I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia be authorized to meet during the session of…

I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 13, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Subcommittee on Fiscal…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 13, 2011, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Afffairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 13, 2011, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Ten Years After 9/11: Are We…

I have spoken to so many of my colleagues-- I know I have with my good friend, a distinguished Member of this body, the Senator from Montana, and others--about what has happened in Vermont. We are a little State. We are 660,000 people. We…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate to conduct a hearing entitled ``Is Poverty a Death Sentence?'' on September 13, 2011, at 10 a.m…

And it was happening with no prosecutions before.

I look at the District of Columbia, which has the same population as my State of Vermont, and I remember a year or so ago reading in the paper that they had as many murders over a weekend as we had in a year in Vermont.

Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery. You cannot call it anything else.

I appreciate these answers, too. Senator Grassley and I share concerns about these programs working right.

I am proud that my own State of Vermont recently passed a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that includes criminal penalties, prevention programs, and services for human trafficking victims.

The bipartisan support for this bill in the Senate reflects the widespread focus on combating human trafficking in diverse communities across the country.

So what you have is a case where they will use these children, try to bring people down to these resort areas, enslaving the children for that.

yesterday, Americans across the country gathered to remember the thousands of innocent lives that were taken so cruelly and indiscriminately in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Although a decade has passed, I vividly remember…

I would like to congratulate THIS for Diplomats of Washington, DC, on its 50th anniversary. Established in 1961, and formerly known as The Hospitality and Information Service, THIS has welcomed diplomats and their families from around the…

it is a great pleasure to call the Senate's attention to the economic development contributions of Peter Van Oot, a friend and former member of my staff. Pete, a native of Westminster, VT, has long served his community and our State with…

I ask unanimous consent that after the first vote--we have several more votes--the remaining votes be 10- minute votes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from Vermont.

I thank the distinguished Senator from Iowa for his words, and I join with the Senator from Iowa in opposing the amendment for two reasons. First, as just simply as a practical matter, the amendment would have the effect, if it passed, of…

I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma has the floor. Is there objection?

I thank the distinguished Senator from Iowa for his strong support of this bill. In a few moments the Senate is going to have the opportunity to make significant reforms to our Nation's patent system for the first time in more than half a…

I will use my time to note some of the things happening in my own very special State of Vermont, the State in which I was born. As Vermonters come together and continue to grapple with the aftermath of storm damage from Irene, I wish to…

because this amendment would kill the bill, I move to table the amendment and ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The question is on agreeing to the…

I understand what the Senator from Oklahoma says, but the Coburn amendment can derail and even kill this bill. So, as I have told the Senator, I will move to table in a moment. But this bill would otherwise help our recovering economy. It…

this is an amendment that can derail and even kill this bill--a bill that would otherwise help our recovering economy, unleash innovation and create the jobs that are so desperately needed. I have worked for years against Patent Office fee…

I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to reserve the remainder of my time, and I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.