mrs. shaheen: mada mr. presideni rise today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join together to prevent an irresponsible government shutdown. the american people did not elect us to shut down the government. mrs. hagan: democrats and republicans in both the house and the senate must tighten the federal government t belt just like americans are doing every day at their titchen -- can i haven tables. as we all know, our escalating national debt is our country's most pressing problem. our country's current fiscal course is simply unsustainable. in just the last ten years, our federal dwebt has risen from roughly a third of our gross domestic product to nearly two-thirds of g.d.p. in 2010. based on the nonpartisan congressional budget office estimates, without proactive action by congress, that percentage will continue to increase over the next ten years with public debt expected to reach 90% of g.d.p. in 2020. meanwhile, nearly half of our current debt is owned by china and other foreign credi

mrs. shaheen: i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. roberts: madam president, i am going to speak for approximately four minutes during morning business. i had originally intended on 15, but i'm going to do that tomorrow on another subject, but if i could be recognized for four minutes, that's my -- the presiding officer: without objection. mr. roberts: i thank -- i thank you, madam president. madam president, changing the subject a little bit, i know it's pretty serious business talking about a government shutdown and things of this nature that affect all americans, and i certainly hope we can reach some accommodation. i just want to do a little bragging on behalf of my home state. as of this morning. we're pretty proud of our basketball heritage in kansas, but i note that we have not received national recognition to the extent that i think we should in regards to a recent accomplishment that i'd like to highlight, so i rise today to congratulate the wichita state university shockers. the shockers won the 2011 men's national invitatio

mrs. shaheen: will my colleague yield for a question? mr. isakson: certainly. mrs. shaheen: i appreciate your kind remarks. don't you think if we had that biannual budget process in place right now that we would not be here on the floor of the senate debating whether we're going to have a shutdown? that we would have a budget process that was going forward. and, as you point out, we'd have next year to provide oversight and accountability on that budget and we'd have the dependability and certainty that the businesses and the people of this country are looking for? mr. isakson: there's no question that the senator is correct. and what we need -- we are predictably unpredictable as a body right now. today is a good example. we need to be predictably predictable on how we can spend our money. we need to do what the american people do. they sit around their kitchen table, they prioritize what goes in and what goes out and they balance their budget because they have to. we need to have the same discipline the american people have. i again thank the distinguished senator.

mrs. shaheen: thank you, mr. president. and i want to thank senators murray and mikulski, for gathering us here today and all of my colleagues who are here. i'm proud to be able to join them. tomorrow we're expected to be voting on house proposals to defund planned parenthood and the affordable care act. these resolutions have been offered not because anyone argues that they create jobs or improve health care, but because house republicans were willing to shut down the federal government if they did not receive a vote on planned parenthood and health care. so that's right. even though shutting down the government would have meant furloughing 800,000 people, including members of the military, they were willing to shut down the government. this kind of a threat, especially in a recession, is irresponsible. planned parenthood is a a a critical provider of -- is a critical provider of women's health care especially to low-income individuals. 1.4 million medicaid patients around the country, mostly women, but not all women, depe

shaheen, snowe. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. mikulski: thank you. mr.nt, we come to the floor with a heavy heart and great sadness. geraldine ferraro, a former member of the united states house of representatives, a congresswoman from new york, who was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for vice president, has lost her gallant and persistent fight against cancer and has passed away. i really thank the leadership for offering a resolution noting the many contributions that she made to america and express the condolences for her family. because, you see, mr. president, for we women before 10geri was a force of nature, a powerhouse. she changed the face of politics. she changed theay women thought of themselves and what we believed we could accomplish. on july 11, 1984, when mo walter mondale called geri ferraro and sctd her to be his vice-presidential running mate, an amazing thing happened: they took down the men-only sign on the white house. they took down the men-only sign on the white house. for geri and all american women, there was no

mrs. shaheen: thank you, mr. president.and i want to thank senators murray and mikulski, for gathering us here today and all of my colleagues who are here. i'm proud to be able to join them. tomorrow we're expected to be voting on house proposals to defund planned parenthood and the affordable care act. these resolutions have been offered not because anyone argues that they create jobs or improve health care, but because house republicans were willing to shut down the federal government if they did not receive a vote on planned parenthood and health care. so that's right. even though shutting down the government would have meant furloughing 800,000 people, including members of the military, they were willing to shut down the government. this kind of a threat, especially in a recession, is irresponsible. planned parenthood is a a a critical provider of -- is a critical provider of women's health care especially to low-income individuals. 1.4 million medicaid patients around the country, mostly women, but not all women, depen

mr. chairman. cementer shaheen. >> admiral stavridis come at tunnell kehler, i'm sorry i missed your testimony but i delighted to be here and have you both here and a general kehler, it's nice to have you here as the commander for the first time of stratcom but most of my questions on nato and related civil director general stavridis. >> and general kehler is going to put in a request to laws testified with me. >> i'm not surprised. but i only have one libya questions that should make you feel better. i want to pick up on the concern raised by senator collins about the arab involvement and the mission in libya and i share the commitment expressed about maximizing d engagement on the part of the arab allies and what's happening in libya and i know some have expressed concern that having the mission led by nato might discourage some of our arab allies from participating. can you tell me if that is your view and when you have heard from arab countries about nato's leading the mission? >> i can't, senator, i don't agree on the statement shifting the mission to nato will reduce arab participation and i

shaheen. senator graham. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you both for your service to our country. i don't really know where to begin because i'm more depressed than i ever thought i would be after listening to the plan. but we have to move forward, and we will. and i'm hopeful and pray that gadhafi does leave. let's start with the idea of al qaeda taking over libya. i may be wrong, but i'm just not overly worried about that. i just don't believe that all these people have risen up against gadhafi because he was not tough enough or that he wasn't enough like al qaeda. did either one of you believe the libyan people would stand for an al qaeda-led libya? >> there's absolutely no evidence to support that. >> no, i don't. >> i mean, it makes no common sense, does it, that they would tolerate it? >> i mean, the reality is that fires we have faced in afghanistan and some al qaeda members have come from libya. >> that's right. >> particularly eastern libya, but that's a different story than the people of libya wanting al qaeda. look, the real power in libya is in the hands of these tribe

shaheen, a senator from the state of new hampshire, to perform the duties of the chai. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 11:00 a.m. today. the majority will control the first half of that. the republicans will control the second half. at 11:00 a.m., the senate will road to executive session to debate two prospective judges, john kronstadt. there will be a vote on the nomination of the kronstadt nomination. the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 for the weekly kay caucus luncheons. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: as the senate gets back to work this week, it's worth noting that a seed change has taken place in washington over the past few weefntle just two months ago the president proposed a vision of government thaig noard the fiscal crisis virtually eve

lieberman, senator shaheen and me in supporting a sustained investment in k-12 stem teacher quality and in raising the status of the teaching profession through the stem master teacher corps act. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the bill's text be included in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. franken: mr. president, i'd also like to take a moment to congratulate the university of minnesota duluth men's hockey team for capturing their firs first-ever ncaa division i championship. the umd intul dogs faced off against -- bulldogs faced off against the michigan wolverines in st. paul this past saturday and, wow, it was an amazing game. over 19,000 fans packed the xcel energy center to watch a nail biter really, is what it was. goaltender shawn hunwick of michigan and umd's kenny ryder kept the game close, neither allowing a goal in the third period and sending the game into overtime. stuck at 2-2, bulldog travis oliesuk gathered the puck behind the michigan goal just three minutes into the extra period with the puck in his back -- on his backhand, oelisuk slid a pass in front of the net to hard-charging teammate kyl schmidt of hermantown, minnesota.

hereby appoint the honorable jeanne shaheen, a senator from the state of new hampshire, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, following any leader remarks there will be a period of morning business until 11:00 a.m. with republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half. following morning business the senate will proceed to consideration of h.r. 4, 1099 repeal, with one hour of debate. senators should expect two roll call votes around noon on the menendez amendment and passage of h.r. 4 as amended, if amended. we will recess following the votes until 2:15 p.m. for the weekly caucus meetings. we're working to reach an agreement on the small business bill, and we'll notify senators when additional votes are scheduled. madam president, i'm standing in this morning for the majority leader reid who has been called to the white house for a meeting with the president and the leadership, the speaker and leadership in the house of representatives. the object of this is obviously to