mr. menendez, that speaker boehner is working on his own version of a plan at this moment.ey have been rallying support. last night showing a clip from "the town" movie and that's the way he wants to take this, so i don't think your republican colleagues across the aisle are interested in following senator reid's approach, are they? >> well, speaker boehner's approach which by the way, congressional budget office scored as far insufficient, even for his own goals. he's retooling it. secondly, it cuts far less than senator reid. it does far less than senator reid's does in the first couple of years, andç so in every respect it puts us back in this quagmire in six months which the nation should not withstand nor can our economy withstand and so i think he needs to put up for his caucus, his plan, send it to the senate and show that it cannot pass in the senate, be amended and send back by senator reid's proposal and ultimately that will be their decision. do they pass in essence what they asked for which is a debt ceiling that is fully paid for by cuts and no revenues. >> ju

mr. menendez: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: mr. president, there are no easy answers to our current dilemma. the majority leader's proposal is the best option we have to overcome the bipartisan impasse. failure to increase the debt limit is not an option. working families can -- can't afford the increased costs associated with default and seniors can't afford not to have their social security payments. in my time as a mayor, as a state legislator, as a member of the house of representatives and now as a senator, i have learned that there are times when one needs to stand and fight and there are other times when one needs to reach a compromise. i'm not comieted about the decisions we are being forced to make, but i think the majority leader has crafted a proposal that can bring the two parties together and avoid economic disaster without destroying medicare, social security and other priorities of working families. and if you compare that to speaker boehner's proposal, that

mr. menendez: mr. president, i -- i regret that our colleagues have objected to consent to go to some of the most critical issues the country are facing, to have the finance committe meet on trade agreements that could expand markets and ultimately create jobs here in america, and that's what we need in america is creating jobs. that on the question of whether there should be a limited use of force that the country and particularly the senate should spk and not being able to do that is pretty amazing to me. and so i hear a lot about wanting to get the people's work done but then i hear objections to trying to move on get the people's work done. it's a pretty -- pretty outrageous. mr. presiden i want to -- i came originally to the floor after this vote to thank president obama for yesterday calling and echoing my call to end subsidies for big oil. it's a call that received a bipartisan vote here in the sete, a bipartisan majority vote here in the senate, but, of course, did not pass. did not as if becau

mr. mendez. -- menendez. >> i appreciate the witnesses' expertise and insights. the urgent need for tax reform as well as the direction in which we need to move is agreed, and that is a lower corporate rate and a territorial tax system that does not impose a second layer of taxation on u.s. companies. the u.s. really is an outsider when you look at that. we have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world and other g.a. nations. we are the only one now that have a worldwide tax system. -- g8 nations. that combination makes it difficult for u.s. companies to compete. i would hope that we would take into consideration the testimony provided by our witnesses today and look at lowering rates, broadening the base, and putting american companies in a position where they can compete better globally. this may be a tough question to answer, but i would be interested in knowing from each of you if there's any targeted tax benefits that you would be willing to give up if it were necessary to do so? in order to lower our corporate tax rate to a level commensurate with

mr. menendez: mr. president, i rise today deeply concerned that our republican colleagues in their ideological haze have lost sight of the facts and the real people at home whose lives will be affected by the choices we make. they are lost in an ideological haze a political dust storm that is distorting the facts and confusing process and policy with political propaganda. as the conservative columnist david brooks has said -- quote -- "a normal republican party would seize the opportunity to put the country on a sound fiscal footing." he calls it -- quote -- "the mother of no-brainers," but it is true as many have said that this republican party is not your grandfather's republican party. it is not even ronald reagan's republican party. this republican party is so far to the right that it cannot even see the center where ideologies converge and good governance begins. this republican party sees the process of governing as one-sided, their side and no other. today, those on the far right wave the consti

mr. chairman. >> senator menendez. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you all the witnesses.ou know, i'd like to ask, you know, have you seen the cfpb's know before you owe effort? >> i have read about it. i have not actually looked at it. >> have you seen that at all mr. calhoun? >> yes, i have. >> my understanding is it an effort to simplify the mortgage disclosure form to someone who practiced a good time in that field and i'm happy to see the mortgage disclosure forms simplified. >> is the new form being proposed by the cfpb and going to consumer testing right now better than the two existing forms under respa and tilla? >> yes, and my understand something that it has received accolades from both those consumer advocates as well as mortgage lenders and we looked at it through the lens of both being affiliated with a substantial mortgage lender, and it's a place where, again, consolidating the authority is what you had for literally more than a decade. you had hud and the federal reserve with both having authority in that area, and being unable to agree on even a simple di

mr. woodall, you're apparently universally loved. [laughter] >> i may have a question for you later, but we'll see. thank you. >> senator menendez. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me in this atmosphere that we're in here in washington, let me strike a bipartisan note is senator corker and say to you, mr. gruenberg, his observation about community banks and just banks in general, you know, we're sitting on the committee saying to those institutions particularly those that we helped save in 2008 we'd like to see lend and we listen to a chorus of voices everything you're asking us to do we're being told differently by examiners. the question is how do you strike the pendulum and for those of us who had to cast the votes to change the force of 2008. we won't want to see that again. by the same token, many of us have the observations that the pendulum has swung so far that we are creating a crisis in terms of getting access to capital and moving this marketplace and creating an economy that can thrive against. without that access to capital it's not going to happen. and if i've listened to one bank president or board of directors aft

menendez. senator thune. >> thank you, mr. chairman. for holding the hearing today and senator hatch, i think this is -- i appreciate our witnesses being willing to offer your expertise and insights. i think it's interesting that all four of the witnesses today agree on both the urgent need for tax reform as well as the direction in which we need to move, and that is a lower corporate rate and territorial tax system that doesn't impose a second layer of taxation on the foreign earnings of u.s. companies. and also pointing out that the united states really is an outliar when you look at that. we got the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. we are the only one now that has a worldwide tax system. i think the combination of those two factors make it very difficult for u.s. companies to compete. as we begin to look at changing a tax reform bill, i hope we take into consideration the testimony provided by our witnesses today and look at lowering rates, broadening the base, and putting american companies in a position where they ca

menendez. >> thank you, mr. chairman. gentlemen, thank you for coming. i have read your testimony with interest. let me start with mr. duke. you have my former chief of staff working for you now and i can come to be proselytized because if he read one more e-mail that says save money, look better , wow. talk about branding, i'll tell you. it is ingrained in my brain. he does a great job for you and did a great job for me. let me pick up on a point that we had a hearing yesterday and it was a deficit hearing. and my colleague, senator conrad made a -- what i thought was a very good point. he pointed out that interest rates matter. and he said a sustained one point increase in interest rates would cost the federal government more than a trillion dollars over the next decade. that's from the governmental side. and i noticed that you were one of those c.e.o.'s who signed the chamber of commerce letter warning of the danger of default and, in part, that letter says "treasuries, securities influence the cost of financing noth just for companies but more import

mr. woodall bellmon you are apparently universally loved. [laughter] i may have a question for you later. senator menendez? >> thank you mr. chairman. me in this atmosphere we are in what may strike a bipartisan note with senator corker and say to you senator corker the observation about community banks and banks in general, we are sitting on the committee saying to those institutions particularly that we helped save in 2008 we would like to see you when it and listen to voices that say everything you want us to do we're being told different by examiners so the question is how to strike the pendulum and the right way and i'm talking about speculative lending obviously for those that had to cast the votes to change the course of 2008 we don't want to see that again by the same token many of us have the observations the pendulum has swung so far that we are creating a crisis in terms of getting access to capital and moving this marketplace creating an economy that can thrive again. without the access to capital is not going to happen again. if i listened to one bank president or board of directors after another, i get a common thread

menendez. >> thank you, gentlemen. i have with interest read your testimony. mr. duke, you have my former chief of staff working for you now. i have come to be pro's la tiesed. talk about branding. i will tell you. it is ingrained. but he does a great job for you and did a great job for me. let me pick up on a point. we had a hearing yesterday, and it was a deficit hearing. my colleague, senator conrad, made what i thought is a very good point. he pointed out that interest rates matter. he said a sustained one point increase in interest rates would cost the federal government more than $1 trillion over the next decade. that is from the governmental side. i noticed you were one of the c.e.o.'s who signed the chamber of commerce letter warning of the danger of default. it says it increases the cost of financing not only for companies, but other areas. it would cause a host of unintended con conferences. my question is, beyond what it will cost the government, what would be the impact of a default on interest rates for your customers? and if they are increased by thi

now, i think we do proceed to senator menendez's amendment. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this is amendment number 6 which i've asked unanimous consent to modify basically narrowing the reporting requirements by eliminating section c line 6 to 13. this amendment is pretty simple. and i would hope we would have the support of all of our colleagues. on december 21st, 1988, pan am 103 exploded over lockerbie scotland. 12 years later, the individual who was convicted of conspiracy for planting the bomb that brought down the flight was sent to serve a life sentence in august of 2009, he was released on compassionate grounds by the scottish government who said he has less than three months to live today approaching two years he remains live and in tripoli. these families have been searching for justice and for answers for more than 20 years. and the rupture of the gadhafi government presents a real opportunity to learn who ordered the bombing. who collected the intelligence to carry out the plan? who made the bomb and in addition to the bomber who bears responsibility for this a

as i said to senator menendez, those kinds of specific policy decisions are going to have to be worked out by the folks who are elected to do that. >> senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman, and, mr. bernanke, thank you for your testimony, and thank you for your hard work and all that you are doing right now. >> thank you. >> 10 years in the state senate in north carolina, our budget, we did everything possible to keep a aaa credit rating in the state because we knew the consequences if we did not, the increase of our interest rates on our debt, and i just think the american people deserve better than what they are seeing right now from the lack of inaction, the inability for democrats and republicans to come together right now and help solve this issue, so i am extremely concerned about it, as i know the american people are, and i think that feeling to create -- raise the debt ceiling will cause problems for our economy, which you have been discussing today, and problems that might require accommodative monetary policy from the fed, and understand that the federal funds rate cannot be lowered in any other meaningful way and that one of the fed responses to an

mr. menendez: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: mr. president, i know we're on the milcon appropriation bill but i did not want to lose the opportunity to talk about a pressing issue before the country today and that is how we will work to resolve the nation's obligations to its creditors and what the failure of doing that means to the nation and to each and every american. and so, mr. president, i rise to ask a simple question of my republican colleagues: when is an entitlement not an entitlement? apparently, given the rhetoric and actions of some of our friends on the other side of the aisle, the answer would be that an entitlement is not an entitlement when it benefits an entitled class of wealthy americans. in the republicans' ideological haze that is swirling around washington these days, it's only an entitlement when it goes to the middle-class families, to students, to seniors, to the disabled, to the do

mr. menendez: mr. president, i came to the floor, i heard an interesting colloquy going on between my colleagues, my friend from utah and my friend from alabama, and i saw that my name was invoked so i thought i would come to the floor and maybe elucidate for them and set the record a little bit straight. number one is i am no longer the chair of the democratic senatorial campaign committee, so my focus in ending the tax breaks that the big five oil companies in this country get to the tune of $21 billion, of $21 billion, $21 billion that the taxpayers of this country give in essence to the big five oil companies who will make make $144 billion in profits this year, i just simply think don't need it in order to be able to achieve what the marketplace has allowed them to do, and i'm happy for them. i'm happy for all their stockholders and shareholders and everyone else, but they don't need $21 billion of the taxpayers' money and two breaks. which, by the way, they describe them as these poor oil compani