to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable richard blumenthal, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following any leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur in the house memg to accompany s. 627, which is the legislative vehicle for the debt limit increase, with the time until 1:00 f.p.l. equally divided. about 1:00 p.m. then, the senate will vote to invoke cloture on the house message to accompany the reid amendment. no matter the outcome of this vote, mr. president, the message will still be before this body. this is -- if there is an agreement that can be met, this is the vehicle to be used to send it back to the house. mr. president, as the clock ticks down to august 2, i remind everyone within the sound of my voice what really is at stake. at this very moment, millions of seniors across this great count

under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of the house. >> there we have the senate majority leader harry reid and with me now is wolf blitzer. you just heard that harry reid said "we are close to an agreement, we are cautiously optimistic." that's what i heard earlier from senator mitch mcconnell. what do you make of it? >> i think harry reid and mitch mcconnell now seem to be on the same page. yesterday at this time they weren't. but they look to be on the same page right now. we still have to hear from the republicans in the house of representatives. speaker john boehner, nancy pelosi, of course the democratic leader, if this is going to pass, whatever they work out, and there's no deal until all aspects of the deal are put together. if it passes, they will lead a majority in the senate and a majority in the house of representatives. a lot of democrats will vote for -- if president is for this, a lot of democrats, most of the democrats, will vote for it in the house, but they'll still need a whole bunch of republicans. i don't think they'll get a majority of the r

this is a sense of the senate. this is a resolution which i think is a missed opportunity to actually deal with the issue rather than just pretend like we're treating it seriously. when the white house proposes that working families and small businesses, among others, suffer a $400 billion tax increase over the next ten years, it strikes me that in one sense this is like a diet where you say i'm going to give up dessert. i'm not going to eat dessert. but then you binge on the buffet. in other words, it's not real. it's not going to work. to put this in perspective, the federal government is currently borrowing $4 billion every day this year. so actually raising taxes in this amount while this only amounts to ten days of what washington spends, raising taxes by $400 billion over ten years. and while we can see that that is not a -- won't make a serious dent in the deficit and the debt, they are very serious job-killing proposals. it strikes me as just common sense to say if you want more jobs that you make it easier

the senate action about to begin. d to lay out where he will take the debate next. and a n a moment, john thune of south dakota. let's go to the white house where the president is reacting. jessica yellin is standing by. >> reporter: the president has not himself put out a statement. but john carney said the house vote, if passed, forces us into another crisis. they say that it's dead on arriv arrival. that is a quote. and it pushes forward to senator reid's bill and the it calls on the democrats in the senate to find common ground. they want it to head to the senate where it's headed and they want it to happen as quickly as possible. is there enough time to get it done in the remaining hours? there is no plan. the officials have made it clear, if it is productive, it can happen. it's no so close. >> jessica yellin, a good question. would it be productive. john thune, if you are an average american watching the home, why does the house have to plant the flag knowing the democratic senate will not pass it and the democr

it's time a the senate does theirs. leader reid and president obama is what stands in the way of helping this debt crisis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. palazzo: vote no on the reid plan. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to insert in the record an article that appeared in "the wall street journal" today entitled "the debt limit hobbits." the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, is the gentleman prepared to close? i'm rry. mr. mcgovern: yes. our leader is prepared to close for us. the speaker pro tempore: then i'll close on ouside. i reserve the balance of my time -- mr. dreier: then i'll close on our side. i reserve the balance of my time. thspeaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from massacsetts. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i yield myself 15 seconds before i yield the remaining minute to -- the speaker pro tempore:

it won't get to the president's desk. there are 58 senators who said they would oppose the boehner bill, which makes it less popular than congressman ryan's budget, than the cut, cap and balance plan everyone knew was dead on arrival in the senate. we have to get rid of the political statements, the political games, and get something done. you just need house republicans be willing to do something other than say, as i read this morning, the boehner bill is take it or leave it, we will stick the default on the president. that's not the way we govern in this country. that's not the right thing to do. >> dan pfeiffer, thank you very much. the very latest from the white house. thanks for coming. >>> if the boehner bill does clear the house as is expected now, senate majority leader harry reid says the senate will vote on it tonight and defeat it. republican senator mike crapo serves on the budget committee and you have spent months trying to work out compromises as a charter member of the gang of six. you know how this works behind the scenes. you

in the u.s. senate to find common ground on a plan that can get support from both parties. and the statement goes on by-to-say by tuesday, which is the day by which the u.s. could face possible default if there's not a deal. bottom line, all eyes focused on two men. senator mitch mcconnell and senator harry reid. no matter what is going on with the house of representatives and their game to try to vote on the reid bill tomorrow, the focus here will be on whatever compromise can be hatched between reid and mcconnell this evening or over the weekend to forge some kind of compromise on a negotiated bill that could get through the u.s. senate with 60 vote in the coming days and basically be jammed to the house before that tuesday deadline. >> as painful as this has been today, is the house encouraged by the fact that this hurdle has now been cleared? house republicans are able to make a statement and can move to the next stage? is there a sense of saying this is progress, even if it's progress we don't want

for the measure in the senate. is it a slam dunk at all and conversely to win over the republicans, they would look at deeper spending cuts than the ones envisioned and up front them a little bit more. a lot of republicans said no, that doesn't cut it. mike emanuel is following the soap opera. what do we make? >> the sticking points are the triggers. in english that is enforcement. what forces them to make substantial cuts down the road. three republicans and democrats in the house and in the senate. but what if they can't agree? democrats say we put tax hikes as a trigger to force republicans to the table . republicans are saying spending cut to force the democrats to the table. it is a scum with senator chuck schumer. we have to have tax hikes as a trigger. why would we put a sacred cow on the table and not have the republicans do the same. we have debt-cutting deadlines to meet them every year. if we are not getting there, we want the option of being able to raise taxes to get us there. and republicans want the o

it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> sean: joining me, pennsylvania senator pat toomey and new hampshire senator kelly ayotte is back with us. it seemed, let me ask you both this. senator ayotte, let me start with you. when harry reid said we should be allowed an up or down vote and harry reid and dick durbin and schumer all complaining about a filibuster when they just got ton tabling a bill without a vote the second time they have done it and haven't passed a budget in 8 hyundais won't put their bill on paper seems ironic to me. >> it is disingenuous. it is always a 60 vote threshold and they held republicans to a 60 vote threshold and blocked consideration of the only proposals passed which is the work has been done in the house of representatives by the republicans their cut cap and balance and the

the senate. not going to happen. not now not ever. it's already drawn a veto threat from president obama. nevertheless as this deadline looms closer and closer, with those terrible consequences portended, the house republican extremists have forced this piece of political theater while ignoring serious and constructive proposals for deficit reduction such as budget committee chairman kent conrad's plan which would reduce deficits by $4 trillion, more than the house's budget plan. we actually do better at solving the deficit than they do. but we do it with every dollar in spending cuts matched by a dollar in new revenue from closing tax loopholes and tax gimmicks. this plan would stabilize the budget would reassure the financial markets and would do so without cutting social security and medicare benefits on which our seniors rely and which all working americans are counting on. it's one of the basic freedoms we have as americans is to know that that is waiting for us. i was proud to introduce a ru

now here's the senate on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain dr. barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, our refuge and strength, our ever-present help in troubled times. we need you during this season of challenge. our lawmakers need your presence to help them build bridges that will keep our nation strong and to forge alliances that will glorify your name. filled with your wisdom, may our senators find solutions to the complex problems we face. with gratitude for all the blessings and benefits you generously bestow, help us to reveal our appreciation by living with honor. keep us from taking for granted the faithful service of the many unsung heroes and heroines who support our senators. reward them for their willingness to make daily sacrifices for liberty. during this time of armed conflict, we also pray for our courageous men and women in harm's way. we lift this prayer in your sacred name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i

it will not pass in the senate. host: congressman jeff miller says -- you cannot tweets and comments of members in congress. look for the members of congress list on. twittercom. new hampshire, independent line. caller: quite frankly, the simple way to appease this whole situation is it is time this country starts taking care of ourselves. i am a disabled viet nam veteran and i am tired of seeing our kids sent overseas. if we stop spending all our money overseas to police the entire world and get our heads into everybody else's business, we would have enough money in this country to take care of ourselves. host: would you say to cut it off entirely or drastically limit our foreign aid? caller: drastically limit it. it is absurd the money we're spending overseas not to mention the poor kids the way i was at one time getting maimed and seriously injured that we will have to pay for for the rest of their lives. it is an ongoing thing. we don't belong in these countries. my their own business and let's take care of ourse

now it goes to the senate. ats who hold the majority in that part of congress are saying it is dead on arrival. the date that they have been telling us that we are looming toward, hurling toward is next tuesday. there is so much to get done with this particular bill between now and next tuesday if it has any hopes of becoming law. the president said today that it has to. and speaker boehner said today, firing back, he has done his part. he has gotten this through. the republicans have passed their bill in the house. now it is up to the democratic majority led senate, the ball is in their court. we are watching this tonight. we will bring you the very latest as developments happen. as you can see we are taking a live look right now in the senate floor. they are said to be working on this right now. if there is news that comes out of that senate floor we will bring it the the white house announcing a new agreement with automakers, right now cars and trucks get an average of 27 miles to the gallon. changes to take

the senate bill can't pass in the senate. the senate bill can't pass in the senate. mr. rockefeller: will the senator yield fao a question? mr. rubio: i'll yield. mr. kerry: i thank the senator for doing that. that's become somewhat unusual in the senate today. i truly appreciate it. i would ask the senator, as ironic as it may be that on occasion people in the past have indeed voted against a debt limit -- both republicans and democrats alike -- is it not true that in those situations those votes did not hold the nation hostage, did not come at a moment of enormous economic fragility as we are in today, and did not run the risk of default because it was going to pass overwhelmingly every time? is that not true? mr. rubio: to the senator from massachusetts, i would say two things. the first is that those votes -- put it to you this way. if the senator from illinois, senator obama, had had his way, we'd be in the same position that we are in now. i recognize the president has now said that the debt limit is -- he made a mistake and he wouldn't have said that were he here

the house passed the john boehner bill, and the senate prompt the voted it down. we're waiting for senate majority leader harry reid to explain why that decision was taken. i'm here with wolf blitzer, my colleague. wolf, what is about to happen here? what is the explanation? is it as simple as, sorry, you are republicans, we didn't like the bill. we're democrats, we're not having it? >> it's not that simple. they have to come up with some compromise, some sort of plan that can pass the senate and go back to the house of representatives and pass there something that the president could sign that would allow the united states to raise the debt ceiling and avert some sort of financial disaster come tuesday. it's not simple at all, so they need to work together. the mainstream, main leadership, democrats and republicans, they need to find a way to come up with the bare minimum to get over this hump. it's a huge, huge obstacle, standing in the way of an mechanic recovery, if you will. so the stakes really are enormous. >> what we're waiting for here is senate majority l

the senate bill can't pass in the senate. the senate bill can't pass in the senate. mr. rockefeller: will the senator yield fao a question? mr. rubio: i'll yield. mr. kerry: i thank the senator for doing that. that's become somewhat unusual in the senate today. i truly appreciate it. i would ask the senator, as ironic as it may be that on occasion people in the past have indeed voted against a debt limit -- both republicans and democrats alike -- is it not true that in those situations those votes did not hold the nation hostage, did not come at a moment of enormous economic fragility as we are in today, and did not run the risk of default because it was going to pass overwhelmingly every time? is that not true? mr. rubio: to the senator from massachusetts, i would say two things. the first is that those votes -- put it to you this way. if the senator from illinois, senator obama, had had his way, we'd be in the same position that we are in now. i recognize the president has now said that the debt limit is -- he made a mistake and he wouldn't have said that were he here

it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> sean: joining me, pennsylvania senator pat toomey and new hampshire senator kelly ayotte is back with us. it seemed, let me ask you both this. senator ayotte, let me start with you. when harry reid said we should be allowed an up or down vote and harry reid and dick durbin and schumer all complaining about a filibuster when they just got ton tabling a bill without a vote the second time they have done it and haven't passed a budget in 8 hyundais won't put their bill on paper seems ironic to me. >> it is disingenuous. it is always a 60 vote threshold and they held republicans to a 60 vote threshold and blocked consideration of the only proposals passed which is the work has been done in the house of representatives by the republicans their cut cap and balance and the

it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> sean: joining me, pennsylvania senator pat toomey and new hampshire senator kelly ayotte is back with us. it seemed, let me ask you both this. senator ayotte, let me start with you. when harry reid said we should be allowed an up or down vote and harry reid and dick durbin and schumer all complaining about a filibuster when they just got ton tabling a bill without a vote the second time they have done it and haven't passed a budget in 8 hyundais won't put their bill on paper seems ironic to me. >> it is disingenuous. it is always a 60 vote threshold and they held republicans to a 60 vote threshold and blocked consideration of the only proposals passed which is the work has been done in the house of representatives by the republicans their cut cap and balance and the

it's dead on arrival in the senate. really need the leaders on all sides to get together and say, what now, and what now is an honorable compromise where we do what's best for the country and get this debt limit passed, debt a deficit reduction down payment and take the specker and cloud of default off our economy. >> geenle spune spurling, you s house vote is irrelevant because it's dead on arrival. on that standard i could make that any vote on the senate plan is irrelevant because it's dead on arrival because the house speaker said it won't pass here. in the time of divided government, who will help negotiate a deal? you served in the clinton administration when he had a republican house under the speakership of newt gingrich and there were many times when you made the case in those days, president clinton made the case that whatever newt gingrich and the house was doing was irrelevant, of course, it wasn't in the end they had to figure something out. why hasn't the president called the speaker today? why hasn't the

in the house on senator reid's debt bill. legislation that's expected to get the political cold shoulder from the republicans. nbc's luke russert has the latest. >> reporter: good afternoon, richard. it's around 1:00 here on the west coast. the house has gaveled into session and essentially we are where we were this morning and last night. there is still no clear path for harry reid to garner the 60 votes he needs to file cloture on a debt limit extension plan. right now it does not seem he has republican support. as far as negotiations go, we have spoke on the a gop aide who said look, right now it's motionless until harry reid can tell us what president obama will sign into law. that being said, there are some other folks who say that mitch mcconnell and harry reid had discussions yesterday, that their staffs are in communications in an attempt to throw things by the white house on what they would like to do. but there is no clear path except for harry reid trying to convince maybe 8, 10, 12 republican senators to come on bo

. >> the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment number 589 to the house amendment to s-627. >> i ask yeas and nays on my motion. >> is there sufficient second? there appears to be sufficient second. >> i also, mr. president have a cloture motion which is at the desk. >> the clerk will report. >> cloture motion we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close a debate on the reid motion to concur in the house amendment to s 627 with an amendment numbered 589. >> bret: what is happening here on the senate floor, we just had a vote on the boehner bill, it passed with a vote of 59-41. they only needed a simple majority of 51. it's interesting that the number was 59 because it is short of what is the normal number needed for vote like this. which is 60. this was a special motion made by senate majority leader harry reid. it passes now. the boehner bill is tabled. this means that the boehner bill is put aside. but just t

that's the plans that the house has put before the senate. e kettle have obviously never met the united states senate because every time that we do something they say no, and then they blame us. >> well, let's talk about what concessions you are willing to make to reach some sort of an agreement, sir. say a reasonable tax increase, perhaps, on the wealthy, along with cuts in defense and changes to entitlement programs? i mean, are these things that are on the table that you can go along with or not? >> well, i certainly think we need to protect and preserve our safety net programs, entitlement programs. we need to take a hard look at defense spending to make sure we're making appropriate cuts where it's responsible to do so. but nobody has yet to explain to me how increasing taxes creates jobs and that's our priority, how we get this economy moving forward. tax increases do not create jobs. >> give me an idea how this is all going to play out. >> you know, i think today we're going to have a great conversation, not only on the floor but workin

i think the senate will do this right. confident, senator brown, that harry reid, the democratic leader, and mitch mcconnell, the republican leader, they will both forge something they support and will pass the senate? >> i'm confident for a lot of reasons. the most reason i ran in the hallway earlier and ran into a republican senator who's been here for a while from the south. i don't want to mention his name because it was a private conversation. a southern senator i like and we worked on other issues and he says we're this close between what mcconnell and reid want and what he and i want and he's representative of large swath of republicans as i am democrats. it's clearly the best thing for our country. >> if it does pass the senate and goes to the house, it will pass the house if a large number of moderate republicans and moderate democrats support it in order to get the 216 votes they need. do you think that combination will work in the house of representatives? >> i would add it in a slightly different way. i would s

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: ask consent the quorum call be dispensed with and consent to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, this morning's "wall street journal" has a headline that i hope america will pay close attention to. raiders put u.s. on notice. the united states of america has a credit rating, much as we do as individuals, businesses do and families, and a credit rating in the united states is aaa, the very best. at does it mean? those who do business in america think it's best to do business. reliable economy, the rule of law, transparency, it says good things about america and it translates into the lowest interest rates charged when america borrows money, and that's a good thing because we borrow a lot of money. this triple-a rating is something that is not guaranteed. you have to work for it. countries around the world now, particularly in europe, are struggling and failing economically. some in worse shape than others. in in the "

the reason that the senate desired to have that above one of the doors is so senators would be reminded that at this country's inception, he, god, smiled on our undertaking. and i can't help but wonder today, as the all-seeing eye of god symbolized here looks at what is going on, with our financial irresponsibility and our refusal to even debate becoming financially responsible in the senate, if he, god, continues to smile on our undertaking. some bank, for a joke one time, it sed, in god we trust, all others, we take cash. but in god we trust is our national motto. as i mention tods prime minister netanyahu, as he came down the aisle, before he took the podium to speak here, i said, keep in mind, the entire time you're addressing us, our national motto is above your head. he said, i've already thought about that. well, everybody in this body ought to think about it. our trust is in god. but does he have any trust in us? after what has been done, spending so much more than the amount we've been entrusted with as stewards. we've got to do better. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman ha

the focus is on the senate. can harry reid with his plan change it to the satisfaction of enough republicans to come onboard making it a bipartisan bill? making it something that can pass the senate then therefore, put tremendous pressure on the house. harry reid is speaking live right now. is that the floor of the senate, nick? >> let's listen to harry reid. >> telling them continue to work each day. working each day is defending this country, wearing the uniform, listening to bombs go off around them. that's why today we have with us what is referred to by you press folks as real people. i guess we're not. we have students like laura and sydney. veterans like bill, roger and carlos, marianna who is a senior, tulio is a senior. they're here representing the millions of people around this country who are as afraid as the soldiers on the front lines in afghanistan. we don't have time for more delaying tactics. we need to get to the business at hand. we have a message we can send back to the house very quickly. tha

now live to the senate here on c-span2. eternal spirit, the fountain ofy blessing, hallowed be your name. in these tempestuous times, givr lawmakers strong minds, great h, and true faith. make them people whom the lust e does not kill or the spoils of office cannot buy. may they be people of honor who live above the fog in public duty and in private thinking. lord, empower them to use their gifts to magnify your name. may your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. our souls silently wait for you, oh god, for from you alone comes salvation. you alone are this nation's rock and sure defense. we pray in your great name. amen. the presiding officer: please e in reciting the pledge of al legiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clel read a communication to the sen. the clerk: washington d.c., july 22, 2011. to the senate: und

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable patrick j. leahy, a senator from the state of vermont to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: as a side note, i'm happy to see the second ranking member of the united states senate presiding. the people of vermont have been so fortunate to have you and your wisdom and your -- mr. mcconnell: if the gentlemen would yield, i expect he hasn't done that for 30 years. mr. reid: i thought it would be nice to comment on the fact that's reserved for more junior members. it's nice that my friend from vermont would be here. following any leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur in the house message to accompany s. 626, the legislative vehicle for the debt limit increase. time from 1:30 until 8:00 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. mr. president, republican leaders

been in the senate so far. e go from here? >> well, we really have to figure out a compromise. the clock is ticking, there's only about four days -- less than four days left, really, before we start defaulting on our debt, not only do reid and mcconnell, although, listening to kent conrad, it seems it's supposed to be mcconnell and president obama, but the democrats and republicans here essentially have to negotiate a deal that can pass both the senate and the house, otherwise it really is economic armageddon and it's not looking good. >> ezra, the tea party desperately needed this balanced budget, constitutional amendment balanced budget attached to the debt ceiling increase, which i laugh at, because i know it's an utter absurdity, in fact, if they had this constitutional amendment in force, they would never have been able to have the bush tax cuts, because they wildly unbalanced the budget with those tax cuts. but i want to go into the balanced budget amendment itself and which version of it has -- is the one

does the senate know of any one democrat, either in the house or the senate, who has said they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstance? i ask the senator, is there one? i have not been able to find one. mr. schumer: i thank my colleague from iowa for the question. i concur in his findings. i haven't found one either. democrats know -- we have differing views on this side of the aisle and many of us would write deficit-reduction bills differently than some others of us would, but we realize that to let the debt ceiling lapse would be a disaster, to not raise it. and so i have not, i have not heard of a single democrat who has said the debt ceiling ought to lapse. and i've heard scores of republicans, elected official republicans, and thousands of others and groups in that right-wing firm mean firmament g their members to let this debt ceiling lapse. my guess, is god, forbid, it happens, and we're doing everything we can to prevent it from happening, they will retract that language or they will find ways to explain what they really meant because their analysis that

approach on which i believe the senate could find the ground of compromise? what senator reid has proposed i believe has cuts that republicans have supported. maybe not quite enough yet so maybe we can negotiate that. mr. coburn: let me reclaim my time. mr. kerry: absolutely. mr. coburn: there are absolutely no cuts in either what senator reid or speaker boehner proposed in the discretionary spending. the spending will rise $832 billion over the next two years -- ten years in the discretionary accounts. now, only in washington is that a cut. and, quite frankly, i'm willing to work with my colleagues. i've been out there. i say we have to move and eliminate some of these loopholes, that we have to reform the tax code. i'm willing to take the heat from my side on that. i don't have any problem. what i'm not willing to take any more is a senate that won't work on the details of the specific problems. and what i'm trying to do is to outline where the problems are. where is the -- and we didn't do it when we were in charge either, senator kerry. there's been a fail

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: mr. president, while the distinguished senator from michigan is here on the floor, who is one of the best legal minds in the senate, i wanted to engage him to further take us through the delay tactics that are presently now underway. given the fact that we have a solution right underneath our noses, a solution that is so close between the two opposite sides that all we'd have to do is to have a majority vote or all we'd have to do is to have a few republican senators. but we are engaged in this stalling tactic that is literally going to take us all night. and i would like to ask the distinguished senator from michigan, given the rules, given the fact that a filibuster is now underway, what can the minority here in the senate hope to achieve since we are so close to agreement? mr. levin: the reason that people filibuster is to try to defeat a measure and stalling, delaying a vote here is much worse than just defeating a measure. it is defeating the american economy. it will be p

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. bingaman: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: mr. president, we have three separate issues facing the congress today. first, the authority of the treasury department to borrow to meet the nation's obligations will be reached on tuesday. in order fo -- in order for borrowing to continue after tuesday, congress needs to raise the debt ceiling. that's the first of the three issues. the second issue that we face is the need to help our economy to become prosperous again. unfortunately, the debate here in congress has totally lost sight of this issue, the issue of how we can grow the economy, how we can create jobs. and the third of the three issues is the need to put in place a long-term plan to reduce the deficit and the debt. the issue of raising the debt ceiling and reducing the long-term deficit and debt have unfortunately come to be seen by many here in congress as a single issue, so i want to urge all coll

of the negotiators, jon kyl. well, senator, what do you make about what mr. daly just said? he said, you know, no way in two steps. >> now who's saying my way or the highway? the house of representatives has twice now passed budgets. the second time this "cut, cap and balance" would have extended the debt ceiling. twice the senate democrats voted no. so the question is what can we do now? i think given the fact that the president did move the goal posts, they've acknowledged that they demanded another $400 billion in taxes-- and that's when speaker boehner said it's like negotiating with jell-o down there. we're not going to do that. so this weekend, he and the other congressional leaders are working on a plan which would provide for a temporary extension of the debt ceiling. daly is right that nobody wants the credit of the united states to be called into question. i'm confident that that will not occur, that we will pass an extension of the debt ceiling. the only question is for how long. it's interesting that, since 1972, c

the works understan and i. mr. president, members. senate, that's not triewvment i just spent two hours with the president, the vic vice preside, and the agreement is not in a meaningful way. the republicans still refuse to negotiate in good faith. revenues off the calendar. no way we can talk about revenues. entitlements, oh, they're after entitlements -- medicare, social security. the speaker and republican leader should know that merely saying you have an agreement in front of television cameras doesn't make it so. the republican leader says he's engaged. fortunately members of his congress, at least as far as i'm concerned, are more engaged than he is. there are meaningful talks going on with some of his members with my senators. while the republican leader is holding meaningless press conferences, his members are reaching out to me and other members, as i've just indicated. they're coming forward with thoughtful ideas to try to move the process forward. i welcome their ideas and ask all members to continue these discussions. america is

quite frankly, i think that's going to happen in the senate. i've talked to enough republican colleagues to know that we are talking about a true compromise so that we can move forward and not threaten the debt of this nation. >> all right. that was senator ben cardin, democratic senator ben cardin. i want to the go to brianna keilar. have you new information on why this happened? >> well, don, i just think it's important to lend some contempt to really what this allows. we now throughout today a lot of the discussion following the votes on capitol hill about really the negotiations of a potential deal have been between the white house in the form of vice president joe biden and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who spent years together in the senate very familiar with each other and biden, of course, led those biden talks that went on for months and sketched out a framework between democrats and republicans. i think it's important to note just in how things could play out or really what this means with the delay in the vote. but delaying t

around 8:20 this evening the senate voted down the bill passed in the house. t. it passed by a narrow margin. senator reid said it would be dead on arrival. he killed it. now republicans are blocking doe bait on reid's bill which he introduced to kill boehner's bill. house republicans have scheduled votes tomorrow on a new bill with language identical to senator reid's bill so they can be on record rejecting it. a short time ago i talked to congressman steve king a member of the tea party caucus who voted against the boehner bill in the house. >> congressman king, the bill that's been put forward by speaker boehner in the past makes more than 1 trillion in discretionary spending cuts, doesn't raise taxes, got provisions for finding more spending cuts down the road and calls for a balanced budget amendment all of which is in line with bedrock principles of conservative republicans. so why did you vote against it? >> the only thing we can really count on is what we can control in this next upcoming fiscal year of 2012. what it does it takes the $31 billion in cut

reid: could we've order in the senate, please. the presiding officer: order in the senate. please. mr. majority leader. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. mr. president -- the presiding officer: clerk will report the pending motion. the clerk: calendar number 93, s. 1323, a bill to is reserve the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice in resolving the budget deficit. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: the senate has just adopted the motion to proceed to our bill to express the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. reid: mr. president, the senate has just adopt add motion to proceed to our bill to express the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice in resolving this budget deficit that we've been so concerned about. it is my understanding that the minority has amendments that they would like to have considered. i'm happy to work with the republican leader to figure out a way for this to happen. in the meantime, i need to push forward. we all immediate to push forward. so i'm goi

that was rejected in the senate. her proposal that will try to find the common ground. that will be rejected by the senate or vetoed by the president. frankly, i think the republicans are trying to put forward alternatives here to simply walking away from the debt ceiling issue and the debt crisis. i point out, the credit agencies made it clear, it's not raising the debt ceiling. if we raise the debt ceiling without fiscal reforms attached to it to show the credit markets of the world that we mean business. then they will probably still downgrade us. >> most republicans, at the moment, have a completely resolute view of taxation. most experts outside of america say of course that's what you have to do. until there's less by republicans on that key thing, how can you talk about a great reformation? >> first of all, the way we need to approach tax reform is to reduce rates and reduce the tax expenditures accordingly and grow the economy. that's the approach we took in the gang of six plan that is agreed to on a bipartis

what assuming that it does not pass the senate, then what? the leadership zit down with harry reid and try to work something out over the weekend? >> well, i think what ought to happen is that some point harry reid and some democrat senators ought to recognize that something's got to pass both chambers. the house has gone its work twice under this their owe which you and i both agree is likely to happen. when does the senate produce the plan that they'd be willing to vote on? what i'm hoping is that the senate democrats will recognize that you know, it probably ought to be something close to john boehner's plan. >> if john boehner's plan has a balanced budget amendment, we're told at least that's not going to be passed by the senate. that's pretty clear. >> i think when the american people weigh in on this we might get a slightly different outcome. remember the public overwhelmingly supports the idea of balancing our budget. the public overwhelmly supports a balanced budget amendment. the last time we had a democratic president he embraced th

president, members of the senate that's not true. i just spent two hours with the president, vice president, leader pelosi. and it's fair for me to say that the engagement there is not in any meaningful way. republican leaders still refuse to negotiate in good faith. revenue is off the calendar. no way we can talk about revenues. entitlements, all they are after is entitlements. medicare, social security. the speaker and republican leaders should know merely saying they have an agreement in front of the television cameras doesn't make it so. republican leader, the president says he's engaged. fortunately members of this caucus, at least as far as i'm concerned and my members are more engaged than so. there are meaningful talks with some of his members. while the republican leader is holding meaningless press conferences, his members are reaching out to me and other members as i've just indicated, they are coming forward with thoughtful ideas to try to move the process forward. i welcome their ideas. and i ask all members to continue t

approach on which i believe the senate could find the ground of compromise? what senator reid has proposed i believe has cuts that republicans have supported. maybe not quite enough yet so maybe we can negotiate that. mr. coburn: let me reclaim my time. mr. kerry: absolutely. mr. coburn: there are absolutely no cuts in either what senator reid or speaker boehner proposed in the discretionary spending. the spending will rise $832 billion over the next two years -- ten years in the discretionary accounts. now, only in washington is that a cut. and, quite frankly, i'm willing to work with my colleagues. i've been out there. i say we have to move and eliminate some of tse loopholes, that we have to reform the tax code. i'milling to take the heat from my side on tt. i don't have any problem. what i'm not willing to take any more is a senate that won't work on the details of the specific problems. and what i'm trying to do is to outline where the problems are. where is the -- and we didn't do it when we were in charge either, senator kerry. there's been a failure of

we voted in the senate. he presiding officer will recall not all the folks who were cosponsors of the deficit commission creation actually ended up voting for it. in fact, seven of them who were cosponsors -- as i recall i don't think any of them were on this side of the aisle, some of them voted against it and we didn't have the vote to actually create the deficit commission. with that happening, a number of us encouraged the president to use his executive powers and create one by executive order. he did that, and last year the deficit commission was created. there were 18 people named to it. 12 were elected, six were not. and named two cochairs. one erskine bowles. erskine bowles. who is is he e? er skin was chief of staff for president clinton. and he was asked by president clinton to negotiate a deficit-reduction package with the republican house and senate. at that time the republicans were in the majority in the house and senate during those years. and president clinton saiderskine, go out and negotiate

announcement, senator reid's announcement that the 1:00 a.m. e pushed by 12 hours until 1:00 p.m. tomorrow? >> well, obviously, as senator reid said, the republicans have chosen to go into their next play act in this theater and in this drama, which is to filibuster. which is outrageous on such an important issue as raising the debt ceiling. i have to say, also, that, you know, when you hear that this deal is being put forth now, perhaps in the image of senator mcconnell, we have to think about what that deal may look like. and of course, we must remember that senator mcconnell, i think it was back in october of last year, said that his first priority was to make sure that this was a one-term presidency for president obama. secondly, we have not heard much about jobs. when you talk about any deal that is being put together, we know in terms of deficit reduction the way you reduce the deficit is by investment in job creation. that discussion is not even on the table. and that is a shame and disgrace, given the huge unemployment rates that the --

it was doa in the senate. ng me is talk show host joe madison and bob schrum, professor at nyu. what is your reaction to boehner's speech this evening on the house floor? >> he didn't get much of the tea party supporters. i thought about an analogy here. it was based on the interview you did with the congressman before barney frank. these people want to go backwards. they try to give the impression that they are going forward. that is what boehner is trying to do. we are moving forward, we are moving forward. they would give michael jackson a run for doing the moon walk. if you ever watch michael jackson doing the moon walk, he gives the impression of going forward when he is really going backwards. that is what the people in boehner's district that you just pointed out, i grew up in dayton, ohio, not far from that district. people there want jobs. he knows darn well that what is going to happen with his policy is that we are going to go back to those days that the congressman talked about. this is a moral cris

the likelihood that will pass the senate. we will see how this plays out. but we think this puts the president and the senate in a difficult position to reject spending cuts we had previously agreed to because we don't like that it's john boehner's bill. or do we sign it? do we risk default or sign it? >> i think i would bet against him whether it will become the bill. president obama has said, the word from the white house staff i. the white house staff. there is a difference in this. >> the staff has said he would veto it and on capitol hill, they are not wild about it, at least not now. >> if that's the case and they try to ping-pong this back and forth, we start to run out of time. >> the president has said, if it's a short-term deal, which this is, in november and not going to be done until january, that the people who do our credit rating, that they're going to downgrade our credit. >> i think what would be worse if we passed a deal that was full of gimmicks that didn't cut the spending that it claimed to cut like harry

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider a nomination, which the clerk will now report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, j. paul oetken of new york to be united states district judge for the southern district of new york. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: today the senate will vote on the nomination of j. paul oetken to be united states district judge for southern district new york. today's vote marks the 28th judicial confirmation this year and i'm pleased that we're moving forward with filling another vacancy. when i became ranking member of the judiciary committee earlier this year, the court had 103 vacancies. i've worked with the chairman and other members of the committee to reduce vacancies by confirming consensus nominees. we have brought the vacancies down now to 89. based up

he knows it can't pass the senate. speaker reid -- only when they get past their rituals will we get a real negotiation. the problem is this vote goes hours into the night. now the senate vote is pushed back after that, probably tomorrow, maybe into the weekend. and there's a funny date on the calendar called august 2nd at which something bad is going to happen. are they exaggerating how bad? who knows? we've never done this before. but something bad is going to happen. and it could cost somebody probably not a social security check but it might cost some family whose son or daughter, husband or wife is in iraq or afghanistan, might cost them their check if we get three or four or of six days past august 2nd. >> i heard you say earlier we're seeing a generational divide in the house right now, the results of a generational divide. >> no question in the republican party there's a huge generational divide. as gloria just noted, a lot of these 87 freshmen, they're not career politicians. they were car dealers, maybe they w