It is torture, pure and simple, no matter what else we want to call it. I would like to think that we can all agree that our Constitution prohibits it.

The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.

Mr. Thibodeaux, how much contact did you have with the outside world in your 15-year experience?

We do not support long-term placement of any juvenile in restrictive housing.

Too often solitary confinement is used not to control people who are truly dangerous to themselves or others but as a tool of control within an institution.

More must be done. That is why today I am calling for all Federal and State facilities to end the use of solitary confinement for juveniles, pregnant women, and individuals with serious and persistent mental illness, except in the rarest…

The last question I will ask relates to testimony--we have some excellent witnesses coming in the later panel--about women, particularly pregnant women, who are placed in restrictive housing and solitary confinement.

I think what I heard him say--and I want to make sure I do not misstate it.

I thank the Senator from New Mexico. (The remarks of Mr. Durbin pertaining to the introduction of S. 2023 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

I introduced a bill this week that would fix a small problem with the Post-9/11 GI bill that is creating big problems for some servicemember and veteran families. In 2010, SFC Angela Dees sent her son, Christopher Webb, to the University…

when it comes to understanding the influence of big money donors on congressional and presidential campaigns, the numbers don't lie. In 2012, the top 32 donors to super PACs spent as much money as every single small donation to President…

I ask unanimous consent that upon disposition of the House message with respect to S. 25, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 497, 498, 493, 494, 495, 496, 531, and 534; that the…

I thank my colleagues Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York for joining us on the floor this morning to talk about the student debt crisis and college…

the Presiding Officer is new to the Senate, and we are glad to have him. He will find in the course of his senatorial experience that occasionally good legislative ideas come from unexpected places. Occasionally they come from phone calls…

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 2014 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of…

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 2014 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of…

I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Heitkamp). The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Sister Simone Campbell is somebody whom I greatly respect. Sister Simone Campbell is executive director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby. She is also one of the organizers of Nuns on the Bus, Catholic nuns who have…

I met a man who became a close friend of mine and one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. And I am speaking of Muhammad Yunus.

I want to salute my colleague Senator Boxer, who circulated a letter signed by a number of the women Senators.

I think it should be expanded across the board to all government agencies, that we will continue to work with those companies that are providing a safe work environment.

It is just such a cruel irony that the country, the nation that gave birth to this notion of expanding Microcredit... is now seeing that effort thwarted.

I just want to make a brief statement before Senator Baucus speaks and thank him for his service in the Senate, thank him for representing Montana, and accepting some of the toughest assignments in the Senate. We have a similarity in our…

before I address the farm bill, I would like to make two other points. The first is to commend the Presiding Officer. Yesterday he gave his first speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. About 20 of us were here and listened carefully. I am…

If these negotiations fail, there are two grim alternatives: a nuclear Iran, or war, or perhaps both.