Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can tell you that I am pleased to address you, Mr. Speaker, here on the floor of the United States House of Representatives and welcome you to this great deliberative body which becomes instantly far more…

Madam President, if my friend will yield further, again, in my resolution there is a guarantee that the minority has the right to offer amendments--absolute guarantee. As I said, that is something I have urged since 1995. I am very…

I thank my friend from Texas. Again, he and I have worked together on some legislation in the past too. He is a thoughtful Senator and a good legislator. I ask my friend from Texas this: In listening to him, I almost have the feeling that…

I thought there were some things we should talk about. I say to my friend, in listening to my friend from Kansas say this, it occurred to me that certain of his amendments were allowed. The Senator was allowed to debate them and offer…

If it was out of our committee, obviously it was a better bill than coming out of the Finance Committee. But I say to my friend, again, that----

Madam President, I thank my friend from Kansas. I think he makes some good points. I would say to my friend, I think we ought to go through processes in our committees to have hearings on nominees to flush out things such as that. So to…

I will respond to my friend from Tennessee who makes cogent arguments, as he always does. He is a good friend of mine, and we have worked together on a lot of things. I hope this is the beginning of some colloquies we can have here. I do…

Mr. President, 275 filibusters in 4 years is not just a cold statistic; it represents the minority blocking measures that sometimes--not all the time but sometimes--enjoy broad support among the American people. Just in the last Congress…

Mr. President, editorialists from across the country have recognized the filibuster must end. The Concord Monitor of New Hampshire called on the Senate to ``Remove the Senate filibuster roadblock,'' noting, ``The filibuster rule has…

Mr. President, last month, our former colleagues, Gary Hart, a Democrat, and Chuck Hagel, a Republican, published an essay in Time magazine calling on us to ``restore democracy to the U.S. Senate'' by reforming the filibuster. In their…

Mr. President, I am sorry my good friend from Tennessee had to object, but I understand. We are going to engage for some time now on the Senate floor in a discussion on the filibuster, something that has been around a long time but which…

Mr. President, I have a resolution for myself, Senator Durbin, Senator Mikulski, and Senator Shaheen, which I send to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title…

If I am not mistaken, under the unanimous consent agreement, I was deemed to have 45 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct. ____________________

Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry: Under the unanimous consent agreement, there was a period of 30 minutes for tributes to Senator Mikulski. Is there any of that time remaining? The PRESIDING OFFICER. Time has been consumed.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I wish to make some remarks regarding my dear friend and seatmate on the Appropriations Committee and a member of my Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. I join with the entire Senate family in saluting my good…

Madam President, if the Senator would indulge me for one more moment, so it is not the position of my friend from Texas that everything needs 60 votes in which to move in the Senate; is that correct?

Mr. President, I hope the Senator from New Mexico will stay on the floor. I wish to engage in a colloquy with the Senator from New Mexico on the topic on which he just spoke. I say to my friend from New Mexico, the Senator from Tennessee…