If there be no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 7:14 p.m., adjourned until Tuesday, March 8, 2011, at 9:30 a.m…

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 1:19 p.m., adjourned until Monday, March 7, 2011…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, March 7; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired; the time for the two leaders be…

Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings at this time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection having been heard, the bill is placed on the calendar under rule XIV. ____________________

Mr. President, H.R. 4 is at the desk due for a second reading, I am told. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the bill by title for the second time. The legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (H.R. 4) to repeal the expansion of…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 4, 2011, at 9 a.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that upon disposition of S. 23, the patent bill, the Senate proceed to H.R. 1, the Defense appropriations long-term continuing resolution for fiscal year 2011. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there…

Mr. President, thank you. I have a longer statement that I will give after we finish this colloquy. At 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, we met in the Vice President's office. It was a very fine meeting. Vice President Biden was there. My…

Three hundred and eighty-two pages. Well, Mr. President, I have only talked about enough to take up two or three pages, but it is full of the same kind of stuff I have talked about today--stuff that is not fair and is mean-spirited. We all…

Mr. President, when an American family sits at their table in the kitchen and sorts through their finances, as they often do, partisan politics do not figure into that equation. When the families we represent calculate their own budgets…

Mr. President, following any leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. As a reminder, cloture was filed on S. 23, the America Invents Act. The…

I now withdraw my motion to proceed. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has that right.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

I have a cloture motion that is at the desk. I ask the clerk report the motion. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion. The legislative clerk read as…

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 14, H.R. 1. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion. The legislative clerk read as follows: Motion to proceed to H.R. 1, an act making appropriations for the Department of…

Mr. President, Senators should expect a series of three rollcall votes to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The first two votes will be on confirmation of judicial nominations. The third vote will be on cloture of the America Invents Act…

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

I thank the chairman for yielding time. I'm an original cosponsor of H.R. 4 and proudly voted for this measure in the House Ways and Means Committee last month. Madam Speaker, today's debate marks the second time, over the course of 3…