I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak for 10 minutes as in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Budget Conference

earlier this year, a man named William, who is from Gig Harbor, WA, wrote to me to express his frustration with what he saw happening here in Congress. William served in the Navy. He now works for a tech company that supports Navy…

We've got to get them to return to the site--the crisis of confidence that Senator Mikulski talked about.

When we passed the Affordable Care Act, we really designed it to have States lead the way and drive market reforms by building their own marketplaces.

I'm very proud of the work that's been done in my State to provide access to quality affordable coverage.

I wish to speak briefly about an outstanding candidate nominated to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On June 4, 2013, President Obama nominated Patricia Millett to be a United States Circuit…

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Unanimous Consent Agreement-- H. Con. Res. 25

I am pleased we have reached an agreement that will reopen the government and allow us to pay our bills and provide a path forward now for bipartisan budget negotiations. As part of this bipartisan deal, I will once again tonight ask…

as we now know, the government has been closed for business for more than a week. Across the country, newspapers are now filled with stories about how the shutdown is costing us jobs and slashing paychecks and interfering with everything…

I yield 1 minute of my time to the Senator from California. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.

Reserving the right to object, we are again seeing a request to fund a small part of our government. This request refers to our National Guard and Reserve. These are amazing members of our American family who have given and sacrificed with…

Reserving the right to object, let me make one observation, which is that sometimes I think those who have been objecting now 21 times to our request to go to conference have forgotten whom I would be conferencing with, which is the…

when a house is on fire, the reasonable thing to do is put it out and then figure out what happened to prevent the next one. When a ship is headed toward rocks, the reasonable thing is to steer away and then work on charting a better…

because this request doesn't resupply the stocks for our Guard and Reserve, it doesn't buy the tools or spare parts, it doesn't provide the energy and support they need to keep their facilities open, their electric bills can't be paid…

what is the order? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington is recognized.

I think there is one thing every one of us can agree on: There are innumerable problems across our country-- families who have been challenged, sad stories that should be taken care of in every part of our country, in each of our States…

my understanding is we were going to go back and forth, and if the Senator from Texas wishes to go, I will yield to him. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

responding to the unanimous consent request the Senator from Alabama propounded, I reserve the right to object. We may have just reached the heart of the matter. While we hear day after day that our House Republican friends want to…

I thank the Senator from Maryland for her very emotional response and her great statement. I hope all of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Capitol listen to what she just said to us. She represents a State…

reserving the right to object, the junior Senator from Texas has offered a unanimous consent request that we take care of veterans in this shutdown of government. I would note that there is no Senator or Member of Congress who does not…

I join with our majority leader who spoke just a moment ago, the majority whip who just spoke so eloquently, as well as our President pro tempore who just spoke, to thank our Capitol Police, Secret Service officers, and all those who…

I object on behalf of all Americans who should not be left behind. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. ____________________

I thank the Senator from Illinois for reminding all of us of the many people and communities and the economy in this country that are being hurt today because of the tea party's insistence, in the House of Representatives, that this…

Let me make it clear. The Senator from Washington does not believe we should be negotiating in the dark of night. The government should be open, public, and people should be able to see what we are doing. That is why our unanimous request…

I woke up this morning feeling like I think most Americans feel today--pretty disappointed in the antics of Washington, DC. As my colleague from New York just pointed out, we all know why we are here: Speaker Boehner and the Republicans in…