Senate

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the killing of Osama bin Laden is a "strike of justice" for those were murdered on 9/11.

"This is a thunderous strike for justice for the thousands of my fellow New Yorkers — and citizens from all over the world — who were murdered on 9/11," Schumer said. "It took close to 10 years, but the world's most wanted terrorist has finally met his deserved fate.

"New York's heart is still broken from the tragedy of 9/11, but this at least brings some measure of closure and consolation to the victims and their families," Schumer said. 

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he was "overjoyed" to learn of the death of Osama bin Laden. 

The Republican budget for 2012 has no chance of becoming law, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) said Thursday. 

"Its a measure that's decidedly on the conservative side, if not far right, and edging toward the point where, in my opinion, there is no chance it could become national policy," Kohl said in an interview with the Wisconsin Radio Network.

The 2012 plan crafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) would cut $5.8 trillion in spending over 10 years and transform Medicare into a sort of voucher system, among other measures, to balance the budget by 2040 without raising taxes.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said the U.S. debt structure could soon throw the country into financial turmoil.

GOP senator says it will remind voters that Senate Democrats don't have their own budget proposal.

The release of President Obama’s long-form birth certificate should end any doubts about his birthplace “for any reasonable person," Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on Wednesday.

But he predicted that some would still not be satisfied by the evidence.

“I just guarantee you: There will be people that say, ‘Oh, it’s still a problem,' " Durbin told WJBC radio in central Illinois. "He’ll never be able to prove it. If they weren’t there with photographic evidence at the moment of birth, these folks will never be happy.”

The Democratic lawmaker said the "birther movement was ridiculous" and Trump's reviving it was also silly.

U.S. involvement in Libya is “just wrong,” freshman Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in an interview with conservative activist Ginni Thomas.

"What we are doing in Libya is wrong — it is just wrong,” said Lee. "We have committed our uniformed military personnel to a war that is not just a discreet military strike — and I think it’s important we recognize that for what it is."

The interview was published on The Daily Caller's website. Thomas is married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) on Monday accused Democrats of scaring congressional Republicans with the prospect of a government shutdown during the budget debates earlier this month.

“If Republicans feared a shutdown, President Obama and [Sen.] Harry Reid [D-Nev.] would get exactly what they wanted," King said. "That was their intent all along."

On April 8, congressional leadership and the White House reached an agreement to fund the government through the remainder of fiscal 2011, avoiding a government shutdown by just a few hours.

The Senate Judiciary Committee next week will hold an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice, which will feature testimony from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Possible issues that could be discussed there include the decision to try 9/11 detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in military court.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold two separate hearings next week, one on outcomes in Afghanistan and another assessing U.S. policy in Pakistan. But neither of these hearings will feature current administration officials.

More details on featured Senate hearings for next week follow: