Madam President, let me refer to the nomination that is before us. I know the distinguished senior Senator from Ohio will speak after me. Today the Senate will vote on the nomination of Jeffrey Helmick to fill a judicial emergency vacancy…

Mr. President, the Senate is about to turn its attention to one of the most significant legislative issues on our agenda this year, consideration of the 2012 farm bill. I would first like to thank the chairwoman, Senator Stabenow, and…

Mr. President, delay is being demonstrated again with respect to the nominations of Justice Hurwitz to the Ninth Circuit, Judge Shwartz to the Third Circuit, Richard Taranto to the Federal Circuit, and William Kayatta to the First Circuit…

I yield the remainder of my time to the distinguished senior Senator from Ohio. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Whitehouse). The distinguished Senator from Ohio.

Mr. President, Jeffrey Helmick was rated ``well qualified'' by a substantial majority of the ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. In his 22-year legal career as a litigator in private practice, Mr. Helmick has tried…

The law of the land--the Nuclear Waste Policy Act--established Yucca Mountain in 1987 as the designated site for the nation's geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel.

I do not believe it was the right decision.

In fact, the Board of County Commissioners of Nye County, Nevada--the county where the Yucca repository would be sited--wrote the Blue Ribbon Commission in February 2011 to say that 'strong local community support for Yucca Mountain exists…

Madam President, I understand I have time remaining? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority has 17 minutes 10 seconds.

I would strongly encourage the Administration to file a formal Article 84 complaint against the EU on this issue in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Mr. President, I do think there are those things that we can agree on. I am glad to join the three of you and Senator Rubio as one of the cosponsors of this bill that you all crafted and put together. Good energy policy, good tax policy…

The problem clearly came from loose credit policies that resulted in subprime mortgages and toxic securities.

My concern now is we are equating pro-growth economic policies with more government spending.

I am concerned about that.

Which is a trillion dollars over ten years. I mean, that is real money.

I think you would have to agree that the activism has been unprecedented and reason to at least cause some concern?

My experience in business and politics tells me that most of the time when we're trying to solve problems we are actually treating symptoms.

We have constricted credit to such a degree that local banks do not have the flexibility to deal with their local economies.