and gone together and said that the house of representatives has passed a bill funding the pa. -- va. we should fund it. i want you to imagine all 46 senate republicans, if we stood together and supported the house republicans in saying the house of representatives has voted to reopen our national parks, to reopen our war memorials, and the majority leader of the senate refuses to allow the senate even to vote. mr. president, i want you to imagine simply that senate republicans had stood together and said, we support the house in standing with the american people. ms. prez -- mr. president, if that had happened, this result would have been very, very different. it is heartbreaking to the american people that senate republicans, divided, decided to

direct their criticism, direct retention, direct their cannon fire at house republicans and at those standing with the american people. yet at the same time, mr. president, to the millions of americans who rose up in the last couple of months, i want to give a word of encouragement, a word of encouragement about the path forward. a couple of months ago, the washington establishment scoffed at the notion that the american people might rise up. that was viewed as silly, parochial, couldn't happen. a couple of months ago, the washington establishment scoffed at the notion that the house of representatives would stand strong saying, we should fund every bit of the federal government but we shouldn't fund obamacare. yet, mr. president, what we have seen in the last two months has been extraordinary. millions of americans speaking

out in overwhelming numbers saying, obamacare isn't working. mr. president, the unions are jumping ship. senatetic members of the and house went to the president and said, we want to be exempted from obamacare. this law isn't working. worth reflecting on how extraordinary it is to see the american people rise up in such incredible numbers and to see the house of representatives engage in what i consider to be a profile in courage -- standing with the american people. forward, the way we are going to stop obamacare, the way we are going to stop the suffering, the harms that are being visited upon millions of americans is the path we have seen these past couple of months. it is the american people rising up. the answers are not going to come from washington. washington is broken.

the answers are going to come from the american people, and so, mr. president, i am today encouraged. the millionsed by of americans who want to get back to our free market principles, get back to the constitution, and stop this train wreck of a law that is the biggest job killer in this country that is hurting people all across the country. president, it is sad that today the united states senate is telling people all across struggling, who are who were trying to provide for their kids and who are getting notifications in the mail -- your health care has been dropped. maybe you have an elderly parent , and that health care policies providing for your family. children facing debilitating diseases, and yet, you are getting a notification -- your health

insurance has been dropped because of obamacare. mr. president, it is sad that the u.s. senate says, we will do nothing to answer your plight. but weted your plight, will do nothing. mr. president, it is sad that when you have james hoffa, the president of the teamsters, saying that obamacare is destroying the health care of millions of working men and women in this country and the families who depend upon them, and the u.s. -- the u.s. senate says, we are close for business. the washington establishment has so the problems and suffering of working america is not the concern of the washington establishment. that is sad. time, i am optimistic. i am inspired by the millions of americans who have risen up. if the american people continue to rise up, i am confident that in time the u.s. senate will follow the lead of the house of representatives and listen to the american people.

that is our job. that is our responsibility. this is a terrible deal today. it is a terrible deal for the american people. at the same time, the path forward is the american people continuing to rise up. we are going to turn this around. we are going to restore jobs. we are going to restore economic growth. we are going to restore the ability of people who are struggling to climb the economic ladder into achieve the american dream. we are going to stop the number one job killer in this country that is obamacare. mr. president, i rise in opposition to this deal that does not serve the best interest of the men and women, each of us -- the men and women each of us represent. i yield the floor. >> here we are again, another unnecessary crisis, a proposal that maintains the status quo, and very little time to read and

evaluate the bill. in fact, we still don't have a final version of the text. no time to explain it to our constituents. this is washington at its worst. it is exactly the kind of thing the american people are fed up with. exactly why several colleagues and i began this effort to delay and defund obamacare back in july. it appears that this particular fight will end much the same way obamacare be land -- began, in a last-minute deal, negotiated in back rooms, enforced on congress and the american people. the washington establishment can't bring itself to believe that this is why congress's approval ratings are so low. washington doesn't listen to the american people. it ignores them. when the american people can no longer be ignored, the administration shut down

national parks -- shuts down national parks, blocks veterans from going to their own memorials, uses the irs to target certain groups, and hold hostage critical funding for cancer research, low income women, children, veterans health benefits, border security, and our national guard. it is shameful how washington treats the american people. the people are right to be upset about that. the media keeps asking, was it worth it? my answer is that it is always worth it to do the right thing. abusive against an government in defense of protecting the individual rights of the american people is always the right thing. some say we shouldn't have thought because we couldn't win -- fought because we couldn't win. ons country wasn't built fighting when only victory was certain. in fact, some of the most important victories in our history where the results of

fighting battles against significant odds. even if victory seems difficult or impossible, that would not excuse me or anyone else from doing the right thing. avoiding difficult battles, after all, is how we end up in this kind of mess, a government with $17 trillion in debt that we add to at a rate of closely one trillion a year. entitlementol systems, a tax code that no one understands, all because washington is willing to act only when there is guaranteed political gain. when the avoidance of political risk becomes our dominant motivation, only the washington establishment wins, and the american people lose. furthermore, in washington, victories are rarely immediate, and very few end up being permanent.

obamacare wasn't enacted overnight, and it won't be repealed overnight. we must remind the american people of the harmful effects of this law at every opportunity if we are ever going to see it repealed. thatve repeatedly warned the american people will be shocked when they realize the way that the president has misled the american people about obamacare. the embarrassing rollout of the exchanges doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. every day brings a new story of a family whose deductible has doubled or a married couple that cannot keep the plan they have or a business that can no longer provide health insurance for its employees or workers who are seeing their hours cut or losing their jobs altogether. the realization that the administration has either been dishonest or incompetent, or perhaps a combination of both, is just starting to dawn on the american people. even the president's friends in

the media are watching this slow rolling train wreck and are demanding the president do something to stop it. tribune," the president's own hometown newspaper, puts it this way -- "last spring, president barack said, there will be glitches and bumps and the rollout of the new system. what we are seeing now is no glitch or bump. there is a growing mountain of evidence that obamacare has fundamental problems in design and implementation." we goes on to say,, " encourage a one-year delay in the law. we recognize that is not going to happen. obamacare is here. it is time though for the obama administration to level with americans about what is happening here. it is time to stop limning republicans and start talking about what needs to change."

it is interesting to see that the "chicago tribune," the president's own hometown paper, a significant degree, for exactly what i have aen calling for since july, one-year halt, a one-year delay, a one-year timeout, to protect the american people from the harmful effects of this law, a law that the president himself has acknowledged isn't ready for prime time, a lot of the president himself has indicated he's not willing to follow, as it was written. this was exactly what we were arguing for all the way back in july, and it now appears that the president's hometown paper was with us. but theveryone president seems to recognize that this law is good to be terrible for the american people. it is costing jobs. it is hurting families. it is making people's health care situation worse, and it won't solve the problems in our

broken health care system. let me be clear -- there will be very real consequences for people in both parties as a result of the implementation of this law. washington has the upper hand. the american people will always have the last word. this is not over. we have an obligation to fight for the american people. i do not intend to let the american people down. thank you, mr. president. as members of the house and senate finalized a deal to end the government shutdown, the campaign to fix the debt held an event looking at the long-term budget and debt problems facing the country. former defense secretary leon panetta and former white house budget director jim nussle urged congress to pass a plan to address entitlements and budget deficits. this is just over an hour.

good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. i would like to introduce maya mcguiness, the president of the committee for responsible federal budget and the president of fix the debt. [applause] >> thank you. thanks so much, everybody, for joining us today. this turned out to be an incredibly well-timed conference. on behalf of fix the debt, fixed the debt is a nationwide, diverse coalition made up of citizens, business leaders, civic leaders with the purpose of trying to hum a in a bipartisan way, focus national attention on the need and push for a comprehensive debt deal that would help deal with the nation's fiscal challenges. today is obviously an important

day. it appears as though we have a real plan put in place that would deal with opening the government and lifting the debt ceiling and putting in place a budget process to help focus on those discussions. we have, today, with us an incredible gathering of people who will talk about the current crisis we have been in, the state of play where we are, and the kinds of things we want to focus on going forward from a really diverse group of people with diverse perspectives. again, i think the importance is to talk about how people with different opinions can come together and work on these issues. i think what is clear is that what we have seen so far is the model in this country is we have been lurching from crisis to crisis. we cannot continue to do that. i think in the coming weeks, it is going to be critically important. we know what we need to focus on , the issues of reforming our entitlement system, our tax code, replacing the sequester with smarter cuts, and finding a plan to put our debt on a downward path.

we think it is critical that it is time to stop the menace of the way we have been covering -- been governing, start real negotiations, and solve the problem. i'm thrilled to be able to introduce secretary panetta, who has held so many important roles in all of this, most recently as secretary of defense, but has also played instrumental roles in budget negotiations in the past. he's going to kick off this will discussion and talk to us from his perspective about all of issues. we are incredibly lucky to have him. thank you for joining us, secretary panetta. >> thank you, very much -- thank you very much, maya. ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating in this effort to try to put this country back on the right track. is that later today actions both by the house and senate, that they can bring, , a veryhink has been

tragic and shameful period in our history to an end. that what to believe has happened has been not the result of an economic crisis, not the result of war, but the result of a self-inflicted wound by people who frankly swear to make sure that they will do everything to protect and defend the constitution and this country. ago, we went through a similar shutdown when i was chief of staff to president clinton. i thought that there were two lessons that were learned by that experience. you don't take a

step that hurts the american people, innocent american people, by shutting the government down. that makes no sense. that weapon against your very constituents, against the people who elected you to office. ultimately the lesson that came out of that, it was better to govern than to create gridlock and to shut the government down. it is better to govern. that was the case. 17 years later, i think those lessons still apply. it makes no sense to shut the government down and to hurt this country, to hurt innocent women who needed nutrition assistance, families that are trying to meet their

debts at the end of the month, putting people out of work, putting people out of jobs, threatening individuals in terms of their quality of life. it makes no sense to do that. threatensstep that our economy, hurts our economy, hurts our growth level, an economy that has been through some rough times and is looking like it may be on the right track -- why would you take a step that would deliberately hurt our economy? and hurting our national defense. let me tell you, from my own experience -- i just had the opportunity to come from the pentagon -- a combination of the sequester and this shutdown has hurt our national defense. not only are some very important elements of our defense being 12 air force squadrons, combat squadrons of that have been grounded, half of our air force planes are not we haver combat --

ships that are not being deployed. there is maintenance that is not being done. we are virtually hollowing out our military. at the very important time when we face all kinds of threats abroad in this country. this is still a dangerous world that we live in. then the shutdown top of that, the furloughs, the impact this is having on the men and women in the defense department is inexcusable, in terms of protecting this country. america and americans when these shutdowns take place. my hope is that everyone learns the second lesson, which is that it is time for govern -- to govern, to roll up their sleeves, and to get to work. the place they should be -- they should have been weeks ago -- is in a budget conference. working on the key issues they need to address if we are

serious about reducing the deficit, getting rid of sequester, and trying to put this country on the right path to the future. a budget conference that deals with entitlements, all the entitlement programs, and determines what reforms and savings could be achieved there, a conference that focuses on looking at the whole issue of discretionary spending, what caps should we put on it, but what should be the next five-year direction for discretionary. someed to establish stability here rather than this kind of kick the can down the road mentality that we have been involved with. what is our discretionary spending going to look like over this nextperiod -- this next -- look like over this next period? tax all of those things ought to be looked at. this is the opportunity to do it. takepe is that they will

advantage of this opportunity to govern this country. a turningwe are at point in the united states of america. it is a critical turning point. we can either be an america in renaissance with a strong economic recovery, with opportunity for everyone, a strong middle class, the opportunity to be creative and innovative, the opportunity to provide good education to our kids, to be able to have a strong workforce, as we do -- this country could be in a renaissance in the 21st century. or we could be a country in decline, and american decline, if we continue to be dysfunctional in terms of how we govern this country and if we continue to operate by crisis after crisis after crisis. that is no way to govern the country. what path we take is largely going to be determined with how we govern ourselves.

in recent years, unfortunately, as i tell my students, you govern a democracy either through leadership crisis -- if leadership is there, we can avoid crisis. they've got to be willing to take the risks associated with leadership. if leadership is not there, we will operate by crisis. crisis will drive policy. you can do that. there is a price to be paid. the price that is paid is you lose the trust of the american people and our system of governing. the time has now come to exercise leadership on all sides. the american people are probably us best example that all of in elected office through our strength from -- the american people, like my immigrant parents, have some fundamental principles and values they believe in -- common sense, doing what is right, hard work, sacrifice, and a willingness to

do what they believe is necessary in order to get their children a better life. that i have seen that in our men and women in uniform as secretary of defense. our men and women serving this country are willing to put their lives on the line in order to protect this country. they are willing to fight and to die in order to protect united states of america. i believe, if they are willing to fight and die to protect this country, then surely that those we elect to office ought to be willing to take the risks associated with governing in order to protect this country. our hope is that they will do that, they will engage in this conference, and they will do everything necessary to protect the government of, by, and for the people. >> thank you so much. would like to introduce former congressman, former chairman of the budget committee, former

director of the office of management and budget, jim nussle. >> thank you. leon, that is impossible to follow. maybe i shouldn't even try. i followed you a few times. both as chairman of the budget committee and at omb. and theud of the tenure experience and dedication and , andle of public service again, you showed it here today. i thank you for joining us at this important moment. this is not a proud moment for our country, even with the good news of an agreement. we can all look forward and see a couple of different paths that could easily develop, one that is just as negative as the one that we have recently been on that could, by january 15 to february 7, devolved into yet another crisis, stalemate, another juncture that would prove just as damaging as the one we have been through, or a

path were cooler heads can experience, some judgment, some leadership, people who want to govern, as secretary panetta said, people who want to step up and realize that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, that our country is more important than all of the little petty things that go on all the time. we have all participated in it. i don't stand here with clean hands today. i see former members of congress , and of course, leon, as well time, of us, from time to the rhetoric has gone up a little too hot, and maybe we said something or did something, but at most junctures, we were able to put all of that aside, come together, and say, ok, we said that. he did that. we have been there. let's come in in figure out what the right path forward should be. what we have seen recently has been reckless or incompetent. pick your poison. on debates that are important -- the role of

government certainly is an important national debate that we have now and will continue to have. abuse, taxd, and reform, entitlement reform, even defunding or delaying programs that may be popular on one side and unpopular on the other -- it is certainly worthy of debate. anyone who has watched saturday morning cartoons and has watched how a bill becomes a law by schoolhouse rock -- i'm just a bill, i'm only a bill on capitol what wasnow and knew going to happen. this did not take any -- take anybody, other than a kid watching saturday morning cartoons, to understand that when the president and senate the house isn't going to go. that is just the way it works. that is the way our system has been developed. instead of educating our constituents, instead of taking it as an opportunity to inform

people and to explain exactly how we are going to govern ourselves in a self-governing society, people have taken this to forward their own personal or their own personal political agendas. , inas been an abomination my view, and very reckless and incompetent towards our system of self-government. we have an opportunity. today, cooler heads to prevail. we have an opportunity to look forward over these next couple of months and say, we can put this process back together. both secretary panetta as chairman of the budget committee and myself have participated in these conference committees between the house and the senate where budget negotiators come together and plot the path forward. they are messy. they can be ugly. they can be just as difficult as what we have seen, but if people are committed to the end result and if they will listen to organizations and campaigns, such as what we have assembled

here today, we can give them some tools for the toolbox as they go into tried to build that consensus. there are many good examples of that here today. fix the debt was put together as an organization or as a campaign that believes that tax reform ought to be on the table, certainly, entitlement reform needs to be there. sequestration is a crazy, dumb way to run the government. looking at both annual as well as automatic spending needs to be put on the table. the focus needs to be on the long-term, not february 7, not generally 15th. 2025 and when and our kids and our grandkids have to look at some of this debt? that is the reason we focus it on the debt. ost, in a bipartisan way, can say fixing the debt is the

ultimate goal. everything else, we will have those fights and disagreements. no one, even in this campaign, is going to agree 100% of the time. we have partners here today that i want to invite forward to give a little bit of their perspective on this. as an example, we have had a group of former members, some of them that are here today, that, in a bipartisan way, has met on the outside on a regular basis to talk about ways that they can influence our former colleagues on a path forward. we have had a wednesday morning debt fest where we get together over breakfast and talk about ways that our organizations can work together and stay together and focus attention on this very important mission. we have invited a couple of those partners to come here today and to give us some of those thoughts. i would like to invite a few of them forward here today. first of all, i would like to lmeras, theer pu

president and ceo of the u.s. hispanic chamber of commerce, to come forward and provide his perspective. >> thank you. good afternoon. on behalf of united states hispanic chamber of commerce, i would like to thank the team at fix the debt for organizing this press conference. represent 3.2 million hispanic-owned businesses that, together, contribute more than $468 billion to the american economy every we are -- every year. ofalso advocate on behalf 206 major american corporations, and we do this through our network of 200 local chambers and business associations throughout the nation. the issues --sent the interests of businessmen and women who happen to be of hispanic descent, we never forget that we are first and foremost american businesses. joby tax bill we pay, every we create, every product we manufacture, and every single service we provide those to benefit our american economy.

as one of the nation's largest business organizations, our membership's primary concern is the health and prosperity of our economy. all businesses are directly influenced by a stable political climate and the state of any economy. people understand that we must work together to sustain the growth of our businesses, the security of our jobs, and the full faith and credit of the united states. everyone, from main street to wall street, knows that the weight of the economy rests on the shoulders of our elected officials, and we are asking them to put the common good of our country before political partisanship and self-interest. how deeply has our nation sunk into the trenches of partisan politics that not only has the government of the strongest democracy in the world been shut facing thes now threat of an unprecedented default, which will jeopardize

our standing as a global economic leader? for the past years, our congress has been plagued by divisive politics that have reversed the recovery of our economy. this environment of brinkmanship has reached its boiling point, and the current threats of default are already resonating and creating signs of uncertainty in national and international markets. consumer confidence is now at an all year low, while interest rates continue to climb. the ongoing gridlock is estimated to cost taxpayers almost $19 billion in extra interest. even foreign debt holders are demanding more collateral due to the uncertainty of whether america can even meet its financial obligations. a substantial segment of the u.s. -- of our membership does business abroad and is deeply impacted by both the health of our national and the

international economy. it is no secret that if congress allows the united states to default on its debt, the economic consequences would be nothing short of catastrophic. what happens in the united states doesn't only affect our nation. it impacts all of the countries that rely on the stability and the well-being of our american economy. recently, mexico and brazil, the two largest economies in latin very important trading partners, saw their currencies lose value simply because of america's threat of a default. chinese officials have urged the u.s. to avoid a debt crisis for the sake of the global economy. just last week, the international monetary fund warned of a worldwide shock that would result from the united states defaulting and stated that it is critical for our especially its elected officials, to prevent a looming crisis that would put the global economy at risk. , ourmerican people

economy, and quite frankly, the world is hoping for better news from washington. we stand with our friends at fix the debt, with secretary panetta, with former omb director jim nussle, and all of the other organizations assembled here. we all call on congress to raise our nation's debt ceiling and avoid this default. we urge congress to put an end to this hostile climate of uncertainty and princeton should. to move our country forward, not jeopardize the hard work in the progress we have only together. at the end of the day, elected a stake inave preserving our free-market economy and our american way of life. negotiations, whether they are motivated by profit or politics, achieve their highest possible success when we recognize that operation works -- cooperation works much better than conflict

and solidarity will always outlast isolation and that our differences do not outweigh our common interests. thank you very much. , we will hear from ian kramer. ian is the executive director of leaders engaged on alzheimer's disease. >> thank you. thank you for the opportunity to be here today. this is not a happy day. this is a day where we all sighed in relief that the circular firing squad said, ready, aim, and held its breath. this crisis is not over. all it is is delayed. the guns are still pointed. is the harmgedy that could be done by a default, the harm that has been done by the government shutdown, and the harm that continues to be done by sequester is not suffered by those who impose it upon us. it is suffered by those who they victimize. that is the american people. while we are relieved we have not defaulted, and why we are

relieved that the government shutdown appears to be near its end, hopefully not resurface, sequestration continues to be a weight on our economy, and more important, a weight around the next of the american people who desperately need their government to function and for a long-term solution to be found that keeps them out of this day- to-day jeopardy about whether the programs and services upon which they depend and for which they pay will or will not be there in their time of need. i'm going to focus primarily on sequestration, but we know that annualration is a 10 doses of bad medicine. it is not only what has happened so far. it is what could happen over the next nine budget cycles if we don't fix it, fix it now, and fix it once and for all. if you want to understand what sequestration means for pursuing our own clearly identified and carefully planned national agenda, i would offer you just one example of many, and that is the crisis around alzheimer's.

for 5 million americans who have the disease, there are 15 million caregivers. if we don't proceed with the science we need, then over 13 million americans will have alzheimer's, and well over 40 million americans will be there caregivers within less than two generations. currently, it cost the american people over $200 billion a year just for caregiving. we invest a paltry roughly $500 million in trying to arrest that disease or reverse it. it is ridiculously small investment. it is an investment that sequestration he roads. who agrees that we have to take more dramatic steps to fight alzheimer's, to invest in the science that will provide us a catalyst to reverse the trajectory of this disease? i will tell you. it is president obama. it is nih director francis collins. it is also house majority leader eric cantor, michele bachmann, and former house speaker newt gingrich.

they are joined in a determination to increase all summer's research funding by repugnant senators -- republican senators susan collins. votedtire congress unanimously to adopt the national all sommers project act and create the first ever national plan to address all summer's disease, which has, in its most recent update, a consensus plan, a business plan, to stop and effectively prevent alzheimer's by the year 2025. that plan depends on scientific sequester that the not only prevents from being increased, but the roads -- erod es the slight investment we already have. who else's for that increase investment? i would argue the entire american people. the 5 million who live with this disease today, the 15 million who are caregivers today, and all the rest of the american population that live in fear of their family being struck next. who is against nih having the

tools it needs to stop all sommers? no one. no one will come forward. no one should come forward to say that they oppose those investments, but actions speak louder than words. your commitment shown by what you do or what you choose not to do. sequestration is no accident. sequestration was a choice. it was a choice from the first day it began. it remains a choice until we stop its 10 year run of bad medicine. what stands in the way? what stands in the way of getting rid of sequestration? it is exactly what the secretary and the congressman and xavier spoke about, the will to do the work of the people rather than engage in political brinkmanship for self-serving political gain. even that fails. what they can do is succeed in the fight against all sommers -- disease if they are willing to put politics aside, get rid of the sequester, and

engage in long-term, serious budget planning that reduces the burden's for cost of care and invests in innovation, which is the driver of our economy. isolatesay, do not alzheimer's disease as the reason to get rid of sequestration. look across the government and all the good that these members of congress vote for issue by issue, and say, are they undermining their own good intentions by their actions and choices to allow sequestration to remain in place? thanks. >> thank you. from toddll hear mccracken, the president of the national small business association. >> thank you. i can't add a great deal to the excellent opening statements of secretary panetta, congressman nussle. i can certainly associate myself with the remarks. as i said before, i represent the small business community. this creates a crisis of confidence. that is the fundamental issue,

whether it is the shutdown, the threat of breaching the debt limit, or the ongoing brings kinship. -- iave to ask yourself asked folks this all the time -- if you were about to make an investment, open a business, grow a business that required you to risk your economic future, your home, your life savings, is this the moment in time he would choose to do that? would you have enough confidence that our leaders are going to put in place a framework? i would submit that the answer is no in most cases. that is why this is so crucially important. small businesses and startups are the place we are going to grow our way out of this mess. our leaders in washington need to give those folks a reason to believe in the future of this country. that means putting an -- putting aside petty grievances and getting to some real long-term deals. these short-term issues are just that, short-term issues. the real issues for this country are the long-term debt. we hope that our leaders will grab this opportunity in the

coming months to sit down and talk seriously about how they can put these differences aside and get this country on the ,ight framework where we all who are invested in our economic future, can have confidence and move forward. thanks. -- let meinvite invite hunter rawlings. >> thank you very much. and toou to fix the debt secretary panetta for this occasion, which i think is particularly important given the find with our congress. i want to be very -- very brief, which for an academic is always a challenge, but i will succeed in that. we have the best research universities in the world by a wide margin. we have the best innovation system in the world. those are now jeopardized. those universities and that innovation system are jeopardized by the continuing

problems here in washington. this is not today's problem. it is not this week's problem. it is not the sequesters problem. it is the budget problem overall. as was just said, members of congress do not vote against research. they just let cuts in research happen because of what is now in place, a budget that is constantly taking money away from research and innovation and putting it in the hands of old people, like me, who frankly should not be getting the percentage of revenue that is now coming to our generation. the reason we have the best research universities in the world is that, for some 70 years now, the federal government has invested heavily in research, competitively awarded research grants, which go to faculty members at the university of michigan, the university of virginia, harvard, stanford, and all the other great universities in this country that carry out research. what is the result of that research? a great innovation system.

economists now acknowledge that 60% or more of u.s. economic growth over the past few decades is based on innovation. a huge percentage of that innovation is done in research labs at our universities. business, for the most part, has stopped doing fundamental research. it has to be focused on the bottom line. it no longer invests as in the days of the lab -- bell lab. fundamental research is instead carried out in our nation's universities. china has noticed that and is now investing heavily in creating great research universities. we are disinvest in at this -- disinvesting at the same time. we are rapidly creating an innovation deficit. the innovation deficit, to me, is just as important as the budget deficit. what it says is, over the long term, we are going to lose our advantage in innovation, and

someone else is going to get it. that will then determine economic success in the future. we just won a bunch of nobel prizes this week and last. most of those prizes, as has been the case for some time now, are awarded to american researchers and, fragrant, to researchers born in other countries who now work where? at our universities. how much longer is that going to go on if we continue the innovation deficit and disinvesting in research when other countries have seen that as their long-term goal? we need to fix this problem. we need to fix it quickly. and the crisis management get onto thinking about the long-term investment, the only thing that will lead to long- term success for this country. thank you. for and i condemn it, that is brief. [laughter] >> our last speaker, before we take your press questions, is mary woolley, who is the president and ceo of research america. >> thank you.

maya and fix the debt colleagues and everyone who has spoken already. research america is an alliance of patient groups, academic institutions, business and industry, and scientific and clinical societies, well over 100 million americans represented. we all believe that research for and the entire research ecosystem should return to being a number one american priority. and this shutdown have truly wreak havoc on -- sciencehavoc on overall, and that includes medical research. projectsproducts, -- has been canceled or stalled out indefinitely. researchers have been furloughed or laid off. young scientists are not receiving grants for innovative

studies and are rethinking their career options. businessesnd other that rely on discovery from basic research are downsizing. by cdc is blindsided foodborne illnesses, outbreaks that they are not staffed at this point to control. the department of defense is hampered in its conduct of medical research to benefit our wounded warriors and protect our men and women overseas. that list goes on. that is today's list. i really shudder to think about the long-term risk. prioritizingde- research and innovation. as hunter mentioned, other nations are not sitting idly by. they are actively exploiting our failure to prioritize research and innovation, and in addition to china, i'm talking about singapore, india, sweden,

germany, and the u.k., to name a few. national public opinion polls commissioned by research america show that more than half of americans do not believe the u.s. will be world leader in science and technology by the year 2020. that is just over six years from now. unfortunately, americans might be right. they don't like it. for instance, an overwhelming majority, 90%, say it is important that united states maintains its world leadership in medical research and science overall, but our elected officials listening -- are our elected officials listening? i would argue that in this recent period of time, they have not. yes, we must reduce the deficit. we must fix the budget. cutting funding for medical

and health research and other domestic discretionary priorities is counterproductive to solving the problems we talk ourt all the time and wring hands about, like controlling health care costs. diseases and disabilities are not going to cure themselves or be prevented overnight. it is research that is a deficit reduction strategy. public-health readiness is a deficit reduction strategy. why are we squandering those solutions? i know, you know, the president knows, and congress knows that there is a way to fix the budget. it involves tax and entitlement reform. we need smart tax and entitlement reform that doesn't undermine public or private sector medical innovation. to give you just one example, cuts to prescription drug reimbursement would undermine innovation. prescription drugs prevent

alleviateations, disabilities, and represent only a small fraction of health care spending. developing new medications is a high risk proposition, and it takes both public and private sectors working hard at it. , iteimbursement is cut undermines the flow of capital necessary to the development of those solutions that we are all waiting for. for sure, sequestration has to go. conferencethat committee, the budget conference committee, to address sequestration and to eliminate it. we and the members of our alliance will be speaking to members of that committee. starving the national institutes of health, the national science foundation, and other catalyst of american innovation and medical progress simply contravenes common -- common sense and our nation's prospects for economic stability. medical progress should be an

immutable american priority. commissioned by research america, a majority of americans say they would pay more in taxes if they knew that would go towards medical research. that is how important it is to americans. stalling that research now through sequestration or the that, again,m undermines something we have to long taken for granted, while other nations are ramping it up, would drive our nation down at the very moment we have everything it takes to soar. the interest group that policymakers are not listening to, i would argue, is the american public. the worries that policymakers are ignoring at our peril is our nations future. thank you. yes, we do have time for questions. i just want to make one point. i think the unifying theme that you hearing -- hear from this group is we want our leaders to

govern. we want them to lead. it is time for them to stop lurching from one crisis to another and focus on some of the longer-term issues. i think i will quote erskine bowles, who regularly says, "we've made all of the easy choices. we've made all of the stupid choices. now it is time for this country to start making some of the real choices. choices." i would be glad to turn questions over to the secretary and any of our speakers. >> mr. panetta, you talked often about sequestration. today's deal actually cements the cuts in sequestration. does that mean it is a bad deal? do you think the senate and --inistration [indiscernible] >> the fundamental challenge that faced them was to do

whatever was necessary to end the shutdown of the government and to extend the debt limit. this was a double whammy. 17 years ago, we were just dealing with a cr. in this situation, we had both the debt limit coming due as well as the funding for the government. to the first thing that had be done was to do whatever was necessary to try to end the shutdown and extend the debt limit. know, that a you fight could have been done on sequester. it could have been done on a number of issues. having been in that institution and understanding the kind of politics you have to engage in in order to get things done, i think they made a choice. is, understand that my hope that once you get into a budget conference, and once you are dealing with the bigger issues on entitlements, discretionary, as well as tax reform, that the decisions you make will not only help in terms of debt reduction and putting this country on the right path towards ending the

deficit, but also will end sequester. >> mr. mcconnell said today on the floor that his main income bushmen in these negotiations was securing the cuts under sequester and the budget control act. >> you are going to hear, i'm sure over the next few days, everybody taking credit for what they won and lost. i have to tell you something -- as has been said and needs to be repeated, there are no winners and losers in this process. the american people have lost. now they need to roll up their sleeves and do what is right for this country. >> my question is this for the congressman or secretary -- whatever comes out of the budget conference, obviously there are going to be fairly major changes in government, priorities and programs. one group that seems to have attacked is the federal employees themselves.

in simpson-bowles, there were talks about further cuts in terms of pension changes. i guess what i'm wondering is, do you think at this point some kind of continued reductions or continued changes in federal worker benefits are going to be necessary as part of an agreement, or do you think that, given what has happened, maybe that could be put on a back burner? >> i would say it is a fair question, but it is way too early. i think what we are saying today is that everything needs to be on the table for consideration, the big items that are often left off the table need to be on the table for this discussion. as so many have said today, this is a process. it's not going to completely resolve itself through this committee process. a budget conference can come out with the budget conference report, which may, in part, put in a process for further ,eforms, changes, reductions

increases, getting sequestration off autopilot and back onto what we call in the house of representatives and the senate regular order. these are things that i think are important. your point, not only for government workers today -- we all know many of them, they are friends and family -- but i also think about, we are going to lose a generation of public servants. we maybe have lost generation of public servants who have watched this process over the last 2, 3, 4 years and have just said, forget it. why would i choose public service as a vocation? it should be an admirable calling. whether it is an clinical officer government service, there are so many good people who do not deserve to be used as pawns in this product -- in this process pretty yes, changes need to be made. those changes may affect many workers. but it shouldn't just be about them. everything should be on the table. i guess this would be for mr.

secretary panetta and sherman nussle. is there any reason to expect this budget conference to be any more successful than the supercommittee was? has anything changed? you still have the many -- the major sticking points that prevented them from doing anything. >> this is not going to be easy. nobody ought to assume that this is going to be easy. the hard work begins now. the kind of game playing that went on over these last few weeks with the shutdown of the debt limit and all of the threats and counter threats that went on, that's kind of politics of this town. the hard work is to sit down and walked through -- walk through the entitlements and determine what reforms he to me made, what savings can be achieved, look at discretionary spending, lay out a path for that, and look for tax reform.

somebody was with me at the time we sat down at andrews air force base and went through that process and walked through all of the entitlements and walked through discretionary spending and then walk through the whole tax arena. we finally came to a bipartisan agreement. that was tough. it was not easy. it took courage. there are risks involved. risks on all parts. that is what governing is all about. that is why we elect people. to simplylect people survive in office. we elect people to make the tough choices of governing this country. hopefully, having been through this experience of the shutdown and the implications of not increasing the debt limit, we will be -- it will be a sufficient enough incentive for them to now turn to governing. secretary, senator

mcconnell was trying to get a provision in the deal that emerged in the senate that would give federal agencies more flexible the in dealing the sequestration cuts. theoah needs to tell you, arbitrary nature of the cuts mexico for agencies. how important with that provision has been, and how difficult is that for an agency to have to deal with that, and arbitrary, across-the-board cut? >> it was a crazy formula. they designed it to be crazy, to basically do a meat ax cut across the board that would be so bad it would force them to do the right thing. logic, if youhole call it logic, of why they developed sequestration. they obviously didn't have the courage to do with sequestration. -- wentation went to a into effect. it has created havoc across the board, particularly at the department that i headed.

i would rather, instead of playing with ideas as to how you create flexibility so you can move money around within the bounds of sequestration, i would rather than deal with the bigger issues in the budget and be able to de-trigger sequestration. that would be the more responsible approach. now, there -- they are sinking in quicksand. they will take whatever review throw to them. >> mr. secretary, i was wondering if you would entertain answering a question on an unrelated topic, a serious topic of benghazi. >> [indiscernible] what sort of institutional congressional reforms do you propose?

ini would be interested leon's answer to this as well. we have both been through the ringer when it comes to considering budget process reform. i think it is a little bit of a panacea. i am the last person i believe who bought budget process reform to the floor and had a chance of getting something passed. my reason for saying it that way is that there are some changes that could be made. the problem over the last 7, 8, 10 years is that it hasn't been used. committee inthe both the house and senate when they held hearings about this was, why don't you try it? you might find it actually works if you respected it. if you adhered to the timetables. if you actually work together in a bipartisan way and in a bicameral way. what this process has an

opportunity to do is put that back on track. i am not sure it will but before somebody blames the process, realize that this is a process created by human beings. if those human beings don't open their ears and start listening to one another and getting to know one another and realizing ift -- it does in example, i'm not mistaken, the president had in his budget over $500 billion worth of entitlement reforms. i would bet there are many republicans who either don't know that or are surprised by that. i would take that as a good starting point as a republican to say, let's start there. let's bring hours to the table. let's see where we can work out both our differences as well as our commonalities. it starts by listening and recognizing that we are not that far apart on many of these issues if we bothered opening our ears and stop blaming the process and really looked into our own souls and hearts about what needs to be done.

back togetting leadership and how this next round will be any different, i am wondering if you can describe what the white house can do to encourage the next few months to go differently. you talked about this earlier. >> there are some elements, some basic elements that are important to make these kind of budget conferences work. first and foremost, is restoring some trust. these people don't trust each other. for a lot of reasons. some justified, some not justify. the problem is, if you get into a room, you have to trust the people you're in the room with that they are going to tell you what they think, that they are going to be honest and that you're going to tell them what you think and be honest. that you're not going to suddenly walk out and do a bunch of soundbites with the press. that is the kind of atmosphere

you need to have. one of trust. secondly, you have to put everything on the table. you can't say, we are going to not do this. you need to put everything on the table. it doesn't mean you're going to do everything, but you need to put everything on the table. go through it and talk about each of these programs. when they work their way through it, they shouldn't agree on anything until they agree on everything. even though they make some tentative decisions, wait until the end of the road when you put everything together to basically package the deal. question, the budget once you put those pieces together, you decide how do you enforce it effectively? frankly, there are some steps. we did it at andrews air force base. soul of theeart and budget we passed but also the clinton budget when that passed.

some of the things done with regards to limits and enforcement of limits in terms of spending, etc., those were all very effective tools and they ought to be built in this process. thenis is going to work, the members up there that have been beating each other up and engaging in a soundbite war are going to have to put that aside. decide that you're going to go into a room and really try to be honest and truthful with one another. that is going to be a big step. i can't say it is going to happen but everybody from the president to the leadership, democrats and republicans involved in the conference, they're going to have to restore trust to get something done. >> thank you, everybody.

>> on the 16th day of the government shutdown, the senate voted to reopen the government and raise the federal debt ceiling by an 81-18 vote. after the vote, senate majority leader harry reid and other senate democrats held a press conference at the capitol. >> i am tired. i am very happy that we just completed a bipartisan vote to reopen the government. we averted a default. it could be some time before we realize the effects of what we have just done.

this shutdown has hurt our economy significantly. but, we were able to work it out and we are here without more losses. we have been able to come together for a lot of different reasons. i appreciate the work of a number of senators. i think one of the most important things that we have been able to do is get senator mitch mcconnell and i together. i'm very grateful that the senator reached out. he is a peacemaker. he suggested that they start doing what they could to engage senator mcconnell and i. as a result of that, i think we were able to talk and hopefully, develop a strong relationship.

we have worked together for many years. i'm surprised. i appreciate the work that senator alexander and senator schumer did. i'm thankful that they did some things that would help us. so, i would hope that, in the future, the work that was done by senator pryor and collins will create some separation from all of these shrill voices that are not helpful. this crisis was historic. let's be honest. this was pain inflicted on our nation for no good reason. we cannot make the same mistake again. so, as we move into the next

round of negotiations. i'm depending on stable, hard- working, always available patty murray. she is the stereotype of what i think a senator should be. i'm grateful to her for being willing to take the leadership of trying to work something out. make sure that we do not have another one of these manufactured crisis. she was called upon by the democratic caucus to be the chairperson of the supercommittee. she works so hard and we were so close. as you know, from all the experiences with speaker boehner, we were never able to take that step. i want to express the support.

everyone knows how my caucus has been locked together. we have been a real team. the way we have been able to be a team is by teamwork. no one will ever know the work that we do off the floor and behind the scenes. i'm not a one-man show. i depend on these three senators for everything that we are able to accomplish. we have a lot more to do. the president said yesterday and i say today, let's move on. what is the big issue out there that people complain about? the deficit? how about immigration. a trillion dollars. something fair and reasonable that the country needs. the next venture is immigration

reform. we will continue to extend our hands to the republicans to get them to come to the table in good faith. senator durbin. >> so many times throughout the history of the united states, it has taken united states senate to resolve challenges and resolving national debate. it happened again tonight on the floor of the united states senate. more than 80 senators stood up and ended this ordeal that has been suffered by the people of the united states of america, by federal workers, and those who depend on their service. i cannot describe to you the feeling on the floor during the course of these two votes. the bipartisanship and the friendship that i felt was such a relief from what we have been through. let us pray that this is just the beginning.

i think there's a determination to take this bipartisanship we have seen this this year in the passage of a farm bill. the senate broke the deadlock. we have to continue to show that leadership and we hope that the speaker and other members will watch closely as the american people react. watch carefully and understand their responsibility to work with us in a bipartisan fashion. one of the saddest things was to read republican house members say that they won this battle. honest to goodness, how can they say that? this is not a win for services across country. we have to help this economy

move forward and solve jobs. i want to thank harry reid and senators schumer and murray. many of us take credit. i cannot get over the senator from nevada. his patience, his determination, and his energy. you will never know, you will never know how much you put in to make this a success. and, senator mcconnell, who stepped up to be a partner when it counted. let us make sure that this is the beginning. >> thank you. today is not a happy day, it is a somber day. we finally achieved our goal. frankly, we ended up where we started. when we started and we said that we would do three things, fun the government, pay our bills,

and agree to negotiate. we started their and that is where we ended up. that is exactly what the law does, no more and no less. the bottom line is that millions suffered -- millions did not get paychecks. the economy was dragged down. confidence and faith in the united states credit and in the united states itself around the world was shaken. this is not a happy day. this is a somber day. at the end of the day, we never should have gone through a we went through. we started and ended here. second point. there are three people i want to praise. i cannot do it enough. the first is harry reid. he stood firm from the beginning. his resolve to not fall to the

tactics that were being used by the small minority on the other side. he never buckled. he never flinched. he never doubted. he gave strength to the rest of us. the whole caucus was united behind him. i would like to praise the president. the president, again, every time we saw him every time that we dealt with them, and he was stalwart from the beginning and he realized that the kind of tactics being used by the other side would be used again and again and again. finally, my hat goes off to senator o'connell. he is in a difficult situation. once he saw that speaker boehner was tied in a knot, he knew that he had an obligation to step up, even if it might hurt him.

i respect that, i think everyone of my colleagues respect that. final point. if there is a silver line in this gray cloud, it is that the politics, the reckless politics of brinksmanship has reached its peak. that is what we hope. that is what i believe. it shows the brinkmanship does not work. the other side will not given. when a small faction says that i am going to hurt a whole lot of people unless you give into me, the temptation of good people is to give in because people are being hurt. unfortunately, if we gave in this time, we'll be back doing the same thing next quarter and the quarter after that.

the brinksmanship would get worse in the kind of politics with a put the gun to your head and say, unless you do what i want you to do, i'm going to hurt a lot of people. and yet, tonight, in the senate and, hopefully, in the house, a large group of the other party stood up to the brinksmanship. it is our hope and our prayer that the brinksmanship has reached its peak. we can go back to the normal way of legislating. where every side compromises and we produce a product that is good for the american people. if brinksmanship has peaked, if

the kind of politics we have witnessed over the last several years recedes and a politics of comity and compromise starts rising, maybe this will all have been worth it. >> tonight, i'm delighted to join the leadership team. my colleagues never gave up and they stood up for the families and communities were hurting. all of them are breathing a sigh of relief. it took far too long and far too many families to end this crisis. here in the senate, you saw democrats and republicans working together on a path to

end this crisis. it does not solve every problem today, it takes the threat of default off the table and allows democrats and republicans to get in a room and negotiate without asking the american people to pay the price. i am glad, after six months of going on the floor and asking to go to budget conference, we are in a bipartisan agreement to work towards a negotiation. the budget that has passed the house and the senate are very different. there is no doubt about it. nobody thinks it is going to be easy to get to a deal. i would tell you that i would not have fought so hard for so long to get in a room with chairman ryan if i did not think we could find common ground and work subbing out. i know the democrats are willing to compromise. i am hopeful republicans will. republicans have seen the consequences of a government

shutdown. i do not think they will be anxious to repeat this again. now that it is clear that the debt limit will be raised and cannot be used as a tool to extract political extractions, all future threats will ring hollow. the next out of a budget negotiation will be a negotiation and not a hostage situation. there are budget changes that republicans want and there are budget changes that we want. we work together towards a deal that solves these problems from both sides. i think, for all of us, most importantly, will stop lurching from crisis to crisis. i am proud of the senate for working together and standing up to end the pain of the american people. we are finally going to do what we said all along. we're going to open the government and pay our bills. we'll sit down and we will negotiate.

>> there will not be too many questions. i want to watch the baseball game. >> there is an appropriations anomaly in this bill. there's a dam on the ohio river. can you explain why this is in this legislation? >> this is not an earmark. it saves the taxpayers money. it uses the army corps of engineers to continue a project. if we had not done this, we would've had to spend $80 million to stop the project. this project is ongoing. the purpose of it is a construction of lots and a dam that was initiated in the 1930s.

there's no need to point fingers at anyone. we saved the taxpayers $80 billion. we save the government money. >> you did very well. >> i asked chairman ryan to meet with me tomorrow morning. we will have breakfast and a conversation about how to move forward. >> they're going to have breakfast at the tortilla factory. >> no we are not. [laughter] obama promised to sign the bill once the houseboats on it.

>> good evening, everybody. andght, republicans democrats in congress have come together around an agreement that will reopen our government and remove the threat of default from our economy. voted toe has now approve this agreement and democrats and republicans in the house have an important vote to take. i want to thank the leaders of both parties for getting us to this point. once this agreement arrives on my desk, i will sign it immediately. we will begin reopening our government immediately. we will begin to lift this cloud of uncertainty and unease from our businesses and the american people. i will have more to say about this tomorrow. i have some thoughts about how we can move forward in the remainder of the year. stay focused on the job at hand. there was a lot of work ahead of us. including our need to earn back the trust of the american people

that has been lost over the last few weeks. we can begin to do that by addressing the real issues that they care about. i have said it before. i will say it again. i am willing to work with anybody -- i am eager to work with anybody, democrat or republican, house or senate, on any idea that will grow our economy, create new jobs, strengthen the middle class and get our fiscal house in order for the long-term. i have never believed that democrats had a monopoly on good ideas. over thehe differences issue of shutting down our government, i am convinced that democrats and republicans can work together to make progress for america. know are things that we will help strengthen our economy that we could get done before this year is out. a law toneed to pass fix our broken immigration system. we need to pass a farm bill. us ande shutdown behind

budget committees forming, we now have an opportunity to focus on a sensible budget that is , andnsible, that is fair that helps hard-working people all across this country. we could get all these things if everybodys year comes together in the spirit of, how are we going to move this country forward and put the last three weeks behind us? that is what i believe the american people are looking for, not a focus on politics, not a focus on elections but a focus on the concrete steps that can improve their lives. that is going to be my focus. i am looking forward to congress doing the same. i want to thank the leadership for coming together and getting this done. beefully, next time it won't in the 11th hour. one of the things i said throughout this process, is we have to get out of the habit of governing by crisis.

my hope and expectation is that everybody has learned that there is no reason why we can't work on the issues at hand, where we can't disagree between the parties while still being agreeable. we are notre that inflicting harm on the american people when we do have disagreements. hopefully, that is a lesson that will be internalized, not just by me but also by democrats and republicans, not only the leaders but also the rank and file. thank very much, everybody. a story that will happen all over again in a few months? >> no. >> we have more from the president on the end of the government shut down tomorrow when he makes a statement at the white house. live coverage at 10:35 a.m. eastern on c-span. once the senate passed their spending and debt ceiling deal, it went to the house. here is that debate.

it is half-an-hour. >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise extended remarks. >> without objection. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. like the gentleman is recognized. r-2775.esent h this legislation will rate the nation's debt ceiling to avoid default, reopen the doors of the federal government and end this unfortunate shutdown. the legislation before us our senate amendments to hr-2775. the senate has just passed this bill and it is up to the house to send it to the president for his signature. it is the product of a final agreement between republicans and democrats.

to help put us back on stable ground with an open government and without the threat of default. as we look to find a long-term comprehensive solution to our most pressing fiscal problems. it provides critical funding for operating federal government at the current annual rate of $986 billion through january 15 of next year to end the government shut down. includes aion limited number of noncontroversial or technical changes called anomalies. many have already been passed by the house and senate. a few are new, such as provisions to ensure the smooth reopening of the government to provide due compensation for federal employees and other funding for shutdown costs, to provide funding for the faa to continue current operations

without interruption. these have been included to prevent irrevocable harm to vital government programs, to continue critical services and to ensure good governance. to be clear, the continuing resolution is virtually clean. it is essentially identical to legislation i introduced in early september. this legislation will increase the debt limit until february 7 of next year. by extending our borrowing ability, these amendments will avoid the damage that a default would cause to our recovering economy. to businesses large and small and our people who desperately need a stable economy and continued job growth. lastly, the resolution will help protect against fraud and abuse

by requiring income verifications for individuals seeking subsidies under obamacare. essentially, this bill allows us to move on. it deals of the nation cost immediate short-term problem and allows congress to address the broader picture. what are the real drivers of our debt are and how we can avoid reaching debt limit in the future and avoid staggering from crisis to crisis. after long weeks, it is time to end the government shutdown. it is time to take the threat of default table. it is time to restore sanity to this place. to do this, we all have to give a little. clearly, nobody on either side has received everything they wanted. i believe that we should all ask for the greater peace of our nation.

if we want to get anywhere, and must be willing to negotiate. we should be willing to put partisanship aside. and, govern from the greater good. the house must realize that it is one half of one third of this government. no laws can be made without the consent of the senate and president. just as they cannot act without us. we must also realize that we cannot ignore the spending and borrowing that is driving us into unsustainable debt and hurting people. i'm confident that we can work out our budgetary challenges and it is my hope that a common topline discretionary number

for fiscal year 2014 will be established and allow congress to enact full-year appropriation bills to avoid shutdowns like this in the future. it is my hope that congress can address the problem of unsustainable growth in our entitlement programs and revise our tax code. the resolution will buy some time to accomplish this list and ensures that our people will have access to the critical government services that they rely on in the meantime. we must take actions that will help restore confidence in elected officials. and, in the economic future of this nation, we must.

the sooner we pass this resolution, the sooner we can move on to the many tasks we have before us that we were sent to work on. i yield back. >> the gentleman from kentucky reserves. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. >> mr. speaker, 15 days after the shutdown began, the house is finally considering a bill to reopen the government and avoid the economic calamity that could have ensued if the united states had defaulted on its debt. frankly, it is disappointing. republicans have dangerously put our economy and american families in such great risk. 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed. families that depend on critical services from disaster aid to nutrition assistance have been left in the cold. billions in economic activity has been lost.

fitch puts the united states of america on rating watch negative due to political brinkmanship. despite clear opposition from the american people, many republicans -- it is hard to believe -- are still poised to oppose this bill to reopen government. pay america's bills and negotiate a reasonable budget agreement for 2014. congress, let's remember, has already enacted $2.5 trillion in reduction measures. looming across the board are sequester cuts that threaten all of our priorities. for example, if we do not act

before january 15, defense spending will be cut by 21 billion dollars and we could jeopardize jobs over the next year. madam speaker, we cannot meet the serious challenges without a spirit of bipartisanship and a commitment to working together in good faith. i urge the majority to learn the lesson of this irresponsible shutdown and do not allow the fringe in your party and those disconnected from reality, whose sole goal is obstruction, to dictate the agenda of this house. no member of this body should ever threaten the full faith and credit of the united states of america or shut down the government to advance a

reckless ideological agenda. i strongly support this bill tonight and hope that my colleagues in the majority will work in a bipartisan way to avoid a repeat of this episode. the funding and deadlines are reached in the new year. >> the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time in the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. >> i yield two minutes to a hard-working member of the re- appropriations committee. >> thank you. i rise in support of the senate compromise being considered to end this unnecessary government shutdown and futile exercise in brinkmanship. this legislation reopens the government and prevent a catastrophic default. a credit downgrade would have spurred another recession.

i'm please that cooler heads have prevailed. i am disappointed that we are in the situation after more than two weeks of the government shutdown in an eve of default, we have finally reached an agreement. this legislation must be supported. but it should not be celebrated. no high-fives or spiking the football. it is a temporary government funding bill and a short-term debt limit increase. it is not a win for anyone. not the presidency or congress. the bill represents the conclusion of a difficult time from which many can draw important lessons. i hope that this episode will result in a newfound commitment and intensity in the governing majority in congress. they'll make difficult decisions that must be made to keep the government functioning.

including the budget deficit, the out-of-control debt, and the many challenges presented by the health care law. for many months, i have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find agreement to break the impasse. i want to thank senator daschle presented ron kind and senator manchin and collins. i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation and join us who have an affirmative obligation to govern. at this time, i yield back. >> the gentleman from new york is recognized. >> i'm pleased to yield one

minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania. >> he is recognized for one minute. >> i rise to urge an expedited passage of this legislation. i join with the chairman and the ranking member of my committee. i agree with every word that has been stated by the majority chairman and the ranking member. this is critically important. this monday, i was in a foreign country. i was in israel and i met with the president. a whole group of brain researchers from around the world had a difficulty understanding why we are in a paralyzed situation. i'm glad that we are moving in overwhelming way on this matter. 81 bipartisan votes. i urge the house to act and i

know we will restore our government to pay our bills so that we can get on with our responsibilities as the most powerful nation in the world, the wealthiest country in the world. we can pay our bills and conduct the affairs of government and a way to get this respect around the world. >> the gentlewoman from new york reserves. the gentleman from kentucky reserves. >> miss barbara lee from california. >> thank you. let me thank the gentlelady for yielding. i rise in support of this bipartisan budget deal. we will finally shut down this awful government shutdown.

i'm please that common sense and cooler heads have availed. make no mistake, the shutdown has caused real pain. never again should the american people be taken hostage to a political agenda. this is wholly acceptable and these tactics must be rejected once and for all. tomorrow, people will put their lives back together and go back to work to provide government services that our veterans and our seniors so deserve. while i am pleased that this deal will reopen the government to pay our bills, much more work needs to be done. the temporary spending level keeps sequester level cuts in place that hurt our economy and communities across the nation. i hope that, as we move forward, we understand the need to protect these vital programs to have a functioning government

that everybody has an opportunity to climb, strive and reap the rewards of the american dream. >> for one night, let us talk about what is good for this country and not about the other party. it will take both parties to solve this problem. as the chairman emeritus of the financial services committee, i'm aware of the direct connection between a strong dollar and a vibrant economy. it is necessary to create jobs and that is what we need for america. jobs.

the u.s. dollar is reserve currency of the world. globally, the dollar and u.s. treasuries are preferred safe haven investments. it has been a benefit and blessing to all of us. it has brought this country good jobs and a higher standard of living. however, the dollar is under attack today. out-of-control spending, unless addressed, will become a threat to our currency and erode our economy. a default would be a self- inflicted wound that i am not willing to deliver. i will be voting yes on this bipartisan agreement. i urge my colleagues to the same.

>> the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. >> i am pleased to yield one minute to marcy kaptur. >> i thank the ranking member for yielding me time and i welcome the compromise to reopen the government to pay our bills to spur economic growth and job creation in this country. this compromises with the american people expect of us. they are tired of the partisan bickering. the biggest challenge facing our country is creating growth to help to balance the budget. we can start by coming together on a budget agreement. so, let's restore regular order and let the budget committee go back to work. let the ways and means committee go back to work.

let us move our bills in regular order and not move from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis. i will vote for this bill. it is the best that we can get. it is less than we are capable of. >> the gentlelady from new york reserves. the gentleman from kentucky reserves. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. >> i am pleased to yield one minute to a distinguished member. >> the gentleman from new york is recognized. without objection. >> i thank the gentlewoman. this bill allows us to meet our obligations in the proper way

and if we walk away without learning a lesson, this is a futile exercise. the lesson we have to learned is that we cannot become obsessed over one issue and close down the government over one issue. when a law gets passed, it is the law of the land and we have to abide by it. we should not act as if things did not happen. secondly, we need understand that there are no winners or losers tonight. the real losers are the american people, who had to put up with the situation for these weeks. if we go away without learning this lesson, it would be a waste of time. i hope that we move ahead on the budget committee and on that conference.

move ahead in a joint way to work on behalf of the american people. >> the gentleman's time is expired. >> i'm pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from massachusetts. >> i thank the gentlelady. this is an opportunity for spending. this is an argument about paying our bills for debts incurred. this vote is about the war in iraq. i opposed it and i believed that it had to be paid for. the former majority leader said that having a tax cut in a time of war was patriotic. you know what is patriotic? paying for veterans hospitals, whether you are for or against the wars.

those were put on the credit card and that is what we have to pay for. that is what this is about tonight. it is not a debate over social program spending. it is a vote to pay for bills that have been incurred. to shut down the government was not only wrong, but the decent people across this country who were hurt it is irresponsible conduct remains reprehensible. we have a chance to reopen this government and pay our bills. >> the time is expired. >> how many more? >> madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to mr. scott, georgia. >> thank you very much.

i rise to support this legislation. let me make a point that there is an important part of this legislation that sets up -- let me make a point that there is an important part of this legislation that sets up a commission. i would appeal to that commission to get is a good budget and take some time to see how we can its mechanisms in place to prevent us from ever shutting down the government. we take a solemn oath here to defend the federal government and support the federal government. we must honor that. maybe we can do mandatory arbitration. we have smart people in this place and we hurt too many people we shut down the government. let us, hopefully, we can put the mitch mcconnell rule in place.

god bless that senator from kentucky and encourage that he had. we can put that mechanism in place that we can never put our good faith and credit at risk in this country. finally, let us democrats and republicans worked together tonight to pass this bill. >> i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas. >> i thank the gentleman. we here to debate the debt limit and it is a sign that the u.s. government cannot pay its own bills and we depend on financial assistance from foreign countries to find it a reckless foreign policy. it is money that we have borrowed from the social security trust funds and borrow from china and japan.

we borrow from the american people. the rising debt is a hidden message enemy that robs our cities and states from critical investments and our families of critical investments in education and health care reform. it robs our seniors of health care that they counted on. every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment. increasing the debt weakens us internationally. washington is shifting the burden of bad choices onto our children and grandchildren. driving up our debt is irresponsible and unpatriotic. those are the words of barack obama in 2006 and 2008. we should be talking about cutting spending before we raise america's debt ceiling.

>> i'm delighted to yield one minute to the distinguished leader from california. where is she? madam pelosi. >> thank you. i thank the gentlelady for her great leadership. and, for bringing us together this evening. as we have been, all along, 200 strong in support of the republican number that we are voting on today. tonight, the unnecessary shutdown comes to an end. thank you for finally allowing a

majority of house numbers to reopen the government and avoided default that would have wreaked havoc in our economic credibility and stability of our country. it is clear that the shutdown has shaken some pillars of our economic security and growth. it has eroded consumer confidence in our economy and taken 24 billion dollars out of our economy. do you think that your recklessness was worth $24 billion? this recklessness is a luxury that the american people cannot afford. tomorrow, we can begin with democrats have been waiting for

for seven months to do. we can go to the negotiating table to debate a budget to create jobs, jobs, jobs, that four letter word. expand the economy and increase the middle class. tomorrow, we must work to find solutions that we never see a day when the government has been shut down and the full faith and credit of the united states of america has been called into question. for that reason, i urge a yes vote on this bill. not only on the merits. we know the number is too low. even the chairman of the committee has said that it is an unrealistic and ill-conceived number that must be brought to an end. this number, if left in effect, would cost us jobs. hundreds of thousands of jobs.

again, a number that is a luxury that this country cannot afford. if the republican number is key to reopening the doors of government and restoring confidence in our economy, democrats are willing to except this. not because of the merits. we do so because a vote on this bill will take us to a path of growing the economy and promoting the prosperity of every american who is willing to work hard and play by the rules. so, with those qualifications as to what we are voting for tonight, the number does not meet the needs of the american

people, the length of time that the debt ceiling is extended is not long enough and that is the best we can do. i commend the center for working in a bipartisan way to send us this bill tonight so that we can bring the sadness to an end. it has affected so many people. again, not on the merits, i do not come here to pin a rose on this legislation. it does not have that respect. it does have my support as a means to an end. with that, i urge a yes vote. the gentlelady from new york reserves. >> i inquire if my colleague is yielding. i urge passage of the bill.

>> the house and senate passed a bill to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling until after the first of the year. the majority vote in the senate included all the democrats and 27 republicans. in the house, virtually all the democrats voted for the bill. the gop senators who voted against the bill included -- james imhoff did not vote. on the 16th day of the government shutdown, members of congress voted to raise the debt ceiling. ted cruz, an opponent of the affordable care act and who was

against the deal, spoke on the senate floor. we will also hear from mike lee. >> i rise in opposition to the deal that the senate is getting ready to vote on. is a terrible deal. this deal embodies everything about the washington establishment that frustrates the american people. this deal kicks the can down the road and allows more debt and more deficits. it does nothing to provide relief for the millions of people who are hurting because of obama care. to all the young people coming out of school who cannot find a job because of the affordable care act, this deal does nothing for them. to all the single moms who are struggling and being forced into

part-time works because they're trying to feed their kids on 29 hours week, because of the affordable care act, this deal does nothing for them. to all the hard-working families who are getting massive premium increases from their health insurance companies and try to figure out how they're going to make ends meet with health insurance going up 100%, 200%, 300%, because of obama care. this deal is nothing for them. to all the seniors and the people with disabilities who are getting notifications that they are losing their health insurance he does of the affordable care act, this deal does nothing for them. mr. president, this fight was always about the american people who are hurting because of the affordable care act and because the united state senate is saying, you do not have a vote in washington.

you don't have a voice in washington and this is a terrible deal. i urge my colleagues here to oppose it. none of us should be surprised that when the senate votes, this deal will pass by a big margin. none of us should be surprised. mr. president, the outcome could have been different. i would ask you, mr. president, imagine a different world. we saw millions of americans rise up sign a national petition, let the phones the capital, and speak up against the enormous harms that the affordable care act is visiting upon them. we saw the house of representatives stand with courage to listen to the american people. mr. president, i ask you to imagine a world in which senate republicans united to support