Thomas Daschle

I must say, in all my time in the Senate, there has never been a time when I felt more discouraged, and frankly more concerned about the future of agriculture, the future of farm policy, than I feel this afternoon. I think the Senate has…

the amendment I offer this afternoon represents what I hope will be a consensus here about farm policy and the direction we take in agriculture for the next 7 years. We seek many of the same things, Republicans and Democrats. We want to…

I am pleased that after years of struggle, the Senate has before it, a telecommunications reform conference report that represents the dawning of a new telecommunications era in this country. I want to commend the Commerce Committee…

let us be clear. Win or lose on these cloture votes, we are no closer to an agreement if that is what happens today. Sooner or later, we are going to have to compromise. The House Republicans just do not seem to get it. So far, the 104th…

I want to commend those who have been involved in these discussions. I think we have made a lot of progress in the last several hours. We just had a caucus. I think it is fair to say that much of what we reported to them was very well…

let me just say how gratified we are that the distinguished Chair of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee has made such a remarkable effort to resolve the outstanding reservations that some may have with regard to the bill that…

the Democratic Policy Committee's assistant editor, Lynn Terpstra, will retire from the Senate next week. This marks the end of the long and productive career of a vigilant and dedicated congressional staff member. Hers is a career that…

let me commend the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts for his eloquent remarks and his leadership on this issue. This issue obviously is one of great importance to all of us, but it is not the only problem that is created as a result…

Mr. President, it is with great pride and pleasure that I announce that Senator Sam Nunn has just become the 17th Senator in U.S. history to cast 10,000 votes. I am pleased to congratulate him for this remarkable achievement and thank him…

Let me say, Mr. President, that I am very pleased with the action taken by the President yesterday. The majority leader characterized the conference report as virtually similar to the Senate-passed bill. The majority leader did not note…

I share the satisfaction expressed by the majority leader about the opportunity now to send Federal workers back to work with pay, apparently now giving them also the authority and funding to do at least some of the things that they are…

I do not know what the solution is, but I think the majority leader and I both agree that we have to do something. We have a lot of farmers who have already planted everything that they are going to plant for their winter wheat, for their…

while I agree that it is right to deal with the problems facing the District of Columbia, there should be no misunderstanding about the current situation. There are hundreds and hundreds of problems that are being created almost on a daily…

I applaud the action taken this morning. I believe that providing the District of Columbia with the confidence of knowing that they will have the appropriate operating funds to continue at least through the 25th of January is very…

As 1996 begins, and the 2d session of the 104th Congress convenes, we need to take a close look at the record of this Congress' first year. In reviewing that record, one stunning failure stands out above all others. The majority in 1995…

I do not know why that language would have to be offered on this legislation. It is not germane to the Justice-State-Commerce bill. It is not germane to the CR. We are willing to try to accommodate the Senator if we can have some time to…

this Sunday will mark the 10th anniversary of Farm Aid. This remarkable organization, born of the farm crisis of the 1980's, has stood on the front lines with America's family farmers as farming, ranching and the rural way of life have…

It is clearly germane because it is in terms of spending money for purposes of introducing troops into Bosnia. Now, that is clearly germane to a continuing resolution which involves spending money. And it is clearly topical and timely in…

let me make a couple of additional points on the agreement we have reached with regard to modifying the original Dole bill. A lot of people deserve recognition this afternoon for their contribution. I think on our side there are two…

Obviously, child care was the most significant. As the distinguished leader indicated, this bill provides for $3 billion over 5 years for childcare services to be provided by the States. That is in addition to the $5 billion over the next…

I believe we have to ensure, regardless of what else we do, that children do not pay for the mistakes or circumstances of their parents. Of the 14 million people on AFDC, 9 million are children. They did not ask to be born into these…

I concur entirely. I think we have gotten to the point now where it may just be a matter of a period of time before we can submit the agreement and have a vote. But this is valuable time we are losing, and I know a lot of Members have come…

Mr. President, I offer this amendment in the hope that we can find some resolution to what we all understand to be a very serious problem on reservations. My amendment would simply change the funding mechanism in the bill to ensure that…

Mr. President, the point I made in the short remarks that I have just completed is that the circumstances affecting Indian tribes are vastly different than those affecting any other cross-section of the population. We have unemployment…

I want to talk about two amendments on which I hope we could find some resolution prior to the time of final passage. The first has to do with the need for a State contingency fund. As I have talked to our Governors, Republican and…