Mr. President, I send a question to the desk. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Senator Merkley submits a question for the House managers. The clerk will read the question. The legislative clerk read as follows: If a President spins a big lie to…

This is what it is about, being able to take qualified young people, give them skills, let them earn money through the apprenticeship programs, not a mountain of debt. And time after time we have seen examples after just a couple of years…

I appreciate this opportunity. In following my colleague, Ms. Bush, with an example of how we are fine- tuning the apprenticeship program, one of the secrets in this country, best-kept secrets, in terms of a path to middle-class wage…

I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy as I appreciate his words. This is a step in a long process. There are ample opportunities for bipartisanship. I am hopeful that after years of talking about infrastructure, for instance, and having…

I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy. I am excited that this is one area that there was an opportunity to have that bipartisan cooperation. The Biden administration supports it. We have Republican and Democratic support in the Senate. My…

Mr. President, this now will put the Senate on record as to what the Senate thinks about the 2017 Trump tax law--the $2 trillion bill that overwhelmingly benefited corporations and the wealthy. It opened new special interest loopholes, and…

Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the amendment. This is an amendment, once again, that tries to stack the deck in terms of healthcare choices, and, in this case, the proponents want to make health savings accounts the driving force…

Mr. President, I have been advised that inclusion of this amendment in the budget resolution would be corrosive to the privileged status of the resolution. Since this amendment contains material inappropriate for inclusion in a budget…

Mr. President, I have been advised that inclusion of this amendment in the budget resolution would be corrosive to the privileged status of the resolution. Since this amendment contains material inappropriate for inclusion in a budget…

Mr. President, this amendment would cut $20 billion from Finance to fund homeland security matters--probably a fence. I strongly oppose it. This amendment would cut funds for unemployment insurance, payments for families, for things like a…

Mr. President and colleagues, I strongly urge opposition to this amendment. It simply makes no sense to take any tool--any tool--off the table in the existential fight against climate change. Obstructing the fight against climate change…

Mr. President, today I am introducing the River Democracy Act of 2021, to add 4,702 miles of rivers and streams in Oregon to the national Wild and Scenic Rivers system to protect the recreational opportunities, clean drinking water, fish…

I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy and his leadership. Mr. Speaker, the hardest hit sector of our economy is the 500,000 independent restaurants and their 11 million employees. That is why there are 2.3 million of those employees…

Mr. President, we are 11 months into the most severe healthcare crisis this country or the world has seen in more than a century. And for much of this past year, we haven't done anywhere close to enough to help the millions of Americans…

Mr. President, we have already begun to hear a little revisionist history with respect to this crucial issue. There was exactly one amendment on the CARES Act, and that amendment, supported by almost every Senator on the other side of the…

Mr. President, our third team member who is leaving is Ben Ward. I think of Ben as our appropriations wizard. He knows that system inside out, and he is the master of Tribal issues and natural resources issues and so much more. He is…

Mr. President, when we have a new administration, lots of changes take place--changes in offices, changes in committee assignments--but for all of us here in the Senate, perhaps the most challenging change is when members of our team…

Mr. President, I have two other team members who are leaving. Laura Updegrove is leaving us to work with the Biden administration. She came to us after serving in various foreign policy roles at the State Department, the Department of…