Al Franken

I need an advocate in the administration.

It is clear from the Countrywide settlement and from your written testimony that the policies that Countrywide had in place between 2004 and 2008 led to widespread discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities.

Senator Franken. Professor, I hate to do this, but because of my time limitations, I am going to have to ask you to try to wrap this up in----

Last month, I introduced a bill, the Helping Homeowners Refinance Act, to assist eligible borrowers in refinancing their loans.

While I commend DOJ for bringing the case, again, the settlement only comes to about $2,000 per individual, if you can find these individuals.

I introduced a bill to create an Office of the Homeowner Advocate.

Climate change is real and actually has an effect. It actually has a cost.

I come to the floor today to talk about my amendment to the transportation reauthorization bill that I have introduced with Senator Blunt. I am grateful this amendment has been included in the base bill of Leader Reid's substitute…

Accretive told my office in March 2012 that it found 32 unencrypted laptops.

I would like to talk for a moment about religious freedom. Our country was founded on the belief that all Americans should have the right to practice their religious beliefs as long as their faith does not infringe on the rights of others…

I'm very proud that my home State of Minnesota is the first in the Nation to create a license for mid-level dental providers called dental therapists.

There is $45 million to study fracking, where the industry that benefits from it is doing really well.

I'm also pleased that some of the permitting expenses have been transferred to the companies.

As you well know, oil and gas companies are making record profits. In fact, the big 5 oil companies combined made a record $137 billion in profits in 2011.

It puts people in the building trades to work who are in depression or a recession right now.

It's now been 2 years since SAGE has been notified that it will receive a loan guarantee.

That's why Minnesota put this in.

I think that we need to invest in energy. I think we need to invest in energy of the future.

As the BP spill in the Gulf showed us that not exercising judgment, some judgment about environmental and safety impacts, can undermine the economic well being and the very goal of energy independence.

It just doesn't seem like there is a sense of real urgency there.

Okay, that just doesn't seem that hard to solve. It really doesn't.

I would remind the ranking member that the expressed reason given by S&P was the dysfunction of some in Congress who seemed willing to threaten to go into default.

I thank the Senator from Vermont and also the Presiding Officer and the Senator from Rhode Island for engaging in this colloquy that is so important. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues in the Senate to support an extension…

What are the obstacles there? What is that like? Why does everything have to work that way? Why does everything have to be so slow?

Okay, well, if they don't have the authority to make that call, who does?