mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the minority leader. the republicaneader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, the fact of the matr is that the only way we're going to get an agreement before tuesday is to have an agreement with the president of the united states. the only person in america of the 307 million of us who can sign something into law. and i'm more optimistic than my friend, the majority leader. we both talked to the president today. we talked to the vice president several times. i think we've got a chance of getting the. what i think is not helpful is the process we're going through here on the senate floor having a -- show votes over live quorums, having a reluctance on the part of the majority to have a vote on a measure they favor, which we'v we've been prepared o vote on since last night.

mr. mcconnell has walked away from that. so that the balance here that we do need by the way is to look at this as an issue of revenues as well as of cuts. if we put everything on the table, we could actually resolve it, and instead, we are at a continuation of this partisan battlement what i am seeing in the house is that the republicans are dominant on this issue by the tea party and their mantra is to cut taxes, cut spending, and somehow that increases growth. >> and mr. boehner keeps saying he is seeking compromise. he claims to be bipartisan, and what action are you aware of specifically that speaker boehner has actually taken across the aisle and sought some sort of compromise on?

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, there is nobody in the senate i respect and admire more than my counterpart, the democratic leader, but we have been subjected last night and again just a few moments ago, i would say to my colleagues from wyoming and idaho, to some orwellian discussion about what is a filibuster. now, most americans when asked the question what is a filibuster would believe that it was delaying something, delaying something. so we have the astonishing development here that my good friend, the majority leader, is delaying a vote on something he wants to pass. we were prepared to have this vote last night. we were prepared to have this vote -- we are prepared to have this vote momentarily. we are prepared to have this vote at any point. i want to disabuse my friend of the notion that somehow it's going to pass. he hasn't seen it yet but we just delivered a letter to his office with 43 of my colleagues who say they are not going to vote for it. the house of representatives is going to speak a

mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: last night the president explained to the nation the crisis that we face right now as he sees it. his hope was to lift the debate up out of the gritty legislative particulars, and we all understand that. unfortunately, the situation the president described last night bears very little resemblance to the realities on the ground right here in washington. i know the president would rather give speeches about our problems than resolve them, but he wasn't elected to talk about the united states; he was elected to lead it. in our system of government, that means working with people and a congress that you sometimes disagree with. this is not a unique situation. other presidents have been in a similar situation where they had to work with a congress composed of people, many of whom disagreed with them. last night the president rejected not just the only proposal that has passed either house of congress, he rejected the only plan the de

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the minority leader. the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, the fact of the matter is that the only way we're going to get an agreement before tuesday is to have an agreement with the president of the united states. the only person in america of the 307 million of us who can sign something into law. and i'm more optimistic than my friend, the majority leader. we both talked to the president today. we talked to the vice president several times. i think we've got a chance of getting there. what i think is not helpful is the process we're going through here on the senate floor having a -- show votes over live quorums, having a reluctance on the part of the majority to have a vote on a measure they favor, which we'v we've been prepared o vote on since last night. look, we need to be in a position where all of us in the leadership can come back here and say that we think we've reached a framework of an agreement that we can recommend to our l

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the minority leader. the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, the fact of the matter is that the only way we're going to get an agreement before tuesday is to have an agreement with the president of the united states. the only person in america of the 307 million of us who can signomething io law. and i'm more optimistic than my friend, the majority leader. we both talked to the president today. we talked to the vice president several times. i think we've got a chance of getting there. what i think is not helpful i the process we're going through re on the senate floor having a -- show votes over live quorums, having a reluctance on the part of the majority to have a vote on a measure they favor, which we'v we've been prepared o vote on since last night. look, we need to be in a position where all of us in the leadership can come back here and say that we think we've reached a framework of an agreement that we can recommend to our leaders

mr. mcconnell and the president and he was looking for upbeat than mr. reid. >> it was like they were coming from two separate planets describing what happened. president obama called conle early the republican leader in the senate and called him earlier today . mcconnell had two conversations senator biden and after reid come out of the white house. i had to cut a conversation short. they are trying to hammer out a compromise and they are really serious. >> speaking of talks. we have seen since this morning, news conferences and press releases from the republicans and democrats, what is the purpose of all of the public speak? >> other than to kill us with e-mails? i think you are seeing what we

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i would just finally point out -- i don't want to belabor this, but i would just finally point out that we're in a rather curious position that the house of representatives tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. will vote on the reid proposal before my friend and his conference are willing to let us vote on his proposal. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, we know that if the legislation in the house of representatives had required a supermajority, we would not be dealing with the boehner -- trying to say a nice word -- the boehner legislation. we wouldn't be doing that. we're here now. we have tried our utmost to come up with a fair proposal that deserves an up-or-down vote. it's fair. it reduces the debt by $2.4 trillion. it -- most of it -- well, in fact, most every bit of it includes material that the house has voted on before, the senators have voted on before. it's something we should do. it's fair. we have tried to compromise. that

mr. mcconnell. what you're trying to do is make sure that a signal is sent to the senate, don't bother, we're going to -- mr. dreier: will the gentleman yield? mr. levin: yes. mr. dreier: i say the action we are about to do here today is see the process that senator mcconnell and senator reid work together. why? mr. levin: i take back my time. mr. dreier, that is pernicious nonsense. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to address their comments to the chair, not otherwise. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i didn't hear you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: i said members are reminded to address their comments to the chair and not to others. mr. dreier: i will not only address you, madam chair, i won't point my finger at you as i address you. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. mr. dreier: let me say, madam speaker, that senator mcconnell has just minut ago asked senator reid to bring the reid proposal to the floor of the united states senate and a decision has been made by

mr. mcconnell: would the senator yield on that point? mr. reid: be happy to yeild. mr. mcconnell: if there were to be a vote, i would assume we would have significant notice for our members because many members would probably like to leave the capitol if we're not going to be voting. mr. reid: i would say to my friend, that's an appropriate thing to do. i would not suggest a ball game, though. maybe closer than that. we'll give everyone adequate notice, though. as i indicated, we'll do everything we can to give members plenty of notice. as i indicated, we'll do on this side of the aisle a caucus later today, whenever we're able to do that. i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate stand in recess subject to the call of the chair. the presiding officer: is there objection?

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: i apologize to the senator from tennessee. i hope i haven't inconvenienced him. my remarks are not lengthy. mr. president, over the past few days -- the presiding officer: the senate is currently in a quorum call. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: over the last few days, a lot of people have taken it upon themselves to offer republicans in congress and me in particular their advice on the debt limit, and i have listened to all of it very carefully. i appreciate how frustrating it is for people to know that despite all we know about the state of our economy, despite all the warnings about our deficit and debt, that we can't do something about it. i share that frustration. no one has spent more time cajoling and persuading this white house of the need to do something big. i was truly hopeful that the president could be persuaded to view the upcoming debt limit vote as an opportunity to cut washington

mr. mcconnell are willing to do at this point. >> this has gotten kind of ugly in the last week, and it appears that things even got a fiddle at these meetings. it regrets in your rolle -- it appears that things got few at these meetings. any regrets in your role in this? >> this notion that things got ugly is just not true. we have been meeting every single day, and we have had very constructive conversations. the american people are not interested in the reality tv aspects of who said what, and did somebody's feelings get hurt. they are interested in solving the budget problem and the deficit and debt. that may be good for chatter in this town, but it is not something that folks out in the country are obsessing about. with respect to bowles-simpson, it would not have happened had i not set up the structure for it. as you recall, this was originally bipartisan legislation that some of the republican supporters of decided to vote against it when i said i supported it. that seems to be a pattern i am still puzzled by. so we set -- set it up, and they issued a report. this provides an important f

mr. mcconnell has walked away from that. so that the balance here that we do need by the way is to look at this as an issue of revenues as well as of cuts. if we put everything on the table, we could actually resolve it, and instead, we are at a continuation of this partisan battlement what i am seeing in the house is that the republicans are dominant on this issue by the tea party and their mantra is to cut taxes, cut spending, and somehow that increases growth. >> and mr. boehner keeps saying he is seeking compromise. he claims to be bipartisan, and what action are you aware of specifically that speaker boehner has actually taken across the aisle and sought some sort of compromise on? >> well, let me say this. i think that mr. boehner is doing his best. i think that all of his instincts and history of someone who would reach across and find common ground. he has a tough job. he's got a house membership that won't take yes for an answer. >> so, are you saying mr. welsh, that he is hostage to those 87 freshmen? >> i am actua

mr. mcconnell said, i think, the day i was elected that his job was to try to see me beat. i think what the american people are looking for is not that kind of partisan politics, and what i'm offering is a way for us to finally solve this debt and deficit problem in a serious way with substantial cuts in discretionary spending, substantial cuts in defense spending, substantial changes to entitlements like medicare and social security that would stabilize those programs and make them available for the next generation. and what i'm asking for in return from the republicans is that people like myself who can afford it put a little bit of revenue in so that we don't end up having to put the entire burden of dealing with this debt on the backs of middle class families and seniors and students and poor kids. >> pelley: every day, you bring the leadership in to the cabinet room right next to the oval office, but i wonder, is it the problem that a large number of the members of congress will not follow your leadership or the republican leadership? >> well, i actually think that the

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: madam president, today members of the house of representatives will have a chance to stand up and be counted. they'll show with their votes whether they believe in freezing washington's current spending habits in place and raising job-killing taxes or whether they believe, as i do, that the reckless spending and debt of the past two years has brought us to this point of crisis and that something serious must be done to rein it in without damaging a fragile economy with job-killing taxes. frankly, it's that simple. those who support cut, cap and balance that the house takes up today will be voting for getting our fiscal house in order and against an unsustainable status quo. and those of us who have been calling for serious short- and long-term action to cut spe

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: five months ago president obama unveiled the only concrete statement he's made to date on our nation's debt crisis. continue a budget plan so preposterous, so unequal to the moment that it was rejected in the senate by a vote of 97-0. the president's response to this crisis was to pretend it didn't exist. two months later the president doubled down on his vision for a future of debt by demanding that congress raise the debt limit without any cuts to spending or a plan to rein it in. it was a total abdication of leadership, and it wasn't sustainable. so over the past several weeks the president has been doing his best impersonation of a fiscal moderate. he's talked about balance and left it to others to fill in the blanks. and here's wt democrats in congress have proposed as a solution: more spending and higher taxes as a solution to a debt crisis. just yesterday with the clock ticking, we heard reports of a volcanic eruption among democrats that we shouldolve this crisis by

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: let me echo the initial remarks of the majority leader with regard to the decision which in this particular instance would agree was a mutual decision that we need to stay in every day until we resolve this crisis confronting our country. and so i concur with what the majority leader said. we'll stay many here every day, monday through sunday, and get this problem fixed for our -- for our country. mr. reid reid: reid: mr. presidi could -- [inaudible] i would hope the republican leader noted that following the content of my -- the tone and content of my statement where i didn't lump all republicans in one big bundle there. pardon the interruption. mr. mcconnell: i thank my friend, the majority leader. this is a pivotal week for america. two years of reckless spending and debt have brought us to the point of crisis, and this week americans will see how their elected representatives decide to resolve it. on the one side are those who believe that failing to rein in spending now

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i request the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: yesterday afternoon the white house issue add statement of administration -- issued a statement of administration policy which said that when the legislation speaker boehner is now revising reaches the president's desk, unnamed senior advisors will recommend that the president veto t i have a question for those senior advisors: what about this legislation is so offensive that you'd rather see the nation default on its obleses than have the sign president it into law? from what i can tell, the only thing in this bill that the president ha hasn't already expressed his support for, either publicly or privately, is that it doesn't get him through his election without having to engage in another national discussion about the debt crisis that's brought us to this point. so i would ask these senior advisors whether that's a position they want to put the president in. do they really

mr. mcconnell. what you're trying to do is make sure that a signal is sent to the senate, don't bother, we're going to -- mr. dreier: will the gentleman yield? mr. levin: yes. mr. dreier: i say the action we are about to do here today is see the process that senator mcconnell and senator reid work together. why? mr. levin: i take back my time. mr. dreier, that is pernicious nonsense. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to address their comments to the chair, not otherwise. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i didn't hear you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: i said members are reminded to address their comments to the chair and not to others. mr. dreier: i will not only address you, madam chair, i won't point my finger at you as i address you. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. mr. dreier: let me say, madam speaker, that senator mcconnell has just minutes ago asked senator reid to bring the reid proposal to the floor of the united states senate and a decision has been made b

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: let m echo the initial remarks of the majority leader with regard to the decision which in this particular instance would agree was a mutual decision that we need to stay in every day until we resolve this crisis confronting our country. and so i concur withhat the majority leader said. we'll stay many here every day, monday through sunday, and get this problem fixed for our -- for our country. mr. reid reid: reid: mr. presidi uld -- [inaudible] i would hope the republican leader noted that following the content of my -- the tone and content of my statement where i didn't lump all republicans in one big bundle there. pardon the interruption. mr. mcconnell: i thank my friend, the majority leader. this is a pivotal week for amera. two years of reckles spending and debt have brought us to the point of crisis, and this week americans will see how their elected representatives decide to resolve it. on the one side are those who believe that failing to rein in spending now would b

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: let me echo the initial remarks of the majority leader with regard to the decision which in this particular instance would agree was a mutual decision that we need to stay in every day until we resolve this crisis confronting our country. and so i concur with what the majority leader said. we'll stay many here every day, monday through sunday, and get this problem fixed for our -- for our country. mr. reid reid: reid: mr. presidi could -- [inaudible] i would hope the republican leader noted that following the content of my -- the tone and content of my statement where i didn't lump all republicans in one big bundle there. pardon thenterruption. mr. mcconnell: i thank my friend, the majority leader. this is a pivotal week for america. two years of reckless spending and debt have brought us to the point of crisis, and this week americans will see how their elected representatives decide to resolve it. on the one side are those who believe that failing to rein in spending now w

its debt that's actually going to look kind of bad for us and you know one of the things that mr mcconnell saying here of course is that he just doesn't want to let obama when he doesn't want to let him win reelection so now he has to finally start making these types of concessions but i don't this is what's wrong with our political system and tell me if you agree with me or not is that only when there is a fear the you might lose an election do you actually start doing something or making any compromises versus i don't know the risk of defaulting on your debt as a nation it was a problem both sides of mcconnell's just being kind of forward with it which you me even call it refreshing to just have and just be i like look i'm not helping the obama two thousand and twelve reelection and on the other hand the democrats been playing politics in the white house and playing politics with this all along we had the tools to solve this months ago would be letting this go down to the line because both sides are positioning themselves for the best possible outcome in the two thousand and twelve elect

mr. mcconnell: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. we are. mr. mcconnell: i kwurt that further proceed -- i request that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: the senate will begin debate today on cut, cap, and balance, the plan approved earlier this week in the house. this means that senators will now have the opportunity to go on record either in support of balancing our books or against it. this is an opportunity for everyone to take a stand. it's an opportunity to say that a government which borrows more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends is not sustainable and very much needs to change its ways. it's an opportunity to stand with those who believe that washington needs to heal its addiction to spending now. not make more false promises of spending restraint some time later. the president's veto threat of this legislation is telling. many of us learned a long time ago to pay more attention to what this president does than what he says. and anyone who witne

mr. mcconnell and the president and he was looking for upbeat than mr. was like they were coming from two separate planets describing what happened. president obama called conle early the republican leader in the senate and called him earlier today . mcconnell had two conversations senator biden and after reid come out of the white house. i had to cut a conversation short. they are trying to hammer out a compromise and they are really serious. >> speaking of talks. we have seen since this morning, news conferences and press releases from the republicans and democrats, what is the purpose of all of the public speak? >> other than to kill us with e-mails? i think you are seeing what we always see in difficult negotiations. you have to hedge your bets and give the political message that is usually beating each other up on the way to the prom . so right now, you are seeing political posturing and i know your viewers are saying on a discussion about default it is not good to play pol -- politics. they beat each other up and then they will get together at some

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, the complok i clock is tick tic. so i was shocked last night when 53 senate democrats issue add letter saying they intend to vote against the only piece of legislation that has any chance of preventing all of this from happening. even more shocking is the fact that democratic leaders and the president himself have endorsed every feature muc of this legislation except one and that's the fact at that it doesn't allow the president to avoid another national debate about spending and debt until after the next presidential election. every other femme feature of the house bill -- every other feature of the house bill that was slings agreed to earlier, except for one -- the president wants to avoid having another discussion em deficit and debt before his election. that ashorn's is th assurance ig they're holding out for now. they can claim they're worried about a stalemate six months from now. they can ignore the fact that 31 times congress and the president have rai

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: five months ago president obama unveiled the only concrete statement he's made to date on our nation's debt crisis. continue a budget plan so preposterous, so unequal to the moment that it was rejected in the senate by a vote of 97-0. the president's response to this crisis was to pretend it didn't exist. two months later the president doubled down on his vision for a future of debt by demanding that congress raise the debt limit without any cuts to spending or a plan to rein it in. it was a total abdication of leadership, and it wasn't sustainable. so over the past several weeks the president has been doing his best impersonation of a fiscal moderate. he's talked about balance and left it to others to fill in the blanks. and here's what democra in congress have proposed as a solution: more spending and higher taxes as a solution to a debt crisis. just yesterday with the clock ticking, we heard reports of a volcanic eruption among democrats that we should solve this crisis b

mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i suggest the -- i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, not surprisingly, i have a little take on what's been happening in the last few days, and my good friend the majority leader and his colleagues. let me just explain what's been going on in congress this week. the american people have been waiting on us to do something to prevent default. they want us to end this crisis right now. and over in the house of representatives, you've got the speaker of the house doing his job. speaker boehner has been doing the hard work of governing, working day and night to put together a bill that can actually pass the house of representatives and end this crisis now. and he should be commended for his efforts. what about over here in the senate? well, the contrast couldn't be starker. rather than working the last few days towards a solution to this crisis the way the republican majority in the house ha

mr. mcconnell, the senate minority leader and mr. reid, the senate majority leader and that was a solid agreement and it was the president really who put the kabosh on that last sunday, if you listen, though, to democrats in the white house and we have heard them address this before, fredericka, they said there was no agreement, they would take issue with that statement saying it is not factual, and the reason they would say that is because the idea that was sort of, i guess, i don't want to say presented because you had republicans saying it had been presented to the president, but it was sort of the concept that house republicans wanted which ultimately was the boehner plan t white house and senate democrats say they were in lock step in opposition, because it raised the debt ceiling until somewhere around the new year, in their opinion that would lead to them having this same discussion around the new year and they didn't want to deal with that. >>> a programming note, republican senator mishtch mcconnell will be on "the state of

mr. mcconnell: mr. president, if i may? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: let me just echo the remarks of the majority leader with regard to the chairman and the ranking members of this subcommittee. they've done a fine job on this. i particularly want to commend senator kirk, who served around here the last couple of years. it's truly remarkable, we've actually passed an appropriation bill. we passed it at a level where it's likely to be conferenced successfully with the house of representatives. so i congratulate both senators and in particular our new senator from illinois. i also share the view of the majority leader, we should have a vigorous debate over cut, cap and balance. and look forward to being here saturday to vote to proceed to that bill. mr. reid: mr. president, i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. i ask thmr. reid: mr. presidentk the call of the quorum, terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid reid: mr. president i k unanimous consent we proceed to morning

mr. mcconnell and others, and figure out what the heck to do.cause we can't look like we're a bunch of crazy people in the midst of the worst chaos in recorded history in terms of our, you know, raising the deficit, the debt limit here. no other country does this. i mean how idiotic this is is rather stunning when we've seen these men given over to bickering. this is supposed to be the most powerful country in the world, and yet we can't have do what other countries do, which is raise a debt limit when you know you're about to exceed it. >> crystal, when we talk about mitch mcconnell and the possibility of some of the circumventing tactics he's taking around reid to get to the white house and get to biden, do you think that's underlying pressure that's getting to him because he knows that reid doesn't have the votes and he feels that he's got to get something done? >> well, i think he thinks he can get a better deal from the president and the vice president than he can with harry reid. and i suspect he sees four members of his own caucus have al

mr. mcconnell and leaders of the senate will have to deal with. it's something boehner will have to deal with in his caucus in the house, and it's going to be something the president will have to deal with on the left as well. >> you know, this is the longest conversation i've had with a republican over this? you guys are wrong! you guys are is to wrong -- >> i appreciate your passion, but -- and we feel you're wrong, and that's where we come to some approach where we talk about how we solve this. >> but michael, there is 80% of the american people saying don't touch this. >> but you also have a significant number of people saying cut and stop spending. >> 20%? >> no, it's more than 20%. >> i need three shows. former analyst rnc chair michael steele. thank you so much. remember to answer the question at the bottom of the screen. i want to know what you think. in a swing state poll, voters say the rich should be taxed more with no cuts to social security, medicare and medicaid. so democrats better listen up and later phone hacking allegations shut

mr. mcconnell, the speaker john boehner were upbeat when they met with reporters about an hour or so ago.es there are discussions under way. the president once again is directly involved as is the vice president. nancy pelosi, the former speaker, the minority leader in the house going over with harry reid to the white house. they are on phone. they are talking. things are moving in the right direction. and let's hope that this crisis that would be a huge crisis can be averted. we'll have extensive coverage coming in in the next hour. among my guests two key senators very involved and very smart. they've got a lot of experience. mark warner, one of the gang of six, the democratic senator from virginia. also rob portman the new senator from ohio, he served in the bush administration. very well plugged in. we'll speak with them live. we'll get their sense of what's going on. our chief political analyst is here. all of our reporters. we're not leaving this story because as you know and as i know, what happens today, tomorrow, monday, it's going to be critical. critical for the entire country.

mr. mcconnell. of course, wall street is watching too. the opening bell has just rung.estors waiting for progress on the debt talks in hopes it may break the market's string ever losses. you already heard, it's going to drop big. open in a triple digit drop. yes, those are the smurfs. somehow they got a movie now. i don't get it. >>> other headlines, an army soldier in custody. the same army post the scene of that deadly terrorist shooting in 2009. texas police arrested private first class jason abdo yesterday founding explosives. he wanted out of the service bay he's a muslim plotted the attack saying he wanted to "get even with the military for fighting in iraq and afghanistan." >>> new jersey governor chris christie left the hospital last night after being treated briefly for asthma. the governor says he experienced shortness of breath and lied headedness. it didn't take long for the question of a president's run to come up, of course. let's listen. >> if i decided i want to run for president, i think you know me, charlie, i'd do it, and if there were people who don'

mr. mcconnell lying to us about this? >> week in the legislative branch -- we in the legislative branch internet use harsh words. words.t use harsh we had good negotiations that they could not get off of the six-month deal. they could never get off that. as we were negotiating, were soying to come up with 302's we could do our preparation bills. that sure was given to leader cantor and his staff to arrive at that and that is where they started going backwards, wanting more money for defense. i would say to my friend, mitch mcconnell, nice try but don't blame this on the president. >> there are now two rival plans in the house and the senate. is this a game of chicken? could i bipartisan deals to be reached? >> rebutted listened to which shower -- some everyone listened to what senator schumer said in the till. our plan is pretty simple. for dollarel savings is what they said they wanted. -- dollar for dollar savings is what they said they wanted. this is not a game of chicken. we are about to go over the cliff. they are s

mr. mcconnell are willing to do at this point. >> this has gotten kind of ugly in the last week, and it appears that things even gotten futile at these meetings. any regrets in your role in this? [inaudible] >> this notion that things got ugly is just not true. we have been meeting every single day, and we have had very constructive conversations. the american people are not interested in the reality tv aspects of who said what, and did somebody's feelings get hurt. they are interested in solving the budget problem and the deficit and debt. that may be good for chatter in this town, but it is not something that folks out in the country are obsessing about. with respect to bowles-simpson, it would not have happened had i not set up the structure for it. as you recall, this was originally bipartisan legislation that some of the republican supporters of decided to vote against it when i said i supported it. that seems to be a pattern i am still puzzled by. so we set it up, and they issued a report. this provides an important framework to begin discussions, but there were aspects of it that i said

mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i suggest that further proceedings on the quorum call be dispensed with.thout objection. mr. mcconnell: as visitors walk through the capitol for the first time, they eventually come across a plaque near one of the entrances on the east front that memorializes an event which took place 13 years ago yesterday. it was 13 years ago that officers jacob joseph chestnut and detective john michael gibson made the ultimate sacrifice to protect all who were working and visiting the capitol on that friday afternoon. and every year at this time, we take a moment to step back from our work, put aside our differences and remember these good men whose sacrifice stands as a permanent reminder of the debt we owe them and to all those who continue to put themselves on the front line every day to defend the rest of us from the capitol police officers to local law enforcement officials to those serving overseas. america has always been blessed to have men and women rise up in every generation who are willing to put their nation ahead of their lives. today we honor two in part

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. onnell: this is an important moment for our count country. i appreciate the majority leader's comments and want to say a few words to our colleagues who have been so patient over the past several days. and whose ideas and encouragement have been so helpful in getting us to this point. first of all, let me reiterate that before any agreement is reached, republicans will meet to discuss the framework that the white house and congressional leaders in both parties think would meet our stated efforts to cut spending more than the president's requested debt ceiling increase, prevent a national default, and protect the economy from tax increases. and to that end, i'd like to say to my republican colleagues that we'll be hold b holding a confee meeting in the morning to discuss the framework and to give everyone a chance to weigh in. but at this point, i think i can say with a high degree of confidence that there is now a framework to review that will ensure significant cuts in washington spen

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: when we subsequently go into morning business, i ask speakers on the republican side be limited to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, washington is engaged in a debate right now over the kind of country we want to be. the specific issue is this: at some point over the next several weeks the federal government will no longer be able to borrow the money it needs to cover the cost of promises it has already made. so the president wants congress to raise the statutory debt limit set by congress. he wants us to raise the limit on the national credit card. now, what republicans have said is that the only way we'll do it is if democrats agree to change their ways so we don't end up with the kind of situation that we're witnessing over in greece. and make no mistake, that's exactly where we're headed if we don't do something significant and do it now. democrats so far have refused. instead they're making what can only be describ

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: five months ago president obama unveiled the only concrete statement he's made to date on our nation's debt crisis. continue a budget plan so preposterous, so unequal to the moment that it was rejected in the senate by a vote of 97-0. the president's response to this crisis was to pretend it didn't exist. two months later the president doubled down on his vision for a future of debt by demanding that congress raise the debt limit without any cuts to spending or a plan to rein it in. it was a total abdication of leadership, and it wasn't sustainable. so over the past several weeks the president has been doing his best impersonation of a fiscal moderate. he's talked about balance and left it to others to fill in the blanks. and here's what democrats in congress have proposed as a solution: more spending and higher taxes as a solution to a debt crisis. just yesterday with the clock ticking, we heard reports of a volcanic eruption among democrats that we should solve this crisis

mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: for more than two years now, washington have stood in the believe that washington would never recover from the economic crisis that hit our nation two years ago as long as they had the mistaken belief that government had the cure. for most clear-eyed viewers, that view has found its clearest vindication. in the daily drumbeat of news about lost jobs, shuttered businesses, slumping home values, and in stories that each of us hears from our constituents about the economic hardships they continue to face. if anyone was still looking for proof that the president's economic policies have been a failure, they don't have to look any further than the morning papers or the constituent mail. indeed, the more the administration insisted on spending and debt as a solution to our problems, the worse those problems became and the more americans demanded the status quo in washington had to change. but the administration was slow to get the message. after an election that any honest observe

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. connell: yesterday afternoon we learned that over the weekend a somali terrorist who had been held and interrogated on a u.s. navy ship for the past two and a half months has been flown to new york to face criminal charges in a civilian court. a somali terrorist flown to new york to be tried in a civilian court. i strongly disagree with this decision. this mr. wasa ph*eu is a foreign enemy combatant, and he should be treated as one, should be sitting in a cell in guantanamo bay and eventually be tried before a military commission. warsami is an admitted terrorist. in 2009, warsami trained and fought with the military islamic group al shabab in sphol kwrafplt he has provided training. since president obama ordered the closing of the facility in guantanamo bay and end the enhanced interrogation program, senate republicans have been asking the administration what would be done with an unlawful enemy combatant captured overseas in a place other than iraq or afghanistan. at one point the c.

mr. mcconnell are willing to do at this point. >> chuck todd. >> mr. president, this process got kind of ugly in the last week, and it appears from the outside that things even got a little futile with these meetings. any regrets on your role in how this went? and do you have any regrets that you never took -- 4 trillion over ten years, and spent the last six months selling that as a balanced package to the american people? >> no. first of all, i think this notion that things got ugly is just not true. we've been meeting every single day. and we have had very constructive conversations. you know, the american people are not interested in the reality tv aspects of who said what and did somebody's feelings get hurt. they're interested in solving the budget problem and the deficits and the debt. and so that may be good for chatter in this town. it's not something that folks out in the country are obsessing about. i think with respect to boles simpson it was important for us to -- boles simpson wouldn't have happened had i not set up the structure for, it