need to let your representatives in congress know that you are disappointed and if they don't act you will remember, election time. you need to let your leadership in washington know that they did not represent your views on this. >> what this means is this issue is not going away. people behind me have been hurt physically and emotionally by violence and they will continue working with us.

i pledge to everyone that i will try to do everything that i can to fight for meaningful background check legislation. the fight has just a gun. it's not going away. -- the fight has just begun. i want to call a little out of order and call on joe manchin from west virginia who courageously crafted the legislation, great legislation, dealing with background checks. >> looking ahead to 2014, you mentioned some of the executive actions the administration has taken. what else are they doing? is there any other legislative effort plan for 2014? >> a lot of lawmakers on the

hill think that the issue is dead. in september, we have the navy yard shooting and it reinvigorated the debate for dick durbin, dianne feinstein, the democrats who wanted to bring the debate back to congress after the failed amendment in april. harry reid said he would not seek a vote. right now, the issue is appearing dead. that may allow the white house to introduce my executive actions if republicans on the hill will not cooperate. >> in terms of the administration, what will we see? >> i'm not quite sure. they did introduce the 100 million dollars for additional mental health services this week but it is too far to tell what they will bring up in the next few months. >> rebecca shabad, thehill.com and on twitter. thanks for being with us on c- span's "year in review."

>> on the next "washington journal" market ginsberg looks of foreign-policy challenges in the year ahead. mocker -- gould er discusses political stories of 2014. then international stories on fears in russia as the sochi olympic games draw near. plus your e-mails and tweets. >> it is on fire. it will be extremely fast. this of the five or 10 years. there.k is life into 45an

slices. to what i think we should be doing is entering these and have them at the same time. we should play. we should learn. the world moves so fast. really have to stay up-to- date. >> new year's day on c-span. it just before 1:00 p.m. eastern and throughout the afternoon, ceo's on the future of higher education, robotics, and data as the new industrial revolution. on book tv, "unflinching courage" on women who helped shaped texas. then doctors assemble rights leaders at a segregationist share their memories of the civil rights era.

>> the beginning of october 2013 was a perfect storm of politics and policy with implementation of many elements of the health care law and the beginning of the new fiscal year. there was a 16 day government shutdown as a result. over the next hour of c-span's year in review, we bring you some floor debates. we will show you senator ted cruz of texas and his filibuster in the u.s. senate. we will begin with a conversation with a woman who covers budget issues on capitol hill for the "l.a. times" and the "chicago tribune." how did the health-care lobby, at least on the house side --

greatness linchpin for the shutdown in october? >> that was a big part of this year. republicans have tried multiple times to stop, delay, or defund president obama's health care law. the website was coming online in the health care exchange coming online. it was there last asked effort -- it was their last best effort to try to prevent the affordable care act from coming to fruition. they stall the government spending bill as the best vehicle as her last best chance to make a stand. and they did. >> this is a continuing resolution to keep the government funded into the new fiscal year. >> exactly. there have been some of the -- so many disagreements over how to fund the government. obviously this has been a long- , running obviously, difference of opinion over what levels to fund the government at and how far to cut back in different programs. they're unable to resolve that. they decided to punt.

the continued funding the government that the current level -- at the current level. this was a fairly routine bill, but again it was this great opportunity to make a political stand. >> and that political stand was to delay the implementation of part of the health care law. now when october 1 came around, republicans kept trying different tactics to change the health care law. is that correct? any traction in the senate? >> that is a good question. in the senate, it was interesting. we saw senator ted cruz from texas make a stand. he engaged in this long filibuster campaign to stop this law from coming into fruition. of course, that strategy was something that house republicans latched onto. over the advice of republican leader john boehner. speaker john boehner and others thought that it was not going to be a winning strategy. you have a divided government right now, even if it could pass out of the congress which seems unlikely, the law would be

defunded or delayed. president obama would probably defunded or delayed, never signed that kind of a bill, -- president obama would never sign that kind of a bill, right? it was a strategy without a complete end that would accomplish the goal. >> you mentioned house and republicans couldn't agree on spending. the shutdown happens, they tried continuous ways to change the law through legislation. but republican leaders also start introducing many appropriations bills. funding veterans programs and the national parks. why did they try to go that route? >> as you can imagine, shutting down the federal government as much as people, love or hate the government, shutting down national parks and routine government services was not popular. this became a tension across the country. workers are getting tension -- workers are getting furloughed, sent home.

it is having an economic hit. people can't come to the national mall to see the museums or go to the national parks or have family vacations. what the house decided to start doing was passed these many appropriations bills. they are crowd pleasers. let's fund the part of the crowdpleasers. -- let's fund a part of the government that provides money for veterans affairs or the national park service. all these smaller, individual bills that would be very difficult for democrats to vote against. it was difficult for them to vote against it. in fact a lot of democrats voted for them. you saw these big bipartisan votes coming over from the house as a would pass these bills one after the other, every other day during the shutdown. over in the senate, the senate democratic majority leader harry reid let them sit because democrats were not willing to play that sort of strategy. they thought it would be better to let the shutdown work its course and let the chips fall.

>> i want to show the c-span viewers some of the house floor debate and comments from the president ahead of the shutdown. this is late in september. >> madam speaker, i rise today in strong support of this measure providing for the continuing resolution. today, millions of americans across this country are struggling to find good paying jobs, and they are struggling to pay their bills. and their frustration with government continues to grow. these hard-working middle-class americans are counting on their elected representatives to show leadership during these hard times. this continuing resolution will keep the government funded at its current level without increasing spending while congress finishes working on a real budget. americans are tired of seeing the government continue to spend more and more of the hard-earned tax dollars.

for the first time since the korean war, it will be possible to have two consecutive years of discretionary spending cuts. this resolution will also protect the working middle class from the devastating effects of obamacare. each week, we hear stories of how both major employers in -- and small businesses are cutting back benefits and hours. the president's health care law is turning our economy to a part-time economy. even the heads of major unions that were once so supportive of obamacare want to see this law drastically changed to avoid further damage. let's protect the american people from the economic calamity that we know obamacare will create.

americans back home are fighting for their families. we in congress were sent to washington by our constituents to fight for them. they have put faith in their leaders to do what is right. for this entire congress, the house has led on restoring faith in our economy and trust in our government. we should pass this continuing resolution so the senate and -- can finally begin to do the same. thank you to the gentleman from kentucky for his work on this measure, along with the help of the gentleman from louisiana, the republican study committee chairman, for their hard work on the issue. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. >> the gentleman from kentucky reserves. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. >> i'm pleased to yield to mr.

steny hoyer. >> the gentleman from maryland is recognized for three minutes. >> thank you for yielding. madam speaker, today we are considering a measure to fund government only if the senate and president will agree to dismantle the health care reform law that will help millions of americans access affordable care. that is not going to happen, and it is a blatant act of hostagetaking. the republican cr lays the groundwork for a default on our debt. an unthinkable act by instituting a pay china first provision. it fully embraces the dangerous and irrational policy of sequester. this bill and shines economy and

confirms the dissent into and into a national security undermining, and ineffective rendering of our country and our people needs. the majority party with its destructive obsession with the repeal of the affordable care act in its unrestrained hostility toward government has offered this will, notwithstanding, republicans hollow claims of irrationality of the sequester policy their party adopts. the majority does so notwithstanding their chairman's accurate description of their policy of sequester, and i quote their chairman mr. rogers as "unrealistic and ill-conceived." his words, not mine. a policy that chairman rogers said, "must be brought to an end." his words, not mine.

chairman rogers wrote today and -- rodgers' vote today and the vote of his colleagues i expect to do just the opposite. they will vote to continue a policy that will lead to american decline in retreat. i will not be party to that his to that. -- not be party to that. today's bill undermines the disinvestment in america's greatness. the education of our children, the security of seniors, and the present and future health of our people and the strength and readiness of our forces and the growth of our economy and the creation of jobs. the quality and volatility -- the quality and health of our environment and respect for those who labor in the public sector and most certainly the honoring of america's debt and obligations. today's bill undermines all of those priorities and more. i will not support it. i urge my colleagues to oppose it. it continues us on the path so

aptly described again as chairman rogers as "this lurching path from fiscal crisis to fiscal crisis." i urge my colleagues with wisdom and courage on your side of the aisle to oppose this bill. >> madam speaker, the american people are counting on us to do our jobs, to work together, to create jobs, to keep the government open and to keep the economy running. this is not the time or the bill for relitigating health reform or for holding up the administration's ability to protect the full faith and credit of the united states of america. with the great suffering in the wake of a natural disaster in

colorado -- my heart goes out to all of those families who lost lives and loved ones and property -- this is not the time to limit the ability of the united states of america to give relief to those losing loved ones, homes, and livelihoods. republicans refuse to work together with the senate and the white house to bring a constructive piece of legislation to this floor today. instead we consider a bill that we know is destined for failure in the senate and would be vetoed by the white house. for months, the majority has a failed to lead. they refuse to appoint members

to work with the senate on a top line spending number. they cannot even pass their own spending bills in this chamber. we remember how the important transportation bill had to be pulled off of the floor because they could not find the vote. today they risk halting government services and functions vital to the american people and our economy. even when their own appropriations chairman, my friend mr. rogers, said that even when their own -- said that we should end the sequester and find a balanced plan forward. they still -- just days before the end of the fiscal year, they are still playing political games. i urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and support the responsible replacement of the sequester with a balanced plan to create jobs and keep our economy moving. i know we can do it. i would be pleased to to be part of that partnership with the

chair, mr. rogers. >> the gentleman from kentucky -- the gentlewoman's time is expired. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for two remaining minutes. >> i think the speaker. -- i think the speaker. thank you. madam speaker, we are doing a cr even though the appropriations committee on the house side passed 11 of the 12 bills through the committee. four of them across the floor in the house. the remaining ones for aforetime as we run out of time. consequently, this continuing resolution will continue the government past the september 30 and of the fiscal year. we were unable to pass the appropriations bills singly on the floor because of a lack of floor time, but also because the

house and senate never agreed to an overall number of which we could mark. consequently, we were not able to bring those bills out because of that limitation. with this cr until december 15, if we were given a number with the senate in which we need to mark the individual 12 bills. we will do so. this is a hard-working committee. we are pragmatists. we know that we have to pass the bills to fund the government. thus this bill. if we were intending to close down the government and shut it down, we wouldn't be here with this bill. we would just sit there.

this is an effort by the but majority party in the house to continue the government and avoid a shutdown what we work -- while we work out the differences on these funding bills for fiscal 2014. madam speaker, this resolution is straightforward, clean, short term, continues reduction and federal discretionary spending. i would point out we have actually cut discretionary spending in the last two years by $120 billion, the first time that has occurred since world war ii. we are trying to be responsible. this bill is responsible and i urge a yes vote. >> unfortunately there is a faction on the far right of the republican party right now. it is not everyone but it is a pretty big faction, who convinced their leadership to threaten a government shutdown and potentially threaten not

to raise the debt ceiling if they can't shut off the affordable care act also known as obamacare. think about this. they're not talking about spending cuts. they're not talking about entitlement reform. they are not talking about that. now they're talking about something that has nothing to do with the budget. right? they are actually willing to plunge america into default if we cannot defund the affordable care act. let's put this into perspective. the affordable care act passed both houses of congress and was an issue in last years election.

the guy who is running against me said he was going to repeal it. we want. -- we won. [applause] the voters were pretty clear on it. republicans and congress try to repeal or sabotage this more than 40 times. they have had these repeal votes. every time, they failed. this law that is in place is providing people benefits. it is not holding back economic growth. it is helping millions of americans, including some of you or your family members that you may not be aware of. just do your job. don't be the other guy. be the guy who is doing your job. no obstruction, no games, no holding the economy hostage if you do not get 100% of what you want. nobody gets 100% of what you

want. you guys know that in your own families. i do not know how many people are married here, but you know not to expect when hundred percent of what you want. otherwise you will be divorced really quick. especially you men, i'm telling you. [laughter] you should expect some compassion and compromise. you should expect the conviction of leaders to wake up and go to work everyday and not to tear something down, but to build something better. not just for today, but for the world we want to leave our kids. that is my conviction and my commitment to you. if we start thinking about you instead of politics and how you can get your base stirred up, then we will be able to get back to the point where this country is where we want it to be. >> at this point we have seen small businesses all around this country who are losing their ability to compete, who are not

expanding. who are staying under 50 employees, who are not hiring or who are forcing employees to move to part-time work. in a survey of small businesses, half of small businesses eligible for the employee mandate are either moving to part-time workers or forcing full-time workers to go part time. this is not a small problem. it is not a marginal problem. it is a problem all over the country. you are talking millions of small businesses. 24% that areis simply not growing to stay under 50 employees, which means they are not hiring people. whone in america right now is struggling to find a job, small businesses provide 2/3 of all new jobs. small businesses are crying out that obamacare is killing them. unfortunately, the u.s. senate is not hearing their cries.

for the millions of americans facing the threat of being forced into part-time work. unfortunately, the u.s. senate is not hearing their cries. for the millions of americans facing skyrocketing health care premiums and facing the reality and risk of losing their health insurance. the u.s. senate is not hearing their cry. and the people who are facing this are not the wealthy or the powerful or the millionaires and billionaires. they are the most vulnerable among us. there are young people who are being absolutely decimated by obamacare. they are single moms working in diners, struggling, but suddenly finding their hours being reduced to 29 hours a week.

that is not enough to feed your kids. single moms are crying out to the senate to fix this train wreck, fix this disaster. and for the struggling single moms, for young people, unfortunately, the u.s. senate is closed for business. >> the shutdown is about rolling back our efforts to provide health insurance to folks who don't have it. it is all about rolling back the affordable care act. this, more than anything else, seems to be what the republican party stands for these days. it is strange that one party would make keeping people uninsured the centerpiece of their agenda. that is apparently what it is. what is stranger still is that shutting down our government does not accomplish their stated goal. the affordable care act passed. the supreme court ruled it

constitutional. it was a central issue in last year's election. it is settled and here to stay. because of its funding sources, it is not impacted by government shutdown. these americans are with me today because a big part of the affordable care act is now open for business. it has been a long time coming. today, americans who have been forced to go without insurance can now visit healthcare.gov and enroll in plans that can offer them affordable coverage. that starts today. people have six months to sign up. for the next six months, people have opportunities, many for the

first time in their lives, to get coverage they desperately need. and i want you to understand the consequences of this. as reckless as a government shutdown is, and economic shutdown that results from default would be dramatically worse. in a government shutdown, social security checks still go out on time, in an economic shutdown, if we don't raise the debt ceiling, they don't go out on time. in a government shutdown, disability benefits still arrive on time. in an economic shutdown, they do not. shutdown,nment millions of americans -- not just federal workers -- everyone faces real economic hardship. in economic shutdown, pensions and home values and rising interest rates on student loans,

all of those things could send us into a bad recession. it would affect all of you. that is not my analysis. it is every economist out there saying that. we have never done it before. the u.s. is the center of the world economy. if we screw up, everyone gets screwed up. the whole world will have problems. which is why, generally, nobody has thought to threaten not to pay our bills. it would be the height of irresponsibility. that is why i have said this before. i will repeat it. there will be no negotiations over this. >> i did not come here to shut down the government or to default on our debt.

but when it comes to the debt limit, 27 times the debt limit has been used to carry significant policy changes that would reduce spending and put us on a saner fiscal path. president reagan sat down with tip o'neill in the 1980s. president bush, in 1990, went out to andrews air force base and got into a long debate and negotiation with democrats here in congress. bill clinton went through this three times in the 1990's. president obama and i sat down in 2011 and had a serious negotiation. while the president today suggested that i walked away from the deal, i have to remind him that i was in the oval office along with the majority leader eric cantor when we had an agreement in two days later the president walked away from.

but there was, in fact, another negotiation in 2011 that resulted in the largest deficit reduction bill we have seen in the last 30 years. in 2010, when democrats controlled the congress and president obama was in the white house, what happened was a group of moderate democrats would not agree to raise the debt limit without a negotiation. there was a negotiation amongst democrats. the long and short of it is, there is going to be a negotiation here. we cannot raise the debt ceiling without doing something about what is driving us to borrow more money and live beyond our means. >> while i am honored to be before the committee today, i would rather be 4000 miles away from here.

this is the first time in 28 years i have not been in the bering sea in the month of october. i'm here on behalf of fishermen. i am here to talk specifically about the impacts on my fisheries. i want the committee to understand that this shutdown is causing impacts fisheries nationwide. personnel tock of perform routine administrative functions. it will result in millions of lost revenue. the federal reserve program will be impacted the longer the shutdown continues. across the country, vessels required to carry federal observers will be forced to stay tied to the docks. many fishermen coastal communities are facing tough times. this unnecessary shutdown may be the tipping point if the situation is not resolved soon. the alaska king crab fishery is the model of sustainable fishery

management practices. it is managed under a strict quota system, with each allocated part of the catch. king crab stock is healthy. there is a conservative manage -- management approach. overfishing does not occur. fishery results in hundreds of millions of economic activity that provides thousands of jobs for fishermen, processors, and support businesses such as welders, shippers, distributors, retailers. i want to be clear. fishermen fund the management cost of the crab fishery through the cost of government program. we are taxed to cover management costs. noaa has left over money that could be used to pay for the personnel we need to issue permits. despite the fact, their

employees have been furloughed. we asked the secretary of commerce to find the authority and direct employees to do the task we have paid for. issue our crab quotas. a delay in the opening of the fishery would have significant impacts on alaskan coastal -- -- on alaskan coastal communities. the fleet has invested millions of dollars out of pocket, gearing up for the season. each day tied to the docks will cost them thousands more. the short-term impacts are relatively easy to measure. the longer-term impact of the -- the longer-term market impacts are the scary part. we rely on the holiday market in the u.s. and japan. if the crab is not caught and processed and shipped out by the second week of november, we stand to lose access to that market. we cannot afford to lose anymore days to meet that deadline. losing the holiday market will decrease the revenue we are in by 20% to 25%. in the case of the japanese

market, we also stand to lose market share. if the japanese buyers do not have a lasting product on hand for the new year holiday, they will source their crabs from russia. market watchers are noticing uncertainty in the japanese. -- in the japanese trade press already. it is unsustainably managed and subject to pirate fishing. pirate fishing is causing us an estimated 500 million. if the shutdown continues, that amount will only increase. time is critical. there are many small family run businesses that make up the alaskan crab fleet. my wife manages the short side of businesses. my brother is on the boat with me. my crew depends on me to feed their families. we have been racking up bills to ready to go fishing. if we are tied to the docs and waiting for the government, we cannot pay those bills. on behalf of all fishermen, i'm asking congress to end the shutdown now.

i am a small businessman in a big ocean, with big hills. bills. i need to go fishing. >> the shutdown of the government for the last 16 days or so, a deal has evolved. what are some key details of the deal? >> congress did what they often do when they can't agree. they sort of punted. because there were such a difference between the spending level that republicans wanted, and the spending level most democrats wanted, they agreed to temporarily fund the government for another short while until january 15 at current operating levels. it was not as high as democrats sought and not as low as republicans sought. in the interim, have the house budget committee and the senate budget committee put their two budget plans together in a conference committee and try to negotiate an agreement.

that group, headed by paul ryan of wisconsin, the former vice presidential nominee, and democratic senator patty murray of washington. they had six weeks until today. december 13 was the deadline to come up with a deal. as you can imagine, expectations were low that they could come up with something. and then they did. >> they got that deal announced early. we are recording this interview on december 20 -- december 13. they announced the deal a couple of days ago. that has since passed the u.s. house. in the senate, it is to be determined if it gets past.

passed. >> absolutely. it looks like it will probably pass the senate in the coming days. some have called them very modest deals. very different from the big bargains that president obama will and other people had tried to negotiate over the years. to bring the nation's fiscal picture in a better place. they came up with a plan. it passed the house. there's a strong, robust majority. it is heading to the senate. conservative republicans are not on board with this. the most conservative, hardliners are not on board. there are some who gave their

votes for this. the very liberal wing of the democratic party is not on board with this. yet a number of democrats gave their vote. in the senate, democrats will still need republican support to get to that 60 votes threshold to overcome a possible filibuster. >> that is one third. they met the deadline vote on the conference report. january 15 is the date by which the current temporary spending ends. then in early february, the debt ceiling. what do they have to get done by then? >> right. they got the package through the senate. they have to pass this one more time in january when congress

comes back. they face this january 15 deadline to keep funding for the government or it would shut down again. both parties say they do not want to do that. they have got to take this agreement and put it into the spending bills. looking ahead, is this a new era in congress? has a cycle of lurching from crisis to crisis come to a close? i think the jury is still out on that. they have this debt ceiling deadline. raising the debt limit has still that has been a very political issue in recent years. it is uncertainty if that will happen again. technically, they have until february 7 to raise the debt limit. more than $17 trillion in debt right now. that is something not a lot of people want to do. they also don't want to default on accrued bills that the nation needs to pay.

that deadline is february 7, although the treasury department could probably keep paying the bills and stretch that out a bit , maybe even until summer. think that will be the next hurdle and when that arrives -- we will see how they handle that. >> we are bound to see a similar debate we saw from leader harry reid in the senate and mitch mcconnell from earlier this fall. >> the eyes of the world has been on washington. that is a gross understatement. they witness great discord. today they will also seek congress reach an historic bipartisan agreement to avert a default on the nation's bills. the compromise we reached will provide us with the stability our economy desperately needs. it is never easy for two sides to reach consensus.

it is really hard. sometimes harder than others. this time it is really hard. after weeks spent facing off a partisan divide that sometimes seems too wide to cross, our country came to the brink of disaster. in the end, we prevented that disaster. i thank the republican leader for his effort to reach this important agreement. the cooperation was essential to pass both chambers of congress to reach an accord that could and also be signed by president obama. as part of our agreement, in order to ensure that climate -- in order to ensure that towards progresses stability, this legislation says there'll be a conference committee that will set our country on a long- term, fiscal sustainability.

some say that will be hard. what we do is hard, but we can get it done. the committee members selected must have open minds, be willing to explore every option, no matter their own political parties. this conference committee led by chairman murray and chairman ryan for me in december as an -- chairman ryan, will produce a resolution as an appropriate place to chart a course for economic growth. this funds the government through january 15. it averts default through february 7. congress can work toward a long- term agreement to fix this crisis and perhaps most importantly, this legislation ends a standoff. it ground washington to a halt this fall. madam president, this is not a time for pointing fingers of

blame. this is a time of reconciliation. i look forward to working with my colleagues of both parties of this great capital and avert a default on our nation's debt. it will allow us to set the foundation for economic expansion. what we have done is send a message to americans from every one of our 50 states that the u.s. lives up to its obligations. now we must return to the most important job -- fostering economic growth and protecting middle-class families. i appreciate through all of this the steady hand of president obama, who helped guide us to this conclusion. i'm optimistic that the spirit of compromise has taken root in the senate over the last two days. i do know this -- senator mcconnell and i have sat in serious discussions the last few

days. we will do everything we can to change the atmosphere in the senate and accomplish things that need to be done for our country. >> madam president. >> republican leader. >> this has been a long challenging week. for congress and for the country. it is my hope we can put some of those issues behind us. after yesterday's events, the majority leader and i began a series of conversations about the way to get the government reopened and to prevent default. i'm confident we will be able to do both of those things later today. crucially, i'm confident we will be able to announce we are protecting the government spending reductions that both parties agreed to. under the budget control act. and that the president signed

into law. it has been a top priority for me and for my colleagues on the republican side of the aisle throughout this debate. it has been worth the effort. some have suggested that we break that promise as part of this agreement. some have said washington needs to spend more and that we need to raise taxes and tax our way to prosperity. what the bca showed is that washington can cut spending. because of this law, that is just what we have done. for the first time since the korean war, the first time since the korean war, government spending has declined for two years in a row. the first time in 50 years. we are not going back on this agreement. there is a lot more we need to do to get our fiscal house in order.

hopefully, once we have gotten past the drama of the moment, we can get to work on it. for now, let's not understate the importance of the budget control or the importance of the fight. this is the largest spending bill of the last quarter- century. and the largest deficit reduction bill since 1981 that did not include a tax hike. preserving this law is critically important to the future of our country. throughout this debate, republicans focused on obamacare -- the public has rightly focused on obamacare for good reason. this law is ravaging our economy and killing jobs and driving up premiums and driving people off the health care plans they had and like in droves. it is a disastrous rollout any d a sign even worse things to come. their refusal to -- it will do

-- the refusal to delay it is a stubbornness that will do untold damage to our country. republicans remain determined to repeal this terrible law. for today, the relief we hope but for is to reopen government, avoid default, and protect the historic cuts we have achieved under the budget control act. this is far less than many of us have hoped for, frankly. it is far better than what some had sought. it is time for republicans now to unite behind other crucial goals. i yield the floor. >> madam president, i rise tonight in support of the senate compromise legislation being considered to end this unnecessary government shut down.

this legislation reopens the government and prevent a catastrophic default and credit downgrade that would spur another recession. i'm pleased that cooler heads have finally prevailed. however it is disappointing we are in the situation. after more than two weeks as the government shutdown and on the eve of default, we have reached an agreement. this legislation must be supported. it should not be celebrated. no high-fives or spiking of the football. it is a temporary bill. it is not a win for anyone. particularly the institution of congress or the presidency for that matter. the bill represents the conclusion of a difficult period from which i hope many can draw important lessons. i hope that this sad episode will help congress to make difficult decisions.