[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12308]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              DEBT CEILING

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, we are here awaiting the action 
of the House of Representatives. We don't know whether the House is 
going to pass the John Boehner proposal, but regardless of what they 
do, we have the solution right underneath our noses. There have been 
discussions today. I have had a number of discussions with our 
colleagues. I have had a discussion first this morning with my 
colleague from Florida and I have had discussions with others.
  It seems to me the obvious solution, since we are now at the eleventh 
hour and getting close to the 59th minute of the eleventh hour, is that 
we take elements of the Reid proposal, the McConnell proposal, and the 
Boehner proposal. So I would suggest our leadership consider, 
regardless of what happens in the House--because the Senate is going to 
have to act on something to get 60 votes to meet the filibuster 
threshold in this Chamber and then send a package back to the House. I 
would suggest it be this: that we take the Reid proposal which includes 
the larger amount of spending cuts. Senator Reid at first said that is 
$2.7 trillion. Maybe it has been by CBO marked down to about $2.2 
trillion. But whatever that larger amount--clearly larger than the 
Boehner proposal, even though some would argue it is the Iraq and 
Afghanistan war wind-down savings we would get, but whatever it is, it 
is larger than the House proposal--and use that as the first cut by 
lifting the debt ceiling. But there would be a sequence of events that 
would happen after that to avoid what the Senate Democrats do not want, 
which is that the markets and the rating agencies cause the debt 
instruments--the U.S. Treasury bills--to be downgraded. There needs to 
be certainty for those rating agencies, for the U.S. Government debt, 
and it could be achieved this way: We have a BRAC-like committee--that 
being a committee that would be composed equally of Republicans and 
Democrats--that would come up with a package that would then come back 
to each House, no amendments, for an up-or-down vote.
  The fail-safe backup, in case that committee were not able to come to 
agreement or in the event that it came back to both Houses and one of 
the Houses did not pass it, that we would then have the McConnell 
proposal, which is that the President would request the increase of the 
debt and there would be this procedure that Senator McConnell laid out 
that there would be a resolution of disapproval. If there were such a 
disapproval, then the President, of course, could veto it. In order for 
the President's veto to be overridden, there would have to be a two-
thirds vote. There would not be a two-thirds vote, and, therefore, 
there is the assurance that we would have the raising of the debt 
ceiling to get us through this next year and a half.
  It seems as though it is right under our nose, if the parties will 
just realize that now is the time we have to act to find a workable 
solution so we can get the votes.
  If we can get, with that kind of proposal, 60 votes in the Senate, 
then it goes down to the House, whether they pass the Boehner proposal 
or not. At the eleventh hour and the 59th minute, recognizing what is 
at stake for the country, then the House of Representatives is going to 
do the right thing and they are going to pass it.
  I am just a little country boy, but it seems to me sometimes we get 
so wrapped up in all the intricate details that the obvious solution is 
right there under our nose, staring us in the face. I respectfully 
request the Senate consider this.
  I yield the floor.

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