I ask unanimous consent that Brian Alexander, a fellow in my office, be granted privileges of the floor for the remainder of this Congress. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

I rise to support the passage of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act. I commend Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray, and their counterparts in the House, Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Scott, for their commitment to finding…

I think we have to come up with a coherent, multifaceted strategy, and I think we can agree upon it and move forward.

I intend to support the surface transportation bill before us. It has been more than a decade since we have had a true multi-year transportation bill. And while this bill gives State transportation and transit agencies funding certainty…

I thank my colleague from Oregon for his leadership on this issue, and I thank my colleagues who are going to join us later. I am joining them in urging all of our colleagues in the Senate not to roll back the protections that are in place…

In your testimony, you stated that government budgetary processes such as sequestration and continuing resolutions allow for funding instabilities that negatively affect and potentially jeopardize the viability of commercial companies.

You identified three principal areas that DOD needs to incentivize: speed, thrift and simplicity.

Our defense budget is being cut significantly to help pay for the Nation's debt.

Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And let me also echo your comments about the defense authorization bill and make it clear that, without your leadership, it would not have been a bipartisan and innovative and important piece of…

In your statement and testimony you expressed concern about DOD's increased use of lowest-price technically acceptable contracts.

I think Chairman McCain is headed in exactly the right direction, which is trying to eliminate sequestration. The real answer is to repeal the Budget Control Act because the scope of relief offered by the chairman is certainly broader than…

our Nation has a strong tradition of ensuring that our service members are protected while they serve to keep us safe. As the challenges facing our service members change, we must work to ensure that our laws continue to keep pace. In this…

reserving my right to object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

this whole process has been moved forward by the leadership of Chairman Collins. She and her staff have done an extraordinary job of taking the additional resources made available by the budget agreement and constructively focusing them…

I associate myself with the comments of Senator Collins, who described the amendment extremely well. I, too, rise in opposition to the proposed amendment for all the reasons she listed. She was quite vivid and quite concrete in numerous…

I rise with my colleague Senator Collins in support of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill before us. I begin first by commending the chairman for her extraordinary work, her thoughtful, careful…

today I join many of my colleagues in opposing S.J. Res. 23 and S.J. Res 24. These measures are an attack on the Clean Power Plan's carbon pollution protections for new and existing power plants. Not only would these measures undo the…

It strikes me that the Department of Defense today is the--an industrial model, and we're in a post-industrial age.

today I am pleased to introduce the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2015 with Senators Hatch, Franken, and Burr. This bill offers promise to the tens of thousands of individuals diagnosed with leukemia and…

today I am pleased to introduce the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2015 with Senators Hatch, Franken, and Burr. This bill offers promise to the tens of thousands of individuals diagnosed with leukemia and…

I rise to speak in support of the revised National Defense Authorization Act conference report we have before us today. It is the result of months of collaborative work by the Senate Armed Services Committee and a very thoughtful…

Defense reform is not a partisan issue, and we will keep it that way.

It is appropriate that we take stock of what is and what is not working with regard to the organization and processes of the DOD.

I just wanted to second your comments and thank the witnesses' extraordinary insights.

today I join many of my colleagues in opposing S. 1140 and S.J. Res. 22. These measures would block or nullify the clean water rule, which seeks to safeguard our water and restore protections to drinking water sources for one in three…