The amendment that is pending on this bill has been named by Senators McConnell and Inhofe The Energy Tax Prevention Act. Good title. The bill doesn't do one thing to lower the price of oil--not one thing. We know what we can do right now…

I support efforts to restore the Gulf Coast and look forward to working with colleagues on a proposal that promotes the restoration of economically and environmentally important ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is astounding when total damages for the BP Deepwater Horizon spill could total in the tens of billions of dollars.

I would not have called on you to end except we do have a vote pending.

Americans, we are people who like to be able to control things. When every day we watched BP explode there in the ocean, we had no sense that we could do anything about it.

The one thing that will stick with me forever is BP's permit application. When they were asked to describe the likelihood of a spill and the likelihood that it would cause damage, it was shocking. It just said, absolutely impossible.

Nobody felt it more than the two Senators from Louisiana.

We just, to become energy independent, to do this in a way that is safe as, again, as we see what is happening over in Japan, our heart goes out and that feeling of just not being able to control things.

It is up to the Interior Department to be more rigorous in examining these permit applications.

We do need that legislation.

Thank you very much.

``We the undersigned write to express our strong opposition to the McConnell amendment known as the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011. We believe this legislation would block the Environmental Protection Agency from setting sensible…

Just a parliamentary inquiry: Since we are going back and forth, I ask unanimous consent to be recognized after Senator Murkowski. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from Alaska.

This is a moment in history where we should look at religious freedom and also equality for women.

I say to my good friend and colleague from Washington State, in EPA's summary of the endangerment our people would face, they talk about the worsening of ground-level ozone pollution if the EPA is not allowed to enforce the law, which is…

Before my friend leaves, I thank her so much, and I am going to leave the floor so my Republican friends have time to speak on this issue. America will hear a lot of different stories from a lot of different people. But, remember, this is…

Well, I say to my friend, not only do I generally agree, I agree wholeheartedly. Let me show you a picture of a couple of kids. We have a couple of pictures. I would love my friend to look at this, these beautiful children. They say a…

They looked at this amendment. They said the claim is false, that gasoline prices would go down. So beware of things that are called good names. But when we get behind them, we see they are not good. They are dangerous. This is a red flag…

I have the floor, and I plan to proceed as long as colleagues want to come and ask questions. I could go until about 5.

I will continue yielding without losing my right to the floor because there will be a question.

I do not at this point. We are taking our time. I wish to say through the Chair to my friend, this amendment is so radical, it is so far beyond any other amendment we have ever had on this subject, so I am not going to yield the floor…

I yield to my friend for a question or a series of questions--as many as she might have.

It is vital that the United States has the leadership in place to work with the international community to protect the rights of religious minorities and advance the cause of religious freedom and tolerance across the globe.

I will answer and then yield for further questioning. The Senator is making the case so clearly. The one area we know we can make progress on in terms of getting off foreign oil is cars that get better fuel economy. My friend worked so…

Obviously, I cannot speak for my colleagues. I cannot. But I have to look at what would happen if this were to become law. EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, signed into law by Richard Nixon, a Republican, overwhelmingly--and, by…