As this is our subcommittee's first hearing of the 112th Congress, I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate you on your chairmanship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a question for my friends on the other side of the aisle: When will we get down to the business of putting people back to work? My constituents in the First District of Rhode Island sent me to here to do…

Thank you very much. I stand today to join my colleague and applaud my colleague for coming to the floor of the House to articulate what are truly our founding and our core principles. We should be going back to our Constitution on a…

I was proud to tell them I am a cosponsor of the legislation to repeal this provision.

We need to acknowledge that that is a responsibility we have in balancing all of the equities within a budget.

It is clear to me that it is in the national security interest of our country to make the kind of investments that we are making around the world.

Mr. President, I wish to speak to this amendment which makes it a Federal criminal offense to target an aircraft with a laser. The prevalence of this activity has increased enormously. According to the FAA, there were 2,836 instances of…

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. If all time is yielded back, the question is on agreeing to amendment No. 8. The clerk will call the…

Mr. President. I am in strong support of Senator Levin's effort to repeal the enhanced tax form 1099 reporting requirements enacted in the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act. Since passage of the bill, I have heard from…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me just begin by saying again how much I appreciate your leadership on this issue.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of this amendment I have offered with Senators Kirk, Boxer, Durbin, Casey, Menendez, and Schumer to secure aircraft cockpits against lasers. This commonsense and bipartisan amendment would protect…

it reinforces how vital Social Security and Medicare are to our safety net and to assuring that Americans have a decent standard of living in their old age.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive further reading of the amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide…

I thank the distinguished chairman for his very kind words. Let me thank him for his efforts to support this amendment. His cosponsorship is extremely important. I look forward to working with whatever I can bring to get this amendment…

Mr. President, I thank Senators Kirk, Boxer, Durbin, Casey, Menendez, and Schumer for their leadership on this issue. I also thank our partners in the House for their work, and let me thank Chairman Rockefeller and Ranking Member Hutchison…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside any pending amendment and call up amendment No. 8. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Rhode Island [Mr…

the number of $6 billion plus you've suggested is probably an underestimate.

This is going to be a competition not only for money and your effort, but also for money for Afghanistan's efforts.