First of all, these lands started being patented a long time ago. If you look at Carson City, which was before the 1872 mining law, they had a different way of patenting claims than started in 1872. Claims in Nevada have been patented for…

I thought there was an acknowledgment here in the Senate that it did violate the Constitution.

my amendment to the bill is straightforward and simple. It will prohibit the use of appropriated dollars to begin a rulemaking process by the National Indian Gaming Commission that runs contrary to congressional intent. Nine years ago, the…

I am very happy today to welcome to the Senate and Washington, DC, Rabbi Mell Hecht. I do this on my behalf and that of Senator Bryan from Nevada. I have been in the presence of Rabbi Hecht on joyous occasions, bar mitzvahs and bat…

So, in short, Mr. President, there has been an acknowledgment, even by the proponent of the amendment--the Record speaks for itself--that this amendment violates the Constitution. I want everyone walking over here to vote to understand…

my friend from Arkansas has stated there has been a fine distinction point raised. That fine distinction point is the Constitution of the United States. I think that is something that we should be concerned about. This country has been in…

Absolutely not; because as you know--maybe the Senator from Arkansas didn't understand my answer. Maybe he did not want to understand the answer. The fact is, as I have explained, the area of land where they have the lease and are paying…

No, I would not agree at all. For example, under the 1872 mining law, you don't have to patent land. You can go out and locate land any place you want. In the town where I was born, a guy in 1898, walking through there--the 1872 mining law…

Let me finish my answer. To develop that piece of land costs them tens of millions of dollars. You don't simply go out in the deserts of Nevada or any place in the West and locate a claim and start scooping out the gold. I am not saying…

approximately 1 year ago I asked President Clinton to convene a summit on the environmental problems facing Lake Tahoe. He did convene a summit in Lake Tahoe this past Friday and Saturday. Vice President Gore and President Clinton both…

if a litigant in the ninth circuit, which covers the areas that have already been spoken of, has a case heard before a Federal district judge or a bankruptcy court and they are displeased with how the case turns out, they have a right to…

First, I am deeply concerned that increased consumption of refined petroleum products for transportation will continue to climb and the quality of the air we breath will continue to deteriorate. Additionally, our reliance on foreign oil…

I am grateful for the work by so many to reach conclusion on this most important appropriation bill. Senator Domenici has been a real partner and I appreciate his openness with me and my staff. Alex Flint and David Gwaltney have been easy…

I say with the greatest respect to my friend, who I consider one of the fine Members of this body, that we have worked very hard to make sure that there aren't some nameless, faceless bureaucrats making all of the decisions for this $21…

These water projects are important because they save lives. Some of them are important--we tend to think that when they are written in the newspaper, they are projects that just look good at home and these are things people talk about as…

For example, at Lawrence Livermore, I spent some time with a Dr. Campbell, who is one of the leading experts in the world on lasers. Lasers were invented in 1917 by Albert Einstein. It took scientists 43 years, and it was finally proven at…

Mr. President, I come back to the floor because, although I left the floor, I made the mistake of doing so. The Senator from Nevada read a list of projects for which money is being appropriated for the State of Arizona. What the Senator…

I believe that we as a legislative branch of Government have an obligation to make independent decisions separate and apart from the administration. I do not feel I have any obligation to follow what the bureaucrats say we should…

I join the chairman of the Subcommittee in this regard. I will work with him and our House colleagues in conference to ensure that any reduction in the Office of General Counsel is fair.

Yes. I recognize how important the development of a strong domestic renewable fuels industry is to the Senator. Moreover, I agree that the work of CPBR has been very useful in developing new and more efficient ways to convert plant…

I say to my friend from Arkansas that I think he has rendered service to the Senate and this country by coming here today and allowing us to speak about something that the manager of the bill and I feel is the most important obligation we…

While we are waiting for amendments to come, I will also ask the Senator, I was struck after having become the ranking member of the committee going to one of the national laboratories not in your State--I want to make sure everybody…

The work we are doing in Lawrence Livermore in California is mind-boggling work done there. I ask the Senator, what would the state of scientific research be in our country today if it were not for the national laboratories?

this bill is the only one of the 13 appropriations bills that every dollar that is in the bill is discretionary funding. It is extremely important, every dollar that we have in this bill, that it go to the right source or sources. As the…

Several years ago, I and a number of my colleagues took a trip. One of the places we went to was Angola. It was a beautiful country. It is a country that has been devastated by war. We did not see the wild animals roaming the plains as…