the number of people signed up on the health care exchanges since they opened and the differences between the state and federally-run exchanges. talking about ridership and

the impact of the shutdown on sequestration. "washington journal" on c-span. >> it is significant because this was the primary residence of the hoover's. lou hoover was the one who designed it to read -- who designed it. of had such a strong grasp how she wanted the house to look even though she was not an architect. we have a lot of the original drawings and documents related to the design and construction of how she wanted the house to look. her influence came from her travels in the southwest united states as well as her travels in north africa. when she traveled with herbert hoover. it is a great legacy of lou henry because she designed the house, she created it, it was inspired by her ideas and she was very closely involved in all

aspects of the house's creation. >> monday night on c-span. >> british prime minister david cameron and members of the house of commons returned to parliament after a three-week recess. the prime minister talked about a range of topics during question time, including increasing childcare benefits, rising energy prices, and the upcoming commonwealth conference. right before question time started, prime minister cameron offered condolences to the six reddish nationals -- british nationals killed in the attack in nairobi. >> questions to the prime minister. >> thank you mr. speaker. i am sure the whole house will want to join me in offering our condolences to the families and friends of those people who lost

their lives and the appalling terrorist attack in nairobi, in particular the six british nationals who lost their lives. this was a despicable attack that demonstrates how we must continue to do all we can to defeat international terrorism. i am sure the house will also want to join me in paying tribute to andrew duncan who died on the 21st of september while on duty. a reminder of the sacrifices that police officers make on our behalf every day. the house will wish to congratulate professor peter higgs who is chairing this year's nobel prize for physics. it is a richly deserved recognition of his lifetime of research and attribute to u.k.'s world leading universities where this research was carried out. i had meetings with colleagues and in addition to my duties, i shall further such meetings later today. >> mr. speaker, can i associate myself and my constituents with

the tribute to victims of terrorism in nairobi and andrew duncan? and of course, accolades to professor higgs. mr. speaker, can the prime minister confirm that less than a third of families will benefit from his tax break? >> what i can confirm is that all married couples paying basic rate tax will benefit from this move. it is not about the money. it is about the message. i think marriage is a great institution and i think we should be supporting marriage through the income tax system. >> prime minister, with the disappearance of the minimum practice income guarantee, death not by a thousand cuts but by one cut. they serve elderly residents and indeed a number of children.

will he investigate this issue and ensure that my constituents will not be isolated and that they will continue to receive the excellent service that they do from their doctors? >> i will look at the case that he makes. i represent a large rural constituency. i think it is the case that many more doctors are operating many more services. we want to see a growth of that to make sure people can go to surgeries rather than emergency units if it is a gp unit they need. >> mr. ed miliband. >> i join the prime minister in sending my condolences to the friends and families of the british nationals murdered in nairobi. and all of those killed in the cowardly act. it was an act of terrorism that reminds us the importance of combating terrorism at home and

around the world. i wish to join him in paying tribute to andrew duncan. his death is a terrible tragedy. it reminds us of the bravery shown by our brave policemen and women day in and day out on our behalf. i send my condolences. on a different note, i join him in celebrating a tremendous achievement of peter higgs in winning the nobel prize. he is a great british scientist. happy birthday to the prime minister. [applause] mr. speaker, on monday the prime minister said "there is a

certain amount you can do freezing energy prices." while the chancellor said -- can he tell us, is freezing energy prices a good idea or a communist plot? [laughter] >> i will leave the communist plots to him. [laughter] first of all, can i thank him? can i thank him for his kind remarks? there is nothing i would rather be doing on my birthday than this. what this government is doing is legislating to put people under the lowest energy carriage. that is a real step forward. on this issue, promising a freeze is a classic case of saying one thing and doing another. policy after policy, regulation after regulation, target after target, all of which put energy prices up. >> he has no answer on labor's energy price freeze. what is clear is it won't happen under him but it would happen under a labor government.

he mentioned his policy on terrorists and he says that his policy -- can he explain why at least 90% of the country will get no benefit from his policy? >> first of all, let us deal with labor's energy policy. let's spend a little bit of time on it. let's examine the fact that he is committed to a new decarbonization target that would add to everyone's bill. he didn't mention the fact that 12 hours after making his pledge, he said he might not be able to fulfill it because of international wholesale gas prices. isn't that the case? what he is promising is a price increase before a promise, a broken promise and a price increase after a promise. one price increase, one broken promise, another price increase.

that sounds like every labor government since the war. >> he is floundering around and he has no answer to labor's energy price freeze. that won't benefit 90% of the country. he has no idea. he wants to bring energy prices down. can you confirm that energy prices have gone up by 300 pounds since he became prime minister? >> energy prices doubled under labor. let me make this point. there is one thing government can control. that is the international wholesale price of gas. i know he would like to live in some sort of marxist universe where you can control all these things but he needs a basic lesson in economics. perhaps he should remember what labor's industry minister has said. this is what he said.

in an effort to appeal to tribal socialism and a minority in the country, he is put at risk millions of jobs. he has put up a sign, don't invest here. that is the new left-wing labor party. >> mr. speaker, i do suggest he goes and tries to work out his position on the energy price freeze. he says the policy was nuts -- he said on monday that it struck a chord. that freezing energy prices could make a difference. he has no idea what he think about this policy. why are under the prices so high? he didn't answer the question. i want to remind him of the words of a previous leader of the opposition.

when gas prices go up, they are rushed unto us. when gas prices are coming down, we wait a very long time before we see anything coming through on our bill. mr. speaker, that was him that said that. why has he changed his mind? what we need is a more competitive energy market. >> what he seems to be separate from is complete amnesia that he was the energy secretary. let me remind him of one of the first acts this government type. we inherited an energy policy from him that would have put 179 pounds on every single bill because of his renewable heat initiative. that was his policy. while we are dealing with quotes, but have a guest who said this. to deal with the problems of climate change, energy bills are likely to rise. who said that? the last energy secretary. everyone wants low prices.

we will get them by dealing with the causes of the low prices instead of a gimmick that collapsed after 12 hours. >> mr. speaker, he says he wants lower prices but prices are going up on his watch. that is the reality. can he confirm that while his energy policy benefits almost nobody, a fact he didn't deny, a 20 month freeze in bills would save money for 27 million households and 2.4 million businesses across this country? >> 12 hours later, he said he might not be able to keep his promise. this is a gimmick. the reason it is a gimmick is he is in favor of a decarbonization target that would add to everybody's bill. he hasn't got an economic policy anymore. he told us over and over again

that if you cut spending, you damage public services. even the bbc disagrees with that. he told us over and over again, if you cut spending, the economy will grow. -- won't grow. let me tell you the best birthday present i could have, the shadow chancellor staring in the shadow cabinet. >> mr. speaker, he says he doesn't want to talk about an economic policy. he wants to talk about the cost of living. doesn't that say all? he doesn't realize that an economic policy is about the cost of living. whatever you say about him is true to form. we have a cost-of-living crisis in this country. energy bills are rising and the

energy companies -- we have a prime minister who stands up for the wrong people. we know what his cost-of-living policy is. more spending, more borrowing, more debt. that would lead to higher taxes and higher mortgage rates. that is the double whammy that would hit every family. but not only have i got the birthday present of the shadow chancellor staying in post. i also have this special birthday treat which is the shadow chancellor yesterday, revealed the election campaign. he said it all depended on the two of them together because "they would win because of their experience, their track record, and their credibility." [laughter] that is, i have to say, that is

like the captain of the titanic running on his safety record. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this contract is due to expire in 18 months time. it is vital for these people that either the post office continues after 2015. i hope the government will ensure that it does. >> the post office card account has been a great bonus for many people. it has helped not only our post offices but elderly people. i will look carefully at what he says. >> why is market intervention in mortgage is ok but in the energy market is not? >> intervening in the mortgage market because banks are failing to provide mortgages so that young people can get on the housing ladder. we are also intervening by

putting everyone on the lowest energy tariff. what the opposition can control is international gas prices. he needs a basic lesson in economics and it sounds like the honorable gentleman does too. >> industrial chemicals are used in a variety of pills which are banned for human use but widely advertised on the internet. does my friend agree with me that action needs to be urgently taken to prevent the importation of these substances in capsule form where they can only be planned for human consumption? >> there have been some extremely serious cases of young people suffering from these sorts of medications that you're able to order on the internet. i will look carefully at what she says.

about whether there is further regulatory steps to be taken to protect people in this way. >> why does the prime minister takeaway 7 billion pounds a year of support to children up to 2015? >> we are putting in more support for children. we are providing the childcare offer for two-year-olds. we have introduced for the first time a pupil premium so children from the poorest homes are going to get more money to get into school. he shakes his head. he should be sitting there in shame at the report that came out yesterday that showed that after a lifetime in education under labor, our young people are bottom of the league in terms of results. >> it is time the house heard from john randle. [applause]

>> can i draw my friends attention to the recent report by imperial college about the detrimental health effects of aircraft noise and could he make sure that when the governments decide, that health and environmental considerations are paramount? >> my honorable friend hasn't had the chance to speak from the back benches. i look forward to hearing other contributions from him. he brings a huge amount to this house. he is right to raise the issue of environmental noise. that will be included in the howard davis report and he will be making a speech about this issue soon. >> does the prime minister think that it is acceptable that since he came to the office, the number of people claiming jobseekers allowance for more than two years has increased by

390%? >> what has happened is the number of workers -- the number of households claiming benefits has gone down. if she looks at what is actually happening in the northwest, 18,000 more people in employment, 45,000 more people employed in the private sector, unemployment has fallen in the northwest by 7000 since the election. workers households down by 26,000. she should be talking of her region instead of talking down. >> i wonder if the prime minister has seen today's bbc report showing that despite reductions in spending, a majority of people think that services provided by the government -- does he agree with me that this shows you can get more for less? >> when i woke up this morning

and heard that the bbc was reporting you can cut public spending and make public services better, i thought i had died and gone to heaven. it is worth looking at. it is one of the many pillars of labor's policy that has collapsed. they thought that public spending cuts would lead to lack of economic growth. they thought that public spending cuts would lead to worse services. the bbc has told them that is wrong. that is what has happened today. greator's policy will be for parents, so says boris johnson. does the prime minister agree? >> we are helping working parents and that is what the tax relief on childcare that this government will be introducing will be all about. >> my constituents were tragically killed when they were hit by a driver who had 10

previous convictions for dangerous driving. over 8000 people have signed a petition calling for the law to be changed so that drivers convicted of dangerous driving should receive tough sentences. does he agree the law should be looked at? >> i will certainly look at the petition that he talks about. i would like to join my friend in offering my condolences. this is the most appalling crime as he says. someone with 10 previous convictions who is disqualified driving dangerously and killing two people. the sentence was 10 years. i understand that the maximum sentence available is 14 years. the government has introduced a new offensive. we are looking at this whole area. the justice secretary has asked

to review the sentencing guidelines for serious driving offenses and i think we should look at this case in the light of that. >> a family in my constituency are paying a massive 3200 energy bill. why is the prime minister siding with energy charging inflating prices? >> i want to see energy bills come down. that is why we are legislating to put people on the lowest tariff. we are going to go through and see what regulations and rules put in place by the leader of the opposition, what we can change to keep those down. that is why we need a competitive market. making promises that you yourself admit you cannot meet the next day, that is not proper politics. >> does the prime minister agree with the general that whether

you are a small, medium or large business, you have to grow as a business and invest and hire taxes don't do that? >> my friend is entirely right. what we have heard from labor's conference is that they are going to put up taxes on some of britain's biggest at most successful businesses. their message to business is, don't invest here. don't expand here. go somewhere else. we want to fight some petty socialist campaign against successful big business. that is absolutely wrong for our economy. >> closed question. >> i've written a letter to the prime minister of economic development. >> the regional growth fund is helping to create some 66,000 jobs with an investment in the northeast of 330 million pounds.

we don't want to go back to the previous administration system. the cabinet committee brings together secretaries of state from all key departments. >> is the prime minister aware that the department of health are consulting on changing the funding formula for health care and the northeast and cumbria which is the affect of taking some 230 million pounds out of the health care budget for the region? government stands up for the north of england? >> the whole government stands up for the northeast of england. that is why -- you have got the new train plant, expanding in sunderland, there is plenty of good news in the northeast. let me answer his question about nhs funding. this year for some funding for the northeast clinical commissioning group is going up by 170 million pounds. that is a 2.3% increase.

that is happening under this government. under the labor plan, health spending would be cut. the shadow health secretary, the man they decided to keep in the shadow cabinet has said that increasing health spending "is irresponsible." that is the labor view. we don't agree with that. we are spending money in the northeast. >> i congratulate the government on ending the unfairness on free school meals for 16-18-year- olds. will the prime minister look to end the similar unfairness were colleges have to pay schools? >> i think it is good that we are going to have the same system on free school meals for colleges and secondary schools. i also think children in infant school won't have to pay for school meals as well. i will look carefully at the

point that he makes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister will know i am a proud member of a trade union which seeks to stand up for the public and private sector. can i ask what sacrifice -- we are all in this together. >> i am sure that just as i welcome -- mccluskey is delighted with the reshuffle. they wouldn't call it a reshuffle. they would call that a purge because they have all gone. the fact is, it has been tough in our country. it has been difficult because of the appalling deficit and debt that his party left in government. >> mr. david morris.

>> in my constituency, there is a school that is a threat to being closed down. i spoke to the education secretary about this. it has been over four years. with the prime minister look into the ridiculous subject given that the county council education portfolio holder has said the school should close? onlyhe consultation has just been completed. this was a few months ago. >> i will look at the case that he makes. under our education reforms, there is greater opportunity for schools to gain their independence and for new schools to establish themselves. i hope to look at all of the structural changes that we have made education. >> under this government, the

cost of childcare is rocketing while wages have stagnated. families are facing nursery costs rising faster than wages. when does the prime minister going to take action to extend free nursery provisions? >> we have extended the hours that people get when they have four-year-olds. for the first time, we have introduced childcare assistance when people have two-year-olds. that has changed under this government. we are also introducing proper tax relief on childcare so that people who work hard and do the right thing can get help with their childcare. i hope when it comes to vote on it the party will support it. >> one month ago, i installed coal blocking technology. this has shown in the last month 65% of the coals have been nuisance calls. will the government do all it can to look at whether telephone providers should be profiteering

by charging to provide information vital to trace these calls? >> my friend makes the important point. he has advised his constituent about the service where you can stop some of the calls that are coming through. it is a real pain in some people's eyes. i am sure we can look further. >> does the prime minister agree that allowing time for greater diplomatic discussions to take place over syria was preferable to rushing in and bombing the country? >> the fact that america was so clear that it would take action is what brought about a change of heart on behalf of the syrian government. that is the real lesson we should learn. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

one of the biggest factors in many young people's budget is the cost of their mortgage. can the minister tell us what will be the effect on mortgage rates if the government were to increase borrowing? >> my friend is absolutely right. one of the most important aspects of people's bills is the mortgage payment they have to make. the shadow chancellor is not right. if you borrow more, you risk interest rates and mortgage rates going up. families across the country understand that. they understand, you only get -- if you a proper economic plan. >> my constituent was brutally murdered and his girlfriend gang raped whilst on holiday in sri lanka. justice continues to be denied. the key suspect is a close ally of the sri lankan president. is the prime minister comfortable meeting this president at the summit next

month and what will he say to him? >> i am grateful for the thequestion. it is right for the british prime minister to go to the commonwealth conference because we are big believers in the commonwealth and making that organization work and work for us. i think it is right, and going to the conference we should not hold back in being very clear about those aspects of the human rights record in sri lanka that we are not happy with. there are points you can't make if you can't go. >> will the prime minister welcome the scrap metal dealers act? >> it has got the support of the church. extra taxes will boost treasury revenues.

it will make the trains run on time. can you say that about any other piece of legislation? >> can i say to the honorable gentleman what pleasure it gives me today to refer to him as my honorable friend. an honor he fully deserves. i welcome the scrap metal bill which has helped to bring revenue into the treasury. it is also helping to deal with the scourge which is a crime that we have seen grow in recent years, because of the price of growth and the price of metals. the lead off the church roof was stolen and i know this is going to help make sure that doesn't happen again. >> 83% of the beneficiaries of the government's proposed marriage tax break will be men. 17% will be women. why does the prime minister have such a blind spot when it comes to women? >> i think it is worth supporting marriage through the

income tax system. let me make this challenge to the party opposite. in government, they gave a marriage tax break through the inheritance tax system. they give a married tax breaks to the rich. i want to give a married tax break to everybody. >> thank you, mr. speaker. does the prime minister believed that when the european union forces my constituents to buy 20 cigarettes at a time rather than their current 10, it will reduce the number they smoke? >> it doesn't sound a very sensible approach. i wasn't aware of this specific issue. let me have a look and get back to him. >> thank you, mr. speaker. why has he told members of his party behind closed doors that forcing through same-sex marriage legislation was a terrible mistake? >> i haven't. i am very proud that we passed

same-sex marriage in this parliament. i am proud of the role i played in bringing it forward. i think marriage is a wonderful thing. that goes whether you're a man or a woman or a man and a man and a woman and a woman. i am proud of it. it makes our country fairer and i hope that is clear. >> with even now admitting that his airport plan has no support, does the prime minister welcome the howard davidson statement that some plans will not even past third base and very mentally? >> i don't want in any way to interfere with what howard davis is doing. i think he is the right person to carry out this report. it is important we try to build cross party consensus on the base that it is a good report, a thorough process and that all parties will be able to endorse it. >> order. point of order.

>> can i just go back to the prime minister's answer on the marriage tax break? when asked whether it was true that one third america was would benefit, the prime minister said that all married couples would benefit. that is just not true. >> the honorable gentleman has made his point. i allow the prime minister to respond. order. [shouting] >> the point is that the married couples allowance is available to every basic rate taxpayer. that is something to celebrate in our country. i stand up for marriage even if

he wants to talk it down. can i thank him once again for his tenacity even though he has been proved wrong on every major economic question? he is a great collection winner for us. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> you have been watching prime minister's questions. watch any time on www.c-span.org , where you can find video of past rime minister's questions and other programs.

floor debate the on the government shutdown and the debt ceiling deadline, followed by conversation by two former congressman about the shutdown. after that the situation in somalia. >> there are very legitimate but these trolls have set up these shell organizations and are literally suing everyone they can without possible justification. i think this legislation would go a long way in making sure they are funneling up to the courts in the way they should. >> i think they were surprised when the library decided they could not unlock the cell phone they own without going to their carrier. there is really no copyright involved.

it's a way for monopolies to exert their monopoly control. >> it is the practice of putting unauthorized third-party charges on california bills. in other words, charging for things they never ordered or never received, but they have to pay. >> monday on the communicators span.ght p.m. eastern on c- >> the senate was in session today for more debate on the .overnment shutdown abouts a debate that is half an hour. >> the senator from louisiana.

>> thank you, madam president. i want to follow-up on the words of my distinguished colleague from hawaii and also comment on a few points that the senator from wyoming made in this important debate that is happening in washington today, a debate that is happening all over our country. i want to associate myself with the effort underway by senator collins from maine and the senator from minnesota and others on both sides of the aisle that have been working throughout the evening, the night, early morning hours, talking, trying to find a way forward. i thank both leaders for blessing that effort and trying to find a way forward. this is a very dangerous

situation. despite the fact that there are members on the other side of the capital in the republican party, not in the democratic party, that continue to doubt that there will be any ramifications from default -- i hate to say it, but they are going to be sorry they uttered those words. this is a very, very serious situation. the u.s. treasury bond is the safest investment in the world today. let me repeat, the safest investment in the world today. think about it. if you have a little bit of money, would you invested in russia, saudi arabia, china -- where would you invested? the government of the united states isn't perfect, but

relatively speaking, in all aspects of the world, what is the safest group that is likely to pay their debt? that would be the united states. it has been that way for over 225 years. the republicans in the house have decided to put that on the line. to put that on the line because they don't like the affordable care act, or they put all of that on the line because they don't like the way the budget process is working. they then doubled down and say,

not only are we going to put the full faith and credit of the united states at risk, we are going to shut the government down while we do that until we get our way on a specific piece of legislation. i know that there are principles that are worth debating. how big the size of government should be, how much they should spend, how much local government should spend. what level of revenues should be

required to pay for it? who should put up those revenues? those are important things to decide. we try to make those decisions every day. for a group of 80 republicans, three of whom are in my own state, sorry to say, three representatives signed a letter saying, if we don't get exactly what we want from the affordable care act -- which by the way passed the congress, was upheld by the supreme court, we are going to put the full faith and credit of the united states at risk. the ramifications of this are too massive to describe. so, we have only a few days --

we are already feeling the results of this hostagetaking by a few republicans in the house of representatives. i am praying and hoping that my colleagues in the senate will live up to the great hope of the senate. walk back from the ledge, reason together and find a way forward. i see my good friend from tennessee here and i think if there is anyone that can help us do that, he would be one that could along with senator mccain and senator graham and others who have been there, who understand how you can get wound up. it is important to wind down and figure this out. i will yield in a minute to the senator if he has a question but i do want to say because my argument is not with him, that when senators come to the floor to say that democrats haven't wanted to go along with the regular process, i want to again i came to the floor earlier as an appropriator. the first step in and appropriations process is to get a budget. the democrats amazingly were able to get a budget. we got a budget. two completely different

approaches. how much money should be raised? it is two different approaches. it is two different parties. we have a democratic party controlling here, republicans controlling their. that is the first step. they are very different. we need to go to conference on that budget. the democrats here have asked our republican colleagues that sit right across the aisle, please let us go to the budget committee 21 times. i will put this into the record. we started on april 21, senator reid requested unanimous consent. not going to read them all. fast-forward to may 14. senator warner asks unanimous consent to the to conference. senator mcconnell blocked. in june, senator mary asked for unanimous consent. senator rubio blocked. go to july 17. senator murray asks again. senator mike lee blocks. they blocked going to budget because the tea partiers in this party said, we will go to budget but you can't talk about raising any revenues in budget. we will try to solve the budget problems but you democrats cannot talk about raising

revenues. the only thing we want to talk about is cutting. cutting, cutting, cutting. they look at anything. they will cut headstart, education, the epa, that is all they want to do is cut. we said, you can't solve a problem with just one side of that equation. we don't know where the revenues might need to come from but there has got to be a balance. we have to start paying down our long-term debt. i don't want anyone in this government or world do think that democrats aren't concerned about the debt. we are concerned about the debt. we don't like the debt being this high. we want to find ways and we have reduced spending trillions of dollars. the senator from tennessee to his credit -- i have supported a

lot of what they have done. i have supported a lot of that. to his credit, he has really tried. to get our country to pay down its long-term debt and a smart way that strengthens our economy and does not pull the rug out from underneath us. because the senator from texas, senator cruz, because senator lee from utah said no, we can't go to budget. unless you democrats agree before you even get to the negotiating table that we can't raise any revenue. then you can't start negotiating the individual bills. my responsibility is to negotiate homeland. i am very proud of my colleagues. he and i were given a number by our leadership. we have completely put our bill

together with virtually no disagreement. we had to cut a lot of things. and, we were asked by some republican leaders to add a $700 million project that i had to absorb into my budget because of something that the republicans asked for. i wasn't a big fan of it but the president and the republicans wanted it so i had to compromise and put it in my bill without any additional money and take some things out to make room for it. that is what we do around here. that is what we used to do. we are not doing it much right now. so for anyone to come to the floor to try to say to

democrats, you are the ones that want to go to regular order. we will go to budget. patty murray, the senator from washington could not be working any harder. she is one of the most respected members in this whole body. i am not just saying that. she is very humble. she is very smart. she is very much willing to negotiate and the senator from maryland is probably one of the most popular senators that has ever served in the senate literally. everyone likes her. she is not difficult to work with. she is tough. she is not difficult to work with. so we have got really two

extraordinary people here trying to work through this. but yet, we are not so much being blocked by our side on the senate even though they have blocked 21 times. they are being run by a group of extreme radical party members on their side that have now gotten the republican party in complete disarray. that is not good for them. it is not good for the democrats and it is not good for the country. now we have to figure out our way forward. i have run into my 10 minutes and i am happy to wrap this up. to recap, i am willing to be part of the common ground to find a solution. i will not allow, as long as i am on this floor today and i will be here for a couple hours, for anyone to suggest that democrats have been holding up

the process. we have been trying to get to a budget committee for six months. we have been trying to negotiate appropriation bills. we love not be held hostage nor the people or the businesses or nonprofits -- because republicans can't even go to negotiation until they get 100% of their way. or until the government is shut down, it can open. or until we default on our debt, we cannot negotiate under those terms. we can negotiate on terms where the hostages are freed and we sit down like grown-ups and work this out. i am hoping we can do that. i yield the floor and i thank the senator for his patients. >> the senator from tennessee. >> i want to thank the senator from louisiana for her desire to seek a solution. i appreciate the many ways we have been able to work together on so many issues. i don't like to blame either side. i said from day one, the effort that was taking place in the house regarding the health care bill was not an effort that was going to lead to a conclusion. it was an overreach. i know that. you know that.

they know that. the country knows that. we have ended up where we are. in fairness, what has happened over the last couple days is, on the other side of the aisle -- we had a group of folks that had an idea. i thought it was a good starting place. six republicans and six democrats. we had an idea of a way to move beyond this. let's face it, we all know what happens around here. two nights ago, the white house weighed in and leadership on the democratic side pulled back hair. the fact is, we are where we are. let me say this. i am perfectly happy with the two leaders negotiating a deal. i went to support the leaders in negotiating a deal.

at the end of the day, what has happened is we have had a little bit of a pullback where house republicans overreached. no question. what has also happened over the last couple of days is there has been a little bit of a push to overreach and undo what happened with the budget control act in 2011 where budget caps were put in place. the president signed it. it passed the senate. it is just as much as the health care law -- this also is law. what we have had over the last few days as a little bit of a pullback. i hope that it is temporary. what i would say is, at this moment in time, we have had a little bit of a problem on both sides of the aisle. i think we got an opportunity over the next 24 hours for that to be worked out. what i would do is, i would encourage the leadership to

continue on this pace. it takes four days to move anything across the senate floor. i think we all know the debt ceiling is this thursday. what i hope is going to happen is that both sides will admit, there is a little bit of an issue here on both sides. there is a strong desire by the vast majority of our caucus to do something that is a pragmatic good government step. at the end of the day, these events have always been used in times when you have tremendous concerns about our financial situation. they have always been used to hopefully negotiate some reforms. because we have been on the wrong page for so long, which i just admitted to, we are not even in the right book. we have been on the wrong page.

we are finally on the right page. we are not only on the right page, we are focused on fiscal issues relative to the debt ceiling and a continuing resolution to fund the government. not only are we on the right page, we are finally on the right paragraph. we are focusing on discussing reforms. we're on the right subject. we have got the two leaders that are now talking to each other. i think the six democrats and six republicans that came together have helped that effort. there was a little bit of a pullback. i do think the white house encouraged. let's see if there is some we can bus to the sequester. in fairness, i am pretty sure that happened. there has been some concerns about some appropriators. it but it is the law. i hope what will happen is we

end up with an agreement. the time is so short we are not going to be able to do anything substantial. i think we all know that. i hope we will end up with an agreement that at least sets the framework for us to move ahead, move this behind us as we should, but sets the framework to really move into dealing with the mandatory issues in such a way as they need to be dealt with. i think it is unreasonable to ask people on our side of the aisle to have a trillion dollar debt ceiling increase and not put some kind of framework in place to look at some of the mandatory issues that we know are driving our country into the ground the way they are. i think there ought to be some framework for that to be discussed over the next 60, 90 days. the house has looked at six weeks. some people have said that is

too short. it seems to me, doing something for the short-term to get government up and the threat of the debt ceiling behind us, doing something over the short- term gives us some time to harness that energy that the senator from louisiana was just alluding to. the presiding officer has intimated some of the same things. the fact is, we haven't. a big part of it is being on the wrong subject for a long time. we are finally on the right one. let's come to a place where we can now focus on the things we should have been focused on all along relative to debt ceilings and cr's. i don't think anybody that i have heard has been doing this. this is a moment where we really do need to resolve this issue. this is not a moment to take shots at each other. this is a moment -- we know the path we have been down. it has been in the wrong direction. we are now in the right place.

let's let these leaders work it out. i hope that they will. i hope that while the democrats say this is settled law, the health care bill, i hope that democrats will also say -- and republicans -- that the budget control act is settled law. we have agreed to some caps. there is a more intelligent way of getting to those caps. i think there is probably 70 people in this body that agree. we could do some mandatory reforms and substitute those for some of the discretionary cuts and still end up at the same levels of spending that are in this bill and it would be more intelligent for our nation and it would make our nation much

stronger -- i think there is a lot of desire to talk about those kinds of things. there is all kinds of mandatory reforms. they are not the same. the senator from alabama who just came into the chamber made out of that yesterday. there is all kind of mandatory changes and they are not the same. we need to look at those. we need to honor the trusts that have been set up. i think we finally have gotten to a pretty good place. i really do. i think both sides are a little bit at fault. people might discern one being more than the other. it is time for all of us to focus on the right page, the right paragraph, to get this done and i think we can as long as people don't try to gain this out into which gets a bigger win. which ends up with the political

wind. i'm afraid a little bit of that slipped in over the last 24 hours. that's what we all came here to do. happen,it is going to although i have been a little bit concerned he goes over the last 24 hours that has not been what these conversations have been about. and really focus on doing something that is a bipartisan and will stand the time -- test of time to go to the house in such a way that has a tremendous amount of support. and not something one side tries to peel off and we end up and that is not going to stand the test of time. that would not take us to a