Mr. President, I ask my colleague from Arkansas, through the Chair, first, if we cannot receive consent to take up these nominations which were made over 15 months ago as a group. I wish to briefly describe one of the truly exceptional…

Mr. President, as the Senate this week considers the first major reform bill for our Nation's public schools in over a decade, I rise to talk about how we can ensure that every one of our country's children goes to a great school no matter…

In conclusion, we have a range of highly qualified nominees. Armando Bonilla would be the first Hispanic judge to hold a seat and has been with the Department of Justice. Thomas Halkowski, a third pending nominee, is a respected partner at…

I am pleased to see support among a number of Senators who have introduced bills related to energy efficiency and green tech and the future of our manufacturing sector.

These make a big difference in a manufacturing company's bottom line, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well, and helping to train the next generation of engineers and scientists in the field.

I appreciate your highlighting the important role that energy costs, and in particular energy efficiency, play in reducing the bottom line cost that small businesses face.

Thank you, Chairman Vitter. Thank you for convening this hearing.

I think we have about five million people that are suffering from Alzheimer's disease, dementia today.

As it turns out, I am told maybe three-quarters of what we spend in Medicaid these days are for folks, older people in nursing homes, a lot of whom have dementia.

We spend a huge amount, as you know, in the last 6 months of our lives.

I think there is a lot of reason to say, yes, we would, and it is just not my conjecture, but folks a whole lot smarter than me.

some level of debt is reasonable and running a deficit is sometimes necessary.

I would ask that my full statement be made a part of the record.

GAO has finally put on their High-Risk List the issue of climate change.

People ask me, not all the time, but quite a bit, what keeps me up at night, and I am the senior Democrat on this Committee and we focus a lot on cyber attacks and all kinds of attacks on our country, lone wolves. Those are the kind of…

It does not mean we will always be.

You can do it, but we can help. We all have a role and a responsibility to play.

In the Navy, we had to face a big challenge, it is like all hands on deck, and this is all hands on deck.