He has been suffering, if you will, through these nearly 400 filibusters in the 6 years he has been majority leader, while so many issues in America go unaddressed; each one of these filibusters procedurally taking up as much as a week of…

I ask unanimous consent the period for morning business for debate only be extended until 6 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Just a couple of days ago, due to the efforts the Senator engaged in, and I engaged in and others joined us--Senator Blunt was very instrumental--we had a debate about putting those emergency provisions into the emergency bill for…

So if I can try to translate this for the farmers and ranchers in my State of Oregon and the orchardists and ranchers in the Senator's State, this Chamber committed itself to restoring the emergency disaster program either through the farm…

The Senator from Michigan has worked over the past year to find a bipartisan strategy to reform elements of the farm bill that we were spending too much money on in certain places and to reform those overly generous subsidies, if you will…

I would say to my colleague, I have sat on this floor and listened to lectures of fiscal responsibility and the need to move things and work things in committee before they come to the floor. Now, the work that the Senator did was the best…

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…

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…

In closing my part of this colloquy, I want to thank the Senator for clarifying those three points--that the disaster relief is out, that the pork is in, and that the organic farmers are going to continue to get the short end of the stick…

I thank the leader of the Agriculture Committee, my colleague from Michigan, who has steered this Chamber through such a complex set of issues in trying to address the true agricultural needs of our Nation while spending the taxpayers'…

I ask unanimous consent to complete 30 seconds of remarks. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

given that the emergency designations in this amendment have been stricken, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment No. 3367. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment, as further modified, is withdrawn. The Senator…

this is a budget point of order against this being an emergency. If a person is a farmer or a rancher and their property or the property they rent from the BLM---- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon is advised the point of…

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

I wish to make a few comments on what has transpired today on the floor of the Senate. First, some enormously important work has been done in regard to addressing the disaster caused by Hurricane Sandy. I know that in a number of States…

I am delighted to partner with Senator Blunt and Senator Stabenow on this important amendment which addresses the disasters that occurred this last summer in terms of a century's worth of the worst fires and the worst drought. This is a…

If a person is a farmer or a rancher, saying this is not an emergency is cold comfort. Saying this will be addressed in the farm bill is cold comfort. When a person's land is burned up, when they have the worst drought in a century, it is…

I thank my colleagues for setting out the parameters. I am going to wrap this up in fairly short order. I again wish to emphasize that if any of my colleagues would like to come down and argue that this in any way compromises national…

I rise this morning to talk about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the concerns I and many of my colleagues have. Earlier this morning, Senator Wyden, the senior Senator from Oregon, was discussing at length the importance of…

I ask unanimous consent that further reading be dispensed with. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To require the Attorney General to disclose each decision, order…

I call up my amendment which is at the desk. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report. The bill clerk read as follows: The Senator from Oregon [Mr. Merkley] proposes an amendment numbered 3435.

I thank Senator Wyden. The Senator mentioned an Oregonian sitting in Coos Bay working on his or her laptop and calling the Senator's office and saying: Hey, the law says the government can collect tangible material related to an…

My understanding is that 30 minutes was allocated? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Thirty minutes equally divided.

Absolutely. I think about other questions our constituents might ask. They might ask if our spy agencies are collecting vast data from around the world and they become interested in an American citizen, can they search all that data…

I thank the Chair, and I thank my colleague. My colleague did address issues regarding the Merkley-Lee amendment, which has three stages in it designed to be sensitive to national security. It says that if the Attorney General determines…