It has to do with the composition of these two bodies, … And it also has to do with the (strength) of the gun lobby.

Two years ago, … intense fires burned 739,597 acres in these national forests, destroying 3,631 homes and killing 24 people. Fuel loads may be worse this year because of grasses that have grown as a...

Ports are the gaping hole in America’s homeland security.

Women have begun to see that if I go through that doorway, I take everybody through it.

This new justice will be critical in the balance with respect to rulings on congressional authority, as well as a woman’s right to privacy, environmental protections, and many other aspects of constitutional law in the...

Our redwood trees are treasures that need to be protected and preserved. By adding more than 25,000 acres to Redwood National Park , this legislation would help conserve the redwood forest, provide watershed protection, and...

In the Michigan case, obviously, you have I always forget whether it’s the law school — but I think the law school program was upheld and the university program was struck down because of the...

This fund ? developed on a bipartisan basis ? ensured that fire fighting costs could be met,

The party that put the amendments on the bill now wants to kill it.

Survival is nothing more than recovery.

[Abortion, however, is] a big threshold issue for me because the dominant majority of people in my state are pro-choice, … I ran as a pro-choice Democrat, and she fills Sandra Day O’Connor’s shoes, and...

the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.

She’s a woman, she’s clearly bright, she’s very intelligent, and she clearly knows the issues because she’s been involved in them for years. Now what her values are and where she will stand in this...

Drilling will not give us more energy security, but it will carry huge environmental costs.

not because it’s perfect, but because I believe it will bring needed help to my state.

Well, that day is gone, and it will not occur again.

Senator, that is exactly one of the questions before the court, I can’t answer that in the abstract.

I’m trying to see your feelings as a man, … I’m not asking you for a legal view.

By including a cost-benefit analysis of human lives in its calculations, Philip Morris has stepped well past the lines of decency,

California came out of the BRAC process as well as could be expected, … It is my understanding that the net job loss will not be more than 2,000.

Well, that’s getting into a legal question.

I am pleased to be part of the Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus. As a senator from the nation’s number one dairy state, I know how important dairy issues are to my State and to the...

You’ve gone through this in a remarkable way, … I’m convinced you will be (chief justice), God willing, for 40 years. And that even concerns me more because it means that my vote means more.

I think there’s no question that Judge Roberts is an extraordinary person. I think there’s no question that he’s got many stellar qualities.

I am the only woman on this committee. And when I started, I said that was going to be my bar, … He didn’t cross my bar.

What bothers me is people taking sides before any of this basic work is done. Before everybody takes sides and begins shouting epithets, let the committee just do its work.

I think the president is well-advised to take heed of this, … what entered into it is a fear that I see, that people are going to lose rights.

I’m not sure what the views are. I had a private conversation and I did get a feeling ? a feeling. Well, you can’t take a feeling to the bank. So, it’s up to me...

He said, ‘I was an advocate seeking a job; it was a political job and that was 1985. I’m now a judge, I’ve been on the circuit court for 15 years and it’s very different....

This isn’t penny-ante crime. Gang violence is now more serious in this country than organized crime.

This is a very pivotal appointment, … I’m more interested in her judicial philosophy, whether she can be independent, can cut her umbilical ties from the president and call things as she sees them.

While the distance between the United States and Iraq is great, Saddam Hussein’s ability to use his chemical and biological weapons against us is not constrained by geography – it can be accomplished in a...

My belief is that you should be open in public about your views. I couldn’t penetrate to the extent that I could feel comfortable, knowing the things I care deeply about, that I ran for...

For me, one of the most important issues that needs to be addressed by Judge Roberts is the constitutional right to privacy. … It would be very difficult for me to vote to confirm someone...

You speak about modesty and humility,

I guess what has begun to concern me a little bit is Judge Roberts, the legal automaton, as opposed to Judge Roberts, the man, because I’ve heard so many times, ‘I can’t really say because...

I think there will be issues coming up before the Supreme Court involving some of this administration’s decisions, certainly with respect war on terror, detainees, Americans detained, how long can you keep them,

The United Nations should be given an opportunity to compel adherence to the 16 or so resolutions in the past which Iraq has effectively not complied with … maybe some language could be added.

It would be very difficult for me to vote to confirm someone to the Supreme Court whom I knew would overturn Roe and return our country to the days of the 1950s,

According to the Washington Post, the Department of Defense is changing the guidelines with respect to oversight and notification of Congress by military intelligence. Is this true or false?

It would be very difficult … for me to vote to confirm someone whom I knew would overturn Roe v. Wade, because I remember … what it was like when abortion was illegal in America...

When I couldn’t get a sense of his judicial philosophy, I attempted to get a sense of his temperament and values. And I asked him about the end-of-life decisions: clearly, decisions that are gut-wrenching, difficult...

A rush job that glosses over key questions is in no one’s interest.

The point is, let’s encourage America’s families to save for education.

It is crucial that the nominee who replaces Justice Sandra Day O’Connor not only be intelligent and well-qualified but balanced and fair. His views should be within the mainstream and considered, and they should be...

[Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., obviously not a student of history, is demanding that Roberts cough up his personal views on political issues during his hearings.] What is not a good thing to do is stonewall...

I really don’t think we’re in the same position as Arizona or New Mexico because Operation Gatekeeper has been very effective,

The more I hear from the far right, the more it pushes me the other way,

I happen to feel that it would be very difficult for me to vote yes on a nominee I thought would overturn Roe vs. Wade,

Does anyone believe that some staffer without permission thought up a scheme by which a chairman’s ‘agent’ could have access to every IRS facility everywhere in this nation and every single IRS filing of every...