Mr. President, you may have presided before, but you haven't presided when I have spoken on the floor, so it is great to welcome you, as both my colleague and the Presiding Officer, and I am glad to be working with you and glad we are both…

With that, Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll, and the following Senators entered the Chamber and…

We were sent to Congress to lead, but this partial government shutdown is not leadership. It speaks to a bigger problem in Washington: the reluctance to reach across the aisle and serve in the best interests of our constituents. Playing…

Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Ernst for yielding and for her leadership in these issues. All of us here today are here at a time when thousands of people from around the country, including hundreds from Missouri, will be here to…

I unexpectedly had to return to my district this morning and was unable to attend the vote series. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 26, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 27, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 28, and ``yea'' on…

Mr. President, as our colleague from Iowa just pointed out, these problems not only need to be solved, but they are solvable. At the core of the debate we are having right now is obviously border security. Everybody says they are for…

I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 500. personal explanation

I want to thank the gentleman for all his hard work on this. This is an easy bill. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by…

Mr. President, we come to the end of what I think has been a very productive conference. I am not happy, as most of us aren't, with an ending that doesn't allow us to get all of the principal work of the Congress done, which is to decide…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered and laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so…

Madam President, while our colleagues show their affection for Senator McCaskill, let me talk a little bit about my relationship with her and her service to our State. She chose not to do that, but she has served Missourians at every level…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3749, introduced earlier today by Senator Klobuchar and myself. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The…

I further ask that the Senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; further, that at 2:15 the Senate vote on the Kobes nomination as under the previous…

Mr. President, I know that we have a number of things scheduled here, including some farewell speeches from some of our colleagues. I was scheduled to speak, and I do want to speak, and I will try not to take too much advantage of the…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action. ____________________

Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that my military fellow, our military detailee, MAJ Aaron House be given floor privileges during the duration of my remarks. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Robert Ivanauskas, a Federal Energy Regulatory Committee detailee with the Senate Energy Committee, be granted privileges of the floor until and through December 21, 2018. The PRESIDING OFFICER…

Mr. President, I am here to talk for a few minutes about Major House and the work he has done in our office. We have benefited for the last several years from a military detailee being on the Intelligence Committee and on the Defense…