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Mr. President, I ask to speak as in morning business.

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the drug shortage crisis that is continuing to spread across the country. I am proud to stand here today with my friend ...

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

I am here today also to talk about something that is very important to the future of our democracy; that is, campaign finance reform and the Citizens United decision by ...

Mr. President, I ask to speak as in morning business.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Like millions of Americans all across our country, I was shocked to learn that insider trading by Members of Congress, in fact, and their families and their staff, using nonpublic ...

The Senator from Alaska.

Before I speak on my formal comments, I just want to say one thing. I know the Senator from New York was here a little bit ago talking about the ...

The Senator from Utah.

Madam President, in defense of the Constitution, I stand against an action taken recently by our Chief Executive. President Obama's January 4, 2012, appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ...

The Senator from Vermont is recognized.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 355, which was submitted earlier today.

The clerk will report the resolution by title.

The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

The clerk will call the roll.

The Senator from Illinois.

Madam President, I rise to spend a few minutes on the Senate floor to talk about home--about Alaska. We have a tendency sometimes up north to do things in a ...

The Senator from Wyoming.

Mr. President, this is not the time for a debate with my friend, the distinguished Senator from Wyoming. I would just say there are two sides to the story. Try ...

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 301, S.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.

There is a cloture motion at the desk.

provided for in section 106 of P.L. 112-25. These levels, as originally published in the Congressional Record

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

of September 7, 2011, do not include budget authority, outlays, or revenues for off-budget amounts. As a

TABLE 2. SUPPORTING DETAIL FOR THE SENATE CURRENT LEVEL REPORT FOR ON-BUDGET SPENDING AND REVENUES FOR FISCAL

section.2 For purposes of enforcing section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act in the Senate, the aggregate levels are

result, current level excludes these items.3 Periodically, the Senate Committee on the Budget revises the aggregate totals: Budget authority Outlays Revenues Original Budget Aggregates......................... 2,854,385 2,987,419 1,890,921 Revisions: Adjustments for ...

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

RECOGNIZING THE ``MAJOR CHARLES ROBERT SOLTES JR., O.D. BLIND REHABILITATION CENTER'' Mr. President, today I wish to commemorate the dedication of the ``Major Charles Robert Soltes Jr., O.D. Department of ...

Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a fallen son of Iowa, MSgt. Travis Riddick. Master Sergeant Riddick joined the Marine Corps after graduating from high school in Centerville, ...

Mr. President, today I wish to bring awareness to an event being hosted in my State this weekend. The National Handicapping Championship, NHC, will take place on January 27 and ...

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize and congratulate former Utah State Senate President Haven J. Barlow on his recent 90th birthday. He is a true patriot who spent much ...

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs and to congratulate this venerable organization on 100 years of championing the agricultural fair industry and the ...

The following bills were read the first and the second times by unanimous consent, and referred as indicated: H.R. 290. An act to amend title 36, United States Code, to ...

The following communications were laid before the Senate, together with accompanying papers, reports, and documents, and were referred as indicated: EC-4538. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management ...

The following bills and joint resolutions were introduced, read the first and second times by unanimous consent, and referred as indicated: By Mr. MORAN (for himself and Mr. Roberts): S. ...

S. 165 At the request of Mr. Vitter, the name of the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Hoeven) was added as a cosponsor of S. 165, a bill to amend ...

Mr. President, it is no great secret that our country today faces many enormously difficult problems. We remain in the midst of a very serious recession. Real unemployment is at ...

SENATE RESOLUTION 354--HONORING THE LIFE OF DISSIDENT AND DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST WILMAN VILLAR MENDOZA AND CONDEMNING THE CASTRO REGIME FOR THE DEATH OF WILMAN VILLAR MENDOZA Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. ...

SA 1469. Mr. REID (for Mrs. Boxer) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 2039, to allow a State or local government to construct levees on certain properties otherwise designated ...

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. ...

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural ...

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, that there be no intervening action or ...

Mr. President, it is my understanding this is legislation that has been pushed by Gabrielle Giffords who resigned from the House yesterday.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on January 26, 2012, at 10:00 a.m., in ...

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following staff of the Finance Committee be granted floor privileges for the duration of the debate on the debt limit: Claire Green, ...

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, ...

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to the following member of my staff, William Mowitt, a fellow in my office, during the pendency ...

The clerk will report the bill by title.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

The clerk will report the bill by title.

The clerk will report the bill by title.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Boxer substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be ...

The amendment (No. 1469) was agreed to, as follows:

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2039, introduced earlier today.

The Senator from Arkansas.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate adjourn following the statement of Senator Boozman and that the statement be limited to 15 minutes.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Thursday, January 26, 2012 The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was called to order by the Honorable Tom Udall, a Senator from the State of New Mexico.

Mr. President, the guest Chaplain is from the State of Louisiana. It is my understanding Senator Vitter would like to say a few words, so I yield to him.

The assistant legislative clerk read the following letter:

Mr. President, it is my true honor and distinct pleasure--joy, really--to help host Reverend Smith today. As the Acting President pro tempore said, Reverend Smith is the senior pastor of ...

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico thereupon assumed the chair as Acting President pro tempore.

The Senator from Louisiana.

The majority leader is recognized.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, following any leader remarks this morning, the Senate will begin consideration of the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 98, which is a joint resolution relating to the ...

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. President, I wish to briefly discuss a trip I took recently to a country that for much of the past 50 years has ranked among the world's most isolated ...

Mr. President, a few weeks ago President Obama asked Congress to raise the Nation's debt ceiling. Today virtually every Republican in the Senate will oppose that request. Washington needs to ...

Mr. President, as the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, I wish to respond to some of the shrill rhetoric and outright misinformation regarding President Obama's recent ...

Mr. President, how many minutes does the minority have remaining?

I yield back the remainder of our time.

The Senator from Montana is recognized.

The time until noon is equally divided.

Mr. President, I come to the floor aghast that we have entered into a unanimous consent agreement to spend less than 2\1/2\ hours talking about raising the debt ceiling another ...

Mr. President, Benjamin Franklin once said, ``Promises may fit the friends, but nonperformance will turn them into enemies.'' We should be clear about what the debt limit means and what ...

And the minority has 8 minutes remaining?

Is there objection?

Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?

Mr. President, we are here today to debate the President's desire to take on more debt. We are here to debate whether it is a good thing to put current ...

The Senator will proceed.

Mr. President, I wish to express my disapproval of the President's request of a debt limit increase of $1.2 trillion, which would place the total limit just below $16.4 trillion.

So the total amount of time is less than 2 hours today that we are going to discuss this resolution; is that correct?

The bill clerk called the roll.

And the amount of time that has been allocated by the majority leader and under the unanimous consent agreement?

The senior Senator from Florida.

Is there a sufficient second? There is a sufficient second.

The motion was rejected.

Mr. President, I thank the chairman of the Finance Committee and my friend from Utah, the ranking member of the committee.

Is there time remaining on the other side?

Under the previous order, the time until noon will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees for debate on the motion to proceed.

The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

There is no remaining time on the other side.

The majority has 24 minutes remaining.

The Senator from Oklahoma is recognized.

The senior Senator from Utah is recognized.

The Senator from Utah is recognized.

The Republicans have 8 minutes remaining.

The Senator from Oklahoma.

I understand that, but what is the total amount of time that has been allocated to H.J. Res. 98?

[Rollcall Vote No. 2 Leg.] YEAS--44 Alexander Ayotte Barrasso Blunt Boozman Burr Coats Coburn Cochran Collins Cornyn Crapo DeMint Enzi Graham Grassley Hatch Heller Hoeven Hutchison Inhofe Isakson Johanns Johnson ...

Mr. President, Senator Durbin, the chairman of the Civil Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, will convene a hearing of the subcommittee in Tampa tomorrow afternoon at 1 o'clock for ...

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business until 5 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; ...

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

The clerk will call the roll.

The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. President, I addressed the Senate recently on President Obama's recess appointments, and he did this when the Senate was not in fact in recess. I described at length why ...

The Senator from Rhode Island.

Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate my State of Michigan on its 175th anniversary of statehood. On Thursday, January 26, 1837, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the bill ...

Madam President, I am proud to follow the distinguished Senator from the State of Washington who has spoken so powerfully on this issue, which is especially appropriate at this time ...

Is there objection?

Mr. President, I very much appreciate joining all my colleagues on the floor who have been speaking about the Citizens United case. I think what we are seeing in the ...

The Senator from Oregon State.

I thank the Senator from New York for his courtesy. I too will be brief. It is an extraordinary honor to represent Oregon in the Senate. Having this special privilege, ...

Madam President, I commend my colleague from Oregon for his statement.

In closing, people speak through their legislature. The judiciary struck down a measure through which the people spoke to place those limits on the ability of corporations to shape results, ...

Mr. President, to all of my colleagues who have come to the floor today to talk about the critical nature of spending in our campaigns, I say I am pleased ...

The Senator from Minnesota.

Madam President, I rise today to talk about one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in the history of the Court. Two years ago the Supreme Court handed down the ...

Without objection, it is so ordered.

I would yield.

The Senator from Connecticut.

Madam President, I thank the Senator from Minnesota. As he was eloquently telling us, last Saturday was the 2-year anniversary of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that caused our ...