We got rid of the independent counsel law precisely because we were uneasy about having private parties just make up their own public policy.

I think moving in this direction would not only be good for the credibility of the Court, but good for the ultimate justice of the outcome and protecting rights and liberties.

This hearing is another step in the efforts that Senator Durbin, now Senator Markey, and I have led to call attention to the health risks associated with energy drinks.

Some of us--Senator Blumenthal, now Senator Markey, even Senator Rockefeller--we were all veterans of the tobacco wars.

Energy drink products should not promote energy drinks for mixing with alcohol, nor should they market energy drinks to counter the effects of alcohol consumption.

I began my own involvement with energy drinks that combined alcohol with their product and, when I was Attorney General, led a group of my colleagues to successfully urge the FDA to ban alcoholic energy drinks for the obvious reasons that…

The FDA also is currently investigating energy drinks.

We support recommendations by Congressman Markey and Senators Durbin and Blumenthal that energy drink manufactures immediately take steps to provide additional information and warnings on product labels.

Let me ask you, Ms. Taylor.

As I said, I commend the FBI and I thank them for this effective action and Mr. Comey for his commitment to continuing that crackdown on human trafficking. I also thank his wife and his family, his five children, for their generosity in…

I ask unanimous consent for 2 additional minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered.

I wish to thank and join my friend and colleague from Minnesota Senator Klobuchar in her remarks about Todd Jones. He is one of two very distinguished law enforcement nominees who will come before this body for confirmation in the coming…

I want to pledge that I will continue to stay engaged and involved and help in whatever way I can.

I think that the draft legislation from Senator Rockefeller and Senator Thune includes language that instructs the director of NIST to--and I am quoting--include methodologies to protect individual privacy and civil liberties.

I wish to join with my two very good friends and colleagues who have highlighted an issue that concerns the whole country, not just Hawaii, Rhode Island--and no two States are farther apart geographically--but we share this very dire and…

The threat has been here for well long enough to monetize and do the actuarial accounting.

Insurance does not seem to be a commonly used option.

I come from a State that has been engaged in trying to combat the cyber threat.

I think your points are very well made. And in my view, they are great evidence for the need for this legislation.

Senator Richard Blumenthal aggressively approached me on the Senate floor on an absolutely ridiculous vote.

I would like to ask a question relating to legislation that I have joined Chairman Rockefeller and Senator Klobuchar in introducing, the Fair Telephone Billing Act of 2013.

What matters is that people have essential services that protect their ability to speak, to engage in economic life, and frankly to live a good life.

We could not agree more that the last-mile connection is the bottleneck for us to be able to provide competitive alternatives to customers.

I think everyone would agree except for the extreme outliers who engage in it. And I do hope that we can extend and strengthen these measures.

I continue to be concerned with ensuring that civil liberties and personal privacy are protected and safeguarded throughout this process.