We cannot continue to borrow from the general fund to fund highways.

Our bill also includes a sense of Congress calling on USTR to encourage other nations to follow our example by also improving their de minimis thresholds.

And so I hope that you will get your pencils out and find as many savings as you can within the department's budget.

Today, this is a hearing that recognizes that trade is not only about bilateral and multi-lateral agreements, it is also about ensuring that our laws allow for the easiest possible movement of goods and agricultural products, while at the…

This is legislation that is designed to expedite trade flows, while also improving enforcement of our trade laws.

First, the bill includes a provision designed to stop the evasion of anti-dumping duties by importers of Chinese honey.

Infrastructure is important. It is important to our country, it is important to our competitiveness, it is important to our economy.

This hearing gives our committee the opportunity to perform one of the most important constitutional responsibilities provided to members of the United States Senate, the power to give advice and consent on the president's executive and…

By objecting to going to conference right now, what Senate Republicans who are objecting are doing is pushing us to a place where the debt limit, by virtue of timing, may be a part of the discussion. I ask the Senators to think about what…

Will the Senator yield for a question? Does the Senator expect the House of Representatives, a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, would not participate in that vote?

Madam President, will the Senator yield for a question? Does the Senator expect he would not have a vote at the end of a day after a conference comes back from the House of Representatives?

The irony of this is really astounding. By objecting to us going to conference, the Senate Republicans who are objecting are actually putting us right in the position of being in the place where the debt ceiling, by virtue of timing, will…

Can the Senator answer my question? Does the Senator from Texas understand the House of Representatives also would have to pass this? They are a Republican majority. And, by the way, we are not talking about whether we should pay the bills…

I ask the Senator to yield for one final question. I know they want to keep talking.

Mr. President, it has now been 59 days since the Senate and the House passed our budget resolutions. The American people are now expecting us to get together and do everything possible to bridge the partisan divide and come to a bipartisan…

Clearly, we are in a time of budgetary constraints. You referred to it multiple times, but on the other hand, that is the new reality.

Why out of 288 programs will we only have four that seem to directly pertain to what we could all agree would be severe mental illness?

It seems a luxury to be unfocused in how we are implementing programs.