I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller), and the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Schatz) are…

I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily absent.

the Senate has considered several well- qualified nominees this week. One of those is Congressman Mel Watt, the President's nominee to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Congressman Watt has the institutional knowledge…

if my colleague will yield, through the Chair, for one last point, he raised something that brought to my mind a recent story I read about the new Pope, Pope Francis. What an extraordinary man, this Catholic. I am amazed at this man, his…

undetectable plastic guns used to be a hypothetical security threat. But now the threat is real. 3-D printer technology has evolved to the point where a person can make a functioning plastic handgun in a matter of hours. These guns are…

I rise in support of the nomination of Patricia Millett to serve on the D.C. Circuit, the second most important court in the nation. Ms. Millett, who is currently in private practice, is recognized as one of the leading appellate lawyers…

I would like to join my colleagues and people all around the world in expressing my condolences to the people of South Africa on the passing of their great leader Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela ended his extraordinary autobiography…

Will the Senator from Ohio yield for a question through the Chair. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Illinois.

I ask of the Senator from Ohio if he recalls that it was not that long ago the issues that we are discussing were marginally bipartisan issues. When it came to raising the minimum wage periodically, Senator Ted Kennedy, who used to sit…

I announce that the Senator from Montana (Mr. Tester) and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

today I wish to honor the outstanding work of a great Illinoisan, Chad Pregracke, who has just been named a 2013 CNN Hero. A native of East Moline, IL, Chad grew up knowing how important the Mississippi River was to his community. He spent…

today is National Rural Health Day. More than 59 million Americans--nearly one in five--call rural communities their home, including more than 9 million Medicare beneficiaries. These small towns, farming communities, and frontier areas…

I wish to thank my colleagues Senator Collins from Maine and Senator Klobuchar from Minnesota for bringing the issue of Alzheimer's before the Senate for consideration with this resolution. I ask unanimous consent to be added as a…

I will take a few minutes to respond to the statement just made by my colleague from Tennessee, my friend, Lamar Alexander. We have a circumstance here in the U.S. Senate which is---- The PRESIDING OFFICER. On whose time does the Senator…

before I give a statement on another topic, I would like to note that we continue to focus on the damage that was caused last Sunday by deadly tornadoes and storms in Illinois, estimated to have exceeded $1 billion in cost. We have seen…

I might also add yesterday I submitted a resolution on the same subject and was happy to have Senator Collins as a cosponsor, along with several other colleagues who have joined us. They include Senators Mikulski, Tim Johnson, Menendez…

The Presiding Officer knows better than most what it means for someone to enter our military, to raise their hand and take an oath in service to the United States. It is the giving of their time and their lives. Equally important, they are…

I am sorry. I did not know we were in controlled time, so I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

we all know someone who has been affected by Alzheimer's disease or someone else who has. Everyone has occasional memory lapses, and it's normal to forget names of an acquaintance or forget where you put your keys. But Alzheimer's is so…

first, let me thank my colleague and friend from the State of Oklahoma for yielding time and the Senator from Michigan for manufacturing this close so both sides will be heard as we come to this important vote. For 11 years now--for 11…

I rise to speak about the President's nominations to fill vacancies on the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The DC Circuit, which is considered to be the second most important court in America, has 8 active judges of the 11 judgeships…

search and rescue operations are underway in several Illinois v communities today after deadly tornadoes tore through my home State yesterday. Eight people died as a result of the storms--six in Illinois--and dozens are seriously injured…

I rise to speak to an issue relative to the nation of Ukraine. It is the continued imprisonment of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Sadly, for over 2 years now, she has been languishing in prison on politicized charges…