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joining me john thune and jeff sessions. gentlemen, welcome back. senate democrats your colleagues sent a letter to john boehner who has been fighting his own caucus, fighting conservatives to try and make it so the country doesn't default after he passed the ryan plan and cut, cap and balance. the president still doesn't have a plan. now harry reid says dead on arrival. the president says he would veto. all democrats say no. where do we go from here? >> president sure hasn't provided leadership in this sean. fortunately john boehner and the house republicans are stepping up to the plate again. we've seen that repeatedly. they passed a budget on time, they passed the cut, cap and balance bill, sent it to the senate. senator reid tabled it wouldn't debate it and get an up or down vote on it. the house republicans once again assuming the responsibility for dealing with this crisis. and i hope that the senate democrats will, if the house republicans figure out a way to pass this tomorrow, at least give it an opportunity to be heard in the senate. 53 de

we will bring that to you live. >>> up next, republican senator john thune. send me your thoughts on twitter. follow the show online. >> as soon as the house completes its vote tonight or this afternoon, the senate will move to take up that message that they sent to us. [ male announcer ] members of the american postal workers union handle more than 165 billion letters and packages a year. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal workers union. ♪ >>> that is not fair. that is not fair to the american people, to hold out and say we won't agree to raising the debt limit until we pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. it's unfair, it's bizarro. and maybe some people who have only been in this body for six or seven months or so really believe that. others know b

thune: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate presently is in a quorum call. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i also ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with the senator from new hampshire. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i've been coming down to the floor to -- now for several weeks to talk about the need to restrain spending and to cut our deficit, and as we look at the next few days, we're going to have an opportunity to debate -- to debate something that does that. we're going to be talking about the cut, cap and balance plan. the third part of this plan, the balanced budget amendment, something i've supported since i first ran for the house of representatives about 15 years ago. this past week, though, i received a letter from a boy scout in south dakota who was writing in to earn a merit badge. a

we have john thune joining us. our guest is angry at these conservative republicans.can, ron johnson back at

. >> republican senator john thune, thank you for coming on this morning. >> thank you, chuck. >>> was president's too little too late? we'll ask dan pfeiffer why this didn't happen a few weeks ago. will the president really get out his veto plan? and still to come, daily rundown geek fest. we're looking at which party is most likely to win senate majority in 2012 with two of the best, charlie and stu. i told you yesterday, you never know what is going to happen. we don't see him publicly. but who's to say that doesn't change? you're watching daily rundown only on msnbc. honey, i can't walk any faster. [ female announcer ] oscar mayer deli fresh turkey comes in a clear pack... [ cellphone beeps ] [ jeff ] ooh. thanks hun! [ female announcer ] ...so the freshness you see is what you taste. ♪ it doesn't get better than this ♪ but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the

thune: i would be happy to yield mr. sessions sessions: se- yield. mr. sessions: senator thune, you're an experienced member of the budget committee and a leader on this side of the aisle in the senate, isn't it true we had more interest in members wanting to join the budget committee this year, particularly the new members who had gotten elected, who had talked to their constituents about their fear of america's debt and they wanted to be on the budget committee and only a few could be selected out of the group that wanted to be on? and how -- what's been your observation as to how they've reacted to the fact that no budget has been presented? the committee never met or even marked up and had hearings, as the u.s. code requires. maybe you could share with them how they felt about that. mr. thune: well, and i would say, madam president, to my colleague from alabama, he's absolutely right. there was tremendous interest this year because really, if you look at the last election, the 2010 election, a lot of the people who were elected, new members, both in

thune: mr. president -- i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, later today we'll get a chance to vote on a, another chance i should say to raise the debt limit. my understanding is that the house of representatives has delayed the time at which they're going to vote on their plan, the so-called boehner plan. but at some point i suspect that vote will move forward, and we will end up receiving that legislation from the house of representatives and we'll have an opportunity here to act on that as well. it will be the second bill we'll vote on here in the united states senate that will raise the debt limit. the first one was the cut, cap, and balance plan first approved by the house before being sent to

and a n a moment, john thune of south dakota. 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 democratic senate majority will not say yes. when can people sit around the table and figure it out? >> if you go back to last w

>>stuart: senator thune, thank you for joining us. uncle sam just hitting up the oil reserve.o why aren't gas prices going down? stay tuned. verizon claims i 4g lte is twi as fast as &t. we're putting them to the test against the speed of a rescue unit. go ! they're downloading a music album. the first network to finish gets rescued. does your phone know that we're racing ? done ! verizon's done ! i've got seven left ! the fastest networin america. verizon. built so you can rule the air. now powering the lg revolution. we get double miles on every purchase, so me and the boys earned a trip to dc twice as fast! oh hi! we get double miles every time we use our card. and since double miles add fast... one more chariot please. ...we can bring the whole gang! i cannot tell a lie. he did it. right... it's hard to beat dole miles! read mlips -- no new axes! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one, and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? so, you're a docrat right? >>stuart: reserves tapped? yes. and gas prices t

good evening, senator john thune. the gang of six -- does it have the answer? >> no, no. i think they have made a good-faith effort. there are a lot of colleagues who put a good amount of work into this. but there are a lot of details that we don't know. many of us who have looked at their proposal think a couple of things about it. one is it freezes spending at 2011 level, which enshrines the huge spending increases we have seen in the last two years. >> you want to go back to what, 2008? >> 2008 or cap and cut goes back to 2006. but we have been spending like drunken sailors. on the revenue, it is unclear which baseline you are using and we all agree it cons states a -- consitutes an increase. and that's something we shouldn't be doing. >> from what i understand it, the gang of 6 plan is a proposal. it's not laidout instructions. right? this is what we would like do in general? >> it is. i mean, they have handed out a three-page outline. but it has not been put into legislative text. there is no draft yet of it. and so it's really hard to make an evaluation. we have got

as senator thune said it is not going to be a factor. there is no other plan on capitol hill. the president doesn't have one. the democrats in the senate don't have one. and the only house that we control as republicans have passed a plan that increases the debt limit with some reasonable cuts in spending and it lets the states decide about a balanced budget. now, they say if that is extreme, then we need to change the definition of extreme. >> greta: i guess i understand your passion and other people in favor of cut, cap and balance but when you look at the numbers, it doesn't look like it is going to happen at least i mean you have got to get 60. do you have 60 in the senate? >> we won't have this week but we could have august 15 if we had to. the only way republicans are going to get anything that helps our country is to let the president know if he is willing to go past august 2 we are, too. and we don't want to do that. it will be disruptive but we want default and we -- we won't default and we will pay senior citizens and medicare unless the president chooses not to beca

i bumped into senator thune and he is not sweating. so ...s is their forced diet plan which is appropriate because we are out of spend for a diet plan and they do not seem to be much on the progress front. we hear the house of representatives will take up a measure that the senate is all but said, you can get it through but it is dead on arrival with us, and the house sent it back to the senate, and we snow you are working on a plan with harry reid and that legislation is not appropriate for us so everyone is waiting and sweating. well, me, waiting and sweating. and mark levin is joining us on the phone, the constitutional attorney. if you listen to his radio show he has been ripping, ripping, ripping, especially those republicans who are going along with john boehner and mcconnell trying to find middle ground and you could say of mark levin he is holding this deal hostage. >> i congratulate john boehner he will get a bill passed that does almosting in to cut debt, that will be dead in the senate, they will strip out the been ban -- strip out

but there are people publicly today that came out for cutting a deal, including john thune from south dakota, murkowski of alaska. roy blunt of missouri. i didn't mention the main republicans most assume would be available for potential crossover appeal. i can tell you this right now, harry reid is dangling a lot of things to try to attract republicans pap few more cuts up front. a promise of a vote on the balanced budget amendment, not linking passage to the next round of cuts. making the "trigger e" stronger for the second round reef duction. of course, all this is about one thing that the white house tears about. giding rid of the second debt ceiling vote that would take place in six to nine months if john boehner and mitch mcconnell got the bill they want. >> is the starting point that's about to start in the senate that which just passed the house? you said to me prior on "hardball," it's of no consequence, adopt the number from the bill and treat as it a blank slate. >> true. exactly right. but there were similarities to the bill before boehner put the balanced budget deal in th

lisa murkowski of alaska, bob corker of tennessee, roy blunt of missouri, john thune of south dakota, scott brown of massachusetts. they're publicly out there. we do know privately a handful of others. so you see how this coalition is going to come together. the question is how big will it be in order to get it so you get a bipartisan vote on the -- out of the house there, lester? >> chuck todd at the white house, thanks. >>> now back to the economic data we got today. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy rose just 1.3% this spring. that's weak. and below what economists had forecast. the really bad news came in the revised number for the first quarter of this year, 0.4%. the economy was basically flat lining. this didn't help matters on wall street today. the dow was down under 97 points. the nasdaq was down almost 10 points. the s&p 500 fell more than 8, capping the worst week for the markets in a year. cnbc's david faber joins me now. there is no way to sugar coat the numbers. is the bottom line was the recession deeper than any of us thought? >> the recessio

there are people publicly today that came out for cutting a deal john thune from south dakota, bob corker of tennessee, roy blunt of missouri, scott brown of massachusetts. i didn't even mention the main republicans who most people assume would be available for a potential crossover appeal. but i can tell you this right now, harry reid is dangling a lot of things to try to attract republicans. a few more cuts up front. a promise of a vote on a balanced budget amendment. not linking passage to the next round of cuts. making quote, the trigger stronger for the second round of deficit reduction. all this is about one thing that the white house cares about, getting rid of the second debt ceiling vote that would take place in six to nine months if john boehner and mitch mcconnell got the bill that they wanted. >> is the starting point for what's about to transpire in the senate that which just passed the house, prior to the vote here on "hardball" you said it was almost of no consequence, they could adopt the number from the bill and treat it as a blank slate. >> that's exactly right. there we

thune: mr. president, as we all know, in the next few weeks, we'll be faced with a decision about what to do with the debt limit. of course, there has been a lot of discussion around here as well as between the white house and the congressional leadership about how best to resolve this issue, and i think what it really comes down to is a question about what's the best way to -- to resolve the debt crisis. i think it creates a great debate, philosophical debate about how do you -- do we need to grow government, do we need to shrink government, and really, mr. president, i would argue that's kind of the defining line in this debate is whether or not you believe that the best way out of the debt crisis is to expand and grow government or whether you think like i do that we ought to make government smaller, not larger, if we're trying to figure out how to get out of this particular circumstance that we find ourselves in right now. we have a $14 trillion debt. we have to increase the borrowing author

thune: mr.dent, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: and i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i want to remind my colleagues that this work period was supposed to be our opportunity to finally enact, after years of delay, the free trade agreements with our allies south korea, colombia and panama. these agreements were signed over four years ago, and this administration has had more than two and a half years to submit them to congress for consideration, but they have failed to do so. unfortunately, we are going to have to continue to wait at least until september before we get a vote. why does it matter that we pass these agreements? it matters for two reasons, mr. president. first, because expanding trade opportunities creates american jobs. second, because we live in a competitive global economy, and other nations are not standing

first, south dakota senator john thune. >> as we are list anyone to the two speeches do you think we are at all close? >> what was striking about the president's speech is what he didn't say. he didn't say i will veto a short term extension of the debt limit that was significant. other parts of the speech were you would expect. everybody is trying to win the message war. right now we need to get something done. the president needs to provide leadership. i hope that he will. i hope he will step up many if congress can move something through this week, he will agree to sign it. >> greta: two plans, speaker boehner's and senator reid's. speaker boehner said this week while the senate is struggling to pass a bill filled with phony accounting and washington gimmicks, he talks about his speech that doesn't sound that the republicans in the house of representatives are the least bit interested in the senate -- reid's bill. >> the key is what republicans are interested this is real spending reduction. real spending reforms, entitlement reform. those are all things missing from senator reid's

if john thune can't vote for it, we are not going to get his vote. there are a dozen republicans that will be more reasonable than that and are patriotic enough they don't want to see the united states of america default on its obligations. >> what do you think as it's been bandied about if congress fails to pass anything, would you encourage the president to use the 14th amendment to raise the debt limit? >> i don't want to go there. i don't want people who have taken an oath of office and have the responsibility to do the right thing, i don't want them to think, i'm not going to vote for this. let the president do it. i don't think that's good for the country. i don't want to comment beyond that. i think we are going to get to an agreement. enough republicans will look out for their country before they look out for political gain in the end. they are "check the box" with the tea party team in their states. >> you say if it does come to a compromise, how does speaker boehner comes out? >> i think if speaker boehner brings 75, 80 republicans, coupled

thune: i am happy to be a cosponsor of the senator from texas's legislation.she's absolutely right. floss more deserving group of -- there is no more deserving group of people in this country our our military. we need to make sure under no circumstance they are no not pa. madam president, we are a week away now from the time in which we would have to request additional borrowing authority in order for our federal government to pay its bills. we've known it's coming for some time. and it strikes me at least that as most americans observe this debate the thing that they are probably most concerned about is how this is going to impact them and their economic circumstances. and frankly, i think all of us ought to be looking at this with an eye towards how does this impact the economy? there's been a lot of discussion about that. the president of course made yet another speech last night in which he tried to claim the high ground in this debate, but frankly, madam president, i think the president himself has really relegated himself to the sidelines in this debate

you have senator john thune saying we're closer than you think we might be, even senator jim demint,ervative saying i don't want to get this close and play with this deadline. so i think you are going to get a deal in the senate, it just e depends on how big it it is then when it goes back to the house. >> is there enough time to get it together and actually pass something? >> you know, i think there is in washington time. it doesn't look like there is because of how slow things typically move, but this is very, very real, and when you're scheduling 1:00 a.m. cloture votes, they know the time is ticking. it's 85 hours and counting, and you know, they're going to have to get a deal because they see the consequences, not only economically, but politically. >> okay. as ridiculous as this may sound to some, was there ever a possibility about like a one-page document simply raising the debt ceiling and then dealing with the rest of this stuff when we don't have this, you know, deadline hanging over our heads of august 2nd? >> that's what the house republicans and sort of the tea party cau

first, south dakota senator john thune. >> as we are list anyone to the two speeches do you think we are at all close? >> what was striking about the president's speech is what he didn't say. he didn't say i will veto a short term extension of the debt limit that was significant. other parts of the speech were which i think you would expect. everybody is trying to win the message war. right now we need to get something done. the president needs to provide leadership. i hope that he will. i hope he will step up many if congress can move something through this week, he will agree to sign it. >> greta: two plans, speaker boehner's and senator reid's. speaker boehner said this week while the senate is struggling to pass a bill filled with phony accounting and washington gimmicks, he talks about his speech that doesn't sound that the republicans in the house of representatives are the least bit interested in the senate -- reid's bill. >> the key is what republicans are interested this is real spending reduction. real spending reforms, entitlement reform. those are all things missing from

tomorrow, republican senators john thune and mike crapo joining us on the show.roberts is in for tamron çhall. >> coming up in the next hour, speaker john boehner has a tough message for republicans telling them they need to get in line and get behind his debt bill. i'm going to get reaction from republican senator roy blunt, plus the very latest from the white house. >>> plus, we are just one year away from the kickoff to the 2012 summer games. we bring you a live report from london with peter alexander where the olympic countdown is just about to get under way. well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. somewhere in america, a city comes to life. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest question

including john thune, lisa be ray corker. i didn't even mention the main republicanes who people assume would be available for potential cross-over appeal. i can tell you this right new, harry reid is dangling a lot of things to try to attract republicans. few more cuts up front. i promise of a vote on the balance budget amendment. not linking passage to the next round of cuts. making the quote trigger stronger for the second round of deficit reduction and all of this is about one theng that white house cares about, getting rid of second debt ceiling vote that would take place in six to nine month fess john boehner and mitch mcconnell got the bill they wanted. >> is the starting point, that which just passed the house because prior to the vote, here on "hardball" tonight, you said to me, it was almost of no consequence, they could treat it as a blank slate. report report that's right. but there were similarities to this bill before boehner today put the balanced budget amendment deal in there. and that was some of cuts up fro

tomorrow on the show, senator john thune, and we're busting out the battleground maps with charlie and chris januarysing and company, and then at 1:00 don't miss andrea mitchell reports. >>> i'm meeshtologist bill karenins. the big story last week was the heat wave, and it's still the story this week, but it's mostly in the middle of the country. showers and thunderstorms are going to cool off. some in the east today, including new york and d.c., baltimore, and philly, and atlanta has a chance of storms. we're nice in detroit and chicago. look at the heat in dallas. today up to 103. jeff, lunch! uh-huh. jeff! honey, i can't walk any faster. [ female announcer ] oscar mayer deli fresh turkey comes in a clear pack... [ cellphone beeps ] [ jeff ] ooh. thanks hun! [ female announcer ] ...so the freshness you see is what you taste. ♪ it doesn't get better than this ♪ but not your wrinkles. new neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula smoothes wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®. oh, just booked a summer vaycay. ooo. sounds pricey? nah, with the

the very latest with david plouffe and claire mccaskill and john thune discussing the latest discussionseet the press." >>> that will do it for us on this sunday morning. richard lui and janice huff, thank you very much next week on "today" i want to toronto and climbed the tower and scaled the top of it. that's not even sort of a joke. we'll have that for you. >> you know they have an elevator. >> yeah. they didn't tell me that until after. >>> also, don't miss brian williams' special "inside congress" a special "dateline." cc1:

thune: mr.resident, i appreciate the good words of my colleague from kansas. he comes from a state where they understand that the role of the government should be limited. they understand the importance of living within your means, of not spending money that you don't have. and i suspect that the senator from kansas has had a long and distinguished career in public life, but before coming to washington, d.c. to serve in congress, also was a state legislator. my guess is that when he was a member of the state legislature in kansas that they had to balance their budget every year. i would ask my colleague, mr. president, if he could perhaps shed some light on what his state of kansas does year in and year out in order to get their budget balanced, to make sure that they're not spending more than they take in. i think that's, as he pointed out, something that most families in kansas, i would say most families in my state of south dakota, those are decisions they have to grapple with all the time. y

thune: mr. president, i appreciate the good words of my colleague from kansas. he comes from a state where they understand that the role of the government should be limited. they understand the importance of living within your means, of not spending money that you don't have. and i suspect that the senator from kansas has had a long and distinguished career in public life, but before coming to washington, d.c. to serve in congress, also was a state legislator. my guess is that when he was a member of the state legislature in kansas that they had to balance their budget every year. i would ask my colleague, mr. president, if he could perhaps shed some light on what his state of kansas does year in and year out in order to get their budget balanced, to make sure that they're not spending more than they take in. i think that's, as he pointed out, something that most families in kansas, i would say most families in my state of south dakota, those are decisions they have to grapple with all the time.

thune: mr. president, i appreciate the good words of my colleague from kansas. he comes from a state where they understand that the role of the government should be limited. they understand the importance of living within your means, of not spending money that you don't have. and i suspect that the senator from kansas has had a long and distinguished career in public life, but before coming to washington, d.c. to serve in congress, also was a state legislator. my guess is that when he was a member of the state legislature in kansas that they had to balance their budget every year. i would ask my colleague, mr. president, if he could perhaps shed some light on what his state of kansas does year in and year out in order to get their budget balanced, to make sure that they're not spending more than they take in. i think that's, as he pointed out, something that most families in kansas, i would say most families in my state of south dakota, those are decisions they have to grapple with all the time.

senator thune said yesterday i think if you look at the basic framework, it wouldn't be that hard to figure out something that we could perhaps agree upon. i listened to senator isakson and senator murkowski express similar thoughts earlier today. so i think there is real kernels here of optimism and a way forward, but i -- for the life of me, i can't understand why we can't keep our focus on job creation in the global economic race. the rest of the world isn't waiting for us. they're on the march. i'm an old mountain climber in more ways than one, mr. president, and i can tell you that i have learned that there are some similarities between attempting some of the world's highest peaks and work here in washington, d.c., but the difference i found is that when the going gets tough here on capitol hill, it always seems like not only do you face the challenges the mountain presents but there is a team of saboteurs who are trying to push and pull you off the mountain. and i really have to say that i believe if all of us would turn away from and frankly ignore the partisan campaign machin

the last month i have worked on a bipartisan basis with senator feinstein of california and senator thune of south dakota to develop a compromise agreement that represents a good-faith effort to improve energy policy under very difficult economic times. at a time of bitter budget debates and entrenched positions, we worked together to find common ground and we took a step in the right direction, and that is a step of reducing the debt immediately by $1.3 billion of the $2 billion remaining on a subsidy. may i add, this was a subsidy that this congress voted for just in january of this year. so the biofuels industry understands that this subsidy was going to end at the end of this year, but they didn't just let it writtal away toward the end of the year, knowing there was waning support for it. they actually came to the table and said let's see if we can do something smart here that's good for energy policy and good for this country's fiscal position. under this deal, the volumetric ethanol act, the excise tax credit will expire at the end of this month instead of the end of 2011. i have c

thune: mr. president, i want to echo the comments of my colleague from nebraska and my colleague from indiana, all of whom have come down here to express their support for the cut, cap, and balance approach to dealing with this debt crisis that we're facing today, and point out that it passed in the house of representatives a few nights ago. it had 234 votes, and it is the only plan out there. as my colleague from indiana has said, the president, the democrat leadership here in the senate has yet to produce a plan that will meaningfully deal with the greatest crisis that our country has faced in my service here in the united states congress. and that is this massive out-of-control debt that as the senator from nebraska pointed out could lead to much higher interest rates along the lines of whether we're seeing in some of our european countries, which would absolutely crush this economy. if we are serious about growing the economy and creating jobs, we have got to get federal spending under contr

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

. >> but john thune said that mccain was trying to make a point that conservatives have already won aattle. >> i think the tea party and any conservative who wants to see this debate move forward and advance ought to look at where we have come from. we have made enormous stride. it's now reducing spending. >> i need your help. i can't tell you what it is. you can never ask me about it later, and we're going to hurt some people. >> reporter: there are signs that message is going through after they played the clip from "the town" to rally their forces some house tea party-backed freshmen are starting to get in line. >> is this as big as we wanted to go now? heck no. but this is the only proposal on the table that accomplishes the goals that we set out to do. >> reporter: that's because there is one line from "lord of the rings" that republicans don't want to here. >> you cannot pass! >> reporter: sorry, i couldn't resist. sarah palin did not respond, but she posted a message on her facebook page -- everyone i talk to still believes in contested primaries. we could not track down senator

thune: mr. president, i want to echo the comments of my colleague from nebraska and my colleague from indiana, all of whom have come down here to express their support for the cut, cap, and balance approach to dealing with this debt crisis that we're facing today, and point out that it passed in the house of representatives a few nights ago. it had 234 votes, and it is the only plan out there. as my colleague from indiana has said, the president, the democrat leadership here in the senate has yet to produce a plan that will meaningfully deal with the greatest crisis that our country has faced in my service here in the united states congress. and that is this massive out-of-control debt that as the senator from nebraska pointed out could lead to much higher interest rates along the lines of whether we're seeing in some of our european countries, which would absolutely crush this economy. if we are serious about growing the economy and creating jobs, we have got to get federal spending under contr

. >> thune in this independence day. panelists will discuss if the united states can remain united. >> at the political level, we are more divided you look at polarization's sense any point since the civil war. >> talking about religion, violence, and the death penalty. later, nixon and seiders discuss his foreign-policy. monday, july 4th, beginning at 8:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. for the entire schedule go to c- span.org. >> mission control in houston. >> roger, discovery. >> nasa is on schedule for the final launch this friday with the launch of sts-135 atlantis. you can look at the march of columbia 30 years ago and explore what is ahead for nasa on mine in d.c.'s ban video library. search, watch, and share. >> they had decided a few days before mckinley arrived that he was going to kill him. he went out, but a pistol, he followed the bus in the newspapers which were reported in great detail where the president was going to be. he began tracking him. >> on september 6th, 1901, he fired two fatal shots at president wil

. >> you know, first of all, i think the first time i noticed it was the stress that senator john thunehair and broke part of it off. either that or he's just really strong. but everybody -- >> he's a man's man. >> wanted to talk -- >> did you see that -- >> but it's a big piece of wood and he just broke it. >> but anyway, what's your point? >> and then justi put it on the table. >> what's your point? >> this broke in the "new york times" today. people want this over, it's something we haven't seen before on this specifically and also a renewed or a first time ever, at least i have seen larger national awareness about the debt. having said that -- >> they're playing the town as an inspirational flick. >> you've got a problem. >> brain twister for you, is there anything the president should do at this point to get the upper hand at this point or is this over? the way you two talk, the way all of you talk, it's over. >> chuck, i think at this late date, all the president can do is wait for legislation to come. i still don't understand the speech. was the speech trying to frame the debate

thune: madam president, yesterday i came down to the floor to talk about where we'd been, where we are and where we're going, and to discuss how we're going to get out of this mess. and i pointed out the president's disappointing record when it comes to these debt issues. the president originally requested a clean debt ceiling increase that didn't have any spending reductions attached to it. he then submitted a budget that failed to ever balance, and this budget didn't include the recommendations from the simpson-bowles commission that he had appointed to come up with some suggestions about how to put our country on a more sustainable fiscal path. according to the congressional budget office, his budget didn't even meet his metric of primary balance, which is balancing the budget not including interest costs. after realizing that house republicans were the only ones with a plan to balance our budget and pay down the debt, president obama decided to give a speech. of course it was just a speech. it did not include numbers. he didn't resubmit his budget to congress despite requests to do

thune: appeared so the president's budget, the obama budget which was voted on in the senate, prescribed more taxes and spend and more debt of it failed by a vote of 97-0. so the budget that was presented by the budget of th the presided states failed. we don't have a budget here in the budget committee that's been shown to us yet. we're in this week voting on the nonbinding sense of the senate resolution. doesn't even say how we should contribute to deficit reduction. is it going to put higher taxes on people? are there going to be fewer deductions? are people going to be ineligible for farm income payment programs? should they have to contribute more for their dmair? should they receive less social security benefits than those less fortunate? we just don't know because we don't have a budget that's been presented to the senate for consideration. all we simply have in front of us this week is a sense of the senate resolution which is very vague and could be interpreted lots of different waisms the white house meet something tomorrow with leaders from both parties. i'm hopeful that that

thune: mr.ak to the issue that the senate is going to be considering now for the next couple of days and ultimately voting on, it sounds like possibly some time on saturday, and that is the cut, cap, and balance proposal that has been put forward by the house of representatives. the house passed this particular proposal the night before last. it is now pending under consideration in the senate. and what i would suggest to my colleagues in the senate is this: it is the only proposal out there. it is the only plan that we have to vote on. we've had now over 800 days, 813 i think is the correct number of days now, 813 days since a budget was passed in the united states senate. the democrat majority has not submitted one for consideration here. we've not had votes on a budget. so we've been operating without a budget. the house of representatives, on the other hand, passed a budget earlier this year. it was criticized by many people here, democrats, as being something they didn't want to support, bu

thune: mr. president, i want to echo the comments of my colleague from nebraska and my colleague from indiana, all of whom have come down here to express their support for the cut, cap, and balance approach to dealing with this debt crisis that we're facing today, and point out that it passed in the house of representatives a few nights ago. it had 234 votes, and it is the only plan out there. as my colleague from indiana has said, the president, the democrat leadership here in the senate has yet to produce a plan that will meaningfully deal with the greatest crisis that our country has faced in my service here in the united states congress. and that is this massive out-of-control debt that as the senator from nebraska pointed out could lead to much higher interest rates along the lines of whether we're seeing in some of our european countries, which would absolutely crush this economy. if we are serious about growing the economy and creating jobs, we have got to get federal spending under contr

. >> thune in -- tune in to c- span on monday. >> at the political level, we are more divided. >> then the dali lama talks about religion, violence, and the death penalty. and a discussion of presidential foreign policy. for the complete schedule of programs and time, go to c- span.org. >> while the next panel was coming for what it is my pleasure to introduce a fellow member of the alabama bar mr. cooper shadegg. he currently serves as legal adviser to goveor robert bentley of alabama. in that capacity he was elected to serve as chairman of the executive committee of the trustee council. so we get to hold him responsible for everything i suppose. but actually, i am a little concerned that i don't think any of our leaders have a lot of executive power pages have collegial power in this process. prior to joining the bentley and a station, he was practicing attorney for the firm of rose and hallwood in tuscaloosa and served as adjunct professor of law at the university of alabama school flock, one of the top law schools in america. i'm proud to say. she is a bar ommissioner for the sixth

thune: mr. president, i want to echo the comments of my colleague from nebraska and my colleague from indiana, all of whom have come down here to express their support for the cut, cap, and balance approach to dealing with this debt crisis that we're facing today, and point out that it passed in the house of representatives a few nights ago. it had 234 votes, and it is the only plan out there. as my colleague from indiana has said, the president, the democrat leadership here in the senate has yet to produce a plan that will meaningfully deal with the greatest crisis that our country has faced in my service here in the united states congress. and that is this massive out-of-control debt that as the senator from nebraska pointed out could lead to much higher interest rates along the lines of whether we're seeing in some of our european countries, which would absolutely crush this economy. if we are serious about growing the economy and creating jobs, we have got to get federal spending under contr

thune: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. conrad: i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. conrad: mr. president, we are now reaching a critical hour in the congress of the united states on the question of extending the debt limit of the nation and of fundamentally dealing with the debt of the nation. i don't think there is any serious person in either body that does not understand that we must deal with the debt itself as we extend the debt limit. we are borrowing 40 cents of every dollar that we spend. the gross debt of the united states will reach 100% of our g.d.p. by the end of this year. the best economists in the country of whatever philosophical stripe are telling us we're on an unsustainable course that must be changed. mr. president, in the midst of this, we h