I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 72, as Modified, to Amendment No. 26

this amendment makes technical changes to citations, bill language related to the Department of Homeland Security and an adjustment resulting from a CBO scoring. I believe we can agree to this amendment with a voice vote, so I ask…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 20, 2013, at 10 a.m., in room SR-418 of the Russell Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled, ``VA…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 20, 2013, at 10 a.m. in room SD-406 of the Dirksen Senate Office building. The PRESIDING OFFICER…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 20, 2013, at 2 p.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled…

I believe we can agree to this amendment with a voice vote, so I ask unanimous consent that the 60-vote threshold be waived for the amendment. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. Is…

I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 115, As Modified, Withdrawn The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the Durbin second-degree amendment to the Toomey…

I know Senator Udall wanted to speak against the Toomey amendment. In his absence, I will comment on the Toomey amendment. I believe the Senator proposes to cut $60 million from the Advanced Drop- In Biofuels Production Program. He would…

I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 70, as Modified, to Amendment No. 26 The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The next amendment is Coburn amendment No. 70, as modified. The…

I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 98, as Modified, to Amendment No. 26

this is an enormous victory--that we just passed this bill and are now sending it to the House. Again, I wish to thank everyone. I also wish to say that today is exactly 90 days since I took over the full Committee on Appropriations…

this too is an amendment I believe we can agree to with a voice vote. Again, I wish to thank Senator Leahy for the excellent job he did. I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back and the 60-vote threshold be waived for this…

what is the next regular order? Amendment No. 65 to Amendment No. 26 The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The next amendment is Coburn amendment No. 65.

I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Science and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 20, 2013, at 10 a.m., in room 253 of the Russell…

just to give everybody the lay of the land, it means we are working through our legislative issues, and at 2 o'clock we will then proceed to a series of votes which will be announced in plenty of time for people to know what is happening…

we are waiting for the two party conferences to conclude and for the majority leader to come to the floor and kind of talk about the path forward. Let me outline the pending business here. We are now continuing the 30 hours mandated under…

I want to say, first of all, we have had three astronaut Senators. We have Senator Bill Nelson, who just spoke so eloquently about the planet and the way he saw it, we have had our own very beloved and hero with the right stuff, Senator…

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess until 2:15 for the respective party conferences to discuss important issues. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m. There being…

before the Senator from Missouri leaves the floor, I wish to make a comment. First of all, I would personally like to thank him for all of his cooperation in trying to help move this bill forward within the Senate. It is characteristic of…

I thank the Senators for their comments and would be pleased to work with them on this important issue and ways to maintain a 50-State weatherization program.

we are now a few minutes before we are going to recess for the luncheon hour. Pope Francis I want to comment briefly to say for those of us of the Roman Catholic faith this is, indeed, a great day. We now have a Pope who has been formally…

I appreciate the tenacity and persistence of the Senator from Kansas in being an advocate for his constituents. I would hope that during this noon hour--I can give no promises. There are leadership concerns on both sides of the aisle. But…

over the weekend, we in Maryland were saddened by three separate yet poignant deaths. CPT Sara Cullen, one of our very own--a wonderful woman who served in the U.S. military--died in Afghanistan. Kristina Quigley, a young woman who showed…

I rise to ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for cloture on the Senate bill. I want to say to my colleagues, we have come very far on this bill, and as of Thursday we had 126 amendments. I love the Senate. We love…

I want to follow up. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.