Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 25, 2013, from 5 to 7 p.m. in The President's Room off the Senate floor…

Mr. President, as I have every year since I came to the Senate, I rise to commemorate Black History Month. This year, we are privileged to recognize Bill Strickland, a man whose approach is unique and whose accomplishments are of great…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 25, 2013. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Committee on Small…

We're hearing a lot about sequestration on the news, the American people are, and I just want to run down sequestration by the numbers. You know, it's been 290 days since I and my Republican colleagues voted for the first of two bills to…

I recognize the good intentions of the gentleman in what they're trying to do. It's not justice and it's not fair. I urge a ``no'' vote for this bill.

On Tuesday, the President stated, ``with renewed confidence,'' the ``state of our Union is stronger.'' I know that the President would certainly like that to be the case, but I wonder: Is the confidence stronger for the more than 22…

In February we celebrate National Recreational Therapy Month. Leading a healthy life means not only the absence of illness, but a level of physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and leisure well-being, which is the underlying focus of the…

We have before us this question of allowing indiscriminate and harmful cuts to our armed services and other vital national governmental works. I agree we must address the debt and the deficit, but it's not a new problem, and we have fixed…

I'm pleased to speak on behalf of my friend Mr. Smith's sensible legislation to help rebuild communities destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Federal assistance is intended to make communities whole; and if we leave behind ruined houses of…

A report will air tonight on ``ABC News'' about the Obama administration's negligence of the Fort Hood survivors and their families. This was clearly a terrorist attack. And while the Obama administration has designated that attack that…

America is broke. America is in trouble, and the Simpson- Bowles plan is the only framework out there that truly reforms Social Security and saves it for our children and grandchildren. When I go into high schools in my district and I ask…

Without reforms, by the year 2020, the interest alone paid on our national debt by American taxpayers will cost $1 trillion per year--money that could otherwise be used to educate our kids or put aside for those most in need. Most would…

Today I rise to congratulate Dan Fisher, the superintendent for the Bald Eagle School District in Centre County, Pennsylvania, on his upcoming retirement and for his 40 years of education service. Dan Fisher began his education career at…

The only way for Washington to control its spending problem is to start budgeting, and budgeting responsibly. House Republicans have passed responsible budgets for 2 consecutive years that restore economic growth and reduce our deficits…

I ask that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Pennsylvania? There was…

I would like to include in the Record CBO's cost estimate for H.R. 225. The cost estimate was not available when the committee filed its report on the bill. I urge all Members to support this important legislation. With that, I yield back…

I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper).

At this time, I yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).