It is disappointing in that, as the Senator says, it is not even that hard to figure out what we could be doing or what we should be doing or what is the fundamental work of what we should be doing. There are things the Constitution says…

I think the Senator is exactly right. He has made that pledge at press conferences. I think some of that has been said recently on the floor of the Senate: Let's get our work done. And if we were in the majority, we would pledge that we…

I do think we are having that discussion, and particularly about the budget. There have never been 60 popularly elected Republican Senators, so anytime the Republicans have controlled the Senate, it was with a number that was below 60. And…

That is exactly right. That is the way the process is supposed to work. I think the observation the Senator made on the Budget Control Act is that is the maximum amount of money we agree to spend. The majority leader's view is: Well, if…

Funding the military is imperative, and supporting our troops at home and abroad is fundamental. But overfunding it at the expense of vital domestic programs is irresponsible. The Defense appropriations bill is $8 billion more than the…

I think Senator Mikulski made the case so well here, too. When we looked at this, when we have gone through exercises, the power grid is where you go first because it is the most dramatic, I suppose. But there are so many other places you…

I thank the Senator from Rhode Island for his kind comments. I wish to comment on a couple of things that have been said, and one by my friend from Connecticut that there are competing concerns here and they don't need to be mutually…

Well, I am pleased to have the time on the floor today to talk about these issues: the attack on small business, and the idea that the private sector is doing fine, that we just need more government jobs. I just do not find anybody in…

How much? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is 8 minutes 40 seconds remaining.

I thank the Senator. Madam President, how much time do we have? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is 8 minutes 43 seconds remaining.

Madam President, we have heard our colleagues talking about jobs. Clearly, that needs to be the No. 1 priority in the country today, and it needs to be domestic jobs. The private sector is not doing just fine. The answer to the problems we…

I will yield to Mr. Wicker who I believe has a unanimous consent request as well. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Mississippi.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to enter into a colloquy with some of my colleagues on the minority side for 30 minutes. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

I thank the Chair. I thank my colleagues for joining me. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Illinois.

I would like to address the comments made by the gentlelady from Texas who claimed that 4 million small businesses are going to be able to take advantage of this tax credit and how much it was going to help. We requested a GAO study and…

At this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schilling).

Could I ask how much time we have left. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Missouri has 7\3/4\ minutes. The gentlewoman from New York has 8 minutes.

At this time I would yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. West).