Congress has the power to recognize Native American Tribes. And it has exercised this power in the past.

It is time the government of the United States finally recognizes them. I strongly urge your support for S. 1074.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 16, 2013, at 5:30 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered…

I rise to say a few words to applaud the Senate bipartisan leadership for the ongoing negotiation to do what the American public wants us to do, to reopen our government, affirm the fiscal soundness of the United States, and finally begin…

I rise to deliver a status report on what the government shutdown has meant to Virginia this week. I gave one last week, and I am back on the floor to share some additional news. I associate myself with the comments of the Senator from…

I rise to talk about the need to reopen government--and not to reopen government in a piecemeal way, one bit this week and then another bit next week, which seems to be the newest gambit on the table. We need to reopen the government…

We have been blocked in doing it 19 times.

It is not the Department of State's fault, and it is not the administration's fault that Congress has not passed a budget.

The Senate had not passed a budget in 4 years, and we passed one on the 23rd of March.

I get concerned when I hear about easing of sanctions to satisfy some of our concerns.

I rise tonight--with the question of whether the House will allow government to continue or shut down--to actually talk for a few minutes about a simple concept but that is apparently difficult in this body, and that is compromise. I want…

I say to the Senator, if we get to that point and he introduces affirmative legislation to reform the health care system-- after we get through this debate--that would be legislation that would not be connected to the question, the…

Let me offer a hypothetical situation. Contemplate another State and another race between two candidates, where one candidate took the strong position that ObamaCare should be repealed and the other candidate took the strong position that…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 25, 2013, at 2:30…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 25, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 25, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. committee on homeland…

Would it be fair to say that part of the Senator's mission here is he told his voters what he would do. They knew what the Senator would do and chose him to do the job. One of the things the Senator is doing today on the floor with this…

So the Senator will not vote to continue government operations unless ObamaCare is defunded?

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 25, 2013, at 10 a.m. in room SD-406 of the Dirksen Senate office building, to conduct a hearing…

I say to the Senator, you engaged in a colloquy with the Senator from Illinois about a provision that I wanted to follow up on. Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, it was completely lawful and, in fact, common for insurance…

I thank the Senator. I would ask the Senator to yield for a series of questions around two issues--first, comments the Senator made earlier about helpful reforms that could be made to the health care system and, second, the Senator's…

Does the Affordable Care Act require that insurance be provided to folks despite preexisting conditions at the same rate across the board?

So then, to make sure I understand, the Senator is opposed to the provision in the current Affordable Care Act that requires insurance companies to write insurance to individuals within those limitations, regardless of preexisting…

I also rise to speak on the continuing resolution. We are coming up on the 150th anniversary of the most famous speech ever given in America, the Gettysburg Address, delivered by Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg, PA, in November of 1863. In…

I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 25, 2013, to conduct a hearing entitled ``State of the American Senior: The Changing Retirement Landscape for…