I have been privileged to serve with many exceptional people during my tenure in Congress. This year, there are a number of my Democratic colleagues who are leaving who will be sorely missed. We just heard from one--Gwen Graham. And Lois…

Oregon lost an extraordinary statesman last week with the passing of Hardy Myers. He was the epitome of a public servant. Hardy's public service career had an auspicious beginning as president of the Portland City Planning Commission in…

Madam President, colleagues, we are now 4 weeks out from a Presidential election in which millions of American voters indicated they wanted a change. Donald Trump, our President-elect, campaigned and was elected on a platform he called…

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

Today I voted against the Conference Report to Accompany S. 2943, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 (Roll No. 600). Though the legislation contains several provisions that I support, and I commend the House…

I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in permitting me to speak this evening and for his thoughtfulness in organizing this conversation and inviting others of our colleagues to come forward. Mr. Speaker, I think it is so important to be…

Day by day we are learning more about the future Trump administration, and as the picture becomes clearer, usually the news is troubling. One of the most unsettling indications about the Trump administration and the Republican Party is the…

Mr. President, I appreciate the comments made by my colleague from Minnesota. He has been a strong champion for America's workers and believes we should make this Nation and our economy work for working Americans. His leadership on this…

I ask unanimous consent for 2 more minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?

I thank the Chair. Those words should continue to reverberate in this Chamber. Colleagues, set your sights on the vision of ending your denying, diluting, and defiling of the most fundamental right close to the hearts of Americans and the…

Mr. President, it has now been 23 days since the election--3 weeks and 2 days. Certainly it has been a time of great frustration and anxiety for Americans across the board, anticipating what our government will look like, what our…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent my intern, Jill Goatcher, be given the privileges of the floor for the balance of the day. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

Mr. President, I am delighted to join my colleagues from Massachusetts and Illinois to express strong objections to the 21st Century Cures Act, a bill that is being considered in the House today and will be considered in the Senate. This…

Mr. President, absent Senate action, at midnight tonight, this Senate will make one of the biggest mistakes in surveillance policy in years and years. Without a single congressional hearing, without a shred of meaningful public input…

Senator Cornyn has now objected to passage of the two bills relating to rule 41, and he is certainly within his right to do so. I wish to offer the theory--not exactly a radical one, in my view-- that if we can't pass bills with respect to…

Colleagues are going to see that substantive, clear questions, posed by Democrats and Republicans in writing, were not responded to. Because of the lack of genuine answers from the Justice Department to this letter, signed by 23 Members of…

Mr. President, before he leaves the floor, I wish to engage my friend for a moment with respect to his remarks. He is absolutely right that we have been friends since we arrived here, and we are working together on a whole host of projects…

I also ask unanimous consent that the response from the Department of Justice, which I have characterized as extraordinarily unresponsive to what legislators have said, be printed in the Record as well. There being no objection, the…