before I yield the floor to Senator Sanders, I wanted to take 1 minute and thank Senator McCain for his many years of principled advocacy in this area. People have written entire books about the work he has done. I think it was Elizabeth…

I thank Chairman Leahy. I ask unanimous consent, in terms of scheduling floor time, that Senator Manchin of West Virginia be recognized now for up to 5 minutes; that Senator McCain, if he is on the floor, be recognized at the conclusion of…

I believe Chairman Leahy will shortly be joining us to discuss the DISCLOSE Act. I ask unanimous consent that an op-ed piece authored by former Senator Warren Rudman and former Senator Chuck Hagel--two former Republican Senators who…

I thank the distinguished Senator from Colorado for his impassioned and eloquent support. I think we recognize that through the course of our country's history, men and women have shed their blood, have laid down their lives in order to…

I want to follow up a bit on what I said I would do earlier, because this has been in some respects half a debate. Other than my friend Senator McCain who has courageously fought on this issue for some years, we have not heard much from…

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 12:26 a.m., adjourned until Tuesday, July 17, 2012, at 10 a.m…

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 17; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed…

That is an interesting question. One would have to look into the hearts of those five Justices to get the answer to it. But why they would be willing to make such a dramatic, activist move without working with four other colleagues to try…

If I can add an additional point that Senator McCain and I made in our brief to the U.S. Supreme Court opposing the Citizens United decision and asking for its reconsideration. It is terrible what these negative ads filled with deception…

I ask unanimous consent that at 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 17, the motion to proceed to the motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to proceed to S. 3369 be agreed to; that the motion to reconsider be agreed…

That is a fascinating development. I don't remember the numbers off the top of my head, but I will try. My recollection is that before the super PACs kicked off with all this, 9 percent of the ads were negative in the last election cycle…

May I follow up on the points that Senator Merkley made. The comparison he made to the constitutional change that took the Senate from election by State legislators to direct election by the people is very much a model for what is…

In conclusion, I note that S. Res. 520 recognizes the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the NAACP, which for reasons I will discuss later, is an interesting irony in today's debate coming from the Republican side. I will now yield to…

They don't have children. They don't have aspirations. They don't have souls because they are not human. They don't have goals. They don't have all the things that make us different and make us human. But, evidently, they have the same…

In effect, that is what they did. The famous expression that ``corporations are people, my friends,'' is the expression actually of Governor Romney. But it sort of attached itself to the Citizens United decision, which doesn't actually use…

I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the resolutions be printed…

may I ask the Senator from Colorado that in an environment in which the bulk of the political spending is being done by outside groups and the bulk of the outside spending groups is secret, what is the likelihood of those goals being…

I ask unanimous consent that Senator Inhofe be recognized for 15 minutes for his remarks regarding the Law of the Sea, that Senator Shaheen and Senator Klobuchar then be recognized, and then for the duration of today's session Senators be…

in 1822, the Founding Father James Madison wrote: A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a…

I rise to speak about the DISCLOSE Act of 2012, legislation that will shine some much needed light into the flood of secret money that is now polluting our elections. I would like to open with thanks to Senators Chuck Schumer, Mike Bennet…

I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Arkansas now be recognized to deliver remarks regarding a casualty from his home State--for which I will take this opportunity to send my condolences and the condolences of the people of Rhode…

I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

today at 3 p.m. there will be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 3369, the DISCLOSE Act, which we have discussed at such length tonight, upon reconsideration. ____________________

I will be the last speaker for tonight. Let me close with a number of thank-yous. First, let me thank the Presiding Officer, Senator Landrieu of Louisiana, for staying past the midnight hour to help keep the Senate open. Let me thank…

I was a prosecutor for many years. I was the U.S. attorney for our State. I was the attorney general for our State. When you are prosecuting crimes, there is one very important thing that you always look for. Motive. You look for a motive…