Heidi Alexander: “The senior Senator from Louisiana is here to speak, but I thank Senator Feinstein for her remarks and her leadership. I…”

“The senior Senator from Louisiana is here to speak, but I thank Senator Feinstein for her remarks and her leadership. I would remind our colleagues we are open for business, in terms of amendments. Fortunately, 77 of the Senators had made requests that we were able to accommodate in our basic bill. We have talked to maybe a dozen more since then, and are accommodating amendments whenever we can. We would like to begin voting on any other amendments that we need to vote on this afternoon, if possible, so we can move on through the bill and hopefully get to the next appropriations bill. Mr. President, I thank especially the staff of Senator Feinstein-- Doug Clapp, Chris Hanson, Mark Mendenhall, and Samantha Nelson--for the way they have worked with us, whether we are in the majority or the minority. I also would like to thank my own staff--Tyler Owens, Adam DeMella, Meyer Seligman, Jen Armstrong, and Hayley Alexander--for extraordinarily good work. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana. Commemorating the 6th Anniversary of the ``Deepwater Horizon'' Explosion and Oilspill”