The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry this morning reported out legislation to restructure the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In fact, this is going to be the first comprehensive overhaul of the Department of…

I know that efforts are underway to try to reach some type of accommodation with the distinguished senior Senator from Mississippi and his amendment. I discussed it briefly with him this morning. As chairman of the Senate Agriculture…

I would note that the usual degree of panic has been expressed by the local governments and media and so on because they had, I think 2, maybe even 3 inches of snow--something we refer to as a dusting back home, unless it happens in July…

I come to the floor of the U.S. Senate to assure the thousands of families in Vermont and the millions of households nationwide that their home satellite dishes are not going to go dark and that the Congress is not about to pull the plug…

Today, WTOP is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its all-news format. I am sure Charles Osgood will have something in rhyme to commemorate the occasion, but I would like to add my appreciation, on behalf of the Senate, for the tremendous…

I do not know of anybody in leadership in either party that has ever given as strong, as powerful, as cogent, and as compelling a speech as my friend from Maine did. We are not here, any of us, from any State because we own a seat in the…

last week, on February 23, a man died, who was in many ways more of a significant historical figure in Washington than those of us who hold public office. I am speaking of my good friend, George Tames, who for many years was the chief…

this week two members of the Vermont National Guard returned home from the winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Laurie Tavares and David Jareckie may not be household names like Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen but they are champions in…

this week in the Russell Building Rotunda, there is an exhibit of photographs which I urge all Senators and staff to stop by and see. They are photographs of victims of anti-personnel landmines. There are also several actual landmines on…

Balancing the budget is not about baseline and sequesters. To quote the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz, it is about courage. Let me tell you what he might say about this debate: What makes a king out of a slave: Courage. What makes…

I want to speak about the former CIA agent who has been arrested as a spy here in the United States, charged with spying for Russia, and before that for the former Soviet Union. I want to speak about it in my capacity as the chairman of…

over the years I have had a chance to meet an extraordinary conservationist and ornithologist, Dr. Liao Weiping. Dr. Liao is a Chinese professor from the Guangdong Institute of Entomology, but he is also a man who has worked extremely hard…

every week I receive hundreds of letters from the folks in Vermont, telling me about the issues that are important to them and what they think about the job I am doing for Vermont here in Washington. All of these letters are important to…

I rise to express my strong support for the President's nomination of Ambassador Strobe Talbott to be Deputy Secretary of State. I am concerned that we are seeing on this nomination partisanship running rampant for the sake of…

If Senator Metzenbaum is prepared to endorse Ambassador Talbott, then I fail to understand why any friend of Israel would withhold their support for this nomination. Mr. President, President Clinton wishes to have Ambassador Talbott to…

each year I look forward to the year-end edition of the Sunday Rutland Herald/Barre Montpelier Times-Argus--and the newspapers' annual Vermonter of the Year Award. I find myself in complete agreement with their judgment year after year…

I am offering an amendment which addresses a crucial component of emergency relief efforts--the Emergency Food Assistance Program [TEFAP]. TEFAP emergency foods are often the first line of defense when disaster strikes. And yet the…

all of Vermont shared a proud moment on January 31, when Carolyn Roberts, president and chief executive officer of Copley Health System in Morrisville, VT, was sworn in as chair of the American Hospital Association's Board of Trustees. I…

From December 6 to 9, 1993, I traveled to Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua in my capacity as chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee. The purpose of my trip was to discuss with local and U.S. officials the implications of the…

the limits of free speech, and civilized discourse, were sorely tested by the recent hate-filled address of Khalid Abdul Muhammad at Kean College in New Jersey. But the Framers of the Constitution had unpopular utterances in mind, when…

it has been more than 30 years since the first American soldier arrived in Vietnam, and almost two decades since the last American soldier came home. Over 43 million Americans, and over half the population of Vietnam, were not yet born…

I hope the schoolchildren and others who watched the State of the Union Message yesterday... do not make a mistake that can get them to flunk an exam on the U.S. Constitution or U.S. Government. I heard many commentators go on to talk…

Organic certification standards should be national in scope, tough and fully enforced.

We need a program that promotes this industry because the benefits of purchasing organically produced food extend beyond the dinner plate to the support of farmers who protect the soil and water.

We need a program that distinguishes phony organic food, items with a natural image but uncertain production methods, from the real thing.