Mr. President, first, let me extend my sympathy to my colleague, Jay Rockefeller from West Virginia, son-in-law of the late Senator Chuck Percy, and, of course, his wife, Senator Percy's daughter, Sharon. They are great friends, and I know…

I announce that the Senator from Missouri (Mrs. McCaskill), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) are necessarily absent.

I see several of my Republican colleagues, and I would like to ask unanimous consent that they be allowed to use their morning business time and our 18\1/2\ minutes remaining be preserved until after their speeches. The PRESIDING OFFICER…

I announce that the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl) and the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl) is necessarily absent. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote? The result was announced--yeas 62, nays 37, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No…

I announce that the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl) is necessarily absent. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Klobuchar). Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote? The result was announced--yeas 54, nays 45, as follows…

Mr. President, how much time is remaining on the Democratic side? The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 18\1/2\ minutes remaining on the Democratic side.

Mr. President, the report this week about the rate of poverty in America is an eye opener. The numbers that have been reported are stunning. The number of Americans living in poverty now stands at 46.2 million people. That is an increase…

Mr. President, earlier this week, I gave a talk based on my service in Afghanistan as a reservist, about the growing threat of a new group to our forces in Afghanistan, ISAF, and the Afghan Government. It is not al-Qaida, which is armed…

Mr. President, joining as part of this effort, I think we need to reform No Child Left Behind and that we should focus on making sure we preserve disclosure and the right of parents to know how their schools are doing, without destroying…

Mr. President, I wish to speak briefly on the subject of our relations with Pakistan. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

On January 21, 1990, over 300,000 Ukrainians joined hands to create a 300-mile human chain from Kiev to Lviv in a show of unity and support for Ukrainian independence. One year later, on August 24, 1991, Ukraine rose from under its Soviet…

The sign you have there says that poor conditions of their schools interfere with students' learning. So we are also depriving our children of that sense of pride that will motivate them to be good students, to learn, to be ready to take…

These are jobs that can be created right away. I'm from the Midwest, so we actually have a construction season; but for fixing schools, you can do that around the year, around the calendar. We can put these people to work within a few…

Let me add a personal twist to all of this about jobs. When I grew up in Chicago--I was the daughter of a furniture salesman and a Chicago public schoolteacher--the American Dream was alive and well. On my dad's modest income, we could…

Mr. President, I thank my friend and colleague from Alabama who has come to the floor. We see the world differently, but we both acknowledge we are at a moment where action is the only alternative. Doing nothing is unacceptable. When…

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant editor of the Daily Digest proceeded to call the roll. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from…

There is one other area I wish to speak to. I know my colleague from New York is going to be on the floor shortly. The area I wish to speak to is disaster relief. I strongly support the disaster relief funding bill. As Americans undertake…