As Senator McCain and I pointed out in a brief to the Supreme Court recently, this latter condition is a prescription for corruption.

three years ago tomorrow, President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act. This landmark law will extend health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans when the reforms are fully implemented next year. Getting to this…

in visiting with fellow Vermonters in and around Brattleboro in southern Vermont last weekend, I appreciated the opportunity to be in town during the month The Brattleboro Reformer marked its centennial anniversary. Local newspapers serve…

I am very pleased to join today with the senior Senator from Oklahoma, Senator Inhofe, in reintroducing legislation that has already attracted broad support from across the social and political spectrum. An almost identical version was…

we are presently negotiating an arms trade treaty which will help to keep illicit firearms out of the hands of war criminals and terrorists. It is a humanitarian issue. We have people such as Joseph Kony who is out murdering children. He…

I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 521 The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, there is now 2 minutes equally divided prior to a vote on amendment No. 521, offered by Mr…

I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 359 The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is now 2 minutes equally divided prior to a vote in relation to the amendment numbered 359, offered by Mr…

this amendment is very clear, and it anticipates another amendment coming up by another Senator. The United States negotiates treaties, for example, the Arms Trade Treaty. But under the Supreme Court, Reid v. Covert, 1956, our Constitution…

I move to lay that motion on the table The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendments Nos. 225, 329, 293, 527, 153, and 136 En Bloc

I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 187 The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is now 2 minutes of debate divided equally on amendment No. 187. Who yields time? The Senator…

today I am pleased to reintroduce the Refugee Protection Act. The Senate will soon turn to comprehensive immigration reform and the changes to the refugee system contained in this bill are a critical component of fixing our broken…

I have been privileged to serve Vermonters for many years as a voice on foreign policy matters, and I am always reminded that my work is a reflection of the outward looking posture of the people of my State. Vermonters have a long history…

there is much at the Organization of American States that needs to be reformed, but the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, IACHR, is not among them. Yet that is what the Government of Ecuador and some other Latin American…

during the past 50 years there has been significant progress in improving living standards in developing countries. Some of the successes have been particularly noteworthy: eradicating smallpox and almost eradicating polio, stabilizing…

President Obama arrived in the Middle East today. It is his first visit as President to Israel and the West Bank. Some in the press have focused on the fact that the White House has lowered expectations for what will be accomplished in the…

today I join with Senator Paul to introduce the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, which will start to take on the problem of the ever-increasing Federal prison population and spiraling costs that spend more and more of our justice budget…

I call up my amendment No. 129, as modified. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Leahy], for himself, Ms. Mikulski and Mr. Shelby, proposes an…

this is a technical correction amendment. Current law prohibits transfers of U.S. cluster munitions that do not meet certain reliability requirements. Years ago Japan purchased U.S. cluster munitions that do not meet such requirements, and…

I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arkansas. Amendment No. 82 to Amendment No. 26

I ask unanimous consent that further reading be dispensed with. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the following: ``Notwithstanding section…

It protects public safety. As one of the former speakers said, this is not a get out of jail free card either.

Just yesterday in the Senate, Senators Rand Paul and Patrick Leahy introduced the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, S. 619.

It would allow the courts to sentence federal offenders below the mandatory minimum whenever that minimum term does not fulfill the goals of punishment established by Congress in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a).

I continue to have deep concerns about the constitutional and legal implications of such targeted killings.

I worry about not just the Government use of drones...but the ability of private companies and individuals to intrude on the privacy of Americans.