mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, how much time is left, may i inquire, on the republican side? the presiding officer: 13 minutes. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i just follow my colleague from utah who talked about getting the president engaged in this -- in these discussions, mr. president. i noticed a large story thursday's "new york times," the headline, "president on sidelines in crate ca critical e over debt ceiling." "president on the sidelines." mr. president, we are at a time when we are facing the largest threat to our national security and we cannot have the president on the sidelines. and when i talk about the single largest threat to our national security, not talking about a terrorist organization, not talking about wars in iraq and afghanistan, not talking about natural disasters, disease, epidemics, not famine. i'm talking about our national de

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today as someone who is back in my home state every weekend. as i talk to people and say what's on your mind, they say what's on their mind are jobs, the economy, the nation's debt and the nation's spending. i say what do you think about things going on in washington? they say the problem with washington is tax is too much, -- taxes too much, borrows too much and the government grows bigger every day. and they say what are we going to do about it? when we talk about the debt, the people of wyoming have a clear understanding that the number is very, very large. and they say well, what about the budget? as we get into the discussion, it comes down to what budget, where is the budget? it has been 800 days since the budget has gone through this body, over 800 days. you're talking more than two years. why is that? i think there was a vote on the budget earlier this year that was the president's so-called budget, lost 97-0. not even one democrat voted for what

mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. madam president, wish to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. madam president, our country is two weeks away from a deadline date and this deadline is approaching because of washington's constant inaction. now, to me, this deadline has to do with our national debt. now, the president, on the other hand, says it has to do with our debt limit, the amount of money that we are allowed by law to borrow. i believe it has to do with the amount of money we have already borrowed and the amount of money they want to continue to borrow. i believe as americans we can do better. i believe as americans we must do better. our country needs for us to act. you know, the president has repeatedly said that we have to deal with this issue now. last week he asked the most fundamental question. he said, "if not now, when?" the clock is ticking. we got a wake-up call from medicare not too long ago and we find out it will be bank

mr. barrasso: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming is recognized. mr. be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you. i come to the floor today as i have just about every week since the health care law was passed with a doctor's second opinion about the health care law. i have great concerns about the law that was forced through this senate, and i come to the floor today because it seems that the more americans find out and learn about this health care law, the less they like it. a majority of americans now in national polls say they want out. they absolutely want out. you know, since october of 2010, the administration has granted waivers -- waivers -- to unions, to businesses, to insurers and to actually whole states because they can't afford the health care laws burdensome mandates. the secretary of health and human services continues to release more waivers; did so again last friday. and they have now granted over 1,471 annual benefit waivers, limit waivers. and this has covered 3.2 million americans. and that's why i

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i come to the floor today as i have week after week -- the presiding officer: senator, we're in a quorum call. mr. barrasso: thank you. i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor as i have week after week since the health care bill was signed into law with a doctor's second opinion about the health care law, because the president repeatedly made promises to the american people as the health care bill was being debated and even after the health care bill was signed. and he promised to improve, not hurt, the quality of medical care in this country. we now know that the president's health care law actually makes the problem of health care in this country worse. in fact, since this bill was signed into law, we learned that it makes the cost of h

mr. barrasso: yes. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 7:00 p.m. and senators be permed to speak for -- permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i ask my friend's statement appear uninterrupted in the record and i appreciate his courtesies. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: the only modification is that at 7:00 p.m. i be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. as i was saying, the solution requires us to work together until we get it right. this is the theory at the heart of speaker boehner's plan. the president talks about wanting a balanced approach. what that means to different people is different things. when that means in -- when the president is talking, he wants more taxes, i think what americans want is actually a balanced budget. speaker boehner will bring us one step closer to the, to that balance by forcing a vote on the balanced budget amendment

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask the quorum call be vitiated.the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: i ask to speak as if in morning business, unanimous consent. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today because we are discussing the -- the cut and the cap and the balance act which, of course, i support and it gets back to a little poster that i've had at home with my kids over the years and it's -- and i have a copy of it here. it's called "the two penny difference." "the two-penny difference," two cents. it says, "if you earn a dollar and you spend 99 cents, you're okay. but spend $10.01, and you're headed for trouble." "yet today" this says -- and this was many, many years ago -- "yet today, spending seems more fashionable than saving. what once was called poor money management has now been called deficit spending. whatever it's called, it leads to inevitable headaches for people, for companies and even for governments. and, frankly, mr. president

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, we just heard the senator from georgia talk about the upcoming predictable crisis, and our nation faces a leadership crisis right now, and it is a predictable crisis. back in 2006, then-senator obama called raising the debt ceiling, he called it a sign of leadership failure. so why five years later is it now president obama who is asking us to raise the debt ceiling? and why is he doing it with no plan on how to pay back the new debt that we continue to accumulate? in his press conference last week the president called on this body -- he said to go ahead and make the tough choices. when it comes to cutting spending, his allies in congress refuse to make any choices. the president has attacked this body nor not getting a deal done on time. yet he declined to meet with republicans about these very issues and about our ideas. according to the white house press secretary, press secretary said, that was not a conversation worth vsmg now, he has finally agreed to meet, wit leade

mr. barrasso, mr. bg, dr. jackson, the next threat of muslim radicalization of u.s.prisons we hear from kevin smith, leading professor burke you see and michael downing and we have another panel remarkable people with good in sight. and i just want to pull from what we learned in those hearings members that are testifying you can jump in. but the community and don't read and engagement is important in breaking the cycle and we have to bring some of the cultural norms and parker teaching american integration and develop an attachment to the community. we need to make sure that we focus on the youth targeted for the radicalization and all are targeted for radicalization. in fact i go back to the testimony of the testimony that our outreach efforts after a grueling two years have, as the hearts and minds of the somalis american community to come out to stopping the radicalization efforts of the few extremists and radicals in our community. and the testimony said that all of these agencies recognize that you cannot arrest or in force your way of the radicalization issue.

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to engage in a colloquy with my republican colleagues for up to 30 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today as the nation watches the activities in the capitol and capitol hill, someone from a state, the state of wyoming, where we live within our means, balance our budget every year and as a result actually have a surplus in the state in contrast to what's happening in washington, with an incredible debt -- $14 trillion -- more than people can actually fathom. but people understand spending more than you have. and families all across the country realize you just can't do that. well, here in america we have as a nation been doing that for many years, been spending money we don't have, spending more, sending out more than comes in to the point we've had to borrow and borrow and borrow. and each time we borrow too much, which continues to happe

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i come to the floor today of the united states senate specifically as a senator from wyoming. because in wyoming, our families know they have to live within their means and wyoming is a state where our state lives within its means. in wyoming, our very constitution requires that our state lives within its means. washington has a total debt now that is over $14 trillion and continues to climb every day. wyoming's total debt is zero. how did washington fail where wyoming succeeded? well, in washington, this city overspends. and you know in washington, there is nothing really to stop it. in wyoming, we live within our means because our constitution demands that we balance our budget every year. it is time for washington to take a lesson from wyoming and the other states that balance their budgets every year. you know, the president says that -- and he said, quote, he said, "all of us agree that we should use this opportunity to do something meaningful on debt and deficits." well, passing