John Thune: “Obviously, BP is the responsible party for this oil spill, but the Federal Government has the ultimate responsibility.”

Well, I think people are, there's voter fatigue with high gas prices and high diesel prices in my part of the world.

Both pieces of legislation strike at the very heart of issues that the American people care deeply about, passionately about, and we'll see if the Democrats are willing to take yes for an answer.

The only conclusion one can draw is that the Democrats have concluded that it is good politics for them not to allow the Republicans to ‘get a victory’ or the president to ‘get a victory’ in the middle of a political season.

I just think, if you’re looking at issues that we want to get at the heart of what everybody seems to be saying, the Democrats and others are saying, are important, we're concerned about.