yesterday I was on the Senate floor, and I had the opportunity to highlight a development at the Department of Agriculture. We learned yesterday afternoon that the Department of Agriculture, in an employee newsletter, was promoting…

I am pleased the Senator from North Dakota joined us, because I think he made a very valid point, something I should have explained better. It is not just the fear of having to pay more taxes, but it is the reality you don't have the…

I thank my friend and colleague from Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I support President Obama's proposed offshore drilling lease plan. I will vote for it, but I suspect that it will garner little support, and that's the reason why it was…

I appreciate the moment of silence that we extended the victims of the Aurora, Colorado, massacre yesterday. But the more telling silence is this body's refusal to address the issue of gun control. As a result, a comparable number of…

I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate as in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

first of all, I congratulate my colleagues, Senator Leahy and Senator Lugar, for this achievement and thank them for their service to the country. I also appreciate the willingness of Senator Collins and Senator Lieberman to allow me to…

I certainly thank the Senator from Wyoming for his comments. Those of us who had the privilege of growing up in small town America know those names the Senator from Wyoming indicated. It is one of the advantages of that small town life…

I thank the Senator from Indiana for yielding. Yesterday, in Norton, KS, the temperature was 118. I read the story where they just watched the thermometer go up degree by degree, and it has now been more than a month in which the…

Senator Feinstein and the egg producers of California have a real challenge.

If you control 90 percent of the market and you have a welfare standard that should be available, knowledge to all consumers, why do you need the Federal Government to set a new standard?

Do you have concerns that a regulation like this will just lead to even more consolidation in what is already a very consolidated industry?

I would expect that those consumer implications, while not immediate, that over the next year could be considerable.

What does make sense is a national production standard that is fair to everybody, that treats everybody the same, and that reflects our country's ideas of fairness and humanity.

I truly appreciate the chance to hear from my friend and colleague, Senator Feinstein.

I certainly hope that does not happen in the United States.

Why are we considering a law that calls for 144 square inches for white eggs or, for that matter, 130 or 150?

If this bill is enacted into law and cage size is increased, what is the benefit to human, to human health from a food safety standpoint?

If Congress steps in and starts the process of regulating on-farm production practices, I do not think that HSUS or the animal rights groups or anybody else that is advocating for that will stop.