Mr. President, good to be with you again. I spent most of the morning with you and now part of the afternoon. This is a difficult issue for a number of us in the Senate because we have friends on both sides of this issue. It is also a…

Mr. President, for the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the Record on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of…

This week the Democratic and Republican caucuses met with President Obama to discuss the need to increase the debt ceiling. The President said we need to raise the debt ceiling soon, and I agree. Defaulting on our debt is not an option for…

Americans awoke this morning to the heartbreaking news that unemployment has increased to 9.1 percent. The U.S. economy added only 55,000 jobs in the last month. The American people are understandably concerned. But the numbers don't tell…

As we know, the War Powers Act specifically forbids Armed Forces from engaging in military action in foreign lands for more than 60 days without congressional authorization or the use of military force or a declaration of war. We have been…

Let me thank our ranking member for yielding. And let me just say, first of all, I rise in opposition to the Boehner resolution. This debate is long overdue. On March 30, I, along with Representatives Woolsey, Honda, Grijalva and Waters…

Today I rise in support of Medicare. It's a decades-old promise that my grandmother made to my mother and that I make to my son. For the last 5 months Republicans have played political theater with our Nation's most pressing issues…

I thank the Rules Committee for allowing an open rule, including the offering of my commonsense amendment which would save millions of dollars by cutting funding to 287(g), something that is called an immigration enforcement program which…

I have an amendment at the desk. The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: Sec. __. None of the funds made available…

I demand a recorded vote. The CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Colorado will be postponed. {time} 1650

I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER. This will be a 5-minute vote. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 231, noes 187, not voting 14, as follows: [Roll No. 382] AYES--231 Adams…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In addition to moving forward the Homeland Security bill under an open rule--which would have strong bipartisan support, and I praise my colleagues on the Rules Committee and hope that this is the first of many open…

Again, I have to disagree with my friend from New York. I have never seen in my 3 years on the Rules Committee such a broad and sweeping deem-and-pass under a rule. Section 2 of the rule clearly states that the House Concurrent Resolution…

The gentleman mentioned the open rule. The open rule itself is largely noncontroversial with strong support from both sides of the aisle. What is contained in this rule is the broadest sweeping policy change in recent history, namely, the…

If this rule is passed, would an amendment be germane that would restore Medicare under the budget? The SPEAKER. The Chair does not respond to hypothetical questions.

A point of parliamentary inquiry. The SPEAKER. The gentleman may state his inquiry.

The Democrats have no problem with the open rule. What the Democrats have a problem with is the elimination of Medicare, which is deemed and passed in the language of the rule itself and cannot be amended after the passage of the rule. It…

I yield myself 30 seconds. Of course while the underlying merits of the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill are critical, and if the rule passes they'll be debated under the underlying rule, eliminating Medicare as we know…