Floor Speeches

House Republicans have "truly lost their minds," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) called on Congress Tuesday to immediately address the “astounding and totally unacceptable” problem of sexual assault in the military.

“I am here to discuss the sexual assault crisis that is facing our military and the need to act immediately,” Hagan said on the Senate floor. “The brave service members that put their lives on the line should not have to worry about their safety on U.S. bases. … No one should ever have to deal with those kinds of concerns especially when they are already putting their lives on the line for our country.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said House Republicans needed to “look in the mirror” on who is to blame for the “Benghazi scandal.”

“Start by looking in the mirror,” Boxer said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Admit that you cut too much from embassy security.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans are blocking the Senate and House from forming a conference committee on the budget for the “nakedly partisan reason” of creating another economic crisis.

“It’s obvious [Republicans] are delaying [the budget] for one nakedly partisan reason: they hope to put off a compromise long enough to create another manufactured crisis, as the nation once again approaches the debt limit,” Reid said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) returned to the Senate floor Monday to call on Congress to pass gun control reforms.

Murphy said that nearly 4,000 people have been killed in the United States by guns since Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman killed 20 first graders at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) called on lawmakers to ask critical questions about the immigration bill because he said an influx of new legal workers would drive down wages in America during a time of slow economic growth.

“I urge my colleagues, before we rush out and sign up for an immigration proposal … somebody ask the question what is it doing to recent college graduates as well as low-skilled workers," Sessions said on the Senate floor Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the House Republican plan to prioritize federal debt is “totally irresponsible” and would lead to a government default.

“If we pay China but not our troops serving overseas, we're in default,” Reid said Monday. “The Republican approach with default is totally irresponsible. Republicans know this risky measure is a nonstarter in the Senate, and even if it could pass the Senate, which it won't, President Obama would veto it.”

Calling allegations "troubling," Reid says Senate will act if IG report finds need for more investigation.

Republicans will wait until after the Memorial Day recess to begin the process of passing annual appropriations bills for fiscal 2014.

"The majority leader announced we'll begin the process of funding our government in June through an open appropriation," Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said on the House floor Thursday.

Republicans once again rejected Democrats’ unanimous consent agreement to form a conference committee on the House and Senate budgets on Thursday.

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Republicans are holding the budget process “hostage” after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objected for a fifth time to appointing conferees to work out the massive difference between the House and Senate budget resolutions.