The Public Record
Mark Robert Warner is a United States Senator from Virginia, serving since January 3, 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner previously held the office of Governor of Virginia from January 12, 2002, to January 14, 2006. During his tenure in the Senate, he has focused on various issues including technology, healthcare, and economic development. Warner is known for his bipartisan approach and has worked on legislation aimed at improving the economy and supporting small businesses.
Once we took the initiative on our side of the aisle in the committee, we had bipartisan support across the board. The Senator is absolutely right. The point is where we are. We are faced with constraints in military spending, as we are in…
Mr. President, we are almost parallel in thought here, certainly parallel in thought for the need to help the retirees. I have been privileged to be in this institution 22 years. This is the first time, I say to my colleague, we have ever…
I want very much for the Senator to have a full opportunity to present his viewpoints, of course, in the time remaining. But at some point I think it would be very helpful to the other Senators following this debate to frame exactly what…
I simply say at the time that was done, they did not foresee the Duma would put these conditions on the START II treaty. That is the essence of this debate.
Our President doesn't take the exact turn in the way these things are written. The Duma knew full well that in this Chamber--and, indeed, in the Congress and, indeed, in the whole of the United States--there is a very serious and important…
He knows full well that those protocols put on by the Duma relate to the ABM Treaty. That is a subject of great controversy.
Why did the Russian Duma deliberately put conditions on START II, knowing that those conditions would never survive a vote in this Chamber?
Ultimately we will go lower. But we should take into consideration the actions of the Duma and the fact that we should study very carefully this nuclear posture in view of the actions taken by the Duma.
If I may make one observation in reply, the President's budget for 2001 includes funds to sustain our strategic forces at current levels. Why then did he send up a budget request to maintain those strategic levels, the levels you are now…
In quick summary, he cites what the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said in 1995. Fine. But General Shelton and others were acting on the predicate, on the assumption, which was a fair assumption, that the Russian Duma would adopt START II as…
I would say, if this situation today were of a parallel situation at the time of President Bush, I would have been the first to pass this same law. It was an entirely different factual situation, I say to the Senator. I hope those…
I simply reiterate what my colleague, who is the chairman of the subcommittee, has said. This amendment, which I drew up carefully, is drawn in such a way that it does not preclude President Clinton from negotiating and, indeed, preclude…
No. Fine. Let's review what President Bush did. In the final hours of the days of his Presidency, he did the START II. I understand that. But the point is, that was a process that evolved over many years. The work had been done. The…
Yesterday Senator Dole, who is chairman of the National World War II Memorial Campaign, received a check for $14.5 million from Wal-Mart stores. The contribution was presented by a group of World War II veterans and Wal-Mart associates…
We did. I talked to him last night after we departed the Chamber. Guess what. He sat and watched us and critiqued us very carefully. We are proud of Bob Dole.
What a great strength he has been to national defense in the 22 years we have worked on this. Fritz Hollings was in the European campaign. Senator Stevens was an Air Corps pilot, before there was an Air Force; he flew in the Pacific…
I have spoken to every one of them today. I will read their names in the order of seniority of the Senate: Senator Thurmond, who crossed the beaches on D-Day. He did it in a glider, and it crashed, he was injured, but he went on and took…
Does the Senator remember the collection of scrap metal? I will never forget it. In those days, the Nation's Capital, where we lived, had great big trash trucks, and the trucks ran overtime. They would come down the street, and people…
I happen to have been in uniform. I remember where we had a little book of stamps, savings bonds, and you put your quarter stamps in. You were rationing butter, meat, shoes and clothing. We never thought about it. It was our way of backing…
If I might interject myself, as this is drawn, I can easily amend it so that the next President can bring about the necessary infrastructure of studies and have them completed on a timetable to accelerate it so it is not tied to December…
Let me finish. Then, not addressing the SIOPs in any way--I think you understand why we should not do that--I believe that it is unwise, given the current posture of the studies and the fact that on the face they are not up to…
I am not going to single out the Foreign Relations chairman, but I make the following observation. That is, this is the law of the land. We are giving the opportunity to the next President to do the necessary studies. Supposing President…
Why didn't your President take those initiatives several years ago? What I am saying to you now is, before this President or any other President begins to make an assessment of a magnitude such as this, they better have in place an…
I give to my colleague two responses: No. 1--and I am not trying to be critical of this President's administration--why didn't they do that several years ago? Because the deterioration of the infrastructure and the financial situation in…
One of the reasons, motivations for the Russians to drive to lower figures as soon as they can possibly get there is the inability fiscally to maintain their own structure in a readiness posture, which equates to what they have had in…
Politicians like Mark Warner
