I feel compelled to rise today as the only Member of this body who has deployed twice to Afghanistan, both times as a Navy Reserve intelligence officer in Kandahar in 2008 and 2009. I'm not worried about the outcome of this debate. My…

While I was flattered that the President chose to include seven parts of my bill, the Medical Rights and Reform Act, in his latest health care proposal, he left out nearly every major reform in our centrist health care legislation…

Comprehensive health care reform must remain an urgent priority of the 111th Congress. But before we move forward on the path to health care reform and the many other critical issues that demand our attention, I respectfully submit that…

I rise for the honor of speaking on the floor of this Senate Chamber for the last time. With the swearing-in of Senator-elect Scott Brown of Massachusetts scheduled for later this afternoon, my time as a Senator is nearing its close. I…

I think if they didn't see and feel that effort was real and significant, that it would be difficult to continue to win their support.

Let me compliment you, Senator Lugar and this committee, on the Lugar-Casey bill, which has passed the committee and I hope gains substantial more sponsors and ultimately becomes law.

I think the Quadrennial Diplomatic and Development Review is a very good idea, long overdue.

we would have a radical change in what we have.

Last month, several former members of Congress cashed in their taxpayer-funded retirement checks from jail. After indictment and conviction beyond a shadow of a doubt, they are still paid each month by the taxpayers they betrayed.

Well, because members of Congress have pensions, and they're worried about what would happen if they were ever charged with a crime.

Including all of the felonies you would expect: bribery and -- and various items of public corruption, to make sure that a lawmaker, who is convicted of breaking the law, suffers the penalty and doesn't get a taxpayer-funded pension.

I think it's essential that we deny a pension to any member of Congress convicted of a felony.

I think it's essential that we deny a pension to any member of Congress convicted of a felony.

Right now, the area where we think he's hiding is rural. And the communities are largely illiterate. So news about the award program and how to come in, and how safely your family will be protected, hasn't really penetrated these…