I'm a very strong supporter of both Home Star and Building Star and I want to see both of these go forward.

Mark C. Goldsmith is a nominee who embodies the qualities we need in our judiciary.

I am pleased to speak on behalf of this amendment which was cosponsored by Senators Hatch, Schumer, Crapo, Snowe, Sherrod Brown, Enzi, Risch, and Collins. This focuses on companies that continue to face significant challenges in raising…

The Recovery Act has absolutely created jobs.

We need to have an advanced manufacturing strategy in this country.

Mr. President, in a few moments I am pleased I am going to be offering an amendment that is strongly supported by Members on both sides of the aisle to focus on jobs and investments in equipment for companies that are currently not making…

I want to share some comments from a distraught woman from Grand Rapids who called my office a little bit ago in tears because her unemployment benefits had expired. This has been her only source of income for over a year now. She has…

I continue to hear from small businesses in my State who can't access credit to grow their company.

I commend you and Senator Merkley for all you are doing here to get these small businesses the kind of support that they need and that is so essential to our country.

Well, thank you very much, Senator Merkley and Senator Brown, for convening what is a very important meeting, a very important hearing.

That clearly is a real obstacle to our recovery, obviously, in States like ours, but States across the country.

I come to the floor to also add my voice to what I believe to be an outrageous situation. ... We need to have the same sense of urgency as any other disaster would call us, focusing not only on helping people who have lost their job but in…

I had a conversation yesterday with a banker in Michigan who was right on point with what we are talking about in terms of collateral.

It's important to separate the large financial institutions that benefited from TARP from the vast majority of banks.

Well, at this point, in order for them to expand it, they would need support from the Federal Government to do that given the economic crisis in the State as well.

Ultimately, it is America's small businesses, and American workers, who suffer the most.

We know what it means for businesses that are looking for credit.

But to hear that somehow, when there has not been a concern about rising deficits when we were talking about tax benefits for the wealthiest Americans that did not have to be paid for, but now we are talking about those who find…

I wonder if the Senator is aware that in March, 62,000 people in the great State of Michigan, where we have the highest unemployment rate--we have a 14.6-percent unemployment rate, over 700,000 people right now unemployed, looking for…

the challenge the Framework attempts to meet is not easy.

There is a strong bipartisan support for moving quickly and having the resources available, and being focused on what I view, as a crisis.

we've got to protect the Great Lakes, obviously, but don't want to--we have to do it in the most prudent way possible.

We believe these suggestions can protect Lake Michigan from an invasion of Asian Carp via Illinois waterways and simultaneously provide for commerce to continue uninterrupted.

We see a tremendous difference having a Great Lakes President with the resources that have been available to the Great Lakes.

Are we properly budgeting to carry out the activities that we've been talking about today?