it's like diagnosis of any kind of medical condition. facts are essential. data are key. and i believe an investment in information technology and data collection activities will help inform payers and consumers about where our health care dollars are being sent, where they are being spent most effectively, where we can reduce spending that will ultimately enhance health care outcome. connecticut is taking a considered and insightful approach to obtaining and utilizing data, while considering the needs of consumers and looking toward developing stronger programs for telemedicine and provider coordination. technology is advancing. data collection can help implement technology where it does the most good. we need tangible goals for

long-term reform, and that's part of the work that we have described here and that we're undertaking as part of our task force. i know that my colleagues this evening all agree with me that we need to continue this work and take advantage of advancing technology, the metrics that exist now, the examples of good practices, the leadership of providers and the medical community and good ideas wherever they are. and whoever is willing to offer them. i want to thank my colleagues for joining in this effort. i look forward to returning on this subject, and i have now some additional remarks on a separate subject that i wish to be separated in part by a different space, if that's possible, mr. president.

briefly, mr. president, i want to express my strong support for the transportation-h.u.d. appropriations bill that's before us and take a moment to explain an amendment that i have filed to this bill that ensures that men and women who have bravely served our country cannot be discriminated against in the housing assistance these appropriations provide. i want to thank senator murray and senator collins for their leadership as well as other colleagues, but one of the problems that i have heard described to me by veterans relates to discrimination when they return home after serving our country abroad and they have become civilian. one of the first things they often try to do is find a new home. often in a location far from their original home where they may not be known, where they

enlisted, but now have left. and it may also be far from the military installation where they used to call home. fortunately, almost all americans across our country rightly welcome our heroes home. and they welcome them with open arms. but unfortunately, i've seen reports, i've heard descriptions of instances where landlords would not rent to veterans simply because they have served our country in uniform, and i find this practice absolutely unconscionable. let me tell you about the case of sergeant joel morgan, a combat veteran who bravely served our country in iraq. sergeant morgan, upon leaving the military, wanted to rent an apartment in boston, and he found own that he liked. unfortunately, after hearing about sergeant morgan's service to our country, the landlord said that she just wouldn't feel comfortable renting the

apartment to sergeant morgan because she opposed the war in which he fought. according to sergeant morgan, the landlord said, and i'm quoting -- "i would suggest you do the right thing and look for a place less politically active or controversial,." the place where he wanted to live was boston. this kind of treatment is simply unacceptable to our veterans who have sacrificed so much. it is a matter of common knowledge, mr. president, that veterans of these recent wars have high unemployment rates, higher than we should accept, higher than is unconscionable for this country to accept. among younger veterans, that unemployment rate is intolerably high, and many landlords may feel that an unemployed veteran simply isn't a good prospect for

paying the rent. my amendment would prohibit any funding in this bill from going to people or organizations that discriminate against veterans and housing. it would allow anyone who sees a discriminatory practice to report it to the department of housing and urban development and directly to that agency's inspector general. it also allows h.u.d. to continue its existing programs to support veterans and service members. this amendment will ensure that those who fight for our freedoms will not have to find or fight for a place to call home. discrimination against anyone, including men and women who have valiantly served, has no place in our nation. i look forward to working with the department of housing and urban development, which has done so much to protect americans from discriminatory housing practices on ways we can ensure that service members and

veterans are not the victims of discrimination. as we work for a permanent solution on so many of these difficult problems providing veterans with the counseling and health care and jobs and counseling and training and education that they need and keeping faith with them so we leave no veteran behind. we should make sure that leave no veteran out of housing because of discrimination. one of the solutions will be amending the serviceman's civil relief act to ensure that housing protections are extended to all who have served in uniform. i believe that this amendment is an important step forward. simply put, it will protect all who have protected our country. protecting them is a matter of keeping faith and making sure that we leave no veteran behind. i know that the veterans affairs

committee is hard at work on many of these issues. i am proud to serve on that committee and thank chairman sanders for his profoundly important leadership on this issue, along with ranking member burr, and i look forward to extending and expanding these protections for our bravest and finest men and women who have helped to protect our nation. i thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 2611, which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 2611, an act to designate the headquarters building of the coast guard on the campus located at 2701

martin luther king jr. avenue southeast in the district of columbia as the douglas a. monroe coast guard headquarters building, and for other purposes. mr. briewment: mr. president -- the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you. i further ask that the bill be read three times and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent, mr. president, that the banking, housing and urban affairs committee be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 2167 and that the senate proceed to its consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 2167, an act to authorize the secretary of housing and urban development to establish additional requirements to improve the fiscal safety and soundness of the home equity conversion mortgage insurance program. the presiding officer: is there

objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent, mr. president, that the bill be read a third time, passed, and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of house congressional resolution 44, which was received from the house and is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 44, authorizing the use of the capitol grounds for the district of columbia special olympics law enforcement torch run. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. blumenthal: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration en bloc of the following resolutions which were submitted earlier today. senate resolution 202, senate resolution 204, senate resolution 205, and senate resolution 206. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to their en bloc consideration. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: mr. president, i understand that senate 1392 introduced earlier today by senators shaheen and portman is at the desk, and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. the clerk: s. 1392, a bill to

promote energy savings in residential buildings and industry, and for other purposes. mr. blumenthal: i now ask for its second reading, and i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will receive its second reading on the next legislative day. mr. blumenthal: finally, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on wednesday, july 31, 2013, and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date and the time for the two leaders be reserved for use -- their use later in the day, and that following any leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of s. 1243, the transportation, housing, urban development appropriations bill under the previous order. further, that upon disposition of the paul amendment, the senate proceed to executive

session to consider calendar number 201, the nomination of brianed todd jones to be the director of the a.t.f., and that the senate proceed to the cloture vote on the jones nomination. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: there will be two roll call votes at approximately 10:45 a.m. tomorrow. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

as a window on the past to was going on with american women at any given time in our past history so if you look at the first lady's life, you get a view of what is going on with the other thing that i find very interesting from a woman's history standpoint is that it's the conjunction of the public and private lives of women which is a topic many scholars are interested in and i think that first ladies epitomize the coming together of the public and private life and an individual.

>> starting next week at nine eastern on c-span. palestinian and israeli negotiators had their first peace talks this week and nearly three years. secretary of state john kerry said a broker a treaty the would result in two states with defined borders. secretary john kerry and the israeli and palestinian representative talk about what they hope to achieve at a news briefing at the state department. >> i am delighted to stand here i think it is still morning with minister tzipi livini and

erekat. it's taken a long time to reach the possibility in the pursuit of the end of the israeli and palestinian conflict. it's taken the leadership of president obama who set the process in motion with his historic visit to the region this spring, and then he spoke powerfully about the necessity and possibility of peace not only to the leaders but also to citizens who overwhelmingly hoped for a better future for their children and for their countries, for their people. the president's support for our efforts, including his personal engagement with the parties this morning has been the central coming and i thank him for that. we have a positive meeting with the president and the vice president this morning at the white house. i want to also advised the prime minister netanyahu and mahmoud

abbas have demonstrated courageous leadership to bring us here kuwait and i commend them for the tough traces that they've made in terms of the politics at home. i know the path is difficult. there is no shortage of passionate skeptics. but with capable negotiators like the minister tzipi livni and dr. erekat saeb, standing side by side here today and last night sharing together with their efforts, their expertise and their commitment, i am convinced that we can get their. we are here today because the israeli people and palestinian people both have leaders willing to he and the call of history. leaders who will stand strong in the face of criticism and are right now for what they know is in their people's best interest.

their commitment to make tough traces frankly should give all of us hope that these negotiations actually have a chance to accomplish something. i am pleased to report that in the conversations we have had last night and again today, we've had constructive and positive meetings. both meetings with the united states president and also meetings with the parties by themselves. the parties have agreed to remain engaged in sustained, a continuous and substantive negotiations on the core issues, and they will meet within the next two weeks and either israel or the palestinian territories in order to begin the process of the formal negotiation. the parties have agreed here today that all of the final

status issues, all of the core issues and all other issues on the table for the negotiation. and they are on the the table with one simple goal. with ending the conflict and ending the claims. our objective would be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months. the parties also agreed that the two sides will keep the content of the negotiations confidential. the only announcement you will hear about the meetings is the one that i just made. and i will be the only one by agreement authorized to comment on the talks and consultation obviously with the parties. that means that no one should consider any reports, articles, other or even rumors reliable unless they come directly from

me, and i guarantee you they won't. the united states will work continuously with both parties as a facilitator every step of the way. we all understand the goal that we are working towards, the state's living side by side in peace and security, to states because proud people each deserve a country to call their own. two states because the children of both people deserve the opportunity to realize their legitimate aspirations and security and freedom and to states because the time has come for lasting peace. we all appreciate, believe me we appreciate the challenges ahead. but even as we look down the difficult road that is before us and consider the complicated choices that we face, we cannot lose sight of something that is often forgotten in the middle east, and that is what awaits everybody with success.

we need to actually change the way we think about compromise in order to get to success. compromise doesn't only mean giving up something or giving something away. reasonable principle compromise in the name of peace means that everybody stands to gain. each side has a stake in each other's success and can benefit from. we simply wouldn't be standing here if the leaders, president of knous and prime minister netanyahu and their designated negotiators and all of us together didn't believe that we could get their. we can envision a day when palestinians can finally realize their aspirations for the flourishing state of their own. and the ground making economic initiative that we've been working on with the quartet and tony blair and others and the help of the private sector can

help transform the palestinian economy and build up unprecedented markets and unblock the waves of foreign investment. and we shouldn't forget the new jobs, the new homes and industries that can grow in a palestinian state will also benefit the israelis next door where a vibrant economy will find more partners. we can also envision a day when they can truly live in peace, not just the absence of conflict but a full and lasting peace with arab and muslim nations and end once and for all the attacks on israel's legitimacy. israel and the israelis and palestinians both have legitimate security concerns. our commitment to israel's security is why president obama's administration has done more than anything before it to

strengthen our unshakable bond and why the general john allen is on the ground working to ensure israel's security needs will be met. and i emphasize we have worked very closely with our palestinian friends to help develop the palestinian capacity. we cannot forget that the security of israel will also benefit palestinians next door. the government has recognized this, which is why it will be taking in the next days and weeks and number of steps in order to improve conditions in the west bank and in gaza. they've recognized this which is why we have seen a dramatic improvement in law and order and such a decrease in the terror attack originating on the west bank. the israeli and palestinian people want to stand of the common interest and that's why they continue to take positive

steps on the ground to improve the relations between themselves. i also want to point out that the arab league understands this, too which is why it has reaffirmed the arab peace initiative and provided by the statements of support for the process. finally, i would say everywhere i go, leaders from around the world understand that they share a stake in this endeavor success. they have a role to play which is why they have continued to contribute to this effort, to advise him to make commitments of support and to push and advocate and encourage the parties every step of the way. and we join in thanking all of them for their concern and initiative. so many things are already happening. when somebody tells you that the israelis and palestinians cannot find common ground or address the issues that divide them, don't believe them. look at the things they are

giving together. one of the reasons we need to solve this conflict. but none more important than the security and the dignity of the next generation of israelis and palestinians and jews, muslims and christians and the generations who will follow them and a benefit for these negotiations complete. i think everyone involved here believes that we cannot pass along to another generation of responsibility ending the conflict that is in our power to result in our time. they should not be expected to bear that burden and we shouldn't leave it to them and a perpetual war. sallai like understand the skepticism, i don't share at. i firmly believe the leaders and the negotiators and citizens invested in this effort can make

peace for one simple reason, because they must to be a viable to state solution is the only way this conflict can end and there isn't much time to achieve it, and there is no other alternative. we all need to be strong in our belief in the possibility of peace, courageous enough to follow through on our face and neck, and audacious enough to achieve peace to people have long aspired to and desert. >> thank you mr. secretary carry on behalf, president, i would like to extend our deepest appreciation. >> we have an unwavering

commitment to achieve the comprehensive lasting peace between the palestinians and israelis. palestinians have suffered enough and no one benefits more from the success of this endeavor more than the palestinians. i am delighted that all of the final issues are on the table and will be resolved without any acceptance. it's time for the palestinian people to have an independent, sovereign state for the palestinians to live in peace, freedom and dignity within their own independent sovereign state to bate thank you mr. secretary and mr. livni. >> okay. thank you. thank you come secretary kerry. on behalf of the prime minister netanyahu, these are the government and the state of

israel silvio the determination for not giving up. you need to know i think it was our first meeting during this that you said to me failure is not an option. and you proved today that failure is not an option. this is the man secretary carry that show everyone that nothing can stop true believers. thank you. i also want to thank president obama for his personal commitment to peace and to the research security. the palestinian impression left by the president's still remain on behalf of the israeli people we come here today, the special envoy of the prime minister and myself, after years we came here

today from a travel and a changing region. we are hopeful but we cannot be 90 and we cannot afford it in our region. we owe it to our people to everything, everything we can for their security and for the hope and peace for the future generations. but, you know it took more than just the plane ticket to be here today. a courageous act of leadership by the prime minister netanyahu that was approved by the israeli government that made this visit here in the beginning of the negotiation possible. we all know that it's not going to be easy. it's going to be hard with ups and downs. but i can assure you that these negotiations and in this

negotiation it isn't our intention to argue about the past, but to create solutions and make decisions for the future. ..

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

>> there should just be a floating addition to communication. we turn on lives and we don't even think about them. communication should be the same thing. that because people are a little confused, there could be a lot of fog around this issue and many people think that this is a luxury. electricity is treated as a luxury. but trying to run a business. you can even get going without having that kind of connection and now there is no option for it.

>> how america's economic future came to basra. part of this weekend's scheduled for c-span2 on booktv. >> you're watching c-span2 with politics and public affairs featuring live coverage of the u.s. watch key public health programs and every weekend the latest nonfiction authors and books on booktv. you can see past program and get our schedule at a website, and you can join the conversation on social media rights. >> coming up next, president obama and jobs and the economy. and remarks over the visiting of the amazon.com facility in tennessee.

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> we have a bunch of orders in here. all right. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] >> hello, it is good to see you. >> we are doing great. >> all right, so what are we going to do here enact. >> well, we are going to check out this finished product over here. [inaudible conversations]

>> we are going to hope that this arrives on time. >> that sounds great. >> to basically work over here. >> yes, this card came down here. all of these are individual units. it is really important. [inaudible conversations]

>> what we have going on here? >> hello, we are in the for them and center. >> how are you doing, by the way? >> doing well. >> what is going on is the center for film and process. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> i noticed that the little squiggly thing -- what is that? >> welcome it is coming through the scanners. >> that's right, it kicks out.

[inaudible conversations] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, chattanooga. [cheers] [applause] >> yeah, it is a good day to be in tennessee and battier. it is great to be here at amazon.

[cheers] [applause] i want to thank libya for the introduction and sharing her story. give her a round of applause. >> so this is something here. i just finished getting a 200 of one little corner of this massive facility. size of 20 football fields. last year during the does busiest day of the christmas rush, customers ordered more than three dozen items every second and a lot of those traveled through the welding. this is kind of like the north pole of the south right here. [laughter] [cheers] [applause]

>> i want to mention my comments and my tour guide gave clark. you have the mayor of chattanooga. [cheers] [applause] >> last week we were discussing what we need to do is a country to secure a better bargain of the middle class. and we are working hard to

succeed in the 21st century economy. [cheers] [applause] the great depression cost millions of americans their jobs and homes and savings. part of what it did is lay bare the long-term erosion that has been happening when it comes to middle class security. but because the american people are resilient and we bounced back together, we have ridership. we have taken on a broken health care system and we have reversed our addiction to foreign oil. changed the tax code and we have tilted too much towards things. things to do jw in the united workers in ussery and the auto

industry that i have saved, we are bringing workers at even right here. [cheers] [applause] today our business is at 7.2 million jobs created in last month and is your we are up to the best private sector jobs growth since 1999. we now sell more products made in america than ever before. [cheers] [applause] so we produce more renewable energy. so thank you to the hard-working

folks like you. thank you to the grid and resilience of the american people. you have been able to clear the rubble of the financial crisis. you have a stronger and more durable america. but as i said last week and is every middle-class family middle class family will tell you, we are not there yet. even before the financial crisis hit, we were going through a decade where a few at the top were doing better but most families were are working harder and harder to get by. reversing that trend should be washington's highest priority. [cheers] [applause] it is my highest priority.

so far for most of this year we have seen an endless parade of distractions and political posturing and phony scandalous. we keep on shifting our way. shifting our attention away from what we should be focused on, which is how do we strengthen the middle class and grow the economy for everybody. and as washington heads towards yet another budget debate, the stakes couldn't be higher. that is why we are talking about what it means to be middle class in america. good jobs, good wages. good education. a home to call your own.

more chances for folks to earn their way into the middle class as long as they're willing to work for it. [cheers] [applause] as importantly the chance to pass on a better future for our kids. i am doing a series of speeches and i came to chattanooga to talk about the first and most important cornerstone of middle-class security which is a durable growing middle-class industry. preparing our children for the global competition they are going to face is all about jobs.

it makes it easier to buy and build homes and that is about jobs and the construction industry. it frees you from the fear of losing everything after you worked so hard. that is about jobs. obviously retirement benefit the two quality of our jobs. the money saved that everyone here, so everyone here understands. jobs are about more than paying bills. it is more than just statistics. we have never justifying having a job is having a paycheck in america. jobs are a source of pride and dignity. it is the way you look after your family. [cheers] [applause]

is not just about paying the bills, but knowing what you are doing is important. >> so we should be doing everything we can as a country to create more good jobs that pay good wages. >> we have ideas how we can create jobs. we have a lot of ideas out there. we have plenty of independent economists and business owners.

we are full of ideas that every economist says will create more jobs. some don't want is for them anymore. but putting people back to work. leading the world in scientific research. it helps to pave the way for new jobs and industries read accelerating our clean energy and natural gas levels and fixing a broken immigration system.

we are hoping to pay folks the same wages. and keep them getting jobs. [cheers] [applause] independent people say that this will boost our economy by more than a trillion dollars. if we don't make these adjustments on reforms, we might as well be raising a white flag to the world. they are moving forward. they are not slowing down. china and germany and india. they are going. and we cannot just say that we are not where to do anything. we cannot sit by and do nothing. doing nothing doesn't help the middle class are in. [cheers] [applause] so we are trying to get congress to start moving on these ideas.

we are creating good jobs with good wages endurable industries. number one, jobs and american manufacturing area things have shown that the trendlines are good and going out. but now we have to build on that progress. we have not shipped jobs overseas. but to bring them back here to america. that is our goal. [cheers] [applause] i want a new tax credit so communities can attract new investments. in my state of the union address, i asked congress to build on successful pilot

program that we have set up. we want to create not just 15 manufacturing innovation institute's and we want them to become centers for high-tech jobs. we want them to build on this bipartisan support and triple that number from 15 to 45. these hubs where we are getting businesses and communities together to develop centers of high-tech industries all throughout the united states that allows to be at the forefront of the next revolution of manufacturing. i don't want that happening overseas. the. [cheers] [applause]

>> we have these packages in these packaged foods and dog food and pringles and beard trimmer beer tremors and all kinds of stuff around here. [laughter] but once it is packed up, it has to get to the customer. and how quickly and dependably depends of if we have good roads and bridges. so let's put more construction workers back on the job and doing the work america needs done. like widening route 27 here in chattanooga. these are all very important.

we are going to be breaking ground this week at the st. louis arch. to put people to work immediately on the repairs like the 100,000 bridges that are old enough to call qualify for medicare. that will create good middle-class jobs right now. >> we should have a modern air traffic control system to keep things running on time. we should have modern power grids survived a storm. we should have modern schools to prepare our kids for the jobs of

tomorrow. [cheers] [applause] we need to create good jobs in wind and solar and natural gas. it is reducing our foreign dependence on oil. now is not the time to gut american technology. now is the time for renewable energy and electric vehicles and putting money into renewables that will work for our earth for good. [cheers] [applause] let me tell you, cheaper cost of natural gas is a huge boost to our business here in america. we have to do it in a way that protects our air and water. for our children and future generations. we can do that. we have the technology to do

that. [cheers] [applause] you know, a year ago i signed a new trade agreement with korea because they were selling a lot of hyundais here and we were selling a lot of gm cars over there. since we signed that deal. the big three automakers are selling 18% more cars in korea than they were. [cheers] [applause] so now we have to help more businesses do the same thing. i'm asking congress for the authority to negotiate the best trade deals possible for our workers and combine robust training measures make to make sure that workers have the support and the skills that they need for this new global competition. we will have to sharpen our competitive edge in global jobs in the marketplace.

two years ago we created something called select usa. this is a coordinated effort to attract one companies looking to invest and create jobs here in the united states. today i am directing my cabinet to expand these efforts. this october i am going to bring business leaders from around the world. i am going to connect them to state leaders and local leaders like your mayor. people who are ready to prove that there is no better place to do business than right here in the united states of america. [cheers] [applause] number five, let's do more to help the more than 4 million long-term americans are unemployed out there. a lot of folks lose their jobs during his really bad recession. through no fault of their own. they have what it takes to fill the job opening.

but because they have been out of work for so long, and lawyers won't even give your application a fair look. we are putting some of those into workers that have been out of work for long time but want the chance to show that they are ready to go back to work. [cheers] [applause] you know, the same time, i am calling on her businesses to do more for the workers heard it is not just jobs here at amazon,

but jobs anywhere. computer aided design or nursing. we want to see amazon continually upgrade their skills. amazon wants to help their employees pursue their dreams. [cheers] [applause] that is the kind of approach that we need for americans business. training, health care, retirement, paying better wages. it is actually good for the bottom line. this shareprice performs -- out performs the competitors.

if they have the proper resources the business is more likely to succeed. we need to raise their minimum wage because right now it is important people get paid what they should be while i'm in office. [cheers] [applause] [cheers] [applause] and you know, when folks have more money in their pocket that is good for amazon and it means your customers have a little bit more money. they can order a little more of that protein powder. [laughter] a lot of folks are ordering cocaine powder. everybody's trying to do. so those are some of the ideas

that are out there and we are promoting. we are not lacking for ideas. we are just lacking action, especially out of washington. washington has just taken its eye off the ball when it comes to the middle class. and i will tell you that there is a growing number of republican senators. we are trying to work with democrats to get some stuff done. that is good news. the bad news is rather than keeping our focus on what should be our priority, which is creating good middle-class jobs, we have seen a certain a certain fraction of congress saying that they shouldn't pay the bills, they are threatening to shut down people's government if they

can get rid of obamacare. instead of reducing her to visits with a scalpel. the sequesters his flesh and all kinds of important investments in education and research and military. you know, all the things that are needed to make this country a magnet for good middle-class jobs. those things are being cut. the independent congressional budget office and estimates for cuts made in washington will cost 750,000 jobs this year. 900,000 fewer jobs next year.

another 400,000 workers have lost their jobs, like cops and firefighters and about half of them are people who work in our schools. those are real jobs. the unemployment rate would be 6.5% instead of 7.5%. the economy would be much better off in the deficit would still be going down because we would be getting more tax revenue. so the point is it washington spent time and energy these past two years figuring out how to grow our economy and middle-class as it has spent

manufacturing crises in pursuit of a cut of all costs approach to deficits, we would be better off. we would be much better off. as a share of the economy, we have cut deficits by nearly half since i took office. his projected to go down further. we have talked about helping middle-class instead of hurting him. [cheers] [applause] you know, i have told republicans if they are serious about a balanced fiscal plan that replaces harmful budget cut , that would get serious about long-term plan that prevents the 900,000 jobs from being lost and help spur the economy and helps the middle class. i'm ready to go. but we cannot lose sight of the

north star. that is distracting us from what the middle class needs right now the folks in washington really want any grand bargain, how about a grand bargain for middle-class jobs? [cheers] [applause] how about a grand bargain for middle-class jobs? [cheers] [applause] >> i don't want to go through the same arguments were republicans say no because it's my idea. so we are proposing a deal that

simplifies the tax code for americans and creates good wages for those who work at those businesses. by now everyone knows that our tax code is riddled with loopholes ends national interest tax breaks that a lot of companies were doing the right thing in investing in america pay 35% in their taxes are and we have 50 towns in the stash their money overseas and they pay little or nothing in taxes. it closes those loopholes and ships jobs overseas and lowers the rate for businesses right here in america. we are bringing jobs home to the united states.

give them incentives to invest to make and spend less time filling out complicated forms and more time expanding and hiring. i am willing to do all of that that should help businesses and help them grow. if we are going to give businesses a better deal, we will have to give workers a better deal as well. [cheers] [applause] we have manufacturing hubs that leaders of both parties can support them we can help our community colleges are more workers with the skills that the economy demands.

>> we are willing to work with republicans on reforming the corporate tax code as long as we use the money from transitioning to a super tax system for a significant investment in creating middle-class jobs. [cheers] [applause] [cheers] [applause] you know, i'm just going to keep throwing ideas out there to see if something takes. i will lay out my ideas to give the middle class a better shot. but now it is time for republicans to lay out their ideas heard if they have a better plan to bring back more manufacturing jobs are intended the and around the country, then let them tell me. i want to know. we are helping workers earn the high-tech skills that they need and they should offer the ideas. the just gutting of

environmental protection is not a jobs plan. that is not a jobs plan. they keep talking about an oil pipeline coming down from canada. that is estimated to create about 50 permanent jobs. that is not a jobs plan. wasting the country's time making meaningless votes to appeal obamacare is not a jobs plan. [cheers] [applause]

so i don't mean to spin it to not mean anything but the truth. here is the truth. [cheers] [applause] there are no gimmicks. there are no simple tricks to grow the economy. growing the economy and making making sure the middle-class is strong is like getting in shape. you can't just go on a muffin and donut diet.

the same is true for the study long-term american strategy to reverse -- we know what we have to do. it involves research and good energy policy. we just have to stay out of it. we cannot just get into a bunch of bats and pretend that we go back to obamacare and all of a sudden all of these jobs will be created. so many were struggling before i came into office. [cheers] [applause] the middle-class was losing ground before i came in to

office. [cheers] [applause] jobs are getting shipped overseas before obamacare was in place. so we have to be honest. we have to be honest about the challenges that we face in the opportunities that are out there. and that is what i am going to be focused on. not just for the next few months, but i will be focused for every one of the 1270 days i have left in my presidency and in this term to do my best for the american people thank you, chattanooga. let's get to work. thank you very much, everyone. god bless. god bless the united states of america. [cheers] [applause] [cheers] [applause] ♪ ♪

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♪ >> republican senators ted cruz and marco rubio talk about the affordable care act, also known as obamacare. in the senate, they discussed the reasons for political strategy for 45 minutes. >> we rise in support of parents and families and students and employees and taxpayers and other hard-working americans who as of january 1, 2014 will find themselves unfairly impacted by obamacare. still conceiving poorly crafted this economically damaging piece of legislation. we have known that obamacare

created a set of circumstances that would make health care unaffordable. it is unaffordable for several standpoints. number one for the country and the united states government. it is a nonpartisan entity that recently reported that this law is likely to cost the united states government about $1.8 trillion over the next 10 years. roughly doubled what the initial estimate given to congress when this law passed. this is an enormous amount of money. it is a government that is now $17 trillion in debt and adding to that at a rate of about a trillion dollars every single year. it is not so we have an overabundance of money in the federal government or afford to take on more expensive programs like this one. especially when they run price

tags that are substantially above and beyond what they were presented with. it is also something that is proving to be affordable for american families. there are a number of studies that have been conducted in recent months to tell us that this will become more it expensive and enables a lot with the patient protection and a portable care act. this implied that this will make health care more affordable and not less. and what we found is this is a misnomer. what we found is that it is going to make health care was a portable for american families. the interesting thing about these studies is that they are all over the map and we don't know exactly how much this will cost us under the affordable care act.

there are so many uncertainties created by this law it has been modified and will continue to be modified by countless people. tens of thousands of pages of regulation. this has been modified on a couple of occasions, which we will get to in a minute. but all of these modifications have created additional uncertainties that is a source of a lot of concern to a lot of americans. what we do know is it is likely to result in premium increases. so even on the low-end, they increase premiums that families would be paying in a small group and it would go up between 13 and 23% on average. including one that was a study

conducted in louisiana, it would go up in that state as well by 72% for those with individual plans. i am told that which premiums for individual policies are brought to an average of 25%. these numbers are in many instances worse. there are some suggesting a lot of uncertainty that we really don't know. it is really impossible to know. an analysis of more than 30 studies that showed premiums can increase for young people. between 145 and 189% there is a study suggesting an premiums are likely to increase between 56 and 90%. with respect to individual

policies. this is also -policies. this is also bad for america's workers. businesses are moving workers are part-time. in many cases they are not hiring at all. according to a recent survey, 74% of businesses fire employees or we'll cut hours. 51% will not hire next year. a professor of law and business has predicted that 30 to 40 million americans would be directly harmed by obamacare through higher premiums and again, mr. president come we have known for sometime some time as a result of these studies that obamacare was going to make health care unaffordable we now know that it's also going to be unfair. fundamentally unfair.

it is because of president admitted that the laws not ready for prime time. he is not ready to implement it as it has been written. because obamacare was soaked poorly crafted he will not force it away was crafted but selectively enforce its provisions. the president of the united states has said that while he is going to require hard-working americans to comply with the law and individual mandate. only 20% of the people supported today. he is going to support that provision. at least for the first year of law school effect, he won't be implementing or in forcing the employer mandate. hard-working americans have to

comply. the power to rewrite the law. it sets forth this specific set of a timeline. a specific set of deadlines. it did not give the president to authority to decide what could be favored by the president of the united states. you have the big business are being thrown a bone.you have the being thrown a bone. this is not something that is system with the rule of law. this is not something that the american people ought to tolerate. it has become the backbone of

the middle class. the american people deserve better and not to have this law implemented and forest. how do they feel about the selective implementation we also know this will now be unfair. >> i want to thank the senator. thank you, mr. president. i want to thank the senator from utah for organizing this effort and let me answer that question by coming up with a couple of questions i think we can find

consent is on. the first thing is that i think all of us would agree that the american middle class and one of the things is every country in the world, they have people that are struggling. but what has made them different is we have this vibrant middle class and people that work hard and make enough money and save for college expenses and try to fulfill their dreams, i grew up in that environment and i told people i didn't have everything that we wanted. but we always had everything because through hard work and sacrifice, my parents became a part of that great american middle class. working-class americans who gave up the life they never had. we can all agree that this is really important for america. it is one of the things that makes exceptional in america. it is one of the reasons that people want to live here. it creates those opportunities. what strengthens the middle class. a bunch of government spending

and programs, the president of the united states, the answer is no. it will actually make the united states possible. that is what makes it possible. if you have jobs that pay that kind of money so that people can join the middle class and have a better life they come from the government or the white house. do they come from the law? they come from a vibrant private economy that is creating those jobs. one of two things has to happen for jobs be to be created. people need to start new businesses where they need to grow a business that already exists. those are the two ways in which most jobs are created outside of government. so we should analyze every issue before this body are the ones of the middle class and through the

lens of weather makes it easier or harder for someone to write a business were grow an existing one you just asked what i want to turn the concept of god and the answer is it is clear that obamacare makes it harder for people to start a business or a growing our existing one. you will have to meet these sets of rules to make it expensive for you to start a business are growing existing business. the other thing it creates is indeterminate amount of uncertainty in the point you just raised. so that creates confusion. imagine what will cost. so you don't know it. and as a result. jobs are not created and how about the cost of that

insurance. the senator from senator from utah describe it. the commissioner of insurance said that in the individual market place in florida next year, rates are going up 30 to 40%. ask yourself that makes it easier or harder. does it make it easier to grow or harder and think about the impact this will have and add this to the following. right now there is an incentive to help part-time workers and that is why you are reading this. we are reading people from full-time to part-time for under 30 hours so they can avoid the penalties and how about your insurance. what do you have insurance and you're happy with it. we are putting you on insurance and it means that that dog sure that you have been dealing with for 10 years they may not be a doctor next year because

obamacare. businesses in america, people agree to middle class jobs are in a middle-class job that they are headed in a poor direction because of this. this law makes it harder for people to create jobs and is going to make it harder for the middle class jobs and makes it harder to start a business and harder to grow an existing business. it is a similar concern in the senator from texas has joined us here in mo and i am sure that he will talk about him but that he is getting from his people across the country. but senator, that is what i'm hearing from my constituents everywhere that i have been going in order over the last month.

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similar to those that have been shared today by the junior senator from florida. >> i want to thank the senator from utah for his leadership on this issue. i'm proud to stand with senator lee, senator radio and so many others in the state of texas, texans overwhelming we understand that obamacare isn't working, that this legislation is failing and it's hurting the american people if you look at jobs there is no legislation in effect damaging the economy more or damaging jobs more than a obamacare. in direct response to the law 41% of small-business owners held out plans to hire employees. 38% say they pull back plans. they report that 71% of small businesses say that obamacare makes it harder to hire workers and beyond that one of the most pernicious aspects of law is that it's forcing more employees

to be moved to part-time employment to be working 29 hours a week or less to get under the obamacare 30 our threshold. in 2013 employers added more part-time employees averaging 93,000 a month seasonally adjusted than full-time workers. and it's important to understand who this that's moved to part-time work, who is that is hurt by obamacare. it's the most vulnerable among us. it's not the wealthy. it is young people, hispanics, single mothers. according to the most recent census data in 2011 the poverty rate for those that work full-time was only 2.8%. the poverty rate for those working less than full-time year-round was 16.3%. i am reminded earlier in this year when we were debating the

issue of obamacare and i read from an article out of oklahoma that quoted a single mom that is working in a fast-food restaurant and she and her co-workers had her hours forcibly reduced to 29 hours a week or less and the single mom said i have two little kids at home. i can't see my kids on 29 hours a week and neither can the other single moms struggling to make ends meet. beyond the impact on john funds and the economy and those being forced into part-time work we have the compliance cost. according to federal agency estimates, obamacare will add paper work burdens totaling nearly 190 million hours or more every year. mr. president, to put that in perspective mount rushmore that took 14 years to build could be constructed of 1,547 times with the paperwork obamacare required

in one year. not only do we see jobs being hurt in the economy and workers being hurt and hours being reduced, but we are seeing premiums going up. premiums going up far too high and it's hitting those that are suffering the most. on monday for the's insurance captioners told the palm beach post insurance rates will rise by five to 20% in the small group market and by 30 to 40% in the individual market. mr. president for those at home in florida watching what's happening as they are seeing their insurance rates go up they are going up because of the impact infil all. the ohio department of insurance announced that obamacare anno i will increase the individual market health premiums by 80%. if you are in ohio right now seeing your premiums go up you can think the men and women of the u.s. congress.

according to the firm looking at young people coming young people in particular are hurt by obamacare. the firm estimates that 80% of americans age 21 to 29 and earning more than 16,000 will pay more out-of-pocket for coverage under obamacare than the heard today. if young people at home today are watching this and wondering about it and how are they going to claim of the economic ladder and achieve the american dream? obamacare is driving up their health care premiums right now. we all know the president promised the american people with the time obamacare was being debated if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. the fact they've proven that ron according to a 2013 report by the congressional budget office, 7 million people will lose their employer sponsored insurance.

mckinsey and company, very well regarded consulting firm found that 40% of employers will probably stop offering health insurance in the years after 2014. this bill wasn't working and i would note that there is a growing bipartisan consensus as the facts have come and, the american people have kept an open mind, have looked at the bill and have seen that as it is being implemented it's not working. it's hurting the economy and it's hurting jobs to get according to an abc washington post poll, in 2010, 74% of moderate and conservative democrats have a consistent number of democrats that describe themselves as moderate or conservative in 2010. just 46% supported obamacare

degette we have seen the lead senate author of obamacare to a senior democrat in this body describe obamacare as headed towards a, quote, huge train wreck. we've seen it over and over unions which supported obamacare turning as the realize the consequences. so in april, the united union of the water approvers and allied workers called for, quote, report of the affordable care act to protect our in four years, our industry and our most important assets of members of our family. mr. president, if you listen to the voice of unions, unions are saying obamacare is failing. the expand in july that obamacare, "threatens to harm the members by dismantling the multi- employer health plans.

quite striking there is the teamsters union wrote a letter to harry reid and nancy pelosi stating that obamacare, quote, will destroy the very health and well-being of our members along with millions of of their hard-working americans. why? he explained obamacare is destroying the 40-hour workweek that has been the backbone of the american middle class. mr. president, if you trust the voices of unions, mr. president if you have a concern for the american middle class, then listen to the bipartisan voices that are rising up singing obamacare isn't working. most striking, mr. president, president obama himself who just a few weeks ago was forced to unilaterally and without legal

authority for obamacare with corporations more than 150 employees he unilaterally moves the employer mandate before after the next election. i would suggest there are at least two things we can derive from president obama's decision to do that. number one, if obamacare were a good thing, if it were working, we could be sure that president obama would want to go into the full effect before the next election. he would want it to take credit of the american people for the benefit of the signature for the fact the president was forced to concede the wheels are coming off and to move the employer mandate until after the next election i would suggest it is highly revealing. but mr. president, it raises the obvious follow-up question. why is president obama willing to grant a waiver for the giant corporations?

for the hard working american families, not for the men and women struggling to make ends meet who want like our parents and grandparents before them to achieve the american dream obamacare is standing in their way. so what are we to do about it? well, mr. president, the most important constitutional check and balance congress has on an overreaching executive is the power of the purse. and the framers of the constitution wisely gave authority over the expenditures of money available to the united states congress and that is why the senator juan florida and i along with many others are standing together and saying this isn't working, and congress should be funded. in 62 days the continuing resolution would respond the federal government would expire. each of the three of us along with a number of others the

publicly stated under no circumstances will we support a continuing resolution that the fund's 1 penny of obamacare. if 41 members of the body stand together and make that same statement or to enter the team members in the house of representatives stand together and take the same position we can do something different than we have seen before. the past couple of years we've seen 39, 40, 41 votes to repeal obamacare, all of which had been effectively symbolic because none of them had a real chance that passage. mr. president with the continuing resolution, we had a chance to successfully defund obamacare. now, right now we don't have the votes in this institution if it were held today we wouldn't hold 41 senators to defund obamacare. but we have 62 days until september 30th and everyone of us takes it very seriously our

obligation to represent our constituents. if the next 62 days we see what i believe we will which is the american people rising up in math, hundreds of americans standing up saying it isn't working, it's hurting our jobs and hurting our economy and health care meeting our lives worse, stand up and the fund this. if enough americans speak out and demand to their elected officials that we do the right thing, mr. president, i am confident that we will, i'm confident that republicans will come and i am hopeful that members of the democratic party will as well that anyone of us, mr. president. i believe the american people should hold their elected officials accountable and that most assuredly includes me at all of us. we should be held accountable by our constituents. the american people know this wasn't working. there is bipartisan agreement on it and we have a potential in

the next 62 days to show leadership not to give a speech, not to give a man less symbolic vote but if we stand together to defund and make a final point, which is those that disagree on the position that's been taken by senator lee and senator rubio and myself to say that taking the stand will mean that republicans will be blamed for the government shut down. let me be clear what i think should happen. i believe the house of representatives should pass a continuing resolution and fund the entirety of the federal government except for obamacare and should explicitly prohibit the for the funding of obamacare to adopt the legislation that i've introduced as a condition to the continuing resolution. the next step.

the republicans for threatening to shut down the dimond and i would suggest. the american people should decide if there are members of the body to shut down the american government in order to force obamacare down the throats of the american people in order to save president obama will grant a waiver to the giant corporations but not the hard working american family. let's take that argument to the american people because the american people want economic growth back. that should be the priority. nothing is killing jobs more to get nothing is hurting the american economy more than obamacare. there is bipartisan agreement on that, and i am hopeful that members of the body will stand and lead, and i think the senator from utah for taking the lead on what i believe is the most important battle that this congress will confront.

>> those of us that share this position feel strongly that it is indisputably constitutionally the prerogative of the denied it states congress to exercise the power of the purse. if we don't have to vote to fund something with which we fundamentally disagree. some have suggested that because this was passed by congress three years ago we somehow have an obligation to fund it i remind my colleagues that might make the statement that it was as it existed now isn't the same congress as it exists today. that was to converses ago. the converse that enacted that law was changed in part because it impacted that law. it hasn't been popular and hasn't been good to those that voted to enact it. ever since the majority party and the house of representatives changed hands after the 2010 election due in large part to

obamacare. there's been a lot of people that have suggested the republicans in congress need to defund obamacare's implementation and enforcement. for a variety of reasons that hasn't happened. we continue to pass continuing resolutions with no restrictions on obamacare implementation and of course that has left relates to the implementation and enforcement of the exchange's of the individual mandate and so forth. republicans have had reasons for doing this that included the statement to the effect the court is going to knock it down and invalidate obamacare bunning it's unconstitutional. of course it is and that is the majority of the court concluded was unconstitutional as written but the court rather than invalidate instead they wrote the will not once but twice to save it some republicans also justified continuing to vote for funding the bills that contain obamacare implementation revenue, money because they believe the republican president would be elected in 2012 and

stop obamacare. that didn't happen either. we got one last opportunity to defund the implementation of the wall before the provisions i mentioned that kicked on on january 1st. one last opportunity that is in connection with our current spending bill, the current contained in resolution set to expire september 30th, just 62 days away from right now. what we are saying is that if you agree with us, i agree with the president that it's not ready to be implemented as it was written and enacted by congress, if the president isn't going to follow the law, then the american people shouldn't have to fund it. if you don't like it and if you agree that it's not ready, don't fund it. we can and should and must fund the government but not obamacare so i ask the senator from florida if these or sentence

consistent with what you have been thinking and hearing from your constituents in florida. >> the senator from utah, i think there is a pretty clear understanding growing every day as the evidence the senator from texas a moment ago went through these including the labor union that's not run on obamacare because what it means for the members so it's established how much damage is doing. the question i get to the senator from utah what can we do about it. there is a designation by people what can we do about this? is already in place and is their anything we can do so i think there are three things and i will summarize them as quickly. the first thing we should do is not double and triple down on this thing and i think both the senator from texas and utah grew up as the same time i did so they will remember what they didn't. to receive time coca-cola came out with something called new

coke. they changed the formula and came out with something called new coke. it is a disaster. they hated it because they said if we wanted to drink something that sweet there's other things on the market. what did coca-cola do when i began to flounder? they didn't say we will continue to make more of it, they went back to the original formula. that's the way it is in the real world and that's the way it is in the private sector but not government, not washington. in washington something is going wrong. it's like an invitation to move forward. we shouldn't do that. that's the first thing. the second thing is we have to stop this from moving forward. the implications of the law are being felt that the regulations are on this, the fis and the costs and the agencies into law you will start to fill that right now in the next few months

you are going to really start to feel what this means to the life and business and the place to work. now is the time to act. people ask what can we do about it. let me tell you what isn't going to work in the short term. you are not going to get president obama to sign a bill that repeals obamacare and you're not going to get the vote in the senate to do that so although for every single one of them the problem is our chance of getting that composter probably minimal so long as president obama is the president of the united states. our last option is to stop paying for this thing. why do we continue to pour billions and hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars into a disaster? why do we -- all with your hard-earned money on a program that is going to hurt you? we have the chance to do that in the timber because for the government to continue to function, we have to pass something called the short-term budget beah i wish it was a

permanent budget that was a short-term budget and all we are saying is keep the lights on, make sure social security checks go out. the leading you shouldn't do is fund and pay for obamacare. pushback we get from that they say that's crazy because that means you are willing to shut down the government for obamacare. that's not the way that i see it. if we pass a budget that pays for everything except for obamacare, it is he that wants to shut the the government and who is basically saying i will shut down the government unless it pays for obamacare. his own allies are coming to him saying please stop this from moving forward. we are going to give you a chance by refusing to fund at and here's my point to my

colleagues every single one of the members here are against obamacare. this is our last chance to do something about this. when this starts to kick in its going to be very difficult to undo the major portions despite the damage it is going to create. i speak for myself all the way think i could speak for the other senators that joined me today. i want to be able to go back to florida no matter how this turns out and say to the men and women that sent me here in 2010i did everything i could to keep this from happening to you. when someone comes to me and says i got moved to part time because of obamacare i want to look them in the eye and say i did everything i could. when someone says i just want the insurance i'm happy with, i have an insurance plan i'm not familiar with and by doctor of 30 years isn't on that plan i want to say to them i did everything i could. when someone comes to me and says i have a pretty successful

business and set money aside. i was going to open a new business but i want because of obamacare i want to be able to say that i did everything i could. if we pass a budget in september that funds obamacare come and you didn't do everything you could. you paid for this and a double down on it in ways that will have irreparable harm to our economy and our country. this is our last best chance. for those that say they are against obamacare, i believe you but let me tell you something. if we aren't willing to draw the line in the sand on this issue then what issues are we willing to lay on if we can't go to the limit on this issue than what issue is there if we are prepared to say that we won't move forward because of this is there an issue that we are willing to do everything we can and lead on the line is there such an issue and it's not this one, what is it? that's the choice before us. i believe you cannot go back

home and say you did everything you could to stop obamacare if you vote for the budget that fund set and i'd ask the senator from texas if he too shares those stocks and those feelings. >> mr. president? i do indeed share those thoughts and feelings and the obligation that we go to our constituents to honor our word and put action behind our words and i would ask the senator from utah if he would yield for three short questions. the first question is there has been much talk of a shutdown of the am i correct we don't have to its hypothesize what a shutdown would look like but we have seen that in 1995 with two temporary partial shutdowns that occurred when republicans in the house stood up to president clinton and when that occurred

in 1995, we saw several things. number one we saw the parade of horribles that is brought out and did not occur so the social security checks continue to flow and to be funded, interest on the debt continues to be paid, planes didn't fall out of the sky and what occurs if democrats decided to block the continuing resolution and forced a temporary shutdown to force obamacare on the american people is a partial temporary shutdown were then on the central government services get suspended for a period of time, not a shutdown of essential services such as paying for the men and women fighting for the military and providing social security checks and we have seen that in the past. is that correct? >> that is correct and that's what happened in the past. it isn't something we want or something we've threatened. it's something we think can and should be avoided in the

completely avoidable event that happened it would be largely as you described. >> this week we saw a rather stunning news that the irs employees union, the men and women charged with enforcing obamacare are asking not to be made subject to obamacare. the union leaders have sent to the union members draft letters to send members of this body saying that we do not want to be subject to obamacare likewise and their staff to obamacare. i'm not aware of a single senate office that is not deeply concerned about that that isn't facing the prospect of staff quitting the congressional offices because of the harm of obamacare so significant and

there's been many panic discussions among democrats and republicans about what to do about subjecting members and their staff and my second question is what does it say to you that the union is asking let us out of obamacare and the members and the staff are deeply concerned about the harm obamacare is going to do to them. >> they were part of the union and don't want subject of the same provisions they would be enforcing. but it also tells me on the bigger picture is that above all it creates uncertainty and that is why we see so much thanks among people here on capitol hill who are facing the prospect going on in these exchanges because nobody knows what this is going to look like. nobody has an idea. one thing americans don't like in the world of the unavoidable

certainty is more uncertainty heap upon them by the dictation of the federal government. we have enough uncertainty. we don't know when someone is going to get sick or what accidents are going to happen. we shouldn't be dealt to avoid those things the government trusts upon us as one of the reasons there is so much within the ranks of capitol hill work force. people don't want to go on to these exchanges because they have absolutely no idea what this is going to look like. >> my third question is for those of us in the body that have convened at home and told their constituents they are opposed to obamacare, january 1st the exchange goes up and running the subsidies begins and the history of the modern entitlement state is that any time a subsidy has been put in place it is proven politically virtually in possible to undo and no entitlement that's been

implemented in modern times has ever been on done. for those that say they oppose obamacare, what is the alternative to defund obamacare with a continuing resolution and let me ask this a separate way. if we do not defund come am i connect come january 1st republicans will essentially be seven during that in all likelihood obamacare will be a permanent feature hurting the economy and hurting jobs and low-income workers and our health care system and if that is correct, has any reasonable alternative been offered by anyone on this side of the senate to stop that harm other than you in a senator rubio and others are trying to do? >> we have every reason to believe what this new entitlement program picks and it isn't going away. you have debt, taxes and

entitlements. once created, they don't go away. to answer the second part of the question i'm not aware of any plan on any republican aside from this one, aside from the plan that says don't fund obamacare, fund the government but not obamacare that would address this issue. the only other plan i am aware of would be one that says wait and see what happens. let's wait and see what a horrible disaster this will be, how all of this will be for the american people, how intolerable they will find it and let's hope that will provide enough political momentum to win the elections at some unknown point in the future. this isn't a good way to run the government, this isn't kind to do to an unsuspecting public that hopes and expects we have

their best interest at heart. to those in the body that support obamacare, this argument might not be that persuasive to you also you ought to look at the fact the president signed into law said he himself is not ready or willing or able to enforce and implement as it was written so that should give you pause is why you should find it but for those in this body that are in fact opposed of obamacare i ask you how can you oppose to be against him and then fund at. it isn't really where you want to go. consider what might have been said about this.

while wall was enacted without the bother to need for the members voting on it to read. after it was enacted into law it was rewritten by the court in the united states and twice more by the president of the united states. it came a few weeks ago at the supreme court prewriting. with the president did is acknowledging that it's not ready for prime time. it's not ready to implement. it is and what he is willing to implement as it isn't. he's going to enforce it selectively holding hard-working americans come individuals and families to the fire while throwing the bone to the business. this is an acceptable. this, mr. president, isn't something those of us purport to be obamacare and supported by funding it. i invite my colleagues to join me on this call as to vote to

fund the government but not obamacare. >> with

the serve as a window on that have what was going on with american women at any given time in our past history. if you look at the first ladies liked coming you get a view of what is going on with women. the other thing i find interesting from the woman's history standpoint is it is the conjunction of the public and private lives of women which is a topic that many scholars are interested in and i think they just a pet allies the coming together of the public and the private life and in the vegetables.

the afl-cio and economic policy institute hosted a discussion on reform efforts in congress. the input republican senator john mccain who was a member of the gang of eight that helped craft the senate immigration bill as well as democratic california congressman. the senate bill gives undocumented immigrants already in the country the means to work legally and eventually become citizens. this is two hours and 20 minutes

>> good morning, everyone. i would like to invite -- [laughter] good morning, everyone. i would like to invite everybody to take a deep breath with me. america, we need to talk and we need to stand because we believe this is the year that the dreams of my parents will be realized and of many that can cross borders unimaginable to reach the land of opportunity to read a story comes to mind of a little girl's dream to become a spokesperson. she didn't need to take anything she was just trying to fit in but by age 15 she was illegal. placed in a category of incarcerated without conviction alone she would crumble yet the

dream kept her humble and she built a suit of armor and powered by the liberation. we must build the stoops. let's go on and tell them what they have the power to fix. while my father's hands blister from work all day come as the nation is dedicated to the position that all men are created equal rises with 11 million dreams we are liberated. so let's talk. because america is home from a land of dreams for all of dreamers. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, that was a poet and a dreamer.

thank you again. how about another round of applause [applause] my name is terry o'sullivan, general president of the international unit of north america. we are a construction building trade union representing more than 500,000 workers across north america. we've been at the forefront of fighting for the comprehensive immigration reform, and we are read to continue to fight for the passage of this critical issue until congress finally gets it done. brothers and sisters, the time is now. the labor movement is now thrilled to welcome the two political powerhouses on immigration reform to talk about the importance of citizenship. senator john mccain has been a staunch advocate for immigration reform for more than a decade ban was part of the bipartisan gang of eight that passed the historic comprehensive immigration reform bill.

it's not very often that you have the opportunity of being in the company of an american hero and that certainly is what senator john mccain is and on behalf of the afl-cio, we want to welcome you today into the house of labor. [applause] congressman xavier becerra is in the house membership. like congressman becerra i held from california he is a good friend and a good brother. he's been an advocate for his entire career fighting for working men and women and immigrant workers. he is somebody that is the president of labor i've never been to his office and i never will be to his office because you never have to question what the congress man becerra is on

issues that impact and affects workers and men and women. congressman we welcome you as well to the afl-cio and the house of labor. [applause] and malae will hand over the microphone to the moderator, bill samuels, the director of government affairs for the afl-cio. bill? [applause] thank you very much. let me welcome senator mccain and the congressman becerra to the afl-cio. i know you've been here before. honored to have you here and grateful to all of you for taking a few minutes of your busy schedule to share your thoughts on the state of immigration reform. it's a subject i know is as important to you as it is to the 11 million in the u.s. for whom citizenship means a difference between living in constant fear of family separation and living a life with the rights and protections all of a stick for granted.

i know you are busy so i will get right to the question. senator mccain, the passage of comprehensive immigration reform by an overwhelming margin was due in no small measure to your efforts to draft a bipartisan package. given the debate that now surrounds the bill would you think the chances are that congress will pass a bill that includes a pathway to citizenship? >> first may i say thank you for having me today. it's always a pleasure to be with congressman becerra, one of the more influential and important members of the house of representatives. and i thank him for all of the efforts and his articulate advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform. and may i say that it's nice to be back here among old friends and enemies. [applause] i think in the month of august is a very important not. the members of congress and the

house and senate, but in this case because the focus is now on their representatives in their districts and they are spending their time consulting with and meeting with various groups they represent a ranging from organized labor to the chamber to others, a lot of it depended on the makeup of their districts. and i think it's very important that we come as a is our constitutional right to petition members of congress who've seen the elected representatives and the constitution should be seeking meetings with and communications with our members of congress i intend to travel throughout the state meeting with various interest groups from evangelicals to the chamber to various hispanic organizations throughout in town hall meetings to convince my

fellow citizens of arizona of the importance of acting on this legislation. can i finally say i think this fall is very important. it's important because we get into 2014 back in an election cycle. i think the issue has ripened to the point where enough americans are aware of it we will act or not act. every poll that i have seen indicate that well over 70% of the american people support provided that and by going to give you some straight talk this morning, they provided that. they pay back taxes, pay the fine and get in line between the vehicle behind those that came to the country legally. that's an important act of gaining support of the best

majority of the american people. finally the reason why the vast majority of the american people support it is because they have grown more to realize since ted kennedy and i fought the battle and lost, this is an issue of 11 million people who are living in the shadows, deprived of the rights of our citizens who can't live normal lives and they aren't going back to where they came from. savitt is the fact of amnesty. those that come clean this is amnesty, this bill we are trying to get done this already defected amnesty because they are not leaving. when people who live in the united states of america than many of them are exploited and mistreated in a variety of ways and that is and what america is supposed to be all about.

>> the same question a member now in the house you are at the center of the debate in the house of representatives when you think they will make it for president obama? >> let me first start by saying that i agree with everything senator mccain just said. you would have to conclude the chances are getting much better these days that we would pass a comprehensive fixed into the system to say that we wouldn't even be at step one had senator mccain not stepped to the plate and it's important because we aren't going to do this unless it is a bipartisan bill. we no longer have senator kennedy with us who was a champion on so many issues but we are fortunate senator mccain was still with us and we saw the results of the 68 votes because they figured out a

way in the senate or really to do this together a bipartisan plan. i don't think we can talk a lot without first recognizing those that step up to the plate with some risk to themselves and with a risk of losing to do this act and not out of arizona or a politician but as a u.s. citizen thinking mostly about his country so we owe him a great deal. [applause] >> i also think we are going to pass this because -- is there any difference between that superstar and any other superstar that wants to be a leader for america? no. is there any reason why we would want to contain a superstar like

that from being able to shine not just in america with this country and so the reality is if we put aside the party and think about the country, if we recognize the benefits of fixing the immigration system and our economy as the cba said to mr. holt-eakin who recognize this most better than others that the congressional budget office says we would add hundreds of billions of dollars to our economy, hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit reduction if we fixed the system and if you recognize everyone agrees we must tackle border security as well, then this is good for the country so there is no reason we shouldn't do something that is good for our country and finally that lets millions of people come out of the shadows and adjust throw it out of the park every time.

i firmly believe more than i ever felt in the 20 years that i've now been privileged to serve in congress this is the year we are going to do it so long as the folks on the capitol put it ahead of the party. >> the gang of eight represented different points of view to watch the process but they all seem to agree that have light citizenship had to be contained as part of the bill. how did that come about? >> well, i think if we look at the european example where there are large numbers of people that came. they never had a chance to be full of citizenship and participate in those countries

you see things happen. the have the ability to become the greatness of america. many of the things i say are obvious to all but we should know the greatness of america is the immigration of the waves of immigrants into the country which has made us the most unique and the greatest nation on earth with a baby the irish or italian or the jews or the polls, what ever it is from our country has been enriched and that is the country with the latest wave of hispanic citizens. and by the way, i had a meeting this is an interesting item i had a meeting with an official from the french government tracking over 100 french nationals that have gone into the fight in syria. it has a tendency when people are not allowed to be part of a nation to polarize those individuals that live there and

that is an unacceptable situation in my view. by the way, doug holt-eakin is trusted by more than both sides of the ogle than anyone i knew coming is the former head of the office of the congressional budget office and i think that you will find his fact not conjectured about what it does for our economy, but it's to be very important. finally let me just say that some time today or in the next few days somewhere in arizona of the border patrol or the local authorities will come across some dead bodies. they will come across some dead bodies of people who crossed our border, usually with cunego these -- with cyotes that deserted them. this is not acceptable to be

that leads to the existence and even death. there are some aspects that appeal to the tradition of the principles and the chance of convincing our fellow members of house of representatives. >> congressman becerra, how do you think citizenship is in the house and will the house passed a bill that contains a different path to citizenship as senator mccain demonstrated as part of the bill? >> i think if the bill the senate passed a few weeks back or to be placed on the floor for a vote, it would pass bipartisan today. we may end up looking on a bill that is a house deride version of the immigration bill but i do believe that will include the

path to citizenship for all the reasons that senator mccain just said. my sense is that in the house what we have to do is figure out a way to navigate from today for the day of that vote so that we can bring together the bipartisan majority that we need. i think right now there are the republicans necessary in the house to give that a majority. and as many people come senator mccain, alladi and others are working with our colleagues on the republican side of the house to get to that point what we are trying to do is give the speaker the opportunity to open that door. it's been tough on occasion to get there because of some of the other voices out there that at the end of the day we see the chance to fix this broken immigration system and all the aspects but for the reason

senator mccain said, i don't think the country is ready to go back to the 20th century but the 19th century when we talked about having a second class of americans. i don't believe you will be able to clear the decks of those that live in the shadows if the only thing that you promise on the temporary status if they come out of the shadows to register to have a temporary status that when that status expires they either have to leave their families and what they have all become undocumented again. you may as well stay as long as you can before they catch you and then go about your life again and come back into the country under the shadows. the only way to clear the decks of the shadows is to give folks a chance to see we are going to give a pathway to citizenship and by the way once you are able to clear the decks of those in the shadows, the only folks that will stay are those we really want to go after so we won't

have any fear of trying to descend on folks that choose to stay in the shadows because they are the ones that want to sell our kids drugs and are trying to gain the system and violate the law therefore we have to fear the most because they could be potential terrorists because they have no choice but to live in the shadows and we want to make sure if anyone stays in the shadows we are able to is descend on them with every tool will enforcement has so we know that what we have done is protected our country as best as possible. >> of all of the legislation i've been involved in over the years i have never seen a broad coalition of support as i have seen on this bill, whether it be evangelicals in the catholic church, the chamber of commerce, the labor behind it. there is a broad spectrum of support than any that i have seen in my political career. and i think if we can galvanize

all of those parts of america whether it be the religious community or the business community or whoever does come i am confident we can prevail. so far i have to give you some straight talk we haven't done as effective of the job as we have to do between this. >> so, watching the legislation that made is often compared to -- >> watching sausage you never want to see made. >> at the end of this process what has to be in the bill to earn your support, senator mccain? >> the basic outlines our path to citizenship obviously is a fundamental element. the rest of that i think could be adjusted. when you go in for the weeks and the hours of discussion that we had, compromises are made, and

that makes certain elements people really have to swallow hard. i know labour did and the chamber did and others. but i think that with the months of review of the legislation we can look at areas that could be adjusted. i will give you straight talk. we don't need 20,000 patrol agents but what we do need is to use the technology that has been developed where we can survey the border more effectively. but today on the arizonan mexico border it's probably 120 degrees people don't do well for a long period of time under those conditions where we could have surveillance capabilities. with 20,000 additional border patrol and again i voted for it so friends of mine would be comforted that we are securing

the border but the real securing of the border is with technology as opposed to individuals of the we certainly do need individuals. everyone says 1986 we gave amnesty and promised we but secure the border. we didn't if you look at it. the fact is we had 4,000 border patrol agents and now we have 21,000 border patrol agents. the border is more secure and anybody that tells you it isn't, i would like to take them down to the border and show them some of the stuff we have done. is it as secure as we want it to be? no but technology can make that contribution to the effort. >> border security seems to be taking on a slightly different test in the house that the same question what has to be in the bill during your support? >> we have gone through this for

years and we have examined everything to figure out what you need. we need most to figure out we are not coming back to the american public saying we have to fix the broken immigration system again. you can't do this in bits and pieces because if the machine is broken you fix one part of the machine all you have is a machine with a whole bunch of broken parts but it's not going to make it work properly so you have to fix all. the senator identifies one of the key components. you have to give those people that are working, living, graduating in the shadows and, you have to bring them out and have border security. we can figure out exactly what that means but the senator is right you have to have workplace enforcement and convince the public we are going to get their right when it comes to someone applying for a job having the right to work in this country and no employer abusing them and

hiring folks who don't have the right to work. if you do those three things, border enforcement and to deal with the undocumented then you have one thing to do and that is to fix the legal fees as system so you don't have people that wait ten, 26 mali if you are a mexican and you have relatives in the u.s. asking for you to come and if you're the assembling of someone that is in the u.s. wanting to come to the country your weight could be 140 years. unless you have some new drugs you aren't going to wait for 140 years so that drives the immigration and the country you have to fix the system for the families and for employment. if you do that, you will have a system that works in all of its parts. ..

general petraeus on the fourth of july general petraeus organized the reenlistment ceremony for and asked us to speak at a ceremony. it was 200 some brave americans who were serving in the military who had decided to reenlist and stay and fight. there was also some eda some who were green card holders who joined the military in order to have an accelerated path to citizenship as we all know how long it takes today to the it and as i sat down on the stand there were four empty seats with boots on them, for individuals who were supposed to be part of that citizenship ceremony that had been killed in the previous 48 hours. nothing is more moving than to know of people who are willing

to make the ultimate sacrifice become citizens of the greatest nation on earth. that is what america is all about and why i believe we can pass this legislation. thank you very much. congressman becerra. [applause] >> bill, i think the people have been way ahead of the politicians for a long time on immigration reform. but at the end of the day it is going to be the courage for some of those americans to step forward. i think the president and all of the folks who work on behalf of the working men and women for believing that we could actually reach a decent deal that would protect the rights of workers in this country because in many ways the those most impacted have than american workers.

..

they said no dogs or mexicans allowed. yet he did work, and he worked and he worked and he picked every crop and fixed the roads on the railroad cars and fixed america. he canned tomatoes in the tomato soup that you drink and spent most of his time working as a road construction worker paving highways that intersected the freeways in the 1960's and 70's.

but he remembered he couldn't walk into a restaurant after building this country. well he couldn't walk into a restaurant that he could sure make sure his son got educated and become the first in the family to get a college degree in stanford university and he didn't have to worry about just walking into a restaurant because of his son, and he used to walk through the doors of the white house of the most powerful and successful democracy we have ever seen. and that is what it is all about about having the courage to work even though you can't go into a restaurant or believing in passing a bill with a bipartisan vote of standing up even though you didn't have documents say and i am an american and let me prove to you i love this country and to be part of the working class and say we are going to take the chance and not undermine our jobs by coming to an agreement and finding common ground to come to a good bill. ..

>> please join me in thanking the congressman. [applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> thank you senator mccain and representative. before we begin our next discussion, we would like to take a moment to recognize the evil who are missing from today's conversation. these take a look around the room and cbr work and day laborers from the national day laborer organizing network. many are deported every day and these life-size pictures are important. please join us for a moment of silence to remember the struggle

of immigrants and their families. thank you. now, we will start our next panel on the path to citizenship, moderated by the economic policy institute journalists and economists. we have important guess that we are here to celebrate. >> is so great to be here. thank you. is my microphone working? this panel, although it is about economics, and i believe that it will be almost as inspiring as the panel you just heard. we have to economists and a non-economist and i will introduce all three of them and

in the order that they will open in each of them will have opening remarks and then i will ask them questions. in the order that we will have them is douglas holtz eakin, president of the new conservative think tank in washington. he is a political strategist who is to my view one of his most important the congressman is serving as the director of the congressional budget office in an interesting time after the tax cuts were passed. the last round of the bush tax cuts. heat played a very important role. that is another example of a profile in courage at that point.

emmanuelle pastore is professor of sociology and american studies at the university of southern california. it is also the director of the environmental and regional program. most importantly, he is the codirector for the thank center of the immigrant studies and we have a couple of reports that bring that to light today about important of citizenship. antonio vargas is a pulitzer prize-winning journalist and part of defining america, a campaign that speaks to elevate the immigration conversation and he is another individual who is well worth listening to. he publicly shared his life story of being raised by grandparents.

this includes activists, including the dreamers. we will start with douglas holtz eakin. my first question is i will let each of you be allowed five minutes of your own. i will let you talk about this issue and how important it is. >> thank you for your chance to be here and it's my first time in this auditorium. i just want to say that when i was speaking, neither had a good word to say on either side of the party.

we are talking about the past efforts in the future effort on this and that means that i am trying to talk about interest in this connotation. so let me begin. i personally supported a pathway to earn citizenship is the most humane way to deal with this and contributing to the society for so long. the question to me is how do we get the vote. it is wonderful to have goals, but we have to get over that finish line.

we are talking about the political reality in this places burdens on both sides. especially for democrats. a refusal to offer anything other than a comprehensive immigration reform bill is to kill immigration and we need to understand that if democrats are for use to vote for anything other than immigration reform, it is essential that they step up and support the house process. on the republican side, it is important that the vast majority of republicans who support this recognize that the disgraceful comments of a vociferous minority need to be ignored and that we need to respect the

wishes of their constituents. we think that with penalties, we need to have a path to legalization and they support that profoundly. this is not a death knell of republicans who are trying to run for reelection. so i have worked on this issue for a number of years. because i cannot say enough good things about the potential of good immigration on and i cannot

say enough about mandating the federal budget outlook. i would say at this moment it is part of the key juncture of getting immigration reform done and i would echo the sentiments to make this difference. just what are the benefits? >> we are going to look at the support. >> guess, what are the economic benefits. well, a lot of people are worried that this bill is going to lower their wages. what is your view on the? >> well, for example there is a report that came out this is not

a partisan group but one in which their estimate is that just a pathway to citizenship would create 6000 jobs over the next five years. that is creating new jobs. you know, three tenths of a percent more gdp. think about our economic standing and three tenths matters a lot. it means 8 million-dollar been improved budget. there is nothing about this that gives us the skill sets we need.

and this is at a point where we have a stake in this. doctor manuel pastor, can you please give us a summary, perhaps a five-minute summary. and the work you have done has taken years. but can you focus on why citizenship is so important. >> we are encouraging folks to tweet and i think that those of you who are young and know what to do, let us know what you think at #citizen2013.

i think it is a little bit different. but there actually is a particular premium just for citizenship. it turns out that when you do studies, the gains to citizenship are important. we look and we find out that citizens going for english-speaking abilities and they tend to make about eight to 10% more than noncitizen immigrants. we are talking about documented immigrant process and that premium seems to come because being a citizen gives you a wider range of jobs and it

encourages people to make more specific investments in human capital. and this means findings are not always correct. what we try to do in our work is try to look at centralization and it shows that citizenship for the same person can actually fluctuate. so there is a really important benefit to the individuals themselves in an important benefit to the economy as a whole. the income goes up as the spending goes up and there are a couple of other things that have to do with the fact that we tend to think about how this is going

to impact the immigrants themselves. we have 2.6 million undocumented residents. that is one sixth of california's children that would be touched by this legalization process for their parents, which would make things more secure for their parents and allow their incomes go up, to take better positions for those kids to learn and create those opportunities and give them more power to engage in their children's education by being able to go to school. so there is an economic premium to citizenship. but frankly there is a moral premium as well. if you think about the idea of creating a permanent second-class people who are not going to be able to become

citizens in the long run, that is really just tasteful in terms of what the principles are. i had the opportunity a week and a half ago to be at the george bush library for a naturalization ceremony when the benefits of immigration reform. being at the ceremony reminded me that there is anything that is unique about the country, which is that you don't become an american by virtue of race or ethnicity. to become an american by virtue of your willingness to buy into certain kinds of principles and ceain kinds of notions and liberties and qcitizenship. that is fundamentally what is protected by making sure that citizenship is an important part of the immigration reform. this i believe is something that we must be insistent on and what comes out of the immigration

reform process. >> thank you very much. mr. vargas, on the scale you are the person who could make this come to life because you are in the situation of being not just a permanent resident, hoping to have citizenship, but you actually are in undocumented worker and resident of the united states. please tell us about that three okay. >> we will give you another round. >> okay, when they asked me to do this event, i was really not sure if i wanted to do it. because this whole question of why citizenship matters is important. but i have great respect today of afl-cio and i have used a lot of the numbers and that is why i'm here. and i cannot think of a more important more than citizenship.

i have been fighting for my whole life. citizenship is something that a lot of people in this country take for granted. which is very ironic. especially given what we are as a country and where we are going. and how we are looking at each other. let's focus on the economic argument. you know, i came here when i was 12 years old. i went to school, middle school, and the wonderful school system of this country, started working at subway sandwiches with a fraudulent social security cards and went and worked as a reporter for fighters at "the washington post", paid social security in texas since 18 years old and i have been traveling this country in the past two years is kind of a walking and uncomfortable conversation and i have done about 150 rallies and

filming a documentary in a same time just meeting people. i am a reporter at heart and i wanted to know but i wanted to look and i wanted to look into the faces of people who seem to think that people like me are a burden to this society and that all we do is take. we have talked about this and people like me have actually kept social security solvent and i bring with me and we are part of the $11.2 billion and workers have paid into the system.

i have been there four times and i have done this. talking to people about the law and they're like oh, you pay taxes paid you are the good one. what about the illegal mexicans at wal-mart. well, the economic conversation is bare. the moral conversation is tied to that. i think that we understand that there are some people that will be convinced by numbers. and that is wonderful. and there are some people that i would argue we need more than just numbers. that is where it gets a little icky. as i'm sitting here, i realize

it's very hard to be in undocumented american. the country doesn't recognize a yet although i know what i'm doing. we are looking at the level of conversation that is almost laughable as to how much it is drenched in ignorance and information. like senator mccain said, i am not in a position to speak from a holier than thou antagonizing, you know, position. i'm going to be as american as i possibly can as i talk to my fellow americans and tell them that i am not an economic burden to them. i am not actually taking a slice of the pie away i'm making it either. but more than that, and this is a message that we are tin