[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5233]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this budget we have spent so much time 
talking about is really about making tough choices, hard choices, 
difficult choices. The American people understand this. They understand 
tough choices. They have to make them every day, especially now with 
the economy being in the shape it is in. So should their 
representatives in Congress make tough choices.
  We are being honest with ourselves over here. We know we can't get 
100 percent of what we want. That is what this negotiation is all 
about. That is why this is a negotiation. It is not a winner-take-all 
situation.
  Democrats have made tough choices because we want to get this 
agreement finished. We want it completed. We want to keep the country 
running and keep the momentum in the economy that is now creating jobs. 
We want to avoid a shutdown and the terrible consequences that would 
follow.
  The only thing Republicans are trying to avoid is making the tough 
choices we need to make. We have been more than reasonable. We have 
been more than fair. We meet them halfway, and they say no. We meet 
them more than halfway, and they still say no. We meet them all the 
way, and they still say no. If Republicans were serious about keeping 
the country running, all they would have to do is say yes.
  Now we learn House Republicans are going to make another excuse, 
create another diversion, and avoid another tough choice. Instead of 
solving the crisis the way we should, instead of saying yes, they say, 
in fact, what they are going to do is pass what they will call another 
short-term stopgap measure. They will say it is short term, but what 
that really means is it is a short cut--a short cut around doing our 
jobs. Instead of solving problems, they are stalling. They are 
procrastinating. That is not just bad policy, it is a fantasy.
  We all heard the President of the United States say yesterday that he 
won't accept anything short of a full solution. And why should he? We 
are 6 months into the fiscal year now. President Obama is right. We 
can't keep funding our great country with one stopgap after another. 
The United States of America, this great country of ours, shouldn't 
have to live paycheck to paycheck. We are not going to give up. We are 
going to keep talking and keep trying to find middle ground. The 
Speaker and I will go back to the White House tonight in 2 hours and 20 
minutes to meet with him again to continue the conversation we have 
been having for weeks with this administration.
  We know the Republicans are afraid of the tea party. That has been 
established. Now it looks as though they are also afraid of making the 
tough choices we have to make. But tough choices are what governing is 
all about. They are what leadership is all about. It is time for my 
friends in the House of Representatives to stop campaigning and start 
governing.
  And remember what one of the greatest Speakers of all time said. In 
fact, he was Speaker three times. He was from the State of Kentucky. 
Henry Clay. He was known as the ``great compromiser.'' He said that all 
legislation is based on mutual consensus. That is what this is all 
about. But remember, let's focus on the word ``mutual.'' It takes both 
of us.
  Mr. President, it is time to lead.
  I note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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