John Chafee

In a couple of months, thankfully, Americans will go to the polls to elect a new President and new Members of Congress.

It is a sad state of affairs when it seems that, sometimes, the only health care votes we are allowed to make are the ones which repeal the Affordable Health Care Act completely, leaving nothing in its place and leaving Americans with…

It seems that the problems man creates for our planet are never-ending. But we have found solutions for prior difficulties, and we will for these as well.

I rise in strong support of S. 729, the Lead Exposure Reduction Act. The bill is an important response to the use of lead in instances where an unreasonable risk of lead exposure and subsequent risk to human health exists. We all know the…

it appears that we have secured broad, bipartisan support for a series of reforms to the Safe Drinking Water Act, a law that has become most controversial in recent months. Achieving this much reflects the contributions of many Senators…

Here is the problem. There is no question but what the case the Senator from Arizona presented in connection with Nogales is an appealing one and of deep concern. But we do not know what the cases are from the other States. We have here an…

the amendment has been cleared on this side. It is a good amendment and we are pleased to accept the amendment. As the author of the amendment has indicated, some of us are more susceptible to adverse health effects from drinking water…

I think we are embarking on an unusual path for the Federal Government to require compliance: When it is granting a substantial sum of money but not 100 percent that it cannot make any requirement. Maybe the thing should be reversed. Maybe…

In other words, if the fines cannot be levied, there is really no real requirement that the community obey? I think that follows; otherwise, what is the incentive for them to obey? If they do not obey there is no penalty?

I wish to join with the floor manager of the bill, the chairman of our committee, in his views on this amendment. The committee, as perhaps has been pointed out, the Environment Committee, has reported out a bill to reauthorize the Clean…

I am pleased to speak today on behalf of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. I was an original cosponsor of the bill, I strongly support this conference report, and I am pleased that it has been approved by the House. This bill…

I commend the Senator from Idaho for the amendment he has presented. He is truly representing the folks of his State where they do have many, many small water systems. Let me just give you a statistic, if I might. There are 36,000…

Would there be an increased risk to public health, if the Administrator uses this authority to select a less stringent maximum contaminant level?

One final question on cost considerations. In considering the cost savings that may be realized from selecting less stringent standards, what size systems is the Administrator to consider?

OK. Can the administration lift the embargo without any resolution of Congress anytime it wants?

today the Senate has come one step closer to restoring public confidence in Congress. Passage of what has come to be called the gift ban bill will help to strengthen the credibility Congress has lost as a result of such matters as the…

I would like to make several comments regarding the debate concerning Admiral Kelso's pension. First, I want to review the admiral's career. At the age of 19, Frank Kelso went into the U.S. Naval Academy, and for the next 38 years made a…

I am proud to be listed as a cosponsor of the California desert bill now before us, and commend Senator Feinstein and the chairman of the Energy Committee, Senator Johnston, for their efforts to bring this measure to the floor. I have long…

the world was shaken and shocked in the past 24 hours to hear first of the shooting, and then of the death, of Luis Donaldo Colosio, the Mexican Presidential candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Although little is known of…

I applaud my colleague from Kansas for her tenacity, perseverance, and great patience in bringing once again the issue of general aviation liability reform before this body. By granting an 18-year statute of repose, the Kassebaum…

I know that there is a difference between authorization and appropriation. But clearly, the committee has not authorized this without hoping that it will be appropriated, that can be only my conclusion. My second question is: is there a…

Now, what this bill does, it authorizes not what the President requested--by the way, the last I heard it was a Democratic President--but it is not $964 million that is requested, but under this bill the authorization is $1.370 billion; am…

I must say, I find this rather amusing, because just some 10 days ago on the floor of the Senate, we were debating the question of a constitutional amendment. I heard some stirring oratory on the other side of the aisle that, ``What this…

Well, yes. I notice that there is the creation of some new programs. For example, in looking at this, first of all, we start off with an SBA Pilot Program. No money in the current year, no money requested in the budget by the…