To be clear, the first vote is on the cloture for the Senate bill. If this vote on cloture fails, we will go to the House bill. We have two choices tonight; we have two paths which we can go down. We can go down the Senate path, which is…

I object. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate is in a quorum. Without objection, we will suspend the quorum call.

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…

to my colleague and friend from Illinois, through you, I also express my condolences to the Athens family. Andy was a good friend to me. We had such a warm, cordial, affectionate relationship. But he made that easy because of the kind of…

I know we are going to go out. I thank the majority leader for his kind words. I assure the leader and the Republican leader that the staffs on the Appropriations Committee will be working once again through another weekend to scrutinize…

I also ask unanimous consent that the pending Inhofe amendment, No. 29, as modified, be agreed to; and that upon disposition of the Inhofe amendment, Senator Toomey or his designee be recognized to call up amendment No. 115. The PRESIDING…

I note the absence of a quorum so we can discuss how we are going to proceed on the debate. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator…

I rise to speak on the Toomey amendment. I want to reiterate what my colleague from Illinois said about this amendment. Senator Durbin chairs the Subcommittee on Defense. He recently took this over with the passing of Senator Dan Inouye…

That is more than agreeable. We know the topic and we are anxious to hear it. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Warren). Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from Texas.

Absolutely. I am so pleased, if I may comment, that the Senator brought this to the attention of the full Senate. I will submit my own statement. We would welcome to know how to get in touch with the Athens family. But let me say it to the…

I note that the Senator from Oklahoma is on the floor. I yield the floor. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oklahoma. Amendment No. 66 to Amendment No. 26

on behalf of Senator Landrieu and myself, I object to the Senator's request. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The amendment (No. 115) is as follows: (Purpose: To increase by $60,000,000 the amount appropriated for Operation and…

I rise in opposition to the Coburn amendment. I am not going to go into the process of wanting to keep the bill as free of amendments as possible which has been something the House has requested us to do. This is the continuing resolution…

I want to tell my colleagues and anyone watching that just because Senators are not speaking on the Senate floor doesn't mean nothing is going on. I am incredibly impressed by the cooperation on both sides of the aisle as we try to get a…

reserving the right to object, I will not, I just want to seek clarification from the Senator from Texas. About how long will the Senator seek recognition?

before we proceed to debate on the Toomey amendment, I say to my colleague from Ohio that his strong advocacy for working people is appreciated. From the standpoint of discussion, the Senator has some excellent ideas, and I hope he and the…

I have a unanimous consent request that I understand has been cleared on both sides of the aisle. I ask unanimous consent that it now be in order for Senator Coburn to call up his amendment numbered 66; that there be 60 minutes equally…

that also takes me to the fact that there are these growing issues in the area of health care that we need to take a look at. There are a variety of challenges facing the Department of Defense that we need to look at and address, but let's…

we note the Senator from Pennsylvania is coming to offer his amendment. While we are waiting for him to get ready to proceed, I would like to thank Senator Inhofe, Senator Boxer, and all who worked on a satisfactory resolution of the…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cowan). Without objection, it is so ordered.

what a wonderful speech. I am proud to serve with Senator McCain. America has so few heroes. America needs all the heroes we can get, and people whom we can identify with--not comic book figures wearing weird costumes. There are men and…

could we just have quiet. We are going to have our first vote on this bill. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Cruz amendment.

I wish to speak on the bill and comment on the amendment. First of all, I want to say to the Senator from Iowa how much I admire him and the fantastic job he has done on behalf of the poor, people who didn't have health care, and the…

I want to express my deep condolences to the family of LT Valerie Delaney who was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in 2009, whose life was cut short by jet crash in Washington State. Lieutenant Delaney graduated from the Naval Academy…

And for the Senator from Utah, we all have scheduling issues. What we would want to do is make sure everybody has their say. If the Senator from Utah has a statement he wishes to put into the Record or wishes to return, we welcome him…