Mr. President, it has been almost 1 month since Senators and House Members went home and failed to extend unemployment insurance, a lifeline for 1.6 million Americans. In my home State of Ohio, 52,000 have lost their unemployment…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 10 minutes as if in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Extending Unemployment Insurance

I always appreciate the comments of Senator Murkowski, who is always thoughtful and works across the aisle. I appreciate the work she does. Mr. President, I rise briefly, joining with Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut and Senator Merkley…

Mr. President, President Johnson 50 years ago, as Senator Harkin was talking about, declared a war on poverty down the hall in the House of Representatives in his State of the Union Message. A little later he visited Athens, OH, in the…

Madam President, for those who do not remember or those who do not choose to remember, 5 years ago our economy was at the brink of collapse after being rocked by a financial crisis because of incompetence, Wall Street greed, overreach in…

Madam President, I wish to praise the passage of the National Pediatric Research Network Act, signed into law by President Obama on November 27, 2013. I was proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation along with my colleague and friend…

Mr. President, I am here to join my colleagues in asking for unanimous consent--which we will do formally later on--to pass the Tax Extenders Act of 2013. The bill will do a number of important extensions, including-- particularly…

I thank the Presiding Officer and the Senator from New Jersey, and I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Washington be allowed to speak following my comments on the extenders. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so…

That is right. First, the points that the assistant majority leader was making about the bipartisanship has been exactly right. What is most--not discouraging but perhaps the most disappointing part of this is even as recently as 2007…

Mr. President, 75 years ago President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act written, in part, by Senator Hugo Black of Alabama. He actually sat at this desk as he was writing the minimum wage law and some of the Fair Labor…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. Minimum Wage

I thank my colleague. Pope Francis I, as he integrated these kinds of things into his life, he exhorted his parish priests--similar to Lincoln saying ``I need my public opinion bath''--to smell like the flock and to get among people and…