health director for psychotherapy and psychogeriatrics, office of mental health services, department of veterans affairsdquarters, washington, dc. kathryn, more than 2 million troops deployed to afghanistan and iraq. what are some of the behavioral health issues related to the returning vets that are there, the vets that are there, and the returning vets? i think all of us are paying great attention to the behavioral health issues of anyone who has been in combat. and, first of all, when we use the term "behavioral health," we generally are talking about a broad range of mental and emotional and substance abuse disorders and/or problems. we know that anyone who has been in combat will probably suffer from trauma and anyone who has been in a combat situation will have effects of that trauma. so, the first thing we really want to pay attention to is: how have the individuals who have served in combat absorbed that trauma and become resilient to that trauma? in addition, we are seeing a variety of behavioral adjustments having to do with post-traumatic stress, having to do with depression, having to do wit

health director for psychotherapy and psychogeriatrics, office of mental health services, department of veterans affairs headquarters, washington, dc. kathryn, more than 2 million troops deployed to afghanistan and iraq. what are some of the behavioral health issues related to the returning vets that are there, the vets that are there, and the returning vets? i think all of us are paying great attention to the behavioral health issues of anyone who has been in combat. and, first of all, when we use the term "behavioral health," we generally are talking about a broad range of mental and emotional and substance abuse disorders and/or problems. we know that anyone who has been in combat will probably suffer from trauma

karlin, can the department of veterans affairs weigh in on these issues that have just been mentioned? well, we can and we can do it most effectively in partnership with samhsa, with the department of defense, with the community. and one key issue that we've been talking around but haven't really centered on yet, related to these discussions, is stigma. and we know that there is a significant barrier that gets in the way of individuals getting the help that they need. we now have treatments that work and work quite well, but individuals often don't get those treatments because of stigma. because of a psychological barrier that prevents individuals in many cases from getting the care that they need, due to fear of reprisal, due to fear of emotion or not being able to seek gainful employment. sometimes there's a perception, "if i go seek help, then i might not be able to get the job i need or i might not be able to advance in my military career the way i would like to." so it is so important that it is not just within va and not just within dod or samhsa, but is as a nation, that we're

of homelessness is among female veterans. >> that is pricing, why is that? >> part of it is enrolling in the military. it's about 3% and now it's about 10%. it's also the departments of veterans affairs and homelessness are targeting programs. i'm very proud to say also been able to say that we've been able to help with families. >> that will make a huge difference. what causes to them to be homeless? >> a lot have substance abuse problems, mental health problems post-traumatic stress disorder. have brain injuries. some of the females of sexual trauma. a lot of them as they get older they start developing medical problems. all three are really contributors to why we have so many homeless versus veterans. >> you have a place can get helpful? >> yes, they can go at 401 third street which is the corner of third and harrison. have we have completed services, from showers. you can go and get address and mental health professionals and social workers but we have transitional housing. if veterans want to get into treatment or even need emergency housing, we have that available. one of the most exciting programs that we have right now is that we have what we call hud and v.a. which gives per

applications for people to use and have so conveniently at their fingertips. >> so we at the department of veteran affairs closely with the department of defense for several years now on mental health issues, recognizing that we really have shared needs and need to combine our shared expertise to make sure that we're bringing the best it bear for our nation's service members and veterans, and so recognizing that our veterans and service members are not just going on the web to get information but are more and more using smartphones to access resources and tools that are useful to them, we realized that if we were going to keep up with them, we needed to work on developing smartphone applications that could help them with some of these mental health issues. >> and just to demonstrate what we're seeing here is the fact that on this application right now, with breathe 2, the relax application, teaching you how to breathe in. over here you can see on the left-hand side the duration of how long you should be breathing in, and then how long you should be exhaling, and it shows you soothing images along the way

gretchen: earlier this week we told but a group of veterans families suing the veterans national cemetery claiming the department of veterans affairs to say "god" or "jesus." >> rewrite a personal note that we present to the widow, son, daughter, whoever is receiving. this is a condolence card. then we talk to them for just a few minutes. i shouldn't say even a few minutes. about 30 seconds. at that time we usually say god bless you and god bless your family. gretchen: one washington lawmaker is calling for an investigation. republican congressman ted poe. how did you find out that possibly that woman, marilyn koepp, and other volunteer groups who go out to these funerals, sometimes 50-60 a week and console these grieving families. how did you find out they could no longer stay "god bless you"? >> i had the local commander of the veterans of foreign wars come to talk to me in my office. he had tears in his eyes talking about how when they try to honor our war dead at the cemetery in houston, the prayers are sensors by the director. yo can't say good bliss. the bible has been removed. the cross has been removed by the director and o

calendar number 91, h.r. 2055, an act making appropriations for fiscal construction, the department of veterans affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to proceed to h.r. 2055, an act making appropriations for military construction and department of veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: jrve vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote. the yeas are 89, nays are 11. three-fifths of the senators having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. the majority leader. mr. reid: i would hope that following the republicans luncheon that they will allow us to move to this bill. senator johnson and his staff are ready to move forward on this legisla

calendar number 91, h.r. 2055 an act making appropriations for military construction the department of veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. signed by 18 senators as follows. mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum required under rule 22 be waived with respect to both cloture motions. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now withdraw my motion to proceed. the presiding officer: the motion's withdrawn. mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to a period of morning business, senators allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. udall: mr. president i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the pre

among his acvities he has joined a lawsuit against department of veterans affairs and its director general shinseki. itis called valentinny v. shinseki and it's about providing housinging for homeless veterans. i'm pleased to have professor lawrence tribe back at this table. welcome. >> good to be here, charlie. >> rose: you're suing our sghovt >> we're suing the government. >> rose: what happened? >> well, what happened is there are an amazing number of homeless veterans who are in terrible shape. they put their lives on the line for the country and they come back, manyf them have p.t.s.d. terrible brain damage. a lot of them are chronically homeless, over 100,000, and about 8,000 of them are homeless in los angeles and the irony is there is a perfect place where they could be takenare of. there's this he facility about half the size of central park that was donated to the veterans administration in 1888 specifically for the people who were wounded in war. and it was used that way for about eight decades, used that way and, you know, after the spanish ameran w and world war i, world war i

just a couple months ago, in that whole crisis about the government shut-down, both the department of veterans affairsnd the pentagon had a lot of information about what would happen to veterans from the veterans affairs department, active duty military from here at the pentagon. right now, everybody is really being pretty quiet. there's a lot of sort of background chatter that somehow both active duty military pay and veterans benefits would be shielded from any crisis, but nobody's making any promises. nothing has been put in writing, if you will, from the political side of the house, capitol hill, the white house, the treasury department, and it's that uncertainty that is causing so much concern right now amongst the veterans community about their benefits. >> i'm sure. okay. barbara, thank you very much for the developing story. >>> here's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. today's question, very much related to what we have been discussing before. what would you tell congress to do about the debt limit? carol costello in washington. hey, carol. >> lot of people soundin

calendar number 91, h.r. 2055, an act making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. mr. durbin: madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. johnson: i move to terminate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. johnson: mr. president, i'm pleased to present the fiscal year 2012 military construction, v.a. and related agencies appropriations bill to the senate. this bill was unanimously reported out of the committee on june 30. it is a disciplined and bipartisan measure and i hope all senators will support it. i thank my ranking member, senator kirk, for his contributions in crafting this bill. he has taken a very active role on the subcommittee and it has been a pleasure to work with h him. i also thank senator -- chairman inouye and vice chairman cochran, as well as leader reid and minority leader mcconnell for their support and assistance in moving this bill forward. the milcon

officials at the feng and the department of veterans affair will only say that they hope it won't come wyatt offers her solution saying wake up washington. if you need money for the budget, try cutting your own pay. joe hempleman is 70% disabled after three tours in the war zone. he worries about his september disability check. >> that's a big concern to my wife and i who rely on our va disability check as a portion of our income that we use for everyday expenses like a portion of the moor gaj payment, child care expenses for our son. >> i would ask mr. president, the same thing i would ask every senator or congressman. would you do the same thing that you're doing right now if you were in my shoes? >> and wolf, these veteran groups tell us, they just want some answers. they want a solution, like so many americans, and they don't want to become a football in this increasingly acrimonious debate. wolf? >> yep, it's clearly huge for a lot of americans. >>> a new political ad attacking president obama looks ahead to the last days of his presidency and paints a nightmare economic scene. we

pursued by individuals enrolled in the post-9/11 educational assistance program at the department of veterans affairs before the end enactment of the veterans educational improvements act of 2010 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair pill postponefurther proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered. or on the vote is objected to under clause 6, rule 20. recorded votes on post poned questions will be -- postponed questions will be taken later. the house will be in order. members will take their conversations off the floor. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2608 as amended to provide additional temporary extension of programs under the small business act and small business investment act of 1958 and to provide for the repeal of certain small business administration programs. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2608 a bill to provide for an

health program up to $132 million shall be available for transfer to the joint department of defense department of veterans affairs medical facility demonstration fund. section 8105, the secretaries of the army, navy, air force and the directors of the defense agencies and field activities are to report to the committees within 60 days, their plan for documenting the number of full-time contractor employees. section 8106, section 310-b of the supplemental appropriations act, 2009, public law 111-32, 124 set 1871 as amended by public law 112-10 is amended by striking two years both places it appears and inserting three years. section 8107, the office of the director of national intelligence shall not employ more senior executive and general schedule 15 equivalent employees than are specified. section 8108, none of the funds made available by this act may be obligated or expended to pay a retired general or flag officer to serve as a senior mentor advising the department. section 8109, appropriations may be used for the purchase of heavy and light armored vehicles for the physical security of personnel or for force

despite this doubt, the secretary of veterans affairs decideed to grant a new presumption for eschemic heart disease which according to the department of veterans affairs will cost nearly $31.9 billion over the next ten years. similarly with parkinson's disease, which was also found to be in the category of limited or suggestive evidence. a decision was made to grant compensation and benefits based on exposure to agent orange which according to the v.a., will cost $3.5 billion over the next ten years. this process is risky, hit or miss and a costly way to administer the veterans disability program, and resources which are in scarce supply and which our veterans need and deserve in return for their sacrifice to our nation. in its report to the congressionally mandated veterans disability commission in 2007, the institute of medicine itself found that the association standard contained in the agent orange act was inadequate and potentially misleading. that report recommended the goal of the presumptive disability decision-making process be to ensure compensation for veterans whose diseases are caused by military service and a new prim

especially disabled veterans will lose their disability checks and their benefits from the department of veterans affairsve to tell you, tomorrow there will be a virtual online march, a virtual protest against washington. it is being organized by the disabled american veterans. if you want to see more about what's going on on line with america's veterans and this situation in washington, go to dav.org, disabled american veterans. they are there are some videos and messages posted by veterans, expressing their concern about this economic crisis. brooke? >> so they are most deaf northwestly speaking out. quickly, what's the back story on them going to the white house today? did the president say it's important enough for them to have these men and women come? or did they shout loud enough. >> i think it's a combination of both. but the bottom line is politics. this is a very significant voting bloc whether for the republicans or the democrats. and the level of concern now rising in the the veterans community is making their voice heard. that is something boat the white house and capitol hill knows full wel

in april, 2007, the department of veterans affairs screened veterans who were serving in iraq and afghanistan since october, 2001, for symptoms associated with t.b.i. more than 19% of these veterans screened positive for t.b.i. symptoms. this is a big issue. according to the u.s. army, the number of soldiers leaving active duty service has increased 64% from 2005 to 2009 due to brain health. whether it was t.b.i., ptsd or a mental illness. a 2009 rand study says that costs related to depression, ptsd and t.b.i. from our soldiers ranges from $4 billion over a two-year period of time. today, health care providers all over this country are treating -- health care people are treating brain injury patients with new and innovative treatment with remarkable result. unfortunately, -- remarkable results. unfortunately, many of these treatments are not available for our heroes that i have previously discussed who are suffering from t.b.i. our troops put their lives on the line every day and i think they need the opportunity to receive this treatment that is available for their recovery. this pilot will

pursued by individuals enrolled in the post-9/11 educational assistance program of the department of veterans affairs before the enactment of the post-9/11 veterans educational assistance improvements act of 2010 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. miller, and the gentleman from california, mr. filner, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: i rise today in support of the senate amendment to h.r. 1383 as amended, the restoring g.i. bill fairness act of 2011. the bill will temporarily restore the post-9/11 g.i. bill program's original method of paying tuition and fees to veterans attending private schools in several states. when the original post-9/11 bill was enacted, veterans were promised the v.a. would pay up to 100% of tuition and fees up to a state's most expensive in-state undergraduate tuition and fee charges at a public institution of higher lear

with the department of energy to issue loan guarantees for solar projects and manufacturing facilities, that's going to create 26,000 jobs. they worked with the department of veterans affairs to announce that they'll be installing solar panels in their medical centers, one in oklahoma, texas, another in texas and in california. prior to this announcement, the d.a. had also been awarded -- the v.a. had aled been awarded -- had also been awarded for other solar panel dollars and they're able to control costs and do good things for -- things for the environment. the department of interior has approved solar permits on public lands which will provide enough energy for 70,000 homes. the department of agriculture promotes the deployment of solar energy on farms and ranches, working with people and folks out in the private sector. so, the list goes on and on. coordination is often the key to efficiency and so i just really think that the council on environmental quality provides america a way forward in making sure that our agencies are talking and being effective with one another when it comes to collaboration on environmental issues, also reaches out to the local governments, b

ppropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year sendin ending septe, 2012, and for other purposes. mr. johnson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. johnson: mr. president, i am hopeful that the senate will be able to complete action on the milcon-v.a. appropriations bill today. members have had ample opportunity to offer amendments. staff has been working to clear them, and i believe we now have a clear path to final passage. i would like to spend a few minutes today talking about the military construction portion of this bill, which is so important to our troops and their families. the bill includes $13.7 billion for milcon, which is $1 billion below the budget request. in th crafting this bill, we took a hard look at the projects submitted by the administration and made strategic reductions in order to make wise use of our milcon dollars without sacrificing key military priorities. i believe this bill is a prudent approach to addressing our military construction needs at home a

earlier this year, the ninth circuit court siding with two veterans' groups that sued the department of veterans affairs for failing to provide timely care noted that an average of 18 veterans per day take their own lives. we must stop this epidemic. this amendment will help. we can't allow another family to lose a son or a daughter, a father or a mother, husband or a wife because of buck passing. when i investigated bean's tragedy, the v.a. said they don't offer dedicated prevention programs for the i.r.r. the officials said treating i.r.r. meems is the v.a.'s problem. if you are a member of the individual ready reserve suffering from ptsd, you are on your own. the same category applies to other categories of reservists, the i.m.a.'s and the members of the inactive national guard. according to the defense department, there are at least 123,000 i.r.r., i.m.a. and i.n.g. members who have done at least one tour in iraq and afghanistan. this would give the funding needed to expand the suicide prevention outreach program to ensure that members of these reserve units who have served a tour in iraq or afghani

been directed to inform the house that the senate has passed with amendment s. 6655, the department of veterans affairs for fiscal year ending september 30, 2012. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana, mr. carson, for two minutes. mr. carson: thank you, mr. speaker. it is very easy for some members of congress to blindly advocate across the board cuts to our investments in people. but i join those today to ask my colleagues to open their eyes to what these cuts really mean. they aren't abstract numbers. for the many people living in poverty, they mean lives. irrep rahably damaged and critical opportunities lost. my home state, the great hoosier state of indiana, suffers from an average unemployment rate of 10%. among veterans, that number is higher and for wounded vets and others with physical limitations, the numbers are staggeringly higher. as a result of these economic times, mr. speaker, more families live in poverty and rely critically on your and my help. valuable health care. education. housing. and job training programs. are necessary to provide them with the

calendar number 91, h.r. 2055, an act making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the bill be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. johnson: mr. president, as the senate resumes consideration of the f.y. 2012 military construction, veterans affairs and related agencies appropriations bill, i would like to remind my colleagues of the important programs funded in this bill. this bill funds the infrastructure that is the backbone of our military, the facilities in which our troops work and train and live and the facilities that support their families, including family housing, schools, hospitals and childcare centers. it also funds the medical care and benefits promised to the nation's vets as they -- a sacred trust we must not fail to honor. this is a bipartisan bill that was reported unanimously out of the appropriations committee. as i have said before, the bill is balanced, disciplined and responsible.

calendar number 91, h.r. 2055, an act making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. mr. johnson: mr. president, as we begin our third day of debate on the appropriations bill, i would like to encourage my colleagues to file amendments they may have as soon as possible, as we would like to begin disposing of amendments in short order. while we are waiting, i'd like to take a few moments to talk about the v.a. portion of the bill. the bill totals $58.6 billion in discretionary spending with the v.a. in f.y. 2012. additionally, the bill contains contains $52.5 billion in advance appropriations for health care for our vets. one of the few increases above the budget request contained in this bill is for v.a. medical research. as every senator knows, unique combat situations in afghanistan and iraq have left many vets suffering significant injuries, including ptsd and t.p.i. we have a moral responsibility to take care of those who have put their lives on the line to defend our natio

the department is determined to work with the department of veterans affairs and stitched back together the way should be and i can assure you if i'm confirmed i will look into it. >> i appreciate it. i know as we talk about what the future is and the strength and there will be less active and more veteran and we want to make sure that transition works very smoothly. very parochial but more broad sweep and that is how the defense department will work with nonprofit organizations, organizations that are important to family support and what i mean by that is i i know in alaa we have a program, alaska assistance that are important for many of our veterans and wounded warriors. it is basically run by a nonprofit organization and know sometimes the defense department is very rigid and there are access or allowability of access for nonprofits. one, do you see these organizations as important for the long-term especially with our wounded warriors and then two, do you -- can you obviously make a commitment here that he will aggressively look at how we ensure these nonprofit organizations really

problems with veterans care, i remember the $1 billion shortfall a few years ago when the department of veterans affairs had to raid its operations and maintenance account to help pay for veterans' basic medical care. even now veterans have to wait years to have their claims adjudications -- adjudicated because there are just not enough adjudicators. they have to wait to go to get doctors, to get their treatment. with more of our service members return home every day, more vets returning home who have no opportunity or limited opportunity for job training, returning home with ptsd or returning home now having to face the possibility of limited educational benefits because of this bill and its progeny. mr. speaker, now is not the time tone danger benefits to our -- to endanger benefits to our nation's veterans. when veterans come home without limbs because they have defended our freedoms we should not put in place cut, cap and balance legislation on their backs, the backs that are strained and damaged by the injuries they sustained fighting for this country. we should not stand idly by and watch this con

pursued by individuals enrolled in the post-9/11 educational assistance program of the department of veterans affairs before the enhanced of the post-9/11 veterans educational assistance improvement act of 2011 and for other purposes. senate amendment. spoipt question is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 422 and the nays are zero. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, -- the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 424 and the nays are zero. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the senate amendments are agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid

for the personal care attendant who works for the department of veterans affairs to the park rangers who leads our families through national parks, a g.o.p. default will send two million american workers home without pay. during this time upon appointment our economy will suffer even more with the ripple effect that suspending pay for two million american workers and their families. so pay the federal workers, we might be told. let's figure out who else we might choose not to pay. what other obligations of the federal government will be broken? what will we choose to avoid if there's a default? well, we go back to the wheel, we spin the wheel again, we see foreign creditors. come august 2, the g.o.p. forced default -- will force the treasury to start paying interest to our foreign creditors who currently buy u.s. credit with total confidence. when you default on a credit card, everyone knows this, when you default on a credit card, you don't save money. your interest rates go up. the bank lowers your credit rating. and if the u.s. stops paying its creditors, then the u.s. credit will

of our department and the environment. thank you for joining the family. we have in the veterans affairs commissions, thank you for joining back up again. and chris, you and i have talked at some length. i will personally be working with the veterans commissioned this year because of what to understand even better not only the work that the commission does the what goals we have to welcome back our troops and our people who, i think they found dignity in the work for the country. can define dignity as they come back here? a lot to thank the member for working with us as well. you and alexander are two of three women already on the commission. i know your expertise works making sure that there is a look at the health of our survivors and people coming back making sure that these people are critical to our approach. allowed to make sure that we also have dignified jobs for everyone that wants and can work. what to make sure that we are hooked up with our community colleges when we do that. thank you for agreeing to serve. our goal and a concourse authority. the key for serving again and he

a handful of apps such as ptsd coach and t2 mood tracker, they've been developed by the pentagon and the veteran affairs departmentnformation about what the military calls the invisible wounds of war. they also offer tipping on how to manage symptoms. >>> a northern california couple claims to be making progress in the search for big foot. >> kathy and bob strain say that sound is a recording of big foot itself. they are lasting the recording into stanislaus hoping to find the creature. bob strain claims he saw big foot at age 19 when he was hunting with his dad. >> it stood up on its legs, and walked off to the mountainside. i got a good look at him. >> reporter: they have dedicated a website to the search for big foot. we have posted a link under web links. >> got it. just tell him to stay away from the toll plaza because sal will be watching if it goes by. >> yes, i will dave. let's go and take a look at what we have now with the westbound bay bridge. we have followed this on mornings on 2. it has backed up on a short delay about five minutes. we will cover that next coming on mornings on 2. >> we do have low c

close to 75% of mandatory spending is in the programs but over here in the nondefense spending, social security, transportation, veterans benefits, justice department, international affairs, 40%, others. figuring out how you squeeze money out of this is all part of the equation because as long as these debts keep mounting up over here, then our deficit rises like this. it gets higher and higher. that adds to the collective debt, which right now is right at $14 trillion. now, i'm going to widen out here and have you look at the important part of this. this is the dollar we're spending right now, where it's all going. but the simple truth is 40 cents out of every dollar we're spending right now is bore ohhed money. this is what has washington scared. 40 cents is boroughed. and if we see in the coming years what we expect to see, which is an increase in those entitlement programs because the population gets older and older, then what you're likely to see is the result. even if we lower the debt in effect by increasing ceiling, it's the same debt, only we get more head room on it, if we keep spending the way we are, we don't come up with a way to reduce revenues, what happen

the interest on our debt for one year is equal to the entire budget of the department of labor, agriculture and veterans' affairs combined. it means that each american's hair soft -- share of our debt is over 46,000 -- is over $46,000. when i think of our family, this means that my nine grandchildren would collectively owe over $414,000 if they had to pay their share of our debt today. before my youngest grandson graduates from college, helio $103,000 on our national debt. this is unacceptable. that's high we took this first step to address the crisis yesterday by passing the cut, cap, and balance act. our colleagues across the aisle would argue that this plan goes too far by restricting future borrowing. but the reality is that this bill simply caps spending at the same sustainable rates as past generations, about 20% of g.d.p., a post-world war ii average no more and no less. don't we care as much about our children and grandchildren as our parents did? i do. and i think -- so do the people who sent us here to to congress. we need to show our creditors, our competitors and the american people that we are willi

military pay for active duty soldiers, veterans affairs programs, salary and benefit for federal employees, department of education, food services for low income women, infants and children, the department of labor, the department of justice, the department of energy, health and human services grants, the federal highway administration, the epa, irs refunds, the small business administration, the federal transit administration and housing assistance for the poor. i'm sorry. really. if we don't raise the debt ceiling, there is no money to pay for any of that stuff. these are the choices the treasury department could be facing over the next few weeks if there's no deal on the debt ceiling. obama administration officials will reportedly brief the public after the markets close tomorrow about how they'll prioritize all of these payments. now when people talk about not raising the debt ceiling as economic armageddon, that list, that exhausting list, that breathtaking out of me list that i just read, that's what they're talking about. but here is the thing. sometimes, you know, we've made this argument about y

veterans health administration, they made a big turnaround. the legislative affairs unit, public affairs units of departments and agencies, they are there only becaused something for the president during the campaign and needed a job. we have to reduce the number and put more career experts in charge of these agencies. we have to reduce the layers of these positions so that state directors, regional directors can go directly to the higher levels of their departmental agency to put in information and give their advice. that is a big problem in intelligence were the director of national intelligence really has no authority to compel any of the 11 agencies that report to him to cough up the information in a timely fashion. host: the third barrier you write about is productivity. under the productivity challenge you say scarce or misaligned resources and underperforming stock within the federal government have led to a federal work force that is inconsistent, at best. a highly productive enderle workforce is critical to our performance. -- a highly productive work force is critical. guest: i go to the federal employees and listen to what they say and so