on November 19, 2010, the Senate passed the Bankruptcy Technical Corrections Act of 2010. This legislation makes many important technical changes to our bankruptcy laws. Yesterday, on December 16, the House of Representatives passed this…

the Senate will soon vote on whether we should debate the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or the DREAM Act. I have been a cosponsor of this important legislation since it was first introduced in the Senate in 2001…

I support the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, also called the New START Treaty. New START, if ratified, will have several major and positive impacts on our national security and on global nonproliferation. I must express my deep…

it is with deep sadness that I speak in memory of a dear friend, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who died Monday at the far-too-early age of 69. I first met Dick years and years ago, long before he held his most recent post of Special Envoy…

this morning, both the New York Times and the Washington Post published strong editorials condemning the delays in Senate consideration of the President's nominees. The Washington Post wrote about the extraordinary and damaging treatment…

for just the eighth time in this country's history, the Senate has voted to impeach and remove a Federal judge from the bench. Impeachment is a serious, constitutional act intended not as a form of punishment, but rather as means of…

I strongly oppose the tax deal now before the Senate. While I support tax relief for working and middle-income Americans, I am not willing to add $858 billion to the national debt in order to give enormous tax breaks to multimillionaires…

I have been urging Republicans and Democrats in the Senate to come together and take action to begin to end the vacancy crisis that is threatening the administration of justice by our Federal courts. I asked only that Senators follow the…

today, the Senate will finally pass the bipartisan Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2010, S. 372. I thank Senator Akaka and Senator Collins for their dedication to this legislation and for working with me and Senator Grassley on…

Unfortunately, in the last couple of years we have gotten into this habit of: Nobody wants to vote yes or no, they want to vote maybe. It is easier to block things from even being considered. Frankly, in my State of Vermont people expect…

Basically what the Senate has said is, we will protect British Petroleum and Halliburton over the rights and needs of the families of 11 men who died because of negligence. Is this what the Senate has come to? By our failure to even vote…

of course, this bill has been given an enormous amount of scrutiny by both Republicans and Democrats. Six months ago, I introduced the Survivors Equality Act, S. 3463, with Senator Durbin and Senator Whitehouse, to help the families of…

This is an inexplicable anomaly of the law that reflects a different era. Had they been assembling, for example, this oil rig, had they had it on land and it exploded, they would be able to recover as anybody could. If it was an onshore…

on October 15, 2010, we learned that next year Social Security beneficiaries will not receive a cost of living adjustment for the second year in a row because of the economic deflation, rather than inflation, our economy experienced in…

November and December bring with them a contagious holiday spirit. During a time when many Vermonters are struggling to feed their families and heat their homes, community members across Vermont are stepping forward to provide a helping…

with the Bush-era tax cuts from 2001 set to expire at the end of the year, the whole debate about what to do next needs to be based on fairness and honesty. Any additional tax relief we provide now must be targeted to those who need it…

the Removal Clarification Act of 2010 is an important piece of legislation that will clarify a Federal agency or officer's ability to remove State judicial proceedings to Federal court. The bill has strong support from both sides of the…

Mr. Cole's nomination has been pending on the Executive Calendar for 4 months, since it was reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee in July. I have a hard time remembering any time, in either a Democratic or Republican…

I am disappointed. The Republicans are saying there is a double standard. All of the Deputy Attorneys General nominated by Republican presidents have been confirmed, most by voice vote, within a month. This one has waited on the floor for…

in a letter sent yesterday to Senate leaders, former Deputy Attorneys General of the United States who served in both Republican and Democratic administrations urged the Senate to consider the nomination of James Cole to be the Deputy…

in a way, the Senator is making my point. If he has questions about Mr. Cole, let him argue them, debate them, set a time, and then vote yes or vote no. Particular issues come up in the Senate, such as nominees, and Republicans hold them…

2 weeks ago, before the Thanksgiving Day recess, I urged Republicans and Democrats in the Senate to come together and take action to begin to end the vacancy crisis that is threatening our Federal courts. My call was not extreme nor…

the Senate is poised to pass the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which will take much needed and long overdue steps to protect Americans from unsafe food. I am disappointed that the Senate will not consider, however, an important…

I rise today to express my opposition to the Coburn amendment. The legislative branch has a constitutional duty to make modifications and adjustments to the budget for the Federal Government. As a U.S. Senator and a member of the…

We worked closely on a bipartisan investigation on what went wrong at Ruby Ridge.