It is my intention, Mr. President, to come back every 30 minutes until we get an answer to the question. I just asked my colleague from South Carolina if there was a hearing on the sweeping changes that are being proposed in this bill, the…

Mr. President, we will be back in 30 minutes to continue this. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. There will now be 30 minutes of debate. The Senator from Colorado.

Mr. President, how much time remains on our side? The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cruz). The majority controls 1 minute, and the Democrats control 1\1/2\ minutes.

We have just a minute and a half. The hour is late. I want to repeat once again that we still do not have this bill. We have seen apparently, in the last few hours, tax changes that involve billions and billions of dollars. The American…

Reserving the right to object. Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent…

Reserving the right to object, Mr. President, I understand that we are going to get the proposal from the majority shortly. I come back again to the fact that there are changes apparently worth billions and billions of dollars, like the…

He is a very fine member of the Finance Committee. I don't remember any discussion in our committee about how this specific legislation affects children. My colleague is really the expert on the subject, and maybe he can tell me if he…

Mr. President, I would just like to respond briefly to the Senator from Pennsylvania, who is baffled by why we are so opposed to the health provisions of the bill. The Congressional Budget Office says that the majority's provisions will…

Mr. President, I have just seen an air-dropped list of provisions--there seem to be upwards of 30--and it sure looks as if the lobbyists have been working overtime. They must have earned a holiday gift with this new bonanza of goodies. We…

I think my colleague--my seatmate--is making a very important point. Of course, people always wonder, well, is this kind of a Democratic position or a Republican position? I want to make it clear that I believe that Tom Barthold, the head…

My understanding is that you and Senator Casey in particular have been out here--and we are so glad to have our colleague from Connecticut--wondering when in the world we would actually get to see this legislation.

This pile of papers, for all practical purposes, is what we have been waiting for for days.

I am going to try to do some, but as far as I can tell, it sure looks like a lobbyist's wish list. There are going to be a lot of folks happy on K Street as they try to shop for the holidays because of the fees they have put together in…

So is this Hillsdale College--because that is what I have been led to believe--and I would like my colleague's analysis of whether they would benefit.

I think 30 minutes is what we have been talking about and that it is appropriate.

I am just curious. I am heading home for townhall meetings in Oregon over the weekend. I am the ranking Democrat on the committee, the storied committee, as my colleagues know, that works in a bipartisan way. Bill Bradley tells this story…

Mr. President, I am going to yield to my colleagues in a minute. I just think it is important to make sure that the public understands exactly what some of the facts are behind the Republican proposals. My colleague from Ohio just talked…

What I would say to my colleague is, we don't have any evidence of that. My colleague has certainly made laudatory claims about his bill, but we don't have any evidence of them. In fact, the comment made by my colleague highlights my…