It should help us reduce the deficit, not increase it.

Sometimes when people ask me what I think we ought to do in tax reform, I talk a fair amount about Bowles-Simpson, and I think they have a pretty good roadmap there.

I say tax reform, among the things it ought to do, should simplify the tax code, not make it more complex.

I came to the floor today to talk about the actions we took here this week in the Senate to make sure the postal service has a good chance to return to solvency and be relevant in the 21st century and continue to provide a valuable role in…

I call up amendment No. 2066. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Delaware [Mr. Carper] proposes an amendment numbered 2066.

I ask unanimous consent to withdraw amendment No. 2065. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has that right. The amendment has not been proposed.

some of our colleagues have raised justifiable concerns about the level of compensation that has gone to some of the most senior officials at the U.S. Postal Service. The compensation package for one previous leader of the Postal Service…

I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To appropriately limit the compensation of executives of the Postal…

just briefly, I support this amendment. I am happy Senator Coburn has offered this amendment and it was debated. I hope it is accepted on a voice vote. Let me say, we brought a bill to the floor that has been brought together by two…

I say to my colleagues that this is another good amendment offered by the Senator from Oklahoma. What the Postmaster General has in mind for our communities across America, where there are 33,000 post offices, is to give a number of them…

I hope my colleagues listened to what Senator Collins said with respect to the way this has been scored. It is a very important point. As much as anybody in this Chamber, I am interested in reducing the budget deficit. I want Senators to…

What do you want to accomplish, and how would you go about measuring progress?

We really appreciate your giving us a chance to talk a little bit about the legislation some of us have introduced.

We continue to work on it because everything we do we know we could do better.

Last week Senator Lautenberg and I were sitting here and we were having a hearing on mercury.

NFWF is a true--not rhetorical--investment in that $1 of Federal expense returns multiple dollars back from the private sector.

I think when you look at how much money we invest, the Federal dollars that we invest in protecting the Delaware River Estuary, I think it is pretty modest by Federal standards, by like $1 million.

Despite being a major economic, environmental, and recreational asset, the Delaware River Basin watershed region does not have a Federal program charged with leading conservation and restoration efforts in the region.

is it possible to have economic growth and job creation and still protect the environment?

Active conservation comes down to someone who must do the work, and often that is the landowner.

I have been trying to combat waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid downstairs for the last hour or two.

It seems like we would not need a very complicated detection system to look at that and say, 'You know, that just seems strange.'

The programs you consider today show that responsibilities are being shared in a way resembling infrastructure policy.

We like to say it is the place they like to stop for lunch.

NAWCA is a cost share arrangement between private and State partners that raise money for wetland conservation.