Mr. President, last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement--also known as ICE--initiated a precipitous action to reduce the population of the illegal immigrants detained by the U.S. Government for, they said, ``budgetary reasons.''…

Mr. President, I am going to wrap up because my colleagues want to speak also. But, let me say this: I have been saying from this platform, and I have been saying from everywhere people will listen that we need to move to a solution to the…

I am happy to do that. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heinrich). The Senator from Illinois.

Madam President, as I look at my watch, the clock is ticking toward midnight. Midnight becomes March 1, and that is the point at which the sequester kicks in, which is the across-the-board cuts--hardly massive when this year it will be…

Mr. President, normally I would be talking about the sequester and the Nation's fiscal health, but we are about to vote on a critical nomination for a very critical position in this government. I wish to spend a few minutes defining why I…

Mr. President, earlier this week I outlined four main topics that I hoped to hear the President discuss in his State of the Union Address. Today, I would like to talk in more detail about one of those items and perhaps the most…

Madam President, last night President Obama had the opportunity to present to the American people a plan envisioned for how he plans to strengthen the state of our Union. While I am pleased he finally turned his focus back to the ongoing…

Mr. President, article II, section 3 of the U.S. Constitution says that the President of the United States ``shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures…

Mr. President, Indiana has a lot in common with Kansas, so I don't mind that label. I have been in the chair and made similar mistakes, so that doesn't bother me. We have a lot of similarities between Indiana and Kansas. We each hope to…

Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor today, as I have virtually every day since we have been back in session, to address what is perhaps the most critical question facing this Nation: how to rein in the out-of-control Federal spending…

Mr. President, I send my sympathy and empathy to the Senator from Maryland. Having gone through the same thing, I fully understand what she is dealing with and trust she will recover quickly. Picking up where I left off, dare a politician…

In deference to the Senator from Maryland, I went through the cold-and-cough crud that caused her to begin coughing, so I fully understand why she needed to take a break. I am more than willing to step aside when she comes back. In the…

I was hit by it 2 weeks ago so I fully understand what the Senator is going through.

Mr. President, even though the confirmation hearing regarding the nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense is going on before the Armed Services Committee, I would like to make some comments in terms of my thoughts…

Madam President, thank you. Not one Democratic Senator voted for the President's budget in the last few years. His own party didn't support his budget. It is hard for us to take the President's budget seriously, and that is why the…

Madam President, breaking news. Just a short time ago the Bureau of Economic Analysis issued its report for the fourth quarter of 2012 in terms of our economy. I am sorry to say that the report said we have contracted--not gained, but our…

Mr. President, I have been coming to the Senate floor just about every day that we have been in session so far this year, and I am going to continue to do so to talk about what I believe is our most pressing crisis that this body faces and…

It has been 4 years since the President made those statements, and here we are where we have added trillions of dollars of new debt--the greatest increase in the history of America, and we have ignored and pushed spending down the road…