Madam President, today the Senate is going to consider a bill to increase offshore drilling. This is the Republican response to the Nation's need for a national energy policy and to rising gasoline prices. I believe the Republican approach…

Madam President, it was last February that I went to Belarus. I had been invited to go to Lithuania to speak to the Parliament on the 20th anniversary of their independence from the Soviet Union, and I took a second trip into Minsk…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 1023 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of…

Mr. President, I rise to speak about the effect of interchange fee reform on small banks and credit unions. Interchange fees are not well known by most Americans. They are known as swipe fees or interchange fees, and they reflect the…

Mr. President, first, let me salute my colleague from Ohio for bringing up trade adjustment assistance. Because even if you are a proponent of expanding trade in the United States, you know the ebb and flow of the economy is going to take…

I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) is necessarily absent. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote? The result was announced--yeas 71, nays 28, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 187, introduced earlier today. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The assistant legislative clerk…

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 7:32 p.m., adjourned until Wednesday, May 18, 2011, at 10…

Mr. President, there will be a rollcall vote tomorrow around 2:30 p.m. on the motion to proceed to S. 953. Additionally, the majority leader filed cloture on the nomination of Goodwin Liu to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit. As…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 18; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The resolution (S. Res…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 186, submitted earlier today. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The assistant legislative clerk read as…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the measure be…

Mr. President, there was a column written in this morning's Washington Post which was extraordinary. It was written by one of our Republican colleagues, Senator John McCain of Arizona. John McCain and I came to the House of Representatives…

Mr. President, an issue is going to come up next week which is very important for every American family and business; that is, the issue of gasoline prices. I have been across my State, and as I mentioned on the floor earlier, my expert on…

Mr. President, if you were to have visited the city of Chicago in the last 50 years and someone had asked you the name of the mayor and you said Daley, you would have been right about 90 percent of the time because for 42 of the last 55…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 979 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of…

Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues Senators Menendez, Lautenberg and Durbin in introducing the State Ethics Law Protection Act. This legislation would ensure that States are allowed to pass meaningful ethics reform laws…