Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 19, 2012. The PRESIDING OFFICER. With objection, it is so ordered. Subcommittee on Financial…

I thank my colleague Senator Leahy. Madam President, what is the pending business before the Senate now? Is it an amendment to this legislation? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Amendment No. 3371 is the pending business. Amendment No…

Mr. President, let me thank my colleague, Senator Udall, for his overly generous comments and indicate that 30 or 40 years from now when he retires from the Senate, I will be glad to make similar comments about his service. I could make…

Madam President, I spoke about Senator Bingaman. I know the Presiding Officer is on his committee and she feels the same way about him and all the work he has done. It is going to be a sad day for all of us when he exits at the end of this…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that with respect to the vote on the motion to waive earlier today, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of Colorado.) Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague, the Senator from Colorado--my cousin, but he is more like a brother--to highlight the importance of clean energy, renewable energy. The Senator just spoke a little bit earlier about…

Mr. President, I rise today with a difficult task: to honor a great Senator and a great friend, Senator Jeff Bingaman. This is difficult for two reasons. First, Senator Bingaman is not one to call attention to himself, and, second, he does…

Mr. President, in 1981, in his first inaugural address, President Reagan said: Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. I came to the Senate 2 years later in 1983 with the firm belief that in most cases his…

Mr. President, I ask through the Chair if the Senator from Nebraska will yield for a question. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico asks the Senator from Nebraska to yield.

The Senator from Nebraska has talked about the rules not being able to be changed because internally in the Senate rules there is a provision that says you need a supermajority, two- thirds of the Senate, to change the rules. This is the…

Mr. President, there has been much discussion about the need to reform the Senate rules, and I have listened closely to the arguments against these changes by the other side. Today I rise to address some of their concerns. My Republican…

I thank the Senator. I too am concerned by the rising consumer ATM costs. As you know, the Senate recently passed legislation that does away with the requirement that ATMs post a physical sign notifying consumers that they may be charged…

Mr. President, I would ask to speak as if in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Senate Rules Changes

It seems to me we have sort of three different issues, and maybe more than three.

We ought to be encouraging that. That should not be something that we just do for 3 years or 5 years.

Mr. President, I want to first, of course, commend the Senator from Virginia for his great leadership here in the Senate on a whole range of issues. He has served with great distinction here, and it has been an honor for me to serve with…

Mr. President, earlier today, the Senate voted to grant permanent normal trade relations to Russia by a vote of 92 to 4, and I strongly supported that bill. To extend PNTR to Russia, we had to repeal an out-of-date policy that was adopted…