I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet, during the session of the Senate, to conduct a hearing entitled ``State Leadership and Innovation in Disability Employment'' on…

I believe the business before the Senate now is the vote on the reconsideration of the motion to end debate on the Hagel nomination. Is that correct? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is correct.

I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the resolution of the Senate of January 24, 1901, the traditional reading of Washington's Farewell Address take place on Monday, February 25, following the prayer and pledge; further, that…

I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to consider H. Con. Res. 15, which was received earlier today. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

I ask unanimous consent that H. Con. Res. 15 be agreed to. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 15) was agreed to, as follows: H. Con. Res. 15 Resolved by the House…

I yield myself the remainder of the time. First of all, the questions which have been asked of us to provide materials of the nominee have fallen into three categories: The first one is to the White House about Benghazi, and those…

I will yield 2 minutes to the Senator. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.

No objection. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from Arizona. Mr. McCAIN. Finally, Senator Hagel's opposition to the use of sanctions, his apparent confusion about administration policies and its…

I assume the 12 minutes the Senator referred to would be counted against their time? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct. Is there objection?

How much time remains on our side? The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 30 minutes remaining on each side.

Reserving the right to object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection--reserving the right to object.

If the Senator from Arizona would yield for 1 minute, I do not believe Senator Tower was filibustered. There was a delay in getting to that vote. But I do not believe there was a requirement--I may be wrong on this. I do not believe there…

Reserving the right to object, I will not object because of the assurances of my three friends from the other side of the aisle stating that they plan on voting for cloture. They obviously said they will not vote for cloture today, which…

The Senator is correct. A number of our colleagues have made that demand, and it is simply not something on which we are going to set a precedent. It is not the way to proceed in this body.

as President Obama reminded us in his State of the Union Address this week, 2 months have passed since the heartbreaking school shooting in Newtown, CT. Since then, we have mourned the loss of the 20 wonderful children and 6 extraordinary…

how much time does the majority have? The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 17 minutes remaining for the majority and 3 minutes for the minority.

I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Illinois. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.

Senator Hagel stated in his financial disclosure that he received $200,000 from Corsair Capital, which is a private equity firm, and he was a member of its advisory board. It has been alleged that Senator Hagel failed to provide complete…

I thank my good friend from Vermont. Just to complete my statement on the financial part, this is relative to the fees he received when he was on the advisory board of Corsair Capital. This is a company he does not control. He is not in a…

I would be happy to yield time to the Senator from California. How much time does the Senator wish?

I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from West Virginia. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.

it has been suggested that the Senate should not move forward with Senator Hagel's nomination, alleging he has not complied with requests that he produce speeches. In fact, the standard committee questionnaire requires nominees to provide…

I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Florida. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.

Before the Senators from New Hampshire and Maine leave the floor, I just want to commend them for their statements, for their conversation. It is so critically important we avoid sequester. The more Senators and the more Members of the…

now that the nomination of Senator Hagel is before us, I want to begin this discussion and debate with a few remarks about him. The committee approved this nomination and sent it to the floor of the Senate yesterday by a vote of 14 to 11…