Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And by the way, happy birthday, Mr. Chairman.

I, too, want to recognize and say to Senator Portman, who has been a leading voice in the Senate in the fight against human trafficking, what a great job he has done getting us to this point. This was a long, multimonth, as he said, 2-year…

we are quickly turning to the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act legislation, coupled with the legislation that has come over from the House of Representatives, and I hope we will get a big bipartisan vote in support of that legislation…

In response to these needs, President Trump released an ambitious proposal to rebuild the nation's infrastructure.

Our nation must stay interconnected.

I wrote a book about state sovereignty. I'm very much a big supporter of federalism.

The impediment to more energy infrastructure is existing government regulations and red tape dragging out the completion of the needed projects.

The participation today of five Cabinet Secretaries in today's hearing... underscores the Administration's readiness and enthusiasm.

I have to give credit to my fellow senator, Barbara Boxer. You know, she's liberal and I'm conservative. We all agreed on this and agreed to make changes.

Permitting and regulations, I will suggest to you, affect the bottom line even more than taxes do.

I hope that we can come to find some common ground and move forward with legislation that will really address the nation's infrastructure needs.

Rebuilding our infrastructure is not just a priority, it is an imperative for our economy.

I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 7 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Tax Reform

I have 6 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following…

the steady stream of good news for American workers continues. Just take a look at the headlines: ``Craft brewers putting tax savings toward expansions and new jobs.'' That is one headline. ``Grocery chain investing in employees and brand…

I also want to join my colleague from Missouri, Senator Blunt, and others today to pay tribute to the life of Billy Graham. Last week we lost a man of great faith. At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives his disciples the Great…

We are all here today in the interest of advancing safety to protect the traveling public.

We convene today's hearing at a critical time for positive train control, or PTC, implementation.

These accidents underscore the importance of implementing PTC quickly, safely, and successfully.

This Committee, on a bipartisan basis, took action to avert a rail shutdown and set a realistic framework for implementation.

We are now about 10 months away from the December 31, 2018, statutory deadline for PTC.

tax reform is working. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has been the law of the land for just 2 months, but it is already helping American workers. When it came time to draft tax reform legislation, we had one objective, and that was to make…

However, as I have said before, money alone cannot solve those problems.

I appreciate the priorities you have laid out in the President's budget, particularly the emphasis on addressing drug prices, opioids, and reducing regulatory burdens.

I have 5 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following…