Madam Speaker, I want to thank my good friend from Massachusetts who has so ably shepherded this legislation to this point. The Telework Improvements Act is an important piece of legislation because it will help us meet five critical…

what is the status of the AoA for Joint Fires Capabilities?

You don't field a navy to fight another navy. You field military forces to protect your essential national interests.

is the Navy assessing modular systems that could be deployed on a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to help satisfy Marine Corps requirements for surface fire support?

Our Navy, as I believe all of you would agree, is vital to the strategic posture of the United States.

It's a considerable amount of time.

That's why it's so difficult for other countries to match what we have.

My comment today, Mr. Chairman, is basically just a note of caution, in terms of how dangerous it would be for us to waver from this essential part of our strategic makeup.

the NSFS requirement was to be addressed, in part, by the DDG-1000, but now that there are only three ships being procured, what capabilities have been identified to meet NSFS needs?

Let's be very, very careful, in terms of what we do affecting our long-term viability.

I think it would be a very serious mistake to cut back the defense budget or to alter the defense budget in order to fund ground forces that are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, as the economy faced imminent collapse in 2008, the choice between allowing a complete meltdown of the financial sector and initiating taxpayer funded bailouts was at best a choice between the lesser of two evils. It was…

Mr. President, I commend the Senator from California for her amendment. As one of the people who was charged by the chairman to work on this section of how we make sure we put appropriate barriers to firms getting too large and barriers to…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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

Mr. President, I wasn't planning on speaking today, but I have had the opportunity to preside for the last couple of hours. I heard my friend from Arizona earlier today make some comments about the financial reform bill. I rise to address…

The time has come for the Federal Government to set the standard for U.S. employers on paid parental leave.

Having discussed this with the chairman, it is his preference not to set the pending amendment aside; is that correct?

Mr. President, I understand there is an amendment pending that is not appropriate to set aside to call up another amendment; is that correct? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. An amendment is pending and will require unanimous consent to…