Mr. President, I have the floor by virtue of a previous unanimous consent, but I understand the Senator from Louisiana wishes to say something briefly while Senator Snowe is still on the floor. So I would be happy to yield. I would be…

Mr. President, I rise to discuss bipartisan legislation coauthored by my friend and fellow New Englander, Olympia Snowe, to establish a national endowment for the preservation, conservation, and restoration of our Nation's oceans, our…

Mr. President, I thank Senator Landrieu and also Senators Merkley and Cantwell, who spoke before me, for the extraordinarily hard work they have put in to bring us to this moment. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work against what…

Mr. President, first of all, let me compliment the work of my senior Senator, Jack Reed, on this issue. When I first came to the Senate 3 years ago, Senator Reed had already established his reputation as somebody who fought passionately…

Mr. President, yesterday, the Senate voted for cloture on the unemployment insurance extension bill. Unfortunately, we are still delaying and deferring the final vote on this measure. This is essential to millions of Americans who need the…

I thank both the gentleman and the gentlelady for yielding time on this very important issue. I am very grateful. I do rise in strong support of this rule for consideration of H.R. 4213, the Restoration of Emergency Unemployment…

For the sake of the people who are in those neighborhoods and who are law abiding, it is important that there be the social services so that they can continue to have a safe and orderly life.

I think it is a wise investment and we look forward to trying to make that investment as smart as we can make it.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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

There are neighborhoods where one in four 18 to 35-year-olds on the street are under the supervision of the Department of Corrections.

Whether or not you particularly like the individual, you are better off if they are working and paying taxes than if they are incarcerated at the ACI and absorbing your tax dollars.

But it is a tribute to Senator Dodd's leadership, actually, the collaboration of everyone on this committee, including many of my Republican colleagues.

As you pointed out, the President signed the financial reform bill this morning and there are many that thought we could not do it, get it passed.

The unconditional extension of the Bush tax cuts would add further to a structural deficit that is much too high at the moment, is that your opinion?

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Unemployment Insurance Benefits

Mr. President, we are seeing over the last 12 months a slow recovery in our job market. In the last 6 months, we have seen that accelerate but not sufficiently to reduce unemployment to anything comparable to a full employment economy…

there's a real advantage to getting this information out to the public.

it's difficult in a democracy to legislate in an area where the public is not adequately aware of the threat.