Would the Senator mind explaining that amendment, and I will make sure it is cleared on our side and we will see what we can do.

There is no objection. But before we do that, I ask the Senator a question. I actually like this amendment, No. 184. The Senator spoke with me about this previously. It has some merit. I thank the Senator for being cooperative. If he could…

I know Senator Portman is here on the floor, and under a previous order will be recognized in a few minutes. But before that, for clarification purposes on the previous agreement, I want to state that the next first-degree amendment in…

No objection, Mr. President, but may I ask--I see Senator Murray on the floor and Senator Stabenow is on the floor, so I ask unanimous consent that after Senator Hutchison from Texas, we recognize Senator Murray for 7 minutes and Senator…

I thank the Senator from Vermont for that eloquent and very accurate description of the situation we are in. I see the Senator from Oklahoma here for an amendment. We want to keep these amendments being discussed. So I thank the Senator…

The reason I ask the Senator that is because it is striking to me that some Members from the other side of the aisle will come and argue that programs like this should be slated for cuts and reductions, and yet failed to vote favorably to…

Would the Senator explain--I think he knows because he is quite an expert on this program. I agree 100 percent with the views he just expressed. What is the basic average Social Security income that a person might receive? I understand it…

I thank the Senator from Pennsylvania. I do intend to support his amendment. It is an excellent one. Hopefully, we can get a vote on it sometime today or tomorrow. At this time, pursuant to a unanimous consent agreement, we will hear a…

Let me say again how pleased I am that only a handful of amendments out of the 68 that are pending actually pertain directly to the programs we are getting ready, hopefully, to authorize. Actually, out of the 68 amendments pending, only 14…

I thank the Senator. I will comment, and I know the Senator wants to genuinely root out the waste and duplication. I only say that for programs that are operating under appropriations only. The Senator will know that that authorization is…

Most of the programs I am familiar with at the Federal level have built-in sunsets, because they have limited authorization. How does the Senator's amendment either override that or undercut that? Why is his amendment necessary?

Our intention is for Senator Casey to have an opportunity when he comes to the floor. Before Senator Cornyn speaks, for just one moment I wish to add a few comments about what happened this morning. We did get two amendment votes on the…

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To require contractors to notify small business…

Is there any time remaining? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is no time remaining.

Can I also ask the Chair this: We have filed and discussed Hutchison 197, Paul 199, and Sanders 207, which are not pending but have been discussed on the floor. Does that list exist at the desk? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Those…

I thank the Senator from Texas. Hopefully, as we go through the day, we will have a discussion on that amendment and others. I will try to give a recap. My ranking member is on the floor, and we wish to proceed today as we did yesterday…

We are going to find ourselves back in the same position we were before Hurricane Katrina struck, which is under-funding our preparedness for future disasters and not being ready when it happens.

But we want to be careful as we are examining these things that it is really fraud that we are after and not honest disaster victims who made reasonable good-faith decisions in the aftermath of a storm.

It does not make any sense to me that the House of Representatives would cut funding from these important programs, $1.5 billion in additional funding is needed just to meet the cost of eligible projects for this year.

This is exactly the money that is necessary for FEMA to keep up their computer software and reporting mechanisms to cut down on fraud and abuse.

What concerns me is right now in this Congress, there are efforts to significantly reduce funding for the Department of Homeland Security to cover an existing shortfall in FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund (DRF).

I do think that we have to take seriously our responsibility to curb government waste where we find it, and to eliminate and prosecute fraud and abuse.

the reason that we are into this mess in the first place is because the Republican leadership, in my view, undercut funds to FEMA.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 16, 2011, at 10 a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, to hold a hearing…

I think Senator Coons hit the nail on the head when he said a smart budget plan is going to work to meet the challenges of this extraordinary debt we have that has been caused for multiple reasons. It is important we address that correctly…