Two Truths Are All Too Often Overshadowed

You Can't Have The Legislative And Executive Branch Working In A Parallel Universe...the Partisanship That Has Gripped Washington Has Prevented Us From Dealing With The Issues That This Country Needs To Grapple With To Determine Its Future.

One Difficulty In Making The Senate Work The Way It Was Intended Is That America's Electorate Is Increasingly Divided Into Red And Blue States, With Lawmakers Representing Just One Color Or The Other.

I Have Been Immeasurably Honored To Serve The People Of Maine For Nearly 40 Years In Public Office And For The Past 17 Years In The United States Senate. It Was Incredibly Difficult To Decide That I Would Not Seek A Fourth Term In The Senate.

We Recognized In 1996 That, With Progress In The Field Of Genetics Accelerating At A Breathtaking Pace, We Need To Ensure That Advances In Treatment And Prevention Of Disease Do Not Constitute A New Basis For Discrimination.

The American Spirit Is Stronger Than Stone And Mortar, Tougher Than Steel And Glass, And More Enduring Than Any Pain Or Suffering That Can Be Inflicted On Our National Conscience.