Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on U.S. soil?

I ask to speak as if in morning business for 7 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

This is so important because we will have about four weeks in July, we will have only four days after your term ends to consider a nominee.

we will soon be voting on the Thune amendment, and I rise to speak in support of the Thune amendment. The Thune amendment would strengthen the bill and beef up the triggers that precede the legalization program. The Thune amendment would…

Over the past 12 years, Director Mueller has done a good job of transforming the FBI from a law enforcement agency into a national security agency.

today, Senator Wyden and I reintroduced the Medicare Data Access for Transparency and Accountability Act. This collaborative effort includes two ideas for making Medicare billing and spending more transparent. The first provision comes…

when I closed last night I posed nine questions to Secretary Napolitano about the immigration bill. She said that when confirmed, she would answer questions that Congress put before her. My questions came at the end of her hearing on the…

It would be very important that you get back to us in two or three days, because these are issues before Congress right now.

I yield 10 minutes of my time to Senator Thune. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota. Amendment No. 1197

My colleagues have heard me mention so many times that we tend to delegate more and we ought to be legislating. This bill is another example of delegating too much and giving too much authority to Cabinet-level people, in this case the…

I am pleased to join Senators Moran and King in reintroducing the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2013. This legislation comes in response to a Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act…

Providing employers, insurers, and consumer organizations with better data on provider practice patterns, such as the legislation introduced today by Senators Grassley and Wyden to make Medicare data more accessible, would accomplish this.

at every confirmation hearing of every Cabinet position, and probably a lot of other positions as well, a Cabinet nominee is invariable asked a question similar to this: Will you come when you are called to a committee meeting for a…

I am going to vote for both judges today. But today I want to inform my fellow Senators and American people regarding the facts on judicial nominations. Today, we will confirm two more nominees. I would note that we confirmed two judges…

I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

I urge my colleagues to vote for the nominees who are before the Senate today. At this point in President Obama's term, when we get done with these two today, we will have approved 195 of the President's judicial appointments, and we have…

I wish to remind my colleagues that we were promised an open and fair process on this legislation. The fact that the majority is moving to table my amendment proves this so-called open and fair process is a farce. The majority is afraid to…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 13, 2013, at 10 a.m., to…

I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 13, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. subcommittee on housing…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 13, 2013, at 10 a.m. in room 428A Russell Senate Office Building. The PRESIDING OFFICER…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 13, 2013, at 10:30 a.m., in S-216 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct an executive business meeting…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 13, 2013, at 10 a.m., to hold a International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 13, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. committee on foreign affairs

reserving the right to object---- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.

Last week Carolyn Lerner, the special counsel who leads the office, wrote us a letter explaining the status of the matter. She wrote that the parties had agreed to participate in mediation. She also wrote, ``If mediation is unsuccessful…