Mr. President, tomorrow evening, hundreds of athletes from across the world will gather in London for the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic games. Among those marching in the Parade of Nations will be 20 athletes from Illinois…

Mr. President, I want to add my voice to the well- deserved chorus of congratulations for our colleague and friend from Vermont. Senator Patrick Leahy is the last remaining member of a historic class in the U.S. Senate, the class of 1974…

Mr. President, in a short time we are going to vote on a tax measure that gives the Senate a very clear choice, and here is the choice: At the end of this year, a whole battery of tax cuts that were enacted into law years ago will expire…

Mr. President, 11 years ago, I introduced a bill called the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is a piece of legislation that would give a select group of immigrant students who grew up in this country the chance to earn their citizenship if they…

I also ask unanimous consent that if I go over the allotted time in morning business for the majority, that I and Senator Murray be given an additional period of time and a like amount of time be offered to the Republican side. The ACTING…

Mr. President, I thank my colleague from North Dakota, Senator Kent Conrad, who is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He is retiring, unfortunately, for the Senate and for this country because he has brought to this Chamber and…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). Without objection, it is so ordered. AURORA, COLORADO SHOOTINGS

I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Begich), the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Harkin), and the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Udall) are necessarily…

Mr. President, the horrific shooting that happened last week in Aurora, CO has shocked our Nation. Our hearts and our prayers go out to the victims, to their loved ones, and to all those whose lives have been forever marred by this…

Mr. President, there was a troubling report recently released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. It is entitled ``The Campus Debit Card Trap.'' The report from PIRG documents how colleges and universities across the country have…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Campus Debit Cards

Mr. President, for the past several years much of the conversation about health care in Washington has been a war of words. Today I would like to talk about a hospital in my home State that is seeking to better the lives of the women in…