Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the very distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), who has been a champion on the issue of tax loopholes, a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of our time to our distinguished Speaker, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Madam President, there can be no doubt of the need for this bill, which includes an extension of enhanced Medicaid funding to States and funding to help keep teachers in the classroom and out of the unemployment line. Failure to enact this…

Mr. President, earlier this week I spoke on the Senate floor, calling for the confirmation of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. I added my voice to a chorus of bipartisan praise for…

Mr. President, it is obvious we are not going to be able to get to the Defense authorization bill this week. However, it is important we get to it as soon as possible after we return. In order to facilitate that, I ask unanimous consent…

Mr. President, I will be happy to tell the Senator from Arizona what hate crimes has to do with the defense of this country. Men and women who defend this country defend this country for a lot of reasons. One of them is we try to act…

It is not my recollection, but that is not my question. My question is whether we had a vote on hate crimes. Mr. McCAIN. My response is did you prevent the tree from being filled?

We did not prevent a vote on hate crimes last year. That is my answer. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas. ____________________

Is the Senator from Arizona suggesting we did not have a vote on hate crimes last year? Mr. McCAIN. The Senator from Arizona is saying that the Senator from Michigan filled up the tree; did he not? Was the tree filled up? You are the…

Mr. President, it was the Senate which made a decision last year on hate crimes. It was not the Senator from Michigan, although I very much favored what the Senate of the United States did. But it was the Senate of the United States which…

Mr. President, each of the items which the Senator from Arizona mentioned were voted on in committee. These are decisions that were made by the committee, and if we can get this bill to the floor, the decision will not be left up to the…

Mr. President, for the Committee on Armed Services I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the Records on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive…