As you know, through these doors to my left is a beautiful room. We call it the President's Room, or the Red Room. We call it the President's Room because for many, many decades this was the place where the Presidents came to sign legislation. During the past century, the 20th Century, it wasn't used often at all. Rarely was it used for a President to come and sign legislation, but on August 6, 1965 it was used.

The last time the Red Room--the President's Room--was used for signing a bill into law was on that date in the hot summer of 1965. It had been a very hot summer. The reason President Lyndon Johnson came to the Capitol to sign a bill here rather than the White House was because he was signing the Voting Rights Act.   Read More »

Here is the lead sentence from an article in yesterday's New York Times. It ran under the headline of "U.S. General in Iraq Outlines Troop Cuts." Quote:

"The top American commander in Iraq has drafted a plan that projects sharp reductions in the United States military presence there by the end of 2007, with the first cuts coming this September, American officials say."

This announcement from our military was one piece of good news for those of us who believe we need a new course in Iraq. But it was not the only good news we received this weekend.   Read More »

I wanted to share with you my speech from the Senate floor today:

"That we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

It was Theodore Roosevelt who said this quote in 1918. It is an appropriate quote for the Senate to hear before we vote.

Today, we will vote on a way forward in Iraq, and I've come to the floor to speak in support of the Levin/Reed amendment. I believe it is long past time to change course in Iraq and start to end the President's open-ended commitment.   Read More »

Last week, Bush Republicans blocked contracting reform in the U.S. Senate on a party-line vote. Today, a jury has shown exactly why that reform is needed. David Safavian's conviction is a good first step, but the American people expect accountability and oversight of this White House.

For five years, we have watched the Bush Administration waste billions on mismanaged contracts in Iraq. Just this morning, we learned that his Secretary of Defense paid no attention to the largest defense procurement scandal in history--even though it happened under his nose. Amazingly, this afternoon Bush Republicans rejected creating a bipartisan commission to investigate contracting abuses on yet another party line vote. America has seen too much incompetence, cronyism, and corruption. It is time for real reform.

The men and women who work hard every day to make a living deserve the simple reward of security in their job. And, they deserve fairness in the workplace. As the son of a carpenter and a seamstress, this is a belief I hold deep in my heart. And it is because of this belief that I have fought against President Bush's callous outsourcing of American jobs overseas, privatization of our federal workforce, and calculated assaults on worker rights.   Read More »

I'm glad the President went to Iraq. It's good for our troops and the new Iraqi government. But in the fourth year of this war the American people are still waiting for the president to lay out a strategy that will stabilize Iraq, redeploy our troops, and refocus on threats that have been largely ignored by this Administration.

Last year, the Congress called on the President to make 2006 a year of significant transition in Iraq and yet halfway through this year, the President is simply maintaining the same tired mantra, 'as Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.' Yet at the same time more Iraqi security forces are in the field, U.S. force levels have actually increased in recent weeks. This is not a real plan and is not acceptable. The President must take responsibility for laying out a strategy for stabilizing Iraq and bringing our troops home.

The American people have been blessed with the unique gift of harnessing individual power to achieve the impossible. A brief history of the twentieth century offers us proof. After years of economic hardship, the country united to defeat fascism and rebuild a continent torn apart by war. Only a few short years later, President Eisenhower laid the foundations for a national highway system that would unite the nation like never before, turning America into the economic and cultural power it was destined to become. President John F. Kennedy set the ambitious goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the sixties, and in the summer of 1969, Neil Armstrong made that dream a reality.   Read More »

For me, stem cell research is not only a public policy issue, but one that is profoundly personal, as well. It was a tremendous blow for my family when my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It started small - she would forget a name or misplace her keys. Now, in the more advanced stages of the disease, it's simply heartbreaking for my sister, for my children and for me that she doesn't even recognize our faces.   Read More »

I'd like to thank my good friend, Senator Reid for giving me the opportunity to interact with everyone here at this site. The energy evident among the netroots is going to be vital in winning back control of Congress this fall and I will certainly be tapping into it. In fact, my own campaign blog should be up and running at Menendez2006.com before too long. We also have another useful site up at StandUpToBigOil.com that I encourage you to visit. Scott Shields of MyDD.com has joined our staff and will be blogging there regularly, along with myself and others. I hope you'll join us there. In the meantime, I'll be posting some of my thoughts on the state of our nation and the state of our campaign over the remainder of the week here at GiveEmHellHarry.com.

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Only moments after voting to limit the debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment, Jim Talent sent out a fundraising solicitation touting his support for a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriages. In that letter, he states that a crisis was at hand and that the Democrat-led filibuster would not daunt his commitment to saving traditional marriage.

Even the media is calling this tactic exactly what it is - a political stunt designed to invigorate the Republican base. But, given the real crises facing our nation, why now? After all, we are in a war. Gas prices are at record highs. The deficit has exploded. Could the Republicans also be attempting to distract voters from the mess they've created in Washington?   Read More »

Today the latest in a series of Red Herring's that the Republican majority will bring before the Senate this month. On Monday, it was the Marriage Amendment. Today, it is the Estate Tax. Later this month, we are told they will bring up a flag burning amendment.

While the issues change, my argument remains the same. There are a number of difficult issues facing the people of Nevada, but issues like estate tax are not high on that list. We are wasting precious days on these divisive issues when there are so many other matters that deserve and demand our attention.   Read More »

This past weekend, my opponent Jim Talent announced his candidacy for re-election to the U.S. Senate. While he said that his announcement tour would highlight his effectiveness at changing Washington for Missouri, he spent an unprecedented amount of time and energy launching negative and baseless attacks against me.

And it's no wonder, given how little Jim Talent has accomplished for Missouri since going to Washington 14 years ago. Despite his claims of being a force for change in Washington, Talent has been nothing more than a rubberstamp for President Bush and the big special interests. Missourians don't need to look any further than his voting record to see that Washington has changed Jim Talent much more than Jim Talent has ever changed Washington.   Read More »

As we head into summer, Missouri consumers can expect their sunny days to be overshadowed by the stark reality of high gas prices, as the price per gallon increases to nearly $3 with no relief in sight.

At the same time that consumers face out-of control gas prices, big oil is raking in extraordinary profits. In 2005, the top six oil companies made an astonishing $113 billion in profits. Unfortunately, rather than standing up for consumers, the Republicans, including my opponent Jim Talent, have taken the side of these big oil and energy companies by supporting legislation like last year's Energy Bill, which gave them $14 billion in tax breaks and subsidies.   Read More »

In Nevada today, gas prices are over $3.00 a gallon. Fill-ups at the tank cause emptiness at the bank. This Administration, the most friendly-to-oil Presidency in our history, refuses to buck Big Oil or the auto manufacturers. Our citizens are literally choking on the lack of alternative fuel. Few incentives for energy created by the sun, the wind, or the Earth's geothermal reserves has this Administration endorsed.   Read More »