Mr. President, there are few things we do here in the Senate that matter more or have longer lasting impacts on our Nation than confirming individuals to lifetime appointments in district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court. It…

Mr. President, I think it is going to be a very robust conversation about taxes. When we look into the eyes of working Americans, I hope my Republican colleagues are ready to answer this question, and that is, Why do they, the Republican…

Madam President, I don't often come to the floor of the Senate to give a speech like the one I am going to give now, but today I plan to start sounding the alarm, both from the standpoint of the process and the substance of what is known…

Mr. President, across the West, 2017 will be long remembered as the year when fire was seared into our collective consciousness and ash rained down on homes and cars. There were mass evacuations, and scores just lost their hopes and…

Mr. President, before Senator Durbin leaves the floor, I just want to commend our colleague from Illinois. He and I have worked together for many years, and throughout that time, the Senator from Illinois has constantly been a voice for…

The exercise my Republican friends are going through with their budget and tax cut proposal would be amusing if the consequences were not so serious. Coming to Congress, I worked hard to earn a position on the House Ways and Means…

I am pleased to be on the floor this morning to introduce bipartisan legislation with my colleague on the Education and Workforce Committee, Congressman Drew Ferguson from Georgia. Our bill, Promoting Apprenticeships Through Regional…

Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Indiana for joining me on the floor today to raise awareness of the ethnic cleansing that has been occurring on the other side of our planet, ethnic cleansing by the Burmese military against the…

Mr. President, I appreciate the comments of my colleague and the opportunity for us to work together to help shine a light on this moment of great atrocities in the world. A great deal of what we are calling for is for America to do more…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my intern, Sarah Finley, be granted privileges of the floor for the remainder of the day. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I am coming to the floor to talk about the challenge we have with forest fires that have been raging in the West, in Montana and Idaho and Washington and Oregon and California, and periodically we have devastating fires in…

Mr. President, I couldn't disagree more with my colleague from Idaho. He gave a very studious presentation that missed all the key facts. He made a big point out of the fact that we would lose a dispute resolution tool, but, in fact…

In this rule you have the ability to go to court or the ability to go to arbitration.

I could possibly clarify that. My understanding is that, currently, when you have an arbitration clause, you have one option, and that is to go into arbitration.

The thing that confused me about the Senator's commentary is that the Senator referred to people, through this regulation, being forced into court, but in reality, they would still have a choice of arbitration or court, as opposed to being…

My Republican friends are going to be asked this month to embrace a budget and a tax proposal with highly disputed benefits. But what is not in dispute is it will add $1.5 trillion to the national debt and up to $4 trillion in cuts to…

Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 1302 as provided for under the previous order. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Oregon [Mr. Wyden] proposes an amendment numbered…

Mr. President, I think I have made the case. To my colleagues, what the American people have told us--and they certainly said this during this last work period--is that they understand that the big challenges in this country require…