Losing tens of thousands of jobs will be a catastrophic blow to an already tragic situation.

I am asking can you give any time certain, can you give any confidence that we can keep our people at work...

This moratorium will exacerbate, rather than alleviate, the impacts of this spill upon Louisiana's economy and the environment.

Nobody is suggesting these consumption numbers are going to go down any time soon.

The report does not justify the moratorium as written. The moratorium as changed will not contribute measurably to increased safety and will have an immediate and long-term economic effect.

as we near the close of the 2010 National Small Business Week, I am pleased to join Senator Olympia Snowe in introducing the Small Business Tax Equalization and Compliance Act of 2010, which extends a tax credit to salon owners for FICA…

along with my distinguished colleague Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, I rise today to introduce the Section 8(a) Improvements Act of 2010. As the Chair of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have held a number of…

There is no question who will pay these bills to individuals, to business, to the parish, and to the government. Those bills will be paid in full.

If you made $50,000 last year and you cannot work this year because of BP and the accident, BP is going to write you a check for $50,000.

So would it be fair to say that you are encouraging them to seek relief through the claims process first and then only fall back on loans if there is some trouble or situation that is not being handled appropriately through claims?

I would like to thank the Chairwoman for putting in the Southeast Hurricane Small Business Disaster Relief Act of 2010 and support that concept of aiding some of these people that have Small Business Administration loans so that they could…

It is not the strongest of the species who survive nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.

On behalf of the people that I represent, the last thing they need is more loans.

The claims process at BP as set up, in my opinion, at this point is adequate to accomplish the goals to help people back to the dock.

This amendment will cost $19 million, but in some ways it is simply advancing what the President already has in his budget for these very important projects. President Obama should get a tremendous amount of credit for being the first…

We have to do more and we have to be more focused. We have to hold BP's feet to the fire to get this well shut off. The best scientists in the world need to be working on this. I have assurances from Secretary Salazar that they are. New…

this is another I think smart action this Congress could take to help the gulf coast and particularly the State of Louisiana. Before the Presiding Officer got to the Senate, in one of our last energy bills we were able to fund a very…

I have a series of amendments that will, I believe, give some direct relief and support to individuals and businesses that are struggling with the disaster that is going on in the gulf area, as the Presiding Officer and everyone is aware…

this is an amendment that will provide some additional funding for technical assistance grants--disaster assistance--for the gulf coast. The President had a fairly robust package represented in this bill--I think $118 million. I hope I am…

this amendment is another tool we can use to give help to these businesses along the gulf coast. It would actually set up a relatively new procedure but based on past action. This procedure would allow the SBA, in giving out an economic…

this is a very important amendment, and it is something that our delegation has actually been working on for quite some time, and we have actually passed it before in the Senate, which is a happy circumstance. This language has been…

I couldn't agree with you more, the polluter should pay. BP should be--pay everything, as I've said; and if anyone else was at fault, they should, as well.

Oil is now also washing up on coastal beaches and wetlands.

That's good's to know, that not everybody in Louisiana is going to have hire an attorney.

I want to go back to this liability question, because Senator Menendez and others have recommended a cap, I think, for the whole offshore, but he clarified, just a moment ago, for deepwater, so I'm not sure, but a cap of 10 billion.