There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud.

This bill has one motivation -- payback by the Bush administration and the Republican leadership of the Congress to the powerful special interest of the National Rifle Association.

We need our Republican colleagues to join us in giving education the high priority that it deserves at the national level,

The Republican leadership has every intention of putting language allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge back into this bill in conference,

We need more than photo-ops and spin control to win this war. We need an effective plan to achieve our goals in Iraq and protect our troops. The president once again offered neither. He needs to realize what most Americans now understand -- that staying the course is not an option.

Chief Justice Rehnquist served this country with the greatest distinction, ... I respected his leadership of the federal judiciary and his strong commitment to the integrity and independence of the courts.