Mr. President, 4 years ago today, July 24, 2009, was the last time the minimum wage was increased. It rose from $6.55 an hour to $7.25 an hour. And it has been stuck there ever since. Four years is too long. It is time to raise the minimum…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Gabe Sandler, Madeline Walker, Katie Kasten, and Megan Miraglia of my staff be granted floor privileges for the duration of today's session. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so…

Mr. President, I can't support this amendment. By sunsetting this effort 2 years because CBO uses a 10-year window, the amendment would cost an estimated above $20 billion, and there is no offset to pay for it. So, again, the lack of that…

The Senator from Rhode Island knows I have the highest respect and affection for him. I might say that he makes excellent points. As I said earlier, this amendment looks good, looks pretty, sounds pretty, and might be nice in a perfect…

Mr. President, I spoke on the floor earlier today about the proposal that is before us. I wish to reiterate what I said then: I cannot stress enough that this bill represents a number of compromises made on both sides to come to a solution…

Madam President, I yield the floor. Amendment No. 1774 The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To establish student loan interest rates, and for other…

Mr. President, the vote comes on what we are going to do and that is--as my good friend Senator Manchin said--to keep interest rates low for students. What this means for our students is that the student loans for all undergraduate…

And that would be true for this year and next year and the year after, almost--not quite--this is 3.86, it would be 6.8. So they would be paying 6.8 percent on every loan they take out this year rather than 3.86 percent, which I might…

Again, I thank my friend from Illinois for his great leadership. Before I get right to the answer, I would point out the art of compromise, which we did. The Republican proposal we had before us a few weeks ago raised $15.6 billion over 10…

There is no putting the genie back in the bottle.

We should not as a Congress stick our head in the sand because we feel some political pressure. We have to do the right and objective thing.

What I said is that, for every valedictorian, there are 100 for every valedictorian that are smuggling drugs into the United States.

The law enforcement officers I have seen these drug smugglers. Law enforcement officers have described them to me as well.

I think you'll find that, when you talk to the agents, they're going to tell you Steve King is right. And we should not, as a Congress, stick our head in the sand because we feel some political pressure. We've got to do the right and…

For everyone who is a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there that they weigh 130 pounds and they have got calves the size of cantaloupes because they are hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.

I think it's important that the people in Congress are able to objectively look at the data that's out there, the real facts, and know that 80 to 90 percent of the illegal drugs that come into America come from or through Mexico.

Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Donnelly in introducing legislation that will prevent the EPA from distributing the personal information of farmers. This legislation comes in direct response to the EPA releasing personal…