I start from a very basic premise of saying we do not want to explode the deficit on whatever we do.

the National Defense Authorization Act before us is more than just an important defense policy bill; it shows what we value as a nation. In Michigan, we value our freedom. We cherish the rights we enjoy as citizens of this great country…

this is about State reporting and what they are doing. This is not about individual people committing fraud.

I think the first thing would be to have a bipartisan and transparent process.

I am hopeful that we are going to reject clearly the House Blueprint, which would give over 99 percent of the benefits to the wealthiest Americans.

SNAP supports families. It is about America saying, 'We've got your back when there is an emergency.'

So you are saying Government mandates, in this case, are not as effective as voluntary programs.

They should be counting that, absolutely.

We do not want the benefits going to the top 1 percent in our country who have received a majority of benefits of recovery.

These destructive storms underscore the critical need for disaster assistance for both our farmers and our families.

The good news is that the costs are going down, the spending is going down because we are seeing the economy getting better.

I first, Mr. Chairman, want to thank you for focusing on health care and moving forward with this hearing.

I think Medicare should be negotiating best price for seniors, people with disabilities, and I would also love to see us open up the border.

I want to thank you and the chairman for supporting our effort to report out of committee the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act last year.

I am very hopeful we are going to be able to continue with a long-term extension in a bipartisan way

97 percent of our children can go to the doctor. That is a very big deal.

first, I thank my friend and colleague from Connecticut for his thoughtful words and thank all of my other colleagues who come to the floor to speak up for young people who need our voices right now. ``Through no fault of their own'' has…

Last week, the FCC announced a controlled roll out of the National Verifier in six states to begin in December.

I want to commend Senator Cantwell and yourself, Mr. Chairman, for this important legislation.

I first want to indicate my strong support for S. 548.

We need to fix that process.

I want to support what my colleagues have been saying on this floor. The reason we haven't seen a bill, the reason we have no idea what is coming is that this is a political exercise by the Republicans. It is about winning and losing. But…

I ask unanimous consent for 5 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered.

It is time to bring back some dignity to the U.S. Senate. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.

If I might ask one final question, would my colleague agree that rather than this approach, in which we don't even know, moment to moment, what we are voting on here--unlike what we did in the Finance Committee in 2009, where there were…