Insurance companies and trying to figure out how we are going to make ends meet with Health Insurance going up 100 , because of obama care, this deal does nothing for them. And to all of the seniors, to all of the people with disabilities who are right now getting in the mail notifications that they are losing their Health Insurance because of obama care, this deal does nothing for them. Mr. President , this fight was always about the American People who are hurting because of obama are. And unfortunately today, the United States senate is saying, you dont have a voice in washington. This is a terrible deal. And i urge my colleagues to oppose it. Now, none of us should be surprised that when the senate votes, this deal is going to pass and pass by a big argin. None of us should be surprised, but mr. President , the outcome could have been different. I would ask you, mr. President , to imagine a different world. We saw in the last two months millions of americans rise up, sign a national petition, light up the phones to the capitol and speak up against the enormous harms obama care is visiting upon them. We saw the house of representatives stand with courage and listen to the American People. Mr. President , i ask you to imagine a world in which Senate Republicans united to support House Republicans. Imagine that one piece being different from what we saw, imagine after the House Republicans stood together with the American People if all 46 Senate Republicans had stood together and said, we are united against the train wreck that is obama care, we are united with the American People, that if president obama is going to give an exception for big business, for members of congress, that the American People deserve that very same xception. I want to imagine if Senate Republicans had stood together and simply supported House Republicans and the American People. I want you to imagine what would have happened if all 46 senate epublicans had united and gone together and said, the house has passed a bill funding the v. A. We should fund the v. A. The senate, the majority leader of the senate refused to allow the senate even to vote to fund the v. A. I want you to imagine, mr. President , all 46 Senate Republicans, if we had stood together and simply supported the House Republicans in saying the house has voted to reopen our national parks, to reopen the war memorials, and the majority leader of the senate refuses is to allow the senate even to vote. Mr. President , i want you to imagine simply that Senate Republicans had stood together and said, we support the House Republicans in standing with the American People. If that happened, this result, i believe, wouldve been very, ery different. It is heartbreaking to the American People that Senate Republicans divided as they did nd decided to direct their criticism, their attention, direct their cannon fire at House Republicans and that those standing with the American People. But yet at the same time, mr. President , to the millions of americans who rose up in the last couple of months, i want to give a word of encouragement, a word of encouragement about the path forward. A couple of months ago, the washington establishment scoffed at the notion that the American People might rise up. That was viewed as silly, could not happen. A couple of months ago, the washington establishment scoffed at the notion that the house of representatives would stand strong saying, we should fund every bit of the federal government, but we should not und obama care. Yet, what we have seen in the last two months has been extraordinaire. Millions of americans speaking up in overwhelming numbers, saying obama care is not working. The unions are jumping ship. Democratic members of the senate in the house went to the president and said, we want to e exempt from obama care. This law is not working. And it is worth reflecting on how extraordinary it is to see the American People rise up in such incredible numbers and to see the house engage in what i onsider to be a profile in courage, standing with the American People. Now a path forward, the way we are going to stop obama care, the way we are going to stop the suffering, the harms that are being visited on millions of americans is the path we have seen the past couple of months, is the American People rising up. The answers are not going to come from washington. Washington is broken. But the answers will come from the American People. Mr. President , i am today encouraged. I am encouraged by the millions of americans who want to get back to the free market and get back to the constitution and stop this train wreck of a law that is the biggest job killer in this country, and is hurting people all across the country. Mr. President , it is sad that today the United States senate is telling people all across this country, who are struggling, who are trying to provide for their kids and who are getting notifications in the mail, your health care has been dropped. Maybe you have an elderly parent and that Health Care Policy is providing for your family. Maybe you have children, facing debilitating diseases and yet you are getting a notification in the mail, your Health Insurance has been dropped because of obama care. Mr. President , it is sad, that the senate says we will do nothing to answer your plight. We created your plight, but we will do nothing. It is sad that when you have james hoffa the president of the teamsters saying that obama care is destroying the health care of millions of working men and women in this country and the families who depend upon them, that the u. S. Senate says we are closed for business. The washington establishment has exempted itself so the problems, the suffering of working america is not the concern of the washington establishment. That is sad, but at the same time, i am inspired by the millions of americans who have risen up. If the American People continue to rise up, i am confident that in time, the u. S. Senate will follow the lead of the house of representatives and listen to the American People. That is our job. That is our responsibility. This is a terrible deal today. But it is a terrible deal for the American People. But at the same time, the path forward if the American People continue to rise up, were going to turn this around. We are going to restore jobs and restore economic road. We are going to restore the ability of people who are struggling to achieve the american dream, and we are going to stop the number one job killer in this country that is bama care. Mr. President , i rise in opposition to this deal that does not serve the best interests of the men and women each of us represent. I yield the floor. Here we are again. Another unnecessary crisis. A proposal that maintains the status quo. Very little time to read and evaluate the bill. In fact, we still do not have a final version of the text. No time to explain it to our constituents. This is washington at its worst. Its exactly the kind of thing the American People are fed up ith. And exactly why several olleagues and i began this effort do delay and defund obama care in july. It appears that this particular fight will end much the same way obama care began in a lastminute deal negotiated in back rooms and forced on congress and on the American People. The washington establishment cannot bring itself to believe that this is why congresss Approval Ratings are so low, because washington does not listen to the American People. It ignores them. And when the American People can no longer be ignored, the administration shuts down national parks, blocks veterans from going to their own memorials, uses the irs to target certain groups and holds hostage critical funding for cancer research, low income women and children, Veterans Health benefits, border security, and our national guard. Its shameful how washington treats the American People, and the people are right to be upset about that. The media keeps asking, was it worth it . My answer is that it is always worth it to do the right thing. Fighting against an abusive government in defense of protecting the individual rights of the American People is always the right thing. Ome say we should not have fought because we could not win. But this country was not built by fighting only when victory as absolutely certain. In fact, some of the most important victories in our history where the result of fighting battles against significant odds. And even if victory seems difficult or seemed impossible, that would not excuse me or anyone else from doing the right thing. Avoiding difficult battles, after all, is how we end up in this kind of mess. A government with 17 trillion in debt that we added a rate of 1 trillion a year. Outofcontrol spending, a broken entitlement system, the tax code that no one understands, all because washington is willing to act only when there is guaranteed political gain. When the avoidance of risk becomes our dominant motivation, only the washington establishment wins and the American People lose. Furthermore, in washington, victories are rarely immediate and very few end up being permanent. Obama care was not enacted overnight, and it will not be repealed overnight. We must remind the American People of the harmful effects of this law at every opportunity if we are ever going to see it repealed. Weve repeatedly warned that the American People will be shocked when they realize the way the president has misled the American People about obama are. The embarrassing roll out of exchanges does not even begin to scratch the surface. Every day brings a new story of a family whose deductible has doubled or a married couple that cannot keep the plan they have or a business that can no longer provide Health Insurance for its employees or workers who are seeing their hours cut or losing their jobs altogether. The realization that the administration has either been dishonest or incompetent or a combination of both is just starting to dawn on the American People. Even the president s friends in the media are watching this slow rolling train wreck and are demanding the president do something to stop it. The chicago tribune, the president s own hometown newspaper puts it this way last spring, the president said there will be, you know, glitches in the rollout of the new system, but what we are seeing now is no glitch. There is a growing mountain of evidence that obama care has fundamental problems in design nd implementation. We encourage a oneyear delay in the law. We recognize that is not going to happen. Obama care is here. It is time for the Obama Administration to level with americans about whats happening here. It is time to stop blaming republicans and Start Talking about what needs to change. So its interesting to see that the chicago tribune, the president hometown paper, is calling for exactly what i have been calling for since july for a oneyear time out to protect the American People from the harmful effects of this law, a law the president has announced his not ready for prime time, a law that the president himself has indicated he is not willing to follow as was written. Incidentally, this was again exactly what we were arguing for in july and now appears in the president hometown paper. Almost everyone but the president seems to recognize that this law is going to be terrible for the American People. It is costing jobs, hurting families, making Peoples Health care situation worse, and it will not solve the problems in our broken health care system. Let me be clear there will be very real consequences for people in both parties as a result of the implantation of this law. Today, washington has the upper hand, but the American People will always have the last word. This is not over. We have an obligation to fight for the American People. And i do not intend to let the American People down. Thank you, mr. President. As members of the house and senate finalized a deal to tend Government Shutdown, the campaign to fix the debt, looking at the longterm budget and debt problems facing the country. They urged congress to develop a plan to address entitlements and budget deficits. This side just under an hour. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. At this time, i would like to introduce the president for the committee for a responsible budget. Thank you. Thanks so much for joining us today. This turns out to be an incredibly welltimed conference. But on behalf of fix a debt, it is a nationwide Diverse Coalition made up of citizens, business leaders, civics leaders with the purpose of trying to this a bipartisan way focus National Attention on the need and push far comprehensive debt deal that would help deal with the nations fiscal challenges. Today is obviously an important day. We have a gathering of people and were going to talk about the Current Crisis that we are in and the state of play where we are. From a Diverse Group of people with diverse perspectives. We have been lurging from crisis to crisis. We cant afford to do that. We know what we need to focus on. Finding a plan to put our debt on a downward path. We think it is critical that it is time to stop the madness of the way we have been governing, start real negotiations and solve problem. Im really thrilled today to be able to introduce secretary pennetta who has held so many roles in all of this. Most recently secretary of defense and has played instrumental roles. He is going to kick off this discussion and talk to us from his perspective. Thank you so much for joining s. Thank you, very much thank you very much, maya. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating in this effort to try to put this country back on the right track. Our hope is that later today actions both by the house and senate, that they can bring, what i think has been, a very tragic and shameful period in our history to an end. T is hard to believe that what has happened has been not the result of an economic crisis, not the result of war, but the result of a selfinflicted wound by people who frankly swear to make sure that they will do everything to protect and defend the constitution and this country. 17 years ago, we went through a similar shutdown when i was chief of staff to president clinton. At the time, i thought that there were two lessons that were earned by that experience. One was that you dont take a step that hurts the American People, innocent American People, by shutting the government down. That makes no sense. To use that weapon against your very constituents, against the people who elected you to office. Secondly, ultimately the lesson that came out of that, it was better to govern than to create gridlock and to shut the government down. It is better to govern. That was the case. 17 years later, i think those lessons still apply. It makes no sense to shut the government down and to hurt this country, to hurt innocent people, kids, women who needed nutrition assistance, families that are trying to meet their debts at the end of the month, putting people out of work, putting people out of jobs, threatening individuals in terms of their quality of life. It makes no sense to do that. To take a step that threatens our economy, hurts our economy, hurts our growth level, an economy that has been through some rough times and is looking like it may be on the right track why would you take a step that would deliberately hurt our economy . And hurting our national defense. Let me tell you, from my own experience i just had the opportunity to come from the pentagon a combination of the sequester and this shutdown has hurt our national defense. Not only are some very important elements of our defense being put on hold, 12 air force squadrons, combat squadrons of that have been grounded, half of our air force planes are not ready for combat we have ships that are not being deployed. There is maintenance that is not being done. We are virtually hollowing out our military. At the very important time when we face all kinds of threats abroad in this country. This is still a dangerous world that we live in. Then the shutdown top of that, the furloughs, the impact this is having on the