bill. Through a clerical error, section 3 was left out. As…

I listened intently to the prayer of the rabbi. I was really concerned during the first part of it because he said you only have so many words and then you are all through. But he went on to better explain that, which we surely appreciate…

one reason we waited until 20 till 8 tonight to try to complete the work of the Senate is that I had a number of conversations today with my staff trying to work out nominations, and we worked something out. I spoke with the President's…

In the summer of 1908, a man named Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr., rode through the Texas hill country, announcing to whomever happened to pass by, "A United States Senator was born this morning!" The name of his grandson--Lyndon Baines Johnson. I…

Mr. President, with regard to the budget, we have our differences in the Senate, but there are a few ideas that have wide bipartisan agreement. One is we need to rein in Federal spending, and another is we need to do our part to ensure…

if I may thank the Senator from North Dakota but also say there isn't anything that I agree to out here that doesn't have the full consent of the Republican leader. So even though Senator McConnell and I in public kick and bite and scratch…

Amidst the politics and partisanship that takes place in the Senate, the casual observer may not realize how the Senate is a family. We are 100 men and women who work hard during the day, each of us doing our very best to make the country…

I just finished a meeting to try to lay out to a number of Senators what we are going to be doing on the supplemental appropriations bill. It is going to be extremely difficult for us to get from where we are today to completing this…

I say respectfully to my friend that the logic of his statement is really without foundation. Keep in mind, the complaint he has is the House sent us a bill that did not have war funding in it. Bingo. Why? Because 132 Republicans walked…

I received a call early Saturday morning that Senator Kennedy had taken ill. Since that time, we have heard only encouraging words from his doctors and his family. I spoke to Vicki, his wonderful wife, a couple hours ago. He is resting…

we don't often have the opportunity to celebrate on the Senate floor. There is oftentimes, we must acknowledge, a lot of acrimony and finger-pointing. Today, I want to take a minute to express my appreciation to all those involved in this…

we have tried very hard. I was here a few hours ago when the Senate opened, congratulating the Senate for moving forward on a very important bill for firefighters and police. I guess my expectations were far too high. I thought we were…

I say to my friend not only was an amendment filed, but untoward cloture was filed at the same time on that amendment. Now, what would happen if on every piece of legislation around here, when you offer an amendment, a person walks in and…

I thought things were too good to be true, that we would have a debate on a bipartisan bill. There are a lot of things we could do to bring the Presidential politics into what is going on here on the floor. I think this is untoward. This…

Because we had so much notice on this, I thought it was the McCain tax holiday amendment. But, no, it is the McCain effort to change the Jim Webb bipartisan GI bill of rights because it is too generous. So this idea is about the same as…

I want to shift gears now and express my appreciation to lots of different people. I mentioned briefly this morning my congratulations to Senator Harkin, Senator Chambliss, Senator Baucus, and Senator Grassley, but there are other team…

all except the 9--10 new Senators we have remember the time that I lived on the Senate floor. For 6 years I was here from the time we came in session until we left, with no exceptions. I tried at that time to be as fair to the Republicans…

we have talked now for several months about the number of filibusters. Today, this will be raised to 71. Comments have been made by Republican leaders that it doesn't matter; we are just doing the people's business; we are only getting…