I wanted to urge you today to push the administration to begin these formal negotiations with Canada.

We cannot afford to wait, once the new administration, whoever it is, to reeducate everybody.

I want to start by expressing my appreciation to Dr. Califf for accepting this nomination and continuing to offer his expertise in service of families and communities nationwide. I am glad this evening to have the opportunity to talk about…

I ask unanimous consent that following the Senator's remarks, I be allowed 6 minutes and the Senator from Tennessee be allowed 10 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered.

Now, under the Every Student Succeeds Act, we're going to see a lot of the responsibilities of Federal Government under No Child Left Behind shift to our States.

I believe it's really critically important that a diverse group of stakeholders provide input and inform how States implement the law.

I was really proud last year that Democrats and Republicans did work together to break through the partisan gridlock here and succeed in passing this legislation.

I'm very hopeful that we can put politics aside and work across the aisle to protect our families and communities.

Mother Nature has a way of providing us with surprises. There will be more in the future.

can you talk a little bit about what the implications of Zika are for our blood supply? And should people who have returned from traveling overseas give blood?

It is critical that this is done as soon as possible so that eligible ports have access to the appropriated funding.

I think that is a really good recommendation, to include the asymptomatic women, because we do know that four out of five people don't know they have had the virus, because they don't have any reaction.

If the Air Force is committed to its plan to buy the full number of tankers and rebalance to Asia and support operations around the world, Fairchild Air Force Base is the absolute best location for main operating base 4.

It cannot just be words at a committee hearing. It has to be action. And these numbers continue to be really disconcerting.

last week I asked students and families to share with me their experiences with student loans and college affordability, and I want to start by sharing one of those stories. It is from a young woman named Rebeckah from my home State of…

Hatch-Waxman has been an incredible success and has provided patients and families with access to high-quality, lower-cost drugs.

thank you to my colleagues who are joining me here today and so many other efforts to stand up for women. The 43rd anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic ruling in Roe v. Wade is tomorrow. This is an important time to remember how…

I want to emphasize that point--this Committee, and this Congress, wants to help VA in this effort.

Those are just a few of the problems I am hearing, and they are deeply disconcerting.

Veterans deserve a system that works.

We need that legislation passed.

So, we know that the current system is not working. The question I pose today: is VA ready to step up and change course?

We have got to keep it up.

I love the words that you say. I do. But how do you have accountability for that?

One of your 2016 breakthrough goals is to continue to decrease the number of homeless veterans and families, which I applaud.