if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 8:47 p.m., adjourned until Friday, December 28, 2012, at 9 a.m.

I have a lot I want to say in reference to my good friend from Oklahoma, but I know my colleagues from Oregon and Michigan have a time commitment, so I am just going to ask unanimous consent that they be allowed to offer their amendment…

Let me ask unanimous consent that first, for 5 minutes, the Senators from Michigan and Oregon introduce their amendment, then the Senator from Oklahoma sums up, and then that I be given time to rebut their amendments.

I said December 1--wishful thinking. The order should say Friday, December 28. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. I note the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative…

I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read a third time and passed en bloc; the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, with no intervening action or debate; and that any related statements be printed in the Record. The…

I thank the Senator. The Senator was gracious. There are two separate issues here, one of which I think most of us on this side would accept. The other we could not. To lump them together would have tied two issues together that were not…

I thank my colleague and very much appreciate my colleague from Oklahoma. He has left, but we do have a friendship. I do believe he is a person of integrity. His views about government and politics are quite different from mine. He has put…

first, I would like to congratulate Senator Mikulski on a fine first day on the floor as chair of Appropriations. We are all excited about it on both sides of the aisle and expect great things of that committee next year. Perhaps there…

I rise today to say goodbye to my friend, Senator Daniel K. Inouye. This week in the Senate, we lost a colleague, a mentor, and a compass, and what is more our country lost one of the greatest heroes of the ``Greatest Generation''. We are…

first, I wish to thank my colleague from Pennsylvania. He didn't try to knock out the whole thing and we appreciate that. Having said that, I urge any of my colleagues in disaster areas to think very carefully before they vote for this…

Congress must not shirk from its responsibilities.

I cannot think of a single staff person who will be more sorely missed than Russ.

He is really something.

Time magazine named Jon one of the 100 most influential people in the world for his persuasive role in the Senate.

I just want Kent to know how much we are going to miss him here.

I am delighted the President nominated him to serve as General Counsel, and I hope he is confirmed quickly.

We support the Medical Debt Responsibility Act and thank Senator Merkley for introducing it.

Reform needs to happen now. It should have happened years ago.

first, I wish to thank our chairman of the Judiciary Committee and ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee for his leadership, his caring, his concern, and his expertise. The people of New York are very grateful to the Senator…

I rise in support of each of these judges, both fine citizens of New York. First, I will speak about Judge Geraci. I rise in strong support of an outstanding nominee for the Federal bench in the Western District of New York, Judge Frank…

Now, Mr. President, I have a second nominee to speak about. We are voting at 2:15, as I understand it, so there is plenty of time to wax on the fine qualifications of both of these new additions to the bench. I am extremely pleased to rise…

Senator Chuck Schumer recently proposed new legislation that would also aid small businesses in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Will the assistant majority leader yield? Mr. REID addressed the Chair. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

we saw what happened here--the minority leader filibustering his own bill. He should have trusted his first instincts. Imagine if we would have passed the minority leader's resolution: The markets would have been jubilant, stocks would…

I would like to thank my great colleague from Pennsylvania. I enjoyed sharing a table last night with him and his beautiful, charming, intelligent wife, whom he would be the first to admit he is lucky to have married, and their four great…