“I am pleased that Speaker Boehner and his House colleagues have decided to change course, and pass a bill that defuses yet another fight over the debt ceiling.

“This bill surrenders the hostage Republicans have taken in the past by decoupling the full faith and credit of the United States from cuts to Social Security and Medicare, or anything else.  In substance, this is a clean debt limit increase that will set the precedent for future debt ceiling extensions.  By passing this bill, Republicans are joining Democrats to say we will not hold the full faith and credit of the United States hostage, and we will pay our bills.

“Over the last two years, the bipartisan Budget Control Act set spending levels in place of a Congressional Budget.  As Senator Murray announced today, this year the Senate will return to regular order, and move a budget resolution through the Budget Committee and to the Senate floor. House Republicans had to add a gimmick or two to get their bill past the Tea Party. But to spare the middle class another knock-down, drag-out fight, the Senate will proceed to and seek to pass the House bill. We will seek an agreement with Republicans to bring the bill to the floor in the coming days.

“I want to give credit where credit is due, and thank Speaker Boehner for his leadership here in defusing another fight over the debt ceiling. The middle class has been telling us they do not want another crisis, and this bill gives them the security they deserve.”

“House Republicans pushed middle class families closer to the cliff by wasting an entire week with their incompetent ‘Plan B’ stunt. It is time for House Republicans to put middle class families first by passing the Senate’s bill to protect 98 percent of Americans from a tax hike on January 1. The Senate bill could pass tomorrow if House Republicans would simply let it come to the floor.

“The Senate has already rejected House Republicans’ Tea Party bills, and no further legislation can move through the Senate until Republicans drop their knee-jerk obstruction. Right now, the Senate bill is the only bill that can become law, and House Republicans owe it to middle class families to let it pass with Democratic and Republican votes.”

“It is a sad day when we cannot pass a treaty that simply brings the world up to the American standard for protecting people with disabilities because the Republican party is in thrall to extremists and ideologues. The United States is seen as a leader around the world. Today, we had a chance to lead, and we failed because a small group of Republican senators fear the Tea Party more than they care about equality for people with disabilities.

“Today’s vote wasn’t about Republicans or Democrats. It was about standing up for our heroes – men and women who risked their lives on the battlefield for the United States of America. This treaty was about 57 million Americans who live with a disability. Republicans such as former President George H.W. Bush, Senator McCain and former Senator Bob Dole called on their Republican colleagues to support these Americans. I am saddened those Senators did not listen. Their arguments against the treaty had no basis in fact – the treaty does not change United States law. That is why I plan to bring this treaty up for a vote again in the next Congress. Our wounded veterans and millions more around the world deserve better.”

Senate Tea Party Leader: ‘We Might as Well Cut a Deal’

WaPo: ‘REPUBLICANS SAY THEY’LL RETREAT ON TAXES IF OBAMA WINS’

WaPo: “Senior Republicans say they will be forced to retreat on taxes if President Obama wins a second term in November, clearing the biggest obstacle to a deal with Democrats to defuse a year-end budget bomb that threatens to rock the U.S. economy.” [Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, 9/21/12]

WaPo: “… Even some ardent conservatives say Republicans may have no choice but to throw in the towel on taxes if they want to persuade Democrats to spare the Pentagon budget.” [Montgomery and Kane, 9/21/12]

SENATE TEA PARTY LEADER: ‘WE MIGHT AS WELL CUT A DEAL’

WaPo: “We’re not going to save our defense unless we go along with the president’s wishes…,” said Sen Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a leader of the Tea Party movement. … “There are enough Republicans, I think, who are so afraid of defense cuts that they would probably give in.” [Montgomery and Kane, 9/21/12]

BLOOMBERG: “Last week, one of the Republican Party’s most ardent tax- cut advocates said if Obama is re-elected, there’s not much point in delaying a compromise on taxes.  … ‘We might as well cut a deal,’ [DeMint] said. ‘If Republicans want to maintain the defense, we’re going to have to give tax increases to Obama.’” [Heidi Przybyla, 9/20/12]

TOP SENATE CONSERVATIVE: ‘I’M ALL FOR’ DEAL THAT INCLUDES REVENUES

BLOOMBERG: “’I’m all for that, I wanted Bowles-Simpson,’ said Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican participating in the Senate group’s talks.” [Przybyla, 9/20/12]

NBC News: “Senate Faces Potential Influx of Conservative Republicans” “The Senate is likely to assume an even more conservative tenor come January as a crop of insurgent-minded Republicans replace some of the GOP’s old guard in the upper chamber.” [NBC News, 8/2/12]

Washington Post: “Why Ted Cruz’s Win Isn’t All Good News for Senate Republicans.” “Cruz’s victory will almost certainly make [presumptive No. 2 Senate Republican John] Cornyn’s life — and the lives of the other members of the Senate Republican leadership more difficult.” [Washington Post,8/1/12]

NY Times: New Conservatives In Senate Could Increase “Conflicts Between Moderates And Far-Right Republicans Disinclined Toward Compromise.” ”The infusion of new conservative blood could alter the complexion of the Senate, increasing the sorts of conflicts between moderates and far-right Republicans disinclined toward compromise that have characterized the House for two years.” [NY Times, 8/2/12] 

NY Times: Conservatives to Give McConnell “Added Aggravations.” “As a result, the group could also present the sort of added aggravations for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, that befell the House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, as he sought to draft difficult deals with Democrats and the White House at a time of a complex fiscal mess.” [NY Times, 8/2/12]

GOP’s Rightward Shift Has Squeezed Moderates Out of the Party

NY Times: Chance of More Conservatives in Senate is a “Corollary Trend Of The Moderate Congressional Members Fleeing The Scene.” “The Tea Party’s sinewy stamina among Senate candidates is the corollary trend of the moderate Congressional members fleeing the scene, best represented by this week’s surprise retirement of Representative Steven C. LaTourette, Republican of Ohio, who announced his decision through a flame of recriminations about partisanship, and Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, who left her party in a tough spot.” [NY Times, 8/2/12]

NY Times: “Most Moderate Republicans Who Served in The Senate Just a Few Years Ago Will No Longer Be in the Congress When it Meets Again 2013.” “The bigger story here, however, is that Mr. Lugar is the latest in a long line of relatively moderate Republican senators to meet an electoral demise. In fact, most moderate Republicans who served in the Senate just a few years ago will no longer be in the Congress when it meets again 2013.” [NY Times, 5/8/12]

Rep. LaTourette (R-OH): Republicans Who Want to Make Deals now Face Angry Taunts.“LaTourette said Republicans who want to make deals now face angry taunts: ‘You’re a coward; you’re a facilitator; you’re an appeaser; you’re a RINO” — a Republican In Name Only.’” [Politico, 8/1/12]

Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY): “I’m Frustrated By How Much We — I Mean the Republican Party — Are Willing to Give Deferential Treatment To Our Extremes” “I have to say that I’m frustrated by how much we — I mean the Republican Party — are willing to give deferential treatment to our extremes in this moment in history,” he told The Post-Standard editorial board.” [Syracuse Post-Standard, 7/30/12]

BuzzFeed: Republicans Feel Boehner “Has Forced Them To Go Along With Conservative Demands But Has Provided Them Little In Return.” “According to Republicans, moderate members of the House GOP conference feel that Boehner, who has struggled with an often raucous and openly defiant right wing, has forced them to go along with conservative demands but has provided them little in return.” [BuzzFeed, 7/30/12]

Reid to House Leadership: “Show Americans You Are Still Capable Of Accomplishing Something of Utility” By Passing Middle-Class Tax Cut

Vows to Keep Senate In Session as Long as Necessary If House Will Ask Millionaires and Billionaires to Pay Their Fair Share

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) responded to a letter from House Republican leadership by reminding them that the sequester cuts – which each of the Republican signatories voted to pass – exist at their behest, and urging them to pass the Senate’s middle class tax cut, which is the only bill to avoid the fiscal cliff that can be signed into law.

“At the insistence of Republicans, and in recognition of the significant savings possible from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, sequestration included military and other spending cuts, but not a penny of savings from closing a single corporate tax loophole,” Senator Reid writes. “Given this history, it is shocking that Republicans now want to renounce the spending cuts required by sequestration, without the balanced deficit reduction it was designed to produce.”

Senator Reid pointed out that the House has wasted the entire year with political show votes, instead of focusing on middle class families.

“For nearly two years, the Republican-led House has ignored the will of the American people by accomplishing virtually nothing of bipartisan substance,” he writes. “I urge you to show Americans that you are still capable of accomplishing something of utility by passing the only bill to avoid the fiscal cliff for middle-class families that has a chance of being signed into law: the Senate’s middle-class tax cut. In contrast, the bill being considered by the House today has already been rejected by the Senate on a bipartisan basis.”

Senator Reid asserted he would be happy to keep the Senate in session if Republicans dropped their dogmatic opposition to asking millionaires to pay their fair share.

“If the House is prepared to ask millionaires and billionaires to contribute their fair share, the Senate is prepared to remain in session as long as necessary to approve an agreement on a balanced deficit reduction package… Sadly, the House has wasted the year on empty, political show votes, while ignoring major job-creating legislation passed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis. The Senate’s farm bill, for example, would support 16 million jobs and strengthen the rural economy. Our postal reform bill would sustain over 8 million jobs and modernize the postal service. Yet these and other important bills, such as the Violence Against Women Act, stagnate in the pool of idleness and inactivity that the House has become.”

Full text of the letter is below. Identical copies were sent to Speaker John Boehner, Leader Eric Cantor, Whip Kevin McCarthy, and Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling.

August 1, 2012

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
H. 232 – U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner:

Thank you for your letter insisting that the Senate pass Republican legislation to provide more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, and increase taxes on 25 million families, while reneging on spending cuts enacted in the bipartisan Budget Control Act.

It is worth reviewing how we got here. One year ago, Republicans threatened to force the United States into default unless Democrats agreed to cut Medicare and other programs important to America’s middle class. At the same time, at the behest of Tea Party radicals, the GOP rejected any proposal to ask millionaires, billionaires or large corporations to contribute a penny more to reduce the debt.

Democrats believe these GOP demands remain extreme and wrong. In our view, we should strengthen the middle class, not weaken it. And rather than handing out even more budget-busting tax breaks to those who need them least, we should cut spending responsibly, while asking the super-rich to contribute their fair share.

The vast majority of Americans – Democrats, Republicans and independents – agree with us.

Notwithstanding our deep differences with congressional Republicans, Democrats agreed to join with the GOP to pass the Budget Control Act, which avoided a catastrophic default and called for substantial spending cuts. The Act – which each of you voted to pass – also established sequestration, which threatened even deeper cuts in order to force the hard choices necessary to address our nation’s long-term fiscal challenges in a balanced and fair manner.

At the insistence of Republicans, and in recognition of the significant savings possible from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, sequestration included military and other spending cuts, but not a penny of savings from closing a single corporate tax loophole. As Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said just today, “my party has their fingerprints all over [sequestration]. It was the Republican leadership who agreed with the concept…”

Given this history, it is shocking that Republicans now want to renounce the spending cuts required by sequestration, without the balanced deficit reduction it was designed to produce. This would be fiscally irresponsible. It would be more irresponsible, even immoral, to abandon deficit reduction while handing out more tax breaks for the super-rich.

Democrats have no intention of giving up on balanced deficit reduction. At the same time, we fully agree about the importance of avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff. Toward that end, the Senate recently passed legislation that cuts taxes for 114 million middle class families. By not extending tax breaks that only go to the very wealthy, the bill also produces critical savings that could be used to suspend sequestration as part of a comprehensive deficit reduction package.

I strongly urge the House of Representatives to approve these middle class tax cuts as soon as possible. For nearly two years, the Republican-led House has ignored the will of the American people by accomplishing virtually nothing of bipartisan substance. I urge you to show Americans you are still capable of accomplishing something of utility by passing the only bill to avoid the fiscal cliff for middle-class families with a chance of being signed into law: the Senate’s middle-class tax cut. In contrast, the bill being considered by the House today has already been rejected by the Senate on a bipartisan basis.

If the House is prepared to ask millionaires and billionaires to contribute their fair share, the Senate is prepared to remain in session as long as necessary to approve an agreement on a balanced deficit reduction package. Of course, I understand that such an agreement is unlikely in the short term given the refusal of House Republicans to work on a bipartisan basis to create jobs or pass any substantive legislation that has a chance of becoming law. Sadly, the House has wasted the year on empty, political show votes, while ignoring major job-creating legislation passed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis. The Senate’s farm bill, for example, would support 16 million jobs and strengthen the rural economy. Our postal reform bill would sustain over 8 million jobs and modernize the postal service. Yet these and other important bills, such as the Violence Against Women Act, stagnate in the pool of idleness and inactivity that the House has become.

While it is unfortunate that the House has temporarily been overtaken by partisanship and ideological extremism, I remain confident that, in time, we will be able to work together to address the serious problems facing our nation. As you must recognize, holding the middle class hostage in support of multi-millionaires is not a sustainable position. And surely, eventually, sequestration will overcome ideological extremism, as intended, and help force an agreement.

Whenever you are ready, Democrats will work with you cooperatively to strengthen the middle class, rebuild our economy, and address our nation’s long term fiscal challenges in a balanced and fair manner.

Best regards.

Sincerely,

HARRY REID
Majority Leader

Points Out That A Stand-Alone Reauthorization Would Fail In The House Due To Tea Party Opposition

Looks Forward To Working With Republicans To Finding A Vehicle For Reauthorization That Would Guarantee Passage

Washington, DC – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid replied in a letter to Republican excuses for voting against the re-authorization of the Export-Import Bank. Despite claiming to support the Bank’s reauthorization, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell led a filibuster last week to prevent the Bank from being reauthorized, and is now calling for the reauthorization to be advanced as a stand-alone that would fail to pass the House of Representatives due to Tea party opposition.

Senator Reid states that while he opposes advancing a stand-alone reauthorization that has no chance of passing the House, he looks forward to working with Republicans to find a vehicle that will ensure reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. The letter was delivered to Republicans earlier today, and was written in response to a letter that Republicans wrote to Senator Reid this week.

“I am surprised by your claim of support for the Bank, given that just last week you led a coordinated and successful effort to defeat its reauthorization,” Senator Reid writes. “If you had not opposed reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, led a Republican filibuster and insisted on a 60-vote threshold, it would have already passed the Senate with bipartisan support,” he points out.

In response to Republican requests to bring up the Bank reauthorization as a stand-alone measure, Senator Reid points out that such a move would be guaranteed to fail in the House of Representatives, where Tea Party Republicans staunchly oppose the Bank.

“Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that Members of the House who are ideologically opposed to the Export-Import Bank’s very existence intend to oppose its reauthorization and severely curtail its operations, making the prospect of a stand-alone reauthorization of the Bank passing the House remote,” Reid writes.

“The Bank’s reauthorization did not need to be a fight,” Reid writes. “I look forward to working with you to find another vehicle that would ensure passage of the Export-Import Bank through the House. It is obvious that you regret your vote, and I sincerely wish that when the opportunity had presented itself, you had voted according to the dictates of your conscience.”

The full text of the letter is below and attached as a PDF.

###

March 30, 2012

Dear Colleague:

Thank you for your letter regarding reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.  The Export-Import Bank is an essential tool for providing American companies with a level playing field in a global economy, creating jobs, and revitalizing America’s manufacturing sector.  I am surprised by your claim of support for the Bank, given that just last week you led a coordinated and successful effort to defeat its reauthorization.

I was also surprised to learn that you believe Senate action on the reauthorization would be brief.  If you had not opposed reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, led a Republican filibuster and insisted on a 60-vote threshold, it would have already passed the Senate with bipartisan support on a vote of 55-44 on Senate amendment 1836.  Moreover, as you undoubtedly know, Republicans have been responsible for an unprecedented number of filibusters, causing delay and postponement to become common place in the Senate.

The Bank’s reauthorization did not need to be a fight.  The provisions in the reauthorization had been approved by the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, and the amendment was cosponsored by Senators Shelby and Graham.  Although it defies belief, even the Republican cosponsors of the reauthorization voted against it.

Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that Members of the House who are ideologically opposed to the Export-Import Bank’s very existence intend to oppose its reauthorization and severely curtail its operations, making the prospect of a stand-alone reauthorization of the Bank passing the House remote.  The Bank creates jobs, provides capital to small businesses, and enjoys bipartisan support, and it was an ideal fit for the bipartisan JOBS Act, which was designed to provide small businesses with greater access to capital.  Attaching the Bank’s reauthorization to the JOBS Act, which had strong bipartisan support in the House, would have provided a vehicle for reauthorization that would have garnered the support necessary to overcome House Republicans’ opposition.

Even if Senate Republicans are in fact ready to reverse their position and support the Bank, as your letter suggests, I foresee no possibility of the reauthorization receiving the necessary support from your colleagues in the House.  I look forward to working with you to find another vehicle that would ensure passage of the Export-Import Bank through the House.

I am sorry to learn that you regret your vote, and I sincerely wish that when the opportunity presented itself, you had voted according to the dictates of your conscience.

Sincerely,

HARRY REID

Majority Leader
United States Senate-Nevada

CC:      The Honorable Lindsey Graham

The Honorable Kelly Ayotte

The Honorable Daniel Coats

The Honorable Mike Johanns

The Honorable Saxby Chambliss

The Honorable Rob Portman

The Honorable Jeff Sessions

The Honorable John Boozman

The Honorable Thad Cochran

The Honorable John Hoeven

The Honorable Johnny Isakson

The Honorable Roy Blunt

The Honorable Richard Shelby

The Honorable Lamar Alexander

The Honorable Lisa Murkowski

The Honorable Mark Kirk

The Honorable Pat Roberts

The Honorable Dean Heller

The Honorable Richard Burr

The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison

The Honorable Roger Wicker

The Honorable Scott Brown

The Honorable Richard Lugar

The Honorable James Inhofe

The Honorable Susan Collins

The Honorable John McCain

Tens of thousands of bridges and millions of miles of roadways across the country are in a state of disrepair.

But, rather than putting Americans to work fixing those roads and bridges – and repairing crumbling train tracks, highways and sidewalks across the nation – House Republican leaders are pandering to the Tea Party.

As if putting the Tea Party ahead of efforts to repair our nation’s crumbling infrastructure wasn’t bad enough, House Republicans are risking 2.8 million jobs in the process.

I was disappointed to hear last week that House Republican leaders will pursue a three-month extension of the Highway Bill. They should be voting on the two-year transportation bill passed on an overwhelming, bipartisan vote by the Senate.

Their short-term Band-Aid bill is no solution. Communities and contractors need certainty – especially going into the summer construction season – that their projects won’t grind to a halt in three months because the House once again refuses to act.

The American people will know who to blame if chaos in the House Republican caucus costs us almost 3 million jobs. One week remains until thousands of projects around the country lock their gates and lay off their workers.

It is time for House Republican leaders to do the responsible thing: take up the Senate-passed transportation bill, which is strongly supported by Senate Republicans.

The American people are watching, and time is wasting.

While House Republicans are squandering precious time and risking American jobs, the Senate will move forward with a bill to repeal billions in subsidies to big oil companies.

Last year, Big Oil raked in $137 billion in profits – more than ever before – but still received billions in taxpayers-funded giveaways.

Even with domestic oil production at its highest level in almost a decade, prices at the pump are rising.

Oil companies are making money hand over fist. When the price of a gallon of gas goes up by a single penny, quarterly profits for the five major oil companies go up by $200 million.

Yet this country continues to give taxpayer dollars to some of the most profitable corporations in the world – corporations that don’t need our help. It’s time to end this careless corporate welfare.

The only real way to bring down prices at the pump is to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. That will take additional responsible, domestic oil exploration anhgd smart investments in clean energy technology.

The Senate will vote this evening to advance the Repeal Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act.

This legislation ends more than $2 billion a year in tax breaks for Big Oil. And it invests the savings in the clean energy industry, where it will grow our economy and create jobs.

Repealing wasteful subsidies won’t cause oil and gas prices to rise. But reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil will cause prices to fall.

I hope my Republican colleagues will join Senate Democrats and repeal subsidies for Big Oil. It is time we worked together to move this nation toward its clean energy future.

But if Republicans continue to stand up for oil companies making record profits, one thing will be obvious: Republicans care less about bringing down gas prices than about helping big oil companies that don’t need the help.

Congress should pass this legislation quickly, before another taxpayer dollar is spent on wasteful handouts to Big Oil.

The Senate must also move quickly to reform our postal system. And in the coming weeks the Senate must reauthorize of the Violence Against Women Act, pass additional job creation measures and take up a crucial cybersecurity bill.

The Pentagon says passing cybersecurity legislation is the single most important action Congress can take to improve national security. That’s why I will bring a bill to the floor very soon.

Bipartisan efforts to craft comprehensive cybersecurity legislation have been ongoing for several years, but the time to act is now.

It is time for Republican colleagues who have been involved in this effort from the start to sit down at the negotiating table and help us settle on a final approach. The next few weeks will set the path ahead.

Both parties agree this legislation is a priority. And Senators interested in getting involved should act now, before time runs out.

As always, I hope Democrats and Republicans will be able to work together to forge a path forward.

“Today, Republicans voted against an overwhelmingly bipartisan measure that would have supported more than 300,000 American jobs simply to provide cover for Tea Party extremists in the House. Once again, Republicans are manufacturing a fight instead of working with Democrats on bipartisan solutions to create jobs. Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank is something that has always been done on a broad, bipartisan basis. Yet like so many other common-sense measures that used to pass without a fight, Republicans have turned this bipartisan bill into a partisan political battle.

“Republicans must now explain to the American people why they decided that the marching orders they received from their extremist Tea Party allies are more important than the jobs of hard-working Americans across the country.”

Instead of Working To Create Jobs, Republicans Huff and Puff About “Tyranny,” “A Day That Will Live In Infamy,” “Trampling On Our Constitution”

When Senator Coburn Says You’re Blowing Issues “Out Of Proportion,” You Know You’ve Gone Too Far

REPUBLICANS SPLINTERED, INFIGHTING OVER AGENDA

Politico: In Behind The Scenes Battle, “Divide Within The Party Is Sharp.”  “With no nominee yet to spell out the party’s agenda, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is locked in a behind-the-scenes debate with other Republicans over their strategy for winning back power.”  [Politico, 2/2/12]

WITH NO AGENDA TO SPEAK OF, REPUBLICANS PANDER TO THE TEA PARTY WITH OVERHEATED RHETORIC

McConnell: President Obama Leads A Gang Of “Liberal Thugs.” “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to launch a fierce attack on the Obama administration and congressional Democrats, calling out ‘liberal thugs’ for intimidating their opponents in the name of political expediency.” [Politico, 2/9/11]

DeMint: Democrats Should Give Up Hope of Compromise. “President Obama and his party should give up any hope of working with conservatives in Congress, Republican Sen. Jim DeMint warned Thursday, at the opening of a conservative conference in Washington. ‘Compromise works well in this world when you have shared goals,’ DeMint told the activists gathered for the four-day Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). ‘When you have a shared goals, you can sit down together. We don’t have shared goals with the Democrats.’ Likening the 2012 elections to the Super Bowl, the senator said, ‘I can guarantee you Coach Coughlin did not tell his Giants to go out on the field and work with those other guys. They weren’t cooperating with Tom Brady… The two teams had different goals. The Patriots were there to beat the other guys.’” [CBS News, 2/9/12]

Johnson: “Obama Is Not Someone We Can Compromise With.” At CPAC Senator Ron Johnson said, “Obama is not someone we can compromise with, Obama is someone we must defeat.” [ABC News, 2/9/12]

Lee: Cordray Appointment “May Well Be A Day That Will Live On In Infamy” Lee said, “Jan. 4, 2012 may well be a day that will live on in infamy as a day the Congress ceded one of its rightful powers to the executive.” [Mike Lee, 2/1/12]

Alexander: Cordray Appointment Disregarded Every American “Who Chooses Liberty Over Tyranny, President Over King” Alexander said, “The President’s recess appointments not only show disregard for the Constitution , they show disregard for every individual American who chooses liberty over tyranny, President over King.” [Floor Remarks, 2/2/12]

Wicker: Cordray Appointment “Trampling on Our Constitution” Wicker said, “I say this with all sincerity to the President and to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: There is a time for spin and there is a time to make political points, but politics and theater ought to stop short of trampling on our Constitution .” [Floor Remarks, 1/26/12]

BUT DON’T TAKE IT FROM US: COBURN THINKS REPUBLICANS’ RHETORIC BLOWS ISSUES “OUT OF PROPORTION”

Coburn: Conservatives Are Blowing Contraceptives Controversy “Out of Proportion” “Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said conservatives claiming the Obama administration is waging a war on religious liberty because of its policy mandating healthcare coverage for contraception are blowing the matter ‘out of proportion.’” [The Hill, 2/9/12]

I was saddened to hear that Senator Mark Kirk suffered a stroke over the weekend. He had surgery this morning, and doctors say he will recover.

Senator Kirk is only 52 years old, and doctors say his young age and good health are on his side.

I wish Senator Kirk a full and speedy recovery. I look forward to seeing him return to his work in the Senate soon.

Winston Churchill once said “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

I know each one of my colleagues in the Senate – regardless of political party – has the courage to stand up and speak in defense of his or her principles.

This year I hope we each find the courage and faith to listen and cooperate as well.

The founders, in their wisdom, created a divided government. They envisioned a robust debate on important issues.

I don’t believe they envisioned the obstructionism and gridlock that ground the work of Congress to a halt last year.

Influenced by Tea Party voices, Republicans forced us to waste months on routine legislation. They nearly shut down our government. And they held hostage the full faith and credit of the United States.

So I remind my Republican colleagues that not every discussion should collapse into a fight. Every piece of legislation we consider should not result in a political battle.

When we work together, we achieve greater results for the American people.

That is why this year Democrats and Republicans must seek common ground.

We should all be able to agree on this: Congress must do whatever it takes to create jobs and strengthen our economy.

Democrats believe it will take common-sense policies that protect the middle class and smart investments that rebuild our roads, bridges and schools.

We must combat income inequality now, or the rich will keep getting richer and the poor getting poorer while the middle class disappears. That’s not fiction. It’s fact.

Democrats will continue to defend working Americans. We hope Republicans will join us.

But if they again allow the Tea Party to turn every issue into an all-or-nothing battle, we will not back down. We will side with the middle class every time.

We saw the results of Republican brinksmanship in December.

Democrats refused give up on tax cuts for hard-working families. And Republicans finally listened to the American people, who couldn’t afford a $1,000 tax hike.

Putting money back in the pockets of 160 million American workers shouldn’t have been so difficult. It shouldn’t have been a fight in the first place.

I hope we all learned a lesson.

It is time for reasonable Republicans to stop following the Tea Party off a cliff, and join Democrats to create jobs and safeguard the middle class instead.

There will be times in the coming year when we will need the courage to stand and fight.

This year it will be just as important that we summon the courage to sit down and listen.

“The American people are tired of their elected leaders listening to the extreme voices in their party instead of the voices of reason. I am disappointed that Republicans never found the courage to ignore Tea Party extremists and millionaire lobbyists like Grover Norquist, and listen instead to the overwhelming majority of Americans – including the vast majority of Republicans – who want a balanced approach to deficit reduction. For the good of our country, Democrats were prepared to strike a grand bargain that would make painful cuts while asking millionaires to pay their fair share, and we put our willingness on paper. But Republicans never came close to meeting us halfway.

“Instead, Republicans relentlessly sought to end Medicare as we know it by privatizing the program and putting seniors and future generations at the mercy of insurance companies. In addition, Republicans insisted on expanding President Bush’s tax giveaways to millionaires, an approach that would have made our deficit problems bigger, not smaller, while increasing the gap between the top one percent of taxpayers and everyone else. Democrats are open to reforming our tax code, but we will not go along with efforts to provide even more giveaways to millionaires at the expense of the middle class.

“Make no mistake: we will achieve the more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction we agreed to in August. The sequester was designed to be painful, and it is. But that is the commitment to fiscal responsibility that both parties made to the American people. In the absence of a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by at least as much, I will oppose any efforts to change or roll back the sequester.

“I commend Senators Murray, Baucus and Kerry for their unflagging commitment to this process. They worked until the final hours to try and forge a reasonable compromise, and validated the trust that I placed in each of them to seek a balanced deal while protecting the fundamental guarantees of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

“With millions of Americans out of work, we must stay focused on creating jobs. Economists have estimated that failing to extend the payroll tax cuts for the middle class and provide support to Americans who continue to look for jobs in this tough economy could plunge us back into a recession. Democrats will continue to pursue these kinds of common-sense, bipartisan proposals to put Americans back to work. In the weeks ahead, I hope the fear of the Tea Party and millionaire lobbyists like Grover Norquist will not prevent Republicans from forging common-sense compromises with Democrats to get our economy back on track.”

Republicans leaders in the House of Representatives wasted this week pursuing a right-wing proposal they knew from the start could not pass the Senate.

From the very beginning the Speaker’s Band-Aid approach was fatally flawed – it would have put us back in this incredible position, fighting the clock to prevent financial collapse, in just a few weeks.

It was a concession to Tea Party extremists, yet it barely passed the House yesterday with only Republican votes. And it failed on a bipartisan basis last night in the Senate.

But knowing all along that this radical legislation – which was neither balanced nor bipartisan – would not and could not pass in our chamber, Democrats have been working on a true compromise in the Senate.

We have solicited ideas from our Republican friends and colleagues. Let it never be said that Democrats in the Senate were afraid to compromise. We welcome it.

As recently as yesterday morning I asked my friend, the Senate Minority Leader, to help make this Senate compromise more palatable to Republicans. Yet we have heard nothing from the Republican leader.

My friend, Sen. McConnell, did not answer the call to negotiate yesterday or any other day this week. He did not come to the table on behalf of his caucus with ideas to improve a proposal already cut from Republican cloth.

But Democrats are still willing to sit down and negotiate. My door is still open.

I appreciate that several of my Republican colleagues have reached out to me over the last few hours, hoping to reach a compromise. Senate Democrats welcome their input and look forward to working with them on a path forward.

But my friend, the Republican leader of the Senate, must come forward as well.

The two parties must work together to forge an agreement that preserves this nation’s economy. We will need the help of reasonable Republicans – including Sen. McConnell – to get this done.

But unbelievably, another filibuster stands in our path.

The Republican filibuster has become routine. From the smallest measure to the greatest matter of national importance, they stall and delay and use every procedural trick in the book to keep this body from doing its job.

But a filibuster at this late hour, and when so much is at risk, is irresponsible. It puts our economy at risk.

A majority vote was good enough for the Speaker’s proposal in the House of Representatives yesterday, but Republicans believe it isn’t good enough for the Senate today.

Rather than filibuster, I ask that my Republican colleagues work with Democrats to make our proposal better.

We have offered a reasonable, rational way for Republicans to help us avert default. Let me tell you about it.

This amendment was written by Democrats with both parties’ principles in mind. It would:

• Avert default while cutting about $2.4 trillion from the deficit over a decade.  It includes no revenues, a concession to House Republicans.
• It establishes a Joint Congressional Committee to find additional savings this year, and guarantees that committee’s recommendations will see an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.
• And literally every single spending cut in it has been voted for or endorsed by Republicans in both houses of Congress.

We have made several changes to make this proposition amenable to our Republican colleagues. We have:

• Improved the program integrity language to allow more savings by combating government waste and fraud.
• Removed a measure that would have raised revenue by selling spectrum, which would have caused a Blue Slip process in the House.
• Added a process conceived of by my friend, Sen. McConnell, to allow two additional votes over the next year and a half – two motions of disapproval – before the President may raise the debt ceiling.

This proposal also protects Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. But as you can see, this amendment was designed to appeal to our Republican colleagues as well as to Democrats.

As I said, we are willing to listen to ideas from the other side to make this proposal better. But time is short.

Already the economy has gone from bad to worse. Stocks continued a weeklong slide yesterday.

I know my Republican colleagues love this country. I believe they want to do what is best for our economy.

That is why together we must avert a default that would jeopardize veterans’ benefits, seniors’ Social Security payments and checks for troops on the front lines. It would also effectively raise taxes on every American family and business, increasing the cost of everything from groceries to the mortgage.

And so I urge them to join me to move forward the only true compromise plan left – in fact, the only option left at all – to save this country from default.

“Today the House of Representatives will vote on Speaker Boehner’s short-term plan to raise the debt ceiling. As soon as the House completes its vote, the Senate will move to take up that bill, and it will be defeated tonight. No Democrat will vote for a short-term Band-Aid that would put our economy at risk and put the nation back in this untenable situation a few short months from now.

“Economists have said a short-term deal holds many of the same risks as a technical default. Democrats are not willing to put our economy on the line like that. Our economy and the financial markets desperately need stability. Speaker Boehner’s bill does not provide it. It is time for Tea Party Republicans to stop resisting compromise. They must join Democrats and Republicans of good will in putting the good of our economy ahead of politics.”

“Pero en lo que a mí se refiere, el único duelo en que hay hoy en Washington solo está ocurriendo entre las diferentes personalidades del Partido Republicano.

“Ayer por la noche, presenté una enmienda que pensé que estaba blindada –porqué impediría un incumplimiento a través de las propuestas que los republicanos ya han apoyado. Sin embargo, los republicanos de la Cámara baja se dirigieron al plan de los demócrata agresivamente, y me extrañó teniendo en cuenta que cada uno de los componentes de nuestra propuesta ha sido apoyada por los republicanos durante las negociaciones.

“…Evitaría un incumplimiento, a la vez que recorta $2,7 billones del déficit a través de la siguiente década.

“…la propuesta no incluye recaudos, tal como insistieron los republicanos. Ni siquiera toca el despilfarro como los subsidios a las grandes petroleras…los cuales los republicanos han prometido defender aun si eso le causa daño a la economía.

“Y cada uno de los recortes en este paquete ha recibido el apoyo de los republicanos. Los republicanos en ambas cámaras han votado por esos recortes en ocasiones pasadas.

“En resumen, todo lo que los republicanos han exigido, se lo hemos envuelto en papel regalo, le hemos puesto un moño y se los hemos traído en bandeja de plata.

“Pero ahora dicen que sus exigencias, a las cuales hemos accedido en sus totalidad, no son suficientes….

“Todo lo que los republicanos razonables han pedido, se les ha dado. Pero se rehúsan a pronunciar la palabra ‘si’ porque un grupo de republicanos extremistas del Tea Party no se los permiten.”

CONTACTO: José Dante Parra/Nathaly Arriola, (202) 224-2939

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