I write today to explain my vote in opposition to S. 1925, Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, VAWA. I have several outstanding concerns with this legislation, some of which were reflected in the amendments I circulated during the…

I ask unanimous consent to modify amendment No. 2061 with the changes at the desk and ask that it be brought up. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report the amendment, as…

I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To achieve long-term cost-savings by allowing the Postmaster…

I call up amendment No. 2060. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Coburn] for himself, Mr. Johnson of Wisconsin, and Mr. McCain, proposes an amendment numbered…

this is an amendment we have changed somewhat from the original version to address some of the concerns. What this amendment does is 2 years from now it will give the authority to the Postmaster General to create a retirement requirement…

the difference is you are going to pay $25,000 to people to retire. The Postmaster General has already said he needs to have 120,000 fewer employees. That will grow over a period of time. We are setting a precedent with the buyout, one. We…

Thank you. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment, as modified.

I ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.

This is a straightforward amendment on conferences. We all have seen what happened with the GSA conference. This is all about transparency and creating a system where we are actually getting to see what is spent on conferences. There is…

I ask unanimous consent to call up my amendment No. 2058 and that it be modified with the changes at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report the amendment, as modified. The legislative…

This is a straightforward amendment. It modifies the new service requirement to encourage colocation in other businesses. One of the things that is going to happen to the Postal Service where they can't--85 percent of our post offices are…

I sit on this committee. I voted on the last postal reform bill. I am not unfamiliar with the issues. I think the question before us is why can't we do both? Why can't we fix the post office and pay for it at the same time, if in fact the…

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To provide transparency, accountability, and limitations of…

If the doctors who are signing false certifications for home health are not going to jail, you are not sending the signal for other doctors to change their behavior.

But overall, government total spending was $1 billion, and we got $4 billion in savings.

I want to spend a few minutes talking about what is occurring with the GSA conference waste that has been in the news of late. My criticisms are not mainly directed toward GSA. Over 3 years ago, I started doing oversight on conferences by…

there have been a lot of comments made about energy, and I have to admit I come from an energy State. One- third of our economy is connected to energy in one way or another. I think the political games we are playing are just that. I have…

I ask unanimous consent I be allowed to speak for 30 minutes and following that the Senator from Rhode Island be recognized. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

It is inexcusable that it is not happening.

There is something wrong when 37 percent of the Senate would like to have a discussion about an issue and the Majority Leader will not bring it to the floor.

Nobody in America can figure out why we continue to pay dead people money--LIHEAP payments, Medicaid payments.

I listened very intently to the first two speakers this morning. As somebody who has now been a physician for almost 30 years--I practiced full time for over 25 years--I heard the Senator from Iowa and what his desire would be on the chart…

if you cannot measure what you are doing, you cannot manage it.

We do not want to know whether we are creating a new duplicative program.

Thank you for your service. It is a very tough job.