today over 15 percent of Americans live in poverty including 22 percent of our children. 46.2 million Americans and 16.4 million children struggle every day to survive in a system that is demoralizing and unfortunately does more to…

It is because of Senator Casey that we can track, in real time, the possibility of a flood and critical river level data.

this issue of child care is a bipartisan concern.

the number of IEDs is dramatically higher.

I am incredulous that at the end of the day, United States taxpayer dollars go to the very people we're trying to defeat.

if we say we care about our kids, and as I've often said, every child is born with a light inside them, if that light is going to reach the full measure of its potential, then we've got to get a number of things right, and one of those, of…

For me the mere expenditure of funds is not a measurement of success.

I want to thank our witnesses for being here, and all of our colleagues.

But that number alone, the African American number for most of the last year seems like it has been in the 14 to 15 range?

I voted against the debt deal because I could not, in good conscience, support the use of a manufactured crisis to implement ideologically based policies that will further threaten our nation's economic growth and job creation potential.

We really need really significantly higher job growth than we have had to make a dent.

I guess in terms of the private-sector number, which I think is a pretty important number for us to watch.

We know we cannot recover on the 117,000.

Basically January to April.

And I also mentioned a few other categories.

And you said they are historic numbers?

the private sector number is up 154,000.

The health reform law actually takes critical first steps to help control premium increases and ensures that companies spend more on medical care, not profits.

Let me give you an example of why the review of rate filings is not sufficient, and why I believe authority to block or modify is necessary.

Health insurance premiums have doubled, on average, over the last 10 years, much faster than wages and inflation, putting coverage out of reach for millions of Americans.

For too long, insurance companies in many States have increased health insurance premiums with little oversight, transparency, or public accountability.

Starting in September of this year, 2011, HHS is requiring that all non-grandfathered insurers seeking rate increases of 10 percent or more in the individual and small group markets publicly disclose the proposed increases and their…

This legislation is a simple, commonsense solution, and we almost got it included in the bill, but we did not.

When I was last in Afghanistan, in August 2011, the four of us--Senator Whitehouse, Senator Blumenthal, and Senator Bennet--had a great briefing.

we are faced with a difficult challenge, and we know the American people watching us over so many days now understand the basic challenge we face. It is a challenge of reducing deficit and debt and cutting spending but also making sure we…