[captions copyright national able satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] to all the young people right now coming out of school who cannot find a job because of obama care, this deal does nothing for them. to all of the single moms who are struggling and being forced into part-time work, trying to feed their kids on 29 hours a week, because of obama care, this deal does nothing for them. to all of the hard-working families who are right now getting massive premium increases from their health

insurance companies and trying to figure out how we are going to make ends meet with health insurance going up 100%, because of obama care, this deal does nothing for them. and to all of the seniors, to all of the people with disabilities who are right now getting in the mail notifications that they are losing their health insurance because of obama care, this deal does nothing for them. mr. president, this fight was always about the american people who are hurting because of obama are. and unfortunately today, the united states senate is saying, you don't have a voice in washington. this is a terrible deal. and i urge my colleagues to oppose it. now, none of us should be surprised that when the senate votes, this deal is going to pass and pass by a big argin.

none of us should be surprised, but mr. president, the outcome could have been different. i would ask you, mr. president, to imagine a different world. we saw in the last two months millions of americans rise up, sign a national petition, light up the phones to the capitol and speak up against the enormous harms obama care is visiting upon them. we saw the house of representatives stand with courage and listen to the american people. mr. president, i ask you to imagine a world in which senate republicans united to support house republicans. imagine that one piece being different from what we saw,

imagine after the house republicans stood together with the american people if all 46 senate republicans had stood together and said, "we are united against the train wreck that is obama care, we are united with the american people, that if president obama is going to give an exception for big business, for members of congress, that the american people deserve that very same xception." i want to imagine if senate republicans had stood together and simply supported house republicans and the american people. i want you to imagine what would have happened if all 46 senate epublicans had united and gone together and said, "the house has passed a bill funding the v.a. we should fund the v.a." the senate, the majority leader of the senate refused to allow the senate even to vote to fund the v.a.

i want you to imagine, mr. president, all 46 senate republicans, if we had stood together and simply supported the house republicans in saying the house has voted to reopen our national parks, to reopen the war memorials, and the majority leader of the senate refuses is 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 republicans in standing with the american people." if that happened, this result, i believe, would've been very, ery different. it is heartbreaking to the american people that senate republicans divided as they did nd decided to direct their criticism, their attention, direct their cannon fire at house republicans and that those standing with the american people. but 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, could not 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 should not und obama care." yet, what we have seen in the last two months has been extraordinaire. millions of americans speaking up in overwhelming numbers, saying " obama care is not working." the unions are jumping ship. democratic members of the senate in the house went to the president and said, "we want to e exempt from obama care."

this law is not working. and it is worth reflecting on how extraordinary it is to see the american people rise up in such incredible numbers and to see the house engage in what i onsider to be a profile in courage, standing with the american people. now a path forward, the way we are going to stop obama care, the way we are going to stop the suffering, the harms that are being visited on millions of americans is the path we have seen the past couple of months, is the american people rising up. the answers are not going to come from washington. washington is broken. but the answers will come from the american people. mr. president, i am today encouraged. i am encouraged by the millions of americans who want to get back to the free market and get

back to the constitution and stop this train wreck of a law that is the biggest job killer in this country, and is hurting people all across the country. mr. president, it is sad that today the united states senate is telling people all across this country, who are struggling, who are 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 policy is providing for your family. maybe you have children, facing debilitating diseases and yet you are getting a notification in the mail, "your health insurance has been dropped because of obama care." mr. president, it is sad, that the senate says we will do nothing to answer your plight. we created your plight, but we will do nothing. it is sad that when you have

james hoffa the president of the teamsters saying that obama care is destroying the health care of millions of working men and women in this country and the families who depend upon them, that the u.s. senate says we are closed for business. the washington establishment has exempted itself so the problems, the suffering of working america is not the concern of the washington establishment. that is sad, but at the same time, 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. but it is a terrible deal for the american people.

but at the same time, the path forward if the american people continue to rise up, we're going to turn this around. we are going to restore jobs and restore economic road. we are going to restore the ability of people who are struggling to achieve the american dream, and we are going to stop the number one job killer in this country that is bama care. mr. president, i rise in opposition to this deal that does not serve the best interests of 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. very little time to read and evaluate the bill. in fact, we still do not have a final version of the text. no time to explain it to our constituents. this is washington at its worst. it's exactly the kind of thing

the american people are fed up ith. and exactly why several olleagues and i began this effort do delay and defund obama care in july. it appears that this particular fight will end much the same way obama care began -- in a last-minute deal negotiated in back rooms and forced on congress and on the american people. the washington establishment cannot bring itself to believe that this is why congress's approval ratings are so low, because washington does not listen to the american people. it ignores them. and when the american people can no longer be ignored, the administration shuts down national parks, blocks veterans from going to their own memorials, uses the irs to target certain groups and holds hostage critical funding for

cancer research, low income women and children, veterans health benefits, border security, and our national guard. it's shameful how washington treats the american people, and 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. fighting against an abusive government in defense of protecting the individual rights of the american people is always the right thing. ome say we should not have fought because we could not win. but this country was not built by fighting only when victory as absolutely certain. in fact, some of the most important victories in our history where the result of fighting battles against significant odds. and even if victory seems difficult or seemed 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 added a rate of $1 trillion a year. out-of-control spending, a broken entitlement system, the tax code that no one understands, all because washington is willing to act only when there is guaranteed political gain. when the avoidance of 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. obama care was not enacted overnight, and it will not 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.

we've repeatedly warned that the american people will be shocked when they realize the way the president has misled the american people about obama are. the embarrassing roll out of exchanges does not 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 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. "the chicago tribune," the president's own hometown newspaper puts it this way --

"last spring, the president said there will be, you know, glitches in the rollout of the new system, but what we are seeing now is no glitch. there is a growing mountain of evidence that obama care has fundamental problems in design nd implementation. we encourage a one-year delay in the law. we recognize that is not going to happen. obama care is here. it is time for the obama administration to level with americans about what's happening here. it is time to stop blaming republicans and start talking about what needs to change." so it's interesting to see that "the chicago tribune," the president hometown paper, is calling for exactly what i have been calling for since july --

for a one-year time out to protect the american people from the harmful effects of this law, a law the president has announced his not ready for prime time, a law that the president himself has indicated he is not willing to follow as was written. incidentally, this was again exactly what we were arguing for in july and now appears in the president hometown paper. almost everyone but the president seems to recognize that this law is going to be terrible for the american people. it is costing jobs, hurting families, making people's health care situation worse, and it will not 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 implantation of this law. today, washington has the upper

hand, but the american people will always have the last word. this is not over. we have an obligation to fight for the american people. and 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 tend government shutdown, the campaign to fix the debt, looking at the long-term budget and debt problems facing the country. they urged congress to develop a plan to address entitlements and budget deficits. this side just under an hour.

>> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. at this time, i would like to introduce the president for the committee for a responsible budget. >> thank you. thanks so much for joining us today. this turns out to be an incredibly well-timed conference. but on behalf of fix a debt, it is a nationwide diverse coalition made up of citizens, business leaders, civics leaders with the purpose of trying to this a bipartisan way focus national attention on the need and push far comprehensive debt deal that would help deal with the nation's fiscal challenges. today is obviously an important day.

we have a gathering of people and we're going to talk about the current crisis that we are in and the state of play where we are. from a diverse group of people with diverse perspectives. we have been lurging from crisis to crisis. we can't afford to do that. we know what we need to focus on. finding a plan to put our debt on a downward path. we think it is critical that it is time to stop the madness of the way we have been governing, start real negotiations and solve problem. i'm really thrilled today to be able to introduce secretary

pennetta who has held so many roles in all of this. most recently secretary of defense and has played instrumental roles. he is going to kick off this discussion and talk to us from his perspective. thank you so much for joining s. >> 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. our hope is that later today actions both by the house and senate, that they can bring, what i think has been, a very tragic and shameful period in our history to an end. t is hard to believe that what

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. 17 years ago, we went through a similar shutdown when i was chief of staff to president clinton. at the time, i thought that there were two lessons that were earned by that experience. one was that you don't take a step that hurts the american people, innocent american people, by shutting the government down. that makes no sense. to use that weapon against your very constituents, against the

people who elected you to office. secondly, 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 people, kids, 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. to take a step that threatens 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 put on hold, 12 air force squadrons, combat squadrons of that have been grounded, half of our air force planes are not ready for combat -- we have 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. so, it hurts 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. we need to establish some 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 eriod? and a tax all of those things ought to be looked at. this is the opportunity to do it. my hope is that they will take advantage of this opportunity to govern this country. i believe we are at a turning 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 he best example that all of us in elected office drew our , 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. i believe 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.

i am proud of the tenure and the experience and dedication and example of public service, and 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 prevail, some 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 -- all of us, from time to time, 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. we 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. ick your poison. it is based on debates that are important -- the role of government certainly is an important national debate that we have now and will continue to have. waste, fraud, and abuse, tax 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 hill -- know and knew what was going to happen. this didn't take anybody, other than a kid watching saturday morning cartoons, to understand that when the president and senate say, no, 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.

it has been an abomination, in my view, and very reckless and incompetent towards our system of self-government. e have an opportunity. today, cooler heads did 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 in to try and 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 january 15. how about 2020 and 2025 and when our kids and our grandkids have to look at some of this debt? that is the reason we focus it on the debt. most, 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 invite xavier pulmeras, the president and ceo of the hispanic chamber of commerce, to u.s. 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. we represent 3.2 million hispanic-owned businesses that, together, contribute more than $468 billion to the american economy every year. we also advocate on behalf of 206 major american corporations, and we do this through our network of 200 local chambers and business associations throughout the nation. while we represent the interests of businessmen and women who happen to be of hispanic descent, we never forget that we are first and foremost american businesses. every tax bill we pay, every job 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. our american 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 down, but is now facing the 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 nterest. 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 america and two 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 country, especially its elected officials, to prevent a looming crisis that would put the global economy at risk. the american people, our 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 hould. -- brinkmanship. it is time to move our country forward, not jeopardize the hard work in the progress we have only together. at the end of the day, elected officials have a stake in 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 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.

>> next, 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 reath. this crisis is not over. all it is is delayed. the guns are still pointed. the real tragedy is the harm 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

necks 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 sequestration is a 10 annual 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 illion americans will be there

-- their caregivers within less than two generations. currently, it cost the american people over $200 billion a year just for caregiving. e 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 erodes. 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 ingrich. they are joined in a determination to increase all summer's research funding by republican senators susan collins. the entire congress voted 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 investment that the sequester not only prevents from being increased but erodes 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? -- alzheimer's? 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 alzheimer's and so many other factors in this country. 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. would say, do not isolate

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. next, you'll hear from todd 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. for us, all of this creates a crisis of confidence. that is the fundamental issue, whether it is the shutdown, the threat of breaching the debt limit and the ongoing brinksmanship. you have to ask yourself -- i 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 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 right framework where we all, who are invested in our economic future, can have confidence and move forward.

thank you. >> let me invite hunter rawlings. >> thank you very much. thank you to fix the debt and to secretary panetta for this occasion, which i think is particularly important given the late hour we find with our congress. i want to be 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 bell lab, ninled research. fundamental research is instead carried out in our nation's universities. china has noticed that and is now investing heavily in creating great research niversities. we are disinvesting at the same time. we are rapidly creating an innovation deficit. the innovation deficit, to me, long-term, 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, re awarded to american

researchers and frankly 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. stop the crisis management and get onto thinking about the long-term investment, the only thing that will lead to long- term success for this country. thank you. for an academic, 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. 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 health and the entire research ecosystem should return to being a number one american priority. equestration and this shutdown have truly wreaked havoc on american science overall and hat includes medical research. research projects have 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. suppliers and other businesses that rely on discovery from basic research are downsizing. the cdc is blindsided by

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. the risk of de-prioritizing 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 e right. about that loss of leadership, but 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 listeninging to their onstituents. i would argue that in this recent period of time, they have not. yes, we must reduce the deficit. we must fix the budget. but cutting funding for medical and health research and other domestic discretionary priorities is counterproductive to solving the problems we talk about all the time and wring our 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 hospitalizations, alleviate 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.

if reimbursement is cut, it undermines the flow of capital necessary to the development of those solutions that we are all waiting for. for sure, sequestration has to go. we look to that conference 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 edical progress simply contra convenience common sense and our nation's prospects for economic stability. medical progress should be an immutable american priority. in our polls 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 kind of reform that, again, ndermines something we have to -- too 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 words that policy makers 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 hear from this diverse group is people want our leaders to govern and 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. i would be glad to turn questions over to the secretary and any of our speakers. yes! >> 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 dministration -- the failure of leadership that you referred to? >> 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.

so, the first thing that had to be done was to do whatever was necessary to try to end the shutdown and extend the debt limit. i understand, you know, that a 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. now, understand that my hope is 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 -- accomplishment in this negotiation 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 his 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 gotten attacked is the federal mployees themselves. -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 reforms, 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. it is a 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 everything should be on the table. is there any reason to extract the budget toppers to be any more successful than [inaudible]

has anything changed? easyhis is not going to be and nobody should assume 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 and with the debt limit and all of the threats and counter threats that went on, that is the politics of this town. the hard work is to sit down and walked through the entitlements and determine what reforms need to be made and what savings can be achieved their, look at discretionary spending and lay out a path for that and look at tax reform. frienzel is somebody who sat down with me at andrews air force base and went through that process and walked through all the entitlements and walked through discretionary spending and then walked through the whole tax arena and finally came

to a bipartisan agreement. that was tough and it was not easy and it took courage. there are risks involved. there are risks on all parts. dammit, that's what governing is all about. that's why we elect people. simplylect people to survive in office. we elect people to make the tough choices of governing this country. having been through this experience of the shutdown and the implications of not increasing the debt limit, will be a sufficient enough incentive for them to now turn to government. senator mcconnell was trying to get a provision behind the scenes that emerged in the senate that would give federal agencies more flexibility in dealing with sequestration cuts. no one needs to tell you that

arbitrary across-the-board cuts makes it difficult for agencies. how important would that provision have been and how much -- how difficult is that for an agency to deal with that? crazy, crazy formula. they designed it to be crazy. cuts to do a meat axe across the board so that they would do the right thing. that was the logic if you can call it logic of why they develop sequestration. obviously did not have the courage to do a sequestration so sequestration went into effect and has created havoc. particularly at the department i headed it. . 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 them deal with the bigger issues in the budget and be able to de-trigger sequestration. that would be the more responsible approach. >> if you could get one thing from congress -- [inaudible] >> right now they are sinking in quicksand. they will take whatever rope you through to them. would youcretary, entertain issues in the budget and be able to a question on benghazi? you talked about tax entitlement reform. congressional reforms are they looking forward to as a priority? >> i would be interested in leon's answer to this because we have both been through the ringer when it comes to

considering budget process reform and it is a little bit of a panacea. i am the last person i believe who brought budget process reform to the floor and actually 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 10 years has been that it has not been used. onadvice to the committee budget in the house and senate when they held hearings about this was try it. try it first before you decide to reform it. you might find it actually works. if you respected it and adhere to the timetables and you actually worked together in a bi-rtisan way and in a cameral way. it is to put that back on track. i'm not sure this will but before somebody blames the this is a a realize

process created by human beings. if those human beings don't open their years and start listening to one another and getting to know one another and realizing -- if i'm not mistaken, the this is ahad in his budget this last year, over $500 billion worth of entitlement reforms. 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 and let's bring hours to the table and let's see where we can work both their differences as well as our commonality. it starts by listening and recognizing that we are not that far apart on many of these issues if we bothered to open up our ears and stop blaming the process and really look into our own souls and our own hearts about what needs to be done. getting back to leadership and how this next round will be any different -- can --ndering if you

what you think the white house can do to encourage the next few months to go business friendly. there are some elements, basic elements, that are important to make these kind of budgeti compromises work. first and foremost is restoring some trust. these people don't trust each other for a lot of reasons. some are justified and some are not justified. the problem is, if you get into a room and have to do with tough issues, you've got to trust the people you are in the room with that they will tell you what they think and will be honest and that you will tell them what you think and be honest. you will have that kind of exchange and that you are not going to suddenly walked out and do a bunch of soundbites with the press. that's the kind of atmosphere you need to have -- one of trust. secondly, you need to put everything on the table. will studysay we this but not going to do this. you need to put everything on

the table. it does not mean you are going to do everything but you need to put everything on the table and go through it and talk about each of these programs. thirdly, when they work their way through it, they should not agree on anything until they've agreed on everything. even though they make some tentative decisions, weight until the end of the road and put everything together to basically package the deal. question, the budget once you have put those pieces together, you decide how you enforce it effectively. berry frankly, there are some steps. we did it at andrews air force base and it was the heart and soul of not only the bush budget that we passed or the agreement that was made, it was also at the heart and soul of the clinton budget when that pass. there are some very good elements -- paygo, some things done with limits and enforcement of limits in terms of spending, etc.

those are all effective tools and should be built into this process. it is -- if this is going to work, the members up there that have been beating each other up and engaging in a soundbite war will have to put all of that aside and decide that you are going to go into a room and really try to be honest and truthful with one another. that will be a big step. i cannot say it will happen but everybody from the president to the leadership, democrats and republicans involvement conference, they are going to have to restore trust in order to get something done. >> thank you, everybody. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] on the 16thwork, day of the government shutdown in 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'm tired.

one of th most important things we have been able to do is to get senator mcconnell and i together. that lamarrateful alexander reached out to senator schumer and being the peacemaker he is, lamarr alexander suggested that they start doing what they could to engage senator mcconnell and i. as a result of that, we were able to talk and hopefully develop a strong relationship.

as a result of that, i think we were able to talk and hopefully, developed 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 this shrill voices -- 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 crisis. -- 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 banner, speaker boehner, we were never able to take that step. ofwant to express the support. my three liters. -- of my three liters. everyone knows how my caucus has been locked together. we have been a real team. the way we have been able to be i amam is by teamwork.

grateful to them. 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 centers -- three good senatorsfor 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.i look forward to 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,

and 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 next venture is immigration the united states of america, by federal workers, and those who depend on your 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 the responsibility to work with to in a bipartisan fashion. solve our problems. 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 -- when it comes to the losses of federal employees and the services across our country. up with a real victories for the american people. we have to help this economy moved forward and solve jobs. that's why we were sent here. 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. we started and we said that we would do three things, fun the government, pay our bills, and agreed 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. we started and we said that we 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 --e small mine nor genocide. by the small minority on the other side. he was stalwart. 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.-- if the other side will not you can. when a small faction says that i am going to hurt a whole lot of people unless you give intimate, 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 brakes and ship would get-- 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, and the senate -- in the senateand, 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. --ere every side copper misers where every side compromises and we produce a product that is good for the american people. with patty's leadership i'm her on bothan out bodies. where every side compromises and we produce a product that is good to 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 there is finally a light at the end of the tennille -- at the end of the tunnel. 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 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 paul ryan if i did not think we could find common ground and work subbing out.-- and work something 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 he will be-- i don't 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 a little cool 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.[laughter] >> 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? i didis is not an earmark.

not ask for that. 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 --nstruction of lots and a dam some locks and a damthat was initiated in the 1930s.it's a replacement. 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. >> is the breakfast the key factor --it's going to be at tortilla factory. quacks know, we are not. on c-span today, the house debate last night of ending the government shutdown and then today's "washington journal peer co-later, live coverage of president obama's statement from the white house and house minority leader nancy pelosi's briefing. a 200 year old clock stops ticking and time stands still, an easy metaphor for the

government shutdown. quacks we are standing a few feet away from the main entrance to the united states senate chamber in the north end of the capital. the clock behind me is the oldest clock in the united states capital. it was commissioned for the united states senate in 1815. a philadelphia clockmaker made it. >> there are reasons why the c- span video archives are so amazing. >> the video library is amazing and you can share programming any time. and go toc-span.org the video library to watch the newest video, go down to the most recent tab and press play. you can search the video library for specific topics or keywords or find a person. type in their name, hit search, and go to people. go to their bio page and scroll down to their appearances. you can also share what you are watching and make a clip. buttons or handle

tools and add a title and description and share and send it by e-mail, facebook or twitter. the c-span video library is searchable, easy, and furry, created by the cable tv industry and funded by your local cable or service provider. bring publice affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, briefings, and converts as an offering complete gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. house all as a public service of private industry. we are c-span, created by the cable tv industry heard it three years ago and funded by your local cable or satellite provider and now you can watch us in hd. >> once the senate passed the debt ceiling deal, it went to the house. this is the debate. it is half an hour.

>> this is to put us on stable

on the past tous solve our multiple fiscal problems. first and foremost, it provides critical funding for operating the federal government at the current annual rate of $986 billion through january 15 of next year, two and the government shutdown. the resolution includes a limited number of noncontroversial or technical changes called anomalies. many have already been passed by the house and the senate. a few are new such as provisions to ensure the smooth reopening of the government, to provide new compensation for federal employees and other funding for shutdown costs. faarovide funding for the to continue current operations without interruption and so on. these have been included to prevent irrevocable harm to vital government programs to

continue critical services and to ensure good governance. thee clear, madam speaker, resolution of this is virtually clean and is essentially identical to the legislation i introduced in the house and early september. secondly, this legislation will increase the debt limit until february 7 of next year. by extending our borrowing amendments will avoid the damage at the vault -- a default would cause to our recovering economy, to businesses large and small, and to our people who desperately need a stable economy and continued job growth. lastly, the resolution before us will help protect against fraud requiring income verifications for individuals seeking subsidies under the old obama care act.

this bill allows us to move on. it deals with the nation's immediate and short-term problem congress toe for address the broader picture, what the real drivers of our death are, how we can keep from reaching the debt limit in the future and how we avoid staggering from physical crisis to fiscal crisis. after two long congress to address the broader weeks, it to end the government shutdown. it's time to take the threat of default off the table. it's time to restore some sanity to this place. to do this, we've all got to give a little. clearly, no one on either side has received everything they wanted. i believe that now we should all ask for the greater needs of our nation. anywhere, we get must be willing to negotiate and

we should be willing to put partisanship aside and governed for the greater good. the house must realize it is just one half of one third of this government. no laws can be made without the consent of the senate and the president. just as they cannot act without us. we must also acknowledge that the profligate spending and borrowing that is driving us and to unsustainable debt and hurting this nation and the people who call home. that once this resolution is passed, the house and the senate will come together in a budget conference to work out our broad fiscal and budgetary challenges. it's my hope that i common top line discretionary number for fiscal year 2014 will be established that will allow congress to enact full-year

appropriations bills and avoid shutdowns like this in the future. it's also my hope that congress can address head on the problem of unsustainable growth in our mandatory and entitlement programs and work to reform our overly complicated growth stifling tax code. the resolution before us will buy us some time to accomplish this must do list. it will ensure that our people have access to the critical government services they rely on in the meantime. actions that will help restore the people's confidence in their elected officials. thishe economic future of nation. we must. the sooner we pass this resolution, the sooner we can move on to the many tasks before us that the people have sent us here to work on. i yield back.

from kentucky man reserves, the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. >> i yield myself as much time -- speaker, 15 days after the shutdown began, the house is finally considering a bill to reopen the government and avoid the economic calamities that could have ensued if the united states defaulted on its debt. disappointing that republicans have dangerously put our economy and american families at such great risk. 800 thousand federal workers have been furloughed. families that depend on medical aid tos from disaster nutrition assistance have been left in the cold. billions in economic activity has been lost. fitch ratings placed the united states, the united states of

america, on rating watch negative due to the lyrical brinkmanship. opposition from the american people, many republicans, it's hard to believe, are still poised to oppose the short-term bill government,eopen pay america's bills, and negotiate a reasonable budget agreement for 2014. congress, let's remember, has already acted 2.5 trillion deficit reduction measures since 2010 erie it looming across the cuts threatenered our priorities from job creation to head start to military readiness and everything in between. for example, if we do not act before january 15, defense spending will be cut i approximately $20 billion below

2013 levels. 1.6ould jeopardize up to million american jobs over the next year. speaker, -- madam speaker -- we cannot meet these serious challenges without a spirit of bipartisanship and a commitment to working together in good faith. to learn thejority lesson of this irresponsible shutdown. yourt allow the french in party, those disconnected from reality, and whose sole goal is up structuring, to continue to agenda of this house. no member of this esteemed body should ever again threatened the full faith and credit of the united states of america or shut awn the government to advance

reckless, ideological agenda. i strongly support this bill tonight with hope that my colleagues in the majority will work in a bipartisan way to avoid a repeat of this tragic funding and the debt ceiling deadlines in this bill are reached in the new year. i yield back. >> the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. dentld two minutes of pennsylvania. thank you. i rise tonight funding and debt ceiling in support of the senate compromise legislation being considered to end this unnecessary government shutdown and futile exercise in brinkmanship. this legislation reopens the government and prevents a catastrophic default and credit downgrade that would have -- that would spur another recession. i am generally pleased that the cooler heads of finally prevailed.

it is very disappointing we are in this situation, that after more than two weeks of a government shutdown and on the eve of default of our nation's obligations, we have finally reached an agreement. this legislation must be supported. but it should not be celebrated. no spy king of the football, it is a temporary government funding bill and a short term debt limit increase. it is not a win for anyone particularly the institution of congress or the president for that matter. the bill represents the conclusion of a difficult period from which i hope many can draw important lessons. i hope this sad episode will result in a newfound commitment and intensity for the governing majority in congress to make it difficult -- to make the difficult decisions to keep the government functioning while addressing the many problems facing our country including the budget that the set hum of the nations out-of-control debt, and

the many challenges presented by the healthcare law. for many months and particularly throughout the last two weeks, i have worked with colleagues from both sides of the aisle in both chambers to find an agreement to break the impasse. i want to thank representative ron kind and senators susan collins and joe mention and the many other members who participated in the mini discussions. i believe these conversations have laid a strong foundation that we can build on to arrive at solutions that need to be addressed in this country. i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation but to join with those of us who share an affirmative obligation to wiped partisan solutions to challenges facing our great nation. i yield back. >> the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. to yield oneased minute to the distinguished gentleman from pennsylvania, member of the appropriations .ommittee area

thank you. i rise to urge expedited passage of this legislation. a joint 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. was in a foreign country, in the state of israel, met with the president and with of brain group researchers from around the world. they had difficulty understanding, given our nation leadership, why we could be in a perilous situation so i am happy that the senators have acted in such an overwhelming way with 81 bipartisan votes and i would urge the house to act and i know we will, to restore our government, pay our bills,

and 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 in a way that gains us respect around the world rather than befuddlement. >> the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. >> madam speaker, i am pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished member of the appropriations committee, ms. barbara lee from california. >> she is recognized for one minute. >> thank you very much and let me thank the gentle lady for yielding. i rise in support of this bipartisan budget deal. by voting in favor of this bill tonight, we will finally shut down this awful government shutdown. i am please that common sense and cooler heads have finally

prevailed, make no mistake -- this unnecessary shut down has caused real pain for millions of innocent families. never again should the american people be taken hostage to a political agenda. this is wholly unacceptable and these tactics must be rejected once and for all. canpe that tomorrow, people begin to put their lives back together, go back to work, and provide the government services that our veterans and seniors and children deserve. i'm pleased this deal will reopen the government and pay our bills, much more work needs to be done. the temporary spending level of $986 billion keeps the sequester level cuts in place that are hurting our economy, children, seniors, workers, in communities across the nation. i hope that we will understand that we need to protect vital programs that make for a functioning government so everyone can have the opportunity to climb, strive,

and reap the rewards and security of the american dream. >> the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. minutes of the former chairman of the financial services committee of the house i'm a the gentleman from alabama, mr. baucus. for one night, let us talk about what is good for this country and not about the other party. it's going to take the parties to solve our problems. as chairman emeritus of the financial services committee, i am very aware of the direct connection between the strong dollar and a vibrant economy so necessary to create jobs. that's what we need for america, jobs. the u.s. dollar is the reserve currency of the world. globally, the dollar and u.s. treasuries are two of the most preferred safe haven investments.

there reserve status has been a benefit and blessing to all of us economically. it is traditionally brought this country good jobs and they higher standard of living. however, the dollar is under attack today, out of control spending, unless addressed, will become more and more of a threat to the strong dollar and their currency. it will continue to erode our economy and cost jobs. two wrongs do not make a right. a default would further weaken the dollar, destroy jobs, and be a self-inflicted wound i am not willing to deliver. therefore, i will be voting yes andhis bipartisan agreement i urge my colleagues to do the same. >> the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. >> i am pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished member of the appropriations committee. >> the gentlewoman from ohio is

recognized for one minute. i thank the ranking member for yielding me time and i rise in support of the senates bipartisan compromise to end of the government shut down and reopened the government, overt a debt default and pay arab bills and spur economic growth and job creation in this country. this compromise today is what the american people expect of us. they are tired of the partisan bickering and economic uncertainty that the deadlock has created. the biggest challenge facing our country is creating growth to help allen's the budget. we can start by coming together on a budget agreement. let's restore regular order, let the budget committee go back to work, let the ways in midi -- let the ways and means committee to back to work as well as the appropriations committee. let us move our bills in regular

order and not govern from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis. this is the best we can get under the circumstances but it is far less than we are capable of. i yield back my remaining time. the gentle lady from new york reserves. the gentleman from kentucky reserves. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. madam speaker, i am pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished member of the appropriations committee, mr. sorano from new york. i thank the gentlewoman. strongly support this bill tonight because it not only opens our government but it makes us meet our applications in a proper way. note walk away from this having learned a lesson, this would have all been a futile

exercise. the lesson we have to learn is that we can become obsessed with one issue and close down the government over one issue. when a bill becomes a law and gets signed by the president, and gets judged on and approved by the supreme court, that's the law of the land and we have to abide by that. we should in no way continue to act as if things did not happen. understande need to that there are no winners or losers tonight. the real losers are only the american people who had to put up with the situation for these weeks. if we go away tonight not learning that lesson that we cannot allow that to happen again, it would have been a waste of time. i hope that we move ahead on the budget committee and we move ahead on the conference and we move ahead in a joint way, in a two-party system, to work on

behalf of the american people, thank you. >> the gentle lady from new york is recognized. i am pleasedaker, to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from massachusetts. >> the gentleman from massachusetts to is recognized for one minute. >> i think the gentle lady. madam speaker, this vote has been portrayed about an opportunity for new spending. the give -- the difficulty of that is this is an argument about paying our bills and debts incurred. this vote tonight is a vote about paying for the war in iraq which i opposed but still believe it has to be paid for. the former majority leader of this house said at a critical moment that having a tax cut in a time of war was patriotic. you know what is patriotic? those veterans hospitals, whether you are for or against the war. those words were put on the credit card and it's a responsibility and that's what

this debate is about tonight, not the opportunity for new expenditure and not a debate over program spending in the future. it is simply a vote to pay for bills that have been incurred. to have shut this government dam was not only wrongful but the decent people across this country who were hurt by this irresponsible manner of conduct in this house remains reprehensible. tonight, we will have a chance to reopen the government and vote on paying our bills. >> the gentleman's time has expired and the gentle lady from new york is recognized. madam speaker, i am pleased to yield one minute to the georgia, mr. scott. >> the gentle is recognized for one minute. i risenk you very much, to support this needed legislation. let me make a point here that

there is a very important part of this legislation which sets up the budget commission. i would like to make an appeal to that commission to not only get two is a good budget by december 15 but take some time to see how we can get some mechanisms in place to prevent us from ever again shutting down the federal government. we take a solemn oath here to defend the federal government, to support the federal government, to uphold the federal government and we must honor that. maybe we can do mandatory arbitration in its place but we've got some smart people in this place. we hurt too many people when we shut down the federal government. let us hopefully -- we can put mcconnell rule in place. god bless that senator from kentucky and the courage she had step forward in a bipartisan way so that we can put that mechanism in place so that we

will never again put our good faith and credit at risk in this country. finally, let us, democrats and republicans, work together beginning tonight and pass this bill. >> the gentle man's time is expired. >> i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. -- the fact that we are here today to debate raising the american debt limit as a sign of leadership failure. it's a sign the u.s. government cannot pay its own bills. it's a sign that we depend on financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies. it is my would have heart from social security trust funds, oregon china, are owed from japan, or upon the american taxpayer. hiddening debt is a domestic enemy robbing our

cities and states of critical investments and infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levies, robbing our families and inldren's of opportunities education and health care reform, robbing our seniors of retirement and health security they have counted on. every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to in america's priorities. increasing the american deck weakens us domestically and internationally. washington is shifting the burden of bad choices onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. americans deserve better. driving up our national debt is irresponsible and unpatriotic. the words of senator barack obama in 2006 and in 2008. madam speaker, what was irresponsible and unpatriotic is all of a sudden responsible conduct? i think not. we should be talking about cutting spending before we start raising america's debt ceiling. that's just the way it is, i yield back. >> the gentlewoman from new

york is recognized. >> i am delighted, madam speaker, to yield one minute to the distinguished leader from california -- where is she? madam pelosi. >> the gentle lady from california is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. i think the gentle lady for yielding. leadership asreat our ranking member on the appropriations committee and for bringing us together this evening as we have been all democrats, 200e strong, in support of the republican number that we are voting on today. tonight, the unnecessary shut down america has been enduring for 16 days comes to an end. thank you, speaker benard for finally allowing a majority of house members to reopen

government and avoid a default that would have clearly rate have asked on her economic credibility and the stability of our country. it is equally clear that the shut down has already shaken some pillars of our economic security and growth. it has jeopardized our credit , slowed our gdp growth i a road at consumer investor confidence in our economy will right -- while taking $24 billion out of our economy. my colleagues, do you think your recklessness was worth $24 billion to our economy? this recklessness is a luxury the american people cannot afford. beginow, we can finally what democrats have been waiting for for seven months to do. tomorrow, we can go to the negotiating table to debate a budget, create jobs, jobs, jobs,

economy,xpand the strengthen the middle class, and reduce the deficit in a meaningful way. tomorrow, we must stop governing from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis and start working to find solutions so that we never again see a day where 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 the hill, not on its merits because, as we know, this number is too low. even the chairman of the committee has said it is in on realistic and ill-conceived number and must be brought to an end. this number would cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs in the months ahead. in the next year. hundreds of thousands of jobs --

again, a number that is a luxury this country cannot afford. the republican number is key to reopening the doors of government and restoring confidence in our economy. acceptts are willing to this resolution tonight. as i say -- it is not the cause merits. we do so because of vote yes on this bill will take us, hopefully, not on its merits, but in the hope it will start us down a path to grow the merits. economy for the prosperity of every american who is willing to work hard, play by the rules, and to achieve the american dream. toh those qualifications as what we are voting for tonight, the number does not meet the needs of the american people, of the debtf time ceiling being extended is not

long enough but apparently that's the best we can do and i commend senator reed for working in a bipartisan way to send us this bill tonight so that we can bring the sadness to an end and how it affects so many people. -- i doot on its merits not come here to pin a rose on this legislation. it does not have that respect but it does have my support as a means to an end. with that i urge a yes vote and yield back the balance of my time. >> the gentle man from kentucky is recognized. >> i would like to inquire if you have further speakers? are you prepared to yield back? >> i yield back the balance of my time. >> the gentle man from kentucky is recognized. >> i urge passage of the bill.

>> the house and senate passed the bill to reopen the government last night 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, largely all the democrats voted for the bill joined by 87 republicans. the senators who voted against the proposal included senators coburn, corning, and others. on c-span this morning, "washington journal" is with your phone calls and later, live coverage from the white house as president obama makes a statement on the end of the government shut down. followed by live coverage of house minority leader nancy pelosi plus weekly briefing. mooreut one hour, stephen

and virginia congressman gerald connolly take a look at the effect of the deal on the shut down and raising the debt ceiling. >> we'll begin reopening our government immediately, and we can begin to lift this cloud of uncertainty and unease from our businesses and from the american people. host: with the house and senate passing a bill that funds government till mid-january, raises the debt ceiling until early february, fur load federal workers will head back to work starting today. for our next hour here at the "washington journal," your thoughts are welcomed on the end of the shutdown and what you think the white house democrats and republicans in the house and senate achieved over the last 2 1/2 weeks. here's how you can reach out to us this morning. on our republican line, it's 202-585-.