I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 2192, which was received from the House and is at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The legislative clerk read as…

tonight, I voted against final passage of the Defense authorization bill, and I rise now to explain why I voted against it and the considerable concerns I have about the vast expansion of the powers of detention of American citizens that…

if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 9:52 p.m., adjourned until Monday, December 5, 2011, at 2 p.m…

both Senator Bennet and I share a real interest in the crowdfunding issue, and I am going to direct my questions in that direction.

this amendment requires the President of the United States to develop a plan to expedite the reduction of U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan and to accelerate the transfer of responsibility for military and security operations to the…

The Senator is correct. The amendment is designed to encourage, to increase the pace of the reduction of U.S. forces and the transfer of responsibility to Afghanistan's forces.

I call up amendment No. 1257, as modified, under the unanimous consent agreement and rise to speak to it. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the amendment No. 1257, as modified, is now the pending question. The amendment (No…

Yes. Mr. McCAIN. I thank him for his courtesy too. I say to the Senator from Illinois, this is an important debate and discussion. I appreciate his presentation. I think a lot of people are getting a lot of good information, on what is a…

One of the advantages, of course, of preemption is you create this consistent playing field across the country.

I rise to support Senator Paul's amendment to revoke war authority. We have heard on the floor that the consequences of revoking authority are vague and uncertain. Indeed, my team has been seeking a reply from the Department of Defense as…

I call for the regular order. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendment is now pending.

I ask that reading of the amendments be dispensed with. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendments are as follows: AMENDMENT NO. 1239 (Purpose: To expand the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. Amendments Nos. 1239, 1256, 1257, and 1258 En Bloc

I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside. I call up en bloc 1239, 1256, 1257, and 1258. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The…

I offer this amendment with several original cosponsors: Senator Mike Lee, Senator Rand Paul, Senator Tom Udall, and Senator Sherrod Brown. I would like to thank them for joining in this effort to address our military presence in…

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 express the sense of Congress regarding the expedited transition…

I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up my amendment No. 1174. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Oregon…

I am pleased to rise this morning to support the adoption of a consumer price index for Social Security that would accurately reflect the costs our senior citizens actually face. I am delighted to join the Presiding Officer, Senator Brown…

The shocking part for me is that the Environmental Protection Agency has been unable to protect our families from exposure because the Toxic Substance Control Act does not provide EPA with the necessary tools to collect data on chemical…

I think both of your associations have members who export products to Canada, which has yet a different structure, and to Europe.

Your leadership on this issue has been extremely important, and your commitment to modernizing the Toxic Substance Control Act so we can protect our families from exposure to dangerous toxins is terrific.

The reason--and I am over my time now, so I will just summarize this--the reason I am pushing this point is trying to understand where there are insights here about the complexities of regulating a firm that is both a broker-dealer and a…

That does not convey any sense of urgency. And indeed, it has been enormously frustrating to FHFA to have Fannie and Freddie very resistant to their Short Refinance Program.

This bill will go a long way to helping to prevent that kind of problem.

I appreciate the testimony from both of you and the work you are doing to protect older Americans, senior Americans.