Mr. President I want to enter into a colloquy with the distinguished chairman of the Interior Subcommittee concerning the funding in this bill for our National Zoo. I know that the chairman is very aware of the problems that have plagued…

The second subject I want to comment on is the continual news that we have with regard to what is going on in Baghdad. Today we received news that a suicide bomber detonated himself at the entrance of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. The…

it is a day to honor the memory of the victims of September 11, 2001. The essence of September 11 was and remains apparent to us all. The victims were innocent. They were simply going about their everyday lives--working at the desk, coming…

It was a day that was truly inspiring if you look at public service, but also if you look at the sacrifice that others made on September 11 and since that time, and others who continue to make right now in Iraq and Afghanistan to preserve…

In that letter, he tells me that he regularly in the course of his counseling and in the course of his work sees parents who work "three and four jobs just to make their choice possible." He goes on to write that "your heart breaks to see…

In response to the assistant Democratic leader, scheduling is always a challenge. I appreciate the straightforward way he presents it because it is very clear that on the other side of the aisle there are a number of people running for the…

Today is a shameful moment in the history of this great institution. The Senate has been denied the right to confirm or reject a brilliant and a well-qualified nominee because of the obstruction of the few--a hard-working and honorable…

the past 4 weeks have been extraordinarily productive. I thank my colleagues for their participation, for their cooperation, and for their patience to make that possible. I thank them for accepting some deadlines that we put forward…

I am delighted we have expressed that commitment to address issues, first and foremost energy. That is our number one priority. Everything else is secondary.

we have worked very hard over the course of this week to address the people's business with the schedule that was set out weeks ago to address energy in a focused way, a way that would allow for debate and amendment, and bring to…

I am going to come back later today and comment on the fact that today is the anniversary of Medicare. I know we want to move on to the pending bill. It was a historic day in 1965. On this day, President Johnson took the historic and bold…

I will use a couple minutes prior to the vote in response to some of the comments that have been made, specifically in response to the Democratic leader's comments which I understand really are two. Are we committed to addressing energy…

obviously we have not had the progress we had hoped for on the Energy bill over the course of the last several days. I know that Senators have indicated they still have amendments to the electricity amendment. And it is clear to me there…

5 years ago on this day, Officers J.J. Chestnut and John Gibson were killed in the line of duty defending the United States Capitol. At 3:40 p.m. on Friday afternoon, July 24th, 1998, a deranged gunman burst through what is now called the…

I also wish to mention that tomorrow the U.S. Treasury will start rolling out additional child tax credit checks of up to $400 to over 25 million taxpayers over the next 3 weeks. Millions of America's working families will be getting a…

the Laci and Connor Peterson murders in California have brought before the American people a critical question that deserves a response: When a criminal attacks a woman who is pregnant, killing both her and her unborn child, has he killed…

we have been working on this very important issue with the other side of the aisle, and it is absolutely critical that we address the issue, we believe, as soon as possible. Therefore, I am very pleased that we are hearing what the nature…

I rise to speak to an issue we will be addressing next week, as I mentioned earlier, and that is the Energy bill. As I mention daily, or almost daily, on the floor, I am very pleased with the productive debate we have had to date on this…

I want to comment on an opportunity I had on Saturday to meet with Ambassador Bremer shortly after his arrival from Iraq. And we met, for a short period of time, with Senator Warner and Representatives Lewis and Murtha to talk a little bit…

let me comment briefly on Prime Minister Tony Blair's address to the joint meeting of Congress this afternoon. It is a historic time. This afternoon, the Senate and the House of Representatives have that distinct honor of welcoming British…

we in the Senate today had the experience of participating in the joint meeting in the House Chamber listening to Prime Minister Tony Blair. I opened the Senate this morning pointing out that we would be welcoming and honoring our…

I appreciate those comments. As I mentioned, we started on the Energy bill on May 6. We had 12 days of consideration on the floor of the Senate. The bill was marked up prior to that. I have tried to lay this out from the outset recognizing…

After looking at the record, I have reached the conclusion that the objection to these nominees having hearings is based not on any substantive concerns about their qualifications, or their temperament, or about their integrity. Indeed…

I am very pleased that the Democratic leader agrees we can complete this very important piece of legislation. The fact it has been such a long time since we have carried out our real responsibility in this authorizing legislation, trying…

I would like to notice the passing this week of Eugene Augustine Jenkins, Jr. of Maryland, a loyal Senate staff member and legal counsel to several senators over the course of almost four decades. Gene Jenkins came to the Senate in 1953…