I come to the floor to express my opposition to the nomination of Alex Azar to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Let me admit to the Chamber that this, for me, was certainly not as easy a call as was the…

I do believe in rigorous regulation. I think that there should be regulation holding colleges to outcomes that they set.

I think it is ridiculous that colleges don't have the ability to build more innovative models.

I do worry about the Congress or regulator directing what innovation is allowed to happen and what isn't.

Innovation stinks without accountability.

There are clear intersections with civil rights, and I hope that, maybe as you previewed in your answer to Senator Hassan's questions, you'll take a look at those.

If you set rigorous completion rates, and you don't reach them, you should not be funded anymore.

there are a lot of Americans who don't understand what is happening right now. Republicans asked for control of the U.S. Senate, they asked for control of the House of Representatives, and they asked for control of the White House. They…

let me make a few remarks. I am sorry that the Senator decided to object to this unanimous consent request which would simply keep the government open and operating for 24 hours so we can try to come to an agreement. Let me address the…

I appreciate the Senator from North Carolina offering apologies on behalf of other Members of this body, so let me return the favor. Let me offer an apology on behalf of the Republican majority for the governance disaster that has occurred…

We don't believe that it is right for this government to continue to kick the can down the road. I will just say personally that there are other things in that continuing resolution that I object to as well. It is not just a…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Barrasso). Without objection, it is so ordered. Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 1301

I just want to use my soapbox for a moment to express my hope and desire that as much focus as we put into this question of simplifying student loans, that we put double the effort into efforts to improve the cost and the quality of the…

The idea behind the PROSPER Act and some of these, some of this line of thought, Dr. Chingos, is that if you just limit the Federal student loan indebtedness, they will be less likely to take a chance.

I think there is a real interesting bipartisan conversation to be had about reducing the regulatory framework for colleges, but then making them think more about the cost and the outcome.

cost, quality, and simplification are all three good words for us to talk about.

I would have joined Senator Sullivan in a round of applause. I thank him for sharing that inspiring story. Funding the Government Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon just to talk very briefly about the real-world impacts of…

I just do not think it is credible to suggest that our seat at the table right now comes through any means other than our military presence.

We have signaled in so many different ways that we are no longer interested in being in the lead with respect to the political and economic future of Syria.

I would argue that you are operating under a flawed premise, which is that there is any future for Syria that does not involve a substantial role for Iran.

I would share those concerns to the extent that your answer suggests that the future role of the U.S. military in Syria will be aimed at addressing Iranian and Iranian-backed military presence there.

I think some of us can do a better job of trying to marry together those concerns.

I just raised the question because if we're going to spend an awful lot of money on this epidemic, I think it's worth challenging us to think about the ways in which we can----

----be in the community as well as paying for treatment, right?

How do we compete with a Russian energy export model that is based on outright subsidy to drive down pricing?