Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 12, 2014, at 2 p.m. in room SR-418 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The PRESIDING OFFICER…

Madam President, I reiterate Senator Burr's request. People wanted an open amendment process. We are open. Come on and amend. We are looking forward to it. While we are waiting for our Members to come careening to the floor to offer…

Madam President, I know we will be offering amendments throughout the afternoon, and we look forward to ample debate and discussion on them. I want to reiterate my appreciation to Senator Burr for the way we have worked together on this…

Madam President, I am so pleased to bring to the floor this very important bipartisan legislation, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. I am standing here today to speak on behalf of families and children across this…

Mr. President, now, for the next hour, you are going to see the women of the Senate, on a bipartisan basis, speaking up on the issue of childcare. We have worked long and hard together. I am going to withhold my time and turn to the…

I now yield 5 minutes to the Senator from New York, another cosponsor of the bill, Senator Gillibrand. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.

Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Michigan, also a sister social worker and a real advocate for good nutrition for children.

I yield the floor to Senator Baldwin of Wisconsin, one of our newest Members but not new to this issue. Her record in the House on advocacy for children is well-known and respected. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.

I ask unanimous consent to make pending Landrieu amendments No. 2813 and No. 2814. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report the amendments en bloc. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows…

Mr. President, I note that on the floor are three outstanding Senators who wish to speak on this bill: Senator Cantwell, Senator Murkowski, and Senator Collins. They come as the deans of the Republican women. I ask unanimous consent that…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs subcommittee on Economic Policy be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 12, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing…

Mr. President, I thank the Senators from Maine and Alaska for their comments, as well as the Senator from Washington State. Wasn't it impressive that for the last hour, from both sides of the aisle, the women of the Senate have spoken out…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 12, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 12, 2014, at 9 a.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. committee on…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 12, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. committee on…

Mr. President, I would like to express my strong support for S. Res. 365, a resolution I cosponsored deploring the violent repression of peaceful demonstrators in Venezuela, calling for full accountability for human rights violations…

Mr. President, shortly we will be voting on some nominees, and I want to thank all the nominees and their families for their willingness to serve the public. This is a real sacrifice. People are giving up other opportunities in order to…

I thank my colleague. Before we wrap up, I want to ask him and my colleague from California as well to comment on the kind of response they are getting as they talk to their constituents about this kind of reform. We are all very familiar…