to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable richard blumenthal, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following any leader remarks the senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur in the house memg to accompany s. 627, which is the legislative vehicle for the debt limit increase, with the time until 1:00 f.p.l. equally divided. about 1:00 p.m. then, the senate will vote to invoke cloture on the house message to accompany the reid amendment. no matter the outcome of this vote, mr. president, the message will still be before this body. this is -- if there is an agreement that can be met, this is the vehicle to be used to send it back to the house. mr. president, as the clock ticks down to august 2, i remind everyone within the sound of my voice what really is at stake. at this very moment, millions of seniors across this great count

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable patrick j. leahy, a senator from the state of vermont to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: as a side note, i'm happy to see the second ranking member of the united states senate presiding. the people of vermont have been so fortunate to have you and your wisdom and your -- mr. mcconnell: if the gentlemen would yield, i expect he hasn't done that for 30 years. mr. reid: i thought it would be nice to comment on the fact that's reserved for more junior members. it's nice that my friend from vermont would be here. following any leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur in the house message to accompany s. 626, the legislative vehicle for the debt limit increase. time from 1:30 until 8:00 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. mr. president, republican leaders

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: mr. president, while the distinguished senator from michigan is here on the floor, who is one of the best legal minds in the senate, i wanted to engage him to further take us through the delay tactics that are presently now underway. given the fact that we have a solution right underneath our noses, a solution that is so close between the two opposite sides that all we'd have to do is to have a majority vote or all we'd have to do is to have a few republican senators. but we are engaged in this stalling tactic that is literally going to take us all night. and i would like to ask the distinguished senator from michigan, given the rules, given the fact that a filibuster is now underway, what can the minority here in the senate hope to achieve since we are so close to agreement? mr. levin: the reason that people filibuster is to try to defeat a measure and stalling, delaying a vote here is much worse than just defeating a measure. it is defeating the american economy. it will be p

quite frankly, i think that's going to happen in the senate. i've talked to enough republican colleagues to know that we are talking about a true compromise so that we can move forward and not threaten the debt of this nation. >> all right. that was senator ben cardin, democratic senator ben cardin. i want to the go to brianna keilar. have you new information on why this happened? >> well, don, i just think it's important to lend some contempt to really what this allows. we now throughout today a lot of the discussion following the votes on capitol hill about really the negotiations of a potential deal have been between the white house in the form of vice president joe biden and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who spent years together in the senate very familiar with each other and biden, of course, led those biden talks that went on for months and sketched out a framework between democrats and republicans. i think it's important to note just in how things could play out or really what this means with the delay in the vote. but delaying t

the senate action about to begin. d to lay out where he will take the debate next. and a n a moment, john thune of south dakota. let's go to the white house where the president is reacting. jessica yellin is standing by. >> reporter: the president has not himself put out a statement. but john carney said the house vote, if passed, forces us into another crisis. they say that it's dead on arriv arrival. that is a quote. and it pushes forward to senator reid's bill and the it calls on the democrats in the senate to find common ground. they want it to head to the senate where it's headed and they want it to happen as quickly as possible. is there enough time to get it done in the remaining hours? there is no plan. the officials have made it clear, if it is productive, it can happen. it's no so close. >> jessica yellin, a good question. would it be productive. john thune, if you are an average american watching the home, why does the house have to plant the flag knowing the democratic senate will not pass it and the democr

approach on which i believe the senate could find the ground of compromise? what senator reid has proposed i believe has cuts that republicans have supported. maybe not quite enough yet so maybe we can negotiate that. mr. coburn: let me reclaim my time. mr. kerry: absolutely. mr. coburn: there are absolutely no cuts in either what senator reid or speaker boehner proposed in the discretionary spending. the spending will rise $832 billion over the next two years -- ten years in the discretionary accounts. now, only in washington is that a cut. and, quite frankly, i'm willing to work with my colleagues. i've been out there. i say we have to move and eliminate some of tse loopholes, that we have to reform the tax code. i'milling to take the heat from my side on tt. i don't have any problem. what i'm not willing to take any more is a senate that won't work on the details of the specific problems. and what i'm trying to do is to outline where the problems are. where is the -- and we didn't do it when we were in charge either, senator kerry. there's been a failure of

announcement, senator reid's announcement that the 1:00 a.m. e pushed by 12 hours until 1:00 p.m. tomorrow? >> well, obviously, as senator reid said, the republicans have chosen to go into their next play act in this theater and in this drama, which is to filibuster. which is outrageous on such an important issue as raising the debt ceiling. i have to say, also, that, you know, when you hear that this deal is being put forth now, perhaps in the image of senator mcconnell, we have to think about what that deal may look like. and of course, we must remember that senator mcconnell, i think it was back in october of last year, said that his first priority was to make sure that this was a one-term presidency for president obama. secondly, we have not heard much about jobs. when you talk about any deal that is being put together, we know in terms of deficit reduction the way you reduce the deficit is by investment in job creation. that discussion is not even on the table. and that is a shame and disgrace, given the huge unemployment rates that the --

for the measure in the senate. is it a slam dunk at all and conversely to win over the republicans, they would look at deeper spending cuts than the ones envisioned and up front them a little bit more. a lot of republicans said no, that doesn't cut it. mike emanuel is following the soap opera. what do we make? >> the sticking points are the triggers. in english that is enforcement. what forces them to make substantial cuts down the road. three republicans and democrats in the house and in the senate. but what if they can't agree? democrats say we put tax hikes as a trigger to force republicans to the table . republicans are saying spending cut to force the democrats to the table. it is a scum with senator chuck schumer. we have to have tax hikes as a trigger. why would we put a sacred cow on the table and not have the republicans do the same. we have debt-cutting deadlines to meet them every year. if we are not getting there, we want the option of being able to raise taxes to get us there. and republicans want the o

it was doa in the senate. ng me is talk show host joe madison and bob schrum, professor at nyu. what is your reaction to boehner's speech this evening on the house floor? >> he didn't get much of the tea party supporters. i thought about an analogy here. it was based on the interview you did with the congressman before barney frank. these people want to go backwards. they try to give the impression that they are going forward. that is what boehner is trying to do. we are moving forward, we are moving forward. they would give michael jackson a run for doing the moon walk. if you ever watch michael jackson doing the moon walk, he gives the impression of going forward when he is really going backwards. that is what the people in boehner's district that you just pointed out, i grew up in dayton, ohio, not far from that district. people there want jobs. he knows darn well that what is going to happen with his policy is that we are going to go back to those days that the congressman talked about. this is a moral cris

it won't get to the president's desk. there are 58 senators who said they would oppose the boehner bill, which makes it less popular than congressman ryan's budget, than the cut, cap and balance plan everyone knew was dead on arrival in the senate. we have to get rid of the political statements, the political games, and get something done. you just need house republicans be willing to do something other than say, as i read this morning, the boehner bill is take it or leave it, we will stick the default on the president. that's not the way we govern in this country. that's not the right thing to do. >> dan pfeiffer, thank you very much. the very latest from the white house. thanks for coming. >>> if the boehner bill does clear the house as is expected now, senate majority leader harry reid says the senate will vote on it tonight and defeat it. republican senator mike crapo serves on the budget committee and you have spent months trying to work out compromises as a charter member of the gang of six. you know how this works behind the scenes. you

in the u.s. senate to find common ground on a plan that can get support from both parties. and the statement goes on by-to-say by tuesday, which is the day by which the u.s. could face possible default if there's not a deal. bottom line, all eyes focused on two men. senator mitch mcconnell and senator harry reid. no matter what is going on with the house of representatives and their game to try to vote on the reid bill tomorrow, the focus here will be on whatever compromise can be hatched between reid and mcconnell this evening or over the weekend to forge some kind of compromise on a negotiated bill that could get through the u.s. senate with 60 vote in the coming days and basically be jammed to the house before that tuesday deadline. >> as painful as this has been today, is the house encouraged by the fact that this hurdle has now been cleared? house republicans are able to make a statement and can move to the next stage? is there a sense of saying this is progress, even if it's progress we don't want

the senate. not going to happen. not now not ever. it's already drawn a veto threat from president obama. nevertheless as this deadline looms closer and closer, with those terrible consequences portended, the house republican extremists have forced this piece of political theater while ignoring serious and constructive proposals for deficit reduction such as budget committee chairman kent conrad's plan which would reduce deficits by $4 trillion, more than the house's budget plan. we actually do better at solving the deficit than they do. but we do it with every dollar in spending cuts matched by a dollar in new revenue from closing tax loopholes and tax gimmicks. this plan would stabilize the budget would reassure the financial markets and would do so without cutting social security and medicare benefits on which our seniors rely and which all working americans are counting on. it's one of the basic freedoms we have as americans is to know that that is waiting for us. i was proud to introduce a ru

been in the senate so far. e go from here? >> well, we really have to figure out a compromise. the clock is ticking, there's only about four days -- less than four days left, really, before we start defaulting on our debt, not only do reid and mcconnell, although, listening to kent conrad, it seems it's supposed to be mcconnell and president obama, but the democrats and republicans here essentially have to negotiate a deal that can pass both the senate and the house, otherwise it really is economic armageddon and it's not looking good. >> ezra, the tea party desperately needed this balanced budget, constitutional amendment balanced budget attached to the debt ceiling increase, which i laugh at, because i know it's an utter absurdity, in fact, if they had this constitutional amendment in force, they would never have been able to have the bush tax cuts, because they wildly unbalanced the budget with those tax cuts. but i want to go into the balanced budget amendment itself and which version of it has -- is the one

it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> sean: joining me, pennsylvania senator pat toomey and new hampshire senator kelly ayotte is back with us. it seemed, let me ask you both this. senator ayotte, let me start with you. when harry reid said we should be allowed an up or down vote and harry reid and dick durbin and schumer all complaining about a filibuster when they just got ton tabling a bill without a vote the second time they have done it and haven't passed a budget in 8 hyundais won't put their bill on paper seems ironic to me. >> it is disingenuous. it is always a 60 vote threshold and they held republicans to a 60 vote threshold and blocked consideration of the only proposals passed which is the work has been done in the house of representatives by the republicans their cut cap and balance and the

under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of the house. >> there we have the senate majority leader harry reid and with me now is wolf blitzer. you just heard that harry reid said "we are close to an agreement, we are cautiously optimistic." that's what i heard earlier from senator mitch mcconnell. what do you make of it? >> i think harry reid and mitch mcconnell now seem to be on the same page. yesterday at this time they weren't. but they look to be on the same page right now. we still have to hear from the republicans in the house of representatives. speaker john boehner, nancy pelosi, of course the democratic leader, if this is going to pass, whatever they work out, and there's no deal until all aspects of the deal are put together. if it passes, they will lead a majority in the senate and a majority in the house of representatives. a lot of democrats will vote for -- if president is for this, a lot of democrats, most of the democrats, will vote for it in the house, but they'll still need a whole bunch of republicans. i don't think they'll get a majority of the r

reid: could we've order in the senate, please. the presiding officer: order in the senate. please. mr. majority leader. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. mr. president -- the presiding officer: clerk will report the pending motion. the clerk: calendar number 93, s. 1323, a bill to is reserve the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice in resolving the budget deficit. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: the senate has just adopted the motion to proceed to our bill to express the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. reid: mr. president, the senate has just adopt add motion to proceed to our bill to express the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice in resolving this budget deficit that we've been so concerned about. it is my understanding that the minority has amendments that they would like to have considered. i'm happy to work with the republican leader to figure out a way for this to happen. in the meantime, i need to push forward. we all immediate to push forward. so i'm goi

the house passed the john boehner bill, and the senate prompt the voted it down. we're waiting for senate majority leader harry reid to explain why that decision was taken. i'm here with wolf blitzer, my colleague. wolf, what is about to happen here? what is the explanation? is it as simple as, sorry, you are republicans, we didn't like the bill. we're democrats, we're not having it? >> it's not that simple. they have to come up with some compromise, some sort of plan that can pass the senate and go back to the house of representatives and pass there something that the president could sign that would allow the united states to raise the debt ceiling and avert some sort of financial disaster come tuesday. it's not simple at all, so they need to work together. the mainstream, main leadership, democrats and republicans, they need to find a way to come up with the bare minimum to get over this hump. it's a huge, huge obstacle, standing in the way of an mechanic recovery, if you will. so the stakes really are enormous. >> what we're waiting for here is senate majority l

the senate bill can't pass in the senate. the senate bill can't pass in the senate. mr. rockefeller: will the senator yield fao a question? mr. rubio: i'll yield. mr. kerry: i thank the senator for doing that. that's become somewhat unusual in the senate today. i truly appreciate it. i would ask the senator, as ironic as it may be that on occasion people in the past have indeed voted against a debt limit -- both republicans and democrats alike -- is it not true that in those situations those votes did not hold the nation hostage, did not come at a moment of enormous economic fragility as we are in today, and did not run the risk of default because it was going to pass overwhelmingly every time? is that not true? mr. rubio: to the senator from massachusetts, i would say two things. the first is that those votes -- put it to you this way. if the senator from illinois, senator obama, had had his way, we'd be in the same position that we are in now. i recognize the president has now said that the debt limit is -- he made a mistake and he wouldn't have said that were he here

. >> the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment number 589 to the house amendment to s-627. >> i ask yeas and nays on my motion. >> is there sufficient second? there appears to be sufficient second. >> i also, mr. president have a cloture motion which is at the desk. >> the clerk will report. >> cloture motion we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close a debate on the reid motion to concur in the house amendment to s 627 with an amendment numbered 589. >> bret: what is happening here on the senate floor, we just had a vote on the boehner bill, it passed with a vote of 59-41. they only needed a simple majority of 51. it's interesting that the number was 59 because it is short of what is the normal number needed for vote like this. which is 60. this was a special motion made by senate majority leader harry reid. it passes now. the boehner bill is tabled. this means that the boehner bill is put aside. but just t

it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> sean: joining me, pennsylvania senator pat toomey and new hampshire senator kelly ayotte is back with us. it seemed, let me ask you both this. senator ayotte, let me start with you. when harry reid said we should be allowed an up or down vote and harry reid and dick durbin and schumer all complaining about a filibuster when they just got ton tabling a bill without a vote the second time they have done it and haven't passed a budget in 8 hyundais won't put their bill on paper seems ironic to me. >> it is disingenuous. it is always a 60 vote threshold and they held republicans to a 60 vote threshold and blocked consideration of the only proposals passed which is the work has been done in the house of representatives by the republicans their cut cap and balance and the

it passed the senate, it is in the house. they could speed through a temporary increase of the deadline to try to work on a bigger deal if it came to that. >> sean: our good friend bret baier, host of "special report." thanks for being with us. >> thanks, sean. >> sean: joining me, pennsylvania senator pat toomey and new hampshire senator kelly ayotte is back with us. it seemed, let me ask you both this. senator ayotte, let me start with you. when harry reid said we should be allowed an up or down vote and harry reid and dick durbin and schumer all complaining about a filibuster when they just got ton tabling a bill without a vote the second time they have done it and haven't passed a budget in 8 hyundais won't put their bill on paper seems ironic to me. >> it is disingenuous. it is always a 60 vote threshold and they held republicans to a 60 vote threshold and blocked consideration of the only proposals passed which is the work has been done in the house of representatives by the republicans their cut cap and balance and the

in the house on senator reid's debt bill. legislation that's expected to get the political cold shoulder from the republicans. nbc's luke russert has the latest. >> reporter: good afternoon, richard. it's around 1:00 here on the west coast. the house has gaveled into session and essentially we are where we were this morning and last night. there is still no clear path for harry reid to garner the 60 votes he needs to file cloture on a debt limit extension plan. right now it does not seem he has republican support. as far as negotiations go, we have spoke on the a gop aide who said look, right now it's motionless until harry reid can tell us what president obama will sign into law. that being said, there are some other folks who say that mitch mcconnell and harry reid had discussions yesterday, that their staffs are in communications in an attempt to throw things by the white house on what they would like to do. but there is no clear path except for harry reid trying to convince maybe 8, 10, 12 republican senators to come on bo

what assuming that it does not pass the senate, then what? the leadership zit down with harry reid and try to work something out over the weekend? >> well, i think what ought to happen is that some point harry reid and some democrat senators ought to recognize that something's got to pass both chambers. the house has gone its work twice under this their owe which you and i both agree is likely to happen. when does the senate produce the plan that they'd be willing to vote on? what i'm hoping is that the senate democrats will recognize that you know, it probably ought to be something close to john boehner's plan. >> if john boehner's plan has a balanced budget amendment, we're told at least that's not going to be passed by the senate. that's pretty clear. >> i think when the american people weigh in on this we might get a slightly different outcome. remember the public overwhelmingly supports the idea of balancing our budget. the public overwhelmly supports a balanced budget amendment. the last time we had a democratic president he embraced th

he did it here on the senate floor. he said, "it is not fair for the american people to hold out and say we won't agree to raising the debt limit." he called the radical republican approach "unfair" and "bizarro." it is time we listened to the markets, he said. it is time we listened to the american people and sit down and seriously gorkt. -- and seriously negotiate. former senator fred thompson asked the members of his own party to come to theirences is. "i respectfully suggest that you rake in your chips and stuff them in your pockets." he believes that -- i hope my friend, senator mcconnell will come to me and help to move the process along. my door is open. i'll listen to any idea to get this done in a way that prevents a default and a downgrade to our country's credit rating. the time is short and that is an understatement. too much is at stake to waste even one more minute. the last train is leaving the station. this is our last chance to avert a default. the vote on this compromise will determine whether we enter

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. kirk: mr. president, i ask to suspend the quorum call and speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kirk: mr. president, i just want to once again extend my thanks to chairman johnson. this bill passed now by a vote of 97-2. it is the first appropriations bill separately passed by the senate since november of 2009. it represents a substantial achievement of bipartisan cooperation between the majority and minority. it meets the needs of our over 22 million veterans and the military construction needs of the army, navy, air force and allied services around the world. i'm very happy that the senate has begun working again on separate appropriations bills. i really want to commend our chairman, chairman inouye, and our vice chairman, chairman cochran, for getting this moving forward, as well as the leadership staff. and my only hope is that further subcommittees can bring other bills, and so as chairman johnson and i have done, to return regular order t

that's the plans that the house has put before the senate. e kettle have obviously never met the united states senate because every time that we do something they say no, and then they blame us. >> well, let's talk about what concessions you are willing to make to reach some sort of an agreement, sir. say a reasonable tax increase, perhaps, on the wealthy, along with cuts in defense and changes to entitlement programs? i mean, are these things that are on the table that you can go along with or not? >> well, i certainly think we need to protect and preserve our safety net programs, entitlement programs. we need to take a hard look at defense spending to make sure we're making appropriate cuts where it's responsible to do so. but nobody has yet to explain to me how increasing taxes creates jobs and that's our priority, how we get this economy moving forward. tax increases do not create jobs. >> give me an idea how this is all going to play out. >> you know, i think today we're going to have a great conversation, not only on the floor but workin

now live to the senate here on c-span2. eternal spirit, the fountain ofy blessing, hallowed be your name. in these tempestuous times, givr lawmakers strong minds, great h, and true faith. make them people whom the lust e does not kill or the spoils of office cannot buy. may they be people of honor who live above the fog in public duty and in private thinking. lord, empower them to use their gifts to magnify your name. may your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. our souls silently wait for you, oh god, for from you alone comes salvation. you alone are this nation's rock and sure defense. we pray in your great name. amen. the presiding officer: please e in reciting the pledge of al legiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clel read a communication to the sen. the clerk: washington d.c., july 22, 2011. to the senate: und

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider a nomination, which the clerk will now report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, j. paul oetken of new york to be united states district judge for the southern district of new york. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: today the senate will vote on the nomination of j. paul oetken to be united states district judge for southern district new york. today's vote marks the 28th judicial confirmation this year and i'm pleased that we're moving forward with filling another vacancy. when i became ranking member of the judiciary committee earlier this year, the court had 103 vacancies. i've worked with the chairman and other members of the committee to reduce vacancies by confirming consensus nominees. we have brought the vacancies down now to 89. based up

the reason that the senate desired to have that above one of the doors is so senators would be reminded that at this country's inception, he, god, smiled on our undertaking. and i can't help but wonder today, as the all-seeing eye of god symbolized here looks at what is going on, with our financial irresponsibility and our refusal to even debate becoming financially responsible in the senate, if he, god, continues to smile on our undertaking. some bank, for a joke one time, it sed, in god we trust, all others, we take cash. but in god we trust is our national motto. as i mention tods prime minister netanyahu, as he came down the aisle, before he took the podium to speak here, i said, keep in mind, the entire time you're addressing us, our national motto is above your head. he said, i've already thought about that. well, everybody in this body ought to think about it. our trust is in god. but does he have any trust in us? after what has been done, spending so much more than the amount we've been entrusted with as stewards. we've got to do better. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman ha

president, i join the senator from oklahoma in supporting the amendment which senator coburn had intended to propose. the amendment would have amended public law 102-4, the agent orange act of 1991 which i cosponsored to provide clarity on the factual basis required of the secretary of veterans affairs to make future determinations on the presumption of connection of military service in vietnam with diseases associated with exposure to the herbicide commonly known as agent orange. now, mr. president, agent orange was an unanticipated and certainly not something that at the time, given the scientific knowledge and information we had, that would be detrimental to the health of the men and women who were serving in the vietnam war. but the fact is agent orange did have a very serious health effect on the men and women who were serving and those who came in contact with it. and for years we delayed compensating our veterans for those who were exposed to agent orange. in 1991 the act was a long overdue answer to questions of the health effects of exposure to agent orange. it directed much dese

it's time a the senate does theirs. leader reid and president obama is what stands in the way of helping this debt crisis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. palazzo: vote no on the reid plan. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to insert in the record an article that appeared in "the wall street journal" today entitled "the debt limit hobbits." the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, is the gentleman prepared to close? i'm rry. mr. mcgovern: yes. our leader is prepared to close for us. the speaker pro tempore: then i'll close on ouside. i reserve the balance of my time -- mr. dreier: then i'll close on our side. i reserve the balance of my time. thspeaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from massacsetts. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i yield myself 15 seconds before i yield the remaining minute to -- the speaker pro tempore:

approach on which i believe the senate could find the ground of compromise? what senator reid has proposed i believe has cuts that republicans have supported. maybe not quite enough yet so maybe we can negotiate that. mr. coburn: let me reclaim my time. mr. kerry: absolutely. mr. coburn: there are absolutely no cuts in either what senator reid or speaker boehner proposed in the discretionary spending. the spending will rise $832 billion over the next two years -- ten years in the discretionary accounts. now, only in washington is that a cut. and, quite frankly, i'm willing to work with my colleagues. i've been out there. i say we have to move and eliminate some of these loopholes, that we have to reform the tax code. i'm willing to take the heat from my side on that. i don't have any problem. what i'm not willing to take any more is a senate that won't work on the details of the specific problems. and what i'm trying to do is to outline where the problems are. where is the -- and we didn't do it when we were in charge either, senator kerry. there's been a fail

this is a sense of the senate. this is a resolution which i think is a missed opportunity to actually deal with the issue rather than just pretend like we're treating it seriously. when the white house proposes that working families and small businesses, among others, suffer a $400 billion tax increase over the next ten years, it strikes me that in one sense this is like a diet where you say i'm going to give up dessert. i'm not going to eat dessert. but then you binge on the buffet. in other words, it's not real. it's not going to work. to put this in perspective, the federal government is currently borrowing $4 billion every day this year. so actually raising taxes in this amount while this only amounts to ten days of what washington spends, raising taxes by $400 billion over ten years. and while we can see that that is not a -- won't make a serious dent in the deficit and the debt, they are very serious job-killing proposals. it strikes me as just common sense to say if you want more jobs that you make it easier

president, members of the senate that's not true. i just spent two hours with the president, vice president, leader pelosi. and it's fair for me to say that the engagement there is not in any meaningful way. republican leaders still refuse to negotiate in good faith. revenue is off the calendar. no way we can talk about revenues. entitlements, all they are after is entitlements. medicare, social security. the speaker and republican leaders should know merely saying they have an agreement in front of the television cameras doesn't make it so. republican leader, the president says he's engaged. fortunately members of this caucus, at least as far as i'm concerned and my members are more engaged than so. there are meaningful talks with some of his members. while the republican leader is holding meaningless press conferences, his members are reaching out to me and other members as i've just indicated, they are coming forward with thoughtful ideas to try to move the process forward. i welcome their ideas. and i ask all members to continue t

around 8:20 this evening the senate voted down the bill passed in the house. t. it passed by a narrow margin. senator reid said it would be dead on arrival. he killed it. now republicans are blocking doe bait on reid's bill which he introduced to kill boehner's bill. house republicans have scheduled votes tomorrow on a new bill with language identical to senator reid's bill so they can be on record rejecting it. a short time ago i talked to congressman steve king a member of the tea party caucus who voted against the boehner bill in the house. >> congressman king, the bill that's been put forward by speaker boehner in the past makes more than 1 trillion in discretionary spending cuts, doesn't raise taxes, got provisions for finding more spending cuts down the road and calls for a balanced budget amendment all of which is in line with bedrock principles of conservative republicans. so why did you vote against it? >> the only thing we can really count on is what we can control in this next upcoming fiscal year of 2012. what it does it takes the $31 billion in cut

in the u.s. senate to find common ground on a plan that can get support from both parties. and the statement goes on by-to-say by tuesday, which is the day by which the u.s. could face possible default if there's not a deal. bottom line, all eyes focused on two men. senator mitch mcconnell and senator harry reid. no matter what is going on with the house of representatives and their game to try to vote on the reid bill tomorrow, the focus here will be on whatever compromise can be hatched between reid and mcconnell this evening or over the weekend to forge some kind of compromise on a negotiated bill that could get through the u.s. senate with 60 vote in the coming days and basically be jammed to the house before that tuesday deadline. >> as painful as this has been today, is the house encouraged by the fact that this hurdle has now been cleared? house republicans are able to make a statement and can move to the next stage? is there a sense of saying this is progress, even if it's progress we don't want

the senate made that clear. we should stop talking about the boehner bill as if it's some recipe for a solution here. it's dead on arrival. so what you're going to have to do is reconcile what's in reid and boehner, a lot of things the president has talked about in terms of spending cuts he would be willing to accept. that's where the compromise is. listen, you see what this is doing to our economy. in the section before you were talking about the angst. not just on wall street but on main street. the country doesn't want to go through this again. we need to do the responsible thing here, reduce the deficit in a way that doesn't have this debt ceiling theater hanging over the entire united states economy. >> the republican leadership is making the argument that by the bill that they're supporting with boehner is a compromise in their minds and they say the president needs to compromise on this issue of the debt ceiling in one chunk versus two chunks and if you look at the history of the debt ceiling increases, th

that was rejected in the senate. her proposal that will try to find the common ground. that will be rejected by the senate or vetoed by the president. frankly, i think the republicans are trying to put forward alternatives here to simply walking away from the debt ceiling issue and the debt crisis. i point out, the credit agencies made it clear, it's not raising the debt ceiling. if we raise the debt ceiling without fiscal reforms attached to it to show the credit markets of the world that we mean business. then they will probably still downgrade us. >> most republicans, at the moment, have a completely resolute view of taxation. most experts outside of america say of course that's what you have to do. until there's less by republicans on that key thing, how can you talk about a great reformation? >> first of all, the way we need to approach tax reform is to reduce rates and reduce the tax expenditures accordingly and grow the economy. that's the approach we took in the gang of six plan that is agreed to on a bipartis

the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kyl: i'd like to speak for a moment about some comments the distinguished majority leader gave this morning in his opening comments, and then talk a little bit about the general issue that we're faced here, frankly in an effort to see if we can come to common ground. let me start with a couple of things that the majority leader said this morning. he has talked more than once about the fact that in his view the republican leaders have wasted time by pursuing a proposal that they knew the senate wouldn't pass. i think there are two things to say about that. one can say the same thing about the majority leader's proposal. he knows that the senate will not pass that either, so you have two proposals, one by speaker boehner that passed the house of representatives but senator reid declared dead on arrival here and indeed it was tabled last night, and the other, the reid

they don't have the senate. don't have the white house and under our constitutional system you cannot govern from one house alone. given this reality, trying to force blocking minority into a governing authority is self-destructive in practice. has are your thoughts? >> the constitution does say it and if the senate doesn't produce a plan, the first time if they actually produce one this weekend to deal with the debt crisis. harry reid refuses to let senators debate the issue. we sent cut, cap and balance over there. the only plan ton avoid a credit downgrade. it's high time the senate have a debate. that's very constitutional. we thought the greatest deliberative body in the world. harry reid refuses. hopefully that will happen soon. >> and the words, you do control the house but we have divided government at this junk color a -- juncture. at this point you're being an obstructionist? >> the house is the only body that's actually produced a plan. we now sent two over to the senate. the senate has no plan. they'

caller: i watch you on the senate floor all the time. senate floor all the time. i wish you would consider running for president. we need you. you are probably one of the most honest men in our government. i wish you could consider one suggestion. i would like to see a bill past that there wouldn't be any campaigning until -- you couldn't possibly raise the money with us, and that would make it a lot better for our election system. thank you so much and please consider, please consider running. we would all vote for you. thank you. guest: the presidential race is 16, 18 months away. it is causing us not to focus on the problems at hand, and we are seeing people make decisions based on a re-election 16, 17 months from now. that's why i believe in term limits. i believe if we had term limits for the members of congress, you wouldn't see as much foolishness. people wouldn't be trying to gain advantage partisan wise. they are -- we have seen a difference in how things work. the angst would be less. people would be coming here to get something done before they come hom

the senate is now adjourned. they are goog be back in at noon with a vote scheduled at 1:00 p.m., so it will be very interesting to see how things develop in the morning before they come back in for this vote. n't this appears like it could be a positive step especially coming from the man who earlier today seemed clear that he didn't think that they were any closer to an agreement. so if i could be so bold as to say, they are leaving the door open to negotiating. >> he is a bit more optimistic, was pessimistic earlier. thank you very much. earlier i discussed the debt stalemate with the senator ben cardin of maryland. he had strong warnings for his republican colleagues as he has strong concerns about the consequences of a potential default. >> also bringing us dangerously close to a national default. they've already hurt our country as far as our reputation is concerned. so look, i think what they're asking for is unrealistic. a constitutional amendment that won't work the way that they would like to see it done

the senate, the senate majority leader has put a plan the senate hasn't passed a plan, six senators throwing their idea of a plan that's constructive. at least they are putting something on the table. 9 president hasn't once put a proposal on -- on the table to fix our fiscal problems. >> sean: how about it will work against what the house is doing. let me be even more blunt. i don't have faith in the senate. first, conservatives don't control the senate. really the hope is in the house. so the question is, do you think that house republicans will hold the line? now that you've passed a bill that will save social security, medicare, medicaid, support the military, pay down debt and make structural reforms, because the country is going bankrupt and we don't want it to become greece. do you think the republicans in the house will go for these late minute phony deals, spending cuts later, that seems to be bantered about in the senate? >> what i get from this gang of six in the clip you just played from the president is higher taxes, more revenues. we are not -- we've already rejected that over

in the senate, they voted it down. and so finally, john boehner came up with his last proposal, and it also included a balanced budget amendment declared dead on arrival the third time. democrats say no. and i'm just getting -- i think republican leaders are getting a little tired of being invited by our democratic friends to come up with ideas only to have them voted down and criticized, and where is the democratic proposal? where is the proposal by the president? i think it's time for democrats to come up with an idea and maybe republicans can take a look at it and see whether we like it. finally, the majority leader said we have got another filibuster in our path. they, meaning republicans, stall and delay. well, last night, leader mcconnell said let's have the vote tonight, right now. we don't need to stall or delay another minute. the majority leader said no, i don't want to vote on my proposal yet. i want to vote on it at 1:00 a.m. on sunday morning. leader mcconnell said today we're ready to vote on it today with

the senate was voting against it. lawmakers in fact voted 59-41 against measures to raise the $14 trillion u.s. debt ceiling and allow washington to pay its debts. the bill had earlier been passed by the house of representatives. the deadline for a deal on the debt is tuesday, august 2. well, let's move away from those live pictures of that expected news conference and join marcus george, our correspondent in washington. marcus, it was all expected. where do we go from here? >> yes, it was rather expected. the fact that the republican-led house passed the bill and the senate killed it barely an hour later. so where we go from here is that the senate, at some point, we will hear their plan and they will vote on their plan. we'll probably hear about that in this press conference, i would hope. after that i think it's down to a long weekend on chill, whereas congressmen and women will be boxing, trying to keep the deal done. >> i'm sorry, i'm going to interrupt you, because we're just going to that news conference now. >>

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that the time for debate be extended until 7:30 p.m. with all other provisions of the previous order remaining in effect. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. i wasn't going to come to the floor today but i was in the chair and i've been hearing some of the debate that's going on about this debt ceiling and i decided that once again i needed to stand and remind people what this vote is about when we get to it. and the president's heard me talk about this before. but our failure to lift the debt ceiling is not like the united states of america cutting up its credit card and saying we're not spending money anymore. it is exactly like a household at home back in colorado saying we overspent, we weren't careful and we're not going to pay the cable bill this month even though we owe it. or that we're not going to pay our mortgage this month even though we owe it. those are the kinds of thing

the senate is in recess. the vote was taken earlier on a debt and deficit measure put forward by majority leader harry reid. it failed to move forward, 50- 49. it needed 60 votes to pass. the only republican who voted to move the bill forward was massachusetts senator scott brown. the senate recessed shortly thereafter. we will bring you updates on the negotiations as they arrive, and as always, when lawmakers gavel back in, you can watch the house here on c-span and the senate on our companion network, c-span 2. look now at the senate. and i think what's most disscourge the average person is asking, why would we inflict this pain in the midst after recession? why would we have the fear of dwawlgt on america's debt for the first time in our history? why would we lose or credit rating, the best in the world, aaa, because of a manufactured political debate here i washington? we'll pay for this for a long time. for every 1% interest rates go up, our national debt goes up $1.3 trillion over ten years. as we talk a

it will not pass in the senate. host: congressman jeff miller says -- you cannot tweets and comments of members in congress. look for the members of congress list on. twittercom. new hampshire, independent line. caller: quite frankly, the simple way to appease this whole situation is it is time this country starts taking care of ourselves. i am a disabled viet nam veteran and i am tired of seeing our kids sent overseas. if we stop spending all our money overseas to police the entire world and get our heads into everybody else's business, we would have enough money in this country to take care of ourselves. host: would you say to cut it off entirely or drastically limit our foreign aid? caller: drastically limit it. it is absurd the money we're spending overseas not to mention the poor kids the way i was at one time getting maimed and seriously injured that we will have to pay for for the rest of their lives. it is an ongoing thing. we don't belong in these countries. my their own business and let's take care of ourse