I have sensed from the beginning of the debate that probably the most contentious issue coming up is this question of making sure the public is still involved in the process, the whole question of what is called NEPA, the National…

I supported Governor Levitt's nomination in the Environment Committee, but that does not mean that I support the Bush administration's environmental polices. Far from it. Under the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency…

I think it is urgent we vote on this bill before the Senate adjourns for this year. I happen to believe there are 60 votes for the Senate compromise that has been worked out. I think it is important to address the concerns of all the…

very briefly, I think the Senator from Pennsylvania is trying to address a very important issue. We have asked for the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, under Senator Leahy's leadership, to take a look at it. I think we will…

Essentially, the arguments being made today against the Internet Tax Freedom Act are identical to the ones that were made 5 years ago. If we were to look at the transcript 5 years ago before the Senate Commerce Committee, we were told the…

kingpin spammers who send out emails by the millions are threatening to drown the Internet in a sea of trash. The American people want it stopped. Every single day the Senate delays, these big-time spammers, the ones who are trying to take…

I have already told Senator Hatch how incredibly important the enforcement provision is. You can write bills forever, but without the enforcement to which the Senator from Vermont and the Senator from Utah are committed, those bills are…

obviously $87 billion is an eye-popping sum of money, and taxpayers want the Congress to turn every penny over twice. That is what Senator Dorgan and I have done. We've gone through every number with a sharp pencil. This amendment, without…

what some State and local officials now seek to do is to change the definition of ``Internet access,'' which, under current law, cannot be taxed. In doing so, what it would do is give States and localities explicit permission to tax what…

It's time to bring competition back into our Nation's gasoline markets. Across America, gasoline prices have recently soared to the highest levels ever. Right now, gasoline costs 12 cents more than it did at this time last year. In my home…

the Senate knows, 5 years ago I was the sponsor in the Senate of the Internet Tax Freedom Act. This is law that was designed to ensure that the Internet be free of discriminatory taxes on Internet commerce and a variety of Internet…

my question flowing from what we have learned and the various issues we have been exploring throughout the days since we learned about this is, Were U.S. taxpayer funds spent to keep the cost of gasoline in Iraq at this heavily subsidized…

This amendment is especially important because it would mean for the first time the Congress is going to restrict the funds under this effort for reconstruction to only those contracts let in an open and competitive bid, except in very…

The GAO report briefly discusses SkyTaxi as a potential alternative way to provide air service to small communities. The report observes that SkyTaxi offers a business model that is still relatively new, but that could help meet some of…

SkyTaxi intends to operate through a franchise system, in which individual small businesses would purchase small aircraft and operate local SkyTaxi franchises. But purchasing an aircraft takes a substantial amount of capital, and many…

I take a few minutes tonight to talk about the issue of gasoline prices. I serve on the House-Senate conference committee which is now negotiating over how to pass a good and hopefully bipartisan Energy bill. I will talk about an issue…

news reports last week revealed that the Bechtel Corporation would be receiving an extra $350 million in Iraq reconstruction work over and above the $680 million contract they were awarded by the U.S. Agency for International Development…

The information that we gather today will help me and the subcommittee assemble the Senate's transportation budget for fiscal year 2004.

I will help write the Senate's transportation appropriations bill.

Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith have submitted a joint request for planning dollars as part of the 2004 transportation appropriations bill.

I want to ensure that those Federal efforts meet the needs here from this community.

I want to ensure that whatever we do, we are meeting the region's highest transportation priorities.

I will be working on that along with Representatives Baird, Blumenauer and DeFazio.

the submission of this resolution marks a very important milestone in the seven-year effort I have pursued with Senator Grassley to bring the Senate practice of holds out of the shadows and into the sunshine. Throughout this time we have…

tonight the United States Senate accepted an amendment that I wrote with the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, to require accountability and independent oversight on the ``contracts for reconstruction and other…