mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, first, i'd like to welcome the president to the capitol today. members on both sides of the aisle are eager to hear from him and to share their own thoughts. we look forward to a spirited and constructive exchange. it is often said that of all the questions we face as lawmakers, none is more serious or indeed more difficult than the question of whether to commit ourselves to military action. that's why it is so important for us to have this debate, to lay out the arguments for and against military action in syria, to let the public know where we stand on this issue and why. but if debates like this are always challenging, in some ways this one has been even more difficult. not because of some political calculus, although senates will always expect that. no, this debate has been made more difficult because even those of us who truly want to support the commander in chief have struggled to understand the purpose of the mission. over the past several days, i've spoken with a l

mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the senator from kentucky and myself be allowed to participate in a colloquy. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i'll just say to my friend from kentucky, i've had over 50 hospital town hall meetings in our state over the last year and a half, you and i have done a couple of these together, and as a health care professional yourself, looking at it from a hospital and health care provider point of view, which you and i both had -- either you in your profession or me by being in these hospitals a lot the last couple of years learned a good bit, what do you think is the most devastating impact of obamacare on the provider world? mr. paul: i talked to a lot of doctors, and i have been in town hall meetings with you at the different hospitals. the hospitals are concerned that if everybody goes on medicaid they'll go out of business. many hospital

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, the consent the majority leader just asked was one a number of my colleagues were about to ask. it dealt with the military pay issue, and a number of them are here on the floor. and i'd like to ask consent that we be able to engage in a colloquy on the issue of protecting military pay. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i know that as the republican leader noted, there's a number of senators here on the floor who have come en masse from a meeting that we just held following the tabling of the latest house proposal that would keep the federal government operating and make sure that all of our uniformed military would continue to get paid, together with the other operations of the federal government. and it was clear that it was under the pressure of the knowledge that we were coming to the floor to ask unanimous consent and the knowledge of how, frankly, untenable it w

mr. mcconnel? >> you're making a false argument. no. you're saying republicans don't like -- >> i'd rather hear what greg has to say. >> yesterday after the show or in the break you said do you think it's going to get defunded? i said no. i think the fight needs to be fought. >> that's not what you said. you said you thought it was a bad strategy and they shouldn't do it. yes, you did. >> i said i don't think they can win. >> which is why you said you think it's bad strategy. >> i said i can't believe you and i agree on this. >> can i defend -- >> from the get go -- >> eric, i'm going to jump in. you tried to clear up conflicting here. i don't think you're going to do that. i think republicans that aren't for the strategy, it doesn't mean republicans are in favor of obama care. that's a false argument. we've got john boehner talking about negotiations. makes a great point. president barack obama is sitting down with vladimir putin on this but not republicans. here's carney. >> this is something that is not new. i've been discussing this

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: this morning all of us are thinking about yesterday's tragic events at the navy yard, and we're also thinking, in particular, of the brave men and women of our military and the sacrifices they make day in and day out on our behalf. once again i'd like to extend condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives or were injured in this terrible, terrible shooting. know that your country is with you in these most difficult moments. i had wili'd also like to expree gratitude too all the first responders and medical personnel and law enforcement officers from so many different agencies who worked together to keep all of us nr informed and, most of , safe throughout the day. i have a statement oner in subject, which i would -- on another subject, which i would ask unanimous consent be inserted in the record at this point. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadersh

mr. mcconnell to go to the white house as part of that deal to sit down and look at troublesome parts toordable care act. the president realizes there are flaws. neil: did you -- but defunding it killing it, is not going to happen. >> that is not going to happen. he is firm on that. neil: congressman thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thank you. neil: coming back talk to one of my favorite guests in business community, foster freiss. is next. weekdays are for rising to the challenge. they're the days to take care of business. when possibilities become reality. with centurylink as your trusted partner, our visionary cloud infrastructure and global broadband network free you to focus on what matters. with custom communications solutions and responsive, dedicated support, we constantly evolve to meet your needs. every day of the week. centurylink® your link to what's next. ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investi

mr. mcconnell to go to the white house as part of that deal to sit down and look at troublesome parts tohe affordable care act. the president realizes there are flaws. neil: did you -- but defunding it killing it, is not going to happen. >> that is not going to happen. he is firm on that. neil: congressman thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thank you. neil: coming back talk to one of my favorite guests in business community, foster freiss. is next. ♪ [ male announcer ] now, taking care of things at home is just a tap away. ♪ introducing at&t digital life... ♪ ...personalized home security and automation... [ lock clicks ] ...that lets you be cloto home. that's so cool. [ male announcer ] get $100 in instant savings when you order digital life smart security. limited availability in select markets. ♪ ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the f

mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 191, s. 1514, the saving coal jobs act. i ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed without intervening action or debate and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. reid: mr. president, reserving the right to object, i know how important coal is to the state of kentucky, west virginia, indiana. a lot of states feel very strongly about coal. and i will be happy to work with the republican leader and others who are concerned about the coal issue in the united states to come up with a procedure where we can try to figure out a way to get a vote on this and have a reasonable debate on it. so i'll be happy to work with the leader, the republican leader on this. based on my brief review of this, i think it is best now for me to object, and i do ofpblt. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. mcconn

mr. mcconnell, two days, three days, a week, what's going to happen here? >> if we can't get a short-term extension to buy us time. i think this happens fairly quickly. haven't had a shutdown for a long time. 17 years now, every time we've gotten close to it we've been able to avert t.hopefully cooler heads will prevail and we'll find a solution to allow it to continue, but it would be nice to get some things done in the process, larry, that are good for the economy and doing something about obamacare would do that. >> senator thune, i'll leave it there. it's been a tough few days. thank you for your time, sir. >> thanks, larry. >> melissa lee. am i right to suggest to senator thune that the stock market has already discounted a shutdown? >> you're completely spot on. markets were down 1% last week so there's a little bit of uncertainty out there. at the same time history tells us, and we love numbers here at snoebs, h cnbc, history tells us the markets look past a government shutdown. when you look at the past 17 shutdowns, markets were up in both instance

a senator: mcconnell to come -- mr. durbin: and for senator mcconnell to come to the floor and challenge whether we still stand by it. this is not just about the peace of mind of people, families and businesses when it comes to health insurance. it is about our deficit. if we took the republican approach of doing nothing when it comes to the costs of health care, sadly, we are condemning ourselves to deficits sphashes the eye -- as far as the eye can see. 60% of our deficits and looming national debt relates to the increased cost of health care. if we took the republican approach of doing nothing, ultimately it would mean that deficit -- those debts would be even larger for future generations. so obamacare is a step in the right direction. finally, mr. president, let me say, i understand what's going on now with several members of the senate republican caucus who want to take to the floor and argue that we should shut down the government, if it means funding obamacare. i think they're wrong on the merits, they're wrong p

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i did a rot of of -- lot of listening over the past several weeks at meetings and events all across kentucky. last week, i participated in my 51st hospital town hall since 2011, and i'll tell you, one theme kept emerging over and over and over -- kentuckians are really, really worried about obamacare. they have read the same stories we have, about businesses being forced to cut hours and eliminate health care, about people being laid off. they have read about how the rollout of this massive law is becoming a massive mess and how their personal information could be compromised by scam artists. now, i know that there is still some of you who supported the law who are thinking well, they will learn to like it, but it's precisely the kind of we know what's good for you attitude that's so upsetting to my constituents. that's what got us into this mess in the first place. so let's at least get this much straight. the doctors, the nurses, the health care professionals, the patients

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: earlier this week we passed the five-year mark since the financial crisis hit our country. incredibly, president obama tried to use that opportunity to take credit for the fact that things aren't as bad as they were back then. and he's back at it again today. basically his message is this o- is this, america isn't in a free fall so everyone should give him a pat on the back. as far as deflexions go, it's pretty creative but also pretty misleading because in an effort to justify his own failed policies and preserve them, the president is papering over some pretty, pretty troubling realities. the truth is for most americans the past few years have felt like anything but a recovery. it's been a story of lost jobs and underemployment and the loss of dignity that comes with both. it's been a period of stagnant wages and an increasing disparity between rich and poor. and then there are all the young people who have been stunned to realize after graduating from college, there just

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: later this morning in maryland the president will try yet again to sell his name-sake health care plan to an increasingly skeptical public. he will claim that americans will have lots and lots of options under obamacare. unfortunately, keeping the plan you have and like will not be an option for a great many americans. and it must be frustrating for the president that folks seem to keep tuning out all this happy talk, but it's not hard to see, frankly, why americans aren't buying the spinment over the -- around thest aren't buying the spin. over the past 50 years i've participated in more health care town halls in my staivment i've met with health care professionals, doctors, and nurses. i have met with patients, and i've met with everyday kentuckians, folks who are just concerned about providing health care for their families. many of the kentuckians i've met with are a lot more knowledgeable about obamacare than the washington intelligentsia might like it assume. in fact m

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i want to start by acknowledging the work of my colleague, the junior senator from texas, who held the floor for nearly a day speaking passionately about an issue that unites every single republican. obamacare is wrong for america and needs to be repealed. the senator from texas is focused on the dangers of this law, explaining once again why we are all, all of us on this side of the aisle committed to overturning it. later this week, madam president, every republican will unite to vote against any amendment to add funding for obamacare. and this afternoon i'd like to call on my colleagues across the aisle to once again listen to their constituents and actually join us in this effort. i'd like to ask senators to take their minds back to christmas eve 2009. some of us remember it very, very well. in the early hours of the morning the majority leader rammed through a massive 2,700 page takeover of the u.s. health care system against the will of the american people, against the

mr. reid: so anyway, following our remarks, senator mcconnell and mine, the time at 2:30 will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. senators will be able to come and talk for ten minutes. there will be a remembrance ceremony on the east front of the capitol in less than an hour. members will gather in the rotunda at 10:45. mr. president, i can remember those 12 years ago so clearly. not far from here in s. 219 is a meeting room. that was where leader daschle held his leadership meetings every tuesday morning at 9:00. i got -- i was the first one in the room. and senator john breaux from louisiana came in and he said flip on the tv, there is something going on in new york. so we turned on the tv. it looks like something happened in new york. we just thought an airplane had malfunctioned or something had gone wrong and hit that tower. so we -- the meeting started, tv's were off. we were doing our business for the day, and suddenly a group of police officers come in and grab senator daschle and took him outside. he came back very quickly and said ther

mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i'm not sure if you have a fax machine at home, not many americans do anymore. neither do a lot of small businesses. so it seems a bit a odd to tell small businesses they need to fax in enrollment foamplet for be obamacare -- for obamacare. that is what the obama administration is now doing. i might paraphrase the president, the 1980's called and they want their health policy back. now, to be fair, snail mail is also an option and it looks like the president's people will try to have the issue fixed soon despite passing the law more than three years ago. but then again this is the same president who told us that obamacare is working the way it's supposed to, president obama said, and that those who already have health care won't see many changes under this law. the same guy who promised us his health care ideas would make american premiums lower and tha

mr. mcconnell: if the majority leader would suspend, a few observations about the events of the day. mr. . mr. reid: i'm sorry i didn't do that. mr. mcconnell: we're thinking about today's tragic shootings at the navy yard, about the victims and about their families. the men and women in our military courageously put their lives on the line in mearn dangerous places around the world. it's painful to think about them having to worry about their safety when they come home, too. many people in the area and across the country will be directly affected by this terrible tragedy and we pray for them all. these kinds of incidents always remind us how fragile life is. they also remind those of us who work in and around the capitol how much we all owe to the men and women to work so hard to keep us safe every day. so i want to take this the country to thank terry gaynor and his team, the chief and the capitol police force for all they do day in and day out and for everyone else who is working through this tragedy, the first responders, medical personnel, d.c. police, i want you to knowing one o

mr. shelby. >> senator reed, senator mcconnell, speaker boehner, & kantor -- congressman kantor, congresswomanelosi, i was in alabama 50 years ago 60 miles from birmingham. we heard the news. my wife and i were coming out of the presbyterian church. people were talking on the street that four innocent little girls were blown up in their sunday school in a church in birmingham. we knew then it was a shameful act, a tragic day. we could not believe it happened, but it did. it awakened the consciousness of the whole nation. it has been 50 years. it has been a long time. i want to commend the congresswoman for her tour site and perseverance in introducing to our leadership this resolution. that is why we are here today. thank you. [applause] i also want to say thank you are asking me to sponsor that resolution in the united states senate and the senate responded unanimously. that is the legacy, the tragic legacy, but we will not forget. that is why we are here today. i'm sorry it took 50 years. i'm sorry for what happened. it was a shameful day, but such a great legacy we share now. thank you. [ap

mr. mcconnell referred to the economy being a hostage that they could take in negotiations with the president. so i don't think this is that either side has exclusive rights to or has used in the past. when it comes to funding the government or paying our dets, the democrats and the president on one hand are asking for nothing, no concessions, no ideological riders, no special t projects, no political got cha items in exchange for the government funding, in exchange for congress ensuring that we do not default. republicans on the other hand are attaching in the concrete bills they've passed and in their imaginations when they talk about what they'd like to attach all sorts of political agenda items, some of them wildly inconsistent with where the american people want the country to move and that includes issues unrelated to the budget and the dets and deficits we must manage and the responsibility of congress to ensure we don't default. >> two questions, one, this is no longer such a hypothetical since mitch mcconnell hot lined a c.r. to the senate in the last hour. there looks like there is

today, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell says the law is, quote, a mess. mr. obama is trying to sell it to a skeptical public. >>> the road is eroding in d.c. crews are narrowing lanes to make it safer for drivers. this is in rock creek park. several years ago the area beyond the road washed away in heavy rains and snow. >> back to breaking news out of detroit. the massive fire burning there. wendy rieger has the live picture. is it getting bigger or smaller? >> it's getting bigger. let's go back to the live pictures. this is an abandoned building on fire in west detroit. it used to be a factory. these are live pictures. the helicopter is not looking at the fire, they are looking at one of the first responders. this is a few blocks north of i-94. our sister station is getting calls. sorry about this, this is not very exciting. obviously, this is a massive, massive fire. that's a fire truck that is responding. no word of injuries, yet. it is a fire in detroit in an abandon warehouse. we'll get the live pictures to you. >> thank you. >>> voters in northern virgi

mr. speaker boehner and leader mcconnell said that they wanted to proceed under the regular order.s their mantra. outside of the beltway, the regular order means you pass a bill in the house committee passed a bill in the senate, you send it to congress to negotiate and to reconcile the differences. we have always been for regular order. so we welcome that. we welcome the conference committees because i think that that transparency is the process of the american people. so the regular order was going to be. the house passed its bill. the senate passed its bill. that was the end of the call for regular order. after the house passed the bill, you remember, right? that the republicans were saying no budget, no pay, as far as the senate is concerned, when will they pass their bill. it was only a matter of weeks. but nonetheless both houses passed legislation and then we said, okay, regular order, we can now go to negotiate at the conference table for around six months, nearly six months. the republicans had refused to negotiate. they had refused to negotiate. and they say that the pres

mr. president, i ask that the comments left for senator mcconnell and may be given back and that we begin the vote. following the 54-44 vote, senate democratic leaders spoke to reporters and called on house republicans to vote on their version of the bill. speakers include majority leader harry reid, chuck schumer and patty murray. their remarks were about 20 minutes >> the government is going to shut down in three days, 10 hours, five minutes, nine seconds. the senate has acted. we have done it with bipartisan cooperation. we passed the only goal that will avert a government shutdown monday night. i said this on the floor, i say it again -- this is it. time is gone. our rules are different than the house. the bill would pass the house -- the bill that we just passed would pass the house overwhelmingly if the speaker had the courage to bring it to the floor and let 435 members of the house of representatives vote. i think they should think very carefully about their next step. this will force a government shutdown. they need to accept what we just passed. to be absolutely clear, we are go

his colleague, senate mine mortgage leader mitch mcconnell also wasn't going to give mr. who was, is surprised the president didn't ask for his help. >> i've been pretty outspoken for this and my belief to hold the assad regime for the use of chemical weapons. having been as much as i am on this issue that they didn't know to call and they didn't and which learned something about them. >> reporter: he would have a tough time convincing many of his colleagues in the house to join him. jon? jon: wendell goler at the white house, a very busy place today. of the wendell, thank you. jenna: for more on this, senator joe manchin, democrat from west begin is joining us. he is on the senate armed services committee and currently opposed to military action in syria. senator, nice to have you with us today. >> good to be with you, jenna. jenna: let's start off with the big question. we heard president assad described as a thug. you referenced him as a demon. the president last night described him as a murderer of children. why would we trust a child killer with anything, let alone t

mr. president, is a vote we should have. >> reporter: mcconnell and senate xop whip john cornyn are actively house bill, that opposes texas senator ted cruz. republican aides say it is not personal, it's about pursuing a strategy that work withs. here's senate conservative mike lee on republicans with different approaches. >> we don't always agree all the time on every single vote, and sometimes we disagree. but i think as republicans we do stand behind the idea that we need to stop obamacare. we need to fight it, we need to stop it any way we can. even though some of us might have different ideas about how best to get there. >> reporter: also today on the floor, senate majority leader harry reid said there will be a critical procedural vote tomorrow no matter or what happens today. >> on the morning news, i hear that there's a filibuster today i want to disabuse everybody, there'll be no filibuster today. filibusters stop people from voting, and we are going to vote tomorrow. under the rules, no one can stop that. >> reporter: and make no mistake about it, these will be votes that people wi

mr. reid: i have only one consent request for a committee to meet. it has my approval and that of senator mcconnell. dishai it be agreed to and printed in the record. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. cruz: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: at this point, i now ask unanimous consent that i be a20 minutes to -- allowed 20 minutes to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cruz: mr. president, these two unanimous consent requests have the virtue of being clarified, clarifying what this debate is that the senate will face this week, and i am going to suggest to you, mr. president, the senate has not faced a more important debate in the short time that you and i have both served in this institution. no american wants a government shutdown. i don't want a government shutdown. no one on this side of the aisle wants a government shutdown. the house of representatives doesn't want a government shutdown. mr. president, five minutes ago the senate could have acted to prevent a government shutdown. the request that

mr. president. >> after senator reid's remarks, mitch mcconnell spoke about health care and said that he plans to offer an amendment to the energy efficiency bill that would delay implementation of the employer and individual mandates for a year. this is five minutes. >> i did a lot of listening over the past several weeks at meetings and events all across kentucky. last week i participated in my 51st hospital townhall since 2011. and i will tell you that one thing kept emerging over and over. kentuckians are really worried about obamacare. they have read the same stories about businesses cutting hours and eliminating health care and people being laid off. they have read about how the rollout of the mass of lies becoming a massive mass. and how their personal information could be compromised by scam artists. there are still some of you that support the law who are thinking, well, they will learn to like it. but it is precisely the kind of, well, we know what's good for you -- attitude that is so upsetting to my constituents. that is what got us into this mess in the first place. so let's at least

mr. president, that leads to the second unanimous request, that request that every amendment being subject to 60 votes. >> reporter: theto 6 republican leader senator mitch mcconnellays he won't join a cruz filibuster. they support keeping obama care as is. >> look in the senate. every single democratic senator who voted for obama care was reelected, most of them by double digits. >> reporter: ble 59% of americans, now say they don't want to did he fund obama careae if it means shutting down the government, according to a new poll. >> as the district has a plan i place in case of a shutdown. firefighters, ems will be on onc schools remain open but some agencies will have to close including the department of motor vehicles.cles >>> turning off all of your electronic devices during takedi off and landing may be a thing of the past. an ffa advisory panel will be meeting this week to decide whether to relax the restrictions on the devices. it may allow people to use ipods, and ipads if they're airplane mode. they are requiring that they turn off all devices until a plane climbs over 10,000 feet. >>> jacoby jones was report lead hurt during a bus brawl at d.c. he was o

mr. president, i listened closely to the statement made by senator mcconnell of kentucky, the republican senate leader, and i applaud him and other senators who have spoken out against the so-called filibuster that's been initiated by the senator from texas and at least one other senator. it is not technically a filibuster, as senator reid has said, but the object is to slow down the business of the senate and that it is similar to a filibuster. we are going to have that occur today when senator cruz takes the floor this afternoon to state his position that we should shut down the government if we do not fund obamacare. or if we fund obamacare, and that to me is an irresponsible position. it's irresponsible because the senators who support the house position are playing high stakes poker with other people's money. to shut down the government is disastrous. not only for hundreds of thousands of federal employees who do important work to keep america safe and to keep us a leading nation in the economy but also because it's at the expense of american jobs. when senator read, the democratic

mr. boehner -- speaker boehner and leader mcconnell said that they wanted to proceed under the regular order. that was their mantra. does outside of the beltway, regular order means you pass a bill in the house, you pass a bill in the senate, and then you send it to conference to negotiate, to reconcile your differences. of course, we have always done regular order, so we welcomed that. we welcomed back the order of conference committees. i think that transparency goes to the process of the american people. so the regular order is going to be. house passed the bill. senate passed the bill. and that was the end of the call to regular order. after the house passed its bill, you remember -- you remember, right? the republicans were saying no budget, no pay. as far as the senate was concerned. when are they going to pass the bill? well, only a matter of weeks. nonetheless, both houses passed the legislation. then we said, ok, regular order. we now go to negotiate at a conference table. for around six months, nearly six months, republicans have refused to negotiate. they have refused to negotiate

mr. boehner said we want regular order said speaker boehner and leader mcconnell. the house passed its budget bill . republicans started saying like, no budget, no pay to the senate. but the senate planned to and did passed its budget bill. that would be the regular order. now we go to the table to reconcile our differences. the minute the senate passed its bill, the republicans abandoned any interest in the regular order. why? maybe they were afraid that people would see the contrast of what they wanted to do in their budget compared to the investment in the future, the statement of our national values that our democratic proposal had under chairwoman patty murray in the senate and chris van hollen in the house. whatever the reason, for six months, they have not wanted to negotiate. and for six months they are saying, the president doesn't want to negotiate. but they are the ones who had the responsibility under the regular order of the house to come to the budget table to reconcile our differences. i salute the president for saying that the full faith and credit

mr. collegiality. he has increased his national brand tremendously through this and his fundraising lists. >> you're a republican but not a big supporter of him. >> i am with the folks like mitch mcconnellnd john cornyn. that other senator from texas where he's from who said this is not going to happen and we're not going to go along with this tactic. i kind of like to for congress to do things that are actually based in reality. drama, i like in theater. in my deliberative body in my legislative body i like to get some action that can actually be implemented. but that's just me. >> you and about 250 million people out there. >> no, not 250 million. >> but skepticism about the health care program is growing. opposition to the health care program is significant. as it is implemented, and i'll ask the governor this because he's a doctor and a chief executive of the state, as it is implemented even if in ten years people look back and say it was near perfect, as it's implemented there are going to be hick cups and problems. the bureaucracy will make mistakes. people will be hassled because they have to change this or that. the republicaning view that as their great organizing opportunity f

mcconnell and then senator barack obama. both of them supported this back in 2008. i owe thanks to every co-sponsor. and i owe special thanks to mr. chay from st. louis, without whose help this wouldn't be possible today. to my colleagues who have raised issues about the vessel's safety, i hear you. safety must always be a top priority. let's discuss it. this vessel is equipped with a fully automated detection system sensors to er 300 detect heat and smoke. round-the art and clock watchmen patroling the vessel. and should be noted that the original legislation from 196 and i mentioned this before, was intended for ocean-going vessels. that's why it was called the safety at seas act, not safety on the river act. the delta queen is never more than a mile from shore and can be landed and evacuated in minutes if need be. fortunately, that's never been necessary with the delta queen. 80 years in travel and 60 on the rivers of mississippi and ohio. ocean-going vessels, we are talking about vessels that are hundreds of miles, perhaps even 1,000 miles from land. in this case we are talking never more than one mile. that's why the delta q

mr. dleej ycollegiality. he has increased his national brand tremendously through this and his fundraising lists. >> you're a republican but not a big supporter of him. >> i am with the folks like mitch mcconnell and john cornyn. that other senator from texas where he's from who said this is not going to happen and we're not going to go along with this tactic. i kind of like to for congress to do things that are actually based in reality. drama, i like in theater. in my deliberative body in my legislative body i like to get some action that can actually be implemented. but that's just me. >> you and about 250 million people out there. >> no, not 250 million. >> but skepticism about the health care program is growing. opposition to the health care program is significant. as it is implemented, and i'll ask the governor this because he's a doctor and a chief executive of the state, as it is implemented even if in ten years people look back and say it was near perfect, as it's implemtd there are going to be hick cups and problems. the bureaucracy will make mistakes. people will be hassled because they have to change this or that. the republicaning view that as their great organizing opportunity fo

republican leader mitch mcconnell and fellow kentuckian senator rand paul came to the floor to discuss the health care law and why they feel it should be defunded. this is 20 minutes. >> mr. president i would say to my friend from kentucky i have had over 50 hospital town hall meetings in our state over -- you and i have done a couple of these together and as a health care professional yourself looking at it from a hospital health care provider point of view which you and i both had either you and your profession or by me being in these hospitals a lot over the last couple of years earned a good bit. what do you think is the most devastating impact of obamacare on the provider world? >> you know i have talked to a lot of doctors and i have been in town halls with you at different hospitals. the hospitals are concerned that if everybody is on medicaid they will go out of business. many hospitals bottom line is they can take care of the poor for medicaid but they rely on private insurance to make a profit and hospitals in most communities have to make a profit to stay in business of the rural hospitals particularly in small areas some of them have already gone bankrupt in

mcconnell,r, mitch announcing he would not support any airstrikes on syria. your take on that and the president this evening? foremost, i want to say i do not mean any disrespect for mr. obama. i absolutely do not support military intervention in syria. for one, we have millions of our own issues in the united states. andher reason is russia china and their possible conflict. i personally think we should avoid any conflict of russia and china and even iran. i do not see how us going into syrians, is not going to lead to more conflict and war casualties. are all the snipers? why can't we just take out assad? it will not help because they are being protected underground in bunkers. i believe we are only going to kill more innocent civilians. >> thanks for the call. and for all of you with your thoughts and comments. in a moment, another chance to watch the president lost speech from the east room of the white house, the ninth time he has addressed the country in primetime, and the first time since israel action. state,mer secretary of hillary clinton, who received the liberty award, presented by former governor jeb bush -- the entire event will be airing on the c-span

minority leader mcconnell to express their support for this legislation, and i would ask unanimous consent to put that into the record at this time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, thank you. and the reason that they wrote this kind of letter is that the american council on energy-efficient economy has estimated that just ten of the efficiencies amendments, most of which were introduced and heard by our energy subcommittee on june 25, would increase the number of jobs created by 2030 by 10,000. 10,000 jobs, and we have just 10 10 -- ten of those amendments that would make that kind of difference, and the amendments would increase energy savings by over 10% and increase the annual savings in 2030 by $1.5 billion. now, mr. president, i don't think you find this kind of coalition, the business roundtable, the national association of manufacturers, the leading environmental groups, that is not exactly a coalition that comes together for every important energy issue, every important environmental question all the time, but they're there on this one, and they're there to a great extent because they understand that modernizing energy policy and h

. >> senator mitch mcconnell and senator rand paul came to the floor to discuss the health care law and why they feel it should be defunded. this is 20 minutes. >> mr. president, to say to my friend from kentucky. i have had over 50 hospital town hall meetings in our state over the last year and a half. you and i have done a couple of these together. as a health care professional of yourself, looking at it from a hospital and health care provider, which you and i both have, what do you think is the most devastating impact of obamacare on the world? >> but if you look at the different hospitals, many of them will go out of business. many of the bottom ones are driven by this, but they rely upon private insurance to make a profit. hospitals in most communities have to make a profit to stay in rofit.ss. hospitals in most communities have to make a profit to stay in business. so these hospitals particularly in small areas, some of them have already gone bankrupt in kentucky. they are very concerned about people shifting from private insurance to public assistance. the president says it will be free, but it has a cost. we all pay for higher taxes and th