I would hope that you would be able to alert this Committee very quickly as to what you consider to be the needs, the technical needs, so that, in fact, we can avoid fraud.

I point out in my State of Connecticut, the average two-bedroom apartment, you have got to make $21 an hour to afford it.

I was pleased to co-sponsor with the President-elect, the School Improvement Through Teacher Quality Act.

At the higher education level, we have and I have been particularly active in supporting the LEAP program.

I think the President has made a very wise choice. Your experience and your commitment is obvious, and I think you will make a real difference in the Department of Education.

I would hope you would be able to tell us you are going to put your shoulder behind the law and money behind it to make these provisions in title II very effective and real in the process.

I absolutely agree with you, that that is probably the key, the key point of leverage in any education system.

I think the President has made a very wise choice. Your service and your personal experience reinforces the best ideals of this country.

How do we raise the wages and, therefore, the standard of living, of middle-income Americans?

How in the world can we allow, in the year 2009, for us to say, that is just the way life is?

With your chairmanship and the leader's Cabinet position, we are on the road to healthcare reform, I believe.

this evening I have the privilege of joining my friend and colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, to say a few words about our esteemed predecessor, Senator Claiborne Pell. Senator Pell served 36 years in the Senate--the…

we are at a critical moment. According to the Mortgage Bankers, the rate of foreclosures and the percentage of loans in the process of foreclosure are at the highest recorded level since 1979. The delinquency rate for all mortgage loans on…

I come to speak against the proposal by Senator Bond which would significantly--in fact, catastrophically-- undercut the affordable housing program we have included in this legislation, with the support of Chairman Dodd and Ranking Member…

the CBO has scored the Banking portion of this bill so that not a penny of taxpayer dollars will be spent. This is not a bailout by taxpayers dollars. Second, the bill in no way benefits lenders. Lenders have to take a haircut, as Senator…

Thank you, Madam President. We are engaged in an extraordinarily important debate here. It is somewhat disappointing that the debate has been shortchanged due to procedural maneuvers by the minority party, which forced the clerk to read…

this is an opportunity for me to speak about the supplemental appropriations bill, but I would be remiss if I did not recognize the extraordinary life and service of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. I can remember graphically, as a high…

I wish to focus my remaining remarks on the supplemental appropriations bill which is pending before the Senate. We passed a supplemental appropriations bill out of the Appropriations Committee, which I serve on, last week. This bill…

Mr. President, I need to start by expressing my disappointment at the misleading and distorted information that was just presented on the floor. Actually, I was amazed at what was just said. The Commerce Committee had come up with an…

we are here today in the midst of another filibuster in which the FAA reauthorization bill is before us, but we have to wait for a cloture vote and we have to wait many, many days past, I think, what was appropriate. But it does give us an…

Rhode Island currently has the highest foreclosure rate in New England. According to the most recent National Delinquency Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association, 3.9 percent of all the loans being serviced in the State are in…

on March 25, 2008, we marked the 187th anniversary of Greek independence. Throughout 400 years of oppressive rule by the Ottoman Empire, the Greeks were able to maintain their language, religion, and their sense of identity. In 1821, the…

I add my commendation to the leaders' commendation of COL Michael Barbero. Colonel Barbero is an extraordinary soldier, a family man, someone who has dedicated his whole life to the service of this Nation in the uniform of the U.S. Army…

let me first recognize the contribution of my colleague from Illinois with respect to the bankruptcy provision. He explained it extremely well. What it does is give homeowners a chance to get out from underneath a collapsing housing market…

this amendment would raise the LIHEAP spending to the authorized total of $5.1 billion. I wish to recognize the work of Senator Specter and Senator Harkin, who earlier today passed an amendment that increased LIHEAP funding. I have worked…