I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer) is necessarily absent. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote? The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 51, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No…

Madam President, I wish to follow on the speech made by my friend and colleague from Utah about the current state of unemployment in America and what to do about it. One of the last things he says is, get government out of the way. I wish…

Madam President, 14 million Americans are currently unemployed. The American people are resilient, strong and hard-working. If they are given a fair shot, they will succeed. Unfortunately, as the world keeps getting flatter, as our global…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was proud to work with my colleagues on the committee in developing the Cement Regulatory Relief Act. Let's just take a quick gander at what's happened here. Last September, the EPA released new…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll be pretty brief in saying this. It seems like we've often taken this idea of jobs and everything else, and, again, in Washington D.C., we have two epic competing viewpoints right now: One says that we need…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: After section 1, insert the following section (and redesignate the subsequent sections, and conform…

Thank you, Madam Chair. My amendment is simple. It would include in the findings the scientific fact that mercury released into the ambient air from cement kilns is a potent neurotoxin that can damage the development of an infant's brain…

My amendment permits the EPA to continue to enforce and finalize the regulations preempted by the bill at hand if the emissions limited by these regulations are found to cause cancer. In other words, this amendment says the administrator…

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois will be postponed. Amendment No. 18 Offered by Mr. Connolly of Virginia

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois will be postponed. Amendment No. 17 Offered by Mrs. Capps

In particular, mercury exposure can cause great harm to pregnant women, unborn babies, and young children by damaging their developing nervous systems, which affects children's ability to learn and to think. Additionally, mercury emissions…

I thank the ranking member of the full committee, and I commend him on his outstanding work not only on this particular matter but in most of the issues that come before this Congress as it relates to not only the purpose of us but the…

Mr. President, I would like to take this time to talk on the pending legislation with regard to China. In these times of deficit and debt, I think we should not launch a trade war with China. We are here because we borrowed too much. We…

I thank the ranking member for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I have some questions that I want to ask the Members on the other side. How much time do you need? How much time are you asking the American people to wait? How much longer do they…

This atrocious bill, H.R. 2681, will make permanent changes to the Clean Air Act by weakening health- and science-based standards. Cement kilns are a major source of mercury pollution as well as of other toxic air pollution. However, until…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of section 5, add the following: (c) Rule of Construction.--This section is intended to…

The gentleman prior to me asked, where is the common sense? Well, common sense begins with science, and the science is clear. I want to let the gentleman know that all sense is not common sense. In this instance, common sense begins with…

We have been in Afghanistan for 10 years. Two years ago, on the eighth anniversary of our invasion of Afghanistan, I stood in this same spot and asked: Have our 8 years, 791 American deaths, and billions of U.S. dollars spent in…