Is it not true, though, that even at the worst projected deficit in the very article that the Senator read for 2003, as a percentage of GDP, about $10.5 trillion, is less than it would be in 1992?

In 1992, we were at war. Had we just gone through a fall in the stock market? Had we just got through the corporate scandals? Had we just had a 9/11 incident at that time?

I am obviously disappointed with this objection for the reasons that I have set out. There are 750,000 people and their dependents who depend on these distributions, as well as another 22 million people. We had been told this had been…

35 of our colleagues have just sworn the oath of a United States Senator. I wish to congratulate all 35 of our colleagues, the 11 new Members and the 24 returning to this Chamber. I also want to welcome back to the Senate the rest of our…

Because of the reality of scheduling, and in part because of what happened in the last Congress, we are faced with the reality that if we do not act today, there are going to be as many as 750,000 people who will have a disruption in…

the time has come--as it does at the conclusion of every Congress--to honor those members who will be departing from this body. This is a task not easily done. The Senate is one of the highest pinnacles in public service to our nation…

I will quote a couple paragraphs from each. The first is from Dr. Neal Halsey, who is profiled in the article in the New York Times and who is characterized as being concerned about the Thimerosal threat. Dr. Halsey heads up the Johns…

I rise to address a homeland security issue that we will be voting on tomorrow morning. Specifically, I would like to discuss the Lieberman amendment. This amendment strips out certain provisions which Senator Lieberman and other…

These claims have been filed against vaccine companies and, in some instances, against health care providers. Thimerosal, as you know, is approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration and is part of the vaccine formulation when…

I will read from a statement by Dr. Timothy Doran, testifying on behalf of AAP, to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee earlier this year on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics, relating to these provisions. He…

the Senate has been a unique institution since its inception. We take great pride in our deliberative nature. Debate may take time, but it is time well spent. It is always better to pursue the right--rather than the rushed--course of…

I rise now to strongly urge the Senate to immediately act on the nomination. Dr. McClellan is not a stranger to the Senate. During his service on the Council of Economic Advisors, many of us have benefitted from his expertise, clear-headed…

the Members of this body will soon vote on authorizing the President to use the military might of this Nation against Saddam Hussein. This decision has weighed heavily on me, as it has on us all. No one takes lightly the prospect of young…

Each year, nearly 1 out of 4 Americans sustain an injury requiring medical attention. In 1995, injuries were responsible for 148,000 deaths, 2.6 million hospitalizations, and over 36 million emergency room visits. The direct and indirect…

Nearly 1,900 men and women have served in this body since its inception in 1789. Yet only a couple dozen stand out in history as leaders who not only defined the times in which they lived, but changed the course of the future. I would…

born nearly a century ago, when Mark Twain was alive and Teddy Roosevelt was still President, Strom Thurmond has led a life of public service unmatched in the modern history of America. He has been a friend to all of the more than 400…

though we would never wish to relive the horror of September 11, 2001, we must dedicate ourselves to appropriately remembering it. That is the task we begin with this first anniversary of that darkest of days, to properly and lastingly…

the only level one trauma center in Las Vegas shuts its doors. Twelve orthopedic surgeons at facilities near Philadelphia resign their practice. Two-thirds of doctors in a small Mississippi city consider leaving for Louisiana. What is…

I rise in opposition of the Graham drug Medicare proposal. The first point is, the bills we are considering on the Senate floor have not gone through the committee process. That is important for the American people to understand. It makes…

First, I want to go back to the theme that I introduced last Friday: This is not about insurance companies or injured patients but about patients broadly. The debate boils down to patients broadly; to the American people versus a broken…

I spent the first 20 years of my career studying and working in medicine. I graduated from medical school in 1978. After that, I trained as a surgical resident for eight years. I then worked as a heart and lung transplant surgeon until I…

I want to change the topic and focus where I believe the impact is most being felt today. It really has not been discussed on the floor thus far; and that is, at the level of the doctor-patient relationship, at the level where care is…

Being there as a patient's family is a different perspective than being there as a physician or Senator. As one walks those halls and sees people working hard, day in and day out, 24 hours a day, as one watches the shift change at 7 or 8…

The State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company is a policyholder owned mutual company with no outside investors. So I think they don't have a huge incentive to go out and gouge the communities or patients. It is mutually owned by physicians…

The McConnell medical malpractice amendment does the following: It limits punitive damages. It limits punitive damages to two times the sum of what are called compensatory damages. Again, this gets sort of technical. We talk about economic…