I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer) and the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I listened to the statement made on the floor by the Republican leader. It was a statement similar to one that was made yesterday. I responded to it yesterday and I wish to make a response today. I am disappointed that this…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, as if in executive session, the nomination of Keith Kelly, of Montana, to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training, sent to the Senate by the President, be referred…

Mr. President, the United States has led the world in creating the legal framework, building the infrastructure, and designing facilities that ensure inclusion and opportunity for people living with disabilities. Just recently we…

Mr. President, 4 years ago our economy was in a free fall. AIG had been bailed out, and Lehman Brothers plunged into bankruptcy. The depth of the recession we fell into is difficult to understate. With the economy contracting at nearly 9…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. State of the Economy

Mr. President, one of the greatest orators in the history of English-speaking people was Winston Churchill. I can't tell you how many times I have read and reread his speeches and heard his great efforts to summon the courage of the…

Mr. President, I would like to respond to my colleague, Senator Lee. Repeatedly he said we should not consider this in the lameduck session. We are not in a lameduck session. This is the regular session of the Senate. We do precious little…

Madam President, Bill Daley is a businessman in Chicago and a friend of mine. A few years back he was the chairman of the Al Gore Presidential campaign. We all know how the campaign ended in the Florida recount. Bill was contacted several…

I will be brief. I thank the Senator from Alabama, my friend, for yielding the floor. He asks an important question: Why has Congress not passed a budget resolution in a number of years? But he knows the answer. The answer is because we…

On June 27, 2012, Congress presented the Congressional Gold Medal to the first African Americans to serve in the United States Marine Corps, the Montford Point Marines. More recently, the personal story of three of those marines from…

Madam President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I move to waive the applicable sections of that act for purposes of the pending amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore…