Al Franken

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 9, 2014, at 10 a.m. in room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``The…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on September 9, 2014, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 9, 2014, at 4 p.m., to hold a hearing entitled, ``CLOSED/TS/SCI: Arms Control Compliance Issues.'' The…

I rise today to talk about the transparency provisions in the USA FREEDOM Act. I am a proud cosponsor of Chairman Leahy's bill, and I am particularly proud to have written its key transparency provisions with my friend Senator Dean Heller…

I ask unanimous consent that my counsel detailee, Helen Gilbert, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this Congress. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

I rise to talk about the transparency provisions in the USA FREEDOM Act. I am a proud cosponsor of Chairman Leahy's bill, and I am particularly proud to have written the key transparency provisions with my friend Senator Dean Heller of…

If Indian gaming vanished tomorrow and all those needs shifted to Federal trust responsibility, what would that look like?

I would shudder to think what Indian Country would look like without the revenues that come in from Indian gaming.

There is a lot of debate about gaming in general. But one aspect that is undeniable is the economic development benefit of Indian gaming to tribes.

The future of Indian gaming is bright, but we must remain vigilant.

I understand the need to prioritize the most fractionated reservations and I am glad that the Fond du Lac Reservation in Minnesota, that their band is on the list of tribes that the Department plans to focus on.

I rise today to speak in proud support of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and to urge my colleagues to support it. This is an extremely important piece of legislation, and one I was happy to work on in the HELP Committee. It…

It is time for Congress to act to strengthen and update the original Voting Rights Act.

I think we need Section 5.

We must make sure that we fulfill Congress' longstanding bipartisan commitment to provide equal access to the ballot.

I believe that the Voting Rights Act is one of the greatest achievements of the civil rights movement.

To me that is not a good reason to approve a deal.

Many of my constituents want this option, and my view is that you should be offering it whether the deal is approved or not.

This is blatantly anti-consumer, and I think it violates local government rights.

This sounds to me like a broken promise, an example of consumers being forced into expensive bundles that they do not necessarily want.

Municipal broadband is a way for small towns to take control of their economic destiny.

We need more investment in telecommunications, investment in infrastructure, in customer service, and in new technologies.

As good corporate citizens, they must also explain why this is a good deal for consumers.

I've seen it, the resilience of the people of Minnesota and what you see every time you go to these things is Minnesotans helping other Minnesotans.

Thank you very much. We can do both the Sanders-McCain bill, the veterans bill, and we can do this, and there is a need for this. I was proud to join Senator Warren of Massachusetts in presenting the Bank on Students Emergency Loan…