will the Chair please let me know when 15 minutes has expired. I have 20 minutes. I would like to know when 15 minutes has expired. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator may proceed.

I am pleased today to praise the service of Nick Geale, who was until July the director of oversight and investigations on the minority staff of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions--HELP--Committee, of which I am ranking…

I thank the majority leader and the Republican leader for what they expressed about David Schiappa. We rank-and-file Senators feel the same way on both sides of the aisle. I was reminded that the late Alex Haley, the author of ``Roots,''…

this week the Senate is voting on five of the President's nominations for membership on the National Labor Relations Board. I expect all five to receive up-or-down votes, as they generally do, and I expect all five to be confirmed. The…

I ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Presidential Nominations

I ask unanimous consent the privilege of the floor be granted to the following member of my staff: Chris Jacob. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

I ask unanimous consent that after I speak for about 10 minutes, the Senator from California be recognized for up to 30 minutes, and following her, the Senator from Oregon be recognized, Mr. Merkley. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without…

I think the Senator from Maine, the Independent Senator from Maine, probably said it best when he observed on the floor and in private conversation that if you took four or five of us and said forget that you are elected to public office…

later today we will vote in the Senate on the question concerning whether the President's nomination of Thomas Perez to be the Secretary of Labor should be confirmed. I will vote no. I will vote against the confirmation of Mr. Perez. I do…

I will be through in just a minute. I ask unanimous consent to speak for another minute. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

So the leader said: Senator Frist of Tennessee, who was the Majority Leader, had decided to pursue a rules change that would kill the filibuster for judicial nominations. This is Harry Reid writing. And once you opened that Pandora's box…

I thank the majority leader for his statement, for the time he has spent. I was looking at the Executive Calendar. But, first, I have spent most of this week working on the student loan issue, as the majority leader knows. And we are…