let me first say I thought the statement from the distinguished Senator from Georgia was spot on, and I particularly appreciated his point that when we confirm Leon Panetta to head Defense, no one can possibly predict what kind of…

I ask unanimous consent to yield back the remainder of the time and I ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The…

I ask unanimous consent that Shelby Clark and Dan Majewski from Senator Bingaman's office be given the privileges of the floor for Tuesday, June 21, 2011. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

tomorrow, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Michael Simon to serve as U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Oregon. Michael Simon is a good and decent man. In my home State where we have a judicial emergency by the…

today I am reintroducing a bill to reform the Capital Construction Fund to address major changes in the Nation's fisheries and to allow the Nation's fishers to have access to needed funds to prevent overfishing and to help create jobs. The…

The distinguished majority leader is here. I think we are about to wrap up. I am certainly happy to yield to him if he needs a few minutes to do the business of the Senate, and then Senator Coats and I will wrap up.

just to wrap up, Senator Coats and I are going to come to the floor in the weeks ahead to outline some of the most outlandish examples of how broken our tax system is. We thought it was appropriate to start with the alternative minimum tax…

I hope that folks paying attention to this tax reform debate pick up on what Senator Coats has just described. When the alternative minimum tax was first debated, the country was talking about 155 people. These were the so-called wealthy…

Senator Coats and I have introduced bipartisan tax reform legislation. It is the first comprehensive overhaul of tax reform law in 25 years, since 1986, when then-President Reagan and Democrats got together and worked on a bipartisan…

I ask unanimous consent that Senator Coats, who is on the floor, and I be allowed up to 15 minutes to pursue a discussion about tax reform as if in morning business. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered…

I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). The clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Would the Senator agree that the difficulty of projecting the AMT tax liability makes it tough for taxpayers to compute their estimated tax payments and creates a situation in which, just because of its complexity, they can get hit with…

I rise today, once again, to advocate for patients and their access to more choice and competition in providing good quality health care by introducing The Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality and Access Act of 2011 with my colleague…

I just wanted to make clear for colleagues that the cap is based on total imports, not net imports.

The only path toward achieving United States energy security is to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

What my question essentially involves--because there's a lot of good work that's being done.

I want to take a few minutes to discuss the underlying legislation, the Economic Development Administration bill, because I think, with the new numbers about the American economy--the joblessness and the trends--we are all looking for ways…

Energy and transportation experts predict that the long-term race is unlikely to have a single winner.

Let me just spend a couple of minutes with you, Mr. Karr, talking about the legislation, and then I want to get into this question of the offset.

I'm supporting your work as well.

we must expect, and accept, that some will not succeed.

I'm sure Senator Stabenow is as well. People have different opinions on these kinds of things.

the real strength of S. 1001... refrains from picking technology winners and losers.

We commend Senators Wyden and Stabenow for their leadership in promoting a technology-neutral approach to reducing oil consumption in the vehicle fleet.

this legislation has the support of America's automobile manufacturers, and that there's a reason for it