"Winter in Maine is a time of alternating rest and frenzied activity."

"Yet, much of what lies beneath the ocean's surface remains a mystery, and our nation continues to rely on a confused, antiquated system of ocean governance."

"Under current federal policy on human embryonic stem cell research, only those stem cell lines derived before August 9, 2001 are eligible for federally funded research."

"While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best."

"Energy conservation is the foundation of energy independence."

"Family farms and small businesses are the backbone of our communities."

"They don't have special rights because we have civil rights laws that protect them. The laws work both ways."

"But like the rest of the country, Maine has reached an impasse, for most of the mercury that fouls our skies, waters and land comes from outside our borders."

"To do what we are doing in this budget to our children, cutting their health care funds, decreasing opportunity, simply so we can pay for tax cuts and a war in Iraq is beyond belief, and we need to reverse it."

"Through their work with fetal tissue, researchers hope to find ways to harness embryonic stem cells which have the ability to become any type of human cell and could provide new treatments for many illnesses."

"Health care costs blunt the competitive edge of American entrepreneurs, from the auto industry to internet start-ups."

"Maine's long and cold winters may help keep our State's population low, but our harsh climate also accounts for what is unique and valuable about our land and our people."

"The mercury rule writers also ignored mercury's special qualities."

"By giving every American access to quality, affordable health care, they will create a more competitive, a stronger and more secure America!"

"We are spending $1 billion a week in Iraq."

"In this part of the world, only Maine gives winter the welcome and the worship it should have."

"Stem cell research holds out the promise of finding cures and treatments for a wide range of diseases."

"Despite the increase in world attention toward Sudan in the past months, the genocide in Darfur has continued without any serious attempt by the Sudanese government to do what governments primarily exist to do, protect their citizens."

"These kids understood what is not immediately obvious; that they were going to pay the bills for tax cuts that had been passed today or in the last 4 years, and for the war in Iraq, because essentially we are borrowing money to do those things."

"I think we have a moral obligation to our children that can be easily summarized: number one, protect them from harm."

"The offshore ocean area under U.S. jurisdiction is larger than our land mass, and teems with plant and animal life, mineral resources, commerce, trade, and energy sources."

"The Republicans in the House and the Bush administration are bankrupting this country."

"I support exemptions from the estate tax to ensure that when Maine farm owners die, their families will be able to continue to farm the land that they have protected and lived on, often for generations."

"Mercury pollution from power plants is a national problem that requires a national response."

"President Bush's mercury rule is a gift to the big energy companies that helped put him in office."

"What our Republican friends are doing, if we look at what they do and not what they say, they have decided that the most important thing in this country is to increase payments for interest on the national debt."

"The argument on the other side of special rights is completely bogus. It's bogus because you could make exactly the same claim about racial or ethnic or religious minorities."

"I do not believe that Congress or the Administration should prohibit the medical community from pursuing a promising avenue of research that may improve the lives of millions of Americans."