Congress last week debated changes in Medicare and Social Security that once would have been taboo.

It also said it would debate changes to pensions, which it had earlier ruled out.

The League management committee also debated possible changes in league structure yesterday.

The new National Assembly, to be elected at the end of this year, will debate further changes like direct election of the President.

Commission members debated radical changes in Medicare that would affect virtually every baby boomer.

De Rossa called a Special Ardfheis (party conference) to debate changes to the constitution.

They debated constitutional changes that included an elected governor, an elected legislative council, and a possible union with the US, within this republican framework.

FIFA are debating possible changes to the laws of football this weekend.

And the Irish Medical Council is in the process of debating changes to its ethical guidelines, which forbid abortion under any circumstances.

The nearly 300 bishops gathered at the Fairmont Hotel here were scheduled to debate changes to their new policy behind closed doors late into the evening.

The debates so far have changed little in the race.

It is not clear, however, if the debates have changed the dynamic of this race.

Some entries may also be closed early for example if the debate has changed, run its natural course, or is no longer topical.

And at the debate's end, all three agreed that the debate would change virtually no one's mind.

But younger ones will be astonished at how little the debate about race and writing has changed.

What happened in Greenwich reflects how much the debate over special education has changed.

In some ways, the debate has changed little over the years.

"The whole debate will change in six months," one rebuilding official said.

Yet each era's debates and decisions change the stage for the challenges to come.

If it really turns out to be better, the debate about government-provided health care might change.