Mr. President, as you know, the budget-appropriations process has broken down. Neither the House nor the Senate passed a budget resolution which provides a basic roadmap for our spending decisions for the next fiscal year. As a result of…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To reduce spending other than national security…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to call up my amendment No. 4676 and ask that it be made pending. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report. The assistant editor of the Daily Digest read as…

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I will not object if the Senator from Washington would substitute the language which is at the desk which extends all the things she has talked about this evening, as well as provides a…

I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The Senator from Washington.

I would say to the Senator from Washington through the Chair that I would be happy to take a look at this and run it by my colleagues. Obviously, this is not something I think everybody--there isn't anybody here right now--has had an…

Mr. President, if I might just say to the Senator from Massachusetts, again, I appreciate his willingness to come down here and express his support for this amendment. The Senator from South Carolina is here. I expect he will speak too. He…

I ask the Senator from Massachusetts if he is hearing from his constituents back in his State the same message I hear from my constituents in South Dakota; that is, we are experiencing economic difficulties. In this economic downturn, many…

Mr. President, before the Senator from Massachusetts yields the floor, will he yield for a question?

I didn't know the precise number, Mr. President. I will say to my colleague from Montana if it is not, in fact, 130--and I will take his word for that--I know it is a lot. There are lots of provisions in law that need to be extended and…

Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I say in response to that, that is absolutely true. Around here I think, traditionally, tax extenders have been something both sides have worked on. Generally, it tends to be kind of…

If I might continue, Mr. President, let me just say with regard to the observations of the Senator from Montana that I couldn't agree more that we need to get these things done, and we need to provide some long-term certainty for those in…