We intend at some point to be able to get this all the way to the finish line.

When I am talking to my constituents, their number one concern is jobs.

the oil and gas industry has been a huge blessing in terms of the economy and jobs and the resources certainly for our country

So as we address climate change, we need to keep our focus on jobs and American families who are already struggling with rising energy bills.

the challenges, the concerns, the risks, obviously certainly in a broad sense, both the benefits from this great natural resource, but the carbon pollution that comes from that is, on the other hand, creating the warming.

I don't think there's anyone--I know there's not anyone I have met in my tenure that has been more of a champion in talking about Alaska.

Global warming is a fact. The science is solid. We know that we are the cause, and that we will have to be the solution.

Without the Polar Sea or other icebreakers like the Polar Star, how is the Coast Guard going to be able to conduct these drills in the coming years?

It has been a real pleasure for me to get to know Senator Begich and his family and to see Alaska through his eyes.

no deal is better than a bad deal, and so we need to be opening our markets, but we need to make sure they are good deals for us

we need to say it is happening and we need to do something about it

I would encourage you to use the tools that need to be used.

We are now in the largest deficit in the history of the country.

Unfortunately, I believe the wrong structure was put in place. And as my mother would say, proof is in the pudding.

We need to give the country a facelift.

Yet what we are seeing is a strategy by the Republican leadership to continue to block and block and block, and to filibuster, filibuster, filibuster even something that is important for Main Street. This is not about Wall Street. This is…

We are lucky to have him and very much appreciate all of his wonderful work. Pennsylvania and Michigan have a lot in common. Our hard-working folks, a lot of them who have been losing their jobs in one industry, are starting small…

I thank the Senator from Louisiana for her tireless advocacy and leadership in getting us to this point, because this is absolutely critical for small businesses, certainly in Michigan and across the country. I know we talked about it…

I thank the Senator, the chair of the Small Business Committee, for her leadership and her passion. I could not agree more. We have to focus on jobs. When you support small business, both the underlying bill and the changes, in terms of…

Well, the Senator is absolutely correct. That is the fundamental question. It goes to a question of values and priorities. We will never get out of deficit with over 15 million people out of work, and that doesn't count people working two…

Well, you are exactly right. I also hear, on top of that, about people who have done what we have told them they should do--they should go back to school and get retraining. So they go back, and the only reason they can actually afford to…

I say to our distinguished leader in the Senate--and I thank him for his advocacy--he is exactly right. We have waited--I am not sure now if it is 10 or 11 weeks--trying to extend unemployment benefits. We have had multiple votes. We…

But it is a difference between having a roof over your family's head, food on the table, and not. So now we are pushing into next week.

I wish to take a few moments to talk about what is currently happening in the Senate, in my judgement, representing a State with now the second highest unemployment rate in the country--Michigan. We are glad not to be No. 1, but we sure…

If over 15 million people out of work in this country isn't an emergency, I don't know what is. Those are the folks we are fighting for right now--the people who want to work, the people who have been part of this great middle class in our…