Al Franken

We had a vote on disclosure. We had not one Republican join us on disclosure.

In the name of the Founders, they are going to give us a completely unregulated political finance system.

There are a lot of issues here that we will get into today, one of which is the skills that are--and I know Dr. Langdon, you speak this in your testimony--the skills that our veterans come to their college careers already having.

It's quite all right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I thank Senator Klobuchar for her moving tribute to Jim Oberstar. We both had the honor of speaking today at his funeral. We were both honored by his wife Jean and by his family. Jim served the Eighth District for 36 years as their…

I yield back all time on the nomination. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Theodore Reed Mitchell, of California, to be Under Secretary of Education? The nomination…

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to talk about the growing problem of student debt and the college affordability crisis that is gripping our Nation. I also rise to talk about one of the things we need to do to address this crisis…

As a general matter, I think it is very important that the benefits of rules justify their costs, and that public input plays an important role in that determination.

I introduced legislation, the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act, along with Senators Susan Collins and Jay Rockefeller, to do just that.

I wish to speak today as in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is currently in morning business. ____________________

I thank my colleague for his words on the minimum wage. There were very important points raised in terms of that letter from those economists and the American Academy of Pediatrics. It adds wonderfully to the debate. I rise to support…

I think we should expand that program.

In that case, 2 minutes. A higher minimum wage also helps our economy because increasing the minimum wage boosts the purchasing power of consumers and creates more customers for local businesses. People earning minimum wage spend the money…

I have the feeling that one of the safest places to be this year was at the Boston Marathon.

That's why I was so determined, along with Senator Baldwin and other members, to get relief for those who were affected.

I want to once again thank Senator Franken and the rest of the Minnesota delegation for staying focused on finding solutions.

thanks to Senator Franken and the rest of the Minnesota delegation for staying focused on finding solutions.

But if that could be streamlined in such a way that if this does get to this point in the future, FERC's response in opening up the pipeline shipments could happen quicker.

What would the equivalent of a heating oil reserve which came in handy during this last hurricane or Hurricane Sandy? What would that look like?

So, if you can answer now, great. But feel free also to follow up.

I think that we need to focus more on distribution plans.

I have been working on a reauthorization of MIOTCRA and expansion of it called the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act.

What we have seen with the kind of programs that we are talking about is less recidivism.

We have seen that putting people in prison with mental illness makes them sicker, costs us money.

recently the Senate failed to permanently repeal the current system of automatic payment cuts for physicians who treat Medicare patients and to replace it with a more sensible system for reimbursing physicians. Instead, the Senate…