budgets and votes have something very important in common: At their heart, both require and reflect tough choices. Tomorrow we hope the Senate will vote on the Republican response to the President's budget. That is the so-called H.R. 1…

when an American family sits at their table in the kitchen and sorts through their finances, as they often do, partisan politics do not figure into that equation. When the families we represent calculate their own budgets, when they add up…

Three hundred and eighty-two pages. Well, Mr. President, I have only talked about enough to take up two or three pages, but it is full of the same kind of stuff I have talked about today--stuff that is not fair and is mean-spirited. We all…

At 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, we met in the Vice President's office. It was a very fine meeting. Vice President Biden was there. My friend, the Republican leader, me, the Speaker, and the minority leader of the House were…

I had the good fortune a short time ago, when we had a ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol, to meet Mr. Buckles and talk to him. It is amazing he had such vitality at such an old age. I am happy this matter is completed.

I rise today to recognize the Government Printing Office, GPO, on the occasion of its 150th anniversary. GPO opened its doors on March 4, 1861, the same day President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office. Since then GPO has used ever…

I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for giving me this opportunity to serve my country.

we have worked for weeks now in moving forward on this funding measure for the country. What Democrats have said for weeks now is that we are committed to working with all sides to find a middle ground that helps us move forward and move…

I support Senator Feinstein's amendment to restore the grace period under current law and eliminate the so-called first-inventor-to-file provisions of the legislation. This is the No. 1 outstanding issue of concern my constituents have…

today I join Senator Feinstein in introducing the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2011 along with Senator Ensign and Senator Boxer. Our bill protects Lake Tahoe by helping federal agencies work more collaboratively with local governments to…

we have before us today an extremely important piece of legislation. It is called the America Invents Act of 2011. The reason I emphasize 2011 is because it has been almost 60 years since we had the last meaningful reforms of the Nation's…

I rise today with my good friend Senator Ensign to introduce the Sloan Hills Withdrawal Act of 2010. For nearly a decade, there has been heated debate over a proposal to permit a sand and gravel mine on public lands next door to a…

Senator Byrd was successful in setting in the late 1970s a precedent that eliminated one of those filibusters.

Probably the most powerful leader that I watched in that period was Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

A nomination which I well remember occurred when President Lyndon Johnson was in office, and he sent to the Senate the nomination of a totally unqualified person to be a Federal district judge.

Last week they had a very good series on National Public Radio about women in the military. It was really wonderful. It was so full of information. They talked about a woman who had served in the military in World War II. They had a…

I rise today to honor Tahis Castro, who is retiring after 17 years of serving Nevadans as an organizer for the Culinary Workers Union. Tahis came to Reno from Costa Rica in 1987. In 1994, she cofounded and organized Hotel Employees and…

I rise today to honor Gerda Weissman Klein, Holocaust survivor and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We tell ourselves never to forget, and we implore our children to do the same. But we cannot do it alone. We need to listen…

we are at a point where we can finish the FAA bill after all these many years. That was not a mistake. For years, we have been trying to get this bill completed. We are going to have a vote in 2/2 hours, an important vote dealing with…

I rise today to honor Bria Benjamin, a fifth-grader at Forbuss Elementary School in Las Vegas. Recently, Bria studied hard and recited Martin Luther King's ``I Have a Dream'' speech in celebration of Dr. King's 82nd birthday at a meeting…

I congratulate our manager, Senator Rockefeller, who is one of the most experienced people in the Senate and is a good manager. He has worked well with Senator Hutchison, co-manager of the bill. We have made significant progress. We have a…

I ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, there be no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record. The PRESIDING…

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, February 17; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour…

I express my appreciation to everyone involved. It has been a difficult issue, but I will put on the record what I have told a number of Senators personally, and that is that we will, prior to this expiration occurring, bring up the…

I am going to take a few minutes today to talk about a friend of Nevada's and a friend of mine. This man is from the other side of the world. His name is Manny Pacquiao. He is in Washington today. Every time I visit with him, I come away…