New York, NY - Thank you, Pete. Thank you very much. Well, it is a great privilege and honor to be back here at the Council and I want to thank Pete for that kind introduction. It's another small world story; I had no idea he had ever lived in Park Ridge, Illinois. And I want to congratulate you, Pete, on the recent re-naming of the Institute for International Economics in your honor. That is a great tribute to the wonderful service that you have provided to the public over many years at the Council and government and now at what will be known as the Peterson Institute.

I last spoke here in December 2003. Richard Haass was just settling into his new job. Saddam Hussein had been captured the weekend before. At that time I advanced the idea espoused by the Council that American internationalism is essential in the service of American interests.

Washington, DC – In remarks today on the Senate floor, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton underscored the devastating consequences the proposed bill to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act would have on New York. Senator Clinton emphasized her commitment to making sure that all of those living with HIV and AIDS have the care they need and emphasized her commitment to reworking this proposal in order to ensure that states across country have the funding they need. However, taking funding away from New York and other states with the highest rates of HIV and AIDS would only make matters worse.

“As a Senator from New York, which has experienced the heaviest burden of the AIDS epidemic, I don't think anyone cares more about this legislation. I understand completely the profound importance of the Ryan White CARE Act. I'm committed to the reauthorization of a good bill that strengthens and improves the ability of all Americans to access HIV and AIDS care, support, and treatment. But a bill that destabilizes existing systems of care and devastates, even destroying the ability of high-prevalence communities to address needs, is unacceptable. I stand ready to work with my colleagues on a fair, open-minded, nonpartisan, practical solution,” Senator Clinton emphasized on the Senate floor.

Mr. President, the Senate is currently debating a bill on how we treat detainees in our custody and, more broadly, on how we treat the principles on which our nation was founded.

The implications are far reaching for our national security interests abroad; the rights of Americans at home; our reputation in the world; and the safety of our troops.

The threat posed by the evil and nihilistic movement that has spawned terrorist networks is real and gravely serious. We must do all we can to defeat the enemy with all the tools in our arsenal and every resource at our disposal. All of us – every one of us – is dedicated to deterring and defeating this enemy.

The challenge before us on this bill, in the final days of session before the November election, is to find a solution that serves our national security interests. I fear, however, that there are those who place a strategy for winning elections ahead of a smart strategy for winning the war on terrorism.

This amendment goes to the heart of our obligations to one another with respect to homeland security. It arises out of the attacks of 9/11, the extraordinary physical damage that has been done to thousands and thousands of New Yorkers and other Americans because they responded to that disaster, because they worked in the area of Ground Zero, because they lived or volunteered there.

I want to acknowledge and thank Congressman Shays, Congresswoman Maloney, Congressman Fossella, Congressman Nadler and Congressman Weiner. They have been part of our bipartisan New York regional team to bring this issue to public attention and to work until we obtained support for those who are suffering for the consequences of their exposure to the toxic stew at the World Trade Center site and at Fresh Kills. I also want to thank Lillian Roberts, the Executive Director Of DC 37 for welcoming us to your home and all the labor leaders who are here who have been absolutely instrumental in pursuing the struggle to get attention to the needs of so many thousands of responders, workers, volunteers and residents. And all of the people who have been directly affected - those who did respond, those who worked, those who lived and those who volunteered - thank you for being here and being part of this important hearing. I also want to recognize and thank some of the people with whom I have worked on this for now nearly five years - I see Dr. Kerry Kelly and Dr. David Prezant in the audience - they were among the very first to sound the alarm on behalf of the fire department, the fire fighters and fire officers. I will never forget Dr. Kelly’s extraordinarily vivid testimony before the committee in the senate on which I sat, within weeks of 9/11, about what the physical and mental challenges and stresses confronting the firefighters would be going forward because of their experiences. I also want to thank Dr. Robin Herbert and Dr. Steven Levin who among the very first to take up this cause, working out of Mount Sinai to try to help create a system to conduct the monitoring and screening that would give us the evidence that we needed to support what we could see, feel, smell, and taste ourselves; that what happened, with the collapse of the buildings, with the implosion and sending into the atmosphere, the pulverized concrete, the miniscule glass shards, the asbestos particles and so much else, was going to impact, over many years, the health and well being of thousands and thousands of men and women.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today made remarks on the Senate floor underscoring her support for a Senate resolution expressing “no confidence” in Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s stewardship of the Department of Defense. Senator Clinton reiterated the need for a new direction in Iraq, emphasizing that “we went to war with the secretary of defense we had. Now it is time to complete the mission with a new secretary of defense that we need.” The following is the text of Senator Clinton’s remarks on the Senate floor.

Thank you very much, I am honored to be with you today and to be a partner and supporter of this great union that spans two nations and is growing globally, and to thank you for the work that you and your members do every single day. I want to thank Harold for his friendship and his leadership, I want to thank Vinny for also being with me and Harold in those early hours after 9/11. I want especially to welcome and thank all of the firefighters from New York who are here. I hesitate to name names because there are so many represented, but let me just say thank you to Kevin Gallagher, Charlie Morello, Mike McManus, Steve Cassidy and Pete Gorman. Dear friends all, with whom I have worked closely.

I know that some of the New York City delegates had to return home after yesterday’s tragic and fatal fire in the Bronx. Sadly, we lost Michael Reilly of Engine Company 75, a young rookie fireman who had already served with the United States Marines in Iraq. And I’m very sorry to announce that we just lost – earlier today – Lieutenant Howard Carpluk, a 20 year FDNY veteran. Thomas Auer of Battalion 17, John Grasso of Engine 92, and Wayne Walters of Engine 75 were also hurt. I know that from this great convention of firefighters our thoughts and our prayers go out to the families, friends and fellow firefighters. And if we may, President Schaitberger, can we have just a moment of silence in memory of the lives and service of Michael Reilly and Howard Carpluk. Thank you. God bless them, and God bless their memories.

Thank you very much, Mike, and thanks to the Farm Bureau for their hard work. Please extend our appreciation to Paul and everybody. It’s been a real pleasure working with you over the last years now and I’m delighted to be here at the Robinson farm and I want to thank both Mr. and Mrs. Don Robinson and Mr. and Mrs. Greg Robinson. Don told me that his father Chester couldn’t make it because he’s busy selling the products today and that’s why he’s got a successful farm that’s been going for so many generations. People, you know, tend to their business. I’m really grateful that you could all join us. I have a lot of love for rural issues and I have a speech that will probably last until the first frost, so I hope you all are ready. Because there’s a lot I want to say about what we could be and should be doing. It’s exciting that we do have the wonderful accomplishment of the Niagara Escarpment and the fact that Warm Lake Estate Winery and Vineyard is part of that is terrific. It sits alongside the Niagara Wine Trail and you can see the signs as I was driving up today.