I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment, and I call up my amendment, No. 804. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from…

my thanks to the managers of the bill. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont. Amendment No. 816 to Amendment No. 738

I wish to update my colleagues on an amendment that Senator Udall of Colorado and I, along with several of our colleagues, filed at the end of debate last night. This is the amendment that would prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture…

Thank you, it is Senator Udall of Colorado. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be added as cosponsors of this version of the amendment: Senators Udall, Crapo, Risch, Snowe, Ayotte, Johanns, Nelson of Nebraska, Hoeven, Murkowski, and Johnson of Wisconsin. The…

I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To prohibit the use of funds to implement a rule that sets…

I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.

first, I thank Chairman Murray for her exceptional leadership on this bill. It has been a real partnership, a bipartisan partnership, to deal with some very difficult issues. You see that with the chairman and ranking member of the…

first of all, I congratulate the chairman and ranking member of the Agriculture appropriations subcommittee for the excellent work they have done and for bringing a bipartisan bill before the Senate. Shortly, Senator Patty Murray and I…

I thank the Senator from Colorado for his excellent remarks. Both of us share the goal that all Americans share for our children--making sure they get a healthy diet. For many children, it is so critical that the School Lunch and School…

I rise this evening to discuss an amendment numbered 757 that I have offered with my colleague from Colorado, Senator Mark Udall, that would protect the flexibility of schools to serve healthy vegetables in the National School Lunch and…

on behalf of Senator Murray and myself, I ask unanimous consent that the following staff have unlimited floor privileges during the consideration of H.R. 2112: Heideh Shahmoradi, Brooke Stringer, Carl Barrick, Alex Keenan, Meaghan…

I hope our colleagues will take a closer look at this bipartisan amendment that Senator Udall and I are offering, with the support of many colleagues. We need to ensure that our schools can maintain the flexibility they need to serve…

I thank the Chair. Shortly, along with the Senator from Colorado, I am going to discuss an amendment to the Agriculture appropriations bill we have offered. But, first, I am going to yield to the Senator from Texas for the purpose of his…

I also ask unanimous consent that Michael Clarke, a detailee from the Department of Transportation to the Committee on Appropriations, be granted unlimited floor privileges during the consideration of H.R. 2112. The PRESIDING OFFICER…

I rise today to commend Martin's Point Health Care in Portland, ME, for its outstanding accomplishment of scoring two five-star ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, for its Medicare Advantage health plans. This…

I rise today in the wake of another very sobering jobs report. Unemployment remains stalled at 9.1 percent; 14 million Americans are out of work; another 9 million have been forced into part-time jobs because they simply cannot find…

It is a Ponzi scheme that would make Madoff proud, and it should be repealed in its entirety.

Rather than just make across-the-board arbitrary cuts in reimbursements, we need to rethink the entire reimbursement system.

I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues this article from the Mountain Times in Killington, VT. The article highlights the outstanding work of the nearly 200 members of Maine National Guard's 133rd Engineer Battalion…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

America's firefighters, whether professional or volunteer, always answer the call.

I am honored to serve along with Senator Lieberman as the co-chair of the Congressional Fire Caucus.

I would never support banning volunteers from volunteering.

I look forward to working with him on how to further strengthen and improve the Fire Administration through that reauthorization.