best buy recycles every day, every minute the store is open. our goal is 1 billion tons of recycled material. >> these are old computers and electronic equipment? >> computers, television, anything related to your technology needs. >> is >> many people take their old tvs to landfills but they do not get broken down. we want to lift our carbon footprint of what we are getting out as well as replacing what is being put in the homes. >> this laptop that we have right here, what will happen to this to get it recycled? >> it will get broken down. the screen will get torn out and the internal parts will get torn

out. some will get sent back to read manufacturers who can use it. -- back to manufacturers who can use it. >> or other dangerous chemicals or products in these computers? >> every laptop you recycle, you have the lcd screen which has chemicals inside which are not good for landfill so they get broken down. if they sit on the ground they can leak into the ground and cause back environmental issues for everyone. >> why did you feel it was important at best buy to have this for members of congress to see in their status? >> just that companies are working toward recycling. we work closely with our manufacturers. we have a couple of products we sell that we manufacture ourselves, and just to display that we are trying to limit our carbon footprint all in the environment and show that we

can take in products and recycle them, and hopefully it will inspire people to bring in their products to best buy. you can always talk to the sales represented, and the rewards will be good for everybody in the long run. >> you have three containers over here. describe what these are. >> this is a newer, lcd tv in that container. i do not know the size of that when came out, but that is about how much internal stuff gets taken out. that is an older computer monitor in the middle. you can imagine how much it has been broken down, and some of that stuff will be reused and sent out to manufacturers. the rest of bit august turned into something else. down at the bottom is an old tv. once the glass has been removed

and the toxins have been removed, that is what is left over and that is where it all ends up. >> the products -- have the electronics products we buy gotten greener over the years? >> yes, they have. everyone has gone to energy star appliances to help reduce the energy needs that are used. a lot of tvs and cell phone companies have moved too long or lasting battery so they do not get thrown away as much. people tend to throw batteries right into the trash, and you want to stop doing that. you want to bring it in so we can recycle that and take care of it for you. >> what does a double agent on the geek squad do? >> we go into the homes and i going to businesses and take care of their computer needs, pretty much anything they want,

and use the resources at my disposal. >> the best title ever. thank you for your time. >> earlier today, the u.s. house rejected the debt ceiling plan offered by senate majority leader harry reid. the vote was 173-246. it allows at $2.40 trillion increase in the debt ceiling by cutting the deficit by $2.20 trillion over the next 10 years. you can follow the debate now on c-span2. here now is the house for debate on the reid bill. man from california rise seek recognition? mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2693, to cut spending, maintain existing commitnts and for other purposes, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the

clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2693, a bill to cut spending, maintain existing commitments and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusts rise? >> parliamentary inquiry, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the gentleman has the right to be heard. the gentleman from massachusetts will state his inquiry. mr. mcgovern: mr. spear, is it true that a bill considered under suspension of the rules denies the minority party the right to offer any amendments or even a motion to recommit? the speaker pro tempore: a motion to suspend is not liable to amendment on the floor. mr. mcgovern: further parliamentary inquiry, meerks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry. mr. mcgovern: is it true that it requires a 2/3 supermajority vote in order for a bill to vote? the speaker pro tempore: under

rule 15, a motion to suspend it will have 2/3, a quorum being present. mr. mcgovern: further parliamentary inquiry, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentman will state his inquiry. >> the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: is it also true, mr. speaker, that a bill considered under suspension of the rules does not pass if it receives a simple majority vote but no2/3 of the vote? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. mr. mcgovern: and further parliamentary inquiry, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the geleman will state his inquiry. mr. mcgorn: does this mean that speaker boehner's bill to raise e debt limit and to destroy medicare would have failed if it would have been considered under suspension of the rules yesterday? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has not stated a quirequoir. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. dreier, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california.

mr. dreier: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this measure and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dreier: mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i think this is the first time that i've offered a reid proposal in the house of representatives. and one might ask why it is that we are here doing this, and it's very apparent to me why it is that we're here doing this. and that is we want to ensure that next tuesday we see an increase in the debt ceiling so the social security checks go out, we have -- we bring about spending reductions and maintain the credit rating of the united states of america and do everything that i believe that both republicans and democrats alike want to have take place. as you know, mr. speaker, we have passed from this house two measures within the last two

weeks. the cut, cap and balance measure and just last night the boehner proposal which as we all know stem fr a bipartisan meeting that he had exactly one week ago this afternoon in his meeting with senator reid right down the hall. and unfortunately mr. reid no longer supports the proposal that we passed last night, and senator reid has said on several occasions that his plan is the only plan that can pass both houses of congress. now, five minus ago senator mcconnell once again asked senator reid to bring up this plan that senator reid said was the only one that could pass both houses of congress and senator reid said no. thursday night i introduced this measure of senator reid's and was asked in the rules committee yesterday by mr. mcgovern whether or not we would bring it up and i said we didn't plan to.

but the fact is senator mcconnell, having made the request now at least twice in the other body to have it brought up, asked us to raise this measure here and that's exactly what we are doing. now, if we look at where it is that we're headed, we all want to have a bipartisan compromise that will ensure that on tuesday we see that increase in the debt ceiling take place and do these other things. that's what the speaker of the house and the democratic leader of the united states senate, along with leader mcconnell, leader pelosi discussed a week ago today. and as speaker boehner said from the well last night, this was an agreement which was supported by senator reid. but things have changed, things have changed, we know that. but there is one thing tt has not changed.

and that is we have to act as quickly as possible. we need to come up with a compromise and you know what? since senator reid happens to believe that his measure is the only one that can pass both houses of congress, we are going to let him know when we defeat it here in the house of representatives that it is not the plan that can gain broad support in the house and the sete. and so for that reason, mr. speaker, we are bringing this up , we, i believe, should have an opportunity for ery member of this house to go on record on this issue and i'm going to urge my colleagues to vote no on this proposal so that we can come together with an important bipartisan compromise to achieve the goal that we all say that we share and with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from calornia reserves his time. the gentleman from

massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, is recognized. mr. mcgovern: i yield myself three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, this process has become a joke. it is a disgrace. it's an insult to the american people. i would say to my friends on the other side of the aisle, now is the time to act like growns. this is the time to put our country before your political party. this is the time to put our country before the tea party. this is the time to do what's right. today you are bringingp the latest version of the reid plan. under not only a closed rule but under the most restrictive process we have in the house. usually reserved for noncontroversial bills. this is a $2.5 trillion bill being brought up under the same process that you bring up bills naming post offices. 20 minutes of debate, no amendments allowed, we're not even allowed to offer a motion to recommit to where you need a 2/3 supermajority. under this process your own bill would have failed. that's right. if your bill were brought up

under this procedure, your bill would have lost last night. mr. speaker, the only bill we should consider on the house floor is one that has been agreed to by the house and senate leaders and the president of the united states. so why are we doing this today? let's be honest, you're doing it to score some cheap political points. i would like to remind the speaker of the house that he's the speaker of not just the republican party but that he's the speaker of the whole house. now is a time to bring us together, nottary us apart -- not tear us apart. maybe the reid bill is the one that can unite us because it achieves tremendous savings without decimating micare, medicaid and social security. but, mr. speaker, to bring it up under this process is cynical and it demeans the house of representatives. i would say to the republican leadership, enough political stunts. our country is facing a terrible economic crisis. a crisis that you created and one that you can avoid. but we've run out of time. now is the time for leadership, not bad political theater.

now is theime to be to behave like legistors. please rise to the occasion. the reid bill is not the bill i would have written. it's not the truly balanced approach that i would have hoped for. there are no revenues in this bill. but i think it's the best approach that is on the table right now. and i'm willing to compromise. so i will vote yes on this bill. i'm willing to put my country first. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. members are advised to address their comments to the chair. not to other members. the gentleman from california, mr. dreier. mr. dreier: at this time i'm happy to yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished former chairman of the committee on appropriations, my friend from california, mr. lewis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. lewis, is recognized for as much time as he wishes to consume.

mr. lewis: mr. speaker, if it were not for the remarks of my colleague from california as well as his colleague from the rules committee, i wouldn't be making these remarks. i'll begin with a quote. the facts that we are here today to date raising america's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. increasing america's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. leadership means that the buck stops here. instead washington ishifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandcldren. america has a debt problem and a failure of leadership, americans deserve better, unquote. senator rack obama, march of 2006. by 2009 senator obama had become

president obama. in two years since he became president, federal spending has increased by over 5ds00 billion a year -- $500 billion a year. in the past two years he has added nearly $4 trillion to our national debt. now president obama is in favor of increasing the national debt limit. when, oh, when will the real barack obama stand up? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back his time. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. . mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield three minutes to the distinguished gentleman from maryland, the democratic whip, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for three minutes. mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, my

colleagues, our neighbors, our friends sent us here to be responsible and to come to the aid of our country at a time of crisis. our couny is at such a time now. our people confront uncertainty and fear and they're looking to us, looking to us for the courage to compromise and act to prevent default and to prevent gridlock and irresponsibility. yesterday we learned that investors in american stocks lost more than $400 billion when just a few days ago speaker boehner said he could not compromise with president obama. now we're standing -- notwithstanding the remarks of my friend from california, the chairman of the rules committee,

who talks about a bipartisan compromise, i tell my friend, you have not moved a single centimeter towards compromise with our side of the aisle. not a single centimeter. and what do we see in the united states senate, my friends? we see a majority leader of the united states senate who has the president with him, so, yes, you control 1/3 and you control over 40%, so you can stop things from happening in the sate, but the people aren't looking to us for what we can stop. they're looking to us for what we can do. for what we can do to make our country healed at this point in time. so what has senator reid done with this bill that you introduced, guaranteed to fail? this is the second time you've put a bill on the floor to

extend the debt limit guaranteed to fail. it is a pattern, frankly, i a i say to you, my friends, and it's a pattern that the american public ought not to count on. what senator reid has done is he's taken the view of the speaker boehner and leader cantor and said, we need a long-term solution. and then he has compromised notwithstanding the fact that all of us on this side believe that the wealthiest among us should help take us out of this crisis and not rely on the most vulnerable among us. and so there is no revenue in senator reid's bill, notwithstanding the overwhelming numbers of us on this side of the aisle believe that's good policy. and i know that some of you on your side of the aisle believe that as well. senator reid has set up a

process so that we can continue to look at what we know we need to look at, bringing our deficit and debt down for which we are all responsible, my friends. i thank the gentleman. so we confront this moment of responsibility. i believe my side of the aisle will overwhelmingly say yes, not because they like this bill but because they believe it is a compromise that can work. because it takes so much of the demands that you have made on your side of the aisle, t if you came to congress expecting perfection, if you came to congress expecting only that you do it your way and no other way, you will be disappointed. as all of us are disappointed because it cannot happen that way. our founding fathers broug us from many places with many persctives to try to heal our country and provide for the general welfare.

let us avoid default. let us set ourselves on a path of compromise. my friends on the republican side of the aisle, we're going to vote for the most part for this bill. we do not believe it's perfect. but we believe it's possible. america expects us to do that. the summer soldiers and sunshine patriots will retreat at this time of crisis. doot do that. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. dreier: i yield my friend an additional 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. and the gentleman from california is recogned. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i will say that i was prepared to engage in a colloquy with my good friend from maryland and

explain to him that if senator reid believes that this is a great compromise why will he not respond to senator mcconnell's repeated requests to bring it up in the unid states senate? and with that, mr. speaker, with that, mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield one minute to our presidential candidate, our good friend from still water, minnesota, mrs. bachmann. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from minnesota is recognized. the house will be in order. mrs. bachmann: thank you, mr. speaker. throughout this debate over guaranteeing insane never-before-seen in the history of this country levels of spending, president obama has coolly stood on the sidelines, his arms crossed, very simply castigating republicans for n giving him a $2.4 trillion blank check. meanwhile the only plan that the president has put forward is his february budget which in itself contained yet one more $.5 trillion deficit.

the president has no plan. only the republicans have offered plans. now is the time for the president to show leadership and the only leadership that he's showing is one that's saying,ities ,ities ,ities -- saying, tisk, tisk, tisk. we call on the president of the united states to finally engage in the process. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from minnesota, mrs. bachmann, yields back. the gentleman om california reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, let me just remind the gentlelady that no one on the democratic side ever walked out of a meeting. at this point i'd like to eld one minute to the gentleman from michigan, the ranking meer of the ways and means committee, mr. levin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. mr. levin: i ask unanius consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. levin: i've been here almost 29 years. this is a disgraceful moment. this country wants compromise.

what you're doing with this bill is to undermine the chances of compromise. that's what you're doing. you're trying to throw a monkey wrench in the reid bill before it can even leave the station. that's what you're doing. you're trying to make sure that the senate cannot work its will. why isn't this bill being brought up? because senator reid wants to sit down with senate republicans and work out a compromise and you're bringing up ts bill to make sure that this will never happen, this is a disgraceful moment, mr. dreier, it is a disgraceful moment. mr. dreier: will the gentleman yield? mr. levin: no. mr. dreier: madam speaker, may i yield time to my friend? may i yield time to my friend om michigan? am i allowed to yield time to my friend? mr. levin: mr. dreier, you have always spoken and the --

mr. dreier: i am the author of this measure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has not been recognized. mr. levin: i want you to yield to me. mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentleman 15 seconds. mr. levin: mr. dreier, it's clear what you're doing here. mr. reid wants to sit down and work with mr. mcconnell. what you're trying to do is make sure that a signal is sent to the senate, don't bother, we're going to -- mr. dreier will the gentleman yield? mr. levin: yes. mr. dreier: i say the action we are about to do here today is see the ocess that senator mcconnell and senator reid work together. why? mr. levin: i take back my time. mr. dreier, that is pernicious nonsense. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to address their comments to the chair, not otherwise. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i didn't hear you,

madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: i said members are reminded to address their comments to the chair and not to others. mr. dreier: i wi not only address you, madam chair, i won't point my finger at you as i address you. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. mr. dreier: let me say, madam speaker, that senator mcconnell has just minutes ago asked senator reid to bring the reid proposal to the floor of the united states senate and a decision has been made by senator reid not to bring the measure up. on at least three occasions senator mcconnell has asked since senator reid has said that his proposal is the only one that can pass both houses of congress, senator mcconnell has asked us to show what we l know and had a is there is not going to be a majority of support in the -- all know and there is not going to be a majority of support. we look forward to the discussions that will take place between speaker boehner, senator reid, leader mcconnell,

leader pelosi. and with that, madam speaker, i'd like to yield 30 seconds to a hardworking new member of congress from indiana, mr. young. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. young: thank you, madam speaker. we need to cut spending now. we need to control spending in the future. but the american people understand that our foremost constitutional duty here in congress is to make sure that america is safe. former secretary gates said that further cuts to our military will mean there are certain things ourilitary won't be able to do and places they won't be able to go. this proposal, the reid-obama plan, proposes to cut spending by $859 billion or 10 years comped to the president's fiscal year 2011 budget. yet, the president and senator reid has told us which places we won't be going and which missions we won'ting doing. it's irresponsible. i can't support this proposal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized.

mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, at this time i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from texas, a member of the committee of the ways and means, mr. dogtt. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. doggett: this republican ploy is too clever by hat. at the very same time republican senators are filibustering against bringing up this proposal in the senate. the house republicans are insisting on bringing it up here so they can vote it down. while it is imperfect and imbalanced, this reid proposal protects educational opportunities for college students, it protects retirement security through medicare and social security, and it provides more important resources for public services than the reactionary house republican budget. with house republicans still at fault for refusing to seek any type of middle ground, the reid bill is the least worse alternative to avoid default. as desperate as they were last night, to cobble together a

handful of votes to pass a artisan boehner bill, they are even more desperate to defe this reasonable middle ground because they insist it must have 2/3 votes in this body. let us join democrats in unity to approve this proposal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, i yield myself 10 seconds to remind my friend from texas that the measure we voted on last night stemmed from the bipartisan agreement that was put together one week ago this afternoon right down the hall. and with that i'm happy to yield one minute to my good friend from jefferson, louisiana, mr. scalise. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for one minute. mr. scalise: i thank the gentleman for yielding. if you look at the reid bill it doesn't even start to address the problem. with all of the budget gimmicks anshell games, people would recognize if you have an honest conversation it doesn't even start to tackle the spending problem. now, hardworking american families back home know the problem in america is not we got corporate jet owners and millionaires and billionaires, the problem is that washington

spends too much money. you don't solve that problem by sending more money up to washington to spend even more. and so when the president talks about a balanced approach, what he really means is more job-killing tax hikes. families back home know what we really need is a balanced budget amendment to put accountability back in place in washington, to control this rampant out-of-ctrol spending in washington and to finally attack the real problem and that's washington spending. i oppose the bill, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: thank you, madam speaker. i yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognizedorne minute. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. andrews: madam speaker, this agreement offers the calm, reasonable compromise the country wants. most america don't want to let the debt ceilingxpire. this bill solves that problem. most americans say, you know what, you probably could cut about 5% in most government programs. not evybody believes that, but that's what this bill does.

most americans say there ought to be some other way to look at difficult entitlement programs and other issues that the bill sets up a process to do that. what the bill does is recognize the difference between the two parties and puts that difference aside. the majority party wants to make radical changes in medicare and social security. we do not. we believe that the wealthiest americans should pay their fair share to solve this problem. the majority party does not. thbill leaves that disagreement aside, focuses on the areas of agreement. you know, american troops on patrol are not asking under what conditions they should do their duty this afternoon. they're understanding their duty and they're doing it, and so should . pass this bill. the speaker o tempore: the gentleman's ti has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, at this time i'm happy to yield 130ekds to my good friend from

colorado, a hardworking new member of the class of 87 pele that came in here to change this place, mr. tipton. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. tipton: thank you. when we hear our colleague from texas this is the least worst alternative and that's our best choice? i think the american people demand and deserve better. it's time we put people before politics and partisanship aside so that we can have ogre for the american people. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i yield to the gentleman from texas, ms. jackson l, for a unanimous consent request. the speaker pro tempore: for what time? mr. mcgovern: i yield for unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for unanimous consent. ms. jackson lee: i stand here united for america voting yes on this bill to save medicare, medicaid and social security. as an american i ask unanimous consent to put my statement intohe record.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcgovern: madaspeaker, i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, a member of the financial services committee, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: thank you very much. thank you very much, mr. chairman. ladies and gentlemen of the house of representatives, this is not a nation of tea party people. it is not a nation of democrats or republicans. it is a nation of all of us, and what the reid plan presents, it represents the tea party, the republicans and the democrats and the president of the united states. this is what the american people expect us to do. that is what has made this country great. at critical times we've come together and we have compromised. we're protecting medicare. we're protecting social security. we're protecting medicaid as the people of this country want. and yet, as the republicans and tea party wants, there are no tax increases in this. as the president of the united states has asked us, there will

be a second act in the year 2013. ladies and gentlemen of this house, the time is present. it is time for us to do the american thing. stand up for the american people and let us compromise in the best interest of all of us so this nation will not go into default. the spear pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. dreier: madam speaker, i yield myself 15 second. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dreier: the house is notn order, madam speaker. well, it is now. madam speaker, i think it's very important to note that yesterday and today we are continuing to hear that under the boehner proposal that cuts in medicare and social security would take place when in fact both the boehner and reid proposals have virtually identical, identical plans to put into place -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time h expired. mr. dreier: joint select committee that would in fact report back to this

institution. thank you very much for helping to obtain order, friends. d madam speaker, i'm happy to yield one minute to my very good friend from houston, a member of the appropriations committee, mr. culberson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. culberson: thank you. madam speaker, it's important for everyone to know the reason the house is considering this bill today is to put up another guardrail, to show what the house cannot do. it's important in any compromise to understand what can and cannot be done. the house will not pass this new constitutional conservative majority of the house will not pass the reid bill because of its devastating cut to our u.s. military. the house is going to find a way to compromise with the senate, but it is not going to include massive cuts in the military. it's -- as we've established, not going to include tax increases. it looks like it's going to include some sort of select committee that will make recommendations to the congress. we're going to find a way to make sure that america does not hit the brick wall of running out of the ability to borrow. t is is one of the most important debates, one of the

most important votes we will have in our brief time here in congress is to make sure we're protecting our kids and grandchildren from a crushing unaffordable level of debt. so we're working hard to find what the limits are, -- limits are of what the house and senate will do. 're not going to cut the military as the reid bill would. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman fr massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i yield myself 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15 second. combovegove make no mistake about it. from day one this majority has put the military on the chopping block. and the reid would disamate medicare as we know it and -- the ehner bill would disamate medicare and the military as we know. i yield to the gentlewoman from florida, ms. wasserman schultz, for two minus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida is recognized for two minutes. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you, madam speaker. i would point out that to my good friend from texas, madam speaker, as a constitutional conservative he should recognize that the conitution

itself was a series of compromises. and our nation and our economy is being pushed closer and closetory default. hardliners on the rit, extremists by any other name, have refused to compromise. we are putting in jeopardy the payment of social security obligations, paying the members of our military, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff yesterday couldn't even answer in the affirmative that he was confident that those payments could be made if we default. we're putting in jeopardy the full faith and credit of our nation. yesterday, seniors in my district called my office in tears wondering whether we would default and what those consequences would mean for them. these are real people who live on social security to survive. we have many strongly held views on both sides of the aisle. i don't like everything in the reid proposal befores. but compromise is critical. i recognize that i can't have everything 100% my way. democrats have been at the compromise table for months. with an empty chair on the

other side of the aisle. it is me on the other side of the table, it's time for republicans to warm that seat across from us. mr. dreier claims that republicans have brought the reid proposal to the floor to show that it doesn't represent a bill that can pass the house. yet, the process is a sham. the bill has been brought up under a rule that requires a 2/3 vote o this house for passage which they know cannot happen. what are republicans afraid of? they're afraid if their propose might just show how much support there is for this proposal. where are the cooler heads in the republican caucu where are they? hey appear to not exist. your caucus seems to be held hostage by extremists and have driven the moderates from the room and from the discussion. allowing extremists to take over is doing harm to our country. president obama, house and senate democrats have said that we are willing to support cuts. even to programs we would not -- can i have another 15 seconds, please?

mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentlelady 15 seconds. ms. wasserman schultz: we said we would support cuts even to programs we would normally fight to preserve. republicans have doubled down in a groundhog day move that has pushed dead on arrival proposals by bringing us closer to the brink of chaos. at the end of the day the stewardship of our economy is in jeopardy. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentman -- the gentleman from california is recognized. . mr. dreier: i'm happy to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from from washington. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from washington is recognized for one minute. miss harrah beutler: the reason we came here, this caucus i here, the freshmen are here because the american people said enough they said you are spending too much of our money.

that's what this conversation is about today. the president stood on the -- across the row tuppeda a couple years ago and said it's a failure of leadershito raise the debt ceiling. guess what? i came here never expecting to raise the de ceiling. but i'm now compromised. i have twice voted to raise the debt ceiling to cover spending from failed stimulus, from a health care bill that ends medicare as we know it. i have voted -- twice. twice for solutions. and you know what? that's compromise for me. i came -- when i ran for this, this seat, i told the people that i serve, you know what? i'm not extreme, i am mad. i'm mad that washington, d.c., thinks you are their piggy bank. that's what this debate is about. we end it today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. mcgovern: i yield myself 10 seconds, madam speaker.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized r 10 seconds. mr. mcgovern: to remind the gentlelady that she has voted time and time and time again to decimate medicare, medicaid, and social security. we are not going to stand by and let them dthat. at this point i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from maryland, the ranking member of the budget committee. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. mr. mcgovern: at this point, madam speaker, i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from maryland, the distinguished ranking member of the budget committee, mr. van hollen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for two minutes. mr. van hollen: thank you, madam speaker. i think the american people just heard a new definition of compromise. paying your bills is a compromise. the american family can't wake up one morning and say, boy, it's a compromise and pay for what i already incurred. it's a compromise to pay my mortgage. that's a new one for the american people. and it's part of a reckless patten that we have seen emerging here. furs our republican colleagues

walked out of the biden talks. then twice they walked out of the talks of the president of the united states. then when the republican leader in the senate put forward a proposal, they ridiculed it. thursday night in this very house they said no to the proposal by the republican speaker of this house until he amended it. the same speaker who said we need to have an adu moment. here's the concluding paragrap today's "wall street journal." republicans are not looking like adults to whom we can entrust the government. the erican people are looking for that adult moment. if you're not willing to compromise on critical things for the country, you are not fit to govern. and that is why senator reid put forward a compromise proposal. he doesn't like his own proposal. he would be the first to tell you that. you know what it did? it met the criteria our republican colleagues put forward. $2.4 trillion in cuts. even if you take out the war savings, more guaranteed cuts

according to c.b.o. than the boehner proposal the other night. it also incorporates mcconnell's propos. here's what it doesn't do. it doesn't end the medicare guarantee. it doesn't cut social security. and it doesn't protect tax breaks for special interests corporations. now, look, what we ar seeing here is people who are holding the american economy hostage. you have to stop playing kamika pilot with the future of the american people. in order to extract 100% of demands for budgets your way. compromise is necessary. andthat is what senator reid put forrd. a compromise proposal. let's show we can govern together. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i yield myself five seconds to again say to my colleagues the measure we voted on last night stemmed from a

bipartisan compromise put togethern this very capital one week ago today. with that, madam speaker, i'm happy to yield 30 seconds--actually one minute to my good friend from ohio, mr. jordan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for one minute. mr. joan: i thank the gentleman for yielng. let's cut to the numbers and what this bill does. we got a $14 trillion debt. this is going to raise the debt ceiling $2.4 trillion. achieving savings of $18 billion in the first. think of it the american people see things. you got a kid who maxed out the credit card at $14,000. the kid goes to the bank and the bank says ok here's what we are going to do. we are going to give you $2,400 on the credit card, but you have to promise us over the next year you're going to spend $18 less than you planned on spending. that's what this bill does. this bill doesn't even come close to starting to solve the problem. that's why we are against it. that's why it should be defeated. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back.

the house will be in order. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield myself five seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: my colleague from california keeps on saying that the boehner bill was bipartisan. i remind him not one single democrat voted for that bill because democrats do not want to decimate social security. mr. dreier: would the gentleman yield? mr. mcgovern: at this time i'd like to yield 30 seconds to the gentlen from pennsylvania, mr. fattah. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. ftah: i assume that something that the american people are gullible, but this is not a coincidence or happenchance. we got a republican majority that took us from trillions in surplus to trillions in deficit. added a $7 trillion prcription drug plan. unfunded wars. and then refused any additional revenue. and choking off our country's ability to pay its debt. now they want to walk us towards default. there is a special place in the

shadows of the history books for a group of people who in order to gain power were willing to sacrifice americans' leadership in this war. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, i'd like to yield any of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who will tell me where in the boehner bill it says that we want to cut medicare, social security, or any of the other items that they continue to attack? may i -- i'm happy to yield to anyone who can point to me where in the boehner billt says that. i'm happy to yield to anyone. obviously -- i'm happy to yield to my friend. mr. mcgovern: balanced budget amendment you have, the ryan budget. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. mr. dreier: madam speaker, with that i'm happy to yield 30 seconds to my good friend from colorado. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for 30 seconds. >> thank you, madam speaker.

madam speaker, the president of the united states, barack obama, has said to the congress that we need to put america first and get this done. mr. coffman: i agree with that. i agree that we need to put america first and take politics -- put politics aside. last weekend a bipartisan proposal emerged. which speaker boehner a majority leader reid, senator reid coming to an agreement. but the president of the united states got a hold of senator reid and said, absolutely not. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. dreier: an additional 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. coffman: thank you, madam speaker. the reason why he pulled the agreement was because it didn't have enough money to get him through the election of 2012, november of 2012.

the president's campaign considerations is not putting america first. we need to put america first -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. coffman: vote down -- the speaker pro tempore: t gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. van hollen: the chairman of the rules committee wanted to yield -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman not is recognized. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. dreier: we have a lot of members who would like to be heard. i extended time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: may i inquire of the time remaining on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts has four minutes remaining. the gentleman from california has 6 1/4 minutes remaining. mr. mcgovern: we'll reserve our me. maybe the gentleman from california might want to yield to mr. van hollen. we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, i did ask a few minutes ago and

expended time by asking anyone to yield. i mean -- we have a lot of members here who want to be heard from. mr. mcgovern has time if he would like to yield. i yield 15 seconds to my friend and maybe mr. mcgovern will yield him 15 seconds and then we can hear what mr. van hollen has o hear. i yield the gentleman 15 seconds, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. van hollen: if you look at the boehner proposal it says we got to cut $1.8 trillion. the speaker of the house has already said that you can't have any revenue as part of that. you can't close one corporate loophole. in fact he said that the majority would override any proposal. so the only other way to get it math mathically is to start slashing medicare. and to start going after social security. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. dreier: madam speaker, my point has been made very eloquently by the gentleman. i very much appreciate it.

the speaker pro tempore: who seeks recognition? mr. dreier: i thank my friend for his contribution. madam speaker, at this point i'm happy to yield one minute to my good friend from drexel hill, pennsylvania, mr. meehan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. meehan: thank you, mr. chairman. as we used to say in the courtroom, the facts are, there are no facts. the truth of the mtter is the only people who are cutting $500 billion from medicare are the democrats in their proposal. but that's not -- the gentleman will not yield. i'll make my point and be happy to be off. the ise here is really one of compromise. i come here as a freshman. somebody that's looking at this for the first time. and weame in and worked on a bill, the boehner proposal. the frustration from me was knowing going in that evening

that i had already been made aware that this leadership, the leadership of the party on the other side, had ripped their members so not a singleember was ready on the other side to sit and talk to anyone on this aisle. the whip was there. you will not vote. you will not talk. we were not able. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. those in the back of the chamber will take their conversations off the floor. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield 10 seconds to the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen. the speaker pro tempore: is recognized for 10 second. mr. van hollen: just to be very clear. what we did was eliminated the

overpayments to some of the medicare advantage plans and, and -- madam speaker -- madam speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the house is not in order. the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman is recognized. mr. van hollen: thank you, madam speaker. we used much of those savings to close the prescription drug doughnut hole. in your budget you took the hole $500 billion, but you reopened the drug doughnut hole at the same time you are eliminating the medicare guarantee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, let me yield myself five seconds to say i thank the gentleman for once again pointing to the fact there is nothing in the boehner proposal that there's anything that cuts social security or medicare. madam speaker, with that i'm happy to yield 15 seconds to

new memberrom zealand, michigan, mr. high tsenga -- high sanga. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15 second. mr. huizenga: we heard from a colleague from florida on the other side of the aie talking about the constitution and intend of it. ladies and gentlemen, this is about controlling our spending and accountability with the american people. and it might not be in this bill. it might not be in the other bills. eventually we have to realize we need to institutional brakes on our spending because we cannot control our spending in this institution. thspeaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: if this is about protecting social security, medicare, and medicaid, i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized f two minutes. mr. clyburn: thank you very much, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. the clock is ticking. the american people are anxiously waiting for responble leadership. and the republicans here in congress are continuing to play

political games. last night the united states senate rightly defeated the boehner bill on a bipartisan vote. that partin bill was the product of the republicans' my way or the highway approach that held allmericans hostage to ransom payment for medicare, medicaid, and social security beneficiaries. . now, we must find a commonsense compromise. that's why i will vote for the reid amendment today -- reid bill today. the reid bill says it will not let us default from our fiduciary obligations. throughout deliberations on the selfnflicted debt crisis, my bottom line has been to protect

social security, medicare and medicaid. this plan contains real spending cuts and deficit reduction to begin putting our nation's fiscal house in order. it meets the speaker's requirement that spending be cut the amount at least as large as the debt ceiling increase. and it does so while protecting social security, medicare and medicaid beneficiaries. it also safeguards programs that provide low-income young people the opportunity to go to college and to work to achieve the american dream. we must take responsible action now to averthis crisis and move to significant measures to create jobs angenerate economic growth. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. clyburn: thank you, madam speaker.

i yield back. the spear pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, at this time i'm happy to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from tupelo, mississippi, mr. nunnelee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. nunnelee: thank you, madam speaker. we heard from the people on the other side, we want compromise. the american people expect solutions. and this harry reid plan offers no real solutions to the out-of-control spending problem. this har reid plan offers no solutions to the broken washington mess that got us here, so i'll vote no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, may i inquire about the timen both sides, please? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts has 1 3/4 minutes remaining. the gentleman from california has 4 1/2 minutes. mr. mcgovern: we'll reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, at this time i'm happy to yield to my friend fromew jersey, mr. garrett. the speaker pro tempore: the gntleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. one minute. mr. garrett: and as i come to the floor, as the previous speaker said, this side of the aisle is committed to reaching a solution and not just a deal to this problem. we are cmitted to reaching out across the aisle and across the other de of this house to reach a compromise. we have already compromised on the level ofuts going even further. we have already compromised on the level of the caps, raising the caps to make it even easier in that regard as well. we have also already compromised fr where we started with regard to a balanced bget amendment, holding true to e idea that we should, as all americans

agree, eventually pass a change in the constitution and require a balanced budget amendment to this bill. but at the end of the day, although we will compromise on cuts and we will compromise on caps and we will compromise on moving forward on a balanced budget amendment, let it be clear as god as my witness we will not compromise on our principles, our principles of defending e constitution and defending america and making sure our prosperity does not have this excessive debt on it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from new york, mr. engel. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. engel: well, thank you. here we are on the brink of economic disaster and we're wasting time with symbolic political theater at its worth. we want compromise and solutions and to protect medicare on the democratic side. why don't you try working with democrats? the american people want us to meet in the middle. they don't want this nonsense.

the debate focuses only on spendi cuts without closing tax loopholes and that still isn't enough for some. no wonder "the wall street journal" said no wonder they don't look like adults. the democrats want a compromise in the middle and the president needs to pull the 14th amendment -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. engel: the republicans have shown they don't want compromise at all. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. dreier: thank you very much, madam speaker. at this time i'm happy to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from newberg, indiana, mr. bucshon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for 30 second. mr. bucshon: madam speaker, here we are on the verge of a finaial meltdown and my friends on the other side of the aisle are rried about politics. they're here today worried about protecting the president from having to do his job, lead. the republicans in the house are leading. we passed two bills that would end this crisis, and the senate hasn't -- they haven't put them

down. they haven't voted on them. they've tabled them. we're here to lead. we need leadership. and we're providing it. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, ouside is prepared to close so i will ask -- we'll reserve our time. mr. dreier: madam speaker, we have several more speakers on our side. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. dreier: at this time i'm happy to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from ashton, wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. duff my friends across the aisle voted to rob $500 billion out of medicare for obamacare. they instituted a board that will ration care for our seniors. we brought a proposal for our house that will root out all loho