Let me say, for purposes of the Members, now that we have completed our official voting for today, I want to thank everyone for all of their hard work and the staff for all of their hard work. It is a continuing pleasure to work with my…

Madam President, before speaking on the amendment, I wish to share--and I know everyone in the Senate wishes to share--their thoughts and prayers with the people of Oklahoma. As the distinguished Senator from Oklahoma knows, I have a…

Mr. President, before the Senator from Wisconsin leaves the floor, I would like to indicate how thrilled I am to have another Great Lakes Senator with us in the Senate. Senator Baldwin is an invaluable member of the Budget Committee. She…

Here is what we are finding--and it is not my belief, it is the CBO scoring. The Congressional Budget Office, which we rely on, provides objective scoring--not my judgment--and it is telling us it is going down. The Senator is correct that…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that at 12 noon today, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the Inhofe amendment No. 960; that the time until noon be equally divided between Senators Inhofe and Stabenow or their designees…

What I find objectionable is so many people lost their jobs. The reason it went up is because people were out of work. So I find that objectionable because a lot of those folks were in my State. I have worked very hard to do everything I…

We have two speakers--unless you'd like to yield some of your time to us. We still have two speakers. Do you just have one speaker left? Why don't you do one speaker, then we'll do one--one-one- one, and finish up.

Mr. President, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. This goes way beyond what we have done in the committee, which is to focus on waste, fraud, and abuse and make sure there is integrity in the program, to make sure supplemental…

We are now going to resume discussion on the farm bill, but before doing that I see one of the distinguished members of our committee on the floor who I know would like to make some other comments. But I just wish to thank her in advance…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 21…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Schatz). Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

It appears at this moment we are going to have to have a little bit more time before we do that, but I thank the Senator.

Before proceeding with Senator Gillibrand's amendment, I ask unanimous consent that the Sessions amendment No. 945, with the changes at the desk, as modified, be agreed to. The amendment, as modified, was agreed to, as follows: (Purpose…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 21, 2013, at 9:30 a.m., to…

Reserving the right to object, Madam President. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.

Madam President, first, I thank the Senator from Vermont for raising all these issues that are so important for the American people. At this point in time, we do have an amendment that is pending, the amendment of Senator Gillibrand. We do…

I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The Senator from North Dakota.

Thank you, Mr. President. Certainly we want to hear from the distinguished Senator from Montana. I know the Senator from South Dakota has been waiting for some time as well, and we had asked him to wait until Senator Roberts had offered…