today, September 15, marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, a celebration that dates back to 1968. This month also includes the anniversary of independence for many Latin American countries. Hispanic Heritage Month is an…

it is hard for me to comprehend how my Republican colleagues with a straight face can talk about ``Let's have an up-or-down vote on this.'' We agreed to allow Republicans to have an up-or-down vote. I asked consent on this floor on two…

it comes as no surprise to anyone watching the Senate that the Republican leader and I disagree on many things, but I was very glad to hear the Republican leader say last week that he believes any government funding bill must be clean and…

reserving the right to object, I have a few brief remarks, and then I will respond to my friend. By the end of the day, the Senate will have spent 3 days debating one of the most critical national security issues of our time--and that is…

Please wait. Staff is conferring here. No objection. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader. ____________________

I ask unanimous consent that the cloture motions with respect to the McConnell substitute amendment No. 2640 and H.J. Res. 61 be withdrawn; that the pending amendments and the motion to commit, with the exception of the McConnell…

I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heller). The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call…

No objection. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Cloture Motion Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk for amendment No. 2640. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been…

one last thing. I recognize my friend is going to be next, and I am going to be very short here. I am glad my friend brought up my vote on Iraq. I have stated on national TV, I have stated every chance I get that the biggest mistake I ever…

I want to be as respectful of my friend as I need to be, but let's speak reality. We are in a Congress that is dominated by the Republicans. They control the House by a large margin, and they control the Senate by a large margin. The…

I ask unanimous consent that until 12:30 p.m. today, the time during quorum calls be equally divided. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from California.

yesterday my friend, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Corker of Tennessee, said: ``I recognize, and have all along, that it takes 60 Senators to advance legislation and get to a final vote on a bill or resolution.''…

I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments, with the exception of the McConnell substitute amendment, be withdrawn; that no other amendments, points of order, or motions be in order to the joint resolution or the McConnell…

I note that there are a lot of things in this speech that I think are important, but the one thing certainly that is so vitally important is that no one has come up with an alternative. Any alternative is imaginary. It is fantasy land. I…

I gave a speech this morning at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and it is, I think, directly how I feel about this. I am glad it got some coverage this morning. I ask unanimous consent that the full remarks of the speech I made…

first of all, I am very happy to welcome everyone back from our long recess. I am sure everyone worked as hard as I did. I had a week off, and I enjoyed it very much. I also think it is important to recognize the new class of pages we…

I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I also want to propound the following request. I ask unanimous consent that if cloture is invoked on the substitute amendment to H.J. Res. 61, the amendment…

reserving the right to object, for all the reasons I have mentioned previously and the fact that I believe the Republican leader is way ahead of himself, I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The assistant Democratic leader.

I rise today to recognize the 20th anniversary of the United Labor Agency of Nevada. Since it was established in a joint venture with United Way of Southern Nevada and Nevada State AFL-CIO in 1995, the United Labor Agency of Nevada, ULAN…

I rise today to recognize the respective anniversaries of three of the most important programs for American seniors: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security…

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 1986 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of…

reserving the right to object, I want the debate we are going to have in a matter of weeks to be--and I think all of us do--dignified and befitting the gravity of one of the most important issues of the day. This is a step forward, and I…

I ask unanimous consent that the agreement be modified to allow 11 Democratic amendments instead of 10. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered.

I assume we would alternate with Republican and Democrat amendments; is that right? Mr. McCONNELL. Yes.

on another matter, unless Congress acts, there will be a government shutdown on October 1. That is a short time away--less than 2 months. Every day that passes we are another day closer to the crisis of an unfunded Federal government. For…