this first request was to get this bill done right now and reauthorized. I am going to turn to a different possibility, which is to secure a debate here on the floor which would afford my colleague from Oklahoma the opportunity to present…

I also invite my colleagues to jump in at any point to exchange views as well. This issue is one that we have known about for a very long period of time, which is that tobacco addiction destroys lives. I grew up in a family where my mother…

I think what is extraordinary about this situation is that both of these bills have at least 60 cosponsors, which as Senator Udall pointed out is enough to close debate and get to a final vote. There was a time not very long ago when even…

Seven years ago, our economy plunged into a free fall that took us deeper than any crisis since the Great Depression.

Enabling essentially taxpayer-subsidized hedge funds to operate with our deposits and put the entire banking system at great risk would be absolutely no service to Americans in urban or rural America.

I want to turn to your experience. The caution I would have is against trying to use the challenges of banks in rural America as a wedge to restore the New York Wall Street casino operations that brought down America.

I do not think anyone wants to return to that era.

Congress responded with the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to protect consumers and our economy.

There remains strong bipartisan support for reforming the activities of Wall Street.

The other thing that I found interesting was that the loan rates, the expansion in loans has been increasing at twice the rate for small banks as for big banks.

One of the things that I found very interesting was the rebound that has occurred on assets for banks of various sizes.

I rise to give voice to concerns about the pending battle over what is referred to as the debt ceiling. We have been told that the ability of the United States to pay its bills on time and its interest on bonds will expire on November 3…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Debt Ceiling

as we come together to celebrate National Forest Products Week, I want to highlight the impacts and contributions of the forest products industry to my home State of Oregon. In my State, the forest products industry produces over 37,000…

USDA Rural Development provides a remarkable set of opportunities to improve the quality of life in rural America.

Okay. Because otherwise, you have all these owners who we made a contract with, we left them hanging. That can bankrupt a company very, very, very quickly.

I am so glad you are here. Because of this hearing, we learned for the first time today that the language that we worked out with bipartisan staff involved, with Rural Development involved, signing off on the language, that they have some…

There is strong support on this subcommittee for the work that you do.

You have been an advocate for cost-savings through energy efficiency both for small businesses and consumers that RESPA is targeted toward.

If they're facing a situation where they are supposed to take a family who can pay very little rent, but then the U.S. Government is going to fail at the end of the year to complete their contracts, that is unacceptable, isn't it?

Much credit is owed to Ranking Member Merkley for his leadership on the Rural Energy Savings Program Act (RESPA)

Okay, so let's take that for a moment. Thank you very much for coming out to Oregon to visit a self-help housing program.

If you were to follow the contract and ask for the full rent and your tenants would not then would not be able to pay it, then there is just no good answer. An eviction results in homelessness.

Rural Development is sustaining America's longstanding commitment to ensure adequate and affordable electric service.

I want to continue this conversation, because this is so important.