I had the good fortune, when I was home this past break, to meet all the sheriffs of Nevada. They have a lot of problems with the unfunded mandate because of the homeland security----

If we are going to finish this bill by next Tuesday, we cannot spend an hour on two votes. We cannot get the bill done. I hope there will be some degree of understanding that this is unfair. Republicans do it and Democrats do it. I am not…

We sent to Iraq last year--and I also mentioned this to Senator Byrd earlier--in supplemental appropriations--meaning appropriations over and above the normal appropriations we do, last year we sent a first supplemental of $69 billion and…

So we have $100 million. That would do a lot. A lot that needs to be done is simply planning and designing how we will do that. My point is, these are problems that are very difficult to take care of but they have to be done because you…

I, of course, would vote for this amendment whether it had an offset or not because it is so important. I appreciate this amendment. When we send our people to battle in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places, they have the ability to…

this is a kind of celebration. I congratulate Senator Smith for his devotion to a cause. I also want Senator Smith to know how much Landra and I--and I say this without reservation--benefited from the funeral of their son. It is something…

if I may take a moment at this late hour, I reflect back on the relations between the Soviet Union and United States. One day--I don't remember the exact day--they had a book out there, and there was someone from the Russian Embassy here…

I refer to this same page: On December 4, 2001, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously sent the fiscal year 2002 defense appropriations bill to the Senate floor for action. The bill included $13.1 billion for homeland security…

I met with the chief law enforcement officers of the counties of Nevada. Without any hesitation, they said they are having tremendous difficulties meeting their responsibilities because of the unfunded mandates that have been required as a…

today I celebrate the Clark County School District's inaugural International Mariachi Conference and Festival. This event, promoting cultural awareness and appreciation in the Las Vegas community through the performance of mariachi music…

there are times in history when one person can and does make a difference. The recent death of Sally Kabisch reminded me of one such person and one particular period of time. Sally Kabisch dedicated herself to a remarkable career of…

We are within a score of having a thousand deaths in Iraq. I say to my friend from California, I appreciate it so much because I have been on the Senate floor where I have lamented the fact and have referred to major newspapers around the…

The fact is, whether we want to acknowledge it, we have not done anything the whole year. If there is any cause for our having so little time to do so much, it is because we have not done anything up to now. We have not passed any…

I simply want to say that it is important to me to do what we can to recognize what is going on in Iraq. It is a situation that is extremely difficult and desperate. It appears now that we have not solved the Sadr problem. We have moved…

These very important issues cannot be resolved, in my opinion, in just a matter of a few days. For them to come out now and say we suddenly have our act together now, let's have no debate and rush these through because we have no time left…

We are focused today, and certainly I support the Senator in doing so, on the soldiers who are dead. As the Senator indicated, it is now 999. The one thing we do not focus on is this war is different than any war we have ever had. The…

they say good fences make good neighbors. I do not know if that is always true, but I do know that the security fence Israel is building along the West Bank has been good for the security in the region. Already, the fence has resulted in a…

I asked all 17 superintendents of school districts in Nevada to meet with me... Without exception, every one of the superintendents said: The Leave No Child Behind Act is leaving children of Nevada behind, without exception. They said…

I am not proud of this, but the State of Nevada is the least insured State for medical care in the country. We lead the Nation in uninsured. But there are 44 million people in America who have no health insurance. Even if we did not pass…

But one of the good things that happens to me every day that I come is to hear the prayer. Today, for example, I wish I were good enough to live up to the expectations of the prayer offered by Admiral Black. Really, he does a wonderful…

Senator Daschle and I traveled to Africa a couple years ago this August. I was stunned then to go to Botswana where the average life expectancy is 39 years. Since then, it has dropped even lower. As we speak, people are dying. They are…

Botswana is a model democracy, a great country, great leadership, no corruption. I will respond briefly to the distinguished majority leader. My last trip to Africa was a life-changing experience. I had been to other places, but to see the…

Let me respond very briefly to my friend from Oklahoma and his comments about the FDA bill not having seen the light of day. The amendment that is in front of us is the DeWine-Kennedy bill, which is now an amendment. The DeWine-Kennedy…

We get things done around here in a number of different ways. One of the ways we get things done is we have to trust each other. To be at the point we are on this piece of legislation today took a lot of trust. Last night, about 9:30, the…

In this legislative body we rarely deal with anything that is perfect. Legislation is the art of compromise. While the distinguished Senator from New Hampshire may have some good ideas on how to improve the bill we got from the House, we…