[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15667-15668]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           DEFAULT PREVENTION ACT OF 2013--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. REID. I move to proceed to Calendar No. 211, S. 1569, the debt 
limit bill.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 211, S. 1569, a bill to 
     ensure the complete and timely payment of the obligations of 
     the United States Government until December 31, 2014.


                                Schedule

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will 
recess subject to the call of the Chair to allow for a Republican 
special caucus meeting with President Obama.


                   Recognition of the Majority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this is my opinion. If we allow the United 
States to default on its debt for the first time in our glorious 
history, it will be a black mark on our reputation, and that is a gross 
understatement. There will be a financial disaster, and it will spark a 
global recession.
  As I indicated when I began, this is my opinion, but this is not my 
opinion alone. If we listen to the economic leaders of this country, 
respected economists, bankers, and business leaders, this is what they 
say.
  For example, yesterday the chief executive officer of the American 
Express, whose company is valued at almost $80 billion, said this about 
default:

       What's important to understand is if the United States hits 
     the debt ceiling and is unable to pay its debts, the 
     consequences will be immediate and dramatic. . . . If the 
     U.S. defaults, the [global financial] system literally 
     unwinds.

  So no one misinterprets what he said, I will read it again.

       What's important to understand is if the United States hits 
     the debt ceiling and is unable to pay its debts, the 
     consequences will be immediate and dramatic. . . . If the 
     U.S. defaults, the [global financial] system literally 
     unwinds.

  His dire warning has been accepted and echoed by reasonable Members 
of Congress, including many Republicans. Even Speaker Boehner admitted 
in 2011, the last time Republicans forced this country to the brink of 
default, that failing to pay the bills would be catastrophic. He said:

       Not raising the debt limit would have serious--very 
     serious--implications for the worldwide economy and jobs here 
     in America.

  But this year Speaker Boehner seemed willing to risk default day 
after day, holding the full faith and credit of the United States 
hostage to extract extreme political concessions.
  Yesterday it was very good to see my Republican colleagues, some at 
least, come around to the idea of a clean bill to avert default. Think 
about that. They are talking about extending the debt ceiling for 2 
months--for 6 weeks. Please.
  But some have admitted the clean bill to avoid default should be the 
standard. I certainly agree with that.
  I repeat, we do not believe a 6-week delay of a catastrophic default 
is enough to give the economy the confidence it needs to continue 
growing and recovering. Using their theory, we would have another one 
of these periods of bedlam in Washington before the most important 
purchasing season at any time during the year, Christmas, right before 
Christmas, when people are beginning to buy things for Christmas.
  We will vote tomorrow on a 15-month measure to ensure the United 
States lives up to its obligations, giving the economy certainty and 
stability over the long term. But Congress's work to restore faith in 
government won't end with avoiding default.
  The Federal Government is still closed for business, causing hardship 
and heartbreak for millions of American families, such as the 
Trowbridge family in Reno, NV. They have a 17-year-old son Austin who 
was scheduled to receive an experimental bone marrow transplant at NIH 
in Washington. Without the transplant, he could die, just as his 
brother did 5 years ago from the same disease.
  But the National Institutes of Health are shuttered, along with the 
rest of the government and the Centers for Disease Control. The 
assistant Democratic leader has laid out 79 different programs that 
would need to be reinstated to open the government, and we are getting 
them piecemeal--piecemeal.
  In the meantime, people are suffering, not only Federal employees but 
the people who depend on them. We have four States that are trying to 
work something out with Secretary Jewell to have the States pay for 
opening national parks.
  It is time for Republicans to give the Trowbridge family and others 
some relief. Reopen the government, the whole government, so kids such 
as Austin can get the treatment they need. Families of law enforcement 
officers killed in the line of duty can't get the death benefits they 
deserve. Why? Because the government is closed. Every American family 
who relies on the Federal Government can't get the help and services 
they need.
  Reopen the Federal Government, let's pay our bills, and then let's 
negotiate a sensible budget solution that

[[Page 15668]]

secures our country's long-term fiscal leads.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is 
recognized.


                            The Debt Ceiling

  Mr. McCONNELL. Shortly I will join my Republican colleagues at the 
White House. It will be a good time to engage in a frank exchange of 
ideas with the President, if that is what he is looking for. But if all 
the President wants is to drag us over there to say he won't negotiate, 
that won't be particularly productive.
  Throughout this crisis, the President has taken what you might call 
an unorthodox approach to governing. His basic position could be summed 
up in basically three words: He won't negotiate.
  I think that has left many Americans scratching their heads. I know 
the President and the Democratic leaders in Congress want to borrow 
more money without any strings attached. But the rest of us actually 
want to enact some commonsense reforms to get our debt under control, 
and we want to keep our commitments to the American people.
  A key point is: Nobody wants a default. That is why, in 50 years of 
negotiations over multiple debt ceiling increases, we haven't had a 
single default, not a one. We have negotiated over debt ceilings for 50 
years and never had a default. Let's put this hysterical talk of 
default behind us and instead start talking about finding solutions to 
the problems.
  There are a variety of ways to get debt and spending under control, a 
lot of innovative reforms we should consider. But we need to talk to 
each other if we are going to make any of that happen.
  I will bet that some of my Democratic friends have spending-cut ideas 
as well, and we would like to hear them. Let's sit down and talk this 
out. Members on both sides of the aisle in Congress are discussing 
solutions, and these discussions will continue as soon as we get back 
from the White House.

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