Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that following my statement, the Banking Committee's ranking member be recognized, followed by Senator Menendez of New Jersey, and that all time they consume be counted toward the postcloture…

If we are serious about tax reform, that the administration ought to put forward a plan that would actually accomplish tax reform that would allow us to move forward.

I think that it has been said here earlier, but I think the proposals in the budget this year actually sort of take us backwards when it comes to the issue of tax reform.

Taxing qualified dividends at the same low rate as capital gains for all taxpayers reduces the tax bias against equity investment and promotes a more efficient allocation of capital.

Mr. President, there is an old political axiom that is attributed to Thomas Jefferson, more recently to Gerald Ford, that says: A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take it all away. Those…

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to laud the actions of the House of Representatives which voted to repeal the CLASS long-term care entitlement program that was created by the health care law. The vote yesterday in the House of…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to enter into a colloquy with my colleagues from North Dakota and Nebraska. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

Mr. President, I appreciate the hard work of the Senator from Nebraska on this subject, as well as the Senator from North Dakota, and he has fashioned a solution which I think does give us an opportunity as a Congress to assert our role…

Mr. President, President Obama has said that every morning when he gets up, he thinks about what he can do to create jobs. Yet just in the last couple weeks, he turned thumbs down on a project that would create 20,000 shovel-ready jobs…

Mr. President, with that, I yield back the remainder of my time, and I suggest the absence of a quorum. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. President, this amendment would make it easier for small business to better access capital in order to expand and create jobs. On November 3, 2011, the House of Representatives passed a companion measure, which was introduced by…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to call up amendment No. 1477. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The bill clerk read as follows: The Senator from South Dakota [Mr. Thune] proposes an amendment numbered 1477 to amendment…

Mr. President, 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 direct the Securities and Exchange Commission…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Amendment No. 1477 to Amendment No. 1470

Mr. President, I wish to, similar to all my colleagues, express our sympathy and support and prayers for our colleague, Senator Kirk. Senator Kirk is someone who is new to the Senate but served for a good number of years in the House of…

What we've seen is the Obama record has been a failed one for the American workers.

I think this is largely a campaign oriented speech. I think the president is going to talk a lot about things he wants to talk about on the campaign this year. It is a political year after all.