the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain retired admiral barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: sovereign god, creator and sustainer of us all, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. thank you for your faithfulness, even while we are unfaithful. lead our lawmakers this day so they may work in a way

that your name is honored. point out to them the road they should follow, as you give them the wisdom and courage to do their duty. help them not to be dominated by what they have been rather than by what they could become. may they never forget their accountability to you as servants and stewards of your purposes. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands,

one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 211, the debt limit legislation. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to consideration of calendar number 211, a bill to ensure the complete and timely payment of the obligations of the united states government until december 31, 2014. mr. reid: mr. president, the senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. there are productive negotiations going on with the republican leader. i am confident we will be able to reach a comprehensive agreement this week in time to avert a catastrophic default on the nation's bills.

the republican leader and i will keep our members informed as to how the negotiations are going. i express my appreciation to everyone for their patience. would the chair announce the business of the day. the speaker pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. also under the previous order, senators are permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. leahy: mr. president, the distinguished presiding officer is, like myself, a new

englander, and knows what fall is like in our part of the country. and late last month, i -- i was fortunate to enjoy some of the most lovely settings that can be found anywhere, any time as vermont's hillsides were painted orange and yellow and red by pink fall colors against powder blue skies. vermonters love these sublime few weeks. we happily welcome visitors from around the united states. actually, we welcome visitors from around the world. it's interesting to walk down the streets of some of our cities and just hear several different languages being spoken as visitors come here. they share the experience and they hike and they bike and they fish and they hunt on our extensive conserved natural areas.

but these best of times have become the worst of times as vermonters and visitors alike have found closed signs at our favorite natural areas due to the tea party shutdown of the federal government. the quick -- the window is quickly closing in for vermont for the fish and wildlife biologists and natural forest rangers have work that must be done before snow flies. that's -- we know how the washington can close down for an inch or two of snow. we're talking about 10, 15, 20 inches of snow. these people, the fish and wildlife biologists, national forest rangers, their schedules are dictated by the changing seasons, the by logical clocks of nature. now, the house republican leadership has been no more able to undo the law of the land,

which is the affordable care act, and they would be able to slow or stop vermont's changing seasons. insisting on tying a repeal or funding of the affordable care act to reopen the government is doing real and lasting damage to vermont's economy, and natural resources as fall quickly becomes winter. the 26,000-acre national wildlife refuge in vermont's northeast kingdom is among the best upland bird hunting areas in new england. there is plenty of room for everyone. just after the opening of grouse season, the refuge has been forced to hang up a closed sign and lock its gates. this has dealt a blow to the tourism economy of the small towns around the refuge that depend upon these annual visitors and hunters. the national wildlife refuge on the shores of lake champlain is without a doubt the best and

most extensive freshwater duck habitat in new england. huge meadows of wild rice attract thousands of migrated waterfowl. legions of birdwatchers and hunters. but with the fall migrations in full swing, this national wildlife refuge hung up a closed sign and locked its gates for the start of the fall hunting season. hikers looking for the best panoramic views of vermont's fall colors walk the appalachian trail. and vermont's long trail which run together up the spine of the green mountains through the 400,000-acre green mountain national forest. through hikers, weekenders, day trippers spread out to enjoy hundreds of miles of trails, but only a skeleton crew of forest rangers and fire crew remain on the job. visitor centers, rest rooms are

closed, even volunteer workers have been pulled from the trail and forced to stop shelter work and trash collections at trail heads because of the tea party shutdown. these may not seem like huge matters in the national scheme of things, but for a state of 600,000 people, they are major, and because of the people who work very hard, they are republicans, democrats, independents, their livelihood are being devastateed but also the things that we cherish the most about our state are being denied to people who want to come and see it. woodstock, vermont, the quintessential new england village that holds to the marsh billings rockefeller national historic park. the center of the park is the oldest sustainably managed forest in the united states.

a beautiful forest. oldest sustainably managed forest in the united states. but visitors have been denied access to that forest in all its fall glory. long-planned events at the park have been canceled. the gates have been locked. certainly, there are many more places for visitors to enjoy spending a wonderful picture-perfect season. i'm told by my friends and neighbors who live near our home in vermont, it's been absolutely gorgeous. i, as much as i love all my colleagues, enjoy being with them, i would much rather be up there, seeing the same view they are. but the closing of our federal lands just as hunting season begins the hillside shine is depriving americans from experiencing the country's natural heritage. it's causing serious economic

damage to the small towns, the innkeepers, the guides who depend upon these areas for their living. foreign tourists increasingly point to our economy and their tour operators are confused and disappointed by these outcomes. they say this sort of thing has never happened in our country. you're the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth. why are you doing this? other conservation work is being curtailed as well. actually in ways that are likely to do lasting damage. control of parasitic sea prey on lake champlain has to be accomplished each fall to protect threatened species. there is a small window before these parasites migrate from the rivers to the lake, and that window is fast closing. it's going to be missed if u.s. fish and wildlife service bialiologists remain on furlough.

if these fall treatments do not take place, thousands of young sea lamprey will be allowed to reach the lake where they are immune to treatment. they live for years, they devastate the fisheries, they will undo years of work. it will waste millions of dollars, taxpayer dollars that have been invested in this program will be wasted by a small group of radical obstructionists run out to jump in front of the cameras and say things that make no sense at all. and in vermont and across the country, there is a lot of work that needs to take place on the federal land before winter snows sweep in. snowmobiling is very popular among my constituents. it's a mainstay during our winter economy. but fall is the time that the trails are graded and bridges repaired. our most important trail networks are on federal lands. important maintenance is being

delayed or deferred in some cases due to the tea party shutdown. trails are not open before the snow flies, the devastating impact on tourism and local communities is going to last all winter long. and it's going to impact people who go -- want to go to work every day, who are hard-working, honest, good people who can't understand what is happening here in washington, nor can i. fall in vermont is the most glorious season. it's my favorite one. we welcome visitors. we get outdoors ourselves. we are busy preparing for the long winter to come. our hardworking federal partners are proud of the work they do in these federal lands, and they know that this manufactured tea party crisis is causing real and lasting damage to our natural resources in the vermont economy. and national parks and refuges in vermont are not the only places closed for business. according to a coalition of

national park service retirees, every day that the federal government is shuttered costs the park service nearly a half a million dollars in lost collections nationwide, and the impact is even greater for the surrounding communities. they are losing $76 million per day in visitor spending. some in the tea party actually have the arrogance to go on television and argue that shutting down the federal government is saving us money. the truth is just the opposite. it's costing every one of us taxpayers money. it's costing everybody in the private sector huge amounts of money. and now as we reach day 15 of the tea party shutdown, the park service has been denied over $6 million in lost revenues, but local communities -- these are not government workers, but local communities, these are honest, hardworking men and women. they have lost over $1 billion.

that's why several states have chosen to foot the bill to reopen a handful of national parks to stop further losses to the local economies. the cost from shutting down the government paired with the lost revenue, that's keeping us in the red. i'd say to this small group of obstructionists, stop wasting time. put our government back to work. put our government back to work. show the rest of the world that we really are the great country we know we are. i want to get back to work for vermonters but we owe it to our constituents to resolve this now. start making real decisions about our future. speaker boehner should call up the senate continuing resolution for a vote. it would receive bipartisan support. we put an end to this pointless tea party shutdown, we'd reopen our federal lands, we'd be supporting our local economies.

there's more i could say, mr. president, and i will, but i applaud majority leader reid for working with the republican leader, senator mcconnell. i applaud them for being what grownups should be and trying to bring us back and try to bring our government back and showing what a great country we are. so we don't have countries like china saying, oh, we should not rely on american currency. they're not reliable people. we're getting this all over the world. well, americans are not reliable. what damage these tea party obstructionists are doing to our great country. we ask our military to be serving around the world protecting us and maybe they'll get paid, but a lot of the support services for them, the v.a. and whatnot, are being closed down.

we do that, we'll -- they'll have rallies and say, oh, this great nation, we have to do this and that. the same people who shut down the government are saying it's terrible the government is shut down. i think the american people can see through that. i don't care what party you belong to or who you are with the exception of the small group, people know this country has to be open so it can work, can work for all of us, can project an image of strength and stability throughout the world and can do the things that made us great in the past and will keep making us great in the future. not this shabby, shabby exercise. mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: mr. president, two weeks the government has been shut down. it's hard to imagine. seems a lot long foryou're sitting here midst of this

maelstrom. two weeks since the junior senator from texas took the floor for 21 hours 4e8d the floor, giving a speech calling for the end of obamacare as we know it. in that period of time we've learned a lot about ourselves, we've learned a lot about this country. i think about the 800,000 federal employees furloughed, many of whom struggle to get by and now have no paycheck coming in. it's a hardship, totally unnecessary. a hardship that was imposed on them because there was a strategy, a political strategy, political gamesmanship that said, well, we can sacrifice the well-being of those federal employees and their families to make our political point. it turns out that they -- they t further. they went further in suggesting that they are going to cut off

the benefits that these government agencies offered. at this point in time, we've come to learn what that means. people who were turned away from national institutes of health, children, some 30 children with cancer turned away because that agency is closed down. families that were notified that they'd lost a loved one in battle and were denied the basic benefits we provided to all families facing that terrible grief. the lack of food safety inspections when salmonella outbreaks were being reported around the country. the list just goes on and on and on. john f. kennedy wrote a book called "profiles in courage" and talked about those in public service who showed extraordinary courage. mr. president, i would suggest it takes no courage whatsoever

to hurt 800,000 innocent federal employees. it takes no courage whatsoever to deny the basic benefits of government to thousands, maybe even millions of american people. i think it's political cowardice. and sadly, it has gron on for two straight weeks. the house did some curious thing where there where they voted to say but we will pay these employees. i had a friend of mine back in edwardsville, illinois, sent me an email, let me get this straight, they closed down the government, turned the employees away, don't have to come to work but promised to pay them. what is going on in washington? what are you people thinking? i can't defend it, i wouldn't even try. it's an evidence of the kind of abandonment of reason which has become the hallmark of some members of congress. and what the american people think, well, they're not happy

with any of us, let's get it straight. but when it comes to the responsibility for this madness, they've said it's on the other side of the aisle, it's their idea. not just the tea party but many who were complicit in this strategy. as if this weren't enough, now in just two days we face for the first time in the history of the united states of america a default on our debt. you might say, well, so what? who cares? what difference would it make? listen to what christine la guard, chief of the international monetary fund said, failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause damage to the u.s. economy and to the global economy as a result of spillover effects. in response to a question about debt prioritization, she said when you're the largest economy in the world, the safe haven in all circumstances as has been the case, you can't go into that creative accounting

business. christine la guard, chief of the international monetary fund. it's an interesting thing in politics. you can always find somebody who will agree with almost almost any point of view. and tea party republicans have rounded up some flat earth economists who say default on the debt is really not a big deal. in fact, i've heard my colleagues some on the floor arguing we have to pick and choose who is going to get paid. you won't even notice. reminds me, mr. president, you were in the house as i was when there was the gingrich shutdown of the government and rush limbaugh and others, they'll shut down the government and no one will notice. they noticed in a hurry. after two weeks they finally reopened the government. this, sadly, is much more grievous and will have terrible consequences for innocent people. if we default on our debt in two days, for the first time in

history, we will have destroyed a global confidence in the u.s. dollar we built up since world war ii, since 1945. right now the u.s. dollar is the most respected and strongest currency in the world, period. bar none. countries far and wide that want to invest in the safest possible investment invest in u.s. treasuries. because they trust our government and its word that it will pay its debts. those who are toying with this possibility of default are putting that at risk. and it isn't just a matter of the views of the world, it's bad enough that we're being lectured to by vladimir putin about responsible governance, vladimir putin lectures to us about being a responsible government, that's bad enough. what is even worse is the impact on ordinary people and their lives. we know what happened when we

went through the last recession. people who had carefully saved for their futures saw the bottom fall out of their savings accounts and their retirement accounts. we run that very same risk if we default on this debt again. we run that very same risk. and many hardworking families and people who have scrimped and saved for college educations for their kids, for their own retirement, for their next home, will find they're devastated by this default on our national debt. that is the most reckless and irresponsible single act that we can undertake. they asked a member of the house, a republican member of the house, if yours was the deciding vote on extending the debt ceiling, if it was up to you, one person, to decide to extend the debt ceiling, would you vote for it? he said not unless there were some strings attached. you think to yourself still bargaining right up to the edge of the cliff.

and sadly, if we go over, the pain won't be felt as much by that congressman as it will by working families in illinois and massachusetts. paul stevens is c.e.o., at a banking committee hearing on october 10 he said i also will avoid parsing the differences between electricityive default or actual default or about whether it's the same as failing to redeem a treasury bill. all such discussion misses the point mr. stevens said. the united states like any other debtor must maintain the confidence of its credit creditors or risk the consequences. once the treasury department has exercised the option to delay payments investors will learn a lesson that cannot and will not be unlearned even after all delayed payments have made good, that lesson will be very simple, treasury securities are

no longer as good as cash. they carry a future risk of further missed payments. that risk is a political creation, a bargaining tool by the republicans and it goes too far. gary thomas, president of the senate association of realtors before that same banking committee said an increase in u.s. treasury rates would result in higher mortgage rates. in the event of a default treasury prices would move. historically an increase in mortgage rates of one percentage point reduces home sales by 350 50,000 units and 900,000 jobs. this is a job killing strategy. default on our national debt is a job dilg. kenneth benson from the national markets association, same hearings, said it's important to note treasury securities are a key factor in market operations within the u.s.

treasury market totaling between $1.2 trillion and $1.9 trillion undermining that market would have a deleterious effect on every market participant. as if that weren't bad enough i've received some emails from some friends and the one that sticks in other in my mind was from a friend who doesn't live in my state. he's a man i've come to know, i'm not going to use his name on the floor, i didn't ask his permission to but i can certainly tell his story. he sent his son off to war in iraq. he and his wife took care of his son's wife and little baby while his son went off to fight in that war. and sadly, his son was the victim of an i.e.d. as a result of that terrible incident, his son is quadriplegic and cannot speak. they'd given up on his son in his mid 20's, recommended

putting him in a nursing home and his father i said i just won't let it happen. he took him to a hospital in chicago, a renowned hospital, the rehab institute of chicago, his son made dramatic progress and eventually was able to return home with some limited function, but to enjoy the things in life which make a difference to him. he loves to go hunting. his father picked up a mechanism whereby his son could actually go out, sit in a blind and fire at those ducks and feel like he was back where he was before he went to war. and i can't tell you the love that the mother and father have given to their son, their daughter-in-law, and now their two children. they basically gave up their life and their business and they with the help of a lot of good people in the community built a special home for their son so that he could get around in his motorized wheelchair. i've been down there. it's an a aamazing outpouring of

general rot rostty for this family in north carolina. and they continue to give their entire lives to their son and his wife and kids. he -- he wrote me an email, and he said i hope you're doing well. we see you on c-span. thank you for taking a moment to read about our concern. this concern is about my son. it affects him and thousands of other wounded veterans. we're quite concerned about what we are hearing coming out of the v.a. the thought of the v.a. check not arriving in november has all of us nervous. we're sure this is the feeling in households across the country. we're praying that all the parties in washington soon come to term. after years of war, a sagging economy and now the shutdown, nerves are stretched. i'm writing to you to see if there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel. he says my son and his wife,

after years of working to establish a near-normal life, have to worry about losing what they have worked to return to and enjoy as a near normal life. in writing, he said my mood does not mean to be so down, but as the parent of a family that has been through so much, the thought of this is very heart wrenching. thank you for listening to me. i think of that letter and i think of that family, worried about that v.a. check. an email yesterday, a family worried about whether or not they will receive their social security check. why do we put the american people through this? why do we put families through this? this is totally unnecessary. we need to open this government. we should do it tomorrow morning, period, just open it. we need to bring these people back to work and perform the services they need to perform for this great nation. and we need to make certain that we don't default come thursday. the default would have a negative impact that would have far-reaching consequences beyond

this political battle today. in the years to come, nobody may remember the names of the people involved in this political fight that goes on day after day on capitol hill, but they will remember the failure of the united states congress to pay the nation's debts, to stand up for the full faith and credit of the united states and to maintain our reputation as a leader in the world. that's what's at stake. there is no political victory worth that. i hope that members on both sides will come to their senses. i want to salute our leader, senator harry reid, of nevada. i have been standing near him and by him through this. he has been a stalwart, a courageous and i know exhausted at times, he keeps fighting on. i also want to salute senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky, the republican leader, who over the last several days has played a very active and positive role in trying to resolve this. that is the only way. it is time for the senate, it is time for the senate to show

leadership. it is time for the senate to come together on a bipartisan basis and show the path that takes us out of this political crisis. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. hinrich: i would ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: in the midst of the current crisis, there are some who question the relevance of the government to our overall economy. some have called the current shutdown a slimdown. but in my home state of new mexico, there is no question that this government shutdown has been irresponsible, it's been reckless and it's been absolutely devastating to our economy. new mexico serves the nation in many ways, through our national

labs and our military bases, with federal lands and monuments that host americans from every corner of the nation, and as a result, federal dollars in 2010 were nearly 36% of our state's gross domestic product. this figure includes veterans' benefits and social security, student financial aid. federal dollars go towards grants to help fund state and local health care, transportation, education and housing, and many of us here who have served as either city counselors or mayors, legislators or governors realize the role that federal pass-through dollars play in keeping our states and our municipalities solvent. in new mexico, federal contracts are also critical for our small business community. defense purchases account for almost two-thirds of total procurement spending. we are home to nearly 27,000 federal workers, workers who

want to go back to work, workers who just want to do their jobs. sandia national laboratories and los alamos national laboratories employ an additional 18,000 new mexicans as contractors, and the u.s. department of energy's waste isolation power plant in carlsbad employs a thousand march. that's out of two million people. so it's an understatement to say that shutting down the federal government strikes at the heart of my state's economy. between sequestration furloughs, the shutdown and the current impasse over averting a catastrophic default on the nation's debt, hardworking middle-class families across new mexico are the ones that are saddled with uncertainty and hardship. these manufactured crises have very real consequences for these families. since the shutdown began, i have heard time and again from

constituents who are paying the price for this reckless debacle. they say they feel like the collateral damage in the ongoing ideological battles in washington, d.c. hardworking civil servants dedicated to their jobs and their country have been sent home without pay while many others have to work through the shutdown without a paycheck. yesterday, i spoke with a rio rancho resident named chad diddier, farmer marine and now an air traffic controller in albuquerque. during the shutdown, he has been reporting to work every day to help keep our airspace safe, but he doesn't know when he'll start getting a paycheck again. this comes on the heels of foregoing pay earlier this year due to sequestration and as the father of four young children and the sole breadwinner in his family, he is worried about making rent next month and

making his car payments on time. he is frustrated because he is doing everything that has been asked of him, everything he is supposed to do to take care of his family, to serve his country, but he feels like his government has failed him. last week, because of the shutdown, the national nuclear security administration ordered that los alamos and sandia national labs should be ready to shut down by october 21. katie courcos with the los alamos chamber of commerce told "the los alamos monitor" that the impact of the shutdown at sandia could hit subcontractors twice as hard as the entities because they will never be able to recover the income that they are losing. energy solutions, the subcontractor that processes and ships waste to the power plant in carlsbad has already had to lay off 154 workers. the general manager at a

department store in los alamos was quoted in the newspaper as saying any time the lab sneezes, we catch cold. in southern new mexico, christa kantedo told the newspaper that she was immediately worried for her 3-year-old son after hearing about the federal government shutdown. that's because she relies on the federal w.i.c. program to supply a prescription baby formula for her son who has a disability. unfortunately, christa is not alone. tens of thousands of women and children in new mexico who receive assistance from this program every month could be left without vital nutritional support if the shutdown continues to drag on. what's also at stake is the incredible work being done at new mexico's colleges and universities. these first-rate research institutions rely heavily on federal grants, fund staff,

training, projects, including clinical trials for cancer treatment. i'm told that those trials and years of hard work will have to pause or even stop if the government stays closed. scientists will see their salaries reduced and research students who want to dedicate their lives to finding the next cure will have to wait even longer just to earn their degrees. because of the shutdown, important job-creating investments in small business, the very engine of our economy, are delayed. on average, over $300,000 in federal loans are approved for small businesses in new mexico each and every day, but not today, mr. president. because of this reckless and irresponsible shutdown, those small businesses aren't getting the loans to grow their businesses. they aren't hiring new workers.

new mexico is home to many of the nation's most treasured public conservation lands, including national parks like carlsbad caverns, b.l.m. monuments like the newly created rio grande del norte and national forests like hilo and carson that are unstaffed during the fall hunting seasons. more than 4,000 men and women work on these public lands and they are being forced to stay home. andrew graves is an entimologist with the forest service. he is in a program called forest health protection that works across agency lines providing assistance to federal and tribal land managers and foresters throughout new mexico so that they can deal with outbreaks of disease or insect infestations. andrew says they have already canceled or postponed meetings and trainings because of the shutdown, and each day the government remains closed,

thousands of people who plan to visit our national parks and our wildlife refuges will be turned away. that doesn't just hurt the government. restaurants and hotels, tire shops and grocery stores feel this pain in towns like taos, grants, las cruces. because of the shutdown, the bureau of land management has stopped processing energy leases on federal land. a lengthy delay in the permitting process will not only take its toll on new mexico's oil and gas industry, but also on the revenues generated for new mexico's public schools. and the 8,000 new mexico children enrolled in head start are feeling the impact of the shutdown on top of the cuts that sequestration has already imposed on that critical program. the shutdown also endangers the

benefits that we owe over 170,000 veterans in new mexico, people who served this country with distinction. mr. president, the v.a. will run out of money to pay mandatory benefits by the end of october if we don't act. americans are fed up. other debates in recent years have been just as heated, just as partisan, but this crisis is far more dangerous for our country. the american people, my constituents in new mexico, want their federal government to function again. the federal workers in my state want to go back to work. our constituents want us to move past the gridlock and actually govern. they want economic security and to be able to take care of their families. mr. president, it is time to reopen the government.

it is time to take the threat of default off the table, and it is time to stop playing games with the livelihoods of hardworking americans. mr. president, i would yield back the balance of my time and i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. murphy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. we are now going into week three of a government shutdown, a totally unnecessary, avoidable, totally manufactured government shutdown that is now morphing together with a potential failure on behalf of the u.s. government to pay its debts. the first time that we've ever intentionally done that in our entire country's history. this is not theoretical any longer. this is now right on top of us, on thursday of this week be we will no longer have enough money to pay all the bills that come into the government. we'll only have about 65% of the funds necessary to pay out all the bills that come due to us whether it's to our creditors or

to the thousands of small businesses that rely on contracts with the federal government every week to pay their bills as well. and i really appreciate all of my colleagues coming down here and talking about the real-world consequences of what this shutdown has meant and what a file our to pay our debts will mean. and so, mr. president, i want to just come down and share a handful of stories from my state of connecticut to tell you what is really going on out there beyond the talking heads on the table news networks. they're simple stories but they're impactful because for hundreds of thousands of people in my state of connecticut, there was no margin with which to operate when this shutdown hit. and the consequence, economic impact that has come to so many

families. there wasn't any money stuffed under their mattress they could pull out and try to pay the bills they couldn't now that their paycheck or their business had been lost. this is a big deal to people in connecticut and, mr. president, in hawaii and to states all across our land because there was so much economic hurt that had already piled up for months and years that people just had no wiggle room when the tea party decided to stick a knife into the backs of already-hurting families. that's why this makes no sense. because it's not like we had the cushion as an economy, it's not like families had the ability to take on a little extra hurt. when the tea party decided to shut down our government. not that it would make sense

even if we were living in heady economic times, but today, right now, for families that are getting killed by an economy that has recovered for the top 5% or 10% of america but certainly has not recovered for the bottom 80%, this is just no time to be playing around with people's lives. every single year, mr. president, at the start of the home heating season i go to a nonprofit in waterbury, connecticut, who dispenses home heating assistance to the thousands of families in the greater water bury, connecticut area who just know that without a little bit of help from this agency they will literally not be able to heat their home, that their children will go cold that winter because even though though they're making money they can't keep up with the mounting bills and every single year as i watch the sort of macroeconomic

numbers get better for the economy i keep on thinking that when i go to that agency in august or september or october they're going to tell me gets guest what, chris, less people are coming in this year than last year to ask for home heating assistance. now, we are in, what, year five of this recession now, and every single year of those five the number has gotten bigger every single year. even as unemployment goes down, demand for home heating assistance in connecticut goes up. why? because the top echelon of our economy has recovered but nobody else has. and so that's why when this shutdown hit, it hurt so badly for somebody like rich martin in new london, connecticut. rich did something heroic during this recession. he started a new business. frankly, even more heroic, he started a bookstore and a record

store in new london, connecticut, called the telegraph. you know what he said? the business has been growing the last 12 months. every month he's been doing a little bit better and then guess what, the shutdown. and rich wrote me and said after growth in my business over the last 12 months, people have stopped coming in these last two weeks because in new london, connecticut, where we make submarines for the u.s. navy, where we have submariners at a base there, we have a whole lot of people who depend on the federal government or contracts from the federal government to be able to pay their employees, nobody's coming into the telegraph anymore. his business is getting hurt. and a business, a small businessman who did something great is now wondering whether he can make it through the next couple days and weeks. here's how the trickle-down of this happens. kathy sanborn in hartford is

paying the bills right now by babysitting. she's babysitting for a couple, but the husband is a defense contractor. guess what, he's been furloughed. and so he can't pay her to babysit. frankly, he's home anyway so he can look at the kids so she doesn't have her babysitting gig any long earth. he's out of work and she's out of work and guess what, that's not where it ends. now that kathy doesn't have her babysitting job she's not going to stop buying what she used to buy, halve her groceries, not going down the street for a purchase for herself. it just keeps on going. don spayeth in putnam, runs a little restaurant there, small town in putnam, says his business has dried up. people aren't coming in. rich from fairfield has a severely autistic son. he's an adult so he was on

social security disability but he had had his disability benefits cut off because they wanted to review his eligibility. guess what -- the reviewer has been furloughed for two weeks so his son who is hoping to have his benefits turned back own or have a resolution so the family would know what to do can't get a resolution to his disability claim and his son can't pay the bills to the provider that gives him housing and he is potentially going to be out on the streets because he doesn't have a reviewer at the social security office. that's -- that hurts economically but that hurts psychologically as well. interfaith faith volunteer caregivers in new haven get federal money to do something simple, provide really frail seniors with rides to their doctors' appointments. they've lost their federal funding for two weeks so they can't give rides any longer so

seniors are sitting home not able to get to their doctors' appointments. think about that. an 85-year-old widow who has to worry every day she's going to get sick because she lost her ride to the doctor's office. and then let me read you this quote. from michael in hartford. i don't have to embellish it. i'm an attorney and i work for the i.r.s. i have three children, a 16-year-old girl and 8-year-old twibs twins. my wife is pregnant with our fourth child. my 16-year-old is taking driver's education and wants her license. she wanted to take a p.s.a.t. prep course, another $1,200 i don't have and needs to visit college campuses. one of my twins had some learning disabilities. she had tiewtors to stay on grade level. i'm about to run out of savings to run out of sofia's, there's

a mortgage payment and car payment and car insurance payments and a dozen or so monthly bills that keep our house up and running. i hope the shutdown ends soon so i can get back to work. these stories can just be repeated, frankly, hundreds of thousands of times over all across this country. and, well, to -- while to some people they may sound like small stories, a babysitter losing a job, the inability to get your disabled daughter a little bit of help for a couple months, they add up to $1.6 billion in economic activity coming out of our country every single week. they add up to unemployment claims jumping to their highest level last week in six months. they add up to consumer confidence being the lowest in this country since the leeman brothers collapse -- lehman

brothers collapse in 2008. this sunt happen in a vacuum. it's not like we can tread tax credit water and the rest of the world waits for us to resume our mantle of economic leadership. china says that they're looking to take their $1.3 billion -- trillion dollars, excuse me, and find someplace else for that. the presiding -- i would ask unanimous consent for five more minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: japan announced its machinery sales were the best since 2008. the rest of the world is moving on. if we are doving this much damage to the economy, why are we here, mr. president? we're here because tea party republicans in the house mainly see this misery as a bargaining chip. they couldn't get their way any other way.

they couldn't win the legislative argument on the health care bill, a bill that passed the house and the senate, was signed by the president. they couldn't win the judicial argument. it came before the supreme court. the supreme court upheld the health care law. and it couldn't win the electoral argument. the health care bill was on the ballot in 2012, and the president who ran on it and signed it was re-elected by a wide margin and every single senator in this chamber who supported it was returned to their seat. tea party republicans have lost the argument on health care in all three of the traditional forums by which you would get your way in the legislative process. the legislative forum, the judicial forum and electoral forum. and so just like a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime, they have been confronted with a last desperate option, which is to grab hold of the economy, put

a gun to its head and hope then that democrats and president obama will relent simply because of our compassion for people like rich in new london and kathy in hartford and don in putnam and the seniors who rely on interfaith caregivers and that young i.r.s. attorney with a disabled daughter. they hope that it will be our compassion for those people which will cause us to do something other than what the people sent us here to do and repeal or delay or displace the health care law. the good news, mr. president, is that cooler heads are prevailing that people do see in this chamber at least the need to let go of the hostage. two weeks into the shutdown, the acumulative economic effects on the economy are real, and those

stories that i told you from connecticut can now be multiplied thousands of times, tens of thousands of times over. the house looks like they are going to try to pass another partisan political bill loaded with add-ons as conditions to restart the government and pay our bills. the senate, though, is working on a different solution, a solution that could bring together republicans and democrats to at least temporarily end this crisis. on behalf of my constituents in connecticut, we certainly that that's the result. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: i am very pleased to follow my colleague from connecticut in recounting to this body some of the voices

we have been hearing from across our state, some of the individuals whose stories make very compelling evidence for the need for this body to heed the bipartisan, indeed nonpartisan spirit that so animates and moves this country to demand that we get the job done. yesterday i used exactly that expression to tell this body how important action is to move forward. i am here on the floor today with thanks to our majority leader, senator reid, who has come to the floor now and who has so ably and courageously led us, not only on the democratic side but also on the minority side as well. and i hope that we will

demonstrate in this body the profile in courage that the country expects and needs from us at this time. i would be pleased to yield to the majority leader at this time if he has a message to bring to us. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i appreciate my friends -- friend's always courteous attitude. i appreciate it very, very much. mr. president, the house republican leadership's plan that is now out and people have taken a look at it, it's a plan to advance an extreme piece of legislation, and it's nothing more than a blatant attack on bipartisanship. for the past several days, we have been engaged in productive bipartisan negotiations in the senate. everyone knows that. we have been working across

party lines, making steady progress to achieve an agreement that reopens the government and be protects the full faith and credit of the united states and opens talks to put this country on a firm fiscal footing. everyone needs to know that the measure under discussion in the house is no part of what we have been negotiated here in the senate. mr. president, the debt is here. the deadline is looming. rating agencies are talking about downgrading us as early as tonight, again. i know i speak for many of us who have been working in good faith when i say that we felt blindsided by the news from the house, but this isn't the first

time. extremist republicans in the house of representatives are attempting to torpedo the senate's bipartisan progress with a bill that can't pass the senate, can't pass the senate and won't pass the senate. the house measure would take away the president's fundamental authority that has been in existence for as long as political science can remember. it's been in place for decade after decade after decade to prevent a catastrophic default on the nation's bills. out of spite, the tea party republicans are trying to take authority away from president obama. they would never, ever consider doing this if it were president romney, president bush or president bush or president reagan. never. but as they have said and they have cheered over there, the

government's closed. we don't mind defaulting on the debt. it's good for the country. that's what they have said. their legislation would also make unacceptable major changes to obamacare. the house legislation doesn't even include a process for bipartisan negotiations on a sensible long-term budget. they just throw out these numbers and think magic's going to happen and somehow comes january 15 everything will be hunky-dory. there are still processes we have to follow. they set no pattern, no schedule, no routine to do that. for weeks, republicans have claimed they want to negotiate, but their legislation completely ignores the need to work together to craft a budget and put our country on a fiscally sustainable path. for years, mr. president, they have complained about why don't

we have regular order here. they have complained about a lack of a budget. now they want us -- don't want us even to negotiate a budget. it's hard to comprehend this logically. but, mr. president, the tea party-driven part of the republican party doesn't follow logic or why would they want to close the government for 15 days, have us default on our debt? introduction of this measure by house republican leadership is unproductive and a waste of time. let's be clear. the house legislation will not pass the senate, and here is what the white house said just a few minutes ago. quote -- "the president has said repeatedly that members of congress don't get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation's bills. unfortunately, the latest poll of the house republicans does just that in a partisan attempt

to appease a small group of tea party republicans who forced the government to shut down in the first place. i am very disappointed with john boehner who would once again try to preserve his role at the expense of the country. i have worked hard to rise above partisanship, to find common ground in the senate. and, mr. president, we've done that together for the good of the nation. this is much bigger than the senator who is presiding from the state of hawaii or the assistant leader who is to my side. this is much bigger than that. it's much bigger than me. it's much bigger than the two senators who are here from connecticut, the senator from --

we have a senator who is chairman of the budget committee , senator murray. it's bigger than her. it's bigger than the senior senator from new york, senator schumer, who is on this floor. mr. president, we have to start working together for our country. that's what we have been trying to do. this is so disappointing. on the eve of financial destruction for this great country -- and that's what it is is -- to apiece a small group of people over there, it is so disappointing. mr. durbin: would the senator yield for a question? mr. reid: i would be happy to. mr. durbin: i would like to ask the senator, the majority leader, through the chair, one of the key elements in this new proposal from speaker boehner is to diminish this president's authority to deal with a default on our national debt. this authority, so-called extraordinary measures or emergency measures, gives to presidents going back to

president kennedy the wherewithal through the treasury department to try to avoid an economic disaster which would impact families, businesses, jobs and the reputation of the united states in the world, i ask through the chair of the majority leader, now that we have seen the republican party bring us so close to the precipice on a default, it is unimaginable to me that any president, including president obama, would surrender this authority to keep america safe in light of this type of threat. is this one of the key elements in terms of the problems associated with the boehner proposal? mr. reid: mr. president, to my friend from illinois, the senior senator, we have seen what's gone on these last few months. this whole year, with a group of people who are out giving press

conferences, holding demonstrations. they want the government to stay closed. they wanted it to close in the first place. the hardship that we have all over this country is really, really awful. and then if that's not good enough, they are out boasting that they want the country to fail its obligations to pay its bills. these are not new programs. these are obligations we have. and then -- i mean, that's one of the things. the proposal they have would not allow -- for example, my friend is the chair of the most -- some would say the most important part of the whole federal government, to protect the safety and security of the united states, subcommittee in with defense that was led by many, many decades by the late

senator dan inouye. this proposal they have sent gives the president of the united states, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff no flexibility whatsoever -- whatever when sequestration kicks in on the 15th. we're not asking to change those numbers. we agree to those numbers. we have voted here to approve those numbers. but they won't even allow flexibility to allow the department of defense to shift that money around. i do not know how the defense of this country can go forward if they don't have flexibility with losing $22 billion beginning january 15. they don't even give authority for that. this bill that they're saying over here is doomed to failure. it's doomed to failure legislatively, and it is so awful, awful, awful for our country. the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: i would just like to underscore for a brief moment what our leader has said.

you know, default will be devastateing to this country. closing the government is awful for our country. and yesterday, we all saw for the first time after the government has been closed for too many days, when we're on the eve of default, some real progress. leader reid, leader mcconnell, coming together on the outlines of a plan that made a great deal of sense, that each side had to give but could accept. and all of a sudden at the last minute as the train, the locomotive to head off default is heading down the tracks and getting some stream, speaker boehner throws a log on the path. this is wrong. he knows that his proposal, which we don't even know what it is yet, they have to tweak it -- probably to try and appease the hard right -- but

he knows his proposal with the measures in it already that have leaked out would not be signed by the president or pass the senate. so instead of doing the right thing, looking at the senate proposal, a bipartisan proposal and moving forward on that, speaker boehner decides to light a match and throw it on the gasoline that's already all over the place. i hope he will desist. we all have seen that the house can't lead in this regard. they can pass a lot of one-house bills but they can't get anything done. let him desist. let him defer to the democratic and republican leaders here in this body so that we can avoid default, open the government and get back to america's business. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: let me add my voice to the eloquent and powerful remarks made by our majority leader and the senator from new york, who have rightly deemed this house proposal really an obstacle, an obstructionist move designed to perpetuate, not end, the shutdown and to block, not enable, our efforts to reach a bipartisan compromise that would allow america to continue paying its bills on time. those two goals, ending the shutdown, enabling america to pay its bills on time, are the predominant objectives that we must have as a bipartisan effort

goes forward here in the senate and this house proposal is doomed to failure. and it would be a failure not just for the legislative process, not for the political actors here, but a failure for america. and i'm reminded of the remarks so well made more than ten days ago by the majority leader about one aspect of the effects of this shutdown on an industry very important to his state of nevada, very important to the presiding officer's state of hawaii, the tourism, lodging, and hotel industry. that impact is devastating. in fact, i've heard this morning from staff and employees

of the starwood hotels based in stamford, connecticut, who have written to members of congress like myself -- and i'm their senator so naturally they've written to me -- about the effect they say to their company and others like theirs in this industry, hotel and tourism, is vital to the state of connecticut. in fact, we invest constructively and positively in promoting our state's tourism industry, and their plea to me -- and i'm going to just read from a letter written by amy killbury, the associate director, i.t.-finance at starwood hotels and resorts worldwide, the current impasse now in its third week is having a negative impact both on the economy in general and specifically on the travel and tourism industry, which depends on the confidence of business

and individuals on the future stability of the economy. the shutdown is having ripple effects as federal agencies have reduced their operations, so have private government contractors and in turn, this is affecting both leisure and business travel. i'm going to ask if there's no objection that this letter be entered in the record along with the letter that has been written by the hotel and lodging association. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: and to say, mr. president, that these starwood employees are writing to their senators and members of congress because they see firsthand the effects on their livelihood and their lives. those stories that were recounted earlier by my colleague from connecticut and that yesterday i recited on the

floor are real effects in the lives of real people. negative and painful, indeed, devastating effects on people who depend on the economic flow of certain and stable work by the government and by the contractors and small businesses and large businesses like starwood that are affected. there's no question that the future health of the american economy depends on the policies that we need to adopt and advance, to sustain economic growth, indeed, to make it more robust, to preserve job creation, in fact, heighten and enhance it and to make sure that these employees of starwood

are well served, not impeded by the government that they support and elect. they support it with their taxes, they elect it with their votes, we have an obligation to with them to do better than we have. and i was deeply moved by the story recounted by senator durbin just a short time ago on the floor about a young iraq veteran, severely wounded, a more severe wound than the ones i recounted yesterday, but he is a veteran like the individuals whose stories i told yesterday. they deserve better from our government. indeed, they deserve an end to the kind of obstructionism that we saw just a short time ago on the other side of this congress, the other branch of this legislative body.

from members of the house of representatives who know that the proposal they're making has no chance of adoption by the deadline that we need to meet to make sure that the greatest nation in the history of the world avoids default and continues to pay its bills on time. the head of the association that represents starwood, katherine lugar, who is is the c.e.o. of the lodging and hotel association, said hotels are a major economic driver and job creator across the country and the industry's ability to continue its growth is hamstrung by inaction from our policy members. and i'm quoting, the administration, house of representatives and senate need to act swiftly in the best

interests of the entire nation and end this shutdown. end this shutdown, pay our bills on time, that has been the objective of my colleagues on this side of the aisle and on the other side like senator mccain who has just come to the floor, that bipartisan effort has to be our objective. we need to do better for the american people, and meet the obligation that we have now as the chairman of the subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the hotel and lodging industry, on the commerce committee, i am very proud to hear their telling us about how states like arizona and hawaii and nevada as well as connecticut are losing millions of dollars every day in economic activity, in fact, the weir

farm national historic site in connecticut are harmed and hurt along with the grand canyon and all of the communities and industries that are associated with it. these issues are really and tangible. the harm is now and urgent. and i urge my colleagues to come together and resist the pressures and demonstrate the kinds of profiles in courage that we've seen on both sides of the aisle, standing strong, speaking out, resisting partisanship, coming together for the good of the country and, mr. president, i thank you and i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: mr. president, i'd like to thank my friend from florida for allowing me just a few minutes to make a couple of comments very briefly. in the last 24 hours a lot has

been taking place. a tentative agreement has been reached between both republican and democrat leader. the speaker of the house has come forward with what we believe is a plan which would reopen the government, extend the debt limit and has several other provisions in it. and the reaction to that has been condemnation, immediate, automatic condemnation by the majority leader, by the white house, by the democrats in the house, absolutely rejecting this proposal. i don't understand that. i don't understand that visceral reaction in a most negative fashion. why don't we say -- why don't

we try something like we used to do around this place? why don't we say look, you've got a proposal to open the government, we've got a proposal to open the government, let's both pass, let's go to conference, which we could do in 24 hours and resolve our differences. i understand what the polling data says. that 74% of the american people disprove -- disapprove of the republican handling of this issue. and i agree with that. some of us at the beginning that said we're going on a fool's errand to believe that we will be able to defund obamacare. and we got ourselves in a ditch. and we got to stop digging. that is well understood here by certainly the overwhelming majority of my republican colleagues. but for the majority leader and the democrats in the house and the white house to say absolutely categorically not, we will not consider what the

republicans in the thousands -- the the house are doing, in my view is piling on. it's piling on and it's not right. so i urge my democrat colleagues, let's sit down and work this out. wiewf got a proposal from the house, we have a proposal -- we have a proposal between the two leaders and let's get this resolved. to categorically reject what the house and the speaker is doing and i think he's pretty courageous in what he's doing, in my view is not serving the american people. so sew let's topston this. let's stop it, sit down, consider the speaker's proposal, get our proposal done, and then get this resolved, which we could do in the next 24 hours. i came to the floor to express my disappointment in the categoric reject in a food-faith effort by the speaker of the

house, which doesn't contain all the provisions that i want. i'm sure the agreement made by the majority and republican leaders will not be everything i want. so let's stop the condemnation. let's consider the house, the republican house proposal as a seriously proposal, as a way to end this gridlock, and then let's sit down together and get this thing done. i again urge my democratic colleagues, we know you have the upper hand. isn't it time that we help find a way out of this, which is what the american people want, rather than who won and who lost? the only people that are losing right now are the people of this country. as i've mentioned a couple of times before, al qaeda is not in shutdown. i urge my colleagues to reconsider, on the democrat side and the white house, to reconsider their categoric rejection of any proposal from

the house of representatives. i yield the police officer. the presiding officer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: before i yield to my colleague from florida just briefly, i have two unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they is have -- they have the apriewl of the majority and minority leaders. i scurkt that these requests being agreed to and that these requests be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. blume thank you, madam president. -- mr. blumenthal: thank you, madam president. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: clearly the issue we're facing here with regard to the budget, obamacare, the debt ceilinceiling is a very importat issue. in the hours to come, i am i'll have a lot more to tai say about it. i have waited to reserve my comntses on the issue of iran, but i felt at this point reaching today i could no longer wait to speak out on it. so if my colleagues w