I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 2887, the House-passed FAA surface transportation reauthorization bill, that the Coburn amendment at the desk related to repealing the 10-percent…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 2887, the House-passed FAA surface transportation reauthorization bill, that my amendment at the desk related to a 6-month surface…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Amendment No. 610 to Amendment No. 602

No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in a consequence of appropriations made by law.

We have a distinct obligation under the Constitution to defend the country and I appreciate all of your service in that regard.

Financial management systems DOD has put in place to control and monitor the money flow do not facilitate but actually prevent DOD from collecting and reporting financial information that is accurate, reliable, and timely.

I would ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Madam President, I would like to spend a few minutes discussing some things in general. In making a couple points today, I was referred to by one of our colleagues as a dictator. I am not offended at that; I understand the frustration of…

We are not pouring asphalt, we are not laying concrete, we are not decreasing congestion, and we are not increasing safety. What we are doing is we are following the rules of Washington when we have greater needs. We are in trouble as a…

Madam President, I think I have reserved my time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma has reserved his time. He has 1\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. President, I wish to talk about an amendment, but also I had one of my colleagues who was sitting in your position as President pro tempore notice an error I made on July 27. Senator Whitehouse questioned my numbers and, in fact, he…

I must tell you that we are so fortunate that we have Director Kappos. We have a true expert in patents, with great knowledge, who has made tremendous strides in making great changes at our Patent Office. But he requires a steady stream of…

I thank the Senator for this. This is a minor technical correction. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the clerk will report. The bill clerk read as follows: The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Coburn], for himself, Mr. DeMint, Mrs…

I thank the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. I noted earlier, before I came to the floor, he supported it in principle and we have a difference in principle about what would happen to the bill. This is a minimal technical correction…

Mr. President, I wish to respond to my chairman's comments. First of all, what we have proposed came out of the Judiciary Committee in the House 32 to 3. In other words, only three people on the Judiciary Committee in the House objected to…

Madam President, today, I rise to discuss section 18 of H.R. 1249, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Consistent with the statement in the Record by Chairman Lamar Smith on June 23, 2011, I understand that section 18 will not make all…

Madam President, this is a straightforward amendment that says if you pay into the Patent Trademark Office to have a patent evaluated, that money ought to be spent on the process. We have now stolen almost $900 million from the Patent…

Madam President, I will make the following points, and I would ask for order before I do that. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Could we please have order so the Senator from Oklahoma can speak.