I fundamentally disagree with that view.

Thank you, Chairman Harkin, Senator Alexander, and members of the committee for taking the time out of what I know from experience are significantly demanding schedules to devote your time to this critically important issue.

I think you are telling me that as far as these two negotiations going on, TPP and TTIP, you don't have any particular enforcement concerns at this time.

There is not a lot of voice for agriculture in Washington, and we need more of it.

Like many of my colleagues, I believe this is an extremely important issue, and trade agreements might be one of the best means that we have of getting results.

I am concerned about the increased number of applicants who are filing for asylum or claiming credible fear at our ports of entry.

I surely want your agents to find ways to address what I think is an abuse without compromising our tradition of asylum.

Our judgment about the government holding the data is that the primary danger of the 215 telephony metadata program is not if it is used only in the way in which its use is authorized, but that it leaves sitting out there a huge amount of…

Although recent disclosures and commentary have created the impression in some quarters that NSA surveillance is indiscriminate and pervasive across the globe, that is not the case.

The most important responsibility of government is to protect our national security, while at the same time preserving our civil liberties.

What worries me about the suggestion that we impose a judicial process on NSLs is that it would actually make it harder for us to do national security investigations than bank fraud investigations.

One of the things that I am concerned about is that we not rebuild the wall that exists between our law enforcement and national security communities before September 11th.

We have not uncovered any official efforts to suppress dissent or any intent to intrude into people's private lives without legal justification.

Mr. President, Senator McConnell has made a very important call to restore the Senate as the great deliberative body it was intended to be. I would like to continue to add my voice to that call. In fact, I am going to expand on some…

Mr. President, we are going to vote on the third of three nominees to the DC Circuit. Today it will be Judge Robert Wilkins. I will oppose the judge's nomination, just as I did when the Senate rejected the same nomination in November of…

Mr. President, I ask, since I just arrived on the Senate floor, is it appropriate for me to speak on the judicial nominee we will be voting on. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator may proceed. Wilkins Nomination

Mr. President, I wish to announce that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 16, 2013, at 10:00 a.m., in room SD- 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office…

Mr. President, first, I thank the Senator from Rhode Island and the Senator from Utah for agreeing to the way we worked this out so we could all have our time to speak on the Senate floor. I appreciate it very much. Extending unemployment…