I greatly appreciate the Senator's commitment to this issue. It is imperative that this Congress exercise fiscal discipline and I concur that an important step must be to control spending, while securing our Nation's defense. Next week…

I am pleased we were finally able to reach a consent agreement on this very important bill that we have attempted to address more fully twice in the past, the Defense authorization bill. This will allow the Senate to return to the bill and…

I ask consent that at a time determined by the majority leader, with concurrence of the Democratic leader, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1042, the Defense authorization bill, and it be considered under the following…

tomorrow the Senate will continue consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. There will be a cloture vote on the bill at 10 a.m. I encourage Members to invoke cloture so that we can expedite passage of this final appropriations…

That is correct. We will continue working today. Again, I want to restate the conversation that the distinguished Democratic leader and I had yesterday regarding these votes over the course of the day. We want people to come over on time…

this year the Grand Ole Opry celebrates 80 years of star-studded country entertainment. This venerated institution stands as one the most important traditions in radio broadcasting and country music. If not for the Grand Ole Opry, my…

a few moments ago, during our opening prayer, the Chaplain mentioned Rosa Parks. I, too, want to take a moment to note the passing of one of America's extraordinary citizens, an activist, a champion of principle, a true hero, Rosa Parks…

today U.S. military deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom surpassed 2,000. These brave men and women in uniform sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom and for the security of their fellow Americans. We owe them a deep debt of…

I know the chairman is eager to make further progress on the underlying bill, and therefore we will be brief. A number of Senators have come to the floor over the course of today to express their thoughts or feelings or emotions or…

we have been moving forward with the underlying bill, and Chairman Specter has indicated that he has a lineup of amendments ready for tomorrow. I know that tomorrow will be a busy day with votes in relation to those amendments. We need…

this morning we have allocated the first 30 minutes for a brief period of morning business. After that first half- hour period, we will return to the consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. Chairman Specter and Senator Harkin…

This cloture vote will occur Thursday morning. We will announce the exact time sometime during tomorrow's session, hopefully Thursday morning.

The majority yields back their 2 minutes, and I believe the Democratic side will yield back their remaining time.

today we will immediately resume consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, following statements by myself and the Democratic leader. Amendments may be offered during today's session, and we hope Senators will come to the floor…

the United States will very soon vote on a resolution urging the international community and the Government of Sudan to end genocide in Darfur. Since March of 2003, more than 181,000 people have died in the Darfur region, Darfur and the…

in a few moments we will begin two rollcall votes. The second of those votes will be on the nomination of Harry S. ``Sandy'' Mattice, Jr. I hesitated a little bit because it is Harry S. Mattice, but nobody calls him that. It is Sandy to…

Today the Senate returned to the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, the final appropriations bill for this fiscal year. Indeed, I thank my colleagues for participating and so systematically going through each and every one of these…

you have heard it now from the two leaders and the chairman and the ranking member. Let's plow ahead, again being respectful of the body itself and the use of time, and keep the bill moving forward and America moving forward…

this morning, we will begin consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, which is our final appropriations bill for the year. Chairman Specter will begin with an opening statement, and other Members are welcome to come to the floor…

Obviously, we need to focus on small business. We know how important that is in terms of both the flexibility and the release of regulations. The focus on small business is part of that rebuilding and renewal in a smarter way. I would be…

For the purposes of the Transportation, Treasury appropriations, I ask consent that the following Members be considered as conferees for Division A of the bill: Mr. Bond, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Specter, Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. DeWine…

tomorrow the Senate will begin consideration of our final--our final--appropriations bill for this fiscal year. We will not have any rollcall votes during tomorrow's session, and the next vote will occur Monday evening at approximately…

on a separate issue, today, several of my Senate colleagues and I will be hosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and members of his Cabinet here in the United States Capitol. I have met with President Abbas on several occasions, most…

again, we are absolutely committed to addressing the concerns of both of the Senators in a bipartisan way. I will make it very clear, the legislation and the amendment the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts is talking about did pass…

in a few minutes we will resume debate on the Transportation, Treasury, and HUD appropriations bill. We had a full day yesterday, with amendments being offered and voted on and, therefore, we made very good progress. I believe the two…