Ron Wyden

I don't want to turn this into a bouquet-tossing contest, but I do want to single out the bipartisan quartet: Chairman Baucus, Senator Rockefeller, who is here, Senator Grassley, and Senator Hatch. To carve out hours and hours, as the four…

What I heard again and again is that folks at home want the Senate to change course in Iraq, and they want us to fix health care. I believe very strongly that we don't support our courageous troops in Iraq by forcing them to referee a…

This General Accounting Office report makes it very clear that relative to all the other countries in the world, our taxpayers are not getting a fair shake. So this is ultimately about cutting back on subsidies the President says are not…

This is not a matter crying wolf or exaggerating our problems. This is quite simply the fork in the road where we make a choice. Does local government in rural Oregon cease to exist, or are we partially and temporarily spared in hopes of…

We continue to look at the language. I think it goes back to the reason the counties and the Governors were so troubled by it. Where in my friend's amendment does it say it applies only to increases in funding? Because, as we read it, it…

I just note the profound difference between those pieces of legislation and what we're dealing with now.

That's not what we hear on the ground and what we hear from the various national forests.

Now with respect to selling off lands, there has not been a single Republican United States Senator willing to embrace that proposal.

Again, through the Chair, Mr. President, would it be my colleague's sense that at home the kinds of services that are on the line are not exactly what the people call the extras? We are talking about law enforcement. We are talking about…

I also congratulate our colleagues who have worked tirelessly to ensure the authorization of the exceptionally important Voting Rights ct. This law plays a critical role in ensuring that the right of all Americans to vote is protected. I…

I would be ready in just a couple of minutes to start. If my colleague would like to go on for a couple of additional minutes, and then I will speak, and then he could return.

I was going to talk for about 15 minutes or so. I would be happy to wait for my friend from Alabama, if he would like to finish. How much longer do you intend to speak?

I am happy to yield. I thank the distinguished Senator from Nevada for coming to the floor earlier and trying to get the opportunity for a vote on my amendment.

I certainly want to do that as part of our consent agreement. I think we are winding down to a close. The Senator from New Mexico is no longer standing, but if he desires to ask a question, I want to give him the opportunity to do it. Does…

To respond to the chairman, I am very much aware. It is clear that some of those in the Clinton administration--and I have talked about this at some length. Frankly, those omissions by midlevel people in key level positions in the Clinton…

My understanding is that puts us in exactly the same position as we had with Senator Salazar. I would like to make the same offer to the distinguished chair of the committee, because I would very much like to respond positively to his…

If I can respond, just to ensure that we are absolutely correct on this point, what I would like to do--and, hopefully, we can work it out in a matter of minutes----

Again, I think the Senator has summed it up. The price of oil has doubled in the last 5 years. The Senator from Arizona asks about last year. I think, again, speaking off the top of my head, it was somewhere in the middle sixties…

That is over 25 years. And the cost, if the litigation that is underway is successful, the evidence indicates that could add up to $80 billion. The entire supplemental is $100 billion, so depending on how this litigation turns out before…

Of course. I will tell my good friend from Alaska, I have been surprised that somebody hasn't come to the floor to speak against my amendment or to second-degree it, or anything of the sort. I have been here since last night, I will…

Again, I tell my friend from Colorado that this is not my preferred choice of doing business in the Senate. I was ready to vote last night. I am ready to vote now. I am ready to vote as part of a package of amendments. My understanding is…

Once again, as part of the unanimous consent agreement, I do yield for a question.

Gasoline and gasoline prices is the issue that the American people want to address.

I appreciate that. What Senator Snowe and I want to do is not spend any taxpayers' money; we want to save some taxpayers' money. I appreciate that. I was here about 45 minutes ago thinking that was the point where we would be in the queue…

That would mean that somewhere in the vicinity of a half hour or 40 minutes or so we would deal with it.