Floor Statements

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I move to instruct the Sergeant at Arms to request the presence of absent Senators, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, today the Speaker and Republican leader held a press conference to announce they are in talks with the President and that a bargain to raise the debt ceiling is in the works and is close.

Mr. President, Members of the Senate, that is not true. I just spent 2 hours with the President and Vice President and Leader Pelosi. It is fair for me to say that the engagement there is not in any meaningful way. The Republican leader still refused to negotiate in good faith. Revenue is off the calendar--no way we can talk about revenues. Entitlements--oh, they are after entitlements: Medicare, Social Security.

The Speaker and Republican leader should know that merely saying we have an agreement in front of television cameras doesn't make it so. The Republican leader at the press event says he is engaged. Fortunately, Members of his caucus, at least as far as I am concerned, and my Members, are more engaged than he is. There are meaningful talks going on with some of his Members with some of my Senators. While the Republican leader is holding meaningless press conferences, his Members are reaching out to me, and other Members, as I have just indicated. They are coming forward with thoughtful ideas to try to move the process forward. I welcome their ideas and ask all Members to continue these discussions. America is watching us, and they are demanding a result that is balanced.

I say to my friend--and he is my friend--the Republican leader, I will come to his office, I will go to the White House with him, I will do anything I can do to try to move this process forward, but I say as respectfully as I can to my friend the senior Senator from Kentucky that the process has not been moved forward during this day.

Mr. President, we are here today right now for this reason. It is spelled f-i-l-i-b-u-s-t-e-r--filibuster. There are delaying tactics proceeding right now. They will not allow us to have a vote, an up-or-down vote on our amendment, and this is a filibuster. By any other term, it is a filibuster. That is why we are here. I hope the negotiations go on. We are willing to be as fair as we can, but there has to be something that the President and Vice President Biden and the rest of us think is a step in the right direction. I guess talking is a step in the right direction, but that is about it.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the matter we have before us, which is amendment No. 589--that we have an up-or-down vote on that, as we have all the time, of course. There would be no points of order, as we do it here all the time. Have a vote on it right now.

Mr. President, first of all, it is unconscionable that the Republicans would filibuster legislation to prevent a default on national obligations. Frankly, it is unprecedented. Since 1962, Congress has raised the debt limit 74 times, including 18 times under President Reagan, and there was never a threat of a filibuster, and it was always by majority vote.

I object.

A filibuster in any other words----

Mr. President, you can put lipstick on it, a nice suit, even a skirt sometimes, it is still a filibuster.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, first of all, I appreciate everyone's patience. It is one of the most difficult times we find in the history of our country. There are negotiations going on at the White House now on a solution that will avert the catastrophic default on the Nation's debt. There are many elements to be finalized, and there is still a distance to go before any arrangement can be completed, but I believe we should give everyone as much room as possible to do their work. I have spoken to the White House quite a few times this evening, and they have asked me to give everyone as much time as possible to reach an agreement if one can be reached. For that reason, we will hold over the vote until tomorrow to give them more time to talk. In fact, we will come in at noon and have the vote at 1 o'clock.

I am glad to see this move toward cooperation and compromise. I hope it bears fruit. I am confident that a final agreement that will adopt the Senate's long-term approach, rather than the short-term bandaid proposed by the House of Representatives, will move forward. There can be no short-term agreement, and I am optimistic there will be no short- term arrangement whatsoever.

I am also confident that reasonable people from both parties should be able to reach an agreement, and I believe we should give them time to do so.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the Reid motion to concur in the House amendment to S. 627, with amendment No. 589, occur tomorrow, Sunday, July 31, at 1 p.m.; further, that the mandatory quorum call under rule XXII be waived.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, first of all--it will just take a moment, I say to the Presiding Officer--it is not often that we see the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee presiding. I am glad to see you here. You still know how to do it. I would also say just in passing that the State of Michigan is so fortunate to have you, and, frankly, your brother, serving in Congress.

I know there are lots of things people want to talk about tonight, but I think it is worth saying--my friend has heard me say it before--I was making a decision whether I would run for the Senate. I visited the Senator from Michigan in his office. I said: ``You know, I came to Washington and served with your brother, Sander Levin.'' And you said-- I will never forget, I have reminded you of it a few times--``Yes, he's my brother but also my best friend.'' Mr. President, I appreciate who you are and all you have done for our country.

Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 p.m. on Sunday, July 31; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to concur in the House message accompanying S. 627, the legislative vehicle for the debt limit increase, with the time until 1 p.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees.

The rollcall vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House message to accompany S. 627 with the Reid amendment will occur at approximately 1 p.m. tomorrow.

I note, Mr. President, if cloture is not invoked, the debate will continue on the Reid amendment.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, following any leader remarks, the Senate will recess until 11 a.m. today to allow for a Democratic caucus. At 10 a.m. we will have that caucus. At 11 a.m. the Senate will be in morning business until 12 noon. At noon I will be recognized. That is the order now before the Senate; is that right?

Mr. President, although the House of Representatives has not yet voted on Speaker Boehner's plan, that plan is flawed. That is why they have struggled for days to pass this inadequate legislation without a single Democrat even being involved in the process. They have plowed forward looking only to Republicans.

But as the battle to pass the continuing resolution went forward to keep our government open for business just a few months ago, the Republican leadership realized they were unable to get the necessary votes for the CR and they reached out to Democrats. Speaker Boehner had to look to Democrats; he did not have enough votes. Obviously he should have looked to the Democrats again.

That is the way we need to move forward on something that is bipartisan. That is how it is supposed to work, Democrats and Republicans working together for our country. The bandaid approach to the world crisis--and it is an embarrassment--to Congress, frankly to the country and to the world--is a sad commentary.

United Senate Democrats, all 53 of us, have informed the Speaker that his legislation was doomed in the Senate because we would not vote for a short-term extension of the debt ceiling. It would put our great Nation on a path to another default extravaganza as we have experienced in the last few weeks.

Frankly, that new extravaganza would start in a matter of weeks again. Virtually every expert--economist, rating agency, market analyst--has said the kind of short-term plan the Speaker has proposed is no answer to the crisis. Republicans created the crisis, and what they want to do is no answer to it.

If we are really trying to avert the kind of financial calamity default would bring, the Republicans' plan is not a solution. I had a very sobering conversation a half hour ago with Secretary Geithner. Right now, businesses cannot borrow--big businesses, what they use to survive, moving money for bonds and other things; that is how the world economy works--they cannot

borrow more money than overnight because no one knows what the interest rate will be tomorrow. So the Republican plan is not a solution. As the experts say, all too soon we would be back in the midst of partisan wrangling with our economy once again held prisoner by extremists in the Republican party lead by the tea party.

Our economy cannot bear this kind of uncertainty any longer. Congress and the White House are on lockdown, and the business of the country is not being conducted. I say no, not again, will we fight another battle such as the one in which we are now engaged. We cannot do that. That is why a short-term extension is not what we need. It is not what this Congress will do.

But default is not an option either. We cannot wait for the House any longer. It is time for Republicans to stop the political games and embrace compromise. No matter how long Republicans delay, the deadline will not move. We have hours--I repeat hours--to act. That is why by the end of today I must take action on the Senate's compromise legislation.

The legislation in point would cut $2.5 trillion from our deficit over the next decade and avert default on our national debt. It would protect Social Security and Medicare without raising a penny of revenue. The question is: Will today's Republicans break away from the shrill voice of the tea party and return to the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan?

This is likely our last chance to save this Nation from a default. I have invited Senator McConnell to sit down with me and to negotiate in good faith, knowing that the clock is running down. I hope he will accept my offer. I cannot do this alone. There are only 53 of us, and under the rules that Republicans put in place--it used to be used sparingly but is used all of the time now--we will need to get 60 votes; a majority is not good enough.

I know the Senate compromise bill the Democrats have offered is not perfect in the eyes of the Republicans. It is not certainly perfect in the eyes of the Democrats. But together we must make it work for all of us, because it is the only option. The settlement on the table will never give either party everything it wants, but it already meets the Republicans' demands. John McCain, the Republican senior Senator from Arizona, President Obama's opponent in the Presidential election, has asked his party to compromise. 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 listen to the markets, he said. It is time we listen to the American people and sit down and seriously negotiate.

Former Senator Fred Thompson, whom I served with here in this body, a Republican, asked Members of his own party to come to their senses. ``I respectfully suggest that you rake in your chips and stuff them in your pockets.'' That was his quote. He believes they have already won--all discretionary spending, no revenue.

I hope my friend, Senator McConnell, will come to me by the end of the day and indicate what constructive ideas he has to move the process along. My door is open. I will listen to any ideas to get this done in a way that prevents a default and a dangerous downgrade to our country's credit rating.

Time is short. 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 frightening world of default. A vote for the Senate compromise will be a vote on the financial obligations of this great Nation to pay the bills.

I would ask my friends, my Republican friends, break away from this thing going on in the House of Representatives. They were going to vote at 4:30 yesterday, 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30--10:30 they finally quit. Rumors flying around. Rumors flying around. The Wall Street Journal said they put too much money in for Pell grants. They were going to take that out. Rumors flying around they need a balanced budget amendment added. Rumors that the Speaker was seen in my office--which he did not come. All these rumors made no sense.

The scariest thing is, late last night, Leader Cantor said from the House: You have three choices: Boehner, cut, cap and balance, or default. That is the second ranking Member in the Republican leadership who said that.

We need to honor the financial obligations we have with the country. So a vote against the compromise I have talked about--now listen to what my compromise is: No revenue. The Congressional Budget Office has scored it more than $2.4 trillion, which will take us to probably--not probably, it will take us to March of 2013. We can do the country's business. There is a joint committee that will be set up to see if we can do some good work on a more long-term approach and to get back to work doing our country's business.

I repeat: CBO and OMB have scored our bill for more than $2.4 trillion--not billion, trillion dollars. That is dollar for dollar, as the Speaker said he wants to reduce the debt. So a vote against this compromise will be a vote to default on the full faith and credit of the United States.

I repeat to everyone within the sound of my voice: We have the framework of a bill. We are going to change it. I have some ideas that we need to change. I want to discuss them with the Republican leader. If anyone has any other ideas, come to me. But the time has come to make a decision. The time factors are very clear. Why am I filing tonight on my bill? Why? There is no more time. I have to do it tonight. Would I like to wait until tomorrow to see if there is some good will that comes from the Republican side? Of course I would. But I would suggest to my friends on the other side of the aisle, this is a pretty good deal. They, in effect, as Fred Thompson said, have gotten everything they want and should put those chips in their pockets and walk away and declare victory.

There will be no time left to vote on another bill or consider another option in the Senate. This is our last, best chance to preserve the character and credit of our great Nation.

I am happy to.

I say to my friend from New York, under the rules we have in the Senate, if I move tonight, we cannot have the final vote until Tuesday morning. The country defaults at 12 o'clock on Tuesday on its debt.

Sure.

That is absolutely true.

Mr. President, I have been told personally by some Republicans in the Senate they will do everything they can to stop legislation from proceeding. That is not a majority; it is a handful of people on the Republican side of the aisle.

That is why I said in my remarks that I hope the Republican Party will turn back to the party of Ronald Reagan. He raised the debt ceiling 19 times during the time he was President. He was a man who compromised. That was who he was. He hated communism. Who was the man who brought down the Iron Curtain? Ronald Reagan. He was willing to compromise even with somebody he spoke of in the worst terms. He knew how to compromise, and even though he was elected as the most anti- Communist President in the history of the country, the day he was elected he sent his embassy personnel to the Soviet Union so they could work with them. That led to the great decision by our countries to bring down the Iron Curtain.

Mr. President, I am familiar with the situation in Illinois where a $146 million construction project was turned down at the last minute because they were so afraid of the credit.

Secretary Geithner said it has already started. The international community is extremely worried they could only get overnight loans. It is extremely precarious for our country.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I appreciate my friend's statement. I didn't hear it all, but I certainly heard the context of the statement. We are willing to work with him and his staff, as we have, to try to come up with a solution. I want the record to reflect very clearly, as I said in my remarks this morning, for my friends who didn't have the opportunity to hear it, we cannot have in this country a 6-month extension because a 6-month extension is no extension. A 6-month extension of what we are dealing with would put us back, in a matter of weeks, in the same fiscal extravaganza trying to move forward with the work of the country.

The country is locked down. Congress is inoperable. The White House is unable to do very much because they are focused on this huge problem. I want the record to be spread with the fact that I will work as closely as I can on any suggestions they have, as I have indicated. But, please, everyone, don't come to me with a 6-month extension.

The proposal I am moving forward with--and Fred Thompson said take your chips, my Republican friends, and put them in your pocket and walk away--gives the Republicans everything they have asked for: no revenues, $2.4 trillion in cuts. That is a pretty

good deal. That is not a 6-month deal; it is a solution that takes us until 2013, in the month of March.

Help me work through this. I have no pride of authorship. If somebody can figure out another way to improve that suggestion, I will work with them. I am willing to work with them. As I have said on the floor before--and I don't want anybody to consider this as a sign of weakness--I have compromised my whole life. When I practiced law, that is what I did in trying to represent people and get a result. I believed many times that I was a failure when I had to go to court. But I went to court over 100 times to try cases to juries.

I always believed that compromise was the right thing to do, even in the law. As a legislator, it is a sign of integrity and confidence when you say you will compromise. Legislation is the art of compromise.

Again, I am here indicating to the world that I have spent my whole adult life trying to compromise and build consensus.

Mr. President, as long as it is in morning business, no.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 3:30 this afternoon, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; further, that at 3:30 p.m. the majority leader be recognized.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I have a unanimous consent request that has been cleared by the Republican leader. I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 6 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each during that period of time; further, that at 6 p.m. I be recognized.

I ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, without any intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 6:45 p.m. today, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, and that at 6:45 I be recognized.