Mr. President, I was very engaged by the comments Senator Whitehouse was making a short time ago. I was very struck, as I have been all along, by the substantial challenge posed by Citizens United. My colleague was speaking to the impact…

Our legislation does not prevent data collection. It simply does not require it.

So Citizens United goes right against the very heart of our Constitution. How is it possible that the Supreme Court found, in this 5-to-4 decision, that this has no corrupting impact on our electoral process?

Most of our campaigns for the Senate involve millions of dollars--some are $2 million, some are $20 million, some more. There are super PACs that have that much money and can bring that much money to bear in a single race. Did the Supreme…

So I think if any three words would summarize the heart of our Constitution, it would be those three words. It would be ``we the people.'' Yet we have a Supreme Court decision, Citizens United, that essentially unleashes a flood of special…

I thank my colleague from Rhode Island very much for championing this bill and for what he has done helping folks to understand this issue. I will make a few comments on this issue. My friend from Vermont is standing by and, I think, wants…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to ask a question of my colleague from Rhode Island. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

So the Supreme Court envisioned this steel wall, this high, impenetrable wall between an independent campaign and the candidate's campaign, and thereby saw fit to unleash unlimited money on one side of the wall while saying the other side…

Madam President, yesterday a group of four Senators introduced legislation that I would like to highlight in this brief opportunity on the Senate floor. We introduced S. 3217. This legislation is called Startup 2.0 and was introduced by…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to call up amendment No. 2108. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report. The bill clerk read as follows: The Senator from Alaska [Ms. Murkowski], for…

Madam President, I rise today to speak to an amendment we will have on the floor tomorrow afternoon. This is an amendment that certainly has generated a fair amount of interest within my State, in fact, most of our coastal States, anywhere…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To prohibit approval by the Food and Drug…

Mr. President, I rise today to add my voice to the bipartisan support for the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, S. 3187. In addition to continuing the fee-based funding system for timely FDA reviews, S. 3187 also…

Mr. President, I thank Chairman Harkin and ranking member Enzi for including the Counterfeit Drug Penalty Enhancement Act in their substitute amendment to S. 3187. I introduced the Counterfeit Drug Penalty Act, S. 1886, last year along…

"Josh Brolin, a friend of mine, was terrific in ""Men in Black."" Congrats!"

Eighty billion dollars is not a drop in the bucket, and we need to make sure it is spent in the right ways.

We need to change the IT budget process. Working capital funds, multiyear money--there are lots of creative ways to give CIOs more flexibility and accountability for how those IT resources are spent.

Mr. President, last week we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the United States Department of Agriculture, also known as the USDA. On May 15, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to create the USDA. Since this day, the USDA…