[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2894-2895]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              DEBT CEILING

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is encouraging that some of my Republican 
colleagues seem to be regaining their grip on sanity this week. 
Republicans have shown a willingness to compromise to restore veterans' 
hard-earned pensions. A few reasonable Republicans were willing to join 
Democrats to avert a catastrophic default on our Nation's obligations--
a default that would have thrown our economy into a tailspin and 
damaged this Nation's standing in the world.
  I commend Speaker Boehner for doing the right thing. He voted for 
this, and he had enough Republican votes to get it done. I have said 
often that he has a difficult job--if not the most difficult, certainly 
one of the most difficult jobs in Washington, especially when we look 
at the caucus he has to deal with. I am pleased he has come to the 
realization that the full faith and credit of this country is not a 
hostage to be held for political gain.
  Unfortunately, Republicans on this side of the Capitol are forcing us 
to jump through procedural hoops to alleviate the threat of a default. 
I can't imagine that they are doing that, but they are.
  Every reputable economist acknowledges that defaulting on our bills 
would devastate the economy and waste the past 5 years of recovery. The 
recovery is good, but it is not great. We can do a lot better.
  According to a report by the nonpartisan Peterson Institute, when 
Republicans forced us to the brink of default 2 years ago, it cost our 
economy $150 billion in productivity and 750,000 jobs. This is not some 
leftwing blog that is saying this; this is a nonpartisan institute that 
is well respected--it will cost our economy $150 billion in 
productivity and 750,000 jobs. Scary.
  The reason I am a little concerned is because it was just a few 
months ago that Republicans in the House, by a two-thirds majority, 
voted to keep the government closed after having been closed for 16 
days and voted to default on our Nation's debt. So I hope the Senate is 
not going to follow that tea party-driven action that was done in the 
House just a short time ago.
  Financial industry leaders have warned Congress again and again that 
even the threat of default ripples through the economy, and today there 
is the threat of a default. We have Republican Senators saying they are 
going to filibuster the debt ceiling. We can't default on our 
obligations. It is too bad that a few Senate Republicans would threaten 
a filibuster on this critical legislation. It is critical, and it is 
crucial. However, I am hopeful Senate Republicans won't force the 
economy to wait for weeks or even days for a resolution. We should wrap 
this up today.
  So I hope we can vote and vote soon. The markets all over the world 
are watching to see what we do in the Senate. The House did the right 
thing. I believe many of my Republican colleagues would like to be 
reasonable--I really do believe that--if they weren't so beholden and 
afraid of the tea party overlords. I am hopeful that a more bipartisan, 
commonsense approach--one that favors collaboration over hostage 
taking--will prevail this year.

[[Page 2895]]

  Congress should be striding from accomplishment to accomplishment, 
not staggering from crisis to crisis as they force us to do. If we 
spent more time working together and less time running out the clock on 
procedural hurdles and Republican filibusters, we might actually get 
legislation done in the Senate.
  So I hope we can continue to cooperate and collaborate this year and 
to deliver results for Americans looking for action instead of the 
constant gridlock we have had.
  Mr. President, I note the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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