This is a different time. I think this is a different place probably than it was back then.

It affects jobs. Tyson employs 41,000 people. USDA estimates there are a million jobs associated with agricultural exports in this country.

Having an efficient transportation system is really one of the keys to our advantage, our competitive advantage in the global economy.

this is just a very punitive tax on family farms and small businesses.

this just seems like a really strange proposal, particularly if you represent a constituency like I do in a farm-based part of the country.

If it is to break up family farms, obviously, it is going to have that effect.

you have a triple shot. You have an increase in the rate, you have a change in the time of realization, and you do away with stepped-up basis, all at the same time.

I am particularly concerned about the administration's proposal to raise the capital gains tax and apply the tax when an asset is transferred at death or by gift.

It is an issue that is important to our country and something that Congress has been trying to fix for over a decade.

this capital gains proposal that you all put forward, we really need to talk clearly about what it would do.

I appreciate that. I wanted to hear you commit to ensuring that the communication improves and that these inquiries get responded to in a more timely way.

It seems that the focus to move providers and payers to electronic health records should include the IHS and their relationship with private providers.

I will not go into that; I know you are familiar with the----

yesterday the President of the United States released his budget. Unfortunately, it looks like the same old failed, top-down policies of the past. It is a government-knows-best approach that clings to more taxes, more spending, and bigger…

last year we saw an all-time record number of motor vehicle recalls, including those by General Motors, Toyota, Honda, and others. The commerce committee held five vehicle safety hearings, examining GM ignition switches, Takata airbags…

I ask unanimous consent that there be 2 minutes equally divided after each vote and that all after the first vote in the series be 10 minutes each. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Amendment No. 155 The question…

last week President Obama came over to Congress to deliver his annual State of the Union Address. His speech focused heavily on something Republicans have been talking about for the last 6 years: helping the middle class. Occasionally the…

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio).

The Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act will enhance protections for those who report safety violations.

I do think that what we saw last year with some of the bottlenecks is a need for greater transparency about where those were.

I want to strongly urge you to continue pushing our friends to the north when it comes to market access for cheese and other dairy products.

We really need to get TPA done, and I hope that we can.

It is a big issue, and for the Europeans, in particular, it is an area where they are really... trying to create some of these barriers.

I look forward to working with you and the members on our side, as well as Senator Wyden and members on his side, on issues that are in front of this committee that are so important to our economy.

I am a big believer that comprehensive tax reform can unleash a lot of economic activity in this country.