first, let me salute my colleague from Ohio for bringing up trade adjustment assistance. Because even if you are a proponent of expanding trade in the United States, you know the ebb and flow of the economy is going to take away some jobs…

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 187, introduced earlier today. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows…

I announce that the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) is necessarily absent. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote? The result was announced--yeas 71, nays 28, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No…

States across the country are expanding passenger rail service.

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. 979 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives…

if you were to have visited the city of Chicago in the last 50 years and someone had asked you the name of the mayor and you said Daley, you would have been right about 90 percent of the time because for 42 of the last 55 years there has…

an issue is going to come up next week which is very important for every American family and business; that is, the issue of gasoline prices. I have been across my State, and as I mentioned on the floor earlier, my expert on gasoline…

there was a column written in this morning's Washington Post which was extraordinary. It was written by one of our Republican colleagues, Senator John McCain of Arizona. John McCain and I came to the House of Representatives in the same…

closer to home in Illinois, we are fighting the floods. It happens regularly, and we have had a tough time with it. The Ohio River, the Illinois River, and the Mississippi River have all been threatening communities such as Metropolis and…

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. 952 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives…

I want to thank the Senator from West Virginia for his comments on our dependence on foreign oil. We import about $1 billion worth of oil a day. That does not make our Nation any stronger. In fact, it makes us more dependent. For our…

We had a historic vote in the Senate last December on the DREAM Act. Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, promised that we would bring this measure for consideration on the floor of the Senate. Some people on both sides of the aisle…

I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) is necessarily absent.

I rise in support of the comments made by the majority leader. I was in Chicago over the weekend, and downstate as well in Illinois, and saw these gasoline prices and understand the hardship they cause. At a BP filling station in Chicago…

let me say a word very quickly about the President's speech today in El Paso. I have said on the Senate floor many times, because it is a source of pride to me, I am a first generation American. One hundred years ago, my mother was brought…

I am pleased today to join the Illinois chapter of the American Association of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, AAIDD, in recognizing the recipients of the Illinois Direct Support Professional Award 2011. These individuals are…

I rise today to honor an outstanding Illinoisan, Alice Saudargas, and to thank her for her many years of service as she ends her term on the Rockford School Board. Alice Saudargas is a remarkable public servant. She has dedicated her life…

I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Thank you, Mr. President. I haven't had a reply yet from Mr. Dimon. He called me. I called him back. That seems to be the end of our exchange. But I would like to hear his response. I encourage him to share my letter with the same…

Thank you, Mr. President. Let me quote a few words from it. This is a letter to me, dated May 2: Dear Senator Durbin: We understand that some in the financial services industry are claiming that the Durbin Amendment exemption from…

according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average price of gasoline is $3.96 a gallon nationwide. I have my own specially appointed monitor of gasoline prices in the State of Illinois: my wife. I called her yesterday…

there are many issues which come before the Senate, and some are simple and some are complex. The issue I am going to speak to today is one which you are personally aware of, Mr. President, as the Senator from West Virginia, and one that…

the filing deadline for all second- degree amendments to S. 493, the small business jobs bill, is at 11 a.m. There will be up to two rollcall votes at noon. The first rollcall vote will be on the motion to invoke cloture on S. 493, the…

hundreds of local first responders, 500 National Guardsmen, and hundreds of volunteers in southern Illinois are working around the clock to try to protect homes and communities from the rising waters of the Ohio River and other rivers in…

I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka), the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), and the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray) are necessarily absent. I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Hawaii…