But, it is also true that Rhode Island, when they talked about a waiver, it actually gave them more money, not less money, whereas what we are seeing about in Federal policy to change Medicaid, we are seeing a proposal to take a whole lot…

I ask consent to speak as in morning business for up to 20 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

if we do not do something, we are still going to pay for it, we are just going to pay for it in really terrible ways

this is my 53rd time for consecutive weeks we are in session that I have come to the floor to speak about climate change and to urge my colleagues that it is time to wake up. These speeches are not easy. A great deal of effort goes into…

Mr. Chairman, as Rhode Islander present, we basically got paid to have a waiver, because I think the administration at the time wanted to encourage waivers, so they baited this one to get Rhode Island in.

any Senator will acknowledge that each of us is only as effective as the staff who support us. For nearly as long as I have been a Member of this body, I have enjoyed the benefit of the considerable abilities and expertise of Stephen…

They do not like getting in front of a civil jury, for instance, where if you try to tamper with them, it is a crime.

It is not any of your desire, as I understand it, to roll over the garage inventor who has a legitimate claim but no resources, really, to defend it with.

There is an entire campaign by corporate America to deprecate and degrade the civil jury.

Rhode Island is facing this same problem.

The idea of standing as a big corporation on equal terms with a regular person in front of a civil jury? It is offensive to them.

Alert Solutions has received a number of threat letters from patent trolls claiming infringements related to things as basic as sending emails and faxes.

I think a lot depends on whose ox is being gored here, and right now it is the consumer's.

Class actions, let us remember, everyone, that class actions desegregated schools. They made workplaces fair and equal.

there is more here than just an injustice to the consumer. There is a real blow to the Constitution

We are the State with the least national parks of any State, and you could probably fit our national park about in this hearing room.

So if we allow the corporations themselves to put these tricks and traps into their consumer contracts, we are basically giving them open season for low-dollar, high-volume fraud on consumers.

I wonder what the response would be like if corporations in consumer contracts down in the fine print, in tricks and traps, instead of taking away consumer rights, particularly consumers' rights protected by the Seventh Amendment, were…

The civil jury as an institution was vitally important to the Founding Fathers.

I hope very much that you will work with me and my office in trying to identify ways for these very small dams on very small rivers that the application process, the information that is required and all that can be reduced so that some of…

You do not want to vindicate your ire at the deplorable conduct of these patent trolls at the expense of getting a bill through the Senate.

Small businesses, like the tech start-ups we work with, are forced to settle these challenges out of court.

I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for up to 20 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

this is the 52nd consecutive week we are in session that I have come to the floor to ask us to please, for Lord's sake, wake up to the damage carbon pollution is already doing to our atmosphere, oceans, and climate, and to look ahead, to…

All I can tell you is that for the folks in the industry who I talk to, they do not see it as a floor, they see it as a target...