The presiding officer on this vote are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . On this vote, the yeas are 24, the nays are 75. The amendment is not agreed to. Under the previous order, there will be two minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote on amendment number 2709, as modified, offered by the senator from oregon, mr. Merkley. The senate will be in order. Senators will remove their confirmations from the well, from the chamber. Mr. Merkley madam president . The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Merkley madam president , in a moment i will ask unanimous consent to withdraw this amendment of i think there is a better way to tackle this particular issue, but im going to use this moment to note for my colleagues that i appreciate all the senators who have come to me to say they share the outrage at the exploitative pricing of insurance on our home owns. This drives homeowners into foreclosure, which is not good for the ohm owners, c
A day of dire warnings, tough talk and deadlines. Treasury secretary jack lew warned congress that failing to raise the debt ceiling would cause irrevocable damage to the economy. The republicans proposed raising the debt ceiling for six weeks. Meanwhile wall street, wow, a rocketshiplike ride today. The dow closing the day up 322 points. What a trading day. Mike viqueira is at the white house for us. And mike, to the extent you can, put us in the room. In about 30 minutes time the president is going to meet with House Republicans, what can we expect . It started today this morning. There is a glimmer of hope now tony. Its all vague, its all taking shape, but the stock market reacting to the fact that for the first time in how long has it been, some two weeks, there is some wiggle room now on both sides of this of the house gop and here at the white house as well. A lot yet to be decided. A lot up in the air at this point, but there is a possibility, glimmer of hope that the end is in
Randall joins us live from washington, and randall, ive been looking at the markets all morning, and the markets at this hour are up close to 200 points. 190 points, and it seems the talk of the deal may actually be the real deal. And what are you hearing in wash where . The same thing. Obviously the Financial Markets are looking for a way out of this impasse, and all of the developers in the past 2448 hours suggest that theres at least going to be a solution to the debt ceiling. Not the government shut down, but at least raising the nations debt him so the nation can continue to pay its bills once the middle of the month comes along and the nation reaches that ceiling. The United States should not be put in such a position to make such perilous decisions for the economy and our citizens. S this no way to know the damage that it could have on the markets. This morning, trying to again warn of the consequences of failing to reach the debt ceiling. And theres talk around washington in re
Good friday morning. Welcome to squawk on the street on this final friday trading session of the year. Im Carl Quintanilla at the new york stock exchange, along with melissa lee. Thats a good song. I actually requested that a few moments ago. Cramer and faber had the day off. The market has a few jitters as we enter what is going to be an interesting day. Of course, the meeting at the white house, 3 00 between the president and some congressional leaders. As for europe, getting some data out of japan overnight and some data out of europe. Currently red arrows across the board, in london, paris, and frankfort. Our road map begins at the white house. Congressional leaders set to meet with the president , 3 00 p. M. This afternoon. Senator reid has already said hopes of a deal are fading quickly. Just two trading days left until the cliff. And its not just the fiscal cliff. Wind farms and dairy are set to get hit. The ports of the east coast and gulf coast are bracing for a potential stri
The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Almighty god, source of strength for stressedout emotions and strained minds, we dont pray to inform you of things you dont know or to urge you from your reluctance to help us. Lord, we pray to obey your command, to arouse ourselves to action, to mitigate anxiety, to exercise faith, and to embrace your promises. Thank you for using our senators, in the Early Morning hours of this new year, to accomplish your purposes. May the sparks from their bipartisan cooperation ignite flames of unity that will illuminate the inevitable darkness to come. Lord, give our lawmakers the resiliency, resourcefulness, and resolve to accomplish your will on earth, even as it is done in heaven. We pray in your merciful name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america a