I think it is a good thing for the Energy Department to be making sure that we are purchasing energy from Indian Country and if last May, you are announcing that you are doing that, it should be happening by now.

Okay, well, if they don't have the authority to make that call, who does?

Okay, that just doesn't seem that hard to solve. It really doesn't.

The combined effect of these bills is to rely on state-designed accountability systems, state-designed academic standards and state-designed assessments.

The current federal law is the only thing left that stands in the way preventing us from helping the children of Denver.

I commend Chairman Kline for offering a bill that acknowledges and respects that it is the state and local leaders who are driving education reform.

As the BP spill in the Gulf showed us that not exercising judgment, some judgment about environmental and safety impacts, can undermine the economic well being and the very goal of energy independence.

It puts people in the building trades to work who are in depression or a recession right now.

That's why Minnesota put this in.

I thank the Senator from Vermont and also the Presiding Officer and the Senator from Rhode Island for engaging in this colloquy that is so important. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues in the Senate to support an extension…

Congress must empower states also to define and lead education reform efforts, while limiting the federal role to supporting authentic, comprehensive state and local reform efforts.

As long as the federal government spends tax dollars to fund public education there must be accountability for how those dollars are spent.

I am a strong supporter of the Bulletproof Vests Partnership program whose vests save lives.

This is one of the reasons I support the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act.

I just think it is really, really important that we keep faith and that we not change policy.

I think it is important that we keep faith, that we not change things around during the middle of a deployment.

Last week, I introduced the Local Courthouse Safety Act to codify the Justice Department's Valor Initiative.

We cannot forsake our veterans. We must make those hard choices and I think this budget is doing that.