Jeff Merkley

So when I hear folks on both sides of the aisle talking about a 50/50 plan for revenue and expenditure reductions, is that anywhere close to what is being pursued now with sequestration?

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Would it make more sense to end the spending on that tax loophole or to cut Head Start, special education, and title I?

Education Is an Investment That Should Not Be Cut

I hope that if we can accomplish this, we can also include forest health jobs in our national forests.

I want to emphasize the point that has been made about the disability claims.

I applaud the 17-percent decrease in homelessness.

I want to echo Senator Whitehouse's concern about the chained CPI.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Secretary, for all of your companions who are working so hard on these issues.

Has the President and his team carefully looked at such measures and tried to evaluate them in terms of fairness to our seniors?

I applaud the President's attention to manufacturing in this budget. I applaud his investment in education, early education and STEM, his understanding of the importance of investing in infrastructure, and of the goal of laying out a plan…

The argument is often made that Social Security, the premiums go into the trust fund, the trust fund lends money out to earn a modest return, comes back, and they proceed to disburse it when folks become eligible.

So we are looking at another set of decisions, and right now we are on a course to have a significant drop in defense and non-defense discretionary programs.

I think that is very important because at the heart of this is an issue of fairness.

About roughly 20 years before the trust fund itself is depleted.

I can't justify it. I want to see this policy changed.

Michael McShane has developed a reputation for fairness, for thoroughness, and for accuracy.

So my colleague from New Mexico has made this powerful case about our responsibility and about the opportunity provided under the Constitution, and I have been immersed in trying to wrestle with the components of how we actually seize that…

Is the same true on both conference reports and final passage? Neither of those involve amendments, but have there been extensive filibuster efforts to keep this body from ever being able to complete one piece of business and move on to…

Is the same true of efforts to get to a conference committee after we have already passed a bill and all the amendments have been previously considered?

If my colleague from Rhode Island would be willing to yield for a question, I do have a question for him.

And, indeed, I feel we need to have a process where amendments are considered. In a situation where neither side is vetoing the amendments of the other, I wanted to make sure that we completed the picture for the public that not only is…

Excuse me, I am sorry, Alabama. If the Senator listened to my floor presentation, he would know I already agree with much of what he said.

How can one possibly justify charging organic farmers more because they are going to get a higher insurance compensation, but then say they will not get a higher insurance compensation? We are going to take that away? So it operates as a…

There is one more piece of this I want to clarify because I am not sure where the minority leader's version came out on this; that is, our organic farmers have gotten a very unfair deal, and that deal was that they were going to be charged…