I announce that the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, it has been 3 years--3 years--since my colleague from Kentucky who just spoke announced to America that his highest priority as a Senate leader was to make sure Barack Obama was a one-term President. That was his highest…

Mr. President, I rise today to discuss a disturbing article which most of us saw on the front page of the Washington Post. It is entitled ``In Niger, hunger crisis raises fears of more child marriages.'' It was written by Sudarsan…

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Tennessee for his comments. I share his concern about our deficit. I was a member of the Simpson-Bowles Commission, voted for the commission report, bipartisan effort to reduce the deficit by $4\1/2\…

Mr. President, I think Senator Corker from Tennessee was on the floor before me. I do not know if we are going back and forth or how long he expects to speak. I wish to yield to him to see what his plans are. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The…

I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Bennet), the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye), and the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Udall) are necessarily absent.

I would be happy to yield to the Senator from Tennessee. I ask unanimous consent that I follow him. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Budget Control Act

Mr. President, off and on and for some time I have come to the floor to speak about an issue that doesn't receive a lot of attention, which is political prisoners in foreign lands--journalists in Cameroon, an AIDS activist in Uzbekistan…

Madam President, I cannot remember another day when so many Americans were waiting for the Supreme Court to rule, but today was one of those days all across America. Everyone understood that a decision just across the street this morning…

Mr. President, I thank the majority leader and especially Senators Boxer and Inhofe, as well as their counterparts on the Commerce Committee and the Banking Committee, who have put so much time into this bill, so much effort. We are trying…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any related statements be printed in the…

Mr. President, politicians are used to waiting in nervous anticipation for certain events; specifically, their own elections and the elections of their friends. But it is an interesting feeling in this town today--in Washington…