I appreciate the comments, and I thank the Senator for answering these questions. I think it is important again to point out that budget was passed back in April-May. We did ours, and they did theirs. We have tried 18 times to bring the…

And they have passed their budget too. So we have two budgets ready to go to conference; is that fair?

I think this is more of a question/comment. One of the statements at the end talked about how this was held up. We passed a bill out of here--a continuing resolution--in which we cut, on an annualized basis, $70 billion. We didn't…

I guess I have one more. The Senator said something I thought was very interesting on the budget deficit. The Senator is older than I am. I came here 2 years after the Senator. When we came in, we dealt with the debt ceiling, which is…

I know the Senator came to Alaska a few months ago and had an opportunity to see some of the great ability of our energy companies and what we are trying to do. Today I got an important announcement from Exxon and ConocoPhillips about…

Madam President, I want to follow up briefly first on the comments of Senator Sanders. We have a continuing resolution over there. The annualized cut is $70 billion. Usually when you compromise, one side gives a little, the other side…

Madam President, I wish to follow the comments from the chairman of the Appropriations Committee. This has been a tough week. It has been a tough weekend. It has been a tough day. I think as Members of the Senate, as we approach the…

Yes, it is our expectation that BLM will consider economic impacts throughout the implementation of this bill and develop regulations for this and other provisions in the bill accordingly. I do not anticipate that the definition of…

To my colleague from North Carolina, thank you for the part about explaining the process. Some people think by tomorrow if there is a vote on defunding, suddenly something happens. Thank you for pointing out the issue of the statute. We…

Mr. President, thanks to the chairman of our energy committee, we have been working on this legislation for some time now-- a couple of years. As the chairman has noted, what we are doing with the reauthorization of this Helium Program is…

Mr. President, I am pleased we are at this point. We will be able to move forward with this important legislation relating to our Nation's Helium Program. I would certainly encourage my colleagues to support passage of this bill that we…

If I may, I would at this time defer to Senator Barrasso and Senator Cruz before my comments. I know both of them need to dash off the floor. If Senator Cruz wishes to speak at this point in time, then I will wrap up after he and Senator…

Mr. President, I rise to discuss the Responsible Seafood Certification and Labeling Act which I am introducing today. This bill addresses an issue of great importance to fishermen, seafood producers and coastal communities in my state and…

Madam President, I certainly appreciate the comments from my friend and fellow Senator. He does speak to the obvious. We have an opportunity for some amendments on what I think most of us would agree is an important bill, this energy…

Mr. President, I cannot help but join the bouquet tossing that is going on here today, about not only the amendment Senator Hoeven and Senator Klobuchar have introduced as it relates to our nonprofits, but again the other measures that…

Mr. President, I, too, wish to thank the Senator from Colorado and the Senator from Maine for their leadership in this area. When we talk about being efficient, we think: OK. Let's coordinate, collaborate, and cooperate so we do better…

Mr. President, I thank my colleague, the chairman of the Energy Committee, for his comments on not only this very important legislation but his leadership on energy issues as we have worked together on the Energy Committee, a committee…

I thank the Senator for his support of this legislation and for his inquiry about Section 6 of the Act. Streamlining the licensing process for ``closed-loop pumped storage'' projects will encourage development of new and important sources…