I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio. Thank you very much for kicking us off on a wonderful hour of discussion as to a plan to revitalize our economy and to grow the opportunities for our working families across this country. President Obama…

I thank the Representative from Michigan for the opportunity to speak to this measure and to really express concern about the inordinate time that we are spending on measures that allow us to harm the air that we breathe and the water that…

So now there is more determination by America's middle class families to have it fixed and done correctly. And the other thing is, I'm reminded, every time I go home, by middle class Americans, modest household incomes, that: We're job…

Right. And so they're saying, Well, whoa, we've been flatlined for so long, and this exponential rise for the highest in the income ladder's outcome.

Let me just talk about a point of clarification, too, to add to that discussion. On this whole tax fairness, people have approached me. They've said, Now, explain to me--because they hear different scenarios. They were imagining that there…

When we confirmed President Bush's nominee to the 11th seat in 2005, Thomas Griffith, his confirmation resulted in there being 121 pending cases per judge. We did not hear a peep out of the other side that that was too low. Yet today there…

Mr. President, I ask that the final 8 minutes before we vote be reserved for that and that the Senator from Illinois be allowed to speak as in morning business for 5 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it…

Reserving the right to object, Mr. President, I believe we have a set number of minutes left to discuss the nominee, Caitlin Joan Halligan, which is the subject here? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be recognized for the remainder of the time if no one from the minority side is here to speak against this nomination. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I rise this morning in support of the President's first and only nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Caitlin J. Halligan is a nominee any president of any party would be proud of. I…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be given 1\1/2\ more minutes to finish this point. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, today I rise to support two outstanding nominees to the federal bench in the Southern District of New York. Over the years, I have had the great good fortune to support many outstanding candidates to the federal bench…

Mr. President, I am proud to support Caitlin Halligan's nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Caitlin Halligan's impeccable career spans public and private practice, similar to that of John Roberts when he was…

The argument for this amendment is very simple. This bill would make it almost impossible--by putting 60 new requirements in the way of agencies to make new rules, would make it almost impossible for rulemaking and, in fact, especially for…

I have an amendment at the desk. The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 34, insert after line 20 the following, and redesignate provisions accordingly: SEC. 9. EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN…

Today is the second anniversary of the unfair and brutal incarceration by the Cuban regime of Alan Gross, an American citizen; and I urge his immediate release. Alan Gross is 62 years old and, in a trumped-up trial, was given 15 years in…

My colleagues, I once again rise asking that we immediately consider extending the Federal Unemployment Compensation Act. It seems as though I walked into this movie before, last year, and we were begging once again that we throw away the…

Despite what you might hear in this body, I believe that there are some regulations that we all can support. The National Traffic Safety Board concluded that pilot fatigue contributed to the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 3407, which…