U.S. State Secretaries of State

I would be agreeable to a time agreement. And I believe my colleague, Senator Gregg, would be willing--he has nodded in the affirmative.

I would. May I defer to my distinguished colleague, Mr. Gregg, that he might speak at this time on the amendment.

Does the Senator also agree that until the Defense Science Board, DSB, study is complete and briefed to Congress, the Biometrics Fusion Center should continue to execute its mission to acquire, test, evaluate, and integrate biometrics, as…

How long am I recognized for? The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Vitter). The Senator from West Virginia is recognized for up to 35 minutes.

I have waited many hours here many times. I never make a fuss about it. I will just leave the floor and----

If I might just take 1 minute, I deeply thank--as they say in the other body--the gentlelady from California, for her noble comments and for her support. The West Virginia delegation in the House and the Senate is pleased at her…

I ask so that I might thank her again for delaying her speech until I could make these few remarks. I thank her from the bottom of my heart. She is so considerate always, so courteous: ``And what is so rare as a day in June?'' The beauty…

Let me thank my friend, the leader, our leader on this side of the aisle, who is a gold miner's son. There are not many of us in here who are gold miners' sons. I am proud that my leader is a gold miner's son. I am proud that he assured…

Lord Byron said, ``Thank God I have done my duty.'' May I say to the Senator from New Jersey, he has done his duty. He is a good Senator. We will miss you. I will. Thank you for standing up for what you believe. Thank you very much. Bless…

I thank the Senator again. I feel pretty well today. I have had the flu over the weekend, but I am glad I came to the Senate today.

That has never been the rule here. Senators have a right to talk, to filibuster. Mr. McCONNELL. Will the majority leader yield?

Yes. Mr. McCONNELL. We have not been filibustering judges during this first session of Congress, and we have been giving judges an up-or-down vote as a direct result of the Senate's collective decision to sort of step back from the brink…

I am not sure about that history. Mr. McCONNELL. --that when nominees came to the floor who enjoyed majority support in the Senate, they got an up-or-down vote? Has that not been what the leader argues for? And to the substantial credit of…

Yes, let the decision stand. Mr. McCONNELL. The precedent in the Senate for 214 years prior to the last Congress was the judges who came to the floor got an up-or-down vote.

I am not sure about that. Mr. McCONNELL. Is that not the case, I ask the majority leader----

I will be glad to take on both Senators in defense of the Constitution. Mr. McCONNELL. Did the majority leader yield to me?

May or may not vote. The Constitution doesn't require that, and the Senator can't find it in the Constitution. He can say all he wants.

The Senator can't find that in writing anywhere in the Constitution. I can vote against a nominee just because, any Senator can vote against a nominee just because----

The nominee doesn't part his hair on the right or left side. The Senator doesn't have to explain why he votes against. That is his right.

He doesn't have a right to an up-or-down vote. A nominee doesn't have a right to an up-or-down vote.

All this business about us working for 214 years, there have been a lot of misquotations of history when people talk like that. I say that a Senator has a right under the Constitution to object for whatever reasons--they may not be…

I see nothing in the Constitution that requires an up-or- down vote on any nominee. The Constitution just says that the Senate shall have the power, and the Senate uses that power. It is in the Constitution.

Yesterday I stood at Arlington National Cemetery attending the funeral of a young Marine from my district. He believed what we are doing is the right thing, and had the courage to lay his life on the line to do it. A few minutes ago I…

My remarks were not directed at any Member of the House, and I did not intend to suggest that they applied to any Member, most especially the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania. I therefore ask for unanimous consent that my words be…