I can't think of two more important issues facing us.

Madam President, one of the best parts about this job is getting the chance to talk to Hoosiers here in Washington, back home in Indiana, and, on those special occasions, a chance to see our Hoosiers when they are serving our country…

This legislation was developed in order to resolve outstanding wilderness study areas in Humboldt County.

I'm pleased to have worked with Senator Reid to find a balance between development and conservation that will create jobs in Lyon County and beyond.

I think we can all agree that money is better spent on protecting habitat on the ground than sitting in special accounts at the BLM.

Mr. President, Senator Brown was here earlier, and I had wanted to be able to speak briefly. So if, when I finish my remarks, he is here, I ask unanimous consent that he be recognized to speak. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without…

I want to talk about what we have just heard here and an implication that we are not champions of small business. I was in small business. I had shoestores, retail shoestores, so that is why I know some of these problems. I know about the…

Mr. President, I appreciate that question. One of the reasons there is difficulty, there is the blue-slip problem with the House, but also we have the section on limitations in this bill that appears on page 7. There are only 11 pages in…

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Texas for his comments. There is definitely a problem. We had people miss votes on Monday night because the supposed furlough that the air traffic controllers had to have in effect delayed some…

I thank the Senator from Tennessee for his comments. He is very involved in the Banking Committee. He understands the transaction taxes that they are talking about, and I appreciate his learned opinion on that. Mine comes from section 3…

Mr. President, I want to congratulate the Senator from Maine on his speech. It was a tremendous history lesson. I have enjoyed getting to know him a little bit since he got here. I had quite an interesting surprise yesterday. He came to my…

Mr. President, I suggest the absence a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

I strongly urge the committee's support for this legislation.

Mr. President, I would like to say a few words about the pending bill before us. This bill will hurt small businesses not just in Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon--non-sales tax States--but all across the country. The bill will let one…

It's the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.

There's no activity. There's none whatsoever.

It's pristine. I don't know now, but for many, many years it's drinkable.

This is pretty important to me and to the State of Montana and, I think, to the Nation.