I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Webb) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner), are necessarily absent.

at this moment, the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid, and the Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, are gathered on the east front steps of the U.S. Capitol along with Members of the House of Representatives. It is a bipartisan…

it is difficult to come to the floor of the Senate on this anniversary of 9/11 and not reflect on your own experience. I was in the same room as the majority leader, Harry Reid, just a few steps from the Senate Chamber when we witnessed…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Moment of Silence to Observe the Eleventh Anniversary of the Attacks on September, 11, 2001 The PRESIDING…

I understand there are three bills at the desk. I ask for their first reading en bloc. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the bills by title for the first time. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (H.R. 8) to…

the first rollcall vote will be at 2:15 p.m. on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3457, the Veterans Jobs Corps Act. ____________________

I ask unanimous consent that Senate report No. 208 be star printed with the changes at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 7:54 p.m., adjourned until Tuesday, September 11, 2012, at 10 a.m…

I understand that S. 3519 is at the desk and due for a second reading. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the bill by title for the second time. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (S. 3519) to require…

I wish to thank the Senator from New York and my colleague, Senator Rubio of Florida, for calling this historic tragedy to our attention on the sad 40th anniversary of the killing of the Israeli participants at the Munich Olympics. Having…

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., on Tuesday, September 11, 2012; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be…

most commissions appointed in Washington-- at least in my experience--hardly make a ripple, people hardly notice them. After a lot of hard work, a report is published and that is about it. Some historian at a later date may look at the…

I was trying to understand this Republican position. It used to be crystal clear. In 23 debates we heard Republican candidates say, one after another after another: First day in office ObamaCare is gone. But I heard the same thing the…

I would object to any further proceedings with respect to the bill. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The bill will be placed on the calendar. ____________________

I say to the Senator from Iowa that I met so many people in my State of Illinois who said, I cannot leave my job because I don't know if I can ever find health insurance again. I am stuck because I have a child or a spouse with a problem…

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. Shaheen), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.

I now ask for a second reading en block and I object to my own request en bloc. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The bills will be read for the second time on the next legislative day. ____________________

An individual mandate, some critics might say. Some of us call it individual responsibility. And we did the same, when it came to health care reform, keeping in mind if people currently have health insurance and like their doctor, like…

About 2 weeks ago, I visited a farm near my home town of Springfield, IL to see the impact of the ongoing drought. From the road, I couldn't tell there was anything wrong with the crop. But as we went into the field, it quickly became…

on July 21, we marked the 2-year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This landmark law has taken important steps to rein in the Wall Street abuses that nearly drove our economy off the cliff in…

It was recently revealed that at least one bank--Barclays Bank of Great Britain--attempted to manipulate LIBOR over a 4-year period beginning in 2005. LIBOR stands for the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. This rate is a benchmark used by…

last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reported out the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. How fitting that this treaty was considered and passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the 22nd…

today I wish to honor former Congressman Paul Findley--a great American who served his country in war and in the hallowed halls of Congress, a son of Illinois, a prolific writer and Lincoln scholar, a former political adversary, and my now…

some of you may have seen in the press last week that an inspiring Cuban citizen who tirelessly fought for a peaceful transition to democracy recently died in a tragic car accident on that island. Oswaldo Paya was a modest man. A brave…