I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. President, I thank my colleague for the beautiful stories she shared from her State. It makes this all so real. It is. It seems as if sometimes it is not when we debate these bills on the floor. But it is so real--the outcome of what…

I will reclaim my time, and I will remind the majority leader that we have the opportunity to go forward now and not cast blame on the past. So I would say that President Obama actually got it right in a statement of administration policy…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for the next 10 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I know Members are busy around the Senate today on various committees and special caucus lunches, talking about many aspects of not just this bill but other things that are pending. I thought I would come to the floor while…

Through the Chair, I would like to ask the Senator from New Hampshire. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire is recognized for a question to the Senator from Louisiana.

Thank you, Mr. President. I will just be 30 seconds. I will respond to the comments made by my ranking member. She and I have worked so closely together, and we just have a difference of opinion about this one particular piece of this…

Mr. President, I thank the Senator for those comments. She has left a window of opportunity open for, hopefully, some compromises as we move through the amendments on this bill. I yield back the floor to the Senator from Rhode Island. The…

Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to get back to the issue at hand, which is the small business bill, a job creation bill for America. It is something that many of us have worked on now for over a year. This bill has been…

I thank the Senator from Alaska. I am extremely grateful to both Senators from Florida, Senator LeMieux and Senator Nelson, for their support. We all come here as members of political parties. Some of us come as Independents. But at the…

There is not. But we could enter into one, if you would like. I would be happy to yield up to 10 or 15 minutes.

Mr. President, I am hoping we can vote right now, if possible. I know the Senators all have schedules. The Senator from Maine was very kind to say she could even speak after the vote. I appreciate that everybody has been so patient today…

I see the Senator from Maine. In all fairness, we have had a lot of time. I want to yield 1 minute to the Senator from Minnesota. Then I will be happy to yield. We have no time agreements. There are no scheduled votes. I am most certainly…

The Senator from Michigan is absolutely correct. That is why this is so flabbergasting to me, because the Senator is correct. The TARP, some of us voted for it, some of us did not, but there are some legitimate criticisms of it. I mean, it…

Mr. President, I see other Members on the floor. Senator Burris had spoken earlier. I wish to say there was an organization we failed to mention, but the Minority Bankers of America also have given their support to this. We are getting…

It is not. The Senator is absolutely correct. That is why I spent the majority of this day trying to be responsive to the several arguments that have been raised against it. I thought the Senator from Oregon did a beautiful job, much…

Mr. President, I see the Senator from Illinois. I will ask unanimous consent for him to speak for 2 to 3 minutes. But before that, I wish to thank the Senator from California. The Senator from Illinois would know this, but this issue, this…

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Florida for his outstanding remarks and for his ability and his willingness to stand for the people of Florida because his State has had a great deal of difficulty, not unlike the State of…