isakson: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i am pleased to join senator chambliss and the others in this sense of the senate resolution. it is absolutely important that we not disproportionately burden those who have served us and who have saved us, and our veterans have done both. it's important that we deal with the difficult decisions in the years ahead on getting our debt and our deficit in order, that we all share part of the burden, that we all put our shoulder to the yoke and we don't disproportionately put it on our veterans or on any segment of our society. we're all in this thing together, but most importantly of all we're all here today because of the sacrifice of our men and women in harm's way, and we cannot single them out for disproportionate savings in terms of the budget and the deficit, and i commend senator chambliss on his leadership and i'm happy to join him in this resolution. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. barrasso: madam pre

senator isakson and other members are welcome to do the same. retirement security in america as we know for a fdr and other stories from the new deal on has traditionally been thought of as a three-legged stool. social security employer-provided pensions and personal savings and investment. for sake of the store, social security is a modest but stable income during retirement years, but it's not just retirement security. social security provides basic financial security in the face of unexpected tragedy. social security provides safety net that is so bold, or thinned with a retirement plans, often unable to provide. the other two legs of the three-legged school, personal savings and pension plans but upon the bedrock of social security and the standard of living -- approached the standard of living while they were working to protect seniors, but also allows families to use the resources to buy homes to start families and pay for education. their retirement savings, aging parents become dependent on working age children, preventing children from

isakson: and merry christmas, mr. president.we're getting close to the big who will daindz it iholiday andi pay ateption to paul yates, with fox 5 in atlanta, has served for 35 years at the same station. when i ran for governor in 1990 in georgia, he covered my races. when we were in the legislate toured and in session he covered every day of the georgia legislate tiewnders has for a over two decades. hayes made a tremendous -- he has made a tremendous contribution to our state. as pauliates retires from his -- as paul yates retires, as one who he's covered both good and bad, i wanted to pay tribute to a great journalist, a great friend and a a man who's done a great service to the people of my state of georgia. i yield back and neat the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call:

but senator menendez and senator isakson are our lead. again, new jersey, georgia, two very different states but very similar challenges. they have people, middle-class families, small business owners that have poured their life savings into homes and businesses only to be destroyed by a piece of legislation that had great intentions but disastrous results, and we don't have a lot of time to fix this. we need to do this before this body leaves, which is next week. myself, i'm on the bill, of course, senator cochran, senator merkley, senator vitter, senator hoeven, senator scott from south carolina, senator wicker, senator heitkamp from north dakota, senator schumer, senator gillibrand, senator markey from massachusetts. of course senator warren from massachusetts, senator gillibrand, senator nelson from florida, senator begich from alaska, senator manchin from west virginia. there is no ocean anywhere near west virginia, but they have many middle-class families that are getting caught up in a quagmire here, and this bill is the only bill

appreciate your calling. >> thank you, center isakson. first witness is rob romasco, president of aarp, distinguished for the private sector has written and spoken extensively on wide reaching impact of social security on our economy. andrew biggs, thank you for joining mr. romasco. andrew biggs scholar at the american enterprise institute. he's devoted his career to researching retirement savings and pensions issues and has served as the principal deputy commissioner for social security but ration. dean baker is codirector for center for economic policy research is published extensively on these issues in the tax treatment of retirement benefits. one of the foremost experts in the field. his research has cited. welcome. finally, john sweeney, executive vice president fidelity is optimal for her full advisory services for fidelity of developed the best research available in america's retirement security. thank you rejoining us. your written statements will be entered into the record. we appreciate you limiting your oral testimony. but amp

isakson: mr. president, again, if i can inquire of the senator. you, as i say, have been very close to any number of military person l through the years that you have served in this body as well as your service in the mississippi legislature and just by virtue of the fact of practicing law in tupelo, mississippi. mr. chambliss: what is the opinion of the senator from mississippi as to the morale influence that a provision like this is going to have on our men and women in the military but not just those that are retired but active duty military today? mr. wicker: you know, i can only imagine that it's a severe blow to mor morale and also it s to make people who are willing to step afford and rick their lived, be separated for months and years from their loved ones, has to make them wonder what else is being promised to me that's going to be taken away? mr. chambliss: and i mention also the reduction in federal retirement pay, which we've got to figure out way to save money. we all know and understand that. and there is a change in the pension for

isakson: i see the distinguished senator from washington on the floor who i suppose would like to speak. could i be recognized for five minutes and yield to the distinguished senator from washington. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: last friday i left this chamber with a folder containing most of the information from the ryan-murray comprehensive agreement on our budget. i left with the ringing suggestions if my ear from colleagues on the floor that it wasn't enough, it didn't do enough and that we didn't need to pass it. but inside me i had that little voice all of us get from time to time with a conscience that the time was right to do what was right. so on the airplane back to atlanta i read the entire agreement and then when i spent the weekend at home doing christmas shopping, going out with grandchildren, talking to my wife i listened to the people of georgia and listened to what they had said and some remarkable things happened this weekend. in church on sunday following a cantata and usually i'm accosted at church with suggestions about what i should or sho

i see my time is expired. >> senator isakson? >> in 1983 when reagan and o'neill changed the soso security rules, i was 39 years old and they passed a new rule that said if you're born after adding 40 three, your eligibility went from ages 65 day 67. i was born in 44. i was the first generation of america to have -- to lose a year of my salsa security eligibility. it is going to age 67 in a few years. there are a lot of people it out in and pushing for children and grandchildren. what would be your position on that, mr. romasco? >> what we advocated and have been strenuously vocal for over a year, let's take this conversation out of the depth of discussion and have a retirement discussion. among them, the possibility is raising the age along with a series of others. but we have to look at the financial issue of the circumstantial issue, as well as a value issue. i think there are challenges with raising the age. i think one of the challenges is, clearly, it will become very difficult to ask a coal miner to go down in that mind wh

i see my time is expired. >> senator isakson? >> in 1983 when reagan and o'neill changed the soso security rules, i was 39 years old and they passed a new rule that said if you're born after adding 40 three, your eligibility went from ages 65 day 67. i was born in 44. i was the first generation of america to have -- to lose a year of my salsa security eligibility. it is going to age 67 in a few years. there are a lot of people it out in and pushing for children and grandchildren. what would be your position on that, mr. romasco? >> what we advocated and have been strenuously vocal for over a year, let's take this conversation out of the depth of discussion and have a retirement discussion. among them, the possibility is raising the age along with a series of others. but we have to look at the financial issue of the circumstantial issue, as well as a value issue. i think there are challenges with raising the age. i think one of the challenges is, clearly, it will become very difficult to ask a coal miner to go down in that mind wh

the bill that senator menendez and senator isakson are offering cost zero. and it helps millions of people and ultimately will make the program physically sound because as the senator from new york said so eloquently and so accurately, if you price people out of the program, there will be no one to support the program. the program will default. taxpayers will still have to pick up the debt associated with that program. and then you will also have millions of people losing their homes and their businesses. it makes no sense. it makes no financial sense. now i am glad -- and i'm not going to talk too much longer, but i do want to state this. i am very happy as an american that there are many newspapers that we can read and now there are lots of blogs and lots of radio shows and all sorts of different opinions, because you have to read a lot and think a lot and get different views to really find the truth. so i'm going to read the first paragraph of the "wall street journal," because they need to listen to a couple of other either bloggers or writers because th

senator johnny isakson, thank you. >> merry christmas to you. >> the fed is scaling back the massivelus program and what it will mean for mortgage and credit card rates and what about your retirement? we'll get some answers coming up. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. [ female announcer ] let betty do the measuring and get a head start on delicious homemade cookies. visit bettycrockercookies.com for fun holiday ideas. betty crocker cookie mix. just pour, mix...love. hands for holding. feet, kicking. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage

one of them, johnny isakson of georgia, who was talking on the floor today about time at home, when many of his constituents, neighbors, people he would meet, talked to him about this idea of coming together, getting something done, and that that is a value they want to see take place. so the issue of lindsey graham saying we're dysfunctional, even when we're functional, is one of those points where sometimes there is a secondary issue that is worth talking about, and certainly members in both parties are concerned about it. but it does not appear to be anywhere near enough to bring this deal to a crisis point. there's some talk also about trying to find a way around it later on. >> yeah. >> when some of the appropriations are actually done. and that's an opening for senators and members of congress to look at this more seriously when they get back in january. >> all right. thank you for that reporting. nbc's kelly o'donnell, appreciate your time. and now over to the big panel today. former pennsylvania governor, and nbc analyst, ed rendell and ej dionne, "washington post" columnist join

senator chambliss, senator isakson have come up with a way to fix this. and all three of them will say, i will embrace military retirement pay and benefit reform in the future. i'm just not going to single out the military retiree and reduce their cola when no one else gets that reduction retroactively violating our own commission charter. so, senator shaheen on the other side wants to fitch it. senator murray wanted to fix it. i'm really fleeced a the love people -- i'm really pleased that a lot of people have said, no that i know how this works, i want to fix it. if you have had your legs blown off in afghanistan, it might be pretty hard to get another job. your cola is reduced, too. what do you say to those people? thank you? itsy-bitsy teng teeny-weeny? really? $600 million from the $6 billion comes from that community. it's not just so much that we're insensitive, it just shows me how far we've fallen as a natin and how comfortable we are for other people to do the fighting and we see these folks almost as the hired help even though we he fusel--even

republican senator johnny isakson of georgia voted in favor of the budget today.tor, welcome to the network. >> good afternoon. >> there are problems with this deal clearly for some in the gop. rubio has been speaking about the fact that it allows rates to rise and the reigning in for expenses for some of the young are military retirees. did you know that it was going to pass by this margin? >> no, i did not know it was going to be by this margin. if you back away and take a 30,000 foot view, it's the right thing to do. we've given stability to american spending for the next two years. i've been the principal support of the biannual budget in washington. the savings will be $100 billion in the second decade, $96 million in the first decade. we dealt with the american people's business and for the first time in five years we really got things laid out on a trajectory to do it right. >> is the atmosphere changing within the gop? a lot was made last week on house speaker boehner's rounding on those who had rejected the deal before it was known. critically now there a

isakson: mr. president, the affordable care act promised accessibility, affordability and choice. as we've heard from the stories told here tonight, it delivers on none of the above. and i join senator lee, senator johnson and the others to call on congress to come together, let's fix this flawed program before it's too late and before we destroy health care in the united states of america. i get constant communication from my state of the problems that are there. this one i want to read to you by beth hatfield demonstrates the fear, the confusion, and the lack of accessibility that the care plan has at this time. i've tried many times over the past few weeks to purchase a healthealth insurance plan for f on the health care web site. i finally was able to complete an application but have not been able to choose a plan yet. twice i asked questions in the live chat room option but they would not answer. they told me to make a long-distance call to the help desk. i did but i couldn't get an answer there either. i was disappointed to find out that in order to compare plans, you had to

wurntion i want tnumber r budget chairwoman, you had a really good discussion were senator chambliss and isakson about trying to figure a way to fix this provision. i'm very disappointed that we can't have an amendment to fix it or amendments to do other things. but we are where we are. so the bottom line, this has been a healthy exercise because all of us are now looking at a provision. this is a bipartisan product, so it is not about blaming democrats or republicans. it's a good exercise. how could a bill -- and, one, this bill, as we all know, doesn't fund the government. we if wif we pass the budget, it doesn't keep the government open. it sets limits on spendingment we're increasing the amount we can spend on defense and non-defense, setting some sequestration aside. that's a great thing. i think that's going to be good. how we pay for it is the problem. and the question is how did this happen? you know, the chairman of the senate budget committee and the chairman in the house are great folks. the military retiree provision is a pay-for that has got everybody a bit wondering. and upon a sec

sweeney appeared >> chairman brown, breaking member toomey, senator isakson and casey, thank you relatedness speak on this topic. i am john sweeney can responsible for investment strategies. the privilege of helping with a 23 million americans safer retirement through their workplace and personal savings retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and iras. by cucumber to help americans americans feel more confident and achieve batteries is for families and income retirements. at fidelity come or passionate about sharing expertise and insights of customers. everyday working americans ask us to defy their paycheck in order to meet multiple financial obligations including paying down the mortgage, savings for children's college, possibly caring for an aging parent. one goal is being ready for retirement. this includes young investors and run their workplace savings plan or an older couple nearing 65 and asking if they saved enough to contemplate retirement. investors need help navigating accounts and choices available to them at all stages of life. the retirement system is working well for those utili

president, who has worked so hard and a republican leader who everyone has a lot of respect for, johnny isakson from georgia, who is an expert and is recognized as an expert in the real estate markets of this country. that's his expertise. we should listen to him when he says real estate markets are going to take a terrible hit if we can't fix this. and the final point is this is not just to help homeowners and businesses. it's also to save the program, because as chuck schumer has said, the senator from new york many times, if we don't fix this, not only will people not be able to afford the insurance to buy it, but because they can't -- the program will collapse under its own weight of inaccessibility and unaffordability and then the taxpayer is going to pick up a bigger tab. we couldn't make any clearer, more stronger arguments. a coalition has come together. we have 60 votes. i see my colleagues from florida, from new york. i don't know what their schedules are in terms of time. the senator from florida is well versed. again, as through the chair, the senator from florida served before as a

saxby chambliss and johnny isakson have become very modern, i guess is the word they would use.hey have become a member of the elite group that thinks they know best for the americans. in their caucus, they seem to need tohat the people be talked with. i have attended several of the meetings that saxby chambliss has given. it is almost like he has a scripted thing that he reads. and then the questions are almost 5% of the total conversation. the rest of the time, he is telling what he is going to do. host: you would call your two senators "moderate senators"? caller: he is a moderate senator. if you think about the fact that in the senateot that long. he is nothing like russell we had. the people that really worked for the government. he is -- he got a position almost -- on a lot of committees fits thei guess he pattern. not because of his seniority. host: you talk about moderate senators. that conversation is taking place as we learned yesterday that two moderate lawmakers, congressman matheson of utah and frank wolf out of virginia, a democrat and a republican respectively, ar

vote yes and so far senators john mccain and susan collins have support and orin hatch and johnny isakson sacks by chambliss joined up and they have more than the 60 votes to have a filibuster threat and bring it to a final vote. >> i hope it passes and i'll do anything, not anything but we must not shutdown the government again. >> and republicans are standing their ground. >> if we agree not to spend over this level, this is our spending limit. >> reporter: the deal does not extend unemployment benefits or reverse the cut in food stamps, in the new agreement federal workers pay to pensions and airport security feek feeks social security and medicaid can be here years from now and the parties will have to give. >> reporter: there are still a number of republicans who oppose the budget deal and not a done deal until the vote and harry reed is urging final approvement of the plan saying it will help break quote a terrible cycling of governing by crisis and when it is passed it goes to the president's desk and president obama said he will sign it. >> erica, as you reported the senate is pre

latecomers.include he is a close ally of john boehner who is able to get a pass by 332 votes three johnny isaksonrom georgia came out yesterday in favor of it. like opposing its our members like rand paul and marco rubio. paul ryan could be in the 2016 field and senate republican leaders may also vote against it. mitch mcconnell has not publicly come out. he probably assured john boehner that he would hold fire until the votes were rounded up. against ited to vote because that deal increases spending in the short term. as far asre democrats the plan is concerned the echo caller: -- is concerned? caller: leadership expends all todemocrats and independents support the cultured vote. --is not entirely career entirely clear they have it all lined up. on monday bernie sanders west withholding his vote. he is angry that jobless benefits are expiring and this deal is nothing to extend that. another liberal has also indicated he would vote for culture. his office said he was still undecided. they have not publicly come out in support but they may very well during the 10 a.m. vote today. times" reports th

john mccain,as orrin hatch, chambliss of georgia, isakson of georgia, collins of maine, mccluskey of portmanron johnson, ron -- rob portman of ohio. we want to point out to you that we mentioned at the top of the segment is the panel recommendations on the nsa's data collection programs. that is the lead story in "the new york times." panel of outside advisers urged president obama to employ major oversights and restrictions on the national security agency. the most significant recommendations was that mr. inma restructure a program which the nsa systematically collects logs of all american phone calls and a small group of agency officials have the power to authorize the search. you can read more on that story in several of the papers today. left inabout 15 minutes this segment to talk about ben bernanke's legacy at the federal reserve. steve from haymarket, virginia. republican line. caller: the bottom line is that these ridiculous games we have been watching -- the poor have gotten poorer. andunions and the tea party two or three other groups need to get together and form a second

senator orrin hatch, johnny isakson and chambliss said they will vote yes to get this over the proceduralppen today, final passage is expected to happen later on this week. they are going to get past at least this budget showdown that had been looming but don't think that the nation's capital is out of the fiscal showdown woods just yet, kate. keep in mind that next spring or early march, the debt creeling is expected to come up again, the nation is expected to hit the debt ceiling in march and house budget committee chairman paul ryan has said that they expect to use that debt ceiling deadline that is coming up in march to extract concessions from the white house and democrats. jay carney said yesterday that the president's position has not changed. the president will not be negotiating over the debt ceiling. stay tuned for that battle to come. michaela? >> thank you. >>> let's take a look at more of your headlines at this hour. north korea's political and military elite swearing loyalty to kim jong-un. his uncle was executed for treason. anna coren is following developments. >> reporter