Mr. President, 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…

Mr. President, as Chair of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I am pleased to introduce the Strengthening Entrepreneurship for America's Veterans Act of 2010. This vital and timely legislation builds upon the Small…

Mr. President, I thank the chairman for his acknowledgment and his work with us on this amendment. It has broad bipartisan support. I offer it on behalf of myself and the good Senator from Georgia, Mr. Isakson, whose expertise in housing…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To exempt qualified residential mortgages from…

I wish to ask for immediate consideration of the amendment, if it could be voice voted at this time and, if not, scheduled for the earliest possible vote.

I ask unanimous consent to add Senator Burris as a cosponsor of the amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

I thank my colleague, Senator Snowe, who chaired the Small Business Committee for many years, for her dogged determination to make sure the language in the underlying bill, which is most certainly necessary to curb gross abuses in the…

Before I begin on my topic, which is different from the topic of the Senator from Ohio--I thank him for his comments about our focus on small business and assure him, as the Chair knows, that we are doubling our efforts this week to hone…

Madam President, I come to the floor today to pay tribute to a great civil rights leader of our Nation, a woman who was memorialized today at the National Cathedral here in Washington, DC. Of course, I am speaking of Dr. Dorothy Height…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 5 minutes in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

Madam President, I ask to speak as in morning business for up to 10 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a great Civil Rights leader of our Nation, who passed away recently. I come to the floor in her memory to pause for just a moment and to remember this great lady. Tuesday, the Nation lost a powerful…