When it comes to maritime security, we can, and must do better to protect our country's 360 ports and maritime facilities.

we will have spent $3.2 billion, and we've yet to clear all the hurdles to say that it's fully implemented and satisfied.

Now, is there any way that we can sort of synchronize these background checks, you know, so that we can have one unified background check?

I just think it's cumbersome and bureaucratic.

I have great concerns about the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, or TWIC card, and the security of our nation's ports.

Well, is it going to be interoperable in any way?

I mean, I think if it takes so long to get a program up and running, something must be truly wrong.

I was pleased to join Senate Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell in offering the strongest possible support for the Senate resolution honoring our heroic military and intelligence communities responsible for carrying out…

I rise today regrettably, as ranking member of the Small Business Committee, to announce that I will be opposing cloture on the pending legislation regarding small business. I have reached this decision after much deliberation, because I…

We have taken great strides to address the concerns of those from across the aisle. But they keep moving the goalposts. For instance, some did not like our definition of indirect effect and costs with respect to evaluating the impact of…

I appreciate the comments that have been made by the majority leader. But to the contrary, this is very relevant to the underlying legislation. It is about regulatory reform. And if you were to ask the small business community exactly what…

I reserve the right to object, I have an additional amendment I would like to have considered on this list. I thought we had an agreement that there would be an even number of amendments offered on both sides, and now I understand that in…

further reserving the right to object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.

I heard the majority leader's comments, and I appreciate them. It is not about the evenness of the amendments, but that was the agreement. That was the understanding before I arrived on the floor. My staff worked in concert with the staff…

I rise today to discuss two amendments to the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011, S. 493, which would improve our oversight of the critical Small Business Innovation Research, SBIR, and Small Business Technology Transfer, STTR…

Thank you, Chairman Lieberman, and Ranking Member Collins for convening this crucial hearing on regulatory reform, and I applaud your efforts.

I want to commend you, Senator Collins, for your initiative on small businesses and on regulatory reform.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this timely hearing today to review the President's Fiscal Year 2012 budget request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Well, that's certainly a double whammy if this industry is managed both through, obviously, the international organization and then, at the same time, under the Endangered Species Act, because it's a highly migratory species, as you know.

I mean, it's a very difficult process, and I just wonder if there's an interim period by which everybody can reflect on the status review before it prompts a rulemaking.

I don't dispute that. I think that, obviously, the results of the reports speak in themselves in terms of what happened in our region.

As Senator Snowe noted, as we look toward Earth Day next week, I want to acknowledge and highlight the 35th anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

I have had the pleasure of meeting with Nancy earlier this week, and she is a consummate professional and supremely qualified.

Is there a reason for such a significant reduction when we're looking to actively pursue alternatives with clean energy?

I commend you for the proposal to include in your budget the consolidation of all the climate research services under one umbrella.