we are on one side doing things that don't appear to address the true root causes of our problem.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for up to 12 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. America's Fiscal Cliff

Mr. President, let me speak today about two recent CBO reports and what they portend for the economy and for policy that we might want to make in the Congress. CBO, of course, is the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and from time…

Mr. Chairman, this amendment which I'm offering along with my colleague, Mr. Welch from Vermont, addresses an important issue relating to Coast Guard facilities. We've offered this same amendment to the two other appropriations bills this…

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 21, line 24, insert before the period at the end the following: : Provided further, That of the funds…

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter). The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote? The result was…

If they are not together, it is not going to work.

Well, as Senator Udall explained before, there were express promises made to New Mexico.

Should a State as a whole have the right to accept or reject a nuclear waste site in its borders?

We sure do, we sure do. And Senator Carper, we are going to miss him very much.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk that is designated as No. 1. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: Sec. __…

I apologize that my objecting to the reading took longer than the reading, but we will try to get through this quickly. This amendment is straightforward and would simply reduce the amount appropriated for State and local programs in the…

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk designated as No. 2. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 37, line 18, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced by $412,908,000)''. Page 99…

Mr. Chairman, this amendment is straightforward. It would reduce funding for the Office of the Secretary by $50,000 and transfer a revenue neutral amount to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection salaries and expenses. This is a nominal…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 2, line 17, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced by $50,000)''. Page 7, line 13, after the first dollar amount…

I thank the gentleman. Again, we're having an argument from somebody who represents a State that's getting a lot more than they kick in, and that's the bottom line. To relate this highway user fee, and it's not a pure user fee because…

I thank the gentleman. I think we are talking in circles here. The bottom line is those who are receiving more than dollar for dollar, once the general fund revenue is not supplanting or supplementing what is taken in by the gas tax, those…

This has been an interesting discussion. It went about how I thought it would. Those of us who are donor States want a little fairer shake. That's all we're asking. So, to those coming to the floor, check and see where your State falls…