Al Franken

One argument that we often hear from my friends across the aisle is that we need to open more federal land to drilling...

I believe we need a fair and simpler tax code.

Eighty percent of the tax cuts would go to the top 1 percent of income earners and very little for low income and middle income families.

It is unconscionable to be adding trillions of dollars to the national debt in order to fund tax cuts for the wealthy without addressing these other serious issues.

Don't you think rather than a $2.4 trillion tax cut, of which 80 percent goes to the wealthy, the President should be investing in programs that provide health care and housing?

I hope this hearing will be a reminder of why we need a bipartisan approach to tax reform that addresses the real needs of tribal communities.

I urge Chairman Hoeven and Vice Chairman Udall to schedule a future hearing with an Administration witness on this issue prior to Senate consideration of such a major tax policy change.

The fiscal year 2018 budget request contains $300 million in cuts to the Indian Health Service with reductions in almost every other category which will mean less services and poorer health for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

I rise today to talk about the urgent need for action on the Children's Health Insurance Program and other vital safety net programs. On September 30 of this year, 3 weeks ago, funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP…

I rise to talk about the recent terrorist attack in Somalia. On October 14, a truck filled with explosives detonated in a crowded district in Mogadishu--Somalia's capital. The blast was especially devastating because the truck blew up next…

I ask unanimous consent that my health policy fellow, Laura Knudtson, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this Congress. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

After the devastation of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, millions of Americans in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are still without power. This is really inexcusable.

I think that perhaps in rebuilding this grid we can make it more resilient and use more sustainable energy as well.

I rise to talk about the devastation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and the need to rebuild the electric grid in a more resilient and sustainable way. Over the last few months, communities around the country have been…

An alarming number of American Indians face sexual violence in their lifetime.

I want to thank the Vice Chairman for bringing up the Justice for Native Survivors of Sexual Violence Act which I introduced with Senator Murkowski and the Vice Chairman.

I rise today to remember and celebrate the life of my friend, Senator Paul Wellstone. Paul led a lot of fights in the Senate on behalf of working families and those without a voice. He didn't back down even when a fight seemed unwinnable…

I rise to discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently finalized rule to limit the use of predispute, forced arbitration clauses in contracts for financial services and products. I strongly oppose the Congressional Review…

This is an epidemic that must be addressed.

I would really like to see a pilot program where people who come back for treatment, especially in Indian country, have a place to go.

We just need, I believe, to give people the opportunity to go to sober living facilities that are good sober living facilities.

Americans pay for a lot of the basic research, right?

I would suggest it is very small comfort for the Minnesotans that I visit around my state who can't pay for their pharmaceuticals.

Why do we have to pay--why does the American consumer have to pay more than the Canadian consumer for the same drug?

The U.S. spends more on prescription drugs than any industrialized country, in part because drug prices are higher in the U.S. than in any other country.