I thank my very good friend from Colorado. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule. The Federal Government is now 6 months into fiscal year 2011 without a budget. We've created no new jobs and, in fact, have put tens of thousands…

Emboldened by their electoral victories last fall, my Republican colleagues have embarked on a campaign to weaken or repeal many of the landmark laws that have protected the public's health and the environment. The first opening shots at…

What we've elected to do is to balance priorities, and the most important are the priorities within the budget process. The Republican budget proposal introduced today is a collection of misplaced priorities because it cuts hundreds of…

Today I rise to recognize the tremendous accomplishment of Wichita State University and its men's basketball team. Shocker Basketball is rich in tradition, with 10,000 screaming fans at nearly every game. For the first time, Wichita State…

This morning several dozen students from Key Elementary School came to visit the office, and they wanted to know what we were doing. They were all excited to be up on Capitol Hill. So I explained: Well, this afternoon we are debating a…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. So the point is the law as it stands today is, we shut the government down, a million Federal employees don't get paid, our staff doesn't get paid, but we get paid. All the gentleman wants to say is…

So at least today we could put ourselves on record that we are not going to put people out on the street while we continue to get paid, because we get paid from a different authorization, as does the President. Now, this is legislation we…

Private sector employment went up by 200,000 people this month. But unemployment remains stubbornly high. A principle reason for this is the job cuts in the public sector. This past month, public sector jobs were lost at an annual rate of…

Madam President, I thank the Senator from Illinois for accommodating my ability to speak on the Senate floor this afternoon on what I consider to be a very significant and important topic. Our country is facing significant financial…

Mr. President, rightfully so, the focus in this Congress is very much about the economy and job creation, and it is appropriate that we have before the Senate a piece of legislation dealing with small business. We know small business and…

National Public Radio has the strongest intellectual, artistic, and informational in-depth content of any radio network in this country because its content is not compromised by corporate ownership. I love it. But I won't lose it. It's the…

The Republicans' budget would endanger American lives while it destroys American jobs. It will increase every American's likelihood of getting sick from unsafe meat and poultry, contaminated drinking water, and foreign food additives…

I thank the very distinguished Member from Washington and thank him for his leadership. But he knows, as well as I trust all of the Members do, that this is no way to run a government, lurching back and forth like a drunken sailor, the…

The point that I started by suggesting, and I'm sure it's not in contention, is that this is no way to run a government. We have a responsibility on the Appropriations Committee to fund these agencies, to determine our priorities, to…

Mr. President, I am humbled today to deliver my initial, my very first speech on the floor of the Senate and to discuss a topic of vital importance to our country's future--our Nation's fiscal health. It is a privilege to join the…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak to the Senate for up to 25 minutes. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. Under the previous order, the Senator from Kansas is recognized for 15 minutes.

So many of our brand-new colleagues seem to have run on the thesis that government can't be the solution to any of your problems, rather that ``it'' is the problem, that it can't be counted upon to help people, that it can't even be…