what's wrong with the crystal we have now? they had to spend the money because they could come back to congress to say we could save $5 million. so we are addressing the wrong problems. we're not holding people accountable. so maybe it's time for the states to exert and the people to exert some common sense on us. i dare say there's not one member of this body that would let their adolescent child run up a bill and not eventually try to intercede on a credit card but let them continue to run it up. well, congress and the u.s. government is that adolescent child. we are the adolescents and the people in the states are the grownups. and we're -- where we are today at an impasse, and it really does kind of sound like kindergarten. i'm not going to talk to you. i don't like the way you did that. we had the majority leader the other day claim that the house

was out of bounds because they got to pick and choose what we'd pay for. it just so happens in the constitution that's what it says. the house of representatives gets to pick and choose. all spending bills start in the house. they have to start in the house. they get to pick and choose. we don't have to accept it, but they get to pick and choose. so just a lack of understanding on the basic concepts that our founders set up. you know, they know the history and they knew the history of republics. republics always die. there isn't one that has survived as long as we have and the decline and -- they decline and die over the same thing. they get in trouble financially. we're in trouble financially. we're $30 trillion in the hole. plus another $17 trillion in debt. wouldn't it be smart if we

started addressing that problem before we blankly give an increase in the level of the credit card? actually what we should do is we should cut this credit card up, which is what i'm going to do because that's the way i vote. i think it's time we quit borrowing money -- actually i think i'll just tear it up. time we quit borrowing money against the future of our kids. it's time we quit mortgaging their future. it's time we start taking responsibility for the actions of the federal government rather than giving excuses on why we can't get together and address the real problems of this country. congress fails to do the oversight. you know, we just had a hearing

yesterday where we showed one of the problems inside the social security disability system. there was a bipartisan hearing, lots of work done. there were real problems. that trust fund for those people who are truly disabled in this country will run out of money within 18-24 months. the finance committee hasn't offered any bill to fix it. the house ways and means hasn't offered any programs to fix it. but yet it's going to be bankrupt. what does that mean for somebody who is truly disabled? it means their check is going to get cut. now, tell me whether you'd rather spend $5 million for new glassware for our embassies, crystal, or $5 million for somebody who is truly disabled. that's where the real decisions need to be made but we won't make them. you know, if you talk about our national debt, when i came to

the senate in 2005, every american owed $24,000 on the national debt. it's now almost $53,000. in a little over eight and a half years. so two and a half times what we used to owe we now owe. how did we get there? why do did we let that happen? why don't we learn to live within our means? is there always a political reason? is there always a reason where you can game somebody to say you don't care if you don't want to do this? you couldn't care about americans that you don't want to spend money that we don't have on things that we don't need. if you look at the $125.8 trillion, that works out to $1.1 million per family.

think about that. that's our unfunded liabilities and that's going to come due over the next 50 years, and if you have children or grandchildren like i do, i really don't want their opportunities to be totally limited by this debt load that we're having. so we have all this politicking and posturing and political expediency going on in both bodies, and nobody's talking about what the real problem is. the real problem is we're spending a lot of money that we don't have that we're borrowing from other countries on things we don't absolutely need. the second part of the problem is we have programs that are designed to benefit people that are riddled with waste and fraud. $100 billion in medicaid and medicare. nobody really questions that number. it's been you authenticated by r separate studies outside the

government, inside the government we say it's 80. why would we continue to let a system run that has that kind of fraud in it? we're getting ready to crank up the affordable care act, we are cranking it up, and we've now said we're not going to authenticate somebody's reliability as to their income. what do you think the fraud on that is going to be? we know in the child tax credit was what wf what the fraud rate is, well over 20%. the earned income tax credit, well over 20%. one out of every five dollars we pay out is to people who don't deserve it. we'll see the same in this. why would we do this when we have this kind of problem in front of us? in the last two years our debt limit has increased twice what our economy has grown. and for every dollar of new debt we take in, we're getting about

2% to 3% -- two or three cents of economic growth out of it. out of that new debt. used to be america when it borrowed a dollar, it would get 35 or 40 cents of growth out of that debt. so we now have in the last two years we've increased the debt limit $2.045 trillion and the economy has grown less than $1.2 trillion in the last two years. we are adding $26,000 to our national debt every second. every second. and there's no question. our economy is growing, some. some. far less than marginal, and why isn't it growing? it isn't growing because the american people don't have confidence in the future. how do we restore confidence in

the future? we restore confidence by modeling a behavior that says we're going to act responsibly with our future. which means we're going to make the hard choices even if it costs us our political career to solve the problems in washington so that the generations that follow us will not suffer a lower standard of living but also so we can instill the confidence in the american economy. you know, there's $3 trillion in cash sitting in this country right now. not federal government money, private money. $3 trillion. why is it sitting there? why isn't it being invested? it's not being invested -- that $3 trillion would create 700,000 or 800,000 new jobs a year. that $3 trillion. why is it not being -- because they don't have the confidence in the future. i want to tell you a senator about virgil injuringens mire.

-- jurgensmire. he was thinking about adding a couple hundred jobs in a small town in northeastern oklahoma. and yet he was afraid to do that. he has plenty of business, he's buying $50,000 to $100,000 from his competitor every month because he can't produce it. he says i don't think it's worth the risk given where our country is. i'm not sure. that's happening all across this country. there's no confidence. so it brings me to the second point i want to talk about. we're not just bankrupt as a nation. our leadership is bankrupt. leadership is about creating a vision and bringing people together. not creating controversy and dividing people. it's not about pointing out the worst flaws of somebody. it's about reinforcing the best flaws.

it's not selling the confidence that we can do this together. and do you realize we can do this together as a nation? there isn't a problem in front of us that we can't solve if we choose to solve it. do you remember the debt commission? i was a member of that committee. we voted on some big plans that would have solved a lot of the problems that we're facing this very week in this body. i didn't like every bit of it, but it was a chance to try to solve, bring together both sides and solve it. not once was it taken up on the floor by the majority leader. the president never embraced it. his own commission, his own fiscal commission. never embraced it. it was the greatest failure of leadership i've ever seen because you had bipartisan cover. you had conservatives and liberals agreeing here is a plan we can work out.

and yet it was thrown away. and the only time with the politics that we see in washington today that you're going to solve these big problems is when both political parties take the pain evenly. somebody wants to do that. everybody wants to gain. it's all short-term political expediency. in the words of my friend, erskine bowles, where we are today is the most easily predictable problem you would have ever seen. all you got to do is looking at the path of the numbers. it's true, our deficits are down a little bit but we raised $70 billion in taxes last year and the economy is growing. it just shows what potential there is if we would put the economy on a steam where we had confidence, you know, we could have had $500 billion, $600 billion in revenue to the federal government, but we won't do that. today we find ourselves in worse

condition than we did in 2011. and in 2011 we were told we can't do big things. you have to wait. so we had a debt limit increase. so tell me how we've gotten better since then. we have an unfunded liabilities growing faster every year. our true debt to g.d.p. ratio is over 100% counting all debt, internal and external. we've not done it. hundreds of thousands of federal workers right now are furloughed because congress -- not republicans, congress -- has failed to do its job, surface hast failed to compromise, has failed to reach a meaningful agreement that gives both groups something that they can claim that they actually worked on the real disease. madam president, how much time have i consumed?

the presiding officer: 23 minutes. mr. coburn: would you let me know at about 28 minutes, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coburn: let me describe also what's going to happen in about 20 years. maybe ten. if we don't address these problems, it won't matter what the debt rating agencies say. we will have developed a pattern that says we think we can continue to borrow and continue to raise the limit and not make the structural changes that puts us on a path to solvency. so what does that look like? what that looks like is borrowing costs going up. my friends all talk, and the president said today maybe our borrowing costs go up if we don't raise the debt limit. guess what, our borrowing costs are going up every day that we don't address these problems whether we raise the debt limit or not. because eventually the rest of the world is going to say we don't think they're willing to cut up the credit card.

they're not willing to make the sacrifices that are necessary to put our country on a path to prosperity. we have all the capabilities in the world to address our problems. we do not have the leadership that will get us there. and i'm not just directing that at the president. i'm directing that at my own party. so what's the solution? i'm going to spend the next couple of days outlining waste in the federal government, fraud in the federal government, duplication in the federal government, but the solution is called sacrificial leadership. it means modeling the behavior that says you're willing to give up something -- maybe the prestige of being in office -- to actually fix the long-term problems of our country. it's leadership that calls out the best of us instead of

pointing out the worst in us. you don't see that very often here. you did when i first came. you certainly don't now. that's a function of leadership in the senate. majority leader reid and i don't agree on much, that's obvious, but in a previous discussion on the senate floor, leader reid said meaningful deficit reduction requires shared sacrifice. we're never going to get there unless everybody shares in it. the other point i would make is we're living off the next generation right now. we're living -- we're going to borrow $2,000 against future of every man, woman and child in this country this year alone.

they're going to have to pay it back. or another way of putting it, is one out of every four hours that you work, the federal government right now is confiscating. of everybody in our economy. and it's soon going to be two out of every four hours you work. now, our country was founded on the idea of liberty and freedom. when the confiscatory rates that will be there to have to pay back our debt, or at least to borrow more money, come, half your work is going to be for the federal government. not your state or local. it's going to pay the bills of the federal government. and so money that's going to go to interest is money that isn't going to be invested. it's money that isn't going to improve education, it isn't going to invent the next new technology. so i believe we can solve our problems, but i think it

requires an informed public. do you realize the federal government is twice the size it was in 1999? it's twice. it's two times as big as it was in 1999. think about that for a minute. if you extrapolate, that means in another 12 years, 13 years, it's going to be four times as big as it was in 1999. and the question comes is: are you getting value? is it efficient? is it productive? is it what we want to do? i think we can cheat history as a republic. as a constitution republic, i think we can cheat history. i don't think we have to go down the path that every other republic has gone down. but it's going to require real leadership and shared sacrifice on everybody in this country

part. it's going to require we take the spending out of the tax code for the well-heeled that have placed special benefits in the tax code for themselves. it's going to require that we reform medicare. the presiding officer: the senator has consumed 28 minutes the mr. coburn: thank you. that -- 28 minutes. mr. cobun: thank you. that we reform -- mr. coburn coburn: thank you. that we reform medicare. that we fix medicaid. that we control how the federal government buys and uses things. it's going to require us to eliminate multitudes of duplicative programs that have no real benefit other than to benefit the politicians. it's going to require shared sacrifice. so we can go down that path, unite our country, bring us together with a vision that through this together we can all accomplish what is need for our children and grandchildren.

or we can continue this petty little kindergarten game that's going on in washington right now that everybody knows gets bent out of shape saying they're right or they're right and playing off the american people. none of us in washington are right. the founders were right. the enumerated powers were right. 109th amendmenthe 10th amendmen. we're dead wrong. it's time we grow up and start understanding the vision of our founders that secured our liberty and preserves our future. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: thank you, madam president. before he leaves the floor, i just want to thank the senator from oklahoma for his commitment to this issue, for his candor. we don't necessarily agree on every single thing but i do know he's a man of great conviction and we're lucky to have him in the senate. and it's my hope that we can get to a place where we actually are

together addressing these budget issues in a way that's not management by crisis or one across-the hive boar-board cut r another but actually is a thoughtful cut to relieve our children and grandchildren. so i thank my colleague. i came to the floor after the senator from oklahoma described today as a day of petty kindergarten games to talk about a place where they're not playing those right now. and that's a town inly come that in coloradothat i represent, whs called estes park, which has been a beacon of resilience. it's northwest of boulder. it's the gateway to rocky mountain national park. i can see from the president's reaction that she may have been there. the town of several thousand residents. hosts 3 million visitors a year, including an average of over half a million visitors in the month of september. this time of year is peak

tourist season. the weather is beautiful. the aspen's leaves are even more beautiful than the weather. and the elk famously wander through the park and through the town. whether you're coming to rest or recreate, estes park welcomes you and it always has. in 2011, visitors generated $1 $196 million in tourism spending and supported more than 22,700 jobs. by some estimates, tourism accounts for more than 27% of local employment. when the floods hit in colorado, madam president, estes park was almost entirely cut off from the outside world. here's route 34 going to estes park. two of the major roads into town were wiped out for miles at a stretch, leaving only one road into town. many homes and businesses were destroyed. but the residents of estes park picked themselves up and began the recovery process.

and limited access to the town has been restored. folks have just started opening up their businesses again. visitors have just started to returning to rocky mountain national park again. and then congress stepped in and dealt an unbelievably cruel, cruel blow by shutting down this government. let me quote what estes park resident tom johnson said on the tuesday of the shutdown. quote -- "i think politicians are playing around like they do, and it's the people who wind u up -- and it's the people who wind up with all the problems for it. man, they did it to estes park when they shut down that park. rocky mountain national park closed with the shutdown. hundreds of campers have had to cancel their reservations and likely thousands more canceled their plans to visit." the denver post said that visitors to estes park were

suspended, $5.8 million in sales tax revenue and $4.4 million in local taxes. this is one community in colorado, one community in the united states of america tonight as we horse around here in the united states congress. the shutdown is a kick in the teeth to our local governments and small businesses who are -- and their efforts to recover from these floods. one of the areas more famous -- area's more famous business is the stanley hotel. john collin, the hotel's owner, said while it's visitors for long weekend trips, it's been slow to bring in the usual number of guests during the week. he says it's because locals can't come to rocky mountain national park for the fall foliage. he tells us they've done everything they can to keep the hotel open because it's a major employer in estes park. but he's losing money on a daily basis. diane moono is a local business owner in estes with four retail shops.

the christmas shop are two local stores, the white or kid bridle shop sell clothing and other apparel. some of these businesses have been serving customers in estes park since 1969, madam president. they are institutions in this colorado community. the flooding damaged three of four of her businesses. one was seriously damaged and not yet reopened. the other two rushed to reopen, to recover and they would have been fine except we closed rocky mountain national park and that has slowed foot traffic in a significant way. diane's local revenue for these four stores is down 67%, two-thirds down from this point in october last year. she typically has 12 to 15 employees but she's working a skeleton crew of six. another business damaged by the floods was kine coffee. its owner, amy hamrick has been

relying on internet sales. buying coffee beans and mugs and t-shirts online. but the same story holds. she took a huge hit when the government shut down, making horrible things worse. amy's husband david, hamrick, a firefighter with the u.s. forest service, has been furloughed. this is what this inability of washington's politicians to get done the most basic nawngz we have -- basic function that we have, to keep the government running, has wrought in this one colorado community. amy told national public radio, "we carry on with the middle of october with tourism doubles and locals coming to seat elk and to go into the park and see the color and the national park is our largest employer in town, so our community has now lost a lot of jobs in the interim." this is exactly why it's the wrong moment for colorado, for estes park to have washington's dysfunction come crashing down. they don't deserve it.

they don't deserve t. but as de. but as they're now saying in estes park, they're mountain strong and they'll get through t. and i know they will. amy hamrick took the time to remind us that 90% of the town is open, dry and ready for customers. she said the town is beautiful and golf courses have elk on them 24 hours a day. estes park, like much of colorado, has taken a hit but it won't stay down. the community continues to pull together and recover. as expected, its neighbors are going to go the extra mile to help everybody out. this quote from genie buyier captures the spirit of colorado. she said, "we live down in loveland. it's difficult for people down there right now. i know it's difficult down there because i was there last week with the mayer and county commissioner and others looking at devastation -- mayor and county commissioner and others looking at devastation in loveland. but we also know it's difficult in estes and they're our neighborhoods so we took the roundabout way to get up here to

support them as well. the floods won't deter them and neither will the outrageous stupidity of this shutdown. rocky mountain national park is closed but there's still plenty of other reasons to come and enjoy estes park. earlier today, somebody that works with me named james thompson, spoke with the town's mayor bill pinko and asked him what's the one thing he would want me to say on this floor. the message was plain and simple. he said, michael, tell them, it's spectacularly beautiful up here. it's still a great experience and we are open for business. this town has been through a lot and has risen to its challenges. so i say to everybody, come to estes park, enjoy the beauty, shop at our businesses, dine at our restaurants and meet the folks who wouldn't let a natural disaster or a manmade disaster stop them from succeeding. you can learn more about a trip to estes park at visitestespark.com. and to my colleagues, i urge you to come to colorado for a different reason.

maybe we could all learn something from these incredible people about what it means to pull together in the face of a crisis. and for those of us playing politics with this shutdown and playing politics with our -- with this fiscal cliff, i would really encourage you to spend a single moment in one of our flood-ravaged towns. that might bring some welcome clarity to the debate. and with that, madam president, i yield the floor.

a senator: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: thank you, madam president. i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: thank you, madam president.

most of us hav in the senate hae read something about our nation's founding. what is almost always overlooked is the founders' use of the language "the republic." asked which was being created behind closed doors in philadelphia, a republic or a monarchy, benjamin franklin famously said, "a republic, if you can keep it." the founders made this choice deliberately, the idea of democracy frightened hamilton, adams and others because they a equated it with mobs in the streets. they worried that mob rule would overcome rights bestowed not by their government but by their creator. they studied the classics and their models were the greek and roman republics. and they set out to do something never done before: to create a republic of the scope and scale never before attempted and one that could expand as the country

grew. today we are the world's oldest and greatest democracy. and during the last century america has expanded the constitutional rights to ways anwomen-- to women and people o. in our time we've come to understand that democracies are about the rights of citizens. but a republic, the founders understood, is about the duties of citizens, the obligations a citizen has to a society whose constitution guarantees his or her rights. basic duties are to pay taxes relevied by a representative govment rs to defend our country when called upon and to obey the law. our founders had something even greater in mind, qualities that would make a republic endure, like republics from ancient athens forward, they believed in popular sovereignty based on citizen participation in government. they believed in the common, all

those things we hold and value in common, like our defense and shared infrastructure and the welfare of the national generation of americans. they believed in putting the common interests above personal or narrow interests, a sense of the national interests. how else could committed slave owners and abolitionists form a country and a government? and they believed in resistance to corruption, those who would turn the national interest to personal gain. we were founded as a republic, and we have become more democratic across time. we are democratic and republican. interestingly enough, what came to be the semblance of the first political party in america called itself the democratic republicans. it was founded in 1791. it sounds pretty weird today, i know, but it simply meant those who believed in democratic equality and freedom working to uphold the ideals of the

republic. one of our bedrock american principles is that we must protect our rights through performance of our duties, and that is not some abstract political theory. this is a definition of who we are and how we must govern ourselves. we have rights and responsibilities, as citizens and as senators. we have the right to free speech, but the responsibility not to shout "fire" in a crowded theater. we have the right to assemble, but the responsibility to do so peacefully. and in this body, we have the right to filibuster but the responsibility to govern on behalf of the american people. but the fewer americans who exercise the most fundamental right, i would say duty of voting, the more political influence extreme dpriewps in our society -- groups p i in our society have. this is wit where we find ourses with a senate that is sometimes

dominated with the a small faction that does not represent the mainstream of american political thought and a house that's gerrymandered into dysfunction. this has created a a vacuum into which a million special interests homely rome. i should call them narrow, not special interests. but from ancient athens onward narrow interests have been the enemy of every republic. that's never been truer than it is today. keeping the republic created by our founders should concern every generation of americans, including our own. the sovereign power belongs to all the people, not just a vocal few. and it's our responsibility, it's our duty as elected officials when that ideal is tested to work together to restore a sense of the commonwealth and the common ghood enabled us to prevail in world wars and overcome depressions.

this is our cause, madam president, but we are stuck. we're stuck because we're fighting over yesterday's battles instead of seeking to anticipate, as our founders did, how we will manage change. to one degree or another, all senators and possibly all americans are conservative. if conservative means to protect our nation's principles and ideals, i'm a conservative. if conservative means to preserve a culture of tolerance, justice, and equality, i'm a conservative. if conservative means to you were the u-- to respect the unique culture heritage of america, i am a conservative. if conservative means to protect our natural heritage, i'm very much a conservative. but while we protect and preserve the best of what makes us who we are, we must adapt to change. scarcely once of us in the senate has ever sought os office without advocating some kind of change, changes of officeholder, change of party, change of

policy, and that's good because the future is arriving faster and faster and we've gotten no better at anticipating, even with the seemingly endless crawl of the words "breaking news" at the bottom of our screen. no one predicted the arab spring before this sprung, theansd ands the most closely watched region in the world. there are great historic ties that demand that we change and dapt to them in order to preserve and protect and conserve our central values. we don't fiscal cliff a stagnant world. indeed we're living in the midst of great revolution that makes the 21st century as different from the 20th as the 18th century was from the 17th. we're living through what may be the peak years of change on the scale of the industrial revolution. even though we may come here oriented to change, the institutions of government -- congress included -- are orntsed oriented to the past.

our committee structure and regulatory agencies. imagine an economy deep in the last century. we're designed to support incumbent interests, not the job innovators. this is a fatal flaw if we are ever going to tackle the growing income inequality that our nation phac faces an inequality that has been unmatched since 1928. we're regulating the telegraph when the world is wireless. just one example: almost ann a year ago i visited apple out in silicon valley. a little over four years ago when i was superintendent of the denver must be schools, i didn't spend one second thinking about thousand apply a tablet to the education of our kids because there was no such thing as a tablet. a little over four years ago. today the tablet combined with middle class forms like the itunes platform presents and unbelievable opportunity for our children and children all around

the world to learn and to teach each other. it was really amazing to see. in any case, apple prevented a sleight slide show and in 5% of their last 12 amongsts of revenue woos derived from products they did not sell five years before. 5% of their revenue came from things they did not sell five years before and we haven't updated our tax code since 1986? i was in college in 1986. what are the chances that our tax code is helping drive job and wage growth in 2013, 27 years later, more than a quarter of a century later? in this congress, and in this government, we are desperately out of sync with the world as it is. it is, in fact, an irony that we must change and adapt to preserve the principles that we treasure, but we must. today many flying the tea party banner resist all change.

indeed, they want to go back, obviouooften to a pass past thar existed. too often their politics embrace old interests that will not drive us forward to an economy that is creating jobs and raising waifntle our founding principles should not change, and i agree with that. but our practices and methods must change or to become irrelevant. these two parties or three with the tea party have to escape their orthodoxies for this to be possible. efforts to maintain the status quo or to return to some mythical past are doomed to fail. that is simply because time and the tides of human affairs will not stand still. we do not control history and cannot dictate to it. change is the one constant. and how we attempt to shape it to our purposes, by creative, imaginative public policies,

will determine whether we can preserve the best of our past, our principles, our heritage, and our values. those who seek to protect our nation against change by sitting on the beach before a massive incoming tide with shovel in hand will be southwest away as surely as king canoe. as i mentioned earlier, anyone who believes their orthodoxy or ideological orientation prepared them for the arab spring or made us safer is deluded. our job must be to create a shared understanding of the facts in a town that's arranged to obscure them. despite the desires of no, sir staleia, we're not going back to the laissez-faire world of herbert hoover. social safety nets are they're to stay to protect the children, the poor, the disabled and the elderly. but even they will have to be

changed if they are going to survive. globalization has transformed the world's society and cultures all across the globe including here in the united states. these revolutions, like the industrial revolution before them, cannot be stopped and it is up to us to decide. it is up to decide whether we can accept this new reality and position our country to lead, as it has since our founding, or whether we shrink into an imaginary conception of what the world once was. and what the united states once was. with all this change and pace of globalization comes fear of the fiche and a sense of -- future and a sense of loss of what once was. that's human nature and i don't exempt myself from that. in a ties time of uncertainty, s become fashionable to capitalize on it politically. this kind of demagoguery is not

unknown in american history. any time americans become fearful or worried, there have always been those who saw personal advantage in fanning those flaisms but they do not join an honor roll of history, an assembly of of our greatest leaders. media attention which is easy and cheap is not a measure of leadership. division does not require moral authority. and if we are at another of history's turning points, as many believe, as i believe, one road leads to the worst of our pasts. the other road leads to a new definition of our freedoms. we treasure the freedoms incorporated in the first amendment to our constitution. we remember at the height of the great depression that franklin roosevelt declared four new freedoms -- freedom of speech and worship and freedom from want and fear. today in the middle of what one might characterize as a political depression, let's

consider some new freedoms for the 21st century. freedom from foreign oil, freedom from false patriotism, freedom from the politics of division, freedom to create a constructive future, and, yes, freedom from unconstitutional government surveillance. we have duties to perform far greater than merely funding the government. just ask any poor child or her teacher in a typical american school. the good news is that fear has never and will not now dictate the fate of our republic. history's dustbin is filled with failed demagogue and we're not going back. but we need to hurry. the world is not waiting for us. americans want us to move forward into the 21st century with the imagination, creativity, adaptability, and values that have made this country so great from its founding. the stakes are simply too high

in our time to allow our institutions to be crippled by politicians who color far outside the lines of conventional american political thought and who react with anger and mock surprise when their policy objectives are not achieved. it's time to close this sorry chapter in the history of the commerce, reopen our government, preserve the full faith and credit of the united states, and work-to-together as senators from -- and work together as senators from the various states on the people's business i suspect that's the reason most of us wanted to serve to begin with. ty, madam 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. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: mr. leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for ten minutes each during that

time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: there are two measures at the desk. i would ask for their first readings. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the measures for the first time. the clerk: s. 1569, a bill to ensure the complete and timely payment of the obligations of the united states government until december 31, 2013. -- 2014. h.j. res. 77 making ciewgdz for the food and drug administration for fiscal year 2014 and for other purposes. mr. reid: i ask for a second reading and ask that my objection appear in the record on both measures. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the measures will be read for the second time at the next legislative day. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 10:30 a.m. wednesday, october 9, following the prayer and pledge, the journal be approved and

morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date be the time for the two leaders reserved for use later in the day and following any leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business for debate only until 2:00 p.m. with senators permitted to speak therein for ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: madam president, if there's 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

and death gratuity is helped

money also helps cover cost to dover air force base to witness the return of the loved ones and a flag-draped coffin. washington may be shut down, but it's still asking people to go to war. says the head of the counsel on the foreign relations. when people realize they can serve and fight for their country but their families will get an iou when the shut down over is i think they are shocked. i know, i am. for example, lance jeremiah 19 years old was a marine who died saturday while supporting combat operation afghanistan. he was one of the five killed. including four troop members who chi -- died sunday.

law passed last week -- but does not allow for the payout for the death benefit of the family of the fallen. officials told andrea mitchell of nbc. one senior official said he was disgusted by the predicament that believes where we are. now, ma'am president, i've asked the senators to come to a floor. it's important we have an opportunity to talk about the crisises facing this great nation. the government shut down is an embarrassment to our nation. not only to the people of america but around the world. an economic conference in the far east that president obama

was to attend. he couldn't because a government shut down. so who is there point tiff candidating about how bad things are in america? president of china. and that's what he's talking about. america can't pay its bills. the families who lost five loved wunls. it's an unbearable loss. they are being denied death benlts -- benefit because of the senseless shut down. it's shameful and embarrassing. there's no word to describe the situation at least that i'm cape -- capable of expressing. america could fail the families of our fallen heroes -- heroes. appalling, frightening, everyone can come up there on a

description, but it's time for us, members of the body to stand before the american people and publicly discuss the path forward. democrats stand unified asking the speaker to reopen the government, the whole government, not bits and pieces of the government. it's bad enough with the scwes translation cut the national institute of health, this year $1.6 billion and add to that the government shut down there. add to that the second year of sequestration. would be another $2 billion from the national institute of health. this premere search that we have in america for disease. there's never been anything like that in the world.

there's never ever in the history are the world like the national institute of health. we are mindlessly going forward and cutting the scientists by billions of dollars. we need to reopen the whole government. not in some piecemeal fashion to further demonstrate that we are unto be find solutions. augment the whole government so we can get back to work. allow the government to the duty by the military families and every american family. mr. president, quickly, i've said it before. in july of this year, the speaker of the house of representatives and i sat down in his office. i was there, my chief of staff was there. his chief of staff was there. it was the four of us. the speaker wanted to figure out

a way to go forward. we talked about a number of things. but the one thing he was firm in he said it has to be 2013 levels. i said i can't do that. i said it's $80 billion less than the budget we passed a short time ago. so the conversation continued. september we talked and talked. i spoke to chairman murray to chairman mick cull sky. it was really hard. they had worked so hard to get regular order back in the senate. but like the good soldiers they are, we decided to try to top the rest of the caucus and swallow really, really hard because we had the assurance, i had the assurance that we would

have a clean cr now. in september. that didn't work. the speaker didn't deliver on what he said he would deliver on. so now was the government closes and we have one thing after over coming over here. we sent it back. the last thing we sent over before a week ago waslet go conference. so the last tuesday i sent him a letter and in the first letter i talked about very decisive time in my life i vote for the iraq war. within weeks of that, i thought i was mislead. regardless of that, that's how i

felt. i became an opponent of the war and did everything i could to focus on the war which was having our military subjected to violence. that's an understatement. thousands were being killed, tens of thousands were wounded. a number of iraqis who were being killed is really hard to demonstrate adequately. this was a time in my life that we an opportunity under my direction to shut the government down. why? by not funding the war. i made a decision, that's in my letter to the speaker, not do that. now, i, frankly, seven-day forecast a lot -- received a lot of hell from around the country but that's what i did. i don't look back at all. i was trying to tell the speaker don't do this but how i said

you've done it, and you've asked for conference. we'll go conference on anything you want to go to conference on. we don't care. but first you have to open the government, allow us to pay our bills. that's in the letter. last tuesday. 45 minute after he got the letter -- [no audio] madam president. $70 billion it's the biggestompr comprise i've ever made in my a career as member of congress s some 31 years. it ms.ay not sound like much to some people. was but it was really big. my dcaucus remembers whey asked them to do. so for someone to suggest to any of my senators that we haven'tem negotiated is summerly un-- sayt

simply unfair. won't to say we won't negotiate is unfair. i put in writing we're happy to go to conference.pen but you've got open the government. this isth unfair just like the e five soldiers killed. so open the government, let usyr pay our bills, we'll negotiateny on anything you want to negotiate with.ast two he cannot as president of the united states negotiate on coury theying the bills of thi country, country, the debt ceiling. he has -- and i and i think there a tre senatorh over here erthat he has sat dowd and talked to individually and t

groups to talk about a budgeterr deal. there were many conversations in the oval office i attendedg talking about a budget deal. he is putting in writing thing he would be willing to do but quite frankly our base is not excited about. he still wait forking the firstt sentence from the people he invd invited to dinner and met with first sentence is to what they're willing to do. as said earlier -- i'm sorryd late last week, by barber and a ed, former chair of the national republican party, republican --n they said this. this, not me. -- ther is there is a time now whenave republicans have to start beingr for something. agast not against everything.i don coe i so don't come here to argueero and badger people.

senator murray will deliver the parennation in -- presentation in a little bit. we knowwe how hard she's worked. she hassh a respectable democras and republicans. but i i are pete when thehen speaker said he wanted to go t conference last week, we said, good, we'll do that. i'm not minding i'm not a over one-man show over here.thing wih i clear everything with my withe caucus before i go marching off.e so we, i repeat.re r we are ready to go to conferencr as soon as the speak reopens th. government and remove the threat of people. let open government and live up

to the obligations as a country. to that end, i'll introduce a bill on allowing the united states to pay the bills with no strings attached. i'll do it later today and start so the-called rule 14 process. we may have our differences, democrats and republicans, but we should not hold a full, faith, and credit of this great country hostage. i'm at the later time senator bacchus will talk. i hope repretties on the senate floor what he told us in the caucus we just -- completed. great nations aren't guaranteed greatness. there have been books written about it. he'll talk about one author. famous author, who recently wrote a book about how great nations have to have expectations. we're great today that doesn't mean we're going to be forever. how is the country to look to the world community if we no

longer have the full, faith, and credit of the united states meaning anything. i hope question get republican cooperation to move the bill quickly and the debt ceiling. it not it could take us right up to the deadline one day before. i'm optimistic, madam president. my republican colleagues here in the senate will filibuster this bill. i'm cynical by nature. -- [inaudible] as those that are optimistic. i'm sure we have ongoing issues maybes optimistic about everything. i'm cynical about everything. i'm optimistic even though against my nature that republicans are not going hold the full, faith, and credit of the united hostage. i hope i'm right. we need reopen the federal government now not ten minutes before the debt ceiling is gone. we need get back to the business

of protecting american families. back to the job of legislative. we're not doing anything in here anymore. this is our job to legislate. t always been a our job. open the government, pay our bills, let's negotiate. it's my understanding, miami president, consent agreement has been cleared. we'll hear from the republican leader, we'll hear, at this time, from senator mccain for 15 minutes followed by senators durbin, schumer, murray -- [inaudible] ivity told -- i was told i could get it. so i'm offering it. i ask consent. >> is there objection? >> consent. i asked consent that senator mcconnell be recognized. and consent for him. he has time under the -- following his statement. i ask consent that senator mccain be recognized for 15

minute and senator durbin for 10, sure her for 10, murray for 10. >> is there objection? >> madam president? >> the republican. >> i would ask the distinguished majority leader if modifying the con sent request if we can alternate across the aisle with the modification. i have no objection. >> no. but after we get it out of the way, you mean? >> madam president, the majority leader asked for us a number of democratic senators to speak without intervening speeches or remarks by republicans. all i'm suggesting is after he -- [inaudible conversations] i. >> say foy my friend. >> and after senator mccain speaks and a democrat speaks that a republican gets to speak and so forth. >> madam president, to my friend, three democrats, two republicans that doesn't sound too outrageous to me. >> i object. >> objection is -- >> okay.

following senator -- i'll call upon senator -- >> miami president. the republican leader? >> the appreciate the comment of my good friend the majority leader. i might say; however, that as much as i appreciate his comments all of us the real challenge is his relationship with the house and whether or not we can begin the discussion process. nobody is happy with the government shut down certainly not anybody on this side and not anybody on the other side. i would remind everybody on both sides of the they'll democratic senators have said repeatedly obamacare is the law of the land and basically we should get used to it.

we have suggested various modifications. some of which enjoy bipartisan support. but obviously so far that is not something our friend on the other side are willing to do. but let me also point tout all of you that the budget control act is also the law of the land. it was negotiated on a bipartisan basis, signed bit president of the united, and the budget control act is the law of the land. when my good friend, the majority leader, said he was negotiating with the house over the cr level, my view was that it's not a negotiation. that was current law. passed on a bipartisan basis, signed by the president of the united states. current law. so i think i can pretty safely say that nobody on this side believes that we ought to

revisit a law that is reduced government spending for two years in a row for the first time since the korean war. at the time when we have a debt the size of our economy which makes it look like a western european country. if we go to in to whatever discussions we end up having to solve the shut down problem, i would say to my friend on the other side, revisiting a law negotiated by the president passed on a bipartisan basis that is actually reducing government spend. ought not to be a part of the final outcome. but talk we should. the american people have given us divided government. and when you have divided government, it means so you to talk to each other. this is not 2009 and 2010 when our friends on the other side had a total hammer lock on all

the government. we now have divided government. it means we have to talk to each other and get to an outcome. and i think it's far past time to get that done. and i hope given where we are today that there's adequate incentive to get those talks started principally between the majority leader and the speaker to get us the outcome that we all want. and to get us there soon. but let me just conclude by saying the budget control act is the law of the land. if you believe in reducing government spending, it is working. my members and the american people think reducing government spending is a good idea so we have a law in place that is achieving those kinds of

results. that's not something at the time when we have a debt the size of our economy we ought to lightly walk away from. so, mr. president, i hope my good friend, the majority leader, will introduce talking to us which we appreciate. i talked to the speaker because that's how we resolve this crisis. i yield the floor. >> madam president. >> the assistant majority leader. >> madam president, since the beginning of this great nation, nation,1,948 men and women have servedded in the united states senate. the service is a singular honor and carries with it an important responsibility. james madison said, quote, the use of the senate is to consistent in its proceeding with more system, and with more wisdom than the popular branch. throughout our history, it was

this senate many times in this very room that took on the most difficult challenges facing america. the creation of a federal judiciary, the ablation of slavery, the decisions to go to war, and the advancement of civil rights. each of those moments, skeptics questioned whether there were senators capable of resisting political pressure and whether there were senators prepared to lead divided nation. my colleagues, this is our moment. this is our chance. our chance to bring this nation back from the precedence. we should agree to restore the functions of government not in a piecemeal fashion, but in an orderly process befitting a great nation. we should spare america's workers and businesses the tragic consequences of a first-ever default on our

nation's debt. we should restore the time-honored process of legislating. legislating by adopting a bipartisan budget with the house. by considering spending bills on the floor of the chamber and passing appropriation bills in an orderly process, we can vote today, this afternoon, to go to conference on the budget and begin to resolve our differences with the house. if we fail, we know that we will diminish this great body and our great nation. a nation which we have taken solemn oath to serve and protect. so let's agree to restore the functions of the government. all of it. i've spoken with my of my colleagues and friends, they are my friends on the republican side of the aisle, we share their frustration on the current issue. each one of you has said to me we have to bring the impasse to an end. waiting for the house of

representatives to save us is beneath the united states senate. we have our own responsibility and our own opportunity. we can come up with bipartisan senate solutions. we can show the house of representatives the path to end this crisis. why are we waiting for them to show us? let begin to restore the confidence of the american people in this constitution, in the united states senate. we can fund the government, he go to conference on a budget, we can extend our debt authority. i see my friend senator mccain on the floor, i know he's going speak in a moment. over the last year i have seen moments in the senate where we have defieded our cynics and critics. our successful bipartisan effort to pass a comprehensive immigration bill, an historic farm bill with far reaching reform, and bipartisan extension of the student loan program. we came together and found

common ground. we lead as the united states senate. now we need to summon the political courage and purpose to find a bipartisan way to meet this challenge. i know, that it won't be easy, but i know that we are up to the job. i know, that we have an opportunity here that comes once perhaps in a political lifetime. but i want to say this; what we're dealing with in the senate is not just another political dust step. this confrontation is of historic proportion. let us not wait on the senate to -- pardon me, on the house to find a solution. it is our responsibility as elective member of the senate to find the solution. and the solution, i think, is clear, summon the political courage and the sense of purpose. it comes down us in the united states senate and throughout our nation's history and always has. i yield the floor. >> madam president? >> the majority leader.

>> order now before the senate is ten minutes each. sky -- ask consent that senator mccain be recognized for 15 minutes. everyone else on the order of ten minutes. >> is there objection. >> the senator from arizona. >> i would ask unanimous consent if we can return to the normal one side then the other side as far as speakers are concerned. >> is there objection? >> that's our plan. >> without objection. senator from arizona? >> my colleague bring your attention to two events today that i think deserve our attention. the first one is a story entitled "grand canyon food shortage turns dire." a saint mary's food bank delivered food boxes to grand canyon.

the federal shut down strands thousand of employees inside the park without work and pay. grand canyon -- thousands -- people. inside the park without food or pay. the great nation we're having have charities deliver food to people who are trapped in the grand canyon. and also, today show down -- shut downout rage military death benefits denied to families of fallen troops. you know, at least five families of u.s. military members killed during in afghanistan over the weekend were given a double whammy by federal officials. not only have your loved ones died, due to the government shut down, you won't receive a death benefit. you know, we joke about being 12

brpt or 11% and a line i use all the time. we are down to blood relatives and page staffers. shouldn't we as a body, republican and democracy, no matter who we are. shouldn't we be embarrassed about this? shouldn't we be ashamed? what do the american people think when they see that death benefit of those who served and sacrificed in the most honorable way are not even their fames -- their families are not even eligible for death benefits. i'm ashamed. i'm embarrassed. all of us should be. and the list goes on and on of innocent people, americans, who have fallen victim to their reality that we can't sit down

and talk like grown-ups and address this issue. i'm not going to take the floor 15 minutes here because i, frankly, get a little bit emotional. but we started out with a false premise here on this side of the aisle. it was, somehow, we were going repeal obamacare. that is after 25 dais -- days of debate including up until christmas eve morning fighting against obamacare. that's after a 2012 election where i traveled this country with passion. the first thing saying the first thing we do when romney is president of the united states repeal and replace obamacare and the american people spoke. so somehow to think that we're going to repeal obamacare, which would have required 67 republican votes, of course, was a false premise, and i think it

can the american people a great disservice by convincing them that somehow we could. and now 70% of the american people, according to a "washington post" poem this -- poll, disapprove of republicans. but they disapprove of democrats as well. they disapprove of the president of the united states as well. meanwhile, the chinese, great role model of democracy, are now criticizing us because of a looming failure where the american government to pay its debts of domestic and abroad. i say to my friend, the majority leader, he is my friend. we use that word with great abandon around here. but he and i have known each other now for 30 years. let's find a way to allow the adversary, i ask my good friend from utah, who is a history major, in the words of abraham

lincoln. charity toward all, malice toward none. let find a way out. i don't care if it's appointing people. informal conversations that we've been having back and forth. there should be a way out of both of these dead ends we're in. how is this going end? we know how it's going end. we know how it's going end. sooner or later, the government will resume the functions. sooner or later we will raise the debt limit. the question is how do we get there? if there's anybody who disagrees we're not going to reach that point, i would like to hear from them. so why don't we do this cub -- sooner rather than later? and why doesn't the senate lead? i have great respect for the other side of the capitol, but i understand the contradictions that are there and the difficulty the speaker has. i'm in great sympathy there.

why don't we get together, why don't we sit down and -- look, with this body voted 70 to 29, i think it was, to repeal the medical device tax. my colleagues want to renounce that vote they took on the budget? why don't we use that as one of the areas where we could reach a agreement? what about the issue out there the american people believe we are under a different health care system than they are and ours is a better deal than theirs? there's a number of issues that we could sit down and negotiate with -- within an hour if we will stop -- stop attacking each other and treat people with integrity and honor. all i can say is, let's start this afternoon. i don't care who it is or how it's shaped, but let's sit down and get out of this so these

families whose loved ones just died. just chid, will receive the benefits at least that will give them some comfort and solace in this terrible hour of tragedy. mr. president, i yield. >> mr. president, i want to thank the majority leader for bringing to the attention of this body the tragedy of those servicemen who lost their lives, and the fact that unfortunately they had been notified improperly, i believe, they will not need -- their families will not be being paid the tax-free death gratuity they are entitled under law. this is wrong. and remember, this body agrees this is wrong. every republican agrees it's wrong. i'm confident every democrat agrees it's wrong as well. and indeed the way that the announcement was made was highly troubling. the department of defense

notified our military families via twitter that those servicemembers who die in battle will not be paid their tax-free death gratuities due to the partial federal government shut down. i think this is yet another pattern that we have seen distressingly from the obama administration of politicalizing the shut down and playing partisan games to maximize the pain inflingted on the americans. it's part and parcel barricading the world war ii memorial, barricading the parking lot at mount vernon. even though it's privately operated. ..

the legislation that this body would you pass would immediately to take the families of those soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines whose lives were tragically taken to take them off the table and say regardless of what happens in a government shutdown we are going to stand by the men and women fighting for america and indeed the house of representatives has to introduce a bipartisan bill to immediately fund death gratuity

payments. when that bill is passed the senate should pass that bill immediately. the pentagon should abandon this policy to begin with and simply follow the law that was passed but if they don't i call upon all 100 senators to come together to listen to the majority leader who spoke powerfully about the need to stand by our servicemen and women whose lives were tragically taken. when the house passes that bill which i'm confident it will do so with considerable speed i would call upon every senator to listen to the majority leader's call and to stand with our servicemen and women. but there is something else we can do right here today to demonstrate that this body doesn't have to be locked in partisan gridlock to demonstrate the bipartisan cooperation as possible and to demonstrate that our veterans are truly not the subject of partisan dispute but are separate and deserve to be

treated fairly, deserve to have the commitments and promises we made to our veterans honored. and that is this body can stop blocking the legislation that the house of representatives has already passed bipartisan legislation to fund the va and funds disability payments so we don't hold them hostage to its happening in the government. accordingly mr. president i ask unanimous consent at the center proceed to consideration of h.j. res. 72 and the continuing appropriation for veterans benefits for fiscal year 2014 that the measure be read three times in past and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. >> mr. president. deserving the right to object. >> the majority leader. >> mr. president the distinguished senator from texas have stated again what has

already been talked about here a lot and that is a piecemeal approach to funding our government. as do most americans believe democrats support the purpose of this bill to fund the veterans administration but there is no reason for us to have to choose between this important government functions, disease control, nih, poor children workplace safety and protecting the environment. we do all these things with the house republican leadership would allow the house to vote on the senate passed a measure that everyone knows the votes are there. our position is simple. open the government pay our bills and will be happy to negotiate about anything. we need to in this government shutdown. now mr. president first of all my friend talks about these five

families who are in bereavement and that is an understatement. five sons, husbands, friends that were killed over the weekend. providing the funding that my friend requests would not enable the dod to paid death the refund for the families. of the 17 members five over the weekend and others dying that have given their lives since the shutdown began on october 1. 17. this is but one example of how the senate protects the efforts to fund the government on a piecemeal basis doesn't work. if the speaker allowed to the house passage cynic continuing resolution that could pay the death gratuity benefits.

the junior senator from texas who is concern for americans veterans. the consent request addresses only some of the things that the the american people through their government have permitted permitted -- committed to help veterans. let me quote from the remarks of the senator from connecticut senator murphy. he gave these remarks on the third of october and here's exactly what he said. i would note that i believe the resolution of senators offering and suggesting the past provides only partial funding for the va. there's no funding for the national cemeteries no funding for the board of veterans appeals or constructing va hospitals and clinics has no funding action to operate the system to continue going forward mr. president there couldn't be a better example of why we are involved in this. why couldn't we just open the government? veterans benefits have our

former colleague former senator from georgia max clelland, a decorated disabled american veteran who runs the cemeteries do his job. he can't do that now. let's get it all over with. let's have the nih go forward. let's have the centers for disease control for parks service. we can't have this piecemeal approach because you wind up with the same situation which we have now found her cells. we want to do something or veterans that doesn't take care of much of what the veterans need. mr. president had asked that my friends amendment be modified that the joint resolution as amended be read the third time and passed and the motion to reconsider the made and laid on the table with no intervention or debate. this amendment has passed the senate has a clean continuing resolution for the entire government can't do everything. if veterans, bears cemeteries,

their benefits, that everything and it's something that is over in the house and the support of the majority of the house of representatives so i would ask my friend to really surprise the world, surprise the country and let's say i agree modify it. let's fund the government and mr. president as we have said and i have said everyone listen. we are happy when the government is open and we can pay our bills to sit down and talk about anything they want to talk about. it doesn't matter, no restrictions. >> the senate shall modify the request. >> mr. president reserving the right to reject. the right to object. i would ask unanimous consent that the majority leader and i'd be able to engage in a colloquy so that we may perhaps be able to as the majority leader said surprised the world by finding

some avenues of bipartisan cooperation. >> mr. president. >> is there objection? >> mr. president i am happy to sit down and talk to the senator come to his office or my office. the point we have right here today is that we need the government open and with all due respect to my friend a junior senator from texas, i want to say this in the most respectful way. he and i with the dialog back here on the senate floor, we are not going to work this out. i have asked that the senate open so that everyone can have benefits. the veterans -- the measure he proposes leaves many veterans out in the cold, out in the cold including the families of 17 of our servicemembers families who were

killed since this came into effect. mr. president we will go and i object to his proposal. i assume he will object to mind and we will go through 10 minutes per person to see what happens but i'm happy to sit down and talk to the president in my office or his office anyplace he suggests privately or publicly. >> the objection is heard. >> mr. president. >> will be senator modify his request? >> mr. senator -- mr. president a clarification. we are we able to engage in the colloquy? >> the senator is correct on that. back to the normal order of 10 minutes on each side. is there objection to the modified request? >> mr. president reserving the right to object i will note with regret that the majority leader objected to engaging in a discussion to engaging in

negotiations here on the senate floor. i think that is unfortunate so i will promulgate the questions i would have asked him directly and he may choose whether or not he wishes to answer them. the majority leader ran from comments that senator murphy made on the senate floor suggesting that the house bill funding the va was not broad enough trade i would note in my office we have drafted legislation that would fund the va in its entirety and of his objection is that it's not right enough i will readily offer that i will happily work with the majority leader to fund every bit of the va as it is right now today and we could introduce that bill. indeed i would be happy to have it labeled the read cruz bell and to give authorship to the majority leader. >> with the senator yield for a question? >> i would be happy to heal for question. >> with a senator be willing to take care of the 560,000 veterans many of now who have been furloughed?

>> i thank my friend from illinois from that question and indeed i enthusiastically support the proposal with the house unanimously passed to get backpay to federal workers and indeed i would ask a question of the minority assistant minority leader whether the senate will even vote on that proposal because they are eight bills funding the federal government that are sitting on the majority leader's desk and we have not been allowed to vote on any of them. >> if the senator from texas is asking a question i would respond through the chair that we have given the senator from texas ample opportunity to completely fund the government including all the veterans who work for the federal government at all of the functions of the federal government so we don't run into the embarrassment of these poor families and their bereavement being denied the most basic benefits that are government gives. he is a chance to do that over and over again and i believe he has declined that opportunity so

he bears some responsibility for the unfortunate circumstances we face. >> mr. president i would note the fact that there are some issues on which we have partisan disagreements does not mean there are not other issues on which we can come together great. >> with the senator yield for a question? >> i'm happy to yield to my friend for a question. >> thank you very much. through you to the senator of texas i'm wondering if your motion includes the full funding of the va medical system which is a completely government-run government controlled health care system? >> i thank my friend for that question. as i said i would readily support legislation fully funding the va because the va is a vital government system. it is a promise we have made and it is unrelated to obamacare. my principle complaint this past week has been that the

democratic majority in this body is holding programs unrelated to obamacare hostage in order to force obamacare in everyone. we agreed for active duty military. >> mccauley just so i'm clear mr. president if i might just to clarify so that i understand because the senator from texas has in fact made the ending of a their competitive health care system for up to 30 million americans part of what he wants to stop, i just wanted to be clear that the fully government-funded government-run with government.year's system through the veterans administration is something that you are advocating that we continue to fund through these central government? >> i thank my friend from michigan for that question and get again the answer is yes. i believe we should fully fund the va and the two questions that i would promulgate --

>> is there objection to the modified request? >> reserving the right to object. >> majority leader. is there objection to the modified request? >> the majority leader seems not to want to engage in debate so i have checked and i hope that the majority leader -- >> regular order. >> objection for a modified request. is there an objection to the original request? >> i object. we have a number of people that are wishing to speak and they should be able to do that. i say as nicely as i can the problem we have here is what people are saying like my friend from texas. little bits and pieces of government. it won't work. we have got to open the government. mr. president until that happens

we have to open the government. we have to make sure we pay our debts and then we will negotiate. i know he is fixed on obamacare. we know that but the problem is mr. president that is not going to change and so i would hope that we can do what needs to be done. open the government. make sure that we pay our bills and then we can negotiate. >> mr. president we are now in the eighth day of the completely unnecessary and partial government shutdown. last week it was official that the white house said they are winning the shutdown debate and that they are not concerned about how long the shutdown lasts. well mr. president there may be folks at the white house democrats who are content with the current situation but republicans want to find a solution to open up the

government. republicans have offered multiple solutions to fund the government and will continue to find common groundwork to find common ground while finding obamacare relief for middle-class americans. middle-class americans deserve deserve -- given themselves in big business. big senate democrats have the opportunity to get the same relief of obamacare that present a bomb has given to big business. we believe mr. president this is an issue of basic fairness. we believe this law should be delayed matches for big businesses and not just for their favored constituencies but for all americans because of the harmful impact that has happened. there is bipartisan support for giving individuals and families relief. a colleague of ours on the other side of the aisle is senate democrat recently said a delay for individuals with the reasonable and sensible and there've been a number of votes posts in the house were democrats have voted with republicans in support of providing that delay to

middle-class americans. mr. president i would say in regard to where we are right now that we have got a near term issue and a slightly longer term issue but the near term issue is we have got an awful lot of folks increasingly concerned about the impact of the government shutdown is having on people across this country. the house of representatives has passed now nine bills that have been sent to the senate that are sitting here at the desk that would provide funding for some of these programs for some of these services that impact people across this country that could be picked up today and passed by unanimous consent. by the way mr. president many of those passed with bipartisan support as recently as saturday. the house passed the house passed a bill that would provide backpay for federal workers. there were 189 democrats in the house of representatives that voted in support of that bill. there have been up to 57 democrats in the house of representatives who have voted to give pay to our national guard and reserve the same thing

we have done for active duty military. we voted to provide relief to our national parks so they can open again. they have voted to provide funding for national institutes of health so those lifesaving medicines can continue to be provided. we voted to provide funding for fema so that fema can respond to the natural disasters occurring across the country. mr. president there are nine bills here sitting at the desk in the senate to be picked up and passed by unanimous consent. they wouldn't be a single republican that i know know that would be rejected know of that would reject any of those measures being passed that would provide funding and relief and support for the services and the programs that impact people across the country. the house may pick up a couple of more bills today. there would be one of funds had start so that would be the tenth will sitting at the desk of united states senate. they're going to pass a bill that includes -- something important to the

people i represented south dakota to make sure that is funded. that will be the 11th bill setting up the desk in the united states senate awaiting action in all of of which as i said earlier would be passed by unanimous consent. he wouldn't have a single republican that i know of who would oppose to any of those being moved so it's not a question mr. president of addressing the funding concerns and making sure that the programs and services that impact people across this country are being funded. that can be done. that is being done and it's been done by the house. those that moved to the united states senate all that is necessary is for the majority leader to come over and pick it up and ask unanimous consent to pass it and those things of the past. i see the near term issue as being a one that is easy to solve and all that -- it entails is for the leadership in the united states senate to pick up those bills and passed them. the other issue i mentioned is a little bit longer term but not much because it's mine this way.

we are going to hit the debt limit which means united states of america will no longer have borrowing authority. we will hit up against the amount that we are able to borrow on our credit card to fund the services of our government. there is a request obviously to increase the debt limit to allow the federal government to borrow more money. i expect and i've had private conversations with members of the administration's team that they would like to see a debt limit increase that would take us through the next election through november of 2014. to do that you'd be looking at somewhere in the trillion dollar range. it strikes me at lisa and i pick up something supported by the american people that if you're going to have a debate about increasing the debt limit you ought to do something about the debt. i think that's a sensible position to take a bite 2-1 margin polls show the american people believe if you're going to raise the debt limit you ought to address the debt. what we are simply saying

mr. president is let's sit down and have a discussion about things that we can do that would put us on a different fiscal charge of grief for this country on a more sustainable fiscal path that won't settle trillions of dollars of additional debt. so that issue is looming out there not very far away. we don't have a lot of time to do with that. it's not as i said as immediate as the government shutdown which can be addressed here by the majority in united states senate but the debt limit is going to require i think oath parties here in congress and the president and his team to get together and figure out what it is that we can do that would not only raise the debt limit the ceiling the amount that we can borrow but address the underlyinunderlyin g fundamental problem and that is the fact that we have got a 17 trillion-dollar debt. there has been a lot said about

things that various senators have said in the past here on the floor in the course of these various debates that we have had about debt limit increase the sum i wanted to point out that the president of the united states president obama when he was here in 2006 said that raising the debt limit is a failure of leadership. it's a failure of leadership describing it as unpatriotic. unpatriotic, failure of leadership to raise the debt limit. now he is saying that he wants a clean -- no negotiation period. no negotiation on the debt limit. at the time when he said that not raising the debt limit was a leadership failure the total federal debt was $8.3 trillion. today at 16.8, $16.9 trillion of the federal debt literally is double what it was when the president said back in 2006 as a

member of this chamber and the united states senate that raising the debt limit would be a failure of leadership. now it's twice that amount. now we are over going on $17 trillion. so it seems to me that the president of the united states who described raising the debt limit in 2006 when the debt was half what it is today as a leadership failure ought to be willing to exercise leadership to engage himself in the process so would allow us to sit down and talk about what we can do to get this debt under control. there are a series of spending reforms that have been poured forward by many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle that would deal with the out-of-control spending particularly what we call the mandatory spending part of the budget the entitlement programs that currently are on an unsustainable path to try to get that spending under control and there are a number of other

things that have been proposed that frankly would be good for the economy. one of the best ways to get our fiscal house in order is to get the economy growing and expanding freedom and the economy is growing and expanding more people are working and more people are investing. more people are paying taxes. government revenues go up so we have an economy that's growing at three to 4% instead of an economy that's growing at one to 2% which is what we have today. a dramatic increase in the amount of tax revenue comes into the treasury. when you're talking about raising the debt limit one of the things we look at is what can we do in association with that discussion to reduce the debt. one would be to put extended reforms in place in the other would be expand the economy. one of the things that has been proposed to grow the economy is tax reform and i happen to believe and i think a lot of us do that the best thing we can do to get the economy growing at a faster rate is to reform or tax code in a way that makes us more

competitive in the global marketplace. that would mean reducing the tax on business which is the highest in the world. united states has the highest corporate tax rate in the entire world. lowering marginal income tax rates broadening the tax base doing away with many of the loopholes and deductions and preferences in the tax code today that can affect particular constituencies and going to a broader-based tax base would one that has rates for significantly lower marginal rates significasignifica ntly lower than what they are today. think that would dramatically unleash economic growth in this country and get people back to work, to get people paying taxes again and get government revenues up. in the context of raising the debt limit we ought to do something about the debt and as i said that's a fairly straightforward thing. i would suggest mr. president that one of the things that has been put forward here is that we need a clean debt limit increase we can't have any discussion or

negotiation about this. if you look at history it's been the case that many of the big accomplishments if you well when it comes to deficit reduction, when it comes to fiscal plans being put into place occurred in the context of increasing the debt limit. in fact throughout our history going back to 1978 the debt limit has been raised 53 times in those 35 years. of those 53 debt limit increase is 27 or more than half were done around other policy considerations in policy discussions and legislation that was put forward to address issues in many cases to address the out-of-control spending and debt that we have in this country. and so for 35 years now more than half have involved discussion of other matters. in fact some of the biggest accomplishments we can point to in the history of the last 30 years occurred at a time when you had both sides trying to figure out a path forward for

dealing with fiscal imbalances that are country face. the gramm-rudman-hollings legislation passed in 1985 the budget ax of 90 and 9397 and more recently in 2011. all of those occurred in the context of the debt limit increase so there is ample precedent in history for doing big things that are good for the country and good for future generations around the debt limit increase. it justifies history to suggest that we cannot come to the table , that we cannot negotiate in the context of a debt limit increase. as i look at these issues that are converging on us now and what they mean for our children and grandchildren for future generations it seems to me mr. president that taking a position that we will not negotiate period which is essentially what the president has said and what has been echoed by the senate majority is not only wrong in terms of what we need to do to fix the debt

and get our country on a more sustainable fiscal path but it's also completely at odds with what we know to be the case throughout our history. mr. president we can do better by the american people. we should do better by the american people. it requires leadership. it requires leadership and when the president of united states when he was senator obama in 2006 said at that time that raising the debt limit would be a leadership failure and described it as unpatriotic. here we are at this many years later but double the amount of debt that we were back when he made that statement. this situation where an today cries out for leadership mr. president. it cries out for leadership from the president for most of us here in congress. i hope we can find a way to get together to sit down to negotiate to come up with solutions that are good for the future of this country that would deal not just with raising

the darling limit so we can borrow more money to fund government but to address the underlying problem and that is the fact that we have 17 trillion-dollar debt that continues to grow at 600, $700 billion a year. we continue to have a chronically high unemployment rate. we continue to have a labor horse a workforce that is historically low levels in other words the number of people working today as a percentage of those who could work is at the lowest level that it's been in 35 years. we have a sluggish economy that's growing at the one to 2% range. we have to take him pay for most americans that has gone down since the president took office by $3700. we need to get middle-class americans back to work, come middle-class americans earning more in being able to provide for their families increasing family household income to take him pay in this country and the way to do that is to get the economy growing and expanding it