box situation where people try to insulate them from the normal pressures and one of the biggest mistakes of philosophers and psychologists is to define everything as stress. we need some stress in our lives. it gives us reason to keep going. we can keep going with another question if we have time. >> less than a minute left so we have to wrap it. thanks for coming. if you think todd buchholz won the debate hurry to the next event. if you think mark skousen won you can amble along to the next debate. i want to announce todd buchholz will have a book signing at 3:30 this afternoon. if you want to pick up a copy of "rush" he will be there at 3:40 in the back of the exhibit hall. thanks for coming. [applause]

>> for more information on the author visit todd buchholz.com. >> on capitol hill the senate is holding a special weekend session to work on debt and deficit legislation. because of senate coverage booktv's schedule has changed. visit booktv.org to what many of this weekend's programs including footage of the trip to south carolina and parts one and two of reinvest 2011. >> i recent visit to charleston booktv took a look at the charleston library society. >> the charleston library

society was founded in 1748 which makes it the third oldest circulating library in the united states and the oldest cultural institution of any kind in the south. it was founded by 19 young men in charleston as a way to get books and publications shifted from london. they pooled their resources. it became one of the most important cultural institutions in town very quickly and helped found the charleston museum which is america's first museum. it became center for learning. many early natural historians set up camp here in charleston and the library society was their home base. it was an early center for science and learning. most of the founding fathers from south carolina signed the constitution and the declaration of independence were all library

society members. plenty of them would have lots of fair letters and papers in the collection so these are handful of letters from george washington. this entire series of correspondence, time and time again washington tried to recruit for the new national government. this is from 1791. this is to edward rutledge asking if they would join the supreme court. his brother got work from the court and washington said you won't be paid or get a lot of respect but if either of you want to be a supreme court justice we would love to have you. neither of them did. they were happy to stay here and keep maintenance on their crops which was more profitable and much more enjoyable than moving

north. he asked him to become secretary of war a few years later and secretary of state a year after that. he said no dice. 1796 you turned down every other job by offered. how about minister of france? probably his wife influenced this decision. absolutely. he finally responded with a positive answer to washington and became minister to france. a funny series of letters. here is another great one. he was friends with john martin. pink meat with a hard-core federalist during the nineteenth century. jefferson -- south carolina went to jefferson to join the

democratic republicans but the original founding fathers remained heavily federalist so there was this great letter from john marshall -- they talk about some of their old contracts together and marshall says the new political year is here. mr. jefferson will be inaugurated sunni and the letter stops. there's a break at 4:00 in the letter. four:00 break he stops and goes back to right i administered the oath to the president. this is his inauguration day letter. before and after he is complaining about how terrible president jefferson will be. comes back to finish the letter and one more from pinkney who

was a good friend of alexander hamilton. this is a keynote to. they have been run out of office. jefferson is in to the president. hamilton writes that he has a big plantation down here and says a garden is an unusual refuge for disappointed politician. this is hamilton saying he will retire from public life which he didn't do that he is asking to send him see the. he bought a new plantation house of his own in new york. he was going to set up shop and forget about politics. maybe he would be better if he retired to his garden. a few other things from the collection.

john creighton's view of carolina. these are natural importance. the charleston institution of the south carolina institution. there are some great documents. this is the or original manuscript copy. we are open to conservation donations. this is the original manuscript of his view of carolina. john drake was one of the first governors in the early republican period much the same as thomas jefferson's notes on virginia. he drove all around south carolina by carriage surveying everything taking useful social statistics to come up with a scientific and geographic view of what south carolina really was. in a lot of ways he was fundamental to found in south

carolina and a lot of this would be an argument that south carolina and needed a centralized capital. he would be one of the founders of columbia. this manuscript was his foundational document. there are mixed conditions. a whole handful of maps in here. there is his map of charleston which would have been 1802. this book is a survey of what the state of south carolina is and moving its capital. for a little bit of our 20th century collection the charleston renaissance of the 1920s which produced --

josephine pinckney, plenty of notable writers, foundation of poetry society. a lot of that took place at the library society. they all would have been members. the only library in town until the 1930s. this was their hangout and this is the original manuscript copy -- the hand written first draft with all the side notes in it, all of the annotations and most notably his dialect charts. it has proper construction. at the time it wasn't but when you see him writing it, always tries to be consistent and

acknowledge when you read porgy and you see it in its supreme form which is porgy and bess you can tell he is immersed in the language. he treats it respectfully. here is a foundation of that as he tries to make sure he is consistent to the rhythm and names and spelling and pronunciation the same throughout the work. we still exist as a hybrid institution. we have many things like a historical society. we have that historical collection we kept for 250 years but we're circulating -- there are dime novels and books on tape and neighborhood libraries. it is an interesting place for people to work high-level of history and culture that are always on display. not a lot of places you can go to pick up cheap dime novel or a

dvd to watch over the weekend. and there's also a george washington letter. a great way to get history in your life every day as a library society member. >> with titles like slander, guilty and the monarch anncou e anncoulter has something to say. you have a chance to talk to the new york times best selling author and columnist. in debt for three hours starting at noon eastern on booktv on c-span2. >> what are you reading? booktv wants to know. >> there's a book about machiavelli on my desk that came out several weeks ago. i want to read about it. i want to read that book. then there's a book called

reckless about the financial crisis and what led up to one involving two local businesses, freddie mac and fannie mae. i know a lot of the players and i am curious to read and find out what happened. then there are some things i want to go back and read. there with a controversy about huck finn and the use of the n word and a professor who took it out of the text. this sparked a controversy about sanitizing american history for the context of my own book politically correct speech code and how inappropriate it was given the fact mark twain wrote it with the power of the word intended. i want to look at the sanitized text so i picked up that book

and is sitting on my desk. there are two books. i am trying to remember their names. and opportunity to help authors i am reading but what is called -- by lawrence block called a drop of the hard stuff. it is a mystery novel. he is a terrific mystery writer. that is at the top of my list. if i wasn't here tonight i would read lawrence block. and a mystery writer who writes about mysteries in washington d.c.. his wife exercises the same place i do and i am looking forward to that because he said

scenes on streets i travel everyday. >> tell us what you are reading this summer. send us a tweet at booktv. >> jason ryan sat down with booktv when we visited charleston to check out the city's rich literary culture. up next an overview of mr. ryan's book. >> a major federal drug investigation in the 1980s that caught -- these were unique smugglers. they were non-violent and college-educated. they dropped out of college in the 60s and 70s 2 pursues muddling through is traveling to florida and back of the coast of south carolina when law enforcement got too heavy. they found a smuggler's paradise. there was mile after mile of march for them to bring boats

packed full of pot. they rarely got caught and not until the 1980s one of federal investigation was launched to find these men. there were not sure who was smuggling but someone was making a lot of money. they started a financial investigation called operation jackpot tracking down real-estate purchases to find out who they were. eventually they caught and convicted hundred marijuana smugglers tracking some of them down in man hunts from australia to calif.. i spend a lot of time talking about two kingpins who moved to south florida and came back to south carolina to begin their kingpin years. they were wild and crazy and took boats to jamaica and lebanon. there was no where they wouldn't go as long as they could make money but they were also principal. they would not carry guns or engage in violence. there was more money to be made so why heard a business partner?

>> how did they get into drug smuggling? >> they were bored with life and did not want to follow the footsteps of their fathers who were barbers and businessmen. they loved to travel and loved the life style. they would bring the drugs through isolated coastlines and have backup spots. perfect place would be far from development or major urban population where they could load some trucks with pot and go to the major cities. >> the government started going after major purchases like cars and boats. what were they looking for? >> they were a little young to the owning homes on cape cod and

on the south carolina coast. they were young to be driving mercedes or rolls royce vehicles and confine sailboats. they were fond of fur coats and gold jewelry. they stuck out. in miami they could blend in a little bit. when they came home to south carolina they stuck out like a sore thumb. the day the indictments were unsealed king pins were across the world hiding. number of smugglers were rounded up. the big guys could not be found. it took months or years to find some of them tracking them to australia or california or colorado. the men hunts were intensive and relied on the testimony of former friends to find these men. the trial lasted a couple weeks at a time but stretched over a period of years. many king pins could not be found when the trial started but the evidence was building up against them as more of their

business partners testified against them. when they were caught the case went to trial. kingpin is a formal term and a statute requires ten years in prison. at a minimum they receive ten years. some received 25. one receive 40 years and he died in prison. because of a possibility of parole many of them did last time then sentenced but spend 70 or 20 years in prison. some of them have passed away but others are still alive leading lives much quieter than they previously had. their lives lack of glamour and excitement of years past but they have interesting stories to tell and happy to share them. >> how did you come across them? >> i met a smuggler's daughter a few years back. she had not seen her father in

years. he fled and was not caught in to 2008 when he came across the border from mexico. his story was amazing but he was only one of many marijuana smugglers. i heard this story and was intrigued. there were dozens like him. there were men like tom rolex road. you couldn't make it up and i was amazed no one had written a book yet. >> how did you find the experience? >> very satisfying. a pleasure to sit down with people on both sides of the law to hear the story whether they were surviving hurricanes or seeing israeli jets go overhead. or to hear it from law enforcement agents about visa and hence was a lot of fun. >> for more information on c-span's trip to south carolina

visit c-span.org/localcontent. >> the senate is about to gavel in for a weekend session working on harry reid's bill to deal with the debt and deficit. we will bring more booktv programs when the senate is in recess. you can watch booktv program and online at booktv.org. the senate will spend much of the day discussing the senate democratic and house republican debt ceiling plans. due to senate rules 30 hours must pass before they can vote on moving forward on harry reid's plan which puts the vote at 1:00 a.m. eastern time. and your understanding is infinite. we need you on capitol hill. as we gather this saturday, a nation looks to our government's

legislative branch for responsible action. deliver our lawmakers from the paralysis of analysis when constructive and prompt action is desperately needed. faced with potentially disastrous consequences, give the members of this body the wisdom to work while it is day. for the night comes, when no one can work. we pray in your great name. amen.

the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., july 30, 2011. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable patrick j. leahy, a senator from the state of vermont to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: as a side note, i'm happy to see the second ranking member of the united states senate presiding.

the people of vermont have been so fortunate to have you and your wisdom and your -- mr. mcconnell: if the gentlemen would yield, i expect he hasn't done that for 30 years. mr. reid: i thought it would be nice to comment on the fact that's reserved for more junior members. it's nice that my friend from vermont would be here. following any leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur in the house message to accompany s. 626, the legislative vehicle for the debt limit increase. time from 1:30 until 8:00 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. mr. president, republican leaders in the house of representatives have wasted this week pursuing a right-wing proposal they knew from the start couldn't pass the senate. from the very beginning, speaker boehner's band-aid approach was fatally flawed. it would have put us back on this incredible position that we

are in today debating over whether the debt limit should be increased. something that was increased i don't know really how many times but about 15 or 20 times during the presidency of ronald reagan. i have a little whisper to my left that said 18 times, so 19- 20 wasn't too bad. the band-aid approach that the speaker came up with was totally flawed. it would put us back in this incredible position of fighting to increase the debt limit, something that was done 18 times during ronald reagan's administration. we would be fighting the clock for financial collapse. we would start that again within just a few weeks. the speaker's legislation was a concession to tea party extremists, yet it barely passed the house yesterday with only republican votes and it failed on a bipartisan basis last night in the senate. there was an interesting article in "the new york times"

yesterday, headline "the centrist copout." the facts of the crisis over the debt ceiling aren't complicated. republicans have in effect taken america hostage, threatening to underfine the economy and disrupt the essential business of government unless they get policy concessions they would never have been able to get through legislation. that's the way it is, mr. president. it couldn't be said more clearly. but knowing all along this radical legislation which was neither balanced nor bipartisan could not and could not pass in our chamber, democrats have been working on a true compromise in the senate. we have solicited ideas from our republican friends and colleagues. let it never be said that democrats in the senate were afraid to compromise. we welcome compromise. as recently as yesterday, i asked my friend, the senate minority leader, to help make this senate compromise more palatable, but we have heard very little from the

republicans. i am satisfied that the conversations i have had with a couple republicans this morning bears true. i spoke with the chairman of the budget committee just a short time ago. one of the proposals propounded by a republican, my friend, senator conrad, is working on it to see if he can work it out so it is language that is something that we can all live with. senator conrad is an expert with budget matters, and i thought it was important that he take a look at that. i would have hoped, though, that someone would come to us, come to the table, the bargaining table on behalf of the republican caucus with ideas to improve a proposal already cut from the republican cloth. mr. president, democrats are still willing to sit down and negotiate. my door is still open. i say again i appreciate that several of my republican colleagues have reached out to me, even in the last few hours, hoping to reach a compromise.

senate democrats welcome their input and look forward to working with them on a path forward. my friend, the republican leader, must generate some more action on behalf of his republicans. the two parties must work together to forge an agreement that preserves this nation's economy. we will need input of reasonable republicans, including my friend, the republican leader, to get this done. but, mr. president, unbelievably, another filibuster stands in our path. the republican filibuster has become routine. from the smallest measure to the greatest matter of national importance, they stall and delay and use every procedural trick in the book to keep this body from doing its job. but a filibuster at this late hour and when so much is at risk is irresponsible. it puts our economy at risk. the majority vote was good enough for the speaker's proposal in the house yesterday, but republicans believe it isn't

good enough for the senate today, and i have heard from my friends on the house side to show how they are gaming the system over there, mr. president. they are going to have a vote on my proposal. on suspension for those of us that served in the house, this is for naming courthouses and little -- measures that are of little importance, but yet this importance matters. this matter dealing with the debt limit of this country will take a two-thirds vote to pass there. so they have gamed this system from the very beginning, and as i said, mr. president, earlier from the "new york times" article, the facts of this crisis over the debt ceiling aren't complicated. republicans have in effect taken america hostage, threatening to undermine the economy and disrupt the essential business of government unless they get policy concessions they would never have been able to enact through legislation. so they're going through the --

as i understand on the house side an effort to vote on our legislation, setting up a two-thirds standard to get this done, recognizing, of course, mr. president, that i will outline here in a minute that a filibuster at this late hour here in the senate and when so much is at risk is really irresponsible, and to say it puts our economy at risk is an understatement, and that is for sure. the majority vote, i repeat, was good enough for the speaker's proposal in the house, but republicans believe it is good enough for the senate today. rather than filibuster, i ask my republican colleagues to work with democrats to make our proposal better. we have offered a reasonable, rational way for republicans to help us avert default, but let me tell you about the legislation issue, how we believe how reasonable our legislation is. this legislation was written by democrats with both parties' principles in mind.

it would avert default while cutting $2.5 trillion from the deficit over a decade. it includes no revenues concession to house republicans and senate republicans. it establishes a joint congressional committee to find additional savings this year and guarantees the committee's recommendations will see an up-or-down vote on the senate floor, and it takes into consideration that that -- that committee must take into consideration proposals like the gang of six, and literally every single spending cut that has been voted on or endorsed by republicans in both houses. that is the gist of the legislation. $2.5 trillion, extending the debt ceiling until march of 2013. a pretty fair deal. mr. president, we have made some changes to this proposition. we hope it becomes more amenable to republicans. we have improved the program integrity language to allow for more savings by combating government waste and fraud.

we have removed a measure that would raise revenue by selling the spectrum, some $15 billion which will be done. we should do it now, which would have -- but it caused what is called a blue slip problem which says if you have any revenue measure, according to our constitution, they have 0 originate in the house. so to present the so-called blue slip problem, i just eliminate it from this bill. it was $15 billion of of $2.5 trillion. we also added a process conceived by my friend, senator mcconnell, to allow two additional votes over the next year and a half, two motions of disapproval before the president can raise the debt ceiling. this proposal also protects social security, medicare and medicaid benefits, but as you can see, this amendment was designed to appeal to our republican colleagues as well as to our democrat colleagues. we're willing to listen to ideas. i have said this several times, from republican senators to make this proposal better, but, mr. president, to say the time is short is an understatement. we can amend the underlying

legislation that is here before us in the so-called message of the house. we still have time to do that. we have time to do that. we could do it tonight and we could still meet the deadline on tuesday, but we need to do it soon. that's why at 1:10 in the afternoon this saturday, i hope i have more republicans contacting me to see if they can work out something to work with us. already the economy has gone from bad to worse. stocks continued a week-long slide yesterday. i know my republican colleagues love this country, every single one of them. i believe they want to do what's best for our economy, every single one of them, but, mr. president, i have to say -- and he say for the third time -- the facts of the crisis over the debt ceiling aren't complicated at all. republicans have in effect taken america hostage, threatening to undermine the economy and disrupt the essential business of government unless they get policy concessions they would never have been able to enact

through legislation. that's why together we must avert a default that would jeopardize veterans' benefits, senior citizens' benefits, social security payments and checks for troops, even troops on the front line. it would also effectively raise taxes on every american family -- vermont, illinois, kentucky, idaho, nevada, all over this country, oregon, all the senators on the floor, even wyoming who doesn't pay much in the way of taxes. we could do that, mr. president. it would effectively raise taxes on every american family, and businesses would also suffer this. increasing the cost of everything from groceries to the mortgage. and so i urge my republican friends to join me to move forward with the only compromise plan that's left. in fact, the only option left at all to save this country from default.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, there is nobody in the senate i respect and admire more than my counterpart, the democratic leader, but we have been subjected last night and again just a few moments ago, i would say to my colleagues from wyoming and idaho, to some orwellian discussion about what is a filibuster. now, most americans when asked the question what is a filibuster would believe that it was delaying something, delaying something. so we have the astonishing development here that my good friend, the majority leader, is delaying a vote on something he wants to pass. we were prepared to have this vote last night. we were prepared to have this vote -- we are prepared to have this vote momentarily. we are prepared to have this vote at any point. i want to disabuse my friend of the notion that somehow it's going to pass. he hasn't seen it yet but we just delivered a letter to his office with 43 of my colleagues who say they are not going to

vote for it. the house of representatives is going to speak at 2:30 on this issue. they are not going to vote for it. and with regard to the 60-vote threshold, let me quote my good friend, the majority leader. on march 5 of 2007 -- quote -- "in the senate it has always been the case you need 60 votes." january 30 of the same year, "60 votes are required for just about everything." look, we know on controversial matters in the united states senate, it has for quite some time required 60 votes. so i would say again to my friend, it's pretty hard to make a credible case that denying a vote on your own proposal is anything other than a filibuster, and we know that august 2 is tuesday. the american people are frustrated with us. they want us to come together

and make, reach an agreement. the measure my good friend is offering is not acceptable to the senate, is not acceptable to the house, will not pass. i think the american people would appreciate it if we go on and get that out of the way and get serious about talking. and with regard to talking, let me say who ought to be in the talks. the majority leader and myself and the speaker and the minority leader of the house spent most of last weekend talking to each other. in fact, we've been called down to the white house for a meeting around 11:00 on that saturday, and i suggested to the president he give us a chance to go up to the hill and see what we can work out together. and we came close enough together to where my good friend, the majority leader, while i understand he's, he believes that he didn't fully endorse it but at least went

down there to advocate what we thought we could agree to on that sunday afternoon. and the president said no. and so i became convinced that even though my friend the majority leader and i would love to work this out, we can't do it by ourselves. it has to have the only native american america who can -- it has to have the only native american america who can sign something into law. so my suggest to my good friend, the majority leader, is let's have the vote on his proposal. it isn't going to pass. and let's get to talking to the administration again in the hopes that we can come together behind something that can pass both the senate and the house and be signed into law before tuesday. now, you know, i don't blame anybody for being confused about what's been going on in congress this weeks, but i'd like to take a moment to explain what's going on right now. last night the democrats who

control the senate proposed a bill that would lead to the largest debt ceiling increase in the history of the united states and which completely ignores the roots of this crisis. this bill has one goal, to get the president through his next election without having to have another national debate about the consequences of his policies. the president wants to make sure this kind of debate doesn't happen again even as he gets democrats in congress to give him permission to add trillions more to the debt. that's what the reid bill does. it isn't going anywhere, as i just described. it will not pass the senate, it is not pass the house. it is simply a nonstarter. senate republicans refuse to go along with this transparently political and deeply irresponsible ploy to give the president cover to make our debt crisis even worse than it already is. and 43 of us, as i indicated earlier, have signed a pledge to

the majority leader pledging we will not vote for your amendment which if enacted will result in the single-largest debt ceiling increase in the history of the united states. moreover, as i indicated earlier, we will soon know with certainty that this bill can't pass the house of representatives as they will be voting on it shortly. so since there is no possibility that this bill will be enacted into law, i would say again to my friend that he hold the vote on his proposal here and now. we're ready, at any point, to go on and have that vote and not waste another minute of the nation's time on this reckless piece of legislation that we know won't pass. earlier this week the majority leader told the speaker of the house he was wasting the nation's time by proceeding with a bill that senate democrats had pledgeed to block, a bill that the majority leader himself helped put together but which he decided to oppose, as i indicated, after the president said he didn't like it.

so the question now is this: why would my friend, the majority leader, waste the nation's time by refusing to vote on his own bill? on his own bill, which we also know will fail. why wouldn't he take his own advice and get it over with? well, the answer seems to be obvious. the democrats are running out the clock. they want to delay the hard work of negotiation until the august 2 deadline they have been warning us about all summer. the democrats' entire strategy this particular week since last sunday has been to run out the clock so the nation focuses more on the august 2 deadline than on their own failure to do something about the underlying problem. republicans have now passed two pieces of legislation that would put us on a path to fiscal sanity. not one, but two have passed the house of representatives. democrats have spent the last

few weeks figuring out how to avoid that particular bill. democrats have spent their time talking about the tea party instead of talking about a solution. they've done absolutely nothing but stand in the way of a meaningful solution to this crisis and criticize republicans for having the audacity to suggest that we might try to balance the books. so now we're reduced to this. they won't even allow a vote on their own bill. they're delaying the inevitable so they can avoid doing anything responsible. and it's simply indefensible. so once again i would ask my good friend, the majority leader, let us vote on his legislation. let's get this irresponsible bill that we know will fail up for a vote so we can get down to the real work of negotiating a solution to the crisis with, as i indicated earlier, the only person in america who can sign

something into law. the president of the united states. the lesson from last weekend is that anything the two parties agree to here doesn't mean a thing if the president decides he doesn't like it. democrats will abandon their own agreements -- and i don't blame them. i've been leader of the party in the senate when we had a republican president. it's a tough spot. you're not a free agent. we don't have time to go through that again. we've got a couple of days here to work this out, and we can't do it without the president. republicans have proposed solution after solution to this crisis. it's time for our friends on the other side, including the president of the united states, to figure out how we're going to come together and solve this problem. i yield the floor. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i believe that my

distinguished republican friend must be a little bit confused because he's usually totally logical. but here he tells the american people this morning, he's called the white house last week and said, "mr. president, let us do the deal." and now he's telling the president he wants the president to do the deal. somewhat illogical. i want to make sure that everyone here in the senate understands clearly that when negotiations took place last sunday during a meeting that took place between leader pelosi, me, the speaker and senator mcconnell, and we tried very hard to work something out. but everyone should understand when we left that meeting, we did not have anything worked out. we had nothing worked oufplt it- out. they were focusing on a six-month extension trying to come up with a trigger for the joint committee which we have

never been able to accomplish. it's okay that they keep talking about an agreement that the president overruled. you can't overrule an agreement that you don't have. mr. mcconnell: would my friend yield? mr. reid: be happy to yield. mr. mcconnell: if that's the case, it proves my point. we cannot do, we cannot reach an agreement without the president. we tried that. i'll concede the point, my friend says he didn't actually agree to that. i'll take his word for it. but it makes me point that there's simply no way under our constitutional system for my friend and i to work this out. we've got to have the president at the table. i think the approach we tried last weekend i think we both agree did not lead to an agreement. mr. reid: mr. president, the president of the united states, in the presence of senator mcconnell, senator durbin, senator kyl, and the house leaders said to all of us, no president in history has spent as much time as i have in a

complying basis meeting with leaders trying to come up with some effort on this budget problem we're having today. the president has spent hours of his time, days of his time, weeks of his time working on this. as we know, he believed that he had, as as i understand it, two tentative agreements with the speaker. the speaker backed out of both of those. the president, i haven't spoken to him this morning but i talked to him several times yesterday, he's willing to work with anybody that will give him a proposal. and that's my point today, mr. president, as i've said earlier. the letters coming, terrific, saying -- i haven't received it yet but i'm sure it's coming that the republicans say they will vote for my piece of legislation -- they won't vote for my piece of legislation. what will they vote for? do they have any ideas? let me know. we have gone so far as even to accept the republican bill that

we got from the house as a shell. no one has to worried about it being my bill. if we work something out, it will be the boehner bill if that makes everybody happy. mr. mcconnell: i think the answer is a bill the president agrees to sign. that is what we were trying to achieve last weekend. we don't have time to ping-pong things across the hill anymore. i think you and i are basically in agreement here with two days left the only thing congress has time to deal with and should deal with is something the president of the united states says he is willing to sign. i'm not critical of the president for not spending time on this. he's spent an enormous amount of time on this, we just haven't gotten a result yet. mr. reid: mr. president, we're here dealing with reality, not a world of fantasy. we're dealing with reality, and the reality is the deficit is fast approaching where we have to raise it or default on our debt. we have a matter before this

body that would increase the debt ceiling until march of 2013. it would reduce the debt by $2.4 trillion on basically issues that the republicans have voted on. they talk about i don't think we need to do the overseas contingency fund because the wars that were started, and they're still going on, by president bush cost a lot of money, lots of money, trillions of dollars. the congressional budget office and the office of management and budget said those wars are winding down. as a result we save $1 trillion. they scored it. that's a reduction in our debt. i also think, mr. president, that if the republicans have some way they want to approve my legislation, please -- if they don't want to call me, call the president of the united states. but we have to work forward. mine is the only proposal we

have. if mine passes, and we're going to continue to push this because it should pass because it's the only thing we have left. my friend says let us vote. we say the same thing. let us vote. but in in the world on some things as important as this, why can't we have an up-or-down vote like they have in the house? and to further underline my point, my friend, the assistant democratic leader, the whip, served in the house longer than i did. they are taking up in the house today, as i understand it, something we call a consent calendar. they are taking up extending the debt ceiling on that calendar? i think that's unheard of. we're willing to vote. we're willing to vote right now. 60 votes. 60 votes we're not willing to take because this is a filibuster. this should not be filibustered. and so, mr. president, we are

not going to agree to the six-month proposal because, as i indicated in my prepared remarks, that would mean that we would be back in this mess in a matter of weeks. we want to be fully engaged. i repeat to the people that supposedly sent me this letter, what do you want? what do i say to my caucus because my republican colleagues haven't come up with any alternative? it would be easy to do. you can amend my legislation. in the meantime, that won't happen. we're going to proceed forward and do the very best we can to overcome this filibuster. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i'll just wrap up my commends by pointing out again comments from my good friend the majority leader about the nature of the senate. he said in the senate it's always been the case you need 60 votes. always been the case you need 60 votes. we all know that. it's a very --