Thomas Daschle

The typical student nationally now graduates with about $17,000 in Federal loan debt. Thirty-nine percent of all student borrowers graduate today with what is termed an unmanageable student loan debt. This is why we were so mystified when…

Let me respond briefly to the Senator from Arizona. Nobody wants ATPA passed more than I do. I have attempted in many different ways over the last several weeks to find the right formula to bring this about. I have talked about it…

no one knows more about the commitment we have made to the students who want to be involved in higher education than the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts. He can probably tell us the very day it was done. But in recent times, we…

Students are borrowing too much, and students are working too much in order to finance rising college costs. Sixty-four percent of all students borrow Federal student loans to finance a college education today. The typical undergraduate…

I worry about the rhetoric versus the resources once again. Are we going to be able to ensure that we can provide the commitment to students at all levels, that the resources will be there to match the rhetoric that we hear coming from the…

Let me simply return the compliment of the distinguished Senator from Iowa, the chairman of the committee. He and I have spent more hours than either of us have been able to count over some long months with the hope and expectation that we…

I have tried again tonight to appoint conferees on the Sudan Peace Act. The House took this simple step late last year. This will be the third time we have sought consent to take this very simple procedural step. Each time our Republican…

I strongly support the Lieberman amendment reaffirming this Nation's solidarity with Israel. It is a timely resolution, and I am proud to be a cosponsor. I have said many times that the terrorist attacks on our country on September 11…

we have just sent to the desk legislation that includes three components: First, the trade promotion authority; second, trade adjustment assistance; and third, the Andean Trade Preference Expansion Act. The trade adjustment assistance…

first, I compliment and thank the distinguished Republican leader for the cooperative effort he has put forth to get to this point. We have talked on many occasions over the last several days, and the spirit with which he has discussed the…

I wanted to make note of a very important fact with regard to judicial nominations. With the confirmation now of the two judges tonight, we have reached an even 50 so far since we have become members of the majority. Forty-one district…

we are now reaching the end of 6 weeks of debate on this energy bill. I want to thank Chairman Bingaman for his tireless leadership. He began this process by coordinating the work of nine separate committees, and he has done an amazing job…

Let us put this in the proper context. You pay an amount, but what are you going to pay when there is no alternative to MTBE? How much is that going to cost? If we phase out MTBE in California, and they are then forced to go to alkylates…

Our Nation's vulnerability to foreign energy production has been brought into bold relief by the continuing turmoil in the Middle East. It is imperative that our Nation take greater strides to promote the use of domestic, renewable fuels…

I think the Senator disagreed, for good reason, because if we set goals oftentimes, as a country working within government and within the industry, we achieve them. Oftentimes, without the role of some goal-setting, we never achieve…

The credits in this bill allow you to get out from under the mandate without any intervention from DOE or EPA or anybody else. You are not required, in this legislation, with the RFS, to use one drop of ethanol.

last September--5 days before the terrorist attacks on our Nation--President Vicente Fox delivered an historic address to this Congress on the importance of U.S.-Mexican relations. On both sides of the political aisle, and on both sides of…

since President Bush signed into law a provision to overturn the ergonomics rule, over 1.8 million workers have suffered ergonomic injuries. At that time Secretary Chao promised ``to pursue a comprehensive approach to ergo-nomics.''…

last year I introduced S. 1378, the Access to Medical Treatment Act of 2001. This bill would allow patients to use certain alternative and complementary therapies not approved by the FDA. Alternative therapies constitute an increasingly…

we have now been debating how best to reshape our Nation's energy policy for 24 days. Time and again, we have heard our Republican colleagues say that opening Alaska's arctic wilderness is the cornerstone of their energy policy. Time and…

46 years ago the South Dakota Democratic Party was hardly more than George McGovern, George Cunningham, and a beat up old station wagon. I was eight. Little did I know I would one day owe a career to those two men and that car. One of…

This would allow us to complete our work on ANWR and on energy so we could move to not only Andean trade but TPA and border security as well.

I can certainly appreciate the frustration expressed by some of our colleagues. We have been there. We know how frustrating it is to have judges who are not given the time and attention, and the fair consideration they deserve. Because we…

I hope everybody realizes this was an exercise without any real value because the House went out last night. Even if we had passed it tonight, there is no prospect for the House to take this legislation up until after they come back in 2…

2 months ago, I traveled with some of our other Senate colleagues to Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations. We wanted to see what progress is being made in the war against terrorism. We also wanted to talk with our allies in the…