Speeches

Mr. President, today I would like to recognize the accomplishments of William A. Richards--a friend, a colleague, and a dedicated public servant. Bill is retiring this month after nearly half a century of service to the U.S. Army and the Department... Read More

Today, in the midst of the biggest oil spill in our Nation's history, we are debating a joint resolution, supported by the oil industry, among others, that effectively says that the Senate, with its extensive expertise, believes the Environmental... Read More

Mr. President, in March my State was hit with back-to-back historic floods that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Rhode Island. I thank the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Inouye, and the ranking member, Senator... Read More

Mr. President, like many of my colleagues, I have several amendments that have been filed. At this moment, it is not possible to call up all the amendments, but I wish to speak to one of them and hope that prior to the conclusion of our debate, I... Read More

Mr. President, I take the floor today to talk about an amendment which I have been working on with Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. I am very fortunate to have Senator Brown's help, insight, and advice because of his extensive experience not... Read More

Mr. President, I rise to engage in a colloquy with my colleague from Rhode Island, Mr. Whitehouse, and my colleague from West Virginia, Mr. Rockefeller. Mr. President, I want to thank the chairman of the Commerce Committee for his leadership in... Read More

Madam President, the Republican side has submitted a consumer protection amendment that can be briefly summarized: Buyer beware because they won't help you. This flows from the very simple premise that they have announced from the very beginning of... Read More

Mr. President, yesterday we and the nation heard from Goldman Sachs executives indicating they had no regrets about the financial crisis, a crisis that has left 8.5 million people without jobs and stripped billions of dollars of retirement savings... Read More

Mr. President, the recent lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, against Goldman Sachs underscores that much still needs to be done to improve transparency and restore confidence in our financial system. Indeed, that is why we must... Read More

Mr. President, today I introduce with Senator Lemieux and Senator Brown of Ohio, the Teacher and Principal Improvement Act, to foster the development of highly skilled and effective educators. We are slated to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary... Read More

Mr. President, I am here today not only to salute these great Americans but also to talk about the urgency of bringing the issue of Wall Street reform to the Senate for open debate and final passage. We have weathered and witnessed the worst... Read More

Mr. President, I rise today in support of the nomination of Lael Brainard to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. I know Lael personally. She is a renowned expert in international economics, a dedicated public servant, and is... Read More

Mr. President, we are here to move forward on extending unemployment benefits, which is long overdue. They expired April 5. We have thousands and indeed hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens across the Nation who need this assistance. In my... Read More

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I thank Senator Stabenow. We are here to attempt to extend unemployment benefits for a brief period of time so Americans do not get caught up in the expiration of these benefits on April 5. This has been a repeated struggle.... Read More

Mr. President, I thank Senator Stabenow. We are here to attempt to extend unemployment benefits for a brief period of time so Americans do not get caught up in the expiration of these benefits on April 5. This has been a repeated struggle. We have... Read More

Mr. REED. First, I wish to begin by recognizing the extraordinary leadership of majority leader Harry Reid, Chairman Baucus, Chairman Dodd, and Chairman Harkin to get us to this point. Commonsense and cost-effective health care reform is now the law... Read More

Madam President, even though we have made an extraordinary advance in health care reform, we still have millions of Americans who are without jobs and in need of unemployment insurance. We are in a situation that requires action. Early this month, we... Read More

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I join my colleague and friend Senator Whitehouse in paying tribute to an extraordinary American, an extraordinary Rhode Islander, George Panichas. Senator Whitehouse, with eloquence and obviously great feeling that I share... Read More

Mr. President, shortly, we will have the honor and privilege, myself and Senator Whitehouse, to join in supporting and confirming the nomination of Justice Rogeriee Thompson , who will be confirmed today to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice... Read More

Madam President, we have today taken a very strong, positive step forward in terms of responding to the No. 1 crisis in our economy, and that is jobs for all of our people. Under Leader Reid's leadership, we were able to get a bill through, with a... Read More