I rise to ask support, bipartisan support, for the Vitter amendment which we will be voting on at 12 noon. This amendment is very simple. It is very straightforward. I think it is important and makes a central point. The amendment says…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. Amendment No. 568

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Amendment No. 568

I will read it. It is very short, and I will explain it. This amendment simply says: None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act shall exceed the level of the concurrent budget resolution for fiscal year 2012…

I think it simply adds a new category on the other end of the spectrum, which is too small to cope.

I rise to make pending the Vitter amendment which is at the desk, and I will be happy to explain what it is about. If it is necessary, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and make the Vitter amendment pending. The…

I ask unanimous consent to waive reading of the admendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Louisiana [Mr. Vitter] proposes an…

I ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a sufficient second. The clerk will call the roll. The bill clerk called the roll.

I ask unanimous consent that Senator Kirk and I speak in succession for up to 15 minutes and that the Democratic side then have two speakers. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from Illinois. AHMED…

I rise again to urge all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to come together and put serious deficit reduction proposals on the floor for full debate, an open amendment process, a constructive debate and votes and action. That is the way we…

first, I rise to celebrate that we are finally, after months and months of doing everything under the Sun but facing our gravest challenge, which is spending and debt, focused on that on the floor of the Senate. That is progress. We have a…

will the Chair inform me when I have consumed 12 minutes? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Yes.

Well, first of all, I voted for that budget as well as the Toomey budget. The Toomey budget, which was my first choice and preference, balances the budget in 10 years. That would be my first choice. The Ryan budget gets us way down the…

That is not true. It reduces the deficit. It doesn't balance the budget within the 10-year window, which is my strong preference--the Toomey budget does do that--but it gets us going in the right direction. It reduces the deficit, and it…

I thank the Chair. I urge all my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to come together and continue this debate and move it to the next level. As I said when I began, the first thing I wish to do is recognize and celebrate progress…

This is very little to ask this Congress to do--to agree, within 6 or 8 years, to do the hard work to balance our budget in return for giving the President more authority to borrow more money. We owe it to the American people to let them…

I thank Senator Johnson, and I am honored to join him and all our colleagues here to echo the same important message. Everyone knows--everyone paying attention across the country knows--our greatest challenge is out-of-control spending and…

I thank Senator Johnson. I am glad our Republican freshmen did not get the memo that they were supposed to be seen but not heard. It is exciting for this old dusty establishment when the people who just walked in the door are the ones who…

I ask unanimous consent for 2 more minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Hearing no objection, 2 minutes is granted.

I think that equation needs to be flipped over. I think that the public should be in the driver's seat.

What are the limits on this authority and what is the potential to expand and expedite that authority so we are not backloading everything for 8 years from now?

It may be prudent in the near future to look at moving S. 662, legislation written by me and cosponsored by my colleague Mary Landrieu, which would require a significant down payment on NRDA liabilities.

To say that the work of the NRDA Trustees is important would be an enormous understatement, for Louisiana coastal restoration has been an ongoing challenge.

the Interior Department's mismanagement of permitting is way too high.

The commission recommended that Congress dedicate for this purpose 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties, as Senator Vitter mentioned earlier in his discussion of legislation.