I congratulate the Senator from Alabama for his comments and for his proposal, which he described as a Republican proposal. Of course, what all of us hope is that it becomes a bipartisan proposal as our friends on the other side look…

the business before the Senate this week is financial regulation reform. It is hard to pick what the business should be this week. There is so much going on that is of great concern to so many of us. We have a briefing this afternoon on…

Nashville and middle Tennessee have been hit with what the Corps of Engineers officials tell us is a thousand-year rain event--in a thousand years, we wouldn't expect to have this much rain--and it is providing enormous hardship to the…

I am hearing from a lot of people who don't like the sound of that--shop owners, auto dealers, real estate agents, community bankers, retailers, doctors, dentists, traders on eBay--they're afraid the so-called consumer protection…

I congratulate the Republican leader on his remarks. Listening to him, I was wondering how Kentuckians would respond to the thought that--as we seem to be hearing now about this so-called consumer protection bureau--``We are from…

I wonder if the Republican leader would agree with me, if I may say through the Chair, that it is noteworthy that the legislation we are talking about focuses on shop owners, auto dealers, real estate agents, farmers, community bankers…

Well, I would say to my friend the majority leader that he is rapidly becoming the leader of the party of no by offering so many "no" motions because the motion this afternoon is one more of a record number of "no" motions offered by the…

Thursday is Earth Day. Actually, it is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It is a good day to celebrate by creating a national resolve in our country to build 100 new nuclear power plants in the next 20 years, which would be the best way…

on April 15, Benjamin Hooks died in the city where he was born 85 years ago, the city of Memphis. Later this afternoon, Senator Burris, Senator Corker, and I will introduce a resolution honoring the life and achievement of Dr. Benjamin L…

the Democratic majority is deliberately overcharging 19 million students to help pay for the health care bill. Those are the Congressional Budget Office's figures, not mine.

this has been a debate filled with passion and good intentions and a lot of hard work. Our political parties have come to vastly different conclusions. The President and the majority have said, this is an historic occasion. I agree. But I…

I am afraid the Senator from New Hampshire is exactly right. According to the Congressional Budget Office's updated estimate, $8.7 billion of this money that is being overcharged to students will be used to help pay for the health care…

19 million American families will be interested in this motion because it will reduce the cost of student loans which 19 million Americans have. This is the season of the year when a great many students have been admitted to a college or a…

Here is a letter from Vanderbilt University to Congressman Cooper from the Chancellor which says: Our overarching concern with [this proposal] is that the legislation forces institutions, including Vanderbilt, to switch to direct lending…

I have a little history with the student loan program. I see the distinguished Senator from Utah is here. When he was the ranking Republican on the Senate Health and Education Committee 20 years ago, I was the U.S. Education Secretary. He…

this is an effort to stop the Federal Government from overcharging 19 million college students to help pay for the health care bill. It would reduce from 6.8 percent to 5.3 percent the interest on their loans. It would save $1,700 to…

I was talking with the Senator from New Mexico and the Senator from Wyoming about Stewart Udall, whom the majority leader also talked about a little earlier. He is the father of Senator Tom Udall and the uncle of Mark, and a great…

I have been in and out of public life a long time, and I have never had anything affect me in a personal way like the health care debate. I got up this morning in West Millers Cove in Blount County and drove to the Knoxville airport, and…

I wonder if the Senator knows whether this comprehensive health care bill--which is going to "save" the government money; not run up the deficit--includes the amount of money it costs the government to pay doctors to serve Medicare…

The proponents of this health reform package are misleading the American public into believing that you can raise the baseline and reduce spending at the same time. You cannot expect to expand coverage to millions of individuals and to…

the Senator from Arizona and I and Senator Barrasso, who will be here in a few minutes, had the privilege of being invited by the President to a lengthy health care summit a couple of weeks ago at the Blair House, a historic location right…

I congratulate the Senator from Arizona for his consistency, for 5 years ago saying to members of his own party that the Senate is a place where minority rights are protected. As Senator Byrd has said, sometimes the minority is right. It…

I appreciate the Senator from Arizona bringing this up, and I think it is important for the American people to be reminded that the Senator from Arizona has a certain amount of credibility on this matter because about 4 years ago--when we…

I wonder if the Senator from Arizona would agree with me that what is happening is the President is inviting the House Democrats to join hands and jump off a cliff and hope Senator Reid catches them.

Well, when they jump, they may be. But Senator Reid and his Democratic colleagues, I would say to my friend from Arizona, are not going to have any incentive to catch these House Members who vote for the bill because the President will…