We are always prepared to work in a bipartisan fashion in reducing the time, at least in questioning Ms. Pritzker.

I am a big free trader. I know there are folks who believe in fair trade.

We certainly see that the enforcement of our trade laws is one of the common challenges that we face from things like transshipment of U.S. goods to Iran, to protection of our pharmaceutical companies' intellectual property, to proper…

I think there is a grand opportunity. One of the things that we have done well in South Carolina is the notion of synergy of our economic assets.

I would say that, as your neighbor to the south, the tolling impact would be harmful from our perspective.

the welts on my back for doing so took a couple of years to heal.

I would tell you that a project-specific, merit-based system would be welcomed versus what sometimes appears to be a district-specific, red districts versus blue districts, funding formula that seems to be en vogue at times.

This probably is perhaps the most amazing confirmation process I have seen so far in my short term in the Senate.

This system has to work. I mean, it has to work for everyone involved.

This is a time in our history when public service is not necessarily as comfortable as it used to be.

It seems to me that the rule of law has been under attack.

There will not be immigration reform without some sort of employer verification system.

Our desire is not to create a mechanism to force businesses to do anything.

We want to improve the way in which Americans express their wishes about how they wish to be treated when their illnesses are advanced.

It is incredibly important to make those decisions early on while the individual suffering from the disease still has the ability to make those decisions.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that that funding is protected and increased.

I know that you said during our meeting that you would spend your first 100 days or so doing a listening tour, understanding that the No. 1 priority in our country is jobs, jobs, and jobs.

The fact of the matter is that South Carolina has been a State on the fast track to creating racial parity.

I am looking forward to having the opportunity to see a fair, balanced approach come to our State.

the price will be impacted by the actual cost. And when we look at the actual costs of the health care bill, it is actually going to have a major impact on every single taxpaying American in the country.

Having served on a couple of hospital boards, I have realized that the reimbursement rates are going down because of the ACA, not up.

I do not see the ACA from a partisan perspective. I see it as a perspective of an average person in our country.

The deepening of the Charleston Harbor to 50 feet is predicted to provide significant economic benefit to the Southeast region and the entire nation, with over $100 million in net benefit to the nation estimated on an annual basis.

my amendment is very simple. It prohibits the automatic deduction of union dues from Federal employees' paychecks. I yield back the remainder of my time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time in opposition? The Senator from Washington.

The chemical industry and Department of Homeland Security have a common goal: to improve the security profile of the chemical sector and reduce the risk of attack against industry or the use of chemicals as a weapon.